Alpine Advertising

Online Marketing 101

2009-02-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about the Internet. You know, the thing that Al Gore created a few years back. Well it has gotten pretty popular lately. So popular that over 78% of purchases are researched on the Internet before a transaction takes place. What does that mean? Well...people are doing their homework. They are also being thrifty. Most importantly, the Internet searches are leading them to the place of purchase. It has become the road map from which dollars travel. What can you do to get your share of dollars traveling down the high speed highway? Below you will find a few basics.

The first thing is the most obvious. You need a web site. If you are in retail, a website with a "buy now" function is best. This way consumers can buy online and the funds go directly into the bank account you choose. If you have a good online storefront you can advertise "two locations to serve you better, 104 ABC Street or on the web at www.yourcompany.com". The idea is to offer your products to the biggest audience possible. Being on the web with a good "buy now" function takes your customer base from being your local city or county to the whole country or world. At the very least you need a landing page that directs people to your storefront and tells a little about your business. It also lends a little credibility to what your doing as a whole.

Now that you have a web site you must drive traffic to the site. Nobody stumbles across a web site. First, all of your traditional advertising such as television, newspaper and radio need to have your web address included in it. Search Engine optimization (SEO) gets a little more tricky. Lets start with Pay Per Click. PPC is where you set up a budget with Google or Yahoo or the like, and each time a person does a search, your ad appears at the top of the page in a shadow boxed area as a featured listing. Each time a person clicks on your link, you are charged a fee. Let's say for easy math you are charged $1.00 per "click thru" and you set up a pre-determined budget of $100. Your listing would show up as a featured sponsor until it was clicked on 100 times, then your budget would be spent and that online campaign would be over. Most people who use this method to drive traffic to their site set up a monthly budget and stick with it.

Another way to utilize search engines would be to buy listings sorted by zip codes. One thing that most people do not know is that search results are based on where you are doing the search. Let's say you are looking for furniture on Google. (try this when your finished reading) You type in Furniture and hit search and it takes you to the first page of listings. Let's discuss what you are seeing. All the first listings on the page that are in the shadow box are the pay per click ads we discussed earlier. All the listing below the shadow box are what are called organic listings. (Listings from high traffic sites that have multiple links and so on.) On the right hand side of the page you see ads for local or regional businesses that sell furniture. These are the listings that were bought by zip code. Let's say you own ABC furniture and wanted your web listing to show up on every computer that did a search for furniture in the 35121 zip code. You simply buy that zip code from a broker and it's done. The cool thing about it is that with the zip code purchase, you get free "key words". What that means is you get to list related words within that zip code. If your a furniture store you would list Recliners, Bedding, Living Room Suits, Beds, etc. Whenever a person in the 35121 zip code typed in a word that you have set up in your "keywords", your ad would appear on the right of the page and would link them to your site. (The reason the Ads are always on the right of the page is because people read left to right) I like the zip code method of marketing your business best. You may sell an item to somebody in California once in a while, but most people research online, then buy local. That's why buying zip codes make so much sense. There are many more things you can do to increase your market share through a web presents. I would love to talk more with you about them. I also have a list of zip code brokers I can refer you to so you can own your back yard. (it's very cheap to do) Please email me at robbie@alpineadvertising.com or join this blog and post a question or comment. Good Luck!

Robbie McAlpine
President, Alpine Advertising agency, Inc.
alpineadvertising.com

Tag it!

2009-01-29T06:20:00.001-08:00

Tag it!

A tagline is an integral part of the branding of your business. This is where you can uniquely identify yourself and your business and tell people how you are special, unique and/or different from your competition. What are the qualities, traits or special skills that separate you from all the rest? Try to keep your tagline brief and memorable.

Most importantly remember that your work at branding will not bring immediate results. It will take a while for the repeated exposure of your business name, logo and tagline to become memorable to your prospects. Be realistic and don't expect instant results.

Use your tagline on all your print advertising; postcards, flyers, newsletters and business cards. Businesses that adhere to a branding strategy by developing a memorable tagline will experience better results in the long haul than those that do not. In the media business we often say, It’s all about reach and frequency”. Reach being the number of people that’s reading, hearing or watching your message. Frequency being the number of times they see your message. Both are important if you are seeking a complete media plan. But for small businesses, obtaining such a media plan and staying within budget can be quite a task. That’s why a great tagline is vital. It can help you have a complete media campaign without having to buy a ton of frequency. In other words, if it’s catchy your potential customers will not have to hear it as often to remember it, and in turn you spend less on advertising. Let’s play a game. If I said, “don’t leave home without it”, what company would come to mind? Let’s try a few more. “Reach out and touch someone…….The Quicker Picker Upper………..What’s in your wallet“, and so on. I know these are examples of huge companies but just because your small doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. So, what is your company’s tagline? I would love to hear from you on my blog at http://alpineadvertising.blogspot.com/.

Think about it,

Robbie McAlpine
President, Alpine Advertising Agency, Inc.

Marketing Keeps Your Business Alive

2009-01-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

Marketing Keeps Your Business Alive

A business has three basic parts. Those parts are People, Merchandise and Marketing. According to Merriam-Webster, the term "marketing" is defined as "to expose for sale in a market". As a business owner, it is important for you to clearly understand that the advertising, promotions and exposure for your business are not a one-time need. Instead, these tasks will be a cohesive and consistent effort to keep your business alive and thriving in your competitive marketplace.

Marketing can be a time consuming and somewhat expensive task, however it is necessary in order to attain business exposure, increase profits and ultimately, result in business growth. Without active customer acquisition and retention, your business will suffer tremendously, as will your bottom-line.

Your primary goal in business marketing is to first identify who your customers are. Next you will need to reach out to your customers through personal or indirect contact. This is how you will gain their attention and hopefully their allegiance. To sum it up, if you have your people in place, and your merchandise in place, your only other function as a business owner is to market your company. Lastly, never underestimate the importance of the need to be diligent in your efforts to retain your customers for years to come.

Next week I will discuss the importance of a tagline as an integral part of the branding of your business. Please feel free to email me with any questions or challenges your business may be facing. I can be reached at robbie@alpineadvertising.com

Think about it,

Robbie McAlpine
President, Alpine Advertising Agency, Inc.