Marshall Yard:

Thinking back about ten years ago, I recall doing mass mailings and postcard campaigns to prospective clients.  Running to the post office and trying to get everything out by your deadline.  Marketing has taken a completely different turn in the last few years, by way of social networking.  Where do we go to look for information? How many times a day do we tend to run to our computers to look something up? Even when we are interested in finding the best trade shows for our product and services, we head to the internet. 

I recently spent several days reading and catching up on all the events that happened at CES 2008, the largest consumer electronic trade shows. Spending several hours reading and keeping in touch with the upcoming trends can be a time consuming task.  With all of the new sites that pop up each and every day online that can give you an avenue for your marketing strategies, it is something that we should all be considering, and that manpower is needed for all the facets of social marketing.

Viral Marketing is defined as marketing that propagates itself, this type of marketing is at full throttle around all of us, it is quite an interesting but simple concept and trying to explain it to anyone that is not familiar with it becomes a rough and often times lonely road.  When you begin the process of this type of marketing, you will feel as if you are beginning to swim all over again.  There are several groups and forums to join and read, and this is where the masses of the internet marketers, search engine marketing & search engine optimization experts all hang out. 

Some take this to extremes and solely rely on cyberspace campaigns for marketing these days, is that smart, if you are in that business it is, if you know a lot of the heavy hitters among the forums and boards and top social sites, you can reach far more people than anyone that has just ventured into this type of marketing.  I believe that with most marketing campaigns a bit of balance is needed – continue with your print advertisement, exhibiting at trade shows, mass mailings and viral marketing.  All of these elements can get exposure and introduce you to prospects that may have been overlooked.

Viral Marketing is a tough campaign to sell to anyone that is from the old school, and relying solely on what they are familiar with.  Start out small, show the effects, keep logs of your success and failures, if this becomes a passion and you are enthralled at the outcome and the social contacts that are to be had, continue to push forward.  

Words we didn’t hear 15 years ago, Squidoo, Flickr, Digg, Del.icio.us, text messages, Spinn and try this on for size, Blogengage?  Squidoo could have been something that we would have looked for while deep sea diving.  Flickr is something you did with those boogies that you had on your finger in first grade reading class.  Digg is something your mother did in the garden, and often times made you help.  I would have thought that something I picked up at the local Tastee Freeze was absolutely Del.icio.us.  Text messages where something that you got as a telegram, and had to drive to pick up.  Spinn was something that happened when you drank too much in college.  Then there is Blogengage, some folks find it hard just to get engaged these days.      

How much time a day does the average college student spend on social networking sites? Not wanting to spend a fortune to run an expensive study on this, just looking at a few of the students I know, I am going to throw out there three hours a day.  As these students have networked for four years during college, with people that share similar interest or don’t share anything at all other than cramming for exams.  

These are the people that will soon be sharing cubicles with us in the near future, when they are asked to research something, they will start with what they know and what they are comfortable with.  Submitting articles to various social networking sites, and being able to see your information come up organically in searches is what we are all striving for as we blog, flick and digg our way through our online marketing techniques. 

Blogengage is a site where you can submit your blog articles and have people engage them, similar in fashion to Digg, but strictly allowing blog  submissions, where the writing is a little more free flowing and less conforming to the large newswires. 

It is these sites that our decision makers of the future will be using, I see it similar to a consumer’s reports of the future.  Harnessing the potentia l places that your articles can reach with this type social media should be a no brainer.  I’ve only been at this for awhile, and think sometimes, what have I gotten into, but the more you read, the more time you can spend trying to wrap your arms around it, the easier it becomes.  Keep blogging and keep participating.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, ask for help! I have found creative answers from many people at Bloggeries Forum  as well as the Small Business Brief Forum.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it is the best way to learn and its amazing the people you will run into. 

When you are exhibiting at Trade Shows, it is as well a social networking atmosphere, you are there to extend your network of sources and clients.   Let them know about your blog, and your networking sites, encourge potential clients to visit and comment.  It is their opinion of your service and product that matters.  Spreading the word and getting feedback will help you make your trade show marketing more of a success.    Make sure that you are blogging about what trade show you will be at next, and always include your booth number. 

By: Susie Kleiner 

I started this blog at the end of June, right out of the womb! In January 2007, I was given the task of learning SEO and learning about internet marketing.  In the 11 months that I have taken over this task, I still feel that I am in my infancy.   I have read several forums, and articles, and enjoy the research.    The questions that arise on forums from newbies in the SEO industry are all questions that have helped me learn.  There are so many great forums out there, Digital Point,  Small Business Forum and High Rankings, just to name a few.  If you are struggling with SEO, Blogging, Marketing over the internet these are awesome places to start.

I attended a few online seminars, and someone gave me some great advice in regards to being approached by SEO firms, which, I have to say, we get about three calls a week on people soliciting their services.  Walk cautiously, and be aware of the red flags.  If a firm “guarantee’s” you top placement in the search engines, take a step back.  There are “no” guarantee’s, IMO (in my opinion) (I had to look that one up) I was also told that if an SEO firms vehemently seeks you out, remember, most firms that are reputable, and good at what they do, do not have the time to make cold calls, and most likely have a full plate.

I am not saying that all firms that make cold calls in SEO services are not on the up and up, I am saying arm yourself with some knowledge, and ask alot of questions.

Now, blogging, is it worth the time? I do believe it is, if your company is not already doing so, it is a great “personal” approach to the market place, offer up insight and educate interested parties.  When you are starting out with anything, it is so overwhelming, I felt like I was on the Titanic and sinking pretty quickly, but it is fascinating to read the comments left by readers, and it is interesting research in regards to finding where people are coming from and the keywords they are using.  That will as well give you an education in new keyword phrases you can use for the development of your website, blog or online advertising. 

I am from the old school, and I do enjoy actually talking to live people, instead of pressing 1, 3, 6 or 9 on your touch tone phone, I usually just hit “0″ so I can get a actual person on the other line.  But, in order to stay on top of the game, blogging is on the fore front, our decision makers of the future are coming out of college and the social networking, and social media that are on college campus are sky-rocketing, and I think it’s “lift off ” time for businesses to take the necessary action.   

News travels at light speed now, within minutes of any event, you can locate information online about it.  Whether it is National News, International Events, the information is out there to find.  It took me a few weeks to convince some of the decision makers here, that blogging can help business.  It is much easier if you are in a niche market, but striving to get your company and your brand awareness out there, should be on the forefront of your marketing strategy.  Part of that plan should include blogging, and social media. 

Face it, it does get to be a project when you are writing about the same thing each and every day, learning to put a personal spin on it, and sharing passions of your own spun in an inventive way can only solidify your brand or product.  Tell a story, remember the Taster’s Choice couple? Okay, I am dating myself, but that is something that sticks in the heads of us over forty, it’s all about the approach.  Be inventive, and be honest, people will continue to read and become loyal followers, and if they happen to come to your blog and continue to stick around, it may come up at a cocktail party, or at a charity event, and someone may be listening and that someone could be a potential “decision maker.” 

That in my opinion is the dynamics behind blogging for business.  And thats all I have to say about that!