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4 Ways to Be Competitive in Any Kind of Market
Amanda Moshier | September 29th, 2010
In 2010, it’s no surprise consumers are spending less, and businesses are doing the same. Staying competitive as a B2B provider is top-of-mind, but traditional methods of marketing and sales may no longer yield the desired results. With limited resources and a wealth of options, customers today are looking for a special reason to engage – not only in terms of choosing you over the competition, but choosing to engage at all – and adjusting your approach to reflect this new dynamic is wise. The good news is that a highly competitive market lends itself to innovation and makes room for your company to shine. Whether business is thriving or slower than you’d like, being competitive in today’s market requires a strategic approach that accounts for market trends and addresses customers’ needs in a tangible way to give them every reason possible to sign on your dotted line. 1 – Pioneer your brand, but do it a little differently Is your brand noteworthy? Is there something about your company, product, or service that sets you apart from the competition and drives customer loyalty and positive word of mouth? If so, and we hope this is the case, now is the time to leverage that in a slightly different way than you have in the past. While brand-forward marketing campaigns go a long way to raise brand awareness and gradually establish a brand’s foothold in an industry, in times of economic uncertainty it is best to get back to the basics. Continue reading…
Yahoo Loses Market Share, Bing Is #2
Amanda Moshier | September 15th, 2010
There’s big, if not relatively unsurprising news in the land of search marketing today, an industry known for the three players that dominate the field. For years, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN battled for market share, advertising dollars, and brand loyalty. While Google gained speed largely due to ongoing innovation and a healthy dose of fearlessness, some of its success may be attributed to MSN and Yahoo!’s love of lagging behind. You can read more about the history of the big 3 search engines here: http://www.searchenginehistory.com/. Let’s fast forward to September 15, 2010 and the big news. Nielsen reported today that Microsoft’s relatively immature “decision-engine” Bing has surpassed Yahoo! In standing. Is anyone surprised? Hard to say. It’s not so much surprise when you consider Yahoo!’s struggles to get just about anything right and the money Microsoft has poured into Bing…but I’m scratching just the surface. The real reason behind Yahoo!’s decline may be complex. Still, if you believe that where there is smoke, there is fire, perhaps it isn’t necessary to analyze what seems obvious: Yahoo! hasn’t been able to keep up with the market and has grown less relevant over time. Here is a graphic from Nielsen that shows growth and decline of the big 3 in recent months: Top U.S. Search Sites – August 2010 Rank Brand Share of Searches MoM change % YoY change % 1 Google Search 65.1% 1% 1% 2 MSN/Windows Live/Bing Search 13.9% 2% 30% 3 Yahoo! Search 13.1% -8% -18% 4 Ask.com Search Continue reading…
Three Lessons To Help You Master The Corporate Blogging Challenge
Amanda Moshier | August 18th, 2010
The company blog. In the beginning, it sounds like a great idea. “We’ll put a face to our name, connect with our customers, share our expertise, and we’ll have fun doing it!” Not to mention the online branding and SEO benefits that come with active blogging. Then reality sets in. “We don’t have any writers on staff. All our writers are busy. We need more structure. Is anyone reading this thing? How is our traffic? Why are we doing this again?” If you are having a tougher time than expected keeping your corporate blog updated regularly, you are not alone. We struggled to figure out the best way to manage our own blog, but with a little unconventional thinking and some good, old-fashioned hard work, running the blog became easier and now, the blog pretty much runs itself. To help you master the corporate blogging challenge, we’ve decided to share three lessons we learned while revamping our own blog, The Wpromoter. Lesson #1: Two (or Five) Hands Are Better Than One When we started The Wpromoter, we planned to use one writer to blog three to five times per week and extend an open invitation to anyone else who wanted to contribute. It didn’t work. Turned out the writer who was expected to update the blog had other work to do, and the assumption that each blog would take only one or two hours max was inaccurate. No one will deny it’s possible to bang out a post in an Continue reading…
How to Write a Blog Post in 30 Minutes or Less By Following 5 Simple Rules
