How to read Digital Body Language

Interactive marketing becomes deeper and more complex with every click of the web 2.0 clock. This means that customers and prospects have new ways to leave subtle but valuable messages that they are interested in your business -- and you are probably missing them. Steve Gershik, blogging for The Innovative Marketer, has pioneered the concept of Digital Body Language and the tools that marketers can use to integrate consumer actions across multiple channels. With so many options available customers will gravitate towards businesses that most closely match their own personal styles, making Digital Body Language a most worthwhile read.

  Reading habits worth considering

Jeremy Schoemaker’s pragmatic mantra is “prioritize potentially profitable projects". His internet life began in 1995 when a customer (Schoemaker was selling Sears appliances) offered him a job with his ISP. The customer knew that Schoemaker spent a lot of time on the computer, not knowing that it was mostly spent playing games. But the customer, as always, was right. Schoemaker quickly gained the technical skills and retained the marketing instincts that told him there was money to be made with the vast audience the internet was sure to attract. There was, and he did.

He is guided today by a discipline of spotting new trends and keeping an eye out for small changes that can add big profits. Schoemaker's popular blog is called 'ShoeMoney® - Skills To Pay The Bills' and its posts usually point to revenue opportunities (although he seems to have gotten the Twitter bug that is going around). True to form, he now tweets his old mantra.    His blog

Tools: New and/or improved

• Backlink checkers that actually help (Search Engine Journal)
• W3Counter, Another Alternative To Google Analytics! (Search Engine News)
• 55 Quick SEO Tips Even Your Mother Would Love (Search Engine Journal)
• Metrics that matter — digging into the customer's mindset (Marketing Experiments)

Can you enjoy social media AND have a life?

The blogs are full of examples of people using social media to true advantage, suggesting real value and the emergence of a profitable business model. But will large scale audiences find the barriers to social entry too formidable? E-consultancy borrows the phrase "an inconvenient truth" to make the point that most people are able to fill all 24 hours without much help from Twitter, Facebook and the rest. Blogging in WatchMojo, Ashkan Karbasfrooshan makes a sobering case that social media may never monetize well without reaching a critical mass. The true benefit, however, may not be found in big numbers but in valuable communication with existing customers argues Gino Cosme who warns businesses not to overlook a key link to involved buyers.