In Response to Hayley's Blog Regarding Earth Day Advertising

I applaud what Starbucks did on Earth Day, especially since they've held back on giving stuff for free lately. I remember getting many coupons for free items at Starbucks before but not so much now.

Starbucks's way was the proper way to approach "green" marketing strategies, whereas other companies simply capitalize on this "trend" by changing the appearance of a product to mislead their customers into believing that they've changed their product for the better.

Dan posted about McDonald's incorporating "healthier" products to appeal to new markets but in reality, these new salads are just as unhealthy as their burgers, so who are they trying to fool?

Many companies lack social responsibility which should be taken into consideration when creating a marketing strategy, in this case Starbucks did it in such a way that it benefitted them, the earth and the consumer.

SEO as a Powerful Marketing Tool

I'm sure you've heard me about a billion times in class - It's been a handful of times that I've mentioned the significanceof Search Engine Optimization as a marketing tool for any business. The internet has made businesses available to just about everybody with a computer. All that an interested party needs to do is to type in words to find a product that they're looking for.

Oftentimes they'll also use the search engine provided by Google, and google uses very complex algorithms to rank your site's popularity so that when you type in "best vegan restaurant in Keene, NH" Google will use those keywords and bring you the site that matches most of those keywords.

The algorithm is so complicated that it even looks at spelling and grammatical errors to rank any website.

For photographers, this is a specially important marketing tool that we must take advantage of.

Zach Prez has a blog with tips and advice for photographers about S.E.O.

Ever since I implemented his 20 quick tips I've been getting inquiries from new clients interested in photography services. The results are visible almost instantly. I also recently began testing adwords and in the past week I've received 4 different inquiries about wedding photography and two more for portraits.

I cannot stress the importance of Google enough.

How do you think we could implement Google tools into Country Life as a way to increase traffic online and offline?

In Response to Jackie's Blog Regarding Content Marketing

I'm glad you brought this up because I think that an important part of online marketing is understanding in what stage of the buying process a potential customer is.

What companies now want to do is reach customers when they are ready to make a purchase but in my opinion that's extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Google offers ways in which businesses can try to reach customers when they are ready to buy a product. They have made agreements with several businesses and created a network that advertisers can analyze on the internet to see whether or not their should spend money advertising their product on certain websites. Sounds complicated but I'll try to explain.

For example, if a business sells bicycle clothing, they can choose to advertise on websites that are all about bicycle accessories or even forums that people use to discuss cycling, etc... this way, instead of spending money on advertising to a global audience, they can advertise to a very specific and small group of people that is much more likely to be ready to buy their product.

Here's the Google Display Network

The statistics are quite amazing... Just the other day I searched for statistical data about The Knot which is a website that provides resources primarily to women who are engaged. They have a very expensive and prestigious vendor program that costs a lot of money if you want to advertise with them. Just our of curiosity I looked to see what their audience's interests were and none of them are photography services so now I know that as a wedding photographer, if I ever wanted to invest advertising money at the Knot, I would be wasting my time.

Are there any other tools provided by Google that are powerful for marketing? How could else could you use Google's Display Network to improve your marketing plan?

Abstract Marketing

One of the photography blogs I subscribe to for tips and inspiration recently interviewed a celebrity photographer who has implemented an incredibly unique form of marketing for his business. This photographer's name is Kareem Black and he calls it "Abstract Marketing"

Here's a video interview where he explains his way of marketing his photography:

His product is flexible enough that he has the ability to use this kind of marketing. However, I think that other products might not allow this kind of creativity because it would not reflect the brand.

This was his method of abstract marketing. Can anyone else think of any other ways that a company can use abstract marketing to create "buzz" about a product?

In Response to Dan's Blog about Fast-Food Promoting Health...

We see this time and time again not only with fast-food companies but with any company that is trying to capitalize on the popularity "green and healthy" products.

At the grocery store there's soaps, chips, beauty products and even desserts that are marketed to appear "healthier" or "good for the environment."

I don't think that these companies should get away with it. They're not actually providing a better product, they're simply manipulating its image to convince consumers that they've changed their product. This is misleading and as consumers we should not allow them to get away with it.

Unfortunately, legislation only goes so far in monitoring and controlling these misleading marketing tactics but as consumers we should do our homework before we purchase a product and not fall prey to these lies that continue to make these companies richer at the expense of our money and health.

Using Google Analytics to Benchmark & Track Progress

I've been using Google Analytics to track the behaviors of my visitors when they visit my website. This helps me identify pages that they spend the most time on, which pages they visit and which ones they don't. It also helps me identify how much of my web traffic is new traffic and how much of my traffic are returning visitors. This way I can see whether or not any changes I make to my site to increase its ranking are working or not.

