Starting Your Business with Social Media
07 Apr

Starting Your Business with Social Media

Social media has changed a great deal over the past few years, and sometimes keeping up with all the changes get overwhelming especially if you are involved in social media part-time. Admittedly, from what I’ve gathered, many entrepreneurs are still not convinced about the importance of social media for their businesses, which can potentially be detrimental to their success based on current trends. Recently, I came across a quote on Instagram which says, “In the 21st century, there will be only two types of businesses, those that embrace digital and social media and those that cease to exist.” Social media has gone beyond being a simple tool to boost businesses online. You can now conceive an idea, do all the research, and launch a business using your computer while sitting on your couch through social media, and my aim with this article is to show you how to do so.

Finding your Business Idea

If you are interested in getting into business but frustrated because you can’t seem to find a feasible business idea that people will pay for, you can now relax. Presently, many social media platforms you can scroll through to get inspiration exist.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual social media platform that you can use if you are indecisive. Social media guru Peg Fitzpatrick and other Pinterest experts show how using this platform can boost your business and drive a lot of traffic to your websites etc. I believe it can also be used to generate ideas. By scrolling through your feed and looking at the different visuals people are creating, you can get concepts for fashion, content creation, or even home decoration.

Stumbleupon

Stumbleupon allows you to “stumble” upon different websites that you may be interested in. Many people simply use the site for entertainment; however, it can be much more than that especially for aspiring entrepreneurs. Using the site, you can follow content curators and take a look at what they are sharing in terms of business advice, business ideas, and general entrepreneurship tips. You can also look at topic spaces and get recommendations on what can be done.

Reddit

If you want to know what’s happening in the entrepreneurial world or get an idea for a business venture, you should definitely start with Reddit since it is seen as the home page of the internet for the business savvy. To get started, search the “subreddits” or subject areas which may definitely be helpful. It is also a great place to get information about what your customers’ wants and needs. In addition, marketing and product development teams can definitely leverage Reddit to their advantage.

Additionally, you can also use Facebook and Twitter searches, which I will talk more about in the market research section, to find out what’s going on in the industry you want to enter.

Market Research

After you come up with your brilliant business idea, you should do some research to determine your business idea’s potential viability, if a market exists, or to find information about your target market. Also, to help with your research, you can buy Pat Flynn’s new book “Will It Fly” or utilize the different social media platforms.

Google Search

After determining the business venture you want to tackle, you should use a search engine such as Google and perform a quick search to see if anyone is doing what you are thinking about or something similar. Many experts believe that if no one is tackling your area of interest, it may be a good sign that no market exists, and you should rethink. Most authorities in the business world rely on the common understanding that everything that can be done has already been done, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Therefore, it is widely accepted that you can take something that works, put your innovative spin on it, and execute it in a different way. Furthermore, I also believe in that aforementioned school of thought, so if you do a quick online search and find absolutely nothing in the market, you may want to reconsider your idea.

Facebook Audience Insight

Facebook Audience Insight is one of the most effective research tools, and it can be considered as a marketer’s best friend when researching an idea. And get this; it is FREE, oh yes, FREE or as my business mentor encourages me to say, complimentary. Audience Insight like the name suggests, gives insight from a particular audience before you make any investment in them. For example, if you were looking for data about people that are interested in aromatherapy, you can type the word in the interest section of Audience Insight and get information like the percentage of men vs women who are interested, their ages, location, income level among other very detailed information you may not get elsewhere. If you want to find a detailed analysis of Audience Insight perform a quick Google search, and you should come across a well-written post on Social Media Examiner’s website.

Facebook Graph Search

Facebook Graph Search is a semantic search engine that provides results based on the context of your search. If you are thinking of getting into a particular market, you can use Graph Search to see what competitors are doing. Using Graph Search, look up the major players to find out how they are engaging with their audiences, popular hashtags, what people are saying about their business ventures etc. You can also do overlapping searches. For instances, you can search for posts by people who like a particular page or pages. It is really a great way to gather a wealth of information.

SurveyMonkey

Using SurveyMonkey, you can create free surveys to get feedback on your business idea from people on social media and other platforms. Obtaining such information can be vital determining whether or not people are willing to pay to solve their problems and so on.

Once you validate your idea, start putting a business plan together. The business plan will be the blueprint to guide your entrepreneurial venture from its conception and as it grows. Unfortunately, many people get so caught up creating the business plan that they never start their business. Therefore, to avoid overthinking the plan, it is best advised to just draft the basics of what you want to do. Take a look at areas like the people that will be involved, where you will get the funding for the business if need be, your financial management and so on. Afterward, create a marketing plan then launch.

