On July 19, Long Island Business News will dedicate its Corporate Profiles advertising section to law firms on Long Island. LIBN is a weekly publication, and it features local law firms once a year. This is a great opportunity for your firm to not only gain exposure to the community, but also to share the … Continue reading “Spotlight on Advertising: Advertise in LIBN!”
On July 19, Long Island Business News will dedicate its Corporate Profiles advertising section to law firms on Long Island. LIBN is a weekly publication, and it features local law firms once a year. This is a great opportunity for your firm to not only gain exposure to the community, but also to share the firm’s history. With a Corporate Profile, you can introduce your team and your clients, describe your areas of expertise, and share your firm’s journey, whether you’ve been practicing for two years or twenty. LIBN is Long Island’s premier publication for local businesses and will present you to thousands of potential clients as one of the area’s leading firms.
All Corporate Profiles are 10” by 13.875” and full color. The story for your Corporate Profile must be between 500 and 550 words and written in third person. You can also include up to three pictures. In addition, your Corporate Profile will be prepared and sent to you in an electronic format, which can be used in more print or web marketing.
The rate for the profile is $2,482, with additional fees if you want to use professional writers or photographers. For more information, call 1-855-PRMG-123 or email info@theprmg.com by July 3, 2013.
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.
If you are not already familiar with Google AdWords please read our Beginner’s Guide to Google AdWords to better understand the topic. On Wednesday June 5th, Google announced that it will begin to allow advertisers to add photos and pictures to AdWords campaigns. The standard format, as viewed above, allows advertisers to target individuals who … Continue reading “Spotlight on Advertising: Google Ads Now Include Pictures”
On Wednesday June 5th, Google announced that it will begin to allow advertisers to add photos and pictures to AdWords campaigns. The standard format, as viewed above, allows advertisers to target individuals who are already searching for specific products or services, and the ability to add a photo will only increase the effectiveness of these ads.
We know from our experience with social media that both ads and posts do substantially better when accompanied by images. Not only do images increase the size of your advertisement, but they help your ads stand out. High-quality images are engaging, and will help to expand the number of impressions that your online advertising campaign receives.
Use this advantage to strengthen your brand, by showing memorable visual content that you want immediately associated with your brand. Previously, visual online advertising was limited to Google Display Network, which has a much more limited audience of websites that allowed Google ads to appear on them through Google’s AdSense program.
Essentially, Google AdWords allows for easily customizable and highly targeted ads that, if done right, will give you a good return on your investment. This option is currently in beta mode, and is not yet available to everyone. If you are interested in developing new online advertising campaigns, please contact 1-855-PRMG-123 or email at info@theprmg.com .
Yahoo buying Tumblr brings to mind an important question for businesses with an online presence: Will Yahoo make Tumblr better or worse? But first to answer a question that many have been asking — What is Tumblr? the confusing answer is a microblogging site where you choose the medium of your blog. The easy answer is it’s … Continue reading “Yahoo Buying Tumblr: and it’s good news for businesses”
Yahoo buying Tumblr brings to mind an important question for businesses with an online presence: Will Yahoo make Tumblr better or worse?
But first to answer a question that many have been asking — What is Tumblr? the confusing answer is a microblogging site where you choose the medium of your blog. The easy answer is it’s a website where you use a combination of photos or videos along with printed captions to entertain an audience with the attention span of a goldfish (although strictly speaking you can choose any combination of Text, Photo, Quotes, Links, Chat, Audio or Video). This means no long blog posts just something short, informative and entertaining.
As soon as Yahoo announced its intended acquisition of Tumblr, bloggers began screaming their disapproval. But these microbloggers are missing the point — Yahoo doesn’t want Tumblr, it wants Tumblr’s users (mostly Gen Y/Millenials) to start using Yahoo. Yahoo’s current demographics are older adults (Gen Y’s parents), and is having trouble diversifying their consumer base. Thus Yahoo will be wooing Tumblr’s users, and will be careful not to alienate them.
As Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer puts it, “We promise not to screw it up.” Yahoo will be keeping the layout that Tumblr has worked hard to perfect and David Karp, the current Tumblr CEO, will remain in charge with creative power, his current staff and current branding. In short, post-Yahoo Tumblr will be nearly identical to pre-Yahoo Tumblr.
So why all the hype? We all know that more of the same is bad for business, and we expect 2 major changes that might lure more businesses to Tumblr: Searchability & Advertising.
