Reputation Management Tips

4-13-five-reputation-strategies5 Powerful Online Reputation Management Strategies You Can Count On

Think your online reputation doesn’t matter? Think again! According to a study by Erik Qualman of Socialnomics.com, nearly three-quarters of respondents say they trust the info provided by total strangers online. Further, some 80 percent of consumers have changed their minds about buying a product after reading a negative review online, and over 84 percent say they find online product reviews to be a trustworthy source of information.

This leads to one simple reality: when those negative reviews or complaints appear, (and they will!) you need to take them very seriously and take countermeasures to reduce the negative effects!

Let’s look at five proven strategies to do that.

  1. Look at your brand’s search engine results regularly – Check your company’s name in Google at least once a month. Google Alerts is a good idea to tell you when there is any conversation regarding you, your company name or your important keywords. Make sure you look beyond page one, as damaging entries may be lurking there on their way higher.
  2. Deal with negative content ASAP – Do your very best to contact the individual that posted the content in question as soon as possible, especially if they are an unhappy customer. Do your very best to take care of their concerns in a positive manner. Don’t enter into a public tussle with them! You won’t like the outcome.
  3. Optimize your pages with your company name – Ensure that your company’s name is prominent in your optimization, specifically in keywords, tags, and titles. The more of your site’s pages that bear your name, the greater number of chances Google will see your site as the authority for this keyword (your company name) and rank you higher, particularly because most negative content won’t have done any SEO.
  4. Create more content channels with your brand – You can use free blogs like WordPress.com, Blogger.com or even subdomains of your own site for this, along with your social channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and Google , will help keep the company name prominent. Post fresh content to these channels also, so they hold on to their search positions.
  5. Ask for reviews – Your very best choice for an effective online reputation management tool is to ask your best customers for reviews. Don’t be pushy, but encourage and even reward reviews. This is also your best source of social proof!

Follow these tips to keep your good name! Trust us…you’ll be glad you did.

Facebook Advertising Secrets

4-13-five-tips-for-facebook-imagesHow to Use Facebook Ads to Gather Leads and Sales

Facebook ads are among the fastest, easiest and most effective do-it-yourself platforms for getting traffic to your offers, building prospect lists, and for practically any other objective imaginable for your website. Ad campaigns are extremely simple to set up, include excellent targeting tools, and can be online in minutes. There is one factor to understand, however, when it comes to obtaining the best results and return on investment: That is finding the most effective images available. It has been shown that imagery is 70-89 percent of the success or failure of a Facebook ad campaign. Let’s have a look at some useful tips for obtaining the most from your Facebook ad images.

5 Great Image Tips for Facebook Ads

Creating an ad that produces a real impact and statement for your product or services is a matter of standing out from the rest. Listed below are five ways to do just that!

  1. Use very high quality stock images – As your images will end up very small, be sure you’re purchasing from a reputable resource. Fotolia and iStockPhoto are two of our faves. The XS size of available images will undoubtedly be fine, as even these are going to be cut down to the size of a postage stamp (110×80 pixels).
  2. Crop to deliver impact – Crop your photos closely to focus on the key aspect of your ad. Cropping faces from the eyes to mouth is the most impactful technique for riveting people images. Also, be sure that your model’s eyes have life. Whenever using product images, get close!
  3. Choose eye-catching colors – Using bright, visually arresting images is going to do wonders for your click-thru rates. Too many people opt to blend in with the pervasive Facebook blue, and thus consign their ads to a form of “banner blindness”.
  4. Choose attractive images – Unless you are going for a certain statement, choose the most attractive photos you can find. People are attracted to beauty. Period. This is not to say that sometimes beauty can’t be trumped by cute, funny or outrageous.
  5. Use humor whenever you can – All of us love a good laugh. If you have the opportunity to inject humor into your ad, don’t miss it! It will undoubtedly result in a higher clickthrough rate!

