@BasilPuglisi

Content & Strategy, Powered by Factics & AI, Since 2009

Digital & Internet Marketing

Is your website outdated?

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A website should be updated at least every six months. The website should be your store front and consider upkeep an operating expense. Websites need to be able to be updated, and interact with Web 2.0, but this can only happen if you/r company is participating in web 2.0. You should have social sites and blogs, but also have them syndicated to your website.

A successful website should include:

 – A professional extension of your presentation

 – Be user friendly and easy to navigate

 – Search Engine Optimization friendly or already optimized

 – Use Social Media as a form or networking and community outreach

 – Collect Data about visitors, e-mail addresses etc.

 – Have a “call to action” for an opportunity

 – Provide you with ROI data about your website

When a business starts to struggle cutting back on customer generating expenses is usually the fastest way to run your business out of business. When it comes to cutting expenses choose wisely, while you’ll need to trim advertising and marketing expenses, you don’t want to stop the source of revitalization for your business.

Strategy, Strategy, Strategy…

Instead of running your advertising all over the market, seek the advice of an expert who can help you select a few sources that will produce a reliable and stable ROI. The expenses associated with a professional or expert is easily saved by the expenses of getting your marketing wrong.

Visibility Acceleration is a digital marketing powerhouse that leverages social media, search engines and your website to generate new customers. Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. has the experience and support of professionals and experts in the field of business coaching and consulting to support a plan to help get your business back on track.

Barter for Visibility

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In today’s high-tech world, the term “barter” sounds like something from the days of the Pony Express and telegrams.  But the truth of the matter is that barter can help even the most high-tech businesses.  In fact, some of today’s best-known companies use barter as a means of advertising.  If your business if suffering through a downturn or is low on customers, consider familiarizing yourself with barter programs to increase visibility in the marketplace.

A barter exchange can be anything that involves an exchange of goods or services.  A local restaurant might offer a free coffee to anyone who brings in a receipt from a nearby retail store.  Or a theme park can offer $10 off admission for anyone who brings in a certain brand of soft drink.  The idea is that cross-promotion helps attract new customers and increase brand awareness for both parties involved.

There are many benefits to implementing a barter program.  First and foremost, a well-implemented program can expand your customer base and the visibility of your business.  Second, barter is an inexpensive form of advertising.  Usually the only cost involved in barter is a customer discount on goods or services.

Setting up a barter program can be simple if you have the right network.  Reach out to relevant business partners that you speak to regularly.  Treat the barter conversation like you would any sales pitch; remember that you are pitching an idea that benefits both parties.  Think carefully about the program that you set up.  Just because a fellow business owner is a close colleague doesn’t mean that his service will provide a complimentary product to your customers.

If you do not have anyone in your immediate network that you can set up an exchange with, consider joining a professional barter organization.  The International Reciprocal Trade Association, or IRTA, provides a professional network for businesses that are looking to barter.  The organization also provides tips for barter in a modern world.  If you find that you are interested in expanding barter beyond customer-facing programs, there are opportunities to exchange supplies and business services as well.

Although barter is a great advertising tool to use during rough times, don’t rule out barter during strong financial times as well.  Even the best businesses can benefit from inexpensive customer acquisition.  Become a pro at barter and you can ensure that your business remains visible at all times.

Yelp Your Business & Increase Visibility

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How often do you check your company’s online reviews?  Do you reach out to customers that post reviews of your business online?  If you are late to the online review game, it’s time to pay attention. 

Research shows that a bad review online can be extremely damaging to your business.  Nearly two-thirds of the population has researched products or services online within the past three months, and 70% of consumers trust reviews from strangers online more than they trust information from manufacturers or from friends and family.  A few bad reviews can turn potential customers away quickly.

One of the leading online review sites for local businesses is Yelp.  Yelp provides a listing of businesses and allows customers to rate each business and to post reviews.  Each business is assigned a rating from one star (poor) to five stars (excellent) based on the average customer review.

If you have not been active on Yelp, now is the time to get started.  First, claim your business by navigating to biz.yelp.com.  Once you have registered as the business owner, completely fill out the information for your place of business, including address, contact number, hours and any special announcements.  This ensures that customers know the basics about your business and that the information is visible to the Yelp community.

Second, respond quickly to any negative reviews.  Yelp provides the option to either post a public response or send a private email to the reviewer.  Send an apology and a constructive response, such as offering a free product or service as an incentive to try the business again.  Often the consumer will be so pleased by the prompt response that they will revise their review to note the high level of customer service.

Third, make special announcements and offers as much as possible.  Yelp displays a special notice for businesses that offer special promotions, which incentivizes customers to click on the page.  Examples of special promotions include 15% off for mentioning Yelp, 10% off for new customers or a link to a website with printable coupons.  Be sure to change the promotions often to keep customers coming back for more.

Although Yelp is one of the most popular local review sites, there are many other online outlets for customers to post reviews.  Be sure to frequently monitor online feedback and respond to consumer complaints.  Just one negative comment online can drive away hundreds of other potential customers.  Proper management of customer feedback is crucial to managing a business in today’s high-tech world.

If your busy with your business then look for Social Brand Reputation Management, this service will monitor your brand as well as other keywords and phrases and comes in Tiers 1-3 allowing you to customize the support you get, from basic notification to Public Relations support and responses.

Visit Visibility Acceleration for more information.

Getting Ahead in Today’s Economy

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Small businesses has been historically the backbone of the American economy, employing more than 50% of the work force.

Small businesses are also the ones who were hit the hardest by the economic downturn. Employment numbers published on 8/19/2010 tell another grim story. Not only they did not recover yet, but they continue to shed jobs.

No bailout money, banks that want assurances and proofs and won’t loan to small businesses unless their credit score is very high and the turnaround very profitable, collateral to secure loan that has shrank due to the low real-estate markets, all those contribute to an atmosphere of trepidation.

The result? Starting a business today or keeping the one you have, has become more and more difficult.

Business needs clients and the clients are still worried about the future today as they were almost two years ago. They would rather save than spend. Usage of credit cards has gone down as well, as customers prefer to buy what they have cash for today and not rely on credit and future payments.

Even the White House and the Finance Secretary Tim Geitner admit that the economy is not moving in the pace they hoped it would.

So when you set out to establish a new business, or trying to keep the one you have, there’s one thing you should keep in mind; the Internet is a great marketing tool.

With considerably less money than what you would have spent on advertising in the old world in print, radio, television, billboards,  mobile advertising (on truck and cars) or event advertising, you can get exposure that is not only localized but worldwide. The internet and fast shipping made the location issue irrelevant. Now you can reach customers in different corners of the world as easy as if they were in the next town.

But to harness that great power, you need something you needed years ago – knowledge.

The mistake most people make is to think that if the computer is in their house, they can advertise as much as they want and not pay for it, and it is nobody’s business how they do it, as long as they have the high speed connection.

Advertising through the World Wide Web is a profession just like the ad agencies you see today on the television show “Mad Men”. The Internet has some rules and regulations, there are things you can and can not do and there are fines to deal with and bans to overcome.

Internet marketing includes many elements of advertising; Websites, Social Media, Mobile phones, SEO marketing, PPC advertising, e mail marketing and some of the old media elements like mailers, fliers and special events.

To maximize your potential, you should turn to a company that specializes in Internet Marketing like the Puglisi Consulting group and their specialty arm for creating Internet visibility called Visibility Acceleration. They can show you the main road to Internet visibility without taking you on a tour of trials and errors through the small streets that lead to dead ends. It is your money and you’d rather spend it on getting ahead in today’s economy.