And for that $3.5 million dollars…this is how they get us:

Pets and Babies:  It’s hard to compete with cute.  It’s even harder to compete with cute mixed with a little bit of funny.  And you’d might as well forget it if you’re trying to take on cute and funny served with a side of heartwarming and adorable.

Sex Appeal:  It works.  No room for debate…no need for an explanation.

Financial Gain and Power:  Who wouldn’t like a little extra ching in their pocket?  Oh yeah…that baby that throws Cheerios at Jimmy Fallon.  But for the rest of us…just tell me what I need to do!

Masculinity:  Remind me what it means to be a manly man in this modern, ‘feminized’ world.

Beer:  (fill in the blank this one’s wide open)

Sentiment:  In the midst of all this chaos, we need to be reminded of the little things that mean the most in our lives.

So let’s get to it.  This year we saw a wide range of companies from various industries step into the ring and try their bout at a Super Sunday ad campaign.  From regular contenders to a few new kids on the block, some ads held up to our expectations while others simply flopped.  So who’s doing a victory dance (besides the Giants) and who’s taking the long ride home with Tom Brady and the Patriots?

Using a Facebook based Ad Meter, USA today collected data and compiled a list of Best to Worst commercials.  For the sake of discussion I have included the top and bottom 5 in this article.  For a complete list with all 55 commercials you can visit USA Today /Facebook.

Best:

Dorito’s: Sling Baby

Bud Light: Weego Recue Dog

Kia: A Dream Car for Real Life

Chrysler: It’s halftime in America

M&M’s: Just My Shell

I think we can all agree:

A nude M&M is both weird and strangely appetizing.  Clint Eastwood really spoke to the heart of America when he encourages us that this economic struggle we face is merely our halftime.  A cowboy riding a rhinoceros and lumberjacks sawing through a giant sandwich is about as manly as it gets.  Rescue dogs are precious and really deserve some time in the limelight…especially if they‘re capable of fetching beer.  That snot nose kid in the tree house really deserved to have his Doritos snagged by his flying baby brother.

Worst:

Bud Light Platinum: Factory

GoDaddy.com: Body Paint

Lexus GS: Super Bowl 2012

Bud Light Platinum: Work

GoDaddy.com: the Cloud

The Bottom 5 however, seem to have really dropped the ball.  A Lexus in a steal box…seriously is that it?  We’re really not interested in the bottling process of your Bud Light Platinum…unless you have rescue dogs working in the plant.  GoDaddy.com ads are generally considered chauvinistic and, well, kinda lame.

Yet, despite ending up at the bottom of this poll, GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons told USA Today that their Super Bowl ads this year broke all prior sales records.  Reinforcing last week’s post that even the ‘worst’ commercials can be effective if they incite action or emotion.

As this poll suggests, ads have moved away from merely being water-cooler conversation and into the growing realm of social networking and media engagement.  Prior to the game, some companies had been picking the brains of social media users for months; tweeting for ideas and offering teasers on their web and Facebook pages.  The following statistics are evidence of their focus on social media: 57% of ads included a website or URL, 16% included social media prompts and 11% included emerging media technology including QR codes and text messages.

We hope you enjoyed this light-hearted topic and we invite you to comment and open discussion regarding your favorite and least favorite ads.  Please include why you liked or disliked them, and what general need or desire was being targeted by the ad.  Feel free to comment openly and please contact us if you have any questions regarding the services provides by Web Chique Marketing.

I don’t think anyone with a TV could avoid seeing this annoying commercial when it aired five or six years ago.   But you know what, I bet a lot of people eventually went to Walgreen’s to purchase Head On.  Regardless of how terrible the commercial was and whether or not the product even worked, Head On had succeeded in its objective: to get people thinking and talking about their product.

At any given time there are probably a few commercials airing on TV that keep you glued to the screen, cringing  at an annoying jingle with your eyebrows scrunched thinking “whhaaat?!”  Often times, the commercial will end without the slightest inclination at what it’s selling until the name of the product or company is pasted on the screen for a very brief moment.  But think of it this way, if you can recall those commercials and the product that was being directed at you, one could argue that it was an effective ad.

