Advertisers already know who you are

I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) the other day.  They were interviewing a marketing professional who was talking about how in three or four years advertisers will be able to target their ads to individual homes while you watch TV.  That means that if my friend and I are looking at the same show (and we live in the same TV market), I will see one ad on my TV and she will see another on her TV based on the demographic data that has been collected on us by perhaps our cable provider.

I wasn't too amazed as that can be done on the internet right now. If you have ever been on the internet (and how many people haven't?) you know that certain advertising is following you.  Those ads have been targeted to you based on demographics, your internet habits and other things that the internet gods have determined.  Then they continue to follow you (re-marketing).

Until last year this type of "hyper" targeting was only available to Fortune 500 companies, who have been doing this for several years.  Everyone knows that advertising on the internet is very beneficial. But limiting small businesses to a paid link at the top of a search page is, well, limiting.


Jump Six, a company in Missouri, was one of the first to provide hyper targeting for smaller businesses with display digital advertising (just like in a newspaper or magazine) and place it on the internet.  It provides a way for advertisers to also gather leads through the system.

Jump Six purchases this valuable real estate on hundreds of sites and then places its clients on sites like national cable news station sites, sports, national blogs and others.  These sites sell national ads and also reserve regional and local space for smaller advertisers.  Just like TV.

If you want to go world-wide or national you can, but most of their clients hyper target people regionally or in certain cities and even zip codes along with other demographics.  Generally, you can buy as few as 50,000 impressions.  Advertisers can change their demographics or increase the impressions whenever they like or need to throughout the campaign length.  Jump Six provides detailed analytics of the campaigns so that advertisers always know how well they are doing.

With this type of hyper targeting, digital advertisers will be able to get a handle on their budgets, better target their products and services, and get a road map for future marketing endeavors.

Thanks to technology, you too can reach out and touch someone (everything old is new again).

Joint venturing to expand business

I got married last week -- to two guys.  It was strictly business.

It is to two associates of mine who own a successful website development company. They are quite successful at their business but what I noticed was they were just a website development company. The construction guys. They knew all about web design, algorithms and analytics -- all the things to make the site function properly.

I explained to them how I felt they were missing a huge marketing opportunity.  So, I asked them how they were marketing to keep customers coming back once they created a website. They both looked at me rather blankly. Other than hosting fees and the occasional updates their clients decided on, not much. They were always seeking new business.  And we all know that getting new business costs more than keeping business.

I explained to them the opportunity for marketing their own website business was to expand into content development.  They needed to develop content for their clients -- for the websites they built, digital advertising campaigns, downloadable e-books, etc. They also had an opportunity to show clients how offering those pieces on websites can increase web traffic.

"You see," I began, "you can create your own additional line of business. Also by creating your own e-newsletter that you send talking about the need to update websites, how to create mobile advertising, using video, etc... you keep your clients engaged with you.  You can also become the only source they need for their digital marketing."

I saw the light bulb go on.  "Oh," they said in unison.  My proposal had worked.  Since I do content and digital advertising "we" thought a partnership would be great.  In the business world it is called a joint venture.

So, the newsletter I developed for their over 300 clients that talked about our joint venture went out last week.  It provided information I created on how websites need to continue to be updated and how video on websites can drive more traffic. The newsletter worked.  They got two clients to call immediately (clients they had for over 10 years) to talk about updating their sites and perhaps adding video.

Beyond the content I provide for my new "partners",  I also am getting exposure for other services I provide to the 300 clients they have.  I embed my affiliate links in the e-newsletter, my own downloadable content and other opportunities to generate revenue for my business as well -- along with creating the content for his clients.

Soon, I am sure we will have more clients -- you can call them our children -- who will need all types of content.

What Is Your Branding Trying To Say?

I was out the other day and decided to stop into a new bakery that opened in my neighborhood.  I was particularly excited for the young owner.  I met her a couple of months ago at an event.  She was very enthusiastic about her business. So, when I went in to her shop I expected to see a lot of strong branding.

What I encountered was a drab offering.  Not only did she not have enough product( a few cupcakes and about a dozen cookies) but the furniture in the store looked like she had gotten it from someone's basement. There was no color on the walls, her logo was only on the window glass that faced to the street, and she had run out of business cards.  Her bakery cases had no decorations inside to entice me to buy. There was little that would make me want to return. There was no brand identity at all.  Or should I say her brand identity was not good.

A UCLA study proves that 85% of all decisions are made with our eyes. That's right: the visual you have has the most impact.  And particularly food needs to be appealing.  In a sense, you need to strongly brand your products or services.

I think there are three basic branding categories that business owners have to think about:

• Marketing materials -- brochures, business cards, website 
• Business decor -- wall colors, furniture, interior design
• The way employees look and present themselves -- uniforms, identifiers, customer service 

What do you want customers to think about you? What image of your company do you want to put out there? That is your brand -- good or bad.

If your brand is not professional and congruent, attractive and attracting you will be passed over - guaranteed. To be competitive, to have a greater influence on others, to attract more business and be more successful it's essential that you develop a well-thought-out  brand.

My niche marketing video

I have been sending out some niche marketing tips to my mailing list over the last week or so.  But I have also been tweaking my social media sites, editing my landing page for my website and creating a fan page for Facebook when I realized that it IS overwhelming.  I know I have said it to you before -- in fact my website says it, but for those of you who don't like doing this type of stuff, I'm sorry.  Advertising, messaging, content creation is changing daily.  It is hard to keep up for people who make their living doing this type of work so I know it is hard for you.

I'll be coming out with some new downloads for you.  I hope they will help you get to where you need to go.  (And yes, I know the screen capture makes me look a little weird)

Take a look at my video where I have come to a conclusion about my business.  Although I was leaning in that direction anyway, I just confirmed it in my mind.

See you next time. 

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