Posts Tagged ‘online marketing’

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The Last Winter SES Chicago

Posted by Mike Martin on December 16th, 2009

A week ago ended the last SES Chicago scheduled to occur in December as it will move to October 18 in 2010.

Although mid December is not technically Winter it was wintry enough especially compared to a much more Fall like mid October date starting next year.

The 2009 SES Chicago started on December 7th with a dusting of snow outside as Jeff Jarvis kicked it off with his interesting keynote on the link economy being part of the greater Google economy the online space is currently in.

ses chicago 2009

The sessions that followed had a predominant SEO theme versus the growing social media focus of Pubcon & SMX conferences in my opinion.

Although the Google Real Time Search did evolve into a hot topic near the closing of SES as Rae Hoffman was furiously writing a great post in the speaker lounge on the real time search spamming potential.

I was particularly surprised there wasn’t much focus to online mobile marketing, beyond one session, which is sure to be a greater focus in all of the major Internet Marketing conferences in 2010.

Matt McGowan & Mike Grehan were generous enough to have me speak on a site clinic with Tony Wright & Elisabeth Osmeloski before I had to quickly take the shuttle through the snow to Midway Airway where my flight back to San Diego encountered chronic delays.

The wet snow & flight delays at this recent SES Chicago will be a distant memory when SES comes back to the United States here in San Diego February 2010.

Also this is my last post here on the Internet Marketing Inc Blog as I will be joining Resource Nation as the SEO Director there going into 2010 but be sure to check back here for the latest Internet Marketing news as well on Android at my personal site GoogleAndBlog.

Execs and Online Marketing in 2010

Posted by Nicole on December 11th, 2009

In case you didn’t know, we’re in tough economic times.  These economic conditions have drastically cut budgets across the nation and world, leaving meager allowances for marketing and advertising in its wake.

Nonetheless, expectations for 2010 remain optimistic.  In a new study released yesterday, StrongMail reveals nine out of ten business executives plan to maintain or increase their marketing budgets.  Execs aren’t thinking conventionally for the new decade either, instead the survey’s respondents indicated they were open to marketing strategies that utilize the Internet and maximize their dollar.  Next year, 69 and 59 percent of business executives anticipate increasing their email and social media marketing, respectively. Another 42 percent claimed they expect to spend more on search engine initiatives, such as SEO and PPC.  The survey’s results indicate a migration to internet marketing tactics, as advertising and direct mailing initiatives are expected by less than 30 percent of execs.

Furthermore, the study showed a desire among business executives to combine the tested and proven tactics of emailing potential customers with social media.  Execs did not, however, demonstrate uniform confidence about how they would go about implementing such strategies in the upcoming year.  Instead, one out of five executives claimed they had no idea where to begin.  With more businesses seeking to establish an online presence in hopes of finding cheaper alternatives to conventional advertising, it is certain that social media marketing and search engine initiatives will play integral roles in the year 2010.

Free Speech vs. Libel: Who Wins?

Posted by Nicole on October 15th, 2009

Last week, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) announced a new set of rules to govern bloggers with a connection to any company selling a product they are writing about. So, how far will the government go?  Right now, it’s unclear, but the guidelines could extend to regulate posts people make on Facebook and other social networking sites.

So what does this mean for our 1st amendment rights?
•    The government will have the ability to further dictate the parameters of individual communication via the Internet.
•    Several new questions arise about what exactly constitutes blogola and disclosure. (For those unblog-savvy types, “blogola” refers to posts made by bloggers who have been given some sort of incentive to post about a product.)  Should the disclosure be written in the post or can it be in the bloggers “about me” page? Is blogola really that different than traditional forms of advertisement and promotion?

