Standing on The Shoulders of Giants: Backplane Builds on Social Networking

Social network Titans of media are getting savvy with their celebrity. Nowadays, there’s a social network for everything from books to spelling errors. And now, there’s even one where music fans can follow their favorite celebrity exclusively.

Backplane, the celebrity-based social network, premiered with Lady Gaga’s “Little Monsters” last weekend. Gaga, known as a fashion icon and music sensation, totes 26, 860,068 followers on Twitter and now holds 20 percent stake in Backplane.

How is this Social Network Different?

Unlike other sites that aggregate fans with similar music interests, littlemonsters.com is a social media platform exclusively for Lady Gaga fans. Users can share Gaga’s music internally on the site as well as their “passion and creativity in a community full of art, acceptance, monsters and Gaga,” as the site proclaims.

This type of brand awareness is not limited to music, but it is instead a celebrity social network and a hub for their fans. Do celebrities need more attention? No. But, the loyal fans of celebrities can now enjoy this fusion of photo-editing tool Canvass, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Google Calendars.

Age of the Niche Market

Before, big name brands and businesses were the focal points for consumers, but this is the year of the niche market, and Backplane is its home.

As the future of the Web continues to evolve and forge new paths, iQuarius Media will be there to answer all of your questions.  From Internet marketing to website design, we’ve got you covered.

 

Google Now Makes Web Browsing More Visual

Google Now

Google Now

With Google’s newest mobile application for Android, there is no excuse to be late. Google Now will geo-locate you and give you a virtual nudge in the right direction when it’s time to get moving.

In other words, if you have a meeting on your Google Calendar, Google Now will identify how long it will take to get to that location and when would be the best time to leave.

What does this mean for the way users interact with Google? With Google Now, Internet searches return tabs and photos instead of the traditional blue hyperlinks changing the way Internet traffic is funneled to sites.

What Does Google Now Mean for Internet Search?

Mark Wilson of Fast Company explains, “They’re pulling us from an era of blue hyperlinks and typos to one fueled by the places we go and things we see, showing us the places we’re going and things we’ll see.”

As a result, photo content on websites is now becoming increasingly important. With the emphasis on visuals and less on content, the way people search for topics will change along with the results they see.

Hugo Barra, Director of Product Management for Android, explains: “You used to have to enter a search query or type in a street address, but that changes with Google Now.”

Similar to the way Google currently functions, Google Now will enjoy aggregating data in the same way in an effort to optimize search results. With Google’s new widget-like search feature, searches are fueled by tons and tons of user data; the more it collects, as you might imagine, the more accurate its predictions and suggestions will be.

Check out the video below for more information on Google Now.

Your business should be at the top of every Google search. Let the team at iQuarius Media optimize your site for SEO, Internet marketing, and more.

Internet Marketing Tips | 5 Pivotal Points

internet marketing

Internet Marketing Pivot Points

5 Important Pillars of Internet Marketing.

1. Blogs

–Register your blog with popular directories
–Have your newest blog posts appear on your LinkedIn Profile and Facebook status with links back to the blog
–Read top blogs in your industry, and then post comments with helpful information and links back to your own blog or Web site.

2. Social media can be a great way to get the word out about your company or product. Effective internet marketing can help accomplish this goal.

–Did you know Facebook has more than 200 million users? Facebook allows you to create free fan pages about your business.
–LinkedIn is a professional network that includes allowing companies to create profiles.
–Manage your social networking presence and engage in consistent participation with your connections. Nutshell Mail is a service that brings users a summary of their social network updates to their inbox in a single email delivered to them on their schedule.

3. Monitor Your Cyberspace Presence

We’ve all heard of “Google-ing” someone or something… Keep an active eye on what’s posted on the Internet about you and your business. Assume that your clients and prospects are in the know about what’s out there. Searching your name on Google and Twitter can tell you several important things:

–What people are saying about your business
–Whether your work is being used without your permission
–Whether someone else is using your personal or business name

If your reputation is in trouble and you’re finding negative or false information, you may need professional assistance to fix the problem. Evaluate if you need legal representation or public relations and press release solutions.

4. Be consistent with your online message and branding

–Coordinate and integrate marketing communications tools within your business. By doing this, the business’s brand message will be consistent in all possibilities.
–Integrating communications helps eliminate confusion from the consumer and builds brand strength.

