Posts Tagged ‘branding’

Google Vs Facebook: Who Will Win The Social Network War?

By: ApexPacific

View original article HERE.

The internet has been in a frenzy over Google + this past month. Initially, many people thought Google would have a hard time convincing Facebook users to join this new social network. But contrary to this initial belief, Google + already has “millions” of users, surpassing Twitter to become the fastest growing social network. This is fairly impressive considering it is still in its beta stage offering invite-only memberships. It is for this reason, as well as the reasons I will discuss below that I believe Google will win the social game against Facebook.

Historically, Google has always entered the market later but still managed to overtake their competitors. Google has defeated all the pioneer search engines since 1998 and then conquered the PPC market again with their Google Adwords program in 2001. Considering this, I think it’s highly likely they’ll conquer the social media industry soon.

Back in 1994 and 1995, Excite, AltaVista, Lycos, Yahoo were among the 15 or so search engine companies involved in the search engine market. Google on the other hand, didn’t enter the market until a few years later when they launched the beta version of their search engine in 1998 and officially released it around 1999 and 2000. But that didn’t stop them from knocking down all the search engines that came before them and becoming the #1 search engine in the world in a very short span of time.

Then, not long after, Google went after the PPC market. Originally, Goto.com (Later changed to Overture and then bought by Yahoo!) was the first company to create the PPC concept back to 1999, along with a few other players. After Google launched Google Adwords during 2002, they were able to dominate the PPC market in just a few short years. Unlike, the Goto.com PPC model that was built on a simple PPC concept without any “marketing” logic, Google created a much better PPC program designed to help businesses with their “marketing” from the ground up. As Goto and Overture failed to convert its core PPC logic to match Adwords, it failed after being acquired by Yahoo!
Now, I’ll bring your attention back to Facebook. Facebook was built based on the early concepts of social networks. Currently, I think Facebook has little business value. Many people on Facebook are engaging in spam to build followers and likes. They are not really focus on building customer relationship, instead most of people are focus on “numbers” such as how many likes and how many followers they have. And even though people have 100′s or 1000′s of followers and likes on their pages, do they really benefit from this? I believe Google has discovered the weakness of Facebook and created the Google+ network with more business and marketing logic behind it. Google+ Circles will change social networking, and Google + will become another win for Google.

In many ways, Facebook is very similar to the former Goto.com or Overture, and Google+ is a mirror of Google Adwords. For example, the original PPC model created by Goto.com was quite simple; you created an account and bumped all your keywords to your account. That’s it. No matter what keywords you have, you put all your keywords in your same account. Google Adwords on the other hand, is grounded in “advertising and marketing” logic. It structures your advertising as “Campaigns”, “Adgroups” and “Keywords”. This simple change allowed Adwords to win the PPC war. Overture eventually implemented a “Category” structure but by then it has too far behind to even compete with Google Adwords.

The same thing will happen to Facebook. When more and more people figure out their Facebook account has less business value, is flooded with spammers and followers whom have no interest in their product or service, will they want to continue using it if there is another alternative social network to choose? The answer is obvious: Google will win the social networking war.

Your new business website allows you to:

• Provide information and details about your products and services to potential customers around the block and all over the world
• Distinguish yourself from your competition, especially if they don’t have a website
• Be found by the growing segment of potential customers who use ONLY the internet to access information and search for product and service providers
• Utilize the power of social media to effectively spread the world about your business
• Take advantage of powerful search engine technology so your customers can find you easily and quickly
• Establish yourself as an authority with your customers and within your industry
• Keep in touch with your customers, providing them industry tips or techniques and quietly building your credibility with them and their loyalty to you
• Build new and effective networking and referral opportunities online
• Maximize the effectiveness of email marketing
• Legitimately measure the success of your marketing dollars and your ROI

Goals:

Building a presence on the world wide web should be done with specific goals in mind.  For instance – do you want to provide information or have an e-commerce site and sell product?  Both? Define your goals – look at what your competition is or is NOT doing.  Spend the time on some quality research in your industry about what is and isn’t working in your field.   

Website Domain:  The name of your website is a crucial first step.  Be sure to maintain ownership and control of your domain name.  If the professionals helping you create your new website obtain the domain name on your behalf – be sure you collect all passwords, due dates etc.  Relationships can and do change over time, and you want to keep control of the name of your site.

