With budgets still tight, how are companies managing to stay connected while bringing engaging and relevant messages to customers?  

Successful companies are learning that if they use interactive elements such as video, polls, FLASH and RSS feeds within their e-mail marketing campaigns, they see higher conversion rates and a stronger connection to their customers.

Video, if created properly, can really enhance your e-mail message and recipient interactivity. By using an enticing image with descriptive impact statements, recipients will be eager to click and link to the video. Include the file size, length of video or formats supported. Use flash video (FLV) whenever possible to achieve higher compression rates. 

• HOW TO: Create Online Video That Works by David Rich

Polls are a great way to entice recipients and engage audiences that want to be heard. Create topics or subjects that will resonate with your intended audience. Provide immediate results, along with associated support material, newsletters or additional links.  

• Best practices: Using polls in e-mail marketing by Karen J. Bannan

RSS feeds are another way to keep customers connected post e-mailing especially if your company has a blog, dedicated community or news section. RSS feeds provide the right amount of content to recipients on their terms making it the perfect connection outside of targeted e-mails.

• Newbie's Guide to Google Reeder - by Josh Lowensohn

In summary, once you have created an on-going e-mail campaign with customers, remember to include interactive elements and content that will continually engage your customers. Remember to measure the effectiveness of each campaign and refine where necessary.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

The application of social video - often referred to as using the strategy of video as the central piece for social interaction and storytelling online - is beginning to grow rapidly.  

Take for example Samsung's HD Camera Phone Trick. That YouTube clip was created and produced for Samsung Mobile by London's Viral Factory. Its traffic and engagement patterns were tracked and analyzed by Visible Measures – with unprecedented results.  

The social video piece was specifically designed for social interaction – prompting the consumer to take the challenge and solve the puzzle. The formula was a simple one (you’ll need to view to see why). To be perfectly honest – I was drawn in and wanted to take the challenge!       

What does this engaging video tell us? 

1. Modern brand building with social video is a necessary part of the marketing mix
2. Due to its authenticity, engagement with video is beginning to rank higher and more desirable in comparison to TV viewing or radio broadcast
3. Bottom-line, people like to watch video, share it and get involved with it making it a natural word of mouth strategy

Obviously, everyone who uses social video as part of their marketing mix is curious about direct measurement – meaning, does it really work and feed the bottom-line?

As social video become more active, click thru activity as well as viewing and registration are good indicators of brand lift, interaction and sharing offering much better results than highly charged broadcast metrics. Based on the Samsung example – how could argue with its success?  

BTW – there’s a follow-on video that reveals the puzzle. Here’s the answer. 

Best

Denice MacDonald

According to several leading experts, social media is a number one priority in 2010. Social media will be used by organizations to lift their brand, stay connected to customers while using networks to grow their lead-gen pipelines. To learn how your organization can capitalize on what others are doing, check out these ‘top’ resources, articles and blogs from leading subject matter experts.   

Social media on marketers' menu for 2010 by Helen Leggatt, Biz Report   

"It looks like social media is on the menu for most marketers next year. A survey of almost 2,000 MediaPost subscribers found that over half plan to have "a presence on social networks" as part of their marketing mix in 2010..."  

10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010 by Ravit Lichtenberg from Ustrategy.com

"It is impossible to separate social media from the online world. Facebook reached 350 million users last month -- 70% of whom are outside the US -- and it accounts for 25% of the Web's traffic, according to Pew nearly one in five people on the web use Twitter or some other service to check status messages, and 94% of enterprises plan to maintain or increase their investment in enterprise social media tools. The social media conversation is no longer considered a Web 2.0 fad -- it is taking place in homes, small businesses and corporate boardrooms, and extending its reach into the nonprofit, education and health sectors. From feeling excitement, novelty, bewilderment, and overwhelmed, a growing number of people now speak of social media as simply another channel or tactic..."

Why You Need A Social Media Policy in 2010 by Vanessa DiMauro, Customer Think   

"Policies are dull. No one wants to create them, no one likes to read them and certainly, few desire the job of enforcing them.  But they can play an important role in outlining the rules of engagement around a particular set of online behaviors and have a strong role to play in the face of new situations where the there are no standards.  This is especially true with the wild west world of social media in business..."  

