Leo Laporte adds credibility to encryption software

Posted on March 23, 2009 by George Carson

Whenever you can use a top name to endorse your product/service that is associated within the industry your pr client serves, then do it! That’s exactly what we did. When planning our pr marketing strategy rather than hire a spokesperson like an athlete, or movie star, we choose to have one of the nations recognized guru’s in the tech industry endorse our pr clients product– SkyLOCK At-Rest encryption software. Leo Laporte, the TECH GUY, is highly visible, and he only endorses products that work!

Our client, Encryption Solutions, Inc. developed the encryption software. The SkyLOCK At-Rest product is NIST/FIPS Certified encryption at 140-2, level 2 at 256 bits, HIPAA Compliant, and DAR approved. That may sound like a lot, and believe me it is. This stuff really works, and is used by the military and the US government. It is so powerful, that it is restricted to be sold to certain countries. Now that’s security at it’s best!

So when we wanted to make this available to everyone, we could only think of one way to publicize the product, use Leo Laporte. When he tried the software, he quickly learned how powerful and easy it was to use. ” I am encrypting everything now…hackers can never, ever, ever access your data…even if you email it through an unsecured system,” commented Leo. When we heard that, it was a natural for my pr client to run radio spots on his Saturday show (11 AM to 2 PM) the local KFI radio station (640 AM) in LA. You can also hear Leo on his Tech Guy Labs web site. To further prove that this is the best encryption software; our pr client is allowing consumers to download a FREE 30-Day Trial. Just go to www.skylockesi.com for a Free Trail. Then if you like it and see how easy it is to install and use, you might just want to let your friends know so they too can protect their data. One more thing, if your laptop is ever stolen, your data is protected. No hacker can crack this encryption software.

So if your pr client has a product or service that is truly great and meets the needs of today’s consumers or businesses, think of the best way to jump-start your pr marketing campaign. Think of someone that is visible, believable, and will endorse the product. Need help; call George Carson today for a free consultation about your pr marketing strategy needs.

How to easily optimize your web site

Posted on March 14, 2009 by George Carson

Yeah, this is a topic that seems to appear everywhere, from local orange county publicity sites to national web marketers. But it still needs to be repeated, even if you only do one of these important rules to keep your web site optimized and search engine friendly, you will be ahead of the competition.

You can find a lot of information about SEO optimization on the web. If you do a search in Google for the words “seo optimization” you get over 6 million searches. Too many to read, and which ones do you choose? You can’t only select the top 5 or 8 searches, because most of those only give a definition of seo’s. Well, I’ll make this simple and easy enough for any local publicity agency or even a novice web designer to do.

It’s no secret but here are the basic rules to keeping the web site fresh and seo friendly:

1- Keyword and keyphrases. Although many web marketers might dispute the fact that keywords and keyphrases may not be the pr marketing strategy to use, it still holds a lot of attention for seo’s and their methods of rankings. To keep your keywords and phrases current, you need to do some research. It is necessary to find what are the most requested terms/words for your specific industry and place them into your meta keyword/phrases. But do not overload or stuff your keyword, meaning do not put more than 12 to 15. This is what I recommend. Otherwise the seo’s will move you down the rankings.

2. Page titles. Very, very important. Do this correctly and it will pay off. Each title should be different for each page, and include the keywords you use. The best way to understand using titles is to think of yourself looking through books at a library. If the title helps you to stop and look deeper into that book because it relates to what you age looking for, then that’s how the titles work in your web site for the search engines.

3. Meta description. Similar to your page titles, these help the seo’s provide the description to your listings. Each page of your site should have its own meta description. Keep in mind to not have the description be more than 155 words. This is one of the areas that you can control since the seo’s will grab your descriptions for the listings.

4. Keeping the site fresh. You should make it a point to refresh the site every 3 or 4 months. Not change the site, but modify the text, refresh the keywords, and re-visit how the elements are positioned on the site. Then after doing this, re-submit the site to all the seo’s and directories.

