The 2011 ‘readers poll’ winner among all the posts is one that used the word ‘Avatar’ as a metaphor, in both the title and copy.  It drew a lot of people who didn’t stay long!  My, my, the power of keywords. He changed the blog title and copy this year, removing the powerful word to deflect avid movie fans.

Read more about our top marketing blog posts and ones of our top client, for whom Randy also blogs. You’ll notice that he likes to make the posts very visual!  That theatricality probably has something to do with his film and video background.

Why do we blog?

While many of the most read bloggers express opinions on the state of the world, we write blogs for business—to bring niche visitors to a website, to please search engines, to establish professional expertise, to announce events, for PR, for press releases, and to keep websites fresh with news for visitors. BTW, we offer two blogs on this website:  a Marketing Blog and a Client News Blog.

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The Top 10 winning blog posts on this website

(Note: the number in parens below represents the number of ‘Unique Page Views’ in 2011.  Also note that some of these blogs were written in 2009 and 2010, but are still drawing readers.)

1. (502) Today’s technology revolution for marketing businesses (the Avatar post!)

2. (355) Pittsburgh’s Deutschtown House Tour highlights three decades of neighborhood revitalization (had lots of online promotions driving people to it)

3. (304) Revitalize communities & Main Streets with branding & marketing

4. (156) New, custom FlexTeam to brand and market luxury vacation condos in NY

5. (144) iPad, the ‘intimate’ marketing tool and more. Ya gotta love it! A rave by Randy.

6. (130) Challenges and solutions for a community website

7. (117) Social media drives better prospects to websites: the quality-of-visit difference

8. (94) Nightlife on Main Streets: Hospitality Zone strategies in business districts

9. (75) Contractor goes Green… and wins 3 awards in 2008

10. (67) Wine & cheese Open House at EllicottVillas during Ellicottville Mardi Gras weekend

Bonus blog. (63) A How To: Facebook advertising & marketing solutions in Pittsburgh

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The Top 10 winning blog posts on a client’s website

As part of a multi-faceted marketing strategy, we’ve published a total of 17 blog posts on Master Remodelers website since we began, with 11 posts this year.   Here are the most read of our posts, ranging from 205 readers for #1 to 54 readers for #10:

1. (205) Stunning Mt. Lebanon kitchen remodel, addition and deck on Festival of Homes tour

2. (156) Master Remodelers blessed with success, great customers in 2011

3. (120) Our unique remodeling approach, from additions to kitchens, baths & more

4. (116) Picking your home remodeling contractor

5. (106) Master Remodelers wins 4 awards in 2010 BAMP “Housing Excellence” competition

6. (95) Four entries in the 2010 BAMP ‘Housing Excellence Awards’

7. (69) ‘Green’ means savings for you all year

8. (65) We love kitchen design and remodeling challenges:  four unique stories

9. (61) Join us at the 15^th Washington County Home Show

10. (54) Tour our kitchen remodel in Mt. Lebanon @ Festival of Homes October 16-17

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Micro-blogging on Facebook, too

Randy also ‘ghost’ posts for Master Remodelers on their Facebook page, as well as for his Randy Strothman & Associates page and for his community on their Welcome to Deutschtown Facebook page.

For the Deutschtown page he also creates lush photo albums of mostly his own photography, believing that great visuals are a powerful marketing tool.

For help with your blog or any other writing support, Contact Us.  Happy Holidays!

Our Deutschtown House Tour was competing with several high-profile Pittsburgh events that day, including Little Italy Days, the Shadyside House Tour and The Great Race.  So we were especially pleased by the “sell out” crowd… and even more pleased by the comments we got afterwards.

Here are some of the strategies for and results of these two community events.

House Tour marketing & promotion

While more than 40 volunteers pulled off the tour, a small volunteer marketing team implemented a low cost, broad reach, carefully branded and targeted marketing plan and campaign.

