With the maturity of the internet, thinking globally has become easier. Communicating via a variety of internet mediums has allowed us to connect like never before, opening up many new opportunities. While you now have access to companies all over the nation and globe, doing business locally remains a beneficial, worthy cause!

Ask yourself:

Am I really getting the best value for my dollar by investing with all the different offers via the internet? Well, I think in the majority of cases, if you work at building a relationship with your local printing company, local internet marketing company or local business you will get more than just a competitive price. You will get to work directly with a real human being building a mutually beneficial business relationship.

If you give your local printer, internet marketer, and local business a chance to compete with any internet offer you have received, the majority of the time you will get a greater value, and selection as well as a more personalized approach and service.

For starters, look at what Google is doing with their search features. Even though you can search for just about anything, Google has invested lots of time and resources to refine your search queries to your local area. For example: The Google Places service, when you do a search on Google that’s the local companies with the red inverted tear drop and a Google map in the upper right corner of your search query all point to your local printing company, local internet marketing company or local business in your local area based on your IP address.

Just recently Google announced Google+1, http://www.google.com/+1/button/ , Long story short, Google intends to use this new feature as a way to measure the quality (and subsequent rankings) of your web presence. “When someone recommends something, that’s a pretty good indicator of quality,” said Matt Cutts, Google’s principle engineer for search. “We are strongly looking at using this in our rankings.” said Matt Cutts to AdAge…

Read the full article at AdAge here: http://adage.com/article/digital/google-adds-button-foray-social-search/149645/ Plainly, doing business with your local printing company, local internet marketing company or local business is what Google is strongly suggesting as you can see demonstrated based on the results from your search queries and you can be part of this.

Further for-the majority of online businesses even some of the larger Fortune 500 companies, finding a customer service phone number is like finding a needle in a haystack? That’s not the case when working with your local printing company, internet marketing company or local business. These companies are happy to take your phone call and provide you with answers and solutions right away.

The practice of interacting with people face to face is still very powerful and welcoming. It is here to stay and will always be a value ad when doing business. In closing, go ahead and do your research on the internet. However, before you click on submit or buy now, why not give your local business a shot? You might build a long-term business relationship and possibly a new friend, not to mention you will benefit your local community in many ways. As a matter of fact, I’m meeting one of my long time clients tomorrow morning at a local coffee shop for a cup of coffee and a good old fashion eye-to-eye discussion. Besides solving the world’s issues we may even talk a little business. Hope to see you at the coffee shop one day soon!

BtoB: What’s the key to being successful in using social media to reach this audience?

Hausman: The important thing is that it’s still in early-adopter phase; no organization has missed out. Second, you still have to execute traditional branding and awareness external communications tactics; but now, if you’ve got really interesting content, you can laser-target potential customers, potential teaming partners and even prospective employees through a variety of different social and online communities in a very measurable and targeted way.

That said it all for me.

At this point I have a solid 8 months behind me in the Social Media arena. I feel I am what is considered a newbie in the business. With that said, I’m still ahead of 75% of the businesses out there, maybe more. What that say’s to me, the market is ripe to excel with your business.  It is like watching sharks feeding, it truly is fast and furies, everybody is claiming to be the next expert.

There are definitely some who are experts and fortunately I feel I’ve been able to align myself with some sharp people in this particular niche. As they say it’s like drinking water from a fire hose.  In the last 90 days I have converted my website from a Web 1.0 system to a Web 2.0 system to incorporate all the features that the new technologies have to offer.

Basically, that just means I have left the traditional brochure, HTML heavy website for a database driven or Content Management System (CMS). This technology is much more user friendly when it comes to updating your website. This is key when it comes to incorporating the power of the Social Media/Web 2.0 environment. For now here are 13 points to consider when navigating this new environment.

Some of the key points that I have learned in the last 8 months is:

1.    CONVERT YOUR WEB 1.0 – HTML  website to a WEB 2.0 Content Management System (CMS) also known as a Database Driven website,  ASAP. If that is something you are going to hold back on at least start working on some of these points.

