Marketing Tools | Ryan George

#182

Feb 7, 2012

Putting a Price on Your Friends List

Social Media Monetization

If I had a dollar for every time I saw or heard the words social media, my wife and I could go on an international vacation—and I don’t mean Canada. I’m sure the same holds true for you. Websites like Facebook and Twitter and YouTube are touted as marketing gold mines, the future of advertising, the magic answer for harvesting clients out of thin air.

#177

Dec 1, 2011

5 Reasons You Should Be Using Google Alerts

Written for OPEN Forum by American Express

One of the most overlooked tools in the search giant’s toolbox is Google Alerts. In the hands of a savvy entrepreneur, marketer or blogger, this superpower can be a force for good.

The linked article is the exclusive content of OPEN Forum by American Express.

#176

Nov 17, 2011

10 Tips for Better Marketing Emails—Part 2: Dont’s

What Not to Do with Your Marketing Email

Email should be an important component in every marketing campaign you create. Because the medium is free or very inexpensive, the temptation is not to place as much effort into it as with more tangible and public media. Beware of that pitfall. Surpass your competition’s emails by doing the small things right.

#174

Nov 4, 2011

10 Tips for Better Marketing Emails—Part 1: Do’s

Email Marketing Tips

If these suggestions seem like common sense, know that I’m still not seeing them used as common practice by many small business owners—auctioneers in particular. For all you do to sell your professional brand in the marketplace, don’t sabotage that work and expense with cheap and lazy email marketing.

#170

Aug 11, 2011

Measuring Your Social Media Influence

Social Media Metrics

Social media analytics won’t tell you where to advertise your auctions. They won’t tell you how many people are absorbing your message—only those who interact with it. These sites don’t supplant the most important question to analyze your media outlays: “How did my bidders hear about my auction?” But they can give you a more informed perspective of how you’re doing at building an interactive brand on the Internet.

#168

Jul 21, 2011

7 Valuable Social Media Shortcuts

How to Cheat on Social Media

There are two halves to social media: sharing and interacting. While you can’t schedule your likes, comments, and other responses in advance, you can simplify the manner in which you collect and distribute the content you want to share. By uploading more than status updates, you can show your audience that you are a source—or at least a distributor—of engaging knowledge. Then, when you share updates about your business, these posts will have more credence and smell less like spam. You do have time for online social networking, if you use your time wisely.

#167

Jul 7, 2011

Where Should You Advertise?

Advertising Measurement

The only metric that should inform your future advertising is the collective answer to one question: “How do my bidders hear about my auctions?”

Some media will be in the budget simply to show the breadth of your campaign—to assuage sellers. But the majority of your sellers’ advertising dollars need to be going to higher ROI media, and you need to be able to sell and defend your suggested advertising outlays.

#164

May 26, 2011

Long Distance Marketing

Advertising in New Geographic Areas

On a regular basis, I talk to auctioneers who are proposing and contracting auctions across state lines—in some cases across multiple time zones. Whether these auctioneers are selling for distant estates with local heirs or for banks with holdings in multiple states, they are faced with the same dilemma: how do we find buyers in geographic areas outside of our expertise?

#159

Mar 24, 2011

Take Your QR Codes to the Next Level

Microsoft Tag and the QR Code

The Microsoft Tag isn’t yet a must-have tool in your marketing toolbox, but it gives you another way to prove you’re a step ahead of your competition—or at least, that you’re more colorful.

#156

Mar 10, 2011