|
|
|
Article Banks Are Internet Marketing Gold
What is an article bank? An article bank is a web site where an author can "deposit" articles and a publisher of a printed or Internet newsletter, magazine report, ebook, or website can obtain articles for their use. Each site includes guidelines...
Be Image Smarter - Stop Using "Cookie Cutter" Marketing
We all know you only get one chance to make a good first impression. That is why all your marketing materials need to relay a sharp, professional image. Remember, Don't be tempted to use "Cookie Cutter Marketing". A sharper, more professional...
Get Business Now: Play by the Marketing Rules
Marketing a business is like any game. If you know the rules you are much more likely to win. All to often small businesses spend their limited time and money on advertising, networking, making calls, mailings, meeting with prospects, yet only...
Marketing Your Website OFF the Web!
You've built your website. You've submitted to the search engines. You've optimized your meta tags. You've exchanged links with other sites. You have a newsletter that you email out weekly. You've advertised in other ezines. Well, at least I hope...
The Added Effectiveness of Promotional Products in Your Marketing Plan
Recently, I stopped by a new car wash in my town and while preparing to insert my six quarters into the machine to start the cleaning process, the owner came over to me and thanked me for stopping in. He also handed me a pen that had the name...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blogs: You'll love the marketing potential
By Jim Fisher, President of IdeaStar Inc.
The Internet revolution is responsible for two of the dumbest names in business. The first is the "Web." Try telling your grandmother what you do for a living with that name. The next is the "blog." Most people have heard about blogs (short for Web logs). There are millions of them - most with little commercial value, but many with significant social, political or cultural merit.
However, that is changing. The business community is beginning to embrace blogs for their marketing and commercial potential. Business blogs that are well-written, focused on topics relevant to customers, employees, and interest groups are becoming the new company "voice."
Blogs offer a new way to communicate with clients, potential clients, and any interested parties. Popular forms of business communication include press releases, newsletters and e-newsletters, Web sites and mailings. But these are all one-way communications. Blogs offer the opportunity to interact and create a dialogue about a product or service.
Recently, e-mail newsletters helped "push" a business message to an "opt-in" audience. But spam filters, which battle increased junk e-mailings, may prevent a message from reaching its intended target. Today, people come directly to blogs for information. There is a twist. They subscribe to RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds, which notify a subscriber's news aggregator (like Bloglines) that the blog has new posts.
Business blogs can be simple, light-hearted stories, straightforward informational articles or brief commentaries about news and issues. Each opens an opportunity for discussion about your product or service.
Blogs also serve as sources for journalists who cover particular markets, such as insurance, the automotive industry, or consumer goods. Using blog aggregators, they can track your blog and quickly browse your posts for story ideas. Wouldn't it be great to get a call from the Wall Street Journal for your expert opinion? More and more, journalists are finding the uninhibited, self-expression of blog writers as better sources than the hand-picked and prepped "experts" provided by public relations agencies.
I've become a blog "evangelist" at IdeaStar, encouraging the creation of two new blogs -
IdeaStar: The Flipside and InsuraTech. The "voice" of a blog is very important - who is speaking and what is the message? We decided the "voice" for the IdeaStar blog should be in the third person reporting on the humorous, quirky and personal side of our company. Through the blog, our clients, prospects and business associates can get to know us personally. This is important for service companies like IdeaStar. We leave the more formal stuff for our Web site and e-newsletter.
The other blog, InsuraTech, is written in the first person. Mike Wise, IdeaStar Vice President of Insurance Technologies, presents his thoughts, real-world observations, and examples - good and bad - regarding the use of Internet technology in the insurance industry. IdeaStar built a national reputation in the insurance community for its excellence in Web-enabling services. The blog helps to establish Mike as an expert and opinion leader. As the number of posts grow, we expect a dialogue to begin within the market.
I began my own blog in earnest over a year ago. It is a personal blog. I post photography, reviews of music or gadgets, and some social commentary. But most important, my blog serves as a way for me to understand this new tool from a user's perspective.
For example, I posted some pictures I took of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As usual, I captioned each shot, including one of Lebron James. That particular photo was captioned, "This would make a great wallpaper." Within a couple days, my blog was in the top ten on Google for Lebron James wallpaper. That is fantastic from a marketer's perspective. (But not from a personal one. I took the picture down the next day.)
Like the Internet itself 10 years ago, blogs are here to stay. Figuring out how to produce an effective blog takes practice. It is better to get your hands around this new technology now and see what it does rather than wait. If you don't there will be the next climatic technology revolution with a silly name for us to learn.
About the Author
Jim Fisher is president of IdeaStar, Inc. which designs, develops, manages and promotes leading-edge Web sites. http://www.ideastar.com http://www.insurance-technologies.com http://wazopia.blogspot.com http://ideastar.blogspot.com http://insuratech.blogsot.com
|
|
|
|
|
| KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
| KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
| www.knowthis.com |
  |
| Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
  |
| Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
| Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
| marketing.about.com |
  |
| Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
| Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
| www.marketing.org |
  |
| Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
| Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
| www.marketingpower.com |
  |
| Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
| Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
| www.brandrepublic.com |
  |
| Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
| Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
| www.brandrepublic.com |
  |
| Marketing (Canada) |
| Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
| www.marketingmag.ca |
  |
| BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
| Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
| www.bidvertiser.com |
  |
| Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
| Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
| www.clicksor.com |
  |
| Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
| Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
| www.marketingjobs.com |
  |
| The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
| The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
| www.cim.co.uk |
  |
| Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
  |
| Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
| Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
| www.marketingprofs.com |
  |
| Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
| Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
| www.gmarketing.com |
  |
| Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
| Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
| www.entrepreneur.com |
  |
| All About Marketing |
| Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
| www.managementhelp.org |
  |
| Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
| USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
| del.icio.us |
  |
| ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
| Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
| www.clickz.com |
  |
| Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
| Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
| www.the-dma.org |
  |
|