Category: Free Marketing Advice

Message Source Endorsement is Popular People Advertising

Message Source Endorsement is a fancy word for talking a famous person into getting some kind of access to their audience. Influencers, youtubers, and celebrities all have large audiences that follow them for content. Often their audiences have certain interests in common, which makes them easier to match with products and services. This naturally attracts advertisers interested in getting a message out to potential customers.

There is a risk that one must consider when looking at the potential rewards for endorsements. Things like this can happen.

LeBron James, spokesman for Samsung, gives teammates Apple Watches before NBA Finals

BlackBerry Creative Director Alicia Keys tweets from iPhone, pins blame on hackers.

Pepsi drops Ludacris after O’Reilly-sparked protest

It’s unclear whether LeBron James should be allowed to get his teammates the gift they want rather than base it on his position. It’s also possible that no one in 2013 was using a blackberry, since EVERYONE HAD iPhones. Why was Pepsi surprised at a rappers lyrics? Why did they drop him after he signed a contract that required that they pay him anyway?

Endorsements from celebrities are expensive and out of reach for most small businesses. There is a free source of endorsements that has an even greater pull than Lebron James.

Your customers are a great source of endorsements. They have had a great experience with you, and it would probably not take much to get them to say that. The fact they are not being paid large amounts of money adds to their credibility.

True more people know LeBron James than your Uncle Phil, but you have a lot of customers and that is a lot of reach between them. Also, no one is watching Uncle Phil, and it is unlikely that he will get any negative press, or buy you an Iwatch.

Brayson Management can help you manage and foster customer connections through digital marketing to bring your business more sales leads.

We do this by creating and managing your social media and web presence. Our reputation management service alerts you of any negative reviews to give you time to respond, before it damages your brand image. We can also help you get positive reviews from your customers to boost brand awareness and build trust around your brand.

Ultimately, what all of this does is increase your income through repeat business and word of mouth growth. It is an investment in your future.

Because Content Marketing is Hard.

Writing in conversational American English is not easy to outsource at the moment; and AI computers, at the moment, are easy to spot and make generic boring content.

Finding content creators to make interesting content is generally expensive, and the benefits from content marketing takes time. An audience may have to grow to a considerable size, before it will start to attract actual sales leads.

Marketing Agencies know this, yet most of them run a content marketing campaign, even if they don’t offer it to their clients. This is because content marketing works and gains value over time. Relevant content works for your company long after you have paid for it with increased traffic and followers. It does this by continually attracting traffic, either through search engine results or through social media posts. Most content can be cross posted across many platforms, allowing for one investment to used across multiple channels.

Once enough content has been created, a certain amount of old content can be re-posted or recombined to create new content. This content doesn’t take the time the original took to produce and comes at a reduced cost with better results than the original.

There are many people that do not do well with this delayed gratification. It makes sense. Marketing costs your business money, and you want to see results.

Results from content marketing take time, but there are still numbers that indicate improvement rather quickly.

• Number of Subscribers
• Reach
• Engagements
• Conversions

Most platforms show these numbers, and effective marketing can increase these numbers tremendously in a small amount of time. As your social media accounts and web traffic grow, the amount of investment needed to keep this growth should become less as interesting content will grow on its own over time.

As these numbers grow, so will sales conversions, which is the number you really care about. Sales can be put into marketing budgets, which grow into more sales.

Finding Your Audience for Online Advertising

The short answer, you do. You know your business, and you know your customers. You want your audience to be customer focused, and you are the best person to define it.

Brayson can help you capture your target audience on digital marketing and advertising platforms like Google and Facebook to increase your return on your marketing investment.

Determining the correct audience is something that we discuss with clients from the beginning when we create their marketing plan. We create this plan from a series of questions that we ask you about your business. It’s audience focused, because our goal is to spread your message to the right audience for least amount of cost.

How you capture your audience on an advertising platform differs from platform to platform and most will use a combination of strategies. These strategies can be grouped into two types based on key information held by the marketing platform.

Demographics are used by marketing platforms to separate your audience by statistical characteristics such as location, age, education, and marital status.

Lifestyle information is used to help capture an audience based on past behaviors. Advertising platforms usually list this information as interests or will use keywords to target certain interests.

How the advertising platform does this depends on how it works and how marketing information is collected. It may use information gathered from profiles for demographics. Lifestyle information can be based on search histories, interests listed, and even the content that is being viewed.

