|
Jul
19
2011
|
The Struggle Between SEO & PR
The battle between SEO and PR has been occurring for quite some time now and we’ve decided to see if we can bring some sense to this altercation. PR has been around longer, dominates the traditional realm and takes a proactive role in making the web a source for news and information. Alternatively, SEO is newer, but well-known to anyone with a website who is concerned with high search engine rankings, community-sites, widgets, virals, etc. With overlapping tactics and differing goals, it’s hard to tell which better handles the client’s online presence. SEO’s goal is to improve organic search rankings through relevant search terms, while PR’s is to develop relationships and positive brand image through relevant content. One’s priority is attracting the attention of robots and the other is of people. An example of how the two can clash is SEOs see blogs as an opportunity for keywords and PR sees them as a place for meaningful articles and news. Another is SEOs use link building to obtain website links, while PR uses relationship building to get featured on websites. Despite their differences, we have quickly learned that both are important for an online marketing strategy. Each just needs to be understood more in order to work together harmoniously. For smaller businesses that don’t have dedicated SEO and PR departments, it’s even more critical to have a strong understanding of both, and know that content isn’t just for ranking or for creating a press center. |
|
Jul
14
2011
|
Visit Carlsbad’s Facebook Page Climbs to 30K Likes Thanks to Mindgruve
By continuing to distribute quality content within a strong social media strategy, Visit Carlsbad’s Facebook community exceeds 30K+ ‘Likes’ in less than one year. SAN DIEGO, CA – July 14, 2011 – In September 2010, Visit Carlsbad, the Destination Marketing Organization for Carlsbad and San Diego based digital media firm Mindgruve, set out to create beneficial content and exclusive vacation deals for locals and visitors to Carlsbad, California. Together, they have provided a great service and 30,000 people have ‘liked’ their Facebook Page within months, demonstrating the value provided to this online community. Visit Carlsbad set out to offer engaging content and value. Initially, Mindgruve rose to the challenge and created the Visit Carlsbad Facebook Page to serve as a hub to find community event information, hotel deals, attraction updates and restaurant recommendations. Beyond simply bringing this all to one place, this page also rewarded its visitors with exclusive vacation deals. |
|
Jul
14
2011
|
Foursquare Specials: How Local, Small Businesses Can Use Them
If you’ve been following our Foursquare blog series, you may have read “What is Foursquare?” and “3 Big Brand Campaigns To Learn From On Foursquare”. This article will build on those and focus on how the local, non-chain or smaller chain businesses can utilize Foursquare effectively. Types of Foursquare Specials
The Strategy Behind Each Type of Foursquare Special Swarm Special: A large group checking-into a venue together can take advantage of this deal. It works similarly to Groupon in that a critical mass must be reached before anyone gets the deal. This would be perfect for a local restaurant that would give $0.25 wings if a group of 30 showed up. This can draw more people and lots of business from things like office happy hours and sports related fan clubs looking for a place to all watch the game together. Friends Special: A business can use this deal to get customers to bring their friends on their next visit. It gives a deal when checking-in with a certain number of friends and that number is determined by the business itself. This can be very useful for businesses where customers go to together naturally like a bar or restaurant as opposed to something like a hair salon which is typically an individual activity. This special helps attract new business and trials when those current customers who are familiar with the business bring their friends who don’t know about it yet. |
|
Jul
12
2011
|
3 Big Brand Campaigns to Learn From on Foursquare
The location based social networking site Foursquare is a major player in the social media world today and doesn’t intend to lose that position. Foursquare has created a whole new social currency with their check-in system and are capitalizing on the rapidly growing trend to make social activity more of a game with their badges. We’ve found 3 big brands to learn from that are growing their businesses in this space and putting leagues between them and their competition. The Mayor of the Mayor Offer
Foursquare allows businesses to give an exclusive deal for the mayor. Some examples include Hot Dog on a Stick, Karl Strauss Brewery & Restaurant and the Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop which at the time of this post all offer either a free drink, appetizer or discount. These offers have all been successful, but Starbucks has taken the mayorship, and did it better than anyone else for this offer category. Starbucks was already the most checked in retailer on the Foursquare platform, but increased it’s check-ins by 50% by giving $1 off any size Frappuccino® for its’ mayors. The key success factor was that this offer was offering real value, and that also made the competition to claim the mayorship of the local Starbucks pretty fierce. This frenzy went viral on twitter which increased the effectiveness of this campaign. |
© Mindgruve 2012 | made in California