A Free eZine for Business Owners & Professionals by MediaPower & Mediastreams.ca

September 2008 issue

So You Have a Great Product... So What?
How many of your prospective customers even know that you exist?

Dear  !-FIRSTNAME-!,

Before you spend another cent on your website or advertising, you need to know what your viewers have come to expect and promote your business in a way that actually makes money!

Edison wasn't just an inventing genius. He was a promoting genius, a publicity genius & a capital-raising genius!

We hate spam as much as you do. If you have received this newsletter by mistake, please click here to be removed from our free information mailing list.

CURRENT NEWS

ComScore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released its comScore Video Metrix report for July 2007, revealing that nearly 75% of U.S. Internet users watched an average of three hours of online video during the month.

That’s up 4% from just 4 months earlier.

Google Sites topped the July rankings with both the most unique video viewers and most videos viewed.

YouTube claims 27% of the market by the end of July. That comes out to about 2.5 billion videos viewed!

in this issue...

• Main Feature: Video Marketing for Small Business Success

• Internet Marketing: Optimize your Text for SEO

• New Media Advertising: Facebook Advertising

• How To: Drive Traffic to your Website

• Did You Know...

• New Service Announcement:  Live Event Webcasting

• Free Offers & Promotions: Download a Free Case Study on Using Streaming Video to Increase Your eNewsletter Subscriptions

• Featured Business: How a Charitable Organization tripled its fund-raising using Streaming Video

• Laugh (and the world laughs with you)

• Contact Us

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Feature Article

Video Marketing for Small Business

Technology has created amazing, new marketing opportunities - in the form of streaming video. Video for Cable TV, email marketing, websites and even Live Events - video allows small businesses to even the playing field with their larger competitors. From simple & inexpensive video streaming via an email to the full-blown production TV ad with hired actors, even small companies and home-based businesses can now make video a very viable option for their advertising budgets.

Now you might well ask why you should consider it at all when your current advertising seems to be working just fine... But is it really? When was the last time you compared the results from your conventional advertising efforts to the much more powerful promotion you get from streaming media? Aside from the fact that adding a second (or third) strategy to your marketing plan is a good idea, videos make your message so much more personal. Who better to discuss your service or product than you or your representative?

It brings a familiarity to you and your company, which makes the prospect feel like they already know you. Whether your message is directed at your current customer base or your employees, this audio-visual medium reinforces the feeling that you are presenting your message directly to them.

Some videos are professionally presented and others not so professional. Most of us cringe when we hear a salesman yelling through the TV set about that amazing deal just waiting for you, but only if you call in the "next 10 minutes!" These stereotypes of TV advertising may be available to all business owners, but is that the right way to advertise?

Cable TV ads are pretty cost effective because you can specify where your ad dollars are being used. However, advertising on prime time TV can be an expensive proposition and you need the budget (and guts) for it.

But video isn't just for cable TV. You can now create videos which can be linked to your websites, newsletters, social networking sites and email signature lines, or run off the sites of your affiliates and customers. They are used for advertising, introducing a new product or service or just as a reminder to current clients. These videos are also used for on-line training and even instructions to learn how to use a new networking website. Apart from posting your videos on a social networking site like YouTube, business owners can be more focused and post them on business networking sites like http://www.OneDegreeConnected.com 

There are companies like Mediastreams (http://www.mediastreams.ca) that can help you produce highly professional video presentations for a fraction of what it used to cost just a couple of years ago.

These videos can be scripted or can even simulate a talk show or an interview format. Make sure your presentation is professional though - this form of advertising can be extremely persuasive or can be become an embarrassment to your company's image.

You can even create your own video while sitting in your office if you have a video camera or a webcam connected to your computer. you can create your own video stream to be inserted into emails or on your website. A word of caution though - keep it short - less than 90 seconds is suggested if you'd like to maintain viewer interest.

Video has created the perfect environment for business owners to star in their own commercial. Consider the examples mentioned earlier of what video advertising could - but shouldn't be. Luckily, these are the exception and not the rule; most ads are professional from writing the ad copy to the production. It's important to remember that the familiar saying "garbage in, garbage out" holds true for video as much as any other medium. 3 elements need attention - message content, visual quality and sound quality.

