Carson and Company

You can no longer depend on the traditional methods alone to market your products or services. To have a web site is a move in the right direction. The site alone cannot be your only window into the world of the Internet. Your PR Marketing Strategy needs to include updates to your site, as well as a host of different social networking programs. Why you ask? Well, first of all, if you are asking that question, then your light years behind your competition and need to quickly contact a professional pr marketing person, or local orange county publicity pro to get your company noticed.

Hey, if you think this is just marketing bull, then you need to read a recent article in B-to-B magazine about the top Fortune 500 C-Level execs using the Internet. They are not asking their employees to do the work; these C-Level execs are doing it themselves. The research done by Google reveals that eighty-three percent of C-Level execs use the Internet on a daily basis. These are companies doing over $1 billion in sales! What are they doing when surfing? According to the research, 64% of these execs are locating business information everyday. Maybe now you can begin to see how important it is to have an updated, professional web site. These top-level execs could be looking for information about your company. Is your web site or social networking campaign current? If you still think this is a lot of hot air, then you are definitely missing an opportunity to increase sales.

Here is another great bit of information. 1 in 5 of these executives prefer to see videos on the companies they research to reading text. That shows you it is time to include podcasts, or YouTube videos with your site and social networking. So what are you waiting for? It isn’t too late to get a powerful pr marketing strategy together, if you have the right pr team. If you need help, then give George Carson at Carson Marketing, Inc a call. If you choose to do nothing, it could be your company that soon appears in the “auction sales” listings.

Scary thought, but we are getting closer to this reality. Well, sort of.

If you are a pr client wondering which pr marketing strategy is right for your company, then you just might want to ask that question to “hunch“.  What is hunch? Although it is still in beta test, this is the first sentence in their description– “Hunch is a decision-making site that gets smarter the more it’s used”. Ok, if that isn’t enough of an answer, this further description might give you a better answer: “After asking you 10 questions or fewer, Hunch will propose a concrete and customized result for hundreds of decisions of every kind: What kind of car should I buy? Should I switch to a Mac? Should I dump my boyfriend? Where should I go on vacation? Should I get a tattoo?“

Do you now get the point of my headline? Are we becoming that lazy or not willing to use our brains that we want a computer program to help us make these types of decisions? What happens in the next 10 years, or sooner, is going to be really interesting.

But not to be overlooked, Microsoft is still pushing to be king of search. They too have revamped their ZUNE seo for the new Bing. Know what BING stands for? Get this, But Its Not Google. Sorry Microsoft, the “but” is still Google. Although the graphics might give BING a new look,  Google will easily overshadow any changes Microsoft makes, quickly with their development team. Remember, we just saw the WAVE recently. Well, I am sure Google has a few other wild tricks in their lab that will launch soon and take the thunder away from BING, and possibly from hunch, after it launches.

So, listen up all you pr clients, publicity experts, and novice publicity people. Keep using these tools as they become available. Because when you use them for the advancement of your national pr campaign, or local publicity event, it could just get the attention you need, or learn something to make that pr event a success. When you need a web marketing pro to keep your publicity campaign in the front of your competitors, call George Carson at Carson Marketing, Inc.– it could be the best call you make this year!

As I said just a few weeks ago, the way we communicate today (a few weeks ago) may change soon. If you haven’t already heard, Google is introducing the next generation of how we use email. It’s called Google WAVE. It’s time to get your pr marketing strategy campaign ready for a new form of communicating to customers, and internal meetings.

Google’s design team who developed the Google Map, are the lead developers of this unique program. It is difficult to explain how the WAVE works in this short blog, so be sure to check it out. But here are just a few of the highlights.

WAVE has incorporated all the other forms of communicating, which are Instant Messaging, Twitter, eMail, and even integrating what I believe is their version of video conferencing. The main point about Google WAVE is how it works instantly. Uploading pictures is instant. Typing your message is instant, by character. Unlike Instant Messaging, you wait until the person types before you see their message; WAVE shows each character typed immediately! This 2-year in the making program will be available by the end of the year. You can see the demo video; it is over an hour long, to better understand all the great features.

