What are Hashtags and Should I be Using Them?
c/o: mashable.com
Hashtags. We’ve heard of them. We’ve seen them on tweets, status updates and Instagram photos. Sometimes they are overused, sometimes underused. These simple yet effective tools still have many businesses wondering, “Should I be using hashtags?”
A hashtag is a # symbol that is used to mark keywords. All keywords with a hashtag in front of them are then grouped together, making them easier to find. Hashtags got their start on Twitter, but the trend has emerged on social sites like Instagram and Facebook. Hashtags hold importance when joining a discussion, sharing news on a trending topic or creating more exposure for a post or photo.
In short – yes – your business should be using hashtags. The trick is that you should when to use them, as more isn’t better in this case. In fact, if you overuse hashtags, you’ll actually have less engagement.
The best reasons to use hashtags include the following:
Conversations – If you want to join in on a conversation, a hashtag makes perfect sense. This way, anyone searching under that particular tag will see your post come up in the discussion. Hashtags in this context actually do a good job of filtering out content, except in the case of #Superbowl that drew in a record 4,064 tweets per second.
Targeting – You probably have certain products that you would like to target to a particular group. A hashtag can help with this. You can use particular keywords to target moms, dog owners or body builders for instance.
Marketing Effort – If you dare, you can start your own hashtag and let it serve as a small marketing campaign. If it doesn’t work, you have nothing to lose, but if it does catch on, you have everything to gain. Domino’s Pizza encouraged their followers to tweet #letsdolunch and gave a special promotion once the number hit 85,000.
Follow Friday – #FollowFriday began in 2009 as a way to recommend followers to other followers. Think of it this way. You’re at a party, and there are plenty of people there. You introduce some of your favorite friends to a pal of yours, and he introduces some more and the chain goes on. The same happens with #FF, and it’s a great way to pick up new leads.
#ThanksforReading
What is Inbound Marketing?
c/o: nayand
Online marketing is always coming up with new terms, so here’s another one for the books: inbound marketing. This term has been creating a lot of buzz lately, but not everyone knows what it means. Inbound marketing is a type of marketing that earns the attention of consumers while they are shopping. Outbound marketing is the opposite. It interrupts consumers with print advertisements or television commercials. While outbound marketing has traditionally gotten the most attention, inbound marketing techniques are proving to be winning strategies.
Consider this example. A customer is interested in purchasing an espresso machine. She’s online shopping and knows that she wants to make the purchase, but isn’t sure which model is best for her. She comes across a website that has a short video about how to use their espresso machine. This allows the customer to see the product in action and learn more about its uses. The site also has a pop-up message where the customer is able to sign up for newsletters and offers from the company.
Here’s what was accomplished through inbound marketing:
- Attracted a customer
- Converted a visitor into a lead
- Converted a lead into a sale
- Turned customers into a repeat customer
What makes inbound marketing successful is that the customer is already researching information about the product and is more willing to listen to what you have to say. Unlike outbound marketing where you’re trying to draw in interest to consumers who aren’t exactly interested, inbound marketing goes after the people who have the better chance of becoming a customer, and a repeat one at that.
Just like other types of marketing, inbound marketing must follow suit with your business. Take a good look at the products and services your company offers to determine the best ways to grab a potential customer’s interest. Examples of inbound marketing strategies include social media, search marketing, contact marketing or video marketing and optimization. Remember that the market is always changing, so it’s important to assess your customers’ needs on a regular basis to best reach them and turn them into high-margin leads.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
New Facebook Phone Keeps Users Connected
c/o: businessinsider.com
The ‘Facebook phone’ has finally made its debut, providing users with an array of apps that allow them to keep connected with the social media site. For those who spend their days on Facebook, this new platform may be a real treat.
The HTC First has been dubbed the Facebook Phone since it uses the Android Operating System and incorporates Facebook’s signature blue interface, sending users directly to Facebook feeds and other apps. Since all smartphones can have Facebook apps, the HTC First needed a unique selling point. The highlight to this phone is that it has Facebook preloaded on it, and the social media site dominates its purpose.
Reviews started popping up immediately last week, and most were in favor of Facebook Home. The biggest surprise is that many felt that with this being the first attempt at a Facebook phone, it wouldn’t be until several models later that the interface really took on its vision. Yet the HTC First is truly a great surprise, and it does a sufficient job of keeping users effortlessly connected with friends and family.