If you choose to star in your videos, it's advisable to receive some coaching - whether before the event or even (if your producer is willing) during the shoot. Public speakers, politicians, CEOs and others consult with a professional voice and speech coach and so should you, if video presentation is going to be a regular part of your advertising strategy. You will have total control over the message, but a coach can help you say it with professionalism.

Technology today has made marketing with video extremely affordable, even for individuals with a small budget. There are a variety of methods and one of them will certainly fit your needs as well as your budget. A business that has not thought to include video in their next marketing plan, is missing out on a powerful tool that the competition is already starting to make use of to their advantage. This not so new medium, now being distributed with the latest technology will allow your business to take a fresh approach to making your message heard and to eliciting a positive response by making it so much more personal.

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Internet Marketing

Optimize Your text Content for Search Engines

So what's the big deal with search engine optimization (SEO)? Isn't it enough that you've put up a website, bought some Google AdWords, and sent an email to everyone you know announcing your website? Absolutely not! There is a method to SEO that is critical for businesses to understand and use if they want to drive quality traffic to their website.

But where does one begin? What's the first step? Do you buy links? Pay-per-clíck or "organic"? And what's with all those SEO companies which aggressively promise you a Number 1 ranking? When it comes to search engine ranking, there are a lot of myths & untruths about what will improve your ranking and what won't.

So let's Debunk Some Popular Search Engine Ranking Myths

Myth: Pay-per-clíck (PPC) ads will help or hurt organic rankings. (Organic stands for the process by which web users find websites which have search engine listings they haven't paid for)

Debunked: There is no effect, one way or the other,since PPC is classified differently to organic listings and is not lumped together when it comes to ranking your site.

Myth: Websites are blacklisted by Google  if they ignore Google's guidelines.

Debunked: While it's a good idea to read Google Webmaster Guidelines or Google 101: How Google Crawls, Indexes and Serves the Web, you are not ignored or blacklisted if you ignore their guidelines.

Myth: Websites are banned if you purchase links.

Debunked: Sites are not banned. The links just aren't counted when the spider crawls your web.

Myth: Copy must contain a certain number of characters and words, use a specific keyword density, and contain bold or italicized keywords.

Debunked: It used to be thought that there was a magic number of words used or certain times a keyword or keyword phrase should be repeated. Not so. Same with bolding and italicizing. They don't do anything to your ranking.

Myth: Duplicate content will get your website penalized.

Debunked: No - it will just get filtered out and ignored.

Myth: Reciprocal links won't count.

Debunked:  Every link counts, to a certain extent.

Myth:  SEO companies can improve your rankings without doing any work on your web page

Debunked: If any SEO company tells you this - run for cover!

Here are 7 Ways to Get Your Website Crawled by the Spider

1. Have one main website with numerous domains pointing to the main domain, rather than many mini-sites or multiple sites with similar content. Mini-sites and multiple sites with similar content are frequently viewed by search engines as SPAM.

2. If you do have several stand-alone websites, make sure each one has content serving different target audiences, has unique content and different domain or sub-domain URLs.

3. Search engines need to be able to follow internal links. To make that happen, use tags, text links, image links, and CSS menus. Spiders have trouble following JavaScript menus, and don't like pop-up windows, drop-down menus, or especially, Flash websites.

4. Select keyword or phrases that are relevant and specific to what your web page is all about. Think like you were someone searching for what is being offered on the site.

5. Confirm the efficacy of your keyword phrases through services, such as Keyword Discovery, Wordtracker, or Google AdWords.

6. Check for "keyword competitiveness" using tools provided by many such services.

7. Once you have your keyword phrases validated and checked for competitiveness, use them in anchor texts, clickable image alt tags, headlines, body text copy, title tags, and meta descriptions. (Note: Meta tags are no longer all that important for crawling)

According to SEO expert Jill Whalen, "SEO is about making your website the best it can be for your site visitors and the search engines." You need to design your site in a way that makes it easy for search engines to find, crawl and index your pages. The easier you make it, the higher your ranking will be...

Optimize your website - build it and they will come!

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New Media Advertising

How to Advertise for Free on Facebook!

Creating a Facebook Page is easy, free, and great for all types of businesses:

Restaurants, Bars, Cafes
Health Clubs and Beauty Salons
Pet stores & Local Stores
Parks & Attractions
Sports Teams
Artists, Photographers, moviemakers, Musicians
Politicians, Charities & Non-profits
And many others...

