Happy July to all of our valued clients!

This message is going out to all clients that have purchased Web Site Maintenance and eMail Marketing Campaigns.

Please let us know if you are needing eClub sign up forms or return envelopes.

eMail Marketing!

Why should your customer come to see you this month?

Summer is here, kids are out of school and everyone wants to dance in the sunshine!

What do your clients need that you can provide? Let’s tell them about it. Let’s scream it from their eMail boxes:

• We offer great value!
• We have what you need!
• We want to help you create something better!
• We appreciate you!

Have you been offering the same thing for a long time? Let’s shake it up a bit….What’s new?

Web Sites!

Your web site is a vital part of your marketing plan. It is your office online. The virtual office that is open 24-7. Considering the cost of employees, it is a pretty inexpensive way to communicate to your clients, and your future clients, who happen to be surfing the web, looking for something they need, needing a service or product that you would like to help them with.

Have you looked at your site recently?

Is your site up-to-date?

Have you made it a resource so that your client is educated about the products they already have? New clients will appreciate knowing that when you are closed, you have thought about the answers they might have. A blog is a great way to do this.

By putting a short article on your blog every month you have benefitted yourself in at least 3 ways:

1. You are updating your site regularly. This tells the search engines that you are committed to keeping your site fresh and they in turn like your site even more.
2. You are taking care of the needs of your present and future clients by helping them with their questions.
3. You are offering the cyber-world more keyword phrases and ideas and possibly gaining a greater audience because you have the answer they were looking for.

If you have an eMail Marketing Campaign we can even take the article from your blog and make that one of your monthly emails with links back to your site. When it comes to your web site, it is all about getting traffic to your site.

Don’t have a blog? Give us a call!

360.575.9839 or toll free 877.378.4345

If you have any questions we are hear to answer them. Remember, we are here to help! ~:-)

Have a Refreshingly Different Day!

It is an exciting time to be in marketing and to be a geek! Internet Marketing has and continues to transform the marketing landscape.  The latest buzz is Social Networking. Sites like facebook and twitter are some of the most talked about sites on the planet. There is lot of talk, but I’d like to offer a little education.

What is social networking?

According to Wikipedia. “A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services”.

Sound geeky? Basically, social networking sites are free web sites that help people connect.

Social networking has encouraged new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people. New sites are being launched all of the time. At the time of this writing there are over 1000 sites that call themselves social networks. Let’s focus on just four.

Hanging with the Big Dogs

Some of the more popular sites in the use in the United States include. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Linked In. Here is a basic overview of each site, keep in mind as these sites continue to develop they seem to look more and more alike.

Facebook

A January 2009 Compete.com study has ranked Facebook as the most used social network by worldwide monthly active users, followed by MySpace. Facebook’s basic premise is that user can add “friends” to their networking. These friends can stay connected updating their status and sharing messages and photos. Facebook’s current policy is that information that friends share is just between friends. But, please keep in mind that policies can change.

MySpace

Facebook and Myspace are often compared. One major difference is the level of customization. MySpace allow their uses to use HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to customize the look of their profile conversely Facebook’s customization is more limited.

Twitter

At the heart of Twitter is a Tweet. Tweets are text based messages (limited to 140 characters). Twitter has been described “SMS of the Internet” SMS is a text message stands for Short Message Service. These short messages are referred to as micro-blogging. February 2009 Compete.com blog entry ranked Twitter as the third most used social network based on their count of 6 million unique monthly visitors and 55 million monthly visits.

LinkedIn

Linked is a business-oriented social networking site launched in May 2003. It’s main aim is for professional networking. As of October 2009, it had more than 50 million registered users. This is an amazing tool to make professional contacts.

Free Lunch

Yes, it is free to network. Their business model is to sell advertising. I know that some of the networks sell basic user info. As this becomes increasingly valuable, they will sell more and more. My 2 cents is that you should consider everything you post to be public. Another “cost” to consider is your time. They can consume a lot of time for you and those that you work with be sure that this is done in the context of your marketing plan.

Mobile

The Internet is no longer just on your desk or laptop, it is now in your pocket. Warning: twitter can send old fashioned text messages. These text messages can cost the same as regular text messages. You can bypass this by using an application to manage you tweets. Developers have created oodles of apps (some free and for a fee) to help you keep connected on your cell phones and iPods. Combined with GPS mobile devices can be much more social devices that a standard computer.

Next Big Thing for Business?!

Let’s go back in history about 10 years. Remember when businesses were testing the waters with web sites? Today is being compared the pre-explosion of the internet. Savvy business owners are embracing the new technology. Old school marketing says, “Be where your customers are at”. That is still true today. Now make sure you are “there” and ready ready to connect!

How do I get social?

You need to start with the friends. You can go to ValleyBugler.com and click on the Facebook and/Twitter links on the home page. This is a great way to keep in touch with the Bugler throughout the month. If you don’t have a Facebook page, then give us a call and we can help you set one up!

What to network for business?

Stop by omOriginals.com and join some of our networks. I double-dog dare you to network with us! We can help your business setup, maintain and grow your networking.

Feel free to give my office a call and request a Free Initial Consultation for Social Networking. You want to ride this wave now and definitely not later!   360.575.9839

To comment on this column online!

http://facebook.com/omoriginals
http://twitter.com/omoriginals
http://linkedin.com/oscarmyre4

Oscar R Myre IV is the creative director and owner of omOriginals – a marketing and web development company located in Longview, WA. (360)575-9839. He enjoys his family and running around the beautiful lake when he is not helping his clients and friends take advantage of the cutting edge technology he gets to play with every day at work.

Oh yes, and he loves his wife’s home made salsa and guacamole