MDS Resource — Digital Ad Agency

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  • 10 Internet Marketing For Small Business Ways To Attract Local Customers

    Easy Ways To Attract Local Customers

    The Facts About Consumer Internet Usage

    This trend continues to rise and Internet Marketing for small business must get on board with this — or perish.

    • Most Consumers search online for local products and services.
    • Approximately 35% of all Internet searches are for local things.
    • There are more than 250 Million searches on Google alone every single day!
    • Online marketing is predicted to be at least 15% of all media ad spending in 2013.

    Internet technology is GREAT … But, it has caused Problems for Some Local Businesses! Here’s why:

    1. Consumers are using online search instead of yellow pages and newspapers when looking for local products and services.
    2. Some businesses still spend thousands of dollars on ineffective traditional advertising methods.
    3. And, some businesses are not yet investing in online advertising and marketing. Are you?

    As a Result …

    • Business expenses continue to rise while profits decline.
    • Local Businesses are struggling to get new and repeat customers.
    • Great customers are buying from Local Businesses well placed online.

    Here Are 10 Ways Your Local Business Can Connect With Your Local Consumers

    1. Connect With Search Engine Visibility

      • You must work hard to gain better search engine positioning and rankings.
      • You must search engine optimize your website using on-the-page factors, making certain that your money phrases are in your content.
      • You must search engine optimize your website using off-the-page factors, persuading other sites to link back to you.
      • Claim, verify and optimize your Google Places listing
    2. Connect With Your Professional Website

      • All Effective Websites MUST Have:

        1. An organized and easily navigable layout
        2. Fresh, relevant and compelling content everywhere
        3. A strong Call-To-Action on every page
        4. An integrated lead capture system
    3. Connect With Email Marketing

      • Local Internet Marketing Money Is In Your LIST!

        1. Email marketing is cost-effective, automated and easy to deliver.
        2. Email marketing helps you build trust and credibility.
        3. Email marketing allows you to generate business on auto-pilot 24/7.
        4. Email marketing statistics are simple to track.
    4. Connect With Mobile Marketing

      • There are approximately 4 BILLION Mobile users worldwide!
      • By 2014, Mobile Internet usage is expected to exceed Desktop Internet usage!
      • Business websites must be Mobile optimized to accommodate Mobile Internet on-the-go users too rushed to squint, zoom and scroll.
      • Text message marketing promotes and connects with local audiences on the go.
    5. Connect With Social Media

      • Search engine optimization (SEO) is NOT enough! Hang Out With Your Customers and Prospects Online …

        1. Consumers spend many hours on social media sites every single day.
        2. Building relationships on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube is necessary for business.
        3. Social media markets are so big, Facebook is the 3rd largest country in the world!

          1. China
          2. India
          3. Facebook
          4. United States
    6. Connect With Video Marketing

      • Online Videos are HOT … Perhaps, Too HOT To Handle!

        1. Videos increase your visibility in search results and positioning.
        2. Online videos help you develop trust and expert status.
        3. Videos increase conversion rates, website traffic and are the single most powerfl small business advertising!
          cVideos run on auto-pilot and set you apart from your competitors
    7. Connect With Publish Online Content

      • The Internet Revolves Around CONTENT! Effective Website Optimization Multi-Purposes Content Everywhere

        1. Publish keyword rich articles and blog posts related to your industry.
        2. Publish keyword optimized press releases to attract media attention.
        3. Publish content to online directories to drive traffic back to your website.
    8. Connect With Reputation Management

      • Do You Know What People Say About Your Business Online? Local Search Optimization Relies On The Social Proof Of Reviews & Testimonials!

        1. Pay attention to what is being said about your business online.
        2. Promote positive online reviews & testimonials about your business.
        3. A bad online reputation can negatively impact your business.
        4. Respond promptly and handle all negative remarks quickly.
    9. Connect With Online Classified Ads

      • Effective Marketing Local Business Is All About Promoting Your Business Everywhere Local Customers Hang Out

        • Online Classified Ad sites are free or are very low cost.
        • Craigslist is one of the most popular online classified ad sites.
        • Optimize your ads with effective keywords to show up in search results.
        • Images in your ads make them more attractive to consumers.
    10. Connect With Paid Online Advertising

      • Successful Internet Marketing For Small Business Quickly Learns Its Best Market From Paid Advertising!

