I feel that I only blog when I have something to rant about, so let me start off by saying, I apologize for that - kinda.
Now, let's get down to 1s and 0s.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of digital ad agencies in the US. All of which are claiming to be geniuses at what they do, which is helping companies place and optimize digital ad and SEO content campaigns. I think that's great, really I do. I'm sure out of all those agencies, there are actually a fraction of them that know what they're doing, too. If I was a small business and didn't have manpower resources but had the budget, I would totally be on board with one to consult me on a regular basis. What these folks need to realize though, is that there are limitations.
Yes, I understand that having someone optimize my campaign will "more than make up for itself" or "pay for itself" in any agency fees I pay to you. But what YOU need to realize is, I still have to pay you. One way or another, I'm going to spend this money...and I don't have extra money to spend, which means, I am going to have to pull back on the amount of the buy to compensate for your fees. This is a gamble though, as I'm assuming what you say is true. I mean, you could optimize the campaign and then tell me "well, when we got in there, the keywords you really want are more expensive, so...you're still going to get the same number of conversions or less."
Yes, could I be overreacting. But there is something you need to realize, Judge Judy.
When you ask for my time to sit down and explain how I got to the place I'm at, I don't need you to sit smugly across the desk from me. While you may not agree with them, I have 20 reasons why I can't do what you're suggesting I do. Your smugness is quickly floating to the top of the list as the number one reason why I won't do what you're suggesting. Just because you're being all Judge Judy.
Perhaps when you want someone's business, you come in with a plan on what you would do. Pitch to me. Don't just tell me everything I'm doing wrong. Clearly, I know there is opportunity or I wouldn't be talking to you in the first place.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Facebook wants you!
Yes, they certainly do. Facebook wants YOU...to spend money.
If you haven't already heard, Facebook has been changing their engagement formula (or whatever the heck you wanna call it) over the last few months. In short - posts from brand pages are getting less and less engagement and reach from their "page likers", simply because those that like the page don't get to see what the brand is posting near as often as they used to.
As an example: most of the posts from our corporate brand page used to reach approximately 1,500-3,500 users (at least according to what Facebook would tell us). Now-a-days, we're lucky if that number creeps above 700-1,000.
I'm sure that there are a lot of theories as to why they would change this, but let's just call it - Facebook wants money. They want you to sponsor your posts to be able to get in front of the people that 'like' your page. Which, didn't those same people already tell Facebook they wanted to see your posts when they 'liked' the page in the first place? Now we've just made it harder for those that actually want to see your content. Not only do they need to like your page (or be friends with someone that likes your page), but the brand is likely going to have to pay to be able to actually broadcast their message.
*sigh*
I see this potentially going one of four ways:
1. Brands will have to establish a new strategy for how they use their Facebook pages. Primarily looking at finding different types of content that will still maintain a higher level engagement/reach than just text posts or blog/link shares. This may include leveraging other channels more often for content sharing (such as Twitter or LinkedIn) to increase overall reach.
or
2. Brands will have to sponsor most of their posts if they actually want people to see them.
or
3. Keep doing what their are doing which may cause them to fail, especially if their only social media channel is on Facebook.
4. Combination of 1 & 2.
So, what is your brand doing to increase your social reach on Facebook?
If you haven't already heard, Facebook has been changing their engagement formula (or whatever the heck you wanna call it) over the last few months. In short - posts from brand pages are getting less and less engagement and reach from their "page likers", simply because those that like the page don't get to see what the brand is posting near as often as they used to.
As an example: most of the posts from our corporate brand page used to reach approximately 1,500-3,500 users (at least according to what Facebook would tell us). Now-a-days, we're lucky if that number creeps above 700-1,000.
I'm sure that there are a lot of theories as to why they would change this, but let's just call it - Facebook wants money. They want you to sponsor your posts to be able to get in front of the people that 'like' your page. Which, didn't those same people already tell Facebook they wanted to see your posts when they 'liked' the page in the first place? Now we've just made it harder for those that actually want to see your content. Not only do they need to like your page (or be friends with someone that likes your page), but the brand is likely going to have to pay to be able to actually broadcast their message.
*sigh*
I see this potentially going one of four ways:
1. Brands will have to establish a new strategy for how they use their Facebook pages. Primarily looking at finding different types of content that will still maintain a higher level engagement/reach than just text posts or blog/link shares. This may include leveraging other channels more often for content sharing (such as Twitter or LinkedIn) to increase overall reach.
or
2. Brands will have to sponsor most of their posts if they actually want people to see them.
or
3. Keep doing what their are doing which may cause them to fail, especially if their only social media channel is on Facebook.
4. Combination of 1 & 2.
So, what is your brand doing to increase your social reach on Facebook?
