The Bridge - MTECH Internet Marketing Tips » Internet Marketing http://mtechbd.com/webnews Helping Owners Traverse the Digital Divide Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:09:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Marketing Shifts for Small Business Owners http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/11/marketing-shifts-for-small-business-owners/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/11/marketing-shifts-for-small-business-owners/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:17:42 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=274 internet marketing colorado

 

Marketing is shifting at an unprecedented rate.  Many small business owners and consultants are struggling to implement and understand these new tools with limited staff, resources and budget. Traditional forms of “interruption” marketing, such as television, radio, and print are becoming less effective. Whereas, new forms of “attraction” marketing, such as social and search, are increasing in reach. Marketers are starting to think like socializers and publishers and less like advertisers.

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the foundations of a company’s marketing – message, positioning, audience, and branding.  Social media is not a marketing strategy, it is a marketing channel. Owners first need to understand their unique positioning to determine the types of articles and content to promote across their websites and social media channels. Owners also need to research and listen to their customers and find out where their specific audience gets their information (Youtube, Linked-In, Facebook, Google Search, Twitter, etc…).

One of the first questions owners face is if their website is still relevant and how it works with social and search. First of all, it is not an either/or situation. A company’s website, search, Email, and social media profiles work in conjunction with each other. In most cases, a company website is the hub of their marketing activity. Social media and search direct traffic to a website and the website itself converts the “suspects” into potential prospects, leads and then sales. Social media requires consistency and the content posted is short-lived. Furthermore, social media channels popularity can change and a company does not “own” the vehicle, so the company’s content and branding can be diminished. Finally, most social media profiles can enhance branding concepts, but it is just the beginning of the brand story.

Social Media also affects search engine ranking. A company blog is an integral part of social media strategy. Blog article links on your social media profiles help direct people to a company’s website. Search engines are also starting to display more personalized results. Search engines are beginning to show you results based on your social media connections, “likes”, and geographical location. Overall, new marketing is about attracting clients through valuable content and interactivity published primarily through blogs and social media tools.

When evaluating social media, small business owners should understand the importance of consistency, message and how to combine it with their existing marketing activities. Tracking is increasingly important so an owner can determine which activities are receiving the best return. Company’s should evaluate campaigns instead of just channels and learn how to convert people into leads through compelling offers.

MTECH Internet Marketing provides assistance in equipping small business owners to understand and implement successful Internet marketing strategies. If you would like a free consultation, please call us at 970-731-6325 for more details.

 

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/11/marketing-shifts-for-small-business-owners/feed/ 0 Google + Now Allows Business Pages http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/11/google-now-allows-business-pages/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/11/google-now-allows-business-pages/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:51:57 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=251 Google just announced yesterday that they will now allow business pages to be created on Google+.  I just briefly set up a page for MTECH Internet Marketing at https://plus.google.com/110406788079955891123.

Visit http://plus.google.com/pages/create, and if you see the option to create a Google+ Page, get started! Follow the wizard and choose the most appropriate option to classify your business. You’ll be able to select from the following options:

•Local Business or Place
•Product or Brand
•Company, Institution or Organization
•Arts, Entertainment or Sports
•Other

After selecting your classification, fill in your basic information, including your page name (i.e. your company name), your business’ website URL, your category (i.e. your industry), and the classification of your page’s content (i.e. any Google+ user, 18 years of age or older, etc.).

Next, you need to customize your public profile. The profile basics include your tagline and an image such as your logo.

Finally, you will want to add some photos, about us and some posts before promoting your page to others. Again, social media success is about sharing quality content.

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/11/google-now-allows-business-pages/feed/ 0 MTECH Owner Featured in Durango Herald Article http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/10/mtech-owner-featured-in-durango-herald-article/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/10/mtech-owner-featured-in-durango-herald-article/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:24:46 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=239 After speaking at the recent La Plata Economic Summit, Marcy Mitchell was approached by the Durango Herald to interview for an article on how to help small businesses in Colorado incorporate social media and Internet marketing. Here is the article:

Owners click with consumers

As buyers move online, small-business strategies must evolve

By Heather Scofield, Durango Herald Staff Writer – View original article

Small business owners juggle a lot.

There are local, state and federal tax records and filings to be done. Accounting, inventory, board meetings, customer service, advertising and numerous other critical tasks also must be handled.