All of this is used to narrow your target audience to a point where it is neither too broad or too narrow. Once this is done, your ad will be placed where your customers will see them.

For a very low cost and a minimal budget, Brayson can run a digital marketing campaign on a variety of platforms that will generate sales leads, so you can spend your time running your business rather than digital marketing.

A Good Marketing Agency Price for Services

The short answer is it depends. It depends on the marketing agency, and it depends on the the current marketing conditions.

At Brayson Management, we do not charge for results. Results are what you have paid for. We do not charge based on advertising budgets. We charge for the work we do, so this question doesn’t really apply. The labor required to get a thousand visitors might not be as much labor as it is for another company to get a hundred. If your company has a large social media following, using this to increase web traffic should be inexpensive, when compared to a company without a large social media following.

Also, you aren’t really interested in traffic are you? You are probably more interested in actual sales.

So a good question might be “How much revenue is generated out of every 1000 site visitors?

With these two numbers, you can calculate your current return on your investment.

Your return should get higher overtime as increases in social media presence and web traffic drive down your advertising costs for the same amount of exposure. This means that the same money invested over time will get you more value. This is one reason why we don’t charge based on your advertising budget. If we did, we would get in the way of your success. Put that money back in your budget and keep running ads. This will build success over time, and we want you to be successful.

We had a client who had been using a marketing company that charged them for site traffic. They were getting a lot of traffic on their website that was not customer related. A lot of the traffic was from people looking for work. They had an entirely different website just for people to fill out job applications, because they didn’t want to pay the marketing company for the extra traffic. I won’t name this company. It’s the same company that used to throw yellow books at the end of my driveway. She came to us, because their budget at the other marketing company had not been producing anything.

We don’t charge for site traffic, so she saved money with lower monthly management fees. She also didn’t need her extra website. The job search traffic was a good thing, because it helped her overall rankings on search engines. It was also much easier for her to scale her budget, because she knew what her costs were going to be. It’s crazy to charge her for all the initial work of gaining site traffic, only to charge her again when the site traffic comes in.

Your advertising budget leads to more traffic, more traffic leads to sales, and we are not getting in the way of that.

How Google Ranking Works

1. Create a SEO Optimized Website
2. Create Search Engine Marketing accounts
3. Create relevant social media accounts
4. Profit

It’s not like getting it listed in that ancient book that some kid used to throw on your driveway. I would always forget to bring the phone book in, and it would turn into a wet mushy yellow lump, before I would toss it out.

This makes things more complicated for small business but easier for your customers. All they have to do is search for whatever they want on their phone and the companies that are setup in their systems will appear, complete with directions, reviews, and website links.

Would you like to be one of those companies?

If someone already knows the name of your company, it is very easy for them to find you in Google. It takes minimal effort from a marketing company to get your company listed on Google in this way. Customers that do not know your company are unlikely to find you by company name, unless your company is named Plumber Near Me. They might search for HVAC near me or plumbers in Spotsylvania. My customers are probably searching for online marketing in Fredericksburg or advertising in Spotsylvania.

Everyone wants their business to be the first listed in Google. It’s easy, just generate lots of traffic from many different sources to a website that is optimized for search engines to index its content. Create social media accounts and get people to subscribe. Oh and manage your business on search engines to ensure the information listed is complete and accurate.

It’s all so easy right?

No, it is not easy, but it’s not impossible. Every social media page, even the largest, started out with nothing. Well, some of them had a giant pot of money behind them, but they still didn’t have any subscribers in the beginning.

If you happen to be in possession of a large pot of money, your most important worry is how you are going to spend it.

You don’t want to spend it all on the digital marketing company. You want the money going where it will generate the most revenue. You want the money in your advertising budget.

At Brayson we understand this, which is why we do not charge extra to scale your budget. A five thousand dollar ad costs as much as a fifty dollar one. The costs come directly from your account, and you have total control over the budget.

If you are not in possession of a large pot of money, we can still help. The “A Little Help” package is rather affordable and we offer a social media page and an advertising account. You can spend as little as five dollars a day to grow your Facebook.

Whether you have a large pot of money or a small one, you want to invest your money into growth. The number of subscribers determines your reach with each post. Your reach determines engagements, your engagements creates leads. Leads create sales.

Getting “listed” on the internet is easy. It’s getting noticed that takes some work.

