While Flash (a vector-based graphic presentation that can present things in a continuous movie format) isn’t a search engine friendly web design choice, it is a method for drawing attention to information. Our web designers recognize strategic opportunities for Flash use, when its use will purposefully persuade the audience to act and get us closer to meeting the site’s objectives.

Milwaukee Electric Tool uses Flash in the same way …
… drawing attention to new products, offers or content that is fresh and meaningful to its serious tool users. Johnson Direct recently partnered with Milwaukee Electric Tool to launch a number of new Flash components:

1. Sawzall.com
A new microsite launched October 28 to promote its Sawzall-branded tools, blades and Test Team.  The “walkaround” Flash piece features 8 Sawzall products. Whether you choose to have the entire piece auto-play or you decide to interact with it, you’ll find information, photos and videos that promote the benefits for each product’s key features.

See it at www.sawzall.com.

2. New Products & Offers
About twice a month, Milwaukee Electric Tool updates its special promotions. Johnson Direct calls attention to these attractive offers with a Flash piece that enables the visitor to navigate through the promo selections (3 to 6 tabs) and click through to see a bit more detail. To redeem an offer, the visitor simply downloads the offer’s PDF form. 

Check out the latest promo: http://www.milwaukeetool.com/NewProductsAndOffers.aspx

3. Test & Measurement
Milwaukee Electric Tool’s website is undergoing constant enhancements including the launch of an entire category for its Test & Measurement products. Launched November 1, the T&M category features a Flash piece that highlights 10 of its hottest products. 

Give it a look: http://www.milwaukeetool.com/SubCategorySpotlight.aspx?CategoryName=Test+And+Measurement

Measure Visitor Usage of Flash
Each of these Flash components is tied directly to a web analytics system. We can see how visitors interact with the Flash presentations, where they click and much more. Because these Flash pieces are supplementing HTML content, Flash-haters and no-nonsense visitors aren’t put-off  because they can simply choose to bypass them. However, what Milwaukee Tool has found is that even its practical, all-business website users enjoy interacting with the benefit-driven, user-friendly Flash pieces.

You can partner with Johnson Direct, too!
We’ll help you integrate interactivity into your website strategically and sensibly. Our web team creates websites that achieve serious business and marketing objectives. These sites perform beyond expectations, and look great. Contact the Johnson Direct eMarketing Team today!

Denise B. Hearden
800.710.2750, x139
denise.hearden@johnsondirect.com

CHIEF MARKETER Feature Story: October/November 2009 (DMA 09 Issue)
Author: Grant A. Johnson, Johnson Direct

We’re a good half-decade into the age of advertising accountability and most marketers are still struggling to quantify their spends.

The ever-evolving media landscape, from billboard and brand advertising to trade shows and web/podcast events, social media and even traditional media like direct mail, ads and mass media have made both media buys and accurate measurement about as easy as running a 4-minute mile.

Marketer’s increased workload, combined with tighter budget constraints, a plethora of media options and generally shrinking marketing departments, makes “accountability” a seemingly impossible feat. Especially since marketing credibility has become an issue among many upper executives, the task of making your advertising/marketing more ROI-centric has become even more difficult.

The shift in marketing dollars to social media adds fuel to the firestorm, as social media outlets are very hard, sometimes nearly impossible, to quantify and measure. Yes, they are often inexpensive, but money spent without a ROMI payback model is money wasted.

Read Make the C-Suite BELIEVE. Written by Grant A. Johnson; published by Chief Marketer.

Your friends at Johnson Direct

Inside Direct Mail asked me to write a feature article on what to test in direct mail during a down economy. Here is the piece.

I hope you find it helpful to your bottom-line.

Grant A. Johnson

Recently both Twitter and Facebook suffered Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, shutting down both very popular sites. I use both sites periodically and them not being accessible didn’t really bother me, but the issue made me contemplate social media and its role in both marketing communications and as a communication channel as a whole.

Here’s what PC World wrote after the DoS attacks: “Twitter will need to try and find the root cause of the denial-of-service attack, or more importantly build a more robust infrastructure with controls in place to withstand future DoS attacks. Companies will have to both determine how to manage social networking for end-users, and how to effectively leverage social networking for business purposes. Users need to figure out what to do with themselves when Twitter is down. A cursory glance suggests that many users rediscovered Facebook to fill their Twitter withdrawal.”