It the 2011 strategy included:

• Modifying the Deutschtown website (only part of tour page is there after the tour)

• Posting regularly on Deutschtown Facebook

• Creating a Facebook ‘sneak preview’ gallery

• Creating a Facebook event & inviting people

• A ‘discount’ banner ad on LivingPittsburgh.com

• Posts to 16 free event list sites  (sample here)

• Promoting in 3 Deutschtown e-newsletters

• Personal email invitations from volunteers

• Ad & event listing in the Northside Chronicle

• Ad in Mexican War Streets House Tour book

• A beautiful 32-page, take-home tour book

• 175 posters, 2,500 flyers in 151 locations

• More posters and flyers in Deutschtown

• 4 street banners in high traffic areas

• Creating a Tour press release/blog on this site

• Media relations in Pittsburgh

Counteracting often negative local news stories about the Northside, our media relations efforts resulted in the following good coverage, which we’re sure helped with the turnout (along with the great weather) and public perceptions:

• Big story in the Post-Gazette, day before tour

• Small initial story in the Post-Gazette, week before

• Listing on CBS Pittsburgh online

• Part of a house tour story in Trib online,  early Sept.

• Small story in PopCityMedia, late September

• A followup photo gallery on WPXI.com

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Deutschtown House Tour results:  community branding and marketing success

For starters, our tour “sold out” when we ran out of 750 tour books two hours before the end of the tour.  So we started recycling the books of people coming off the self-guided tour.  Some people did not want to give them up!

Our goals and the results of the House Tour:

Here are some comments after the tour that speak to the community branding and marketing goals for the tour.  Read many more testimonials here.

• Promote community to potential homeowners & investors

Result: at least two couples are pursuing home ownership. “We can’t wait to be a part of this community!”—future homeowner

• Rebrand our community & build brand equity

Result: “…it all created a supremely positive marketing image that will help attract future investment in homes and businesses.” —Mark Fatla, Executive Director, Northside Leadership Conference.

• Build community spirit among neighbors & businesses

Result: “What a day!  We had such a good crew of people!  We truly live in the best neighborhood in Pittsburgh!”— one of approximately 40 volunteers

• Raise funds to support our various community development efforts

Result: The tour netted $11,000 from ticket sales, ad sales and sponsorships—all of which will go to ongoing efforts of our community development corporation.

WEBSITE BOOST! Finally, because all promotions were driving people to the Deutschtown.org website and online ticket sales through PayPal, we saw a 300% increase in website traffic.

We thank our major SPONSORS:  Citizens Bank, First Niagra Bank, Highmark and The Priory Hotel.

Thanks to Jen Saffron, the tour chair, the Tour Committee, dozens of volunteers and the excellent promotion team—all of whom helped to make the tour a great success.

Deutschtown PumpkinFest a smashing outreach event—called a “wonderful gift to the Northside”

Now in its 20^th year, this PumpkinFest was the biggest and best ever and was held in the newly renovated East Commons park. Check out the fun PumpkinFest photo gallery here.  (It will put a smile on your face!)

This year it drew more than 1,300 children (plus their parents), many from economically stressed families. A very special thanks to PumpkinFest originator and organizer Barbara Burns for 20 years of dedication to this event and the families of the Northside… and even more years of dedication to the revitalization of the community. And thanks to another great team of Deutschtown volunteers who made this major event happen only two weeks after the Tour.

free AGH bike helmets

IMPORTANT PARTNERS, TOO. In partnership with Allegheny General Hospital, PumpkinFest also featured the 5th annual HEALTH FAIR, with dozens of educational, recreational and public safety booths providing families with info about healthy life choices. Other key, active partners include Allegheny Center Alliance Church, Northside Leadership Conference, City Councilwoman Darlene Harris,  Mercy Behavioral Health and many more participants.

A great comment from a Northside resident whose husband is a judge in the community: “Such a wonderful event. East Allegheny should be very proud to host this wonderful gift to the Northside.”

The meaning of all of this

These and other monthly and annual Deutschtown activities help to create a powerful sense of community and a strong feeling of belongingness among neighbors.  And after decades of work to turn our community around, we are now enjoying private development momentum as evidenced by house sales to young couples and families; new businesses like Bistro to Go, Bistro Soul and Rita’s Water Ice.  We are also appreciating new infrastructure improvements such as the Allegheny Commons park revitalization and new lighting on our main street.

The House Tour and PumpkinFest remind us of what makes our community strong and are part of an important long term strategy for the ongoing re-invigoration of Deutschtown and the Northside.

Become a part of it!

Follow us on our “Welcome To Deutschtown” Facebook page.  Volunteer and join other’s work or develop your own project. Attend the Community Council’s monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 behind Bistro Soul on East Ohio Street.  East Allegheny Community Council office:  412-321-1204.

