The Unorthodoks Approach

The Ins & Outs - Listserv / Newsgroup Posting

2006-11-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

This type of promotion is an indirect means of keeping your company's name in the public eye. It lends creditability to you and your company as you speak on the subject matter at hand. In some but, very few instances, you can promote your product or service. The key here is to find conversation threads that relate to your company's offerings and you simply contribute as an expert.

In some instances, by being a consistent & valuable contributer, you can become the moderator of the listserv and/or newsgroup which will even further increase your creditability.

The Ins & Outs - Blogs

2006-10-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

A blog (short for weblog) is a journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog. Topics can be on any and every topic and sometimes links to other sites the author favors. The essential characteristics of the blog are its journal form, typically a new entry each day, and its informal style.

The thinking here is that by publishing a blog either in lieu of or in tandem with a regularly released ezine, is ideal for having new fresh content that your visitors will repeatedly return to view. Blogs help branding, branding help traffic, traffic helps sales!

The Ins & Outs - Web Design From A Marketing Standpoint

2006-09-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

The idea of design websites from a marketing standpoint is a concept that we have embraced here. The basic notion behind it is people want a return from a website that generally fall into one of two categories: traffic or sales

The thinking here is that designing a website that is conducive to building traffic and/or building sales will go a long way in accomplishing those goals. Issues like layout of links in importance (most important links should be at the left or top of the row), call to action items ("click here", "subscribe now", etc.), easy of navigation (important pages/info are prominently displayed on the homepage or able to be reached in minimal clicks) all must be taken into account when deciding on a look of your website.

New Direction

2006-09-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

With The Unorthodoks Approach, we want to be sure that we have a healthy balance of bringing light to the online African-American community, as well as, simply talking about the ins and outs of Internet marketing as a whole.

We are an Internet marketing and Web design company first and foremost. We simply have decided to cater to those who want to reach the online African-American community.

While there are different nuances and methods for reaching this demographic, there are some basic traits of Internet marketing that will hold true for any target market and we will start a new bi-weekly posting that will highlight those techniques.

We will continue to periodically post our longer write-ups regarding marketing to the online African-American community.

The Unorthodoks Approach In Action - Our Own Website Redesign Case Study

2006-09-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

As of late I've been posting case studies because I think it's integral that stimulate conversation and promote insight into how marketing and web design is actually done. Below is a case study outlining the steps that we went through when redesign our own website:

Sometimes enough is enough! Know when to say when! Sorry, might’ve had one too many clichés (or maybe two too many) but, I needed to get my point across. As business owners we have to recognize that we need to analyze ourselves and our companies and bring ourselves to the same high standards that we push our clients to. The turn of 2005 marked when Unorthodoks Marketing began the long needed website redesign of www.unorthodoks.com.

We had been using the same website look and feel initially designed back in 98’ for the past 7 years…and what might have been acceptable then definitely was no longer. We have multiple goals for visitors when at our site. Primarily, to sign up for our newsletter, The Unorthodoks Approach. It’s our main method of having consistent communication with past, current and potential clients. Secondly, to get a good idea of what we’ve done in the past and what we can do for those who come to us from both a marketing and web design standpoint.

Unorthodoks Marketing was started in the summer of 1998 as an Internet marketing firm that helps organizations reach the online African-American community. The need for web design services kept arising as many clients’ main impediment to increased sales and/or traffic was poorly designed websites. The Unorthodoks Marketing – Design Division was launched to develop websites from a marketing point of view. We firmly believe that the design, layout, look and feel, information, visuals and interactivity/content are all integral pieces to accomplishing the goals of a website which are almost always more than “looking pretty.”

Taking the name of the company into account, Unorthodoks (which is a play on the spelling of “unorthodox”) we did not want a standard layout. Coupled with the need to emphasize the newsletter sign-up, several important design and layout decisions were made. Most websites will have links straight down along the left side or horizontally across the top. As a result, we purposely choose to have them vertically aligned in two columns on the right side of the page.

We also wanted to choose a look and feel not commonly seen so, we developed the connected bubble-like shape with the bubble on the right highlighting the newsletter signup and the larger bubble on the left showcasing images of the demographic we serve. This allows for a dual effect of showing who our focus is on while also, adding a visually pleasing element to break up the text on the site.

