'Net Features : digital marketing

Connect Across All Digital Channels with Ektron

Michael Garrity — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Web success in 2012 means far more than just having a good (or even great) website. With so many different avenues for consumers to connect with brands online, companies are all but required to optimize every one of their various Web properties.

Ektron, a provider of enterprise Web content management systems, has unveiled some major updates to the Ektron Web Content and Digital Experience Management Platform that adds a plethora of features to help businesses deliver their customers a relevant experience across all of their digital channels. It also launched two brand new supplementary products, the Ektron Digital Experience Hub and Ektron Cloud Manager.

The upgrade, Ektron 8.6, adds to the company’s flagship content and management platform and aims to improve the content creation and management experience for authors, developers, and designers.

Among the biggest enhancements to the platform are simplified content authored with support for an advanced HTML5-based editor, more support for mobile devices that includes an adaptive image resizing feature, intelligent content synchronization, greater support for URL redirects, and increased flexibility and performance with search thanks to integration with Microsoft’s Search Server and FAST products.

But, as previously noted, that’s not the only news out of the Ektron camp this week. The company also announced the immediate availability of the Digital Experience Hub (DXH), which provides comprehensive, personalized experiences for users across websites, mobile devices, and social networks by integrating customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, and analytics solutions with the traditional Ektron platform.

This product will help users increase business efficiencies with pre-built integrations into enterprise systems, automate form publishing, and unify customer experience management with marketing campaign optimization. It also offers support with Microsoft SharePoint to integrate existing content, workflow, and management capabilities.

Last, but not least, is the new Ektron Cloud Manager, which lets Ektron’s customers launch websites and marketing campaigns in the cloud. This product includes Wizard-based cloud provisioning that enables the authoring of site content with an on-premises environment for deployment into the cloud, hybrid deployment, the ability to deliver sites at an unlimited scale, and support for both Microsoft’s Windows Azure and Amazon Web Service’s EC2 cloud platforms.

All of these new offerings are meant to help companies provide a relevant content experience and meet the needs of potential customers regardless of where they come from. And when used in conjunction with one another, as they’re built to do, they become all the more beneficial.

Increase ROI with a Tag Management System

Michael Garrity — Sun, 20 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

In a Web world where a lot of data is created and shared every second of the day, being able to manage all of that information can be the difference between ‘Net success and failure.

As such, the majority of digital marketers surveyed in a recent Tealium and Econsultancy study said that tag management was the most important aspect of their accomplishments.

The survey, titled The ROI of Tag Management, polled over 300 executives, managers and specialists in the U.S., U.K. and Europe, and found that 87 percent of digital marketers feel that tag management is fundamental to their operations. Those who used a tag management system (TMS) said they saw impressive increases in efficiency, reduced costs and improved site performance.

And 73 percent of the participants said that their TMS improved their ability to run a marketing campaign, and 42 percent said the process was much faster as a result. In fact, 69 percent of TMS users could implement new or modify existing tags in a day, but 44 percent of manual tag managers said it could take over a week.

Speed was a factor too, as 64 percent of TMS users saw a boost in website speed, with slightly over half of them saying the increase was significantly faster. As far as costs go, 73 percent of participants using a TMS reported reduced resource costs.

Respondents also claimed that using a TMS allowed them to utilize almost twice as many online solutions, ranging from analytics to retargeting, for maximized results, especially when compared to professionals that manually manage site tags. Marketers using a TMS had an average of 19 tag-based online marketing solutions, while their system-less counterparts only averaged 10.

Due to growing complexity in the industry, 88 percent of those surveyed also said that they thought data-driven tools would be come standard for digital marketers, with 86 percent saying that they desire the control to make fast changes to their assets without burdening their IT department.

You can download the whole report here.

Webtrends Studies the Splinternet

Michael Garrity — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:00:00 GMT

A study conducted by Forrester Consulting, and commissioned by Webtrends, that examines "the effect that the explosion of new devices, emerging technologies and the fragmentation of digital marketing channels" has been having on both marketers and digital marketing strategies was released today.

