June 6, 2011

Online Purchasing Decisions

 

According to Business Insider, Google remains the number one way that people find information in regards to making a purchasing decision.  What does that mean for you?  It is still important to have high organic Google search results along with advertising with Google Adwords vs. Facebook ads.


For the full article, please visit Business Insider for details.

January 14, 2011

Twitter Third-Party Options

There are many services that allow you to tweet without having to log into twitter.com.  If you are thinking about using a third-party service, then the best one to use is the one that suites your work style the best.  Here is a rundown of a few of the services out there:
1) Tweetdeck allows for multiple accounts to be run in a multi-column format.  It is easy to navigate the system and set up searches through global tweets. URLs can be shortened from the interface and can also link to your Facebook account.
2) If you want the option to start with a free version and possibly upgrade to more features for a price, Hootsuite may be for you!  This program allows you to add multiple social networking sites to one location and set up a schedule of posts to each.  Images can be attached to your postings and you can easily shorten links through the easy-to-navigate interface.
3) Seesmic is customizable, but lacks the ability to schedule updates.  If you are new to using a third-party service for tweeting and don’t need the bells and whistles, then this may be the program for you.
4) CoTweet is great if you have multiple people participating in the creation and execution of Twitter messages.  Just as its’ name implies, many people can log in and use this service and users can assign tasks to each other to help ensure a clean transition between users.
5)  BirdHerd is good for people who must manage multiple accounts.  It is not as user-friendly, but allows the use of direct messages from one account to control multiple accounts.
6) Brizzly integrates multimedia like Google Wave.  It allows private conversations between multiple users.  If you were a fan of Google Wave, this might be what you crave!
With all the options out there for tweeting, the best option is what works for you.  And it’s ok to try and several.  I know I sure did until I found one that works best for me and my work style.  And as my workload increases, I try something new!  Have fun with it, because it’s all about being social.
-Jennifer DeMarco, Marketing Manager
January 13, 2011

Job Profile Update on Facebook

Late last year, Facebook launched another profile layout update.  With a new layout came a small glitch in the system for marketers.  When a user entered their employer information, a templated page was generated and linked to.  So, instead of a friend being able to link to the person’s employer, they received a dummy page instead.  This is somewhat easily fixed, but not known intuitively.

Follow these easy steps:

1) Log into your Facebook account and go to “Edit my page”.

2) Click “Education and Work”

3) You can now edit your employment and school history.  Make sure when you update your employer information that you use the link to your companies’ actual Facebook page and not the dummy pages that were created.

Now people can get to your company page and “Like” it from yours!

For more information read: “Are Facebook Profiles Costing you Fans?”

January 5, 2011

Social Inbox by Facebook

What is the Social Inbox?  That’s the new term for Facebook’s upcoming email platform; but it’s much more than just an email program.

The Social Inbox will allow users to keep all conversations in one place for easy communication with family, friends, colleagues, etc.  The user will be able to email and text through one interface and maintain the conversation all in one place.

Additionally, you will only be able to see messages from friends and family unless you place other companies’ emails into your “social inbox”.  This will allow you to control who you see messages from and eliminate the spam that inevitably has found its way to your inbox in the past.

There is a great video that explains how the Social Inbox will work:

-Jennifer DeMarco, Marketing Manager

December 17, 2010

Search Marketing Trends 2011

Previously, traditional marketing efforts urged people to visit brick and mortar locations.  With the introduction of the internet, efforts have shifted to allowing easy-access to merchandise via company websites.  Many customers research where and how they will make a purchase through internet research.

In 2009, Forrester Research estimated that $917 billion retail sales were influenced by the web.  Additionally, $155 billion was spent online in 2009.  It is important that as we enter 2011, businesses realize the influence that the website has on their company, products and image.  Companies cannot simply market either online or via traditional marketing, it must be a collaboration between the two marketing efforts to maximize reach.

With the introduction of smartphones, another vehicle for marketing has been introduced.          Where the internet once took over for research, more and more people are now using their          phone as a way to research, locate, and find deals on companies and products.  Using                  applications such as “Places“, “Foursquare“, and “Google Maps” will help companies reach        their consumers with promotions.

