The Zero Moment of Truth

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The way we shop is changing and marketing strategies are simply not keeping pace. Whether we're shopping for corn flakes, concert tickets or a honeymoon in Paris, the Internet has changed how we decide what to buy. Today we're all digital explorers, seeking out online ratings, social media-based peer reviews, videos, and in-depth product details as we move down the path to purchase. Marketing has evolved and modern marketing strategies have to evolve with the changing shape of shopping.

At Google, we call this online decision-making moment the Zero Moment of Truth -- or simply ZMOT.

Winning the Zero Moment of Truth is a powerful new eBook by Jim Lecinski, Google's Managing Director of US Sales & Service and Chief ZMOT Evangelist. Jim shares how to get ahead at this critical new marketing moment, supported by exclusive market research, personal stories, and insights from C-level executives at global leaders like General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, and VivaKi.

If you're a marketer, a CEO, a sales rep, or an aspiring entrepreneur, this eBook on marketing strategies and the ZMOT will help you understand this shift in the marketing landscape and show you the strategies it takes to win.

Click on the headline to download the e-book, get more information, and watch new video content.

How to Create Your Brand Digital Dashboard

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Today's blog entry is by Patrick Tedjamulia, Senior Account Manager, Food & Beverage at Google.

How can I keep track of my Brand online?

That seems to be the question I hear all the time these days. In our insta-share culture, Brands are realizing that they can either hear about the conversation after the fact, or they can participate in the conversation in real-time.

Here are a few of the triggers that cause Brands to ask "How can I keep track of my Brand online?"
- Search Trends
- Blogs/PR
- Social comments
- Product recalls
- User Generated Content (Videos)
- Reviews
- Voluntary Product Placement
- Competitive activity

Last year, I worked with Google's iGoogle team to develop a framework for Brands to create their own Brand Digital Dashboard. Let me show you how its done.

Create a New Tab on iGoogle
- Go to iGoogle and access iGoogle's settings
- Add a Tab so the Dashboard can live on its own and be shared easily
- You can customize the theme/banner of the tab with your own brand

Add Gadgets
- Search the iGoogle Gadget Directory for gadgets to add to your Tab.

Here is a list of gadgets I recommend
Google Insights for Search - customize this gadget's settings with the search terms and locations you want to see. You can add multiple instances of this gadget so you can see Rising Searches, Top Searches, and Interest Over Time.
Google News - customize this gadget's settings with the topics you want to see
Google Analytics - login to your Analytics account and access Analytics reports.
Twitter Search - simply type a term and see the most recent Tweets with that term
Flickr - simply type a term in the search tab and see relevant pictures
Blogs - you can also add any blog you want as an RSS feed (ex: Yahoo Answers, etc...)
Other Gadgets of interest may be: YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, etc...

After you have created your dashboard, the key will be to develop marketing strategies that will allow you to act on this real-time insight. But, at least you now have a better sense of what's happening with your Brand online.

Think with Google: ‘Word of Mouth’ study shows Google directly informs 146 million brand conversations a day

Friday, June 24, 2011

There are more than 2.4 billion conversations about brands every day, according to our latest ‘Word of Mouth’ study with Keller Fay. More than half of consumers involved in these conversation say they’re likely to make a purchase based on what they talk about. We wanted to know more about how media and the Internet play into all this conversation so we took a look at what effect the Internet and search has on a word of mouth. The study shows how media and marketing channels provided content before, during and after consumer conversations by surveying 3,000 adults across 12 categories.
It turns out that while most people still talk about brands face to face, their conversations are informed by the Internet more than any other media source. And, when they’re online, users go to search sites more than any other. This is even more true after conversations, especially those sparked by TV. People follow up by searching for more information and prices more than any other online activity including social media.

Check out this video or here on Think Insights for more information on the full study!