Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day

is now on the way to the printers. The release date is March 29, 2011, but you can pre-order your copy today!

This exciting project was the work of over 14 months of research and development for presenting a start-to-finish guide to internet marketing. The book covers the testing of your current site or the considerations to starting a new site, and the development of marketing campaigns to extend the visibility of a business.

What Others are Saying…

Already the book has received great reviews from other peers and experts in the industry:

“Matt Bailey is one of my favorite speakers at industry events because he delivers insights with intelligence and wit. He brings that same approach to this book in what is quickly becoming the next must read for anyone interested in improving their business online.”
Brett Crosby
Director, Product Marketing; Google

“This book should be required reading for all business owners. At a time where everyone claims to be an internet marketing expert, Matt is the real deal. He has provided a clear and concise guidebook containing all the tools and knowledge to help business owners quickly unleash the power of Internet marketing, In the sea of Internet marketing books, Matt’s book rises to the top for its clarity and focus on generating ROI for business owners.”
Eric Greenberg
Faculty Chair, Center for Management Development
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

“Matt Bailey unpacks the mystery of SEO, site design, data and much else, in step-by-step directions, and plain English for the rest of us. No one else has approached the plain-English demystification of building an effective Web presence as cost-effectively and time-effectively as has Matt. This work is built on top of something like 15 years of experience in helping global majors and backyard amateurs be the best that they can be on the Internet. And maybe 5 years of teaching US Direct Marketing Association classes, and helping hundreds of students be the best they could be for themselves or for major companies in the US and abroad. If you have a struggling site and can’t figure out why it isn’t performing better, or if you just got your first PC and know your new business needs a Web presence, this book will more than repay you. It will build your business.”
Charles Prescott
Editor Prescott Report; Executive Director, Global Address Data Association;
Director, Direct Marketing Association.
Chair, Consultative Committee, Universal Postal Union

What You’ll Find in Internet Marketing: An Hour A Day

• A Holistic Approach
• How Search Engines Work
• Establishing Business and Website Goals
• Website Evaluation Tools
• Basic SEO Techniques
• Keyword Research
• Principles of Online Sales and Marketing
• Developing Great Content
• Connecting Content to Users and Search Engines
• Online Persuasion Techniques
• Improve Conversions
• Develop Effective Architecture
• Consider Accessibility
• Troubleshoot Technical Roadblocks
• The Little Details
• Link Building
• Market Effectively with Blogs
• Understand Social Media
• Develop a PPC Campaign
• Measure the Right Things
• Analyze for Action

You can pre-order your copy of Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day at:

Wiley/Sybex
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Thank you to all who helped to make this book possible, especially to the amazing staff at SiteLogic, who performed brilliantly throughout the months in delivering quality consulting to our clients while also developing amazing case studies and examples for use in this book!

A winner is chosen every day for 30 days, and awarded a free night at the MGM Grand, which is great, because you might just need that free night when you get kicked out of the house.

To me, this is troubling on a few levels. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a brilliant concept, but it’s brilliant in that it plays on the inadequacies of human judgment.

Social Media is NOT Private
First, it perpetuates the notion that status updates, regardless of medium, are private. Most people tend to believe that only their friends or networks can see their updates, if they stop and think about it at all. Tweeting one’s sins can lead to a pile of trouble, especially if one does not stop to think that your network will also be seeing this message.

Updates Last a Very, Very Long Time
Second, your network will see this message (Repeated for emphasis). Unless you create an all new account with no followers, someone you know will see your tweeted sin. And it doesn’t have to be live – it can reside on your twitter page and in your feed. Anyone can see it anytime. If you have no problem airing your “sins” on twitter, and the people that follow you have no problem with that, then by all means, this is for you.

Third, the examples that are given on the website provide a unique insight as to what this promotion is looking for. One example is about having a sex dream about a co-worker, the other is about having an affair with a woman in another city. It’s implied that there are some sins that are more sensational (sex) and those are the ones that they want to see. Are those tweets that you would feel comfortable tweeting to your network?

TMI
The potential for hearing “too much information” is great for this kind of campaign. There are too many people that have no filter for this type of contest. This brings me to the marketing brilliance of this campaign. Its brilliance relies on the lack of judgment in people.

