Blogs

Generating significant interest for your tradeshow isn’t just relying on word of mouth or basic PR, it takes a focused online marketing campaign to successfully drive a record number of attendees. Here are eleven effective strategies to drive attendance and boost visibility for your trade show: 

1) Register your trade show at other websites like http://www.tradeshows-biz.com/ or www.tsnn.com/.

2) Pay-per-click advertising with Google Adwords is a necessary evil of driving traffic to your trade show website.  It might not be the main driver of all your traffic but the costs of the service will be minimal for the amount of traffic you are getting. However word of caution, you have to pick the right Google Adwords or you will be wasting your time and money. 

3) Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the largest marketing components to drive traffic to your site. SEO for your trade show website will drive traffic by optimizing your site to be found on search engines like Google and Bing.  There are many different techniques in optimizing your website, but whatever you do, don't think that your website will be automatically categorized by search engines.

While watching Mad Men, I realized how much the internet has changed the concept of marketing.  Back in the 1960’s, a company would have an in-house team devoted to their entire marketing strategy.  Things have changed in the last 50 years.  In today’s world, an in-house marketing team has become obsolete, due to the rise of internet marketing.  There are two parts to internet marketing in today’s world, search engine optimization (SEO) and direct online marketing (DOM). SEO helps companies get online real estate on a search engine’s results page.  The better the SEO, the better placement you have on search engine page.  DOM on the other hand, brings customers who are interested in buying a product or service you sell to your site.  By combining both parts we create Search Engine Marketing (SEM).  SEM is like a tab in a telephone book that would lead customers directly to your business whenever they search for services or products you sell.  SEM, if done properly, can help small businesses compete with much larger companies online. Here are some pointers to help you pinpoint your marketing goals and to then design your SEM.

1. Maximize your pay-per-click budget.

To avoid spending more money than you’re actually making from cost-per-click (CPC), ask your marketing agency about the various prices charged for CPC and decide on a maximum bid that coincides with your budget.

The Atlantic’s Innovation Summit will gather the country's top scientists, industry leaders and public officials for a full day of compelling dialogue dedicated to innovation. The event showcased the new Dreamliner 787, we had an opportunity to take a sneak preview of the newly designed plane.

For online business owners, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is key to driving more traffic and, ultimately, customers to a website. There are several benefits one can derive from a well-designed SEM / SEO campaign, including greater visibility and the potential for greater profits.

The following are just some of the most common reasons website owners employ SEM techniques to grow their businesses:

1. People Use Search Engines to Find what they’re Looking for: What better way to increase traffic to your site than by using a toolset that was created with search engines in mind?

2. Get Noticed: With SEM, the likelihood of potential customers finding your business is much higher. All they need is their web browser!

Yesterday Google made significant updates to enhance its search engine results rankings. We watched Matt Cutts, Google's search expert, chat about "over-optimization" or how certain websites artificially enhance their search results with poor SEO practices.

Many small businesses wonder what type of online marketing offers the biggest bang for their buck.  Well, according to one recent report , search engine optimization (SEO) is it. Webmarketing123’s 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report stated that a majority of small businesses generate more online traffic and lead generation through SEO then through social media or pay-per-click advertising. Here are seven mistakes you should avoid in developing your SEO strategy:

1. Using the Wrong Keywords
Customers find products by typing questions into search engines. If your keywords don’t answer the questions that customers will be asking, then you need a new SEO strategy.

Despite what many website owners thought when they first heard of Google’s impending algorithm changes, the fact that the search engine is doing what it can to put itself one step closer to ‘perfecting’ search queries is great news for anyone who wants to succeed online. If search terms and results were accurately matched at a greater rate, maybe more people who are searching for the paint products you sell would find your site and fewer would merely stumble upon it when searching for ‘cartoon characters from the ‘70s.’ 

Stop being concerned about the types of changes that Google et al are making, and focus on the fact that those changes will drive more targeted traffic to your website. The key is to learn what you can do now in terms of your site’s SEO so that you can take advantage of improved traffic results both now and in the future.

Remember, Content is King. And, at least in the eyes of search engines, new content is the way to get more traffic. From now on, search engines will be looking more closely at the dates on which content is published and rewarding those sites with fresh, continuously updated content accordingly.

One of the biggest problems with email marketing is that half the time no one reads their email. Especially on the go, we’ve become used to skimming headlines and taking a quick dip into the body, while making a split second decision to read or not read as our mouse hovers over the delete button.  The best place to start energizing your campaign is your email list -- are you getting through to the right people? A great list is the best way to improve your “open” and “conversion” rates. Here are six easy steps to clean up your existing list by figuring out who isn’t reading, why, and how to lure them back.

1) The first step is to figure out how many people aren’t interacting with your email marketing campaign.  The best way to do this is by asking your Email Service Provider (ESP) what your inactivity rate is. An ESP does this by querying your database to find which email addresses are inactive.

2) There may be many reasons why your email campaign has inactive recipients and it’s your job to figure out why.  Sometimes it is as simple as the recipients changing their email addresses, which is something out of your control, but other factors like image bulking, over spamming, and improper subject labeling are under your control.

Apple’s latest figures state more than 25 billion iPhone Apps have been downloaded from the Apple Store and 30 million more are downloaded every day. So how does a small business stand out in this crowded environment?

1. Remember that iPhone apps have matured from relatively easy, simple games to robust marketing platforms. iPhone apps are a powerful and business critical avenue to engage new users.

2. The most successful apps offer two-way marketing, giving customers tools at their finger-tips that provide research, customer service, and customer relationship management.

3. Give your iPhone app a specific function or a purpose to fulfill. Some examples are a library of documents, pricing lists, or discounts to loyal customers.

A business card is still one of the most important marketing tools available in your arsenal. Business cards not only communicate who you are but give someone you’re meeting a tangible representation of you and your brand.  Making a good impression is critical and a well crafted business card can help you push past boundaries by reinforcing that you take your image seriously. Here are our favorite 50 business card design tips and ideas.

1. Decide on the shape of your business card when visualizing your design -- consider perfect squares, rounded edges, or the traditional rectangle.
2. The only phone number you should hand write on a business card is your personal phone number.
3. Make sure to keep all information, like address, city, and state, up to date on your business card.
4. Lower your costs by ordering large quantities of business cards.
5. Never print your business cards at home. Even if you have a small business, always have them professionally printed.
6. Avoid using any art that may resemble clip art. It will immediately undermine the impression you’re looking to create.
7.  Select the highest quality card stock; since so much business is done online, you want your business card to leave an impression.
8. Consider adding a QR code that links back to your website or blog.
9. Don’t be intimidated with traditional layout. Think about including short text on how you can help the client or give them a fun fact on the back.
10. Consider glossy UV coated cards if you’re looking to stand out.