ProductMarketing.com

Photos as Web Content (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

Our eyetracking studies have documented a dramatic gap in how users approach website images:

• Some types of pictures are completely ignored. This is typically the case for big feel-good images that are purely decorative.
• Other types of pictures are treated as important content and scrutinized. Photos of products and real people (as opposed to stock photos of models) often fall into this category.

via useit.com

Jakob Nielsen makes a strong case for removing and never again using stock photos. The generic multi-cultural group looking admiringly at a laptop screen isn't just bad marketing, this type of art is actively ignored.

Want someone to scrutinize your content? Surround it with meaningful photos of real people and products. The generic stuff just doesn't work.

(Take a look at your web site. You may need to forward this to your own marketing team.)

on Interruptions

It takes 20 minutes to concentrate and the average workplace has an interruption every three minutes. No wonder you can't get any work done.

How do you overcome this? Schedule time for your work.

Got a big webinar or presentation coming up? Got a length document to write? Need time to prepare for an upcoming meeting?

Schedule a meeting with yourself and put it on your calendar.

Got a big stack of things to do? Block a half-day or a full-day on your calendar and work from home. You'd be amazed how much work you can accomplish in a few hours of uninterrupted time.

Some may find it annoying but when I'm back from a trip I schedule my time carefully. I generally only have a day or two to run my personal errands and connect with colleagues before I'm back out on the road for another training session. So I try to schedule those days fairly carefully to optimize my time.

As they say, if you don't manage your schedule, someone else will.

Pragmatic Marketing's annual product management survey

Now in its 11th year, Pragmatic Marketing's survey is the world's largest and most comprehensive look at today's product managers and marketers.

What activities make up a typical week? How many products are managed? How much time is spent in meetings? How does your job compare to thousands of others like you?

Click here to take the survey

The results will be published in the January issue of The Pragmatic Marketer magazine.

My favorite response so far:

29. I wish I knew more about: origami, 50s era calisthenics, Frisian history, non-Keynesian macro-economic models, pro/con of Monte Carlo simulation vs complex design-tree outcome design, 70s/80s Troma movies, wood and composite-materials furniture construction, SQL, et al.

Please don't contact us

Your website is a great way of getting product information to your clients. Or is it? How much does your website generate awareness and product visibility? How easy is it to find relevant information?

Suppose a blogger or journalist wanted to write about your product or service. Could they?

In his new ebook, Real-Time: How Marketing & PR at Speed Drives Measurable Success, David Meerman Scott attempted to contact the Fortune 100 and here's what he found:

• Only 26 of the Fortune 100 have an email address for general media inquiries.
• 10 offered only phone numbers.
• 1 offered only a "contact us" form.
• And when contacted, only 28 responded in any way.

Product marketing managers and marketing professionals spend time and money on programs to generate awareness and leads. But why bother? It seems that only 28% actually want to hear from customers.

Many companies are still living in a one-way world. They promote; you buy. But for today's buyers, there are multiple steps between awareness and contract. A typical buyer wants to learn more about your company. They check Facebook and Twitter and blogs long before they engage with a sales person.

What is the social networking world saying about you and your product? If you're not there, someone else is leading the conversation.

What's the ROI on social media? Learn more in Real-Time: How Marketing & PR at Speed Drives Measurable Success