DC Internet Marketing, Advertising Spend Indicative of Recovering Economy

DC Internet Marketing, SEO and other Digital Interactive service providers may be the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, with respect to business indicators of a recovering economy in the Washington DC region. The DC region has been able to actually improve jobless rates and generally withstand economic pressure due primarily to a diverse, well-educated workforce supported by Federal and DoD spending. Small and medium businesses across the region haven’t been totally immune though, to the undercurrents of local economic downturn, nor have large businesses with significant operations in the area. However, DC Internet Marketing and Social Media spending by these firms is trending very quickly upwards after the first quarter of 2010, and the proliferation of new entrants to the DC Internet Marketing and Digital Media space is directly reflecting a positive rebound and expected worldwide growth in ad spending.

Interactive advertising and Digital advertising on the Internet in particular are leading the charge, in terms of the types of marketing dollars expected to be spent this year around DC. Internet Marketing in the DC area is generating examples of extremely high ROI (return on investment) to local and regional businesses.

Kelly Mclaughlan, CEO of KME Internet Marketing (a leading, established fixture of the metro DC Internet Marketing landscape), reports that “we’ve seen significant acceleration in the 2nd quarter this year of companies large and small seeking to adjust their DC regional marketing strategies to focus heavily on Interactive Digital Media through Social Media and Web 2.0 channels, along with a heavy shift in advertising spend from traditional print and broadcast to online direct or network advertising. Clients are quickly experiencing significant improvement in their brand visibility and reputation, the reach and resonance of market messaging, and the ROI achieved through shift of ad spend to Internet channels… and the competition’s heating up - not only among our clients and media partners, but among the Northern Virginia, Maryland and DC Internet Marketing and Web services providers.”

The upwards trend in regional DC advertising and Internet Marketing spend is consistent across businesses, non-profit organizations and the government, as the ROI of Internet-based marketing and communications efforts becomes easier to track and report through a proliferation of new tools, software services and local expertise. Being able to more easily find and express ROI to investors and financial, product or marketing managers is leading to Internet-centric marketing spend added to mid-year budget cycles (which for many retail sectors is the beginning of the holiday marketing period).

Kelly McLaughlan states that “we’re already seeing a huge infusion of DC Internet Marketing spend in planning and strategies for shifting budgets to online channels, in preparation for the Fall and Holiday seasons. It’s necessary to act now, more in advance than traditional marketing channels, because “word-of-mouth” social media-based advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and other methods of establishing brand awareness and reputation online is more often an indirect, “earned” outcome, that requires some time to establish, analyze, adjust and maintain – but it’s durable, and drives very high conversion rates.”

DC Internet Marketing strategies and planning in particular are seeing influence from a large interactive digital professional population, driving many “Government 2.0” initiatives, non-profit and political-driven fundraising efforts, and reflecting a large infusion of creative, entrepreneurial professionals rebounding from unemployment in the traditional media, journalism, information technology and education sectors. While many newly-minted or refurbished professionals and agencies are hanging out their shingles, hoping to capture or influence parts of the resurgent DC Internet Marketing and Interactive Media demand, there are proven backgrounds, facets and professional qualities of service that should be considered before hiring a DC Internet Marketing provider or consultant.

These include experience and reputation of the Principals, certified experience in project management methods and Internet/IT engineering standards, consummate professionalism in communication and collaboration, access to a broad network of reputable industry professionals and partners, and durable, proven success in delivering ROI.

Therefore, while DC Internet Marketing and Interactive Digital Advertising trends and statistics appear extremely positive, as indicated by a resurgent professional services community and reflecting regional economic recovery, all DC businesses should continue to maintain the highest professional expectations of quality service delivery from their experienced DC Internet Marketing services provider.

Northern Virginia Businesses to Consider - Summer 2010

Following is a select list of businesses and service providers associated with the DC and Northern Virginia business community, whom we highly recommend as superior service providers, contributors to this site and other Northern Virginia business community initiatives:

• Blackstone Technology Group IT and Management Consulting
  
• Anakam Secure Identity Management and Two Factory Authentication
  
• Builders Fence Company
  
• Exec-U-Sist Concierge and Virtual Administrative Assistants
  
• Nationals Pageants Inc.
  
