The Most Effective Form of Marketing Ever Invented

Pretend you're magic and you can read minds, and let's suppose your business is plumbing (feel free to insert your own type of business here.) Right now, down the street, John Smith has his credit card in his hand and he says, “I need to get my sink fixed right now!” Now since you can read minds, you know this and because you're magic, you show up right in front of John, right at that moment. You fix his sink, take his credit card, and everyone is HAPPY!

That would be pretty cool!

That’s what internet advertising does and why it’s so effective, because your business gets served up to the prospect at the exact moment they want to buy what you have. In fact the NY Times stated that "search advertising is probably the most effective form of marketing ever invented. Because search queries telegraph a user’s intent with precision, they make it possible to match people with the right ads at the right moment.”

But the problem is that with one trillion websites on the internet, if you aren’t proactive about getting in front of those people who are looking for you, then you’re losing customers because they’re finding your competition instead of you.

So if you’re tired of wasting money on flashy advertising that doesn’t work, let’s find out how many people are actually searching for you online and then get you in front of them when they have their credit cards out.

How Could Having a Presence on CNN Possibly Help My Local Business?

Suppose you are a massage therapist in Phoenix, AZ. Of course your target market would include someone with back pain. To be even more specific, it might be someone with back pain who makes enough money and is educated enough to choose to investigate massage as an alternative solution to the problem and lives fairly close to you.

How many of those people do you suppose are searching for this information online?


According to Google, just within 20 miles of the center of Phoenix, the following searches are done every month.








Using another source, we find out that CNN.com gets 57,000 visitors every month who are

• in Phoenix
  
• college-educated
• 25-65 years old
  
• make more than $100,000 a year

And when those 57,000 visitors read this article, Back pain? Alternative therapies may help, do you think having your ad show up like these did right beside the article could have been beneficial for your massage therapy business?

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So what keywords can you use to reach your target market and where can you place your ads in addition to the search engines to reach those people? Try these tools - Google Adwords Tool and the AdPlanner. Of course if you're like most of my clients who are too busy with their own businesses to learn and implement these strategies, feel free to contact me and we'll get your business in front of those people who are looking for you and are ready to buy what you have. diane@PageOneForYou.com

Does anybody REALLY use Google?

The yellow pages go straight into the recycle bin, as do the flashy, slick direct mail ads that businesses spend thousands of dollars on. 90% of people use a DVR to record TV shows and then fast forward through all the commercials. Where do consumers look to find who they will do business with? They turn to the internet. Is your business going to be there when they look?

Try it now: open up a Google search page and put in the search terms someone would use to find your business. Who shows up? You're looking at your competitors and if you aren't there too, your chances of capturing that business are slim to none because less than 20% of searchers move on to the second page. (You were at least on the second page, right?)

Well maybe people aren't really searching for your type of business online. How would you know? You can use Google's Keyword Tool to find out how many people are searching for those terms every month. If it is a significant number, you might want to start actively seeking out those prospects. That is, unless you already have enough business and you don't mind sharing them with your competitors.

What if your customers could use their cell phones to pay you?

Remember when online banking was a new frontier? Now you probably check your balance, pay your bills and transfer money without thinking twice. The Forrester Forecast shows that online shopping is increasing and is projected to reach nearly $250 billion by 2014. Last year, online retail sales were up 11 percent, compared to 2.5 percent for all retail sales.

So let's say you're offering a great new product in your store or on your website. Only one billion people have credit cards to use to buy that new product. Two billion have bank accounts, but four billion have cell phones. Now your customers will be able to use Mobile Money to pay for your products and services. What do you think?

Who is Facebook? Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science studentsEduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League and Stanford University. It later expanded further to include (potentially) any university student, then high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over. The website currently has more than 400 million active users worldwide. Is your business on Facebook? Lots of businesses have started a fan page but they aren't sure what to do with them now. The key is to get your "followers" to interact with you on your business page. But, first, you have to get the followers to "Like" your page. As with the rest of social media, this is a viral process and when it takes off, you can sit back and watch the numbers grow. Until then, it will take a little work on your part. Here are three quick ways to increase the followers of your page. "Share" it with your friends on Facebook At the bottom of the left column of your Business Page, you'll find a "Share" button. When you click that button, a box will open with a link to your page. Type a message to your friends in the box and then click the "share" button at the bottom. This will then be a message that posts on your personal page with a link to your Business Page. Add a link for your Fan Page to your email signature Every email you send out should have the opportunity for your prospects, clients, vendors, etc. to connect with you. Send out an email to your database asking them to check out your new Business Page Be sure you make it easy for them by providing the link. Remember, when you have even one follower, you need to provide a reason for them to visit your page.

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