Marketing is essential for the growth of any business. Even if you offer a top-notch product or service, without sufficient exposure, potential customers may never be aware of what your business has to offer. Unfortunately, many small businesses do not have a large budget to spend on comprehensive marketing campaigns. Costly forms of marketing can … Continue reading “Where Should a Small Business Spend its Marketing Money”
Marketing is essential for the growth of any business. Even if you offer a top-notch product or service, without sufficient exposure, potential customers may never be aware of what your business has to offer. Unfortunately, many small businesses do not have a large budget to spend on comprehensive marketing campaigns. Costly forms of marketing can be very effective in attracting new customers, but if the budget isn’t there, businesses can take advantage of alternative methods. Fortunately, there are many ways to attract new customers without breaking the bank. Here are some tips on where you should be spending your money when dealing with a tight marketing budget. Continue reading “Where Should a Small Business Spend its Marketing Money”
Facebook Improves Advertising Options by Adding Behavior-Based Targeting Facebook recently overhauled its advertising system, making it easier for advertisers to target specific audiences. When using Facebook Ads, advertisers will now see many different options in the “Audience” section, which can be used to narrow down the Facebook users who will be shown their advertisement. Most … Continue reading “Facebook Improves Advertising Options by Adding Behavior-Based Targeting”
Facebook Improves Advertising Options by Adding Behavior-Based Targeting
Facebook recently overhauled its advertising system, making it easier for advertisers to target specific audiences. When using Facebook Ads, advertisers will now see many different options in the “Audience” section, which can be used to narrow down the Facebook users who will be shown their advertisement. Most of these options, such as Location and Interests, were already available in Facebook’s old targeting system. However, Facebook has unveiled a Behaviors option, which offers advertisers the opportunity to improve campaigns directed at general or narrow target audiences. Behaviors are broken down into eight different categories, with each containing numerous subcategories.
Automotive:
The Automotive category sorts Facebook users in many different ways— based on the cars they own or are shopping for. Advertisers can appeal to general audiences such as individuals who have purchased used vehicles. They can also choose to be very specific by advertising to owners of a certain make, model, age, and price of a car.
Charitable Donations:
Facebook allows advertisers to target users who have made charitable contributions to a broad selection of organizations. Advertisers can be general by targeting those who have contributed to any charitable organization, or they can choose specific subcategories such as Animal Welfare, Health, Political, Environmental, and more. Continue reading “Facebook Improves Advertising Options by Adding Behavior-Based Targeting”
Over the past few years, the popularity of Internet-based advertising has increased tremendously. One of the most widely used methods of Internet-based advertising is through email. Email advertising offers businesses a cheap, easy way to reach out to a large number of potential or current clients. Its advantages have led to a decline in direct … Continue reading “The Better Method: Direct Mail or Email Marketing?”
Over the past few years, the popularity of Internet-based advertising has increased tremendously. One of the most widely used methods of Internet-based advertising is through email. Email advertising offers businesses a cheap, easy way to reach out to a large number of potential or current clients. Its advantages have led to a decline in direct mail advertising, the more traditional system of sending tangible advertisements to consumers. Despite the lower costs associated with email advertising, does it bring in a higher return on your investment?
There are many advantages to email advertising. For starters, emails can contain clickable links. In addition to text information and pictures found on advertisements, links can be used to send a consumer to any web page a business desires. Also, emails are sent to consumers immediately. There is no waiting period for an email to be delivered to a consumer like there is with direct mail. However, the main advantage to email advertising is very basic: it is cheap. As long as a business is connected to the Internet, sending an email comes at almost no cost. Direct mail incurs costs such as printing and postage, which can add up quickly if a business is trying to reach a large number of consumers. Continue reading “The Better Method: Direct Mail or Email Marketing?”
The New Year is upon us and many businesses are making resolutions for 2014. Including a marketing resolution for your business, can help a business receive the recognition and attention that it deserves. Marketing allows the public to identify what your company has to offer thereby attracting more customers to a product or service. Marketing … Continue reading “Strategies for Sticking to Your 2014 Business Marketing Resolutions”
The New Year is upon us and many businesses are making resolutions for 2014. Including a marketing resolution for your business, can help a business receive the recognition and attention that it deserves. Marketing allows the public to identify what your company has to offer thereby attracting more customers to a product or service. Marketing increases brand awareness/name recognition, breaks companies into new markets, and improves product placement, which ultimately enhances business sales.
