Internet Marketing NYC, Preseason Football Depth Charts and Fake Videos: What your business can learn from meaningless football games
Posted by Aryeh.Landowne on Aug 17, 2010
Well it’s August and for a lot of the country that means Football season is right around the corner. This was on full display last night as the New York Giants and the NY Jets opened up their brand new, $1.6 billion stadium in the Meadowlands by playing against each other for naming rights for the new stadium. Not actually though, that will probably cost a lot more just ask the “dating” site AshleyMadison.com (AshleyMadison.com gives Giants and Jets $25 million offer to put name on New Meadowlands Stadium). Anyways, the first (preseason) game has been played and won by the Giants even though quarterback Eli Manning was knocked out of the game when he collided with another player and cut his head open. There was a lot of blood on the field but he’ll be fine. But the point is the Giants recovered and won without their starting quarterback.
The lesson we can learn from this is that in order for your business to succeed you need to be “deep at every position”. In football you can’t just have one great player at each position, you need to have great back ups too. That way when a starter goes down, you can plug in the next guy on the depth chart and hopefully there isn’t a huge drop off in production. The same applies to your website marketing strategy. You need to utilize a variety of techniques when marketing your website. That way when one of them isn’t doing so well, you can fall back on all the others.
For example, Gerrus Maintenance (www.Gerrus.com) is a NJ based cleaning company that does office cleaning, residential cleaning and mold remediation. For all the hours put in to linking they were not registering many incoming links on Google. But they have also been focusing on many other SEO practices like building pages, social media profiles and blogging. All this has added up to being in the top spot for many of their industry’s keywords and a lot of traffic to their site.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t focus on getting links to your site, you should. But it’s not the be all and end all. Gerrus Maintenance puts hours into linking but they are smart enough to know that you have to more than just one type of internet marketing. Divide your time evenly, spend some time doing linking, spend some time creating or updating social media profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc), spend some time making videos, spend some time writing content for your site and your blog. It all adds up and there is always something you can/should be doing. If you need some ideas check out the 21 Things You Should Be Doing Online (http://websitestrategymarketing.com/its-2010-wake-up-and-smell-the-internet-21-things-you-should-be-doing-online)
Last week we talked about the viral video of a ball girl making an incredible catch in the outfield at a minor league baseball game. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1liNz3QsAc) After last week’s post we did some research and discovered that it was, unfortunately, not real. According to Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/ballgirl.asp) the whole thing was staged by Gatorade to use in a commercial. Oh well. Still a cool video but now it’s even more relevant to Internet Marketing because now I can talk about how smart Gatorade is for posting this commercial on the Internet to further promote their brand.
If you want to know more about creating your internet marketing depth chart, producing viral (real or fake) videos or any of the 21 Things send us an email at raphis@salemglobal.com, call our office at 212-993-5828 or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information.
Website Marketing NY, Quit Your Day Job (At JetBlue Airlines) But Don’t Forget The Beer, A-Rod Hits 600: What your business can learn from newsworthy bridge burning
Posted by Salem Global on Aug 10, 2010
As the Grateful Dead said: “I’m going to Hell in a bucket baby, but at least I’m enjoying the ride…” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIwSaOBHinQ) Thus said the JetBlue Employee of the century, flight attendant Steven Slater, after getting hit in the head by a piece of luggage that an impatient passenger on flight 1052 arriving from Pittsburgh to New York’s JFK Airport couldn’t wait to get down. But the way that it all went down was so classic that it is already being called “pulling a JetBlue.” So awesome that after arguing with the specific passenger, Slater then got on the PA system, said some profanities, cursed out everyone in the plane and just like James Bond, activated the emergency exit chute, and ran away down the tarmac, through the terminal, onto the bus, into his car and headed for home. But wait – it gets better. I am not exactly sure how this was reported and what Slater was thinking, but the climax of this whole story was that right before he made his dramatic departure, he actually grabbed a couple of beers on the way out. Now tell me folks, is there ANY better way to quit your job?
And tell me folks, don’t you think that as of this writing there are no fewer than 782 related articles when you search for “JetBlue” in Google news? And more blogs and articles are definitely coming. This is almost as good as when Kevin Smith of Clerks/ Silent Bob fame Twittered about being called fat on a Southwest Airlines flight. Social media and the web have done wonders for businesses large and small. And remember it doesn’t all have to be good news. Just news. As the old PR saying goes, any PR is good PR. Just realize how viral this story has gone in the last 24 hours and how much more it will go in the next 24 hours…
So your business should be creative and try to figure out what is going to really shock the world. What do you think that is? I am talking about Ripley’s Believe It Or Not material. This is your homework for the week. What can your company do or stage to get news coverage so vast that everyone is talking about it. That will get more hits to your website than you can imagine. JetBlue is a good company. This guy just got fed up. That’s all. No real harm done. I am sure flight attendants get hit every day in the head. Even more get cursed out. But today’s story takes the cake. There is a debate in my office whether this video is real or not: What do YOU think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvxodp-GpFA.
