General

Timely the Talented Twitter Tool

February 2, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

As Twitter continues to become a most popular source of networking, communication, and aggregation, the list of tools available to help fully manage one or more Twitter accounts continues to grow. Although there are several options available online that are very similar, Timely seems to have refined all of the best available options in social media management, and added them to this one smooth aggregation tool. Never fear, Facebook personal and Fan page integration is also available on Timely.

Timely Features

Timely is another tool on the growing list of tweet schedulers that assist users in setting their tweets to launch based on the time of day when the probability of a click or re-tweet is highest. Timely uses an algorithm that helps to determine the best time of the day or night where most of your followers will see the tweet. This not only increased the chance of clicks, but also helps encourage re-tweets.

Timely provides an easy user-interface that is minimalistic. Since many Twitter scheduler tools tend to be a bit chaotic, Timely’s smooth uncluttered face is a refreshing change.
Timely has a browser plug in that makes it even easier to grab content from the net and schedule it for Twitter.
Timely has a tab for Performance. Under this tab users can view their statistics on re-tweets, clicks, replies, and reach.
Timely’s scheduling algorithm automatically spaces your tweets apart to prevent your account being flooded too quickly.
Users can set up email alerts for Timely updates and Timely also sends friendly reminders to let you know you are running out, or are out of, scheduled tweets.
Automatic Bit.ly URL shortening tool.
Timely offers an unlimited amount of Twitter accounts, with unlimited tweet scheduling, to unlimited team members, for absolutely free.
Timely offers paid accounts for users who want 24/7 email support.

How Does Timely Stack Up?

Although Timely appears minimalistic, it is still a full-bodied and highly capable tool for scheduling post to Twitter, Facebook personal accounts,and Facebook Fan Pages. Account setup and additions are a matter of one click integration in all cases, and this tool requires zero getting used to since it is entirely self-explanatory for even the least savvy user.

Alexa does show a significant upswing in users in the past three months and demographics remain with a strongly Hispanic, educated, female user-base. Their US traffic ranking is currently at #5009 and their user’s onsite time shows that many are taking advantage of the zero-cost options that Timely freely provides.

Author:

@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

Sources:

Scheduled Tweets with Timely

Crunchbase – Flowtown

Timely vs Buffer

Timely Video Review

The New Social Marketing Strategy with Google+

February 1, 2012 by Basil Puglisi 6 Comments

As a marketer, your social profile must be thriving on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But the important question is, ‘Is it thriving over Google+?’ I can assure you that most of you will answer in the negative. However, it is not too late. Grab a business page over at Google+ as soon as you finish reading this.
Google is smart and knows how to beat down its competitors. When Google+ was launched, none had the slightest idea that it will be used as a cutting edge in the market by Google. Yes, Google has merged the search engine and the social network as one. This attempt by Google can be described as ‘Social Searching’.

Search + Your World

It is the new Search plus Your World (Search plus Your World) I am talking about. When you do a Google search, being logged into your Google+ account, you will find that results are being personalized to match your taste. Let us consider that you are searching for ‘body building tips’ and if one of your friends within your circle has written about it then it will be shown to you in the search results. Seems good eh? Here comes the truth.
Google, in the name of personalizing your searches, is forcing the results of Google+ under your throat. How? Let me explain in a more elaborate manner. Suppose you wish to know about a certain brand or celebrity and you would like to give a search over Google. In the search results you will notice that the brand’ or celebrity’s Google+ profile is given preference. Now, do you understand what Google is up to? Yes, it is competing with other social networks taking advantage of its search engine.
Google gives less importance to other social network’s posts and therefore the more urgency in getting your business page over Google+ as soon as possible. A business page over Google+ will help people find your business over search results. However, just a page is not sufficient to boost your business to the required level. Here is one of my social marketing ideas that you can incorporate in your business page over Google+.

