Saturday, January 29, 2011

Are you missing the no-brainer things in your business marketing strategy?

The grand pooh bah of television advertising is just one week away. What business wouldn’t like to see their name and image displayed during half time for the biggest viewing audience of the year? Now that would get the phone ringin’ huh?

When you float back down to earth from your Big Game Pipe Dream you might want to take a second look at what you’re doing to market your business. There are probably a number of small things you’ve overlooked that could cause your phone to jingle for a whole lot less than a 30 second halftime spot.

On January 1st, Inc Magazine launched a feature on their website entitled “31 Days to a Better Business.” Reading through the short daily tips business owners may find themselves mumbling “Well, that’s a no-brainer!” to themselves. Take a hard look at your business and you might find that these no-brainers are non-existent.

Among the smart tips for business owners are some smart marketing pointers too including: Going Online to Engage with your Customers, Writing Big Picture Blog Posts and, our personal favorite, Writing Thank You Notes.

When was the last time you used THAT form of direct mail?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Ryan William's Agency now broadcasting on YouTube

Ever wonder how the creative minds at RWA work? Take a peek behind the curtain of Palm Beach's advertising agency scene. Imagination lives here!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

“The Sunglass Guy” gets a new look online from Ryan William's Agency

Shades of Time, a Lantana-based sunglass retailer, went live today with a new website created by Ryan William’s Agency. The fun, colorful new look is designed to reflect the store’s unique atmosphere and equally unique owner.


Dubbed “The Sunglass Guy” by his loyal customers, Alan Ross operates Shades of Time from a small storefront on the off-the-beaten-track locale of Ocean Avenue in Lantana. For over 16 years “The Sunglass Guy” has helped customers find the perfect look for each person’s unique style and facial dimensions. His upfront manner has earned him a reputation blunt honesty.

“If Alan doesn’t like the way a pair of sunglasses looks on someone, he will rip them off their head,” laughs Karen Nehiley, a loyal customer of Shades of Time for over a decade. “I’ve seen him do it too.”

Alan has used his persona as “The Sunglass Guy” in his radio commercials for years, talking just as bluntly over the airways as he does in person. His regular comments about how “parking sucks” in Lantana have become the talk of the town.

“People come in and say ‘You’re right, parking sucks,’” says Nehiley. “They made the extra effort to come there to buy sunglasses just to meet this funny guy from the radio.”

The new website takes “The Sunglass Guy” persona online. Visitors to the website can check out new products, listen to the latest radio commercials and read the latest ramblings from “The Sunglass Guy” on the store’s blog. Pics of customers with their new purchases will also be displayed on the site.

Check out the new online home of Shades of Time.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Behavioral targeting: Innovative marketing or invasion of privacy?

In the quest to get more targeted with advertising messages, behavioral targeting seems like the answer to many frustrated marketers’ prayers. Some consumer groups disagree, though, calling this new targeting method more like Big Brother than the next Big Idea.

Behavioral targeting mediums track consumers’ habits and then offer advertisers the ability to serve up messages that correlate to these habits. Imagine that you are thinking of buying a new car. You fire up your computer, go online and start surfing websites with information about the car you are interested in buying. All of sudden you start seeing ads for car insurance. How did that insurance company know you were looking for a car? Well, little did you know you were leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for a behavioral targeting company to follow.

Most consumers don’t realize their online behavior can be tracked and used for marketing purposes. Needless to say, a fair number of them might be a bit uncomfortable knowing their habits are being cataloged.

Behavioral targeting is now getting even closer to home. Not only are behaviorally-based ads being served up on your Facebook page and in your e-mail, banks are now offering advertisers the ability to target their customers based on their purchasing habits. The next time you use your debit card at McDonald’s, don’t be surprised to see a coupon for the McRib the next time you log on to your online banking page.

How far behavioral targeting will go before consumers or the government takes a hard look at the privacy issue remains to be seen. For now it offers marketers a great way to get more specific with their ad messages and their target markets.
And, hey, if you can save a buck on your next drive thru order, who’s complaining?

