What we can learn from Beyonce... is less more?

Beyonce surprised the world with an album release that included none of the traditional marketing efforts. As a marketer, it's an important decision deciding when less is more. Usually, less is not more in terms of marketing. This less is more philosophy works best when a brand already has an engaged audience, strong brand recognition, and deep loyalty. I would not recommend this tactic for a small business, but an established one, looking to revive buzz with the unexpected... definitely a great option! Plus, there's a lot of bang that comes from the publicity following.

Google Analytics

One of the best free resources a marketer can use is Google Analytics. It has it's drawbacks, but for the cost ($0), it's an ideal tool to really drill down and understand how visitors are interacting with the content on the site.

The process to install Google Analytics is fairly simple and straight forward, but can vary depending on the setup of your site. If you need help with this, let me know!

Here's a great slideshow I came across that shares 10 things you need to know about reading the data in your Google Analytics account.

Google Analytics: 10 Game-Changers You Need To Know from Amber Horsburgh

Increasing the Prices Charged

I've had some questions about this recently... "How can I charge more without upsetting my customers?"

This is definitely a legitimate concern. Once consumers get used to a price, they are not thrilled about a price increase. The easiest solution I see, is to create more value at the higher price point. Give them a little bit more, so it's easier to justify paying more.

This works in other situations too... Let's say you are considering offering a Groupon type promotion, but you're not thrilled with discounting your product or service so deeply and giving part of what you do make to Groupon. Create a "VIP package" which has a higher price point, but also gives the customer something extra. It's great if the something extra doesn't cost you a lot... an extra 15 minutes of private lesson time with a topic authority, a free seat in a future seminar/webinar, free downloadable materials offering tips/tricks/how-to tutorials, signed or autographed merchandise or memorabilia... you get the idea. Give them something that is valuable and worth it.

Keep the original priced option, but start to phase it out. You want to train the customers to look for stuff that is more valuable, and choose this on their own, rather than being forced into paying more just because you decided to raise your prices. Happy customers lead to happy businesses!

the QR Code evolves...

We knew it was only a matter of time before the QR Code would evolve into something better. Don't get me wrong... I love QR Codes and the whole concept of driving mobile users online, but sometimes they aren't the right fit. They can look out of place at times, or go unscanned because it's unsure where the user will be taken (the intrique however, can also be a positive, but it really depends on the audience).

There's not a grown up, evolved version of QR Codes. They are called invisible digital watermarks, and they are invisible. Magazines, books, and lots of other publications are using them now. Plus they give a bit more indication about what's on the other side.

At this time, I only know of one company that is doing these, but I'm sure there will be a whole host of others by year's end. Check out DIGIMARC for more info.

Researching Competition... with FREE resources

No matter what your business, you have competition. Non-profits are competing with other non-profits, fighting for volunteers/participants/support. Businesses are competing with other businesses that sell similar products, or alternatives that customers may choose instead.

Even if you are a totally unique business, and there's no one out there that does anything similar, you still have competition. Someone is getting your customers' attention. Maybe they offer a product or service that wasn't intended to fill that specific customer need, but they have found a way to "make it work." Maybe it's something the customer chooses to spend their money on instead because it fits the basic need (this is especially common with restaurants and entertainment--a movie may fit the need of entertainment in lieu of a sold-out concert).

First it is important to determine who you are competing against. Make a list--you might be surprised! Then you can use some simple tools to research your competition's marketing efforts. Since knowledge is power, you'll then be able to boost your own marketing and steal back those customers!

Here are some free tools to research your competition:

• Keyword Density Checker: Research the density of keywords on a website.
• SEMRush.com: Research keywords used in Organic (regular search results) and Inorganic (sponsored ads) Searches, as well as examples of Paid Search Ads (inorganic search).
• Moat.com: Research examples of display ads a brand is running.
• Wildfire App: Compare Facebook pages or Twitter profiles.
• Icerocket or Social Mention: Monitor internet buzz... What are people saying about your brand on social media?
• Mobile Phone Emulator: See how a site looks on a mobile screen. Consumers and web visitors are mobile--is the website compatible for these folks?

Keep tabs on your competitors and those in your industry. It will pay off in the long run!

Delivering Content

Did you know you could deliver content to fans without asking them to frequently return to your site?

Let's face it... people are busy and they have short attention spans. The likelihood they will return to your site on a regular basis and look for updates is fairly slim. They may initially be heavily engaged with your content, but eventually they start forgetting to come back, and soon, they have forgotten about your site all together. What if you could notify them of new content, without them even having to come to your site?

Fortunately you can! It's easy and simple. All you need to do is burn your site or blog's "feed." A feed is the stream of content created by your site. Once you have burned the feed, you need to give visitors the option to subscribe to your feed either by a feed reader (like the Google Reader), or through email. When a visitor subscribes to your feed, they receive an update with the new content each time you create a new post or change your website. The content is conveniently delivered to either their feed reader or their email, depending on which they choose to use for their subscription.

