Often, the business owners I speak to have misinterpreted the smooth pitches of SEO companies. The company is telling the truth but doesn’t tell the whole story. Often, this can lead to false hopes and money down the drain. Here’s what I mean:

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Sample 1
SEO Company: “We can get you at the top of the first page of Google.”

Interpretation: They will help you place an advertisement with Google. The company that pays the most gets listed at the top for each keyword.

Is this okay? Sure, if you want advertising. This method is not search engine optimization or marketing. It can only be defined as advertising. It could get you some short-term results.

Sample 2
SEO Company: “We can get you at the top of the organic results in Google for whatever keyword you want.”

Interpretation: There are a variety of ways they can do this. Options include paying for other websites to link back to yours, as well as, hiring people to write massive amounts of poorly written articles about your company and posting them around the Internet.

Is this okay? It’s okay only if your priority is to have a lot of traffic quickly. Using this method for too long could hurt your brand and be very expensive. Soon after you stop paying the company, you will lose your standing with the search engine.

Sample 3
SEO Company: “We are going to address one keyword at a time.”

Interpretation: They want to ensure a steady stream of income from your company.

Is this okay? This scenario can sometimes help companies with smaller budgets that want to focus on a subset of keywords to start. However, it is easy for them to lose track of the overall marketing plan and get taken advantage of. If you choose to go this route, make sure that you work with a reputable company that has your best interest in mind and is not taking  you along for the ride.

In today’s competitive environment, it is imperative to frequently reach your current customers (to keep them sold) and prospective customers (to encourage them to consider your products and services). To do so, public relations is a good no or low cost method to do so. Services such as Business Wire, PR Newswire PR WEB are good resources to distribute your content. These services offer on-line “how to’s” so you can do it yourself. Knowing the effectiveness and return on your investment of your Public Relations campaign is important. These services track how many people read your release, where it was picked up, and where your prospects
learned about your business in detailed reports.

Utilizing sites like Linkedin and Facebook are other good methods to distribute your news. Your blogs is also an effective way to share your news.

E-mailing your releases, or e-newsletters, to your customer base, prospective customers, employees, agents, distributors, suppliers, strategic alliances, service providers (e.g. – your CPA and lawyer), board members, and investors is recommended to keep them up to date. Don’t forget to notify appropriate members of the press. Constant Contact is one resource to support your e-mail and e-newsletter programs. Encourage all to respond with their comments and suggestions.

Each release should focus on one topic each, so you do not dilute the effect. You can plan a series of releases over time. To be most effective, no less than one release per month is suggested. Typical release topics feature 1) a new product or service, 2)personnel news; e.g. – someone was promoted or hired, and 3) company news, e.g. – a new office was opened in Europe or a new distributor is now representing your company.

Through these efforts, traffic to your website will increase.

About Mike:

Mike spent fourteen years in corporate America with Bendix and Allied Signal corporations. Positions he held included divisional chief marketing officer, new product development manager, marketing channel manager, national sales manager, marketing communications manager and acquisition manager, . Since 1989, he has been in the consulting industry. Of Mike’s current clients, three are start up firms. He holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA), and is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader assessment and development programs.

From Goodjoe’s website:

Goodjoe is dedicated to inspiring change through creative design and in the process giving back to the community around us. We really believe that people do great things when they’re inspired. A small change can and will create a big impact. Everyone really does care to make their surrounding world better. That’s why we created the goodjoe site, where hopefully, all kinds of creative and inspiring ideas are made visible and will be seen passing through the streets in many different forms.

Goodjoe will hold an ongoing T-shirt design contest. Everyone is welcome to participate by submitting inspiring T-shirt designs, rating designs, and giving artists positive feedback.

Here is how the process works:
1. Artists submit T-shirt designs with an inspiring message into the contest.
2. Each week, goodjoe selects inspirational designs from the contest to print.
3. Printed tees are sold and everyone involved (artists, schools, and other organizations) shares in the proceeds.

Goodjoe contacted me at The Fender Music Foundation last fall and proposed a t-shirt design contest in its honor. During the contest, we received 138 design submissions, and the winning design was much more stylish than what I would have designed on my own.

