Archive for the ‘Groupon’ Category

Five Web Marketing Trends for 2011

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Now that we’re at the beginning of 2011, you might be looking to update your web marketing to make your organization more viable online in the coming year. From social media to local SEO, here are the hottest trends in the Internet marketing forecast for 2011:

Local SEO

For any business that depends mostly on a local customer base, local SEO has always been important. But, with Google’s major rehaul of its local search program in 2010, local SEO is more of the essence than ever. Google Place listings, city/county pages, and locally geared social media campaigns are just a few ways to attract more local customers.

Social Media

Being on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media isn’t just something that “couldn’t hurt”; having a presence on social media is becoming vital to staying competitive. According to studies, most online users are also social media users. Moreover, the typical social media user spends several hours of their time every month on social media. So why not tap into this worthwhile, growing market?

Mobile Search

As an increasing number of people are browsing the web through their mobile devices, being optimized for mobile search is becoming more and more essential. Do you have a mobile-friendly website? Can customers accessing your website from a mobile device clearly see your call-to-action? If the answer to either of these questions is no, you need to strongly consider making your website to the growing wave of mobile users.

Video Marketing

From commercials to how-to videos, adding video to your web marketing is a great way to connect with customers and increase conversions. In the U.S., online users watch more videos online than they conduct searches. To boot, videos are wonderful for SEO as they are 50 times more likely to get you on the first page of Google than text pages.

Online Deals

In 2010, we saw the rise of online coupon with deal-of-the-day websites like Groupon and LivingSocial spreading like wildfire. And now with Facebook Deals and Yelp Deals, online deals are becoming a more feasible option for all sorts of organizations. Offering online deals are a terrific way for businesses to inform and, better yet, entice potential clientele. After all, who couldn’t use a coupon?

CyberMark can help you add these trends in your Internet marketing. Whether you want to make your website more mobile-friendly, reach more local customers online  or start a social media campaign, contact us today.

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Posted in Groupon, Local SEO, Mobile marketing, Social Media, Video Marketing | No Comments »

Groupon Launching Do-it-Yourself Deal Platform

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Groupon, the burgeoning deal-of-the-day website, is preparing to test out Groupon Stores, a new self-service platform for businesses looking to promote specials. The new feature will also include elements of social media. Customers will be able to follow businesses to find out about specials.

Groupon has this to say about its newest platform:

“Groupon Stores is a place where your favorite, local businesses can sign up, create a store page, and post deals at anytime for you to see. Welcome to the future of Groupon.”

Here’s an example of a Groupon Stores page:

Groupon Stores image

Groupon Stores does offer businesses, especially smaller, local businesses, an opportunity to take advantage of Groupon’s popularity without having to wait for months. Also, as Groupon only chooses one out of every eight businesses for deals, Groupon Stores is a way for all businesses to share deals as they become available with customers.

Presently, only a few select merchants are testing out Groupon Stores. Stay tuned for more information on signing up for this new platform.

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Local Lure: Social Media Marketing for Local Businesses

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

online social media imageDoes your organization depend on local customers? If so, attracting area customers is crucial to the continuing success of your organization. With Internet marketing, you have many opportunities to raise awareness of your business among customers in the markets you most want to target. In Local Lure, our new blog series about local SEO, we talk about the ways you can gear your marketing to bring in more locals.

Social media marketing offers a terrific opportunity for local businesses to connect with local customers. According to a recent Nielsen study, the typical Internet user spends an average of about 25 percent of their time online using social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook. In addition to making your business more visible to area customers, social media marketing can make it easier to keep customers up-to-date on the latest company news and even help improve your SEO. We recommend the following social media sites for building a local following:

Facebook

The most visited website on the Internet, people of all ages, races, ethnicities and income levels use Facebook to connect with others. Given its popularity, more and more businesses are finding that having a Facebook page is not only a good idea but a necessity. Offering a large toolbox of applications and features, it’s easy to create a customized Facebook page for your business to reach out to more locals.

Twitter

Much like Facebook, Twitter is on the rise with people of all walks of life. With a Twitter page, you can send out short updates to current and prospective customers in your area.

Yelp

Yelp, a user review and local search site, is popular with influential consumers, especially in major markets. Each month, more than 30 million users go to Yelp to find businesses in their area – from restaurants and shops to plumbers and lawyers. If your business is already listed on Yelp, go ahead and claim your listing to respond to customer reviews both publicly and privately, add bios and about us statements, photos and other informative content.

MerchantCircle

MerchantCircle is a social network for businesses. Through MerchantCircle, businesses can connect to area customers as well as other businesses. By claiming your MerchantCircle listing, businesses can customize their listing layout, add links to their website, blog and other social media sites and post pictures.

Groupon

Groupon features one-day-only specials (i.e. $50 for $100 worth of clothing) in each major market. In order to take advantage of that coupon, customers must purchase that coupon for its face value in advance. In addition to receiving money from promotions upfront, being featured on Groupon helps businesses of all sizes inform local customers about their business.

If you’d like to know more about how social media marketing can have a positive effect on your local business, contact us at CyberMark. We can create a custom social media strategy for your business that will help you reach more customers in your area – and beyond.

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Posted in Facebook, Groupon, Local Lure, Local SEO, MerchantCircle, Social Media, Twitter, Yelp | No Comments »