So why would any respectable company choose to align themselves with an atrocious, annoying advertisement.  Because it works.  Spend just ten minutes on YouTube using the search ‘annoying commercial’ and you’ll see hundreds of crappy commercials from highly reputable companies and brands.  Crappy yes…accidental no.  Effective marketers know that consumers are going to remember something that irritates them just as much if not more than something that simply goes along with the everyday flow of things.

For example at big box retailers providing quality customer service is the main focus.  Not surprisingly, although every single customer has the opportunity to complete a survey and describe their experience,  most often the only people who chose to do so were those who have had a negative experience.

It just makes sense.  No one goes to a store expecting to have a terrible experience.  You go in, buy your stuff, check out and go home.  That’s how it’s supposed to be.  So why would you fill out a survey or call someone to tell them that your routine trip to the store was just that…routine.

The picture changes however with a bad experience.  If you go to the store expecting to pick up a pre-ordered item and it hasn’t arrived when it was scheduled to or even worse it arrives broken.  You’re much more likely to chew someone out and file a complaint.

In my opinion, commercials are no different.  You watch TV, the commercials come on and expose you to a product or service using cuddly animals, crisp animations or a finely scripted scenario that plays out smoothly and clearly displays why you’d want or need said item.

Again the picture changes when you see giant hamsters crawl out of a car and a bunch of alien robots begin dancing on a desolate, post-apocalyptic looking terrain.  This tells me nothing about the product being sold other than the fact that hamsters drive Kia’s and alien robots are highly excitable.  But again, I have seen hundreds of Kia’s on the road and honestly know someone who recently bought one simply based on that commercial alone.

Last year I took a graduate class in which we discussed and examined various forms of creativity and innovation in the media.  The ultimate goal of the course was to define “creativity.”  But how do you define something that has such subjective undertones?  It’s like interpreting fine art…or trying to convince someone who has a completely different taste in music that your favorite artist is the ‘best’ and who they listen to flat out stinks.

I may think that The Beatles were the best band ever and that any ‘good’ music created since has simply fed off their genius while others think that Snoop Doggy Dogg is an innovative artist who helped create the Rap scene.

Both are valid positions and we are all entitled to our opinions.  That is what makes creativity so great.

The point is that there’s no clear, cut- and-dry criteria for what makes a ‘good commercial.’  A good advertisement is one that works.  Whatever it takes to get people talking about your product or service…that’s what makes a good ad.  I recently watched the painfully awkward Twitter jobs recruitment video and immediately went to their website to find out what positions were open.  Just another example of a bad commercial working simply because of its horrendous quality.

When it comes to advertising, keep an open mind. Although it may seem detrimental to your brand, annoying campaigns can often be the most effective. At the end of the day, if your business is thriving, that is all that matters.

We’d love to hear your feedback on this topic as well as your ‘favorite’ crappy or annoying commercial.

Does this ring a bell?  It should.

During the succession of the first red scare, the United States Senate created a committee to investigate and expose potential threats against the American way of life.  Targeted by this committee was anyone or anything that appeared to display German/Nazi sentiment or even a vague support of communism.

Unlike a rolling stone, The House Un-American Activities Committee gathered moss in the form of strong support from a post WWI shell-shocked American society.  Before long, the Senate was conducting a full-blown modern day witch-hunt.  Led by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the crosshairs pointed directly at Hollywood and accused its liberal members of producing communist propaganda.   Soon, artists of all forms found themselves ‘blacklisted’ and consuming or distribution their work was labeled as supporting communism.

The relentlessness of HUAC all but ruined the lives and blemished the careers of many respected artists including playwright Arthur Miller (author of ‘the Crucible’), folk sensation Pete Seeger and legendary actor/director Charlie Chaplin.  Many of the blacklisted individuals faced strong accusations and a barrage of criticism as they were pummeled into succession without a fair trial or a chance of due process.

I bring this to light in the presence of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), the controversial piece of legislation that has been the talk of the town recently in Washington D.C.. The overall sentiment of SOPA is to “promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combatting the theft of U.S property, and for other purposes.”  A noble cause at surface level but when you begin to scratch that surface you find a slew of complications.

