St Louis Web Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘Web Marketing’

Just as Google is currently dominating desktop computers, Apple’s iAd will work to dominate the mobile world. Weeks before its scheduled launch on July 1^st, Apple has already taken more than $60m in bookings for its new iAd mobile Web marketing platform.

The service – which will offer advertising inside mobile apps, initially on the iPhone and iPod Touch – promises to combine the emotion of TV advertising with the interactivity of internet advertising. Apple says the deals it has already secured represent almost half of the total forecasted mobile ad spend in the US for the second half of 2010.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said: “iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favorite apps. iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users, a highly desirable demographic for advertisers, and provide developers [with] a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low-cost applications.”

Apple, which launched the fourth generation of the iPhone yesterday, has attracted brands including Unilever, AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup, Chanel, Citi, Nissan, Walt Disney and Turner Broadcasting.

The new mobile advertising platform is designed to allow web developers to create in-app advertising. Currently anyone who clicks on an advert in a downloadable app is bounced out of it and on to the advertiser’s webpage. A Web development can keep 60% of all the revenue that is made through the use of iAd and Apple will get the rest.

The mobile advertising market represents a massive revenue stream, and the $60 million stat only reinforces the potential takeway that Apple could pocket from their move into the arena.

Do you think these big name advertisers are making the right move? 

If you think online social networking is solely for the younger demographic, think again. Thanks to new social networking sites that enable professionals in a wide variety of industries, such as marketing, finance and even medicine, to build meaningful business relationships, social media is now flourishing in the business world.

The Institute for Corporate Productivity recently held a survey and found 65% of business professionals are connecting to social networking websites. Business executives also have turned to online forums, email lists and message boards to sound off on information related to their industries. Of those respondents who do not currently utilize social networks, the top reason (37%) is simply that they don’t know what networks to use. The majority of respondents (59%) said they would likely use social networks if they knew that such use would assist their professional development (31% say they already do), and a full 77% would welcome using them if they though the networks could aid organizational efficiency.

Millions of professionals already turn to broad-based networking sites like LinkedIn to swap job details and contact information, often for job seeking purposes. Recently, LinkedIn reached 43 million active users, with the average age of its members being 41 years. With the growing use of social networking by business professionals, there is a growing number of social networking sites popping up that focus on business users and meeting their needs, that go beyond the broad-based networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. There are also many niche social networking sites for specific industries, such as legal and medical.

For example: When radiation oncologist Michael Tomblyn recently saw a 21-year-old patient whose eye was protruding from its socket, he turned to his fellow physicians for help. Dozens of doctors offered suggestions, HIV-associated lymphoma or a cocaine-associated sinus problem, eventually steering him toward the correct answer: rhabdomyosarcoma, a fast-growing cancer most often observed in young children. Surprisingly, this diagnosis didn’t take place in a doctor’s lounge. It happened on Sermo.com, the largest online physician community in the US, where practicing US physicians collaborate on difficult cases and exchange observations about drugs, devices and clinical issues., which Dr. Tomblyn and 25,000 doctors like him visit regularly to consult with colleagues specializing in areas from dermatology to psychiatry.

Sermo.com is just one of many targeted social networking sites for professionals. Another example is, Nexly.com, a web-based community designed for the B2B marketplace that provides access to tools and information businesses need in order to better connect. While community tools, like LinkedIn are useful for recruiting purposes, Tom Carlock, CEO of Nexly saw the need for a community created specifically for finding service providers. Nexly.com was created to simplify the process in finding qualified outsourcing services that will results in better buying results.

Nexly is currently in the Beta testing process, and on February 16, 2010, they held a focus group at The Net Impact’s office, in order to validate assumptions and biases in the Beta phase.Check out TNI’s Interview with CEO of Nexly.com, Tim Carlock, on TNI’s YouTube Channel!

Even in the midst of the social media revolution, the behaviors and networking needs of business professionals have not changed, the media simply has. In other words, business professionals are meeting age-old networking needs in new ways. Given the new functions, features and real-time access of social media, social networks have transformed the way  professionals establish and maintain their business relationships.

As more and more business professionals turn to social networks to meet their business objectives, we can only expect to see more targeted social networking sites for professionals continue to pop up on the web. While nothing replaces the quality of face-to-face meetings, social media is a new way to initiate and build relationships and thus, continue to grow one’s professional network.

