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.
Eva’s Village, Paterson, NJ Anti-Poverty Charity Announces Second Annual 5K Walk/Run
Posted by Christopher.Skyi on Jul 23, 2010
Eva’s Village, (http://www.EvasVillage.org) a Paterson, NJ Anti-Poverty Charity provides a new way for the community to help beat poverty in New Jersey with their second annual 5K fun walk/run, titled “Journey of Hope”
Paterson, NJ (PRWEB) July 23, 2010
Eva’s Village, Paterson, NJ, provides a new way for the community to help beat poverty in New Jersey with their second annual 5K fun walk/run, titled “Journey of Hope”.
On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Eva’s Village will provide a way for many small donors to get involved in helping the poor of New Jersey by holding their second annual “Journey of Hope”, a community 5K Walk/Run. Registration is just $20 for adults and $10 for children. Eva’s Village is hoping participants will ask family and friends to add more small donations of $20, $50 or more to support their effort.
Sister Gloria Perez, Executive Director of Eva’s Village, says, “$20 will go farther than you can possibly imagine to help the poor!” Consider that at Eva’s Village:
- $20.00 will provide a hot lunch for FOUR hungry people
- $20.00 will provide a winter hat and gloves for TWO very cold homeless people
- $40.00 will provide fruit and vegetables for TWENTY families living in the Hope Residence at Eva’s Village
- $40.00 will provide a week’s worth of diapers for TEN infants living in the Hope Residence
- $60.00 will provide a cup of coffee for more than TWO THOUSAND homeless men and women
- $100.00 will provide 3 days of complete meals for TWENTY homeless women
Dale Calvert, a board member at Eva’s Village, says, “The first Journey of Hope for Eva’s Village, was held last year at Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park, and it was a wonderful day for the entire family — we had over 350 people, which was a tremendous turnout for our first Walk/Run!” Mr. Calvert hopes this year’s event will provide twice the number of participants and donations.
By participating in the Eva’s Village 5K Walk/Run, participants can personally improve the lives of people in their own communities by giving the poor the resources they need to achieve self-sufficiency.
Sister Gloria says, “Poverty is no longer the face of a stranger, but perhaps the face of your neighbor. The numbers of people in need are climbing. This is not some far off, future reality, the need is right now, and in your own community. That’s why I invite you to join us on the Journey of Hope for Eva’s Village.”
To sign up as an individual, join a team or start a team, simply register today at http://www.evasvillage.org/journeyofhope or call Eva’s Village Journey of Hope at: (973)897-1261. Then challenge others to support your effort with their own contributions.
Eva’s Village is a comprehensive New Jersey anti-poverty organization located in Paterson that covers the complete continuum of care for the poor. Their mission is full circle. They feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, treat the addicted and provide medical care to the poor with respect for the human dignity of each individual. Because of the recent recession Eva’s Village has seen an increase in those seeking their help. In November 2009 the unemployment rate was 10.3% in New Jersey, 12.4% in Passaic County where Paterson is located and 17.8% in Paterson. During 2009, a total of 135,314 hot lunches were served at Eva’s Village to the poor. This is a 20% increase from 2007. On 15-20 days each month last year, they served over 400 meals.
Model anti-poverty charities like Eva’s Village don’t shy away from the challenge. They do more, so they need to ask for more help from their donors. Yet, in today’s troubled economy, who hasn’t thought to themselves, “I’m lucky I can spare $20 let alone a big donation to a charity”. That’s why Eva’s Village is offering new ways for small donors to help the poor. Donna Fico, Chief Marketing Officer at Eva’s Village says, “We hold an annual gala and golf outing, and our donors at these events are incredibly generous, but these are expensive events with limited capacity and we have many volunteers who would like to do more for the poor if we will just give them a way to help.”
Register now to walk or run or simply to support the Journey of Hope 5K Walk/Run for Eva’s Village: http://www.evasvillage.org/journeyofhope
For more information, call Eva’s Village Journey of Hope at: (973)897-1261.
Eva’s Village feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, treats the addicted and provides free medical and dental care for the poor with respect for the human dignity of each individual. Founded in 1982, Eva’s Village is now one of the most comprehensive and respected anti-poverty programs in the state of New Jersey and has helped hundreds of men, women and families find new purpose in life.
