Mobile SEO

Due to inclement weather on November 30^th LA2M founder and CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing, Derek Mehraban stepped in to take the helm.  His expertise in digital marketing is well recognized by the business community and the many Michigan State students he has guided through the intricacies of the topic in his New Media Drivers License class.  He was named one of Crain’s Detroit 40 under 40, an award which honors the best and the brightest in Southeast Michigan who have made their mark on business before the age of 40.  His business, Ingenex Digital Marketing, works with a variety of companies assisting them with new media marketing strategies.  Mehraban shared some of his expertise with the LA2M audience on the topic of Mobile SEO.

Mehraban began his presentation by demonstrating his own personal Search Matrix.  His graphic showed his most significant areas of on line presence and how those are interconnected to media and social media sites.  In his example, Ingenex, LA2M and MSU were primary activities tied to blogs, Linkedin, Facebook, PR.com and more.  He is also planning on open sourcing his new book “The New Media Drivers License Resource Guide” which will be released in January.  Search Matrix creates a strong digital presence which can be an asset to an individual business person or a major company.

Tablets and other mobile devices are booming in popularity for a shopping and research.  Mehraban noted that recent figures show that 70% of US households use the internet for local information.  Mobile device searches are often location based so Mehraban advised businesses to take advantage of local free location based listings.  He explained that mobile websites need to be developed with a focus on keywords and Meta Tags used by Google and Bing since 82% of internet traffic begins with search engines.  He suggested that businesses can discover keywords by using Google search and observing auto complete.  Mobile sites can also be link and image optimized.

Mehraban emphasized that there is no substitute for good content on a mobile website.  Mobile sites must be designed with easy access to the information that a mobile user would need to find first.  The mobile interface and content need to be sticky or future search results could be affected.  Mehraban explained that location based apps like Four Square and Gowalla can be useful marketing tools for local businesses that claim their listings.  Regional businesses can make use of location based searches by creating mobile pages relating to their desired marketing locations.

The entire presentation can be viewed in the LA2M archive.  You can follow Derek Mehraban on Twitter at @Mehraban.  He can also be found on Facebook and Linkedin.    

15 Things You Didn't Know About Design

Ross Johnson of 3.7 Designs filled in at the last minute at LA2M on 11-2-11, but you would not have been able to tell based on his polished and informative presentation. Johnson is a Michigan entrepreneur, author and a website design and strategy talent. Based on his training and experience, Johnson used his presentation to give useful ideas and tips on graphic and web design.

Johnson began his talk entitled “15 Things You Didn’t Know About Design,” by explaining that design plays an important role in many aspects of our lives. He noted that there are important characteristics of design that can make or break its value to a business. A poorly designed website, for example, is considerably less useful to a business than one that is appealing and functions well. He said that it’s commonly believed that design is art. But from the perspective of a trained designer, design is more of a science, because it is based on predictable results from a target audience.

With that target audience in mind, his first of 15 points was that design is subjective. The designer and business need to focus on who the design is trying to attract not their personal preference. This point also ties in with the second of 15 which is that biologically we all see colors differently. Each brain works differently and so each person has a unique way of seeing things.

Johnson explained that human brains are wired to recognize faces. So point number three is that using faces in design is powerful. People will focus on faces and are drawn to eye contact and smiles. He said that a smiling face can create a connection with the viewer. Point number four is that people will follow a gaze in design. This can be a useful tool or it can create unintentional results, like directing the viewer’s focus off the page.

Johnson’s point number five was that design influences our senses and perceptions. It can affect taste and preference. He talked about a product taste test that involved varying containers and how that influenced participant’s preferences.

Points six and seven go hand in glove. Johnson noted that our initial reactions are subconscious or visceral. Our body reacts to images which we then mentally justify. Johnson’s point seven was that when we mentally justify our subconscious reaction, we can even reconstruct our memories. He said that memories are rarely accurate.

In explaining point eight, Johnson emphasized that everything in design should be intentional, because people look for meaning in everything. If there isn’t a reason behind something in design, viewers will create a reason.

In covering point nine, Johnson noted that all decisions are emotional and that without emotion people can’t make decisions. He cited a study of people with emotion specific brain injury that caused them to have great difficulty making decisions. He said that emotions need to be taken into account if taking action is the desired result of viewing a designed product or website.