Who Pays?
If you were to tweet something and it causes problem in the workplace, or at home, or in the worst case, makes the news. The person who tweeted the sin will get the brunt of the judgment and consequence. MGM Grand will get free publicity on the back of any explosive or career-ending fallout.

Brilliance & Risk
And that’s the marketing brilliance of the campaign. No fault, just exposure. No risk for MGM Grand. The ones that express their sins without thought of consequence are the ones taking the risk.

As a marketer, I’m intrigued by this campaign, but I am apprehensive because of the collateral damage to other people’s lives this could cause.

Enter the internet, which enabled forward-thinking brokers to start placing listings online. As early as 1996, buyers were using the internet to find homes, especially if they were relocating to new areas. The advent of the internet was amazing, as it transformed the industry in a few short years. I saw amazing results from advertising properties online, and it didn’t take much for me to make the decision to pursue a career in online marketing rather than Real Estate.

Stagnation?
Unfortunately, while the accessibility of property listings has increased, the level of knowledge and online marketing has not grown with the times. In fact, from shopping for homes the past few months, I am convinced that the learning curve for online marketing among many Realtors has stagnated. When Realtor.com came on the scene in 1997, they sold to Realtors, using ploys such as: “the average listing on Realtor.com receives “x” views.” I felt like the lone ranger trying to explain to my fellow Realtors that a lot of the sales lines were bad data improperly applied. It showed me a lot about the lack of understanding of technology in that industry. Some have only recently accepted that the Internet is here to stay.

Here is my recent experience from the past few months of searching for a home. They say that doctors are the worst patients. It may also be true that former Realtors who are now online marketing veterans may be the worst sellers or buyers.

Bad Photos – are you kidding me?
In this day and age of inexpensive, high quality digital cameras, you post low resolution photos that are pixilated and hard to see? Worse yet, you show laziness buy simply uploading everything you took a picture of?

If I had my house on the market, I would be going ballistic on my Realtor, as there are no excuses for :

• Low res, pixilated photos
• Blurry pictures
• Pictures of toilets and mirrors
• Less than 3 pictures uploaded for any listing
• Cameras held at an angle, making everything look like it’s on a slope
• pictures of beds, which I am not buying
• No pictures of the items listed in the description. If there is a workshop – take a picture!



• no labeling of photos that have been uploaded
• No interior pictures!?!?
• Snow on the ground – and it’s late May
• The same three photos – repeated 2-3 times.
• Misspelled adjectives – “Emaculate Condition!” (really?)

Each one of these things is something that can easily turn off a buyer. Not taking the extra time to take a good picture, not considering presentation, and not labeling photos will negatively affect the buyer’s decision as they shop online. Not enough information is one of the worst problems an online listing can have.

Realtors and Responsibility
Pictures are meant to present the sellers home in the best light. Can a little thought be made about the selection and the quality of pictures that are used? The responsibility of the listing Realtor is to represent the seller. This includes the responsibility of the online listing. EVERY part of that online listing should be attractive, explanatory, and sensible. Anything less is a disservice to the seller, who pays your commission. I am very surprised that more sellers do not get online to check their listings. I think more Realtors would be fired if sellers checked their listings.

Expectations
If the listing description highlights certain areas of the home, such as an in-law suite, over-sized garage, pond or other feature that can be a potential selling point – please, add a picture. There are so many homes that had excellent descriptions, but then no photos of any if the items described in the listing. The description is the first area we read, and it sets up the expectations, but then the lack of pictures is more than disappointing, it lessens the property.

When there are an almost unlimited number of pictures that can be uploaded, only loading two to three outdoor shots is inexcusable. If there is an in-ground pool, please add the picture. Someone may want to see it. If you have green or lavender bathroom toilets, you may want to go ahead and add it as well, just to keep expectations in line.

Anything less than 10 photos is a crime against the seller. For newer homes with more than 2000 square feet, 20 photos. Three or less is negligence. Negligence not only towards your seller, but to any buyer who is comparing properties.

Real Estate 2.0? When?
I am waiting for more social aspects of marketing to be implemented. While real estate was one of the earliest adopters of the internet (not without resistance) it has not grown out of a 90’s mentality of online marketing. The only things I can do are email the realtor, email the listing to a friend, or make a printable brochure. Some sites allow me to create lists of the properties I like with registration, which I liked, but I was still disappointed with the lack of flexibility in ranking, saving, excluding, and comparing properties.

