Blogs

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Generating a social media strategy for small business

Social media and big business have a special kind of love affair. The problem is, when it comes to small businesses capitalizing on social resources, there’s often the all-to-daunting question of where, exactly, to start. This confusion often spawns a seemingly prototypical response: Social is not right for my business. It is easy to dismiss the potential of social media marketing when that first blog or tweet goes un-talked about. Read on for some tips for where to start when generating a social media marketing strategy for a small business. Continue reading “Generating a social media strategy for small business”

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Shifting marketing dollars: Digital advertising for growing business

An eMarketer study published June 2012 found marketers allocate less than 20% of their ad budget for social media. The principle discrepancy— especially for small business— may be a lack of confidence in social media’s ROI. Small businesses, in particular, seem uncertain about allocating advertising dollars for digital and social media, and whether or not the investment is a smart move. With leaner budgets, less online presence, and a localized consumer, the idea of “playing with the big boys” on the field of SM marketing seems a bit daunting. Truth is: the size of your business is relatively irrelevant. Large and small companies can win with social media commerce. Continue reading “Shifting marketing dollars: Digital advertising for growing business”

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Meet Raise Your Share intern Sam Cleary

Sam Cleary is the Raise Your Share Summer 2012 Digital and Social Media Intern. A junior at the University of Iowa, he is a student at the Undergraduate Iowa Writer’s Workshop, pursuing a BA in Creative Writing and a Certificate in Business Administration. Sam is also pursuing a Certificate in Advanced Internet Marketing at the University of San Francisco. As Raise Your Share’s Digital and Social Media Intern, Sam hopes to supplement his interest in creative new media/social marketing by gaining hands-on experience with a wide range of dynamic media projects.

“My time at Raise Your Share has provided me with the ideal internship experience– I’m actively involved in real projects, each of which differs from the next, and have found myself a part of a team rather than merely an observer. My work here has been an intersection of all my interests: Editing, writing, publishing, blog/web design, creative brand strategies, and social media ROI. The position has yielded not only exposure, but education through immersion.”

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelcleary
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/samuel.cleary.16

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Interactive Advertising Bureau and Congressman Chabot agree: Internet Advertising cannot be over-regulated

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, Congressman Steve Chabot and SW Ohio digital thought leaders gathered this week to discuss and review the impact digital advertising has on the state and the nation. Michael Theodore, VP Member Services for the IAB, noted “in the past, we have invited representatives from markets to fly-in to NYC. Our visit to Cincinnati, an important market for brand development and digital advertising, is one of our first fly-outs.”

According to the IAB, the economic impact of interactive advertising in Ohio results in an economic benefit of approximately $12.5 billion annually and 129,580 employees in the state.

And IAB Vice President Michael Theodore says it’s just the beginning. Continue reading “Interactive Advertising Bureau and Congressman Chabot agree: Internet Advertising cannot be over-regulated”

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Creating Positive Social Media ROI panel at the Digital Non Conference Cincinnati

In the breakout session on Wednesday, September 14, from 3-4pm, panelists take on the age-old question: how do I know my investment in time and money is actually working? For marketers championing a social media program, three words hold a tremendous amount of weight: Return On Investment. How does your company launch targeted, effective campaigns and measure them effectively to gauge success? This panel will help you plan for the ultimate goal – impressive return on investment – at every stage of your social media outreach. Creating Positive Social Media ROI presenters include Jackie Reau, co-founder of Game Day Communications; Alex Shebar, yelp Community Manager Cincinnati; Patrice Watson, CEO, Raise Your Share plus moderator, Chuck Tobar, Senior Business Development Manager, Shoutlet.
Learn more about the Digital Non Conference in Cincinnati on 9/13-/914 with this short video.

Purchase tickets for the Digital Non Conference: http://digitalcincinnati.org/

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Whether you believe social media is a revolution or a fad, this video will PUMP you up!

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Earn social media badges by reading Google News

If you were a brownie, cub scout, girl or boy scout, or play organized sports, this innovative social rewards idea will resonate. Now you can get badges for reading Google News. The company is offering a variety of 500 different emblems, each one for a particular topic. As you become more well-read, Google News awards a star to the badge for that topic. There are five different levels of the stars, starting with a bronze star. As you read more articles, you receive a silver, gold, platinum and, ultimately, the coveted blue star.

According to the Google Blog, you can keep all this badge mania to yourself by default, or share with others how well read you are. As your Google+ communities grow, badges may be a great way to start discussions and social interaction between you and others with shared interests.

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Publishers build new revenue with digital assets

Mathew Ingram cites how several national publishing groups are moving to leverage their digital assets and brand in creative ways to produce new revenue. I use the term ‘monitize’ continually while exploring new ways for my clients to use social media real estate to engage readers, support your sponsor’s efforts and drive e-commerce through app technology. His closing comment sums the state of affairs succinctly:

No one has found the formula for generating revenue from online publishing, so the more experimentation that occurs the better.


New media mantra: Monetize, monetize, monetize
By Mathew Ingram Jun. 14, 2011, 3:04pm Continue reading “Publishers build new revenue with digital assets”

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The price of a Facebook fan – post reprinted from Ellie Behling's Blog, Vital Business Media

How much do you have to pay to get people to “like” you?

A new report from digital marketing firm Webtrends examined Facebook ad campaigns and the “cost per fan,” or the ad spend required to acquire fans, among different industries.

The good news for media companies is that they typically spend less acquiring Facebook fans than companies in most other industry sectors. That shouldn’t be a big surprise, considering media and entertainment-based companies have built-in fan bases, unlike a sector like healthcare that is just beginning to interact directly with customers.

The study also found that media and entertainment companies advertising on Facebook get better click-throughs than other industries.

The report analyzed 4.5 billion Facebook ad impressions across 1,529 campaigns. Across all industries, the study revealed that Facebook ads perform half as well as traditional banner ads. It also found some differences in how geographic and demographic groups interact with Facebook ads (“the older we get, the more we click”). Continue reading “The price of a Facebook fan – post reprinted from Ellie Behling's Blog, Vital Business Media”

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5 ways to monitor your competition with social media

There are more ways than ever to find out what is working and not working for your competitors. Tools available to all businesses include monitoring websites for popularity using Alexa Rankings or compete.com. MSN and Google link-domain services allow you to find out who is linking to their site. Set Google alerts to industry topics, product names or anything you want to keep track of. Thinking about buying Google ads? See who is buying Google Adwords with Googspy.

Brick and mortar businesses have observed the competition for years. Tried-and-true techniques include tracking their approaches to marketing and advertising, understanding their resources and profiling employees that might be a good fit as a future hire. A walk down any business-to-business or consumer trade show aisle offers a look at their employees, their culture and how they interact with customers.

Media competitors swim, if not almost drown, keeping on top of their competition’s output every day. Continue reading “5 ways to monitor your competition with social media”