The above video is an interview with Jack Flanagan of comScore at the SES conference expo on March 24,2009 in New York. The video provides excellent tips on how to market your business online during this turbulent economy.
Monthly Archives: April 2009
The Economic Downturn Is No Excuse to Forget About Online Marketing
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Filed under SEO copywriter, attract clients, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, online advertising, online marketing
Charleston Style Concierge Rocks the News
Filed under headlines, market in economic crisis, social networking, website copywriter
We’re excited to announce that our cleint Charleston Style Concierge has been receiving a lot of press for being Charleston’s leading style expert. In this video, Charleston Style Concierge owner and style expert Lee Heyward shares her effective style tips for dressing for success.
The Secret to Strategically Placing Online Articles
Filed under Marketing Strategy, SEO copywriter, article marketing, attract clients, ezines, ghostwriting, grow your business, increase online sales, online articles
The top 5 online article platforms:
1) Article directories
2) Other blogs
3) Publishing sites
4) Social media sites
5) Bookmarking sites
Once you have an article completed, submit it to a reputable article directory. One great thing about these directories is that your article has the ability to be read by thousands. Usually directories allow people to reprint your article, providing they give you the credit and they help with inbound links.
Most directories have a bio box, which allows you to include your web address and a brief bio about your company or a call to action. A specific call to action with your website link is the most effective way to get the reader to visit your site. As with asking for inbound links, you need to use caution when choosing an online directory.
There are general directories, which allow you to categorize your article topic and add your article keywords. There are also niche directories. Some reputable directories are ezinearticles.com, GoArticles, Article Dashboard, and Buzzle.
Two other article marketing platforms, which go hand in hand, are someone else’s blog or a publishing site.
When approaching popular bloggers and online publications to feature your article on their site, it’s important to strategically craft your pitch. Tell the blogger or online publication editor why your article would be beneficial to readers and, therefore, improve the readership on his / her blog or publication. Provide several article options and illustrate the benefit readers will receive if the blogger or publication were to use your article on his / her site.
The fourth and fifth article marketing platforms go hand in hand, as well. Posting your article on social media sites and bookmarking sites are both excellent ways to increase SEO and online exposure.
Social media websites are an important online vehicle for increasing SEO. There are many social media websites where you can post your article and link it to your company profile. Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, MySpace, and discussion forums are just a few places worth checking out. Facebook for example, allows you to create a company page with your mission statement, basic information, photos, events, video, a place to put your logo, and an area where your blog is fed directly onto the page every time you add a new post. You can also post articles on discussion boards, in the link section, and in recent news sections.
Is Email Dead? If Social Media Has Its Way, It Just Might Be. . .
Filed under Gain Brand Loyalty, attract clients, blogging for business, grow your business, increase site traffic, marketing in bad economy, marketing trends, small business marketing, website copywriter
The fate of email is beginning to fall into the online graveyard, where dial-up internet and huge computer monitors rest in peace. According to Nielson Online, internet users are communicating via social media sites and blogs more than email.
What is drawing so many people away from using email ? Could it be that we love knowing what everyone is doing 24 / 7 and need to be updated when someone is taking a nap? I think so. As we become hungrier for information, email doesn’t seem to cut it anymore.
Social media sites have everything, it seems. They’re more engaging, provide media beyond the written word, offer more in-the-moment information than a mass email, and reach out to hundreds of followers.
The graph below was taken from emarketer.com and illustrates the most popular online activities:
According to Nielson Online, “Social network and blog use exceeded that of email, increasing their reach by 5.4 percentage points.” In addition, Nielson Online reported that online social networks and blogs are growing three times as fast as overall internet growth.
Find your business followers by joining a social media site today.
YouTube Becomes Even More Interactive
Filed under Business Communication, attract clients, market in economic crisis, online marketing, website copywriter
In June 2008, YouTube added an application, called Collaborative Annotations, to video usage that allowed people to post links on their own videos, add stories, and post commentary at any point during the video. The person who posted the video was the only person allowed to add comments, links, and narration.
As of February 20, 2009, YouTube introduced an updated version of its Collaborative Annotations application. Today, other YouTube users can post comments on your video if you invite them to do so. No longer is YouTube simply engaging—it’s interactive.
