But is Facebook really worth $100B? Well, let’s do the math shall we? 800 million people. Maybe there are some duplicates. Let’s be generous and say 100 million of them are duplicates. Even 200 million. Let’s say only 500 million are active and real users. Now multiply each of them by 1 (representing $1 US dollar). My friend, that is $500 million dollars. But that’s only 1 day, 1 week, even 1 year. So if each of the users are worth 1 dollar a year then you have a business that makes $500 million a year for the next 10 – 20 years. Well, that’s only $10 billion. Why do you value at $100 billion? Because I am being super conservative, you knucklehead! The real valuation is 500 million people multiplied by 10, 20, or 100 and that’s each year! So seriously, this 1 website is worth $100 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, you deserve every penny of that $28 billion. It’s too bad some people had to be stepped on and stabbed in the back along the way, but what can you do. This is business. Oh – and congrats to the painter who took his payment in shares. At the time he might have charged about $10,000 for his services. But now he is worth $200 million according to the buzz. Read more about Facebook’s IPO here: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11406435/1/facebook-ipo-reality-check.html Here they explain more of the financials. Apparently not many companies are worth this much. But then again, not many companies are information companies. Most are products and services with a lot of overhead. Zuckerberg sells air and technology and the flick of the wrist and push of a button. You can’t beat that…unless someone turns off your electricity….hmmmm…

Ok – enough with that Facebook internet stuff. Let’s talk football. Did you see the game? The halftime show with Madonna, Niki Minaj and M.I.A. who stupidly showed the wrong finger. Really!?!) Chances are you did. With 330 million people in this country and 1/3 of them in front of a TV set or at a friend’s house or bar or event where the TV is on, possibly even more than 100 million people see the game. So the NY Giants won. Yippee! I am from New York so I am happy. I am happier for my staff who are HUGE sports and Giants fans though. They got a parade and fun out of it. But now it’s back to work. And what do we do at SalemGlobal? We promote our clients so that they can sell more product and get more leads for their services. So basically what I am telling you is that there is no difference between the Super Bowl and SalemGlobal! That’s right, kids. We do the same thing the Super Bowl does. Now who is more effective for your ad dollars? I still have to go with Internet. Internet allows you to interact with your customers and COLLECT DATA. (Um – this is the main reason why Facebook is worth $100B).

 
The other thing about the Internet is that is takes television to another level. So while 100 million people are watching the game, another 50 million see it online. And then through social media – we pass the funny and meaningful moments along to our friends. Like, what did you think about Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry/Gran Torino telling America to wake up and smell the coffee and get off your asses and fight back? The only thing missing from the “Halftime in America” commercial was the Academy Award winner getting into a Gran Torino and driving off. Once again – Why doesn’t anyone call me for my advice? Here is Mr. Good Bad and Ugly for Chrysler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_PE5V4Uzobc (As for the auto industry, was Detroit really saved? Are more American cars made outside of the US and more foreign cars built here? Does it matter as long as Americans can work and put food on the table. I guess we can discuss that one some other time.)

So you will notice that I gave you the link for Youtube. And who owns Youtube? Google. And how much did they buy it for? $500 million. And with each good commercial during the Super Bowl do they make back that $500 million? ABSOLUTELY! As for rating the commercials, check out: http://www.youtube.com/user/adblitz

Let’s see. Tax software. Cars, auto, tires. Life Insurance. Beer, Budweiser. Media. Flowers for Valentine’s Day. Coke. Pepsi. Finance. Jerry Seinfeld. Mathew Broderick in a Ferris Bueller’s day Off (that probably went over 50 million people’s heads… but at least reached the other 50 million) Underwear. Technology. Phones. Internet. GoDaddy domain names. Hulu. (They also showed some commercials themselves) Movies – GI Joe with Bruce Willis looks cool. TV shows. M&Ms. Doritos…. So maybe I missed a few but you get the point. Millions of dollars for milliseconds. As I repeat every year, make a meaningful or funny commercial and people will see it on TV AND then share it with their friends online through social media. Did I mention why Youtube, Google and Facebook are worth so much money?

Lastly I need to end on a serious note. While the Super Bowl is all fun and games, I also want to share that the Internet also brings important issues to light through the power of social networking and sharing media. A high-ranking official resigned Tuesday from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity after a dispute over whether the group should give funding to Planned Parenthood, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. As soon as people found out about Komen not funding PP, the Internet lit up with cancelled donations, letters of anger and resignations. In the end, Komen reneged and now is giving to Planned Parenthood. Seems like the voice of America was heard. Good for you Netizens! I am proud to be part of this community. Now of course the Susan G. Komen Foundation should be calling me for some reputation management .

Last minute food and groceries delivered in the Dallas, TX region. Coming soon to Chicago: http://www.Artizone.com.

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So now that the Super Bowl is over and Clint Eastwood told us all to get back on our feet, what are you going to do? Where will you be NEXT Sunday? Does your company want as much exposure as the advertisers I mentioned above? Perhaps on a smaller budget than $30 million dollars? Does your non-profit need some reputation management? Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com. I look forward to working with you, and making your company as big as it can get to maybe someday having its own Super Bowl commercial!