In showing past, current and potential clients what we can do and have done, we paid particular attention to adding a portfolio that would be effective. We choose to use Flash (a style of coding that allows for more creativity and movement) because we wanted to show our proficiency in it. We wanted visitors to see the sites we designed but, didn’t want them to leave unorthodoks.com so, we created mini slideshows of clients’ sites. This allows us to show various pages of respective websites while keeping the visitor at our website.

We recognized that to continually attract the high quality clients we’ve come accustomed to working with we needed to package Unorthodoks Marketing as the high quality firm that we are. They say change is good. We knew change was necessary.

Before
www.unorthodoks.com B.C. (before the change) - visit: http://www.unorthodoks.com/oldsite/index.html

After
www.unorthodoks.com A.D. (after the design) - visit:
http://www.unorthodoks.com

The Unorthodoks Approach In Action - Chistell.com Case Study

2006-09-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you’ve done everything? A question that many marketers are faced with when it comes to taking their company to that proverbial “next level”. Unorthodoks Marketing provides Internet marketing & Web design services to organizations that want to reach the online African-American community. Chistell Publishing, a small African-American book publishing company, retained Unorthodoks Marketing as its’ Internet marketing agency of record in May of 2001.

Chistell Publishing came to Unorthodoks Marketing with an interesting situation in that their website, www.Chistell.com, was already getting substantial traffic. There was a need for a better traffic to sales ratio, as although people were coming, they seemed more interested in the compelling content for book lovers the site offers than making purchases. The “Education before Execution” process that Unorthodoks Marketing deems necessary for all clients was employed to decide on the best plan of action.

Chistell Publishing had already conducted many successful online marketing tactics including, publishing an email newsletter, running online contests that engaged their target market and managing a fairly populated discussion board. It seemed that they were doing everything they could do yet, the sales numbers weren’t where they should be. It became obvious that something else needed to be done beyond regular online promotional techniques.

It was determined that a “two-pronged attack” was in order, in which, Unorthodoks Marketing would provide value added services in two distinct capacities. Initially, Unorthodoks Marketing operated in a consultancy role to develop the look and feel of the Chistell.com website. The “Education before Execution” process showed that a more streamlined approach and better-positioned tools would prove more effective in reaching the educated, affluent, religious woman that frequented the site.

The Unorthodoks Marketing - Design Division was called upon due their approach of web design from a marketing standpoint. This is seen in several ways on Chistell.com as better communication of the buyer influencing factors such as the 90-day money back guarantee, free priority shipping, different payment options, percentage of proceeds to charity, etc. are incorporated into the design. The layout of the links to the rest of the content of the site is such that priority is given to the sample chapters & order pages. These primary links are laid out along the top of the page while the secondary links can be found on the left side of the site. Those primarily links can also be found along the left side, as well.

Once the site was re-designed, Unorthodoks Marketing began the second phase of the campaign, which was to make use of online promotional techniques. Attention needed to be paid to fact that the new website could affect the traffic the site was already getting so, practices like search engine submissions were done. One of the biggest methods used was the development of a “Call to Action”. Since the goal was increased sales, an attractive “Order Now” button was designed and incorporated into the design. In fact, on the homepage alone, it’s found in 3 different places.

So, what is it you do when you’ve done everything? It’s simple: You do some more!

Black Website Uprising!!! If You Don’t Know, Now You Know!

2006-08-31T02:27:00.000-07:00

“Don’t call it a comeback, we’ve been here for years!” For those of you who are older hip-hop aficionados, that line might sound familiar but, it’s also applicable to the websites that cater to the online African-American community. Granted, the online Hispanic-American community has moved ahead of us and are now the fastest growing online demographic but, the number of top websites that are created to serve blacks online has grown exponentially.

This is a call-to-arms for all of us to get involved and push attention towards this community. There are various industries out there from technology to financial services that could greatly benefit from the substantial purchasing power of the African-American community and the online segment of this community is more affluent and therefore even more attractive. The problem here is that no marketing campaign should begin without research and the fact that there is no ample research to pull from could speak volumes as to why these industries are not targeting the online African-American community.

Qualitatively, there is some stuff out there. For example, we know that blacks are more likely to register on websites and give out contact and demographic information. We know that this group is more interested in career advancement, professional development, education, family & relationships, entertainment, health care, news and travel information than the general population. What we don’t know is the intriguing quantitative data that drives marketing campaigns such as, the % of black users who visit black websites over mainstream sites and how many black sites are visited on a regular basis. The point is that we’re lacking the strong numbers that necessitates organizations take action.

