Articles in The 'You-Tube' Tag

Clearing the Clutter

by Tiffany Weimar

The information age is arguably the most robust yet mind provoking period in time.  While it has lead to an enormous amount of technological advancements, it has also forced many of us to spend valuable time deciphering between what is useless information (and ignore it) and information that will add value to our personal and professional lives.  We are, and continue to live in, a period of information overload!

As marketers, the challenges continue to increase as a result.  As technology advances, we need to be mindful of how best to advertise through new portals and simultaneously pay special attention to the content [and amount of info] that is being delivered.  From e-newsletters, promotions, to business updates, marketers must add value to all distribution efforts in order to create and retain a credible, loyal customer and prospect base.

To better understand how to optimize our marketing efforts, it is important to understand the trends affiliated with the times, especially in the evolving interactive marketing industry.  One of the biggest movements influencing content creation and distribution revolves around mobile devices.

…Why? Mobile is about to explode!

How many times have you opened a newsletter on your mobile device only to realize that you weren’t able to view the images/content correctly?  Many of these users will automatically delete the email from their phone, knowing that they won’t visit their desktop later in the day to view the message.        

Understanding marketing on mobile devices is critical for a few reasons.  Firstly, the increase in popularity of mobile usage is leading to an increase in mobile email and mobile website users.  As a result, email design will start to be more heavily influenced by mobile devices (iPhones, Android-powered smartphones, and iPads). Emails (their content and images) must now be transferrable to the small screen. 

According to Email Insider, the distinction between emails and mobile emails is disappearing. Email design will be impacted greatly, as will the amount of content provided.  When creating email designs, optimize how it appears on small screens by keeping the following in mind:

• Email widths need to narrow (width about 600 pixels)
• Font sizes need to increase so they’re more legible on small screens.
• The space between links and the size of buttons need to increase to allow large fingers to hit links accurately. That will also mean navigation bars with fewer links in them.

Another priority for the New Year should be creating a mobile version of your website.  Not only does the amount of content need to change on your website, but the types of information you provide needs to as well. On-the-go users typically aren’t shopping or making purchases from their mobile devices, rather are looking for business locations, phone numbers, and/or hours of operation.  Make your mobile website user-friendly and concise by including only the most relevant and necessary information/services.  The good news is, mobile website design doesn’t require a significant investment of time or money, and so it is economically feasible for even the smallest of businesses.

Embrace the trends!

Business leaders must continue to amend our delivery methods and content to adjust to the advancement in technology.  By doing so, the user experience will enhance and ultimately increase interest in the content being delivered.

Back to School with Generation Y

by MoreVisibility

It’s back to school time…. Do you know where your kids are hiding? And more importantly, do you know how to grab their attention?

These days, many youngsters are busy creating their own social circles by blogging about the Jonas Brothers, updating their social network profiles, and uploading videos of their latest dance party. Using sites such as YouTube, even real stars like Miley Cyrus are taking advantage of these free mediums.

So how do marketers aiming to target this Online Generation, get their message heard? Well, it is becoming increasingly apparent that simply displaying some text ads on Google is not the only answer. These kids want rich media, gadget ads and expressive ad copy. In order to stay competitive in this market, companies targeting America’s youth need to take a long hard look at their current marketing plan and allocate the necessary time and funds into these new mediums. The days of simple keyword search are numbered with this group.

If you don’t believe me then read this… According to a recent MSN Article, this generation is responsible for spending $150 million dollars per year! How can you pass up the opportunity to be a part of that?

Social Media really is EVERYWHERE!

by MoreVisibility

Being that I have been in the SEO/SEM industry for almost 5 years, I am not surprised by how much Social Media has grown. Social Media is being utilized on a daily basis and not just by the savvy searchers who constantly blog or the commonly used networks like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook either. Case in point – I recently spent the day with a friend who has a precocious 7 year old daughter. To put it mildly, this 7 year old has become a social media guru! She now belongs to Club Penguin, which is self-described as “a snow covered virtual online world for kids”. What more could a 7 year old desire?

Disney acquired the social media network in August of 2007. Through this network, kids can purchase virtual clothing, furniture and even pets for their penguins. Kids can play on the site for free; however, certain features, like furnishing an igloo (which becomes essential, of course) and chatting with other penguins will require the parents’ trusty plastic card! Very smart indeed, although my initial reaction was wait just a second, this chatting could certainly go awry if parents are not constantly aware and monitoring the context of the chat. Not to worry, mom and dad! Club Penguin thought of everything. The network was designed with safety in mind and thus, offers what is known as Safe Chat. Safe chat limits what can be chatted back and forth by providing the children with a predefined menu of choices.

Social Media is everywhere! From Blogs, to Press Releases, even to Club Penguin! The fact that a 7 year old belongs to a social networking site is enough to make anyone realize that social media is growing and an integral dimension of the internet today. In addition, keep in mind that there are huge SEO benefits to be gained from social media. The engines love fresh content to crawl on a website. It’s definitely time to jump on the Social Media Bandwagon!