Ok. Let’s first talk about football. Apparently, even though I have been working in the advertising industry for over 2 decades, NO ONE told me until yesterday that the word “SUPER BOWL” may NOT be used. Ever. I mean, that is unless you are promoting the NFL. (Um, can I use NFL or National Football League?) It came up during a discussion with one of our partners (http://www.Successories.com) when I mentioned that there is going to be a really big sports event coming up this Sunday and that we need to take advantage of it and exploit it as much as possible. Then one of the guys chimed in and said, “Yeah. Except that that would be ILLEGAL!”

So I did a little bit of Internet research and lo and behold, turns out he was right! Who knew?!? Well, apparently he did. And now I know. And now you know.

So then I decided to use my brain and think back to all of the local bars, restaurants and stores that promote the Super Bowl: buy beer here, buy a car there, and do everything you can by purchasing products through this company and that establishment as it relates to the Super Bowl. But let’s be realistic. Though it might be illegal and though it might be infringing upon copyright, your local pub or saloon is going to transgress. You know why? Because the average Joe doesn’t know and the small-town local watering hole is really not attracting the attention of corporate America. But as you watch the dozens of commercials on TV this coming Sunday, notice that NO ONE will be mentioning the Super Bowl. The way they get around it is by calling it the “Big Game” or “National Pastime” (no – that’s baseball), “sporting event”? How about “game on Sunday involving two teams trying to rip each other’s heads off”???

Regardless, the copyright was only the first part of what I wanted to write about today. The other part is the actual advertisements….

So now we enter a new era of advertising. In a world where a person can have a baby in a car, video it on a camera, upload it to the web, and then have millions of people see it in all its glory (http://www.wfaa.com/home/related/Special-delivery-arrives-on-the-highway-137965158.html), OF COURSE the advertising industry is going to realize that ONLINE IS THE WAY TO GO!!!

So a search for “superbowl commercials” yields a PPC (Pay-per-click) ad from Bridgestone tires (www.youtube.com/Bridgestone). SMART! As well as a number of other independent websites. But I must hand it to Bridgestone for realizing that they might not get the organic position, (top spot taken by a site that has been up since 2009 and has over 966 pages! www.superbowl-commercials.org/ – good for you!), but why not pay for the top result?

In Yahoo! Toyota Camry buys the coveted position (www.youtube.com/CamryReinvented).

And what about Bing? Toyota again…

So I guess the other advertisers didn’t realize that they could do this as well. Geez Louise. WHY AREN’T THESE GUYS CALLING ME? Here is my phone # folks. PLEASE let me advise you on how to run an Internet marketing campaign. I guarantee you will be very pleased with my services .

Anyway, you can now get the comedy you have been looking for all year long. It seems like the most popular one up right now is Jerry Seinfeld for Acura. What is interesting to me is that Seinfeld is still a household name. He is so 90′s….Couldn’t they get a different celebrity to do the spot?

And apparently, one of the largest corporations in the world is finally waking up to the fact that Internet marketing is more cost efficient than other forms of marketing and advertising…Proctor and Gamble. That’s right – read all about it! http://www.businessinsider.com/pg-ceo-to-lay-off-1600-after-discovering-its-free-to-advertise-on-facebook-and-google-2012-1 Too bad 1600 employees are getting the ax. Seems like some people are going to need a re-education or training.

As I mentioned before, the other event going on online is the presidential race. Seems like Romney is beating out Gingrich. But Gingrich claims that he won’t quit till its all over. Good luck Newt! You are going to need it. And if you think Romney has a chance against Obama, I think you are right. And I think it will be close.

But, once again per my blog post last week after the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, Google seems to be right behind this whole election. Never before has there been so much coverage. Bringing the messages to the masses and all that. I love this article by Fast Company (very much in my own style ) What businesses can learn from Obama’s social media strategy… http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/rich-brooks/social-media-strategies-small-business/what-businesses-can-learn-barack-obamas-soci

By the way, here is Steve Grove’s (head of community partnerships at g+) Google+ page to show you how tight Obama is with the online community: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108770022239813194104/posts

Oh, and have I mention over and over again that Google REALLY wants you to know how they are changing and consolidating their privacy policy into 1 neat little compact polic?. Uh oh. Better get Maaco! Look here: http://www.google.com/policies/. Now read it and tell me it doesn’t say that they are officially adopting a 1984 George Orwell no one is safe conspiracy theory, thank you very much now we are all being spied upon, etc. etc. All I can say is don’t be logged in all of the time. They already know everything, why leave the front door open too?!?

Did I even mention that I am officially a New York Giants fan (this week?)

Last minute food and groceries delivered in the Dallas, TX region. Coming soon to Chicago: http://www.Artizone.com.

Buy Motivational Posters for your company at http://www.Successories.com.

