By Shari Thurow
When I ask online and direct marketers what they believe the definition of search engine optimization (SEO) is, in its simplest terms, they automatically say, “Making a site #1 in Google.” I understand this common perception. Because, classically, search engine optimization has been defined as designing, writing, programming, and coding (in XHTML) an entire Web site to maximize the chance that Web pages will appear at the top of search engine listings for targeted keyword phrases.
- Understanding Web Searcher Behavior and Search Engine Optimization
A Sony Pictures Entertainment company, 2waytraffic knows television audiences and how to produce compelling content that puts viewers in active mode. Two years ago, 2waytraffic’s EVP of Business Development, James Joyce, created a unique platform that fuses participation TV in programming with telco-based DRTV offers. Viewers are invited by the host, judge or other talent from a popular national TV show to call a toll-free number and vote or give their opinion on show topics. After participating, callers are presented with several direct response offers, which are fulfilled by a live call center agent or transcription database capture.
2waytraffic has successfully integrated this experience into more than a dozen nationally syndicated and network programs, including Maury, Judge Joe Brown, The View, Inside Edition and The Biggest Loser, among many others, offering advertisers a unique opportunity to instantly convert these valuable audiences into customers in a completely measurable way. 2waytraffic inserts advertisers into these programs on a Cost Per Lead basis, making their platform completely unique in the marketplace. Now, advertisers can run per inquiry-based campaigns on nationally broadcast programs in some of the most sought after programs on television, where per inquiry media placements have never been available to them.
- Converting Viewers Into Customers: 2waytraffic gets TV viewers to call
By Rick Petry
With the world mired in the thick of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, a number of products being marketed using direct response advertising are thriving above the fray. What are some of the common characteristics of these goods and their attendant campaigns that are bucking the tide? And what lessons can be uncovered that might help marketers and their supply chain attain similar success?
When basic security is threatened -- from job to housing to financial stability -- one natural course of action is to turn inward, to take stock. In that process, people come to terms with what they truly value. It has often been said that without one’s health, you have nothing, that all of the other things in life that may seem important are rendered meaningless. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a review of the Infomercial Monitoring Service (IMS) report reveals that health and fitness products comprise over one-third of both the top 25 ranked infomercial and short-form campaigns currently running. - Direct Response: The Hope for Recessionary Woes?
By Scott Richards
One of the oldest and most effective forms of direct response marketing has been the “per inquiry” (PI) model of advertising. PI advertising has been around decades before Google popularized the model online. Simply put, with PI advertising, the advertiser pays only for qualified responses. What constitutes a “qualified response” has always been the tricky part.
While technology has changed, the core model of PI advertising has not. Therein lies the problem. The success of Google’s online advertising platform can be attributed, in part, to its tool, which brought a degree of transparency to the process. - Putting the Trust Back in Per Inquiry Advertising
“When a sixty second ad can convince a consumer to grab his credit card, pick up the phone and order a product instantly, that’s my definition of a success” says Collette Liantonio, president of Concepts TV Productions. Success in Direct Response can also mean placing an order on the internet or calling to sample a product in a free trial offer. Success in Direct Response means getting the consumer to take instant action in response to the ad.
There are many different steps to creating a successful Direct Response Short Form campaign but the script is the blueprint that determines all the other elements. A great creative offer follows the ‘problem’/‘solution’ formula and engages the consumer’s attention within the first 10 seconds. For example, “Do you love cooking delicious pasta but hate the mess?” If the consumer relates to the problem, then we have successfully gained her attention. We then introduce the ‘solution’- the product or service being sold. The ‘solution’ should make the consumer’s life better and easier in some way. - Making a Successful Short Form Direct Response Spot What Will Make The Phones Ring? DRTV 101