And recent changes in consumers’ and businesses’ communication, research and buying trends are adding more to business owners’ to-do lists. Now businesses must keep up with an official website, a blog or two and social networking pages such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. They also must monitor user-content review sites such as Trip Advisor and Buzztown. Oh, and, customers expect businesses to ensure their message and involvement is consistent in all those online resources.

“You’re trying to run a business, meet payroll and focus on customer service,” said Jack Llewellyn, director of Durango Chamber of Commerce. “Then you throw in social media – it’s tough to keep up with it all.”

The situation has some local business owners pulling out their hair in frustration. Why aren’t customers as overwhelmed by it all as business owners sometimes feel?

“Where’s the information overload?” one local business owner wondered during a recent marketing presentation addressing the trend changes.

“It’s a different mindset” for them, said Marcy Mitchell, advisor for the Small Business Development Center of Southwest Colorado and owner of Pagosa Springs-based MTECH Internet Marketing.

The customers aren’t using the utilities the same way businesses are. They’re not selling an idea, service or company. They’re getting easy access to information and a less-complicated and intrusive way to communicate and consume.

It all amounts to a shift in marketing trends, Mitchell said. The advent of Do-Not-Call lists and commercial-free television and radio entertainment through devices such as digital video recorders and iPods have forced businesses to move their marketing strategies from the old “interruption marketing” techniques to a new concept – “attraction marketing,” Mitchell said.

To compete, businesses are finding they must build and maintain something akin to a utility to get and keep customers’ attention, she said.

“Marketers are starting to think like publishers and socializers, and less like advertisers,” Mitchell said.

Consumers want more than a business “brochure” when they’re online, she said. They want businesses to have information-rich websites, blogs and social-networking pages. They require mobile-friendly applications and quick responses to their online comments and concerns. And they’re demanding interactive and transparent relationships with companies these days, Mitchell said.

There are benefits to the new normal in marketing for businesses, she said. Once owners get past the daunting task of setting up their online marketing pages and systems for the first time, that is.

Businesses can to track their customers, the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and the progress of their sales leads in the sales process with greater ease than ever, Mitchell said.

But first, businesses must determine what online tools their customers are using and get to know those marketing channels well.

“Use the social tools your clients are using,” Mitchell suggests. “You have to know what kind of bait you are using and where the fish are swimming.”

She suggests that businesses select the tool they think is most relevant to their business and start from there. Often that’s a Facebook account, she said, as it’s among the most heavily used social-networking site by consumers.

Spend time exploring and perfecting the business’ webpage, message, maintenance schedule and customer interactions before starting another account. When multiple accounts are set up and the business owner feels his or her message is consistent between the marketing channels, it might be good to consider a software service such as HootSuite to help manage the accounts through a single work platform and better understand the effectiveness of each marketing avenue, Mitchell said.

And for those who just can’t get past the getting started part, it could be worthwhile to hire a local firm or consultant to get the accounts going. The owner can then take over the easier task of maintaining those accounts, Mitchell said. Advisors at the Small Business Development Center at Fort Lewis College also can help business owners learn about, set up and maintain the accounts for no charge, she said.

Doing nothing could be a company’s eventual death knell, though.

“We all have to be aware of how fast the world is moving,” Mitchell said. “There’s no perfect way to do it, but you have to find your voice in this new world. This is how customers are communicating today, and it’s something businesses can’t ignore.”

View original article

 

 

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/10/mtech-owner-featured-in-durango-herald-article/feed/ 0 Don’t Get Lured into the Social Media Hype http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/09/dont-get-lured-into-the-social-media-hype-still-need-a-great-website/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/09/dont-get-lured-into-the-social-media-hype-still-need-a-great-website/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:44:07 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=220 colorado website designAs I am writing this blog post, I am struck by the irony that this article is appearing on a blog (social media) and will be linked from my Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In page. Just to be clear, this article is not favoring a great website over social media. It is, however, an acknowledgement that you need both to have a robust, effective Internet Marketing campaign. The truth is, both your website and social media efforts, fuel each other.  Search engine marketing and social media are becoming increasingly interconnected but most of the results shown on Google are websites…not social media pages. Conversely, social media helps your website search engine ranking.

Here is a great article from Bnet.com on reasons why you still need a great website:

At speaking engagement with about 200 small business owners, I asked how many spent more time on social media efforts than on maintaining/improving their websites.

The majority raised their hands. Then I asked how many saw their websites more like a Yellow Pages ad than a still dominant marketing and sales tool.

