For the past two decades, social media has enabled people to keep in touch with loved ones, to reconnect with old classmates and friends, and to research floppy trunk syndrome (if you consider Wikipedia social media,which has been a hot debate with a fellow TurnKey team member… but I won’t mentions names), all from within the comfort of your home. It has also allowed us to write about our lives and share it with people all around the world, to find true love (or fake love, if you happen to play football at Notre Dame), and to fill our spare time with videos of cats, funny babies, and Gangnam Style-esque dances!

Lately, however, social media has been gradually encouraging us to condense the way we document our day-to-day lives. Social sites like Twitter allow short interactions and fleeting insights into the way people spend their time. Whether it is people you know or people you don’t, what people want to share of their daily existence has been captured in 140 characters or less.

A new form of this condensing idea recently sparked interest across the web and landed under the wings of Twitter. Its name is, simply, “Vine”. Now, let me take a second (or six) to tell you a little bit about Vine.

Vine is a free app that allows users to record video clips and edit them into a 6-second, repeating video (think your own easy, personal GIF’s, in a way!). Since Twitter recently acquired this company, you can easily upload and tweet your video to your followers. You can also share it with your friends on Facebook, if you please.

Vine says that this app makes “capturing life in motion fun and easy” and that it’s a “shortened form of something larger.” Now, I think this app is pretty cool, but I am not yet a consistent user. It took me a little while to get interested in Twitter, because I didn’t understand the whole constant-status-update deal. 1) Who has the time to do that all day? And 2) Whoever cares enough about what I am doing at all times—besides my mother—is crazy! I’ll admit, it wasn’t until a friend of mine forced me to sign up for a Facebook account about 6 years ago, that I ever really had interest in getting one.

To me, there are clear pros and cons to Vine and other apps like it. To start, Vine is very simple to use. That, right there, is probably the most important part. Second, it is a great tool to give people a quick insight into where you are, whom you’re with, and what you’re doing. It truly is a “shortened form of something larger.”

The Brooklyn Nets hopped on the Vine train right away, posting a video of a few of their players warming up. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video of Kris Humphries actually finishing a dunk is worth, well, 2 points. Actually, I’ll give him an and-one following his divorce with Kim Kardashian.

You can also be artsy or funny with Vine! In a way, it feels like a stop-motion video. I stumbled upon a Vine video of two men having a staring competition, and since it is a 6-second, ever-repeating video, I waited hours for a winner and ended up falling asleep before the battle was won.

Here is where I am critical: We have seen books “go digital”, and photography “go Instagram”. Now something as a beloved as home videos are “going Vine”—I was happy with stagnation at YouTube for a while. Like I said, the “shortened form of something larger” is great, but with Vine, we will never get to see the full picture, or in this case, video.

Another problem I see with Vine stems from that which we refer to as “selfies.” We all know what those are. It started with teenage girls on MySpace, and has become popular on Instagram. Some people love themselves so much that they feel the need to post 20 photos a day of them sitting in a car, then at a desk, then eating a salad, then with their cat, then in their new outfit, then in a mirror, then close up, then at a low angle, then at a high angle, then at a side angle, and then … well, you get the point. I feel like Vine will be another outlet for this, but on repeat! I do know it is my choice whom I follow, and I will definitely take that into consideration if Vine takes hold.

This is where I shall leave you! My question is: Will Vine really catch on? Is it the new Instagram in video form, or is it something that will come and go? As with any technology, it’s there for everyone to use, and the way in which we do so is what defines its future. I am just glad that Vine was not around when I was a child … It would have made it a whole lot easier for my parents to share embarrassing videos of me with my girlfriends.

Hey, everyone!

January has been a big month for us, as we’re sure those of you who frequent the TurnKey Blog have noticed. We welcomed two new team members, Alan and Dylan, and have been working super hard to put together some exciting plans for the TurnKey community this year (psst… stay tuned!). We hope that 2013 is off to a great start for each and every one of you, as well.

