The Metropical Group Business Blog

Tampa Networking Event - Recipe 4 Success

2010-09-20T03:18:00.001-07:00

Recipe 4 Success! Marketing Seminar Tampa, FL

You will have an opportunity to network with 100 other business owners in the Tampa Bay Area.
Are you using social media correctly?
Are you making friends but not making money?
What is a PR firm exactly and what should you know before you hire one?
What is branding and how important is it to your marketing strategy?
How do you use video to generate leads and make money?

When:

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
@10:30am to 1:30pm

Where:

Brio Tuscan Grille @ International Plaza
2223 Northwest Shore Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33607

More Informaton: www.recipe4success.us

Call: 813-333-9730

Tampa SEO Company Video Marketing Case Study

2010-05-12T23:26:00.001-07:00

Racheal Vicari from The Metropical Group located in Tampa, FL shows you the Benefits of Video Marketing.

Video Marketing is taking the internet and the world by storm. Search engines and consumers love videos. Our Client’s are seeing almost instant results with cutting edge internet video marketing. It’s no secret that media sharing sites and video are dominating the internet right now.

Search Engines Love Video

52% of all web traffic is video. (according to industry watchdog, eMarketer)
More than 70% of all web visitors watch online video. (according to NY Times)
The average YouTube visitor spends 27 minutes watching video per day.
The search engines visit video sites every few minutes.
Your videos appear in Google, Yahoo and MSN just MINUTES after you submit, not days or weeks.
Because video is so popular, video links and clips often show up before other content.

What would being on the first or even second page of search listing mean to you?

Imagine what it could do for YOUR web traffic and sales! How many more cash-in-hand customers would be visiting your website? Imagine if you had multiple listings on page 1 of Google for your business. Imagine waking up each morning to a flood of emails and voicemails ready to do business with you, and you have an advertising machine working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

What would your life be like if you never had to ask the question, “Where will I get business from today?” but instead you were asking, “Wow, how am I going to expand to handle all this business…”

To view the whole series: http://www.themetropicalgroup.com/casestudies.html

To get more information, please visit: http://themetropicalgroup.com/

Affordable Marketing Strategy - Market your Marketing

2009-11-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

It has been proven that when you layer your marketing efforts you receive a better response.

30% more dollars are spent by multimedia shoppers than single-media shoppers. – USPS

A better response often equals more customers which mean more sales. With all of the different advertising vehicles out there- radio, tv, newspapers, direct mail, and the internet- it is very easy to get lost in a sea of options. However, right now, research shows that consumers are paying more attention to the internet and direct mail than any other type of advertising. When using these in conjunction, you now have the dynamic duo.

First, let’s look at the benefits of a direct mail campaign. Mailers get into the hands (literally) of your prospect, has staying power in the home (on the fridge), and can be passed along to others. Postcards are an affordable format that gets your message immediate attention.

Second you have the internet and your website. You can have the best website around, but much like your business, if no one knows your there, it won’t translate to sales. Creating an effective SEO strategy for your website and improving your search engine results page takes an investment of time and money.

I call it marketing your marketing.

Use your mail pieces to direct people to your website. Mail is used most often by industry leaders to drive Web site traffic over e-mail, print, and online advertising.

Here are a couple of tips for a successful postcard marketing campaign that will drive consumers to your website:

• Motivate customers to go online by including a special offer or “code” and measure the results.

• Put your Web address on all direct mail and advertising.

• Make sure your phone number is on every Web page.

• Design your mailers to have the same look and feel of your website – if you can’t do this consider a special landing page on your website. (More about this in a minute)

A quick thing about landing pages:

If you are looking for a way to highlight a product, service, event or even just to make your mailer and website like cohesive. You should consider a landing page.

What is a landing page? A landing page is a web page that is separate from your website but can be linked to it. It is a very affordable marketing tool. It is much cheaper than redesigning your whole site. It can be changed or updated easily and often. It allows you to present more detailed information on a certain product, service, promotion and/or to collect data and leads. Used hand in hand with a direct mail campaign, that provides a link to the landing page, allows you to make a great first impression on your future customers!

If you need help getting started and creating a direct mail campaign that is tied to a landing page, Metro Mail can do that. In fact, we can create the postcard and the landing page. We have award winning designers that are ready to get you started.

Make the Most of the Holiday Selling Season

2009-11-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

I saw a great article today entitled, "5 Mistakes that could ruin your holiday sales." http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/holiday-marketing/5-mistakes-that-could-ruin-your-holiday-sales.aspx

One of the key mistakes cited in this article is spending too little on advertising. Did you know that for some businesses Holiday Sales account for 75% of all of their annual business? If you are one of these merchants, you can't afford to NOT invest in advertising. It's an investment in your future growth and the success of your company.

If you are on a budget this year, a good alternative to a direct mailer, is a shared mailer. A shared mailer is a direct mail piece where you share the cost of postage and lists with other merchants in your area. This is a great way to keep costs down while still reaping all of the benfits of direct mail.

It is not too late get in the game! But you have to hurry, Christmas is coming.

Metro Mail has both custom direct mail programs and a premium shared mailer featuring high quality postcards. Check out our website for more information. http://www.metromailfl.com/

Finally Cost Effective Direct Marketing for Tampa Bay Businesses.

2009-10-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Finally Cost Effective Direct Marketing for Tampa Bay Businesses.

October 15, 2009- Tampa, FL - The Metropical Group Inc announced today that it will begin offering its premier direct mailer – Metro Mail- to Carrollwood, South Tampa, and WestShore merchants.

Direct Marketing is the perfect vehicle to help businesses get their message out to customers. It’s affordable, targetable, and returns are easily tracked. It can be used to gain new leads, sell products or services, or boost attendance to events.

When businesses are struggling, they often cut their advertising budget. This is not the best practice. In fact, it is the opposite. When times are tough you must market. McGraw Hill analyzed 600 companies that have weathered recessions. They concluded that the companies that maintained or increased their advertising effort during recessions had an average sales increase of 275%. Their unlucky counterparts, who cut their advertising during the same period, only grew 19%.

“We are very excited to be able to offer such an affordable marketing solution for businesses. We know that times are tough and every penny counts!” says Racheal Vicari, co-founder, of Metro Mail. “Because businesses are able to share the costs of postage and printing, it makes this a very attractive solution to those looking to cut costs but not corners.”

Metro Mail is an upscale, shared mailer that is printed on high quality, full color postcards. The company is able to offer direct mail campaigns to its customers for less than the price of postage.

Sam Walton, the late founder of Wal-Mart, summed it up best when he was asked his opinion on the 1992 recession. He said, "We don't plan to participate."

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Contact: Racheal Vicari Co-Founder
The Metropical Group Inc
Phone: 813-321-7369
Website: www.metromailfl.com
E-Mail: Racheal@metromailfl.com