The Vine Frenzy

Taking off early this year is a new mobile app called Vine. It has been described as “Instagram with videos”, which pretty much sums it up from our perspective. What hasn’t been decided yet is the apps ability to spread from consumer to business. While Instagram is great for marketing retail items and for public relations, The Vine’s six second video allowance doesn’t give businesses a lot of talk time. 

The jury is still out on the person to person connection as well. Likeable Media put together some pros and problems for Vine, check them out and see what you think: 

Pro: Ability to find topics and people that are of interest to you

Problem: Pornography has been a huge problem, turning some people off completely

Pro: User Friendly

Problem: Instagram could add video to there feed and take away the Vine niche market

Pro: Videos can be embedded into Twitter feed

Problem: Because of the Twitter Facebook war, Facebook is not allowing a connection because The Vine is a Twitter offspring. This makes it hard to find friends.

Read full Likeable Media blog post here. 

Stay Classy Marketing Tool

As the fiscal year for families and businesses is ending, many are turning to non-profit organizations and charities to wrap up their giving. The “giving mood” of Christmas deserves as much credit as tax deductions for this surge of donations in the last month of the year. Although whatever the reason may be, non-profit organizations see 80% larger gifts in December, as well as the staggering statistic that 10% of all donations are given on the last three days of the year.

These statistics are based on an ingenuous software program called StayClassy. This tool helps facilitate peer-to-peer fundraising online for non-profit organizations. The software offers the ability to acquire new online donors, turn supporters into active fundraisers and then gives the organization an outstanding report of its performance.

We suggest you check it out if have a non-profit organizations and are looking to give your donations a boost this holiday season.

(statistics and information gathered from HubSpot and StayClassy)

Three Ways to Boost Email Marketing ROI

Despite what people may think or say about email marketing, one fact remains true: It's highly profitable. "Email averages a return on investment (ROI) of $40 for every $1 spent, far outstripping banner ads ($2) and keyword ads ($17)," writes Eric Didier in an article at MarketingProfs. So don't assume your good ROI can't get even better. We can help you take that next step!

You can improve results by enhancing efforts in these three areas:

Deliverability: A recent study suggests that 20% of marketing messages never even reach an intended recipient's inbox. To keep your deliverability rates up, strive to:

• Reduce complaints with relevant content, preference centers, and prominent unsubscribe options.
• Evade content filters by not using "spammy" terminology.
• Set up seed lists—your own accounts at top domains—to confirm that messages are being delivered.

Behavioral targeting: "Marketers who use behavioral targeting to send emails (or, better yet, to trigger automatic emails) achieve hefty gains in revenue per email sent," Didier notes. You can:

• Recommend complementary items based on past purchases.
• Reignite interest or request feedback when a customer abandons a cart.
• Send loyalty offers to subscribers who most frequently open your messages.

Acquisition campaigns: Building your list should be a top priority.

• Focus your efforts on potential subscribers who are likely to be interested in your product or service.
• Offer something of value, whether a discount or coveted insights.
• Show respect—to prospects, subscribers, and your own brand!

So remember, it ain't fancy, but it works. Help your marketing efforts achieve maximum ROI with a fully enhanced email marketing program. Source:

MarketingProfs,www.marketingprofs.com

How to Get Started on Pinterest and Attract Followers

Pinterest is by invite only, so to get started, request an invitation by clicking the box on the landing page of pinterest.com. It may take a couple of days for you to receive an invitation.

One of the most important things to do once you get started is to make yourself “Like”-able. If you have been active on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, you must have established your personal brand and online reputation by now. You have accomplished a loyal following by sharing your Tweets, Facebook status updates, blogs, YouTube Videos and other social content with your friends, fans and followers to build an ongoing like-ability across the social web.

On Pinterest you carry forward the same personality style to keep your brand consistent and to increase your like-ability. Engage and share content with your unique business style and inner brand voice. You decide whether you want to be noticed as a go-to expert in your industry or simply someone who is there to be social and share useful tips, innovative ideas and cool pictures from all around the web.

You can measure your like-ability by the volume of Re-pins, Likes and Comments you receive from your Pinterest network. You can enhance this by creating dynamic boards and pins. Engage with the community by being social and posting social content that is targeted to your audience and highlights your expertise. Once you have established your presence on Pinterest, start viewing other user-generated Pinboards and start Liking, Re-pinning and Commenting. In simple words, be social to be “like”-able. Remember, Friends first, leads second.

