Here is the link for the class – 11-14 year-olds at Washtenaw Community College http://bit.ly/SocialMediaSafetyWCC
Author Archives: The Geeky Marketer™
A Quick Guide to A/B Testing
Digital advertising is much more efficient and relatively cheaper than many other forms of traditional ads. Determining which ads work and when to drop an ad is done by using A/B testing. Yes, you can test more than two options at once, but this the simplest form to get the point across for demonstration purposes.
With these testing methods, you can create two competing ads in various formats – based upon clicks and conversions you will be able to kill one ad and keep the ad that works best:
Testing Colors
Design the same ad in different colors – same images, same verbiage, but maybe the background color is different or the image colors are different. This works well with simple images. Load both and run them in the same manner – within a short amount of time you will be able to view the ad that gets the most clicks and converted the customer to your call-to-action.
Testing Content
Usually same images, same colors but the verbiage is different. Some ads just change the first few words to all caps and that is eye catching enough. Once again, this is also an effective way to quickly assess which content is preferred.
Testing Images
We are a visual society – using the same colors and verbiage but changing the image often results in a preferred ad response. You can quickly drop the underperforming ad and continue with the optimal ad image. Using the correct visuals can really boost conversion.
Ultimately your A/B testing should prove some analysis for future ads. This is the quickest and cheapest way to see what appeals without blowing your entire marketing budget.
Free College Day at Washtenaw Community College
Here is the file from the free college day at Washtenaw Community College. Thanks to those that attended. Click here for the file – free-college .
Subject was how to use fonts and images legally in your blog or website – discussed fonts, images, WordPress and websites.
I admit I am a sci-fi geek!
My whole life I have been fascinated by sci-fi or what I call “future looking trends”. Many 
ideas have come to fruition that were explored on shows like Star Trek.
This article discusses new opportunities for storing data – the new frontier of marketing. Let’s face it data is a huge part of marketing – review how Kroger uses they learn in their data acquisition from their frequent shopper cards. More and more companies are using or storing vast amounts of data. So understanding not only what to do with that data, and how to store it becomes a bigger and bigger issue daily. Data can be your friend as a marketer, understanding how to use it is a whole other subject, but for now, let’s look at how you store your data.
Keep in mind how ever your store your data, it should have limited access by employees that have been vetted, strong passwords and encrypted. If you do not know how to do this, I might suggest hiring someone that does. Loss of data costs companies millions each year and loss of customers. Again another subject, another day, but I needed to mention it.
Data junkies read on…my favorite is the glass storage – there are a couple of them in this article. 6 futuristic data storage technologies – http://engt.co/2bd35Iz
Keywords: #data #datastorage #datatrends #bigdata
Innovating Marketing
Guest blog post by one of my former students – Bruce Harper – posted with permission
Marketing is an ever-changing and volatile arena. An amazing product or service can go down in flames without the right marketing team behind it. In decades past, a good label, the right name, a product that is needed, or maybe an actor attached to your brand might have been enough to meet sales goals. Innovation that takes place in the research and development lab can really give your company and product the edge in competition. Having an amazing team that can develop something that has a demand, a need, in the consumer eye is crucial for making a mark in your industry. That being said, it is also imperative that your marketing and innovation teams work together so closely that they form an innovation and marketing culture together that is mutually beneficial. Charles Gaudet, “The Entrepreneur’s Marketing Champion”, addressed this in Forbes:
“Every business needs innovation, just as much as it requires marketing. The goal of innovation in business is to give customers the best possible products, services and experiences – which makes marketing a much simpler task.”1
Your marketing team gathers and distributes information to your consumer. Your consumers’ responses are relayed to the innovation team to assist them in the discovery of new evolutions that solve new problems. These elements need to work together seamlessly in order to progress and profit.
A commercial that grips you, holds your attention because it is funny, provocative, or exhilarating: What does it tell you? This generation of consumer has the most information at its fingertips than any before, and they won’t buy your product without it first undergoing meticulous scrutiny.
In a marketing oriented Harvard Business Review, Beth Comstock, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at General Electric said:
“The really good innovations – the ones that change the world – need to be explained before they’re accepted.”2
Marketing has had to undergo extreme transformations recently to adapt to the demands of technology and consumers. At General Electric, they understand that most of the battle takes place when you explain your product or service to the consumer. Flashy marketing doesn’t cut it anymore. Products that are lined up by the hierarchy of brand names, prices that must imply quality (yet because of the information readily available via the Internet, are often ignored in favor of purchasing the lower tier product, not only to save money, but because the differences in the products are negligible if not identical), all of these things require substantive marketing, not glitz and glam.
At other times, younger generations are more focused on nutrition and tend to avoid more processed foods. Example: macaroni and cheese, offered by Kraft at one dollar per box, or organic macaroni and cheese, offered by the same price. When the ingredient list is short and can all be pronounced, it’s a good sign.
Marketing and innovation are constantly changing by nature. Keeping a clear eye, while managing a successful product line, is all about blending these elements together in respect to the consumer. Knowing your consumer’s needs and adapting to them with your marketing campaign, as well as your product itself is the key to success.
Keywords: #innovativemarketing #marketing #innovation
2 – https://hbr.org/2014/07/dont-sell-a-product-sell-a-whole-new-way-of-thinking/