Saint Louis

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Searching the Lou

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Is St Louis and Saint Louis the same thing in the eyes of search engines? Should you care?

We’ve got a bit of a unique situation here.  Our fair city is one of the few that is searchable in many different ways – saint louis, st louis, stl and so on.  But does it really matter to you how people searching for local merchants?
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How NOT to Use Social Media for Your Pizza Business

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

About two months ago I read an incredible book by Chris Brogan titled “Trust Agents“.  I loved the book so much that I purchased additional copies and mailed them to all of my clients.

In short, the book goes over how businesses (or individuals that want to brand themselves) can use social media in ways that work to their advantage.  Things such as gaining trust with your followers, providing them with value, etc.  It’s an awesome read and one of the very few books I’m passionate about recommending to others.

There’s an etiquette (and strategy) in promoting your business on sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc. You don’t want to come across as a spammer, pushing out sale after self-serving sale and think that your followers will hang around.  Everyone loves to buy, but no one likes to be sold to.

Today’s perfect example of this is a conversation I had with Ferraro’s Pizza, a Saint Louis joint that uses Twitter to promote themselves.  Before this week, their Twitter account was abandoned, unused and dormant since mid-October.  Then today, the account suddenly pipes back into action – promoting their great lunch sales over and over again.  In a matter of 9 minutes, Feraro’s sent out 5 tweets about their specials. That’s. Excessive. Click to continue »

Would You Pay for In-Depth SEO Info (and Lunch!)?

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Because of the economy, more and more businesses are looking for ways to market themselves.  The ‘good years’ in the past are dwindling away as consumers tighten up their budgets and shut down their checkbooks.  Because of this, businesses are needing more and more to get in front of customers.

I talked to one business owner today who builds inground pools in the Saint Louis area.  For years his business has flourished.  Last year he had to add staff and purchase more vehicles to keep up with all the work.

This year, however, everything has ‘dried up’.  He’s having a hard time paying bills, especially new trucks and maintenace.  No one is buying homes, which means no one is spending on upgrades like pools.  So he’s checking into running a special in the local newspaper promoting a sale which he won’t make hardly anything off of.  Just to get his name out there, and to stay in business.

If you aren’t marketing your business now, you’re in for a shitload of trouble (pardon my French) when the market does turn around.  Those that took this time to start putting money into their Internet marketing are going to be so far ahead of the curve as the economy creeps back up that they won’t be able to catch up.

So, with all that said, here’s a question for you business owners:  Would you pay for a one-day seminar that taught you the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and also exposed you to some other marketing ideas, such as video marketing, email and direct markeitng, and maybe even something on website maintenance?  Would you pay $299? $199? $99? $69?

What would it be worth to you to gain a HUGE amount of information about Internet Marketing for your business at a one-day seminar catered to your needs?