Inbound Marketing and Social Media:

A Recipe for Success Online

Inbound marketing is successful when you view it in terms of a combination of permission marketing and search driven marketing. In other words, you want to be where your potential clients are….when your potential clients are searching for your services. If you are not, you will be ineffective and your inbound marketing strategy will fail.

Central  Hub: You must view your website in terms of a central hub. The idea is to drive as much traffic as possible to your hub by creating excitement, authority, and, above all, interesting content.

Video: We are in the video generation most online advertising and inbound marketing is driven by video. That is where the lion’s share of your clients will come from. An effective video campaign will send your business soaring, a lackluster video campaign will kill it!

Blogging for Business: Blogging is crucial! In fact, the static website of just a few pages is on its way out…if not dead already! The website that is primarily image-based, particularly when it comes to text, is worthless. You will derive ZERO SEO value from images alone. When a website full of images is crawled, it shows up as blank. A balance of text, images, and video is essential. Blogging also develops interest in your business and provides a line of communication between you and your clients that is invaluable. Blogging is essential for any business trying to grow and relate to their target market long term.

Viral Video and the Rest of the Online Guru Hocus Pocus: Forget about viral! Yes, that’s right…forget about it! If you intentionally set out to create a viral video or make some other sort of online media go viral, it will almost certainly fail! Focus on quality content that will interest your target market and get shared.

Note: I have videos and articles on websites around the world and very few, if any, would be considered viral. But they all get shared and it all translates into backlinks, subscribers, social media connections, clients, and friends.

Yes, friends!

Redirects: Redirects can be useful but if you are hoping to derive any SEO value from a super domain name that you are only using as a redirect to your not-so-great url, you are wasting your time, money…and a quality domain name too boot!

Articles: Articles accomplish several things at once. Articles establish you as an authority in your niche, they deliver backlinks to your main hub (although this is changing), and they drive traffic to your main hub. Even with the new shifts in Google’s algorithm, article marketing is still a crucial component of a solid inbound marketing strategy.

John Jones: Who is your target market? What does he look like? What are his interests? How does he dress? You must be able to SEE John Jones in order to relate to him…or Jane Jones for that matter!

Social Media: Social media is also essential! All of the components of an effective inbound marketing strategy must work together, in concert, if you are going to succeed. This is not an optional strategy, it is imperative if you want to compete in today’s market. Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook (both personal and a fan/business page), YouTube, Dailymotion, Break, Viddler, Foursquare, and others are the key to social media success. Ping.fm is the best way to reach most of the core social media sites in one blast, Hellotxt is another, and XeeSM.com is the third. If you integrate these social media hubs into your overall strategy it will make your job much easier.

Warning: Do not use social media as a vehicle to spam your followers or you will kill any suucess you may have otherwise achieved! Additionally, if you spam, all you will have following you are fellow spammers…and they will eventually unfollow you as well!

Additional Blogs: Google’s Blogger, Squidoo, HubPages, and others are also useful and can be tied directly into your social media hubs for constant updating! These should be included, as they are virtually effortless to maintain and they do end up on page one!

Keyword Research: Most keywords are insignificant. Many businesses beginning to explore inbound marketing focus on keywords that drive ZERO traffic to your website. The key is to know not only what terms are searched for, something Google does well, it is crucial that you know which keywords get the most CLICKS! Click through rate is crucial.

Google Analytics: Metrics are also key! You must know who is visiting your website and where they are coming from if you are to develop and intelligent and effective, long term inbound marketing strategy.

Testing: A/B testing is probably the simplest and most effective, at least when starting out. Long term strategies can be added from there.

Consistency: An inbound marketing strategy must be applied daily if it to work! Social media can be time intensive at first. The longer you do it, the easier it will become. Blogging must be done at least 3 times per week for best results. A video blog with adequate text to introduce and provide a synopsis of the video can make all the difference in terms of SEO value.

SEO: SEO or search engine optimization is a long term strategy! Yes, there are certain tweaks and some people believe Google provides a bit of a nod to new entities on the web…but that is debatable. Google is King Kong on the Internet right now and they are changing their algorithms constantly. The best strategy is one that is keyword rich and delivers superior content.

Video, Article, and Social Media Delivery Software and Memberships: There are several delivery systems in the form of membership sites and software that can be used to make you job easier. It is crucial to use these systems in order to reduce the amount of time you must spend on tedious projects…or get your employees in on it and have them do it. In the long run, your labor costs will kill you. It is best to use the membership sites available to you. We will review many of these as we progress.

Video Creation: There are several video sharing and video creation sites online. Animoto is simple and effective for creating short, interesting videos. Vimeo, Viddler, YouTube, Dailymotion, and several other video sharing sites will allow you to add your own logo and message for a fee. It is well worth it long term. While placing YouTube videos on your blog and website may be cost effective short term, long term you want to create your own identity without relying on YouTube. I have integrated my Flip MinoHD videos through Camtasia to Screencast. Others use Amazon’s video platform and still others Brightcove. Whatever the platform, make sure you learn all the ins and outs, so it remains trouble-free and cost effective!

In the next article I will discuss several sites I recommend you set up profiles on and how to do it for next to nothing and with little effort. Your profile should be keyword rich and your image a professional and/or easily identifiable one. In addition to Google’s Keyword Tool, I sincerely feel that Market Samurai is the class online at this time. Check it out for free & then upgrade if you like it!

I love it!

Discussion: We will discuss any questions or comments you may have and raise here. I hope this helps you as you begin, at once, to create your new and Ultimate Internet Image…or help others to get there!

I look forward to sharing ideas and/or working with you and believe we can position you to do great things in your niche as a brick and mortar business, an online business, or as an Internet, inbound marketing consultancy!

John Zajaros (Jack)
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
440-821-7018 (cell)
johnzajaros@gmail.com

Note: Just assume links are affiliate links and that way there can be no misunderstandings!

The Initial Inbound Marketing Consultation:

Discussing Inbound Marketing Strategies, AdWords,

Social Media, SEO Factors, and a Secret Ingredient

Whenever I meet with a prospective inbound marketing client for the first time the conversation invariably settles upon what the most effective marketing strategies, those required to build a significant Internet presence, what we at UII refer to as The Ultimate Internet image.

The most common advertising and inbound marketing related questions I am asked in the initial consultation have to do with getting to Google’s page one as soon as possible, and staying there.

AdWords: Many prospective clients invariably ask about paid advertising and, in particular, Google AdWords (PPC or pay-per-click) as a means of getting to page one quickly. My response is always the same:

“It depends on what your goals are, short term and long term, how deep your pockets are, and how thick your skin is.”

That is not always a popular answer…but it’s the truth!

There is no faster way to get to page one and stay there, guaranteed, than to pay for it. However, if a prospective client isn’t familiar with PPC advertising, the risks as well as the rewards, it is generally not a great place to start an inbound marketing consulting relationship. That being said, I do work with clients with sizable AdWords budgets from day one and they’ve done quite well.

However, you must have clearly defined parameters going in and there has to be a degree of comfort and confidence that usually takes time to build with a new inbound marketing consulting client.

OK! Back to organic inbound marketing strategies!

Social Media: Once we dispose of the AdWords question, the next question that comes up has to do with social media.

Social media is everywhere!

Social media is on Primetime TV with various NCIS characters checking their Facebook pages while solving crimes and being “friended” by employers and fellow employees. When I say social media is everywhere, I mean it’s everywhere! It is rare for the nightly news to run without some mention of Facebook or Twitter or YouTube. The problem is, many prospective inbound marketing clients have seen and heard the hype, they have been exposed to the sales pitch, but they understand very little about how it works or what it takes to pull off a successful social media management campaign.

Notice I didn’t say social media marketing campaign?

That’s because, if you have read any of my previous posts you already know this, social media marketing is an oxymoron. Why? Because, in every instance, attempting to market anything overtly via social media is not only ineffective…it is indeed moronic.

I probably lost a couple of readers with that statement…but so be it!

Advising a client to market anything other than a solid Internet image, an online presence via social media is playing Russian roulette with your client’s brand. Social media marketing puts your client at risk for Terms of Service (TOS) violations and having your client’s brand name permanently banned from the social media platform in question.

It is an unnecessary risk and it is a disservice to your client.

Enough said!

Finally, after we have gotten through paid advertising and social media, we get around to talking about websites, which we will cover in great detail in an upcoming blog post, and then to the best ways to get to Google’s page one organically.

