Understanding Web 2.0

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The “social media” network is neither a trend nor a fad. It is real and it is changing how businesses think their pr marketing strategies.

Businesses have changed their approach on marketing as new technologies emerge. Look at radio and television. It made marketers, pr clients; all change how to reach their audience from traditional print media. Then came direct mail, telemarketers, and catalogs. This again forced marketers to re-think their approach. If you do not change your pr marketing strategy or your overall advertising plan, then you will be left in the dust as your competitors move forward.

I have written several articles on this web 2.0 subject for the past 8 months. Warning pr clients, ad agencies, and publicitysocial media web 2.0 firms to “open their marketing eyes” and look what the Internet is doing. For example, no longer is the marketer in charge of telling the consumer about their great product or service. This doesn’t make the cut anymore. It is the consumer who is in control. They tell you what they want, when they want it, and how they will buy it. If your pr marketing strategies are not including this process of the consumer, then you need to re-think about changing to another marketing company that is sensitive to the Web 2.0 and how it affects pr clients.

I read a great article in Brandweek that made me realize marketers, and pr clients alike are not addressing this new social media correctly. It’s called “The 12 Steps to the Interactive Future”. It mainly highlights the 12 steps written by Larry Weber who is an expert on social media. His book titled: “How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business”. I will give you a few of the steps now, then a few more in another blog.

1- Change your marketing mindset. Marketers still define target markets by communicating with prospective customers, building loyalty. These old techniques are not going to work today. Your pr marketing strategy, or ad plan needs to re-think, get out of that old box mindset. You need to be more transparent to the customer. Don’t try to brag about whom you are and your product. It is about nurturing relationships and dialog with customers, prospects and all those active in the community.

2- Make your brand come alive. To make a branding program successful today you need to recognize that brand equity is shifting away from brand essence and brand recall. Mr. Weber points out that branding is a living thing. Something that marketers cannot accept, at least not yet. A good example of this new dialogue is GoogleTalk, Google Groups and Blogger. Oh, did you notice these are blog type-sites. Something I have been pushing for two years! Google keeps asking customers what they want and then responds. That’s making your brand come alive!

3- Out with the old Segmentation. It doesn’t surprise me that marketers for the most part, still segment their pr marketing strategy by demographics such as age or gender. Ok, some products and services need to do this. If you are promoting an assisted living complex, yes, then some of the traditional methods work. But today, you need to segment by behavior, attitudes and interests. Forget the age and gender. These groups are what are important, not age, or gender.

These three points of the 12 should make you realize that the Web 2.0, or social media, or Business Web (all are the same, just different tags) shows how you, as a pr client, or marketing professional needs to re-think your mindset. If not, then read my next three steps. Happy marketing!

How Small Businesses Can Use Publicity To Grow

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Companies still think that publicity is only for those large companies, or pr clients that have offices all across the country. No True!

The size of your company should not be a factor in developing a pr marketing strategy.publiciy for small business What you need to understand is that publicity when implemented correctly, can actually help any size company grow. When you see articles on the larger corporations, like Microsoft, pr clients tend to feel that only “those guys” get all the glory. If you have a solid pr marketing strategy, and your publicity agency is equipped to implement a pr campaign, then you too can be “in the news”.

Just make sure what you offer is newsworthy. And above all, keep your company away from legal issues or personnel issues that can have a bad reflection on your business. For years we have provided pr clients with a host of programs designed to accomplish their goals. Here are a few tip that you should include into your pr marketing strategy campaign.

1- Put together an eNewsletter. This can be monthly, or bi-monthly. Write informative “how to” or “tips” that your customers will enjoy and learn from

2- Get involved in community programs or events. This is what the press are looking for. You can submit your photos of an event your company sponsored or created and invite the press to attend. If they don’t, send photos of the event to the reported covering community stories in the newspaper.

3- Become a guest speaker. Look at local Chambers of Commerce, community and civic groups to see if they will let you speak on topics you know. It makes sense to discuss about your industry. But don’t SELL your services or products. Instead, discuss how your industry, and your company) is improving the area, or helping to change things for the better.

Many other tips can be found in various articles that discuss publicity. One in particular is an online site called Direct. You can also find tips at the PR Insider. And if you want to get a professional group to get your small business noticed, give us a call. We can show you how to make your company grow using publicity. It is an affordable solution for small businesses.

