Alicia Carter

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Alicia Posts

10Nov, 2017

5 Signs You Need to Update Your Website

When was the last time you updated your company’s website? Three years ago? Five? Possibly more? If this is the case, chances are your website is outdated and a contributing factor to why you’re not converting as many leads as you’d like. It’s no secret that having a mobile-responsive, modern website is a must for all businesses. After all, your website is your virtual front door and in many cases the first impression a potential customer will have with your business. And you know what they say about first impressions…

In order to maintain a competitive edge in today’s marketplace, it’s imperative that businesses have optimized websites that enhance the user experience. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not your site needs a makeover, we’ve pulled together five signs that it’s time to invest in an upgrade.

1. The Design is Outdated

Your website is a visual representation of your business. If that visual is using dated images, contrasting colors or — gasp! — Flash, it’s time for a virtual face-lift. Are your social media links prominently displayed on the homepage? Are you employing clear CTAs that offer something of value to visitors? The average person visiting your website is surprisingly technically savvy, and if you don’t provide a streamlined online experience with easy navigation, chances are they’ll leave your site before even getting into the meat of what you can offer.

2. It isn’t Responsive or Mobile-Friendly

This is a big one. The majority of Internet browsing now takes place on smartphones. Plus, Google displays mobile-friendly results first, so if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re not going to show up in searches. And not only is it important to be mobile-friendly, but your site needs to be responsive to all devices (smartphones, tablets, desktops) and screen sizes, as customers are likely to switch between different devices throughout their buying cycle. If your site isn’t responsive to all of the devices, you’re more likely to lose potential customers because you’re not offering a good user experience — a big no-no in Google’s eyes.

3. Slow Load Times

Just like toddlers, online users have short attention spans and are not willing to wait for slow-loading websites. According to Kissmetrics, 40% of people abandon websites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. Three seconds — let that sink in. Website load times are also a determining factor in SEO, so if you have a website loading at a snail’s pace, Google isn’t going to look favorably on it. Factors such as background images, custom fonts, etc., can contribute to slow load times. If your website takes longer than five seconds to load, it’s probably time to consider contacting a professional who can help to optimize your site.

4. High Bounce Rate

A bounce rate is the amount of time a person stays on your site after viewing one page. A high bounce rate (anything over 50%) is a sign visitors are leaving your site too quickly. It’s important to keep tabs on your site’s analytics to see if people are leaving your site without exploring it further  — a sign they’re not finding what they need quickly and easily. There are many things that can contribute to a high bounce rate, including issues we’ve already discussed, such as slow load times and an outdated design, in addition to difficult navigation, the misuse of call to actions (CTA) and more.

5. Stagnant Content

Do you have content that hasn’t been updated in months? If so, your site can be seen as irrelevant not only in visitors’ eyes, but also to search engines. Consistently publishing relevant content to your site — whether through blog posts, infographics, videos, guides, e-books, case studies and more — will strengthen your SEO and bump up your search engine rankings. In order to drive traffic to your website, people need to be able to find you through organic searches. And once they find you, it’s important to keep them on your site through content that offers something of value to them. So while it does take time to consistently produce content, it’s time well spent.

If you’ve marked a check next to any of these issues, it’s time to invest in a website upgrade. According to HubSpot, 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout is unattractive. So if you’re having trouble gaining leads, take a look at your virtual front door and gauge what kind of first impression you’re leaving with potential customers.

02Nov, 2017

Which Social Media Platform is Right for My Business?

Treading the waters of social media for business can be tricky. Knowing which accounts will give you the best ROI means taking time to navigate those waters to find where your customers are spending their time online. And it’s time well spent: According to Social Media Examiner’s 2017 Report, 92% of marketers said that social media is important to their businesses. But how do you decide which accounts will work best for your specific business? Should business owners invest time and money into all of the big names — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest — or focus on one or two? The most important first step to answering this question is to determine the buyer persona you’re looking to reach. Once you nail down a buyer persona, you can develop a strategy that targets the platforms they’re using so you’ll be able to meet your customers where they are spending their time. To help determine the best avenue to take, we’ve broken down the different top platforms and who’s hanging out where.

Facebook

In the 2017 Social Media Report, 62% of marketers chose Facebook as their most important platform, and it’s been reported that Facebook has more than 1 billion active monthly users. So if there’s one platform you don’t want to ignore, it’s Facebook. As of January 2017, American women and men between the ages of 25-54 made up 32% and 29% of Facebook users, respectively. So if those numbers look like your target demographic, you need to be active on Facebook. Plus, Facebook Ads enable businesses to target users by location, demographics, age, gender, interests, behavior, and connections — information that will help you to amplify the reach of your content.