The internet is now the main way for businesses to gain exposure. It’s an easy and fast way to get found, communicate with clients and bring in new business. This is your first impression- make it count! When developing or maintaining a website, there are quite a few factors to consider since websites can easily … Continue reading “10 Things YOUR website NEEDS to be successful”
The internet is now the main way for businesses to gain exposure. It’s an easy and fast way to get found, communicate with clients and bring in new business. This is your first impression- make it count!
When developing or maintaining a website, there are quite a few factors to consider since websites can easily help or harm a brand. What should the site include? How can I maximize the return on my investment? These are all questions that can be answered by considering a few important factors that you must consider to gain traffic and build your reputation.
Domain Name
The domain name is the primary way to brand your site (apart from your logo/design). This is what will be typed in the search bar to locate your site. Using a .com domain is be best because of its popularity — many individuals believe that .net sites are less reputable. Use .org for organizations and nonprofits only.
You want your web address to be simple, but including a keyword can help SEO (ex. www.longislanddivorcelawyer.com). Something long and difficult to remember may result in loss of visitors to your site. We recommend using your company’s name or a keyword-based description. Continue reading “10 Things YOUR website NEEDS to be successful”
The holiday season is quickly approaching and you are probably wondering how you can sprinkle some holiday flavor into your usual marketing strategy. We’ve created a list of five great tips to help your business leverage the holidays in your marketing strategy: 1. Create an electronic and/or a printed holiday postcard Let your customers and … Continue reading “5 holiday marketing tips”
The holiday season is quickly approaching and you are probably wondering how you can sprinkle some holiday flavor into your usual marketing strategy. We’ve created a list of five great tips to help your business leverage the holidays in your marketing strategy:
1. Create an electronic and/or a printed holiday postcard
Let your customers and clients know that you care by sending them a holiday card. You can send a holiday-themed e-mail blast or a more traditional printed postcard. If you are running any holiday specials, be sure to include them!
2. Holiday-themed newsletter/e-newsletter
Make your December newsletter merry! The holidays are a time of giving, so focus on topics such as charity, holiday events and recapping the past year. Is your organization associated with a cause? Does your company host a holiday party or event? Summarize this year’s successes or introduce your clients to your future plans. Continue reading “5 holiday marketing tips”
Over the past decade, email blasts have become a very popular tool for small businesses to directly target consumers. Takeover topics are up to you, but our clients generally prefer to send e-newsletters/company announcements or advertisements with calls-to-action. Takeover emails are email blasts on steroids. They are sent out by a website, newspaper, magazine, or … Continue reading “What Are Takeover Emails?”
Over the past decade, email blasts have become a very popular tool for small businesses to directly target consumers. Takeover topics are up to you, but our clients generally prefer to send e-newsletters/company announcements or advertisements with calls-to-action.
Takeover emails are email blasts on steroids. They are sent out by a website, newspaper, magazine, or other organization to their own subscriber list. This means that you can leverage the subscriber lists of much larger corporate entities to send an email featuring only your ad/news. It’s a quick way to reach a larger audience. They can be a great way to announce a new location, a grand opening, or to promote an upcoming event or sale.
Many different publications offer takeover email blasts as a low-risk advertising option for local businesses. Newsday, Dan’s Papers, the Long Island Herald, the Long Island Press, and even specialty publications such as NY MetroParent magazine all offer takeover or proprietary email blasts. Deciding which publication to use for a takeover email blast is highly dependent on your business and the audience you are looking to reach with your ad. Businesses located on the East End of Long Island that are looking to reach residents of the East End should consider Dan’s Papers, while businesses interested in reaching a large audience in Nassau and/or Suffolk County should consider Newsday.
Dan’s Papers offers takeover emails for approximately $1000/email blast to their list of over 16,000 subscribers. With an average open rate of 20%, you’re likely to reach thousands of new potential clients!
For a limited time only, The Public Relations and Marketing Group (PRMG) has been offered discounted rates on takeover emails. If you are interested in takeover email blasts or have any questions about your digital advertising strategy, contact 1-855-PRMG-123 or info@theprmg.com.