I for one am waiting for the ability to add comments to listings. I would love nothing more than adding what I liked or didn’t like about homes, and I am sure that it would help to make some homes more attractive. I am also sure that the comments would also shock some sellers into reality when buyers can be directly honest about the home and the outrageous prices that some are asking for what they are offering.

Some comments I would have left:

The house photo is at a weird angle because of the mobile homes and cars on blocks in the neighbor’s yard.
This home advertises 2 full baths. The second bath is in the basement and has no walls.
The separate 3 car garage and workshop makes this house well worth the asking price.
The pool and the outdoor chimney are amazing, but the yard was too small for us.

URL Addresses
At my previous company, we went to extraordinary lengths to create search friendly URL’s in order to have the database of homes spidered by the search engines. Ultimately, each property had its own short, unique URL, based on the MLS number. We celebrated. Simply searching by using the MLS code in Google would result in the property page showing up in the rankings. Unfortunately, the client had no idea how great an accomplishment this was, nor the implications. Now, the average URL that I cut and past from real estate websites are well over 50 characters . . . Check this out (if you can):

http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?cmid=1004584%2c1004586%2c1004591%2c1004601

%2c1004613%2c1004616%2c1004622%2c1004707%2c1004708&typ=1&sid=7d172c178d3044dda9d976
e2757d111a&sdir=0&sby=2&pg=6&lid=1087789449&lsn=57&srcnt=1721#Detail

These tend to break. I send these URLs by email, Instant Messaging, and SMS. My wife and I share URL’s incessantly, as it seems we change criteria every week. Sometimes, our friends help out, but rarely does anyone use the “Send to a Friend” option. Could it be that they are not visible or too cumbersome? My opinion is that people do not use these forms because the policy is not clear about using email addresses gleaned from the website. Every send to a friend form that I viewed had no clear policy or explanation of how the emails would be kept, used, or maintained.

Final Thoughts
Having been in the real estate industry and cutting my teeth on real estate websites in the 90’, it frustrated me beyond belief to see the lackluster attempts at online marketing. I would dare say that the majority of buyers are looking online before they ever contact a Realtor. How a Realtor sells a property, the pictures they use, and the description they provide, are all keys to how well they will do their job. It’s a business card. It’s an opportunity for the Realtor and their seller to shine, yet most do not seem to take the time to learn the tools or create effective presentations.

Sellers Need to Demand More
Maybe it’s the area where I live, that many Realtors seem to uncomfortable with a digital camera and creating well-crafted, marketable property descriptions. I am sure that there are Realtors out there who take the time to build an amazing online profile of the houses they list. As a seller, I would demand nothing less than a professional listing with clear, hi-res pictures that present my home in the best possible light. Anything less would be unacceptable.

A friend pointed me to a Realtor’s blog where he has created the Bad MLS Photo of the Day. I like his style, and I am sure that he will have a never-ending source of content.

Related Articles:
Are You Creating a Customer Experience?
Make your Website Content Explode
What’s the Customer’s ROI?

What’s Twitter?
If you donlt know what twitter is, then I strongly suggest that you go through these resources. There are some very practical advice for using Twitter for Journalism, Marketing, PR, and Word-of-Mouth. This article is going to focus on the observations of twitter from a speaker’s perspective.
Jennifer Laycock’s Series on Twitter – One of the best for understanding the technology and the applications for “the rest of us”. From Twits to Tweeple, Why I Embraced Twitter and You Should Too

Ultimate Guide to Twitter Tools and Resources for Journalists

Lee Odden’s Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR

Twittering: A Speaker’s ViewPoint
As a conference speaker, I use the non-verbal communication of the crowd to determine if people are with me or not. Good amounts of my presentations are ad-lib and can go in vastly different directions depending upon how responsive the classroom or crowd is to me. Using that feedback is very valuable. In the past few presentations, people have been using Twitter via their laptop, cell phone, or iPhone. What is happening is that people are responding real-time to a speaker or presenter as a session is happening.

The Twitterbyte
My personal response is divided. While I enjoy the feedback and can go and review the “tweets” that happened during the session, it was very eye-opening to see what information gets twittered by session attendees. This made my realized that no longer can I focus simply on providing sound-bites for bloggers; I have to review my presentation to find the “twitterable” content.

