With a struggling US economy, many entrepreneurs and sales people are finding that they need to change the way they market their business.
You yourself might be asking the question on how best to use the marketing dollars that you have in your budget. Where can you get the biggest bang for the buck?
I have some good news for you. And by the way, stick those marketing dollars back in your coffers, because the strategy I’m about to share with you is virtually free. Well… it is going to take an hour or two a week of your time, but other than that, it’s free.
I want to make the case for you, that spending time each week on your social media marketing, is very smart business.
So what is social media? Social media is an umbrella term that refers to the technologies and practices that are used to share information, opinions, and thoughts online.
Social media can take many forms, such message boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and videos.
With 70% of people researching online before buying a product or service (which includes local service businesses), and 51% of internet users spending most of their time reading and watching personal content that is created by other people, you’ve got to have an online presence. But, it’s not just about having a website. You need to make sure that your business is in the path of where your target audience is spending their time online.
Here’s another little known fact. According to ongoing research from the Online Publishers Association and Nielsen//NetRatings, US Internet users will spend less than 5% of their online time using search, versus nearly 50% of their time on content sites (social media). Yet, most marketers are putting most of their online marketing dollars into paid search.
Marketing Experiments did a 12 month study, in which they compared the effectiveness of a Google Adwords campaign, to a social media marketing campaign. They created several sites in different niches to gather data from. They compared:
1) Hiring an employee at $10/hour to blog, create content, and in to work to drive traffic to the sites.
-to-
2) Using Google Adwords to drive targeted traffic. (They paid up to .75/click in their adwords campaign).
Result: Social Media Optimization yielded a 1427% greater return on investment!
WOW!
The numbers speak for themselves. But before you jump into social media marketing, be sure that you do your homework. There is a right way to network, and there is a spammy way to network. You want to educate yourself so that you are being effective in the way that you use these online communities.
With the current economic conditions, it’s smart to put your marketing efforts where you get the greatest return on investment. Social media marketing may well be your solution.
——– Visit SnapMonkey.com for additional help in marketing your business.
I’m all for equal rights for women, but this pick by John McCain is an insult!
As a woman entrepreneur, a mom of a 3rd grader, a board member of our school’s PTA, and of someone who loves our country and the opportunities it presents, you would think that I could relate to this pick… but I can’t! To me, it’s a slap in the face to women!
I thought for sure that John McCain would pick Mitt Romney. McCain is weak on economic issues, which is something he has stated about himself. He feels that he is strong on international politics. The natural fit of course would be to bring in someone who is strong on the economy.
But instead, McCain has chosen a woman… just because it’s a woman. If this person was a man with the same skill set, the person would be completely looked over. Sarah Palin is going to have to take a crash course in international politics, and a crash course in economic issues. Sure, she has taken down some corrupt politics in Alaska by bringing media attention to the offenders. Although that is admirable, does that qualify her? ( You really should read this post about the Alaskan perspective!)
Now… I know she is the VP pick and not the presidential pick. But, McCain is 72 years old, so we have to look at her as a potential presidential pick as well.
Sarah Palin says she’s a hockey mom and a PTA mom. I’m on the PTA board, and there are many bright women. Do I want any of them to be president? NO!
Because Sarah Palin is a mom of 5 kids, and because she didn’t have an abortion for her 5th child, does that qualify her to be president? NO! ( In fact, I’m curious where she finds the time to be mom? It certainly would have to be quality over quantity. They must have a good nanny).
What insults me as a woman, is that men like McCain must believe that we as women are people of little depth, and that we just want to see a woman in the Presidential or VP seat, rather than care about the qualifications of that woman. Wrong! I’ve got news for you McCain. Women want qualified women!
I doubt that Hillary supporters will just come running to Sarah Palin because she is a woman. Yes… it makes great media and the pundits have a lot more to talk about. But Hillary was a highly qualified woman. There is no comparison to Hillary’s qualifications, to those of Sarahs.
I will be attending the CEO Space Forum ( formerly know as the IBI Forum) this week in Los Angeles. It’s an intensive week long learning and networking event, that is designed to help entrepreneurs take their business to the next level. They have 5 meetings a year.