Previously we posted a blog titled “Social media drives better prospects to websites: the quality-of-visit-difference.” This one is a sequel in our adventures in the dynamic world of social media.

Perhaps your business can take away some marketing success strategies from our initial, no risk experiments for a neighborhood pub and an upscale remodeling contractor in Pittsburgh.

While Randy Strothman & Associates has developed many more traditional marketing and branding solutions—print advertising, websites, blogging, signage, trade shows, etc.—the world of social media presents a fascinating  opportunity for marketing. We’re experimenting and are seeing some interesting results in Pittsburgh.

Some Facebook ad benefits

1. First of all, the ads are so easy to create; the first one will take you maybe 15 minutes. After that, maybe 5 minutes per ad.

2. Plus, they can be targeted to specific demographics:  age, geography, sex, personal interests, etc. 

3. The ads feed back good data about what’s working… and not.

4. You only pay when someone clicks, i.e. takes an action you want.

5. Facebook now has nearly a billion users worldwide!!

Lets look at a couple of advertising examples.

Park House case study #1:  one Facebook ad for friendly pub

We began last January with one Facebook ad for “Pittsburgh’s oldest & friendliest tavern”—with no discounts offered, just the usual pricing and offers.  We targeted it to specific demographics, a budget of $100, and only paid when people clicked to the website.  It took about 6 weeks to run down the budget. The stats from the campaign included:

• 211,142 Impressions on Facebook

• 3,706  Reach on Facebook

• 89 Clicks to the Park House website

• $100 total cost

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Some definitions:

• Impressions—# of times the ad was displayed

• Reach—# of individuals that saw the ads

Did Facebook advertising work for The Park House? We know it brought 89 people to the website, perhaps mostly new visitors. We believe that is true because, according to the owner, on one Friday night alone 5 couples who had never been there came and spent at least $100, based on the ad they saw on Facebook.  Likely there were more than those 10 new customers showing up and eating and drinking over 6 weeks.

Park House case study #2:  five ads

Five days ago we created a new Pittsburgh regional campaign with 5 ads, with 5 different hooks, and slightly different targeting for each each ad.

(NOTE:  Facebook recommends creating several ads to see which work best.)

It’s very early to predict the outcome, but after 5 days here are some results:

• 19,825 Impressions

• 6,935  Reach

• 6 Clicks to the Park House website

• $4.63 total cost so far

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Another case study…

Master Remodelers:  six Facebook ads for upscale contractor

On September 26^th we launched the first 4 of 6 new ads; two more came later. Five ads drove people to the website, one to their Facebook Page.  A month after launch here are the results of the campaign:

• 179,196 Impressions

• 18,396 Reach

• 42 Clicks: 25 to website…17 to Facebook

• $43.36 total cost so far

Is this ad campaign working for Master Remodelers in Pittsburgh? On their Facebook page they’ve got 8 new “New Likes,” up 100% from last month…  “Post Views” are up 32%… “Monthly Active Users” are up 19%.

For their website—where 5 of the ads were directed—they got 49 Facebook referrals in the last month, three times as many as the next referring site.  These visitors stay 2 minutes longer on the website and view 1.5 more pages than the average visitor.  For us its about the quality-of-visit difference.

Master Remodelers has an active Facebook page too

Starting a year ago we built a Facebook page and began posting for them—about 20 to 40 posts per month. (plus an occasional blog) Our strategy has been to provide information that we think potential customers would find valuable in their decision making process about their homes—consolidated from a variety of e-newsletters we’ve subscribed to.  We don’t do much obvious hucking of their services (usually only when it relates to another piece of information—i.e. tips, ideas, new products).

For this high end remodeling contractor—we’re talking kitchens, baths and additions more than $100,000—only a few upscale followers can be of great value.  Even one sale makes this social media effort more than worthwhile.  Here are their Facebook Page stats for the past month:

• 5,506 Post Views

• 112 Monthly Active Users

• 82 Lifetime Likes

• 65 % female followers

• 59%  35-64 years old; 17% > 55

At this moment we’re OK with these stats, although we’d like more followers (and the ads seem to be adding followers). But if we turn one or two into customers, Master Remodelers will be very happy with this modest investment.  They’re not selling thousands of $10 widgets, but rather high end home remodeling projects.

