Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Look Who’s Texting Now

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

As you know, we’ve been preaching that text message is one of the most popular methods of communication around the world. Comparing the cost of a cell phone with a text message plan and a computer with a broadband connection it’s easy to see why texting has become extremely popular in developing countries. With unlimited texting plans carriers have pushed SMS messages the choice medium for teens everywhere.

Mashable has put together a pretty sweet info-graphic illustrating who’s texting the most, where, and how far we’ve come since the advent of SMS.

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Congress Considers Authorizing States to Collect Sales Tax for Online Purchases

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Online purchases that were once exempt from sales tax may soon be taxable. The House of Representatives is considering a bill that would close a sales tax loophole that exempts online businesses from collecting the taxes that “bricks-and-mortar” businesses are required to collect. H.R. 5660, the Main Street Fairness Act, would eliminate a tax-collection discrepancy by granting states the authority to require sales-tax collection from online retailers.

Under current law, online retailers are not required to charge sales tax on goods unless the business has a physical plant or location in the same state as the customer. Since online sales tax typically applies only to customers residing in the state(s) in which the online company has a physical presence, it is the out-of-state consumer’s responsibility to remit sales tax on internet purchases to their states of residence (though many people fail to do so). While many states have entered into an interstate compact (The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement) that creates uniform guidelines for collecting sales tax from remote sellers, the compact requires congressional approval to take effect.

H.R. 5660 was introduced by U. S. Rep. Bill Delahunt, who explained his rationale for the bill on his website. The current system, he notes, “allow[s] many online retailers to avoid collecting sales taxes from out of state consumers, and place[s] retailers on local Main Streets at a competitive disadvantage simply because they collect and remit sales tax revenue.”  According to Delahunt, sales tax constitutes up to one-third of most state budgets and he estimates that over 18 billion dollars of tax revenue is lost annually under the current system. The bill is designed to help close the budget deficits many states are facing without imposing new taxes. Delahunt’s statement claims that no state will be forced to join the agreement, but states who want online retailers to collect sales tax will have authority for enforcement.

“The Main Street Fairness Act provides Congressional authority for th[e] interstate compact to take effect.  This does not compel any state to join, but those that choose to adopt this system would then have the authority to require online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes the same way that businesses on local Main Streets do now.”

The Main Street Fairness Act is supported by National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers, as well as many other state-level retail associations.

Opponents of the bill argue that small online businesses cannot afford to navigate the complex tax codes of every state and jurisdiction; such compliance would place too much of a financial burden on online retailers at an already-difficult time, ultimately slowing the growth of the internet economy. Opponents of the bill include Ebay and the Computer and Communications Industry Association as well as online retailers and various advocacy groups.
The full text of the bill can be found at:

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Myrtle Beach Bikers Go Mobile Too

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to the Grand Strand each year in the spring and fall for bike rallies. While vendors compete for biker business in Myrtle Beach and the surrounding areas, a mobile marketing campaign could be the key to putting some vendors ahead of the competition.

Resorts, hotels, restaurants, bars, sporting stores, t-shirt and apparel shops, and every other business that caters to these seasonal guests should look into a text message campaign that addresses bikers’ unique interests and traveling needs. A targeted SMS campaign that invites bikers to join—in return for exclusive discounts and pertinent alerts—has enormous potential to expand a client base and gain interested customers who are guaranteed to bring friends and to return seasonally.

Business owners who want to make the most of the upcoming Grand Strand Fall Rally this September can launch an SMS campaign that sends out one or two texts per day advertising an exclusive discount. Remember that the bikers who come down here for the Fall Rally tend to ride socially, traveling with friends and other enthusiasts. Keeping that in mind, take advantage of the viral nature of a text campaign. Many of the motorcycle enthusiasts come down with a group and meet even more people once here. If your deal is a good one, your subscribers will spread the word; those who redeem your offer are also likely to bring guests to your establishment. All of this can increase your marketing pool exponentially.

An SMS campaign for the Grand Strand bike rallies is particularly manageable for even small businesses new to mobile marketing because the timeline of the campaign is so limited. The local bike rallies tend to last only 5 or 10 days, depending on the season, so even daily or twice-daily messages do not risk overexposing your advertisements. And any biker who does not opt out at the end of his or her stay can be remarketed to next year. If your business decides to offer mobile marketing this fall during the Grand Strand Bike Rally, the numbers collected can be reused again in the spring before and during Bike Week in May.

The Grand Strand’s Fall Rally is set to start soon. Since there will be fewer vendors in the fall than there were in May, now is a good time to get your marketing campaign off the ground and establish yourself as Bike Week’s major mobile marketer. Then, when the larger rally comes in the spring, your business will be that much more ahead. Chances are, people will remember you again and will tell their friends. OIR’s TextBoard offers an inexpensive and very simple platform for organizing a text campaign and sending automatic, regular alerts to all your opt-ins.

Posted in General, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »

Search Engines Boost Your Business’s Online Visibility

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

A common mistake many businesses make is assuming that simply building a website will result in a high volume of traffic overnight. In fact, creating a site and attracting users to it are two different projects. Before hiring a web developer, make sure he or she is experienced with formatting and coding to suit standards for search engine optimization (SEO). Even the most aesthetic and informative of site is useless if no one can find it. Internet users have notoriously short attention spans and are inundated with information every time they conduct a search. Most users searching for businesses in your category will choose someone from the first or second “results” page and will not look much further. With so many competitors all vying for the attention of the same group of consumers, your developer needs to ensure that your site is optimized to be crawled by Google, Yahoo!, and other popular search engines.

OIR sees SEO as a vital part of marketing and we will design and code your site to be as visible as possible in search engine results. OIR Interactive will ensure your site is getting the most effective and accurate indexing. Some of the SEO services in which we specialize include:

  • Keyword research and analysis
  • Optimization of web page Titles, Meta Keyword & Description, body text, headlines, image Alt tags and internal link structure
  • Configure URL rewrite (SEO and user friendly)
  • Blog optimization (if any)
  • Site Map setup and configuration
  • Monthly SEO reporting
  • Maintenance of site code for best possible crawls
  • Continue keyword research to spot trends and changes
  • Optimize site content to maximize keywords
  • Inbound link development
  • Recommendation and consultation of successful landing pages, paid directory and paid linking
  • Maintenance and optimization of local search
  • Hand submission to major search engines and top directories

Pay Per Click

By optimizing your site to be crawled by search engines, you ensure that your website comes up organically in each user’s search. Paid advertising is a more direct way to guarantee that your business is at the top of a search page. Pay-per-click advertising is a popular and effective means of having your site listed on the top or along the margins of keyword-based searches, and you only pay for the number of hits generated.

OIR Interactive has extensive experience setting up pay-per-click advertising campaigns and can work with your business to determine the most productive and relevant keywords so that you do not generate (and pay for) frivolous hits. OIR Interactive will research and determine any possible niche markets and build the most relevant keyword phrase(s) for your site. We will:

  • Create and fully set up your pay per click accounts with Google AdWords, Yahoo! SM and Bing
  • Research the most relevant keyword phrases that best describe your websites and identify keywords with the highest Keyword
  • Effectiveness Index for testing
  • Determine any possible niche markets that you may be able to tap into
  • Create targeted keyword-rich ad copy for your campaigns
  • Set up tracking and conversion events

A consistent level of online visibility is the key to generating new leads. Take advantage of OIR Interactive’s extensive experience in all aspects of internet marketing and analysis, and increase your website traffic.

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A Cooperative Mobile Marketing Strategy for Myrtle Beach

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Harnessing mobile technology to reach clients—current and potential—is becoming less of a novelty and more of a necessity for any business that wants to stay on the cutting edge. Mobile marketing, and SMS text-message marketing in particular, allows your business to reach consumers at any time of day, anywhere they happen to be, on the one device they never leave home without.

In addition to being one of the fastest growing marketing trends, SMS marketing is also one of the least expensive. The high opt-in and coupon-redemption rates make SMS one of the most practical, far-reaching, and cost-effective ways to advertise. In our challenging economy, consider the benefits of integrating SMS into your company’s marketing strategy.

New Opportunity for Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach businesses can now take advantage of all the benefits of SMS marketing at an even lower price than before by joining a new cooperative marketing campaign that spreads the cost over several area businesses. Want to try mobile marketing, but not sure if your budget is big enough? Not sure if your campaign will reach enough people or be enticing enough to make a difference? Or, does your business cater predominantly to a tourist client base that turns over too quickly to take advantage of all your offers? If any of these apply to you, an SMS co-op is the way to go. txtMB is the area’s newest interactive marketing campaign that gathers together all the promotions from area businesses and broadcasts them directly to visitors’ cell phones. Created by OIR Interactive, txtMB is designed to be a one-stop-shop for tourists to gain access to exclusive deals from area restaurants and attractions.

What We Do

We do extensive local advertising on billboards and through newspaper and broadcasting venues inviting people to text business-appropriate keywords to our short code. For example, one billboard advertisement invites people to text FOOD in order to receive coupons to local restaurants, while another ad invites people to text GOLF for local deals and discounts. Once a person responds to our call-to-action, he or she becomes a subscriber to our network and receives an instant message with our terms; subscribers can opt-out at any time by simply texting STOP. People can also enroll through our website, txtMB.com. Subscribers are invited to choose as many business categories that interest them and will receive messages that pertain only to their selected interests. And membership to txtMB is free!

We coordinate deals, promotions, and discount coupons from our participating sponsors and send them out each day to our subscriber list. We guarantee that your business’s promotion will be sent out to each person who has opted in to your category.

What You Do

First, decide which category or categories your business fits (Golf, Dining, Entertainment, Attractions, Nightlife, etc.). Then, choose a promotion that you want sent to interested consumers. This can be a coupon or promotional announcement, and OIR can help you come up with creative incentives if you are new to mobile marketing.

Why join? A Few Good Reasons:

Cost Sharing

For less than $100 a month your business can buy into the Myrtle Beach co-op, txtMB, and begin participating in a targeted mobile marketing campaign. txtMB can get  you the highest redemption rate and ROI because your offer will reach every subscriber as soon as he or she joins the campaign.

Start Small, Plan Big

Joining txtMB is a great way to get started with mobile marketing if you’ve never tried it before. The risk is very small, but you can experiment with different types of promotions to see what gets the best ROI.

After a season with txtMB you may choose to expand your mobile marketing initiatives and start your own separate campaign. Get you own keyword, build your own client list and send out more frequent messages to your subscribed customers.

With another tourist season upon us, and an economy that is recovering slower than we’d like, a cost- and client-sharing marketing plan is an ideal way to reach visitors for a small investment. Text messages are received instantly and typically opened within only minutes. SMS texting is the most direct method of marketing available, and our co-op campaign guarantees that only interested people receive our offers. No unsolicited messages are ever sent.

To become a participating sponsor, contact OIR Interactive to get started. Call us at 843-603-1444, or email us at sales@oirinteractive.com

We look forward to introducing your business to SMS marketing and, with the collaboration of our area sponsors, creating a convenient venue for visitors to make the most of their time in Myrtle Beach!

Posted in General, Interactive Marketing, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »

OIR Interactive, Myrtle Beach Launches New Charleston Southern University Mobile Website

Friday, February 26th, 2010

OIR Interactive has launched a mobile version of CharlestonSouthern.edu for Charleston Southern University. The site is available to anyone with web-enabled mobile phone service at mobile.charlestonsouthern.edu.

The new CSU Mobile Web offers easy one click access to sports scores and news,  campus events, weather conditions and emergency alert information. Charleston Southern’s mobile site has been designed to improve user experience for all mobile devices.

“CSU mobile web allows us to connect with students — anyplace, anytime, anywhere — with a single click,” said John Strubel, Director of Integrated Marketing for Charleston Southern. “Mobile web is quickly becoming a required marketing arm at colleges and universities.”

Charleston Southern Mobile Web Features:

  • Campus Events: The Horton School of Music, CSU Lyric Theatre, CSU Players, Convocation, Elevate and a full schedule of sporting events take place regularly throughout the year. With CSU Mobile Web, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the general public can access current campus events from their phone.
  • Commuter Students: With more than 2/3 of the student population commuter students at Charleston Southern now, with a single click, commuters and adult students can stay in touch with news and events.
  • Sports: A member of the NCAA Division I Big South Conference, Charleston Southern fields teams in football, basketball, baseball, softball, women’s soccer, cross country, track and field, golf, tennis and volleyball. Stay up-to-date on the latest scores and team home schedule.
  • News: The latest news and information about Charleston Southern will now be at your fingertips from any web-enabled mobile phone.
  • Weather: Get the latest weather conditions in the Lowcountry.

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OIR Interactive to Speak at The American Marketing Association Charleston

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Pack your bags! It’s time to head down to Charelston, SC and join us for an American Marketing Association Charleston presentation. The show starts at noon on February 11, 2010.

Justin Rockwell, Owner and Web Strategist of OIR Interactive, LLC an interactive marketing agency in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. and OIR’s E-mail Marketing Specialist Teri Backfield will dive into the world of mobile and e-mail marketing. They’ll be taking a look beyond basic digital marketing and focusing on what new digital methods marketers can use and the analytics that go along with them for the best possible impact and return on investment.

While mobile marketing is still in the beginning stages as compared to the more mature advertising mediums such as television, radio, print and even the Internet, mobile is quickly emerging as an advertising channel with full-impact. Rockwell will explain the various methods of mobile marketing, who is currently using them, and what works and what doesn’t so marketers can get started with mobile today.

Backfield will take a hands-on approach to interpreting e-mail marketing analytics and reading between the lines to maximize your e-mail marketing exposure. We have all sent an e-mail for a business, now it’s time to do it right by following examples of industry leaders and encouraging you to create new trends to help your brand’s e-mail marketing messages grow.

UPDATE: The luncheon was great and was one of the biggest crowds the AMA has had! As promised here is a link to the presentations should anyone interested in viewing.

presentation

Posted in Email Marketing, General, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »

Google Product Extensions is Fantastic! But what is it?

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Google is the expert at releasing fantastic new things. Google Product Extensions is, in our opinion, one of those great new things. Product Extensions is a new feature of AdWords  (Google’s infamous pay-per-click text ad network). When your pay-per-click ad appears in Google search, and you have a Google Merchant Account, products associated with that pay-per-click ad will appear underneath your pay-per-click ad when someone hits the [+] sign to “expand” the offer. And,  to make it even more fantastic, if the person clicks on your AdWords ad text, or a product in the expanded area, your only charged for one click, and you are not charged at all if someone hits the [+] sign to see what you have to offer but doesn’t click on your ad. Yes, that’s right, people can now window shop your products on Google, and it won’t cost you a dime. This product is just one more reason why Google always stays on top.

laptopcomputer

In the example above OfficeMax, Sears, and Sam’s Club are using the right sponsored links to highlight new laptops.

hdtv

And in this example, Sears is using the main sponsored links to sell HD televisions.

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Get Ready for 2009 Holiday Sales From The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

xmaspast

There is nothing better than looking back in history to look for future guidance. During the 2008 holiday season, online merchants faced the most challenging conditions in e-commerce history. While there have been some optimistic economic signs recently, it makes sense to learn from last year’s experience to prepare for this year’s selling season.

Here are some key trends and highlights from the 2008 holiday season study conducted by shop.org in partnership with Shipzilla that you can use when planning for the coming season.

Consumer habits in 2008

  • 43% of consumers started their holiday shopping before November, almost 2/3 didn’t finish their shopping until the last two weeks of December.
  • Convenience and free shipping offers were key drivers in pushing consumers to shop online versus brick and mortar stores.
  • Seventy percent of consumers found an online store because they had shopped there before, while search engine results drove awareness of sites for one-third.
  • Over one-third of consumers frequently used customer ratings and reviews as part of their online shopping experiences with another 30% citing occasional use.
  • In terms of site features, featured sale item pages were frequently utilized in contrast to gift idea centers and gift finder/product choosers, which went largely unused.
  • Gift cards accounted for less than one-quarter of total online gift purchases, but the volume of gift cards with values under $10 grew considerably compared to 2007.

Website owner observations from 2008

  • Over 80% of website owners concluded that email to their subscriber/customer list was by far the most effective online marketing vehicle.
  • Paid search was the first (39%) among marketing channels that gained the most customers who ultimately made purchases on the site.
  • Among promotions, almost half of merchants surveyed said that percentage-off coupons and free standard shipping offers (with conditions) attracted the most customers.

The important do’s and don’ts for this holiday season

  • Test your website’s search functionality and overhaul FAQs with holiday-specific information in mind.
  • Train customer service reps about your products and help them understand how to close a sale.
  • Increase the use of tried and true online marketing vehicles such as organic/natural search and emails to your customer list.
  • Tap social media such as blogs and RSS feeds, social shopping sites, and Facebook/MySpace.
  • Offer limited-time-only discounts.
  • Resist the temptation to extend shipping deadlines.
  • Don’t overlook the potential of free returns offers.
  • Keep a close eye on the processes for shipping, fulfillment, and order management every day of the holiday season.

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New American Marketing Association Charleston Website Launched

Monday, September 14th, 2009

OIR Interactive is pleased to announce the launch of the new American Marketing Association Charleston website. The AMA was in need for a new website and we were happy to assist them and build a new site they can be proud of.

The AMA felt that their previous site did not accurately reflect them as a marketing organization. They wanted a site that represented them as a group at the fore-front of marketing. Not one that lagged behind and followed the trends of others.

They were frustrated about not having the ability to easily maintain the content on their site. Their social media channels were spread out and required maintenance and updating in different locations. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and their blog all required them to manually update from their separate logins.

After a brief discussion of understanding their needs we decided it would make the most sense to build the new site out into WordPress. And since we were building a new site from the ground up, it made sense to include a fresh new design.

WordPress, if you haven’t worked with it before is an open source publishing tool with a bunch of pre built modules that allows people without much programming knowledge to have a sophisticated website up and running, and quickly mash together all of their social media channels under one applications.

Photos can be uploaded to flickr, and twitter updates can be published all from the admin section. In addition, when a new article, page or content chunk is posted on the site, it can be setup to not only published there, but also on LinkedIn, and appear inside their Facebook page.

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