Global Marketing: What You Need to Know - WebProNews Video

The Web has provided numerous opportunities for businesses including the ability to have global reach. But with that opportunity comes many challenges such as marketing on a global scale. To learn more about global marketing, WebProNews caught up with Anne Kennedy of Beyond Ink and Joblr and Kristjan Mar Hauksson of Nordic eMarketing.

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As Kennedy points out, a big SEO challenge is language. However, she believes the biggest challenge is enculturation in matters such as finding the right keyword set for a different country. This could be a problem since it may not translate directly. For instance, soccer cleats in the U.S. are called football boots in the UK and something completely different in France.

It’s also important to think about these cultural matters in regards to content, link building, graphic design, and more. Although localization and enculturation are the most important areas, Kennedy says understanding the language barrier is the first step in getting these areas right.

Although Nordic eMarketing is based in Iceland, Mar Hauksson says it has found ways to market its products in a multilingual environment. He also points out that the company understands the impact of culture and realizes that not everyone speaks and uses English.
“When you understand that, you have a much bigger market that you can market towards,” says Mar Hauksson.

At the time of the recording of this interview, Google had recently made the move to stop censoring its search results on Google.cn and was redirecting visitors to Google.com.hk, which it does not censor. While some developments have occurred since that time, it is far from being over. Just last week, Google reported that its operations in China were partially blocked and that Chinese officials were allegedly reviewing its application to operate in the country.

Today, the company released this statement, “We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China.”

Both Kennedy and Mar Hauksson believe it is important to pay attention to the Google/China situation from both a SEO and marketing standpoint.

Kennedy also offers some tips for doing social media globally. Just as understanding culture is critical to SEO, it is also critical to social media. She says marketers need to be aware of what social networks are popular in each country and how the people use and interact with them.

“Social media, by its very definition, depends on the nature of the society where it’s doing business,” explains Kennedy.
Are you embracing marketing on a global level?

Building an Effective Social Media Strategy - WebProNews Video

As marketers, what goals do you have with social media? Most marketers use social for efforts such as branding, promotion, and visibility. Interestingly, marketers do not usually consider the benefits that search and social provide together...

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According to Rebecca Lieb of Econsultancy, most marketers aren’t aware of how closely the two are tied. For instance, when a user signs into Google and searches for a query, he can see real-time social search results in addition to the other results. Specifically, he can see a live Twitter feed and anything that people within his social circle are saying, related to his query.

While still talking about social media, Lieb brings up two areas that marketers have not fully grasped. They are: strategy and execution. So many marketers are jumping on the social media bandwagon with a FacebookTwitter account to simply keep up with the times. However, this is not the way that people succeed in social media. page or

As part of a social media strategy, marketers need to know what they want to accomplish, who they are trying to reach, how they are going to communicate with the target, and more. Many people perceive social as something that is free, but as Lieb points out, nothing is free.

To be truthful, social media takes lots of time and resources. If marketers calculate these factors into their strategy, their chances for social success will increase.

On a different note, Lieb also tells WebProNews that she is encouraged by current developments taking place regarding net neutrality.  She believes the U.S. is on the right track to improve the necessity of high-speed and open Web access.

How to Approach a Web Video Series as a Marketing Strategy

How to Approach a Web Video Series as a Marketing Strategy

What’s a proven but very overlooked social media business strategy for professional minded individuals and small business operations, one that’s well-suited for online video? According to successful author and Chicago media personality Robyn Okrant, it’s doing “serialization” with your video content ­– i.e., knowing how to tell a story as a series of videos where your audience stays tuned on a daily basis. Listen to my podcast interview to hear about a how serialization can be a successful online video strategy that builds an enthusiastic audience and great-word-of-mouth marketing – even without having an actual marketing budget.