Point number ten was an explanation of Hick’s Law which Johnson described as the more options there are, the harder it is to make a decision. He cited a product display study which offered as few as 6 and as many as 24 choices. The study found that with 24 choices only 3% purchased. But with 6 choices, 30% purchased. He said that this demonstrates how important it is to not overwhelm the viewer with too many choices.

With point number eleven Johnson used business cards and business forms as examples. He said that people assume that things and information placed in close proximity are related. So with a business card, it makes sense to put a person’s title by their name and the phone number near other contact information.

Johnson pointed out that we are programmed to notice things that are different. Point twelve, he explained, is that if you want people to notice something it must stand out from what surrounds it. Humans don’t like to have things catch their attention in a jarring way, but different is more effective. This ties in with point thirteen which Johnson said is we instinctively ignore what’s not immediately relevant. We don’t see street signs unless we need them and we don’t see banner ads if they look the same and are placed in the same position repeatedly. Humans notice change and differences.

In point fourteen, Johnson explained that humans understand information in “bite sizes” more easily. Applying this to web design might mean showing brief snippets with an option to click to learn more. He cited Twitter as an example.

Johnson pointed out that an esthetically pleasing design can be perceived as easier to use when it’s not. He used differences in ATMs and website designs to describe point fifteen. He said that esthetically pleasing design helps us relax, think better and solve problems more easily. He explained that a website or product that is beautiful is automatically perceived to be better and easier to use.

With all of these important points taken together, it’s clear that design needs to be planned and conscious. You can view Johnson’s entire presentation by checking the LA2M archive.

Trends in Social Media for Business

Summarizing the recent presentation at LA2M of Dave Linabury is very much like capturing lightening in a bottle.  Audience members were struggled to take notes fast enough.  This recap isn’t comprehensive because Linabury’s talk was so rapid and so wide ranging it would be difficult to cover everything. 

Linabury is Director of Interactive for Campbell-Ewald, one of the country’s leading advertising agencies.  He is considered one of the top minds in social media in the US.  His expertise was on full display as he galloped through over twenty topics.  Using the format “What’s Hot and What’s Not”, he covered everything from social music to games to blogging to streaming video.  While the title of the talk noted a focus on business, there were many topics of interest for the consumer as well.

He began his talk by addressing interactive music.  In the social music category he compared Pandora.com with Grooveshark.com.  Linabury said that the more mature Pandora is showing its age and the Groove Shark offers a better interface for the consumer and the musician, as well as an excellent music archive.  In music sharing, Linabury noted the virtual demise of Myspace.com and explained the advantages of Soundcloud.com.  For musicians, there are far more interactive possibilities with Sound Cloud.  As Linabury pointed out, MySpace isn’t viewed as relevant.  In the buying music category Linabury picked Spotify.com over Apple.com/itunes.  He explained that itunes has too many rules and that Spotify offers a broad range of convenient and useful functions without the rules.

When discussing shopping Linabury favored Heartsy.me over Etsy.com.  Both offer unique, artistic hand made goods, but Heartsy offers products at a discount.  In social gaming he suggested trying Cityville the urban version of Facebook’s Farmville.  He also liked Angry Birds Seasons over Angry Birds saying, “It’s just cooler”. 

Linabury also made recommendation for visual media.  He recommended Instagr.am over Flickr.com.  He explained that Instagram made it easy to share photos from almost any phone to any site.  He noted that Instagram offers a variety of photo filters that can be applied before publishing.  Linabury picked Boxee.tv over Netflix.com.  Boxee offers equipment for sale or it can be set up on any computer.  It offers streaming video from internet sources, an apps library, a social function and interactivity with your personal media library.  In social video, Linabury liked Spreecast.com better than Skype.com.  Spreecast is a social video platform that allows people to broadcast together.  He also suggested the video platform associated with Plus.google.com (Google+).

If you need a question answered, Linabury recommends you try Quora.com over Answers.yahoo.com.  Quora is a collaboration of experts, sort of a cache of research on a wide range of topics.  Yahoo Answers is more of a message board for public opinions on questions asked.  If you blog, Linabury suggested the micro blogging site Tumblr.com.  He said that it appears that Google is tiring of Blogger.com and isn’t putting much effort into updating the look or interface.  Tumblr allows for posting text, photos, quotes, links, music and videos.  Reposting is easy.  It’s like Twitter.com for bloggers: pithy, compact and lively.

