Design and branding tips to help grow your business.

Brands on Twitter and Facebook Favored by Consumers

Posted on April 26th, 2010

The next time someone at your company balks at the effectiveness of social media, throw out this stat: According to a new study by Chadwich Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, 60% of Facebook fans and 79% percent of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands after becoming a fan or follower. They’re also more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of.

While social media marketing is still a relatively new concept, it has proven to be a popular and inexpensive way to grow sales. Why? Because participating in social media effectively tells your customers two things:

1) You are concerned about their needs and wants.

By giving your audience a platform to interact with your brand, you are essentially saying, “There are people behind this company, and we’re here to listen to you.” You’re also allowing your consumers to talk amongst themselves about their experiences, which boosts your credibility as a company that encourages free form conversation about your product or service.

Also, if you monitor these discussions, and respond to complaints in that arena, instead of waiting for customer service calls, you show that you really care about their satisfaction. You also solve their problems in a public place, which shows their friends that you’re a company who cares about its customers.

2) Your company is in touch.

While Twitter and Facebook may seem like it’s on the cutting edge, if your company isn’t participating in them, you’re more likely to be considered “behind the times.” Let’s say a customer searches for a product or service and has narrowed down their choices between two companies. They see your competitor’s Twitter feed and Facebook pages, while yours are noticeably absent. Which one of you appears more relevant and in step with today’s society? The customer is much more likely to choose the company who proves that it is current.

Don’t think your customers are using social media? Do a search for some of your customers on Facebook. You’d be surprised at what you’ll find. For example, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women between the ages of 50 and 60. While they may not seem like likely users of social media, the fact is they’re there, and companies who want to reach them are doing themselves a disservice by staying away.

Anymore, a Twitter account and Facebook fan page are two things that are expected from every company. Those who actively participate in social media will assume that if you want to speak to them, you’ll use at least one of these tools. If you neglect both, you’re essentially saying you don’t need those people, or that they don’t matter to your company.

Posted in Blogging, Micro-Blogging, Online PR, Social Media for Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter | No Comments »

Turn Your Static Website into a Social Media Powerhouse

Posted on April 6th, 2010

Imagine you’re just arriving at a party. You reach the front door, ring the doorbell and…no one answers. You let yourself in and try to find your friend, the hostess. She is no where to be found. Instead, you find a small group of people huddled around a sad excuse for a party spread. You throw your coat on the pile in the corner. Your hostess has been tied up in conversation with one guest for a while now, and you find it hard to mingle with the other party-goers. You decide showing your face is enough, and awkwardly slip out of the party without saying goodbye.

Now imagine another party. As you approach the front steps, you find the hostess is already at the door to greet you. Taking your coat, she warmly welcomes you into her home. She introduces you to some fellow party attendees so that she can tend to the refreshment table, which needs to be restocked. The hostess effortlessly works the room, asking if her guests need anything, ensuring that they are having the best time possible. She engages her guests with lively discussion and even leads some fun party games. At the end of the night, she presents you with a party favor, a permanent reminder of your wonderful evening.

Which party would you rather attend?

Pretty obvious, right? The same applies to your business’s website. A static website filled with basic information is a good start, but if you’d like your visitors to linger longer, interactivity is the key. In his article, Powering Your Website with Social Media, Stu Green recommends utilizing the following social media applications:

  1. Build Community
  2. Get Feedback
  3. Offer Interaction
  4. Offer the Best Customer Service
  5. Let Your Users Create the Buzz

These are some great techniques to bring a vibrancy to your website by using social media. Allowing comments and adding forums to your website makes it seem more “alive” and current, while you collect useful demographic data for further marketing efforts.

Implementing website feedback forms shows your visitors that you truly care about their experience at your website, and beyond that — you care about their experience with your product or service. This leads to stronger brand loyalty, which you can help visitors express with buttons and widgets.

Remember, your visitors are like guests to the party that is your website. What kind of host do you want to be?

Tags: , ,
Posted in Branding, Branding Tips, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Tips, Social Media for Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

5 Sure Fire Tactics to Promote a Business Blog

Posted on April 1st, 2010

For many businesses, company blogs are like that proverbial tree in the forest — if a business writes one, and no one is there to read it, does it really matter? Here are some social media marketing tools that will easily help get more eyeballs on your material!

1) LinkedIn

Providing your blog link to the LinkedIn network is a quick and painless way to drive traffic from your profile to your blog. In addition, you can also join groups related to your industry and promote recent blog entries in their forums. LinkedIn groups are a great way to meet industry peers and potential clients, but remember to use them for conversation as well as promotion to avoid coming off as “spammy.” Another approach is to spend some time browsing the “Q&A” area. You might see a question that can be answered with a blog post you’ve already written. Answer the question fully and provide the link for support.