Every now and then we at ReelSEO like to cover media personalities and their own takes on online video marketing, getting fresh perspectives from people not embedded deep in our industry. Robyn Okrant is a Chicago-based author, artist, and media personality who I would say certainly fits that billing. She’s the author of the book Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk, and the sister “Living Oprah” blog that generated over a million monthly views featuring her personal project diary. Her online popularity led to international television appearances (including the Today show, CNBC, MSNBC) and national radio programs, more book deals, and the lecture circuit on successful social networking with new media, but a self-avowed non-tecchie drama arts major.

So how does someone with a performance background but no real techie background manage to be a proven success with social media all by herself? Well, aside from picking a subject that happens to be arguable the biggest key influencer in modern history save for perhaps one or two religious figures (I’m referring to Oprah Winfrey of course), she touched on a concept that is pervasive in the traditional entertainment world and high-priced video webisodes, but very rare with your regular bloggers – that would be serialization.

Read the full story at ReelSEO.com

What Recent Google Announcements Mean for Google - WebProNews Video

It is always interesting to find out what search industry veteran Danny Sullivan has to say about announcements pertaining to the Web. For this reason, WebProNews spoke with Sullivan at Google I/O to get his opinion on HTML5, Android, and Google TV...

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As we have previously reported, Adobe announced an update pack to Dreamweaver CS5 for HTML5. Since the announcement was made at Google I/O, Sullivan believes Google wants to publicly show that it embraces the idea of openness that HTML5 is built upon.

“It plays well with Google’s thing, which is… if you can get to everything on the Web, then Google thinks it’s going to win along the way,” says Sullivan.

In regards to Google TV, Sullivan is excited about the innovation but is curious about pricing. He specifically says, “It puts them [Google] into a place where people are spending hours of their day and not getting a chance to see any of Google’s ads…”

He points out that he would like to see Google TV integrated into cable company services. Despite all the excitement about Google TV, what does it mean for the iPad? Currently, many people use the iPad to look up items as they are watching TV. Google TV, however, could eliminate this need. In addition, Sullivan indicated that Google TV could lead to a greater adoption of Android devices since it runs Android apps.

There have also been many questions since Google has two operating systems: Chrome and Android. Sullivan tried to get Google to clarify the two moving forward but did not receive a definite response. The company hinted that it could unify Android and Chrome at some point in the future, but did not make any commitments that it would.

CEO's Marketers, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs Join Me on Facebook

Dear, CEO's, Marketers, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs... 

Let me help you keep up with the latest SEO, Social, Mobile, Video, Internet Marketing Scoop and Much More on my Facebook Fan page: http://artist.to/fan-page-marci-rosenblum.

I am now posting all the good Internet Marketing content on my Fan Page. I hope you will find it useful as the Internet world changes constantly! 

See you there!

Warm Regards, 

Marci Rosenblum
SEO Strategist, Web Traffic, Social Media Marketer

Innovative Marketing In The Form Of Brand Fiction - WebProNews Video

Compared to other forms of writing, fiction is quite popular; it’s rare that you’ll see a person pick up some dead president’s biography rather than the latest thriller, for example. And fiction can also work well in terms of promoting companies, with instances of brand fiction achieving success...

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Helen Klein Ross, the founder of Brand Fiction Factory, spoke to Abby Johnson at SXSW about this concept. She explained, “The idea of brand fiction is not only to develop new, entertaining ways for consumers to connect with the brand, but to take the message and the story that brands are already telling and opening up to new ways. Giving consumers new incentives to connect with the brand. And validating them.”

Ross also said, “Consumers don’t want to sit back and listen to stories just told by the gatekeepers. It’s a whole new world. So brand fiction gives consumers a new way to connect with the brands and a new incentive to do so.”

Ross is a real pro in this respect, too. She is in fact the person behind the Twitter account of “Betty Draper” (a character on the AMC TV show Mad Men), and Betty Draper/Ross won a Shorty Award for Innovation.

Spicing up an advertising campaign with some innovative storytelling looks like a great way to catch people’s attention and keep their interest, then.

