The Consumer Connection

 Connecting with customers is no easy task. Getting traffic is one thing, but getting customers to truly embrace your message is another. What are the best ways one can do this? I'll give you my own suggestions, and no, it's not by making top ten lists. 

  As most of us know customers today are different. Generation Y as we're called have of an emotional, informal need from a Business. Gone are the days of bad, cheap advertising that couldn't fool a five year old. We want or better yet demand more transparency. So open up with your customers show them your creative side. Inform them in unique, memorable ways.

  Emotion is a powerful factor in Advertising. Look at Disney for instance. That brand is timeless because of the way they get their message across. Regardless of your own opinion, there's a reason Disney World is more known then Universal Studios. Universal is pure entertainment, while good it's nothing you won't see on other movies. Disney is something only their own brand can deliver in the way that they do. Maybe it's not the perfect explanation but you get the point. Content is huge and Disney is King in this category.

 When it comes to informing customers I love the way Apple approached things. First off, they design their product with an easy setup. Second they know how to present it. They show what the good  features are with the product and they show how to use it. You see this in their product shows or in your own living room. It's a big reason why they can outsell any other hardware on the Market. 

 When I look at how not to do things I think of Microsoft. Here is a company that wouldn't know the word original if they saw it defined on the wall. Worse than that their ads are boring and product launches are bleh. I was watching Bloomberg this past week and while I thought the new Tablet looked good they just didn't make that "boom" impact that a new product needs. Personally I feel as if Microsoft has no ability to connect with consumers. That's what happens when your OS makes you billions year in and out despite not making a Hardware splash. Before you think in just saw Apple guy, I urge you to think again. I've always used Windows due to cost but I appreciate Apple's quality.

  So be it Nike, Disney, Apple or Lamborghini building a quality brand that customers develop a passion for is more effective then anything else you can do. Often times we want to create a Website or Blog, put Google Ads on there and away we go. I've preferred to focus on building a quality Blog with a consistent following before focusing on Traffic/Google Ads. Ofcourse it takes a lot of time and there's boom and busts along the way. But in the end it's what makes the difference. 

  Take your time and stand out rather then being the same noise that clogs our Twitter feeds all day. Needa ideas? Look up marketing articles from reputable companies. It's helped me and will hopefully so the same for you. Good luck everyone.

The Power of the Brand Mascot

Building a Brand

These guys look familiar? Probably. Now ask yourself how much you noticed these characters as they came into creation. As you can tell, Mascots are arguably the ultimate Marketing Tool. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I think Brand Mascots are the perfect example. I can't tell you about the commercials, but I can remember the characters being in those commercials and I knew what Business those characters represented. Obviously  I didn't realize realize the core of their Business, but I knew that the Dough Boy had some really good Cinnamon Rolls and that funny Geico Lizard showed us that not all Insurance agencies are full of boring grey souls.

 When you think of the dominant brands, you can always relate a character or symbol to them. It makes your brand stick out in a world that has and always will be filled with too much noise and not enough quality content. This is a beautiful thing for the true Marketing Guru as it will only make your symbolism stand out more. Lets face it, we're not all great writers (I damn sure don't claim to be) but if we have something original and entertaining to show, our message will be heard.

The Brand

          These guys ring a Bell?

  The best thing about having a powerful Mascot is because so many Customers can have a memorable experience with your brand that way. Maybe your Mascot made them laugh, maybe it was a cool character in a good video game, etc. This is what drives Customer Loyalty, and those customers will make your brand explode. Your hear it all the time, no traffic is effective as Organic Traffic. You get Organic Traffic by giving the people what they want. So define your Brand and make it happen.

This  can be done with some good ol' Content Marketing. For showing off your Mascot, Visual and Digital Marketing is the way to go. 

New Site Coming Soon!

 Just a quick announcement, I'll be re-doing the website, tropicaletrade.com I'm hoping to be done within a week. I just wanted to let my readers know.

Yes I'll still  be updating the Blog, but a new site is on the way! :)

Building a Master piece

  I was going through some Steve Jobs quotes this morning, while doing so I found a particular quote that stuck out to me. It went like this...

“If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus on making really great products, then the profits will follow.”