By having the hard data to back up what seems to be obvious to many of us, it would force major corporations to take notice. If not from the standpoint that the online African-American community should be marketed to, then from the stance that they must be marketed to.

We’re ready to get off the soapbox and get into the trenches. Throughout this year, Unorthodoks Marketing will partner with organizations and take the lead on various projects, all aimed at gaining more and more insight into the online African-American community. We will then take this newly found info and disseminate it with the goal of bringing attention and focus to the community. Contact us, join us and let’s get our collective hands dirty…together!

The Unorthodoks Approach In Action - MyFineArt.com Case Study

2006-08-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Innovative yet, effective! Those three words describe the Unorthodoks Marketing approach to online promotion. Unorthodoks Marketing provides Internet marketing services to companies that want to reach the online African-American community. MyFineArt.com, an online African-American art dealer, was the first company to benefit from Unorthodoks Marketing's innovative yet, effective Internet marketing services.

MyFineArt.com had a two-step goal of increasing traffic to the website, which in turn, will boost sales. Via usage of The Comprehensive List of Internet Branding/Advertising/Marketing Options, a white paper authored by Unorthodoks Marketing's executives and found at www.unorthodoks.com, a marketing plan was devised to introduce MyFineArt.com to the urban community.

The "Education before Execution" process which enlightens Unorthodoks Marketing about the ins and outs of each client and its' industry showed that the stereotypical visitor/customer of MyFineArt.com is an African-American woman aged 18 - 34 with some disposable income. Understanding "who" your customer is important because it allows you make informed decisions about the techniques chosen to market your goods and/or services. A "cookie cutter" approach cannot be taken to marketing due to the fact that people of varying ethnicities, ages, education levels, income levels, etc. react in different ways to the same message. There will always be promotional techniques that are appealing to some and not to others.

This "picture" proved instrumental in two very important decisions. Firstly, since the target market is now known to be the fast growing African-American demographic, Unorthodoks Marketing understands that "fast growing" means that a significant portion of the demographic will have limited Internet experience. Research shows that users with less Internet experience will have more of a tendency to use search engines to find their online destination. Due to this, an emphasis was put on attaining high search engine placement. The thinking here was simply one with limited Internet experience probably has not yet developed brand loyalty hence, will be likely to visit a website such as MyFineArt.com if it places relatively high on the major search engines for several key terms and phrases.

Secondly, with the "picture" of the stereotypical MyFineArt.com visitor, the fact that it is an African-American woman comes into play again. Unorthodoks Marketing sought to align MyFineArt.com with websites that cater to the online African-American woman. Joint ventures were designed with a win-win objective in mind. The complementary websites would benefit from having the ability to offer African-American art to their respective communities which helps to round out their products &/or services offered and build on the "We have everything you may need", community feel that each of the sites want to convey. MyFineArt.com gains from having additional websites that can carry some of its' inventory and can leverage the creditability that these sites already have with their visitors.

Signs of success were evident from this nearly yearlong relationship as traffic had increased ten-fold and continues to set new highs for unique visitors to the site with each ensuing month. MyFineArt.com's most prominent relationship established via the joint venture strategy presents itself as art prints are provided to CushCity.com, the most highly trafficked African-American e-commerce site in cyberspace.

It should also be noted that while only two facets of the marketing campaign implemented are discussed here, the overall efforts of Unorthodoks Marketing had resulted in MyFineArt.com ranking as high as the 8th most visited black ecommerce website as listed by TopBlackSites.com at the end of the working relationship.

Blacks and the Internet: Power Resides in Interconnectivity

2006-08-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

As the euphoria of the dot-com boom fades and investors settle into more traditional businesses, the importance of the Internet as the fastest "highway" to information, entertainment, cultural connections and sales continues to soar. Even staid old Wall Street firms have hefty budgets for updated, interactive and user-friendly Web sites that promote their services. Against this backdrop, a whole new genre of Web sites has appeared to connect people by culture. Web sites catering to African-Americans are proliferating, but many of them are neither black owned nor black operated. America Online, for example, recently set up Black Focus, offering content and information from an African-American perspective. Even so, the number of African-Americans shopping on the Internet remains relatively low and many non-African-American companies are rushing to build sites that they hope will lead to greater use of the Internet among blacks. Blackplanet.com is a case in point.

