Why Try Alternative Marketing - Reason 3

BECAUSE ALTERNATIVE MARKETING IS GREEN!

Seems appropriate to write an article regarding the "greeness" of Alternative Marketing, being earth-day and all!

Why is it "green"?

Think of it this way: Alternative marketing is really just another name for "inbound marketing", which means, in short, that instead of the traditional "PUSH" methods of the advertising world, the webolution is driving potential clients to LOOK for you / your products and doing their research online, rather than be bombarded with television commercials (which no one watches anymore) or radio ads (which no one listens too anymore) or newspaper ads (which no one reads anymore).

In the 2008 Hoiday season, 46% of purchasers researched their purchases online first! Imagine they found your product online, more conveniently and for cheaper than the box stores who still have massive overheads to cover and the researcher doesn't have to venture out to crazy overcrowded malls?

Which leads me back to why alternative marketing is "Green".

Imagine a world where wild fields remain wild fields rather than being paved over for yet ANOTHER unnecessary mall!

Imagine a world where your carbon footprint is drastically reduced by only needing to venture out in your car for the basic necessities in your immediate neighborhood!

Okay, maybe it's a bit of a leap, but it is the firm belief of the author that change only comes with drastic measures, and maybe Alternative marketing isn't the solution to the earth's problems, but it sure can help!

What is this Alternative Marketing??

Why Try Alternative Marketing - Reason 2

BECAUSE ALTERNATIVE MARKETING SAVES YOUR BUSINESS MONEY!

In an economy where no cost effective solution can be ignored, and marketing departments everywhere are being forced to tighten the belt, Every Other Marketing offers non-traditional marketing solutions that decrease in cost, while increasing in efficiency.

"How does this save me money?" you may well ask.

Well, say you're considering hiring an internal Marketing Manager to handle your Pay Per Click campaign, or your Web 2.0 and Social Media marketing efforts, or even if you are considering an Affiliate Marketing campaign, consider this:

- How much time would it take your organization to recruit a suitable Marketing manager?

- How much time would it take for your new marketing manager to acquire the skills necessary to deliver an effective non-traditional marketing campaign?

- Would He / She have the skills necessary to deliver this campaign, or would they simply manage a slew of expensive specialists, each with their own campaign message?

- How much would this method cost your company per year?

What if there was a company who could deliver a complete alternative marketing campaign, working with your existing budget, delivering far more immediate results, and all for less than you would have to pay a Marketing Manager alone?

Good news.....

Why Try Alternative Marketing - Reason 1

IF YOU'RE READING THIS, ALTERNATIVE MARKETING WORKS!

Alternative marketing, or Every Other Marketing works, simply because you are able reach your target, with the right message, at the right time and place!

Hyper-targeting means the most possible potential clients reached, with the least possible wasted message.

The real trick to Alternative Marketing is finding an agency that crosses each of these boundaries to deliver a comprehensive campaign!

Further, hyper targeting delivers a campaign that is constantly increasing in efficiency, while decreasing in cost, yes, that wasn't a type-o, I said decreasing in cost.

Which leads me to Reason No. 2 why you should try Alternative Marketing...

California proposes taxing affiliates!

Similar to the "Nexus" law adopted by the state of New York, which resulted in major retailers terminating "click-through" agreements with New York-based websites, the State of California has proposed invoking something similar:

AB 178 AND ABX3 27 proposes invoking a "nexus" law, which refers to the US Constitution's requirement that an out-of-state retailer have a sufficient physical connection with a state before the state can force the retailer to collect the state's sales or use tax.

In other words, if you are an affiliate of a California based business, you may be taxed on your affiliate commissions very soon!

Yahoo, Google, ebay and several other companies are actively opposing this move by the Government of California, fearing massive loss to California-based businesses, as well as those sending business to them from outside the state.

A petition to the Government of California goes so far as to ask: "California lawmakers need to decide: Will California be the global leader of the Internet-marketplace or the global leader of the Internet taxation?"

Stay tuned!

Is Web 2.0 the end of traditional advertising?

Tens of thousands of business Owners woke up this morning a little bit worried (you're not alone).

Concerned there isn't enough time in the day. Concerned there may be more they can do to market their business. And, maybe more than a few are concerned about keeping up with the rapidly advancing developments in online technology; it feels like every week there is a new standard in Search Engine Optimization: or a new Social Networking platform presenting opportunity.

What many don't realize, is that the advancing technology of web based communication, demands non-traditional marketing techniques and technologies to reach this new brand of web-savvy consumers! The "traditional", is no longer as effective here!

This begs the question: "what are some of the emerging technologies and web-based marketing practices that my business must consider?"

Well, I offer three solutions, certainly not an exhaustive list, if you have others to suggest, please do so:

1. Web 2.0 and social media marketing.

2. Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing and site analytics.

3. Web enabled affiliate marketing software leveraged through business development.

"Mmmm, sounds time consuming and expensive! Besides, I don't have time to take care of my current commitments let alone learn several new skills" some reply. And it's a common problem, and also the reason most smaller businesses either avoid attempting alternative marketing all together, or sadly, fail at it.