Conclusion: Yes, you should be on Facebook.

Instagram

Instagram is a photo-based platform and is used mostly for visual storytelling. Some Instagram users are turned off by images with too much text laid over the image, so it’s a place to let the photo do most of the talking. It’s also a great brand-building venue, where users can not only see your products, but also get an idea of the personality of your business. If you’re a product-based company, Instagram is a great place to showcase those products, especially if you’re able to use beautiful photography. It can also be a successful platform for people who offer a service, such as fitness coaches, as they’re able to not only take advantage of the photo-sharing, but also upload videos of interest to users, such as a recent workout routine.

Instagram is currently one of the most popular among social media users. And with the addition of the “swipe up” feature in “stories,” businesses can now link directly to their website, content or products — a feature that until recently wasn’t available on the app. According to the Pew Research Center, 59% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram, and 33% of internet users between the ages of 30 and 49 use Instagram. So while Instagram usership skews slightly younger, it’s still a valuable platform if your buyer persona falls anywhere between 18 and 50 years old.

Conclusion: If you offer a product or service that would make for visually appealing photos and videos, then Instagram is worth your time.

Pinterest

Pinterest is also a visual platform and a great place to share photos of your products or services, especially if your buyer persona is female, as 45% of online women are Pinterest users. Since Pinterest is used to “pin” useful products or pages, it’s actually become more popular than email for sharing things online. If your post is shared by a user with a lot of followers, it has the potential to be seen by millions of users. Pinterest is an especially good avenue for businesses whose products include fashion, decor, art, food or any others that photograph well. And with the Pinterest buy button, users can directly purchase from you with just a click of a button.

Conclusion: Only use Pinterest if you have great images of your products to share.

Twitter

Most people who choose to follow a business on Twitter are already customers, so while it may not be the best site for lead generation, it’s great for brand loyalty and interaction. Twitter is especially good for getting a message out to your followers quickly. Having a sale? Opening a new location? Simply send out a tweet and your followers will be in the know. And with retweets and the use of popular hashtags, your messages can find their way into new customers’ feeds. With more than 300 million Twitter users, we’d say that’s worth your time.

Conclusion: We recommend all businesses have a Twitter account and post frequently.

LinkedIn

If you’re working in B2B, LinkedIn is the network you should focus most of your time and effort, as it’s a professional networking site where you can connect with other people in your industry. On LinkedIn, you can target people by their company, job title, education, and other professional identifiers. LinkedIn is also one of the best platforms for product launches: According to Regalix, LinkedIn is the No. 1 platform for announce a product launch between B2B companies. And there are currently more than 450 million LinkedIn users who are primarily on the site for industry news and networking opportunities. So when you share industry-specific information, your target audience is most likely on LinkedIn.

Conclusion: We recommend all businesses have a LinkedIn account.

To find out if you need to update your site’s social media strategy, schedule a free 30 minute, no-strings-attached marketing consultation with our team.

26Oct, 2017

4 Ways Brick-and-Mortar Stores Can Outsell Online Retailers This Holiday Season

Even in the age of Amazon, it’s still possible for brick-and-mortar stores to compete with online retailers. With the right marketing gameplan, businesses can increase foot traffic to their stores with online engagement and incentives, and then provide a personalized shopping experience that ecommerce sites simply can’t compete with. And as we enter the season of giving, the holidays can provide even more ways to attract potential customers.

1. MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO FIND YOU

In order to compete in today’s competitive marketplace, consumers need to be able to easily locate your business. If they don’t know you’re there, they won’t purchase from you. Because of this, it’s essential your website is optimized with good localized SEO to drive traffic. The content on the site should contain localized information so search engines are able to quickly find your site and display it when people search for businesses in their immediate area. Just think of all the times you’ve used the “near me” function on a search engine: “post office near me,” “restaurants near me,” etc. According to a recent Google study, 4 out of 5 consumers use search engines to find local information, and 50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day.

While the majority of consumers utilize local searches, many small businesses are missing out on that traffic because they’re not using best practices to dominate local search. According to Search Engine Land, many small businesses have not claimed a single local business listing online. It’s important that your business shows up in directories like Yelp, Merchant Circle, Citysearch and others. Seek out these sites and make sure your information is correct and up to date. Also take advantage of Google My Business, which will help your business show up in the top of local searches made through Google.