In the last 5 years, I have gone several times. The first time I went was shortly after we started SnapMonkey (2003). The connections I made there were impactful, and helped me to grow my business.
In 2004 I went as an instructor, to teach people how to market their website on the internet. I had a great time doing that. Bernie Dohrmann was kind enough to invite me back for the following forum, but because I am a mom of a younger child, I like to keep my traveling to a minimum.
I have also gone to network as a returning graduate just for the weekend.
Currently, I am going back for a week as a student. My intention is to grow SnapMonkey, and to find affiliates for a new online registration program we are kicking off September 1st. This new program will be for people who need a web-based solution for their customers to register online. It will help businesses such as dentists offer an online appointment scheduling system, restaurants to have an online reservation system, businesses and bands to sell tickets for an event, associations who are putting on meetings, etc. The current solutions are very expensive, and we are offering a new alternative that is very affordable. Our affiliate program will have a monthly payout, so it’s a great way for someone who wants to sell for us to have a residual income.
I’m also going because I want to create a co-op, or brand, of green businesses. I’d like to do the internet marketing for these green businesses, and market them as a group. I still need a little clarity on how to structure all of that, and I still need to locate and select the businesses that would be part of this co-op, which is something that CEO Space will be able to help with.
Many of our clients use StatCounter.com to analyze their website traffic. StatCounter
has a free analytics program, which is very good. They also have an upgraded program.
Some of our clients use Paypal to pay for this service.
Statcounter just sent out an email to their customers who pay for the upgraded
program via Paypal.
It sounds like Paypal has been having many issues with regards to double
billing and delayed invoicing. For those of you who use Paypal for your
recurring billings, you may be experiencing a similar situation as to what
StatCounter is experiencing.
Here is a copy/paste of their email they sent to all Paypal users:
We at StatCounter are having ongoing, critical problems with Paypal.
In view of the complete lack of assistance from Paypal in this regard and
the gravity of the problems, we have decided that we have no option but to
inform you, our members, about the facts of the situation. This will allow
you to make an informed decision about whether to use (or whether to
continue to use) Paypal.
Please note that these problems have been ongoing since 15 May and arise
not only in relation to payments made to StatCounter but in relation to ANY
Paypal payments that you make. We hope that our communications will equip
you with the information necessary to make sure that YOU do not become
another victim of this ongoing Paypal saga.
The two major issues affecting StatCounter Paypal subscribers are:
- Delayed issuing of invoices
- Instances of double billing
At StatCounter we have tried phoning, emailing, posting on the Paypal
forums… Many of our contacts are ignored, but even when we do get an
answer all we are told is that “Upon review of your account, unfortunately
we do not have a time frame for a resolution to your issue we are currently
actively investigating your issue with subscriptions.”
Folks - we sincerely regret any problems you are experiencing and assure
you that we are doing our best to get all of these issues resolved for you.
We strive to offer a high level of customer service and pride ourselves on
being responsive to the needs and suggestions of our members. To have our
hands “tied” in this way as a result of Paypals inaction is frustrating to
say the least.
We would be very grateful for your patience at this time as we wait for
Paypal to resolve these issues.
We would also ask you to be patient with any of our fellow internet
merchants experiencing difficulties with Paypal at this time.
For further information or to post a question or a comment, please visit
our blog.
Imagine running your car on pond scum. That may very well be the future.
Algae grows fast, and algae oil can be extracted ready to be refined into fuels like bio diesel. One acre per year can produce 100,000 gallons of algae oil. Compare that to 20-30 gallons per acre with corn.
And… this algae oil can be produced on desert land!
If 1/10th of the state of New Mexico was converted into algae production alone, it can cover all the transportation needs in the United States.
Just the other day I was writing about the Innovation Hotel, as being the first 100% green hotel. I’m thrilled to see a trend happening in the hotel industry. It looks like Starwood Hotels is also working on making their new hotels more ecologically friendly.
