Insideout Solutions can help you with your mobile needs

Mobile Advertising will expand into a billion dollar a year industry in 2011. eMarketer calculated that U.S. smartphone users reached 60.2 million at the end of 2010, nearly doubling user rates from 2009. With smartphones projected to grow to 73 million users by year’s end, this market should not be ignored. There is a fundamental shift in the way consumers are finding, shopping and interacting with your business and your focus should be on how to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts in this new landscape. Look at every mobile customer’s contact with you as a potential sale, since they have the convenience of making a purchase in the palm of their hand.

The increasing use of mobile devices for web browsing has resulted in an explosion of websites optimized to display on their web browsers. The “Click to Call” feature allows mobile device users to click on your website’s phone number and call you directly. This Feature is a must in this new mobile market and tracking results is just as important as the feature itself. By having a mobile website, and allowing customers to “Click to Call” you have substantially increased your chances of customer interaction. Remember that mobile users are out and about and often times looking for reviews, product information and they are often looking to purchase.

Customer Relations Management (CRM)

Integrating mobile into your CRM program will add value to your loyal customers and improve your customer service. Along with sending out information to customers via email or by traditional phone, you can relay that same information through mobile devices and deliver it to users anytime, anywhere.

Short Message Service (SMS)

The text message market has seen huge jumps in popularity over the last year. Statistics are showing that 97% of SMS marketing messages are opened, and are usually opened within a few hours. SMS is a great way to communicate with returning customers or people who sign up to receive deals or offers from you. Being able to create a conversation with customers is priceless and the SMS marketing is a great tool to stay in touch with your mobile clients.

Mobile Coupons

Now that we have explored CRM and SMS strategies, you may be asking “what will I send to my customers?” Mobile coupons are a great way to offer discounts to both new customers and returning customers. Many mobile coupons highlight loyalty programs or are used to up sell extra services or products to your customers. Offering a static coupon on your mobile site that customers can mention after they “click to call” you is a great way to drive business. Online coupons have been hot for a while now and I believe that this trend isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

Location Based Marketing (LBM)

This type of marketing delivers content to mobile customers if they are near your business. This is going to become a growing part of effective marketing programs in the years to come.  There are many sites that are involved with LBM marketing (Gowalla, foursquare, yelp and brightkite to name a few). Google also launched a GPS based search feature for mobile a few months back. Location Based Marketing is something to keep your eyes on and make sure to stay up to date on the progression.

Insideout Solutions can help if you need a mobile site or need any information on mobile marketing. With these new marketing strategies poised to grow aggressively, the time is now to get your mobile site active and learn how to tap into that billion dollar a year market.

Consumers have always relied on word of mouth, friends and family to help them make purchasing decisions. Facebook has really taken that method world wide. It has expanded the communications and speed at which people share opinions and advice. Don’t be shy, you have the ability to join in on the conversation. You no longer have to buy the radio spot or the mail coupon and sit by the front door, peering through the blinds hoping someone will stop in. Be proactive, engage and connect with potential clients in ways you were never able to before.

Become an expert about your area

Often times being a local means you have experienced all the local restaurants, hiking trails and parks in your area. Those experiences are priceless and become great content for a blog post. I often look at blogs before I travel just to get feel for some activities and events that may be happening while I’m in town. I always find the greatest adventures from locals and not generic activity websites. This is a great way to create an ongoing conversation with both new and returning customers. Being an expert and providing relevant information goes along way in helping your brand to succeed.

People love to give their opinion

The easiest way to engage your website or Facebook visitors is through polls, surveys, and quizzes. This a great way to get people to come back again and again to participate in what your doing. Remember your brand is an experience and this is cheap and clever way to provide that to your visitors.

Promotions, the next generation

Promotions and giveaways have been at the heart of brand awareness and brand building for many years. Look around your house,you will find that great pen from your dentist or that magnet on the fridge from the dry cleaners down the street. This is not going away but it has changed. You will find that many people are using Facebook to run picture contests, naming contests and other creative promotions. Most of these contests offer a grand prize and not simple trinkets. The nice part to promoting online is that branding occurs during the visit and not two months down the road when you stumble upon a pen in drawer. You can run these promotions “24/7/365″ days a year. You don’t have to wait and rely on your local trade shows or fair booths anymore. The days of buying 10,000 promotional rulers are over, give your customers a chance to win a great prize and brand along the way.

If you would like to read more about the statistics and research that contributed to this article, you can click here to visit Hubspot Marketing Data Box.

In conclusion, remember to get creative, engage, and don’t be shy. Consumers love to be informed, give their opinions and of course win prizes. Get blogging and continue to grow that social network.