 This gets overlooked so much in Business, ecspecially by small business owners just starting  which is why a good amount fail. Using a calculator as the only way to motivate your Business Interests is a sure fire way to fail. Only passion will make you put in the long days and sleepless nights.

 

  A lot of people would agree Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were rivals. What's interesting about this is that the two people perfectly represent what I'm talking about. Bill Gates is great at making money and all about the profit with his Business. Jobs on the other hand was always innovating. 

  It's pretty impressive for a guy that's mostly known for his Computers,  that he made more money from iPods then anything. This was a perfect example  of Jobs being ahead of the game and never looking back. Perhaps it was this insane work ethnic that caused a young death for Jobs? 

  We'll never know, but when you're an innovator (business, scientist) you're always thinking, always experimenting. It's this required trait that drives most away from Business and drives others to success. Innovators and scientist are like a homerun hitter. They may not have the highest batting average but when they hit one out of the park, big things happen.

Controlling your inner control freak

   I stand guilty as charged. I can be controlling, I demand perfection to a point where I've driven myself Mad on more then enough occasions. I've always been told, even since a young age, I was too intense at times when getting my message across. Others called this passion, but the the realists saw it as passion delivered with an intense, offsetting tone.

"10% of Conflict is due to difference in opinion.. 90% is due to tone of voice"

 I came across this quote today (how fitting) and it really confirmed what I needed to know. I noticed when I started out at times my customers almost seemed intimidated when dealing with me. I thought this was because they were skeptical of my services, but no. These were people that had already hired me . The problem was when we talked I had so many ideas/suggestions sometimes I'd accidentally dominate the conversation without realizing it.

 I've noticed when I would calm down and allow the customer fully express their wants and needs we worked together much more effectively. Real surprising right? I blame it on my adhd ;) it's the downside of having an analytic brain.

 This is typical among the business or creative types. Sometimes their message comes off the wrong way.  This happens because we know what works for us and sometimes we think it works for everyone else. While working with others it's important to realize this is not always the case, in most cases it rarely is. That's why whenever you work with anyone it's important to trust them. Trust is critical to any relationship, business is no exception.

  Marketing requires a lot of interaction with clients, associates, etc. If you can't work with others you'll never take that next step. If you're serious about your business you'll find a way to make this happen, I did and it wasn't easy at first. 

  I'll leave you with this, always, always do your research. Before beginning work with anyone, you need to be sure the situation will work out. Just jumping into the fire will end up getting you burned. 

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success"

- Alexander Graham Bell

Social Media Marketing Tips

 

  The world of Online  Marketing is a vast one so standing out is how you're going to accomplish your goals. But what do you do to truly get the results? Every Marketer has their bread and butter that brings them most of their traffic. 

  In my own experience I've found communication and blogging the best way to get results. What I mean with communication is finding te most effective way to reach your clients. I've talked about message forums before. But social media simply cannot be ignored as many of you know.

  A lot of people refuse to put much of any budget toward their marketing. If you can price yours in the middle with effective planning, social media should be a big thing for you. I've had a lot of success with retail products on Facebook and I really mean it. If you do it the right way it's more profitable then a website.

  Lately I keep hearing all about Instagram as the tool for Marketing. Personally I've found Pinterest to be way more effective. As I said though, to each their own. I recommend adding text to the photo on either platform to get your message out more.

  Going back to Facebook, I'm sure you've probably heard of contest and all that. But they really are effective. Having people share to get one free item works out very well for you.

  Social media truly has become te Juggernaut of Marketing and these are just a few tips, there's many more to learn so don't hesitate to your research .

Let's keep things simple

  I've been reading quite a few different marketing articles today, and all I have to say is "wow".

The Internet marketing craze is in full swing and I'm starting to think were getting a little too technical. You hear all about the different methods of marketing which is good. However once people start to rely on Technology for results they go from being a Marketer to being a Spam Bot.

  This morning I read one article that was so simple a beginner would completely understand it. Yet I find the things in that article more helpful then all the articles going into anal detail about data and collecting this, or automating that. How many times did you yourself see an article bringing up something like this? And I notice that when I read these articles it's always the same, non helpful technical talk.

