Will Twitter’s Impending Verification Process have an effect on Promotions?

For a brief, yet terrifying, moment last Tuesday, Twitter followers of the Associated Press were alarmed after reading a tweet that alleged two explosions went off at the White House injuring the President. A press conference was held shortly after and the AP stated that their Twitter account had been hacked. Unfortunately, the short-lived panic of the 140 character message had already made an immediate impact. Hacking news organizations and high-profile accounts isn’t new. However, this most recent hack has exposed a serious problem: Twitter’s lack of two-factor verification. A two-factor verification is beneficial in preventing password hacking. Companies including … Continue reading →

Increase Exposure to Your Sweepstakes with Google Adwords and Facebook Advertising

Every promotion needs advertising to get the message out.  Google and Facebook provide opportunities to do so but operate on different principles.  Google Adwords media placements appear in response to individual internet searches of specific keywords or phrases.  Facebook ads appear based on targeting specific interests within the Facebook community.  Both are useful methods of delivering targeted messages to end users. Google offers a more direct connection to your website.  Regardless if you choose a cost per thousand (CPM) or pay per click (PPC) ad buy provide the URL of the webpage you want them to link to in the … Continue reading →

Using Promotions as a Reputation Management Tool

Agencies, companies, and high profile individuals alike find themselves in a world where their fame and their clients’ fame can easily crumble in a matter of a “tweet”. Controlling search engines’ Page 1 for your brand’s name is more important than ever. Although there are many strategies and agencies out there that claim to be capable of pushing negative results down search engine result pages, there is one path no one seems to be taking advantage of! Continue reading →

Using Promotions To Increase Brand Awareness

It’s been said that you have to spend money in order to make money. While you may be prepared to make investments in your business, you aim to choose investments promising a solid return. Investing in promotional items can be a cost-effective way to yield a healthy return if done correctly. Consider these advantages to utilizing promotional items to increase brand awareness. Continue reading →

How to Build Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty to a brand hinges on a delicate balance of give and take. The brand must give customers what they seek; customers, in turn, pay money for the privilege. The extent to which these two dynamics balance each other can be defined as customer loyalty. There are many ways to create the right balance. Some of the most important are listed below. Good Communication The right amount of communication between the customer and the brand can make all the difference between whether a customer remains loyal to a brand or not. The brand has a responsibility to provide consumers … Continue reading →

How Do Sweepstakes Generate Awareness For a Brand or Service?

Hosting a sweepstakes or contest is one of the easiest ways to generate awareness for your brand. Sweepstakes are inexpensive and can draw a lot of attention in a short period of time. By offering a prize that people want to win and making it easy to enter, you can capture the public’s attention and get them talking about your business with minimal investment on your part.

If you want a cheap, fast way to market your brand, a sweepstakes is the way to go. There’s no better way to make people want to interact with a business than giving them a chance to win something. Choose a prize that’s not only enticing but also relevant to your target audience. Make the entry requirements clear and concise, and be sure to emphasize that anyone can enter even without making a purchase. Too many entry requirements may turn people off and make them lose interest.

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Rethinking Your Homepage?

With over 250 million users, has the time come to migrate the corporate web site (and by extension, the brand and promotion microsites) to Facebook? At the moment, it makes perfect sense: Companies / brands can now get vanity Facebook URL’s Available publishing tools, many of which are free, limits spend and the need to utilize in-house technical or agency resources.   Conversations can be continuous     Acquired Fans can be rewarded (or remarketed to) with special and/or targeted offers, rewards and promotions (see my earlier post on Starbucks). Fans can also easily “share” information with their friends and … Continue reading →

So you think your brand is social? But how social?

This is a way cool tool for finding out the social index of your brand. http://vitrue.com For fun check out your own personal brand against colleagues & friends. See your results instantly.