2. http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/0-class-outline.mp4
The Ebook
drho.ro/marketing-ebooks/research-with-tumblr
Marketing Research with Tumblr is a 16-week semester marketing class ebook for business
undergraduate and MBA students. Marketing Research with Tumblr is designed to be used with a
domain name, online tutorials, a text editor, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Fireworks, and
Adobe Premiere/iMovie.
The Webpage
drho.ro/marketing-classes/research/spring-2011
Blog posts and screencasts on the weekly topics covered in Marketing Research with Tumblr will be here.
Marketing Research with Tumblr will be rewritten in May 2011.
Dr HorowitZ
Marketing Professor
Sonoma State University School of Business and Economics and Wine Business Institute
sonoma.edu/sbe
sonoma.edu/winebiz
3. Week 1
Materials, T Domains, and Productivity
ools,
Week 2
T
umblr
Week 3
T T
umblr hemes
Week 4
Google and Social Media
Week 5
Social Media Buttons
Week 6
Search Engine Optimization
Week 7
Google Analytics
Week 8
Filmed Interviews and Focus Groups
Week 9
Video Editing
Week 10
Web Surveys
Week 11
Illustrator
Week 12
Illustrator Bar Charts
Week 13
Google Website Optimizer
Week 14
Screencasting Results
Week 15
Project
Week 16
Share
4. Week 1
Materials, T Domains, and Productivity
ools,
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/1-materials-tools-domains-productivty.mp4
5. Materials, Tools, Domains, and
Productivity
The focus of this class will be on how websites are measured and used to communicate marketing
research results. Do you know how to observe online traffic, conduct an online survey, design a bar chart
that looks cool and is clickable, conduct filmed focus groups, and experiment on different versions of
online content?
Tumblr is a free microblogging service that can be integrated with Google Analytics, Google Feedburner,
Google Webmaster, Google Custom Search, Google Website Optimizer, Facebook Like and Twitter Tweet
Buttons, and PollDaddy. Marketing research results that look cool and are interactive can be created
with the graphic design programs Adobe Illustrator and made interactive with Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe
InDesign, and Adboe Fireworks. Marketing research results of filmed focus groups can be shared on
YouTube the video editing programs like Adobe Premiere and iMovie.
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
seomoz.org/blog/launching-a-new-website-18-steps
seomoz.org/blog/link-building-tips-for-personal-blogs
Exciting things are happening in the marketing research world right now.
Tumblr
readwriteweb.com/archives/tumblr_leaves_posterous_in_the_dust.php
Tumblr is one of the most popular website/blogging services because it is free to customize and easy to
use.
Materials
drho.ro/lynda
I recommend getting a Lynda.com video tutorial subscription so that you can have expert video tutorials
guide you through learning programs like Adobe Illustrator and topics like Google Analytics, HTML, and
CSS. These programs and topics are not easy to learn and substandard tutorials cause frustration.
Purchasing a Lynda.com video tutorial subscription will be the best $25/month you have ever spent (on
marketing education). Try a free one-day pass and decide for yourself.
drho.ro/tutsplus
I recommend subscribing to Webdesigntuts+ and Vectortuts+ so that you have access to tutorials that
demonstrate how designers are using Illutrator, Tumblr, HTML, and CSS, and Google in a cutting-edge
manner. These sites offer premium tutorials that you can purchase a la carte, or, you can pay $9 a month
for a premium Tuts+ membership.
tv.adobe.com
Adobe has free tutorials at Adobe TV, which you can search by product.
apple.com/ilife/tutorials
Apple has free tutorials, which you can search for by product.
5
6. Tools
Marketing Research with Tumblr is designed to be used with the following software: a text editor, Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Fireworks, and Adobe Premiere/iMovie.
TextWrangler is a free mac text editor available in the computer labs. If you're using a PC get Notepad++.
Adobe Illustrator, Acrobat Premiere, InDesign, and Fireworks CS4 are in the computer labs, and CS5 is the
current version. You can download CS5 at adobe.com and use it free for 30 days.
Domains
sixrevisions.com/resources/12-excellent-tools-for-picking-a-domain-name
smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/29/10-tools-find-register-manage-domain-names
Search for buying a domain name resources.
You should buy a domain name that is short, memorable, easy to get a tattoo of, and easy to shave into
your hair. Search domai.nr to see what’s available. Don’t buy an international domain name unless you
want to wait a month to get started. I buy domain names at GoDaddy. Don’t let GoDaddy pull any used
car salesman moves and upsell you fancy services. You should be aware that the address and phone
number you give GoDaddy will show up online. If you are concerned about privacy you might want to pay
extra to keep your address and phone number hidden.
