From instant price comparisons, to first hand consumer reviews, to video demonstrations, shoppers have a plethora of information about any product only a click away.  And indeed, consumers are taking advantage of this wealth of information.   For instance, every month, over 80 million consumers use shopping comparison sites; some sites, like Cnet, Bizrate, and Yahoo! Shopping each attract over 20 million shoppers.  In fact, only 6% of consumers surveyed as part of the Online Shopper Intelligence™ study indicated that they conducted no research prior to their last online purchase.  So, among the myriads of online resources available, which do shoppers use most often?

Overwhelmingly, consumers depend on one resource more than others to help them shop online—search engines.   3 out of 5 shoppers said that they always or often use search engines when shopping online.  More consumers use search engines than they do coupon sites, retailer emails, consumer reviews, or shopping comparison sites.

More interesting than what sources consumers use in general is the variability of use across industry.  For instance, sales assistants, both in store and on web chat, are utilized by online shoe shoppers more than any other shoppers.  Online kitchenware & household appliance purchasers are among the most reliant on in store product displays.   The differences in consumer behavior across various industries have vast implications for retailers within each sector.

Take the apparel industry for example.  Apparel shoppers are the least likely to use search engines.  Only 1 out of 10 apparel shoppers stated that they used a search engine for their last online purchase.  Instead, apparel shoppers rely on retailer emails and catalogs to learn about products.  That means consumers are more likely to purchase from apparel retailers they have purchased from in the past and are less likely to discover new retailers.   Retailers looking to acquire new customers have to work harder to find and woo consumers.

Electronic shoppers, on the other hand, actively seek out new products and manufactures.  Search engines, professional reviews, social generated reviews, and recommendations from family and friends were among the top 5 resources used.  Electronic manufactures can, therefore, reach and influence these consumers more easily and though a variety of mediums.

It is essential for retailers to understand how consumers in their space shop online in order to effectively retain and acquire customers.  Instead of trying to utilize all available outlets, retailers should understand their particular customer niche and develop strategies unique to them.  In an environment with tight consumer wallets and even tighter marketing budgets, retailers can’t afford to invest their money in resources their customers don’t use.

–Debra Miller

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Consider that $3 million you just dropped on a 30-second Super Bowl spot a waste of money — unless you’ve got a smart, calculated search-and-social-media strategy behind it.

Last year, the ads from the big game racked up 99.5 million collective online views, according to Visible Measures, which talliesviral-video data; 98.7 million people watched the game on TV, per Nielsen. It’s further proof that while Super Bowl is still valuable because it’s one of the last high-profile, mass-media TV events, it’s maximized with an ongoing online effort.

“Social media provides a longer shelf life for people’s campaigns,” said Anthony Iaffaldano, senior director-strategy and innovation at Reprise Media. “It’s about who’s got a plan in place to take the equity they’re building through all this activity and activate it after the game. Social media becomes more valuable as you continue to engage.”

About 90% of brands had their Super Bowl ads up on YouTube in 2009, estimates a Google executive, although that’s just the bare minimum. A quarter of the brands in the Bowl tapped social networks to try to drive additional comments, ratings and conversation. And more than two-thirds bought paid-search ads against their brands or products.

This year, those figures will be even higher, setting the stage for what might be the most significant study to date on the interplay between paid and earned media. Marketers such as E-Trade are already planning how they’re going to extend their spots online.

And while the buzz of the game’s commercials will provide a healthy dose of PR value, most of the big winners from past years alsorelied on paid-media support. Visible Measures said paid promotion more than doubled the reach of a Super Bowl ad on the web. In that regard, brands in the game have come a long way. In 2005, only 21% bothered buying paid search around Super Bowl ads; last year that figure more than tripled to 65%, according to Reprise Media, which creates an annual Super Bowl scorecard rating advertisers’ online efforts.

So it’s no surprise the online-video-sharing sites are building major programs around the Super Bowl, hoping to capitalize off the dollars marketers will be putting against the game. YouTube is again promoting its Ad Blitz, and Break.com has created an entire editorial channel around the event, complete with its own custom content it can sell.

