Craig Hordlow, Chief Strategist

Marketers should only be as serious as the consumer takes their product. I’m not saying if the consumer doesn’t take your product seriously you don’t have to show up to work, but rather calibrate your work to their depth of interaction. This concept is a common oversight on landing pages that starts with the marketing message and is reflected in design, copy, and layout.

For most marketers, being less serious means stop talking about value propositions and start focusing on the consumers’ emotional drivers. Research tells us time and time again that consumers purchase largely for emotional reasons, so stop trying to appeal to their reason with logic when you should be making them feel guilty for eating that, fear of not using your product (Minoxidyl, Viagra), or salvation when you save them from their own laziness.

Not all products are bought for emotional reasons as evidenced by commodities and RFP’s, and many products have both logical and emotional drivers. If you can’t understand why someone would logically buy your product, neither can I. But I can help you emotionally manipulate consumers, and I am happy to do so.

Primary Motivators & the Seven Emotional Drivers

From Drop Box

Before you select which emotion you’re going to manipulate, there are business inputs to start with. Obviously, you should know the ethno graphics of the consumer, but beyond that, it is also helpful to know:

Industry Inputs:

· Sector

· Sales cycle

· Price / consideration level

· Alternative products

Consumer Inputs:

· New vs. return

· Depth of interaction

· Language

· Technical abilities

These inputs will have some impact on which emotion you manipulate and how you go about doing it.

Selection an Emotion to Manipulate

Avoid selecting multiple emotions unless you are sure they work together. While it is tempting to make a complete and thorough argument for your product, when it comes to emotions it only takes one to trump logic. The child who stands on the high dive hesitant to jump can hear everything known to man about gravity and bodies in motion and be no closer to jumping, whereas one supportive and comforting cheer from an older child and the leap is made. Adults are no different. Choose one emotion and be powerful.

It should go without saying that the emotional motivator you select is communicated to every member of the team.

Secondary Motivators

While primary motivators are the reason why the leap is made, secondary motivators either contribute or detract from that intent, and for that reason I am listing them in two columns.

From Drop Box

Each of the five secondary motivators should be considered for each landing page element. Ask yourself questions like, “is the call to action urgent?” and “does my copy create confusion or is it clear”? If you have too much information, you can cause anxiety, or too many links and you’ll create distraction.

Pairing Primary and Secondary Motivators

Now we are at last ready to effectively and efficiently emotionally manipulate our beloved consumer.

EXAMPLE: PRIMARY EMOTIONAL DRIVER IS FEAR

If we select fear as the primary, then the secondary motivators becomes evident. Urgency can be expressed as before something bad happens, trust through awards, a BBB logo, images of happy families we’ve helped, etc. Iterate through the secondary list with your primary emotion and you’re landing page becomes emotionally coherent and you are now effectively manipulating the emotions of your consumer base.

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By Craig Hordlow, Co-Founder and Chief Search Strategist

The Apple iPad, introduced by Steve Jobs in San Francisco on January 27, 2010, is unusual for Apple products in that the media knew most everything about it before Jobs’ presentation, and could only speculate for whom the device is meant and why they would use it.

The iPad is not filling any pressing unmet need, nor is it introducing us to any new technologies.  The iPad is an evolutionary step towards device integration.  If this step had been made by a less significant company, like Sanyo or Casio, it would have received little attention.  But Apple’s brand capital creates media fanfare, and its cultish following provides a forgiving consumer base.

There is speculation that the iPad will compete with e-readers. But the iPad has a computer screen that is hard on the eyes and while its portability may make reading easier, it is simply not an e-reader.

Apple knows that many people use computers primarily for getting on the internet and sending emails, and it streamlined this device for those people. The $700 price tag is welcoming but nothing more than that, especially in this economy. The virtual keyboard, while meant to simplify the device, is unorthodox, meaning it will be met with everything from confusion and frustration to satisfaction and joy. 

