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Pinterest and the Rise of the Visual

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Whether you are launching a product, promoting an existing business, or just need to be noticed, we all need content online. But not all of us are writers. Fortunately, we are witnessing a surge of visual expression: First it was Flickr, then Tumblr, and now, it's the explosive growth of Pinterest.
If those names mean something to you, you are probably nodding in agreement, because you know what they represent a means of spreading your influence online, whether you express yourself visually or not. If those names mean nothing, read on to discover their value.
Most of us who expect to get attention online know that we need to have an active website. Posting on Twitter and Facebook keep audiences interested. Blogs and Twitter posts keep search engines visiting our websites so that they are more highly-ranked in search results. Posting to Google+ will help your Google rankings. But something else is happening with visually-driven portals like Pinterest. With Pinterest you can leverage the social web by using visuals alone, and at the moment it is leaving Google+ in the dust. The social web is about words, but it's visual, too.
You don't have to be an image-making pro to know that if you post to Flickr, those images will show up when people search for you, and they can bring people to your website in just a few clicks.(Especially if you write a short caption for them.) If you post photo albums to Facebook, your audience is already in your space - connecting with you on Facebook. If you post images to Tumblr, a blog interface somewhat like WordPress, you also bring people into your world. Tumblr blogs are great visual vehicles.

Pinterest is the game changer in all this. Why?

When you post an image on Pinterest you can make it link anywhere you want - to your site, to a 'buy' page, to any number of ways you'd like to connect. If you have a product or service that is visually appealing, you are golden, because on Pinterest people will share your image - along with your link - among their friends. If you include a short caption, so much the better. Even if your product is a newspaper, there's hope. The venerable Wall Street Journal has started posting quotes from the newspaper, which click through to online articles.
Here are a few tips to get you started.
  • Post images that communicate what you stand for
  • Your images should include a short caption or description
  • Use Pinterest's "Pin It" to add images from your website.
  • Post links to your Facebook albums in your e-newsletter and in blogs
Lee Schneider is consultant at Red Cup Consulting, an agency that works with clients to build online influence.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7106511

Business Strategy For a New Product Launch

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Business strategy can also be referred to as a suitable game-plan that is specifically designed to reach certain pre-defined goals & objectives. The two most important stages of a well-designed business strategy are planning & execution. The success of any business strategy is more or less jointly dependent upon the efficiency of both these elements. Success is never guaranteed in any enterprise but you can definitely improve your chances for the same if your product is backed by an intelligent business strategy. Let us take a look at some of the most effective marketing strategies that can potentially grant a fine start to a newly launched business/ product/ brand:
Create a Comprehensive Marketing Plan 
Planning is always the first step to any business strategy. A comprehensive business plan offers better understanding of the current market and its demographics. A detailed market analysis is extremely vital as it makes you aware of the customer's specific requirements from the product to be launched. A product that serves most demands of the consumer is bound to be successful.
Observe & Evaluate Your Competition
Before launching a new product on the market, it is vital that you study your competition thoroughly. There may be many existing products that are similar to the one you are expecting to launch on the market. You can investigate the features offered by a competitor's product/ services and accordingly review your business merchandise to present it in a way that sets it apart from the rest.
Reach Out to Your Target Audience
It is only after undertaking an in-depth analysis of the current demographics that you can successfully locate the target audience for your products and service. The best bet would be to target those customers who are habituated to buying items that offer features that are similar to your product. If your product/ service is on the same line and offers a better quality plus some sort of an additional benefit, there are maximum chances of the target audience switching over to you. This is one of the most commonly practiced business strategy.
Select an Appropriate Channel for Product Sales & Marketing 
There are many different ways to advertise, publicize or market a particular product/ business. These days one of the strongest tools for product marketing is internet. Online marketing is certainly more convenient & effective as compared to various conventional offline marketing tactics. The best business strategy in this direction would be to use multi-channel marketing approach but doing so would require a massive financial investment which may not be possible for all businesses. A much viable option would be to analyze the consumer demand of the new product to be launched and accordingly select a suitable channel for advertising the same.
Test Your Product with a Group of Users before Going Ahead with the Final Launch
High-profile launch of a new product/ service involves enormous amount of financial investment. Market success of a newly launched product cannot be guaranteed hence there is always the chance of incurring massive loss. It would be absolutely amateurish & poor business strategy to directly head towards a major launch without reviewing its initial market response. A safe business strategy would be to release a small batch of your product as a sample to be used by a limited group of people before its official launch.
Create a Methodical Advertising Campaign 
Media/Public relation companies are often hired for handling the promotional work of a particular product before its launch on the market. Most businesses either use grass-root marketing tactics or hold a massive launch event. It is important to ensure that your product is absolutely ready to be launched immediately after undertaking the public relation campaign so that you can cash-in on the media coverage that you receive from the same.
Long-term survival of all businesses/brands requires intelligent & interesting business strategy. Through MBA&Co, you can get in touch with highly efficient freelance MBA consultants who can offer brilliant ideas & business strategies for launching your forthcoming products & services and taking your business to the next higher level.
Read our latest article on business strategy for new products from our expertise MBA Consultant.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7109436

