Marketing Ideas

The holiday season always brings some wonderful opportunities to promote our businesses.  Holiday sales and special promotions, reconnecting with clients, and networking!

Social media also offers an array of ways to get the word out about your business and provides some great opportunities for marketing your small to mid-sized business.  And, here’s a fabulous example.  This past holiday season we ran a Facebook photo contest for one of our clients, Shodeen Homes in Mill Creek in Geneva, IL.  It’s a wonderful housing community with many amenities – from their golf course, to schools, to shops right there in the neighborhood.

In November, they launched a Holiday Lights photo contest for homeowners in the community.  People could submit a photo of their home decked out in holiday lights for the chance to win one of three great prizes.  What fun!  You had to live in the community to enter your home, but you didn’t have to live there to vote. Even though the contest is over, you can still view the nominated homes and see how the contest was set up.  Click here to access their Holiday Lights Facebook Photo Contest.  If you haven’t already, make sure you log into Facebook so you can see all the contest details.  If you have liked Mill Creek’s Facebook page before, you will have direct access to the contest.  If you haven’t, just click “like” in the upper right hand corner to gain access to the contest page.

While you’re there, check out some of the inner workings of a Facebook contest.  If you’re planning on running one for your business page, here are a few tips:

• Offer an incentive or prizes.  In this case, it sure helps having a $1,000 first prize. But you don’t have to spend that much.  Your business is most likely not limited to such a small geographic area.  But, in this case, having that prize sure gets attention!
• Create an attractive or enticing graphic image to draw the visitor in.
• Consider whether you will use fan-gating. For this contest, we did.  What that means is that in order to participate, you have to “like” the page first.
• Make sure you have thoroughly thought through and documented the contest rules.  There is a complete page describing the official rules of the contest.
• MAKE SURE YOU USE AN APPROVED FACEBOOK APPLICATION!  Did I get your attention?  Facebook can shut down your whole page if you neglect to do this.  The one we used is called Offerpop (offerpop.com).  We love it.  It’s easy to use and you have a host of options available.  Plus, as you’ll see, you can share and comment right from the voting page.
• Remember your mobile users. Things get a little tricky when you are working with mobile devices.  Facebook currently does not support tabs.  So you’ll want to pin a post with a link to the contest tab so that mobile users can quickly navigate to it.
• Promote your contest offline, as well.  This particular contest was promoted via a door hanger left on every home in Mill Creek.  If you have a smaller group of potential participants, it’s especially important to use as many tactics as possible to get engagement.

If you’ve never created a contest before, it can be a challenge navigating all of your options.  You may want to consider outsourcing to a company with expertise in online marketing and social media.  If you find yourself in that position, contact us at The Price Group Inc.  We would be happy to help! We can be reached at 630 717-8332 or info@thepricegroup.biz.

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She is located in Naperville IL and can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

Over the last couple of months our clients have been asking about Pinterest, the latest social media darling.  If you’ve heard about this fast growing social media platform you may be wondering if it’s a fit for your small business.  Here’s the scoop.

So what is Pinterest? It provides the opportunity for users to create virtual bulletin boards where they can “pin” images or photos on categorized “boards” and share them with others. If your products are visually appealing and your target market is women, Pinterest is a must.  As an example, some brides are planning their entire wedding on Pinterest!  They seek out and share photos of dresses, reception venues, wedding invitations and more all in one location and can then have family and friends share opinions and ideas as well.

To provide a visual example of Pinterest’s boards, here’s one we created for a client.   By the way, their products are a perfect fit since they offer stationery, invitations, wedding accessories, etc.

Pinterest users find you and your products via a search.  So make sure your board names and product descriptions are “keyword-friendly”, making it easy for visitors to find.  For this particular customer, we use the same products on multiple boards, when appropriate.  For example, we have ring-bearer pillows that are on a client’s “formal wedding”, “black and white wedding”, and “damask wedding” boards. You could also dedicate a board to each product group or by occasion where the products are used.