Productivity
evancarmichael.com/blog/2010/06/29/the-top-50-productivity-blogs-to-watch-in-2010
Search for productivity resources.
Google
google.com/ig
google.com/reader
Get a gmail account and import all of your email accounts into one gmail account.
Filter all of your email that is spam and stop deleting emails.
Don’t email yourself when something happens on Facebook and block people that Facebook spam you.
Start using Google Reader and iGoogle.
Dropbox
drho.ro/dropbox
Dropbox is available for Mac and PC and can be accessed via the web (on school computers).
1Password
drho.ro/1Password
You could also save your passwords in a Dropbox text file or with Google Bookmarks in your iGoogle.
6
8. Week 2
T
umblr
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/2-tumblr-introduction.mp4
9. Tumblr
Learn Tumlbr
Learning Tumblr is like learning Facebook, the more you use the service the better you’ll understand it.
Write some blog posts in the different formats from the dashboard.
Check out the Directory and Goodies sections.
Check out the different menus in the Customize section.
Search the free Tumblr themes in the Theme Garden.
Search the paid Tumblr themes in the Theme Garden.
ThemeForest
themeforest.net/category/misc/tumblr?sort_by=sales_count&type=files&page=1&categories=m
isc/tumblr
Search the professional Tumblr themes at ThemeForest.
Douglas Rushkoff
rushkoff.com
Rushkoff's discussion of focus groups in the Public Relations chapter in Coercion is great. Rushkoff’s
videos The Persuaders and The Merchants of Cool are totally awesome and discuss marketing research.
Rob Walker
murketing.com
Buying In is great. Rob Walker maintains a cool WordPress and Tumblr blog.
Books and Videos
drho.ro/marketing-class-materials/books-novels-literature-reading
drho.ro/marketing-class-materials/videos-and-documentaries
More of my marketing book and video recommendations.
9
10. Week 3
T T
umblr hemes
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/3-tumblr-themes.mp4
11. Tumblr Themes
Tuts+
net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/new-plus-tutorial-tumblr-theme-design-start-to-
finish
Tuts+ Tumblr theme design tutorial.
marketplace.tutsplus.com/item/theme-tumblr-like-a-pro/125399
Rockable Tumblr theme design ebook.
Learn HTML and CSS
vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/learn-web-design
sixrevisions.com/css/20_websites_learn_master_css
Search for learn HTML and CSS resources.
Google Code University tutorials
code.google.com/edu/submissions/html-css-javascript
Nice video introduction to HTML and CSS.
W3Schools
w3schools.com/html/default.asp
w3schools.com/css/default.asp
Great HTML and CSS resources.
Tuts+
net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/css-noob-to-ninja-the-complete-video-series
Great introduction to CSS video tutorial.
Lynda
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=29
Bill Weinman has a XHTML and HTML Essential Training beginner series.
Bill Weinman has a CSS for Developers beginner series.
firebug
getfirebug.com/video/Intro2FB.mp4
With knowledge of HTML and CSS you can customize your Tumblr theme using Firebug and a text editor.
HTML5 and CSS3
html5boilerplate.com
net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/subtle-css3-typography-that-youd-swear-was-
made-in-photoshop
11
12. sixrevisions.com/css/css3-demos-experiments
Search for HTML5 and CSS3 resources.
CodeCanyon
codecanyon.net/category/css?sort_by=sales_count&type=files&page=1&categories=css
Search CodeCanyon for professional CSS.
CSS3 Buttons
lab.simurai.com/css/buttons
You can also find free HTML and CSS to add to your Tumblr website. For example, you can add these CSS3
buttons to your website by adding some CSS to your and adding the correct classes to your HTML.
12
13. Week 4
Google and Social Media
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/4-google-social-media.mp4
14. Google and Social Media
Marketing Metrics
seomoz.org/blog/launching-a-new-website-18-steps
seomoz.org/blog/so-you-call-yourself-an-analyst-part-2-analysis-redefined
Search for marketing metrics recommendations.
Google
google.com/webmasters
Register your site with Google and tell it where your sitemap lives.
More on Google Webmaster in Week 6 when we talk about SEO.
google.com/analytics
Add the Google Analytics tracking code to your site.
More on Google Analytics in Week 7.
feedburner.google.com
Redirect your default Tumblr rss feed (http://DomainName.com/rss) to a FeedBurner rss feed (http://
feeds.feedburner.com/DomainName).
google.com/local/add/businessCenter
Show up on Google Maps.
google.com/cse
Learn how people are searching your website and have their search results appear in Google’s results
format.
