Graphite Pencil Antler

San Francisco based artist Agelio Batle creates an amazing piece of art that also doubles as a pencil. This Graphite Pencil is in the shape of an Antler, and is designed to not smudge on your hands. This Antler is handcrafted from 100% solid graphite. Without a doubt it is completely unique, makes for a great gift idea and illustrates that creativity can spicy up some of the most common everyday objects. We see this being the perfect gift for all creative types and especially for those hard to shop for people in your life.

We also see the Graphite Pencil Antler serving as a great addition to anyones desk, office, or creative workspace.

Typography Sketchbooks

All design nerds, have a favorite font, color or design element. So this book should be considered “Design Porn”.  Typography Sketchbooks is a similar to looking at a graffiti book, when graffiti writers would obsess over the top writers sketch books. The difference here, is that we are looking at the design sketch books of some pretty dope type font designers. How nerdy is that? (love)

All fans of design, art and culture need to pick up this book. At $25, it’s a deal. 

Riviera Club Varsity Jacket

We completely love this minimal interpretation of a varsity jacket. Riviera Club completely hit a home run with it’s Varsity Jacket. This navy color combination is classic, and just works. You’ll easily be able to rock this jacket with a pair of jeans or switch it up your weekend khakis.

At around $350, it will completely standout among other varsity jackets.  

Whiskey Stones

Don’t water down your favorite Whiskey by dropping in some ice cubes. Just pop in a few of these bad boys. They are Whiskey Stones that you have in the freezer. They’ll keep your favorite spirit cool without any of the dilution that comes from using ice.

Just be sure to clean them out before popping them back into the freezer.

Oh Suki Suki Now

A face as smooth as silk is now at arm’s reach. Suki Exfoliating Foaming Cleanser is the grooming man’s answer to even and polished looking skin. This award-winning cleanser will unclog pores, exfoliate dead skin cells, and smooth away dryness for flawless skin every time.

Pick it up at Urban Cargo, you’ll get that deep clean for $32.95.

Things Come Apart

If you are a fan of design and photography. Then, Things Come Apart is the book  for you. Photographer Todd McLellan beautifuly layouts the innards of mechanical and electronic objects. From a grand piano, to an iPad. The photos are hypnotic, you’ll also find essays about reverse engineering and tear downs. Things Come Apart gives you a different view, of what was familiar.

Things Come Apart is a must own book. At under $30, you can’t miss.

Topo Light Daypack

Riding your bike, commuting to work, taking a brisk hike – you need a light weight backpack that works for you. The Topo Light Daypack is a small, water-resistant pack for every day use. Featuring an inner organizer and laptop sleeve as well as leather lash tabs and heavy duty plastic hardware.

For $79, good things come in small packages.

Kicktionary iPhone App

Any Sneakerhead who has an iPhone needs to immediately download the Kicktionary app. This app has everything to feed your sneaker OCD. Moreover, you also get regular updates about newest sneaker drops. You’ll be drainign you iPhone battery drooling over the massive collection of photos of these collection worthy sneakers, you’ll also find all the product reviews and descriptions that you could ever need.

Manage Your Day-to-Day

Just because you are busy, doesn’t mean that you are being productive. Manage Your Day-to-Day is the book that you need to focus all of your wasted energy, and create productive habits. Manage Your Day-to-Day has contributions from 20 leading creative minds, and was put together by the 99U team at Behance.

Behance is a leader in connecting in the creative world. At around $15, this book is a no-brainer for all creative professionals. 

Skincare for Men

Every guy deals with this issue at some point, but don’t worry; Lab Series Skincare is here to help. This brand works specifically to resolve men’s skincare issues, so you don’t have to steal your girlfriend’s moisturizer anymore. Lab Series Instant Moisture Gel is to be applied to your skin on a daily basis and it will instantly refresh and moisturize your skin, giving you an overall more healthy appearance. The first thing that people see when they look at you is your face, so it’s important to take good care of it.

This product will cost you $26, which is a good buy for this type of moisturizer.

Y-3 Sporty Jacket

The Y-3 Sporty Jacket will surely protect you from whatever weather conditions you are planning on enduring. It is lightweight and smooth, and comes complete with a hood and mesh lining. It is offered in two standout colors, bright blue and jet back. One is sure to strike your fancy.

At $425, we think that its protection is important for you to have.

You can be sure that if it’s Best Made… It’s the best. So when we saw first saw the Best Made Standard Tee. We automatically knew this would become your favorite go-to T-shirt. Made from a classic heather gray Raglan cut, you’ll easily stand out from the gaudy sea of graphic tees.

At $38, this tee should last you for years.

Heritage Pocket Phone Case

The signature combination of wool and leather is what makes these products one of a kind. The Heritage Pocket Phone Case by Hard Graft features a premium blend, wool case with a high quality, vegetable-tanned leather pocket. Store your phone, cards, and cash in one convenient, hand-crafted case.

Tech-accessories, meet your new best friends: wool & leather.

AXE Hold + Touch

Kicking Arse and taking names… well maybe it’s getting numbers. Whatever you’ll be doing, you’ll know that your hair will be looking amazing and girls won’t be able to resist running their fingers through your hair. AXE has been using a gentle scent for their hair products… we love it. It’s not overpowering at all, so you don’t have to worry about it competing with any fragrance. But it is noticeable when you get into those close range, intimate moments. Trust us… she’ll like it. Just don’t do the rookie mistake and use tons of it. Less is best, just use a tiny amount of AXE Hold + Touch. It’ll last you all day! Head over to the Hold + Touch page on AXE.

