Posts Tagged ‘small business’

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5 Ways to Create a Sustainable, Engaging Following on Facebook

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

As Facebook continues to take the social media marketing world by storm, many businesses are trying to figure out how they can develop a strong following that’s sustainable over the long term…what can brands do to emulate others’ success?

Below are five elements of a successful Facebook page from our friends at Mashable, who include some great examples of companies successful at Facebook marketing.

Integrating these tips into your social media marketing strategy can help you maximize the value of your Facebook page(s).

1. Network with other platforms

One way successful brands on Facebook got to where they are is by working in tandem with other platforms to drive visitors to their Facebook page. Many companies expect consumers to find their Facebook page automatically without adding links into their homepage. The result…most people are unable to find your page on the bustling social network.

Consumers should be able to easily find your Facebook page…whether it’s through a prominent link on your homepage or through other social networks like Twitter. Connecting multiple social platforms and a hub from the brand website can help funnel customers throughout your network.

2. Create a resource to target a new demographic

Many Facebook pages serve as a connection hub while others offer pertinent information to their customers. This information is used as an added value to have consumers create a connection with the brand.

These “Boxes” allow you to target specific demographics for your products and services outside of those who already know and love what you offer.

3. Have contests to boost user participation

Another way to engage potential customers is to offer contests and coupons. Many Facebook users do not simply join a page because they’re loyal to your brand. However, they may be motivated to join if they can get a coupon or enter into a contest and win something.

Offering something to consumers is one big way you can develop a large following. This can be a coupon, free shipping, weekly deals for Facebook fans and more.

4. Empower those who have pre-existing pages that feature your brand

There’s a chance a loyal customer has already created a Facebook ‘fan’ page for your products. One of the most fabled stories of a company who has successfully done this is Coca-Cola. What started out as a fan page for fun for a couple of Coke enthusiasts when on to become one of the most popular pages on Facebook.

Rather than coming in and taking over the page when the company decided to take Facebook on, they brought the enthusiasts to the Coca-Cola plant in Atlanta and gave them a tour. The two guys maintain control of the page but now have the blessing and financial support of the company…empowering these fans ensures a passionate commitment to the page’s success.

Therefore, it isn’t always the best idea to take over a Facebook page. Instead, reward the creator and make an even more enthusiastic customer who will spread that to others.

5. Be sure you’re targeting the right demographic

You may be trying everything you can to grow a following on Facebook but nothing ever happens. One reason is that you’re target demographic may not be on Facebook. Therefore, before you do anything, you need to find out if your target market hangs out on Facebook.

Research from Quantcast shows Facebook tends to skew toward younger females…53% of these women have kids and make over $60,000 per year. The demographic is changing too with older, more professional women joining up. The college market is pretty saturated.

Keep checking to monitor changes in the social network’s prime demographics and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Facebook has seen lots of positive growth over the last few years and is expected to continue its dominance of the social networking/marketing world. Besides great content on your site and blog, Facebook offers you a way to find more customers. Many people join Facebook pages because they have friends who “liked” a product.

Facebook is essentially a place people go to interact with their friends and see what they’re saying about certain things. Capturing this market can propel your company even farther in the online world.

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3 Step Process for Writing Persuasive Copy without the Hype

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Writing persuasive copy that isn’t filled with hype is a common challenge for web copywriters. It takes some talent to thread that needle effectively. You want your copy to be persuasive but not filled with so much hype that it turns people away.

If it is filled with a lot of hype, the customer could experience buyers’ remorse and have ill-feeling toward you (the seller).

Marketing online is more than just making a quick sale…it’s about building your reputation as much as anything. If your website gets the reputation of having too much hype, people will know and either leave your site quickly or not visit at all.

So how can I create persuasive copy that doesn’t contain too much hype?

Many of these copywriting tips have proven their worth in terms of consistent conversions and sales. Continue reading for 3 quick steps you can use to create persuasive copy without resorting to hype.

Focus on your readers, not your products and services

Be sure your copy is focused on your readers and solving their problems. Focusing on how great your products and services are will only make you seem less than sincere. If someone lands on your site, they either clicked an ad or a link on a search engine results page or some other site. They came to you so you can assume they know what they’re looking for and why.

Therefore, focus on the readers to capture their attention and move them through the buying process.

Draw readers’ attention with a great headline

We’ve discussed before how headlines are one of the most important elements in a landing page or online article. If it doesn’t grab a reader’s attention quickly, they will move off your site quicker than you can blink!

