Comedian and actor, Mike O’Malley appears in many of them.

He’s on the left picture holding a happy monkey.

In one TV ad for Road Runner Internet service, Mike uses his high speed Internet service [...]]]>

Time Warner Cable has several funny TV ads for its Road Runner Internet service.

Comedian and actor, Mike O’Malley appears in many of them.

He’s on the left picture holding a happy monkey.

In one TV ad for Road Runner Internet service, Mike uses his high speed Internet service to explore the true potential of the Web including different people, cultures and online relationships…

BLACKJACK!

Suddenly we realize that he has been playing online blackjack this whole time.

There are several Paid and Free Online Casino options all around the Internet.  Let’s take a closer look at the online casino industry to understand what is all about.

Background

Established in early 1996, the online gambling industry has experienced explosive growth all around the world.  Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional brick-and-mortar casinos. Online casinos allow gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet. This business currently spans the globe and generates billions of dollars per year.

Online gambling has come a long way since 1996. The two main reasons why people like gambling online are: 1) the convenience to access games anytime and anywhere, and 2) the similarity of odds and percentage paybacks to physical casinos.

Types of Online Casinos

Online casinos can be divided into two main groups based on their interface: web-based and download-only casinos. Some casinos offer both interfaces.

Web based online casinos require players to download certain browser plugins such as Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Shockwave, or Java. Very few casino offer online version on just a HTML interphase.

Download-based online casinos require the download of the software client in order to play and wager on the casino games offered. The online casino software connects to the casino service provider and handles contact without browser support. Download-based online casinos generally run faster than web-based online casinos since the graphics and sound programs are located within the software client, rather than having to be loaded from the Internet.

Demand of Online Casinos from 2004 to 2010

Using Google Trends, here is the Search Volume Index of the keywords  “online casino” (in blue) from 2004 to 2009 at the Google search engine:

The numbers you see on the vertical axis of the Search Volume Index (graph above) aren’t absolute search traffic numbers. Instead, Google Trends scales the first term you’ve entered so that its average search traffic in the chosen time period is 1.0; subsequent terms are then scaled relative to the first term.

In plain English: the graph above indicates that from 2004 to early 2010 there has been a constant demand by people of online casino options (just like Mike O’Malley). Most likely looking for the Best Online Casino, according to Internet users and fellow players in online forums.

Also, notice from the graph that the months of November and December are the months when most people are looking for online casino and online gambling options on Google.

How to Choose the Right Online Casino

If you’re planning to give online gambling a try, it is a good idea to read as many Online Casino Reviews as you can before given it a try. Fraudulent behavior on the part of online casinos has been documented. The online casino community is good at documenting fraudulent activities. The most commonly reported behaviors are refusal to pay withdrawals or cheating software with rigged payouts. An online casino with multiple confirmed cases of fraudulent behavior is often called a rogue casino by the online casino player community.

When selecting a casino, the key element is to have uninterrupted customer support at all times.

Conclusion

Online casinos are a way of entertainment that has been around for a while. Depending on your preference and computer, there are platforms that can run on your desktop or your Internet browser. Do your research and find an online casino that has a reputable customer support service and a well established network of online forums that keep a watchful eye for any fraudulent activity. Avoid rogue casinos.

From obsessed Facebook users to so called social media socialites to marketers, everybody wants to find out what is popular on this social networks.

Finally, thanks to Chitika, Inc. they all can put down the magical 8-ball and have some guidelines.

Founded in 2003, Chitika [...]]]>

What do Facebook users want?

From obsessed Facebook users to so called social media socialites to marketers, everybody wants to find out what is popular on this social networks.

Finally, thanks to Chitika, Inc. they all can put down the magical 8-ball and have some guidelines.

Who is Chitika?

Founded in 2003, Chitika (pronounced CHIH-tih-ka), is a full-service on-line advertising network serving over 2 billion monthly impressions across more than 80,000 websites.

How did Chitika find out what Facebook users want?