And like a videoconference, you can have several people on your WAVE at once. And the wildest part, each person can comment, INSTANTLY! It is like talking to each other, or a group of people at once. If you want to send a private message so all the others cannot see, there are “private” buttons to use. Now the other neat part. You can have your WAVE be part of your Blog or Twitter. Yes, they are incorporating this instant emailing into social media. You can access your WAVE on your iPhone, or other PDA devices. Are you seeing the benefits for PR Clients, or how to further your publicity campaign?

Google went further and made this program easy to use, easy to organize and very easy to place attachments into your WAVE. The program has a unique spell checker. It uses a database that Google created and corrects the spelling and compares it to how it is used to make sure the proper word is chosen. Want more? Yeah, there is a lot more. For example, you can add links to web sites real easy. You can “go back” to see the conversation, or…well you need to view the video to see what I mean.

So, is your pr marketing strategy going to use WAVE? If after all my short descriptions of these great features you can’t see the benefits, then you are way behind. All I can say is you better look back once in a while, or you might get hit from the next WAVE!

Just when the advertisng community thinks their pr clients have a good pr marketing strategy, it gets hit  with this comment: “Center Store Is Back!“. That’s a statement by a research company about the retail food stores that the center area is now becoming good prime advertising, again.

Wow, didn’t these bright people notice this before? Seems like the food makers (advertisers) or is it the marketers (ad people) are just now discovering this new arena. To no surprise, it has been going this way for about 8 months or more. But then, when you are a large company (doesn’t matter if an agency or food maker) they all take a long time to realize what is in front of their nose.

Then when I read a statement like, “This is the time to advertise. We are going to innovate” by a self-proclaimed supermarket guru named Phil Lampert, I can’t help wonder who is this guy? Was he asleep all these months? But then, when you proclaim yourself with a title as his, I guess no one listens, or if they do, they too are always behind the growth curve.

Why is it that a pr client will not listen to us smaller pr marketing people who have the insight and capability to move faster than the snails pace like the major pr and ad firms? I guess when you pay the high fees you have to believe these are the smart ones. Wrong! They are the onses who finally listen to the real movers and shakers. It’s us, the proactive marketers and pr consultants who are seeing and working with programs and campaigns that get noticed. We can change directions quickly and become proactive rather than re-active. Maybe we should charge more for our services, but then again, I’d rather be the leader of a marketing direction than be another follower. What’s your take on this?

Unlike a couple of years ago, today there are dozens of different social networks to choose from. So how do you know which ones will work for your business? Do you create a Facebook page, or a MySpace page, or do you jump on the Twitter circuit? What about all those other social networks like Friendster, Flickr, or del.icio.us and many others?

Before you begin to use social networking for business, you need to answer these questions. First, do you have a pr marketing strategy? If not, do you have a pr marketing plan? Ok, if these are not in your business plan, then it’s time to develop a pr marketing strategy that includes social networking. It would also be an excellent pr marketing strategy to start a blog site for your company. All successful PR Clients have a solid pr marketing strategy that has social networking as part of their plan.

I have written about using of MySpace and Facebook as a means to market your business. And I wrote a lot on blogging, which in all should be a continued program with all companies and PR Clients looking to be successful in the next 12 to 16 months. Now let’s look at how you can use Twitter as a business tool.

What makes Twitter so exciting? When used properly, Twitter is a great way to reach out to new prospects and keep a trusted connection with existing clients.

Some important issues to know: Unlike the many other social networks, Twitter followers do not like in-your-face marketing. And unlike MySpace and Facebook, Twitter has “followers”. These are usually friends, and other people that you may not know directly.

The rules for using Twitter:

1- Don’t add people you don’t know. This new social group gets annoyed if you just add people who follow others you know. Start slowly, add people you know, and then let it build. The main reason people like Twitter, they can leave if they don’t want to follow you because of your content.