Book of the week: “All In: The (Almost) Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker” by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback – http://www.amazon.com/All-Almost-Entirely-Story-World/dp/0312360371/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281458326&sr=1-8 – Making me think a little more about how I play my own poker hands. Your business can learn a lot about marketing and business development from this book. Taking risks and chances. Leveraging what you have…
Finally, yes. Alex Rodriguez has indeed joined the 600 club, but I have never NEVER seen a ballgirl (or boy) do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1liNz3QsAc – Did I mention that this was a ball girl? Oh yeah – the way that I got to this video was because Masato Akamatsu of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp also made an impressive catch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYdpBNonxA4. (But NOT AS IMPRESSIVE AS A BALL GIRL!!!) Ok – last one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW0bb2wxH5Y, Brian Kownacki Leaps The Catcher for safe at home plate. Btw – check out CORRECT use of YouTube description with the url: http://www.sportingnews.com
So if you want to know more about writing true or false stories about your company, having them go viral, how to promote these stories to the benefit of your company and using social media to get the message out, email me at raphis@salemglobal.com, call my office at 212-993-5828 or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. The call and consultation are free, the benefits could be priceless. (Thanks to Alan in my Tuesday morning Westchester networking group for that tagline – I like it).
Website Marketing New York City, New York Mets, Armstrong’s Tour De France, Non-Profits Profiting: What your business and non-profit can learn from loyalty
Posted by Salem Global on Jul 27, 2010
So I am headed to the NY Mets baseball game tonight and each person I tell this to asks me the same thing… “How’s your arm? They might need you as a relief pitcher. Or maybe a starting one.” I answer that I am a better hitter than pitcher. To which they reply, “well then they could use a few hits too.” OUCH. Are there any Mets fans out there? Who actually like the team? (Shout outs to Alan Berkson of www.InfoManage.net – for all of your outsourced IT needs – thanks for the tickets, and to Bruce Stark of www.beaconpaint.com 371 Amsterdam Ave, UWS NYC. Bruce has as his profile picture on Facebook a picture himself in a Mets uniform after he takes a swing. Not sure if its baseball or softball but it looks cool. He will be joining me tonight at Citi Field. I actually missed my softball game this past Sunday. These 90 degree mornings burn out – literally – the older guys.) It takes a lot to be a Met fan. Someone I know said to me once upon a time that if I grew up on Long Island, I HAD to be a Met fan. He asked, “Where’s your loyalty?” With Steinbrenner dying and having paid hundreds of millions of dollars to create and retain a team that has won so many pennants and World Series, the Yankees organization has their act together. Unfortunately, the Mets haven’t had the billionaire budget or possibly the marketing smarts to retain a team or a fan base to make them contenders. I mean, when was the last time they won anyway? I remember the 69′ Mets, but for some reason, the orange and blue color scheme isn’t bringing up so many fond memories. (Ok – now I have cheated and am reminded that pitcher Tom Seaver was the 1969 Cy Young Award winner, Keith Hernandez was the 1987 Gold Glove award winner and a few others were Mets albeit briefly.)
The point is that the Mets have not thrown in the towel. They did indeed win two World Series titles and fans for the most part are loyal. We had a discussion last week whether a salary cap should be introduced in baseball. Would players be motivated by fame and glory without the fortune? I think you should get paid what you are worth. But then again, who is to say that capping will decrease the advancement of the sport or not. Will players not try harder without the financial motivation? I don’t think we will ever get a controlled fair answer.
Which leads to wondering whether my friend Robert Remin is correct in saying that “no one cares about the Tour De France.” Last week I wrote about Lance Armstrong and though he is not a rock star football player, he still is a huge celebrity, especially after dating Sheryl Crow and Kate Hudson. Armstrong, regardless of whether he is a “douchebag” or not (what some people say alleging that he used steroids to win all of his 7 Tours) is an amazing individual and athlete considering the fact that PLENTY of other people use drugs to win at sports. But how many undergo cancer, cancer treatment, live to tell the world about it and then start non-profit organizations that raise hundreds of millions of dollars toward cancer research. (www.LiveStrong.com) The fact that Team Radio Shack had the number 23 on its back throughout the tour honoring the 23 million people who battle cancer in this country says to me that Armstrong is doing good in this world. He uses Twitter to get his message out.
