August
16
2011
Much has been made the last few days about the similarity between Google+ and Facebook when it comes to user interface. Using special equipment, EyeTrackShop analyzed how individual users’ eyes bounced around the applications. The results indicate which areas on the web page get the most traffic and in what order the user navigates the page.
The results are telling. Both Facebook and the built-much-later Google+ share almost identical eye tracking patterns. While this may look bad for Google–unless it’s a coincidence–the results couldn’t be better for JumpSpark. Check out the visualization patterns and fixation patterns for Google+ and Facebook.
JumpSpark, an online digital content library application now allows team members to post content to Facebook walls. That means any digital content you share from JumpSpark will appear in Area 1 of the image below. Your eye will go around the page before arriving on the Sponsored Links (Advertisements).
So, would you rather use JumpSpark to get your impressions and clicks on the Wall, or would you rather waste your money buying Facebook advertisements that go overlooked in the number five spot on the page. There is prime real estate on the Facebook page. JumpSpark puts your marketing content front and center. See below. Sign up here and give it a try.
June
22
2010
Google rolled out its new feature, announced last week, that generates default backgrounds on what was once their infamous white homepage. The new option allows users to personalize search, giving you the option to put kids, pets or favorite landscape in the browser. Brilliant, right? Chances are you already use Google, but it’ll be more fun now that it has your cute little kiddos staring back at you. Well done, Google!
June
7
2010
Google has done it yet again! The ever-expanding site seems to be developing even further to reach a more diverse and broader range of consumers. Their new service launch makes Google more appealing to the website designer. Just a few days ago, the mega site launched the Google Font Dictionary and Google Font API to the public.
The two services work hand in hand in displaying and offering the code for various fonts available. These free fonts come from a wide range of typography designers and all fonts are considered to be open source. Their newest edition makes searching and utilizing various fonts for web design a breeze. Browse through numerous fonts, witness how they would look directly on your webpage and access the code on Google Font Dictionary. Google Font API then helps you add your font of choice to any web page.
Currently, there are numerous fonts that are left out of the dictionary, but Google appears to have plans to expand the dictionary on a constant basis. Surprisingly, the additions appear to be under the radar and have not received much publicity. Perhaps the newness factor and the services falling under the Google Code application make it easy for anyone to overlook or bypass.
Access the newest editions to Google here: http://code.google.com/apis/webfonts
May
28
2009
When we ask a client how long is their typical sales cycle we get the same replies. It’s six, nine or 12 months. Amazingly everyone experiences the same sales cycle. These folks may not be totally honest with themselves. In a down economy your sales cycles can stretch a month, two months or more depending on your industry, pipeline and go-to-market approach. If you get someone into the sales pipeline today, you’ll probably won’t realize any revenue from that opportunity until December or well into 2010. There are ways to cut weeks off your sales cycle.
Do a quick Google news search for articles about “longer sales cycles“? Once you get past the obvious holes in Google’s search algorithm you’ll see many, many companies are experiencing longer sales cycles. So what’s the answer? Get people into the sales pipeline earlier, craft messaging with surgical precession, and get into “better” conversations earlier in the relationship.
We’ve been doing direct marketing programs using interactive microsites to fill pipelines for years. These programs are great when the economy is booming. The value of getting customers into a discussion with your sales team is important, really important, now more than ever. In this economy it’s even more critical to stretch that marketing dollar by targeting and getting into conversations with great sales opportunities.
Our clients and prospects seem to consistently weigh a few specific marketing options with tight 2009 budgets. One is a focus on virtual events. They cut down on airfare, hotels, bar tabs, etc. Email can be hit or miss, but it’s cheap. Some are dipping their toes in the social media waters, which is not as cheap as you might think. Social media, if done haphazardly, can waste the time of some valuable in-house resources. Then there is our solution. We offer a hybrid direct mail slash personalized microsite that gives you the best of both worlds–targeted media like dimensional mail and variable messaging with behavior stats generated by a microsite. It’s a powerful one-two punch. It also trims time off the sales cycle by bringing quality discussions forward weeks.
We get it. Budgets are tight. Our clients get it too, which is why they are filling their sales pipelines with VLG’s Dialog Marketing campaigns. Don’t take our word for it. See for yourself.