        1. Paid online advertising is effective at gaining more exposure quickly.
        2. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is one of the most popular paid advertising methods.
        3. Google’s paid advertising platform is called AdWords.
        4. Facebook also has paid advertising to get in front of your best prospects.

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Answer Questions: 612-235-6060

  • WARNING: Minneapolis Local Business Wants To Be Found By Enough Of The Right People

    What's In The Minneapolis Local Business Forum for YOU?
    What's In The Minneapolis Local Business Forum for YOU?

    The Minneapolis Local Business Forum is the brainchild of a local entrepreneurs who want to promote business growth in the greater Twin Cities metro area. Introducing business owners to each other and to local residents, we hope to kick start our local economy. The Forum is totally free and without obligation. Unlike other recent initiatives, we want you to remember that free bit. This is our commitment to you. That and, in exchange for your participation, we promise to deliver to you value that you are not likely to get elsewhere regardless of price. This community has given us so much and we are giving back to you, our community, with this mastermind group.

    The Minneapolis Local Business Forum is About Free Exposure and Prosperity

    Minneapolis Local Business Forum focuses on providing ideas, strategies and tactics to grow your business. There is no free lunch; but, by banding together, we can act together today to promote and grow our businesses. Our forum is an opportunity for free exposure, valuable contacts and invaluable promotion for every business owner who decides to participate. This endeavor can only work for all of us when all of us contribute. In addition to solving your most difficult problem, others will benefit from the problems you have already solved. Participation in Minneapolis Local Business Forum can hook you up with other local business owners who could:

    • Complement your own skills
    • Provide contacts
    • Possibly use your services

    How can you help us get the word out to your local business neighbors?

    Although our goal is to jumpstart business throughout the Twin Cities, we are focusing on our own backyard now: Golden Valley, New Hope and Plymouth. Your credibility in this community is extremely valuable to us. Your help in promoting the forum helps your own business growth. Please, help.

    What’s In The Minneapolis Local Business Forum for YOU?

    Of course, you want to know, What’s in it for you? There are no guarantees. However, it’s widely known that “two heads are better than one!” Who knows? You and your business could:

    1. Make new friends and strategic partnerships.
    2. Identify possible vendors and clients.
    3. Solve problems with like minded professionals.
    4. Be recognized for your expertise.
    5. Showcase your business to eager buyers.

    Some Minneapolis Local Business Forum Tangible Benefits

    Yes, we want to grow our businesses, too. We are local entrepreneurs, just like you and everybody we are inviting to this group. In exchange for meeting you and sharing ideas, following are some of what we offer to you:

    1. Free exposure for your business.
    2. Free membership in the Minneapolis Local Business Forum.
    3. Free listing on the Minneapolis Local Business Forum website.
    4. Free video commercial about your business on your listing.
    5. Free Minneapolis Local Business Forum Facebook promotion.
    6. Free Minneapolis Local Business Forum Twitter promotion.
    7. Free access to our Minneapolis Local Business Forum LinkedIn group.

    The Minneapolis Local Business Forum is Opportunity Knocking On YOUR Door

    But, you MUST participate. The Mayors of Golden Valley and New Hope have expressed their support for our forum and are actively recruiting local businesses. All business owners in our community are cordially invited to attend our inaugural meeting which will be:

    Tuesday, September 13, 2011

    6 to 7 PM (5-6 PM videos)

    Master Communications Group

    3410 Winnetka Avenue

    Back Entrance (East)

    New Hope, MN 55427

    The Minneapolis Local Business Forum Website Is All About YOU

    At that meeting we are unveiling our website. Listings are free of charge for local business owners and include a complementary video clip about each business and business owner shot by local videographer Master Communications Group. Come early (5:00pm) to our first meeting and we will walk you through their free video at that time.

    Please, Join Us At The Minneapolis Local Business Forum Inaugural Meeting

    We would love to see you, too, on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 5:00-7PM. We very much look forward to meeting you so we can exchange ideas, share experiences and generally support one another in a proactive and relaxed fashion. Thank you, for your esteemed participation.