The best ways to get to page one of any of the search engine results pages or SERPs, and stay there, are:

• SEO: I am talking about a well designed program from the bottom up and that sometimes means dismantling the existing Internet image and starting over from square one with the proper foundation and the right architecture. This is a radical approach but if your client is nowhere to be found on the SERPs for the keywords necessary and their PR (page rank) is 0/10, what do you have to lose? Better to start fresh and do it right. If you do so, Google, Yahoo, and Bing will reward you, at least in the short term, and certainly long enough to get the ball rolling in the right direction.
• Links: There are a number of different kinds of links and we will discuss them all in depth later. For now, all your new inbound marketing client needs to know is that links are the way the Internet confers authority on your site, on your Internet image. Links are the Internet’s way of saying: “This webiste offers something of value, it has something to offer!” Links from the right kind of sites, related sites with an equal or higher PR than your own, will enhance your Internet image and your authority online.
• Pages: Pages alone are not enough. However, pages are generally a reflection of the time and attention paid to the site by the webmaster, owner of the business, inbound marketing consultancy, or whoever is responsible for its upkeep. After all, if a website is getting enough attention to build pages on a consistent basis, chances are also very good that the type of content offered on those pages is good. Usually…not always…but usually. Interestingly, if your site has a lot of pages the new ones will get indexed quickly. There are a number of advantages to developing a big site filled with quality content as quickly as possible and then continuing to build over time.
• Content: Some say Video is King and others say Content is King. The fact is, both are so incredibly important you simply cannot have an effective inbound marketing campaign without both. Content affects your message and, without the proper message conveyed in just the right way, your blog posts, articles, descriptions, and so on will not be read. If your video does not offer quality content, it will not be watched. Video without great content is useless. Articles without quality content are useless. Blog posts without quality content are useless. Meta descriptions without….Well, you get the picture. Additionally, the more content you add, the more often you add it, and the more related pages it builds, the higher your ranking is going to be.
• Longevity: Longevity is one of those things you just can’t push. The time your website has been around is pretty much set in stone. That being said, you can tweak it a bit. Interestingly, many webmasters and inbound marketing consultants fail to take advantage of these small adjustments that, cumulatively, make a big difference. One of the best things you can do in this regard is to purchase your domain name for at least two and, optimally, five years…up front. Domain age is a crucial factor and it has been noted by many SEO authorities that investing in your domain reflects well on your site and the search engines reward you for the investment. There are other factors and we will discuss them in our next post.
• There are reportedly as many as 200 different SEO factors that affect your overall ranking. That’s right, 200! Some of the others include:
  • Keyword in the URL
  • Keyword in the Domain name
  • Keyword in the title tag – close to the beginning (10 to 60 characters)
  • Keywords in Description – It is said Google no longer relies on it but they do in fact still use it on occasion
  • Keyword in the keyword meta tag – be careful with this one of you can be penalized for getting it wrong (see link in resources below)
  • Keyword density in the body text – Careful! 5-20% of all keywords in total but watch for % threshold
  • Keyword density for individual keywords – 1% to 6 %
  • Keywords in Heading tags – H1, H2 & H3
  • And so on! Like I said…200!

There are many more issues covered during the initial inbound marketing consultation, particularly as we begin the process of building an inbound marketing strategy designed to get our client to page one.

The SERP page one ranking for the various keyword phrases determined to be of greatest significance for lead, appointment, and traffic generation, and ultimately converting the leads to sales,  is crucial to our new client’s success.

Every factor must be addressed, all 200 SEO factors as well as the additional inbound marketing components mentioned above and others we have yet to discuss.

Ultimately, your inbound marketing client’s success is based on how well you communicate what you will be doing and how your new client can help. Significantly, there is one final component that is necessary, one characteristic that can make your job easy and your inbound marketing strategy a success.

Without it, your inbound marketing strategy will certainly fail!

And that secret ingredient is:

Patience!

All of the above will come together if patience is part of the overall marketing strategy. With the addition of quality video and articles (which we will discuss next), along with an ongoing blogging strategy, your inbound marketing strategy will surely succeed. However, if your client is not willing to invest the one ingredient that must come from them, you should part friends before you begin.

Without patience in the mix, there is no amount of money that will be worth the aggravation of attempting to deal with an impatient client.

Key Point: If you explain things clearly up front and do not make promises you have absolutely no control over, you will have a great relationship and your new inbound marketing client will allow you the time and the flexibility you need to deliver amazing results.

However, if you make outlandish claims in order to make a quick sale, it will come back to bite you (you know where) every time.

Ultimately, and I am certain this goes without saying for the vast majority of inbound marketing consultants out there: be honest; be realistic; and, do your homework. If you do those three things, you will have a client long term and you will be able to deliver results that will make you look like a super hero; and, you will make your client a lot of money!

How great is that?

Next we will cover video marketing and distribution followed by article marketing and distribution. Then, we will discuss various website options and why I do everything but stand on my head to get new clients off the idea of a static website on into something far more effective. Then, we will cover linking and how to get more sites to link to you.

An aside: Don’t always believe what Alexa tells you about links, or traffic for that matter. Use Google Analytics and Quantcast, as well as one or two others that we will discuss in the coming weeks, for a more accurate picture. Google and Yahoo also seem to keep better track of links and reflect a more accurate number of indexed pages. We will discuss how to use all of these measures, and more, very soon.

If you have questions, contact me anytime. Please leave comments or feedback…I would love to hear from you!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

Resources:

Check out Vaughn’s Summaries for all 200 SEO Factors

Google Analytics

Quantcast

Alexa

Marketing Myopia: Inbound Marketing, Hybrid Marketing, and the Offline World

While a recent blog post published on the Hubspot blog entitled Survey: 0% of Internet Users Would Pay for Twitter, written by Kip Bodnar, grabbed my attention for a number of reasons, including the title, there were several significant online advertising and Internet marketing takeaways to be derived from the post and the  original resource used for the post, The Digital Future Project 2010: Surveying The Digital Future YEAR NINE (see resources below).

The title took me back for about half a second because as an inbound marketing consultant I look at Twitter as a resource with multiple applications, a tool, a vehicle, and a means to an end.

Significantly, the majority of people do not view Twitter in those terms, they view Twitter as an end in-and-of-itself. Interestingly, most users look at Twitter as a way to communicate with the world 140 characters at a time, and they have no way to monetize it…nor do they want to.

That being said, a significant minority do engage in buying and selling behavior:

• 42% of Twitter users use Twitter to find out about products and services
• 41% provide opinions about products and services
• 31% ask for opinions about products and services
• 28% look for discounts
• 21% purchase products and services
• 19% seek customer support

These numbers are based on  Twitter Usage In America: 2010 – The Edison Research/Arbitron Internet and Multimedia Study by Tom Webster, VP of Strategy and Marketing for Edison Research. For more on this study , see the link to the video below under resources.

In fact, and here’s the kicker, most Twitter users look at marketing and the monetization of Twitter as an intrusion and an interruption. Incredibly, everything we mainatin as being wrong with outbound marketing (intrusion, interruption, etc), many Internet marketing “gurus” and inbound marketers (many in name only) are pulling the same shenanigans online.

Yup! Intrusion and interruption!

So, here is the million dollar question:

Where is the balance?

And, more to the point, how can we achieve a balance so we don’t alienate the prospective clients we are trying to attract while still getting our message out?

This is the typical marketing strategy on Twitter:

Throw up a Twitter page, throw up some links, Seth Godin calls it yodeling, I call it shouting (or something else) into the wind, tie into Twitter search for the keywords being targeted, watch for what is trending, and then:

Spam! Spam! Spam!

The same is now being done with Facebook Fan Pages, complete with lead capture systems, glitzy graphics, and giveaways.

All for the elusive…or not-so-elusive:

“Like!”

We have indeed taken the old stuff, thrown some whipped cream and sprinkles on it and created a very ugly and nasty tasting concoction…

A Meatball Sundae!

As I moved through the Hubspot post several questions popped into my head. That shouldn’t be surprising if you’ve read any of my previous work…or if you read the post critically, as I am ceratin many of you have. It wasn’t so much what was written in the Hubspot post as what was written in their resource material; and, what had been left out.

Whenever I see a quote, I always check the source for the “rest of the story.” I guess it is the scientist in me?

So, the Hubspot post lead me to the resource document and that really opened my eyes! Then, the resource document led me to an additional worldwide report (see link below) and a number of additional issues, questions, and challenges surfaced.

Ultimately, the Hubspot post turned out to be the tip of a virtual Mount Everest-sized inbound marketing iceberg!

I was going in several different directions by then.