Ways to Win at Google +

It is more likely that Google+ posts are to be shown in the search results. Include the keyword in the title as well as the body of the post so that it will help the Google bots to index it and show over the search results. Here comes an added advantage to you as a marketer by including the keyword in posts. Instead of explaining it let me show you with a theoretical example.
Let us consider that you have a blog/website dealing with ‘Diet’ and you wish to optimize a certain article or page for a keyword. When doing a keyword search over any keyword tool you find the keyword ‘diet foods’ has high volume of search and with lesser competition. On the other hand the keyword ‘safe weight loss’ has the same value as ‘diet foods’ to a certain extent. Confused, you optimize your content for the keyword ‘diet foods’ and therefore leave the keyword ‘safe weight loss’.
After posting the article (optimized for ‘diet foods’) over your site, you generally share it to social networks by just pasting the link and allowing the social network to grab the first five lines of the content. In case of Google+ you can try the other way around. The article which was written around ‘Diet Foods’ can also be written around ‘Safe weight loss’, though the latter keyword cannot compensate wholly but it can at least be used as introducer to the content. Yes, write a title and a short description around the keyword ‘safe weight loss’ and manually paste it to the Google+. Later you can include the link of your content and let the social network have its way with it.

What are the Pros?

What is the advantage of doing this extra work? Let me remind you again that Google is going to crawl every post in Google+ and therefore your post which has a short description given by you manually as well as the short description which Google + has indexed for you over its network are both going to be shown over search result. Irrespective of whether a user searches for ‘diet foods’ or ‘safe weight loss’, the chances of your post appearing in the search result will increase.
The odd of the post being shown to the users increases if the user is within your circle. Therefore, it is better that you start focusing on Google+. At the same time do not abandon your audience over other network, because who knows what the future of social marketing will be.

Before I can wrap up, some of you might know that Google provides the ability of depersonalizing your search results. Yes, it’s true. But how many of you will depersonalize your search results and opt for a more global search? Maybe some of us would depersonalize the searches and would like a pure Google search. Will the common user care to do it? I do not think so. When most users find what they are searching for, none will care to depersonalize their search results.
Author:
Richie Richardson is a Social Marketing Expert and SEO Analyst. You can reach him over his blog www.zarrylyms.com where he discusses on current issues regarding Social Marketing, Branding, Affiliate Marketing, SEO and B2B.
Sources:

Social Commerce Summit 2012 [Event]

January 31, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

It’s time again for the Social Commerce Summit and for the pros and experts that come together during this yearly conference. On Tuesday, February 7th, the events will swing into action once again for 2012.

All About the Social Commerce Summit

Since the immersion of social media into digital commerce, incredible opportunities and options have opened for business owners. Socially marketing your products and services can come with its own challenges though, so the Social Commerce Summit, or SCS, has a focus on presenting some incredible tips and tricks along with the best practices common to businesses successful in this form of marketing.

The SCS will provide the platform for experts in their industries to share their own best practices and ideas that have been built upon cutting edge trends and technologies and are the products of incredibly successful Fortune 500 campaigns and strategies.

The Agenda

The conference’s format is designed to encourage short presentations with short discussions following. This encourages speakers to get to the heart of the matter quickly so that additional points can be discussed and engaged as the conference rolls on.

Everything from product creation or discovery to social advertising deals are discussed to help educate those new to the business as well as those brushing up on current trends. There is also plenty of time to connect with colleagues and create new networking relationships for your business.

The Speakers

You can expect to hear from a wide variety of speakers who hail from a vast number of different types of industries with everything from BusinessInsiders own Nicholas Carlson, @nichcarlson, to Tim Mahlman, @tmahlman, at Klout. Speakers will include marketing, branding, and developmental executives as well as innovators and strategist with leading information on how to expand a business’s ROI. A few speakers include:

Margot Savell – @margotsavell
Margo is the digital measurement strategist at Weber Shandwick
Jason Ross – @JasonPRoss
The Founder of Jackthreads.com
Paul Lee – @ipaullee
The head of PLayboy Digital Ventures and an admitted Foodie
Chantel Waterbury – @chantelchloe
The Founder and CEO of Chloe and Isabel

In addition there are also reps from several major brands such as Martha Stewert Living Omnimedia and Battery Ventures.

Who Attends Social Commerce Summit?

Everyone! Everyone from the speakers themselves to anyone who is selling or promoting their own products, services, and ideas. You can expect to find investors and entrepreneurs who are involved in forms of digital commerce at the SCS.

