The Death of Interruption Marketing

My new article on Entrepreneur.com discusses how the world of marketing has changed from being reliant on interruption to engagement.

Following is an excerpt from the article, which you can read in its entirety here.

“With the growth of social media, marketers have learned that simply interrupting the online conversation doesn’t always lead to sales, nor does it lead to positive word-of-mouth marketing. Now the goal of marketing is engagement. Consumers want to know, what are you going to tell them after you interrupt them?  Marketers have discovered that there is tremendous value in building brands and relationships through long-term social media strategy vs. short-term direct-marketing tactics on social websites.”

What do you think?  Is interruption marketing dead?  Leave a comment and share your opinion.

5 Tips for Quick Social Media Marketing Success

My newest article on Entrepreneur.com is called 5 Tips for Quick Social Media Success and it offers five key things you need to do both behaviorally and strategically to boost your social media marketing success.

Following is tip #5 from the article:

Don’t try to keep up with the Jones’.
Just because your competitor is doing something on the social web doesn’t mean that you need to do the same. By blindly following your competitor’s path, you’re marketing scared and without purpose. Plus, it’s probable that your competitor’s initiatives won’t help you meet your goals at all. While it’s essential that you monitor your competitor’s social media marketing activities, you should analyze them against your own goals before implementing any of them yourself.

Follow the link above to read the complete article on the Entrepreneur.com website.

What is your top social media marketing tip?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Promote Your Business on Google Places and 10 More Local Search Directories

Have you checked Google Places (formerly called the Google Local Business Center) to make sure your business is listed and listed accurately? You can log into Google Places with your Google account username and password (you already have one if you use Gmail or another Google tool) and then add your business or claim your business listing.

Each business listing includes the business name, address (it even shows the location on a Google map), hours of operation, payment options, and more. Even better, you can publish coupons, photos, and videos to go along with your listing, and customers can publish reviews about your business. All of these features are offered for free. You can also track some of the statistics related to your listing, including where visitors come from and what keywords they used to find your listing. When you see certain trends or parts of your listing working well (or not performing at all), you can change them at anytime.

Google Places listings rank very high in Google search results, and since most people find businesses, products and services through Google searches, your business needs to be represented.

If you own a business with multiple locations, you can even upload a data file with all of your business’ information to make creating your listings quick and easy.

Check out the video below that explains all of the features Google Places offers to businesses.

For maximum exposure and business growth, your business needs to be represented across the Web, and that includes securing your listing on the most popular search engine. With that in mind, you should also make sure your business is listed on the following local search directories:

1. CitySearch
2. Yahoo! Local
3. Yelp
4. Yellow Pages
5. Kudzu
6. DexKnows
7. MerchantCircle
8. Topix
9. Local.com
10. Go City Kids

Weekly Wrap up – Marketing and Branding

Check out Susan Gunelius’ articles and posts published across the Web this week:

Corporate Branding and Marketing

• Branding from Within: The Importance of Internal Brand Building
• Brands Really Can Connect with Consumers through Online Video Ads
• Apple and Google – Friends or Foes?

Small Business Branding and Marketing

• 20 Questions to Ask and Requirements to Define before You Hire a Business Blogger
• 6 Twitter Apps to Track Your Twitter Performance

Copywriting

• 3 Ways to Move Consumers to Action

9 Reasons to Sign up for the GrowSmartBiz Conference

Some of you might know that I’m on the Network Solutions Social Web Advisory Board, so sometimes I get emails from them announcing events and webinars.  Today, I received an email about the upcoming GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington, D.C. on September 29, 2009 along with a discount code to get two registrations for $99 (a $500 discount) that I’m happy to share with KeySplash Creative Conversations readers.  Following is the email I received from Network Solutions with all the details:

Nine reasons to sign up today for the GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington, D.C., Sept. 29!

1. Get an opportunity to network with small business owners and entrepreneurs – learn and grow your business at the same time!
2. Gain insight – including tips and strategies – from more than 20 of the nation’s top small business experts.
3. See Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail and Free, as the conference keynote.
4. Walk away with executable, cost-effective ways to market, promote and grow your business.
5. Find out what others are doing to weather the current economic storm – and pick up strategies and tactics you can apply to your own business.
6. Learn how to navigate your way through what can be a financial maze from people who hav[e done it – and succeeded.
7. Expand your marketing arsenal – figure out how to enhance your current promotional efforts by integrating social media.
8. Score lots of free stuff – including a free domain name from Network Solutions®, a copy of Chris Anderson’s best-selling book, Free, and business planning software from Palo Alto Software.
9. TODAY ONLY, REGISTER TO RECEIVE TWO ADMISSIONS FOR JUST $99 TOTAL – A SAVINGS OF NEARLY $500! But, you have to act fast – the offer is only good Wednesday, September 9 from 12 a.m. EST to 11:59 p.m. EST. REGISTER NOW by using the promo code: GSB999 and clicking here!

Create Loyal Brand Advocates – 7 Steps to Advertising Success

My latest article on Entrepreneur.com is called Create Loyal Brand Advocates – 7 Steps to Advertising Success.

In the article, I discuss the seven steps that businesses need to understand and follow in order to develop a long term, successful brand building strategy supported by effective marketing communications.  Follow the link above to read the complete article.

Read more marketing and branding articles by Susan Gunelius.

How to Effectively Market Your Small Business in a Downturn Economy Webinar

KeySplash Creative President and CEO Susan Gunelius will join a panel of marketing professionals in leading a webinar sponsored by Network Solutions on August 26, 2009 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

The panel is called ‘How to Effectively Market Your Small Business in a downturn Economy’ and Susan will be joined by Jay Ehret of The Marketing Spot and Jay Berkowitz of Ten Golden Rules.

You can get more details and register for the webinar here.

Related Posts:
Susan Gunelius Joins Network Solutions Social Web Advisory Board

Online Video Advertising Tips

My newest article is now live on Entrepreneur.com.  This month, I wrote about online video advertising, which is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with the rapidly growing online audience that actively watches online video. 

You can read the article here and start thinking about how you can add online video advertising into your own business’ marketing plan or add related services to your client offerings.

And you can follow this link to view my previous articles about copywriting and marketing communications published on Entrepreneur.com.

Network Solutions Delivers Small Business Success Index

This month, I was asked to provide my responses to some questions about the new Small Business Success Index study developed by Network Solutions and the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. 

I’m happy to share the link to the interview here on KeySplash Creative Conversations.  You can follow the link to read my thoughts on the SBSI.  Following is a snippet from the interview:

Network Solutions: What did the study reveal to you about the success of small businesses in 2008?

Susan Gunelius: I was pleasantly surprised to learn that small businesses are doing better than one might think based on what we hear from the media.

Network Solutions: The study captured six dimensions for measuring success: Capital Access, Marketing and Innovation, Workforce, Customer Service, Computer Technology and Compliance. What do you think are the top priorities for making small businesses more competitive?

Susan Gunelius: Certainly, Capital Access is critical.  You know the old saying, “it takes money to make money.”  There’s a reason why those old sayings stick around for so long.  Also, Customer Service remains a top priority.  It generates positive word-of-mouth marketing, which is essential to small businesses and helps to position them against the competition, particularly larger companies with deeper pockets.  Together, Marketing and Computer/Technology are also important.  We’re in the age of social media, and leveraging technology and marketing via the tools of the social web is a significant differentiator.

Read the rest of the interview here.