Small Business Commando News

Small Companies Are Finding a Home on the Web - New York Times

An article in today’s New York Times Small Business Section discusses how small businesses are embracing the Internet as an important source of customer acquisition.

They mentioned my company, Weblistic  as a company designed to help small businesses solve these issues.

Although we’re normally very quiet about the secret sauce that helps Weblistic customers achieve superior returns, it is very flattering to be recognized. 

It’s important to view online marketing as a series of blocks that build a solid foundation.  Google PPC advertising, Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask, AOL, Superpages, Video, Mobile, Pay-Per-Call and lead generation sites are all important components and vary in their effectiveness.

The one thing that I see is that the business evolves quickly, and what was effective last month might not have the same power this month. 

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Shares in most Yellow Pages publishers are taking a beating amid a panicked sell off.

See story here about RH Donnelley shares plunge.

Advertisers should not be so quick to abandon the print product.  While usage is declining, it is akin to a melting iceberg.  There is still a lot of value, and the best way to track is to use call tracking numbers and measure the ROI.

Note to investors:  Yellow Pages companies throw off loads of cash.  Most could seriously reduce their overhead and increase cashflow without increasing revenues.

Note to advertisers:  No single vehicle will solve all of your marketing needs.  The money you make from your yellow pages ads is just as green as the money you make from your local online advertising (gratuitous link).

I just finished presenting a breakout session at the International Franchise Association convention in Orlando. I shared the stage with the amazing Gregg Stewart of TMP Directional Media and highly creative, Mark Ludwig of Hot Dish Advertising.

We each covered our areas of specialties, and I did a segment on using video and video sharing to market your business.

It really struck a nerve, and the questions would still be coming if we hadn’t run out of time.

One of the simple tips is to break videos down into easily digestible segments.

You’re far better off producing 15 videos that are each 1 minute in length than using one video that is 15 minutes in length.

When you submit the videos to the video sharing network sites (such as YouTube, Veoh, and AOL Videos), use a very simple phrase to title and tag each video so that Google will know how to categorize it.

A few notes on franchising. . .
Franchising is hot.  There were over 3,000 total attendees at the show representing over $16 trillion of economic impact in the US.  This is an industry that thrives when the economy slows because talented employees lose their jobs and purchase franchises.  These are some very sophisticated and dynamic companies that attract entrepreneurial managers.

I read an interesting article about an Arbitron survey of a rural county in Southern Indiana residents.

It’s interesting to me because I grew up in the adjacent county (Martin).

The telephone survey of 151 households found that 52% had high-speed Internet access at home.

52% ! ! !

The town where I grew up (Loogootee, Indiana) has about 2,400 residents and is the largest “city” in the county.  Then entire county has only 10,000 residents.

A large percentage of the young people move away to find gainful employment.  So, this is beyond an age-driven cultural shift.  When you consider that the public internet emerged in 1995 (13 years ago), this is even more amazing.

Imagine what changes will take place in the next 13 years.

29 percent of Daviess residents shop in Evansville monthly: Marketing director shares results of survey at Rooster Booster Breakfast

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Kelsey Group Blogs » Universal Search Paves the Way for Local Video

Michael Boland of the Kelsey Group has a point on post discussing the impact of video syndication and universal search.

The point he makes is that some companies (usually traditional publishing companies) are fighting against publishing video through syndication.

Syndication means uploading the videos on YouTube, MySpace, DailyMotion and other video sharing sites.

On the one hand, you lose control when you syndicate the video.  It resides on someone else’s servers, and they control the surrounding page.

On the other hand, the video will be seen by many more potential customers.

At Weblistic, I’m thrilled to have played a part in the development of local video saturation.  We regularly push local videos to dozens of sites in an effort to generate leads for our clients.  Our clients relish the leads they receive because the customers have a better understanding of the products and services being offered.

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JupiterResearch Finds Local Advertising Will Represent A Key Battleground on the Web - BroadcastNewsroom

Jupiter Research released their survey and predictions for local online advertising growth (along with their predictions for online advertising as a whole).

In short, they predict that local is where the battle will have the msot heat.  Perhaps it’s because the Yellow Pages publishers and newspaper publishers will have finally caught fire with sales.

Perhaps it’s because the advertisers are demanding to reach the audience that relies on the Internet to find local information.

Here’s a dirty little secret.

Local online advertising is much harder than it looks.

Converting searchers to buyers is a skill that very few traditional publishing companies possess, and fewer know how to monetize.

Advertiser expectation and patience for results from online advertising are difficult to meet because the Internet does not bypass human nature of procrastinating, building trust, qualifying, deciding and taking action.

