CREATING YOUR DIGITAL
FUTURE
A S E N V I S I O N E D B Y L A R R Y S T O PA
PRESIDENT OF E-POWER MARKETING
E-POWER MARKETING
• Clients include eBay, 5-Hour Energy, Océ, International
Housewares Association
• Oshkosh Full-Service Search Engine Marketing Agency
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Search Engine Optimization
Pay Per Click Advertising
Social Media Marketing
Reputation Management
Local Search Marketing
Web Analytics
LARRY STOPA
• Founded E-Power Marketing in 1998
• 30+ years experience in marketing communications with a
specialty in technology
• Internet marketing since 1995
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
• Professor Lynch asked
• What I see in the future of Social Media
• What companies are looking for
• Change
• Absolutely guarantee Change
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
• Facebook or MySpace?
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May 2008, 5-Hour wanted to choose between MySpace or Facebook
User numbers about the same
E-Power recommended MySpace for demographics
Within one year, we adjusted the effort to Facebook
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
• Facebook and Twitter
• Unbelievable number of eyeballs
• Reminiscent of the Dot.com Bubble and collapse
• Eyeballs were important – not revenues, much less profit
• Start of Dot.com Bubble - Excite
• 1998 revenues $154 million – cash flow positive
• Bought by AT&T in 1999 for $6.7 billion – 44X revenues
• End of Dot.com Bubble - CDNow
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Largest selection of music titles, music sampling, reviews
1999 revenues $130 million - but not profitable
Spring 2000 could not guarantee continuing operations
Became part of Amazon
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
Facebook (not public, numbers are guesses)
• 2009: $777 million revenue; $100 million profit
• 2010: $2 billion revenues; $400 million profit
• 2011: $4.27 billion revenues
• $3.8 billion from advertising
• $470 million from Facebook Credits, a virtual-currency program that
lets users buy premium items and content in games (FarmVille,
CityVille, Lady Gaga buying FarmVille for a day)
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
Twitter (not public, numbers are guesses)
• 2010: $45 million revenues
• 2011: $150 million revenues
• Unknown if there is any profit
• Valuation of 100X revenue
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
LinkedIn (NYSE)
• Business Networking Community
• Personal Profiles or Résumés
• Company Profiles
• Groups
• 2011: $450 million revenues
• Little or no profit
• Highest Price-Revenue Ratio of Any Stock
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING
Groupon – Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell
• Prediction - Gone in about 2 years
• Business model is unsustainable
• Can’t hold retailers or customers
• High cost of customer acquisition
• Principles became rich on hype, not from profitable businesses
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Google “Starbelly Halo Brandon Apparel Group ”
Starbelly from “The Sneetches and Other Stories” by Dr. Seuss
Ha-Lo once large promotional company that bought Starbelly
Brandon Apparel Group of Columbus, Wis bought by founders of Groupon
“The checkered past of Groupon's chairman”
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/10/groupon-eric-lefkofsky/
• “Starbelly.com founders face flurry of lawsuits”
http://adage.com/article/news/starbelly-founders-face-flurry-lawsuits/56783/
VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO BUSINESS
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Interact with and engage target audiences
Gain market feedback
Build brand
Increase customer loyalty
Promotions
Increase online audience reach
Improve organic search visibility
WHAT DO COMPANIES SEEK IN SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING PROFESSIONALS?
• Companies still figuring out how to use Social Media
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Customers expect companies/brands to use Social Media
Want to ask questions and interact
Brands must manage online reputation
Loss of control is worrisome to executives
• Poor measurement of effectiveness and ROI impede further
investment
• Poor for Website traffic, sales and lead generation
• Good for Branding and Customer Loyalty
• Advertising on Facebook and LinkedIn look more fertile for
measurable ROI
• That is advertising, not Social Media Marketing
SKILLS TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR A CAREER
IN WEB MARKETING
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Marketing
Writing
Technology-savvy especially spreadsheets
Web development
People skills
Be the bridge between stakeholders
PEOPLE SKILLS
BRIDGE BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS
• Understand the jargon of each stakeholder
• Marketing
• IT
• Executives
• Understand the motivations and objectives of each stakeholder
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Management: ROI and Cost Control
IT: Control of systems and processes
Web developers: Cool design, slick features
Marketing: Brand lift, integration with other efforts
Sales: Increased sales
Legal: Privacy & terms of service
Site visitors: What do they want?
PROMPT CUSTOMER SERVICE
• Who are your customers?
• Your boss
• Everyone in the project
• Open lines of communication
• Reply to emails
• Return phone calls
• Show up on time for meetings
FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR WEB MARKETING
CAREERS
• Overall spending on Advertising is flat
• Exceptions are TV and online
• Spending on Interactive advertising is growing fast
• Online advertising expected to grow 56% between now and 2014
• By 2016, online spending will equal TV spending at about $77 billion
• SEO spending increased 43% this year
• Social Media: 80% of Internet users visit Social networks or
blogs
• Mobile is exploding
• Web
• Social Media
• Advertising
HOW DO YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE
OPPORTUNITIES?
• Educate yourself across disciplines
• Follow your passions
• Proactively seek out opportunities, even create your own
opportunities
• Network
• When you land a job
• Be on the Ball!
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Thoroughly think through every detail
Be creative with your resources
Take assignments to the next level to exceed expectations
Promptly reply to messages
SUMMARY
• Prepare for change in any career
• Hope you pick the right changes
• Social communities can grow or lose popularity with little warning
• Social media offers powerful interactive marketing
opportunities
• Prepare yourself with skills across disciplines
• Always conduct yourself as a solid professional and you are
more than halfway there to success