Ryan Hupfer’s recent guest post on TechCrunch provides an interesting comparison between MySpace and Facebook in terms of delivering an advertising return on investment (ROI).

Ryan is the Marketing Manager for HubPages - a kind of group blog where members earn recognition and money by publishing content on their ‘Hubs’ (content-rich Internet pages). In November 2008 he tested advertising on Facebook compared with advertising on MySpace.

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One of the great appeals of Internet marketing is the ability to test, track and ultimately improve results. The Internet is a direct response marketer’s ‘dream marketing medium.’

But what about social media? Can you measure results across blogs… social networks such as Facebook and MySpace… micro-blogging sites such as Twitter… and other such media?

According to Dave Evans, author of “Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day” and contributor to The ClickZ Network, the answer is emphatically YES. And there are a variety of tools - free and paid - to help you do so.

Before you do anything, though, it’s important to measure what’s happening NOW. Once you have a baseline, you can then monitor and evaluate the impact of various initiatives.

Evans points to a number of tools for measuring social content, i.e. the ‘conversations’ about you that are currently taking place across the Internet. Free tools include Google Alerts and my recent favorite, URLFan.

You can set up Google Alerts, for example, to send you emails notifying you of mentions of your brand, website, name, product, etc in Google. But don’t just let them come into your inbox. Dave Evans recommends tracking the results in a spreadsheet. That way you can monitor changes over time.

Paid tools such as Nielsen BuzzMetrics, TNS Cymfony and Umbria are ‘turnkey’ systems that remove the requirement for you to manually record and track alerts.

In between the free tools and the turnkey, paid options, are paid tools such as Techrigy’s SM2, Radian6, and KD Paine’s DIY Dashboard from KD Paine. These allow you to finetune your intelligence searches over time and largely automate the reporting process.

Evans, however, suggests starting with manually monitoring the conversations over a 30 day period. That way you can see what kinds of things are circulating about you, which in turn, can give you an indication of what you need to track and which tool may be best for that.

Once you begin tracking your ’social media impact’ you can also start to look for correlations, trends and patterns. In particular, you might start to see correlations between the level of social media conversations, your search engine rankings, and the level of traffic to your website.

And that’s just for starters. Once you have a system for tracking your social media impact, the next step is to use the insights gained from tracking to work out how to INFLUENCE that social media impact.

Source: Dave Evans, “Social Media: Why Measurement Is Key,” ClickZ, December 10, 2008

Some analysts and research firms - eMarketer being a notable inclusion - seem to think that online advertising will keep on rising, albeit at a slower rate, over the coming year.

But in light of the current economic downturn, Nick Denton, founder of leading blog network, Gawker Media, suggests that online advertising may actually decline - and decline sharply - in 2009.

When someone with a vested interest in talking UP online advertising is so bearish… it’s worth taking note. Nick indicates that those who claim that Internet advertising is largely immune to the recession because it’s more ‘measurable’ are just kidding themselves.

Says Nick:

“The sector’s maturity also means that its underlying growth is more sluggish than it was in the late 1990s. In 2001, internet advertising swung to a 13% decline from 78% growth the previous year; this time the sector starts from a growth rate of 27%; I would hate to see what a swing as violent as the dotcom burst would look like.

As for the measurability of internet media: sure, marketers and their agencies can track engagement and clicks in great detail online; but it’s still only television advertising that can demonstrate a correlation between spending and a boost to a marketer’s sales.”

Source: Nick Denton, “Nick Denton: Media Sleepwalking Into Extinction”, Silicon Alley Insider, November 12, 2008, Silicon Alley Insider

If you’re a marketer, you already know you’re a liar (see Seth Godin’s book, ‘All Marketers Are Liars’).

And if you’re an entrepreneur, you’re also a liar.

Which means if you’re reading this newsletter, you’re doubly a liar… like me.

That is, if you agree with tech entrepreneur/marketer/venture capitalist/presenter/liar, Guy Kawasaki. Don’t know who Guy is? He’s written seven best- selling books on entrepreneurship, is a founding partner of Garage Technology Ventures, is the co-founder of Alltop.com, and is also an awesome public speaker. He also worked at Apple during the 1980s and 1990s.

According to Guy:

“Part of being an entrepreneur is that you have to lie — first of all to yourself. You have to tell yourself that you can create something, people can build it, customers will buy it and you can collect the money. If you cannot ignore the naysayers who tell you that it can’t be done, it shouldn’t be done, it isn’t necessary, you can’t be an entrepreneur. One of the best ways to ignore is to lie and deny.”

Of course, we’re talking about ‘lying’ in a positive way - not in terms of being misleading, deceitful or hurtful. (Just making sure…)

Source: Marci Alboher, “The Care and Feeding of Entrepreneurs”, The New York Times, October 22, 2008

Research by Dynamic Logic indicates that, when viewing ad-supported content on the Internet, 61 percent of U.S. adult Internet users are willing to watch between 1-5 ads per hour.