I will explore several of the issues below but the main takeaway from the Hubspot post had to do with something I have been writing and talking about for some time now:

I call it marketing myopia but it may also be referred to as inbound marketing myopia!

This is a huge marketing takeaway!

Marketing myopia has to do with bias. Because inbound marketing consultants work with the Internet each and every day, we tend to think everyone else does…and they do not!

While an increasingly large number of households have Internet access and approximately 82-84% of all Americans use the Internet to some degree (numbers vary with source), the degree of usage is a crucial factor…as is the age cohort, the demographic group of the individual or individuals and how they fit into your marketing.

In other words, are they part of your target market?

I will attempt to explain how marketing myopia, and in particular inbound marketing myopia, relates to what we do as inbound marketing consultants. And, I will also attempt to explain how our perspective, and our approach to marketing our client’s message, their USP (unique selling proposition) and their brand, have a direct impact on our results and, consequently, on our marketing client’s Internet image and their brand.

While marketing myopia isn’t mentioned in the Hubspot post per se, what is mentioned are some of the findings of a University of Southern Califiornia (USC) study conducted by Jeffrey Cole, Director of the Center for Digital Future at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Dr. Cole has been at the forefront of media and communications research for decades and is recognized internationally as one of the authories in the field.

Interestingly, the findings of the USC study point to what I have been referring to for some time and seem to validate my point that unless a balanced approach to advertising across channels is applied to a client’s marketing strategy, we are doing them a grave disservice.

In other words, marketing has less to do with us versus them, this versus that, inbound versus outbound.

Marketing is about what works. Marketing is about what effectively develops our client’s overall image and their Internet image over time. Marketing is about brand awareness. And, of course, marketing is about sales over time leading to an ongoing relationship and a healthy bottom line.

Marketing is a balancing act and marketing is about reaching your client’s target audience with a message they will be receptive to and will act upon.

In other words:

• Views
• Clicks
• Comments
• Feedback
• Leads
• Appointments
• Traffic
• Conversions
• Sales
• Upsells
• Downsells
• Referrals
• Ongoing Relationship
• Profitability

Yes, it is true that we have witnessed a paradigm shift and many are now fully invested in what has been referred to as the new media and permission marketing. We have witnessed the rapid evolution of permission marketing. We have also witnessed several offshoots and now we have:

• Permission Marketing
• Relationship Marketing
• New Media Marketing
• Inbound Marketing
• Web 2.0
• And  so on!

While we have witnessed all of this and more, and this is significant, there remains another world out there, an offline world, and it would be folley, particularly as marketers, to ignore it.

The challenge is, as it has always been:

How to do effectively reach ALL of our clients’ target markets?

The Good Ole Days and Outbound Marketing

I remember the good ole days, and Seth Godin alludes to them right off the bat in his book Meatball Sundae, it was 1964 and all you had to do was throw enough money at an average product and you were set. In fact, the same was true in 1974 and even in 1984…down turns, oil embargos, and recessions aside.

Publish a full page spread in the Sunday Plain Dealer or the Chicago Tribune or the New York Times (if you had really deep pockets) and you were set. In fact, all you had to do was sit back and wait for the traffic because it was pretty much a done deal!

There were “Invitation Only Sunday Sales” at car dealerships, all done by direct mail. Invitees stood in lines, many times for 2 or 3 hours, for a $500 savings and free steak knives!

Better still?

If you got your commercial on Bonanza or the FBI, “Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr.,” on Sunday nights?

You could make book that Monday morning you would be busy taking orders, a lot of orders. Those two shows, and others like them, were family institutions and the equivalent of a Super Bowl ad playing once a week.

The world was different and those days are gone!

Or are they?

***I would argue there are a lot of people who still sit down and watch American Idol and Criminal Minds, there are still people who sit down on Sunday morning with a cup of coffee or a can of Diet Coke and read the New York Times, there are people who still listen to their favorite radio station, and there are still people who get home from work and the first thing out of their mouth is:

Yup!

“Did we get any mail?”

There are people who have a computer but rarely turn it on, there are people who can’t set up an email account and have no inclination to learn now, and there are people that will never use a cell phone, will never send an Instant Message, have no idea what Skype is, have no idea what a tweet is, and they still think MySpace is a website for kids!

OK! Back to the future!

The 1950s through the early 1970s were the Wild Wild West for many advertising, marketing, and PR firms, particularly the 50s and 60s. Things remained good through the late 1980s, with the exception of a few hiccups in the economy.

Embargoes, Recessions, and Carter…Oh my!

In the old days, advertisers had a captive audience and, as long as we (advertising firms) put our clients’ products in front of viewers enough times, we looked like heroes.

Radio stations synced their ads at specific times, so there was no running away from them, you could flip stations but just got more of the same, more commercials. Television shows all had their commercial breaks at the same moments so, other than a bathroom break, you weren’t likely to stray to another channel, at least until cable came along and ruined the party…and the monopoly on your time.

As a result, we lived with the intrusions, we lived with the commercials. Some people bought 8-track tapes, cassettes, and then CDs. Or they bought VHS tapes, then DVDs, and finally Blue Ray and HDDVDs…and so on.

I would suggest there is a very large segment of our population that still lives in the offline world and avoids intrusions in the old fashioned way.

Is it shrinking? To be sure!

But it is still there and they can only be reached by effectively marketing to them in addition to your inbound marketing strategies.

Heresy?

Perhaps. But it is also reality.

There are two worlds and you must market to both!

Enter the Internet, New Media, and Inbound Marketing

The Digital Future Report 2010

• Americans: Over the 80% barrier. 82% of all Americans use the Internet in some way.
• 19 Hours Weekly: While the average time per week is 19 hours and 66% of all Americans report having used the Internet for more than a decade, the most significant gains have been the year-to-year gains over the past 2 years.
• Internet Usage and Age-Related Trends: Interestingly, 100% of individuals under 24 years of age report Internet usage (saturation due to expose in schools?). The report notes that a surprisingly high number of individuals from age 36 through 55 are not Internet users. In the age bracket from 36 to 45 years of age 15% are non-users. The age bracket from 46 to 55 shows 19% of all Americans in that age cohort are non-users.
• Incredibly, while the youngest age cohort, the under 24 years of age grouping, has accepted and uses the new media, the majority of the remaining groups go not (and this too goes along with what I’ve been saying about marketing myopia and two worlds):
  • 24 years of age and older: 50% do not use Instant Messaging (IM)
  • 24 years of age and older: 79% do not work on a blog
  • 24 years of age and older: 80% do not participate bin cat rooms
  • 24 years of age and older: 85% do not make or receive phone calls online

Marketing Myopia

One can only guess what the numbers look like for other forms of new media. Once again, this makes my point about their being in fact two worlds and focusing on one (inbound marketing) to the exclusion of the other (through other effective forms of advertising) is folly and leaves a huge gap in your market strategy. You will fail to reach a large portion of your client’s target audience…particularly if they are older.

• Technophobe versus Technophile: The techophobes are gaining ground! The longstanding debate has taken an interesting turn and, of the individuals 16 years of age and older who thought that communication technology made the world a better place in 2002 (66%), now only 56% believe we are better for the communication technology we share. Interestingly, the gains made in the eight year period from 2002 through 2010, when the study was released, are disproportionately vast when viewed against the gains of the previous decade…and yet we seem to be going backwards. Are we in for a technological backlash? And, what sort of implications would that have for inbound marketing?
• Politics and the Internet: The most interesting case of Internet usage for political gain is the last Presidential election in the United States.  Perry Marshall offers an interesting recording of a discussion he had with David Bullock. Bullock de-constructed the Obama campaign one slice at a time and the results are interesting, to put it mildly.
  • Interestingly, The Digital Future Project 2010 report states that while 70% of all users agree that the Internet is an important component in political campaigns, significantly less than half (29%) believe it will give people more say in government and less still (27%) believe politicians will be any more responsive or will care more about what people think.

