Monday, June 22, 2009

Blink


I was very impressed by what Gladwell did in Blink. His evenhanded approach paired with his willingness to tackle tough seemingly incongruent streams of data was encouraging and challenging. It was also refreshing that he didn’t present Blink in such a way that made the theory the answer to all things. Too often books have presented themselves in an over confident tone that is somewhat questionable in this genera, Gladwell avoids the pitfall well. For this book in particular it will take awhile for me to figure out what it means, but the issues presented are challenging and useful.


For me Priming was probably the most useful idea he covers. Its uses are staggering. One use I could see is for a team that is stumped. By using random word association games to offer fresh insight to break deadlocks. Priming allows a team to break away from box thinking and has the potential to reduce the effects of groupthink. Another advantage to priming is the ability for us to prepare ourselves for who we may need to be in a certain situation. Read adjectives, verbs and nouns and their definitions for the type of person you need to present. Often that person will show up, at least in some facet.


Over all I wouldn’t say blink is as revolutionary as some have made it out to be, but it is useful. If you need the meaning of life I'd probably suggest looking somewhere else. If you are looking for insight into the way the mind works check it out.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I just finished reading Click by Bill Tancer. I haven't completely thought through what it means but I am starting to get some traction. Im going to break this blog down into a few different segments.

WEB 2.0
Im glad I finally understand what the heck web 2.0 means. I have heard it float around for awhile and it seemed like one of those really cool words with no meaning. Web 2.0 if I were to sum it up into one equation it would be.."The internet + user content+ social elements = Web 2.0". Web 2.0 includes sites like facebook, wikipedia, Yelp, and any other site where a community has the ability to control and comment on the content.

The major lesson though comes from the realization that not every site needs to have 2.0 features. It also was interesting to see how much information we offer about ourselves just from a clickstream.

Trends on searches.
One underpinning that I found interesting was how brand focused searches have become. Over and over again searches were often targeting brands not generic topics. We are more likely to search Rolex watches than we are for luxury watches. To me this points the fact that even though we may think we know where to go on the web someone is still helping us which means we are pointed by marketing.

People can smell a fake
This one isn't in the book as a point but I picked up on it. When searching for stuff many users are able to feel deception and shades of the truth. We are a skeptical bunch particularly when it comes to the internet. This is why more and more people are searching with some sense of "navigation". We do want to get to a there but we want to avoid going to the wrong there along the way. As a company advertising on the web it should be noted that a non-click isn't always a passive choice, it might actually be a choice against. My advice be aware of when you market and yield a low click rate. It could signal potential problems with your brand or description.



If you are interested in anything I just mentioned I would suggest the read.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

HTML


While I don't think it is important to master the art of coding... I think its important for anyone with any ambition in marketing to know at least basic html. 

Here is why::
Today on the fly I was asked to create an invitation to a presentation for companies in Chicago that we deliver to NASA. The e-mail was going to director level reciprients therefore it needed to not only look good but the wording needed to be polished. Ideally I would have presented this with HTML headers and footers including logos and branding... it would have added a polished touch. However, I didn't have the tools at my disposal and because I was short on time I just made do with what I could. (I nailed the wording down) 
Tonight the very first thing I did when I went home today was to touch up on these skills. Since the e-mail only went to one customer it is fixable and tomorrow I can actually fix it. It still got done, it just could have been better. 
 

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Searches are Questions

Ok ... As I am starting to journey on this whole click experiance I have learned that internet searches are really questions. 

Website operators are actually the ones with a wearhouse of answers, the key is to understand the questions that are being asked. I have seen so many meta-tags answer questions that no one is asking I dont know what to think.  At best, the websites are irrelevant and annoying. At worst, they drive clients away faster than a dead skunk in a dumpster. I may not remember what I was looking for but I remember when I have to sort through the crap I wasn't. After seeing a company enough I start to assume that they list everything and offer nothing, they seem a little shady. They hurt their brand.  

As a marketer, my goal is to first communicate well and second to communicate creatively. This applies to the internet too, TV ads that miss the message are a waste of money. Internet meta-tags that yeild results for things that the searchers arent looking for are also a waste of money. The key is to look at your data to determine what are you getting hits on and where good is traffic generated. Then try to encricle that spending marketing dollars selectively.

What drives this post?

I know a company that spends almost over $20,000 per month on search advertising that generates little traffic, and very small leads. Most of the traffic comming in is comming from direct searches, !!!they enter our company name in Google!!!  The logic simply isn't there. I still need to look over that stats and analytics but flyover reasearch has already indicated I wont be supprised. If I am you will see a blaring retraction. 

Hopefully I can communicate in a presentation, that is captivating and convincing, better ways to allocate their communication dollars.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Click #1

      I just picked up Click today and after reading the introduction I think I am in love. If you ask anyone in my office the 2 things that make me tick are data and understanding people. 

     I love data because connecting relationships allows me to identify, understand, and reduce redundancy.  I love finding out what makes people tick for some unexplainable reason. Maybe I have a deep ceded desire to communicate effectively. I find it maddening when people answer questions that no one is asking. Maybe its connected to the fact that I think people matter and the direction of society matters. Maybe I want just a glimpse of what its like to be able to see the whole picture. Maybe Im just a nerd. Regardless, I try to figure people out whether people is people or persons. 

 In Click, Bill Tancer is effectively pairing these 2 concepts insuring that the internet is a tool to find what is needed, not a crap shoot biased on chance. The internet without understanding these interrelationships would require either foreknowledge of what one wants and where one is headed or a desire to experience the random.  

Saturday, June 6, 2009

First Post

I'm making this blog because www.handyhour.blogspot.com isn't the place I want to share the ideas about marketing and process that stuff. Also this blog might be a little less than interesting for the general reader. Finally, I didn't want to steal handy hour from my wife... from time to time there will be identical posts but as a rule this will be alot different.