Donkersloot, formerly General Manager of Tentacle, will be tasked with servicing existing and new WA based customers, helping to meet their needs in the areas of digital strategy, social media and search engine marketing.

Warren Barry, Managing Director, Blackglass, said: “Rob brings with him a wealth of experience in online communications and business strategy. He has years of experience working with some of the most significant online communication projects to be undertaken in both WA and the East Coast.

“With our fully integrated approach to digital strategy and marketing, we are confident he has the right range of skills to help our clients meet their strong metrics and achieve return on their investment.”

Donkersloot has developed and managed online marketing strategies for clients such as News Limited, Travellers Choice, ABN Group, Ashley & Martin and KTM Motorcycles.  He has worked with a number of organisations such as Eclipse and Patts Digital in Sydney as well as running his own online marketing consultancy. For the six years prior to joining Blackglass, he worked with Perth based online development company and digital agency, IBC / Tentacle, most recently as the organisation’s General Manager.

Further to the appointment, Blackglass, an IPMG company, has formed a strategic alliance with eBusiness Services firm, IBC Digital. The partnership will allow Blackglass to provide online marketing services to the clients of the leading WA based web development firm. IBC was previously providing online marketing services through the Tentacle brand. This strategic partnership provides IBC a significant boost in its offering and positions the group with unique online performance based marketing services severely lacking in WA.

“Rob’s appointment and the partnership with IBC come at a critical time for us, and are really a logical extension of two years of very strong growth in Australia. Our investment in industry leading tools, platforms and staff is clearly paying off,” said Barry.

But whilst the uptake in numbers is impressive (20 million) given a very short time since inception, there is nothing going on. I have coined Google+ as the new Nazca Lines, essentially interesting circles in a desert  (Wikipedia detail).  Everyday for the past fortnight I have checked in the hope of something interesting happening, at best there will be one post a day, mainly whining about the fact nothing is happening.

The interest and numbers is mostly from marketers keeping up with the latest development, but as reported by Experian the time on site has waned already purely due to no interaction. I think people have enough trouble trying to keep their current social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN for starters) active and Google+ isn’t a big enough change for people to start all over again.

Coming from an SEO background the + opportunity in search results means from a commercial perspective tremendous business opps, potentially as well opening up ways to tweak the system.

Time will of course tell and Google have already mooted there will be a business extension coming.

Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook (well, the latest one anyway). Upon first glance it is very similar to Facebook with its news feed, status updates and being able to add links and images to posts. Once you get through this though a few differences can be noticed.

Circles – these are very similar to Facebook friend lists but much easier to use. Simply drag and drop your friends into the appropriate circles. This will then allow you to better target your status updates by restricting them only to those who you want to see them.

Sparks – here we see how Google is trying its hand at a similar thing to Digg or StumbleUpon by allowing the user to enter interests of theirs which then turns into a feed of popular and recent pages on the internet based around the broad (or specific) topic.

Hangouts – these are group video chat sessions you can start with up to ten people within your Circles. This is quite cool in that the Hangout can work who is talking and place their face up on the big screen while leaving the others along the bottom in smaller video windows.

+1 button – this was introduced to search engine results and websites not too long ago and now makes a lot more sense. This is the Google+ equivalent to the Facebook Like button, but pulls through to search results as well as Google’s social network.

Potential of Google+

The integration of Google+ with the other Google apps could be great. Imagine being able to have your Google Places page and your Google+ business profiles all linked, as well as Google Calendar for any events, integrating Google Reader into your Google+ feed. There are huge possibilities here.

Businesses could be able to crowd source using their Google+ profile along with apps such as Google Docs, not to mention how much better it would to be using Google Analytics for social media analytics as opposed to the rather clunky Facebook Insights.

Being able to link Google+ with Gmail would also be very handy for any private messages on the network, or even if you wanted to email a company straight from within their social profile page.

By making access to Google+ open only to those with Invites has been a very smart move on Google’s part. This has created a buzz and a want in the market for access to the network and was done very well with Gmail in the past. What better way to introduce a social network than by opening access in a viral manner?

If Google were to have access to people’s social profiles (which they currently don’t have as Facebook is largely closed off to search engines) they would be able to serve much more targeted ads on search engines, within Google+ and on their AdSense program. This potential has obviously been seen by investors with Google’s value increasing by $20 billion since the launch of Google+.

There is also potential for Google+ in that a poll conducted of Facebook users 2 out of 3 would switch to Google+.

Hurdles for Google

Getting 750 million Facebook users and 200 million Twitter users to move years and years of data over to a new network where not all of their contact may be is going to be the hardest thing for Google when trying to get this new social network to take off. Facebook have already banned Facebook ads promoting a Google+ profile and stopped apps which pull Facebook Friends Lists for importation into Google+.