2. GIVE PEOPLE A REASON TO VISIT YOUR STORE

Now that people can easily find your business, give them a reason to visit. What can you provide to your customers that they can’t get behind a computer screen? Hold an exclusive event such as a fashion show or hands-on demonstrations that give customers the opportunity to interact with your merchandise. According to a recent Big Commerce report, 49% of online shoppers cite not being able to touch, feel or try a product as one of their least favorite aspects of online shopping.

In addition, offer exclusive in-store coupons or a special selection of goods that can only be purchased at the store. But don’t ignore your online customers. An easy way to encourage online shoppers to visit your physical location is to offer free same-day pickup with online purchases. Even Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping can’t compete with that.

3. CAPITALIZE ON BUYER URGENCY DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

But what if some customers aren’t swayed by in-store events? Take advantage of the holiday buying season now that people are in the mindset to spend money. After all, Santa isn’t the only one checking off a long list. Now is the time to capitalize on that buyer urgency. Offer limited-time offers like discounts, gift sets or even gift-wrapping. If you’re able to offer customers something in return for their business, especially during a time when the majority of shoppers are feeling rushed and overwhelmed, you’re more likely to attract foot traffic to your store.

4. BE A COMPETITIVE DIGITAL MARKETER

According to RetailNext, 72% of young shoppers research online before purchasing in a store. Your website and social media channels are your digital front door and the way many customers make first impressions about your business. Make sure your website has detailed information about the company as a whole as well as the merchandise you carry. As for social media, engage with your audience and post relevant and timely content frequently. Upload images of your store, interact with user comments, post deals and give them a reason to connect with you. It’s also important to highlight positive reviews and address those dreaded negative reviews immediately with a positive response to build trust and let customers know that you’re committed to creating the best buyer experience possible. The point of social media is to be social, so engage with your customers and provide them with something of value — whether it’s content, incentives or a chance to sign up for your e-blasts. Speaking of which, email campaigns enable you to reward customers with in-store coupons and up-to-date information about your business delivered straight to their inbox.

Building your online presence and offering customers something of value are the first steps to increasing traffic to your brick-and-mortar store. Take advantage of the holiday rush by concentrating on the buyer experience, and you’re likely to maintain customers long after the season of giving.

To find out if you need to update your site’s social media strategy, schedule a free 30 minute, no-strings-attached marketing consultation with our team.

19Oct, 2017

5 Reasons to Hire an SEO Professional

How high is your business ranking in organic search results? If you don’t know the answer to this question, or if you’re Googling “organic search” in the next tab, it may be time to consider consulting an SEO pro. In the holy trinity of digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization is the piece of the puzzle that helps people find your website organically, meaning people are using topical keywords in search engines such as Google to find your site, and not through direct links from other websites, social media feeds or paid ads. So in a world of AdWords, Facebook boosts and social shares, does organic search still matter? The answer is a resounding yes.Organic searches are better at driving relevant traffic to your website. These are the people who have a question or need related to your business.

If you’re focusing most of your energy on posting to social media or creating content, but less time on implementing the building blocks on the backend of your site that will help those posts perform, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to drive traffic to your website. After all, it’s only when all of the pieces of the puzzle — content, social media and SEO — fit together that the picture is complete. Here are 5 reasons it’s time to consult a pro.

1. SEO Can be Hard

There are a lot of components that make up SEO: long-tail keywords, meta descriptions, image alt text, tags, internal and external links, among others. It can get confusing and you may feel that you have to be up to date on all the techy trends to make an impact — and, honestly, you probably do. According to Moz.com, Google changes its search algorithm around 500-600 times per year, with at least one major algorithmic update that affects search results in significant ways. An SEO professional can monitor these updates and tweak your best practices to help your site perform better.

2. The SEO Rulebook is Constantly Changing

The SEO rulebook is always changing because the way people use the internet is always changing. Focusing on only setting up your website for the desktop experience is already an old-fashioned way of thinking because 71% of U.S. internet usage is taking place on mobile. Is your website optimized for mobile? If not, you’re missing a big chunk of users browsing on their phones. And because of this latest trend, Google now displays mobile-friendly websites first, an algorithm update that could push your site past the coveted first page of results. A professional will know this and ensure your website is mobile-friendly and in good standing to dominate local search.