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
What's your retargeting strategy?
Obviously I've been busy at work the last few months...especially since the last blog I wrote was in mid-October!
Trying to think through all the projects I've been working on and something that's relevant enough to share here. Yes, I realize it's Christmas Eve and I'm blogging. I'm also enjoying a delicious ice cold beverage. I would tell you what it is, but I'd rather you guess :)
I'd like to talk about retargeting. We currently don't tackle this with our online ad campaigns (non-marketing related concerns). I think it could be of great value in future campaigns. But I also don't want to create a retargeting campaign that's highly annoying.
Would you like to hear an example of a highly annoying retargeting ad campaign? I'll share...there's a particular site I have shopped for mens underwear. May not seem like a huge deal, but the last thing I want to see when I'm visiting other sites are half naked models in banner ads trying to get me to come back to their site and buy underwear. I don't know if they spend TONS of cash on these ads, but they seem to be everywhere until I delete cookies.
Which brings me to my point or question. Does anyone know if you're able to moderate retargeting ads? I'm very interested in giving them a try, but def want to reduce the annoyance factor. Mainly: there must be a way that the ads know exactly who I am, and know if I'm not clicking, and therefore would stop displaying the ad, right? If not, then I may not be quite ready to take the dive and try retargeting just yet.
Would anyone share their strategy with retargeting ads?
Trying to think through all the projects I've been working on and something that's relevant enough to share here. Yes, I realize it's Christmas Eve and I'm blogging. I'm also enjoying a delicious ice cold beverage. I would tell you what it is, but I'd rather you guess :)
I'd like to talk about retargeting. We currently don't tackle this with our online ad campaigns (non-marketing related concerns). I think it could be of great value in future campaigns. But I also don't want to create a retargeting campaign that's highly annoying.
Would you like to hear an example of a highly annoying retargeting ad campaign? I'll share...there's a particular site I have shopped for mens underwear. May not seem like a huge deal, but the last thing I want to see when I'm visiting other sites are half naked models in banner ads trying to get me to come back to their site and buy underwear. I don't know if they spend TONS of cash on these ads, but they seem to be everywhere until I delete cookies.
Which brings me to my point or question. Does anyone know if you're able to moderate retargeting ads? I'm very interested in giving them a try, but def want to reduce the annoyance factor. Mainly: there must be a way that the ads know exactly who I am, and know if I'm not clicking, and therefore would stop displaying the ad, right? If not, then I may not be quite ready to take the dive and try retargeting just yet.
Would anyone share their strategy with retargeting ads?
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Haters gonna hate
Something I cannot figure out, and maybe you know the answer. More and more people tell me all the time (at least those in the professional digital marketing arena) that they don't like Facebook. They say that Facebook is annoying and is being taken over by brands. I even recently heard that the growth on Facebook isn't new users, it's actually for new brands and other type pages.
So, if all this is really true, and I could see that it very well could be...where is social media headed? At some point, these websites need to make money - and I understand that. If you ask me, the launch of Facebook ads is what started its demise. Now it's overrun with ads and sponsored posts...and don't worry, I add to that as well; with content as relevant as I can possibly contribute! :)
Twitter is starting to allow masses to sponsor tweets and accounts - so, in theory, they could be next to go down the drain when anyone and their dog can start spamming your already cluttered feed.
Instagram is discussing the idea of allowing brands to upload "high quality" pictures into your feed (as an ad). As you may know, Facebook is their parent company, so adding an advertising element is not much of a surprise.
I could go on and on about how this is potentially bad for social media, but I don't think I even need to continue my rant...because it's endless.
I suppose my only question would be: will the big social networks actually ALLOW a user to pay a subscription fee to avoid ads? I mean, in the old days, (ha) that's how it was done. You got an ad-free experience for paying a membership or subscription fee. Or, will social media networks continue to be ad hungry and once they realize they have hooked some users at a fast pace, unleash an advertising network.
Again, I get it. They need to turn a profit. But at what cost? Geocities what? Myspace where?
So, if all this is really true, and I could see that it very well could be...where is social media headed? At some point, these websites need to make money - and I understand that. If you ask me, the launch of Facebook ads is what started its demise. Now it's overrun with ads and sponsored posts...and don't worry, I add to that as well; with content as relevant as I can possibly contribute! :)
Twitter is starting to allow masses to sponsor tweets and accounts - so, in theory, they could be next to go down the drain when anyone and their dog can start spamming your already cluttered feed.
Instagram is discussing the idea of allowing brands to upload "high quality" pictures into your feed (as an ad). As you may know, Facebook is their parent company, so adding an advertising element is not much of a surprise.
I could go on and on about how this is potentially bad for social media, but I don't think I even need to continue my rant...because it's endless.
