Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Social Media Pays it Forward

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Social media has opened new doors for people and businesses alike.

Whether you are a large corporation, like Skittles, or a startup looking to expand your audience; whether you are a motivated individual looking for a way to stand out from the crowd during our currently challenging economic times, or one of the many computer savvy people looking to be your own boss, social media can help.

In Brad McCarty’s blog post, 6 stories of life-changing social media connections, 6 stories are shared about how social platforms positively affected someone’s life or career. As marketers we understand the importance social platforms can play in business.

Social platforms have the ability to change everything.

It has already changed the way businesses interact with their customers, the way families stay in touch, the ability to get honest and unfiltered feedback on a host of topics, a transparency for human and business interaction and the idea that all businesses have people behind them. Social media goes beyond the idea that a business has a ‘culture’ – it reinforces the idea that even large corporations are made up of people and that all business decisions and interactions with consumers are done on a human level.

More now than ever, social platforms use the power of communication to create honest interactions between businesses and consumers. As a business owner – why wouldn’t you utilize these new tools to get the most from your life and your work? It reduces the gap between ‘professional’ and ‘personal’ but in a good way. Social media promotes the underlying belief that not only are we all ‘in this together’ but that we are all the same – human – and we should connect on that level. The implications are endless.

So enjoy the stories that Brad McCarty wrote about – and then, we invite you to go make your own success story – isn’t that still the American Dream?

Tags: internet marketing, Marketing, reno marketing, Reno Social Media, Social Media
Posted in Do Good in the World, Inspiration, Online Advertising In Reno, Online Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Innovative Marketing

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Recently, I came across a blog post that got my attention. 9 Ways to Keep Innovation Alive in Your Marketing Organization, posted by Matt Heinz from Innovation Excellence, he writes about Innovation and Marketing, two things I find very useful and interesting.

Several of the ‘9 Ways’ are things that most (successful) companies are already doing – things like tracking progress, predicting trends (or at least watching them), and focusing on teamwork as a way to brainstorm diverse ideas. My favorite, though, is number 5 – let everyone contribute, even (or especially) employees outside of the marketing department.

Why is cross-contributing so important?

Because, as Heinz describes, many of these employees have ideas about how to reach your audience. I would specify that the user-facing employees know more about what the customer is looking for or what things push them to buy your product over another brand than your marketing department. This is valuable information that is available to your company! However, the company culture has to be supporting it, asking for it, rewarding it and following through on the ideas they get for this to be truly successful.

As any good marketing professional would tell you – knowing what your target audience wants is imperative for creating a marketing strategy that will tell the story of how your product or service can fit into the lives of your consumers and why they need to purchase what you have to offer.

Innovation Speaks to All of Us

Innovation is something that speaks to all of us – we are all interested in the newest, shiny, tech savvy bauble; the more bells and whistles (or functionality as we have come to know it), the better. Humans are observant and have a relatively natural ability to look at something they are doing and see how it could be done better. Utilize these instincts and ideas to find new things that will resonate with your audience in a new way, or explain the use of your product or service in new terms.

What kind of innovation does your marketing need?

Give us a call at 775-322-3663 and we can help you find out!

For the full blog post from Matt Heinz, please click here.

Tags: blog, internet marketing, Marketing, reno marketing, Reno Social Media, Social Media
Posted in Inspiration, Online Marketing, Reno Marketing Meanderings, Social Media, Uncategorized | 24 Comments »

You Are Your Brand – “Stay Human”

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Everyone knows that your brand reputation is important – especially when you own your own business or are seen as a reflection of that brand, product or service. What frequently happens, however, is that we forget that anyone could be our next customer, advocate, business partner, sponsor, or raving brand fan (if we do our jobs right!).

Let’s face it, the mass adoption of social media platforms and rabid posting to massive online populations has catapulted word of mouth to a whole new level. Its power has grown exponentially and our brands need to be on the radar in a big, positive way. So how do we do that?