This press release has been distributed by SalemGlobal Internet Interactive Public Relations. Based in New York City, SalemGlobal, optimizes websites to increase donations for non profit organizations, increase traffic from search engines, provides lead generation, and improves conversion of site visitors to buyers. Other services include general website marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), ecommerce solutions, content management systems, website hosting, web design and maintenance. For more information, please contact CEO Raphi Salem at 646-217-4733.
SalemGlobal Staff Summer 2010
Posted by Aryeh.Landowne on Jul 13, 2010
Outside Rudy’s Bar and Grill, 9th Avenue at 44th NYC
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 
Website Marketing New York City, World Cup Soccer, The Millionaire Mind and Successful Intelligence: What your business can learn from sports and attitude
Posted by Salem Global on Jun 15, 2010
As close to 4 million people have viewed this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koVHN6eO4Xg – T.I. – Live Your Life (Featuring Rihanna) due to music, pop culture and the whole popular YouTube Internet and viral video sensation, I am curious why this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcAGTYVYV48 has only been viewed 75,000 times and the book “The Millionaire Mind” by Thomas J. Stanley (http://www.thomasjstanley.com) has ONLY sold 1 million copies. Dr. Thomas J. Stanley is an author, lecturer, and researcher who has studied the affluent since 1973. He’s also the author of the best-selling books The Millionaire Next Door and Marketing to the Affluent, which was selected one of then outstanding business books by the editors of Best of Business Quarterly. In his books he tells you specifically how the millionaires that he has studied have made their money. The latest part of the book that I was just listening to on CD (I usually take out the CD to listen to in my car since I do a lot of driving as well as take out the book from the library so that if I am taking public transportation I can review what I have listened to and obviously read and learn more), was all about a millionaire who grew up on a farm. His grandmother was a huge influence on him and made him an offer. She said if you milk the cow, I will give you a percentage of the profits that come from your efforts. He did his chores so well that he then took a percentage of the calves that he tended to as well. He then entered school and didn’t do so well. I might be mixing up stories but the basic gist of the book is when one of the interviewed millionaires said that he would’ve done much better in school had their been commissioned attached to each A that he received.
Most of the millionaires that Dr. Stanley interviewed for his books are self made business owners. The book’s theme generally speaks about opportunity and influence. Whether people got A’s B’s C’s or failed out of school, all millionaires have had a mentor or a life experience that gave them the “millionaire mind.” There is the real estate mogul who was stationed down south while in the army. While everyone complained about their location, he invested the little he had in the real estate market in the area and made a killing. Then there was the refuse and recycle guy who thought that the garbage business was a no brainer. Take other people’s trash and turn it into cash. And the carpet cushion guy who never finished college but was a fantastic home furnishings salesperson. He had a great job until he was fired. Then all of his bad grades and failing in school came back to haunt him and he thought no one would ever hire him since he was uneducated and got paid too much. Becoming his own boss was the only way to succeed. And finally there is the used truck parts millionaire who set up a niche so defined that he profited from 500 to 7 times the amount. One used truck dealer sold a truck for $500 to another dealer who then sold the engine alone for $500. He then realized the other parts of the truck would be worth a lot more than $500 as well. Sometimes turning a profit 7 times the amount of what he would pay for it. Money is a big motivating factor in all of these millionaires’ lives.
Another theme of the book is “vocation vocation vocation” as the old saying, “location location location” still rings true, it is the combination of location plus vocation that creates the millions. Finding your niche does not come easily; most people go to college and get an education but have no idea what they are going to do with their professional lives. These millionaires went through the same process and they were able to profit greatly.
We learn the same exact thing with internet marketing. The more you focus on your specialty and on your vocation, the more of an authority you become, and the more popular that you become makes you the winner in the search engines. Search engine optimization is all about your authority plus your popularity. But you need to also keep your eye on your leads and sales. Therefore in addition to just SEO, you need to do everything else (for example the 21 SalemGlobal things that everyone needs to do succeed online – http://websitestrategymarketing.com/its-2010-wake-up-and-smell-the-internet-21-things-you-should-be-doing-online).