I suppose my only question would be: will the big social networks actually ALLOW a user to pay a subscription fee to avoid ads? I mean, in the old days, (ha) that's how it was done. You got an ad-free experience for paying a membership or subscription fee. Or, will social media networks continue to be ad hungry and once they realize they have hooked some users at a fast pace, unleash an advertising network.
Again, I get it. They need to turn a profit. But at what cost? Geocities what? Myspace where?
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Expert schmecktert
I just need to put something out there. Digital marketing, social media, email campaigns - and everything in between...continue to evolve daily. DAILY. DAILY.
Thank you for reading the word "daily" three times.
I have something to get off my chest to those folks that call themselves 'experts'. Yes. I'm talking about the people that are "self proclaimed" experts in digital anything. I don't think you can really claim to be an expert when things change daily.
That said, I do think it is okay to accept that as a compliment. For example, if a peer or another digital marketeer said "Josh, you rock out digital marketing. You're the only one I know with this type of expertise and skill set. You're a valuable asset to our organization and the marketing community."
To that I would say, thank you. BUT I think it's something totally different to claim to be an expert at something that changes daily, and you KNOW it changes.
Another example. Let's say you're a barista at Starbucks. Can you be an expert barista? Absolutely. Brewing the perfect cup of coffee is a craft. You have to learn how, and for the most part, things don't change. You've got beans, water and a machine of your choice. You can choose to use that same machine the rest of your life and still make and sell coffee and have it be delicious (just make sure you clean the filters on occasion).
I hope there are others that agree with me. If not, they are probably experts in digital marketing.
Thank you for reading the word "daily" three times.
I have something to get off my chest to those folks that call themselves 'experts'. Yes. I'm talking about the people that are "self proclaimed" experts in digital anything. I don't think you can really claim to be an expert when things change daily.
That said, I do think it is okay to accept that as a compliment. For example, if a peer or another digital marketeer said "Josh, you rock out digital marketing. You're the only one I know with this type of expertise and skill set. You're a valuable asset to our organization and the marketing community."
To that I would say, thank you. BUT I think it's something totally different to claim to be an expert at something that changes daily, and you KNOW it changes.
Another example. Let's say you're a barista at Starbucks. Can you be an expert barista? Absolutely. Brewing the perfect cup of coffee is a craft. You have to learn how, and for the most part, things don't change. You've got beans, water and a machine of your choice. You can choose to use that same machine the rest of your life and still make and sell coffee and have it be delicious (just make sure you clean the filters on occasion).
I hope there are others that agree with me. If not, they are probably experts in digital marketing.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Don't Cry Wolf
I'll get straight to the point on this one. If you're complaining about a brand, experience or something similar in social media, I find it difficult to consider your feedback as genuine when I see your compliant and proceed to review your ultra-negative tweet feed.
As a helpful hint, don't abuse your social media channels, especially twitter. Granted, once you post it, it immediately becomes old news. However, for those of us who find a single tweet interesting, if we comb through your other tweets and find that you will rant about anything and everything, without a genuine contribution to the digital community, you lose credability very quickly.
Use your brain when you post. Also, if you can't fit it into 140 characters, link your followers to a blog. Tweeting 5 tweets back to back, telling your story on twitter is rather annoying and defeats the purpose of twitter. It's called microblogging for a reason!
Uh oh, I just blogged a negative blog about negative tweeting. #doublestandard
As a helpful hint, don't abuse your social media channels, especially twitter. Granted, once you post it, it immediately becomes old news. However, for those of us who find a single tweet interesting, if we comb through your other tweets and find that you will rant about anything and everything, without a genuine contribution to the digital community, you lose credability very quickly.
Use your brain when you post. Also, if you can't fit it into 140 characters, link your followers to a blog. Tweeting 5 tweets back to back, telling your story on twitter is rather annoying and defeats the purpose of twitter. It's called microblogging for a reason!
Uh oh, I just blogged a negative blog about negative tweeting. #doublestandard
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Digicoma
Perhaps my blog died for MONTHS. #awkward
I just pulled up my blog to see when the last time I posted was, and it was May. Ummmm yeah, it's September. I've been very busy, apparently. On a personal note, we moved (bought a new house, sold the other one)...and we're now living in a new city/state. Not that that's an excuse to not blog, but I suppose I feel this blog has a specific purpose, less about me and more about ppc. So perhaps it's time that I muddied the water a bit and mixed the two. After all, I am just a person...that happens to love digital marketing, social media and ppc. Therefore, I am going to try and fill in the gaps with personal garbage. Now that I've done that...