Interestingly, the twitters by attendees fell into a few different categories. By order of my observation:
1. Off-handed and ad-libbed comments
2. Answers to questions posed during the session
3. Bullet points from the slides
4. Things that happened – (my Madden-style drawing stylus burned up in a session)

Speaker/Presenter Concerns
Interestingly many quotes from my presentation were put out on Twitter, but what was concerning is that the attribution I made to another author or blogger did not get published. The quote was published on twitter because I said it, but I was quoting someone else.

This happened at the Small Business Unleashed Conference this week, when I quoted Avinash Kaushik’s blog post about Analytics being 90% the person and 10% the software. What was twittered was, “Matt says analytics is 90% the person and 10% the program.” That type of attribution makes me shudder, as I quote people often, and I always try to include attribution in my PowerPoint slides or verbally. Neither the verbal nor the PowerPoint attribution didn’t make it into Twitter – maybe because of the character limitation.

I attribute as much as possible, as many times someone has said it better and simpler than I ever could. As a speaker it bothers me that many quotes and information can now be taken out of context on twitter, when they were properly attributed in the session.

Planning Twitterbytes
Now I feel the need to “Twitter-fy” my presentations and prepare for the inevitable Twittering of my sessions by planning “Twitterbytes”, along with the ‘sound bites’ for bloggers and note-takers. That means keeping more control of my ad-lib comments, knowing they could easily be twittered. Also, questions asked during a presentation get people’s attention, which makes it twitterable; and many times the person who asks the question will Twitter the answer. You may be surprised at what people latch onto and tell others. Be ready to give an answer or potential explanation for what was twittered. However, when the session is over, so are the tweets – as a speakers, you only get to see the feedback afterwards.

Other observations
One of the first ways that I saw Twitter coming of age was from the SWSX conference. During an interview of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg, Twitter came alive with people criticizing the interviewer, who was becoming the focus of the interview. The crowd turned on the interviewer and I was able to view a live status report from hundreds of “tweeters” attending the interview at SWSX.

Mack Collier provided some additional observations from SWSX. One session moderator twittered during the session asking if there was content that was not being covered in the session that attendees would like to hear. She was able to take the twitter responses and shape the questions to the presenters in order to follow the request of the crowd.

Twitterbyte
It’s the dawning of a new age, where information is condensed into the 140 character Twitterbyte and transmitted to hundreds, maybe thousands of people in seconds. And the sound bite, which was known for its stunning lack of context and depth, which transformed the video age (most recognized in the realm of politics) is now looking surprisingly detailed.

What’s Twitter?
If you donlt know what twitter is, then I strongly suggest that you go through these resources. There are some very practical advice for using Twitter for Journalism, Marketing, PR, and Word-of-Mouth. This article is going to focus on the observations of twitter from a speaker’s perspective.
Jennifer Laycock’s Series on Twitter – One of the best for understanding the technology and the applications for “the rest of us”. From Twits to Tweeple, Why I Embraced Twitter and You Should Too

Ultimate Guide to Twitter Tools and Resources for Journalists

Lee Odden’s Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR

Twittering: A Speaker’s ViewPoint
As a conference speaker, I use the non-verbal communication of the crowd to determine if people are with me or not. Good amounts of my presentations are ad-lib and can go in vastly different directions depending upon how responsive the classroom or crowd is to me. Using that feedback is very valuable. In the past few presentations, people have been using Twitter via their laptop, cell phone, or iPhone. What is happening is that people are responding real-time to a speaker or presenter as a session is happening.

The Twitterbyte
My personal response is divided. While I enjoy the feedback and can go and review the “tweets” that happened during the session, it was very eye-opening to see what information gets twittered by session attendees. This made my realized that no longer can I focus simply on providing sound-bites for bloggers; I have to review my presentation to find the “twitterable” content.

Interestingly, the twitters by attendees fell into a few different categories. By order of my observation:
1. Off-handed and ad-libbed comments
2. Answers to questions posed during the session
3. Bullet points from the slides
4. Things that happened – (my Madden-style drawing stylus burned up in a session)

Speaker/Presenter Concerns
Interestingly many quotes from my presentation were put out on Twitter, but what was concerning is that the attribution I made to another author or blogger did not get published. The quote was published on twitter because I said it, but I was quoting someone else.