    Call Now

    Answer Minneapolis Local Business Questions: 612-235-6060

    Call MDS Resource For Special Offer Now: 612-235-6060

  • Ten Ways Local Small Business Marketing Will Drive Eager Buyers To Your Door Day In And Day Out

    The Price Is Right For Local Small Business Marketing
    The Price Is Right For Local Small Business Marketing

    As if succeeding at small business weren’t hard enough simply making ends meet, local small business marketing can be quite perplexing, too. When you’re small, so is your budget. Eager buyers are shopping for solutions to their perplexing problems. So, where are they if they’re not here in your office? Here are ten local small business marketing tips to attract their attention.

    Buyer Personae Love Local Small Business Marketing

    1. Know your buyer personae. Who is your very best customer? Who is she? What does she do for a living? Where does she live, hang out and shop for groceries? How will she know the best solution to her problem? When you know your best customers exceptionally well, exceptional customers will come to you.
    2. When you know your best customers, it’s little wonder that pleasing them, too, is so much easier. One size never fits all. When you’re shipping to customers perfectly suited to your products and services, meeting and exceeding expectations is the norm. Match your offering to those who need it most and you’re guaranteed to-die-for word of mouth accolades for your local small business marketing.

      3. Local Small Business Marketing Builds Networks

    3. Regardless your small, medium or large company, networking is at the center of gathering targeted sales leads. Your local chamber of commerce is the logical first step out in your community. Who knows better what your business needs to succeed than other successful business leaders in your neighborhood? Sharing local referrals with them logically leads to reciprocal business.
    4. In the online world, LinkedIn.com is the world’s largest professional network. It has numerous groups and categories with local focus eagerly seeking local solutions. Best of all, every Fortune 500 company’s executive management is represented on LinkedIn. Prospecting is as simple as participating in groups where local prospects hang out online.

      5. Local Small Business Marketing Uses Social Media

    5. Apparently, Social Media is here to stay. Facebook, for example, is the third largest country in the world and its membership has twice the population of America. Keep your business page up-to-date with events, new offerings and encourage your customers to contribute opinions and share referrals online.
    6. Twitter is a mystery to many small business owners. How much can be said in 140 characters? The key is listening, listening and more listening. However, when you hear somebody comment on you and your brand you need to respond. Give thanks for kind comments. Appreciate the customer service opportunity to solve problems quickly when you hear about them.

      7. Local Small Business Marketing Is Continuous Improvement

    7. In business, learning from your mistakes and duplicating success are vital. At the end of the day, the purpose of your business is to profit by satisfying human wants and needs. As you get better at building strong relationships with those whose problems are best solved by what you offer, you will succeed at attracting more of those best customer.
    8. Continuous improvement means getting better and better at solving customer problems. Continuous improvement is also getting better and better customers, many of whom will refer you to others in need. The best possible local small business marketing results in great customers standing up in public and testifying to the greatness of your relationship.

      9. The Price Is Right For Local Small Business Marketing

    9. Don’t sell yourself short. Price is rarely the real reason a prospect goes elsewhere. When you provide enormous value to eager buyers shopping for your solution, price is no object. It’s not the pain as much as it is the consequences of not relieving that pain that matters.
    10. So, what is your benefit to your customers’ painful problem? How do they value that benefit? How much will it cost them to forego your solution? When you’re in front of your ideal buyers, yours is the perfect solution. Solve their problem and you’re a savior.

    Local small business marketing is all about exchanging the right solution at the right price. Driving eager buyers to your door day in and day out is easy once you stop trying to sell to everybody. Anticipate eager buyers shopping for what you offer and local small business marketing puts you everywhere they look.

    Call Now
    Answer Your Local Small Business Marketing Question: 612-235-6060

    Call MDS Resource For Special Offer Now: 612-235-6060

  • If You Are Marketing Local Business You Can Double Your Best Sales In Ninety Days Or Less

    Free Publicity Marketing Local Business
    Free Publicity Marketing Local Business

    How does your business survive without local buyers shopping for what you offer? Marketing local business may seem daunting, that you’re at a big disadvantage to the big boys. You probably don’t have an online shopping cart and you create great customers eyeball-to-eyeball. Unlike international behemoths like Amazon and Target, you have a service area issue. Although, you’ll service buyers who travel hundreds of miles to you, your ideal customer lives within a 10 or 50 mile radius. Is this your business?

