Carson and Company

Update news. I’ll keep this short, as there isn’t much to say after I make my statement.

It was just over a year ago when I wrote about Google’s introduction of their WAVE concept. At the time, it was going to change how email and social media is used by business and consumers. The article I wrote titled: Is your PR  Marketing Strategy ready for the next “WAVE” was written in May 2009. Today, Google announced it was canceling the program by the end of this year.

Seems that even the people with all the money just can’t demand to change things if people are not willing to accept it. A lesson I hope was learned by Google. So what then happens to all these followers who jumped in? They will just have to go back to the old fashioned email programs that they have been using for the last 15 years.

So if you are a pr marketing person, or a pr client who thought this would change how we communicate, dust off that old email account and get back to business.

There has been a lot of discussion about social media replacing email. I doubt this will happen. At least for now. Email might be reconfigured over the next couple of years, but I think email is here to stay. Is your pr marketing strategy focusing on email or social media? If you are choosing one over the other, then your pr marketing strategy needs to be revised. It is best to keep both marketing strategies to have a successful marketing plan.

I read several different articles claiming that social media networks are replacing email. One in particular describes how everyone at a company is assigned an email account, but a movement to stop employees from using social networks at work is on the incline.

Another good article by a WebPro writer, Chris Crum, created a list of reasons why email is not going to be replaced by social media. These are just a few of his reasons:

1. People still send hand-written letters via snail mail, even though they could instead make a phone call, send an email, text message, or status update.

2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration require an email address. Some are starting to integrate social media into this process (through things like Facebook Connect), but that is still a very small fraction, and they typically still allow for email information as well.

3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks you are a part of (provided your settings are set up that way).

4. We haven’t seen any evidence yet that Google Wave really is the next big thing and will catch on a large scale.

5. Email is still improving. It hasn’t screeched to a halt with the rise of social media. There is still innovation going on, and integration with social media. Look at how Google is constantly adding new features to Gmail. Look at the new Yahoo Mail.

6. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email. Never mind that they update users about community-driven happenings via email. MySpace (still one of the biggest social networks) even launched its own email service recently.

The next time you are told by your pr client to not use email as part of the marketing strategy, just pass along this short list. It may not convince them, but at least you pointed out reason why it is important to keep email in the plan, at least for now. If you need help in deciding on the direction to take, or need help with a successful social media campaign, give George Carson a call today at 949-477-9400.

We are entering another level in the world of cyberspace and social networking. Jut a few years ago chat rooms were the craze, and then came the social networks like MySpace and Facebook, and the business networks like Linkedin. Now they are trying to make money on these successful sites. So why not Twitter? Yes, the overnight successful social network is thinking people are willing to pay to meet friends. Would you pay? At present it’s free. But for how long? An article in web pro news discusses this topic further.

There are still other social networks that are free. And new ones are entering the crowded market, such as Twellow.com (still in beta). So how do these social sites profit from an industry that is hungry to meet others? Place banner ads on the sites? Collect the personal data and sell it to prospects? Or begin membership clubs to keep from all the commercials and banners?

I am not sure what the answer is, or if there is going to be an answer that meets what people will be willing to accept. Only time will tell. In today’s rapid pace of social media, we can only wait and see.

I thought this short blog will help my pr clients and “friends” in the publicity industry, as well as publicity professionals are informed about the latest direction for social networks. If you are a pr client, or publicity firm that needs help in developing a social visible network, then give me a call. I’ll be willing to guide you in the direction to take your business to the next level. Good luck, George Carson.

Some say yes, while those not sure sit and wait to see what happens over the next couple of years. If your pr marketing strategies are not current to include this trend then you might just be that pr client who fades into the darkness of cyberspace.

It’s amazing how the advertising industry is running scared about social media taking away their market share. Maybe because they are the last to recognize or admit social media was not a fad but a new way of communicating. For over a year, I discussed this at length. I mentioned how social media needs to be part of any pr clients marketing strategy, or media plan. But then again, I am one of the few in this marketing and publicity industry that embraces new technology and uses it to my pr client’s advantage. Why do ad agencies, even pr firms keep ignoring opportunities like social media, social networks? Because they do not understand it! And most importantly, cannot figure out how to make money off this technology, because they were too comfortable doing the same old stuff for over 40 years!

What got me on this topic was an article I read today in FT.com (Financial Times) by Tim Bradshaw. It is titled “Social networks threaten advertising growth“. Powerful heading, and even more eye-opening as how fearful this industry is about technology. Yet, our industry communicates to consumers about new products, services and why you need them. But these same people who profess its greatness, fear it.

I have learned to adapt to new technologies and make it beneficial for my pr clients. For example, web marketing has been part of our company for over 6 years. That puts us light years ahead of many others in my industry. We continue to learn about how to improve client’s visibility, increase sales all through web marketing. Yes, we do mix traditional marketing techniques when needed to further a clients publicity campaign or awareness program.

To wrap this up, we are not fearful of technology such as social media; as a matter of fact we are looking for the next revolution and are ready to use it to our clients advantage! If you want your publicity or marketing to move forward fast, then give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400. It could be the best call you make to put you ahead of your competition.

