Posted on Wed, May 08, 2013 @ 12:06 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 8, 2013
Contact: Tony Popowski, Manager of Public Relations
Email: tony@grootsmarketing.com
Office: 732-380-8400
Grass Roots Marketing Adds Two New Members,
Creates Business Divisions in Response to Growth
SHREWSBURY, NJ – Grass Roots Marketing, Inc. (GRM), an inbound marketing company based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, announces the addition of new staff members Rachel Sharkey and Kelly Shepsko. Sharkey will serve as a Graphic Designer for GRM and Shepsko as Social Media Manager. The professionals have more than 12 years of collective marketing experience.
Sharkey and Shepsko were hired in response to GRM’s continued growth.
“As companies look for new ways to enhance brand awareness, increase leads and drive new sales, businesses are rapidly embracing the inbound marketing philosophy. The recognized results and cost-effectiveness of an inbound marketing approach has led to numerous new clients for our company and expanded contracts from our current clients. The addition of Rachel and Kelly will helps us be better equipped to address the specific needs of our clients,” says Frank Wyckoff, President of GRM.
Inbound marketing is a methodology based on attracting qualified leads to a company’s engaging and content-rich website. An inbound program uses search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, social media, blogging, email marketing and public relations to collectively support a company’s website which is designed to nurture leads and convert visitors into customers.
In today’s technology-dominant economy, studies show that more than 70 percent of the sales process now occurs online. 85 percent of online users cite a company’s website as a factor in their purchasing decision.
Sharkey comes to the GRM team after serving as a Graphic Designer in the non-profit sector. With GRM, she will be responsible for website design, social media platforms, sales collateral and various marketing materials for GRM’s small business accounts. Sharkey also has professional photography and video experience and will provide these services as new offerings for GRM’s clients.
Shepsko joins GRM after a role as Social Media & Public Relations Specialist with a New Jersey-based social media marketing company. As GRM’s Social Media Manager, she will oversee the social media strategy and implementation of GRM’s small business accounts. Shepsko will also support copy writing projects and SEO initiatives.
“We are very excited to add Rachel and Kelly. They are experts in their fields and are great for our company’s culture. We are very confident they are going to be a terrific addition to our team and help us bring tremendous value to our clients,” adds Koleen Singerline, Senior Vice President of GRM.
For more information about GRM and inbound marketing, please visit www.grmwebsite.com or call 732-380-8400.
Rachel Sharkey, pictured above
Kelly Shepsko, pictured above
About Grass Roots Marketing, Inc. (GRM)
GRM consists of HubSpot Certified professionals and provides inbound marketing programs for Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs), manufacturers, consultants, non-profits, environmental services agencies, staffing firms and organizations from numerous fields. Enhance brand awareness and drive sales by attracting qualified leads to your website through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, e-mail marketing, public relations, social media and blogging. For more information about GRM, please visit www.grmwebsite.com or call 732-380-8400.
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Posted on Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 08:05 AM
[By Fred Strahl]
We are almost a full month into the new year and some companies still don‘t have an internet marketing plan. Internet marketing has become extremely vital to generating leads and sales. Here are some basic questions that you need to ask yourself, as a business, if you are preparing to exceed all of your sales goals!
Do you have an internet marketing strategy?
Most likely you have a website at this point (You do, right? Good.) However, the days are gone when just having a website was sufficient. Every day you don’t make updates to your site, add new content, write a blog, or increase your social media presence; your competitors do. According to HubSpot, 89% of marketers are maintaining or increasing their inbound marketing budgets.
Are you familiar with inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is the philosophy to have leads come to you. Cold calling, direct mailers, mass emails, and other outbound methods are out of date and no longer efficient in time or investment. The ROI just isn’t there. Here’s a fun video that explains the ineffectiveness of outbound marketing. (I think fans of Alanis Morissette will enjoy it) Read our free white paper to learn more about the topic and keep an eye out for live webinars in the near future.
Do you have a keyword strategy in place?
This is the first step in developing an inbound marketing plan for many reasons. Even the most efficient keyword strategies are going to take time to develop traction with Google. However, some argue this point just like the chicken and the egg. Should you develop your keyword strategy first to generate traffic as soon as possible or develop a great site first for when the traffic arrives? My opinion is this, due to the fact the keywords take time to gain traction, you should develop your keyword strategy first. You will have time to improve your website while the keyword list begins to gain traction. To learn more about developing a keyword strategy, contact us!
Are you present on social media pages?
Did you know that United States internet users spend 3 times more time on social media and blogs than email? Just like a website, it is no longer sufficient to just create social media pages. You must be consistently updating the pages and interacting with your audience. According to Aberdeen Research, the top 20% of B2B marketers in social media lead generation have increased revenue by 20% in 2011. These results don’t come by simply creating a page. A lot of work must be happening on your end which includes consistent posts, engaging content, and interaction with the visitors of your page. In addition, having a great presence on social media with boost your rankings in Google. The Google algorithm has recently been updated to analyze social presence as well. TIP: Some studies have shown that companies with a Google+ page get a great boost in SEO…surprised?
Are you able to blog consistently?
My favorite quote about blogging is from Freelance Journalist Kevin Anderson;
“The bottom line is that blogging is like sex. You can’t fake it. You can’t fake passion. You can’t fake wanting to engage with the public. If you do, it will ultimately be an unsatisfying experience for both the blogger and their readers.”
This quote is spot on. Similar to social media, blogging is all about engagement. You have to create engaging articles that will spark interest and discussion. At the very least you have to ensure that people are reading them. If you have a low amount of hits and subscribers to your blog you have to rethink your strategy and content.
I hope you were able to answer yes to all of these questions. If not, there are many things you can do to improve yourself! You may be behind now but don’t continue to fall behind. As General Erik Shineski said “If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.”
Image Source: Carolyn Frith
Posted on Fri, Dec 28, 2012 @ 03:56 PM
[By Emily Carter]
Happy New Year, inbound marketers! To celebrate the last Friday of 2012, we wanted to share with you some of the marketing resolutions that we have set for ourselves in the coming year. These are just a few of our collective thoughts on our goals and plans for the coming months. Part of growing is learning about yourself and where you can improve. 2012 was a stellar year for us, and we want to continue the greatness! Here are Grass Roots Marketing's New Year's Resolutions:
- Increase social media reach by 50%.
- Commit to a blog writing schedule.
- Spread knowledge, not cold calls.
- Get Found through search engines...even more than now.
- Simplify our website navigation and layout.
- Offer more resources about Inbound Marketing Techniques.
- Write even more content.
- Learn about a niche and capture lead information from that niche.
- Network more, through face to face interactions and online networking sites.
- Focus on collaboration and communication.
Are any of your resolutions the same as ours? If you are wondering what your marketing resolutions should be in 2013 or want help achieving your goals, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Posted on Fri, Nov 02, 2012 @ 01:58 PM
[By Fred Strahl]
Hurricane Sandy has affected the lives of many people, from the east coast and throughout the country. Everyone wants to be helpful in any way that they can but what can your business do to help those in need? You should use your company’s inbound marketing tools to provide people with useful information. This could include your website, social media pages, and blogs. A simple web-page of information can be a lot more helpful than you think. Hopefully you have a mobile website for those who don’t have power. Even if your site isn’t mobile yet, you can use social media sites to send your messages and post information for those that may need it.
Here are some examples of different types of businesses and the pages they can add.
Carpentry, Plumbing, Electric
- Make a page that deals strictly with the hurricane relief efforts you and your company are taking a part of. Add additional information about how your company can help individuals in rebuilding and what you are doing for certain areas that were affected. Offer hotlines, helpful websites, and any other information that may be useful. These industries are going to be the most important during the time of rebuilding. Show the local area that you are there for them to support them and to help them in any way that you can. Lowe's set up a link to donate to the Red Cross on their home page.
Health Providers
- People are going to run dangerously low on their prescriptions due to the extended power outages. Provide information on where and how to refill prescriptions as soon as possible. Here is a great example.
Food Industry
- Due to the lack of power, people are having a difficult time keeping their food cold and fresh. An immense amount of food is going to spoil because of power outages. People need to find food during the blackouts and you can help them. If you are in the food industry, from grocery stores to fast food, you need to keep people posted on whether or not you are open. If you own a chain of locations, create a list on your site that shows which locations are opened and which ones are closed. You could even tweet when a location opens to let customers know. If none of your locations are open, offer your expertise and tips on keeping food as fresh as possible. You can also give people advice on how to tell if food has spoiled or not. Here is a perfect example.
Logistics
- During this time people may have had very important shipments en route to the affected areas or from the affected areas. Keep people informed about their shipments, offer different methods of shipment, and explain the issues you may face when attempting to complete a shipment. During any situation like this FEMA will have first priority in utilizing any shipping companies in the area to get supplies to the people in need. Make sure that your customers are aware of some difficulties you are trying to work around so that they are able to estimate an arrival time for their package if you are not able to offer them one.
These are just some examples, but any company can use marketing tactics to make their resources known and help those in need due to Hurricane Sandy. Not only can you add pages to your site, but you can also tweet important information. Your company twitter account can be used as an information provider to people who are looking for things like gas stations, available generators, statuses of open eateries or grocery stores, etc. If you catch wind of something, spread the word out. During this time we all need to come together and to support each other. Show everyone that your business is looking to help anyone in any way they possibly can. We are all in this together.
Posted on Thu, Oct 25, 2012 @ 07:34 AM
[Guest Blogger: Megan Totka]
Working with guest writers or bloggers for your blog can be a great help to your small business. There are many ways in which you can utilize a guest blogging spot to the fullest. Trading one commodity that you have for another that someone else has is a practice that has been around for a long time. While guest blogging may not fit the traditional definition of barter, that’s exactly what it is!
For the most part, guest blogging can be a very positive force for both the writer of the blog, as well as the company that posts it. However, there can be some negatives if the relationship is not managed well. Beginner's Guide to SEO Marketing (Part 2/3) briefly addresses some pros and cons of guest blogging, but I wanted to address how this type of relationship can be beneficial (or not) to small businesses that want to try it out.
Some ways that guest blogging can be a positive addition to your site:
- It can bring new eyes to your blog. Fans or followers of the guest blogger’s site will visit yours in order to read the writer’s post.
- Topics can be addressed with a fresh perspective. Guest bloggers can write about topics covered on your site, but the content and ideas will be all new.
- Your blog can seem more important. This holds especially true if you are able to get a guest blogger who is considered an expert in their industry.
- You can build industry connections. Networking is still the best way to get your name out there. While it’s not a good idea to swap blog posts with a direct competitor, people in similar or complimentary industries can really boost the traffic to both companies who are involved.
Some possible downsides to guest blogging:
- It could become a one sided relationship. Make sure that both parties involved are reaping the benefits of the guest blogging relationship. If the posts are overly aggressive with links, then you know the blogger is only interested in SEO and not providing quality content for your readers.
- It can seem like spam. Make sure that guest blogs don’t have too much of a sales feel. Your readers will know if your guest blogger is just there to plug themselves or their product.
- It can be time consuming. If you or your business has agreed to exchange posts with another blog or business, it can wind up taking a lot more of the writers’ time than was perhaps anticipated. It might even lead to an unwanted expense of having to hire a new writer.
If you decide to start a guest blogging relationship, it’s important to really weigh how it is going to affect your site. It’s also a good idea to set some ground rules with your guest blogger. This can include what topics to cover (or topics you would prefer to avoid), how much of a sales-type voice you are willing to post, and how often the blogging will happen. Without clear expectations, the relationship can become muddled and really defeat the purpose of having a guest blogger in the first place. But with a clear purpose and guidelines, a guest blogging relationship can be useful to everyone involved.
Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com which is the largest business directory on the web. ChamberofCommerce.com connects local businesses to their local Chamber of Commerce. Megan also writes business news.
Image by Matt Charney.
Posted on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 @ 11:18 AM
[By Andrew Gerbehy]
Social Media has been the biggest craze that has hit the internet in the past decade. Although most people are just using Facebook and Twitter, the business world has rolled out its own version of a social media page. LinkedIn gives companies a medium to connect with potential employees or potential customers in their given field. LinkedIn is basically a networking convention over the internet. It allows you to meet other people or business you would be interested in networking with just the click of a mouse. Since beginning in 2003 LinkedIn has now reached an astounding 70 million members in 200 countries worldwide.
41 Percent of LinkedIn members using it for marketing have generated business through the website. Also, about 80 percent of companies that are on LinkedIn use it as their primary tool for recruiting new employees for their company. So, when looking to make connections in the business world LinkedIn has become the number one asset for any company or job searcher.
With the large growth of the site over the past decade, LinkedIn has begun to add new features to their site. A recent article by Business Insider reveals the two newest features being introduced will give marketing companies an even better chance at reaching their target employee and target market.
Imagine your company had a list of all of its potential employees as well as potential buyers organized into specific sections. Well, your wish is LinkedIn’s command, because their new function “Target Updates” does exactly that. The introduction of “Target Updates” means that companies can now organize their followers into different sections based on criteria. For example, followers of the companies can be broken up by their industry, seniority, job function, company size, non-company employees, and geography. When broken up into different sections, the company can make status updates (kind of like Facebook or Twitter) to their different sections of followers. For example, if they want to talk about a new product, they can send it to a certain group of people who would be interested in purchasing their products. If they are looking to hire people they would send out a status update to a certain group that fits the specific criteria they are looking to hire. This allows companies to save time and effort looking for potential employees because they no longer have to sort through resumes to see if someone is qualified. The companies will already know someone’s background and job experience with this new feature enhancing the efficiency of LinkedIn.
To compliment the new “Target Updates” system LinkedIn is also introducing “Follower Statistics.” This new system is an analytical dashboard which would allows companies to track how well their status updates are doing amongst their followers. Companies will be able to see exactly how their followers respond to updates and if they need to change which category their follower is located. This tracking system will be the best way to see how well their new “Target Updates” approach is doing.
Overall, the new additions to LinkedIn will without a doubt make life easier and more efficient for companies and followers of those companies. It will allows companies to communicate with the exact demographic of people they want which is one of the main goals of marketing, reaching the target market.
For more information about LinkedIn and inbound marketing connect with us on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter or Like our Facebook page.
Posted on Tue, Apr 10, 2012 @ 12:00 PM
[By Koleen Singerline]
Grass Roots Marketing, Inc., an inbound marketing company that specializes in manufacturing industry marketing, recently announced the results of a case study called “Inbound Marketing for Staffing Agencies”. The case study examines the current usage of effective, online marketing tactics for U.S. manufacturing companies by comparing typical manufacturers with the top companies in the field.
If you’re unfamiliar with the methodology, inbound marketing is based on attracting qualified leads to an optimized website, the hub of your marketing and sales efforts. Using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, social media, blogging, email marketing and public relations to collectively support your content-rich website will help increase brand awareness and drive sales.
The study specifically looks at the website grades and social media platform activity (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging) of approximately113 typical New Jersey manufacturers along with the top 25 manufacturers in the state as determined by number of employees. Results showed that in nearly all of the analyzed categories, the top 25 manufacturers ranked better than their 113 counterparts in inbound marketing usage. While many of the companies had a good grasp on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, there is still a greater need to them to leverage the power of social media.
Our study falls in line with current trends of companies using inbound marketing strategies to substantiate their marketing campaigns and extend public reach to generate business. A recent 2010 study analyzing the Internet habits of U.S. citizens found that 78% of all U.S. Internet users say that they use the Internet to research products, indicating a continuous, upward trend.
The key takeaway of this research is that typical manufacturers can increase their sales by investing more resources into inbound marketing tools. Technology and software has made it possible for these smaller companies to be just as effective as the top 25 manufacturing companies in New Jersey.
It is important that this industry grows through the use of productive inbound marketing strategies that help manufacturers improve their online presence to attract clients and talent. While this research is industry specific, the principles of inbound marketing can be applied to any type of business in any industry.
“Inbound Marketing for Manufacturers” discusses the case study in greater depth, as well as provides insight and tips for how any type of company can use inbound marketing strategies for their business. The study provides insight into the practices of the industry and how to create sales by using inbound marketing strategies. Click here to get your FREE copy!
About Grass Roots Marketing, Inc. (GRM)
GRM’s HubSpot Certified professionals provide inbound marketing programs for the staffing industry. Enhance brand awareness and drive your sales by attracting qualified leads to your website through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, email marketing, public Relations, social media and blogging. GRM is recognized as the first company in the nation with HubSpot Certified professionals to serve the staffing field. For more information about GRM, please visit www.grmwebsite.com or call 732-380-8400.
Posted on Thu, Feb 23, 2012 @ 12:45 PM
[By Sarah Faglio]
The Internet has turned into the place to go for answers, advice and research. With all this information scattered on the web, it is nice to have a centralized place to talk about a shared interest in a blogging or forum community. However, this is a great oppportunity for companies to reach out to their target audience directly to share valuable information that may be useful in solving their problems.
If you haven't already, your company should start a blog on your website. New entries should be created about 2-3 times a week and should consist of valuable content that is both useful to your audience (target market, clients etc.). It is important to note that your entries should NOT solely be about your company, but instead your industry as well as relative news, updates or helpful tips.
After publishing a blog post, it is important to get the word out about your new update and spread it to as many interested readers as possible. First, it is very important that your blog updates (or any website or news updates for that matter) are shared on your social media accounts. Facebook and Twitter are among the most popular social media platforms you can use to establish your company by setting up a profile. Use these networking sites to your advantage by encouraging users to "like" or "follow" your pages for important company and industry updates. Be sure to like social media groups or organizations that are relative to your cause or industry. This not only provides you with newsworthy topics to retweet or share on your own profile, but gives you the opportunity to be found and followed/liked by them as well.
Another way to share your blog entries with an interested audience, is to provide links to them directly. You'll need to do research online first to develop a list of respectable blogs or online forums that are relative to your industry. Then, you should follow their social media profiles, in addition to using a social media monitoring dashboard to view all of their updates. However, in order to avoid being spammy, you need to make sure you do this correctly. Do not expect to be welcomed in with open arms to an online forum or blog if you do not respect them. Grazing by and just putting your link in a comment response is likely to get deleted, and rightfully so. Inbound marketing is about drawing in an interested audience, helping them find you. It does not involve random commenting and pushing your links in their faces with the hopes of getting more traffic.
Before commenting on an industry blog or forum, make sure you read the article or forum post subject before you provide feedback. When commenting, commend them on parts of their article that you liked as well as express your agreement with points they made. As a helpful addition to their article, provide your own blog entry and coincides, backs up or adds to their topic of discussion. The point of commenting is to provide helpful, useful information to them and their readers, not to spam them with unnecessary information that they do not care about.
Posted on Wed, Feb 08, 2012 @ 03:45 PM
[By Sarah Faglio]
In our technologically advanced society, it is surprising to see that not all companies are taking advantage of how the Internet could have a significant impact on their marketing campaigns. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, have changed the way we market products or services to our target audience. Blogging has also become a new social media trend that can draw in attention from qualified leads to a company's websites. With a higher ROI than traditional marketing methods, inbound marketing has shown to be a true asset to companies looking to make the most out of their marketing campaigns.
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, released survey results in "Marketing in Today's Economy" paper. The survey was completed by over 100 marketing executives in North America and focused on their use of email, mobile marketing and social media to build their brands, gain leads and improve customer support. Results showed a gap between attitudes toward social media and investment in social media. About 90% of the marketing executives admit to using social media marketing and 75% believe that it has a positive impact on their businesses. However, about 54.5% said that their company's marketing team spends less than 10 hours per week investing in social media, in addition to 35% admitted to only spending between 1-5 hours a week on social media marketing.
This research shows that social media has becoming a widely used marketing tool. However, many feel that it is not helping their business which may be due to the fact that they are not dedicating the necessary resources to get the results they want from social media marketing. Setting up company pages on social media platforms is not enough to see results from the tool. In order to make use of these strategies effectively, companies need to be active users and spend more time investing in these communication tools.
Social media marketing shows to have a lot of benefits to those companies that use them effectively to draw in their target audience and qualified leads. It helps companies develop an online presence, which contributes to them being found online through search engines and social media platforms. However, setting up a company page is not enough to generate interest in your company online. When marketing departments use social media to share valuable information on a consistent basis, they are using social media to its potential. Therefore, it is important for your company to stay active in social media communities to be able to see the valuable outcomes of these inbound marketing strategies. Social media is a valuable marketing resource for companies only when it is used efficiently through sufficient investment of time and energy put into developing content to share.
Posted on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 02:00 PM
[By Koleen Singerline]
Grass Roots Marketing, Inc., an inbound marketing company that specializes in staffing industry marketing, recently announced the results of a case study called “Inbound Marketing for Staffing Agencies”. The case study examines the current usage of effective, online marketing tactics for U.S. staffing agencies by comparing typical staffing firms with the top companies in the field.
If you’re unfamiliar with the methodology, inbound marketing is based on attracting qualified leads to an optimized website, the hub of your marketing and sales efforts. Using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, social media, blogging, email marketing and public relations to collectively support your content-rich website will help increase brand awareness and drive sales.
The study specifically looks at the website grades and social media platform activity (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging) of approximately 250 staffing firms; 233 staffing firms identified as members of the American Staffing Association (ASA) as well as 25 of the largest staffing firms in the U.S. as identified through research and Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). Results showed that in nearly all of the analyzed categories, the top 25 staffing firms ranked better than their 233 staffing firm counterparts in inbound marketing usage. While many of the companies had a decent handle on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, there is still a greater need to them to leverage the power of social media.
Our study falls in line with current trends of companies using inbound marketing strategies to substantiate their marketing campaigns and extend public reach to generate business. A recent 2010 study analyzing the Internet habits of U.S. citizens found that 78% of all U.S. Internet users say that they use the Internet to research products, indicating a continuous, upward trend. In its 2010 Staffing Company Survey, Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) analyzed the highest bang-to-buck marketing & sales tactics for staffing firms. Survey results showed that six of the eight marketing tactics that were said to be the most effective in generating sales were internet-related:
The key takeaway of this research is that typical staffing firms can increase their sales by investing more resources into inbound marketing tools. Technology and software has made it possible for these smaller companies to be just as effective as the top 25 staffing firms.
It is important that this industry grows through the use of productive inbound marketing strategies that help staffing agencies improve their online presence to attract clients and talent. While this research is industry specific, the principles of inbound marketing can be applied to any type of business in any industry.
“Inbound Marketing for Staffing Agencies” discusses the case study in greater depth, as well as provides insight and tips for how any type of company can use inbound marketing strategies for their business. The study provides insight into the practices of the industry and how to create sales by using inbound marketing strategies. Click here to get your FREE copy!
About Grass Roots Marketing, Inc. (GRM)
GRM’s HubSpot Certified professionals provide inbound marketing programs for the staffing industry. Enhance brand awareness and drive your sales by attracting qualified leads to your website through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, email marketing, public Relations, social media and blogging. GRM is recognized as the first company in the nation with HubSpot Certified professionals to serve the staffing field. For more information about GRM, please visit www.grmwebsite.com or call 732-380-8400.