    You’ll be excited to hear that you’re not limited in the ways you can market yourself locally. Yes, I know, most business owners don’t specialize in marketing. This whole advertising thing has become a sinkhole for money you’d rather reinvest back into the business. After placing a few ads all over town, putting your company listing in the yellow pages and networking with your Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club, you’ve probably run out of advertising ideas. Times are tough, traditional advertising is more expensive and, near as you can tell, your return on advertising budget approaches zero. On top of everything else, Dorothy the yellow pages rep and Toto the local SEO geek are pestering you to get online, saying all you need is to be numero uno on Google and a million website visitors. That’s it — nothing more — right?

    Not.

    It’s true, as we learn to search and find what we want on the Internet – when we want it – we respond less and less to offline media. As consumers, we have definitely changed the ways we shop and buy. We no longer sit around waiting to be told what to buy and what’s available for purchase. Million dollar Super Bowl commercials are mere entertainment now, so why spend wheelbarrows of money on traditional and ineffective advertising? Get with the times, marketing local business benefits greatly from the following tips:

    Marketing Local Business Online

    Anticipate eager buyers shopping for you online and everywhere they look you are there. Remember yellow pages? Similarly on the Internet, there are directories that catalog local companies by location, by advertising and by customer reviews. These local online directories are quickly becoming popular resources for buyers to find local companies. Little to no cash gets your company listed in these directories. Advertise your company in as many locations as practical to gain maximum exposure. Google Places, Yahoo! Local, Bing Local, MerchantCircle and Yelp are but a smattering. There are also industry, thematic and cultural directories, too.

    Free Publicity Marketing Local Business

    It’s always vital to announce your business organization, activities and events to your community on a regular basis. This is more than simply telling everybody that you’re still in business. Survival and success are NOT the same thing. New products and services demonstrate that you’re interested in and responding to your customers’ evolving needs and desires. Your blog, Facebook, Twitter, MerchantCircle and even LinkedIn are great places to post your news. Press releases, news releases and media announcements are easier and cheaper done now than ever before. There are many sites online catering to your PR needs. When eager buyers see that you not only have what they’re searching for, but you also have an even newer model, they’ll likely tell their friends about you.

    Marketing Local Business Customers Love Coupons

    Consider the fact that people love to save money — don’t you, too? — coupons can create great customers. You don’t have to worry about complicated sales pitches, just offer them a discount for trying you out. Instead of direct mail or printing fliers, save yourself the distribution expense and publish coupons on the Internet. With billions of searches on the Internet every month, be creative and put your promotion everywhere your eager buyers are looking. Try mentioning a coupon in your blog post, experiment with QR codes people will scan with their smart phones and consider social media. Internet sites like Groupon, Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and MerchantCircle are only the tip of the iceberg. Get them in the door and you have the opportunity to create another great customer!

    Can your business survive with local buyers? Yes and marketing your local business online is easy and fun! You’re not limited in the ways you can market locally. By marketing local business effectively you can double your best sales in ninety days or less.

    Call Now
    Answer Your Marketing Local Business Question: 612-235-6060

    Call MDS Resource For Special Offer Now: 612-235-6060

  • Are You Marketing Your Business Online Unprofitably?

    Is Marketing Your Business Online Profitable?
    Is Marketing Your Business Online Profitable?

    In this world we live in today there are tremendous opportunities to market your business online. It can be very confusing to navigate this online world and make sound decisions that maximize the value of your marketing efforts. To help you solve these struggles, below are several ideas to take away and implement right away to bring you more success.

    Social Media Enhances Marketing Your Business Online

    Social media is all the rage lately, and for good reason. Today Facebook is the third largest nation in the world with 500 million users: China, India, Facebook then the United States. It’s one of the best places to expose your business. Facebook makes this easy through the creation of Facebook Pages where visitors looking for more information about your business can find you. Setting up your business Page is simple and can be finished in a matter of minutes.