Design & Development:  We have many customers come to us having already had a bad experience either attempting to do it themselves or having hired a friend or relative. Hire a professional company to design and develop your website.  There is a lot of talk out there about “design it yourself” programs and it is tempting to hire the lowest bid.  However, service after sale, on time completion, search engine optimization, quality graphics, appropriate look and feel – these should be your goal – don’t leave anything to chance. Hire a seasoned professional who has the background and experience to understand your brand, your industry and is capable of helping you maximize this investment.  Website design and development is a rapidly evolving industry – these changes should be benefiting you, the consumer.   Techniques used just two years ago to build and launch a website – are now nearly obsolete and ineffective.  Obtain a quality referral – and shop around.  There is a great deal of difference in pricing – you can easily pay too much, but don’t think this process isn’t going to require some investment.  Examine the portfolio of your prospective developer and find out what you are getting and for how much.  Make sure your comparisons are “apples to apples”!

Website Content: Having a nice looking website is only a piece of a successful online marketing strategy.  Design doesn’t carry the day – CONTENT does.  Invest the time into getting the “who, what, where, why, and how much?” done correctly.  What type of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is provided in your contract?  Is there any follow up?  A website that nobody can find – isn’t going to do you much good.  Some firms will have the talent to help you with content – but you may have to hire someone to help you.  

Website Hosting:  We recommend hosting your website with the firm who does the design and development if possible.  This will streamline the process and should keep your costs down.   The cost of hosting is competitive and on a downward trend.  As with your domain name, be sure you have all passwords and other information in your possession so that changing this relationship can be done easily.

Local Search Engine Listings:  It is imperative that your new site be listed and registered not only with the major search engines like Google and Bing – but also on relevant local and regional directories.  There may also be industry directories that may benefit your business. 

Internet Marketing:  Remember, your new business website is only a part of your internet marketing strategy.  Your business needs to have an integrated platform of opportunity ranging from social media, internet advertising, email marketing and directory listings.  Maximize the investment in your website and have a reputable Internet Marketing company help you establish these programs.  Many businesses then maintain these themselves or hire the Marketing or Development firm to manage them on a monthly contract. 

Contact Sandpoint Marketing today and we’ll get you started!

208-659-2077

jl@sandpointmarketing.com

Experts urge small business owners to “brand” their businesses with a logo and a set of consistent marketing materials. However, they rarely explain the reasons behind this advice. Read more about Developing Your Company’s Logo. Below are some of some of the benefits of a professionally designed logo and identity system:

1. To look “bigger” and “established.” Home-printed business cards or cards printed with Microsoft clipart scream “small-time vendor” to your potential clients — and that is how they will want to compensate you.
2. To increase your chance of earning venture capital or of selling a business. If you present a well-rounded business package that includes marketing materials and graphics, your business will look more complete.
3. To attract more clients. Some clients look for a well-defined company, and “look and feel” may be one of their criteria for making a purchasing decision.
4. To brand yourself. If you are a consultant, you need a logo in order to build an image and a brand that is greater than your individual identity. Be sure to avoid the Top 10 Branding Mistakes.
5. To convey that you are reputable. A logo and professionally-printed materials show that you are committed to both your business and to your clients.
6. To give clients a sense of stability. You may not have been in business “since 1908,” but if you have invested in your identity, you are more likely to remain firm and relevant in the eyes of your customers. It goes a long way toward building that all-important “trust.”
7. To be more memorable. Forty percent of people better remember what they see than what they hear or read. So to have graphics associated with your business, and to keep those graphics consistent, makes you more likely to be at the forefront of potential clients’ minds when they need your goods or services.
8. To explain your company name. If your company name contains a little-known word or an acronym, the logo can give visual clues to its meaning.
9. To endear your company name to your clients. A difficult-to-pronounce or hard-to-remember company name makes it challenging for clients to hire you. When potential clients need your services, they may not recall a tricky name. But if you reinforce the name with interesting, compelling graphics, they are more likely to remember you, pick up the phone, and hire you.
10. To explain an unusual line of business. If your business is nontraditional or in a hard-to-explain industry, a logo can help to clarify exactly what it is that you do.
11. To differentiate you from your competition. A well-designed logo can have many subtle meanings and can begin to tell the story of how you do business, including the special practices that make you stand apart from the competition.
12. To stand out in your field. A well-designed logo and an identity system can put you far above the competition, especially when paired with a strong marketing program.
13. To comply with expectations. In some industries, a logo is just expected. In the creative services industry especially, having a logo is an industry standard.
14. To show your commitment. Do it for the sense of personal pride that it will add to your practice.

These benefits will boost your business and your confidence, so consider developing a logo and identity as soon as possible.

---

Erin Ferree is a logo, print, and Web designer who has been making it easy for small businesses to stand out and to be visible, credible, and memorable for the past nine years.