“One thing marketers are struggling with is ‘Do we put [the ad] up on our site and try to drive people there?’ or ‘Do we put the content on other sites?’” said Andrew Budkofsky, senior VP-sales and partnerships at Break.com. “It depends on the marketer and its goals — if you’re running a specific promotion you might send people to your site and that’s why we do the custom content — so we can speak to a promotion and do editorial plugs. We can create custom content in a video.”

Here are lessons from Super Bowl’s past to make sure you make the most of the big game.

CAPITALIZE ON PREGAME BUZZ

According to Google, searches for “Super Bowl commercials” start rising about a week before the game at a rate of 10% to 20% a day leading up to the game. (They peaked the day after the Bowl.) Meanwhile, Visible Measures reports pre- and post-game buzz can account for more than 50% of a campaign’s reach.

E-Trade is the poster child for a smart pre-game strategy; last year it released outtakes from its talking toddler campaign several days ahead of time. It took over the YouTube home page the Thursday before the game to promote the spots.

E-Trade also bought search terms on YouTube as well as on the main engines and set up a Facebook and Twitter account. Today, the E-Trade baby is still yammering away to its 3,000-plus Twitter followers. (A recent gem: “Can someone give me the 411 for the tooth fairy? Are milk teeth a commodity? If not, mine are staying in my mouth.”) No surprise, it’s back in the game again this year and already working on its online push.

BUILD VIRALITY INTO YOUR CREATIVE

Doritos has epitomized this for the past two years, running contests to see who could create the big game spot. The strategy capitalizes on the fact that friends and families of the finalists spread the word around the web since votes help determine the winner.

GoDaddy falls into this category as well. While its ads appeal to the lowest common denominator, the narrative it’s built around them generates interest. Several weeks before the 2008 game, CEO Bob Parsons started moaning that early versions of the ad were too racy for network TV — but not too racy for GoDaddy.com. In 2009 the ads were approved in advance, but viewers got to vote on which ones they wanted to see in the game. Visible Measures also advises leaving room for social interpretation — will the ad be spoofed? Is there something for viewers to discuss?

BUY SMART SEARCH TERMS

Cars.com recognized competition for search terms such as “Super Bowl ads” would be stiff, so it also bought terms related to its incredibly detailed ad about a genius named David Abernathy. Among its more obscure paid-search terms were “Gompers,” the name of Abernathy’s pet rabbit, and “Aristotle,” his guinea pig.

Smart search is also about recognizing what people are likely not searching for the day after your ad airs. “People searching for Super Bowl ads may not be directly interested in peripheral marketing campaigns,” said Jerry Canning, finance industry director at Google.

THINK REAL-TIME

Gone are the days when a CMO can enjoy an uninterrupted game in the network’s luxury box. Today smart marketers will be talking on Twitter, tweaking search campaigns and leaving no rock unturned in their quest to drive impressions. Like E-Trade’s baby, the star of H&R Block’s spot, Tax Guy Murray, turned up on Twitter and actively reached out to people talking about the ad or taxes — during the game. “My prediction is this year you’ll have armies of marketers fanning the flames of their ads on Twitter,” said Pete Blackshaw, exec VP, Nielsen Digital Strategic Services. “‘Did you like it? Check out this link. Thanks so much for the high five.’ Marketers are getting smarter about taking the earliest signals, even from early PR events, and parlaying those into something that would increase odds.”

Real-time thinking also applies to media buying. Search is a near-immediate channel and marketers can monitor the conversation and help that inform their buying. You might also consider holding money back so you can make short-notice buys on the sites where the campaign is getting the most traction.

DON’T FORGET THE CALL TO ACTION

Denny’s had one of the most-talked-about promotions — a free Grand Slam breakfast — but forgot to offer up a URL or other direction where people could get more information. According to Reprise Media’s Scorecard, the marketer’s website crashed right after the ad aired and was down for the rest of the game.

