A stunning decision by one of Britain's top publishing companies provides a perfect example of how not to use the Internet. The Hearst Digital Network is closing down several web sites of magazines published by the National Magazine Company. The magazines that are to lose their own web sites include Good Housekeeping and Country Living - two of Britain's top sellers.

According to New Media Age magazine which broke this story, the decision to scrap several magazine web sites is because the company "needs to recognise that there are only so many brands it can make a success of online". So, in order to do that they are relaunching "Allaboutyou" which is currently the online version of She magazine. But this relaunch will see the site include editorial content from She mixed in with material from Country Living, Good Housekeeping and Coast magazines. In other words, the Allaboutyou site will be trying to serve several different audiences all at the same time. Recognise any problems with that as a strategy?

At the same time as this about-turn on Internet strategy, the web site teams and the magazine teams are to be merged; so people working on a print edition will also be dealing with an online publication. And that's rather like asking your plumber to do the electrics.

Online, people simply want an instant answer to the information problem they have at that moment in time. Branding is not even a secondary issue for online readers. However, in the print market, branding becomes a more important issue. We make decisions differently in the physical world to the way we do online. Guess what my prediction is? Next year they'll re-launch their magazine web sites as separate sites - or they'll give up the Internet altogether as a bad job, leaving a lovely gap in the online marketplace for some enterprising kid in a California bedroom to sweep up the millions they leave behind them.

So why are they making a huge mistake, in my view? They, like many companies, fail to consider the way people behave online. They expect us to behave online in the same way as we do in the "old media" world - and we don't. We take one subject we want to know about and read about it in several different places, all at the same time. We do not take one favourite "brand" and use it for all our subjects of interest, as we do in print. For example, faithful readers of She magazine will scour each issue for stories on fashion, health, relationships and so on. But online, those readers will take their fashion interest at that specific moment in time and read about it in several different places. The brand is not important, the information is. By worrying about their brands, this is a retrograde move by Hearst Digital.

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Many businesses are put off social networking sites. They feel that such sites distract staff from getting on with work. They think that social networking sites, like Facebook or MySpace are some kind of security risk for their business. Or they just think these sites are for bored teenagers and have nothing to do with business.

However, businesses who ignore social networking sites are doing themselves a real disservice. The reason is that by taking part in social networks you can understand your marketplaces more easily. Without social networking sites it's difficult to find out what your customers are saying about your company. They could be chatting away in the pubs and clubs up and down the country saying you're the best thing they've ever encountered - or they could be telling people to avoid you at all costs. But you'd never know.

Luckily, social networking does all this in public. So you can get a glimpse into the world of your customers and find out how good or bad you are. Equally, social networking sites enable you to find out new markets, by monitoring conversations for things that people want.

In other words, if a business does not engage with the world of social networking it will lose out to new competition which will keep a listening ear out for ideas and opportunities. Social networking is no longer an interesting idea - it is now a business requirement.

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At March 12, 2008 11:00 PM  Anonymous said…

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Last night's Oscar ceremony with all its glitz and glamour may well be the last of the Hollywood award nights we see on our TV. Indeed, many people won't have watched the Academy's show on TV at all; significant numbers would have watched without having access to a TV. They would have watched using the Internet.

More frequently than ever before, people are watching TV online. Indeed, one recent study showed that 45% of Europeans watch some TV via the Internet. The UK is busy bracing itself for "digital TV" ready to be introduced nationwide within four years - but by then most people will be accessing TV via the Internet. So what a waste of Government effort that is...!

One survey found that we now spend more time online than we do watching TV. In fact it seems that we spend twice as much time in our homes connected to the Internet than we do connected to any TV show. Now researchers working for the European Broadcasting Union are set to take things a little further.

The annual Eurovision Song Contest takes place on 24th May and they are planning a whole new online experience (as if the contest itself is not enough of an "experience"...!). What the test will allow is for viewers to interact with TV in whole new ways. At the moment we're limited to text messages, phone-ins and mobile video; but the new system being planned could mean TV becomes completely interactive. And that means the box in the corner of your lounge is almost obsolete. It also means the days of families sitting down together to watch their favourite programmes are all but gone. And that will have a dramatic shift on society itself.

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At February 27, 2008 7:13 PM  Jeremy Jacobs said…

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Facebook is in trouble; or so it might seem from stories in the specialist press, such as New Media Age and subsequent mainstream follow-up coverage. It seems that in the UK, Facebook has started to lose users; it is down by around 400,000 over a month.

That might seem a large number, but in the grand scheme of things it's not that big. After all, Facebook is currently over 700% bigger than it was a year ago, so this is a mere blip. Or is it?