Here are some interesting statistics courtesy of Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics:

• Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
• Generation Y and Z consider e-mail passé…In 2009 Boston College stopped distributing e-mail addresses to incoming freshmen
• 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation because we no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
• More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook…daily.
• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
• The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females

Mr. Qualman also asserts that people would rather give up e-mail than their social network. Note: Twitter does not seem to be mentioned.

These stats are in line with a recent Morgan Stanley report on social media usage that was penned by a 15-year old intern there. That report also says that teenagers do not use Twitter. Logon to Twitter and this will be confirmed.

With social media here to stay, I put on my measurable marketing hat and began to think about segments and sub-segments and how they apply and are used in social media circles these days. I had a hard time finding segments within the sites so I did a little web research and here’s some of what I found:

Daniel Lyons in Forbes wrote this about Facebook: “It’s as if two very different tribes were trying to inhabit the same space. I sometimes get the creepy feeling that we oldsters are barging into some college party where we don’t belong and trying a little too hard to look like we’re having fun, like the sad middle-age guys in the movie Old School who attempt, pathetically, to recapture their college days.”

Blogger Gadi Shamia said this: Connecting all the dots I finally got it. It is all about segmentation, or lack of it… Facebook was created by college students for other college students, and only on September 2006 did it become open to all Internet users: kids, students, young adults and adults. This was a major move for the site but it did not change the way the site was designed, the type of services it offered and the metaphors it used (we adults don’t super poke each other…)

And for Twitter:

Blogger Tony Thomas came up with these Twitter groups:
1. The Replacements

Those twitterers who have replaced a more traditional form of communication called talking with 140 characters or less of every thought, comment or announcement that enters their mind. These twitterers tend to skew towards the @reply functionality.

2. The Giver’s

Those that are so fast to tweet a link to the latest piece of industry information published, that they can practically claim it as their own. Lots of tinyurl’s are seen in their tweets. Those that just miss being first to announce often use the RT function.

3. The Takers

Those that selfishly take more than they give from Twitter. These people (me included in this group!) like to follow the random thoughts of random people and send minimal & uninteresting tweets (usually after a few drinks!)

4. The Profilers

Twitter has become both a replacement and a nightmare for publicists amongst those that have a public profile. And we all now feel closer to the ones we look up to and know more about what’s going on in their heads. And if their tweets are missed online, you can usually catch them in the glossies or sunday gossip sections.

5. The robots

The segment we all hate, but in the end they dont care because they are machines! I also put the fakes in this segment as they tend to be disliked aswell

6. The WTF’s

This segment skews to those who have no followers and only 1 update. They are not sure what the hell twitter is and why people think it’s great. And they are proud to publicly announce it.

If you have someone you are following who has Tweeted a lot, Twitter Analyzer tools can provide data centric insight into which segment of the Twitter audience their messaging most likely resonates.”

It seems like both Facebook and Twitter are turning into the new Mass Media, with Twitter doing a better job of segmenting.

Today, content must be relevant in order to be successful. Relevancy is achieved through great segmentation. Social media needs to do a better job of helping define segments. That’s a key reason why most social media marketing is so hard to quantify from an ROMI vantage point: It’s too broad and lacks focus.

Great segmentation leads to better marketing and that leads to a business model that makes a profit and therefore sustainable.

How many friends or followers one has is more about ego than about the real number of people who are interested in you, what you have to say or what you’re doing. LinkedIn, granted more of a true social media business application, does a much better job at segmenting.

Oh, remember MySpace? Yes, it’s still around. It was created for artistic types and, like Facebook is doing, grew out of its roots and lost relevancy.

The whole exercise really makes me wonder, overall, how effective social media is — and how big it will become. Yes, it’s growing, but…you fill in the rest.

Grant A. Johnson

A: With the recession prompting many executives to rethink their spending priorities, marketing budgets are already looking pretty lean. So one might wonder how to trim even more fat from expenditures as fiscal planning for 2010 gains steam. “Straight Line” posed this question to leading direct marketers, who shared the following tips for conserving much-needed resources in a tough economy. See how Grant A. Johnson, Johnson Direct, and other experts answered this question.

