Facebook IPO, 28 Billion, NY Giants Win Super Bowl XLVI, Clint Eastwood Wins America, Madonna Loses, Youtube Helps Advertisers, Susan G. Komen vs. Planned Parenthood

Posted by DD on Feb 8, 2012

So while trying to get to work today, I forgot to take into account that there would be about 2 million people (maybe even more) celebrating the NY Giants’ Super Bowl win. If you want to read about the complaints, just head over to Facebook. Oh – you haven’t heard about Facebook? Well, sit right back and you’ll hear a tale. A tale of a young kid with an attitude who was really smart (he got into Harvard. Then again, he also dropped out. Then again, so did Bill Gates. Then again, they are both billionaires now, so what’s the point?) and also had (and still has) a HUGE ego. While there is nothing wrong with those traits, put them together with a great idea and then you’ve got something worth $100 billion or so.

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.

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

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!

Illegal To Promote Superbowl? TV Commercials Launch Online, NY Giants vs. New England Patriots, Google REALLY Wants You To Know, Romney vs. Gingrich

Posted by DD on Feb 1, 2012

Well. I guess there are TWO “big games” going on in the media these days….The first one involves a pigskin and the other involves our politicians…Ok – maybe that didn’t come out right, but I tried…

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!

Lottery Winners Share Wealth, 30 Rock Tree Lighting, 18 Days Left, From Occupy Dilbert to Wall Street, Tebowmania, Madonna: Increase Sales, Get a Job and Go To The Super Bowl

Posted by DD on Dec 6, 2011

So IF you were planning on getting me any gifts before the holidays, or your family, friends, colleagues etc. etc., there are only 18 days left according to EVERY email I get on this subject.  After all, my job is to help you sell more products and get more leads.

And if you WEREN’T planning on getting any gifts, but WERE planning on sending out holiday cards, gift cards, or Festivus cards, check out my latest deal on cards at my new Deal of the Day website: http://www.dealoftheday.biz/index.html?zxp=1&pid=3419&ch_tmpl&fg=ffffff&wh=960&nver=1&did=11279&dn=successories-motivational–award-products-deal (up to 40% off every day!)

But let’s face it folks, the absolute BEST gift ANYONE can get for the holidays is the gift of CASH!

So 3 rich guys walk into a bar and one says to another, “How much money did we manage today? Oh, about 80 million. Well, what if we won the lottery for $250 million? Well then, we would manage $330 millon!”  Correct. So they win the Powerball. The end. http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/fairfield_cty/lottery-winners-award-$1-million-in-grants. Well, $1 million to charity is a good start. I look forward to hearing more inspiring stories from this.

But what if you weren’t rich and you were occupying Wall Street and held up a sign that said “PhD seeking job,” and one guy takes your resume and hires you for over $100k (at least). I would say that was a pretty good day at the protest for 1 woman… http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/12/occupy-wall-street-helped-a-protestor-get-a-job.html

And, of course, if you are Scott Adams, you know something about the top 1% since you have been creating excellent art and comedy for how many years? (Over 20 according to the website) You have to be making a good living. And that is cool. I agree that everyone, whether a celebrity or not, is free to share his or her opinion. So here is Scott’s: http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/that_top_1_thing/. And here is yesterday’s Dilbert regarding protests and overthrowing governments to becoming a dictator: http://dilbert.com/2011-12-05/

Today’s is all about subsidizing Warren Buffet’s mansion: http://dilbert.com/2011-12-06/ (Just kidding. Buffet is the most humble billionaire out there and still lives in the same regular size house he always has in Omaha, NE.)

But what I really wanted to talk about today was the “’tis the season” attitude and atmosphere out there. And when I write “out there” I mean in New York City. Check out the Tree Lighting ceremony pictures from 20 Rockefeller Plaza: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2011/11/30/rockefeller-center-tree-lighting-ceremony/

Lastly, since the end of the year is coming and a new one is around the corner, it’s really time to talk about football and the Super Bowl. Do you think Tim Tebow can hold on to this amazing streak that everyone is talking about? http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/12/still-hedging-on-plans-for-tim-tebow-john-elway-says-of-broncos-our-futures-right-now/1

Well, miracles do indeed happen. And that miracle also holds true for Madonna. I have to say that I didn’t think 100 million football fans really cared about Madonna or her songs or music. But if the Super Bowl organizers signed her up, that must mean one of two things: either she is relevant and people want to see her…. or they got her cheap! Just because you sell 300 million records doesn’t mean FOOTBALL fans appreciate you. We will see. And we will also see if there are any wardrobe malfunctions. But let’s not forget, Madonna is over 50 now and she is not as hot as she was 25 years ago when she started her career. http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20111205/APC0502/111205028/Madonna-provide-halftime-entertainment-Super-Bowl-XLVI-February

So what can your business learn from this week’s current events.