All advertising media selections, creative designs, and public relations efforts should strive to match the message, media, and audience, so the right person sees and/or hears the advertisement or internet marketing piece and can recognize the business and its brand consistency.

5. Apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to your web site

SEO is a great way to increase your online revenue stream. SEO allows you to:

–Develop and arrange your site’s content and navigation to be fully optimized
–Drive more traffic to your Web site
–Maximize your Internet exposure

If these pointers seemed like an avalanche of information, imagine executing all of these functions on a daily basis. It could get overwhelming. This is when it’s time to consider outsourcing the work to a team of industry veterans who will keep your business’ best interest at the forefront. At iQuarius Media we work on these different facets on a daily basis, so feel free to contact us and we can discuss how to make your online presence effective.

Google+ Reaches 90 Million? Kind Of.

google+ larry pageGoogle CEO Larry Page announced last week during the year-end earnings call that Google+ (Google Plus, or G+) now has over 90 million users. This is in addition to the amazing growth in the single month of December, where Google+ saw almost 20 million new sign-ups, much of it through the millions of brand-new Android devices unwrapped during the holiday season, according to Google+ watchers.

Google+’s last official estimate, in October, was 40 million users. And though Page claimed that 60% of Google+ users engage with Google every day, he did not specify if these 54 million users were engaging with Google+ pages or the other wide range of Google products.

Google also reported its first $10 billion quarter, and they’re up 50 million Android devices since last quarter, bringing it to 250 million.

At any rate, Google+ is only 6 months old. It took Facebook almost a year to reach one million users. Google+ had 10 million in 16 days. On the other hand, Facebook is expected to reach the billionth user mark by the end of this year.

(Do any business owners have any doubts right now as to the reach of social media networks? If you do, please, call us. We’ve got some talkin’ to do.)

As for Google+ and Larry Page, we’re going to file this under “one to watch.”

Press Release Showcase: OxygenBars.com

press releaseDo you or your company have a new concept, product or service, or an event, that you’d like to publicize with a press release? Do you have anything newsworthy that the world needs to hear about? iQuarius Media can research, write, optimize, and distribute your press release.

Press Release Sample: OxygenBars.com

Here is a writing sample from our archives, released in Fall 2011 for OxygenBars.com.

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OxygenBars.com Provides the Elusive Commodity — A Captive Audience — At The PMA Fresh Summit

As trade show exhibitors get creative to draw people into their booths, they employ crowd-attracting devices such as oxygen bars.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Venice, FL — The Produce Marketers Association (PMA) will be holding its 2011 Fresh Summit, in Atlanta, GA. From October 14 through 17. At least 18,500 people are expected to attend this International Convention and Exposition.

Industry giants such as Del Monte, Dole, Monsanto, Sunkist and Sysco will be sponsoring and exhibiting. Thousands of participants from food service, supermarkets, government agencies, educational institutions, and other organizations representing the entire supply chain of produce and flowers will be represented at the trade show.

In search of networking opportunities and a chance to promote their products and services, buyers and sellers will be jostling for attention from each other. Trade show participants have had to find creative ways to catch the eye of a potential customer. As such, an oxygen bar will be one crowd-attracting device and attendee perk that will be seen at this year’s trade show.

OxygenBars.com will be setting up a four-station oxygen bar at the Fresh Summit. In the evening, OxygenBars.com will be supplying oxygen after-hours at a corporate party. With individual oxygen sessions running in the five-minute range, the oxygen bars will provide participants an unprecedented way to promote their products and information to a relaxed, receptive, and — most importantly — captive audience.

_________________________________

About OxygenBars.com

OxygenBars.com is the worldwide leader in oxygen bar manufacturing, equipment, and event services. Servicing clients in the United States and worldwide in 52 countries. For more information, please visit https://OxygenBars.com.

For more information on the Fresh Summit, please visit https://www.freshsummit.com.

B2B Social Media Marketing

b2b social mediaAs a business owner, you can no longer ignore the role social media plays in the survival of any business.

You may think that Business to Business has nothing to do with social media; you may be surprised how vital B2B social media is for your business’s success.