Well, Scott Ginsberg (video) sure knows how to make it happen. His article, Consistency Is Far Greater Than Rare Moments of Greatness, truly hits home. Scott talks about how “you just never know” who you will bump into at a random event or in a seemingly unrelated place. He says (and we agree), that it is both easier and more effective to consistently be a nice person than realize, too late, that you have made a horrible impression on a future or current customer. In Scott’s words, “Stay Human”. Does that mean you can’t show the “real” you in public, that you must hide the more zany, creative sides of your personality, or not speak your truth in an uncomfortable situation? Of course not, but be mindful of your behavior and ask yourself what “brand” you want potential clients to see.

Because, if you are like us, all people are essentially potential clients in some way shape or form. So why risk offending someone or ruining that possibility and relationship before it can even begin? Not to mention the karmic factors of just treating people with respect and dignity no matter the situation or the event. You are your brand….don’t forget it!

Posted in Do Good in the World, Inspiration, Social Media | 23 Comments »

How Can YOU Be Social In Just 10 Minutes A Day?

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

In this fast paced, busy world, we all have to make decisions on how to best spend our time. We prioritize our lives based on several factors, including: the most ‘bang for our buck’, the urgency of the situation, and the level of scrutiny by people to whom we are held accountable.

Often, we hear that the number one reason why social media isn’t a ‘main focus’ is the time involved. That is why we are sharing this e-book from HubSpot that we read: How to Monitor Your Social Media in 10 Minutes a Day

In the article, your 10 minutes of social media monitoring starts with 3 minutes to check the Twitter chatter about your company and your competitor (set up a search and save for your own and competitors names); next, take 2 minutes to scan Google News and Blog Alerts for important articles; third, use 3 more minutes filtering and flagging industry related questions so that you can be the first to correctly answer them in a timely manner; finally, use the last 2 minutes to check your Facebook wall and comment where appropriate.

In order to be successful with this strategy, you must set very specific goals: ask yourself what you want to accomplish and which of the social media platforms will help you reach those goals. Then see if you can use any of our ideas below to further decrease your time investment and increase your productivity while on social platforms.

Blog Integration

If you post a blog, you can save a lot of time (and energy) by setting up your blog to feed directly to each of your social media platforms. This level of integration across your platforms will not only save you time, it will also show that you understand how the various social media platforms work together.

Social Media Management Software

Rather than taking the time to log in to each of the platforms you wish to review or post on, you can set up one of the many free Social Media Management tools (HootSuite, TweetDeck, TweetMe, Seesmic, etc.) to do all the heavy lifting for you. These platforms do essentially the same task – they compile your accounts from the various social media platforms in a way that allows you to see what you are most interested in, comment, post, tweet, retweet, search, etc., from one tool! How great is technology?!

Manage Your News

Rather than going to each blog you appreciate to read their newest posts – why not use a tool that will bring all that information to you?! This tool, usually called a “reader”, works much like the social media management tool – but it pulls information to you from other websites and blogs. These tools (Google Reader, Netvibes, among others) are fantastic ways to pull in the most recent and relevant information automatically.

Tags: marketing online, save time, Social Media, social media managment
Posted in Social Media | 22 Comments »

Your Blog is in Trouble!!

Friday, July 8th, 2011

What Makes a Great Blog?

Several things have to come together to truly wow an audience. According to some gurus in Cindy King’s blog post today “21 Dangerous Blogging Mistakes (and how to fix them)”, there are quite a few things that can make or break your blog.

Blogging Mistakes

We all make them at one time or another. Maybe we were in a hurry and our quality slipped, maybe we were too busy and our frequency dropped. As long as these things we call life happen only once in a while, that is fine. When it becomes par for the course – your blog is in trouble.

Balancing Quality and Quantity

According to Jay Baer (@jaybaer), “balancing the need to be consistently publishing and the need for consistent quality is the key to successful long-term blogging.” We would add that it is important that both your quality and your frequency of posting matches the target audience you have. If you have a company that is in the fast track industry of trading or finances – especially in these times – you might need to post more frequently than someone in a lagging industry field.

