iBuildLocal – Social Media and SEO Professionals

How to Market Your Business in a Down Economy

Nathan — Fri, 15 May 2020 03:00:56 +0000

When times get tough, there’s no doubt that lots of businesses slow down or stop their marketing altogether, bracing themselves for the unknown. But smart companies know that marketing is critical to the success of your company, whether times are good or bad.

Today, I’m going to let you in on 8 tips for marketing your business in a down economy. That way, you can brace for success instead of the unknown.

#1 You May Have to Cut Budget, But Don’t Cut Activity

The reality is that you may have to cut your marketing budget during an economic downturn, but you don’t ever have to cut activity. This is the time for you to swap hustle for budget and dedicate even more energy into showing current and prospective customers the value of your business. Consumers change their buying habits in tough economic times, and many begin searching for other, more affordable options than what they’ve been purchasing. This means that you have added (not reduced!) opportunities to get your name in front of them and offer them your product or service. Don’t miss out!

#2 Change Your Perspective

Keep an eye on the bottom line, but realize that it doesn’t reflect the big picture. Instead, remind yourself that marketing is an investment for the future health of your company. If you don’t invest now, you’re giving up market share and profitability in the future. Keep your eye on the long-game!

#3 Wow Them With Service

Your performance with your customers is always the best marketing you can do. Now is the time to take an honest, hard look at your service performance. Is it a ‘Wow!’ experience? If not, it’s time to step-up your game! Excellent service will drive word-of-mouth marketing, the best ROI you’ll find in any economy.

#4 Check-In With Established Customers

It doesn’t cost any money to reach out to those who have purchased from you in the past or who are still doing business with you. Send a check-in email, pick up the phone and call, or text to see if there is any way you can serve them further. You’ll remind your established customers of your stellar customer service, and you stand to make even more sales.

#5 Measure, Cut, and Reinvest

Take a good look at the data. What marketing strategies have shown significant ROI in the last year? Which ones seem to be dead on arrival? If you haven’t already, use a web analytics tool (like the FREE version of Google Analytics) to measure whether you’re reaching your goals or stalling. Another measuring tip: track leads (and find out where they came from!) by using trackable phone numbers and web addresses for each of your campaigns. That way, you’re sure of which marketing techniques are working and which aren’t. Then, cut the techniques that aren’t working and reinvest the save time and budget into the ideas on this list instead.

#6 Update Your Website

Do you recognize the power that your website has to either make or break your business? It’s true! If prospects aren’t excited by the aesthetics, reassured by the structure and organization, and met with engaging and informative content at every turn, they will likely do business with the company whose website does. If you haven’t already, make sure to clearly convey the benefits of doing business with your company and be sure to include straightforward CTAs that will engage your prospects.

And although we shouldn’t have to say it, stats tell us we do: respond quickly to all inbound leads! Response time is one of the greatest factors in determining if a lead converts into business.

#7 Focus on Search Engine Marketing

These days, most of your prospective customers will search for your business online. And the last thing you want is for your business to show up on page 7 or 8 in the search results– let’s be honest, they’ll read the first page of results and choose one of those companies. That’s why it’s so important to learn about how to compete with your competition in search engine rankings.

Take advantage of some free keyword research tools and begin incorporating them into your website’s written content, meta descriptions, subheadings, image captions, and URLs. It’s easy and free to increase your keyword savvy– it just takes time, which there is no shortage of right now.

#8 Build Trust With Content

When times are tough, you want to show your customers that your business is trustworthy and solid. But how do you do that? Consistently produce educational content and share it on social media. Your consistent activity will make it clear that you aren’t going anywhere, and that you’re focused on adding value even during the hard times. Trust us, prospects are watching!

The Bottom Line

It’s hard not to panic when economic unpredictability is everywhere you turn. But continuing to invest in marketing can be a matter of survival in times like this. Position your company to come out of an economic downturn with more customers than when you entered it, not by cutting marketing but rather by marketing smart and increasing the hustle.

How Can a Press Release Benefit a Small Business?

Nathan — Fri, 08 May 2020 01:37:03 +0000

Press releases are great tools for generating publicity for a specific company, product or service.

They allow a company to directly influence the message that is being sent out to the public. They allow a business to ‘report’ news to a media outlet, without having to spend the time, effort and money to solicit the media to report a story for them.

Media editors and reporters like press releases because they automatically provide the basis for a news story, without the reporter having to actually locate a story on their own. All they have to do to find ‘news-worthy’ material is to review some press releases. If the release offers something of value to the reporter they can choose to report on the story or to investigate it further.

Press releases are also an effective part of any business’s public relations strategy because they help attract favorable media attention.

