Thursday, December 29, 2011

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You pay enough money and any SEO guru can get you ranked at the top of Bing, Google or Yahoo.

It's a big waste of money when I get there an your website sucks and it doesn't move me along the selling process.

Spend the money on building a great website that will convert visitors to buyers. Don't put the cart before the horse.

Tony Mariani

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The art of schleping

Winners.ca is a fashion store known for carrying name brands at discount prices.

Their current radio ads are for Christmas shopping and use of the word, "schlep".

Now schlep is a Yiddish word and used as a noun means, awkward and stupid person. It can also mean simple, simpleton and a person lacking intelligence or common sense. For example, "My brother in law is such a schlep!"

Schlep can also mean a a tedious or difficult journey. "Driving from Winnipeg to Florida is such a schlep".

Schlep as a verb means to pull along heavily, like a heavy load against a resistance. For example, "Oh Vey the thought of schlepping your parents to Florida!

The word doesn't work in this ad nor did it make the ad funny.

As for the schlep who came up with the idea, it's a Christmas shopping ad!

Tony Mariani

Monday, November 28, 2011

Your biggest expense

Labor? Rent? Cost of Goods?

All right answers but not the biggest.

Biggest is an empty restaurant. Empty bays at an oil and lube joint. Empty show room at a car lot. Get the picture.

If empty describes your business, you may want to look at your advertising or lack of it.

Tony Mariani

Monday, November 7, 2011

Facebook And Advertisers

Brilliant blog from Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian.

Share it with your colleagues and anyone else who thinks facebook and social marketing et al, is the be all and end all.

It will save you a pile of money or it will turn you into the next Dippin' Dots,

Facebook And Advertisers

Tony Mariani

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Future of Social Media

Is the Ad Contrarian just an old "mad man" who has lost touch with the advertising world? You decide in his latest blog on social media and its future.

The Future of Social Media


Tony Mariani

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Social confusion or turnkey solutions

Wayne Ens has written a great piece on the internet and social media.

Here is Wayne on Social Confusion or Turnkey Solutions

Your clients and prospects have never been so overwhelmed by media choices!

As of December 2010, there were more than 266 million websites fighting for the attention of internet users in your market! It makes the half dozen or so radio stations vying for your target audience seem pretty impressive.

And who knows what the social media flavor of the week will be next week? In a few short months it’s changed from MySpace to Twitter, and from YouTube to Facebook. By the time you read this, the darling might be Foursquare, Flickr or Friendster.

In the August 9 issue of Social Media Today; touted as publishing ‘the world’s best thinkers in social media’, the author said, “social media is a complex and evolving medium that many businesses struggle to figure out. Few find quantifiable success with it, many have failed, and most have yet to truly form a social media strategy”.
When a local business owner gets caught up in the hype of social media, they have more questions than answers;
Which social media do I participate in?

Where do I find the time?

Why would a follower find our post valuable?

Content is king, where do I get content?

Who will be our social media steward/evangelist?

How will I train them to handle the dialogue appropriately?

How often do I have to update my post?

What should I have on my profile page?

Print is being killed by the internet and digital media platforms are evolving so rapidly that even the ‘experts’ can’t keep up.

Familiar, proven and comfortable radio can be a safe haven for local advertisers who want to minimize risk and grow their business. Seriously, is there any web page or social media post that can influence as many local consumers in a single day as a 30 second commercial adjacent to your prime time news?

Broadcast account executives who present turnkey 52-week solutions to shell shocked advertisers can make some serious dough.

When you present a 52-week marketing plan complete with a well crafted strategy, schedule and regular creative changes, all the busy bewildered advertiser has to do is say “Book ‘em Danno”.

Tony Mariani