Scan the InsideOut Solutions QR code with your Smartphone now!

One very rainy Sunday afternoon I decided to browse through the newest O magazine. I like O, The Oprah Magazine because Oprah and I have several things in common: we are the same age, we both love Maui, we both battle with weight issues and we are both CEOs of our own company. The similarities, however, end there. She is the ultimate marketing genius, and I am just in marketing. When she speaks, I need to listen.

O, The Oprah Magazine keeps me familiar with big city trends and the opinions of affluent women from all demographics. Reading it is a pleasurable form of work. My pre-reading ritual is to cull the magazine of its double-sided advertisements, which makes the 216-page magazine more manageable. On the rainy Sunday in question, I pulled out 58 pages and reviewed them before tossing them into the recycle bin. While doing so, I noticed that something was missing. Of the 113 advertisements, only 3 had been QR coded.

I am sure you have seen the QR code – an ugly little black box with squiggles that is appearing on more and more products and advertisements. The Quick Response code enables owners of Smartphones (with the right app) to immediately access the webpage of any labeled product; you simply take a photo(scan) of the QR Code with your phone and the product webpage pops up on the screen. Since analysts predict that 50% of American cellphone users will own a Smartphone by the end of 2011, using a QR code makes sense. Taking a scan of this little box is much easier than going to a browser on your phone and typing in a web address for the product. Every ad in my O magazine should have had a QR code.

So how does this relate to you? If you have business cards, rack cards, or even recipe cards, be sure to include your QR code. If you place an ad in a phone book or magazine, try to include your QR code. If you don’t have one, get one. We can help. When we design your collateral print pieces, we’ll add your QR code for FREE. We will also email your QR code and then you can use it in your advertising, which is one more tool in your marketing toolbox to guide people to your web site.

Your Logo Is Not Your Brand
Logos are symbols that are seen. But brands are felt emotionally. Your brand is the perceived personality of your business. For example, the logo for Apple® is a simple outline of an apple with a bite out of it. But their brand is “youthful, innovative, fun, modern, creative.” The clean simple lines of the Apple® logo express these brand qualities visually. Successful companies invest millions on their brands and logos because of the impact a positive (or negative) impression has on their bottom lines.

Good Logo, Bad Logo
A good logo should score high on looks and technical points. In the world of branding, “good looking” means the logo attractively and accurately reflects the personality of a business. On the technical side, a good logo works well both large and small, in print and online. That means it’s a vector logo whose design elements are clear and legible even at small sizes. [Learn about vector logos.]

If you want a good logo, avoid using the elaborate illustration on your stationery or inn sign. Once that drawing gets shrunk down to fit on a business card with a bunch of contact info, no one will be to tell what that fancy drawing is.

The detailed illustration looks clear on the stationery, but becomes a gray blob when scaled down to fit on a business card.

Also, playing around in Photoshop is a lot of fun, but the type of image it produces means you are limited in how large you can reproduce your logo. If you need to create a big print ad or outdoor banner, your raster logo won’t be up to the task. [Learn about raster logos.]

Bad Logos Cost You Time & Money
What happens when your logo isn’t up to the task? Eventually, some designer will charge you extra and/or take longer to complete your design work. For professional designers, your logo provides a summary of the look, feel and colors your business uses to describe itself. Having this “blueprint” as inspiration speeds up the design process. Creating a website, printed card or signage without this critical element is a bit like trying to build a house without a plan. It will take additional time to research all the information that the logo would have provided. The likelihood of extra revisions is also much higher since the designer will be starting from scratch. In addition, a logo that isn’t well constructed technically will cost more time/money because of the extra time spent working around technical problems.

Use Your Good Logo Well
Once you have your good logo, use it well! Don’t hide it. Instead, use it consistently across all your marketing materials. For prospective guests, matching web and print materials look professional. But more importantly, they convey a consistent message about the experience you’re offering. Consistency is key when a prospective guest is considering your property versus your competition’s. If your site looks great but your rack card looks different, prospects may wonder which one is the real inn. The best way to avoid this “moment of doubt” is to make sure your printed and online marketing pieces are branded consistently. Click here to see examples of branded marketing materials.

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There’s a lot more to branding and logo design, but hopefully this introduction has provided you with a good start. If you ever have any questions about your own logo and branding, contact InsideOut. We can assess your logo for free and give advice on how you can create a successful brand.

The finished packaging with dark maroon capsule.

