A Picture is Worth a Thousand Clicks

Have you ever searched for a picture online? You can almost get diverted from what you were looking for huh?  That is because we love pictures.  If it is something we are interested in then we are all over it.  So why do you want to take pictures and put them on flickr and photobucket?  Because others are on there looking at them!  This is a marketing strategy that can help you with SEO, traffic to your website, and a following on your social networks like facebook and twitter.

You can license your pictures through the Creative Commons so that people can use them for commercial or noncommercial purposes.  You can stipulate that people use your photos so long as they give you credit for them, which is great for SEO.  The more people use your photos online the more your name goes out and the very least, helps your ranking with search engines. Every little bit helps with SEO so take the time to name your pictures.

Join groups that fit your photos and client type. For instance, if you own a restaurant, you will want to join some food groups and post pictures of food.  Add your pictures slowly, so they are staggered in the group posts, you will irritate your audience if they see the whole page filled with your photos, posted one after another, after another.  Some groups may have limits to how many photos you can post daily. Be mindful of each group's rules, follow them, and never ever spam.  You can link to other photos within the text description.  Perhaps your have a remodeling company and you finished a beautiful kitchen, post your best in a group about kitchens and then link to the rest of your album about the kitchen remodel.

Use all of the tools available to you with this marketing strategy.  Use the descriptions and the pictures to take your viewer through a story. The more interesting it is the more referrals you will get to that album and that means the more visibility your company has on-line.  Tag your photos and change their licensing as needed to help people locate them and don't forget to invite them to follow you on twitter and facebook.

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies On & Off Line

Invite a Guest to Write your Blog For a Day

You have your blog themes and a calendar set up.  You are posting on your social networks and also commenting on other people's blogs, photos, and posts. How are you going to keep it fresh and give yourself a break from time to time? The answer is enlist others to help.

Do you refer business to others? If so, they are the perfect people to have on as a guest blogger.  They benefit by having exposure to your audience and you benefit by keeping your audience educated and entertained with fresh ideas outside your scope, but fitting to it.  For instance if you have a auto garage that fixes cars but doesn't clean them, your guest blogger could be the owner of a local full service car wash.  Play it into your themes and choose one day a week to have a guest blogger.  By sharing exposure with them you will gain exposure from their audience as well, if they are using social media, adding another element to this mutually beneficial marketing strategy.

Another example of how to work the guest blogger for maximum exposure, and my personal favorite, is spotlighting a customer. A restaurant could promote customer involvement by spotlighting a favorite family recipe  from their customers once a week. Customers can submit their favorite family recipes, along with a short story on why the recipe has special meaning for them and each week the winner will be listed on the restaurant's blog. You could go a step further and do honorable mentions once a week and then have a main winner once a month and include a gift card for your restaurant.

Involving your community, both on and off line, will widen your exposure and that is what you need in any of the marketing strategies you use. The possibilities are endless to how you can involve guest bloggers within your business or cause. 

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies On and Off Line

Plan Your Blogs

It can be incredibly daunting to have a constant blog deadline looming over you.  Constantly thinking up new topics can frustrate you and make you take a step back. It doesn't have to be stressful though. There are ways to help ease that tension and keep you on track.  Remember you want to use all of the marketing strategies you can get your hands on and mind around.

Make each day a different theme.  This can help you make the wide world of what you will write into manageable categories.

For instance if you own an antique store, your blogs may follow something like

• Monday - Just In, new items 
• Tuesday - Designs Around Antiques, showcase a designer or design that uses antiques
• Wednesday - Antique News, news about antiques throughout the world
• Thursday - Just In, more new items (don't have enough new items...you will once your business increases from using our marketing strategies.)
• Friday - Sales, what's on sale for the weekend shoppers 
• Saturday - Just Missed, showcase an item that sold over the week

If you own an auto detailing service, your blogs may follow something like

• Monday - Specials, discounts for the week
• Tuesday - Hot Auto News, what is new in the world of cars or racing
• Wednesday - Product Review, review a product you sell like disposable interior wipes, trash container, air freshener
• Thursday - Local Cars, spotlight a local customer and share pictures of their ride
• Friday - Last Chance, reminder about this weeks specials
• Saturday - Dirtiest Car Award, perhaps you'd like to have fun with your 4-wheelers out there and encourage them to get their cars cleaned as well.

Another great way to keep from having writer's block is to plan out your blog ahead of time. Plan what your story titles will be and then you will have a foundation for your writing.  Just having the idea takes away the stress of having to think up new ideas, constantly. By setting out a plan of titles you have narrowed down what you will be writing about and that added stress of, "What will I write?" goes away.

