Jason Douglas

Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to attend Reupations with keynote speaker Chris Brogan, and panelists Beth LaBreche from LaBreche;  Gabby Nelson from Select Comfort , Paula Prahl from Best Buy, and Brian Vanderah from Quality Bike Products.

Brogan kicked off the event with a Zulu greeting ‘Sawubona’, which translates to ‘I see you’, which means ‘I know that you’re there and I acknowledge you are another person’. His presentation was a nice mix of random thoughts, dry humor (even a Star Wars reference), and serious points.

The main takeaways from Brogan’s presentation and the panel discusion:

-There are three main parts of social media: Listening. Connecting. Publishing.

-Brogan said that we should ‘connect with the verticals that aren’t yours’. He was critical of the Minneapolis and St. Paul social media community. He cited Pittsburgh as leaders in social media everything. What the MSP group needs to do is not be so exclusive, but learn how to work together. He added ‘it’s a lot easier to go to battle with a large army.’

-Brogan called Vanilla Ice a social media prophet, citing the line ‘Stop. Collaborate, and listen!’ That gained a fair amount of laughter, but was an interesting take.

-Beth LaBreche discussed how she invited her clients to the Reputations event and even sent out copies of Brogan’s Trust Agents to out-of-state clients. One client responded very negatively to the book and said ‘they’re not ready’ for this. This was very apparent in the attendance of this event. One of my first tweets from the Spyder Trap account: ‘good crowd forming for #reputations #broganmpls. A lot of familiar faces.’ Events such as this one wasn’t necessarily for social media professionals like myself and companies like Spyder Trap. It’s the businesses who have a fear, a hesitation, or a lack of knowledge about what social media can do for a business that need to be at these events. The question: how do we get them there?

Overall, this was a very fun event. I ran into some familiar faces, and was lucky enough to talk with him for a while, and even snap a picture with him. Look for more with Brogan and Spyder Trap in the near future.

For those who  attended, following the hashtags, or watching on UStream, what were your thoughts on Brogan’s presentation and the panel discussion?

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Recently, the Spyder Trap Online Marketing team sat down with with Kim Opitz of Rribbitz Creative Communications and had a free-flowing discussion about our agency’s background, how we’re working to put Minneapolis (and the Midwest for that matter) back on the map… and food.

Take a peek at this clip highlighting some of our conversation.

Thanks again for the fun and casual conversation, Kim. We’re looking forward to doing it again soon!

Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Growth is a wonderful thing, especially when you enjoy the work you do and the people you work with. Over the past year Spyder Trap has substantially grown as an organization thanks to our wonderful base of clients, partners and employees. Even in a down economy, our group more than doubled in size in 2009 and we look to continue that trend into the new year.

Reflecting on the past year, a lot has changed within the online marketing landscape and our clients’ needs and expectations have followed suit. As Spyder Trap continues to grow as a thought leader within the online marketing space, we look forward to facing those needs while pioneering new ways of accomplishing clients’ goals.

While we reflect on the success of 2009, here are a few things to look for from Spyder Trap in 2010:

1) Additional speaking engagements and seminars
2) Online Marketing Quick Tips: 1-minute online marketing tips we began earlier this year
3) Additional Spyder Trap happy hours and events. This year’s Spyder Trap party was a big hit!

THANK YOU to everyone who has helped to make 2009 such a great year and we look forward to servicing your online marketing needs in 2010.

Happy New Year!

-Mike Rynchek

Greetings to everyone! Due to a high demand, I am posting my presentation for everyone to view.

Thanks to all who showed up to the event, and to those who were unable to show, enjoy the slides. If there are any questions about this presentation, please contact me at jdouglas@spydertrap.com.

Jason Douglas

Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Yesterday, Ric Bucher of ESPN sent a tweet from his personal account stating: ‘The hammer just came down, tweeps: ESPN memo prohibiting tweeting info unless it serves ESPN. Kinda figured this was coming. Not sure what this means but’. On Monday, the Marines issued an order banning social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace within its network. Each is an example of censorship, but for two very different reasons.

