Digital Engagement : Internet Marketing That Captures Customers and Builds Intense Brand Loyalty

Traditional advertising is being left in the dust thanks to the revolution of social media. In the book Digital Engagement by Harden and Heyman a shift from traditional marketing to a new, creative, on-demand centered fusion of social interactions between existing and new customers is revealed. This revolution has led to the biggest advertising outreach and campaign since the beginning of marketing. The book begins with the importance of businesses being a part of the social media phenomenon. This technology trend includes networking avenues such as facebook, twitter, and youtube. The new focus of Internet Marketing is on social system sites, wikis, virtual worlds, text advertising, mobile video and blogs that, in this day and age, will make or break your business. Harden and Heyman go into great detail on the types of electronic advertising available to enhance businesses and the steps that need to be followed in order to keep up with the current and changing internet applications. The main focus of this type of digital engagement is the newly experienced power of the average customer and their ability to have all their needs satisfied from pull technologies. The customer now has the luxury of deciding when they want to shop, what type of products they want to browse, and no salesmen trying to make a sale. Customer service through the web has far succeeded that of any brick and mortar store over the past five years. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because the language the authors used made it an easy-to- follow, personable business book. Harden and Heyman presented the facts in an effective manner and gave short, to-the-point examples of the types of social medias affecting the business world today. The authors also gave the impertinent steps/procedures necessary in understanding, exploring, and even succeeding in the economic market. For example, they use the term Public Relations 2.0 to assist in explaining the logic behind businessmen and women turning away from traditional forms of communication. The primary explanation is described through the following criteria: Convenience - Consumers are able to get information at anytime, on any screen, and on any mobile or stationary device when they want it. Relevance - Consumers can choose the information most interesting or applicable to their research through search and filter systems. By using RSS feeds, users can obtain the latest updates in a matter of seconds. Depth - Consumers can use different functions to go as in-depth and detailed as necessary and searches to amass quantities of information. Although I could easily relate and comprehend the information through the simplistic formatting of the book, I would have preferred a more in-depth description and analysis, especially concerning the alternate resources available for further reference. The one area that Harden and Heyman discussed that really interested me was the section focused on viral videos. They gave tips on how to make a video go viral and successfully spread it across the web. The experts suggested making it short, avoiding outright ad formatting, making it shocking, and designing it for remixing. Though the section included valuable advice, I would have liked a bit more information on adapting the videos to a `company's' culture. Overall, Harden and Heyman expressed the effects of social media on today's marketing environment. They did a great job explaining the different terminologies associated with internet communication and successfully adapted the terminology to help in fully translate the impact this type of media is having on the business world. I will use the information from this book in every aspect of life, both personal and professional. I would recommend this book to people with and without business degrees wanting to learn more about web communication. The book, though overall beneficial, is a bit vague and general in some of its explanations. Harden and Heyman successfully inspire the reader and give them a new edge into the opening window of mass, global communication. Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 PART I: FUNDAMENTALS OF SUCCESS FOR DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT......Page 14 CHAPTER 1: Goals and Expectations......Page 16 Case Study: Kidzter.com: Launching into Kid Space......Page 38 CHAPTER 2: Making Over Your Website: Can You See Me Now?......Page 42 Case Study: Tommy Hilfiger USA: When a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Dollars......Page 55 CHAPTER 3: Your Domain Name: How Online Branding Works......Page 59 Special Section: Branding in China......Page 75 PART II: ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS......Page 78 CHAPTER 4: Search Engine Marketing: Optimize and Win......Page 80 Special Section: Legal Issues of Paid Search......Page 94 CHAPTER 5: Let’s Go Viral: Creating Buzz......Page 107 Case Study—Sega: Kick-Starting Virality with the Sega Rally RevoTM......Page 123 CHAPTER 6: Web Video: The New, New Thing......Page 125 Special Section: Here’s the Pitch: Best Practices from Team TubeMogul......Page 136 CHAPTER 7: Affiliate Marketing: The Automated Referral Network......Page 148 Special Section: Publisher Code of Conduct—Still a Good Idea......Page 158 CHAPTER 8: Public Relations 2.0: Moving Beyond the Traditional Media......Page 161 Case Study: Toyota’s Branding in the Blog Space Aims for Conversations, Not Conversions......Page 183 CHAPTER 9: Paid Media: Advertising Works Harder on the Web......Page 187 Case Study: Napster Returns......Page 200 CHAPTER 10: Metrics and Measurement: Direct Marketing on Steroids......Page 206 Special Section: Puzzling Out the Metrics of Engagement: An Interview with Dave Smith......Page 224 CHAPTER 11: New Marketing Channels: Virtual Worlds, Advergaming and Wireless Mobile Search......Page 228 Where Do You Go from Here?......Page 243 Digital Engagement Scorecard......Page 244 B......Page 246 C......Page 247 L......Page 248 Q......Page 249 T......Page 250 X......Page 251 C......Page 252 G......Page 253 M......Page 254 P......Page 255 T......Page 256 Z......Page 257 Leland Harden and Bob Heyman, online marketing pioneers and authors of the popular book Net Results, share their top tips to help marketers compete in this comprehensive digital marketing guide. In the current market, organizations face the very real challenge and necessity of engaging and appealing to their customers online. Digital Engagement teaches them how to do just that by introducing the best venues for online marketing and the latest and greatest digital marketing tools, including search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, social networking, virtual worlds, widgets, wikis, and emerging media. Marketers will learn how to: stop burning money on web advertising campaigns that don't deliver; tweak websites to improve conversions and traffic flow; master proven strategies for consumer-generated media; and generate buzz and improve brand recognition. Featuring case studies from companies like Toyota and Tommy Hilfiger as well as up-to-the-minute lists of key vendors for online marketing software, this is the only start-to-finish guide for navigating the newest and most effective online marketing tools. In an age of overwhelming Internet competition and rampant takeovers, marketers face the very real challenge of understanding how to engage customers online. Leland Harden and Bob Heyman, online marketing pioneers and authors of the popular book Net Results, team up again to teach marketers how to use search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and all of the Web 2.0 tools they need to compete in the digital marketplace. Filled with up-to-date information on the best venues for online marketing, as well as explanations of social networking, virtual worlds, widgets, wikis, and emerging media, Digital Engagement shows marketers how to: stop burning money on web advertising campaigns that don't deliver • tweak websites to improve conversions and traffic flow • master proven strategies for consumer-generated media to generate buzz and improve brand recognition Featuring case studies from companies like Toyota and Tommy Hilfiger as well as lists of key vendors for online marketing software, this is the only book that offers a truly comprehensive guide to all of the new online marketing tools. "In an age of overwhelming Internet competition, we all face the daunting challenge of understanding how to engage customers online. In Digital Engagement, online marketing pioneers Leland Harden and Bob Heyman team up to show you how to leverage search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and all of the Web 2.0 tools you need to compete in the digital marketplace."--BOOK JACKET Marketing in the digital age just got easier. Two internet gurus show how to rule the world of web marketing with the new generation of Web 2.0.