I think we all agree that stealing is wrong.  Taking or accepting something without permission or some form of compensation is both unethical and illegal.  It’s simple to illustrate using physical objects – if you steal a CD from a store, the store has less CDs to sell and in turn will lose money and the price of the remaining CDs is likely to increase.  However, it gets complicated when it comes to intellectual property.  In the digital realm, it is easy to steal something by duplicating it without depriving the original owner of the stolen item.

The internet is a global resource.  Using a web-browser, internet travelers can visit sites hosted on computers throughout the world.  Some of these sites might host pirated media.  But how can a company in one country control the behavior of a person or organization in another.

Much of the language presented in SOPA is about how to prevent potential U.S. consumers from accessing sites that offer pirated or counterfeit goods.  The legislation targets ‘foreign infringers,’ sites hosted in other countries but clearly directed toward American citizens.  But you must ask how will this be carried out?

SOPA will place immense pressure on companies and services within the United States.  Specifically internet service providers, search engines, payment network providers an internet advertising services.

If the act becomes law, these entities would have to comply with a strict set of rules pending a court order from the attorney general.  The company will then have five days to react and carry out the order’s instructions.  For a service like Google, this may mean scouring and removing ALL links to an infringing site within the five day window.  Services like PayPal would be required to cut-off all funds to an infringing site and advertising services would be prohibited from serving ads on a prohibited site.

Opponents of SOPA suggest that such strict regulation of the internet would compromise its free-enterprise appeal and the freedom of expression that the internet provides to a global community.  With no court hearing or a means to defend itself, an accused site would lose international traffic without due process.

Imagine that you run an enormous search engine like Google.  It’s likely you’d receive thousands of court orders demanding that you eliminate a number of links.  How could you possibly allocate time to verify that those links violate SOPA without the sacrifice of running your service?

Your search engine doesn’t own the content, you simply link to it, so there’s a good chance that you’d just comply with all orders to avoid trouble.  As a result, you find that the internet has fallen victim to censorship, ultimately “breaking” the World Wide Web as we know it.

Opponents also contest that such legislation will not succeed in stopping piracy.  It will only make it more difficult to access.  In the world of digital media, where there’s a will there’s a way.  Even by blacklisting a particular domain name, SOPA will not be able to completely block a site hosted abroad.  Knowing the IP address of a blacklisted site would still allow one to access it.

In response to strong opposition and the internet ‘blackout’ that occurred on January 18^th, the supporters of SOPA have withdrawn the bill as it is written.  A suggestion from Congress that amendments be made to the language and implementation of the bill means that while SOPA has been placed on the backburner, it is not altogether dead.

While the extreme measures proposed by SOPA may seem unrealistic and violate what the internet has come to stand for, I’m sure that we can agree to some extent that something should be done in regards to the pirated and counterfeit material available online.  The real question is what.  And how can we integrate a plan to end piracy without disrupting the harmonious online existence we all enjoy.

WebChiqueMarketing invites and encourages all our visitors to get involved and engage in discussion regarding this topic.  We live in a world of differing opinions and the best way to understand one another is to discuss the  issues at hand in an open, civilized manner.

During their spiel, Chuck references the website of a Bermuda Triangle fanatic.  The site itself is somewhat of a ‘Bermuda Triangle’ because it is poorly designed with text that overlaps images and pages that just won’t load.  Although the information provided is accurate, thorough and interesting, its overall lack of quality greatly discredits it as a reliable resource.

I’m sure we have all stumbled upon sites like this.  The information is there, but it’s difficult to find and irritating to navigate.  A company may offer the highest quality product or service on the market, but a poorly designed, outdated website results in an increased bounce rate and reflects poorly on the business as a whole.

As a new wave of web technologies and innovation again changes the scene of effective online marketing and overall business management, our goal is to provide our clients and visitors with a few tips on how to keep pace with this ever changing landscape in 2012.

