Mobile Marketing Magazine posted a good article on how business's in all sectors can utilize mobile text messaging marketing. Not only for promotion of your services to your client but check out the suggestions for inter office communication as well as service communications to customers.

Text messaging users are growing up fast - no longer is this platform for just the younger Gen Y crowd, they might be pulling the older demographic into using text messaging but the newly enlightened Gen X and boomers are definently staying around.

From the Mobile Marketing Magazine:

Business-to-business (B2B) blogging is be a great way to forge relationships, talk with customers and prospects, demonstrate thought leadership, and dramatically increase visibility in natural search results for targeted search terms. Done right, it ultimately drives substantial traffic when others in the media and blogosphere link to compelling or noteworthy content. Yet the Fortune 500, many of which are B2B companies, has been slow to embrace blogging.

Last year, Forrester Research reported that only 29 of the Fortune 500 companies were blogging. While the number of large companies blogging is still relatively small, that number more than doubled in 2008.

read more here as well as check out our mobile text message services

It's about time! Seeing how just about every individual and forward thinking small business has jumped on the blog band wagon, it's encouraging to see big business recognize this marketing medium.

Creating and using a blog with your business can turn some great results. Here are the most talked about 3;

- Establish yourself and company as a leader in your industry
- Drive traffic to your website
- Get noticed by the search engines. Blogs are a great source of keyword rich content that search engines love, they should definitely be a staple of your internet marketing strategy.

One point that gets missed often is that Blogs can be a great way to promote new services and gain valuable consumer market research. Thinking about implemented a new service or change in your business?... Blog about it and make sure you enable comments from your readers - instant focus group!


From Search Engine Land.
"Business-to-business (B2B) blogging is be a great way to forge relationships, talk with customers and prospects, demonstrate thought leadership, and dramatically increase visibility in natural search results for targeted search terms. Done right, it ultimately drives substantial traffic when others in the media and blogosphere link to compelling or noteworthy content. Yet the Fortune 500, many of which are B2B companies, has been slow to embrace blogging."

Last year, Forrester Research reported that only 29 of the Fortune 500 companies were blogging. While the number of large companies blogging is still relatively small, that number more than doubled in 2008.

Check out the full article over at Search Engine Land

Through working with a current client's Pay Per Click campaign, it has come to my attention that many PPC advertisers may be experiencing the same hardship of truly targeting the correct audience, based on the location tool in Google Adwords. 

Have you ever wondered how Google knows where searchers are residing or where they are when traveling?  Do they really know the difference if I reside in Alexandria, VA and when I travel to Maine and access free Wi-fi?  For instance, if an entire Internet marketing strategy is based on location, and for one reason or another, my home computer states I am somewhere else, advertisers could be missing the full potential of their campaigns right?

Google bases their geo-targeting information on IP address.  According to Google as mentioned here, "An IP address is a unique number assigned to each computer connected to the Internet (such as 10.32.20.135). The IP address is automatically assigned by a user's Internet Service Provider." 

Sounds simple right?  However, an IP address can sometimes be deceiving.  With major Internet providers (Comcast, Verizon, att, etc) IP addresses may not be static and therefore always changing every time you get online.  With this in mind, although I may be located in Sacramento, CA my IP address may state I am in Marysville, CA, approximately 45 minutes away from where I physically stand. 

With this in mind, it is best to always include a few more miles outside of a targeted region when setting up a Google Adwords campaign.  It is always best practice to reach too many people than limit your business and not reach enough.

Why spend Online instead of Traditional?

When deciding on where to spend your hard earned Internet Advertising or Digital Media Marketing budget its important to realize these differentiating factors between Online and Traditional such as Print, TV and Radio. Below are four examples. Granted when it comes to online vs. tradition I could write for weeks... so below are just four important differences.

1. Online provides spend accountability through detailed Analytics. Through programs such as Google Analytics we have the ability to track all online mediums and measure their performance. Deep metrics applied individually to online campaigns can literally track online programs down to each “click” then cross reference with metrics such as; where did that click go on the website, how long did they visit and did they connect with a page goal?

