- BLOG BEAG –

Unwieldy links spilling over lines, messing up pages, making a nonsense of your tweets? The following table of URL shortening software might help. It’s a summary of what we could find, what they work with and most importantly from our point of view, can you make a custom URL? It’s not definitive (what is these days?). So tell us if we’ve missed something or update us if you’ve found an even better option.

Our preference? BudURL. It was designed from the start to give small businesses and marketers insight into click traffic.

The Agency is pleased and grateful to have been given permission to circulate the detail of a special eMarketer report “Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn” (copyright holder: e-Marketer).

copyright: eMarketer

Although the language is somewhat US-centric, this is a quality report with very worthwhile suggestions of how to market your way through a downturn.

For marketers looking to not only survive, but possibly even thrive in these recessionary times, eMarketer has identified seven strategies made possible by the Internet.

‘Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn’ by Geoffrey Ramsey, CEO at eMarketer, is being circulated to coincide with the launch of the Dublin 2009 Praxis internet marketing seminar programme on at the Grand Hotel Malahide on 26th March 2009. An event well worth noting. For further details and a copy of the Report please also see our download page on the main site.

The headlines (note especially Strategies 4, 5 and 6) of the ‘Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn’ Report are:

1. Strategy 1- Get with the ‘accountability’ program
   Particularly in lean times, CEOs are going to be looking for accountability across all departments-including marketing programs.
2. Strategy 2 – Search: a necessity for marketers in a depressed economy
   “There’s a focus on efficiency during these leaner times. Advertisers are putting more
   concentration on maximizing direct response. The Internet is the most efficient
   direct response machine ever invented.”
3. Strategy 3. Beyond Search: Do not ignore the power of branding online
   Search accounts for over 40% of all online advertising dollars spent in the US. Beyond the debate over whether search is most effective as a direct response or branding tactic, one thing is clear, if marketers only do search, they are missing 70% to 80% of their
   market opportunity. Search works best when it is complemented by online branding
   efforts that create awareness, interest and desire among prospects. Often the idea to search for a particular item comes from brand advertising.
4. Strategy 4 – Stay close to customers
   Obviously, when times are tough, marketers should attempt to stay as close as they can to their core customers. Fortunately, the Web provides a number of opportunities that allow this to be done as efficiently as possible. With the vast majority of adults online, and much higher penetration among teens and millennials, according to eMarketer estimates, the Internet has reached the threshold of becoming a mass medium. In addition to scale, it also accounts for an increasingly large share of consumer media time.
5. Strategy 5 – Engender trust
   Trust is the currency of brands, and it has never been harder to create or hold on to.
6. Strategy 6 – Engage prospects and customers via video
   The online video revolution has begun. Marketers, content publishers and (especially) television networks are taking notice. The production costs and ease of distribution for online video make it attractive for brand marketers looking to save precious marketing dollars while allowing them to engage their customers with sight, sound, motion and emotion-all the elements that make for compelling brand messages. At the very least, marketers can achieve cost-efficiencies by taking the video assets they already own-including television commercials, video sales demonstrations, videotaped customer testimonials, promotional films and so forth-and putting
   them online.
7. Strategy 7 – test, test, test
   This last strategy is more of a marketing mindset. With marketing budgets slashed everywhere and most consumers in a similar slo-mo spending mode, now is really a
   terrific time to experiment. Not on wacky, unproven tactics that only get the attention of media headlines, but on practical, data supported success strategies that marketers are already deploying today, many of which are discussed in this whitepaper.

The Report is also located at: http://www.praxisnow.ie/base/Seven-Strategies.htm

The Seminars reference page is: http://praxisnow.ie/seminars.

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The Ryanair v blogger affair gets more and more interesting in terms of the reach of the blogging community. Anyone not convinced of the power of blogs should check out this story. For those of you unfamiliar with the primary source check it out here. See posting # 10 in particular.

We’ve been tracking (j-roe-master) the postings since the affair first started just to see the growth. RTE and CNN featured the story on 26/2/09. It may have been a flash in the pan, but boy what a big flash, and a very big pan.

It may only have generated approx 437 direct postings in just over a week but the story has gone around the world via CNN, RTE TV and the online press, trade and academic blogs in Europe and America.

Remember, it all started on February 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am with one posting on a freelance web designers blog. One guy in his bedroom generated publicity and interaction worth tens of thousands of euro from reputable mainstream traditional (and expensive) media in Ireland, Germany, Italy, America, Germany and more on the basis of what was in essence a public email.

Blogging is more than a technology and something you should consider as a small but increasingly significant part of your communications tool set.

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Search Marketing World Conference & Expo is coming up again on Wednesday April 1^st, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Northwood, Dublin.

On previous occasions the Agency has seen the value in attending this event. This is especially so now when new and better ways to do things should be investigated and discussed. This is only the third annual Search Marketing World conference in Ireland.

This Conference is not just for techies or agency heads but should also be attended by advertising budget holders who want to increase their understanding of the options available to them, and work with their agency to get the best value for their marketing “euro”.

Tara McDonald and myself will be attending and we’d be delighted to meet you there.

The Conference is typically broken down into three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, according to attendees level of expertise across the topics.

Of particular use are the case studies and up to date research which is presented and explained.

This year’s conference is expected to offer the following sessions:

• search marketing
• social media
• online public relations
• integration with other forms of marketing
• Keyword Research
• Search-Friendly Web Design

Further details, including the cost (approx euro350)  including an up to date Speaker list may be found at http://www.searchmarketingworld2009.com

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Twitter home page

To twitter, or not to twitter? How did it all start? Follow this link to a fascinating insider’s account of the creation of the globe’s latest social networking phenomenon.