If you have read any of my posts in the past, you’ll see that I frequently mention the fact that we meet and talk to merchants of all types, in every product vertical imaginable ( or so it seems that way) and we are fortunate enough to help them resolve problems fairly quickly, save them money and add significant revenue to their bottom line. At ARC Media Consultants, we take pride in the fact that there isn’t really a product vertical were not familiar with and haven’t been able to help online merchants with in their e-commerce business.

We’ve been at this now for a little over 10 Years and with a combined experience of 30 years in marketing and developing internet marketing business solutions for e-commerce businesses, we’re confident we can help you.

Right now, as you read this you might be saying to yourself, Emilio Yepez took all this time to restate what he’s said before for no good reason? The answer is absolutely not! The reason why I am writing this post is to reaffirm and share with our readers the fact that ARC Media Consultants is a full fledge internet media business and our goal is to get in front of the right people and help them with their business endeavors and help them make money. Plain and Simple! I am glad to say that 95% of our merchants are extremely happy with the results we offer.

Well, I think I’ve said enough. Please click on the Video Below and receive some tips on how you can take your e-commerce business to the next level!

Talk to you soon!

Emilio Yepez
Vice President
ARC Media Consultants
305 412 3512
emilio@arcmediaconsultants.com

My goal as an Online Marketing Consultant is to produce results for my clients, bottom line. When I receive a call at our office and someone on the other side of that phone says they need my help, their not looking for BS information or baseless fluff, there looking for our firm to assess their Online efforts or the lack thereof and determine how we can really help them. Whether it’s through Search Engine Optimization, developing a comprehensive email campaign or some online venture that will produce revenue or help a client acquire more business, it’s my job to direct and guide my customers in the right direction.

I recently received a call from a potential client that really needed my help and while I was answering their questions and strategizing on what we should do on behalf of their Online platform, they mentioned the fact that of all the areas of Online Marketing we could consider, that we should avoid using Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter because they simply don’t work. My response to this client was simple; Social Media is meant for socializing and interacting however if used properly, it could benefit your brand, your business and in turn provide you revenue generating opportunities among your followers. If you happen to be reading this post and are someone who believes that Social Media doesn’t work, please read on!

Social Media is meant to be fun and interactive, people want to read your profile and look at all those wonderful and funny pictures of you and your family. However people are people, and people are consumers, so how do you subtly introduce your services or product in a way so most people don’t get turned off or overwhelmed by your texts or “shameless business plug ins”  on a Facebook or Twitter?

The answer: Make it more about helping them, not you!

When you write or make a post, no one is interested in you making money for your business, people are interested in what you can do for them, plain and simple. This same issue just came up with a Ticket Broker client of mine that needed guidance on leveraging Social Media apps like Facebook and Twitter. For the sake of this example, I have offered a brief explanation of what I suggested to this Ticket broker in the sentence below:

Client: Emilio, I want to know how I can offer tickets for events and concerts on Facebook or Twitter so I can increase my overall revenue.

My Answer: If you specialize in the acquirement of hard to get tickets, what you don’t want to do is write a text or deliver a post on FB or Twitter about all the Tickets you have for sale or the excess inventory your carrying for concerts or events around the country. Instead what you may want to do is mention in your post on FB or Twitter the fact that you have access to really hard to get tickets (i.e. Jonas Brothers)and have a special offer to the first 5 or 10 people who email you or answer your post. Delivering this kind of post or text to your Social Media followers, should result in opportunities and feedback. What you will also find is that in this simple post I am recommending you write, you’ll find marketing gems and nuggets that are key to success on the Social Media frontier:

Key #1:
You’d be using one of your niche offers or products as a way to bring exclusivity to your base of followers.

Key #2:
By having people answer your posts or directly text you on a public forum of followers, you’re creating and inviting a interactive and fun environment. This type of post is one of the main keys to successful Social Media marketing on the Web.

Look, no one cares about you eating pizza or going to the restroom. Unfortunately, there are too many people, with too much time on their hands posting and texting followers information that doesn’t add value. What Social Media followers are looking for are short, to the point, well thought out, witty posts that will cause them to want to react. They even may be interested in tidbits of news related to your business and beneficial information, however what they don’t want is to be sold. Let me repeat this one more time, what followers don’t want is to be sold. Therefore, before you write off Social Media as avenue for business and revenue, please consider what your writing or how your writing it. I think you’ll find if you follow my tips, you and your business will be better off and more profitable.

Thanks for reading!

Emilio Yepez
Vice President
ARC Media Consultants
emilio@arcmediaconsultants.com
305 412 3512

If you think what La Russa did was unique, think again!

I just read in USA Today that Tony La Russa sues Twitter because of a Fake Page. If you are interested in the article please click on the link below, however if your interested in knowing how this lawsuit might open a gateway to more lawsuits and legal battles, please read on.

Social Media platforms like Twitter and Face Book better get their legal team and Public Relations department ready for battle. I am projecting that this is only the beginning of what I see as common legal issue brought against Social Media Platforms like Twitter and Face Book.  For the sake of this article , I am going to focus my comments on celebrities and sports figures, but I think the everyday lay person will soon be up “to bat” and try swinging for the “legal fences” in an attempt to capitalize on Twitter and Face Book’s erroneous profiles and faulty filtering process.  

For far too long, Twitter and Face Book haven’t instituted a solid way of scanning and filtering out erroneous profiles on their platform, especially when it relates to celebrities and well known figures. Do you know how many times I was asked last week by different people to join Miami Heat’s all start player Dawayne Wade’s profile? At least 3 times and the profiles I was invited to join were all different and I didn’t know who to join. This is a very common problem on Face Book.  

Now don’t get me wrong, I like Twitter and Face Book and I enjoy using it very much, not as much as my wife Marlene, but I do love using it. As a matter of fact, I use it for business purposes and recommend it to my clients. Even more, as a company we’ve been able to leverage it for business gain many times, however I cannot ignore the fact that these very popular Social Media tools have flaws and issues may pose a problem to well known celebrities, political figures, and sports figures around the world. That’s why I think the legal battle La Russa’s brought to the team over at Twitter is just the beginning.

Let me conclude by saying this: Because of the Internet and Social Media platforms like Twitter and FB, our world as we know it has shrunk significantly. We are seconds away from connecting and communicating with others like never before, but this wonderful invention called Social Media also carries a significant amount of responsibility. People must accept and become more aware of the enormous responsibility involved with putting out information o the web and use more common sense on what’s communicated to others via Social Media platforms.   

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-04-larussa-twitter_N.htm?csp=usat.me

Emilio Yepez
Vice President
ARC Media Consultants
www.arcmediaconsultants.com
emilio@arcmediaconsultants.com

Hello Reader,

It’s another wonderful day in Sunny South Florida and as an SEO/E-Commerce Consultant/Web Developer (have I put enough titles on my first sentence? J/K) we help numerous businesses with their E-Commerce businesses and an array of other Internet Marketing challenges most business owners face online. It is a very common issue among e-commerce businesses and the like to experience negative PR through false reviews or negative reviews submitted by ex-clients or unhappy customers online. Lets face it, every business is going to come across a client that is either unhappy with their service or dissatisfied with the results (luckily for us, we don’t get those very often. But if you happen to come across a customer or client that decides to blog or submit a negative review on your company online, I’ve put together a short vlog on what you might consider doing.

You’ll find in my vlog that the remedy I am referring to is quite simple, but not often used by businesses because of the potential PR repercussions it could result in, therefore please take a moment now to review my vlog on tips to overcoming negative reviews online.

 Thanks

Emilio Yepez
ARC Media Consultants
emilio@arcmediaconsultants.com
305 412 3512

Kill two birds with one stone. If you are new to Twitter and think you don’t have time to manage both accounts this is the application for you. If you do not have Twitter this is a great time to start learning. Sign up and then log into Facebook with your new account all set. The process I am going to walk you through is very simple.

You log into your Facebook account. Search for the Twitter application through Facebook you should see or can go directly to this link: http://apps.facebook.com/twitter/. Add the Twitter Application. Click to go to the application. From here you allow the application on your Facebook page. You enter in your Twitter username and password as if you are logging in normally to your Twitter account or you can sign up to join Twitter if you are new. The last step is to Allow Twitter to update your Facebook Status. Below are some images as they appear on Facebook in the order they will appear on your screen.

I decided to share these simple steps because I have explained them before. Many local Miami companies are using Social Media to connect. Normally I install the application for them but this is a process anyone can do for themselves within less than a minute. This is a simple way to save time when keeping up with all your Social Media tools.

Best,

Stephanie Lichtenstein

Hello Reader,

This week I thought I’d focus on the topic of E-Mail Marketing and the potential business it could represent to your company. Whether you’re a small to medium business or are responsible for business development and sales for your company, executing a solid email campaign to your existing client base could translate into more revenue for your business! 

In my line of work, I get the opportunity to speak to numerous business owners regarding their Internet Marketing strategies. Without fail it always seems to amaze me how little most business owners really know about the potential behind executing a strong email marketing campaign and what it could represent to their business.

In my professional experience I have found that a solid, well executed email campaign can easily add anywhere between 5-15% to a business’s bottom line every year. Now 5-15% growth may not sound like a very significant amount of business to you, but tell that to a business owner that has “plateau’d” in their revenue stream or a business owner who has been especially affected by certain industries or sectors in today’s economy. 5-15% revenue growth could translate into potential exponential growth through repeat customers or new client acquisitions; therefore email marketing is not something that should be taken lightly. My personal motto and recommendation to all my clients is that a solid email campaign can only help your business, not hurt it; if it’s properly developed and managed.

I am planning on developing a series of blog posts dedicated to properly executing an email campaign; I’d like to encourage you to visit our blog weekly so you can gain more perspective regarding the awesome, revenue generating power in email marketing. I’d also like for you to reconsider your position on the value behind your email base of clients and what it could mean to your business. Don’t make the same mistakes most business owners make in ignoring one of the most valuable assets to their business. If your reading this blog post and are like many who don’t collect emails, start today; but don’t do it without the help of a professional. An email database is extremely valuable and could potentially add volumes to your business growth, don’t let it waste away!

 
Video Introduction to Email Marketing: Emilio Yepez

In your service,

Emilio Yepez
Vice President
ARC Media Consultants
P: 305 412 3512
E: emilio@arcmediaconsultants.com

Small to large companies are all starting to realize the importance of Social Media. If your company is not there, changes are your competitors already are. Be ahead of the curve and make sure you appear in as many places possible. You want to be the “go to” source for your product or service. Taking it another level will be to target your audience for your specific location. This will ensure you are attracting the ideal leads for your business.

People have an idea of how it works by reading their favorite blogs or through others talking about it. They know it is there but they do not know how to use it to their advantage. The more places you are the better. The most important thing is to be strategic about your online marketing and the way you spend your time on it. In a Revenews article this month they did a poll that rated the most used Social Media tools were: Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

This is not a surprise. The media has really started talking about Twitter and it is starting to become mainstream. Facebook is the most known of all these outlets. To break it down for everyone I will explain the basic functions and audience of each below. They all work differently but compliment eachother. I would use all of them. Have them listed on your blog so that people can connect with you. Then use the outlets to drive more traffic to your blog.

Facebook came after MySpace which was the first big Social Media platform. Facebook began as a way for College Students to connect with eachother share events, pictures, and communicate. Nowadays everyone from my mom to friends that I found from growing up are all on Facebook. It is the most social and personalized tool. Business Owners can use Facebook to create Fan Pages for their business, special interests groups, or invite others to events. It is important to be careful what you share because there is a fine line between professional and personal. You can always edit your “privacy settings” to ensure that only your friends can view your profile.

Twitter is the next Facebook. A while ago I used to be tied with my love and usage of both but now I am more loyal to Twitter. It let’s me make easy updates and share great websites with everything with the click of a button. I also have it linked to my Facebook status so that I do not have to update both. Twitter has a more tech savvy following. The users know how to browse the internet and share their specialities. Everyone on Twitter has their own website. You can find the right audience and market to them. More importantly share your expertise so that they know you are the “go to” person for your business. You can also follow trending topics and find up to date news before the news even gets it.

LinkedIn is a more professional way to connect. This is like your online resume with your past work experience and recommendations from others. The best way to use LinkedIn is to join Groups that relate to your industry and associations you have been a part of to reconnect and keep in contact with important people. You can even reach out to specific people and companies through the search feature. I only checked LinkedIn when I get an email updating it, unlike Facebook and Twitter that I am on each day. It is important to be on all the major Social Media platforms; I have been contacted through LinkedIn for my services through the keywords and location search.

WordPress is a blogging platform. It is in my opinion the best blogging tool out there. It makes blogging accessible to anyone. It is so easy to use and the plugin features available are absolutely amazing. We have used WordPress for our blogs as well as content management systems for our clients. There is simply nothing else out there that I have seen that is so flexible and easy to use like this. You can use the other three tools to send traffic to your blog and you can have those tools on your blog. All the Social Media tools compliment eachother and do different things that the others cannot do. The key to blogging is to focus on a niche and to blog consistently.

Just this week I met with a few small businesses in South Miami. They are asking me what is Social Media. We are educating them on how to use it in the most effective way. Besides that we are setting them up with all the tools they need as well as creating all their Social Media accounts. From there we target the right audience that they want. It is a cost efficient and target way of marketing online. But be careful Social Media can be addictive, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Happy Blogging,

Stephanie Lichtenstein

Many of you may have heard of WordPress before. WordPress is a powerful blogging platform that allows you to integrate plugins to customize any feature imaginable. It can also be used as a content management system. We have done so with many websites because it is easy for the client or any person to make updates on the website to the content and even adding media such as images, video, and more.

Once a month, there is a meetup group through MeetUp.com that meets to discuss WordPress. You can search for a group in your area and learn more. These groups meet for free, do a little networking, and mostly serve as educational tools. This is the perfect place to go if you are interested in learning more about a topic. If you have not gotten into blogging yet, you probably already read blogs or have thought about it at some point. This is the easiest way to go.

We can set anyone up with a WordPress blog. Customize it to look the way the want it. Structure it in the most strategic manner. Once that is all set up, we can train and consult on the best ways to use WordPress to drive new leads to your business. It is easy and very manageble. WordPress is not only a blog platform it can also be used as a normal website and with an endless amount of features.

The South Florida WordPress Meetup is on the second Wednesday of every month in Fort Lauderdale. It is an informal group that picks a topic on WordPress to discuss and educate others on. Anyone is free to attend and ask any questions. Go to MeetUp.com and enter your location in the search feature to find a WordPress Meetup near you. Don’t forget to bring your laptop!

John Carcutt who organizes the group suggests that the following people would enjoy attending the WordPress Meetup:

Bloggers
Business Owners
Writers
Designers
Photographers
Programmers
Developers
Marketers
SEOs
Website Hobbyists

Happy Blogging,

Stephanie Lichtenstein

Living in South Florida offers us tremendous opportunities as a company to consult and help many local businesses with their online marketing strategies. On the average I consult anywhere between 5-15 clients per week on the best practices when it relates to Search Engine Optimization. 

A common issue that tends to surface in my meetings with my clients is second hand information or unsubstantiated tips and tricks they’ve received from people helping them SEO their site. What I always end up explaining to my clients is that they need to be very careful with what they listen to and who potentially will end up handling their SEO efforts. There are a lot of ways you can end up ruining your chances of gaining positive ranking within the Search Engines if you fail to hire the right people for the job. Today I came across an article that compliments my views and best fits these concerns and I would like to pass the article unto you, http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/04/five-tips-for-avoiding-deceptive-seo-companies.html

Happy Reading! 

Emilio Yepez
Vice President
ARC Media Consultants
305 412 3512

Did you know that almost 76% of all searches are done on Google? If you website is not on the first page on Google, you’re missing out on capturing 76% of the market share for the business or service you offer. If you want to get your business in a prime position on a Search Engine like Google, our company can help you get there!

Emilio Yepez
Vice President
ARC Media Consultants
P: 305 412 3512
C: 305 389 8955
AIM: affiliateagle
www.arcmediaconsultants.com