As some of you may know already, I run the social media here at TurnKey. In my Twitter and Facebook adventures, I couldn’t help but notice that January was also a fairly eventful month on the social scene. There was a big response to the article I wrote regarding Instagram’s Service Agreement amendment a little while back, so I wanted to dig up some similar news to chat about this time around. I was trying to figure out which topic I wanted to cover, but then I realized: why pick just one when there are so many good ones to choose from? Here is a round-up of my personal favorites from the social side of the tech world this month:

3. GOOD

I spy…a new social network? Thank goodness, because we obviously didn’t have enough already. No, but on a serious note, GOOD has a lot of potential.

From what I can tell, GOOD is an online community with users (businesses, organizations, independent groups, and just people riding solo) who possess progressive initiatives and are working to do some good in the world. With a GOOD account, you have access to three components that make up the network. The first is a site-run news-feed of sorts, where relevant stories, articles, websites, etc. are published in several categories. Similarly, the second component is a community-run news-feed  where GOOD initiatives can be searched for, shared, and discussed. The last GOOD puzzle piece, and—in my opinion—the most interesting, allows community members to post a goal. The other users can then contribute their ideas about how to reach the goal, and to vote for the ones they support the most. The winning goal is then awarded some kind of aid to see the initiative through to completion.

Good.is is an interesting concept in general, and there are a multitude of reasons why I think we should all join, or at least keep an eye on it. At the top of that list, however—especially as a member of the TurnKey Internet team—is the fact that I believe any initiative to make the world a better place should be of the utmost importance to us all. As the TurnKey Internet team member responsible for Social Media, what could be more fun to watch and help advance than a social network devoted to making the world a better place? Not much else, is what.

Check it out, guys: www.good.is

2. Wikivoyage

I’m honestly surprised someone didn’t think of this sooner. Although, when you think about it, someone, somewhere most likely did, and just didn’t have a Wikipedia-sized foundation to build off of. Regardless, how cool and useful does Wikivoyage sound?!

First things first. If you are unfamiliar with Wikipedia, I am so sorry to hear that. But to fill you in: Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia, collaboratively written by its community. You can read more about it on the Wikipedia page about Wikipedia. BOOM. INCEPTION. Anyway, Wikivoyage is a brand new online travel guide brought to us by the same people who brought us Wikipedia (which is The Wikimedia Foundation, by the way). What’s really awesome is that it’s for the readers, by the readers, just like Wikipedia! It just left beta, so all of you lucky ducks with vacations in your near future should definitely break it in for the rest of us.

1. Facebook Graph Search

I’m not sure about you, but when this story started peppering our newsfeeds and the news/blog sites I frequent, my immediate reaction was, “well, it’s about time…” Facebook rumors are always flying around, and chatter of this-or-that project that its developers are fine-tuning is ever-abundant. A while back, however, I caught wind of a Facebook search engine, and actually put some stock into it. Sure enough, this month, Facebook rolled out a “Graph” announcement.

Check out Facebook’s “About” page for a complete run-down on the Graph feature. I found the “Building Graph Search” video to be particularly informative, if you find yourself a little short on time or interest. Regardless, I have high expectations for Graph, and think that Google, Bing!, and other leaders in the search engine world could potentially find themselves getting a run for their money. This could also end up becoming another Little Engine that Could Have (like Google+, in my opinion) but only time will tell. What do you predict is next for Facebook? Mark my words, I think it will be Facebook Maps.

So what do you think? Did I overlook something bigger or were these at the top of the list for you, too? Was any of this news to you? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts…

The weather outside is frightful, and the weather inside TurnKey Internet has been brain-stormy with a chance of super-fun end of the year contest! Starting today, and running through December 31st, we invite you to join us in the Year End Tell-a-Friend Contest! You can win 6 months of free service, so you don’t want to miss this.