6 Steps to Get You Started with B2B Social Media Marketing

Step 1: Understand what you want B2B social media marketing to achieve for your business.  Remember, with B2B social media marketing, it is a means to an end. This golden rule will help you measure your B2B social media marketing success. If, at any stage, you are unable to identify what you are trying to accomplish, you are wasting your time. Begin your B2B social media marketing by setting one or two clear goals and always have them in mind as your guide throughout your marketing efforts.

Step 2: Find your B2B social media audience. The main point of B2B social media marketing is to successfully reach your target audience. Find out where your customers spend their time online. Where are they most vocal? Identify the proper channels to address. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time.

Step 3: Develop the proper B2B social media content.  Of course, everything eventually boils down to proper content. Why is content strategy essential in B2B social media marketing? What type of information is relevant and interesting to your target audience? It’s something they’re already talking about. It becomes a matter of creating content and then using the proper methods of distributing that content — which differs from audience to audience (that is, from industry to industry).

Step 4: Consider Search and SEO in B2B social media. Be search engine friendly as a matter of course throughout your B2B social media marketing. People Google their questions and do their research through search. Customers and clients go online to finalize their purchase decisions. Optimize everything. Leverage keywords so they find you when they’re ready to make a deal. This is where your B2B social media marketing feeds into your bottom line. 

Step 5: Establish a digital footprint for your B2B social media. Leave a description of your business and an active link for users to click on, everywhere. Besides supporting your SEO efforts, active links are a direct line to your website so users can find it with minimal effort. At the very least, put a link to your site on all your landing pages, welcome pages, and profiles (where applicable) on all your B2B social media channels.

Step 6: Hold yourself accountable. Business requires trust and reliability. Be who you say you are. And establish a regular process for reporting, such as through analytics, so that you can measure your business’ progress at the end of each month.

 Summary

One important thing to note through all this is that running a B2B Social Media marketing campaign requires a lot of hours. Keeping open communications with people you regularly do business with is one thing. But knowing when to outsource is a smart move. A good Internet marketing team can improve targeted traffic and:

  • Create fresh content and push it out on a daily basis
  • Keep an eye on analytics to measure your business’ reach — then interpret and act on the insights provided
  • Manage accounts to make sure you’re not missing important communications with potential business partners and customers
  • Optimize everything

Call us if you need help. We can do all of the above. With a smile.

Commercials: Production at iQuarius Media

commercialsCommercials target your prospects when they’re doing something they already like, such as streaming music online or watching TV. We’ll help you keep their attention for that precious few seconds with gorgeous visual and audio content, so that you can spread your message.

We start you from concept to polished product, handling your commercials content with mastery and artistry — whether your commercials are for radio, TV, or streaming on the Internet.

We can do all of these in-house. Tell us what you need for your commercials from this list:

1. A Script

  • We write persuasive copy
  • We keep tone and audience utmost in our minds as we write
  • We play to the “theater of the mind”
  • We’re concise

2. Voice Talent

  • We have experienced radio, ad, and theater voices — male and female
  • Our voices are clear and trustworthy
  • We speak English, Spanish, and Japanese fluently

3. Video Content

  • We provide full-featured, high-definition video
  • We can go on-location if you need
  • Our content will be sharp and creative
  • We know what looks best for the distribution, audience, and message you have in mind
  • Our motion graphics artists are multiple-award winners

4. Audio Content and Audio Post-Production

  • We write electronic and piano music
  • We have experience with major labels including Sony and Warner Brothers
  • Audio post-production will be overseen by Grammy-nominated talent
  • We can do backgrounds, sound effects, ADR, custom sound design — so your commercials will be textured, comfortable
  • …However, none of us can sing
Call us to produce your commercials. Or, if you have existing material, call us to help you get it out to the world through Internet marketing and web distribution.

$8 MILLION For Mobile Internet?

Mobile Internet usage is a social and cultural mainstay. Half of all local searches are conducted on mobile devices. A whopping 86% of mobile Internet users are glued to their phones while they watch TV. We average almost 3 hours a day on our mobile Internet devices — that’s over DOUBLE the time we spend eating.

Facebook, YouTube, searches, store coupons…  It’s all in the palms of our hands. And, it is absolutely fascinating how much value people put on their mobile Internet gadgets. And nothing inspires fanaticism more  than the iPad.

So.

