No more cookie-cutter Facebook pages

Facebook Pages are pretty pedestrian, so here's how to differentiate yourself.

Add Static FBML to your Page

Add the app Static FMBL to your Page. This lets you build custom Pages with layouts created in CSS/HTML, or by using Facebook’s proprietary FBML (Facebook Markup Language).

It's still a bit rough round the edges, but here's one I knocked up this week for Tasplan's Super straight up campaign.

Bring it to life

Embed video, display images, add links - go to town. Of course, there are some limitations, but most seem to have workarounds (Google it).

Make it your splash page

Go to Edit Page > Edit Wall. Then set 'Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else' to your new Static FBML Page.

If you have a Page, I'd say it's a good time to think about stepping it up, cause cookie-cutter Pages are a bit lame - not a good look!

Search engine optimisation - page elements

61% of clicks go to organic search results (as opposed to paid), and people use your brand's search ranking as an indicator of it's credibility.

Of course, search has become ultra specialised (128+ variables in Google algorithm), so sometimes you'll need help. But, if you call yourself a marketer, you really need to understand first principals - your entire digital strategy should be founded on it. So here's the basics.

HTML tags and stuff

Basic HTML is easy, and will get you 90% of the way there - so don't be put off. Here's some simple checklists for structuring your approach and making sure the web developers get it right (click image to enlarge).

Title tag First inside the HEAD tag 6 - 12 words 62-70 characters Keywords towards the beginning No repeated words Unique for every page Should make sense to a human	Description tag 2nd in the HEAD tag 12 - 24 words Include all words in the Title tag Insert keywords towards the beginning Complete sentences Repeat words a maximum of 2 times Unique for every page Make sense to a human
Keywords tag 3rd in the HEAD tag 24 - 48 words Use phrases (non-repeated, longest first) Initial cap each word (i.e. "Digital Marketing") Separate phrases with commas Repeat any word a max of 4 times Unique for every page Make sense to a human Include words in Title and Description	Headings (H1, H2) Appear throughout body Contain Keyword phrases Repeat no complete phrases Styles should be CSS-controlled Read like headline with 2 - 4 words Relevant to text below Only 2 levels (H2 and H2)
Image ALT tag 1 word for each 16 x 40 pixel block 1 - 12 words Describe the image / any words it contains Unique for each image Include Keywords	Links Use throughout body Use Keywords in the URL Internal format (i.e. "/linkedPage") Fully qualified in sitemap No more than 100 links / page Use Keywords in anchor text Use keywords from target page in text around the link Make sense to a human

More on keywords

Take every opportunity to use Keywords effectively throughout your website. Try to maximise the following metrics - generally the higher / bigger / clearer the better:

• Density - How much of the page's text is made up of Keywords
• Frequency - How often Keywords are used on a page
• Distribution - The placement of Keywords (linear / even distribution is best)
• Intent - Develop strong themes in your site, and surround Keywords with copy that provides clarification, meaning and context

Body text

The first 200 words on a page set the context of the page and are critical for supporting the other SEO elements mentioned above. Don't waste them - get straight to the point! 

And don't forget, normal web copywriting rules still apply.

• Use Keywords from Title, Description, H1, H2, ALTs, Links etc - they need to filter consistently through all levels
• 250 - 500 words per page
• Distribute Keywords richly and evenly throughout
• Contain important Keywords from Title, Description, and Keywords tags
• Make sense to a human
• Clean, well-formatted code - make it easy for the search engine spider
• Use separate CSS files - brings content higher up on page

That's enough to dramatically improve your search performance. More to come!

The science of creativity

I'm no copywriter, but I love the idea of it, and have big respect for the artform.

If you're not an innately creative person, can you still train yourself to become one? Is it like learning a skill, or getting fit - brief by brief? I like to think so.

So anyway, here's part 1 an investigation into activiting your own creativity, maximising its productivity, and focusing its output in marketing and business.

Brainstorming / jam sessions

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique used to generate a large quantity of ideas geared towards addressing a specific problem / opportunity.

• Clearly define the problem / opportunity - ensure everyone understands, and segment it into manageable parts if necessary
• Begin with obvious ideas, and move to the extreme - crazy is good
• Crank out as many as you possibly can - quantity is the key
• Combine and improve ideas 
• Keep the discussion lively - use leading questions, say something weird, whatever it takes
• Nothing is wrong - EVERY idea is whiteboarded and accepted

Lateral thinking

Lateral thinking is a creative technique for encouraging reasoning that's not immediately obvious, and ideas that may not be obtainable using traditional step-by-step logic or existing paradigms.

It's about finding a solution to problems through an indirect approach and disrupting the conventional thinking patterns used by the brain.

"Lateral thinking is used for changing concepts and perceptions instead of trying harder with the same concepts and perceptions" - Edward de Bono, leading authority in creative thinking and the teaching of thinking as a skill

Idea generating tools used to aid lateral thinking include:

• Random Entry Idea Generating Tool - Choose an object at random, or a noun from a dictionary, and associate that with the area you are thinking about.
• Provocation Idea Generating Tool - Choose to use any of the provocation techniques - wishful thinking, exaggeration, reversal, escape, or arising. Create a list of provocations and then use the most outlandish ones to move your thinking forward to new ideas.
• Challenge Idea Generating Tool - A tool which is designed to ask the question 'why' - why something exists, why it is done the way it is etc. The result is a very clear understanding of 'why', which naturally leads to fresh ideas.
• Concept Fan Idea Generating Tool - Ideas carry out concepts. This tool systematically expands the range and number of concepts in order to end up with a very broad range of ideas to consider

"The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place" - Albert Einstein

Problem reversal

In his book "What a Great Idea", Charles Thompson suggests that a concept or idea is meaningless without its opposite, and that the only way to truly understand is to learn from positives as well as from negatives.