So what are YOU doing this Sunday? I am actually NOT going to be in front of TV. I usually am in front of my laptop, but I think I will be outside….If you are a professional seeking advice on how to promote yourself or a company small or large, you can also take advantage of our 15 years of Internet marketing and advertising experience. Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com. I look forward to working with you, watching the game with you, and snacking with you!

Let me start off today with a quote from Dick Jauron (defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League) – courtesy of Successories motivational posters: http://bit.ly/u28isL

“I believe (the NFL) is the best sports league in the world and it has the most passionate fans. Every place is a little distinct in their passion and when you lose, they’re going to let you know. The bottom line for us is working as hard as you can, working together, and working to create a winner again. We do that and the fans will be passionate in a positive way.”

It’s funny to be inNew Yorkwith all of our sports teams. Whether they win or lose, it’s definitely NOT how they play the game. Because the fact is that if they lose, fans care. And that is passion. So don’t worry about selling tickets to your sporting events. Plenty of people will pay for a seat in a football stadium. Just exist!

However, if you are a sensitive nation and a politically correct National Football League, then don’t celebrate a touchdown by acting like a JET and then crashing and burning. Some people might get offended or insulted and think you are talking about 9-11 when you are just referring to getting a touchdown. And if you want to make fun of Plaxico Burress shooting himself, that’s another story: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-jets-johnsonsantics

So now let’s say that you score a touchdown or are offended by a celebration. Well, the main thing we do in 2011 is tweet about it. http://fox4kc.com/2011/11/28/social-media-experts-talk-twitter/. In this particular instance though, some high school student tweeted that the Governor of Kansas sucks. Well, good for the student for expressing her freedom of speech. And even better for theKansasgovernor for having a staff that monitors social media. Apparently the staff asked for an apology but then rescinded the request and now the Governor is apologizing. I can totally see how this thing got out of hand. Literally a he said/she said situation. So the Governor’s staff thought they were doing the right thing by demanding an apology. The better thing would’ve been to embrace the Twitter remarks and make her even more of a public figure by asking her publicly how he can be a BETTER governor. Even though the situation was blown out of proportion, it proved to be a fantastic news media lesson. When kids are telling you you suck, try to change. After all, kids today, constituents tomorrow.

And along the lines of news media, guess which Internet company is going public with a valuation of $10 billion dollars? http://mashable.com/2011/11/29/facebook-april-ipo-att-t-cyber-monday-youtube/ That’s right folks. That’s BILLIONS with a “B”! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJR1H5tf5wE) I am glad Marc Zuckerberg didn’t take my advice a few years back when I told him to take the money and run! (http://www.raphisalem.com/microsoft-offers-446b-for-yahoo)

But if you ever lose a camera while on a boat and use social media to find the owner, then you will think that Google+ beats out Facebook.https://plus.google.com/104277202662943073951/posts/MH4ZjS8fi2q. I can’t argue that Google+ worked better in THIS case, but overall I am still a fan of Facebook when it comes to social media. Maybe Google+ should be renamed Google Lost and Found? http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/camera-lost-sea-returned-help-social-networking-215800650.html

I love the fact that Black Friday has turned into Cyber Monday which has turned into Cyber Week, Cyber Month and Cyber all the time! It just goes to show you that retailers with Brick and Mortar MUST have an internet strategy. You can simply make a greater profit from online sales due to the fact that with no overhead and employees dealing with a retail crowd, you can offer discounts and get people to buy without human interaction. Sure, it is a challenge for people who need to look at and feel a product before they make a purchase, but for things you already know you want, there is no substitute. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2011/11/29/Retailers-extend-Cyber-Monday-throughout-week/UPI-89471322557200/

And if you are one of those millions of Apple and iPod and iPad users and you haven’t seen this Siri video: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6648229/siri-argument or http://www.informationweek.com/news/telecom/unified_communications/232200265

Lastly, bad news of the week, Michael Jackson’s doctor might have wanted to get a second opinion. Apparently, he did something wrong or was wrongfully accused (not starring Leslie Nielsen). Conrad Murray faces up to 4 years in jail for what he did or didn’t do. Michael Jackson may have been one of the greatest entertainers of his generation and the King of Pop, but he was surely challenged to live in this world! http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675011/conrad-murray-sentencing-today.jhtml

So what does it all mean? It means that there is only 25 days left until Christmas. It means you need to get your website back up and running. Or make those edits. Or put those eye-catching graphics to work. Or get your meta data set up. Or call your business the king of cyber deals during the holiday season. SalemGlobal can help you with all of these aspects and more. We will help you get setup and then sell more online with internet marketing advice you can count on. Want to come to one of my networking meetings or just give me a call? Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com. Let’s come up with cyber deal for your audience!

What I have discovered about long distance running is that endurance is a challenge. But once you achieve it, you feel amazing…

There are many things in our lives and in our businesses that we can be proud of. Just starting up a business is something to be proud of. Most businesses fail within their first year. Then more fail within the next 2 – 5 years. But it takes something special that keeps a business going for so many years.

