YouTube, Facebook and Google – The Golden Marketing Triangle for Any Type of Business

Remember the Yellow Pages… you know, those thick yellow books with phone numbers and ads in them? In your virtual business activities, have you used one lately to actually find a phone number, or are they more likely to be used as a coaster for your cup of coffee or a paperweight for your desk?

These days, more and more people are moving online, a trend that could soon make the Yellow Pages obsolete. A December 2010 report from the Pew Research Center titled “Generations Online in 2010” lists certain key Internet activities that are becoming more uniformly popular across all age groups:

•    Email
•    Search Engine use
•    Seeking health information
•    Getting news
•    Buying products
•    Making travel reservations or purchases
•    Doing online banking
•    Looking for religious information
•    Rating products, services, or people
•    Making online charitable donations
•    Downloading podcasts

And what does this recent trend mean? Well, with Internet activities increasing among both younger and older adults, a lot of the people who would traditionally thumb through the Yellow Pages to find information about businesses could now be searching for this info online through sites like YouTube, Facebook and Google.

This creates an exciting opportunity for businesses to capitalize on. Check out the below video, where we talk about these three sites, the Golden Marketing Triangle for any type of business:

So, times are changing, and both online and local businesses could surely benefit by changing their marketing strategies from the yellow phone book to the golden triangle.

And as final food for thought, consider the increasing power of a local marketing strategy. A blog post by Econsultancy.com, titled “Why You should have a hyperlocal Facebook Strategy,” discusses their research on Starbucks Facebook pages and their engagement rate (ER) – how much fans engage, and response rate (RR) – how much the pages responds, in three months from November 2010 – January 2011. Here, measurements show that Facebook users are engaging on average three to four times more with local than global Facebook pages, with the local pages typically growing on average twice as fast as global communities.

Over the past year, there has also been a huge increase in the use of popular local social networking tools such as Twitter, Foursquare, Groupon and Yelp as local businesses are realizing the potential of leveraging this social medium to bridge the gap between the online world and offline customers.

Amazingly, for only a fraction of the cost of a Yellow Pages listing, these tools can quickly and easily boost a business’s brand recognition, stimulate meaningful connections with a target audience, build a loyal following and ultimately ignite a business’s customer base and revenue.

What are your thoughts on this? As a Virtual Assistant or online professional, do you see ways you could integrate this golden marketing triangle into the services you currently offer local or online business clients? Do you see an increase in the number of local businesses marketing online in your community? Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.

The Power of Online Video Marketing for Local Businesses!

As many of you know, at the beginning of 2011, I hosted a “Predictions Event” in which I shared my STRONG conviction that one of the hottest client areas for your business in the next 12 months would be the LOCAL Business Community! The reality is that the average local business owner has become increasingly dissatisfied with the diminishing return they are seeing on more expensive traditional advertising channels like radio, television and print media.

In my opinion, Local Search Marketing, Facebook Marketing and Video Marketing Services make up the most relevant and dynamic marketing trio for any local business across any industry. While we all know that Facebook had a massive growth year in 2010, so did Online Video and YouTube!

Check out the below video, where I demonstrate how we generated a Top 10 Google Result in less than 48 hours!

While the statistics quoted in the video alone should be a compelling enough reason to catch the attention of the average business owner, there are so many other clear-cut benefits why local businesses are increasingly excited about integrating online video into their overall marketing strategy:

• With the proliferation of the mobile web, online videos are being watched everywhere and anywhere.
• Online Video is the #1 weapon for igniting top rankings in the local search listings.
• Online Video spreads faster than any other marketing medium on the web today. Just ask Susan Boyle!!

Given the rapid growth of online video, combined with the local business owner’s fast-growing interest in this medium, there is a great need for Virtual Assistants and online professionals to develop and expand their Online Video Marketing skills and service packages. It is for this reason that we have unveiled our first official Online Video Marketing Specialist Training Program so that Virtual Professionals can offer cost-effective web marketing solutions that will ignite exposure, traffic and results for potential clients in their local communities.

The great thing about online video marketing is that it can be easily integrated into any existing Social Media services you are currently offering. As an example, for the average business owner, two of the absolutely smartest ways to build their brand and credibility on the web is to create a Facebook Page and launch an online video marketing campaign – a match made in marketing heaven!

If you have any questions or comments about Online Video Marketing, please write us a note in the comment box below. You can check out all the details on the Online Video Marketing Specialist Course here.

How to Get Started with Google Places for Business

If you attended our VAClassroom event last week, you’ll know that there’s a ton of buzz going on around Google Places for Business. This tool is positioned to be a Game Changer when it comes to location-based social networks and directories. Why thumb through the Yellow Pages when with the click of a mouse you can uncover even more detailed information about local brick and mortar businesses?