Make sure to follow @BI_Events to keep up to date on conference information.

Lastly, remember that DBMEI subscribers also receive 15% off of the ticket price to the Social Commerce Summit. Simply register on site and include the code, dbmei15, in the discount code box on the left to get your DBMEi subscriber discount.

Author:

Sources:

Start Your Own Social Media Business, Without the Collateral

January 30, 2012 by Basil Puglisi 11 Comments

In today’s economy, it is very hard to get a job. Because of all the competition, it’s also very hard to set yourself apart from the rest. If you’re a student living out of a parent’s home and still learning how/struggling to fend for yourself, you will be able to agree that finding a job that suits your circumstances can seem like an endless and pointless mission. Plus, add all the pressure of studying, socializing and still growing up, a pattern of rejection letter after rejection letter can take its toll. I know it did for me. So I

started thinking, I need a job and thus far, I’m having zilch luck finding one, so I steered my original thoughts of corporate climb towards another venture, starting my own business, and working for myself.
Who hasn’t toyed with the tempting idea of owning your own business? And if your circumstances are similar to mine, I recommend you continue reading. I have put together a simple, 3-step guide for students needed for the initial ‘thinking’ stages of starting a business. All you need is a social media platform (a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account), a working knowledge of how it operates and commitment to your interactions (potential clients).
1. Go with What You Know

As a student, and as a child who was raised by the Internet, one thing I completely blanked on when trying to decide on the service of my business, was social media. And I can’t believe it took me that long to think of it! If you’re addicted to, and can’t live without your Facebook or Twitter and consider yourself a bit of a whizz when managing your accounts, then why not consider a position such as Social Media Marketing Assistant? Every company/organization/individual who understands the importance and benefits of having or introducing a digital media marketing strategy will be interested in your services.
2. Create an e-Portfolio
Having a electronic portfolio is much more versatile and accessible than a hardcopy portfolio. And by utilizing social media to reach your audience, your work and services will be viewed and sought after online therefore, an e-Portfolio proves to be your most significant asset in the business world. It’s like a resume, just a lot more interactive. An e-portfolio can include multimedia presentations, relevant web pages, work from Adobe, data spreadsheets, reports – basically anything you have created online!
3. How To get Your Name Out There and Who You Should Be Marketing Towards
If Facebook is what you know and therefore your platform of choice, instead of using your own personal account, set up a Facebook page dedicated to your business and link your professional account to your personal account (this will actually boost friend requests aswell) You must think to yourself; who would use my services? Who needs me?
So students, you’re not alone out there. Flexibility and enjoyment (not to mention good pay!) are all key in finding a successful fit whilst you are studying and the skills you learn & develop in social media are invaluable and will prove to be a significant asset in your professional later life.
Author:
A Public Relations student, born, raised, & studying in Melbourne, Lisa Danielle Carey is currently completing her A.D in Public Relations at Victoria University. As a social media enthusiast, she is active on Twitter, as well as Facebook. Social Media is the face the future, so let’s embrace it together!
Sources:

3 Tips to Synchronize Online and Traditional Marketing

January 23, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

As much as the online community loves to promote the effectiveness of a well-designed online strategy, it’s impossible to deny that
traditional media can be hugely effective. What get’s lost in much of the debate about online vs traditional marketing, though, is how
incredibly powerful they can be when used in tandem. Here are three ways to make it happen.

1. Play Ping Pong

In The Thank You Economy, Gary Vaynerchuk explains how playing a game of ping pong between social and traditional media can launch customer
engagement through the roof.

In the book, he argues that simply including the URL of a Facebook page at the end of a TV commercial doesn’t go nearly far enough. Instead, the commercial should include a genuine call to action that encourages viewers to find out what’s happening online.

Once the users visit the social media page, they should find not an advertisement, but a genuine community of like-minded people. All the energy and excitement surrounding the community can then be harnessed and channeled. It can be used to spark new ideas that can make their way back into traditional media.

When a meme makes the leap from an online community to traditional media, the people who were involved in the creation of that meme will feel vindicated. This further improves the engagement and keeps the community coming back for more.