Your Marketing Plan

Making a social media marketing plan is not as difficult as many people may think. Firstly, create your social media objectives and goals that are in line with your business’ overall objectives. Your goals need to be SMART- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Next, perform a social media audit on all your social media profiles to determine what is or isn’t working. During the audit, look at the number of followers, their engagement, who currently runs the social media profiles, what purposes the different social media platforms are serving among others. Being on every platform may be unnecessary, so choose the ones that are relevant to your current and potential customers. You should then look at blogs like Social Media Examiner, Boom Social, Hootsuite Blog for inspiration then create your editorial and content calendars. Also, it is important that you regularly perform audits because social media changes like the weather.

Launching Your Business/Product

After performing the aforementioned tasks, you are now ready to launch your product, and social media is definitely becoming more vital for that aspect nowadays. Consider using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and even your blog and website for the launch. In addition, you wouldn’t have full control of your Facebook business page, Twitter profile, or Youtube channel since these platforms can decide to cancel your profile if you mistakenly or otherwise infringe on their stipulations; however, for the website and blog you may have absolute control over, always ensure that their content is compelling, professional, and involved simply because you are projecting a representation of yourself to the world. When launching, if you use multiple social media outlets, use consistent messaging across different social media platforms to direct traffic to the media you own online. Also, to boost your product or service’s standing, allow credible bloggers and other industry experts to use and write reviews on what you are offering to the market. Additionally, Facebook has one of the most robust advertising platforms on the internet, and it is much cheaper than radio or television advertising. Therefore, if you are willing to pay to get your message about your product or service across, consider using Facebook ads.

Additionally, when launching, you need use social media to build a prospective buyer email list. Therefore, you should use a lead magnet like a free offering or some creative measure to get potential clients to sign up for your email list. Once you have their emails, you can easily reach them to build relationships or sell your product or service. To learn how to effectively create a list, you can get Ryan Deiss’ book, “Invisible Selling Machine” or Anik Singal’s, “Circle of Profit”.

SELL SELL SELL

You don’t have a business if you’re not selling something right? Consequently, once you’ve launched your product, you need to ensure sales are occurring. You can start by selling to your email list that you will keep building overtime. Also, to enhance sales, make use of social media through Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google, YouTube ads amongst others. In addition, as trivial as it sounds, once online transactions are possible, you will need some sort of shopping cart and a means to accept payments from debit/credit cards holders or payal.

It is important to note that depending on the business idea everything that was previously discussed may not work exactly; nevertheless, no matter the entrepreneurial venture, you can use social media to start, grow, and build your brand.

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nelson-kimron-corion/starting-your-business-wi_b_9215306.html

Top 7 Online Marketing Trends Dominating in 2016
26 Jan

Top 7 Online Marketing Trends Dominating in 2016

2016 looks to be a great year for online marketing, and we anticipate it shaking up the game with these seven trends:

1. Video ads will start dominating. Video ads are certainly nothing new, with social channels like YouTube, Vimeo, dedicated to hosting billions of videos and advertising platforms like Facebook and Bing already offering advertisers video options. 2016 is set to be different because Google is finally getting on board with in-SERP video advertising. It’s a sign that users are becoming more accepting of video ads online, and as that trend continues, expect to see more types of video ads popping up in more unexpected places. With Google’s ownership of YouTube, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

2. Digital assistants will lead to a new kind of optimization. Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are two highly popular strategies for getting your site seen by thousands of previously unknown visitors. But the rise of digital assistants is going to lead to a new kind of optimization. Digital assistants like Siri and Cortana do utilize traditional search engines, but only when necessary to find information. The key to optimizing in this new format is to make sure your business information is easily accessible to these assistants, rather than trying to funnel people to your site specifically.

3. App indexing will lead to an explosion of apps. Google has offered app indexing for a while, but as the ranking possibilities for apps become more complex, 2016 will be the year more business owners realize the online visibility advantages of a dedicated app. A mobile-optimized site works wonders for appealing to the mobile crowd, but soon, apps will begin to replace them. Apps can do everything that websites can, except in more intuitive, convenient, accessible ways. We’re still several years away from apps completely replacing websites as a medium, but 2016 will be a pivotal year in app adoption from business owner’s perspectives.