Which leads me to remind you all of an amazing partner over the past few years. Since I met www.EvasVillage.org several years ago, I have come to learn that they are amazing at feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, medicating the sick and treating the addicted. Eva’s Village, located in Paterson, NJ started out small and grew and grew to not only work with the local poor and hungry, but have branched out to help thousands and thousands on the streets. Year after year, they too “stick with it” and do incredible charity work. Please consider a donation to their organization this year. In addition to standard SEO practices and blogging, our strategy for them has been interactive press releases and they have profited from this year after year.
So what has your business or non-profit learned from the above? First – loyalty rules. Get a customer and/or supporter, nurture them, and they will contribute for life. Second. Use the power of the Internet and social media to reach new audiences and stay in touch with them. Want to know more about internet marketing for your business or non-profit, email me at raphis@salemglobal.com, call my office at 212-993-5828 or visit www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. The summer is half over and that means that I am going to be even busier once the school year rolls around.
Website Marketing NY, July 4 and Prince: What your business can learn from holiday sales, beaches, BBQs, fireworks and being oblivious
Posted by Salem Global on Jul 6, 2010
One of my associates (Christopher) passed on a great article today. Prince, or the artist formerly known as Prince or now as I have learned, Love symbol #2 has granted an interview to Peter Willis of the British Daily Mirror. (http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/07/05/prince-world-exclusive-interview-peter-willis-goes-inside-the-star-s-secret-world-115875-22382552/) Prince basically lives in his own fantasy land in Minneapolis (yes folks Minneapolis, MN) and has built some sort of anti-celebrity fortress where no one else has. He isn’t the California punk that most celebrities turn into. He is super smart and super talented and super successful. I think he plays 27 instruments on his new album. He has sold over 100 million albums.
How many times do I personally say “we are going to party like its 1999?” Objectively speaking, I probably use this phrase at least once a week. Hurry up and listen or download from YouTube before it gets taken down because of copyright issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSqYAbBFhzc. By the way – here is some crazy trivia – What year was 1999 recorded and released? Answer will be at end of this writing.
Prince has always bucked the trend and the norm. He has been fighting the Internet and copyright issues forever and won’t distribute his music through iTunes or other electronic means. He thinks the Internet is like MTV – an old fad, and has even closed down his own official website. (Luckily you have me to steer you towards archived copies of his old websites here: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.npgmusicclub.com) So what can I tell you about his version of Internet marketing? I disagree. I think he has the wrong philosophy when it comes to marketing. The way to go is like the Grateful Dead and Phish and any band or outfit that allows you to record, bootleg and distribute as much as possible. When it comes to 2010, popularity and volume are the things that allow you to stand out from the crowd. Will Prince sell 100 million more albums by shunning the Internet? I don’t think so. He is giving away his new album, 20TEN in the Daily Mirror this Saturday. Why? I can’t tell you. I don’t think it’s smart. On the other hand, I am not trying to buck the trend…
As for not bucking the trend and getting your name out there, the winners of this year’s July 4th please take Raphi Salem’s hard earned spending money go out to Filene’s Basement and Syms. These two smart retailers not only had a July 4th sale, they had an extra 20% off with Internet coupons and a huge BASH! Meaning, sale on top of sale. While everyone else was having a ubiquitous Happy Birthday America! Sale, these stores and organizations went all out. They got people into their stores more than their competitors because they practically were giving clothing away. The way I see it is that Ben and Jerry’s has a free scoop of ice cream day, Starbucks has a free coffee day, Dunkin Donuts, Cold Stone Creamery and even Toys R Us and Chuck E Cheese have a “free” day. They spread the news like wildfire. These companies GET IT! Give it away for free for ONE MEASLY DAY and make a friend forever. Even people who come in once a day a year to get their free (fill in the blank) spread the word. That’s PR folks. That’s word of mouth marketing. And it’s majorly worth it. So while Prince might be dis-connected because he is 1 person who has millions in the bank, don’t be a fool and follow the Internet crowd. Get those coupons and promotions out today, this week, month and year…. through your website, blog, video and online press release through email. I guarantee you success!