Social Media
facebook.com/help/?search=insights
Start a page so that you can get Facebook Insights.
google.com/search?q=twitter+analytics
Search for Twitter analytics resources.
youtube.com/t/advertising_insight
YouTube insight is similar to Google Analytics.
flickr.com/help/stats
Get stats on your photos.
bit.ly
Sign up for a free bit.ly and j.mp pro account.
14
15. Week 5
Social Media Buttons
http://drho.ro//videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/5-social-media-buttons.mp4
16. Social Media Sharing Buttons
Adding comments, a facebook like buttons, twitter tweet buttons, and other social media sharing buttons
take away from Tumblr’s reblog and like functions, but you never know what the boss is going to want, so
you should know how to add social media sharing buttons to Tumblr.
Comments
disqus.com
intensedebate.com
Commenting systems have social media sharing buttons built-in.
A lot of Tumblr themes are already setup to be used with Disqus.
Automattic makes IntenseDebate, so I like this option.
Facebook
developers.facebook.com/plugins
Facebook lets you add all kinds of social stuff.
developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box
Add a Facebook box to your sidebar with the iframe option. Make sure people are liking your site.
Wrap your facebook like box in a div with a unique id and style the div.
HTML:
<div id="myfblikebox">
<!--insert iframe code here-->
</div>
CSS:
#myfblikebox {
display: block;
width: 200px;
height: 400px;
padding: 1px 2px 3px 4px;
}
developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like
Add Facebook like buttons to individual blog posts with the iframe option Make sure the parmalink
"{Permalink}" of each blog post is getting liked.
Wrap your facebook like button in a div with a unique class and style the div.
HTML:
<div class="myfblikebuttons">
<!--insert iframe code here-->
</div>
16
17. CSS:
.myfblikebuttons {
display: block;
width: 200px;
height: 50px;
padding: 1px 2px 3px 4px;
}
Twitter
twitter.com/goodies/tweetbutton
Make sure that people are retweeting your @username, blog post permalinks "{Permalink}", and blog post
titles "{Title}".
Wrap your facebook like button in a div with a unique class and style the div.
HTML:
<div class="mytwittertweetbuttons">
<!--insert iframe code here-->
</div>
CSS:
.mytwittertweetbuttons {
display: block;
width: 200px;
height: 50px;
padding: 1px 2px 3px 4px;
}
AddThis, ShareThis, and AddToAny
addthis.com
sharethis.com
addtoany.com
These services have good videos on why you should use them and are good if you want a one-stop-shop
for lots of social media sharing buttons.
17
19. Search Engine Optimization
Learn SEO
seomoz.org/blog/best-seo-blogs-top-10-sources-to-stay-uptodate
seomoz.org/blog/a-comprehensive-intro-to-seo-powerpoint-slide-deck-
seomoz.org/blog/search-engine-landscape-2010
Search for SEO resources.
seomoz.org/learn-seo
Check out the learn SEO page at SEOmoz.
seomoz.org/blog
I follow the SEOmoz blog.
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=206
Jill Whalen has the series SEO: Search Engine Optimization Getting Started.
Keywords
google.com/webmasters/tools/keywords
How do you want Google to see your site?
Use Google Webmaster’s keywords tool to see how Google is crawling your site.
Titles and meta descriptions
<title>{block:PostSummary}{PostSummary} | {/block:PostSummary}{Title}</title>
{block:Description}<meta name="description" content="{MetaDescription}" />{/block:Description}
Make sure your titles and meta descriptions are unique for each of your posts.
Make sure that your titles and meta descriptions are the right length, full of keywords, and not full of
two-letter words.
Header, srtong, and em tags
<h1>My Awesome <strong>Keyword</strong> Blog</h1>
<h2>Because <em>keywords</em> are awesome</h2>
Make sure that your <h1> through <h3> tag structure makes sense. Your blog post titles should be <h1>
or <h2> tags and the title at the top of your page should be in <h1> tags.
Use strong <strong> tags or bold <b> tags in your HTML.
Use emphasis <em> tags or italics <i> tags in your HTML.
Alt and title tags
<a href="http://DomainName.com/keyword1-keyword2" title="keyword">
<img src="http://DomainName.com/keyword1-keyword2.jpg" alt="keyword">
Your links should have title tags and your multimedia tags should have alt tags.