For under $10 AXE Hold + Touch is a must have, so pick up all three!

Blue Microphones Spark Digital

Blue Microphones, in one word… IMPRESSIVE. When we tested out the Blue Microphones Spark Digital Apple iPad or USB powered mic. We immediately  knew that it was going to be something special. From its build quality, design aesthetics, and zero-latency monitoring this mic just kept impressing. You’ll quickly be able to record vocals or podcasts on the go, using your iPad or Laptop. Making this the best, professional quality portable studio setup. Don’t let this studio grade mic overwhelm you. Just plug it in, and you can also use it for Skype or Google+ Hangouts.

At $199.99 the Blue Microphones Spark Digital is stellar. If you do any sort of digital recording, just get one NOW.

WakeMate App

The Wakemate is a combination a wristband and an app that runs on just about any mobile platform from iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android and even Black Berry. This duo aids in waking you up at your optimal time, feeling fully charged up for the day. WakeMate uses a unique tracking system called Wakeyelytics to determine your sleep quality. Thus, it can automatically analyze your patterns by concentrating on your personal activities and habits that influence your sleep.

We think that the Wakemate is well worth it, especially for $59.99.

Hasselblad H4D Ferrari

The H4D Ferrari Limited Edition is finished in Ferrari’s unique color “rosso fuoco”, and bears the legendary Racing Shield. The camera, which comes with an 80mm lens, is presented in an exclusively designed and engineered box with a glass top equally labeled with the distinctive Ferrari Racing Shield. Dual layers, one for the camera, with the lens and accessories housed in a separate lower level, are lined with a soft and rich material. This striking case is housed in a special handmade case and therefore is ideal for both storage and display.

Priced at around $29,000, it’s really not that much of a price difference from your standard Hasselblad.

Charlotte van der Waals World Time Clock

Sometimes the most ingenious designs are the most simplest. This is completely true with this World Clock designed by Charlotte van der Waals. The clock is etched with the names of major cities in various timezones. All you have to do is set the correct time to the closest city to you. Since this travel clock is a barrel all you have to do is rotate the clock to the specific city and you will get the correct time. This minimal approach is truly brilliant.

Made in the Netherlands, it’s sized perfectly for any traveler. Priced at $72.00, go for it.

Sandro Santantonio ABC Lamp

Here is a dazzling lamp designed by Italian designer Sandro Santantonio, called the ABC Lamp. It’s shade is made from Pyrex Glass, and is covered in letters that have been sandblasted into the diffuser. The lamp has been designed especially for Prandina, and as all of Prandina lighting fixtures it is superb in design and quality. It will without doubt make for a sophisticated addition in just about any room.

Mario Leather Derby Shoes

Classic. Textured. Lightweight. The Mario Leather Derby Shoes work as a casual shoe with jeans or as a dress shoe with tailored trousers. Light tan leather and cream laces make this shoe a must have for summer. Also available in black and blue.

A derby shoe for everyday wear at $355.

Coming Back Stronger

Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity is the ultimate comeback story of both Drew Brees and the city of New Orleans. Drew Brees was left without a team from a potentially career ending shoulder injury. The city of New Orleans had suffered epic destruction. Damaging 80% of the city, and leaving The New Orleans Saints playing the entire season on the road. With the Saints fans wondering if they would even have a team again.

This is a very touching story and you should add it to your reading list.

2014 Lotus Elite

This Lotus Elite is pretty hot. It’s a V8 5.0 Liter 612 horse powered beauty. You’ll be doing 0-60 in about 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 196 MPH. The Elite is also pretty roomy compared to your typical Lotus. It looks like they are going head on with the sport coupes from Jaguar and Aston Martin.

If this is an indication of what the future of Lotus will be, we are certainly looking forward to seeing the new models from Lotus.

Shaving Starts Here

Give your face what it deserves – the utmost in softness. Luxury shaving is in true form here with the New York Shaving Company’s Pure Badger Shaving Brush. Handmade using old-world techniques, this brush uses pure badger hair for the best in softness and water-retention.

Start your shave off right, pick one up at Urban Cargo for just $35.

Raised by Wolves T-Shirt

Made in the USA and custom printed in Canada. Raised by Wolves have one sweet looking 100% cotton T-Shirt. Featuring some pretty rad ink illustrations by Arran Gregory of the Jungle Book. We are really digging what Raised by Wolves are pumping out, and so should you.

Stray from the norm with this Raised by Wolves T-Shirt. Just $40.

Beauty & Comfort Meet

I don’t know if it gets better than this! The Soft Silk Boyshirt combines the ease of a button down and the luxurious feel of silk to create a gorgeous looking and comfortable top. The whisper violet color makes us feel like this shirt came down from the heavens. Simply stunning!

Feel beautiful & relaxed for $118.

Bellisima Neon

First of all, flats that cover your toe cleavage are rare – not that there’s anything wrong with a little cleave, but we are always down for a unique and different take on a classic. The Jenni Kayne D’Orsay Flats are an Italian-made dream that change the flats game up for the better. In 8 different colors (neon pink is obviously AMAZING), the D’Orsay flats can easily fold into your versatile wardrobe.

Andiamo! Change your shoe game up for $415

Tired of your Florida beach sand keychain? Well, it’s time to slim down. Get this simple, useful, yet pretty carabiner keychain from GoodHood Supply. It’s a multi colored fabric covered carabiner that will securely hold all of your keys.

