For many people, this is one of the most important points to consider. Nearly anything that you post on the web is visible to others. Just as the web has continued to grow and expand – thanks in large part to social media – so has the number of people who can access your information, at any time. Read More →
If you are using social media, you need to think about the target audiences you want to connect with. You probably think you already know who these people are. It’s the same ones you’ve been targeting for years right? Not necessarily…
It’s well worth spending time thinking about who you need to connect and engage with on social media. It’s about seeing past the obvious. Who is interested in your product or service? Is there anything unique that could appeal to a certain audience? Then think about the next level, who those people might be associated with. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and it’s rife amongst social media folk, so connecting with those that are connected to your target audiences can be worthwhile.
Then think about who these people are, which industries they work in, what they like, what they read, what motivates them, age ranges, personality traits, where they hang out, technical know-how, how likely they are to use social media. Really do your research and segment your audiences by creating profiles for them. You may uncover some less obvious people that could be great for you. Keep a record of this, a simple spreadsheet will do, and as your experience of using social media grows, review and update, adding others as necessary.
Also identify your key influencers. These could be people that stand out within your communities, people that others listen to, people that create action (not necessarily those people with thousands of Twitter followers). They could be peers, journalists, thought leaders or other stakeholders. People with game-changing opinion and ideas. People who challenge the norm. Or simply people that talk sense.
If you don’t know who these people are, make the most of the various free monitoring tools to track who is talking about the keywords associated with your business: such as Google Analytics, Social Mention, Delicious, Addict-o-matic and Board Reader. This should highlight who has a voice in these subject areas.
Once you’ve profiled the people you want to connect with, you need to find them. This is an on-going process and takes a little time to begin with. This will give you a good idea of which social platforms you should have a presence on, so keep your mind open to niche sites as well as the big guns.
As for finding people, there are a bunch of tools you can use to help you find them on the main social networks:
twitter.com is a favourite. It has a wide criteria range to search on, including location (handy for local businesses). Also use this tool to find the key influencers in your industry and browse their follower/following lists. You could find some great people to connect with there.
Also pay attention to hashtags being used for events, you could find some great people there.
You can’t simply choose to connect with people on LinkedIn as you can with Twitter. They need to give their approval (which I’m a fan of), so if they’re connected to you through someone you’re connected to, request to be introduced to them.
As I mentioned, this can take a little time, particularly when you first start using social media, but it’s worth the effort. It’s not a ‘one time’ job either, set a reminder to review your connections on each profile every month or so to keep it fresh and to ensure you’re not missing anyone crucial to your business.
Many small businesses are blogging, tweeting and posting updates on social media websites. At first glance, it can look fun and easy. However, social media marketing is a powerful tool and it is vital to approach it strategically.
Small firms that are using social media to market themselves online need to set objectives, plan their approach and make sure it dovetails with their overall marketing strategy.
Like any marketing initiative, getting results can take time and your strategy may need developing. You may find that you are spending a lot more time online than you first anticipated – and neglecting other tasks as a result. Perhaps you are taking an ad hoc approach and failing to co-ordinate all of your marketing messages.
The golden rule when it comes to social media marketing is not to overtly sell. So, the way you communicate on Facebook or Twitter, for instance, will be very different from the way you would approach a sales letter or flyer.
However, it is vital that you don’t go completely off-message. All your marketing communication should highlight your USPs, strengthen your brand and be aimed at your target market. With social networking, for example, you can position yourself as an expert or talk about relevant issues that you are passionate about.
Have a look at your existing marketing activities. Each of them does a specific job, reaching your target audience in different ways. Social media marketing can work with your traditional marketing to enhance it.
Given the growth of online social networking, it is likely that more and more customers are coming to you via new routes — such as forums, your blog, Facebook or Twitter. It is vital to be responsive and to convert this interest into sales.
Like any marketing, you will need to take a strategic and professional approach to your online social networking:
You will also need to monitor everything you do, which is possible using tools provided by the social media platforms themselves, or by other software developers. This will enable you to measure the return on your investment in time (and money), find out what works and what does not and fine-tune your approach.
Successful people, with successful businesses need to develop effective blogs and websites in order to sell more of their products and more of their services on a regular basis. In a technologically-focused world, where internet domination is the key to creating a triumphant business in every industry, online reputation should be our main priority.
That said, there are still many people who either don’t plug into the power of online reputation via blogs and websites at all, or there are those who pay little attention to developing trends and new online marketing strategies for improving the blogs and websites that they own. Both sets of people need to readdress their priorities fast.
Still not convinced you need a new website? Here’s 10 more ways of knowing for sure if you need a redesign.