2.   IT’S HERE TO STAY…
Don’t turn your back to this; if you notice your competition is doing it, you are now a follower. You can still catch up it just takes more work. The time is NOW.

3.    DON’T GET OVERWHELMED.
It is easy to feel like this is a entirely new job description in addition to what your already doing.

4.    GET STARTED NOW.
Align yourself or partner with someone you feel is further ahead of the curve than yourself.
This will give you a target to aim for. Since things are moving at a much faster clip than ever before.

5.    START SOME ACCOUNTS:
Get a Google gmail address, start Facebook page, get a Fan page for your business, start a Twitter account, LinkedIn & YouTube for starters. Join some groups on these pages and listen first, then make a comment, start a conversation.

6.    SEARCH out some industry related blogs.
Join the blogs, listen and learn, then comment and again engage in the dialog.

7.    START to check out what your competition is doing:
Check out their website. Do they publish articles, are they asking you to follow them on Twitter, and asking you to Fan them on Facebook.

8.    JOIN different opt-in’s by visiting other websites so you can monitor their marketing effort to you. This has been helpful for me as I didn’t have to recreate the wheel.

9.    START to leave links behind in your comments and blog posts.
Link’s are  your Website address, more specifically your web pages or landing pages as they are called, they are specific pages on your website that have opt-in forms for your visitors to exchange there contact info for something you offer of value. IE: Coupons, How To, 5 Tips, 10 Tips, VIP Membership, Charter Membership, 5 Mistakes to avoid, etc.

10. LIST BUILDING: This is the first step to building revenue through your internet marketing efforts. The next big step is to start to publish articles that are related to your industry or offer. This and the tips I highlighted are going to start to get Google and the other search engines to notice your website or landing page. If you have the tools to start capturing the visitors that come to you then can start building your list and market back to them.

10.    EZINEARTICLES: This is a website that could be considered a library for self published articles. These articles get cataloged & categorized by EzineArticles and search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Additionally people like you and me read, redistributed, and repost. All of this activity leaves links back to your landing page or webpage.

11.    TURN YOUR ARTICLES INTO VIDEOS and submit them to YouTube. This is another avenue to get your message out as well as links back to your landing page.

12.    NOW TAKE YOUR VIDEO and turn it into an AUDIO also known as a PODCAST. Submit your podcast to podcastalley.com. Once again you have left a link behind to get more optimization to your landing pages.

13.    Also known as the BAKERS DOZEN. The tips I’ve covered are (No Pun intended) just the tip of the iceberg.  I recommend you check out The 77 High Voltage Social Media Tactics. This will definitely FAST TRACK your learning curve.

Digital Printing vs. Offset Printing

To start out I would like to introduce myself, my name is Mark Allen and I started out in the printing industry back in 1988. The company I worked with then specialized in short run book and manual offset printing, there was no digital printing other than mailing equipment and automated billing equipment. Our specialty was one color printing; we did not even print multi-color covers, as our customers were encouraged to supply them.

This was the age of the photocopier and the printing press. The big time short run photocopier that competed in the small quantity arena was the Xerox 5090, with this machine you still had to have camera ready copy (CRA) to start with.  Soon thereafter Xerox announced a machine called a Docutech on October 2, 1990, this machine has revolutionized the printing industry, now you can supply a digital file and start production from a digital file not CRA.

Fast forward to 2010 and now there are many different digital machines that produce one color and four color process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black, aka CMYK) – these are the colors when combined can reproduce the majority of the spectrum of colors that we all enjoy) that rival offset printing. When printing anything in color on a digital machine you would always build the color(s) as a CMYK build.  Now, the question that seems to always come up with my clients is, should I produce this digitally or with offset printing? I hope to help answer that question for you.

Only three questions come to my mind when that question is presented.

1. When do you need the finished product?
2. What is the quantity you want to produce?
3. Is there any variable data or imagery required?

