Other than making the sale, capturing leads is the most important aspect of an internet marketing campaign.  Captured leads are normally from highly interested people that are near to making a decision.   Once you have their contact information you can now put your sales force into action to close the sale.   You now have a potential client, partner, or referral source.

So how do you capture leads?  There are several techniques for getting leads but the simplest and, in my opinion, most effective lead capture method is the single purpose, call-to-action, landing page.   This page has one goal, to get information on potential customers.  Because the page is focused only on the information that the prospect is interested in, the message is clear.  There is no need for them to wade through or be distracted by other services or offers your business may provide.   In general, a well designed landing page will have the following:

• Short overview of your offer clearly defining the value proposition.  This could be through text, imagery, audio, or video.
• A motivational element, e.g. free e-book, free site evaluation, free consultation, disocunt coupon, etc.
• An input form to capture the information you need

To improve your lead capture rate, consider creating multiple pages and test each one using a method called A/B testing.  Simply put, this is a system of serving up an alternative landing page and then measuring the conversion rate of each.   After a while you will be able to determine which page works best and can then focus on the best one.

If you have questions about how to create an effective landing page for your promotion give us a call or send me an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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I don't know about you, but I get excited talking about location-based services.  You know, the type of services that are dependent on where you are at any point in time.  In 1999 through 2001 I worked with a telecommunications company that was attempting to bring location-based services to cell phones.  At that time, the mobile networks weren't as robust as they are today, there were very few Internet-capable phones, no iPhone or Droid, and Facebook, Twitter, and about 50,000+ other web applications did not exist.  As you can imagine, not much was sold back then.   There just wasn't a large enough value proposition for the carriers to deploy these services.

Today, however, location-based services are thriving.  You may not even be aware that you are using them, but nearly all cell phones, Internet devices, and mobile applications utilize location information for some purpose. 

Local Search is currently the largest use of location-based services.  This includes such applications as Yelp!, Foursquare, and Gowalla.  These applications enable rapid search for local businesses and provide a forum to post comments, give ratings, and earn discounts on services or merchandise.  These sites are rapidly gaining popularity due to their ease of use on mobile phones.  In addition to their obvious functionality, they allow connections to popular social media sites, which enables the comments and updates to reach a much wider audience.  This integration with Social Networks creates a pushed advertisement whenever an individual checks-in.  This functionality fits in nicely with the goals of Social Media Marketing, which are, to advertise, converse, and build trust with your community.    

Due to the exponential growth in this area, I recommend to all my clients that they check if their business is included in the top local search apps and tools.  If it isn't then we add it and set it up to provide notifications when comments are posted.  This action enables the business to build relationships with their customers by responding to both positive and negative postings.  When the business participates, customers believe that they are important, which builds confidence that your company is one they want to continue doing business with or refer to their acquaintances.

In closing here is an action item to get you started.  Check out these three applications (Yelp!, Foursquare, Gowalla) and add your business, or take ownership if it is already present.   Check in periodically to see what people are saying and provide polite responses when you think it is appropriate.  After a while you will see what services are worth your time and marketing effort, and can adjust your involvement accordingly.

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Have you created videos, digital commercials, or presentations for your business?  If so then you should consider posting these on YouTube as part of your online marketing strategy.   In case you weren't already aware of this, YouTube currently ranks second, only to Google, in total search inquiries.  However it is not enough to simply post your video.  You must optimize it for search.  Fortunately, Constatine Roussos of SEOTV has written an excellent article detailing how to improve search engine optimization for your videos.  And if you're wondering whether video is right for you, check out "Should Video be part of your Marketing Campaign". 

Click on the picture below to go the full article.

People are going places and looking for places to go.  And when they get there, many feel the need to share their experience.  Social Applications like Yelp! and Four Square are providing the mechanism to do this, quickly and easily.  These applications (available on iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, Palm and other devices) provide a forum for customers to search for, comment on, rate, and recommend businesses.  In addition, these applications allow for seamless connectivity into other Social Applications, like Facebook and Twitter.  This means that applications like Yelp! and FourSquare aren't islands, but rather launching pads for consumer critics to spread their experiences throughout their social networks.

So what do businesses need to know about these applications, and why should they get involved?  First off, by being present and monitoring the commentary presented, a business owner can make information-based promotional or strategic decisions that improve the customer experience.   At the same time, these applications allow owners, managers, or employees to respond to comments, both negative and positive.  This creates a two-way conversation and builds trust within the community.

Secondly, these applications, because of their availability on mobile devices, integration into mapping software, and no-cost to users, are becoming the de facto local search tools.  This means if your business is not included in the database, it will missing out on a growing marketing channel.

Fortunately, there is no monetary cost to add a business to these applications, as they are currently supported by advertising revenue.  So, at a minimum, it makes sense to add your business.  However, for better results, I recommend checking in periodically, or, better yet, setting up your account to notify you when comments have been posted.

Tools like Yelp! and Four Square offer other benefits to businesses, so I think they are worth adding to a Social Media Marketing strategy.  But the key to any successful Social Media campaign is staying engaged over the long-term.  This will allow you to improve your business and build a loyal following at the same time.

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