During the month of May, my marketing company – Marketing Resources & Results – is profiled by the State of Ohio.
The state is focusing on successful women owned businesses this month.
I’m honored that my company was one of the businesses selected to be profiled.
So, how did we get selected? Just like so many things in business, we were prepared and kept our eyes open for opportunity!
Are you prepared to market your company? Do you have your summary statement? 4 photos that represent the business? Do you know where to look for an online directory that makes sense for your business?
Besides the state level, there are lots of potential directories that may be interested in profiling your business: Yelp, DMOZ, City-Data, Thomas Register, and more.
It’s important to use only legitimate directories, not link farms that charge you for listing your domain.
I’m assuming you know why it is important to have online visibilty for your company. If you’re not seen on line, in many cases, your business simply doesn’t exist.
So, where do you have your company profiled? Share the link below in comments.
Recently I’ve become aware that I’m hopelessly out of date.
It’s my two space habit. You know, two spaces after each period. I’ve done it since 7th grade when I learned to type and am having trouble breaking the habit.
More and more I see editors and publishers aghast with the double space after the end of each sentence. While many say, it’s not exactly wrong, others feel it’s an abomination.
If you really don’t like to write, how can you market your business using a blog?
Here’s my advice for creating a blog post, even if you don’t consider yourself a writer.
1) Log into WordPress
Go to POSTS. Select ADD NEW.
Select Visual (instead of Text)
2) Insert a PHOTO about your business
Click on ADD MEDIA. Select UPLOAD to add a new photo.
Decide if you will add something from the desktop or iphoto. Drag, double click or click on select file to upload
Rename the photo if it called something like 3489IMG or SCAN123. Try to name it something that someone might search in Google if they were looking for your type of business.
3) Describe the Photo
After you’ve inserted the photo, write a few sentences that describe the photo.
Just get it down on paper (don’t edit yet)
What would you say to a friend if they had just noticed this photo in your home or on your desk at work?
Make a few points about it. (Just get it down, not even full sentences. Work the creative side of your brain.)
Then go back and edit for spelling, grammar and wording. (Work the analytic side of your brain.)
Make sure you have a title in the Blog post.
SAVE DRAFT often. You don’t want to lose your work. Proof and review in Preview.
4) Publish
When you’re satisfied with your photo and short description, it’s good. Click the Publish key.
Think of writing a page in a book, not a whole book, not even a chapter! Just a page that has a picture. Almost a caption.
You can do a lot more, yes. But these 4 little steps will help you when you feel you’re stuck and are not a writer!
If your Facebook page and program is still one of the key tactics for communicating with your customers and potential customers, it may make sense to re evaluate it with the recent updates.
Depending on your target market, some of the key demographics are starting to abandon Facebook.
While Pew Research Center’s Social Media usage data from December 2012 shows that Facebook is still tops in terms of social media usage at 67%, just five months later there are signs of Facebook abandonment.
For example, when a video that makes fun of the unwanted Facebook Updates gets more than 2 million views in just 3 days, you know something is up.
This video provides an analogy of an apartment make-over to the Facebook update.
If your Facebook page and program is still one of the key tactics for communicating with your customers and potential customers, it may make sense to re evaluate it with the recent updates.
I know it captures some of the feelings I’ve had lately when unwanted ads or individuals have appeared, seemingly out of nowhere on my timeline.
You’ve got a great idea for a product. You know who you want to market to and have found a manufacturer to help you make the prototypes.
Before you start branding and marketing your product, you’d be wise to learn about intellectual property.
Disclaimer – I am not a lawyer, you should consult an attorney who specializes in patents and trademarks. But I have found that the clients who do a bit of homework before they meet with their attorney are more prepared and ask more informed questions.
It is surprising how often a company will want to get a logo designed before there has been any trademark or service mark search and after they’ve spent all the time to tweak the logo (as well as the budget set aside to develop it), they find out they can’t use the name or design because it’s too similar to another mark. Don’t let this happen to you!
Before You Market It, Protect It
Do you know the difference between a Patent, Trademark and Copyright?
1) A patent only protects your idea in the country that you’ve filed it and only for a specified amount of time.
2) A trademark protects the word or symbol you use (like a logo or name) to trade the product or service. It can last indefinitely as long as you continue to use it.
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My favorite commercial is the Baby Clydesdale: It’s got heart strings, cuteness, just a little bit of branding and even some audience participation. You can name the baby by tweeting #clydesdales names. Levi is the name I’m going to tweet them, in memory of Levi the Clydesdale in Portage County Ohio. He was the biggest [...]
Renaming a company, product or service is extremely important to creating a brand or marketing. It can be more difficult than it looks on face value. Expensive, yes. But sometimes very necessary. After you’ve brainstormed the lists of names, here are some of the considerations when evaluating the name: Your customers, employees, and competitors Positioning [...]
Do you have your another trade show coming up in the next few months? Or is this year your very first attempt at a trade show? Whether you’re an experienced brand manager going to your 25th marketing trade show or a newbie going for the first time to your company’s industry show, pre-planning is the key to having [...]
Looks like Square is starting to cut into PayPal’s turf. I wrote about taking credit cards with your cell phone using the Square a couple of years ago and now PayPal (owned by eBay) has launched the Triangle. Funny how they decided to name it something so similar! Trust is a big thing with this [...]
In 1997, there were 12,498 marketing consulting companies in the USA. By 2002, there were 18,892. More than 50% increase… By 2007, the government census statistics show 23,895. Almost doubled in 10 years. Wonder what the most recent five years brought? Did some of the marketing consuting companies disappear? Or did the US get more [...]
Are you considering entering a new geographic market? Want to expand into another area but aren’t sure of the household income? This tool may help you with your market research. Rich Blocks Poor Blocks breaks up the United States by average household income (HHI) – one block at a time. It overlays HHI onto Google maps. Easy [...]
Are you ready for 2013? Do you have your marketing plan in place? Outlined your stair steps to sales for new clients to existing products or existing clients to new services? What are the tools and tactics you’re going to use? Are they the most effective – both in results and cost? Easy enough to [...]
During the Color Marketing Group’s conference this past fall, blue was announced as the color for 2013. The colors are proprietary to the group, so the photo that you see above is one that is okay to use, because it features the blue shade that was actually the color for 2009. You see, the RIGHT [...]
During the month of May, my marketing company – Marketing Resources & Results – is profiled by the State of Ohio. 
