Netizen

Friday, September 14, 2012

Pinterest Is Coming Along

“It is usually the case that people gravitate to services that match their interests and their needs. Some of the more popular subjects on Pinterest are likely to be especially interesting to women, such as food, fashion, interior decorating and design,” said Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and co-author of the study....... Food is the fastest growing category on Pinterest and generates the most repins...... To put Pinterest’s user base into perspective, Pew researchers found that 66% of U.S. adults are on Facebook, 20% are on LinkedIn, and 16% are on Twitter. Pinterest has surpassed Tumblr, which is used by 5% of U.S. adults. Instagram has also developed a sizable user base, with 12% of all adults now using the mobile photo-sharing app.

Source

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Apple's Big Day

Apple Introduces iPhone 5
iPhone 5: Apple's Biggest, Smartest, Fastest Yet
Apple Officially Reveals The iPhone 5: LTE, 4-Inch Retina Display, New A6 Chip, Lighter Than iPhone 4S
Apple’s iOS 6: Facebook, Maps, Passbook, Photo Sharing, Siri And More
Apple launches iPhone 5: Lighter, taller, thinner and faster

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Online Marketing For A Construction Business

5 ways to effectively market your construction business online

Establishing a strong online presence requires hard work, perseverance and a commitment to your goals. ..... Whether you’re hoping to use online marketing to jumpstart a new construction business or give some oomph to one that’s already existing ...... Having a strong online presence is critical to success .... outbound marketing approaches (websites and blogs) cost a fraction of inbound marketing expenditures while still producing a far greater marketing ROI ..... find your strongest niche service — something that you know your company can promote as being the best, fastest, cheapest, etc. — and then run with it. .... Controlling costs means making tough decisions, especially when it comes to marketing. Always measure the value of marketing costs by calculating the potential profits they’ll bring in. ..... Connect your business to social media. ..... If your business isn’t on Facebook and other social media platforms, then you’re missing out on an essential — and relatively inexpensive — online marketing tool that can expose a plethora of potential clients to your business

Construction Internet marketing

Internet marketing for the construction industry has exploded in the past 5 years. It seems that every homeowner who is looking to add-on, remodel, replace windows, doors or roofs starts with a Google search, no surprise really, but what is a surprise is just how many contractors are missing the boat. Construction marketing is all about local search and most construction companies are not “casting a wide net” around the long tail. They are missing out on the “refined” search so many owners are searching on....... get your website optimized for local search ..... determine all of the geographic terms your potential customer might add to the search query. Think in terms of city and county names as well as regional names like Simi Valley, or the South Bay..... You will want to evaluate all of your keywords while you’re at it, every contractor we have worked with has been short on 30 to 100+ keywords. Potential customers are going use a wide variety of keywords in their search quires and the more of these words you optimize the more potential customer will find your website

Construction Marketing

When providing online marketing solutions for construction companies, we take the time to extensively learn about your construction business so that we can build a successful marketing campaign that is specifically tailored to your unique services, products, goals and objectives. This approach includes analysis of your current business and website, your competition, and your niche industry. ...... In general, the construction industry has been slow to adapt to online marketing techniques, although the downturn in the economy is now forcing construction companies to explore more affordable online marketing solutions in order to generate new business