Create a business presence to engage with your customers on Facebook.

Create a Facebook Page

Establish an interactive presence on Facebook.

Every Facebook Page is a unique experience where users can become more deeply connected with your business or brand. Users can express their support by adding themselves as a "fan", writing on your Wall, uploading photos, and joining other fans in discussion groups. You can send updates to your fans (read customers) regularly with special news or offers.

Add applications to your Page and engage your users with videos, reviews and more.

Browse through other Facebook Pages to see how other businesses leverage their Facebook presence.

When your audience interacts with your Facebook Page, their actions automatically generate social stories. These stories are published to News Feed, which friends and associates will see the next time they log on to Facebook. The stories will then link back to your Facebook Page, inviting more people to interact with it, which generates more social stories and drives even more traffic to your Page. Think of it as networking and word-of-mouth marketing combined, only its absolutely free!

Get more distribution with "viral" Facebook Social Ads. Create an ad and attach it to stories in News Feed or in the left-hand Ad Space. Social Ads increase the number of friends who will see the story when they visit Facebook, and you can also target the ads to specific demographics.

So go ahead - create your free Facebook Page and get started with Social Ads.

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 How-to Section

How to Drive Traffic to your Website

Build your credibility... Improve your ranking in the search engines... AND get your customers talking to others about you, all with a simple four-step process that doesn't cost you a penny.

Here's a quick overview of the plan:

1. Find a few keywords that a visitor would use to search for your product

2. Use those keywords in your web site content

3. Write a SHORT article that contains those same keywords.

4. And finally, distribute your content all over the Internet and make it viral - i.e. get your visitors to start passing your information on to others who may be interested in your product.

STEP # 1: Set up your web site for maximum "searchability"!
Figure out the keywords your potential customers might be using to search for your product and place them throughout the text copy on your website

How are the people who really want your information supposed to find you? Here are the two tools to help you with the job:

1. Yahoo Search Marketing's Keyword Selector Tool: (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion) is a good place to start your investigation. You just type in a word or term you think people in your market might search for, and the Keyword Selector Tool will tell you how many people searched for that particular term in Yahoo Search Marketing over the last month. It will also show you a list of related words and phrases, and tell you how many times people typed those terms into the free search engines over the last month. This is a great way to find out how many people may be searching for information to solve a particular problem, and give you a picture of the demand for your product on the Web. But best of all, it gives you tons of ideas for keywords that you might never have thought of.

Once you've generated a list of useful keyword ideas, you're ready to dig in and do some serious research with Wordtracker.


2. Wordtracker ( http://www.wordtracker.com ):  goes into more depth to show you not only what people are searching for online, but also how many other web sites are competing for the same audience. Basically, it keeps a record of how many times a particular keyword or phrase was searched during the past 90 days across the Web. When you enter the keyword phrases your market is searching for, you search the Wordtracker database of over 330 million searches (or "queries"). You're looking for search terms that are popular, but
don't have too many sites competing for them. You can also pop all of this detailed information into useful reports that help you determine which keywords and phrases will bring you the most traffic.

Check out Wordtracker to get a step-by-step guide to the process, just head on to: http://www.marketingtips.com/wordtracker and click "Tour" on the navigation bar. WordTracker is a paid service, but you can sign up for a day for under $8.00 and a week for under $27.00. It's a great investment.


STEP #2: Plug your keywords into your site

Now that you have some great keywords for your market, find as many places as you can to plug them into your web site! Use them in your title tags, in your source code, in the copy on your pages, and in your opt-in offers. If you find your domain name isn't telling people what your web site is about or showing up in the right search results, consider purchasing a new one. A keyword-rich domain name is a small investment that really
pays off by making your site easy for your potential customers to find and remember.

(One quick note: remember to use only keywords relevant to your product -- search engines will penalize you if they find keywords sprinkled through your code that have nothing to do with the content of your site.)

Now to move on to the next step -- your foolproof way to snag people searching for your product on the Web and bring them back to your site!


STEP #3: Create a keyword-rich article to distribute on the Web

When you're ready, get your keywords, sit down, and write a keyword-rich article that relates to what you sell.
Then give it away to other sites -- for FREE! Believe it or not, this is one of the best ways you can drive a steady stream of eager customers to your site.