If you are a local or national business and want to get your name out there, want to talk about Prince and bucking the norm, or tell me how hot it is outside, give me a call at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. Answer to the trivia question: Prince’s 1999 was produced and distributed in 1982. Yes, you are old, and so am I 
Internet Marketing NYC, Home Runs, BBQs and Motorcylces; What your business can learn from Memorial Day Weekend with family & friends
Posted by Salem Global on Jun 1, 2010
There seems to be a split in the good ole US of A between people who “celebrate” Memorial Day vs. the people who actually “memorialize.” My Father served in the US Army and even was in the Korean War. (Ask me sometime what he did privately and I will be happy to share it with you. It’s a good story.) He never once mentioned to me (during the 40 years that I have known him), anything about his fallen comrades. He never really opened up to me how dangerous it was or that some guy or guys he knew in basic training or any of his friends have ever died or even suffered any casualties. On the other hand, my great uncle was actually a POW in WWII. He had been in the air force and his B17 bomber I guess went down in enemy territory. If he were alive today he would talk about his experiences in the war. 20 years ago a movie came out called “Memphis Belle” that touched upon his story. He would tell everyone to watch that movie. I don’t remember if I did or not but now that I am writing about it, maybe I will… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS3AQepBW-g)
I would be lying to you if I didn’t admit to personally being in the camp that leans towards celebrating. Sure, I think about Memorial Day intellectually. I think about all of the wars that the US has been involved in and the fallen soldiers who went down in them. Movies, books and media bring war, its horror and glory to the masses. TV shows like MASH give us insight into the Korean War. Movies like Born On the 4th of July with Tom Cruise and Forest Gump with Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan with Matt Damon (and a hundred other A-list actors); The Dirty Dozen with Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson give us insight into Vietnam and World War Two. So when you actually stop and think about it, there are plenty of people to thank during Memorial Day weekend. What did you do? Did you put a flag out in front of your house? Did you put a printout on the front door of your apartment? Did you put a candle in the window? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFP5afPweVI)
I played two games of softball (hooray for me, I got my first home run of the season… we still got blown out of the water 25-3 or something like that), had a BBQ at my sisters house, played poker with some friends and did some running. I am also looking for a new car and as you all well know, every auto dealership has a Memorial Day sale. Every supermarket has hot dogs and hamburgers on sale because it’s Memorial Day which also marks the beginning of summer. So while most people are going to the beach or having barbecues, I would say that we are not at parades celebrating our freedom here in America or honoring the fallen as much as we are at the Thanksgiving Day Parade watching float after commercial float. Kudos to my friend that actually went with her family down to Washington DC and visited the Vietnam Memorial amongst other sites. She also reported to me that she got to witness the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Parade (here is the 2010 eyewitness report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brX-UyrWQKU)
So we learn from this that Memorial Day actually has several meanings. Your business can benefit from the beginning of summer by attaching your name to the words “Memorial Day,” add in the year (2010) and make a special sales or “awareness” page on your website. You can say that your company “honors those who have served in the armed forces this weekend.” Whether it is sincere or not, Google and the search engines don’t really care. But regardless, if you put the correct keywords into your meta data, and also have a special graphic or text on your website, you will show up higher in the search engines when people are searching. And if you are indeed sincere, you might also be able to score a sale from patriotic Americans that want to buy from those who support the Red, White and Blue.
Want to know more? Call me at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. Let me know if you want to talk more about America, the weekend and how to promote your business through the Internet this summer. It’s gonna be a hot one!
Internet Marketing NY, Privacy & Seven Foot Basketball Giants: What your organization can learn from growing quickly
Posted by Salem Global on May 25, 2010
So Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, “sort-of” apologizes this week for the “lack of” privacy controls that basically “missed the mark.” You can read it for yourself here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100524/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc2204 …but the truth is that I agree with the camp that says that if the website is free and you choose to use it, you BETTER read the fine print… When we started commercializing the Internet back in the 90′s, it was a great marketing ploy to give stuff away for free… and then sell advertising based on traffic etc. etc. So sometimes the model worked, sometimes it didn’t. And along the way, some businesses modified their business models and some went out of business and some made money. Millions in fact.
But years ago I wrote an open letter to Zuckerberg and told him he was an idiot for not taking the 1 BILLION (that’s Billion with a “B” my friends). I said that anyone in their 20′s that can get an offer for a billion should take the money and run. Invest it and live off of it for generations and generations. But Mark wrote back and said that he thinks Facebook (and he) are worth much more than a measly ONE billion. And he has proven himself CORRECT. So much for my advice….