Pinning images from your web site enables viewers to link to your site.  One of the interesting things we found with Pinterest is that traffic to the corresponding website definitely increased as a result of visits from Pinterest.  One note of caution, though.  Only pin items for which you own the rights or items that are not copyrighted.  Otherwise, you might run into the issue of copyright infringement if you don’t have permission to use an image.

When Pinterest was first launched, you needed to be invited to join.  You can still visit Pinterest.com and request an invitation, which should arrive in a day or so.  But you can now also create a Pinterest account using your existing facebook or Twitter account.  Pinterest automatically creates several standard boards for you, but these can be deleted and you can create your own boards.   Take a look at the default settings and make any necessary changes.  For instance, the default settings hide your Pinterest profile from search engines.  You’ll probably want to change that option, as well as others.

Here are some opportunities to use Pinterest as an addition to your current online marketing efforts:

• Cross-pollinate Pinterest images by linking them to your Twitter or Facebook accounts.
• Have a blog?  Insert an image in your blog and add a “pin it” button next to it.  Readers can pin the image to their boards, enabling others to link back to the blog.
• Add the Pinterest button to your web site so visitors can link to your Pinterest boards.
• Add a “pin it” button to web site images so visitors can pin them to their boards.
• Add a Pinterest tab to your facebook page allowing visitors to view your boards right from facebook.

I think one of the nicest surprises is how easy Pinterest is to use.  And given its benefits, I’d suggest you go for it!  Happy pinning!

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

Our last post focused on facebook’s new changes to the timeline format. I hope you had fun switching your Facebook business page over to this new look!   In this post, we’ll take a look at some more details about these changes.

As a reminder, visitors to your Facebook page now have new “Branding Assets”, including a larger cover photo and customizable “tabs” for apps.  Many businesses out there are testing different strategies for their cover art, such as how often to change it and what to show.  If you have a small business with a variety of products you may want to change the photo often to highlight different product groups.  Service businesses, on the other hand, may want to establish their brand look and change the photo less often.  But, remember to abide by Facebook’s recommended specs and messaging guidelines for cover art.

Those first three “apps” tabs are attracting lots of attention, too.  They are much more visible now and can have a big impact on visitors.  Take advantage of their prime real estate and use them to highlight key messages, current offers or news about your business.  You can reorder them, so make sure you have the most important ones first.

You may also want to consider re-evaluating your approach to measuring success.  Although many businesses rely on the number of “Fans” to measure their page’s success, you may want to rethink the importance of that number.  That’s because visitors no longer have to become Fans of your page to interact with it.  As a result, while you may not see big increases in the number of “Fans”, you may see increases to several other metrics, including views, comments and sharing.  And that’s what you really want to see – people engaged with your page.

You can still maintain some exclusive contact with Fans, as well.  For example, you can create “apps” tabs available only to Fans, giving them access to exclusive offers or information.

You can also take advantage of some new administrative features to make your business page more successful, including:

• Milestones:   You may have thought the “milestones” feature was only for individuals. But it can be powerful for your small business, too.  Add business milestones that speak to your experience and credentials, such as how long you’ve been in business, major events in business growth, important associations and goals achieved.  This builds company credibility.
• Private Messaging:  This new feature adds the ability for your page to have private conversations with users.  Regulated from the Page Administration Panel, Fans or non-Fans share comments and exchange information with you privately, rather than having all communication publicly shown on the Newsfeed.  It’s a great way to engage individual customers and answer in-depth questions without cluttering up your Timeline with responses to every inquiry publicly.  But remember that Pages cannot initiate a conversation.
• The new format also allows you to “pin” a post at the top.  Now, your most important info won’t get pushed down below more current posts. You can “pin” a post so that it stays at the top for seven days, resulting in more views and shares.  If you include a photo or video in your post, it’ll probably be shared even more often.
• The Page Administration Panel shows more detailed information about anyone posting on your Timeline, providing great data from which to create targeted content.

