Making Time for Marketing - WebProNews Videos

Many small and medium-sized businesses tend to struggle since they typically have a lack of resources. Most of them are understaffed but still have to make time for social media, search engine rankings, leads, following up on leads, and more...

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While at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Mike McDonald of WebProNews spoke with Genoo’s CEO Kim Albee about these very issues. Genoo provides tools that allow businesses to manage multiple aspects in one place. As a result, the business has more time to dedicate to leads, follow-ups, and conversions.

These areas are very important to small businesses because, as Albee points out, “…if you don’t follow up, then whatever you spent to get those leads lose their value every month that you don’t follow up.”

In addition, the company puts enterprise level information into SMB terms. Often times at industry events, the perspective is from a large brand. Genoo takes that information and makes it applicable to SMBs.

Samsung Unveils Impressive Products for 2010 - WebProNews Video

Samsung’s display at CES 2010 was one of the most talked about exhibits at the entire show. With its fascinating collection of TVs, 3D innovations, and a new category of e-readers, Samsung wowed everyone that walked by including WebProNews...

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First on the list was the full lineup of TVs consisting of LCDs, Plasmas, and LEDs. Each of these product lines has a full range of 19-65-inch TVs. Some of the models within each of these lineups will feature a new technology called AllShare. This innovation allows users to connect the television to other devices in the home such as digital cameras, computers, mobile devices, and more.

The company also introduced their own App store called Samsung Apps. Now users can download content for their TVs, just as they do for their mobile phones. The store includes a wide variety of apps such as informational apps, gaming apps, and movie-streaming apps.

High-end versions of the 3 television lineups also have 3D capabilities. As Scott Cohen told WPN, users can watch anything in 3D with Samsung. Some TVs have a processor that allows users to render any 2D content into 3D.

With Plasma specifically, Samsung’s product line has grown. The primary focus of this line is picture-quality enhancement, such as deeper blacks and better motion. Top-end Plasma models will have customizable features that allow users to adjust the picture to their preference.

The last but certainly not the least in the TV product lines is the LED. The advantages of this line are low power consumption, vibrant colors, and brightness. Also, the LEDs are all under 2-inches deep with the flagship model at only 0.3-inches, which is thinner than a pencil!

In spite of all the hype around the fascinating TVs, Samsung’s category of e-readers also created a lot of buzz. The company will be bringing 4 e-readers to the market with screen sizes ranging from 5-10-inches. In addition, Samsung revealed a partnership with Google Books for this product.

All these Samsung products will be available during the first half of 2010. To find out more, visit www.Samsung.com.

Polaroid Brings Back Instant Film - WebProNews Video

Many of you probably remember when Polaroid ended its line of Instant Film cameras back in 2008. Fortunately, the company has decided to bring back its legendary Polaroid OneStep camera but with a modern twist.

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Jon Pollock, Polaroid’s Chief Marketing Officer, spoke with WebProNews at CES 2010 and explained how so many people expressed remorse for the Instant Film products. Specifically, artists and photographers reached out to Polaroid and asked them to bring it back.

In November, the company made its official announcement that it was bringing back its classic film. Polaroid will be offering a redesigned, modernized version of its OneStep camera that Pollock proudly showed off at CES. He said this camera “really represents Polaroid.”

The PIC 1000 will be available just in time for the holidays this year. Incidentally, Polaroid’s new Creative Director, Lady Gaga, pointed out in this WPN report that she was excited to help Polaroid take its Instant Film into the digital age.

For the latest information on Polaroid’s products, visit their site.

Ghost Tweeting: Right or Wrong? - WebProNews Video

Earlier this year at SES New York, Guy Kawasaki raised quite a stir when he gave his keynote address regarding his use of Twitter and specifically, his use of ghost tweeters. Although many SEOs disagree with the practice, Li Evans of Serengeti Communications defends him on the grounds of marketing...

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Kawasaki’s use of Twitter became a problem when some people discovered that he had ghost tweeters but didn’t disclose it. Although he does disclose now, Evans says people need to understand that Kawasaki is a marketer. With marketing, the message plays one of the most critical roles.

In an interview with WebProNews at the BlogWorld Expo 2009, Kawasaki responded to the criticism of his ghost tweeters by saying: “At the end of the day, the ultimate test is not who tweeted it, as much as, is it interesting.”

