Just b/c they're at work, doesn't mean they're working...

At-Work Internet Usage

Summary Table of Contents Sources Estimates of the number of US workers who go online from work—not including people who worked from home or checked e-mail via mobile phones—range between 65 million and 68 million. At-work Internet users log on for longer hours, visit more domains and own more digital devices than other Internet users.

The At-Work Internet Usage report analyzes the demographics and behavior of users who log in at their places of employment.

“At-work” appears to be almost everywhere.

Two-thirds of employed adults use the Internet and e-mail at their workplace, and nearly one-half of them do at least some work from home, with 18% working from home every day or nearly every day.

Being online at work does not mean loafing, either. The more mobile the workforce, the more work they are expected to do. Similarly, social media may be further blurring the line between personal and work-related Internet use.



Key questions the “At-Work Internet Usage” report answers:

•How many people use the Internet at work?
•What devices do workers use to go online? How do they feel about being “always at work”?
•Can social media use boost productivity?
•How can marketers reach this super-connected crowd?
•And many others…
eMarketer Reports—On Target and Up to Date

The At-Work Internet Usage report aggregates the latest data from a wide range of sources with eMarketer analysis to provide the information you need to make timely, well-informed digital media and marketing decisions.

What would a professional do...

I received this and wanted to make sure we had it to look it in the future to remind us what we are better at...

What would a professional do?
Every day, you do a hundred or a thousand jobs, some of which are occasionally handled by specialists. You make a sales call or give a presentation or answer the phone... you design a slide or create a simple spreadsheet. You get the idea.

When you are busy being a jack of all trades, you're competing against professionals. The recipient of your work doesn't care that you are also capable of doing other things. All she wants is the best she can get.

I'll define a professional as a specialist who does industry standard work for hire. A professional presenter, for example, could give a presentation on anything, not just the topic on which you're passionate about.

When you compete with professionals, you have a problem, because generally speaking, they're better at what they do than you are.

I think there are four valid ways the think your way out of this situation:

Hire a professional.
Be as good as a professional.
Realize that professional-quality work is not required or available and merely come close.
Do work that a professional wouldn't dare do, and use this as an advantage.
The first option requires time and money you might not have, and I'm presuming that's why you didn't do it in the first place.

The second is a smart option, particularly if you do the work often and the quality matters. Slide design and selling are two examples that come to mind here. The first step to getting good is admitting that you aren't (yet.) Invest the time and become a pro if it's important.

The third option is worth investigation, but it's what you've probably already decided without putting words to it. Is the assumption really true? Does your customer/client/employee actually believe that they haven't been shortchanged by your amateur performance? It is costing you in ways you're not measuring because you're willfully ignoring the consequences? Think of all the sub-pro experiences you've had as a customer, instances where someone was pretending to be a chef or a bartender or a computer jock but just came up short... Were you delighted?

The fourth option is really exciting. From personal YouTube videos to particularly poignant and honest presentations or direct and true sales pitches, the humility, freshness and transparency that comes with an honest performance might actually be better than what a professional could do. Harvey Milk was an amateur politician, not a pro. If you're the only person on earth who could have done what you just did, then you're a proud amateur.

You can't skate by when you refuse to mimic a professional. You must connect in a personal, lasting way that matters. That's difficult, but the professionals have no chance to compete with you.

This post comes from Seth Godin's blog

2009 is our year for local online media

If I hear one more person say...I'm going to package it with "online" or I'm going to sell "online"....I'm going to scream. Well not really, I'm actually happy of course that our sales force is selling "online" and is very excited about it. But what are we selling online? Someone could say they are going to sell print and that could mean they are selling inserts; magazines, rop, premium positions, post it notes, an eps flier in a bag that hangs on your doorstep, a special section, direct mail, etc.

"Online" is not just banners ads anymore, it hasn't been for a long time and it certainly isn't in our office. Sometimes we get hung up on selling banner ads and click thru rates that we forget the reason we're pitching online to our clients in the first place... to help them grow their business. Every client needs a different customized solution and the great part about our jobs is that if it doesn't exist; we can brainstorm and make it up!

So whether it is:
Banner Ads
Email Marketing
Sponsorships
Rich Media
Search Advertising
Videos
Mobile to Mobile...
or hopefully a customized solution that incorporates many different facets; we need to remember this...."Online" is another media where the same rules apply....
1. Get the right message
2. In front of a relevant audience
3. Alot of times (Frequency)

What do you think about "online"?

Google gets rid of print ads....did we even know Google was selling print ads?

Read prior

Will focus on online
Google still sells radio and TV ads through Google Audio and Google TV Ads. A Google spokesman wouldn't comment specifically about why the company still sees promise in those offline media even though print didn't work out, but one possibility is that radio and TV are increasingly delivered digitally, making them easier to measure. Google said it will continue to focus on how newspapers can make more money -- but online, not offline.