2. Looking at Traditional Media that reports by impressions, question how much per CPM (cost per thousand) does a traditional campaign cost? Through online mediums a CPM display (e.g. banner) campaign can start out at $.25 CPM.

3. Geo Targeting options available. 99% of online campaigns can be Geo Targeted down to a city level. This enables you to spend your dollar where it matters most, in precisely targeted areas that match your demographic or in area’s of desired growth. Most Digital Media especially Pay Per Click, Banners and Inline Text can be targeted down to a precise location. 

4. One area of Online Advertising that is hard for Traditional Advertising to match is the ability to change and fine tune campaigns mid flight. Online Advertising has the ability to be 100% dynamic based on how the different campaigns are performing. For example if Campaign A is outperforming Campaign B - Online allows for Campaign B to be replaced or for a budget reallocation to further promote Campaign A.

Another baseball World Series is in the books.  This year’s Fall Classic was won last week by the Philadelphia Phillies over the Tampa Bay Rays.  As I watched the Phillies celebrate at Citizens Bank Park, it made me think of search engine optimization.  I know, strange time to think of this medium.  What really hit me as the correlation between the Phillies and SEO is time.

The Phillies didn’t win the World Series coming out of spring training in April.  It took them a regular season of 162 games, a playoff series against the Brewers, a National League Championship series against the Dodgers, and a five-game World Series against the Rays to hoist the trophy.  All said, it took the Phillies roughly seven months to reach their goal.

With a search engine optimization campaign set up on your site, you will not be on the first page or even the fifth page of Google search right out of the gate. It takes time for your site to be indexed with the search engines and to really make a dent in this area.  But, if you remain patient, hire a good search engine optimization agency and weather the ups and downs of search, your site can come out on top in the search battle.  It may be a long season, but it will be all worth it once you are able to see your site on the first page of Google's search results.  Just look at what the Phillies did after just seventh months.  Gotta love it! 

TV Week has posted some fresh stats on the on-line video sites... take a look below but keep in mind these two quick statements about why you should be taking a serious look at Digital Video as part of your digital media marketing.
1) It's becoming the norm, and fast! Especially in the e-com world, customers are expecting to see video product demonstrations as well as full walk through's when they hit your website. On the corporate/service side, digital video is a great way to reinforce who you are and what you do.

2) YouTube at 82 million unique viewer's just in the month of September... need i say more? That same video that makes for great content on your website can be placed and optimized on not just YouTube but dozens of other video library sites. Through video optimization your clip can be triggered to come up when visitors on these sites search for your keywords. Video optimization is often overlooked as a crucial Internet Marketing component.


"YouTube’s audience jumped in September to nearly 82 million unique viewers watching more than 5.3 billion streams, according to the latest figures from Nielsen Online.

That’s a huge boost from August, when the site’s 77 million unique visitors checked out more than 4.7 billion streams. Seasonal fluctuations are likely the case for the big jump; many Internet sites get a boost when students return to school and employees return from August vacations.

Other video sites felt the love too. Yahoo drew nearly 30 million unique visitors in September watching 264 million streams, up from about 20 million uniques viewing 169 million streams. Fox Interactive Media, led by MySpace, saw a burst in unique viewers, but they watched fewer videos: 19 million unique visitors checked out 242 million streams in September, compared with 16 million uniques viewing 278 million streams in August."

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"  To me that saying means different things to different people and in the case of Holiday Inn Express, it means stepping up their advertising and marketing efforts!  They recently launched a new series of commercials that ask people to "Stay Smart."  It's one of the best campaigns I've seen and I'm impressed to the point of laughter on how creative and straight up funny they are.

"While other hotel brands are pulling back, it presents an advantage to us and affords us the opportunity to talk to our target in a less cluttered environment," said Steve Ekdahl, director of brand marketing for Holiday Inn Express.

