• Selling to the Future (Part 3 of 5): Facebook is life for college students and beyond

  By Christina | Posted Jun 30, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

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  (Part 3 of a 5-part blog series on Selling to the Future) 

  Supporting the instinctive trait of gathering in groups, Facebook is a social utility and virtual society complete with social hierarchy, friendship, competition, and user-generated online groups, events and applications.  
  
  To a marketer, it’s a demographically and psychographically obvious place to target efforts.
  
  Facebook also has more than 600 million searches per month making it one of the top 20 search engines.
  
  According to a January 2008 HubSpot.com webinar, “Facebook for Businesses,” Facebook has more than 59 million active users, averaging 250,000 new users each day since January 2007.  More than half are out of college with the fastest growing demographic 25 or older. More than half of active users return daily.
  
  Business Uses for Facebook

  • Create a profile, recruit friends
  • Create a business group, recruit fans
  • Use News feeds to make announcements, show activity, gain friends/fans
  • Buy Facebook social ads
  • Conduct Facebooks polls
  • Participate in the Marketplace
  • Schedule and promote events, invite attendees
  • Build your profile and make connections with consumers
  • Viral marketing, generating traffic and creating links

  Facebook Marketing

  • Facebook has a virtual shop of graphic gifts to purchase and send to friends.  Companies have harnessed this gift-giving power to promote brands, Website products, events, film and TV releases and more, usually offering free gifts as opposed to the typical $1 cost.

  • This prom season, Sears used Facebook for friends to share fashions and recreate the dress shopping experience online.  Sears supported the effort to recreate the mall experience for today’s social networking teen through Facebook ads and retail signage. Click here for full article.

  • According to an article on The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur Website, 41 percent of the teens that use MySpace, Facebook or other social network sites say they send messages to friends via those sites every day. 

  The first step is to visit the site and build from there. The very life of your future Internet marketing strategy may depend on it.

  
  

  Social Networking Continued

  Facebook is currently the number two social networking site behind MySpace, but the landscape of social networking is constantly evolving and segmenting.  Google has recently entered the ring with its beta “Friend Connect,” which lets the sites of musicians, political campaigns and others incorporate profile data from several social networks.  And you can’t overlook the wildly popular, and recently $1 billion valuated,  LinkedIn for professionals social networking site.  Plus, Ning allows you to create your own free social network!

  Keep a pulse on what’s next in social networking and who’s ahead in the fight for top social status.  
  
  Sources: Facebook.com, Hubspot.com, Thebabyboomerentreprenuer.com, retailmarketingblog.com, Wikipedia.com, Google.com

  Part 1 - Connect to convert

  Part 2 - Learn your XYZs

  Part 3 - Facebook is life for college students and beyond

  Part 4 - Blogging in business (coming soon)

  Part 5 - Don't call us, we'll text u (coming soon)

   
• Selling to the Future (Part 1 of 5): Connecting with Younger Audiences Online

  By Christina | Posted Jun 30, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

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  (Part 1 of a 5-part blog series on Selling to the Future)

  As time marches on inside Web 2.0, the future looks bright for marketing to younger audiences. Everyday, more opportunities are presented to reach multiple generations online, and the more segmented social networks become, the better chances you have to connect with consumers in niche markets, and convert them into sales leads. 

  Establishing a clear Internet marketing strategy is essential to remain competitive: it’s all about communicating the right things, to the right audiences, in the right places.  All with the speed and accuracy that younger generations demand. 

  To market to your future consumers, treat them as a friend, share knowledge, give advice, seek opinions, and most importantly, speak their language. 

  Stay tuned for a series of posts on Selling to the Future:

  Part 2 - Learn your XYZs

  Part 3 - Facebook is life for college students and beyond (coming soon)

  Part 4 - Blogging in business (coming soon)

  Part 5 - Don't call us, we'll text u (coming soon)

• Keith Moehring Promoted to Public Relations, Marketing Consultant for PR 20/20

  By Paul | Posted Jun 25, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in:

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  CLEVELAND – June 25, 2008 – Keith Moehring has been promoted to consultant at PR 20/20.  He joined the Cleveland-based PR firm as an associate consultant in July 2006 and has more than three years of professional marketing agency experience.  
  
  Keith Moehring, a 2004 graduate of the University of Toledo, manages a group of more than a dozen PR 20/20 clients, including: the Northern Ohio PGA, Hy-Tech Products, Vocio, Clevaflex and the 2009 Senior PGA Championship. In addition, Moehring is an active member of the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club, where he sits on the Communications Committee.
  