At under $30, pick one up now.

Okay, so by name alone  the “Burger Dress” probably doesn’t do it for you. But it will be love at first sight. It’s a cute scoop neck dress, in white, with a juicy burger graphic. Designed by Local Celebrity, you’ll look great pairing this dress with heels, flats, or rocking out in a pair of boots.

At $78, pick up this versatile fun dress. 

Antique Skeleton Key Pendant Necklace

Never did a key and chain fit so perfectly. This Antique Skeleton Key Pendent Necklace from Rock N Rose comes on an extra long textured brass chain, balancing vintage delicacy with the weight of a beautifully crafted solid brass key.

Keep your key close to your heart with this pendent, only $33.00.

Lovely Lips

Bright lips are a daring fashion choice, but have no fear – Lancome Rouge in Love Lipstick helps you take a fashion risk that will definitely pay off. The “Tonight is My Night” Collection says it all without having to say a word. Let your lips speak for themselves in 6 bold and brilliant shades that last up to 6 hours.

Dramatic lips you’ll love for just $25.

A Cloudy Solution

Functional and adorable isn’t too much to ask, right? Well the Fog-Get Me Not Magnetic Key Holder delivers precisely those two things to your home. Never forget where you put your keys again. Simply let them hang from this little cloud and scoop them up when you walk out the door.

Peace of mind with a little piece of the sky, just $34.99.

Environmentally Chic

These Envirosax reusable shopping bags are truly the way to help the environment while shopping in style at the same time. Not only are they inexpensive, and come in many different colors and patterns, but they are strong enough to hold up to 44 pounds of groceries. They are water resistant, and the perfect alternative to one use plastic grocery bags.

At about $8.95 a bag, we couldn’t think of a better way to help the environment.

Herschel Heritage Mid-Volume Backpack

We just love this purple Herschel Heritage Mid-Volume Backpack. Herschel takes vintage mountaineering backpack designs and updates them with slim, modern silhouettes. This backpack is perfect for everything from traveling to keeping your computer safe to and from work or school.

Under $100, you’ll love the Herschel Heritage Mid-Volume Backpack.

Show Off Your Facets

Show off your angles with this chic and sleek Facets Hard Case for iPhone 4 from Case-Mate. This impact resistant, flexible shell will protect your phone with its unique geometrical shape and keep you shining like the rare diamond you are.

Give shape to your phone for less then $20.

KitchenAid 5-Quart Mixer

If you don’t already have enough mint-colored swag, this mixer needs to get in your kitchen. Every girl loves a good kitchen gadget and one with a gorgeous color like the  KitchenAid 5-Quart Mixer in Ice will have you baking up a storm. The 10 speed mixer comes with 3 paddles, a 2 piece pouring shield, and a one year warranty.

Whip something up for about $350.

Keep Calm and Decorate

The perfect piece for any home, this hand made recycled wood sign by William Dohman is designed after the British wartime posters and will remind you to Keep Calm, even if your re-decorating. The recycled wood phrase is cut, distressed and colored in a variety of shades, customized to match you home, and looks great on the wall or in the garden.

Get yours at the calm price of $75.

Cardi Love

You can never have to many cardigans, and this Painter V-Neck Cardigan is the perfect one to take from spring to summer with no problem. The heather grey stripe pairs will pair nicely with your favorite go-to pieces. Wear it casual or pair it with a flirty dress, preppy or hip, this sweater is your new versatile best friend.

A layer you’ll love for about $60.

Women’s Guide to Flirting

You’ve probably seen it before. (Maybe it has even happened to you.) At first things are going great with a guy… there are the tantalizing texts and calls, flirty Facebook messages, and maybe things even get a little intimate… Then IT happens. It seems like suddenly something snaps in him, and he starts to withdraw… then out of nowhere he just completely loses interest in you. Your texts and calls start to go unanswered and soon he just disappears out of your life.  If you’re going through this or know someone who is, I highly recommend you watch this video now.

If you’re like most women, you’re frustrated with men, dating, and relationships… and for good reason, NOW you can do something about it.

A stunning star pattern iPhone case. In shades of turquoise and peach. Made from a flexible, yet impact resistant plastic. This one-piece case, will protect your iPhone, but it won’t add bulk. Keeping that slim silhouette that you love.

Protect your iPhone with this gorgeous case, only $35.

This top is perfect for summer! It will kind of remind you of one of your Grandma’s aprons, but obviously much cuter. We really love this blue tied crochet top, it really should be part of your summer wears. Rock it with a cute pair of shorts, leggings or denim. Since it’s a Nylon/Cotton blend it truly is a wash and wear piece.

At around $48, it won’t break the bank. And it’s versatile enough that it will become your casual staple. 

Chroma Lab Blue Spectrum Clock

Add some color to your walls with this hand made Blue Spectrum Clock from Chroma Lab. Made with 9.5″ wide birch plywood and painted in a bright Aura paints in Boston, this clock will stand out with it’s modern and simple design and eye catching color scheme.

For $49, it’s about time you got some color.

Less is More

Using a method of 6 different approaches, The Simple Home: Luxury is Enough by Sarah Nettleton details the ways one can create simple home decor in a complex world. Featuring 21 homes, this guide will show you how to create uncomplicated designs that will fill your home with a natural calm.

Create the calm in your home for about $40.

