Strategies vary. So argue if you would like to with this article. What is for certain is that you need to have an online marketing strategy. If you are a non-profit, your strategy is just as important for you as it would be it you were leading a for-profit enterprise.

Here’s the baseline: In order for you to be successful, people need to be able to connect with the core story of what you do.

So, if you run an AC/cooling company, your core products, services, and company characteristics need to be readily and easily available online. If you head up an orphanage in Africa, the same is true for you as well. Give us pictures, insights, compelling, life-change connections to the children that you are caring for. Let us know how by connecting with you that ultimately we are getting the most impact for our dollars. This is an ultra-competitve marketplace. I can get my AC repaired by anyone. Your service, pricing and reputation must be ‘out there’ for us to evaluate. There are hundred’s of non-profit orphanages in Africa that are vying for our dollars. Your organization must be clear and compelling. It’s your story and you want and need us to connect with it

Story telling begins on your website. It’s is the center of your online universe. It is the hub of your wheel. It is what makes everything else goes around. To steal the analogy from this hotly circulated picture (below)… your website is your bakery. Use it to put out the product that you connect all of your social media and advertising portals back to. Central to everything you do is your web real-estate. Make it mobile friendly, simple to read, intuitive to navigate, and have a domain name / url that easy to remember. Keep your content fresh and current. Have purchases or donations be smooth as silk online. Connect, link, reference, promote everything back onto your website.

The internet use on a smart phone may be one of the fastet growing modes of communication and consumption we have ever experienced. The overall adoption rate is growing faster than radio, tv, and the internet experienced. In some countries the internet is really only available on mobile phones, like in sub sahara Africa for example.

Here at factor1, we have the strong opinion that there is no difference between mobile web and what you get on your computer. There is only one internet, just different ways to view it.

So all sites we build are mobile friendly at a minimum. And often we build more advanced sites that are responsive to the screen size and displays the content as best possible for the size of the device.

Some fun mobile facts to think about.

• 39% of people use mobile phones while using the bathroom
• 33% of people use mobile phones while watching television
• 87% of people use mobile phones while on the go
• 400% increase in mobile phone use over 2011

Based on the below InfoGraphic, What can you do to connect with people via their mobile devices?  What does your company do to reach people via smartphones?

Graphic via http://visual.ly/

Time to celebrate! the much anticipated Google+ for your business, place, organization or brand. Signing up is probably 10x easier than facebook ever was.

1. First off, you need to be a google+ user personally. (head here: plus.google.com)
2. Once signed up, you may want to find some friends to add to your network, but thats not a requirement
3. Once you sign in, you can add a page from a graphic on the lower right of your screen, or this link: https://plus.google.com/pages/create
4. Chose the type of page that suits you best. If you are a local retailer, a place may suit you best. If your business operates in many states, a brand may be a better fit.
5. Fill in the blanks, add in a photo and you are all set. Google learned a lot from the terrible facebook process and made this set up super straight forward and easy.

So whats the difference between Google+ Pages and Google+ Profiles

Pages are extremely similar to profiles, but they have some key differences:

• Pages can’t add people to circles until the page is added first or mentioned. Learn more.
• Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles can only be made for people.
• The default privacy setting for elements on your page profile is public.
• Pages have the +1 button.
• Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 stuff on the Web.
• Pages can’t play games.
• Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’.
• Pages don’t receive notifications via email, text, or in the Google bar.
• Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device.
• Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location.

All set? Great, now check out factor1 on google+

Great Infographic on posting statistics for the best consumer reach.

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You heard me. Your business does not need a phone app in the apple or android app stores. More than likely.

Last week, a client of ours was super excited to tell me all about this new web app they are “creating”. By creating I mean they paid some phone app company a set up fee (usually $250 – 500) and $50 a month for. When I asked what the app would do, they rattled off all the amazing features. Features like a home page, news, about us, contact, directions, and product info. So I asked to clarify, that this is indeed an “app”, Yes, they proclaimed! It will be free in the apple and android app stores.

Here is my giant issue. Please hear me very clearly here.

If your app is no more than basic content found on your site, its a waste of time, money and your efforts.

Yes apps are all the rage. All the cool kids are talking about apps. Trust me, no one is going to be browsing the app store, and think to themselves, “sweet! a company I have never heard of has an app about their company / service / product, and its free!”. No, no one will think that.

Save your money, time and app lust. I have a fix for you. Build a site that is mobile friendly. We have a few ways of doing this. One is responsive. Take our site for example. Resize your browser window smaller. Bam! It re-organizes itself to fit the screen size. Navigations get touch friendly, fonts remain clear and readable. Another alternative is a seperate mobile site with the core info, that we have an auto detect script set up on. Basically if the visitor screen size is less than 640px wide, send them to the mobile site. Give them an option back to the main full site. Yes, you can still use a QR barcode to direct people to your mobile site. They can call you, map your location, and learn more all from the mobile web, with no need for an app.