For some terrific illustrations of these ad-image principles in action, check out this great article at Search Engine Watch.

Smartphone App For Your Small Business

4-13-smartphone-apps-for-your-small-bizHow do you decide whether or not to develop a mobile app for your business?

Mobile site or mobile app? Thats the real question. Do you require one or the other, or both? Understanding your businesses’ needs goes a long way toward helping you decide if you should invest the time and money necessary to develop and put into play a mobile app for your business. Does a mobile app make sense for your company? What are the costs, both in developing one and in maintaining one? Have you got someone capable of updating it? You need the answers to these and several other questions in order to really come up with a wise decision. Let’s take a peek at a few of the pros and cons.

The Pros and Cons of developing a mobile app for your business

Pros:

  • More than 50 percent of adult Americans are using smartphone technology
  • Keeps your brand prominent in the marketplace
  • Increases customer retention and loyalty, as the app is always in front  of them
  • App users typically spend much more time on apps than on mobile sites
  • Usually load faster than mobile sites
  • Mobile apps are available offline, though users will need to login to perform any actions, such as purchases

Cons:

  • A mobile app needs to be developed for each platform, iPhone, Android, Windows, or any other platform
  • Mobile apps require ongoing care, both as regard fresh content along with technology updates
  • Mobile apps are not as easy to optimize as a mobile website
  • Mobile ads could very well serve the purpose
  • Apps can be quite expensive! If you go the Do It Yourself route, be ready for a lot of headaches, as they frequently break, and need to be updated.

We all know there are as many uses for an app than you’ll be able to imagine, however some are superior to others. Here is an example of how apps were created in the health care market. Making sure your app is useful and not a mere novelty goes a long way toward helping you make your choice. While it’s a given that you require a mobile version of your website, the question of whether or not you should shell out what might be big bucks for an app is one you ought to look at thoroughly. Take your time to weigh the pros and cons for your business before you leap into developing a mobile app!

Get More Client Referrals

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7 top techniques for getting more client referrals

Most small businesses are always looking for ways to obtain more client referrals. However as outlined by GrowThink.com some 58.6% of us don’t even bother to ask for them! This isn’t something that takes place automagically, but rather is the offspring of a clear, focused strategy applied persistently. So that you can catch the idea allow me to share seven easy ways to get more client referrals, faster and easier than you may have thought possible!

  1. Ask your best clients – These can be your best business evangelists. People who are already in love with what you do won’t need much coaxing to sing your praises.
  2. Offer sensible incentives – Offering product savings, select offers, or other rewards which make sense for your business can be a fantastic way of getting people to send you new customers.
  3. Over-deliver on first-time customers – When you get a new customer, a terrific way to get them talking to their circle of contacts is to over-deliver to them. This can come in a number of ways, but make certain they view your company as a cut above the rest.
  4. Engage your customers – Find innovative approaches to engage your clients and perhaps find a way you can benefit each other. The key is to get them talking, and being open to ideas. Create an online neighborhood for your customers, such as a blog or Facebook group.
  5. Be courteous and a giver – Make saying “Thank You” part of your daily lexicon, and be generous when it comes to offering perks. Laying a surprise gift card or thank you note on a customer can be very beneficial.
  6. Enlist your staff – Getting your staff in the game can multiply your efforts. You will usually have to develop a way to reward results, but it can be very much worth the cost!
  7. Create a loyalty program – A customer loyalty program, preferably online, can help you generate enthusiasm and engagement. Reward interaction as well as purchases, because this could lead to more and more people becoming involved.

Consistently working a client referral plan takes some perseverance, but at the end of the day can create great results with a minimal outlay.

How to Connect With Buyers Using Google+ Local

3-13-google-local-logoHow to Use Google+ Local to Connect with Buyers

Even though it’s been a few months since Google merged with Google Places to become Google Local, there was some confusion as to just what this new entity would grow to be. No longer. One shining illustration of what is possible for small business is the Google business page for BakeSpace.com. They have employed all of the features such as hangouts, video and more to garner more than 330,000 users inside their circles. Businesses are waking up to the enormous opportunity that lies within Google Local and are finding excellent ways to use it for finding buyers and prospects.