  Look folks, I'll tell you right now I've done marketing for a few years, I started by having an online shop then after some success I decided to open others. I've found that so many things you don't hear about like message forums, Facebook stores, auction sites, etc. A lot of this is way more simple and ten times more effective then just repeating yourself in different ways. 

 

  Business is not a complicated thing. You know your business is doing well when 2 things occur, 1.) sales and 2.) customers being referred to you.  It's that simple. It's not about getting thousands of spammed hits a day, yet I see people arguing that traffic = growth. Unless your content is better then millions of others, you need to give the customer more reasons to come back to you rather then good content. 

  I urge people all the time, take a few dollars less and always offer a customer a deal when starting. While doing this take care of this customer like you would a family member. That's how you're going to get your "growth" and sales to rise.

  I remember long ago paying a company close to $1000 over 3 months. After 3 months of no sales, they'd argue that atleast I was getting "hits". Yes, hits that cost me $300 a month and not a penny made off of it. It's funny because this same thing is done by other marketers time and time again and it's something  very much against.

  The funny thing is, after firing the company I remember opening a Facebook page on my own and giving this big scary marketing thing a go. In my first month from simple paid advertising I had hundreds of dollars in sales. Not big time at all, but growth had finally begun and for much less then what you usually need to spend. You would be amazed at what $100 can do when correctly used on social media. 

 So remember folks, don't let things get too out there when it comes to doing business. Keep it simple, and treat your customers right. As long as they want what you have, they'll be back. 

Marketing items

  Being that we're online so often we don't talk about much physical advertising anymore. The other day inwas doing some promoting in down town West Palm Beach. While I was there I had the opportunity to meet a fellow Marketer who introduced me to some of his Advertising items he was using.

 I have to admit they were pretty cool and certainly effective at drawing attention. Take a look at some examples:

  I say it quite often, offline marketing is very effective still to this day. Make it fun and make your message stand out like you would on the Internet.

 Just a quick message by yours truly, until next time folks.

Big Data and Content Marketing

  Data has become a big part of all forms of Marketing (believe it or not, some still don't know how to utilize it) because of this, it's important not to become dull and unoriginal. Lets face it, Technology makes a lot of things easier, Marketing being one of them. When this happens we can get a bit lazy and try to makes thing TOO easy.

  One thing I have personally always been against is using Automated Messages for Advertising. Unless your going on vacation or something I think it's pretty lame. Most people that do this will usually always re-post old content under a new title. I'm not talking about recycling content, I'm talking about re-posting the same thing over and over. It really waters your Content down.

  But back to Data. Marketing teams have taken on this trend more then any other for good reason. Since 2013 when it really became main stream Web Traffic numbers have sky rocketed. The good Companies know how to take what they know of data and and really show/display to  you their message in their own ways using various forms of Marketing Content such as Visual Ads, Videos, Slide shows, etc Because of Data teams can now pinpoint who, when, and where clicked their content. Also, because of the fascination with Big Data from Business, the Public has become more aware of what is going on when they access the Internet nowadays and how to better protect themselves.

 I was really surprised when I asked a few other Marketers if they used Data. A good amount were still unaware about or didn't really know how to use it. There's a lot of good techniques out there you can learn from simply reading Blogs. I suggest doing this, if your not willing to invest time to learn your not going to get very far. Data can become boring pretty quick (hopefully you're still reading this or haven't dosed off too much yet) so when going over it, don't be so bland putting by simply putting emphasis on numbers for Web Traffic, Engagement, etc. Focus on letting your team have fun and be creative. Going for numbers out of the gate is how most people fail. You have plenty of time to get Traffic. The first and most important goal is giving them something to keep coming back for.

 Combining Data with Visual Content is using left and right Brain thinking. Doing this is when we produce great results.
That's all for now. It's good to be back after being away for a few days.

Visual Marketing Tips

   My Last blog "Viral Marketing Tips" was pretty popular among my readers so I figured I'll throw out some thoughts on visual marketing. I've played around with different visual ads a lot the last 6 months. I had plenty that did well at getting attention and I had others that didn't do as well. Here's why:

 1. The most important thing you need to accomplish with Visual Marketing is to visualize to your audience what it is your showing them and why. When I say this I'm telling you to make your images appeal to that particular audience your showing it to. Some want abstract, off the wall images. Others want to see exactly what their looking for, etc. Think of it like Informative Visuals + Creative Visuals. They both help, just for the right audience.