3. They Can Navigate Your Website’s Analytics

The saying goes, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” The same can be said for Search Engine Optimization. You can implement all of the SEO best practices at your disposal, but if you’re not tracking the effectiveness of those practices, there’s no way to know what’s working and what isn’t. Professionals know the importance of analytics, which can show how people are finding your site (organic search, social media, advertising), identify slow load times, keyword rankings, bounce rates, and many other types of important trackable information. A pro can use analytics to enhance your site and increase traffic.

4. They Have Valuable Experience

An SEO professional is a “pro” for a reason. Most are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to actually make an impact for your business. A pro will conduct an analysis of your website, research what people are searching for in your industry, and evaluate the strategy of your competitors to see what is working for them. All of this information will give them a better idea of how to implement a strategy that’ll work best for your business.

5. Bad SEO Practices Can Harm Your Business

Some SEO tactics can actually hurt your search ranking and can even get you penalized. A professional will know what to steer clear of, including stuffing keywords or using unrelated keywords, duplicating content, and artificial backlinks. They can even fix any bad SEO you may have implemented in the past, which will up your ranking with search engines.

A strong SEO gameplan will drive traffic to your website, resulting in more people reading your content, browsing what you offer and choosing to follow you on social. More eyes will lead to more customers, and an SEO pro will make sure your website is set up to garner the best results possible.

To find out if you need to update your site’s social media strategy, schedule a free 30 minute, no-strings-attached marketing consultation with our team.

13Oct, 2017

3 Ways to Generate Qualified Leads for your Website

You’ve published your website and created business pages across all the social media platforms. You’re waiting for the leads to roll in, but they’re stalled. Now what? Current trends are pointing to inbound marketing, which moves away from traditional disruptive sales tactics (cold calls) and instead seeks to empower potential customers by providing content that encourages them to seek out more information about your business. They key word here is “content,” and in order to generate qualified leads, you’ll need a searchable website with content targeted to your ideal customers and a plan to distribute that content. Easy, right? Let’s break it down and get started on your journey to generating more qualified leads for your website.

1. Utilize Strong SEO on Your Website

The first step to generating more qualified leads is to make sure potential customers can actually find your website. Just because you’ve clicked publish and sent your website off into the World Wide Web doesn’t mean that people are finding their way to it. To remedy this, you’ll want to optimize your site using SEO best practices. So what is SEO? Search Engine Optimization is the practice of increasing traffic to your website through organic search engine results. It can get a little technical, but the basics include:

Keywords: Your website should be filled with relevant keywords that speak to what your business or industry offers. Include them in titles, descriptions, headings, content, alt-text in images, URLs and your site’s meta data.

Ease of navigation: Make sure your website isn’t clunky. Attention spans are short and no one wants to wade through tons of pages, wait on slow load times, scroll through mountains of text or deal with annoying pop-ups.

Content: We’ll expound on this later, but generating relevant content about what your potential customers are searching for will increase your chance of landing in their search results. But relevancy isn’t the only thing that’s important, you also need to consistently publish content to make an impact.

Links to internal and external sources: Link to outside sources throughout your posts, as well as to internal pages on your site. And once you create content, promote it as much as you can so other industry authorities can find it and link back to you.

2. Create Valuable Content Through Blogging

Blogging is one of the best tools businesses have at their disposal to attract new customers. Not only does creating valuable content on topics related to your industry help you stand out as an authoritative voice, it also increases your visibility. Each blog post creates a new indexed page that search engines are able to crawl, which increases the likelihood people will find your website. Once they’re there, the goal is to offer them a wealth of information that will encourage them to seek out more information about what your business offers. So how do you capture those leads?

Does your business offer premium content such as an e-book, free assessment, guides or other “gated content”? If so, place a call to action on your blog posts that links to a form customers can fill out to obtain that gated content. For example, if you own a travel agency and just published a blog about traveling with children and you have an offer that is related to this topic, add a button to your blog post that links to the offer using language such as “Download a Free E-Book for the Best Family Travel Destinations.” The content should entice readers to want to fill out the form to receive more content, and by getting them to fill out that form, you’ve just generated a lead.

3. Promote Yourself Through Social Media

Once you’ve optimized your website through SEO and created valuable content, the next step is to promote your business and content through social media. It’s an important step in the overall goal of visibility. After you’ve published a blog post, share it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google Plus. This will get that content out to your network with the goal that others will “like” or share it, which will make it visible to their network, increasing your reach and ultimately attracting new leads. But it’s important to understand each of the networks in order to use them effectively. While LinkedIn is used more to reach out to professionals in your field, Facebook and Instagram are more casual and very visual-focused. So you’d want to be sure to create visually appealing posts using graphics and images.

