Top 10 Activities of Canadians Online


Jane LeeApr 20, 2011

Canadian Household Internet AccessCanadians lead the world when it comes to the Internet. 83% of us have Internet access from any location, and almost a quarter of us (22%) are connected through a smartphone or PDA. We spend more time online than any other country in the world, according to a recent comScore study. The average Canadian spends 43.5 hours a month online, compared to the worldwide average of 23.1 hours.

So how do we spend all those hours online? Here are the top 10 online activities, according to the latest IpsosReid Canadian Internet Fact Guide:

  1. 89% visited news or information websites
  2. 86% visited a newspaper website; 34% do so at least weekly
  3. 78% conducted banking; 44% bank online at least weekly
  4. 78% purchased product or service; 20% make purchases online at least monthly
  5. 75% comparison shopped
  6. 72% clicked on a website advertisement
  7. 70% looked for movie times/critic reviews
  8. 68% used instant messaging
  9. 66% listened to radio
  10. 65% visited a magazine website

Mobile Search Advertising: Tips & Benefits


Vikas KalraMar 23, 2011
Mobile Optimized Search Ad

Mobile Optimized Search Ad

According to Google, searches on mobile devices with full internet browsers have grown 4 times over the past year. This is not surprising considering smart phones are selling like hot cakes these days. With iPhone and BlackBerry constantly introducing umpteenth apps and features, it’s almost hard to ignore these little tools of great technology. According to another study done by Mobile Marketing Watch, Mobile Search revenue will soar to $8B in year 2015 which will represent 11% of total search revenues. Google currently manages 97 percent of queries searched on mobile devices. These numbers indicate only one thing – start planning for Mobile Advertising on Google Search.

Even though a normal search campaign targets mobile devices as well, it’s never an ideal way to target your mobile audience. To make it effective, you must optimize your mobile campaign separately. First, create mobile friendly web pages with easy call-to-actions. Next, set up your campaign on Google targeting mobile devices only. You can do this on the Google Adwords interface or Adwords Editor. You can always pick only the high volume terms to run for this campaign. So what are the benefits of doing this? Here’s a list!

Bid Optimization – Buying traffic on Mobile advertising is relatively cheaper than non-mobile (i.e. desktop, laptop, netbook) traffic which means if campaigns weren’t separated, you would most likely be paying higher CPC (cost per click) overall. Also, on Mobile you are competing on 5 spots compared to 10 on non-mobile. Once you learn the pattern of Mobile traffic, you can bid accordingly and manage keywords.

Text Ad Optimization – You can create mobile specific ads that are shorter in length with calls to action such as “Get quote on your phone now”. You can also add features next to your ads such as Ad Sitelinks, Click-to-Call and Location.

  1. Ad Sitelinks – A great way to provide other important links in your site which will be listed below your ad. Links such as “Branch/Store Locator” or “Popular Products” are quite beneficial.
  2. Click-to-Call – Another wonderful feature to provide your call center numbers along with your ad. As users click on your phone numbers and connect to your call center, you will be able to track performance even better.
  3. Location – You can also add your location. If you have multiple locations, create geo-targeted campaigns.

All these features can be found under Ad Extensions on your Adwords interface. These are also available for your desktop campaigns, but they are more geared towards mobile campaigns.

2011 Predictions & What Marketers Need to Know


Jane LeeFeb 14, 2011
Computing Device Market Forecast

Source: DTTL, 2010

Deloitte recently produced their 2011 Predictions for Technology, Media & Telecommunications. I’ve combed through these predictions for you to highlight the ones that marketers need to know:

