Business Pages for Facebook

One of the first things people ask me about these days when we talk about online marketing is Facebook.  They want to know if it’s really a tool for business and if anyone actually makes money from being there.  In short the answer is yet.

Now, if you are not currently on Facebook, you may not be aware that before you can get started on a page for your business, you must first create a Facebook page for yourself. When you create a personal page, it is important to remember that your business will be linked to the personal page.

Not quite what you might expect

This means that the personal page should be created with the image of your business in mind, and privacy settings should be carefully monitored to make sure that nothing is visible that you do not want to be seen. After all, a great picture of you and your friends at last year’s Halloween party might not be the image you want to project to customers!

How to Get Started

Once you have set up a Facebook page for yourself, you will be able to set up one for your business. You can load pictures such as an official logo or photos from recent publicity events as well as videos and other information. You can also begin to recruit fans and develop Facebook-specific marketing promotions or link the Facebook page to other social media tools such as Twitter or a blog.

A Word of Caution

Facebook is an easy to use, user-friendly interface, so once you get comfortable, you will be able to update and change your page whenever you have new products or promotions that you want to bring to the attention of your customers.

HOWEVER, with Facebook you are opening your business up to additional exposure and one to one interaction unlike any you may have seen before.  Be cautious to start slowly and learn the ropes before going crazy, because the last thing you want to do is annoy your current or potential customers into finding someone else.

Learn the ropes of social media slowly by listening, learning and interacting.  Add value when you can and look for opportunities to gently remind people of what you do.  Follow this advice and you’ll be off to the right start.

Not just for kids anymore

Depending on what you have heard about Facebook and whether or not you are familiar with it, using it for business might sound like a crazy suggestion. However, no matter how much or how little you know about the biggest social networking site on the Internet, there are several reasons why you should learn more about how it can help your company:

-  Facebook is not a passing trend. There are over 400 million people around the world who are using Facebook. Can you afford to ignore this huge base of potential customers?

-  Brand protection. Establishing your company on Facebook will help to protect your brand, not only on that particular website but also on Google as well.

-  Reach more clients. Facebook offers a unique way to reach out to your customers and interact with them. The average Facebook user spends a little less than an hour a day perusing the website, offering you a great opportunity to reach out to them as customers.

-   SEO value. Facebook can also be used for search engine optimization, bringing more potential customers to your website regularly.

With all of these advantages, it’s hard to come up with any reason why you wouldn’t want to get your company on Facebook!  Visit our website for more information about social media consulting.

The Nigerian Police, Really?

This may be my last blog post as today, I received an email that the Nigerian Police Force needs to know if I am dead or alive in order to process my rightful claim.  Apparently some local Nigerians presented a death certificate on my behalf and are claiming to be my beneficiaries.

Now, today’s settlement is more than my usual fortune.  This one is for almost $15 million.  I guess I’ll contact them after my noon conference call and get the paperwork started.

Who writes this stuff anyway?

The daily spam barrage never ceases to amuse me.  Well ok, some days it’s annoying as hell.  But other days it cracks me up the things people take the time to distribute out to the world.

Remember, for every garbage email like this you get, someone somewhere had to take the time to sort through your email address and write the email. Then take the time to setup all the details in the event someone actually replies back?

I often wonder if these spam emails are bad jokes or serious attempts at fraud.  I met with a client yesterday who actually called the FBI about these emails and they didn’t take it too seriously.

So I guess its back to work as in the time it took me to write this blog post I was contacted by another lawyer in Africa with even a larger settlement.  So I guess I can stop worrying about the Nigerian Police looking for me!

Turn Browsers Into Customers

One of the things we often do with clients is look at their websites to see what can be done in order to improve the number of people who take the action you want them to. We call these actions “conversions” which basically means people didn’t just surf your site – they actually did what you asked them to do.  This might be make a phone call, buy an item, email you, sign up for a newsletter, send something to a friend.

Whatever the conversion goals you define for set for your website, there are a few things you can do that will help no matter what the goal.

4 Tips for Improving Website Conversion:

Tip 1: Phone number & email in an easy to find place to find

As simple as this sounds it’s often overlooked.  How many times have you visited a website and had to look hard to find out how to contact them?  Remember there are countless millions of websites out there and the attention span of a web surfer is short – so make sure your phone number and contact info are easy to find.

Our suggestion – put the phone number and email address in the top right of your website.  Make sure to put the phone number in text and not an image file so mobile users can click on it.

Tip 2: Offer A Unique Selling Proposition

Chances are your website is not the only place to find information on the products or services you sell.  And with so many choices online it has never been more important to establish a “Unique Selling Proposition” that differentiates you from everyone else.

Our suggestion – spend time thinking about one single, credible sentence that describes why someone should choose you over your competition.  And make sure web visitors can see that easily on your site.

