Marketing Garden: A Blog For Growing Businesses

15 Ways To Lose Your Twitter Followers Fast: Why People Unfollow

January 26th, 2011 by admin No comments »

Twitter comes with its own set of unwritten rules, etiquette and nuances. Sometimes, it is not so obvious what you can and cannot do, esp. since so many behaviors and “rules” on Twitter seem to have evolved naturally by users and aren’t neatly packaged on their Help section.

No matter what you do, you will lose followers along the way. However, there are some common behaviors you can avoid that can help limit that drop-off list. Here is a basic list of 15 Twitter scenarios to avoid:

You use Twitter automation software retweeting and reposting the same tweets and links every hour on the hour
Too many self-complementary announcements
Your bio has misspellings, poor grammar or bad language or is hard to understand
You send spammy direct messages (not personalized) to your new followers with a link
Your tweets are disproportionately selling or promoting a product or service
Your Twitter username and bio tout yourself as a self-made guru, expert, maven or any other narcissistic term
You produce absolutely no original content and your Twitter account has been on autopilot since 2009
You tweet too much, crowding everyone’s timeline and eating up the “acceptable”
amount of “real estate” – we call this ‘tweel estate’
Your tweets look good but the content you link to is very poorly written or unrelated to the user’s interest
Your Twitter account has the same content has your Facebook fan page and I already follow your fan page so I unfollow to avoid duplicate content
You are following 10,000 people and 5 people are following you; you are following 30,000 people, 25,0000 are following you and you don’t tweet
Your Twitter username has too many odd characters in it in order to get in some keywords
An overuse of shortlinks that look spammy
You tweet too little for the user’s preferences
You have no picture on your profile or an inappropriate photo that your audience can not identify with

Also, many people will unfollow you if they follow you and you do not follow them back. While it is common courtesy to follow someone back, we tend not to worry about tweeps whose motive is based on building their numbers and not engaging with your content.

We all have different tastes, pet peeves and preferences, so adapt this list to your liking if you are interested and hopefully it will help you avoid Twitter unfollows…

Related post: Is Facebook A Waste Of Time?

If you have a question or comment, please feel free to get in touch with our marketing consultants.

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Posted in Social Media Marketing, Twitter

What To Blog About:15 Blog Post Ideas My Customers Will Love

December 14th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Some of you have recently asked “What should I blog about in blog posts?” Here are some blogging topics you might consider as you look to write engaging, interesting content that is reader-focused.

Fifteen Types Of Blogs Your Customers Will Want To Read

What do you think would make a great blog post? Share your ideas.

• Pose a question a customer has recently asked and answer it. If you do not have “real” questions, visit forums, LinkedIn questions, Merchant Circle questions or questions posed on other blogs/blog comments. Whatever the source, start with real issues that are current.

• Instruct your visitors how to do something. For example, this blog is instructing you on some basic topics you can blog about in an effort to help you write your own blog.

• Write about what not to do. Although this sounds counterintuitive, there is a lot of misinformation out there. It can be helpful to debunk myths and warn your audience against taking actions that could harm them. One of our clients, a Long Island law firm, does this through blogging about common mistakes and misconceptions related to various estate planning subjects. The blog entries are short bursts of “truths”that are extremely valuable to readers.

• Review something. Review a company, a product, a service etc. that is relevant to your industry or closely tied to your customer base’s lives. Offer a unique perspective that is not found elsewhere online, or review features and benefits others have overlooked.

• Compare and contrast. Compare several products or services in a way that others have not done so before. For example, a marketing agency might compare several email service providers to help their readers understand why they work with company X. The entry helps build confidence in the agency while educating customers.

• Do a case study on a local company or organization with a topic that relates to your target audience. For example, we recently did a case study of a Whole Foods on Long Island in which we discussed some of the local marketing strategies they used to integrate into the Long Island community seamlessly. The article is geared towards small local businesses. People can often relate to local places, brands and those that they interact with (i.e. the characters in their daily ‘story’) in their daily lives better than they can with theoretical cases.

• Offer a controversial viewpoint to a “hot” new topic. While this is not for everyone, to get attention some people choose to take a current story and debate it or offer a contradictory view. Our view is that as long as you are presenting an authentic viewpoint with a rationale rather than writing something simply to provoke visitors and drive traffic, you will be in a better position when people start commenting on your blog and expecting well thought out responses!

• Share News and recently published information in your industry with your customers / clients. For example, a law firm or CPA firm might explain how a new estate planning or tax law in New York can save families $10,000 or more if they make X, Y and Z adjustments to their estate plans.

