Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe’s new cloud computing service
It’s finally happened; Adobe has jumped on the cloud-computing craze that has taken over the cyberworld! For the price of $50 per month, you can access the Adobe Creative Cloud. Similar to Dropbox, Adobe has created cloud services where users can “explore, create, publish, and share their work.”
Personally, I think adding cloud computing services to their brand will make Adobe a more valuable player among their competition. Cloud services are hot in many industries and being utilized across the enterprise. From technical writing to online security services and tech junkies, the cloud can be used by anyone for anything!
Do you think Adobe’s transition to the creative cloud will help to make the brand more marketable? Will you be using their creative cloud services? Comment below and tell us your thoughts!
Despite what industry you may be in, generating content is crucial to maintaining interest in your company or brand. An article I found on Technorati called “What’s the Point of Content Generation?” delves into the issue of companies creating content solely to push out a product or self-promote. I’m not saying self-promotion is bad; in any industry we have to make ourselves marketable to win over the job, a new client, a pitch, etc. However, when generating content on behalf of a brand, your readers shouldn’t be turned off by your posts, but rather want to take an action (for example, follow you on Twitter, read your blogs, or comment on your content).
From technical communications to regulatory writing to public relations and back, generating unique and individualized content is key to drawing in an audience. Give your readers a little snippet of intellectual goodness and keep them coming back for more. Don’t forget, next time you seek out to generate new content on behalf of your business or brand, it’s not about promoting a product but becoming the knowledgeable and interesting read that’s bookmarked in the “favorites” section.
Everyone is tightening their belts in business. CEOs and shareholders want more done with less, and when it comes to eCommerce and Web marketing, there are few exceptions. Business is all about catering to the customers, so isn’t it important to know exactly who they are, what they are doing on your site, and how your competition is trying to woo them? If you answered with a resounding yes, then prepared to be amazed. There are a few tips and tricks you can start using today to get more people into your site and buying.
Using Data to Connect
Google Analyticsis a great free tool and if you aren’t already tracking web-traffic on your site, start here. Using Analytics, you can see the demographic breakdown of your visitors, where they go on your site, how long they stay, and these trends over time. Knowing all of these can help you to better know your customer and fix issues on your site. Know what parts of the website interest them and make sure they have many opportunities to connect with the company via a call to action and social media.The goal is to keep the conversation going and offer them something to keep you in mind.
If you’re trying to design your site, it’s important to make it easy for the customers to navigate around and start a conversation. So many companies lack a call to action. You’ll find that by prompting users to call, email, tweet or write to you, that you will covert more of them into sales. If you’re not sure how to organize you site, why not see what your competition is up to and go from there?
The best way to gauge you competition is with the great tool Spyfu. This amazing website will tell you who your competitors are, what keywords drive people to their site, how that compares with you and track your results over time. This marketing suite is the holy grail of web marketing and will help you to improve your SEO and raise sales all for a marginal cost. I’ve had many different marketers recommend the product and they all swear by it. The information already exists so it behooves you to use it. By combining these research tools, your website will be optimized to make that sales funnel bigger and raise revenue.
The article, “Why Are America’s Fastest Growing Companies Killing Their Blogs?” featured on B2C.com immediately caught my attention. As a Social Media Strategist for B2B businesses, the decline of corporate blogging is a topic that hits home. Why are America’s fastest growing companies discontinuing their blogs and what additional outlets are they using to connect with their consumers?
A study from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth shows that blogging from INC 500 companies has been steadily increasing among businesses and was even considered one of the most successful social media platforms just last year. However, with the rise of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, blogging may be falling off the social media radar.
Personally, I am a huge fan of Twitter because of the two-way communication that takes place between brand and consumer. Unlike blogging, Twitter enables its users to follow other users and directly connect through re-tweets, direct messaging and “trending” hashtags. Although blogging is an excellent way to become the thought leader of your industry by using a unique “voice”, unless you are revolutionizing the way you can connect with your target audience through blogging, it’s more of a one-way street. Yes, we all have those blogs we read on a daily basis and continue to come back to for more. But why? People trust the author of that particular blog that they read on a daily or weekly basis. They like what the author has to say and keep coming back for more. With a re-tweet here and a comment there, the mix of Twitter and blogging is a recipe for social media success.
In the end, there is no right or wrong answer if blogging is the greatest or worst way to stay connected to a brand. Rapidly growing companies may be killing their blogs because other social media platforms may be more effective communication methods. On the other hand, many companies are still blogging regularly and are being recognized as the thought leader in their industry because of their blogs. So what do you think? Are blogs on the decline or is this just the beginning of the blogosphere?