With over 343 million users, Google+ is rapidly changing the landscape of social media, web searching and search engine optimization (SEO). As Google continues to dominate the search engine market, Google+ profiles personalize search results through authorship and social searching techniques. By understanding how Google+ affects web searching through tools such as rel= “author” and … Continue reading “Using Google+ to Maximize Web Searching”
With over 343 million users, Google+ is rapidly changing the landscape of social media, web searching and search engine optimization (SEO). As Google continues to dominate the search engine market, Google+ profiles personalize search results through authorship and social searching techniques. By understanding how Google+ affects web searching through tools such as rel= “author” and Search plus Your World, you can use Google+ to become a leader in your industry and maximize your website’s potential.
Authorship: Rel=“author”
Web searchers use Google to find credible online sources. As a result, Google has emphasized authorship and given higher rankings to web authors with frequently updated, original content. With the rel=“author” tag, you can claim authorship of your content and build your own credibility by linking your Google+ profile to your website or blog posts in Google search results. If your website is properly tagged with rel=“author,” your name and Google+ profile picture will appear next to your website listing when it appears in Google’s search results. Through this, you put a name and a face to your website or blog posts, while also catching the attention of Google searchers. By clicking on your name or your picture, the user will be directed to your Google+ profile and have the option to “follow” you. Most importantly, rel=“author” establishes your credibility and if searchers have visited your website before or liked a post you have written, they are more likely to visit your site or blog again when they see your profile picture and name pop up next to the search entry. Depending on whether you are writing for your own blog, as part of a guest blog, or under a larger group, the ways in which to implement this authorship tag will differ.
Social Searching: Search plus Your World
Search plus Your World is a form of social searching that gives personalized results, based on the circles and contacts in your Google+ profile. Social searching incentivizes both businesses and individuals to remain active on Google+ and make as many connections as possible to maximize the possibility of placement in search results. For example, if you own an ice cream shop and are connected to Joe on Google+, then it is highly likely that your shop will appear in Joe’s Google search results for “ice cream shop.” Likewise, if your best friend, with whom you are connected on Google+, just posted pictures from her vacation to London on her profile, you may find her pictures popping up on Google if you do an image search for Big Ben or Buckingham Palace. Social searching levels the playing field of search engine optimization and places more emphasis on personal relationships than domain authority or other SEO techniques, so it is necessary to engage with followers on Google+ and continually develop new relationships to stay relevant. As of now, the Search plus Your World feature is strictly limited to Google+, and contacts from other social networks like Twitter and Facebook will not appear in the search results.
We predict that Google’s attempt to integrate social media with web searching will have an enormous impact on SEO and basic web searching. As Google continues to alter search algorithms to include social and personal features, it will focus on relationships through social media and increase the chances of appearing in search results without using other SEO strategies. Google may also tap into other social networks like Twitter and Facebook to develop even more personalized results. Overall, we recommend that you use Google+ to develop your online brand and credibility through authorship tags and forge new relationships through social searching to increase traffic to your website and blog posts.
If you have any questions or are interested in developing your social media and search engine optimization strategy, contact 1-855-PRMG-123 or info@theprmg.com.
Email marketing (newsletters and promotions) is one of the most powerful and cost effective marketing tools for small to mid-sized businesses. It provides a good segue to convert leads into sales, and they can be completely customized to strengthen your brand. Here are six ways to maximize your email marketing success: Experiment to Create a … Continue reading “6 Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing Campaigns”
Email marketing (newsletters and promotions) is one of the most powerful and cost effective marketing tools for small to mid-sized businesses. It provides a good segue to convert leads into sales, and they can be completely customized to strengthen your brand. Here are six ways to maximize your email marketing success:
Experiment to Create a Schedule
In order to find out what days and times are best for your company to send out emails, experiment and create a schedule. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are said to be the best days of the week to send out emails, but see what works best for you!
2. Hire a Designer to Customize your Emails
Graphics are one of the most important parts of an email. Hire a designer to help with customization and branding. This will increase the engagement of recipients, leading them to click on and read through the rest of the email. Our Science of Email Marketing says that 65% of people prefer emails with mostly images.
3. Customize the Content of your Emails
In addition to custom graphics, customizing and personalizing the written content in an email is just as important. Our Science of Email Marketing also says that the chance of your email being read increases by 14% when it is personalized and addressed to each individual person. Using a catchy subject line may also increase the chances of your email being read.