• Simplify something technical and make it accessible. Take a technical subject and break it down into relevant bite-sized pieces for your audience. If it helps better communicate what your company does and the value it creates for customers, that is an added benefit! For example, while some clients are savvy in Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, others have never heard of it before. It can be very helpful to write posts that help prospects overcome obstacles and customers understand at a deeper level what you are doing for their business. This gets back to the importance of writing for your audience, not for your peers.

• Perform and share research. Perform research on a topic and present it to your readers on your blog. Demonstrate how your study proves your hypothesis (or “rejects the null” – that’s for the statistics gurus). Data is your friend here. Make sure it is significant and substantiated. Show sources.

• Discuss a trend or forecast a trend. If there is a trend to discuss, present or debate, a blog can be a great place to start the conversation and see what is on other people’s minds about the same subject.

• Spotlight a business or a customer that did something remarkable. We’re all looking for inspiration and like to hear about remarkable events and people. Truly remarkable events don’t happen every day, so if you have a story to tell, it can make for a great blog entry.

• Provide Subject Matter Expertise (SME) on a specific subject. For example, one of our clients writes articles on parenting strategies related to managing ADHD children. Each article written substantiates the writer’s expertise and authority in her niche while giving her clients a complimentary resource.

• Summarize another blog or article you have read. Not the most creative approach, however if you take a long or complex article, or something not previously publicly available, you can add value to your audience by packaging the essence of the article and summarizing key points in a new blog entry. It is important to openly give credit to and link to the original source.

• Relate a personal event to a business learning. Share a story that your readers can identify with – a story that simultaneously adds personality and offers a more personal insight into who your company “is” at heart. Personalization can help earn trust and show a more ‘human’ side to your blog.

Take Away

The common thread to all of these blog ideas is to think about your audience first and blog about something you believe is important to them in an authentic way. Blogs are a social media meant to spur interaction and engagement. When you put the reader first and your aim is to inspire, educate, motivate and help your readers, you will find the process and the results more rewarding.

We will provide more tips on blogging best practices, blog optimization and how to take your blog and market it using online marketing tools in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned! If you have any questions, please contact our Long Island marketing consultants or reply here. Thanks!

Reference terms: What to blog about, writing a blog, starting a blog, blogging topics, blog ideas, blogging for customers, blogging best practices, blogging tips, how to write a blog

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Posted in Blogging, Social Media Marketing

Tags: blog post ideas blog topics blogging how to blog what to blog about

2011 Marketing Plan Strategies: How To Write A Marketing Plan

December 6th, 2010 by admin No comments »

“You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra

“Have a plan. Follow the plan, and you’ll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don’t have a plan. That’s why it’s is easy to beat most folks.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant, football coach, University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide.

You’ve got to know where you’re going and how you are going to get there. With the New Year weeks away, it is the right time to write your 2011 marketing plan and commit to the specific actions you are going to take in 2011 to grow and improve your businesses. Writing a marketing plan will arm you with the confidence that you are allocating marketing dollars to the most productive marketing strategies.

While writing a marketing plan can seem like a daunting task, it does not have to be complicated or lengthy to be effective. Often the most effective marketing plans are those that have been well thought out and then documented in a simple, brief and concise format.

2011 Marketing Plan, strategic marketing plan, Writing A Marketing Plan, Company Marketing Plan

Have your written your 2011 marketing plan?

A streamlined 2011 marketing plan could outline in five pages or less:
1. A summary of industry /market trends that could impact how you market your business as well as an internal analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your company, your products/services and your marketing operations.
2/3. Customer profiles and key messages (who your different target customer groups are and what message you will use to communicate value to each of them).
4. Key marketing/communications objectives (what you are going to achieve and when).
5/6. Marketing strategies and marketing tactics (how you are going to achieve those goals and through what specific marketing and advertising activities you are going to reach them). With each tactic that you decide to pursue, be sure to outline the 1) rationale for pursuing that marketing tactic 2) person accountable 3) an allocated budget 4) a timeline.

7. Timeline (What is going to be achieved and which actions are going to be taken in a defined period of time). Using a one page Gantt chart can be very effective. Here is video Tutorial of how to make a Gantt chart in Excel.

8. Budget (How much money will be allocated to specific line item marketing activities).
9. How you will evaluate and measure your success at key milestones throughout the year i.e. performance measures

How do I start writing my 2011 marketing plan?

In its essence, the key to writing a great marketing plan is asking the right marketing questions. These are questions that provoke thought and reveal opportunities and gaps in your marketing plan. From this phase, you will engineer an action plan that pursues each of those opportunities in a logical, cohesive way that fits your marketing budget.