These marketing techniques ARE time-consuming it's true, but they don't have to be expensive. The trick is that you can't dip your toe, and expect results! Alternative marketing is an immersion strategy. No, it's not a silver bullet, or the end all of your marketing woes, and it's certainly not the end of traditional advertising as we know it, but rather, complementary to that which you are already doing.

Still not convinced? Well, let's consider a few reasons why you should try alternative marketing... in my next post...

Press Release... Every Other Marketing

With the recession pushing on well into its second year and with little hope of a speedy recovery in sight, businesses are forced to continually find new ways to tighten the belt.

A knee-jerk reaction for many of these companies is to cut the marketing budget. While this spells bad news for the marketing community in general, a Vancouver startup sees the silver lining.

"Why is it", you may ask, "that two guys would quit well-paying stable jobs in this economy to start up a marketing company?" Because businesses are being forced to find new, more effective ways to market their business and they see an opportunity to leverage their experience.

Traditional media are in decline, this is evidenced by the fact that recently Radio was finally usurped as the number 2 media of choice for Americans by the Web. Television and Radio took 30-years to develop into number 1 and 2 medias, the Web, took just 3-years, one-tenth the time, to accomplish the same thing.

To say that the web and social media have peaked would be the understatement of all understatements. Yet, traditional online marketing methods are also in decline. Recently at the Massive Technology show in Vancouver, Dave Stevens, General Manager of MySpace Canada said, "traditional CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) marketing is in decline and companies that can find ways to take advantage of this decrease, will do very well".

So where does this leave the future of online marketing?

EveryOtherMarketing.com believes it lies in "Cost-Per-Action" (CPA) marketing. What is this CPA marketing? In short, a business with web traffic that may have the same target market as another unrelated business, drives traffic to the other site through strategically placed links. Those links are tracked and should they result in a specified "action" (purchase, contact submission, lead generation, or some other action), then and only then, is a commission paid the original site.

Through their proprietary software, EOM provides a transparent, independent and third party process for tracking results.

Some of you web-savvy readers may recognize this as Affiliate Marketing which is nothing new, in fact, there are several dozen online hosting options for Affiliate Marketing.

True, but what is new and unique to EOM is how they leverage the affiliate marketing platform to grow your business, not the other way around. By developing uniquely qualified affiliates through targeted business-to-business lists, in conjunction with the traditional approach of placing the affiliate program in front of thousands of Professional Affiliates to pick up, EOM creates a unique affiliate program tailored to each individual business.

Setting themselves further apart, EOM is the first non-traditional marketing company with specialties that cross boundaries. Hence, they are able to deliver a non-traditional campaign of constantly increasing efficiency while constantly decreasing cost.

Yes, we said increasing efficiency, while decreasing cost. Now that's recession friendly math!

But how? Well, you'll have to visit their website or give them a call to find out more!

www.EveryOtherMarketing.com

Changing Online Landscape....

I have found myself thinking a lot about the history of online marketing, and after many a pondering hour, it hit me, the internet used to be a simple place.

In fact, it was so simple that companies believed there was no future for offline businesses!

Well, we all know what ironically "offline" Street, the remains of that bubble are splattered all over.

But then, something interesting happened. Something as revolutionary in action as the day the Bastille was stormed. Yet, it wasn't the kind of revolution that ended up on CNN, no gun-toting, guillotine-happy crowd, with an impossible to pronounce name could be blamed for this revolution. Hence, it went largely unnoticed by those it would most affect.

Okay, maybe a slightly over dramatic way of introducing the concept of Web 2.0 to this blog, but the point remains, the online masses seized control of their online environment. This was the beginning of web 2.0 as we know it.

What is Web 2.0? The very question this blog is dedicated to the discovery and discussion about!

I would like to offer an introductory thought and would welcome your comments: Web 2.0 operates as a "Meritocracy", if the masses like it, it will work! From this platform, applications, technologies and a way of life have emerged. Those who understand this concept, quickly see it's value, act on what they learn, and harness the power to change the lives of millions.

"Great, what does that mean to me?" you may ask!

Glad you did, that will be discussed in my next blog........

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The Internet... the end of the recession?

The internet and it's seemingly ubiquitous presence have become part of our everyday lives here in Canada. In fact, Canada lists among the top 3 countries in the world for per-capita access to High-Speed internet. Yet, remarkably, Canada ranks among the lowest in the world for online shopping.

Yet interestingly enough, a trend towards online sales has increased in canada, not coincidentally around the same time the recession began in late 2007.

I find myself wondering why?

I have a theory (this is bound to become a phrase that will grace this blog many times):

1. Due to the added stress on the average family budget, wary customers are doing their research online at home, well before venturing out, with the intention that if they know exactly what they are looking for and where they can find the best deal, they won't be sucked into the impulse shopping that is the bread and butter of the retail system.

2. The online researcher quickly realizes that they can find the best deal on the internet for products and services, and that it is in fact safe and convenient and considerably less frustrating than navigating overcrowded malls and impossible parking lots.

All said and done, the researcher quickly becomes an online shopper, and viola, trends a changing!

However, the online consumer driven landscape is also changing... but more on that in my next post...