Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Spread the Word!

You've got your blog. I've got my blog. I think everyone in the world should read what I have to say. I want to know what you have to say. So here's the question..."What's the best way to get your message out there?" Let's talk pay-per -click. This is where you bid for a position or rank on search pages. People are funny, though. Human-kind's need to be the best has folks fighting it out over who is going to be in the first position. I have clients who pay $15 per click! Their justification is their cost per closed lead. So, if they're cool with it, who am I to argue with them. But here's the thing, human kind has another need - the need to shop around. Most consumers will check out almost every result on the first page of their search. So while #1 & #2 competitors are dukin' it out for the top position around $14-$15, I'm getting the third position for $3! If people are looking at the top 4-5 listings anyway (because of the basic human nature thing that we are comparative shoppers that I just talked about) then they will see my information, too....at a fifth of the cost! Pay per click is cool, too, because you can narrow who sees your listing and can click on it. You can narrow those parameters by zip code or region and you can also set a limit as to how much you spend per month. Now the trick is to find the best keywords to represent what you do. You can subscribe to services that will give you that information, but the poor man's way is to judge by the price of the clicks! A 5ç pay per click price is 5ç because nobody is clicking on "bananas" when they are searching for tool sheds. My advice is to sit down and think about the words best representing your product, service or message and invest in them for your pay per click campaign. Next time we'll embark on an adventure together. An experiment in search engine optimization! Follow me as I spread the word of Blog. Together we can find out what works and more importantly - what doesn't. You can play along and apply what I learn to your spreading your word! Thanks and talk to you soon.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Positioning Your Business

How are you considered when lined up with others in your field? Do people consider you "The expert" or the best at what you do? How do you perceive yourself? All these types of factors make up your position in the market. So how do you improve your position? Here's a few ways:
1. Get to know yourself and your business. You need to first figure out what you want to be and how you want to be considered by your customers and peers. Set your goals, define your brand and develop your mission and then you can set out to establish your position. You can't expect others to regard you highly if you do not have a clear and consistent business strategy.
2. Study your surroundings. An assessment of your target marketplace will give you an idea of what clients want. For example, I see more and more are advertising on the internet and so I have made a strong effort to educate myself on the best way to do this.
3. Share your knowledge. Giving out unsolicited advice on a regular basis can help you be considered an expert in your field. This blog, electronic newsletters, presenting seminars and writing articles are some ways that I help share my knowledge.
4. Be considerate. It is a strong move to let people know you are thinking of them when you read an article or blog that could help them. Make it a habit to forward online articles or mail clippings to individuals who you believe would benefit from the content.
5. Join Associations such as online groups on LinkedIn, networking groups, social networking groups, business associations and Chambers of Commerce. Consumers looking for your products and services look for businesses with these types of associations.
6. Be reliable. Do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it and you will reap the benefits of referrals from clients - the strongest positioning tool out there.

Applying these concepts and strategies to your business will help you establish a leading position in your filed. Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope you find it useful and welcome your feedback.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Buying Media

OK - So you want to advertise on the Radio, but you don't know where to start. First you need to establish your budget. Next you need to determine exactly who you want to reach. The highest rated stations often have the most varied demographic and the most expensive cost per spot. Radio stations subscribing to Arbitron have access to relatively accurate demographics. I say relatively accurate because a very small percentage of the population is filling out the surveys. For example, maybe five-thousand respondents represent all of Philadelphia and guys won't admit that they ever tune into an "easy-listening" station. Still - it is the best way to determine an audience until they begin to employ electronic monitoring (People Meters). In some cases, the least rated station (and lowest priced!) may over-deliver who you want compared to the market. This is the market index. Example: The average station may have 5 people per hundred who are considering purchasing a new car. If a station has 6 people out of a hundred in this category, they index at 120%. Additionally, a lower rated station tends to have a lot of available inventory and may sweeten your deal by offering you free overnight spots, ten second spots and website links, etc. Another slick trick is to produce your own spot and call a rep on Friday at 3PM when they are scrambling to make the week's numbers. You may be able to strike a deal for much below rate card for that weekend! So research your buy and reap the benefits. Take care - Pete