As brands develop strategies for their 2009 marketing budgets, determining the correct mix of traditional and interactive is often a challenging task. The following steps can help you ensure you identify the best mix for your brand.

First, step back and take a look at the big picture. You should address key questions regarding marketing for your brand, including:

• What are your goals – are you seeking to develop your brand, generate leads, increase online and/or offline sales, or increase customer retention?
• What are your expectations – how can you apply metrics to your goals and what accomplishment equals success?
• Who is your target audience, and where have you historically reached that audience?

The answers to the above questions will help you determine potential channels (online and offline) for your marketing efforts.

Once you have determined the potential channels, you should prioritize those channels to emphasize as part of your strategy. Look at the results from previous marketing programs; some channels may be able to reach your customers but perhaps are providing diminishing returns while others are providing a consistent or increasing return on investment. There may be benefits to maintaining a presence in those channels that are not providing the highest return, but those channels should not be a heavy focus of your budget. Keep in mind that return does not always mean direct revenue – your goals determine the best metric for ROI.

Depending upon the level of experience your brand has in interactive, you may not know the answers to all the questions above. Once you have considered the questions, and answered what you can, discuss your goals with your interactive agency partner. Tell them what you have observed and what you would like to do. Your agency can provide additional insight based on its own experience, including information on the latest trends in online behavior for your target audience, what interactive channels can best help you reach your goals, and how to interpret results from previous marketing efforts. Together you can determine the right mix of your budget to commit to interactive.

There has been much buzz in the industry lately about Social Media Marketing. However, the impression that I get from clients and other interactive industry insiders is that it’s still a bit like a junior high school dance: lots of people standing around the edge of the dancefloor, waiting for more people to take the plunge before they go out there (and risk a major embarrassment).

Social Media has tremendous potential as essentially the word-of-mouth marketing of the twenty-first century. Most companies do recognize that transparency and authenticity are two qualities that garner your brand access to today’s consumers. However, with the promise of all that globally-web-empowered word-of-mouth comes significant risk, as well as a channel that is still in its infancy (meaning that the benchmarks for determining ROI for social media marketing are still being developed).

That said, there are ways that your business can begin dipping its toe in the uncertain waters of social media marketing in a relatively low-risk way. Is social media marketing right for every business? If we’re talking about a formal campaign including viral elements, probably not.

But I do believe that every business in this current age of low consumer confidence in traditional brand marketing needs to be cautious about being perceived as a “black box,” where only carefully-crafted, expertly spin-doctored corporate communication ever exits its hallowed halls. People ultimately want to do business with… people. Actual, live human beings.

If your company isn’t ready to enter the fray of formal social media marketing (and that may be a very smart move for your business, at this time), you still need to be cognizant of the cultural factors driving social media and conversational marketing. You need to look at all your communications–press releases, web copy, newsletters, advertisements–and do an honest assessment of how approachable and human your messaging is. We’re not suggesting a “warts and all” style is right for every company, or even most companies. However, the tone and voice of even the most conservative business should always be warm and personable.

Working on integrating the principles of authenticity and transparency into your current channels of communication, and learning to speak on a more personal level even within those traditional message forms, is a smart move for any brand. It can also help set the stage and build the foundation for your company to gracefully move into the promising world of social media marketing in the future.

Well, the news is out.  LeapFrog Interactive has opened a new office in Boston. 

After many months of hard work, by an amazing Team that I cannot say enough good things about, I am pleased to announce the opening of the Boston office of LeapFrog Interactive!  We are opening this office to better serve our clients located in the Northeast corridor.  We will initially support business development and client services from that location.

Liz Hill (lhill@leapfroginteractive.com), VP Business Development, is a Boston native who has come on board to help us launch and run the office.  She has a deep background in interactive agency services and has worked in Boston and New York for most of her professional career.

The Boston location also puts us closer to a number of global online media providers.  This is becoming increasingly important as we offer an ever-greater mix of online media buying and social media marketing services.

Regardless of location, our focus will remain adding value to our clients’ business, whom we would like to thank for their continued support.  We highly value and appreciate it. 

Imagine a marketing world where your message is screened by a panel of judges who impact the visibility of your brand. Follow that by a voting process where the consumer determines whether or not your message is kicked out of the competition. Sound like a far-fetched marketer’s nightmare? In reality, it’s just everyday interactive marketing!

Whether you like it or not, your online brand is in a contest. It is part of a judging and voting process that controls the visibility and longevity of your message. Search engines place a great many well-conceived rules and regulations around your message, and then judge your site to determine how well or poorly you did.

Beyond that, search engines respond to the voting public. With each search conducted, the search engines count the votes. Sites that receive the highest vote tallies (i.e. clicks) are granted higher scores in the competition for that search term. Over time those sites with relatively fewer votes are “kicked off� the top five, then off the first page, and so on.

So how do you ensure your site is the Kelly Clarkson of internet marketing?

Build it right. This isn’t hard and the rules are established. Find an interactive agency with the credentials and experience you can trust to build your website in a manner the ‘judges’ will like. (And don’t try tricks – the search engines are smarter than you!)

Stay relevant. If you abandon your website once it’s built, consumers will do exactly the same. Everything from content to imagery to site features and tools need constant updating, indexing, and growth. Search engines reward activity and so do users.

Get talked about. We may root for the underdog and empathize with the wallflower, but in online marketing, it’s the brand socialites who get all the votes. If you haven’t yet gotten serious about getting talked about…now’s the time. Coordinated, measured, and consistent activity in blogs, podcasts, video sites, and social media communities will start and sustain excitement about your brand that turns into votes.

And remember, the most savvy American Idol contestants don’t let the judging and voting scare them. They make an impact, mold opinion, and drive their own result. With a little hard work and the right partner, your online brand can do the same.

Getting talked about has long been the purview of the Hollywood set and the politicians of both red and blue persuasions.  When was the last evening out with friends that didn’t have some mention of a movie, television show or star?  Or some reference to politics or a politician? 

Getting talked about is how these “industries� build brand value.  If nobody is talking about a movie star, you’ll likely see them showing up in B-movies pretty soon.

The same is true of your brand.  The internet has become a social medium.  It’s where people go to socialize, show off pictures of their children, brag about their favorite sports team, talk politics, and share the latest gossip about movie stars or local celebrities closer to home. 

Just as in the real world, these online ‘neighbors’ share their opinions of your brand, product, or service.  When someone asks “has anyone ever tried ____�,  invariably someone in their blog or forum has an experience or an opinion about that product or service. 

When an online user has a great experience with something new, they talk about it, recommend it, and want others to have a similarly positive experience.  Just like gathering around the water cooler – whoever has the newest cell phone or cutest outfit is happy to share information on where to shop, what to ask for, how much to pay, and what pitfalls to avoid. 

If your brand isn’t yet an Internet Socialite, don’t worry, it’s never too late to get started.  But remember, the talking never stops.  If your brand isn’t getting talked about, someone else’s is.