For advertisers and media buyers, Chitika is a channel for targeting on-line consumers and qualified buyers. For all publishers, Chitika is aplatform for earning daily ad revenue.  They performed a study based on a sample of 287,090 impressions across the Chitika advertising network.

What do Facebook users want?

At the end of February 2009, Facebook launched Facebook Pages as a way to allow businesses and brands to strengthen their online image on Facebook and increase their potential interaction with Facebook users.

A Facebook Page looks very much like a regular Facebook Profile and there are several organizations and [...]]]>

At the end of February 2009, Facebook launched Facebook Pages as a way to allow businesses and brands to strengthen their online image on Facebook and increase their potential interaction with Facebook users.

A Facebook Page looks very much like a regular Facebook Profile and there are several organizations and business that have one such as AT&T.

According to official figures from Facebook, there are:

• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans
• Average user becomes a fan of 4 Pages each month

No matter how impressive these figures are.

Apparently they are not enough for Facebook.  Here’s why.

Facebook Profile vs Facebook Page

First, let’s understand the difference between a Facebook Profile and a Facebook Page, and why would a marketer prefer to create a Facebook Page rather than a Facebook Profile.

The difference between a regular Facebook profile and a Facebook Page is that instead of becoming  a friend of a brand/organization/company, you become a fan.  A well-thought feature is that brand/organization/company CANNOT add friends.  This is a great practice of permission marketing because it forces users to really think whether they want to become a “fan” or not of a brand/organization/company.  Therefore, the “fan” gives permission to the brand/organization/company to contact him or her, making communications personal, relevant and anticipated (the 3 pillars of permission marketing).

Marketers really like Facebook Pages because they provide marketers key insights into the gender, age range, geographic location, and languages spoken of the fans of a Facebook Page. There are other nice features like number of pageviews, comments, video views and more, but the key insight is gender and age.  Below is a screen shot of sample Facebook Page’s Insight:

Having the age range and gender of fans from a Facebook Page allows the page owners to create more effective Facebook Ad campaigns.

So, what’s the problem?

Enter: Your Weekly Facebook Page Update

The problem is that admins from Facebook Pages appear not to be engaging in their Pages as much as Facebook would like.

A couple months ago, Facebook started asking permission to Facebook Page admins for their e-mails so that Facebook could start contacting directly, rather than through the Facebook back end.

On Wednesday March 17, 2010 Facebook sent out the first “Your Weekly Facebook Page Update” to the millions of admins around the world.

The e-mail said:

Hi -insert your name-,

Here is this week’s summary for the Facebook Page:  -insert your Facebook Page name-

+ or -  xxx Fans this week (xxx total Fans)
xxx Wall Posts, Comments, and Likes this week (xxx last week)
xxx Visits to your page this week (xxx Visits last week)

Update your Fans:
Link

Visit your Insights Page:
Link

Get more Fans with Facebook Ads:
Link

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

The e-mail is well developed because it is straight to the point. Facebook wants its Facebook Page admins:

1. Create more content!
2. Track their Facebook Pages more actively.
3. Spend money on Facebook Ads to get more fans.

Conclusion

No matter how impressive the growth of Facebook Pages are, Facebook needs to monetize on them. Facebook is trying to get its Facebook Page admins more active by communicating with them directly on their email inboxes with a list of objectives: more content, more fans, and more ads.

-

Recently I got back in touch with a close friend whose hobby is to tune up his cars and “pimp them out” like that famous MTV show.

One important part of his hobby is to look for car accessories and truck accessories that add a distinctive touch.

He spends a lot [...]]]>

-

Recently I got back in touch with a close friend whose hobby is to tune up his cars and “pimp them out” like that famous MTV show.

One important part of his hobby is to look for car accessories and truck accessories that add a distinctive touch.

He spends a lot of time looking online for custom grilles, spoilers, wheels, car floor mats, body kits, tail lights, and all things automotive that unveil beauty and style to his rides.

Talking with him about his online searches for car parts, reminded me a lot of a previous article where I discussed how to attract fashionistas online.