Keywords, Keywords, Keywords

We hear it all the time, but the truth is keywords get you found. You cannot have a successful blog when no one is reading it. This is the point that Rich Brooks (@therichbrooks) makes in his contribution to Cindy King’s article. A good blogger understands the “need to write keyword-rich posts with persuasive, compelling titles that will be read, linked to and shared on social media sites”, which increases the idea of being found. It isn’t just about keywords, but also about grabbing attention with a title, AND sharing and linking to social media sites. In this case, you need the whole package – sole focus on one area will leave a gap that cannot be bridged.

Planning

Don’t underestimate the need to schedule yourself the time and focus to really generate an interesting, engaging and informative blog post. As Dag Holmboe (@dagh) states himself, “A good, in-depth blog post takes time to research, write and edit.” What more can we say? This is not a five minute post – you must craft the message and the way it will be delivered.

Cater to Your Audience

It is extremely important, as we discussed earlier, to know your target audience. It is only through knowing them, that you can effectively tailor your content, style, medium, and media to their needs. As Jim Lodico (@jlcommunication) explains, “if it isn’t of value to your audience, your audience won’t read it”. Well put!

Build Community

True engagement is not built overnight – like a community it has to be formed and tended through multiple interactions that consistently reinforce the needs of the community. We completely agree with Carla Dewing (@CarlaDewing), “The fastest way to build a community online is to share information”!! Community is created by giving help (sharing) when those in your community (your target audience) are in need and you have the information (content) that can help them.

For more information and tips on blogging, check out Social Media Examiner online! They have fantastic articles that we use ourselves all the time.

Tags: blog, Reno, reno marketing, Reno SEO Expert, WordPress
Posted in Blog Design, Inspiration, Social Media, WordPress | No Comments »

In-Bound Link Building Tips to Help Local (Reno) SEO

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

The Basics for In-Bound Link-Building

Easy enough. It just takes time & planning to manage your approach.

In-Bound Link Building is Important for SEO Success. Whether Your Business is Local (Reno), Regional or International, search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing use this seemingly simple search engine ranking parameter as an indication your website’s relative popularity. This in turn influences the search engines decision in rating your relevance for search queries and ultimately affects your search engine ranking or opportunities for first page display.

In-Bound Link Bottom Line: If you don’t have inbound links and your competitors do, then to put it bluntly, you will not rank as well as them. (Want to learn about the top Search Engine Ranking Factors… t hen go here >)

Here Are 2 Things To NOT Do For Building In-Bound Links

It all makes sense if you think about it or understand the industry and the sophistication of Search Engine ranking algorhythms (Here is a link to an older March 2007 article but the thrust is a solid foundational concept for this).

It really boils down to 2 things of what not to do for inbound link building:

Don’t Use Link Farms (See This Wikipedia Page for more information about Link Farms). According to Google, “a site that participates in a link farm may have its search rankings penalized”, and “Links from related sites carry more weight than those from irrelevant sites”.
Try not to use Off-Topic Links (Relevant On-Topic Links build credibility in the eyes of Search Engines… And yes, they do know.)

Six Basic Strategies for In-Bound Link Building

Anyone and everyone with a website should make some effort to include these 6 Link Building strategies if you are serious about top performance for Search Engine Ranking.

