Social Media Marketing gets tricky, especially for small business owners, because new media tools sprout up and evolve like wildflower. The minute you get used to and master one tool, there is a new one on the scene and you never know which one is going to become the next new thing.

Enter Google+, the latest in the social media wars poised to take over the online world. There are already rumors about whether or not it will replace Facebook. Chances are good expecially when Google has already captured so much online equity with its search engine, ad network,

According to the latest social media metrics, the Lady has a strong shot at the premiere position having already secured 45% increase over the President in Twitter followers and an crushing 88% more Facebook fans than the President.

The two met in October of this year at a campaign fundraiser, Lady Gaga apparently performing reconnaissance on her opponent while posing as a re-election supporter. In his own words, the President admitted that he felt a little intimidated by the domineering pop superstar.

“She was wearing 16-inch heels. She was eight feet tall. It was a little intimidating,” President Obama said of pop superstar Lady Gaga in an address Saturday at the annual Human Rights Campaign gala in Washington, D.C.

Should we consider this admission of presumptive defeat from the notoriously optimistic leader of the free world?

Lady Gaga’s platform will feature anti-bulllying laws and a commitment that, if elected, official registry of the act as a hate crime. She will also champion legal rights for Little Monsters alongside her support of gay rights.

Sources have yet to reveal how the potential campaign will affect her touring schedule, but she remains committed to leading the nation forward with outside-the-box thinking and innovative outfitting.

[Inspired by the Onion]

You can sign up to Twitter via text super fast and super easy.

To follow someone text “theirtwittername” to 40404 or type “Signup” to create an account if you don’t have one already.

For example, text “ratracerev” to 40404 to follow us on Twiiter.

 1. Interact with your customers

2. Promote your business online

3. Educate your customers

4. Measure the results of your efforts

If you would like a free consultation on how to get found online, get more customers and make more money contact Eclectic Design Studio today at (888) 857-5756 or send us an email. We look forward to discussing clever, cost-effective ways to boost your online exposure!

Well, it depends on what type of business you are in and the psychographics of your ideal customer (i.e. age, lifestyle, attitudes, etc.). But one thing is for sure, maximizing your online exposure to place your business in front of customers ready to buy right now is critical. If you need help getting it there, contact us today…

All of your marketing materials, your logo, business card, website, postcards, etc. communicate a message that attracts your target audience to you like a magnet. It also is intended to create confidence in your brand while differentiating you from any of your competitors.

Are you tired of spending marketing and advertising dollars without any way to track its efficiency or return on investment?

Are you guilty of cutting back on advertising & marketing dollars spent because of lackluster response?

Since you know that you must continue to promote your services in order to generate new and repeat business, one very effective way to solve this dilemma is to immediately start implementing a direct response approach in ALL of your marketing efforts from this day forward. This means that whenever you send out a marketing piece, promotion or even Yellow Pages ad, it will have a method for garnering some type of response form your target prospect.

Some circles believe that Yellow Pages is dead, and for some markets we can all agree that is not very effective, especially with the use of Google searches and smartphone apps. In most cases, its much easier, and a heck of a lot faster to hop on your phone or computer and type your search and receive instant results rather than to go dig out the Yellow Pages book from the back of the closet, thumb through the categories and find a local service listing.

But I digress…let’s think of how a typical Yellow Pages ad is laid out. Normally, it features a big bold company name or logo with contact information. It may include a list of services or a picture of the company vehicle, but usually not much more than that. When you have 10-20 of those type of ads on a page, what is going to make any one of them stand out?

Truth is, not much…

Regular ads typically focus on the razzle dazzle of color and pictures to help their ads stand out. But when you’re are looking for a solution to an immediate problem, which is why your prospect is thumbing through the Yellow Pages in the first place, a bright color is not going to help you make an informed decision about which service provider to select. Regular ads are awareness builders at best.

But what you want is to get your potential customer to pickup the phone and call you. So how do you do that?

By including a clear Call-To-Action

Tell them exactly what you want them to do next…

Is it call a # (if so, give them a compelling reason why) Perhaps, give them a free report, free recorded message of useful and timely information (i.e. hit the pain point), or schedule a free estimate.

