Internet Marketing Course BLOG

By Dave Friedman
Avenue A / Razorfish
From: ChiefMarketer.com
June 17, 2008

Dave’s Comments (Internet Marketing Course Blog): Maybe I’m slow, but this article is the first time I’ve ever seen the term “social influence marketing” and I LOVE it! We Internet Marketers finally have a way of looking at and characterizing ALL of the new Web 2.0 applications from a Marketing perspective. This article by Dave Friedman (and Shiv Singh) of Avenue A / Razorfish is a gem – I highly recommend reading the entire article, especially if this term is new to you and you’re involved with Internet Marketing.

“Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying that consumers can’t think for themselves. But they do influence each other when they decide what to buy.

What’s changed is that digital behavior has caught up with offline behavior. Consumers now seek advice through social networks, prediction markets, micro-blogging, location-based, networked mobile phone applications and even virtual worlds.

The question is what marketers can do to tap into this phenomenon.

To shed some light on this, I spoke with Shiv Singh, our vice president of social media and global strategic initiatives. Singh has discovered a major shift—that the rise of social media is creating a new discipline called Social Influence Marketing.

To shed some light on this, I spoke with Shiv Singh, our vice president of social media and global strategic initiatives. Singh has discovered a major shift—that the rise of social media is creating a new discipline called Social Influence Marketing.

What is it? It’s the art of employing social media as part of the entire lifecycle of a marketing campaign—and beyond. Singh is also a respected blogger on the subject (www.goingsocialnow.com).”

Read the entire article by clicking on the following link:

Social Influence Marketing: The New Way to Win Customers

Technorati Tags:Business, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing

Link to: Internet Marketing Course

Online Advertising Remains Vibrant Despite Tough Economic Times – $5.8 Billion for Q1 ’08, Second Highest Quarter Ever

Interactive Advertising Bureau
June 17, 2008

Dave’s Comments (Internet Marketing Course Blog): I know I’m repeating myself on this subject, but the beat goes on! The emergence of the Internet/Web as the most active and fastest growing segment of the entire US advertising industry continues to amaze even industry pundits. Here are the latest online ad revenue numbers from the IAB, along with a great graph showing how these numbers have grown over the last 10 years.

“The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today announced that Internet advertising revenues reached $5.8 billion for the first quarter of 2008. The 2008 first quarter revenues are an 18.2 percent increase over the same period in 2007, and represent the second highest quarter ever recorded, after Q4 2007’s $5.9 billion.

‘We continue to experience significant growth and vitality in interactive marketing, media and advertising,’ said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. ‘We expect growth to continue, as consumers spend more and more time online, and marketers find more – and more innovative – ways to reach them through digital media.’

‘The fundamentals of interactive advertising spend continues to be positive and I would expect to see continued growth in the future.’ said David Silverman, partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘The cyclical fourth quarter to first quarter drop in traditional media advertising spend, combined with an overall economic slowdown, resulted in a not so unexpected first quarter slowdown in the growth of online advertising.’”

Read the full article by clicking on the following link:

Q1 ‘08 Internet Ad Revenues Up 18.2% Year-Over-Year

Technorati Tags:Business, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing

Link to: Internet Marketing Course

By Tim Parry
Multichannel Merchant
June 11, 2008

Dave’s Comments (Internet Marketing Course Blog): With increasing frequency, online retailers are realizing what Amazon realized (and also invented and implemented) a number of years ago – Amazon gave potential Customers the means to view opinions of existing Customers for a specific product, and since these are the “voices” most trusted by potential Customers, giving them access to this information actually increased sales overall! This short article builds on that idea with several suggestions on how to best implement “Customer Reviews” on your eCommerce Web site.

“Looking to upgrade your e-commerce site to Web 2.0? Even if you think you are behind the curve, Dave Friedman, president of the central region for Avenue A | Razorfish, says you may still need to understand what the buzz is all about.

Speaking Tuesday at Internet Retailer’s Conference and Expo, Friedman reminded the audience that Web 2.0 is more than just a new technology. Rather, Web 2.0 is the “combination of technology and design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and most notably, collaboration among users,” Friedman said, showing a slide of the Web 2.0 entry on Wikipedia.

“Because it’s technology-enabled, Web 2.0 gives users a much broader community in which they interact,” Friedman said. “People with similar interests, literally around the world, can share product experiences, brand experiences, and experiences with different retailers.”

And the stats show why Web 2.0 is important. Nielsen recently released a study that showed 78% of consumers were most influenced by word of mouth when making a buying decision. A Luxury Institute survey showed that 84% of consumers who make more than $150,000 a year use ratings and review sites to find out about products prior to purchase.

But just because you bring Web 2.0 into your e-commerce mix doesn’t mean you can sit back and bask in the success. Friedman listed four things every retailer needs to effectively harness Web 2.0.”

Read the entire article by clicking on this link:

Four Ways to Harness Web 2.0

Technorati Tags:Business, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing

Link to: Internet Marketing Course