Google Places is based upon location. Twenty percent of all searches involve a location. It makes sense when you think about it. We don't search for "automotive repair." We search for "automotive repair Arlington Texas." Taking advantage of this can give your business a lot of free exposure. And the exposure is specific to your market segment, which means the potential customers doing the search are highly motivated. You can't beat that ]]> Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:54:45 -0500 http://impress-design.com/take-your-place Jack McDaniel http://impress-design.com/big-fish Learn how to dominate your local or niche market online

5 Chapters from the Online Section of the book

A Case Study in each chapter

Learn what your competition doesn't know

Consider these images, available at any stock image service: 1) the way-too-integrated business team, 2) the orgasmic computer screen, and 3) the high-five-we-just-saved-the-world team shot. Most likely you already know what I'm talking about, but let's break each down, just for fun. ]]> Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:33:00 -0500 http://impress-design.com/Death-To-The-Stock-Photography-Business-Team Jack McDaniel http://impress-design.com/How-Sociable-Are-You Over night, it seems, we have been swept up into the world of social media, from microblogging (Twitter) to video blogging (YouTube). It can be daunting to consider all of the possibilities and opportunities to promote your brand. Time is of the essence for anyone looking to become the Big Fish in their local or niche market. Your efforts need to be focused and fine-tuned to achieve your ultimate goals. So how do you determine what social marketing is relevant to your business? More importantly, how do you use it to help drive customers to your business and, in the process, help others?

There are many avenues to choose from in the online social world. For this article I am going to concentrate on just three of them: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (in the book I will cover others). These are three of the biggest social networks and they offer something for most businesses looking to use social media.

Consider these statistics (courtesy of Direct Magazine):

So, how do you establish yourself as an expert? Remember this: Content IS king. You have to commit to this. Your new site needs to be built with an "Articles", "News" or "Blog" section. It doesn't really matter what you call it. The industry you are in will dictate this, to a degree. If music or movies is your gig then a blog works well. If you are in a technical business and plan to write a lot of articles that are more technical in nature then you might want to call it "Articles." Consider your target audience and what they would expect.

It's a question clients often ask. Given the current economic situation they also want to know how they can do it on a budget. This five-part series will show you how to achieve your goals over the next several weeks.

First, however, we have to lay down some parameters. While these ideas and techniques will work for any company, large or small, they are tailored and focused on the small to medium-sized organization that is looking to become the "Big Fish" in their local or niche market. If your niche market is small and very focused it is possible to do this on a national level. Gaia Software is a great example of this. Gaia creates a dialysis specific medical records software package. The dialysis industry is quite small. There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 independent dialysis facilities. Using the techniques and methods I will layout Gaia has become the "Big Fish" in their niche market on a national level.