And don’t forget to share often. Posting every once in awhile won’t be enough to increase your reach and generate new leads. Create a social media content plan that outlines the type and frequency of posts specific to each platform. If you don’t feel you have the time or tools to create and implement this type of plan, maybe it’s time to consider hiring a Social Media Manager. After all, Social Media Examiner’s 2017 report, 88% of marketers indicated their social media efforts increased exposure for their businesses.

These days, creating a website for your business isn’t enough to generate qualified leads. You need an SEO-friendly website that utilizes both blog content and social media promotion. Once people are able to find your website and read through the great content you’ve created, they’re more likely to opt-in to one of your offers, which will generate a new lead for your business.

To find out if you need to update your site’s social media strategy, schedule a free 30 minute, no-strings-attached marketing consultation with our team.

06Oct, 2017

5 Signs You Need to Hire a Social Media Manager

Social media can be overwhelming. Popular platforms seem to evolve every year, making it tough to keep up with the changing trends. It feels like if you’re not on social media, you’re missing the conversation. And the same can be said for your business: If you’re not on social media, you’re missing potential customers. But managing social media takes time and effort, and you’re already putting in 40+ hours a week just to keep your business running. This is where a Social Media Manager can step in and help build your brand’s online presence, which in this day and age is essential to success. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2017 Social Media Report, 92% of marketers said that social media is important to their businesses. People are constantly logging on to engage with the latest news, trends, products and services. A strong social media presence can increase your brand’s visibility, which can lead to more traffic and more customers. Here are five signs it’s time to hire a social media manager.

1. Social Media is an Afterthought

There’s no doubt social media is king. According to eMarketer, nearly a third of the world uses social media regularly. If you’re spending the majority of your time focused on business operations with little left over to update your social feeds or share that informative blog post, you’re missing out on engaging with a pool of potential customers. Although almost anyone can create a social media account, not everyone has the time or skills to dedicate to building an online presence.

A Social Media Manager (SMM) can provide consistency to your presence online. And consistency is key to retaining an active audience. Just think about the backlog of messages in your Facebook inbox, or the mentions you missed on Twitter. Social media is all about immediate engagement, and those missed messages equal missed opportunities. A SMM can provide consistency to your online presence by regularly updating your feeds, engaging with your visitors and tracking successes.

2. You Don’t Understand the Different Social Media Platforms

In order to optimize your brand’s reach and awareness, it’s important to meet your audience where they are. What platforms are your potential customers using? Even though they may seem similar, each platform has a specific function and is used in different ways. A person may share a recent buying experience on Facebook, link to an interesting news article on Twitter, post a picture of their pup on Instagram, and download an industry-specific e-book on LinkedIn — all in the same day. Figuring out the best platform to reach potential customers is key, and a SMM can identify which platforms will have the biggest impact for your business through testing and research.

3. You Don’t Have a Social Media Plan

It’s been said that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. A SMM can create a Social Media Content Plan to clearly communicate your company’s brand, deliver content that adds value, and provide relevant content for each platform. A social media plan allows you to target your audience more effectively, develop an overall voice, and increase your website traffic which in turn bumps your search ranking and generates leads.

4. You Want to Invest in Marketing and Advertising

Social media is one of the most cost-efficient ways to advertise your business. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2017 report, 88% of marketers indicated their social media efforts increased exposure for their businesses. Businesses have the opportunity to attract a whole new group of customers through their digital efforts, but if your social media campaign isn’t strategically targeting that new audience, you could be wasting time and money. A SMM can implement the tools that will provide the best return on investment (ROI).

5. You Don’t Use Analytics

If you’ve invested time into your social media, but don’t feel as though you’re getting much of a return on that investment, it could be because you’re not effectively tracking your results. What posts are performing well? How many followers did you gain in the last quarter? How are visitors finding your website? Information pulled from analytics is crucial to determining what works and doesn’t work, allowing you to tweak your social media plan based on tangible results.

The purpose of social media is to be seen and be shared, and when done correctly, social media has the capability to generate leads for your business. A Social Media Manager helps to provide a strong digital presence to build the visibility of your brand, which will help you become a strong voice in the online conversation.

To find out if you need to update your site’s social media strategy, schedule a free 30-minute, no-strings-attached marketing consultation with our team.

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