BrightCite

By: Curt Conrad
President, BrightCite Inc.

In my last post I discussed how adoption of feed readers are turning RSS into an up and coming online advertising channel.  The channel is relatively new and inexpensive, not to mention uncrowded.  This is a great time to get in on the ground floor and get ahead of the pack.

Here’s some info on how RSS is being integrated into online ads:

From the post: Turn Ads Into Content & They Work Better:

"In late September, several marketers — including Symantec — rolled out ad units that pulled content into ad banners straight from RSS feeds of those advertisers’ corporate blogs. I just reviewed click-through data for Symantec’s first twenty days, and the early data suggest that RSS-powered deliver better performance, both in terms of click-through rates and engagement.

Normal ads (whether they’re video ads on TV, banner ads on the web or billboards along the freeway) experience “creative fatigue” over time. Creative fatigue means, in essence, our eyes get bored with the same creative after we’ve seen it too often, and we stop noticing it altogether. If you plot the performance of a single creative execution over time, with time passing left to right along the x-axis, it’s a sad, downward slope almost every time. This is why advertisers “refresh” their creative frequently."

Blog.memeorandum.com expalins the RSS sponsorship model being used by Techmeme (A news and blog aggregator website).

"The way it works is simple. A sponsor’s blog feed is polled every few minutes, the latest post of which appears in its assigned slot (first, second, or third).

Advantages of this approach over banner advertising are numerous. "Click-throughs" can lead to the visitor browsing, commenting on, and even subscribing to the sponsor’s blog. And a sponsor has direct control over what appears on Techmeme simply by posting."

Here’s how they’re doing it. (Notice the sponsored posts on the right coming from the advertisers Blog Via RSS feed)

This is an exceptional ad model because it hits the intersection of Consumer and Advertiser value.  The consumer can self-select meaningful content that stays relevant because it’s constantly updated.  The advertiser’s product and services then become next in line for the consumers attention.  Even if no transaction takes place, a consumer clicking through to the advertisers blog can set off a chain reaction of back end marketing value through list building,consumer comment feedback, community development, analytic analysis, inbound links, social networking and SEO impact. 

We’ll keep our eyes on this as it evolves.  But there is no doubt RSS has and will continue to develop into a powerful online marketing and advertising tool for small businesses. We’re working on integrating a similar model in our upcoming Xtenda™ release.  Stay tuned…

Many people are familiar with pay-per-click advertising models.  However, the popularity of the channel has driven prices for good keywords through the roof.  Click fraud continues to be a problem as well.  Small business marketers would do well to understand the next up and coming marketing channel - advertising on RSS feeds.

Essentially, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds allow people to subscribe to specific content.  That subscription is realized through a feed reader that is automatically updated each time new content is posted.  Below is an example of Google Readers RSS Reader - I’ve also included their description of the free product:

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Keep track of your favorite websites

Stay up to date
Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won’t miss a thing.

Simplify your reading experience
Google Reader shows you all your favorite sites in one convenient place. It’s like your inbox, for the web.

Discover new content
Millions of sites publish feeds with their latest updates, and our built in feed search makes it easy to find new content that interests you.

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What This Means For You
RSS feed readers allows readers to build their own newspapers or magazines from only the content that matters to them.  Because RSS feeds tend to provide very specific content it holds great promise for putting highly targeted advertising in front of a person at the height of their potential product / service interest.

Several companies are trying to provide RSS feed Pay-Per-Click advertising models as Google and other PPC advertisers have done with search engines.  Two of these companies - Feedburner and Pheedo have also release some stats involving RSS usage and feed reader adoption. 

According to Pheedo:

Here is a chart by FeedBurner showing top feed readers.  If you do not currently use a feed reader I encourage you to try one of the readers from the chart below.  Getting comfortable with using RSS technology is something that will pay off big for you in the future…

By: Curt Conrad
President, BrightCite Inc.

