5 Tips for Using iGoogle Gadgets to Help Your Marketing Efforts

by Lyndi Lawson

I’ve reverted. Perhaps temporarily. Why? Because 5 tips just seems like the right number of tips to have. More seems superfluous. Less makes me feel like I’m cheating you out of my invaluable pearls of wisdom. Don’t scoff – you’ll hurt my delicate little feelings!

Anyway, my feelings aside, this week’s tips focus on Google gadgets. Asking what those are is not a crime – unless you’ve read the whole newsletter already and haven’t yet grasped the basics. Here’s the low down: Google Gadgets are essentially teensy weensy Webpages that (like any other) are written largely in Java, HTML, CSS or Flash. Like useful little pets they live on your iGoogle home page, on third party websites or on your Google desktop. The difference is that these little creatures don’t mess on your carpets, chew your skirting boards or wake the neighbours. In fact, usually they are designed to serve a specific (usually practical and useful) purpose.

You might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with marketing?” Basically, if you are looking for a unique way to market yourselves online, then a Google gadget might be just the thing you’re looking for. And, the good news is that pretty much any tech savvy individual can build a Google gadget. What’s more, there are great benefits to using these spiffy little marketing tools. I don’t want to rabbit on about it but they can be an excellent link building opportunity and will drive traffic to your site. Gadgets also enable companies to build a useful tool and then attach their brand to it. This reaches a wide audience, provides an opportunity to appear on affiliate sites, and reaches people daily on their personalised home pages. What more could a marketer want, really? Yes, I rabbited. So sue me.

Along with benefits, there are also rules.
Well, not rules so much as best practices. These tips will not only help you use this tactic to your advantage, but it will also ensure that your gadgets get used by your target audience. So here they are:

1). Looks Do Count
Anyone who argues anything to the contrary is either lying or deluded. Sure, there are always ways around this universal truth, but in real life, pretty people get noticed with less effort. It sucks, but it is nonetheless true. And when it comes to prettiness, the attraction is not limited to other people either. If people didn’t like pretty things, the fashion industry would be non-existent, and commodities that rely on their aesthetic appeal would be redundant. On a smaller scale, it’s the same with gadgets. As with fashion, much of it does come down to personal taste, but there are always ways to maximise the chances that an individual will like the look of your gadget. A neat, appealing thumbnail is a good start. Easy to read text is crucial. And ensuring that your gadget doesn’t take up too much space and is a standard height also helps.

2). Focus on Honesty and Consistency
Often, when you’re building a brand, selling one idea to potential clients and then changing the terms to benefit you, is tempting. Don’t do it. It’s not polite. Users who add your gadget expect you not to change the gadget suddenly, or bombard them with banner ads or trick them into clicking through to your site. Because your gadget will become associated with your brand, it is important to keep that association a positive one.

3). Don’t Ask For Personal Information
I’m one of those people who hardly ever adds Facebook applications because of that little box you have to tick that allows them to ‘Know who I am and access my information’. While I will admit that I am a bit of a freak when it comes to privacy, I don’t think I’m alone in this either. People don’t like to share their details online. For me, the idea of compromising my privacy far outweighs almost any benefit that I will derive from using an app or a gadget. If you’re going to ask people for their personal details, you have to come to terms with the fact that it will put some people off. And you don’t want this, trust me. So, avoid it if possible. 

4). Achieve a Balance between Value and Fun
The most popular gadgets will always be those that look good, are fun to use and serve a purpose, even if this purpose has no long term practical value. People love applications and gadgets that they can interact with on some level, although currently the most popular Google gadget is a time and date calendar. What you do is important, but how you do it matters more. If you find a unique way to package information that users want, you will have a popular little gadget on your hands.

5). Keep Your Content Fresh
Just like any website, fresh content is key to ensuring that your gadget becomes popular and remains so. There has to be an incentive for the user to keep using. Providing something awesome once-off is all very well, but as soon as the user is done with your gadget, he will probably delete it. There shouldn’t be any need for me to tell you that this is BAD for your brand. Ensuring that there is something new to keep them interested is a great way to ensure that your gadget (and by association, your brand) sticks.

And that is about it from me. Go forth and build. It’s easy, it’s fun and provided you think it through before you start, the final product is bound to be rewarding.
If you’re going to be in Jozi next week and you’re keen to learn more about Google gadgets make sure you book your seat to attend the Google gadget API event which is being hosted by Quirk and Google South Africa. Find out more about the event now.


 

2008/08/19 | permalink | comments (0) | trackbacks (0)

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