For social group sites, Linabury picked Google+ over Facebook.com.  He liked Google+ for the ability to direct content to specific groups.  He noted that Facebook was forced to make changes with the introduction of Google+.  He also mentioned that Google+ isn’t available for businesses yet.  In the meantime, he believes that Facebook is one of the most effective social media marketing tools that businesses can use.

Linabury covered more topics than are included here.  For more on this fascinating presentation, view the video in the LA2M.org archive.  For more information on Dave Linabury, check out @davezilla, Davezilla.com, Davelinabury.com, Socialthreat.com, Linkedin.com/in/davezilla and Facebook.com/dave.linabury.     

Relationship Marketing: Owning Spot 1 in Their Mental Rolodex

Terry Bean is beyond a doubt one of the most high profile speakers LA2M has hosted.  He was graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a BS and MA.  He has been a business networking professional for over 15 years and is founder of Networked Inc.  He also started and is the driving force behind MotorCityConnect.com, an important Detroit area networking group.  He sits on the advisory boards of Operation Kid Equip and Empowermind.  Bean is also the recipient of the 2009 Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Obama.  He is a recently published author of a book on networking entitled “The Universal Guide to Business Networking”.  Bean is also an accomplished and well know public speaker.  His website TryBean.com offers more information on his background, activities, skills and services.

Bean’s message to the LA2M audience was simple: ask better questions in business and relationships and take time to listen to the answers.  He said that listening is a very underrated skill.  Quoting Stephen Covey is stated “Seek first to understand, then be understood.”  He noted that the better you listen and understand another business person, the more they will value that business relation.  It also offers an opportunity to learn if the other business person is a good referral contact.  Do they know someone who you would benefit from meeting?

Bean encouraged the audience members to plan their networking before attending an event.  He said to think in terms of what type of contact or referral would be helpful to your business and company goals.  Another thing he recommended was planning and practicing your “ask” before a networking event.  Business people need to be able to say how they can be helped.  He explained that people are programmed and want to help others.

Bean emphasized that the “ask” needs to be concise, simple, crisp and no more than 13 seconds like the Pledge of Allegiance.  He noted that Twitter has helped with focused communications.  He explained that it’s important to know your audience, rehearse your message and make it compelling, confident and fluid.  He said to specifically describe your ideal client in your “ask”.  Bean said “You don’t get 100% of whatever you don’t ask for.” 

Bean also said that your “ask” needs frequency through networking events, social media and SEO.  Other frequency tools are email, direct mail and phone calls.  Bean explained that an important result of networking is referral introductions.  He encouraged audience members to use relationships to leverage them for introductions and to share referrals as well.  He said to follow up to get closer to the new contact through a phone call or setting an introductory meeting.

In conclusion, Bean illustrated the changes in what businesses look for in a service provider.  1.0 We used to get paid for what we knew and could do.  2.0 Then it was not what you knew but who you knew.  2.5 After that it was who knew you.  3.0 now, it is how you are known.  He said always DWYSYWD (do what you said you would do) and always give back to your community. 

Fishing in Your Market

Daniel Walker of River’s End Consulting used his experience as an automotive R&D engineer and fishing analogies to explain and illustrate the types and benefits of market research at LA2M on 10-12-11.  He emphasized that good market research involves “asking the right person, the right question in the right way.  


When he consults with businesses, he asks why businesses do what they do and what problems they are trying to solve.  He said he uses an “open minded 4 year old mentality” to listen to companies and their customers.  The 3 types of market research he focused on were number gauge surveys, focus groups and individual interviews. 

He likened gauge surveys to fishing with dynamite.  He explained that the results are often too generic to be helpful.  He noted that gauge surveys can offer large volumes of data, but there are too many opportunities for error or misinterpretation.  


Walker compared focus groups to a small fish taking a worm off a hook but not taking the hook.  He said that focus groups can be hard to facilitate because some participants can dominate the discussion.  Walker said the benefit of using focus groups is that the process can yield good date because it is detailed.  


Walker views fly fishing and individual surveys as having some similarities.  With fly fishing, the person fishing focuses on one fish at a time.  With interviews, the data gathering is one customer at a time.  He noted that the questions should be specific but open ended to yet the most information.

He emphasized that no matter which process a company decides to use, the research must be carefully planned, with questions based on what the company needs to know.  The company doing the research needs to understand each methodology to get applicable and useful results.  He recommended that company research teams be made up of no more than 6 and include both internal and external individuals.  The research team members must be open minded and willing to learn. 

