Posts Tagged ‘craigslist’
Overcoming Economic Trends
Part of my daily routine is a morning meeting, the highlight of which is our open discussion of current and developing trends within our industry and market. Recently a developing trend has been a growing source of discussion and concern. With the economy in the tank, the unemployment rate has continued to climb. Some recent reports speculate that the national unemployment rate may actually be as high as 20 percent. As a result, more than ever the market has been flooded by self proclaimed web designers (aka. the unemployed plumber who once used Microsoft Frontpage to design a website featuring the family dog wearing a Santa hat). Craigslist is flooded with examples of these individuals marketing their services for below even current overseas development rates. They can afford to do this because they have no operation to speak of. In addition to a non-existent operation, they all to often lack the experience and, in the majority of cases, the necessary skills to deliver the project either on time or as intended. All too often we are seeing examples of consumers falling prey to these so called designers and their inadequate services, leaving them with partially completed projects or worse nothing at all. In several examples consumers have invested thousands of dollars, only to find that the only contact number they have is now disconnected and the supposed designer has vanished with their investment, leaving the consumer without any real recourse. This is also an all too often reality when dealing in overseas markets. The geographical situation alone is typically enough to prevent consumers from holding these potential scam artists accountable for their actions. Hard to sue someone overseas. As experienced designers we have all heard our share of horror stories and we are all too familiar with the effect it has on our industry. The question remains, how do we as legitimate Operational Design Firms overcome this frighting new trend in the market. The answer may be more simple than you would imagine, although the execution may prove to be more challenging than expected. So just how do we overcome this challenge? In three words… “Educate The Consumer”. It is this single principle that in my humble opinion will test the creative ability of firms and ultimately determine whether or not they survive these trying economic times. While it may seem simple in context, you might be surprised at how often designers simply fail to communicate the value of their products and/or services.
Educate The Consumer:
The first step in any development project is identifying the consumers goals and expectations for their new web real estate. It is important during this phase, we as members of the tech speak community remain patient. While many consumers have a difficult 
time translating their needs in technical terms, it has been my experience that in most cases the client has a firm concept of the long term expectations for their site and the purpose it is intended to serve. When vetted properly by an experienced developer, a perspective client will provide you with all of the necessary details to develop a comprehensive project plan. Once a plan has been established, it then becomes the responsibility of the developer to communicate said project plan in common speak or in other-words less than technical terms.
There are many fundamentals that go into a well designed web site and an attractive design does not alone make for a successful website. You could have a Rembrandt of a website… but, if no one ever sees it… what purpose does it really serve? A professionally designed website should be an extension of the client’s existing business model and if developed and deployed properly will significantly expand the client’s exposure within a given market. Although, the potential benefits of a well developed web site extend far beyond sheer exposure. Through the integration and deployment of more advanced features like geotargeting and geomarketing, a web site can become a powerful resource that is capable of providing real-time analytical marketing data to the sites’ operators. Advanced features like these provide businesses with the competitive edge needed to grow in an otherwise slow economy. It is the developer’s understanding of these principles and their ability to scale and deploy features like these that will separate them from the run of the mill designer. However, if the developer fails to communicate the distinct advantages in a manner that is understandable to the client, in the end you are simply going to be the firm whose bid was substantially more than the others.
- There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man’s lawful prey.
- John Ruskin, (attributed)
English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 – 1900)
By taking the time to educate the consumer, we move their focus from price to value. Under these circumstances price is only an issue if it remains as the single factor separating your firm’s creative works from a competing firm’s project bid.
To Be Continued…
The preceding article is part 1 in a scheduled series.
Blurb About The Author
Steven Milanese is the Chief Executive Officer of Down By The River, LLC. a professional Graphic Design Firm and Web Hosting provider located in Melbourne, Florida.
Marketing with Craigslist
How much is too much?
The value in marketing with Craigslist is undeniable as many of today’s more savy marketers will attest to, us included. The question isn’t whether or not to include Craigslist as part of your inbound marketing campaign… but, rather how to best utilize this resource to maximize it’s potential return in terms of total unique organic/algorithmic traffic yield.
Wearing A Black Hat
When craigslist was first conceived it was intended to be a consumer to consumer online classifieds community. Note, the “consumer to consumer”. Craigslist was never intended to become the online advertising venue for commercial marketing that it is today. In fact Craigslist has placed a number of electronic road blocks in place in an effort to limit commercial marketers in the number of listings they can post for any particular advertisement. These techniques range in difficulty to overcome… but, as we all know, none of them are insurmountable. Even their holy grail of security measures, the phone verification system is easily overcome with a little ingenuity on the marketers part. These techniques however are a direct violation of craigslist’s Terms Of Service and can result in a variety of actions being taken against the offending marketer should they be caught. Hence, the use of the term Black Hat. This article is not intended to pass judgment on anyone or their practices but rather, we simply wish to evaluate, which in my opinion is an issue of far greater importance and that is whether or not these methods are at all effective in driving organic/algorithmic traffic to your target url. Or are they rather, as some have suggested, a detrimental practice which in the long term can have lasting negative effects on a companies overall public perception.