However, here at IMI, we do believe that there are two sides to every story:

•    Libel is illegal. Defamation is illegal. Do they still happen frequently?  Yes.  Do they happen on the Web?  Way too often, but it’s not rigorously regulated online at the moment.  These new regulations will hold people responsible for their blog posts, which is a logical extension of current laws surrounding these concepts.
•    Has anyone ever posted anything nasty about you or someone you know on ripoffreport.com, juicycampus.com, etc.?  These sites continue to pop up every day, constantly grow in usage and exposure, and have significantly injured the reputations and careers of many.

So, what’s fair?  What do YOU think?  We’re interested, let us know…


Internet Marketing Inc SEO Director Speaking At SMX Advanced

Posted by Mike Martin on April 29th, 2009

I’m speaking at SMX Advanced

I will be representing Internet Marketing Inc. at SMX Advanced in Seattle on June 2nd as a speaker on the Mobile Search panel.

SMX Advanced is a two day event taking place at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center from Tuesday, June 2 to Wednesday, June 3 in Seattle, Washington.

There will be a Meet & Greet party at the Odyssey Maritime Museum on Monday June 1st hosted by Microsoft who has timed the announcement of its new search engine KUMO later at the conference.

SMX Advanced in my opinion is the pinnacle of all major Internet marketing conferences as such if you could only attend one conference all year this should be the one, although PubCon would be a close second.

This conference has sold out each year and the last chance to get the early bird lowest pricing is on Friday May 1st by saving $200 at this SMX Advanced Registration page.

Please let me know if you will be attending the conference or in the Seattle area in early June by emailing me at mike AT internetmarketinginc DOT com

Related Blogs


Internet Advertising Almost Twice What TV Was In 15 Years

Posted by Mike Martin on April 15th, 2009

 

The inflation-adjusted dollar growth of Internet advertising through its first 14 years is already almost double the growth of advertising for both cable and broadcast television over their respective first 14.

Do you feel this will continue or bottom out in the near future?

internet advertising vs tv

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Where is all the Stimulous Money Going?

Posted by Brent on March 4th, 2009

According to economists…it is going to these key industries:  Energy, Green Tech, Water, Canada/exports, Higher Education (notably non-public institutions), Health Care Practices,  Leisure, Pets, Funeral Services, Alcohol, Security, and Legal Services.

For all you marketers out there these are the industries I would be targeting for new clients.  There will be many start up businesses in these industries as well in need of website design and online marketing.  Being a San Diego Internet marketing company, we are in one of the best locations for clean tech companies and healthcare.  There is a lot of institutional money funding these companies large and small.  I would suggest reaching out to Venture Capital firms as well and seeing what their clients are in need of.

Another great area mentioned above is education.  Online education is growing like wild fire and educational institutions are spending big buck on online marketing!  These are interesting times and we all need to be creative when seeking new business opportunities.  Follow the money!


Internet Marketing Defined: Get on Board

Posted by Brent on February 9th, 2009

The Internet has become the most important new communication platform since TV and is fundamentally reshaping the contemporary view of sales and marketing.  If your business does not have an Internet marketing strategy, you will lose market share and credibility…it’s that simple.

Good business owners and leaders know how to execute.  That is how they have achieved the positions they hold.  It is now more important than ever to change the way we do business.  If you are still doing business the same way you were six months ago, you may be in for a rude awakening.

All the same fundamentals apply to online marketing strategies as they do for traditional media:
• What are your overall business goals?
• Is your business model realistic?  (maybe it was 12 months ago but what about now)
• Who are your customers?
• What is the competition doing?  Who are your online competitors?
• What marketing mix strategies are most effective?
• When will you achieve a good ROI?

Questions about Internet marketing and why it is so relevant today.  We will make sure to answer then all eventually!

