Latest Posts

Client Spotlight: Nova Southeastern University Promotional Video

Starmark was tasked by Nova Southeastern University (NSU) to create a short but compelling video to promote the university’s campus and achievements to three key audiences: prospective students, parents and Fort Lauderdale businesses. The video presents NSU’s impact on the community, and generates well-deserved feelings of NSU pride. Starmark deployed cutting edge aerial technology to capture breathtaking views ordinarily shot by helicopter.

eTip Turns Five

Five years ago today, Starmark began posting eTips, our research and recommendations for today’s marketer. Three books and 153 eTips later, we wanted to look back at our original five posts and see how our ideas have held up over time. (more…)

Press releases with optimized anchor text: No longer optimal

Google’s war on links intended to manipulate site rankings has now spread to paid press release distribution. In the company’s updated guidelines, Google describes unnatural links as “ … links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites.” Since Google considers these links to be paid links, their use could expose you to penalties including a huge drop in ranking or complete removal of your site from Google’s index.
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Starmark celebrates the season with clients and friends

On December 5, Starmark celebrated the warmth of the season at its downtown Fort Lauderdale headquarters. The evening provided an opportunity for Starmark to thank all its clients and reflect on the year’s achievements.

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In her remarks, Starmark President Jacqui Hartnett said, “We are grateful for the success of Starmark and our client partners over the past year, and we’re excited about the year to come.”

Twitter packs more business-building power into every tweet

Reprinted from the South Florida Business Journal.

The majority of C-suite executives may not have embraced tweeting themselves, but they cannot ignore what is becoming one of the web’s most powerful business tools. (more…)

Bitcoin: MCommerce catalyst or investment vehicle?

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer decentralized cryptocurrency launched in 2008. It has excellent mcommerce potential because this currency was born in the digital world.

With most mcommerce efforts – PayPal, Square, Venmo and Dwolla, to name a few – you need an online “account.” With Bitcoin, you have a digital wallet instead, and the actual currency is stored in your wallet on your computer or phone. (more…)

Showcasing the best of the beach, and beyond.

One of the many components of our Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau “Hello Sunny” campaign, these :30 TV spots were designed for both winter and summer audiences. The spots capture Greater Fort Lauderdale’s unique vibe, favorable climate and breezy lifestyle — while communicating the ease of Fort Lauderdale in a welcoming, fun way.

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Using Twitter for Lead Generation

Did you know you can use Twitter to drive lead generation? Twitter has created Lead Generation Cards that gather a user’s email address, name and Twitter handle directly through the social media platform.

Growing your email list should be a key component of your marketing program. With a solid email list, you can market your brand in myriad ways, offering discounts, promoting content, and announcing new products. The ability to convert your Twitter followers into email subscribers is particularly interesting. The people who care to follow you on Twitter are surely great email prospects too.

How does this work on Twitter? (more…)

QR Codes are dead, long live SMS

Microsoft is shutting down its Tag Reader application and system in two years.

How does that affect QR codes you ask? Well, in a broad sense, it signals the death of the mobile barcode in general.
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From Teenage Immigrant to AlphaStaff CEO

Reprinted from SunSentinel.com/Business.

“Decide what you want. Discover what the customer wants. Deliver plus one.” Those aren’t just principles from one of Cristina Allan’s favorite books. (more…)

Better for mobile SEO: Responsive Design or a mobile-specific site?

SEO strategists are often concerned about the impact of a mobile-specific site on a company’s search results. Google tells us that the best SEO strategy is to create good content and to deliver it in the way that is most user friendly.

For existing sites, it’s much easier to develop a mobile version of the site for handheld devices. It’s also easier to present the site optimized for those users. (more…)

Starmark receives top honors from MarCom Awards

Starmark announced that campaigns on behalf of clients in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale have won MarCom’s prestigious Platinum Awards. The MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communications professionals.

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Starmark’s entry on behalf of SeaWorld Orlando’s Epic Voyage Tour received a Platinum Award in the category of Integrated Marketing Campaign. In 10 of SeaWorld Orlando’s major U.S. feeder cities, the Epic Voyage Tour fueled awareness of the opening of the attraction Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin.
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