Problem reversal method is based around looking at a problem / opportunity from a radically different point of view, leading to completely new and unexpected solutions. Here's how it's done:

1. Make the statement negative
For example, if you are dealing with customer service issues, list all the ways you could make customer service bad.

2. Do what everybody else doesn't
For example, Apple Computers did what IBM didn't, while Japan made small, fuel-efficient cars.

3. Ask 'what if?'
Make a list of pairs of opposing actions which can be applied to the problem. Ask yourself "what if I ..." and plug in each one of the opposites. E.g. what if I...

• stretch it / shrink It
• freeze it / melt it
• personalise it / de-personalise it 
• build it / destroy it

4. Change the direction or location of your perspective
Physically change your perspective - walk around, do something different, or imagine you're in another country.

5. Flip-flop results
If you want to increase sales, think about decreasing them. What would you have to do?

6. Turn defeat into victory or victory into defeat
If something turns out bad, think about the positive aspects of the situation.

Closing thoughts

Apparently, by the time you're an adult, you've lost most of your capacity to be creative - maybe it gets stamped out of us at school, or maybe we just get scared of being wrong...who knows.

But creativity requires free-thinking, and the confidence to depart from society’s norms and values -  stuff that's not always fitting to the world we live in...

Food for thought - more to come!

Stuff I'm doing - 'Super straight up'

Here's ep 3 of a 5-part series I'm creating for super fund, Tasplan with mad-decent Hobart designer Juan Melara.



Follow the campaign on Facebook, YouTube and iTunes.

Bomber email marketing pt1

It's not fancy, but email works. Relationship, Viral, Direct Response, Cross-Channel etc, etc...email is multi-talented and super effective.

But remember, email relationships are built on value and trust, and poor execution can hurt your brand. So revisiting first principles is good insurance, and with that in mind, here's part 1 of my guide to bomber email marketing.

Be regular
Frequency is a balancing act between building mindshare and engagement and not pissing people off. Bi-weekly or monthly generally work best, but whichever you choose, consistency is the key.

Be on time
Good scheduling boosts open rates, and generally, these work well:

B2B - Weekdays Tue - Thurs Around 9:30am OR 1:30pm

B2C - Weekdays & weekends Tues - Fri @ 5pm - 8pm OR Fri evening - Sun afternoon

Deliver value
In this relationship email recipients have all the power, and winning them over means trading something of value - promotions, research, breaking news, good content, free stuff - whatever works.

Don't be a stranger
The #1 factor in recipients' decision to open email is whether the 'From' name is familiar to them. Use either your company name or the name of a person at your company - and once you choose one, keep it consistent.

Wrap it nicely
Create a subject line that a) will capture the interest of the recipient, b) won't trigger the spam filter and c) has consistent formatting.

• Between 20 and 50 characters - more and it might not display properly 
• Follow deliverability rules (see 'Reach your destination' below)
• Use 2 components (consistent part + variable part) - readers can easily recognise your email when it arrives, and get a taste of its content (Wotif do this well)

Get personal
Personalisation is straightforward using email marketing tools and web services, and will massively boost conversion:

• Segment your list and deliver tailored messaging to each group
• Use recipients' names with mail-merge fields (e.g. 'Dear [fname]')

Reach your destination
Around 70% - 80% of all email is classified as spam, and dodging spam filters is sometimes tricky. The science of deliverability can't be covered here, but this is a good start:

1. Write smart copy - rules of thumb are:

• Avoid using capitals and punctuation marks (quotations, dollar signs, exclamation marks etc) in your subject line 
• Avoid marketing hype or 'trigger words' in the body of emails ('free', 'earn money', 'act now', 'you're a winner' etc)
• Avoid offensive or contentious content ('bombs', 'guns' etc)

2. Get added to recipients' address books - Add a short explanatory message to the top of your emails:

3. Check out anti-spamming legislation - ADMA has a code of practice, but take-home points are:

• Don't use misleading header of subject information 
• Use a functioning return email address 
• Don't use generic email addresses like 'admin@' and 'info@'
• Add a clear 'Unsubscribe' link and remove all unsubscribe requests

Don't forget plain text
Include both a plain text and an HTML version of your newsletter. If you don’t, around 5% of your recipients will see a message with nothing in it. Email marketing tools (like MailChimp) make this easy.

Feed your list
Building a quality list of subscribers, prospects and customers is critical.

• We're all marketers here, so get creative in how you harvest contacts - but do it fair and square
• Collect the information you need to segment your list i.e. position, industry etc 

Respect yourself
If you value your company, brand and your own reputation, don’t spam - its bad news:

• Avoid unsolicited mail at all costs - it should always be opt-in
• Stay on topic - only deliver content the recipient signed up for 
• Add a permission reminder to the footer (below) - it's polite to explain to people why they're on your list / why you've contacted them 

• Give people choices wherever you can in how often they're contacted, and what for