They can also be used to attract publicity for an event, product, service or specific company.

These releases can be used to convey a range of information about a business, including:

New product or service launches
Webinar or Online Meeting
Company re-branding or new location
Staff volunteering for a local charity
New Book, E-Book or Report
Personal promotions
Breaking a company record or new accomplishment

Press releases help benefit both large and small businesses by allowing them to gain brand awareness, generate publicity and directly communicate with their customers. This in turn can help generate increased revenues and capture potential customers.

They can also help a business keep its existing customers informed, engaged and interested.

Generating and distributing press releases is a very cost effective form of communication, meaning they are a valuable tool for companies who are looking to increase their customer base and revenue streams.

The use of online press releases can also help a business with its search engine optimization or SEO plan. The majority of online users locate information on the web through the major search engines like Google and Bing.

SEO techniques help ensure that a specific website appears at the very top of these search engine results pages or SERPs, where the most amount of online viewers will be able to click on them.

Studies clearly show that most people will only click on website links that are listed in the top 10 results of major SERPs.

SEO techniques help make sure that a small business’s website is going to appear at the top of SERPs.

How exactly do online press releases help with a business’s SEO tactics?

Online press releases help to generate one-way links to a company’s website. A business press release can contain the company’s contact information, including a link to their website.

This not only lets the reader quickly and easily access the company’s website, but it also makes the site very appealing in the eyes of search engine crawlers.

Search engines like Google and Bing use secretive algorithms to rank a specific website’s relevancy and importance, so that they can give the site a page ranking. The higher the page ranking- the more search engine users are going to end up seeing the website. The exact methods these crawlers use to rank your company’s website is a mystery, but we do know that the more links to your website- the higher the page ranking.

Website links appear in the text as underlined words. When the reader clicks on this underlined hyperlink they are immediately taken to the website.

There are two forms of website links. These are one-way links and reciprocal links.

One-way links are exactly what they sound like. They offer a one-way trip from the website the reader is currently on to the hyperlinked website. Reciprocal links are links that connect two different websites. These usually occur when one website offers another website a link in exchange for the other website offering a link back.

Both types of links are valuable in the eyes of search engines, but one-way links tend to be of greater value to the crawlers.

The more one-way links to your business’s website you can put out onto the web the higher ranking your website will receive from the search engine’s crawlers.

Press releases are a valuable tool for any small business because they allow a company to generate an accurate news story that offers the reader a carefully crafted message. These releases let you control what information you want to be publicized about your company.

They also help you to generate interest in your company and create recognition of your brand. These releases help ensure that your business’s website will receive more traffic and a higher SERP ranking.

Press releases have been one of the most popular business public relations tools for many years in the off-line world.

When used in conjunction with the online world they can be even more beneficial.

See how the “iBuildLocal News System” can benefit your business

How Writing Newsletters Generates 20-50 Additional Sales Per Month For This Mechanics Workshop.

Nathan — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 11:51:00 +0000

I feel that digital marketing is the key to help businesses grow to their full potential. And time has proven me right!

Over my years of experience in dealing with digital marketing strategies I’ve discovered some tried and true methods to maximize income and put more money into your pocket.

It’s amazing how simple and effective these methods can be.

Here’s a little story about an Auto Shop Owner who managed to increase sales (people spending money on services) by 20 to 50 per month.

This information is universal and can be invaluable in growing any business you may be in. Below are the secrets that you can start using in your business right now.

The story behind how this Auto Shop Owner discovered the “Newsletter” model.

As in most new businesses, this owner was learning how to establish their Auto Shop business by trial and error. After brainstorming various ideas they decided to give newsletters a try even though they weren’t really sure what they were doing at the time.

Here is their story:

“We decided to start collecting email addresses from our clients right off the bat. We had the addresses so we thought, why not use this connection to reach out and try to get more business. Of course we’d seen lots of emails coming in from other businesses but we wanted to be different. We wanted to stand out, but what to write? That was the hardest part.”

“One day, a business happened to send us a more personal message. It wasn’t fancy and had no images. The lightbulb went off! It isn’t all about “selling” something. It’s about establishing a more personal relationship with our customers.”

“Coming up with something to write was a challenge but after a lot of talking we came up with the content we send out today. We were excited when the phone began to ring not long after our first newsletters went out. It was a pleasant surprise when some customers we hadn’t heard from in a while decided they needed to see us again.”

“We gradually received even more inquiries. It was surprising how many customers said they’d been thinking about us but the newsletter was a good reminder to get in touch.”

After the monthly newsletter went out, the Auto Shop Owner told me that he got an additional 30 new appointments that month. So they usually average between 20 and 50 customers per month when they make regular contact. The good news is they even had to hire extra help in order to handle all the extra business they were getting.