ESPN, like many companies, have employees that are visible not only on television, but in the social media world. These employees are an extension of the brand that ESPN has built over the last 30 years. With that comes a large responsibility to represent your company as best as possible. There is a fear that within this ‘new’ method of communicating called social media and with information available instantly, if something improper is said, it will spread like wildfire and may have a negative impact on the individual and the company they represent.

There are two approaches to take here: you an either set guidelines for how to approach social media (in this case: Twitter); or you can choose to trust your employees, and allow them to interact with fans, readers, and other athletes who are using Twitter or social media as their platform to announce newsworthy happenings about themselves. We know which approach ESPN went with.

ESPN

Within ESPN’s memo full of guidelines, included were the following points:
• The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content
• Assume at all times you are representing ESPN

Maybe I am about to react because the above statements are hitting me differently than others. When you are hired by a company, does that mean you are, in a sense, owned by that company? Are you always on call for that company? Are you ever ‘off the clock’?

If this is the way that ESPN wants to treat social media, they are about to miss the point of social media: two-way communication. One thing about us here at Spyder Trap is that we tell clients that social media is all about communication, engaging with fans, followers, etc. Anyone that just pumps out their own content and does not try to engage with people will not be successful or respected in the social media world.

Giving fans of ESPN the opportunity to communicate and converse with their favorite personality increases the brand perception of ESPN. You are humanizing the personalities, and at the same time, gaining more fans of ESPN. This is now no longer possible due to ESPN’s restrictions.

Marines:

Their restriction of social media sites boils down to one simple word: security. This is an easy out for them. Within their memo, the following is stated:

“THESE INTERNET SITES IN GENERAL ARE A PROVEN HAVEN FOR MALICIOUS ACTORS AND CONTENT AND ARE PARTICULARLY HIGH RISK DUE TO INFORMATION EXPOSURE, USER GENERATED CONTENT AND TARGETING BY ADVERSARIES. THE VERY NATURE OF SNS CREATES A LARGER ATTACK AND EXPLOITATION WINDOW, EXPOSES UNNECESSARY INFORMATION TO ADVERSARIES AND PROVIDES AN EASY CONDUIT FOR INFORMATION LEAKAGE THAT PUTS OPSEC, COMSEC, PERSONNEL AND THE MCEN AT AN ELEVATED RISK OF COMPROMISE. EXAMPLES OF INTERNET SNS SITES INCLUDE FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, AND TWITTER.”

Really? In all caps?

This is an example how having certain restrictions can help solve security fears. Instead of banning social networking sites (SNS), implementing some form of privacy requirements, having an approval process for who’s following you, who’s your friend, what groups you are a part of, etc; would be a better solution.

I have a close friend who is in Iraq with the U.S. Army. Usually, we converse by writing letters and sending care packages, etc. Instead, I know he will be on Facebook at the same time nearly every day, which is how we are able to connect, via Facebook chat. I know that since he is able to communicate with myself and his family most every day in real time, his time over in Iraq has been easier to deal with. If that was taken away from him and the rest of the Army, it could be a demoralizing blow to each member.

Does your workplace have any rules regarding social media? If so, I would like to hear about your company’s policy. If your company instituted a policy restricting your use and presence in social media, would that change your perception of your workplace? Would you look elsewhere for employment?

Jason Douglas

Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Last night, I got home around 10:30pm and logged on to Twitter. I immediately noticed there was a fair amount of conversation about how everyone had lost followers, with many not knowing why. I looked at my followers list, and it had decreased from 786 to 724. To lose 62 people in one day is pretty significant for someone that has the number of followers I have. However, I was very happy about this, as I knew instantly that Twitter was cracking down on spam and deleting any accounts they deem as spam.

