Adwords: Making Google Work for You

When people are searching for products, services, or information online, 65.6% of the world's Internet users turn to Google to find what they are looking for. With that kind of built-in following, it makes sense to advertise with the world's most popular search engine, and Google has a service that lets you do just that.

Google Adwords is an online marketing and advertising platform that has revolutionized the way people market their products and services online. Adwords is a form of pay-per-click advertising which means you don't pay for your advertisement until someone clicks on your ad.

Here's how it works:

1. Set up an Adwords account
2. Target your customers by location (local, regional, national, international, etc.) and language.
3. Create your ad and choose keywords that relate to your business.
4. Set your daily budget and decide how much you are willing to spend per click

Then watch Google Adwords go to work for you. Every time someone goes to the Google search engine and searches for one of your keywords, your ad appears in the search results. There is no easier way to reach your target market. Of course the more money you are willing to pay on your keywords, the higher your ad will appear in the search results. And again, you don't pay anything until someone clicks on your ad. In other words, you only pay when the ad actually works.

Give it a try and make Google Adwords work for you.

Social Media Marketing 101: Where to Begin?

You've started your business, you have a great service or product to offer, your website is up and running, now all you need is customers. That means marketing. I know. I hear you groaning already. But trust me, marketing isn't as bad as you think.

There's a new kid in town and it's name is social media marketing, and it is an efficient and cost effective way for start-up and small companies to market themselves. It doesn't cost a lot of money but it will take some time and effort on your part. But like anything else, once you have the right tools, the job is much easier.

The Tools You Need

Blog: Wordpress, Blogger
Set up a blog on your website and post weekly articles for you products or services, about industry news, about specials and promotions, or any information that your customers would find valuable.

Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus
Set up an account with 2 or 3 social networks and start connection with potential customers. It's a great way for your friends to link you to their friends who link you to their friends and so on. You can also link you blog to these sites and let your friends and followers know that you have a new post on your blog.

Multimedia:
Photos: Flickr, Shutterfly, Google's Picassa
Video: Youtube, Vimeo
Audio: Podcasts
Adding multimedia elements to your blog and website makes them more engaging and draws attention better than text alone. The more engaged your visitors are, the more likely they are to return.

E-mail:
Monthly Newsletter
Work hard to get your visitors to sign up for your free monthly newsletter. By signing up, they offer to let you remind them every month that you are in business. Offer fun, interesting, or beneficial information so they are eager to stay on your mailing list.

Tying it all together:
Website
Successful social media marketing builds relationships, generates word of mouth marketing, and strengthens brand loyalty with your customers. But lets face it, it also needs to turn visitors into paying customers. Everything you do, your blog, your photos, your videos, your newsletter, should drive your visitors to your website where they can buy your product or order your service.

It takes time and effort to have a successful social media marketing plan, but the rewards can be well worth it.

Marketing with Video

In the previous post we discussed the benefits of audio podcasts. Now I'd like to talk about video and what it can do for your business.

Video is a great way to engage your visitors because it is the next best thing to talking to your customers and potential customers face-to-face, making it more personal and intimate than reading words on a page.

 Video can be use in a number of ways.

Conversation Video gives you an opportunity to speak to your visitors.

• Interview experts in your field
• Interview satisfied customers
• Answer common questions from customers
• Respond to customer complaints.

Educational Video can be used to teach or inform your customers.

• Tutorials
• Demonstrations
• How-to videos

Conversion Video has the main purpose of converting visitors into customers with a clear call to action in the video.

• Sign up now
• Download here
• Call today
• Visit www.______.com to learn more
• Buy yours today

There are many benefits to using video including:

• Getting people's attention quickly
• Putting a face to your company
• Bringing ideas to life
• Making your site more engaging
• Making your site stand out

So take advantage of the personal and engaging properties of video and ad a video to your site.

Using Podcasts to Advertise Your Business

Listen to the podcast to learn how podcasting can benefit your business.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Download this episode (right click and save)

Instructions for Creating Your First Podcast
- Courtesy of Washburn University's Mass Media Bootcamp

1.       Download Audacity – http://audacity.sourceforge.net.

2.       You will also need to download LAME MP3 encoder – http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3 Install the LAME software onto your computer so you can convert the audacity files into MP3 files.

3.       Record and edit your podcast – Instructions can be found here. http://jtoolkit.com/audio/Audacity_Guide.pdf

4.       When you are satisfied with your podcast, click File then Export it as an MP3 and save it to your desktop.

5.       Open a free account with PodBean – http://www.podbean.com/podcast_hosting_audio_video_blog_hosting

6.       Go to the Upload tab and upload you podcast.

7.       Now go to the Publish tab and Publish your podcast.

At this point you can leave your podcast on the Podbean site and direct listeners to your podcast site, or you can embed your podcast into your website or blog. To embed your podcast, follow the steps below.