This happened at the Small Business Unleashed Conference this week, when I quoted Avinash Kaushik’s blog post about Analytics being 90% the person and 10% the software. What was twittered was, “Matt says analytics is 90% the person and 10% the program.” That type of attribution makes me shudder, as I quote people often, and I always try to include attribution in my PowerPoint slides or verbally. Neither the verbal nor the PowerPoint attribution didn’t make it into Twitter – maybe because of the character limitation.

I attribute as much as possible, as many times someone has said it better and simpler than I ever could. As a speaker it bothers me that many quotes and information can now be taken out of context on twitter, when they were properly attributed in the session.

Planning Twitterbytes
Now I feel the need to “Twitter-fy” my presentations and prepare for the inevitable Twittering of my sessions by planning “Twitterbytes”, along with the ‘sound bites’ for bloggers and note-takers. That means keeping more control of my ad-lib comments, knowing they could easily be twittered. Also, questions asked during a presentation get people’s attention, which makes it twitterable; and many times the person who asks the question will Twitter the answer. You may be surprised at what people latch onto and tell others. Be ready to give an answer or potential explanation for what was twittered. However, when the session is over, so are the tweets – as a speakers, you only get to see the feedback afterwards.

Other observations
One of the first ways that I saw Twitter coming of age was from the SWSX conference. During an interview of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg, Twitter came alive with people criticizing the interviewer, who was becoming the focus of the interview. The crowd turned on the interviewer and I was able to view a live status report from hundreds of “tweeters” attending the interview at SWSX.

Mack Collier provided some additional observations from SWSX. One session moderator twittered during the session asking if there was content that was not being covered in the session that attendees would like to hear. She was able to take the twitter responses and shape the questions to the presenters in order to follow the request of the crowd.

Twitterbyte
It’s the dawning of a new age, where information is condensed into the 140 character Twitterbyte and transmitted to hundreds, maybe thousands of people in seconds. And the sound bite, which was known for its stunning lack of context and depth, which transformed the video age (most recognized in the realm of politics) is now looking surprisingly detailed.

The people are very proud of their city and their way of life, of which I admit a profound jealousy. I think we let life get to busy for us here in America, and we typically feel out of control. We lose touch with those that live across the street, or on our block, and we long for simpler lives, but can’t find the time to make it happen.

The English pub is nothing as it is imagined in the States. Many of my observations about the pub were remarkably similar to the concept of Social Media. Of course, this could just be the nerd in me, contrasting every “real” experience with online behavior.

1. No TV’s, no juke boxes.
The typical distractions are removed. I loved that there were no barstools. As Mike explained, “in the US, I have to get my drink over some guy’s head.”

Observation: You can hear the conversation without the pounding of music or the distraction of sports on the television. It’s focused on developing a relaxed atmosphere for conversation.

2. Focus on conversation
Areas of chairs and table were scattered about, depending on what type of visit you were making (drinking, drinking+ eating, or sitting). However, I immediately noticed that there were no barstools. We got the large over-stuffed chairs next to the fire. We intended to stay for a while and have some great conversation. Later we moved to a larger table for dinner, but the conversation kept going.

Observation: There is more emphasis on leaving the bar and sitting with people. You can still get drunk if you want, but you’ll be having fun with everyone else while you do it.

3. Sense of Ownership
Mike kept saying, “my pub.” Mike’s son, Joe, explained the three priorities in life: “football, the pub, the wife. In that order.” The pub is a local meeting house and is located near your home. Everyone who lives near it calls it “their pub.” What’s interesting is we also passed by his brother’s pub and his mother’s pub. Everyone knows where THEIR pub is.

Observation: Ownership is vital to a sense of community. Unless you feel a sense of pride in what is being built and a sense of participation in the success, then you don’t have a true investment in the community.

4. Sense of Belonging
You belong because you live nearby. Everyone knows each other, and you can meet your neighbors at the pub. Because it’s the pub from your area, you care about it and want to be a part of the success.

Observation: Similar to the sense of ownership, the sense of belonging. It is a vital part of the community and everyone is welcome. Even is you choose to site near the fire and read the newspaper, you still belong. You are still part of the conversation.

5. Sense of Priority
See #3. Even though football is higher than the pub in priority, very few pubs offered televisions. I was surprised that the local football team was in a very important match that night, but they did not have it on television, there were no televisions available. I know it drove Joe nuts, but his friend kept texting him the score.

