Shad (Yes, the Fish) Fest 2009

Living in Pennsylvania is a distinct experience. We have major metropolitan cities (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh), we have The Amish. We have the very, very best folk art in the country - please see, "Fraktur"; and we have shad.

I think the shad is a finish unique to the Delaware River that divides Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I don't know much about the shad, except that my Great Aunt Kit loved to eat shad roe. I guess that's what you call Pennsylvania Caviar?

Every year the town of Lambertville, New Jersey (where my sister lives), directly across the river from New Hope, Pennsylvania - hosts Shad Fest ShadFest.com.

I love Shad Fest. It isn't very shadtastic. My sister's room mate said it should be called, "necklace fest".... due to all the of the jewelry artists lining the streets - there must be a connection between necklaces and shad - I just don't know what it is. There is tons of food, as there is at any festival - and there is no Blue Law Mentality like there is in Pennsylvania (at least Lancaster) - so one can feel free to join the other revelers in the beer garden, before noon!

Allot of people attend Shad Fest. I wonder how they market that? I got it by word of mouth. My concern is the artists. I love independent artists. So many times I have seen something there that I like but would rather have in silver, or blue, or whatever. None of the artists ever has more to give me than a scribbled phone number or a business card. I think I lucked out one year when an artist had a web site.

I think this year I'll be on my bully pulpit with the artists. They need web sites. They need a good search campaign. Online advertising is The Hot Thing. Everyone wants to make more sales right now. Their customers, their long-term, loyal customers are right there waiting to become raving fans - if the artists have the tools right there beside them to capture the audience while the audience is interested.

A business card is OK. A colorful, professionally printed flyer/brochure with a logo, web address and phone number is better. Something a bit substantial, that I may even want to hang on my refrigerator.

I know hiring an agency can seem to be out of the reach to smaller, independent retailers. It isn't. It truly is an investment, especially in "this" (I refuse to refer to it as This Economy anymore). I wonder how an independent artist can afford NOT to have an agency handling the marketing.

At LMI we have REALLY talented graphic designers and REALLY talented business strategists. We marry the two concepts for every campaign, no matter the size. ALL of our clients are a priority. Their success is our success.

It's almost lunchtime. I have to monitor the pay-per-click campaigns... and get ready to shop some necklaces. I hope there are some textile artists there as well this year.

AND I wouldn't mind a Shad Shot - vodka from a gutted shad... another joke from my sister's room mate. I believed it and I would like to try it. Perhaps my sister would like to join me in a little fishing trip tonight - we could set up a stand, sort of like a lemonade stand, only fishier!

Marketing, Cosmetic Surgery, and Turning 40!

Let's talk about something a wee bit scary today.... turning 40. I could cry just thinking about it. I do not FEEL 40. I still like hip clothes and shoes... except I feel like someone's embarasing Mom if I even think about wearing arm warmers.

I always see those ads on line about The Alternative to Botox - Mom Discovered It - Wrinkles Be Gone! I have to be honest, I've clicked on these ads a FEW times. I don't know. Fresh out of college I worked at a Department Store Make Up Counter. There I stood for 8 hours a day pushing miracle creams... and using them too. Maybe it was because I was young and these miracle creams are for the over 40 set (WAHHHH), but I got me some kind of mutant acne. It's no wonder I didn't make a career out of the Make Up Counter. My face looked putrid! It took 2 years of tetracycline and Retin A to get rid of it.

I'm taking the plunge the day before my birthday. I'm going to RPS Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (www.rpsplasticsurgery.org) for some Botox, Restalyne - whatever they can do to make it OK fr me to wear arm warmers and motor cycle boots with skirts.

I feel pretty confident about the decision. Dr. Graff practiced in Manhattan. I'll bet she has beautified some stars of the stage and screen! My hopes are high. I have to be honest - we created her web site and I optimize the search engine marketing. I'm on the web site every day. She sold me! She looks so sweet. Maybe she'll tell me I look as if I'm just 29, go home you hipster! Get a Tattoo! Wear arm warmers!

Then I Crawled

As I was saying last week with regard to keywords in an AdWords campaign: "Our client's customers were not looking for them in the same way we thought they would". I'd like to elaborate on that a bit.

Our client's customers DO find them (their web sites) but not always in a particularly predictable or strategic manner. For instance, this morning I ran a Search Query Performance report for a Cosmetic Surgery campaign. Everything looked great until I came to the line where our beloved client is ranking #1 for, "boob job prices". I assure you, that is NOT one of my thoughtfully chosen keywords!

The Cosmetic Surgery campaign was the first campaign that I created on my own and I (THINK) I was lucky. It was a brand new web site that our agency designed. The site development, was, as always, a collaborative effort between the client and the creative team.

I was a pup - so I spent way too much time generating page after page of keywords with the Keyword Tool. The more the merrier! To be fair to myself, I was doing my Google homework as I went; both Google and the blogosphere learned me that your keywords HAVE GOT TO BE relevant to the site content. I studied the copy on that site until I had it memorized.

It took some time, and I am NOT patient, but gradually our keywords gained better and better quality scores. In addition, the actual ad positioning on the search results improved. Success!

It is paramount, ne plus ultra - there is NOTHING more important to driving quality traffic to your site than having a graphically engaging, user friendly, professionally designed and programmed web site.

I love (obviously) Google "sponsored links" or pay-per click advertising for driving traffic and creating raving fans; but if the ad takes the user to a bland site with no way for your business to interact with the customer in a meaningful way, it is pert near useless. I think of the sites I click on while shopping on line. I dutifully type in my very specific search query, but 9 times out of 10, both the organic and paid results don't take me to a page where the THING I desire is located. If I want it enough I'll poke around the site and put up with all the re-directs trying to find it... but most of the time I give up, check Ebay and then really give up. Par example - Helmut Lang Cashmere Turtleneck comes to mind. I searched high and low online for this darling of a sweater. I still don't know if I can live without it. I guess Ima gawna have to because every site that points to said Heart's Desire, leads to something else entirely!

Then I get to thinking, WHO is managing these pay-per-click campaigns? Do they know that every time I get desperate and click on the ad again, they are spending marketing dollars? Probably these sites carried my sweater at one time - in that case, when the sweater was no longer available, the webmaster should have uploaded a new site map - so as not to disappoint me, and other potential customers. A case could be made, that once on the no-sweater site, I may purchase something different. I didn't. Not on a single site out of nearly 20.

Search engine marketing is essential to any business; either local search or national or even global. In this weird, scary economy, search marketing allows an advertiser to reach the customers who want to buy from them - at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing vehicles, such as print and radio.

Traditional advertising platforms still have a vital place in brand awareness and product/service sales. But if your customer is looking for something very specific, such as the coveted Helmut Lang Cashmere turtleneck, they will probably look online for that retailer. I certainly didn't consider checking the newspaper. Which reminds me - a local boutique is having a sale this weekend... I got a piece of direct mail! They are looking at a potential sale - a bag full.

Next time I am going to tout the vital importance of traditional advertising/marketing vehicles. Wish me luck with the sweater!