    Twitter has created a massive audience that is quickly growing to 200 million users. It’s becoming one of the first sites people visit when they log onto the Internet. Not only are people reading other people’s messages for personal amusement, but they conduct searches to discover new businesses and new products.

    These are two of many different online media available for marketing your business online. This interaction with your customers will benefit your company by highlighting concerns where you can respond immediately. You can put out fires when they’re only smoking, before they grow into a real problem.

    Understand Your Customer To Solve Their Problems

    While ideas of creating the next Chia pet might seem like a good idea, they don’t solve anyone’s problems. The best way to grow your business is to focus on a niche audience and solve their real world problems. Once you have discovered their problems, you deliver products that are truly needed. Through social media in which those niches participate, time spent marketing your business online will return profit.

    Marketing Your Business Online Is A Story

    Your “story” is more than a buzz word when it comes to marketing your business online. Consumers are quick to ignore pitches and fake product reviews. They will listen intently to a story from a user and how they used a product to solve a problem. You know how good you are eyeball-to-eyeball with prospects — your story should be specific and related to directly to your prospect’s need. Online, too, this builds trust in people for you and your business. Build on your relationships with customers through your social media efforts.

    Online Marketing Demands You Listen Then Engage

    Listening to your customers’ conversations about your business and your competitors is extremely important. If customers talk about you in social media, no response to their requests and problems will adversely affect your business popularity. Customers demand to be heard more than ever! Listen carefully to what is said, then develop a sound response. Rushing to conclusion is never a good idea and further confuses the marketplace.

    There are many other ways you can market your business online effectively. These tips will help transform your marketing effort into something modern and effective. Interacting with customers has never been easier than online. Marketing online is far cheaper compared to traditional marketing media.

    Marketing Your Business Online Is Where Your Customers Are

    It is always best to go where the people are. Right now, eager buyers are shopping online for what you offer. They’re all online waiting to hear what your business has to say. They’re listening for your stories and eager to engage with you. What are you waiting for? Start marketing your business online today.

  • 101 Ways To Profit From Marketing Your Business Online

    Profit By Marketing Your Business Online
    Profit By Marketing Your Business Online

    Is Marketing Your Business Online Viable?

    Are you looking for a real way to grow your business, get more leads and generate more sales? Let me say upfront, you can’t wrestle with your business and achieve a clear victory without marketing your business online. Don’t swat at me quite yet — I have my reasons which you’ll soon see.

    I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 10 years now and I have a lot of experience growing businesses. Throughout all the business growth, I’ve been testing each method to find the best ways to improve business. I discovered that marketing your business online is the most effective way to gain popularity and attract a flock of eager buyers shopping for what you offer. Although there are still offline techniques available for growing business, many of these methods are waning and can sink your bank account. Especially when your business is quite young, you usually can’t afford to use high cost promotion methods. At times like these, can you risk investing in advertising with questionable return?

    You Have Permission To Market Your Business Online

    One of the greatest offline marketing business turn-offs today, consumers no longer accept intrusion marketing. They are not waiting to be told what is available for purchase. Instead, think about your own habit. When you get the whim to acquire something new, are you more likely to Google for it or scan through Yellow Pages?

    Luckily, the Internet makes it possible for everybody, even those with tight budgets, to market their business online via websites, blogs, video, social media and social networks. Are you serious about serious business growth? Are increased sales and more of your best customers acquisitions that drive you through your business day? I suggest you consider marketing your business online. Perhaps the greatest thing about this is that it’s considerably less expensive to market your business online than ineffective traditional marketing ever was.

    You Can Afford Marketing Your Business Online

    Of course, nearly all business owners have a website. All by itself, how effective has your static online business card been for your business? Among the most effective online marketing strategies is participation in social media and social networks. I have been augmenting my website efforts with social media for over 5 years now and it’s been tremendously effective increasing awareness of my business brand.