2012 will be my 15th year in business. I am proud of that accomplishment not only because it pays my bills and puts food on my table, but also because it says something about me and about my products and services. It says that I am a (hopefully you think) decent and honest salesperson and that I have a worthwhile product and service.

Internet marketing and the internet have not always had the best reputation. Of course the darlings of wall street thought that the Internet was revolutionizing the world and in the 90′s the banks were giving away money like it was air and water. But then the evil crash came down in 2001 and people started realizing that just because it says “internet” doesn’t mean that it’s going to help people socially or physically lead better or more meaningful lives. Nor did it mean that it would help make investors money. Sometimes it was just a good idea that wouldn’t help so many people. Maybe it would help one person… but that is not a business model. YOUR business deserves all the help and recognition it can get. So if you are in business, reward yourself with a poster about endurance. Check this out: Are you familiar with the famous Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton? He was the captain of a boat engulfed with ice. The whole crew of dozens of men almost died but they endured the coldest of winters and survived. The story gets even more fascinating when you break it down into their rescue and their 3 man team that navigated high seas, hiked over glaciers and survived the wild without food shelter or clothing suited for the climate or the challenge. Even today people challenge themselves with Shackleton’s endurance feats with better clothing to survive the elements as well as power bars and energy drinks. It’s almost a joke when you compare doing the things he did over 100 years ago to now. Read the book and see the documentaries. They will amaze you.

http://www.successories.com/products/Motivational-Posters/LIFE-Magazine-Fine-Art/Transportation/12/5179/Ship-Endurance-Trapped-by-Ice-LIFE-Magazine-Fine-Art-Collection

Oh and if you want an “endurance” database of quotes: http://www.successories.com/iquote/keywords/e23fe957ac324113e695 What is your favorite?

Speaking of enduring personalities, Rest in Peace, Boxer champion Joe Frazier and Andy Rooney of CBS Television fame. I will never forget your 60 seconds of wisdom on 60 minutes. I will also never forget the Joe Piscopo Saturday Night Live skits making fun of you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKvHH07IUH8… Here is Andy answering his mail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWlDSyCe2s&feature=related

Lastly, besides running, in other sports news the NY Jets won but the NY Giants pulled off one of their best games in the past 20 years… At least that’s what I read somewhere. So while you were all on your asses drinking beer watching the game, I was running through the boroughs of NYC! And lastly lastly, NBA basketball star Kris Humphries is no longer married to Kim Kardashian after 72 days… What is so funny about this situation is that they could’ve just dated for a lot less money. I read that their wedding cost something like Ten million dollars. Hopefully the ring artist, designer and manufacturer made money. And hopefully the caterer, the catering hall, the wedding planner, the photographer, the video guy, the bartenders and the florist all were found through website marketing and search engine optimization. Amen

Motivation for the NYC marathon or anything else that you do doesn’t have to stop at the finish line… Look at http://www.Successories.com and buy something! Want to know more about nyc marathon training, running, Shackleton or internet marketing? Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com. I will personally teach you how to train for your next marathon and how to get your business in shape for the search engines!

New York, NY (PRWEB) January 30, 2011

Former two time Super Bowl champion tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, John Frank, MD & Anapelli Hair Clinic announce the first ever hair transplant SuperBowl sweepstakes for football fans everywhere. NFL SuperBowl XLV is scheduled for Sunday February 6, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium located in North Arlington, Texas. The American Football Conference Champion Pittsburgh Steelers will battle the National Football Conference Champion Green Bay Packers in what promises to be one of the most exciting football matchups in recent years.

With SuperBowl 45 just around the corner, Dr. Frank waxed nostalgic about his old glory days in the NFL. “As a doctor, I am always trying to help people. But as a former professional football player that enjoys giving back to the community, I was trying to figure out what unique thing I can do in 2011,” says Dr. Frank. More men and women enjoy and watch the SuperBowl than any other sport in America. SuperBowl parties and gatherings take place in every city in the United States. A record 106 million people tuned in to the broadcast last year in 2010. This year there will probably be even more.

“After last week’s NY Jets devastating loss to Green Bay, it hit me to create a sweepstakes where I would help out someone that is suffering from hair loss and might not be able to afford a hair restoration procedure,” said Dr. Frank. “After many years of school and residency to become a doctor, I went through my own phase of hair thinning. I thought a lot about my own personal appearance, especially as a retired professional athlete. When you are young and on the field, you don’t pay so much attention to other things going on in your life. But as we age, the way we look affects the way we feel.”

Dr. Frank and the Anapelli Hair Clinic will perform a hair transplant procedure on the person, male or female, who comes closest to predicting the final score of NFL SuperBowl XLV.