There are many other things that will help keep your site listed and ranked high, for example these would be: a) blogging, b) publicity releases, c) articles published, d) RSS feeds, e) social networking, f) have an on-going pr marketing strategy plan to assure the site meets it’s goals, just to list a few.

There are over a billion sites/pages and millions added everyday. If you do not have an on-going web marketing plan, then it’s time to implement one. Do you need professional help that is affordable? Give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400. Carson Marketing, Inc has been helping pr clients with their web marketing needs for over 10 years.

Which PR Marketing Strategy is best– eMail or Direct Mail?

Posted on February 28, 2009 by George Carson

If you guessed eMail, you’re wrong, well, almost wrong. Email has become very popular because it is easy to create, and costs a lot less than traditional direct mail. But are you sacrificing cost for conversions? Are you willing to listen, or be open minded to the fact that your pr marketing strategy should now include direct mail?

Let me explain what has been happening between these two pr marketing strategies that has direct mail the winner at this time.

You need to realize the average person receives thousands of junk email a month, and some may get that much a week. Then consider how many hundreds of email you get from vendors you know, clients, newsletters you subscribe to, etc. Although once an email marketing pr marketing strategy important pr marketing strategy, email is now getting numb to the receiver. Our inbox has become so full with emails that we are now trashing things that are not directly needed at the time. A well-known professor, Andrew Razeghi wrote a book called “The Riddle…” and explains it is time to be creative with your marketing strategies. In his words, Mr. Razeghi said, “direct mail is more physical, less disposable and more sensory than digital media (email).” This alone should tell you why direct mail is clearly becoming the winner.

I am not saying to abort all email campaigns, but to re-consider the safe and true value that direct mail has, and it has a higher return rate. That’s because customers are often skeptical and more so when the economy is in a recession like now. By keeping a tangible image with something for the customer to touch, gives a positive perception of a company. With email, it is difficult for the person to get that feeling, especially if they can easily “click” your message into the trash without opening it. Another point, we hate getting bills in the mail. So it has been known that consumers will open a direct mailer because it is not a bill, or something that could be negative. Basically, we want to be entertained and junk mail can help relieve the fear of another bill.

Want to know some of the secrets to a successful direct mail program? Give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400.

Brand awareness includes your website

Posted on February 21, 2009 by George Carson

Carson Marketing, Inc. was recently selected by Encryption Solutions, Inc (a pr client) to develop a user-friendly web site for their B2Consumer campaign. As part of the overall pr marketing strategy, we began the branding campaign with the design of the logo for the name SkyLOCK. Then we created the web site. The pr marketing strategy for the web site was to make it consumer friendly. The navigation as well as the information was written to help the consumer make the right choice for their encryption needs. This included a useful comparison chart on the products page.

The header area changes scenes with the words that show different people using their computers in different environments, letting the consumer know that your data can be hacked anytime, by anyone. Even if your laptop, or desktop were stolen, the SkyLOCK encryption will protect the computers data from any situation.

The branding campaign for the pr client will consist of blogging, social networking, and a local media broadcast campaign. We plan to launch the various pr marketing strategies within the next 10 days. The campaign will run for26 weeks, and will expand to various markets.

If your company needs a branding campaign, or a new branding approach, give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400. It could be the best investment to get your company ahead of the competition in today’s market.

Building a Brand: Putting Magic Into A Logo and Website

Posted on February 17, 2009 by George Carson

It’s great to have a pr client that encourages you to be creative with their logo and website. In the case of Loren Michael Zwick, the Surrealist Magician, we did just that. Although we didn’t go overboard because we are reaching local B2B clients as well as other corporate company’s, we did have fun making the website entertaining. Designing a web site was part of our local publicity and marketing campaign. magician web site

Loren’s web site plays up his talent, by making the face cards on the left change and his eyes shift left to right. The navigation buttons make a puff of smoke and disappear when the mouse rolls over them.

The logo was more challenging. To create the mystic and surreal feeling, we used black and white as the colors and then designed his initials LMZ with a free flowing hand lettering style. The letter “M” is invisible until you stare at the logo. You then notice it is the negative space between the L and Z.