Cloud Backup and Its Benefits

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Cloud backup, as the name implies, is a kind of backup plan that is used to store data and information in the 'cloud' or in a remote server, other than the computer itself. In the cyber world, this concept is also referred to as online backup, the service being usually provided by 3rd party service providers.
The strategy of Cloud backup runs somewhat like this - it backs up data that entails forwarding a copy of the same across a public/proprietary network to a server, which is offsite. This server is typically hosted by a 3rd party service operator, who takes a fee from the backup customer, and based on how big or how small his requirement is, the bandwidth needed and/or the volume of users.
As far as data and information are concerned, this kind of 3rd party backup has gained immense popularity in the field, more so with home computer users and small scale business houses. The main reason for this can be accredited to the fact that it is super-convenient a thing - capital expenses for extra hardware for offline backup are not needed and it can be run automatically, sans any kind of manual intervention from the backup customer.
Cloud backup vs traditional backup
Ranging from quicker recovery times to remarkable cost savings, not to mention 100% guaranteed backup, cloud computing benefits for both storage and disaster recovery are way above anything else.
Below are enlisted a few grave problems that can come up with traditional backup/recovery and the advantages of cloud that works swiftly to negate them.
Problems associated with traditional backup/recovery
• Most of the traditional back-up facilities are superiorly error-prone, accounting for frequent failures in their functional capabilities.
• There is also an increased risk of hardware/software incompatibilities.
• Take into account the added disadvantage of time-consuming restoration and recovery that traditional back-ups pose.
• Last but not the least, traditional backup cannot be done without significant storage facilities available. This is not only inconvenient but may also enhance the expenses within a production environment.
Advantages of cloud backup
• Since this kind of backup is provided by a 3rd party service operator, overall costs associated with it are significantly less. There is less of servers to be maintained and less manual functions to be preformed. As a consequence, it eradicates hardware dependencies to big limits.
• A big purpose of cloud backup is RTO or Recovery Time Objective. And likewise, it cuts down the recovery time in big portions. So what previously used to take days or even weeks will now take only a few minutes or at the most, a few hours.
• It also guarantees that the server environment is in full synch and that the data gets backed up in the most foolproof of ways.
• It is also the best for disaster recovery.
• Quicker online backup is a natural trigger of cloud backup.
Cloud backup is therefore a viable option and if you are looking for a hassle-free backup that is also the most feasible don't hesitate to move towards the cloud right away.
The author is an expert in internet services like Cloud backup


