Branding is a big job, so let’s boil it down a bit. Branding’s bottom line is about making your company recognizable, findable and associated with the right product, service or idea. It involves creating an identity: an image that represents the core of what your company is trying to do. One way to get off on the WRONG foot is to start with marketing concerns, and THEN address the core issues of branding. Not helpful! The right way to do this is to develop a clear concept of your brand identity FIRST, and then start moving into the marketing strategy. (more…)
Perhaps I can just call them “old school marketers”. You know, the marketers that really started getting into SEO, article marketing, social bookmarking, niche marketing, Facebook friending and SERP tracking from the year 2000 through 2009. They developed effective strategies for increasing someone’s digital visibility, and they made a living by plying their trade. Back in the year 2000 (or 2005) they were NOT “old school”. And the only reason we’d call them old school marketers today is because they stopped watching and learning. Instead, they continue to apply techniques that, although once effective, are really working AGAINST THEM (and their clients) today. (more…)
We’ve been monitoring the rumors over the past two weeks, wondering if there was a Google Update about to hit. The recent shifts in keyword rankings were definitely a sign that algorithms are set to unleash a more intelligent filtering and analysis of our sites and our content. The amount of chatter out there warrants this bit of speculation, and now we know it’s true: Penguin 2.0 is about to be unleashed! (more…)
The term social media marketing can make even the most seasoned business owner roll their eyes in shame. They know they need it to connect with their customers and leads but aren’t sure how to start. Did you know that advertising on Facebook increases the number of qualified leads walking in the door? Did you know people are searching – and buying – your products online? (more…)
There are a million SEO mistakes we can make. Well, actually if you search for “seo mistakes” you’ll get over 4 million results! You could get lost in the most technical aspects of SEO as you try to understand rich snippets, multiple location business listings, disavowing links, rel=canonical and a host of other things. But let’s not worry about the technical details today. Let’s focus on the BASIC and MOST COMMON SEO mistakes that people are making. Google’s Webmaster Guru – Matt Cutts – has laid out the top 5 seo mistakes (by volume) that he sees. (more…)
As a small business owner, you’ve probably dipped your toes in the pool of social media advertising and marketing. How did it feel? What kind of results did you get? You’ve probably read about promoted tweets and how to get more engagement on Twitter. Today we’re delving deeper into the realm of my favorite social network, Twitter.
Until today, Twitter used the content of tweets among other algorithms to shape their interest graph. Advertising on Twitter wasn’t high on the list of priorities for most professionals. The folks at Twitter are looking to take their advertising features to the next level with keyword targeting in timelines. (more…)
When is the last time you used your smartphone to search for something? What sort of action did you take after you found it?
According to Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim, 70% of mobile searches led to action on websites within one hour. That is an impressive conversion rate if you ask me. Additionally, forecasters predict that by the year 2013, there will be over 1.7 billion mobile Internet users. (more…)
We all know LinkedIn as Facebook’s serious, business-minded big brother in the world of social media. With over 200 million members to date, and 50 million unique visitors each week, LinkedIn is the preferred social network for business networking and marketing. However, according to Mashable, it seems as though LinkedIn is looking to socialize their status updates similar to Facebook. Well done LinkedIn! (more…)
A recent Mashable article regarding Facebook’s new ability to ID groups that purchase specific products has some pretty exciting news. According to Brad Smallwood, Head of Measurement and Insights at Facebook, just advertising on Facebook provided a 22% lift in Return on Investment (ROI). This was according to 22 recent Facebook advertising campaigns against information from 70 million consumers.
How does Facebook Offer this Type of ROI?
Facebook is connecting the dots between purchasers and their purchasing habits thanks to their own data and that of their partner, Datalogix. Just in case you don’t know what Datalogix is (I didn’t), they are one of the largest companies that offer integrated database marketing and digital media. Their goal is to leverage audience purchasing information to increase online and offline sales. (more…)
Does your business have a Facebook Page for marketing and business development purposes? If so, is it optimized and branded to the max? There are many ways to tweak and customize your Facebook page and today I’m sharing how to customize your Facebook Page application image. This is one of the first steps I take when optimizing a client’s Facebook Page and it’s a must in my books. Here’s how to do it:
How to Customize Your Facebook Page Application Image
1. The first step is designing your Facebook Page application image. The image size should be 111 x 74 pixels to fit the application button size perfectly. I use Photoshop to design the image. Pick a relevant image for your button: Twitter bird for Twitter, Pinterest logo for Pinterest, a Newsletter icon to sign up for your newsletter, etc. You can also use a branded image for your firm as long as you get it to fit 111 x 74 pixels in size. Get creative and take a look at what other companies are doing if you need inspiration. (more…)