While this is not an exhaustive list, these features can help you have a bigger impact.   And remember, rather than merely counting the number of fans you have, consider spending more time studying who visits your page and creating content targeted to their interests.

Lastly, remember that using a social network is just part of your overall marketing strategy.  Use consistent messaging in all your marketing efforts, whether it’s on-line or off-line, to develop a memorable brand and reputation among customers and prospects.

We provided this link in our last post, and heard it was very helpful, so once again, here’s a link to a great pdf from Facebook, providing more detail behind the timeline changes.

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

I always say that there are three things in life that are certain: death, taxes, and changes to Facebook.  Well, heads up!  There are only a few days left before you have to convert your Facebook business page to Facebook’s new timeline format.  After March 30th, they will automatically be converted.  In this article and our next, I’ll highlight what will change and how to make these changes work for you.

For this post, we’ll look at the changes affecting the user experience.  The most obvious are the visual changes that visitors to your Timeline will see.

The new timeline “look”. Many business page admins opted for a custom graphic instead of the default square thumbnail.  That is no longer available.  Now, viewers will see two main images:

• A large image (851 x 315 pixels) of your choosing spanning across the top of the screen.   Large and bold, it makes quite an impact. You might choose a photo of your brick and mortar store, staff photo, product photo, or a photo of customers using your product.  Caution: Facebook is keeping this area clear of any overt advertising.  So they do not allow you to include your contact info, a message to “Like” your page or any promotional message, such as “get 10% off”.
• The second image, a profile photo, is smaller and positioned on the lower left side of the cover image.  This is usually your logo.  The overall effect of these changes is dramatic.  Your Timeline will look more like a magazine cover or the home page of a website.

Out with the custom landing tab, in with the new apps format. Many Facebook business pages had a custom landing tab, or “welcome” tab.  If a visitor to the page hadn’t “liked” that page, they would automatically be taken to this tab, which usually had a compelling message urging them to “like” the page.  This default capability is now gone.  You can still have the tab, but it will be listed among the rest of your apps.  Another change is in the placement and look of the apps.  In the old format “Apps” were listed on the left side of the screen.  Now apps will be prominently displayed in boxes across the top right of your page underneath your page name.  It’s important to note that the apps appear after the boxes containing your photos.  The box for photos always appears first and cannot be moved.  The number of Likes box and any of your apps can be reordered. Make sure that the apps you really want your viewers to see are shown first or second  after your photos, because viewers will need to scroll to view additional apps.

New “About” section appears under the profile photo.  This is your company description, and links to additional pages where more information can be shared.

Anyone will be able to post on your business page.  Currently, only “Fans” can post.    That will no longer be the case.  And, it goes beyond that.  Say, for example, a “Friend” of a Fan sees one of your posts on the Fan’s page and comments on it.  Now, that comment will also appear on your Timeline.  Administrators will have the option to adjust settings so that posts by others would have to be reviewed by an administrator before they appear.  The impact of this change is that you may see many more messages appear than before, and from a much wider circle of viewers.  You’ll want to make sure you keep up to date with the conversations.

You will be able to “Pin” a Timeline post. “Pinning” a post will keep it at the top of your timeline until you remove it (maximum of 7 days), so that viewers will see it first.  This is a great way to keep special announcements, offers, etc. visible.  This functionality may have been added because businesses will no longer have “landing pages”, where they could direct new Fans to  “Like”  the page or view special offers.

Keep in mind that underlying these changes to the way Facebook looks and operates is Facebook’s strategy.  Facebook is evolving from a platform where the goal was to simply gain as many Fans as possible to one where engaging and building a loyal customer base is the key.  The bottom line is to continue to get to know the interests of your customers and direct meaningful content to them.  But isn’t that the case with any good marketing?

Stay tuned for our next post that will provide more information on Facebook changes! Here’s a link to a great pdf from Facebook, as well.  It provides more detail behind the timeline changes.