"We are catching up rapidly, but our problem has to do with education and economics," says Omar Wasow, the New York-based executive director of Blackplanet.com. "To many of us, buying a computer is still not considered relevant or important." Blackplanet.com boasts over 9 million registered members who, in addition to receiving information on job opportunities and education, interact socially through the Web site. "The heart of our site is to make connections," says Wasow. "It's to bring people together to talk as if they were at a dinner party."

BlackPlanet.com is owned by Community Connect Inc., which also owns MiGente.com and AsianAvenue.com. Black web site owners are trying to keep pace with the competition for African-American users. Keenan Davis, who agrees that blacks lag behind other ethnic groups in Internet connectedness, argues that finances are not entirely to blame. "Our digital divide is not about money, given that our youth can spend $300 on sneakers, jewelry and clothes," says the CEO of Unorthodoks Marketing, a New York firm that advises companies on how to attract African-Americans to their Web sites. "They have not yet discovered the impact that having a computer [within] arm's reach will add to their lives. Having a computer at home opens a multitude of avenues to get information on whatever you are interested in," he says.

Davis notes that there are only 12 million blacks online out of a population of more than 30 million. Blacks, as a group, have a spending power of almost $700 million. However, although the most recent U.S. census counts Latinos as the biggest minority, that tally includes Latinos who consider themselves black. In other words, the overall black population and buying power are higher than reported, Davis points out.

A survey commissioned by AOL provides insight into how African-Americans use the Internet. It shows that most African-Americans read online ads and that 46 percent of those who do find these ads informative, compared with 26 percent for the overall Internet population. It also shows that those African-Americans who are online are active consumers, purchasing more clothing and music/videos than the general online market, and that the top three online activities for African-Americans are checking/sending e-mail, accessing news/headlines and playing online games.

The success of websites depends on how well they satisfy their target group. Ownership is a non issue, Davis says. "We are not going to have to fight negative stereotypes because websites are run by the community. People input and respond to the content that they want. That is a lot of power in our hands," he says. "They are more like community forums; the community is the voice of the Web site."

Transitioning to the Internet Age puts African-Americans in a very familiar place, according to Abdul Alkalimat, a professor in the Africana Studies Program at the University of Toledo in Ohio. "We are experiencing the same transition as when southerners moved up to the north and they had to learn to be familiar with the city's running water, electricity, plumbing,etc.," Alkalimat says. "We are now in transition from an industrial nation to an informational nation."

Professor Alkalimat, whose book, The African-American Experience in Cyberspace, will be published in December by Pluto Press, compares the issue of website ownership to the struggle for the creation of black studies programs in universities. "We started black studies because curricula and books did not include our struggles, so we fought to be heard. The solution to having our history passed on accurately is up to us. If you can support a large company by buying their information, do not complain when they misrepresent you, since you didn't put the accurate information about yourself out there," he says.

Professor Alkalimat believes that African-Americans will play a major role in the Internet in the same way that Frederick Douglass played a major role in spreading information through his newspaper. "Douglass created a paper when many African-Americans were slaves and could not read or write, but they were happy to congregate . . . and hear the news from those that could," he says. "We have always found a way to communicate within our community. The Internet is just another mental block we have to get over. We need to get the skills and understand that [the Internet] offers information about us to the whole world."

This was an article by Ines Bebea of The Network Journal that was written a while back in which I, Keenan Davis, was featured.

Understand The Culture

2006-08-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Corporations venturing into ethnic and racial advertising and marketing run the risk of having their campaigns backfire.

They have trouble differentiating between pandering and appealing to various racial and ethnic groups.

"It's difficult to draw that line," said Thomas Tseng, director of marketing at Los Angeles-based Cultural Access Group.

Specialty marketers say companies must immerse themselves in the culture to which they are marketing.

One of the best ways to avoid a faux pas is to hire people who come from that demographic, so outsiders are not making assumptions about how certain things work.

Additionally, there are some general rules that apply across all cultures and backgrounds:

· Don't stereotype.

· Show respect.

· Don't just translate an ad from English in lieu of a full marketing campaign.

But there are also group-specific do's and don'ts, as well as resonating themes, that will be culturally effective and indicate to a customer that a mainstream company is culturally competent.

The African-American Community

Do:

· Stress empowerment for the general community.

· Stress career advancement for black women.

· Take an entertainment-driven approach to advertising (but don't think that using rap music guarantees success).

· Use a spokesperson who can relate to the community. A black face may not be enough.