2. Content...I know, you never heard that one before right? Well, that's too bad because you're going to hear it again and I'll actually explain this to you. Your content needs to do 2 things, period. Inform or Entertain. Too many people make Marketing Content more than what it needs to be. I know you think the selfie you just took of you and your dog is just too damn cool and makes you soo original, but no. Show me something I want/need to see. So if your selling a product show me why it's cool. Show me, no, prove to me why I need to buy this product. Make me fall so in love with it that I just gotta have it.  Same thing with a Service..Well kind of. Show me what your service provides for me that no one else does. What are you actually going to do to help me with what I need? If you have something to show (customer reviews for instance) use them. Now as I said earlier with the dog picture, we don't need to know your personal life. But as a Brand it's still a good idea to take a video to show your audience who you are, let them hear and see you. Show them who the Brand is.

 3. Don't overdo it. People absolutely hate when you post huge pictures that slow down/clog up the news feed. I learned this one the hard way, haha ;) Always re-size your image so that they're just right. Enough to look sharp, and enough so that it's seen but not heard if you know what I mean. Besides these three tips, the last thing I'll say is this...There's a lot of different ways to do things. Find what your good at and work on that. No one can do every skill in Marketing. But some people are really good at particular things. Find yours and make your Visual Marketing shine.

 It's off to the Gym for me, sitting at this damn desk for even an hour gets me stiff. If any of you out there have your own tips that you think can help, please comment and share. The more Information the better.

What Drives You to Succeed?

Your passion

Written by: Warren Young

 We all need to make a living, money is critical for that reason. While I agree it's important to get your money on track, I think we miss something along the way. We spend so much of our lives thinking of finances because of this that we don't spend anytime learning how to live.

 You see it all the time. People cut things they enjoy out of their life for financial reasons. To me, if it's not for an important reason I see no reason to do so. I say this because I used to live that way and I know how much quality you take out of life.

 I'm not talking about running out buying a $50,000 dollar boat to feel good. I'm telling you that when you truly enjoy something that adds quality to your life you keep it. So many people with plenty of money end up miserable after getting the very thing they wanted most.

 Why is that? Because while they have a bank account full of beautiful green dollars, they have a life full of grey. You have to know how to enjoy yourself while living within your means, it's that simple. I cannot stress this enough. Stop looking at that needed vacation as an expense. If you can afford it no problem, look at it as what it is, getting away from your everyday life.

 When you sit back and think about this, I want you to ask yourself, why am I working so hard? Why did I want this money, to look at it? What's my desire.. Why am I really doing this?

 I'll tell you this. When I first started on the Internet in 2011, I jumped into the world of E-commerce head first. Success came quick and numbers came so fast that's all I began to see. It's like putting someone through school doing NOTHING but math. They would never learn about the world, it's history or it's events. They would never know of the many amazing places to visit or anything about culture. To sum it up, they would live a life with no color in it, only grey.

 This happens to a lot of people, especially young people who experience early success. I urge you to listen to what I'm saying and step out of the box for a bit, see the world, find who you really are and things will change. When all I wanted was money without any purpose no dollar amount in the world could truly put a smile on my face.(OK maybe a million but you get the point).

 Ill end with this, want to know how you know your doing what your meant for? Ask yourself..do I enjoy doing the extra things I don't have to do to be the best I can at this? Am I doing this for a reason and does the reason drive me? When you can honestly say yes, you have found your path.

The Future of Real Estate

  I don't usually post about Real Estate much, but this is something I wanted to share with all my readers. Marketers are a lot like investors, they bounce from profitable Business ventures..So hear me out.

   As we all know the Housing Market is out of control, it was then and it is now. We need to take matters into our own hands. By now we've heard of Green Homes but it hasn't been profitable. Well, now it can be. There are multiple factors to take into consideration.

 We need low cost building, we need more efficient use of space, and we need to find a way to build energy efficient homes. There is a solution to all of this. Many Green Builders are using effective, but cheaper materials to build homes. The current day House design is not a good fit for an Eco friendly home.

