by Frank Reed on March 2, 2010
More and more SMB’s are, at the very least, experimenting with social media. You can sense that as you see the activity by local businesses no matter where you are. The “Check Us Out on Facebook” and “Follow Us On Twitter” signs are springing up more and more on Main Street USA and for god reason.
The small local business person is at a crossroads of sorts. Traditionally, this group has accounted for much of the business growth in the US and has supplied the vast majority of jobs especially to groups that are in need of a decent job. With the current climate in Washington, DC working against everything that could move the needle for this group (credit the biggest factor) the SMB needs a chance to do something for his or her business that can get them started again.
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by Frank Reed on February 26, 2010
I have been speaking to several owners of local franchises recently about Internet marketing and it has opened my eyes considerably. Purchasing a franchise has long been a way for people to get away from having a “regular” job and live the American Dream of owning a business. In this day and age with people having the worst job security in generations there are more an more of these small shops opening up.
My fear is that in short order they will be closing down as well and here’s why. These smaller franchisers appear to have built a model that is focused on them. They sell the franchise rights and collect fees from the franchisee but have little skin in the game moving forward.
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by Frank Reed on February 24, 2010
Internet marketing is one of those strange things. It is so easy to talk about at high levels and feel that you have enough information to make important decisions with some level of comfort. Everyone throws around terms like SEO (search engine optimization), paid search (PPC), social media (in all its various forms) and then has the classic two-part reaction.
- I can do this
- It won’t cost much, if anything at all.
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by Frank Reed on February 17, 2010
I have had the pleasure of watching a small start-up business and those who are connected to it take the initiative to learn about Internet marketing including web site creation, search marketing, social media and much more. It has been a learning experience for the business owners themselves and even one spouse who has been bitten by the Internet marketing bug.
The business is a high end consignment shop in Raleigh, NC called “Our Friend’s Closet”. The owners are two women who decided that it would be good idea to open a shop that provided consignment opportunities for upscale clothing and accessories for women. I was asked to help out by a friend (one partner’s husband who has since channeled his inner Internet marketer). Please note that there has been no payment for my service or input. That’s not the norm, quite honestly, but in this case I was returning a favor to a friend.
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by Frank Reed on February 10, 2010
With the introduction of Google Buzz yesterday it became very apparent to me that I don’t know everything about social media and probably never will. While some might say that this is not something that should be said by someone in the “industry” I completely disagree.
What shouldn’t be said by someone in the industry (from their own mouths at least) is that they are an expert. Being an expert implies that you “got it licked”. No problemo! Been there, done that got all the T-shirts. I have done it all ….. successfully …… many more times than once. While I say it shouldn’t be said it still is said and with great regularity. As a result, the meaning is gone and the social media space starts to quickly look like the search marketing space. Let’s just say that that scenario is not a good one.
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by Frank Reed on February 8, 2010
Many people seem to be either shocked or aghast that Google would actually run a Super Bowl ad. There are some who think that it is a sign of weakness or fear that there is a chink in the great Google armor. There are those that just figured that Google should never need to advertise because they are, after all, Google. Well, I think that the Google ad was a smart move and one that was done in typical Google fashion: low cost, no fanfare (except for jittery industry types) and strong impact.
The “ad” has been on YouTube for several months so it’s not like Google ran out and threw together a Super Bowl ad and spent gazillions on it. It was essentially already out there. On Google’s official blog, Eric Schmidt posted the following [click to continue…]
by Frank Reed on February 7, 2010
I have spoken here at Frank Thinking about how it seems that SMB’s just don’t get it when it comes to Internet marketing and social media. Too much chasing rabbits and too little chasing reality.
Well, I am real happy to say that I am seeing a shift. I am not ready to say that all SMB’s get it because that would not be realistic. I am seeing, however, more businesses that are willing to talk the language of planning as it relates to the Internet. I have talked to many small businesses as of late who understand that SMB’s absolutely need to do their Internet marketing homework before they dive into the online marketing game.
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by Frank Reed on January 28, 2010
Today the buzzwords in the social media space are around community. Everyone is interested in creating community and for good reason. Community is at the heart of human social interaction whether it is online or in the place you live. People do not thrive alone in most cases. There is a need to be connected to someone or something that is more basic than most of us ever admit. It’s an emotional thing which also makes it an elusive thing.
Internet marketers look at community as the holy grail of their efforts. How many thousands or millions of times is it said around a conference table full of marketing people that “If we could only create a sense of community we will gat more business”. I think that the theory of that is good. It makes sense. It is rational. It’s a common sense thing.
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by Frank Reed on January 26, 2010
I know I harp on this subject but I do it for a reason. I have seen far too many SMB’s (small and medium business) run out full speed and headlong into the brick wall of Internet marketing without a helmet. You know what the result of that is? Pain and confusion. Why put yourself through that? There are options to help make the move into effective online marketing activities that are best suited for the particular market and the SMB’s capabilities. These options require some things that are sometimes in short supply with SMB’s: patience, investment and planning.
So is there some magic potion that the SMB should be taking to magically transform their business from a Yellow Pages mindset to that of the online world? Nope. There’s nothing magical at all. In fact, it’s just practical. It’s called research.
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by Frank Reed on January 18, 2010
I have been in the Internet marketing industry now for the past 5 years. I guess many would consider me a newbie in some ways. I love reading all of these people who say they have been optimizing websites since 1994. In other words, back in the day they could keyword stuff with the best of them. While that’s interesting it literally means nothing today. In fact, I am trying to decide what is exactly important in today’s world of Internet marketing. Anyone can study what used to work and see how it was abused and eventually devalued by Google and other engines. What means something now is what works now and what might work in the future.
I have been putting some thought into this and I keep bumping up against the local business listing every time. I am finally starting to understand just how valuable and underutilized the local listing is especially in the B2B market.
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