Beauty Source Selects Carson Marketing for Web Site Development

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A retail store, Beauty Source, recognizes the need to have an eCommerce web site in addition to their retail outlets. Why? Because consumer activity of eCommerce is still growing and the need to keep customers is greater today than it was just four years ago.

Web marketing is no longer for the part-time designer, or artist. It requires savvyretail store for cosmetics marketers who understand how to grow a company and what eCommerce is about. That is just one of the many reasons why the PR Client, Beauty Source, chose Carson Marketing, Inc for their web site development. Creating the site is one small segment to a successful site. You need to have a clean design, the right placement of products, create an easy navigation system, and above all establish a solid optimization program that is constantly updated.

PR Clients rely on marketing professionals, like Carson Marketing, Inc. to help guide them with their pr marketing strategies. Unlike vertical agencies who specialize in one area, such as web development, or media advertising, Carson Marketing was chosen for their complete knowledge of all areas including publicity, promotions, web marketing and the ability to recognize trends when other competitors are learning where the industry is going. Since 1980, Carson Marketing, Inc. has been instrumental in helping pr clients and manufacturers discover how to increase business. The “core branding” approach is what makes Carson Marketing successful in helping pr clients reach their goals. This includes a pr marketing strategy plan that ties directly into the overall business plan. If you don’t have a direction, it makes it difficult to know where you are going. Carson Marketing will show pr clients the path to success.

Keeping up with Social Media

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I am constantly being asked to give more information about this growing Internet media called “social media”. To help further understand the power this new media offers you need to read my other articles on social media and also this article. Then maybe you will get a better perspective why your pr client needs to become active in social media. If nothing else happens with your pr marketing strategy campaign, make sure you consider adding a blog or other social media network to the program.social media networking

To begin, it is important to know exactly what is Social Media: Defined by Wikipedia (a type of Social Media site) defines it as “the online technologies and practices that people use to share content, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives, and media themselves. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. The social media sites typically use tools like message boards, forums, podcasts, bookmarks, communities, wikis, blogs etc.” This quote was in a white paper from More Visibility.

Notice how it describes the different types, and forms this media takes. Such as message boards and forums. If you recall, the web originated from old BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems) and Chat Rooms. In a sense, social media is a more advanced network of chat rooms. But today, anyone can create a post, write a blog– from teens to mature adults in their 80’s and make comments. Unlike chat rooms that were by invitations to friends. Yes, some social media like Facebook, and MySpace keep outsiders out if you don’t know them.

How many different types of Social media web sites exist? A lot. For starters there are:

Social Network Sites. Mainly web sites that are becoming a community with the intent to create a social involvement.

Picture Sites are another. You may already be using them. These are pictures you post online to share with others, family and friends.

Video site. Same as pictures, but use videos. The most popular is YouTube. But many other new sites are emerging daily.

Blogs. Most popular among the youth, now is part of a business network. Companies are blogging faster than ever to get the name out.

Many other types are happening like music sharing sites, podcasting (the next big growth area) and gaming sites as well.

Knowing just this information should help pr clients develop stronger pr marketing strategies for their campaign. If you are a pr client and your publicity agency is not getting you to the social media front, call George Carson at Carson Marketing, Inc. He will get you in front of the line.

Social Media keeps growing. Learn how to reach target markets.

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Social media is not a fad. It keeps growing and now savvy marketers can target specific age groups and genders.social networks

If you are a local pr client that does Publicity locally in Orange County, or a national company, marketers can now reach their target age customers with social media. It used to be restricted to the younger teens and those who were in college. Sites like MySpace and Facebook were the main arteries to this limited age audience. But now there are many new social media sites that are catering to various age groups. Such as “www.econs.com”. It isn’t surprising that this site was established, because it reaches the 50+ age who are very internet savvy.

According to a study by Pew Internet & American Life Project, they estimate over 70 percent of Americans aged 50 to 64 use the web. And econs.com is one of the sites they frequent most often.

If your pr marketing strategy is to target the generation between Baby Boomers and Generation X (born in the mid-50s to mid-60s) then check out BOOMj.com. This social networking site will get your pr campaign noticed with them.

