There was a very fact-filled, interesting article that appeared in MarketWatch on June 29, that included some interesting report highlights about malicious activity on the Internet.  We noticed a tremendous increase during the month of June, and have to agree with their data.

The article can be viewed on the MarketWatch.com Web site.

Highlights included:

“Web security: Analysis of web security activity shows that 58.8 percent of all web-based malware intercepted was new in June. MessageLabs Intelligence also identified an average of 1,919 new websites per day harboring malware and other potentially unwanted programs such as spyware and adware, an increase of 67 percent since May.”

“Spam: In June 2009, the global ratio of spam in email traffic from new and previously unknown bad sources was 90.4 percent (1 in 1.1 emails)…”

“Viruses:  The global ratio of eMail-borne viruses in email traffic from new and previously unknown bad sources was one in 269.4 eMails (0.37 percent), an increase of 0.06 percent since May.

It’s indeed sad and unfortunate that some people devote their time and intelligence to such  malicious endevors.

The following article was written by well-known author and speaker Mike Lyon, www.DoYouConvert.com. For more articles and information like this, please subscribe to Mike’s blog or purchase his book: BROWSER TO BUYERS: PROVEN STRATEGIES FOR SELLING NEW HOMES ONLINE.

How to Measure Your Traffic Sources Posted: 09 Jun 2009 08:10 AM PDT As you explore what new home listing services to utilize, it is extremely important to measure the results. It is not just about the amount of traffic but the quality of the traffic. Last week I created a poll and shot it out via Twitter & Facebook to over 1000 connections. The results are below. What new home listing service gives you the most qualified traffic?(survey software) Interesting results. Let’s look at the ways you can determine the quality of traffic using your website analytics. Here are a couple of key metrics you need to pay attention to: Visits Pages Per Visit Average Time on Site Percentage of New Visits Bounce Rate Let’s use the example below to review. Traffic Source Visits Pages/Visit Avg Time on Site % of New Visits Bounce Rate Traffic Source A 235 12 10:00 69% 20% Traffic Source B 150 5 6:00 10% 50% What story are these analytics telling you? Based on the key metrics, a visitor from Traffic Source A would be a more qualified unit of traffic than Traffic Source B. That doesn’t mean you need to cancel all traffic sources that don’t match the top producing sources. You just need make sure you aren’t paying too much for less qualified traffic. You can also go one step further when you set up a “Conversion Goal” in your analytics. Basically, this measures conversions and tracks it back to the referring sources. This is another great metric to look at but you shouldn’t base all of the decisions on a conversion. Many people will find your site through a certain traffic source then come back later and fill out a contact form - making it hard to tie that conversion back to the actual source that they discovered your site through. The web has given every marketing director a higher level of accountability. P.S. I have been talking with a lot of builders lately who are presented with online advertising campaigns that are solely based on “impressions”. Essentially, impressions refers to how many times the builder’s ad will show up in front of someone online. Be very careful, ultimately, you need to measure performance on click throughs - not impressions. That will tell you if your ad is getting in front of the right people. Showing an ad to someone looking at cars online is not your target audience.

It may be summertime, but we’re not slowing down with our free educational ASK THE EXPERTS Webinar programs!

We have two excellent events scheduled for July. Our first Webinar of July will be held on July 16, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and is geared for homebuilders. We will interview Jim Adams, the CEO of NewHomesDirectory.com.

As so many of you know, the Internet is growing at a rate of over a million pages everyday. Today everyone is a publisher. Homebuilders need to take a proactive approach to the ever growing competition for space on the Internet. First page Google search results have become the prized ‘beach front’ property of the Internet. In this Webinar, our Expert - Jim Adams, will show you how NHDBuzz.com stories can be found by consumers and proactively guide their perception of your company. Register today.

On Thursday, July 30th at 1:00 pm Eastern (12 noon Central time), we will host another Webinar that is geared for all businesses. This Webinar is How to use Google analytics to Monitor and to UNDERSTAND your Web site traffic.

Google Analytics is a powerful Web site monitoring tool, and we’ll give you tips and tricks to make sure that you are getting the most fro this free Web tool.

Our Expert, Greg Bray, is President of Blue Tangerine Solutions (yes - our own President!). If you’ve attended Greg’s webinars in the past, you know that he always presents a wealth of helpful and easy-to-understand and easy-to-implement information, so this is truly a don’t miss event! Register here.