The Internet and Buying Behavior

• Buying Online: 65% of all adult Internet users make purchases online. Interestingly, this number has not increased since 2008. That means that of an estimated population of 310,232,863 (CIA July 2010 est) with 15 years of age and over population of 247,852,853, adjusting for those individuals between 15 and 18, approximately 97,500,000 adults make an average of 35.2 purchases per year online, up from 34.1% in 2008. That’s a staggering 3,432,000,000 purchases per year in the United States alone! That’s 3 and one-half billion, with a “B,” purchases annually. Not dollars…purchases. The dollar amounts are mind-boggling!
  • What goes to my argument about marketing myopia is that 35% of the adult buying population is not being accounted for. Think about those buying numbers, particularly in light of the fact that they are likely to be generated by the older and more-affluent portion of the age cohorts from 36 to 45, 46 to 55, and 56 to 65. These are the age cohorts using the Internet less and yet they are a huge part of the economy. Marketing myopia?
  • And this is huge, the buying behavior of teens is not adequately accounted for in this study. This oversight may be a major flaw in this research. Teen buying behavior, given a 100% penetration as far as usage goes, cannot be overlooked.
• Internet Sales Impact on Traditional Brick and Mortar Retail Business: If 82% of all Americans use the Internet and 61% have said they purchase less through traditional retail stores as a result of their online buying (down from 69% in 2008, interesting, perhaps the novelty has worn off for some?), what does this trend suggest even if reversed slightly of late? Depending on what set of figures you use, 124,000,000 people (being conservative) are buying less “at the store.” In this instance, the numbers      suggest that if traditional brick and mortar businesses do not make the shift and create an Internet image many will be extinct in less than 5 years, probably less than 3. Well, the picture is not rosy, is it?
• Purchases Online – Top 10 Internet: If you are an inbound marketing consultant and you are working with brick and mortar retail clients in these niches? Get them online yesterday!
  • 59% Books and Clothing
  • 55% Misc Gifts
  • 53% Travel
  • 47% Electronics and Appliances
  • 46% Videos
  • 41% Computers and Peripherals
  • 40% Software or Games
  • 40% CDs
  • 38% Hobby Supplies

The Center for the Digital Future study noted above and entitled The Digital Future Project 2010 has 203 pages of useful data. The research in the study can be used to better inform your marketing clients. The highlights of this report are available free but the full report or reports, there is also the World Internet Project 2010 report, are only available in complete form as part of a license purchase running anywhere from $500 for an Individual License of a single report to $2000 for a Corporate License for both reports.

The report is worth the investment, both in terms of time and dollars. The Digital Future Project is the most important and longest running longitudinal study focusing on Internet usage and the impact of usage behavior, trust, trends, advertising, and marketing online.

In other words, this is a must for anyone engaged in advertising and marketing consulting…and particularly for inbound marketing consultants.

Ultimately, the Hubspot post, the other resources they used, and the reports I added here to bring you this overview are all suggestive.

Marketing is still in a transitional period and the ultimate reality may be very different from the one we are experiencing today.

How will it differ?

I would suggest a hybrid marketing approach will emerge. I believe the hybrid marketing strategy will offset the current Internet marketing – inbound marketing mania or craze we are currently in. The love affair with the new media and Web 2.0!

Why? Because it is the nature of the beast!

We have a tendency, particularly in the United States to:

• Adopt something wholeheartedly, often to an extreme.
• Then, after a period of time there is a knee-jerk reaction, a tendency to sway back in the opposite direction, almost as a correction for going overboard to begin with.
• Finally, we achieve a balance, something we would have created to begin with if we hadn’t been so darned excited about the new stuff….the new toppings…the new media.

Much of what we see will be gone in 5 years, in 10 years we will laugh at ourselves for our foolishness.

Doubt me? Think about some of the trends we have jumped in on with both feet and lived to regret…or at least laugh about.

In the meantime we have to figure out how best to serve our clients with the resources we have. As marketing consultants our responsibility isn’t to the communication vehicle, it isn’t to the media, it’s to the client!

If it takes jumping upside down on green bananas to get the job done you have a choice…don’t you?

Right now the green bananas are Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and Vimeo and EzineArticles and so many more for the inbound marketing consultant. And, they remain well-designed and well-thought out direct mail pieces and campaigns, follow up thank you cards, asking for referrals and then following up on them, tracking traffic onsite and engaging walk-in traffic so you can track them whether they make a purchase on the first visit or not, and a myriad of other tried-and-true marketing methods that work. and that cannot be considered inbound, and are perhaps not strictly outbound, although some are, and they work!

Actually, there is enough here for several books on marketing. In fact, there have been several very good ones written on inbound marketing. There is also a lot of other “stuff” out there, “stuff” (the four letter kind) that is a complete waste of your time and mine. And that is the topic of another blog post, a post on trust and the quality of online material. Many people are losing faith, they simply do not trust what they read online to be useful and accurate.

Everything I have written here can be verified and I have posted the links below, something I rarely do. However, this material is important and it is very dense. So, it may be helpful to walk in my shoes and discover, as I have, that there is another picture out there and it hasn’t fully developed yet.

One thing is for sure…it will be interesting. Marketing is never dull!

I hope you will comment on what you have read here…if you are still reading! If you are, thank you…it is appreciated! Please, provide your own insight. It will greatly enhance ever reader’s time here.

Thanks for stopping, for reading, and, hopefully, for commenting!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

Inbound Marketing and Communication Media Resources

The Ultimate Internet Image, Inbound Marketing: Twitter Usage 2010 Video by Edison Research

Main Page of The Center for the Digital Future

The Digital Future Project 2010 (link to highlights and full report)

Ericsson’s 2020 Shaping Ideas (Very Useful and Insightful)

The World Internet Project International Report 2010 (303 pgs, 463 Graphs, 9 Major Areas of Study, 87 Specific Subjects and Detailed Responses)

Hubspot: 0% of Internet Users Would pay for Twitter

Dave Bullock’s Report on the Obama Campaign and the De-Construction of Social Media

Perry Marshall’s Interview of Dave Bullock Re: Obama’s Social Media Campaign

CIA Population Statistics

Inbound Marketing A through Z: Beginning a Marketing Consultancy – Part III

Once you have come to know your prospective client and have agreed to go forward, making sure you will be able to work together for some time to come, it is time to get down to business!

Up until now the discussion has been about strategies and branding, unique selling propositions (unique selling point – USP) and video marketing, the power of the new media to build relationships and how inbound marketing is the best thing since sliced bread. You have no doubt discussed how, with the proper mix of inbound and outbound marketing strategies to include blogging and the use of social media, you will be able to enhance your new client’s Internet image, getting them to page one of the various search engine results pages (SERPs) for the keywords that will reach their target audience.

If you are really sharp, you have also discussed how you will, at the same time, use traditional marketing, now referred to as old media, outbound marketing strategies, to gain additional traction.

Please note: It is crucial to use what works.

Marketing is not an either-or proposition, as in inbound marketing or outbound advertising, it is about converting leads, prospects, and prospective patients into life-long customers, clients, and patients. The proper marketing strategy will yield an ongoing relationship that profits both sides of the equation for years to come.

When viewed as a comprehensive strategy, there is one goal:

To increase traffic to the website and through the door, literally or figuratively, converting traffic into leads, appointments, and sales; thus building a relationship before, during, and after the initial sale and, as stated, gaining a client for life.

How?

Well, whether you are reading this as a marketing consultant beginning to build your own inbound marketing consultancy or as a prospective marketing client, attempting to get an idea of what is in store for you if you take the next step and initiate a formal, inbound marketing consultation and competitive analysis, the process is fairly straightforward.

If you have been through the inbound marketing consultation, whether as the consultant or as a prospective client, you will know many things about your niche and your target market.

The information you need can be derived from the following resources:

• First, “Google” you’re your client’s business name and personal information, if relevant.
• Alexa Rank
  • Traffic Stats: Daily Traffic Rank Trend (up or down over 30 and 90 days)
  • Reach (percent of global Internet users who visit your site if your client has one)
  • Pageviews (percent of global pageviews)
  • Pageviews/User (daily pageviews per user)
  • Bounce % (the percentage of visits that consist of a single pageview)
  • Time in Site (daily time of site)
  • Search % (the percentage of visits that come from a search engine)
  • Search Analytics
    • Search Traffic
    • Top Queries from Search Traffic
    • Search Traffic on the Rise and Decline (based on keywords)
    • High Impact Search Queries (popular queries relevant to the client’s site)
  • Audience
    • Audience Demographics
    • Visitors by Country
  • And much more
• Quantcast
  • Daily, Weekly, Monthly Traffic
    • Per Person
    • Visits
    • Pageviews
    • Pageviews per Person
    • Visits per Person
    • Global Traffic Frequency
  • Geographic Data
    • Countries
    • States
  • Demographics
  • Business
    • Small
    • Medium
    • Large
    • Business Activity
• Google
  • Keywords (Free Adwords – External Keyword Tool)
    • Wonder Wheel
    • Current Trends
    • Video for Keywords
    • And much more!
  • Analytics
  • Page Rank
  • Ultimate SEO Tool
  • Google Rankings
• Market Samurai – In my opinion the best overall keyword tool available
  • Keyword Research
  • SEO Competition Research
    • Extremely useful analysis of page one competition, analyzing a myriad of factors
  • Page Rank Research
• SpyFu – In my opinion the best competitive analysis tool on the Internet
  • In Depth Keyword Research
  • In Depth Competitive Keyword Research
  • In Depth Competitive Comparison and Analysis
    • Includes competitors’ advertising trends, budgets, keywords purchased, and ads run over the past 12 months
      • Incredibly valuable tool
• KeywordSpy – Competitive research is on par with SpyFu and should be used together with SpyFu when possible
  • Excellent resource for tracking variables over time
  • Easy to use Mozilla plug-in
  • Amazingly powerful window into just what the competition is doing!
• Google, Yahoo, and Bing
  • Check for number of pages each of the Big 3 acknowledges
  • Check for number of links

If you have used most or all of the above, you are ready to create an inbound marketing strategy what will work. If you haven’t…what are you waiting for?

If I had to pick 3 tools and was contrained by budgetary concerns, the 3 I would choose are:

• Google (Beginning with this link)
• Market Samurai
• SpyFu

In that order!

If budget is not a concern, and it shouldn’t be by the time you begin servicing clients, all of the above mentioned resources are vital. Significantly, most are free.

Research completed, the first step is to create a social media profile. The social media profile should be comprehensive and across an array of niches but focusing primarily on social media sites relevant to your client’s audience.

Use the following socioal media hubs as a guide. There is a great deal of overlap but if you cover the four mentioned below your client will have excellent inititial coverage and you will have an easier time getting their message out.

• Ping.fm
  • Crucial – I use Ping.fm for all of my clients, daily. Use Ping.fm’s list of “networks,” setting up all of the networks available.
• OnlyWire
  • As important as Ping.fm and as easy to use – Again, set up all the “services” available.
• HelloTxt
  • Once again, a very useful hub – set up all the sites that link through HelloTxt.
• XeeSM
  • Like XeeSM a lot! XeeSM has a super array of apps and is very easy to use. The creators are very responsive and it fills out the four hubs I set up for every client.

If you have set up all four of the social media hubs above your client will have approximately 225 social media profiles and you will be able to control the daily message through the four hubs.

Not bad, huh?

The video sharing and article directories are next.

Video marketing is absolutely crucial for a number of reasons.

You have undoubtedly heard the saying:

Video is king!

Consequently, video is essential to new media, inbound marketing success. We live in the video age. Video will reach incredible numbers quickly and the shelf-life of well produced videos is worth the time and expense to do it right.

The best tool available to get you message out quickly and efficiently is TrafficGeyser (or Traffic Geyser). TrafficGeyser is a powerful resource, one you simply cannot do without. TrafficGeyser combined with something as inexpensive as a $200 Flip MinoHD and a decent tripod will get you started creating quality videos in no time.

TrafficGeyser offers a number of advantages when setting up your client’s inbound marketing strategy:

• TrafficGeyser allows you to set up multiple profiles for clients, thus allowing you to control all your clients’ campaigns from a single platform. At TrafficGeyser’s Platinum level you will have access to approximately 125 additional sites, including:
  • Social media sites
  • Social bookmarking sites
  • Article directories
  • Video sharing and video marketing sites
  • Podcast sites
  • Blogging sites
  • TrafficGeyser will then allow you to upload blog posts to all of the blogs you set up to reach through TG.
  • TrafficGeyser allows you to upload all your videos to the various video sharing sites, thus saving you hundreds of man-hours over the course of a year. Control all of your accounts through a single interface.
  • TrafficGeyser allows you to post articles to the various article directories with a click.
    • That’s right! You can set up your article directory memberships through TrafficGeyser and then upload them to the various directories from a single platform.
    • This feature allows you to set up all of your article directory profiles from one platform and then control them from your TG account. This is a real timesaver!
    • TrafficGeyser allows you to post to the various podcast sites.
    • TrafficGeyser allows you to set up RSS feeds.

By the time you have completed setting up the first four hubs (Ping, OnlyWire, HelloTxt, XeeSM) and your TrafficGeyser profile for your new client they will have approximately 350 new media marketing profiles across the Internet. With this kind of coverage, provided you create quality content, your client will see a significant bump in traffic, leads, prospects, appointments, and sales within 90 days and a huge jump in the first 12 months.

The secret is really no secret at all, it simply takes quality content delivered consistently over time. If your client already has a USP or you help them create one (upcoming blog post) and combine that with the right inbound marketing strategy using all the resources available to you and mentioned above, you will be a hit and your clients will love you!

The formula is simple:

Links + Longevity + Quality Content = Increased Traffic

A well-focused message will reach the proper target audience. If you develop a unique seeling proposition (USP) that captures your target market’s imagination and deliver quality content over time, you will have people linking to your site and it will increase in authority. Couple the above with a well-constructed video marketing, delivering first-rate, well-written articles to the various directories and you will own you niche in less than a year.

Consistent, quality content delivered over time equals inbound marketing success and guaranteed profitability using the new media.

Above, you have everything you need to get the ball rolling!

In the next article we will talk about site construction, blog versus static website, premium WordPress theme versus the freebies, and the various shopping carts available. We will then get into email marketing and the various providers. We will also consider a number of other resources and various factors to consider when building your client’s Ultimate Internet Image.

I will then go into detail concerning the various resources available to streamline submissions even further, how to upgrade your video equipment, including why and why not, and what audio program is the best and when to use it.

For now?

You have enough to get started, beginning to serve your clients well!

If you would like a comprehensive inbound marketing consultation, to include an assessment of your current marketing strategy, as well as a comprehensive competitive analysis, contact me today at The Ultimate Internet Image (see the number below).

Good luck!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
440-821-7018

Understanding the Importance of Social Media for Offline Businesses

Long-time business owners may not think social media and offline business should coexist, but in realtiy, and particularly in today’s marketplace, a social media presence is essential. Brick and mortar businesses can use social media for branding, gaining name recognition and visibility at an extremely reasonable cost. Social media and inbound marketing are valuable tools in an advertising toolkit and should be an integral part of any business’s marketing strategy. Social media is also called the new media marketing.

How can you become involved in social media as an offline business? Start with a blog about your business and what you do. Be sure to update the blog often and encourage participation by way comments. You can research, discovering which social networks your customers use and become a presence on those networks. For example, you can create a Facebook page and invite customers and friends to visit your page. The page will link back to your blog and drive traffic back to your site and provide additional exposure for your business, thus increasing brand awareness.

Twitter is a very popular social media network. Most followers on Twitter are very loyal and will help promote your brand providing you engage without spamming. You must learn the social rules of Twitter and follow them accordingly or you will lose more clients than you will gain but if you use the proper etiquette you will profit for your involvement.

To make social networking work for your company, you must provide useful content that people will want to share. Bloggers today are becoming a leading source of information; work on building relationships with other bloggers through social media networks and they will provide valuable links for you.

Several social networks are specialized for businesses.

Examples include:

LinkedIn

ecademy

Xing

XeeSm

Naymz

viadeo

Explore these and other business/social media sites for the best fit for your company. It may not be wise just to join a large number of networks that you cannot maintain.

LinkedIn is one of the largest and most popular social networking platforms for business. By forming a LinkedIn group related to your company, you can attract possible sales leads. Ask your employees and others in your field to join your group. The group page will be linked to your blog, so users can find you easily. As an expert in your field, you can also answer questions on LinkedIn and gain exposure in that way.

Ecademy, spelled ecademy (small “e”), is another social network for companies and has grown quickly, having a loyal membership base. Ecademy allows you to post your business profile and connect with other entrepreneurs. Business owners can receive advice as well as promote their own services worldwide. Networking groups are a popular destination on ecademy.

Xing claims to be the number one business/social network in Europe. Over eight million people use Xing. Xing sets up connections between businesses so they can find others to meet their needs and sell their services and products. You can search among all the professionals listed to find the right match for your needs. Xing also features groups and popular events, where you can meet other network users. Job seekers will find a separate application for them on Xing.

Naymz is an online network that offers some different features from some of the other business networks. Over one million people subscribe to this free service. Naymz offers a blogging feature and identity verification, among other things. The main idea on Naymz is to establish a positive reputation. Users build their reputation score through various assessments. If you have a high-scoring reputation on Naymz, the network will provide you with a sponsored Google listing. Naymz also assists in monitoring internet sources for any time your name appears online.

XeeSM states that they are “a social business application platform.” Professionals can keep all their contacts and their individual social networks together in an orderly fashion. Salespeople are able to reach clients through any number of social media; therefore, time and money are saved. XeeSM also provides a way for recruiters and job seekers to find one another quickly. XeeSM also offers various applications, including a business level app that is quite useful.

Brick and mortar business should embrace new media, inbound marketing, Web 2.0, etc. Social media is a low-cost way to build your image worldwide. Social media and inbound marketing are the future of advertising; it is better to become involved sooner than later but in the right way, with an overall marketing strategy designed to create brand awareness and a unique online identity, the ultimate Internet image.

Would you like to talk about your business’s social media strategy? Allow us to help you create brand awareness and a social media identity that will connect with your target audience!

Contact Us Today!

John Zajaros

The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004 (bus)
440-821-7018 (cell)
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

The Questions Every Business Must Ask Before, During, and After Each and Every Inbound Marketing Campaign

Many companies pay huge sums of money, either to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN (Bing) for pay-per-click sponsored advertising or to SEO firms, to get to page one, the first page for various coveted keyword phrases responsible for generating leads, traffic, prospects, and ultimately, sales.

While both inbound marketing strategies may be effective, they are certainly not the most effective methods overall, both in terms of costs and/or results, for dealing with the marketing conundrum, the puzzle presented by Google and the other search engines.

The puzzle?

How does a business, either an online, Internet-based company or a traditional brick and mortar business, get the most exposure in the least amount of time and for the least amount of money?

In other words, how can a company optimize not only exposure, the ultimate Internet image and presence, but how can I do it in a cost effective manner?

How does a company optimize the ROI, return on investment?

These are the questions every company, online or offline, participating in online marketing or, as it is now referred to, inbound, new media marketing, needs to be able to understand and address. Unless a company can properly address these questions, these issues that cut to the heart of both short term and long term Internet marketing strategies and efforts, they are going about it in the wrong way.

As noted previously, there is a revolution underway, a transition within a transition. The Internet has forever altered how we spend money on sales and marketing campaigns. The shift is two-fold at its most fundamental level, and there are transitions within transitions, the state of Internet marketing, and thus the state of inbound marketing, is fluid, in a constant state of flux, evolving as knowledge of how to fully optimize the platform and its strategies are understood at a greater and deeper level.

The initial transition has occurred within and away from outbound advertising, the traditional in-your-face, intrusive advertising (e.g., Yellow Pages, television, radio, billboards, etc.), to a consumer oriented, search driven marketing strategy, later to be referred to as inbound or new media marketing. Within this transition several more have taken place. However, the most significant and interesting shift has been in the social media milieu because it is reshaping the Internet at a fundamental level. As the latter continues to occur, how we target and reach various segments of the Web 2.0, social media population is defining inbound marketing.

The use of social media and video marketing, along with the emergence of the blog, social bookmarking, and the mini or micro-blogging phenomenon have reshaped the strategies of companies big and small, both traditional brick and mortar companies moving online and emerging Internet marketing concerns across a variety of niches.

Ultimately, the transition is far from over, yet one thing is a certainty, the old media style of advertising, the outbound method of marketing is fading and the new media, inbound marketing approach to client and customer acquisition is here for the foreseeable future. The ROI may be incredible, given the proper strategy and an understanding of inbound marketing.

The next article in this series: The Use of Video and Social Media to Achieve High Levels of Search Engine Visability! will deal with how to integrate these two powerful models into your inbound marketing to create the Ultimate Internet Image long term!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
The Ultimate Internet Image – International
216-539-7412
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

PS, Call for a free consultation and video marketing strategy workup.

Launched in 2003, LinkedIn is a professional networking site with a membership of over 40 million and growing daily. While it is a form of social media, Web 2.0, LinkedIn serves a more definitive role as a relationship building tool and as a business networking community, one often under-utilized.

The networking platform has the same basic features as other Web 2.0 sites ¬– members create a profile, list their educational and employment experience, interests, upload a picture, post a link to their website or blog…the usual information. Interestingly, while immensely popular with business and professional people, many members are yet unaware of the full power of the networking platform, as well as the various capabilities and features of available to LinkedIn members.

Business Identity: Internet and Offline Image

In addition to the social aspects of LinkedIn, the site is regularly visited by those seeking confirmation of an individual’s credentials and reputation, not only within LinkedIn, but as an established entity in the business community. Lack of a LinkedIn profile may be quite costly and many who have yet to fully develop their LinkedIn identity may be missing a real opportunity for exposure and validation. LinkedIn is an excellent place to develop and enhance your online identity, your Internet image, per se.

LinkedIn’s Influence

LinkedIn’s power, once recognized and fully appreciated, is quite persuasive. LinkedIn is heavily trafficked not only by human resource personnel but by prospective clients and customers seeking additional information during the information gathering stages of a relationship. In fact, all 500 of the Fortune 500 companies are represented on LinkedIn. Social media and networking platform to be sure, but it is also a wonderful marketplace for those seeking employees and employment, including freelancers looking for new relationships and assignments.

LinkedIn’s Profile: Your Online Resume

The LinkedIn profile is your executive resume online and should be treated as such. The profile is the first impression, either a great one that states “I am someone to be taken seriously” or, conversely, “I am incomplete, look elsewhere!” For this reason, the profile should be as professional and as thorough as possible. When developing your online image, list your current or last held position, as well as past companies and affiliations. Set your profile to “Full View,” in order to make your information available for search engines to index, and customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name, not some obscure nickname; in other words, brand yourself. This can all be quite easily accomplished through the “Accounts & Settings” tab under “Public Profile”. Including a link to your LinkedIn profile in your email signature, and also when you comment on blogs, are great ways to improve your connect-ability and your professional identity.

LinkedIn and Connections: The Power of the Network

Probably the most important aspect of a LinkedIn membership is the ability to make connections. Connections are to LinkedIn, what followers are to Twitter, and friends are to Facebook. Significantly, there is data to suggest that the “link” between connections on LinkedIn has a much greater and lasting effect, and affect, than either of the two aforementioned social media platforms.

LinkedIn’s Reach

LinkedIn members, those who are “linked-in,” build a contact network by inviting others, users and non-users, to become a part of their network. Members join a network by agreeing to “connect” and non-users may join, and take advantage of a wide array of benefits, depending on membership level, or create a public profile at no charge with limited access to the features of the paid membership. Your profile will also assist past and present associates, clients and partners in finding you. Features can assist members link-up with past employers and employees, various alumni groups, and other associations and groups. An individual’s network is then built based on connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know through 3 levels. Making connections in this fashion is designed to build trust among members, and has the potential to link you to tens of thousands of professionals. People are more likely to do business with or hire someone who comes recommended by another individual or company who they know and trust.

LinkedIn and the Power of the Group

If you would like to connect specifically with members based on interests, affiliations and goals, you can also join or create a LinkedIn Group. LinkedIn groups can be created by anyone for any purpose. The most popular groups are those with a networking focus, primarily networking with others in a specific area of expertise. After networking, professional education and information sharing are very popular group memberships. Basically, the possibilities are endless when it comes to group formation and affiliation, if two or more people come together, a group is formed.
LinkedIn’s “Advanced Search” feature can be a valuable tool whether you are seeking a new position, or want to assess the competition, research a perspective employer’s current workforce and turnover rate, or get to know more about the individual interests and accomplishments of those you may be considering working with. You can also use the “Advanced Search” to find people with similar education backgrounds and/or technical skills; and, to find out what companies they are currently employed by, or see who within your network may be initiating a new startup. The possibilities for using the LinkedIn search are myriad, it is a powerful information gathering tool when applied properly.

LinkedIn Answers: Ask and It Shall Be Answered!

The newest feature to be added to the site, “LinkedIn Answers,” allows you to ask for advice. Members can broadcast a business-related question and seek responses from both their network and the greater LinkedIn network. Let’s say you were looking for an accountant qualified in a certain area, or trying to gauge the appropriate salary range for a particular position, this would be an excellent forum from which to receive valuable responses.

Some other interesting statistics to consider when weighing the value of getting LinkedIn:

- People with twenty or more connections are over 30 times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity
- A company’s decision maker tends to be the more active user of the site
- The greater the number of connections the greater the likelihood of higher personal income

The Ultimate Internet Image and LinkedIn: Recommendations and Referrals

One of the most attractive features of a LinkedIn membership is the ability to give and receive recommendations. The recommendations are not only in the nature of peer reviews and recommendations but also recommendations from business clients, associates, colleagues, and employers. The LinkedIn recommendation, received in such a manner, is an invaluable tool not only in job-seeking but as an image and business building tool. The public nature and cumulative effect of such recommendations adds additional weight and value to the recommendation, not only enhancing one’s status and reputation within the LinkedIn community, but as a tool to be used by anyone seeking an objective evaluation of the individual’s credibility and competence, given by his or her peers.

LinkedIn: Do Not Be Caught Online Without It!

Overall, the LinkedIn membership is a vital asset for any business person, online or offline, interested in building a network for personal promotion and advancement, as well as for the promotion of business interests. LinkedIn membership is also a not-so-subtle message to anyone interested that an individual is at least established enough to have taken the time to build a relationship with his or her peers and to have been recognized as a colleague and a peer by those interested enough to make a connection with them. The connection, an active process of approval within the LinkedIn community, further validates the status of the individual members within the business community…or at least within the LinkedIn membership, which is basically one and the same. Ultimately, no serious marketer with an online presence should be without a LinkedIn membership and an active and engaging profile; thus assuring the Ultimate Internet Image!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., CEO and Founder
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

The merging of a comprehensive social media marketing strategy, also referred to by many as Web 2.0 marketing, with an overarching, inbound marketing campaign is crucial if our goal is to fully optimize advertising and marketing strategies online. The Internet marketing campaign, both in terms of monetization and branding, must reflect an understanding as well as a synthesis, an integration of the various tools, applications, and platforms available and necessary for an effective inbound marketing campaign. In order to achieve the ultimate Internet image, in other words, in order to effectively brand yourself and your product, you must pursue and implement a program designed to optimize the best Web 2.0 has to offer with various other “new media,” Internet marketing techniques (e.g., email marketing, on-site marketing, affiliate marketing, free advertising, etc). In order to fully exploit the growing popularity of social media generally, and certain social networking and video-sharing sites specifically, it must be understood that there is a major sift underway, a transition taking place on the Internet today. While I have addressed this transition at some length in previous articles, I will review and also discuss the various usage trends evident on the web, particularly as they relate to new media and online business.

Social Media and the Twitter Hawks’ Promise!

Social networking sites are myriad, with more popping up every day. Social bookmarking and video-sharing sites are just as plentiful. That being the case, it is imperative we understand the transition and the trends underway and ongoing if, as Internet marketers, we wish to take advantage of the veritable gold rush underway on the web today. However, a word of caution! While I use the phrase gold rush, I must add a caveat. Without the proper understanding, preparation, and an intelligent, well thought out inbound marketing strategy, the online campaign will come up bust every time.

Vanishing: Attrition and Social Media

There are marketers disappearing as fast as they appear, 60% attrition from Twitter at last report, because they simply do not understand the intricacies, the balance, and the psychology underlying this rush to gold. Certainly it is true that not all of the 60% are or ever were marketers but the drop off is illustrative of just how fast the attraction and the luster fades. Interestingly, certain social media sites have come, and others gone, while you read this article, some fading into oblivion and others popping up to take their place.

The Twitter Gold Rush

Many of the Twitter marketers (i.e., Twits, Twitterers or Tweeple) find out quite rapidly that a simple link doesn’t convert as well as the Twitter Hawks, I term I coined to label those individuals selling the dream, the “picks and shovels” to Tweeple looking to cash in on the Internet version of the California Gold Rush or was it the Alaska Gold Rush? Many soon discover it takes more than a metaphorical pick and shovel, meaning the latest load of rehashed and replayed Twitter marketing “stuff,” a lot nicer than the four letter word I was considering for a lot of it, from one of the myriad of Twitter marketing “gurus,” some with almost no followers and following even fewer…but they are experts? The Twitter Hawks out there are just waiting for the next 49er to come along, dreaming of gold and panning for it on Twitter, facebook, or perhaps YouTube.

Twitter and Four Letter Words,br>

I mention Twitter because it is illustrative and symptomatic of a much deeper problem on the web generally, and within social media specifically. I am speaking of what rests at the very base, in fact is the basis of any effective marketing campaign, online or offline traditional brick and mortar, anywhere in the world, and in any field. The problem has to do with a clear lack of understanding of the sales process. Yes, we call it all kinds of fancy names in order to avoid saying the “S” word, that four letter word everyone hates. You see, S…E…L…L…is the ultimate four letter word! “I can’t SELL!” “Do I have to SELL anything?” “Will it involve having to SELL something?” “I didn’t know I’d have to SELL anything!” The best one, “He just wants to SELL me something!” The list goes on and the italicized emphasis placed on the four letter word doesn’t do the disdain, the utter contempt, the revulsion and/or the fear associated with the word justice. But it the best I can do.

I am certain you can hear people in your mind as you read the quotes, these are real and I have heard them all, so have most of you. Have you ever uttered any of the above quotes? Certainly! We don’t like to be S…O…L…D…we like to buy! The irony here should be immediately apparent. In order for you to buy anything, someone else has to do that four letter word to you. Interesting!

The S…A…L…E…and the Sales Process

We refer to the sales process, selling and sales, in many different ways, some are: online business; Internet marketing; inbound marketing; new media marketing; old media and/or outbound advertising; and, just about anything else but what it is, a S…A…L…E!
Significantly, what many are talking about when speaking of sales and marketing is getting someone to take out their wallet and plunk down some cash. Interestingly, a sale is more than just an action and a transaction, much more! You see, you are selling when you get someone to donate their time, listen to your teleseminar, follow your tweets, check out a favorite quote, read a book you recommend, click on your link, join you on LinkedIn or facebook or friendfeed, etc.

It’s About Selling!

So, whatever you do, wherever you do it, most of it is selling. Sometimes sales is about cash, occasionally a lot of cash! And that may actually retard the selling process, we will talk about why in a upcoming article, but selling is not about the cash, it never is, never has been. Cash is a byproduct of the sale, small letters and no emphasis. Sales is about what makes sites like Twitter and facebook and the hundreds of others popular, it’s about the connection, the relationship, the bond that forms before most sales are ever made. Let me say that again…

…it’s about the connection, the relationship, the bond!

Tweeple, the S…A…L…E…and Self

Unfortunately, many Tweeple, in fact most people new to sales, advertising, and marketing simply do not have what it takes to make a sale, much less a S…A…L…E! There is a secret to selling and I am going to share it with you here. I’m going to share it with you so you too may have the success I have had over the years, as a direct result of selling. Yes, selling! You see, life is a sales and marketing process, all of it. If you are successful at selling your self, you will find a mate. If you are successful at selling your self, you will get a good job. If you are successful at selling your self, your kids will listen to and respect you. If you are successful at selling your self, the youth soccer team you coach will listen to you…and they may even win a game or two. Get the idea? Life is a sales process, every hour or every day…sales!

The Other Four Letter Word!

Did you notice something else? S…E…L…F…is also a four letter word, one just as detrimental to the sales process as the word S…E…L…L! So, get your S…E…L…F…out of the sales process and make your prospective client’s self-interest your focus!

The Secret and The Close…Another Four Letter Word

Oh yeah! The secret? The secret is two-fold and you have the answer above. The secret is that there is no sales process! If you attempt to S…E…L…L…anything, you will fail. Yes, you may close the S…A…L…E, and close should be another four letter word. A lasting relationship, one built on a connection and a bond, means you will have a steady client, referrals, and repeat business. The close? Closing someone leads to cancellations, an unhappy client, and clients focused on one thing, price! The price fixation is never a good situation, always a bad S…A…L…E!

It’s About 3 Things!

Selling is about what? Yes, that’s right! The sales process is all about the connection, the relationship, and the bond. I have always been an unconventional salesman. I have never followed a sales script, never. If an employer wanted me to follow a script, the script I followed was an exit script. Why? You already know the answer! I made a connection, that connection led to a relationship, that relationship led to a bond, and the bond allowed for trust, the trust enabled the sales process to culminate in another relationship, one based on a relationship combined with self interest, the client’s self interest…not my S…E…L…F, and certainly not because I made a S…A…L…E!

Internet Image and Social Media

Inbound marketing is a process, it begins with a connection, the connection leads to a relationship, the relationship leads to a bond, and once a bond is formed, another type of relationship builds, a mutual one, one profitable to both parties. Social media is an integral component in the connection/relationship/bond building model, but just one aspect, one ingredient. In fact, there are several key components, all necessary if a traditional brick and mortar business is making the move to an online presence or an Internet marketing concern is stepping up its Internet image. In either case there is one absolute, social media is about the connection and the beginnings of a relationship, to achieve the next component, the bond, the business, offline or online, will require additional steps to ensure its success. In the upcoming three articles we will deal with the various aspects of social media, social bookmarking, and video-sharing sites. Next, in Part II, we will discuss the various social media platforms and how to best integrate them into what will become the ultimate Internet image!

Contact The Ultimate Internet Image for a free comprehensive analysis!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

The Ultimate Internet Image is a consulting and training company with one goal: Your complete satisfaction!

We are involved in and focussed on the various social media networks and social bookmarking platforms. Additionally, we are involved in developing an innovative, complete, and up-to-date strategy to keep pace with current trends and in order to assure you achieve The Ultimate Internet Image. We have just signed on a brilliant new programmer, already involved in creating social networking software geared towards simplifying and streamlining your online marketing experience. UII is focused on future, innovative applications development. The Ultimate Internet Image International is orientated towards marketing novices and newcomers, as well as seasoned marketing experts and software developers looking to stay abreast of the latest trends in inbound marketing.

Finally, The Ultimate Internet Image is an Internet marketing agency, an inbound marketing consultancy, and a digital marketing mastermind. UII can meet all of your web-based design requirements and assist you in meeting and overcoming your unique Internet application development challenges and concerns. The Ultimate Internet Image is also a full service SEO specialist, skilled in attraction and integration marketing, as well as various advertising strategies using Web 2.0 and social media networks and platforms.

Internet marketing is once again in a transitionary phase, shifting from a traditional, website centered approach, to a more complete and holistic blog and social media strategy. As discussed previously, this also entails a dynamic shift from an outbound, advertiser driven approach to consumer driven, inbound marketing. It is imperative both online and traditional brick and mortar businesses stay on top of this latest trend. UII will help you better understand and implement the various strategies necessary to achieve the ultimate online business presence.

Remember:

Your Success is our Success!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

How to Build a Hub or a Linchpin for Your Inbound, Internet Marketing Campaign – Blogging and Social Media Marketing – The Ultimate Internet Image!

There is a transition occurring today in the marketplace from an outbound, old media marketing strategy to an inbound, new media approach presents an interesting, challenging, and even profitable environment for business owners willing to incorporate and even embrace current transition. The shift from old to new, outbound, even intrusive marketing to an inbound, customer/client driven methodology appears to be profound and lasting. The current economic trend is challenging, and that’s putting it mildly. Yet even the most experienced entrepreneurs and Internet marketing specialists are grappling with the right strategy, the right combination of tools, necessary to survive this downturn. In order to survive, businesses must adapt, rethink, and redesign their current approach to advertising and marketing. As a result of our current economic challenges, businesses are finding it increasingly important, imperative, to develop and strengthen relationships, not only with prospective customers, but with their established customer base as well. Engaging in a relationship building strategy with customers they have already done business with at some point in the past is one of the most effective methods for improving a business’s overall profitability, while decreasing advertising costs. It is the established customer/client base, combined with a successful relationship building campaign that includes a number of tools and marketing platforms, that will ultimately lead to not only survival in the current economy but prosperity…in spite of it!

The Emergence of the Weblog!

The emergence of the weblog (web log) or blog, blogging in today’s parlance, revolutionized the way individuals communicate on the Internet. Significantly, what was once considered to be solely a social communication vehicle, almost a means to “gossip” on the web, quickly became the darling of the Internet for individuals and businesses alike. Today, everyone from the neighborhood grandmother talking about her most recent trip back east to see the grandchildren, to The Ford Motor Company and Skittles are blogging and the reasons are myriad. Blogging allows a connection between participants unlike anything I have witnessed in marketing to date.

Marketing History: A Flashback to Bobby and Billy!

In my 54 years I have weathered several recessions, a number of presidents, including a resignation and an assassination, and a couple of attempted ones, the Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King marketing masterpiece, the “New Coke” marketing debacle, the ultimate political spin of the Clinton Presidency, and the annual marketing bonanza also known as the Super Bowl. However, I have never witnessed anything like the emergence of the “blogosphere.”

The Blogosphere? What the Heck is the Blogosphere?

The blogosphere? Well, if we use Technorati’s definition “The blogosphere is the collective community of all blogs.” How many? As of Technorati’s August 2008 report on the state of the blogosphere there were 133 million blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002, with 1.5 million per week being added per week since then. Surely Technorati’s numbers have changed vastly in the last year but the fact is no one really knows how many blogs exist. There is however one undeniable fact, the blog is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

The Demographics of Blogging

The face of the average blogger is a difficult one to perceive. The numbers grow and the demographics shift but the average blogger is male, over 25 years old, 50% of all bloggers are over 35 years of age, married, college educated, with an average yearly income of over $50,000, and 48% live in North America. Four out of every five people blogging, known as bloggers, identify themselves as personal bloggers. Interestingly, there is a great amount of overlap between bloggers, professional, corporate, and personal, with many designating themselves as two out of the three or all three. Almost half of all bloggers noted that they have had or continue to have multiple blogs, 60% of all bloggers having two or more years of blogging experience, with the average tenure being three years. Female bloggers make up 34% of active bloggers, males make up 73% of all bloggers in Asia, and the youngest blogging population seems to be in Europe, with half of all respondents being between the age of 18 and 34 years of age.

The Emergence of Social Media

With the emergence of social media, and the realization of the power social media marketing offers, including the mini-blog phenomena Twitter and facebook, the blog has maintained its pivotal role as the “hub spot” from which an increasing numbers of companies, from the mom and pop corner store to Fortune 100 corporations, are building inbound, Internet marketing campaigns. The blog offers the ideal platform for relationship building. Connecting with prospective clients, as well the current customer/client base in a way no other medium offers, the combination of the blog and various Web 2.0 platforms is both organic and dynamic. Blogging is a crucial component in any “new media,” inbound marketing strategy. Added to the blogging hub, the social media or Web 2.0 campaign offers an innovative and forward thinking approach to prospective customer and established customer relationship building never before offered in this way by a marketing strategy.

What the Heck Happened to the Website?

So, what happened to the website? Well, first of all a blog is a website! Yes, it is a website, and it’s not, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Internet marketing has experienced a transition, a revolution of sorts, from the traditional website to the fresh and organic approach of the blog. The blog should be an integral part of any online marketing strategy. Blogging not only provides useful content for a business’s target audience, it also builds relationships and strengthens the connection between current customers and businesses engaged in this useful marketing strategy. The business blog has virtually, and literally, replaced the conventional website as many company’s primary customer/client communication vehicle, and rightly so. The combination of other media, along with the blog, as in the case of social media marketing mentioned above, offers an inbound marketing strategy, cost-effective and profitable, short and long-term.

Weather the Storm and Prospering in the Current Economy!

The question every business owner today must ask: “How do I develop a marketing strategy that will allow me weather the current economic storm?” The fact is many of the traditional marketing strategies, also referred to as outbound or old media advertising strategies have been replaced by inbound, new media marketing methods, with impressive and lasting results. The cost of new media marketing is substantially less than most traditional, outbound methods engaged in by traditional brick and mortar businesses today (e.g., television, radio, newspaper, etc.). Given the current economic climate, this certainly seems counter-intuitive. During a time when businesses large and small are struggling to stay afloat, it would seem prudent to engage in any strategy that promises to increase traffic while decreasing the cost of doing business. Additionally, the reduction in the cost of doing business associated with an inbound, new media marketing strategy is generally accompanied by an increase in revenue and an improved and strengthened customer/business connection. The benefits of the new media, inbound strategy are derived solely due to the blog as the central component, the linchpin or hub, driving the entire program and making the entire business more profitable and even prosperous, regardless of the current economy…or perhaps because of it.

Why UII?

The transition from traditional, outbound, old media marketing to an innovative, inbound, new media strategy is the focus of The Ultimate Internet Image, a new venture created to serve traditional brick and mortar businesses and Internet marketers alike. The Ultimate Internet Image focuses on an inbound marketing strategy while realizing that there is still power and usefulness in some outbound marketing media platforms. The UII marketing strategy creates a synergy, a synthesis of the old media with the new media in order to create a marketing plan designed specifically for the individual client, not a cookie-cutter, one size fits all approach so commonly seen online.

Where Do I Find UII?

The Ultimate Internet Image has offices in Maine, Florida, New York, Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois, with more opening every week. We welcome you to explore the ultimate opportunity, as a client or as a director and owner. Contact information is available at The Ultimate Internet Image’s blog, listed below.

We invite you to discover what it means to offer The Ultimate Internet Image!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com