This Question and Answer are just one feature covered in the latest issue of Johnson Direct’s Marketing that’s Measurable eNewsletter. If you didn’t receive your copy, please subscribe to ensure you don’t miss a future issue. In the meantime, catch up on the hot topics covered in the July/August issue.

Denise B. Hearden
eMarketing Director
Johnson Direct

A: Few clients even think to ask this question. Most clients have design in mind first and foremost. No matter where your visitors come from (search engines, publicity, word-of-mouth/referrals, email or direct mail), nearly all of them will search for and review your website to learn more about your qualifications, your services and the process in which they are about to embark. Your website must not only look professional, but it must convey the information that will help these visitors take the next step.

Simply put, the content (the copy) within your website should lead the site’s organization (architecture) and design. At Johnson Direct, we develop sites based on your business and marketing goals and the wants and needs of your target audiences. This is first addressed with well-organized, relevant, direct-response driven copy, then dressed-up with design that complements the content.

While the design of your website will certainly have an impact in portraying your organization as credible, authoritative and legitimate, it is the content of your website that will persuade visitors to contact you. Recognizing and embracing this distinction is what differentiates Johnson Direct from other website developers and options. We’re experts in direct response – developing content and design that persuades target audiences to take the actions we’ve devised for them.

Here’s a refersher on how to Design Your Site to Meet Customers’ Needs. 

This Question and Answer are just one feature covered in the latest issue of Johnson Direct’s Marketing that’s Measurable eNewsletter. If you didn’t receive your copy, please subscribe to ensure you don’t miss a future issue. In the meantime, catch up on the hot topics covered in the July/August issue.

Denise B. Hearden
eMarketing Director
Johnson Direct

We concluded our special 5-part series on New Media in last month’s Marketing that’s Measurable eNewsletter, but if you missed one or more, here’s a quick recap of the useful tips and insights shared by the JD team:

P art 1: BLOGGING – 3 reasons to
consider blogging and see how it’s helped Johnson Direct with PR.
Part 2: FACEBOOK – 3 techniques to get started with today’s fastest-growing marketing opportunity.
Part 3: LINKEDIN – 3 tips on strategies that you can use for marketing on LinkedIn. 
Part 4: YOUTUBE – 3 basic types of videos to consider using on YouTube.
Part 5: TWITTER - Twitter Patter – Does Marketing with Twitter Matter?

This Recap is just one feature covered in the latest issue of Johnson Direct’s Marketing that’s Measurable eNewsletter. If you didn’t receive your copy, please subscribe to ensure you don’t miss a future issue. In the meantime, catch up on the hot topics covered in the July/August issue.

Denise B. Hearden
eMarketing Director
Johnson Direct

Yes, all these topics are covered in this issue of Johnson Direct’s Marketing that’s Measurable eNewsletter.

» Make the Case for E-PR
» Your Questions Answered
» Recap: New Media Series
»  Quick (Measurable) Tip 
» Coming Up Next Month

If you didn’t receive your copy, please subscribe to ensure you don’t miss a future issue. In the meantime, catch up on the hot topics covered in the July/August issue.

Denise B. Hearden
eMarketing Director
Johnson Direct

As seen in E-Centric’s 8/5/09 Feature Story & Published by Chief Marketer

It’s been well documented that we are in a massive marketing shift, one in which the consumer/prospect/customer has control and in which traditional media channels are fading faster than the Tweet you sent five minutes ago.

While the shift has been dramatic and swift, there still seems to be one area that is under utilized and offers huge potential in these down trodden times: Public Relations, or more specifically, Electronic-Public Relations (E-PR).

Read Make the Case for E-PR.

Feature Story in July BtoB magazine:  With the recession prompting many executives to rethink their spending priorities, marketing budgets are already looking pretty lean. So one might wonder how to trim even more fat from expenditures as fiscal planning for 2010 gains steam.

“Straight Line” posed this question to leading direct marketers, who shared the following tips for conserving much-needed resources in a tough economy. See how Grant A. Johnson, Johnson Direct, and other experts answered this question.