Each week, we learn about more Twitter-related tools that make it easier to manage this phenomenal social networking site.  Here are a few of our favorites, for you to ‘check out.’  Please share your favorite Twitter tools by posting a comment to this blog article.

1.  UnTweeps.com
This tool will let you enter your Twitter ID information and then it shows you a list of the people that you are following, who have not tweeted in the past 30 / 60 / etc. days.  You are then given the opportunity to ‘unfollow’ these people because they have been inactive.  If you are approaching your limit on how many people that you can follow, then you may find this to be helpful.  However, this tool  may be unnecessary if you find that the list includes people who occasionally contribute something worthwhile - as they are certainly not clogging your In Box.

2.  TweetDeck.com
If you are following lots of people (over 200) or if you follow many very active Tweeters, then you may want a tool that will help you to ‘manage’ this traffic by being able to show you everything at once, including your Facebook friends.  TweetDeck.com t lets you create columns, groups, saved searches and to create automated updates.

3.  Twitterfollower.com
This is an interesting tool because its purpose is to help you to create a very large ‘following’ quickly.  While we don’t use this tool at this time, it’s worth checking out for a few reasons.  First, I really like the way they provide a video intro to explain the service.  Also, there are benefits to having a large following as it tends to grow exponentially.  Additionally, they offer a mass ‘unfollow’ button which can be handy when your Twitter account gets to be too large to manage.

4.  Tweetmyjobs.com
This site is another creative use of Twitter as it claims to be  “a new service that brings recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers together on Twitter. We are the only job board that provides INSTANT notification of open positions via text messaging.”  If you are currently looking for a job, I recommend participating in this site.

5.  Tweetlater.com
As you become more involved in Twitter, you may wish you had a tool to schedule your tweets and to manage your direct messages more easily.  TweetLater.com offers an excellent solution.  With this site (and the companion site at PostLater.com) you can easily schedule Tweets, track keywords, send welcome direct messages, automatically follow people who follow you (and unfollow those who do the same) and more.  It is a powerful tool that continues to evolve and well worth checking out.

It’s possible that some more great Twitter tools have been released since this article was published to our blog, and I invite you to share your favorites by posting comments to this article.  Also, please feel free to follow me on Twitter at BTSMarie.

We have a great team at Blue Tangerine Solutions, as many of us have been working together for the past ten years.  While that says a lot in and of itself, you can get a feel for the quality and personality of our team by looking at some of our favorite quotes. 

“It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.”
–Winston Churchill

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
– Mark Twain

 

“There are no problems, only solutions.”
–John Lenon (and a host of other wise people)

 

“Never judge a customer by the size of his wallet.  Sometimes good things an come in small packages.”

–Unknown

 

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

–Charles Darwin

 

“People are definitely a company’s greatest assets.  It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics.  A company is only as good as its people.”
–Mary Kay Ash

 

“To  be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.”
–Thomas Watson, Sr.

 

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
–Confucius

 

So, what are your favorite motivational or business quotes?  We invite you to share them with us in our comments section.

 

 

 

For those of you who are starting out with your social media marketing program, you are most likely feeling a bit overwhelmed with the time commitment to understand and utilize the popular social media tools.

Right now, the most popular tools for social media business include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.  There are several others that are ‘on the rise,’ and it will be interesting to see if these four sites are still the most popular by Summer 2010. 

When you are starting off, you should expect to spend 1 - 2 hours a day for the first two to three weeks.  This will ensure that you have enough time to develop your profiles on each site and to “follow/watch” other businesses so that you can get a feel for this new playing field.

Here are our recommendations on how to get started with each of the key sites during your ‘initiation period.’

LinkedIn:

• Create your profile
• Find colleagues and friends to ‘link to’
• Ask for and set up referrals
• Find ‘groups’ that fit your business or reach your target audience
• Gradually submit or answer questions

YouTube:

• Create your YouTube channel with a company video
• Add video(s) about your key products or services
• Check out videos of your competitors to see how they are presenting their message(s)

Twitter:

• Set up your Twitter account (and be sure to get a name that is not too long, as you are limited to 140 characters in all messages and you want people to be able to ‘retweet’ your messages)
• Use the advanced search to find other Tweeters in your geographic area or in your industry, then ‘follow them.’
• Set up a tool like TweetDeck or FriendFeed so you can manage your Tweets, as it will become more cumbersome as the list grows
• Make sure you send out relevant tweets throughout the day, with a minimum of 80% having a professional message and no more than 20% with a personal slant

Facebook:

• Set up your Facebook page
• Invite people to become a ‘fan’ through your eNewsletter; voicemail message; Web site announcement; etc. 
• Remember how you started driving traffic to your Web site back in the late 90’s — follow those same techniques to drive people to your Facebook (and other social media sites.)

