L&S Unscripted

There’s nothing tricky about writing copy for web sites. Generally speaking, if real people love your site so will search engines. Here are a few tips for writing user- and search-friendly web copy:

—

Example 1: “Vinnie’s Vegetables offers ripe, glorious vegetables of all varieties: carrots, celery, radishes, rutabaga, red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, bok choy, eggplant, squash, green peas, sweet peas, snow peas, brussels sprouts, collard greens, green beans, spinach, red potatoes, new potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, russet potatoes and yams. Our vegetables are grown “clean and green”. For more Vinnie’s Vegetables click here.”

Example 2: “Vinnie’s Vegetables offers fresh, organic produce year-round. Our pesticide-free vegetables are grown locally – no shipping means a lower cost and greener living for our customers. Sign up for our email newsletter to get ‘Vegetable of the Week’ updates.”

—

1. Use keywords when contextually appropriate, but stuffing is for turkeys. You can’t trick search engines into looking at your page, and you’ll probably scare away visitors if you try. Instead of a long, boring keyword list of products/services (like in Example 1), be upfront about the best attributes of your company. If you hook a visitor on merit, they’ll dig deeper for details.

2. Think like your potential customers. Use keywords a visitor might type into a Google search. Instead of vague phrases like “grown clean and green”, try “green lifestyle” and “organic produce”. Also avoid industry-speak if your audience is the general public. If you aren’t sure what people search for, ask your mom (or spouse or kid) what they would type into a search engine to find your product. Their answers might surprise you.

3. Link internally from keywords. In Example 1, “click here” isn’t doing Vinnie any favors with the search engines. It takes up unnecessary space and makes navigating less seamless for visitors. Also, make sure the words you link from make sense with your destination. In Example 1, “offers” isn’t a clear link – is it an order form? Special offers? Good internal links should forge clear paths to more information.

Even with good-quality, succinct copy on your pages, search engines will still look for the most relevant site overall. So in addition to good copy on each page, give visitors a reason to dig around and come back again. Throughout the site, have lots of fresh, thorough content and calls to action (order a brochure, sign up for our email newsletter, etc.).

The downturning economy doesn’t mean that your customers will stop spending money - they’ll just start spending it smarter.

Here’s some smarter ways to reach them:

1. Research.
The better you know someone, the more likely you are to be able to reach them.  Now is the time to find out as much about your customers as you possibly can. 

• Monitor the online conversation and research what people are saying about you and your competitors.
• Implement online surveys – they’re cost effective and provide guidance for deeper exploration.
• Double down on user and focus groups to stay in tune.

2. Digital Strategies:
With $4.00 gas, it’s safe to say that people will be utilizing online tools to research and shop, meaning it’s probably time to reevaluate how you are using technology. 

• Update your web site copy to focus on value and trust. Make sure that your search engine optimization is consistent with current events.
• If you don’t have an email database, build one. E-mail marketing is inexpensive and measurable.
• Dive into social media and be a part of the conversation – it’s free. 

3. Public Relations.
PR is one of the most affordable and effective tools in the marketing mix. Consumers are looking for assurance and guidance from the companies that they choose to do business with. Make sure you are telling your story effectively.

• Get involved with your customers through experiential marketing and invite dialogue with promotions, events and sponsorships.
• Develop a cause marketing campaign that shares a mutual interest with causes that matter to your customers.
• Give the media insights into your industry and how you are helping people during uncertain times.

If you’d like to talk through how you could implement these into your marketing plan, give us a call.

For many, the official company website is positioned as a tool to communicate information about new products and services.  And with many of our clients, we are asked to ensure that our marketing efforts drive consumers to the website to register for e-mails, free coupons, prize promotions, etc. 

Many times, the target customer responds to marketing and registers valuable contact information on the website, only to never hear from the company again - it’s a black hole phenomenon.   What happens to those e-mail addresses? 

Here’s where a CRM solution could help.  Instead of floating around in a black hole, those e-mail addresses can be stored in a simple database solution, of which there are many, and be available for on-going customer communication.  Many times when we throw around the term CRM, people’s eyes start to glaze over. People hear terms like dataflows, applications, source codes, business process and all of a sudden, CRM can sound scary or complicated, and expensive.

CRM can be simple.  Our team likes to define CRM as “organized” communication with others.  Some real world examples that people use everyday are Microsoft’s Outlook, your rolodex, or even your Christmas card list.  Somehow, people gave you their contact information with the expectation that you would communicate with them in the future. 

CRM can eliminate the black hole phenomenon. Instead of letting your customers’ e-mail addresses sit in a file somewhere, use them to communicate with people who want to hear from you. 

A CRM tool, like Listrak, can help make it easy to do and easy to manage.  The best CRM tools provide solutions to help your company manage data, or in this case, e-mail addresses. By starting to communicate with your customers, your company can begin to understand, as well as anticipate their needs today, and in the future.

