# Fresh ideals for online marketing



## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

*Fresh Ideas for Online Marketing*
Jun 20, 2011 11:57 AM EDT








*I understand that social media is great way to market your business, but does anyone have any fresh ideas for offline marketing? *_-- _Ross of Oregon

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council. Founded by Scott Gerber, the Y.E.C. is a nonprofit organization that provides young entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, community and educational resources that support each stage of their business's development and growth. The organization promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment and underemployment. E-mail your questions about best practices for starting up and/or managing a small business to [email protected].
*No. 1: Give, Give, Give*
From Colin Wright of Ebookling
Give value to everyone you meet, everyday. It's a simple concept, but I'm blown away by how few people actually put it into practice in their day-to-day life. Be that helpful person everyone wants to know and introduce around, and you'll never have trouble marketing anything; people will line up to help you out, online or offline.
*No. 2: Take Your Show on the Road*
From Steph Auteri of Career Coaching for Word Nerds
Face time can be integral in establishing a connection with clients and customers. People are more likely to spend money on someone they know and trust. So take things offline and throw an event: a panel, a networking event, a meetup. This will allow you to establish yourself as an expert and will also allow you to establish an authentic connection with your intended audience.
*No. 3: Set Up Support Groups for Local Business Owners*
From Lea Woodward of Kinetiva
Running your own business can be lonely; one thing we've been doing is setting up local support groups and encouraging other business owners to attend in a purely supportive (not networking) capacity. It's a great way to unwind and get to know other entrepreneurs in the same area, as well as automatically raising your profile in the local community and spreading the word about what you do.
*No. 4: Focus on High Return Trade Shows and Events*
From Erica Nicole of YFS Magazine: Young, Fabulous & Self Employed
Start with opportunities that will provide the highest return on your marketing investment. Make your budget work harder offline by attending industry trade shows and partnering with local charities and causes to promote your brand. Integrate these tactics with your online presence to drive a holistic and surround sound message.

*No. 5: Speaking Engagements*
From Kris Ruby of Ruby Media Group
Speaking engagements are the best possible opportunity for offline marketing. If done correctly, the engagement is a way to differentiate yourself as an opinion leader and expert in your industry,and to begin building a solid following and fan base. Make the goal of your engagement to distribute knowledge so that when people walk away, they will think of you as a valued resource to return to.
*No. 6: Saturate the Media*
From Danny Wong of Blank Label Group, Inc.
Saturate the media space of your audience. Cover the billboards, posters, sidewalks and streets with your marketing message. When you do this (without being annoying), you're improving credibility and legitimacy with your stakeholders so when they're further down the conversion funnel, you'll have sold them!

*No. 7: Should I Still be doing Offline Marketing?*
From Jason Sadler of IWearYourShirt.com
The reason social media marketing is so hot right now is because you can reach so many people so quickly. When you buy a billboard ad, magazine ad or even a banner ad all you know is that it might have XYZ amount of "eyeballs" on it. I'd rather use social media to actively reach potential customers, talk to them, learn things about them and develop long lasting relationships.
*No. 8: Integrate Offline and Online*
From Shama Kabani of Marketing Zen
Don't think of social media or marketing as being just online or offline. The best way to succeed at offline marketing is to fully leverage online marketing. I recently read a case study on Naked Pizza which grew to 450 stores in less than two years. One innovative technique? They switched out their store signs for "Follow Us on Twitter" signs. It doesn't have to be either or.
*No. 9: Find Mavens*
From Vanessa Van Petten of Science of People
Every industry has mavens--people who know a lot about your niche and have a huge community of followers. Spend some time trying to find the offline mavens in your space--hairdressers, local small business owners and office clerks in the county are often the people who can literally get hundreds of others to opt in to what you are trying to do. Find five mavens and get 500 customers.
*No. 10: Offer a Takeaway*
From Thursday Bram of Hyper Modern Consulting
The only real difference between online and offline marketing is that you have the opportunity to actually put something into the hands of prospective customers - so do it! Think about what's relevant and useful to your business. Don't stick to brochures and branded pens here. You can do something memorable that clearly connects to your business if you're willing to invest the time and thought.