Bonus & Update: In 2011 this Pittsburgh marketing client saw a 55% increase in revenues and won 2 awards! We also provide Master Remodelers with a monthly internet marketing activity report.

Randy Strothman and Associates can help your business with social media and other marketing and PR strategies. Find out how: contact us.

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Sunday September 25, 2011, 11 am – 4 pm

Sliced in half by the construction of I-279 in the 1980s, Deutschtown has been rebuilding and reinventing itself for three decades. The 2011 self-guided Historic Deutschtown House Tour spotlights the momentum of this neighborhood’s decades-long revitalization efforts. It features recently restored and distinctive homes, many built in the late 1800s, and some modern surprises. Showcasing an array of architecture, interiors and styles in 7 homes (and 5 gardens), the tour also offers ethnic music and diverse cuisine at local restaurants.

One outstanding town home on the tour was completed just this year by local contractor and developer, Al DePasquale. A major player in the most recent wave of Deutschtown renovations, he designed and rebuilt this home to his tastes and lifestyle for himself. With five fountains, a stunning modern décor, a delightful garden, fine craftsmanship, a variety of faux treatments, state of the art technology, and lots of Al’s personality, he pulled out all of the stops on this one. (see a house tour photo ‘sneak preview’)  Read the great story about it in the Post-Gazette!

In addition to the stunning homes, tour goers can experience a new tour feature: the optional end- of-the-day wine tasting from 3:00 to 5:00 in the courtyard at the Priory Hotel, formerly a German Catholic monastery. Restored in 1986, the internationally acclaimed and newly expanded Priory Hotel is a centerpiece for the Tour, which begins in its garden courtyard on Lockhart Street. Free parking is available in the large lot adjoining Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall.

DISCOUNT HOUSE TOUR TICKETS: www.deutschtown.org $12 in advance, save 25%… or  $15 at the door. Students $5. Discounts of $2 per ticket for groups of 6 or more.  Advance discount ticket sale locations include Priory Fine Pastries, Priory Hotel, Sweet Time Cafe, Amani Café and Bistro To Go.

PROCEEDS BENEFIT the ongoing community development efforts of East Allegheny Community Council, which has been responsible over the past three decades for creating more than 80 homes—some meticulously restored, others designed and built new.

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Neighborhood character and revitalization

Once part of historic Allegheny City and a heavily German-settled community, some key remnants of Deutschtown’s German heritage still exist here:  The Priory Hotel and Pittsburgh’s Grand Hall with their colorful Blumengarten, Max’s Allegheny Tavern, Penn Brewery and Teutonia Mannerchor, a popular private German club.

In this National Historic District, many homes date back to the late 1800s and offer fine examples of restored Victorian and Italianate architecture, particularly on Lockhart Street and Cedar Avenue.  On the last tour, one relocated Manhattanite enthusiastically described the neighborhood as “Pittsburgh’s Greenwich Village.”

In related revitalization efforts, the community’s historic East Common park is nearing completion of the second phase of a multimillion dollar restoration. (In the mid-1800s the 87 acre Allegheny Commons was grazing land for sheep, cattle and pigs within Allegheny City.) Funds from a community benefits agreement with Rivers Casino are upgrading the business district as well.

Deutschtown’s East Ohio Street business district features grand 3-story historic buildings. Bistro To Go recently expanded next door with Bistro Soul, offering slow-cooked southern comfort foods. For sweets it’s Rita’s or Priory Fine Pastries.

For unusual gifts it’s Sweet Time Café and General Store. For culture, it’s PhotoAntiquities’ huge historic photo collection.  Into the night, one can enjoy bluegrass, blues or rock bands at The Park House, along with microbrews and craft beers, plus free peanuts and popcorn.  For more music, the popular Pittsburgh Banjo Club brings down the house every Wednesday night at the local Elks Lodge.

Thanks to TOUR SPONSORS:  Citizens Bank, First Niagra Bank and Highmark.

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CONTACT:  Randy Strothman, Randy@StrothmanAssociates.com or 412-322-9720.   Randy Strothman is part of a marketing professional, volunteer team promoting the tour and branding the community.

For these clients, each team member is hand-picked to meet the unique needs of the individual client. Each associate brings unique talents and experience to this wide range of projects, involving social media, websites, design and branding.

