AJRoss Blog

In today’s ever increasing and fast-paced business world, the methods used to market have hit a time of growing pains. Marketing is moving in a direction that requires less people and more technology. For some people this is second nature, some are learning as they go, and others are having a hard time leaving the old ways of doing business behind. There is a technical term for this growing pain; it’s called “Social Media.”

To better understand why social media is so important, we have to look at what it does for business in 2009 and beyond.

If you’ve ever wondered what Social Media is, it’s simple. It is a collection of various sites on the Internet with the purpose of keeping people connected on a global scale.  It quickly became a tool for business networking because of its ability to reach a mass audience without the need for travel or attend every social event possible.

What are some of the most popular Social Media networks out there at the moment?

• Facebook - (definition)
• Myspace – (definition)
• Twitter - (definition)
• Linked In - (definition)
• Blogs (Blogspot, Wordpress)

Social Media and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Everyone that has a website understands that people don’t come to you; you need to reach out to the people when they search for a word or phrase that relates to your business on a search engine like Google. By using Social Media, it offers benefits to your SEO efforts which in turn puts your business in front of more people interested in your services and/or product(s).

Link building:

The more websites your company’s name appears on, the higher you’ll rank on Search Engines such as Google. Search Engines see your name appearing repeatedly and recognize your company as being legitimate as well as an important source for users to know.

Fresh Content:

Search Engines rate your website based on new content. As content on sites such as your blog increase, it creates more keywords; more keywords lead to more opportunities for your business to be found online. Fresh content also offers users a benefit to coming back to your website.

Social Media and Networking

While nothing can ever replace the value of face to face networking, Social Media allows you to reach more people than your business’s geographic location allows. Email and the Internet already changed business by allowing people to work on the same projects overseas; now it’s doing the same with business networking and consumer marketing.

Establish new business contacts or update existing ones all simultaneously from your phone. Promote your business or get answers to questions from real professionals while you work instead of some support line. Test new ideas and get real reactions, not statistics. Build credibility as an expert by answering questions and posting beneficial blogs or advice. Someone is more likely to do business with you if you’ve already given them helpful advice or written consistent blogs on topics that are helpful than cold calling or simply meeting someone and telling them about your services.

Social Media isn’t a tool that will bring overnight success.  It takes time to build up a network of people to be social with, but once you start you’ll find if they are part of one of your social networks, they’ll join the others. Every social contact offers the possibility of all of their contacts becoming one of yours and the cycle continues with every new contact you make.

Social media is a basic tool; it’s how you apply it to your business that is limitless. Look at it as a window into how you do business and how your knowledge can really benefit those looking to do business with you. Let the world see what you really have to offer and they’ll add you as a friend, re-tweet you, post your blogs, ask questions, thank you for your advice, and become followers.

Business is about relationships; now you have the chance to build them anywhere in the world from your desk and from that, with time, face-to-face. 

By Allan J. Ross

The instantaneous Internet has an undeniable appeal for consumers; most business owners are aware of, and take advantage of, this still-new stream of data flow to offer up their wares in the new media. Cyberspace is big, and getting bigger, byte on top of megabyte.

Information offered via quality, uncluttered print — postcards, brochures, fliers, fact sheets and the ever-useful business card — is a restful, organized and often unexpected way to reach out and stand above the rest in a world of high-tech.

Print information is carefully selected and presented to your customer clearly and strategically.

Smart business owners know to blend new media with the proven: nothing beats being handed or sent something personal and tangible. Quality is felt in the hand, and stays on the desk.

Smart marketing doesn’t confine business to a single medium. It gets and keeps customers, no matter where they look for you.

Collateral materials come in different forms, but they share a critical element: they should be effectively marketing your company. Every business needs printed material, so make everything work for you. Your business cards and even your stationery can, not just the printed pieces that are designed to sell.

A business with all its materials branded uniformly will shine above the rest in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Consider all the documents that are generated from your business: the stationery and letterhead used by your company, for instance. Is it dated? Is it designed professionally, or is it merely one of the out-of-the-box desktop publishing templates that are so easily recognizable by everyone?

Consider your sales fliers. Are they, too, victims of the desktop publishing revolution? Do they have the same professional quality as your own work does, or are they generated by someone in your office who is good at their own job, but who is, perhaps, not a professional designer?

How about your brochures? This critical piece, you may or may not know, is one of the leading sales tools available to business owners, and often can be the instrument that decides a customer. Brochure in hand, a potential customer can peruse your offerings, either in store or at home, and make the final decision on your product or service.

Brochures — designed correctly — can be easily customized by your business, too, and tailored per customer, making them even more effective. Do you have the tools to do that in-house? If not, consider the fiscal pros and cons of outsourcing this crucial sales tool, as well as the large potential savings designers can offer in quality printing costs.

You spend time, money and energy on your Web site — as well you should. The Internet is instant, and these are fast-paced times.

But in a fast-paced world, the business that wants to get — and to keep — the attention of customers will not forget the human, personal, tangible element. Information is everywhere. What a relief, what a pleasure, for your customers, to be able to absorb your information easily.

How many more customers will buy when instead of being “called to action,” they are “appealed to action”?

Allan J. Ross is president and CEO of A.J. Ross Creative Media, a full-service advertising, marketing and Web design company, in Chester. He can be reached at allan@ajross.com or 845-783-5770.