Eco-Friendly Digital Marketing Internship

As the summer is coming to a close, so ends Lauren and my journey as Taste of Ann Arbor food critics and Eco-Friendly Interns at Ingenex Digital Marketing. So to celebrate our journey from wide-eyed interns to digital savvy marketers the whole Ingenex gang joined us on our lunch excursion.

Today’s lunch brought us to Sheesh Mediterranean Cuisine, a Lebanese restaurant, just a few blocks down from our office on Main Street.

Upon our arrival, the Ingenex team noticed the painted murals and lush burgundy curtains that adorned the space and gave the restaurant an authentic look and feel. As we took in our surroundings a booth was found to accommodate our 7 person group with plenty of leg and elbow room. We were promptly brought a few baskets of pita bread and the restaurant’s Middle Eastern salsa, along with glasses of ice-cold water. Among the buzz of conversation we also decided to order some homous to tide us over until our food arrived.

In Lebanon it is customary for meals to last a few hours because the host will urge their guests to take second, and many times third helpings because this shows that guests are enjoying their meal and are savoring the whole dining experience. To be expected our servers were very hospitable and frequently visited the table refilling our pita and water glasses, however the wait time between when we ordered our food and when it arrived was rather lengthy.

Ordering everything from Fatoush Tawook Feta to Mjadra and Falafels our team sampled a wide variety of Lebanese cuisine. The general consensus at the table was that despite the lengthy preparation time, Sheesh was worth recommending in the future.

Lauren and I would like to thank everyone that made A Taste of Ann Arbor possible and we know we will most definitely miss our Ingenex co-workers as we move on to the next stages in our digital marketing and advertising careers. Thank you for all the experience, it has truly been a pleasure.

Trending on social bookmarking sites and blogs is the subject of Facebook and women’s privacy. Mashable published an article last week on some shocking statistics found by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research. A study of over 1600 people was conducted regarding their social media usage. The company found that the majority of young women check Facebook first thing in the morning even before the bathroom and 42% of women feel it’s “okay” to post pictures of themselves drunk. With so much time being spent on the internet and the little effort to protect one’s own privacy, Facebook can ruin careers and reputations.

Last week I went to a networking lunch and met a very nice accounting student. She was friendly, intelligent and seemed like she’d be a great contact. I asked her name and told her I’d be looking her up online to connect later on. My first stop was Facebook. Her profile picture displayed ample cleavage, the page was littered with profanity and her photo albums included multiple pictures of alcohol and drugs… I went no further and decided not to befriend her online.

The Eco-Friendly Internship has put together a checklist to make sure your Facebook is not only clean, but also easily found. These tips are relevant to males too, but are geared especially towards young women.

The Facebook Clean Up Checklist

1. Get rid of all alcohol and drug related content.
2. Monitor pictures others are posting of you. Anything remotely questionable, delete.
3. Defriend anyone you don’t know personally. The use of fake profiles to steal information is growing.
4. Go through your applications and get rid of any you don’t need or trust.
5. Edit your interests to things that will promote your talents and strengths instead of hurt you.
6. Make sure all of your information is complete
7. Communicate with others effectively and professionally: People, brands, pages.
8. Keep notes and videos relevant and re-post worthy.
9. Create a URL tag that matches your other social media profiles (http://facebook.com/yournamehere.)

Photo Credit: Flicker user Marisa beth

Facebook is about marketing yourself and connecting, so do your best to advertise yourself well because all of the information is going to be shared (no matter what Facebook says otherwise.) Employers will be looking at this information so target to them as well. You wouldn’t show up to an interview drunk or in a micro-mini, so don’t let those images be the first thing someone sees. Once you’ve made sure your content is clean, ensure that you are found easily. Facebook pages are no longer just to keep in touch with John Wewenttopromtogetheronce. It’s an effective marketing tool so that you can promote yourself without a single word leaving your lips. Remember: first impressions are crucial and YOUR first impression may happen online without you knowing.

Social Media, Twitter, Blog, RSS, many words and phrases used today to describe components of digital marketing. But maybe you are wondering what these words and phrases mean, or maybe you are having a hard time explaining it to someone else.