Web design students are often taught the C.R.A.P. acronym as a way to remember the key fundamentals of great design.  They are as follows:

• Contrast
  Elements that aren’t the same should be very different so they stand out.  If they are too similar it confuses the user into seeing a relation that doesn’t exist. Strong contrast between page elements allows the user’s eye to flow from one element to another down the page rather than creating a ocean of similarity that’s monotonous and not communicative.

• Repetition
  Repeat styles down the page to create a cohesive feel.  For consistency, if your style related elements are the same way in one area, continue that trend for all other areas.

• Alignment
  Everything on the page needs to be visually connected to something else.  Nothing should be out of place or distinct from the other design elements.

• Proximity
  Proximity creates related meaning: elements that are related should be grouped together, whereas separate design elements should have enough space in between to communicate they are different.

Writing C.R.A.P. Content
The C.R.A.P. guidelines will help you put together a nice looking website - but what about getting and converting qualified leads?  C.R.A.P. to the rescue again.  Your website design becomes more powerful when you connect the C.R.A.P. principles to your content development and online marketing strategy.  Here is how to create C.R.A.P. content that will get you noticed more by search engines and help turn visitors to your website into paying customers:

• Contrast
  Create content that differentiates your products and services from competitors and other alternative solutions.  Create a distinctive Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that captures the essence of your brand.  A good USP answers your potential customer’s question - "Who are you and why should I care?"  Write content that helps readers immediately appreciate your unique value.

• Repetition
  Repeat the benefits your customers receive from doing business with you from several different angles.  Keep reminding them through words, testimonials, captioned pictures, awards, top ten reasons, etc… why you are the best choice for them.  Place call to action links on every page multiple times.  The more you repeat a specific action you want a visitor to take, the more likely they will be to take it.

• Alignment
  Connect your content to meeting the customers needs, eliminating their frustrations and accommodating their preferences.  Make your web content show you "understand" the prospect.  To do this, put yourself in your customer’s shoes and create web content that answers questions before they ask them.  Create clickstreams that segment your customers by how they use your product or service.  When your web content is aligned with the visitor they will feel like your website is reading their mind.

• Proximity
  Make it fast and easy for a customer to take action.  Each page should give them an option to "call, e-mail, download or register".  It’s important to be close by when their impulse to do business with you strikes.  Also, group and suggest your related products and services on each page.  Help the visitor easily transition and see the connections between your different offerings.  Content that guides the reader from one benefit to the next opens doors for you to show them more of what you have to offer.

So for better online business results make sure your web pages are full of C.R.A.P.

The picture below represents a visitor to your website.  She’s your potential customer.  She is the same person, yet a different age in each picture.  How does her age shape how she perceives your company?  At one age she may be your customer.  At another she may purchase your products or services for her children.  What is her lifetime value to your company?  How many people will she refer to you?  How can you keep her loyal to your business for life?  I suggest the place to start is making your company the same yet different for her.

By: Curt Conrad
President, BrightCite Inc.

Great websites have a purpose.  In business that purpose should be tied to measurable results.   Many small businesses don’t measure the results of their website.  Those that do typically quantify results by transactions made on the site.

While transactions are an important metric they often fall short of providing overall website performance results.  Why?  Online transactions do not represent how your website influences business done with your company through other channels.

Do You Measure Money Page Views?
At BrightCite, we feel a key measure of overall website performance is the viewing of "Money Pages".  "Money Pages" are those that require a specific action from the visitor.  It may be - buying, registering, contacting, referring, submitting or any other relevant transactional verb.

It Doesn’t Matter If They Convert
A high number of "money page views" indicates your website is functioning in a healthy way even if the money page is abandoned before a transaction is made.  It shows interest in your offering as evidenced by a visitors willingness to follow an information trail (click stream) to the end.  Analyzing this trail provides plenty of insight on what’s working on your site and what’s not.

If your money page views are strong but are not converting that’s easy to fix.  Test adjusting the offer, reducing the number of registration fields, etc.  Getting people to the money page is the much more difficult task.