4. Incorporate Calls to Action
Offer something in your email, like a download, a coupon or a free consultation. This will entice your audience to take action in response to your email. For example, add “Download our free coupon today!” or “Contact for a free consultation!” to your email. Also, use phrases like “for a limited time only,” and “offer ends July 1,” to create a sense of urgency.
5. Track your Results
Using an email marketing software, such as Streamsend or Constant Contact, can help you see how many people are actually reading and clicking through your email. Tracking your results is a way to see if your emails are effecting your subscribers in a positive or negative way.
Monitoring click through rates and conversion rates are the two most accurate ways to track results. The higher click through and conversion rates you have, the more relevant your email was to the audience.
6. Use a CRM
Consider using a CRM (for more information read A CRM Overview: What is It? And Do I Need It?) to pull in your data- specifically CRMs are a great way to store information on prospects.
With the correct programming, CRMs can take the contacts you make on your website, on social media, via email etc. and import them to a central location where you can effectively cultivate relationships, and ensure that your sales cycle is efficiently managed.
Recently, Facebook introduced Graph Search, a new feature that combines characteristics of a search engine with an individual’s social network for personalized search results. With dual emphasis on online searching and social networking, Facebook Graph Search presents an opportunity for businesses to improve their social media strategies and better understand consumers, while increasing visibility and … Continue reading “A Quick Overview of Facebook Graph Search”
Recently, Facebook introduced Graph Search, a new feature that combines characteristics of a search engine with an individual’s social network for personalized search results. With dual emphasis on online searching and social networking, Facebook Graph Search presents an opportunity for businesses to improve their social media strategies and better understand consumers, while increasing visibility and attracting new customers.
Finding Your Customers
Unlike a regular search engine, Facebook Graph Search allows businesses valuable insights into their consumer bases’ demographic information and finds general patterns in consumer behavior. It offers criteria to narrow down results from its one billion users to the specific audience your business will target. For instance, an auto dealership can search specifically for “People in New York who like SUVs,” or an Italian restaurant can search for “People in Connecticut who like pizza.” The results can also reveal characteristics about a customer base (Do more women than men like to drive SUVs? Do most people who like pizza also like Pepsi?), which your company can use to tailor services and marketing strategies to a target market.
Furthermore, if your business’s page has many comment and likes, you can search within your own network to find which consumers have been most actively engaged with your product/services through social media. Such information can help your business determine how to best engage existing and potential customers through Facebook.
Let Your Customers Find You
Graph Search also enables potential customers learn more about you. When a business appears in Graph Search, the search entry offers a paragraph of information, which includes the user’s friends who “liked” the business. This feature increases awareness of your organization and can help you build trust with prospective consumers by leveraging their friends as professional references.
Most importantly, Graph Search provides word-of-mouth marketing, augmenting Facebook’s importance as a marketing tool. If a consumer is searching for a restaurant in New York City, he could type a general search into Google and find 588,000,000 results. But with Graph Search, he can use Facebook to search for “Restaurants in New York City my friends like” and receive a personalized list based on Facebook pages for restaurants that his friends have “liked.” By increasing the search rankings and visibility of your company, Graph Search increases the value of each “like” your company receives.
In mid-April, Facebook began testing ads in the results for Graph Search, and currently, only a limited number of companies have been given the opportunity to advertise with Sponsored Results ads. We expect Facebook will soon expand to allow more companies to advertise and shortly thereafter will introduce targeted ads related to specific search queries (similar to how Google Ads works).
By combining the convenience of a Google Search with the trust friends’ recommendations, Graph Search has the potential to become a strong marketing tool for any business. To maximize the potential of Graph Search, you may need to rethink your current Facebook strategy (or create one). We recommend that you post new content often, have more conversations with your followers, and use the Search Results to better understand the effectiveness of your current strategies. Adapt your marketing strategies and products/services to entice your target customers, by utilizing the data that Facebook is now making available.
For help optimizing your current social media strategy, reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn— or contact info@theprmg.com to discuss setting up social media pages and creating an effective social media strategy that is tailored to your business.
Contact Us
For more information about our services or to find out how we can help you attain your marketing goals, click here to email us, or call: Toll Free: 855-PRMG-123 .: Phone: 631-207-1057