Simply CRM’ing

Billie Jo

Search engine spiders, defined: Spiders are used to feed pages to search engines. It’s called a spider because it crawls over the Web. Another term for these programs is webcrawler. Source: www.webopedia.com

Can search engine spiders ‘see’ your web images? With the emergence of Google images and other image search engines, the importance of indexing the images on your web site has become all the more important. While you should be adding ALT tags (defined: The ALT tag is meant to serve as an ALTernate if the image source does not exist, or if browsers have images disabled) and descriptions to your images for organic search engine ranking purposes, the only way for the image search engines to find your images (and furthermore, link to your web site) is by adding information that allows the spiders to see you.

For example:

Non-Optimized Image:	Optimized Image:
What you see:	What you see: Mount Rushmore, Black Hills of South Dakota
What the spider sees:	What the spider sees: ALT=Mount Rushmore TITLE=Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota Caption= Mount Rushmore, Black Hills of South Dakota

The saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” doesn’t hold true for search engines unless you tell the spider what it’s supposed to see. A fully optimized image includes the following elements: ALT tag, TITLE tag, thumbnail (version shown on the web) with a link to a larger version or additional content, and a descriptive caption beneath the image. Additionally, the file directories should be named similar to the topic.

Example of optimized image code (applies to the example above):

<a href=http://www.travelsd.com/_images/placestogo/rushmore/rushmore.jpg><img src=”/images/placestogo/mount-rushmore/mount-rushmore.jpg” alt=”Mount Rushmore” title=”Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota” /></a><br />

Resources: http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_IMG.asp or http://www.htmlquick.com/reference/tags/img.html

Organically optimizing,

Robin

Dear Jane Sample came up with the Brand Timeline Portrait, but many bloggers are jumping on the bandwagon because it’s a cool idea. It’s basically a visual representation of the brands that you use, that you have a connection with and feel loyal about. This timeline can be helpful to Planners as it gives a snapshot of their target in a new way and it could have media implications.

As I looked at the various timelines posted by bloggers, I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s definitely a work in progress because even as I write I this I see brands that I forgot. For instance, as I look around my desk, there’s Kleenex, Papermate, Scotch etc. It starts to hurt my head. Luckily, there’s Tylenol in my drawer.

Each day I am amazed by the savvy technical skills of little kids. While I still much prefer my external mouse, when my 4-year old hops on the computer, it’s incredibly natural for him to maneuver the laptop mouse, keyboard and arrows. It stuns me. He has the lingo down, too. I’ll hear, “Mom, you got an e-mail” when my Outlook makes its distinct chime. And once he arrives on a web site, he navigates through without hesitation… the funny thing about kids is that they just keep clicking until they find what they want – they don’t get frustrated, unlike many adults.

You may be thinking, “Really – you let your 4-year old use the Internet?” I do, but with caution. We have an awesome toy plug-in that works with the Internet - Fischer-Price Easy-Link Launch Pad – it essentially locks all other computer activity and allows kids to play very specific games. It’s awesome. Alternatively, another favorite in my household is Playhouse Disney. 

Beyond games, kids are also exposed to various forms of online communication – when I’m on Instant Messenger or Facebook, my son’s curiosity is always piqued. He’ll ask, “Hey Mom, who are you talking to?” Fact: he says “talking,” even when I’m IMing or texting. Kids are growing up with an entirely different view of communication options… they know that it’s not just verbal. Social media has also arrived for kids: check out Disney’s Club Penguin and Webkinz.  

It scares and excites me to think about where technology will be when my 4-year old is in his 20’s. First came technology, then came social, and experiential is next. Get ready. Look at how experiential the Wii is – computer activity will follow suit.

Plugged-in and parenting,

Robin

Watch this video.

RU LOL?

I luv 2 txt.  4 those of u not well-versed in txtspk, I’ll use a combination of appropriately spelled words and SMS language in this pst.  Wait, I’ll b/u. SMS is short for Short Message Service.

y does txt or SMS matter?  According to CTIA-The Wireless Association®, 363 billion SMS messages were sent in 2007. Additionally, the Mobile Marketing Association reports that in the next few years, a majority of brands will use txt and multimedia messaging to reach their audiences.

Does this mean txt will rule the world?  No, but in 2day’s fast-paced market, we need to understand the evolution of an ever-changing communication system so that we can compete 2mro.  Just as e-mail mktng is not the only way to advertise or to reach every audience; SMS is just another tool we can use to deliver a message as prt of the marketing mix.

