Think eBiz; thoughts on eBusiness

Influencer's: Enabling Brand Building and Sales

What makes online marketing so vibrant and exciting is all the new "buzz words" that come into play. The latest that I have latched onto is called - "Influencer's".

"Influencer's" is one that we at Think-ebiz believe represents a major aspect of Web 2.0. Simply put, Web 2.0 is about fostering a conversation and relationship with your customers and prospects online. Influencer's is how one person can affect the branding and buying power of another person through web site enablers.

Recently, I began working with an innovative start-up called StickySurf, where we defined the value proposition as being an "influencer" for B2C (and even B2B) web sites. StickySurf is a tool that can be added to an existing web site that enables easy and efficient conversations with your friends and co-workers.

The premise is simple: You are visiting a web site and notice a product or service that could benefit a friend or co-worker. A digital camera, a unique European Travel Tour, or a new software product that could benefit your Mfg group. StickySurf or a viral enabled web site can help enhance the purchase power of the web site by bringing new visitors onboard - with a friendly recommendation.

Influencer's can exist in other more traditional mechanisms, such as forums and eCommunity advice and image sharing. A web site that enables the visitors to share experiences could increase awareness and sales. A travel web site that allows people to share pictures and advice, and experiences could influence others to sign up for the next tour.

We all know the power of a personal recommendation. Web 2.0 is enabling this capability online, and this is exciting and powerful. Hopefully I am influencing others to consider enabling this capability on their own web property.

Podcasting; a viable online marketing vehicle

I'll admit to being slow off the mark on Podcasting. Now I load a dozen 'cast onto my iPod and listen during my commute into the city. These include BusinessWeek's Cover Story review, Danny Sullivan's The Daily Searchcast, CBS's NFL Today Hot Topic and Paul Colligan/Alex Mandossian's MarketingOnlineLive*.

iTunes has nearly 20,000 poscasts available; most not of any real value except to the 'caster themselves. However, Apple makes it easy to get on the list and to subscribe and receive updates. Other directories exist include Podcast.net, iPodder and Podcast Alley.

Great entertainment; but is this a viable online marketing channel? Can a Podcast create  sustainable monetization? The initial podcasts were nothing more than audio blogs. Even today, anyone with a microphone and a dream can be a 'caster. But will anyone listen in? Just like blogs, will anyone visit? Early bloggers were teenagers that used blogs to share their feelings and thoughts with their friends. Podcast has moved up the evolution scale (sorry creationist) very quickly and are now (or about to be) a big channel for business. Blogs may become big for business.

Read about the rush to Podcasting in the Wall Street Journal, "Is Anybody Out There?" by Sarah McBride and Nick Wingfield.

The same rules apply for Podcasters as with Blogs. If the message is self-serving, if the content is not updated frequently, if the speaker is boring, the audience will go away (or worse, bad mouth your attempt). I didn't find any corporate podcasts; but that is just a matter of time (let me know of any you find).

Can Podcasts be monetized? Google AdSense won't work (not yet atleast); so it's about sponsorship and voice-ads (think radio). It can also be subscriptions. At Audible you can subscribe to the daily Wall Street Journal, which provides verbal readings of key stories. And you don't need to learn how to fold a newspaper on the train (something I can never get right). You can also subscribe to educational podcasts, like The AffiliateGuy. For $47/month you gain access to exclusive content for Affiliate Marketers. Even Rush Limbaugh has his own fee-based Podcast.

The BusinessWeek Podcast contains a brief sponsor message, a 30 second spot. The balance of the 'cast is commercial free. And like Tivo (kinda) you can fast forward past the commercial on your iPod or other MP3 devices.

If you have interesting content to share and can establish a following; you can make money as a PodCaster. And if you are an advertiser looking to reach a hip new audience, maybe PodCasting is the way to go.

* I wrote Paul an email about his podcast, and imagine my surprise as I was riding the train hearing  my name over his 'cast. This shows the power of PodCasting as a two-way communications between the PodCaster and the audience (think comments in Blogs).