Some commentators are saying that the popularity of Facebook could be its downfall. The social networking site began amongst the younger generation online. Now, though, you can find corporate profiles as well as "oldies" like me....! Gosh. Apparently, that is seen to devalue the network amongst the younger Facebookers. At first sight, this might seem true. Every town has its "young persons' pub" and the "local" that's frequented by the older folk, or the "family pub" for those with children. So it seems to make sense that since Facebook was started by young people and popularised by young people that they would desert the system as soon as us oldies started invading their space.

However, this is not the real issue. Really young people stick with Bebo. Why? Because it only offers features and facilities for the teenager. Corporates and us oldies aren't interested. Bebo is firmly in the "youth niche". Whereas, Facebook is trying to be all things to all people - and that spells disaster.

Take Ecademy as an example. This is a social networking site aimed at business people, mainly the self-employed and small business owner, largely in the UK. It works brilliantly because it is focused on that specific group. Similarly, MarCom Professional works because it is squarely focused as a social network for a specific group of people - those in marketing communications. But Facebook? It's anything and everything.

True it's fun; yes it is sometimes fascinating and certainly it can entertain. But it's lack of real focus is probably why the numbers are starting to go down. People have been experimenting, finding it relatively useful, but discovering that the focused social networks are providing more value. Luckily for Facebook it has millions of users, so a gradual drip away of people will not be a real disaster for it. They have time to refocus and find their niche. If Facebook, however, does not focus, then a blip in membership will become a haemorrhage and that would be a problem. They've probably got a year to sort this out.

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At February 24, 2008 7:32 PM  Jeremy Jacobs said…

At February 26, 2008 6:39 PM  Mark Lee said…

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Many Internet marketers would like to have us believe that success online is all down to various bits of technology. They tell us you need this kind of ecommerce software, or that kind of autoresponder, or a specific piece of unblockable pop-up advertising service. But none of these are really as important as good, old fashioned word of mouth.

I recently read "The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing" by George Silverman, which is an excellent, practical guide to exploiting word of mouth in business. One of the points this book makes is the power of word of mouth - in fact it demonstrates that above all other marketing methods, word of mouth stands out as the most significant.

So it should be no surprise that a recent study shows that a sizeable slice of the buying public check out online reviews of products before buying. In fact two out of three online shoppers check product reviews mostly or always before buying - and they need half a dozen or more reviews to feel comfortable. In other words, they are depending on word of mouth recommendations from other buyers before deciding whether or not to purchase.

For online retailers this means that the most important thing to concentrate on is getting those reviews from your customers. Instead of looking for the latest technological gadget, merely encouraging your customers to write reviews of your products and services is likely to do you more good. Once again, this study demonstrates that good, old-fashioned marketing methods will work even online and that you can forget all that fancy technological gibberish.

Labels: internet marketing, internet psychology, shopping, social networking

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People often ask me if their business could operate online. Many business people fear that their service or product would not translate well to the online world. But I tell them that I can't think of anything that is impossible to sell online.

After all, if just a few years back I'd have suggested that you could sell take-away food via the Internet, you'd have said I was off my rocker. But ordering pizza online is commonplace now; indeed, Domino's Pizza has seen a huge rise in Internet orders over the last year, helping it to a dramatic rise in profits.

I know of a company that hires industrial cranes which gets a significant slice of its business from its online ordering system. Then there's the funeral parlours that do a very nice business, thank you, from people organising burials online. Plus, you can buy a whole host of "personal services" using your mouse and keyboard.....stress relief, I mean, of course....!

But, whatever business you are in, you can use the Internet to sell more. After I've given a talk on Internet marketing, I usually get someone come up to me afterwards who says, "Ah, yes, all very well, but it would never work in my line of business." Then we chat for a moment or two and come up with a possible way of their "line of business" succeeding online.

Yesterday, I wrote about the need for a positive attitude to online business. Today, I reckon it's important not to hold back and assume that your business could not operate online, or there are some kind of restrictions. If you can use the Internet to get warm and soggy pizza, you can do anything with it.

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The other day I was at a meeting sitting near a family doctor. Up on the stage popped another doctor (and it wasn't a medical meeting...!) who said he intended to make as many people as possible happy. Why? Because, he told us, that in his experience as a general practitioner, happy people don't get ill. The doctor next to me said: "That's so true."

Now, I know this is not science, but it's a strange coincidence. Two doctors who didn't know each other, but both coming to the same conclusion from their experience with patients - happy people tend to be well. When you think about this, we should not be surprised; after all some people say they are "worried sick" about something, implying that worry alone can make you ill. I interviewed several cancer specialists some years ago and - independently of each other - they all told me one thing: those who survive cancer are usually those who are positive, happy and effectively say "naff off" to the cancer cells.