This was not the first time Twitter has done this. I thought they did this on a daily basis, as I get between 5-10 new followers every day. Of those, maybe one is a real person that I am interested in following back. The rest are bots, or other types of spam that do not interest me at all.

I’m not too concerned with the number of followers I have. I suppose the more I have, the larger my reach is, which can be a good thing. I am more focused with engaging with as many people, whether they are following or not, as possible. That is why Twitter is great: it’s another medium that encourages communication.

Knowing that Twitter is taking a proactive stance against spam, does this make you feel more strongly about Twitter? It should. Just think if MySpace was better at finding spam accounts a year or two ago; would so many people have jumped off the MySpace bandwagon and deleted their accounts while making sites like Facebook and Twitter their main social media sites to use?

How many followers did you lose last night?

Glenn Seaberg
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

At the core of every successful sponsored search or e-mail campaign stands a great landing page.   Designing a great landing page, however, is counter-intuitive to everything most website designers think they know.

If you want the highest conversion rate possible from your landing page, follow these absolute rules:

Designate only ONE purpose for your landing page.  Allow your visitors to take only one course of action such as request more information, subscribe to a newsletter, submit an inquiry, or make a purchase.  If you offer them a choice, chances are great that they will decide on neither and bounce.

• Answer these inevitable visitor questions in less than five seconds.

- What are you offering me?
- Why should I care?
- What do I do next?

You have six seconds to convert your visitor.  Do not expect them to stick around longer.

• Unless your goal is to repress response, don’t ask the visitor for more information than you need to begin the relationship.

• Keep both the offer and the response form above the fold.  This will increase the visitor’s ability to process your offer.  Adopt a side-by-side layout to ensure this occurs regardless of a visitor’s monitor size or settings.

• Your landing page is not a portal to your website!  The only link you should include is the one that links your submit button to your “Thank You” page.

• Be prepared to test.  Split-test your landing page constantly to determine the most effective mix of headline, layout, message, and call to action.

Ignore these rules at your own peril.  Clutter your landing page with too much information or too many options and you will scuttle your chances for success before the first visitor reaches the page.

Glenn Seaberg
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

“The expected growth in social network spending in 2009 is half of what eMarketer had projected it would be in our previous forecast in December 2007.”

So why is ad spending down especially now when social media is more popular than email? That’s easy – advertising on social media doesn’t work.

Advertising, by its very nature, forces a message upon those exposed to it. Advertisers can carefully target users all day long, but an ad is an ad. We, as social media users, don’t want ads – we want conversation, engagement, and interaction.

I offer simple advice to companies with regard to social media:

Skip the ads and get engaged! If you are going to tap into the power of social media, you have to play by its rules.

Here’s how a company can harness social media:

1. Don’t buy ads.
2. Make the effort to participate in the conversation.
3. Use a “voice” that is not commercial.  Give someone other than your copywriters the chance to participate.
4. Post links to landing pages containing specific and relevant content (video, blog posts, etc).
5. Brand these landing pages – if users value your content, they will value your brand. Take advantage of that – that’s money!  After all, you are providing a valued service or product.   From there you can provide links to directly to your commercial web site.

I’m sure there are social media purists who will criticize my advice.  What’s your take?  Is there room in the social media sphere for commercial participation?  Or does corporate involvement threaten the free exchange of ideas and unbiased dialogue that social media facilitate?

Jason Douglas
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

In recent months, social networking sites Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, have gained notoriety for their ability to help people connect and interact with each other.  Whether you are connecting with a former high school or college classmate, or talking to someone across the world you have never met about a buzzworthy topic, the sites mentioned above are great at bringing people together.

Not too many people think of using the sites above as a way to generate leads on your job search.  They should, and people are taking notice.

This past weekend, Kare 11 aired a story about how social networking can help your job search.  The story highlighted how it is very important to be part of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  Many businesses and recruiters are part of these networks, along with many viable candidates for these jobs.  On occasion, employers may not list an open position on a site like Monster or Career Builder.  People that are not part of the social networking scene are missing out on opportunities that may be a great fit for them.