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

 By Pat Price

Whenever I visit the South I have to remember that if I want to order an iced tea at a restaurant  I have to specify unsweetened tea.  Otherwise I’ll get sweet tea.  It’s a good reminder that there are times and situations when we need to be crystal clear and specific.  This is especially true on the Internet, where we need to be VERY specific about what we want – and don’t want.

A prime example of this is pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns.  (If you’re unfamiliar with PPC, here’s a previous article describing how pay-per-click works.)  One of the most important aspects of running a PPC campaign is specifying the keywords (or phrases) that you believe users are most likely to use in their search.  This is what will ultimately trigger your ads.   Perhaps the second most important consideration is specifying negative keywords – the words or phrases that are outside the scope of your ad campaign but could potentially cause your ads to appear.
 
As an example, one of our clients had been running a PPC campaign for their online store. They asked us to take over because they weren’t getting the results they thought they should be getting.  Were we ever surprised when we looked at their account!  This client had been paying for keyword phrases that had NOTHING to do with the products they offered.  They sell stationery, themed papers, and invitations.   Yet, they were paying when someone searched and clicked on golf themed toilet paper!  How did that happen?

One of their broad keyword phrases was “themed paper”.  So their ad could potentially be seen by users searching for anything even loosely related to this phrase.  They DO sell golf themed paper, but NOT toilet paper.  It’s this lack of attention to the details that can cost you a ton of money with PPC.  A couple of clicks here and a couple of clicks there can add up fast.  By setting up a large set of negative keywords (such as toilet paper), we were able to bring their costs down significantly.

We’ve found this to be true for others who are managing their own PPC campaigns.  When asked how well their program is doing, a common response is “it costs too much for what we are getting.”  In many cases, this could mean one of a few things:

1. The company didn’t adequately research the proper keywords or phrases to include in their ad campaign(s). They may have taken a wild guess or assumed they already knew what should be used for keywords. 
2. Too many keywords or search terms were broadly defined.  As a result, their ads might appear when users enter a search term that is only loosely related to their keyword phrases but is outside the scope of their offer. 
3. No negative keywords have been specified.   Many people are not aware that PPC keeps track of search terms that users enter when ads are shown.  Through analysis of this data, a list of negative keywords can be compiled to eliminate unrelated words or phrases. 
4. And finally, in some instances, companies simply don’t give their program enough time.  It can take months of continuously defining and refining keyword phrases, finding your niches, and determining the optimal wording of ads that will ultimately lead to a successful campaign. 

So remember to specify negative keywords when running your PPC campaign!

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

By Pat Price

Perhaps you’ve noticed those funny looking bar codes on products or magazine ads.  They’re square, and look like a mini printed circuit board.  When they are scanned by a mobile device, users are directed to more content such as messages, websites, or videos.  Their purpose is to give people passing by additional information.  They can be used for providing background information, advertising, and even fundraising.

Although they’ve been used in the manufacturing industry for almost 2 decades, these little guys are quickly catching on as a great way for marketers to connect with prospects and customers. Called Quick Response, or QR codes, they have been extremely popular in Japan and are only now making their way into the American mainstream.

Here’s a classic example of how they work.  Suppose you run an art gallery.  Next to each piece of art, you have a label with the name of the work, the artist, and a QR code.  Anyone with a Smartphone (and a QR code-reading app) can read the code with their phone and immediately be connected to a website with background information on the artist, video of the artist creating the piece, or an interview with the artist explaining their inspiration for the piece.

With the growing rise in mobile smartphones, marketers for both small and large companies are taking notice of this opportunity to communicate with their audience.  (The Nielsen Company noted that 30% of cell phones are now smartphones, such as Blackberry, Droid, and iPhones.  And, Deloitte’s “Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions 2011″ is forecasting 46% of global PC and non-PC computing device expenditures will be for smartphones.  That’s slightly more than they predict will be spent on PCs and laptops combined.)  The use of QR codes for social scanning is expected to grow right along with this trend.  One of the biggest obstacles for this application is consumer awareness.  But, I suspect that by the end of this year that will have changed.

