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Staying relevant is Useful in the Online Traffic Formula
Trisha Frauenhofer
Those who grew up in the media saturated world of the '70s and '80s learned a lesson in marketing: "He who yells loudest gets heard". Unfortunately, it's a lesson that hasn't kept up with the times and the more media conscious nature of today's consumers. Nowadays, "He who yells loudest" is likely to be the source of derision.
What catches modern consumer's eye is an ever moving target, as the escalation and arms race between ways to insert ads, and the ways to avoid them continues. Television commercials are omnipresent - they used to be zipped past by viewers watching on their VCRs. Now, they're edited out completely by TiVo and DVRs. On the Internet, pop up ads can be easily blocked; more customers are abandoning hitting web sites because they can get the content delivered by RSS feeds without having to shut down pop over and pop under ads.
Like all things related to Web 2.0, the key is to trust your readers. Put in comments in forums, and let your readers review your products for you. Amazon broke new ground with this, and was quickly followed by eBay - and it's now a virtual requirement for any online vendor. Customers will trust the relevance of a review from another customer over any slick marketing pitch; slick marketing pitches, they've heard for years on end someone who's actually used the product and read the book? There's someone to listen to.
Conversely, on your marketing site - how do you handle the occasional negative commenter? The smart answer is to let them be. They're looking to get a rise out of you, to get a debate going and to generate traffic to the links they're posting. The old Usenet adage still applies: Don't Feed Trolls which is key part of your online traffic formula.
That isn't to say that you shouldn't read negative posts. Negative posts are a filter. They're being put up by someone who cares enough about your message to tell you what didn't work about it for them. If you make or design a product, this is the most valuable feedback you can get. Remember not to attack back - just thank them for their input, and if you can, offer a few suggestions, in the form of "In the interests of making this work for you, how do you feel about options A or B?"
Another thing not to do is scream for attention. Kids have fits to get attention, but it is negative attention. Don't throw a fit. It has been proven that the more aggressive you get, the more the consumer distances themselves. Start connecting with your audience. Keep your attention positive. There are many rewards to being relevant. That is what consumers want and need.
Let's look at two sites that do a good job of maintaining relevance and a customer commitment, Amazon and Google. With Amazon, they track what you last purchased and, based on what other people who've purchased similar things have bought, can make recommendations. Some people get terrified about having their purchase data tracked, but it's one of Amazon's major breadwinners.
In Amazon's system, let's take books for an example. When you pull up an item, they list other similar and relevant books relating to the keywords you typed. They also have what other consumers bought along with it and reviews. All these methods are successful in use with the online traffic formula.
Trisha Frauenhofer is an online marketing expert who loves teaching her most powerful online secrets including the Online Traffic Formula
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