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7096801

There Is More to a Product Launch Than Merely Marketing - Book Review

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Today, if you asked MBA students to discuss a successful product launch, they would probably give you a case study with one of Apple Corporation's most recent products. Even with the passing of Steve Jobs, we do see that Apple still has a culture and an incredible team now under Tim Cook that completely gets it. It's as if Apple can do no wrong, and they make it look so easy. In fact, its brand name alone was valued at $183 Billion according to the annual BrandZ Study published on May 22, 2012 and I'd say; "Yes, at least that much."
However, anyone that knows anything about product launching also realizes that in this day and age of finicky social networking participants nothing is guaranteed, the tide can turn in an instant. The perfect product launch might be expected by all, including the consumers, investing public, and the entire industry - but those tables could turn in a nano-second and the company doing the product launch could find themselves in a PR nightmare doing damage control.
In any case, I would like to recommend a very good book on this topic, and you might also like to watch the YouTube video where the author himself discusses this book in pretty good detail. The name of the book is;
"The Platform - Get Noticed in a Noisy World - A Step-by-Step Guide for Anyone with Something to Say or Sell," by Michael Hyatt, Thomas Nelson Publishing, New York, NY, 2012, 288 pages, ASIN (Amazon Kindle Number B006T364QG.
Michael talks about the "Wow Moment" which just blows away the customer and exceeds their expectations. The anticipation of the wow moment can be almost as good, and when it hits, it hits the heart. Okay so, how do you get to the wow moments? Well, it's not as easy as you might think, but Michael Hyatt has a 10 point program, which is completely defined in the book.
Best of all, I think this book is fairly up to date, and takes into consideration the new dynamics of the ever-changing Internet. In fact, things are changing so fast that perhaps in two or three years this book will be gathering dust on my business library bookshelves, but today is the best book on a topic that I have found to date. It is obvious that Michael is passionate, and he knows his stuff. There are plenty of examples, case studies, and all the do's and don'ts you need to know before you pull the trigger for your next product launch.
Indeed, as the founder of a think tank which happens to operate online, this book will come in handy for our in-house innovators, and the new start-ups they generate with their ideas and concepts. This is why I would recommend it to anyone, and everyone involved in this sector. Please consider all this and think on.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Marketing Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7078243

The Intervestor - Digital Real Estate Changing The Way Investing Is Done

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Investing is often hard to do these days. This is where The Intervestor comes in. So what is it, and how can it help you? This is a simple review that will give you an insight on a new way of investing.
What Is The Intervestor
The Intervestor was created by Eric Roberts, and Chris Jones. It combines the concept of investing, and the internet together. Website investing is much like real estate investing. Much like you would buy a house and flip it and re-sell it, this is the same way with website investing. We call this virtual or digital real estate.
You can buy a website, and create value over time with it. In turn, you can re-sell that website for a good profit. Eventually, you can keep creating or buying websites then re-sell them over time. There are many people who make a living in virtual real estate. Most of these people will buy a brand new website, do the online marketing it requires to get that site rank for certain keywords so it can get traffic. This can take time to do. Sometimes it can take up to 6 months to a year to start seeing any good results. In time, you can then think about re-selling it after about one year.
The intervestor is different. Eric Roberts and Chris Jones have put together a way to invest in websites without any risk, labor, time, and spending thousands of dollars. You don't have to be a website creator, or online marketer. You can find existing websites that already have high value to them and ready to be sold for a high profit.
What's Inside The Intervestor
Most people are not Internet marketing geniuses, nor are they website creators. This is why most investors, wanting to poor their money into the digital world, don't do it. They simply don't know where to start. Some don't even realize the millions that can be made with the Internet.
The Intervestor is an investor's dream. After you become a member, you get full access to tools and workshops to help you in your digital investing. You get webinars to guide you on the road to successful investing online. You also a get place where you will find websites that are already made with a high value. This takes the headache out of creating your own website or blog from scratch, and performing the marketing with it.
Website Investing is easy, and you can make millions if done right. The Intervestor finds websites for you, and get's you in profit mode instantly. Now's your chance to uncover the secret of how Internet millionaires are born fast. Got check The Intervestor now.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7038351