We started talking about his experience in several websites and what made his search easier and what didn’t.  Here’s a review of what I learned about the user experience of a car enthusiast visiting websites for car parts: what turns him off and what engages him.

What Turns Online Car Enthusiasts Off

1. “They’re not only forcing you to see their ads, but they’re all out there being pushy”.

At the top of his list are the ads with a small animation that have a “teeny tiny x close  thingy” that you can never find. These ads bother him a lot because they get in his way.  “They’re not only forcing you to see them…but they’re all out there being pushy”, he said. “I understand that websites like to generate some revenue selling ad space but I prefer that they stick to listing brands or making smart use of logos or recognizable brand images”.

2. Lack of Redundancy

“This might sound counter-intuitive but I prefer to have at least 3 different ways to find what I am looking for. One day I like checking out long lists of names. Another day I might like to check only images. The next day I might give a query tool a try.”

Conclusion: intrusive ads and lack of variety in ways of navigating the website diminish the user experience.

What Engages Car Enthusiasts Online

1.  Continous Live Online Support

“Nothing is more annoying than seeing a button for LIVE online support and then finding out that the schedules are very restricted. If you put out there that you have a live chat feature, then you should invest in making it as continuous as possible. If you cannot afford it, then you’re better off providing an e-mail address or contact form.”

2.Recognizable colors, trademarks or patterns around the website

“I am very brand loyal.” If you invest so much in developing a brand and trademarking logos, patterns and slogans, make savvy use of them online. Use them around your website. Do some A/B testing to find out what makes your links/images more actionable to your website visitors.

3. Girls, girls, girls

“This may sound like a no-brainer, but it is so hard to do. Car tuning is a very macho-like hobby, so of course I am going to look into your website if you have cute girls. However, just like live chat, you need to be consistent and keep up the section. Nothing is more disappointing than seeing the same set of pictures for 3 months in a row. If you have a section with pictures, keep it up to date!”

Conclusion:  car enthusiasts require a reliable and continuous live chat feature, smart use of recognizable brands and trademarks, and a picture section that is updated on a regular basis.

His distinctive beard and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence all around North America.

Billy Mays understood that nothing convinces a [...]]]>

William Darrell “Billy” Mays, Jr. was a TV direct response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home based, and maintenance products.

His distinctive beard and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence all around North America.

Billy Mays understood that nothing convinces a customer to buy a product than actual demonstrations of the product.

Video demonstrations are a savvy strategy for online retailers and wholesalers (e.g. bulk material handling)  because the number of online video viewed has been steadily growing, as reported by eMarketer, and has a high click-through rate when compared to its alternatives.

What is an online video demonstration?

An online video demonstration can be anything that is demonstrated on video ranging from software applications to cooking tutorials to applications of heady duty trucks.

Why does your website need a video demonstration?

Take a cue from another master TV salesperson, Vince Offer, the man behind the ShamWow absorbent chamois cloth. Propelled by Offer’s goofy charm and funny one-liners (“You followin’ me, camera guy?”), the ShamWow ad has become a cultural sensation and YouTube favorite. Since it first aired in the fall of 2007 to April 2009, over five million sets of the absorbent cloths have been sold.

Why would customers be interested in online video demonstrations?

Online video ads and demonstrations are a form of entertainment and people are willing to be entertained.  An IBM study reveals that almost 60% of its study respondents said they were willing to provide to advertisers some personal information about themselves in exchange for something of value, such as access to high-quality music videos, store discounts or airline frequent-flyer points.

The success of online video ads and demonstrations lies in the law of reciprocity.

Conclusion

A well put together video demonstration should create more interest in your product, boost traffic to your website if it is viral and embeddable on sites such as YouTube, and in the end, create more sales.

Robert Pattinson.

Kristen Stewart.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Dating!

-

You may or may not have an opinion about this.

However, if you’re in the online marketing business you should definitely start paying more attention to the celebrity entertainment industry.

Celebrity Style news  are a strong  source of Internet traffic.