Here’s how it works:

• –  The object is to recruit as many people as you possibly can to sign up with TurnKey Internet
• –  It doesn’t matter which service they sign up for
• –  Each new sign-up earns you a point, but make sure they know to give your name (if we don’t know you sent them, we can’t give you credit!)
• –  As an incentive for your friends joining TurnKey, they can contact our Sales Department via Live Sales Chat and receive their 4th month ABSOLUTELY FREE
• –  On December 31, 2012, we will tally the points, and whoever has the most points, wins!
• –  If the winner is already a customer, he or she will win 6 months of free service. If the winner is not already a customer, he or she will win a $200 credit towards their purchase.
• –  Extra points for hanging out with us! After you earn your first point by recruiting a friend, you can rack up unlimited additional points by doing any/all of the following:

• *   1 extra point for liking us on Facebook, if you haven’t already
• *   1 extra point for following us on Twitter, if you haven’t already
• *   1 extra point for following us on our BRAND NEW INSTAGRAM (!!!)
• *   1 extra point for anyone you recruit to like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or follow us on Instagram – No limit for extra points here, people. But again, MAKE SURE THEY TELL US! We can’t give credit where we don’t know it’s due.

This may seem like a lot (because it is), so if you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment below, on Facebook or Instagram, or send us a Tweet.

Good luck, everyone!

I am a huge advocate for Instagram. I think it’s a brilliant concept, on the part of its developers. I know that it has caused a lot of eye-rolling among many professional photographers, but I think it’s fun, okay? I like that relatively poor-quality, often blurry mobile uploads can look a little bit prettier, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. As an Android user, I was thrilled when the app opened to us. I no longer had to watch enviously as my not-even-close-to-artsy Apple friends tweeted and posted all of these artsy-looking pictures, and could join in uploading filtered food photos with the best of them.

I generally try to maintain a less personal, company-encompassing narrative in my TurnKey articles, but the topic that I want to discuss with you today has incited a reaction from me on a personal level, and I feel as though I should discuss it as such. I have an issue with Instagram’s amended Terms of Service.

Basically, Facebook (they own Instagram now, if you weren’t aware) is now asserting their right to sell your photos at absolutely no profit to you whatsoever, and it doesn’t stop there! They also declare a right to employ your image and personal information as they see fit. This is not okay with me at all. I understand that the app is free and Facebook wants to generate revenue and all that good stuff, but there are ways around this. Also—I have to say it—are you really losing that much money over Instagram, Facebook? You invested a billion dollars in a company that you are now this desperate to keep afloat?

Here’s an excerpt:

“Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”

Improper usage of photographic material is not a new thing at all, and maybe I’m being hyper-sensitive about this due to a background in photography. However, my pictures are mine, and if Facebook wants to use them, they need to ask me first. Regardless, it is not okay—and shouldn’t be okay—for them to use my personal material and information in a way that exploits me.

Usually, I tend to be rather neutral in regards to topics like this. I think they are largely sensationalized by the media, and that people fly into an uproar when it’s not completely necessary. For instance, Dave wrote a really insightful article about the Google vs. EU issue not too long ago, and I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with his stance. If you’re interested or need a refresher, you can read the article here.

Anyway, now we’re faced with a choice: do we just divert our gaze and allow them to do this, or do we wash our hands of Instagram? Do we log out of our accounts and set off into the great unknown, desperately seeking to fill the void in our once-filtered mobile existence? That may be a little dramatic, considering Twitter just rolled out replacement filters after the pull on syncing photos, but that’s another article entirely. Luckily, we have until January 16, 2013 to decide which road we want to take, as that is when the new terms go into effect.

Wouldn’t you know it? This all rolls out almost exactly at the same time that I set up TurnKey’s Instagram account, and I almost want to close it to protest! I won’t though, mainly because I’m border-line obsessed with this picture of a lollipop bouquet.