Do you have any other social networking sites for business that you use?Which one has worked the best for your business?

Original Post at:  www.blog.thenetimpact.com

Flickr has become one of the most popular image sharing sites and currently hosts more than 4 billion images. Flickr is such an easy way to store photos, share them with family and friends, and even enhance traffic to your website.

How does Flickr drive traffic to my site?

Just like any other form of social media, Flickr is a great tool that sends traffic exactly where you direct it. Placing images on Flickr can be just as beneficial as uploading videos to YouTube. However, just like your YouTube videos, blogs, and tags, uploading images to Flickr is only beneficial if you optimize your images.

How do you optimize images for Flickr?

• Give your image a descriptive title.
• After you upload your photos, be sure to add tags. Tags are the keywords that describe your image. Be sure to use tags that you think people are searching for.
• Give a quality description with searched keywords. Be sure to always begin the description with your sites URL. This is an easy way to remind viewers where to go next.
• Create thematic sets. Try to organize your photos in to the proper set so there are even more contextual clues provided to the search engine crawlers.

Seems simple right? That’s because it is. Flickr provides you with the space you need to upload your photos and provide the tools for optimization. Be sure to check your Google Analytics Account and see just how many visitors you start getting from Flickr.

Will the growing popularity of social media sites end the need for a website?

Absolutely not. The real time attribute of social media is something that your website can not contribute to the online community. However, your website still offers so much more than any social site can match. The Net Impact, a web marketing company in St. Louis, agrees that social media is an important enhancement to online presence, but not the sole contributor.

“Think of social networks as a friendly gateway to your company website or microsite. Seeding your site with social networks spreads content far and wide through search engines, as well as through contacts who are already a part of your social networking communities – places where rapport has already been established. People tend to share their experiences, good or bad, with their social networking communities – people they have built a connection with. So find out where your audience’s conversations are taking place and establish a strong presence. When social media sites are operated effectively they have the power to steer your audience to your website, resonate with your visitors, humanize your brand and deliver content to the masses in the click of a mouse.”

Social media is what brings the online community full circle. Linking your facebook posts to Twitter, your YouTube videos to Facebook, your RSS Feed to microsites, and so on. The key is that all of these should ultimately link back to your website and drive desirable traffic. Social Media is important, very important, but without a website your brand would be running around in circles. Social media is growing rapidly, but your website shouldn’t be going anywhere.

Plan- There is much more to Search Engine Optimization than just stuffing keywords on to a website. A good SEO Company will plan out a strategy specific to your site. They know that there isn’t a cookie cutter SEO plan for everyone and will do the research needed to devise the perfect strategy for you.
Educate- Search Engines and their algorithm methods are constantly changing. SEO companies must stay educated of these changes, because these small alterations can make all the difference in results.  The SEO Company must stay educated and also be able to inform their clients of the changes that may affect them.
Remembering Sales- Many SEO companies are only concerned with rankings. A good SEO company is concerned with the overall growth of sales for your company. They will analyze things other than rankings, such as traffic, conversion, and revenue.
Focus- A great site is more than just good keywords. The navigation path, following compliance codes, and architecture of your site are just as important when trying to provide a great site. It is crucial for an SEO company to remember to focus on all of these things when developing a strategy for you.
Exchange- The SEO Company and the client should be exchanging words and thoughts on a regular basis. Without communication, neither the client nor the company is getting the full benefits of working together.
Compromise- An SEO Company may often get frustrated when a client chooses not to or is unable to implement their recommendations. However, a good SEO Company will understand that compromise is essential and will be satisfied with the decision or work with the client to find a better solution.
Test- SEO is an ongoing process that requires a lot of attention, even after the recommendations have been implemented. Testing is necessary to see if things are taking the right path and helps provide information of what should be done in the future. A good SEO Company is always testing, reviewing, and re-strategizing.
If your SEO Company is not PERFECT or your looking for one who is check out The Net Impact.