There is plenty of psychological research which confirms a strong link between a positive outlook, general happiness and what we might call "wellness". So, what has all this to do with the Internet and making money online?

Well, over the past few years I have met several hundreds of people seeking their fortune online. Few have achieved it; most are still hoping that the Internet will provide them with the riches they dream for. But, reflecting upon many examples, I've come to a rather obvious conclusion. The positive, happy people with a bright outlook are the ones who have done well. The people who find things "difficult" online, or who say "I don't get on with technology", or who find it all rather time-consuming and tedious, are the people who have - let's be honest - failed to achieve.

I know it's not scientific, but rather like a family doctor, I have plenty of experience with people - in my case those trying to make money online. And in my experience, those who succeed are those who are bright, positive and happy. It seems that all you need for online success is a change in personal attitude. And there's a bonus - your health will improve as well.

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At February 19, 2008 10:01 AM  Alex said…

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Trust is an important issue in all our lives. If we trust the person telling us something we tend to believe them. The same is true online; if we trust the web site we are looking at, we believe what it says.

If someone you meet recommends a product or service to you - and you trust the individual - you will consider what they say, perhaps even checking out the item. However, recommendations from people we do not trust don't get a second glance.

Online, if a web site you trust has a link to another site, there's an increased chance you will check out the recommended web site - simply because you trust the site making the recommendation. So, if you want your web site to get more visitors you need more links on trusted sites; or more mentions on the blogs and social networking pages of trusted individuals.

Many Internet marketers will have you believe that getting links on other sites is valuable to your Google ranking position. That may well be true - but Google ranking is not as valuable to your business as "human ranking". The more your site is recommended by real people, rather than link lists, the better. Links in context are the most valuable; being referred by a real person as opposed to a site gain you more focused interest.

So, how can you get the right links? You need to search the web for people who might like to write about your business and recommend its products and services. Clearly you can do this search yourself - or you could use products, such as Arelis, that automate much of the process for you.

Also, you should try to get links within blogs. These are perceived as more "human" than general web sites - they reflect the individual writing the material more. Hence links within blogs have considerable "trust value". One way you can achieve this is by getting your comment accepted on highly trusted blogs. Again you can search for these yourself, or you can use software to achieve this. Only today I discovered the best program I've seen that can help you get high value blog comments published, with appropriate links to your web site. The program is called "Real Link Finder" and amazingly it's free of charge. A great program that will provide real value in helping you achieve more links on trusted sites.

Of course, there is a spin-off benefit as well. Gaining links on trusted sites will bring you traffic from people who follow links from sites and blogs they respect. But the extra links will also help you gain search engine ranking, giving your traffic a further boost. These days, I find that many business neglect links and focus instead on a host of technical "solutions". However, links are really nothing more than "word of mouth" - and that's the most powerful kind of advertising we know about.

Labels: internet marketing, internet psychology, social networking

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So, the British Government is suggesting that people who download things illegally should have their Internet access cut. Whoopee doo, let's deal with those naughty people. Cracked it. Er...not.

Firstly, people can easily hide their illegal downloads. Even if ISPs could ban people from using their systems, they'd have to find them first - and that is difficult. Secondly, if it were possible to track offending ISP users, there's no guarantee that the person paying the bill is the offender; illegal "piggy backing" on broadband connections is rife - and difficult to stop when so few people take the necessary precautions. And how do you ban people from downloading at public sites, like free Wi-Fi sites?

More troubling, however, is the fact that younger people do not see downloading music as illegal or immoral. They view music as a free resource. They have grown up downloading or "ripping" music. Technically it is illegal, but they don't view it as such. They believe it is their "right" to have music when they want it, without payment.

The music industry doesn't yet realise this and, it seems from the latest notion from Government law makers is that neither do politicians. But then who said those in politics had any notion of the real world?

Here's what's likely to happen. The producers of music - the bands and artistes - will connect directly with their audiences providing free downloads. They will make their money from live gigs and associated product sales, all organised by web-based promoters. The music industry will have largely disappeared - all faster than they think likely. Politicians meanwhile will try to stem the tide of cash away from this "important industry". But they have yet to realise the horse has bolted; dealing with that open stable door is useless.

Labels: future, internet, internet psychology, politics

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At February 13, 2008 1:20 PM  Rob Watson said…

At February 13, 2008 5:38 PM  Kat said…

At March 13, 2008 10:19 PM  Matt said…

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Retail therapy is often "prescribed" for people who are in a bit of a fix. Someone who is worried or anxious often finds solace in shopping. Now new research shows us why and it has important implications for online retailers.

It seems that people who are "self focused" are prepared to spend more than people who are not in such a state. The focus on the self is predominant in people who suffer anxiety or depression. Huge credit card debt is associated with depression, but it may be the depressive state is actually leading to the debt, rather than the credit card spending spree and the resulting bill causing the sadness.