Six Social Media Trends for 2010 by David Armano, Harvard Business Review   

"In 2009, we saw exponential growth of social media. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter alone grew 1,382% year-over-year in February, registering a total of just more than 7 million unique visitors in the US for the month. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to outpace MySpace. So what could social media look like in 2010? In 2010, social media will get even more popular, more mobile, and more exclusive — at least, that's my guess. What are the near-term trends we could see as soon as next year..."

Best to my network this holiday season!   

Denice MacDonald 

If you are looking for the technology to put your video on the web, the variety of choices can be staggering. That’s because as web video has flourished, so have the number of companies providing the tools to deliver video across the Internet.

Large media companies and individual video bloggers can now choose from among multiple firms when looking for a web video product. Many of the technology providers are quite similar and anyone in the market for a web video platform should 'test the waters' and try out the ones that seem like the best fit.  

Web video technology services can be divided into the following categories:

CONTENT MANAGEMENT: The process of ingesting content, moving it around, converting to different files and organizing video properly before it goes online.

PROGRAMMING AND PUBLISHING: The presentation of the video on the web site, including the player and the playlists.

DISTRIBUTION: Delivering the video across the web, to either the main site or to distribution channels and portals.

MONETIZATION: Making money off the video, by integrating advertising or offering video on a download or pay-per-view basis.

REPORTING: Providing analysis and reports on number of views, length of views and other similar data. 

Check out these vendors and resources: 

Dragonfly (world-class multi-media content delivery network)

Kickapps (great for online communities or any type of 'sharing' portal)

Maven (online video advertising)

Magnify (good for both b2c and b2b)

UPDATED: Video for Mobile, Twitter and YouTube: 

Check out the recent craze for using video in social media campaigns posted October 1st by Adveristing Age: How to Mobilize Your Social Media.

Best

Denice MacDonald

Before Web 2.0, organizations would take old brochure copy, poor graphics, a couple of cheesy widgets and off they go to build a web site in bad html code. With today’s user expectations, web sites have to be a bit more sophisticated, offering the best-of-breed in user experience and delivery.

To truly build a great web site presence, compete on a level playing field and convert customers, organizations must do a bit of homework before developing their web site.

Review competitors – in order to compete, organizations need to see how they fare against the competition. A comprehensive competitor’s analysis will allow the organization to provide a similar interactive experience when vying for customers to their products or services.

Know your audience – most web sites try to cater to a broad-base audience using a ‘hit or miss’ approach. With today’s web savvy user, web sites need to address exactly who their customers are. In most cases, audiences are looking to be entertained, informed or persuaded - but knowing specific industry focus, generational disposition and online behavior will go a long way in getting your audience to engage, drill down and act.

Create relevant content – with the growth of social communities, blogs and rich video media, content can be served up in many formats. Key to the use of these great Web 2.0 applications is providing relevant content to users.  Similar to ‘knowing your audience’, organizations must segment content based upon visitor types.

Enhance the experience – the visitor experience relates to ease of use, access to relevant content and tools that will help engage, connect and convert customers. Reviewing appropriate navigation, Flash or graphics, web tools or gadgets as well as call-to-action scenarios will enhance the experience and have the visitor coming back for more.

Integrate online and offline strategies – successful organizations have realized that integrating online and offline marketing strategies is the best way to tap into a large customer base and get customers to spend more. Moreover, when an integrated strategic plan is executed for online and offline simultaneously, customers get a single, unified message from the organization that reflects a cohesive brand.

More Related Strategy:

Engagement Redirects the Marketing Trajectory

Web Site Success Requires Companywide Collaboration

Web Personalization - No Longer the Next Frontier

Best

Denice MacDonald 

Creative Commons helps you publish your work online while letting others know exactly what they can and can't do with your work (any content or digital asset – including software).

With a Creative Commons license, you keep your copyright but allow people to copy and distribute your work provided they give you credit — and only on the conditions you specify.

Creative Commons licenses contain four major permissions: 

1.  Attribution (by) requires users to attribute a work's original author. All Creative Commons licenses contain this option, but some now-deprecated licenses did not contain this component.

2.  Authors can either not restrict modification, or use Share-alike (sa), which is a copyleft requirement that requires that any derived works be licensed under the same license, or No derivatives (nd), which requires that the work not be modified.

3.  Non-commercial (nc) requires that the work not be used for commercial purposes.

4.  As of the current versions, all Creative Commons licenses allow the "core right" to redistribute a work for non-commercial purposes without modification. The Non-commercial and No derivatives options will make a work non-free.