Social media is about being part of the conversation.  The conversation that job seekers want to be a part of is occurring on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn, among others.  In this economy, having every advantage is crucial in having a successful job search.  People that are on these networks are two steps ahead of everyone else.

Before this story aired, some college classmates of mine that were looking for work have come to me for advice.  The first thing I asked is if they are on Twitter and LinkedIn.  The overwhelming response to both was no.  They were not familiar with LinkedIn, which I feel is the future resume.  These social networks, especially LinkedIn, are professionally focused, keeping out the riff-raff that exists on Facebook and MySpace.  On LinkedIn, you are just a couple degrees separated from most people, which allows for a more personal introduction (which you can request).

Last week, I got a request from a college student who is looking for a job at a food retailer to connect her with a contact I knew at this food retailer.  After a message sent by me to my contact, my college student friend and my professional friend were connected and starting a relationship that may lead to future employment.  If both people were not part of LinkedIn, that connection would have been near impossible to create.  It sounds simple, and in most cases, can be that simple.

I have been on all of the above mentioned sites for at least a year, and have met many people that I now consider friends.  Even though my intent has never been to find a job using social media.  There are many people within my friend groups that are hesitant to join these networks, whatever their purpose may be.  Now that large news networks are recognizing the effectiveness and importance of social media and social networking, people may rethink their feelings about social media and become part of the conversation.

Connect with me on twitter: @jasondouglas

Connect with me on LinkedIn: Jason Douglas

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

So I recently stumbled upon the PepsiCo Zeitgeist, which if you haven’t seen already, I suggest you check out.

At first I was unsure what exactly I was seeing; it looked like nothing more than a glorified Twitter stream. But as I watched a little closer, I realized that the Twitter user streams were being categorized into different topics centered on the SXSW event in Austin, Texas.

I thought this was pretty cool, but what I found really neat was the “swarm” tab. “Swarm” uses Google Maps technology (similar to a previous post I wrote about Google Latitude) to collect GPS locations of Twitter users to show location-based tweets at different restaurants around Austin.

A “zeitgeist” is “the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time,” and by definition I see why the PepsiCo site is titled the way it is. It really captures people’s real-time thoughts and feelings relating to events and places around SXSW.

However, besides the novelty of the site, how does this at all relate to PepsiCo? The site lacks any interactivity, as it simply shows a stream of visitors’ comments. Personally, I think a way to improve upon it would be to allow Twitter users to respond and interact with other Twitter users, by using the Zeitgeist as a type of forum.

We already saw something similar to this with Skittles, but the Skittles site focused on conversation surrounding the Skittles brand, whereas the Zeitgeist seems to have little to no relation to PepsiCo.

What are your thoughts about this? Is this the new wave in corporate branding?

Glenn Seaberg
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

I recently witnessed a business get caught red-handed after stealing, copying and using their competitor’s online sales material. More on that in a second…

Remember the story about the promising college grad whose Facebook picture depicted him with half a dozen cans of Bud Ice, a funnel and a length of vinyl tubing? That photo wound up on the desks of hiring managers who stapled it to his otherwise strong resume. Ooops.

How are these related? When it comes to online marketing, unless password-protected, whatever you post online is accessible by everyone.

Last weekend, I attended a SCUBA-related convention in the Twin Cities where numerous dive shops exhibited. Most of these shops planned for this show for weeks and came armed with their unique promotional material with hopes of gaining new customers.

However, one northland dive shop took an ill-conceived short cut figuring they wouldn’t get caught. They grabbed PDF collateral directly from a competitor’s website, copied the layout verbatim (including content to the letter), and then substituted their own logo for their competitor’s and took it to press. Unfortunately for them, their thievery was exposed when the shops wound up side-by-side on the convention room floor.

One shop left the show humiliated, one shop left angry.

