Generating Votes & Election Support through Smart Internet Campaigns

We live in a Democracy, where "every vote counts". So, it seems obvious that with 250 + million internet users, politicians would be utilizing the plethora of internet marketing tools in their campaign management, and expansion of loyal voter base. If you are a politician, or a campaign manager, here are some simple steps you need to consider, prior to your next election:

• Create a website, as your online campaign headquarters.
• Generate an online support network (voters) through registration:
• Conduct offline campaigns directing consumers to your website, to receive updates on campaign specific interest(s).
• Create & distribute ad campaigns, linking ads to your registration page.
• Set up an affiliate network (online partners) to co-campaign/advertise for you. Groups that are stationed within your campaign area, have a local/ geo-targeted consumer base, and have similar political interests would be ideal. These campaign affiliates are extremely important as they will play an integral role in acquiring votes for future elections. Distribute your ads through your affiliates' online websites. You can even target specific consumer groups depending on the affiliate specifics.
• With the eventual goal of creating targeted voter email campaigns, ask your supporters about their individual political interests (through a brief survey)...

... What topic interests you the most?

• Local/ National Economy
• State/ Federal Unemployment
• International Business Relations
• Immigration laws
• Gay Rights & Marriage Equality

... Get basic demographic information - age, sex, ethnic origin (make this optional).

• Optimize your website content through composing & incorporating a list of "geo-targeted keywords" (content incorporating your consumer bases' political interests & location for better visibility)
• Utilize a mass emailing software; segment your voters and campaign affiliates into separate address books in order to run aggressive personalized campaigns.
• Set up pages on major Social Networks (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter) and keep fans involved in the issues that majority of your registered network appreciates.
• Create a YouTube page, and run advertising campaigns through YouTube. Optimize your YouTube videos with rich geo-targeted keyword content.

Begin Campaigning!, but don't forget to utilize the valuable consumer data you have collected.

Internet Marketing specialist, Rohit Barman, president of DPS America insists that "political officers and campaign managers MUST get acquainted with internet marketing, as it allows them to acquire valuable data on voter interests, segment it seamlessly with the help of automated email registration software(s), and run aggressive campaigns targeting voters with interests that effect them the most. Tapping a voter's core nerve will create enough excitement to get them out on Election Day."

By Kevin Haggerty

"DPS' 2.5 hour interactive training, Digital Promotions Strategy, beginning in January and based in New York City, is the first of its kind to incorporate the entire spectrum of creating, engaging & expanding an online network. Extracted from the internet's scientific principles, the live seminar(s) will provide celebrity agents the knowledge, structure, and tools to track consumer/ fan behavior & campaign effectiveness - an internet marketing strategy that will give agents the confidence to manage their public relations campaigns more effectively than ever before."

Social Media, a gold mine for Celebrity Agent’s PR Management

As a Celebrity Agent, there is no marketing channel friendlier than social media marketing, which allows one to create, develop, and channel a consistent PR (public relations) campaign for a comprehensive fan base. Here are some reasons:

• Distribution of Campaigns - To effectively endorse the public relations identity of a celebrity, it is necessary to build a fan & campaign distribution base within the gossip-friendly realms of "social networks". Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, allow the traditional "word of mouth" to travel faster than ever before. A primary feature is the instantaneous contact with everyone in an established fan base. So, if a celebrity was planning to attend a premiere event like the opening of a new nightclub, an agent could easily geo-target their campaign my emailing the appropriate fan base to increase attendance.
• Public Relations & Community Outreach - Social Network Marketing is also useful in promoting a celebrity's charitable contributions, while increasing the popularity of their committed event(s). With simple one line "posts" or "tweets", a celebrity agent can notify fans about the initiative, with details for physical and monetary support.
• Celebrity "Face Exposure"- The rapid upsurge or Media Marketing creates a prominent channel for public relations management & campaign exposure. YouTube, the renowned media marketing giant, acquired by the mega-marketing internet search engine, Google, has contributed much to this internet marketing growth. YouTube is the 4th most visited website on the internet, and it allows celebrity agents the ability to create accounts, post videos, add search friendly tags, and communicate with fan base through a chat sequence similar to the likes of internet forums. With Media Marketing, you can create a public celebrity portfolio that creates, retains, and expands a fan base more effectively than ever before.

Internet Marketing specialist, Rohit Barman, president of DPS America suggests that celebrity agents get acquainted with social media marketing as it allows them to be the "speaker of their celebrity's house".