Observation: Even the priority of football in Newcastle didn’t supersede the priority of the pub. It didn’t replace the conversation of the community pub, even though it was of vital importance. There was a place to go if you wanted to watch the match, but it wasn’t being watched at the pub.

6. Sense of Community
Conversation with your friends is to be valued. If everyone knows who you are, then you are accountable. You have to be friendly. Mike pointed out the history of the pub as coming from the concept of Public Houses, where homes were opened up to the community for socializing. They grew into the pub, where the concept of community and socializing is lived out today.

Observation: If you want to get something out of the community, you have to contribute. Those that contribute the most are rewarded the most.

7. Old stuff is Cool
Sometimes, you don’t need technology. The best times are with people, and technology only keeps us unsatisfied. Taking time away to invest with people, rather than pursuing “what’s next” is very rewarding and fulfilling to one’s soul. We went to the Durham Cathedral, completed in 1096. It’s old. I haven’t felt a sense of awe like that for a very long time… I think we get so caught up in the “new” that we forget that there is still quality to be found in the “old”.

Observation: I was struck that conversation with people is what lasts. Friends that I made on forums ten years ago are still friends today. The forum helped to develop conversations both on a public and private level. Meeting people afterwards in “real life” simply cemented those friendships. You don’t build relationships like that by gaming Digg.

Related Posts:
Social Media and Reputation
Are You Creating a Customer Experience?
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Multimedia is Content
Ask got people talking early last year with its breakthrough 3-D interface. I was able to enjoy this interface to the fullest a few weeks ago when my child was doing a school report on Glenn Miller. From the Ask search results, we
were able to listen to his recordings, view video, read his biography and see pictures. We didn’t even click on any of the search results for the first 10 minutes!

The 3-D interface is one of the best innovations in search since the spider. It recognizes that images, video, and audio are content as well, and they have integrated multimedia into the search results. Maybe you’ve seen the latest commercials, which I have to say are a drastic improvement over past Ask ads. (Chicks with Swords, anyone?)

The results page now allows searchers to get information handily and preview other sites before they even click on the result. It is the first interface that truly recognizes the needs of the human searcher. We are not always looking for text, and the internet contains a multitude of good information just waiting to be found. Ask makes it easier to uncover that information.

Mobile Speech Interface
The latest Ask innovation made me stand up and take notice. Ask has gone beyond the browser boundaries with the newest search feature. Typically, mobile browsing has been a stripped-down version of the web interface, usually a simple list of links.

Last month, Ask unveiled a voice-activated feature for mobile directions. This feature allows you to speak the address when searching for directions. Within seconds, you receive your directions. Even better, you can choose driving or walking directions as a list or turn-by turn.

I can’t tell you how many times I have attempted to type in directions to a mapping program or the search interface (not while I’m driving, of course), or have been in a city and just needed to know where something was.

Ask has driven the human-computer interface deeper by allowing a more immersive experience, first with the search interface, and now with the Star Trek inspired speech interface. I am very eager to see what the Ask.com team will unleash next.

One for the Privacy Advocates: Search History
Oh, and by the way, Ask not only deletes your search history after 18 months, but allows you to step up your privacy with Ask Eraser. Your search activity is deleted within hours. Now this isn’t the search history on your browser, it’s the search history that EVERY search engine keeps on you in their database. Remember when AOL accidentally released user search histories? Other search engines haven’t been as honest about your search history, and how long they keep it.

take a look at the innovation over the past year at the Ask.com Blog. I am sure that you’ll be impressed with the dedication to the user experience.

If you haven’t used Ask.com lately, I challenge you to take a test drive for a week and use Ask as your primary search engine. Try the customization features and explore. It may not be for everyone, but it may be just right for you.

Related Posts:
Search Engines for Kids
The Basics of Search Engine Optimization
The 3 C’s of Marketing

In the past year, visitors to Webkinz have increased by 342% to more than six million unique visitors in November 2007 (ComScore). eMarketer estimates that 20 million children will be members of a virtual world by 2011, up from 8.2 million in 2007.

Social Network Marketing
Other social networks targeted at adults have been formed mainly out of hobbies and shared interests. Social networks are formed with the intent of gathering people; Marketing in these networks is an afterthought until the drive for a buy-out creates the need for monetization.