2- Look for people that are in your industry. If you find people that are recognized in your industry, or are smart, then getting them to re-follow you is easier. That’s provided you offer something they want to follow, or know more about. Remember, no one like spam, so don’t start the hard sell with followers.

3- Be genuine about your business. When you begin to tell about your business, tell it from the heart. Not like a sales pitch. Twitter followers will respond if they see you have a passion for what you do.

4- Be active. If you choose to use Twitter, you need to invest at least an hour or two during the week. Just like other social sites, keeping it fresh is important. But with Twitter, people follow because they feel they are getting up-to-the minute info about you.

Still want to Twitter? If not, at least build a social network that includes the blog site and the traditional Facebook site to keep your business alive. Need help with social networking? Then give Carson Marketing, Inc. a call at 949-477-9400. Ask for George Carson, he will personally assist you with your social networking needs.

Whenever you can use a top name to endorse your product/service that is associated within the industry your pr client serves, then do it! That’s exactly what we did. When planning our pr marketing strategy rather than hire a spokesperson like an athlete, or movie star, we choose to have one of the nations recognized guru’s in the tech industry endorse our pr clients product– SkyLOCK At-Rest encryption software. Leo Laporte, the TECH GUY, is highly visible, and he only endorses products that work!

Our client, Encryption Solutions, Inc. developed the encryption software. The SkyLOCK At-Rest product is NIST/FIPS Certified encryption at 140-2, level 2 at 256 bits, HIPAA Compliant, and DAR approved. That may sound like a lot, and believe me it is. This stuff really works, and is used by the military and the US government. It is so powerful, that it is restricted to be sold to certain countries. Now that’s security at it’s best!

So when we wanted to make this available to everyone, we could only think of one way to publicize the product, use Leo Laporte. When he tried the software, he quickly learned how powerful and easy it was to use. ” I am encrypting everything now…hackers can never, ever, ever access your data…even if you email it through an unsecured system,” commented Leo. When we heard that, it was a natural for my pr client to run radio spots on his Saturday show (11 AM to 2 PM) the local KFI radio station (640 AM) in LA. You can also hear Leo on his Tech Guy Labs web site. To further prove that this is the best encryption software; our pr client is allowing consumers to download a FREE 30-Day Trial. Just go to www.skylockesi.com for a Free Trail. Then if you like it and see how easy it is to install and use, you might just want to let your friends know so they too can protect their data. One more thing, if your laptop is ever stolen, your data is protected. No hacker can crack this encryption software.

So if your pr client has a product or service that is truly great and meets the needs of today’s consumers or businesses, think of the best way to jump-start your pr marketing campaign. Think of someone that is visible, believable, and will endorse the product. Need help; call George Carson today for a free consultation about your pr marketing strategy needs.

If you guessed eMail, you’re wrong, well, almost wrong. Email has become very popular because it is easy to create, and costs a lot less than traditional direct mail. But are you sacrificing cost for conversions? Are you willing to listen, or be open minded to the fact that your pr marketing strategy should now include direct mail?

Let me explain what has been happening between these two pr marketing strategies that has direct mail the winner at this time.

You need to realize the average person receives thousands of junk email a month, and some may get that much a week. Then consider how many hundreds of email you get from vendors you know, clients, newsletters you subscribe to, etc. Although once an important pr marketing strategy, email is now getting numb to the receiver. Our inbox has become so full with emails that we are now trashing things that are not directly needed at the time.  A well-known professor, Andrew Razeghi wrote a book called “The Riddle…” and explains it is time to be creative with your marketing strategies. In his words, Mr. Razeghi said, “direct mail is more physical, less disposable and more sensory than digital media (email).” This alone should tell you why direct mail is clearly becoming the winner.