Now, an interesting question popped up during our event—whether or not an Internet-based business with no fixed address or a Virtual Assistant’s business with a private home address could use Google Places. It appears they can too, and here’s a video that explains how Service Areas can be used to refine a listing:

But as a Virtual Assistant or online business owner, the best way to leverage Google Places is to partner with local brick and mortar business owners because they’re the ones who will most benefit from this service. But before you get started with Google Places, you’ll want to ask the following questions:
•    How do I create a well-optimized Google Places page for my local clients?

•    What strategies do I utilize to ensure the best chance of getting top listings in Google Places (1st page of Google)?

•    What are the best types of clients to target initially?

•    How can I build up online reviews for a client?

•    How do I structure the service and set my rates?

•    What other specific services (social media) can be bundled here?

Google Places and Local Search have the potential of being a very profitable service niche in 2011 for Virtual Assistant businesses, as it will have mass appeal across all types of industries and has excellent potential to boost income that is not based on billable hourly work (flat rates and maintenance packages). That’s why we are also going to be offering a Google Places Mastery clinic that will take place on January 26th to unpack the important strategies needed to effectively leverage Google Places for local brick and mortar business owners. For more information on this exciting new training opportunity, check it out at the link below:

http://www.vaclassroom.com/local-search-clinic/

One final thought—Google recently announced the unveiling of a Google Places with Hotpot iPhone app, adding to their growing arsenal of Google Places apps for mobile users. Here’s what the official Google Mobile Blog says about it:

It can be pretty rewarding to discover a new place you love, but we also realize that there are some experiences you just can’t wait to share. So Places makes it super simple to rate a place with your iPhone while you’re there. Just fire up the app and hit “Rate now.” It will use your location to guess your current place and let you post a Hotpot review right from your phone. But it’s not just about getting to say what you think—the more you rate places, the more you’re sharing about your tastes and the more we can give you personally tailored recommendations.

So imagine the possibilities when Google Places and other local directories are paired up with not only a location-based recommendation engine like Hotpot, but also other social platforms like a Facebook Page, Facebook Places, YouTube channel and other location-based social networks—you have the makings of a local marketing masterpiece!

Do you know any brick and mortar businesses in your area that could benefit from a Google Places listing? Do you have any ideas for how you could integrate Google Places into your current Virtual Assistant service offerings? Please share your comments below!

Google Places + Local Business = A Match Made in Marketing Heaven

Have you done a local search lately in Google? If you haven’t, you should give it a try because it yields some fantastic results! For example, I was recently in Spokane, Washington, over the holidays, and the family was craving a good “Chinese Buffet”. So, I decided to go to the Yellow Pages – NOT! I googled it, naturally, and at the top of the first page was the Google Places listing for a couple of the local buffets, complete with menu and customer reviews. Plus, to the right of the search listings, there was a nice big map featuring these two locations.

Google’s new layout (just a couple months old) is providing the most amazing opportunity for local businesses to grab the much-coveted top listings on page 1 through a fully optimized Google Places account. For another real-life example, check out this video case study showing how Google Places helped one business increase its traffic by 25%:

Not only is this a phenomenal opportunity for the local business, but also for Virtual Assistants seeking to branch out into a new niche and serve the needs of their local brick and mortar businesses! That is why we will be holding a FREE VAClassroom event on Thursday, January 13, titled “Leveraging New Google Places for Your Local Business Clients”!

Do you think Google Places will impact how and where local businesses advertise? As a Virtual Assistant or online business owner, are you interested in branching out into this new niche and partnering with local businesses? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share your comments below!

Social Media Goes Local in 2010!

If you enter AJ Bombers restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and slide into one of the booths, you’ll notice interesting graffiti written on the heavy varnished wood. As you look closer, you’ll find out that people have written Twitter user names all over the place.

Now why on earth would people be thinking about Twitter at a restaurant?

Well, believe it or not, Social Media is going local, and brick and mortar businesses are capitalizing on the power of Social Media to help generate more traffic to their business and to keep their current customers coming back.

Check out this fascinating Kitchen Table Talks video with Chris Brogan and Joe Sorge, owner of AJ Bombers and other restaurants in Milwaukee:

As Joe explains, “AJ Bombers was built by Twitter.”  Imagine business owners being able to monitor customers’ experiences from a distance, making adjustments and responding to complaints on the fly from their Twitter account.  Imagine loyal customers being offered daily specials through tweets from their favorite restaurant. That’s the power of Social Media.

However, according to a recent article in Social Media Examiner, “3 New Studies Show Value of Social Media and Businesses Slow Response,” only 47% of companies are experimenting with Social Media, and of those that do, many are failing to effectively build online community and provide a favorable platform for interaction and feedback.

This finding shows that there’s a definite need for Virtual Assistants with Social Media skills to fill that niche and educate businesses on best practices for using Social Media. For VAClassroom grads, the possibilities are endless, and brick and mortar businesses would surely benefit from your expertise in Social Media Marketing.

So survey the brick and mortar businesses around you and just imagine how a Twitter Account or a Facebook Fan Page could build their clientele and keep people coming in the door. The sky’s the limit with a little imagination and a passion for engaging people with the tools available in this exciting new Web 2.0 world!