May 4, 2010, 02:06 PM — Google Inc. plans to begin selling digital books in late June or July, a company official said Tuesday, throwing the search giant into a battle that already involves Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc. Retail is not Google’s business model, but Google plans to support many devices and have book downloads available directly from online ads. The new service will also include Google Book, a book search service along with the usual host of enabling add-ins and widgets. It will be interesting to see how the new retail venture effects Google’s long standing perception dominance as a search engine company.
Jothy Rosenberg underwent an above knee amputation due to osteosarcoma, is a cancerous (malignant) bone tumor, in 1973. Then, three years later, the cancer metastasized in his lung and forty percent of the lung had to be removed. Jothy is with us to day probably due to the 1976 chemotherapy courses, which were only recently made available. That’s a very rough start and one that would have profound effect on most. However, Jothy went on to get a PhD in computer science, author two technical books and become founder of six high tech companies. Ok, so Jothy’s a smart guy, but there are lots of smart people with that have overcome adversity. That’s true until you consider the rest of Jothy’s achievements.
Jothy also rode in the Pan-Masscahusetts Challenge bike-a-thon supporting the Dana-Farber cancer institute seven times, swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco supporting Boston Healthcare for the Homeless sixteen times and participated in other sports and fundraising activities. Not bad for a one legged athlete with diminished lung capacity! Jothy’s latest endeavor is a book and associated blog entitled “Who Says I Can’t”, where Jothy shares his life experiences. The book and blog are a great source of inspiration and hope. Use the SmartSymbols™ within this post to learn more about the Jothy Rosenberg and his book “Who Says I Can’t”, options for sharing and purchasing a copy of the book.
Customers have an ever increase desire to know more and more about the products they use or want to purchase. That means a shift in the average consumer’s tipping point for conversion. Customers requiring more and more product information, research and testimonials before committing to purchase. Unfortunately, researching a product is a little like participating in an Easter egg hunt; for the product specifications, go search the main website, for videos, go search YouTube, for review, go search the blog, for real-time postings, go search Twitter or Facebook. This takes time, usually results in a lost sale and worst yet, no chocolate bunny. Fortunately, the use of a marketing platform can end the Easter egg hunt while still delivering a basket of goodies at the same time. This is accomplished by aggregating social media and traditional marketing materials and delivering product research to the customer, where they want it, when they want it. It also results in a better social media ROI, higher conversion rates and strengthened brand loyalty. So use a marketing platform and save the Easter egg hunt for the kids and colored eggs.
The Easter icon means customers of the the book Celebrate Green! do not have to hunt for information (see sidebar for details). This icon is one of Celebrate Green!’s SmartSymbols holiday icons that delivers fresh content to customers. It replaces the previous holiday shamrock icon used to deliver St. Patrick’s Day content.
According to a study by Outsell, to be released Monday, web ads will increase by 10% in 2010. If true, it will be the first time that U.S. advertisers will spend more on digital, rather than print. It is not surprising given the decline in printed books, magazines and the explosion of online social networks, blogs and mobile platforms. Just a few years ago this surge in online advertising meant more spam; spam emails, spam pop-up and pop-under, spam banner ads and spam Ad Word campaigns.
Fortunately, the large amount of product information and research available online as well as the social media explosion is reshaping the online advertising landscape. A new generation of savvy consumers who want to hear and be heard is emerging. They demand to know about the product, how it is made, is it good for them, their children and the environment. Essentially, they want a relationship with product manufacturers. That means more content, rich content that will engage customers, aggregates product research and increase product interaction. This will lead to higher conversion rates and strengthening brand loyalty.
Social media often provides the purchase tipping point for many consumers. And as with any new marketing opportunity, its usage is misunderstood. Taking advantage of social media does not mean developing separate applications, strategies and marketing efforts for every social media outlet. Instead, view social media as just another source for content and use a micro website marketing platform to aggregate and deliver it to the customers, where ever they are; retail site, blog posting, fan websites, viral distribution, etc.
Consider this; if a potential customer leave a site to view Youtube videos, read blog posts or scan Tweets about the product, then statistically they are unlikely to return. For retailers that translates into a lost sale. However, if social media content is delivered to the customer, then they will be engaged and product interaction will increase. A Marketing 101 lesson says that this will result in higher conversion rates and strengthen brand loyalty. Not to mention a lot more cost effective and easier to manage.
If content is king, then fresh content is the jewel in the crown. No place is that more evident than in Internet marketing. Online consumers are savvy and demanding when it comes to content. They expect and demand up to date information as is evident by their use of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. So, what’s happening to products who have static content at their distribution points, blog posts and other online references? Nothing, and that’s the problem. Stale, out of date content fails to engage customer, increase product interaction or produce sales. How to avoid this? Well, for Celebrate Green! the shamrock provides the opportunity.
Celebrate Green! is a book dedicated to the greening of holidays, celebrations and special occasions. A must have for the eco-friendly host or party planner (purchases can be made using their SmartSymbols™ BUY button in the right sidebar). Celebrate Green! already utilize SmartSymbols™ to deliver fresh content including real time Twitter and blog posts, so their content is always fresh. What makes Celebrate Green!’s SmartSymbols™ special is that they add a holiday icon to match the upcoming holiday. As of this writing that would be St. Patrick’s Day, therefore the shamrock icon. After St. Patrick’s Day the shamrock icon will be replaced with the next holiday icon and so on. In this way Celebrate Green! delivers both fresh content and a fresh SmartSymbols™ icon set. A new SmartSymbols™ for each holiday pushed to all distribution points instantly and consistently. Now that’s fresh!
Check the SmartSymbols™ for Celebrate Green! in the right sidebar for the latest holiday icon.
It really is a nice summary about SmartSymbols (thank you Matt), but what is interesting is that it is nice summary from a different perspective.
Take the article’s tag line for example: “Finally, all of your product research in one place”. Well, yes, thank you! That is exactly the problem SmartSymbols was designed to solve for the shopper.
From the “sales guy” perspective, Matt points out that “the sales team gets to cram all of the positive content about your product in one easy-to-digest place, complete with a “buy” button for instant conversion. ” The is also, as they say, gets straight to the crux of the issue.
Of course, it is great to have a positive review written by someone who grasps the magnitude of the problem and the importance of the solution. The side benefit, however, is another perspective that may make us look at our own product from a different angle. Perhaps a clearer one.
When books receive glowing reviews and win awards it is wonderful news for everyone involved. The only challenge is to figure out how to tell your prospective readers about it when they shop online. And furthermore, it is important to find out if they really pay attention.
This short 90-second video shows how SmartSymbols visual marketing platform can help organize and showcase praise a book has received, as well as how to track the impact of sharing that praise with readers via “Reviews” icon:
What are the most efficient ways of improving the impact of your SmartSymbols? Here are 5 fundamental ways of SmartSymbols work for you more efficiently and give you the information about what people are really interested in, directly from their behavior while they look at your product.
