by Frank Reed on August 8, 2008
As an SMB owner myself and having the opportunity to work with small and medium business owners regarding their use of the internet, I see most of the marketing opportunities that exist out there. If you are a regular reader you know that I am always trying to encourage these business owners just to grasp some of the more basic elements of internet marketing like search engine optimization (SEO), blog marketing and pay per click (PPC) advertising. Now throw into the mix your paid ads being tied to videos on YouTube in a less than subtle manner and there will definitely be more “Well, where do I go now?!” thoughts than ever before.
To read the entire post, go to Marketing Pilgrim.
by Frank Reed on August 5, 2008
Do you remember a few years back there was a commercial where a small business owner has his sales staff in a room and is talking about how they have lost touch with their customers? He seems genuinely concerned about being in contact with them because as the owner he knows that they are his lifeblood. His solution was to hand each one of his sales folks an airline ticket so they could go see the customers and reconnect. Powerful thinking for sure.
Fast forward to 2008. In USA Today the sobering news of the mind numbing increase in the cost of flying makes the scenario described earlier a lot less likely for many SMB’s. In the article there is a list of some heavily traveled routes and the increases in fares from just one year ago. I would recommend you take a look at the list but to summarize it for you of the 35 plus routes listed the fare increase range from the low end of 110% to the high end of 276%. Those are scary numbers indeed for the small and medium businesses of the world.
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by Frank Reed on August 5, 2008
Internet marketing has quickly (in business years that is) jumped ahead of many traditional marketing and advertising mediums. In fact, the damage that is being inflicted on one stalwart of American media, the newspaper, is getting hard to watch. If stock prices and layoffs are indicators then there are dark days ahead for this industry. It’s not just the small hometown publications that are taking the hit either. The New York Times, Washington Post and Gannett are getting hit from all sides.
Go to Marketing Pilgrim for the full post.
by Frank Reed on August 1, 2008
Do small business owners take advantage of search marketing the way they should? Often, they don’t. If you own a small business and you’re wondering what’s passing you by, and more importantly, what’s stopping you, read on. Small businesses that ignore search marketing might find their competitors leaving them behind.
Check out the entire post over on Mike Moran’s Biznology blog.
by Frank Reed on July 31, 2008
Just to prove that I read other publications than the Wall Street Journal I turned my eye to a stalwart of the new media age, the New York Times. Ok, so it’s just as “old school” as the WSJ but someone has to read these things, right?
Read the entire post on Marketing Pilgrim
by Frank Reed on July 30, 2008
I am putting this post up during a presentation I am making to a group of aspiring bloggers from Morrisville, NC through its Chamber of Commerce. Morrisville sits directly adjacent to the Research Triangle Park (RTP) outside of Raleigh and has long been recognized as a center of technical advancement. It’s a good place to be. I hope someone walks away today with a desire to start telling the world who they are and what they know.
I have been doing this blogging thing now since March of this year and it has gone well. I continue to write posts for my blog and I now am able to contribute to other larger and more well read blogs like Marketing Pilgrim and Biznology. Admittedly, these types of opportunities come more from who I know rather than being discovered for what I know but I’ll take it.
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by Frank Reed on July 28, 2008
Check out my post over at Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim today. Thanks so much for stopping by.
- Frank Reed
by Frank Reed on July 27, 2008
I just finished confirming what you are about to read. I had to make sure that what I saw was really what I saw because, quite honestly, I was more than a bit surprised.
No it wasn’t some awful video that makes everyone who sees it scream out loud because the pain reaches through the ‘net and visits you personally (you know the ones I am referring to guys). It also wasn’t some ridiculous political statement that makes you cringe and laugh in the same breath. I mean, really, that’s too easy to find in this day and age and surprises none of us anyway.
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by Frank Reed on July 25, 2008
Well, this is an interesting one. You finally see some positive news about the outlook for small business at B to B Online but hold on a sec! It appears as if the source of the good news, Opinion Research Corp. who is an infoGROUP company has the unfortunate honor of sharing the same page of the news announcing its Chairman has been ousted for some improprieties. Oh, and although it’s not in the screen shot below they advertise with B to B Magazine. Jackpot!
“After the completion of an independent review, the board of infoGROUP has removed Vin Gupta as chairman of the database giant, citing excessive expense reimbursements and corporate spending. Gupta, who remains CEO, has orally agreed to pay the company a settlement of $9 million.”
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by Frank Reed on July 24, 2008