Since the quality of digital printing is virtually indistinguishable from offset printing to the end user. Unless you are pursuing, a larger quantity or a very high end finished production, which I will address in the future articles, digital production is more than adequate for short run production. For know we are talking about what is considered commercially acceptable print production, one color or  four color aka CMYK.

It really comes down to turn-around and quantity. If you need something fast, same day, 24, 48 hours, digital printing typically is the way to go for any quantity up to 1,000, (Higher for a single sheet ). Once you hit the 1,000/1,500 quantity with CMYK it is wise to start planning a 3 to 5 day window and look into offset printing.

In conclusion, our company Communications On The Mark offers 22+ years of experience in this industry. If it is digital printing, offset printing or internet marketing we can bring a complete and cost effective solution together for you. We keep constantly informed of new developments and changes within our industry. I will be sharing information on many topics in the communications are of your business in the future. If you would like to keep informed with what is going on in this industry, or just interested in new information, please feel free to share you name and email and I will keep you informed of changes in our industry that may benefit you.

Future topics to look for information on:

Wishing you success for 2010 and into the future.

The History of Business Cards

Business cards have a long history that dates as far back as the 15th century in China. The business card began as a “Visiting Card” or a calling card. It was a social convention that was bound by some very strict etiquette rules. The visiting card was introduced to Europe in the 17th century during the reign of Louis XIV who was known as the Sun King. In the same century the practice began to take hold in English society. It was actually required by the upper class when visiting others to present your visiting card to the butler and depending on who you were visiting, the lady or the man of the house would decide if they wanted to visit with you.

From the visiting card came the “Trade Card” this was a time newspapers were an undeveloped resource. The trade card was designed to direct the public to a merchant’s location and usually contained a map and directions. This was at a time when the current system of street numbering did not exist.

As lithography became the printing medium of choice in the early 1800’s and colors became easier to produce the visiting card started to become more colorful. For a short period there was not much distinction between the business/trade card and the visiting card. Gradually, the two types of cards began to separate. The rules of etiquette that came into being during this period began to make the idea of a card that stressed a business function unacceptable as a visiting card.

Slowly the business/trade card became the card of choice and the visiting card gradually vanished from the scene. Now it seems after you have made your business introductions, the next question is do you have a business card? As small and insignificant as it may seem the business card promotes the personality of the company, and individual. So it is important that you don’t take your first impression lightly.

With companies literally offering you free business cards as long as you sport their logo on the back, or cards for next to nothing that often are printed on only one or two different choices of paper stock & coatings. I suggest you take your business card more seriously and put some thought and design time into it before going for the free or low cost card and stand out, with your first impression.

With the introduction of new materials & technologies for business cards such as small CD size cards, plastic, magnetic backed cards, color business cards, the business card industry has moved into the modern era in an exciting way. If you have access to the internet with your cell phone you can even have a VIDEO BUSINESS CARD that you can email people you meet on the spot, that’s IMPACT.  A business card is a must for anyone who deals with the public today, and for many it is one of the most important advertising tools.

TAKE A LOOK AT A VIDEO BUSINESS CARD.

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As I mentioned in Part 1, the first step is a publishing platform to work from, which is your Web 2.0 website.

The next step is a list building tool built into your website so can start to build a group or groups of people and companies that are interested in what you are doing or have to offer.

Building your list is done by creating a value proposition, offer, gift, or some compelling reason that persuades someone to want to share their contact information in return for your offer.With a Web 2.0 site this can be accomplished with a simple widget or plugin. This can also be done with a Web 1.0 brochure or static style website as well, however it will require additional coding.

Another key step is generate as much traffic or visitors to your website. One way to do this is ask everyone you know and do business with to check out your new website. After a couple of days, weeks or months if you are lucky that will be the end of your traffic. To keep traffic/visitors coming to your website you need to have technology working for you as well.

