10 Things Not to Sell to Gen Y

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

A new twitter friend of ours, @JaredOToole, has turned me onto a website, Under30CEO.com

After browsing through various articles, I found myself giggling at one of their popular articles “10 Things Gen Y Won’t Pay For.” As a pessimist, I expected a dry list of what entrepreneurs should not try to sell to this jaded generation.

I was pleasently surprised by what I found.  Here is the top ten list with my own descriptions and interpretation:

1. Checking
   Gen Y will not pay for checking. They grew up with free access because they were students and now they just expect it. And with the Battle of the Banks in today’s economy, we can google to find someone who will waive the fee.
2. Long Distance
   As long as I don’t run my cell phone 24/7 and use all my weekday minutes, I’m good. My friend in Kansas is into texting anyway, so even another bonus. What about parents, you ask? My dad reads texts. My mom, not so much, but I can use the 10 minutes I saved everywhere else to talk to her. Oh and thank you for the rollover minutes, AT&T. They definitely come in handy.
3. Mail
   I’m not sure if Gen Y would even know what the US Postal Service even was if not for getting packages shipped with the presents we bought ourselves online, birthday money from Grandma, and the occasional college material. With stamp costs on the rise (32, 42, 44?) why not just send an email? Oh wait. Because the inbox is just a chore list that needs to be checked off every day. Facebook has  become the White Pages of Gen Y. With the messages and the chats and the people searches, it has become a key tool for many 20-somethings.
   
4. Music
   When Napster was forced to charge, there was a loud sound of hearts breaking across the seven seas. However, radio stations like Pandora and Slacker Personal Radio have reopened the doors for free music entertainment. Although Pandora has set an hour limit, these sites are flooded. And now with apps for Blackberries, iPhones, Androids, and more, these internet radio stations can go anywhere. Of course, if you want unlimited skips and no ads, there is a fee. But who needs that? Support the advertising industry and get free radio!
5. Wireless
   I know what you’re going to say. Everyone has to pay for wireless. False. The first thing we do when we go anywhere with our laptop is search the network for free access to the web. Stealing? We beg to differ. Panera Bread, the library, and school campuses (for students and faculty, of course) offer wireless for free. Locations like Starbucks and Barnes and Noble are a joke, trying to charge almost $4 for internet. Even some charter buses are offering free wireless now! It’s true… I saw “Free Wireless on your trip” in big letters on the side of a charter the other day!
6. Travel Agents
   Does this even need explaining? Between Expedia, Orbitz, and Hotels.com only to name a few, who needs someone to book things for you? You search, compare, and book. Love it!
7. Books
   With all of the required reading we didn’t do in high school and all the Oprah-suggested reading we just haven’t gotten to, why should we buy books anyway? Between our computers, tv’s, and game consoles, we’re set. Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes we enjoy the literary mind stimulation, but that’s what friends and libraries are for (yes, libraries still exist).
8. Mature Content
   This one’s definitely not for everyone, but you can find just about anything on the Internet. Just clear your cookies, delete your history, and your privacy is protected. You certainly can’t do that on your cable bill.
9. News
   I found out about Michael Jackson’s death on Facebook. Text messages spread like wildfire when a major event occurs “did u hear bout da olympic speedskater?!” Other than that, just go to Yahoo, MSN, CNN, etc. and you’ll get what you need online.
10. Directory Assistance
    We laugh in the face of 411. Between Google, the majillion iPhone/Blackberry apps, and 1800-FREE411, the only thing we’re using the phone book for is to show off our superhuman strength.

Now that you know what not to try to get into when starting your own business, the next thing you need to do after you develop your product is to have a strong online presence. Between various forms of social media, making a website, designing logos, creating a brand identity, and developing a marketing plan, you may have your hands full. Let us help.

No Comments | Tags: blog, Entertainment, Facebook, Google, retail
Posted by Paulina in Uncategorized

Use Your Tools

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

It’s not the tool but how you use it.

You can have a group on Facebook, an account on Twitter, a photo collection on Flickr, and a channel on YouTube, but what does that mean to your brand?

Online marketing is more than just creating accounts online and hoping the search engines lead potential customers to them. You have to be active with your fans, followers, and subscribers. Social media is an important part of Internet marketing that allows you to build a more solid brand by having a human connection. Current customers are more likely to suggest your product to friends if they have a good experience.

However, if you leave your accounts idle, you are missing out on communication opportunities. Even if your potential customers don’t need your product or service right now, keeping them posted with fun facts, transfixing trivia, and pensive pictures will keep you at the forefront of their mind when your product/service becomes a need.

Not only that, but the more relevant information you post, the more searchable your brand becomes to potential customers. And with Google as today’s #1 search source, pleasing the Google Search Engine Gods could lead you down a path of Internet sainthood.

Ready? Set? Rock!

No Comments | Tags: advertising, blog, Facebook, Google, Internet marketing, marketing blog, search engine, social marketing, social media, social media marketing, Twitter, YouTube
Posted by Paulina in Online Marketing

Bloggers, Are You Ready?