Twilk: Create a Twitter Background of Your Friends - WebProNews Video

While at SXSW, WebProNews caught up with Kyle Mulka of Congo Labs. Mulka is currently working on a Twitter application called Twilk that is quickly gaining popularity.

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Twilk is a Twitter background generator that takes a user’s followers on Twitter to create a photo collage out of their icons. The application sorts followers based on how much the user tweets about them and gives prominent placement to the people tweeted about the most.

Many people are using Twilk as a way to reward their followers for following them. Others just like seeing their friends’ faces on their background. For businesses that use the application, Twilk allows them to exclude certain people such as competitors and other people that they do not want to show up.

Mulka told WPN that they would like to develop the background to the point that it is clickable.

For more information on Twilk, visit their site.

The Secret to Viral Videos - WebProNews Video

Everyone wants their video to go viral, but is it really possible? According to Margaret Gould Stewart of YouTube, people need to, first of all, understand what types of videos go viral.

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As she explains, most viral videos happen by accident. There is, however, another category of content that could go viral. People producing this type of content create it on a regular basis in order to build a sustained audience.

When it comes to actually creating viral content, Stewart says, “It really is about great content. It’s really difficult to make content that is not interesting or exciting go viral.”

Another factor in creating viral content is knowing your audience. Content producers need to understand who their audience is and build sustainable relationships with them. In addition, Stewart points out the importance of attaching metadata to the content.

Just as SEO is important for Google, it is also important for the second largest search engine, YouTube. Ideally, the best content is at the top, but you can help it by making titles clear and direct and putting in the right tags. If you do this, searchers will be able to find your content easily when they search for it.

Lastly, content producers need to make sure they are enabling the embedding capability on their video. Stewart says that as a video starts to go viral, the largest amount of traffic comes from other sources in the first 48 hours.

In the end, all viral videos do not receive one million viewers. For businesses especially, a video can be viral as long as it reaches its target audience.

How Business Models Determine Success - WebProNews Video

Determining what it is that makes a business successful is difficult, especially in this economy. Is success measured in numbers or profitability? As Matt Chasen of uShip explains, many businesses take a backward approach to finding success.

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When he started uShip 6 years ago, he says he was very focused on proving out their business model. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses in the Internet space tend to create a business around hype and users and consider the business model later.

Chasen advises entrepreneurs to focus on small, niche industries that maybe aren’t very “sexy.” uShip, for example, is an online marketplace for transportation services. It combines a relatively “old school” industry with new technology. Entrepreneurs need to realize that there are vast amounts of opportunity in areas such as this.

In addition, Chasen suggests that if entrepreneurs are going to fail that they need to fail quickly. He says it is inexpensive and quick to prototype new businesses and business models, so it shouldn’t take too long to find something that works. According to Chasen, the quicker you figure out how you are going to make money, the better your chances are of being successful.

Is all Press Really Good Press? - WebProNews Video

Traditionally, public relations agencies have considered any press good publicity. However, in this day and age of new media, that standard has changed. Sam Ford of Peppercom calls the traditional viewpoint “a major mistake.”

In an interview with Abby Johnson at SXSW, Ford explains that communicators should think qualitatively in terms of what people are saying, instead of quantitatively.  In addition, now as brands are getting more involved in social media, they need to realize that they might not like the feedback they receive.

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If you are not ready to hear honest feedback, then maybe new media is not the place for you. Ford says, “Engagement only works if you’re prepared to engage on your side as much as you’re expecting the audience to engage.”

He also points out the harm in a brand “over-promising” its ability to engage if it cannot. Unfortunately, many Web 2.0 business models are built off of strategies for engaging the audience, but if the brand is not providing anything in return, it is essentially asking for unpaid labor to build its business.

Once a brand is involved and is ready to engage, Ford says it automatically thinks that the only way it can react to negativity is by responding. Instead of focusing on what to say next, Ford suggests that brands find solutions for the real problems. He said hearing is not listening.