4. Mobile will completely dominate desktop. 2015 was a big year for mobile—not only did Google announce that mobile traffic finally overtook desktop traffic in 10 different countries, it was also the year they released the “Mobilegeddon” algorithm update to phase out sites not optimized for mobile. But apparently, you don’t have to have an optimized desktop site in addition to a mobile version—according to Google, a mobile-only site with no desktop counterpart is perfectly acceptable. This alone won’t be enough to drive down desktop traffic, but it’s clear what side of the fence Google’s on; they’re banking on desktop traffic fading away, meaning the smart money rests on mobile-focused online marketing.

5. Digital assistants will lead to a new kind of optimization. Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are two highly popular strategies for getting your site seen by thousands of previously unknown visitors. But the rise of digital assistants is going to lead to a new kind of optimization. Digital assistants like Siri and Cortana do utilize traditional search engines, but only when necessary to find information. The key to optimizing in this new format is to make sure your business information is easily accessible to these assistants, rather than trying to funnel people to your site specifically.

6. Virtual reality will emerge. There are dozens of different virtual reality devices set to release in the next few years, some of which are dedicated for specific applications like video games, and others which are available for general use. Oculus Rift, arguably the most hyped VR device, is set to release in the first quarter of 2016. Oculus Rift and other VR devices will introduce an entire new medium of online advertising, with integration to popular social media platforms, video channels, and even forms of direct messaging. There’s always a chance VR could fizzle as a temporary fad, but there are billions of dollars of funding in limbo, ready to bet otherwise.

7. Advertising will become more expensive. Competition in the online marketing world has increased dramatically over the course of the past few years. 2016 will see it increase even more. As the basic laws of economics suggest, an increase in demand is often accompanied by an increase in price, so all those new online marketing competitors will drive the prices for online advertising even higher. Realistically, online ads are pretty cheap, but the increases in price may drive some smaller companies out of the landscape.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/09/29/the-top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2016/#4cf9239f4c04

What is keyword density?
31 Dec

What is keyword density?

Keyword density is a combination of the number of times a keyword or a keyword phrase, in proportion with other words, appears on a Web page. For example, if you have a Web page with exactly 100 words on it including all headlines, captions, alt text, and advertising, and you have a keyword phrase that is on the page 3 times, your keyword density is 3%:

Keyword density applies to the page as it displays live on your website. Many people will create content with a high keyword density and then place it on their website with a lot of navigation, images, and advertising content and their actual density will go down.

There is no hard and fast rule for what your keyword density should be. But too little and it won’t be clear to search engines what the page is about and too much and it will look like you’re trying to spam them. Plus, the more times you repeat a keyword phrase the more the page won’t be palatable to your readers.

Don’t let keyword density rule your Web writing. If your page has a very low keyword density, but it’s well written and clear, you’ll get as many readers as you would with a more SEO focused articles.

What should my Keyword Density be?

The accepted sweet spot for keyword density is between 3% and 5%, to get recognized by the search engines and you should never exceed it.

Remember, that this rule applies to every page on your site. It also applies to not just to one keyword but also a set of keywords that relates to a different product or service. The keyword density should always be between 3% and 5%.

So, be sure you have the proper keyword density, because using the correct keyword density will give your site an SEO boost.

15 Ways to Decrease Website Bounce Rates
31 Dec

15 Ways to Decrease Website Bounce Rates

What does “bounce rate” mean?

The Google definition of bounce rate is as follows:
“Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page.”

So the lower the bounce rate the better, as this means more of your visitors are clicking through to other content on your website.

Please find below some common methods which can be useful when lowering your bounce rate and keep visitors engaged on your website.

1. Page loading time

Speed is crucial. Your page should take no more than about 5 seconds to load if possible. Do not clutter your page with too many elements that take time to load and optimize your images and code.

2. Audio Effects / Music

It’s a fact that many users will immediately exit your site if they start hearing something they don’t like (or can’t see). Although in some websites music and audio would be appropriate, in general you better off it. That being said; remove anything that automatically starts making noises such as soundtracks, auto-starting videos and similar.

3. First Impact

You need a good, catching layout for you site. Your website needs to instantly portray an image of quality, and an image relevant to your product or service. Remember, you have only one shot to capture your visitor’s attention and make a good impression of your company.

4. Browser Compatibility

Make sure your Website is compatible with ALL BROWSERS (Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc …) You never know which browser your visitor will be using, so make sure your site validates and runs smoothly on all browsers. Test in all relevant browsers. Not sure if your website is compatible with all browsers? Contseoact us about our free website evaluation report.