We here at NEDC would never say you need a new website if you do not need one. What you will get from us is the truth as to whether or not the site is in need of a spring clean, an update, optimising or whether it is perfect the way it is. If you would like to receive a free review of your site, then please contact us here.
You don’t have to spend lots of time researching into new trends in online marketing on new online advertising strategies put forward by Google AdWords and the like, but a weekly check-in to what is going on in the online advertising industry is a very good idea.
Reserve just 15 minutes of your week to log on to sites which specialize in online marketing and you will soon find that fresh ideas for highlighting the positive attributes of your business online really start to make a difference to your site’s popularity and your number of monthly sales.
Being smart professional people, we all know that our website is a reflection of ourselves and, of course, our brand. A popular website can make a very successful business and potential clients can make a decision whether or not to use you just by looking at your company site.
Here are the Top 10 signs it’s time to upgrade:
1. Your current site doesn’t have social media integration. Without the integration, you’re limiting your customer reach. Making your website shareable is just another way to engage fans, generate leads, and increase brand loyalty.
2. You’re using flash. Websites built with flash have very long load times. In the time it takes to load your site, your potential customer has already started looking for an answer elsewhere. Flash automatically decreases a company’s credibility.
3. You want to strengthen your brand. If your website is more than two years old, it’s time to update it in order to keep up with web design trends and functionality. If it’s more than three years old, it’s time for a complete overhaul. Always make sure to keep things fresh and innovative so customers have a reason to return.
4. Your top competitor just launched a new design. If companies A and B both do the exact same thing, but Company B has an updated website, the masses are going to gravitate toward Company B. Company B now looks more credible. Customers who trust a brand are more likely to buy products over and over again while recommending them to others.
5. You have little to no traffic. A new design will boost traffic and create fresh interactions with your target audience through the use of new tools and interesting functionality.
6. Your site has spelling and grammatical errors. How can you take a company seriously if they can’t distinguish between their, there, and they’re? Content is king.
7. Your messaging is stale. If your messages don’t stick, how will people remember you?
8. You can’t update your own content. If your brand is constantly evolving or you’re introducing new products to your line, you need to share them with your audience. Trying to go through your old web designer is time consuming and costly. Using a content management system like WordPress is a great way to add pages or edit content when you want, wherever you want.
9. You’re not proud of your site. If you’re embarrassed to share your site with someone or make up excuses for why it looks the way that it does, it’s time for an overhaul. A brand won’t gain a following on LinkedIn or Twitter alone. A website is the starting point.
10. You can’t pull up your website on an iPhone. Responsive design is the art of ensuring your site looks good no matter what device a customer is using. In the age where smartphones never leave our hands, it’s important that customers can access your site on-the-go.
If you are sitting there nodding your head at some of these points then it’s probably time to think about a new site. Contact us for a free consultation and to find out how we can help you with grant funding.
If people are visiting your site more often because you are investing in PPC Advertising and because you are producing original, interesting content on a regular basis, you need to make sure that they can share what they read on your site. This means that you should place social networking buttons on every single page (and attach them to posts) so that it only takes the click of a button to share the information that you publish.
Internet users are lazy. Give them all the tools they need to make sure that your site and business finds its way around the Internet without you having to lift a finger.
If you create quality and original content this will encourage people to share links to your website.
The more fresh and quality content you post to your blog or website every week, the better. Original content means that Google searches your site more often. Quality content means that people interested in your industry return to your site on a regular basis.
The more you can do to make sure that people come to your site for resource and research purposes, just as often as they do to buy something, the better. Websites, blogs, brands and companies that offer to help interested Internet users for free via their expert advice are those businesses that end up developing life-long clients and customers. These are the businesses that never go bankrupt.
One of the best ways of driving traffic to your site is to invest in PPC Advertising via Google AdWords. The best thing about Google AdWords is that there is no minimum spend required in order to run a campaign. This makes Google AdWords affordable for everyone and you can change how much you spend on a daily basis with just the click of a button.
Driving new customers or potential clients to your site via PPC is essential. The traffic that you get from PPC Advertising is highly optimized, (this means that the people who land on your site have more information about your site before they land on it and are therefore more interested in what it is you have to sell or offer).
With more traffic landing on your site every day, the better your site will rank on Google. This means, when someone is searching for something to do with your industry on Google, Google is likely to start valuing your site more in general and presenting it on the first page of Google more often. Few people click through to page two and beyond on Google, so getting your blog, website and business on the first page is really important. PPC Advertising can help you to achieve this goal in record time.
Want to know more about PPC and how it can help your business? Contact us for further advice and support with regards to Google AdWords.
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