Category Archives: Social media

Using Facebook Well: A Case Study

June 3, 2009 – 4:15 am

I recently trolled around Facebook looking for gardening companies who were using Facebook well.

Gardener’s Supply caught my attention because of the relatively large number of people who were their “fans” (the company version of a Facebook “friend”). At 2,175 fans, it’s ten times greater than any other gardening site I found. Granted, 2,175 isn’t a huge number, but it’s enough to indicate they’re doing something right.

The most noticeable difference between Gardener’s fan page and those of other companies was the amount of interaction. Every one of their 19 May posts generated comments and questions. Here’s the post with the most response: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Tagged | Leave a Comment

A New Way to Reach Targeted Prospects Online

May 25, 2009 – 4:15 am

Last week, I mentioned StumbleUpon in a post. I subsequently realized that many of you may not know what Stumble Upon is — or if are, you may not be aware of its advertising capabilities. (Click on the healdine for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Online marketing | Leave a Comment

Are You Missing the Boat?

May 15, 2009 – 4:15 am

I just got an email from a cataloger who had recently returned from the ACCM catalog conference in New Orleans. He reported with dismay that attendance had dropped significantly, down to about 500 from around 2,000 just a couple years ago.

What I found interesting was this particular cataloger is the quintessential example of doing what so many companies do –
(Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Catalogs, Marketing | Leave a Comment

Paid Search Powers Ahead

April 27, 2009 – 4:15 am

Internet Retailer always does some interesting surveys, and this month’s one on search marketing is no exception. Some of the highlights: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Ecommerce, Email marketing, Online marketing, pay-per-click advertising | Leave a Comment

An Easy Way to Get More Customer Product Reviews

March 11, 2009 – 4:30 am

Here’s a suggestion for generating more customer product reviews: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Customer service, Ecommerce, Marketing, Online marketing | Comments (2)

Capturing Business From the Competition

January 16, 2009 – 4:15 am

In my last post, I explained how to monitor what’s being said about your company and your competition in cyberspace. Here’s a dramatic story illustrating why you should. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Customer service, Marketing | Leave a Comment

What Are People Saying About Your Company?

January 14, 2009 – 4:15 am

If you’re not monitoring what’s being said about your company in cyberspace, you should be. What’s more, it’s easy to put on auto-pilot. Here’s how:

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing, Online marketing | Leave a Comment

What Classmates.com Can Teach You About Engaging Your Customers

January 7, 2009 – 4:15 am

About a month ago, I joined Classmates.com. I’m not sure why; I never particularly enjoyed high school, and am already in touch with most of the people I was close to at the time. But I kept bumping into Classmates.com, so I figured I should find out what it’s all about.

Five weeks later, I’m intrigued by how Classmates.com works hard at engaging its members. Web site owners, especially those who have a forum or are contemplating starting one, can learn a lot from Classmate.com’s follow-up series. In the last five weeks, here are the subject lines of the emails they’ve sent me: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Email marketing, Online marketing | Leave a Comment

The Death of Email?

December 17, 2008 – 4:15 am

I just read a fascinating article that argued convincingly that email is quickly losing its lead as a preferred means of communication.

How can something so new, so easy and so cost-efficient lose its dominance so fast, you ask? Simple. (Click headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Email marketing | Leave a Comment

A Great Example of a Customer Review System

December 1, 2008 – 4:15 am

If you don’t already allow – or rather, invite — customer reviews on your web site, drop everything and get to work. Reviews are arguably the single easiest means of significantly boosting your conversion rate. I’ve heard one garden company owner call them “transformative” and I couldn’t agree more.

While you’re at it, there are a number of ways to beef up a review system to make it even more useful. For a terrific example, take a look… (Click headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Online marketing | Tagged , | Leave a Comment