2) Twitter

While not everyone is sold on Twitter’s effectiveness in the business landscape, there have been some great examples of how this social media giant can be utilized as a great blog promotion tool. Got a new post that just went live? It takes seconds to create a short tweet with a link back to the post.

Keep in mind that your followers are going to want a little more from you than just blog updates. When a potential follower looks at your status updates as a whole, it’s beneficial that he or she sees a mixture of feed activity. In addition to blog promotion, include replies back to your followers and news articles related to your niche. Thank a follower via a re-tweet for his or her re-tweet of your blog link, and you’ve effectively promoted that link again in your status update.

3) Blog Comments

Just read a great blog entry by someone in your field? Let ‘em know! Leaving blog comments are one of the easiest ways to drive people to your business blog by including a hyperlink in your signature. This will not only drive traffic, but give you a little “link juice” with the search engines. Still, don’t get too crazy. Remember to write a thoughtful statement that indicates you’ve read what the blogger had to say, and don’t directly “sell” your own blog in the comment. The idea is to attract a like-minded audience from that blog to yours – so try to limit those comments to entries appropriate for your niche. I’ll go into more detail about why in a future blog entry.

4) Industry-Specific Social Networks

Does your industry have a social network where your peers connect? If so, it can be a hotbed of opportunity for blog promotion. Having an active presence on such networks can put your name in front of many like-minded people who are actively seeking opinions and ideas as they relate to your business.

Again, a good rule of thumb is to truly use this network as just that — a network — and not as another place to absent-mindedly stick your blog link. Like most of the social media efforts I’ve mentioned here, you need to find a balance between driving traffic to your blog and actively working the network to show your credibility and expertise on a given subject.

5) Search Engine Optimization for Your Website

It’s not a bad idea to brush up on website SEO basics when it comes to blog promotion. Do your posts contain the important keywords for your search efforts? How about your headings? Are your links tagged with your keywords so they can be crawled easily? Keep these in mind, but write the text without losing the overall effectiveness of your copy.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Blogging, Internet Marketing, Micro-Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media for Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter | No Comments »

Getting in the Map Section of Google

Posted on March 29th, 2010

How is your business faring when it comes to Google’s local map-based listings? Don’t know?

Start by entering your business name and zip-code into the search engine and see what you find. Chances are, your business already shows up on Google Maps, but is it accurate? Could it be better? Does it really represent your business and brand? Fortunately, you can utilize features on Google to make your local map listing really pop, and best yet, it’s all free.

The steps below will show you how to set up your Google listing, as well as some tips to make it search optimization friendly. (Hat tip to Mike Blumenthal for this great information.)

Start by signing up for Google Local Business Center.

  1. Go to www.google.com/localbusinesscenter and sign into your Google Account.
  2. Click on “Add New Business” and fill in basic business information. Add the key phrases for your business, and make sure they are reflected in your business title.
  3. Google Maps will begin to pinpoint your location on the map per the address you type in. Adjust the marker as necessary for accuracy. If your business is already in the database, select “Claim Listing” to edit it. Otherwise, click “Add Listing” to create a new one. Make sure your key phrases are also reinforced here.
  4. Add details to help users learn everything they need to know about your business.
    Indicate hours of operation and add photos, logos, and videos. (Adding these can really make one business stand out over another.) Use web references that also point back to your main key phrases and location, and make sure your own site has references to the same. (E.g. make sure your address in the footer of every page of your own site).
  5. Verify your listing by phone or postcard. (Google will send you a PIN to enter.)

Blumenthal also recommends that local businesses join the organizations that Google uses to obtain information, such as the Better Business Bureau, Mobile Trave Guide, Talking Phone Book, etc.

At the end of the day, in order to rank well in local searches, you need to simply “think local” in search optimization terms. Give as much local information as you can – directions (include landmarks, too!) and links pointing to you from other local websites and directories. While no one knows the exact formula for always getting your business to the top of the search list, applying the tips above will undoubtedly increase the views to your local Google business listing.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Branding Tips, Internet Marketing, Local Search Optimization, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing | No Comments »

Building Blog Readership by Leaving Comments

Posted on March 24th, 2010

Have you read Gary Vaynerchuk’s book, Crush It yet? If you’re considering starting your own business, whether it’s online or not, it’s a must read.