To Enter:

To enter the sweepstakes, you first must go tohttp://HairClinicUSA.com/contact.html and register to become an entrant. Registration is free but is limited to the first 50 people that fill out an entry. To register, you must provide your name and email address in the fields provided. In the comments section, you must give your phone number, city, state, zip code, compelling reason why you should receive a free hair transplant (valued at $8,000.00) and of course your prediction of what the final score will be. After you are officially registered, there are three ways to enter the contest during the submission period (January 27 – Halftime during the Superbowl):

(1) Record your own video stating why you need a hair transplant. Videos showing your hair loss and the reasons why it is important to you to get a hair transplant will help us evaluate your needs. Post the video on your own or Anapelli’s YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/AnapelliHairClinic) with the following video tags (Dr. John Frank, John Frank MD, John Frank, JohnFrankMD, JohnFrank, HairTransplant, Hair Transplant, Hair Loss, Anapelli, entry, contest, sweepstakes), include a link to the Anapelli Hair Clinic website (HairClinicUSA.com) in your description of the video; or

(2) Blog about why you need a hair transplant explaining and showing with pictures your hair loss and the reasons why it is important to you to get a hair transplant so we can evaluate your needs. Link within your blog to the Anapelli Hair Clinic website (HairClinicUSA.com) with the following tags (Dr. John Frank, John Frank MD, John Frank, JohnFrankMD, JohnFrank, HairTransplant, Hair Transplant, Hair Loss, Anapelli, entry, contest, sweepstakes)

(3) “Like” us on facebook at (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-John-Frank-Anapelli-Hair-Loss-and-Restoration-Clinic/111202758897723) Write on our wall telling us (and the facebook world) why you need a hair transplant, explaining and showing with pictures your hair loss and the reasons why it is important to you to get a hair transplant so we can evaluate your needs.

Rules:

Entrants with no prior evaluation or contact with Anapelli Hair Clinic will be eligible for this contest and procedure. Results invalid if medical reasons prevent safe procedure. Winner of sweepstakes must provide own transportation to our New York, NY, office location. Please note: Anapelli Hair Clinic reserves the right to cancel this contest if fewer than 50 entries are submitted.

About John Frank, MD and Anapelli Hair Clinic:

John Frank, MD is the medical director of the Anapelli Hair clinic. He is a board certified Otolaryngologist and a dedicated facial plastic surgeon. For the past five years, he has performed over 2,000 hair transplant procedures in Northern California and New York City and has become a leading expert on hair loss and hair restoration.

While many remedies may exist for the treatment of hair loss, Dr. Frank believes that each scalp should be treated individually and that no two scalps are alike. He believes that the future of hair loss treatment is customization and that treatments should be designed specifically for each individual.

Dr. Frank has been actively researching and searching for alternative hair loss prevention methods and discovered a unique treatment and application of products called Biocapillation™. Biocapillation™ is a blend of European trichological techniques and Israeli technology. For over fifteen years Biocapillation™ has serviced thousands of individuals with hair loss world wide. Dr. Frank is the first person to introduce this technology to North America and is excited to find the best solution for you.

Please visit Dr. Frank’s bio page at: http://hairclinicusa.com/doctor-john-frank.html. You can also visit his Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frank

This press release has been distributed by SalemGlobal Internet Interactive Public Relations. Based in New York City, SalemGlobal optimizes medical, healthcare related and general business websites to increase traffic from search engines, providing lead generation and improving conversion of site visitors to real leads. Other services include general website marketing, pay per click management, search engine optimization (SEO), social media optimization and content writing. For more information, please contact CEO Raphi Salem at 888-578-6732.

Of course I am talking about snow and travel but I am also talking about internet marketing and lead generation. All last year I tried to prepare you for 2011. I said over and over again how NEXT year (meaning this year 2011. and by the way did anything exciting happen in your office at 11:11:11 today on 1/11/11? Of course my son pointed out that you get an extra 1 in November… smart kid. I wasn’t even thinking about that.) But back to the conversation at hand. Every year I give you the updated things your business and organization should know and do on the Internet to grow and become more profitable. Of course you already know the 21 things that I have been preaching for the past 2 years (http://websitestrategymarketing.com/exclusive-networking-this-thursday-at-axa-advisors-21-things-you-need-to-know-about-internet-marketing-in-2011-cliff-lee-joins-sg-for-120-million ), but this year my clients are tired of practice makes perfect and preparation. They want leads. They want referrals. They want the phone to ring. They want the business. They want the donations. They want the conversions. They want to make more money. They are fed up with the bad economy and they are doing something about it.