  1. Rise of Tablet Computers. Deloitte predicts that more than 25% of all tablet computers in 2011 will be bought by enterprises, and that figure is expected to rise in 2012 and beyond.  The retail, manufacturing and healthcare industries are presumed to become early adopters. This means that marketers need to pay attention to how their online communications come across in tablets (in addition to other mobile devices).
  2. Tipping Point for Non-PCs. Correlating with the first point on the rise of table computers, the era of the PC is coming to a close.  While traditional PCs (desktops, laptops, netbooks) will still be the main platform for 2011 and immediate years to come, the landscape is changing rapidly with the increase of tablets and smartphones.  Along with the increase in non-PCs has come the growth of the application industry which is only in its infancy. The industry is expected to grow 60% in 2011 to over $10 billion.
  3. Operating System Diversity. While the adoption of non-PCs is rising, no dominant operating system (OS) has yet to emerge, which means that there is no defacto standard.  In a fragmented OS world, it means that no one app developed for a single platform can address the entire market. Marketers will need to understand that developing customized apps or versions for each OS requires time and money (between $5,000 – $500,000, depending on complexity) so they will need to pick and choose the markets they want to target wisely.
  4. Social Networking Advertising Continues to Grow. While social network advertising revenues are still less than 1% of the global advertising spend, the potential for this channel is huge.  Deloitte predicts that 2011 will see over one billion unique social network members and a 40% year over year growth  in advertising revenues.  In addition to advertising revenues, other forms of revenue for social networks include serving as a payment platform for apps and e-commerce.  A blended e-commerce store model may be one where networks charge for online retail space and earn a commission on any sales.  What is certain is that marketers need to expand their use of social media to protect their image and reputation in online networks as people overwhelmingly trust peer recommendations (78%) over advertisements (14%).

Canadian Social Media Marketing


Jane LeeDec 1, 2010

The majority of Canadians consume social media on a regular basis, according to eMarketer.com. Nearly 60% of Canadian internet users are on social networks monthly, and that rate is expected to increase to 68% by 2014, when 18.4 million people in Canada will be socializing online at least once a month.

Of the top social media sites, it’s no surprise that Facebook is by far the number one visited site, trailed by Windows Live Profile, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace. For more details, see the full article.

Display ads lead the charge


LiQuid TeamOct 13, 2010

Online Advertising got a much needed shot in the arm this week with the release of the IAB’s (First Half, 2010) Internet Advertising Revenue Report. Online spends are up 11.3% over last year with display advertising leading the charge. Display was the only category to make significant year-over-year gains. Search, Classifieds, Rich Media and Video, Lead Gen and Sponsorship all plateaued or declined as a share percentage.

Another interesting (though not-at-all-surprising) statistic bears out the trend away from the impression-based (CPM) model and towards a more performance-based pricing system. CPM down 3% and CPC (etc) up 3%.

The (very attractive) report can be downloaded here.

5 Ways for B2B Companies to Engage on Facebook


Jane LeeSep 15, 2010

I recently read a good article on how B2B companies can engage users on Facebook. Here are some of their top tips:

1. Original Content and Industry Content

The design principle “Keep it simple, stupid” also applies to content you’re already spending time to create. Have a newsletter, magazine, newsroom or blog? Repurpose that information on Facebook, making sure it’s relevant and interesting to this particular community. Take advantage of the Facebook status update’s 420-character limit, but keep your Twitter hat on and be concise.

Consider these types of posts reflections of your blog and Twitter editorial calendars, and find them in similar ways: Make sure your feed reader is full of relevant industry blogs and sites, and curate helpful Twitter lists and hashtag/keyword searches.

2. Questions

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. There’s a reason many Social Media B2B blog posts end with a question – a call to action is a simple thing that often goes forgotten. Make it a habit to end status updates by asking your followers what think about a particular article, industry trend or new product.

On the lighter side, use questions as a conversation starter. Fun topics such as company or industry “Did you know…?” trivia or even a simple “Good morning! What did you do this weekend?” can go a long way to making your Facebook page a community destination instead of a promotional content dump. People enjoy talking about themselves and their experiences – let them do it on your page and learn from what they tell you.

If you’re asking your Facebook followers for feedback, remember it’s a two-way street. Be sure to check back often to reply to others’ questions and be part of the conversation yourself.