By Kevin Haggerty

"DPS' 2.5 hour interactive training, Digital Promotions Strategy, beginning in January and based in New York City, is the first of its kind to incorporate the entire spectrum of creating, engaging & expanding an online network. Extracted from the internet's scientific principles, the live seminar(s) will provide celebrity agents the knowledge, structure, and tools to track consumer/ fan behavior & campaign effectiveness - an internet marketing strategy that will give agents the confidence to manage their public relations campaigns more effectively than ever before."

Google’s stepchild, YouTube, has the most social media marketing potential… experts say

Businesses & consumers have begun to embrace online videos in recent months more than ever before, with viewers reaching 168 million in September. And with the online video surge, arrives a distinct business investment splurge on video advertising. The research firm e-Marketer projects a 35 to 45% growth in online video advertising for each of the next five years.

YouTube, the renowned media marketing giant, acquired by the mega-marketing internet search engine, Google, has contributed much to this evolution. How?

• Posting a YouTube video incurs a $0 investment. As a business marketer, you can align your promotion with your company marketing budget to create the appropriate video advertisement. Some techniques include: infomercials, presentations, trainings, testimonials, property tours, and video blogs.
• YouTube's "feedback analysis" tools persistently co-developed by the technical brilliance of Google, allows automated consumer behavioral analysis for businesses to target their internet marketing investments. YouTube & Google technicians are also testing the ability to add video captions to all online videos, allowing businesses to search engine optimize their video posts using the familiar techniques utilized by businesses to attract users to their online portfolio(s) & network(s).
• YouTube accounts for 40% of all online video views. It is essential for businesses to identify their target consumer, grab their attention, elicit reaction, and escort them to take action. And unlike TV advertising, this does not necessarily call for professional production(s).

Internet Marketing specialist, Rohit Barman President of DPS America boldly claims that, "YouTube is the stepchild of social media marketing, with significantly more marketing potential than his sister social media networks".

By Bruce Lacey

"A 2.5 hour interactive training, Digital Promotions Strategy, beginning in January and based in New York City, is the first of its kind to incorporate the entire spectrum of creating, engaging & expanding a business' online network. Extracted from online scientific principles, the live seminar will provide business professionals the knowledge, structure, and tools to track consumer behavior & campaign effectiveness - an internet marketing strategy that will give attendees the confidence to manage their online marketing in-house.

The seminar follows the life cycle of creating a convincing online presence, while identifying the key components of branding, drawing an audience to a firm's online portal, engaging an established network through viral promotions, and expanding consumer base through extensive internet marketing campaigns."

Video Advertising cuts her own umbilical cord to hit Jackpot

It is the child of television and internet marketing, but surpasses either parent in ways that are sometimes surprising. Welcome to Video Advertising.

According to Comscore, 140 + American consumers tuned to "online videos" in 2009, multiplying the consumer base by 700 %. Average monthly consumption rose from 6 to10 hours, with more than 26 billion views on a given month. The facts about growing usage actually understate the promise of online video advertising.

	Television Advertising	Online Video Advertising
Brand Awareness	54% brand awareness	82 % brand awareness
Brand Recall	19 % brand recall	77 % brand recall
Consumer Purchase Intent	Consumers fast-forward advertisement (DVR) or go on snack/ restroom break.	40 - 55% consumers watch complete video promotion

So, what does this mean for Businesses & Internet Marketing?

According to video marketing expert, Bob Clarke, "it is very difficult to establish trust through written words. People will trust you more if they have a face and voice to associate with your name." While this new marketing channel shows greater promise for consumer purchase, what unique attributes does online video advertising reveal?

• Online video ads are short and mandatory. Some videos allow fast-forwarding promotions post 10 seconds, allowing a business to create a basic brand imprint within the consumer's brain.
• Video advertising allows immediate, "call to action" such as "click here to receive 20% off your next purchase".
• The advent of internet marketing has created a whole new realm of targeted consumer behavior analysis & advertising, which allows businesses the ability capture demographic data and cater their promotions to specific consumer groups.
• Social Media Marketing in tangent with Video Advertising takes brand exposure to a whole new level. The "click here to post video on profile" transformed the traditional "word of mouth" in ways that words cannot express.

Research firm e-Marketer projects 35 to 45 percent growth for online video advertising for each of the next five years. This simply means that businesses have a brand new internet marketing channel that they must consider in their upcoming budgets.

By Bruce Lacey

"A 2.5 hour interactive training, Digital Promotions Strategy, beginning in January and based in New York City, is the first of its kind to incorporate the entire spectrum of creating, engaging & expanding a business' online network. Extracted from online scientific principles, the live seminar will provide business professionals the knowledge, structure, and tools to track consumer behavior & campaign effectiveness - an internet marketing strategy that will give attendees the confidence to manage their online marketing in-house.