The application update allows friends to create speech bubbles, complex narratives, notes, teaching tools, marketing campaigns, and spotlights on your videos.
The Collaborative Annotations tool works to stimulate conversation among audience members and allows you to receive feedback about the message of your video from viewers, colleagues, and friends. And it enables the audience to inform you about positive and negative elements of your video.
When you’re ready to begin using Collaborative Annotations, go to YouTube and click My Videos and copy the Annotations link. Send this link to friends, who can then add annotations to your video. Not crazy about what they write? You can always delete it.
Start using YouTube Collaborative Annotations today, and receive helpful feedback from others. Who knows, you might start doing things differently in response to viewer feedback.
See how effective YouTube’s Collaborative Annotations application can be by watching the video below:
6 MORE Ways to Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Website
Filed under Audio Marketing, increase online sales, increase site traffic, marketing in bad economy, online marketing, press releases, video marketing
If you’d like to see the first 6 ways to drive traffic to your website, click here.
7. Record Podcasts: The vocal and interactive aspects of audio podcasts are usually more enticing and entertaining than simply reading articles and information from a computer screen. Podcasts are free and can be used to help people through a step-by-step process, share knowledge fast and effectively, or entertain. According to Pew Internet and American Life Project, about 19% of internet users say they’ve downloaded a podcast.
8. Host Teleclasses: Signing up for teleclasses benefits customers because the classes are free and provide useful and informative tips. Customers will associate the information they receive from your teleclasses with your company’s success and dedication to the industry. Customers will be more likely to trust your business operations and products / services, making the buying decision a simple one. The benefits from teleclasses are increased sales, more referrals, a rise in customer loyalty, and increased site traffic.
9. Post Video: Placing videos and audio on YouTube is a great way to get your company online exposure and drive traffic to your website. Video provides a personal connection to customers and allows you to show them how certain services are done, how you work, how the company works, how your product works, and so much more. Developing a video for YouTube benefits your company tremendously.
10. Publish Free Reports and Ezines: Sharing free tips and information about your industry through free reports and ezines can benefit consumers’ lives, helping them become better educated, solve a problem, or change their future actions. Providing well-researched and helpful information to consumers builds customers’ trust in your company, making them more likely to purchase your products / services.
11. Send Out Press Releases: Bring your brand name to life with a well-crafted press release. If your business has remained at a steady rate for years now, the right press release can gain your company credibility in the industry, recognition, and overall exposure. These results lead to company growth and incredible success.
12. Place / Swap Ads with Other Ezines in Your Niche: Seek out other ezines in your niche whose publishers might be interested in swapping ads. In addition to, or instead of, swapping ads, you could also purchase ad space in an ezine in your niche that has a large circulation. If you pay to place an ad, for the best results, run it for a minimum of three consecutive issues.
6 Ways to Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Website
Filed under Copywriting, Gain Brand Loyalty, Marketing Strategy, RSS Feed, article marketing, blogging for business, ezines, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, social networking, web traffic, website copywriter
1. Blog for Business: Blogging for business is free and is an excellent way to attract thousands of potential customers to your website, increase your search engine rankings, and boost company credibility. Regularly posting a blog also builds loyal readership and attracts more people to your website.
2. Comment on Blogs: Posting comments on blogs, forums, and discussion boards related to your target market and industry is a great way to increase site traffic. Use these platforms to post comments, get consumer feedback, and search for industry updates. Posting relevant and helpful comments increases your credibility and lures more readers to your website. After every comment, include a link to your blog or website to increase targeted traffic.
3. Socialize Online: Social media sites effectively integrate your business into the online community and help give your company result-driven online exposure. They’re a great place to post inbound links to your website and are a way to express industry expertise. Social media sites allow you to post recent news, company events, company information, discussion questions, and other useful tools to build solid online relationships.
4. Bookmark Your Business: Bookmarking your online articles, blogs, and website in specific categories on a social bookmarking site, such as Digg, allows you to reach out to your target market. These sites permit you to share web content with others and allow them to vote on the content. If this content becomes popular among viewers, it will be voted to the front page of the bookmarking site and be viewed by thousands of potential clients.