Allegheny Commons restoration fund raising

The Allegheny Commons Initiative is responsible for the restoration of the historic park on the Northside of Pittsburgh.  This spring ACI launched a fund raising effort for Phase II and got support from one of our Randy Strothman & Associates marketing FlexTeams for a multi-piece mailing package— focused on attracting matching funds from the community for a 1:1 “challenge grant” from the Colcom Foundation.

UPDATE: Success!  ACI raised the $100,000 match from the community!

Master Remodelers extended branding

A client for 3 years, Master Remodelers continues to expand its branding and marketing efforts in Pittsburgh, including with social media, but also more conventional marketing tactics including:

• New truck branding graphics
• New office signage and graphics
• An active Facebook page providing free tips and ideas
• Improved SEO work on their website and their blog (for news)

Regular Facebook postings have driven very good visitors to their website.  Read our blog about this phenomenon.

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden fund raising video

Coming soon to the Pittsburgh region, our first botanic garden.  Years in planning and development, work has begun on preparing the 452 acre site near Settlers Cabin Park.  Our team is writing a script and producing a fund raising video for the project.

Phase 1 includes reclamation from acid mine drainage, a visitor center, a Fred Rogers garden and more. It’s a big development Vision over many decades.

EllicottVillas marketing and rebranding

In Ellicottville, NY, a popular ski resort town, a multi-unit upscale vacation home project is being reactivated after having been mothballed in 2008 at the start of the recession. In May an all new associates team is taking over the branding and marketing efforts from another vendor.  The new strategy includes building a new and expanded marketing website, social media, a new e-newsletter and a strong media relations push in collaboration with a firm in Toronto, development of various print materials, and advertising.

HHS Report for Pittsburgh Public Market

For the 5th and final year, Randy is acting as an evaluator for funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services for the new Pittsburgh Public Market (launched Sept. 2010). Almost 10 years in the making, this new market is a great asset for Pittsburgh, which has not had one since the 1960s.  Randy was also been part of a team that performed a feasibility study for the market in 2006.

Community Facebook page and newsletter

Our Deutschtown community in Pittsburgh is getting more proactive on the Internet.  In the last two weeks community volunteers, including Randy, have set up a new Facebook page and launched a new e-newsletter to “paint a more positive picture” of the community—to counteract the local TV stations’ focus on “scary” news.  Apparently that’s what their consultants are telling them sells:  crime, fire, crashes, stupidity, etc.  Sad, but true.  We’re working to counterbalance that, including with another house tour in the fall.   (Read the Post-Gazette blog about it today)

New Park House promotions & social media

Over the last two years, we’ve implemented a variety of marketing tactics for The Park House, starting first with building a very functional website.  Currently we’re developing an animated promotional “video” to play on a big screen behind the bar to feature specials, menus and the live music schedule… and to drive people to his website and Facebook page.

In addition, a design associate is working on an upgrade of the pub’s décor with historic photos and some of the owner’s collections.  Plus, last week Randy created a user-friendly format for updateable mini-posters to promote his live music in local coffee shops, etc.  And in February we experimented with  Facebook ads with success in getting new customers in the door.

Lingrow Inn Marketing Snapshot

Just last week we wrapped up a Marketing Snapshot for a new restaurant and pub  in an historic hotel that the client is renovating in Leechburg, PA. The Snapshot assembled essential demographic and other data from ESRI Business Analyist Online to help them make critical  decisions about what kind of establishment might work best in this geographic area.  This is a project of Lingrow Farm, an excellent wedding host in the area.

Why incredible?  It’s because of all the marketing tools and resources you have in one very compact place.

As a marketing tool, either for B2B or B2C marketing, it’s packed with capabilities—not even considering the hundreds of thousands of apps available. (for nonprofit marketing too!) Everyday I use it I wonder “How the heck did they do this?”

The story starts here

Last Fall my “dumb” cell phone broke. Literally.  So I tried out several smart phones.  Didn’t work for me.  So my solution was another dumb phone… plus the Apple iPad. Couldn’t be happier.

Like having 20 brief cases!

Besides the basic capabilities like web browser, email, contacts and iTunes, my iPad has 30 gb of storage. That’s a lot.  So now I can carry hundreds of PDF documents and thousands of images.  It also lso opens Word docs, Powerpoint and more.

(More later about why images are important. Hint, it’s about stories)  Plus, I can go on the web to bring more to the table for prospects or email them information or examples on the spot.