So, have you taken the pictures of your collegiate keg stand triumphs off of Facebook? Does your corporate website give your competitors proprietary information about your business? Seriously, what’s your take on using online media to share information without sharing too much?

Glenn Seaberg
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Anyone who has ever taken a marketing course probably remembers the product adoption curve. Remember that? This theory explains that products are adopted over time as an increasing number of customers accept the innovation. About 3% of the market adopts the product quickly, academics call these people “Innovators.” The next group, about 14%, is called the “Early-Adopters.” Then come the “Early Majority, etc. The entire process, when depicted, is shaped like a standard bell curve.

It strikes me that this adoption process applies directly to the online marketing industry. Every week, in the course of meeting with prospective clients, I witness some marketing executives whose vision for online marketing is tightly integrated in their overall marketing plan. Clearly, they are Innovators or Early Adopters. Others, however, treat online marketing as completely separate from their traditional marketing initiatives. Their toes may be in the water, but they remain unconvinced.

Sound like you?

If it does, I want to meet you. When you witness for yourself the real-time benefits and trackability of a sponsored search or email campaign, or even the powerful information that simple web analytics provides, you will quickly become a believer. You don’t even need a huge budget to get started. One of my clients spends less than $15 per day to generate qualified foot traffic at their upscale condo project.

That’s what makes online marketing an easy sell. Online marketing, devised and executed by professionals, produces measurable results. Period. So… how do you treat online marketing? Have you seen its power to generate measurable ROI? Or are you behind the curve?

Glenn Seaberg
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Mike Rynchek of the Minneapolis online marketing firm Spyder Trap Online Marketing, will discuss social media and its role in marketing at the Minnesota Market for Entrepreneurs Conference. The event, hosted at the Alltel Center in Mankato, MN on February 23rd, will attract hundreds of business people from the greater Minnesota area. Mike will be joined by John Arms, President of Wingnut Advertising, with whom Spyder Trap collaborates extensively.

Most recently, the two agencies’ combined social media expertise proved critical to the success of the Vote Yes movement in Minnesota. Using social media including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube, Spyder Trap Online Marketing and Wingnut Advertising engineered the first social media campaign that directly led to the passage of a constitutional amendment anywhere in the United States.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit: http://www.mnmarketplace.org

You can follow Mike on Twitter – @MikeRynchek, or Spyder Trap Online Marketing @Spyder_Trap, or Wingnut Advertising @WingnutInc.

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Earlier this week Google announced its launch of Google Latitude, which is an extension of their popular mobile map application, Google Maps. Google Latitude takes it a step further though by providing you with real-time location-based information using your phone’s GPS, such as where you are, traffic conditions, allowing you to search for restaurants and hotels around you (and rate them), and even where your friends are (provided they opt-in). You can view your friends’ status updates (similar to Facebook or Twitter) and even contact them via SMS, Google Talk or Gmail. While this isn’t exactly a new concept (see the location-based service BrightKite), Google Latitude as upped the ante with functionality. You can even view Google Latitude on you desktop through iGoogle with the Google Latitude gadget.

Google Latitude has some privacy advocates concerned however, citing it a “danger” to security, in a ComputerWorld article. However, Google has stepped up the security features of Google Latitude by making the process completely opt-in on behalf of the user, and it allows the user to change their privacy settings by allowing/denying certain people from viewing your location at any time.

In an article by Ross Dunn of Search Engine Guide, Google Latitude poses a high potential for mobile marketing. Through user-specific location-based advertising on the part of retailers, a Google Latitude user could see an icon on their map near their location of a store having a sale, or of a bar or restaurant nearby offering 2-for-1 specials at happy hour. Similarly, the potential for Google to recognize where you go most frequently and provide recommendations on places you may enjoy is not that far-fetched (see Amazon.com recommending books you may enjoy based on your most recent purchases).

So now I ask you, what do you think of Google Latitude?