Once you’re set up and have been immersed in the social media sites, you should plan to spend at least 30 minutes a day utilizing these sites.  Set a goal so that twice a week you will ask or answer a question on LinkedIn.  Send out Tweets in the morning, afternoon and evening so you can reach a wide range of followers.  Use your Facebook page each week to send out news, event invitations, surveys, etc.

We’d love to hear from you on this subject.  Have you had more success with one of the social networking sites?  Does it take you longer than 30 minutes a day to participate in professional social media sites?  Have you had any great success stories that you want to share?  Please share your comments, or visit Marie O’Brien on Twitter at BTSMarie or visit our Facebook page and become a ‘fan.’

We all know that it’s important to drive qualified traffic (leads) to your Web site, and you then need to be able to manage those leads to convert them to customers.   Here are several tips on how you can use automated Web tools to successfully “work your leads.”

1.  Send a Monthly eNewsletter
Include a default “sign me up” to your eNewsletter on your Contact Us form.  An eNewsletter is a great way to stay in touch with your prospects.  Send out news regarding your latest new products (Open Houses), summer maintenance events and local news or area information.  The eNewsletter is a quick way for you to develop a relationship with your leads by staying in touch with them.

2.  Start a Company Blog
When you display a ‘thank you’ page after they visitor has completed your ‘contact us form,’ invite your online leads to visit your company blog where you can share your company “thoughts” by offering a bit more “personality” with your news announcements.  Be sure to keep it current by adding weekly updates.  You can see an example by visiting our blog at http://TheJuice.BlueTangerinesolutions.com.  (There is an added benefit that your blog articles are quickly indexed by the major search engines.)

3.  Autoresponder Tools
After you capture your “lead’s” eMail address on your Web site, use autoresponders to automatically send out pre-written messages to those leads. Your first message can be a ‘thank you’ for visiting our site.

Your second message can be a brief history of the company and include a ’special offer’ to join something like your VIP program. 

The third message can invite the “lead” to contact you for a personal tour or a coupon for your product.  The message content is up to you, but we can help by building the automated Web tools that will help to act as a virtual sales associate.

4.  Live Chat - Engage the Visitor Immediately
Once you have the visitor on your site, you can engage them immediately by using a live chat tool that pops up to say: “Thanks for visiting our site.  I’m here if you have any questions.”  We’ve heard lots of success stories of sales resulting directly from the live chat interaction.  Most of the people visiting your site will be quality, qualified leads that will welcome your ‘invitation to chat.’
 
5.  Let Your OSC Work it
While technology and our Web tools are great business tools, you will still want to have a trained, motiviated online sales counselor (OSC) available to “work” those leads and convert them to customers.  Set up an online lead management program that will feed the leads (and automated reminders) to your OSC.  Promote your OSC to your Web visitors, so they know there is always a “live person” available when they need them.

The following guest article is from Richard Elkman, President of Group Two Advertising.

What Can We Learn From Volkswagen’s Marketing Strategy?

You’d have to be “brain dead” to not know that the auto industry is in the toilet. Car sales through April are down 37%. But, while some brands stopped spending on marketing, others kept or increased their budgets according to USAToday.

Volkswagen has increased its advertising spending and increased its US market share from 1.4% to almost 2.0%. VW’s marketing director, Tim Ellis said, “When we invest in marketing, things happen. We think it is important to stick to our value message. We are getting a higher percentage of a dwindling marketplace. When this crazy auto market improves we will be positioned to increase our market share even further.”  Ellis said that they will be introducing three new models and a new marketing campaign featuring the internet and Facebook. The campaign will be dubbed “Meet the Volkswagen”.

The marketing will promote cost of ownership, fuel efficiency, green, German engineering, new models and value.

