It’s a challenge that all businesses face as online credibility continues to affect brand image with new prospects, clients and patients.
Who would have thought just a few years ago that having a five-star rating would make any difference in the doctor you chose, the car dealership you went to or even the restaurant you dined at?
But more and more of us are using online ratings, social media comments and search rankings in our decisions as to what business we would do business with.
In today’s Digital Marketing Update, podcast #49, host John D. Verlin discusses key marketing tips professionals and businesses need to use in order to grow their brand online in 2018 to stand out from the competition.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and to make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors!
We do this through an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to current advertising campaigns!
Once again, we go down that magical entrepreneurial road into the Emerald Forest. Only to discover, lurking behind the trees are more changes in how Google analyze’s relevant search content.
Regardless of how much marketing investment you’ve made–these changes affect how your business listing will show up in the search engines.
What do you do?
In today’s Digital Marketing Update, podcast #48, host John D. Verlin discusses the latest changes that Google has made to focus on “voice-requested”, rich-content methods in achieving favorable rankings for small business owners.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and to make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors!
We do this through an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to current marketing campaigns!
Is your target prospect 18-34 years old? Has your business begun reaching out to them with your marketing–and if so, how are you doing it?
Millennials have changed the way business is being done via “side-gigs”, “ride-share” and renting vs. owning.
In today’s Digital Marketing Update, podcast #47, host John D. Verlin discusses eight lessons to know about when you reach out to this coveted consumer group.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and to make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors!
We do this through an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
I never really understood the power of online marketing, Googling, searching and social media until that day in 2009, when a colleague of mine in radio sales began writing online content for a radio show.
Since then, social media and online content have been co-conspirators in luring unawares to their blog or site, and engaging them.
Beware the online lure!
In today’s Digital Marketing Update, podcast #46, host John D. Verlin discusses the outcome of this tactic and how it changed his view of online content, engaging trust and social media exposure. Not to mention the Millennial Shift.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors with an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
I’m probably the worst artist I’ve ever seen. I’m not even able to pen a good signature.
We all have various talents. However, I was determined to give the art side of my brain a workout.
I never really felt so much pressure on my brain, to render me into a semi-translucent haze.
In podcast #45, John D. Verlin discusses three bizarre business marketing lessons he learned from an art class the pushed him to the brink!
Thus began my journey into taking pastel art lessons at the Kansas City Art Institute in 2010.
This was one of the later logo’s after it moved from 96.5 FM to 1660-AM.
While I advertising sales at Kansas City’s classical station, KXTR, I was always looking for a new idea or promotion to pitch to prospective sponsors.
I contacted the marketing director at the Kansas City Art Institute (Walt Disney was one of the founders), to see if they would be interested in a promotion.
How one person views your brand may be something totally different to another. Some ideas on how to keep it on a growth trajectory.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors with an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
When it comes to marketing your small business, providing your prospects and customers with pro-active advice is one of the best ways to engage them, educate them and endear them.
And that can be done beautifully, through good content.
Today’s Digital Marketing Update
In today’s Digital Marketing Update, Video Podcast #59, host John D. Verlin answers, What’s The Big Deal About Content?
John answers a recent listeners’ question (Tammy) about the value of investing in content for their small business bakery.
Doesn’t it make sense to invest strictly in advertising with coupons, offers, specials, etc in local newspaper?
On Demand Advertising Solutions Three-Part Strategy
It’s all a part of our services and three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic so your business exceeds the profile and exposure of the competition!
The Extended Marketing Platform
We do this through an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to current advertising campaigns!
My theater director was Dr. Lewis Fulks, who himself studied under Cecil B. DeMille of Hollywood fame.
I originally was introduced to theater by my high school theater director, Gerald Snider to portray one of the three murders in Shakespeare’s MacBeth.
John D. Verlin, high school senior pic.
After two years in theater–I went on to finish my BA-Mass Communications degree (Radio-TV specialty) at Abilene Christian.
I worked for a Christian radio station, KCAD (located in the basement of a shopping mall) at the Sunday morning (graveyard) shift, then eventually took over the all night slot at Top-40 leader, KRBC one year later.
Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy–always loved theater and movies!
The life of a college all-night DJ did give me some exposure to fame (I had my share of groupies) as well as getting to meet KISS and other celebs.
But I began (out of being bored most of the night) doing some impersonations that I worked up.
After a while–I began to realize how powerful radio was–not only for information, music and entertainment, but in forming emotional connections to the audience.
In podcast #44, John Verlin delves in to the magic of audio (one reason he does podcasts) and how they can emotionally connect with his audience.
And yes–he does do his Jimmy Stewart and Jerry Lewis impersonations!
Jerry Lewis
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors with an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
For business owners, 2018 may be a disruptive year in marketing trends.
In podcast #43, John D. Verlin talks about how customer engagement may be enhanced by melding your brand into experiences–causing emotional connections with prospects.
Podcasts and animated videos are surefire elements to enhance both. This is based upon an article in Forbes by Billee Howard, published November 12, 2017.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors with an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
You may listen to all of our exclusive audio podcasts here.
On the go and in the know–successful entrepreneurs use the latest business and success information to further their business pursuits.
Now, On Demand Advertising Solutions is making available our Digital Marketing Update newsletter for you to follow–sent to your inbox each month!
Get all the latest entrepreneurial tips, business trends and marketing information tailored to the small business owner, FOR FREE!
Now, enjoy the video podcast!
Marketing Your Business; Marketing Trends For 2018–How To Take Your Brand To The Next Level, Melding Your Business Brand Into Heartfelt Emotion, Podcast #43!
I want to talk to you today about some cool new trends for next year, 2018 from a marketing standpoint.
This was in Forbes last week, written by Billee Howard.
She kind of hits on some trends for next year to be thinking about.
As far as moving your business ahead and what you should be looking at.
One of the concepts she comes off with is, you know it used to be you’d focus on your brand.
And it…I guess you could call it cause marketing. To some degree.
But you want to tie your brand into it. Good corporate responsibility perhaps.
This notion of it’s, it’s more than buying something and come up with a price point.
It has something of relevance to make the world a better place.
The brand purpose needs to be thought out about what is it trying to accomplish.
But she is saying that the cause marketing idea, for marketers particularly, it focused on this corporate responsibility.
You give back to the community. That sort of thing.
And it’s this idea that an organization comes up with a mission statement.
Today, that needs to be tied to your day to day offerings.
In other words, it’s the experiential, the experiences that your brand can offer, to make the world a better place.
Is sort of the central part of the marketing strategy.
Moving forward.
Be thinking about how your brand an be tied in to make something more than just we have a cheap price.
This will change your life.
This will make your experience with our brand so much more meaningful. And for the greater good of society.
That kind of concept. These should be, all of these experiences, again the word is experience.
Not just price point. These are all going to tie in to a customer experience.
And we’ve talked about it in the past, the customer engagement is the new marketing.
This whole idea of engaging customers.
And this is becoming more important as baby boomers age and value –and this has been known years.
People over say sixty–they start traveling.
The value these cruises, these new experiences.
It seems as you get older you don’t need the things as much–you want the experience.
I know I’m more mature. I like a nice cup of coffee on a beautiful morning. And I appreciate that more.
Stop and smell the roses.
That’s experiences.
The wafting of the cinnamon roll on this trip to the bed and breakfast to enjoy that leisurely experience. With our coffee, our cinnamon rolls, with the beautiful mountains in the background.
Come to our bed and breakfast. That kind of thing.
So, they’re tying in an experience with the brand in with a better, enjoyable part of your life as well as, when you come to our bed and breakfast, we believe in helping nature.
The environment–so we’re going to donate ten percent of your bill to the Nature Conservancy.
Because we want to keep our mountains, our streets beautiful.
And our rivers, gorgeous. That kind of thing. So it’s tying in social consciousness to make the world a better place.
But tying your brand in with that experience on a regular basis.
She indicates that this brand purpose, putting that at the fore of the brand strategy, can be a lever of growth to both internal and external audiences (customers and employees, vendors, etc)
This is also, the second point she makes is a drive to the engagement of the heart.
Emotional engagement, is a sister to rational engagement. And the rational stimulates the mind–whereas the emotional engagement is based on stimulation of the heart.