Additional Resources:

Creative Commons 

Creative Common Icons

Creative Commons Images (Flikr)

Best

Denice MacDonald

If you’re a busy web professional like me, you don’t have time to participate in every event, tradeshow or user group.  Moreover, if you don’t care for daily extensive reading and prefer some face time, a video blog may be your answer. 

WebProNews Blog Videos is your home for ebusiness, tech and search video content. They provide exclusive coverage of conferences, compelling interviews with top names in the industry, practical tips, and online news that matters.

You can watch the blog version with actual clips at events with subject matter experts like Bruce Clay, or you can read the blog.

Either way, you will be able to find current information that would take hours to filter through via daily searches or bookmarking. WebProNews provides RSS feeds and archived blogs.

Here are a couple of interesting, if not edgy, posts:

Bruce Clay - SES NY 2009 - Mike McDonald sat down with Bruce Clay for an interview at Search Engine Strategies, NY on a follow-up to ranking being dead, and changes to search results based on behavioral and intent-based data.

SES NY - Twitter Exclusively as a Marketing Tool? - Discussion on Guy Kawasaki's presentation at the Search Engine Strategies, NY.

Best

Denice MacDonald

Wow, this is amazing. For the second year in a row, global news and business publication The Economist took the #1 spot on Adweek’s Top 10 list of consumer magazines with standout track records of advertising revenue and page performance.  

What’s fascinating about The Economist, an authoritative weekly newspaper focusing on international politics and business news and opinion, is how they’ve married their offline print with their online presence.

Offering both print and digital subscriptions, The Economist has nurtured their audience with audio and video, research tools, classifieds and jobs as well as world-wide content. 

Moreover, the organization uses ‘four free trial issues’ to bait print subscribers. If you don’t want to take the plunge into print subscriptions, the web site offers newsletters and topic alerts (RSS or e-mail).

For business professionals, the web site offers a unique knowledge center called “Economist Intelligence Unit” (EIU Online) that offers instant access to a collection of intelligence on 203 countries, eight industries and a range of management topics.

I would strongly recommend that you bookmark or subscribe to the free alerts or take advantage of the four free issues.

This is an amazing print resource and a substantiated business case for a well-developed web advertising presence.

Best

Denice MacDonald

The following is a YouTube link to a fantastic video on the progression of information technology, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman.  

I wouldn’t even attempt to write a summation of the video – you will need to view it firsthand. Trust me -- it is worth five minutes of your time!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

It is imperative that all departments, disciplines and vested shareholders collaborate on the daily feeding and overall strategy of the organization's web site initiative - or else the web site will fail.

Why? Web sites are no longer ancillary; they are mission critical - adding substantially to the organization's bottom-line. Moreover, the combined needs of various departments or disciplines actually enhance the dynamic strategy behind the on-going transition of an organization's web site by offering various views and points of entry to clients, customers, employees and shareholders.

How? Collabration does not begin by ordering various departments into a conference room for a strategy meeting. It begins with defining needs, strategies and business goals. In most cases, what the sales department requires is not much different than what the HR department may need. Each is looking to communicate the organizations value and offerings while providing easy call-to-action scenarios for visitors and on-going interaction to the organization's web site.

Where to begin? Start with simple site goals that require collaboration against business needs from various departments. Begin the process of determining how the needs intertwine or can be repurposed to satisfy many needs.

SCENARIO 

HR is trying to hire high end sales professionals in a very tight market. The Sales department is trying to get a new product to market. Marketing has a tight budget but would welcome PR exposure relative to company growth.

SUGGESTIONS

Use web video to create employee profiles for HR enticing 'like' recruits. Use the same web video but add additional footage to introduce and e-mail video newsletter to targeted customers and leads that may benefit from the new product. Have marketing dove-tail the e-mail video newsletter AND web video components to the web site thereby increasing interaction to the site through video news releases. What will this take? It will take two or three days of shooting, various formatting of the web video, simple permission-granted e-mail program and some high end content. Using a create it once, use many ways concept has leveraged the collaboration of various department initiatives while safeguarding a cohesive web brand strategy.

Best

Denice MacDonald

To build e-commerce sites that drive more traffic and sales, retailers are creating interactive page treatments and adding video, customer reviews and other advanced features.

Time to motivate customers

By incorporating video, customer reviews and other advanced features, b2b and b2c retailers are positioning content, tools and applications on product pages in a way that motivates the visitor to take a specific action.

