Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

The Business Blogger’s Dilemma: Trackback? Comments? Or Both?

As I've been working on the Sweetmantra blog, one of the most vexing issues I've been grappling with is whether or not to allow this blog's readers to comment on my blog postings via the "Trackback" mechanism or "Comments" mechanism or both.

The more I looked into the matter, the more I kept seeing contradictory signs.

Uber blogger Seth Godin, for instance, favours Trackback and Trackback only on his blog. Based on what I uncovered during my research into Trackback versus Comments, I can hardly blame him.

Some bloggers just offer the Comments option and omit the Trackback feature entirely. Other bloggers offer both options to their readers. And others still, like my colleague Mitch Joel (who will love the fact I mentioned him in the same post as Seth Godin), offer Trackback and Comments BUT only accept comments that are submitted in 'old-school' style via email - no doubt to avoid being blog spammed to death; more on that in a moment.

Based on the admittedly unscientific survey I conducted of about 100 business blogs, most business bloggers offer readers the ability to comment on their postings via the Comment mechanism AND the Trackback mechanism.

Chances are that if the business blogger only allows people to provide feedback using one mechanism, that the feedback option most likely offered is Comments.

Very few business bloggers appeared to offer Trackback on its own.

Here's why I think business bloggers are favouring Comments over Trackback:

Trackback is closer to the original spirit of blogging in that it helps link blogs (and responses to them) together based on similar topics. This also cleverly expose readers to new blogs and their authors and is great for search engine optimization. Because only people that have a blog and post to it can submit via Trackback - it requires a bit of work, in other words - there is less of a chance that feedback submissions will consist of manual or automated spam. The Trackback mechanism is not immune from spamming, however.

The quantity of responses available via Trackback is going to be lower than with the much easier Comments mechanism. On the upside, the quality of discourse via Trackback can be quite high because respondents have to be bloggers to begin with, which implies at least a modicum of commitment to the medium.

Unfortunately, the typical implementation of Trackback is not very user (reader) friendly, especially to a more mainstream readership. In fact, to Joe or Jane Public, Trackback can be downright confusing.

Comments, on the other hand, allow anyone and their dog to leave feedback on your posting. The ease with which the Comments mechanism allows readers to respond to a posting is both a blessing and a curse; the Comments mechanism is prone to being spammed.

While the quantity of responses via the Comments option tends to be higher than with Trackback, the quality tends to be lower - at least on the business blogs I surveyed. Many supposed "comments" were just thinly veiled attempts at getting traffic to the commentator's blog or Website.

Is one option better than the other? No, they are two quite different approaches to soliciting and displaying feedback.

If you want to make it drop-dead easy for readers to post responses to a blog - especially when the blog is aimed at a mainstream readership - and you don't mind having to weed out spam, then the Comments mechanism is the way to go.

If you want to raise the barrier to entry (responding) and feel that your readership is more likely composed of tech-savvy bloggers, implementing Trackback will accomplish this and give you 'street cred' with the blogging digerati.

So where did I net out on this blog, Sweetmantra? Since it is aimed at a more mainstream readership, I chose to go with just the Comments option. Time will tell if I made the right decision.

Ten Viral Marketing Best Practices

A colleague of mine recently asked me if I had a list of viral marketing best practices. I guess I do - in my head - so it's about time I jotted them down to share with others. And before I forget.

If you're plotting the next Subservient Chicken or Liberal Leadership on eBay, here are 10 best practices to keep in mind:

1. First and foremost, think high concept: The viral 'thing,' whatever shape or form it takes, has to be highly provocative in some way. This, of course, is easier said than done, otherwise we'd all be drowning in these things. (And thank God we're not.)
2. Work backwards from the headline: Think about what the headline of the blog entry - or the subject line of the email - about your viral marketing concept would be. Hint: if it won't make a concise headline or subject line, then it probably won't make a good viral marketing concept.
3. Keep it simple: You have to hook people fast, so don't overburden your concept with too many elements or distractions. (Yes, sometimes you can be TOO clever.) Your concept should be able to work when plugged into the following fill-in-the-blank sentence, "Hey, did you hear _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____?" For instance, "Hey, did you hear that Canadian Websites now need to be licensed?"
4. Humour Sells: Nothing says viral better than a good belly laugh. If you can have people laughing in their cubicles (admittedly not an easy task, even for comedy writing experts), you are well on your way to viral fame.
5. Sex Sells: But that's way too easy and probably not appropriate for what you, sophisticated Internet marketer, are trying to promote. Leave the 'naughty hotties in a hot tub' concept for the beer company ad agencies.
6. Big Names Sell: A viral marketing concept that leverages a well-known person, place, or thing may work better because less explanation is required to understand what the concept is about, and the association with the known entity will strike a common chord with many people. Get legal advice before you use a Big Name, though. Or not, depending on your appetite for lawsuits.
7. Topicality Sells: A viral marketing concept that is 'torn from today's headlines' can have a leg up over the competition. Since everyone is already talking about the topic in the first place, the communication pump is already primed. The trick here is that it can sometimes take a while to come up with a killer concept, and by then it may no longer be a topical subject.
8. Don't Try Too Hard: If you ask, or beg, for viral pass-along status, chances are people will see right through you. A really compelling viral concept will stand on its own and people will want to share it with others without being prodded by the folks behind it.
9. Reality Sells: People are overwhelmed and usually unimpressed by what they perceive to be 'corporate' advertising; what often works best in the viral space is unvarnished content by real people, or at least made to look that way.
10. Mystery Sells: Everyone loves a good mystery, so a viral marketing concept that keeps people guessing will only contribute to the buzz factor. At some point in time, however, there must be a payoff, otherwise you'll really piss people off. Unless that's the point in the first place. Off you go.