Why does it work? Well, people basically come online for one of two reasons: To check their email or to look for information. Sure, some of them end up making purchases, but this is not generally the reason they log on.

They want the answer to a question and the solution to a problem

That's why it's your job to give them that information, as it relates to your product. You already do that with the copy on your web site, but why stop there?

Writing a short, informative article to distribute on the Web is a great way to gain recognition as a valuable resource in your industry.

Of course, you'll want to write about something that relates to your products or services, since the ultimate goal of the article is to drive visitors to your site who are interested in what you're selling. But the article should be informative, not "sales-y".

Make sure that each article you write contains rare, valuable, or hard-to-find information. Not only will this increase the chances that other site owners or managers will post your article, it will also increase the number of visitors who click through to your site after reading it.

For example, if you have a web site that sells used golf equipment, you could write an article about three things to look for in a good, pre-owned putter.

Or if you sell an eBook about setting up your own home computer network, why not write an article about common problems people have in setting up a wireless router?

Look for article ideas in the questions that people ask you all the time, or in the things you often see people doing wrong. Share hot new tips on how to use the products you sell, or talk about trends that you've spotted in your industry.

I'm not talking about a major essay here, though. No, you don't need to be a professional writer to turn
out a solid, traffic-boosting article! Your quick piece should be no longer than 400 words (not even a whole page, contain a keyword related to your product in first 90 characters, contain the keyword in the first and last paragraphs and have a short, credibility-building "bio" with link to your site at the end. Here's an example: "ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Smith is a recognized authority on the subject of widgets. His web site, www. JoesWidgets .com, provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you'll ever need to know about widgets."


STEP#4: Get your content headed EVERYWHERE on the Web

Once you've taken a few hours to write one or two quick articles, head to one of these top online content distribution sites. Upload your keyword-rich content to:
http://www.contentdesk.com

http://www.ezinearticles.com

http://www.freesticky.com

http://www.goarticles.com

http://www.ideamarketers.com

http://www.findsticky.com

It only takes a couple of minutes, but the rewards for your site will be huge.

These sites carry hundred or thousands of articles on a range of topics. If someone is looking for content for their web site, they can download or copy an article from the distribution site without paying a dime to use it!
They can't change the text of the article, and they must publish it with the author's name and information intact.
Now people who are plugging your keywords into search engines will be directed to your content at these highly-ranked sites, and web site owners who are looking for fresh, search engine-attracting content will download your article -- along with your bio and link! -- and put it up on their pages.

And once visitors see that you know what you're talking about, they'll click on the link in your bio, and head straight to your web site!

The best thing about this strategy is that these visitors are QUALITY, TARGETED traffic -- they actually WANT what you're selling, because you are meeting a need or giving them help with the problem they came online to solve!

Some content distribution sites also offer "send to a friend" links next to articles posted on their sites -- so make sure you're uploading your articles to sites with this kind of capability!

Every time someone enjoys your article enough to pass it on, your audience grows. And since people don't forward BAD content on to their friends, they are basically recommending you as a credible source just by passing it on.

You can also create a "send to a friend" link on your own web pages with the help of a simple script added to your code. Here are some examples of what this kind of link might say:

"Did you enjoy this article? To recommend it to a friend, click here..."

* "To pass this important info along to a friend or family member, click here..."

* "Share this with a friend -- just click here..."

* "Can't wait to tell a friend about this? Here's how..."

To find scripts to make links like these ones fully functional, check out the resources at:

http://www.freewebtemplates.com

http://www.javascript.com

http://www.scriptsearch.com

http://www.hotscripts.com

he visitors who come to your site through articles or forwarded material are highly targeted... and likely to take
action when they actually arrive at your web site seeking your specific information.

It's amazing how effective a small piece of content can be when you know your keywords, and know all the places to position that content so it's viewed again and again

Once you've done your keyword research, you might feel a bit intimidated by the idea of writing something yourself for the 'Net. Or maybe you don't feel like you have the time to do it justice.

Remember -- any free content you create shouldn't be too long, and it definitely shouldn't be too complicated, since the people reading it won't know your product or your subject as well as you do.

