It’s official: I’m a twit. I avoided this self realization for a few days now but I’ve finally come to terms with it. I can openly admit now, with the support of my fellow DragonSearch employees, that I am indefinitely and wholeheartedly addicted to Twitter. Ever since I picked up the book Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods by Shel Israel, I’ve been obsessing. My mission has been to utilize it as much as possible and to educate those who have not had the opportunity to get to know Twitter. The thing that still surprises me is not the number of people using Twitter, which is in the millions now, but the few who don’t use it. What surprises me even more are the businesses that choose not to use it. Now it might seem like I’m late in the game but there are still businesses out there that don’t understand the benefits of Twitter.
(more…)
Archive for the ‘Online Marketing Strategies Related’ Category
Yahoo And Bing: An Unholy Alliance
August 2nd, 2010 by Mike VazIn a previous entry of our internet marketing blog we discussed Google’s new image search results and how they almost exactly mirrored Bing’s. Then our very own John Lavin asked the question “What is Bing going to do next to out-do Google?” So today I respond by asking “Why not merge with the competition?” (more…)
A/B Testing and the Fruit it Bringth
June 17th, 2010 by John Lavin
A/B testing is an established procedure to increase traffic, though it’s not as simple as it may seem. It’s more than just testing two or more versions of websites or ads. While there is almost an endless amount of A/B tests for any given project, it also has some limits. A/B testing should, by all means, be considered an actual experiment. It’s not just throwing two versions of a test at the wall to see which one sticks. (more…)
Understanding SEO & SMM: What We Can Learn from Soft Drinks
May 20th, 2010 by Danielle CorreiaA popular soft drink company is adapting their marketing tactics in the developing world. In many communities where poverty is widespread, store owners have bars and chains on the majority of their products, including soft drinks. Many sleep, gun-in-hand, in their store to ward off any potential night raids. The threat of crime essentially hinders any relationships that might form between a business owner and their clients.
Realizing this, the soft drink company decided to put the trust back into the hands of the business owners and their customers. They issued upright refrigerators and asked the store owners to put them outside their shops, right on the streets, so that passers-by could grab their own drink. Store owners thought this was truly crazy. Eventually they agreed and since the campaign began, what shop owners are finding is something amazing: bottles are not being stolen. Isaiah Sakwara, a local patron, says “as a customer, it shows they believe in us, so you definitely won’t steal”.
Using Social Media in and for Ulster County
May 14th, 2010 by Claudia D'ArcyLocal Solutions for Ulster Country Tourism
In my last blog post, How Ulster County Can Use Social Media to Promote Tourism, I expressed my feelings after attending the Ulster Tourism Conference. Based on almost half of the topics that were promoted for the event (Viral marketing via YouTube and other social media, Effective public relations in a digital age, Influencing travelers’ decision through online media) , and the presentation, I did feel that it was a missed opportunity to bring the industry players together and teach them how to work together with social media to benefit Ulster County Tourism and our economy overall.
So, until the Tourism Advisory Committee sends me my engraved invitation to join with promises to listen with baited breath to every word I utter, I’m going to present some of the social media tactics that we encourage our clients to use her at DragonSearch. Of course, I have personalized it for Ulster Country Tourism, but really any small business of struggling industry can apply to their own marketing. (more…)
How Ulster County Can Use Social Media to Promote Tourism
May 11th, 2010 by Claudia D'Arcy
I attended the Ulster County Development Corporation & Ulster County Tourism‘s Ulster Tourism Conference held at the Kingston Holiday Inn on May 4th. As part of the local community and also because we serve clients who need to promote their own local tourism destinations, I signed up months ago to hear more ideas about what people are doing in our area.
The conference was well attended, clearly showing that many local people cared enough about this subject to spend the time and money to learn about how to drive tourism in our area. It makes sense, after all, many of them are small business owners who count on out of town business to make their living and keep their employees paid.
Ulster Country Tourism: Working Together
The conference started with a common theme I have heard lately: working together as a community. The first speakers spoke of the Ulster Tourism Industry not fighting over the same slice of pie anymore, but collectively joining forces to better not only individual establishments, but our whole community; our economy, our employment base, our tax roles. Increased tourism benefits all who live here. So, as a firm believer in community and reaching out, sharing information, etc. I thought it was off to a great start. (more…)
AMC’s Mad Men: A Lesson in Marketing
March 31st, 2010 by Danielle CorreiaThe Mad Men Advertising of Yesterday & The Internet Marketing of Today
This weekend, I started watching the 3rd season of AMC’s Mad Men. No television means I have to wait until they release the DVD’s, which I actually prefer because I can watch it without interruption. I believe that watching Mad Men is like getting a lesson in advertising history.
The one that started it all... Dyna Moe's Mad Men Illustration: Sterling-Cooper Christmas Party 2007
Let’s Give Them Something to Yelp About
February 16th, 2010 by Danielle CorreiaYelp for Business Owners: New Check-In Feature
Combining local reviews with social networking, Yelp has been striving to achieve the perfect balance of legitimate commentary with the gratification of engaging in an online community. Yelps new check-in feature ups the ante for business owners. For competitors like Foursquare and Gowalla, who have about 300,000 users jointly, as compared to Yelps 200 million plus users, this feature is certainly something to Yelp about.
Foursquare Confessional
February 4th, 2010 by Claudia D'ArcyOf Online Love and Lust
It must be in the air with Valentine’s Day right around the corner. Danielle Hearts Wordpress and I am infatuated with Foursquare. Maybe we are just freely admitting ou true Geekiness, but I will confess too.
Girly Geek Internet Love
Foursquare has gotten under my skin. Even if I don’t quite “get” him yet. I think that is a part of the intrigue. Foursquare and I are just at the beginning of our relationship and I am not sure where it will go. It’s kind of nerve racking really. Foursquare is playing hard to get, making me wonder and keeping me on my toes.
Like so many of my internet infatuations, Foursquare gave me that special tingle right from the get go. I can’t even recall when I first heard about him whether it was some blog, or at the office. I t doesn’t matter anymore. I know I sought him out to see what the buzz was about. While I was curious, once I did meet him, I wasn’t sure what to do next.
He was on my desk top, out of his element, looking like little more than some cute Twitter like directory. I joined anyway. I had to know. And before I knew it, he had my profile.
Social Media Fail Equals Success
December 23rd, 2009 by Claudia D'ArcySara Lee and the Perfect Cake Story
I’m going to completely contradict myself.
I am not at all a violent person and don’t ever really intend on pushing ill will towards anyone, but I do believe in venting as a healthy release of emotions. Maybe you have noticed that when I get annoyed with particular brands that fail to live up to my expectations, I do what I do best which is research them online, abet sometimes in a stalking kind of way, and demand that they right their current injustices.
Social Media Flaws
Yes, I do tend to be more critical of companies that are trying their hand at various social media outreaches and fail (cough:cough:best:buy:fail:twelp:force:cough), but I also use that research to look at them from both the perspectives of a SMM consultant and specialist and then also, from a user experience, since I am both. Usually, it is an attempt by a brand to approach social media in a way that shows huge fault lines and mistakes, which I like to learn from. Better their mistakes than mine!