So let’s examine some of the best ways your small business can leverage this platform.

  • Be sure your Google Local page excels – The first and probably most important task is to make sure that your page is entirely filled out. Fill in all text areas that are called for, as this makes a difference in how Google ranks your page. Also, use a ton of images, because this also affects the ranking of your page. There’s also the benefit of being allowed to present a vivid look at your site and merchandise.
  • Use the search function to prospect – Using Google to look for prospects and hook up with potential customers is ridiculously easy! The search bar at the top of your Google page will help you find people who are talking about your niche or company. Add them to your Circles and start the connection process!
  • Engage with potential buyers by creating offers – An excellent way to leverage your Google Local page is to create enticing offers and coupons which can be accessed directly from that page. This can be a terrific method to convert Google visits to onsite purchases.
  • Use Google Hangouts as a media channel – There are a variety of methods to use this versatile tool to pump up your business. You can conduct webinars, training sessions, online press conferences, offer free consults (related to your business) and even host your very own show. Google records these sessions, sends you the file, which you can then upload to YouTube. Beginning to see the possibilities?

I hope you’re realizing the possibility of what Google along with Google Local, YouTube and the rest of the Google suite could do for your business. Get your business started on Google Local today!

Mobile Computing Revolution

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How to Cash in on the Mobile Revolution

The web is going mobile, and it’s not too late to jump onboard the mobile bandwagon and snatch a slice of what is increasingly becoming an extremely large pie! Google reports that more than half of all local searches are executed on mobile devices of some sort. Everyone is doing business on the move, browsing and price comparing on the way to shop. Now is the time to make sure your business is aligned to take advantage of this mobile innovation. Here are five easy ways to get this done!

  1. Having a mobile ready site – Making certain your website is capable of being viewed on any mobile device is a mandatory first step. There is something of an art to making the mobile version of your website, because the emphasis here is on speed. It is estimated you have about five seconds for your site to load on a mobile device or they’re on to greener pastures. Make sure your site loads fast and looks great! Based on Google polling, 52% of users say a bad mobile experience causes them to be much less likely to engage with a business.
  2. Offering deals, coupons and incentives to readers – 29% of consumers indicate a willingness to download a coupon from their mobile device. Take them up on it! Currently, only 10% of customers have received a coupon from a local merchant, based on a poll from Mercator Advisory Group. It’s time for you to get out in front of this trend and stake your claim!
  3. Buy inexpensive mobile advertising – Mobile paid ads are still the new kid on the block, but there is a great deal of opportunity using these. Pricing is still quite low, and you can get a considerable amount of targeted traffic to your site very quickly.
  4. Create a loyalty program – Employing a mobile platform to institute a loyalty program is an idea that is no longer just used by restaurants. You can make rabid fans by having a simple, easy to use digital loyalty card app that works entirely on their mobile device. A fantastic way to reward regular customers.
  5. Capitalize on mobile email and SMS – Mobile email is being opened at a rate of 41%, and is on schedule to surpass the PC by the end of 2013, as outlined by MarketingLand.com. SMS (texting) posseses an incredible 95% open rate. These two statistics alone should be incentive enough to get your small business seriously involved in the mobile side of things!

Social Media Mistakes

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Are You Making These Costly Social Media Marketing Mistakes?

Understanding what NOT to do in regards to social media is nearly as critical as knowing what you should do. Below are some social media slipups to avoid at all costs!

Jokes at other people’s expense – It should go without having to say, but you really need to think before you send anything out into cyberspace for the world to see. Above all, don’t try and take advantage of someone else’s bad luck or indiscretion to promote your own products or services. While a celebrity death or embarrassing scandal might appear to be easy fodder for attracting eyeballs, you’re almost certainly going to tick off as many people as you tickle!