· Advertise on black radio stations, in black publications and on television stations that have a preponderance of shows with black characters. As a group, blacks tend to be very brand-loyal because so few companies specifically market to them.

Don't:

· Use alcohol and tobacco without careful consideration. The black community has its' guard up against any advertising of these products.

This was an excerpt of a article by Rochelle Kass of The Journal News that was written a while back in which I, Keenan Davis, was featured.

Holla At Me …Online!!! – Utilizing Black Community Websites

2006-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you build it, they will come! Great line for old movies, horrible advice for websites. In this day and age of multiple websites for any topic, product, service, issue and/or concern known to man, just creating a website will no longer get the job done. When you take it one step further and consider the numerous products and services fighting for the attention of the online African-American community, one cannot sit back and wait for people to happen upon your site.

One of the most powerful aspects of the Internet is its' ability to allow people of like-minded interests, backgrounds and/or goals to meet, gather and exchange. There are several websites that have popped up with this purpose in mind: BlackPlanet.com, BET.com, BlackVoices.com & BlackAmericaWeb.com to name a few. These 4 sites alone attract nearly half of the 12 million plus blacks that are currently online. As a marketer, the fact that such high numbers are concentrated and accessible in so few sources shows the value of utilizing these types of sites, commonly referred to as community websites, in marketing efforts.

Now that you know where to go, let's get into how to reach those populating these sites. Community websites offer a multitude of resources for their members to interact. These range from message boards, personal pages, internal email, guest books, chat rooms, etc. People will talk about a variety of subjects using the above various tools, some of which will directly or indirectly be related to the goods you offer. To take a very macro view of your approach, you need to join these communities via their short, free membership forms, engage the other members and actively participate in the ongoing conversations.

Due to the fact that these community websites are social and recreational in nature, one needs to be very careful in their usage of them. Your role in the conversations should be informative, insightful and never directly pushing your products or services. For example, if people are having a discussion about finding good deals on travel destinations and you represent a website that focuses on online travel, you can offer helpful tips such as consider departing on a Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday and returning on a Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday to get lower-priced fares. As an added point, you can then offer your website as a resource but, again that should not be the focus of your comments. If you mistakenly come on too strong with sales messages, you and your products and services will be seen in a negative light.

All in all, black community websites are no-cost, highly concentrated sources to reach the online African-American community that, if used correctly, can prove fruitful.

Who Needs The Internet Anyway???

2006-07-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

DSL or Dial-up? .com, .org or .net? Double-click or Right-click? Why should we care? That answer is simple. The Internet makes our lives easier. The readily available information on any and every subject imaginable, coupled with the community and communication capabilities of the Internet is what makes it such an incredibly powerful tool and resource in the day-to-day lives of billions.

Although the online African-American community is still one of the fastest growing online demographics, it is still obvious to many that most blacks are still not online. In my opinion, the true reason for this has not received enough attention. Money is not the issue. The black community is well-known for spending on luxury items at a higher rate than other ethnicities. As a result, the cost associated with purchasing a computer and getting online is not the concern. The point of concern is recognizing the importance of the Internet. Once the importance of Internet access is effectively communicated throughout the African-American community, growth of blacks online may double or even triple from the high rate it is at currently.

Taking a very micro view of the many uses of the Internet and how it might be relevant in the daily lives of African-Americans, let’s explore one topic that resonates with blacks: music. As an avid fan of hip hop and rap music, I know that I can:

- Visit a site such as Amazon.com to purchase any album I desire

- Use an application like Kazaa.com to download hard to find songs or get albums before they’re released

- Type in OHHLA.com (The Original Hip Hop Lyrics Archive) and find out the lyrics to that chorus I fumble through when I’m singing in my car

I’ve made sites such as BET.com and Allhiphop.com frequent destinations as I try to stay on top of interesting tidbits of information pertaining to the rap industry or my favorite artists. I can utilize resources like Google.com or Yahoo.com to research the history of hip hop and the impact different artists have had throughout the times while simultaneously discussing all that I’ve gathered via the previously mentioned sources at SOHH.com (The Hip Hop Source).

From education to sports, career advancement to dating; this type of roadmap can be generated on any topic that touches African-Americans. With this understanding it becomes obvious who needs the Internet: The Black Community!!!

Who Is The Online Black Community? Your Guess Is As Good As Mine!