Lastly, don’t forget to create a well-defined profile on Pinterest. Connect with everyone you know and join relevant conversations on pinboards. Now get pinning!

From www.slideshare.net

In It to Pin It!

Over the past few months you may have heard some chatter about a new social network called Pinterest. The Unique visitors to Pinterest.com jumped a whopping 155% just in one mont from December 2011 to January 2012. Pinterest jumped Google + and LinedIn sitting at #5 of Hitwsie’s list of top 10 social networks.

Can you use Pinterest for marketing? Absolutely, let us share with you how.

-Drive Traffic to your website from Pinterest by pinning items your company carries
-Increase Links- by using the “Pin It” button on your pages, every single one of your pins will include a link back to the source, these are no-follow links and cannot be used to directly impact your strategy yet they provide marketing value because they allow pinners to encounter your content and visit your pages in just one click.
-Leads-Pinterest will start contributing to led generation
-Feature visual content you want to share with consumers
-Showcase your business personality!

Stay tuned for info on how to set up a Pinterest account and attract followers! Remember, succeeding on Pinterest is about finding how your products or services fit into the lifestyles of your target audience.

From The Hubspot: Pinterest for Business

I Want My SnapTag!

Definition of a SnapTag

[+]A Kindergartner's Definition
A picture with a circle around it is a SnapTag. You take a photo of it with
a mobile phone. Send the photo. Get back cool stuff. I like it when we get
back videos. My mom likes recipes.

[+]Brand Marketer's Definition
A SnapTag is your logo but interactive. Consumers engaging a SnapTag can
activate a full scale interactive brand engagement transforming any brand
impression anywhere into the opportunity for a brand experience. SnapTags can
be used across media platforms to deliver different marketing campaigns
customized for different consumer segments. SnapTags can also be used across
media platforms to engage consumers in an integrated multi-channel marketing
campaign. What brand marketer wouldn't want an interactive logo that is embedded
with sophisticated marketing campaigns?

[+]Direct Marketer's Definition
SnapTags provide marketers an opportunity to engage consumers and activate
a sustainable mobile relationship with them. Consumers participating in a SnapTag
campaign can opt in to receive more information, get brand updates or participate
in the brand’s loyalty campaign. Whatever the strategy, the result is a database
of consumers that want to hear from a brand. With a SnapTag, those brand messages
can be customized based on prior consumer behavior and information provided
by the consumer so direct marketing campaigns are more effective and engaging.

[+]Shopper Marketer's Definition
SnapTags enable marketers to engage consumers in a dialog customized for
different stages of the consumer purchase decision. Campaigns engaging,
influencing, informing or incenting can be crafted based on the consumer
opportunity. SnapTags campaigns can also engage consumers in mass marketing
campaigns and then drive them towards purchase consideration.

[+]Technologist's Definition
Snap and send on a standard phone. Scan on a smart phone. Either engagement
activates a response determined by a campaign-specific algorithm tied to a
specific SnapTag with a specific Code Ring™. The algorithm can serve responses
based on time, prior consumer snap behavior, API influences, consumer inputs and
other things we are just waiting to be asked to create. All the data is reported
via an analytics dashboard and recorded as attributes in a consumer database.

Social Media Do's & Don'ts

You’ve set up your social accounts and you seem to be gathering your fans online fast, but thinking about what to post online can sometimes seem as tricky as coming up with a wedding toast. We all want to be “Liked”, so what’s the secret to an irresistible to retweet update? Here are 5 Do and Don’ts for making the most out of your social media presence:

DO Be informative. According to research conducted by emarketer, consumers expect more than entertainment when connecting with a brand online; they expect incentives, like offers and coupons. A great number of consumers though (46%), replied that they look for something more substantial than offers just targeted to online fans, such as tips and information about product and services. Posting simple to follow how-tos and useful tips can prove much more effective than posting a link to a specific product or service. Ask your customers to share their tips and personal experience with your products or services in the comments or through tweets marked with a specific hashtag.

DON’T Be a parrot. Information overload and repetitive content are of the main reasons to turn off followers or even cause them to “un-follow” you.