Yahoo remains one of the top 15 search engines worldwide. This comes from advanced search algorithms, experience and power. We expect Yahoo to impart some of this know-how to increase the searchability of Tumblr blogs— thereby helping to expand reach, influence, and the roi of your pages.
Advertising remains the best way to monetize social media, and Yahoo is forecasting a significant increase in the value of Tumblr due to ad-based revenue (remember in 2012 Tumblr had an annual revenue of $13 million but just sold for $1.1 billion). Bloggers will have the options to opt-in to ads which gets rid of the negative reception for consumers who associate ads with annoyance.
For all of us who have been watching major social networks as they integrate advertisements and sponsored posts, we can recognize the potential inherent in Tumblr advertisements. We know the value of a Facebook like is about $174.14, and with the continued expansion of social media networks and social media advertising, the value is poised to rise. Connecting with prospective/current customers has always been important, and Tumblr is no exception. Every generation has a favored social network and Tumblr will be critical for marketing to Gen Y and Z.
It is our recommendations: If you’re not currently on Tumblr, then at least advertise on it. Tumblr is poised to grow, and your company should be ready for it.
What about Inbound? Who uses print nowadays? Print what? These are all questions that clients ask marketing professionals as they decide where to allocate the money in their marketing budget. They think of print as their parents’ marketing techniques and want inbound marketing plans as cutting edge as Google’s. But these ideas aren’t mutually … Continue reading “Print Isn’t Dead! – Why You Should Use Traditional Marketing”
What about Inbound? Who uses print nowadays? Print what? These are all questions that clients ask marketing professionals as they decide where to allocate the money in their marketing budget. They think of print as their parents’ marketing techniques and want inboundmarketing plans as cutting edge as Google’s.
But these ideas aren’t mutually exclusive, and inbound marketing should never fully replace traditional marketing, because each strategy has its own weaknesses that need to be considered. By merging traditional and inbound marketing strategies, with unified and concise messages, you create more comprehensive and effective marketing plans.
Inbound vs Traditional
Pros: Inbound marketing works off the idea that having a strong web presence (high-quality website, blogs, social media, etc.) will help consumers find your business. It is an incredibly effective way to help consumers find your company when they need your products or services.
Traditional marketing, on the other hand, raises awareness of your company regardless of whether or not recipients are currently looking for your company’s products or services. The best benefit of traditional media is its ability to evenly reach consumers across demographics.
Cons: Traditional media is generally seen as more expensive and less efficient, while inbound marketing is dependent on the technological capabilities of your target audience.
Who uses print?
While younger generations are increasingly using the Internet to do everything from making everyday purchases to dating, adults aged 35+ are more likely to be engaged using traditional media (print, TV, radio etc). Coincidentally, older consumers are more likely to have the disposable income needed to buy products and services, and according to The Pew Internet Project, 1 in 5 American adults does not even use the Internet, and while reliance on print marketing has decreased in recent decades, usage has not.
Today, companies use print marketing when they want to directly target a geographic area, a demographic group, or an industry (trade publications are very effective ways to reach executives in specific industries and hobbyists).
Print what?
So what kinds of printed materials do we recommend for our clients? It completely depends on the type of business and their short-term goals; but print marketing campaigns are generally comprised of direct mail, deliverables, and advertisements in print publications.
Direct mail (postcards, letters, or magazine inserts) and deliverables (fliers, brochures, stationery or anything else that you hand out) provide your audience with tangible pieces reminders of your company. They reinforce your branding efforts and are effective ways to increase awareness of what your company offers.
Print is arguably the best way to target a segment of the community. You can refine your campaign by age, occupation, gender, etc. With a targeted list, direct mail becomes a very affordable way to increase your market share, and since it is integrated with recipients’ mail, it becomes highly likely that your audience will view your marketing materials.
Similarly, well-placed advertisements in trade/cultural/hobby publications allow your company to target leaders in an industry. While an ad for a top-of-the-line boat engine might seem out of place in your local newspaper, it’s common sense in a boating magazine. This isn’t to say that daily newspapers and Pennysavers are bad investments. On the contrary, local publications often offer good rates that will allow you to run more impactful half-page or full-page ads.
Okay, but what about Inbound?
