Source: Date: Updated: |
TheBahamasInvestor.com
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 Wednesday, March 2, 2011 |
For four days this week, industry leaders, policy makers and major players will be discussing the key issues in the field of domain assets and e-business at Domain Roundtable at Atlantis, Paradise Island. The conference will cover topics as diverse as tactics for branding, leveraging social network media, navigating the marketplace and domain development.
The first session held March 2 addressed tactics for successful branding.
Founder and chief executive officer of Worldwide Media Inc, Micheal Berkens, mentioned that the first challenge is coming up with the brand and building on it through social network media.
“Once you get trademarked and the logo process completed, it is all about getting in front of people. You have to get a Facebook presence, with the name of the company, and get 25 followers really quickly. The same for Twitter. You can be much more interactive with the user through social media than a website.”
Gregg McNair chairman of PPX International Group, a key player in the domain industry, agreed, noting that Facebook traffic this year will exceed Google. “If you are not involved in social network media, you are missing the boat.”
“There are numerous constraints, but it is a very useful addition to the website.”
McNair went on to stress the importance of building a personal brand, as well as a corporate one. “Your success is built on your reputation with the people you interact with. Build an image of integrity. Over the last couple of years it has become even more important to have credibility.”
The CEO warned, however, that such face-to-face interaction comes at a cost, saying that his company spends around $400,000 a year sending staff to events, meetings and conferences. “If you have the budget it is worth it, though, to present a consistent and credible persona so that people want to be part of what you do.”
Panelist Andries de Villiers, vice president at adMarketing, said that, from a direct marketing perspective, advertisers want simple communication about what a domain has to offer, what is the volume of traffic, the type of user they get and where they are coming from.
“Advertisers are looking to buy into an audience–targetting the user rather than specific placements. There is now huge importance placed on performance–looking to drive performance once a user arrives at the client’s website.”
As for the brand name, again de Villiers stressed the importance of keeping it simple. “You have to set yourself apart, be unique and different, but your brand name has to speak to what you do.”
The Domain Roundtable conference continues through March 4.
scotterill@dupuch.com