2006-07-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

I could have started this piece: We’ve all heard it before! "Blacks are the fastest growing minority demographic online!" or "The online African-American community can not be ignored". But the fact of the matter is that when you’re trying to get at this community and delve a little deeper than the above statements and that there are approximately 13 million blacks online, it’s scarce pickings. There are hard numbers, statistics, facts, figures, etc. regarding practically every other demographic but the online African-American community is one that for the most part, has not been thoroughly researched.

This is a call-to-arms for all of us to get involved and push attention towards this community. There are various industries out there from technology to financial services that could greatly benefit from the substantial purchasing power of the African-American community and the online segment of this community is more affluent and therefore even more attractive. The problem here is that no marketing campaign should begin without research and the fact that there is no ample research to pull from could speak volumes as to why these industries are not targeting the online African-American community.

Qualitatively, there is some stuff out there. For example, we know that blacks are more likely to register on websites and give out contact and demographic information. We know that this group is more interested in career advancement, professional development, education, family & relationships, entertainment, health care, news and travel information than the general population. What we don’t know is the intriguing quantitative data that drives marketing campaigns such as, the % of black users who visit black websites over mainstream sites and how many black sites are visited on a regular basis. The point is that we’re lacking the strong numbers that necessitates organizations take action.

By having the hard data to back up what seems to be obvious to many of us, it would force major corporations to take notice. If not from the standpoint that the online African-American community should be marketed to, then from the stance that they must be marketed to.

Why The Online African-American Community Is A Marketer’s Dream!

2006-07-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

We’ve all heard it before! "Blacks are the fastest growing minority demographic online!" or "The online African-American community can not be ignored". But, when push comes to shove, this fastest growing minority demographic is being ignored. Obviously, the fact that blacks are coming online in droves is not enough and to be perfectly honest, it shouldn’t be. There are several other compelling aspects regarding this group that makes them an ideal population to target. Namely, increased likeliness to register on websites, increased dependence on search engines and lack of brand loyalty.

Probably the most interesting characteristic of the online African-American community would be that there is an increased likeliness to register on websites. What this means to marketers is that blacks, when visiting websites are more willing to give up valuable contact and demographical data. Because one has the opportunity to gain insight into what their stereotypical visitor looks like, one can than use that information to tweak offerings to make them more attractive, remind potential customers of the current products, follow-up with new goods and/or services, etc. On the flip side, having such information regarding the visitors to your site allows you to sort it and present it to potential advertisers to promote the value of promoting their organization and inventory by advertising on your website.

By really looking at the fact that online African- American community is the fastest growing online demographic, it speaks volumes as to how this population is going act and interact online. Search engines have always been and still rank as the primary method for "surfing the Web". Newer Internet users have even more of a dependence on search engines because they typically and understandably do not know the better sites for performing various tasks. "Fastest growing" means that there are a bunch of newer users. It now becomes crystal clear that a big step towards reaching blacks online can be had by concentrating on placing highly in major search engines.

Additionally, considering the fact that we're dealing with a group that is bringing new people to Internet in large numbers, one can see that there is a large group being formed that doesn't have the same day-to-day web browsing rituals as some of us old-school, been-on-the- net-since-the-early-90's cats have. The brand loyalty to various websites is not going to be there simply because this contingent hasn't been exposed many websites. Decisions regarding where the majority of Internet exploring (no pun intended!) time will be spent hasn't been made yet. This presents an enviable opportunity for websites of all walks of life to make a name for themselves. Large websites can show all they have to offer and back it up with their sheer numbers of visitors/members. Up-and-coming sites can promote what makes them different and in some cases better. Niche websites can show how they've filled voids that were seemingly overlooked by other sites.

It's time some attention was really paid to the online African-American community. Enough with the headlines, let's walk the walk! There are numerous industries that are considered to be saturated yet, these same industries have never really targeted blacks online or blacks as a whole for that matter. Knowing that this populace is growing online by leaps and bounds is one thing but, after understanding how to reach them, it should make the answer to the question as to why marketers need to step up and pay attention fairly simple.

Does My Business Need a Website?

2006-07-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

A web site is a powerful Internet marketing medium, providing many options for marketing via site and sound, and featuring as much or as little information as the business owner sees fit to make available.