Google are still to put business profiles on Google+ live, and are even removing any non-personal pages from the network until these pages are up and running.

Google are also still waiting for the iOS app for the network to be approved which is limiting mobile use, nor do they have an app which works on non-smartphones like Facebook have just released, restricting their market even more.

Facebook have already responded to Google+ by releasing video chat partnered with Skype and group chat features.

Finally, until there is a large enough number of people using the network (if they feel they can be bothered checking yet another feed) businesses have already spent countless dollars on their Facebook profiles and fan bases – will they be willing to start again on another network, while still feeding their Facebook marketing efforts?

Implications

Marketers will be able to serve more targeted online ads with this new network coupled with the advertising system Google already has set up, but with no current support for custom apps there isn’t as much room to move as there is on Facebook at the moment.

The use of Circles could be either good or bad for businesses in that people may move all the companies they are following to their own Circle in order to filter their updates out from their friends – but this could also work to a business’ advantage in that when somebody is viewing their “Company” Circle’s feed they are more receptive to their messages.

Google have also done a great job to try and keep you on their sites with the little red notifications box appearing along the top of any Google sites if you are logged in. This is a great move to pull in more of the ‘attention economy’ of the internet. There is only so much attention users can give and its value is rising constantly.

There has also been a huge increase of the incorporation of the +1 button across websites on the internet, with it now beating Twitter – this could be an indication of future adoption rates. Facebook is still winning this race though with their Like button.

An estimated 10 million people have signed up to Google+ only 2 weeks after it launching, and its not even available to the public yet. While most of these early adopters are web developers or digital marketers this is still pretty impressive – but will the general public join up as happily?

The Future

Google+ goes live to the public at the end of July with business profiles expected by the end of the year – this is when we will see if this new social network will take off or not. Google have already begun making updates including looking at integrating the network with Gmail.

What updates do Facebook have up their sleeves? They have already hit back very quickly with video chat and with Mark Zuckerburg naming that release as the beginning of a season of launches, it seems the social network war has begun.

A few facts to prove my point:

•  The Australian mobile web attracts 10 million users monthly.¹
•  75% of Australian consumers are very comfortable or somewhat comfortable with mobile advertising.²
•  The U.S. mobile advertising budgets are quickly increasing yearly and Australia often looks to the U.S. and Japan to find out about upcoming trends.³

So, what does a mobile ad look like?

There are multiple types of ads actually.

• Banner ads – Graphical picture, sometimes moving, that acts like a smaller, electronic version of a billboard you would see on a highway while you are driving.

• Video pre and post roles – Video ads that play before or after you watch the video you originally chose to watch for pleasure.

• Section Headers – Ads that are affixed atop a menu.

• Mobile Apps – Mobile Apps can use a combination of the types of mobile advertising listed above. Words with Friends, an app that allows you to play Scrabble against your friends, is a perfect example. If you download this app for free then you will have to see a pop-up ad after every move you play. Sometimes the pop-up ad is a banner ad and sometimes it is a video. You have to click out of the ad to return to the game.

• Texting – There are a fair number of people who do not own smart phones and texting a coupon to customers is a great way to increase sales.

• QR Codes – When smart phones take a picture of these bar codes, the user is directed to a specific landing page. In order for the landing page to be effective, it needs to ask the user to do something quick and simple like download a song or enter their email address in order to win a prize.

A few examples of this integrated marketing phenomenon:

When all of the above mentioned means of advertising are combined they can produce a powerful result. Recently, Lady Gaga teamed up with Facebook, Starbucks, and a blog called SRCH to market her new CD, Born This Way. QR codes were placed around the city at Starbucks cafés as clues in a 2-week virtual scavenger hunt. Users had to take a picture of the code using their smart phone and the scan leads them to the SRCH blog. Then, in order for the clue to be revealed, the user had to log into their Facebook account.

Watch this video for a demonstration.

This is a perfect example of marketing technology taken to the next level. This elaborate campaign demonstrates what is possible in the new mobile marketing world. Read more about this mobile promotion.

Another great example of this integration is a startup in the U.S. called Fanminder. Fanminder provides a platform for business owners to create mobile text ads and instant promotions for Facebook all in one organized space. In addition to these capabilities, Fanminder tracks promotions in real-time and provides companies with instant results. Knowing which promotions are working and which aren’t can make a big difference in a company’s bottom line.

The Future

If you are a company looking to jump into the future, my advice is for you to make sure you understand the possible integration between mobile marketing, social media, and your product or service. It would be beneficial if you created a mobile website or mobile app in the next year too because someday soon all of your users will want to buy from your company by pressing a few buttons or taking a picture of a QR code on their smart phone. When that happens, you need to be ready.