19
20. Permalink urls/slugs
http://DomainName.com/post/1553580601/keyword1-keyword2-keyword3
Your post urls should have words in them and they should be the right length.
Duplicate content
<a href="{NextPage}" rel="nofollow">Next Page</a>
<a href="/archive" rel="nofollow">Archive</a>
<a href="/mobile" rel="nofollow">Mobile</a>
You only want Google to index your home, post, and page urls. All your other Tumblr urls should be
nofollow links.
Canonical url
<link rel="canonical" href="http://DomainName.com" />
Set your canonical url. I don’t like the www’s.
Clean up your theme
Get rid of links in your theme that you didn’t put there.
Link juice
Link to your important posts in your home page’s header, sidebar, and footer.
Contact Info
Make sure a mailing address, phone number, and email address is on your home page.
Website speed
developer.yahoo.com/yslow
Make sure that your browser is not resizing images.
Search Engine Marketing
seomoz.org/blog/link-building-tips-for-personal-blogs
seomoz.org/blog/link-building-101-the-almost-complete-link-guide
Can you get people to link to your site?
SEO Tools
seomoz.org/dp/the-internet-marketing-handbook
In addition to Google Webmaster, there are lots of great SEO tools.
tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html
chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/diahigjngdnkdgajdbpjdeomopbpkjjc
I kind of like the SEO for Firefox add-on and the Chrome SEO Site Tools extension.
20
21. Week 7
Google Analytics
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/7-google-analytics.mp4
22. Google Analytics
Learn Google Analytics
seomoz.org/blog/overcome-the-google-analytics-learning-curve-in-20-minutes
Search for learn Google Analytics resources.
google.com/support/conversionuniversity
Learn Google Analytics at Google Conversion University.
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=890
Corey Koberg has a Google Analytics Essential Training.
Google Analytics Alternatives
blog.webdistortion.com/2009/04/06/5-refreshing-alternatives-to-google-analytics
getclicky.com/#theotherguys
Search for Google Analytics alternatives.
Goals
google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55515
Goals are great for on-site analytics like traffic funnels.
Event Tracking
seomoz.org/blog/google-analytics-event-tracking-to-monitor-calls-to-action
code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/eventTrackerGuide.html
Adding Event Tracking to Google Analytics involves adding inline JavaScript, which is a little tricky. It might
be easier to use bit.ly links to measure clicks on specific on-site and off-site links.
Campaigns
google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?answer=55518
Campaigns are used to measure the effectiveness of promotional campaigns at bringing traffic to your
site.
Mobile
Get the Google Analytics iPhone or Android app so that you can show off your traffic at any time.
22
24. Filmed Interviews and Focus Groups
Qualitative Marketing Research
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research
Wikipedia has a great section on marketing research.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research#Marketing_research_methods
Check out the section on marketing research methods.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_marketing_research
Filmed interviews and focus groups are qualitative marketing research methods:
Filming
Get a recording device--a digital camera, camcorder, smart phone, or flip cam.
Write a list of questions that go from general to specific.
Try to use a tripod.
Consider the lighting conditions.
Consider the background sound.
Only film the subject.
Get your subjects talking.
Don’t let your subjects start acting.
24
26. Video Editing
ae.tutsplus.com/articles/roundup/29-facebook-pages-that-you-should-already-like
Search for video editing and motion graphics resources.
VideoHive
videohive.net/page/top_sellers
Check out professional stock video at VideoHive.
AudioJungle
audiojungle.net/page/top_sellers
Check out professional stock audio at AudioJungle.
iMovie and Premiere
apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie
Apple tutorials.
tv.adobe.com/product/premiere-pro
Adobe tutorials.
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=210
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=60
Lynda.com tutorials.
YouTube
blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5886/5-YouTube-Features-to-Get-More-Video-Views.
aspx
Search for YouTube resources.
26
27. Week 10
Web Surveys
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/10-polldaddy-surveys.mp4
28. Web Surveys
Quantitative Marketing Research
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research#Marketing_research_methods
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_marketing_research
Wikipeida has a great section on quantitative marketing research.
Web Surverys
idealware.org/custom-resources/tips/online-survey-tools-help-you-gather-data
Search for web survey options.
PollDaddy
polldaddy.com
support.polldaddy.com
We are going to use PollDaddy surveys (not polls).
Your goal is to keep people on your Tumblr website while they fill out your PollDaddy survey.