Offensive statements and political rants – Closely connected is the temptation to broadcast your preferences political, social or otherwise, which may well have the misfortune of NOT aligning with those of your clients and customers. Don’t go there! Keep from sharing anything that might be misunderstood, or you’ll end up scrambling for cover! Once trust is broken, it’s very hard to rebuild.

Not making business only accounts – An account solely devoted to your business has not only a far greater chance of being found in the search engine results, it projects an altogether more professional image for your business.

No social media buttons on your website – These are readily available for all social media platforms, and you’re shooting yourself in the foot if they’re inaccessible on your homepage and every post you make. This makes it easy for your readers to share your posts and in doing so help promote your business.

Not using your social media profiles to link back to your site – You’ve gone to all the bother to create and use these social sites, why not take the free, authoritative link they’re offering back to you! Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google all permit you to link back to your website. There’s five great links to your site, and a great chance for your (hopefully) many followers to end up on your site.

Top 7 Ways to Delight and Engage your Facebook Fans

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You have a Facebook page. You have some fans. Nicely done. Now, like the smart business you are, you’re looking for some proven ways to engage your followers so you can acquire more of them and make the most of your presence on Facebook.

Engaging your fans is a critical piece to building and maintaining a long-lasting relationships on Facebook—and offline! Here are a few timeless strategies that local businesses are using with great results.

1. Spread the Love

Tell your fans how much you appreciate them. Tell ‘em often!

Thanking your fans for their questions, complimenting them on their comments, highlighting their success stories—these things go a looong, long way in social media. Many smart businesses on Facebook run a ‘Fan of the Month’ promotion to encourage and reward engagement.

This is really savvy way to make people feel good about themselves and your business while also capitalizing on the power of social proof.

2. Offer Coupons and Run Promotions

Discounts, coupons, special offers … your followers will NEVER get tired of opportunities to save money and get more value from their purchases. Pro tip: If you want to run a promotion for a specific geographic location, use the Custom menu when you’re posting to target your followers in a certain area.

3. Share Your Knowledge

You run a business. You have special knowledge and insight. You can help people. So share! People are always grateful for information that makes their lives easier or more fulfilling. Sharing helpful tips is some of the best engagement around.

It also helps you take advantage of the reciprocity principle: do something nice for someone, they’ll feel bound to return the favor.

4. Issue a Challenge

We humans are deeply competitive by nature and simply cannot resist a challenge, an opportunity to show the world that we’re pretty darn smart. Test your fans’ knowledge using fun quizzes and polls. Trivia, brain teasers, riddles … you’ll have your followers eating out of your hand by day’s end, trust me.

5. Take Photos of Your Happy Customers

Don’t hire a professional photographer. Just start snapping photos with your cellphone and post them to Facebook. You will be amazed—truly—at how people respond. Data collected by social media expert Dan Zarrella shows that photos get more shares and likes than text, video and link updates. This also a great social-proof strategy: other folks will see people enjoying your products/services and they’ll want to join the party, so to speak.

6. Ask for Advice

The highest compliment a business can pay to its customers is to ask for their input. If you own a pizza parlour, ask your fans to come up with a new pizza recipe! Or let them name your new product. Make it a contest! Solicit ideas and then let your fans vote for their favorite.

7. Use Insights to See What’s Working

Here’s the beauty of Facebook: you can see what’s working and what’s not. Just export your Facebook Insights data to an Excel spreadsheet to a get quick, clear look at which status updates performed best, what kind of media your audience responds to and what’s driving engagement.

Can your Business Benefit from Marketing on Pinterest?

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Pinterest is a social network that allows individuals and businesses to create online image collections—called “Pinboards”—and easily share them with other users. Is this hot and (relatively) new social media site a good tool for your business? Let’s have a look!

1. You Could Use More Website Traffic [Yes/No]

Get this: Pinterest drives more traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn—combined. And according to a user poll conducted by marketing firm SteelHouse, Pinterest users are twice as likely to buy stuff than Facebook users.