For example, if your customer base relies heavily on compliance or regulatory mandates, consider a video that provides insight on how your product or service will solve or comply with a regulatory issue. Likewise, consider adding customer reviews on new products – doing so will not only show that your organization is transparent, but that you are willing to learn from product feedback – whether it’s good or bad.

Lastly, smart retailers are providing insight and thought leadership in the forms of blogs or interactive forums to draw in prospects and customers – using them as a third-party sell. Doing so will not only elevate your brand but provide content to virally get your message out.

What’s next?

Some web retailers are taking a wait-and-see approach to launching mobile commerce or digital communities. But that doesn’t mean that these features should not be on your radar and/or part of your ‘next steps’ in the evolution of your e-commerce web site. Technology and customer expectations are moving quickly, regardless of the economic downturn. Be prepared.

Who's doing it and how are they doing it?

iPhone 3G Shows How to Use Online Video to Sell Products by Holly Buchanan of FutureNow

Ebags.com (view video lower left hand side of web product page)

Microsoft (uses customer profiles to tell the story - very cool)

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Each year before the Super Bowl, hype builds around the multimillion-dollar U.S. television commercials set to air during the broadcast. 

However, this year, a slumping economy has dampened the excitement resulting in sponsors rethinking their strategies: Is the ad appropriate and does the spot have the right tone to resonate with viewers?

Although the Super Bowl is considered a big entertainment event for viewers regardless of the economic climate, viewers will see that advertisers will take a gentler, more lighthearted approach¹ relative to content and message.

Get’m here:  Pre-released ads and previews have been collected on the Just for Laughs web site and reveal inspired moments from eTrade and CareerBuilder, along with a Top 15 list of all-time funniest Super Bowl ads.

Vote now:  Also, stay connected and vote for your favorite ad at SpotBowl.com – America’s largest Super Bowl Advertising Poll. 

Past Super Bowl Ads:

• Top 10 Super Bowl Ads of All Time as reported by MSNBC
• Top 25 Super Bowl Ads of All Time as reported by Spike TV

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .    

Sources

¹Advertisers Change Game Plans for Super Bowl as reported by NY Times

Best

Denice MacDonald

Armed with weekly web addresses, Barack Obama uses online video to inform and engage us in ways that could not be accomplished via radio broadcasts or through typical print means. 

Barack has embraced video as an opportunity to personally shape and frame his message in a way that resonates with all types of viewers and constituents. The reception of these online video updates has reinforced the influence of online video to an all time level. 

Demand validated - online video the big tech winner in 2008.

As more data about 2008 Internet usage in the US is released, online video increasingly looks like one of the year’s big winners. US Internet users viewed 12.7 billion online videos during November 2008 alone, up more than one-third over November 2007, according to data released in January 2009 by comScore¹. 

What does this mean for your organization? 

Now is the time to seriously think about integrating video into the marketing mix. Reason simply, online video has come full circle in pricing making it affordable for almost everyone.

Video can be added to web sites for internal communications, distance learning, sales support, sales training, integrated with webinars, as rich media within e-mails and as an engagement strategy for banner advertising. Moreover, video now has the capacity to be tagged for search engine optimization to elevate web rankings.   

To help you get started, I’ve provided some really good local talent (Wisconsin). I trust these vendors to help you create stellar video that can be created once, paid for once, but used many ways. 

Matt Nies and Rick Kallien, Owners - Pixelbox Visual Design 

Paul Kaplan, Owner - PKA Productions 

Patrice Nault, Media Project Manager - Plum Moving Media

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    .   .   .   .   .   .

¹Sources:

comScore 

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Clients were the driver for most of the blog content written in 2008 for MacDonald Consulting. The blogs ran the gamut from brand awareness, product review, transitioning web technology and metrics reporting. Because of their key ranking (and as evidenced by subscriber page views), the following "Top 5 Blogs" are a reflection of issues facing B2B and B2C marketers. 

McDonalds Marketing Strategy - This blog elevated MacDonald Consulting Services to a top organic spot on Google. The purpose of the blog was to show clients how easy it is to elevate listings by concentrating on keywords that are both related and non-related relative to SEO efforts.  

Creating iPhone Microsites - With iPhones flying off the shelf, online marketers and advertisers are working diligently to get portions of their web site to emulate via mobile technology. This particular blog focused on a short-term solution to 'right size' a web site for a B2B client.

Kindle: Amazon's Reading Device - Amazon's top selling reading device for e-books was the topic for a client seeking a hand-held device for leisure reading as well as periodicals. As a product review blog, the topic was the center of conversation with team members who were reluctant to use advanced technology.

