SmallBusinessNewz - Marketing

The Upside of Marketing During the Economic Crisis

Abby Johnson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:16:12 -0500

Since unemployment rates jumped past 10 percent last week, it looks like the recession is anything but over. While the news is discouraging, businesses need to realize that there are still opportunities available for them. As explained in the video report below, these opportunities would not exist if times were better.

Search Marketing Without Social? Good Luck.

Chris Crum — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:57:13 -0500

If you didn't already have a reason to use social media to market your business, consider Google's recent Labs release, Social Search. The feature returns search results (when possible) based on related updates from people you are connected with on various social networks, blogs, etc.

Google TV Ads Contest Winners Announced

Doug Caverly — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:58:59 -0500

Thanks to Google, three small businesses are going to receive a rather significant of national exposure. Amazing Gates, Owners.com, and ZAGG.com have been declared the winners of Google's TV for All contest.

The contest began about two months ago when small businesses were asked to submit 30- or 60-second promotional videos. Some judges narrowed down the list of entries ten finalists, and then YouTube users were allowed to vote for three winners.

Email Wins Consumer Marketing Survey

Doug Caverly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:50:10 -0400

The findings of a new study suggest that it's time for small business owners to buy ergonomic keyboards and stick their phones underneath dust covers. At least one group of consumers vastly prefers to receive advertising offers through email instead of from telemarketers.

9% of SMBs Are Marketing with Twitter

Chris Crum — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:01:33 -0400

A new study from BIA/Kelsey found that 32% of small business advertisers plan on including social media into their marketing mix within the next 12 months. It also found that 9% of small and medium-sized businesses are currently using Twitter for marketing.

"Social media is clearly gaining traction among SMB advertisers," said Steve Marshall, director of research and consulting, BIA/Kelsey. "As local consumers

Social Media Success Stories Identified

Doug Caverly — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:54:19 -0400

It never hurts to have a role model, and this morning, small businesses that use social media were pointed towards not one, but five. Kogi BBQ, the Marsh Cafe, Duke of York's Cinema, Wiggly Wigglers, and Howies have all made great strides in this area.

What Consumers Think About Recession-Related Marketing

Chris Crum — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:35:45 -0400

Adweek Media and Harris Interactive polled 2,186 U.S. adults between September 25 and 29 to find out what American consumers think about advertisements that use the economy as a marketing tactic. As the firm says, advertisers have to decide how to deal with the issue of the recession. Some simply ignore it, but many have incorporated it into their messaging.

YouTube Chalking Up 1 Billion Views Per Day

Doug Caverly — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:56:45 -0400

Small businesses owners who still aren't using YouTube to promote their companies have been given yet another reason to do so. Chad Hurley, YouTube's CEO and one of its cofounders, checked in this morning to say that the video-sharing site is chalking up more than one billion views per day.

Marketing for Halloween Online

Chris Crum — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:32:24 -0400

The Halloween season is approaching (or is already here, depending on how much you actually celebrate it). Did you know that average consumer spending for Halloween has increased every year since 2003? According to Google it has.

With that in mind, a lot of small businesses stand to make some decent money off of the holiday this year with the proper marketing. Google recently shared some tips on how to do so online.

Google Local Listing Ads Debut

Doug Caverly — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:53:12 -0400

We'll be upfront about something here: only companies in San Diego and San Francisco can currently take advantage of this offer. But Google's rolling out something that should at some point help small businesses in a lot of places reach potential customers online.

Social Media Can Drive Your Search Success

Chris Crum — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:19:52 -0400

In case you haven't figured it out yet, social media and search can compliment each other quite well. Social media leads to links, which lead to better search engine ranking. On top of that, a lot of people are simply searching within social networks themselves.

Twitter Users Mostly Neutral Or Kind To Companies

Doug Caverly — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:54:26 -0400

Small business owners who have been worried about getting trashed 140 characters at a time may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that Twitter users tend to stay neutral and focus on facts, and even when they get emotional, they're usually positive.

Are You Concentrating On The Largest Market of Buyers?

Stacy Karacostas — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:16:23 -0400

Do you have a small business that sells to women?

Here are some interesting stats, courtesy of Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero at http://www.redhotcopy.com, that you should consider when marketing your business, products or services:

YouTube Introduces Creator's Corner

Doug Caverly — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:55:53 -0400

It would be an understatement to say that there's plenty of material out there about making YouTube videos; you could probably spend weeks or months tracking down all of the tips that have been littered around the site. Still, YouTube's put together a central hub that may be of some value.