Your print marketing campaigns should NOT replace inbound marketing efforts. Instead, these two strategies should complement each other and work together to impress prospective customers. Connect print and online marketing by directing customers back to your website or social media pages, use QR codes, or provide your email address. Lastly, it’s imperative that you have consistent branding — this means using the same logo, color schemes, and messages for online and print marketing. When you direct customers back to your website, it should look similar to your advertisement, and it should be easy for them to find what you advertised.
Inbound and traditional marketing efforts have an incredible ability to cover each other’s weaknesses. Together, they form a comprehensive marketing strategy and, by combining elements of online marketing and print marketing to promote your business, you will strengthen your brand and will see a better return on your investment.
The popular link-shortening service Bitly recently released a study determining the best times to post on various social networking services, based on their real-time link tracking data. They based this study on click-through rates, virality of posts and sharing rates that occurred at different times of the day (Eastern Time) and different days of the week. As … Continue reading “(Social Media) Timing is Everything: When to Blog, Tweet and More”
The popular link-shortening service Bitly recently released a study determining the best times to post on various social networking services, based on their real-time link tracking data. They based this study on click-through rates, virality of posts and sharing rates that occurred at different times of the day (Eastern Time) and different days of the week. As this study supports, the time or day that you post something can have a significant impact on who views it, how much it gets shared and how many times it gets viewed. This article will provide readers with a guide of the best times to post on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and blogs.
Facebook — The main thing to remember about Facebook is to avoid posting on weekends, starting on Friday afternoons. According to Bitly, the highest average click-through rates for posts containing links on Facebook are between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. More specifically, posts on Wednesdays have shown to be most effective.
Twitter — Similar to Facebook, it’s best to avoid tweeting on weekends if you want to secure as many click-throughs and shares as you can. The best time to post on Twitter is between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, since these are peak traffic times. Like Facebook, it’s ineffective to tweet at night, specifically after 9:00 p.m., on any day, and after 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.
Tumblr — Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr users seem to be on an entirely different schedule. Bitly found that on Tumblr, posts sent between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Fridays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays received the most clicks and shares among users.
Blogs — According to Shareaholic, the leading global social share widget, the most sharing of blog entries takes place on Thursdays with 10% more shares than any other day. If you’re looking for page views, the best days to blog are Mondays and Tuesdays. As for the best time of day to blog, various sources have found that the best time to update your blog is during the morning or early afternoon on weekdays.
Of course, it’s impossible to make sure you’re at your computer desk to post at these exact times. This is where social media publishing tools come in. By using programs such asHootSuite, Tweetdeck or Social Oomph to update social media profiles, you can schedule posts in advance and make sure they’re updated at the exact times you prefer them to appear. You can also schedule blog posts to automatically publish themselves at any time in the future on WordPress, Blogger and other popular blogging platforms. For more information on these helpful programs, refer to our article, “Social Media Publishing 101.”
Newsday: New York Mets’ 50th Anniversary Commemorative Special Section Newsday will be publishing a commemorative special section to celebrate the New York Mets’ 50th anniversary on Friday, May 25. The full color pull-out will be printed on bright white paper and available to all subscribers and readers just in time for Banner Day, on Sunday, … Continue reading “Advertising Spotlight: Newsday’s New York Mets 50th Anniversary Commemorative Special Section”
Newsday: New York Mets’ 50th Anniversary Commemorative Special Section
Newsday will be publishing a commemorative special section to celebrate the New York Mets’ 50th anniversary on Friday, May 25. The full color pull-out will be printed on bright white paper and available to all subscribers and readers just in time for Banner Day, on Sunday, May 27. Memorialize your support for the Mets and their fans with an ad. We recommend this section especially for organizations looking to reach an enthusiastic male audience and for any business currently advertising on television during baseball games.
All ads will run in both Nassau and Suffolk counties and full-run rates are significantly discounted from regular retail rates, with a color full page costing less than $9,300 (as compared to over $21,000 for the same ad in a typical Friday edition). A half page is going for $5,575 and a quarter page for $3,350. For black-and-white ads, subtract 15%.
This weekend may have been the start of the New York Knicks’ playoff season, but it is not too late to get in on the action! Cablevision is still offering a few discounted packages to advertisers that are looking to capitalize on the excitement of the Knicks playoffs. Twenty-spot packages for Round 1 start at … Continue reading “Advertising Spotlight: Knicks Playoffs Packages”
This weekend may have been the start of the New York Knicks’ playoff season, but it is not too late to get in on the action! Cablevision is still offering a few discounted packages to advertisers that are looking to capitalize on the excitement of the Knicks playoffs.