Another new site called lavalife.com is a narrow niche targeting women in the mature age of 45 and up. This is still a beta site, but as you can see, social networking is expanding. It is helping local companies like those in Orange County, or New York City, to specifically reach a selected audience. To get more niche, other sites are popping up. These include SisterWoman.com, and CafeMom.com. The later is identified with moms raising kids while SisterWoman is a social network for women to chat and connect with girlfriends.

Make sure your pr marketing strategy plan includes these social networks as well as a solid blogging campaign. This is another way to increase the branding awareness and build a solid branding company. To get your pr marketing plan on target, give Carson Marketing Inc a call.

Podcasting. The next best Marketing Strategy.

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The Internet is constantly moving fast forward, and your pr marketing strategies need to keep the pace.

If you are an aggressive pr client, or publicity professional, then you are probably a savvy Internet person that knows the power it offers. But are you aware of social media? Do youpodcasting marketing understand how to use this media? Are you prepared to get into the hottest next media? If you answered yes, then Podcasting needs to be part of your pr marketing strategy. The word podcast is made from two words, “iPod” and “broadcast“.

Not all web sites are created equal. Those that know web marketing, like Carson Marketing Inc, understand the power a blog site has and when you add podcasting, it brings a new dimension to the Internet. If you are a pr client and your ad agency or public relations service agency doesn’t recommend your company to have a blog site, then it’s time to look for another marketing agency. Why? Becasue you are then missing out on increasing your company’s position in the market. In order to increase sales, you need to get more visible. You need to tell the story about the company, its services and products. The most cost effective way to do this is with a blog site and podcasting. Unlike ads in a publication, or press releases, blogs can be controlled and changed daily. This keeps the information fresh and current to perspective customers.

Isn’t it time your company sets the pace in your industry? If you want to be the leader, then start a professional blog site that is well supported with qualified marketers who can get you noticed. Call George Carson at 949-477-9400.

Protect your web site investment. Avoid making SE mistakes.

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Search Engine Marketing is both an art and full time business. Knowing what makes them angry can help any pr client avoid being tossed off the list.

If you are a pr client, or an ad agency, or better yet, a web design company, make sure you know the rules of good web development and understand what makes SE’s (search engines)search engine marketing mad. You may already recognize a few of these “don’t do” rules, but I am sure you will find some that you did not know and should avoid.

Remember, if you engage in any of these “don’t do rules” your web site can be banned or dropped from their rankings. That can have serious effects on your web site traffic, and ruin a pr marketing strategy campaign that might have included keywords, optimizing, banner ads, reciprocal links, just to mention a few. These are a few of the things to avoid.

1- Re-Directs. Sometimes called cloaking. This could include hidden text or showing different content to se’s than what your actual site displays.

2- Doorway pages. This is a familiar term and was once accepted as a marketing tool for web designers. No longer is this accepted.

3- Linking to poor sites. Sometimes referred to as “bad neighborhood” sites. These sites have broken links, are usually part of a link farm for thousands of other sites linked together.

4- Broken links on your own site. Getting a “404 errors” is not good. Fix any broken links or pages that cannot load properly.

Many other don’ts exist, these are a few to help you learn what not to do. We have other articles that address similar helpful tips, such as “Build Web Links With Publicity“. Other good reading articles you should read are: “Web Site Marketing in Orange County“, Social Networking is changing how we search“, and finally “Web Site Marketing and Publicity“.

Browse through many of the other articles on local publicity, pr marketing strategies, and email campaigns. I am sure you will find something that can improve the publicity and marketing campaign for your pr client.

How to increase brand awareness. Create an Event.

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Be sure the pr marketing strategies for your company includes promotional events. It can be an excellent media for building a company’s brand.

You can develop a local publicity event that can be as effective as a national campaign.

Our pr client, Extreme Karting, held their first promotional event at K-1 Speed in Irvine, California. It was an indoor racing go-karting event. The turnout was great and the fungo kart event promotion was at an all-time high. Drivers ranged from dad’s to son’s who participated. As usual, the younger group showed the dads their skills by outperforming them. The event gave an opportunity for new customers to experience go-karting while getting to know our pr client. This was a great pr marketing strategy that worked.

