Difference between revisions of "Learn/Online-Marketing-is-the-New-Marketing"

Latest revision as of 11:25, 9 November 2013

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Savvy online strategy from the best

Traditional “push” marketing methods – television commercials, billboards, magazine ads and spam e-mails – try to divert our attention from things that interest us. This form of marketing has become a sophisticated science, with experts ready and able to tell us where and when to place our ads.

But as we all know, the whole world is going online, whether via desktop computer, netbook or smartphone. People still want product information, but they want it on their own time, just when they're ready to research or buy something.
The marketer’s challenge these days is to put out the kind of quality information that will pull in the right customers, at the moment when they’re looking for what we’re selling.

I’ve found a few great books on how to do that, and just as important, how to get into the right mindset. It's a lot of work, but it’s also exhilarating – and it’s the future of marketing.

Marketing in the Age of Google ~ As the creator of Google Webmaster Central, Vanessa Fox is an SEO expert from the inside out. She explains how people's online searches can lead to offline purchases, and how marketers can help them get there. Vanessa's ability to outline key online marketing concepts and tactical steps with equal clarity is unusual, and her methods are sophisticated.

{{{2}}} (visit) ~ Gary Vaynerchuk (visit) is so excited by the potential of social media, he practically screams his enthusiasm in this short and inspirational book. Gary was not a tech head when he started out, but with hard work and common sense, he turned his expertise and interest in wines into a huge business success. It's a great story and highly motivating for anyone who wants to turn a personal passion into an online business.

{{{2}}} (visit) ~ Outbound marketing is what we did; inbound marketing is what we need to do. The title of this book defines an ethos and an era that divides the new marketers from the old. The book is chock-full of practical advice for companies that want to be found by prospective customers using search engines. Authors Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shaw are also the founders of Hubspot.com and creators of WebsiteGrader.com.

What Would Google Do? ~ The first half of Jeff Jarvis' book is insightful and well worth the read. He does a great job of explaining the history and key success factors of many major players of the last decade, including Google, of course. The second half describes how a little Google-think could be employed in different industries and sectors. What could the education industry do if it thought like Google, for example? I found this part a bit less inspiring, but still fun to read.

{{{2}}} (visit) ~ I don't really believe Timothy Ferriss' claim to have built a career - and a great living - in just four hours per week. But his book is compelling because in today's world, it really is possible to outsource just about everything needed to run a small business online: product design, sourcing, lead generation, website design, order taking, customer support and more. Tim also delivers a critical lesson: Measure your audience's willingness to buy as early as possible. Don't ask your friends, he cautions - they're useless for giving you objective feedback. Making people take out their credit cards is the best validation. Tim's approach is very disciplined, and his book gets you in that mindset. He's wonderfully merciless.

Groundswell ~ We all know that people are having their say on the social web, and that power is shifting to them - and away from corporations trying to control their message. Charlene Li (visit) has done the research, and defines online social groups for us: readers, participators, creators and more. She offers great detail and insight into the psychology of social participation, and what companies can do to tap into all that social activity. There's a ton of potential for those willing to learn -- just look at what Wikipedia did with small slivers of time that people willingly spent on the site, editing and adding to what is now the world's biggest online informational resource.