My company, Yellowbird Marketing Solutions, just joined the 
GLMV Chamber of Commerce (Green Oaks, Libertyville, Mundelein and Vernon Hills, IL). One of the reasons we joined the Chamber is because we like to give back to our community and we felt that a good way to do this was to assist many small companies in their efforts to become successful. America’s economic engine runs on small businesses with the majority of jobs provided and goods bought and sold. Our local community benefits from having a thriving local business community since the dollars spent here stay here in the form of local taxes that go to provide the local government services we all enjoy. So, be sure to support your local businesses by buying locally.
Author: Rich Garling
Successful results-driven experience in IT program/project management, focusing on collaborating with multiple businesses and IT workstreams to define detailed business process requirements into workable enterprise software solutions for retail, finance, pharmaceutical, and inventory processes. A successful proven track record in leading cross-functional international teams of project managers while managing expectations and delivering projects of greater than $10M within stakeholder expectations. Provided an in-depth knowledge of SDLC using Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies (Scrum Master (SMC)), MS IT Management/Project Management (AMU)), and a talent for developing business requirements delivering workable technology solutions. Rich holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Science in Information Technology/Project Management from American Military University. He is currently a Project Manager III for Bradford Hammacher Group in Niles, IL/
San Francisco to Restrict Distribution of Yellow Pages
San Francisco is set to restrict delivery of yellow pages phones except to those who specifically request a copy.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors felt that while there are those who still prefer to let their “fingers do the walking,” two directories for every man, woman and child in this high-tech city is a bit much.
Personally, I think one is one too many. It always amazes me that there are still people who buy a listing in those books even though they get nothing in return. Oh well, it keeps the phone company fat and happy.Perhaps Grayslake will be next to restrict delivery.
May 26, 2011 – Quick update…We just got the Dex phone tossed out by our mailbox. Looks like the local communities won’t be taking their lead from San Fran after all. Bummer 🙂
On-Line Video
Advertiser are shifting funding from standard banners and rich media to online video because it’s bringing major benefits to their companies. But they’re still advertising on television making online video a compliment to TV rather than an alternative to it.
A study by Brightroll is showing that at least 85% of the ad agencies said spending was moving from other types of advertising to online video. Moving funds from television, though, wasn’t happening as one might expect, with less than 65% of all agencies doing so. Companies that were pulling funds from TV were doing so in much smaller increments.
Many companies in the survey agreed (91%) that targeting capabilities are an important consideration when buying online video. Behavioral targeting is clearly viewed as beneficial, even though still not a wide spread practice. Only 40% of those responding indicated they would use the practice when leveraging their advertising.
I found it interesting that 96% of those ad agencies responding in Brightroll’s survey saw research as something of value their clients, yet only 35% actually conduct research for them. When asked which area of online video advertising one would to see an increase in research done 29% said performance vs television advertising, followed by 28% saying they would like to see increased research in the “Change in purchase intent or brand lift”. Audience profiling research cam in last with only 4% wanting to see increased research done. Research provides invaluable insight into how well a campaign performs and allows for improved optimization of future campaigns.
Media buyers are predicting that this year online video will see the largest increase in spending with mobile video following closely behind and social media coming in closely in third place this year. Display, search and tv advertising followed with dismal expectations of any kind of increase.
Overall, I think online video is becoming a clear winner in the advertising expenditure race this year and will likely surge further ahead for the foreseeable future. There are many services out there offering top notch technical product and knowledge, so it should be relatively easy to either DIY or have find a qualified professional to help you.
Happy Mothers day
A very happy Mothers day to all Moms. My Mother passed away over 15 years ago and I do miss her dearly. May she rest in peace and may I, hopefully, give her something to smile about as she watches over all of her children.
Osama Bin Laden Dead
Finally, we got even. almost 10 years after the most horrifying day in American history President Obama informed us that he had ordered the military to finish the job they started 10 years ago. Now, the mission has been accomplished. Good going guys, you’re fantastic.
Change
Have we changed all that much? Some are claiming a transformation has, or is, taking place in the way that we relate to one another. Perhaps they’re right. The way we create relationships sure seems different. The way we create dialogue with potential clients is changing. The way we deliver messages has most certainly changed. But other things seem to be regressing.
Newspapers used to control the message. We saw the world through their eyes. Our thoughts were formed around their thoughts. History shows the first published newspaper was in Rome in 59 B.C.
Newspapers would reign supreme until 1906 when the first radio program was broadcast by Reginald Fessenden from Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock, MA. 
Even though the telegraph system was an earlier precursor to radio, it didn’t have the same effect that radio would have on how people got the news of the day.
