CaliberPulse

Are you visible to your customers online? Here is a simple test to determine how well you stack up with a “universal search.” Type your company name into a search engine. Are you the master of your own domain? If not, it’s possible that it is difficult for your customers to find you, especially when they aren’t looking for your company directly, but maybe searching for a resource for a particular product or service. Let’s break down the various parts of a search results page to see where you can improve the visibility of your company and own your universal search.

Are you sliding along the scale between traditional and digital marketing? Perhaps you are among the businesses still using only traditional forms of advertising that have been around for decades, such as outdoor, print, television and radio. Watch any Mad Men episode and you will hear these familiar tactics discussed. Traditional media were used back then, and remain the basis for many organizations’ marketing efforts. But there are many new tools at your disposal to help you reach your audience and garner results. If you haven’t already, start learning about and integrating new digital tactics into your marketing mix. We are not advocating abandoning traditional forms of advertising. Wise marketers are learning how to use all the new tools and including them when assessing what mediums will be used to reach a particular audience or to brand a specific product or service. Balancing the marketing options As with any marketing program, one size does not fit all. Each marketing mix needs to be tailored to the goals and objectives of the client. Don’t feel overwhelmed: You can start in small ways to integrate these new technologies into your marketing. Here are a few examples.

Lindsay Lohan, the controversial actress and singer, wrote a song in 2004 called “Rumors” that focused on her need for privacy. Even though she hasn’t done the best job of staying out of the news, her pop hit was slightly prophetic, as confidentiality and personal space has become one of the largest issues surrounding social media use. Whether it’s regarding a Facebook account or an internal networking system, people may be feeling a little like Lindsay did and say, “Well, I just need a little space to breathe. Can you respect my privacy?” Companies and their employees should know the intricacies of their privacy settings to ensure that needed breathing room is always available.

Have you noticed that multi-tasking is no longer a unique skill, but rather, it is universally expected? The largest contributor to our lengthy, daily task list is technology. Some of us see it as a huge hill and have to prepare ourselves for the challenge. Others see technology as the wrapped package that sat under the Christmas tree the longest. You finally get to open it, but first you shake it, try to peak through the paper and then quickly tear the paper away and begin exploring it. However you embrace technology, consider it a tool on your marketing tool belt. It is a mechanism to help get you from point A to point Z, as society is no longer happy going from A to B anymore.

If you want a hot deal close to home, check Facebook. Marketers are turning to social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to attract locals into tourist-dependent businesses during the off-season. Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson and Loews Lake Las Vegas applied the airlines’ concept of flying standby to the hotel industry with its clever “Standby Staycations.”

Over the past month, Google has been slathered with attention and media coverage because of its new social platform – Google Buzz. Some people think the application’s incorporation of Google’s existing Gmail users will help it build a robust database of people who will incorporate Buzz into their daily routines. Critics say it is one […]

As our agency conducts social media training sessions, we've noticed many Twitter users do not understand the benefits of the platform's hashtag capabilities. Designated by the pound sign or hash symbol (#), this is a tool that even the most active social media enthusiasts haven't had the time to wrap their head around. However, hashtags can be powerful resource in a marketing and communication arsenal.

Whoa! Before you ask Janet in Accounting to blog about the firm’s terrific service or you give a sample of your miracle product to cousin Ernie in the hopes that he will post an oh-wow comment on Facebook, pay heed to the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. Don’t let the regulations catch you by surprise or the FTC could slap a $10,000 per day fine if it finds you making and not immediately yanking unlawful claims. What the FTC considers “advertising” may be a surprise.

Remember Betamax? Not many people do. In the late '70s and early '80s, Betamax, commonly known as "Beta," was a hot technology that allowed people to watch and distribute recorded video content at ease. Other similar formats, such as the more widely used VHS tape, were developed that held a similar role. In a few years, one format reigned and Betamax went into the history books as another piece of meaningless trivia. This week, Apple announced the iPad, a tablet device that combines the best elements of a laptop and a smart phone. It's today's VHS - a piece of innovative technology that will turn its competitors, such as Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook, into the next Betamax.

comScore, an online measurement firm, recently released a staggering report on the significant increase of visitors to Facebook. Between December 2008 and December 2009, the social network more than doubled its U.S. audience from 54.5 million visitors to 111.9 million. Facebook is now the fourth most visited online property, right behind institutions such as Google and Yahoo!. Facebook is where people are going to communicate and get information. Every demographic has a presence on the Facebook network and each is rapidly growing.

New technologies changed the way businesses communicate with customers, friends and families throughout the last decade. For public relations and marketing professionals, the emergence of social media created new opportunities to build relationships never dreamed possible. Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, LinkedIn…Where are these social media platforms taking us? Will there come a day when information is somehow beamed directly into the cortex of our desired audience? While that seems unlikely, so did the concept of a social networking site like Facebook ten years ago. Today, one can update customers through a company’s social media account through a cell phone or notebook. Restaurants and businesses have free wireless Internet services to plug into. The news doesn’t wait for the evening broadcast or morning newspaper; rather, news reaches us instantaneously on our mobile devices through the latest post or tweet. Even traditional news sources allow for public comments after each story on their Web sites. Remember the days of dial-up Internet service or sending faxes to communicate 10 years ago? The times are certainly changing.

Hit a link and hit the jackpot? Well, maybe. No one knows for sure about the jackpot part. But one Southern Arizona salon is betting it will boost business by increasing relationships and referrals using social media. Gadabout SalonSpas has jumped into the Facebook and Twitter communities to enhance its top strategy for attracting new clients—word of mouth marketing. Starting this year, Gadabout has attracted 1,950+ Twitter followers and 450+ Facebook fans and a dedicated company blog readership. It figures. As Megan Davis, marketing director at Gadabout, points out, today’s social media platforms fit right into the classic relationship Gadabout clients have with their hairdresser.