Today with the brand experiences we have.
The emotional engagements are proving to be more critical than just winning results and effective storytelling and digital marketing.
They’re actually at the heart of this whole idea.
Think of it as, when I was in radio–this is huge.
This is the reason many times people purchased products and services from our clients, because of the emotion they felt from the radio ad.
I think of a number of contractors we had advertise at the Christmas season.
And the ads were almost like Andy Griffith. Looking back on the year, how thankful they were.
This time of year, I encourage to help the children getting clothes and coats. Support the coats for kids project. That kind of thing.
Tapping the emotion. Radio has always done a great job of that.
Because of the emotion of the voice. As with podcasts and other types of communication.
You get that emotional feeling.
So, it’s tying in your brand with an emotional element--and not just a rational element.
But emotional.
And the reason I think this-is what she’s referring to, is that the focus we’ve talked about is more on interacting with your customer.
The social media interactions, the brand interaction.
This focus–if you haven’t thought about this in your business. I think a lot of this has to do with the Millennial generation and younger people, where they value not things as much perhaps, as experiences.
The emotional connection through technology of these brand experiences is a good thing.
So to woo those younger people, plus in general, our society is tied in more with all of this technology.
But, the emotional engagement of the heart so to speak just may get them want to buy or feel better about your brand, is what the key to this is in stimulating it.
And it’s all because of these interactions with customers. It’s a unique thing that we’re switching technology–but we cannot forget how people feel.
So, engaging your brand, tying it in to your marketing to get an emotional response, and that’s a big thing.
Think about ways, how to do that moving forward for next year.
Because you can’t just be complacent. It’s also tied in to storytelling.
These are effective ways and one reason we like doing these podcasts. Are the fact that you can tell stories.
That’s becoming–the storytelling concept, the tying into the emotion–all that is becoming the new marketing.
Engaging with your customers. So, if you have a direct mail piece, an email, whatever it is–somehow getting an emotional element in them.
And that’s why I like podcasting–because it can bring those emotions out.
As you describe the benefits of your products and the organizations you’re going to be working with.
This year, who you will donate to on behalf of your brand.
And maybe even having a representative on a podcast talking about this and why they’re so thankful that you’re brand is helping them out.
They can transform through emotion through storytelling those benefits, to get people to feel good about your brand.
And finally, and again we just mentioned this–the customer doesn’t really buy into things anymore, they buy into stories that are kind of brought to life with a mix of creativity and technology.
I just kind of pointed this out a minute ago because these whole story things are becoming a big influence in business, she says.
And it’s, it’s been that way in radio for years.
That has sort of been the secret–that and repetition to getting businesses to get results. It’s the emotional connection.
Because the listeners feel, that’s the key word, they feel like the know the brand.
Whether they do or not, totally different story.
It’s hard to feel for something that’s in writing perhaps.
Unless you really read it.
And today, we know attention spans are small, many times they don’t.
But, it’s creating emotion. A feeling–this is nothing real new that she’s pointing out.
In the marketing–to be thinking along these lines, and this all ties into what I talk about using various marketing elements.
Like animated videos–you might chuckle and get your attention.
Podcasts–again, ties into the emotion. You hear it. You feel it.
And then part of–making your brand part of that emotional experience for your prospects and customers.
New digital technology is making the shift of marketing resources more apparent for small business owners. Particularly when it comes to future growth and reaching Millennials.
In podcast #42, John D. Verlin discusses 7 Things Small Business Owners Want From Marketing Technology.
These insights were summarized and commented on, originally published in April, 2015, from an interview in Streetfight Daily by Liz Taurasi and the vice president of public affairs for the National Small Business Administration, Molly Day.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors with an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
And today, a great, great article in Streetfight Daily, from April of 2015.
Actually, a couple of years old.
But it’s very pertinent today. If you own a small business, you’re going to want to hear this.
Liz Taurasi wrote this, she interviewed Molly Day, the vice president of public affairs for the National Small Business Association.
And she’s talking…basically she’s talking about seven things small business owners want from marketing technology.
And that stands to reason.
