3 min.
Web meeting: strategy, social, SEO, SEM, etc.
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Web meeting: strategy, social, SEO, SEM, etc.

  • TECHNICAL LEVEL

The first edition of RDV Web took place on April 21 and more than 700 people gathered there to discuss the future of the Web. For the occasion, Adviso had a booth where we were able to meet many people and continue the discussions that had started well during the conferences. We were therefore ready Antoine, Joëlle, Jean-François and myself for a day of conferences and meetings which started at 7:30 am and was going to end at 7:30 pm. Here is a summary of the main conferences that our team attended.

 

TRENDS IN MEDIA USAGE IN CANADA: THE INTERNET GOES FROM EMERGING TO MAINSTREAM MEDIA

Rob Young presented us here with cross-referenced data from 4 studies conducted by PMB, NADbank, BBM RTS and ComScore Media Metrix on the use of the Internet by Canadian adults. As observed in recent years, the time spent daily on the Internet continues to soar. In 2001, the percentage of daily time devoted to it was 14% to settle at 26% today. The graphs were generally illegible from the room, but the important thing was to remember that the Internet should in less than 10 years represent a large part of the advertising pie since it will be the medium most consulted by all generations.

WEB BUSINESS MODELS

This panel on the future of web business models allowed a dialogue between agencies, clients and other types of suppliers. Bos introduced himself as an idea box that aims to provide various expertise, while Tourisme Montréal reminded us that in a world where everything is new, we don't always want to pay for agencies to learn...clients can learn by themselves.

We are asking ourselves fundamental questions about remuneration, among other things. On time or on success? If the agency really wants to take a risk, it must therefore really charge less and have a real potential for additional income if the project succeeds. In the end, the 5 panelists agreed that the agencies should remain on the “hourly” mode of payment.

ADVERTISING MODELS, WHAT WILL WORK TOMORROW

Two very different conferences were presented during this workshop. First, Vlad Stesin gave us a presentation with apparent scientific rigor on RTB (real time bidding), a major new trend according to him which could completely change the way we buy advertising on the Internet.

Then, Martin Ouellette made a completely different type of presentation addressed mainly to customers who are wondering how much does it cost? He asked a few agencies several questions about the price of certain services:

  • A Facebook page for a restaurateur? from $2,000 to $11,000)
  • 1000 visitors for a retailer, banner and CPC? from $2.5 to $27 per visit
  • A viral video for an energy drink producer? Hold on tight from $14,000 to $560,000.

Martin has extensively commented on current advertising, but especially on agencies and the transfer that has taken place with the advent of the web, which is consistent with an increase in the humility and generosity of agencies.

SEO SEM: IMPROVE YOUR REFERENCING

Guillaume Bouchard was very interesting, especially considering the contract he had: presenting SEO and SEM in 30 minutes. He focused on the inequality of these 2 aspects and on the delay that Quebec was currently taking in SEO. At the same time, he gave us disturbing statistics on PPC investment: 86% against 14% for SEO. He explained to us the impact of this delay on the future industry and the harmful consequences that this could cause. Part of his lecture painted a very up-to-date picture of the industry, of the market shares of the main search engines. He ended with an interesting challenge for the industry: invest 50% of the budget in SEO and 50% in PPC.

Tracy Smith for her part offered us some rather surprising statistics. For example, 60% of Quebec SMEs have no web presence

SOCIAL NETWORKS 2: STRATEGY AND PROFITABILITY

The workshop on strategy and profitability proposed an action plan to integrate social networks into its marketing activities as well as a complete portrait of Twitter. Pablo Stevenson went with sequential planning to properly align with the reality of social media: listen – analyze – take action – communicate (similar to the approach  we presented a few weeks ago). He recalled the importance of not putting all your efforts in one place. Different types of content have an interest in being presented in different environments, hence the importance of “divide and conquer”. To arouse the interest of the masses on the Internet, the content must be likeable (pleasant). No one wants to share boring, worthless content. It is true that certain products and/or companies are more inclined to be more “pleasant”, but the fact remains that it is within everyone's reach to transform their image and benefit from the sympathy of Internet users. A single "presence" on social networks cannot replace an "existence" on them. Once this is realized and accomplished, how can we measure the impact of our activities? It offers to measure your brand footprint using search engines rather than just site traffic.

Secondly, Marilou Aubin delivered a presentation that answered the question on everyone's lips at the moment: “Twitter, what do I do with it? ". Twitter is used mainly by educated Montrealers and has 7.1% of Quebec adults as users. The clientele on Twitter is very niche: “it is made up of a large majority of men with a diploma of higher education”. Twitter can be used to publish information of a temporal nature (eg crisis management, news, competitions), to interact one-on-one with your stakeholders or simply to monitor. It is better to be authentic there with a real photo as well as a real name. Committing to it is a work in constant and “perpetual evolution” given the speed at which information is shared.

USER EXPERIENCE: ENRICHING NAVIGATION

Anastasia Simitsis of w.illi.am wanted to demystify the buzz word of the moment “user experience” which is as much an art as a science. To succeed in satisfying the customer, we must respond to the rational and irrational being in each of us. We must never lose sight of the functional as well as the emotional side of the thing. Anastasia suggests applying Peter Morville's model (2004) representing the 6 facets of user experience to assess the value created. She argues that even this model can be simplified by keeping 3 key words in mind: “useful, usable and desirable”. A good user experience will lead to increased conversion rates, customer loyalty, and the willingness of customers to refer the business. According to her, we are failing to deliver a satisfying experience, because we don't ask the right questions and we don't ask the user's opinion directly. In the end, it is important to ask for the input of the main interested party, but also that the different specialties work together (technology + marketing + ergonomics + design) and not in silos.

Following Anastasia's presentation, Jonathan Bélisle emphasized the problem of creating to encourage the discovery of a story on several platforms. Essential theme since the methods of disseminating information are multiplying (RP, MD, gaming, film, traditional media, internet, etc.). He takes up the Walled Garden analogy and argues that users are no longer confined to one media or platform and will take ownership of a story. We must also give them tools immediately so that they can share their experience.

SOCIAL MEDIA: ALL THE STRATEGIES TO REACH NEW CUSTOMERS

Finally, Chris Brogan came to put the finishing touches to this day by talking about various strategies in social networks. Of course, he offered some good tricks like replacing the classic “having problem viewing this email” in newsletters with something else and the 12:1 rule in Twitter (make 12 non-promotional tweets for 1 promotional tweet). On the other hand, Chris Brogan was definitely using too many examples from his business model that apply too much to the social media consultant. Several organizations do not have the same objectives and challenges as him and for them, there was not so much to put in their mouths.

Thank you very much to Antoine and Joelle for participating in the writing of this article