¹ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKZx6s7CMy0&feature=player_embedded
² http://digitalmarketinglab.com.au/index.php/2011/02/11/mobile-advertising-trends-%E2%80%93-up-close-with-inmobi%E2%80%99s-global-mobile-ad-study/
³ http://digitalmarketinglab.com.au/index.php/2011/02/11/mobile-advertising-trends-%E2%80%93-up-close-with-inmobi%E2%80%99s-global-mobile-ad-study/

Audience:

Clearly see the difference between how many people your campaign could reach and how many you are reaching.

New Metrics focused on responses:

1. Campaign Reach:  the number of individual people who saw the ads
2. Frequency – the average number of times each person saw your ad
3. Social reach: people who saw the ad with the names of their friends who liked your page
4. Connections: the number of people who liked your page

Facebook also included graphs to quickly and easily illustrate the click to Like ratio within the interface, without having to run a report.

Efficient Inline ad Management

Quickly and easily preview the ad, targeting, reach, connections etc. Compared to their previous interface, this is a huge step up.

Overall the new interface offers advertisers:

1. Better, streamlined reporting.
2. Clarity on how many individual people have seen your ad. Previously, reporting only showed the ad impressions -  which included multiple views of ads.
3. Inline ad management – Helps you judge quickly and easily which ads are under delivering, increase bids or change ad copy.
4. Easily see how many people your Facebook ads actually reach compared to the total audience you can target over the last 28 days.

New Broad Category Targeting Option

Just this week Facebook released a new ‘broad’ targeting option which allows advertisers to reach groups of people who share similar interests and traits.

Again this is another way to widen your audience and reach. There is still the option to return to the previous exact targeting, if you choose to limit your reach.

All these changes are giving advertisers great tools to improve on the results of the PPC advertising. With the rapid growth of advertisers moving their SEM marketing spend over to Facebook, Facebook has to constantly adapt to meet their needs and stay relevant – which they seem to be doing quite well this year!

The eHarmony dating site is one of the leaders in their industry, and the only online dating site to implement a compatibility-matching system. The success rates of their 29 point matching system can’t be argued with: the US site, for example, is responsible for 5% of marriages in the country. The company have had similar success here with the focus, until now, being placed on TV campaigns. It’s earned the business strong brand recognition in the market, but TV doesn’t help the rankings so eHarmony got in touch with Blackglass.

The relationship began with our signature SEO product – an in-depth SEO audit that we use to identify any issues, as well as outline opportunities (both onsite and offsite) and lay the groundwork for an ongoing campaign. SEO audits are typically the best way to begin an ongoing search engine optimisation campaign.

The document includes a lot of education, as well technical directives and summary sheets so that all parties within a company (from MD to developers) can understand and apply the recommendations.

eHarmony are in a highly-competitive and fast-moving niche, though they have a large opportunity achieve wide exposure on the search engine results. Our campaign will focus on whitehat SEO strategies including viral link building and implementing best-practice technical standards. We’re expecting big things!

Take a look at our SEO services page to find out more about our offerings

• How can we make money from social media?
• What can we do on social media?
• How is it relevant to our brand?
• How can we make our website interactive and engaging

The major search engines are also grappling with these same questions in relation to their queries and we are beginning to see the changes in search.

Social Media Effects on SEO

In regards to search engine optimisation (SEO) the outgoing links from all major social media networking sites all still have ‘No Follow’ tags. But we can also now see that Google and Bing are now including these links as a ranking factor of the algorithm, and from what we can glean it is beginning to make up an important part of it.

In terms of organic rankings you have to consider the available social media options. Facebook and twitter are rightly so considered the main sites, followed by LinkedIn and YouTube. In addition to this there are some social media bookmarking sites along with a variety of blogging platforms and Wikis.

Links from these social media pages should be regarded in a similar manner as you would with page rank or authority, except adding engagement as a factor. Put simply;

• The more interaction the post, update or tweet has (likes, shares, comments or retweets)

• The higher authority (friends or followers)

The more SEO value is passed onto the website or page

Business Approaches to Maximise these Opportunities

In order to take advantages of these new trends in the search engine and social media crossover there are a few important points that are encouraged to enhance a business’s online presence. In regards to social media pages and profiles:

• Build fans and followers
• Facebook customised pages and applications
• Ensure that content is interesting and exciting
• Encourage interaction and debate with users
• Create competitions to enhance buzz about your brand
• Providing consistent ‘fresh’ content that can be easily shared onto social media platforms
o Current news
o Advice or tips

Search Results: Bing & Facebook getting it on

The next major and most recent step involves social integration with search results. Realising the popularity with which people are using recommendations from friends on facebook, a veritable digital word of mouth spread, Bing now reveals in its search the pages your friends have ‘liked’, complete with pictures of their faces. This is designed as recommendations from friends or peers are the most trusted form of gathering product / service information and is seen as a significant advancement in enhancing the search results for users. Bing then goes on to display popular web pages users on Facebook have ‘liked’ and which are perceived as rising in popularity.

