Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Are you investing time and energy in a Facebook presence for
your business or organization? Keeping up with Facebook's
requirements can be a challenge. Facebook has relaxed some of its
restrictions on cover photos. >>Read more
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Claudia Moder, Project Manager
engage CMS team
Technology. It's hard to keep up sometimes, isn't
it? When I was a kid in the 1980s, I remember one year when
my parents bought a microwave oven, a new television, and a VCR in
the same week and it nearly put them over the edge. That VCR
flashed 12:00 for the better part of a decade. It was just too much
all at once, I think. Then later we added a Nintendo game
system and felt like we had as much technology as we could possibly
handle.
Today, many of us have a tiny computer right in our pockets - a
smartphone. If you've got a smartphone, then you've probably
heard you need applications (AKA "apps"). But which ones? It
can be hard to filter out the noise. Some apps are just for fun (my
daughter plays "Fruit Ninja" on my phone) while others are more
useful. I use an app from SparkPeople for tracking nutrition and
fitness. The list goes on and on.
Not unlike your smartphone, websites often offer many options as
well. Some may enhance your site and others might just be the
equivalent of a phone app that lets you insert an image of a
squirrel into all of your photos (this app actually existed!)
Social Media: Ignore social media ("it's just a
fad") at your own peril. However, if you decide to jump in, do it
carefully. Connecting to your audience via Facebook, Twitter,
Pinterest, LinkedIn can go a long way in enhancing your presence
with the folks you are most interested in reaching. I often
recommend to clients that they start with one social media outlet,
such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Confirm that you (realistically) have
time to post on Facebook (or whichever tool you choose to start).
Poke around and see how your competitors are using the same
tool. What do you have to offer? For many types of
businesses, it can be challenge to get folks to "like" your
Facebook page. I'm thrifty, so I'm more inclined to like a page if
I think I might be notified of a sale. I also use Facebook to find
out about special events and fun places I can take my daughter.
Facebook is fairly user-friendly, but Twitter can feel like a
foreign land to people just starting to dabble with it. The
Twitter universe is noisy (there were over 24 million Super
Bowl-related tweets during the game, for example) and it can be a
challenge to find your voice there. The good news is that if
you'd like to give Facebook and Twitter a try, tools like HootSuite make it
possible for you to post once and have it appear on both sites.
If you've got photos to share, Pinterest has gotten very popular
and may be worth your time investment as well. Social media
opportunities are endless; just don't bite off more than you can
chew. People will notice if you don't provide updates.
Blog: I regularly work with clients who tell
me, "I've heard I need a blog for my site." A blog is an
excellent tool for keeping your website current, allowing you to
share news in a somewhat more casual way. Plus, it gives your
audience an opportunity to respond and post comments. Much like the
social media outlets, however, it comes down to whether your
schedule will allow for regular updates.
eNewsletter: Gone are the days when you could
send out an email to hundreds of people and hope to reach them.
Spam filters typically block mass emails. Companies like Constant Contact have made this task much
easier, however. Email Marketing companies allow you to maintain a
database of subscribers (people who voluntarily sign up for your
newsletter) and to send out periodic email blasts to them.
For most businesses, this is an invaluable tool. If you don't
think you have time (or enough content) for a monthly newsletter,
stick with a quarterly edition. I have been known to unsubscribe
from newsletters that send out correspondence TOO frequently. Just
make sure your content has value to your subscribers, even if you
include something seemingly innocuous like a recipe or a list of
free tips.
When it comes to your website, avoid throwing in "everything but
the kitchen sink." When you are ready to add some bells and
whistles, do your research and make some careful decisions. Don't
buy the microwave, the VCR, and the TV all in one week. Most
importantly, listen to your customers and understand why they are
on your website. It doesn't take much to annoy a site visitor, so
proceed with caution.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
When it comes to SEO, we've all learned that there is no magic
formula that will propel your site to the top of the search
engines. However, experts do have an idea of what works and
what doesn't. Check out this article for the full scoop.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
You're working hard to grow your business. Is your website doing
its part to help? Here are a few ideas to give your site a
kick-start and help it contribute to your success.
Site Purpose
Businesses use their website for many reasons. Maybe it's simply
an online brochure to explain to your audience what you do. A site
can do so much more. A simple site with user-friendly navigation
and organized content can help reinforce your brand online, reduce
your customer service costs and illustrate why you are so much
better than your competitors. Through the combination of compelling
visuals and text, you can make simple, profound statements that
have a lasting effect on your viewers. The most successful sites
are those that continually have return visitors. Think about how
you can give your site meaning, show-off your abilities and get
continual reaction from your viewers.
Call-To-Action
Take a good, hard look at your website. Is it obvious what you
want your website visitor to do? You've only got a few seconds to
pull your visitors 'into' your site. Get rid of the clutter and
urge your viewers to check out online samples, read case studies
which prove your abilities, see what your happy clients have to say
about working with you and get to know the team. Once you have your
viewer's attention, make it obvious what you want them to do.
Always encourage feedback by using demand driven statements such as
- give us a call, contact us for a free quote or buy now.
Landing Pages
You should assume that any page of your website might be the
page that your viewer lands on. Creating pages that load fast and
appeal to a specific audience will allow you to tailor visual and
text content to a specific industry or type of visitor. What are
the problem areas that you can help that viewer solve? Speak their
business language and lead them to the solution that is specific to
them. Additionally, domain names based on popular keyword phrases,
or industry specific terms, can be registered and pointed at these
specially designed pages to increase traffic through search engine
optimization.
Fresh Content
How long has it been since you've added or changed your website
content? The search engines will rank your website higher and
visitors will continually return if your text is always new, timely
and fresh. Better yet, continually add video, new pages, blog posts
and instructional content with free, valuable information. Or, try
an online survey and ask for reviews related to a product or
service you have launched. You're the expert on your business.
Write in a personal tone to prove you're an industry leader and let
your site viewers have a better understanding of your personality.
People buy from people they like and respect.
Search Engine Friendliness
A keyword audit is essential when building a website and
throughout your site maintenance. You've got to know which keyword
combinations are being searched for on a regular basis. The best
keyword phrases are those that have a high search frequency and low
competition. These keyword combinations should be tailored per-page
and populated throughout your site. Specific areas that should
include these keyword phrases include page titles, descriptions and
headings. Text content should reinforce these keywords and included
the same terms in bold. Also link these keyword phrases to other
relevant website content.
Social Media Marketing
The tools are out there to tweet, pin and post. The trick behind
all of these methods is to utilize them to link back to your
website to view fresh, valuable content. Create a plan that
includes new website content and announce through the social media
outlet(s) that will gain you the most exposure. Every session is an
impression that will keep you at your audience's top-of-mind. Even
if they're not ready to buy today, you'll be the first they
remember when they're in the market for you type of product or
service.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
The world of SEO can be a complex one. Is your
understanding of SEO out of date? Check out this article dispelling some common SEO
myths.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
According to a survey from Corporate Visions via MarketingProfs,
37% of B2B marketers cite content that's neither provocative nor
engaging as a barrier to successful demand generation campaigns. MORE
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Gail Goodman is the CEO of Constant Contact, a leading provider
of email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, local
deals, and online survey tools for more than half a million small
organizations. Read more
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Good ideas to increase your website effectiveness and increase
search engine rankings.
Customer-Focused Content Marketing
What is the most powerful way to improve your search engine
optimization? "Content creation works the best, but takes the most
work," Kaci Bower, Research Analyst, MECLABS, said. MORE