• Air 1 Mechanical Systems
  
• Nysmith Private School for the Gifted and Talented
  
• Mister Kleen Secure Facility and Commercial Cleaning
  
• Vinyl Lite Window Factory
  
• Ready Depot Emergency Preparedness Supplies
  
• Augustine Roofing
  
• Allstate Auto Glass
  
• Carpeting King
  
• Flora Financial Works
  
• Handyman Matters - Alexandria
  
• House Doctors of Ashburn
  
• In Step Mental Health Practice
  
• Vintage 51 South Riding Restaurant and Brew Lounge
  
• Keith Miller Counseling Psychotherapy
  
• South Riding Insurance
  
• TriVision Corporate Branding and Video Studio
  
• Cherry Cove Maryland Hospitality
  
• Suna Lee Portrait Photography
  
• Premium Spas and Billiards
  

Did You Know? KME Specialty Internet Marketing Services

Here at KME, we provide all the foundation Internet Marketing/SEO services you need. We also provide some you probably haven't thought of, or are typically not provided by standard PR/Marketing firms or Web Designers...for example:

Retargeting - we can help bring back customers to your marketing campaign, who have visited your site once before

Online Contests - we can develop Facebook contest that draw lots of social media attention and conversions

Call Tracking - we provide business phone numbers that are automatically generated in your online content, and automatically are tracked in terms of use, and which advertisement(s) generated the call

Web Hosting - we can provide all your web hosting

Press Releases - we can create and implement online press releases, fully SEO'd

Social Media Management - we can set up and manage all your social media accounts, including ghostwriting and copy

Web Video - we can produce and market your web videos, including creation of interview script, B-roll, pre- and post-production work

IT Management - we offer "Virtual CIO" services, including IT investment review and management, IT project management, Enterprise Architecture and Governance, and many other facets of IT Management that tend to be required for successful digital asset content management activity associated with Internet Marketing and Social Media.

Loudoun Advertising Online in Northern Virginia

As a new or existing business in or around Northern Virginia, DC and Loudoun County, VA (or anywhere else, for that matter), it’s imperative that your marketing budget include the Internet. In our opinion, commensurate with the rapid shift in global advertising from “offline” to “online” methods, your marketing budget should be primarily focused on the Internet – especially if you’re a small to medium-sized business. Simply put, your dollars go further, interaction with your customers is more helpful and your return-on-investment is much easier to track.

Assuming you’ve done your homework regarding targeting your clients, and have creative staff ready to produce online advertisements (copy, graphics, multimedia), where do you place the ads? The answer is: everywhere your potential customers, partners or employers are, on the Internet. Following are brief descriptions of 9 major types of online advertising (among others) you should consider, for your Loudoun business. Note that professional Internet Marketing and Social Media expertise will probably be required for choosing, using and managing many of these advertising types – gone are the days where all it took was a simple banner ad!

If you’re just starting out, seeking paid advertising options on the web...(A) begin with #2 below, and (B) seriously look around for some help – competent, current, locally-knowledgeable Loudoun Internet Marketing and Social Media help is worth every penny, and truly necessary given all the options and opportunities. Don’t just buy a high-priced banner from your publisher – ask for distribution, optimization and analytics, and then compare costs.

Note that the lines between “advertising” and “marketing” and in some cases “public relations” are getting more blurry by the day, and many forms of Internet marketing (like using Search Engine Optimization techniques and Social Media) are being offered as advertising opportunities. What we’re covering here are places where, for a fee, you can place a direct ad or announcement online to promote your business.

1. Pay-per-Click (PPC): This is a very proven, flexible and affordable way of buying ads from publishers and search engines (like Google Adwords), whom you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Geo-targeting or otherwise being able to have your ads show up only to your target audience is extremely important in a good PPC program. Many programs use “affiliate networks” (like Google’s Adsense program) to help distribute your ads and product, sharing your pay-per-click with other publishers.
   
2. Regional/Local Publishers/Media/Directories: Many local media outlets, online magazines, area directories and general interest websites, forums or blogs offer advertising. These can be highly effective and useful for local advertising only if managed and tracked correctly (demand metrics!), and if opportunities exist for a buy across multiple web properties (i.e. a “vertical network”). Seek also to leverage “call tracking” and “click to call” services, that tie business phone numbers to advertising clicks for better campaign tracking.
   
   Contact Us to See our “Best Local Destination Websites for Loudoun Advertisers – Summer 2010” for the highest ROIs among local online publisher sites.
   