Remember, things have changed a lot even in one year

It’s especially important to keep an open mind about how to integrate new media and new technologies into your marketing plan. The fact is although it has been one year, a lot has evolved in marketing.

The social marketing space has grown exponentially as well as the age and demographics of web 2.0 users. The way people search for products/services is increasingly mobile. Key search engines have become more “real time” and “instant” in how they process searches. It has become increasingly difficult to have your website show up on page one of Google due to the millions of new websites coming online which has made search engine optimization an essential part of every businesses internet marketing plan.

And consumers are much less influenced by interruptive, traditional advertising vehicles than in the past. Where and how you communicate with customers may need to be reevaluated.

So, what are some of the key questions I should ask myself to write a 2011 marketing plan?

Our hope is that by asking yourself some of the questions below you will be inspired to take time out of your busy workday and start reflecting, strategizing and planning for how you will market your company in 2011. Add to or edit the list. Make it your own.

•   Did I reach my 2010 marketing goals? If not, do I know why? Am I investing in marketing / advertising activities that can be measured in terms of performance?
•   What industry and consumer trends might shape my 2011 small business marketing plan? Here is an interesting article about 2011 consumer / marketing trends.
•   Is my product or service still in demand?
•   What are my marketing goals for 2011? Are they Clear, Quantified, Achievable, Realistic, Timely, and Agreed Upon) goals?
•   What is my budget for marketing in 2011? How can I shift my marketing dollars to higher return, more measurable marketing tools to grow my business? On a monthly basis, where will my marketing dollars come from to fund marketing activities e.g. by decreasing inventory, ST loan, projected cash flow etc.
•   Who are my competitors in 2011? What are their weaknesses? Who has entered the market in 2010? Who has left in 2010?
•   What needs are not being filled in the market right now by my competitors that I can fill in 2011? Is there an opportunity to introduce a new product or service?
•   Do customers know what is unique about my business? Where am I positioned in the market e.g. price leader, specialist/generalist, service leader etc.? Why should a customer buy from me instead of my competitors?
•   Am I pricing and packaging my products/services in the most profitable way?
•   Can I accurately describe each of my customer segments? Who is my most profitable customer segment? Can I really create a clear customer profile with what I know today?
•   What am I doing to maintain and deepen relationships with existing customers/clients?
•   What feedback do I have from customers that can shape my 2011 marketing plan?
•   What insights are revealed? What specific actions can I take to better serve my customers in 2011?
•   How have behaviors of my target audience changed? Am I using the right media to communicate to my audience?
•   Have I taken advantage of the many “free” marketing tools available online such as Social Media Marketing with Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube Video Marketing, Social Bookmarking, Forums etc. to build my marketing program?
•   What am I going to do to “wow” customers and stay memorable? What are some low-cost, high impact strategies I can use?
•   Who is going to be accountable for which marketing activities?
•   Can I reach my marketing goals with in-house resources or do I need to consider getting expert help from a marketing consultant?

What questions would you add to this list?

Going through the Discovery process and looking at your company marketing plan with a fresh set of eyes before allocating precious marketing dollars to the same activities you did last year can be the difference between being in the red or the black next at the end of 2011. Spending the time now to plan and make strategic decisions can save you a lot of money and missed opportunities this year as well improve your results significantly.

Once you have written a streamlined marketing plan for 2011, just remember that it’s acting on what you have learned and executing those ideas flawlessly that separates the successful from the unsuccessful. If you’re not sure what to focus on, put resources toward marketing to the 20% of your customer base / target audience that will generate 80 % of your revenue. If you have questions that you cannot answer, it can make sense to engage a marketing consultant to work with you as you plan for the coming year.

Best of luck marketing in 2011! Feel free to share comments here or with our marketing consultants. Thanks.

Blog reference terms: marketing plan, strategic marketing plan, writing a marketing plan, company marketing plan, marketing planning process, tactical marketing plan, how to write a marketing plan, 2011 marketing plan, marketing consultants, simple marketing plan, creating a marketing plan, marketing plan help

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Posted in Marketing Plan, Marketing Strategy

Tags: 2011 Marketing Plan company marketing plan creating a marketing plan how to write a marketing plan marketing consultants marketing plan marketing plan help marketing planning Marketing Strategy simple marketing plan strategic marketing plan write a marketing plan

Five Email Marketing Tips To Improve Your Email Campaign Execution

July 30th, 2010 by admin 1 comment »

Last week, one of the largest wireless phone service providers in the world (see screen shot below) sent us an email inviting us to visit one of their newly remodeled ‘brick and mortar’ retail stores. The email body was well-designed, on-brand, colorful, and streamlined…plus, a 25% in-store coupon! We almost clicked through out of sheer excitement when we stopped in our tracks.