Goodjoe’s t-shirt design contests are a great way for nonprofits to engage potential supporters online. The company was established with the intention to make a difference, which they not only accomplish with their t-shirt design contests but also with how they treat their charities, celebrities and partners.

What a world this would be if every company were run like Goodjoe.

Thinking of starting a social media platform to steal a piece of the pie from Facebook and Twitter? Not so fast. Consider the following before you do:

1. Don’t force it.  A one-sided conversation can be forced, but a real conversation will only happen organically.
2. Consider why people will participate in your particular niche. Not all topics deserve conversation.
3. People will conduct online conversations where it makes the most sense to them. Some of the most popular platforms don’t even advertise; they are promoted only through word-of-mouth (and I don’t mean radio ads).
4. Consider why the potential users of your social media platform will use your social media platform instead of one that already exists.
5. Be creative when you open the platform up to the public. Only so many people will initiate conversations to empty space.

Who benefits from well-planned social media platforms?

• The platform – strategic companies earn much more revenue when they really understand the value of their product.
• The users – people appreciate the value of interacting with others, learning from those who know more than them and teaching others about something in which they have expertise.
• Related companies – companies love to sell directly to their target audience.

In general, people seem to understand that they can’t take someone else’s words as their own – that they are required to quote that person. However, many do not quote companies or credit photographers or graphic designers.

by Roswitha "Rosevita" Schacht , http://mrg.bz/1Jazny

Regarding information posted on a company’s website: Many people assume that if text doesn’t include a byline that it is free for the taking, and this is just not true. This happens often when people and companies write articles about the foundation I run. They take the mission statement off of our website and insert it into the body of a press release or article without stating where those words came from. This gives the reader the impression that the copyright infringer wrote that text on his or her own, which just isn’t true. So, to solve the problem, if you are using someone else’s text, let your readers know, and if it is a lot of text, ask the author’s permission first.

However, the most prevalent copyright infringement I see is with images. In fact, I was recently working with a company on their website and was asking why all of their images looked so different. I would have thought that uniform images would have been easier and cheaper to design and would have given the website a much more cohesive look. Their answer? They found the images on a Google image search, copied them from the original website and posted them on their own. They even PhotoShopped one of the images to remove the copyright notice!

Once someone creates text or an image and publishes it, it is protected by a copyright. When they post a copyright notice (Copyright © 2009 by Moriah Harris-Rodger) it may just be a reminder, or it could signify that they have registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office. Either way, most images on the internet are not there for the taking. (Registering it is voluntary, but would be required for the owner of the material to initiate a lawsuit.)

Purchasing images

Many photographers and graphic designers sell their images, which can be found on sites like http://www.fotosearch.com/  or http://www.wireimage.com/. Again, just because you could copy and paste one of these photos onto your website doesn’t mean it is legal.

Using free images

Many photographers and graphic designers also let others use their images for free. The only way to know if it is free is if the owner provides explicit permission. These free images can be found on sites like http://www.sxc.hu/ or http://www.morguefile.com/. Some owners request the user to notify them as to how the images will be used, but some do not. If they request to know, tell them.

http://mrg.bz/cEg4OS

Using images that you find

If you find an image you like and want to use, you are welcome to ask the artist’s permission to use it as well. For example, when researching for my blog post “Tree planting can be a cut-throat business — literally,” a great photo accompanied a CNN article I was reading on the topic. Wanting to use the photo, I searched the internet for the photographer, found his website and wrote him an email requesting to use the image. His agent wrote back and agreed; all I had to do was give the photo a particular photo credit and take it down after an agreed upon period of time. Sure, I could have just copied the photo from CNN, posted it on my blog, and the photographer would have never known, but doing so would have been dishonest. This brave photographer who traveled all the way through the jungles of Uganda deserves 100% of the credit for his photo, and I deserve none — because I didn’t take it!

If you have any further questions about copyrights, visit http://www.copyright.gov.

Who benefits?

The owner of the material – give them credit for the work they have done if they give you permission; you are legally obligated to do so. And, they have every right not to share it with you; it belongs to them.

The user (or potential user) of the material – asking for permission to use someone else’s material, or notifying them how you plan to use it, is a great way to start a relationship with people who have similar interests.