2. You Have a Unique and Fun Company Culture [Yes/No]

Pinterest is a great way to show the world what a cool and fun company you have. As it happens, people prefer to buy from (and work at) companies they admire! Lots of businesses post “behind the scenes” images of their employees and customers in action: using their products, drinking beers at happy hour, etc.

3. Your Customers Are Already Pinning [Yes/No]

Is your target market already pinning? Pinterest has over 10 million users, so it’s highly likely that your customers are using the site. What’s more, Pinterest users are an influential bunch: they’re young (the 25-34 age group is the biggest) and wealthy (28 percent have a household income over $100k).

4. You’d Like More Market/Brand Awareness [Yes/No]

Did I mention that Pinterest is a MAJOR driver of traffic? What’s more, users are addicted: comScore data reveals they average 89 minutes per month on the site. (Google+ users average 3 minutes/month.) My point? Pinterest is a bustling place, and if you’re looking to raise awareness, you should consider going where the action is!

5. Your Product Line and/or Industry Is Photogenic [Yes/No]

Do you sell things? Physical things? Then you might want to post photos of your products on Pinterest! According to one survey, 70 percent of users say they log in to Pinterest to “find inspiration on what to buy.”

6. Your Team Has Untapped Creative Potential [Yes/No]

Pinterest is a place where you can let your creative juices flow freely, even if you’re in an industry not typically associated with creativity or visual flair. Hey, if a plumbing franchise in Waco, Texas, can have fun with Pinterest and make people laugh, you can too!

7. Your Company Creates Valuable Content for Customers [Yes/No]

Why not pin video tutorials and how-tos on your pinboards? If you operate a bar or restaurant, post recipes! Pinterest is an excellent way to leverage the high-value content you’re creating for your customers.

Scoring

1–2 yeses: You should seriously consider Pinterest for your business.
3–4 yeses: Pinterest is a really good fit for your business. Pin away!
5–7 yeses: Your business and Pinterest = peas and carrots.

Improve Your Facebook Page

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Make Your Facebook Page Come to Life

Curious about how you can improve your Facebook page quickly and easily? There are lots of ways to do this, but to help you get off to a flying start we’ll limit ourselves to just eight for the moment. These methods will not only help you get more visibility in Google, but in addition lay the foundation for better customer relationships that result in greater loyalty, which has obvious and numerous benefits.

  1. Commit to Facebook – Facebook takes some effort, plus a bit of time. Many marketers who have set up a Facebook page for their business subsequently abandon it, this makes a statement about their company. Make a rock-solid commitment to post updates and content regularly, and to engage with those people who are following you. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.
  2. Lose the Facebook-generated URL – Make sure you get a custom URL for your Facebook page. This will help greatly with search engine optimization (SEO)  or anyone trying to find you.
  3. Don’t Auto-Post Your Tweets – Twitter is great, but don’t make the mistake of reposting the exact same tweets onto your Facebook page. Make sure you post fresh content, not warmed-over stuff from somewhere else.
  4. Keep Updates Short and Sweet – Short is in these days. Short content, short videos, short stacks. (No wait, that was breakfast …) There is a time for longer posts, but generally make an effort to keep them reasonably short – less than 150 characters.
  5. Deliver Lots of Awesome Content – Creating content that people can use and are talking about will always be the #1 mission for your page.
  6. Engage with Your Audience – Encourage discussion, post great photos and shareable content, hold contests, ask questions, anything to get the conversation going!
  7. Be Responsive – Take complaints seriously, and be proactive responding to anyone who asks questions. You’ll be able to head off a lot of trouble this way.
  8. Post Photos – According to Facebook, posts that include a photo album, picture or video generate about 180%, 120% and 100% more engagement than text-only updates, respectively.

Using these tips will give you a terrific head start toward making your Facebook page a subject of conversation!