Having an online storefront means you’re always open for business Unlike other months, December is a critical month for just about any retailer.  According to the U.S. Census bureau, retailers’ sales during this busy month account for 15-24% of their total annual sales.  Besides Black Friday, the busiest shopping time during the year is the weekend right before Christmas. Typically, the Saturday before Christmas represents $15 billion worth of sales for retailers. This year, the United States East Coast was badly hit by a snowstorm that brought some areas up to two feet of snow, dashing the hopes of many retailers. With ...

Website, e-mail, and search spending made up the top of the list in changes business-to-business marketers would make in their online spending in 2010, according to BtoB magazine. More than half of B2B marketers would also increase their spending in social media and video marketing. However, more than half wanted to use social media for thought leadership while 49% wanted to use it to generate leads. On the other hand, 13% of B2B marketers would decrease their spending on online banners and 10% would decrease their spending on sponsorship. Want more information on how to increase your company’s reach online? The experts at ...

Many small businesses have decided to cut their marketing budget, however this can end up hurting your company more than you realize. Spending more money on marketing during an economic downturn can help your company get ahead when the economy turns around. There is a direct relationship between the success of a small business and its marketing spending, according to the “Small Business Marketing Health Check” report from Hurwitz & Associates. About 65% of small businesses that expected increased revenues had raised or planned to raise marketing spending, compared with just 32% to 36% of businesses with flat or declining ...

According to to TMP Directional Marketing and comScore, almost 40% of people who did an online local business search ended up visiting the store in person. Even more people, 46%, contacted the business on the phone. This is up from 2008 when only 39% of people contacted the business on the phone. Contacting a business online went down one percent, from 12% in 2008 to 11% in 2009. Also, general search engines were more likely to be used than local search sites or online yellow pages. The biggest searches on local search engines were for child care and hotels and for ...

The new digital era is keeping everyone on their toes. One of the most recent and frequently used forms of digital media is video marketing. While video marketing used to be something that only large companies could afford to do, with a decent budget, smaller companies are jumping on board. Before you jump into making your video piece, make sure you keep a couple of things in mind. First, you want to clearly define the purpose of your video. Is it an advertising opportunity? An endorsement? New product/service introduction? Product demonstration? Whichever the purpose of your video, make sure ...

According to a new survey by Prospectiv, becoming a mother changes how you view online marketing. Women with children are more trusting and open toward online coupons compared to women without children. When dealing with marketing emails, 45% of moms said they wanted information that pertains to their lifestyle while 21% said they like to see anything they send. 35% of women without children said they did not want to be sent anything, and 30% were interested in information that pertains to their lifestyle. Also, only 1% of mothers found blogs were an effective way to market a brand, compared ...

By now you probably know that not following through with search marketing is just as bad as not having a website at all. It’s just like being there and not having anyone know you’re there. The top two options for search marketing are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC). More and more often, companies, especially small businesses, are turning to PPC as their search marketing choice. PPC is a great way to increase your online exposure and ultimately traffic to your site. It works as a carefully planned bidding system whereby you pay only for each ...

For any company that might be offering a new service or product, a microsite might be what you need to market it. Microsites are self-contained sites separate from the primary site. They have their own pURL and focus on a distinct product or service. Even though they are called microsites, they cost and take up the same amount of time and energy of a regular website. However, if your company needs to create a unique brand identity for your product, then a microsite is worth the effort. If your company is a wholesale wine distribution company that wants to host a ...

The amount of time Americans spend on social networking and blogging sites as tripled in the past year. According to the Nielsen Company, time spent on social network and blogging sites, like Facebook and MySpace, accounted for 17 percent of all time spent on the Internet in August 2009. With an increase in the amount of time people spend on social networking and blogging sites, it is important for your company to adjust its advertising and marketing campaigns. Estimated online advertising has increased from approximately $49 million in August 2008 to $108 million in August 2009, a 119 percent increase. ...

In part 1, we looked at just the first basic steps you should talk when starting a brand new blog. Now that you have been blogging for a bit and have a few posts up, it is time to gain a readership. These are just a few ways to help you gain a loyal readership for your blog. RSS Feed One of the most basic things you can do to help improve a loyal readership is by keeping the link for your RSS feed readily accessible. If people like what they see right away, then they'll most likely add your blog to ...

Starting a new blog can be another simple step toward raising your brand or company's awareness online. However, if you've never taken part in blogging before, it can be an overwhelming experience. Here are some basic tips to getting your blog started. Easy URL Many people don't think too hard about their username when creating an account for the first time. However, this is one element of your site that can easily bring in more traffic. Use your company name if available or make it related to what the subject of your blog will be. Design The first thing someone will notice when ...

With Twitter growing at rapid rates, it is quickly becoming the latest way for companies to market themselves and get in touch with current and possible future clients. Approximately 18 million adults in the United States will access Twitter at least once a month, according to the latest report from eMarketer, making up around 11 percent of total Internet users. They estimate that percentage to increase to 15.5 in 2010. With a high number of people now flocking to Twitter, this can become a new way for your company to get its name out there. There are multiple ways to use your ...