However, when it comes to the younger audiences, the social network and virtual worlds are created by brilliant marketers as a way to further the passion for the product. The primary purpose is marketing, which is concerning to me, as a parent and a marketer.

How Webkinz Works
Webkinz plays to the idea of an exclusive club – only those who purchase the plush toy will be granted access. In fact, it is called an “adoption” rather than a purchase. Webkinz is sort of like the old cabbage patch doll phenomenon. When you bought the doll you received a birth certificate for the doll, which initiated you into a club (so to speak).

Webkinz operates on a similar principle, but the code on the Webkinz, is also the code that allows you to adopt your pet online and have access into the virtual world. Once a child has that access, they are now responsible to care for their animal that has “come to life” in this virtual world. This caters to and develops the nurturing play of children.

Interestingly, you simply cannot wander Webkinz World, you eventually have to purchase a house and furnish it for your Webkinz pet. You do this by playing games and earning money. With the money you earn, you can buy more items for your Webkinz, such a bigger house, a pool, a bed, furniture, TV, etc.

KinzChat
Social interaction in WebKinz World is limited, thank God. When my daughter told me that she made a friend and was chatting with them online – I freaked. This is what got me into learning more about Webkinz. Chatting in Webkinz World is a series of pre-programmed statements. Children choose which statement their pet will say to the other pet, and they can choose to friend each other from there. They can also choose to share recipes, such as a waffle, strawberry, and spicy pizza combination called “mizzleberry jacks.” There is no direct one-to one interaction at this point. Children feel as though they actually have real conversations and talks about them as if they were real and these new friends are real. As a parent – I like that, but it does make me wonder about the new definition of the word “friend”.

There is an additional paid service that will allow direct chat in Webkinz World, but parents have to pay for the service and choose to permit the direct chat, called KinzChat Plus. Even in the KinsChat Plus, the chat is limited, as the words must match a restricted dictionary. This prevents addresses, phone numbers, and words from entering the conversations.

Webkinz Marketing
Every marketer (and parent) knows that a child begging for a toy is one of the most powerful persuasive tactics to sell a product. Thus, the key to successfully targeting children to be your product evangelist. They have very few filters when it comes to toys, cereals, and speaking their mind. That’s a powerful combination for a marketer who would like to get their product into a household. Webkinz has been able to grab a hold of this market and reinforce itself in the process.

The interface is very easy for children to access and understand. Preschoolers are able to use Webkinz, especially if they have older siblings that can teach them. What is most concerning; however, is the advertising that is proliferates the site. Advertisements for movies and toys are constant throughout the website, and many marketers are licking their chops for the exposure to this young audience.

Webkinz has revolutionized the offline-online interaction and measurement gap and created a safe virtual playground for children. It allows them to socialize (albeit, restricted) online and have experiences that adults have never imagined or experienced. They are growing up with a virtual world, whereas most adults have never heard of or even entered Second Life.

While most social networks are looking for ways to merge on-line and off-line marketing, WebKinz took both head-on and has developed an amazing network of plush toys, trading cards, charms, body spritz, bookmarks, lip gloss, clothing, mouse pads, backpacks and purses. All purchases come with valuable codes that provide “gifts” for your adopted pet. For any analyst, the ability to track the online-to-offline purchasing and behavior would be a dream come true.

Virtual Worlds Marketing to Children
Disney is already in full swing, creating multiple virtual worlds for young audiences. Disney’s Club Penguin attracts seven more times the traffic of Second Life (NYTimes.com). Nickelodeon is spending $100 million to develop virtual worlds targeted to children.

I am fascinated, as a marketer, of the creativity that is on display for children. Most children’s sites (PBSKids.org, Noggin.com, and NickJr.com) have offered a wide range of creative, interesting and safe websites. The draw of these games and websites has reached a new, younger generation of children that are more familiar with a computer than a TV.

As both a parent and a marketer, there is a dark side to all of this. I remember growing up and seeing commercials during Saturday morning cartoons. We watched them as the portal to see all that was new and exciting. Now, children have advertising surrounding them, but very little of the rational skills that are necessary for evaluating those messages.

Consider that social networks that adults are involved with have nowhere near the advertising that these worlds have developed for children. Adult social networks are not built for marketing, but children’s social networks are being built for that express purpose.

When Facebook’s Beacon program was found to be too invasive, privacy advocates screamed. Privacy advocates are screaming for children, but not as many want to hear their concerns. Toy companies and marketers are lining up to be part of these networks aimed at kids.