Oops: Social Media ROI Going Unmeasured

Doug Caverly — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:03:10 -0400

The average businessperson wouldn't even imagine buying and selling stock without first checking shares' prices and historical performance. It turns out that all sorts of folks fail to measure the profitability of their social media programs, however, and that's a pattern of which you shouldn't be a part.

SMS Calls-to-Action Can Make a Big Difference

Chris Crum — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:55:30 -0400

Have you ever considered the power of the call-to-action? How about in a television commercial? Have you ever considered the impact the growing trend of text messaging can have on your business? One Chicago tourism spot found out recently.

Where is Your Traffic Coming From?

Chris Crum — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:27:27 -0400

iCrossing has shared some interesting findings about where websites in a variety of industries are getting their traffic. They looked at the financial, retail, high tech, services, travel/hospitality, and health/pharma industries and found the average amount of visitors coming from social media, natural search, non-search referrals, and direct-to-URL visits.

Here are the averages they found across all industries:

Is Series the Key to Success in Online Video?

Chris Crum — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:40:38 -0400

At the recent Search Engine Strategies conference, Mike McDonald of WebProNews discussed YouTube marketing with Greg Jarboe of SEO-PR, who happened to write a book on that very subject. While, the entirety of Jarboe's book was not discussed, one key factor was.

To be successful on YouTube, you need to get people to continue watching your videos. That means:

Customers And Product Design

Doug Caverly — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:33:15 -0400

Go to the car dealership of a top luxury brand - or at least go to the car configurator tool on its website - and you'll see that buyers are given a stunning number of choices. They might be able to pick between 18 grades of leather for the seats, 36 types of wood for the trim, and 128 exterior paint colors, for example. And this kind of participatory experience can be a real key to success.

A Lot of Events for Marketers to Consider This Month

Chris Crum — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:38:31 -0400

Well, September has come and that means a lot of different things to a lot of different types of retailers. Yahoo has posted a nice list of different events to keep in mind on the Yahoo Search Marketing Blog.

According to Yahoo, September is the month for:

Gaining Repeat Customers

Abby Johnson — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:33:40 -0400

According to the global loyalty marketing agency, ICLP, customer loyalty is "the totality of feelings or attitudes that would incline a customer to consider the re-purchase of a particular product, service or brand or re-visit a particular company, shop or website."

Generating Positive Publicity

Abby Johnson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:47:59 -0400

Getting the media to cover your business can be quite a challenge. Media outlets get hundreds and some even thousands of story pitches each day. So, what will make your idea stand out to the media?

Small Businesses To Receive More Radio, TV Coverage

Doug Caverly — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:54:11 -0400

It looks like mainstream media organizations are ready to give small businesses a little more consideration. On both sides of the Atlantic, developments have occurred that'll make it easier to hear or see relevant info when you're listening to the radio or watching television.

Take Your Business on the Road

Abby Johnson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:41:35 -0400

Did you ever get ice cream from a mobile ice cream truck when you were a kid? These days you can get a lot more than just ice cream from mobile businesses, thanks to technology. Medical services, oil changes, spa treatments, veterinary services, and more are all joining the ice cream man on the road.

"Mums" Have Huge Online Influence, Says comScore

Doug Caverly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:01:47 -0400

Unless some data you've managed to gather says differently, the odds seem good that a number of visitors to your small business site are "mums." comScore recently ran a study in the U.K. and found that women between the ages of 25 and 54 who have children consistently visit retail sites.

Tip: Advertise Through Altruism

Doug Caverly — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:13:19 -0400

Phil Orford, the CEO of the Forum of Private Business, is doing something this week that's worth mentioning on its own merit: hiking 84 miles in four days for the sake of a children's charity. But his endeavor also serves as a good reminder of how benevolent gestures can make for good advertising.

The Best URL Shorteners For Twitter Success

Doug Caverly — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:59:57 -0400

Time and time again, we've talked about marketing on Twitter, and doing so remains a good idea. If you're a little stuck on the "how," though - and particularly the "how" of "how to direct traffic to my site when tweets can't exceed 140 characters" - here are more details.

Vouchers Receiving All Sorts Of Attention

Doug Caverly — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:01:02 -0400

Now more than ever, vouchers (or "coupons," if you're not in or near England) represent a great way to get people's attention. New data from Hitwise indicates that UK searches for terms including the word "voucher" are significantly up from last year.

A Week's Worth of Marketing Tips in One Place

Chris Crum — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:15:01 -0400

There was a lot of great information to come out of the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose this week. We Covered a great deal of it at WebProNews, and scored a number of exclusive interviews with various experts.

I thought it would be good idea to give SmallBusinessNewz readers something of a round-up of our coverage. Check out these articles:

7 Steps for Creating a Web Analytics Culture