   
3. Global/National Media/Directories: Large directories and media outlets like the Yellow Pages or Superpages offer localized or targeted advertising and referral packages; if your clients are in fact outside the area, and you’ve got a hefty budget, then this might be considered – though don’t expect very customized service or area-knowledge. Some, however, are free (like Craigslist); use them, but scrutinize their performance before investing time again.
   
4. Networking/Social Media Sites: Anywhere people congregate on the web to share and discuss interests, is an opportunity to advertise – it’s particularly effective among the big guys like Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, who are adept at placing your ad in front of the most appropriate and cost-effective demographic or discussion activity. If you know your customers, and have the social media chops to enter and maintain this venue, it must be done - today.
   
5. Email: is still very effective (especially at work), and if other marketing and advertising entices customers to subscribe. Email lists can also be bought, rented and shared, and broadcasts can be integrated with your social media updates...very cool, and effective, but doesn’t reach all demographics (read, mostly those with Blackberrys, vs. iPhones).
   
6. Mobile/Interactive Apps: Here’s where terms like “Web 2.0” and “iPhone App” come into play – it’s all about designing something interesting for the customers to do or interact with (like an online game or mashup), in a way that enables you to directly or indirectly get your advertising in front of them (especially on their mobile devices). If you’ve got the technical chops and new media understanding to deal with this, then investigate whether your audience would be impressed –otherwise, outsource it.
   
7. Sponsorships/Branding: This is getting your logo or other brand advertisement on somebody else’s web property, that’s in some way unique (like an event), rare for advertisements (like a community or government program) or singularly highlighted (it’s a one-time showcase or product launch). This’ll take some legwork and relationships, and require additional fees/donations – but there may be an opportunity for service-in-kind (i.e. you volunteer, they acknowledge).
   
8. Advertorials/Product Placement: Basically where the phrase “don’t believe everything you read on the Internet” applies – i.e. deftly, surreptitiously, perhaps helpfully inserting advertising-laden copy or multimedia into an otherwise interesting or informative webpage or blog. It also goes by “article marketing”, and paid blogs or press releases (especially if optimized for search engines and social media) are similar; this can be and extremely effective and relatively inexpensive way to advertise, if you’re doing the work (i.e. writing/distributing the article, creating the multimedia within which your advertisement is placed). If you’re not in charge of the “container”, then you’ll need a decent budget for copy production and placement.
   
9. Broadcast/Instream Ads (Video/SMS/RSS): When people open their “channel” (i.e. their videoplayer, their cellphone, their feedreader, their tweetstream), sometimes a bit of advertising “pushed” to them may be appropriate, especially if they’ve opted in to getting it (along with other free content). Again, if you don’t actually own a videoserver or other broadcast technology, you’ll have to pay someone else to get significant results.
   
10. Second Life virtual shingle: Well, if you know it and need it, hang one out!
    

Contact KME Internet Marketing in Northern Virginia, Suburban Maryland, Washington DC and Southern Maryland for more help and information regarding online advertising and marketing options.

Advertise Online in Loudoun County, VA - Loudoun Online Advertising Roundup

Most quarters, we inspect the online inventory of Loudoun-centric websites that allow direct advertising - i.e. Loudoun County, VA general interest (i.e. non-niche) websites where we can buy online ads. Online ads can be blog mentions, text ads, banner ads, etc.

This answers the question for DC, Northern Virginia and Loudoun businesses seeking to advertise to online, Loudoun-centric customers - "where is my online ad placement money best spent, for attracting the broadest local consumer base"?

This helps us better understand, for ourselves and our clients, where money is best spent (i.e. the highest return on investment, or ROI) for purchased online advertising in Loudoun County. Note this does not include Social Media/Search Engine Marketing (SEM), i.e. buying keywords to display advertisements in search engines (for example using Google's adwords), parked domains or in targeted Social Media community demographics (i.e. Facebook). This also doesn't include paid "classifieds" or "reviews" posted in generic (though localized) directories like Craigslist.com.

There do exist quite a few other Loudoun-centric sites and social media personalities that aren't included in this list, though they do influence the marketing environment. These are sites/channels that don't accept direct paid advertising, or are un-maintained or untrusted (i.e. scam/spam), or promote only a proprietary group of businesses (like developer sites), or are local government sites, or are simply personal and otherwise can't be utilized for general paid advertising (yet).