  Why is this? Homes are too big, and they are not designed right for easy air/Natural light flow. Instead of building rooms that stick out causing an odd shape, the better model is a square/rectangular shape.  We can design this to still look good without all the twist and turns of modern day homes. 

  Instead of gated communities with ridiculous Housing rules, we should still build communities, just without the gates creating isolation (just my opinion on that one) but within these communities someone can make good use of the space if they get the right design. These would be newer, nicer homes for everyone (there's low/middle class options) 

  Everyone has a right to love how they want in this country, but when the Economy is like this you need to be sensible and think about how your doing things. Here's an example of the designs...

Don't go overboard with the Content

  Earlier today I heard someone say "Business today is all about your Content" (meaning your content marketing, and how many people see it, etc.)
Look, any of my regulars know I love me some Content. But things are getting out of hand. Marketing your Business is just a piece of the pie, not the whole thing. On my Facebook feed I have two people that "Market"  by making unfunny prank videos in their spare time and blogging about their everyday life.  Sorry if I sound critical but please tell me, what the hell kind of value are you offering doing these things if your not important or informative? Why would I watch you 10 minute YouTube video if you were none of those things? Now I'm sure these future Marketing All Stars think they're delivering content that people want...But no. 

  I think it's cool when a Business shows you a bit of who they are. It's unique when a brand like Zappos came out and showed us not all corporate work places are full of zombies. But imagine if Zappos instead constantly informed you about what they ate and what they thought about it. Or how they really wanna show you this funny joke. Sounds like something you really wanna spend some time watching right?

  Content should be about showing who you are and what your business is about. period. If you did what you had to do it's onto the sales. I'm not saying it's simple or not to be creative...But don't be annoying either. Offer something of value, and because everyone and their cousin is attempting the same thing these days make your content  really  valuable.

For instance a lot of people use Google Adwords to make their income. It's a great option to have but consider trying to sell/promote items. The more things of value there are, the more reasons people have to come.

  

Viral Marketing Tips

 Viral Marketing is a great way to bring good traffic numbers to your site. There are many different forms of Viral Marketing, a lot of it comes down to have the skills to execute. Here's a list....

Email List - If you have enough engaging users, have them sign up to receive mail updates from Blogs, Product News, etc. (Always leave an "unsubscribe option) You can easily get 100's of page views from one  single email to the right list.

Social Shares - I cannot suggest this one enough. I remember having a contest one time for a retail site. I offered a product for Social Shares. I had 100's of likes that day to my Face Book page.

E Books - This is good because it truly engages your Customer. Instead of one blog they have pages of information and if they like it they'll most likely follow/share your page.

Article Marketing - Have a Blog post that your readers couldn't get enough of? Submit it to an article site (Reddit, anyone) A good article can stay posted for a very long time

Original Content is King

    Lately you've probably heard other Bloggers say that everyone thinks their a Publisher, Content Marketer, Graphic Designer, etc.  
Honestly I can't say that they're wrong. Let me ask you, how many Blogs did you come across today telling you that Social Media is important without actually telling you WHY Social Media is important? I've come across 5 so far on Twitter and the Afternoon has just begun.

   I read a Blog earlier talking about Original Content over Content Marketing. It wasn't saying Content Marketing is bad, what it was saying was that too many people focus on just putting Content in whatever they do to fill the space rather then tell a story.

  Visual Content is important because it shows the reader what you're talking about rather then just telling them about. When you go for the quick results you don't use Visual Content correctly, I know because I use to do this. Yes...We all make our newb mistakes and that was one of many for me. Quick word of advice, Image Editing can be your best friend at times.

  I don't claim to be some Marketing expert, far from it. I just enjoy sharing my experience with my readers about what I've found works and doesn't for me and what I've seen do the same for others. 

  If any of you out want to share your own Experience, please feel free. 

  

Times are changing, and it's exciting to see

 

Turn on any Financial News lately? If you have, surely you've heard about the many new start ups that seem to pop up in the news every day. I'll be the first to admit I've seen some horrible, stupid ideas that make me wonder what the hell the investors were thinking. But we've also seen some cool, innovative things like Messaging Apps, new forms of Social Media, etc. I think the world of Business is undergoing the craziest part of change alongside Technology. It has investors in stocks confused, old time Businessmen thinking it's all a fluke, etc. But no, Tech Business is here to stay.