1) If you are rich, don’t stop playing the lottery. More money does NOT hurt you. It can only help you do better things. Just like internet marketing. Even if you are doing a great business online, there is always room to grow and do better!

2) If you are protesting one thing and someone offers you money to do something else, feel free to jump ship and change direction. You might be better off in the long run. So if you have a marketing strategy that you like, re-evaluate. It’s the holiday season and a new year is around the corner. Take advantage.

3) So what if you can’t throw a football. You can still win football games! Tim Tebow runs the ball more than he passes. So if you have a website and it’s not the greatest, that’s ok. Stick with your strengths. You might even make it to the Super Bowl!

Want to know more about internet marketing for the holidays, football and charity? Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com. Maybe I will escort you backstage to Madonna at the halftime show in February!

Cyber Monday Extended, Google+ Vs. Facebook, Twitter in Kansas, Michael Jackson’s Doctor, Apple Siri, Jets, Giants Lose: What your business can do to increase sales and save face

Posted by Romain Malaganne on Nov 29, 2011

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!

Happy Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Yahoo, Google Algorithm & Display Changes, Parades, Pies and Football: What your business can do to show gratitude and get promotion

Posted by Romain Malaganne on Nov 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Before I begin, let me repeat this comment that has been going around facebook for the past few days: I can’t find the people specifically so I did a search and got this:

 

“If you are reading this, it means you have enough education so that you can read and you have a computer or access to a computer and the internet. Chances are you also have sufficient protection from the elements, you’ve had at least one good meal today and you have enough clothing to keep you warm.”

 

Makes me think of Abe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs… food, shelter, clothing first… then you can move higher up on the intellectual and happiness scale. It’s hard to be happy when you are hungry and cold. You need to get comfort first before you can move on to making your life better. Some people are motivated by this; some people are depressed by it. Hopefully we are all motivated to seek better lives. And hopefully we are blessed by the powers that be and the powers and the universe in which you believe.

 

So on this Thanksgiving, (and every Thanksgiving and every day for that matter), let’s count our blessings instead of complaining about what we don’t have. And by the way, if you don’t have those things, what can you do to move yourself towards having those things?

 

Please visit http://www.successories.com/iquote/keywords/15958c95c2d99b9126ca.  Get a “thankful” quote on a motivational poster for your office!

 

Personally, as a (I would like to think) well-rounded and well-grounded individual living in the USA, I like Wednesday Addams view of Thanksgiving inAmerica:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ccj2BH25c0I

 

As a vegetarian I am sort of NOT happy about these statistics: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tgturkeyfacts.html

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in theU.S.on Thanksgiving. Ewww and Yuck!

 

I much prefer these vegan recipes: http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/kitchen-assistant/vegan-side-dishes-00418000073746/

Thanks to my favorite food writer for pointing these out: http://adeenasussman.com/ (Also check out her pie baking skills to raise money for cancer awareness for http://www.sharsheret.org/blog/768/third-annual-pies-prevention-thanksgiving-bake-sale)

 

Thanks also to my favorite fake turkey food company for existing: http://tofurkey.com/

And if you do eat turkey and I haven’t converted you and you live near a Safeway, you must check out this hilarious video: http://www.youtube.com/user/SafewayInc?v=rZd3Xzr5tgI&feature=pyv&ad=

 

Thanksgiving also means great deals for shopping. In the real world it’s called “Black Friday.” When allof the business world reminds consumers that Christmas is coming soon and you should buy stuff for yourself, your home, your family, your friends and your colleagues.

 

Check out the #1 for “Black Friday”

http://bfads.net – good for you. You just got a link from me I know I need to buy some stuff. Thanks!