What do you think? Am I over-blowing this? Do you think this is fair and understandable or invasive and downright wrong? I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Recently, there has been quite a stir over the EU’s response to Google’s most recent privacy policy…

From PARIS (Reuters): “Google has four months to make its privacy policy comply with requests from European Union data protection watchdogs or start facing the possibility of disciplinary action at a national level.”

France’s Commission Nationale de l’Informatique, working on behalf of the EU’s 27 national data regulators, said on Tuesday it had found legal flaws with a new approach to user data that Google adopted in March.

Among CNIL’s concerns was the way the U.S. group combines anonymous data from users’ browsing histories across its services to better target advertising.

From theguardian:  “Google’s latest privacy policy means that users get a simpler experience when signing up for a new Google-owned service. But it also means that Google can build up a more comprehensive picture of the user for advertising – for example, monitoring a person’s use of YouTube to help better target adverts within Gmail.”

I find it interesting that the EU’s various sanctioning bodies have an issue with this.  What do they think Google is going to do with the information?  Seriously!?  Google is in business to make money.  They make money by helping advertisers get in front of people who are most likely to purchase their products and services.  Let me give a perfect example – Let’s say that a feminine hygiene advertisement is placed in front of male audience members. I dare say, that is a waste of the advertisers’ money because odds are probably REALLY good that there isn’t a single purchaser in the group.

Another example: I watch YouTube all the time.  99.8% of my YouTube views are music.  Actually, I can’t imagine life without YouTube – but that’s another blog.  In the past year alone, I’ve probably watched in the neighborhood of 2,500 music videos – and once, ONCE, was an advertisement placed in front of me that I was interested in.  I actually sat there and watched the advertisement because it was something I was interested in.  That means the other 2499 times that ads were placed in front of me were a total waste.  From both efficiency and user-experience standpoints, wouldn’t it be better if YouTube, Google, or whoever is displaying the content, knew something about the viewer’s likes, dislikes, sites visited, etc.?  It irks me a little bit that I have to wait the 5 seconds before I can click on the “Skip Ad” button.  I’d much rather see an advertisement that actually interests me.

In other words, by being able to target your viewer, as Google is allegedly doing, it serves both the advertiser as well as the viewer.  My question is: Why does the EU want to make it harder on advertisers (businesses within the European Union) and the citizens of the European Union?  Ah, government regulatory bodies at their finest, once again. Apparently the EU wants advertisers to pay for ads that get displayed in front of randomly selected people who might not have any interest at all in the product or service being touted, rather than be able to target their ads to those who have shown some type of behavior that identifies them as a potential buyer.  Also, why should anyone have to sit through an ad that they have no interest in?

Now, I do agree that people should have the ability to opt out of certain things like email, but isn’t what Google is doing beneficial for everyone?

If I were an advertiser and it was costing me X dollars each time my ad was presented, I would want to be darn sure that my ad was being placed in front of people who are most likely to take advantage of what I’m offering.

I’d be interested in hearing other views on whether Google, who is allegedly doing what the regulatory bodies claim, is right or wrong.  Perhaps you are indifferent? How do you feel about the use of this alleged data?

Hey, everyone! My name is Emily Wegener, and I’m the new girl on the block here at TurnKey Internet. As TurnKey’s Interactive Marketing Specialist, I could not have hoped for a more fun and exciting time to join these amazing people in the cloud. Let me tell you why.

As you Facebookers and Tweeters and Press-Release-Readers out there have probably already heard, we just began an awesome promotion. For those of you who haven’t, we are calling it “Let’s Make a Deal!”, based on the concept of the popular game show. Have you played yet? If not, you’re missing out!

Here’s the scoop: If you head to www.turnkeyinternet.net/deal, you’ll arrive at the “Let’s Make a Deal” page where the fun begins. You can get there from a bunch of other places as well, like our homepage and social media sites. As long as you get there, we don’t mind how. You decide; it’s your world. Anyway, on the deal page, you’re met with three briefcases and a human. No, that is not an Olsen twin.

