MARKETING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

 5 Points to Ponder

How's business? Not bad, right? Getting better? Or are you about to embark upon a journey of self employment? Regardless, chances are your marketing plan isn't quite as complete as it should be. Here are five points that must be addressed in order to compete in the technology age.

1. Website:  You need one. You need a professionally designed website. Yes, there are simple solutions of course, but unless you are so inclined, it is a worthwhile investment, as your website is your virtual storefront. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and as such your website should be your business putting its best foot forward.   There are certain features you may want to have incorporated. For example, will you  be conducting business on your site? If so, you will need to have an e-commerce function.What about a sign-up or contact form? Will it be something simple, or do you need numerous layers and sub-layers to properly present that which you have to offer? The point is, with the right consultant you're assured of touching on all points and building a website that works and looks great.
2. Meta Tags:  What the hell are meta tags? Simply put, they're code words placed in the website's code to assist the search engines - Google, Chrome, Bing, etc - find your website when someone searches for a business like yours. For example, let's say you have a children's shoe store. Some meta tags might include kids shoes, children's shoes, boys shoes, girls shoes, etc. You can also add your location, surrounding towns, brand names. The more tags you include increase the possibility of someone's search identifying your company.
3. Logo:  Your logo is one of the most important pieces of defining your brand.It is an image that becomes iconic, something someone can see and, without any other information, know the brand, what it offers and what it stands for. Take, for example, the Mercedes Benz three-pointed star. What image does it conjure? Cars. Luxury cars. Well built luxury cars. Wealth, money, high-quality well built products.  What about the Nike "swoosh"? Athletic performance. Running shoes, basketball shoes, sports equipment and clothing, quality.  These images we garner include us. "I would love a Mercedes, I'd look great driving one! Maybe my ex-girlfriend will want to get back together, or, at the very least, kick herself for dumping me!" "I'll get me some Nikes and start training for the New York Marathon, even though I'm 75 pounds overweight and haven't even barely walked any farther than the mailbox in the last couple of years."  The point is, a well-designed logo can go a long way in establishing your brand.
4. Blogs:  By now most people know what a blog is, but not necessarily how to begin and maintain one. Essentially, for those of you that truly have no clue, the word "BLOG" is an amalgam of the expression "web-log." Web logs began as on-line journals, diaries, etc. As more and more people were able to access them these web-logs increased in content, and eventually, because this is what the world is now, it was abbreviated to Blog.  With the shift from traditional to technology-driven advertising and marketing venues, blogging has become a very important aspect of any marketing plan.  You can become the expert just by posting blogs on a regular basis.
5. Social Media:  Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Linkedin, Tumblr . . . Those are some of the most popular, but they don't even begin to tell the social media story.  The predictions are that, in 2020, approximately 70% of the WORLD'S population will have some sort of mobile device, like a smart phone or a tablet. Let's assume there will be about 7,500,000,000 people on Earth by then. That means that about 4,725,000,000 (4 BILLION, 725 MILLION!) people will be sporting a mobile device. What will they be doing, aside from playing Candy Crush? Staying in touch with friends, family and business connections in one social media site or another.  This is the new word-of-mouth. It's instantaneous and so very broad reaching in its scope, and is the future of marketing and advertising.

These five points are not, by any means, the answer to increasing business, but they are the most important. If you are not incorporating these tools in your marketing efforts you are not reaching your maximum potential audience. If you aren't so inclined as to know how best to  make this all work for you, well, that's what Brooklyn Boy Marketing Solutions is here for. Contact us for a free needs assessment at your place of business. At the very least you'll be impressed, and at best you'll help us help you design all you need in order to compete in an internet world!

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