5. Utilize RSS Feed: RSS feed allows you to reach subscribers interested in what your company has to offer. RSS feed is similar to emails since they’re both sent to subscribers, providing them with updated information. RSS feed makes it easy for subscribers to be alerted immediately and allows them to click on the link to your website. Using email together with RSS feed will increase your client base and increase site traffic.
6. Post Articles: Online article directories allow you to place niche-oriented articles into specific categories, targeted at your specific market. For example, if your real estate company writes an article for ezinearticles.com and submits it under the real estate category, you’ll receive viewers who are specifically searching for your articles.
Build Long-Lasting Relationships on LinkedIn
Filed under Marketing Tip, attract clients, increase online sales, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, social networking
LinkedIn has become an extremely popular social media site for promoting your business. It’s an excellent online vehicle for building a massive networking system, a larger online presence, and driving higher targeted traffic to your website. LinkedIn offers a variety of features beneficial to the success of your company. This site allows you to join groups related to your industry or of interest to you personally. Also, the site allows you to build a detailed company profile, request recommendations, and join in on industry discussions. It’s also a great place to search for jobs, people in your industry, and other companies in your industry.
LinkedIn has several areas of information to fill in to create a complete profile. These areas of information include your current position, two past positions, your education, your profile summary, a profile photo, your specialties, and at least three recommendations. You can choose to add certain information while leaving other details out if you prefer. But, according to LinkedIn, “Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn.”
One of LinkedIn’s greatest features allows you to recommend someone or recommend yourself. You can recommend excellent service providers you’ve used, a colleague, or someone you went to school with. You can also ask colleagues, clients, managers, and employees to endorse your work. According to LinkedIn, “users with recommendations are three times as likely to get inquiries through LinkedIn searches. Ask your colleagues to speak up for you and get endorsed.”
LinkedIn is the perfect site to join since it’s one of the most elaborate and connected networks on the internet today. Integrated social networks, such as LinkedIn, are so intricate and virtually all connected, that by participating in one, you are bound to get a heavy traffic flow to your business site.
What makes LinkedIn so complex? LinkedIn has different circles of personal connections such as “circle one,” with your very personal contacts and “circle two” with the contacts of your personal contacts. If you only had one contact, you could virtually have 130 contacts in your second circle just from that one person.
It’s important to always remember to stay active on networking sites, such as LinkedIn, and constantly build your network.
Social Media Sites for Business: Which Ones Should You Join?
Filed under Gain Brand Loyalty, increase online sales, market in economic crisis, marketing trends, social networking, website copywriter
No longer are social media sites just being used to interact with friends and meet other people for social and entertainment purposes. These sites are being used by many businesses to promote themselves online, network with others, build company credibility, and express their industry expertise to the online community.
Some of the most popular of the social media sites are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These sites have recently received a lot of attention in the news because of their popularity among businesses.
There are dozens of social media sites, and it’s important to choose which types would benefit your company the most. Every company has different needs, and sometimes, your time is better spent on one type of social media site as opposed to another. It’s better to spend a solid three hours a week networking and promoting your business on two or three social media sites instead of joining five or six. Keeping your company present on social media sites takes some time. If you join six, you might compromise quality for quantity. Go for quality every time.
When deciding which social media sites to join, it’s important to take into account the type of business you run. Look at the features of each social media site in order to make your decision on which one would be the most effective.
Below are descriptions of Twitter and Facebook. Although there are several social media sites to choose from, these are two of the most popular.
Twitter works in a way similar to a mass text message. If you’re part of a fast-pace company that does new and exciting things each day, Twitter might be perfect for you. Twitter updates should inform your followers about what you’re doing at that moment during the day, ask a question to followers, ask advice to followers, and send an industry update to followers. If your company is a financial firm, Twitter might not be the way to go. A great example of a company that would benefit from Twitter would be a travel company, where updates are more timely and entertaining.
Facebook is another excellent tool for building your company’s online presence. It’s primarily used to illustrate your company’s overall mission, services, and image. There is room for large amounts of content and media. Facebook has more features than Twitter, but it’s not as timely as Twitter. Two of Facebook’s greatest features for businesses to use are the company page and group page applications. These two features allow you to create a page for your company where you can post company news, events, photos, videos, and industry updates.