The culprit: a completely irrelevant message. The email was intended to go to Angola, Indiana residents / local customers and its subject header and email body screamed “Angola.” Upside Business Consultants is over 650 miles away (11+ hours of driving), located on Long Island, in Hauppauge, NY. Other than the incorrect geo reference, we would have been happy to learn about their upgraded stores.

The experience reminded us of some of the less glamorous but important components to successful email marketing that can help avoid execution mistakes like this one:

1. Scrub Your Email Marketing List. Scrub well, scrub often (and don’t miss behind the ears). People move, people travel, mobile devices are used to check email, preferences change, names change etc. many data points in your database can become moving targets. Especially if you are going to make a geographic reference, you’ve got to have controls in place to assure yourself that you can reach them in the right location.

2. Think Through The Risks. Mitigate The Risks. Using this case as an example, proceed with caution when personalizing or geographically targeting your emails. Segmenting is a great strategy in targeted email marketing, but only when the execution is flawless. Are the costs of making yourself irrelevant by e.g. sending emails to the wrong zone or having an error in your customer profile greater than the benefits? Could a more general message sent to a larger email list achieve the same goals, such as “See how we’ve improved our stores for you. Is your store on this list?” You decide. You know best, it’s your business and your customers.

3. Test. Then, Test Again. Although email marketing service providers have really improved their testing capabilities, most email testing still focuses on email deliverability, whether all of your links work etc. Testing does not always find human errors made during communications, email coding or the mail merge process. If you are using an email service for blasts, make sure you really understand what they are and are not testing. Find a way to fill in the gaps with your own quality checks. Some reputable email companies recommend sending a minimum of 3-4 tests to yourself and setting up free test email accounts on different email provider’s sites (e.g. Gmail, Hotmail etc.). Testing your emails in different email programs will help reduce errors. Make sure your email is not sent to spam, that all images are showing up, that formatting is correct etc. Review content and anything mail merged from a database again too.

4. Use Email Analytics. Look At All Relevant Metrics. Tracking email marketing metrics to measure real events that took place and not just planned events is essential. Review performance metrics beyond open rates and click thru rates to help you identify any problems. For example, here, I would also look at the number/percentage of email unsubscribe requests and email “complaints” i.e. if people clicked “spam” or “junk.” It is very likely that these spiked compared to previous email campaigns and could be a red flag that something went wrong.

5. Ask Your Customer If The Email Is Relevant. All of us can agree that good marketers listen and react to their customers. We’ve seen email marketers integrate quick rating tools (e.g. a “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” button) into the body of their emails that link to more detailed surveys or contact information/preferences forms. With direct feedback, you can go beyond personalization and geo targeting and start segmenting by data points that will directly benefit the customer first, then you. e.g. types of products the customer is interested in, types of offers they want to receive, whether the customer has visited your website, shopping habits etc. Which is more important to your customer, seeing his/her name, for example, or receiving an email built around his/her actual shopping preferences? You decide.

What type of email marketing process does your company have in place to make sure you are executing well and adding value to your relationship with customers? Drop our marketing consultants a note. We would love to hear your stories.

If you found our Long Island marketing blog post helpful, feel free to reply with your comments, follow @upsidebusiness on Twitter, or hit the retweet button. You can also subscribe to our Long Island marketing blog RSS feed. Happy marketing!

Key Terms: Long Island email marketing, Long Island email campaign, email blast, email marketing list, email marketing tips, K43DY92JMX4F

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Posted in Email Marketing

Tags: Best Practices email campaigns email marketing email marketing tips Long Island email marketing Long Island Marketing Blog

A Local Long Island Business Makes Waves With Social Media Marketing

August 17th, 2010 by admin 1 comment »

How many of long Island’s small businesses can boast over 5,000 Facebook fans?

At 5,317 fans and counting, Atlantis Marine World Aquarium in Riverhead, NY is ahead of the curve in attracting virtual fans on Facebook. How was Atlantis Aquarium able to achieve such Facebook popularity in a less than year since the page went up? Well, what seems to have come naturally to the Facebook page’s owners are a few great social media marketing strategies:

Creating a Voice: The worst thing a company can do on a community-oriented site like Facebook is overtly sell, sell, sell. Atlantis Aquarium avoids this fatal error by creating an authentic, friendly voice that fits their business. Playful posts that mention “Feeding Nemo!” or an otter’s “mid-summer’s day snooze” create a wholesome, humorous voice for their brand. This especially helps market visiting the aquarium as a kid-friendly activity.