Surprisingly, about 40% kept their hands up. One said, “If a potential customer stumbles across my website, fine — but I’m not going to put effort into it anymore.”

That’s a terrible approach. Social media marketing may pay dividends, but you’ll always need a website.

Here’s why:

  • Social media is largely “push.” Read more…
  • Social media is rinse and repeat. Twitter was hot; now I’m not so sure. And Facebook faces real challenges from Google+. What new social media platforms and tools are in the works? Who knows — but building a presence on whatever does come next will require significant effort and yet another learning curve. Website innovation also continues, but at a slower and more manageable pace. From an investment point of view, resources allocated to your website generate longer-term returns.
  • Social media content is far from evergreen. Say you sell a do-it-yourself product. The instructional content you create — articles, videos, slide shows, etc. — stays on your website forever. Tweets quickly disappear; same with Facebook updates. A great video on your website is the gift that keeps on giving, both in terms of customer satisfaction and from an SEO point of view. Same with articles and blog posts and photos.
  • Websites create or extend your brand. Face it — no matter how hard you try to customize it, your Facebook page is still a Facebook page. And no amount of creativity will make your Twitter design look like anything other than a Twitter page. In a way you’re like a guy wearing a Nike t-shirt; you may wear the shirt, but the Nike brand wears you too.
  • Websites tell stories. In many cases, especially in service businesses, potential customers don’t only want to know what you provide — they want to know about you. Creating a great About Us page establishes credibility while letting potential customers see the faces behind the business. So does social media… but not really, partly due to the medium and partly due to the fact…
  • Social media is out of (your) control. Set aside the reality that social media creates conversations you only partly control. Social media platforms themselves are outside your control. Facebook could change policies for business users, LinkedIn could revamp its search function, and Twitter could decide losing more money no longer makes sense. The only online marketing platform you really control — and can count on — is your website.
  • Social media generates interest; websites close. Potential customers only become customers after visiting your website (or physical location.) Social media marketing is really no different than a flyer or ad. Your website has the information, tools, resources, and incentives to convert potential customers into clients. What is more valuable in the sales world: lead generators or closers? A social media marketing campaign will only be as effective as the website that supports it.

By Jeff Haden

View Original article

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/09/dont-get-lured-into-the-social-media-hype-still-need-a-great-website/feed/ 1 Tracking is Key to Great Internet Marketing http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/09/tracking-is-key-to-great-internet-marketing/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/09/tracking-is-key-to-great-internet-marketing/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:25:34 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=216 When working with small business owners, it is amazing how many of them are not tracking their website traffic, visitors, leads and social media efforts. In order to grow, you need to know what is working, what isn’t working and when you should shift money around for maximum effectiveness.

A simple way to do this is through Google Analytics. If your website does not have this free tool installed, contact your webmaster right away. MTECH provides this as part of every website design project we do. In addition, we also provide a monthly web report service that summarizes the web traffic, visitors, keywords and SEO and provide marketing suggestions and trends.

Other tools allow you to monitor your social media mentions, such as Hootsuite, and Facebook insights also provide you with your Facebook page activity.

In addition, Twitter just recently announced it is launching its own analytics tool: https://dev.twitter.com/blog/introducing-twitter-web-analytics

Furthermore, when tracking your paid advertisement programs, such as banner ads and PPC campaigns, are you also tracking the cost per lead? If your advertising vehicles are not directing traffic to targeted landing pages with compelling offers, you are missing out on some of the story.

MTECH Internet Marketing helps small business owners traverse the digital divide through website development, coaching, teaching classes, social media training and search engine optimization. Contact us at 970-731-6325 for more details.

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/09/tracking-is-key-to-great-internet-marketing/feed/ 0 Women’s Business Conference in Durango, Colorado http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/07/womens-business-conference-in-durango-colorado/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/07/womens-business-conference-in-durango-colorado/#comments Sat, 16 Jul 2011 14:46:42 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=196 By Marcy Mitchell, Owner of MTECH Internet Marketing

I just finished a great week at the Women’s Business Conference in Durango, Colorado. The event was filled with inspirational women speakers and educational topics on marketing, financing, personal growth, etc… As a business advisor for the Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center, I got the priviledge of doing some counseling on marketing with a couple of participants.

