Social MediaSocial media marketing is a strategy that is just that, social. It is typically done on an Internet platform that engages the public in your content via your computer, smartphone or tablet. Social media allows your target consumers to engage with you and your brand. Some of the most common social media platforms used in marketing today are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Managing your Social Media Marketing can be very time-consuming. So, I recommend focusing your time and content on a few sites. Here are some recommendations:Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are visual platforms that will connect your art with customers. With Facebook you can create a business page this is separate from your personal page. The business page will allow you to create a community of followers that can like, comment, and share your images and content. Instagram has the same basic framework as Facebook in that you can create multiple profiles and navigate between them within the app on your phone. This similarity is nice if you have a personal and a business profile. Instagram is a social media outlet that focuses on images which are perfect for visual artists. Again, you can create a community of followers. For Instagram, the usage of the hashtag is vital in generating traffic to your profile, unlike Facebook that is better built on sending requests and calling for people to share your page.YouTube allows the public to take a step into your studio to see you working on your most current pieces. It may not seem like YouTube is a form of social media but in fact, by definition it is. Social media is any networking platform that allows users to communicate and connect in a social way. Due to the ability to like, share, and comment on videos on YouTube it is truly a social network. YouTube is actually a social media platform before it is a video marketing technique. In the next section, I will share a bit of information about how you can turn this social media platform into a video marketing tool!Video MarketingVideo marketing is meant to call your consumer or viewer to action. For a video, you create to be considered video marketing it should either generate interest back to your website or to something they will need to pay for in order to gain additional access. Videos are a great way to share your talent with the public and generate interest in your art. Videos also allow your followers and subscribers to get to know you. Viewers enjoy the feeling of developing a relationship with you. When you can create a sense of loyalty, your viewers can become some of your best marketing partners because they may share your videos with their friends.Since YouTube is free this is a great way to share videos that focus on your art technique or provide short free tutorials for a specific art medium. Don’t forget for this to be a marketing technique it needs to generate something the viewer will need to act upon or purchase. By running a link at the end of your video to send them to your website or offering more in-depth instructional videos for a price at the end, will qualify as a video marketing tool. With YouTube, you can create a channel that may focus on the techniques of your particular style of art or you can post instructional videos with step-by-step information to complete a unique piece of artwork. Free and low-cost video editing software, like Apple’s iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, is available to allow you to truly customize your videos before uploading to YouTube.Let’s use a watercolor artist who focuses on floral still life, as an example. The artist posts a 5-minute painting tutorial on the subject matter of roses on YouTube. The video was created through the iMovie software that comes standard on most Apple computers currently. At the end of the free 5-minute video, the artist then advertises a paid 30-minute video from their website that will walk the viewer through painting a floral still life with roses from start to finish. The webcam and software come standard with Apple products. The cost for creating this example of video marketing was free.Social Media and video marketing are both virtual ways to reach your target audience. A low-cost type of marketing that is more tactile and leaves a lasting impression on your audience is through guerrilla marketing.Guerilla MarketingGuerilla marketing is a grassroots, low-cost, fun, and in-your-face marketing strategy. Often guerrilla marketing takes the form of visual art like spray paint tags or unique posters and decals allowing it to seem like a natural fit for visual artists. This marketing strategy is meant to create interest and cause the bystander to be curious enough to investigate the advertisement. It takes more imagination and creativity than money to make guerrilla marketing work for you.Implementing guerrilla marketing can be a fun and exciting. Some ideas for guerrilla marketing might be to use vinyl stickers or paper posters; this is called wild posting. Walking billboards or quick pop up galleries of work in public places are another trending approach. It should also be stated that legal issues can arise in regard to how or where wild posting and pop-up galleries appear. Posting decals or posters can cause an issue especially if they are placed on paid advertising or local, state or federal fixtures. In most municipalities, there are permits that are required for setting up in public places. Don’t let the risk of legal infringement deter you from using this strategy. With the proper research and planning, guerrilla marketing can be a quick and fun way to create buzz about your art.Social media, video marketing, and guerrilla marketing are ways to increase awareness and create artist loyalty from the community near and far. Successful marketing will help you increase brand awareness and loyalty among art consumers.