Businesses are shifting their budgets and strategies from traditional advertising and jumping on the Social Media bandwagon. Can you blame them? This is where the industry is headed and where money is being made. However, just because it is the trend, it doesn’t mean that you are prepared to jump on quite yet. Here is a checklist to help you decide if you are ready to be participating in social media:

• Do you know what you want from social media? Are you looking for more leads, traffic, conversions, or brand awareness?  Are you trying to build a better relationship with current customers or reach a new market? The sooner you understand what you want to achieve from using social media, the sooner you will be able to build a better social media strategy.  Just like your mother said “if everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you jump too”?  You should know your reasons and goals for social media before you “jump off the bridge”.
• What kind of social media do you have in mind? People just assume that social media is Facebook and Twitter. Those are two great social media sites that can help out your business, but don’t forget about blog rolls, media sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr, and directory sites. Social media is a large pond, so you must be prepared to jump all in and not just wet your toes.
• How will you encourage participation? Talking to a wall isn’t exactly entertaining or useful whatsoever. If you are using social media, but do not have a strategy for encouraging participation, that is basically what you are doing. The wonderful thing about social media is that it allows interactions and a casual interface for conversation about your brand. You must embrace this gift or social media is pretty pointless for your business.
• Do you have the resources to maintain your accounts? Social media can be very time consuming and will absorb many of your resources. You should have a person, team, or company designated to maintain your social media accounts.  They should be there to post real time updates and interact with your followers.  With out the proper resources you may find yourself overwhelmed or dragging behind in your campaign.

So you are ready to jump on the band wagon as well and begin your social media campaign. Check out The Net Impact for assistance in your social media efforts.

I am one of the few and lucky graduates of Spring 2009 that actually received my degree and got a job in my field within three months of graduation. “Advertising, so you write commercials and stuff?” is often a response when I tell people the industry I belong to.  I usually laugh, because that is a common stereotype for those of us in advertising and marketing. Honestly, it is those stereotypes that lead me to choose my major in the first place. While, I didn’t learn how to write funny commercials in class, I will say that I did not learn how to do what I am doing now either.

I am a web marketing account manager for an internet marketing firm.  Search engine optimization, social media, and Google Analytics are apart of my daily vocabulary at my new job, but I never heard one of those terms during my four years at an accredited University.  Schools are still teaching students about the ancient traditional media and are not training pupils on internet marketing or even mentioning the growing technology. Perhaps it is because it is a new genre that professors do not even understand, but in my opinion it needs to become a part of the curriculum sooner than later.

Having a degree no longer sets you apart from the eager job seekers, but knowledge and experience sure does. And in an industry that is constantly growing, employers are looking for those who know more than then they do. If Universities really want to stand out for their marketing programs, they should really begin teaching about internet marketing, search engine marketing, and social media. Soon enough they will realize that traditional media is yesterday’s medium, and internet marketing is the advertising of the future. Schools, students, and the industry are sure to benefit from these changes. At least until something else comes along…

Your website may have one of the most innovative designs out there, with information that people desire. Unfortunately, none of this is important at all if your website isn’t marketed. Unless search engines, such as Google, that are frequently used by ordinary people who might be potential customers for your business, know how to get to your website, nobody will know your website even exists. The objective of web marketing is to have your website ranking on at least the first page of results when a potential customer types in certain keywords relating to the point of your website. For example, if you’re trying to sell vending machines, and a person types in vending machines in the search bar of Google, a web marketing team’s main goal is getting your website to show up when they click “I’m Feeling Lucky.” This feature brings up the number one result of the keyword or phrase they choose, and this shows how important it is that you use the best keywords for your website.

To make sure the best keywords are used for your website, and the best chance at getting your website on that “Lucky” spot, use The Net Impact as your web marketing team.

When you go to a search engine and try to find something, you type in a word, or several words, and click the search button. The search engine then looks in its index for those words.

Suppose that you used the words “car racing”. Generally speaking, the search engine will look for various things:

• Pages that contain the exact phrase “car racing”
• Pages that don’t have the phrase “car racing”, but do have the words “car” and “racing” in close proximity Read the rest of this entry »

If you have a website with statistics, you may notice that you’re not getting the amount of traffic you hoped for. Helping your customers find your website is what web marketing is all about. By using keyword-linked advertisements, or placing ads on specific sites, you can promote your site and increase your business.

Search engines are the other key way that people find your business. Getting your site to the top of the list for certain keywords can make the difference between a sale going to you and that same sale being lost to your competitor. By optimizing your site’s content, and using web-placement strategies, your site will be leading the pack in no time.