First off, what is a BLOG?

The term is a blend of web and log. You see, geeks (& mathematicians) think it is cool to simplify things (often at the risk of making them more complicated). A BLOG is basically a journal on a web site. For many it is the “News” section. Much of a web site remains fairly static, but a BLOG is edited whenever news breaks.

A BLOG can also be interactive, where it can be open to comments. A word to the wise, be sure to moderate your comments. With my business, we send all comments to review by a human before they go live. ~:-)

4 reasons why you should have a BLOG on your company’s web site.

1. BLOGS are fresh, people know to look to the BLOG for the latest info about your company.
2. BLOGS are loved by search engines. What makes a search engine happiest? Fresh relevant content. A properly created BLOG is written as much for search engine rankings as it is for people.
3. BLOGS are archive-able: As soon as new articles are posted the old ones are archived. This allows visitors to get some history on past projects from your company.
4. BLOGS are social. BLOGs play nice with social media, and smart ones can automagically update your facebook, linkedin and twitter.

Warning: I hear some of you running off to Blogger.com to setup a BLOG right now. STOP!! I said above that the BLOG should be on YOUR Website. If you post it @ Blogger (or any other blogging site) THEY will reap much of the benefit for your hard work. Be sure your BLOG lives at your company’s website, not theirs.

What should you ‘post in your BLOG and how often?
This article is not a substitute to sitting down for some serious consulting with your favorite marketing geek, but I will share some general thoughts on content. We always work to deliver value. Most of our clients have a wealth of knowledge that they can share with their customers. By sharing your company as a resource, you become viewed as an expert in your area of business. Consider this an investment in your customers, current and future.

For omOriginals we post 2 articles a month with marketing tips [like this one ~:-)]. We also post brief articles on recently completed projects. This is valuable for our customers (promotion) and for visitors to see interesting marketing ideas, are to show real world examples of our work. We also share articles from others on occasion to change things up a bit.

How often? This will vary for each business. I often recommend 1 or 2 posts per month for companies new to BLOGGING. I’ve seen a fair amount of people start out strong with 1 or 2 a week for a few weeks and them drop off the map. It is best to make your plan sustainable. This is a balance of quality and quantity.

Here is a bonus: After you create these articles you can broadcast them in lots of places (Social sites, eMail marketing, newspapers, newsletters, mailers, etc.)

Do you have to do this alone?

Not unless you are a crazy micro-manager. Your company is likely a collection of uniquely talented individuals. Each of you has your own unique voice. By sharing the work of the BLOG with others in your organization you will have a richer experience for your users.

Side note: I enjoy reading Summer’s tips on our BLOG, they offer fresh marketing insight.

Outside help
There is a wealth of industry specific content available for purchase. This can save a lot of time, but be very certain that you agree with the articles. You can also hire a company to help administer your BLOG. < This could be an article in itself.

What is the point, Oscar?
A BLOG is a great way offer value to your clients while remaining at the top of their mindshare. Today’s competition is tough and cutting edge! You need to use today’s tools to position yourself for success.

Happy BLOGGING.
Work Smart + Play Hard!
Oscar Myre IV, ~:-)
Bright Lovable Original Geek!

With a new year just around a corner it’s time to review your website.

In October, we discussed the web site statistics that are available from your web hosting provider. This information told you how many people have been visiting your site and which pages they checked out. I invite you to dust off your web site statistics and take a look. If you are content with the quantity and quality of visits then read no more – we can talk in January.

Any of you left?

Let’s make the most out of the visitors that are already coming to your site and then you will be ready to improve your online marketing. Ready?

Let’s go to Google and find your web site. I want you to start @ Google (any search engine would work) to make sure you could be found if people don’t know your web site address. Enter “your company name” in the search box and click “search”. Find your business and click on it. If you aren’t there, we need to talk!! Side note: Google has a new “Instant Preview” You can click on the magnifying glass to take a peek at your website. You can learn more about this @ http://omoriginals.com/2010/11/google-is-it-again/.

As soon as a visitor clicks on your homepage you have 30 seconds or less to catch their attention. That’s because the average web site visit is less than 30 seconds…..Tick. Tock.

Here is a quick checklist to make the most of the visits you are getting:

1) Professionalism: Is your Logo/Company name professionally and prominently displayed? Are you impressed with your site?

2) What you Do: Are you clearly outlining what you do (your services) with links to learn more? Be sure to also include the regional area you service. This is VERY important for visitors and the search engines.

3) Who you Are: Assume that visitors have never heard of your company. Make sure you are putting your best foot forward. Educate them.

4) Call to action – Do you have a compelling offer or invitation for your visitor to do something? For example, Buy Something, Sign-up for eMail newsletter, Contact you, download a free report or any other value you can offer. > Check up on this page. Is it working? Are people clicking on this (check those web stats). Why or Why not? Is your offer still a good value? Consider changing your offer.