 

Online we have “Cyber Monday,” the Monday after Black Friday when anything that wasn’t sold in the store goes online. But the truth is you can start buying things at a discount today. But Cyber-Monday sounds cool anyway.

 

Thanksgiving also means football for you real men and women out there. The #1 search for “thanksgiving football guide” is

http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-football.htm.  So enjoy!

 

If you are in NYC, check out the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Lots of fun. This year I hear high winds might keep the balloons grounded. I hope not.

 

As you can see, there is a lot to be thankful for. What can your business do to take advantage of this holiday season? Definitely have a Black Friday sale. Also have a Cyber Monday sale. Have an end of year sale. Unfortunately, Google and Yahoo have changed their search algorithms and page displays. They are trying to make more money and you really can’t blame them, can you? For a history of the Yahoo! display, check out: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/yahoo-sunsets-site-explorer-a-eulogy.

 

SalemGlobal can help you with your online marketing. But it takes time and effort. Right now you should be thinking short term regarding the holidays and New Year. But you also need to think about Black Friday and next year one year in advance. Want to meet face to face? Want to know more about internet marketing and strategy? 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 a Thanksgiving story for you! Just likeAlice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyXTOHC3w8&feature=related

Super Bowl XLV, Darth Vader and Valentines Day: What your business can learn from Sports, Villains and Love

Posted by Salem Global on Feb 8, 2011

Well who saw the big game this past Sunday? I didn’t but I did see the commercials on YouTube so don’t worry if you spent three million dollars to try to reach my conscience, inner conscience and spending part of my brain. I only counted 63 commercials though here at http://www.youtube.com/user/adblitz. Did I miss any? Please if you need me to drink your brand of beer or buy your brand of car, you are going to have to get on YouTube right now.

You see. That’s what I have been trying to tell you for the past 14 years. I don’t own a TV but I do pay for Internet access. Soon that won’t matter anyway. I watch super bowl commercials and even the halftime show (which was awesome btw – thanks Black Eyed Peas) on Youtube and if I want to watch Saturday Night Live I go to hulu. Besides that I am not really interested. And if you are an advertiser and want to reach the next generation, of course keep spending millions on the super bowl and everywhere else, but don’t forget about the Internet guys and Google. Remember – Google bought Youtube a few years ago knowing that more people will watch video clips over and over again more than just once on regular TV. Visionary is what I call it.

So most people are saying that they weren’t so impressed with this year’s commercials. I agree. True you had the comedy. The drama. The facts. The sex. (Btw – bad image of an old faced Joan Rivers on someone else’s sexy body. I think that was a mistake mr. godaddy. Stick with Danica Patrick and other young stars and sex symbols. Joan Rivers was a bad move.

As for you Mr. Darth Vader or should I say YOUNG Darth Vader…. funny commercial but I don’t remember what car you are trying to sell to me. When will these advertising executives start calling me. Never? Well then you aren’t going to sell as many cars. I was thinking about the image of Darth Vader and realized it was smart since the demographic of car buyers will get the reference. But in a few years its not going to work.

Timothy Hutton in Tibet. Bad commercial. Bad message. Groupon – you are lucky to sell for billions but your ad agency is fired. Oh and so is your chief marketing officer.

CareerBuilder. Funny commercial with monkeys.

Eminem selling out for brisk iced tea…. The use of celebrity in commercials is usually effective. Especially black eyed peas halftime show coupled with their commercials for chatter or just Will.i.am? – I guess no one told him that no one uses nor will they use chatter.com. On the other hand, salesforce.com is a good company so maybe they will figure it out.

Lastly, this week is Valentine’s Day. Use it to your advantage. That’s right. I am talking about to your Internet Marketing advantage… Send out those emails to your clients that you LOVE and anyone else for that matter. Like – SalemGlobal LOVES its clients. And customers. And people who read this email week after week. It’s just another way of saying thank you. And since I won’t be sending you any flowers or chocolate, buy some yourself. But think about me and SalemGlobal as you are doing it

Want to know more about the superbowl, Darth Vader, bad commercials, how to make the Internet work for you and what to give your loved one for Valentine’s Day? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or email info@salemglobal.com and we can talk about it.