The risk that Apple runs with the iPad is cannibalization of its own products.  In his keynote address, Jobs said that “netbooks aren’t better than anything”, which was his inspiration for the iPad.  But having little more functionality than the iPhone, Seth Jayson (Senior Technology Analyst of The Motley Fool) quipped that the device reminded him of pictures in The Onion a year ago with Jobs telling his faithful following, “You must buy a large iPhone.”  The iPad, being something of a cross between a netbook and an iPod Touch, is not positioned to convert any segment of the consumer base to its theocracy.

Despite all of this, marketers and advertisers must be alert because anything Apple introduces to consumers has the potential to be a game-changer or at the very least, another opportunity to market to Apple’s faithful following.  The iPad will host the next generation of Apple-approved applications.  While the iPad has more processing power and memory than the iPhone, one might think that the next wave of apps will consequently be more robust.  The problem with that logic is that iPhone apps are either designed to be streamlined for the very limited capabilities of the iPhone, or for the mobile, location-aware attributes of the device.  Therefore it is difficult to imagine why a new catalog of iPad applications will be a game-changer.

If the iPad doesn’t sell an impressive number of devices, marketers and developers may dutifully build iPad apps for consumers who feel entitled by the explosion of them on the iPhone. The absence of a clear, de facto sense of purpose for the iPad among industry analysts has created confusion where excitement was expected.  Unless Apple can create a large customer base, marketers and advertisers will curb their enthusiasm, waiting for either another evolutionary step (such as a comparable Google product) or mass adoption of the device.

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by Craig Hordlow, Chief Strategist

With so much excitement about the iPhone amongst both businesses and consumers, as well as the vertical market share growth charted by the device (from 5 to 10% between 2008 and 2009), it’s puzzling to see a recent Gartner Inc. report predict that Google’s Android, currently at 2% market share, will leapfrog to 14.5% by 2012, making it the second-largest mobile platform at the great expense of the iPhone’s market share.                  

The Gartner report predicts that the iPhone’s growth will become stagnant, growing a few points to a whopping 12% by 2012.  Why such a slow-down for the iPhone? And what does this mean for marketers who are just now catching onto the surge of client interest and investment?

Most of the projected growth is attributed to Google’s own ability and efforts to promote the Android, as well as its own apps and the large number of manufacturers making the open source device, which will make it a cheaper option than the iPhone. Additionally, the iPhone, not being open source, has limitations, whereas an open platform allows developers to implement functionality the platform providers haven’t gotten around to yet, are not good at, or simply put: other people could do it better

What should marketers be doing?

• Follow Android’s market share growth and start talking to your clients or in-house teams about the emergence of Android so they are comfortable with the change if and when it happens
• Study the mobile apps already on Android, and what your competitors are doing on the platform
• Get your technical teams up to speed on Android by downloading the SDK:
  http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html
• Create your demo project long before anyone else does!

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By Craig Hordlow, Chief Strategist
“When You’re Holding a Hammer, Everything is a Nail.”

I’ve had two meetings with StumbleUpon (SU) where they’ve described their challenges working with agencies.

SU is an anomaly as far as online advertising buys go because there are a number of questions, objectives, and creative approaches that online marketers are accustomed to using that are not effective for a successful SU campaign.

Yet agencies still try to apply the same media buying techniques to SU’s user review driven network.  How many users are going to give a favorable review to an ad placement?