5) Fresh News – Here is a multiple choice test for you. If you have news to share should you publish it on; A) Your BLOG, B) Facebook, C) Twitter, D) LinkedIn, or in an E) eMail newsletter? If you know me, the answer is easy – “YES!, all of the above. ~:-) It takes a lot of work to create content so be sure to publish it efficiently and to as many eyes as possible.

6) Don’t make them scroll. All of your important stuff should be visible above “the fold”. Meaning they should be able to see it without scrolling. Scrolling vertically is ok, but make sure the 4 things aren’t buried. If they have to scroll to find stuff, they will won’t.

7) The death of Flash. Flash is a cool technology from Adobe. You can create beautiful slideshows and add some interesting interactivity to your site, but flash has two major issues that may lead to its demise.
a) Most mobile users can’t view Flash.
b) Search engines don’t really know what to do with Flash content (they are still working on this).

Ask your web site developer about alternatives to flash. Speaking of flash and mobile devices. How does your site look on a mobile phone? Note to omOriginals clients: We have a dynamic and affordable way to create a mobile version of your existing site. Contact us for the geeky details and pricing. ~:-)

WOW: We just made your site better to serve your visitors (and you). I encourage you to get on the line with your favorite webmaster and/or online marketer and to plan for a more prosperous new year. Work Smart and Play Hard in 2011!

Oscar Myre IV is the owner and Creativity Director at omOriginals Marketing in Longview, WA. He spends his free time playing with his family, running the lake or checking out new and splendiferously geeky toys. If you have questions regarding your web site, please call him @ 360-575-9839 or online: omOriginals.com

But, are your events listed at CowlitzToday.com?

Is your business listed in the Cowlitz County directory?

We originally created this site to help people connect locally.

CowlitzToday.com is a free, one-stop community calendar and web directory of businesses.

We’ve partnered with many organizations that have events in our area. Every day, more and more events are being listed. If you know of events and don’t see them on the calendar, we invite you to tell the event holder how they can add their events for free! (Or you can add them yourself!)

CowlitzToday also has a helpful directory of local business and organizations. You can find virtually anything from Accountants to Food & Dining to Movies to Real Estate!

With this article we are announcing the launch of the NEW and improved business directory!

We created the new directory to help make more connections:

1. SEO Findability: Our first goal is improving local organizations search engine rankings in the search engines. Having a great web site or business is only great if you can be found. We’ve built the new directory with some new and old school SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tricks, which have skyrocketed viewership.
2. Social Browsing: Our second mission is to help harness the social networks. More specifically – Facebook. You see, Facebook is great at helping you share and even find what you are looking for, but it doesn’t work well like good old fashioned browsing.

We’ve improved the directory to make it easy to browse the directory. Similar to those phonebooks of yesteryear. Our new directory is a great way to learn and link. Listings include helpful info and now links to their websites, facebook & twitter. Facebook “like” buttons are built into every listing. ~:-)

It’s where all the cool kids hang-out.

Want another reason to add your stuff?

CowlitzToday.com is being visited by 20,000 people per month!

By the time you read this we will have nearly 1,000 local listings. You can share a listing on facebook with a click. I invite you to get your organization listed for free today. Cowlitztoday.com. Wherever you work, play or worship can be listed as it’s own entity.

And don’t forget the Cowlitz County Online Event Calendar. We’ve streamlined the adding of events. If you’ve haven’t added an event in awhile (forever is still awhile)

Click on the new “Submit Event” button to learn how to add your event (also for free!!). If your organization has multiple events per/year please consider partnering with Cowlitztoday. If you are eligible we will give you a free calendar that you can post on your site AND then all of your events will appear in the community calendar!!!!!

Our community has posted over 6300 events to date! You simply can’t say there is nothing to do around here!

So what’s next?

I double dog dare you to search CowlitzToday.com for your favorite local business. If you find their listing, I’m sure they love for you to “give Kudos” for them. If they aren’t listed please call, eMail or facebook them the link. They’d appreciate the help and we’d appreciate your helping in spreading the word to help even more people connect.

Smart Phone users there is a new way to visit web sites on your phone. Simply install a free scanner app and start scanning. Think of it as Bar Codes 2.0 Ready? Grab your phone and visit http://m.omoriginals.com We will hook you up to get you started. If you already have a scanner – Scan now. “Tag” is above at top of page, looks like a square ink blot!

Oscar wrote this article on his iPhone. ~:-) Oscar is the owner and operator of omOriginals Marketing in Longview, WA and holds the title of award winning developer for the CowlitzToday.com web site. Questions about geeky stuff, call them @ 360-575-9839

Can you believe it? September is half over! As we begin to think about getting our cars ready for the fall and winter months, we can’t forget to maintain our client base. I am not just talking about you, our valued Web Site Maintenance and eMail Marketing clients, but yours.