Many pr clients may not want their branding campaign to be this aggressive, but Loren is that exception. With the competitiveness in any industry, it is important to build a branding that is positive and memorable to your audience. Our pr marketing strategy will continue the path of this direction as we begin a new series of publicity releases for this pr marketing campaign. If you need some magic in your pr marketing campaign, call Carson Marketing at 949-477-9400.

Are you willing to pay to meet friends? Twitter may think so.

Posted on January 18, 2009 by George Carson

We are entering another level in the world of cyberspace and social networking. Jut a few years ago chat rooms were the craze, and then came the social networks like MySpace and Facebook, and the business networks like Linkedin. Now they are trying to make money on these successful sites. So why not Twitter? Yes, the overnight successful social network is thinking people are willing to pay to meet friends. Would you pay? At present it’s free. But for how long? An article in web pro news discusses this topic further.

There are still other social networks that are free. And new ones are entering the crowded market, such as Twellow.com (still in beta). So how do these social sites profit from an industry that is hungry to meet others? Place banner ads on the sites? Collect the personal data and sell it to prospects? Or begin membership clubs to keep from all the commercials and banners?

I am not sure what the answer is, or if there is going to be an answer that meets what people will be willing to accept. Only time will tell. In today’s rapid pace of social media, we can only wait and see.

I thought this short blog will help my pr clients and “friends” in the publicity industry, as well as publicity professionals are informed about the latest direction for social networks. If you are a pr client, or publicity firm that needs help in developing a social visible network, then give me a call. I’ll be willing to guide you in the direction to take your business to the next level. Good luck, George Carson.

Is Social Media Killing The Advertising World?

Posted on January 15, 2009 by George Carson

Some say yes, while those not sure sit and wait to see what happens over the next couple of years. If your pr marketing strategies are not current to include this trend then you might just be that pr client who fades into the darkness of cyberspace.

It’s amazing how the advertising industry is running scared about social media taking away their market share. Maybe because they are the last to recognize or admit social media was not a fad but a new way of communicating. For over a year, I discussed this at length. I mentioned how social media needs to be part of any pr clients marketing strategy, or media plan. But then again, I am one of the few in this marketing and publicity industry that embraces new technology and uses it to my pr client’s advantage. Why do ad agencies, even pr firms keep ignoring opportunities like social media, social networks? Because they do not understand it! And most importantly, cannot figure out how to make money off this technology, because they were too comfortable doing the same old stuff for over 40 years!

What got me on this topic was an article I read today in FT.com (Financial Times) by Tim Bradshaw. It is titled “Social networks threaten advertising growth“. Powerful heading, and even more eye-opening as how fearful this industry is about technology. Yet, our industry communicates to consumers about new products, services and why you need them. But these same people who profess its greatness, fear it.

I have learned to adapt to new technologies and make it beneficial for my pr clients. For example, web marketing has been part of our company for over 6 years. That puts us light years ahead of many others in my industry. We continue to learn about how to improve client’s visibility, increase sales all through web marketing. Yes, we do mix traditional marketing techniques when needed to further a clients publicity campaign or awareness program.

To wrap this up, we are not fearful of technology such as social media; as a matter of fact we are looking for the next revolution and are ready to use it to our clients advantage! If you want your publicity or marketing to move forward fast, then give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400. It could be the best call you make to put you ahead of your competition.

How publicity could hurt or increase future sales

Posted on December 15, 2008 by George Carson

It isn’t until after a press release, or an article is published, you then see the results of your pr marketing strategies take place. Well, have you thought about all the publicity in the news these past few months? Such as the financial markets, the auto publicity is everywhere industry and retailers?