So today lets talk about the New York Jets and compare them to your internet marketing campaign. Lets analyze what the Jets did to get to the playoffs…

Starting in the Spring and continuing into the summer, football and baseball start their training. And thanks to my reading of Michael Lewis’ Money ball, I even understand a little bit more about how teams deal with the draft and scouting and the money involved in hiring, coaxing and ultimately getting a player into your organization. Then of course you train them. And then of course you let them loose in the real world. Friday night lights? Monday night football? Playoffs. Divisionals. All star games. World Series. And of course, the most watched television event in America (not in the world since you all know from my last years blogging that soccer or futbol is the most watched sport globally – http://websitestrategymarketing.com/internet-marketing-new-york-city-golf-masters-tiger-vs-mickelson-what-organizations-can-learn-from-world-sports-winners-and-hype). The Super Bowl. Millions of dollars for a few seconds of someones precious little time in their marketing mind. The Super Bowl is the climax of all advertising and promotion. And of course you know the Internet has only added to that. Used to be you had to actually watch the football game in order to see the commercials. But oh no. Not anymore. Thanks to YouTube and all of the other video sharing resources and websites on the Internet today, you can view all ninety (yes 90!) commercials right now as you read this blog piece. http://www.salemglobal.com/internet-marketing-poker-and-the-super-bowl.php

Well guess what? The same thing goes on in business every single day. You have your own planning to worry about. Your own budget. Your own training. Your own implementation. And of course your own Super Bowls or highlights of the year to promote the heck out of your business. Be it a trade show or a conference or a seasonal thing for your year, maybe a holiday like Christmas or Halloween or Easter. Regardless, its the second week of January in a new year and what do you have to show for yourself? Has the phone started to ring yet? (Mine has – thanks!) Has all of your planning been implemented yet? Are you still securing your budget. Thinking the time isn’t right yet?

Well I am here to tell you that there is no time like the present. Google is relying on two main things right now. Your local address (physical address of your business) and content. We here at SalemGlobal are committed to helping our clients become the authorities in their field on the Internet. Whether they are hair transplant surgeons (http://www.HairClinicUSA.com), commercial cleaning services or office cleaning companies in New York (http://www.4StarCleaning.com), Hyundai Dealerships ( http:/www.GaryRomeHyundai.com ) or Arthur Murray Dance Studios (http://www.LearnToDanceNJ.com), we are writing content for their websites, blogging, writing articles, press releases and much much more. We are also optimizing their Google maps and Google local listings.

If you would like to get on the SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation gravy train, call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or just email info@salemglobal.com and we can talk about various ways to get your phone ringing and get more customers. Enjoy the snow!

(As you can see according to my pictures I am hardly working as the snow has shut down New York City: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=254976&id=655317826&l=85b7897080)

My conversations with friends, colleagues, business partners, family, fellow networkers and anyone on the street these days usually turns into a reflection of how the year went and how next year looks. Sort of like a State of the Union address. So I guess, while I got my ice skating in Bryant Park NYC out of the way today and while my computer uploads my snow blizzard pictures of Dec 2010 to my facebook account, here is my 2 cents about how things went this year and what’s in store for 2011…

2010 started out on a positive upswing. After 2 miserable years of hemorrhaging business, (2008 and 2009 were particularly terrible years due to the economy) and the fact that organizations usually cut their marketing budgets in bad times… (usually a short term save but long term loss since any competition that continues to market throughout unfavorable market conditions usually recovers faster since they show consistency and continue the momentum of branding while others get left behind in the dust…) 2010 was relatively a decent year. It wasn’t as great as 2007, when the economy was rocking and the Internet marketing industry was hot, but we picked up a few accounts and that added to our bottom line.

So starting out with a positive attitude is always necessary but realistically speaking, companies were still afraid to bite the full marketing bullet and invest in their websites, online marketing and general marketing.

At SalemGlobal, we always learn from our mistakes as well as from the good things we have done. Just like Brian Tracy and Ken Blanchard teach, reward your employees or “catch them doing something RIGHT” (as opposed to something wrong.) You will find that their self-esteem and confidence will rise and so will their productivity which will have a positive effect on your work environment as a whole.

For us, this was the year of “lead generation” as opposed to your plain old SEO-search-engine-optimization-we-can-get-you-to-the-top-of-Google strategy. SO WHAT if someone can get you to the top of Google. And as a matter of fact, in 2010 Google made some design changes to its SERP (search engine results page) so that they can sell more ad space. Now, in addition to the top 3 sponsored ads (now just called “Ads”), they have elevated the local listings so that the organic listings are way way down on the page. Sometimes they don’t just show the top 3 local listings, sometimes depending on the keyword they will show ten!

So where does THAT leave your SEO company? Who cares right? What you really want are leads. And more than that, you really want QUALIFIED leads and even better CLOSED BUSINESS!!!! I started out in the web design business in 1997 and have built hundreds of websites. But did the doctors get more patients from their websites? Did my real estate clients sell more houses and condos? Did my car dealerships sell more cars, parts, and accessories? Did the non-profits get more donations? The truth is that some years they did and some years they didn’t. The Internet has made many twists and turns on the roller coaster of an industry. Now everyone wants to be on twitter. Yesterday everyone wanted to be on linkedin. Before that you NEEDED to be on facebook. And everyone needs a mobile app. Oh and of course you HAD to be on Google. And of course don’t forget Yahoo, AOL, Lycos, Alta vista, excite, Ask, prodigy and CompuServe. What does it all mean? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI)

I will tell you what it all means. Like I said earlier. All businesses need to CLOSE business. Not seek out the latest and greatest trend. What works for one organization might not necessarily work for another. We have changed our business plan a few times over the past 14 years and each time we get closer to getting it right. As the refrigerator magnet says: “It’s all good in the end. And if it’s not all good, it’s not the end…” Business and making money is a journey. It should be fun and frustrating along the way but ultimately you need to live your life. So my message as we close out 2010 is to seek out and find that balance. Figure out what is your best marketing strategy. Keep on monitoring your Google analytics and keep on looking at the numbers. As the economy gets better, we will all benefit. This week however, enjoy the snow

Want to know more about lead generation for your business. Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or just email info@salemglobal.com and we can have a great brief to the point chat about how you can benefit from our Internet marketing and lead generation strategies.