Online Reputation Management Protects Your Investment

Small businesses are often the victim of one angry person, a cell phone, and social media. Sometimes, competitors will write bad reviews to steal business. We see it happen all the time. It’s sad, because often the business has no idea. These posts can fester, building as more people comment, until people you have never met hate you and your business.

The internet hate machine can destroy your reputation in hours what may have taken years for you to build..

There is a small photography company here that was ripped to pieces by an angry customer in a local Facebook group. It’s been going on for days with an endless comment stream. Last I checked, the photography company had no idea their company brand was being stomped on in the comment section of local group for people that live in the area they provide service.

If you run any business that deals with the public, you need reputation management. It is hard to find the time for anything, and keeping up with social media takes time.

It’s best to belong to all of the local social media groups in your area. It also helps to check all of the review sites for your company name. Periodically doing a search on your company name also helps find public discussions. Many large social media groups are private and their discussions are only accessible through the group. This means they will not appear in search results, so you have to check those groups by belonging to them.

Don’t panic, and do not do anything when you are angry. It is very easy to make the situation worse by saying something in anger. Also anything you write is public record, and you are legally responsible for anything you say. Imagine reading back your words to a judge before you post them. If there is a chance of a lawsuit, don’t say anything before contacting a lawyer.

Even if you feel the person is being completely unfair, or you think they are lying; being professional, respectful, and even nice goes a long way to making you look good.

Sometimes it’s all just a misunderstanding, and you might even be able to work things out. Just make sure that your resolution is reflected in your response.

You also do not want to ignore a bad review or comment. Unethical services pay for good reviews in an effort to bury the bad ones. This has resulted in consumer mistrust of good review, so the bad ones carry more weight.

Write your response in a calm and respectful way and remember that both these comments will be up years after everyone involved has forgotten about it. Old reviews still carry weight and can have a negative impact on your brand years later.

Brayson Management has affordable Reputation Management Services for your company’s internet presence that gives you peace of mind, responds to issues as they happen, and ensures you know what is being said about your business. We help protect your reputation by helping you monitor your digital brand and respond to issues, if they occur.

How to find the Algorithm Secret Snake Oil

There will always be someone willing to tell you what you want to hear for money. In digital marketing, the snake oil salesmen usually talks about the algorithm. Usually, they are selling some way to get around having to pay for it.

So what is an algorithm and what does it do? An algorithm is a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a problem or accomplish a task. The instructions that come with an IKEA credenza is a kind of algorithm.

An algorithm must always produce the same result, given the same input. The instructions to put together an IKEA credenza should not occasionally produce velociraptors.

An algorithm must be able to terminate, or come to an end, after a finite number of steps. Imagine the terror of a world where IKEA instructions go on forever, producing an infinite number of tasks without ever creating a credenza, and you can understand why it needs an end result.

In digital marketing, we worry about computer algorithms that do things like rank webpages and advertising, determine audiences, and present information. Its inner workings are company secrets, but how to use it is not. Digital advertisers want you to know how to use their product. They have entire tutorials that are updated at the same time as their policies and features.

It is also something that you need a budget for, as these platforms reward those that pay for advertising with more traffic that leads to more sales.

It’s not magic or a secret you need to learn from a guy that sells tickets to see him onstage. Consistent quality gets results. Following proper instructions gets results.

Learn from the tutorials and create engaging content. The algorithm will take care of itself based on your inputs.

Free Marketing Optimization Report

Often we find that small business owners are reluctant to sign up for a free assessment, because they think they will get a sales pitch in return. Brayson Management respects your time, so we provide something you can use to improve your digital presence for free, just for getting a chance to talk with you on how we can help your business generate sales leads and ultimately, profits.

It requires a small investment of your time, can help you identify key issues with your digital presence, and can help increase sale opportunities. We also provide basic information about your business domain that ensures it is safe and private.

It’s all packaged neatly for you in a easy to understand report that is presented to you by our sales specialist. All tests and tools that are used are freely available, so you can run the same tests for yourself. Your information is never disclosed to third parties, and the information is only used to present the assessment.

“I am so busy with work I can’t handle anymore, why would I need your service?”