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Bloggers, YouTubers, Tweeters, and Facebookers!

Tomorrow is December 1st, and in the midst of all the pre-holiday craziness have you remembered that the new FTC guidelines go into effect tomorrow? Don’t worry, it’s not that scary. Some important clarification has been made that makes the whole thing much easier.

The thought process behind these guidelines is to add more transparency to the internet reviews and endorsements we see almost everywhere. Have you ever seen a magazine ad with “paid advertisement” at the bottom? What about those endorsement ads with the “paid for by…” blurb at the end? That’s exactly the sort of transparency the FTC is aiming for us to have here on the internet.

The “$11,000 fine” that was talked about? Does not exist. The FTC guidelines are guidelines, not laws. They do however enable the FTC to pursue charges against someone and get a court order so that someone can be fined. Don’t fret, the FTC is much more likely to go after advertisers than bloggers. Think about it from their standpoint. The internet is saturated with bloggers. It is much simpler to just make sure advertisers understand the rules and expect them to communicate them to the bloggers they work with. Since without advertisers sending things to bloggers this would be a non-issue, I feel this is the much smarter way to go. The FTC does not have the time or resources to go after everyone in the blogosphere. This is not to say that you shouldn’t make an effort to comply! Just that you should not be freaked out that the FTC is going to come knocking on your door.

What needs to be disclosed:

1. Paid posts (that includes videos). If someone gave you money to post something, you need to disclose it.
2. Free services/product. If a company or its PR representative sent you something for the purpose of using it and then sharing it on your blog/YouTube, etc. you need to disclose it.
3. Affiliate links. If you use affiliate marketing (ie LinkShare, Commission Junction, or are partnered with one of the many companies that do their own affiliate marketing), you need to disclose it.

What does not need to be disclosed:

1. Free samples anyone can receive. If you bought a shampoo that had a sample size goodie taped to it and you want to review that free sample, you do not need to disclose anything.
2. Things you bought yourself. Likewise, if you want to review the shampoo itself.  Since you bought it, you do not have to disclose anything.
3. Gifts. If you bought the shampoo for your sister who wants to review it on her YouTube channel, she does not have to disclose anything.

I have also seen many ask if these guidelines are just for U.S. bloggers. Yes, they only apply to bloggers in the U.S. since the FTC is a U.S. entity and has no jurisdiction over bloggers from other countries. However, don’t go moving your servers to an underground bunker in the Ukraine any time soon – you are considered a U.S. blogger if your physical body is blogging from the United States. It is not determined by where your server is.

One last thing that came as a huge relief to me is that these guidelines are not retroactive. You do not need to go back through hundreds of blog posts and add disclosures. Thank GOODNESS.

The disclosures themselves do not have to be anything complicated. They do not have to be in legal jargon. In fact, it is best if they are not! They are meant to be read by your readers, not their attorneys. Simply putting a short blurb along the lines of “This post was paid for by _____.” at the bottom will suffice.

Bottom line, just use common sense and you will be A-O-K.

No Comments | Tags: blog, Online Marketing, social media, social media marketing, Twitter, YouTube
Posted by Alyson in News, Online Marketing

Don't Be A Clogger

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

As quoted in the New York Times recently, there is a new social media slang in town: “clogger”. Cloggers are the type of bloggers who just use their blog as a platform for receiving free goods or event invitations from PR companies and brands themselves. The term differentiates these freeloaders from the dedicated bloggers who receive press samples from those they build relationships with after having proved themselves in the blogosphere.

It’s pretty easy to identify the cloggers out there. They’ll be the ones brazenly asking for free goodies to post about on a blog that you’ve never heard of because it’s only been online for a day and has no readership. These bloggers also tend to post press releases in a copy and paste fashion without any commentary or individual voice. They’re just in it for the freebies.

Cloggers are a major thorn in the side of good bloggers out there. As Amber Katz states in the New York Times article, they are a big part of the reason the FTC now has guidelines for blogger disclosure of press samples and paid posts. These new rules for disclosure will weed out the cloggers. Unfortunately though, many bloggers who hold themselves to traditional journalistic standards feel punished and condescended to. The result is a culture of responsible internet journalists and consumer reviewers made to feel as though they are not ethical or trustworthy enough to provide unbiased reviews because of those out there that are just trying to work the system.

As both a blogger and marketing professional myself, I see both sides of the argument for and against the FTC guidelines. I think for those of us bloggers who were already doing things the right way it will just be a mild irritant, one more thing to think about. Additionally, it is important for marketing professionals to help the blogosphere remain a trusted source for consumer reviews by choosing not to work with cloggers. That’s good news for us, because the blogs that continue to do well will be of a calibre we want to work with to help promote our clients. Despite the patronizing press pieces that paint bloggers as a bunch of freeloading slackers that resulted from the FTC’s ruling, eventually the change will result in a win-win situation for us all.