Amanda Moshier | August 4th, 2010
Writer’s block. Deadlines. Being creative on call. These are things that make writers shudder, but if you blog professionally, this is not a luxury you can afford. There’s not enough time. For writers challenged with producing quality content consistently despite timeframes that are less so (“a day or so,” “an hour or two,” and “we needed this yesterday” are common examples), I’ve crafted a list of five habits to develop so you’ll always be prepared to blog during a crunch. Editing and optimizing your post will take extra time, but heeding the advice below should make it possible to write the meat of a post in just 30 minutes when that’s all the time you have. 1. Stay informed Get outside. Read the news. Go on YouTube if that’s your thing. Talk to people. However your make it happen, be aware of the world around you. Keeping up with current events and cultural trends is key to having something interesting to say at any given moment. It also makes you an interesting conversationalist. 2. Be organized Use an RSS feed reader. It’s the most convenient way to stay on top of current stories and makes it easier to find a good idea in a pinch. I like Google Reader, but there are plenty out there. Though useful, there are two rules to using RSS readers and unless you like feeling overwhelmed, I suggest you mind them: – Don’t subscribe to every ‘interesting’ feed – Check your RSS reader regularly, at Continue reading…
Case Study – Withers Dental
Amanda Moshier | July 12th, 2010
A local dentistry practice in Manhattan Beach, CA, Withers Dental came to Wpromote in 2009 with the knowledge that the days of relying on the Yellow Pages to grow its business were numbered. Upon learning over 1,000 Internet users every month were searching for the term “Manhattan Beach dentist,” Dr. Withers knew it was time to advertise online. Challenges Dr. Withers was wary of investing in online marketing with no experience or proof it would turn a profit for his business. In turn, Wpromote designed a search marketing campaign customized to produce results with a moderate initial spend. Strategy Analyzed niche, goals, and budget After identifying Dr. Withers budget, we prioritized his marketing goals: a website and small Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign in the short term and valuable organic rankings down the line. Through keyword research and competitor analysis, we determined how to allocate the budget based on the minimum projected cost of seeing a return on PPC. Designed a comprehensive search engine marketing campaign With an idea of how to leverage Dr. Withers’ budget for maximum results, we recommended a comprehensive search engine marketing campaign composed of three key components: an attractive website, an entry-level PPC campaign, and basic SEO consulting on site structure and content to help set the stage for strong organic rankings. Developed an attractive, professional web presence The first step in establishing a strong presence for Withers Dental online was the creation of a useful and aesthetically-pleasing website to highlight all available services and drive users Continue reading…
Bogusky Leaves the Business…Now What?
Amanda Moshier | July 7th, 2010
Last Friday, advertising icon Alex Bogusky announced his official retreat from the industry that made him, and the brands and brand ambassadors he helped share with the world, a household name…for those who work in advertising, that is. Anyone who does knows advertising is one of those industries that create its own superstars, and we’re not talking the Brad and Angelina kind. If you are a copywriter, you know the name David Ogilvy, and if you are a designer, Philip Starke you’ve studied, at least enough to discover you found his modern minimalism boring and his architecture pandering to the hipster masses. I actually like Starke, but that’s not the point. Advertising is a big deal. Despite upheavals and transformations, shifts from traditional to online outlets, less security in tried-and-true methods like TV commercials, and drastic cuts in spends across the board, the business and art, at least for now, seems here to stay…with or without Bogusky leading the fray. If you don’t know Bogusky, his story, while incredibly interesting for those who appreciate this sort of thing (read: ad nerds, historians, wannabes, business minded creative types, etc.), is summed up relatively simply: 1. Boy is born 2. Boy meets girl 3. Boy realizes he needs a fast car and sizeable bank account to win girl 4. Boy discovers his way with people, human psychology, and yes, words 5. Boy turns into advertising mogul overnight, and becomes the man we know today as Alex Bogusky…gets the car, bank account, and Continue reading…