1. Be Bold

A lot of websites are making their presence known by taking chances and letting the creative forces flow.  The old-school, template website has taken a back seat to a variety of bold new looks.  Whether you feature an exaggerated footer, turn to minimalist format or feature a unique typeface, incorporating and mastering a key graphic element can speak volumes about your company and your dedication to detail.  Once you truly own the ability to modernize your site’s appeal you will remain on the cusp of innovation for years to come.

For those on a tight budget or not experienced with coding, reference our blog history and you’ll find The $60 Billion Savior, an entire post dedicated to the Content Management System, WordPress.  Services like WordPress and Google open API font styles provide webmasters with cost-free tools to help create enticing websites.

2. Try HTML5…carefully

While you’re out there trying new things, join the swarm and find out what all the buzz is about behind HTML5.  But do so with caution, you wouldn’t want to get stung.

HTML5 offers a range of flexibility that allows you to create a truly interactive website.  Requiring very little code work, you will be able to embed seamless video, create drag-and-drop interfaces and manage dynamic message posts.

As with any new technology there will be laggards who experience compatibility issues.  While your glistening new site looks stunning on latest version of Google Chrome, it may look like a series of broken features or nothing at all on Internet Explorer 7.  Fortunately, as we revealed in  Let me Upgrade Ya, Grade Ya, Microsoft has taken the initiative to activate automatic updates for users not running the most recent version of their browser.

In the meantime, we have Modernizr, an open-source, JavaScript-based tool that detects the compatibility of each user and customizes their interaction with your site.  However make no mistake, if you are not experienced in coding use caution when considering this route.

3. Less is MORE

In other words, cut the fat.  Put your site on a diet and do away with clickable tabs that route users to separate pages for Contact, About, or Testimonial information.  Rather than maintain several pages with extensive, time consuming code, many companies have opted for a strong one-page websites with a bold designs that make a powerful statement and leave a lasting impression.  Check out pickupamerica.org to see the potential of an interactive, one-page website (not to mention a good cause).

The coming year will surely unveil the benefits and flaws of one-page websites.  While using HTML5 will allow you to create a unique page with pop-up windows and embedded video, the amount of information presented remains limited.

Do you want your site to make a bold statement about your company or would you rather focus on a blog-style page that plays heavily on testimonials and case studies?

4.  Use your Social Media manners

It’s undeniable that announcing your social media presence on your company website is an absolute must.  But the way in which you execute this presence makes all the difference in the world.  Automatically updating widgets that stream social media presence are both invasive and outdated but this does not mean altogether eliminating an interactive link to your Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace page.  Consider integrating graphic links or a social ticker with the user’s eye in mind.  When social media is incorporated in your site with intelligent design and careful consideration, your site will show a strong social connection while maintaining a modest appeal.

We hope these tips will get the gears turning in regards to your 2012 website renovations.  Take each tip with a grain of salt and season your site to taste.  We love to receive feedback and answer questions from our visitors because here at WebChiqueMarketing we are all about relationships and results.

Ok…so maybe I’m guilty of watching a little TMZ from time to time and do think that little baby Blue got the short end of the stick as far as her names goes.  But that’s not for me to decide.

The real reason I thought about Beyonce is an old DirecTV commercial in which she rolls around on golden sheets and dances with dapper gentlemen while asking the viewer to ‘let me upgrade ya, grade ya.’

It seems that Microsoft has taken a page from Ms. Knowle’s book because that is exactly what they’re asking us to do with the introduction of automatic updates for Internet Explorer.  Although by activating automatic updates for their web-browser Microsoft uses far less sex appeal, they had to do something.   As their market share falls below 50%, Microsoft has glanced over its shoulder only to find Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox fast approaching and nipping at their heels.

As Google Chrome surpasses Mozilla Firefox as the world’s number two browser with nearly 26% market share, Microsoft has to react in a way that will allow them to maintain their position atop the heap.    Internet Explorer 6 was the single best browser when it was released 10 years ago, but has since fallen behind in the race to keep up with an ever changing internet.  Unfortunately, the popularity of Windows allowed IE6 to remain as the default browser for many internet users long past its prime (despite the release of 3 major updates since that time).

The problem with older browsers is their inability to run modern web tools and applications.  In fact, that’s precisely what forced the brains behind Google to create Chrome as a digital interface for these out-of-date web-browsing software packages.  Chrome users are provided automatic updates every six weeks.