  “Keith’s work ethic and willingness to learn has made him a great asset to the agency, especially as we continue to grow our expertise in the area of Internet marketing,” said Paul Roetzer, PR 20/20 president.
  
  About PR 20/20
  PR 20/20, a full-service public relations and marketing firm, is the industry’s leading provider of standardized services and set pricing. The 20/20 Standard service and pricing guide, available online at www.pr2020.com, features 16 service categories and more than 100 public relations and marketing services. Based in Cleveland, PR 20/20 specializes in sports marketing, Internet marketing and small-business marketing solutions.

• Google's Take on Inbound Link Strategies

  By Keith | Posted Jun 24, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

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  Google takes a number of different factors into account when ranking Websites for specific search terms, including: content, page titles, descriptions and navigation.
  
  However, the number one thing Google looks at is how many other Websites link to your site (i.e. inbound links). It considers each link an endorsement of your site to other Internet users, and the more you have from legitimate Websites relating to your subject matter, the higher you rank.
  
  For this reason, when optimizing a Website, generating inbound links must be a top priority. Paul touched on this topic in an earlier post titled – Tools to Build Inbound Links, Website Traffic and Leads.
  
  Well, in a recent post on Ramblings About SEO, Eric Enge shares a transcript of his interview with Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team.
  
  In it, Enge asks Cutts to describe what makes a good inbound link and to explain Google’s take on several inbound marketing strategies, including article publishing and reciprocal links. Below are a couple excerpts from the transcript:
  

  On What Makes a Good Link:

  
  Matt Cutts:  So, what are the links that will stand the test of time? Those links are typically given voluntarily. It is an editorial link by someone, and it’s someone that’s informed. They are not misinformed, they are not tricked; there is no bait and switch involved. It’s because somebody thinks that something is so cool, so useful, or so helpful that they want to make little sign posts so that other people on the web can find that out.
  

  On Article Publishing:

  
  Eric Enge:  ... writing a really good article, placing it in an online magazine site somewhere. I mean, that’s a pretty solid strategy as well, right?
  
  Matt Cutts: Yeah absolutely; because someone is choosing to put that article up.
  
  If you think about it as a freelance journalist, it is exactly that situation where they are getting their article placed in a magazine and in return they get credibility. And, a journalist is actually paid as well, but getting well-known, whether it’s through networking or through writing articles that you are expert about, or even doing a guest post on a blog are all important to journalists who are trying to get their name out there and have people know more about them.
  

  On Reciprocal Links:

  
  Matt Cutts:  ... that’s another place where not so long ago [we] improved our documentation, because at first we said avoid the reciprocal links. Really, what you need to do is avoid the excessive reciprocal links.
  
  Click here for the full transcript. And for more from Matt Cutts, check out Google's Cutts: Good directions drive traffic to your Website from USA Today.

• PR 20/20 Sponsors Inbound Marketing Summit

  By Paul | Posted Jun 16, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Media Room, Press Releases

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  Cleveland-based PR firm to showcase its new Internet marketing service packages

  CLEVELAND — June 16, 2008 — PR 20/20 has signed on as a sponsor of the Inbound Marketing Summit, Sept. 8, 2008 at the Boston Marriott Cambridge Hotel in Kendall Square. The Cleveland-based PR firm will feature its new Internet marketing service packages, which are powered by the industry’s leading inbound marketing software system and available in four standard editions.
  
  “The Internet is redefining our industry, and giving marketing and PR firms the ability to deliver greater value and break away from traditional wisdom and conventional solutions,” said Paul Roetzer, PR 20/20 president. “The Inbound Marketing Summit is an opportunity to learn expert strategies for building inbound links, directly influencing consumers and having a measurable impact on the bottom line through Internet marketing.”
  
  The marketing conference is designed for marketing professionals and company executives looking to maximize their online exposure, build a strong online brand, drive qualified Website traffic and generate more leads.
  
  Summit topics include:

  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Blogging for Business
  • Marketing through Social Media
  • Viral Marketing
  • Using Landing Pages to Convert Website Visitors
  • Press Release Optimization
  • Marketing Analytics
  • Closed Loop Marketing

  Summit Registration

  • Summit Registration is $695.
  • Summit registration includes entry to full day of conference keynotes and sessions, as well as the evening networking reception.
  • Deadline for registration is Sept. 2, 2008.

