Ready to Sway

The Sway Interactive Workshop is coming.

Unlike any other search or social marketing conference you’ve been to, Sway will teach you how to truly sway your audiences through a hands-on workshop with one-on-one instruction from Cement Marketing’s Bradley Spencer, Alaina Sheer and special guest instructors John Raymond and Leigh Householder. Seats will be limited to ensure that every attendee gets the most out of the Sway experience.

More details coming very soon. We’re putting the final touches on the Sway website as we speak, including these mug shots.

Bradley Spencer, Search Engine Optimization Wizard

Alaina Sheer, Social Marketing Maven and Web Strategist

John Raymond, Search Engine Optimization Consultant

Leigh Householder, or Advergirl, nationally renowned social marketing and digital strategist

We can’t wait to see you there. Stay tuned to the Cement Marketing blog and Twitter for the launch of the Sway Website and registration.

The (new) first office

We can’t help but wonder why the colors of the antique chairs we found on Craigslist in the 12th hour of our office make over are exactly aligned with our logo.

Fate? Destiny? Or just some really cool chartreuse and burryberry mustard chairs.

Either way, we’re beyond pleased with our new space.

And our first client. More on Lifeline of Ohio soon.

Big Things, Big Things

Cement Marketing is proud to announce a move to our first studio/office space.

Located above Wild Goose Creative, the Cement Marketing offices will be at 2489 Summit Street, just south of Hudson in Columbus, Ohio. We can’t wait to show you our new space!

At this very moment, our space looks like this:

And because we have a crazy amount of exciting client work to tend to, we’re planning on transforming the place in less than 36 hours. Stay tuned for an update and follow us on Twitter as we make our progress.

Cement Marketing provides complete Website development, social marketing and search engine optimization services to a select group of clients in Columbus, Ohio. For information or to set up an appointment in our brand new offices, e-mail – alainasheer@cementmarketing.com

The Social Media Rush isn’t Really a Rush

Time, it seems, is something slipping away from all of us.

With our calendars constantly booked – far into the future – and our deadlines pressing, it’s easy to lose site of what really matters. 

In our case – what matters is making a difference for the audiences our client’s touch. We do it by creating campaigns that move people into action, transform small businesses from being on the brink of bankruptcy to completely and far into the black or by giving a non-profit the tools they need to make the most of their online property.

And we also do it by moving at a very human pace.

We want every client’s social or search marketing campaign to fly but we know it’s a process that can’t be rushed. Building the foundation of your interactive marketing campaigns through search and social marketing takes an investment of time, resources and yes – dollars.

It seems ironic, doesn’t it? That social media – something so fast – would take so much time. 

But unless you have one of the few instant viral sensations on your hands, building a fan base on Facebook and a following on Twitter take time. And not just weeks, but months. Building relationships is something you can not rush – not as a person and not as a brand.

And even though we’re constantly attached to our iPhones, our Twitter and our Facebook – we love to put it all away, turn it all off and just relax. Life is just so much better that way and so are our campaigns. 

What will matter to you in 2010? 

Find stellar advice on finding your own path in this world that is moving way too fast in Seth Godin’s new and entirely free eBook – What Matters Now.

The Social Media Revolution

Thanks to @leighhouse for originally showing us this amazing video.

We Can Measure That

One of the most common myths of social media is that marketers can’t measure its impact. In truth, we can measure everything we do, whether it be on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. And if we weren’t measuring our actions and tracking our progress we wouldn’t be doing our jobs.

It’s 8:00 am on Monday morning – what’s the first thing you do when you sit down in the office? As a marketer or a business owner you should be checking your website traffic report from the prior week. Did your traffic drop or jump? And if so, why or how? What can you do this week to ride the momentum or turn the dip around? Does your current advertising agency provide you with weekly analytic reports? If they don’t, they’re not doing their job.

When launching a Twitter campaign a good social marketer will measure the incoming traffic throughout the day and watch the visitors poor onto the website, tweaking as necessary. Using Google Analytics we  can then tell which page they visit after the home page and follow their user path until they leave the website. We can even tell you what time of day they come onto your site and tell you exactly how they got there.

A challenge for you… ask your marketer or website manager for your site’s analytics report. If they hestitate for a second, you may want to us a call because you may be driving a lemon.

Curing the social marketing spins

If you’re reading this you have probably already heard a social marketing spin of some kind, been to a seminar promising to unveil the secret to it all or have read countless blog posts on the topic.

Chances are, by now, your head is spinning.

During every one of our meetings with new clients we always hear this question, “I just need someone to tell me where to start, what do we do with all of this stuff.” Our answer –  “What’s your message? What do you offer your target audience?” (more…)

David vs. Goliath

By Bradley Spencer
Cement Marketing SEO Lead

Fortune 500 companies are about to eat your lunch. Unless, of course, you grab a sling shot.

If your website is less than a decade old, has less than 100,000 inbound links, or less than 10,000 indexed pages, then enjoy the year or so. Relish the traffic you are getting from search engines. Stew in the delight of ranking high for some pretty common search terms. Because that’s all about to end.

Why is your site about to go ten pages deep?

Because huge companies with massive budgets are watching what us smaller websites and SEO firms are doing and oogling at our ROI.

Fortune 500 companies that are slow and unwieldy have stayed out of the search engine optimization game so far. But now that they are seeing the importance of organic traffic, they are going to systematize and dominate. They have the money, brand and influence to absolutely destroy any websites that stand in their path. (more…)

Show me the money

You’re so money, and you don’t even know it. 

Just like this chair.

This old chair, thrown out to the curb and forgotten, is a hidden treasure.

Just like your website. 

It just needs a little cleaning, some polish and a splash of search engine marketing. 

This chair has serious potential. Do you see it?

We do.

What is social marketing?

Every time we communicate with someone else or an audience online, wherever it may be – a blog, on e-mail, a social network, Twitter or even by leaving a product review – it is a social act. Social marketing is a brand’s attempt to enter this space without getting thrown out on their butts.

How do you do it? Take a look at this photo and find the answer.

These men are about to share their pints of beer served up in a carrier wrapped in a sponsor’s message. Without intruding, this brand is joining their conversation by offering the sports fans something they need and want, something that seamlessly fits into their environment and serves a very useful purpose.

This is exactly how brands should use social media to market their products or services. If you find a purpose in the space and offer something to your friends and fans you will succeed. If you’re just standing on a pulpit shouting a message you won’t go anywhere. The best way to understand social marketing and where your brand may fit inside of it is to just start using it.

Once the technology behind it all doesn’t seem as overwhelming you’ll be able to focus again on what really matters  – your message.

Some things never change.