And if you’re going to do some sort of call to action — or buy paid media or search — make sure the landing page fits. In other words, don’t do what Pixar did last year. According to Reprise, it had a call to action and a URL with previews — something the other films in the game lacked. But, it wrote “in spite of this, the actual site was not integrated at all with the Super Bowl ad and there were no paid search ads to help direct confused searchers to the ‘right’ page.”

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The last decade was defined by search. The next decade will be defined by social media. Social media is penetrating the mainstream worldwide. It is delivering on the promise of the web, to make accessible and to connect everything and everyone.

For far too long businesses have operated like the “Television” model – they decided what you watched, the time you watched it,they told us that it was good and we had to accept it. That is how the advertising industry works to this day, same for newspapers,movies, music, banks and many other businesses in all industries.

The VCR first attempted to change this – users could time shift their viewing by recording a show and watching it when they wanted to and as many times as they wanted to. However, the VCR did not have a mechanism to connect users so the impact on the television model was minimal if any. Today things are different everyone is becoming connected. Consider this, India is poised to go to 11-digit mobile phone numbers sometime this year (2010). India’s combined operators have issued over 800 million phone numbers to date. It won’t be long before they hit a billion phone numbers. One billion connected who understand that the information flow is not one way. Hence the foundations of the social web are already in place. So what are the implications for business?

Social media is putting the power back in the hands of the user. Users understand they have choices, they are aware of more things, they have a better grasp on global issues and hence they are making smarter choices. Users cannot be sold to like before so businesses have to figure our new ways of selling, marketing and branding on the social web. The “television” model will not work anymore. You can already see it happening in music, movies, newspaper and it is moving like a force into every vertical.

Even the television industry is being disrupted – remember the Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien fiasco – an ad agency advised them that if they moved the Jay Leno show to 10 pm they would get an extra hour and so they could all make more money selling advertising. It backfired. Users will not be sold to anymore.

The US market is completely saturated in practically every industry hence businesses will have to look to new markets for growth. Given the new market dynamics businesses have to rethink even the basics such as their product design, messaging, delivery and pricing. It cannot be easily done by hiring an ad/design agency in a foreign country – the rate at which users are adopting social media the agencies are completely out of touch when it comes to helping you – because their business model is based on the “television” model – your company needs to start walking and talking what you customer are walking and talking. That is why your company needs to own the social media process and why social media should be a key component of your marketing strategy.

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi understands the new market dynamics very clearly. She knows that the company’s new customers are not in the US. The average American drinks 800 soft drinks per year compared that with 35 per person in China. She also knows that you cannot reach the global audience through one medium. That is why she decided not to spend $20 million on SuperBowl ads, which has a very small audience and decided to spend it on social media marketing. Also, SuperBowl is a one time event whereas social media is on going. She totally caught her competitor Coca Cola off guard – they were listening to their agency that probably said “We could get that SuperBowl spot for less now that Pepsi has backed out and probably win the award for best ad agency for SuperBowl”.

Social media is also changing the process of getting your product to market. It is becoming incorporated into the product innovation lifecycle. These tools help business to listen to their customers and incorporate input and feedback from employees, suppliers and partners.

Social media is not a backroom “black magic” tactic anymore. It is real. It has moved into the boardroom, like at Pepsi. As more users connect via social applications like Facebook, where the conversations are happening,  increasingly it will be where the purchase decisions will be influenced. Unlike the “television” model, with social media you can get engaged with your customers and it is better to engage sooner than later.

