We’re very excited to have officially hit the one year mark with the Berry Blog. The blog was launched in April 2012 as a resource for small businesses to learn more about advertising. We know that the number of marketing options, ranging from print solutions such as Yellow Pages advertising to digital solutions including SEM and SEO, can be overwhelming. We hope that the Berry Blog has become a trusted resource to help you stay up-to-date on how to most effectively promote your business. In...

It has become popular to refer to the Yellow Pages as a relic of the past, but do you know the facts? In this three part series we’ll de-bunk three commons myths about the Yellow Pages.

Myth #1 – Consumers Only Use the Internet to Find Local Businesses

Myth #2  – Only “Older People” use the Yellow Pages

Myth #3 – Yellow Pages Advertising Won’t Make Your Phone Ring

Given the common misconception that very few people use the Yellow Pages, it’s easy to understand why a small business owner might...

It has become popular to refer to the Yellow Pages as a relic of the past, but do you know the facts? In this three part series we’ll de-bunk three commons myths about the Yellow Pages.

Myth #1 – Consumers Only Use the Internet to Find Local Businesses

Times have certainly changed since the first Yellow Pages directory was printed in the late 1800s. For many years phone books were the only available source for finding local business information. In the last decade the search engines, social...

It has been a busy year at Berry as we focused on becoming a one-stop provider of digital advertising solutions. Our Berry Blog launched this year as a means to share our knowledge on small business marketing. In case you missed them, here are our top posts of 2012.

1. The Power of Pinterest Part I: Have You Gotten Hooked Yet? and The Power of Pinterest Part II: Drive Leads to Your Business

Pinterest has exploded this year and the interest in it is evident by the views of our blog posts. Did you...

Besides money, time is the resource that we never seem to have enough of. Just like the saying, "time is money." As a small business owner, you understand this better than anyone! You are working 24/7 to build a business to support you and your family - you buy the toilet paper for the restrooms, you hire the receptionist, you pay the bills, you meet with customers and in your free time you eat. You need to figure out how to get more done in less time (and preferably for less money). 

And I...

Online display advertising and search engine marketing (SEM) are very effective as stand-alone programs, but when combined they deliver a one, two punch for businesses. Online display is the oldest internet marketing program with the first display ad running on October 25, 1994 on Hotwired.com. This was long before Google was introduced to the general public in September, 1998. Online display advertising is the full-color, animated banner ads that appear on sites like Yahoo.com, MSN.com,...

“The purpose of business is to create a customer.” – Peter Drucker 

We are excited to unveil our website at TheBerryCompany.com. The new site has not only been given a fresh look, but has added content and functionality to show you the advertising solutions we offer to help your small business grow and succeed. Here’s an overview of what you can now expect when you visit our website.

1. More information on our advertising solutions and expanded digital marketing options

Berry offers a suite of digital advertising solutions to help small businesses connect with...

Search Engine Marketing - everyone's doing it, but are they doing it right? 

There are many things to consider when placing your website and advertising on the World Wide Web, but the five big things to pay attention to are "The 5 C's".

1. Content

The content of your search campaign is crucial to your business's success. Do not just create fluff on your website hoping any poor sap with read it. Inserting key terms where you think they might come in handy or not creating a "need" will only work...

The majority of the content on this blog focuses on online marketing for small businesses. While Berry has a wealth of digital advertising expertise, it's important that from time to time we touch on the advertising platform that has played a key role in our 100 year history - the yellow pages.

Many people view yellow pages as a thing of the past, but in reality they remain a strong advertising medium. This is especially true now that advertising has become increasingly fragmented....

Berry has just released the results of our annual Think Yellow, Go Green recycling program in the Lincoln, NE area. As a resident of Lincoln and long time employee of The Berry Company, I couldn't be happier with the community support for this wonderful initiative.

Berry has once again partnered with the Cornhusker Council Boy Scouts in collecting outdated phone directories. The Boy Scouts worked door-to-door in many neighborhoods throughout Lincoln to collect the directories. There were also...

About six months ago, I was searching online for a flooring company to refinish my hardwood floors. I did the customary Google search and up popped a video describing the refinishing process by someone who appeared to be very knowledgeable as well as professional. I quickly called and scheduled an estimate with this local small business and eventually chose them to do the work. I didn’t know if they were the best choice, but his video was enough to convince me to give them a call.

In the...

In a previous post entitled Three Reasons Display Advertising Should Be On Your Radar we discussed the business benefits of display advertising. Today, let’s discuss the first cousin of display you might consider in your Internet remarketing arsenal which is called website retargeting. You know, those ads that follow you around the Internet offering you the exact same product, service or possibly even a related product you searched for recently.

Consumers come to your website via a various number...

In my 8 years consulting with small businesses on Internet marketing the tracking of the various programs has advanced substantially. In the early years, I talked to small businesses about the number of clicks that they had received from their Internet marketing programs. The response from many was, “I had 200 clicks last month but I have no idea how many of those clicks turned into sales." My response used to be, “tracking past the click is your responsibility - you can look at your website...

Question: What makes a small business owner sit up a little straighter in their seat and take notes? 

Answer: When I offer to explain to them how they can claim their free Google Places business listing.   

When I talk to many businesses they want to know how to show up on the first page of Google. As a small business owner I bet you receive multiple calls each day from companies offering to put you on the first page of Google. And you may ask, “now you are telling me how I do it for free?”...

Display advertising has been around for well over a decade and is available to all small- and medium-sized businesses. Display in many ways is much like print and television marketing - it is primarily used to build brand awareness. However, the difference is that display is a form of online advertising that is placed as banner ads on websites. A display ad encourages the online consumer to click on the ad, which then brings them to a webpage where they can make a purchase or connect with the...