  Summit Keynotes

  • Online thought leadership and viral marketing strategist David Meerman Scott will deliver a keynote address on "The New Rules of Marketing & PR"
  • Best-selling author and blogger Seth Godin will deliver a keynote address on the changing landscape of marketing and how to implement "new" marketing ideas that will transform your business.

  Related PR 20/20 Blog Posts

  • Public Relations in Web 2.0: From Impressions to Inbound Links
  • Keyword Optimization Drives Business through Local Online Search
  • Tools to Build Inbound Links, Website Traffic and Leads
  • Is It Time for an Internet Marketing Strategy?
  • 5 Things I Think I Know About Social Media

  About PR 20/20
  PR 20/20, a full-service public relations and marketing firm, is the industry’s leading provider of standardized services and set pricing. The 20/20 Standard service and pricing guide, available online at www.pr2020.com, features 16 service categories and more than 100 public relations and marketing services. Based in Cleveland, PR 20/20 specializes in sports marketing, Internet marketing and small-business marketing solutions.

• Major Dailies Continue to Make Cuts

  By Paul | Posted Jun 11, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Public Relations, Social Media

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  Less than a week after the Tribune Company announced plans for significant cuts to staff and page counts at its 12 papers, RealNEO blogger Roldo Bartimole broke the news that big cuts are in the plans for The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's major daily newspaper.

  According to Roldo, "the paper plans to cut 35 pages a week from its news pages and 20 percent of its workforce." And that's in addition to the 17 percent of its editorial staff lost to recent buyouts.

  Read more about the planned changes at major dailies across the country:

  RealNeo.com — June 10, 2008
  Big Cuts in Planning at Plain Dealer 

  Chicago Tribune — June 9, 2008 
  Tribune Co. faces big cuts, fast 

  The New York Times — June 9, 2008
  Tribune Co. Plans Sharp Cutbacks at Papers

  Los Angeles Times — Feb. 14, 2008
  Tribune Co. to cut staff by 2% 

   

• Keyword Optimization Drives Business through Local Online Search

  By Paul | Posted Jun 1, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

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  Underdogs and innovators are looking beyond traditional, outbound marketing (e.g. mainstream media advertising, trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail) and discovering the ability to influence consumers through inbound marketing (e.g. search engine optimization, pay-per-click, blogging).

  One of the most powerful inbound marketing activities is optimizing your Website for local search, also referred to as geographic keyword optimization.
  
  In his May 30 blog, “Winning the Local Search Battle,” Gregg Stewart of Search Engine Watch says that, “. . . consumers are becoming better and smarter searchers, moving from simple one- and two-keyword searches to more specific four- and five-keyword searches.”
  
  Stewart goes on to say that, “. . . the more specific a consumer is in the search query, the higher propensity to purchase. The consumer is shifting from 'what to buy' category searches (e.g. plumbing, drain cleaning) to 'where to buy' phrases (e.g. draining cleaning in Austin, Texas).”

  Getting Started with a Keyword Analysis

  
  The foundation of every successful inbound marketing campaign, including those built to drive business through local online search, is a highly targeted keyword analysis.
  
  It’s important that the software used (by you or your Internet marketing firm) to build your keyword database goes far beyond search volume. Keywords should be graded and prioritized based on relevance, search volume, competition and difficulty.
  
  On average PR 20/20 monitors 300 - 500 keywords at all times for each client, but concentrates keyword optimization activities on 25 - 50 favorites that are the most relevant. These keywords are segmented into four categories for tracking and reporting: Brand, Product/Service, Industry/Division and Geographic.

  Generate Website Traffic and Increase Leads 

  
  Once your keyword analysis is complete, it's time to start generating qualified traffic and leads. Keywords should be continually evaluated and used for both on-page and off-page optimization, including:

  • Website content
  • Landing pages
  • Meta data (i.e. page titles, tags, descriptions)
  • Blog topics
  • Product/service naming
  • Optimized press releases
  • Pay-per-click campaigns
  • Social media tagging
  • Anchor text
  • Content publishing (e.g. by-lined articles, case histories, white papers, ebooks)

  Define Your Internet Marketing GamePlan 

  
  Request a complimentary Internet Marketing GamePlan from PR 20/20 to learn more about keyword optimization and how to grow your business online.

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