The other slightly creepy stalker type feature Bing has created includes being able to tell who of your Facebook friends lives in particular locations around the world through their maps and weather results, the thought behind is so you know who can see if you were to travel there.

Google’s Response

Google have introduced a +1 button which is designed to mimic that of the Facebook ‘like’. This new feature makes it known publically that a user has used the +1 button. This data is then used to personalise search results and ads by recommending these to your friends. We see massive limitations around the use of this, as it will need to be done through Gmail and email addresses in your account so unlike Facebook where there needs to be reciprocal consent to access and the friendship, email is very different.

So, in summary, conclusion etc.

The search engine and social media crossover has been enhanced in order for users to have their search results personalised and shared with their friends or followers.

We can see that both Bing and Google are the market leaders in trying to develop new features for users to take advantage of social searching, it is early but interesting days, we are watching and working in this space very closely.

Bob's Pipe a Social Hit

Recently representatives of all the Digital agencies in the IPMG group gathered for a networking and team-building exercise, if getting out of work on a Friday afternoon wasn’t a large enough carrot to start with, the exercise was to be held on 34 to 40 foot Yachts in the World famous Sydney Harbour.

It is fair to say most people somehow managed to shuffle meetings around to make space in their diaries for the occasion and the weather was perfect, blue skies and some good breeze that made for some interesting racing.

The start

The day was the brainchild of Dave Burkett, CEO of IPMG, an avid sailor himself. The criteria used for team selection was to make sure you were on a boat with people you didn’t know. I ended up with a Motley Crue of 7 with no two people from the same company and now have a greater understanding of many of the other companies. We quickly bandied together despite having no sailing experience to call up and with the competitive juices flowing we work as a unit. Lucky for us, our allotted skipper Bob had oodles of sailing experience, was as cunning as a fox and the crowning moment when we knew we were going win was he smoked a pipe! He was a crowd favourite and entertained us the whole time out on the water.

So now along with any Search, Social or performance requirements you now have, I know we can team up with best of breed agencies in affiliate, email, web design & hosting. Making a very formidable combination.

Tough Friday at the Office

The Victory Salute

One of the leading online and print publications The NY Times have put up a paywall for users (read letter from their editor here) which is massive news for the media industry, the eyes of the digital world will be watching closely, analysts and digital commentators will be salivating like a hungry dog under the dinner table hoping for some scraps of information. Will it fail or not…

The move has been known and communicated for some time, their large and bright online team will be tracking this all very closely and it was pre-tested a week earlier in Canada to ensure the rollout is smooth. Their numbers are impressive – 17 millions visitors a month, this will be impacted, there is no doubt, but it is by how much and also the other metrics – time on site, page views etc. Any change will have effects on their online ad revenue, they are hoping this to be offset by improved cash from subscriptions and tie-in subscriptions with print.

The other news a little closer to home is Harvey Norman have announced they are going to be launching an online store within weeks. Many pundits will find this quite interesting especially given his previous strong stance again online sales and his failed group PR action against overseas companies selling under $1000 without GST.

He has said he is at pains to do this as he will be cannibalising their 173 stores, which I am sure many of his franchisees will be unhappy about. The major point is that they are clearly coming from a long way back, they have deep pockets and will be able to back it up with a heavy media campaign, but they need to make sure they get the user experience right, having 173 stores as well as a heavy online presence is a formidable combination. I expect he will find this fruitful as long as it is done correctly – combing all forms of the online marketing mix; SEO, PPC, Social Media, Conversion Optimisation & Measurement.

The latest change coined ‘Big Farmer’ has taken a large swipe at big content farms, which had low grade content and poor user experience but were previously featured well in the ranking results of search engines. Most of these affected sites were article submission sites, where people could freely place articles in return for links back to their own sites, primarily they were written for search engines and on the whole not all that useful for the user. The interesting point with the latest algorithm change is the main revenue stream for most of these sites was Ad Sense, Google’s paid advertising content network.

This release would also be effecting their ad revenues significantly, but it is also a statement that they want to deliver relevant search results and a quality user experience ie. taking them to the answer as quick as possible.

The other effect will be the rankings of other websites that they are linking to. This will not be known for some time as many websites, online companies, webmasters and SEO agencies have been using these article submission sites for linkbuilding as part of their SEO strategy

Google sits in an interesting position, they are the Government, Sheriff and Tax Collector for a massive industry, any change has a butterfly effect on people the world over but their line is they are always trying to do it for the greater good of the web.

This diagram produced by SEO Book, is an interesting illustration of all the battles Google are having both with and against web masters in the world of search engine optimisation.

by SEO Book