A Short Introduction to Automotive and Car Dealership SEO
Online success for automotive repair shops and car dealerships is realistically achieved through search engine optimization. If you own one or both businesses, it’s time to know how automotive and car dealership SEO strategies work.Knowing SEOSearch engine optimization is a process used to gain higher rankings on major search engines. Companies providing the service often target first page rankings and top ten listings.Basic strategies use keyword research, article creation, and back link building. Keyword research involves finding terms used to search online. These phrases are usually related to the service or product they want. Say, a web user wants to find a clothing store in New York. This user will likely type in those words when looking for listings. The keyword specialists working in SEO firms must anticipate these phrases and relate how these fit with their company’s clients. They can supply terms like ‘clothing shop in NY,’ ‘clothes store NYC,’ and so on.Once they have a list of keywords, the next phase consists of writers and editors. Writers will use the keywords on articles, blogs or other content. They will observe word count along with keyword density (number of times it appears in an article). Word count and keyword density depends on each SEO company. Editors will edit and proofread these before sending these to a submissions team. The team in-charge will then upload these works on different article directories.Back link building combines some writing skills along with finding high page rank (PR) sites. SEO specialists need to make relevant comments on these websites. They incorporate keywords and seed these with the client’s links so the client’s site gains rankings.This process is not just for clothing stores or other businesses, as it’s also for car dealerships and automotive. SEO, when done properly, delivers more sales opportunities to these businesses too.Are car dealerships or automotive SEO processes any different?It depends on the company hired. Some automotive and car dealership SEO businesses employ the steps mentioned. There are also those offering different automotive internet marketing strategies.So what can an automotive or car dealership SEO company deliver?An automotive or car dealer SEO company provides higher web rankings. This visibility allows your company to gain more customers as you maintain better positions. Potential clients can visit your site more and increase web traffic. While they do, they can also explore what your firm offers. They can make inquiries and schedule orders as they please. Overtime, this can translate to word of mouth if they find your product and service consistent.What to do nowThe first thing to do is to find a company offering sound practices and proven results. Find the top ranking car dealership or automotive SEO firms in your area. Key indicators should be their past years’ performance along with client base. The more experience and clients they have, the better services they might give.
Selling Your Home: 5 Deal Killers That Are Lurking In Older Homes
You’ve listed your home for sale, you have a Buyer and now their Inspector is performing an inspection. You think you have a pretty good home, but do you really know for sure? What is he finding? Why is it taking so long? Here are 5 deal killers to watch out for when selling your home.
Deal Killer #1: FPE Breaker Boxes. These breakers and breaker boxes are known to have performance issues. They are no longer made, however they were very popular between the 1950′s and 1980′s. Many homes still have them.
Some of the problems were that the breakers would trip but still allow electricity to pass through the breaker. Another issue was that the breaker would not trip at all causing an over current condition which could lead to fires.
Just because the home is 30 years old and you’ve had no problems, don’t expect any Professional Real Estate Inspector to look past a FPE breaker box. The time theory does not hold water with electrical components. In my market, the cost to replace the box with a new 150 amp breaker box is anywhere from $1000 to $2500 depending upon the company and the extent of the work.
Deal Killer #2: Aluminum Wiring: The problem with aluminum wiring is that it expands and contracts more than copper wiring. So the components meant to be used with Copper wiring did not work well with Aluminum. The Aluminum would work its way loose over time and cause arcing, which lead to excessive heat, which leads to fires.
Even after the alloy was changed in Aluminum wiring, problems still persisted with the wiring.
Special outlets have to be used. These are marked CO/ALR. This means that the outlet is designed to work with either Copper or Aluminum.
“Pigtailing” the Aluminum wiring with Copper so that the Copper wiring can be attached to the outlets (remember, less expansion and contraction” is allowed by the National Electrical Code. No one is sure why. The Consumer Product Safety Commission does not see ‘pigtailing’ as a safe alternative.
Rewiring the home can be costly. The total price depends on to many variables to give you a price range here.
Deal Killer #3: Asbestos: Asbestos was used in many building materials and is still used in a very few even today.
Areas a Seller or Buyer will have to worry about it are in a few places. Pipe insulation on older heating pipes, vermiculite insulation, some paints and to a lesser extent, on roof and siding shakes.
Asbestos causes the most problem when it is in a loose state (friable) where particles can float around. We’re all aware of the health problems concerning Asbestos, so I’m not going to go into them here.
If you have Asbestos siding or roofing shakes/shingles, then there is a lesser worry because these are not friable unless broken.
Asbestos removal can be very, very costly and not likely a cost a new buyer will want to tackle shortly after moving into their new home.
Deal Killer #4: Composition Wood Siding: Some of this type of siding is known by it’s generic terms like Masonite and LP siding (there are other brands). This type of siding was (and some are still) involved in class action lawsuits.
This type of siding is basically constructed from pressed and glued wood particles, some as small as sawdust.
Some of the problems arise from poor installation techniques that allowed this siding to get wet. It would then start rotting and letting more water into the structure.
There have been many homeowners who joined the class action lawsuits, received money to replace the siding, but instead pocketed it and put their homes up for sale.
Composition wood siding companies only pay once for siding on a home. If a claim has been filed and paid out on a home, there’ll be no more money coming down the pipe for siding replacement on that particular home!
Deal Killer #5: Polybutylene (PB) plumbing lines: These are water supply lines that are grayish in color.
The problem was that this type of piping is known to burst, especially at the seams. Many of the class action lawsuits have been closed and it may be difficult, if not impossible, to receive any money for replacement if the home you are buying has PB plumbing.
Replacement cost can be in the thousands of dollars. Any good home inspector will call this out on their inspection report and likely recommend a licensed plumber to investigate. I don’t know of one reputable plumber who will recommend keeping the pipes in your home.
Granted, many of these Deal Killers only exist on older homes. However, especially in rural areas, we’ve seen these components show up on newer homes. How, I don’t know unless someone had a stockpile of these materials.
A pre-listing inspection by a reputable and qualified home inspector will bring these Deal Killers and other potential deal killing threats to you attention before listing your home. Playing ignorant about what is in your home (like some real estate agents recommend) will not save you from having to fork over some greenbacks before you home will sell.