5. Relevant Titles and Headings

Make the information available in an easy way for your visitors. If users have been searching for “blue shirts” make sure you have a header that has that information, for instance “See our collection of Blue Shirts”, otherwise they may leave immediately your site. Another way to make things easier would be including a Search box somewhere in your site.

This will help users to find what they are looking for by typing a keyword. Not sure how to install a search in your website? We can help! Contact us about adding searching features for your site

6. Image Optimization

Provide as many descriptive image resources as needed. Chose well, design a powerful image or collage of your products since that can give an instant idea of what it is all about, what it looks like, how to use it and where to use.

7. Stay above the fold

First of all, what does that mean? Above the fold means what your visitors see when they come to your site without having to scroll down the page.

It’s a simple and powerful tip. Keep the key information or the product you are selling above the fold. Users who don’t see what they are looking for right away might leave your site immediately.

8. Keep it Simple

The rest of the page should be simple, uncluttered and with few navigational choices to be made. Remember, you already made your point Above the Fold (item 7), so if you need to add more information why not creating a link add to cart, read more, sign up, see how it works, and then link to an additional page?

This is not only a good CALL-TO-ACTION but also a way to have your page clean and effective.

9. Communicate your message well

Communicate well to your audience. Revise your information over and over to make sure the message is being passed the right away. Consider whether your audience is young, teen years, older, creative, skillful, computer literate, professionals, consumers etc. Make sure you do a spelling check through all pages of your site!

10. Cross Selling Products and Services

Just because you don’t have a certain product temporarily in stock, that does not mean you can’t have a cross selling products area with other options and related items! You never know your visitor might buy an alternate product, different color, different service that relates, etc … If you have an ecommerce website and need help adding cross selling products to it please visit our ecommerce features page or get a free website quote

11. Eliminate distractions

Make sure you eliminate elements placed in your page that are causing distractions, such as automatic popups, text-scrollers, animated gifs, spinning logos or cluttered flash.

12. Navigation Tabs

This is also crucial; the position of the menu in your site has to be visible at all times and easy to navigate through. Add the most important navigation tabs first. For instance, some visitors might want to read about the company, the owner, check your phone number and address for legitimacy and so on.

It is also a common practice to have the main company logo link to the site homepage, so the visitor always have a way to return to the main page regardless.

13. Keep your site fresh

Make changes on your website often. Nobody likes to visit a website that has information posted 5 years ago.

14. Add Customer Testimonials

Use as many testimonials as possible. Call your clients, ask them to provide their feedback about your service or products and obtain their permission to use on your website. Visitors often like and might benefit from reading other customers positive experiences with your company.

15) Inquiry Forms and Contact Forms

Make sure your forms only ask the essential information you need to operate. Do not make all fields required (unless really needed). The easier and quicker to fill out the better!

Not sure where to start?
Call us for a free website evaluation and get a free website report to help you get started!

SEO Techniques, Creating Sitemaps
31 Dec

SEO Techniques, Creating Sitemaps

Many search engines will try to index your site’s pages by following links to all of the different pages. However if a search engine is unable to follow a link, then a page might not get included in the search engine’s results. To make sure all of your pages get indexed, make sure that you have a text-based sitemap that includes all of the major pages of your web site.

The Sitemaps protocol allows a webmaster to inform search engines about URLs on a website that are available for crawling. A Sitemap is an XML file that lists the URLs for a site. It allows webmasters to include additional information about each URL: when it was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is in relation to other URLs in the site. This allows search engines to crawl the site more intelligently. Sitemaps are a URL inclusion protocol and complement robots.txt, a URL exclusion protocol.

Sitemaps are particularly beneficial on websites where, some areas of the website are not available through the browsable interface, or webmasters use rich Ajax, Silverlight, or Flash content that is not normally processed by search engines.

The webmaster can generate a Sitemap containing all accessible URLs on the site and submit it to search engines. Since Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Ask use the same protocol now, having a Sitemap would let the biggest search engines have the updated pages information.

Sitemaps supplement and do not replace the existing crawl-based mechanisms that search engines already use to discover URLs. Using this protocol does not guarantee that web pages will be included in search indexes, nor does it influence the way that pages are ranked in search results.

Not sure where to start? We can help! With our silver SEO package we will create a sitemap and robots file for your website and ave it submitted to 350+ searching engines for only $99.