If you're still concerned, you can always hire a writer from a freelance web site like Elance (http://www.elance.com ) to do a couple of short articles or an eBook (with a bit of basic information from you, of course.) Expect to pay anywhere from $25 to $35 an hour for their time.

But I recommend that you try to write something yourself first. You definitely don't need to be a professional writer to create something readable and interesting... (I sure don't have a degree in creative writing myself!)

Just try to think like your audience -- what do they want to know, and how much do they know already? Then tell them simply and clearly. We're not talking Shakespeare here.

Here's one more quick peek at my easy four-step plan to increase web traffic:


1. Find the keywords people are using to search for your product

2. Make sure all the content on your web site contains these keywords!

3 Write short, keyword-rich articles with links directing people back to your site -- nothing too long or
complicated; just enough content to establish you as someone "in the know" about your industry

4. And finally, send your article to content distribution sites and -- with just a simple suggestion or a script-
based link -- encourage people to pass your material on to their friends (and direct them back to your site!)

These simple steps are things that practically anyone can do to drive traffic. They'll help you get the kind of targeted, quality traffic that can make all the difference to the success of a business, especially when you're just starting out!

In other words, these are the types of visitors who are most likely to take action on your site, whether they make a purchase, or simply opt in with their personal information.

And I don't know about you, but I'll take more of those visitors any day of the week!

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Did You Know...

• That 97.3% of all businesses state that their web site doesn’t generate enough money to pay for itself.

• The average website only gets just 5 hits a month from search engines.

• Traffic does not guarantee sales.

• Average time visitor spends on a website: 18 seconds

Have you thought about getting a .TV web domain name to host your own videos online? Click here to see what one looks like...

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Upcoming Event

ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF OUR NEW SERVICE

LIVE EVENT VIDEOCASTING ON THE WEB

with WebcastLive.Mediastreams.ca

Extend Your Reach Allow audiences anywhere the chance to participate in your Event in Real Time & share your event "Live!" with your anyone, anytime, anywhere.

While Webcasting your Event Live is often used to broadcast sports or music events to the world, it is also a very powerful tool for companies who may wish, for example, to reach shareholders or maybe to have more of their workforce involved in a meeting - but without wasted time, effort or travel costs.

Live Event Streaming can send video and audio of any event being held Live - events like a company Annual General Meeting (AGM), weddings or just about any other event to viewers around the world, allowing them to watch it from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Anywhere you want to be, Streaming Media will help you broadcast successfully. You can now reach a much wider audience over a much larger geographic area anywhere in the world - an all this using a regular internet connection.                     Read All about it...

Free eReport on Using Video to Increase Newsletter Sign-ups

With a statistically significant sample size of over 11,000 individuals, the Talking Head Video did 144% better than the static photograph & text, in driving newsletter signups. Read all about it...

Click here to go and download your copy...

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Featured Website

How Streaming Video did the job for Ruchika.org

A Children's Aid Website developed, sponsored, hosted & maintained by MediaPower

How Streaming Media made all the difference in the world to a small charity in India...

The addition of streaming video to any website adds a powerful dynamic element to the message, not to mention an item that adds interest for the viewer - after all wouldn't you rather watch a video than read reams of text?

Click here to view a wonderful video documentary recently aired on PBS and introduced by Robert Redford.

This particular project is one close to my own heart - it is a website developed, hosted and maintained by MediaPower at no charge to Ruchika - a small, privately-run charitable organization in India, that cares for and rescues street children from the slums and railway platforms of Bhubaneswar in India.

This website is designed, developed, hosted & maintained absolutely free of cost to Ruchika Social Services Organization by MediaPower New Media Communications - its our way of giving something back to the world. I would encourage everyone to visit their site - www.ruchika.org and if you can, please do circulate their URL to as many of your friends and associates as you can. They are a small organization, struggling against tremendous odds to bring safety, health and education to some of the most underprivileged, neglected and abused children in the world and they need all the help they can get.

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Humor

Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy

Family Guy creator's first AdSense episode

Click here to enjoy a really funny episode of Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Comedy - this is apparently what really happens at the end of Super Mario Bros.!

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Contact Us

Mediastreams.ca is the Streaming Media division of MediaPower New Media Communications

Send us an email

Call 604.926.5805 or Toll Free 877.936.8377

visit us at: www.mediastreams.ca

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