Do you, dear reader, have any concept of what 400 MILLION users on Facebook represents? Do you know the old saying “if I had a nickel for every time I _________?” Well basically Facebook says that 400 million multiplied by a nickel equals BILLIONS. True there are naysayers out there who don’t think there is any money behind the traffic but what they don’t realize is customization, personalization and keyword targeting. Let’s compare Facebook with 400 million users to a television event/ program that only 100 million people watch every year usually at the end of January. Yes – it’s an American Football game otherwise known as the Super Bowl. Super Bowl commercials go for around 1 million to 5 million dollars per :30 seconds. So if you add up the 90 or so commercials that get aired for the 3 hours of the game, we are talking about $500 million dollars in revenue generated from advertising alone. Now, let’s take that number and multiply it by EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!!! (That’s 365) And what do you get? Yes. A GAZILLION dollars.
So who would like to ask me if I think social media is a worthwhile investment? I can also break down this number for you and show you how each and every one of us, whether you are in B2B or B2C can benefit from Facebook and LinkedIn and the scores of other social media websites and opportunities out there.
And speaking worthwhile investments – here are two more stories for you this week…
I was having lunch with a friend of a friend this past Sunday who owns some real estate properties as well as a building and lumber supply company. Smart guy. Anything he needs for his commercial and residential business he buys from his other business. Gotta love making money on both ends of the deal. Anyway, his son graduates from college with an accounting degree and starts interviewing around. His father then makes him an offer and says he will double his salary if he comes to work for him under two conditions. First is he lives at home and doesn’t move into the city and second is he wakes up at 5 AM and commutes with him. Son says he will do it under one more condition, that his father joins him at the gym. Long story short, father loses 30 pounds and is in the best shape of his most recent life due to his son’s motivation. Did it work out for the father professionally? Well after the son comes into the company he tells his father that they should buy all of the domain names associated with his business and industry for real estate and building supply. Within one month he rents out 60 residential and commercial units that his senior salesperson wasn’t able to do in this economy. Using Internet marketing skills, social media and domain name strategies, the green college grad turned the biggest profit his father has seen in years. Was it worth it to offer his son double anything he could find?
Last story – Growing up in India can be hard. Read or watch Slumdog Millionaire and Water. This story is straight out of fantasyland. http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1087336 Basically, two brothers who are each seven feet tall emigrate to Canada where the family has a better life opportunity. But then the kids get into basketball and become superstars. Headed to high school in the USA and then if they don’t hurt themselves will have stellar careers in the NBA. Check out this video of them playing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Y04AMkvdg
Final message of the week – use social media, the skills given to you and while you are growing, be smart, take it easy and don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you have limits. Oh – and read the fine print… If you want to know more about Facebook and how to market your company on the Internet and in social media, call me at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. Free website consultation to the first 5 people who read this whole post
Internet Marketing in Manhattan, LinkedIn and Sex: What organizations can learn from 65 million users and sensational topics
Posted by Salem Global on May 11, 2010
Every now and then a news headline will catch my eye and I will share it with you as to how it relates to Internet marketing NY. Usually it’s a sports piece. Sometimes political. Sometimes technology or pop culture related. But when I saw the headline about Playboy going 3-D, I OF COURSE had to share it with you.
Yes folks. Sex sells. And apparently, 3-D sex (hopefully for Playboy) will sell even more. For many years, Playboy was the #1 brand for nude magazines and the sex industry. Growing up in the 70′s, anytime someone referred to the source of something sexual, they would also refer to the Playboy brand. They were as “Kleenex” was to “tissue,” “Q-tip” was to “cotton swab,” “band-aid” was to “the thing you put on a boo boo.” The goal of every organization should be to brand themselves so well that people think of that company when the consumer wants to make a purchase. This same theory applies to B2B and B2C companies as well as whether they are local, domestic or international. It doesn’t matter what industry they are in – you ALWAYS want to be at the top of someone’s thoughts. If you are a service based company, the rule is that you will be competing with at least another two brands or companies. This is because one figures that out of three choices the consumer will get the small, medium or large choices and relate the size of company to what service, action or hours you will get by comparison. As the sayings go, just because you are the biggest (or most expensive) doesn’t mean you are the best.