I am not saying to abort all email campaigns, but to re-consider the safe and true value that direct mail has, and it has a higher return rate. That’s because customers are often skeptical and more so when the economy is in a recession like now. By keeping a tangible image with something for the customer to touch, gives a positive perception of a company. With email, it is difficult for the person to get that feeling, especially if they can easily “click” your message into the trash without opening it. Another point, we hate getting bills in the mail. So it has been known that consumers will open a direct mailer because it is not a bill, or something that could be negative. Basically, we want to be entertained and junk mail can help relieve the fear of another bill.

Want to know some of the secrets to a successful direct mail program? Give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400.

Carson Marketing, Inc. was recently selected by Encryption Solutions, Inc (a pr client) to develop a user-friendly web site for their B2Consumer campaign. As part of the overall pr marketing strategy, we began the branding campaign with the design of the logo for the name SkyLOCK. Then we created the web site. The pr marketing strategy for the web site was to make it consumer friendly. The navigation as well as the information was written to help the consumer make the right choice for their encryption needs. This included a useful comparison chart on the products page.

The header area changes scenes with the words that show different people using their computers in different environments, letting the consumer know that your data can be hacked anytime, by anyone. Even if your laptop, or desktop were stolen, the SkyLOCK encryption will protect the computers data from any situation.

The branding campaign for the pr client will consist of blogging, social networking, and a local media broadcast campaign. We plan to launch the various pr marketing strategies within the next 10 days. The campaign will run for26 weeks, and will expand to various markets.

If your company needs a branding campaign, or a new branding approach, give George Carson a call at 949-477-9400. It could be the best investment to get your company ahead of the competition in today’s market.

It’s great to have a pr client that encourages you to be creative with their logo and website. In the case of Loren Michael Zwick, the Surrealist Magician, we did just that. Although we didn’t go overboard because we are reaching local B2B clients as well as other corporate company’s, we did have fun making the website entertaining. Designing a web site was part of our local publicity and marketing campaign.

Loren’s web site plays up his talent, by making the face cards on the left change and his eyes shift left to right. The navigation buttons make a puff of smoke and disappear when the mouse rolls over them.

The logo was more challenging. To create the mystic and surreal feeling, we used black and white as the colors and then designed his initials LMZ with a free flowing hand lettering style. The letter “M” is invisible until you stare at the logo. You then notice it is the negative space between the L and Z.

Many pr clients may not want their branding campaign to be this aggressive, but Loren is that exception. With the competitiveness in any industry, it is important to build a branding that is positive and memorable to your audience. Our pr marketing strategy will continue the path of this direction as we begin a new series of publicity releases for this pr marketing campaign. If you need some magic in your pr marketing campaign, call Carson Marketing at 949-477-9400.

It isn’t until after a press release, or an article is published, you then see the results of your pr marketing strategies take place. Well, have you thought about all the publicity in the news these past few months? Such as the financial markets, the auto industry and retailers?

Publicity is everywhere! That’s what I have professed for over a decade. As we all read about how bad something is, we tend to shy away from them. So let’s talk about the auto industry. The big three–GM, Chrysler and Ford. The negative pr these companies have had is going to hurt FUTURE sales. Yeah, they are having great deals on cars, trucks and SUV’s. But now people hear about them going broke, or having serious financial trouble. Would you consider buying from any of them? I don’t think so. Why? Because if you need a part in four years, or have trouble with the vehicle, you begin to ask…will they be there to help? Will the dealership I bought from be around anymore? A recent article in Media Post gets deeper into this topic discussing a survey to illustrate this point. Service is a major concern with any product. That too is what causes the slowdown on many retailers. Why buy from them, if they are closing?

What all this negative publicity does is help the competition. Again, look at the auto industry. Sales are going to increase for all the imports. Not just because they build better vehicles, or are price competitive. It’s because there hasn’t been negative publicity about any of the better known imports having financial problems. At least we do not hear about them like we do with the domestic auto companies.

This also applies to the banking industry, and retailers. If your company is in a good position, financially, then consider creating a “positive publicity campaign”. This is when branding should be a major part of your pr marketing strategy. This window of opportunity is now open, take the leap. Just make sure you work with a professional publicity company to help guide you through this timely event.