The Best Way to Market New Fashion Designers Online

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Clothing is a huge business online and if done right, it can be a great success. There are many fashion designers and even graphic designers who have great clothing ideas but aren't sure how to market themselves or their ideas so they get seen by the right clientele. Some of you are even probably thinking to yourself, well I already know how to make a website and sell my clothes online. If that's the case then you are one step closer, but how long does it take for a new site to show up in searches on Google or a new blog to get followers? The answer is quite some time so why not eliminate the wait and get better results faster utilizing the right websites.
There are websites like eBay and Oodle where you can post ads to sell your clothing but you are amongst cars, furniture, artwork, toys, etc. Plus, people don't really go to these places to find the one of a kind item that is in style with the latest up and coming epic trends. There is another website called Etsy, which is one of the nicer, more functional websites to sell your items on but again the variety of products that they sell limits the appropriate visitors you're trying to attract. Then there will be those websites that strictly allow clothing ads, which gives you a better chance of getting your designer clothing seen but most of the posts are brand name products that are mass produced and sometimes even used. None of these examples are really an ideal place for an up and coming fashion superstar to start listing their clothing so there has to be another option.
Well there is another option and it's a great opportunity for people in this position, people who have great talent and just want to show the fashion world their potential. What these designers really need is a website where only custom made clothes, designed clothes and fashion designs are allowed to be posted so the appropriate audience sees your product since it is an environment where all items are relatively similar. These fashionable items would include premium denim jeans, graphic t-shirts, blouses, tank tops, blazers, dresses and then your basic accessories including watches, handbags, belts and shoes. The list goes on but you get the point. The most popular outfits right now are being worn for a night in the city or an afternoon on Main Street where only the hottest urban like attire is permitted. Brands which are similar to this style but not limited to are Express, True Religion, Lucky Brand, Buckle, Abercrombie & Fitch. But again, there are other brands that fit in this category but you get the point. In addition to being able to post your designer fashion on the same website as other designers with a similar taste in fashion but at the same time all so different, wouldn't it be awesome if you could have a portfolio including a biography as well as the rest of your designer fashion clothing?! Just imagine a website where you can send pictures of your clothing as well as biography and the rest is done for you. It's that easy!
There are too many great clothing designers out there that go unnoticed so it's time that there is a website created in order for these items and their designers to be seen. So get on the web and look for that epic website that will display your individuality among other creative people of similar but different taste. Clothing is a huge business online and if done right can be a great success so take advantage of this opportunity.
Riley Higgins is the editor of Epic Brand Clothing. Epic Brand is the next up and coming clothing line with a niche in urban fashion and has a Designer and Artist Marketing Project in order to give back to the fashion and music industries.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7023690

The Difference Between Promotion and Event Marketing

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Understanding the role of promotion and event marketing within any campaign requires a clear knowledge of the function of promotion and it's impact on achieving marketing goals.
By design, individual or short-lived promotions drive immediate response, while long-term, repeat campaigns are designed to build consumer loyalty to a specific product or service.
Keep It Simple!
It's important to remember that promotions need to be simple - for the product and the consumer. The product can be anything from radio stations to a can of coffee. The goal is always to get the product into the consumer's hand. You can achieve that goal by promotion or by event, but they have different elements that make up start to finish. Promotions are (at the shortest) two weeks long and can continue for a couple of months. Events are generally from one day to a week and serve multiple goals for the client.
Promotion and event marketing are often seen as one entity, but both require clear, precise goals that are measurable by attendance, participation and/or sales. Both are an important part of strengthening customer/company relationships. Over the course of many years working in promotions, you gain experience. Experience is what you need to keep promotions successful.
Success Strategies
Here are two examples of successful promotions that were developed for clients, such as; Jack-in-the-Box, McBride Homes, Seven Up, Wehrenberg Theaters, Chads Coalition for Mental Health...all have generated response, sales and revenue for the organizations. Here's a brief explanation of how some of them worked and the results:
Jack-in-the-Box was participating in a Mid-West event. We developed a promotion that brought the participation to the local stores by handing out coupons for kid's meals that were specifically designed for the big event. Jack-in-the-Box created a way to stand apart from the hundreds of other companies by making themselves kid and parent friendly. They also offered value to potential customers and to a consumer market they had not cornered up to that time. Sales increased over the first weekend by 160%.
CHADS Coalition for Mental Health was looking to develop a signature event to drive fundraising and bring awareness to their organization. We developed Kids Walking for Kids focused on youth participation and increasing awareness of death by teen suicide via teens themselves. The first year, we raised over $150,000! We took an event and added a fundraising promotion element and they have steadily grown over the past 5 years.
The examples shown are just two of many successful and sustaining promotions developed for clients to meet specific goals.
Alice J. Ross is the President of R&S Marketing, a St. Louis based advertising agency. The principals of R&S Marketing, bring over 60 years of public relations and advertising experience to your account. They have a proven track record of producing for the client and have built their successful business on the premise that direct owner-to-client contact best represents the needs of our clients and results in a winning marketing formula.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7005129








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