Whether You Recommend with Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, There May Be Some Secret Sharing Going On
“Make no misunderstanding, when you use a service and there is no subscription fee, you aren’t the customer, you are the product being sold to advertisers.” That line is from Michael Gray’s recent Wolfhowl post, “Facebook and Google+ Competing for Your Attention.”
He’s got a point. “[W]hat we really need to understand is that this is a war for consumer data and attention.” The more we use Google+, the more Google can develop its profiles of us. Eventually, those will be bundled and sold to advertisers. Our “liking” or “+” something isn’t altogether about sharing, yet in another sense of the word, it is. We’re being shared … as we’re being shadowed …
That, folks, is what’s at stake.
So, which company gets the most accurate data? The service with the most innate usability is the one ordinary people (read: non-industry types) will use. Gray puts his money on Facebook. He also has a great line about a Star Destroyer versus The U.S.S. Enterprise in a “space battle” that may be cause for smile.
Read this post at wolf-howl.com. For additional details, be sure to follow his links.
The Appeal of Video Explained
What is it about video that makes it so compelling? And how can we make it even more effective? In his detailed article, “The Psychology of Online Video, and Five Social Video Commerce Tips,” Grant Crowell provides some scintillating answers to these questions. His five suggestions are these:
1.) Use a real voice of someone who has genuine product knowledge, not a computer-generated one, to narrate your video.
2.) Include an emotional element within your video. This one trumps all the others.
3.) Recognizing language cues such as word choice and having key words appear visually can have deep impact.
4.) Provide easy ways for people to share with others what they’ve just learned. The empowerment from this type of sharing leads to purchasing.
5.) Show someone demonstrating or using the product in a real-life setting.
Read Crowell’s explanations (as well as links to related articles that back up his tips) at video-commerce.org.
Up Your Conversion Rates by Knowing Your Customer … And by Having Good Content
And last for today, Erez Barak dismisses SEO/veremphasis and outlines winning fundamentals for increasing those marketing results and online sales. His thesis: Build a marketing persona. The specifics: know your customer in these five ways.
1.) Identify your perfect buyer.
2.) Understand how (and when) your audience searches.
3.) Create QUALITY CONTENT (Emphasis ours).
4.) Offer a discount or other compelling reason to buy.
5.) Understand your data. You are keeping track of the data, aren’t you?
His example is a woman in the 18 to 35 age group who’s searching for a pair of running shoes. After leading us through these steps (+1 for avoiding “walking”; -1 for using “steps”), Barak then says to inspect your site’s SEO strategy. Only then.
See the entire course of action at searchenginewatch.com.