Let’s examine a few of the disconnects:
1.    Marketing & Creative Mistake #1:  Direct Response / Marketing Creative & Copy
SU’s user base does not use SU to discover forms or ads.  They use it to discover content. Media planners who are not working with their clients or creative teams to produce valuable content are forcing the wrong content into the network.  It is important to note that sites well received by the SU community will have a longer lifespan, like a successful viral or buzz piece.
2.    Marketing Question: How Much Will It Cost?
Agency media planners are used to the usual acronyms: CPC, CPM, CPA, etc.  But SU has an odd model: they charge you $.05 for every “push”.  A push is, simplistically, a display everytime an SU user makes a request.  I have had this explained to me several times by SU and I find it’s still confusing.  Bottom line:  there is no way to know how many impressions you will get, and predicting is difficult because a page that SU users don’t like will be suppressed, while a favorably reviewed page will be propagated.
3.    Marketing Question: What Is the Opportunity Size?
Google can tell you the number of impressions a keyword got last month, or a publisher can tell you the number of impressions a buy is likely to give, and a lead generator can give you a range of leads they are likely to deliver, but SU has a difficult time defining opportunity size because of the effect the community has on the page you submit.  If the people don’t like it, SU’s algorithm will dampen it.
4.    Marketing Question: Do You Have Any Case Studies?
SU could not show me any case studies because, as I was told, the successful advertisers consider SU a “secret weapon”.  Without a cost metric, opportunity size, or a case study, marketers are concerned and uncertain.  Uncertainty in media planning can lead to a situation where a media planner leaves money on the table, or spends it too fast, resulting in a campaign that is not paced with the client’s campaign objectives.

Agencies & StumbleUpon: The Right Approach

Agencies should think of StumbleUpon as a mix of a media buy and a buzz campaign.  Here is a checklist to help you properly leverage the SU network:
1.    Study the category you will be targeting and generate a list of the attributes of the most favored sites.  You will find traits like: “free tool”, “funny content”, “guide to”, “documentation for”, etc.
2.    Write a creative brief that is mindful of the attributes you found in step 1.
3.    Create content specifically for SU.  Don’t recycle existing content, or worse yet, ad creative, unless the content has many of the attributes you identified in step 1.
4.    Place a value on the number of users who use your tool or view your (branded) content.  SU users are usually looking for stimulation or entertainment, so they are far less likely to “convert” than other segments.  Recognize that and calibrate your campaign objectives accordingly.

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Here is the full text of the press release we recently sent out, which describes Craig Hordlow’s session in greater detail. As a reminder, feel free to use the code SMXSpeakerto save $100 on your registration. We hope to see you there!

Red Bricks Media to Speak at SMX West 2009
Chief Strategist Craig Hordlow will share advanced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques in a session on “Analyzing and Converting SEO Traffic.”

Performance marketing agency Red Bricks Media has been selected to share SEO insights at the Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West conference on February 11th in Santa Clara, CA.

The agency’s Chief Strategist Craig Hordlow will present in a session on “Analyzing and Converting SEO Traffic.” In his session, Hordlow will share advanced SEO website tuning techniques that draw upon the strengths of Google Analytics to gain valuable insight into a searcher’s motives and uncover missed marketing opportunities. This information can then be used to create unique, targeted content and attract a larger audience. Attendees will come away with a new understanding of how to use analytics and keyword research to improve their website’s traffic, conversions and search engine rankings.

Hordlow is an SEO veteran who has worked with clients including Adobe, Sony BMG, SanDisk, and American Express. His SEO strategy recommendations have resulted in triple digit traffic and conversion lifts for clients. Hordlow frequently runs search engine tests and experiments and posts the results on his Mostly Search blog, hosted on the Red Bricks Media website. He has been instrumental in developing Red Bricks Media’s unique SEO strategy and approach to search marketing.

“I’m very excited to speak at SMX West,” said Hordlow. “I believe one of the largest missed opportunities is a granular understanding of a searcher’s specific motives, and how to identify and analyze them. Without a precise understanding of motive, messaging is compromised at the expense of conversions.”

Hordlow has previously presented at Search Engine Strategies, the OMMA conference, and Adobe MAX. His session takes place at 3 pm on February 11th in the Santa Clara Convention Center.

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We just got word that we’ll also be speaking at Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. Join us!

Our Chief Strategist, Craig Hordlow, will be speaking in a session on the “Top 10 Customized Analytics Reports” on April 2, 2009. Register with the code websf08fsd and save $100!