When William Faulkner visited our class one of the things that he said that I found most memorable was that we needed to set measurable goals as a way to determine whether our marketing plan is working.

For my photography business, one of the ways I measure the success of my marketing strategies is through Google Analytics and its benchmarking tools.

What better way to track progress than through numbers? These tools are completely free and incredibly powerful.

In Response to Chris's Blog Regarding Egypt

I absolutely agree that countries should take a marketer's approach to encourage interest in their country. After all, so many countries rely on tourism as a large source of income and the better they're able to market themselves the more people will want to visit.

Take Australia, for example: A while back they had a contest that would allow two people to live on the coast of Australia, all expenses paid for two years so long as they would blog their experience.

This was a very creative and unique way of Australia to get people interested in their tourism industry. They had millions of entries, which suggests that they were able to reach a huge audience and they were able to promote themselves in a way that is memorable.

How could Egypt use a creative marketing strategy to create revenue?

Let's Talk About Social Responsibility

One of the environmental factors that affect businesses and in turn affect the way businesses market is social responsibility. I'm a big believer of investing part of a business's resources to the greater good of the local, national or global community.

I also understand that photography is an incredibly powerful marketing tool and that people and problems that affect us directly or indirectly and it is our responsibility to lend our skills to those who may not have the resources to hire a professional photographer.

Many photographers (of all kinds) will take on the task of devoting part of their year to shed light to a cause that they are passionate about. Here are some examples:

-Locally, photographer & professor John Willis of Southern Vermont founded the Insight Photography Project and provides subsidized photography classes for young residents of surrounding towns.

-Celebrity photographer, Jeremy Cowart started the Help Portrait project to connect photographers to people in their communities that may need photography services but can't afford it.

-Commercial photographer Chase Jarvis founded the website CreativeLive as a way to democratize learning. For the past year they've had free video lessons on how to build your website, on photography and on watercolor. He's brought some of the best photographers in the industry (including above-mentioned Jeremy Cowart) to teach anyone with a computer and internet connection to improve their skills.

-And finally, photographer Chris Jordan paid a visit to Midway Island to photograph birds who died from consumption of the bitsand pieces of plastic we litter and throw into the ocean every year.

This kind of social responsibility accomplishes two things: 1. It sheds light on an important issue and brings a solution 2. It is a way of marketing.

Knowing that you are hiring somebody who is not simply interested in profits but also cares about the community will give clients added satisfaction when using their services. This is why this is an important thing to consider when marketing a brand or product.

Can you think of any other companies that use social responsibility to complement their marketing strategies or their business plans?

In Response to Jackies Blog Regarding Social Media Blitz

I think that this example can be applied to our marketing plans for Country Life.

Social networking not only makes a business more visible, it helps creates conversations with potential customers and what this bakery did was a very clever and perfectly placed marketing strategy that helped them come back from a slow winter season.

We should use Facebook as a way of helping Country Life create conversations with customers but also, having a Facebook page will help them connect and network with other businesses in the area. This will not only allow them to share specials with these businesses but also learn from what other businesses are doing.

Social networking tools can be very powerful if used wisely?

What other social networking tools do you think Country Life could use to "create conversations"?

Brand Presence & Impact

Another blog I subscribe to is Liquid Agency Brand Marketing's blog Liquid Brand Exchange.

Their blog is "dedicated to ideas, news and issues about Liquid Agency, brands and branding." They are a marketing consulting company who take the time every once in a while to blog updates regarding clients, conferences and evaluations of certain brands. They've created brands for companies like Adidasas well as the musicians B.o.B.

Recently, they did an analysis of the biggest companies and their brand impact. You can find the full article here.

(from the Liquid Brand Exchange Blog)

The strongest brands for last year were Adobe and Facebook (Adobe took first place for the B2B category whereas Facebook took first place in the B2C gategory.)

This exemplifies the power that brands have in successful companies. To see the full report, visit the Liquid Brand Exchange blog.

What do you think are the defining characteristics of Facebook's brand?

In response to Professor Johnson's post about Bon Iver's online marketing strategy

I recently started listening to Bon Iver thanks to online radio services such as last.fm and with the enormous increase in social media usage, it would be foolish not to make use of the vast marketing channels social media offers to just about anyone who is looking to promote a product or service.

It's no wonder Bon Iver was able to reach so many people through the internet; however, rather than attributing his fame and success to social media, it's also worth considering the thousands of aspiring artists on the internet who are unsuccessful in marketing themselves -not for lack of trying, but for lack of talent. Much of Bon Iver's success is due to their talent and yes, some to their ability to reach the masses to the internet.

