People hate change.

Seniors for the most art have been slow to adopt technology. Research has proven time and again that we all dislike change unless we instigated it. It began with changing classes, changing schools form elementary to high school, fear of the unknown and feeling foolish tempers our behavior.

According to a recent report from Pew Research Center, though seniors are slow to adopt technology compared to younger adults the number of seniors using smartphones and tablets is growing.

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I have written and frequently speak to clients about my 3 seconds to capture rule. It is the same for email, three seconds to get them to read. Consider that on average a person is exposed to 1500 to 3000 messages a day between email, internet ads, TV and radio. People can skip TV ads if they record shows. We also switch stations to avoid ads. Walking down a cereal aisle the only cereal that pops out is one which appeals to you if you are there to buy cereal.

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March 10^th Facebook announced an update to the look of Facebook company  pages. Some businesses have already updated to the new look. It is your option to do it early or wait until Facebook converts everyone’s business pages.

The Admin Panel has updates providing relevant details up front. You can dive deeper into the metrics just as before.

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Being in the ad business I can’t help but watch TV ads with a critical eye. Who is the target? What is the brand? Does it have the emotional tug to convert a sale? In short, is it effective? I try to figure out the company the ad is for before they reveal it. Some companies do a great job advertising and others leave you wondering – do they really know their audience, what company was that for? I have found myself wondering when the product advertised is for women if the ad was created by a man, because they totally missed the USP and audience pain motivator.

Speaking of branding…

A great example is Target’s original TV ad campaign and it’s evolution over 2 years. They began showing the target symbol with their name. The advertising had a consistent style of photography and rhythm. Over a year’s time they evolved and dropped the word “Target”. This was possible because of the consistent style of video but also length of time they ran the ads had impressed their image on all consumers so they intuitively knew the brand before the target symbol was shown at the very end. Eventually, the target symbol was all that was needed. Their success was evident when competitors started mimicking their style of TV ads.

Old school ad men would be horrified that the brand was only shown at the end like an exclamation point. Rules of advertising would have you show the logo frequently in one spot. But rules are fluid and when an ad is done well it is memorable.

Bad ads are memorable for a different reason. Or they don’t make an impression at all. Either way, a bad ad is an expensive mistake. What do you think when you notice a bad ad, print or TV?

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Direct Marketing Association 2012 report included data that direct mail was still strong, volume remaining steady with a slight dip from 2011 to 2012. As business owners and marketers we have seen technology change the definition of direct marketing to include texting, emailing, and tweeting. Emailing is easily accepted as a new version of direct mail. But it is clear that email is not replacing direct mail. For the foreseeable future mail boxes will have a purpose.

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Can customers find you when they do a mobile search?

With the proliferation of smart phones, companies have seen an increased mobile searches. Before creating a mobile website take the crucial step of clarifying your company's mobile needs to save time and money.

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It happens to everyone. The website that was built 2 years ago isn't bringing in enough business. Your page rankings have deteriorated and you're not on the first page for any of the search terms your customers use to find you.

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