The Shadyness of Online Marketing is Highlighted by Online Marketers Themselves

Yesterday I was browsing around on some of the websites of other companies working with similar things as ourselves. One thing that struck me was that several of these companies almost feel guilty about being Online marketers, and have to highlight the fact that there are some unreliable companies and methods in our industry. I don’t understand why really.

If you log on to Volvo’s website, or BMW, you don’t see them talking about all shady car brands and makings out there. Nor do they talk about any doubtful production methods that exist in their industry. The reason that they do not talk about this is simply because there is no reason to do so. Why should a legitimate company have to excuse themselves for being in the same industry as other shady companies?

The Online marketing industry has a lot of innovative, creative and hard working people that work endless days on their projects and for their client’s. A lot of the people are highly motivated and driven, and come up with own solutions based on their own experiences and their clients needs. This is also why the Online marketing industry is so vibrant, dynamic and in constant change. This is something to be proud of if anything.

Let’s face it, there will always be shady companies in all industries. The only way to wash away that shady mark is to focus on all the good aspects of the Online marketing industry instead of being ashamed to be a part of it. If you’re not using any doubtful methods, then why are you feeling guilty? I would never excuse myself for being a part of this industry, I’m proud of it because I know that me and my team always do our best to assist our clients in their needs.

Soheil Amorpour, CEO @ Cperspective Online Marketing

The Benefits of Being Small

It’s a bit funny how a lot of companies are afraid of admitting that they are small. At Cperspective we’re quite proud of being a small company. The reason for this is that we think our industry benefits smaller companies in many ways.

1. Being a small company makes us more flexible.
In theory, we could change our whole business by next week if we wanted to. We could go from doing banner advertising to only doing web design, or… selling apples. The Online advertising industry changes rapidly, and the larger the company, the harder the change. We are small and dynamic, we can adjust our business to the market instantly, and this gives us an edge on a lot of larger companies.

2. We don’t have time to waste, so we won’t waste yours.
One of the downsides of being small is that we never have enough time. However, as most things in life, theres two sides of the same coin. Not having enough time also means that we do not waste other peoples time. We do not have lengthy processes where we keep our clients on hold before getting back to them. We do things quickly, to get quick response and know what we will be doing within the next few weeks.

3. We build a strong team.
The atmosphere at Cperspective is great, not only because all people here are great, but also because we are so small. Our small size make us grow tighter bonds to each other, and we are like a small family in the office. There are no walls between the CEO (me) and the other guys, we all sit at the same place. A strong and happy team is the best foundation a company can have, and oftentimes it leads to equally happy clients.

In the beginning, I was also scared of admitting that we were a smaller company. After a few years I have now realized that this is a big benefit in many ways, and I am actually very proud of our size. We don’t want to be the biggest company around, we want to be the best at what we do. That comes with having a great team, atmosphere and the right people for the job, not being the biggest.

Soheil Amorpour, CEO @ Cperspective Online Marketing

Cperspective’s New Office

Ok so I’ve had some problems keeping this blog updated, but now I have decided to get things more structured and make the blogging more of a routine.

The most interesting piece of news at the moment is Cperspectives new office space in Stockholm, Sweden. We have been pretty busy getting everything in place, and at the same time trying to keep up our day to day activities. At the moment we have managed to get in a few desks, seats, a white board, a nice sofa and a plant. We are planning to get in some more stuff, we have asked Caty to design a few pictures that we can hang on the wall.

Anyhow, here are a few pictures from when we just had moved in:

Anwar and Caty doing something really productive.

This is where I usually sit, and you can also spot our nice plant!

Caty has drawn the Cperspective logo on our new whiteboard, and I’m documenting it on my phone.

Thats all for now!

Major Security Flaw in Facebook

Earlier today, TechChrunch published an article, revealing one of the worst security flaws in Facebook’s history. This little loop hole in security made it possible for anyone to read their friends chats, and supposedly also look at their messages. In other words, if you (for some strange reason) though that you had any privacy what so ever on Facebook, then think again.

Facebook seem to be on the case now however as their chat function is disabled, and the privacy settings seem to have been fixed as well. But if anyone has been treating you differently the last few days, or seems to know a bit “too much”, then this could be the reason why.

Below is a video from TechCrunch showing exactly how the loop hole could be exploited:

That’s all for now!

Soheil Amorpour
CEO @ CPerspective Online Marketing

The Lack of Unity in Online Marketing

One of the major problems with Online Marketing today is the lack of Unity. Two of the best examples of this are:

1. The lack of consensus in what rates are appropriate in Banner Advertising.
2. The lack of non-biased scientific studies that provide a blue print for effective banner placement.

I am aware that many studies are carried out on banner advertising, but the area is still very young and there is no clear understanding yet of what constitutes an optimal banner placement or campaign.

Also, there is no unity in regards of what a fair price is for a marketing campaign; being CPM, CPC, CPA or any other price model that is being used today. CPM prices vary from a few cents to 30-50 Euros; surely the quality of traffic cannot differ that much? It’s hard to imagine that one impression is worth up to a thousand times more on one site than the other, if seen by the same person.

The problems that arise from this should be of highest interest to both publishers as well as advertisers. Publishers are oftentimes being paid less than they should, because of lack of knowledge, and advertisers are oftentimes paying too much of their budget for certain campaigns. It could perhaps be argued that the advertisers can even this out by mixing low and high CPM’s, but it’s hard to tell if this is true in the long run. Some advertisers are concerned with their brand and its association, hence, they cannot buy as many “low quality” impressions as other advertisers.

I personally think that the industry is in need of more unity, especially in the field of banner advertising. There’s also a need for a more fair type of pricing model, that actually makes sense for both publishers and advertisers. Once there is scientific backup for why placements look like they do, and why prices are at the level they are, then we can also see the real power of Online advertising, as it should be.

Soheil Amorpour
CEO @ CPerspective Online Marketing

Would you do it?

Apart from being sick the last week and a half I’ve also managed to get quite a lot of work done (not that I don’t get work done otherwise but.. yeah). We’ve been really busy with the launch of MyRaceDriver. At the same time we have a lot of campaigns coming up for our clients, so we are having some really busy days at CPerspective.

A question that always pops up – and should pop up in everyones head – when planning campaigns, building landing pages or putting together banners and promotions is “Would I do that?”. This is something most marketers probably think, but I’d say very few manage to actually translate this into their work. Would you read all the copy on your website? Would you click that banner? Would you find your own promotion interesting, having in mind that there are so many others out there offering same services as you? If you hesitate to answer that question, then you’re having some real problems.

The standpoint all marketers need to take is “would I do that?”. Once you can answer yes to that question without hesitating, you can feel somewhat confident in your upcoming campaign.

Soheil Amorpour
CEO @ CPerspective Online Marketing