Intimate?!

My experience over the last 3 months is that when you sit down with a potential customer and start talking and using the iPad to bring up examples and ideas, you are starting to build the kind of relationship that leads to trust. To me, marketing and sales are all about TRUST.

The iPad allows me to easily demonstrate capabilities and experience.  I can tailor it on the fly to the prospect because I have so many resources at my finger tips, literally. Plus, at this point in time, there’s still the “cool” factor about it. Many people have not seen one in action yet. I let them”drive” it too.  They enjoy it, trust me.

Telling stories

When I first started working with the iPad, I thought what a wonderful way to bring a large portfolio to a client or prospect. Then, the more I started digging into the archives on my computer, I realized that I could present powerful case studies, i.e. “stories” about my clients’ challenges and our solutions.  I call them “the Strategy behind the Creative.”

So, the stories I tell are more than pretty pictures.  Some of the images reflect market research done with our Marketing Snapshot or even website data from Google Analytics.  Others show “before” and “after” or special challenges for marketing efforts. Every business has stories to tell, as well as products to show.  “Facts tell, stories sell.”

Nonprofits have amazing stories to tell.

In these trying times, nonprofits are even more pressed, with increasing demand, perhaps falling revenues and increasing challenges for fund raising.  What is the story you have to tell?  Make it compelling.  You know the need is there. Tell the world how you’re making a difference. Intimate stories and pictures make a difference.

Bigger than you think.

Don’t think of the iPad just in terms of a small screen suitable for 2 or 3 people.  It can be plugged into a TV, VGA monitor or projector.  I’ve seen its images blown up to 6 feet wide.  They look great. So do PowerPoint presentations, although I prefer Apple’s Keynote software.

Drawbacks?

Yes, the Apple mobile devices don’t play Adobe’s Flash, which is a disadvantage for viewing many websites.  And the on screen keyboard is still a little small, so, when I need the iPad to be more like a laptop, I plug it into a nice little docking station with a keyboard more like the one on my office computer.  And, oh yea, the screen is very shiny and shows finger prints and whatever you may have on your fingers.  Buy a wiping cloth to periodically clean it.

Share how you’re using it in your business.

I’ll be happy to show anyone how I’m using it in my business.  Or answer any questions that I can (I’m still learning). Contact me to make it happen.  How are you using it?

• Tour our 3,000 sq. ft. model luxury vacation home, The Jackson Hole.

• See floor plans for 3 and 4 bedroom units, including 1/6 fractionals

• See plans for a clubhouse and pool. (artist rendering below)

EllicottVillas is the first and only private residence club in Ellicottville. Join us and find out how owning a vacation home here can be carefree and affordable. RSVP info@EllicottVillas.com

This advertisement is not an offering. No offering can be made until an offering plan is filed with the Department of Law of the State of New York. This advertisement is made pursuant to Cooperative Policy Statement No. 1 issued by the New York State Attorney General. File Number: CP 10-0041. Sponsor: EllicottVillas, LLC, 16 Main Street, Salamanca, NY 14779. The property is located at 6394 Route 242 East, Ellicottville, NY 14731. 716.699.6600.  These materials and the features and amenities described and depicted here are based upon current development plans, which are subject to change without notice. Prices are subject to change without prior notice.

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promotions by Randy Strothman & Associates with New Perspective

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An Aside:  The Google “doodles” here are eye candy.  Google shares a lot of them on their website, plus “fan logos.” What happened to logos locked in for decades?  Google changes everything.

Now, back to our powerful social media discovery based on Google Analytics stats…

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The quality-of-visit question for website traffic

If you had a choice between…

1. Hundreds of visitors (maybe 1000s!) to your site who stayed only a brief time and “bounced” off at a high rate… or

2. Many fewer visitors who stayed 14 times longer and bounced at 1/3 the rate of the average visitor…

Which would you prefer? We go for #2, opting for QUALITY of visits versus Quantity of visits. Lets see what Google Analytics stats show…

Two examples of website visits from social media

B-to-B EXAMPLE. Reviewing Google Analytics stats for our website for the past month, the referrals from LinkedIn jumped out as exceptional. While there were only 18 visitors  from LinkedIn posts, their interest soared above the average visitor. Compare these two:

Our GENERIC STATS on all traffic (1 mo. 377 visits)

• pages/visit:  1.98 avg.
• time on site:   1:39 avg.
• bounce rate:  71.4% avg.