The seminar follows the life cycle of creating a convincing online presence, while identifying the key components of branding, drawing an audience to a firm's online portal, engaging an established network through viral promotions, and expanding consumer base through extensive internet marketing campaigns."

A BPO insider addresses risk management in business outsourcing

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) can easily come off as a complex industry full of used car salesmen types. However, there is no doubt that American businesses are reaping the benefits associated with outsourcing. I had the opportunity to recently interview, Rohit Barman, consultant for 30 year old BPO service provider, DPS Technologies, who outlined some key outsourcing know-how's for any business considering the offshore advantage.

Barman is the president of DPS America, and a 2nd generation BPO agent. His experience includes setting up a HIPAA compliant KPO- centric customer support facility for a Medicare Part D program catering to 70,000 beneficiaries, establishing a BPO-centric 24/7 medical emergency response service, and founding a NY based internet marketing solutions provider with an offshore facility in Kolkata, India.

Q: Describe the role of the "middle man" in business process outsourcing. What makes an executive at a BPO vendor fit this description?

A: A "middle man" is traditionally an outsourcing agent, usually lives in the United States, and is of the same ethnic background of the BPO vendor.

Q: Which BPO services do you recommend outsourcing? and which ones would you say no to?

A: It really depends on the country you are outsourcing to.

When it comes to IT software, internet marketing, and data entry work, India is clearly the offshore leader.

For customer support efficiencies (cell centers), the Philippines has pretty incredible results. Their spoken English skills are comparable, if not better than most Americans.

For hardware support, I would recommend China or Taiwan.

I would not recommend outsourcing art direction, writing/ editing, telemarketing, or any service that requires higher level familiarity with our local culture & communication.

Q: Fraud is an unfortunate side effect of any business, and the complexity of a BPO service certainly opens the door for various types of scams. Have you ever seen an outsourcing executive resort to a pricing scam like bait-and-switch, hidden fees, or false billing?

A: Being a 2nd generation BPO middle men, I have grown up in the outsourcing world. I've worked as a BPO vendor, BPO buyer, and a BPO middle man. In my experience, I have witnessed pricing scams, but I've actively stayed clear from affiliating myself with such businesses. BPO executives are no different than executives of US firms. You should not sign a deal, till you are comfortable with your research & analyzed your risk.

Q: Have you ever witnessed a BPO executive exaggerate what they can deliver in order to make a sale, or charge higher rates?

A: Of-course, the good news is that I'm familiar with global BPO rates & service standards, and utilize my familiarity to negotiate pricing.

Q: How can a company be on guard for these types of unethical practices, ensuring that the value they get from outsourcing is real? What can a BPO buyer do to ensure transparency, reliability, and data security in their deal with an offshore vendor?

A: Business should not underestimate the amount of research and background checks you have to do when selecting an outsourcing vendor, even if they were recommended to you. Some imperative research includes asking yourself...

• Who is the middle man/ agent? - look up records for felony, fraud, and other potential misdemeanors in the United States. There are several BPO middle men in the United States who have settled law suits out of court, and have paid their way back into building a business reputation. Ignoring such an important red flag is no different than getting married to a heroin addict - your partnership is doomed.
• Look up the BPO production facility to see how long they have been around? Ask for local references, and verify them.
• Don't fall victim to the "yes, we can do everything spiel. I've heard it a million times.

Q: Is it possible to settle on a performance scale that uses accepted methods?

A: Buyers should always set up a quality management system in-house. If you open this up to the BPO vendor, you risk being exposed to improper reporting. Conduct monthly reviews based on quantitative reasoning.

Q: While there are always a few of the proverbial "bad apples" in every industry, what has been your overall experience working with BPO companies?

A: A good outsourcing partnership could be a lifelong marriage. If trust & efficiency can be established within the first 6 months to a year, the BPO vendor & business buyer will experience significantly stronger ROI & customer service satisfaction.

By Joseph Unander

Could the evolution of outsourcing be the fastest global development in history?

In a recent interview, the CEO of a major BPO company, WIPRO, said, "As a young industry, business process outsourcing has seen significant change in the market, both from buyer and supplier perspectives."

How significant is this change?

Traditional outsourcing tackled poor communication with pricey phone calls and expensive business trips. But, over the last decade, internet communications has made it fairly easy for local businesses to setup their offshore support, adhering to textbook communication standards. Free software(s) like "Skype" enable businesses to be in constant contact with their BPO units. Skype allows instant messaging & virtual conferencing with voice and video efficiencies. It has become such an outsourcing fad, that GN Netcom, the largest headset provider estimated that the "2009 global market for headsets is worth $2.5 billion and is growing rapidly at 17 % per year."