Take this how you will . . .
This is where my parental role trumps that of the marketer. It is my responsibility to raise my child, not a website’s. It is ultimately the parents that need to take an active role in knowing what your child is doing online and how it can help or hurt them. Educating children about marketing and how to evaluate marketing messages will be critical as more and more marketers see children as a “gold mine” for marketing-entertainment.

Parents need to ask themselves, who is looking out for the health, welfare and best interest of their children? While virtual worlds can be entertaining and educational, parents need to be aware of the real motivations behind these networks.

“All the stars are aligning for virtual worlds to become a mass-market form of entertainment, especially for kids . . . .”
Paul Yanover, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online.

Related Posts:
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The Difference Between the What and the WHY
Are You Creating a Customer Experience?

Privacy not invaded, but given away
I’ve done many presentations to parents about social networking and what teens are doing online. Many are frightfully uninformed. The largest danger is the thinking that social profiles are private, when they are just the opposite. Public profiles, for teens and young adults, can be a vast repository of personal information

My favorite story is about a guest speaker that taught a class of high school students about online privacy. When the students entered the room, they were shocked to find papers taped all over the walls of the room, all of which contained their conversations, profiles, pictures, and things that they assumed were private. All of which were found by the speaker online with only a few pieces of information. None of the students realized how public, and how findable, everything they did online really was.

Everyone is a Brand
Related to this is the fact that everyone is becoming a brand. Every person is your brand, and you will have to manage your online reputation just as any company would. Earlier this year, the John Edwards campaign came under fire for hiring two bloggers that made inflammatory remarks in their blogs (NYTimes). Some of those remarks were even contradictory to the views of the Edwards’ campaign. What may have been acceptable on a personal level was not acceptable for the campaign. The two bloggers ultimately kept their new positions, but not without Edwards distancing himself from them and their views, all of which created a large distraction for the campaign.

I believe that more and more people will have their online “cybertrail” taken into account as employers, prospects, recruiters, and possibly even clients start to realize the wealth of information about people at their fingertips. At one time, private investigators were the primary means of finding out this much information about people. Now, it seems, people are very willing to let everyone know their latest escapades.

Much more than tracking someone’s profile online, I realized that most people put more information on their social profiles than employers are legally allowed to ask in an interview. This isn’t just for kids, it’s for anyone that may complain about a boss, a co-worker, or have any problems at work. It’s about your personal life available online for anyone to find and judge. Once it is posted online, it is there for anyone to see. If an employer wants to find out more about a prospective employee, they don’t have far to go.

Managing a company’s reputation takes work; negativity is usually the result of bad products, practices, mistakes, or vocal critics. However, personal reputation may take an even bigger brush to cover, especially with the broad range of social media outlets. I have a funny feeling that personal reputation management will be a lucrative business in the near future.

Related Posts:
Blogging Your Next Career Move
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The Three C’s of Marketing: Revisited – Content, Context, Community

In August, I had dinner with John and Michael to discuss their new venture. I was fascinated by the business model and the passion that they had to train businesses to “do it themselves” and to offer help when needed. Needless to say, I jumped when they offered me the opportunity to join their faculty. The interesting thing is that they asked me to be their Social Media expert. As a self-described Social Media Scrooge, I found some humor in this. It’s not that I don;t like social media, it;s that a lot of people do not properly define social media, nor do they approach it properly. I liked this opportunity to be the social media expert with Market Motive, because it gives me a platform to educate businesses on how to approach social media and be a part of the conversation.

Other faculty members of Market Motive include Greg Jarboe and Jamie O’Donnell of SEO-PR covering Online PR and Todd Malicoat of StuntDubl covering SEO. This is a very impressive list of faculty for any training program, and I am humbled to be a part of it and share in the same organization.

If you are a business owner or marketing manager looking for ongoing training covering a variety of subjects, Market Motive is definitely worth the cost. Market motive offers a monthly training program with new content being added each week and direct access to faculty. How else will you be able to get up-to-the minute instruction on the latest news and techniques in online marketing? and from noted experts in each field?

I highly recommend getting your information from some of the best in the businesses. Plus, I know that John, Michael, and Avinash will always strive to deliver a quality product.

Michael Stebbins and I at the SearchBash in San Jose.