DON’T neglect replies. Social media is not about broadcasting, but about conversation. Connect with your fans and engage in conversations, if you feel it is not an issue you can resolve though tweets or Facebook comments, don’t hesitate to transfer the conversation to a private space by providing the customer with the right telephone number or by requesting his/her contact details.

DO call for action. Ask your fans to Like your pics, prompt them to share your content and thank them when they do. Always remember to thank or acknowledge your followers though, showing appreciation never hurt anything!

DO have a crisis plan. Online backlashes seem to be difficult to avoid, so it’s best to have a policy implemented to handle these situations and always be prepared.

From MarketingProfs: thenextweb.com

Langstaff Marketing’s New Year’s Resolutions

2011 is winding down fast and the New Year is quickly approaching. We have had a great year, but in order to make sure we have an even better 2012, we have put together a list of resolutions.

1. Not to take on last minute projects when we’re already so busy. We know this will never happen because we’re so addicted to the challenge and to pleasing our clients!

2. Continue to put our clients and their needs first.

3. Read even more than we already do! Considering the amount of magazine, newspapers, and books that get swapped and passed around our office, we may need more hours in a day to accomplish this, but hey anything is possible, right?!

4. Step out of our comfort zone; wait…what is a comfort zone?

5. Avoid letting boxes get stacked higher than our desk, this only leads to a feeling of claustrophobia and prevents us from seeing outside.

6. Deliver even more creative ideas and the best of marketing strategies in 2012. After all, that is what our clients deserve!

7. Attempt to keep communication between our office in the range of business hours. Business related calls, texts, emails, and even house visits will only be allowed from 6am-6am.

8. Limit ourselves to only 2 cups of coffee each day......and maybe some more caffeine in the afternoon.

9. Show up each day ready to take on new challenges, brainstorm for creative ideas, expand our marketing knowledge, and push ourselves beyond what we think we are capable of, all with a smile on our face.

10. Be thankful each day when we come to work for our job. This is what we love, and we love delivering good stuff.


Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year from Langstaff Marketing

Your Elevator Pitch

If you suddenly found yourself next to someone who could benefit your career or business connections, would you be ready to take advantage of that opportunity?

It can be as simple as having the right elevator pitch. Think of it as your calling card, you have to remember that anywhere and anytime there could be an opportunity for conversation that could serve your career. Preparing an elevator pitch allows you to showcase your skills, experience, capabilities and goals in just a couple of minutes.

Where to start? First write a script, write down what exactly you do in several different versions. Then practice. Practice in front of a mirror to observe and perfect your facial expressions. Your script should include not only your professional accomplishments, but what is important to you, what you find meaningful in your life. Talking about personal subject matters will be more likely to connect you with someone as oppose to rambling off a list of awards you won at your last company.

Stay away from cramming your entire resume into your elevator pitch. Try and think of an elevator pitch as a first date, this is not the actual job interview. This is the first step in getting acquainted that will hopefully and maybe lead to a job interview. That is the point when you sell yourself. So next time you are unexpectedly in the same proximity as an influential person, networking, or just speaking with someone in the grocery line, remember that marketing is everything and everything is marketing. This includes marketing yourself!

Helpful Tips for Mobile SEO

If you haven't already done so, it's time to develop a unique SEO strategy for customers out there who search for content with iPhones and Androids—and all things mobile. As mobile online searches continue to increase, it is important to make sure your website can also be found on cell phones.

"Despite some predictions that mobile SEO will be of negligible importance, mobile search has grown 5x in the past 5 years—far outpacing PC searches—and the growth is only set to continue with the rapid uptick in smartphone sales," writes Lior Levin in a guest post at HubSpot.

See below three helpful tips to increase your mobile SEO success.

Create mobile-formatted content. This may be obvious but is still very important. If you choose not to format for mobile users, your content will hold less on-the-go appeal, and Google might take unfavorable notice.

Research keywords for mobile searches. When people search with a smartphone, they often use different keywords than they would use at a desktop. For help choosing better keywords for mobile searchers, HubSpot suggests you use the "Advanced Options and Filters" link at the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Choose "All mobile devices" under the "Show Ideas and Statistics for" option.

Optimize for predictive text. Mobile visitors are far more dependent on predictive text than their desk-bound counterparts—so structure your keywords in a way that anticipates common predictive phrases.

From The HubSpot