Webtrends is considered one of the world's leaders in unified mobile, social and Web analytics and engagement and sanctioned the study, entitled "The Implications of the Splinternet and the Future of Web Analytics," in an effort to research the potential future of Web analysis and discover emerging trends in the digital marketing environment ahead of time.

The study was conducted in May of this year with 210 global senior-level digital marketers across various industries in both the United States and Europe.

What they found was that there are many marketers who seem to be having trouble with the fragmentation of technology standards and customer touch-points, and that this problem persists across most, or all, digital platforms and devices.

According to a Webtrends press release, the study produced three key conclusions:

- Disruption of the marketing landscape: The Splinternet, technology and channel fragmentation, leads to marketers trying to quickly adapt to a new multichannel environment and "racing to understand the Splinternet." In the study, 85 percent of the respondents said that they "Completely or Strongly Agree" that in order to best serve customers today, they have to improve their multichannel capabilities.

- Marketing strategies need rebooted: The foundations of the marketing strategies of many firms will need to be evaluated, and in some cases completely redone, in order to best establish "mutually beneficial relationships" with customers in an environment composed of new channels, technologies and high expectations from more sophisticated consumers. One question posed by the study asked what skills the respondents thought would be most important to their organization over the next five years in a post-fragmented climate. A total of 50 percent said that strategy was most important, followed by 28 percent who thought campaign planning was key.

- Multichannel success can be achieved by mastering multiple disciplines: A multidisciplinary approach will be the best way for firms to harness the opportunities that the Splinternet will present. Included in this are technology, organization, process and measurement, all of which are considered interrelated contributors to an effective campaign. Forrester found that 84 percent of respondents "Completely or Strongly Agree" that they would drive more sales and profit by establishing themselves as multichannel companies.

Webtrends Director of Product Marketing, Analytics Steve Earl says, "Clearly, as the results of this research demonstrate, future success in interactive marketing is inextricably linked to effective measurement across digital channels."

Starting on September 23, Webtrends will have a copy of the study available online here.

Keeping up with Keywords

Allison Howen — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:30:00 GMT

Keywords are a crucial part of digital marketing campaigns, yet identifying the words consumers are most likely to use when searching is something that digital marketing teams have difficulty with.

According to a white paper published by Hydra, digital marketing teams don’t have the resources to conduct thorough investigations, which lead to more successful keyword results. Additionally, a bigger problem may be monitoring and keeping up with terms that change so frequently.

“Keyword research makes the difference between the vendor’s goods and services being immediately visible to the searcher or their being swallowed up and lost in the myriad of returned search results,” says Ruth Zohrer, solutions consultant at Hydra. “Ultimately, the lack of thorough keyword research can prove costly as it leads to vendors failing to maximize on the online opportunity both in terms of directing potential sales leads/traffic to their site and garnering revenues from the online channel.”

According to a Hydra survey, less than half (42 percent) of digital marketers felt they were keeping up with key word trends. Furthermore, over half of the study’s participants (55 percent) claimed they don’t know which new words or expressions are worth spending time and money on. Yet over 70 percent of participants agreed that they would spend more time on reviewing keywords and phrases if possible.

Solutions from Hydra’s white paper includes beginning new natural search projects with a discovery phase that includes keyword research and keyword-mapping, which shows how sites connect with target keywords as well as any gaps that may need to be fixed.

After each keyword’s demand is known, they can be prioritized based on the results.

Marketing Report Reveals Digital Direction

Linc Wonham — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:10:00 GMT

The next trend in corporate marketing is going to be developing stronger internal digital marketing infrastructures and relying less on traditional advertising and marketing agencies, according to the latest State of Marketing Report from the Chief Marketing Officer Council. Continuing to build online awareness and generating higher digital demand were the top initiatives reported for 2010 by the global affinity network of senior marketers.