“It is not what you know but who you know…”

On the web there is a bit of reality to this statement. I have been to web sites that were well marketed and easily found on search engines that didn’t have a lot of content. I have also been to web sites with amazing content that no one knew about.

In reality the phrase above should be: With the right knowledge and audience your business can flourish online.

There are a couple tricks to being highly rated with Google that are inexpensive and uncomplicated. When you buy a new car you have to drive it or the tires lose air and the engine coughs and sputters when you start it for the first, in a long time, the same goes with your web site; don’t let it just sit there.

If you have invested in a web site then make sure to use it to get you places on the web.  I understand that the basic content: hours, contact information, even your products and services might not change that much, but even a couple paragraphs in a blog entry about your product or services count as checking the oil. If you or your web master don’t maintain your web site it wont travel very far.

Another way to help your rating with Google continue to gain speed is to find a way to get traffic to your web site; You wouldn’t build your store front in a field with no streets.

There are many ways to do this, but one that seems to be getting the attention of your customers is eMail Marketing campaigns that are interesting and relevant. If you have an eMail Marketing campaign, when was the last time you changed your offer? Our most successful clients have themed campaigns they have helped us to design for them that their clients love.

Not sure what to do? We have a client that gives us the coupons he runs in the local newspaper to send out to his clients via eMail. Another client has us eMail his newsletter and put it on his blog, which not only updates his site but brings more clients to his site for the other important resources he offers.

When it comes to marketing your business make sure you are a resource and that you don’t forget to fuel up your web site.

omOriginals Marketing! invites you to take advantage or our complimentary Annual Web Site Review. If we haven’t gotten to your name on the list, please Call, eMail or Find us on Facebook us to schedule yours. It’s good to get out and kick the tires!

This user data is invaluable. And we continue to give them more.

Have you ever created a Facebook Ad?

The tools available to advertisers allow us to show ads to a very targeted group of people. Here is a quick look for a local ad in Longview.

Estimated Reach: 18,920 people
* who live in the United States
*who live within 50 miles of Longview, WA
* age 18 and older

We can further our target people based on many things in their profile including relationship status, languages, education, workplaces, connections, even send them ads on their birthdays. This is just the beginning.

Try a Google search for me “Oscar Myre IV” and you will find a page about me that includes a list of my “likes” all of this data was just for me and my friends before the last privacy update. Now it is live to the world.

Do I care? Not really. Can I make that info private again? Yes, but how often will I have to make it private again with new updates?

Microsoft is jumping on board too, with Bing, it’s new search engine. It is designed to leverage our social data. The search engines understand that search data is big, but Social Data is HUGE!

Facebook Privacy

But don’t worry, Facebook is looking out for me, right? Remember how valuable your info is, Facebook is looking out for Facebook – NOT you. My 4 cents is that you should consider EVERYTHING YOU POST IN FACEBOOK AS PUBLIC.

Eventually, for the right price, it will be. Facebook continually updates their privacy setting to improve the users experience. The small print is the updates are actually to leverage more of your data for more FB $$. If you want to keep on top of the privacy settings, the best article I’ve found is
here…http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/12/facebook-privacy-new/

My disclaimer: This article is out of date as settings continue to change, but will give you an understanding of the privacy settings.

The Good and the Bad.

Good for the advertiser. Their targeted online advertising is very impressive. This is an opportunity that your businesses should seriously consider. I invite you to call my office to learn about a Facebook Ad consultation to jump start your efforts.

Bad for people. Not, so bad as long as you understand that your data can and will used against you.

God Bless,
OM4

Facebook Class: Learn more @ omOriginals.com

Oscar Myre IV is the owner and Creative Director of omOriginals Marketing, a Longview based web development and graphic marketing firm. Call them at (360)575-9839 or online @ omOriginals.com, also on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Become a ‘Fan’ today!

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!

Don’t lose your domain.
It is important to keep your domain registered or else you can loose it. There are lots of companies that wait for domains to expire and then register them up for their own gain. I recommend having a reminder on your calendar for the due date of your domain.

That being said, when a bill comes for you to renew your domain read it VERY carefully.
Every year I hear of businesses getting an “official looking invoice” from the Domain Registry of America, Liberty Domain names or Domain Renewal Group. Both of these companies (and others) send eMails and snail mail letters to registrants (the people that own domains) that look like invoices, but they are just solicitations. If you look closely it says that it is not a bill, but many people pay. ~:-) This is the same tactic that is known as slamming in the phone industry.