Over the last decade, American businesses developed a familiarity with outsourcing. While cost used to be a principal factor in diving offshore, businesses became attentive to the liability it aligned itself to. Before long, the solution arrived...

... In an interview with Rohit Barman, president of DPS America, exclusive consulting hub for 30 year old BPO service, DPS Technologies, he said, "Currently, the ISO 9001-2000 certifies companies for better performance and quality. Simply, do not outsource to a BPO that isn't accredited."

While the two barriers in outsourcing were tackled aggressively, where is this global phenomenon heading?

... It's only been a few years since American Businesses supported "working from home" to reduce infrastructure costs. BPO vendors recently began evaluating this option as well. Raman Roy, CEO of outsourcing facility, Quattro Solutions, views this as "the next-generation step for the industry. It will create jobs for people who are educated but don't have travel flexibility."

In 2005, New York Times columnist & author of bestseller, "the World is Flat", said, "If you don't visit the bad neighborhoods, the bad neighborhoods are going to visit you." With the advent of seamless technology & support, globally accredited BPO models, and cost effective business remedies that mirror local service standards, Business Process Outsourcing is reinventing itself daily. The global neighborhoods have merged, company fences eradicated, and cubicles are being set up thousands of miles apart.

By Joseph Unander

Check mate on social media consumers with innovative marketing strategy

A September 2009 survey of 5,000 moms conducted by The Parenting Group reveals that while 60% of moms have used social media in the last 24 hours, they are four times more likely to purchase through direct referrals, than proposals through social networks."When it comes to influencing brand perception and purchase decisions, the data shows that social media still has a long way to go," said Stephanie Molnar, Work Place Media. "Most of our meaningful recommendations continue to be old-fashioned, word of mouth recommendations from friends, co-workers, and/or family."

While consumer analysis seems to challenge the effectiveness of social media in internet marketing, businesses continue to invest in this tool, reporting significant gains.

In April, Ford loaned 100 top bloggers their new Fiesta for six months, on one condition - they wrote about their experience driving the car. Comcast, the cable company, has invested in Twitter marketing for the last year, using this social media bigwig to supply their 28K+ consumer base with news updates, while collecting feedback & analyzing their behavior trends. Social media marketing has also been a success for Dell, which reported $3 million+ revenue from consumers who clicked through Dell's Tweets, funneling purchases.

While only a few businesses have demonstrated a clear ROI on their social media marketing efforts, it would be silly for most to ignore this latest trend -Facebook has 250+ million website users, while Twitter is up to 40 million consumers. As we approach 2010, social media marketing has proved to be a tremendous asset to businesses who utilize offline promotions to offset internet marketing campaigns, engage consumer audience through service expectations, and create strong business strategy that delivers immediate consumer purchases.

By Kimberly Stanley

Small Business owners weigh in on ROI in Banner Ads

In 2010, small businesses will use fewer banner ads in their internet marketing campaigns according to a survey conducted by Vertical Response. The survey, that talked to 831 small business owners (632 with a staff less than 10), indicates that 54.2% do not plan to use internet marketing budgets for banner advertising. However, 68.4% do plan to increase social media marketing efforts, and a whopping 96.2% plan to use e-mail marketing. Nearly one quarter (23.8%) felt that Internet Marketing "...was the tool most needed for small business to succeed in 2010."

Small Businesses can only model themselves after the extensive2009 internet marketing campaigns & consumer purchasing data conducted by the bigger names.

The Daily Beast, news reporting website has started to integrate banner ads within the website content."Banners are small and standard, and have been in exactly the same place for so many years it's an easy user behavior to ignore them," said Caroline Marks, GM, "We felt the need to challenge the existing product set and look for new products to help advertisers leverage the benefits of interactivity."

Digg, ratings website, now permits consumers the ability to "digg" banner ads in the same way they "digg" other website content. Chas Edwards, the chief revenue officer says, "We need to find ways for brands to borrow the grammar of the user experience."

Meebo, the chat website, uses custom banner ads - the ads start out as the traditional 728 x 90 size, but then expand to 900 x 400 when a user clicks on it. "With the Web awash in ad impressions, there's a need to stand out in the market," said Martin Green, CIO.

Despite the belied by small business owners that banner ads are ineffective, website consumers seem to disagree. A May 2009 survey of 1575 users, commissioned by iProspect, showed that a significant number DO notice banner ads, even if they do not click them. Almost half of them (49%) said that they eventually search for a product or service that they saw advertised, and 38% go to a related website after performing the search. Reports like this show that small businesses need to put more thought into their banner ads. It is imperative that getting creative with banner location within website content, using more appealing graphics, and a thorough analysis of consumer trends will clearly optimize banner ad investments.

By Kimberly Stanley