Our LINKEDIN referrals (18 visits)

• pages/visit:  11.2 avg.  (more pages is better)
  
• time on site:   18:26 avg.  (more time is better)
  
• bounce rate:   27.78% avg.  (lower %age is better)
  

Of course you have to be active and ‘appropriate‘ on social media in the first place. We’ve seen this social media referral phenomenon before for other sites, including from Facebook. There can be a huge QUALITY advantage for links from social media. We’ll take these kinds referrals from social media any day.  Quality trumps quantity for most of our clients.

B-to-C EXAMPLE. Here’s another example, this time for Facebook, for award-winning client Master Remodelers.  We launched their first Facebook page a month ago and are slowly building an audience. (one month stats)

Their GENERIC STATS on all traffic  (406 visits)

• pages/visit:  4.15 avg.
• time on site:   5:16 avg.
• bounce rate:  42.6% avg.

Their FACEBOOK referrals (27 visits)

• pages/visit:  10.2 avg.
• time on site:   20:23 avg.
• bounce rate:   14.8% avg.

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Facebook Bonus #1: A new feature of Facebook is stats on visitors age and sex, for example, not available with Google Analytics. Here’s an example of that insight we’ve never had before…

Facebook Bonus #2: Another nice feature Facebook gives you—as an administrator—is the number of “impressions” for each post. This helps with better targeting of social media marketing strategies in the future, including for blogs on the website.

I like the addition of the social media statistics (to the Master Remodelers monthly Internet report), which is a new feature from Facebook. You , Randy, are the first to use it in a report that I’ve seen. Good job. Keep up the progress.—Bob Stein, Manager of IT Programs, Pitt SBDC

A question for readers…

What do you think is the reason for this discrepancy in behavior between average website visitors and those from social media?  We think it’s all about TRUST—an extension of  ‘word of mouth.’  Give us a piece of your mind on this…

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Randy Strothman & Associates helped to assemble the BAMP application, orchestrated photo shoots, posted two blogs about the awards competition, promoted the awards with social media, and sent out electronic press releases to the media.

Laying the Foundation

As part of a multi-faceted marketing strategy—including updating the branding and identity of Master Remodelers—in late 2009 Randy Strothman & Associates created a new marketing website for Master Remodelers on a Joomla ‘content management system’ platform.  In mid-2010 we added a WordPress blog to the site for easy updates, news, ideas and new products.

The Awards Promotion Strategy

Here’s the multi-faceted strategy we used to announce the awards using various social media for online marketing and media relations…

STEP 1:  blog the content. Below are links to the two consecutive blog posts featuring the awards competition…

• A blog announcing the entries
• A second blog announcing the awards

BTW, we like our blogs to be rich with images and active links for our readers.

Step 2:  email the links. Once the blog announcing the awards was up yesterday, Randy and the client emailed out two dozen announcements—linking to the blog—to professional associations and the mass media.

Step 3:  post to social media. In addition, we posted the link to the second blog on 8 Facebook pages, including HouseTrends, Mt. Lebanon Magazine, Randy’s page, and several other community pages.  Add to that Randy’s LinkedIn page, which also posts automatically to Twitter.

These multiple Facebook pages reach thousands of followers, many of whom are home owners or media professionals.

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Additional Social Media: new Facebook page

In addition, this Fall we added a Facebook page to Master Remodelers toolkit of online marketing tactics… and of course announced the 4 new awards here even before the longer blog was complete. This new, easy to use e-marketing tool will prove to be a valuable asset in the future.  And while slowly building an audience of followers, we are actively building useful content—including photo galleries—and developing a marketing strategy component for the page.

BONUS: A relatively new feature of Facebook is unique stats on visitors which give insights —about age, sex and impressions, for example—not available with Google Analytics.

I like the addition of the social media statistics (to the Master Remodelers monthly Internet report), which is a new feature from Facebook. You, Randy, are the first to use it in a report that I’ve seen. Good job. Keep up the progress.—Bob Stein, Manager of IT Program, Pitt SBDC

Plus, their first YouTube video

While this first video is a tad amateurish, perhaps that adds to its credibility. With some help from Randy, Helene, the contractor’s wife, crafted this on her Mac Book with video from a consumer camera.