Vaynerchuk, a wine seller turned best-selling author and businessman, attributes a lot of his success to eschewing traditional promotional methods and instead “joining the online conversation” to create a personal brand. As an Internet marketer and SEO specialist, I found some of the most useful tips Gary offers in his book relate to building blog readership. His advice? For every hour you spend writing content for your blog, spend three or four hours writing comments on OTHER people’s blogs, articles, or user forums.

Yes, you read that right. Three or four hours. And since you’re supposed to be blogging every day, you’re supposed to be commenting every day too.

Obviously, most of us don’t have that luxury (although Vaynerchuk says we should just suck it up and stay up until the wee hours to get it done). However, he has some great suggestions on how to effectively leave blog comments that can greatly beef up your onlne presence with what time you can devote to it. And if you want to get traffic from the major search engines? Building backlinks is crucial.

Here are some of Gary’s Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to leaving comments to build blog readership:

SEO DO:

  • Devote some time to it. Few of us have hours, but most of us have thirty minutes. Schedule it in, like any other meeting. Think of it as a complement to any other social media efforts you’ve been trying out. Over the course of a week, that thirty minutes will add up, and the results might even inspire you to do more.
  • Leave intelligent comments. “Great post!” by itself isn’t going to cut it here. Leave the blogger a note that clearly indicates that you read what he or she wrote and were motivated to respond to it.

SEO DON’TS:

  • Be commercial. Think of a time when you went to comment on an article and a fellow commenter said something like, “Great article! I sell the widgets you’re referring to. Go to my website!” There is no need to overtly “sell” in your comment. If you leave a thoughtful statement that relates to the post, people will click through to your site if they want to find out what you’re about. When you start to get “pitchy,” it’s not much better than random spam comments, and it zaps your credibility.
  • Comment on a post that has nothing to do with what YOU do. Links from other sites to your site are basically a ‘vote’ telling search engines you know something about that subject. Therefore, if you’re wanting to leave backlinks directing to your business URL, limit comments to content that is in some way connected to your niche. Remember, if you’ve inspired a reader to click from that blog to yours, reward them with the related information they are seeking!

Consider spending thirty minutes today solely on blog commenting and let us know how applying Gary Vaynerchuk’s tips have impacted your blog readership!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Blogging, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »

Cure Your “Business Insanity”

Posted on March 22nd, 2010

A small business owner decides to boost his online presence. Dipping his toe into the Pool of Digital Media, he throws a minimal amount of money into banner ads on some local media websites for a month. Bounce rates are high; time spent on the site is nominal. The next campaign is more of the same: the few people who are clicking over to the website are hastily leaving. But at least we’re advertising online, right? Another campaign, another batch of banner ads. The client wonders why things aren’t getting better. Online isn’t working. Let’s pull all dollars out of online.

It reminds me of the quote by Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Are your marketing efforts suffering from a case of “Business Insanity?” At a closer look, are your marketing plans from the past couple years eerily similar? Do you find yourself saying things like, “Well, this is just the way we’ve always done it!” without stopping to ask, “Why?” Is the growth of your business crawling to a near standstill while the media landscape is continuing to evolve and change?

Here are four ways you can break out of the “Business Insanity” rut by tapping into Social Media:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

A majority of web traffic comes from commercial search engines, and most consumers aren’t willing to sift past the first three or four results to find what they’re looking for. Optimizing your site to reach these information seekers can boost traffic, publicity, and revenue.

Blogging

A company blog gives a human voice to what might otherwise feel like an impersonal entity. From a public relations standpoint, you can control your own message and have a built-in platform to interact with your audience.

Online Branding/PR with Social Media Networking

There is little excuse for not having a presence on social networks, as the main ones — like Facebook — are completely free. For more information on how to create a Facebook fan page and/or a Facebook landing page, please visit our recent blog entries.

E-Newsletters

By incorporating your brand into an e-blast, you are reaching a very targeted audience who is more engaged than the typical online user. This consumer has opted into receiving this message, as it relates to his or her needs in some way.

There are logical reasons why small business owners haven’t yet taken advantage of what social media has to offer. Some methods, like SEO and e-newsletters, require a financial investment into an “unknown world” of sorts. Meanwhile, blogging and social media networking require time and resources — a different investment altogether. This can be daunting to clients who have historically allocated the bulk of their budgets toward traditional media.