Let’s review the impact of using keywords [...]]]>

-

Robert Pattinson.

Kristen Stewart.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Dating!

-

You may or may not have an opinion about this.

However, if you’re in the online marketing business you should definitely start paying more attention to the celebrity entertainment industry.

Celebrity Style news  are a strong  source of Internet traffic.

Let’s review the impact of using keywords related to the celebrity entertainment industry.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Dating

Using Google Trends, here is the Search Volume Index of the keywords  “robert pattinson” (in blue) and “kristen stewart” (in red):

The numbers you see on the vertical axis of the Search Volume Index (graph above) aren’t absolute search traffic numbers. Instead, Google Trends scales the first term you’ve entered so that its average search traffic in the chosen time period is 1.0; subsequent terms are then scaled relative to the first term.

In plain English:  the graph above is ranked by “kristen stewart”, meaning that “robert pattinson” is searched about twice as much as “kristen stewart” from late 2008 to early 2010. This means that websites in the celebrity entertainment industry should have focused their online articles more on Robert Pattison than on Kristen Stewart because Robert is a more frequently searched term.

However, notice that towards the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, the gap between the number of searches is closing between the names of the 2 celebrities. This would mean that using Kristen Stewart is becoming as effective as using Robert Pattinson on an online article.

Location, Location, Location

This business maxim applies to the world of  online celebrity entertainment as well.

Here are the top 10 subregions (states) in the United States that generate the most search queries of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart on Google:

To rank the top regions, Google Trends first looks at a sample of all Google searches to determine the areas from which it receives the most searches for your first term.

Robert Pattinson, in blue, generates about double the number of searches as Kristen Stewart, in red, throughout the United States.

Hawaii, Virginia, and Nevada are prime candidates to target a Google Adwords or other type of online advertising campaign.

Conclusion

If you’re in the online entertainment industry, you should take a look at the current trends in keyword searches when deciding what articles to write.

Yesterday was my birthday.

Yay!

I received gifts!

Yay!

I received one great birthday gift via e-mail and I felt like the kitty going “nom nom nom”.

I received one terrible birthday gift via e-mail and I felt like the kitty going “nooo it are my birthday”.

Yesterday was my birthday.

Yay!

I received gifts!

Yay!

I received one great birthday gift via e-mail and I felt like the kitty going “nom nom nom”.

I received one terrible birthday gift via e-mail and I felt like the kitty going “nooo it are my birthday”.

Here’s the story of one company that sucks at doing birthday themed e-mails, and another company that got its stuff together.

The Bad Birthday E-mail

Hey, nice cake picture!

So nice that Macy’s remembered!

FREE SHIPPING! That rocks!

Until you read the fine print:

Due to size and/or weight, certain items bear a shipping surcharge, which will still apply. When shipping to multiple addresses, only shipping to the first address will be free; Standard Shipping will apply to all other addresses. Free Shipping offer cannot be applied to purchases being shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, US Territories or APO/FPO addresses.

Hey Macy’s but I live in Hawaii!

What’s the point of sending me a gift that I cannot use?

You might argue that I could save the free shipping code to use it on a future purchase, however the expiration date is April 30, 2010. Less than 60 days is too short of a time frame for me to make a purchase at Macy’s.

Learn from Macy’s failure: If you segment your mailing list by a specific field (e.g. date of birth) make sure to double check (make that triple check!) that the e-mail is applicable to all members of that segment.  This “free shipping” e-mail promo shouldn’t go to registered Macy’s users with mailing addresses in Alaska, Hawaii, US Territories and APO/FPO addresses.

The Good Birthday E-mail

Hey, nice gift picture!

So nice that Nature Made remembered!

FREE POINTS! That rocks!

NO RESTRICTIONS! Woohoo!

IT ONLY TAKES 1 CLICK TO GET MY GIFT!  Even better!

