Tag Archives: Orange County Publicity

Local publicity can bring increase sales and awareness

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Your publicity campaign should include local publicity media. This could be an Orange County publicity campaign, or a local media publication, such as the LA or OC Business Journals. Some local publicity is targeted to a specific audience, suchlocal and regional publicity as Children’s Resource Directory, which goes to all the Orange County outlets. It’s designed to help parents in this region find good sources for their children, whether it be about child upbringing, health issues, or the arts (music, dance, etc).

PR clients need to stay in touch with their local community programs. It is one method to gain local publicity. Although the rewards may not be immediate, you will see an increase in loyal customers.  Another method is to distribute press releases in your local publications. This is just one form of building a solid local publicity campaign. The Internet now offers a wide variety of web sites to further build upon this local branding campaign. Many of the local community publications have on-line web sites. In addition; you can find many regional and local sites that target your specific market.

So the next time you begin to plan your publicity campaign, be sure to have local publicity as part of the overall program. We have found this to be very rewarding for many of our clients. Especially now when pr clients are looking for ways to increase sales, but maintain a tight budget. If your publicity campaign needs some local direction, give George Carson a call. His Carson Marketing, Inc company has the expertise to get your company noticed which in turn will create more customers.

How to easily optimize your web site

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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 seo optimizingonly 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.

How to use publicity to increase sales

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The first thing you probably thought I was going to say was creating a series of articles, or press releases, right? Wrong.

The most profitable way to increase sales is to develop an in-house publicity programemail marketing designed for your current clients/customers. Most publicity professionals will have these in-house programs for their pr clients. Sounds simple, but this is one of the most overlooked areas of publicity. Think about it. Just because you have a customer base, or just sold that new account, doesn’t mean they will continue buying your service or products. Many other competitors are constantly after your customers. The best way to retain and grow your sales is with your existing customers. This should be part of your company’s pr marketing strategy. Whether you are a local orange county publicity company, or a national hardware store, this is something all companies should practice.

Here are a few tips:

• Develop a follow up program. When a customer purchases a service or product, be sure to contact them within a week after the purchase to see if everything is ok. You may find that this can be very rewarding. You might find that the delivery was delayed, or the product was not working properly or had some problems when arrived. When you follow up the customer feels that they are important and will be confident in purchasing more from your company.

• Thank you note. Again, this is not brain surgery, but how often do you receive any thank you notes from a company that you made a purchase? If you did, you probably would consider them more often than their competitor. Thank you notes, or thank you emails are very powerful publicity  gestures.

• Send a gift that relates to their industry. Depending on the purchases, one example would be a book. There are dozens of books on all business situations. Consider something that deals with communication, leadership or customer service. Or a bio on a leader in their industry. Make sure you include a short note with the gift telling them “thank you” for purchasing your product/service.

• eNewsletters. I have written about this several times on how a company newsletter is a sure way to keep your name in front of existing customers. It is good practice to mention these good customers in your newsletter, but make sure they are willing to be recognized as doing business with your company. Some customers prefer to not have others know whom they do business with.

If you company needs an in-house publicity program, call George Carson at Carson Marketing, 949-477-9400. He will show you how to retain and increase sales with a publicity program.

Mainstream Media Embraces Bloggers

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It may have taken more time for the mainstream media to learn that blogging and the people behind the words are here to stay. The impact this social group has is proven its staying power this week when the LA Times article titled “Newspapers, bloggers now engage on same page”. Even though this is in a Publicity Orange County section of the paper, it is nationwide.

Why has this old form of communication (newspapers) changed their outlook? My guess, they see the writing on the blogblogging and media wall. Whether it is local orange county media, or local publicity in orange county, newspaper editors, reporters all over are noticing their shrinking market. They also see that these amateurs are getting a lot more reading attention than their own bylines. But let’s not get too crazy with the papers embracing the bloggers. It is all attached to a financial reason.

If you read the LA Times article, you will see the story addresses the Washington Post has added a sponsored blog roll to its website, a directory of links to blogs that specialize in travel, technology and health, plus more. So as you see, it just took time for these money hungry papers to discover how they can get more revenue from their shrinking profits doing dailies, weeklies. To prove this point, the article mentions Caroline Little, chief executive at Washington Post Newsweek Interactive. She said most ad buyers don’t want to take the time to buy space on dozens of blog sites, and since their staff stories are not plentiful, they turned to blog rolls. This just means they don’t loose the dollars to other competitive bloggers, etc.