So how can you use QR codes? Here are a few ways they can be used:

• On your print advertising such as ads, direct mail, brochures, or informational packages.
• To offer a special promotion or scan the QR code for a discount
• On your business card.  Marketers have always wished that business cards could hold more information.  Now they can!  A QR code can link your card to your resume, your website’s services page, or LinkedIn profile.
• On Point-of-Sale product displays.  QR codes can be used with high-end items, such as cars (linking to a video of the car performing on a racetrack), jewelry (with close-up views of the gemstone) or home theaters (with product specs).  But I can also see them being used with everyday items, such as clothing (fabric, laundering, or product details), fast food (nutrition analysis) and makeup (how to apply).
• On promotional items. Speaking of clothing, you can put QR codes on mugs, hats, and t-shirts to promote your business.
• For Eco-friendly products.  Give consumers more information related to how your product is saving the planet.  Showcase your production methods, statistics, or video of the difference your product is making.
• With assembly instructions.  It would have been nice to have video instructions for how to assemble that grill we bought last summer, in addition the 20 pages of print instructions!  With a QR code, there’s no cost because you don’t need to produce a DVD!
• In your newsletter.  Include a QR code to launch to a page that gives you additional resources, articles or how-to’s.
• On for sale signs. Real estate agents can put a QR code on their “for sale” sign to launch a virtual tour
• For bonus material.  Offer special bonus materials in videos, games, memberships, CDs or DVDs
• For how-to’s. A QR code on scrapbooking paper, cutters, etc. would be ideal for sharing project ideas.
• For non-profits.  A QR code at an event or on a brochure or pledge card could offer more information about the cause’s good work.  Recipients could also scan the codes to either donate or volunteer.

I’m sure you can think of other ways to use them!  It seems like the possibilities are only limited by imagination.

By the way, be aware that like most technologies, there are a couple of “standards” out there.  QR codes were developed in Japan and are used extensively there.  But in the US, there is a move to adopt ScanLife EZcodes.  The ScanLife code reader app can be downloaded to your Smartphone by texting “SCAN” to 43588.

Get ready, now that you know what they are, I’ll bet you see these little guys popping up all over the place!

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

A Wish List for All Seasons 

By Pat Price

During the stressful holiday season, why not take a break and treat yourself!  Consider making a wish list for all seasons to make you or your business more productive in the new year.  Here are a few of our favorites:

• Toggl – www.toggl.com Do you find yourself losing track of the time spent on customers’ projects?  Toggl is designed for easy time-tracking. You can use the built-in timer on the website or on your desktop.  Toggl keeps track of time spent on specific customer projects and/or tasks with the click of a mouse. There is a free version and a version for as little as $5/month for solo freelancers.
• Flip video – www.theflip.com – These small video cameras offer an affordable and easy way to record and share videos.  There are many ways small businesses can use the Flip.  For example, you can record customer testimonials, how-to videos, demos, video messages, or snippets of educational seminars.  You can then upload them to Facebook, your website, YouTube, and other sharing platforms. Let others see how your product works and what your customers are saying!
• Form and survey creation – www.wufoo.com – While there are tools available for creating surveys, wufoo adds the ability to create forms as well.  The tool offers easy-to-use methods to create online forms and surveys such as contact forms, online order forms, mailing lists, marketing surveys, and more.  Their integration with PayPal, Google Checkout and authorize.net makes it easy to receive payment for online event registration, donations or simple online orders.  Try them out at their free level, which allows you to build three forms. After that, the price is $15 per month (and up) for more capabilities and capacity.
• Social Media tracking –Social Media really gained traction in 2010.   Many small businesses want to monitor their social media activities, but don’t have the time or the knowledge to view and manage performance metrics on these platforms. TwentyFeet -  https://www.twentyfeet.com/ – provides an easy-to-use service to aggregate your Social Media data and provide “exceptions” reporting. In addition to a dashboard on their site, they send an email notifying you when something occurs above or below the norm for your profiles.  It “learns”, for example, how many followers you attract on average, and notifies you when you have an above or below normal spike in activity. They currently support Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and bit.ly, with more platforms to come. Your first month of use is free.  They offer one Twitter account and one personal Facebook account for free, with additional account support available for as low as $2.49/month.
• Use your phone without removing your gloves. Given the cold winter weather, you might find this little innovation interesting.  A company called Glovetips – www.glovetips.com – makes your gloves touch-screen compatible.  Who knew?!  You can modify your gloves with a kit that allows you to interact with touch screen devices such as iPhones, iPads, Android phones and capacitive touch screen devices. They are precise enough that you can even send emails and text without removing your gloves.
• Keep devices charged with a portable universal charger- If you’re on the road, here’s a nifty way to keep your electronics charged and ready to go.  Although there are a variety of charging platforms available, a relatively inexpensive version is offered by Sharper Image called the Portable Charging Valet.  Instead of packing all of your chargers for phones, PDA, iPods, Bluetooth headsets etc, this fold-up charging pad lets you charge up to 3 devices simultaneously from one plug.
• Social Media Management – Are you overwhelmed with keeping up with your Social Media efforts, or do you want to be involved but just don’t know where to start?  You’re not alone, based on what I’ve been hearing lately! If you’d like to give yourself the gift of time, give us a call.  We can help you sort through what you need, how to be more effective or even manage your accounts for you.  Call us at 630.717.8332 to see how we can help.  We’d love to hear from you!

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.thepricegroup.biz or www.patpricespeaks.com.

 By Pat Price

I absolutely love turning a new website over to a client.  After all of the planning, strategizing, copywriting, and design, it all comes together in a visually appealing and compelling representation of their brand.  But even though we take great strides to create the content with strategic keyword phrases so a website is more likely to be listed high in search engine rankings, there are other critical factors for ensuring a site is consistently ranked high. 

One factor that will determine whether your site is listed on page 1 or page 12,435 is inbound link popularity.  An inbound link is a connection from another web page to yours.  For example, if your website is listed on a Chamber of Commerce website, odds are it includes a live link back to your company’s site.  Any time a link to your website is posted anywhere on the Internet, and people are able to click and jump to your website, you have an inbound link.

So, in order to be ranked high by the search engines you’ll need to work to increase the number of inbound links to your site.   But here’s a word of caution.   You don’t just want any links coming back into your site.  You want links that are relevant to your business, your product or service mix, etc.  You need links that are from trusted domains, authorities in your industry, and popular web sites.  Avoid schemes promising thousands of links.  It’s quality that counts.

It is estimated that link popularity carries as much as 66% of the weighting of the Google search algorithm. So how do you build inbound links?

• Submit your website to free, high trust search engines and directories such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, yellow pages, Merchant Circle, and industry-specific directories.  How do you find these directories?  Here are two great ways that we use.  Look at the inbound links for the dominant company in your industry.  Odds are they are listed in a multitude of online directories.  So why reinvent the wheel?  You can also do a search for directories associated with your particular industry. 
• Get listed with any associations in which you are a member (for example your Chamber of Commerce, industry associations or local affiliations).
• People love saving money, right?  Think about a coupon or “freebie” that you could offer to potential customers and then list your business on as many free coupon sites as you can find.
• Offer to share links with all of your business partners and customers.
• You may already have a newsletter that you send out to customers.  Repurpose your content by creating an article that can be submitted to article directories such as ezinearticles, bestmanagementarticles, isnare, or goarticles.
• Post any existing content on appropriate social media content sites such as slide presentation on slideshare.net and videos on youtube.
• Create a press release and share it on local and industry news sites.
• Publish existing content or create fresh new content that you can offer as a free download such as white papers, studies, lists, tips, etc.
• Leverage social media by commenting on articles and engaging in discussion groups. When appropriate, create accounts on social media platforms such as Twitter and facebook and post comments and content consistently.  Include links in your posts back to your website.
• Write reviews for products and services on directories or stores such as Yelp!, Tripadvisor, and Amazon.
• If time and resources allow, launch a blog for your business and post articles.  Invite others to write articles for publication on your blog as guest contributors.
• If you don’t have a blog offer to be a guest writer for another blog that is relevant and important in your industry.  In the bio box at the end of the article include a link back to your site.