Content is King! Evaluating Content Management Systems - This particular blog was used in numerous instances for clients moving from static to dynamic web sites. Inundated with numerous choices, clients were happy to learn that there was a process of evaluating the right content management system - one that meets their demands today but agile enough to manage long-term needs.

The Key to Great Tradeshow Exhibiting is Marketing - Although online marketing continues to take a large portion of marketing dollars, it's interesting that many clients still use tradeshows as a major marketing initiative for lead generation and overall visibility. I found that most clients had a fragmented approach to tradeshow exhibiting. This particular blog is a response to a client frustrated with tradeshow results and was looking for some insight on the effectiveness of an integrated online/offline tradeshow campaign.

Next Top 5:

• Learning from the Best: Blogging Gurus
• Social Networking Can Boost Your Business
• What Makes a Great Blog?
• Business Bonding on Social Networks
• When is it Time to Dump a Client?

Best,

Denice MacDonald

2008 has definitely been a year of growth (and change) in many segments of technology and the web. Consider the big story of early 2008, Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Yahoo! – only to see Yahoo! reject the offer – go figure. With the ebb and flow of the economy, it will be interesting to see what happens with my favorite top stories from 2008: 

Google Chrome – With a mixed bag of reviews, Google Chrome did make a big splash - garnering over 1% of total browser users in its first three months of launch. It will be interesting to watch Chrome’s ability to give Google a compelling platform for the delivery of web applications while hopefully playing nice with Firefox in 2009.

• Will Google Chrome Gain Acceptance on Corporate Desktops? by Amit Agarwal, Digital Inspirations  

Video Content Kicks Butt – According to comScore, Hulu, a joint venture between Fox and NBC that offers professionally created content, made the list of the top 10 video sites on the web. With video in general becoming widely accepted (ala YouTube), tv video content on demand via the web is the next big logical step to capture ‘strategic’ advertising dollars. Take a look at the hulu web site and get hooked – like me!

• Web Site’s Formula for Success: TV Content With Fewer Ads by Brian Stelter, The New York Times

Amazon Kindle – Like most professionals, I’m finding it harder and harder to read all the feeds and e-mails I get each day – not to mention grabbing some leisure time for reading. I believe the ongoing rollout and use of e-books (Kindle) will bridge that gap and suddenly make reading ‘cool’ again.

• Amazon's Kindle

Social Communities – I personally belong to 10 different social web communities – several for pleasure and several for business networking. We’ll begin to see the social communities evolve (and share) technologies thereby elevating networks that are working and eliminating those that don’t. Of critical importance, will be the evolution of Facebook - Facebook will debut a "Social Rank" algorithm which will determine which of your friends are most relevant and important. It will be fun to watch Facebook in 2009!

• Predictions for 2009 by Charlene Li (author of Groundswell)  

As web marketing professionals, it will be interesting to see how the above-mentioned trends will evolve in 2009.

To all my subscribers - the best to you in 2009.

Denice MacDonald

As dollars get scarce and competition grows fierce, marketers are now pondering the direction and mode of maintaining their customer base and market share. Let’s face it, tough times force tough choices – what to keep, what to slice, what to start anew.   

Here’s a few suggestions on channels that will aid marketers to stay ‘in the game’ for 2009:  

Online advertising 

Although price competitive, there will be many ‘opportunity buys’ for online marketers willing to take the plunge.   

Search marketing

Still touted as the best deal, search can be measured and refined – allowing targeted and niche campaigns.   

Integrate

Collaborate online branding with search initiatives resulting in a cohesive and measurable strategy. 

E-mail

No it’s not dead – it's resurrected as a viable and affordable means of staying connected to customers and prospects. 

Service is marketing

The best thing you can do to keep customers and potentially increase sales is to focus on customer service.   

Online video

Video engages and can become a viral strategy. Videos also are well poised for repurposing at trade shows, online and within e-mail campaigns. 

Metrics 

Test, test and retest. You can’t get enough statistics to help gauge and refine both online and offline initiatives.  

The only economic constant is change -- it will be paramount for marketers to stay agile relative to initiatives for 2009.

Best,

Denice MacDonald 

Website Magazine is the one magazine that focuses exclusively on the business of running a website: tips for successful websites, solutions for enhancing website traffic, the latest Internet industry trends and statistics, as well as news analysis on the Internet industry.