Batwing Rockin’

Stevie Nicks, flower power hippes, and perhaps even Steven Tyler are coming to mind when I see this shirt – but I’m loving every minute of it. The Batwing Front Tie Top is not only a gorgeous neutral color but also has all the appeal of a sexy, rocker chick. The wings aren’t the only cool detail – the dot lace sheer back is our favorite part! Going to a festival or hanging at the bar, this top delivers flirty fun at high volumes.

Rock those batwings all night long for $38.

This purse designed by Annika Rimala offers a fresh perspective on prints. It is constructed of an off white and red pattern and its simple, vintage inspired design is certainly eye catching.

Who knew cotton could look this good? We didn’t. 

Currently, one of this decade’s best Advertising Campaigns is “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Ad Campaign for Old Spice. First released and created in 2010 by the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, the ad campaign reached enormous critical and viral success very quickly. The ad campaign was even deemed the fastest growing online viral campaign ever, gaining 6.7 Million views in 24 hours on YouTube alone. (1)

There are several reasons as to why this Ad Campaign is one of the Ad Campaigns in this decade. The campaign contains two components of advertising that I believe are synonymous with success. The campaign was (1) Memorable, and (2) It SOLD the PRODUCT. When an advertisement is able to tap into both of those two components, it will receive massive success on multiple levels. In addition, this Ad Campaign is my current favorite Ad Campaign because of its meticulous mode of execution across multiple channels and outlets of advertising.

MEMORABILITY

The “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Ad Campaign was memorable because of originality and creativity. Its message to its audience was also very simple and clear. Isaiah Mustafa, the star of the ad campaign, was the man that women wanted and the man that men wanted to be. For women, the campaign perfectly related scent to romance. The campaign proclaimed that “anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady.” Isaiah retained his manliness while giving women exactly what they wanted (“diamonds and tickets to that ‘thing’ they love”). Its innate humor also registered perfectly for men, as the campaign boasts Isaiah’s gifted talent of one-liners. One advertisement in the campaign features Isaiah performing a hilarious monologue that takes place in a shower, on a boat, on a horse on a boat and then on a horse on an island. However, the campaign not only registers a sense of humor, but it also targets men’s desire and sense of romance as well.  The campaign said that your woman wants a man who smells great, and she may be looking elsewhere (at Isaiah) for it. The sense of competition is imminent, but men are not intimidated by this. Instead, the men are motivated to purchase Old Spice to become the man his woman wants to smell like.

SELLING THE PRODUCT

The second component of advertising may appear to be obvious, but selling the PRODUCT is something that many companies fail to do in advertisements. The “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Ad Campaign was not only memorable, but it registered in my mind that Old Spice was the brand that would make me more attractive and make women want me. It made me want to buy Old Spice. An example of how this is not executed well is through the Go Daddy Super Bowl Ad Campaign. Each year, GoDaddy.com explicitly sells sex in its advertisements. While selling sex is profitable (as Old Spice currently does), the product clearly isn’t relevant to the message of the advertisement. When I see the GoDaddy advertisements on television, I don’t immediately want to register for a website domain. GoDaddy doesn’t sell their tremendous digital services in their advertisements, and doesn’t even sell the concept that having the domain makes you desirable. The Old Spice ad campaign is executed flawlessly in its attempts to sell the product and make a lasting impression that you would be more desirable with Old Spice by your side.

ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE OF THE INFORMATION AGE

The mode of execution for this campaign was astounding on many levels as well. The mode of execution for this campaign is what also what I would consider as Media Planning at its finest. Old Spice did not only release its advertisements on television, but the campaign was release on many online advertising outlets as well. It was released on YouTube, and spread quickly throughout many social networking channels just as rapidly as its critical and commercial success allowed it to do. The campaign spread even further when Isaiah responded to numerous posts on many social networking channels, answering questions from fans and delivering even more memorable one liners to his audience. This allowed for more content to be dispersed throughout the internet, and allowed for the audience to positively resonate with the brand on even higher levels.). 

SOURCES:

(1) http://www.emmys.com/sites/emmys.com/files/62ndemmys_noms_1.pdf

BIO: Matthew Ian Preven is a current Penn State University student and Digital and Social Media Marketing/Advertising Enthusiast.

He has worked on multiple advertising campaigns and marketing packages in his time at Comedy Central under MTV Networks/Viacom.

To connect with him, please feel free to visit www.about.me/mpreven

The first thing that I would do actively find people who are looking for pizza.

Go to search.twitter.com.

• Do an advance Twitter search.
• Search for people in NYC who are talking about pizza.
• Follow and engage

This handles your local online audience.

Another thing that you can do is print up flyers and place them around high traffic pizzerias e.g. Tony’s on MacDougal St, next to NYU.

If you personalize the flyer with the actual location name, the business will be much more friendly to you posting a flyer.

On this flyer make sure to have:

• A QR code to download your app
• Use the Marketing strategy of AIDA, to write your flyer
• Try to do a pizza giveaway

Use this giveaway to write blog posts, the blog posts will attract people who are traveling to New York and are researching pizza spots on the internet.

I suggest just blogging once a week, and every so often making a post about your pizza winner.

Make sure to take photos.

P.S.

Create a Pinterest board around NYC pizza.

You’ll be able to add links directly to your app/blog. Also, Pinterest is very food friendly.

Just looking at the popular pins, you’ll notice tons of different food items.

P.P.S.

Be sure to collect email addresses on your blog, use mailchimp for your newsletters, they have a FREE service.

Email marketing is essential.