Aside from speed, compatibility, and overall online prowess, automatic updates ensure that your system  is secure from online threats and other malicious software.  With everyone running on the most recent versions of web-browsers, the internet will become a much more pleasant environment, especially for those who specialize in internet marketing. Old internet browsers such as Internet Explorer 6 and 7 have delayed the progression of web development trends such as HTML 5. With automatic updates the percentages of users with outdated web browsers will dwindle allowing for great advancements in website technology.

We hope that this information will provide a heads up to our visitors in regards to the current state of affairs in the world of effective internet marketing and business management.  As always WebChiqueMarketing would like to invite any and all visitors to contact our staff  if there are further questions regarding our internet marketing services.

But as we were counting down the New Year, data intelligence company Experian Hitwise was preparing to release its 2011 results.

It seems that 2011 has been good to someone else.  A longtime friend and a very familiar face…book.  That’s right.

Facebook reigns supreme!

Maintaining the lead for three years now, this dorm room project has taken the world by storm in less than a decade.  With humble origins as Course Matching software for students at Harvard University, I can’t imagine that Mark Zuckerberg ever expected his fledgling network of friends to account for 7.5% of all search-engine queries and 10.3% of all U.S. visits in eight short years.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself “what about Google?”  The answer is simple: as a search engine it is often the origin rather than the destination in regards to search queries.  Not to mention that regular visitors of Facebook do not need to travel through a search engine to locate it.

Our beloved Google landed comfortably in second place with 7.7% of all U.S. visits.  And when combined with the rest of its properties Google actually steals the show with nearly 12% of all U.S. visits.

So what does all this mean to you?

In essence, it’s an exclamation point placed on our October 28^th reminder of why it’s crucial to  own and maintain an active Facebook page for your business.  It also validates our rants and raves about why you should be using Google services to organize and promote your business.

The results are in and here at WebChiqueMarketing we love results.  So feel free to look back at our past blog-posts about effectively using your Facebook page, understanding Google Analytics, the advantages of Google+ for Businesses, how the Google Display Network actually works, what are Google Places, and how to use Google WebMaster Tools.

As always we’re glad to provide expert advice to growing businesses and offer our services in any way possible.  If you’re not familiar or comfortable with the technical side of operations please contact us and we will be glad to get you moving toward a more successful 2012.

The rest of us, we’ll be sleeping in this December 24^th, sipping cocoa by midday and wearing our favorite Christmas get-up as we prepare for a delightful evening with friends and family.

Whether you’re a business owner or a consumer, there’s no real secret to being prepared for the Holiday Season.  No secrets, this is true, but there are some tips, tricks, and hints that may be useful in the future; and each of them begin with the word Google.

I don’t want to bore you with the laundry list of Google Services that we support here at WebChiqueMarketing; by revisiting our past blog-posts you will certainly find yourself both informed and entertained.  I do however want to give our visitors an early Christmas present in the form of Google Places.

I can’t recall the last time I saw an actual phone-book (a term unfamiliar to a younger generation that was raised online).  But then again, I don’t recall needing one either.  Instead, I have replaced that thick, odd-smelling catalog with something less abrasive.  Now when I need to find a local mechanic, magician-service, or fish-hatchery I simply go online and “Google” it.

Google Places is very much like the yellow pages of that archaic medium; except it’s free.

You’re Google Places listing will include your website, physical mailing address and phone number (you don’t need a physical retail or warehouse location to be accepted).  You will also be provided a QR code, a symbol that can be scanned by smart phones and send customers directly to your online listing for more information.

Forget paying for ad-space in the local paper or a niche magazine.  Google Places allows you to place coupons within your listing for days, weeks or months at a time.  Coupons can even be printed or displayed on consumers phone at the time of purchase.

When your directory listing is optimized properly, the first thing you should notice is an increase in traffic to your site or physical location resulting in new customers and booming business.  The reviews and citation will start rolling in and in no time at all your listing will be catapulted to the first page of Google Places and target customers will begin finding their way to your business in a truly organic fashion.