So what has all this to do with Internet retailers? Well, the past few months have seen a huge increase in online spending. Online retail is largely a solitary activity. Traditional shopping is social. When we are in ordinary shops we are likely to be less self focused than when we are alone in our spare bedroom in the half dark. Because the research shows the self-focused effect occurs even on a temporary basis, the increase in online shopping may well have nothing to do with what the Internet marketers are doing, but may simply be the way we use the Internet generally. As more, self focused people shop online, so the spending will rise.

However, Internet marketers and online retailers have been busy congratulating themselves for achieving significant increases in online spend. But it may well be that the increase will have happened anyway, because of the "sadness" and "self-focused" effect of the way we shop online - alone.

This research is a warning to web site owners not to make assumptions about why they are getting the results they are achieving.

Labels: internet marketing, shopping

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At February 14, 2008 3:47 PM  Kat said…

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Woolworths have big red faces over an entry in their Big Red Book. This is their catalogue shopping service that also features online. The problem is that no-one at Woolies realised that the word "Lolita" had sexual connotations when they started selling a bed with that name. Worse still, the bed was being sold for young girls.

However, well done Woolies, because in just hours after being notified of the appalling mistake, they have withdrawn the product and are taking up the naming of the item with their supplier.

So how did this error come to light? And how come Woolworths reacted so fast? It's another example of Internet power and the damage to corporate reputations that social networking can bring about. The Lolita bed was first discovered by Catherine Hanly, the editor of Raising Kids, the parenting web site. Catherine raised the issue in the site's forum and notified Woolies. They must have noticed that dozens of people were commenting about the stupidity of the naming choice and withdrew the product.

Bad publicity can bring a business to its knees quickly; remember the Ratner incident? These days, online interactions in forums, blogs and social networking sites can rapidly cause problems. HSBC bowed to group pressure on Facebook, for example. Businesses need to constantly monitor the Internet for any interactions about their products and services - and then deal with the issues raised. Otherwise their companies will end up with tons of bad publicity and no matter how hard they try, their sales efforts will be taking place in a negative environment. Monitoring your online reputation is essential. Oh - and knowing the implication of the words you use, like "Lolita", will also help...!

Labels: internet, shopping

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Today sees the start of the British Government's "Scam Awareness Month". Councils across the UK are backing the Office of Fair Trading's campaign to make us all aware of "scams" that cost us dear. Shame the OFT doesn't know about it - or at least doesn't appear to. According to the OFT's web site, it's current campaign is about Christmas. Oh dear - another Government department that doesn't understand the Internet - just like HMRC.

Scams are nothing new. They've been going on ever since trading began back in cave dwelling days. What's surprising is that we still fall for them. Online scams get a great deal of media attention and we all know the problems caused by spam emails offering us some prize in a competition we never entered, or the ability to enlarge parts of our anatomy without any surgery.

In fact, these are the least of our worries. Guess what the biggest two sources of complaints to the consumer watchdogs have been in the past year - cars and mobile phones. Not the Internet, not "competition", not even spam. No, it's seemingly upright and honest companies that cause us the biggest problems.

Even so, scammers make a profit from their endeavours, so clearly there are enough people gullible enough. According to the OFT, here's what scammers do:

• They contact you without you asking them to call or email


• They appear slick and professional


• They are persistent and persuasive


• They ask for money in advance

Now it strikes me that these are not unusual business practices at all. After all, I receive unannounced calls and emails from slick, professional and persuasive people - but almost all of them are above board and honest. Indeed, much Internet marketing advice suggests you should do all of these things; to avoid things like sequential autoresponders, well-designed web sites and persuasive copy is online business suicide the gurus tell us.

But the line between "scam" and honest business is very blurred. In Florida, the authorities are taking Internet marketers to court because of some seemingly unusual practices. Yet, what these marketers are alleged to have done is not specific to the Internet; it's the kind of thing that's been happening for years.

So, if you run an honest online business, how do you stop your work being seen as a scam? Easy. Be honest and be seen to be honest; in other words, concentrate your online efforts in building trust. If people trust you they will buy from you. The reason the mobile phone industry is cited in so many complaints is that they have worked hard in building up high levels of trust - but have not backed such trust with action. For instance, they develop a fantastic brand, have great products, and ensure we can stay connected 24/7. Then, when we take our phone abroad they charge us an arm and a leg for a text message that costs them next to zilch. We are stung. The mobile phone industry faces such huge negative criticism because the trust it has built is not backed by the action it takes. Don't let your online business appear like a scam, even if it isn't. Instead, be honest, act honest and do everything you can in order to gain trust. It's a long term online strategy, but one that works.

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