The result: Your domain is then transferred to their company for about $30 year! Most domains should cost about $15/year. This can be a mess. If you have any question where your domain is registered I suggest that you call your web site developer before paying any domain bills. If they don’t know, you can call my office and we can give that info to you. ~:-)

I’m often asked, “What is the difference between domain extensions?”

.com represents the word “commercial,” and is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet.

.net represents the word “network,” and was created for use by Internet service providers. In reality I see most businesses attempt to get a .com and they use the .net as a second choice. omOrginals Marketing! could technically be a .net, but we’ve embraced the .com.

.org represents the word “organization,” and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.

.biz is used for small business Web sites.

.gov is used for government Web sites.

.info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a “resource” web site. It’s the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.

.mobi (short for “mobile”) is reserved for Web sites built for easy viewing on mobile devices. There was a lot of hype with .mobi, but all sites should go mobile. I don’t see a reason for this extension.

.us is for American Web sites and is the newest extension. It has the largest amount of available names in inventory.

.cc was originally the country code for Coco’s Keeling Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small business who can’t get the name they want using the .biz extension. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media industry.

.ws was originally designated as the country code for Western Samoa, but is now commonly used as an acronym for “Web sites.” It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.name is the only domain extension specifically designed for personal use. It is commonly used for easy to remember e-mail addresses and personal web sites that display photos or personal information about an individual.

.pro is a new extension. is open to all professionals and licensed business owners in any country, Business license owners are also eligible.

Be the master of your domain.
Be sure to review your domain registration bills and consider registering for 5 years. If you have any questions about domains and/or need help with registration we’d be glad to help. ~:-)

Your brand new website can quickly become out of date. Schedule to add new content weekly if possible.

Really?!

Yes, the search engines love fresh content. The more often they see you adding content the better they will rank your pages. Not only do computers like the fresh content, so do their humans.

Keeping your site up-to-date will give clients (current and future) the impression that your business is up-to-date and it will give them reason to return to your site in the future. Be sure to speak with your web developer to learn the best way to update your site: whether they make the changes for you, or like my company, they offer an easy way for you to manage your own site content.

Tell the World About Your Site.

Many people consider their web site to be like a “Billboard”.  They think that people will simply “drive by” their website.  It just doesn’t work like that.

You need to actively spread the word. Here’s the skinny on HOW:

Submit to the Search Engines.

There are countless companies that submit your site to the Search Engines for a fee. The result (more often that not) is your eMail gets on a spam list and they send you bunch of junk mail. Not good.

We’ve found the most effective way to get listed is have a blog entry from a highly ranked web site. We do this
‘cause we’re cool…

Print your .com!!

Put your domain name on all of your printed materials. Everywhere, I mean everywhere people see your company name they should now see your domain name as well. I encourage you to take a few minutes and write a list of all of the places your Company/Organization name is printed. Everywhere should include: business cards, letterhead, envelopes, vehicle graphics, banners, signs, office walls and multimedia presentations.

It should also be sent in the signature file of every eMail you send from this day forward.

Advertise Online

A recent BtoB Magazine survey showed that of those that are increasing their budget, they are doing so in: Print (9%), Online (48.5%), Direct (16.5%), Broadcast (3.0%), Outdoor (0.4%), Events (13.5%) and Other (9.1%). Online advertising is unique in that you the advertiser can clearly track all of the results of your efforts.

For instance, you can run online Ad with ValleyBugler.com or CowlitzToday.com and see how many times it was viewed (Impressions) and how many times it was clicked. You can take this info and continually refine your ad for maximum results. Talk with your web developer to discuss online options; Google, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and and local offerings.

Direct Mail

Direct mail is becoming increasingly expensive to create and send marketing materials. But, targeted to the right audience it can be very effective. Do your research and compile a good database of leads. Offer a compelling reason for readers to take your postcard, brochure, etc and go to their computer.

Newsletters

Does your organization send a newsletter? Be sure to tell your audience about your new site. TIP: If you haven’t already done so we recommend that you make a PDF copy of your newsletter available for download from your web site.

Newspaper

Be sure to add  www.YourCompany.com to all newspapers ads both online and offline.

Radio

Good domain names are easier to remember than most phone numbers. Be sure to put your .com in your radio ads.

With the expansion of internet radio, many listeners are sitting at the computer. Encourage them to launch a web browser and give you a virtual visit.

In closing, the internet is not paved with Gold. People will not just “drive by” your site. It takes both old and new school marketing. I encourage you to create a web site marketing to-do list and get to promoting your brand new website.

~ Oscar is secretly developing an iPhone application that can control the weather.  How does 74° sound? ~:-)

Oscar Myre IV is the owner and graphics supervisor of omOriginals Design Studio, locally situated in Longview. With over ten years of internet, web and marketing experience, they are ready to help answer all your questions and get your company on its best “internet” legs. Call 360.575.9839 or online @ omOriginals.com