However, the question must be asked: If I want to see different results, am I willing to take a different path?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Blogging, Branding, Branding Tips, Internet Marketing, Local Search Optimization, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media for Marketing | No Comments »

6 Website Redesign SEO Secrets Your Developer May Not Know

Posted on March 10th, 2010

Thinking about a website redesign? Jumping into such a task can often be daunting, not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but also from a search engine optimization one. The world of SEO is an ever-changing beast, and it’s imperative that your web developer values a search engine crawler-friendly website as much as you do.

We work extensively with our web marketing clients to make sure their websites are fully optimized, both for search engines as well as their social media marketing efforts. So I was excited to see an article that confirmed all of the work we’ve been doing.

Last December, Jill over at High Rankings.com wrote an excellent piece called, “6 Website Redesign SEO Secrets Your Developer May Not Know, and I’d like to reiterate her main points. They’ll prove to be great touchstones for the next meeting with your web developer.

1. Creating Your SEO’d Site Architecture

Are the pages that focus on the more competitive keyword phrases high up in the website’s hirearchy? Is category-specific content cross-linked? To the common search engine, pages that are linked to every other page are weighed heavier than pages that are linked to just a couple other pages.

2. Categorization and Avoiding Duplicate Content

Do the top-level pages answer the user’s questions in a clear and concise manner? Are there any duplicate content issues that need to be corrected? When people utilize search engines, they come with a specific question or problem. Those top-level pages must immediately address how your product or service will take care of whatever need brought them there. Furthermore, the landing page URL must be consistent to avoid PageRank splitting on the analytics end.

3. New Content Management System and Changing URLs

If the redesign brings URL changes, have the old URLs been re-directed? Oftentimes a redesign comes with a new content management system. While this is exciting, it often comes with headaches in the way of a site index lag for the new URLs, which need to be re-directed to pass on link popularity. It also prevents those pesky 404-not-found errors.

4. Coding of Navigation Menus

Are the navigational menus coded with CSS that is crawlable? Keep in mind that drop-down box links, DHTML, and Flash menus are not visible to search engines. Thus, the internal link popularity of the pages linked within them is inaccurate.

5. Custom HTML Elements

Does the website’s content management system have unlimited fields for custom title tages, meta descriptions, heading tags, etc? Automated titles and metas are always helpful, but the flexibility of creating your own descriptions is critical. In otherwords, keywords are key.

6. Session IDs and Other Tracking Links

Are only the “clean” URLs being fed to the search engine spiders? If session IDs are being used to track visitors, the same content might get indexed with multiple URLs.

Bring up these points with your web developer before he or she starts the major overhaul of your website, and you will be well ahead of the curve of search engine optimization.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Branding Tips, Internet Marketing, Local Search Optimization, Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing, Web Site Design, Website Designer | No Comments »

Creating a custom landing page for Facebook

Posted on March 8th, 2010

So you’ve just created a Facebook fan page for your business, brand, or idea. (You haven’t? Check out our article on creating a Facebook fan page.) Are you looking to take your page to the next level? Try creating a custom landing page next.

A Facebook custom landing page is a built-in first impression of sorts, and the kind of thing that takes your social media marketing to the next level. It will act as the first page that non-fans will land on, rather than initially seeing your Facebook wall. You don’t have to be a web genius to create a landing page, as Facebook has already created an application to do the dirty work for you! Just follow these steps:

Step One: Add the Application

  1. Log into your Facebook account.
  2. Click on the Applications link. (This will be on the bottom left of your browser, or in the left-hand margin on the new Facebook layout.)
  3. Click on Browse More Applications. (On the new Facebook layout, skip to the next step.)
  4. Type “FBML” into the search box and click on the result, Static FBML. (FBML stands for “Facebook Markup Language.”)
  5. Click Add to My Page

Step Two: Create the Landing Page

  • Go back to your fan page and click Edit Page (under the user pic).
  • Scroll to the FBML application and click Edit.
  • Customize the FBML tab. This is where you can create the magic. Type in your page title and HTML codes for whatever you wish. Here are some ideas:
  • Ensure this application will be added to your fan page’s tabs by going back to the “edit applications” screen and changing the status of FBML from “Available” to “Added.”

    • Step Three: Make the Landing Page the Default for Non-Fans

  • Click on the Wall tab and click Settings.
  • In the drop-down menu for “Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else,” select the tab you just created.
  • Check the functionality of the landing page by logging out of Facebook and then entering the URL for your fan page. You should arrive at the landing page you just made.

    • With just a little bit of time and know-how, you can have a great welcome page for new fans that will showcase what your business is all about.