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ny blogger will tell you that as soon as they made their first few posts, the pitches for coverage or product mentions came rolling in. There’s good reason for that — a mention on a few popular blogs provides plenty of benefits including brand visibility and incoming links.
Here at Website Magazine, we get plenty of pitches — from story ideas to products, every day businesses hungry for exposure send us an e-mail or product to try. Some are very effective, while others are relegated to the trash bin faster than they arrived. A proper pitch requires planning and execution.
Know Your AudienceNothing triggers the “delete” button faster than a pitch that begins something like, Dear blogger… On the other hand, using the blogger’s name or the name of the blog usually keeps them reading. This personalization of the message not only engages the reader but shows that you value their time and their blog.
In the same way, do your research and know the blog’s purpose and audience. It takes just a few minutes to read a post or two from the blog, and knowing the subject matter will show in your pitch. Nothing is more frustrating to a blogger than spending valuable time reading a pitch that is completely irrelevant to their audience. This is a common mistake and often results in a “blacklisting” of the person making the pitch — future relevant pitches risk never being seen.
Be SuccinctBloggers value their time. To be most effective, be upfront with your pitch. Tell the blogger what you want and why your product, service or announcement matters to them and their audience. If you haven’t stated your purpose withing the first two or three sentences, chances of exposure drops dramatically. If a blogger is truly interested in what you have to offer, they will take the time to learn more, if needed. After all, if you pique their interest, chances are excellent that their readers will want to know more too.
Offer SomethingBloggers want readers. And one way to ensure repeat visitors and new readers is to give something away. Based on the blog’s audience, offer something of value. It could be an online coupon, free product, free trial or free membership.
Also, tailor the offer to the specific blog via a custom coupon code or similar measure. The blogger wants to give readers the appearance of authority and value — by making your offer “exclusive” to the blog’s readers, they feel validated and the blogger benefits by becoming a valued resource. Also, people like to share inside information, giving your brand and offer a better chance of being shared to a wider audience.
Provide Resources or CreativesResearching and writing blog posts is time-consuming. It can be very frustrating to receive a good pitch, then have to crawl all over the Web looking for images, landing pages or other resources. Make sure your e-mails have everything the blogger needs — links, images, even verbiage.
Ask QuestionsIf you’re having trouble getting the attention of a particular blogger (or any blogs at all), don’t be afraid to ask very direct questions. Find out what type of pitches the blogger wants.
• What type of products are important to his or her audience?• How does the blogger prefer to be contacted?• Are there particular topics of interest that the blogger would like to cover but lacks the resources to?• Do they have an editorial calendar? If not, find out if the blogger writes any regularly-scheduled posts such as year-end wrap-ups or lists, seasonal posts, etc.

Finding the Right Blogs to PitchThere are tens of thousands of active blogs out there — what are the ones you should contact? Start by simply searching your topic with keywords. Use search engines’ custom search options like blog searches, related searches and Google’s Wonder wheel. You will find people posting on your topics and related topics. Search for topics on sites like Digg.com — find those submissions with high vote totals to identify influential blogs. Look on social networks too, for bloggers with high numbers of fans, friends and followers. Also look for popular blogs on blog aggregator sites.
When you find a few blogs to target, check some statistics. One quick and easy way is to use Compete.com to find estimated traffic levels — some blogs are very good at SEO, but might not have a very large following.
By asking questions, you give the blogger the impression that you want to become a resource for them, not just a media hound. It is very possible that you can provide material for the blogger they might not otherwise come in contact with. Think like a partner.

–Mike Phillips

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Hi all. We’re kicking off our new site and blog today and committing to posting twice a week. I’ll be writing every Monday and you can read Matthew’s posts every Friday. Thanks for joining us.

Firstly I’d like to mention the Web 2.0 Expo at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from April 22-25, 2008. Looks to be really profound with all the experts there and great training courses. I’ll be hanging out in the Marketing and Community track as well as poking around the expo to see whats new for podcasting and new media.

Here’s an excerpt from the presentation description:

“Find out how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) along with web analytics are turning online marketing from art into science. See why Facebook, MySpace, Google, and LinkedIn are creating a Social Networking Revolution and helping you make lots and lots of “friends”. Learn how to create buzz with viral marketing, social networks, the social graph, and community evangelism. This track will tell you every

thing you need to know about blogs, social networks, online videos, widgets and other online

marketing tools that make a difference.”

So if you’re in town, stop by and say hi – or check in with us to see what we learned. We’ll probably blog about it so check back.

Ciao.

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