Nature Made has a program called Wellness Rewards that lets you earn valuable rewards when you use Nature Made Vitamins and Supplements. You bank the Wellness Rewards code sfound on Nature Made bottles and packages and then you can earn rewards including coupons worth up to $7 off Nature Made products, exercise DVDs, pedometers, etc.

Learn from Nature Made’s success: Birthday e-mail promos don’t have to necessarily be an instant monetary reward, as long as they are highly relevant to the interests of your target audience (I have banked so far 2,735 points at the Wellness Rewards program). Make the gift/offer actionable and automatic after 1 click. No fine print, no restrictions: it’s a birthday gift!

Another company that is doing great e-mail newsletters is Shutterfly with its product, Wink.

You signed up for Google Buzz.

You had the option to start following the people that you e-mail and chat with on Gmail.

You used Google Buzz for a while.

Then something happened.

People you never heard about, started following you.

And following you [...]]]>

Google Co-founder, Sergey Brin

You signed up for Google Buzz.

You had the option to start following the people that you e-mail and chat with on Gmail.

You used Google Buzz for a while.

Then something happened.

People you never heard about, started following you.

And following you more.

Why?

Here are some unedited responses from actual Google Buzz users to the question:

Why are you following me on Google Buzz?

• I noticed you were following me, so I looked at your profile, checked out some of your posts/discussions and watched for little while. I found I was interested in what you had to Buzz or were Buzzing about so I followed. I do this for every person that follows me and if I don’t like what I see I don’t follow.
• to have more information..isn’t it the very purpose of all of these? and to give away more info..a communication cycle indeed!
• Ether I saw a comment of yours, liked it and decided to check out your buzz’s saw they were also interesting so decided to follow you. Or you followed me, I checked out your buzz’s and decided you’d be interesting to follow
• I only follow people that seem to post interesting Buzz’s. And, since you started following me, I of course checked you up, and thought I’d like to follow you. Now, why do you follow me?
• because my buzz so lonely
• now im following you..also your blogs..hope you have time to have a glimpse on my blogs too..thank you very much
• maybe it’s the google automatic following settings…
• I thought it was wonderful when you followed me from Hawaii, so I followed you back

Everybody has a reason, but by far the most common answer is:

Well I saw that you were following me, so I thought…let’s follow back

How do you retain your current followers?

Content is KING.

It’s easy to gain followers on Buzz if you start following people because they will follow you back.

However, here are 2 warning from Google Buzz users:

If your posts don’t take my interest, I’ll probably unfollow you within the next few days. If your posts are interesting, I’ll keep following you.

I follow folks who contribute to conversations, if you don’t contribute, I will unfollow you.

Conclusion

Google Buzz is a great tool to engage in conversations. People will be eager to follow you back, but they are expecting you to participate in the conversation.

Great content doesn’t  happy by accident! Take some cues from current Google Buzz users and improve your Buzz feed today.

Follow me on Google Buzz at http://www.google.com/profiles/damiandavilarojas

On January 27th, 2010 Apple launched the iPad.

“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive [...]]]>

On January 27th, 2010 Apple launched the iPad.

“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

What is the iPad?

The iPad is tablet PC that runs the iPhone operating system.

Basically, it looks like a giant iPhone.

Scratch that, a giant iTouch.

The iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch display lets users physically interact with applications and content. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds— thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook, but still bigger than a portable iTouch or iPhone.

The iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March 2010 starting at a rumored price of $499.

The iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T announced 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad with on-device activation and management.

The iPad has 3 important problems.

Let’s start with the biggest issue .

Problem #1: What is the value of having an iPad?

The question you have to ask yourself:  what is an iPad worth to me?

If you already have an iPhone and a MacBook, why would you need an iPad?

Let’s put in much more simple terms. If you are thinking about buying your son a computer, would you buy him a netbook, a MacBook, a Windows 7 computer or an iPad?

Answers will vary. Personally, I think that the iPad is:

• Not as portable as an iPhone.
• Still Flash-challenged.
• Yet another monthly bill.
• And worst of all, leading to problem #2…

Problem #2: Another monthly bill of AT&T’s 3G network.