Radio, though, would operate under the same premise as newspapers whereby the listener was as dependent as the reader on which someone had to produce the broadcast. And delivery of each was no small matter either. Newspaper and radio station require major financial resources. Newspaper distribution is a very labor intensive business, from the reporter to the newspaper boy we would be looking at hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people to get that newspaper to your hands. While radio would begin a sea of change that allow the distribution of the news over the air waves, it still required a fair number of people to operate. But all one needed to listen was a radio and electricity. These two requirements would mean that initial growth of radio would be very slow. But, as we shall see, not as slow as newspapers. We would hear the first news program, sports radio and entertainment radio in 1920. Many of these stations are still around today, hopefully using much better equipment.
And coming up fast…Television can trace it’s beginnings to 1873 when Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of selenium, to the invention of the scanning disc in 1884 by Paul Nipkow and John Baird’s demonstration of televised moving images in 1926. Regular broadcast TV would begin in 1946 and by 1953 color TV was available nationwide. 
But producing a TV show cost a bundle and it required a television set as well as electricity. The user was still dependent upon others to receive the news of the day. Everyone was dependent on reading, hearing and seeing information that was based on what someone else deemed news worthy. As such we didn’t get to read, hear or see everything, only what someone else decided for us.
That would soon be changing.
Next: The big change
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The Market is Changing, Are You Listening?
I just finished reading an article on Hubspot’s blog written by Dave Clarke of Hologram Publishing where he talks about reasons to create an on-line presence. Change is inevitable and it is continuous he says. Dave quotes Isaac Asimov “Continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”
Yet many SMB’s will inevitably ignore this sage advice realizing they should have gotten involved while they’re looking for a job after their business failed. Many of them will make an attempt to try to develop their websites themselves. This usually leads to an immense amount of frustration due to the high learning curve. It also means neglecting their core business, something they’re were already good at. Many SMB’s will try to go the cheap route, not realizing that the true cost is the sales you won’t get because you didn’t seek professional help.
Many of these same businesses will continue to try the old tried and true methods of advertising…thats right…the phone book, newspaper ads, cold calling and radio. How’s that working for ya?
Dave makes a good point that there is no newspaper on the face of the earth where 600 million people go for hours at a time, every day. 111 million people watch the Super Bowl…for one day while there are 140 million tweets posted per day, 1 billion sent per week. There is probably more people playing fantasy football than watch the Super Bowl.
His point is that there is no publication, no tv show, no radio show, and certainly no phone book that gets as much traffic as the Internet. FaceBook alone gets 12.5% of every 8 minutes spent on-line and 64% of those 600 million people have become “fans” of a business page. The telephone book ends up in the recycling bin. 
The Internet will be a tough world in which to compete. It brings our society back to when your customers really knew you. If you didn’t provide quality products and service everyone in town knew about it. I recently had a former customer, one we dropped because he didn’t live up to the hype he wanted us to deliver. He was one of those who thought it was a waste of time to put in the hard work that marketing can be. He figured a web site would be enough to bring them in. We had listed his company on the local search engine business directories for Google, Yahoo, Bing and other industry directories. But he wouldn’t make any entries into a blog nor participate in any Social Media beyond setting up an account. Since he didn’t live up to his own hype, we dropped him as a customer.
About a year after we dropped him he contacts us by telephone. He wanted to know how to remove some negative comments that were posted on Google local listings by an irate customer. Instead of dealing directly with the customer, he wanted to know if removing his web site from the Internet would remove the negative comments too. After I quit laughing I told it wouldn’t. Then he wanted to know if I could remove the comments from the Internet. I told him no. Needless to say, he didn’t take my advice. The comments are on-line and they’re the only comments on-line aside from his website.
That former customer is a classic example of someone who simply isn’t listening…he just doesn’t get it. Many SMB’s do so to their own detriment. Hopefully they will open their eyes and their ears to reality, sooner rather than later.
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It’s about traffic
Ok, the big question I get from my customers is how can I get more of the right kind of traffic to my website. A very good question. I certainly don’t get someone asking me to lessen the amount of traffic to their website.
Here’s what I do to attract more customers: I consistently try to put engaging content on my blogs, on my website and on my Social media sites that relates to what I do and to who I am as a person. I figure that I love what I do and so I know I’m going to be very passionate when writing about it. I also enjoy a number of others things in my life and I like to write about those subjects, too.
I have a great girlfriend whom I live with. We love taking care of each other.
I enjoy hiking in the local county forest preserves in the area. 
I love to take long bicycle rides. I like reading, watching a good movie on the TV. We’ll go out to the movies only to watch a flick where it has to be viewed on the big screen…like Avatar for instance. I enjoy BBQ on warm summer days sipping on a long tall cool imported or micro brewed beer with friends and neighbors.