If that is the case, I introduce you to, Common Craft, a company based out of Seattle, Washington that produces simple, short and informational videos “in plain english.” Each video features paper cut outs, increasing the ease of comprehension.

Simply put,  Common Craft, is a simple company, that gives perfect explanations, and that is all there is to it. This video is one of the many technology related videos on the website, and will explain “Blogs in Plain English:”

Now that you have see the Common Craft explanation of a blog,  visit other Ingenex blog pots:

• The Digital Bus, to learn about digital marketing from the professionals at Ingenex
• Eco-Friendly Internship Blog, to find out what is new in digital marketing and eco-friendly from the interns at Ingenex
• New Media Drivers License, will feature posts by students as they learn about new media in the course instructed by Derek Mehraban, Ingenex CEO

Twitter, the simple 140 character status update social media site is experimenting with more opportunities in the realm of trending topics to advance their availability of digital marketing opportunities.

Twitter trending topics allow Twitter users to see what other users in their chosen geographic location (country or well-known city) are talking about. By clicking on the topic, users can see all updates that contain that topic.

Recently Twitter confirmed that Pixar paid for a trending topic placement for the recently released Toy Story 3. The topic was marked as “Promoted” taking away any potential hidden issues.

Thank You Flickr User: tsand

There is no doubt that somewhere in the release of Twitter updates there is a hidden potential for high volume advertising media placements. The question I find myself asking now is if paid trending topics is the answer. A few things to think about:

THE TWITTER USER:
If trending topics are paid for, does that take away the relevancy and uniqueness of the feature? It is possible that followers of trending topics will lose interest in the feature all together if it is overly populated with paid placements.

As an advantage, keeping the ads in the trending topic field may discourage growth of ads within the Twitter updates field and crowded banners, taking away from personalized Twitter backgrounds.

THE TWITTER PROMOTER:
The company sponsoring the promoted tweet has an opportunity to take control of their reach on the social media platform and increase conversation, but only to a certain extent. What happens if the topic is negatively tagged and  revealed upon following the trending topic updates? This presents itself to be more of a problem for competing brands than for “Toy Story 3,” but a concern all the same.

TWITTER:
Will this earn enough revenue as an ad source? Currently, the program requires a double-click for payment, which means that the twitter user has to click on the trending topic, and then on the link within the actual tweet. Do enough Twitter users follow the link to make the program worth the potential of losing the relevancy of trending topics? And is there more opportunity for Twitter to attract competing brands to this platform?

It may not be a bad idea for Twitter to limit who has access to the trending topic spots, like movies, non-profit organizations or other less competitive companies.

Twitter has shown its potential, now it is up to them to decide what to do. The idea of promoted trending topics as a use of digital marketing is growing on me (possibly because Toy Story 3 was a pilot promotion to the idea) as a way to make Twitter users aware of things that may have been outside of their radar. However, if not well thought out before implementation, Twitter could have quite a mess on its hands.

They are on the news, optimized over the web and one of the most talked about manufacturers of the modern day computer. Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, California  is a leader, innovator and money maker.

With the recent release of the iPhone 4, Apple is under the radar and often the topic of technology conversation. Some choose to praise the addition of FaceTime messaging and multitasking features, while others highlight recent issues with the antenna and mobile service, however there is one new component to the Apple name that has yet to be the main topic of conversation, the iAd. It’s a mystery, that is slated to unfold today.

With a passion for the world of advertising, the iAd falls right into my area of curiosity. Yes, I have heard mention of the iAd, but before researching the component of Apple’s digital marketing, I had not a clue of the features it would offer.

Rumor has it that today will be the official roll-out of the Apple iAd, and according to Apple this program is what brands have been waiting for, “Access to the global audience of iPhone and iPod touch users.”

The iAd will be featured in Apple’s App store and as a component of third party applications. Ads will be marked with the iAd logo making iPhone, iPod and eventually iPad aware of the advertisement. The apparent goal of iAds is to create a user friendly, interactive advertisement that allows a user to act on the ad, (make a purchase, save a coupon or share with friends) without leaving the application that they have open. The ads will follow the trends of digital marketers on other platforms, such as Facebook and Google, that use demographics to determine what ads each user will see. iAds will make it possible for Apple and third party developers to make money while eliminating cost to the consumer.