To me, one of the most important ways social networking helps artists market themselves is by allowing direct and personal connections with fans. And as if that was not enough, as the article mentioned, social media allows independent artists to reach niches of people who do not care for mainstream pop music. I do think that as much as this is an advantage to new artists, it's also a disadvantage since just about anyone who is musically talented has the potential to build a following and become a successful recording artist. It takes an artist like Justin Vernon to differentiate himself enough from anyone else to take advantage of this exposure and become a successful recording artist.

We've so far talked about what a powerful marketing tool the internet is but nothing is perfect. Besides market saturation, can anyone think of any other disadvantages to social media advertising?

In response to Chris's post: Steve Jobs's Surprise Appearance

I heard about Steve Jobs making an appearance at the iPad keynote as well! I also heard that his appearance caused Apple's stock to rise the very next day. I think this shows what a valuable asset Steve Jobs is to Apple. He is the very reason Apple is so successful today and without him many argue that the company would have not been able to survive.

Jobs and Jonathan Ive, the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design are Apple's biggest core competencies, through synergistic collaboration, they've been able to design and market high quality, premium products that have lead the way in the consumer electronics market.

Jobs was diagnosed with a rare kind of pancreatic cancer and as a result has had to take time off from his job as C.E.O of Apple. While he has recovered since his operation in 2004, there has been speculation that his health has continued to deteriorate and as a result, many fear for the future of Apple without Jobs.

Because Steve Jobs has incorporated his presence into Apple keynotes, in a way, he has become a spokesperson for Apple products. When Jobs is unable to attend a keynote, it creates negative speculation in the media, which then hurts consumer and investor confidence in Apple. So while Steve Jobs might never be able to keep his health status private, it becomes more obvious that there is something wrong when he is missing from a keynote.

So, for Apple, having Steve Jobs as leader and spoke person is a double-edged sword. While it can strengthen Apple's image, it can also cause damage when it becomes apparent that for health reasons, he is unable to attend Apple events.

In response to Jackie's blog regarding Amazon

I'm glad you brought Amazon into the conversation. I, myself am a huge fan and will shop at Amazon over any other store 95% of the time. Their prices are competitive and they have great customer service.

Quite frankly, at the rate they are growing, I wouldn't be surprised if they began to offer their Prime service for free or at a lower rate. One of Amazon's core competencies is their ability to keep a large enough stocked inventory that will fulfill customer's orders at anytime. Their Prime service only enhances this core competency making their products available to customers at a reasonable time frame.

I think that one of Amazon's biggest weaknesses is the inability to deliver products almost instantly. The few times I have chosen to purchase an item locally over Amazon is when I needed said item right away. While two days is nothing considering how far the inventory travels to reach customers, the reality is that most people want instant-gratification and two days is still too long.

Amazon know this. They realize that by not being able to offer true instant-gratification to shoppers, they are losing out on many sales. This is why they offer same-day shipping to some of the bigger cities in the U.S. and I imagine that it is only a matter of time before either Amazon itself or their shipping carriers are able to offer faster shipping to more locations as a way to compete with physical stores.

If this is the case, I imagine Walmart, Target and many other retail stores will see themselves in a world of trouble since Amazon already offers very competitive prices.

Is anyone familiar with other aspects of Amazon as a company? I'd be interested to know about the culture and how that affects their sales, structure and bottom line.

In response to Christina Sarette's Blog: New Technology?

I remember when Facebook was a target for bloggers and news organizations who criticized its controversial advertising strategies and privacy settings. At first glance, like them, I felt it was a violation of privacy, how dare they use my personal information to target ads at me? and without my permission!

My opinion on Facebook ads now is very different. I welcome the ads and I don't mind that they use my information to show me ads that are more or less relevant to my interest. I see it almost as a symbiotic relationship between the user and Facebook. Facebook is allowing me to use the service for free and in return they have information that helps them to more accurately target advertisements at me. In order for a company to survive, it has to be profitable. If Facebook was ad-free, they would most likely be charging us for the service they offer. What some people need to understand is that we have control over what is displayed on our public online profiles, and if they don't want Facebook to have access to their information, then just don't use the service. We simply can't blame a company for capitalizing on available data and using it to target ads.

Of course, Facebook isn't perfect... and I do agree with some of the criticism its privacy settings have received, but their ads campaign is totally O.K. with me.

I'm interested to see what other people think about this

A New Age of Target Marketing: Powered by Online Television

I don't have a TV. I haven't had one for over two years and I don't miss it, not one bit. During the holidays, when I'm home visiting my family and I turn on my parent's TV, I really can't seem to stay engaged for more than 30 minutes (if at all). I don't like the commercials that don't pertain to my interests; I don't like that I have little choice about what I can watch at any given moment; and I don't like that the remote always seems to get lost. The conventional television experience: It's antiquated and I hate it. However, you'll find that in spite of my lack of TV, I still manage to religiously follow about 6 primetime television shows a week.