This is where the game gets interesting. We’re offering HUGE product offers and discounts on absolutely everything. We picked out the deals that we thought were the coolest, and placed them neatly in the aforementioned briefcases for your consideration. Disagree with us? Think you can come up with a better, more personalized and relevant deal? TELL US. Our spin on this game show not only allows you to do that, but it encourages you to! You’ll see an option to talk to our “Deal-maker”, where you can negotiate your own special deal. It’s fun! Try it!

Lastly, most importantly, and most wonderfully, ”Let’s Make a Deal!” is being served up piping-hot with a side of “Deal of a Lifetime”. As the promotion progresses, TurnKey Internet will be randomly selecting winners from the participant pool, and awarding them a lifetime of free service! That’s right, a LIFETIME. AKA: The rest of your life. AKA: Forever and ever. I’m sure you understand. Didn’t find your perfect deal? Doubtful, but no biggie. We’re just happy you came to play! The giveaway is no-purchase-necessary, and if you would like to enter anyway, simply mail a letter of intent to us at our headquarters in Latham, NY. You can find the mailing address here.

Here’s the thing, guys: we really, really appreciate you. We like that you choose to use our services, and read our blog, and hang out with us in all of the other awesome ways that you do. That being said, we also like to give back to you. We want you to save money, and we want you to have fun doing it. This is our attempt at helping you kill those two birds with one stone. I mean, everyone offers discount codes and coupons, right? But how often can you make your own?

So, without further ado, I know I speak on behalf of all of my new TurnKey pals when I say – Have fun, and thanks a million. No, thanks a zillion.

Thank you Everyone for your direct support during our Summer focus with our TurnKey Social Media Challenge .  We set out here at TurnKey to help you grow your business via social media – by offering tips, strategies, and concepts that can super charge your social media growth.  We launched this program at the same time as we ourselves took the opportunity to focus on growing our social media foot print. Thanks to your support and participation thus far – and your help leveraging your social circles through facebook likes, google plus +1’s and twitter followers, and linked In, you helped catapult TurnKey Internet, Inc to the top of our own local competition for social media awareness, called the Social Madness Challenge   run by American City Business Journals where thousands of companies in 40 U.S. cities competed to increase social media awareness.

TurnKey Internet, Inc was named the winner in Albany, New York for the Small Business Category (1 to 99 Employees) after 8 weeks of competition , beating out over 100 other companies who entered the Albany, New York small business category competition.

TurnKey Internet, Inc now moves on to the national competition of the Social Maddness Challenge – against 63 other companies in it’s size category.  We plan to to focus more on our Green Sustainable Information Technology message as the focus moves beyond the local Albany, New York competition to the national stage- as we continue to drive more social media awareness.  We hope you will continue to pass on the word to your friends, co-workers and family via facebook, twitter, google plus, and Linked In – and help us spread the word about going Green for your IT!

Thank you everyone thus far for your support and participation – you can expect more tips, tools and suggestions how you can help catapult your own business through social media as well as we continue our summer long focus on Social Media!

Is Facebook really Free?

As many of you have probably noticed, certain aspects of Facebook are beginning to cost money. How do you feel about it?

Since we all started using Facebook we have enjoyed the free social media interaction, the no cost way of communicating. We have had a brand new way of keeping in touch with old classmates, high school sweethearts, co-workers etc.  Being able to reach out to all ends of the world in a split second, and see how everyone that you care about is doing, without having to actually speak to them.  It has had its perks.

Over the last year or two businesses have been able to start using Facebook as a way to reach out to more people. What better a way to gain awareness than word of mouth, and there’s no better online word of mouth source than Facebook.  Still, always free.

Now Facebook is ingrained in our everyday lives, whether we like it or not. Companies are offering coupons if you “like” their pages, businesses share their products right on their profiles, you watch commercials with “like our Facebook page” at the end.  Hundreds of thousands of people are just a “click” away from being able to see your adds, promotions and whatever else you have chosen to show.