If it’s a printed piece, you can direct them to your website or mail a response card to request additional information that they will find useful. By doing this, you capture the home advantage in getting their initial contact, offering to solve their problem and win their business. This also provides you with the gold nugget of marketing which is the prospects contact information. Now you can follow-up and continue to market to them over time, becoming top of mind whenever they are ready to buy.

Also, when creating your Yellow Pages ad, always include a method to track responses. How else will you know if the thousands of dollars you spent on the ad is doing any good? Not sure how to do this, then give us a call…we can help.

Your customers are on the web looking for what you have to offer.
But, the question is…can they find you?

Call me today at (888) 857-5756 to see how we can help you get found online….

Anywho, in a ongoing search for tips & tools to make my life easier, I was made privy to this clever tool to make a custom Facebook ‘like button’ and I simply had to share. You can get a custom ‘like’ button if you hop on over to What Counts’ website and have your own button in a matter of seconds. Low-cost marketing at its best. You can thank me by ‘liking’ my Facebook page:)

p.s. the text feature actually works…go ahead and give it a try right now.

But before you make a hasty decision in efforts to save a few dollars, let’s look at the real, underlying issue here…which is price vs. cost.

Price can be viewed as the dollar amount placed on a particular product or service. However, cost is much more comprehensive in nature as it includes not only the product or service’s price, but also its intangible features such as long-term benefits, time invested and overall value. Simply because one provider’s product or service is cheaper than his/her competitors, doesn’t mean that you or your business will save money in the long run. Here’s why…

Let’s say, for example,  you were in the market for a new mountain bike. The new one at the specialty bike shop which has all of the latest bells and whistles and a sophisticated gear-shifting mechanism ensures a smooth ride and retails for $299. It has everything you want in a mountain bike but you don’t want to pay that price. So you opt to purchase a lesser quality ten-speed at the second-hand shop for $75. You take the bike home to enjoy it and on your first ride discover that the gear-shift isn’t so smooth and you struggle to enjoy the ride because the tires are not made to handle the off-road terrain you enjoy exploring on your outdoor adventures. Then the gear chain slips and you have to walk the bike all the way home.

You take it to the repair shop and the cost of repairs easily amount to far more than the cost of the new mountain bike. But you’ve already bought the cheaper bike so you go ahead and get it fixed so as not to ‘waste’ the $75 you initially spent on it. Between the price you paid for the bike, the unsatisfactory quality of the machine and the time you invested in taking the bike back and forth to the repair shop, how much did that $75 bike really cost you?

In the same vein, designing a brochure or basic website might seem like a simple task to the untrained eye, especially when there are so many free software applications and online services available that claim to allow anyone without skill or technical knowledge to build their own website or design their own business cards with a few clicks and in just a few minutes. In reality, building a website or creating a brochure on your desktop software is easy, but building a professional looking website or designing a professional brochure that can help your business increase sales and generate leads is much more difficult.

When thinking about whether or not to invest in a professional graphic designer for your next project, here are a few of the benefits included in the price they quote you:

• Error-free files

• Seamless communication with printer and other vendors

• You own your artwork (they transfer the art files to you upon completion of the project)

• Plans ahead for future applications of the artwork and its potential uses

• Current on industry trends that may affect your design and its potential uses

• Knowledge of what’s working across various industries and can apply that knowledge to your project

• Skills and experience that prove priceless when troubleshooting in emergency situations (like when your website crashes or the ad agency needs the files re-sized and delivered ASAP to meet publishing deadlines)

• Understands human influence triggers that compel people to take action

• Keen ability to articulate business objectives and represent them in a visually appealing way that creates desire in your prospective customer

• Keeps your image and company message consistent

• Reliable, professional and easy to work with

Remember, many considerations go into your project quote beyond just a design that ‘looks good’ at a cheap price. And although it may be tempting to hire a student or your nephew to create your company brochure, especially when cash flow is tight, be aware that there is more to it than meets the eye.

To Your Business Success!

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