Dynamic Logic’s survey, conducted in September 2008, found that the largest single group of adult Internet users (21 percent) preferred no ads at all… but the next largest group (19 percent) was willing to view two ads per hour.

Of course, from a marketer’s perspective, it’s not all that helpful to measure ad volume by the number of ads per hour. It might be appropriate in relation to online video… but for websites, sales letters, emails, etc it’s probably more helpful to know the ideal ratio of ads to non-promotional content.

Our experience and observations suggest that when it comes to email marketing, you probably don’t want to send out any more ads or promotional offers than one for every three non-promotional articles you send. A 1:3 ratio of advertising to non-promotional (quality) content in other words. On the other hand, depending on your target audience, you may be able to have slightly more or fewer ads per non-promotional articles.

Source: eMarketer, “What’s the Right Amount of Online Advertising?”, eMarketer, October 7, 2008

If you’re interested in buying a product - let’s say it’s an information product - do you read the sales letter from start to finish?

Or do you, as Kikabink News subscriber, John H. does, scroll down to the bottom to find the price and then skim the bullet points.

Or do you do something else entirely?

Well, it’s the very fact that different readers approach sales letters in different ways that they - the more effective ones, that is - are structured and written in a way to accommodate different kinds of reader.

There are readers who read every word… skimmers who catch the main points… and ‘pick and choosers’ who look for, and focus only on, the details that matter to them. And there are those who may do any of these depending on the kind of product they’re buying, whether it was preceded by a huge pre-launch campaign of videos, etc, and other factors.

For example, when I bought my first information product in the Internet marketing niche, I read every word of what was something like a 20+ page sales letter. Just recently, when I invested in another - much more expensive - program, I focused only on some of the main points.

The difference for me was that in the first case, I had no familiarity with the product, the company behind it, or what benefits it would bring. I felt that I needed to understand exactly what I was being sold. In the second case, however, I was familiar with - and trusted - the marketer, had experienced an extensive pre-launch campaign, and was really only looking for confirmation that what was on offer was right for me.

Yesterday, I mentioned my view that if you are aiming to sell a product online that would ideally be sold by a real-life salesperson, then a sales letter is probably ideal. Similarly, a sales letter - just like a top sales person - should accommodate as many buyers as possible. It should deliver both the detail… and the salient points… it should allow for people to understand all the features and benefits… as well as convey the overall benefit… it should appeal to the emotions… and also appeal to the rational mind with logic…

The end-result is often a long sales letter. Will this turn off some people who don’t like scrolling? Probably. But, if it’s good, it will capture more people than it loses.

And remember, although YOU may not like reading through reams of copy… it doesn’t mean many of your prospects won’t. Or that they won’t simply skim or pick and choose what they read. As always, your customers (or lack thereof) will tell you whether you need to change how you present your offer.

Okay, I admit it. I’m a cliche.

I grew up wanting to be a novelist… and a rock star. I’ve written several unfinished screenplays… I have the first draft of a novel sitting at the bottom of my desk drawer…

And when I started my Internet business with my husband in 1997 what I *really* wanted to do was to create an entertainment website!

(Actually, if you want a laugh, check out the initial incarnations of Weeworld.com at Archive.org. You can’t view much now - a lot of it was in the form of Flash movies – but there is still some sufficiently embarrassing content there…)

Fortunately, I am pursuing my no.1 passion now (business) so I don’t harbor any regrets. But as a marketer I’d be foolish not to see how entertainment is integral to many aspects of marketing (e.g. major product launches), products (e.g. DVDs) and events (e.g. seminars).

I’m guessing you also see the parallels which is why Todd Krieger’s recent article about ’social shows’ is a timely food for thought. In the article, Todd discusses the rise of social entertainment company Eqal and what it regards as the ingredients of a successful social show. The ingredients are as follows:

• Two-way initial distribution of the video content.
• Multimedia storytelling i.e. not just in the form of video, but also via Twitter, photos, messages, chat rooms, etc.
• Interactivity between the show and the community.
• A social community site as the show’s hub.

Hmmm… sounds like the right ingredients for a product launch… or a membership site… or many other kinds of products and marketing initiatives…

Visit the marketing section of a bookstore and you’ll see numerous books extolling the virtues of ‘branding’. Talk to ad agencies and branding consultants and they’ll all say that the most important thing a business can do is to ‘build the brand’.

So you could be forgiven for diligently following their advice and plastering your company logo and slogan all over your website and marketing materials.

After all, you want your customers to know – and remember – who you are, right?

But what if I told you that including big graphics of your logo and slogan is, at best, confusing potential customers… and, at worst, turning them away? That no one actually cares about the name of your business, your logo or your slogan? That building your brand could actually be costing you sales?

Whoah! What am I suggesting here?

That you don’t have a catchy name, or an attractive logo, or a slogan that represents your unique selling proposition (USP)? Or that I don’t believe in the value of branding?

How could I suggest such things – after all, doesn’t my business, Kikabink, have a catchy name, a cool logo (well, I think so) and a meaningful slogan that reflects our USP? And don’t we recognize the importance of branding?