I think I'm going to talk about Facebook Newsfeed ads. I have a love/hate relationship with those new bugers. If you haven't tried them yet, I'd encourage you to put on a suit of armor (if your get your feelings hurt easily) and give it a try!
I can't recall when FB NF ads came to the real world, but my guess is that it was spring/summer 2013. We decided to give them a try during a summer promotion. My thought was that I wanted to have some of my ads displaying in people's newsfeeds. You know, like all the other cool ads I see on my iPhone 5. (PS - I ordered the 5s and it arrives tomorrow!!)
Ahem, back to NF ads, what I've seen so far with these ads is that they get much fewer impressions but an AWESOME CTR, specifically when you compare them to the right column ads. So, that is really cool, right? People see your ad and actually click on it and check out stuff on your landing page. I even saw a few conversions - which, considering we were asking them to fill out a rather extensive application, I was impressed with.
That said, now it's time for Debbie Downer to weigh in...and this is what you'll need your suit of armor for - the comments. Yes, people can comment on those bad boys. I guess I didn't really think that part all the way through. As many of us know, the newsfeed ads reach beyond your current fb fan base. Therefore, people that DON'T like your page see the ad - and also get the opportunity to tell you what they think. As some of the people that I work with would say, it's like putting an ad in front of someone and handing them a microphone and saying "what do you think of this?" Most digital advertising doesn't allow for people to comment or interact with you, so just be ready for that. You'll probably want your social media manager involved to help you monitor those ads and the comments. We saw questions about "how do I get this" to "here is my phone number, will you call me?" Yes, I can't make this up. That all happened.
I don't have the strength to share with you some of the comments we saw that were negative. That comes from anyone that has had a negative experience with your brand and has chosen to take their business elsewhere...and then they see your ad and it brings up all those old feelings. Similar to seeing your ex at the bar - doesn't matter if you just broke up or if it's been 3 years, you still have those feelings.
I'd say, there is a value in using newsfeed ads in your digital marketing strategy, and they have a higher success/click rate than the traditional right column Facebook ads. Just be ready for the social aspect if you give them a try. They are not "set it and forget it" type ads.
I just pulled up my blog to see when the last time I posted was, and it was May. Ummmm yeah, it's September. I've been very busy, apparently. On a personal note, we moved (bought a new house, sold the other one)...and we're now living in a new city/state. Not that that's an excuse to not blog, but I suppose I feel this blog has a specific purpose, less about me and more about ppc. So perhaps it's time that I muddied the water a bit and mixed the two. After all, I am just a person...that happens to love digital marketing, social media and ppc. Therefore, I am going to try and fill in the gaps with personal garbage. Now that I've done that...
I think I'm going to talk about Facebook Newsfeed ads. I have a love/hate relationship with those new bugers. If you haven't tried them yet, I'd encourage you to put on a suit of armor (if your get your feelings hurt easily) and give it a try!
I can't recall when FB NF ads came to the real world, but my guess is that it was spring/summer 2013. We decided to give them a try during a summer promotion. My thought was that I wanted to have some of my ads displaying in people's newsfeeds. You know, like all the other cool ads I see on my iPhone 5. (PS - I ordered the 5s and it arrives tomorrow!!)
Ahem, back to NF ads, what I've seen so far with these ads is that they get much fewer impressions but an AWESOME CTR, specifically when you compare them to the right column ads. So, that is really cool, right? People see your ad and actually click on it and check out stuff on your landing page. I even saw a few conversions - which, considering we were asking them to fill out a rather extensive application, I was impressed with.
That said, now it's time for Debbie Downer to weigh in...and this is what you'll need your suit of armor for - the comments. Yes, people can comment on those bad boys. I guess I didn't really think that part all the way through. As many of us know, the newsfeed ads reach beyond your current fb fan base. Therefore, people that DON'T like your page see the ad - and also get the opportunity to tell you what they think. As some of the people that I work with would say, it's like putting an ad in front of someone and handing them a microphone and saying "what do you think of this?" Most digital advertising doesn't allow for people to comment or interact with you, so just be ready for that. You'll probably want your social media manager involved to help you monitor those ads and the comments. We saw questions about "how do I get this" to "here is my phone number, will you call me?" Yes, I can't make this up. That all happened.
I don't have the strength to share with you some of the comments we saw that were negative. That comes from anyone that has had a negative experience with your brand and has chosen to take their business elsewhere...and then they see your ad and it brings up all those old feelings. Similar to seeing your ex at the bar - doesn't matter if you just broke up or if it's been 3 years, you still have those feelings.
I'd say, there is a value in using newsfeed ads in your digital marketing strategy, and they have a higher success/click rate than the traditional right column Facebook ads. Just be ready for the social aspect if you give them a try. They are not "set it and forget it" type ads.
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