Many small business owners in Colorado have limited marketing budgets. Yet, they know they need to market in order to increase revenue. I always get asked, how much should I budget for marketing? The answer is based on a few factors:

1. How fast do you want to grow?

2. Do you have an existing client base or are you just starting out?

3. What is your current revenue?

A rule of thumb for existing businesses is to spend somewhere between 4-5% of their revenue on marketing. For many small business owners, they are “boot-strapping” the business so funds are limited. Therefore, you want to make sure the money you do spend has maximum results. Here are a few tips to help maximize your return:

1. Determine your value proposition. What is the message you are sending? Are you promoting the “features” of your business or the “benefits” to the customers? What makes you unique in your market? If someone asks you “what you do” can you answer in 7 seconds and clearly explain your benefits? Without a clear message, your marketing won’t connect to potential clients/buyers no matter the media channel.

2. Identify your audience. Age? Interests? Are they tech-saavy or not? You won’t know where to market unless you understand your client. Too many business owners try to ”
do it all” instead of targeting key audiences and focusing their message to them.

3. Discover where your target audience “swims”? If you want to catch a fish, you have to know where they are biting. How does your target audience get information on your industry? Do they use social media, magazines, newspaper, Email?

4. Track Everything. With targeted landing pages on your website, web stats, and simply asking customers “how did you hear about me”, you can get a better idea on which marketing is the most effective.

If you want any help developing a marketing plan or discussing other Internet marketing options for your business, feel free to contact me directly at 970-731-6325 or Email: info@mtechbd.com.

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/07/womens-business-conference-in-durango-colorado/feed/ 0 Smartphone Usage Up…But Are they Searching Your Website? http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/06/smartphone-usage-up-but-are-they-searching-your-website/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/06/smartphone-usage-up-but-are-they-searching-your-website/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:45:05 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=192 According to new Nielsen data, the average U.S. Smartphone user are using more data than ever before on a per-user basis. In the last year, the smartphone usage has grown by 89%, from 230MB in Q12010 to 435MB in 2011.

People with Android and Iphone devices are leading the pack. The latest comScore data reports that Android accounts for 36% of the smartphone market with Iphone at 26%. The Nielsen data also states that 37% of mobile phone subscribers now have smartphones.

So, how does this affect you in marketing your business? There is no doubt that smartphones are on the rise and they are changing the way consumers interact with businesses and their websites. However, the timing and investment of capitalizing on this wave depends on your own customers and how they shop or search your website.

What is the average age of your customer? Do the majority get information on your product or service through their smartphone? Where do they live…rural or metro areas?

In looking at web analytics of some of my customers in Colorado, I am surprised at the smaller number of people who visit their website from a smartphone. It only accounts for about 4-6% of the visitors. That number is growing, but it still represents a small percentage of their audience right now.

So, what does this mean for small business owners? First of all, I would hold off on spending thousands developing an iphone app if your website audience has not reached a larger percentage. You can be ahead of the curve, but if it doesn’t hit the majority of your customers, was it a worthwhile investment? In addition, the app world is very competitive. So, you need a unique app that delivers real benefit to people if you pursue this route.

Secondly, I would make sure your website is visible to people with smartphones. That doesn’t mean it is a “mobile site”. Mobile sites tend to strip out some of the photos and graphics and allow for more text without scrolling as much on your smartphone. This may make sense for your business. However, with the advent of tablets, like the Ipad, you may want to display more graphics.

Third, I would continually monitor your web stats on a monthly basis to see how the percentages change. When you see more than 10% of your audience viewing your site from a smartphone, then it maybe time to invest in a mobile site or mobile app.

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/06/smartphone-usage-up-but-are-they-searching-your-website/feed/ 0 Internet Marketing talk in San Diego for FCSI http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/06/internet-marketing-talk-in-san-diego-for-fcsi/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/06/internet-marketing-talk-in-san-diego-for-fcsi/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:36:27 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=188 I am heading off to speak at the Foodservice Consultants Society International Conference in San Diego this week. I will post my presentation on my Facebook page when I return. Stay tuned! Another presenter will be also sharing a talk on Social Media in the Hospitality Industry. It is amazing to think how much I have learned about social media, blogging, and the new shift in Marketing over the past 18 months. Yet, there is still so much to learn! Part of the challenge for small business owners is to find the time and resources to keep up with the ever changing marketing trends.

I will do my part to continue learning and sharing this information with my clients and fellow small business owners!