 Ever since we've heard about Drones it seems there's another new tech piece coming out (google glass, Iwatch, fit band, etc) Google Nest is a Thermostat that pretty much keeps track of your ever tendency and adjusts the climate in your home accordingly. OK, now to me that's too much..But again that's just me. Getting back to my original point Technology is coming at us with new things at a rapid pace and these new things are changing not only the way we live but the way we do Business.

  Technology has put Business online, made doing Business incredibly easy. Imagine being a Marketing company losing your automation software and Big Data Sources. It would be a set back in time and effectiveness. You can get a Loan easier online, even do funding. The future of Business is bright and Tech is a big reason why.

Business is all about finding the new trend that's right for you. If you haven't mixed Technology, Software, etc. with your Business I suggest you get with it or get lost. So embrace these exciting new Tech Trends and take your Business to the next level

  Business is all about finding the new trend that's right for you. If you haven't mixed Technology, Software, etc. with your Business I suggest you get with it or get lost. So embrace these exciting new Tech Trends and take your Business to the next level

Business Leadership

Leadership in any Organization is key to long term stability. Leaders know how to hold down the Business when times get tough. Think about it like a Pirate ship. When the Open Seas gets rough, who does the crew run to? You know it, the Captain. It's in those moments where organizations(or in this case the Ship) sink or swim.

   This is when leaders look at the organization, find its core weakness and do what ever it takes to fix it.  I find that most times in these situations it comes down to innovation more often then not. In the case of a company like GM, you have a new CEO trying to repair a tarnished company image. It's anything but easy and this is why a true leader is priceless.

 

 I'm not gonna sit here and try to justify a 250 Million salary to you. But I will say, when you look at some of the top paid CEOs of the richest companies in this country there's a reason they're valued so highly. Their ideas and leadership help drive the company to new levels. 

Ask yourself this, what would Apple be today if they never brought Steve Jobs back? There is no price on Leadership. 

Embracing today's consumer

You hear it a lot already I'm sure. Know your audience, etc. That's good and all, but that's just a piece of the overall puzzle. You need to understand today's consumer. Unlike years past we have all kinds of communication devices and applications for those devices. Customers use this, and they use this well. This can be a great thing and can be a terrible thing. It's all about the experience the client had when dealing with you, and this is why customer service is more imprtant than ever before.

 No longer is the art of making a good living on the internet a mystery to people. I'm not sure how close you follow the economy, but this past Friday the unemployment report came out. It remains about the same. I believe a part of this is people taking up free lancing/websites and saying the hell wth a 9-5. So how will you stand out from the rest? Not the same old Marketing..But word of mouth. 

You can have 15K +followers and if none of them embrace your product what good is it? You have to think small to become big. So focus on the followers you have now. Use analytical tools to see what they do and don't like. See when they access your page. 

Once you have the customer's business it all comes down to service. You can have the best product and prices, but with horrible service you'll go nowhere fast. Try to motivate and compensate customers to spread the word. I promise you, it's a lot more effective then dumping 100's a month into a social media campaign every month asking for business. Let your good work bring them to you.

Before you read this and disagree, look at Face book. The most well known Social Media account that barely spent anything on marketing has become the king. Why? Word of mouth. This is why you need to focus on quality, not quantity. 

As they say..If you build it they will come. Just make sure when your customers come they're seeing a complete product and not something rushed. Today's consumer can be very demanding, the days of settling for mediocre Business practices are over, and rightfully so. Take this into consideration and give them what they want.

The Human side of Marketing

 Technology has invaded our lives so much it almost feels like people have forgotten this part of Marketing. I love Online Marketing for all its amazing things as much as the next guy. But one cannot deny the effectiveness of face to face marketing. Hell you can simply be around people and when discussing the site, have them pull it up on their phones. If you can get a group of people to do this often, it's little things like this that add up for page rank.

  You always hear about the effectiveness of video marketing. It builds trust, makes you more recognizable etc. Well imagine your audience actually knowing you. When you have a constant presence around the right crowd it only helps you accomplish your goals. It's much easier to build a solid relationship in person then through a Monitor. When your small in Marketing you have to be innovative with your Networking. If you can't afford to pay someone, offer them something that benefits them as well. The easiest would be to swap advertising with each other.