Which leads me to share with you how ridiculous I think this whole global world cup soccer match thing is. Did anyone see the US vs. England game? If you didn’t let me tell you that it ended in a tie, 1-1. The cover of the New York Post actually had the headline “USA Wins 1-1”. Funny thing is I was talking to a security guard, a red blooded American through and through, who commented to me, “what kind of a crazy sport gives you a tie? No American football game can give you a tie. In baseball we have extra innings, in tennis we have tiebreakers, in American football there is overtime and in hockey there are shootouts and that’s why soccer (futbol) is not the number 1 sport in the USA” Or even the number 2, 3 or 4 sport in the US.
If you want to know more about website marketing, how you can become a millionaire on the internet or just discuss American vs. universal sports give me a call at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information.
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, Social Media and Dancing In The Street: What your organization can do to prepare for summer vacation season
Posted by Salem Global on May 18, 2010
As summer approaches it seems like the weeks get shorter and shorter. People won’t be in their offices as they will be in Bryant Park soaking up the sun or even worse, in the Berkshires or on beaches of Long Island and/or the Jersey Shore. (Soon there will be dancing in the streets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvITn5cAVc or the 80′s version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4er_RQrV7Ig). So the great business minds that make our economy tick and tock might be out to lunch, but don’t forget about the rest of us who are here to make business happen in the summer, winter, spring and fall. I don’t know about you but my bills come monthly no matter what season we are in…
I just got off the phone with my good friend Dr. John Frank (www.HairClinicUSA.com) and we were discussing a pay-per-click campaign we recently put together for him. In the conversation it came out that the summer is the time when more and more people don’t look inward philosophically or intellectually, they are more looking outward… “beachwise wearing less clothing-ward.” So that doesn’t only affect the dieters trying to shed some pounds before bathing suit season, it also speaks to us bald guys and as I like to put it, “the comb-over guys whose hair is thinning but they can’t come to grips…” believe me I have been there and done that! The reason why it affects us bald guys is because we need to put sunblock all over our heads – not just on our faces, necks and foreheads. The top of the head is a very sensitive place that needs to be taken care of. A baseball hat will do the trick but if you are without hat in the sun – you are in for a bad burn unless you protect yourself. And then there are the guys out there who don’t want to be bald or don’t like their bald spot. And those are the guys who are calling Dr. Frank. (Did I mention he is a former NFL San Francisco 49er? Very cool guy.) Anyway – we are not only gearing him up with a PPC campaign, we also are continuing with our social media campaign. Yes Facebook and Twitter – but more importantly YouTube videos…
On that note, you need to see this presentation of why you need to be working with social media: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng. They ask the question: “Is social media a fad?” And their answers are compelling by stating that millions upon millions of people are using social media daily, hourly and relevantly. There are over 400 million Facebook users. You are not going to reach all 400 million people with your message, but you can certainly reach your audience within that 400 million that may want your products and services. And let me also remind you that LinkedIn has over 65 million professionals, not just college and high school kids (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPL5W0BT-X4)
Finally for this week, you need to check out my friend Kevin Daum’s new book: “ROAR! Get Heard In The Sales and Marketing Jungle” www.KevinDaum.com. It’s a great story about this Religious Jewish guy and his non-Jewish VP Marketing friend and their conversation about sales and marketing. Yes I have read it and I am recommending it to you. Kevin is having a Borders Books Signing, 5:30 – 7:00PM at 100 Broadway, New York, NY 10006 (Between Pine and Wall) – check out his site for more upcoming events. He is a character. And by the way, he tattooed “New York Times Bestseller” on his chest for publicity and has a quest for a Jewish Super Bowl ring. But you will have to check out his site and the book to find out more about all of this and the sales and marketing approach that is 3,500 years old using the Passover Haggadah as guidance to the buyers out there: The Wise Buyer, The Cynical Buyer, The Simple Buyer and The Buyer UNwilling to Ask.
On a final note, we started our exclusive network and are already off to a great start. More about that in two weeks. Next meeting is May 27th. Check out www.ReferralGeneration.com for more details.
If you want to know more about preparing your company’s marketing for the summer months, social media and the four sons as buyers, give me a call at 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information.
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.