I am very passionate about politics. You will likely see a few posts here where I wax poetically about the issues of the day. I think it’s important that we all are involved. After all, you may have the answer to solving this mess we’re in.
I love to garden. You can see how my garden progresses each year by viewing my Facebook page. I’ll talk more about this subject in the very near future.
Anyway, to get more traffic I know I need to add other things to the mix along with the good content. You see, everyone is saying you have to have good engaging content.
Really? Hmmm, imagine that.
But good and engaging content to one person falls flat to another. For example, my girlfriend hates computers. She uses them, but when I try to explain something technical to her she gets all glassy eyed and tries to change the subject to something else. I do the same to her when she tries to talk about a subject I have no real interest in.
So my subject matter has to be pointed at the right kind of traffic. Someone who is interested in what it is I do.
Getting attention can be easy. Charlie Sheen has been getting tons of attention. But as you can see from his traveling show, some audiences love him and some just think he’s stupid.
In my case, or at least I hope so, I want to attract attention that builds my business. I have to address those interested in what I do by showing them I know what I’m talking about. I have show why I’m the subject matter expert in my chosen field. And do this in a way that provides value and is entertaining. If my writing is boring then people will not read it.
All this means that I have to know who my “A” customer is. My “A” customer is the one I really enjoy doing business with. And it’s not the guy from across town who just wants to pick my brain all the time. Him I need to drop him like a hot rock.
Your “A” customer is the person/company that can afford your product, who will benefit from it, that is eager to buy from you. Those customers make being in business a pleasure.
So, write to your “A” customer.
What I’ve Learned About What Google Loves
As many years as I’ve been developing and programming websites I always realize that what I really love about what I do is…I’m always learning something new and challenging. I’ve been reading Evan Bailyn’s new book “Outsmarting Google” and it’s fantastic. And it validates much of what I tell our customers everyday…to rank high on Google you need to be the most popular guy on the block. If people think you’re important, so will Google.
And those customers ask the same question, every time. How do I do that? How do I become the most popular kid on the block, the one everyone goes to to answer the important questions when it comes to what they’re good at doing?
Well, first you have to realize that in order for people to think of you as the subject matter expert, you’re going to have to do a lot of hard work. This is not a if I build it they will come. Doesn’t happen on the Internet, hell, it doesn’t happen in life. So if you’re not willing to put in the time and effort than don’t expect anyone to do it for you.
So when you read or hear that content is king that is exactly right. And it best be original content. Copying someone else’s content is fine so long as you give proper credit. But Google doesn’t give it as high a score as original content. See, your content has to actually show your expertise. You can’t merely say it. You have to prove it. This fact is what makes the Internet the level playing field it is. Even the newest of us can become a recognized popular expert in a given field that drowns out the so-called credentialed expert who doesn’t publish on-line. It’s all about perception. So some kid could outshine a professor with a degree any day of the week and twice on Sunday if he’s been out there sharing what he knows with everyone around the world. And all those folks will be linking to the kid because he’s the only source in town who’s talking. Thus Google likes the kid because everyone else likes the kid.
Tomorrow I’ll start sharing what I’ve learned about building expertise on the Internet. I will be alternating between my personal blog and my company blog at Yellowbird Marketing Solutions.
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Retail Leads On-Line Ad Spending
Data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PWC show retail, telecom and financial services industry leading the pack with on-line advertising dollars spent in 2009-10.
Retail leads them all with spending of $4.53 billion in 2009 and $5.16 billion in 2010. It’s estimated that spending will increase to $9+ billion by 2015. Retail accounts for 20% of the overall on-line ad $ being spent.
Following behind retail and estimated to lag further behind by 2015 is the telecom industry with $3 billion spent in both 2009 and 2010. Telecom is estimated to spend a meager $5 billion in on-line ad $ by 2015.
Financial services follows with $2 billion in 2009 and $3 billion in 2010 with an expected jump to $4 billion by 2015.
Holding up the bottom is Healthcare/Pharma, Media, and Entertainment with < $1 billion each and are not expected to go very much higher by 2015.
Other industry groups will increase their on-line ad $ spending by significant percentages: automotive by 14%, CPG by 29%, and healthcare by 13%. But none will be able to match retails spending levels.
What this means to the my industry is that marketers should concentrate their efforts on the top markets for drawing in customers. The action is going to be with retail, and telecom and financial services are following close behind. But keep an eye on automotive as they’re expected to leap into second place by 2015.
For affiliate marketers it means you should be adding more retailers to your list of advertisers. They’re going to be spending the big bucks and it will pay to tag along.