Before submitting your local or national web site to the search engines, make sure it is properly optimized, has all the meta tag keywords, and titles. The second important part, make sure the site is graphically appealing, not cluttered, or the SEO’s will just pass you by. The last thing, is the site map. Your web site should have a site map, it is how the SEO’s crawl sites. It’s all about knowing how to use web marketing.

Just like a well planned publicity campaign, your well-designed web site needs to be submitted to get the site ranked by the SEO’s, such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Whether you are a local Orange County company, or a national company, the submission process is basically the same. Here are a few tips to consider:

1- Submit your site after it is complete. Too many times a pr client, or web designers want to submit the site even if you have a couple of pages that are still in construction, or are not completed. This will hurt your rankings.

2- Hand Submission is best. If you hire a local web marketing company or have your  local publicity agency do the submission, make sure it is not done with software.

3- Beware of promises by web companies. If someone promises you top rankings…buyer beware. Check them out, make sure the company can produce what they claim.

4- Use keywords, phrases that relate to your location. It is good practice to include in tyour title page, or in the body text that tells where your company rsided. Although your company may do business nationally, local web marketing will further the exposure and your chances of being ranked higher with the SEO’s.

Doing the submission to all the search engines and directories is a long process. And you should only submit to about 5 SEO’s per week. Doing a blast will trigger red flags to the “bots” and cause your site to be overlooked. In the long run, using a professional web marketing company will assure your site is properly submitted, and optimized.

Companies need to use “street smart marketing techniques” during these difficult times. One smart strategy is to re-think how you reach customers. If you are a pr client, then consider Email Marketing. It can be one of those marketing strategies that prove to be a winner for your company. But you need to understand how to use this tool effectively. You can get lost on what to do. If you search the words “Email Marketing” in Google you will get over 52 million searches.

Just like a solid publicity campaign, email marketing should have a plan. Here are a few tips.

1- Offer something of value. Don’t fall into the trap of discounting. Most emails will be shouting the price cuts, or discounts in the subject line. Instead provide value, such as information, or use the subject line to mention how your product or service provides helpful tips, or increases their profit margins.

2- Start a discussion. The first and last things we do in any day is check our emails. Just like a social network posts questions, try this in your email. It could be something that is passed along and soon your company is the focal point of that topic/product.

3- Follow-ups. Use email to follow up to a customer who made a recent purchase. Ask them about their experience with the sale, or with the product order. Get customers involved, it will show them you care.

These are just a few tips to creating a successful email marketing campaign. It still is one of the most powerful marketing strategy tools that a pr client can use during this difficult business climate. So start to make things happen. Use email marketing wisely and see the results. If you need help, call George Carson at Carson Marketing, Inc. He can be reached at 949-477-9400.

If you are a pr client, or have an eCommerce web site, is it getting traffic? Is the traffic converting to sales, or leads for your business? Is your site listed on the first page of Google, or Yahoo? Do you know the Page Rank?

These are important questions, and you as a pr client, or an eCommerce client should take seriously. If any of these are problems, then re-think your web site. Here are a few tips to make sure that your web site is consumer, or B2B ready.

1- DESIGN. Believe it or not, a poor design will actually hurt you. The SEO”s reject poor design sites for indexing. Also, customers will run away fast if the site is hard to read, confusing, and the graphics are screaming for attention.

2- WEB LAYOUT. If you have a lot products, or services to offer, make sure customers can find everything easily. And your content needs to be something your customers will enjoy reading.

3- NAVIGATION. This goes hand-in-hand with the design and layout. When those are done correctly, then the navigation should be clear and concise, or customers will get lost and you will loose business.

Bottom-line– have a professional work on your web site. If you already have a site then make sure it meets these simple tips. If not, contact a web designer, one who understands marketing. Otherwise, they may just create a nice design for them to enter in a web site contest, and doesn’t meet your needs. After all this is completed, then the optimizing is next. If you are serious about building customers on the web, make sure web marketing is part of your advertising and marketing plan.

And this all relates to publicity. A great looking site will generate positive publicity. A poorly designed and difficult site will also generate publicity. Which type of publicity do you want for your web site?

If you need to ask this question, then your publicity campaign must need help. The answer is a simple, YES, corporate blogs can help improve and increase awareness.

I have mentioned how blogging is more than a place for people to vent, or comment about what they like, their lives and hobbies. It has become part of the mainstream business cycle, which should be included into your publicity plan, or marketing plan. All publicity professionals and most pr clients understand that awareness is what makes or breaks a company. So why not get in control? With a corporate blog site, you and your publicity professional, or in-house pr staff can now control what is said about the company. When a blog site is part of your PR Marketing Strategy, it will further create a solid branding for your company, or PR Client.

An article in the Washington Post by Sarah Halzack discusses the corporate world is getting into blogging. I have said this many times before, and again we are seeing more of the mainstream media addressing this topic.

So why should a company, or PR Client want a blog site?