The Psychology of Why the Model Works so Well.

It may be hard to believe, but they do not use the newsletters for deals, discounts or promotions! That is not the objective.

Of course newsletters should have content that people are interested in reading. They always write about things relevant to the time of the year to keep it current. The topic in each newsletter positions them as the expert in their field while making the business relatable on a personal level.

We always strive to keep in touch with customers both to keep their business and increase repeat business and there’s no better way than a newsletter that will remind customers that we’re still here and always ready to serve them.

The clients who receive your newsletters are already fans of what you’re doing. You are simply contacting them in an entertaining way, encouraging them not to forget you amid all their usual daily distractions. This is a unique way to do so and can make you stand out from the competition.

How to Write and Send Out the Same Kind of 300-500 Word Newsletter that this Auto Shop Owner Uses to Drive Business Each Month.

The end result you are striving for is getting the customer to open and read your newsletters and ultimately take action. The secret to this is making it something appealing, something they want to read.

There are two major mistakes that many people make with newsletters and you’ll want to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Only Sending out Promotions.
It’s tempting, but don’t do it. Concentrating only on promotions sends up red flags to many people. They get tired of receiving constant “deals”. They soon become immune to the effects when deals are presented too often. On the other hand, an “occasional” promotion or deal can be effective but it should be used sparingly or not at all. Trust me, only sending out this kind of newsletter can really hurt your business.

Mistake #2: Writing Boring Content.
Unfortunately, writing good entertaining content can be time consuming. No one will want to receive or read newsletters that are boring. It’s always difficult for business owners to find time to dedicate to such projects. As a result, the letters never happen or the content is less than interesting. Your aim should be to write something that is on topic and teaches, while branding the business as experts in the field.

An Example of the Kind of Newsletter that Works:

The above email newsletter works because:

It’s something that is topical.
It has actionable information.
It’s about helping the reader.
The call to action isn’t salesy.

It’s called positive reinforcement! You want your readers to have a feel-good reaction to what you write. Since they are customers we can assume they already like you, so you want to reinforce that positive feeling and remind them why they need your services. This is how you initiate repeat business and positive word-of-mouth endorsements.

How to get the Same Kind of Results Without Having to Wrestle with the Tech or Write any of the Content for Your Newsletters.

Time is money! You realize how profitable publishing newsletters can be but like many of our clients you don’t have the time or desire to tackle this project yourself. As an Auto Shop Owner, your time is precious and better put to use dealing with other business matters.

That’s where we come in! We can help. If you’d like to have us do everything for you, just contact Nathan at 0423085643.

The monthly newsletter service may be stand-alone or packaged into a program such as the “Mechanics Customer Engine” which includes the monthly re-activation newsletters.

Why Your Company Needs Social Media

Nathan — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 06:14:19 +0000

As a business, you cannot afford to scrimp when it comes to investing in your professional, social media presence. After all, you are getting the opportunity to put your best foot forward online so why not make the most of it?

A well designed and maintained social media platform can act as a sort of resume for your business, highlighting what you stand for and why the customer wants to do business with you, rather than your competition. In this day and age most people will look for your business on social media, making a decision as to whether or not to do business with you, before visiting your business website.

This means that, in order to gain new customers, your social media platforms need to be engaging, professional and reflective of your most compelling strengths.

In order to accomplish this, it is crucial to have the right kind of cutting edge presence throughout all major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Your goal as a business should be to create a powerful social media presence designed to reach out and touch those looking for the services you have to offer, compelling them to select you ahead of all the rest.

The good news is that you have full control over the content that will be shared and you can build your social media presence in a way that highlights your strengths and focuses on your own specialized pitch.

What sets you apart from your competition? How do you want to connect with your customer base? The way you articulate your business values through professional social media will define how well customers respond to what you have to offer. You can control what people will see as the first impression of your company.

Another powerful aspect of social media is that your current customers, who love you, can share your content and express their appreciation for your great service through any social media platform. Social media makes it easy for customers to share your business with their friends and associates. This kind of virtual recommendation is essential for staying alive in this competitive market. Think about how powerful it is to be referred by your current customers to those who are looking for what you have to offer right now. The power of social media in this regard has had a huge impact on the success or failure of many businesses.

No matter the niche market you serve, social media has the greatest impact when it comes to bringing like-minded people together to share professional recommendations. In fact, Facebook even has a specific status now that can be selected by users that states, “Looking for recommendations.” This option is used quite often by those who have moved into a new area and are looking for new recommendations for common needs such as a Dentist, Pediatrician or Pet Groomer.