Happy New Year!

Raphi Salem

Well the cat is out of the bag. Cliff Lee is not going to the Yankees for the next five seasons. Instead he has decided to join SalemGlobal and also play baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies for $120 million. (http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/12/14/report-cliff-lee-to-sign-with-phillies/) Lee was reported to have said that “the Phillies are a great team and I am going to bring them to the World Series.” In his spare time he will write tweets, blog posts and content for websites. “You might think it strange that Lee would decide to spend his free time hanging out at the SG offices,” says Raphi Salem, CEO SalemGlobal Internet, “but I happen to know that he spends lots of that time on his blackberry, writing content and making YouTube videos.” “Hey – if I am doing all that stuff anyway – I might as well get paid for it… right?” replied Lee from his linkedin account and Facebook status.

As a reminder, SalemGlobal Internet would like to update you on the 21 things every organization needs to succeed online. It’s not just SEO anymore. Google has basically leveled the playing field between sponsored ads, local listings and organic search. If you aren’t taking advantage of all of the below, then your competition might just take some business away from you. So continue with your SEO efforts and social media. But just remember to be consistent and you will come out on top.

1) Evaluate present website for compatibility with SEO strategies.

2) Research your industry and relevant keywords.

3) Purchase relevant domain names

4) Build marketing websites that are optimized for areas of your industry and business, and use these to help promote your primary corporate website

5) Implement appropriate metadata – page titles, keywords, descriptions and search engine friendly URLs

6) Rewrite and prioritize content & text on site. Develop new content and increase pages

7) Gather, Create and Post testimonials and local reviews – increase number of pages, claim being a trusted authority

Develop and implement a user registration form. Increase Lead Generation.

9) Build and upload sitemap and robots.txt file

10) Submit site to search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing and the lesser used engines

11) Submit listings to local directories – Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, Merchant Circle etc.

12) Build and maintain business blogs on separate domain names and hosting

13) Social Media/Networks – Identify existing online communities, and build new ones. Utilize Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Yahoo Groups

14) Online video production – distribute your video across shared online video sites; YouTube, Tube Mogul

15) Develop newsletter (We are a Constant Contact Business Partner)

16) Write and promote online press releases for your organization (Interactive PR)

17) Write and promote articles – submit articles to hundreds of free online newspapers and magazines

18) Develop contests – fun & exciting for existing and new visitors

19) Manage Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising (Google/ Yahoo/ Bing)

20) Manage Affiliate Marketing (Linkshare/ Commission Junction/ ShareASale) for ecommerce sites

21) Monitor and Report – Evaluate efforts and results (e.g. Google Analytics and additional 3rd-party tools such as WebCEO.com)

Want to know more about what to do for 2011 and getting your business ready for 1st quarter? Do you need a new marketing strategy for 2011? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or email info@salemglobal.com for more information about us, how we work, how much it costs etc. etc.. You will be glad you did!

So what does the man of the house do when his team is on a bye? (A bye is when a sports team, specifically your hometown NFL football team is on break and does not play anyone else that weekend) Well obviously he turns to the Internet instead of the TV. According to one website (we will not be sharing the links here on this blog but you can always Google the story yourself), it turns out that porn traffic increases each weekend that there are no sports being played. How is that relevant to your business during 4th quarter?

Well, there are 33 Days till Christmas. 38 Days to the New Year. Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. And guess what? Hanukkah starts next week as well. If you are in the business to consumer (B2C) world, you better think of some strategies quickly, otherwise you will be out-marketed. If you are in the business to business world (B2B) then you should be planting your seeds today. It amazes me that people who have been in business for years don’t recognize 4th quarter for what it really is… a wake up call. Either to be selling product to the public now, or setting your company up for the next year. But I guess that is the difference between organizations that recognize good marketing vs. others who just pray for good luck.

Speaking of luck and betting, though I won $14.00 in Atlantic City last week, I then lost $16.00 in another game but then recovered with a win of $95.00 in my last game. So overall, many hours of fun, as well as profitable. Unfortunately, billionaire Sir Richard Branson lost his bet to Tony Fernandes, the owner of Air Asia. They had wagered services in the form of cross dressing and acting as Flight Attendant over whose Formula One racing team would do better this season. So if you fancy Sir Richard serving you tea in high heels, seats are being auctioned off for charity as I write this.