    Where Marketing Your Business Online Takes Place

    Yes, there are at least 101 social media and social networks in which you can participate. Not all of them are equally effective for your business; and to participate in all of them will be prohibitively expensive. So, where to start? Where will it benefit your business most? Of the 101 possible, I recommend all businesses consider these three:

    • Linkedln — The world’s largest network of professionals;
    • Facebook — The 3rd largest “country” in the world; and
    • Twitter — Customers, vendors, partners & competitors discuss you here.

    Social Media Are Marketing Your Business Online

    Social media are effective precisely because they empower consumers to participate in business development. What better way to market your business online than to ask your market what it will buy? Once you anticipate for what eager buyers are shopping, place your content there where they will find it and follow it back to your door. Marketing your business online is that simple.

  • Who Else Wants Location Based Social Media?

    Who Else Wants Location Based Social Media?

    Location Based Social Media Is Where We’re At

    Connecting with others regardless of proximity is one of the strongest values Social Media brings to the table.  My blog may be read in earnest around the world and I appreciate that.  LinkedIn has brought business to table with people I’ve not met nor am I likely to meet (e.g., China, India.) Exchanging tweets across the universe is fun and rewarding.  So, what is all of this hoopla about Location Based Social Media?

    That being said, I do in fact live here, in this specific place, and not only to I reside here, but I shop here, I eat here and I come face-to-face with hundreds of people every week — right here in Minneapolis, MN USA.  Most businesses I see do not benefit from ecommerce and shopping carts.  Somebody in Afghanistan on the Internet can go to target.com and order a 4-slice toaster; Target will do the currency exchange and ship the toaster to them the next day — everybody wins.  On the other hand, my dentist in Plymouth, MN is not likely to benefit from that Afghani shopper.  My dentist has a service area outside of which he’s not likely to profit.

    Location Based Social Media are the darlings of 2010.  New social media platforms, known as Location Based Services, add a contextual layer of movement and proximity to our relationships online and offline.  Location Based Services are smartphone applications utilizing GPS to provide information and social networking relevant to our current location.  Location Based Social Media are our interfaces to these applications.  We are exploring our community online, tracking our friends whereabouts, recent activities, opinions and we shout out to our world where we are and how we want to be found.

    What does Location Based Social Media mean to you?  ABI Research estimates, “By 2014 global LBS revenues will have surpassed $14 billion.”  The more detailed information we have on prospect behavior patterns and social context, the better we find something truly valuable to offer them.  We can also provide more specific, directed information based on the location of our best audiences.  Location Based Social Media is particularly valuable for brick and mortar store front business who need to drive local traffic to their store, and for anyone promoting an event at a physical venue.

    Basic Types of Location Based Social Media

    Kate Shaw categorizes the main types of Location Based Social Media in a blog post “Comprehensive Guide to Location-Based Social Media.”

    Social Check-in Sites

    Social Check-in sites enable users to access information about businesses in the local area.  At the same time, Social check-in sites encourage users to develop location based relationships with other users, with their other social networks and with local businesses.

    Offer incentives to users to check-in and frequent your establishment.  Compelling offers bring new customers to your location and build loyalty with your existing customers.  Encourage users to check-in on any and all Location Based Social Media.  Honor incentives you offer across any Location Based Social Media a user may use.

    Listen to your guests! Review sentiment.  Comment on posts.  Acknowledge Testimonials and Referrals.  Most Location Based Social Media have Facebook and Twitter connections that allow your guests to promote your business to their entire social network.

    Some Location Based Social Media have search options facilitating keyword and brand term searches.  Look for opportunities to promote special offers to users checking in to a nearby locations.  Some Location Based Social Media have advertising platforms that enables marketers to purchase advertisements based either on category or location.

    Social Review Sites

    Social Review sites encourage users to publish online reviews, referrals and Testimonials based on their experiences at restaurants, hotels, shops and wherever you and your business are found in Location Based Social Media.  Quality scores can be assigned to each comment based on this user-generated content.

    Not all Social Review sites are Location Based Social Media.

    Social Review sites are critical for brick-and-mortar business — do not skip your strategy here.  Utilize Social Review sites for the free market research they offer — make the changes your customers ask for as appropriate.

    Social Review sites enable businesses to publish local business content.  Many Social Review sites facilitate offering coupons and discount offers to loyal customers.