Interacting: A Long Island business has the benefit of having a relatively small, manageable group of customers. While Pepsi Co. couldn’t possibly respond to 50+ comments on every status update, a small business can easily manage a few Facebook posts a day. Atlantis Aquarium takes this approach, responding to many comments—including those from children—answering questions and encouraging more interaction. Even posts such as “Thank you for posting! We want to hear more – keep writing!” show that the company is listening, which encourages more participation. The aquarium even responded to criticism about the price of parking with helpful suggestions!

Exclusivity: If you can get all of the information you want on a corporate website, why go to Facebook? Atlantis leverages Facebook to take you behind the scenes of, for example, their Shark Week, showing pictures of how they prepared the exhibit. This is information you cannot get anywhere else.

Media Integration: As witty as the creators are, their posts alone couldn’t sustain that kind of fandom if they didn’t integrate interesting content. The posts include pictures or videos of their animals, information about upcoming shows, and discounts. Families can also upload personal pictures to an appropriate album. Events are added to their Facebook page and links to relevant articles are displayed. All of their advertising efforts (discounts, promotional materials, videos) are integrated into the fan page in a cohesive way. They are also integrated into additional social media sites such as Twitter and YouTube.

Atlantis Aquarium’s growing number of fans is certainly impressive. More importantly, the company’s Facebook strategy is admirable because it is increasing engagement with loyal customers and deepening relationships with two generations of customers simultaneously in a meaningful way.

What other Long Island small businesses or organizations do you know that are using social media marketing well to build their brands?

Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact our Long Island marketing consultants at Upside Business Consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness.

Reference Terms:
Long Island small business marketing strategy, Facebook marketing, Aquarium marketing, social media case studies, social media marketing, Facebook, Long Island Blog Posts, Long island Business News, 452da3d3f4bd4117bf325ffd55366b97. Special thanks and credits to Kyra.

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Posted in Social Media Marketing

Tags: Best Practices Facebook Facebook Pages Long Island Marketing Blog Marketing Case Study Social Media Social Media Marketing Social Media Marketing Strategy

Making Grocery Stores the Place to Be: Strategies from Whole Foods to Long Island Businesses About Local Marketing

August 30th, 2010 by admin No comments »

While the new entry of a Stop and Shop might be bemoaned as a big chain disrupting local grocery stores, the expansion of Whole Foods rarely receives anything but positive reviews. So unsurprisingly, Whole Foods just opened its third Long Island store in Suffolk County a few months ago amidst positive press and favorable reactions from loyal customers.

How does Whole Foods Market ease itself into a new location so naturally? Well, the franchise has the ability to quickly put down roots in a new community using a few key strategies. But more importantly, these methods aren’t just for corporate chains. Small businesses on Long Island have the ability to co-opt these strategies to emphasize their local advantage.

1) Whole Foods: The Local Vendor Connection
Although Whole Foods locations contain their standard collection of imported goods, alongside typical brands appear local wares. Manhasset’s (Long Island, NY) branch sells local tomato sauce, pizza dough, and fresh fish from Long Island’s waters. The process of accepting local suppliers is also open and transparent, with contact information displayed online and in-store. Whole Foods is no Wal-Mart; the inclusion of local products helps integrate a large chain into a small community and helps justify the overall higher prices.

Example Of Local Marketing By Whole Foods

Photo Credit: Katy Raddatz

Long Island: Local Partnerships
Small businesses can twist this idea, including local products and services through partnerships. Partnerships can be beneficial to both parties, as long as it’s a good fit. For example: a coffee shop displaying and selling local artwork, a hotel offering discounts on local entertainment to visitors, or a pet-food store offering a start-up kit for new pets from a local adoption center.

2) Whole Foods: Creative Participation
Whole Foods has certainly moved in a new direction since it first moved into Long Island through the acquisition of Fresh Fields in Manhasset. The new location in Lake Grove has a café, cooking class facilities, and a calendar of in-store events. A farmers market takes place in the store’s café regularly where customers can meet local farmers and artisans. The store will even host two kick-off events for the community-wide “Long Island Food Challenge.” A Long Island Facebook page publicizes these events (such as “Grilling & Chillin At Whole Foods Market”) and connects enthusiasts. Whole Foods newest location makes community participation a priority by turning a grocery store into a social space.

Long Island: Community Events
A vibrant, social atmosphere could benefit many of Long Island’s service-oriented businesses. If a grocery store can sponsor fun, engaging community events, the possibility must be open for other types of businesses. For example, a music store could host guitar demonstrations by local band members, a hardware store could create a how-to workshop, or an ice cream store could host an online event to vote on a new flavor.

