Archive for January, 2008

I always say we are all connected.

Each and every person on the planet is connected by family, race or religion but the biggest connection is that we are all human beings – a giant matrix of connectedness spanning lifetimes and groups.

I know, I know…touting my own philosophies…AGAIN…but there is a point I am making here so stick with me for a sec. It does relate to a cool new marketing tool.

Let’s take a walk down a virtual street and chat for a moment.

The links coming into your web site and going out from your web site are the connections that keep your site active and on the radar screen of the search engines. Think of them as the roadways of the internet connecting the cities of web sites. No links means no traffic, no visitors means there are no roadways for people to find you.

Linking (as I hope you all know by now) is an extremely important aspect to any good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign. There are people, for example, at Search Marketing firms that ONLY specialize in linking – how to acquire links, when to pay for links, what the most important links are, writing link code…the list goes on and on. You can read to your heart’s content, here, on the whole philosophy behind linking for SEO purposes.

Ok, so can I get a drum roll please? Here’s the cool tool…

Walk2web – walk, explore, have fun

Right now, at this very minute on walk2web, you can visualize the links (connections) between sites. Doesn’t matter if it’s your site, Great Aunt Myrtle’s…I mean, Crazy Aunt Purl's web site, that guy Bob’s web site over in Montana or the average Joe’s web site. The point is you can see the linking matrix and the hierarchy. It’s pretty cool stuff. You can also view, review, bookmark and vote for your favorite sites. All you have to have is a starting point.

***So, um, if you don't HAVE a specific place to start this is NOT the place for you. If that's the case, go to Google and do a search for something…anything…

If you want to see how it Walk2web works, look here. Follow the directions, they aren’t complicated and see where you end up. Or you can click the “Walk Me” button over in the right column of this web site and you’ll bring up my little blog as a starting point and can meander out through my links.

If you want to put your own site in and build up a network, feel free to add me in and share the link love or give my site a review.

What are you waiting for? Go on. Give it a whirl. See where it takes you.

"Be more splendid, more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself up." 

Can you guess who said this?

She's famous - not for her wisdom, necessarily, but for her talk show.

I received one of those forwarded emails today that got me “hoppin’ mad” as my granny (bless her sweet soul) would say.

First off…I’m busy. I get a lot of emails. Tons, it seems like sometimes, and there is always junk to filter through that my spam catcher didn’t catch.

Don’t get me wrong I absolutely LOVE hearing from my readers and people who comment. They are always welcome and I value their opinions and input into this online conversation.

This was different.

It was a forwarded email political in nature slamming Barack Obama and his family ties. What aggravated me so much was that the email had been forwarded to more people than I could count and it was based on no real research and was slanderous in nature. In fact, it outlandishly claimed Obama was a secret member of an extremist jihad group aimed at undoing the United States from the inside out.

Now politics, I know, are always a hotbed of disputes arguments and disagreements. Let me say, I certainly am not into promoting any particular presidential wannabe (including Obama) and I encourage people to research and dig into their favorites to see who they are and not allow themselves to be spoon fed by the media.

However, this particular email was forwarded to teachers, church leaders, local business owners and many people who would be considered movers and shakers in our sweet little town nestled here the Western North Carolina Mountains.

What astounded me was the idea that these people would take this email and forward it, again and again. The marketer in me started to think about the psychology behind it because it IS word of mouth marketing – for better or worse.

Why would these educated individuals be motivated to pass this along to their circle of friends and family?

Fear - fear of change, fear of something or someone who does not represent the stereotypical presidential candidate, fear of a repeat of 9/11, fear of different religions, fear of skin color and most assuredly fear of the unknown.

As much as I hate to say it, fear IS a strong motivator. As marketing professionals it is our job to know what motivates people, and then to act RESPONSIBLY with that knowledge.

Playing on a person’s fears in order to attempt to get a reaction out of someone is not only wrong, it is highly unethical, irresponsible and manipulative. Feeding them information that is untrue or slanderous in nature is just plain bad Karma.

And, it will come back to bite you in the behind.

So, the word for today from the Big Book of Marketing is to be honest and straightforward in your endeavors to attract new customers, acquire votes and make those business connections. Empower your target market with positive information that genuinely eases there fears and answers their scariest questions.

In essence "take the high road." Be that business that makes a positive difference in their lives. They’ll remember you for it.