Perception Is Reality
In order to examine what effect these “Black Hat” marketing techniques can have on a sites organic/algorithmic traffic value. We must first establish what our long term goals for the “web real estate” are. Assuming we are looking to utilize our “web real estate” to serve media associated with developing and or promoting a brand, then the value of the url itself is in many cases synonymous with the brand itself. Bearing this in mind, any responsible brand owner or marketer should acknowledge that the use of the term “Black Hat” being associated with the companies brand, is in itself an issue. When developing and promoting a brand, negative press is to be avoided… Simply put, when it comes to marketing “perception is reality”. A negative perception of ones brand can sink the sales of their products and or services, as sure as that iceberg did the Titanic. So with this in mind we are then forced to evaluate the risk associated with “SPAMMING”.
SPAM? But it’s not email?
Let’s be honest and call this what it is… SPAM. This term no longer applies to email alone. In today’s digital age some marketers are not only looking for new ways to mass assault you with the messages, but in many cases dedicate their lives to it. (If you’ve ever had the opportunity to meet a Spammer they will almost definitely, proudly confess as much to you.) Instead of email, marketers have turned to social networks and other community driven platforms like Craigslist. Now to be clear simply because a company has a facebook or uses Craigslist to market, does not make them a spammer. However, if a marketer is creating false facebook accounts for the purpose of creating large friend networks which they intend to data harvest and/or are posting multiple cities with the same advertisement 500 times a day, 7 days a week… Then they are utilizing SPAM techniques to market and although not always the case SPAM is most often assocated with the word “SCAM”. Here in lies the biggest issue with the use of these techniques. Even in the case of impulse advertising, once a product has been associated with SPAM, this often results in a consumers perception of the company, product or service as “SPAMMY”, and the offer as most likely being a scam. If a consumers first impulse is that the product is a scam, then the marketer has in fact killed his own market by over saturating his message, which in turn has offended his target consumer.
The Soft Serve Method
Instead of depending on the number of times an offer is showing up on Craigslist, would it not be better to give priority to the quality of advertising content you present on Craigslist? If a product has value and a consumer is looking for said product then there is a sale to be had. Instead of assaulting the consumer with 15 listings in the same city and category, one should focus on communicating the value of the product or service through the use of a quality ad creative. In fact when done properly a quality ad campaign can actually lend value to the product or service. A few example might be the “Got Milk” marketing campaign, or for usGeneration X readers, a personal favorite of mine was Wendy’s famous “Where’s the beef” commercial. These campaigns became seamless with their products, ultimately lending value to them.
These same marketing techniques stand true in today’s digital market. Both of these examples focus on creating a lasting impression on the perspective consumer through the use of creative ad content. They were designed to inspire an emotional reaction within the consumer. This creates a “Buzz” and this is the type of perception that one looks to associate with a brands development. The words “fun, creative, inspirational, goofy and hilarious” are just a few responses collected from our own staff when asked about the samples given above. Each of these are “Buzz” words that are positive in nature, leading to the consumer having a positive reaction to the content they have been presented with which they now associate those given brands. Bring us back to my earlier statement, “perception is reality”. While it is marketers who are deploying these “Black Hat” techniques, ultimately it is the responsibility of the Business/Brand (‘s) owner to ensure that they protect their Business and or Brands from any potential negative exposure.
This Article was written by Steven Milanese. Steven is the President and CEO of Down By The River, LLC. a Graphic Design and Web Hosting Firm located in central Florida. Down By The River, LLC. specializes in creating and marketing online services for small to mid sized businesses.
A new addition to the office
An incredible craigslist find. This piece of antique art if hand crafted from solid cherry and much like our designs it is as beautiful as it is functional. The table top can be raised or lowered providing for a total of eight fixed table top angles, including flat. There is minor wear but it only adds more character to the piece. The craftsmanship is inspiring. It is truly an historical piece of art. We consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to create from it. We are currently in the process of attempting to pair it with a matching high chair. Perhaps it will come down to us having to design and create one ourselves… hmmm… In the meantime if anyone has a chair that they feel would compliment our drafting table, please send an email to support@downbytheriverllc.com
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