She says there’s over $50 billion being spent, two years ago in 2015 in local media.
Now, if you’re using local magazine, TV, radio or whatever, that’s what she’s talking about.
And small business contributes one out of every three dollars in local marketing.
Now, she’s talking to Molly Day about the still mixed relationship with the tech industry.
What they are looking for in marketing products, for small business merchants are looking for in the tech end.
The first question she asks is help us understand the psychographic, demographic shifts that are happening in the small business community.
Some argue that small business owners are getting younger as the older generation retire. Are you seeing this?
And Molly says it’s real similar to some things I’ve commented on She says, yes–we’re definitely seeing a drop off in entrepreneurship.and new small businesses.
There’s definitely newer, younger businesses coming in to the market.
With those baby boomers aging in place so to speak and step out of it.
But it’s not what we’ve seen previously. And that’s just based she says, on births and deaths. And that’s just in the past two years.
And as the economy has been growing, I’m sure we’re going to see younger millennial and younger people starting businesses.
I know i worked with a bank for small businesses, and we had a lot of different people age thirty, thirty-five starting checking accounts for small businesses.
The second question that she has, small business has had a mixed relationship with the marketing tech industry–and given your research, how has that relationship evolved over the last ten years?
What’s driving the criticisms with Facebook, Yelp and others? Molly says, she thinks it’s two-fold.
A lot of business owners look to those companies to help get the word out for expanding their customer base.
But today, the majority of small businesses, even ones a little older, not always tech saavy are overwhelmingly joining Linkedin and more and more, Facebook and Twitter.
I see that too.
I’m older, over fifty let’s say–two weeks ago I had a seventy-three year old relative talking about a new smartphone he was going to get. He’s got a dated smartphone.
And he was looking at some of the latest models, asking my opinion. A seventy-three year old man wanting to get a smartphone.
Nothing crazy about that, but I thought that was interesting. Although, he admitted his use was primarily texting grandkids, Facebook, searching…for things.
Amazon’s changed everything when it comes to shopping on their smartphone.
And I keep pointing this out on these podcasts–the technology has changed, of what people are doing with the technology.
And businesses, particularly small businesses need to be aware of this. That whole thing has shift. I call it the Millennial Shift.
Now, she–Molly also said that business owners were learning and that being engaged is really the best way to do this.
Perhaps if you get a negative review on Yelp or on Facebook, to respond back to that person.
She says I think learning if you’re going to be involved with these online tools on social media that you really have to commit to it.
You have to be all in or not at all. And I agree with that. That’s been my experience in talking to small businesses.
And a lot of them are just learning this, to be on social media.
Well, you’re either all in or all out.
But, what’s going to drive them to become all in?
I think it’s going to be the fact that customers are going to be saying something to them.
They’re saying, I couldn’t find you.
Or, I went to a Facebook page and you didn’t have one.
That again, comes down to the marketing platform we’ve talked about.
The perception, the brand perception.
All of the things I’ve been talking about on these podcasts. Talk about building that marketing platform and promoting it.
This is one of the major things. Particularly in getting future customers.
Millennial customers. They’re savvy to all of this. More savvy than I am. So this is why this all in on social media.
You need to rethink this if you’re not doing it.
Because it’s where it’s headed, it’s where it’s been going and it’s one way of insuring that you’ll have future customers.
The third question, small businesses evolve as buyers of technology and marketing tools.
And, she basically says it’s one of those areas where putting money into will make the business cost-effective.
But certainly putting money into it but not as much as hiring another person to do the marketing like they did twenty years ago.
She says this is another variant too. This is no different than using ecommerce, internet solutions, to expand their growth.
But, again this is one reason I started this business seeing that need for small businesses or businesses to expand or hire a marketing person just like they did twenty years ago.
It comes down to their experience, savvyiness with technology.
What I like to offer is to freelance it so they don’t have to commit to a long term plan unless they want to.
Because I can do that too.
That and one thing she said it is cost-effective if they’re considering various options, when it comes to the marketing, accounting, taxes.
What do small business owners want from technology? Is it easier to run their businesses? More customers? A better way to interact with their existing ones?
Molly basically indicates that bottom line total is important.