3. Photos and Videos

There are many applications such as TwitPic and TwitVid that facilitate the addition of photos and videos on Twitter updates. Facebook, however, gets a leg up on those tools’ shortened URLs by putting photos and videos straight into Facebook users’ news feeds. Photos and videos are welcome breaks from text-heavy status updates, and let businesses tell their stories with images and sound.

Take advantage of the provided status update space to give background on these types of media, and start dialogue by asking followers their thoughts, reactions and favorites.

4. Behind-the-scenes and VIP Info

People “Like” Facebook pages to have another way to track their favorites brands, products, people and places. Make your company’s Facebook updates stand out by offering up valuable information and interactions they won’t find anywhere else, such as behind-the-scenes photos, sneak-peek product announcements and Facebook-only contests.

Be careful with Facebook promotions, however. Facebook updated its promotions guidelines at the end of 2009 to better regulate contests held and promoted on its site. Here are a few things to keep in mind: You can’t make contest entrants perform any other action on Facebook other than “Liking” your page; be mindful how you frame Facebook and its images in the contest; and, as always, pay attention to local and national promotion rules. See the full guidelines straight from Facebook here, or check out this post on the Inside Facebook blog.

5. Tagging

Similar to Twitter’s “@ mention,” Facebook allows fan pages to tag other people and pages in status updates. This comes in handy when status updates touch on key partners and demographics such as trade media, associations and trade shows. For example, if you post an interview Trade Magazine Weekly did with your company’s CEO, include a short status update intro above the link that mentions the media outlet. This will show up on the outlet’s Facebook page Wall and will be visible to everyone who visits its page.

Read the full article.

Canadian Advertising Growth Trends


Jane LeeAug 16, 2010

Advertising spending has started to rebound this year after last year’s slide, according to a recent article in Marketing Magazine. Canadian advertising spending has rebounded more quickly than U.S. post-recession ad spending with Canadian ad spending expected to grow 5.4% in 2010, compared with 1.1% in the U.S.

Year over Year Total Advertising Expenditures in Canada:

  • 2008: $10.2 billion
  • 2009: $9.3 billion; down 8.4%
  • 2010 (projected): $9.84 billion
  • 2011 (projected): $10.2 billion
  • 2012 (projected): $10.6 billion

    • Fueling the rebound is spending in Internet Advertising as it continues to climb and will soon become the 2nd most popular medium in 2011. Internet advertising spending is projected to rise 13% this year and 12.7% next year to $2.2 billion, when it will pass newspaper advertising as the second most popular medium in the country behind only TV.

    Other key findings from the report include:

    • Paid search made up 50.2% of all Internet spending in 2009 and expectations are that it will get to 52.6% by 2012.
    • Display’s contribution to total internet spend fell from 32.9% in 2008 to 31.9% in 2009.
    • New formats such as web video, mobile and social media are expected to help display stabilize this year and increase its share of internet spend to 32% in 2012.
    • In 2009, about $18 million was spent on mobile advertising, rising to $30 million this year, $55 million in 2011 and $92 million the year after that.

    Point of View: Bing


    LiQuid TeamJun 19, 2009

    Overview

    Microsoft recently relaunched their search platform under a new banner, Bing. The previous incarnation, Microsoft AdCenter, launched a few years ago and has never really challenged Google’s market share leadership. There are three key hurdles Microsoft faces in trying to gain a stronger foothold in the search market:

    1. Microsoft has to compete with the familiarity of Google and overcome the habits people have established with it. With people often being creatures of habit, this isn’t easily accomplished.
    2. They need to create a product that not only catches up to, but also surpasses the existing market leader with new bells and whistles that users wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
    3. Microsoft’s brand is not as strong as Google’s and Google continues to carefully cultivated evangelism toward their brand.