Best of luck!

Wilson Davalos

Technological innovations and strides have granted anybody and everybody the ability to access any piece of information in the blink of an eye.

The world has revolved around this concept, and society has changed completely over the course of the last decade because of it.

Consumers are not only more intuitive but expect nothing less than knowing everything surrounding the product that they are about to consume.

Producers recognize this and deliver by utilizing the newest technologies to their fullest extents.

As a result, advertising has to be more intuitive and effective as well.

Utilizing the boundless capabilities of the Digital World as its consumers do and keeping up with this technology is the only way that the advertising/marketing industry will thrive and survive.

According to Time: Techland

Online adveritsing has generated a total of $26 billion in 2010, a 15% raise in revenue from 2009 (1).

This is a remarkable statistic for an aspiring digital marketer/advertiser like myself, but even more of a remarkable statistic for those who have or will invest anything into the Digital World.

An important question to address in this scenario is why, and how did this become?

As stated in the article, IAB Chief Executive Randall Rothenberg said that “helping to boost online sales is most likely the growing amount of time people are spending on heavily trafficked sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Netflix.

Thus, digital ads and marketing are one of the most effective tools that businesses can have to draw and keep customers.”

This is true, as placing digital advertisements in these social environments are proving to be more and more effective each and every day because of society’s new expectations.

As mentioned before, the society of the Information Age now demands that all information can be received at the most rapid of paces.

Those who provide this information in the fastest, most innovative and most creative ways will triumph.

However, those who effectively allocate all of this information into one source where others can share it will triumph over all.

The ability for information to spread itself is key and is why social networks are so lucrative.

That is exactly what Facebook and Twitter have done in the age of information, and why they dominate.

So Who Does it Better?

The answer is not too obvious, and certainly was not obvious to me at all.

However, after careful deliberation,  this writer believes that Twitter has done it better since its inception, and will always be dominate is this field over Facebook.

The reason that this is so is because of how each website’s life force is structured and designed to function.

Sean Parker could not have explained it any better via this quote from The Social Network. “We lived on farms, then we lived in cities, and now we’re going to live on the internet!” (2)

This quote, speaking about the effect of Facebook, is incredibly valid.

Facebook is not only a social experience but has expanded into a way of life. We live and breathe through our Facebooks, as people’s interpretations of our social profiles are congruent to their interpretations of our selves outside of the computer.

Digital Advertising cannot be as effective on Facebook as it is on Twitter because advertising on Facebook would be a direct interference into our online lives.

This is exactly why users do not see posts of advertisers newest products on their own Facebook News Feeds.

This scenario of post bombardment would be exactly the same as a representative from the Gap walking right to us in the middle of the sidewalk telling us about their newest deals four different times.

While the information may benefit us, hearing it more than once turns into annoyance, interferes with where we are going, and is thus not welcome.

Is Facebook Advertising Effective?

It very much IS effective for digital advertising.

It is one of the more effective strategies and the more efficient ways of reaching a large audience with minimal cost and effort.

However, what I explained before serves as the principle difference between Facebook and Twitter.

In the Facebook world, those who seek information can access it by searching within Facebook’s database to find it.

In the Twitter world, information is directly delivered to the consumer, by choice of the consumer.

The true distinction is that the Twitter user always purposefully seeks this information, as opposed to the Facebook user.

With Twitter, any user can follow a corporation or business, who can post specials at their own disclosure. These corporations are encouraged to post as many times as possible, and those who are hungry are one click away to all of the content in one place.

Twitter is the greatest form of window shopping of the internet has ever created and has to offer. It is also the embodiment of the success of simple ideas expanding beyond the wildest realms.

Social Networking: Not The Only Reason for Digital Advertising Success

The entire scope of digital advertising is one of the main reasons it is so lucrative.

New concepts of integration for advertising have been implemented, and are effectively drawing users into the content.

The advertising experience is more than just the advertisements now.

For instance, a digital ad for a movie no longer encompasses a poster, but a trailer, a link to the Facebook, Twitter and Youtube profiles for the movie, a behind the scenes look at the movie, and a direct link to the movie’s website with even more features.

You could even customize characters and share them on your Facebook or Twitters, or spread the word of the coolest advertising experiences you ever had by encouraging users to spread this information.

If you were to watch an advertisement on television, you could not access this information all at once. 

Digital advertising itself is an incredibly interesting field to work in and experience.

Newer “Rich Media” technologies are providing more intuitive ways to advertise.

For instance, be on the lookout for strides in Location Based Service Advertising and Integrative Advertising within Video Games to be the next biggest thing.

For now, if there was anything to take from this piece, it is that Digital Advertising/Marketing is evolving, and has massive potential for success.

Stay ahead of the game and you will dominate the game.

It is becoming increasingly obvious in the B2B arena that inbound marketing works well for businesses, even the smaller ones. 

A recent study released by the Hinge Research Institute revealed a remarkable correlation between profitability and online lead generation among professional services firms. The study concluded:

“Firms generating 60% or more of their leads online are 2X more profitable than those generating less than 20% of their leads online.”

You can read the blog for more information 

You may be wondering how inbound online marketing can work for your small B2B business.  Here are 3 possible ways:

Inbound Marketing Works By Targeting Those Who Are Seeking Your Services

Outbound marketing involves directly contacting potential clients to tell them about you and your solutions.

To use a fishing analogy, your company is expected to cast a wide enough net in order to capture at least a few interested members from a huge audience. 