SMX West

Come visit us at Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West in Santa Clara! To help you get there, use the discount code SMXSpeaker to save $100 on registration.

Our Chief Strategist, Craig Hordlow, will be presenting in a session on “analyzing and converting SEO traffic.” In his session, Craig will share advanced SEO website tuning techniques that draw upon the strengths of Google Analytics to gain useful insight into a searcher’s motives and missed marketing opportunities. This information can then be used to create unique, targeted content to draw a larger audience. Attendees of this session will come away with a new understanding of how to use analytics and keyword research to improve traffic, conversions and search engine ranking for their websites. His session takes place on February 11th at 3pm.

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By Craig Hordlow, Chief Strategist
On June 30, 2008, the Google Webmaster Central Blog published a post titled, “Improved Flash Indexing.”  The post immediately generated lots of buzz amongst the marketing and web development communities.

The danger here is that the message of their post can be misinterpreted as “Google is now indexing Flash” (as though they hadn’t before or, worse yet, that no SEO concerns remain with Flash).

The discussion on Flash as it relates to SEO falls in two basic categories:
1.    How well is Flash indexed?
2.    How can I use Flash within my SEO campaign so that it will not compromise results?

Ultimately, the second question is the more important one. Googlebot may improve its indexing significantly, but as long as plain HTML driven sites are the more powerful SEO option, we need to understand how we can and cannot use Flash within that framework.

But let’s back up.

Google has been indexing Flash for years. The indexing has been poor, however, and the improvements made have been limited to reading text-only content. Text in images is still not being read (according to the aforementioned post), and there are technical limitations as well:

1.    Googlebot does not execute some types of JavaScript – which can result in Flash files not being indexed.
2.    External resources are not indexed as part of your Flash file (they are loaded separately).
3.    Bi-directional languages (Hebrew, Arabic) are not currently indexed.

Google is working on the issues above, but as long as Flash-driven sites remain a liability in a competitive SEO campaign, these improvements are not as exciting as we might be led to believe.

So why is a Flash-driven site still an inferior SEO option?

1.    Google is not splitting up a Flash file into multiple files (in the “pure” SEO sense), so your Flash file will remain one large HTML file. Would you rather optimize your own HTML files, carefully placing keywords in important tags, or have Google making guesses as it does its conversions?
2.    An SEO campaign starts with strategy. Even if Google could perfectly index Flash, the basic SEO elements (title tags, H1, H2) don’t have powerful Flash alternatives.

Our recommendations for Flash remain:

•    If you intend to have an SEO campaign, build separate HTML entry pages, or minimize the use of Flash to non-critical, embedded components of your well-optimized HTML pages.
•    Before you rule out Flash (if SEO is a clear objective), determine whether the content you want in Flash has any SEO value. Often, Flash is used as a creative tool (e.g. to entertain). If your Flash piece is unlikely to be the potential destination of search queries, don’t compromise your creative objectives for an unlikely SEO visitor.

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Red Bricks Media’s Chief Strategist, Craig Hordlow, will share his online marketing expertise on a panel at the Get Connected Summit in San Francisco on Oct 3rd. Craig’s panel, entitled “Building your Brand Online,” advises the audience on brand building through digital marketing, podcasting, social networks and internet radio. Craig will be presenting alongside representatives from CNET, IODA, SomaFM and JustGoodMusic/Rock River.

The Get Connected Summit (GCS) annually brings together leaders and enthusiasts in the electronic music, media and technology industries to explore and develop innovative opportunities across these increasingly converging sectors. This year’s summit takes place at Pyramind in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://getconnectedsummit.com/

To request a Red Bricks Media speaker at your event, please email marketing@redbricksmedia.com

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Come visit us at Search Engine Strategies, New York!

Ed Kim, our CEO, and Craig Hordlow, our Chief Search Strategist, were recently invited to speak at the Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo in New York City March 17-20, 2008.