Lastly, once you have invested time in creating inbound links, be sure to periodically evaluate and measure the success of your efforts.  Most web hosting companies provide statistics, or use free tools such as Google Analytics or Yahoo’s Site Explorer to see the source and number of inbound links to your site.

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.patpricespeaks.com.

 By Pat Price

Vacations and long weekends result in summer months being slower than average for many businesses.  If that’s true in your business, there’s no better time to use this lull to revisit your marketing and business plans.  I’ve compiled a list of some of the best FREE online resources available to small businesses.  Whether you are considering starting a small business or have already been in business for awhile, these resources provide a wealth of information to help grow your business.  So, add one or more of these to your summer reading list!

General Small Business Management:
1. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides great free resources, tools and online courses for small businesses on a wide range of topics.  Be sure to visit their Local Resources page where you can find Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Centers and other valuable resources located near you.

2. The website for Inc. magazine, has insightful advice, tools, and services for business owners. They have several free tools geared specifically to the small business owner.  You can find a sample of those tools here: http://www.inc.com/tools/ .  Topics include running a business, sales and marketing, leadership and management, financials, and more.

3. Entrepreneur magazine offers 12 Free Tools for Online Businesses  It links to other web sites and service providers who offer free services in areas such as market research, keyword research, web design and email campaigns.

4. The Small Business CEO blog, is a concise resource for small businesses.  They have compiled a list of useful web sites for the small business – http://www.smbceo.com/free-small-business-tools/ which includes a list of free tools, forms, templates, e-books and software that will help you manage your business.

Website Marketing:
5. Having some knowledge of website design and marketing can go a long way in helping you better understand the opportunities and obstacles for marketing your business online.  This Master Web Site Marketing Checklist  from the searchengine.com blog is a pretty decent checklist that covers over 400 specific items within 23 topics on web marketing.  Topics include website development and design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and e-commerce considerations. It will tell you what you need to know, but not how to implement it.  There are books for that!

Market Research
6. Do you want to know whether the region you are serving or plan to serve is a good candidate for your products and services?   City-Data.com  has collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create complete profiles of all U.S. cities.  Here you will find a wealth of information about demographics, geographic data, population growth, employment, housing statistics, and more.  The best part is that the data are current through 2008.  With other sources, the data are only as current as the last US Census which was completed and compiled in 2000.

Customer surveys:
7. Zoomerang and Surveymonkey let you create free customized customer surveys and view the results.  This provides an opportunity to see how your products and services are perceived by consumers and where gaps exist so you can add or change your offerings if necessary.
Social Media:
8. These two blogs offer the latest and greatest social media information.  If you are engaged in social media I would encourage you to follow these two favorites: Mashable and Social Media Examiner.

9. If you missed getting your copy of The Price Group’s Social Media Guide for Small Business now is your chance.  It’s particularly valuable if you are just getting started.
 
On a final note, I regularly feature articles and tools that my team and I find on the Web in my Twitter and Facebook streams.  Be sure to click on those two links under “Find Pat On” to the right to get plugged in to receiving that information.  And, if you’re headed to the beach this summer, don’t forget to take a little of the above “light reading” with you!

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.patpricespeaks.com.

