Jason+: A Blog about WordThink

If you're a Dilbert fan, you'll know that Dilbert's pointy haired boss is always coming up with hairbrained scheme to "improve" the company. Today, because SEO is allegedly "free," as is social media... many of us confront bosses who think we can just do free marketing without money . But free doesn't mean easy, and beyond the money budget , there's the time budget (or as I refer to it the blood, sweat, and tears budget ). Want to share this post? Simply copy / paste this URL ( http://bit.ly/1uuONUp ) or use one of the buttons below - Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest Here's my draft letter to send to your pointy haired boss, if you have one. SUGGESTED INTERNET MARKETING LETTER TO BOSS Dear Boss, First of all, I want to thank you for barging into my office this afternoon while I was eating lunch at my desk, or as those of us who are Internet savvy call it, 'Sad Desk Lunc...

Yelp ( http://www.yelp.com/ ), of course, is one of the largest local "yellow page" systems on the Web. Consumers use Yelp to find local businesses - restaurants and bars, plumbers and hair stylists, even marriage counselors and attorneys. Powered by the largest (and most enthusiastic) local review community on the Web, if your business is local, then you should be using Yelp for your Internet marketing !   Here's a TODO list to hand off to whoever is in charge of local marketing. Email this TODO list to your marketing team member(s) and have them check off the items on the list as indicated by:   TODO :   Done: ❐ Not Done: ❐ Other: ❐ _______________ Want to SHARE THIS LIST ?   Copy / paste this short link into an email: http://bit.ly/stl-yelp   Or use the social share icons below: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest     YELP MATTERS: A TODO LIST   #1 - Determine if Yelp M...

If you are a Facebook marketer, you probably know by now that in the last few months Facebook seems to have pretty dramatically changed its algorithm. Your "page reach" may have declined substantially. What you used to get "for free," Facebook seems to be wanting you to "pay for" via advertising, "boosts" to your posts, etc. What's Going On? Big Picture Thoughts What's going on is the same game that has been played since the Internet began. First, a new marketing vehicle (Google, blogging, MySpace, email marketing) comes along. It's great! It's free! The users are not that sophisticated and the companies that produce it "give away" their product, including "free advertising" to participating companies. Think Google in its early days; think the Display Network on Google, think of email marketing in 1995. Next, everyone swamps into the "new" thing.  Third, the company or companies that produce it...

AdWords made some major announcements today (April 22nd). The main thrust seems to be better integration between desktop and mobile devices. You can read about them at Step inside the future of AdWords - YouTube video of about 30 minutes with the announcements. Sharing the latest AdWords innovations - Blog post outlining the announcements. I'd say "Enjoy," but does anyone really enjoy AdWords? If you do, tell me why in the comments.

Do you watch Matt Cutts on YouTube? If you don't, you should. He typically posts to the Google Webmaster Tools channel, here . He's a very interesting character, and I always think about him like Google's "press secretary" or "spin doctor." Meaning... I am sure he's an honest enough guy and all that, but his job is to interact with the public, especially the SEO public, and he "spins" issues to Google's favor. He's anything but an objective third-party observer; like the White House press secretary, his job is to put for the public line for his boss.  For a more objective but "less inside" look at Google, I turn to people like Rand Fishkin or Danny Sullivan , as they do not work for Google but are very serious SEO- and Google-watchers. Matt is incredibly important to SEO, but always remember who pays his salary. Matt Cutts on Backlink Relevance and Google But back to Matt Cutts and his recent video. One of his m...

Facebook , oh Facebook. So many of us once loved you (as people) and (as marketers). But now with the overly cluttered news feed, the endless "promoted posts" by companies we are not that into, and the inability of us to follow companies we really care about... not to mention that annoying cousin or aunt that can't stop posting stupid things. Breaking up with Facebook (as a person or as a marketer) Are we ready for a breakup? Some companies have already publically "broken up" with Facebook over the problems with the newsfeed and organic posts; some friends and families have also abandoned you. Where is your relevance in today's cluttered Internet landscape? Are you just the boring scrapbook of our lives, or a new place for the over 50 set (that includes me) to hangout, while the under 20 set moves on to Snapchat and sexting in class? The New York Times Bits Blog also reports on the decline of Facebook and (GASP!) perhaps its demise. Is Facebook o...

Seth Godin , of course, is one of my favorite marketing bloggers.  Today he writes - You will never, ever run out of strangers. And so, the goal of perfectly pleasing an infinite number of passersby is a fool's errand. They come with their own worldview, their own issues, their own biases. Since they don't know you or trust you and don't get you, they're not inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt or invest what it takes to understand you. Sure, some of them will applaud or smile or buy. And if that's your mission, have fun. But perfection in stranger-pleasing? Not going to happen, not worth the journey. For some people, some of the time, the only response is, "it's not for you." Read it here . My Thoughts on Yelp Reviewers Yelp is a wonderful thing.  I love Yelp. I hate Yelp. One of the "unintended consequences" of Yelp is that specific micro group of Yelpers who don't use your product or service, or use only the mildes...