"We'd all like to be having better numbers and better performance right now," says Ekdahl, based in Atlanta. "But our brand has always been all about smart value, and so our messaging resonates even more in difficult times. We want to make sure we're out there in the media."

From an article I read on Brandweek from Mike Bierne. "The ads, created by Fallon, Minneapolis, evolve the brand's 10-year-old campaign that carried a well-known punch line: "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." One spot, which initially ran in theaters, shows a businessman being confronted by a rapper who pokes fun at his square attire. The businessman jumps into a freestyle rap battle and concludes with, "I bet you're still wondering why my verse is so tight? I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

In a second spot, a newborn baby reaches for surgical scissors and snips her own umbilical cord in the delivery room. The parents explain to the astonished doctors that they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express "about nine months ago." A third spot shows an autograph seeker fainting in front of baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. A doctor is on the scene ready to assist, but a security guard insists on asking the crowd, "Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?"

Measured media spending by the InterContinental Hotels Group, which Holiday Inn Express is a brand of, already has reached $21 million through July of this year (not including online spending), compared with $29 million for 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

I first saw the commercial with the rapper on Saturday Night Live last weekend and then went on you tube to watch it about 5 more times.  I love it!  It's had over a million views on YouTube in a very short time so obviously their internet marketing is working for them and their video optimization is reinforcing their brand as well. 

At Bauer360, I see the advantages that companies like holiday inn express can capitalize on everyday by being aggressive with their advertising spend when others simply get going.  Stay smart and you'll be a step ahead of your competition!

So, I was going to go with "Ross's Favorite Things," but I hear Oprah has already taken that title for one of her shows.  Oh well, she is "The Queen of All Media."

With no further ado, my Cool Gadget of the month is Amazon's Kindle.  This has got to be the coolest thing to come around since sliced bread.  This mobile reader holds over 200 books and allows you to read today's newspapers, blogs as well as purchase books right from the system.

It is about the size of a book, but thinner, and has a screen that allows you to read easily, no matter the type of lighting you are in.

I am a big reader, so when I first saw this gadget, I couldn't wait to get one.  I am actually still waiting to get one though, as the $359 price tag is a little high for me right now.  But, it has definitely made my Christmas list.  On an environmental note, with books all within a compact machine, there is no need to cut any trees down to fill those bookshelves.

Obviously, Barnes and Noble is still going to be the place to go for your favorite novel, but Kindle will definitely give them a run for their money.

A cell phone is something most, if not all, of the population do not leave home, school or get in a car without.  This device, text compatible / 2.0 pixel camera included / mp3 player etc is something that is guaranteed to be in the hands of someone 14-94 years old. 

As shown on the New Media Institute website not only do text messaging and cell phone features appeal to what they consider the The Cellular Generation but their parents, referred to as the Adult Adopters are also interested in the same features.  Although the response is not as high and drastic as that of the Cellular Generation, the mobile text message marketing industry has a lot going for it.  Not everyone is into watching television or surfing the net even.  However, whatever the reason or who ever the person, (a father giving his 16 year old new driver a cell in case of emergency or a soccer mom needing to make arrangements for carpooling to the next tournament) all demographics can relate to the text message and mobile industry in one way or another.  This newly increasing opportunity for marketing is starting to affect the way promotions, coupons and advertising is delivered in the United States. Where is the next promotion for 50% off during the holidays?  Check your text messages! 

It's already that time again to consider holiday shopping plans, believe it or not.  This means it is a great time to increase internet marketing budgets and revisit your internet marketing strategy. 

As indicated on emarketer.com a larger shift than ever will occur,thereby pushing holiday shoppers to purchase items for their loved ones online.  I can absolutely relate to this whereas I am the first to compare prices on ebay.com and amazon.com before making any hasty purchasing decisions on items large or small.  This means the opportunity for pay per click advertising will continue to increase.  Having your ad or seasonal promotion appear at the exact moment that a researcher is seeking your product...what better way to get your offerings out there?