    Today’s Opinion

    So far most influencers online are panning Bing, but they know that raising the search bar will only elevate everyone else’s game. Microsoft has positioned Bing as a decision making tool, alluding to the fact that this might be the long awaited foray into Web 3.0, also known as the Semantic Web. However, in its current state, Bing is not a product that is revolutionizing search. Microsoft is employing similar strategies they’ve used in the past to incentivize people to use their search platform, such as Club Bing.

    There are still some black box features to Bing, but one known feature is the reverse IP look-up executed during a search query. What that enables Bing to do is identify the person’s geographic location and serve localized content and mix it within the results.

    They have layered the interface with some nice roll over previewing functionality, added some dynamic global navigation against the search results and other minor bells and whistles; but again it’s basic functionality and results delivery aren’t yet gigantic leaps forward.

    Microsoft is spending a lot of money to promote their newest search solution. The ad campaign looks good, but any buzz to date has been manufactured; so the real questions will be answered once the ad dollars cease beyond the launch phase and we’ll see if they maintain growth or even sustain the market share they acquire during the promotional launch period.

    What Bing Means to Marketers

    So far, Microsoft’s Bing still lags behind Google and Yahoo in market share. There’s no doubt they will gain more ground, which will likely come from setting Bing as the default page in their next Explorer release and embedding it’s search capabilities into Hotmail and other existing Microsoft platforms. For most marketers major changes to SEO and SEM strategies aren’t recommended at this point as it’s worth waiting for to see what adoption rates will look like.

    Media Defined


    LiQuid TeamJan 16, 2009

    Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase, “The Medium is the Message” in 1964. His theory postulated that how the media is deployed is equally important to the actual content, as it influences how the message is received. In his theory, there is no distinction between paid and non paid media and while this is an older definition, it is still held true today.

    At a November 15, 2008 U.S. forum on digital media, P&G marketing executive Ted McConnell, stated that “I think when we call it ‘consumer-generated media,’ we’re being predatory. Who said this is media? Media is something you can buy and sell. Media contains inventory.” Mr. McConnell really defined Media as “paid” placement, whereas social media and user generated content on places like Facebook had no merit as being termed Media.

    The two definitions of media are different. Our belief is somewhere in between the two definitions. We believe that media can be paid or non-paid and it’s the context that matters. Simply throwing up a banner type placement within a social media environment does not effectively communicate any marketer’s message. However, determining tools to engage and encourage communication within these forums can effectively use the medium. 

    Simply put, Media can be the message as long as it is put into the context of understanding the environment and the users’ mindset, needs and motivations.

    Search Engine Marketing – SEM 101


    Jane LeeJan 13, 2009

    What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

    Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Paid Search Advertising or Cost per Click (CPC), consists of placing ads for products or services on search engines and content sites across the internet. These ads are a small text link or image ad that link to the advertiser’s web content. The advertiser pays for click throughs from the ad.  Leading search engines include: Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

    SEM is a measurable form of marketing and can be optimized based on testing and analysis of results.  SEM campaigns allow for a great deal of control and can be targeted for budgets, geographical and time restrictions.

    How does Search Engine Marketing work?

    When a searcher visits a search engine and enters a query – i.e. “plasma TVs” – the search engine will seek out search queries related to the selected keywords and display the results, which in this case may be links to web pages containing information about plasma TVs.

    The search engine results page also displays paid ads that contain relevant keywords from the query. Paid search advertising results usually appear on the top or right side of the search engine results page.

    SEM Quick Tips:

    Set goals for your SEM campaign and choose success metrics to track accordingly.

    Coordinate offline campaign efforts to better leverage the online SEM campaign.

    Know your target audience and choose keywords based on how they will search for your product/services(s).

    Expand into keyword phrases, two or three word phrases generally work best.

    Group keywords into categories or AdGroups based on similar attributes to best identify results.

    Write ads according to a single theme.

    Have more than one text ad per ad group and search engine.

    Include your campaign keyword terms.

    Track and analyze results. Optimize throughout the campaign.

    Test and refine; this applies to AdGroups, keywords and text ads.