If a brand wants to produce positive press, a brand should send a message that is additional material for the conversation the audience is already having. In the end, this will make the message spreadable.

Are you actively engaging your audience and truly listening?

State Of SEM Discussed (With Stats) - WebProNews Videos

SEMPO’s State of Search Engine Marketing Report is a very important document in the search industry, providing a good look at its growth (or lack thereof). Fortunately, as SEMPO’s outgoing president explained in an interview with Abby Johnson, the news is pretty much all positive this year...

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At SES New York, SEMPO’s Sara Holoubek summarized the state of search marketing by saying, “Things are looking good for search.” She also said, “Folks should feel confident in their spending.”

In terms of some specifics, Holoubek then stated, “The data suggested that we will have 14 percent growth, and that means that the North American search engine marketing budget will be $16.6 billion in 2010.”

Finally, here’s a rather stunning fact with regards to where most of that money is headed: “97 percent of the respondents are advertising on Google.”

It looks like the search marketing industry – along with Google’s bank account balance – is in great shape, then, regardless of the recent recession. Indeed, a record number of people (about 1,500 individuals in 16 countries) responded to SEMPO’s survey, making the results hard to dismiss.

Making Time for Marketing - WebProNews Videos

Many small and medium-sized businesses tend to struggle since they typically have a lack of resources. Most of them are understaffed but still have to make time for social media, search engine rankings, leads, following up on leads, and more...

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While at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Mike McDonald of WebProNews spoke with Genoo’s CEO Kim Albee about these very issues. Genoo provides tools that allow businesses to manage multiple aspects in one place. As a result, the business has more time to dedicate to leads, follow-ups, and conversions.

These areas are very important to small businesses because, as Albee points out, “…if you don’t follow up, then whatever you spent to get those leads lose their value every month that you don’t follow up.”

In addition, the company puts enterprise level information into SMB terms. Often times at industry events, the perspective is from a large brand. Genoo takes that information and makes it applicable to SMBs.

Samsung Unveils Impressive Products for 2010 - WebProNews Video

Samsung’s display at CES 2010 was one of the most talked about exhibits at the entire show. With its fascinating collection of TVs, 3D innovations, and a new category of e-readers, Samsung wowed everyone that walked by including WebProNews...

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First on the list was the full lineup of TVs consisting of LCDs, Plasmas, and LEDs. Each of these product lines has a full range of 19-65-inch TVs. Some of the models within each of these lineups will feature a new technology called AllShare. This innovation allows users to connect the television to other devices in the home such as digital cameras, computers, mobile devices, and more.

The company also introduced their own App store called Samsung Apps. Now users can download content for their TVs, just as they do for their mobile phones. The store includes a wide variety of apps such as informational apps, gaming apps, and movie-streaming apps.

High-end versions of the 3 television lineups also have 3D capabilities. As Scott Cohen told WPN, users can watch anything in 3D with Samsung. Some TVs have a processor that allows users to render any 2D content into 3D.

With Plasma specifically, Samsung’s product line has grown. The primary focus of this line is picture-quality enhancement, such as deeper blacks and better motion. Top-end Plasma models will have customizable features that allow users to adjust the picture to their preference.

The last but certainly not the least in the TV product lines is the LED. The advantages of this line are low power consumption, vibrant colors, and brightness. Also, the LEDs are all under 2-inches deep with the flagship model at only 0.3-inches, which is thinner than a pencil!

In spite of all the hype around the fascinating TVs, Samsung’s category of e-readers also created a lot of buzz. The company will be bringing 4 e-readers to the market with screen sizes ranging from 5-10-inches. In addition, Samsung revealed a partnership with Google Books for this product.

All these Samsung products will be available during the first half of 2010. To find out more, visit www.Samsung.com.

Polaroid Brings Back Instant Film - WebProNews Video

Many of you probably remember when Polaroid ended its line of Instant Film cameras back in 2008. Fortunately, the company has decided to bring back its legendary Polaroid OneStep camera but with a modern twist.