 The opportunity for social media advertising will also increase due to the research that consumers will invest prior to making purchases.  Blogging options should definitely be added to product and service pages whereas the best recommendation for services is to come from the voice of previous purchasers. 

Hello World!

This is the week of October 27th. The week of Boo!

I know, I know..............you missed me!

I get thousands of emails weekly asking me to post my latest quote of the week more often, however if I did that then it would not be a "post of the week"!  It would be a post of the day or........whatever.

Here ya go......

Success or failure in business is caused more by the mental attitude even than by mental capacities - Walter Scott.

With this attitude quote, lets chat about "chatting" - or "blogging". This is a wonderful forum to post your "positive" comments about your business and expertise.......and well of course.....grow your Internet marketing too!

Everybody has a blog, right? No matter the topic or discussion someone has got it covered. From online diaries in the mid nineties to becoming one of the foundations of the Internet, blogging along with video and social bookmarking is changing not only how we get our information but also the manner in which online business is conducted.

This is why it would be a good idea for you incorporate blogging into your overall Internet marketing plan. What blogging can do is to build your target markets and bring you a steady flow of Internet traffic and customers. However, keep in mind that blogging should be a way to communicate your expertise, thoughts and concerns on the subject matter you are comfortable with.

Personally I like short and sweet blogs, you know, versus those tall and ugly ones!
Here is a good site to learn more!

Blogs are free and easy to run. Just go to any Blogger, signup and start posting. Keep in mind not all blogging set up sites are created equal, so do some research!Try to start out posting on a daily basis or at least a three to four times a week. You will soon find out that blogging will add a new demension to your overall Internet marketing strategy.

Have a great rest of the week!

Darien

Here at Bauer360 we find TubeMogul critical not only for our clients video optimization but for own promotional video clips.

Video optimization about getting your content not just seen based on tags and keywords but making it easier for the viewer to share and get your content to go viral. A great point is made about not forgetting to get the URL within the description.

Check out the video here

A post over at emarketer got my attention the other day. Like my recent post is digital marketing recession proof? here is 7 reasons from JackMyers Media Business Report. The report contains some new points on why search engine optimization, pay per click and banner placement will still be viable options in a poor economy.

"Marketers should rightly ask, “What is behind the bullish projections for online ad spending, especially when most traditional media are taking the financial equivalent of body blows?” The seven reasons are as follows:

1. The Internet is inherently more measurable and accountable than are traditional channels.
2. The Internet allows for better, more-granular targeting than do other forms of media. That reduces media waste and can save marketing dollars.
3. The Internet is interactive, thereby allowing for a higher degree of engagement with consumer and business prospects and customers.
4. Particularly among younger consumers, the Internet is accounting for a larger and larger share of total media time; numerous studies demonstrate that teens, millennials and other younger cohorts are spending more time online per week than they are watching television.
5. The Internet plays into the consumer-in-control movement and therefore provides new opportunities for marketers to be a part of their conversations about interests, attitudes, shopping plans and even brands.
6. New Web 2.0 phenomena such as blogs, social networks and Twitter provide marketers with the potential to gain rich insights into consumer behavior and attitudes (the Internet is like a perpetual focus group on steroids).
7. The Internet, unlike any other medium or channel, allows marketers to reach prospects throughout the entire consumer buying cycle, from initial awareness through pre-information-gathering to sales and post-sale feedback and support."

I like the idea of #6, using social networking as ongoing focus group. All 7 are good take aways on why to spend smarter using digital media marketing as a staple and cut the non-trackable waste out of your budget.

In early days of building a website it was a chore. It was the goal of most companies to just have one. Most sites couldn't be found unless you typed in their domain. Times have changed and most companies still want a "website" but there are so many off the shelf tools that a typical website cost has dropped by 75%. If you find a company that still builds complete custom websites with out using some off the shelf tools, watch out!