Although it is a little late for online shopping this Holiday Season, it is not too late to list your business on Google Places.  If you have a physical retail/service location you can still benefit from this amazing directory.  And although the 2011 Holiday Season is coming to a close, don’t forget about the start 2012 and the promise of increased business that it entails.  Go ahead, make it easier for potential customers to find your business.  You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.  And while you’re at it… have a Happy Holiday and a fantastic New Year.

So how do you get this insight?

If we haven’t already provided enough reasons for our visitors and clients to support Google services, here’s yet another solid reason to climb aboard: Google Webmaster Tools.

Google Webmaster Tools is a user friendly product designed to help site owners enhance their website and understand how it works from Google’s perspective.  Not everyone can be as web savvy as someone who dedicates their life’s work to understanding the ins and outs of the cyber world.  But Google Webmaster Tools will give you the insight to start learning.

In using this service you will be able to:

-          View your pages that appear in Google’s index

-          See specific errors that Google encountered while crawling your site; including the presence of malware.

-           Locate queries that commonly list your site in its results and its relevance as decided by PageRank,

-          Find other sites that link to yours.

Once you have completed site verification, proving that you are indeed the owner/webmaster, Google WebMaster Tools puts you in the driver’s seat and allows you to fully manage who has detailed access to your site, the rate at which Google crawls your site, setting a geographic targeted region, preferred domain and the inclusion of your images in Google’s Image Search.

So what have we learned?

We’re not all tech-savvy gurus of the internet, but thanks to Google and its services we can find comfort in knowledge. There is no use crying over poor Google organic rankings. Find out what the problems are and make a plan to remedy them with the help of Google webmasters.

For more details on how to use Google WebMaster Tools and the other services we provide please feel free to contact us here at Web Chique Marketing.

As they are one to do, Google has decided to further enhance this existing service. The new Google Analytics will operate much the same as it did before, only with a bright new coat of paint and a shiny array of bells and whistles.  When you use Google Analytics for your company’s website you will surely adopt this newly adorned flashiness and your success will speak volumes.  Google has somehow found a way to make this already outstanding service even more enticing, effective and easy to use.

Curious of what’s happening online at any given moment?  Wondering whether or not people are actually visiting your site?  Who these people are, what exactly their looking for, and how you can optimize your website to suit their needs?  If you answered yes to this slew of inquiries, then you’re in luck.  You now have Google Analytics Real-Time.

Real-time reporting lets you know what’s happening on your site RIGHT NOW!  Updated continuously, each pageview is reported seconds after it occurs. If you thought that daily or hourly traffic reports helped you mastermind your marketing and advertising techniques then imagine the potential of knowing what people are viewing and clicking every second.

Let’s say you’re launching a new campaign, product, or service and you blog, Tweet or update your Facebook status on its behalf.  You can immediately measure the impact of those social networks on your site’s traffic and plan your follow-up strategy accordingly.

Given its nature, Google could not, would not and definitely did not stop there.  As iPhones, iPads, Kindles, and other mobile smart technology continue to take society by storm, Google has again embraced the revolution.  To further enhance their analytical prowess, a Mobile Reporting function has been added to the visitors tab.

Though, the buck does not stop there.  This report is broken down yet again into  separate reports:

• Mobile Overview:  simply divides traffic between mobile and non-mobile
• Devices:  a thorough analysis of the mobile devices that visited your site.  Devices are categorized by the three criteria.
• Mobile Device Info:  recognizes the actual hardware that visited your site and provides an image of that device and how your site appears on it.
• Mobile Device Branding: allows you to see the brand associated with the device e.g. manufacturer or carrier.
• Mobile Input Selector: displays the primary input method e.g. touch screen, clickwheel or stylus.

Still not impressed?  This final feature should really tip the scale.  As you may be aware, traditional web-path analysis tools cannot sensibly group visitor paths/pages making segmentation analysis extremely complicated.  To address this issue Google has gathered insight from its users and created what they call Flow Visualization.

Flow Visualization will help marketers and analytics optimize visitor experience by exposing the way visitors “flow” through their sites.  The Flow visualization graph looks much like a story-board; except think of the characters as individual pages and the plot as the path that visitors choose to interact with them.