We completely handled the publicity with K-1, developed and created the special eMail invitation to the event, and coordinated the activity including taking photos. In addition to the promotional event, Extreme Karting has a shifter GP go-kart on display for all to see. The kart was set between a formula race car and an off-road race vehicle, making the display area more exciting. Potential customers took handouts from the go-kart display giving more branding exposure to Extreme Karting.k-1 speed indoor racing

Branding for Extreme Karting was lifted several more levels as many of that company’s customers and potential customers became familiar with the Extreme name and products. We are planning other promotional events as part of our overall pr marketing strategies for this year and next. We enjoy seeing our pr clients get results.

If your company needs to uplift its branding image, then it’s time to contact Carson Marketing Inc. Ask for George Carson. He can create a special event to make you smile from the results.

How to increase business with a referral program

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This publicity program should not be restricted to local areas, such as Orange County.

Sometimes pr clients, advertising agencies, and publicity firms are too busy developing campaigns to lure new customers than using the resources at hand. The best new business approach is to establish a strong referral program.

If you have a multi-million dollar advertising and pr budget, then this inexpensive program may not be of interest to you. On the other hand, if you are a wise, local Orange County Publicity agency, or a pr client, or a national company that seeks other methods of generating additional customers, then listen up.

referral program, increase businessFirst let me tell you that I am not the only person who uses referral programs, nor am I the only person who enjoys telling others how to create one. You will find many other business people and consultants who do this as well. One particular person who has broken down the referral program is Daryl Logullo. His concentrates on building strategies for business people needing to develop strong referral programs. Mr. Logullo created these three key concepts for redirecting any local orange county publicity company to a national software company’s marketing efforts.

1- Ensure that your existing clients understand the full scope of your services. If you company provides several different services, or products, but certain clients only know a handful of them, you need to let those pr clients experience the other services/products. To do this, you need to have the pr clients recognize that you can improve their lives/business when they understand all that you offer.

2- Discuss the subject of growth with your pr clients. Most of the time we tend to be shy about expressing to clients about our advancing. In reality, pr clients are like anyone else. They would appreciate knowing you are positive and optimistic about expanding your company. And more than often, they become thrilled to know you are sharing your growth plans and requesting their help.

3- Reward referral-generating behavior. When you acknowledge and reward a person for a referral, it is more appreciated. But beware to not only reward a pr client when the new lead becomes an active customer. It should be done even at the early stages of giving you a name to contact.

These are just a few tips to consider when implementing a referral program. Now you can see that referrals should not be restricted to local areas such as Orange County, or publicity in Orange County, but it can be in any market that you can provide the services to customers.

Search Engine Marketing. Use it with your PR Marketing.

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This is another “Publicity Is Everywhere” series.

Why is search engine marketing (SEM) so popular? Because without it, a pr clients web site cannot compete with all the other Internet eCommerce web sites. Whether you have a traditional brick and mortar store and a web site presence, pr clients need to implement a search engine marketing effort that is part of the overall pr marketing strategy campaign.

As I have said many times, “publicity is everywhere”. This includes the web. And itsearch engine marketing doesn’t matter if you are doing B2B marketing or consumer direct marketing, SEM can improve your web site traffic. Although many companies try to do SEM in-house, it cannot be as productive as those companies who are experts in Search Engine Optimization. SEM is a full time position and requires dedication that continually researches the competition, keywords, and source codes to keep a web site ahead of the competition. The New York Times defines SEM “as the practice of buying paid search listings with the goal of obtaining better free search listings”.

In 2003, a non-profit organization was formed. It is called Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). The purpose of this organization is to promote search engine marketing and provide educational resources to members and consumers.

Some of the SEM tactics are paid placement and paid inclusion. Both are acceptable forms of getting a pr clients web site ranked high and listed on Yahoo and Google. But other methods should also be included. These are social media, blog sites and a public relations program. The later are more affordable than paid rankings and will add to the branding of any pr clients marketing strategies.

Review some of the other tips and articles I have written about seo, keywords, and optimization to better understand the complexity of developing a solid SEM program. If you are a pr client that wants to jump ahead with a proven pr marketing strategy campaign, then call Carson Marketing Inc. Ask for George Carson. He will show you how to get noticed and build traffic to your web site.