Yes - We're Alive! It's True!

Big News at Tractor Beam Marketing!

Business is like a box of chocolates. You buy it, put it on the counter, and someone comes along and picks out all the good ones before you get a chance. (We love the square caramel ones...and the nuts...Mmm!)

Well okay, maybe it's not quite like that (unless that somehow made sense?). But one thing is for sure; things have a way of unpredictably changing. As most business people would know, the trick is adapting, adjusting and learning to bend the change so it works to your advantage.

You may have noticed we've been a little silent lately. It's actually been WAYYYYY too long, and for that we apologize. And yes - as you may have suspected, change is in the air (someone's been picking out the chocolates). After spending more than a year doing public speaking, online training and marketing consultation, we made some major adjustments in the past several months which introduced a part of our business which we had previously suspended. 

We re-introduced our web development & full branding design services, which has kept us very busy. And early in 2011, our biggest change occurred when Jake Bergen, our Marketing Director (he was a chocolate covered nut, we're quite certain), took on a reduced role in stepping away from Tractor Beam. Currently, Jake periodically resumes his role to act on a consulting basis for various clients.

Microtek Corporation Meets the Tractor Beam


James Rozak, the Creative Director at Tractor Beam has carried on with the program, and recently, a new alliance has been established. Tractor Beam has joined it's creative services with another local web development business, Microtek Corporation! The new alliance lends the marketing & branding talents of Tractor Beam Marketing with the incredibly gifted programmers of Microtek Corporation. Microtek Corporation is a well established business with a long successful track record of web services, with the capability to develop virtually anything imaginable for the internet.

James has long been associated with Microtek Corporation throughout the past 10 years, and the decision to act as the Creative Manager for Microtek was an easy fit. So standby for further updates as we bring further announcements regarding Microtek and Tractor Beam. James is currently working with the Microtek team to revamp their website and branding presence. We're looking forward to showing off the new website soon!

We have some more exciting news coming soon!

Video Quality... In Case You Were Wondering

I recently received an email from my friend and videographer Michel Gravel of Onstar Videobox Studios regarding the atrocious audio and video quality of my recent video blogs... he is right, the quality kinda sucked and I knew that before I posted them. But in case you are picky about video quality and were wondering, I posted the videos for content and entertainment sake and not as a display of quality video.

Based on the feedback I have received, I think that I succeeded in that.

On the internet, the generally accepted vlogging (video blogging) style is typically not very professional, but a more 'capture what you can' style. I have seen more closet doors than Home Depot carries as I watch lot of video blogs out there. However, to borrow the expression, "the best camera is the one you have with you". I did note on some of the descriptions of the videos that I was doing the best I could with what I had, something I say frequently and thought I'd put into practice.

Basically I am just playing around with vlogging, and someday the quality might even get OK thanks to 1) experience, 2) better gear, and 3) tips like the ones Michel gave me.

I generally take the road of striving for perfection, as I think is evident in the quality of web work we do, but my resources were limited. I just wanted to try and do... something... anything really. Again, I had some good feedback; crummy audio and video aside. I threw caution to the wind, and I hope people take the vlogs for what they are and not for what they could have been had I possessed better resources. Maybe someday I can go back and do it again with better equipment.

So those are my excuses for what they are worth. If you hate the videos, sorry. If you didn't mind them, I hope they at least made you smile and you got some good information from the lovely people I interviewed!

Rob, Tara and Roxanne were awesome; and if you are in Hawaii, you are fortunate to have such excellent folks on your islands. If you are in the Vancouver area, Onstar Videobox is a good option if you need professional video.

And that's about all I have to say about that.

-Jake

PRESS RELEASE: Social Skills: Facebook Basics for Business

PRESS RELEASE  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Social Skills: Facebook Basics for the Socially Awkward Business

Edmonton, AB - June 8, 2010 -  Entrepreneur and small business owner Jake Bergen has been using social media successfully in business for a few years; which in internet time is a long time. Seeing that these new tools were working for him, other small business owners began bombarding him with questions like:

“How are you doing this Social Media stuff?” 

“Can you help me get my business on Facebook?” 

“I can see that Social Media is working for you, but I have a Facebook page and a Twitter account for my company, and they are doing nothing to help my business grow. What am I doing wrong?”

From that demand his most recent venture, Tractor Beam Marketing (Inc.), was born. A self-described ‘Small Business Scientist’, he has spent years experimenting with many forms of marketing and social media, and the information he publishes are the results of his findings. 

For the past year he has been blogging, writing newspaper columns, training and speaking on Social Media and other subjects relevant to marketing. The latest addition to his arsenal of tools for small business owners is the eBook ‘Social Skills: Facebook Basics for Business’; which has just been released on his company’s website www.thetractorbeam.com. An Amazon Kindle Edition is forthcoming.

The book was written based on feedback from many small business people who are just getting started online, are not technical and have no idea where to go first. It is written simply, and from a user perspective rather than from a technical one. It is Jake Bergen’s opinion that a lot of the information currently available on Social Media is written for a tech-savvy audience, with the majority of business people who really need this information being totally forgotten about.

The reader is walked step-by-step through not only how to properly create a personal and business presence on Facebook; but the book also addresses strategies needed to be successful in engaging clients and prospects. Directed primarily to small business, the subject matter of this book also has ramifications to larger companies and non-profit organizations; as well as franchise and network marketing businesses.