Until next week…

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/06/internet-marketing-talk-in-san-diego-for-fcsi/feed/ 0 Determine the Marketing Message…then the Channel http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/03/marketing-message/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/03/marketing-message/#comments Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:10:54 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=178 Yesterday, I taught the first class of Marketing for Smarties in Durango with a great business colleague and owner of DurangoSpace, Jasper Welch. The course is more than a series of lessons…it is a process that helps business owners become marketing thinkers and doers. One of the first lessons we teach is to spend time developing your unique positioning statement and message first before worrying about the various marketing channels.

Nevertheless, we still get a lot of questions about if I should use Facebook or how to post content to my blog, etc…Granted the new social media wave is causing a lot of buzz and success for many businesses. However, first people have to understand that Facebook, Twitter and blogs are just other channels…not marketing plans. To make these new channels successful, you have to understand your overall message, target audience and general “brand”. Once that is determined, then the next step is to determine a publishing strategy and timeline.

If you just publish random articles and posts with no timeline established and only publish articles or Facebook posts periodically, you won’t get much of a “following”. It is the same as putting together one newspaper ad for a few weeks and then not advertising for a few months and wondering why you didn’t grow. Some marketing activities take time to generate a buzz. In addition, a companies’ sales cycles may be six months to a year and the results won’t come in for a while. Social media is no different. You are trying to establish relationships and contacts which take time and deliberate action to work.

Once you have established a message and targeted your audience, then you can begin posting content across various channels. For example, if you speak at an event, you can then:

1.  Post that speech on YouTube…or

2. Put a snippet of the video on your website and allow people to “register” to see the entire presentation.

3. Share your presentation on SlideShare

4. Break it into a series of articles for your blog

5. Post a link to the blog article and/or video on your Facebook/Twitter/Linked-In accounts.

One strong message can be utilized to gain contacts for your database…but more importantly, is it the right message for your business?

-Marcy Mitchell

]]> http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2011/03/marketing-message/feed/ 1 Small Business Owners and Branding…Is it Worth It? http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2010/06/small-business-owners-and-branding-is-it-worth-it/ http://mtechbd.com/webnews/2010/06/small-business-owners-and-branding-is-it-worth-it/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:46:24 +0000 mmitchell http://mtechbd.com/webnews/?p=91 Living in a small town in Southwest Colorado, I primarily work with small to mid-size companies. It is a pleasure working with owners, however, most small business owners do not have very many resources and therefore have to “do it all”. To that end, when I do a web site project for a company, I also become an integral part of their marketing department. Many times I assume the role of IT department, marketing department, copywriter and graphic designer. Through this process, I also try to help owners understand the importance of branding.

When creating a web site or an Internet marketing campaign, one of the most important questions I ask the client is “Who are you trying to reach and what emotional connection are you trying to make?” This starts a larger discussion on branding and positioning.

A lot of small business owners just put an ad together or a web site hoping that the mere presence of advertising will drive business their direction. However, if they have never thought about who they are trying to attract or their overall strategy, they may use the wrong message, photos, and copy that is not attracting their key market. In addition, their web site, brochure, and advertising may be sending different, conflicting messages. For example, they may create a beautiful professional ad but when the potential customer goes to the web site, they have old graphics, miles of copy and confusing navigation. This will cause the customer to jump off the site and not call or Email.

When asking if a company has ever tried marketing in a specific channel, many owners will say “we tried it and it doesn’t work”. However, was the marketing channel the problem (i.e. magazine, PPC ad, online advertiser) or was it the ad itself?

Before starting a web project or any other marketing project, it is extremely important that your marketing team truly understands who you are targeting and what colors, fonts, words and copy will attract that type of person. People buy because of emotions to solve a need, save them money or save them time. If your key audience is not quickly understanding how your product or service will help them, then they will move on. You are not trying to sell the entire world…you are simply trying to connect with potential customers who “match” the value you are offering.

Futhermore, it takes at least 7 “touches” for a person to even recognize that they saw your ad or article. Therefore, marketing should be a comprehensive strategy, not one that just throws mud on the wall to see what sticks.

Finally, all marketing should have a specific lead channel. My next article will talk about the evolution of online brochure web sites to lead generation web sites.

Marcy Mitchell, owner of MTECH Internet Marketing, has been helping small to medium sized business owners develop comprehensive marketing strategies and effective web sites for the past 14 years. For a complimentary marketing review, contact her or call 970-731-6325.

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