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in Branding Tips, Internet Marketing, Marketing Tips, Social Media for Marketing, Web Marketing | 1 Comment »

    Avoid Client Problems with a Design Questionnaire

    Posted on March 5th, 2010

    When a web developer and client meet for the first time, it’s not uncommon for one question to be front and center: How much is this going to cost me? It’s not surprising, given these tough economic times and ever-dwindling budgets — we’re seeing it a lot here in Houston. Still, the relationship between any web designer and or social media marketing consultant and client must be a close one. They must share the same vision, and the consultant must act as another arm of the business, another player in the client’s goals. So how can an Internet marketing consultant move past a fixation on cost and get to the heart of the matter?

    Martha Retallick at Freelance Switch provided a great tool that she frequently implements into her initial client meetings: a web design client questionnaire. Retallick has a list of about 25 thought-provoking questions that drill down to the desired aesthetic and purpose for the website.

    Here are a handful that go beyond, “Tell me about your business,” and help define realistic boundaries and expectations of a project.

    • How can your particular work background help prospects, compared to others in your industry? What’s special about your work experience?
    • Please describe your potential customers. Pay special attention to their income, interests, gender, age, even type of computer they use, e.g., old with dialup account or newer with broadband. If your website is a business-to-business site, what sort of companies are you hoping to attract?
    • What staff will be involved? What are their roles? Is there a webmaster on your staff?
    • Please list the names of five other sites that you like. Why are they attractive to you?
    • How much time will you be able to spend online, responding to inquiries that come in via your website? Once a day? Several hours a day?
    • If you were using a search engine, what words or phrases would you use to find your site? Which of these words or phrases is most important? Second? Third?

    These questions do a great job of highlighting issues like brand benefits, target demographics, internal communication, and the client’s web savvy.

    In the time I’ve worked as a web designer in Houston, I’ve found a system like this to be a great way to find out client expectations and requirements. It has really helped me on numerous occasions.

    One thing I didn’t see on this list that I think would be helpful to ask: What would you deem a “success” in terms of offline results? This moves the client’s focus off of hits/average monthly visitors to give the developer an idea of their true business goals. What other questions should a web developer bring to the table before starting a project?

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in Branding, Branding Tips, Graphic Design, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Tips, Social Media for Marketing, Web Marketing, Website Designer | No Comments »

    Small Business Leaders Prefer ‘Passive’ Social Media, But Are Looking to Future

    Posted on March 3rd, 2010

    Once “Social Media” became the phrase-du-jour, small business owners have been quick to incorporate it as a daily source for information-gathering. However, many immediately realized that navigating the social media landscape often requires two things the average small business owner simply does not have: ample time and extra resources.

    As a result, says a recent Business.com study, owners are leaning more towards “passive” methods of using social media. Last month, Ben Hanna of MediaPost delved a little deeper to explore which strategies were favored. Of over 1,700 small business owners currently applying social media efforts on a daily basis, here were the top five resources:

    1) Webinars/Podcasts

    Webinars and podcasts can inform small business leaders of industry trends, new products and services. They can also act as a source of continuing education by providing additional training — all without incurring the cost of time and travel to do so.

    2) Ratings & Reviews

    When it comes to the buying process, small business owners often read what others recommend, and factor those reviews into their purchasing decisions. This is why social media marketing has become such a big deal in the last few years.

    3) Company/Brand Pages on Social Networking Websites

    Vendors are flooding social networking sites like Facebook to give updated, timely information about their products, and small business owners are taking notice.

    4) Company Blogs

    Small business leaders love blogs to gain relevant insight into a company, assuming the entries are well-written, topical, and offer a glimpse into the character of the business.

    5) Social Media Search

    Because not all information can be found on typical search engines, small business owners are searching directly through Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. As the owner of a Houston Internet marketing company, I see this quite a bit among my friends and partners around town.

    As you can see, these methods are performed through “passive” social media outlets — the company puts the information onto the web for others to discover. At the end of the day, I think it’s pretty evident that small business leaders aren’t all about the “social” aspect of social media, and rightfully so. They want information, and they want it fast. The number of Twitter followers a company has means nothing if they can’t find the exact piece of information they are seeking.

    However, it must be noted that the more “active” methods of using social media were not far behind the preferences above, according to MediaPost. Online forums and Q&A sites fell right after the top five. As instantly gratifying as the internet can be, it can’t provide everything to everyone. Small business owners may find it more time-effective to go the “active” route, submitting questions to a company or forum and getting a personalized response in return. If companies begin to devote more social marketing resources toward actual interaction with their customer base, we may see the small business owner shift to a more “active” stance on social media.

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in Blogging, Branding Tips, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Micro-Blogging, Social Media for Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Web Marketing | No Comments »