Twenty-spot packages for Round 1 start at just $405 for the Riverhead zone. Advertisers get five in-game spots on MSG, five 9 a.m.-midnight rotators on MSG, five on ESPN News and five more on ESPN Classic. This offers the frequency needed to reach fans at a low discounted price; island-wide, this package costs $7,000. Compare that to the retail rate of $1,360 per spot for island-wide Round 1 playoff games — the rotators are basically free.
The excitement and the ratings increase when the Knicks get to Round 2! The same package will run at $505 in Riverhead and $8,800, island-wide. These island-wide spots retail at $1,725 each.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest business-oriented service and allows users to network and keep in touch with business contacts and potential clients. When used properly, LinkedIn can help members build stronger personal relationships to facilitate more direct contact and business opportunities. This article will explain several common mistakes that can impact the effectiveness of your … Continue reading “Top Five LinkedIn Mistakes to Avoid”
LinkedIn is the world’s largest business-oriented service and allows users to network and keep in touch with business contacts and potential clients. When used properly, LinkedIn can help members build stronger personal relationships to facilitate more direct contact and business opportunities. This article will explain several common mistakes that can impact the effectiveness of your LinkedIn marketing strategy. Those who are new to LinkedIn can first read our article, “Making the Right Connections with LinkedIn.”
Having an Incomplete Profile — Having a LinkedIn profile that is 100 percent complete with an accurate description of your professional experience, skills and qualifications will help to optimize your LinkedIn profile and establish your professional identity online. In today’s technological world, a LinkedIn profile is becoming the new resume. To complete your profile, add a photo, list your professional work experience with accurate dates and responsibilities, include skills and expertise keywords in each section and request professional recommendations from your connections.
Not Participating in LinkedIn Groups — There are no benefits to joining dozens of groups on LinkedIn and then not participating in group discussions. LinkedIn Groups are powerful online networking tools for business professionals. We recommend searching for groups that are related to your industry or groups that your potential customers and clients are likely to be active in. Once you’ve requested to join, start participating in discussions and sharing your professional expertise. Users can also participate in the LinkedIn Answers section, when appropriate. By answering other users’ questions in this section, you can boost your authority, online reputation and exposure.
Not Requesting or Giving Recommendations — To build authority on your profile, always request professional recommendations from your contacts and return the favor. These can greatly enhance your profile by giving potential clients and business contacts a clear indication of the quality of your company’s work.
Not Having a Custom URL — One of the most overlooked yet valuable features of LinkedIn is that users can create a customized URL for their profile in place of the default URL. By creating a customized URL with either your full name or your business’ name, prospective clients or customers will have a better chance of finding and recognizing your account. To customize your URL on LinkedIn, click here and then “Customize Your Public Profile URL.”
Requesting to Connect with People You Don’t Know — We don’t recommend sending emails to users who you have never met or spoken to. In some cases, this can get you banned from LinkedIn if enough people report “I don’t know this person.” If you want to connect with someone who you don’t know personally, see if there are any shared connections who may be able to introduce you. You can also develop relationships with users through the LinkedIn Groups’ discussion boards and then send an invitation to connect once you are comfortable enough to do so.
Most of all, it’s important to stay as active as possible on LinkedIn. At a minimum, users should make sure that their profile is 100% complete and use about a half hour per week to browse through LinkedIn Groups and join in the conversation. By consistently updating your LinkedIn profile, maintaining your company page and participating in group discussions, you’ll find that this social networking site is essential when it comes to online marketing, especially for B2B professionals.
With Mother’s Day around the corner and spring in full bloom, Long Island businesses may benefit from advertising with The Gazette’s May issue. The Gazette features community events, children’s happenings and local news surrounding individual towns on Long Island. This free publication is dedicated to providing residents with a community-oriented and localized view of the … Continue reading “Advertise with The Gazette this Spring”
With Mother’s Day around the corner and spring in full bloom, Long Island businesses may benefit from advertising with The Gazette’s May issue. The Gazette features community events, children’s happenings and local news surrounding individual towns on Long Island. This free publication is dedicated to providing residents with a community-oriented and localized view of the news.
This advertising opportunity is appropriate for companies that are active in the springtime and looking to reach their target audience. For example, landscaping companies, lawn services, home improvement organizations, flower companies and gardening services may benefit from placing an advertisement in this issue. Businesses who buy three months worth of advertisements can also get the fourth month free of charge.
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