Have fun. I'm going to watch the Honda "Cog" commercial again...

Could This Be Google's Next Killer App?

This past weekend I went on one of my rare, real world shopping expeditions. I found myself standing in the housewares department of my local large department store. And I was annoyed.

I'd gone there in search of a new humidifier and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where the store kept them. Of course no staff were anywhere to be found, and there was no store directory or useful signage in view. I was about to lose it, and then I got one of my crazy ideas.

I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if I could simply Google this store and find out where they keep the humidifiers. You know, just whip out my hiptop, type in "humidifiers" and be guided to their exact location in the store. (Forget coupons, I just want to know where the damn things are!)

At first I dismissed my idea as Internet-centric foolishness. Of course you can't Google a bricks and mortar store.

Or can you?

I've started to mull the idea over a bit more. The leading retail stores already offer real-time inventory queries on their Websites. Handheld GPS units are available. Wireless Web devices are available. Plus there's Bluetooth.

This is doable.

What's the business model behind this? I don't know...yet. But I do know that I walked out of the department store frustrated and empty-handed because I couldn't Google the store. They lost a sale, and their brand dropped a notch in my books.

Google, are you listening?

P.S. In case you're wondering, I did end up buying a humidifier - from a store that had them on display right at the front entrance. Couldn't Google that store either, but in their case I didn't need to.

Site Search Best Practices

We all know that anything to do with search is hot these days.

And now the smart companies are starting to take a closer look at the search engines on their own sites.

Whether you call this "site search" or "internal search" or 'who-knows-what' search, I predict this area is going to see a lot of excitement and evolution in the next few years.

I recently completed a fascinating site search consulting project for a large media company. Since they publish a number of magazines, they have a vast content archive and a vested interest in making it as easy as possible for Website visitors to be able to get to their content as efficiently as possible.

My company was hired to help the media company understand how to improve their site search. During the course of the project, my colleagues and I developed an unofficial list of what we started to refer to as "Site Search Best Practices." These best practices are independent of any one particular site search system (i.e., the technology solution) and will be of benefit to any company, large or small, that is implementing site search.

So, without much further ado, here are some of our Site Search Best Practices:

1. Make sure you are measuring usage and other key metrics related to site search so that you can keep track of the impact that any fine-tuning to the system makes. You can't manage what you can't measure.
2. Most site search systems allow the Website owner to configure the default search results layout a number of different ways. For instance, you usually have control over whether or not the results display the article's full URL, author's name, publication date, etc. Consider your particular target market and configure the search results layout in a way that is most relevant for them. If you don't know, ask them!
3. Include a highly visible link to 'search tips' content on every search results page, preferably adjacent to the search input text field, and make sure this content is written in plain English and kept up-to-date.
4. Automatically display 'search tips' content if the user's search does not generate any search results. Don't just strand them on a page that says, "No results found."
5. Follow Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices when creating new content/pages (and design templates) because a page that is well configured for an external search engine will also be well configured for an internal search engine.
6. If you are using a content management system (CMS), ensure that your internal content development team understands how to properly input and tag the content they are creating and why this is so important.
7. Synchronize your site search system's crawling/indexing schedule with your content publishing schedule, whether that be daily, weekly, or monthly. And make sure it stays in sync.
8. Configure the site search system to automatically notify representatives of your company's IT department AND content/publishing department in the event the system goes offline. Because it will, and you want to be the first to know.

Since the site search landscape is in a constant state of flux, I consider this list to be very much a 'work-in-progress.'

Should Video Play a Role in Your Internet Marketing Plans?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video clip worth?

I recently purchased my third Webcam - a gift for a friend - and it really got me thinking about the power of video on the Internet, both as a communication and a marketing tool.

Regardless of whether or not the video is live or pre-recorded, downloaded, streamed, or podcast, it's impossible to deny the power and impact of full-motion moving images served up online.

There's an inherent immediacy to video that static images and words usually can't capture, and I'm of the belief that video can, and usually does, engage people on a more emotional (even primal) level.

Now I'm not saying this because I used to work in film and television and want to return to that world, nor am I proposing that you run out and start adding video clips to your Website just because you can.

I do recommend, however, that you seriously evaluate what it is you are trying to communicate and ask yourself if, perhaps, video can and should be used to convey, or at least support, your message. Don't do this to be 'cool' (whatever that means these days) or because the competition is doing it, but do ask yourself if your customers would be better served by a 30-second video clip versus a 30-paragraph Web page. (This is a good question to ask, anyway, because the answer might be neither!)

