March 21, 2012 at 5:12 pm
By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team
We all have had the unpleasant experience of sending and receiving mixed messages and the resulting conflicts that occur. These divergent messages are not only confusing but lead to misunderstandings. The same holds true in marketing, which is based on human reactions and interactions.
Continue reading “The Importance of a Consistent Brand Message in Cross Platform Promotion” »
By Janette Speyer and Alison Brown, Web Success Team
It’s really quite amazing how much technology is revolutionizing the world. Every day people are coming up with ingenious ideas that are not only beneficial to society as a whole, but transform the way humans interact and connect with one another. This is especially true in the business world where mobile applications are becoming more intuitive, allowing you to network creating more social engagement in ways that weren’t possible even just a couple years ago. Smart phone applications Evernote and CardMunch are reinventing the ways you can connect with clients and professionals by allowing you to connect digitally, all through just a few taps on your phone.
Continue reading “Geeking Out on New Mobile Apps for Business” »
By Bob Speyer and Alison Brown, Web Success Team
Social networks have become an important part of the Internet and online marketing landscape in the last decade. How do social networks impact email marketing, and is email marketing still relevant in a world full of social networks? Does it make sense for you to allocate all your marketing resources to social network marketing? No! Email is still a very important part of any complete web marketing strategy. Of course, in the socially-networked world, you’ll need to combine your email marketing strategy and your social networking strategy to meet different goals.
Continue reading “Is Email Marketing Relevant in the Age of Social Networking?” »
By Janette Speyer and Alison Brown
The new Facebook timeline is now available for business pages and it is turning the business world upside down. Facebook is now a major player in the online marketing world and the new clean design offers companies the opportunity to create a new branded look for their pages. There are some new features such as the cover photo that is customizable and a lot more engaging. But not all will be pleased to embrace these new changes.
Continue reading ““Like” or “Unlike” the New Facebook Timeline for Business” »
February 28, 2012 at 3:56 pm
By Janette Speyer and Alison Brown, Web Success Team
So long are the days of a Facebook that is free of advertisements. As Facebook gears up for becoming a public company, advertisement opportunities will only become more abundant. Since social media marketing is clearly becoming the frontrunner for being the most effective tool for reaching targeted audiences online, Facebook has not shied away from incorporating more engaging marketing opportunities. Facebook only recently entered the online marketing realm when it started offering third-party sponsored advertisements several years ago. Then just a couple weeks ago, transitioned towards including advertisements on more pages, such as when you click on Facebook pictures, a page pops out with additional advertisements in the bottom right corner. But now even more recently, Facebook has started to roll out an additional feature that takes consumer engagement to an entirely new level, and it’s called the “Facebook Offer”.
Continue reading “Facebook Offers: Ushering in a New Era of Facebook Marketing?” »
February 24, 2012 at 1:44 pm
By Janette Speyer and Alison Brown, Web Success Team
Online marketing can help a variety of companies target the right audience and increase your customer base. This is especially true for the highly competitive fitness industry. When choosing a vitamin brand or a gym, most people like to look at reviews online or go with a recommendation from a friend. Not many people just walk up to a gym and sign up without knowing much about it. This is where social media and online marketing can really affect the success of a business.
New Social Health Sites
One new social media site, cafewell.com is primarily dedicated to health and fitness. Their tag line is “the social network to get well and stay well.” It offers a variety of services from allowing people to get health advice, find out information about medications or talk to others about diseases and health concerns. It’s a great tool for people who want to learn more about specific health related issues and don’t have the means to receive support elsewhere. One study found that social media health sites have also helped people keep their new years resolutions at involve a healthy workout regimen. They can get support and encouragement from online communities so that they feel more motivated to reach their goals.
Workout Promotions
In some instances, the traditional late-night infomercial can still get you a fair amount of business for your fitness company, however, your target audience is probably not going to be awake watching television at one o’clock in the morning on a Wednesday night. A more sustainable approach will also incorporate online marketing and social engagement. The more engaged you can get your current clients online to write testimonials or reviews, the better your chances for success. People can then see that your product has worked and provided people with visible results.
Reviews Sell!
If you are in the fitness and health world and your company is not on Yelp, you should make a page now! Online reviews speak volumes for people looking to join a new gym or try a new brand of vitamins. With so many options to choose from, people want to hear from other people first hand about their experience. If your company has an average 4.5 star review on Yelp, people are automatically going to pick your gym over a 3 star one, perhaps even without reading any of the reviews. Joining a gym can be a pretty hefty monetary commitment, and people want to know if the machines work well, if it’s really crowded and if it’s kept clean. You can only find out these things from friends, or through online reviews.
Visual Marketing through Social Media
The website Pinterest has been recently making the news everywhere. There is a great opportunity here for brand promotion, especially in regards to health and fitness. People can “pin,” or share various workout routines, and sometimes they go viral. Make a company Pinterest page and start sharing workout tips, diet advice or healthy meal options and people will start sharing and promoting your brand for you if you post interesting and creative material. Think of it as the visual version of Twitter, geared towards food, health and creativity. It’s a great website that has been really taking off in recent months, so it’s worth taking the time to look at.
Online Marketing Has a Great ROI
Online marketing definitely works well for companies who want to increase their visibility online, increase their client base, while doing so at a relatively low cost. Creating promotions for television or print advertisements can get really costly, and with so many people using the Internet for hours a day, it makes sense that this is the best medium for promoting your brand. Facebook is a great platform to promote your business and develop a community of fans or “likes”. It’s well worth the nominal investment to have a social media marketer develop a promotional page and help draw new customers to the page. If people really love your product or your service, you may be surprised at how many people you can get involved online with even just a little bit of online promotion. Best of all, they will tell their friends, adding a viral component to your promotion.
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February 16, 2012 at 6:48 pm
By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team
Social Media Marketing is a human science. Because it is relationship driven, it is the perfect environment for change. However, one constant in social media is using a systematic methodology to increase your effectiveness.
The Web Success Team utilizes a proven formula for engagement that involves what we call the Five Phases of Social Media Marketing.
Continue reading “The Five Phases of Social Media Marketing” »
January 31, 2012 at 7:11 pm
By Janette Speyer and Alison Brown – Web Success Team
I once had a friend tell me that he only recently started to follow football so that he would have more interests in common with his customers. People choose to follow or not follow football for various personal reasons, however the Super Bowl is a whole different story. It is the most watched sporting event in America and a prolific gold mine for the advertising world.
Continue reading “Super “Social Media” Bowl” »
January 26, 2012 at 6:14 pm
By Janette Speyer, Web Success Team
Editor’s note: This article was published in 2009 on a trip to South East Asia, were we traveled and ran the Web Success Team while on the go. This is still relevant information. Wi-Fi and Internet cafes are everywhere and with the advent of tablets and smartphones we are able to go anywhere without interruption. Our Web Success team staff writer is presently in Australia and contributing from there.
Traveling and running a business sounds like an oxymoron. Well, it can be done. Thanks to Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Skype and Wi-Fi. Today with all the virtual offices around you never know if you are talking to someone in the UK, America or in India.
Bob Speyer ate fried tarantulas, khamer style. Photo by asiafinest.com
Continue reading “Running Your Online Business While Traveling to Another Country” »
January 24, 2012 at 5:59 pm
By Janette Speyer and Alison Brown
Building online trust is critical for an online business. Since your customers don’t often get to meet you face-to-face, in order to sell your products and services you have to build trust and confidence through your online voice instead.
Continue reading “How to Build Online Trust through Reviews from Your Social Media Community” »