    Make absolutely certain that your guests remember that you exist on Social Review sites.  Ask them for their Testimonial.  Acknowledge customers that take time to post the positive reviews.  Respond to your negative reviews with tact and consummate professionalism.

    Local businesses need to listen closely to what their customers say about you, and respond to their suggestions and complaints.

    There is no more effective marketing than Testimonials.  Every review, every referral, every comment is a Testimonial to the quality of your business.  The more positive Testimonials you accumulate, the greater your authority and credibility in your community.

    In real life you cannot please everybody.  Everybody cannot be your best customer.  Some customers cannot be satisfied.  The minority negative review is real life.  Occasional dissatisfaction is more believable than saccharin drivel, and builds your online personality.

    Social Scheduling Sites

    Social Scheduling sites facilitate sharing your “social calendar” with your social networks.  Individuals can find out about upcoming events.  Networks of people can plan anything from birthday parties to movie dates.

    Rather than publishing to the world where you are at at this moment, Social Scheduling sites facilitate sharing where you will be.  Like a public calendar, you publish where you’re going, which events you will attend and with whom you are going.

    Social Scheduling sites often include comment and review functionality.  Other users comment, share information, and they can publish their own intent with a “count-me-in” button.

    Social Scheduling sites can facilitate keyword searching, so customers and Location Based Social Media can find out about your events.  Any marketing involving conferences, meetups, parties, or other get-togethers will benefit.

    Conclusions About Location Based Social Media

    Carefully examine the list of Location Based Social Media.  Explore the pros and cons.  Determine which platforms will best help you communicate with your customers.  Marketing Local Business Online demands that you go where your customers are.  Be found everywhere they are looking for you.

    Listen carefully and learn from your guests.  Self-reporting your location has a value in itself.  Declaring your current location is more than just a piece of information — your intention is behind it.  Suppose you’re in a bar and the name of the place is broadcast to your colleagues.  That’s both a statement about where you are and an invitation to others.  They can infer about your availability or your willingness to interact socially.

    Engage with your guests — communicate — bring something of value to the conversation.

    Remember that Location Based Social Media is very new.  You are marketing to early adopters with voyeuristic tendencies and enormous digital mouths.

    Be genuine.  Engage your guests with open arms, a big smile and kind words.  Offer them the right incentives at the right time.  Your Location Based Social Media community will become your most loyal customers and loudest evangelists.  Location Based Social Media is where we’re at.

  • What is Inbound Marketing?

    Why does Inbound Marketing matter to you and your Local Business?

    Welcome to the Brilliant Ideas About Internet and Money Frequently Asked Questions Series, Part 3: What is Inbound Marketing?


    Marketing Local Business Online Is Inbound Marketing

    Previously, we discussed What Is Internet Marketing? itself:


    “… a Marketing Relationship is a specific conversation between Business and a market.  Therefore, Internet and Online Marketing are relationships between Business and customers and prospects that take place in the New Media of today, and New Media of the future.”

    How have new customers found you in recent months?

    Today, people find out about your Local Business in two main ways:

    • Passing Word-of-Mouth recommendations, or
    • Finding you on a search engine results page

    Word-of-Mouth depends on the good will of existing customers.  How would you like people publishing Word-of-Mouth recommendations online?  Why not spend zero dollars marketing your Local Business?

    What is Outbound Marketing?

    In traditional outbound marketing companies focus on finding customers through:

    • Building brand awareness,
    • Advertising, and
    • Promotion

    Outbound Marketing includes:

    • Focus on your product / service (advertising & promotions),
    • Focus on your transaction (sales),
    • Focus on your business (public & media relations),
    • Focus on your post-sales support (customer service), and
    • Focus on your customer after-the-fact (customer satisfaction)

    Everyday, a typical consumer is overwhelmed with over 2000 outbound marketing interruptions!

    They have become quite creative in blocking these interruptions, including:

    • Caller id,
    • Spam filtering,
    • Tivo, and
    • Satellite radio

    Customers need to find a very good reason to visit your Local Business.

    Marketing Local Business online is quite a challenge!

    What is Permission Marketing?