More Small Business News 

Fox Business News


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Good points, #1 has been working well for me, have made a lot of connections just by giving out information. And yes KLaw, they are turning into leads!


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## jtea858 (Sep 8, 2010)

*New Idea (working for me)*

Great ideas. I have been using live Video Chat on my sites to increase conversions. Its like Skype on your website but no waiting to add a contact to list. Its an Instant connection.:thumbup:

More info about it here: http://livevideowebchat.com/


http://housepaintersseattle.com/


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

JT I really like you site. 

Nice list BB!


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

jtea858 said:


> Great ideas. I have been using live Video Chat on my sites to increase conversions. Its like Skype on your website but no waiting to add a contact to list. Its an Instant connection.:thumbup:
> 
> More info about it here: http://livevideowebchat.com/
> 
> ...


Do you or someone in your company respond to the chat or is that outsourced?


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## jtea858 (Sep 8, 2010)

*Video Chat*

I turn on the camera and chat function when I am at my computer. I am now live on my sites and then can help my site visitors with questions. This could be easily outsourced though because its only 49 a month and you can have another operator on the system. 

I also use this for meetings with clients to awnser questions about my proposal and if they need to meet me. It has saved me a few trips.

Skype works too but having to add to contact list and approve...then remove is not as smooth as this system.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Are you able to determine what % of your customers use it? They seem to like it? I imagine the ones who are more tech savvy would love, but are the minority.
Another thing is are the people that answer when you are not available able to answer questions at all?

Just curious, I have hear both pros and cons on it.


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## jtea858 (Sep 8, 2010)

*Live Video Chat*

After 7 weeks I have had 3 calls from the chat feature. But I only have it on about 1.5 hours a day on average. 
If I ramped this up and got a girl from craigslist on my account to turn on the camera and be available to answer basic questions(about painting and my company) and then give her a commission for any forwarded leads to my cell I could see much larger possibilities. 
If you get a decent amount of traffic to your site this should work well and be fruitful . Its a competitive edge. 

Its hard to have exact numbers yet but I think this is going to help with conversions. I also use a script that pops up with the contact form and welcome video (that auto plays) on 1 of my sites and I am getting ready to implement it on more. Its time to get more aggressive with getting contact info!
You can also see when someone is on your site and greet them if you want to.

The other way I use it though is talking to a homeowner I have not met yet. Sometimes the wife calls and I meet her but the husband now wants to meet. We can do this over video chat and get a better "feel" for each other. This also adds a level of professionalism.

This system can also go on your Facebook page. As far as my role in letting people know about it....I get 16 dollars for a sign up. Same deal for anyone you refer this to after getting it. 

Best of luck with it if you want to try it out. I can help you with implementation if you like. no charge.

http://livevideowebchat.com/  

its a paypal so you can cancel anytime.

Seattle Remodeling


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Thanks for the response. Appreciate the offer but I agree with your point on needing the traffic for it to work, and I just don't get enough traffic (at least from my target market) to make it work.


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## palmerjerr (Aug 2, 2010)

Another crucial and essential tool in marketing is service oriented outlook than product oriented outlook, which means to maintain proper follow up with your past & current clients and ensuring quality services to clients. Relationship management with the client is one thing which has become increasingly important in these times of cut throat competition.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

This is the absolute best article I have ever read on SEO and online marketing. 

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-noob-guide-to-online-marketing-with-giant-infographic-11928


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

straight_lines said:


> This is the absolute best article I have ever read on SEO and online marketing.
> 
> http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-noob-guide-to-online-marketing-with-giant-infographic-11928


Wow, that is killer! Thanks:thumbup:


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