1. What does Internet marketing entail, what are the channels involved?
2. Why is Internet marketing becoming so popular and how is it different than traditional media?
3. How is it more cost effective?
4. What is the difference between paid search (pay per click) advertising and organic search engine optimization?  Which is better?
5. Explain why it is important to have a good website, how to get targeted traffic, and how to turn that traffic into business?
6. How can a company effectively use Internet marketing during tough economic times?
7. What is an example of a good comprehensive Internet marketing strategy?
8. If you really do not have any budget for any kind of marketing, how can you still tap into your online audience?
9. So what is social media anyway?
10. How is video content being used for online marketing?
11. How do I get started and what are some of the initial hurdles to overcome?  (convincing senior management)

The Growth of Internet marketing & The Power of Being Online

• Online ads expected to generate $19 billion by 2009. (Jupiter Research)
• Ecommerce transactions to total $329 billion by 2010, which represents 13% of total US Sales. (Forrester Research)
• Online advertising can boost brand impact at 60% less cost than piling on more offline ads. (Forrester Research)
• 50% of small to medium size firms attributed some portion of their annual sales to their online presence. (Forrester Research)
• 40% of consumers cite search engines such as Google and Yahoo as the chief way they research products and services. (Bwired.com)

Internet Marketing Defined: “Internet marketing is a set of activities that enable the acquisition of targeted Web traffic and the conversion of Web visitors.”  (Weidman Consulting)
• Lower costs for exposure to a global audience
• Ability to be extremely targeted
• Internet marketing is more measurable than tradition media
• Technology makes it easy to get in front of your customers and interact with them in real time
• Internet marketing brings creativity and technology together
• Effective internet marketing requires a comprehensive strategy that synergizes business goals with branding, online sales and marketing efforts, and conversions
• Internet marketing makes it easier to engage to customer during all stages of the sales cycle
• The strategy and effectiveness differs from industry to industry and depends on the company’s business goals cost/volume/profit analysis
• B2B and B2C:  basically the same principals apply


Marketing in a Down Economy: Engage Your Audience

Posted by Brent on February 3rd, 2009

So for all you people out there whose sole responsibility is to market the products and services of your company, I pose this question:  What is the first thing people at the top want to do when money is tight?

If you answered “cut marketing budgets” you would generally be correct.  One of the first corporate knee jerk reactions is to cut advertising and marketing dollars (and jobs) when the economy is down.  Naturally, I am making broad statements but hopefully you understand where I am going with this.  In reality, a recession is one of the best and most crucial times to market.  A company can not only gain valuable market share but use the opportunity to stay in touch with their customers.  Without effective marketing and constantly analyzing the analytics and results, how can a company know when to make adjustments.

Internet marketing is now one of the most effective ways to continually engage an audience and make them aware of your brand.  People now use the search engines more than ever to research products and services before they purchase them.  This is true for online and offline shopping.  People not only do research using the search engines but engage their online social communities for feedback from their peers.

One of the most basic aspects to marketing is to position your products to be visible where your target audience is looking.  Well, this is just as true for online marketing.  Its not just about search engine optimization and pay per click advertising anymore.  There are a vast amount of resources that can drive amazingly targeted traffic.  Proper usage of PPC, Facebook.com advertising, video optimization (YouTube.com), social media sites like Twitter, and organic SEO all can result in dramatic increases in traffic and hopefully sales.

So what does all this have to do with marketing in a down economy?

During poor economic times it is crucial to stay in touch with your audience and engage them.  Keep them aware of what your company is offering them, the incentives you bring to the table, the value you have over the competition, and what you are going to do to keep them interested in your product.  Keep in mind though that this is not the time for “smoke and mirrors”.  People want transparency.  They want to know the truth about what you are offering.  We live in a Web 2.0 world where the real information is a few clicks away, consumer ratings are available, and there are an abundance of sites that will shed the light.  So you might as well be truthful in your pitch.

Another tip is to consider offering more discounts and creating landing pages accordingly.  Many of the Internet marketing tactics necessary today will not be relevant when the economy turns, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it, right?  Now is the time to change the way you do business and the way you market to your consumers.


