Holistic Technology Enabled Internet Marketing Solutions

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

Wow yesterday was quite a day! Made it around the world, visited billions of people with NORAD tracking me the whole time!

As everyone plays with their gifts, dons their new sweaters and start to travel home – I wanted to say ‘Thank You’. Thanks for sharing the spirit. I also want to say… now it is time to get down to business! Year end is here and we all have lots of planning to do!

This is time to get organized and make our goals for 2011. While reading along with the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar, some of my favorite internet marketing elves taught me a thing or two that I wanted to share:

• Alayna gave us all so much information on how to come up with content, important information about how to keep our CMS website’s up to snuff and she threw in some serious holiday planning tips too!
• Alex knows a lot about PPC marketing! A lot of people use PPC to target people that are looking for their products, services or answers but I think if more people took Alex’s advice we could save some money and target people better.
• Amanda had a lot of good ideas about coming up with new content this year. It is hard to know how much content to put out and how to get it to the people that need it. I loved her ideas about email marketing. That could be a good idea for me… think how many children I could write to!
• Chris, I have never seen him blog before but he sure does know a lot about ecommerce sites. I know a lot of people that could use his advice!
• Jenika is funny. I also think she likes the movie A Christmas Story. She had a lot of references to the Parker family. I loved her tips on using Foursquare. Think of how many badges I could have gotten if I checked in at all the places I visited last night!
• Kyle made me laugh. I got more tips from him on how to keep my tree alive than I have on the dozens of other sites I have visited. He also knows a lot about design and getting new useful content on our websites.
• Mike is the smart, silent type but I really appreciated his tips on shopping online. I really hope people are more controlled when using their credit cards online.

All of these internet marketing elves were on the ‘Nice’ list and I think we can all learn a lot from them to meet our website goals in 2011!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 24 – Santa is Everywhere (Even Online)!
• Dec. 23 – Is Your Web Content a Pink Nightmare?
• Dec. 22 – We Are Santa’s Elves
• Dec. 21 – Holiday CMS Shopping
• Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
• Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
• Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
• Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

Photo Credit: Nathan Huth

Ah Christmas Eve! One of the most anticipated nights of the year for children around the world. I remember when I was a kid the whole neighborhood would get together and set out small paper bags with tea lights in them to create a lighted runway to make it easier for Santa to find us. We had no idea when he would arrive, but in the morning we always found that he had visited!

Nowadays, everyone is creating their own digital runways to their online web presence, including Santa! With help from Google and NORAD, you can now see where Santa is on his Christmas Eve journey. Not only can you track Santa on a map, you can also follow status updates on Facebook and Twitter, as well as look at pictures on Picasa. On top of all this, you can download maps to your mobile phone to track Santa by scanning a QR Code on the NORAD Santa site. It’s amazing how networked everything is now!

As you are enjoying Santa updates this evening, keep in mind how successful the NORAD Santa campaign is and think about ways to apply the same excitement to your own website. While you may not have quite the pull that Santa has, you can still create excitement over a product release, new service or company event. If your clients see how eager you are, then they will be more interested in what you have to offer!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope that you are able to take the time this season to appreciate those you work with and create goals for a successful new year. See you in 2011!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 23 – Is Your Web Content a Pink Nightmare?
• Dec. 22 – We Are Santa’s Elves
• Dec. 21 – Holiday CMS Shopping
• Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
• Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
• Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
• Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

Do you remember the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie gets a homemade gift from his Aunt Clara? He is completely humiliated by the pink bunny suit and will probably never wear it another day in his life. His Aunt Clara obviously spent a lot of time making that costume, but did she actually think he would want to wear something like that? In the words of Kevin McCallister (via Home Alone), “You can get beat up for wearing something like that.”

Photo Credit: abbey*christine

Ahh, the joys of gift giving… Tomorrow is Christmas Eve day and I have to admit that I am not done with my Christmas shopping yet. There are a few more items on my list and I always save the stocking stuffers for last minute (it never fails). As I’ve mentioned before, giving gifts is one of my favorite things during the holiday season. Part of what makes it special is giving a present to someone that you know they will really like, something that will surprise them, or something that they need.