Captain’s Walk Winery in Green Bay, Wisconsin wanted a wine label for a rosé to be heavily promoted during the annual Tall Ships Festival. The wine, called ’7 Seas’, needed a look that was eye-catching but in a muted palette that would work with established branding and the wine’s color. The final design is the result of a fruitful collaboration with the InsideOut design staff, the winery’s team and the printer, WS Packaging.

Click here to see a closeup of the finished front and back label.

We just published our list of January Webinars for Internet Marketing a few days ago and now we are looking to the future.  We have reviewed the requests for past attendees of our November and December Webinars and below we have outlined four new Webinars you might want to attend.

We will also be repeating some of our past Webinars in case you where not able to attend them.

Webinars Scheduled for the month of February:
Getting the most out of Google Analytics – Thursday February 4th at 11am PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/696208362

Setting up a successful Google Adwords Campaign – Wednesday February 10th at 11am PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/304383059

Repeat of Claiming your Google Local Business Listing – Wednesday February 10th at 4pm PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/362404178

Advanced Blogging with WordPress – Wednesday February 17th at 11am PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/962123218

Repeat of Facebook Front to Back – Wednesday February 17th at 4pm PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/194058731

Repeat of Checking your web site for SEO Basics – Wednesday February 24th at 11am PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/622466883

We look forward to seeing you online and always want to hear your feedback.

InsideOut Solutions, the B&B web site development and marketing leader, will be offering free educational Webinars in January 2010.  You are invited to attend so you can learn new strategies on how to improve your online marketing.

Webinars are easy and fun to attend. To see how the process works please follow this link http://screencast.com/t/MTVkNTJkN2

All of our Webinars are held on Wednesday with a new Webinar in the morning hours and a repeat of a past Webinar is the late afternoon.

Facebook Front to Back
Wednesday January 20th at 11am PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/579084034

Checking your web site for SEO Basics
Wednesday January 20th at 4pm PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/115838722

Finding Good Links
Wednesday January 27th at 11am PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/950935387

Blogging for Success
Wednesday January 27th at 4pm PST
Learn more or sign up at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/627608514

Please see our post of Webinars we will be having in February.

InsideOut has great print deals on the following items for a limited time only:

20% OFF! ~ Greeting Cards (4″ x 5″ and 4.25″ x 6″)
20% OFF! ~ Postcards (3″ x 4″ and 8″x 5″)
30% OFF! ~ Personalized Notepads (4.25″ x 5.5″, 4″ x 6″, 5.5″ x 8.5″and 8.5″ x 11″)

For discount to apply, final client approval must be received by 4 pm PST 11/30/09. Contact Jim McCauley for details: Email 360-683-5774 x 304

How does Google sort these results?  Having the highest amount of reviews is not the answer, as you can see in the graphic above that Crest Hotel is not ranked #1 even though they have 388 reviews.  Google looks at many factors for placement and we have developed a white paper on this subject. Claiming your business through the Google Local Business Center is where you need to get started, but first download our White Paper titled “How to get top placement on Google Maps”.

This white paper has ten pages of great information ranging from where Google gathers information about your business to how to optimize your business listings for top placement. Drop us an email if you have questions or comments.

Here is a great video from Google on how to update your listing.

Katie felt like some of the information was important review, while other sections were very educational. Brad reinforced the importance of testing again and again the effectiveness of your ads, keywords and landing pages. This is one of the reasons why many of our clients choose to have their Pay-Per-Click managed by InsideOut. On a weekly basis, Katie is looking at accounts performance to see what changes and adjustments can be made to an account for better ROI and placement. Taking the time to make your dollars really work for you in Adwords can take patient trial and error testing.

The other subjects covered that were most valuable and interesting to Katie included the use of some new tools and components in the Adwords interface that she was not familiar with. “There are so many different reports and reporting tools that can be used with Adwords to determine your successful keywords, ads and placement on the page. It was great to have an expert with 10 years or experience discuss these and their efficiency,” said Katie.

What does it take to make a sale online?

Katie has been in the process of becoming an Adwords Qualified Individual, and looks forward to adding this to her list of accomplishments and skills. If you have questions about how well your PPC campaign is functioning, or if you are bidding on the right keywords, feel free to contact Katie to discuss your options or have her take a survey of your account with suggestions for improvements.

If you are currently running adwords, and are curious about how well your ads are functioning, ask yourself or your adwords manager these questions:

• Is Analytics linked to my Adwords account?
• Where are my ads showing geographically?
• Are you using the content network? If so, are you using separate campaign settings for it?
• Are you using conversion tracking accurately?

If they do not know the answer to these, or they say “no” to two or more, it may be time to get an outside opinon on this leg of your marketing campaign.