Getting ongoing traffic can be accomplished by consistently publishing entertaining, enlightening and educational content. In addition to posting relevant informative articles, videos & blog posts to your website you should also publish them with the various sites that specialize distributing and syndicating your content. It must be done CONSISTENTLY! Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0 technologies are the platforms that will allow you to publish with ease.

You ask why? Well, the reason you have to do this consistently is to keep your website alive with new information so Google and the other search engines start to see you as an authority on the subject(s) you communicate about.  This will keep them coming back to see what you have posted. These actions will then get the viral/organic growth to your website. Remember you have to do it CONSISTENTLY.

I’m sure you are probably saying I am already pressed for time. Now I have to think like a publisher and publish new content  consistently, I don’t have the time. Well the good news is you don’t have to write all the material all the time. You have some options.

1.    You can create you own articles as I have done here.

2.    You can search the web for relevant material as long as you include a link back to the individual that actually authored the article.

3.    You can use software tools that will help you rewrite your articles, and articles that you come across while searching the internet. One of the software tools I use is called MassArticleCreator, it does some of the work for you. When you are busy this can be very helpful software tool.

4. You can hire someone to assist you until you get up and running.

5.    My recommendation is you use a combination of the four, creating your own articles; post other author’s articles and use software tools that help you become more efficient, as well as hire someone that can help you fast track the process for you.

6.    Upon the creation of you articles you then need to get them published, again the software that I have researched and found to be very helpful is MassArticleSubmitter.

I encourage you to take the next steps to get a stronger Web 2.0 presence in 2010.

If you are ready to take the next step and apply what you’ve read and enjoy growing your business. I have learned some basic steps to increase traffic to your website, thus increasing revenue for your company. For a more detailed process on how you can incorporate these strategies, I have put together a 3-Part mini course that maps out step by step, how you can start to succeed using Web 2.0 to grow your business. For immediate delivery, please click on this link to get the course.

Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0 The Beginning

In the beginning was the word and the word was and is all powerful. Now with the Internet, Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0 the word, the news, information, video, etc., travel the world in moments.

If you are reading it in the newspaper it was posted somewhere on the internet/web a day ago or more. So the question is how do we use, understand and benefit from this phenomenon called Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0?

The term “Web 2.0″ was coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999. In her article “Fragmented Future,” she writes[1]

“The Web we know now, which loads into a browser window in essentially static screenfuls, is only an embryo of the Web to come. The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we are just starting to see how that embryo might develop The Web will be understood not as screenfuls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether through which interactivity happens. It will [...] appear on your computer screen, [...] on your TV set [...] your car dashboard [...] your cell phone [...] hand-held game machines [...] and maybe even your microwave.”

Well it is now 2010 and Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0 are becoming household names, and synonymous since they are all intertwined and part of this World Wide Web. Initially, I fought the push to join Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the rest of the Social Media Networks. Now, I am fully engaged in as many Social Media platforms as I can find. As I realize some are fun and engaging others are used as tools to help get traffic to your Web 2.0 pages where you should have a value proposition, offer, gift, or some compelling reason to take action.

So let’s look at how you can make Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0 work for your business. The real mission for a business is to make more sales & increase revenues. The goal here is to get the ball rolling and start using you internet presence, your website to increase revenues. The first step is to have a publishing platform to work from, that is your Web 2.0 website.

If you’re like me you are probably saying I am already pressed for time. Now I have to learn all about Social Media Marketing & Web 2.0.  Well, the good news is you don’t have to do it all at once. You can do it a little at a time, you have some options.

1.^ DiNucci, D. (1999). “Fragmented Future”. Print 53 (4): 32.

If you are ready right now to take the next step and apply what you’ve read and enjoy growing your business. I have learned some basic steps to help increase traffic to your website, thus increasing revenue for your company. For a more detailed process on how you can incorporate these strategies, I have put together a 3-Part mini course that maps out step by step, how you can succeed using Web 2.0 to grow your business. For immediate delivery, please click on this link to get the course.