This keeps your site top of mind with visitors--you are pushing your content out to them, instead of relying on them to remember to visit your site and check for new information.

Want to check it out? Subscribe to my site's feed either through a feed reader or your email! The options are in the right column!

Google Resources

It was a pleasure and an honor to speak at the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents Convention today! Terrific group of folks, buzzing with neat ideas! Thank you for such a warm welcome, and a really fun session!

I mentioned some Google products, and a few asked for more resources on the products. I wanted to share some sites that might be helpful as you incorporate Google into your offices and programs.

• Google for Nonprofits ~ there is an application process, but the benefits are amazing, and it is free for organizations with less than 3,000 people.
• Google+ Hangouts ~ free resource for holding video conference sessions. This is a guide to what the symbols mean and how exactly to use this feature.
• Google Sites ~ create collaborative internal websites. This is the beginner's guide to getting started.
• Google Sites How tos ~ how to instructions for adding content, managing the appearance, etc.
• Google Drive ~ create and store collaborative documents, including word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms (for polling/collecting data). This is the getting started guide!
• Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides ~ understand more about each type.
• Share and Collaborate ~ how to make it all happen!
• Creating free QR Codes ~ there are numerous resources to do this, but these are two of my favorites:
• www.qrstuff.com
• http://beqrious.com/qr-code-generator/
• Once you have created the QR Code, download it and ad to any print materials.

These should get you started! Happy collaborating!

Gamification

I'm thrilled for the opportunity to speak at the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents Convention tomorrow! As part of my presentation on social media and gaming, I will be speaking on the hot topic of gamification. I was fortunate to have a friend and fellow 4-H Association Member loan me a copy of Innovation Games by Luke Hohmann. This is a terrific read with fabulous ideas for gathering real, useable feedback from customers, coworkers, staff, students, etc. Not all game concepts fit all settings, but there are definitely applications for nonprofits and youth organizations.

Take a look at the book, and let me know if you are interested in applying gamification concepts to your organization or group--I'd be happy to help structure your strategy!

QR Codes for Nonprofits and Small Businesses

By now you have probably seen a QR Code or two scattered around random places (there was even one on my Pepto Bismal bottle lid the other day...). You may have even scanned one before (if not, not to worry--they are still catching on and not everyone has experience with these clever little bar codes). If you're new to interacting with these, download a QR Code reader app (my suggestions: QR Droid for Android devices, and QR Reader for iPhone), and give it a shot.

If you're not new to QR Codes, you may be wondering how to make these things work for your organization. I like to encourage non-profits and small businesses to specifically think about incorporating these little marvels. They are free to create and can save a lot in reprinting costs (when placed correctly). The key to QR Codes is that they are for driving mobile traffic. Where do you want visitors to go on their mobile devices?

Here are some ideas:

1. As part of a viral t-shirt campaign, created just for Orange County 4-H, we placed QR Codes on the shirt sleeves. These codes direct visitors to the social media profiles for Orange County 4-H, as well as the main website. It's like an interactive billboard, that's walking down the streets, through the school hallways, and showing up at events.
2. Use QR Codes on brochures and posters, linking to information that has a tendency to change in between printing runs. This also helps cut down on the word clutter, and makes for an opportunity to bring the printed materials to life--link to a video or audio file.
3. Allow preregistration for events and fundraisers by scanning the codes. This can help increase early registrations, and makes it easy and convenient to register.

As always, I'm happy to help your organization create QR Code magic. Scan the code above to email me. :)

Who has time to do Search Engine Optimization?

There are so many tools and techniques for marketing these days. Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier if we had stayed in the traditional marketing phase--by its very nature, traditional marketing requires things to happen more slowly. New billboards, TV ads, radio spots and printed materials could only be created so quickly. We've moved beyond a traditional marketing only world though, and keeping up can be tough. Your days are filled with many responsibilities, and marketing may only garner a fraction of your time. I wrote about patience and diligence when it comes to digital marketing, which is important for success, however, so is working smarter, not harder.

Search Engine Optimization is no doubt one of the most important parts of marketing in the digital age. If you aren't showing up in search engines, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to be found by a new audience. We all have questions and sought after information, and most of us find the answers in search results.

SEO is complicated and requires an understanding of your target audience. You have to be tuned in enough to know what they might be searching for, if they were looking for a site like yours. It's kind of a trial and error process, and it does take time for the efforts to really pay off. Again, I realize you have a lot of other stuff going on, so I wanted to share an article with three easy steps that you can use to work smarter, and not harder, on SEO.

Bare Minimum SEO: 3 Things You Must Do

If you could do only three things for SEO, what would they be? This is a question encountered by many smaller businesses, and even somewhat larger companies, either due to not having enough people (time) and/or dollars available to invest in a big way.

Here are three minimal SEO tasks you must do:

1. Check your indexing status.

2. Focus site on target keywords.

3. Go get links.