Tip 3:  Create Special Offers

Face it – who doesn’t love a special deal?  For online users it’s really easy to hit the “Back” button and leave your site.  So while you have them there, offer them something special.  A special price, special offer, special private information, a whitepaper – whatever you can think of.

Our suggestion – identify a compelling “special offer” and make sure web visitors can find it.

Tip 4: Update old information

I recently came upon a client whose website proudly proclaimed he had been in business from 1956-2006.  I told the store owner I was sorry to hear he had been out of business for 3 years since it was 2010.  Don’t give your customers the impression that they are visiting an outdated website with obsolete information.

Our suggestion – make sure your information is up to date as web searchers are generally  looking for relevant, recent information.

We can help

There is a lot more to a good website than just flashy design work.  If you would like to learn more about internet marketing skills which can help you convert more customers please contact us today.

My former CEO was well known for his ability to see the big picture in our industry.  In fact the speech he became best known for was, ironically enough, the “Big Picture Speech.”  The beauty of the Big Picture Speech was that by keeping our eyes on the big picture it made a lot of the details in our work lives easier to manage.

Lessons Learned

The lesson I learned is that by focusing on what was happening on the larger scale, we could always check to make sure our planning and daily activities were helping row the boat in the proper direction.

So with that said, here is my own version of the big picture speech for the online world in 2010:

Digitization of our world

Depending on your technological bent, it’s either really cool or really alarming the pace at which our world is becoming digitized.  What I mean by that is, no matter how you slice it, people are consuming and sharing their information in an increasingly digital format at a faster rate than ever before.  As further proof who would have ever heard of a digital marketing consultant even a few years ago?

Lesson – make sure your marketing efforts are participating in the digital revolution.

Mobile devices

According to a recent study by Quantcast, mobile usage of the internet grew 110% last year.  This should come as no surprise for anyone who has 2 eyes and can see just about everyone using a smart phone of some type.

Lesson – make sure your website and marketing materials are friendly to mobile users.

Local search trends

in the past year or so the 3 biggies Google, Yahoo and Bing have all begun showing you local search results.  If you are searching for something related to plumbing (for instance) they assume your intent might be to find a plumber or a plumbing supply store and will show you a various number of possible results.

Lesson – take full advantage of free local listing services.

There are no shortcut secrets in online marketing

Believeme I’ve tried most of them.  But this $20 per month “do it yourself SEO program” is still my favorite.  A client called me this week and asked me what the difference between my offerings and the $20 “Do It Yourself SEO” package on his host company’s website.

Lesson – if there was a $20 shortcut to success online I’d take it.  However be prepared to work hard at it and recognize these trends if you want to win.

Good Luck with This Program!

Big Picture Summary

Make an Appropriate Investment into Digital Marketing

So stop treating your website like a brochure and breathe some life into it.  Add some content, write some articles, start a blog and get involved in the conversation online.  Find a way to invest some time, money (or both) to making an effort to participate in the big picture changes being discussed here.

As the events of the last few weeks have reminded us, life in southern Louisiana is never dull.  A few years ago it was Hurricane Katrina and now it’s the oil spill in the Gulf providing stark reminders of the role that technology plays in our lives, especially here locally.

Think about the lessons we’ve learned from these disasters:

1. People are communicating differently – As my neighbor and I like to argue, most people are consuming their news in some form of electronic medium either via television or online.  Fewer and fewer people are “taking the paper” so to speak.  News from these disasters spread almost instantly across the internet including photos, news and video.  However by the time the paper comes the next day that news cycle is almost a full 24 hours old.
2. Communication has never been more important – With so many tools for communicating at our disposal the need to stay in touch is higher than ever, as is the reliance on technology.  If you took away the blackberry’s and iphones of busy people they might actually go into convulsions.
3. Multi media is king - if you look through Google search suggestions for “gulf oil spill” you will see suggestions for things like “gulf oil spill video,” “gulf oil spill photos,” etc.  What that tells you is that people are looking for more than just writing and words – they are looking to experience this story through all the types of media available to us today.
4. Reliable Information is invaluable – Getting accurate and fast information has never been more critical.  Maybe it’s because everyone has a mobile phone bu the truth is that our margins for error have gone way down in recent years.  What used to take days now takes seconds when it comes to distributing information..making it all the more important to become a trusted source of information no matter what you do.

So how does this relate to your business?  Simple really.  If you think that you can get by with a 5 page brochure website and actually claim online success I think you are in for an unpleasant surprise.    The people who are succeeding online have recognized these trends mentioned in this post and are using their websites and online tools to engage their clients and provide them what they are after.

Don’t wait to do something about these changes.  Get yourself engaged online in the discussion.