At a minimum, a web site makes it easy for you to showcase your goods and services which can generate more business leads from potential customers and cause your present customers to buy more. Now that secure online payment is a reality, a company or organization can complete point-to-point sales transactions from seller to buyer, eliminating costly distributor expenses. Moreover, with the advances in shopping cart software, a fully enabled e-commerce web site has never been easier to set up and maintain. In no time, you can create a virtual storefront or office that can be open twenty-four hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Increase Communication

A key advantage of the Internet is that it allows for the instant distribution of information. You can expand your marketing reach from local to national to international markets, and the beauty of this is that your costs don't expand with the increase in coverage.

People from all over the world use the Internet on a daily basis to search for various products and services. Using web sites to distribute information in a timely manner is a key reason sales organizations are building web sites. Visitors can easily find the information they are looking for, whether it is product details or availability and pricing. Altering the information contained within a web site makes more financial sense than phoning, faxing, or mailing your customers every time new information regarding products or services is released.

Reduce Expenses

A web site is an online brochure that delivers information, immediately and internationally over the Web, without the expenses of related printed material. To reduce phoning, faxing, printing, and postage costs, automated mailing lists can send the same e-mail message to 1000 customers for nearly the same cost as sending one. E-mail is cheaper than courier services, postal mail, faxes or phone calls and faster than most. If you have suppliers on the Internet you may also be able to do your purchasing cheaper and easier. An online business costs far less to run, as startup and recurring overhead costs are relatively low. A one person office on a very limited budget can enjoy the same market reach and audience of global Fortune 500 companies.
Reduce Service Costs

Customer service and support are critical to any business. lines are expensive to maintain. A web site can provide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service and support. The service area of your web site can be as simple as a dedicated e-mail box and published answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), or as sophisticated as an interactive, online chat feature where you respond directly to customers in real time discussions. The ability to have service and product updates, provided on a web site, adds value to a company's service, as well as additional visibility to their customers.

Increase Marketing

A web site creates opportunities for additional marketing and joint marketing with other organizations. There is no greater image builder for a company than a compelling and informative web site that can be seen all over the world. Your organization can be placed into dozens of online directories and search engines, increasing your visibility and creating new markets by opening additional advertising channels.

Create a Network

A web site gives you the ability to interact with your customers via surveys, which can be a cost-effective way to generate sales leads and get valuable feedback. It can also be used to test and refine marketing strategies with relatively low risk. You may experiment with ideas by highlighting a product prototype online and sampling visitor opinions.

Where to Start?

There are many easy to use software packages which allow you to quickly develop a simple site. However, the degree of professionalism displayed by your site conveys a very important image to your visitors. To achieve a professionally designed site requires the services of an experienced web designer. Costs vary, depending upon the size of the site (number of pages), complexity, and the desired functions.

Enough Email Marketing, What About Email Branding!

2006-06-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

If you’re anything like me, you’re sending emails out all day and night. All these emails are potential opportunities to further brand you and your organization into the minds of recipients. There are several little changes you can make that will help you maximize the branding effectiveness of your emails. Namely, your email address itself, not using one of the web-based or ISP email accounts, filling up the From: field, and inserting a signature file.

Your email address is the one part of your contact information that you can personalize and therefore use to reinforce your brand of who you are and where you’re from. Your email address should read “FirstName” then “LastName” @ “YourOrganization.com”. You can separate the first and last name with either a period ( . ), dash ( - ) or underscore ( _ ). For example, my email address is Keenan_Davis@unorthodoks.com. The reason for this is that everyone that I come into contact with will have my full name and have to see it every single time they email me or pass my information onto others. The first letter in each name should be capitalized to bring further attention to the name, as well. Do not worry if this approach makes your email address long. It’s not as though people won’t email you simply because they have to type a few extra letters.

This leads right into the importance of having your own domain name and not using one of the web-based or ISP email account for business purposes. My email address lets people know that they are corresponding with Keenan Davis of Unorthodoks Marketing. The “@unorthodoks.com” ending lets someone who just happens upon my email address know what my website is and therefore they can explore what “unorthodoks.com” is all about. It is not everyone’s job to remember who you are. It is your job to help them remember! Email addresses such as kdavis@hotmail.com or unorthodoks@verizon.net only vaguely reminds someone who I am and absolutely doesn’t reinforce my brand. Equally as important, ending my email with “unorthodoks.com” does more for creditability than if I’m emailing from “hotmail.com”.

Now to more effectively brand when sending email, you should improve your “From:” field. When receiving an email, the “From:” field should have both your full name and the name of your organization. For example, when receiving one of my emails, the “From:” field states, “Keenan Davis – Unorthodoks Marketing”. This allows for another opportunity for your clients, potential clients and associates to see your name and organization. You can edit the “From:” field in Outlook Express by going into Tools, Accounts, selecting your email account, clicking Properties and then changing the “Name” field to your first and last name and organization.