What can you expect from Facebook Home? As soon as you turn on your screen, you’ll see a stream of posts come through on the News Feed. Notifications pop up on the home screen so you won’t forget about special events or friend requests. You can even chat with others while you’re using other apps, another smart way to stay connected. Also, text and Facebook messages are kept in one place. Talk about organization.
The Facebook Phone is a game changer, as there will be more phones just like this one, and each one will get better. Not to mention, the Facebook Phone will most likely inspire other phones of its kind, such as a Twitter phone maybe? With more devices moving in this direction, businesses can expect their social media marketing campaigns to have an even greater effect, as reaching consumers in real time has never been easier.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
How to Maintain Strong Customer Rapports
c/o: thadz
Ah, customer relationships. They’re almost as complicated as relationships with your family or significant other, or in some cases, they may be more delicate. With the internet, customers are less forgiving of transactions gone wrong. All it takes is a bad day and a bad attitude, coupled with something that went wrong on your end, to give your business a bad name. Not to mention, with the access that customers have to competitors, it’s easy for them to switch over. No longer do people have to be limited to where they shop and spend their money.
With this arrangement comes more struggles for businesses as they have to be on their toes at all times. Think of it as a challenge that will never go away. The good news is that focusing on your customer rapports will go a long way in the industry. By fostering good relationships, taking care of your loyal customers and providing a competent product or service, you can keep your current customers and gain new ones in the process.
First, give customers things that are of benefit to them. For ideas, see what types of incentives your competitors are giving. For instance, stores that sell bath and body products will offer a free item for coming into the store. Restaurants give away free appetizers with a meal. Other stores have special gifts on their customers’ birthdays. The goal is to recognize your customers’ loyalty and not just offer up random discounts.
Next, give your customers a way to connect with your company. It’s not a good feeling to have purchased a product and find that it’s near impossible to reach a human. Have an online chat on your website, as well as a strong presence online. Encourage your customers to reach out to you on Twitter or Facebook and share their experiences. The more your customers are talking, the more engaged they are in your company.
Finally, have strong marketing efforts in place for loyal customers that add a personalized touch. For instance, send out different email blasts to customers based on their shopping history. Once again, customers want to be rewarded for their loyalty, and by recognizing a recent purchase made to your company, you’re doing exactly that.
Customers have always been the backbone to businesses, but now it’s even easier to miss out on sales because of the overload of information on the internet. Maintaining your customer relations is the best PR you can give your business, and it’s what will ultimately set you apart from your competition.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
Google+’s Impact in 2013
c/o: mashable.com
We’re already one month into the New Year, and technology hasn’t stopped heating up. One of the recent talks has been about the growing popularity of Google+. It was no secret that Google+ was struggling last year, and some even deemed it a failure. But new reports show that this is far from the case; Google+ has just taken longer to catch on than other social media sites. In fact, new statistics show that Google’s social network has 343 million monthly users compared to Facebook’s 700 million users, making Google+ the second most active social network.
Now, before you get too excited (or unexcited depending on how much you like Google), remember that these numbers represent the number of accounts, which means people who sign into their account to check Gmail or YouTube are being counted in these numbers. But, there are more detailed stats to consider, such as the fact that Google+ attracted 105 million users in October 2012 compared to 65.3 in October 2011. This is a 60.9 percent increase compared to Facebook’s 4.3 percent increase.
Of course, these numbers aren’t exactly fair either, since Facebook has been around for 9 years while Google+ is only 1 year old. With more accounts and active users, the Google site is showing promise, but the next goal is to get users to spend more time on the site. Currently, users spend an average of 12 minutes a month on Google+ compared to 7.5 hours on Facebook.
At the end of the day, keep in mind that Google+ is Google. So, any information that is posted on your Google+ account will be indexed more quickly. Google continually tries to merge all their programs, and Google+ is no exception. It doesn’t hurt to create an account and market your business on this platform, even if just a little. You may even find that you like it, as the site has already made a lot of improvements, allows you to target your audience directly and keeps things simple.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
The Power of Press Releases
c/o: depositphotos.com
Do you write press releases for your company? Some people believe that press releases need to be long, informative and formal, but they don’t. They can be short, fun and creative, just like a blog post. Remember, it’s not the size of story but the story itself that matters. The bottom line: you should consider press releases to help market your business and brand your company’s image.
