Get the Most Out of Your Website

If you are running any sort of an ecommerce website, you probably realize how important search engine optimization (SEO) is.  Without its use, your website will be bypassed by the search engines, and your customers will be buying from your competition instead of you.  So it is extremely important that you optimize every page of your website, not just your home page.  Here are a few tips to help:

• Turn product pages into great content.  Your product pages don’t have to simply describe your products.  By using original images and entertaining descriptions, you can turn your product pages into some unique content.
• Optimize your URL.  For example, instead of http://mysite.com/item123123, put your product name in your URL to attract more targeted traffic.  Consider using http://mysite.com/category/product-name instead.  Your product page will be more relevant to the search engines, and more likely to be visited by your potential customers.
• Concentrate on conversions.  Design your pages with the most important content on the left and in the center of the page.  Make sure your customers can add items to the shopping cart easily with one click, and simplify the check out process as much as possible.  Don’t ask for more information than is necessary in the check out process or you could make your customers change their minds about their purchases.
• Use different types of media.  Search engines also look for images, videos, and audio.  Use some of these on your site to emphasize your product line, demonstrate product use, or give more information about the products.  Use original content, and be sure to add your keywords in titles.
• Include your social media buttons.  Make sure that each page on your website includes your social media buttons.  You want your customers to be able to share their great shopping experience with their friends.

There are many other ideas to increase your page rank and get the most out of your website, but these tips will get you moving in the right direction.

Take Advantage of Google+

Unless you have been living under a rock or never get on the internet, you have probably heard of Google+.  It’s a new service launched as a public beta in September of this year.  Formerly, you could only join the network by invitation only.  But Google made the decision to go public, in hopes of competing with another social media giant, Facebook.  While Facebook started out building from the inside out, Google developed a different idea that could benefit your business.

They decided to build a platform that is a little like Twitter and a little like Facebook, but they have a broader outlook.  While other services started out as a small social circle of elite users, Google went bigger.  They allowed their followers to invite others from other platforms and through their multiple services in order to test things out before they went public.  Now the plan is integrate their many services in the Google+ platform, bringing everything together at the user’s fingertips.  So what does this have to do with your business?

Google+ has the ability to integrate the social network with other applications that can broaden your social media marketing strategy.  For example, wouldn’t it be great to send your followers printable coupons or a price list of your products in Google Docs, or send them a quick text message about an immediate sale that you threw in for fun?  It is possible.  So don’t disregard Google+ just yet.  They are still growing and moving forward.  Although they haven’t caught up to Facebook yet, they are on the right path, using an “outward in” method of building the network and integrating their services.

Being a business person, you really should keep an eye on this service as a way to sky-rocket your ROI in social media marketing.  It’s best to get in on the action now, so that you are fully established in the service in order to use it to your advantage.

Why Don’t You Like Me?

There are a lot of businesses that use Facebook in their marketing strategy, and for good reason.  Millions of people sign in every single day to take a peek at what their friends and family are doing.  And there are a lot of them that are checking for news about their favorite businesses.  So you have to wonder how you get a piece of that action.  How do you get people to “Like” you and follow your business?  Here are a few tips:

• Tell the world about your Facebook page.  Both online and offline, make sure that people know they can find you on Facebook.  Be sure to put a “Like” button on every page of your website, giving site visitors the option of sharing your site with their friends and family.
• Keep your content fresh.  You have to make sure that you are posting fresh content regularly on your website, and connect it to your Facebook account so that your customers are updated with your news automatically.
• Offer something of value.  Reward your “Likes” with a coupon for a percentage off on a purchase from your business, or an entry into a contest with a prize that is worth having.  When someone discovers the value in hitting your “Like” button, they will share it with their friends.  For example, if you off a ‘buy one get one free” offer to the customers that “Like” you, your current customers will spread the news in order to allow their friends to save a few dollars, too.
• Encourage conversation.  Don’t post just content about your business on Facebook.  Post subjects of interest relating to your industry, and ask for the opinions and comments of your customers.  One question surveys are a good way to do this.

The point is that if you are offering what your customers want to see, they will “Like” you.  You just have to remember that they are social creatures just like you are.

Get Your Message Heard

There are so many social media sites on the internet today that using them for social media marketing can be overwhelming.  There are more than 300 different social media sites to choose from.  Given this fact, some businesses feel that it isn’t worth the time and effort to work through the muddle of social connections in order to get their message out there.  But it is well worth the effort.  However, it can only be effective if you have a social media marketing plan in place.  To get through the muddle, here are a few tips:

• Limit your registration to social media sites to just a few of them at first, so that you can be aware of their effectiveness and the amount of time that you will need to spend in maintaining that avenue of your marketing strategy.  Make sure that you have a process in place for regular outbound communication.
• Be sure to redirect your social contacts back to your website.  Keep your content fresh, and send updates to keep your customers returning to your site, increasing your conversion rate.
• Use your social media sites to stay in contact with your customers before, during and after the sales they provide.  This is your chance to increase your customer service ratings and show other potential customers that you care about their shopping experience, and that you support your products or services.
• Advertise your social media connections both online and offline.  Let people know if you have a Facebook page, or if you are on Twitter.  The more ways that you provide for customers to contact you, the more they will trust in you and your business.

When you use social media to reach your target market, your message gets heard loud and clear.  Your customers will become loyal followers of your business, giving you the opportunity for repeat sales, as well as the potential to get new customers through word-of-mouth referrals.

Why Your Business Should Be Using Twitter

There are a lot of businesses that feel that using social media sites like Twitter are not worth their time and effort.  They see them as “time-wasters” that really don’t serve a purpose in marketing.  But there are some surprising facts about Twitter that you should know before you turn a blind eye to the service.

For instance, did you know that Twitter users that follow a particular business or brand are more likely buy and recommend them to others?  It’s true.  Twitter users surveyed that follow at least one brand on the service weighed in a fully 50% that would purchase the brand they follow and recommend it to friends and relatives that also use Twitter.  What is really surprising is that it is male Twitter users following a brand that are more likely to buy than their female counterparts, showing 55% over 45%.  Statistics such as these can help you in targeting your products for particular audiences.

Oh, but there is more to learn, dear reader.  Most Twitter users (64%) that follow a brand do so because they are already a customer of the business.  61% continue to follow a brand in order to be the first to learn more information on the brand and business.  If you’re offering coupons and discounts, you have 48% of Twitter brand followers that are paying attention.

Once a Twitter user starts following a brand or business, they tend to stay with them.  Only 13% of them have “un-followed” a brand, meaning that they either found a brand they like better, or just lost interest.  Either way, you want to be one of the ones they keep.

If these statistics don’t convince you to take a better look at Twitter in marketing, there probably isn’t much that will.  Ask your fellow social media marketers, and share what you learned here.

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