Walker stated that the customer is the best source of information for problem definition.  When companies know and understand customer problems, the solutions become obvious.  Obvious solutions lead to great products.  Great products sell better.  There is less stress, money and time in the development process and fewer failed projects.  He explained that the customer is the expert in the problem and the business can the expert in the solution. 

Walker recommended that businesses find a market research method that is perfect for their needs and then listen to the customer.  He explained that companied don’t exist, people do.  “We take care of human beings.  The more we know the better we serve them.” 

Mobile in the B2B World

David Proegler of Latitude Consulting Group illustrated the explosion in mobile web traffic and explained the current and future impact of mobile on B2B.  Proegler pointed to the I Phone as the device that changed everything for mobile.  


By making the user experience accessible for the average consumer, the I Phone drove the mobile smart device flood and the ensuing tidal wave of mobile web traffic.  According to Proegler, the I Phone created the expectation that access to information should be instant. 

Proegler noted that mobile devices in B2B are pervasive.  Based on research, he stated that over 50% of internet requests are from mobile smart devices.  Proegler used the example of traffic to www.mooreheadstate.edu as an example of the flood of mobile device internet usage.  


In a single year, mobile device traffic to that website increased 4000% and the number of OS increased from 3 to 15.  He explained that it’s not just students that expect full mobile access to information.  In the business setting, employees expect it as well.

Using the automotive sales context as an example Proegler called mobile device use “a new way to engage” for the sales person to be better able to meet the needs of the customer.  With instant access to model stats and inventory, the sales person would be more efficient in delivering information and sales.  He stated that all aspects of a car sales and service operation could benefit from mobile information access.

Proegler explained that there are generally four types of websites when analyzed in regard to mobile interface.  Those are: Mobile Failure, Mobile Focus, Mobile Friendly and Mobile First.  Mobile Failure is too complex for mobile device access.  Mobile Focus supports popular devices in the commonly used areas of a website but not when diving deeper in the site.  Mobile Friendly offers a site wide mobile experience which is optimized as well as concise.  Mobile First is a website designed from the outset with the mobile user in mind.

Proegler suggested that for businesses to migrate their website to a mobile friendly format they need to take some time and analyze their B2B site usage and user base.  A business should also review its application portfolio, work with maturing their site framework and plan their strategic direction for mobile.  He stated that mobile can change the way that business is done both with customers and within a business.

Interrupt The Pattern

Joe Marr of Sandler Training has seen his share of challenges in business over the last decade.  He opened his doors on September 10, 2001 and, as we all have, has seen 10 years of rocky economy ever since.  In his recent LA2M presentation “The Economy is Not for Wimps” Marr gave a snapshot of better thinking and techniques for making sales happen in tough times.

Marr pointed out that most people in sales got there by accident and that regardless of our job, we are all selling.  He described sales as fundamentally a one on one interaction between the sales person and the buyer.  It’s an interaction that few institutions of higher learning include in their curriculum.  It’s also a profession that has a pretty shady image. 

According to Marr, sales people deal with the “battle between their ears”.  That includes the negativity about that line of work and using the economy as an excuse for a lack of sales.  Marr noted that about 77% of human behavior is “programmed” and we are culturally programmed to avoid and distrust sales people.  Marr stated that it’s not that no one is buying, it’s that we need to adapt to get more of the pie.

Marr explained that buyers can prevent sales people from providing important and relevant information by being wary, not explaining their needs and avoiding follow up conversations with sales people.  In turn, sales people under serve themselves and their clients by offering general, unsuitable or incomplete quotes based on a lack of information.  This “free consulting” is one path from the fork Marr describes as “Wimp Junction”.

For sales people to be “good stewards” of their own and the buyer’s business interests, sales people need to utilize a new, consultative system.  According to Marr, sales people need to “interrupt the pattern” with new ground rules.  When the sales person lets the buyer know that it’s “OK to says no” for either party if products and needs don’t match, the client is better able to relax and share pertinent information.

The sales person needs to determine if his products offer the client a compelling reason to change and if the client is willing to make the time and money investment needed to utilize the sales person’s products.  Only if the products meet the buyer’s criteria should a sales person offer a proposal.  The sales person needs to understand what a buyer needs, why they need it and what the consequences of a successful transaction are for client.

In conclusion Marr asked “Are you sucking up with happy ears, hearing only what you want to hear or are you creating mutually healthy relationships” with your clients?  “Interrupt the pattern,” he advised.