Everything was great, free advertising…..

Not for long.  Facebook saw that money could be made – or rather convinced the Stock Market they could make money.  The amount of people and businesses that promote themselves, could in some way benefit the pockets of Facebook.  So of course, it changes.   Now instead of being able to reach out to all of your followers, facebook highlights and directs you to to premium ways to pay to reach a certain percent of them beyond your standard reach.  The more you pay, the more people you can reach. You can pay for an add campaign that targets a certain group of people, and again, the more you pay, the more people you can reach.  Facebooks way of getting their piece of the pie – after all they are the #1 social media platform in terms of volume and eye balls.  The real question, how do businesses (those being the people who will pay to use Facebook) fit in, and how does Facebook find a way to make money without loosing its popularity?

Do we have a choice?  Of course we do, we can stop using Facebook.  Yea, right, we all know that’s not going to happen.  So businesses will spend the few dollars and reach as many people as possible, facebook will re-invent ways to make money – and the cool factor of years ago of Facebook will be replaced by the highest bidder on who’s cool message is going to be promoted more.

Be sure to visit our Turnkey Internet Facebook page for your chance to win “The New Ipad” – and read about our summer long social media event!

This summer we have been spotlighting social media here on our web site, blog, and of course on facebook, google plus, Linkedin and  twitter  – all to help you grow your online presence with great tips, strategies and concepts that work on social media and beyond.  We set a goal for our selves to double our followers in the most popular social media forums, and to help our clients, readers and followers learn the ways to do the same and of course benefit from those increased social circles.   It turned out to be a lot more than just adding followers and ‘likes’ for us, and our clients – we found new opportunities, new ways to communicate, and yes we have actually seen a direct increase in sales just due to the awareness of people’s social circles .  We more than doubled our followers, but more than that – we’ve started to communicate through social media in conversations, not just talking to or posting to an audience – but talking back and forth and really listening.  The social media challenge so far this summer has helped us to open new channels to communicate with both current and potential clients.

Part of this social media focus this summer revolved across a national social media challenge sponsored by American City Business Journals in 42 Cities, including here in our home town of Albany, New York.  We competed against 100+ other companies here in our City, and lead the pack almost since day 1 with our “3 C” approach (Content, Communication and Contests!). In fact, our contest to win a free iPad and Visa Gift Cards continues- and we continue new social media related content to bring you the very strategies and tips we have been using our selves.  You can view the competition here, and if you haven’t already shown your support or voted, we would appreciate a vote!  You can vote, and view that competition at http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/exclusives/socialmadness

So a number of people keep calling, emailing and replying to us on twitter and facebook asking for that secret tip that has had us in the #1 seat for over a month, and put us now in the final round against OverIT Media (final round ends July 17th, so if you haven’t voted you still have time!) .  While there is no silver bullet – it is hard work, with real people who create content, intersting conversations, and meaningful information to get people’s attention.  But there is one little secret tip we didn’t mention until now, what we call our Social Media Secret Weapon!  OverIt Media  is a great bunch of people here locally in Albany, and fantastic at the marketing and design work they do – and we feel honored to be among them in the final round of the competition.   While we may not of known we would be competing with OverIT Media in the final round, we didn’t blink when the chance to hire some of their great tallent came upon us!  This summer a new addition to our team, Jared R.,  formerly one of OverIT Media’s team mates the past 2 summers has now taken up the flag of TurnKey, and helped us launch and maintain our entire Social Media Challenge program this summer.   We call Jared, our Social Media Challenge Secret Weapon!  Jared works in our marketing department and fully focuses on the social media platforms.  Jared brings great creativity and ideas to the table, and his previous experience at OverIT Media couldn’t of served him (or us!) better.  And it doesn’t hurt being a little bit lucky either – we are quite fortunate  having a new team member that knows the other team’s play book!  We sure are glad he is on our side as our Social Media Secret Weapon!

