“We opened our Phoenix office in 2006 and hoped that it would develop to support many of our internal engineering projects, the systems that make Google, well, Google. But we’ve found that despite everyone’s best efforts, the projects our engineers have been working on in Arizona have been, and remain, highly fragmented. So after a lot of soul searching we have decided to incorporate work on these projects into teams elsewhere at Google. We will therefore be closing our Arizona office on November 21, 2008.”

Read the full post here.

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This morning, Liberty Interactive Marketing went to listen to Charlene Li of Groundswell speak on Social Media Strategies.  I’ll highlight a few key takeaways/considerations to social media in this post but first I’ll define Social Media and why all the buzz about it.

What is this Social Media thing?
I like to define it as utilizing social platforms and networks to connect and share with people who have similar interests, needs, wants, etc. as you do. Some of the most popular social platforms and social networks are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and MySpace.

Why is there so much buzz around using Social Media for Marketing and Advertising?
Well, good question. I think the first thing to keep in mind is the strategy behind Social Media is unlike traditional advertising and online advertising.  It has it’s own methods and metrics to define success.  If done correctly, you can create a successful dialogue with consumers to help support their needs and fulfill information voids.  Results can lead to increased loyalty, brand awareness and visibility for your company.   It’s essentially brand building, marketing, and PR all wrapped into one.

A few key takeaways to doing Social Media right:

1. Understand your audience. Who are they, where are they, what are they talking about?
2. Start small. Define a small goal on how to reach your audience. Then have a big lofty one.
3. Define metrics for success and the tools to use. How are you measuring marketing effectiveness now? Understand the metrics for each type of Social Media phase and platform.
4. Give up control. Understand that you must be willing to lose control and listen to what people are saying, learn from them, adjust. Be honest, be helpful, be there!
5. Invest. Understand that you must find the right labor to manage and care for it.  Often times you will be trading media costs for labor costs. Social Media is not free.
6. Respond quickly.
7. Be patient. Be willing to invest long-term and not receive immediate results.
8. Fail and try again. Be willing to try many different things before getting it right (blogs, twitter, forums, Facebook, etc.) and be willing to fail miserably and try again.

Don’t know where to start? Post questions or comments below or call us at 602-275-3935, we’re happy to help.

It seems like every article topic I have read over the last six to nine months regarding advertising has been  about online advertising and Internet marketing.  While I am in full support of Internet marketing being in the forefront and on headlines everywhere, I still seek the creative traditional advertising news which seems few and far between these days.

With a down economy and budget cuts galore, there has been a significant shift in online advertising spending.  Not only are big brands moving more of their marketing dollars online, but small to medium sized businesses are as well.

Wall Street Journal just posted today that “Spending on Internet advertising is climbing at a healthy clip –
rising 20% in the U.S. in the second quarter — and growth forecasts
are strong despite the weak economy. ”

How will this impact traditional advertising and online advertising spending?
I’m hoping the marketplace will open up to a new mix of advertisers because the demand will not be as great, thus making it more affordable to move into those mediums.

Additionally, it means more competition for Internet Marketing firms.  More vendors will be entering the online advertising game and selling Internet marketing services they are ill equipped to handle, primarily unable to make recommendations or put appropriate strategies in place for success.

Specifically for advertising agencies in the Phoenix Valley that have been trying to ramp up their Interactive departments over the last four years.

Let us help put together a online marketing strategy for you in 2009 to maximize on every dollar spent. Contact us today.