"We will continue to devote a team of people to look at how we can help newspaper companies," Mr. Spinnell wrote. "It is clear that the current Print Ads product is not the right solution, so we are freeing up those resources to try to come up with new and innovative online solutions that will have a meaningful impact for users, advertisers and publishers."

Google has been able to maintain its profit margins, despite a slowing economy to which even search isn't resistant. But the company has been more aggressive about monetizing previously ad-free areas and has cut projects that aren't expected to have a clear contribution to the bottom line. Another recent victim of the cuts include Google's virtual world experiment, Lively.

The people working on print ads will be moved to other roles within Google; Google has confirmed there are no layoffs associated with this move.

This sounds like a good idea...oh wait we're already doing this one!

Local is where it's at; create a local email newsletter....

How digital media will deliver tanglible results...

Reach Devaluation
Although advertisers increasingly are exploring other metrics, i.e. engagement and reputation, reach still rules -- at least for now. Unfortunately, reach is slowly losing its value as media consumption increasingly moves deeper into the digital realm.

Where in the analog age we might be loyal to a given media brand, today's consumers are far more agnostic. We're more likely to dip into an array of online sources including traditional news sites, blogs and social networks -- and often via search or social networks.

All of this diminishes the entire concept of reach. After all, if a site claims that it reaches millions but they're all just drive-bys, do such figures truly matter? In the years ahead, advertisers will rethink reach and not pay nearly as much for it as they did when they bought media based on a rate base and/or circulation. This will create tremendous disruption for media companies as they have to shift to new ways to prove their value.

Read More

Online Display Advertising For Branding vs Clicks

Why display advertising works, not just clicks

Online Shopping Update: E-Commerce on the Rise

A new E-Commerce report from The Media Audit reveals that three in five U.S. adults now shop online at least once per year, while one in five adults shop at least once per month. According to the National Report, the percent increase between 2006 and 2007 among adults who now shop online is 5.2%, while the percent increase among frequent online shoppers - those who shop twelve or more times in a typical year - has risen by 5.6%. Surveys were conducted in 88 U.S. markets between January 2007 and March 2008.

The region with the greatest concentration of online shoppers is the Northeast region, where 61% of adults shop online at least once in a typical year- a figure that is 4% above the national average. However, 23.2% of adults in the Northeast region make twelve or more purchases in a typical year- a figure that is 11% higher than the national average. More specifically, adults who live in the New England Census Division are most likely to frequently shop online. Nearly one in four New Englanders shop online twelve or more times in a year, a figure that is 17% higher than the national average. The report further reveals that adults who live in the Midwest are the least likely to be frequent online shoppers. Among Midwesterners, 56% shop online at least once in a typical year, a figure that is 4% less than the national average, and 18.2% have made twelve or more online purchases in the past year, a figure that is 13% below the national average.

As the outlook for the holiday retail season is expected to be bleak for 2008, analysis from The Media Audit E-Commerce Report suggests that the best place to find potential big spenders this season is online. According to the report, online shoppers - those adults who have shopped online at least once in the past twelve months - earn more in household income and in general are more optimistic about their financial future. Among online shoppers, 64.3% are considered financial optimists, a figure that is 9% higher than all adults nationally. Furthermore, 43% of adults who shop online earn $75,000 or more in household income, (demographic of ThisWeekNews.com users) a figure that is 39% higher than for all adults, suggesting they might be more able to weather tough economic times.


Read More

Objection #2 - I believe I duplicate too much if I already buy print newspaper advertising and add the newspaper's website

Of course there is duplication between the print and online reader, much as their is a print reader and television/radio viewer/listener. Most newspapers report 45-50% of their online audience not reading the printed product. In addition, the website allows for animation and an interactive user experience. Don't think of it as duplication, think of it as increased frequency of your message to your target audience which will increase awareness and recognition. However, most of the readership on a newspaper website is unduplicated against newspaper readership, they come looking for something different then they did/did not find in print.

5 things to do to seed social media into your marketing strategy.

While you might not be setting up your own social networking site; many of our advertisers still understand the value of the web or at the very least viral marketing. Social Media on the web is just viral advertising (through the computer). Knowing what you're talking about is always a plus, whether you're just talking about it or if you're trying to sell around the need.

So here are five things to do to seed social media into your marketing strategy.

Find your peeps. It's all about targeting. The goal is to comfortably intersect with your customers and prospects. In some cases, you can add social media elements to your Web site and to your marketing campaigns. In other cases, it makes more sense to go where they are already going. Think like an anthropologist. Find your people. Watch what they say and do. Look for patterns. Ask them what they like and what they want.