How interesting. Aren’t cost of home ownership, energy efficiency, green building, innovative technology, new model homes and value the same issues driving sales for builders? So, why are many builders eliminating marketing and thinking that they won’t lose market share? Why are builders using marketing strategies from 2006?  Now is not the time to disappear in the eyes of potential homebuyers.  Remember: “Out of sight, out of mind.” You have to spend money in order to make money, even if the budget is small.

There’s no excuse for builder websites that are boring, static and similar to their competition.  The core of any marketing is a good website. This is not the place to save money and lose a competitive edge.  In fact, increasing your presence on the internet is one of the best investments you can make.

Technology has changed drastically in recent years, yet most builders aren’t even aware of the new possibilities.  Why aren’t more builders taking advantage of new, affordable and effective media opportunities? VW is using banner ads, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking opportunities, with little to no cost. Integration is key to marketing today.

If you have the right product, pricing and location, then there is no reason that you can’t improve your traffic and give your sales people the increased opportunity to sell more homes.

The increasingly positive housing news from the Fed Chairman, Warren Buffet, and even the evening news will lead to increased consumer confidence. Confidence will lead to more opportunities to sell.

You have a choice. Do nothing different with your marketing and get nothing in return. Or call me and we’ll discuss what you can do to take advantage of Group Two’s affordable and innovative marketing strategies.

What are you waiting for?
Rich

P.S. 170 building professionals attended our webinar featuring Hubbell Homes on May 14th. If you missed this webinar or any of the others in the Successful Builders Series, you can download them for the next two weeks at www.grouptwo.com.

As Web site developers, we need to review the most commonly set screen resolutions to make sure that we’re designing for the majority of Web users — and that we can maximize the real estate of the Web page. Once the market becomes more saturated with newer computers and monitors, it often affords us an opportunity to build our Web pages for a higher screen resolution that will allow us to put more information on the page — without requiring a Web site visitor to scroll left-to-right.

In January of 2000, 67% of internet users had their monitors set at a resolution of 800×600 or below. In January of 2008 over 86% of users had their monitors set at a resolution of 1024×768 or higher, with only 8% set at 800×600.

All this information is good, but what we need to know is what is the size of the user’s actual browser content area. It’s important to recognize that a user may or may not be using their browser fully maximized. Elements such as toolbars and certain extensions also use up valuable screen space. With that said, just because someone’s screen resolution is set at 1024×768 does not necessarily mean you have access to that whole space.

Research shows that the majority of internet users today browse with their browser window fully maximized or very close to it. The biggest spike is between 969 and 1040 pixels wide, and it’s safe to assume that these are the Web viewers who have their monitor resolutions set at 1024×768 or higher.

After taking this data into consideration, we have determined that the most optimal site should be designed to a width of 900 pixels. This will insure that 86% of users will be able to review the site without scrolling left and right. The other 14% of users are already probably used to scrolling left and right as most Web sites are now built to a wider standard.

We hope this information is useful to you when building your Web site to take full advantage of the space available to you. In a world where ‘content is king,’ it helps to know just how much ’space’ you have available to present your content to the world.

This past year, we’ve spent a lot of time helping you to understand Web 2.0 and social media.  While we’ve shared definitions and examples, it’s always more exciting to show you how it can be successfully used to improve your business.

On Thursday, May 14, we will conduct an “Ask the Experts“  Webinar with Richard Elkman, President of Group Two Advertising, where he will talk with his client at Hubbell Realty to discuss the “Hailey Brownstone” media campaign that they created to promote a brownstone, mixed-use community geared toward young professionals.  (You can learn more from the article that appeared in BUILDER ONLINE in mid-February.)

The community is perfect for first-time homebuyers who are comfortable using social media tools like Facebook and YouTube, so together, they created a full social media campaign to promote their GreenWay Crossing community.  Their print and TV ads drove traffic to the “Hailey Brownstone Blog” instead of to their own Web site.    They created a Facebook page (although it has since been removed) and several YouTube videos that nicely showcase the community.

The campaign generated tremendous interest in the community and also within the local marketing and advertising arena.  I encourage you to register for and attend the Webinar on Thursday, 5/14 at 1 p.m. Eastern (12 noon Central) to learn more about how this creative social media campaign was used to increase awareness and sales.

Do you have any social media business success stories or case studies that you’d like to share?  We welcome your comments.