Data Driven: How we spend our daze?

It appears we spend a lot of our time online. And, for better or worse, the data suggests this is not going to change anytime soon. We see online replacing are traditional information and entertainment sources such as TV, newspapers and other print publications. We also see that while we surf the net we also seem to have lots of time for other activities as well. Who exactly came up with the concept of multitasking? And why? Lastly, on a down note, like Yin and Yang with good comes evil. A recent study by Cisco suggests that 90% of all emails are SPAM! The real question is why do these people not use all that effort and resources for good instead of evil!?

Web Overtakes All Media Except TV as News Source via kwout

What’s Competing for Internet Users’ Attention? - eMarketer via kwout

Spam Doubles, Personalized Spam Quadruples in 2008 via kwout

VBlog: 7 Critical concepts every business must know

Straight from my spare room, this is the first in a series of vblogs that define the fundamental change in communication between business and consumers brought about by social spaces on the internet I refer to as the "paradigm shift". There are 7 easy to understand, but critical concepts every business owner must know and understand before taking their brand online or managing their brand online. In this vlog we will work our way through how to successfully integrate your brand into social spaces online, based on some simple rules.

I look forward to your feedback,

Feel young again! Twitter away!

It is with age that some deterioration in functioning comes without question. I remember my great grandfathers, grandfathers my father and sadly me being afflicted with the most common of age related maladies; "what were we talking about again, or "What was her name again?" syndrome. Yes, I am referring to the complete inability to remember things from one moment to the next or follow a line of discussion for more than several seconds. Denial is comforting in this time of subtle decay. It is reassuring to think that the reason I have such difficulty is because I have amassed so much wisdom and knowledge over the years that my brain just can't be bother stuffing anymore in. Well, what ever embarrassment I may feel over being what appears to be slightly senile no loner matters. You see I have discovered Twitter! Twitter is the most amazing micro blogging tool. The whole premise is to write in as smallest bites as possible send them off and move onto the next. I am having a field day sending off little missives and receiving a blizzard of disconnected, compact and easily forgettable messages back. Who would have thought, just as I was starting to feel my middle age, some 20 something would put me back in the game stronger than ever. Twitter away!

Data Driven: People don't like advertisting??!!

Like those crazy government funded studies to prove that death is the result of dying or eating makes you full, here is another study which provides overwhelming evidence to the obvious; people don't like advertising. However, in the author's defense, despite this ubiquitous truth, businesses continue to advertise and so maybe it is still necessary to reinforce the fact that "People Don't Like Advertising”. This study goes one step further in its pursuit of seeking the obvious. It is now scientifically proven that people are especially averse to aggressive advertising. Another revelation???

So what can be done? Prosperity Research has been for years pioneering an alternative approach to promoting brands online. We believe it is just as easy to be interesting as be advertising. And, if you believe this study . . . well then people will like you.

Ad Clutter Reduces Effectiveness, Degrades Brands via kwout

Ad Clutter Reduces Effectiveness, Degrades Brands via kwout

Facebook: Old and dear friends

The other day I opened facebook. Lately I find myself opening facebook even before my e-mail. On that day I can not remember which I opened first. What I did notice that in my Facebook inbox was a note from someone I had not heard from in almost 8 years, perhaps longer.

The note put a smile on my face and I moved the cursor to open it. The note was much less pleasant than seeing the name and face of an old friend. This person had found me after all these years through one of the few applications that allow this level of connection; facebook. They had used this tool to tell me that a mutual friend had died. This friend had been long troubled. Never seeming to find the support and connection with others that he desperately needed. I found this to be an odd paradox. Here we live in the most connected time in our history. We are able to chat, share and meet people most anywhere and anytime. We can have single purpose friends and carry on deep relationships just by tapping away at our keyboard. On one level none of us ever needs to be alone. And yet, with all this virtual connection we are above all physical beings. We need that level of connection that we can only get from the close proximity of another. I recently heard that as much as 90% of our communication is body language. If this is true then we can type away at our keybords all day long and still never be fully satisfied since what we miss is the unwritten message between two people. The quick unexpected smile and raise of an eyebrow can not be really represented in an emoticon.

Data Driven: Everything in its place!

There is a place for everything and the place for retail is online! And the place of advertising is not social networks. I have reported in previous blogs the power of social networks as the fastest growing and most compelling place for consumers to get brand information and make buying decisions. I have also noted that in this consumer driven space conventional advertising is not only ineffective, but unwanted.

Research continues to confirm this. We see more and more persons of all socio-economic backgrounds moving online to find their information and entertainment. It is necessary to understand the unique dynamics of this space before launching in. This is a space driven by communication at a peer to peer level. This is engagement marketing, not distraction marketing. Businesses that understand this will be successful. Those that don't may find themselves without clear understanding why their most brilliant advertising strategies fail to garner attention.


Points to take away:

1. The place for business to be is social networks
2. The place for advertising is NOT social networks
   

Hitwise Intelligence - Heather Dougherty - US: Traffic to Web-only retailers increases on Thanksgiving and Black Friday via kwout

Social Networkers Aren’t There for Ads - eMarketer via kwout

Social Network Marketing...SO, what is it you actually do, then?

This is Kris again, Prosperity Research CIO. Doug is taking the week off from blogging (mostly because he has been working about 18 hours a day...).

Which actually brings me to this week's topic. "So what is it that we actually do here at Prosperity Research"? Social Network Marketing, Social Media Marketing, it's all new. To some of our customers marketing on the Internet itself is relatively new.

I'm a Technology guy, not a Marketing person, so I'm used to people who don't quite understand the technology I work with - in fact I, myself, often find my 13 year old daughter showing me something on her new laptop that I didn't know existed!

OK, OK. So, what do we do? Easy. We develop and deploy On Line, Video Based, Social Network Marketing Campaigns that achieve proven and affordable results for our clients.

1. On Line - where the audience is already looking
2. Video based - because it is more interesting if it moves
3. Marketing – we help our clients be interesting, not disposable advertising
4. Proven – repeatable process never fails to achieve top search engine results
5. Affordable - we are low overhead, clever, and innovative

How do we do all that? I'll never tell!