Conversely, inbound strategies let potential clients who are specifically interested in your offerings find and come to you. This concentration on being found by interested parties rather than going after them is certainly an efficient and effective use of the fewer resources available in a smaller business.  

This efficiency can also be appreciated for B2B companies with limited marketing budgets and multiple time constraints.

Inbound Marketing Fits Small Business Budgets

When you are looking for services where do you go first?  I know I personally rely on the internet and specific search engines to find everything these days. I believe almost anyone can create an effective Boolean search on the internet that will allow them to locate what they need within a few seconds. 

Small businesses, even those with a focus on B2B marketing, should be using inbound marketing tools like social media, SEO, and internet advertising, to help them be easily found via search engines. 

Many of these tools are free (or inexpensive), efficient, and very user-friendly. 

Even the smallest of B2B business will find that inbound strategies are affordable and viable, especially with their high levels of efficiency and effectiveness.

Inbound Marketing Maximizes Integral Exposure

If you have a brick and mortar business, then without a second thought… you need to focus on your local SEO marketing.

Especially if you depend on walk-in traffic.

You’ve probably heard the term SEO. It stands for Search Engine Marketing.

Basically it’s a strategy to make the search engines aware of your website… specifically using the keywords that best describe your business and website.

But it’s so much more than that… and it can get very difficult. 

Let’s say that you are a Dentist in Midtown Manhattan.

It would be silly for a person who is looking for a Dentist in California to visit your website.

This is where local SEO comes in… you would want to tell the search engines that you are a dentist in Midtown Manhattan.

Local SEO… Why

You’ll want to focus on optimizing your local SEO for many reasons. In fact if you only service customers locally, you should only need to focus on you local SEO efforts. 

The number one reason being… you are not wasting your efforts targeting unqualified leads. Also your competition is drastically reduced, because you are not competing against the global keyword “dentist”. 

In fact, even in a crowded place like Midtown Manhattan your competition is very low. Most small business owners don’t understand what local SEO is… and they wouldn’t hire a large ad agency to consult them.

Also most small business owners are getting advice from their local “Computer Tech Service Provider”, “IT Guy” or their so-called “computer whiz” teenage nephew. 

Hardly the experts that I would want to trust… despite their good intentions.

How Local SEO Works For You

People more often then not are researching online before they buy, as a local business if you can control the handful of local keywords you’ll be positioning yourself for success.

So what are these local keywords? Well, “Midtown Dentist” is one, so is “Midtown Cosmetic Teeth Surgery”. 

In essence it’s a keyword that describes your services, with your location. But not all of these local keywords would be effective. 

You’ll need to research what keywords are worth the effort. Some of the Local SEO keywords have almost no competition, however they get thousands of searches per month. 

Imagine how much your business would grow if you received a few thousand extra qualified leads per month.

Think about this… customers are researching online more and more, and it’s only going to increase. So take advantage of the little local SEO competition that you have today. Most of the local SEO traffic is going to the large directories… customers are much more likely to trust you vs a faceless list.

Customers already know that the people at the top of these directory listings, are the business that paid the most… it’s an easy win for you.

How did you like this post?

If you liked it… feel free to share it via Facebook or Twitter and especially with your friends who own small local business. 

Are you looking for a Local SEO Consultant or Agency… Talk to us.

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Guest Post by  Jill Rowen

Everyone who has ever been to high school, or had a friend enter into sorority/fraternity life in college, knows the importance of a reputation. Reputations could make or break your social life; Remember that time at that party when Doug dressed up as a monkey, shoved Richard, fought Mike and then up chucked in the living room?  You never knew Doug, that is, until yesterday. However, you have known of Doug for several years since the incident at that party. How are you reacting to meeting him, are you able to overlook what you know about his potential alcoholism and emotional instability? Are you willing to let your friends, family and colleagues know you associate with Doug? Are you able to believe that he has changed over the last few years?

Online Reputation is everything as we grow older and enter into business. The internet acts as a bathroom wall where anything and everything can be written about you, whether true or not, and erasing (managing) your negative feedback is even harder than taking a sharpie and scribbling over the words, hoping not that many people had read it yet.  How do we manage our Online Reputation?

You Are Your Brand

For starters, NO ONE, knows YOU or YOUR PRODUCT better than YOU do. Tell people what you do.  Tell people how great YOU are. Set the stage for everyone to know exactly who you are before someone else can define you.  

Whoever Strikes First Wins

Make sure when someone wants to post disparagingly about you there will be a debate about the post and posters validity. Whoever strikes first wins – and like Charlie Sheen, make sure to wake up winning.

Your Online Reputation Needs Some Work… Now What?

 On the off chance you have managed to anger someone out in the world and they decided to bring down your reputation… online. There are few steps that you can take.