Your headline needs to do two things – it needs to ‘catch’ the readers’ attention and it needs to be relevant to the sales copy. To fulfill both of these conditions of an effective headline, place an ‘emotional trigger’ in the headline to keep people’s interest. Focus on the problem your readers have and the solution your products/services offer rather than resorting to hype.

Quickly make your point and provide a ‘call-to-action’

Without resorting to promotional pitches, quickly tell people what your product can do for them. People are not concerned about your business but their situation, which is why they’re searching online for a solution to their problem.

Therefore, that’s why it’s important to speak about them and their problem rather than your products. And do it quickly and provide instructions on what to do next. Most people’s attention spans are quite short and they won’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what they should do next.

Additionally, your sentences and paragraphs should be quick and to the point…one, you don’t want to lose readers’ interest by taking forever to get to the point and two, you don’t want to intimidate readers with large chunks of text. Therefore, keep your paragraphs short and to the point (5 lines max.)

Harnessing these 3 steps will go a long way to ensuring your copy is persuasive without the hype that’s so common in many websites and marketing materials. Today’s shoppers are more meticulous than ever…they won’t spend much time on a site that spends all its time talking about itself.

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5 Ways you can maximize your Landing Page’s Value

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Writing effective product/service landing pages accomplishes several necessary objectives when marketing your small business online. Not only does the keyword-rich page need to grab the attention of search engine spiders, it also needs to maintain a reader’s interest and motivate them to continue.

You don’t want to give away too much but you do want to draw their interest enough so they will click on that link to learn more or buy.

Creating copy that simultaneously achieves both of those objectives is the needle you need to thread to effectively harness the Internet to grow your small business.

So when you’re writing landing pages for your website, consider the following 5 tips to maximize their value on both ends…that is serve as good search engine fodder on one end and an effective marketing message on the other.

Write attention grabbing, eye-catching headlines

Headlines are the best opportunity you have to really grab your reader’s attention…if it doesn’t, they will most likely leave the page. You will want to include a primary keyword that will grab both your both your reader’s and the search engine’s attention.

Include call-to-action often

Next, you need to include a call-to-action that instructs visitors on what to do next. Generic forms of this are “Click here to learn more” and other quick anecdotes but those have shown to not work as well as more unique calls-to-action like “…start increasing your online presence and find more customers by contacting search engine marketers at SEO Advantage today to learn more.

Read 3 Elements of a Good Call-to-Action to learn more.

Like our example, you should also include a keyword phrase for your link in this call-to-action statement for additional search engine benefits. Include at least 2 calls-to-action for a short landing page and 3-5 for longer ones.

Directly address the customer

In your main copy, address the customer as “you” and “your” rather than saying “we,” “us” and “our.” Let the customer know what your company and its products/services and do for them. This relaxes the customer too…making them feel like they’re talking to a friend.

Directly deliver the message

When you’re writing landing pages and other content for marketing your small business online try to think about your copy as a business tool and not an art form. You’re trying to persuade readers to take action, not feel good about your ability to express yourself.

Keep content closely written

Whether your landing page is short (500 words or less) or longer, keep the context of the page tightly knit. Meaning, don’t get sidetracked by including extraneous facts and benefits of your products or services. There’s much debate amongst copywriters on an effective length for a landing page but no matter which one you choose, keep the subject matter within certain parameters.

Accomplishing both SEO and marketing goals through your landing pages and other content will maximize the value of your site for both you and your customers. Not only will search engines reward you for compelling, keyword-rich content, those who find you will be reassured that your products/services can address their needs.

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Proposed Legislation Will Place Additional Burden on Webmasters and SEO Marketers

Monday, June 28th, 2010

In our periodic look at what’s happening on a regulatory level, two bills are currently working their way through Congress that could potentially affect webmasters and online marketers…making yourself aware of any new requirements is important for effectively managing a small business online.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse for the authorities so it’s important we’re all on guard so we don’t find ourselves in any trouble.

Privacy bill could mean increased disclosure requirements, privacy protections

One idea floating around Congress that’s seeing traction is an Internet consumer privacy bill being proposed by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), chair of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology & the Internet.

Rep. Boucher’s bill is more of a privacy bill for consumers. Its main target is online advertisers who target consumers through behavioral advertising. Many online advertisers – including Facebook with their new ‘like’ features – examine behavior patterns online to target advertising to relevant parties, which in turn increases conversions.