There are many reasons, but before you make the plunge, see if a blog site is going to help or benefit your company. Not everyone needs it, but most pr clients will benefit.

• A blog will allow executives in a company become more visible and voice the concerns that customers are having

• By addressing customer issues you gain control on harmful rumors that could spread and cause a decline in business

• It is a smart marketing strategy and a vehicle to introduce customers to new products

• It can attract good employees by becoming more visible

These are just a few reasons to have a corporate business blog site. When designing a blog site it needs to be different from your company’s web site. In addition, you need to have someone dedicated to maintain the blogs on a daily or weekly basis at the least. Keeping the blog site active shows the company is interested in informing customers about them and adds credibility to their brand.

If your company needs a blog site, or writers to maintain your site, give George Carson at Carson Marketing, Inc a call: 949-477-9400. He can get you noticed quickly!

If you are a pr client, and want to improve how to get more free publicity for your company, let me tell you a few trade secrets on how you can do this.

If you are a local publicity professional, like an Orange County publicity agency, or a Los Angeles publicity company, this could be a good refresher lesson for you as well. Let’s look at what your pr agency, or your in-house publicity department might be doing. Then I will point out suggestions to improve your chances to gain more free press. Has your publicity campaign consisted of this?

• After sending our a dozen or more press releases about new employees being hired, you see very little lineage in the press

• You submit articles to the media, but find the reporters do not return your calls, or emails about them and the article is never published.

• You read the local papers (like the Orange County Business Journal, or The Tribune) only to keep seeing your competitors get all the ink coverage, and not your company.

I’m sure as a pr client, this may have happened to your publicity campaign, more than once. And if you are a publicity professional and see this happening, then re-evalute your writing and research. What are the answers to making this right, to get more publicity? If you are not going to hire a good local publicity agency, like CarsonPR.com, then try these simple tasks and maybe you will finally get noticed. Or you can go to the 101 public relations site to learn more.

1- Ask yourself a few important questions. Such as, are the press releases interesting only to you, or does it really have any story angles that relate to a publications audience. Another example, if your company does something of interest to help customers, or the community, then that is newsworthy to local media. One idea would be to promote through an article or press release that your web site offers free newsletters or coupons to help customers be more informative in saving money.

2- If you want local media attention, turn the story into how it affects the local area. Interview customers in a specific area, or local retailers on how your company has helped, or improved their business.

3- Create a news event. Especially today with high costs of fuel, and food, maybe do something to make a person’s money go further. Can’t think of anything, then give George Carson a call. He has a lot of creative suggestions to get your company noticed.

4- Another suggestions is to look at trends. Can your company, or services ride that wave? Social media and networking are hot, look into your company to see how it can be more proactive to this new technology.

Overall, there are lots of ways a publicity professional will do an overview of how to modify a press release to be more interesting to the media. If your in-house publicity department can’t find a way, maybe they have become too “corporate” and can no longer think outside of the company’s corporate culture.

If these few tips can get your publicity campaign off the ground, I’m glad. If these sound like common sense, then why aren’t you doing them. When you need a local publicity professional, give us a call at 949-477-9400. We at Carson Marketing, Inc know how to get noticed, we have been doing it since 1980.

With all the activity and “publicity” that business blogging has received this past year, pr clients, and publicity professionals are clamoring to get a blog site for themselves and companies. Is having a business blog the best choice or just a publicity campaign the way to go?

Good question, but there isn’t one answer. First you need to do some soul searching about what it is you are trying to achieve. If you are a pr client that has a product to launch, or a service to promote, then a publicity campaign is what you need. With that said, let’s back up a second. Keeping in mind that publicity press releases are good, an article is best. Look at your pr marketing strategies that you are developing. While you may not get an article in a publication, or it may be a few months before that reporter gets your article published, then consider incorporating a business blog site to further the exposure. The blog will also get you noticed sooner. And you have more control as to what can be said. Unlike an ad, you don’t want your business blog site to be all commercial. Keep to the facts, make it interesting and give some examples as to why this new product can improve things like a person’s lifestyle, or a company’s profits. Basically, make it productive, not a sales pitch.

This brings us back to creating a solid pr marketing strategy for your pr client, or company. Make sure that your pr marketing strategies include a well-planned publicity campaign. This should consist of a business blog, a promotional program, a series of press releases and an article that can be submitted to reporters, editors and publishers in your industry. I read an article called “Is your press release passive?” Other tips on good pr writing can be found at their main site. This touches on a few important issues in writing releases. This can also be a simple guide in writing your blog for that new product or service.

So what have you learned in this blog? Hopefully that a business blog is as important as your publicity campaign. Ok, I need to now explain that just having a blog on the web doesn’t get you noticed. It requires a lot of backend marketing. A couple of years ago, a simple blog site was all you needed and it got a lot of attention. Today, you need to market your business blog site. That brings me to our company, Carson Marketing, Inc. We can market your business blog site. If you do not have a business blog, then we can help put your company into the blog sphere so that you get noticed. Give us a call. We’re just 10 numbers away at 949-477-9400 to making you a successful blogger.