Starwood did a study and found that:
nearly 60% of frequent travelers admit to dropping their “green routines” on the road.
while 70% of people agree that they try to conserve water “as much as possible” at home, only 18% do the same in a hotel.
63% percent of frequent travelers admit to being more likely to leave a light on when they leave a hotel room than home.
In response, Starwood is building ELEMENT Hotels, which will make it chic and easy for guests to be eco-friendly on the road.
ELEMENT Hotel features will have:
energy efficient stainless steel appliances and lighting
water-efficient faucets and fixtures and bins for paper
plastic and glass which make recycling easy
Filtered water in guest rooms and amenity dispensers in the showers reduce plastic bottle waste.
low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints and carpets with up to 100% recycled content and anti-microbial carpet pads which improve indoor air quality for guests and staff.
Guests driving hybrid cars are rewarded with priority parking.
“Do Not Disturb” sign gets a green makeover, replacing the traditional paper tag with the environmentally-friendly magnet.
As a traveller, here are some things that Element Hotels suggests that you can do right now to be more energy efficient:
Get unplugged: Many people don’t realize that their cell phone charger, laptop cable and other electrical plugs drain power while they are plugged in, even if they are not in use. In fact, only 5% of the power used by an average cell phone charger is used to charge the phone—the other 95% is wasted energy.
Seize the day: Take advantage of natural light as much as possible—it is as renewing for your spirits as it is for the planet.
Chill out: Hotels are often climate-controlled, but many will let you adjust the room temperature. Always set the temperature around 68 degrees in winter and 78 degrees in summer to maximize both energy efficiency and personal comfort.
Lights out: Keeping the bathroom light off overnight makes a big impact—and will help you to sleep better. Traveling with a nightlight is an easy, eco-friendly alternative.
Conserve while you sleep: ELEMENT’s survey confirmed that only a small percentage of people change their linens every day at home—so why should a hotel be any different? Taking advantage of a hotel’s linen reuse policy is a smart choice.
Use common sense: Be sure to turn off the lights and TV and make sure faucets are closed before leaving your room.
I just started a Green Brands group on Facebook. If you want to come join and help support companies that make environmentally friendly choices, we welcome you. You can also share your favorite green technologies and green companies.
As many of you know, Wordpress automatically is set up so that comment links are nofollow.
There are bloggers who feel that good comments should be rewarded with dofollow links, and I agree. I’ve now set up my blog where commenters can enjoy an incoming link back to their site.
There are some great plugins and hacks available that you can download to make your blog a dofollow blog. In fact, Andy Beard has made a great dofollow list of plugins
I think this is exciting, and we should support businesses who make the decision to make environmentally friendly choices.
The solar powered ‘Innovation Hotel’ - which is the brainchild of the InterContinental Hotels Group ( owner of Holiday Inn ) could be the world’s first ever 100 per cent ecologically-friendly hotel!
Features include:
* The forwarding of all unused non-perishable food to charities or food banks
* Solar panels on the roof to heat water
* A rainwater harvesting system to supply water to toilets
* A roof garden rich in shrubbery to provide extra insulation
* Windpower to generate electricity for the hotel
* Recycled glass windows
* Furniture and fittings made entirely from recycled materials
* And household waste to provide heat and power
I just started a Green Brands group on Facebook. If you want to come join and help support companies that make environmentally friendly choices, we welcome you. You can also share your favorite green technologies and green companies.
I just came back from the NARMS conference ( National Association for Retail Marketers) in which a gave a presentation on social media marketing.
It was a great time! I met David Dwyer, the Senior Director of Lego ( which was fun, especially since my son has a Lego Show on YouTube ). I also met Mary Jo Bastuba ( Senior National Field Manager of Nintendo ), Kit Moss of Kit Moss Productions, Mark Webber of Prism Retail Services, Chuck Belding of RPM, Mark Hunter of The Sales Hunter, Kenneth Herbst who does marketing research experiments for Wake Forest Universtiy, along with many other very fascinating people!
Gerard McLean, their website strategist, has built up the NARMS website to where it receives over 3 million page views per month. He built a successful web revenue model based on finding reps to fill jobs for their 500 plus members. Impressive!