Behavioral technology tracks a user’s searches, how long the stay on a page and even the sites they visit. Data is then taken by advertisers to establish behavior patterns and online demographics.

Web advertisers fear this bill will require web users to opt-in, causing them to lose an important tool in how they target potential customers. However, Rep. Boucher says he supports an opt-out option where web users can choose whether they want their information shared or not.

“If I were [a publisher or advertiser], I would want Internet users to have a sense that their experience is more secure, that they know what information is collected about them, and they be given much more control. They will be more trusting of electronic commerce. . . .it’s good for business,” says the representative from Virginia.

Whatever happens, there will certainly be increased regulation like new disclosure requirements and legal forms indicating how a site tracks data and uses it.

Financial Reform Bill grants new powers to FTC

Tucked inside the financial reform bill passed by the House last November was a provision expanding the Federal Trade Commission’s powers to allow them to impose civil penalties on companies engaging in “unfair” or “deceptive” trade practices.

Since the mid-1970’s, the agency had to hear public testimony and a congressional review had to occur before any penalties could be imposed on the business. With this new power, the agency will basically decide for itself with no public scrutiny what constitutes unfair advertising practices.

Ad industry groups fear this could lead to the FTC acting as an “unelected legislature,” basically giving it free rein over regulating Internet commerce.

The financial reform bill is currently being debated between the two chambers. The House passed its version late last year and the Senate this past April. Both chambers are reconciling their differences, which will need to pass. President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill when it arrives on his desk.

This bill seems more dangerous than Rep. Boucher’s privacy bill since it directly expands an agency’s enforcement authority.

Appointees to the FTC are chosen by the President so vesting this much authority in a centralized executive authority could be dangerous from a checks and balances perspective.

Boucher’s privacy bill is understandable in a big way but it will certainly add new requirements for webmasters and SEO marketers. The combination of the two could be a double whammy for any of us marketing our businesses online.

Stay tuned…

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Four Ways you can Find your Ideal Writing Voice

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Especially for blogs, finding the right voice is critical to success…without it, very few people will read past the first paragraph. If your content has the right voice, people won’t be able to stay away. You may be the most knowledgeable person out there regarding your niche but all that knowledge won’t make up for it if you don’t have the right ‘voice’ to go along with it.

What is voice, exactly? And how can you make it shine through your blog?

In the context of writing, no one can literally hear you…but, they can ‘hear’ you through the words you use and how you use them.

Your English teacher in high school likely didn’t spend much time discussing the voice and who can blame them…it’s a messy, abstract venture that few instructors embark on.

Fortunately, we have a list of four ways you can use to find your ideal writing voice from Joy Tanksley, a middle school English teacher and philosopher. Employing these tips can help you transform your writing from a static compilation of words to an electrifying piece that lights fires in the minds of your readers.

Continue reading for four methods you can use to find your ideal writing voice and take your writing to a higher level.

Get into the flow

Sit down each day or fairly regularly and just write. Don’t worry about grammar or accuracy, just let the words flow…you will be surprised at how good your writing is in these bursts of activity. By focusing on quantity rather than quality, you get a natural and authentic piece…something with a voice attached to it.

Write like you talk

Another way is to write like you talk. Take some prior writings and read them out loud. Does it sound like you? If not, take a tape recorder and simply talk your compositions for a while. Take your recording and transcribe what you said and whammo, you will have some great voice-rich snippets to integrate into your final product.

Forget grammar conventions (…at least at first)

When you were taught about writing in school, you probably learned all of the rules that go along with it. Yes, writing does involve communicating a message so to that end, standard grammar conventions are important. In many instances though, these conventions hinder our ability to create a realistic voice for our writing.

Rather than spending too much time worrying about grammar, start out by pretending the writing conventions do not exist. And when you’re editing your piece, base your decisions on what best communicates your message and not on what satisfies all the proper rules.

If it will enhance the flow of your piece and give it voice, it’s okay to play around with the rules a little bit.

Write about what you know

Many web copywriters try to write about the latest, trendy topics. This may seem like a winner but in reality, if it’s not near and dear to your heart, it will have no voice. Instead, strive for authenticity over popularity…or as Dolly Parton says, “Figure who you are; then do it on purpose.” In other words, don’t try to sound like anyone or anything except who you are.

Harnessing tips like these can help you go beyond simple content creation to satisfy the ever hungry search engines…creating compelling content with the right voice can not only get you to the top of the search engines, it can get you more conversions as well.

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