All thanks to Hulu.

If I've never been addicted to the TV, it's because I'm addicted to my computer. So when I first heard about Hulu two or three years ago, my heart skipped a beat. Before, if I wanted to watch an episode of 30 Rock or The Office, I downloaded a torrent or waited until it came out on DVD. Now, my favorite shows are right there in my browser and I can watch them, pause them, rewind them and fast-forward them whenever I want.

It's genius.

Forget about waiting until DVD release or illegally (and unrightfully so) downloading them. Now we have the option to watch our shows online, on demand and with customizable ads in between breaks. It's a win-win: I ask Hulu to hide any commercials I don't want to see, and in return marketing has information that will help to more accurately target other ads at me. It's an excellent example of a marketing-oriented strategy: They fully understand that the customer does not hate ads and in fact, welcomes them so long as they are less "in your face" and more customizable. It's target marketing on steroids.

Oh, and by the way... If you missed this year's Superbowl ads, or want to see them again, head on over to the Hulu AdZone, where you can watch and rate the latest ads.

See what I did there?

Standing Out in a Saturated Market

As an aspiring wedding photographer and independent business owner, I expect many of my posts on this marketing blog to be about the photography industry. Years ago, when I was still figuring out who I wanted to be when I grow up, I would have never imagined that I was to develop an interest in professional photography. Back then, my knowledge of professional photography was very limited. I had no idea how large the industry really was or what the different specializations are (and believe me, there are countless). I imagined a professional photographer working with celebrities in fashion and creating magazine covers; photographing sports games; and photographing nature. And while, perhaps, there were other types of photography that didn't come to mind at the time, I think I'm not too far off when I say that since then, the photography industry has... well... exploded.

Our immediate communities are now surrounded by food photographers, wedding, portrait, children, lifestyle, product, commercial, real estate, pet photographers and more. Not only that, but with the decreasing prices in technology and photography equipment as well as the thousands of photography resources online that are available, the photography industry is saturated with hundreds of thousands of people who are leaving behind their day jobs to become photographers.

So how do I stand out?

Well, I think that by narrowing down the types of photography services I offer, by establishing myself as only a wedding and maybe portrait photographer I will be more likely to successfully target a narrower market than some who choose to do it all. My target market will be brides who want their weddings photographed as well as families who are in need of portraits.

Still, to me this is not a narrow enough market. Something I think about often is: "which niche will I target when begin to market myself?" Believe it or not, within the wedding photography industry alone there are specific markets photographers aim to target. Take the wedding photographer Jasmine Star, for example. Her target market is brides in their 20s and early 30s. Her success shows me that a brand can be selective in their target market and still be extremely prosperous. Of course, there are many other aspects of the Jasmine Star brand that have made her business successful, but narrowing her market has helped her to identify which customers she wants to target and thus making it easier to find out how to target them.

While I understand that customers demand good quality services and products, I also recognize that in order to grow a successful business, we must develop a good marketing strategy based on an established target market.

If you were a marketing consultant, what other advice would you suggest to me as I attempt to build my wedding photography business and brand?

Advertising v. Marketing v. Propaganda

I've heard and often hear all three of these terms in conversations, on the radio and in my news feed. Recently I finished reading the book "Zag" by Marty Neumeier and he talks about advertising and marketing almost as if they were the same thing and, frankly, not until very recently did I really think about these two words and what their different meanings were.

I am tempted to search online for definitions that will help me understand and write this blog post. Instead I will resist this urge and try to make an educated guess as to what each of these words are; how they are similar and different.

To me, the words "advertising" and "marketing" are almost synonymous. They both relate to the promotion of a product, service, organization, etc... If they do not mean the same thing, they, at the very least are complementary. I rarely hear one without the other following.

If I had to differentiate between advertising and marketing, I'd say that advertising relates more to the visual side of promotion. When I think of advertising, I see magazine, newspaper, television ads and billboards. Marketing is more about researching customers' wants and developing a plan that will help promote a product, service or organization. This plan may or may not include advertisements.

I've left propaganda to be discussed last because I don't feel it is related to advertising or marketing. While its purpose is to promote, I believe the word "propaganda" has a political, perhaps even negative connotation attached to it. One of the first things that comes to mind upon hearing the word "propaganda" is Hitler's Germany before World War II. In my high school European History class we spent some time studying Nazi propaganda. I've heard of climate change being referred to as liberal propaganda. While I, myself, do not believe it is, this helps me understand that propaganda refers to promoting a belief or ideology that relates to a given side of the political spectrum.

In today's hyperpartisan society, how can politicians and their parties manage the fine line between advertising and propaganda?