Keep in mind, too, that with the high rate of broadband penetration in North America, any video elements that you incorporate into your Internet marketing plans will be accessible to the majority of surfers.

Finally, if you are going to produce video for professional use, please have it created by people who know what they are doing. One of the downsides of the invention of the camcorder is that anyone who can find the "record" button thinks they know how to produce high quality video. Now that I *am* saying because I used to work in film and television!

No Wonder Our Parents Are Confused

One thing I'm willing to bet every Internet entrepreneur reading this has in common is that your parents still probably don't fully understand what you do for a living.

I can't tell you how many times my parents (both of whom are highly educated professionals) will inform me that they ran into someone at a party that was "in the same line of work as you are, dear." When I do a bit of digging, nine times out of ten it turns out that the supposed 'industry colleague' they've met is actually a Web designer or IT support person.

"For the last time, mom and dad, I don't build Websites and I don't fix computers! My clients already have Websites and IT people. What they don't have is enough sales or a reliable way to accomplish that."

At least that's what I imagine myself saying to my parents, but usually I just thank them for the information and politely change the topic. I can hardly blame my parents, or anyone else I meet who is confused about what Internet marketing is, when I see how some of us describe what we do. For instance, check out what one agency that I have been told does Internet marketing uses on the "Services" page of their corporate Website:

"We provide channel agnostic Relationship Marketing services that focus on the customer experience of the brand. A synergistic consumer experience is created with a holistic end-to-end approach that encompasses all points of contact."

Huh? Honestly, have you ever seen so much jargon in one place at one time? (Buzzword Bingo, anyone?) I work in the business and have re-read that paragraph several times and I still don't know what this agency (which shall remain nameless) actually does. Can you imagine what a potential client reading that would make of it? Perhaps that's this agency's ingenious marketing strategy: be as cryptic as possible so that the reader will be motivated to contact them for clarification:

"So, I'm looking for an agency and was browsing your Website just now to find out what your company does but I couldn't understand your services description so I thought I'd call you instead to find out."

Then again, maybe not.

Jargon or no jargon, the onus is on us as Internet marketers to do a better job of explaining what we do, myself included. Especially now that many lay people are becoming aware of the concept of "Internet marketing" even if they have little or no clue what it actually means. If we can find a way to explain to our parents what we actually do for a living, then we will have made great progress - both for ourselves and for our profession.

Mom and dad, I think it's time we had a little chat...

Canadian Marketing Association 2006 National Convention & Trade Show

I will be speaking at, and attending, the Canadian Marketing Association National Convention & Trade Show, May 15-17, 2006 in Montreal, Canada.

This is Canada's largest marketing convention, and I will be giving a presentation entitled "Impatience is a Virtue: The Rise of the On-Demand Consumer" on Wednesday, May 17.

I'm looking forward to networking with colleagues and spending a few days in fabulous Montreal.

Eight Words that Rocked My World

Since I loathe shopping in the real world, I spend a lot of time shopping online.

Not too long ago I was on Henry's Website in the middle of purchasing some camera gear when I stumbled across a touch of pure e-commerce genius. Right below the section of the shopping cart where I could enter my credit card information was a simple but powerful eight-word sentence that rocked my world. Next to an optional checkbox was written...

"Please call me for my credit card information."

Let's face it, despite the fact that we Internet marketers know transacting online is way safer than transacting offline, there are still lots of people who are skittish about revealing their credit card information over the Internet.

Henry's ingenious answer to this is to give the scaredy cat shopper an alternative way to transact, rather than risk losing the sale. This is a brilliant way for Henry's to reduce their shopping cart abandonment rate and, perhaps, to give them an opportunity to up-sell or cross-sell a highly motivated buyer. (I don't know if they do this because I didn't ask them to "call me," tempting though it was.)

What I love about this tactic is that it's so simple and so perfectly positioned right at the precise moment in time that a prospective buyer might be having second thoughts about providing their credit card details. Cool and sexy tactics have their place, yet sometimes it's seemingly 'mundane' tactics like this one that can make all the difference in increasing e-commerce conversion rates.

Henry's, I salute you!

Domain Name Research Tools

As someone with more than a fleeting interest in domain names, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite domain name research tools with you.

DomainSurfer - DomainSurfer is a super-speedy domain name search engine that allows you to quickly conduct wild-card searches of domain names. You can quickly find out how many other domain names feature or begin with a word (or word combination) that is of interest to you. For instance, did you know there are 45,583 .com domain names featuring the word "Canada"? Take off, eh!

NameBoy - This is a very useful tool to turn to when you're stuck in the process of coming up with a new (and available) domain name. NameBoy's greatest strength is its ability to suggest alternative domain names for you to consider and indicate their availability. This is an invaluable resource when you've hit a mental roadblock.

NameProtect Free Trademark Search - Curious to know if that great name you've come up with has already been trademarked? This is a quick way to do a preliminary (and free) search for US and Canadian trademarks - and help keep the lawyers at bay. Did I mention it's free? ;+)

Enjoy!