In the end, social media is also a great place to receive feedback from your customers that is both positive and negative. As you engage with your customer base through social media you can resolve concerns as comments appear through your account. You can also manage what remarks are made, ensuring that you are fairly represented on all levels. Take the time to get to know about the power of social media when it comes to the future of your business. It used to be that all it took was a great business website to garner a good portion of the business you offer.

Potential customers are now engaged on various social media platforms throughout the day, using that venue for most of their pertinent information and social engagement. Smart business owners, who want to stay on top of the digital market, make their business social media presence a top priority. Discover how to get into the social media game today.

How To Get Leads From Social Media Like The Pros

Nathan — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 09:05:13 +0000

Are you making the most of your social media pages? Sites like Facebook and Twitter are a wonderful way to interact with current customers, but if you handle them properly, they can also be a great source of new leads. A lot of local businesses don’t do a good job of using social media to generate leads because they’re not sure how to go about it. With that in mind, let’s talk about some of the ways you can use social media to get qualified leads for your company.

Strategy #1: Fill out your profiles completely

A lot of small business owners skip the step of completing a profile, but that’s a mistake. Take the time to fill in your company’s full name, address, and phone number, provide a brief description, and link back to your website. Choose a compelling profile picture and cover photo. The more complete your profile is, the more compelling it will be to potential customers.

Strategy #2: Link your social media posts to landing pages, not your home page

If you’re posting in an effort to get people to buy a particular product, make sure you link directly to it. Prospective leads shouldn’t have to guess what you want them to do. When you send them directly to a page – especially one that will require them to opt in to see the content – you greatly increase the chances that they will convert. Also, make sure that every page has your name and address, and an easy way to contact you.

Strategy #3: Sponsor a contest

This one is a pretty popular strategy that’s been around for a while, but it’s worth including because it is so effective. People who are already following you on social media are highly likely to be interested in anything you are giving away. You can maximize your exposure by offering one entry to people who like the post, and a second entry to those who share it. Your most loyal customers will always be willing to share, and the shared post will get your company in front of a whole new audience, many of whom will also be local.

Strategy #4: Use a Twitter card or pinned Facebook note to attract leads

One downside of using social media is that content turns over very quickly. That means that a call to action that you post can easily get lost in the shuffle – unless you pin it. Facebook allows you to write a note and pin it at the top of your page. Likewise, Twitter allows you to create a Twitter card with relevant information and pin it to the top of your profile. The benefit of pinning is that it leaves your content in a highly visible location for as long as you want, thus increasing visits to your website – and also visits to your business.

Strategy #5: Sponsor a Google Hangout with local customers

One of the trickiest things about getting people to buy from you is overcoming the objections that they hear inside their heads. If you can get an opportunity to talk to them directly, you can address those concerns easily. A Google Hangout is a nice way to accomplish that. Set up a time for the Google Hangout using your Google+ or Google My Business account. Your Hangout can be a round table discussion with potential customers or even a live Q & A with people online. The benefit of live online events like this is that you can interact directly with customers, and also post the Hangout for people who couldn’t make it to watch later.

Strategy #6: Use geographical targeting for your social media ads

Social media advertising is a cost-effective option for local companies. One of the best reasons to invest in paid social media advertising is that you can easily target your ads to the people who are in your geographical area and are interested in your products.

The benefit of this kind of targeting is that it prevents you from having to pay for clicks and leads that are not relevant. Your ad will be seen only by people who are in your area. On Facebook, you also have the option of sponsoring a post and targeting your followers and their followers. The geographical targeting won’t be as tight as it would be with locational targeting, but the chances are good that a high percentage of your followers’ friends are in your area, too.

Strategy #7: Use whisper codes to increase traffic to your store

When you own a brick and mortar store, figuring out who’s responding to your social media marketing efforts can be tricky. One way to help track your ROI is to send out a “whisper code” to your followers. A whisper code is basically a verbal coupon. Instead of sending a bar code that needs to be scanned, you give customers a word or phrase to whisper in return for a freebie.

The benefit of whisper codes is that you can track your social media campaigns to figure out if they’re working. The chances are that any customer who comes to your store in anticipation of getting something free will end up buying more than they otherwise would have.

Strategy #8: Use social media to promote events and appearances

Local people come to local events. If your company is sponsoring a local event, or if you regularly sell at a farmer’s market, use social media to spread the word. You might remind people of the hours, let them know what you’ll be selling, or even invite them to stop by to get a free sample.

A related pro tip is to interact with other local businesses and find ways to cross-promote your products. Using the farmer’s market example again, a local baker might tag-team with a creamery to get people to buy both bread and butter. If each of you promotes your own product as well as the other person’s, you can increase the traffic on the day of the event – and possibly gain some new social media followers, too!