3) Whole Foods: Lending a Hand, Locally
Corporate giving has become standard among global companies but Whole Foods stands out for its extensive local charity work. Individual stores hold 5 Percent Days (or CommUnity Giving Days), donating 5% of that day’s sales to a nearby non-profit. Local nonprofit work not only improves the company’s image but also creates ties to local organizations.

Long Island: Proactive Giving
Many Long Island businesses will generously support educational or nonprofit programs if asked to lend a hand. But why shouldn’t a company actively search for a great way to donate its services? Proactive ways to support your community could include: a pizza place giving a local sports team 15% off after a winning game (or losing game…can’t hurt team morale) or a tutoring company offering free after-school help to public school children.

With all this obsessive attention on community development, Whole Foods can start to look more local than Main Stree’s own convenience store. But small businesses, which are actually local always have the opportunity to increase business through stronger community ties.

But keep in mind, local activities are first about the community and second about profits. If any new program does more the company than it does for the local area, it could look suspiciously self-serving. Instead, local enterprises should avoid quick schemes and focus on developing longstanding, authentic community relationships.

What other Long Island small businesses or organizations do you know that are doing local marketing well?

Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact our Long Island marketing consultants at Upside Business Consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness.

Reference Terms: Local Marketing on Long Island, Small Business Marketing Strategy, Whole Foods, Marketing Case Study, Local Marketing Strategy, Long Island Business News. Special thanks to Kyra S.

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Posted in Local Marketing

Tags: Local marketing Long Island Long Island Business Marketing Marketing Case Study

Four Search Engine Optimization Reasons To Start Video Marketing That You May Have Overlooked

September 7th, 2010 by admin No comments »

“Why should I do video marketing?”

A great question from one of our clients the other day. It made us realize that some small businesses may not have had the opportunity to learn about some of the benefits of video marketing in terms of reaching their internet marketing plan goals e.g. 1) increasing visibility online 2) achieving higher search engine rankings 3) attracting new leads in new places 4) outperforming your competition.

To help demystify video marketing a little, here are four search engine optimization (SEO) related reasons to start video marketing:

1. Boost Google and other search engine “organic” rankings.

Did you know latest data shows that videos are fifty times more likely to show up on page one than a text-based html web page? That’s 50:1.

Google controls through its own algorithm which types of content on the web become more visible than others, and that algorithm evolves constantly. Right now, videos, news, social media sites and local listings are continually getting higher rankings than traditional online media like static websites. Video marketing is a booming, growing industry because of its unique impact on marketers ability to achieve their online marketing goals and its ability to solve a problem that a traditional website can not always solve: obtain exposure and visibility online immensely. Combine that with the viral potential of videos (through social media they can be shared easily and spread virally across the internet through networks) and you can quickly see why YouTube grew to what it is today.

2. Attract attention away from other listings with text plus a picture.

Bottom line: videos have great visibility and stand out in the search results. Where a website listing only shows text (the title of your website and description) in the search results, video also shows a picture or “thumbnail” in the search results, in color (see below image). This means with video you have a higher chance of catching someone’s eye, engaging them, and getting them to click on your video when they are deciding which web content to click on.

Plus, videos are most frequently found on page one results in top positions, and they can easily be searched for through Google’s updated search format which includes a “Videos” link in the left margin. If you are skeptical, type in “Decorative Painting” and you will see videos show up in high places online for those keywords. Would you rather look through every website or do think you are likely to click on a video? Now put yourself in the shoes of your prospects.

What stands out more, a video or a web page? Which would you click?

3. Videos show up in Google faster i.e. they tend to “Index” quickly.

Especially if you have a campaign that is on a short timeline or you just need to get your web presence significantly improved quickly, video marketing is a powerful internet tool.

When you make a promotional video and submit it to video marketing sites like YouTube, Viddler, etc. often the videos will show up in Google search results on page one within a matter of hours or less than a business day. With the exception of sites such a Twitter that allow people to search in real-time, getting this faster visibility and results is normally not possible unless you put up paid advertising, which can be very costly.

By contrast, when you make an update on your website or put up a new webpage, it often takes weeks for Google to visit your page, acknowledge updates and then present them to people in search results. Video = Faster Marketing.

4. Multiple listings on page one of Google means fewer for your competitors.

The more real estate you have on page one, the higher the chance people searching online will find your business first. With proper internet optimization, you could have your website, a local Google/Yahoo/Bing business listing, and a video, all on page one for your keywords. You could also have a press release and article show up as well, creating a dominating “all roads lead to you” effect.