I <3 my iPhone.

I h8 AT&T’s spotty service.

Apparently, I am not the only one that has serious doubts about the ability of AT&T in meeting the data demand from iPhones around the country, and now Ipads.

A quick search of “AT&T customer” on Business Week reveals the following articles:

• AT&T’s iPhone Dilemma (April 30, 2009)
• Apple-AT&T: Hints of Strain (June 12, 2009)
• Can AT&T Meet iPhone Network Demands? (August 23, 2009)
• AT&T Mulls Plans to Deal with iPhone Data Demand (December 21, 2009)
• An AT&T Mystery: Abrupt New York iPhone Shutdown (December 28, 2009)
• Apple iPad Adds to Pressure on AT&T (January 28, 2010)
• AT&T’s iPhone Mess (February 03, 2010)

Yet another monthly AT&T bill? No thanks.

“Consumers may expect more from their iPad than the network can deliver at this point,” says Shira Levine, an analyst with Infonetics, a telecommunications market research firm. “There’s potential for more consumer dissatisfaction.” This reaction reflects the consumer dismay with the performance of AT&T’s wireless network and concern that adding the iPad will only add to the strain.

There is the option to buy the WiFi only iPad. But then again, that takes us back to the question posed under Problem #1: What is the value of having an iPad?

Problem #3: Social Media is mocking the iPad.

Mac heads love the “I am a Mac” ads that poke fun at PC users.

Nobody likes to be poked fun at.

Remember Apple’s Newton? Mac heads don’t like to be remembered about that one.

The iPad is heavily used to poke fun at Mac lovers.

It appears that the marketing department and Jobs did not do their due diligence when choosing the iPad name.

Conclusion

Unclear customer value, unreliable data network service of AT&T, and poor brand name cast a shadow of doubt on the performance of the iPad.

-

Playing Scrabble online?

There’s an app for that.

Finding great local concerts?

There’s an app for that.

Writing great e-mail newsletters?

Sorry, there’s no app for that.

Actually, if you or your company thinks that there is an automatic way to do e-mail newsletters, there’s none.

That is why we need to learn from the pros and if [...]]]>

-

Playing Scrabble online?

There’s an app for that.

Finding great local concerts?

There’s an app for that.

Writing great e-mail newsletters?

Sorry, there’s no app for that.

Actually, if you or your company thinks that there is an automatic way to do e-mail newsletters, there’s none.

That is why we need to learn from the pros and if there is one organization that is doing e-mail marketing right, it is the Shutterfly’s Wink team.

What is Shutterfly’s Wink?

Wink is a great iPhone and web app developed by the guys and gals of Shutterfly.  Here’s a full review of the web version and iPhone version of Wink.

How Shutterfly Does Email Newsletters

Before jumping into e-mail (and social media, for that matter) campaigns, you’ve got to have a clear idea of what objectives you want out of it. A clear one sentence objective that has a clear call to cation,  and can be tracked with one measure.

From the February 4th, 2010 e-mail sent out by the Wink team, it is clear that they have a very clear of what they are their objectives and how they are going to measure them:

The e-mail newsletter clearly states 2 objectives.

First:

Objective: Inform users of Wink that the service has been updated.

Call to action: The first 400 people who act after they read this e-mail get a free photostrip credit.

Measure: How many users try the new version because of this e-mail.

Second:

Objective: Ask users for feedback.

Call to action: Send the team your feedback and they’ll send you a free photostrip credit.

Measure: How many user feedback messages the team receives.

Conclusion: Shutterfly’s Wink Avoids the Brochure Mentality

The brochure mentality is the mindset that tells us that as long people get our brochure, open it and browse it for a while; somehow they will get “aware of our brand” or that they will “eventually act on it”. Notice that how exactly the readers of a brochure become aware of the brand or act on it is not really defined, it is just left to, yes you got that right, pure chance.

This e-mail avoids the brouchure mentality and clearly states what are the objectives of the e-mail, how to act on them, and provides an incentive to act on them.