McIntosh Marketing Blog

Now that we are getting over the DT’s from the high wine of easy credit, it is important to understand how we were caught wth our marketing pants down. You see, easy money makes you lazy and undisciplined. Like Paris Hilton, there is no need for responsibility when there is enough money to bail yourself out of any mess. And so it happened with the marketing budget.

Now if you are having a hard time recalling what a marketing budget is, that is because for over a decade American businesses developed a serious case of Alzheimers. This set in after we killed the marketing plan. Why have a budget, when we do not even need a plan? Why plan, when you can borrow?

What replaced the marketing plan was easy credit. If you got into trouble, you didn’t need to develop a better plan, a more intelligent methodology of how to get yourself out of debt, and even more to the point, become profitable as a business. You simply applied for more credit. And like a crack addict, we got in deeper and deeper, never addressing the original source of pain that drove us to our own self-destruction.

What is needed now, for each of us to crawl back up the ladder of financial responsibility, is to develop a plan of action that includes how to better market our skills and products. This must include a strong positioning for our brand, an clear identification of our key market, a budget that we adhere to and to treat that budget as an investment versus that as a discretionary budget item that we cut down when we panic.

We have to turn to intelligence and better planning when we panic, not easier methods of fast money that eventually drowns us.

Recently Facebook has changed the phrase “become a fan” to the single word, “like”. While this is not their only change, a comment must be made on their choice of words. Welcome to the world of semantics, or is said in the world of marketing, “hot buttons”.

If you spend some time on contemplating this seemingly innocent switcheroo, this change is a clue to the evolving world around us. Believe me, Facebook put a lot of time and thought into this before making this bold, simplistic move. Something so simple as a change of words is actually a comment on how we view things and how we interact.

A fan looks up to something, “like” is equal to, on the same level. It also means I am not obsessed, like some fans are. I enjoy your company and I am probably not fixated or blinded by a zealousness.

When you look up the word “like”, it has many meanings, all of which mean different things to different people, all suggesting various emotions and thoughts. Moreover, I am sure that in the day to day jargon of how we live, we use the word “like” much more often than “fan.”

When frozen yogurt went explosive as a business model a few years, some saw that it could go viral as well.

Luis Garcia, CEO of Frapy’s Frozen Yogurt in Mission Viejo, has embraced social media as a prime way to reach new customers, while keeping a personal feel with his ardent fans. He mainly uses Facebook and his web site, but tons of personal contact and customer service.

More than that, Luis has established a high-end model for frozen yogurt, insisting on high-end ingredients while staying competitive on price.  Additionally, he has dressed up the shop itself with a comfortable, European feel. Makes sense, as Luis was born in Madrid, Spain. This explains the European feel of live music, parties and hosting social events. Luis has blended a cafe feel with one of OC’s favorite treats.

His business model has been so successful, that Luis is now opening a second shop in Lake Forest, CA and has garnered a recent article in business section of the Orange County Register.  Luis’s approach to high-end quality and social media is the new business model that entrepreneurs will need to embrace to be successful.

So many terms, so many things to learn. Just when we started to understand social media (a work in progress), then someone throws out a new term like “social bookmarking.”

Yesterday I was with two friends. One was eating a burger and I talked about delicious. The other person was confused, thinking I was talking about the burger. She did not understand that delicious is a social bookmarking site. http://delicious.com/ This confirmed to my burger eating friend that this is a subject that is not only misunderstood, but has not been evaluated to its importance from a SEO and SEM standpoint.

In short, social bookmarking allows internet users o share, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web resources. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves are not shared, but merely bookmarks that refer them. These are saved as tag and allow people to share bookmarks, just as they would share an email address or a link to a video. It not only makes your bookmarks more manageable, but more sharable. I think sharable is a word.

Social bookmarking also has another benefit. You can specifically target what you want to find when surfing the web. Instead of going into a search engine and attempting to find that needle in a haystack, you can rapidly zero in on the items to what you are searching for.

From an SEO and SEM strategy, social bookmarking is another tool in your arsenal, hardly known about to the newbie or the common business person starting out into the web marketing world. The more often a web page is submitted and tagged, the better chance that web site has of being found.

To understand social bookmarking further, watch this video:

Without question the most requested information is how Google Adwords actually works.

Ah, if it was just that easy.

There is no question that your product or service can reach new, higher realms of sales and profits through intelligent use of Google Adwords. And on the other hand, you can lose a lot of money with very little ROI with mishandling it. The reason for this is that most people throw good money at bad marketing. They simply do not do their homework and thus lose money.

Here is a video that may clarify the issue a bit:

Original content is king. For most of you this is nothing new; not at all a revelation.

But what I see very little of is the interfacing of blogs with social media; namely with Facebook. This became very clear to me the other day when I ran into a friend and we were talking about mundane stuff and she said, “Hey, I loved your blog post on Facebook.”

Without having to mention anything, she took the effort to mention it. She never commented back which can make a blogger think that no one reads their material or posts. Not true, to my chagrin.

While others talk about their mafia wars, farms and puppies, you can easily and rapidly position yourself as a thought leader. I can think of no faster way to help reinvent your brand, or at least your position within your market. Start blogging, and if you are already, then take the time to post these on Facebook.

It is important that everyday you are becoming a smarter, more informed social networker and internet marketer.

To re-invent a business, a brand, or even yourself in this new economy, it is vital that you stay abreast of the information and rapid changes within the world of on-line opportunities. Here is a great video to give you vital insights from a Harvard business expert. Enjoy!

McIntosh Marketing, a leading online marketing company, announced today the hiring of a new Chief Brand Officer, Edwin Dearborn.  Edwin Dearborn brings 24 years of marketing and business development experience for national and international corporations, professionals, and business owners.

Stanton, California, March 28^th, 2010 – McIntosh Marketing, a premier local online marketing and consulting company, has hired Edwin Dearborn as Chief Brand Officer.  Joining recently with McIntosh Marketing, Edwin Dearborn will be responsible for overseeing company branding and assisting local businesses with regional online marketing.

Edwin Dearborn joins McIntosh Marketing with 24 years of marketing and business development experience for professionals in many fields, including business, health care, and accounting.  He has a record of generating over $40 million in revenue from personally managing companies and offering training programs to CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

As Chief Brand Officer, Edwin Dearborn will tap into his successful career that began at age 20, when he helped bring a family-owned business over $1 million in sales. He has also served as an advertising executive where he traveled internationally and nationally to help companies and corporations with branding, advertising, and sales.  Edwin Dearborn’s last 20 years were spent helping non-profit humanitarian organizations raise millions of dollars for efforts to directly contribute to relief for 9/11, Katrina, tsunami and other disaster victims.

About McIntosh Marketing:  McIntosh Marketing’s Bill McIntosh has brought clients a combined $20 million in revenue.  McIntosh Marketing offers customized online marketing plans designed to increase website traffic, profits, and positive local Internet presence.  For more information about McIntosh Marketing, visit http://www.mcintoshmarketing.com/about-us/the-mcintosh-marketing-team.

Contact:

Edwin Dearborn

12235 Beach Blvd. Suite 206
Stanton, CA 91505

(877) 797-6825

http://www.McIntoshMarketing.com

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