In the book, Vaynerchuk applauded the success of an Old Spice campaign that, in many ways, accomplished just that. The character from the commercials was placed into the social media realm, where he interacted directly with the audience. Taking things a step further, he responded to requests from the audience by recording new videos that incorporated their ideas. This resulted in an incredibly successful campaign.

But Vaynerchuk also had some harsh words for Old Spice, because they failed to keep the game going. They eventually stopped engaging with
their audience, treating the social media phenomenon as though it were a TV advertising campaign that could just end without so much as a
farewell. He feels that the campaign should have been used to develop lifetime customer value that would have kept customers coming back for
more for the foreseeable future.

2. There’s More to Social Than Marketing

Chris Brogan is one of the most widely respected voices on social media marketing, so it’s no small thing when he says that social media is about more than marketing. One of the most important changes that social media has brought about is the ability of the customer to talk about you.

What does this have to do with incorporating traditional marketing? Consider the value of actually understanding your audience. In 1998, marketers were willing to pay between four and five thousand dollars to conduct a focus group consisting of less than ten people for two hours.If people were willing to spend this much for two hours with ten potential customers to figure out how they thought and what made them tick, imagine how much they would have paid to have access to a never-ending conversation with thousands of potential customers.

The amount of data available at your fingertips is staggering if you are just willing to listen. Insights gleamed from relationships that were founded by social media can be an incredible source of traditional marketing ideas. Taking the time to really understand your audience and how they think will dramatically improve the impact of your traditional marketing efforts.

Building relationships using social media can also help expand your influence. A phone call only takes place between two people, but social media allows you to have a conversation of comparable intimacy with hundreds or thousands of people at the same time. Do not underestimate the power of influential relationships. They have always been the backbone of a strong business, and the intensity of this has only been magnified by the power of the internet..

3. Reach Critical Mass

The most important thing that social media has to offer is right in the name: social. It’s about the conversation. It’s that conversation that keeps users coming back, gets the word out, and makes things happen.

A conversation, by definition, demands more than one person. Most people are hesitant to start or join a conversation unless one has already been started. As the old saying goes, nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.

This is where traditional media can be immensely powerful. By sending enough people your way, you can reach the critical mass necessary to get a conversation started. This can be accomplished without traditional marketing, but it’s often much easier to reach this point using something like traditional advertising.

Social and traditional media can amplify each other in ways that weren’t possible before. By keenly understanding the difference between the two media, it’s possible to reach a wide audience, listen to what they have to say, and appeal to them in new and powerful ways.

Author:

Kathy S. is a freelance writer and car insurance expert. She lives with her husband in Georgia where they enjoy weight training and comparing car insurance together.

Sources:

How to Get the Most Out of Your Social Media Advertising

January 22, 2012 by Basil Puglisi 7 Comments

The field of advertisement has changed immensely over the past decades. Online advertisements have replaced almost completely the printed newsletters, which used to be so effective. If, at first, the companies used to advertise online and build their own websites and buy virtual ads, today, social media is the new way of advertising.

Now, I am not saying that billboards, direct mails are not working at all, but the internet advertising takes it to a whole new level.With more than three billion users, more than half of them belonging to a social website or another, the internet is the perfect market to advertise. More than that, social network websites are being seen more as a successful strategy for advertising than a way to find “the perfect match”. The most important social sites are:

1. Facebook: over 800 million users
2. Qzone: 500 million users (China networking website)
3. Twitter: 200 million users
4. RenRen: 180 million users (China networking website)
5. Myspace: 150 million users
6. Badoo: 120 million users
7. Bebo: 115 million users
8. LinkedIn: 100 million users

Talking about social websites, the first things I should mention is, of course, Facebook. With almost 1 billion users, Facebook is the most popular social website. Companies are obviously taking advantage of that, and, as Lon Safko (social media expert and co-author of “The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success”) said, they try to visualize Facebook as “a huge business watering hole”.

Next stop on the list is Twitter; companies create accounts, get interested people to follow them and advertise through the 140 characters tweets. The strategy is targeting by using hash tags and concentrated tweets.

LinkedIn has revolutionized the social media advertising campaigns. With millions of professionals seeking for jobs, experts, business opportunities, networking opportunities, LinkedIn is slowly, but surely, aiming for a higher spot on the list.