Make More Content! – Search Engines need content in order to deliver relevant and current results to search queries. Better results from search engines mean more people will use them. This in turn makes them a better platform for advertising dollars (This is America after all). The bottom line is search engines need the new content just as much as you need to generate it, distribute it and have it link back to you. The solution is to write articles, publish them online (on a relevant blog site or an ezine or article website – There are tons of them out there such as articlebase.com).
Social Media – Serious about in-bound links? Then get serious about social media. There are lots of ways to leverage this. If you don’t know how, take a class, talk to some social media guru, or just dive in. Be conscious of the appropriate linking patterns and partners out there and be careful you don’t spend too much time doing this. It can be a real time sink. Think of it as something to adopt over time and that you will keep up with. It is better to do a little dribble consistently then do a lot and then burn out and drop off the map… especially as far as Search Engines are concerned.
Relevant Online Directories – Online Directories are a great place for links. That’s what they are for… listing websites. Some are free and some are pay. Do what you can to get in them and have a budget (time and $$$) that makes sense for you. Here are the biggies: DMOZ (can take a while to get listed), Yahoo (Expensive). Some other well known online directories include: Business.com, BestOfTheWeb.com, GoGuides.com and MassiveLinks.com. There are many others that have narrow niche appeal. The best approach is to identify the best ranked ones and then submit your listing to them. Rinse and repeat.
Online Video – First a quick question… Do you know what the worlds second most used search engine is? If you guessed YouTube you guessed right. So Videos can get you inbound links, visibility and some brand or service awareness. If you get it right it can even go “viral”! There are tons of video sites out there (YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo to name a few). If you do video then distribute them to different sources and watch and compare results and see which ones work best for you. And be sure to have some fun along the way. (Note: Professional Video production can be quite costly. You need to balance quality and budget to get the most bang for your video buck. And don’t forget, there is always the webcam on your local computer approach if you are on a shoestring.)
Online Classifieds – Yep, this often overlooked little gem will get you inbound links. Think CraigsList.org or any of the other online classifieds (some are free and some are pay). And who knows.. besides the link you get, maybe someone will buy what you are selling!
Online Press Releases – Huh? That’s right.. you can distribute your own online press releases. (But I recommend hitting your local news outlets first so they can get the “scoop” before it hits the big ol’ web. It’s a professional courtesy thing.) This is a great way to get in-bound links. You can use the paid versions such as as PRweb.com or go for the free ones such as PRlog.com. As with all things online there are lots of options so be sure to compare apples to apples when it comes to getting your press release sent out online.

Hope that helps! This is the basic approach that we offer clients as starting points for their in-bound link building campaign. And if you want to share a reciprocal link with us, just send us a note or give us a call, and we will see what we can do!

Tags: classified advertising, google search, inbound link, internet marketing, internet search engines, link building, link farm, Local SEO, Marketing, Reno, search engine optimization, search engine ranking, search engines, SEO, web search engine
Posted in In-Bound Links, Local SEO, Online Marketing, PR, Reno Marketing Meanderings, SEO, Social Media, Uncategorized, Website Copywriting | 24 Comments »

Reno Marketing Tips (My Top 10 Favorites)

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Reno is a Fabulous Place for Marketing and Promotion!

The local Reno Business Climate is great place for getting connected to people as well as potential customers and clients

There are so many talented Reno-based Marketing Professionals here in the Truckee Meadows and Lake Tahoe Area, it is enough to make your head spin! Every day I read about the successes, the insights and the fantastic creative ideas that pour out from this community of local marketing and design professionals. It is truly awe-inspiring, and just like the “Energizer Bunny®”*… It just keeps going!

And with all that professional-marketing-horsepower, there are some things, and themes that just keep coming up over and over that are particularly helpful to local Reno area business owners. And while not every Reno Business is the same, there are certain things that most of them can do to promote themselves locally, that and are tried-and-true marketing and publicity opportunities, and are proven processes that work for the local audience. Why do they work? Because we all live, eat and breath here… right here in this valley and the surrounding mountains. So people we meet become the friends we make and are often the same as the future business partners we engage.