8.       Click on the Manage tab then click the button that says <embed code>. This will give you the code you need to copy and paste into your blog.

9.       Create a new blog and post the code to the post. Your podcast should appear as content with an embedded player.

Have fun and good luck with your first podcast.

Directing People to your Website with SEO

A business website is the most important part of a small business marketing plan. But how do you get people to come to your website? Through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a process that helps search engines find and rank your site in response to a search query. The goal is for your site to rank higher than the thousands of other sites with similar content. The higher your site ranks the more traffic it will receive.

Keywords are the most important SEO element for search engines. So the first thing you need to do is come up with a list of keywords that describe the content of your website. What keywords would your potential visitors use in the search box to search for you?

Once you have a list of keywords, use them:

• often in your website
• in URLs and file names
• in page titles
• in headings

Links are another important aspect of SEO.

• Link back to your own archived content when you create new content.
• Link to other well respected websites with similar content.
• Ask others to link to your site.

Content is King. Your site must deliver value to its visitors and do it in an engaging way. Set yourself apart from your competition by creating rich and appealing content and watch your site rise to the top of the rankings.

Finding Inexpensive Photos for Your Advertisments

You may think your small business can't afford quality advertising photos. Well, think again. Even businesses with the smallest budgets can affford to have top notch photos on their websites and print media.

http://www.sxc.hu/
Stock.XCHNG is the leading FREE stock photo site. They have a huge selection of quality photos to choose from.

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
Free Digital Photos dot net is another great place to find a big selection of free photos.

http://www.istockphoto.com/
IStock Photo has a huge selection of inexpensive photos. Prices are based on size with small photos only costing a few dollars.

There are several places around the web to find inexpensive photos for your advertising purposes.Most sites will require you to create a free account. Also carefully read the terms of agreement. The photos may be free, but the owner and the site may require credit. A small price to pay for free photos.

All photos in the slide-show were provided free of charge by Stock.XCHNG.

Art+Copy Club presents the 2011 CLIO Watch Party

The Art +Copy Club, part of the American Advertising Federation of Kansas City, is hosting it's annual CLIO Watch Party.The CLIO Awards is one of the world’s most recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and communications. Registrations is $10 for members and $20 for non-members. The Watch Party begins at 7pm on Thur, Nov. 10, at the Screenland in the Crossroads – 1656 Washington, Kansas City, MO 64108 .


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Business Cards - They Are A-Changin'

Getting business cards printed is one of the first things most new business owners do, and for good reason. Business cards tell potential customers what you do and contain all of your businesses contact information. Several cards can be handed out to friends, family, and happy customers who in turn can hand them out to their friends and family. It is one of the cheapest ways to advertise. You can print your own business cards on the computer or you can order them made for you. Local printers will print business cards or you can order them online from Vistaprint or other online companies.

If paper business cards seem too ordinary for you, check out these plastic business cards.

You should also know about a new generation of business card - the vcard - or virtual card. A vcard is an electronic business card that contains information about you and/or your business. A simple vcard can be attached to the bottom of an email. More sophisticated vcards are published online and are like mini websites. They contain information about you, your skills, your portfolio, your contact information and your social media links. Click here to read more about vcards and see a few examples.

Image courtesy of tungphoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Social Media Revolution 2011

This video gives a convincing argument for Social Media Advertising. Businesses need to advertise where the people are, and right now millions of people are on social networks.

Inexpensive or Free Advertising Ideas

Advertising is crucial to small business, and start-up business owners, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Tightwad Advertising blog will explore inexpensive or free advertising opportunities for small business owners.

Most advertising will fall under four categories:

• Local Advertising - when you or your advertisement comes in contact with potential customers. Local advertising ideas include:
• business cards
• magnetic car signs
• window stickers
• business posters
• Word of Mouth Advertising - when friends, family and happy customers do the advertising for you. You can encourage this by:
• providing an excellent product or service is the most important first step
• handing out extra business cards 
• giving away promotional items
• pens
• bookmarks
• t-shirts
• ball caps
• Internet Advertising - advertising your business online including:
• a business website
• Google AdWords
• SEO - Search Engine Optimization
• Social networking
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Media Advertising - this is what most people think of when they hear the word advertising. It includes:
• Radio
• Television
• Magazines
• Newspapers

Tightwad Advertising will explore these and other forms of advertising while focusing on inexpensive or free advertising options.