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Jon Pollock, Polaroid’s Chief Marketing Officer, spoke with WebProNews at CES 2010 and explained how so many people expressed remorse for the Instant Film products. Specifically, artists and photographers reached out to Polaroid and asked them to bring it back.

In November, the company made its official announcement that it was bringing back its classic film. Polaroid will be offering a redesigned, modernized version of its OneStep camera that Pollock proudly showed off at CES. He said this camera “really represents Polaroid.”

The PIC 1000 will be available just in time for the holidays this year. Incidentally, Polaroid’s new Creative Director, Lady Gaga, pointed out in this WPN report that she was excited to help Polaroid take its Instant Film into the digital age.

For the latest information on Polaroid’s products, visit their site.

Ghost Tweeting: Right or Wrong? - WebProNews Video

Earlier this year at SES New York, Guy Kawasaki raised quite a stir when he gave his keynote address regarding his use of Twitter and specifically, his use of ghost tweeters. Although many SEOs disagree with the practice, Li Evans of Serengeti Communications defends him on the grounds of marketing...

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Kawasaki’s use of Twitter became a problem when some people discovered that he had ghost tweeters but didn’t disclose it. Although he does disclose now, Evans says people need to understand that Kawasaki is a marketer. With marketing, the message plays one of the most critical roles.

In an interview with WebProNews at the BlogWorld Expo 2009, Kawasaki responded to the criticism of his ghost tweeters by saying: “At the end of the day, the ultimate test is not who tweeted it, as much as, is it interesting.”

According to Evans, the core issue is the expectations of the audience. Ashton Kutcher is an avid tweeter and his followers know it. On the contrary, 50 Cent has other people tweet for him; although it doesn’t make everyone happy, his followers know that he is not tweeting on his own.

In regards to business usage of Twitter, Evans recommends planning a strategy to determine the best way to meet the audience’s expectations. If the expectations involve more than the business can do on its own, make sure to disclose whoever is doing it. Otherwise, the business could lose its credibility.

With Real-Time Search, Comes Real-Time Spam - WebProNews Video

Earlier this week, Google announced that it has begun integrating real-time search into its regular search results. Incidentally, Rae Hoffman, CEO and Co-Founder of Outspoken Media, began playing with the new feature and discovered some alarming results.

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The first concern Hoffman noticed is a spam issue. Upon tweeting about Viagra, she found that her results were showing up in Google’s results. She was even able to drop links into her tweets that people could access directly from Google.

Secondly, Hoffman uncovered reputation management issues with Google’s new integration. An unhappy employee or competitor could easily damage a company’s reputation. During a session at SES Chicago, Dave Naylor even mentioned that he might have to clean up his Twitter stream over fear of losing business.

Thirdly and probably the most serious of the issues Hoffman revealed is the safety concerns for children online. Through a series of tests including the highest level of safe search, Hoffman was able to reach out to kids who searched for queries such as Sesame Street and Miley Cyrus. Unfortunately, sexual predators could easily do the same. Scary, huh?

There were actually even more discoveries Hoffman was able to uncover that she did not disclose.

Many people believe Google rushed its real-time integration to respond to the recent real-time efforts Bing has made. Hoffman predicts that Google will either have bad results for a while as they fix their problems, or admit they made a mistake and deal with a reputation management problem.

Search + Social = Better ROI - WebProNews Video

Are you utilizing search and social media together? According to Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, many people keep their search and social campaigns separate. However, if they combine their efforts, they would be more capable of reaching their goals and even expanding them.

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Typically, people use social media for branding and customer engagement. With search, people want to increase sales and leads by being more visible. But a joint effort produces better results. Take, for example, the Wal-Mart Check Out blog. It has 16,000 inbound links and is great for engagement, but it has a severe lack of SEO. The site ranks for phrases such as “checkout” but not for any of its content.