With the release of the iPhone last week, and iAds this week for iPhone and iPod (The iPad iAd release has been delayed until Fall) the Apple news will continue on this steady stream. The popularity of Apple products is sure to speak volumes for the hopeful success and reach of these ads, but for now we wait to see what will come about over the iAd in the next few days, weeks and years.

I am excited to see what the iAd does for advertising campaigns, it has the potential to be an important component in the future of advertising and digital marketing. Now for all of you readers, what do you think about the iAds? And have you had the pleasure of coming across any on your iPhone or iPad applications?

The avid Facebook user is most likely aware of the recent switch from the “Become a Fan” feature to “Like.” What many users do not realize, as is common with Facebook changes, is that some of the original settings were modified along with it, which will now demand more attention.

If you are currently the administrator of a professional or businesslike Facebook page, it is important for you to know that your personal “likes” are now the same as the page you administer, whether intentional or not. Facebook now assumes that anything that you, as the page administrator, “like” your business page will “like” too.

Scenario:
You manage the Facebook page for your family’s local hardware store. You have found it to be a great way to stay connected with the community and keep them informed with your upcoming sales and promotions to attract business. You have the perception of a separation between your Facebook account and the hardware store’s, so you continue on your Facebook as usual. Before you know it, the hardware store “likes” your favorite TV shows and restaurants and your frequent customers make comments about these “likes” on your wall and in the store. While these examples may not be harmful, they may not be helpful either.

The world of digital marketing is becoming increasingly  important among the current client base of many industries. This glitch in privacy settings just may require a more professional attitude as you keep up with social media.

• Avoid “liking” controversial pages that will have negative affects on the Facebook page that you administer.
• If the page does not benefit your business, you may be best without it
• Consider creating a dummy Facebook account to administer any Facebook business pages that you may manage. This will eliminate any negative impacts you may find between your personal “likes” and their influence on your business page.

Without a doubt, one of Twitter’s most defining features is the @Reply, which allows you to in a sense “notify” another user within a tweet for the purpose of sharing information or just communicating a message. Just this past week, Facebook introduced a copycat feature by allowing you to “tag” other users in wall posts, links, statuses and even private messages. At first glance, one might say what is the use of this feature; I can already post directly on peoples walls. The biggest advantage of Facebook’s new @reply feature is the ability to share information more efficiently. You can in a sense now do mass wall posts in one status update by tagging multiple people and the recipients will all receive notification updates. The heart of social networking is the ability to establish networks and share information and Facebook really hit the mark with this latest update. Already in the week that this feature has been available, my friends and I have jumped on it. Not only is it a great way to share media with a multitude of people, its a fun way to to interact with people on wall posts and status updates. The only real difference between the reply feature in Facebook and Twitter is that Facebook actually posts the reply the tagged person’s wall, whereas Twitter merely notifies the user that they were mentioned in a tweet. Facebook has really stepped its game up in the past 6 months, shifting from being a site focused on finding people, events, and pictures to a real time source of relevant media and information.

I guess Google was getting so big, so uncontrollable lately, it was only a matter of time before we began hearing words of descent. On July 13th, an unknown poster whose been holding back their frustrations about Google, and SEO in general, spoke out about it.

I stumbled upon an article that was posted on TechCrunch.com about how Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become so unregulated it’s now comparable to “free trade”; with the one controlling all exports and imports being the search engine itself (i.e. Google, Yahoo). The article, which is written by an author who wishes to remain anonymous (for fear of fallout with Google and the SEO industry), makes points about how Google has too much control over search engine results, and the rankings of websites for certain companies and points of interest. This power and control, the author believes, should be regulated by the government and that it’s about time it happens.

“Through an uncontrolled set of factors search engines determine which listings appear at the top and bottom of any individual query,” says the author. “If you happen to own an online business, unless you exist within those top three (search results), the amount of individual traffic you will obtain from organic listings is very, very low.”

He also goes on to explain that these search engines should be required to publicly disclose the rule-based algorithms that determine result sets. This sounds a little like releasing the source code of a program, which would result in Google changing from a unique search engine brand to a common one. His points are interesting and thought provoking, but is government control really the answer?