The time to invest in your company’s future is when you have the money to invest. Rarely are businesses able to sustain growth without investing some of that growth back into themselves. Your company’s website, social media, and search engine ranking are investments that ensure your company’s message has a large reach to an interested audience. This growth requires time and money. But right now you don’t have any time, just the money. If in the future business dries up, you will have the time, but not the money. Brayson Management solves this problem by doing the work for you at an affordable rate, so you can focus on your business, while keep control of costs.

“Are you guys are just trying to sell me something?”

Brayson Management sells digital marketing services at an affordable rate, but the free assessment is a chance to present services that will help your business get noticed. In return, you get something that you can use to improve your digital presence, whether you use Brayson Management or not.

“Is Digital Marketing too expensive?”

Digital Marketing is not an expense. It is an investment in your company’s future. We give you control over your marketing budget, and we broadcast your company’s message in the most efficient way possible. The Free Assessment is…well free, so it is not too expensive.

“Does Digital Marketing take a lot of time?”

Yes, it requires a regular investment of time. It is not something you can create, forget about, and expect to be successful. It’s like buying a car and expecting it to run forever without having to spend time or money on maintenance. Brayson Management can solve this for you by doing the work for you. Our monitoring and hosting services provide 24/7 protection, updates, and backups for your company’s investment.

“Why should I use Brayson Management?”

Brayson Management is unique among marketing companies in how it does business. Our target audience are companies that most marketing companies actively disqualify for being too small and too demanding. If you are a small business with under ten employees, you most likely do not have the deposit they need to even get started. Brayson Management has no minimum investment, our prices are low, and you control your advertising budget.

Marketing Sites know hype is easy and work is hard

Hype is easy to market. Who doesn’t want to know “The top ten things marketing companies do not want you to know,” “5 Easy tips for SEO,” and “How to make the world love you in just fifteen minutes a day.”

It easy to market, but what marketing companies don’t want you to know is that there is no top ten magic. It’s hard work and research, which doesn’t come off as fun. Nobody wants to read an article on how one can increase sales leads through money, time, and work. “The thirty two complicated steps to better SEO,” doesn’t make people want to read. It makes them want to scroll down faster.

Do you have time for “fifty complicated steps?” Do you have time to manage these assets, run your company, handle sales, and serve your customers?

Once you do the work, you can’t just call it done and ignore it, and expect it to grow. You have to nurture it with content and advertising. You can watch your numbers drop every time you stop advertising and posting content.

If you keep going, you will see other numbers. It goes like this. A large number of people will view your advertising. Some of those people will click on your advertising. Some of the people that clicked on your advertising will like your page or fill out a sales form. Some of the people that have liked your page or completed a sales form will become customers. Everything works together to provide leads. One number drives the other until everything starts to move like gears on a conveyor belt. Creative advertising, effective key words, and a good marketing plan allow things to run smoothly.

What you get are quality sales leads. These are leads that are familiar with your brand and have already provided you with some basic background information. These are leads that you can pursue with confidence, because they are already interested in your brand.

Brayson Management can help you reach these goals through affordable digital marketing strategies. We walk with you step by step, managing your assets as we go. We take your success seriously, because your success is our success.

Your Website, Things to Think About Before You Hire Someone

Unlike social media accounts, you have complete control over the customer experience when they view your web page. This gives web pages a kind of curb appeal for customers that are seeing your business for the first time. Your web page also interacts with search engines such as google. It does this through instructions from the server to the web browser or search engine using a variety of code.

The quality of this code is important. A site that is not setup correctly can turn customers away, have your business hidden from search engines, and be vulnerable to theft and liability. Hackers can break into your site remotely, steal data, redirect customers to malicious sites, and it could be very bad.

Code ages the longer it sits. It starts out as a developers best effort; and if left untouched, will remain the same while the world around it moves on. Hackers create their own keys to other people’s locks and developers make better locks by releasing updates to their code. Code that sits, gradually loses this war of attrition, until a script can run a port scan, detect it, and run the exploit.

This is why ensuring that you update your website and perform incremental backups regularly is critical.

Regular site audits are important to detect these issues before they happen. You don’t want to find out that your site backups have not been working after your database gets corrupted.

When it comes to hiring someone for your website, there are important factors to consider. Unlike social media accounts, a website gives you control over the customer experience. It interacts with search engines and requires proper code setup. Neglecting this can result in turning away customers, poor visibility on search engines, and vulnerability to hackers. Code needs to be regularly updated to ensure security and functionality. Performing site audits and incremental backups helps detect issues before they occur.