Please be sure to give a shout out on our Facebook wall, twitter, google plus or Linkedin to welcome Jared to the TurnKey Family!   In Jared’s own words:

Jared R: I’ve been active on social media websites for years, and I always knew businesses had accounts where you can like their pages, follow them on twitter, subscribe to emailing lists, etc. but I always thought their followers and likes were just for show; like they just want to say “we’re the best company because 5,000 people say they care about our status updates.”  It wasn’t until I started in the design and marketing field that I realized there’s an entire underground (or rather digital) realm of marketing, where these numbers become a matter of life and death.

My first exposure to the business end of social media was right out of my freshman year of college.  With a major in New Media Interactive Development at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I was never really able to learn too much about marketing because of the intensive focus on programming and graphic design.  Before TurnKey Internet, I had my first internship at Overit Media in Albany, NY, where I was able to put my skills from school to use in a business environment.  The experience I gained there has helped me succeed here at TurnKey, where I continue to advance my marketing experience.  The work I do now involves working the Social Media platforms for TurnKey Internet to help amplify its online presence.

So welcome to the TurnKey family Jared, and look for more from Jared in the next few months!

Maximizing Your Online Exposure!

If you are serious about generating a significant amount of business through online marketing you need to maximize your efforts by including as many platforms and channels as you can possibly manage and still pay attention to all of the other responsibilities your business requires. Lately the buzz has been all about social media marketing on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Linkedin and Youtube, along with dozens of other less recognized services. However there are so many other avenues that should be pursued as well that can interact and cross promote with your social media accounts as well. Depending on your budget as well as the time commitment you or someone in your company is able to make, here is a list of just a few options available to improve your online presence.

Budget Required Marketing Services

• Pay per click ad campaigns– several options available on the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing that allow you to setup up budgeted pay per click or impression ad campaigns to drive traffic to you site or a particular web page.
• Retargeting ad campaigns– retargeting is the process of showing ads to people who have already visited your website. This gives you both branding and direct marketing to those you know are interested in your products or services as they have already been on your site. Simply do a search for Retargeting Options and you will find plenty of firms to choose from.
• Online media outlets-depending if you market locally, nationally or worldwide you can place banner ads on popular online media sources that have display advertising offerings. Examples might be your local newspaper to the local promotion to the Wall Street Journal for National Promotion.
• Industry specific media outlets– depending on the industry your company is in you could probably choose from numerous online options that are related to your particular industry that attracts that type of customers you are trying to reach.  Simply think of the sites your clients would likely be visiting and determine which ones best fit your budget and audience.

Time Commitment Marketing Options

• Blogging– developing a blog site with popular software like WordPress is fairly simple and inexpensive. Turnkey provides an option to host deploy and host a  Wordpress site for as low as $4.95 a month. The key is continually updating the site with fresh relevant content about you and your company. Many online marketers employ several WordPress sites at once to develop links back to their main website to increase traffic and help generate search engine credibility.
• Geo-targeting your website– this works especially well if you are promoting to a smaller geographic area but can work regionally as well. Throughout your website and Blogs article continually mention the specific geographic areas you promote you business in. Use the industry related terms along with the Geo Tag in both the tile of your pages as well as in the content. For example: Atlanta Window Washing for a window washing company in Atlanta.
• Updating your website– simply put if your website does not continually get updated it must not be important to your business and thus it will likely not be attractive to any visitors as well. Updating your website with fresh relevant content is important to search engine credibility.
• Link Building– the more links coming back to your site the higher the search engines will rank your site. This has to be done with caution as links coming in from none relevant sites and topics will be viewed as a negative by the search engines.
• Posting to all of your social media– posting to all of your social media services on a regular basis keeps you top of mind with all of those you are linked to. That is the concept, socialize and bee seen!

The point of bringing all of this to your attention is that the more presence you have online the more rewards you will be presented. Having a well planned out online strategy is essential to be successful and make your spending and efforts worthwhile.