Groundhog Day, Super Bowl 45, Hair Transplant Contest, Quit Facebook, Valentines Day: What your business can learn from oversized rodents and football players

Posted by Salem Global on Feb 4, 2011

Well, its that time of the year again. Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell Day. I mean Groundhog Day. I mean one of my all time favorite movies days. The day where if a groundhog leaves its burrow and sees its shadow, it retreats back into its burrow signifying another six weeks of winter. Well guess what folks. Its been raining, snowing, sleeting, freezing, cloudy, overcast and no sign of the sun anywhere except maybe Florida for the snowbirds. So the whole idea of an early spring is just plain insane in the membrane. But according to legend, since it didn’t see its shadow today, expect an early spring. Crazy – right?

Well, the reason why I love that movie and why I write about it year after year (I can’t find my old posts) is because its a movie about hope and perseverance and positive attitude and despair, and love and people and it will make you laugh and cry and feel good and self improvement and 2nd chances and 3rd chances and I could go on but there are lots of other things I want to write about. So my message here is see the movie regardless of your personal or professional life and where you are. You can apply the message to anything, anyone, anywhere, anytime, and anyhow.

Now as I understand it, this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. What’s that you ask? Ha ha. Its only the biggest game in the country. American football rocks this coming 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 match ups in recent years. But as you know, I am all about the commercials. Here is a sneak peak of what I could find so far on Youtube:

<disclaimer> I don’t drink soda. I think its terrible for you, your teeth, your heart, your gums, your stomach – shall I go on? I also think that if it has no calories its even worse for you. But as a self-proclaimed advertising maven, I still can spot the good commercial that is worth spending $3 million dollars at the super bowl.

Doritos Pepsi Max is running the same campaign that everyone should be running. User generated content. Duh! Here you can see people making fun of themselves and having fun: http://www.youtube.com/user/2011DoritoCommercial at Walmart and everywhere else in the world. Here are some finalists:
This one made me laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjRU6b4ecw as did this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE0KIDZnJ9gBut the funniest of them all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZRdr1PiyPQ and another one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8D3qvQCP0Y . But the smartest guy out there reserved this domain name and put up advertising so I hope he makes some cash from Google AdSense off of it: http://www.superbowlcommercials2011.com/

Lets see what happens this Sunday. I think there are over 110 commercials this year. But the best contest and YouTube, blog, Facebook campaign out there is certainly by former tight end two time Super bowl champion NFL san Francisco 49er Dr. John Frank who actually retired from the NFL and went to medical school to become a plastic surgeon and hair transplant specialist. Dr. Frank is running a contest and sweepstakes to see who comes closest to guessing this Sunday’s final score. Whoever it is will be eligible to receive a free hair transplant. Now with 110 million viewers out there, there have got to be some balding guys that might want to change their appearance a bit. Check it out: http://www.prweb.com/releases/hair-transplant/superbowl/prweb5016224.htm

But wait – Valentines Day is coming up. And what better way for a homeless couple to celebrate by going to the Super Bowl. Huh? Why would people who can’t afford to pay rent go to a game that costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars to see live and in person? And what about getting to the game? If you don’t live in Texas and can’t drive to the game, its going to cost you. Well not if you are this lucky couple who WON their ticket by being in the right place and the right time. Oh – and transportation included! http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Homeless-couples-in-Green-Bay-wins-trip-to-Super?urn=nfl-315407

Hey – did you hear the one about the high school kid that closed his Facebook account because he was being harassed by recruiters and colleges because of his stellar football skills. Read about it here… Basically, every high school and college kid has a Facebook page. But when you get unsolicited advice from the world about what to do with your life and then people comment about your mother, its time to go offline.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Top-recruit-quits-Facebook-following-living-nig?urn=highschool-313954 This is very similar and related to our reputation management services. Some people get into trouble every now and then. Sometime lawyers and doctors like to go out for a drink and someone takes a not-so-flattering picture and posts it on Flickr or Facebook. Sometimes Charlie Sheen likes to party with drugs and hookers. So if your business hasn’t woken up to the fact that word of mouth media is here to stay and is the best way for bad news to travel fast, you better get online with a positive message and combat the negative. If you are in high school though, play sports and watch TV a little more. There will always be time in the future to get online. Plenty of time for you to do something a little off color and have your friends document it on their blogs and on YouTube.

