Valentine’s Day: Feel the love of Social Media!

Post by Aaron Ganz February 14, 2013

The Love Continues!

Our Valentine’s Day email campaign was a hit, generating an open rate of 15.5%, or 3.1% higher than the industry average. Creating a catchy subject line can mean the difference between an average campaign, and an amazing campaign. Contact us today to find out how we can do the same for you.

GANZ Media brings Social Media Love

Check out this campaign by clicking on the link below:

Feel the Love of Social Media & Online Marketing!

Happy Valentine’s Day from GANZ Media!! – http://eepurl.com/vqxer

Email Campaigns bring Holiday Joy! GANZ Media can help!!

Post by Aaron Ganz December 21, 2012

Email Campaigns bring Holiday Joy! GANZ Media can help!!

Marketing Tips: Importance of a Clever Subject line & High Open Rates

Great subject lines = higher email open rates!

Are you considering creating an email campaign? Are you prepared for it to fail? How much does the success of your business depend on your online promotions? Open rates in the past five years have decreased industry wide due to image blocking, increased use of smart phones and list fatigue. At GANZ Media email campaigns for our clients consistently exceed industry averages, resulting in thousand of dollars in additional revenue.

Would you hire a plumber to do your root canal? Your best bet it to have a professional marketer help you with your online marketing.

Times are tough, and money is tight. Some companies think they are being frugal by having an untrained staffer run their email campaigns instead of using Marketing professionals. See this related article: 11 Reasons a 23-Year-Old Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media.

Without training and experience, finding the right subject line is next to impossible. Even with the best content, If your subject line doesn’t resonate well with your target audience, all your hard work is going into the spam box. Cutting corners for your online marketing can prove disastrous.

When creating a subject line for an email campaign here are a few items to consider:

1) Demographics: Who is your target market? Generalize subject lines appealing to everyone will result in large numbers of unsubscribes and low open rates.

2) Cleverness: Is your subject line too serious? Does it immediately compel one to read your email? Humor can be very useful to capture attention in the current short attention span era.

3) Pose a question: Asking a question that helps solve problems your prospects/customers may be experiencing.

4) Limit the use of discounts: Everyone wants a deal, but used too frequently, this can alienate your subscribers. Be a thought leader and have the majority of your emails focus on content/articles they might like to read.

GANZ Media would like to thank all our email list subscribers for reading our holiday email. You can view our email by clicking on this link: eepurl.com/s-b6f

Our most recent email campaign had an open rate of 16.3%, 3% higher than the industry average!

Click here to contact GANZ Media today to see how we can help you with email campaigns and all your online needs!

Thumbtack.com pairs Social Media & Smartphones to bring service pros to the masses!

Post by Aaron Ganz September 13, 2012

Thumbtack.com pairs Social Media & Smartphones to bring service pros to the masses!

Thumbtack.com screens and evaluates service professionals in 50 States, pairing them with customers and their specific project needs. Leads can be sent instantly via email to smartphones, meaning service pros never miss an opportunity to view hot prospects and turn them into happy customers!

You can check out our profile: click here!

GANZ Media just received our first two reviews on Thumbtack.com

Thumbtack Reviews for GANZ Media!

Services Thumbtack.com offers include:

Business & Legal
Family
Home
Events
Lessons
Writing & Translation
Health & Beauty
Cars & Trucks Tech & Web

Click here to contact GANZ Media today to see how we can help you with all your online needs!

3 Reasons Facebook is Too Big to Fail

Post by Aaron Ganz August 22, 2012

3 Reasons Facebook is Too Big to Fail

Facebook stock is down, but the future is looking up.

Let’s face it, the Facebook IPO was drastically overvalued. Overly optimistic traders, corporate greed, a shift in members viewing Facebook on smart phones vs. PC’s (resulting in fewer advertising opportunities) are among the many reasons for a lower than expected IPO and corresponding current stock price. And while its revenues represent only 1% of the world’s $507 billion in total ad spending, the growth opportunities for Facebook are limitless.

It is not uncommon for a stock price to dip significantly after its IPO. Companies such as LinkedIn and Angie’s List experienced similar plunges. LinkedIn’s share price was $94.25 in their first day of trade after their IPO, yet plunged to $63.71 a month later. It currently trades at $105 a share. Angie’s List Inc., the consumer-reviews site, had a first-day close after the IPO value of $16.26, up 25 percent from IPO price. It dipped to $11.56 within the first month. Four months later the price was $18.89.

There are many examples of tech stocks which have performed well after initially dipping in price. Google is currently trading at $675, compared to $84 since its 2004 IPO. Apple stock prices were at $22 dollars for its IPO back in December of 1980 – and increased 1700% within one year – and as of today are trading at a whopping $665 per share (over a 4000% increase). What is most important to recognize is not the short term expectations, but the long-term growth potential of this technology platform. There are three reasons Facebook is too big to fail:

1) Lifestyle Facebook is not just a software application, it is a way of life.

Individuals can find lost family members, old classmates, share pictures and events with friends and family, and chat live with other members. According to Mashable.com, the average person spends 5 hours and 46 minutes per month on Facebook, up from 4 hours and 39 minutes back in June of 2009. This is more than Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Microsoft, Amazon and Wikipedia combined!

2) Advertising Machine Facebook relies on Ads to drive revenues.

While there has been a shift in members viewing patterns on Facebook from personal computers to mobile phones (which have fewer ad opportunities due to a smaller screen), Facebook has barely scratched the surface of reaching out to other companies to partner with. Companies with large networks of people have the ability to exponentially grow the views and ad opportunities. The same untapped potential is true of 3rd party software applications that allow Facebook users to share content with online friends, and login with their existing Facebook logins.

3) Demographics Collection and Meta Data build value.

The most significant accomplishment of Facebook is the statistical data they have compiled. Users fill out their age, physical location, interests, simply by signing up. Pages users view, topics they frequent, companies they visit, all are collected which allows Facebook to search for patterns that their advertising department can capitalize on. But even more than that, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon have all have teamed up to share demographics (meta-data) from one site to another. While in many cases the personal information or identity of a specific person cannot be revealed, those seeking to advertise now have a larger reach, and the most precise statistics ever available. As the number of technology partnerships increase, the value and advertising opportunities increase.

Like any other tool, technology can be used to build or to harm. Other Social Medial platforms such as MySpace have gone by the wayside. This is not because they weren’t useful, but because their technology did not keep up with the changing needs and demands of their users. Facebook understands their users. They “get it”. Improvement of existing features, incorporating new features such as Timeline which allow users to display more content (and allow for more advertising opportunities), a large R&D budget, and an untapped world market guarantee a long and profitable future.

Click here to contact GANZ Media today and find out how we can create a Social Media Campaign for you!

Ten Blog Writing Tips Every Business Should Know!

Post by Aaron Ganz July 23, 2012

Ten Blog Writing Tips Every Business Should Know!

Blogs have become a primary source of information for a great number of people – and are surpassing the older forms of information gathering. People want to learn something – fast. They are seeking information on a person, an activity, a business, a recreational activity, technology or other area of interest. Here are some tips that can help you write a blog that gets read and shared with others:

Keep it short. Don’t be long-winded. 250 words is adequate.
Ensure you have done your research and that your facts are 100% correct.
Keep it simple, straightforward and to the point. Avoid long, convoluted sentences.
Take the right “tone” – whether friendly, informative, or aggressive, that best reflects your brand or the image you want to project. Avoid “salesy” blogs – keep it informational.
Add an image. People want to see a graphic representation.
Write it but don’t post it – take a least ½ an hour, re-read it and make changes, and then post it.
Choose a subject people are interested in, or present your company’s strong points in an appealing way – you want to engage your reader.
Use keywords sparingly. Keywords and phrases are important for ranking, but when overdone, it is a disaster. Your content must make sense and be interesting to the reader.
Introduce your key point early in your blog post. If it is hidden within the text, the reader may never get to it. Once you lose them, they are usually gone for good.
Include a link to your website so that the reader can find you, your company or the activity you are discussing.

Use these tips if you want your blog to be read and shared. If you aren’t a writer, hire a professional. It is affordable, and ANY content posted on the web should be 100% unique, professional and engaging.

Contact GANZ Media to see how we can help you with all your online content needs.

4th of July + Email + Social Media = Winning Combo!! The fireworks continue!

Post by Aaron Ganz July 5, 2012

4th of July + Email + Social Media = Winning Combo!! The fireworks continue!

Happy 4th of July from GANZ Media!

GANZ Media hopes everyone enjoyed the 4th of July Holiday. We certainly did. Our fireworks are still continuing to go off with the launch on Tuesday of our holiday email, encouraging viewers to “Exert your Online Marketing Independence”. Click here to view the email.

Placing Social Media Icons with corresponding links in the body of an email is a must! The reach of our email was extended through the use of Twitter and Facebook. When an email campaign is sent out, a unique link or URL is generated. This URL can be inserted into a “Tweet” or posted on a Facebook page,to allow people to share content with friends, and increasing the amount of people viewing your content. Additionally, each email allows a subscriber to “Like us on Facebook”, “Follow us on Twitter”, and share with a friend via email.

GANZ Media email campaign sets off fireworks with 15% open rate!

As of today over 200 subscribers have viewed our email. This represents a 15% open rate, versus an industry standard of 13.9%. (*Note- as of 7/23/12 the open rate has increased to 16.5!) This is achieved through a well crafted subject line. Creating subject lines are an art form. One doesn’t want to appear too “salesy”, which can result in being labeled as spam even by folks who chose to sign up to receive your content. The idea with subject lines is to be use clever or playful phrases (depending on the tone you are looking to set) to encourage people to open the email, click on content, and drive people to your website to buy your product or service.

We do recommend that those on your email list agree to get your emails by agreeing to it twice, in a process called double opt-in. This ensures that your subscribers really want you to send them stuff, and also helps screen out fake email addresses for your list by making sure an actual human acknowledges signing up.

Please contact GANZ Media today to see how we can help you with your next email campaign or Social Media project!

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

Post by Aaron Ganz June 20, 2012

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

A blog can enhance your online presence, and many company owners and PR managers are now engaged in blogging as part of their digital marketing campaign. Blogging is an effective tool that can increase interest in your company, product or service as well as improve the ranking and visibility of your site, and increase in clients, customers and profitable contacts.

The cost of hiring a professional writer to create your posts is significantly cheaper and more effective than traditional types of marketing campaigns. One TV ad, which is very likely to be muted, skipped or ignored, will likely cost your company far more than a full year or more of professionally written blogs. A recent study reported that 78% of the public look for information online about products and services they are considering purchasing. Many read blogs as their most trusted source of information. You can use your blog to access these readers.

To make the process work for your company, it is necessary to have ongoing postings. The content you post must be relevant, interesting or useful information. In creating an effective blog, you need to continue to post content, at a rate of several blogs per week. Readers will not return to read your blog or share your blogs if there are few or no new postings, or when the content is not relevant or interesting.

Creating a blog is not a process that gets immediate results. It may take several months before a blog begins to affect your site’s ranking. If at first you don’t see results, it is important to understand that to take effect requires longevity and continued postings. In one recent case, it took 2 months to move the blog from page 5 to page 1 on Google, with 3 blogs posted every week.

There was an earlier belief from some digital marketing firms that the actual value of what was written was not considered of great importance; this is definitely no longer the case. The content you post on your blog, and the quality of the information, whether it is funny, informative, or technical, is the most important part of successful online marketing. Your content must be completely unique and original and offer the reader useful and interesting information.

Your blog can be a source of information for a variety of interested people, including journalists who are looking for specific information in an industry. Well-researched and professionally written blog posts can become a trusted source of industry information. With careful management of your blog, you and your company can become an authority that others pay attention to, and follow.

Contact GANZ Media today to see how we can help you with all your online content creation!

USC Social Media Seminar for Small Businesses by GANZ Media – June 7th

Post by Aaron Ganz June 1, 2012

GANZ Media to give seminar on Social Media for Small Businesses @ USC June 7th!

USC sponsors Los Angeles Chapter of Entrepreneurs Professionals

Los Angeles Chapter

Who: Sponsored by Entrepreneurs Professionals (Los Angeles Chapter)

When: Thursday, June 7, 2012, 6:00 pm

Where: USC Campus Taper Rm. 116

Exposition Blvd and S. Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA

Discussion by GANZ Media: What is Social Media and how can it help your Small Business?

To attend, please sign-up at the Meetup.com page: click here.

At our Information Meeting, we will tell you what our group is all about, so you can see how belonging to a “Business Development” group can not only be a whole lot of fun, it can also make your business more than successful. We don’t settle for the notion of just “surviving” in this current economy, we are set on the notion of thriving in this economy. We invite you to meet the group and see if Entrepreneurs Professionals would be a good addition to your business growth strategy.