Ed will present in a panel titled “Igniting Viral Campaigns,” a session focused on helping marketers understand the newest buzz channels and how to apply these learnings towards their own marketing campaigns. In this session, Ed and other notable marketing experts will “unveil the secrets of Web 2.0 techniques and technologies that enable companies to stand out and be talked about.” Ed has presented on similar topics for Search Engine Strategies Chicago, MarketingSherpa, the Baptie Conference, and the Vodafone Summit.

“With the emergence of social media, brands can leverage viral marketing now more than ever as an extremely effective way to reach its audience with measurable results,” comments Ed.

Craig Hordlow will present in a panel discussion on “Search Engine Friendly Design.” This session will educate its audience on best practices for search engine friendly design. Craig will present a practical approach to the oft-encountered challenge of integrating flash design with SEO-friendly techniques.

“Marketers have pressured their developers to minimize flash content, but flash is a perfectly acceptable development application for both humans and search engines if the proper precautions are taken,” he says.

Search Engine Strategies and Expo is the leading conference and expo series for the latest news and developments in optimization, search engine advertising, and search marketing issues. The New York City conference is a four-day series of workshops featuring presentations from industry leaders, as well as major search engines. The conference runs from March 17-20, with Ed and Craig’s panels occurring on March 17th and March 18th, respectively.

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by Kathy Guis, Associate Copywriter

Red Bricks Media’s Media Director, Beth Morgan, Chief Search Strategist, Craig Hordlow, and CEO, Ed Kim, have been invited to speak at conferences in San Francisco, San Jose, Boston, Chicago, London and Barcelona this fall.

- Beth Morgan at Search Engine Strategies -
Our Media Director addressed the online marketing minds assembled in San Jose for Search Engine Strategies (SES) on August 22, the third day of the four-day conference. This year, she spoke in a session entitled “In House: Big PPC” with Jay Middleton, Worldwide Search Manager for Adobe. They detailed how to effectively manage auction-based ad models at the enterprise level, including strategies for managing keywords across business units and geographies. Beth has previously presented this session at SES conferences in New York, Chicago and San Jose. “Marketers who attend this session come away with practical advice that they can immediately implement,” says Beth, explaining her presentation’s popularity.

- Craig Hordlow at Adobe Max -
Our Chief Search Strategist has been invited to deliver four presentations at this years’ Adobe Max conference series. Adobe Max is a chance for everyone who uses Adobe products to network, share ideas, learn new skills, and glimpse emerging technologies. Craig will speak twice at Adobe Max North America, taking place in Chicago this year, and twice at Adobe Max Europe in Barcelona. His presentations will address the much-discussed antipathy between rich internet applications (i.e. Flash) and search engine optimization (i.e. Craig). He will share tried-and-true SEO secrets, as well as new methods that allow search crawlers to index flash-based websites.

- Ed Kim at Marketing Sherpa -
Later this year, our CEO Ed Kim will speak at Marketing Sherpa’s B2B summit, whose focuses include search marketing, video & viral, marketing to Fortune 500, white paper maximization, and how to measure & manage leads. The conference takes place in Boston October 15-16, and in San Francisco October 29-30. Ed will present a case study entitled “Global B-to-B Search Marketing: How Adobe Conducts Multinational Campaigns” with Anne Wadia, Senior Marketing Manager at Adobe Systems. Ed’s talk will be a must-hear for anyone with prospects outside the USA, and will cover regional search engines, copy and keyword translation, and the impact cultural differences have on search results.

- Ed Kim at Vodafone Ventures -
On September 6 in London, Ed Kim delivered a presentation on Web 2.0, social networking, user-generated content, and emerging media. Vodafone Ventures is a unique event, attended by every senior executive at Vodafone (the world’s largest mobile service provider), including CEOs, CMOs and CTOs of major operating companies and emerging markets. The conference’s purpose is to increase the pace of innovation at Vodafone by exposing key players to ideas and innovations from around the world. Kim rode the wave of his success at Baptie Marketing Focus 2007, where he received the highest audience rating of all 32 speakers.

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