A blog post has been made in retaliation to the article on Econsultancy.com by Chris Lake, where he declares that Google and SEO should NOT be regulated. He goes on to list 10 points about how this anonymous author is wrong and comes up with some good arguments.

Let’s say the government does decide to get involved with this, especially if this becomes a hot topic. What happens to the digital agency and digital marketing as we know it? It seems like there would be a lot less calls from people who would love to use SEO for their company, especially if search results were completely randomized. I would especially hate to see sites that contain spam and other junk at the top of Google search listings just because they contain a few words from a search query.

I urge you all to read both of these articles and leave a comment on where you stand on this issue.

The Time Has Come To Regulate Search Engine Marketing And SEO

10 reasons why Google and SEO should NOT be regulated

Well let me start out by saying HELLO PEOPLE! My name is Matthew Doyle and I being brought aboard as one of the new interns for the summer 2009 class of the Eco-Friendly Digital Marketing Internship. I had the pleasure of having Derek Mehraban as my professor for the inaugural running of Michigan State’s New Media Drivers License course, a class that focused on using social networks, blogs, and other new social media mediums such as Twitter to generate buzz and publicity. Coming from a my two previous positions with cutting edge tech based companies, I  thought I was Mr. Know-it-all in the Web 2.0 realm, boy was I wrong. Derek opened the doors and showed me that there was so much more to learn about the world of digital marketing which is what brings me here today writing for you all.

Although my fellow interns will be meeting weekly at the Ingenex Digital headquarters in Ann Arbor, I will be joining my teammates virtually through a web cam across the Atlantic Ocean in Spain. It will be very interesting to see how the whole 6 hour time change thing plays out over the course of the summer. Regardless of the time change, I am looking forward to making a real impact at Ingenex by showing our clients how digital marketing techniques can grant them a huge return on their investment. In addition to blogging here on the Eco-Friendly blog about current events in the world of digital marketing and social media, I will be keeping my own personal travel blog of my travels throughout the Europe, The Adventures of Mattador.

Not in a million years would I have fathomed receiving digital marketing advice from David Plouffe, President elect Barack Obama’s campaign manager, let alone be able to ask him questions.  Thanks to the incredible Digital Maketing World conference held by Marketing Profs on April 1st, 2009 I can actually say I have. 

A week ago if I was asked to attend a conference where David Plouffe was to be the guest speaker, despite my interest in it, I would have declined thinking it would be out of my budget to travel to the conference, pay for a hotel, and actually pay the fees to attend the varied events and seminars.  Today, my answer would be different. 

Marketing Profs Digital Marketing World virtual conference allowed everyone and anyone with an interest in digital marketing to attend a conference with some of the leaders in the Digital Marketing industry from the comfort of their own home at no cost.  Platform provider InXpo in conglomeration with Marketing Profs created an online conference that was far beyond any I have been to in person.  The conference included everything from an image of a beautiful convention centre where the conference was being held, to an auditorium where the speakers would present, an exhibit hall where companies could hold their booths, a resource center where you could download information provided by vendors and the event schedule, to a lounge where you could mix and mingle with others attending.

The conference also eliminated the need for vendors and participants to travel to the site.  It eliminated the need for vendors to create elaborate exhibits, print stacks of pamphlets and informational packages, as well as spend money on chotchkies and doodads to give away.  Making it one of the greenest conferences I have attended.

Other benefits to the online aspect included the fact that there was no line up in front of a booth for a chance to have a conversation with a vendor, there was no rush to get a seat at a seminar, or even the awkward conversation about the weather whilst trying to mingle with others around you. 

When you arrived at each booth a chat window would open where you could see all the conversations going on and join in, or ask for a one on one conversation.  There were several representatives at most booths so there was no waitin in line necessary.  Each booth also had ample information for you to look at with links to their websites, blogs, and so on.  Some vendors even went as far as to provide an opportunity to win prizes like an I-Pod or a book to those stopping by.

The auditorium held a scheduled set of speakers who provided visuals to go along with their live podcast as well as a question and answer session to which you could submit your questions via the live chat window, or via e-mail. 

It was an easy to use, entertaining, intriguing event with so much to offer.  Thankfully all the content and resources from the Marketing Profs Digital Marketing World virtual conference are still available for 90 days for anyone that missed out.

Deepti Dewan Chowdhry