Strategy #9: Use Facebook’s “Call Now” feature to target mobile users

When you advertise on Facebook, you have the choice of targeting mobile users by including a “Call Now” button on your ad. The button enables mobile users to call you directly by touching the button instead of having to look up and dial your number. It’s a great way to encourage contact – and give you the opportunity to pitch a lead directly.

Social media strategies may vary from business to business, but the strategies listed here will help you make the most of the time and effort you put in to your social media campaigns.

How Social Media Impacts Your Search Rankings

Nathan — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 09:15:00 +0000

Having good search rankings is just as important is getting a line of customers into your business. If you aren’t familiar with how social media can impact your search rankings, read on.

What Search Engines Are Looking For

First, you have to understand what search engines are looking for, so you can see how social media is affecting search results. For instance, the authority of your tweets, how many +1s your URL receives, how many Facebook Likes and shares your URL gets and how many tweets and retweets your URL obtains.

Each and every time someone in social media mentions your local business, it helps to boost your search rankings. How large your following is as well as and how much engagement your social posts receive also play a role in this. Here’s an example:

Luigi’s Italian Restaurant in New York City got a tweet from a local newspaper about its delicious dishes. That tweet was then favorited 400 times and retweeted 50 times. Both the newspaper’s and Luigi’s Twitter handle get activity for this. Then because Luigi’s had their URL linked to their account on Twitter, their Web site was able to get a higher ranking on search engines.

How this Can Help Local Businesses

Engagement on social media networks can help boost your rankings even for keywords that are otherwise difficult to rank highly for (those that general). However, it works best with those that have low competition. So if the keyword that is getting social media buzz is “Italian food”, you could end up ranking high for that keyword. Local businesses can take advantage of this because it helps them to boost their business’s search ranks for those general, yet necessary keywords.

Whenever you share content, make sure that you include low competition keywords like “Authentic Italian food in New York”, so when it gets social buzz, it can boost your rankings in search engines. The more content you share from your Web site on social media, the better your site will rank, which means more traffic being generated for your Web site.

How to Optimize Your SEO

Before you begin your SEO social media campaign, you should check out how you’re doing thus far. You can check this by going to LocalVox, which is a free tool. Make sure you know which keywords are the top ones you should be ranking for. You can use LocalCast, which is an SEO tool to help you track your ranking and find keywords you can use to optimize your Web site and social media posts.

A Deeper Understanding of Your Social Signals and their Impact

So you know that the more action you get on social media, the better your search ranks become. Now, let’s look into how exactly this works for the different social media networks:

Google+: This is still in its early stages compared to the likes of Twitter and Facebook, but it has been having a great impact on social content. The way it works is, the more +1s you get, the better. You should aim to get +1s for your brand profile, Web site and social media posts. When your brand page gets a lot of +1s, it gives you more authority, which helps to raise the ranks of your future content. Your authority is also determined by how many followers you have and how much your content is being shared. Your social media strategy should have a method for generating more and more +1s over time. It’s important to focus on being in a network of people who have great profiles, because who you know can help establish your voice.
Facebook: There are over 900 million people using Facebook, making it the ideal platform to use for boosting your search rankings. There are studies that show that Facebook actually has more influence over your search rankings than Twitter or Google+ (something to keep in mind). So the more shares and likes your posts receive, the better your rankings will do. The amount of comments you receive also helps — in fact, when you get a lot of likes, shares and comments, it boosts your rankings significantly.
Twitter: With about 500 million users, Twitter posts boost rankings when tweets have authority, versus amount. The factors that can help you with your search rankings include the authority of your followers, mentions and retweets; how many followers, mentions and retweets you have; and the speed and intensity of your tweets and retweets over time.

There are other social media sites you can use, like Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Reddit, FourSquare and Digg. These are the factors that play a role in getting ranked higher using these sites:

Pinterest: How many pins, re-pins and comments you receive, and the growth rate of those pins and re-pins.
FourSquare: How many check-ins and the spread rate of those check-ins.
Reddit, Digg and StumbleUpon: How many upvotes and comments you receive.

Link Building Using Social Media

Link building isn’t a new concept and is just as valuable today as it was 10 years ago. However, it has been made much easier to achieve thanks to social media networks. In the past, people would try link building using black hat tactics, like leaving spammy comments on forums and blogs. Today, you can implement link building into your social media strategy. For instance, you can include links to valuable content from your blog in the social media posts you submit.