The Loudoun List (as we call it) is constantly changing (and may not always be up to date) - especially with the exit of the Washington Post's "LoudounExtra.com" site, the closure or mis-steps of a few local media outlets, the relative change in "ROI" understanding as applied to online marketing in general, and the rapid increase of local, social media-targeted news, information and blog sites (many of these our own).

Here then, is an extract of the Winter 2010 Loudoun List (full details at this time are only available to our marketing clients). These are sorted first by Google Page Rank, and then by our own ROI assessments. Our ROI assessments are part analytics and part professional assessment, based on many years watching the Loudoun market (ROI can ONLY be most accurately assessed by the website owner - otherwise, it's an estimate). ROI is also heavily influenced by marketing execution - i.e. the quality of the advertisement, characteristics and technical elements of its placement, and the quality of the "convert" (for example, conversion statistics and quality of the landing page.) Actual pricing changes often, can be negotiated, and is dependent on many "deal" factors - but we're aware of the general price points and strategies.




Contact us for more information about online advertising and marketing in Loudoun County VA, and other DC metro, Northern Virginia, Suburban and Southern Maryland areas.

Promoting Your Employer Online via Personal Social Media

We’ve been asked from time to time by businesses about how to educate employees on using Social Media – from two perspectives. One perspective is simply as part of a broader Internet use policy, to help employees stay safe and protect information assets. Another perspective is to encourage employees to support their business in their daily online activities, should they choose to do so. This is essentially giving employees as “social media enthusiasts” the tools and guidance they should get, to help them positively contribute to the overall online marketing efforts of their employer.

Following is some template guidance that can be used and shared with employees. Let us know how this can be improved or updated. We can and do provide consulting regarding planning and implementing social media programs for businesses and organizations - contact KME Internet Marketing in DC for more information.

Use of Personal Social Media to Support ABC (Employer)


This non-legal memo contains straightforward, general advice regarding things to consider when using Internet Social Media to promote your employer. While ABC (Employer) may or may not have an “official” Personal Social Media or Internet Use Policy at this time – these additional guidelines should be very helpful in maintenance and growth of your relationship with ABC, where use of Social Media to promote ABC is concerned.

Note this guidance can and should also be used to promote the area and industry your employer serves – i.e., from an Economic Development or "Place Marketing" perspective. By promoting your neighborhood, county or city for example as a great place to visit or live, this helps promote the general business climate and possibly attract new customers and employees for your company. Here’s an example of how some businesses and employees are actively promoting Loudoun County VA online.

The Internet is a great tool and venue to use for promotions and advertising, whether for personal reasons (i.e. promoting yourself, your cause or interests), or for promoting businesses, products and events, whether commercial or nonprofit. ABC does draw a clear line between actively engaging particular employees in their online marketing and communications strategy, and simply providing guidelines for personal Internet activity (i.e. not related to, or requested by the employer).

ABC is currently engaged in many different kinds of online (and offline) advertising and marketing efforts for its business and brand, such as posting links about upcoming specials and events on its website, in various newspaper and social media websites, and on local search engines (like Google). ABC is directly paying service providers and specific employees to do this - this document provides guidelines for all other employees, partners or contractors.

Employees of ABC, like employees of just about any other kind of business, aren’t required or expected to market, advertise or otherwise promote their employer in any way, unless it’s specifically a part of your job description or contract. If marketing isn’t part of your job, it’s usually better to check first with your supervisor or employer if you’d like to promote your company or services on your own – this will help avoid any risks or issues based on mis-communication. There may be some ways you can help promote the business and your role in it, that are aligned with the company’s business strategy, operations, legal and personal privacy protection responsibilities. There may also be some specific training available.

It is typically helpful in one’s personal, professional development to support your employer’s public presence, whether directly or indirectly. Using a restaurant as an example, if you really like the restaurant menu or a particular entertainer, starting some “buzz” and telling your friends and family about it is a good thing. Proudly wearing an ABC-supplied shirt or hat with the ABC logo in public can draw positive, helpful attention to ABC. The more positive conversations or impressions you generate, the more ABC and its employees benefit over the short and long run. Likewise, negative or conflicting impressions about ABC can quickly spread, whether intentionally or not…your family of employees should always be supported with the respect and professionalism they deserve.

Social media on the Internet is a much-discussed venue for sharing information and engaging others. Social media is generally easy and quick to use, can be really helpful in spreading the word, and enables interesting ways to see and share videos, music and pictures. Social media includes websites you may already use, like MySpace.com, Twitter.com and Facebook.com – along with many other kinds of Weblogs (Blogs), “Chat” applications and other bookmarking or review-oriented sites. While social media can be really helpful and entertaining, using it for any reason is not without certain elements of risk…just like any other use of the Internet.

Risks include others finding out your personal information, damaging your computer, possibly stealing information or money from you, or otherwise intruding on your personal, family or professional privacy. Risks also include damage to reputation – whether that of your own, someone else’s or even that of a business. Damage to reputation takes many forms, and on the Internet, it can be very hard to recover from. Risky online behavior and negative online postings (about anything or anyone) can also be damaging to your career and employment status – so be careful and safe on the Internet, especially using Social media. An example set of good guidelines for “engaging in public discourse” is available at http://www.sun.com/communities/guidelines.jsp . Take a look, and let us know if you’ve got any questions, or would like more information.

IF you do use the Internet and Social Media regularly, and IF you decide to share or point out positive information online about your employer (or anything related to your job or industry), there are some helpful, additional guidelines and methods to take note of here. This advice can only help your contribution be as positive and effective as possible (and help avoid some of the risks mentioned previously). Again, ask others who know for more advice, or let us know if you need help with questions or issues.

• Bookmarks – if you see news, an article or website on the Internet about ABC, and you like it, feel free to share the link with others – using bookmarking tools like Digg.com or Mixx.com.
  
• Sharing – if you find an article, advertisement, picture or other information about ABC, its events or entertainers – feel free to share it with others through your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube or Flickr account. This can be especially helpful for an upcoming event or product announcement. Do be extra careful about infringing on copyrights, brand trademarks or personal privacy of others – for example, posting videos identifying other people online without their permission.
  
• Following, Friending, Fans – for those of you who regularly use Twitter or Facebook, you know that sometimes other people or groups may start social, online conversations about topics you’re also interested in; by joining the group, or following such a person, that helps build both your and their credibility and influence regarding the topic. If the topic relates to your employer or industry, all the better! Also check ABC’s site for “RSS” feeds – subscribing to these with an RSS reader is a quick and easy way to keep up with news and events.
  
• Reviews – there exist many forums and online websites like Yelp.com or more industry-specific sites that encourage fans of local businesses to record their reviews; if you like a business, it’s always helpful to let others know about it. Be truthful, and don't post unwarranted negative reviews about the competition!
  
• Traveling around town – there are some applications that allow you to notify others of your location-based interests; for example Brightkite or FourSquare on your GPS-enabled mobile phone – these location-based social networking tools are great to let others know where and when you’ll be visiting ABC!
  
• Your own site, blog or emails – it’s always nice for a business or organization to get positively mentioned or linked to, from somebody else’s website – especially with helpful, professional comments and descriptions. Let ABC know about your site, and your support – ABC may find it helpful to promote you!
  
• ABC email list – ABC has its own website, and may (or does) also have additional website and group presence on social media sites – if you want to stay up-to-date with ABC services and events, register for available email list notifications, and let others know they can too (emails can be forwarded).
  
• Your social or professional profile – many professionals provide personal details such as their employers, the type of work they do, and certifications on networking sites like LinkedIn.com or Facebook.com; this is generally a helpful thing for professional growth and networking, but you’ll want to be sure to not reveal any particularly sensitive details about your work, employer or family. Stick with the basics, like “I work at ABC in Northern Virginia” – but avoid giving out non-public information (like your work hours, employer team profile, home address, family names or home telephone number).
  
• Keywords – any information you post on the Internet is more helpful to your employer, if it includes words and phrases that are associated with your employer’s business or industry. For ABC, great phrases to use include things like “[insert key phrases here]”. If these words are actually used as a website link (i.e. one clicks on the phrase and is taken to www.[ABC].com, for example), even better.
  
• A note on Web Links – some of the very most helpful things to a business on the Internet, are “hyperlinks” (i.e. web links) pointing back to the business website. The more, the better, especially if the links are from very popular, well-read websites. Therefore, anytime you post information about your employer or industry on the web, be sure to use a good link – it’s helpful both to the business, and to readers, and search engines really like to see these. If you know that someone else will be posting information you provided (like a reporter or a newsletter editor, online or printed), ask them to include a hyperlink.
  

Thanks for reading through this material about your Employer and Internet Social Media. There are many other resources available to you; search around the Internet, ask someone who knows, or check back with us.

DC Business Marketing in 2010 – 6 Online Marketing Steps to Take Right Now

Although the last decade hasn’t officially ended (we’re in the 10th year, after all), 2009’s economy and a double-digit change in years is enough for us to officially declare an end to the first decade of the 21st century. We entered the decade helping businesses and government agencies design websites and portals for maximum “user experience”, application performance and browser compatibility, all in the name of attracting and converting visitors. We end the decade designing for the same, albeit with a lot of change in the definitions of “users”, “experience”, “applications”, “performance” and “browsers”. Business marketing and systems engineering objectives remain the same for this new year, like every year - but the tools, methods, costs and audience are dramatically different.

Businesses like yours and ours use information technology to help manage and deliver many elements of our trade, from performance reporting and financial management, to data security and storage. “What” we need to do, to support our underlying sales and service processes, hasn’t changed – but the tools we can use sure have. For example, many more options will crowd the market this year for “cloud computing” services; basically made-to-order, flexible computing capabilities accessed over the Internet. Many more devices will enter the mainstream consumer market pre-wired for Internet access, from cellphone/PDA variants to personal game consoles and entertainment devices.

There’s simply a tremendous shift in attention and expertise required for successful business marketing from the platform or technology with which it’s delivered, to the channel and circumstances when and where it’s absorbed or delivered – more often than not in geosynchronous real-time.

While the fundamental methodology for online business marketing won’t change (appropriate content through the right channels to the right audience, backed by analytics and right time customer service) – new methods are required to deal with new contexts. Some degree of automation is essential, both in publishing and monitoring online content. Long-running campaigns require much shorter refresh cycles, that are created with the ability to respond to real time news and feedback. Press releases will continue to be useful, but implemented with a much broader and social definition of who or what the “Press” actually is.

Search will dominate even more, driving even more rapid shift of our marketing strategy to appease the ever-hungry search bots – every letter of our advertising need to be absolutely findable, from any Internet-connected device or channel.

Our audience for goods and services hasn’t really changed – it’s simply grown and segmented. Considering you’ve got a worthwhile, essential or just really cool product, more people than ever will have reason to buy it – provided they find it when, where and how they’re interacting online. So you’ve got to be there, everywhere – and it doesn’t need to cost the farm. We can all achieve huge returns on marketing and advertising dollar investment with a finely tuned, optimized and responsive Internet media campaign.

Such a campaign can smartly benefit from the very best of a horde of cheaply-available online tools and services – though the filters of experience, risk management and practice are even more essential than ever. Yesterday’s ISP and anti-virus software don’t work today – nor do yesterday’s advertising agencies and broadcast or print media strategies. What’s the Google page rank of your advertising firm, or publisher?

That’s not to say all traditional media should be abandoned in 2010. Sure, post a classified or consider a print advertisement – but track the discrete conversions from each dollar spent, and balance this spend across ALL media channels available and that make sense, PARTICULARLY online search marketing. Challenge the magazine to which you just paid $1000, for a quarter-page ad, to do much more for you, with their own assets – promote your website on theirs, track conversions through both web and phone, send your ad out through their email distribution. Or just spend the $1000 on well-managed pay-per-click – try it out this year.

So here’s the lowdown, for DC, Northern Virginia and Loudoun business marketing – here’s what you need to do this year, to make 2010 your year of business recovery and marketing fitness:

1. Get smart – learn about online marketing and Internet media; here’s a fantastic local Northern Virginia marketing and media course to consider
   
2. Get mean and lean - restructure your entire marketing budget – spend more online, and track the results
   
3. Where’s your audience? Meet them online, through social media - and it’s not all about advertising, it will be personal, and it will be a little scary
   
4. Inventory and leverage your own digital assets – you’ve got photos, videos, papers, presentations, emails…everything has value as part of an integrated online marketing campaign
   
5. Hire experienced staff, or outsource what you don’t do – the technology, digital publishing, media management, website maintenance and analytics, following and friending people, tracking all the new twitter apps
   
6. Help each other in the local, regional business community. Realtors, promote local service providers; IT firms, promote local tourism – a rising tide lifts all boats!
   

Happy New Year!

KME Internet Marketing and Media - DC, Virginia, Maryland