This function has two parts:

Visitors:  provides a graphic display of flow through your site. You may narrow your analysis into various dimensions to see the journey and its drop-off point. Wondering how your promo-page is affecting traffic?  Simply highlight that node (a pathway that is automatically clustered according to an intelligence algorithm) and you will see both the volume of traffic as well as its source. You can narrow your search even further by examining how visitors from a specific source navigated your site.

Goal:  displays flow through your goal steps and where they dropped-off.  Goal steps are defined by the site owner and should reflect important steps and page groups to the site.  The Goal Flow will help you understand:

• volume of visits to your site by dimension
• pathway abandonment rate
• where and how visitors navigate the steps you define
• how visitors interact with your site, including backtracking

If you were unimpressed before, I hope that we have changed your tune.  Google Analytics is on the cutting-edge.  As we have outlined here, this service makes it extremely easy to optimize your website’s traffic and its visitor’s interaction.  If you wish to pursue an interest in using Google Analytics or simply have questions that were not answered in this post feel free to contact WebChiqueMarketing for more information.

Like many postmen, ours is very nice.  He is always chipper and our socially awkward dog seems ok with his frequent and unannounced visits.  He is however a rough looking fellow.  Apparently cute postmen are also reserved for the pleasantries of the online experience.

With a Curious George looking mascot dressed in a postal uniform, MailChimp has re-invented the age-old technology of E-mail. Although it’s a fairly new service, its 400,000 users deliver 20 million+ emails daily.  What’s so enticing about the MailChimp bandwagon besides their mascot?

MailChimp is easy.

With four basic templates to choose from, you have a solid foundation to build upon.  From images, headers, and color schemes to design elements and integrated apps, these templates are fully-customizable and flexible so you can add a personal ‘zing’ to your E-mail marketing-campaign.

MailChimp’s WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get) allows you to point, click, drag, and drop until the cows come home…or your heart’s content.  Whichever happens first.

MailChimp also has pre-designed templates with the ability to change your E-mail alias and add tags for additional personalization.  This service also includes free, unlimited image hosting although you may remove the MailChimp logo if you choose.  However, keeping it entitles you to free incentives such as affiliate rewards and credits toward your monthly fee.

MailChimp fits in.

The user-friendly nature of this service makes it almost as irresistible as its mascot.  There’s a free MailChimp API (application programming interface) that connects your website to its platform and integrates itself with your other favorite apps, plug-ins, and systems.

Online retailers: use MailChimp to optimize the use of e-commerce systems.

Bloggers: take advantage of MailChimp’s WordPress and TypePad plug-ins.

A social creature, MailChimp is ready and willing to integrate into your social-networks.  The latest version contains an advanced social-media integration tool that allows you to launch and share your campaign across Facebook, Twitter, Digg and LinkedIn.  And take MailChimp wherever you go with an app for iPhone, Android, and other smartphone technology.

MailChimp keeps you posted.

Managing contacts is a breeze; just upload your contacts from Excel, CSV, Salesforce.com, or Highrise.  If you like to create focused, relevant and engaging campaigns, MailChimp provides a host of audience segmentation options including location, purchase activity, and other social stats that make you look like a marketing-genius.  It also inserts an unsubscribe button in your message to keep your email messages CAN-SPAM compliant.

MailChimp provides reports for tracking click-throughs, sent E-mails, bounces, etc.  These reports can be exported to Excel, CSV files or be sent to Google Analytics.  In addition, MailChimp can perform A/B testing with your email campaign to figure out what’s the best configuration and how to use it.

MailChimp is Free.

For lists below 500 subscribers, MailChimp is completely free.  If you wish to sign-up for a premium account, the fee is based on the number of contacts and monthly E-mails sent.

If you are a recurring visitor to our site, you know that free is something that we love here at Web Chique Marketing.  Our goal is to optimize marketing outreach for our clients and these types of free services help us provide quality customer assistance.  So before you stress over your next marketing campaign using Outlook or another routine service, please contact us and we’ll introduce you to MailChimp.