Nearly half of the members surveyed (46%) reported that their companies are presently undergoing a “digital marketing makeover” or will be sometime in 2010. Fifty-eight percent said they were going to train and develop existing staff specifically in this area, and 36 percent expect to hire new talent with digital marketing skills. Forty percent of corporate marketers will be adding or expanding their support from agencies that specialize in digital marketing while an all-time low eight percent plan to conduct advertising agency reviews.

In reviewing where the digital marketing dollars are likely to be directed, 65 percent of respondents said they were evaluating investments in new social media and online communities, 43 percent in Internet media channels, 32 percent in mobile messaging and 31 percent in new methods of online content delivery. In contrast to 2009, most marketers are seeing their media budgets stay the same or increase slightly, with the biggest increases reported in interactive/Web marketing, social media, search marketing, SEO, and mobile communications areas.

Digital Marketing Maturity Model (DM3) from WebTrends

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:15:00 GMT

Web analytics provider Web Trends is promoting a model for standards in digital media measurement.

The Digital Marketing Maturity model (DM3) is aimed at providing a framework and objective criteria for assessing the strategies, skills, tools and best practices that support the successful measurement of all digital marketing activities. A white paper (PDF) is available to learn more about the model, along with a self-assessment survey.

"For online marketing to continue to grow and mature, there needs to be standardized, structured approaches for organizations to ensure they are getting the most bang for their digital marketing buck," said Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, Webtrends vice president of marketing. "We hope this model leads to consensus about how to build and maintain mature measurement programs across all types of digital marketing investments."

The model helps organizations:

Measure the maturity of digital marketing programs in six core areas (measurement strategy, analytics resources and domain expertise, data integration and visualization, data analysis and insight, adoption and governance, on-going optimization).
Assess measurement programs across all digital channels, including websites, search engine marketing, online advertising, social media and other digital marketing channels.
Pinpoint the skills, staffing and other investments needed to advance within the model's four levels of maturity.

Marketing To Moms Online

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:48:00 GMT

A new two-part marketing report (Digital Mom by Razorfish and CafeMom) indicates that moms' digital behaviors change remarkably when their children hit 12 years old and that mobile browsing and social media channels are increasingly affecting moms' buying decisions.

In its half of the study, Razorfish focused on how 'digital moms' are adopting emerging technologies. Of those using social networks and blogs, almost half (47% and 40%, respectively) monitor their children. Likewise, digital moms of children 12 and older, versus moms with children under 12, are more likely to watch online video, (40% vs. 34%), game (57% vs. 51%), read online consumer reviews (38% vs. 30%), and watch or listen to podcasts (13% vs. 9%); This trend can be explained by different leisure time patterns among women with older children and a compelling interest in understanding their teenage children's digital lives.

The second part of the study (conducted by CafeMom) found that moms are spending more time on social networks that ever before. CafeMom identified five distinct segments of socially connected moms and suggested how marketers leverage their activity:

- The Self Expressor typically has a preschooler at home and is eager to chat with other moms about parenting and shopping-related matters. She spends a lot of time building her personal profile page, so marketers should explore ways to be included on her virtual real estate and take advantage of viral pass-along.

- The Utility Mom typically has the most children at home of all the segments, yet spends the most time online each week and enjoys relaxing with games and quizzes. To reach the Utility Mom, marketers should align with entertaining widgets and send brand messages through influential women in her circle.

- The Groupster is a dynamic builder of online communities and seeks purchasing information and advice from her wide social circle, which includes moms she does not know offline. Marketers can reach her by associating with groups, blogs and other message centers and enlisting her as a brand advocate.

- The Infoseeker usually has a young baby at home and is hungry for information on parenting and related products. Brands that can tie their messages into the information she is seeking, especially via the voice of other moms, will be the most successful at connecting with the Infoseeker.

- The Hyperconnector, typically the mother of older children, is no longer aggressively seeking parenting information and advice, but rather uses social media as a way to chat with others and learn about new products. As an active social network member, she is comfortable expressing her opinions and would be an excellent candidate for brands to tap in social marketing campaigns.