• Contact the person directly and see if you can smooth this situation over and possibly have them remove or revise their post.
• You can always post a reply apology which may smooth things over with a third party viewer, but make sure to not admit fault or guilt. This tactic is only for extreme situations and only meant to make the poster of the bad press look emotionally unstable so no one values their opinion.
• If this doesn’t work, recruit your friends to write good things about you/your company/your services so the one bad review seems like an anomaly.
• Make sure to not do this all at once so it’s an obvious tactic to dilute your bad press.  Ask one or two friends per week to post good posts about you for a month or so, or ask all of your friends at once but do two to three friends per website.
• Blog for and about other people/companies. Make friends on the internet who will link to you and say great things about you.  Start by blogging about how great someone else is, then send them a link to your post.  You will surely get some link love if not a corresponding blog back.
• Comment on other blogs related to you/your interests/your company or industry.  This will not only make you an expert in your field (and who cares if an expert is criticized, it happens all the time) but it will allow people to form their own opinions of you meaning the bad press will not phase your public as much, if at all.
• Use your social media to build a fan base around you to protect you against Internet attacks. Even if every review you had was bad, potential clients have to ask what it is you are doing so right that everyone still loves you.
• Having a Facebook page with many likes or a twitter account with 1,000 followers doesn’t mean anything if you’re not active in your community. Post topically, post frequently, and when in doubt, just repost other people’s stuff – they’ll love it.
• Reposting is a must and is the ultimate online hype man move. It adds immediate credibility to the original post; everyone who has a hype man is going to return the favor if for no other reason than to ensure that hype mans value for their ultimate, continuing gain.
• If your online persona/professional persona is nothing like the way you behave at home, make your personal social media extremely private.  If you don’t know someone personally, don’t friend them on Facebook, and keep your tweets locked.  If you know them professionally and want to have an online relationship, that’s what LinkedIn is for.

Remember: 

Always take the high road. Try not to engage in negativity.  If you feel there is no other way to do this, you have one of two options: ask someone else to be negative for you, or commit fully to your new, jerky persona. At least with a jerky persona, people will know you for something rather than nothing, and know what to expect. I highly recommend only using this tactic if your product is in fact, the best, or just that hard to find.

Jill Rowen

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Apple Visual Graphics

718.361.2000 (phone)

718.433.4587 (fax)

jill@applevisualgraphics.com

www.applevisualgraphics.com

Online Reputation Management is a topic of growing concern for businesses of all sizes. One of the good things is that you can automate some of this process. The bare minimum that a company should be doing is setting up Google Alerts, and maybe setting up services like TagBulb & BlogPulse. 

But what can you do after that? So we sourced the advice to two Titans. 

Ann Smarty & Barry Schwartz

Ann Smarty is:

The founder of SeoSmarty and MyBlogGuest and is an Editor and Blogger at Search Engine Journal

Ann says that:

The first thing that a business should do is to embrace and understand Social Media Search.

Filter out Clutter and Find Real Brand-Related Discussions:
 

• Filter out links in Twitter search with [-filter:links] operator
• Play with emotional coloring (using the smile emoticons) as well as search for tweeted questions
• Use | operator in Facebook to find more relevant conversations

Ann expands on the topic on a post that she wrote on Mashable, Advanced Social Media Search.
 
Ann also shares a few more advanced tips on using various tools to monitor your brand online:
 

• 7 Awesome Ideas to use Gmail Filters for SEO Tasks (see tip 2)
• 5 Free tools for monitoring brand mentions on Facebook
• Steal This Idea: Display Your Brand Name Mentions in your Blog Sidebar

You can follow Ann Smarty on:

SEOSmarty and be sure to follow her on Twitter @SEOSmarty

Barry Schwartz is:

CEO at RustyBrick, Executive Editor of Search Engine Roundtable and News Editor at Search Engine Land

Barry says that:

“Google Alerts are the bare minimum a brand (company, product, personal name) should be using to track what blogs, writers and their customers are saying about them. Google Alerts works very well, I personally like the RSS subscription option, but they all work well.

Aside from your own rep management, track your partners, to see where they stand financially or competitively. I once wrote about tracking my bank, during the time of the banks were having issues because of mortgages. I rather be early to read if a partner is having issues or their CEO gets booted than finding out from that partner directly.”

You can follow Barry on RustyBrick and on Twitter at @RustyBrick

It’s all very clear

If you are not monitoring your reputation online… then you need to do so. As I said earlier, most of this will be automated for you. It just takes a moment to set things up. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments with us on this topic of Online Reputation Management.   

William…

Thanks for the question. 

- That photo had a strong message… It was a great Ad.

- Checkout the Power 150, and add some of these sites to your daily read. 

- Join LinkedIn and use it daily… join groups and engage with others

- The easiest way to get a job in the Online, Marketing World is in sales. It’s also the best way to become a known name in your industry as you move into Business Development. From that you can move into just about any position.

- Join a local Toast Master Club, this will teach you how to speak to a group and to present your ideas clearly.

- Take an active role in face to face networking

I hope that this helps.

What a strong message

elitefreshness:

Good Campaign, Good Cause. 

We at Downright Media love Social Media. As a business owner, Twitter gives you the opportunity to interact with your industry and customers in a way that has never existed before in history. However, It can have a downside. Especially if you are the type of person that can get distracted easily. So we’ve gone ahead and created this executable action plan for you.

Get Clicky

Go to GetClicky.com and create an account for your site. Get Clicky will let you monitor and analyze your web traffic. You can also use Google Analytics if you like. The important thing is have this website traffic data. Without it, you are wasting your time and effort. 

Growing Your Twitter Following 

Twitter usage has been exploding over the last year years. In fact Google and other search engines think so highly of Twitter that they have started to include realtime tweets into search results. The problem is that Twitter can seem like a huge conversation about nothing. This is why most people don’t understand nor get Twitter. They say things like “Why do I care about what so and so had for lunch?” and that’s true. 

The opportunity with Twitter is knowing how to read the signal from the noise. Meaning, you should be able to find the conversations that matter to you. So if you love Indie Rock Bands from Brooklyn, you should find that conversation, listen in or contribute to it. It’s that simple. Twitter is brilliant finding real-time conversations on whatever matters to you. 