Here are just a few things to consider when engaging in mobile marketing:

• SMS has a lmt of 160 characters of txt.  It’s concise.  That’s its beauty. Use txt 2 gt straight to the point. No photos, logos, sound, just txt.  SMPL.
• Mobile devices r our BFFs.  I doubt that any of us will be giving up our bbs or cell phones anytime soon.  It’s always w/ me n I nvr lv hm w/o it.  
• Consumers r asking 4 it. Typically, as a paying wireless consumer, I’m opting in to receive txt msgs from my personally preferred vendors.  Asking permission makes it easy for u 2 knw ur rching a consumer who wants to hear from u. As a consumer, it’s a convenience for me to get up2dt info about products or services I use.

As you dv hd frst into mobile marketing, ask urslf, is my msg promotional, informational or just marketing?  In any case, it’s probably a good fit for a txt tst drv.

CU L8r

BJW

Search engine behavior research (a.k.a. keyword research) has been used to feed pay-per-click and search engine optimization efforts for some time; however the reach of this intelligence is virtually untapped. Recently, one of our clients wanted to enter a new geographic market in a very short time frame. We always approach new markets with sufficient research to ensure successful messaging and placements; therefore found ourselves trying to schedule roundtable focus groups in this market which wasn’t feasible due to the short time frame and limited budget. So, we decided to study online behavior and apply the findings to the entire campaign effort. First, we performed extensive keyword research to learn about search engine behavior relating to their offering. Second, we launched a 2-week PPC campaign in the market to derive user behavior and interest judged by response to varying ad copy.

Searchers are telling us how, when, where and why to communicate with them. If a web surfer is looking for a product/service, the first thing they’ll do is approach Google with a specific search term. These search terms actually form descriptions (that come directly from the consumer in an unsolicited environment) that are invaluable as we begin to develop a marketing campaign. We also learn about day parts - when are users typing these terms? During the day at work or at night? The answer to this question will lead to very different media buys. The way that users in different geographic locations search for a product/service differentiates perceptions among different audiences.

Great messaging power lies in the studying search behavior. Prepare yourself for a new data addiction because once you start analyzing search behavior, it’s hard to stop. Learn from the very best – your future clients.

Ambitiously analyzing,

Robin

I’m the first to admit that I am not “green.”  With the recent Earth Day celebrations all around me, I have experienced many sheepish feelings this past week.  I like to drink soda that’s individually packaged in cans or plastic bottles, I like my plastic bags from the grocery store (I use them for other things around my house), and in general, I like being a consumer.  What’s so bad about the way I live? The answers are obvious, I know.

This week, our agency held a kick-off event for sustainability and is making a concerted effort to be more conscious about the waste we create. The L&S Green Committee is taking action around the building. Quoted from our internal blog site, “We encourage everyone to brainstorm about green ideas for L&S because we are not just going green for Earth Day. It takes time to adjust life-long habits, but sustaining our environment is worth the effort.”

Green water bottles, reusable shopping bags, notes and tips are posted in the bathroom and on the paper copiers - it’s everywhere.  So I’ve been thinking - this won’t be as hard as I thought.  I can make some small changes that can have a great impact. 

Here’s my green commitment:

• No more water from individual plastic water bottles while at work or home;
• For a majority of my groceries, I will use a reusable cloth bag;
• I will recycle white office paper;
• And the most difficult one for me - I will not print documents only to make reading easier.

The last one is hard, I am a researcher after all. I have a tendency to print, read, and then toss, instead of just reading from my screen. 

So this is my commitment. What are your ideas and suggestions to make this a better world, or even just a better community?  Join me in my personal green evolution.

Gaily going green,

Billie Jo

Quality of Life, Quality of Work and Quality of Operations. The agency has an internal mantra that speaks to a well-balanced life. Being a new employee and wanting to embrace all that is 5280, I have put it to the test this week. My family has been a bit under the weather over the past 10 days. It started with a double ear infection for my 5-month old son and now my 22-month old daughter has Influenza B. My husband Clint and I have used excessive volumes of sanitizing wipes and hand gel to keep the germs at bay. This is also the week that I have started back on my quest to be more fit by running on our treadmill in the basement of our house. Reading this, you may be thinking - what is she doing? Is she crazy? Working, family, treadmills - is all worth it? Yes, and it’s because I love my life and I love my job.

Last week I spent time discussing full circle marketing, and this week it’s about a “full circle” life. The agency is built by the hard work and dedication of a great team, or teams, of people. People who have personal lives that need to be balanced with the work we do each day. Our teams are willing to take on new challenges each day - finding innovative ideas for campaigns, embracing new technology, or submitting revision number 20 for a client. And in return for this dedication, for the hard work, the agency returns the favor in a meaningful way, aka through support of my personal challenges and allowing me to use resources such as remote access

I’ll continue to have days of sick kids or struggle with finding time to work out, but in the end, I know that I’m supported in all that I do, work-related or not, because of the people I interact with each day. This passion, our shared motivation, makes it easy for me to enjoy my life at L&S. Even though I have personal commitments, I am also committed to my team, which includes our many clients.

Passionately posting,

Billie Jo