websense

This video is a couple of years old, but it holds some fascinating facts about the web. Pretty clear why Web Marketing is the ‘wave of the future’, as the video is titled.

Here’s a pretty good idea of what you probably shouldn’t do, no matter how tempting. Mashable’s Jolie O’Dell has a post today profiling one web designer’s decision to go public with an old account who had chosen not to pay the bill. In a big way – the designer, who had hosted the site for free, replaced the copy on the homepage with copy describing his troubles getting his client to pay for the work he had completed.
The designer’s actions were certainly childish (his words), though understandable, as no one likes to get stiffed, but really, really unprofessional. I think many web design firms have had trouble collecting on outstanding bills in the last several years because, when it comes right down to it, a website isn’t rent, or lights. Things you have to have – at the absolute bare minimum – to survive. Especially if you are a chiropractor or some other entity who does not rely on e-commerce as your main source of clientele. So many companies had to go on austerity programs that in the end, probably lost them business and ended up losing money – but it was survival mode. I think in the end, this web designer probably understood that, as he took the site down of his own accord. As the economy rebounds, and business is picking up for many folks, maybe he’ll get paid after all. Then again, after what he did, he’ll probably never hear from the guy, ever. He may have even scared off potential clients, now that they see the lengths he was willing to go to collect.

I think a marketing budget is one of the last things that should be cut, right along with the rent and the lights. Marketing is what keeps clients coming through the door. This chiropractor either didn’t know that, or was in such deep financial trouble, that there was nothing he could do about it. I hope, for his sake and that of the web designer, that this thing doesn’t sour people for both of them. Makes for interesting reading, however.

Doing my usual sweep of online reading, I came across a great article for 2011 that basically encapsulates many of the suggestions I have made here over the last year or so, and does it in a concise little article, which I thought might be interesting to some who are planning their online marketing strategies, plotting out their marketing budgets for the year, and such.

The article: 10 Trends for Online Marketers in 2011, by John Arnold of Entrepreneur Magazine, is a nice snapshot of what I think are some pretty relevant search marketing techniques for this year. Definitely worth taking a look.

Some of the things he mentions, such as local search, I have posted about here and think is very important. Google Places, Foursquare, Facebook Places and other applications make it easy to get your business found by the people in your community. Read up, it’s gonna be what makes a difference in your bottom line this year, as consumers will begin to expect to be able to find you using these applications, and will most likely check to see if you have a mobile coupon or other discount.

Instant Search has been around for a bit now, and I actually think it’s pretty cool. I posted about it a while back, so check here for more information, and how it might affect your business.

As always, it is really important to monitor your social media marketing,
from your online reputation, to what makes your customers do a happy dance, you need to know what’s happening out there, and this gives you an instant line on what your customers think of you, and your product or service.

I think 2011 will be the year that online television really takes off. Between people becoming more aware of where their dollars are going, and the availability of online television, it’s gonna be a hot commodity this year. Thinking about ways to leverage this information for your business will be a good way to spend your marketing dollars, since advertising on the web, and advertising on web tv will have some overlapping properties. If you’d like more information on making web tv advertising an option for your business, check out my posts about it from last year. With the advent of websites like Hulu.com, more and more people have canceled their cable and have turned to these sites to get the shows they want to see.

There are so many ways to market your company on the Web. This year will be another year of expanding technology, and with it will come the expansion of ways to reach your customer base. If you take one thing away from this, let it be that search marketing needs to be in your marketing budget. Maybe defining what works best for your company will take some tweaking, but it’ll be worth it at the end of the year when you see where your web efforts have paid off.

I hope the last couple of weeks have been spent among good friends and family, enjoying the time of year that is meant for gatherings and parties. TKG had a great Christmas party this year. It’s always a good time, but this year we had it in a bowling alley due to our impending move to a new house, and it was really a lot of fun. They surprised me with a theme party – see if you can guess the theme:

It was a lot of fun: bowling, decorative Christmas apparel, cheese whiz on crackers, cocktail wienies, Reese’s mini cups on a stick, and a tower of twinkies; a very classy time was had by everyone, I think.

A few folks from TKG went up to the Browns / Steelers slaughter game on Sunday, as well. About half of us had a really great time – the half that was wearing black and gold. The other half, well, lets just say the tailgating and great food made for a fun morning, and leave it at that. Kidding aside, it’s great to work with a group of people who like to hang out together. It fosters great working relationships, cooperation, and teamwork. It doesn’t hurt that these folks are a lot of fun, to boot.

I hope that you were able to spend some time over the last few weeks with good friends and family, as well, as it’s now time to get back to the grind, and we’ll need the fortitude offered by all those cookies and um, beverages, to keep us warm as we power through the coming winter months.

NE Ohio seems to stand at the ready for whatever comes our way. The political scene is a little less bleak. Businesses are hitting the ground running after a great holiday shopping season. We are done with this recession, we’re rebounding – ready to do business, ready to make some money – for ourselves – and help our clients find the best ways to do that as well. I hope that as you plan your marketing budget for 2011, you seriously consider including some SEO and SEM. Not only is it incredibly cost effective, it is the way the world/business/markets are trending. I am looking forward to 2011. It’s going to be the year America lands back on her feet, and TKG will be here to do our part. It’s gonna be a great year!

I recently read an article on Fox New’s small business that said the Facebook was like a cocktail party for small business. I have to take issue with this a bit.

We all know that Facebook can be leveraged for marketing purposes, but not all small businesses are going to get the greatest benefit from it. Take for example, the wedding photographer featured in the article. She states that for her:
“Facebook is huge for networking. As far as marketing goes, it’s the best tool,” said Guenin, 32, who promotes weddings and other events she has photographed on the fast-growing social media site. “

I can see why Facebook would be a great fit for her. Her business is highly social. She friends her clients when she accepts a project. She can upload pictures from her weddings and other events, allowing her clients to share them, all marked of course, with her logo. Free advertising. People like what they see, especially if she uploads the best or most interesting shots, gets lots of comments on them, and remember that when they need a photographer for their own events. It’s a great setup, especially with such ease of use and low or not cost. The only cost would come from the time involved in updating her profile, if she did not maintain it herself.

But, all small businesses are not so socially oriented. I don’t see this working quite so well for a dentist or a metal fabricating company. I mean, you can’t really post about the great root canal you just gave, or the awesome filling you just did. You might be able to get away with some shots of tooth whitening, but, really, who wants to shop for a dentist on Facebook? A metal fabricating company might have the same experience. Your friends and family aren’t going to “share” your pics of guys welding in helmets, or the finished product. Friending clients on Facebook might come off as strange. It’s not a natural fit, by any means.

In the end, there are Web marketing solutions to fit every small business. Some will do well with social media, while others might need to concentrate more on their email campaigns, SEO, and some local search – that dentist will want to spend more time on local search than Facebook. It’s just a better fit. It just makes sense.