And on the opposite side of the Facebook track, billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided that fellow billionaire Marc Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of FB might be able to help the city of New York with its own social media. Come on Mike, I am right here on 45th street. Did you really have to hire a billionaire to help with the city’s social media strategy? Tell you what, I know you want to hire an in-house person for $110,000 annual salary but my firm will do it for half. Click on http://www.SalemGlobal.com for my resume. I look forward to your call.

Ok – just one last thing. Did you all see that Jesse Eisenberg the actor that hosted Saturday Night Live last week? The opening was brilliant. Andy Samberg dressed up in the famous Zuckerberg hoodie sweatshirt and matted down his hair. And behind the scenes the real Marc Zuckerberg was talking to Lorne Michaels about the fact that he didn’t love Eisenberg in the movie the Social Network. How they got the Z man on SNL we will probably never know but clearly someone knew someone.

One final final thing. My local bowling alley called itself the super BOWL in an email blast to local fans. Great play on words. Great message. Funny and to the point. Want to know more about social media and how you can take advantage of the super bowl to help your business? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or email info@salemglobal.com and we can talk about it. Its February 2011. You need to change your marketing plan to get with the times. Help me help you

Two Time SF 49ers Super Bowl Champion Tight End John Frank, MD & Anapelli Hair Clinic Announce Hair Transplant SuperBowl Sweepstakes

Posted by Daniel.Rothschild on Jan 31, 2011

Two Time SF 49ers Super Bowl Champion Tight End John Frank, MD & Anapelli Hair Clinic Announce Hair Transplant SuperBowl Sweepstakes. Dr. Frank and the Anapelli Hair Clinic will perform a hair transplant procedure on the person who comes closest to predicting the final score of NFL SuperBowl XLV

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.

Super Bowl Advertising, No Cheerleaders and Reputation Management Using Social Media: What your business can learn from the NFL

Posted by Salem Global on Jan 25, 2011

I am outraged! As a fairweather fan of the Jets or Giants – depending on whichever New York team is winning at the moment – I am incredibly disappointed that the NY Jets didn’t make it into the Super Bowl. Sunday night was the first NFL game of the season that I actually watched on TV (as opposed to the Internet replays) and I saw the fumbles, the interceptions. The safetys, The touchdowns. I saw the running plays. The completed passes. The incompletes. I saw the out of bounds. I saw the clock tick. I saw the head coach pull off his headset, throw it down and curse. I saw the faces of my friends as all these things were happening. And I heard the sounds of grown men weeping that their beloved Jets would not be going to the Super Bowl. Again.

But nothing compares to what I saw this morning in my weekly review of sports and what to write about for this blog.

On Yahoo! Sports (http:/sports.yahoo.com/sportsminute;_ylt=AsUNjyyJjnwOMN3Y0onwX5E5nYcB)  I learned that there are six NFL teams (do you know which?) who don’t pay women to shake their booty and get as close to undressed as possible for American men for money. Two of those teams are going to the Super Bowl. And in the words of the ESPN blogger Gregg Easterbrook, “THIS IS AMERICA!” With both teams being built around defense, the trophy might go to whichever’s offense is least frustrated. But since scantily clad cheer-babes propitiate the football gods, and neither team has them, how will the football gods know whom to root for? http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/110125_tuesday_morning_quarterback&sportCat=nfl… I wonder what Michael Lewis has to say about no cheerleaders?

While talking about football and the Super Bowl, did you know that there were more Super Bowl commercials airing over more time in 2010 than ever before? http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110118/FREE/110119868#

Shout out to Rob Levin of the NY Enterprise Report for bringing this to my attention… They also sold out faster this year than ever before. True it takes millions to create a great commercial. True it takes more millions to air it. But it’s all worth it. I keep on meeting with potential clients who only want to spend X amount on testing Internet marketing. For some it will work. For most it won’t. And therefore it is a waste of money. Young companies still don’t get what a marketing budget is. I prefer to educate people over the phone but if it takes a meeting then so be it. It still gives me a good reputation when I warn people up front that they are wasting their money. So hopefully they pass on my good name and reputation and I get clients with budgets out of goodwill.

