A Simplified Framework for Digital Marketing Strategy Development

digital-strategy

Almost all digital marketing proposals include a strategy part which however is often represented by one simple slide and used more than once with little amendment.

A truly working strategy for each company is unique and developed after research, serious analysis and testing. It takes weeks or even months to develop a digital marketing strategy involving complex processes. If you are not experienced developing digital marketing strategy, let me share a simplified framework to help you get started.

Digital Marketing Strategy Definition

A digital marketing strategy is a well thought plan concentrating companies’ resources on the optimal digital channels and tactics in order to generate sales in a self-sustaining manner.

It should include both short-term and long-term plans integrating multiple digital channels, online and offline, to maximize a company’s return on investment. [Read more...]

How to Develop Facebook Contest Strategy

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A Facebook contest often naturally comes to marketers’ mind, which can be launched in less than an hour. But, a lack of Facebook contest strategy may lead to poor results.

You may be surprised to know many businesses don’t have clear objective when launching a Facebook contest, many of which simply aim for more fans. You should always have a well defined objective and KPI for measuring the success of your contest at the very beginning of the planning process.

Audience demographics

It’s almost always among the first things to do in developing digital strategies for most digital channels. Without a thorough understanding and analysis of target demographic, the success of digital campaigns is left to chances. [Read more...]

B2B Online Success Secret Revealed

b2b secret

B2B businesses are conventionally harder to market than those selling to consumers, which especially requires strategic planning and phases of digital marketing tactics across channels.

A recent report by RAIN Group shed some light on  factors that separates B2B sales winners from their challengers; bringing something new and valuable to the table is the most important thing that top sales people do differently. [Read more...]

Why is Airbnb Likely to Fail in China?

Airbnb banner ad in China

I chanced upon this Airbnb banner ad in Google’s display network during my business trip in China last month. I clicked on this ad which led me to this landing page:

airbnb landing page

After viewing the landing page, I realized Airbnb is likely to fail in its attempt in expanding into Chinese market; let me tell you why. [Read more...]

What’s Coming at Facebook That Marketers Should Know

Facebook is to launch several premium ads products soon to provide brands more ways to advertise to its audience on Facebook, and changing the current Page design to timeline (by end March). This post briefly discusses the changes on Page and ads marketers should be aware.

Sponsored Story

Facebook Premium Ads

Previously (and right now), the sponsored story appear on the right-hand side. But, it will appear as a sponsored story on the right-hand side and it can also appear in news feed on both desktop and mobile. All of these placements are on Facebook’s homepage. [Read more...]

Why You Should Start Developing A Mobile Strategy

As mobile is showing its increasing power and popularity to marketers, many businesses are still hesitant building a mobile websites. It’s right not to jump to building a mobile website or app without having a proper strategy for mobile to be integrated into the overall digital roadmap; but, it’s essential for businesses to understand the importance and why they need to build content for mobile.

More Mobile Phones Users

Mobile Phone Users Penetration in Asia Pacific

Mobile Phone Users Penetration in Asia Pacific

eMarketer estimates over 2.1 billion people in Asia-Pacific will use a mobile phone at least monthly this year, representing over half the population of the region.

Mobile Phone Penetration

Mobile Phone Penetration Worldwide

Mobile internet penetration is expected to rise to 42.1% of mobile users in the region by 2015. And for many of these users, mobile is the first screen for internet access.

You don’t have to wait for more to see mobile users overtake fixed Internet users in one market after another. [Read more...]

The Secret Behind The Success of Pinterest.com

Pinterest Traffic Trend

Pinterest.com Traffic Trend

Launched in March 2010, the invitation only site Pinterest.com received nearly 11 million total visits during one week last December, almost 40 times the number of total visits versus just six months ago. Stats from ComScore showing that Pinterest had 11.7 million unique monthly visitors in January 2011.

Pinterest.com

Pinterest.com

Pinterest.com is growing like crazy; check out this website now if you haven’t. Pinterest is not only surprising of its own traffic growth but also being a referral giant (driving more traffic than Google+ and LinkedIn) and retail sites like ideeli.com has seen increased sales resulted from Pinterest traffic.

But, what makes Pinterest so successful? To understand that, let’s take a look at what Pinterest is from its official introduction:

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

People love to browse, organize and share all the beautiful things; Pinterest did nothing but inspire and empower its users to do that. Yes, that’s the secret: Pinterest inspires people. The inspiration connects people to something greater and gives them the courage and power to incarnate their unique talents.

Of course, tactically Pinterest has benefited a lot from its well integration with Twitter and Facebook; but, it’s the inspiration that fueled the word of mouth.

Companies are trying to push their products to consumers via regular advertising or social media campaigns, which may influence the prospective customers; but, it’s not sustaining and will be eventually vanish after which the companies get ready for the next “push”. Yes, this is how most companies get their products sold; but, this doesn’t create great companies or businesses.

Adidas inspires people with “Impossible is nothing”, having motivated millions of people; with Canon, “you can”. When you open a can of Coca-Cola, you actually “open happiness”. At IKEA, you are not buying furnitures as it’s a place you “design your own life”.

If you are one of few who strive to go from “good” to “great”, build and inspire your community, for which social media is a great tool for you.

How to Increase Your Facebook Fans

?esky: Logo Facebooku English: Facebook logo E...

Image via Wikipedia

Getting “likes” on Facebook Page is usually the first thing marketers focus after setting up the Page. But how?

It’s important to first understand why people “like” and “unlike” a Facebook Fan Page and learn from them; experiment, track and optimize channels and tactics you attempt to increase your Page fans.

Why People Like A Facebook Fan Page

Learn from the best practices; find out what worked for other companies.

A survey by Lithium and the Chief Marketing Officer Council revealed the top three reasons why marketers believe consumers like their Facebook pages:

  • Agreeable content, 57%
  • They want to be heard, 41%; and
  • They want to track news on the brand and its products, 40%

And, the top three reasons consumers cited for liking Facebook pages were:

  • Because they are loyal customers, 49%
  • Tracking news on the brand and its products, 46%; and
  • Seeking incentives or rewards for engaging with the brand, 46%

[Read more...]

Why Is Singapore’s First Virtual Shopping Wall A Failure?

SMRT QR Codes Shopping

SMRT QR Codes Shopping

Singapore’s public transport service provider SMRT, working with retailer Cold Storage,  transformed some of the wall spaces at its stations into virtual ‘shops’ where commuters can make purchases on the move.

The idea is this (via SMRT PR release, PDF):

they can order the latest tech gizmo while standing at the station platform, or do a bit of grocery shopping while waiting for their friends at the station foyer; without having to step into a shop, queue, send an SMS or make a call. All that is required is a QR code reader, which is installed in most phones, or widely available for free in the latest mobile platforms.

I went to Bugis station to take a look and took a photo of the wall as shown above. It’s definitely good attempt of creating good commuting experience. But, it’s a failed attempt. Let me tell you why. [Read more...]