    This is also a great opportunity to learn. Quality Marketers can always teach each other new things. Keep your ears and mind open at all times.

Well folks, it's a beautiful day in South Florida today and I'm gonna go enjoy it. Until the next time......

Small Business Investing

  I've been thinking a lot about the Economy today. One thing that is clear to me, while you know who is President, we have nothing but ourselves to build our Business. I've bounced around the idea lately about becoming an investor in Small Business. I think creating some kind of Network this way would be truly beneficial down the line. As they say it's not what you know but who you know.

  You can't just give your friends/associates money, but you can build them up. Doing Business in Florida, I've been around to hear about Business's doing big things. However the one thing I've also noticed is people don't seem to network nearly as well here as they do in more traditional places. To me it simply comes down to a lot of people not having roots in Florida..Florida is still a pretty young state when it comes to the City life mind you, long before it was rural ranch land where everyone kept to themselves.

  Obviously the boom in population forces that to change. There are various Social Network Communities I've found via LinkedIn that have presented good opportunities for Networking. Remember folks, no one person can build an Empire. No matter how great you are at anything, you need great people around you as well.

  If your currently looking to Network I'm looking to build up a Marketing/investment team, both of which I can contribute to. Once built we will have the ability to not only invest in any Business, but build it up using an elite Marketing team.

To contact me for any questions, please use my contact page

Imagine Marketing without Social Media...Yes, there once was a time...

 If you can believe it, there really once was a time that Marketers depended on something not named Social Media. Were these better times? In my opinion, no because the creativity wasn't nearly as deep as it is today. So what did Marketers do in order to get exposure?

  The top dog by far at the time was SEO. Back in the day you could load $300 into a Google Ads account and with the right product you were making some money. Nowadays SEO has become much more competitive meaning it's much more expensive. Because of this we have found other ways. The new king of Marketing as we all know has become Social Media.

  It has changed the way we Market in terms of effectiveness, interaction, etc. Let me ask you this, how much does a legit, proven, company page mean today then it did just 4 years ago? It's more valuable then a Website these days and it's much easier to be found on Social Media then Google. Speaking of Google, try typing in your company name. Chances are your Social Media pages come up first. And people say Social Media doesn't help SEO? It may not boost your web site's ranking, but it damn sure boosts your name on Search Engines..That link right to your website.
 
This is just a very short list of reasons you need to get on Social Media and I suggest no less then 3 separate platforms. The more exposure, the better.

Making money with your marketing

  Times are still pretty tough ecspecially for an unproven Marketing Agency. Sometimes getting a client is difficult, with so many Marketers out there you need to stand out or be able to offer your client real value. Personally I find it difficult convincing a client to pay hundreds a month when most of them can find a company with more people for about the same price. So how does the little guy survive in this tough enviorment? Starting from the ground up.

  Find a service or two you specialize in more then others. Offer these particular services only. For instance. Just seo or just social media. Price the customer accordingly ofcourse. Try to build a relationship with the people that hire you .

  This could only help you getfuture Business or at the very least a satisfied customer. If you want Organic growth you need to show customers you offer them something they'll remember. Good results equals good reviews. 

Growth Hacking: It's a beautiful thing

Growth Hacking is arguably the most valuable tool to Organic Marketing. If you know what your doing and who tot target, you can hit a wide range of people. You can accomplish this in a lot of ways without spending much if anything.

  Growth Hacking comes down to analytics, Imagination and Execution (that's a pretty simple way of putting it, believe me. Growth Hackers usually use the right platforms to spread their Content wherever they possibly can. They get the results they desire by gathering all the Data the page has recorded from visitors. After the Data is read and they know what to do they create their Marketing Campaign or have a reliable employee do it.

  Last but not least is Execution. After this you simply wait to see the results of your work. Not too difficult honestly. Growth Hacking isn't a bad thing (despite the name Hacking) it just means Growth at an accelerated rate. Growth Hacking can be as simple as using a multi platform product successfully to share your work on Social Media.

  If Growth is something your struggling with, as many do, look into this or find someone who can do it for you. It's arguably the most effective Tool in Internet Marketing today.