Cocktail Hour: May 25, 2012

We’re approaching a holiday weekend here in the US, so many of you are probably already counting down the minutes until the end of the day. I hope that if you are reading this after 3:00 p.m. you do so while enjoying a refreshing adult slushie (also known as a snow cone cocktail) in the sun. Hell, who am I kidding? Start whenever. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!

This week Obama commented on the mobile debate, urging government agencies to create mobile-optimized sites. A street artist used the Photoshop toolbar to call out the manipulation of advertising images. The New Yorker apparently has it out for some poor social media strategist or intern, as they plan to tweet out an 8,500-word story in the next 10 days.

Here’s a round-up of some great marketing-related content we found in other publications to keep you as informed as possible:

How To Identify Your Customers, Make Them Love You, And Keep Them Hooked (Fast Company): For every brand there are two types of target groups — the magnets and the takers. Each brand has to find the right mix of these two groups, both which are necessary for the brand to be successful. Understanding how your core audience will attract other advocates of the brand is essential for any product launch. Do you know who your magnets and takers are?

Why The Marketing World Needs More Correlation Research (SEOmoz): We all know that correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, but why do marketers seem to be against studying the relationships between data? The author makes the case for more study into the correlations between social, SEO and traffic, even if there is the risk of misinterpretation.

Not All Visitors Make Great Customers – Moving Beyond Conversion Rates, Part 2 (User Interface Engineering): Is there a set of consumers that shouldn’t be a customer set? While the goal of some brands is to convert every website visitor to make a purchase or take some type of action, there are many who tout the idea that getting the right type of customer is more essential to the profits and success of the business.

Discontent (Cognition): There is a whole suite of popular web apps that have been created to remove the design of a site (and advertisements), leaving only the words against a white background. These applications’ success stems not from a content problem, but a issue of design. Develop a content strategy at the start and understand that creating a reading experience that’s pleasurable should be the goal — it’s too easy now for a reader to remove your brand, along with ads, with one click.

How to Lead Your Company Through Change (Inc.): It’s no surprise that agencies experience a lot of turnover; they are constantly evolving, working to stay ahead of technology and consumer demands, not to mention changing roles as accounts are added or lost. In this ever-changing environment, leaders need to understand how to mobilize, persuade (show them that change can be exciting, healthy, and profitable) and prove to their employees that the company is still committed and trusted.

What have you been reading this week?