In this issue...

Listening is the New Marketing
Marketers are known for talking, not as much for listening. In the era of the participatory Web, listening is not an option, it is a mandate.

Bizzuka Creates New Internet Marketing Division Called Interact
Bizzuka | Interact is the name of the brand spanking new professional services division of Bizzuka, Inc. We provide a wide range of Internet marketing services including Search Engine, Content and Social Media Marketing.

Featured Partner: Daniels-Brown Communications
Talk about the perfect partnership, that's what can be said of the relationship Bizzuka has with this month's featured agency partner, Daniels-Brown Communications.

Bizzuka Soundoff: Email Marketing Made Easy
Those of you using Constant Contact, Vertical Response, MailChimp or other third-party service, have we got news for you! Now, Bizzuka has its own very easy to use, yet very robust email marketing system we're calling Soundoff.

Listening is the New Marketing

Marketers are known for talking, not as much for listening.

That is not to suggest we have not used tools like focus groups, user surveys or other research instruments in the past. It's just that, in the era of the participatory Web, listening is not an option, it is a mandate. And it provides a great opportunity to learn at a grassroots level what people really think about your client's brand, products or services. Indeed, listening to the groundswell of consumer-generated content is the new marketing.

Why Listen

People are talking and they are using the social Web - blogs, social networks, wikis, forums, video, etc - as their mouthpiece.

Take, for example, what happened on microblogging site Twitter following the Superbowl. There was an outcry, even a backlash, against domain registrar Go Daddy for the controversial nature of its advertising. More than a few people went so far as to transfer their domains to other service providers!

While this was barely a blip on Go Daddy's radar in so far as the net effect on its bottom line, the publicity cannot have been good.

The effect of word of mouth in social media is not constrained to large companies either. Recently, I spoke at a gathering of hospital marketing directors on the topic of social media.

In preparation, I visited a couple of healthcare rating and review sites to see if any of the hospitals represented might be mentioned. Oh boy, were they! One hospital in particular was dealt a number of severe blows in terms of negative reviews. Another experienced quite the opposite effect.

Don't kid yourself. Reviews from "average people like me" are powerful. Not only do they influence consumer attitudes and behavior, often they show up prominently in search returns.

How would you like a site where a negative review is posted showing up directly under your client's own Web site? One site says "buy from me," while the other says "don't buy."

What to Listen For

There are three metrics involved in what is now referred to as Online Reputation Management: Share of voice, tone of voice and trends over time.

Share of voice
This is a measurement of how much and to what degree people are talking about your client. For many small businesses, it is often the case that nothing is being said.

That's almost as bad as if people are talking negatively. When that happens, it is vital that something be done to stimulate conversation. There are a number of ways you can do so, which I will cover later in this article.

Tone of voice
That's a gauge of whether the conversation is largely negative or positive. We refer to that as "sentiment analysis." If the sentiment is positive, reward those who speak well of your client. That will only incite them to do more.

If the tone is largely negative, it is incumbant upon you to get to the root of the problem and not attempt to cover it up with PR spin. Fix the problem and the tone will likely change. However, if it's misinformation that's being spread, you must engage the critics and take steps to right the ship.

Bizzuka experienced this very issue a number of months ago. A blogger had written some factually incorrect information about the company and its CMS product. Even worse, that post was displayed prominently on Google search returns for the word "Bizzuka."

Two actions were taken. First, Bizzuka's CEO, John Munsell, responded to the post with a comment which added much needed balance. Second, we engaged in a content marketing strategy using blogs, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, online press releases and a number of other online media.

While I our primary intent was to provide consumers with useful content, a secondary benefit was that the critical post was driven off the front page, replaced instead by Bizzuka generated content.

Trends over time
It is important to monitor both the above metrics over the course of time in order to see the effects of your advertising, marketing and PR efforts.

How to Listen

A number of tools exist ranging in cost from free to very expensive. For example, you can employ a DIY approach using tools like Google Reader to subscribe to Google and Yahoo! news alerts, Technorati and Twitter keywords searches, and other RSS feeds for relevant keywords. However, taking this approach there is great likelihood you will miss information your client would consider important.

Bizzuka now offers a service where we can monitor your client's online reputation (see below) and provide you with weekly or monthly reports, as well as alert you when a crisis situation may be occuring. We can also provide tools and training to enable you to do so yourself.

Join the Conversaton

If a conversation already exists about your client, their products, services, industry or competition, then you have a place to start.