Bauer360 as well as other Consultants believe that you should take the savings and apply it to what Bauer360 calls an E-plan. It is a process driven approach at a web strategy, not a just the website. In the steps to a successful web strategy, the website is #14 on the list.

I strongly suggest that, not unlike a business plan for your business, you need to back up, realize traditional is losing ground to the Internet and take what you know isn't working and take the savings on your website and spend the money planning and marketing the new front door to your business. 

Let the buyer beware, a graphic design company can build you a beautiful site and an IT coder can make it work, but it takes a complete plan to make it work. I would suggest reading this case study titled Rack N Road on the Bauer360 site. It explains a little about the falling of traditional and how you can drive down your acquisition cost per customer.

In short, we are in tough times, we are looking under every rock, and we all understand that if you fail to plan your plan will fail. Save the money on the website, save the money on the Yellow pages and other dying traditional mediums and put it toward a complete web solution and get caught up or pass your competition. 80% of your customers are on the internet everyday, are they finding you or your competition?

Write me back on your thoughts at greg@bauerworld.com

Greg Bauer
President CEO
Bauer360
Internet Marketing Consultant

As you can probably tell by past posts, I am a big fan of Facebook.  It is quite addicting to tell you the truth.  And, from the latest applications you can find on the social networking platform, you can even order your dinner through Facebook.

With a simple click of the button, you can add the Pizza Hut application to your Facebook page and whenever you feel the itch for a little pepperoni, just hop on the application and place your order.  What a great Internet marketing strategy! 

For those of you wanting a little taste of what it looks like, here is a sample page of the Pizza Hut application:





I'm off to add this application to my Facebook page! 

 As the US economy crumbles and strikes doubt and uncertainty from coast to coast, everyone is taking a hard look at their industry and what pays the bills. Most are  asking the question; How will my company survive a pending recession and downturn economic times?

If your employed within or use digital media marketing to brand your business, this article from MS&L Worldwide shows just how and why Internet Marketing will stay strong for agencies as well as prove to be a successful advertising medium for business's looking to combat a slow economy.

Out of the dozens of articles that talk about this subject this one is one I appreciate the most due to their research and statistics.

Here is the core of the article describing how company's are planning on managing their Internet Marketing dollars during hard economic times.

"When asked, by discipline, if they expected spending to increase, decrease, or remain the same in the coming year, 75% of marketers say they expect spending for digital programs to increase, 21% say budgets will remain the same, and only 4% expect digital spending to decrease.  But marketers appear less bullish about other major marketing disciplines: far fewer (33%) expect advertising budgets to increase, while 48% say they will remain the same, and 20% expect a decrease.  Public relations spending may be slightly more stable, with 37% anticipating spending more, a majority (52%) expecting to spend the same, and just 11% expecting a decrease.

Marketers also overwhelmingly agree that they would be “most likely” to cut from many other disciplines before turning to digital if forced to scale back budgets as a result of poor economic conditions.  Advertising is cited as the most likely to be cut (35%), followed by point-of-sale marketing (29%), public relations (16%) and direct marketing (16%). Digital, on the other hand, is at the bottom of the list, with only 4% of respondents indicating they would be most likely to cut from this area."

With a hurting economy and the usual uncertainty in an election year, marketers will be ever more diligent in making sure their advertising dollar is going towards a medium that is 100% proven and accountable... Internet Marketing.

As a tip for business owners already engaged in any digital media marketing, now would be the time to get a second opinion or a check up by a professional to make sure your on the right track.

Hello World,

This is the week of October 20, 2008.

Here is my quote of the week - thanks for tuning in..........

"When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder". James H. Boren

Does this sound like your company's Internet strategy?  If so, let's chat.

Last week we spoke about optimization.  As it relates to my world, Internet marketing, there is nothing more important.  Last week we also spoke about a written plan for your strategy. Hopefully, over the weekend, you had time to sit down and create one! (made a funny).

