PP what?

So I have been having a conversation with a new friend on facebook that related to how PPC and online marketing works. With how fast everything is moving and how much innovators are getting ahead, there are a lot that are being left behind.

He chooses attraction marketing for his online business and I have to admit it has its merits to a certain degree. I have had that conversation with a few marketers. The conventional ones like the new stuff and want to figure out the latest and greatest. Seemingly though the rest of the world is slowly catching up and certain “outdated” methods are just now beginning to take effect. (it boggles me that it takes so long for many to realize and accept what marketing is bringing to the table and then to respond to it taking even longer…oh well, human kind)

Here’s an excerpt from that conversation:

Media buying in the “Google” realm can be a bit daunting to some. I am certified with my company in PPC, and it works well provided you take the time to learn the intricacies of it and then use it creatively. It’s truly the only way you can get ahead, and if you do it right, it can turn out a real profit.

SEM / SEO is a different beast even though they are keyword driven as well. They can prove to do some real justice to a business owners bottom line, but can get really pricey. Together they work hand in hand to create relevancy and freshness in Google’s realm and it can really help drive traffic…again, IF you take the time to learn it right.

There are some good tricks that you can use that the attraction and affiliate marketers use to get into the right spots on the content networks that have proven on more than one occasion that Google is still the way to go.(this is a given by most that Google is the only way to go, heck they created this whole PPC thing right?)

Attraction marketing is the “long funnel” marketing model that can be really effective when done with diligence and persistence. As you have found, it can be a great help in generating the kind of traffic you may be looking for. As for the honesty of pics, be assured you will run into a few that are not so open about who they really are, even business owners sometimes are a bit shy to let out their identities on facebook, linkedIn, etc.

Don’t want to get into a long drawn out blah blah about online marketing, but this is where everything has headed, and will continue to head until someone comes up with something else.

What do you think?

Business Development…what is it?

Ok. So ‘ve had this presentation for a bit and felt it was time to put it out there both as a refresher course and a “newbie” course for those that don’t quite get what Biz Dev is.

Here isa link to a presentation that is fairly simple to understand, once I get audio put to it we will do more to get it out to everyone in the business world.

Many think this is elementary stuff, but I’ve been running into too many people that just don’t understand that when times are slow that is when you make your best investments in your marketing, and TRACK THEM! Then you follow your sales through and make sure your conversion ratios make sense, then you do it again. (you know; wash, rinse, repeat as necessary)

Here’s the link: Click here

Once you’ve gotten here,  comment and give me your thoughts on what you think are necessary steps to making business deveelopment really work in our now economy…and be careful, there are a lot of emotions running right now, be critical in your thinking, find facts not feelings.

Where’s the money flowing…

Seth Godin makes a real interesting point on his latest blog; where the money is there you’ll find the people working.

Interesting to me that it starts as an end still and then the means justifies it. (almost sounds like the torture debate going on right now)

Here’s a tag to Mr. Godin’s point; if there is money to be made you can well believe that someone is going to be searching for it.

He wrote that things change around once there’s money to be made in any particluar field. He related it to writers becoming publishers which is the reverse of what was. (When the Writer Becomes the Publisher / Seth Godin – 05/2009)

It would seem pretty logical that once the public wants something, they are willing to pay for it, so what is it that you have that they are willing to pay for? What message can you get across to them to tell them what you have is what they need? Many times I see “the best blah blah” or “Number 1 blah blah in the state” C’mon, do you really think that is going to attract attention? If it does, I’d be pretty surprised. Nowadays it’s just not enough. Mr. Godin back in 2003 made refernece to being remarkable(the purple cow). If you have a pizz,a shop fine, so does almost every other coner strip mall, what makes yours so different?

Here in Las Vegas, NV , a local pizza chain by the name of Metro pizza decided to become the “purple cow” of the valley by holding pizza making classes. Their pizza is great, but now they are the teachers of pizza making, and it’s doing very well. People are paying for classes and more are hearing by word of mouth how great their pizzas are. Do you think they can charge a bit more because of that?

Here’s the bottom line: You have to find the flow of money where it is moving and get in front of it. It’s the one time you want to get run over by the flood. Even if you can’t handle it you’ll have known what is was like and can most likey prepare for it better next time. Pizza makers to pizza making teachers,writers becoming publishers, what else can you think of that would set you apart and find you more income for your business through the right marketing message?

Keep it rolling!

Just groovin…twittering a little @loicly.

Ok, so the @loic effect has begun. He unfollowed something like 23K in followers to unclutter what he had been following….ummm yeah??!

I think I would do the same. It is an interesting approach, and to someone like myself, that doesn’t want to have to follow and read every tweet all day long,( I do have a job to do you know) I would probably do the same thing just to keep it simply simple.

There are some seriously killer tweeps that follow hardly anyone (@wilw, @charleneli, @ambermacarthur) and have major followings. I guess they have a lot of followers that either followed from their blogs, or just figured that following them they can get some good info, or just a great laugh.

Here’s the thought on this though; the old way of following a ton of people and waiting to see how many follow back, and then trying to figure out who is real and who is a bot, or a service…not the real person is a bit much to deal with. Especially if you’re new…where do you start? You could start at http://www.search.twitter.com or another tool. However, how do you keep up with everyone? Tweetdeck? Tweet Manager could help you …oh wait. now you just became what the “gurus” are trying to filter out. Damn! How does this work so you have a ton of followers without having to follow so many? Guess we’ll have to plod along until someone finds the next best app when we’ll all be tweeting from our brains ‘at will’, to get everyone’s attention…wait…don’t we have a technology like that already? (implants?)

Personally I like trackin’ down the ones I wanna hear from, and then if they follow back kewl. But mass unfollowing? Is this to be the next big trend? and is this really a good thing? what does this do to Twitter in general? Does this defeat the purpose of what Twitter is for? or was this just the ploy of the Allstar tweeters(@guykawasaki, @scobleizer) to get all they can and just kind of read whatever they want and ….I don’t know….you know? Does that pre-suppose a type of “collateral damage”? (too many tweets going nowhere) Yet, this seems to be a part of Twitter.com’s culture. Seems a bit confusing when there are these others that follow less than ten percent of the number that follows them…fame? purpose?

Wait…

If there’s to be a trend you would hope that its relevance connecting to relevance, but of course people like being entertained too…so…why are we on twitter again?

We’ll have to really see what the trend leads to. For me? I think that mass following has its purpose, but if I can keep it narrow and focused, I will…not

I love the little pieces of info I can get from certain Tweeters, but I don’t always enjoy the randomness of it. I am glad there are tools and apps that help me to “screen” out the tweets I don’t need or want.

What do you think?

Oh and I’m listening to pandora.com I think Diana Krall’s been playin “The Look of Love”. Oh nope, it’s Nancy Wilson, “Who Can I Turn To”.

Nice to have music playin while I write…easier to do.