Boost Your Rankings on Google by Using Social Media

There are many benefits that local businesses can receive from social media accounts. They are able to become an authority, gain a bigger following, network with influencers and boost incoming traffic using link building and organic search results. Social media has a grand effect on the way we do business today and if you leverage it the right way, you can steadily grow the customer base for your local business.

How To Leverage Twitter For Your Local Businesses

Nathan — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 10:19:30 +0000

Social media is one of the best ways to promote your local business. The likes of Twitter has been the backbone of many service and product providers, but only those who have used their account strategically. Simply opening a Twitter account and tweeting isn’t going to get you the results you’re looking for. So let’s see how leveraging your Twitter account can boost your local business conversion.

Use the Search-A-Lot Feature on Twitter

This feature can be quite advantageous for you if you use it properly. The advanced search on Twitter will allow you to refine your keywords to be location-specific. In the field that says “Near this place”, you can insert your city name, along with the keywords you believe your prospects are searching for. You’ll likely have to try out different keyword variations before you find the perfect ones. Once you have found keywords that dozens are people are tweeting about, you can save it.

Social Media is All About Networking

Of course, you want to focus your time networking with local influencers, rather than with just any ol’ person. You want to get to know other businesses that are being seen and heard by people in your city. One way to find out who these influencers are is to use Tweet Grader’s Top Twitter Cities list. Click on your city and you’ll generate a list of the most active accounts in your town. Don’t worry so much about finding those who are in your target market — it’s all about getting known on Twitter locally.

Knowing Your Competition is Key

You can’t beat your competitors if you don’t know who they are. If you truly want to top your competitors, you have to know their prices, strategies and customers. One way to get these details is to keep track of competition by using Twitter. You’ll see what they’re up to,so you can counter their actions in a timely manner.

Let Your Customers Know You’re on Twitter

A lot of local businesses fail to let their customers know that they’re on Twitter. You can let them know by placing it on your receipts, posting up signs in your business and put it on your Web site and business cards. As word spreads, your customers will follow you, and their friends and family may follow you as well.

Write Content that is Fresh, Not Self-Promoting

A lot of local businesses use Twitter to advertise their articles and blog posts. Even if you are just simply posting tweets, as a general rule of thumb, you should keep to a 70:30 ratio. This means 70 percent of your tweets should be to engage people and the other 30 percent can be promotional. No one wants to be advertised to all of the time, so keep that in mind when developing your social media strategy.

Choose a Memorable Username

The username you choose for your Twitter account should be compelling, not too long and unique. Everything about Twitter is short and sweet, so keep that in mind. With a shorter username, people will be able to share your content without going over the max character limit set by Twitter. Also, you should keep your usernames consistent across all social media networks, so that people can easily find and identify you. Also, in your profile, include a business description and a link to your Web site. The photo you choose should be a professional one, or a business logo.

Tweet with Personality and a Strategy

Jumping into Twitter without a sound marketing strategy will have you jumping through hoops to get attention. All you really have to do is engage with other users by jumping into conversations and tweeting things that people would be interested in sharing or commenting on. Your tweets should be authentic and have personality, so that it feels like a person, rather than a brand.

Another formula you can use, other than the 70/30 rule is to do 1/3 tweets, 1/3 replies or retweets and1/3 self-promotion or links. To learn when the best times are to tweet, you can use Followerwonk to see your followers’ most active times.

Follow Others and They’ll Return the Favor

A great way to get more followers for your Twitter account is to follow others. You can use the advanced search feature to find people you know, as well as individuals in certain fields. You don’t only have to follow influencers — after all, your customers are the ones you want to get attention from, so look for people in your area who are tweeting about your type of services and start to follow them and they just might return the favor.

Monitor Your Account with a Twitter Management App

When your account really starts to become active, you may need some help keeping an eye on things and ensuring that your consistency remains intact. With Twitter management apps, this is made easier. For instance, you can use Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, which allow you to segment your followers into categories like prospects, customers, VIPs and influencers. Then you can have notifications setup for when people tweet certain keywords. If you don’t have time to jump on Twitter throughout the day or every day, you can schedule your tweets in advance as well.

Learn the Language of Twitter

You want to fit in with your followers, so try and learn the syntax and tone of the folks you are engaging with. Listen to their tweets to get an idea of the type of language they use and if they are big on Internet slang. This will allow you to connect better with them when you post tweets. Understanding what hashtags and how RT (retweet) is used is also important.

Grow Your Local Business with Twitter

When you use Twitter the right way, it can help you to grow your local business gradually. Of course, this alone won’t do the trick, but it should be included in your overall marketing strategy. There are other social media accounts you can work into this method, giving you broader reach and higher chances of gaining loyal followers.

