After Over One Year The Digital Enterprise Program (DEP) Entering Its' Last Stages

Ongoing Discussion

It's really difficult to tell you how often I get asked about the Digital Enterprise Program (DEP) and in particular how long it still has to run. Now for those that don't already know, the Digital Enterprise Program is a Federally funded, Government training initiative which is available nationally, but here in Victoria is being run in part, under the auspices of VECCI.

Time Frame

The program will continue to run its workshops until June this year where it will continue to bring much needed training assistance to any Australian business wishing to receive specialised business training in the increasingly important field of digital and related social media marketing, by way of a series of seven free, two hour seminars that have been running since the start of last year.

Workshops

The topics for the DEP workshops are as follows:

1. Developing an e-strategy
2. Improving business efficiencies:
   Online tools and applications
3. The benefits and risks of digital marketing
4. Social Media
5. Going global online
6. E-commerce
7. Managing customer relationships online
   
   

Each of these seven workshops has been specifically designed in collaboration with local councils and available at no cost based on the full government funding, with the aim of providing a robust platform from which any business can plan, design, implement and run a complete electronic strategy that will position and drive their business performance.

Free Coaching

As well as the series of seven workshops outlined above, any attendee can also (and again at no cost), book a four hour, one on one coaching session with a DEP trainer who will come out to your business to help you you put together your own digital plan and action program.

Against the backdrop of such an integral and dynamic aspect of marketing, this quintessential component continues to grow and evolve at light speed, requiring a strategy that incorporates the key platforms and allows for quick and ongoing adjustments that reflect the numerous changes that occur almost on a daily basis.

Bookings

To book your seat now you can call VECCI directly on: (03) 8662 5333 or email: or go to V.E.CC.I.’s website directly on: http://www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program
for more information.  I urge everyone to pass this post on to anyone they feel may require of benefit from attending and of the workshops or coaching sessions.

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.

Regards,

Daniele.

Facebook Reveal New Look Right Hand Side Column Ads

As you all know I have been for some time concerned about the true value that Facebook provides those businesses that choose to promote on their platform based on the rules around it and the advertising blocking technologies that are freely available today to users who wish to use them.
However as I've also said all along we would continue to monitor any changes or improvements made by Facebook and discuss them as they happened here. On this point it has been revealed i the last week or so that Facebook will now be introducing a new ad format with the arrrival this week of the right-hand column ads.

What Are the Changes

As you can see from the Facebook blog example, the ads are more pronounced and designed to make a bigger splash in terms of impact to hopefully provide a more valuable return on investment from the businesses point of view, whist also providing better value to the reader and potential customer. On this,
Facebook clearly acknowledge the need for them to continue to refine and provide better value for the customers and users alike and this step is an obvious move in this direction.
Facebook have also sggested that initial observation has significantly higher click-through rates from users shown the new advertising design versus the previous style ad. That feedback suggests that users seeing the ads will certainly get a well targetedand impactful ad. So we certainly give that a tick.

What Will The Changes Mean

Facebook will certainly argue then that the advertisers will receive more value for their ad impressions. These ad sill also mean that users will see fewer ads on Facebook. So what will this mean to advertisers.

The inevitable result of this new format which has also been acknowledged by Facebook, that as the bidding for the space on Facebook will increase the total amount of promotional spend will inevitably also require greater promotional budget to compete at the same level. So the key question here is simply this. Is the presumed increased click through rate going to more than offset the certain increases in ad costs to provide a superior ROI? Obviously Facebook believe as they said in their own media post:
"It is our belief that the overall value delivered through this more engaging ad format will offset any potential decreases in impressions".

The true upside for Facebook of course is that they have a great ability to precisely target an audience for an advertiser based on the membership information that all users provide on joining Facebook which ticks all the segmentation criteria. Namely: demographic, geographic and psycho-graphic.
Ultimately what impact this change delivers but again we will follow it closely and monitor and incremental changes as well as anyadditional innovations facebook deliver to overcome the underlying issue of their continuing, ongoing deterioration of their orgaic reach.  Time will certainly tell.

As always to learn more about Facebook or any other form of digital or social media come long to one of the free two hour workshops of the Digital Enterprise Program and qualify for a free four hour one on one coaching session for your bussiness. Simply log on to the VECCI site and click on the link:
http://www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program/workshops
So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele Lima.