Video marketing is one piece of this puzzle that can help you stand out from among your competitors, many of whom will have limited their search engine optimization strategy to optimizing their website only.

Bonus benefit: When you dominate the first page with several listings, you have the added benefit of moving your competitors down the page, or off the first page entirely.

Please stay tuned for upcoming posts on video marketing to complete our video marketing blog series.
Post 1: Why you should do video marketing
Post 2: How to make sure your video is found online
Post 3: How to do video marketing right learning from real, Long Island small businesses

Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact our Long Island marketing consultants at Upside Business Consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness.

Reference Terms: video marketing for small businesses, long island video marketing, why should I do video marketing, video seo, reasons to start video marketing, video marketing for the search engines, how to increase visibility with video marketing online.

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Posted in Video Marketing

Tags: Marketing Strategy Social Media Social Media Marketing Social Networking video marketing video seo

Long Island Small Business Owners: Why Spelling Correctly Is Important To Your Customers.

September 23rd, 2010 by admin 1 comment »

We were just reading a marketing blog geared towards small business owners on Long Island, NY. This particular entry was written by a local marketing company looking to advertise its article writing, press release writing and blogging services.

To our surprise, the blog as well as the entire website was filled with spelling errors and an overwhelming amount of grammatical mistakes.

Would you pay a company that was unable to write properly on its own marketing blog to create marketing communications for your business?

This experience made us appreciate the connection between spelling / grammar and building relationships with customers and prospects. Here are some reasons why writing correctly is still very important, especially in customer-facing materials:

•   People form opinions and assumptions about your business based on what they read
•   Spelling correctly imparts credibility and professionalism
•   Spelling errors annoy people
•   Spelling errors can influence attitudes toward you and your business
•   Spelling incorrectly shows a lack of attention to detail
•   Errors can be perceived by readers as a result of carelessness and laziness
•   People expect consistency and accuracy from you
•   Typos and errors leave the impression that the organization does not care

The bottom line is that we would all like our readers to absorb our marketing message and act on that message. When mistakes are made, we distract and confuse people. The worst types of spelling / grammar mistakes are those that lead to misunderstandings e.g. errors in phone numbers, addresses etc. and lost business opportunities. Less serious errors still impact your business because they impact perceptions and buying behaviors.

In our opinion, 90% of mistakes can be avoided when you stay customer-oriented and make quality a priority. Here are some of the questions we ask ourselves to stay focused and as error-free as possible:

1.   Do our readers care about proper grammar and spelling?
2.   What do we want readers to feel when they have finished reading what we have written?
3.   How would a reader describe our communications to others?
4.   What steps have we taken to ensure that our readers will form positive attitudes about us after they have read what we have written?

Happy writing!

Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact a Long Island communications consultant at Upside Business Consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness.

Reference Terms: typos, grammar, spelling correctly, marketing communications best practices, long island small business marketing, what customers care about, how proper grammar impacts your customers

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Posted in Marketing Communications

Tags: Best Practices Long Island Business Marketing marketing communications

How do I get my video found online in top positions? Long Island Video Marketing tips.

September 27th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Attn: Long Island small business owners. This is part II of our three-part video marketing blog series. In case you missed part one, read about the search engine marketing benefits of video marketing here.

How do I get my video found online in top positions?

To get your video found online, many simply submit it to video sites such as YouTube through a registered account or through a business partner who manages your online marketing program, such as a marketing consultant. This can be effective when the keyword phrase is not very competitive, however it is certainly not optimal, especially for those that do not know how to search engine optimize the video.

The surest way to achieve higher video rankings is to 1) optimize the video itself (e.g. title, description, etc.) and 2) make sure that you create and submit a video sitemap (this very much like a sitemap you would make for your website online however it pertains to video only) to Google. Submitting your video sitemap to Google is an important step often overlooked. The reason that video sitemaps exist because they can contain important descriptive information about your video that will make the search engines find your video easier and help position your video online where you would like it to be seen by your target audience.

Video sitemaps also contain information that can not normally be included in regular search results. This additional information helps search engine optimize your video and maximizes your possibility that it will rank high in the search engines.

Make sure your webmaster has your website listed on Google Webmaster Tools (a free resource provided by Google). Through Google Webmaster Tools, you can then submit your sitemap and get a very robust operational look at your website performance that extends well beyond what is available in a website analytics program such as Google Analytics alone. You can read more about what Google has to say directly from Google’s mouth here at Google’s Video Best Practices.

How do I get my video found online in top positions?

Attn: Long Island small business owners. This is part II of our three-part video marketing blog series.