Companies are usually skeptic when taking on the social media advertising. It seems like no one can compete with Coca Cola, Starbucks or any of the well-known brands. But statistic show otherwise. The following list show the main changes companies have observed when getting into social media advertising:

88% – generate exposure for the business
72% – increased traffic / subscribers
62% – improved search rankings
56% – new business partnerships
51% – generated qualified leads
49% – reduced overall market expenses
43% – improved sales

Now here is a fact that may seem odd: small and average sized businesses spend three more times on social media network websites and blogs than the larger ones.

Old-school ads used to redirect you to a new tab, the landing page of the particular website, when clicked. Now, business and brands, redirect their potential customers to their social media sites (Facebook, Twitter etc.) The new ads work like a mini website, giving you the opportunity to read real time Facebook posts and tweets without leaving the page you were browsing through.

The number of companies and business that agree with the fact that social media is one of the best way of advertising is sky rocketing. Whether they just started or are experienced here’s the percentage of them:

30% of those who just started are really considering investing more in social media marketing
45% of business with less than 12 months of experience are happy and eager to continue their social media advertising campaign
68% of companies with 1 – 3 years of experience are extremely satisfied and continue advertising on social media networks
87% of those with more than 3 years in the business have seen great results and are waiting for more

The number of new social media websites is increasing as their users, but there are some websites that every company relies on when it comes to advertising. Some of them are more preferred, some of them are less. Check them out:

1. Facebook: used by 92% of the companies.
2. Twitter: used by 84% of the companies
3. LinkedIn: used by 71% of the companies
4. YouTube: used by 56% of the companies
5. FourSquare: used by 17% of the companies
6. Groupon: used by 7% of the companies
7. Myspace: used by 5% of the companies

Video Marketing – 80% percent of companies see this as a new addition to the advertising strategy and plan to use it as often as possible in 2012. YouTube is the main website preferred with more than 70% of votes.

Outsourcing – More and more company owner are outsourcing their social media marketing. This is not still a trending strategy, but it is very effective and large brand are using it. The tasks that are most outsourced are:

1. Design & development: 17%
2. Content Creation: 10%
3. Analytics: 10%
4. Monitoring: 7%

5. Research: 6%

6. Strategy: 6%

7. Community management: 4%

8. Live tweeting of events: 3%

Be sure to take advantage of this new growing strategy and analyze how are you standing in all the areas from above and which can really use some improvement.

Last, but not least, social media is not used entirely exclusive. When combined with traditional marketing strategies its influence becomes even stronger. The greatest results succeeded when social media was combined with:

E-mail marketing – 64% of the users are extremely satisfied and continue using it.
Event marketing – 60% plan on increasing their use of event marketing, because of its success.
Press releases – 43% are really happy with this old-school strategy.
Webinars – Used mainly by small business (42%) this is a great way to “put yourself out there”.

They say 2012 it’s the year when all businesses will start using social media as a powerful marketing and advertising strategy. With more and more apps, video and photo sharing, live events coverage, you will have in your hands a lot of smart tools to choose from.

Author:

Katlyn M. is a freelance writer and car insurance comparison specialist, and personal trainer. In her spare time, Katlyn enjoys swimming, hiking, and helping her friends save money on car insurance.

Sources:

The Buzz about Pinterest

January 19, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Interest in Pinterest has been buzzing around on social networks for a while now. Pinterest now has buttons on many sharing sites that did not have them before last month. So what exactly is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a tool for organizing and sharing images online. If you find something that inspires you or interest you, you can use your Pinterest account to create a visual bookmark to the link. These images are then known as Pins. Users can place their Pins on their own boards that they can label with specific themes if desired.

Pinterest’s focus is to provide the means for a connection for everyone on earth through shared interest. Based out of Palo Alto, California, Pinterest is chock-full of notable investors and entrepreneurs.

Hank Vigil
Kevin Hartz
Fritz Lanman
Jack Abraham
Jeremy Stoppelman
Michael Birch
Ron Conway
Scott Belsky
Shana Fisher

Pinterest allows users to ‘repin’ the Pins of others. So what happens when you Pin an interest?