Online Marketing Strategies for Contractors

Here's an inconvenient little fact that has been researched and verified to death: The average buyer only buys after being "touched" seven times. ...... Few marketing systems are set up to touch a prospect seven times. Prior to the Internet, that type of frequency was prohibitively expensive. ..... Every lead generation system you deploy must accommodate multiple touches. And that's why Internet marketing has surpassed every other approach for lead generation. You can touch prospects numerous times cost free. ..... If you took the money you spend annually on the Yellow Pages, Service Magic, direct mail, and other standard print advertising vehicles, you could build a website that would blow your competition out of the water and position yourself to charge far higher prices than you currently do. ..... The Internet lets you easily deploy the six triggers of buying behavior: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity. .....
Here are some of the advantages the Internet has over traditional (outdated) marketing methods.
It is amazingly affordable.
You can position yourself as the expert in your field.
You can position your company as completely customer-centric.
You can entertain.
You can cut off simple, repetitive questions [using a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page].
You can present endless testimonials
You can tell your story with pictures, videos.
You can speak directly to your customers (audio)
You can easily analyze your marketing efforts
You can create incredible emotional bonds with your prospects, long before they ever call in.
It automates the referral process. .....
Internet marketing is not just another marketing technique. Internet marketing is not a 21 st Century twist on old marketing methods. Internet marketing is a complete obliteration of past marketing methods. ....... You may think you have an option whether to put up a website or not. You don't. Your prospects are on the Internet. If they can't find you there, they aren't going to hire you. ...... Web Strategy 4: Interactive, Entertaining and Viral ..... This strategy requires considerable upkeep, but it pays off in spades! Sites designed around this strategy grab people's attention and hold on to it for long periods of time. ....... List your prospects' interests, pains and concerns. Storyboard your site. .... Publicize your domain name everywhere. ..... People remember domain names. They don't remember phone numbers. ..... Set up an e-mail with your domain name behind the @ sign. Anything else looks unprofessional. .... If you are going with a type three or four site, find a professional. They're worth the money ..... Most people start their searches with search engines and only move to the online phone books when the search engine fails to bring up a worthy site ..... Strategy No. 2: The Online Brochure ..... This is the most common type of site by far. An online brochure lists the services offered, presents pictures of completed projects, has a FAQ page and tells a short story of the company's history. These sites usually have between five and fifteen pages and cost less than $1,000 to get up. ......
A newsletter via e-mail
Articles that show your prospects how to select a contractor that meets their needs
Articles that contain tips on how to maintain the completed project in near original shape
Free special reports
A blog to share your thoughts and provoke feedback from readers
Links to other sites of probable interest to the reader ....
When the time comes to create content for your site, recruit as many employees and friends as you can to help. It's always better to have the educational information penned by your company. If no one at your company has the time, drive or skill to write effectively, contact the owners of the sites you printed out and ask their permission to post their content. You will need to give them full credit, of course. ...... Your primary goal with this site is to get people to sign up for your newsletter list. Ask for name and e-mail address only. Once you have that, you're on your way to building a great relationship. Newsletters kill two birds with one stone. They position you as a caring expert. They enable you to touch your prospect several times. ...... Remember the magic number of seven? Newsletters hit that and more. Another magic number to remember is twenty. People will forget about you if don't touch them within twenty days. Send your newsletter out every other week. ..... This strategy also requires the loading and posting of a blog. Blogs serve two purposes. Like the newsletter, they position you as an authority. Unlike the newsletter, they are loved by search engines. Here's a valuable trick---write about local businesses and events in your blog. That will propel your site up the local search engine results list. ..... Strategy No. 4: Interactive, Entertaining and Viral ....
This is where the leaders in Internet marketing are putting great distance between themselves and their competition. They are taking advantage of something referred to as web 2.0. .......... tap into their word-of-mouth sharing. As these people spread your information far and wide, your site becomes far easier to find by the search engines...and by your prospects. ..... loaded with videos, audios, articles, blog posts, discussion boards and surveys. ...... These websites draw traffic (prospects) like flies. They are easily found they invite participation; they get prospects to share their contact information; they get referred; they become the place to be. They turn casual interest into serious leads. ..... an "Interactive, Entertaining, and Viral" site will draw far more traffic and turbo-charge your exposure to prospects. The downside is that it takes considerably more upkeep and attention