Publicity is everywhere! That’s what I have professed for over a decade. As we all read about how bad something is, we tend to shy away from them. So let’s talk about the auto industry. The big three–GM, Chrysler and Ford. The negative pr these companies have had is going to hurt FUTURE sales. Yeah, they are having great deals on cars, trucks and SUV’s. But now people hear about them going broke, or having serious financial trouble. Would you consider buying from any of them? I don’t think so. Why? Because if you need a part in four years, or have trouble with the vehicle, you begin to ask…will they be there to help? Will the dealership I bought from be around anymore? A recent article in Media Post gets deeper into this topic discussing a survey to illustrate this point. Service is a major concern with any product. That too is what causes the slowdown on many retailers. Why buy from them, if they are closing?

What all this negative publicity does is help the competition. Again, look at the auto industry. Sales are going to increase for all the imports. Not just because they build better vehicles, or are price competitive. It’s because there hasn’t been negative publicity about any of the better known imports having financial problems. At least we do not hear about them like we do with the domestic auto companies.

This also applies to the banking industry, and retailers. If your company is in a good position, financially, then consider creating a “positive publicity campaign”. This is when branding should be a major part of your pr marketing strategy. This window of opportunity is now open, take the leap. Just make sure you work with a professional publicity company to help guide you through this timely event.

Magician, Loren Zwick, Chooses Carson Marketing, Inc. for Publicity

Posted on December 15, 2008 by George Carson

Surrealist Magician, Loren Zwick, has selected Carson Marketing, Inc as the exclusive publicity firm to promote his astonishing talent. Unlike other magicians, Loren combines some of his illusions with motorcycle stunts. Having worked at major venues in Las Vegas and the Magic Castle plus other famous clubs, Loren was one of the youngest members to be accepted at the Magic Castle at the age of 14. Today, he has perfected many of his creative illusions and will be starting his Surrealist Magic Tour in Southern California at different clubs and private corporate events.
The edgy, young and sexy looking magician enjoys creating his own illusions that mystifies audiences. magic stunts “I choose Carson Marketing because the company has shown me they too know and understand what it takes to make people take notice”, commented Loren. “Carson is one of the few companies that knows and understands how to use all media, including Blogging, Social Networking, web marketing as well as traditional publicity”.

Carson Marketing, Inc. will be developing various materials for distribution and create a unique pr campaign to promote Illusionist Loren Zwick. His illusion web site is: www.zwick.tv

The publicity division of Carson Marketing, Inc., www.CarsonPR.com, has been servicing clients from Fortune 1000 to startups since 1980. Located in Santa Ana, California, George Carson (Marketing Director) said “Loren Zwick is the type of client we all enjoy, because it allows us to be creative without limitations.”
For further information, and how your company can get noticed, contact George Carson at 949-477-9400.

How to submit your website to Search Engines

Posted on December 10, 2008 by George Carson

Before submitting your local or national web site to the search engines, make sure it is properly optimized, has all the meta tag keywords, and titles. The second important part, make sure the site is graphically appealing, not cluttered, or the SEO’s will just pass you by. The last thing, is the site map. Your web site should have a site map, it is how the SEO’s crawl sites. It’s all about knowing how to use web marketing.

Just like a well planned publicity campaign, your well-designed web site needs to be submitted to get the site ranked by the SEO’s, such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Whether you are a local Orange County company, or a national company, the submission process is basically the same. Here are a few tips to consider:

1- Submit your site after it is complete. Too many times a pr client, or web designers want to submit the site even if you have a couple of pages that are still in construction, or are not completed. This will hurt your rankings.

2- Hand Submission is best. If you hire a local web marketing company or have your local publicity agency do the submission, make sure it is not done with software.

3- Beware of promises by web companies. If someone promises you top rankings…buyer beware. Check them out, make sure the company can produce what they claim.

4- Use keywords, phrases that relate to your location. It is good practice to include in tyour title page, or in the body text that tells where your company rsided. Although your company may do business nationally, local web marketing will further the exposure and your chances of being ranked higher with the SEO’s.

Doing the submission to all the search engines and directories is a long process. And you should only submit to about 5 SEO’s per week. Doing a blast will trigger red flags to the “bots” and cause your site to be overlooked. In the long run, using a professional web marketing company will assure your site is properly submitted, and optimized.