In the past, press releases were designed to bring companies a bit of media exposure, but nowadays, exposure comes from online. Thanks to the internet, your press release can be seen by the general public without it having to be touched by a news reporter or journalist. In today’s world, press releases are designed to bring in more readers from various outlets, create more backlinks to your website and generate greater exposure for your company.
Many people worry that they have to pay professionals to generate a press release, which is an added cost. While you should always have a good writer take charge of your content, anyone can produce a great press release to benefit your company. What we’re trying to say is that you shouldn’t assume that press releases are another expense; tackle one on your own and see the impact a PR can have on your business.
Make sure that when writing a press release, it is formatted correctly, has an interesting and informative headline and that it is relatively short. The PR should use the first two lines to explain the announcement and the remaining two or three paragraphs to talk about the announcement, whether it be a sales event or new product offering.
Once completed, you will need a distributor to get your press release out there. Some are free, while others charge for their service. You should see anywhere from 100 to 500 backlinks within a week’s time, but keep in mind that some free services don’t allow links in their PRs until you pay the fee. If you test out the waters and find that PRs work for your company, you will want to invest in some type of PR distributor for maximum exposure.
Press releases are just one more way to market your business, share an announcement and get people talking about your service. Yet instead of having one small piece of media coverage, you now have access to an entire online audience.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
Navigating Social Media
c/o: Mikhail Popov
Social media is a great way to create an online presence for your business. But it’s not always as black-and-white as one might think. Before you begin using sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ – the three largest social media outlets – make sure that you learn the ropes of how to navigate social media sites while safeguarding your business.
Understand Your Company
In order to successfully market your company, you must understand what you do. You may be thinking, “I already know what we do!” but delve deeper and think about your company’s strengths, your target audience and what you’re hoping to accomplish by having a social media presence. A small, locally owned business will have much different needs than a large corporation.
Manage Your Reputation
Managing your online reputation isn’t always easy, but it is a necessity. Google yourself and see what comes up about your company. Is it good news? Bad news? Are there photos? You must continue to manage your reputation by providing reliable, high-quality content, addressing customer concerns or complaints online and managing your Twitter and Facebook pages.
Be Aware of Legal Risks
It’s also essential that you safeguard your business in terms of legal risks. For example, did you know that the terms sweepstakes and contest have very different meanings, and there are laws in place that you must deal with before running one of these promotions? There are also laws surrounding endorsements and testimonials and how they can be used. Other legal issues to consider are your domain name, watermarked photos and geolocation data security plans.
Create a Social Media Position
Since managing your social media presence is a full-time job, it’s best to create a position within your company to dedicate to this commitment. You won’t make the most of social media if you’re fitting it in; it must be managed and maintained regularly, and you must be aware of all the legal risks that accompany this role. Hiring a social media expert allows your company to flourish in the creation, development and maintenance of your social media presence and can also keep you out of legal troubles.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
How Much is a Facebook Fan Worth to Your Business?
c/o: forbes.com
If you think that having Facebook friends is important, imagine the importance of having Facebook fans for your business. Facebook fans are those that ‘like’ or are a fan of your business page. Once they become a fan, they see everything you post on your company’s page and are welcome to take advantage of fan-only discounts and specials. According to social media agency SocialCode, their verdict is that each Facebook fan is worth $10. This information was drawn from 50 Facebook fans and what it took for them to do the desired action on more than 50 million pages.
But is it accurate?
Not exactly. Social media experts agree that it’s all in how you run your Facebook page that makes it worth it. Your fans could be worth nothing, but they could be worth $100.
One of the biggest obstacles is that many Facebook fans are not genuine fans. In early fall, many sites saw their Facebook fan counts shrinking away as Facebook announced that they would be cracking down on false likes in order to improve site integrity. After all, a fake like really does nothing for that business.
Furthermore, just because you have a large group of genuine fans doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically become great customers. There are things you need to do to keep your clients engaged and coming back for more. The goal is to turn your fans into dollars. Here are a few tips for making the most of your Facebook fans:
- Track your engagement numbers, which show that what you’re sharing on your page is being seen by fans.