Latest book of the week is Lance Armstrong’s “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.” It’s one of the most amazing true life stories that will inspire you to take a look at your life, what you have, what you would do if you had cancer, on your deathbed and then rally back to win one of the greatest tests of human strength and endurance that exists. He talks about his parent’s divorce, his father, mother, relationships, being a cocky young kid, cycling when no one in America took it seriously, getting cancer, winning it all, losing it all, winning it back, marriage and fatherhood. Of course this book was written in 2001 when good old Lance was still married before his own divorce and relationships with Hollywood celebs, movie stars, musicians and more.

But my point in bringing this up this week is that I know a lot of businesses have been struggling over the past few years. This has been one of the worst recessions ever. Whether you blame it on the government or the people or Bernie Madoff, fact is that fewer people are spending on frivolous items and sticking to the essentials. So in B2C, essentials are related to food shelter and clothing. During the rest of the year, people wait to spend their hard earned dollars on TV’s, cars and Jewelry. But now that its holiday time, people are opening their wallets and getting on line and online to see what kind of bargains they can grab. If you are a retailer you better have sales galore and the cheapest price in town. You better have coupons and ways for your customers to save a penny. Everyone will be doing research online and on line. They better be able to find you on the Internet, eBay and Amazon and then walk into your store and get it for the same price or cheaper.

As for the B2B sector, now is the time to send out the message that when they are looking for that new service contract, your price will not be beat. Whether you are in commercial or office cleaning services, medical billing or website marketing, let your customers know that lead generation is your priority. Let them know that January 1st will be the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and that 2011 will be the best recovery year ever! Just like Lance Armstrong’s comeback, so too will the economy come back and your business as well. But you can’t stay down. You need to get back on the bike and work harder than anyone else.

Cancer transformed Lance Armstrong’s body and mind. He lost 20lbs. off his frame which helped him to become a lighter mass on the bike riding up the hills. And this terrible economy has also transformed many businesses. Many new business models have come out of it. People cut costs, people and have become much leaner business machines. Now we need to work on strength and endurance. You still need a good business plan and execution strategy.

Today’s Internet marketing machine is not your 1997 website that was built by your nephew. There are now sophisticated tools out there, beautiful search engine friendly optimized templates to help your business on the web. And now there is this thing we call “social media” with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, that didn’t exist 10 years ago. Need help getting it all done before the holidays or a strategy for 2011? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828, email info@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalelGlobal.com for more information about us. Be thankful this week that you are still in business. The sun’ll come out TOMORROW!!! (Annie was a huge Thanksgiving and Internet Marketing fan)

As my conversations with my clients gets to be very serious about how this past year went vs. how it’s going to be next year, from my biased perspective, you need to pour more of your budget into advertising and marketing now in order to be on top when the economy turns around January 1, 2011. Thanksgiving is coming up. Black Friday is coming up and people have been hoarding their money so they can afford those great holiday presents for their kids. But that’s not all they will be spending on.

People are going to be buying more cars in 2011, going in for that elective surgery and buying the real estate and vacation packages they were holding off on. 2011 is going to be a boom year. It’s very simple. 2007 was a great year. 2008 and 2009 were busts. The economy was faltering and people lost their shirts. Madoff and all of the other Ponzi schemes came to light and people got really hurt.

But think about it. 2010 wasn’t really that bad. People lost their jobs but not as much as in 08 and 09. 2010 was not a recovery year. It was more of a stopping the hemorrhage year. So by that observation, 2011 is going to be a comeback year.

Thanksgiving marks the deciding factor in people’s spending habits. Will they spend money in the retail sector? Will they go another year without a new car, home or vacation? Not necessarily. Of course this is all in the B2C market. Now let’s talk about B2B.

Business to business has really suffered over the past three years but I know it’s coming back. I can feel it in my own business. The calls and inquiries have started to come in. And though most companies are still gun shy, I have received word that many of my contacts would like to start up something “in the new year.” People have been budgeting and now is the time to let go. There are so many new strategies for Internet marketing now. Of course you need a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, but now that Google has changed their results page, you also need to incorporate a local and maps strategy, a social media strategy and an email newsletter strategy. Of course, Google, Bing and Yahoo would also like to take this time to let you know that you are going to need to start spending money with them. They really want your “sponsored ad” dollars. And why not? They deserve it. They built the search engines. And you use them every day of your life. So why shouldn’t they get paid?

So the only reason why they shouldn’t get paid is because there is still click fraud going on. Google needs to curb this evil. They are raking in billions and a hefty percentage of that is all fraudulent. Until they fix the problem, we won’t be encouraging PPC campaigns. We will continue to educate and test but there has to be real ROI.

What about your business? In addition to SEO search engine optimization, are you also testing for PPC pay per click? Are you blogging? Using social media? LinkedIn? Facebook? Are you sending out newsletters? Need help with Internet promotion for your business? We have been helping companies and businesses strategize online since 1997. Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828, email info@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information about how to win the election, get the treats instead of tricks and obviously finish 2010 positively.