Getting back to the sex selling part though, as you might already know, the publishing sector has taken a huge hit due to the Internet. (Thanks to the professionals in my industry… sorry about that. But we simply believe you get more bang for your marketing buck <puns intended> when you utilize the Internet. But let me also make this very clear that I don’t believe in shutting down ALL other marketing programs. I just believe strongly in a holistic and integrated approach to marketing that includes as many media as possible. Obviously everyone has budget constraints. That’s why companies need to really see what is the most cost effective solution for them… and of course Internet marketing is the smartest What I am really saying is that “you can go with this, or you can go with that” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9F5xcpjDMU (The Choice Is Yours) – or as Stevie Winwood says “it’s a fine line, it’s a very fine line” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CULgdX6I5X8 (Split Decision)
All media has taken a hit. TV, radio, billboard advertising, direct mail etc. So, traditional media has to fight back. Playboy is fighting back by introducing 3-D into its magazines. Hey – it worked for James Cameron’s Avatar. So why not Playboy? I happen to think that that just as traditional technology brought us film and the moving picture and then HDTV, your own personal computer will soon be hi-def, or 3-D or next generation what ever that means. Then the 3-D magazines will be stored away in your closet for your kids and grandkids to marvel at sometime in the distant future. And believe me. They will laugh but will be fascinated. (Just like a friend of mine who inherited 200 old Playboys from his neighbor before the neighbor moved. After all, realistically Of course you will store them in the basement, but you certainly wouldn’t pay someone to move them. Would you?
This morning I was at my regular networking meeting in Westchester and I was surprised to discover that some people STILL are not on LinkedIn. If you are reading my blog regularly or just happened to have stumbled upon it, or are looking for marketing advice or networking advice to increase your business or sales, you MUST have a LinkedIn profile. You should be using linked in regularly – which means at least 1 hour per week. You need to fill out your complete profile to at least 95%. Then you need to join up to 50 groups for free and promote yourself. Not for your health, but actually for business. So Raphi – does this social networking stuff REALLY work? My professional answer is YES YES YES. And I am not suggesting spending 50% of your time on LinkedIn or Facebook or any other social networking site. I am suggesting that you give 2% (1 hour out of 40 in a week) to your marketing. And if you can’t do it, hire someone else to do it for you. I guarantee it will give you business or, at the very least, your money back!
Want to know more about sensational ways to promote yourself or just smart ways to get your name out there? Call me at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. It’s the second quarter of 2010. I bet your competitors are doing all this stuff. What are you waiting for?
Internet Marketing NYC, Times Square Car Bomb Scare and April Showers: What businesses can learn from panic, news and the changing seasons
Posted by Salem Global on May 4, 2010
Usually I write about sports since that gives me an ear from the most relevant demographic I want to reach for my own marketing. I actually wonder how many women out there are on this email list and read my blog. Usually I only hear from the men. But maybe more women search for NYC website marketing companies than their male counterparts. So maybe I am going about this all wrong. Maybe I need to re-think my own marketing plan. On the panel that I was on two weeks ago we discussed how businesses need to have a 1-year, 3-year and 5-year marketing plan. And in addition, you always need to be modifying and tweaking and testing to see what works. But the truth is that I haven’t been hit with anything interesting regarding sports or the New York Yankees or NY Mets even though baseball season is well under way. March Madness is over (for two months now), I don’t know anyone that follows hockey. I think Football is on hiatus until September… so that leaves me with the news and a joke.
If April showers bring May flowers then what do May Flowers bring? Pilgrims! (My son taught me that one lol!)
Not a joke though is something that I call “seed planting.” In business, we all need to do our own marketing. Marketing should lead directly to sales but there is a time delay in that some marketing programs take longer than others and certainly some sales cycles are longer than others. For instance, if you need milk or bread to feed your family, you go out to the market and pick it up. No marketing necessary. Food and essentials have different cycles than other consumer goods like electronics and cars. Services have different sales cycles completely. No one NEEDS website or Internet marketing, but it CAN help your business expand and grow. Everyone NEEDS food. And even for food and consumer items, there is a major battle between brands that goes on right in front of our eyes that 99.9% of the population does not realize. Coupons in your weekly printed circular and shelf placement are all part of the game. And with the changing seasons, so too, does the marketing change. When you walk into your supermarket, bottled water and watermelon are going to be front and center. More people are outside, going to barbeques and traveling. Grills will now go on sale at your local retailer and watch out for those fans and air conditioning unit sales.
If you want to be a part of the game and /or if you want to go so far as to win it, you have to plant your seeds early. You have to get together with your partners earlier than your competitors. The early bird does indeed catch the worm. The classic case in marketing is Coke vs. Pepsi. Whoever can get more coupons into your hand and get placed on the shelf at eye level or have a whole entire display in your face as you check out is going to win. This relates to each and every business out there. In the service sector, the more your network, the more people you know, the more reach you are going to have. Expert salespeople are able to target their audience and don’t waste as much time as the rest of us talking to the wrong people. In my professional life I network with hundreds of people. On the one hand, business can come from anyone at anytime any where in the US or the online world (and it has, from New York to California to London, India and Tel Aviv.) We all have to find that balance between marketing at the right time to the right people. It’s not easy but when you have an expert on your side it isn’t as challenging.