- Measure how much business is coming directly from the internet. You will have to go that extra step to ask customers, “How did you hear about us?” If you see “Facebook!” popping up, you know that your page is having an impact.
- Stay on top of new ways to reach out to customers. For example, try a variety of coupon codes, printable coupons and discounts for fans-only.
- Include your Twitter, website and blog URLs on your Facebook page. You want your audience to be able to find you, look at your product and see what others are saying.
The bottom line is this: It’s difficult to assess the actual dollar value of a Facebook fan. One could be worth $1 or $100 depending on the integrity of your fans and how you use the social marketing channel.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
Mobile Websites: A Must-Have for Today’s Businesses
c/o: Sanja Gjenero
If you have a website, the good news is that your site can be viewed on any smartphone that has a web browser. The bad news is that your website probably won’t look that great, and it won’t have the full capabilities to the user as it will on the computer. If you want to offer your audience a user-friendly website that looks great, then you must have a mobile website.
Why Every Business Needs a Mobile Website
Mobile websites aren’t really an option for today’s businesses; instead, they’re a necessity. More and more people are using their smartphones to access online information, even when they’re not on the go. And, you can just imagine how many people rely on mobile websites when they’re away from home. If you don’t have a mobile website, you’ll be falling behind your competitors. The bottom line is that people are spending more time on their mobile devices than on their computers, so it’s time to get with the new era.
The Effects of Not Creating a Mobile Site
So what happens if you choose to leave your current website as your only website? First, your site will be extremely slow to load, if it loads at all. This will be frustrating for users, and chances are, they’ll click out of it early and find somewhere else that has a mobile site. If the site does load, it will look jumbled up, with small text and impractical menus. It may be impossible to click on anything, and if you use Flash on your website, parts of your site won’t load.
According to a 2011 survey from Compuware, 40 percent of people who had negative experiences trying to load a website on their mobile devices switched over to a competitor. This IS a big deal and will only go on to impact even more businesses as people rely more on their smartphones.
Setting Up a Mobile Website is Affordable and Easy
Fortunately, creating a mobile website isn’t as difficult as creating a website, and if you already have a solid site in place, the task won’t be challenging at all. There are many companies that will get you set up with a mobile website for as little as $100 a year. There are also some DIY tools online that are even cheaper. Yet don’t let cost bother you. Most companies with mobile websites report that they have a boost in sales, so your cost in running this site will certainly be offset by added revenue.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now
5 Benefits to Having a Company Blog
c/o: Svilen Milev/http://effective.com
Everyone is doing it, even businesses. Establishing a company blog is just as important as having a Twitter or Facebook page. Many companies are jumping on board with a blog of their own, especially as Google has raised their criteria for ranking websites on high-quality content. Having a blog is a wonderful way to boost your rankings and make your company come to life, no matter how big or small you are.
Here are five ways that a company blog will help your social marketing campaign.
SEO Purposes – Having good SEO will give you better rankings in the organic search results since your site will have fresh, new content on a regular basis. The more content you have, the more likely other sites will link to your content, which also helps boost SEO. Make sure that you always include strong keywords, which can be found using Google AdWords.
Give Your Company a Voice – If you want your company to have a human voice and not just be a static site on the internet, having a blog will accomplish this vision. You can share your stances on certain events or ideas and just take the time to get known and liked by your community. Best of all, you can have a friendly and informal tone on your blogs, something that you can’t always do in business relationships.
Share Unique Knowledge – In addition to having a human voice and face, you can also share your knowledge and expertise in your field. You want to be the expert in your industry; the place your community comes to when they have questions or want the full scoop on a particular issue. Just be sure to hold up to your vision. If you accept questions on Twitter for example, be there to answer them.
Cost-Effective Marketing – Setting up a blog is free. It if it gets you good SEO, better search rankings and a human voice, why wouldn’t you want to set up a blog if it costs nothing? A blog is also free to run, unless you hire a third-party writer to submit content. Otherwise, you can maintain your blog and market your business without having to pay a dime, for blogging at least.
Establish Good Rapports – Finally, having a blog allows you to have good rapports with your target group. Whether you provide relevant content, how-to videos or share your political views, you’re allowing yourself to connect with your target group and establish positive relationships with them. Having this foundation makes your target group more likely to purchase your product or service, compared to competitors that don’t have the same rapport with their customers.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now