On the flip side, IKEA is actively involved with social media, but the company applies SEO to it as well. Odden says that people and companies that optimize their social content drive traffic, build relationships, and reach customers all at the same time.

In addition, many people falsely look at social media as a direct marketing tactic, although it is not at all. Odden said:

“Measuring ROI as a direct result of social media is not the right question because social media is a platform, it’s not a tactic.”

He went on to say that making that comparison is similar to asking where the ROI is in email. The use of a platform determines the results, not the platform itself. If your goal is to increase your revenue, you must look at ROI. If not, you can find value in social media through relationships, branding, and visibility.

PubCon 2009 - Las Vegas Convention Center: November 9th-13th.

PubCon Vegas - November 10 - 13, 2009 Las Vegas Convention Center

When it comes to creating marketing buzz online, webmasters pretty much invented the concept. PubCon is four days of leading edge education and networking in over 90 sessions featuring 200 expert speakers in Social Media, Affiliate Programs, Search, and SEO/SEM. In its 8th year, PubCon was founded out of the rich and diverse base of WebmasterWorld forums. These aren't people who just talk about this stuff - these are people who do this stuff.

The A-List alpha attendees to PubCon are among the most highly pursued demographic in the online marketing world. Highly educated and computer savvy, they're early adopters of the latest web technologies and trends. These are the folks that any forward thinking company wants to reach and network with.

• Where Las Vegas Convention Center in fabulous Las Vegas Nevada
• Format Seven Track Educational Conference with Exposition Hall
• Topics Search, Web 2.0, Net Marketing, SEO/SEM, Affiliates, Domainers, Video, Multimedia : aka: Webmastery.
• Levels PubCon is scaled mainly from professional to expert experience levels (heavy content). we start where other conferences finish.

One of the best ways to keep up with the latest news about PubCon and other events is to visit the PubCon LinkedIn social networking site group, the PubCon Facebook group, and the PubCon Twitter feed.

This is one of my MOST Favorite Internet Marketing Events of the year, hope to see YOU there:
Marci Rosenblum/WebSuccessTraffic.com

Using Creativity to Grow Your Email List - WebProNews Video

Although email marketing is one of the oldest forms of Internet marketing, it is still one of the most effective marketing strategies. Growing a valuable email list is a challenging process, but as Colby Cavanaugh of ExactTarget explains, marketers must be creative and integrate popular media into their email marketing campaigns to be successful...

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A lot of people’s initial impression of email marketing efforts is negative. However, Cavanaugh says that the market has evolved and become so sophisticated that many marketers are not even trying negative efforts due to the bad results they produce.

Instead, they are capitalizing on creative opportunities. One creative form of email marketing that has seen extensive growth recently is text messages. Marketers are using sporting events, billboards, magazine articles and more to start a conversation with consumers.

The marketer urges users to send a text and opt-in. In return, the marketer is able to follow up with an email and send users to a “dynamic” landing page. Additionally, marketers can enable the content to be distributed through social media platforms such as Facebook.

Cavanaugh shares how ExactTarget offers many solutions to allow companies enhance communication and embrace email marketing opportunities. Most recently the company partnered with Coremetrics to help marketers produce very relevant and very targeted communication based on consumer behavior.

Video: Fixing Broken Landing Pages - WebProNewsVideo

Does your landing page seem to be broken? Although it looks great, maybe it isn’t producing many conversions. According to Tim Ash of SiteTuners, the best way to increase those conversions is to make sure the landing page is achieving its goals...

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What if everything on the landing page appears to working properly, but it is still not bringing conversions? How do you know what’s broken? SiteTuners developed a tool called Attention Wizard to help users answer that very question.

The tool uses artificial intelligence algorithms to replicate visual human behavior. It then reveals a heatmap over the landing page to show the areas that visitors are drawn to.

Attention Wizard is currently free in private beta. Users can register to test the tool here.