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies On & Off Line

Get Involved

Are you involved in your community, a cause, a charity? If not, you should be. First, you can make your community a better place by being involved. Second, it is the best way to meet people in your area. People that are willing to help out and spread the word about your cause or business. No matter how much marketing you do nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is better then word of mouth. When people give positive testimony about your business or cause it holds way more weight then a flyer left on their door or an ad in the phone book.

Do something you enjoy and that you will do well. Let's say you have bad knees and your community is having a city wide clean up. Your knees won't allow you to pick up trash, but there is nothing stopping you from helping with snacks and beverages for the ones cleaning. Perhaps you own a printing company and can donate flyers to be placed around town. The point is find something that you can do and do well, so that you can still be involved in the worthy event.

Donate products and/or services whenever possible to fundraisers that have auctions. Whether it is for a hospital, a political candidate, or a charity if you believe in the cause, make the donation. If you are an artist, donate a piece of art. If you are a chef and you are building your catering clients, donate a dinner party for a small group. If you own a lawn care business, donate a few hours of work. Whatever it is that you do, make sure you donate something that showcases your business. This will increase your local visibility and you are helping a worthy cause, and one you believe in.

Attend the event and support the cause. You will be around others within your community that share the same mindset of being involved. The networking opportunities are incredible at these events. Again, I can not stress enough, do something good for a cause you believe in. If you do not believe in the cause you will not be genuine and being genuine is key to marketing yourself. If you are enjoying yourself at the event others will enjoy your company at the event.

Be real, be yourself, and be involved.

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies on and off line.

Get Your Ideas Out

You don't have to have novel quality writing skills to author a blog.  If you stick to writing about something that you really know about or have a passion for then your words will convey that to your readers. For most people the most difficult part of blogging is getting the idea out in written form. But you don't have to start with written form to get the idea out, you can record it.

Carry a voice recorder (many cell phones have this capability) so that you can record an idea for a blog when it is fresh in your mind.  Sometimes it is easier to talk an idea out then to type it out.  The idea flows more natural while you are talking, especially if you are not the best typist. Once it is out then you can make improvements to it, change the sentence order and make grammatic corrections.

Record short thoughts.  They are great for social network posts, also known as micro-blogging, and they can become the foundation for future blog articles. Brainstorm ideas, list them, do whatever you have to to get that thought out so that you can build upon it. Keep those lists handy so that you can add to it often.

Using these marketing strategies will help you keep your writing from being blocked.  Something you do not want to happen because social media depends on your writing to keep you visible.

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies On & Off Line

Budgeting Time

Budget your time for social media.  This will help you to not get lost in it.  It is very easy to get caught up on the social networks and constant click through studying, that you can get "rocking chair" syndrome.  That is where you are moving a whole lot and yet not getting anywhere. When this happens you get very little return for the amount of time you put in to it.

Block off a certain amount of time that you can devote to increasing your online visibility. When that time is up move on to your next scheduled task. If you have tasks you have not finished make a list. Then use that list to keep you on task during your next scheduled time for social media. If you have a brainstorm idea during the day write it on the list so that you won't forget, that way your mind can be free to concentrate on the task at hand.

Schedule your posts and blogs. Use a blog that allows you to set the date and time for your articles to post.  This takes off major amounts of pressure as your posts will go out when they are supposed to and you won't have to remember. Writing one step ahead of yourself is incredibly helpful too. Then you won't feel like you are on a constant deadline.  This may not be an option if your blog is news related, but it is especially helpful for those that can not devote daily time to their blogs.

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies On & Off Line

Dress Up Your Page

Spend some time setting up your pages on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. If you are signed up, set it up, otherwise you are wasting a valuable opportunity for people to see you and your message. People are more responsive when they think of you as a real person and not just a page they ran across online. The way to show them you are real is by taking the time to post a profile picture and fill in the "About Me" section, hours of operation, etc.

Go through every section, in every area, of each network so that you don't miss anything. It takes time, but it is definitely worth it and you can clip and paste from one site to another to keep everything the same. If there is the option to change your background, change it. You want to show your own style and personality but do not go overboard making it cluttered and hard to focus on your pages.

Use pictures and videos to draw your viewer in but make sure you don't overload your site with so many pictures that it slows your loading time.  Loading time is a factor in the algorithm used by search engines so keep your load time reasonable.

You can always go back and make changes as necessary so above all, don't stress. The wonderful thing about online marketing strategies is that you can change them easily. So deep breath...now go set up your profiles and pages.

Roy Magno - Marketing Strategies On and Off Line