geoff-ramsey

Digital Impact: Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success – Part 2 [video]

“Social Updates generate four times the click-through rate of a typical banner ad and convert 30% more often than those who click on a regular TurboTax ad.”

In the continuation of Geoff Ramsey’s talk (see Part One), he offers guidelines for using social media, video, and mobile to spread ‘magnetic’ content. He discusses the merits of social media, explaining that it gives the company a tremendous resource, calling social media response “a focus group on steroids.”

Geoff offers an anecdote, saying that his son had bought a product which was defective, and they spent countless hours talking to the telephone support staff with no positive results. He then decided to tweet the company name and a brief description of the problem, and was given a solution within four minutes.

Also discussed is the TurboTax initiative which asks users to publicly rate the software on Facebook and Twitter. Ramsey explains that:

Consumers are more likely to be swayed by recommendations from friends and acquaintance, and reminds companies not to remove negative comments because they lend authenticity to your social campaign.

He discusses video as the perfect opportunity to express your company’s story. Customer testimonials are more engaging when there is a real person behind the customer. Ramsey recommends creating “how-to videos that inform, educate, or train.” He cites the example of USG which makes sheetrock and created videos explaining how to use sheetrock. He describes “Will it Blend?” and says that sales for home use have risen by 700% since the video series began.

Orabrush created a business overnight through a $500 YouTube video, generating 30 million views on their channel, and earning them retail distribution in chains such as Wal-Mart.

Regarding mobile, Ramsey explains that it should be what brings campaigns together and focuses on the time and place of the customer. He describes a Dunkin’ Donuts app which allows co-workers to prepare an order for a ‘coffee run’ on the phone. The order is then picked up by swiping the phone at the counter. He explains that apps should either delight or be useful, because businesses creating apps are not only competing against their industry competitors, but also against app makers who are not in their industry (or any industry).

He finishes the talk with an anecdote about his youth. He wanted to perform as a magician in a restaurant, and the manager wanted to know whether he was increasing business and improving the user experience, so he gave out mimeographed sheets with the following three questions:

  1. Did you enjoy having a magician at your table? (Did you have a positive experience?)
  2. Would this magic experience encourage you to come back to this restaurant? (repeat customer)
  3. Would you recommend this experience to your friends? (editor’s note – he mis-stated this question in the talk, but from the context, this is clearly the meaning of the question.) – Viral marketing!

Response was positive, and the proprietor was happy with these metrics.

Videos by Geoff Ramsey

  1. Digital Impact: Secrets to Online Marketing Success – Part 1
  2. Interview with Geoff Ramsey

Geoff Ramsey, Co-founder & CEO, eMarketer

Geoff RamseyGeoff Ramsey is one of the most exciting visionaries in digital marketing today. In his role as CEO and co-founder of eMarketer, Geoff is not only on the cutting edge of new research trends and best practices, he offers a rich understanding and big-picture perspective of the digital age and its impact on marketing and media.

Geoff’s book, Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success, co-authored with Vipin Mayar, EVP of McCann Worldwide, has earned critical praise from industry leaders.

A highly regarded speaker with an engaging presentation style, Geoff keynotes at major industry events around the globe, including the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), The Conference Board, and the Economist Conferences, as well as at Fortune 100 corporations including Google, Yahoo! and Visa. He is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, BusinessWeek and Advertising Age.

In 2011, Geoff received the ad:tech Industry Achievement Award, which honors individuals in the digital marketing space who have demonstrated consistent outstanding service, generated breakthrough ideas and fostered industry growth.