This proves again, if your pr marketing strategy, or pr agency isn’t including a blog site for your company, then it is time to re-think how to communicate. No, it doesn’t mean you stop your normal means of pr communicating that is now working, just means to enhance it with a blog program. Blogging is not a side job, nor a part-time assignment. To get noticed, you need to keep this activity daily. You need to have the RSS feeds, and all the optimization to your blog site in order to get noticed, ranked high and compete. Get into a blogging campaign now. Contact Carson Marketing, call George Carson for help. He can get your company noticed in the right places. Or if you wait, he may just be helping your competitors who will pass your by.

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.

How To Get Local Publicity

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The goals for any pr client is to get local publicity first, then get as much pr attention as you can later. Why is that important? Because without achieving local recognition, you allow any competitor to take control of your back yard. So what are the secrets to getting local publicity? For example, if you are a pr client in Orange County, you want to begin by getting involved with community programs, or local events.local publication newspaper Orange County

If you are working with a local publicity agency, such as CarsonPR, or one of our divisions (Carson and Company or Carson Marketing, Inc.), make sure you notify the pr agency of any activities, events, community programs that your company becomes involved in. In turn, think about getting more visible by lecturing at different events, or sponsoring small programs, such as the YMCA.

Other ideas to get noticed are: Press releases. These are always a good suggestion. When your company hires an executive person, or contracts with a new client, or moves to different offices, it is always newsworthy. It might not get complete publishing in all the local newspapers, or local magazines, but your name becomes familiar with the media. The next step is to hold a press conference. This isn’t as easy, but when you have something of value to your industry, or the community, get the press to know about it. Another great publicity method to get noticed is to submit articles. These can be company related. In other words, don’t sell yourself or the company, but write an article about the industry you are in and provide information, or suggestions on how to improve that industry. Publishers, editors like these types of articles. It attracts readers to their media, and you might just become an expert in you market that the media will turn to for information.

There are many other easy publicity techniques to get noticed. If you still need more suggestions, give us a call. We’ll be pleased to show you how to get your publicity campaign noticed locally, then nationally.

Web Site Marketing in Orange County

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Not all companies feel they are ready to sell to everyone who uses the Internet. The thought of someone purchasing a product that is 3,000 miles away from your pr client might be scary for some companies. Even if you are a local Orange County company, or a local Publicity Orange County company, you can do business anywhere with almost anyone.

When pr clients set up their eCommerce web site, it seems only logical that they are ready to sell across the entire Internet. This might be part of their marketing plan, or marketing strategy. Unfortunately I come across pr clients and other companies who have a web site, and maybe even a traditional brick and mortar store, but they feel selling out of their local Orange County area is too much trouble. That type of thinking is what causes companies not to grow. PR Clients need to better understand how to market themselves and use the Internet to their advantage. Think of your web site as an eBay store. If you are willing to sell something on eBay, or purchase something at one of these other web sites, then why not do the same with your products or services? When you have a product that people want, let them have the right to by locally or across the country from you. It can add up to increased sales, which will help your bottom line. That in turn can make you be more than an Orange County company, even if you still think you are only a Publicity Orange County company.

Business Marketing and PR Marketing Strategies

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Different terms that basically mean the same thing. You need to know how to use Business Marketing correctly in order to gain the benefits!

It is always easy to blame someone else, or another department when a marketing or pr campaign doesn’t generate the results. Marketing will blame PR. PR will blame Marketing, and if that isn’t enough, someone eventually will blame the outside services of a PR or Advertising Agency. Why, because no one really took the time to understand what the purpose of the Business Marketing Strategy is about. Or they decided not to develop a strong PR Marketing Strategy that should incorporate the publicity for a pr client.

What’s this all mean? It simply says, that all departments should work together. That includes the outside sources such as a PR Agency, or Advertising Agency. Whether you are considered a local organization like a Publicity Orange County company, or a national Public Relations Service company, you too need to make sure that your PR Clients are on track. And PR Clients need to make sure they are open and honest with their outside sources. If not, then it is time and money wasted.Business Marketing Strategies

As any pr client or pr agency, even the marketing people at your company, should subscribe to several business media to keep in touch with trends and events. One publication, BusienssToBusiness is a good read. They have short articles and have separated the issues into categories all relating to marketing strategies, as well as different business marketing tips.