McIntosh Marketing Blog

Over the last few years I have been asked for my marketing glossary several times.  Truth is, I don’t really have one.  I do have notes with definitions here and there but have never actually put them all in one place.  In fact, when I try to explain these marketing terms to someone, it seems to me that most of the time they think these terms don’t really exist!  It could be due to many of them sounding very similar to each other but trust me they have very different meanings.  I really felt the following keywords should be listed as they tend to be used most often and more commonly but for the full list with detailed definitions go to http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/

deep linking – linking to a web page other than a site’s home page.

description tag – an HTML tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.

impression – a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.*

interactive agency – an agency offering a mix of Web design/development, Internet advertising/marketing, or E-Business/E-Commerce consulting.

keyword research – the search for keywords related to your Web site, and the analysis of which ones yield the highest return on investment (ROI).

search engine optimization – the process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.

By taking the time to learn these terms you will not only become more knowledgeable of Internet marketing but just by reading them you will start to understand more and more of what actually goes into your marketing.  I feel this list is pretty thorough list and can help even the beginning marketer to understand the terms of the online marketing world better.  Not only will you be able to learn more about the terms but once you start to understand them you will learn more about how marketing is actually done!

As a fan of social media, I’ve always tested out the new social networks, new web 2.0 apps, any equipment or software that would put me in better and faster communication with the world.

I used the Flock browser for a while a few years ago, and liked the way I could blog directly from the browser and drag my flickr photos straight into my blog posts. Plus I had a friend who worked at Flock, so that always made it cool to use their browser, wear my Flockstar tshirt, etc.

At some point, the excitement died for me, I got busy with my art career, and did less blogging, and I went back to Firefox. But today, after reading the ZDNet review today, I was inspired once again. The fire was re-ignited and I downloaded the new version 2.6 Flock browser.

So far, it seems way more awesome than it used to be…and it was awesome then too. Here’s why:

1. By clicking on the “People Sidebar” you can log in to all your social media accounts, and have the updates appear on the left side of the browser. Let’s say you choose Flickr. From that sidebar you can check your flickr mail, click on a friend, see his/her photos, view their profile, send them a message, etc.

3. There’s also a clipboard feature that allows you to drag and drop text, photos or links to save for later use in blogging or uploading to one of your social networks, etc.

4. Flock still has the awesome blog editor tool as well, which was always my favorite feature. And with all the other features, new and old, it’s even easier to find the images and links you need, save them, drag everything into your blog post right from the browser without having to even open new tabs or windows or anything.

5. Things about Flock that I’m just discovering:
photo uploader tool
Twitter search widget
instant messaging with facebook chat
webmail
7 social network apps
3 media sharing apps
7 different blogging apps

I’m just playing around with this right now while I’m typing, so there’s a lot I haven’t figured out yet. But I can already tell you that if you are serious about your social networking, and also about saving time by not having to log into every single social account or blog you have, you should give Flock a try. You can see your Twitter friends, feed, trends all from your browser with no additional Twitter app needed. Same with Facebook, Myspace (if you still use THAT one), Youtube, Digg and Bebo.

Yeah, I’m going to be checking out these features for a while. There are a LOT of them to go through. I suggest you do the same.

Get Flock here. And if you want to see the ZDNet article that renewed my enthusiasm for Flock, here it is.

PS: To Will…I’m sorry I strayed. It’s nice to be back. <3

Here are three ways to use Facebook to advertise your business:

1. Attempt the direct sale – “Buy my product”
2. Practice the “Give and you will Get”
3. A little of both

“Buy My Product”

Most businesses coming from the offline world try and fail at the direct sale approach on Facebook. You can liken this technique to the offline world of telemarketing. Call and ask enough people to buy your painting and eventually someone will. Many others get upset by your phone call, but you rarely hear from them after you hang up.

Where this idea REALLY breaks down on Facebook is that now everyone you upset has a voice and a place to air their grievance. Ask enough people to buy your product in a way that upsets them, and you will find yourself spending more time dealing with the ill effects of your marketing than actually shipping products.

Give and You Will Get

A technique that has far reaching possibilities is the “give and you will get”.

In theory it goes like this: Find the public that likes your products. Give them information, love, care, a friendly face, images, whatever – something that they would like to have. There are any number of ideas for this – it just needs to be free, something that they would really like and spreads goodwill about you and your company, and gets them to tell others about you and your work.

Eventually, with the amount of buzz and eyeballs that you attract by “giving”, someone will buy a product of yours and you will “get” money.