By providing a broad scope of useful articles and tapping premier talent in the industry, Website Magazine covers all the elements that together make websites successful: search engine optimization and marketing, website design, content management, blogging, E-commerce, online advertising, email marketing, analytics, web software and applications, customer service/customer relationship management, web hosting, mobile web and more. 

I highly recommend that anyone who is involved with web site development, strategy or execution (including internet marketing) subscribe to this publication. Website Magazine has also developed additional content exclusive to their digital edition which is available only to subscribers.

You'll find insightful articles on SEO for WordPress, product videos and ROI, advantages of being a certified Google AdWords Professional, Internet usage market share, domain names and SEO and the ultimate PPC bid matrix.

Lastly, you can join Website Magazine's online community and get a free listing!

Subscribe Today!

• Free Subscription Here
• Sample Issue

Enjoy!

Denice MacDonald
 

As most of you know, I'm an avid reader and find it hard to keep up with all the reading required to stay ahead of technology. AND, I am finding little time to sit down and read novels, books or magazines.  I've learned recently that Amazon has introduced a convenient, portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The device is called Kindle.

Kindle provides an exceptional reading experience. Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology, reading Kindle’s screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper—and nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen. Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot and is designed for ambidextrous use so both "lefties" and "righties" can read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time.

Kindle is completely mobile and simple to use for everyone. No PC and no syncing needed. Using the same 3G network as advanced cell phones, content is delivered using a wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you’ll never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly contracts, or monthly wireless bills.

Many have endorsed Kindle, including Oprah.  The device runs about $359 and books around $9.99. 

Other Reviews 

TechCrunch Review

ZDNet

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Kindle is portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

(Credit: Amazon Kindle)

According to a recent e-Marketer report, more than six out of 10 CMOs and senior marketing professionals surveyed in the US said that digital tactics (including mobile, video, e-mail etc.) accounted for more than one-quarter of their agency marketing, according to a July 2008 study by Zoomerang for Sapient.  

Respondents also said digital marketing was growing in importance. Nearly one-half (45%) of those polled had either switched agencies or planned to switch during the next 12 months to gain access to more digital expertise. Almost eight out of 10 said that agencies' interactive and digital aptitude was important or very important.  

What is digital marketing and what does it mean for marketers? 

According to Wikipedia, digital marketing is defined as the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost-effective manner. By doing so, marketers realize the following benefits: 

Brand-advantage – typically in the past, marketing and any digital initiatives were handled separately or were non-existent. With the use of digital technology, marketing professionals have an opportunity to enhance messaging and bring cohesiveness to their brand. 

Larger reach – digital initiatives allow marketers to expand their campaigns beyond one single effort leveraging several channels to optimize budget dollars and reach. 

Personalization – with digital initiatives, messages are highly targeted and specific allowing marketers to not only track how many people saw their message but also specific information about each user. 

As marketers, digital tactics allow for many opportunities that can be tracked measured and refined. To learn more about digital marketing and tactics, consider accessing the following resources: 

• The McKinsey Quarterly – Digital Marketing
• NetImperative – Digital Marketing News and Events
• MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer

Best

Denice MacDonald

The release of Apple’s iPhone revolutionized mobile phone technology and web browsing with its ease of use. One of the most talked-about features of the iPhone has been its ability to use Safari to browse the “real” Internet.  

However, until recently, this idea has proven to be less than rewarding because the larger pixels used by most web sites designed to display information on a full screen did not translate well to the iPhone’s different shape and size.  

Because of that, the iPhone’s ability to see and access data and pictures on most web sites was plagued by problems and content which was hard to read and interact with - until now. 

We’re beginning to see the arrival of web sites formatted specifically to fit the iPhone’s small screen and unique configuration. In addition, we’re seeing techniques developed that make iPhone compatible web sites capable of visually displaying and selling products, over secure satellite connections, and accessed by mobile phones from anywhere in the world.

Those interested in learning how to develop compatible iPhone microsites will find a full tutorial section here that includes:

1. Great examples of optimization, design and usability.
2. Steps to ensure your visitors a great mobile experience.
3. Examples, news and articles.
4. Downloadable samples of how to create content for iPhone’s MobileSafari browser.
5. Resources and links to code and source files.
6. Information on how enhancing your website will bring better experiences to your iPhone customers and increase sales. 

Resources

• Microsite Mobile
• iPhone Microsite Tutorials

Best

Denice MacDonald