Are you familiar with those massive fishing trawlers that head out to sea for weeks at a time? They trail huge, miles-long nets behind them and haul in everything that swims, keeping only a few choice specimens. That’s how advertising used to work. We’d cast a huge net over the entire market and then wait for a few fish to walk through the door.

Remember the old phrase, “Only half my advertising is working, I just don’t know which half.” Thankfully things have changed.

Digital marketing techniques have made fishing much more efficient. Now we can stand on the back of the boat with just a handful of bait and the fish come to us. Not just any fish, but only the fish that we want to catch! Because they’re the ones interested in the bait we’re offering.
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Most economists, the government and my optimistic mother in-law all predict that 2010 is going to be better than 2009¹.

It can’t be worse, right?

Predictions are tricky when it comes to the future, but if you believe there’s an economic recovery coming, you need to prepare now. There’s going to be market share up for grabs in every category of business and the Share Wars of 2010 begin in January!

Today is when you should be planning how you’re going to increase your market share one year from now. Here’s a checklist of things you can work on over the next six months that will put you in a position to reign terror on your competition.

1. Brand Positioning -

Is your company well positioned in this new economy that seems to have changed from über-consumerism to ultra-thriftyism overnight? A better question might be, “How is your competition positioned?” Can you outflank them in the coming Battle of the Brands?

Maybe it’s time to fortify your Brand ID Package? Is your logo a little dated? Do you need a style guide to keep your brand look and feel looking and feeling consistent?

How about a brand manifesto that declares to the world (including your employees) who you are, what you stand for and why you’re better than the other guys.

2. Interactive Strategy -

Once you’re satisfied that your brand is in good shape, it would be wise to review everything that your business touches online.

• Is your website converting visitors to sales leads? Every day?
• Is your web traffic growing?
• Are you capturing email addresses and communicating regularly with your customers and prospects?
• Are you sending web traffic to a landing page instead of your homepage?
• Are you taking advantage of social media opportunities like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter?
• When you search for your category on Google, is your company near the top of the listings or an also-ran in the search results?

If you didn’t answer yes to ALL of these questions, you’re leaving money on the table.

3. Advertising and Public Relations -

Once your brand and interactive marketing foundation is sound, it’s time to start inviting customers to check you out. If you haven’t completed steps 1 and 2 above, however, you’re going to be wasting a lot of money on a verrrry expensive entity: MEDIA.

Advertising and PR are still the most economical ways to reach large numbers of consumers, whether you’re targeting Boy Scouts in Boise or soccer moms in Salem. Once you figure out HOW you’re going to reach your audience: radio, TV, print, outdoor, skywriting, etc., you have to figure out WHAT you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.

This can be tricky because your message is usually competing with some pretty smart advertisers who definitely know what they’re doing and have billions of dollars to spend on creative and production.

You have a limited number of arrows in your quiver so make them count with the right media buy, a well planned public relations strategy and a carefully crafted message.

So far, 2009 has been a year of tremendous opportunities for good marketers, and 2010 could be the Promised Land… but only if you’re prepared.

With Fish Marketing as your partner you will be prepared.

Call us today and let’s get started. Because that foundation won’t be built overnight, and the clock is ticking. Let’s get you ready for the Share Wars of 2010!

¹ Economist Predicts Recession Will Soon Be Over

Google dropped a bombshell in April when they formally announced: Google Becomes More Local. If you do business locally, this is the possibly the best search engine marketing opportunity ever.  It’s free, it’s at the top of the search page, and it’s so new your competitors have no clue about it.

Suppose you search for something locally like [Dry Cleaning], [Mexican Food] or [Advertising Agency].  Google will read your IP address and match it to a broad geographical region.  The results return in the form of a mini-map with 10 business listings close to you—the “10 Pack”.

The anatomy of a 10 pack

Typical Google 10 pack layout

1. The mini map shows map markers of the 10 pack’s locations. Clicking on this map will send you to a larger view on Google Maps.

2. Your location is determined by your computer’s IP address.  You can also change your location for more accurate results.

3. Each business listing features a linked title, web address, phone number and  “More” link.

Crack open the 10 pack and enjoy

Working your way into the 10 pack is surprisingly easy, but you must have reasonable expectations. Look at the city on your street address and realize that is where you will see your listing. You may make the best New York pizza in the world, but if your joint is in Jersey city—fuggedaboutit. With that in mind, here are the basics:

Claim your listing

It’s freakishly easy, yet only a tiny percentage of businesses have claimed their listing.  Their loss is your gain. Claiming your business gives you full control over your listing and Google respects the information because it is coming from the business owner.

Coordinate your information

Make sure that the address on your website, geo meta tags and google local all match.  Since Google now reads micro formats, extra points may be given for putting your address in an hcard.  Remember, the match is not exact if your website reads “First Street” but Google has “1st St.”

Craft a winning title

There isn’t too much you can do to add flair to your 10 pack listing.  Your business title is pretty much it, so make the most of it.  This snippet is your billboard, advertisement and business name all-in-one.

The title field accepts 80 characters, and the 10 pack will show about the first 60 - 65 of those. Usually 5-7 words will fit in the 10 pack and can get your message across. Google will bold-face keywords that were searched for, so stick with your most popular keywords for best result.

A good title has:

• Your business name
• Location keywords
• Service or product names
• Prices or hours if they apply
• A simple eye catching character like “|” or “~”

Good title: Steaming Bean ~ Seattle Coffee Bean Roaster & Cafe

A bad title has:

• Useless words like “the” or “inc”
• Airport codes instead of city names
• Gimmick words
• Spammy characters
• URL or phone number (google already gives you these)

Bad Title: !**! AAA Locksmith llc the best in sea-tac (555)563-2232 !**!

Complete your listing

Your local business listing hosts gobs of information about your business.  Give your customers accurate information and rank higher by filling up your listing with helpful info.

Updateable items:

• Categories
• Hours
• Payment Options
• Special Information
• Photos and videos

Every time I turn around I hear nothing but economic doom and gloom. But no one seems to be talking about a basic fact of any recession: consumers and businesses are still spending tens of billions of dollars…EVERY DAY. And do you know who’s going to benefit the most from all that spending? Companies that make a commitment to marketing during this economic downturn.

I know it sounds like, another pitch from a pitchman but it’s true. When the economy slows and the market “pie” shrinks, the only way to maintain our revenue is to capture a bigger slice of the pie. The best way to do that is through marketing. Healthy companies with marketing resources will gain share from their weaker competitors who are forced to horde cash and pull back. If we have the resources to increase marketing, we can gain market share now more efficiently than ever.

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There are a lot of misconceptions about branding that are floating around the marketing stratosphere. So, we decided to do our part to dismiss some of the more common advertising myths. Below is my Top 10 list as well as the corresponding branding realities.There are a lot of misconceptions about branding that are floating around the marketing stratosphere. So, we decided to do our part to dismiss some of the more common advertising myths. Below is my Top 10 list as well as the corresponding branding realities.

If your company could benefit from the healing powers of Fish Marketing Brand-Aid, just give us a shout, we’re happy to help.

Myth #10

Brand = Logo + Tagline

Reality

We know that brands are much more than a logo and tagline. While a logo and tagline should convey a brand, they do not comprise a brand. A brand is what its customers think about the company, not what the company says through a slogan or tagline.
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