The Internet -- My Love/Hate Relationship

Issue No. 4

August 2007

Dear Colleagues:

Over the past 10 years or so, I've been in a relationship that sends me on vast emotional swings - from despair and the belief that I have the intelligence of a flea to elation and thoughts that I am something near a rocket scientist.

This relationship is with the Internet.

While there is no doubt the Internet provides infinite opportunities, it sometimes seems like endlessly more work. Of all the Web has to offer, what do I really need? And does anyone really know all the ins and outs of the evolving online universe? Short answer: no.

I'm calling this the "trying to keep up" issue of my newsletter. Following is a sampling of a few things I've learned. Maybe they'll help you keep up too.

Strategy - Now More Than Ever

In the 1990s, I felt overwhelmed to have nearly all the information in the universe at my fingertips. Then I realized that the Internet gave me just-in-time information. I could read up on a new client a day (okay, an hour) before the meeting and appear to be somewhat intelligent.

Over the past 6-18 months, I've felt those similar feelings of despair and elation. Many say you must have a blog to promote a business, but then I finally heard some professionals admit that their blogs were taking time away from business-generating activities.

So what's the right answer? It all comes down to strategy. Yes, you should consider video, podcasting and blogging as part of a communications plan. But don't just chase after the latest online fad, not even if your client thinks it's cool, unless it will actually help achieve your goals.

Stick with the basics - know your audience, define your strategy and develop smart, creative programs that use resources wisely to build brand and drive business.

Web Tools in Plain English

Sachi and Lee LeFever at Common Craft know how to use the Internet to promote their business: making videos for Web sites. And, as with all good online promotions, we are the beneficiaries.

It's amazing what one can do in three or four minutes of video with a white board, some markers, a few drawings and enthusiastic narration. The LeFevers created a series of very short, delightfully simple, low- tech videos to explain the high-tech world of:

Social networking like LinkedIn and MySpace

Social bookmarking like del.icio.us

RSS

Wikis

In true Web fashion, I found Common Craft through word-of-mouth, from Susan Kitchens, designer and long-time blogger. Now that I have RSS, I don't miss out on her blog, or all that professional enrichment content either.

A Headline May Be Your Only Chance

We've always relied on headlines as a way to grab our target audience, but with current technology, a headline may be your only tool. Blackberries, text and sometimes even RSS eliminate the chance for eyes to wander to a photo, blurb, subhead or lead that will pull in the reader.

It may take as long to write a good headline or subject line as it takes to compose the rest of the document. This is certainly true in e-mail. So if you really want someone to read on, invite and entice them - like the following example I use in my writing workshops.

Over lunch one day, my friend and colleague, Kim Perez, told me she was hooked on Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor, and how it's so much like The Sopranos. The next day she sent me an article about the show. I would have gotten to her e-mail eventually, if she had written any of the obvious subject lines:

Thought you'd be interested

Article of interest

Meerkat news

More on meerkats

But instead, because she's the best writer I know, her subject line read:

Sopranos of the Kalahari

I opened it immediately. I even watched the show. She hooked me, and that's what a headline is supposed to do. But then, well, I knew there was a reason I never watched The Sopranos - all that violence. Sure, meerkats are cute, but nature can be so cruel.

Demographic Delights

Warning, what follows may be addictive.

If you share my fascination with demographics, you'll love Quantcast. For someone who can stare at the cross tabs of a survey for hours, this is a dangerous place.

Type in a url to find demographics on a site's visitors. I entered Lexus.com, since I've done some work for its agency, and found out that young (18- 24), rich ($100k+), Asian guys with advanced degrees are longing for a Lexus, and probably driving them too.

A search on Toyota.com reveals slightly older visitors (24-44), with a broader income range ($30 to $100K) and greater spread of education and ethnicity - think Corolla driver. Maybe this is no huge surprise, but it's downright addictive to see it on the page.

If you're targeting online outlets, it might be useful to know, for example, that the vast majority of Huffington Post readers are men with graduate degrees.

Quantcast also lists sites with similar demographics. Bingo! You've just made a major leap forward in developing your target list.

But you've been warned. Before you dive into demographics, you might want to set the timer. Otherwise, you could end up like the guy in the photo.

Learn More

Thanks for taking a minute to read my newsletter. If you think your team would benefit from one of my workshops, I'd welcome the opportunity to talk with you about it. In the meantime, be well and write well.

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