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

A lot of people have asked me, “Should my company start a blog?” or, “What are the benefits of corporate blogging?” In our fourth video installment of our weekly Online Marketing Quick Tip, I briefly discuss some of the benefits to corporate blogging, and you will see how not blogging may be hurting you more than you think.

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned to the Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog each week for our Online Marketing Quick Tip. Also, we would love to hear from you, so feel free to ask a question, post a comment or make a suggestion!

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

In our third video installment of our Online Marketing Quick Tips, I discuss the use of Third Party Twitter Applications, such as Twhirl, TweetDeck and TweetLater, and their ability to make managing your Twitter accounts easier than ever. You can also download a copy of the PowerPoint using the link below.

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned to the Spyder Trap Blog as we will have our weekly Online Marketing Quick Tip posted every Monday. Also, we would love to hear from you, so feel free to post a comment, make a suggestion or ask a question!

Download the Third-Party Twitter Apps Presentation here

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Spyder Trap Online Marketing is proud to announce their support for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. By teaming up with Smiths Medical, Spyder Trap Online Marketing will participate in the 2009 Walk to Cure Diabetes. The Minneapolis event will be held at the Mall of America in Bloomington on Saturday, January 24.

“The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the leader in research leading to a cure for type-1 diabetes in the world. It sets the global agenda for diabetes research, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of diabetes science worldwide.

Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.3 billion to diabetes research, including more than $156 million in FY2008. In FY2008, the Foundation funded more than 1,000 centers, grants in laboratories, hospitals, and industry, and fellowships in 22 countries.”

More information about the 2009 Walk to Cure Diabetes, as well as how you can register to participate or to sponsor a walker, visit their website at http://www.jdrf.org/mnnd.

Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Here is our Online Marketing Quick Tip video of the week. This week I discuss the “what,” “why” and “how” of XML sitemaps in terms of your search engine optimization efforts. You can also download a copy of the PowerPoint using the link below.

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned to the ST Blog as we will have our weekly Online Marketing Quick Tip posted every Monday. Also, we would love to hear from you, so feel free to post a comment, make a suggestion or ask a question!

Download the XML Sitemap presentation here.

Mike Rynchek
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Robots.txt Files

• Tells the Search Engine what to/not to crawl (pure data)

- Java Files
- Flash (swf)
- CSS

• Keep certain pages from showing in SERPs
• Add to root level of site

- Google Webmaster account

• Declare xml sitemap

Sample Robots.txt File

Stay tuned to the Spyder Trap Online Marketing Quick Tips, as next week we will discuss xml sitemaps.

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

I recently came across an article here indicating that many (63%) of the top hospitals in the U.S. according to U.S. News & World Report have little to no online presence. When looking at the process behind the rankings of these hospitals, we find that hospitals are judged not in routine procedures but in difficult cases across an entire specialty, and having these hospitals that excel in difficult cases lacking an online presence because of a neglect for online marketing is rather shocking.

When you or a loved one is faced with a healthcare issue, naturally you want to find the best care available. Where do you look? Or for that matter, it may not always be the patients or family members searching for treatment. How do the physicians know which hospitals are best suited to treat a certain individual? Turning to Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo is the most popular choice. As with performing any other search, the most relevant results appear on the first page. You rarely go digging several pages deep, and when searching for a hospital for quality healthcare, odds are if it isn’t on the first page, it isn’t even considered.

Think about it this way, and this applies to all industries, not only healthcare: if you have established yourself as a leader in the physical, brick-and-mortar world, shouldn’t you own a position of significance in the virtual world as well? Getting by on word-of-mouth and reputation isn’t enough anymore. This raises the issue further because if a physician can’t determine where to send their patient, the patient in turn may receive inadequate treatment, or the end-result of their treatment may be different had they found a more specialized facility for their condition.

To find out which hospitals are effectively using online marketing and those that aren’t, download the report from Oneupweb: America’s Hospitals and Online Marketing: Do They Get It?