For September- New Advertising Tools AND Traditional Media

July 2011 Howlings
August 2011 Howlings

QR CODES- It's time to utilize!

It first started in the auto industry a couple years back to track the movement of parts used in auto manufacturing. From that point it has evolved into a marketing and advertising tool. This evolution has run parallel with the new generation of "smart phones" and this co-development is ready to launch into a great marketing marriage! Their first use arrived in-store as an addition to traditional product labeling but in the last year or so QR codes have begun to appear in advertising print media, business cards and point of purchase displays. Basically the QR Code (Short for Quick Response code) is a square matrix of black and white squares that, when scanned by a smart phone ap connected to the phone's camera, provides immediate information on a product or service by providing an email or linking directly to a business website landing page.

One questionable use of QR code in the advertising industry is the use on roadside billboards, because a driver would be fairly distracted, and probably need to slow down considerably to take an image of a QR code on a billboard. In fact many municipalities are already beginning to prohibit their use by outdoor advertising firms. But overall- the QR code is here to stay! During the month of June 2011, according to one study, 14 million mobile users scanned a QR Code or a barcode. 58% of those users scanned a QR or bar code from their home, while 39% scanned from retail stores.


At Wolfmark we offer a great QR code generator that can lead a QR code scanner direct to a landing page on YOUR website! An example follows. If you don't have a QR code scanning app you can get one free from your smart phone's App store. The one I use is AT&T Code Scanner.

ADVERTISING MEDIA- What to Use?

As a retail advertising consultant the one question most asked of me is "where should I advertise?" That is not an easy question to answer as the strengths and limitations of certain media can vary greatly, from region to region or market to market. My general response is there no magic bullet and each case should be researched according to the retailers needs and goals.

Generally though, the old adage of "never put all your eggs in one basket" applies. I have seen a business actually fail because a Yellow Pages rep sold a retailer on an overblown yellow pages ad package. After paying the phone bill with advertising included the retailer had NOTHING left over to do any other marketing! Also, this was just at the point of explosion of Google and online searches and so the result was that the phone was NOT ringing off the hook- as the Yellow Pages rep had promised. It was obvious that any potential customer was flocking to the competition that were on the cutting edge of generating business name awareness.

This brings up a point that further reinforces the need "to do your research!"  Advertising and marketing trends can be VERY fluid. In this era of technological advancements new ways to market products and services are constantly becoming utilized (see QR codes noted above!)

OH NO! Generalizations!
At the risk of generalizing I would make some side notes regarding "traditional" media. Please keep in mind that these views are expressed by my own experience in working in different ad markets around the U.S. and in "local buy" situations.
1. Newspaper print advertising continues it's downward slide. Regardless of the market slide it is now imperative to look at advertising packages that combine both print AND online exposure on the newspapers website.
2. Direct Mail. Used alone it is becoming less and less a viable alternative to reach a targeted market in many areas. However- direct mail does have some great potential in utilizing QR coding on pieces and combining campaigns with an online marketing effort. (See next month's Howlings for more!) 
3. Radio Advertising. It's basically stagnant. From my experience it doesn't seem to be trending up or down in the last 18 months. To combat this many radio media are combining AM and FM signals to lower costs and to broaden audience.
4. TV. Since Mid 2010 TV is warming up again- some. TV advertising expenditures dropped sharply during the recession period of 2008-2009. However, in the last quarter of 2010 CBS noted a substantial rise in advertising revenues from the same period a year earlier. Even though this is not an across the board improvement for TV it does seem that the economic recovery (or whatever this period of flux is!) has prompted a return to the king of advertising- TV. - at least for awhile.

A new study detailed in Wired Magazine shows that while TV may still be king, marketing and advertising on the web is steadily gaining as the go-to medium for those wanting to share their brand message to their core audiences. In this Wired Magazine report, TV ad spending in 2011 is expected to reach $60.5 billion, with $28.5 billion expected for internet ad spending, with newspapers expected to take in $21.4 billion, radio expecting $15.7 billion and magazines expecting $13.9 billion in advertising.
reference: In10sity

for August- Easy Internet Search Helpers

July 2011 Post

GET ON THE MAP!

Last month I reviewed goggle's Insight for Searches. There is another easy tool that is fairly current in the Google arsenal to help elevate your placement in searches. It's called Google Places and it's VERY easy to subscribe to. it can help enhance searches through Google and can provide dealers with one of those "pinpoint" locators on Google maps when a search is performed. As part of our standard website development service we will be performing these steps while optimizing the site for organic searches. (as opposed to pay per click).

1. We register the site on Google Places- which includes the address, phone, hours of operation and any business description.

2. We then receive this info line confirming the business owner will receive a letter in the mail...

Thank you! We'll be in touch soon.

Within two weeks, we'll send a letter (containing your unique personal identification number and activation instructions) to the address below. Please follow the instructions in the letter to validate your information and prevent unauthorized edits to your listing.

Your listing will not appear until you complete this validation process.