Here are my top 10 Reno Marketing Tips that won’t cost much except for time and maybe some membership or entry fees:

Networking in Reno Rocks! (This town has so many networking opportunities, it could easily be a full-time job attending them all! Try out the local Sparks Chamber, Reno Sparks Chamber, BizTalk Blender, American Marketing Association Meetings, LeTip, BNI, eWomen, etc… all are great and very active with lots of opportunities for connecting. And there are lots of local trade shows too to attend!)
Get Involved with Social Media: Share ideas, join the conversation… it can be overwhelming and even addictive, but taken in moderation there is lots to be gained in knowledge and even promotion opportunities.
Give or Attend Marketing Talks and Classes (or other relevant topics of interest to you)
Start a Blog (Let the world know about your local Reno business and what you can deliver)
Write Local Press Releases (Tell the world about your successes)
Write Local and Relevant Articles (Talk about your area of expertise. Become the “known” local expert… lots of people have!
Collaborate with other businesses for joint promotions or marketing brainstorming.. heck, you can even start your own Mastermind Marketing Group or Professional Trade Group
Ask for Referrals (Ask your friends, clients and peers… don’t go overboard, but do ask! Incentive Programs for the referral are a nice touch too.)
Be Helpful… Whenever you meeting a potential customer or client, offer something. A referral to information, a resource for them, relevant news, a good book or even a place to have lunch. See how you can give before you ask for something. (Pick a local charity, serve on the board, volunteer, donate time and/or money, help plan and coordinate events.)
Show Up! No one will know of you unless you get out there and get seen. That goes for for any marketing or promotional effort. Hiding under the rock or “being too busy to promote your business” will only bite you in the rear end in the long run and won’t contribute to your success and certainly won’t help people understand how wonderful you are or the expertise you can offer.

Now go forth and market, meet, greet, and enjoy your new friends you will meet along the way!

If you want more marketing tips, local networking tips or even have some tips you want to share… give us a call (775.322.3663) or send us an email… We’d love to hear from you.

(*The “Energizer”, “Energizer Bunny” design, card graphics and shape, and other marks are trademarks of Energizer. <see energizer.com>

Tags: american marketing association, blog, blogging, Business Networking, local marketing, Marketing, marketing professionals, marketing talks, Nevada, PR, professional marketing, promotions, Reno, reno marketing, Reno Networking, reno pr, Reno Promotions, Reno Social Media, reno sparks, reno-sparks chamber, sparks chamber, washoe county, WordPress
Posted in Business Networking, Online Advertising In Reno, Online Marketing, PR, Reno Marketing Meanderings, Social Media, WordPress | No Comments »

Reno Businesses Can Dominate Local Search Engine Results (Part 6 of 6 – Conclusion)

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Part 6 of 6 – Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”

It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

The Conclusion to the 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner

For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts (Conclusion below: ). These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.

The final Tips and Summary: Top Ranking Search Engine Results Are What You Want

There are lots of SEO tips and tools to keep everything moving forward for real-world and effective search engine ranking results.

If you can incorporate these basic principles I have outlined in the previous blog posts, build on them over time, consistently implement the strategies (schedule it), and use the Right SEO Technology and you will achieve Dominance in the Local Search Engine Results.

I have seen these principles prove themselves time and again and am amazed at how fast local businesses can get to the first page of Google by following the tips I outlined. Often within 1,2 or 3 months for some basic keywords. Then just use the formula for other keywords and over time you will climb the ranks.

As my final piece of “Great SEO Tips for Small Businesses” I give you the following list of more actionable items.

Register with local search engines, local directories and social media portals (Think Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, Ask, Local.com and TrueLocal and many others. They all want your info so they can give the best results to the people who use their service and so they can sell more advertising!) Also be sure to use Craig’s list, Insdier pages and many other local sales and review directories.
Put your business name and local terms in you page titles — (not non-descript terms such as “Home page”, “About”, “Welcome” , etc. My example is Integris Marketing | Reno Marketing Firm | Reno Graphic Design
Now do the same thing with your HI and H2 tags (especially using the local terms)
Then do the same thing with your body copy (more local terms with the service or product offered)
Put a Google or Yahoo or Mapquest generated map on your website with your street address… really super for local search results (just go to Google maps
How’s your InfoUSA listing? Or Dun & Bradstreet? Go check to make sure they are current and have your correct address, web link, etc.
Local News? Well you can’t compete with local papers or local info or entertainment portals, but you can add local content that is relevant to your business or your favorite causes. If you have a local mailing address where your business lives.. add that too! (On every page is a great way to go)
I’ve said it before and I will say it again and again.. Add a blog (One that you control on your web domain and where you can 100% control all page content. So stay away from the free blogs…even blogger)
Get “Local Inbound Links”! Search engines are using this kind of ranking criteria as an ever-more important element in local search results. So get into “legitimate” local directories in every way you can… Make sure they don’t just list your web site but also link with keywords for services you offer if you can.