Okay so let’s move into growing your Twitter Following. 

• Use the “Advanced Search” on Search.Twitter.com for Your Research
• Follow Influencers in Your Chosen Field
• Add friends ( find like minded people)
• Remove Friends ( 36 hours if they haven’t friended you)
• Interact & Engage 
• Rinse & Repeat

Follow all the influencers in your field. Start adding people that follow these Twitter influencers and are like minded, remember Twitter has many automated account or Twitter Bots that just ReTweet things and don’t add anything to the conversation. Stay away from these guys, you only want real people.

Don’t go crazy and add too many, Twitter will ban your account. Remove friends that haven’t followed you back, give them about a 36 hour window. Again don’t go crazy here, Twitter will ban you if you unfollow too fast. Interact and engage this new audience, you have to be genuine. Whatever topic you pick should be your passion, so this should be easy for you. Lastly Rinse & Repeat. 

Following this game-plan will increase your Twitter following and with time will make you an influencer. The best thing about become an influencer is that your Twitter following will start to grow organically. People will start to follow you automatically, which makes you even more of an influencer in the eyes of others.

Now make sure that your Twitter page leads to your site. You basically want your Twitter traffic to generate leads into your sales funnel. It’s okay if you don’t have a product or service to sell. Just have the ability to send your Twitter followers to something. It could be your blog, your resume or anything else that you want to promote and use to solidify your influencer status. 

By continually working on this action plan, you will increase your Twitter friends, followers, fans, influencer status and your bottom-line. 

Let us know what you think? Continue the conversation in our comments section.

jaymug:

Hard Rock Cafe Advertising - Rockin Fork

Most people think that Google Maps is just for finding directions. Today smart local business owners worldwide are using Google Maps as part of their internet marketing campaign. Google Maps has the ability to increase sales. Every business should take advantage of this powerful business generating tool. There is no reason for you to be left behind. It is free, it is easy, and it literally puts you on the map against your competitors. 

When someone on the internet searches for a term that is relevant to your business. You want your company name to come up within the search results. Preferably as one of the first results. A business can optimize certain things to increase the likelihood of being among these first top results.  This is called Search Engine Optimization. Typically it can be very costly and time consuming, but with large rewards. Right now, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be applied to Google Maps. For example, if you type the word ‘Plumber’ followed by your local area in Google. You will see that Google Maps will display a lists of plumbing companies in that specific area. 

You can do some very simple things to attract more business from this Google Maps listing.  This is huge, it levels the playing field for the small business. The obvious benefit here is that it gives the small local business a fighting chance against bigger national companies that also service your local area. If you are a small company, you may not have the budget to optimized your website in order to rank higher in the Google search results. However, with Google Maps SEO you get to be on this precious piece of digital real estate without having to come out with a huge budget. In fact your best strategy here is offering a discount to customers who review your business. You’ll notice that most businesses don’t have any reviews. You can actually dominate your local market by just filling out all your business information in Google Maps and having real customers review your service.

As a small business who uses Google Maps, you are targeting local customers. Believe it or not, most customers prefer supporting smaller local businesses. So if you have a handful of great reviews, you should be able to easily compete with the larger national brands. 

However, if you want to start to include Google Maps into your marketing campaign, it is best to consult an SEO specialist. This would save you a lot of money and avoid having to go through trial and error experience as they would set up everything for you seamlessly. If not, be sure to do proper study and research on effectively using Google Maps for your small local business.

So we know that we have many social networks that you can sign up your small business for. This phenomenon of Social Marketing is here to stay, and if used right you have a huge opportunity to really grow your business. Let’s look at the two networks that everyone needs to use right now. The current heavy weight king of social networks is Facebook. This is the biggest, that baddest, and most established website in the social scene. You can pretty much do everything that you need to do on Facebook to grow your business, without any cost to you. 

The key with Social Marketing is engagement, and it’s no different with Facebook. If you want your fans to keep coming back to your fan page, you need to have an open line of communication with them.  

 You can easily do this by:

• Asking Questions
• Answer Questions
• Posting Photos, Videos
• Individually Thanking Your Fans
• Offering Facebook Only Specials

You also don’t want to overwhelm your fans. If your Facebook fans don’t think that your status updates are useful, they can just as easily un-fan your page. So be sure to keep this in mind before blindly posting every few minutes. Ask yourself this question before updating your status, “Does this information benefit my customers?” If it doesn’t, don’t post it.

The next big player in the social network landscape that all small business owners should use, is Twitter. I really like Twitter for the small business. Mainly because they train you to be brief and concise. Since you only have 140 characters to use, you better use them wisely. This allows you to think like a Newspaper Editor. Think about this for a moment. If you read news paper and magazine headlines, you pretty much have an idea of what the article is about. But if you need more information, or you find the headline interesting you’ll read the entire article.

You should use your Twitter status exactly like this. Give a short, very to the point headline, with a link back to a page on your site with all the information that they need to know. Twitter is very powerful to the small business owner. You can search for people that have questions and problems in your field, and help them just by answering a question. How amazing is that? 

The benefits of social marketing are many, however you shouldn’t see this activity as a task. You should see this as a genuine way to interactive with your audience. As we all know, people like doing business with people that they like. 

What a great message from Amnesty International.

jaymug:

Amnesty International: Fight with signatures - Signatures can be as powerful as bullets. Join Amnesty International in the fight against death penalty.