This is a great practice to follow when creating content for your website. You don’t want to spend hours and hours creating content that people aren’t interested in. Use the same intention when creating content for your website as you do when you give gifts.

Listen to your customers.
I consider myself a pretty good listener and I pay attention to the needs of others. (Mom, if you’re reading this, stop now, spoiler alert!) Last spring, during Maine’s “mud season,”  my mom was telling me about how dirty her boots were getting when she took the dogs out for a walk. I took note of that and when it came time for me to write my Christmas “Give” List, rainboots were one of the first items that I knew I would purchase for her.

Lesson: Listen to your customers pain points and create content that will be helpful to them.

Know what they like.
One year I got my younger brother a gift card to Bull Moose Music for Christmas. After he had used the gift card he told me what he purchased and how much he enjoyed that gift. He mentioned it a few times after that as well. When it came time to purchase for him the next year I got him another gift card to Bull Moose Music because I knew how much he had appreciated that gift. He was so happy that I had gotten it for him again and now getting him that gift card is part of a holiday tradition.

Lesson: Pay attention to what people like by reviewing the Top Content in your Google Analytics
and by measuring how much the content you create gets shared
(for example re-tweets on Twitter and likes/comments on Facebook).

When in doubt, ask!
My dad is always the hardest person to shop for and he doesn’t “need” anything. So this year I called him up and asked him when he would like for a Christmas gift. He gave me a few great ideas and I am sure he’ll be pleased Christmas morning.

Lesson: As you communicate with your clients ask for feedback. Ask them
what types of content they’d like to see on your website.

Here’s the video that I referred to above. I’ve never gotten a gift this bad, but I’m not opposed to re-gifting if it isn’t something I like that much.

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 22 – We Are Santa’s Elves
• Dec. 21 – Holiday CMS Shopping
• Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
• Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
• Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
• Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content

This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.

We have had a lot of great internet marketing advice from our staff here at Hall this past month. Everything from online shopping, emerging technologies to e-commerce analytics, site management and top searches for 2010. I’m going to step outside of the design and marketing realm to talk about something that is a little more business fundamental.

Photo Credit: The Pitch Blogs

This internet thing is a lot of hard work. Ironing out strategies and adding details that possess value isn’t a one person job. It is always important to get an outside perspective to add to the strength of a plan of action. Even when you think your ideas are polished. Teamwork and cooperation are those special ingredients to make a potential masterpiece. One of the main things that we keep in mind when delivering content to the online world is to always provide value to the reader/user. Much like Santa’s elves like to add that special flair to children’s toys! (sorta)

Our team interacts in a highly collaborative environment on a daily basis. There have been numerous instances where I would get stuck in a monotonous design repetition only to have my ideas revitalized by my fellow team members. Although we have already had an appreciation Thanksgiving post, the end of the year yields to reflection! Be appreciative of the professional minds that surround you every day. Perspective gets lost during day-by-day production… look around your offices and realize that the finely tuned business machine you operate under is constructed of carefully chosen and conditioned parts. Sounds an awful lot like Santa’s workshop right? Even Santa’s sleigh has a team of reindeer to do all of the hard work (Not just the guy with the red nose.)

Here are a few teamwork tips for you to keep in mind

• Be appreciative – Nobody likes to feel unwanted! Give credit where credit is due and let your other team mates know how important they are to achieving success.

• Be  accountable – If something got messed up somewhere along the way, don’t point fingers. This only creates animosity within the team dynamic and deviates from the overall goal. Take responsibility, admit your faults and provide practical solutions.

• Pick each other up – Positive reinforcement goes a long way. Why let one bad apple spoil the bunch? Developing relationships within the team provides an understanding to how and why people do the things that they do.

I’ve been a part of a lot of different teams in my life whether it is sports, scholastic or professional and there is no better feeling than a sense of camaraderie after reaching a goal that has been the product of hard work. Here at Hall, we might feel like an Island of Misifit Toys sometimes… but we’re still a team!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar

• Dec. 21 – Holiday CMS Shopping
• Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
• Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
• Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
• Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
• Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
• Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
• Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
• Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
• Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
• Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
• Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
• Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
• Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
• Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
• Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
• Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
• Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
• Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
• Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
• Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content