As self-professed social media junkies, we have a pretty robust obsession with keeping tabs on what’s happening right now in all facets of the marketing world. We constantly have our eyes peeled for info about emerging technologies, new platforms, and most importantly, innovative campaigns that mix it up in new ways.
Take, for example, some of the inspiring (or at least creative) work we’ve been passing around the office this week: …Read more »
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When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), many business owners don’t understand how it works or how to use it – so this week we brought in the big guns to help demystify the process.
The SEO Expert
Woessner, SEO Guru
We had the pleasure of bringing in renowned SEO expert (and one-time RSA intern) Stephen Woessner from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse to host public workshops and meet with our staff.
Stephen kicked off the week with a seminar for small business owners, sponsored by RSA and AAF Black Hills. More than 40 people turned out to learn Stephen’s 15 simple steps to SEO, and we’ve heard some great feedback from attendees who took home a step-by-step plan for optimizing their sites.
For those of you who missed out, you’re probably wondering what big secrets Stephen revealed. We can’t give you all the details, but Stephen’s book is a great resource for business owners who want to take a stab at doing it themselves. Want to try to do SEO yourself? Here’s what you should know. …Read more »
A while ago I wrote about the idea of being “transparent” or “authentic” in the social web. My theory is that full transparency is actually over-disclosure (and therefore undesirable), and authenticity just means don’t be fake (rather than meaning “show yourself without any sort of filter,” as the word might imply).
This theory applies to social business (use of social media for an organization) as well.
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Transparency in Business
No single person is obligated to tell anyone anything (outside the legal sphere), but good communication demands a certain level of honesty. …Read more »
The Black Hills Home Builders Association recently help a seminar for its members and invited RSA to come speak to them about social media for business. It was a great time with a small, intimate group, and we fielded quite a few questions. Here are a few of those questions, including our answers.
What is Twitter?
I’ve written about Twitter here a coupletimes. In short, it’s a networking tool, a way to engage in conversation with people around the globe. It may be new technology, but it’s still just people talking. Sign up for an account and post, 140 characters at a time, about things that matter to you and the people you wish to interact with, whether they be customers, prospects, colleagues or friends.
Try using Twitter’s search feature to find people talking about topics of interest, and begin to engage them. Keep in mind every “tweet” is an invitation to engage – people want to hear from you! …Read more »
Lost within the maze of our office, sitting in front of his Mac – probably playing video games – is Justin Mather, one of our graphic design veterans. Last week we bribed him to sit down and spit out a few notes about traditional advertising. Here’s the dirt:
Traditional advertising has been around a long time, much longer than anyone reading this. Today, it still plays a vital role in the success of any business. The technological aspects of marketing are changing fast, but traditional media is still a great way to consistently reach large numbers of potential customers, particularly for local advertisers. …Read more »
In an economic drought, good customer service is digging for water. You have to work at it and be smart about it, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are a few things you can do right now to improve your customer service.
1. Listen to your customers
Listen to their complaints. Listen to their problems and their solutions. Listen to their successes and failures, their goals and plans, hopes and dreams; their boring and crazy stories. But don’t just be passive. Ask your customers to talk!
These are the people you need, and who need you. They are the lifeblood of your business, and they are your community. Get to know them, build relationships. Build trust. It starts with listening. Share their excitement, but be quick to root out and squash the causes of their frustrations. …Read more »
With the dawn of a new year, there is a lot of buzz about marketing in 2010. The “blogsphere” is flooded with questions like, “What will be the most effective marketing media in 2010,” “Will traditional media become obsolete,” and “Where are advertisers going to spend in 2010.”
This will be a pretty big one and some are even saying that the impact of mobile marketing will surpass that of social media. Be sure to pay attention to how this develops in the coming months and years.
2. Relationship marketing and customer service:
This necessity continues to grow as social media gives EVERY customer a louder voice and influence. Remember that your customers are people too, and not just any people, but the kings and queens of your business.
3. Experimentation:
When it comes to new technologies, sometimes experimentation is the best way to see if they work for your marketing. This doesn’t mean (of course) to blindly pursue new media with no clear goal, intent, strategy and system of measurement. But, it certainly doesn’t hurt to try something new. If you don’t begin experimenting, you will be left behind.
4. Social media and SEO:
We can’t forget about the meat and potatoes of online marketing. Social media and SEO have advanced past the point of being mere buzz words. Don’t expect these two to disappear.
5. Promotions in both new AND traditional media:
Whether businesses are offering incentives to gain friends and followers in social networks, customer loyalty programs, coupons, sales or charitable contributions – promotions are sure to be another 2010 trend. …Read more »
I don’t know anything about rockets or surgery. If I wanted to find a good rocket surgeon, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to start. I’m not at all confident I could find the right person for the job; someone who won’t rip me off or do a half-baked job (hey, no disrespect to rocket surgeons, but some of you are kind of shady).
If you feel that way about finding a good web designer*, I may be able to help (yeah, some of you are shady, too).
There are key values, practices or qualifications in any profession that can help you judge its practitioners. So you might proceed in your search with greater confidence, I’ve outlined below some key things to look for in a good web designer (Surprisingly, little of it has to do with actual ‘design’ skill).
1. A good web designer listens.
It’s incredibly difficult to solve a design problem without knowing what that problem is. …Read more »
Join us for lunch at the RSA Interactive Marketing luncheon!
I’m posting a quick update to let everyone know that we will be presenting an interactive marketing seminar over lunch from 11:30am-1:00pm on September 9th at the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites in Rapid City, SD. Whew… that was a mouth full.
Kyle, Natalie and myself will be talking about web marketing for small business – why you need it and how you can use it.
“You don’t have to do everything, just do something.” -Robert Sharp
The registration deadline was September 1st. If you’re reading this and it is after September 1st but you still want in or would like to know more, please feel free to contact us – comment, email or call 605-341-5226.
***We’re putting together a re-cap of our September 9th interactive marketing presentation to be posted by September 11. Check back for the followup.***
As the competition for attracting viewers to your web site intensifies, the questions of where to go from here keep coming. Today I am sharing my thoughts about the addition of web video to your web site.
In the audio below, I cover some basic questions that you need to consider before making a decision about web video, and talk about the age-old question of costs. While the discussion will continue in-depth in the weeks to come, this first clip should help you begin the decision-making process with some easy-to-understand fundamentals and historical perspective.
Wishing you a year of joy & good marketing
