In essence, the transformation from customer to community develops through understanding the common interests of your costumers, then creating content—news, informational tips, applications, video or audio files, etc.—tailored to those interests. Useful content makes both you and your company relevant and trustworthy.

Once you’ve created your content, don’t bother waiting around for your community to find it. Use media channels, blogs, community toolbars, and social networks to bring it directly to them where they congregate with like-minded people. Useful community-building sites:

• Create a branded social network on Ning.

• Simultaneously update all of your social networks on Ping.fm.

• Encourage your community to spread the word using ShareThis and Digg.

According to Enquiro, which conducted the survey, “The test readers’ intent to purchase a particular brand, a key success indicator, is lifted by 24% with relevant ads. But a non-relevant placement leads to a 12% drop in purchasing intent for that brand – meaning a non-relevant placement can actually hurt the advertiser’s bottom line.”

The study also revealed that users are more likely to recall the details of the message of a contextually relevant ad as opposed to a non-relevant ad. Contextually relevent ads also showed a greater intent to purchase. For more information, download Enquiro’s whitepaper Display Advertising – Does Contextual Relevancy Make a Difference?

Establish creditability with your audience by using an online quiz to demonstrate that you have expertise that others may not have, all while building your email list. Offering a topic-specific quiz is an effective means of attracting your target audience and adding those valuable names to your list. Curious quiz-takers look forward to their results and may not mind offering their email addresses to receive them. Providing top-notch content in this much-anticipated email will encourage your audience to click the ‘forward’ button and provide more opportunities for your company.

The Capitol Times made the switch from print to online last year. The switch is reportedly expected to save the news organization in between $3.5 million to $4 million this year. The online paper emphasizes local news, obituaries, and high-school sports.

The Capitol Times is not alone. Other papers recently making the move to the Web include The Cincinnati Post—distributed in Northern Kentucky as The Kentucky Post—and the The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. While other major newspapers continue to cut staff and freeze pay, some are paving the way to what may be a more economical solution to the problems of print.

As with many internet sensations, the online quiz has opened yet another marketing avenue to reach this ever increasing audience. A successful online quiz balances advertising with entertainment, brings exposure to your brand, traffic to your site, builds your email list, and may even gather useful statistics at the same time. The New York Times recently ran an article highlighting the online quiz sensation RealAge.

According to the article, the RealAge quiz, which was made popular by a mention on the Oprah Winfrey Show, has been completed by more than 27 million people. The quiz collects data from nearly 150 questions on family history and lifestyle, then computes the user’s “real age” and gives participants an opportunity to become members of the site. Nine million people have opted-in, and now receive email newsletters targeted at their potential health risks, along with advertising for relevant pharmaceutical products.

Though critics are concerned with the sensitive nature of the medical information shared, and the lack of an official diagnosis, the RealAge quiz demonstrates the far reach of the internet. When used responsibly, online quizzes can benefit advertisers and consumers alike.

Social media campaigns are predicted to grow in the coming years despite recession budget cuts.

Even with the economic downturn, marketers plan to increase monies spent on social media advertising campaigns.  According to the recently released Forrester Reasearch US Interactive Marketing Forecast, social media is set to see a compound annual growth rate of 34 percent over the next seven years.  This tops the list of key online advertising channels predicted to experience growth over the same period.

The growth amounts to an estimated $2.35 billion spent on social network advertising campaigns worldwide in 2009 according to Emarketer.  Recent research conducted by the European Interactive Advertisers Association (EIAA) delivered similar findings.  According to the EIAA study, European advertisers are opting to invest in online campaigns over traditional media outlets.  All good news for social media sites, which provide a unique opportunity for users to spread the word about their favorite products and Web sites.

Despite the popularity of user-generated sites, advertisers remain hesitant. The fear of attaching their brands to unpredictable content leaves this market resource untapped. The sales potential makes the search for social media safe havens appealing to both marketers and site publishers. Once this up-and-coming media channel has been effectively balanced with editorial and vendor content, we may finally realize the full potential of this content-generation explosion.

The report, which was published by GlobalSpec, also found that while lead generation is of primary importance for many industrial marketers, lead quality takes precedence over lead quantity when it comes to distributing funds.  Fifty-three percent said they will “choose marketing programs that are measurable.”  While sixty-nine percent said they will “closely evaluate the performance of marketing programs and reduce or eliminate programs that don’t perform well.”

The survey revealed that three out of the top four marketing channels for generating quality leads are online.  The online sources industrial marketers are turning to most often are online directories/websites, e-mail marketing to house lists, and SEO. More than 60 percent of those polled said they are including each of these in their marketing strategy this year.

1. 65 percent of company respondents indicated that their use of online lead generation has increased in the last year, compared to 11 percent who reported a decrease.
2. The most widely perceived benefit of online lead generation is the ability to increase the prospect list and customer base, seen as a benefit by 73 percent of company respondents.
3. There is a continued trend towards decreased use of offline channels for generating consumer leads.
4. Quality of leads and return on investment are seen as the most important factors when assessing online lead generation campaigns.
5. The average proportion of lead generation budget which is spent online has increased to 61 percent from 53 percent in 2008.

Consumer reliance on online reviews is nothing new.  Opinion Research Corporation achieved similar results in a survey the company conducted last year.  Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported consulting online reviews, blogs and other sources of online customer feedback before purchasing a new product or service.  Eighty-three percent of consumers polled indicated that online product evaluations and reviews had at least some level of influence on their purchasing decisions.

The survey narrowed in on three critical stages in the purchase decision-making process at which respondents turned to online product or service reviews: when they begin their shopping research, when they are trying to decide between two or three products or services, and at the narrowing down stage to confirm that they are buying the right product or service. 

Still not convinced?  Check out Jennifer Laycock’s article at Search Engine Guide.