Ok – back to the news. I find it hard to believe that nine years after 9/11 something like a car bomb can find its way into Times Square in New York City. But my point of bringing it up here today in my writing is that the Internet frenzy that followed the whole story is just incredible. Hopefully you will glean from this that sensational media will always get the spotlight – whether good or bad – positive or negative… Just some quick statistics on the story as it unfolded, I didn’t start counting until now how many stories there are about the “times square bomb scare,” but if you Google these words, you will get a whopping 21,600,000 results. And the search engines now direct us towards those keywords as well. When you start typing into Google and Yahoo the word “times” then “times square” then “bomb,” you will get different suggested potential matches that come up. Before “bomb” you will get:
time square map
times square restaurants
times square shopping
times square address
times square hotels
times square bomb scare
times square bomber
times square church
And in addition to the search engine search, you can do the same thing on YouTube and see what videos come up. What we can learn from this exercise is how to word and prioritize your own website, content, blogs and writings.
Oh – and for you conspiracy theorists out there, I just read on one of these searches how this is all a government trick to take our thoughts off of the oil spill that happened last week – because terrorism trumps environmentalism and global warming…
If you want to know more about conspiracy theories, keyword prioritization and increasing your business in 2010 please call me at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information. Lot’s of exciting things are happening this month in terms of networking, lead generation and business development. Let’s talk about it!
Internet Marketing New York, NFL Draft Picks, Archie, Veronica, Jughead and the New Guy: What businesses can learn from old companies adapting to new times
Posted by Salem Global on Apr 27, 2010
Last week the NFL held its annual draft. In the past when the NFL held their draft most American men would spend those three days in front of their TV sets, calling in sick from work, lying to their wives, etc. But now football fans can get all that information (who their team drafted, who got picked first, etc) online, through social media and even Tweeted straight to your cellphone. So if you are a business that is targeting the American male ages 18-65 this is one place online where you can reach that demographic. On football related sites, where football fans are active and commenting on their team’s selections and even on Fantasy Football sites where the picks are being talked about by not only the fans of the team that drafted them but by all Fantasy Football fans who might selected these new NFL players on their fantasy teams next season.
On a very unrelated note, Riverdale, USA is no longer a straight town. Archie Comics has introduced a new gay character named Kevin and it has only helped their presence on the web, increasing sales and readership throughout the world. Last week I was on a panel of experts along with my associates Lena West of Xyno Media and Kevin Daum, Author of “Roar! Get Heard in The Sales and Marketing Jungle” where we discussed marketing strategies for the new generation. Coordinated by the Ad Club of Westchester and Sponsored by Archie Comics, a local Westchester based concern, the evening was off with a bang when the CEO of Archie Comics proceeded to tell the audience that they were very late in coming to the Internet game.
As a matter of fact when the new CEO of Archie Comics was talking, he himself who has only been in the business for under two years, completely recognized that the company had started their internet strategy very late. But with that knowledge it didn’t put them into a state of paralysis; it put them into a state of adapter. So recently Archie Comics went beyond what most companies are doing and developed an app for the iPhone, which even early adapters have not started doing and I think they reported that I was in the top 5 of app downloads in Apple’s iTunes App Store for iPads and iPhones in the past few weeks. So as we can learn from this lesson, never be paralyzed by the lack of work you’ve done in the past, just get on the bandwagon now.
A relevant event that happened last week was Earth Day/Week and it’s kind of funny/ironic that Archie Comics, who obviously is a hard paper publisher, will probably make more money in the long run by being online and cutting down their publishing on paper due to trends and reading on iPads, Kindles and Nooks and websites. And if you want to see the online clip of the discussion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roU5AQ42Hkg), which only goes to prove further that having a gay character not only keeps them relevant to today’s world, we can also see that the social media millage is also being taken advantage of because it is being talked about online as well as through traditional media.
If you want to know more about the NFL Draft online, Archie Comics and old companies adopting new internet marketing strategies give us a call at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information.
