For years now, Blockbuster has been dwindling in importance. The store was once the face of movie renting, and now it’s the face of what used-to-be. Ever since Netflix stormed onto the scene with a more convenient method of renting DVDs, Blockbuster has been declining.

Blockbuster did not focus on customers needs and failed to grow with technology. This happens to many companies that ignore new technology and believe that they are too big to fail. Don’t let this happen to your business, to stay current you must adapt to your customers needs and keep up with technology.

If your business in not on Facebook, Twitter or you don’t have a Website you are doomed to fail.  Be like Apple or Honda stay up to date a use the Internet to grow your business.

Having a Website, being on Google (Search Engine Optimization), embracing  Social Media is not optional but a requirement that customers expect.  If you don’t believe me just check out your competition they are investing heavily in Online Marketing and planning for the future.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/internet-fail-blockbuster-reportedly-plans-bankruptcy/

A quality Website is user friendly, has great functionality and is search engine friendly.

There are a wide range of service providers, more experienced and “in-demand” providers may charge premium prices, while beginners may work very cheap but lack experience. Different skill sets demand different pay scales. If you choose the lowest price possible you will probably not get a quality Website.

A basic guide for about 10 hours of work is:

Student: $100 – $200 ($10-$20/hour)
Freelancer: $200 – $1000 ($20-$100/hour)
Expert Consultant: (McKinley Media Group) $500 – $2000 ($50-$200/hour)
Company: $700 – $2500 ($70-$250/hour)

Recommended project budget:

Common hourly rates:

So how else you can promote your business beside SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and relying on Google?

Twitter -A  social tool that most big businesses and celebrities use to talk with their audience.

Blogging – I met many interesting people by blogging. It can show that you know what you are talking about and of course blogs are loved by search engines.

Youtube - There are millions of people using Youtube to communicate and share interesting videos.

Social networks - Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn – look at how much you are missing if you are not marketing there!

Craigslist.com - many businesses get clients from this popular classifieds website.

Questions and Answers services - such as Yahoo Answers attract many people looking for a particular solution, product or service.

Opinion websites - such as ePinions.com

Yellow pages - such as www.yellowpages.com or www.superpages.com

Communities, forums and blogs. Participate in a discussion, and you will be known in your niche

We believe that a website should serve as the foundation of a successful web presence that includes online marketing, search engine optimization and social media marketing.

Your website should reflect the image of your company. It should also build trust and motivate your visitors to contact you. First Impressions are important – It is difficult for your visitor to abandon its first impression of your company. What impression is your website leaving with your potential customers?

McKinley Media Group is a Baltimore website design and Search Engine Marketing Company in Maryland.

We specialize in providing clean, organized, and usable web design – using Search Engine Optimization, pay-per-click advertising and social media strategies to drive targeted prospects to your website. In our websitedesign, we incorporate stimulating content and strategic calls to action to help convert your visitors into sales.

Working with you as a strategic partner.

Our goal is to develop and market your website while growing a personal business relationship with you, our client. We are accessible when you need us and will work with you to create an effective website and online marketing strategy for your business. We have web design and internet marketing solutions to meet your budget. We work closely with you until the website you envisioned is complete.

We are based in Baltimore, MD and serve clients in several industries and locations throughout the U.S.

What Does “Customer-Centric” Mean?

“Customer-centric” means creating a Online Marketing plan that is centered around customer wants and needs. Savvy businesses are realizing that focusing their site on customer benefits and ensuring its visitors a unique experience are key drivers of sales, loyalty, and much-desired word-of-mouth advertising.

Local Search Engine Optimization

Stop trying to be Coca Cola,when you can be RC

Local SEO (Search engine Optimization) is a great way to target customers that are looking for your products and services. When potential customers Google your business they search for Baltimore, MD Lawyers not just Lawyers in general.

Online Marketing

Its more than just a Website & Facebook page

Think of you car: it has an engine, chassis, body and wheels. Each of these alone performs one job and does it well, but when you put them together so they can work as one system, you can go almost anywhere you want! Our services work the exact same way, although your mileage may vary.

“Only” 320,000 new U.S. users joined Facebook last month, according to the site’s own data. The network actually lost active users in the coveted 18-25, 26-34 and 35-44 demographics while the gains came from younger and older age groups.

So, has the much-discussed Facebook or Social Media Fatigue finally arrived? Or did the privacy debacle in May fuel a large-scale user outrage that wasn’t apparent until June’s numbers came in? Or was it simply a slow month, or perhaps even a reporting glitch?

Regardless of the answer, the one thing we know for sure is that Facebook hasn’t lost its importance to the digital business landscape, and it isn’t about to anytime soon.

Only Google — which is rumored to be starting a Facebook-like social network of its own, by the way — gets more traffic, and Facebook is currently valued at about $15 billion. Annual revenues are estimated to be close to $1 billion, and, most importantly for marketers and advertisers, there are nearly half a billion active users. And that number continues to grow, if not by exorbitant figures last month.

But we will be watching, and we’ll let you know if and when Facebook Fatigue is a real concern for marketers.

It was the first time that Amazon has released any revenue figures related to mobile commerce, and the company did not disclose how much of those sales came from Kindle owners buying e-books. However, Amazon has taken significant steps beyond the Kindle to develop its mobile commerce platform over the past year, including the October launch of 1-Click checkout for its mobile-optimized website.

Thursday’s report would render those efforts a huge success and serve as an example for other merchants mapping their own mobile strategies.

Coming on the heels of TubeMogul’s latest video analytics that reported the average online video viewing engagement to be under two minutes, MeFeedia found from analyzing 125,000 mobile users:

•    iPad users, on average, will stick with a video for five minutes
•    Symbian users for 4.1 minutes
•    Android users for 3 minutes
•    iPhone users for 2.4 minutes

This is particularly significant as marketers and publishers discover new strategies for Video Marketing & mobile content. This indicates a very real shift in consumer behavior when moving from a desktop to a mobile device. Equally important are the formats to be used by content creators. Moving away from Flash to the more tablet-ready HTML5 may offer greater rewards for publishers than we first thought.

There’s no denying that the “Should Your Man Smell Like an Old Spice Man?” ad campaign has received enormous media coverage. The problem: Sales are down a surprising seven percent. This situation is far from unique.

In 1985, to counter Wendy’s massively successful “Where’s the Beef?” ad campaign, Burger King unleashed “Where’s Herb?” Herb was supposedly the only person who had not eaten a Burger King burger. The commercials received quite a bit of attention: The actor who played Herb was even a guest judge at Wrestlemania II — about the closest thing to “going viral,” pre Internet — but the campaign failed. Not only was the ad campaign scrapped, the advertising agency responsible was fired.

Why have Old Spice sales dropped during this current campaign? Here are some interesting theories:

• Are the women targeted by the ads not actually the ones making body-wash-related decisions for the men in their life?

• Is the Old Spice brand too “old” to resuscitate, even by a shirtless hunk who personally answers his fans?

In any case, it doesn’t take too much analysis to realize that if people are at home submitting Twitter questions to the Old Spice Guy, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re rushing out to buy Old Spice. Consumers certainly can’t smell how wonderful Mustafa smells through their computer — but they sure do like hearing him say their names.

Mass attention does not always equal money in the bank!

Ready to improve  your Online Marketing? Let’s Talk call 410-630-1287 Ext. 1