3 Reasons Why Construction Companies Need a Strong Online Presence

when it comes to establishing your company on the Internet, it’s better late than never. ...... The problem is that entering the online avenue can be intimidating for those who might consider themselves to be “technologically challenged.” However, if implemented effectively it will improve your odds of achieving growth faster by expanding your client base. ..... 1) A strong online presence draws in new clients. ... Instead of thumbing through a phone book for contact information that’s challenging to read, today’s consumers search for exactly what they need by using keyword searches online. ...... 2) A strong online presence strengthens customer relations. ... The Internet not only allows you to attract new clients, but also nurture strong relationships with existing ones. .... Interacting with your clients through social media sites is both efficient and effective. It also allows customers to access you immediately without having to go through the brouhaha of a customer service team. ..... 3) A strong online presence makes you an industry authority. ... One way to establish yourself as an authority of industry knowledge is to help consumers understand some of the more complicated aspects of the construction industry. If you have a thorough understanding of the laws that regulate your industry, share them with your audience. This gives potential clients confidence in your integrity

3 Online Marketing Tips for Construction Business Owners

No matter what line of work you’re in, you need a strong online presence in order to get more leads and increase your customer base—phonebooks are now almost obsolete and traditional marketing techniques like TV and magazine ads are super pricey (and probably out of your small construction business owner budget). Thus online marketing is the way to go. First order of business: create an up-to-date professionally-looking website that can also be easily accessed through a smart phone. A blog can be beneficial too. ...... using three of the nation’s most popular social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. .... Solidify your “expert” status by choosing a specialty such as retail construction, sustainable green building, or high-end residential projects for example .... if you tweet #construction #greenbuilding at the end of your tweets and include a link to your business website, those looking for sustainable builders on Twitter will be able to find you with ease ...... research shows that companies that have mascots generally perform better simply for the fact that consumers can identify the company and the product being sold. If you want your construction business to stand out amongst the crowds, a spokesperson could be the solution. ..... you need to offer an incentive for consumers to add you/follow you on social media sites to begin with. One of the easiest ways to do this is to offer exclusive/unique coupons to consumers who add you on Facebook for example. But do make the coupon or offer differ on other social media sites that you use. No repeats.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Serves Apple Right

Is The Next iPhone Already In Patent Trouble?

At the upcoming Apple event on September 12, the company is expected to release a new iPhone compatible with 4G LTE connectivity around the world. Yet, competitors such as Samsung and HTC are already warning Apple that if it releases a new iPhone with LTE connectivity, they will sue the company for patent infringements and will demand a sales ban in the U.S..... Samsung, on the other hand, is continuing its global legal battle against Apple. “It’s true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States — Apple’s home-turf — are our primary targets,” said a senior Samsung employee to The Korea Times.

A fight that needed to take place in the marketplace Apple took to court. And now that move is coming back to bite Apple. Pun intended.

MAD Before Common Sense
Apple Samsung: The Verdict Was Unfair

Dorsey, The Closest Thing To Next Jobs

A lot of people secretly hope to be the next Steve Jobs, or not so secretly. I have met quite a few early stage entrepreneurs whose idea of being Steve Jobs like is to exhibit really nasty behavior. It is like when I was in Nepal I thought crime was the only thing that happened in New York City. It does happen, but in my years here, thankfully, I have yet to witness one. Steve Jobs actually treated his team really, really well. The flares aside.

Sean Parker is too much of a visionary Chairperson, perhaps not enough of a CEO. Steve Jobs was CEO, period. His was a daily executing grind. Jeff Bezos belongs to the same generation as Jobs almost, and besides he has been with the same company the entire time. That is like Larry Ellison without his divorces.

Jack Dorsey is CEO. He has had his unhappy ouster from the company he founded. There is the drama, even the intensity. And he might still take Twitter to its promised, unrealized heights.

“I Never Wanted To Be An Entrepreneur” Says Jack Dorsey

”Twitter was not started because we had a good idea. It was started out of a failure. And that can happen today” .... Twitter is estimated to have around 500 million users — although not all of them active. Square has over 100 million active users.