However, technology evolves (especially in the Internet field) and we can easily see that more and more customers are looking for information on the web, even when pertaining to interactions with local businesses. “Where is the nearest hardware store?” “Where can I find someone that will fix my bike?” are questions that you may ask yourself sometimes. Is your first reflex to check the internet? The change in reactionary behavior is an interesting development in the past 20 years and one of the main reasons one must reconsider the manner in which their marketing efforts are directed. Many don’t have enough capital to launch huge marketing campaigns, so how should they begin to approach local marketing?

Google can play a huge role with just 2 of their many tools: Google Adwords and Google Places. Adwords allows businesses to create a PPC (Pay per Click) advertising campaigns. These ads can be found almost anywhere on the web, more than just on Google searches. Depending on your communication needs, you can launch a campaign that would target only the people you want to visit your business, and convert the visit for profit. This works very well when for local campaigns, as you will appear only on the results pages and on websites in your area. Obviously, it makes no sense to display an ad for a hardware store in San Francisco on a New Yorker’s screen, unless the business is virtual.

Less popular but effective is Google Places, a great tool that allows you to add your business address on Google/Google Maps so that you can share your information more easily – location, hours of operation, pictures of your store and deals or discounts you may be offering to entice customers. When someone does a local search, Google provides the information you’ve submitted to let users to find the business most able to suit their needs.

Now with these two tools, let’s imagine a combination of them to create a super efficient PPC campaign. You would be able to appear in the results pages thanks to the Google Adwords campaign, but also in Google Maps when someone is looking for “places near them”. As a result, you gain a better visual impact on Google as the user can see your business twice, and is given relevant information pertaining to their search. You can obtain greater efficiency in your marketing campaign without having to spend a lot of money.

This event happened last week, but the infographic struck my eye for its animation flash.  To see the action, click through the image.

It’s actually astonishing that geolocal social media marketing has taken off in terms of individual engagement.  I found the concept awkward, as many probably did at first glance. Why would someone publicly alert the world of your location? Well, it’s just fun and games. It also promotes more intrigue, not to mention intensify the voyeurism of our digital livelihood.  Since we constantly engage with applications on our phone, it is also a marketing stream.

Local businesses are slowly starting to leverage the participatory nature of geolocal tagging. The Foursquare application developed a new feature to list up to 25 specials in your latest checked point. As a result, scale is becoming closer to a reality for businesses who engage with repeat customers.

This content must also be easily transferable, crossing mobile channels and time zones.  Buyers tend to err on gaining specific details from the outset, while inquiring on a personal level when a service piques their interest.  They would like to know the price points first so that they do not spend a lot of time with a vendor that does not seamlessly fit their needs. Since they have the ability to survey from several websites, a video demonstration can be a powerful form of online advertising.

My industry colleague, Lauren Carlson, does a brilliant job of explaining the demands of a software buyer. She posted a mix of illustrative data charts and actual quotes. She also has offered some links from vendors with toolkits to get you started. Read more here.

Despite their extensive portfolio of clients, Visual Lease needed to increase their brand visibility in cyberspace. A couple of years back, they enlisted the marketers here at Blueliner to rise on the search index. Our development team started from scratch with a comprehensive SEO initiative. They first built site architecture with relevant keywords in order to generate a spike in conversion rates. Along with strengthening the keyword segment, they built a link campaign to improve brand development inside the real estate community. Sales improved by approximately 60%.
Visual Lease’s future development initiatives involve more mobile, open source applications. Real estate is a nimble industry where data accessibility needs to be shared instantaneously across platforms, including CRM, project management and accounting.

Blueliner helped COSSERP design a site with a crisp interface and drop-down navigation panels to hold content for the rich array of services.  The solutions section offers an Adobe brochure for instant download to be shared at team meetings for brainstorms.  COSSERP’s ability to mine data has allowed it to stand out.  The website also has sharper photography to further illustrate their range and depth of services for manufacturers.

A client whose balance sheet felt the positive return with COSSERP talks here:

The offer from the source piece points out that Google’s +1 allows users and webmasters to be the determinant of which content reaches the top of index results.  This content, as I mentioned, could range from local businesses to music content and personal profiles.  With the advent of Google’s Cloud Music Service (still in beta), marketers can use web analytics for integration of all those users to track consumer behaviors. This author also mentioned that Google’s service portfolio is utilized by many for business or personal lines of communication.  Could the third time be a charm for Google entering the social sharing domain? Here’s a video:

Futurist David Houle will be a co-presenter with Blueliner CEO Arman Rousta in this webinar on Thursday, June 2 at 2 p.m. EST. David is a futurist, strategist, and speaker. He has always been slightly ahead the curve. Houle spent more than 20 years in media and entertainment. He has worked at NBC, CBS and was part of the senior executive team that launched MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and CNN Headline News. David Houle is regarded as an emerging, influential voice of future thought.

