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Q&A with DJ Francis of Online Marketer Blog
By Paul Richlovsky | November 10, 2008
I recently posed 4 questions to DJ Francis of Online Marketer Blog, who graciously agreed to submit his responses via email. Read on to see what DJ says about objections to participating in social media, the perils of cutting online marketing budgets, ways to gauge website health beyond rankings, and the state of the SEM industry.
Your blog talks a lot about the importance of online social media to the business world. What are the most common objections or excuses you’ve seen businesses use to dismiss or overlook this world? How do you counter these objections/excuses?
DJ: The largest impediment I have seen to businesses’ use of social media is simply fear.
I don’t mean this in any nasty or demeaning way. I’ve just seen again and again smart businesspeople who want to put their head in the proverbial sand, thinking maybe this online thing will just blow over. Or they’re waiting until their retirement. Or they don’t want to let on how clueless they are, so they sit and do nothing. Or they just think their customers aren’t online or aren’t on social networks, despite a world of evidence to the contrary for almost every industry.
All of these reasons boil down to fear. They’re scared to get involved, scared to take chances, and scared to expose the brand to criticism (as if it weren’t already).
DJ Francis
I struggle everyday with how to overcome these objectives and fears. I started collecting data and sharing it, but that didn’t work. People may agree in their heads that social media can help their business, but for some reason that wasn’t as effective (for me).
I think one of the best things you can do to convince someone is to sit down with a reluctant CEO or CMO. Show them the forums where their customers are interacting. Show them fan pages on MySpace or Facebook devoted to their companies. Show how their competitors are already embarking in the social media space.
When they see that – that the conversation is happening with or without them – it seems to change something in their hearts. It’s more of an emotional response. That has been a better tool to combat the fear of social media for business.
Give me the best reasons why companies that need to trim advertising budgets in these tough economic times should not cut their Internet marketing funds.
DJ: The best reason not to cut your Internet marketing funds is because it has been repeatedly proven that the companies who cut marketing during recessions lose market share to companies who don’t.
This is from a recent MediaPost article that puts it pretty succinctly:
“It’s well-documented how companies leverage downturns in the economy to effectively market themselves. In the 1970s, marketers like Revlon and Philip Morris increased their advertising to gain market share. Today, companies like Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Verizon, News Corp and PepsiCo all increased their first-quarter ad spending.
The typical response to cut back on ad spending when the economy slows down is understandable. However, advertisers with strong brands, stable monetary resources and compelling value propositions can take share from their weaker competitors by effectively targeting their advertising.”
That doesn’t mean you need a huge pile of cash, either. These days it’s cheaper than ever to retain or expand your marketing during tough times.
How much do you think Bill Marriott’s blog is doing to attract customers? How much do you think Frank at Comcast has insulated the company from (more) online disasters? We’re talking, what – minutes a day for Bill and one salary for Frank? And their worth to the company and brand is through the roof.
Creative companies will not need to risk their market share during this or any recession. They will need to be brave and creative, sure, but the online channel wasn’t meant for the timid anyway.
Besides search engine rankings, what other significant criteria do you use to gauge visibility, influence, and website health?
DJ: Search engine rankings are attractive due to their concrete nature. You’re either above or below your competitors; your rankings improve or they don’t.
The other criteria I would use are less concrete. For instance, if you offer a free white paper, do you get more potential sales leads from it? If you set up a Twitter page, do the calls to your customer service line decrease? If you start a blog, are you able to affect industry-wide change?
These things are not directly related to the bottom line, but that is the way business is moving. Customers cannot be screamed at. You can’t interrupt their lives and expect a positive reaction. There are too many other sources they can choose from.
However, if you build their trust, provide something of value (usually content), or help them in some way, I believe that is the path to true business success. There is study after study that talks about word of mouth (WOM) and how much cheaper it is to retain customers than find new ones. Why not get your customers to recommend your product? Why not encourage their repeat business by giving them what they want when they want it?
None of this is rocket science and it doesn’t require a flashy Web 2.0 “expert” consultant. Visibility and influence are cheaper than ever these days. Focus on providing something useful, doing a good job by your customers, and building trust. That’s the way to have a healthy business and enjoy website health.
Google’s search advertising platform is said to be recession-proof, and the evidence is currently strong with its recently-announced 26% increase in 3rd quarter profits. How comfortable would you feel applying the same label of “recession-proof” to the SEM industry in general?
DJ: There are two ways of looking at this question. First, I think the recession (or economic slowdown or whatever you want to call it) will sharply increase the attention to ROI. So if you’re working for an agency doing SEM, be ready to prove that your ideas work. If you can’t prove it, or if your ideas do not work, don’t expect the leniency you may have enjoyed in better economic times. It goes without saying then that SEM may not be recession-proof – if you aren’t good at your job.
However, another perspective is that of the company or the individual. People are going online as much or more than ever in this economic climate.
In a troubling economy, people are using the online channel more to find their next job. That’s why LinkedIn has more than tripled its traffic within the past year. We’re learning more everyday about the incredible ROI of social media and you mentioned Google’s continued success.
To me, all of this evidence points to the online channel becoming more important in people’s lives during a recession, not less. And with more people online, and with online being more measurable and able to more efficiently target the right audience than any other medium ever, I think things will be good for SEM companies who can prove their worth.
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November 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
It’s a great insightful article. We do believe that so called “recession” will go pass by the internet this time. It for now brings the highest ROI and best channel for bringing customers to websites.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:16 am
[...] can read the full interview on Fathom’s blog. I encourage you to check it out and leave comments, especially if you have stories that illustrate [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Gayane, it’s good to see your optimism. Thanks for commenting. Hopefully, the evidence will speak for itself in terms of the value of SEO and online marketing. One figure I really like is that for every dollar spent on opt-in email, the average return on advertising spend (ROAS) is fifty-two dollars. Communicating these figures to interested but unaware people is essential.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:20 am
[...] excellent 5-part series on marketing during a recession last week. He also had a great response in our recent interview, pointing out evidence that … … companies who cut marketing during recessions lose market [...]