Do me a favor, sit down with your "marketing team" and look at how much money your are spending on traditional advertising (paper, yellow pages, direct mail).  Do you really know what your ROI is with this form of marketing?  As my father-in-law used to say to me, "put a pencil to it son".  I think you will be surprised.

This coming week, do yourself a favor as a marketing professional, look into a full Internet marketing strategy, discuss with your senior team the options out there with a true SEO plan that focuses on the process.  Look into pay per click management services and text message marketing as part of your potential strategy. As in the Six Sigma world, use the DMAIC method, define, measure, analyze, improve and control. Talk to an Internet marketing research company today! Take charge of your company's direction!

Personal Note:  I have to share this clip.  If this does not touch you, well......you'll see!  Thank you to all of the men and women out there in the armed forces fighting for us. 



Darien Smith
Training / Consulting / Implementation
www.bauer360.com

If you haven't tried this newly created functionality of Google Analytics you should. While still in beta it is a good indicator of one of the most mission critical metrics you can have for your website;

HOW DOES MY WEBSITE COMPARE AGAINST MY INDUSTRY...?

In short the new benchmarking feature of analytics compares visitor data from your website with that of similar sites of size and industry. Although it doesn't compare every report (for now) it does focus on the visitor specific data such as; time on site, bounce rate, page views and visits. Important metrics for how your traffic interacts with your website. Most of these metrics will also play a heavy hand in how your internet marketing strategy is working.

To give Benchmarking a shot follow these steps;

a) First turn it on. One the Analytics Setting page, click Edit Account and Data Sharing Settings. 

Once in select "share anonomously with Google and others"

b) Once you have saved your sharing preferences, enter into "view reports" as you normally would and select the visitor report group from the left. The first sub group under overview will be "benchmarking".

c) When in the benchmarking report you have the familiar option of adjusting the date range but new fiter option to benchmark against a specific category. From this drop down list you can choose from everything from finance to beauty and personel care. Choose your industry you want to compare against.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is still new so not all categories will be listed (possibly including your own). Also that this program is strictly opt-in, meaning that in order to get comparision data on other business's within your industry will have to opt-in to share their metrics.

As Google develops this it will prove to be very beneficial to how your business website stacks up within your industry and a good indicator of how effective your website marketing truly is.

Hello World,

Here is my quote of the week..............................

There are two kinds of companies, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less.  We will be the second. (Jeff Bezos / AMAZON).

As we look into an Internet Marketing Strategy, the goal is to fully optimize a companies web presence, thus driving sales.  As Ted Turner once said, early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise! Let's get seen by focusing on your website marketing.

Let's talk about getting the word out. Do you have a website?  Did you have input into the content within that website?  Is your website and web strategy optimized? Hopefully, as far as your business is concerned, the answers to these questions are - yes!

Let's focus on the beef of Internet advertising.............Optimization!

Optimization is defined as - "The process of working with a websites content, code and website architecture as well as developing a diverse linking portfolio with the intent of increasing positioning in natural search engine results pages (SERPS)." This definition of Search Engine Optimization contributed by Morgan Carey.

One cannot "create" optimization without a written plan.  Do you have a written plan?  If not, create one today. Take the first step. If it is not in written form - well - its non-existent.

When I don't find/make/have the time to make a blog post, it sometimes seems as if it's an actual problem or issue in my life.  And then I realized that today is Blog Action Day to help create a discussion around a single topic which is poverty.  If there was ever a day to blog, it's today and when I stopped and thought about actual problems and real issues like poverty, blogging seemed quite insignificant. But when the power of a blog for a good cause is unleashed it can be extremely effective in changing the world for the better!

I felt compelled to contribute in a small way by simply blogging on the subject and joining the blog action day cause.  My brother is a minister in Texas and has traveled to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and various other impoverished countries helping to build homes and provide food, toys and clothes.  What have I done?  As a Social Networking Consultant the one thing I can do is recommend that everyone checks out this blog post on 88 Ways to do something about poverty right now!  Click here!  Right now I'm doing #53 and #71.  Together, we can make a difference!