The Fresh Twist Newsletter — October 2007 | Issue 29


Blogging for Marketing

By Barbara Zaccone

While I was checking my web site statistics I noticed bza.com was getting traffic from the search term "Suze Orman". I quickly went to Google, entered in "Suze Orman," and low and behold bza.com was listed on the first page. How did that happen? The answer: the power of blogging. In my blog I had mentioned that I was a finalist in the "Make Mine a Million" program and Suze Orman was the event keynote speaker. Even though that search term is not related to BZA's business it illustrates how blogging content gets indexed in search engines.

So not only is blogging great for driving targeted traffic to your web site, but once it is integrated into your site it can be maintained very easily through your web browser. In other words, you can maintain it yourself. It can be your company voice, an avenue for timely commentary, a way to share knowledge, or announce company news. Other benefits of blogging include:

  1. Helps your company gain visibility on the web
  2. It's a way to write about new products, services, and projects
  3. It can position you or your company as an expert in your field
  4. Readers can provide feedback, which creates a community of like-minded people
  5. Your blog can be integrated into your existing web site
  6. Your blog can be your entire web site; great for non-profits, hobbyists, or those passionate about a cause
  7. You can easily add video to your blog entry by adding a YouTube link
  8. Blogs help improve search engine ranking because search engines love blogs' indexing simplicity

The most popular blogging solutions are WordPress and Blogger (now owned by Google). Blogger has a tag line "Push button publishing", which says it all. Let us know if we can help you in your blogging efforts. Happy Blogging.

 

Winning with Low-cost Trade Show Tools

Long gone are the days of giving out expensive literature at tradeshows. But yet you still need to have some type of handout to remind prospects of their visit to your booth and, most importantly, to direct them to your web site. Recently we helped our client, M. Teixeira Soapstone, do just that for their exhibit at the NJ Fall Home Show at the Meadowlands Exposition Center.

With only a few weeks before the show, we provided them with a four color postcard to promote their soapstone countertops as well as a four color trifold brochure for their beautiful line of soapstone kitchenware. We also designed and produced a 30" x 70" booth banner that made a dramatic visual statement. All the materials were designed to reinforce their brand and not break the budget.

News

Zaccone Receives Business Woman of the Year Award


Barbara Zaccone recently received the "Business Woman of the Year Award" from the NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) North Central Jersey Chapter. The award is given to a NAWBO chapter member who has used creative initiatives to overcome obstacles, create jobs, grow a successful business, and help her community.

Zaccone Featured on NY Times Small Business Summit Web Site


Barbara Zaccone recently attended the 3rd Annual New York Times Small Business Summit, a mid-October event, held at the the New York Sheraton Hotel. The event's founding sponsor, Open of American Express, provided a booth at the event where entrepreneurs could share their stories. Zaccone's story was captured via video as well as an interview by a New York Times reporter. A segment of the the video interview was published on the New York Times Small Business web site with the caption "It's what you know - and who you know". To view this video and other videos recorded at the Summit, go to New York Times Small Business Summit