It’s important for traditional advertisers to NOT abandon their terrestrial publications, rather embrace change as a restaurant owner embraces trends.

Mad Cow disease did not kill the beef industry any more than Yellow Pages bashing will eliminate the value delivered by a high quality directory. 

However, Mad Cow did reduce consumption and some consumers forever changed their diets.

Smart publishers will provide a mix of media to deliver customers to their clients.  That includes search, display, video and much more.

The growth of local online advertising will not be a zero-sum game at the expense of traditional publications.

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TNS MEDIA INTELLIGENCE FORECASTS 4.2 PERCENT INCREASE IN U.S. ADVERTISING SPENDING FOR 2008

A report on advertising forecast by TNS Media projects that Internet advertising would surpass radio advertising this year.

I remember back in the olden days in the late 1990s when I was heading sales at GTE Interactive Media and the first banner ads went online to the horror of the purists who believed that the Internet should be free of the evils of advertising.

Thank God for advertising, because that’s what has kept the Internet free for so many users.

Can you imagine paying a few cents or a buck to Google for every search? No chance.

However, by providing high quality, targeted advertising, technology has been funded by our consumerism.

. . . and how cool is that?

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Saw this very interesting report on MarketingCharts.com.
Americans More Connected Online and Quite Ad-Tolerant

Within the span of eight months, the use of online and mobile devices for entertainment has rocketed among online US consumers, according to the second edition of the “State of Media Democracy” new-media survey from Deloitte & Touche, reports Reuters.

About 38% of consumers are now watching TV shows online, compared with 23% eight months ago, according to the study.  WOW, this seems awfully high to me.  Maybe because I don’t do it.  Is it THAT hard to find something on TV?
And some 54% said they use social-networking sites, chat rooms or message board; in addition, 45% said they have a profile on a social-networking site.  Pretty wired group in the sample.  Maybe they polled their friends on Facebook.
The report of the online survey of 2,081 US consumers, conducted Oct. 25-31, is slated for release in Jan. 2008. Deloitte apparently provided the findings early to The Hollywood Reporter, which reported some results today:

Among the study’s findings related to advertising…

• 85% cited TV advertising as among the types having the most impact on purchase behavior; 65% cited online ads; and 63% pointed to magazine ads.
• However, 59% said they pay greater attention to magazine ads - and 55% cited newspaper ads - than any type of internet advertising. Ah, I understand.  When the group was not creating, connecting, interacting and linking, they were reading magazines and newspapers because they like the ads.

• Online, search ads were cited as the most effective (78%), followed by interactive ads (62%), banner ads (60%), pre-rolls (31%) and post-rolls (19%).  What they didn’t mention is that most of the audience responded that they NEVER click on the sponsored links on Google because they don’t trust advertising.
• 67% said they would be willing to be exposed to more online ads in return for free content that’s valuable.
• However, 37% said they would rather pay for online content than be exposed to advertisements.  Yes, I wonder how many have actually paid for content that they could get for free if with ads around it?
• 65% said they consider any type of internet ad more intrusive than newspaper and magazine ads.

Among the findings related to cell phones…

• Some 36% now use their mobile phones as entertainment devices, compared with 24% eight months ago (study conducted Feb. 23 to March 6)  - an increase of 50%.
• Among millenials (consumers 13-24-years-old), the proportion is 62%, up from 46% in the previous study.
• Among Gen Xers (25-41-year-olds), the proportion increased to 47% from 29%.
• About 20% of US consumers said they view video content on cell phones daily or almost daily.

Among the findings related to user-generated content…

• 45% of US consumers said they are creating online content (websites, music, videos and blogs) for others.
• Some 54% said they are making their own entertainment content through editing photos, videos or music.
• 69% said they are watching or listening to consumer-generated content.

8 White-Hot Trends Lift Local Search in ‘08 - Search Engine Watch

Michael Boland has a very good post at Search Engine Land regarding trends in local online marketing for 2008.

He’s hit on several items that I agree with, particularly that local video will grow in importance. 

Check out how Weblistic is embedding video into business profile pages. 

Weblistic runs a header on top of the proxy version of the advertiser’s site and includes the video.

Here’s an example of Weblistic’s video profile page for a local auto repair facility.

I agree that sales will win the battle, and that Yellow Pages organizations have the leg up.

Like Mike, I am less enthusiastic about 3D mapping as it pertains to local online marketing.

Full disclosure:  I work at weblistic, and stand to reap significant rewards from the company’s success with local online marketing.

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I actually think that this was a newspaper ad. So sue me.