And speaking of Reputation Management, this Thursday I will be speaking at the Tarrytown Sheraton with the ACW – Advertising Club of Westchester. Social media can be a tremendous business booster for you. But, what can you do when your business is under attack on the Internet by competitors or disgruntled ex-employees or even angry customers? Competitors can defame you, your products and services. They may even attempt to use your trademarks as keywords or copy your intellectual property. RSVP here: http://www.acw.org/ACW26.html and check us out on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31259938519#!/event.php?eid=162642450427421&index=1

As for Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler, in the words of Dan Wetzel from Yahoo Sports,

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=dw-cutlersocialmedia012411

“Twitter has allowed a voice to emerge from the couches – be it the average Joe or the NFL pro. Everyone is empowered.” Basically now every sports fan and blogger and twitterer and social media facebook using know-it-all can give his or her two cents about everything that’s going on in the world. Jay Cutler and his torn ligaments might not mean much to you as a non-football and sports fan, but if someone tweets something negative about your business or your own reputation, you might get into trouble professionally or personally. When people google your name, you want to have control over what comes up. I say start with your own domain name and website. But also get your own twitter account and fill out all of the top social media profiles. You not only want to have the top spot when someone googles you, you want to dominate the first few pages. Write some articles, send out some press releases. Do some good community work. Get your name out there in a positive light and tell the world about it.

Want to know more about defending your reputation or brand online? Come hear me speak this coming Thursday night in Westchester, Tarrytown NY. Can’t make it? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or just email info@salemglobal.com and we can talk about the different ways to improve your reputation and your company’s bottom line this year within a few weeks.

NY Jets En Route To Super Bowl, Lead Generation Strategies For Your Business: A few Internet marketing tips to help you get started in 2011

Posted by Salem Global on Jan 18, 2011

Ok ok sports fans. If you are a New York Jets fan, you are totally psyched about the Jets chances for making it to the Super Bowl this year. If you are a NY Giants fan, do you root for the Jets, any other team but the Jets or is your season over? And of course if you are outside of New York, who ARE you rooting for? A former SalemGlobal employee is a major fanatical Pittsburgh Steeler fan but he lives in California and just got married so who knows what he is doing…

As for other sports, what else is there besides football?

And that is this weeks point as well for Internet marketing. Focus. There is only one thing you want for your business. And that is clients or sales.

So now that I have your attention, let’s talk about what kind of business you are in… Are you a business to business (b2b) business or business to consumer? (b2c)

It’s the beginning of the new year and people are just coming back from vacation and holiday fever. Though the economy and Obamanomics are on everyone’s mind, the real question is what is YOUR business? What do you do? How do you do it? How do you differ from your competition?

And of course this all SHOULD be known from your website. So the basics of Internet marketing are having a clear website according to the Google webmaster tools. But what you don’t learn from Google’s standard instructions is marketing 101. I am still amazed that in the year 2011 some companies don’t have a phone number at the top of their website. I am not referring to sites that DON’T want you to call. I am talking about your standard mom and pop shop that rely on phone calls to keep them in business. Ordering products, supplies and everything related.

And then there are companies who have their local phone number when they are trying to get leads in more than one city state and region. Either get multiple phone numbers or get a toll-free number. A great example of this is http://www.aceits.net/ who service both New York and New Jersey (for IT management and consulting).

Another thing to do for lead generation is make sure you have a quick form to fill out. Forms can be annoying to some and helpful to others. Think about the business person who is so busy that they only get to surf the web at night. They don’t want to use the phone, they just want to fill out a form and have someone call them whenever… On the other hand, expect a lot of spam in your forms. We get spam filled out all the time but the important thing is to try to weed out the spam from the good calls.

Finally for today, why not jump start your lead generation by offering something new for the year, that you have never done before and/or that your competition has never done before. Here at SalemGlobal Internet we are actually offering a money back guarantee on all of our directory services. As an example, go to http://newyorkcitydentist.net/. For only $500/yr., your website & name can be listed there and viewed by hundreds of potential patients in your area. For only $1000 you can be the exclusive sponsor of the website. All with a money back guarantee!

As for our networking groups, we have changed the rules. Everything is free, free,  free. We just want people to show up. How’s that for a lead generator.

More exciting lead generation and internet marketing stuff is on its way in 2011. Want to know more? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828 or just email info@salemglobal.com and we can talk about the different ways to improve your sales and bottom line this year within a few weeks.