The Hidden Value Of Money Page Views
Another reason money page views are a strong indicator of your website’s performance is they can usually be traced to a visitor doing business with your company offline.  Many people use the web as a research and information tool.  They want to learn, compare and get comfortable with your offering.  Once done they prefer to transact with you on the phone or in person.  However, your website was still a key part of their sales cycle.  Money page views show you that prospects are consuming your information.

An example can be seen with a recent client we redesigned.  They are making an online offer for a free week membership.  One of their money pages was a five field registration form  They were disappointed the registration form was not producing the results they expected.  I explained that the form was only one results indicator of the online offer.

At that point the client said their walk-in traffic was picking up.  A quick look at their analytics showed their money page as the number two most visited page on the site.  I asked the client to ask every walk-in if they had been on the website.

The Answer Was Not Surprising.
90% of the walk-ins had visited the site and commented positively on it.  They used the site to gather information but preferred to get their free membership in person at the club.

Time and Money Never Lie
One way you can be sure about a consumers behavior is when they pay you.  They have essentially voted with their dollars. Their vote was for doing business with you. 

The second way consumers vote is with the clock.  If someone spends time on your site it shows a commensurate level of interest - they are voting with their time.  Money page views let you measure those votes .

So focus on guiding your website visitors to your money pages.  Remember, when it comes to "money page views" - time means money for you.

Seth Godin makes a great point. 

"The right strategy makes any tactic work better. The right strategy puts less pressure on executing your tactics perfectly.

Here’s the obligatory January skiing analogy: Carving your turns better is a tactic. Choosing the right ski area in the first place is a strategy. Everyone skis better in Utah, it turns out.

If you are tired of hammering your head against the wall, if it feels like you never are good enough, or that you’re working way too hard, it doesn’t mean you’re a loser. It means you’ve got the wrong strategy."

Strategy is hard.  Tactics easy.
If you don’t have a clearly defined web strategy, tactics don’t matter much.  Search Engine Optimization, Linking, Pay Per Click, Blogs, Wikis, Widgets, Social Networking, Tagging, Video, Podcasting, Commenting, RSS feeds and all the other web marketing platforms should each have their own strategy that serves the master strategy behind your web properties.

When your strategy is in place the right tactics can  be recognized.   If you want to build powerful online assets - start with strategy and the right tactics will become clear…

By :Curt Conrad
President, BrightCite Inc.

Words Say.  Pictures Convey.
The words behind the execs in the picture below are vibrant, exciting - preparing us to be wowed.  Is this genuine?  Not from the looks on the faces of those who are selling them.  Sure - this picture may have been taken out of context - before the big show, before the execs needed to be "on".  But if you were about to start what Steve Balmer calls “the biggest product launch in Microsoft’s history" and had a New York Times photographer in front of you snapping photos wouldn’t you be a little more genuinely excited? 

From left, Kevin B. Rollins of Dell, Sean Maloney of Intel, Steven A. Ballmer of Microsoft, Hisatsugu Nonaka of Toshiba, Hector Ruiz of Advanced Micro Devices and Todd Bradley of Hewlett-Packard helped kick off the Vista operating system Monday in New York.

Your Website Is Always On.  Or Is It?
I can’t help but think of this picture as a website.  A website can say the right words, but if you get the sense it doesn’t mean them,  it feels wrong.  The kicker, your website is literally always on, so it better be "always on".

Perception Power
We all know a genuine smile makes a powerful first impression.  It gives us immediate feedback as to how receptive a person is to us.  When someone genuinely smiles at us it’s a universal and non-verbal symbol that communicates - "welcome, I’m glad to see you and am interested in getting to know YOU better".  A genuine smile is personal, validating us and creating instant rapport.  It’s about giving, not taking.  It mysteriously and magnetically attracts us. What an opportunity…

Fake Is Worse Than Frown
On the other hand, a fake smile can be insulting.  It communicates "I’m tolerating you because I have too or I want something from you.  It’s worse than a frown because we are being lied to.  A fake smile makes us feel less than zero.  It’s about taking, not giving.  And that repels us.  What a shame…

What kind of smile does your website have?  Does it welcome, attract, create rapport?  Or does it say one thing but do another?  Remember - you’re always on…