Here’s a light-hearted post as a little reminder about the position that mobile Internet occupies in our everyday lives. However you feel about this, it’s pretty amazing. It’s the world’s most expensive iPad 2.

The over-the-top gadget comes from super-luxury designer Stuart Hughes. It’s your typical Apple tablet but with a bit of added flair. And by a bit, we  mean 2000 grams of 24ct gold, a few dozen diamonds, and part of a dinosaur bone.

Here’s apparently what goes into the iPad 2 Gold History Edition:

Encrusted with 12.5 cts of ‘I’F’ Flawless diamonds, a magnificent total of 53 individually set sparkling gems dwell beautifully in solid 24ct Apple logo with rear section formed again in 24ct gold weighing an immense 2,000 grams. The unrivalled imagination towards the craftmanship of the iPad is down to its main front frame which is made from the oldest rock the world has to offer in the form of Ammolite, sourced from Canada this stone is over 75 million years old. However to make this masterpiece even more individual, sections of a 65 million year old T-REX Dinosaur’s thigh bone was splintered and then shaved into the Ammolite, then finished off with ultimate jewel, as single cut 8.5ct flawless diamond inlaid in its own platinum surround with 12 outer flawless diamond. 

This dinosaur-esque  iPad is being made in a limited run of just two units. It’s going to run you roughly $8 million. Looking for a better ROI? Try this.

 

 

It's A New World and Social Media is Here to Stay.

At iQuarius Media, we speak and interact with company owners, as well as marketing and advertising professionals, on a daily basis about things such as social media, web marketing, online video marketing, email marketing, and even text message marketing. It’s an exciting field to be involved in. Without exception, every business owner wants to solve the same dilemma: how do I get the absolute most bang for the buck out of my advertising and marketing budget? It’s a tight economy today and maximizing resources is an important component of business if one wants to attain — and maintain — success in the marketplace.

Cue internet marketing and social media.

Where else does one tap a potential client base as large as the Internet for pennies on the dollar? Nowhere. If you’re not taking advantage of this precious opportunity to advance the growth of your business, you may want to move into the right lane because passing is in the left lane. If you’re not utilizing this cost-effective means of promoting your business and/or website, you risk losing your loyal clients, as well as a vast well of potential clients, to those entrepreneurs who have the foresight to understand that social media is not just a trend. Social media is a new way of life.

Before you get started…

Once a business owner has decided to make use of the social media platform to help their respective business progress, there are a few things they should keep in mind.

  1. Definitely do some research and ask some questions about the company you are considering hiring. Hire a reputable and well liked company that has some experience and tact. The company you decide on could make you or break you.
  2. Make certain to negotiate a contract before venturing into business together, so that both you and your social media company are legally protected.

Those are the basics. Now we  can move on to the main purpose of this article: to accentuate the benefits of having a social media presence to make your business more effective and far-reaching.

Social Media is global.

Building a social media campaign is THE most cost-effective method of online advertising and promoting. Think about it: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter are free. In addition, there are literally hundreds of other less popular websites that can help your business get the exposure it deserves.

All of these networks have a reach that spans the globe. Why not attempt to reach out to this global market? A perfect example of this is Twitter, where one can log in at any time of the day or night and see real-time tweets from Japan, England, France, and India, to name a few.

Social Media is the new momentum.

Social media enables you to join groups of people with the same interests and goals. On LinkedIn and Facebook, one can join groups on yachting or interior design or web design. The possibilities are limitless. Think limitless when you think of all of the potential clients out there in this massive world of ours. The ability to have direct contact with people who have the same interests and hopes and dreams as yours is amazing. So get on board the greatest momentum shift to happen in eons. You have no excuse not to.

Music Production & Editing at iQuarius

Grammy nomination? Check. Multiple major label experience? Check. An arsenal of recording and post-processing instruments at our disposal? Check. The skills and artistry to use it all? Check!

Your audio is safe with us.

Music Production & Editing

Music production and editing affect the structure of a composition — melodies and harmonies, beats, chord progressions, etc., and the engineering — sound levels, equalization, etc. All stages require musical skill, performance experience, and thorough technical knowledge.

And it’s just as much about style as it is about technique.

Our audio department is made up of award winners and engineers with many years of experience, who also happen to be working artists — exactly who you want to be working on your material.

407-378-7817