What does the memory of an ant have to do with Internet Marketing?
Creatures of habit…
How many web sites do you visit on a regular basis? Maybe your list looks something like mine: CNN, Facebook, Ecademy, LinkedIn, Mesa State, and Google. There are more…but these are the web sites that I visit each and every day.
What happens when my web traffic patterns are disrupted? If any of you have seen the Disney film “Bugs Life” you know what can happen when something unexpected gets dropped in your path. If you haven’t seen “Bugs Life” ask a four year old….where else would you get your marketing advice?
Ok…for those who have not seen “Bugs Life” it is in the beginning of the movie and the ants are collecting food. The ants are following a line to where the food is to be deposited. A leaf falls into the path and the ant behind the leaf begins to panic, shouting “I lost the line! Where’s the line!” At this point a senior ant walks down the hill takes the lost ant around the leaf and the once lost ant is so overjoyed when he finds the line again.
People are no different, when it comes to web searching habits.
Internet marketing is all about dropping the leaf in front of your potential customer and giving them the choice of picking up the leaf and taking it with them, or going around and never looking back. It is the intent of any Internet marketing efforts to drop more than one leaf in front of that same customer offering it in different shapes, colors, with different messages. All in the hope that one of them will pique that customers interest enough to give your web site a spin.
That is all the customer will do at that point. They will click on the link, visit, stroll around a bit, and then start over again with their every day habits. Internet marketing doesn’t end when you get the customer to your web site, it is just the beginning. To disrupt the daily patterns you now have to focus on reminding that person about your site, until it becomes a habit to visit often.
Once your web site has been viewed the leaf is dropped, and now it is time to entice them with a storm of leaves over the next few days in order to transform their habits into including your web site as a daily view.
There are a few very important Internet marketing techniques that need to be in place to make all of this happen.
One is to make sure you have an effective pay per click (PPC) campaign in place, social networking, and online press releases in place. In essence enough leaves out there for your customer to find. Never rely on only one leaf to bait your customers.
Second is to have a form on the web site that is gathering customer information, mainly the name and the email address, really this is building a list of interested people. Once a new person signs up then over the next several days entice the customer to come back, giving reasons why your site is beneficial. Show them your new content that has been added since their visit. Show them that you are actively providing new information.
Third, make your content current. Your leaves need to be fresh, dry old crusty leaves don’t attract many new customers. Content is important!. The reason we all visit any web site on a regular basis is because we know the content is going to change between our visits. If you make sure that the customer knows that the content will change it is the best enticement to get them to return.
So, what have we learned about Internet marketing?
- Getting people interested takes more than one sign on the Internet
- Capturing information, or building a list, is crucial to changing habits
- Content, content, content…did I mention you need to write current stuff?
Internet marketing is about being consistent, current, and conversational.
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Hello,
nd podcast network of the Search Engine Strategies Conference series, there’s a lot expected What does the memory of an ant have to do with Internet Marketing?
Chris
Italian Translation
[...] and podcast network of the Search Engine Strategies Conference series, there’s a lot expected What does the memory of an ant have to do with Internet Marketing? – kettlewell.net 12/15/2008 What does the memory of an ant have to do with Internet Marketing? [...]
Great article you have! This information gives me more ideas and knowledge.
Hope you update for more informative article. Email me for updates. Thanks.
Excellent analogy about the ants and the leaves! The information you’ve provided in this post is very helpful – I’ll be passing it on to others.