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Archive for January, 2010

5 Mistakes Businesses Make with Twitter

Sunday, January 31st, 2010 by Justin Severidt

As more and more businesses are using Twitter as a means of advertising, there are a few things that must be done to ensure that businesses are getting the most out of their Twitter account.

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Below are 5 ways businesses are not using Twitter well from Paul Kwiatkowski Blog.  To see the 5 ways in detail make sure you check out the post by clicking on the link above.

1.  Your business doesn’t have a customized profile

2.  You aren’t following people

3.  You only promote your business

4.  Your profile has no way for anyone to contact you

5.  You have nowhere else for people to go, i.e. a website

Just like with anything you want your Twitter profile to be branded.  This is just one more extension of your business and it should be treated like one.  You wouldn’t want a business card with clouds on it and no logo or contact information, so why would you accept that as your Twitter profile.  People want relevant information and they don’t want to hear businesses or people talk only about themselves, so listen, respond and join the conversation.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the immediate impact Twitter can have on your business.

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To Get a FREE Copy of our E-Book, Leveraging Twitter to Grow Your Business - Click Here

Optimizing Your Business with Google Local Search

Saturday, January 30th, 2010 by Nikolas Severidt

As consumers continue to go to the internet more and more to find products or services they are looking for, businesses must ensure they can be found.  Google alone had over 9.1 billion searches in June of 2009.  One simple way to ensure customers will find you is to make sure you are listed in Google’s Local Business Search.  Local Search is the listings you find when you type in a generic search such as, “Jacksonville Pizza”.  These results will show up right below the paid Google ads like I have shown in the example below.

screen-shot-2010-01-30-at-25454-pmTo ensure that your business is showing up in these results you can visit the Google Local Business Center.  Once there, you can update your business information, add pictures and videos and also link directly to you website.  You want to ensure this is as up to date as possible, so when people search for your business on Google, they can get as much information about your business as they need.

Just recently Google has announced that when mobile users are searching Google for local businesses, they will be able to click directly on the business phone number to connect instantly with that particular business.  This is just one more reason you will want to ensure that all of your information is current and accurate.  The feature will be present for all high end mobile devices, such as the iPhone, Android and Palm Pre.  Any device configured to use Google Voice will use that to make the call by default.

abc-restaurantAnother useful tool you can use with Google Local Search is the coupon tool.  This will allow you to add a coupon to your business listing, which will show up along side your listing in Google Maps, so when potential customers find you, they can print out the coupon and bring them in.

screen-shot-2010-01-30-at-31302-pmIf you have not already, make sure you get your Local Business Listing set up and running.  It only takes a few minutes and once Google confirms the phone number you have listed, your business will begin to show up immediately.

Social Media Optimization-Expanding Your Business through Modern Networking

Friday, January 29th, 2010 by Nikolas Severidt

Social media optimization is one of the newest ways to use the internet for marketing purposes.  It offers many advantages over traditional advertising as well as other online methods.  It works to integrate the immediacy that the internet provides with its ability to reach people all over the world.  It also capitalizes on the increasing trend of social networking.  As this is a fairly new way to market, not everyone knows how to use these tools to get the most out of them.  Luckily, they are relatively easy and inexpensive to use and by taking advantage of them, your company will see almost immediate benefits.

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The internet allows for many things that other advertising mediums, like television or radio, cannot.  For example, it provides a venue to share written, audio, and visual with very little cost.  With the advances in digital cameras and camcorders, it is now easier than ever to produce photos and videos with exceptional results. By being able to change and post new files quickly and easily, you can keep customers aware of new advancements to your company.  The on-going, fresh, content, that social media optimization offers also keeps your business at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Another benefit of advertising on the internet is its ability for interactivity.  Traditional means of advertising are static.  The methods involved in social media optimization, on the other hand, are dynamic by their very nature.  People respond better to marketing when they feel a sense of intimacy with the company.  By hearing your voice, or viewing your photos, it is much easier to create a relationship with a customer that translates to increased sales and brand loyalty.  In essence, it builds a sense of trust.  However, it is important to not just post anything.  You must provide relevant and useful information in order to get the most out of your efforts.

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Beyond building a relationship, the other way to gain credibility is by providing content that is beneficial to your potential customers.  In doing so, the social part of this marketing technique will begin to work its magic for you.  Entertaining or useful videos are almost always passed along to friends.  The same goes for blog posts and photos.  Every time a person views and shares your media, you are benefiting from the free advertising that social media optimization provides.  From there, your network will continue to expand and so will your business.

Finding Qualified Customers with Effective Generation Lead Marketing

Thursday, January 28th, 2010 by Nikolas Severidt

Generation lead marketing is a great way to reach a highly targeted audience.  Although this kind of technique has been around for awhile, the internet provides even more ways to find customers.  However, many people are not quite sure how to go about reaching their ideal audience.  There are definitely ways to learn the proper methods to this, but it could end up costing both a lot of time and money that could be better spent by you in product development and customer service.

One of the keys to successful generation lead marketing is figuring out what keywords customers might use to find your product.  With the large amount of websites out there, one or two general terms will oftentimes not be enough to lead a potential client to your website.  It is essential to think of and include a few different terms on your site that are highly relevant to your company.  This allows people already looking for something similar to find your company.  By having your webpage rank high on a search engine’s list is the ultimate form of lead generation.

There are also other ways to utilize the internet in order to drive traffic to your site and thus increase sales.  Some popular generation lead marketing techniques are e-mail, newsletters, online videos, and building a presence on various social networking sites.  By sending out e-mails and newsletters, people are informed about your company and can then choose to take further action if they are interested.  Sending out these feelers does not take a lot of time on your part and they supply you with a population of customers with a strong interest in your product.

Some methods for generating leads, such as videos and social networking, can even directly increase your position on search engines.  Social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, usually result in the highest amount of potential customers and often take even less effort than e-mail marketing.  The reason for the success of these techniques lies in the fact that they take advantage of free, word-of-mouth advertising.  Everyone knows that a testimonial or referral from a friend holds more weight than information coming from a company itself.  Therefore, just a few satisfied customers will lead to more and more people craving your product.  Although these methods seem straightforward, it is often best to find someone to advise you through the process.  With a little help, generation lead marketing will drastically increase your number of customers.

The Impact of the Apple iPad on Small Business

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 by Nikolas Severidt

Official Apple iPad Demo [VIDEO]

The Apple iPad won’t be available for another 60-90 days, but Apple already has its official iPad website up and running.  Apple has also put together a video of Apple’s design and development team discussing the device and showing it off.

Now that Apple has released the iPad we will begin to look at what businesses will benefit most from a product like the iPad.  As small business owners we are always looking for ways to stay on the cutting edge of technology and the iPad is exactly that.  I believe the iPad will play a huge role in the Health Care industry, with doctors and nurses being able to easily carry this from patient to patient.  As it develops and more details emerge, we will learn what businesses and industries will benefit most.  What industry do you believe will see an immediate impact from the iPad?  How will it improve your business or industry?

via Mashable