Marketing Pilgrim

This post is about sports and marketing. I say that so you non-sports types can bail if you like but I suggest you stick around just from a marketer’s point of view. Sports are one of those things. As a marketer you don’t have to be a fan but you have to understand how it reaches people and how people (prospects and customers) respond to marketing messages related to a true passion. If you don’t get involved then you may be missing out on some potentially lucrative market segments who might hear your message only if it’s attached to their passion for sports.

That’s right it’s easier.

Easier than what?

Well it’s not as easy as writing silly poems. But it’s probably easier than capping underwater oil spills. And, apparently it’s easier than umpiring a baseball game. But one thing it is most definitely easier than it is: off-line reputation management.

Yup that’s right there’s a difference between online reputation management and reputation management done off the Internet. While many of the same tactics and underlying strategies are used, the situation is oftentimes approached and handled in a completely different format.

So how is online reputation management easier than it’s off-line counterpart? It’s easier because of two reasons. Everything on the Internet is written down, and the Internet gives everyone a platform to speak.

I love Econsultancy’s industry reports. They’re always chock full of interesting data and…pretty charts.

The latest UK Search Engine Benchmark Report is now out and it’s good news for those in SEO, PPC and Social Media Marketing (SMM).

First, social marketers will love this:

More than half the companies plan to boost budgets by 20%–15% plan an increase of 100% or more!

Next, SEOs will enjoy this stat:

You’re seeing 92% of companies planning to increase their SEO budget by 20% or more. PPC expects to see gains too, though not quite as impressive–a third of companies plan increases of 20% or more.

Lastly, it’s not quite so rosey for copywriters.

It’s Aloha Friday, no work ’til Monday!

Whoops, wrong blog. Aw heck, seeing as we started off with a Hawaii theme, we may as well throw up a pretty picture and all dream of being in paradise.

While you sip your coffee (or in my case, Kauai Coffee Co’s “Big Braddah” blend) enjoy these news Picks.

• OPEN LETTER TO MARK ZUCKERBERG: STEP DOWN
• Bit.ly Links Now At 4.7 Billion Clicks A Month As Yahoo, MySpace And Others Go Pro
• Yelp and OpenTable Join Forces
• Seven in 10 Adult Internet Users Have Watched or Downloaded Video Online
• Google Pays $75 In Gift Checks To Test New Blogger Features On Windows PCs
• Social networking heats up on browsing phones
• 9 Essential Social Media Tips for Beginners

It’s been a few weeks since Google inadvertently collected private data from wifi hotspots–while taking its Street View images in Europe and Hong Kong. After initially resisting the requests of the German government to turn over the data, the search giant is now acquiescing to their demands.

Eric Schmidt, chief executive, said the world’s largest internet company would hand over information initially to the German, French and Spanish data protection authorities…The company will also publish the results of an external audit into the practice.

And now for the part that might make you shart…

Mr Schmidt admitted he could not rule out the possibility that personal data such as bank account details were among the data collected.

Zoiks!

It’s safe to assume that Google is getting more and more involved in making their display ads perform better. Why wouldn’t they since there are so many opportunities to generate more and more ad revenue each time the process is refined and made more attractive to advertisers.

Along those lines there are likely to be many small experiments being run at any time which are intended to run under the radar but we know how long “under the radar” lasts in Internet time. One of these experiments is being reported by ClickZ.

Google has quietly invited a handful of advertisers to test a new display-ad integration with Twitter.