You may have a need for an app. If your idea is functional, helps a user, provides them a beneficial resource for planning, searching, researching, or tracking something. Great, go for it! Verizon has a great app to track my minutes used on my iPhone.  Starbucks has a store locator, with info on menus, amenities, and wifi. E-trade has an app to search, research and watch over your trades. Catch my drift here?

Make it useful, keep it relevant, and make it a benefit to your users (not just you). Or dont do it at all.

It’s often said that the bigger the company is, the less nimble they become. Like a cruise ship compared to a small speed boat. The smaller boat can make quick refinements to its route, but a cruise ship makes big, slow turns. Stoping and starting can take too long sometimes.

Today Netflix killed off Qwikster (article). If you didnt follow it, back on September 18th Netflix announced it would split the online streaming video division and DVD by mail into two seperate companies. They have always been seperate products. Qwikster was the awkward new name and brand for the DVD by mail service.

Lot’s of grumbling from the media, consumers and experts right away. Terrible name, logo, and idea was the gist.

Rather than sticking with it and risking certain chaos, confusion and possible death of one or both companies, they pulled the plug. Netflix, a fairly large organization made very quick movements. They swallowed their pride, and killed qwikster. Thank goodness!

It’s encouraging to see even the big dogs can retreat, and admit they made a mistake. I applaud Netflix for listening to their customers, and having the guts to admit they were wrong, and make the quick change.

It’s never to late and you are never to big to make drastic changes if your customers demand it.

I hated homework that wasn’t anything more than busywork. Trust me… this isn’t that. In business you gotta keep growing or you die, there are no other viable options. Here are two great reads that are practical in application for your growth as a business on the web.

The Thank You Economy – Don’t roll your eyes because it’s primarily about social media. Seriously, take the time to read it. Better yet, download the audio book. Gary V. will excite you, give you practical steps, tell you how social media can pay off for your company and help you overcome your skepticism (or your boss’s). TIP: The 1st 3 chapters will be enough for you to work on for months!

31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo – I just started this one last night on my iPhone Kindle app. but it’s already proving to be very practical and insightful. You don’t have to blog as a company, but if you do, this e-book will certainly be a great asset for just $5.

So over the last 7 years we have had many email newsletter campaign come and go. Sometimes they seem to be more go than come. While we design, promote, deliver and manage weekly newsletters for many of our own clients, factor1 some how sends like 1 newsletter a year.

This is all about to change!

Starting in september, we have hard goals in sending a monthly newsletter with tips, tricks, ice cream, unicorns and freebies. Every month, like a steak of the month club, but cooler, environmentaly friendly, and vegan friendly. Yes, even though we send messages from emailbacon, they are vegan, go figure.

So do you want in? Sign up below.

Cheap and Easy. That’s is definitely the wrong way to see the web. It turns out that the is neither of those. Yes, you can quickly and for free, post information on the web. Go to www.Tumblr.com to be “out there”. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that 15 minutes of copying and pasting content from a sales brochure created 2 years ago will mean instant success for your business. Your best friend’s, uncle’s nephew who is trying some stuff on the side won’t get it done for you either.

The good news though is that you can be successful at online marketing all on your own. The even better news is that YOU are capable of being the driving engine behind your success. The barriers that used to keep you from competing or even succeeding on your own as a the leader of small organization or business have come way down. But, hard work is still required and and investment of your time doing critical learning, thinking and development are imperative.

You must answer critical questions such as:

• “who is your customer?”
• “what does your target audience really want when they visit your site?”
• “how should your mobile site differ from your main site?”
• “do people really care about pages of background data?”
• “what promotions will attract new business?”
• “what references or testimonials or reviews will make a difference?
• “is your site properly optimized to be found on google?”

Good marketing and web presence requires time and money. And yes, with enough work it will come back to you in new business and critical followers.

So much of what we do on the web is often dictated by what we see other people doing, not by what really needs to be done.

“Twitter! Oh, my gosh, have you seen twitter?! We have to have a twitter account! Every corporation has a twitter account.” Or so goes the reactionary logic in the board room. So, like @UPS, you might be tempted to go out and create thirteen twitter accounts will no real concept about why you are creating them or to what end those twitter accounts will be positively effective in accomplishing your goals.

Celebrate the freedom you have as an organizational leader. You don’t have to be or need to be on every web platform. Your site does not have to be like everyone else’s in your industry. It can and should be unique. Tailored to your needs and goals. As simple or as complex as it really needs to be.

Here are two excellent, familiar examples at opposite ends of the spectrum.
SIMPLE |  COMPLEX

So, dive into your web strategy and celebrate the freedom you have to do what you need to do, not just copy what everyone else is doing.