Media Marketing News from Thunderstruck Media Group

Are You Limiting Your Potential?

2010-09-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

So you're driving down this road. You hit an ice patch and slip and slide into a ditch. You start to pull out by accelerating, but you hit this one point where you can't seem to go forwards or backwards.

This is called a rut. Many of you are in one right now. Whether you are a business owner marketing yourself, an amateur marketing or media person working for yourself or a professional in a fully-dedicated department, many many many of you are in these things called ruts.

How do I know this, you ask? Well for one thing, a good portion of you create things that look alike, no matter what you do. (I'll bundle myself into this, I have been in a rut or two as well.) I'll watch companies go years and never change any advertising strategies, never change the look of any signs and never change the style of how they present themselves. If you live on planet earth, you probably know by now that the public's interests change - so your persona must change with it.

So what are you reading? What are you watching? What are you drawing inspiration from? Who are you drawing inspiration from? There's a million different sources out there, and if you don't wander out of your small bubble of influences neither will your designs.

YOU MUST COMMUNICATE!

2010-09-08T00:56:00.000-07:00

To add a disclaimer, this is definitely one that I struggle with every once in awhile. A few of my clients out there are nodding their heads at this one, lol.

Communication is key in whatever you are doing. If you do not communication with your clients on a regular basis, it won't matter whether you are the best graphic artist, web designer or copywriter - your clients will not be happy. Even if there is no progress or very little progress, you still have to let them know. Lack of communication is what causes worry in the hearts of these business owners and for each of them - this is their baby, their company is what they are pouring themselves into.

It might be a good idea when sitting down at the initial contract writing and figure out what kind of communication they are expecting. Some people will trust you and just want an update whenever something is done, others may want a weekly or biweekly update. This will spare you from headaches later on.

That fifteen or so minutes that you take to write them an update, or pick up the phone to briefly fill them in will save you from frustration and your clients will rest easy just knowing what is going on. No one likes to be left in the dark, and this simple act will likely save your business or at least lower your blood pressure.

Are You Properly Marketing Yourself Online? Do You Know How?

2010-07-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

What Does TMG Do?

2010-06-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

About Thunderstruck

2009-12-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

How To Market Yourself Pt. 2 - Email Marketing

2009-11-24T02:26:00.000-08:00

So last post we talked about your personal website, and how it is the first perception of you to a mass of potential customers online. If you have checked it out yet, go read it by clicking here.

The next step is the very simple, but very very important - Email Marketing. Many people do not place much stock in this, but it is a very easy way to gain customers from past customers and people that you have already met in the business world. Many of you, I'm sure, have acquired quite a pile of business cards, or business contacts through business workings, meetings and other such things. And remember, it doesn't have to be someone in your same line of work - anyone who may need your service or product is a potential customer. Now, I'm not endorsing going out and soliciting all your family and friends, that's more of an Amway way of approaching things. You can do that, but try to stick more to your business contacts - any and all.

www.willscullypower.wordpress.com

Now many of you when you picked up your website as I recommended in the previous post probably have some sort of email marketing program included in that package. However, if you do not, here is another great website I have found for doing so. MailChimp is a free email marketing program, up to 500 email addresses. They are very professional and lots of things are included - templates, charts, instructional videos and other such things. Take a look by clicking below:

The thing that you want to do is have a drip campaign. What I mean by that, is have a form that the visitors to your website can fill out to get your newsletter. Then you release bits of news about your company, articles that you find about your product or service industry - anything that will keep your name in front of your potential client, or current client - in a consistent manner. By doing this, you already have somewhat of a report with those people, because you have usually met this person or they have personally visited your website.

This is a seemingly simple, but very important building block in the structure that is your personal marketing campaign. By mastering this step, you will get alot of business with suprising little effort.

Check back soon for more editions of 'How To Market Yourself.'
For more information, check out ThunderstruckMediaGroup.com.

How To Market Yourself Pt. 1 - Your Website

2009-11-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

So many people ask how to properly market themselves in this ever-changing digital world. There are quite a few aspects to that - you can blog, you can use multiple aspects of social media (twitter, facebook, myspace, linkedin), you can use picture sites like flicker or photobucket - all of these are super important.

But a basic aspect that many people seem to not take into account is the quality of your website. If you have an amazing social networking setup and it looks super professional, but have an awful front for your actual website, it will diminish most of the buildup that you created with your advertising.

There are many ways that you can get a good decent website, and I would be amiss if I did not also plug my own company, Thunderstruck Media Group (www.ThunderstruckMediaGroup.com) as a great option for web design & advertising. But even if you have very little money at the moment to market yourself, 1&1 is a great option for easy, user friendly, and cheap web design. Now there is always going be better design if you find an actual designer, and you will want to do that when your business picks up, but if you are strapped for cash but need to get an online presence, this is an easy choice.

One thing to consider when creating your website is: simple and clean will often look much better, less busy and overall create a better impression than trying to over-impress but too much content. Clean and understated websites draw more attention to your product or service, where as too much in too little space is going to distract from the actual purpose of your goal - selling.

Check back soon for more editions of 'How To Market Yourself.'
For more information, check out ThunderstruckMediaGroup.com.
Also, check here for more info on using 1&1 for website design.

Social Media – Free Advertisement Isn’t A Dream Anymore

2009-09-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

The golden age of billboards and television ads is coming to an end. Sad thing is, many business owners don’t know it yet. With the evolution of social media, blogging sites, and other online media outlets your target market has never been so close.

A portion of the business world has waited, and who could blame them, many things have come and gone. After the Dot Com bubble burst, many businesses were timid of entering the online universe, with fears that it was just money poured down the drain. Fast forward to today however, and the waters have changed dramatically. Everything from Forbes to BMW to Tootsie Pop has an online presence with a website and various advertisements across the web.

I’m sure if you have a small business you have already invested in some sort of website of some kind, or at least thought about it multiple times. If you have not done so yet, I would implore you to jump on it. You would be amazed at how much potential business you are losing.

For those of you that already have a website, here is the next step: social media sites. Sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Friendster and many many more are the common business advertising places of today. Everything from advertising products and services, to jobs available, is done in this format now. It’s not super complicated, but you would be amazed at how your posts on these sites will get read much more than a complex expensive online advertisement. Some of these sites also offer advertising space on the site itself, which can also be good, but the amount of time that the average person on these sites is staggering.

This was written in the Nielson Wire – “In the U.S. alone, total minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83 percent year-over-year. In fact, total minutes spent on Facebook increased nearly 700 percent year-over-year, growing from 1.7 billion minutes in April 2008 to 13.9 billion in April 2009.”

Clearly people are using these sites and where masses congregate – that is where you want your name known. Now it may start out slow, until you get your business name out there. But by having an online presence in the social media world, you ensure yourself a fighting chance at getting the attention of the masses that so many businesses are missing.

For more information or help on social media marketing, and advertising in the digital world visit us at ThunderstruckMediaGroup.com.