I think second is responsiveness, and that is a really key thing for small businesses.
Because they often don’t have people to take care of HR, somebody else for taxes, accounting.
It’s all on that one person, the business owner.
They want systems, they want responses that are quick and efficient, that doesn’t take a lot of their time.
As far as what is driving them to technology–yes, I think reaching out to their customers is certainly the biggest driver.
And again, this comes back to what I have been talking about. Getting involved in social media.
It’s, this is a whole new–you can see on my website on the bottom–Mr. Patel in Inc. magazine.
A quote from him saying that the customer experience is the new marketing. User experience, this is the new marketing.
Engagement of customers. This is the new marketing. I’ll repeat that. Customer engagement is the new marketing.
That’s what she’s talking about. You have to get engaged with your customers.
How are going to do that? Direct mail? Coupons? Social media?
This is why I’ve been talking about social media so much because this is where customers are engaged in.
You may have a neighborhood Facebook page.
My community has one. About 9000 members. And every day I’m seeing posts on Facebook about, I’ve lost my cat. I’m looking for a used mattress.
Used furniture. Or, has somebody tried the new Dairy Queen?
Or I want to shout out and thank, the Walmart locally for helping out when my car was stalled in the parking lot.
Whatever it is, is they’re engaging on my Facebook.
Good or bad and there have been some bad.
And some local businesses that if they had not known, and I know of a few, that were not engaged on that platform and there were some negative comments, which they found out about it after the fact.
You don’t want to be in that position.
So number five–do you believe technology in the internet has made small business more or less competitive to large brands from say a decade ago.
She says, technology has probably made small business brands more competitive, but it’s also made them more vulnerable.
Again, you’ve got one person doing HR, CEO, Accounting–all of that. It’s up to you that you assist with tech.
It’s kind of a middle ground with cyber security issues.
It’s made things a lot easier but again, it’s making sure that a cyber security investment is a good idea.
Number six, what are the biggest threats to the growth of small business today?
Well, she says the members of the Small Business Association says they’re most concerned with economic insecurity.
And this is two years ago.
Now, I doubt that’s changed.
There’s this looming fear based on the Great Recession that the economy could go that way again.
That biggest fear, some of it’s driven by policy makers, government shutdown. Whatever.
Lack of confidence in elected officials.
And she says that might have something to do with the economic insecurity.
There’s also the geopolitical situation. Today with China, it’s tied to elected officials. It’s also reality with trade. NAFTA, Pan Pacific trade agreement.
So, she says she’s seen some parallels a market drop off in new start ups, tax code is too complex. You get a tax break now. But two years from now it will go away.
Then it will pass retroactively. And you have two weeks to make a decision on a $25,000 purchase–and mountains of regulations.
It’s contributed to more hurdles which she thinks has contributed to the decline of startups.
Finally, the seventh question, the seventh thing that small business owners are wanting from marketing technology, what do you expect to see as contributing to small businesses in the next year or two?
She said, we’re going to see more and more small businesses looking to expand their social media interaction.
Right now, it’s about half that are actively engaged in social media, but we’re going to see an increase.
Plus, they’re going to focus on marketing to a younger generations.
Not only expand their customer base, but expand the continuity of that base.
As well as alternative financing options for small businesses to get loans.
Thirty-one percent cited they couldn’t get adequate financing, six months ago when this was taken.
I know the bank I worked at, they were starting to offer micro business loans for small businesses, for this very reason.
So, seven things that small business owners want to from marketing technology. I hope you’ve learned from that.
A survey taken in 2016 by Wasp Barcode Technologies, the State of Small Business Report tracked 1,102 small business owners–highlighting fifteen challenges many of them faced last year and beyond.
In today’s video podcast, John Verlin discusses these fifteen challenges and some possible solutions for small business owners to consider.
It’s all a part of our three-part strategy to drive SEO and web traffic and make your business exceed the profile and exposure of your competitors with an extended marketing platform–the perfect compliment to a Google Adwords campaign!
These insights were summarized and commented on, originally published in April, 2015, from an interview in Streetfight Daily by Liz Taurasi and the vice president of public affairs for the National Small Business Administration, Molly Day.
