Display Ads still have a place in online marketing

Not being a big fan of online display ads because of their intrusive nature affecting my web experience, I do see them as a useful tactic if used properly.

The use of widgets embedded in display ads can be a powerful tool when used for Ecommerce.

What better way to be in the right place at the right time with a "billboard" that actually gives the user the ability to act on a piece of creative. I'm not talking about simply clicking on a call-to-action, but more along the lines of putting the user directly into the sales funnel before even landing on the site.

ROI for the ads can easily be tracked as an assist to the conversion more easily since the user will be passing real data from the ad unit directly into the destination site. 

Rather than reporting on impressions and Click-thru-rates, you have some real data that you can learn from.

An example would be if I were to see an ad for 1800Flowers on some website 4 days prior to mothers day. The ads creative is intended to act as a reminder that I don't have much time left and if I act now I can get rushed delivery for free. At the bottom by the call-to-action there is an input box where I can enter in the delivery zip code. That in-turn will put me directly into the websites shopping path where I would select the flowers I would want to send. Then I simply check-out. See, right place at the right time and non-intrusive.

Stewart Severino
Tweet me

Starbucks-Power of Marketing

Starbucks marketing folks have trained the consumer well.
I am not a big Starbucks fan but I occasionally run in when I need some caffeine. Today, as usual I asked for a regular coffee, 'grande'...i paused for a second to remember grande=medium.
The lady behind the counter gave me a strange look and replied, "regular ? Thats boring...You look a more exciting guy than that".
I replied, "Na, just regular coffee, please". And turned around to the guy behind me and said, "what ever happend to just a regular cup of Joe, meduim or large, not Grande???
"The stranger agreed and began telling me how long his waiting time has gotten because of people ordering Cafe Macchiatos and stuff with steamed low fat milk".

You get the point.
The Starbucks worker looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole. Which was not my intention.

My point is, the consumer has gotten so trained by the marketing and advertising efforts of Starbucks throughout the years that when someone like me walks in to a Starbucks store and asks for a regular cup of coffee, we get looked at strangely and get questioned if that is really what we want to order.
Good job Starbucks .

Stewart Severino
Tweet me

sseverino@gmail.com

Real Estate Marketing-Generate Leads-Be Trust Worthy

...Continued from Blog-Lead Generation

People don't trust strangers. We talked about that already. So if you cold call people as a stranger, you already face an uphill climb in terms of real estate lead generation. The key, then, is to inspire trust among your target audience. This will help you overcome the natural skepticism people have and make them more likely to contact you.
How do you generate trust? Testimonials help, especially when you use the former client's full name, photo, and neighborhood. A long track record helps too, as do professional certifications and sales awards (just be sure to tie these back to the success and satisfaction of your former clients).
You can also generate trust by sharing your expertise with people. Real estate blogging is a great example of this. If you publish a real estate blog over a long period of time, and people find that blog online (through search engines or otherwise), they will feel as if they already know you a little. If you publish quality content, people will realize that (A) you know your market, (B) you are active in that market, and (C) you obviously like to help people. Suddenly, you're not such a stranger ... you're a perfect candidate to be their real estate agent.

Blog about things people want to know about; examples, Community, Schools, Taxes, Development in the community, Recreation, Retail Stores, Best place to get coffee, Best place to eat dinner....starting to get it?! Let your readers know that you are the expert in this field.

To learn more:
About Author Stewart Severino, a marketing consultant who specializes in helping business owners and company's with marketing and advertising utilizing different customer touch points. Stewart is the author of the educational blog covering the topics in online, mobile and direct marketing. To learn more about this topic please visit, http://www.maddockmedia.com/

Real Estate Marketing- Leads-Be Valuable

...Continued from Blog-Lead Generation
The agents who are most successful with real estate lead generation are those who understand the concept of "perceived value." When a person perceives something as being valuable, they naturally want that thing. In real estate terms, this perceived value comes from many elements:
A real estate agent with unique knowledge of a certain niche ... or one who offers access to the best listings ... or one who has a proven (and illustrated) track record of client success ... or one who streamlines the process by networking with mortgage folks ...


These are all ways a real estate agent can increase his or her perceived value, which is the value your audience perceives you to have.
You can also create an item with a high perceived value, and you can in turn use this perception of value to generate leads. Let's examine the concept of "free reports" as an example. Many agents use this approach to real estate lead generation, but they botch the strategy because the report in question does not have a high enough perceived value.

A report entitled "Top Ten Home-Buying Tips" does not have a strong perceived value and therefore will not generate many leads. Why? Because it is generic, it does not identify closely enough with the target audience, and it's information that you can find anywhere. It is not exclusive "must read" information. It will not motivate the average reader.


So how do you increase the value of such a report? Easy. You make it a "must read" document. Instead of basic home buying tips, why not boost the value and put people under pressure to read the piece? Why not promote something like this: "Which Happytown Schools Are the Best? Exclusive Report Tells All."


This kind of document would have a much better chance of motivating people and generating leads. It would be easy to tie into real estate, too, so most of your leads would be qualified ones. But this is just something I came up with off the top of my head. You could create an even better "hot button" report with a little imagination and knowledge about your community.

To learn more:
About Author Stewart Severino, a marketing consultant who specializes in helping business owners and company's with marketing and advertising utilizing different customer touch points. Stewart is the author of the educational blog covering the topics in online, mobile and direct marketing. To learn more about this topic please visit, http://www.maddockmedia.com/

Real Estate Marketing- Lead Generation- Be Visible

This is continued from my previous blog-Lead Generation

Obviously, people cannot contact you if they don't know you exist. This is where your business visibility comes into play. Online visibility is a big part of this, which is why search engine optimization is such a hot topic among real estate agents. The more visible you are online, the more likely people will be to find you.


You can also increase your business visibility by publishing articles in your local newspaper, publishing blogs, articles and press releases online, being active in your community, conducting free seminars, and other aspects of PR. Visibility and awareness are the first steps to generating real estate leads.

To learn more:
About Author Stewart Severino, a marketing consultant who specializes in helping business owners and company's with marketing and advertising utilizing different customer touch points. Stewart is the author of the educational blog covering the topics in online, mobile and direct marketing. To learn more about this topic please visit, http://www.maddockmedia.com/