    Alternatives to intrusive and increasingly ineffective outbound marketing are based on what Seth Godin calls Permission Marketing:

    “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them …”

    “It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.”

    For the business to engage the prospect, the prospective customer must grant either:

    • Explicit Permission (e.g., request email or catalog), or
    • Implicit Permission (e.g., follow a search engine result link)

    Furthermore, Godin says:

    “In order to get permission, you make a promise. You say, ‘I will do x, y and z, I hope you will give me permission by listening.’ And then, this is the hard part, that’s all you do. You don’t assume you can do more.”

    What is Inbound Marketing?

    Google reports more than 1 Billion searches each month for local products and local services.

    Fully qualified prospects are already looking for products and services in your industry.  Inbound Marketing is when customers call you to:

    • Make appointments,
    • Purchase products, or
    • Gain information

    When customers find you and like you, you can get business from them, from their friends and from their family.

    “Home delivery is the milkman’s revenge… it’s the essence of permission,”

    Godin says.

    Online Marketing is starting to make more sense …

    What comprises Inbound Marketing?


    Rick Burnes     suggested an intertwined relationship between three main components of Inbound Marketing:

    Hubspot: Inbound Marketing

    1. Inbound Marketing Content

      • Content is the substance of Inbound Marketing.
      • Content is the information that attracts prospects to your Local Business.
      • Content includes the Call To Action that converts prospects into customers.

    2. Inbound Marketing Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

      • If people don’t know you exist, how are you going to do business?
      • SEO makes it possible for potential customers to find your content.

      3. Marketing Local Business online must include both Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and SEO if you want your Local Business found.

    3. Inbound Marketing Social Media

      • Social Media amplifies the impact of your content.
      • Widely distributed content will be discussed.
      • Socialized content taken seriously becomes authentic.
      • There is more trust when a person has a choice.

    Social Media have two sides:

    • What you say about your business
    • What others say about your business

    Why Inbound Marketing?

    1. Inbound Marketing has high Value

      • Cost less than buying ads, PPC, mailing lists, print, etc.
      • Blogs and Twitter accounts are free to start
      • Higher Return on Investment (ROI)

    2. Inbound Marketing is Effective

      • Targeting specific markets is easier
      • Prospects qualify themselves
      • Pre-sold customers search, find you and ask to buy

    3. Inbound Marketing has great Timing

      • Prospects search for you
      • Searching prospects are considering a purchase now
      • Prospects considering a purchase are more receptive to your message

    Godin remarks,

    “One of the key drivers of permission marketing, in addition to the scarcity of attention, is the extraordinarily low cost of dripping to people who want to hear from you.”

    What are Prerequisites to Inbound Marketing?

    You need to do your homework and fully understand those looking to buy what your Local Business offers.

    Your Market analysis includes:

    • What groups of customers exist? (markets)
    • Which customer groups do you prefer to serve? (target markets)
    • What do they need?
    • How do their needs change? (market trends)
    • How do they use these products and services?
    • What price are they willing to pay?
    • How do they want to receive what they buy? (distribution)
    • What do you offer that meets those needs?
    • Who are your competitors?
    • What are your competitors doing about your target market?

    Exactly how are your customers searching for what you offer?  It’s not enough to know how you describe your offering.  What matters most are the exact words prospects use to search for it.

    Simply make it easy for potential customers to find your Local Business.

    “The Internet means you can treat different people differently, and it demands that you figure out how to let your permission base choose what they hear and in what format,”

    instructs Godin.

    How is Inbound Marketing Done?

    Setup your web site to attract visitors naturally through:

    • Search Engines,
    • the Blogosphere, and
    • Social Media sites

    Don’t forget your Call To Action to convert visitors once they arrive on your web page!

    The Inbound Marketing process is straightforward:

    • You provide content of interest to people wanting to learn or know something.
    • You share similar content from other people who do the same.
    • Interested readers come to see you as an authority in your field.
    • When somebody considers a purchase related to your expertise, they will come to you.

    Inbound Marketing is like Word-of-Mouth with people passing recommendations online.

    Seth Godin sums it up like this:

    “Real permission works like this: if you stop showing up, people complain, they ask where you went.”

    Marketing Local Business Online Is Inbound Marketing