Blueliner CEO Arman Rousta is described by Houle as “one of the most plugged in people in the interactive space and is someone I turn to for intelligent discussions about digital trends and marketing”. Arman Rousta is a contributor to Digital Forecast, providing insight into the digital future.

Do not miss this pertinent webinar! Click the Register button below to sign up now!

Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are 2 of the “7 Pillars of Digital Strategy”. They are also arguably the most important critical pillars. Many companies have built entire marketing strategies based solely on their methodology.

Social Media Marketing promise of solid ROI remain significant for years to come. It’s instant communication and now available at the pockets of millions of consumers. It allows for a direct dialogue unlike anything businesses had the ability to practice on a mass level in the past. The possibilities begin with web analytics coding metrics like customer retention, lead generation, and reputation management.

SEO is by far the most desired Pillar in digital marketing. It is the difference between a search result index on the first page or the 28th. Every website needs to be optimized for specific keywords to be found on the Internet. With search algorithms always improving, SEO is also changing and getting smarter.  At Blueliner, we take pride in our great SEO work.

Blueliner invites you to an online presentation to learn about setting up marketing plans and best practices for tackling these essential pillars.  Click here or The Black Hat to register now!

1. Digital Partnerships Galore

I mentioned in the headline earlier this week about all the digital partnerships. Some of these include Groupon pairing with Live Nation next to Microsoft’s surprise purchase of Skype.  Microsoft’s integration of Skype bears watching. Will the business software developer throw their new SEO investments into Skype or smoothly blend algorithms?

2.  User Data Corruption

User data corruption has occurred in droves this week.  Michaels, the arts and crafts supplier, reported a hacking of credit card data from their shops this morning.  Facebook has a lawsuit concerning the unauthorized mining of user data for online advertising campaigns.  Playdom settled a lawsuit of breaching children’s data with the FTC. We don’t need to further investigate Sony’s current woes with Playstation.

Over time, it will be interesting to see how the consumer responds to these egregious click frauds. In the Michaels case, some plan to eliminate their ATM card altogether.  The thought sounds impractical, but restraint can be a positive.

3.  Flash Sale Marketplace

I also discussed the flash sale marketplace, which includes Gilt Groupe, Rue La La, and now Amazon’s MYHABIT.  Gilt submitted a valuation, and analysts are skeptical since the company has yet to turn a profit.  To their credit, they continue to invest in more products.  CEO Kevin Ryan is nonplussed at the skepticism. He believes that flash that the flash e-commerce model will only grow despite the rebounding of full-price luxury good sales.   Time will tell if they can sustain.

4.  Amazon Tablet?

This piece in TechCrunch is intriguing since it is all speculation.  The eBook conference in London earlier this week was a convergence where publishers of all sizes talk content. Can it be scaled for advertising? Can content secure copyright infringement? Can authors eliminate agents? Another writer declares The New Yorker iPad mobile application as the end of glossy magazines.

Amazon could be the superhero running in with a mobile device that would not only streamline their growing video library. This secret device could eliminate the need to develop mobile applications for other platforms (*cough..Apple!).  Supposedly the graphic design applications need time to develop. Interesting indeed.

5.  Google Releases Music Service

Those of us privy to searching Google for leaked music tracks may find this service redundant.  But it ensures stronger security encryption.  The king of search algorithms is an invite-only stage in beta mode. For the technology averse, beta is the development state of a website or application. Google’s Android operating system allows for synching music across your devices.  A cloud storage allows access offline, giving the user time to create and edit your playlists.  Amazon also entered the growing music cloud marketplace, experiencing crashes already.  It’ll be interesting to see if Google can avoid this inevitable issue of data transmission.Click on the headline for an instructional video.

That’s the Blue News for now. Enjoy the weekend.

In the last part of a web series with Marketing Automation Software Guide, Mac McConnell develops a lead scoring model. This model hedges against variables by assessing points for criteria determination along with segmenting marketing quality leads from sales.

Mac McConnell