Internet Marketing New York City, Golf Masters Tiger vs. Mickelson: What organizations can learn from world sports, winners and hype
Posted by Salem Global on Apr 13, 2010
More people have been following the Tiger Woods saga in the US and around the world than actually understand and follow the world of golf. I will never forget the first time I learned that soccer or “futbol” is actually the most popular sport in the world. According to Answers.com, golf ranks #8 according to this list:
1) Football/Soccer: 3.3-3.5 billion fans (Europe, Africa, Asia, Americas, etc.)
2) Cricket: 2-3 billion fans (India, UK, Pakistan, Asia, Australia, etc.)
3) Field hockey: 2-2.2 billion fans (Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia)
4) Tennis: Around 1 billion fans (Europe, Americas, Asia)
5) Volleyball: Around 900 million fans (Asia, Europe, Americas, Australia)
6) Table tennis: Around 900 million fans (Asia, Europe, Africa, Americas)
7) Baseball: Around 500 million fans (US, Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic)
8 ) Golf: Around 400 million fans (US, Canada, Europe)
9) Gridiron (American football): 390-410 million fans (US mainly)
10) Basketball: Not more than 400 million fans (US, Canada mainly)
You have to put things into perspective. Golf is a rich person’s sport. Football (not the American Gridiron kind but the global kick a ball around kind) is the sport of the masses. Think about it. You basically take a ball, any ball, (and sometimes even a can or a plastic bottle if you are that poor), and kick it with your leg. That’s it. No other equipment necessary. Maybe you get a few more players and set up teams. Maybe you even make up goals. Between that tree and that rock. Or just throw down four shirts or pieces of cardboard in a large rectangle on any surface, dirt, grass, Astroturf, and BAM, you’ve got yourself a soccer field. Oh – and the rules are… um, kick the ball into the other sides goal. Now that’s a sport!
On the other hand, golf requires acres and acres of land. But not just any land. Land with 18 holes drilled in. But not just drilled in randomly, but designed behind wood, rough, dirt, grass and water. Golf courses cost millions of dollars to design and then millions more to landscape and construct. Then of course you need to buy golf clubs and golf balls. Golf tees, golf clothing and accessories. So only the wealthy are playing golf. And only the wealthy are really watching and following the sport. It’s the sport of kings because only kings had the money, time and land to make it all happen.
Joel Osteen (who I have been reading and listening to lately because he is an incredibly positive attitude preacher and not an over the top evangelist) tells the story of the king who invited a famous golfer to his country for a few days to play with him. The golfer accepted and they played and had a great time for a few days. When the golfer was about to leave, the king told him he would like to give him a gift. This was in addition to the healthy fee that he had already paid him. He said no thank you but the king insisted. So the golfer says that he collects golf clubs. After a few weeks, the golfer gets a letter in the mail. The king sent him a deed to a 500 acre golf club.
Ok – back to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. As I understand it, Phil Mickelson is a great golfer. Though he will not win as many green jackets as Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods, he is known to be an all around swell guy. So when Tiger made his return to golf after five months of scandal to this seasons Masters at Augusta National, Tiger was the celebrity everyone was talking about, not Phil. Unfortunately, Tiger temporarily ruined his reputation by succumbing to his vices. As did Pete Rose, the baseball great, and his gambling and betting habit. As did the immature decision of Michael Phelps to hang out at college parties and get caught smoking from a bong. (See Will Ferrell as President Bush referring to the tiger Woods guy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/will-ferrell-back-as-bush_n_137399.html)
The point is, you can be the best and get credit from it. But the challenge is to make it to the top and then stay there. The hype is only part of the equation. You need to put in the time and the effort and keep it clean.
The same applies to businesses and organizations that get to the top of the search engines. You have to make sure you don’t do anything to upset the powers that be. Too many pages and too many links created all at once throws red flags at the Google chief scientist. SalemGlobal took a hit recently because we started building our http://www.MarketingDirectories.comperhaps too fast and with too many links back to our homepage. Whereas we used to be #1 for “website marketing,” now we are in the #4 position. As for “internet marketing,” we have fallen off the charts completely. On a positive note, we have remained in the #1 position for all keywords related to Internet and website marketing “NY” and “New York.” So the message is to keep it slow and steady. In this game, consistency wins the race, not the sprint.
If you would like to know more about NYC website or NY Internet marketing, sports, linking strategies and getting higher up and staying on the top of the search engines, please call me at 212-993-5828, email me at raphis@salemglobal.comor check out www.SalemGlobal.comfor more information. Oh and a final note and plug for #1 in local search for Dr. John Frank of http://HairClinicUSA.com. Do a Google search for “hair transplant ny” and you will see what I mean.