28
31. Week 12
Illustrator Bar Charts
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/12-illustrator-bar-charts.mp4
32. Adobe Illustrator Bar Charts
vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/quick-tip-spice-up-your-graphs-with-column-designs
sixrevisions.com/content-strategy/using-charts-and-graphs-for-content
smashingmagazine.com/2010/09/29/creating-graphs-with-adobe-illustrator
vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/how-to-create-outstanding-modern-infographics
noupe.com/how-tos/creative-examples-of-infographics.html
Search for Adobe Illustrator Bar Chart resources.
Graphic River
graphicriver.net/searches?term=graph&type=files
graphicriver.net/searches?sort_by=sales&type=files&categories=&category=&page=&term=gra
ph&type_id=
Search GraphicRiver for professional bar charts.
Interactive .pdf, flash, and html/css bar charts
Adobe Acrobat Pro is the easiest tool to make interactive .pdf files, but you can also you Adobe InDesign
and Fireworks. You can use InDesign to do cool stuff with .pdf presentations and Flash. You can use
Fireworks for HTML and CSS website prototyping.
Lynda
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=6
Brian Wood has an Acrobat 9 Pro Essential Training
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=777
James Fritz has a sweet InDesign CS5: Interactive Documents and Presentations series.
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=13
Jim Babbage’s Fireworks Essential Training is good.
Adobe
tv.adobe.com/product/acrobat
tv.adobe.com/product/fireworks
tv.adobe.com/product/indesign
help.adobe.com/en_US/indesign/cs/using/WSFE8A2A9F-6111-416c-85D7-6C51F202E8ED.
html
You can export interactive InDesign files to .pdf and Flash.
help.adobe.com/en_US/fireworks/cs/using/WS4c25cfbb1410b0021e63e3d1152b00d35d-8000.
html
You can export interactive Fireworks files to .pdf and to HTML and CSS.
32
33. Week 13
Google Website Optimizer
http://drho.ro/videos/screencasts/marketing-research-with-tumblr/13-google-website-optimizer.mp4
34. Google Website Optimizer
Experiments
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research#Marketing_research_methods
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_techniques
Wikipedia has a good section on marketing research experiments.
conversion-rate-experts.com/articles/101-google-website-optimizer-tips
Search for Google Website Optimizer resources.
Google
google.com/intl/en/websiteoptimizer/tutorials.html
Google Website Optimizer tutorials.
Lynda
lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=105
David Booth has a Google Website Optimizer Essential Training tutorial.
Tumblr
Use Tumblr custom pages to do an A/B test by creating an custom page for A, a custom page for B, and
using your home page as the conversion page.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
<style type="text/css">
body {
display: block;
width: 600px;
margin: 10px auto;
background-color: black;
text-align: center;
font-size: 20px; }
a { color: white; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<img src="http://link-to-your-image-online.jpg" />
<a href="http://link-to-your-conversion-page">Click Here!</a>
</body>
</html>
34
36. Screencasting Results
ericfickes.com/2010/08/five-screencasting-options-for-os-x
slimmity.com/2010/02/web-based-screencasting-apps
Search the blogs for screencasting resources.
iShowU HD
store.shinywhitebox.com/ishowuhd/main.html
I purchased iShowU HD and it’s fine.
Screenr
screenr.com
Screenr is free and web-based.
Screencasts with graphic design and video editing
When you combine screencasting with Illustrator’s graphic design capabilities and iMovie’s video editing
capabilities you can do some cool things with marketing research results.
Illustrator Graphic Styles
adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?s=3&o=desc&exc=17&cat=207&event=productHome
&l=-1&from=1
Search for Illustrator graphic styles:
http://vector.tutsplus.com/?s=graphic+styles
Search for Illustrator patterns:
http://vector.tutsplus.com/?s=patterns
If you know your final video is going to be 720p, you can create a 1280px x 720px Illustrator file and use
graphic styles to make cool title images, which you can import into iMovie.
36
39. Acknowledgements
Thank you to all of the educators who share their content online and to my students who listen to me
talk about it. Thank you to Sonoma State University for giving me the academic freedom, computers, and
software to be able to teach this stuff. Thank you to my family for letting me stay in school for so long
and supporting me along the way. Thank you to my friends for dealing with my oversharing.
Bio
drho.ro/marketing-professor/bio
Dr. Horowitz (@DrHoro) is a marketing professor at Sonoma State University who uses his marketing
ebooks and WordPress blog DrHo.ro to teach marketing classes. Dr. Horowitz teaches web design,
graphic design, video editing and search engine optimization skills in his marketing research, promotion
management, and retail management classes. Dr. Horowitz also teaches the wine business study abroad
class The Global Wine Industry.