tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-81247252089050892 2011-06-16T16:58:47-06:00 Helpful marketing and business tips that are easy to apply! TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b0154330fe2be970c 2011-06-16T16:58:47-06:00 2011-06-16T16:58:47-06:00

Big News at Tractor Beam Marketing! Business is like a box of chocolates. You buy it, put it on the counter, and someone comes along and picks out all the good ones before you get a chance. (We love the square caramel ones...and the nuts...Mmm!) Well okay, maybe it's not quite like that (unless that somehow made sense?). But one thing is for sure; things have a way of unpredictably changing. As most business people would know, the trick is adapting, adjusting and learning to bend the change so it works to your advantage. You may have noticed we've been...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b0133f3e4477d970b 2010-09-06T16:44:36-06:00 2010-09-06T16:44:36-06:00

Like a wildfire, recessions can be devastating. But they are an inevitable part of the economic process, and eventually good will come out of calamity. As the wildfire in nature will burn up dead foliage, those very ashes will in due time fertilize a new generation of growth. But while the fire is raging, it is natural to get nervous, and common to see panic. But panic can cause people to lose their heads, and can make smart people do stupid things. A recession is no time for irrational judgements and frantic actions, despite the overwhelming feeling that naturally arises....

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b013486795795970c 2010-08-26T07:55:00-06:00 2010-08-26T01:24:45-06:00

Last week you were introduced to the concept of ‘Design Hijackers’. If you missed it, it is available here for your reading pleasure. Speaking of Design Hijackers; here is how to tell if you are one, and some straight advice on how to fix the problem if you are. 1) If you provide a product or service totally unrelated to design and hire a professional to help you with your website, brand, corporate image, etc, etc… yet you continually override their recommendations; you might be a Design Hijacker. Pretty soon you will have a site or marketing materials that were...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b01348649743f970c 2010-08-18T08:52:54-06:00 2010-08-26T08:03:04-06:00

So... you want to enhance the image and appeal of your business. That is admirable! It may be a bit clichéd, but the truth is that realizing you need help is the first step. Today I would like to present you with a scenario which, by example, will hopefully help you avoid some of the pitfalls of becoming counter-productive throughout the process. Many business owners turn into ‘design hijackers’, and end up wasting money on branding and design. Not that they shouldn’t hire a good designer and/or consultant; but business people can become their own worst enemy. Our story begins...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b0133f307990f970b 2010-08-12T15:11:12-06:00 2010-08-12T15:11:12-06:00

White background. Black or red bold font. There are millions of signs like that in this town and neighboring ones. To the general public, that may be all your business is. A boring sign on a building facade. Kind of sad, isn’t it? If you are a business owner toiling away to create something and to make your company the best in its industry; it may be disheartening to think that your business can be easily discounted by potential clients because of something so trivial. But for a lot of companies, their sign is the extent of how far their...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b013486257f97970c 2010-08-11T16:45:43-06:00 2010-08-11T16:45:43-06:00

I recently received an email from my friend and videographer Michel Gravel of Onstar Videobox Studios regarding the atrocious audio and video quality of my recent video blogs... he is right, the quality kinda sucked and I knew that before I posted them. But in case you are picky about video quality and were wondering, I posted the videos for content and entertainment sake and not as a display of quality video. Based on the feedback I have received, I think that I succeeded in that. On the internet, the generally accepted vlogging (video blogging) style is typically not very...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b0133f2f586f0970b 2010-08-10T08:00:00-06:00 2010-08-09T21:18:18-06:00

Lately, I have been having some conversations regarding B2B vs. B2C marketing. If you don’t have a clue what that means, B2B stands for ‘Business To Business’; while B2C is for ‘Business To Consumer’. Some companies sell their products and services directly to the end user, while others provide products and services to other companies. Everyone from manufacturers to wholesalers to business support services fall under B2B-type businesses; whereas the most common and noticeable B2C businesses are retailers. Interestingly enough, these conversations I have been involved in have included some very high-flying egos and heady double-talk. But I am not...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b013485fb90cd970c 2010-08-04T09:49:32-06:00 2010-08-04T09:49:32-06:00

Tractor Beam Marketing's Jake Bergen wraps up the 'Aloha Edition' segments with a short blurb on why he likes to talk about Social Media. We also take time to thank contributors Tara Coomans, Rob Bertholf, Roxanne Darling, Aaron Buchholz... and YOU!

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b013485d8e850970c 2010-07-29T17:21:19-06:00 2010-07-30T10:17:08-06:00

See that wave over there? Well, even if you haven’t spotted it yet, it’s coming and it’s growing! As we discussed last week (read Part #1 and Part #2 by clicking the highlighted links); geosocial powerhouses Yelp, Gowalla and Foursquare are leading the charge in successfully giving the ‘World Wide Web’ a decidedly more local focus. You might be reading this thinking, “Who cares? All this computer mumbo-jumbo…” But the reality is that you should care. Don’t discount these new trends, because their potential to impact your business is extraordinary! They can connect you to your customers in a whole...

Tractor Beam Marketing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a59b412e970b013485a85b91970c 2010-07-23T23:36:05-06:00 2010-07-23T23:36:05-06:00

http://www.thetractorbeam.com - Tractor Beam Marketing's Jake Bergen is once again on location at Kaka'ako Park in Honolulu, Hawaii! In this episode we interview social media and internet video powerhouse Roxanne Darling, of Bare Feet Studios http://www.barefeetstudios.com and 'Beach Walks with Rox', an online TV show with over 750 episodes http://www.beachwalks.tv! Roxanne is also an early and founding member of Social Media Club (#SMC) http://socialmediaclub.org, a worldwide organization promoting the use and best practices of Social Media globally. She is also the founder of Social Media Club Hawaii http://smchawaii.org, a mover and shaker in all forms Social Media, an all-round awesome...

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