Dare to be embarrassed. Social media shifts control from brands to customers. It's about what they think and what they want; not what you're pushing. Some think you suck. But you knew that and it's okay. To embrace social networks is to risk being next to content that you don't control, to receive and respond to reviews and criticism you're not used to -- and possibly to take your brand not so seriously.

Lead with your long suit. Social networks give brands the opportunity to expose things they know, showcase expertise, present ideas or designs, float trial balloons and introduce personalities. It's an unparalleled chance to invite customers and prospects into your world. Don't underestimate how into your brand your best customers are. Don't be bashful. Put your people and your best stuff out there. Don't let the lawyers tell you otherwise.

Play around. We're in the early stages. There are no proven formulas and no real best practices. It's a real chance to play around by asking users to send in things, participate in contests, answer survey questions, sample products or services, download coupons, upload photos and who knows what else? Test and learn your way to greatness.

Play to the cheap seats. Social media is like talk radio or old-fashioned telephone party lines. A tiny percent call -- but everybody is listening. The beauty of having friends and linkages is seeing what they are doing and watching them experiment from the sidelines. The numbers of passive and occasional users far outnumber the hardcore players, even among the younger demographic groups. But don't ignore them because they're getting off and getting their own ideas watching what goes on.

Online Bargain Hunters go Social

Though email from retailers is still the best way for consumers to learn about discounts and deals online, nearly 30% of shoppers now say they look to links forwarded from friends, peer comments and social sites for the best bargains, according to a survey from Guidance, in association with Synovate.

When asked what they thought was the best way to find out about bargains and deals on the internet, the majority of the 1,000 respondents surveyed still cited traditional “top-down,” retailer-to-consumer channels. Nearly half (45%) said email is the best way to learn about deals, while 16% looked to messages from retailer websites and 10% cited banner ads.

Read More

The Most Common Objections to Advertising on Newspaper Websites

This is going to be a series: We'll review one objection a day...

1. I buy search words, why do I need more than that?

Because search words only capture people who are actually looking for your product by
type or name. By only using this form of advertising, you are missing opportunities to
brand your product with local audiences that typically account for the majority of
storefront foot traffic. When the consumer determines it’s time – you want to be top of
mind. No search necessary. Display ads not only add to brand awareness but increase
the clickthrough rate on your search buys. Higher brand awareness means more
searches on keywords associated with your brand which means more clicks.

New saying "we're facilitating dialogue"

Our sales manager Christal and I had the opportunity to attend a SNA (Suburban Newspapers of America) Symposium last week and of course my mind was reeling with all the great ideas. But one of the things that I heard that stuck was....we are in the business of facilitating dialogue.

What does that mean?

I think it can mean something different to our editors and our readers; our clients and consumers, sports teams and their fans...you get the idea.

Our advertisers want their message to reach consumers; our teachers want to talk to their students' parents, charities want their message to be heard by people who care.

Our products facilitate dialogue between different communities. Dublin parents and the administration at Dublin Coffman High; the People In Need charity organization and city volunteers; Central Ohio shoppers trying to save money and women that have the know how to help....


Ask yourself and your advertisers, what dialogue should you be participating in?

We are the in the business of targeted messaging aka niche marketing
I think that we need to reevaluate how we think. We often have been taught to spit off numbers in bulk. For example we reach 800,000 households and 90% of the population (this is an example of course).

If you ask our advertisers, would you rather reach 20,000 people that may look at your message or 500 who really want it, what do you think they will say? It probably depends on if they want an awareness campaign or a campaign that will more immediately bring results.

In Real Estate for example, we've all heard the expression it only takes 2 people to buy and sell a home...so don't you want to hit the people that are really looking to take that step and put your message in front of them, do we really spend time researching how we can help our clients do this?

Social Networking is one way that you can reach niche audiences

Search Marketing,
Targeted Banner Advertising
Email marketing to sub groups

These are all ways that we can hit the masses...OR we can target communities of people looking for a particular service or product.

While our community newspapers and websites in general have the ability to blanket some markets and provide a TOMA (top of mind awareness campaign), I don't think we stress enough just how targeted our messaging can be to the "sub" communities all throughout our city...What do you think?

All Politics are Personal....does that mean local?

With Election Day less than two weeks away, there still remains a large contingency of undecided voters. Many marketing channels are available to reach them, but what channel is going to be the most effective for candidates in terms of getting votes?

Read More

Real-time feedback and real-time optimization. Campaign managers can not only launch video ad campaigns immediately, but they can also optimize ads in real-time. By taking into account video and banner click-through rates, the average viewing duration and cross-referencing those numbers with post-impression and post-click Web site activity (e.g. - donations), campaign managers can optimize each campaign to maximize effectiveness.

News spreads like wildfire with breaking news e-mails, blog posts, Twitter, social networking sites, and more. In most cases, it remains true that we have no power over how issues and candidates are presented in the news, but the power of online video advertising makes it possible for the candidates to speak one-on-one with the voters about issues that concern them.