Brand yourself once more at the end of the email also by developing and including a signature file on all outgoing emails. A signature file is separate from the body of the email and found at the end of the email. The signature file I use is as follows:

-----------------------
Keenan Davis - CEO
Unorthodoks Marketing
www.unorthodoks.com
Keenan_Davis@unorthodoks.com / 718.496.4454
Internet Marketing & Web Design To Reach The Online African-American Community
-----------------------

A signature file is a non-obtrusive approach to let people know the rest of your contact information and re-brand what you do. My signature file contains the company name, web address, direct line, and company expertise along with my name, title and email address. Signature files allow you to include 4 to 6 lines of company information with every email.

These are several changes that can be made in 2 minutes and will allow you to start using your email for more than just sending email.

Website Professionalism and Net No No's

2006-06-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

My grandmother was the Queen of metaphors during my childhood. One of her metaphors has served as the overarching theme for how business is conducted at Unorthodoks Marketing: "Business is like a ham and egg breakfast so, always remember to model yourself after the ham." This probably does not make sense to anyone outside of the Davis household so I'll explain it in laymen's terms.

Both the chicken and the pig play an integral role in making the breakfast. The chicken that laid the egg contributed, but the pig that gave the ham was really committed...he gave his life. At Unorthodoks Marketing, we emulate the commitment of the pig when presenting our company to the public. Unorthodoks Marketing provides Internet marketing & Web design services to organizations that want to reach the online African-American community. Along the way we've encountered too many organizations that seek assistance in promoting their products and/or services, but they have not taken the small steps that would make a world of difference.

Businesses need to be educated about the importance of credibility and how it can best be achieved. Because we are an Internet marketing firm, we'll simply focus on the online points that need to be addressed: Not purchasing a domain name, usage of free email services for business purposes, placing a web counter, frames or unnecessary Flash animation on your site and broadcasting that your site is not updated are all "Net No No's".

The biggest mistake that can be easily avoided is not purchasing a domain name for your company. Domain names could be purchased for $70 during the dot-com explosion, now domain names can be purchased for about $35. Owning www.unorthodoks.com doesn't necessarily mean we're more committed to professionalism but not purchasing your own domain name gives potential customers the impression that you could be a "fly by night" organization.

We've received numerous business cards and emails from people interested in connecting with us. Unfortunately, my perception of the business acumen of too many of these organizations are skewed because of email addresses that list John_Doe@yahoo.com or Jane_Doe@hotmail.com.

Employees of Fortune 500 companies do not use free web-based email services so neither should your organization. If you've already paid for your domain name and are paying a monthly fee for web hosting, talk to your hosting company to get your POP accounts to enable you to send and receiving email with Your_Name@yourcompany.com. If you don't have a site or if it's still being developed, you can still use the POP account to present a professional email address. Even if you aren't in the process of building a site, purchase a domain name and use email forwarding.

When it comes to website design, it's important not to make the mistake of getting caught up in all the bells and whistles that can be put on your site. Enough with the web counters that says I am visitor number 12,754 when there are billions of people surfing the net; several thousand visitors doesn't tell me you're successful. Remove all the frames from your site; on one hand they're not visually pleasing, on the other, most search engines cannot properly put your site in their listings.

Don't have an extravagant Flash intro that is going to take too long to load; you only have a precious few seconds to grab and keep your target market's attention.

Take a look at any of the well-known sites, you'll notice that none of them are doing any of these things simply because they hurt more than help.

Now that your site is up and traffic is coming to your site at a healthy rate, let's not alienate visitors by telling them that you don't update your site often. We'll save that discussion regarding the importance of keeping your site current for another time, but if you're not keeping the content fresh, don't yell it from the rooftops. Unless your "Last Updated" line has today's or yesterday's date after it, take it off your homepage. Pay attention to the copyright information at the bottom of your pages and make sure it shows the current year. People won't consistently come back to a website if they don't believe it's not being updated.

All the blood, sweat and tears put in building your organization could be for naught if these issues and others just like them are not addressed. Paying attention to these details may not bring more business in the door but, not taking them into account could definitely keep it out.

Welcome

2005-07-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Unorthodoks Approach...a blog discussing the ins and outs of the online African-American community.