Tips On Marketing Your Business On Instagram

Nathan — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 11:22:04 +0000

If you’re tempted to dismiss Instagram as a marketing tool because it got its start as an app for sharing mobile photos, don’t. The truth is that Instagram marketing is on the rise, and the companies who use it reap significant benefits from their efforts there.

Instagram Statistics for Business

To begin, it may help to understand how big the potential rewards are for using Instagram as part of your marketing mix.

As of the end of 2016/early 2017, Instagram has over 600,000 actively monthly users. 400,000 of those visit the site daily.
As of 2016, 48.8% of all businesses were using Instagram for marketing purposes, a number that is expected to increase by nearly 50% by the end of 2017.
Brands that use Instagram for marketing post an average of 4.9 times every week.
75% of all Instagram users take action – such as visiting a website, clicking a link, or making a purchase – after viewing Instagram marketing posts.
Posts that include at least one hashtag perform 12.6% better than posts with no hashtags.

There is no question that marketing with Instagram offers a way for businesses to connect with existing and potential customers. The high level of engagement makes Instagram particularly effective for businesses to reach consumers directly.

Getting Started on Instagram

Do you want to get started on Instagram? Here’s a quick checklist to get you going.

Download the Instagram app onto a mobile device. While you can view Instagram on a computer, you need a mobile device to upload content. You can download it from the Apple app store, Google Play, or the Windows App Store.
Tap “Sign Up” to enter your email address, or else use Facebook to sign in.
Choose a profile picture. Make sure to choose a clean and striking image that looks good as a thumbnail.
Complete your bio. You have only 150 characters, so you may want to avail yourself of the vertical formatting option and use bullet points (or emoji) to describe who you are and what you do. Make sure to include the URL of your website since this is the only place you can include a clickable link.

Once you have completed these four simple steps, you’ll be set up and ready to start marketing with Instagram.

Building a Following

The next step is to build a following. Here are a few ideas to help you do that.

Add an Instagram follow button to your website and blog
Share a link to your Instagram feed on Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media sites you use for marketing
Comment on Instagram posts shared by influencers in your industry or even by your fans
Host a contest or promotion and make sharing your post a criterion for entry
Share your Instagram posts on Facebook
Comment on posts shared by other local businesses

The main thing you need to do to build a following is to increase your visibility. People might not know that you’re on Instagram. But if you share content regularly, keep it relevant, and comment wherever it’s appropriate, people will find you.

How to Use Hashtags Effectively

Like Twitter, Instagram allows the use of hashtags to help users find relevant content. Hashtag use is really an art form and it’s important for businesses who market on Instagram to use hashtags wisely. Here are some pointers that can help you.

Join in on community events such as #ThrowbackThursday or #ManicMonday to make yourself part of the Instagram community. An example of a business throwback might be an early prototype of one of your signature products or a shot of your grand opening.
Create a brand hashtag to use on all of your posts. Some companies simply use the name of their brand as a hashtag, but don’t be afraid to get creative with it. One example comes from candy company Kit Kat, who uses the #HaveABreak hashtag on all of their posts.
You can highlight photos and content that’s especially important to you by tagging it with #PicOfTheDay or #PhotoOfTheDay hashtags.

It’s also a good idea to create campaign-specific hashtags for special promotions and contests. For example, if you wanted to sponsor a contest that asked your followers to take photos of themselves using your products, you might create a special hashtag to allow you to track entries – and to allow your fans to view all the entries easily.

One final note: you may want to check out trending hashtags and use them, but be cautious. It’s easy to come off as callous if you attempt to use certain hashtags as a way of promoting your products. For example, you can certainly post a patriotic photo with the #NeverForget hashtag on September 11^th, but it would be a mistake to try to make such a post about your product.

Instagram Stories for Marketing

In late summer of 2016, Instagram added a new feature that’s ideal for marketing: Instagram Stories. It’s similar to a feature on Snapchat that allows users to add content (in this case, images or videos) that last for only 24 hours. The content doesn’t appear on your regular Instagram feed, but creating a story can be an effective way to connect with your followers.

At present, stories appear to get priority, allowing companies a way to “beat” Instagram’s algorithms and connect with a significant percentage of their followers.
Stories can be used to show the development of a product, give your followers a peek behind the scenes of your business, or provide coverage of a live event.
Stories don’t allow regular commenting, but you can encourage the people who view your story to send you a direct message to ask a question or encourage them to visit the link in your bio.
You can pick a single image from your story and post it on your regular feed to attract traffic to your story.

Instagram stories provide a fun and unique way to engage followers and drive traffic to your website. Many businesses have yet to adopt Instagram Story as part of their marketing strategy, but you can be an early adopter and reap the benefits right now.