By Pat Price

The next time you type a word or phrase into Google (or your favorite search engine) take note of the results that appear at the top of your screen. Typically you will see a shaded box with several listings for web sites. These listings may appear vertically on the right, as well. Companies pay for this prime real estate using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns.

Why would they do this? With PPC advertising they can grab the attention of prospects who are searching for exactly what they offer. Couple that with the fact that most people will click-through on search results on the first page. Although it is true that fewer people click-through on PPC listings than on the organic search results just below them, they still have a solid click-through rate. Consider this. Would you rather be listed on page 5,321 or have a respectable click-through rate on page 1?

Pay-per-click advertising is a great way to get more traffic to your web site and makes sense to use in these situations:

• When you launch a new website or have low search engine rankings. Good organic (natural) search engine rankings take time to build. If you can’t afford to wait to get your rankings up, complement your search engine optimization efforts with PPC.
• If you are offering seasonal items or time-sensitive promotions that you want people to purchase now, PCC is a good option. That extra push during prime sales season offers an additional, focused, marketing opportunity.
• If you are selling a product or service in a highly-competitive online market, it’s to your advantage to get buyers to your site and purchasing immediately. If you are competing against other online stores that are using PPC, it becomes a competitive necessity.
• If you have a new campaign or new product, PPC is a great way to generate business quickly.

How PPC works
Companies pay to advertise, but are only charged a fee if someone actually clicks on their ad and connects to their web site. That’s why it is called pay-per-click. Companies “bid” on specific keywords or phrases that best describe their product or service. The cost of those keywords can vary dramatically. The more competition there is for a keyword, the more expensive it is. It is not unusual for PPC costs to range from $.40/click to $60/click. The good news is that you can set a limit as to how much you are willing to spend per day.
Here are some things to consider when setting up your PPC advertising.

• Set a sensible budget
• Define up-front quantifiable goals and a strategy for PPC
• Research optimal keywords and key phrases – (Fortunately there are free tools available to help you determine the best keywords to use for your specific product or services.)
• Bid strategically
• Write compelling ads so that users will click on them. Ads have a limited character count, so every word matters. Provide an incentive to click, such as the mention of a discount or special offer. You should also include a call to action (Buy now! or Act Now!), and create a sense of urgency to encourage them to click immediately (Free shipping today!)
• Provide an accurate, specific landing page on your website. This is where users are linked when they click on your ad. Make sure this page is highly related and relevant to your ad.
• Monitor and manage your campaigns

What to measure
After you have launched your campaign, the key to your success is diligent and effective monitoring. Pay-per-click platforms provide a wealth of information and reports that analyze the effectiveness of your campaign. Take the time to review and analyze this free information!

• Pay attention to how specific ads and keywords are performing and make changes accordingly. You may be making adjustments frequently.
• A key measurement, Click-Through Rate (CTR), measures how many times your ad is clicked relative to the number of times it is shown. If the ad is not compelling, the CTR is low.
• Measure your conversions. Every time a user comes to your site and takes your desired action, this is known as a conversion. You might want them to purchase a product, complete a sales inquiry form, download a white paper, or submit an email address, for example. Conversions are used as a way to gauge the success of your campaign.
• Cost per conversion is another key metric. If you’re doing well with the above two metrics, then you’re probably keeping the cost of acquiring this business low. You need to continuously monitor and adjust your keywords and phrases, check for compelling ad copy, and bid right. It’s part science and part art!

Pay-per-click can play an important role in your online marketing strategy. As with any other marketing or advertizing initiative, PPC is just one piece of your overall marketing plan. It is an effective means to drive more traffic to your web site, with immediate results.

Pat Price has worked with numerous clients to generate more business and boost their marketing effectiveness. She is a professional speaker and president of The Price Group, Inc, a full-service marketing firm serving small to mid-sized organizations. To receive Pat’s free Marketing Tips! newsletter, go to www.PatPriceSpeaks.com/resources.php . She can be reached at 630.717.8332 or through her website at www.patpricespeaks.com.