“I want to let people know what is working and what isn’t. That way I can spare them the pain of wasted efforts, and help them get straight to the good stuff.” Mr. Bergen says. “Don’t be a social media misfit. A Facebook Business Page is the best thing you can be doing for your business online right now.”

# # #

Contact:

Jake Bergen, Marketing Director

Tractor Beam Marketing Inc.

www.thetractorbeam.com

jake@thetractorbeam.com

780-289-2262

PO Box 46138, 2350 - 24 Street

Edmonton AB T6T 0K8

A No-Cost Lesson in Better Marketing

Tractor Beam Launches First Free Lesson in Small Business Marketing Course

Edmonton, AB - May 12, 2010 - Instead of just telling people why they are different, Tractor Beam Marketing Inc. has decided to show them.

Small businesses around the world are in dire need of direction in their marketing; and require tools to expand their knowledge and understand the real-life applications of good marketing. The mantra of Tractor Beam has been “Low-Cost, High-Impact”; and now they are making two of their self-paced online courses, referred to as PODs, available for no cost on the Tractor Beam Marketing website.

With a different take on business education, Tractor Beam is becoming noted for using entertainment to make business learning fun; and enjoyable learning leads to higher retention of information. Business people who are looking for better knowledge can be tired at the end of the day. To engage in learning on their own time, these individuals need something to stimulate their minds and not put them to sleep.

The first of the two free PODs introduces the setting of the story that is used as a backdrop for teaching marketing principles. It is purely entertainment; an interactive, slightly off-the-wall and graphically-enhanced story with elements of drama, action, romance and comedy. Marketing is more than just advertising, and the second POD introduces the Marketing Cycle; a marketing system that is explained in a very easy-to-understand fashion. Printable course notes and exercises at the end of the POD are designed to be the start of a marketing manual, a valuable piece of documentation for any business.

Tractor Beam was founded early in 2009 by experienced entrepreneur and marketing expert Jake Bergen, and business partner James Rozak, a visionary and accomplished creative force in branding and media design. Aside from creating online tools for business, the Tractor Beam guys conduct live shows. Jake is also the author of ‘Venture Hype’, a business and marketing advice column, and is working on a how-to e-book on Social Media for Small Business.

Tractor Beam Marketing strives to raise the bar continually. They are always seeking opportunities to network, ally and join forces with other companies, particularly in the entertainment industry, and would like to take their ideas and innovation to other forms of media, such as print and film.

www.thetractorbeam.com

Media Contact:

Jake Bergen, Marketing Director

Tractor Beam Marketing Inc.

phone: 780.289.2262

email: jake@thetractorbeam.com

We Have A Winner!

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who entered the contest! This will not be the last chance to win something...

Congratulations to Yvonne Roth, owner of Xpression Webs in Stony Plain, Alberta! She is the winner of two free tickets to our next Close Encounters Event entitled Revolutionize; taking place at the Marriott River Cree Resort in Edmonton on April 17th.

All of the entries were fantastic, but what set Yvonne's apart was that she is not only keen to learn, but she is already putting the knowledge she has gained from Tractor Beam Marketing into practice. She reads the weekly column 'Venture Hype' written by Tractor Beam Marketing's own Jake Bergen, and part of the entry was a testimonial of how she has successfully implemented the advice. Now, she will have the opportunity to build on that even more!

There will be another chance to win at the event. All attendees will be entered to win the Grand Prize of a half-day of consulting with Jake & James, the Tractor Beam Guys! So good luck, and congratulations to Yvonne once again!

What have we been up to?

Behind the scenes here at Tractor Beam Marketing, we have been up to a whole lot; from working madly on our online training courses, to doing live events and even tossing around ideas for our first book.

As people who have always been passionate about creating better businesses, we have much to let you in on. We have definitely spotted some needs that we have the ability to fill, and our mission is to make your life easier by providing you with the necessary tools and information to launch your business into a more profitable place!

The most obvious item we have been working on is our newly announced event on January 16th at the Marriott River Cree Resort in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This is going to be a full day event, power-packed with useful information on everything from social media marketing to finance. Due to some technical bugs we were slightly behind schedule in being able to offer tickets online, and although the timeline is a little tighter than we desired, we came through in time to make the tickets much more accessible to you.

Rod Bergen, the Managing Director of Tax & Financial Analysis for the Jim Pattison Group is our special guest for this event. He is not an easy guy to hire for events of this nature, but since he is related to our Marketing Director, it was a little easier for us! The last time Mr. Bergen spoke in Edmonton was over 10 years ago, and he generally speaks specifically to large corporations and charities, so this is a great opportunity to learn from one of the best business minds in the country.

A number of years ago when Jim Pattison called Mr. Bergen to offer him a senior position with his company, he related that he had called a number of respected business leaders across the country and asked them to name the top tax specialists in the nation. Rod Bergen was the only name that was on everyone’s list. Mr. Bergen is not only a whiz when it comes to things like technology and saving money, he is really down to earth and an amazingly fun guy!

This story is a testament to the caliber of business education we are making available. It is definitely an event that you will enjoy and benefit from.

We are only planning three or four local events in the Edmonton area this year, as the pull we are getting from other parts of the continent is overwhelming.

The Tractor Beam team will keep you updated on progress as it happens, and now that the new year is here, new things will be rolling out much more rapidly. Our desire is that the things you learn from us can be applied in your business right away with an immediate effect, and that everything you take from Tractor Beam will be an asset to your business.

Wishing you the best of success in 2010!

The Tractor Beam Marketing Team