Monday, January 17, 2011

Just how big a deal is social media? Check out the new statistics on social web use.

Lately it seems like everyone is Tweeting or Blogging or posting videos on YouTube. Even the people who have held out until now – the unsocial – the late adopters – are now converts to the social movement.

Just how big is the social media audience? The new social media statistics for 2010 are now in and, no surprise, they’re big.

So now that you know how big the online audience is for your product or service, all you have to figure out is how to get them to notice you.

Check back for more tips on turning social media into sales.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Blog, blog blog. Tips for getting more traffic to your blog.

You have a lot to say and you set up a blog so you could say. Problem is no one seems to be reading it! Well, just because you built it, doesn’t meant they will come. You’re going to have to work a little bit harder to get more bang for your blog.

Start using these helpful tips and you’ll be well on your way to getting more traffic to your blog.

Blog Tip #1: Blog Blog Blog
To have a successful blog, you must blog regularly. Daily is ideal, but if you can’t manage a daily update, at least shoot for every other day. Search engines look for fresh content so the more your post, the higher your rankings will go. Your followers will also enjoy fresh content. If every time they check out your blog it’s the same content they already read, they will stop coming.

Blog Tip #2: Use Your Keywords
Check out the top keywords in your industry and use them regularly in your blogs. If you haven’t already looked at your keywords, it’s easy enough to do. Just use Google’s Keyword Tool. It’s easy and free.

Blog Tip #3: Be Creative with Your Blog Title
Think of your blog like a magazine or newspaper article and make your headline intriguing. There’s a reason women pick up Cosmo at the supermarket. Who can resist “The 10 Ways to Make Your Man Crazy in Bed”? Tips, lists and how to’s are great headlines for blog posts.

Blog Tip #4: Go Tell it On the Mountain
Don’t wait for them to come to you! Every time you post a new entry in your blog, announce it. Send an E-mail to your registered readers. Post it on Facebook and LinkedIn. Tweet about it. Let the world know you’ve got some more good information.

Blog Tip #5: Market Your Blog
Link-backs are a great way to drive traffic to your blog and increase rankings with the search engines. Posting comments on other blogs and online forums then linking back to your blog are great ways of getting more traffic.

Blog Tip #6: Conduct a Survey
Surveys are a great way to get more interaction via your blog. You can create a quick survey of your own asking for user to post their opinion or use online survey software for a more extensive survey. Be sure to keep it short and interesting though. People like to voice their opinions, but not if it’s going to take the all day.
Blog Tip #7: Tell the Search Engines Where to Find You
Don’t wait for the search engines to find you. Go directly to Google or use a bookmarking site such as digg.com to catalog your blog site.

Now that you know how to do it, get blogging!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Did your marketing mix put on a few extra pounds last year?

A new year always holds lots of promise and lots of promises of things you are finally going to do. According to a poll conducted by LiveScience.com, at the top of people’s lists for 2011 is the eternal battle of the bulge. In fact, losing weight beat out second and third place resolutions - Being Happy and Saving Money - by almost a two-to-one spread.

Although business resolutions are generally much more varied than those of the general public, weight loss should probably be at the top of the list among companies as well. What company couldn’t stand to shed a few extra pounds of underperforming marketing efforts?

One of the first questions we ask a new client is what their marketing mix looks like currently. Is the company using television advertising? Do they have a social media campaign? What magazines or print publications are a regular part of the advertising campaign? Are they using SEO or SEM?

After getting a good idea of what advertising vehicles are in their marketing mix, we then ask how each of them is performing. At this juncture we are oftentimes magically transported to a deep, dark forest where the only sound we hear is.. crickets.

Advertising in any form needs to get results for your company. Results translate into a ringing cash register or a busy service staff or an influx of sales leads. Your company can and should determine what sort of results you need and expect from your advertising and drill that down to each form of advertising you are using to determine if that print publication or that television campaign is really paying off.

If not, it’s time to trim some fat. Carrots anyone?