Another advantage that companies must focus efforts on is the use of PPC advertising through not only Google Adwords, but also on Facebook.  Facebook use has surpassed the use of Google and with the introduction of new functionality and the impending upgrades to Facebook, the social networking site is sure to be in even more high demand.  Additionally, the use of Facebook ads allows a company to target their customers based on different search criteria.

Need help navigating any of these areas?  Call Strike Marketing at toll free 800-488-7985 and let us help with a free consultation.

-Jennifer DeMarco, Marketing Manager

Concept for article credited to: Top Rank Blog

December 15, 2010

Twitter Button

A great way to help get your company’s blog or website out to the public is to add a “tweet button” to the page.  An easy way to access the code to implement this is at the tweet button webpage provided by Twitter.  Once placed into your blog or website, your readers will be able to “tweet” that they like your page!  We love how easy it is to use this site to access code – no mess, no fuss!

Tweet on!

-Jennifer DeMarco, Marketing Manager

December 13, 2010

Sticky Blog…

Q:  What is a sticky blog?

A:  It’s simply a blog that makes you want to stick around!

Q:  How do you create a sticky blog?

A:  That’s a little trickier.  To create a sticky blog, you should use a couple techniques.

Techniques of Creating a Sticky Blog:

First, find opportunities to link your blog to other posts to create a more in-depth view of the topic.  The objective here is not to link to other sites, but to link to other posts you have written.  As the reader clicks through the links, they are staying on your blog and becoming a “sticky” reader.  This technique is not to be confused with linking to outside blogs to increase your search rankings!

One goal that you should create for yourself is to get people to read and then comment on your blog posts.  As people make comments on your post, other readers will want to read more and will stay on your blog site longer.  Sometimes the best part of a blog is simply reading the comments!  So, spark some conversation and get people motivated to keep coming back for more.

You can also pull people into your blogs by taking insightful comments and quirky sentences from your post and sending them out via other social networking sites.  By posting these to Facebook, Twitter, etc. you will gain a wider audience on your blog and will create more buzz.

– Jennifer DeMarco, Marketing Manager

October 25, 2010

Check In with Facebook

People spend hours checking up on their friends’ lives through Facebook via both computer and mobile devices.  The latest in Facebook’s technology is called “Places”; where users can update where they are currently located and their friends can check-in with them.  But, now Facebook is looking further into integrating daily life into the social networking site.

“30% of all TV viewers have admitted to being logged onto Facebook while watching a show”, EMEA Vice President Joanna Shields states.  So, Facebook new idea is to have people check-in to their favorite shows.  Facebook users could click what they are watching, which would allow Facebook friends to see what their friends are watching and weigh in on it.

Check out more about TV Check Ins.

 

October 21, 2010

5 SEO Tips

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a vital part of having a successful website and has proven to be an art form.  Here are some tips that we have fond and utilize in our own business practice:

  • Research, research, research!  No, this doesn’t require a research paper to be created!  However, researching the best keywords to use is an extremely important part of putting your website as a competitor with others in your industry.  Everybody is using the same keywords and people all research differently. So, it is important to use keyword analytics tools such as Google’s Free Keyword Tool.  The tool will help find keywords that you may be missing, which will increase your competitiveness in an organic search.
  • Set-up is key.  Web “crawlers” looks at your main navigation bar as the most important parts of your site.  Your most viewed pages should be accessible through the main navigation and associate it with major headings, keywords, etc.
  • Play the match game!  After you have created a list of keywords (through your research), match your keyword phrases with text on the page.  This will allow the web crawlers to make connections of what your site/company is really about.
  • Integrate title tags, meta descriptions and marketing copy.  This ties in with the previous tip…write descriptively so that your keywords are found throughout the page title, descriptions and text of the page.
  • Measure your success.  Measuring success on online work can be tricky, but when it comes to your website – it can be easy!  Use analytics tools – such as Google’s Analytics Tool – and measure targeted traffic and conversions.  When you have a conversion, that means the person was interested in your company enough to fill out a form.
October 19, 2010

Top Ten Best Practices for Websites