No Comments | Tags: blog, social media
Posted by Alyson in Online Marketing

Measuring Social Media Marketing

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

MarketingSherpa released a survey measuring the perceived accuracy of marketing ROI in social media (below). Not surprisingly, over 50% of businesses claim they can not accurately track the effectiveness of participating in blogs, review sites, and social networking sites.

In the online marketing world, where analytics play a pivotal role in shaping your marketing strategy, this perceived inaccuracy may seem very high. But successful online marketing is not only defined by click-through rates and conversions. Businesses can learn valuable feedback about their customers behavior. How do they communicate? What makes them excited about your products and services? What other interests do they have?

At Album, we define Social Media Marketing as a Baseline Online Marketing tactic. In contrast to Lead Online Marketing (which includes services like pay-per-click and email marketing that produce very accurate metrics), Baseline Marketing encompasses search engine optimization, brand reputation management, and social media marketing. We define these services as “baseline” because, like in music, they create a critical foundation that often goes unnoticed. They play a more long term role. Performance in baseline marketing is measured more qualitatively than quantitatively. For example: what blog topics produce the most replies? Or, what angers your customers the most?

Much can be learned from the social behavior of your customers. The popularity of social media sites only adds to the qualitative market data available.

No Comments | Tags: blog, email marketing, Internet marketing, pay per click, social media, social media marketing, social networking
Posted by Nathan in Online Marketing

Marketing Blog Bin

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

This site is a stellar reference for some popular blogs on marketing: http://marketing.alltop.com. I invite you to partake.

No Comments | Tags: blog, marketing blog
Posted by Nathan in Branding & Design

The Sweet fruit of Temptation: Apple

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Coming this monday is the biggest event of technology of the year: Macworld 2008 – which in a big way has nothing to do with Macs anymore, and if you are thinking of telling me it is not the biggest event in technology of the year. Think again ’cause I will answer: “remember last year when they anounced the iPhone at Macworld 07′ and it changed the way most of us associate the word cool in cell phone design. At one time the RAZR was cool, the RAZR was status and the RAZR was hip. Now having an iPhone is what is hip. And Macworld is the time where Apple, which in later years has become synonym of Cool, decides to unveil what it will be making us want this year.

If you’ve read any Blog and even most online newspapers this week, there is a great possibility you’ve heard some rumor about what is the next big thing Apple is bringing out this year

One thing every one says they’re certain about is that Apple should revamp it’s ,that was even dismissed as a hobby, Apple TV. And mostly because iTunes should be released a Macworld with movie rental capabilities, there is even talk about Apple TV coming out with DVR capabilities. Which I think, in my humble opinion, is the way to go, if Apple really wants to take control of the living room and make Apple TV the iPod of media centers, they have to go face to face with Tivo, and that’s way DVR makes sense. What would make even more sense, is making Apple TV, a cheap Mac Mini, for people that want a Mac and can’t really afford one. (some hackers actually use Apple TV as computers, so it should be pretty simple to do).

What I expect, is not really the whole MacBook Nano a lot of people have been talking about. A MacBook Pro with either a touchscreen or a bigger touchpad is something I do envision as a possibility. But the reason for this post is that If wasb Steve Jobs today, with the market as it is, (Apple has been growing exponentially, with more people buying Macs then never, with a brand new – and pretty good OS in my hands, and with your biggest rival in trouble because of a terrible OS release – Vista is been badmouthed up and down on the media, and I can say for experience, I don’t like it one bit (no pun intended)) , well I would do what I thougt he would have done in 2006 when Apple switched to Intel processors. And that is…

Selling Mac OS X for PCs. Call me crazy, I know it is not a simple thing to do that. But I meet more and more people each day that which they could either own Macs or at least have Mac OS X on their computer (I can say I am one of them). And what better time than now. They’re “I’m a Mac I’m a PC” campaigns are awesome, their sales are rising, everyone loves the iPod and iPhone, and Microsoft is taking the hardest blow ever with Vista. Not even Windows Me was this badly reviewed.

So that is entirely my opinion, not a real rumor there. Just decided to give my idea of what I have been seeing on the Computer market and what I see is the greatest opportunity Apple has ever had to take over the market. Most of us, who love and really desire the products that this wonderful brand creates, would love to see them do just that.

A Happy new year and Mac OS X for all. That’s what I wish.

1 Comment | Tags: blog
Posted by Michel in Branding & Design

Blog Action Day: Turn the Light Out California

Monday, October 15th, 2007

Today, October 15th 2007 is blog action day. The day which we bloggers chose to be more environmental with our collective posts and try to affect as many people as we can on global issues. So I will humbly try that by sharing with you the movement called “Lights Out L.A.” – inspired by Lights Out San Francisco, the L.A. Times calls on South California citizens to follow our Northern California brothers and turn off our lights during one whole hour on October 20th, this saturday. Their call to action is as follows: “We invite the entire city and County of Los Angeles to install one compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) and turn off all non-essential lighting for one hour.”

Are you in?

No Comments | Tags: blog
Posted by Michel in News

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