When you repin an interest you are allowed to categorize the image onto your own boards.
Liking someone’s Pin will add the image to your personal profile’s Like section. The image doesn’t get added to one of your boards.
Users can choose to integrate their Twitter and Facebook accounts with Pinterest.

Pinterest is another social networking opportunity for so many who enjoy this helpful new element of internet communication. Users can create their own gift wish list, or simply just share their personal preferences with the world.

Get Started on Pinterest

There are many ways to utilize and enjoy Pinterest.

Social Networking – Just like Facebook and Twitter, users can add each other through Pinterest’s system.
Profile creation – If you Google yourself, you will likely find the highest links are from your personal social network profiles. Pinterest gives you another chance to create one.
Create a wish list for your next birthday or anniversary. Share it with those you need to drop a hint to.
On that same note, your friends who are on Pinterest are already providing you with a potential gift wish list. No more sneaking around asking people close to them what they may enjoy as a gift.
Get inspired! Use Pinterest for inspiration for any number of things, including work!

Create your own vision boards on your favorite topics and trends with Pinterest.

Sources:

Digital Marketing: Why Your Businesses Phone Number is Crucial to Success (Part 1)

January 18, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

“Name, Address and Phone Number, oh if you have a website or social media page you can add that two, but we don’t care” the Internet!

Phone Numbers are Crucial to Success!!! They are more important than domains!

It used to be you used a fancy 800 number to look impressive or to develop branding, take 1-800-FLOWERS for example. 1-800 Flowers was a great branding campaign that generated massive brand recognition for a referral service.

Google really brought the attention back to local when it launched Google places. Google used both the local phone number and the address to enhance its search results to bring business back to local merchants and while it sent SEO professionals scrambling, local business owners were thirsty to learn more.

Why Phone Numbers are Crucial!

Take any listing service or data set and you’ll find three consistent elements to how it organizes its data, first is the name, second the phone number and third is the address. Website domains and social media are nowhere to be found now, nor will they in the future. In fact, when Patch Media launched its local directory for Merchants and Business Owners the AOL local sensation had one problem, no address no listing… Google places needed that three digit identifier to decide if the address matched phone number, and Yelp listed businesses by name, phone numbers and address.

Branding Trend: It’s All Local!

In a time when people are being frugal with their money, they’re a lot quicker to call a local number then an 800 number. The fact is people actually avoid 800 numbers because they prefer to have someone local and hesitate at the thought that the number will be routed to India. Local is the big Brand in the United States right now, take a look in both Traditional and Digital Media and you’re bound to see the word Local at just about every other turn.

Phone Numbers: How Do I Get Them, Use them, Keep them?

There are a few tricks that can help local business owners stretch their influence and presence. Take MagicJack, a nifty little device that sells for $20 and provides phone service for $20 a year! After Google Places launched black hat SEO professionals started buying these as fast as they could. You see they take the MajicJack, register the phone number and then connect a local name to the local number and give it a local address through something like a UPS Store.

i.e. The Actual business is a plumber in Parkland, Florida with a 954 area code number. The blackhat SEO Pro would buy (5) five MagicJacks with local phone numbers, then open a UPS Box in towns around Parkland that the plumber served. Five Splash Pages later, that plumber looked local in six locations but really only existed in one.

If you’re a digital or virtual business, then the issue is the same. The phone number is crucial to looking local and you may be in NYC, but with the right number you now appear to be in LA, Moscow, Paris, Chicago, Miami etc. If your using a service like Regus and their Virtual Office, you can set the Magic Jack or Vanity number to forward to that location until you have an office or employee to forward it to later.

Port a number! Always Port a number, I inherited a phone number 4 years ago and I still get calls for children’s clothing from some company that had it before I did. If I sold children’s clothes I be rolling in free leads.

KEEP YOUR NUMBER!!!! The Android and Mr. Number Effect

Want to know what’s really pissing off telemarketers and collection agencies?

Android and Mr. Number! Android phones from version 1.5 have had a feature that allows people to save a contact and set the contact to forward directly to voicemail. Mr. Number is an application on all devices that blocks suspected spam (set by community feedback), unknown numbers and numbers you blacklist! So before you give up your number and get a new one, better think twice. If you do get a new number check it against the Mr. Number database, if its listed as a spam, credit collection or telemarketer get rid of it!