3. You receive a letter providing you with a PIN number to refer to yourself and then just call us and tell us what that PIN is . We then add it into your Google account, confirm it's correct and then within a week or so you should start showing up in Google Maps!  I should also mention they are currently making special offers available that will appear only when the map appears. they are somewhat similar to an Adwords campaign but right now these are "free".

All this is not meant to be a substitution for good old site optimization because you still need the proper meta description and keywords in your site coding. It CAN however be a great way to enhance your organic search efforts.

IF YOU HAVEN'T YET IT'S TIME TO "LINK-IN!"

LinkedIn.com has become a powerhouse in the business to business world. If you have not done so yet I HIGHLY recommend setting up a LinkedIn account! Sometimes referred to as the "facebook for business people" it can provide you with an amazing business network in different contact spheres, provide opportunities for business contacts and associates to make business references of yourself, ask for a reciprocating reference, provide an easy to view network of contacts, and it makes it easy to determine if somebody in your growing network could actually become a business prospect. I have found it an invaluable tool in maintaining contacts through another media besides email. You can also set up self advertising via your LinkedIn to upgrade your visibility. If you're in a B2B service I highly recommend it! Oh yes-  It can also be a great tool for increasing your visibility in web searches.

TO MANTA- OR NOT MANTA?

Have you ever performed a search and found a resource know as Manta.com? Manta is another business listing source that provides basic information about your business- such as business type, ownership, address, phone, and even ESTIMATED annual income.  As in most listing sites you are provided the opportunity to actually set up your own account and provide updated or more accurate information. There has been some complaints against Manta, primarily regarding the publishing of personal information. I have yet to see specific personal info noted but I can see how publishing BUSINESS income obviously becomes a direct reflection of the business owner's personal income for sole proprietor businesses, especially those with a single, home office location.

To check to see if Manta DOES list you just go to Manta.com and do a search on your own business. You might be surprised.  If the information needs correcting- then set up a quick account and edit the information.  After you DO set up a basic account you are offered options for promoting your business through Manta.

Add Your Business: It's free and takes just minutes. It's a great marketing opportunity.
Upgrade Your Listing: Reach more customers. Appear near the top of Manta search results.
Enhance Your Company Profile: the best practices improving the performance of your profile. 

I confess I do use Manta myself if I want to find more information on possible business prospects.
To Manta or not to Manta? The choice is yours.

Pet Peeve of the Month:
Business people who don't set up an email signature!! (SO FRUSTRATING!) This is an easy task to do in the settings of your email carrier and usually includes you name, business name and at least a cell phone for calling contact. Your business address added can help as well!

 

Ad Trends and Getting Noticed!

WHAT ARE THEY SEARCHING FOR?
This past week I attended a GetListed seminar which was actually a five hour crash course on- methods to optimize organic web searches, the growing impact of social networking on searches, and the newer tools that are available to website owners to help increase traffic. Each month I will discuss another one of these new tools.

For July I am offering up Google's new Insight for Searches. Although still in a Beta version I think you can see how valuable a tool this could be in determining keywords to include in site content. Just for grins I provide the linked example for piano dealers. I entered the term "grand pianos" as a search term, specified the parameters of the past 12 months and checked all U.S. sub-regions. Needless to say I was surprised that this particular term was most searched for in GEORGIA while New York came in a distant fourth.

TO CMS OR NOT TO CMS?  THAT IS THE QUESTION!

CMS is an acronym for Content Management System. It is normally an add-on to your website which allows you the ability to edit specific areas or pages within the site on your own, without the assistance of your web developer.  Another option would be an external CMS in which you subscribe to a CMS system but it does not reside in your specific site. In this instance you provide links to this external source. Before setting up a CMS for your site or having your web person do it you should ask yourself the following...
1. Does your current web host or server have the ability to handles CMS or do they offer it?
2. How much time will it take to learn the CMS system?
3. How often will need to make changes to those areas or do edits?
4. Is there added cost for adding on a CMS system?
5. Will you be able to devote the required time on a periodic basis to keep the content updated?
Overall, I suggest that if you can't project a need to change more than 5 or 6 elements, at least once a month, then just let us (or your web person) handle the updates. If, on the other hand, you have a constant change-over in inventory then you should definitely look into a Content Management System applied to your site. We would be happy to look into those add-ons for you.

NEWSPAPERS CONTINUE A DOWNWARD SLIDE

Unless you've been living under a rock the past few years you're aware of how much metro newspapers and other print publications are suffering, due both to decreased ad revenues and the easy ability of news readers to simply switch to the internet as a news source.   At first it was the newspapers in the larger metro areas taking the biggest hit. (Think the re-organization that The Tribune papers went through in 2009). Then it started hitting other large and medium size markets as well. Gone are the Rocky Mountain News, The Tucson Citizen, The Cincinnati Post and the Honolulu Advertiser, just to name a few. (related site). Even in 2011 smaller market newspapers are starting to feel the pinch. The bottom line? Newspapers will in the very near future have to evolve into an online version - or at least a print/internet hybrid.  Because of this almost all future proposed promotion outlines we at Wolfmark research will contain an online exposure element which is affiliated with the local newspaper.