Taking a fresh slant
February 09, 2008, 09:54:00 posted by Charlie
Interactivity is the sweet treat that lures repeated visitors to your site earning you increased impressions.
The degree to which you're willing to cede some measure of control to the consumer will be reflected in their level of commitment to you. This is the new reality. When you're able to interact, you're creating something all your own. When you allow your customers to do so, every experience of your business becomes a custom-tailored one. Whether it's an option to arrange the page in a way that suits them, or create a customized landing experience for returned visits, user-crafting creates a sense of connection and ownership. There are ways to begin a dialog that don't require major surgery to your site. By co-opting existing resources available on the web, you can create a hipper user experience. For instance, visitors can't resist a poll. They vote, they see their result. And, you get constituent credibility by asking their opinion. There are resources for creating your own online poll. We like Survey Monkey. It's clean, easy to use and provides easy-to-read results--even for the math challenged. (like moi) You can use it free and try it out; for a full functionality you'll have to subscribe. I found a new little gem you can embed on your site: slanty is still in beta, but has great promise. It's slick looking and returns immediate feedback to the user. And, because it's as easy to embed as a YouTube video, integrating it into your web experience is a piece of cake. Here's an example:
var SLANTLY = (typeof SLANTLY!= "undefined") ? SLANTLY : {};
SLANTLY.embedconfig={
version:"1.1",
topic: "Business",
keyword: "sales%2C%20business%2C%20marketing",
layout: "custom",
width: "100%",
height: "180"
};
There are dozens of resources like this out there. I've tested many and narrowed down to some I find effective without diminishing your messaging alignment. Creating a shared experience is only the most important thing you can do to build results on your site. Let me know if we can help. MyFoxHouston.com came on last year and quickly rose to be one of
Houston's most popular television websites. The provided content didn't
fuel their ascent. Instead, it was the ability for visitors to create
their own, personal blogs on the site. It's not a TV station site, it's
a community--and the station is an active player in it.
You can't fake this. Half-efforts are worse than none. It's a process
to be launched, not a task to be completed. And, it has to reflect an
authentic desire to connect with the visitor. Doing so magnetizes your messaging with a charge that gets passed along every time a customer connects with it.
Click now or the dog gets it
December 26, 2007, 07:46:00 posted by Charlie
Carnival barkers stand outside tents along the midway calling out, luring you to just step inside and see...
"Click bait" is their cyber-equivalent. It's a website link that gets attention, piques curiosity and draws you to click through just to see what's on the other side.
News sites like CNN and USA Today are rich with click bait. So much so that someone has created a blog of some of the best examples. WTFCNN is funny on the surface and illustrative on a deeper level. This is what it takes to draw people into and through your site.
It's easy to scoff at click bait, the same way you laugh at Dancing With The Stars--after watching it all season. The purpose of your site is to draw visitors into a deeper relationship. Using click bait helps that happen if, for no other reason, to satisfy their curiosity. Understanding what makes visitors click and writing with that in mind magnetizes your copy, bringing your core messaging into alignment.
Have a laugh. Learn a lesson. Are you baiting visitors? Or, simply giving them choices.
I've been having challenges with FeedBurner, which distributes these stories to MogerMedia.com and to you via email, dropping links and graphics. So, just in case you didn't get the link, here's where to see that bucket of click bait: http://wtfcnn.blogspot.com/
Plus, if you've missed any links in the past, visit www.admissionsblog.net and see the full entries.
Sunday Detour: Smile, you're on Court TV
December 23, 2007, 12:56:00 posted by Charlie
Running red lights is bad. Cars get damaged. People get killed. Okay, so, we're on the same page here, right? Since it's impossible to put policemen on every corner deterring people from stupidity, camera enforcement seems a reasonable option, right? You can't legislate morality any more than you can force intelligent action. Do something reasonable to keep people safe and you'll find some wingnut barking and howling in protest. Case in point: A group calling itself MAD -- or Motorists Against Detection -- have
taken to setting autonomous traffic cameras ablaze across the United
Kingdom, and are detailing their exploits on a website. The group claims to have destroyed over 1000 roadside cameras, according to Engadget. Says the group's leader, Capt. Gatso, "The vigilante anti-speed camera group have announced a summer of MADness which will see them target for destruction all speed cameras in the UK. It's now going to be a period of zero tolerance against all speed cameras." The gang of disgruntled drivers also plans a day of action called "National Cover-Up Your Number Plates Day."
Before getting all hoity with your toity, be advised: Texas DOT wants to give you the opportunity to earn some Kodak moments of your own by installing "turnkey automated speed notifications services" on Highway 10 in Hudspeth County and Highway 6 near College Station. It's all being done with the overt purpose of assessing and evaluating "all elements of such a system." Sure. Perhaps their assessment would have included its billing potential were it not for the swift action of the Texas Legislature. Still, these new cameras are accurate to within two miles-per-hour in EITHER direction and they're sure to find their way into service someday. So,when that happens, unless you're able to make a Battlestar Galactica-like light-speed leap, your best option will be to drop out of warp and drive the limit.
Choose who to lose
December 19, 2007, 18:13:37 posted by Charlie
A white-knuckled fist coming toward you tends to make other things vanish from your thoughts. In that moment, nothing else really matters; avoiding injury is paramount. You choose to lose other thoughts and get really focused.
Good advertising is a white-knuckled fist that pushes other thoughts and ideas out of your head. And just like swinging a fist, you can't hit everyone all at once. You have to choose who to lose: one fist, one target. It's as much about who WON'T get hit as who WILL feel the blunt-force trauma of your message.
Mike Huckabee gets it. Oh my, does he get it. Wrapped in sweetness, warmth, and divine love, his message cuts through the clutter by uttering the ultimate code word: Christ. With six letters, he takes direct aim at his core.
Your ad should be this good. It's not flashy. It's just flat good. Watch it and learn:
Holy subliminal messaging, Batman. Did you notice that bookshelf in the background? In a classic case of message deflection, media commentators have landed on the floating white intersection of the bookshelf in the background, insinuating it is a case of subliminal messaging. Right. Huckabee is sneaking religion into a spot wherein he calls out Christ by name. You just can't slip anything past the left these days...
Hanging up pay phones
December 03, 2007, 12:42:15 posted by Charlie
Soon the only place you'll see a coin-operated phone is in the past. AT&T has decided to ditch the business at the end of 2008. The total number of pay phones have halved since 1998 when BellSouth exited. Today, AT&T owns and operates public pay phones in 13 states. Cell mobility is the culprit. Cell use has quadrupled in the past decade and about 80 percent of people in the U.S. now have mobile phones, according to CTIA--The Wireless Association. While the overt loss in vanishing pay phones means increasing use of cell phones, a more discrete change is the growing shift toward "third screen" content: advertising and entertainment content targeted to cell phones. Third-screen messaging has all the advantages of online marketing with the added impact of personal delivery on a mobile device. It's been over 118 years since the first coin-operated phone was installed in Chicago and only a few groups are showing any sign of concern; the Justice League of America calls it "a national crisis." Maybe someone should give those folks a quarter to call someone who cares--if they can find a pay phone.