Internet Marketing: Best Solution for a Bad Economy

Posted by Brent on February 2nd, 2009

There are not too many companies out there who have not felt the effects of the economy…nobody is truly immune though some have obviously been hit harder than others.  Regardless of what industry we are talking about, companies large and small have to work twice as hard now to earn half the business.  Businesses still need a powerful way to market their brand and bring in new customers, but how can anyone afford to do this?  The answer of course is through strategic Internet marketing and online media buying.

Naturally, Internet marketing like any other form of media/advertising costs money.  The good news is that it is definitely more cost effective than traditional forms of media and it can be measured and adjusted on the fly.  Nothing out there is more fluid and adaptable.  Everyone wants the best possible return on their invested marketing dollars which is why businesses are changing the way they think about online marketing.

If your businss is new to the Internet marketing game, here are a few tips:

  • Understand where your customers are looking for companies like yours:  Research how customers seek your services online and gather information that will halp you determine keyword usage, estimated traffic volumes and possible conversions.
  • Reallocate the necessary budget for a comprehensive Internet marketing campaign:  Consider all areas of online marketing such as redesigning your website, search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, social media marketing, online media buying, email marketing, etc.  Do not be afraid to try something new because you will most likely need to pull some or all of your budget away from traditional media strategies that are too expensive and not measurable.
  • Make sure you know what you are doing:  The best way to approach this if you are new to the game is to hire an Internet marketing company that can help you plan your strategy based on your business goals.
  • Set bussiness gaols for the year and work backwords:  Your online marketing plan should reflect your goals and be designed to bring those exact goals to reality.
  • Internet marketing is the most measurable form of media, so don’t forget to measure it:  One mistake companies make when launching new SEO and PPC campaigns is that they forget what tools they have at their disposal to ensure the best possible ROI.  Test, adjust, and test some more.  Repeat this process every month so you can constantly refine the process.
  • Make sure all aspects of your campaign support one another:  For example, if you are doing PPC, have the appropraite landing pages set up to capture business.
  • Constantly monitor your online competition:  Chances are that other companies have a good head start…but don’t worry.  It is important to understand where your competition is appearing onine, what message they are sending to the target audience, etc.
  • Be flexible in your strategy:  Internet marketing can and should be updated and changed regularly to adapt to customer response and competitive shifts.

The best advice to offer is to not wait any longer.  Your competition may be way ahead of you and gaining market share.  If done properly, a poor economy can be a great time to get a leg up on your competition.  Raise money, invest in Internet marketing, hire people away from competitors, and grow!!


Transparency in a Web 2.0 World

Posted by Brent on February 1st, 2009

As the world continues to flatten and technology drives us all closer together, consumers are targeted with an overabundance of information many times throughout the day.  We are constantly inundated with media messages form all angles.  Do “we” (consumers) still believe the marketing hype that companies put out there or are we looking for something REAL?

In a Web 2.0 world where even the most basic consumer is given a voice to assert their opinion, companies must learn to be transparent in their messaging.  People don’t really believe traditional marketing strategies anymore.  They want real verifiable information and feedback from other consumers.  They want information from a non-biased source so they can then come to their own conclusions about a company’s products and services.  The reason consumers gather information this way is simple…because its right at their finger tips.  And because consumers spend so much time researching and surfing the web for the REAL answers, it is imperative for companies to have a strong but transparent Internet marketing campaign.

Even PR firms are changing the way they approach their business.  Most good PR companies are now either partnering with Internet marketing firms or bringing those capabilities in house.  With handy tools like reputation management  and social media platforms, PR firms, Internet marketing companies, or just companies themsleves can not only monitor their own reputation, but get involved in controlling it a bit more.  If consumers are out their talking about your business, good and bad, you need to show them that you are available to respond.  Consumers do not want smoke and mirrors, especially in this economy…they want the real story about what you can offer them, for what price, and the type of return they will get for making that “investment”.  So get real with your business and your consumers and make sure to have a comprehensive online marketing strategy to support your message!


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