Work with your webmaster or marketing consultant to make sure that your videos are not just produced professionally but that they can actually be found on the internet. To get your video found online, many simply submit it to video sites such as YouTube through a registered account or through a business partner who manages your online marketing program, such as a marketing consultant.

The surest way to optimize your video and maximize your video’s visibility online is to make sure that you create and submit a video sitemap (this very much like a sitemap you would make for your website online however it pertains to video only) to Google. This is an important step often overlooked. The video sitemap exists because it can contain important descriptive information about your video that will make the search engines find your video easier and help position your video online where you would like it to be seen by your target audience.

Video sitemaps also contain information that can not normally be included in regular search results. This additional information helps search engine optimize your video and maximizes your possibility that it will rank high in the search engines.

Make sure your webmaster has your website listed on Google Webmaster Tools (a free resource provided by Google). Through Google Webmaster Tools, you can then submit your sitemap and get a very robust operational look at your website performance that extends well beyond what is available in a website analytics program such as Google Analytics alone.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact our marketing consultants at Upside Business Consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness.

Reference Terms: video marketing tips, video sitemap, video search engine marketing, video search engine optimization, long island video marketing, why I should optimize my video for Google, how to increase your video search engine rankings, video marketing strategy.

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Posted in Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized, Video Marketing

Tags: Best Practices Long Island Business Marketing Long Island Marketing Consultants Marketing video marketing video seo video visibility

Not Just Video Marketing. Tips On Video Storytelling Your Long Island Business.

October 25th, 2010 by admin 2 comments »

There are hundreds of social media and social networking sites, and the number is growing exponentially.Faced with a long list of potential new media opportunities, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, which ones should you use?

Today, we zero in on some basic reasons you should give YouTube video marketing a try and show you how some local, Long Island small businesses are using video marketing as a powerful marketing strategy.

YouTube Marketing | Video Marketing | Video Storytelling | Video Promotion | Long Island

Have you tried video marketing?

The list of strategic marketing reasons to have video online goes on and on, including having a 24/7 salesperson, personalizing your brand, and being able to convey a powerful 3/D marketing message through a very engaging medium that is not static such as a regular webpage. Plus, data shows that sites with video tend to convert more prospects to customers.

Are all of these supporting reasons to consider video marketing reason enough for Long Island businesses to invest in a campaign that includes YouTube?
Some research into local videos shows that while the web is certainly not saturated with Long Island videos there are a number of companies taking advantage. If you are thinking about jumping on the trend, here are a few ideas to help you stand out:

Make it Interesting
- Show how it’s done. A company video can show something customers can’t usually see, such as how a product is made or where ingredients come from. Reinwald’s Bakery in Huntington uploaded a video showing how they make one of their famous holiday treats, a gingerbread house.
- Tell a story. For service-oriented businesses, it can be more important to showcase your talent. Compelling personal narratives or quirky stories can favorably present your brand.
In a video showcasing Satur Farms on the North Fork of LI, the owner explains why she would leave a comfortable job as a wine distributor to manage her own farm.
- Make it short. A quick, fast-paced video is key for YouTube audience’s attention span. If possible, keep it to 3-5 minutes.

Make it Relevant
- Give new information. A potential customer who is not familiar with your company could benefit from facts about your location, social spaces, new products, or procedures. For example: The Long Island Marriot shows off its best rooms and conferences center, the Center Yacht Club in Center Moriches shows the specification of the docks, and the Eastern Long Island Hospital explains certain pain management procedures.
- Share an event. A great way to follow-up a successful event is to a short video. It’ll also prove useful when it’s time to publicize next year’s repeat event. Check out how the Long Island Car Show or how the Riverview 2008 Striped Bass Tournament is caught on video.
- Link to others. A video will get more exposure if it’s linked to a popular video. Find a useful How To video and link to share your company’s advice. (Just remember to give credit to the original).

But most important: have it fit your brand’s strategy. A YouTube video marketing campaign should serve the same purpose as any other marketing effort—it should first be a way to promote strategic interests like repositioning your brand, enhancing your marketing plan or reaching a new customer segment in a new way.

The last thought I’ll leave you with is the Long Island Rail Road’s foray into YouTube music video-making. Judge for yourself: LIRR “Gap Rap.”

Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact our marketing consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness. Special thanks to Kyra S. for her contributions, research and diligence.

Reference Terms: video marketing, long island video marketing, video storytelling, how to use video to promote your business, reasons to do video marketing, video marketing for the search engines, how to increase visibility with video marketing, how video can promote your brand, video marketing tips, Long Island NY businesses doing video marketing.