There’s nothing better than hearing and seeing a client praise your work, which this video does nicely and honestly with no hype. To view the video,  click on the photo here… and  then click on the same photo in the first testimonial to link to the YouTube video.

Thanks to George Mendel for his excellent professional architectural photography of three of the awarding winning projects.

Thanks to Gary Yon for his photo of Regis and Helene McQuaide with the four new awards.

The developers moth-balled the multi-unit project in 2008, when the real estate market collapsed quickly, including for luxury resort vacation homes.  In late 2009 the development team began planning a relaunch of the project with new vision and optimism and a search for marketing expertise.

The setting for this 50-unit luxury vacation condo development is a four season resort community, with skiing in the winter and golf, festivals and more in the summer.  The local town is charming and was described by the New York Times as “ the town that Aspen used to be.” It attracts 100s of thousands of visitors throughout the year from Canada, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

THE QUESTION. How to market this vacation home real estate development, newly positioned as a Residence Club in the marketplace, given the state of the economy and the current consumer mindset?

PHASE 1:

First, ask a lot of questions… then plan strategically.

Our marketing FlexTeam is following a 4-step process for developing the brand and the plan:

• Situation Analysis (market research)— What do we know about the current state of the vacation real estate market, the local perception of the project, the target prospect, brand attributes of the product, the mindset of potential buyers, the competition and more.
  

  a presentation board for research

• Brand Positioning— Based on the analysis, what are the Brand Value and Brand Benefits to the purchaser and what will be the Brand Personality? A creative brief defines these clearly and drives all future marketing work.
• Naming and Logo Development— What name and logo will concisely represent the brand in the marketplace?  Several name options have been provided. Three to five logo concepts will be offered.
• Communication Plan Development— What marketing strategies and tactics will reach the target audience with what messages? The plan will include a variety of tactics, from website and SEO to media relations, from social media to advertising, from selection of a real estate agent to a festival and trade show marketing booth.

This process is a is an expanded version of the unique and cost effective Marketing Snapshot offered exclusively by Randy Strothman & Associates.

What initial MARKET RESEARCH revealed…

LOCAL SURVEYS… The market research/situation analysis included interviews and surveys in the local town and visits to local competitor properties and websites. The local interviews revealed much dissatisfaction with the look of the initial phase of the project and the moth-balling since 2008. So the developers launched an immediate improvement in the landscaping and the condition of the site, which has created a positive buzz in town and even an interested buyer.

NATIONAL RESEARCH… Internet research clearly revealed that even upscale consumers are worried in mid-2010, although generally not quite as much as in 2009.  Very revealing was the Spring 2010 survey of the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households by the American Affluence Research Center.

Among many informative statistics in the 42 page survey report is that, among “major expenditures” planned by the wealthiest U.S. households, “purchase of an existing home as a vacation residence” is rising to a point near where it was in the winter of 2008.  But, in the same time frame, “preservation of capital” as a primary investment objective took the lead over other investment objectives.

THE NEW CONSUMER?… One article, based on interviews with high level marketing strategists and on a new “How America Shops 2010 Megastudy,” was revealing about the current mindset of consumers.  Read the article titled “How the ‘new’ consumer is changing the game” to find out how the state of the economy is affecting buying consumer decisions:

“They have a whole new sense of value and new habits formed during the recession. Quantifying value is key at all price levels now including luxury.”

Some bullet points from the article:

• there definitely is a new consumer
• the new consumer is still uncertain
• quantifying and demonstrating value is paramount today
• the importance of brand has changed
• social media and online presence count more than ever

Wordle word cloud example

The marketing team used a free, online tool for the first time for part of the marketing analysis:  Wordle.  It produces the “word clouds” that you see on some websites, telling people what’s most popular there.  This tool gave the client a user friendly way to analyze and visualize the content on 17 national websites for Residence Clubs to easily identify key words and themes.

And specialized MARKETING EXPERTISE

The marketing team will also include experts from a renowned company that specializes in marketing and managing Residence Clubs nationally and internationally.

This multi-faceted team, armed with research-based strategies, multiple talents and perspectives and a fresh, clear brand will launch a dynamic luxury vacation condo marketing campaign in the Fall of 2010.

Lets talk about how we can deliver creative & strategic marketing solutions for you.  Call 412-322-9720 or email today.