According to Evans, the core issue is the expectations of the audience. Ashton Kutcher is an avid tweeter and his followers know it. On the contrary, 50 Cent has other people tweet for him; although it doesn’t make everyone happy, his followers know that he is not tweeting on his own.

In regards to business usage of Twitter, Evans recommends planning a strategy to determine the best way to meet the audience’s expectations. If the expectations involve more than the business can do on its own, make sure to disclose whoever is doing it. Otherwise, the business could lose its credibility.

With Real-Time Search, Comes Real-Time Spam - WebProNews Video

Earlier this week, Google announced that it has begun integrating real-time search into its regular search results. Incidentally, Rae Hoffman, CEO and Co-Founder of Outspoken Media, began playing with the new feature and discovered some alarming results.

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The first concern Hoffman noticed is a spam issue. Upon tweeting about Viagra, she found that her results were showing up in Google’s results. She was even able to drop links into her tweets that people could access directly from Google.

Secondly, Hoffman uncovered reputation management issues with Google’s new integration. An unhappy employee or competitor could easily damage a company’s reputation. During a session at SES Chicago, Dave Naylor even mentioned that he might have to clean up his Twitter stream over fear of losing business.

Thirdly and probably the most serious of the issues Hoffman revealed is the safety concerns for children online. Through a series of tests including the highest level of safe search, Hoffman was able to reach out to kids who searched for queries such as Sesame Street and Miley Cyrus. Unfortunately, sexual predators could easily do the same. Scary, huh?

There were actually even more discoveries Hoffman was able to uncover that she did not disclose.

Many people believe Google rushed its real-time integration to respond to the recent real-time efforts Bing has made. Hoffman predicts that Google will either have bad results for a while as they fix their problems, or admit they made a mistake and deal with a reputation management problem.

Search + Social = Better ROI - WebProNews Video

Are you utilizing search and social media together? According to Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, many people keep their search and social campaigns separate. However, if they combine their efforts, they would be more capable of reaching their goals and even expanding them.

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Typically, people use social media for branding and customer engagement. With search, people want to increase sales and leads by being more visible. But a joint effort produces better results. Take, for example, the Wal-Mart Check Out blog. It has 16,000 inbound links and is great for engagement, but it has a severe lack of SEO. The site ranks for phrases such as “checkout” but not for any of its content.

On the flip side, IKEA is actively involved with social media, but the company applies SEO to it as well. Odden says that people and companies that optimize their social content drive traffic, build relationships, and reach customers all at the same time.

In addition, many people falsely look at social media as a direct marketing tactic, although it is not at all. Odden said:

“Measuring ROI as a direct result of social media is not the right question because social media is a platform, it’s not a tactic.”

He went on to say that making that comparison is similar to asking where the ROI is in email. The use of a platform determines the results, not the platform itself. If your goal is to increase your revenue, you must look at ROI. If not, you can find value in social media through relationships, branding, and visibility.

PubCon 2009 - Las Vegas Convention Center: November 9th-13th.

PubCon Vegas - November 10 - 13, 2009 Las Vegas Convention Center

When it comes to creating marketing buzz online, webmasters pretty much invented the concept. PubCon is four days of leading edge education and networking in over 90 sessions featuring 200 expert speakers in Social Media, Affiliate Programs, Search, and SEO/SEM. In its 8th year, PubCon was founded out of the rich and diverse base of WebmasterWorld forums. These aren't people who just talk about this stuff - these are people who do this stuff.

The A-List alpha attendees to PubCon are among the most highly pursued demographic in the online marketing world. Highly educated and computer savvy, they're early adopters of the latest web technologies and trends. These are the folks that any forward thinking company wants to reach and network with.

• Where Las Vegas Convention Center in fabulous Las Vegas Nevada
• Format Seven Track Educational Conference with Exposition Hall
• Topics Search, Web 2.0, Net Marketing, SEO/SEM, Affiliates, Domainers, Video, Multimedia : aka: Webmastery.
• Levels PubCon is scaled mainly from professional to expert experience levels (heavy content). we start where other conferences finish.

One of the best ways to keep up with the latest news about PubCon and other events is to visit the PubCon LinkedIn social networking site group, the PubCon Facebook group, and the PubCon Twitter feed.

This is one of my MOST Favorite Internet Marketing Events of the year, hope to see YOU there:
Marci Rosenblum/WebSuccessTraffic.com