Now, in reality, this varies greatly by industry and idea. If the products are only for teenagers in Boston, it may take longer than if your products are beloved by all Newsweek readers. But if you are giving them what they like, they are your correct public, and they are telling others about you – you WILL sell products.

A Sprinkle of Both

Once you have sowed goodwill amongst your public, and you continue to give them great content and help, remind them from time to time that you have products for sale.

You don’t even have to hit them over the head with it.  Simply putting a notification that you just got in a new product will remind them and will get sales.

But no matter what, you should at some point ask them to support you by buying your products in a way your public likes to be spoken to.  If your public are people that expect everything to be free and think “why pay when you can steal”, you may have to be a bit more clever by saying words like “donate” or “help support me so that I can keep giving all this free advise away…”.

A Real Life Example

A friend of mine is a fantastic painter and she wants to use social networks to help sell her painting. Her public could be moderate to wealthy people.

• So she goes on Facebook and invites everyone she knows. She tells other people that love art and support art to “like” her.
• She could give or make Christmas or Birthday cards for her fans to use. Heck, she could probably even customize some of them.
• Of course, she is super friendly, and she herself reciprocates and helps support and promote other artists.
• Maybe she holds a contests or allows people to vote on what subject she should paint next.
• Maybe she raffles off a painting or a custom drawing to her fans for exchange for telling others about her.
• When she finishes a new painting, she let’s everyone know about it, and makes sure everyone knows that there is only one, and first come, first serve.

These are just a few examples off the top of my head. In reality, this painter has used social networks to her advantage, and continues to. (She also works with us, so she understands all this already!)

You can Buy dreXel’s original paintings on etsy

By now most people know what “blogging” is and are also taking advantage of the blog realm.  Whether it be personal advice blogs or more along the lines of business tips or ventures, people are now turning to blogs to answer their many questions online.  We all know the power of having a blog on your website for Blog Marketing, regardless of your business but what most people don’t understand is how to take blogging to the next step.

I like to think of blogging as another type of social networking.  I know most of you are thinking “Duh” right?  I am not just talking about blogging on your social networks or even offering to contribute blogs to other networks.  I am talking about the simple art of creating numerous back links by leaving valid comments on industry related blog sites.  This should be self explanatory but let me break it down.  First you can do some research and find some top ranking blogs in your business category, even if they are not exactly related with what you do or have to offer.  Actually take the time to read over some posts to make sure you feel the blog is a valid site for information.  This may be a personal preference but I don’t want my name or comments attached to any pour quality content on any site.  Also you don’t want to come across as a spammer by leaving links everywhere.

It is good to Bookmark or gather the feeds of the really good blogs you find, not only so you can keep your self relevant but also so you can build up your online presence.  Just like adding friends and following people but beyond just the social networking sites.  Always make sure the comments you leave are addressing informative parts of the post or anything you feel should be addressed.  That way everyone knows you are actually taking part in their blog and again, not spamming.  Make sure to either contribute useful information in your comment or mention specifically why the blog is going to be so useful to you and or to others.  Again this is just like building up trust with your new found internet friends in your social networks.

Where the benefit comes in?  Ok, well, as you can see the information above is already very beneficial as to how  you should properly be doing your blog commenting without looking like a spammer, which is very important.  Now how  you leave your links or site mentions is equally important.  Does this mean to skip over blogs that don’t allow links?  Not at all if you can work a way to drop your site name in your important blog comment.  This is also a time that you can get creative with anchor text, if you know how.  In most cases you can attach your link to your name.  If you decide to go this route then a good idea is to come up with or use a “nickname” that just so happens to have a keyword in it.

Now you should be getting the bigger picture of building your online presence through creative ways like blog commenting.  It is a great way to get back links and also a great way to get your name out.  Even if a link can’t be left, people will start seeing your name on many related blogs leaving useful information and comments.  In turn this can increase your followers and you can be sure that many will even subscribe to your blog or even befriend you on their social networks.

Now your really “blogging” your online presence!

Image by Beau de Noir

I’ll be broadcasting LIVE tonight from the Orange County Mixer. We’re celebrating the re-launch of our new site & will be promoting our Internet marketing & website marketing services for business. To really kick off this promotion I’m launching a brand new contest tonight where you can win an Apple iPad!

Click here for more information on the Orange County Networking Event

It’ll be an awesome event with thousands of business owners & executives coming out to network. We’ll have a booth at the event & if you’re local you should stop by to say hi. If you’re not local… don’t worry 🙂 I’ll be broadcasting live online at:

http://www.mcintoshmarketing.com/live

I look forward to seeing you there!