All right, let me explain…

Firstly, I do believe in the value of branding.

Branding is the ’silent marketer’ – the means by which people are attracted to, and trust and buy from you, because of who you are, not the specific products or services you sell. And branding effectiveness does rely on being recognized through a strong visual identity and powerful statement that describes what you stand for – your USP.

However, for new, small and medium sized businesses, branding isn’t the CAUSE of loyal customers and healthy sales and profits – it’s the RESULT of effective marketing that generates loyal customers and healthy sales and profits!

In other words, if you’re a relatively unknown business, emphasizing your company name and identity is useless – because your prospects don’t know who you are!

Instead, you should focus on four (4) CRITICAL marketing goals that are aimed, primarily, at generating sales and profits, and secondly, building your brand. We’ll go through these four goals - as well as some major DOs and DON’Ts in tomorrow’s issue of Kikabink News.

I was pushed off my soapbox today. This time by a Kikabink News subscriber with a beef about marketers using – or should I say MISusing - the word “free”…

Gregg (last name withheld to protect his privacy) emailed the following to me. I have edited the message for readability and to protect the innocent/guilty (depending on how you look at it). I offer my views at the end:

“Now, how many times have you seen something offered as ‘free’ when in fact it is not. I am 61 now and I think I know the meaning of “free” versus “buy one get one free”.

A prime example of this is [Name of Marketer withheld] who usually has some free items but, for the most part, if you read the fine print, you have signed up for something at $30 a month and so on.

‘Free’ to me does not mean ‘pay shipping and handling’. That means it costs whatever the shipping and handling is. Shipping and handling (S & H) of $9 for a disc means, to me, that the thing costs $9 and is not free. If it were truly free, send it to me without any S & H costs.

‘Free’ does not mean if I buy one of someone else’s product I get their deal free. It means to me that if I buy one, I get one free.

‘Free’ for 30,60 or 90 days if you show a credit card and bam, they slam your card when you order… is not free.

There seems to be far too much bullshit in the ads going on. I have returned items that I wanted just out of spite over this crap.”

What are your thoughts? Is Gregg right… or is he being pedantic?

Well, in many countries - certainly in Australia and I believe in the U.S. and U.K. - the law is firmly on Gregg’s side: if you say something is ‘free’ without any qualification you are implying that someone needn’t pay any money to get whatever you are offering.

Obviously I can’t give legal advice within the confines of this newsletter. I can say, however, that (as an Australian qualified lawyer) I have reviewed numerous promotional offers and advised clients that unless they clearly state any applicable qualification - e.g. that there’s a shipping and handling fee, or that a customer must buy something else to get the free product or service, or that the offer only applies under other limited circumstances - they are engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct by presenting the product or service as being ‘free’.

Do some marketers get away with saying ‘free’ when they don’t mean it? Sure they do. Government regulators have limited resources and simply can’t prosecute everyone. But sometimes it only takes a few people complaining before a regulator sets their sights on a particular marketer.

And just as ‘free’ attracts the attention of consumers… it also tends to attract the attention of consumer regulators.

Gregg has subsequently contacted me about a couple of other practices he objects to. I’ll share them with you in an upcoming issue… I’m not sure I entirely agree with his objections, but I’ll let him have his say.

What about you? Want to get something off your chest? Send it to me or feel free to comment on this (or any other) article in the newsletter.

If Mike Filsaime is NOT the Coca-Cola of the Internet marketing niche… he’s certainly aspiring to be.

In the lead-up to his Traffic Fusion launch, Mike has released some videos that are… quite good. They struck a chord with me for three main reasons:

1. My husband worked with Coca-Cola a couple of years back. What Mike talks about really lies at the heart of why Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most successful brands (if not THE most successful brand). It’s NOT because of advertising… it’s because of DISTRIBUTION. And while Coca-Cola generally provides products that people want, its the service the company provides to its resellers - the supermarkets, fast food chains, restaurants, cafes, gas stations, corner stores, etc - that is, at least in Australia, the secret to its ongoing dominance in non-alcoholic beverages. Not just service in terms of being friendly and responsive, but service in terms of having first class systems that, for example, lock stores into stocking its products (”do you want a free fridge with that?”) and ensuring they NEVER run out of product.
2. Mike Filsaime’s application of integration marketing is simple, powerful and do-able. I don’t know the details of Traffic Fusion (I think it includes some kind of software that allows you to create dynamic thank you page ads?), but you can watch Mike’s video and soon start applying the ideas he talks about.
3. Mike spills the beans on a few facts and figures - for example, his upsell conversion rate for ‘The 7 Figure Secrets’ launch. Whenever a top marketer gives you conversion rates and other statistics… take notes!

Here’s the link to Mike’s video (it’s free but you do need to sign up to see all the videos):

==> Traffic Fusion Pre-Launch Videos

P.S. I am not an affiliate for Traffic Fusion, haven’t seen it, and can’t pass judgment on it. However, there is value in these free videos and that’s why I recommend you check them out.