I refer to this as getting a seat at someone elses table. Listen to what's being said and respond when appropriate. Again, find ways to reward those who speak well of your client and, in an honest, courteous fashion, address those who cast aspersions or spread misinformation. You will be amazed at what you can learn just by engaging the groundswell in either respect. It's good research!

Start a Conversation

If no one is talking about your client, it behooves you to take a proactive stance and "set a table of your own." There are a number of ways to do this - start a blog, post videos to YouTube and other video-sharing sites, create a Facebook business page or group or set up a Twitter profile and participate in the conversation going on there.

Which actions you take really depend on your client's business goals and the target market they are attempting to reach. Think strategically before engaging tactically.

Listening is the new marketing and it's the first step in a comprehensive online marketing engagement strategy.

Contact us if you would like to learn more about the services Bizzuka now offers to help you help your clients market more effectively online.

Bizzuka Creates Internet Marketing Division

Bizzuka | Interact is the new professional services division of Bizzuka, Inc. We provide a wide range of Internet marketing services including Search Engine, Content and Social Media Marketing.

The Halo Effect

We take a holistic, 360 degree approach to servicing our clients Internet marketing needs, a philosophy we call "The Halo Effect." It starts with listening, leads to engagement and culminates in measuring results. We want to be the "angel on your shoulder," monitoring your marketing efforts and working to insure success.

Listen(ing)

People are talking and the Internet is their mouthpiece. They are talking about you, your company, products, services, industry and competition. You cannot afford to turn a deaf ear to what is being said. We can be your listening ear or set you up with the tools and training to do so on your own.

Engage(ment)

After a baseline is established, we devise a strategy and develop tactics to help increase the volume and positive tone of your conversation with consumers and stakeholders. Engagement leads to increased brand recognition, strengthened rapport with your customer, improved search engine presence, better customer service and a higher number of leads.

Measure(ment)

Measuring the results of engagement is the final and perhaps most critical component of the halo effect. Measurement provides empirical evidence that the strategies and tactics deployed are providing a positive return on investment and increasing the bottom line.

The "Angels"

Bizzuka Interact is led by Internet Marketing Specialist Brian Bille and Bizzuka's Marketing Director Paul Chaney.

Brian has over 8 years marketing experience, with a focus on Internet marketing for the past two. Leveraging a mix of organic and pay-per-click strategies to drive search engine traffic, Brian understands the value of not only bringing traffic to a Web site, but creating paths to conversion that lead to online profitability. He specializes in the use of SEO, PPC, Web analytics and online reputation monitoring.

Paul has over 10 years experience in Internet marketing. He understands at a granular level how conversational media tools can be used for marketing purposes and has worked with a number of clients assisting them in deploying online marketing strategies. He specializes in the use of blogs, email and social media.

Contact Brian to learn more about Bizzuka Interact!

Download PDF document listing Bizzuka Interact services

Featured Partner: Daniels-Brown Communications

Talk about the perfect partnership, that's what can be said of the relationship Bizzuka has with this month's featured agency partner, Daniels-Brown Communications.

Daniels-Brown is a family-owned agency, run by owner and president Stephen Daniels-Brown. Located in Olympia, Washington. Daniels-Brown works with a wide variety of clients in both the public and private sectors.

"We had wandered in and out of Web work over the years. The Bizzuka model allowed us to continue that component of our business without having to stay on top of the technical side," said Daniels-Brown. "It is a welcome change in our business model."

To date, DBC has done one site with Bizzuka, One Front, a small business associational healthcare advocacy organization. At least one other site is in the works.

When asked how an advertising agency in northwest Washington found out about a Web CMS provider in south Louisiana, Daniels-Brown said it was from a company profile that we had posted on the Fast Company Web site over a year ago. (Score one for business directory profiles!)

We are grateful for our association with Daniels-Brown and look forward to a long-tenured business relationship. Of course, the same can be said of all our agency partners too.

Want to learn more about becoming a Bizzuka reseller partner? Let us know.

Bizzuka Soundoff: Email Marketing Made Easy

Those of you using Constant Contact, Vertical Response, MailChimp or other third-party service, have we got news for you! Now, Bizzuka has its own very easy to use, yet very robust email marketing system we're calling Soundoff.

Not only will Soundoff be competitively priced, you get Bizzuka's excellent support and service to back it up. Plus, as part of our new Interact services division, we can help you with email template design, content creation and ongoing management of your client's campaigns. Or, we'll teach you how to do it.

The service is in beta testing right now, but we'll be rolling it out for use with your clients very, very soon! In the meantime, if you'd like sneak peek or to learn more, about Soundoff, contact Brian Bille, Internet Marketing Specialist.

Best regards, the Bizzuka Team!

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