Web Marketing with Bill Fukui

Welcome to Bill's Blog. I am a website marketing consultant for Page 1 Solutions and have been marketing professional services (medical, dental and legal services) since 1994. Let me know if you have thoughts or questions on any marketing topics. Sharing information is the key to growth and success.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Going to San Francisco


I will be going to San Francisco to attend the International Association of Comprehensive Aesthetics (IACA) national meeting later this week, so my posts may be a little infrequent.

I will also be participating in presenting a course with Bob Weiss (Alyn-Weiss & Associates), Dr. Randy Jones, and Dr. Joe Barton.

Obviously, it is a privelidge to share the microphone with these highly credible professionals. I can also personally say that they are genuinely nice people.

Looking forward to it.

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posted by page1bill at 1:21 PM 1 comments

Friday, July 24, 2009

Times Continue To Change - sometimes for the better

All this talk about change in my most recent post. However, I want to emphasize, change is not always bad.















The Dow ended yesterday over 9,000 pts for the first time since January!! Hopefully, this change in the market continues. I've noticed second quarter 401K numbers going up for the first time in I can't remember how long.

Ok, so this isn't about marketing, . . . but ... wait... what am I talking about? It has all to do about marketing.

So many businesses have gone into hibernation, and like turtles tucking everything under their shell, have all but pulled most of their marketing dollars (and investment dollars) out. The key is to know when to get back in.

You need to determine your key indicators and when that time is. But make sure it isn't too late. If you wait to until after everyone has already regained their marketshare, your dollars are not going to have as much impact. Again, if you waited too long to pull out, then don't make the same mistake about getting back in. The opportunity may pass you by.

posted by page1bill at 7:28 AM 0 comments

Thursday, July 23, 2009

More Learning From The Past

"Let your fingers do the walking through the . . ."


When's the last time you heard that jingle? You probably used to use the yellow page book to find providers, restaurants, get phone numbers, location information, check on products, inventory, hours of operation, etc. But as most consumers realize, much of what they used the phone book for, they now use the Web instead.

It is no surprise that Yellow Page Advertising is taking a hit because of the economy. However, their biggest problem is not the declining number of advertisers, but the declining number of USERS. Without users, so goes the value of the medium.

For generations, people used publishing outlets to get information. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, white and yellow page books, etc. dominated! They had all the brand recognition, the financial resources, all the data! Unfortunately, they continued to see themselves as a publishing company, not an information source.

Could you imagine if Yellow Pages got into the search business 10 years ago, rather than waiting for their business to deteriorate. With all their branding, resources and cash flow, it is not unrealistic to say instead of "Googling" we could be "Dexing" today.

Learn from others mistakes and don't fall asleep at the wheel. Stay sharp and open to opportunities.

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posted by page1bill at 7:21 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Learn From TV's Past










I remember when I first entered the professional services (doctors and lawyers) advertising industry about 15 years ago.

-Television was, by far, the dominant medium for advertising
-The vast majority was viewing the big 3 networks (ABC, CBS, NBC)
-High quality ads were produced on film
-Target audiences were easy to find and reach
-Parents worried about their kids watching too much television


Today,

-On average, people spend twice as much time on online (32.7 hours/week) than television (16.4 hours/week).
-The big 3 have lost the majority of the prime time market to cable programming
-Video and television advertising production has gone digital
-Television audiences (and people in general) have become ultra fragmented with so many program options; it is no longer a simple task to target audiences and much easier to waste marketing dollars
-Parents worry about their kids spending too much time on the Internet

Television changed the world. And in the process, it too has gone through a lot of changes. Even "free" television is no longer free and requires you purchase new HD-ready sets.

The fact is, the changes that television had, the Internet will experience too, at a much faster pace. For example, if you built your website less than a year ago, you probably need to update it simply to allow mobile devices to display it correctly (ex. iPhone and Blackberry display websites differently than your desktop or laptop).

The important thing is to always "keep your head in the game" or you risk being a rabbit-ear antenna television in an HD world.

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posted by page1bill at 7:17 AM 0 comments

Monday, July 13, 2009

Social Bookmarking: Another Great Web Tool

Social bookmarking is a beneficial tool that is too often overlooked. Instead of being limited to a single computer, social bookmarking services allow you to add and access sites from any computer at any time.

Sites, such as Delicious and StumbleUpon, allow users to not only access and save bookmarks, but also allow them to manage and share their resources. Bookmarked sites can be tagged, titled, and organized so other users can find them. You can easily sort your resources, or find new resources that other users have tagged with keywords. For example, if I am looking for articles, blogs, or websites with information about SEO, I can search for other users’ bookmarks that have been tagged “SEO.” The most popular sites will appear first, enabling me to find any industry must-reads.

It’s not a bad idea to join a site like Delicious, so that you can tag your own websites and blogs so they can be found by other users. The bookmarks are RSS enabled, so they are easy to subscribe to and publish. And, you can reach your target audience by finding users that have similar interests.

Worried about sharing too much information with your network? Don't, because you can set any bookmarks that you don’t want anyone else to see to private.

Overall, social bookmarking is a great for managing and sharing your web pages. I highly recommend it.

posted by SaraS at 3:48 PM 0 comments

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Official Google Blog: Blogger is turning 10

Blogging has been around for a long time. In fact, Blogger.com will be celebrating it's 10th birthday in August.

Blogging still remains one of them most effective ways to build online community, credibility and expand your online presence, but you have to participate and contribute. Also, when you make entries to your blog, be sure to add photos, graphics, or images to make it more appealing and make sure you include links to credible sources for more information, including new pages that get added to your website.

The key is: Keep blogging!

posted by page1bill at 8:21 AM 0 comments