Is your name spelled the conventional way? All my life people have pronounced my name wrong (it’s Gal-la-her not Gal-la-ger) but it doesn’t bother me. I only correct people when they spell it wrong. But, I wonder how many people are looking for me online today, spelling my name wrong and never finding me.

I’m going to do an experiment. Today in January 17th. I’m going to use my unique search engine optimization techniques and see how long it takes to get me to the front page of Google for Julie Gallagher Sacramento. There are some very prominent Julie’s out there – Legislative Director of the California State Assembly, Assistant Professor of History at Penn State, Author, Family Physician in Ontario. In fact LinkedIn says there are 25 in just the LinkedIn directory.

Update: I’m now the #1 listing on the first page of Google for Julie Gallagher Sacramento out of 1.1 million choices.

I am a marketing consultant. If you’ve landed here and you think I might be the one you’re looking for, here’s my LinkedIn profile, some photos on Flickr, my youtube channel. I don’t mind if you spell my name wrong. ;^D – If you need help marketing your local business, give me a call at 916-265-2521.

Whether you’re a solopreneur, a start-up or an existing small business, one of the most difficult areas for most business owners is marketing. It’s easy to spend a lot and get little, but doing nothing means your business will stagnate.

Here are some resources to help you strategize.

Small Business Marketing Resources

US Small Business Administration
Business Exchange by Business Week
Duct Tape Marketing
Wall Street Journal
Entrepreneur Magazine
Promotional Vehicle Barrett Design Works has been in business for over 20 years building promotional vehicles and custom trailers.

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the world’s most successful business users of Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Through online networking, he’s grown his family’s local wine business into a national industry leader and promoted Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine, capturing over 80,000 views a day.

Watch this video to see why Gary V. thinks you should have a Facebook Fan page for your business, and why you should get started today.

Build Your Brand with Facebook

Don’t just dive in to the deep end of the pool. Let Get on the Map help you design a social media plan that will help you achieve your goals.
Call 916-265-2521 for more information.

Congratulations to my friend Chris Brogan, featured today in the Wall Street Journal discussing blogging and alternatives to blogging.

The advantages of using a blog to jump-start your career, says Mr. Brogan, are many. “Blogging is flexible and gives you the freedom to set your own agenda and publishing schedule,” he says. “It’s also the Trojan horse into many large companies, because executive-level readers see my posts and get an immediate taste of the value I can bring to their businesses.”

Blogging isn’t for everyone, though. For some, the prospect of drafting original content two or more times a week is undesirable or impractical. And for those who excel at the spoken word rather than the written word, there are better avenues, such as YouTube.

Here are some examples of business marketing using both techniques:

Marketing Profs Blog – Put Sociability in B-2-B Sales
Blog On Restaurants – Online Marketing for Restaurants
Southwest Airlines – Flight Attendant Rap Video
Glamajama – #1 Tip for Getting Free Publicity Video

Be sure to read Chris Brogan’s new book with Julien Smith, Trust Agents, due in bookstores August 2009.

Video Marketing Sacramento

Get on the Map is a Sacramento consulting firm advising on all aspects of digital marketing: whether you want to create a Youtube channel featuring your business or improve your results with Google, we can help. Call 916-265-2521 for more information.

Have you been thinking about a business blog? Darren Rowse, author of the very popular blog, ProBlogger, says there are techniques and stategies you should seriously consider before you get started.

1. Listen First, Blog Later
2. Know what you want to achieve
3. Be Useful
4. Be Personal and Professional
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Sell, but Don’t be too Salesy
6. Link, Link, Link
7. Establish a Rhythm of Posting
8. Avoid Ads
9. Determine your Comment Moderation Policy
10. Be Interactive
11. Integrate Your Blog with your Website
12. Finding Readers by Leveraging Your Existing Profile and Network
13. Mix it Up

Thanks to Tim Carter of Social Networking Lifestyle for the head’s up.

Blog Consultant Sacramento

Get on the Map is a Sacramento consulting firm advising on all aspects of digital marketing: whether you’re a beginner setting up your first blog post or your goal is to be first in the search engine results, we can help. Call 916-265-2521 for more info.