Conclusion

Instagram might have started as a fun mobile app, but it has turned into an extremely valuable and powerful marketing tool for companies that know how to use it. If you create a compelling profile, use hashtags appropriately, and take advantage of new options like Instagram Stories, you can use Instagram to build brand awareness and attract new customers.

Facebook’s New Ad Tool: Lead Ads For Local Businesses

Nathan — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 09:23:51 +0000

Advertising on social media has become fairly commonplace. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest offer multiple advertising options that allow business owners to boost their pages, drive traffic to their websites, and feature specified posts to increase their social media following. Social media advertising is easy and affordable.

Facebook’s latest tool offers a way for local businesses to generate leads. It’s called Lead Ads for Local Businesses, and it’s changing the way small businesses use social media to advertise.
What is Lead Ads for Local Businesses?

Traditional Facebook ads offer users the chance to click and be redirected to a business’s Facebook page or website. Lead Ads is a little different, because it allows customers to click the ad and then request additional information from the business in question. For example, they might request:

A price estimate or quote
A product demo
A free menu item
A newsletter
General information

You might think of Lead Ads as being a bit like a portable landing page. You can use these ads to collect prequalified leads and get them into your sales funnel.

THE BENEFITS OF USING LEAD ADS

Internet statistics for 2016 show that more users access the internet using mobile devices than computers. However, reading information about a company on a mobile device can be challenging, even if they’re on the mobile version of Facebook.

Lead Ads offers users an easy way to request additional information about your company wherever they are. The ads are mobile-friendly and easy to use. When a user clicks a Lead Ad, they will see a form with pre-filled information from their Facebook profile. That means they don’t have to struggle to fill in the form using their phone because Facebook does it for them. By streamlining the process, Facebook has eliminated one of the biggest roadblocks to gathering leads online. It also reduces the likelihood of you getting inaccurate information due to the customer making a mistake.

IT’S QUICK AND EASY TO USE.

The ease of completing the contact form is a plus for users, but Lead Ads offers benefits for business owners, too:

You can customize the form so it gathers only the information that is relevant to you. For example, you might want to gather just a name and email address, or include additional information such as a mobile number.
You run a smaller risk of bouncing (or losing) customers due to a complicated lead form. As a rule, customer sign-ups decrease when additional fields are added to opt-in forms. Usually that means you can gather only an email address, but Facebook’s automatic forms make it easy to ask for additional information without worrying that users will refuse to complete the form.
You have access to the same psychographics and targeting tools you can use for all Facebook advertising. That means you can target ads based on age, gender, marital status, and geographical location, as well as using things like hobbies and interests.
Lead Ads offer a quick way for you to grow your email list, but that’s not their only use. You can also use them to gather applications, registrations, or pre-orders. Their flexibility means you can use them in a variety of ways.
You can create Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences to hone in on the people who are most likely to be in the market for your product or service.
In addition to targeting specific demographics, you can use the information you gather to remarket to existing customers as well as reaching out to prospects.

Lead Ads offers many of the same advantages of regular Facebook advertising. You can set a daily budget and monitor your ad’s performance using Facebook Insights.

WAYS TO USE FACEBOOK LEAD ADS

While the most obvious way to use Facebook Lead Ads may be to grow your email list, there are many other things you can do with this exciting new advertising option. For example, you could: 1.

Get people to sign up for your newsletter or for information about your product or service.
Send out deals and coupons for your local or online business.
Announce new promotions and sales.
Gather interest forms or applications for things like financial services, education, or other
professional services.

The versatility of Facebook Lead Ads means that you can adapt the form and targeting to almost any purpose you can imagine. The information you gather can then be used to nurture leads with follow-up emails and social media posts, retarget existing customers, or even to gather valuable demographic information about potential customers.

HOW TO USE FACEBOOK LEAD ADS

The basic requirements for using Facebook Lead Ads for your business are the same as using any kind of Facebook advertising. You must have an active Facebook page for your business, and you can set up the ad from your home page. Be prepared with information about whom you will target with the ad and how much you want to spend. You should also think about what information you need to get from potential customers so you can request it when you customize your information form.

One thing that sets Facebook Lead Ads apart from other social media advertising is that you will be required to include a link to your company’s privacy policy. Doing so offers customers the reassurance that the information they submit will go only to you. Facebook prohibits advertisers from selling lead information to other businesses, and you should make sure to read their terms and conditions before you get started.

All in all, Facebook Lead Ads provide a quick and easy way for you to gather customer leads and use the information you collect to grow your business. These ads benefit consumers and businesses equally by making the process of gathering leads easier from both ends. Consumers have the convenience of one-click sign-ups, and businesses can gather accurate information that they can then use in a number of ways.