(Part 2 – Using Phone Numbers to Track Marketing Success)

Sources:

Snaptag Versus QR Codes

January 17, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

QR codes have been a new and unique source of executing mobile marketing campaigns in recent times. Many seem to not only enjoy participating by using them, but have actually begun to look for offers from those with QR codes and may even have begun to ignore those that do not have them at all.

What is a QR Code?

QR is short for quick response and that is exactly the purpose of the QR code. These codes take an element of data from transitory media and sends it to your mobile device. The code will give you details about that business, item, or even discount information on products and services.

QR Codes are more useful than a standard barcode in that they can store a more data and a wider variety of it. QR codes commonly include URL links, text, coordinates and more.

How Does This Benefit Businesses?

Most marketers are well aware that mobile marketing is becoming increasingly more important, almost by the day. No method of advertising could be easier than one that consumers reach out for, instead of being asked to look. QR codes allows those consumers who prefer not to be barraged with overt marketing tactics to choose where they will show interest in a product or service.

There is really no limit to the options that can be embedded in a QR code.

Running a restaurant? – Embed a great recipe, a buy a meal get one free discount, a special on this evenings dessert.
Authors – Add a QR code to the back of your book that enables a consumer to get extra features or hidden endings to your script.
Good health practices – Doctors, or other medically related practices can add good tips and tricks for healthy living to their QR codes, update them every month for innovative creativity in the medical field.

Vital Aesthetics Arrive to QR Coding

Traditionally, QR codes have retained a Rorschach look to them, leaving the responsibility on the advertiser to make sure consumers know whose QR code they are scanning. However, with Snaptags, QR codes and increasing brand awareness have meshed nicely. Snaptags have traded out that whole inkblot look for a code ring that serves the same functional purpose.

Who is Using Snaptags?

Because of the applied branding ability on Snaptags not previously available on QR’s, we can now see who is actively using them.

Picture c/o http://www.socialsnaptags.com/

Snaptags Cons?

Although Snaptags no doubt win out in the aesthetic element, there are other issues that can make Snaptags less beneficial than they appear. Many venture because of the supporting copy, Snaptags are not as easily accessible as QR codes. Snaptag stands by the fact that all advertisers would need to do is determine the required supporting copy, but this does lend itself to the inaccessible accusation.

Many current QR code advertisers agree that if a mobile marketing campaign is managed correctly, the aesthetic element of the Snaptags versus traditional QR’s is hardly advantageous.

Sources:

What’s the key to a successful digital media strategy?

January 9, 2012 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Websites, especially for Search Engine Optimization should defiantly be doing this. A successful Social Media campaign has this as a crucial characteristic. This one defining element or practice is an absolute must for anyone who wants clients and customers whorepeat business and develop long-term relationships. In fact you probably find this to be as true for personal relationships as you would for any aspect of a business before and during the digital age.

Be Genuine!

Websites that develop a structure that take user experience and align it with their purpose find higher conversions. Don’t build a site for a plumber that looks like iTunes. Let that sites experience be what mirrors the genuine experience that is that service or product.

SEO success is defined by the genuine nature of the sites target and content. Search Engines are in the business of helping people find what they are looking for, build the content and keyword targeting around your clients, services and or product.

Social Media is all about the culture that your organization has, what’s your social media personality? Social Media isn’t about hard sales, its about relationships, find ways to develop social media strategies that support who or what you really are beyond what you sell or do.

Jump on Match.com, eHarmony, or have a friend set you up on a blind date, it’s just like business. You’ll get someone new in front of you, but if you want to get beyond the first introduction you better be who you are, pretending to be what your not will scare away your valuable long term relationships and leave you with a short sighted one night stand. Remember, 20% of your customers may provide you with 80% of your business, but if you find a way to build long-term relationships that develop from your genuine culture and services you’ll find value in every interaction.

If you want “world of mouth” opportunities, find a brand perception that matches you or your organization. Don’t try to control it, facilitate it by being genuine.

Sources: