Inbound Marketing: How to use Social Media to Direct the Flow of Online Information and Opinions to Irrigate and Grow Your Brand

First let’s define the basis of our conversation: the comparison of two models of marketing: inbound and outbound. Inbound marketing is a new online marketing model that uses website structure and high quality content to draw potential customers to it through search engines. This model is quickly replacing the old outbound marketing model. Lets compare the benefits and drawbacks of the two models:

Traditional “Outbound” Marketing is the kind of marketing that we all grew up with. It is essentially advertising and is based on quantity. You choose your message and then pay certain media outlets, newspaper, TV, radio, in your market area, to carry that message to potential clients. The more that you pay the more exposure you get.

This model had and still has many benefits; most notably it allows the advertiser to present a consistent brand with very little chance for criticism or feedback (you can’t effectively talk back to a television ad). It also allows for a very direct sales message. You present your brand and your value proposition and wait for inquiries to start coming in.

This model also has lots of disadvantages, most notably it depends on the strength of your chosen outside media outlet. This presents two problems; first, media buys are just that, it is the purchasing of space/time on someone else’s brand. The problem here is that all the capital that you spend on these outbound channels has a very short return on investment window. Once the issue of the paper or the round of TV advertising expires you’ll have no residual benefit aside from a small amount of brand recognition from your client base. All that money you have spent is gone and can no longer work for you.

The second, and perhaps more compelling problem, is this: paying for advertising through traditional marketing channels is based on the assumption that your customer base has limited channels for news and entertainment and thus the channel you have chosen has value to your customer base. You spend money with these outlets because you believe that these channels are where people in your area come for news and entertainment and thus your message will be seen.

This basic assumption of limited marketing channels is quickly changing. Twenty years ago a given market had a finite number of media outlets, it had its papers and its television stations and that was it. The population was totally dependent on these outlets for  information. Because of this limited number of channels, you could also get away with a relatively “hard sell” message. An extreme example of this would be Billy Mays’s infamous high impact product commercials, which were aggressive and totally based on the viewers investment in the media channel that they were watching. That paradigm is a thing of the past.

Today those traditional channels are only one of many options. Blogs, national news websites and online entertainment have released a torrent of information upon the population. This torrent has fundamentally changed the way people find and interact with information. The Billy Mays approach of pounding a message into an audience is no longer effective because the multiplicity of information sources has softened people’s tolerance for the hard sell. Now people want value instead of pitch.

Enter the “Inbound” marketing model. If the Outbound model is based on quantity then the inbound model is based on quality. Just as the outbound model grew out of the media that supported it, the inbound model is closely tied to the media from which it was conceived.

With the sheer mass of online information sources, people can pick and choose where they get their information and how they are entertained. The simplicity of the Google search page makes every user a pundit who can judge different information sources against each other and decide who to listen to and to send others to. This qualitative evaluation presents major challenges for any business or organization looking to attract attention to its message or brand.

The quality-based inbound model takes advantage of this individual punditry. In the old model a larger competitor with a larger marketing budget could drown out its competition. Now if a website and blog are well optimized and are the best source of information about their product or service, people are naturally going to come to them whether it be for widgets or world peace. The quality of a website and information will naturally draw people to it allowing them to make a decision on the message or value proposition based on the quality of the content. Because of the nature of online media individuals can then share their evaluation, whether positive or negative, with others.

The main challenge that this presents to any brand is the basic acceptance of the lack of control inherent in the Inbound marketing model. As the Outbound model allowed you to control your brand image and message the inbound model leaves you wide open to commentary and criticism from every angle.

Don’t let this fact frighten you away.  If you believe in your message and brand, there is nothing to fear from healthy conversation and constructive criticism. In fact criticism is great! It means people are interested. Getting a healthy dialogue going with your critics is a fantastic way to draw attention to your message.

Once you engage in this new model, a conversation will begin with your client base about the quality and validity of your brand. Quality and identity of your brand will be extended or snuffed out by this ensuing conversation.  The “quality” that this model is based on is not limited to the content generated by the brand. The content generated by the brand is ideally just a starting place for other people to add their own layers of meaning. This process will help you refine your brand and make it more pertinent to your client base. With this new model you can’t tell people what they need, instead you need to listen to them and adapt.

Essentially by building a solid web presence based on solid SEO structure that utilizes inbound principles and effectively engages in social media you can build a brand without spending a cent on traditional advertising.

The growth of your brand will most likely happen slowly at first, as it takes time to gain traction with Google. However, in this system your brand will be evaluated and improved as you communicate with your client base. In the outbound model a brand had to pay an advertising agency to conduct focus groups to find out what their target market wanted. Now all you have to do to get a pulse on your market is engage with the resources that you already have. By doing this your brand will be refined every step of the way by the very people that make up your market, for free.

Inbound Marketing Model concepts can be put into action by anyone with the attention of a few hours a week using an effective website, on-site blog and twitter account. Of course having these tools in not enough, the tools alone are useless, what gives them power is the skill and passion that the user brings to them. So dive into the flow. Start the conversation and  you will find that your brand will come alive with a more competitive stance and a community of supporters and critics that will drive you to improve your message and brand as your brand grows.

Real Estate Videos Work for Brian Boardman, Burlington Vermont

Union Street Media presented at the Coldwell Banker Agent Real Estate Trends & Social Media Seminar on the 16th at the Ethan Allen Club in Burlington, Vermont. Our presentation focused on utilizing real estate videos.

The presentation went very well. We received a great deal of positive feedback from participants from all over the region. Our friend and client Brian Boardman, a REALTOR® here in Burlington, Vermont chimed in to talk  about how a particular listing video help him get one of his high-end properties under contract.  It was a fun, engaging conversation!

Please contact us if you attended the session and would like a copy of our notes (or if you couldn’t make it, and would like a copy of our notes).

New Site Launches by Union Street Media

Another month has passed and we have launched four great new websites!

The first new website that we are pleased to present to the public is that of ACRE Strategies which is a real estate consulting firm focused on empowering buyers in Massachusetts. The ACRE site is a perfect example of a clean brand-building site for a new business.

The second site that we would like to introduce is that of the Burlington Legacy Project. The Burlington Legacy Project is a city government organization focused on promoting sustainable municipal growth strategies for Burlington as it grows into the future.  This is a wonderful organization that works to provide a framework for Burlington to help it maintain its vibrant urban nature and wonderful character far into the future.

Sneakers Bistro has been a Union Street Media client for many years now, so when they wanted an updated look for their website they came back to us. For those of you aren’t local and thus don’t know about this local legend, Sneakers is a fantastic breakfast and lunch spot in the heart of Winooski, Vermont. It is a fun, energetic place and that is just the thing we went for in our new design of the site. Have a look  – we dare you to look at their site and not want Cheese Grits.

The last Website that we would like to introduce is Atlantic Barn and Timber – a wonderful custom timber framing company in North Carolina. For artisans such as the people at Atlantic Barn, a website needs to support the images of their work – not distract from them. Their new site is subtly designed to be a digital extension of their truly fantastic craft.

We here at Union Street Media are please to add these sites to our ever-growing, diverse website portfolio!

Two Union Street Media Clients Win MAR Website Awards!

We here at Union Street Media are proud to announce that the results of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors annual Website Competition are in and two Union Street Media clients have received first and second runner up in the Office Website Category!

We would like to congratulate Lomenzo Properties of Dennis Village on Cape Cod who won for first runner up! This is doubly impressive as they are a two-agent office and beat out countless larger offices in their category. Their prominence is largely do to the wealth of information that they have on their website. They are  prime example of how powerful expansive, high quality content can be. Congratulations to Peter & Elaine for all of their hard work and focus!

We would also like to congratulate Northrup Realtors of Lynnfeild, Ma who won for second runner up! Their achievement is even more impressive as they only launched their new website this past spring. The fact that they have been able to add enough information and resources in that short time period is an impressive effort.

If you read the comments on why these two offices finished in the top of the pack it is clear that it is a combination of the design and functionality that we provide but mostly that our system gives them the  supporting structure to showcase their knowledge and vision of their market area. Again Congratulations to our clients for all of their hard work!

Union Street Media Client Wins Award

Union Street Media would like to congratulate Suzanne Johnson of Tilley’s Café in Burlington who has been named the winner of the Restaurateur of the Year award from the Vermont Chamber Hospitality Council. If you have not been to Tilley’s cafe we highly recommend you visit and see the amazing seafood that they cook up daily. Our favorite would have to be the Coconut Prawns!

Google Explains How to Optimize your Real Estate Site on a Small Budget

We regularly check in on the Google Webmaster Central Channel on YouTube. The primary poster is Matt Cutts, a software engineer at Google and THE voice of search engine optimization from the Google perspective. This is as close to looking into the minds behind Google as you can get. Matt recently answered a question from a Realtor in California about how to optimize a real estate website on a small budget. When you watch, you will see that he is really pushing the long tail theory of optimization as a starting point for any SEO (search engine optimization) effort. This, combined with the need to be unique in the market, falls right in line with the approach we have been taking to SEO and real estate web design for years.

Union Street Media Is Hiring!

Our Internet Marketer’s primary responsibility is to help our clients achieve a greater return on their web site by implementing our continuous improvement process, which we call Report Recommend Revise. Each month, our IM staff completes the “RRR” process for dozens of clients, which includes:

• Doing keyword research in search of the best long tail phrases where our clients have a good opportunity to compete
• Studying site traffic using GA and other metrics tools and using that analysis to help increase site visitor conversions
• Coaching our clients on content creation and blogging strategies
• Identifying ways to integrate video and social media into clients’ internet marketing campaigns. And a whole lot more…

To view the full Job Description please click here.

New Site Launches by Union Street Media

As always, we have been very busy here this summer at Union Street Media building and launching new sites for some great new clients.

We would like to welcome Harbor Light Realty to the Union Street Media family. Harbor Light is a seven-person office specializing in residential and investment properties in the Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire. Their new website is a great example of a real estate site that not only sells the agency’s expertize but really sells the market area.

As more people hear about our real estate sites, we find new clients coming from farther and farther afield. To serve this growing segment of our business, we are using third party IDX services and building great lead generation websites for people all over the country. In our last launch update, we featured a new WordPress real estate site for Lina Panza in Montclair New Jersey. This month we are pleased to add two more WordPress real estate clients to our ranks.

Granger Properties specializes in vacation and second homes in the Lake Tahoe area. In building their website, they wanted to really focus on the activities and lifestyle that the Lake Tahoe area offers. Please visit the site and see how Granger Properties can introduce you to living in Tahoe!

In the Washington D.C. area we have just launched a WordPress real estate site for Eve Thompson. Eve Thompson chose to focus her website on the internationally known town of Reston, Virgina. Reston was built to revolutionize post-World War II town planning, and has an incredibly unique and interesting character. Please join Eve and see all that Reston has to offer.

One of the things that we at Union Street Media most value about our clients is that they are constantly coming to us with new ideas and concepts that we can help them realize. A particularly fantastic idea that Burlington VT Real Estate Broker, Brian Boardman, brought to us recently was Agents Driving Hybrids. Brian had purchased a hybrid and realized that with all the miles that Realtors log, this was a chance to make a significant difference in the carbon footprint of the entire industry. Brian wanted to develop web-based resources that would help other Realtors and agents to make the switch to driving hybrids and thus Agents Driving Hybrids was born. Please visit the website and see what Brain is doing to make a difference.

The last site we would like to introduce is the new online face of Massy Quick Wealth Management and Investment Consulting. The Morristown, NJ based firm specializes in management of private funds for wealthy individuals and organizations. They work as fee-only peer investors, viewing each client’s portfolio through the eyes of the investor instead of as a commission-based service provider.

We are very please to add these website to Union Street Media’s portfolio.

Utilizing Google Local For Your Business

Search Engine Optimization is a time-intensive exercise. We regularly tell clients that search Engine Optimization is an endurance race not a sprint. You must work on your site consistently to make sure that you are accurately represented in Google Searches. This is because as we frequently tell people “No one can pull the strings a Google.”

This statement has one notable exception, the Google local listings. You have undoubtedly run across the local listings as you have preformed searched in Google when you search for a term with a location attached. For example lets say you search for “web design 05401″ you get a search page that looks like this:

The local listings are the ones that appear next to the map. You can have direct control over these listings. By utilizing Google Local listings you will give your business great visibility for people searching locally for your services. If you click on Union Street Media’s entry you are taken to a page that we have set up for our business that looks like this:

As you can see, you can literally write your own ticket in Google. You can add pictures, enter hours of operation in addition to many other pieces of information that will give your business visibility and attract attention. A great way to get a better idea of what this feature has to offer is to look at the Google Local Business Center Introductory Video.

Setting up your Google local account takes some work. There is a phone or mail based address verification check that you will need to complete but it is totally worth the investment of time. To get started click here to go to the Google Local Business Center.

Union Street Media Introduces the New Online Face of the Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors

We here at Union Street Media are pleased to announce the launching of The Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors new website, NVBR.com. We are very happy to add this new site to our growing list of Realtor board and Association sites which include The New Hampshire Association of Realtors and the Vermont Association of Realtors.

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