OK… so that should be enough for most local businesses to cling to the top of the local search results. Want more success? Get your Google, Yahoo and Bing business listings, run some online display ads and you will have 3 or more places where you show up on the first page of Google… not bad for a small business these days, especially considering that over 65% of buyers look for local resources online (and some say the number is as high as 90% of all buyers use online search for local results).

*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.

Tags: Reno, Reno SEO Expert, SEO optimization, Sparks, web design, WordPress
Posted in Local SEO, Online Advertising In Reno, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Media, WordPress | 73 Comments »

Reno Businesses Can Dominate Local Search Engine Results (Part 1 of 6)

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”

It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

In most cities and towns around the world, including business right here in the Reno, Sparks, Tahoe area, the majority of businesses sell to the local customer base. This is of course as it should be because local business success is so vital to any regions economy. So with almost universal use of the internet to gather info about local businesses, it’s time for local businesses to to get savvy about how they can start to “show up” in front of local customers when they are looking to buy.

But it’s pretty clear that most businesses don’t have a clue about how do do this. More often than not, what I hear when I talk to prospective clients that are local Reno and Sparks businesses is the same question over and over:

“How to get to the top of Google… How, oh how, oh how?!” <insert much hand-wringing and sighing>

You have to wonder if there isn’t a straight-forward solution.

The good news is… There is! But first a little factoid for you (Source: Nielsen Online MegaPanel in October 2008):

“Though 63% of consumers and small business owners turn to the internet first for information about local companies and 82% use search engines to do so, only 44% of small businesses have a website and half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget online.”

What you need to know is that getting to the top of Google or Bing (or Bing, or MSN or Yahoo which I think will all one day be one search engine) really isn’t that hard. All it takes is some, Time, Commitment, a little Knowledge, the Right Technology, with a healthy dose of Strategy.

(Stay tuned for Part 2 coming Mar. 5, 2010 with more info about the first of the 5 core elements, Time, Commitment, Knowledge, Technology, Strategy)

Tags: Getting to the top of Google, Local Google Dominance, Reno, SEO, SEO optimization, Sparks, Tahoe Area
Posted in Local SEO, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Social media has opened new doors for people and businesses alike.

Social platforms have the ability to change everything.

Why is cross-contributing so important?

Innovation Speaks to All of Us

What kind of innovation does your marketing need?

Engage Your Audience With These 6 Blogging Tips:

Blog Integration

Social Media Management Software

Manage Your News

What Makes a Great Blog?

Blogging Mistakes

Balancing Quality and Quantity

Keywords, Keywords, Keywords

Planning

Cater to Your Audience

Build Community

The Basics for In-Bound Link-Building

Easy enough. It just takes time & planning to manage your approach.

Here Are 2 Things To NOT Do For Building In-Bound Links

Six Basic Strategies for In-Bound Link Building

Reno is a Fabulous Place for Marketing and Promotion!

The local Reno Business Climate is great place for getting connected to people as well as potential customers and clients

Here are my top 10 Reno Marketing Tips that won’t cost much except for time and maybe some membership or entry fees:

Part 6 of 6 – Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”

It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

The Conclusion to the 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner

The final Tips and Summary: Top Ranking Search Engine Results Are What You Want

Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”

It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

Web Support Services

Online Marketing

Graphic Design Services

Strategic Marketing Services

Recent Blog Posts

Connect With Us