Power Moms are Online

Our advertisers want to connect with woman, specifically moms, but why? Find out for yourself

Gen X and Gen Y moms use the internet differently than my mom does:

The top three activities of Gen Y moms are reading blogs, participating in an online community of moms, and creating and sharing their own video.

The top three online activities of Gen X moms are: using a photo site, rating and reviewing products, and shopping.

Gen Y moms are much more attached to media that connects them to other moms online - such as internet communities, blogs and video-sharing sites - suggesting they prefer to rely on peers rather than experts to help them parent, according to the study.

Moms who are members of Gen Y also are highly involved in creating their own content and show a preference for time-shifting behaviors, such as watching TV online...READ MORE
Have you told your advertisers that this is what women and moms are looking for online? Let's help educate our advertisers and continue to bring them ideas that offer them marketing solutions.

Back at it....comments?

Ok everyone,
So I don't think many of you read this however...there are always tons of new things with online that I need to update you on so I need you to try to rely on this blog to give you some of that information. We might even do fun quizzes and prizes that you can only win by answering here on ilovetosellweb.com.

I had a semi arguement with my mother about the definition of news today...she says newspaper and TV that is news....If you haven't viewed the previous blog Web Terms in Plain English then you may not know what I'm talking about.

In the past, editors, programming managers (radio), directors (tv) they decided what was "news" worthy and pushed it out to the public...essentially saying "here this is what we think you should care about" (most of the time they were right). However, online is different...with blogs, podcasts, online video - users come to the web looking for information that they care about. An example: if I type a blog about online sales information....then I might only have 15 people read it....but to them this is information or news they care about....that is how we need to discuss the value of the web with our clients. It isn't content we gave them, it is information readers went looking for....

For more on the importance of blogs in the mainstream media read here (thanks to Joe R. at TheBAG for sharing).

Consumers Pick Up Clip of Coupons

Last year was the first time in 15 years that coupon redemptions didn't decline, research shows. Individual companies have mixed reports on coupon usage, but a broad Unilever NV study in the U.S. found that in the first quarter, the percentage of goods sold via coupon rose from a year earlier. Read More

4 mistakes that will kill sales.....

Don't kill them...learn to avoid these pitfalls

What Metrics Matter?

Want to know more about what the value of online is to your clients...and what isn't a value....read more

46% of online consumers take action after viewing local ads....

According to a new report by the Online Publishers Association, local media sites hold a distinct advantage when it comes to delivering results for advertisers. The study finds that consumers trust advertising on local newspaper, magazine and television Websites, and are very likely to take action after viewing ads on these sites.

Newspapers rank first, with 46% of consumers taking action, including making a purchase, going to a store, conducting research, after viewing a local ad, as compared to 37% of consumers acting after viewing a local ad on a portal.

Percent of Consumers Taking Action after Viewing Local Ads:

Local Newspaper Site: 46%
Local Television Site: 44%
Local Magazine Site: 42%
User Review Site: 39%
Portal: 37%
OPA president Pam Horan, says "... local media sites deliver concrete results for local advertisers... consumers are more likely to act on the ads they see on local TV, newspaper and magazine sites... "

Consumers on these sites are desirable advertising targets, concludes the report. Local magazine, newspaper and TV sites attract significant percentages (48%, 40% and 39%, respectively) of consumers who spent more than $500 online in the past twelve months. Thirty-seven percent of portal visitors and 34% of the overall online population spend this amount in a year.

Consumers express significant faith in advertising on local content sites. Newspaper sites lead the way, with 56% of visitors expressing strong trust of the advertising found on these sites, followed by local TV station sites and portals.

The OPA report finds that satisfaction with local content is high overall, and portals and media sites each have strengths. Portals lead in satisfaction among all local content visitors, followed by local newspaper and TV station sites.

Local media sites have a significant lead over portals:

79% of frequent visitors are satisfied with local TV sites
77% are satisfied with local newspaper sites
65% of frequent visitors to portals are satisfied
Portals, Newspaper and TV Sites Lead in Satisfaction with Local Coverage (% Local Content Users)


% Satisfied with Local Community Coverage

User review sites
13%

Local magazine sites
20%

City guides
26%

Classifieds sites
34%

Online yellow pages
36%

Local TV station sites
48%

Local newspaper sites
48%

Portals
58%

Source: Online Publishers Association, August 2008


An important common trait of all local online content sites is an ability to attract high concentrations of influencers, says OPA:

10% of consumers are considered "Influential’s" according to research done by GfK Roper
29% percent of local online content site users say they are the first person people come to for recommendations about local restaurants and bars
26% of local online users say they are the first person people come to for local shopping recommendations
23% for local entertainment recommendations
23% for local consumer electronics recommendations
Source: Online Publishers Association, August 2008