One question I've been asked a lot recently is "what's going to be the next Twitter?" The quick answer is, it doesn't matter. I know that sounds flip but hear me out before you think I'm just another social media basher (you'll know this is not the case if you read my blog). I say "it doesn't matter," not because I don't love Twitter and all the other social networks but because it assumes that the concept of "social" can be limited to a single tool.

To that end, comparing the phenomenon of "social" to a tool is somewhat akin to thinking that a good website is strictly about a great logo or a slick header graphic. Obviously those things help but they aren't the end all to be all. It's the concept of great usability and design coming together meeting the needs of a stated business objective that makes a site great. Oh yeah, the site damn well better meet the needs of the customer too. Otherwise, you're dead in the water.

Getting back to my rant about Twitter and why limiting "social" to the category of a "tool" is such a pet peeve of mine... Well, it's not dissimilar to thinking that the discipline of marketing could be confined to just e-mail or advertising. While some companies might concentrate their efforts on a particular tactic, most good businesses also leverage other tactics to help accomplish their goals. They also realize that at the end of the day, "marketing" isn't limited to one tool because it's a more about a philosophy and a thought process than it is a bunch of tools.

The difference between good marketing or even site design is that while "social" can be important to helping a company get in touch with its customers, it can also be a transformative power within an organization helping companies:

• Share ideas — both internally and externally
• Co-create with its customers
• Energize its customer base by creating a launch pad for word of mouth marketing
• Deepen loyalty and increase referrals by giving customers something of value

I guess the next time someone asks me what the next "Twitter" is, I'm going to tell them that it's the wheel, or the printing press. Or a turbine engine. Or the Internet. Maybe then they'll start to think about this brave new world of "social" as something more than just a tool.

Labels: online marketing, social media, the next twitter, transformative, twitter, Web design

Sound too good to be true? Search Engine marketing genius Sandra Niehaus of Closed Loop Marketing used a great illustration in her Conversion Optimization presentation. Basically, instead of pouring more money to create more hits on your web site, why not just widen the net in which you use to capture your leads? By focusing on how you capture and convert leads, you can make your marketing engine a lot more efficient. (You should also be carefully analyzing your keywords to determine which ones are working the best for you, but that is a topic for another post.)

Let's talk about Landing Page Design. They are commonly used for e-blasts and online advertising, but they can also be useful for natural searches as well. Here are 5 things often overlooked on a landing page design:

1) You need a good product or service. Identify your USP (Unique selling proposition) and exploit it. If you don't have anything unique or compelling, then you're going to have a hard time selling.

2) Say it quickly and concisely. Pretend for a second that your target market is skeptical and doesn't care about you or your service. (Hard to comprehend, I know.) State your business - maybe in a set of bullets? You can always link to "more info." Copyblogger has some great writing tips here.

3) Prove it. You've got an amazing product or service? Prove it with testimonials (with a photo?), statistics from leaders like Forrester Research, or even a mini case study.

4) Call to action. Provide multiple, easy ways to contact you. Phone numbers, emails, and a mini form. Capture their info! How about an incentive or offer with that form (Free trial or a free whitepaper download? Maybe a limited time discount code?)

5) Test. Try using a couple of landing page designs. In just a few days, you'll see one working better than the other. Figure out why, adjust the design, and test again. You are your own best research firm.

Remember: use your landing page real estate wisely. You've got a lot to say? Tough. Your viewer doesn't want a lot to read. I think a viewer should be able to comprehend your offer in less than 4 seconds, or they're lost. Some up-front investment in a good landing page design can go a long way. Here are a few more tips posted on Articlesbase.

Are your landing pages too wordy? How interactive are they? What have you found to work really well? I'd love to hear some of your ideas.

Labels: adwords, conversion optimization, landing page design, landing pages, online marketing, search engine marketing