Local SEO Checklist For Small Business in 2016
Wanting to get your business website seen by people who want to buy your product or service is every business owners desire. If it were easy, we would not be posting about it here :). Because Google keeps us all guessing with how they tweak and change their algorithm to deliver what they feel are the best results for their paid advertisers and leave the organic results up to experts like us, business depends on us experts to be creative and constantly test, poke and prod to find the best results for our customers. We feel really good about the solutions we deliver for our customers, we feel we have identified many things that work and also the things that don’t work. That is why our clients choose Everzocial for their SEO and SEM needs. But we also love to share what we know with those who are seeking better ways to get their sites seen. Here is an Infographic that has a 74 Step process that will create Mammoth results for your webpages and blog posts.
After going through this Infographic you feel you would rather have someone else do it for you and cost effectively, reach out to us and we will quickly assess your site and give you a quote on exactly what you will need to get you ranked.
5 Way To Improve Your Mobile Marketing Efforts in 2016
Mobile marketing is getting more spotlight these days. Revenue from mobile advertising accounted for 30% of total ad spend in the first half of 2015, according to the IAB, and it’s on track to account for more than one-third in the second half of the year.
Social media and mobile marketing go hand in hand. Most people have a smartphone these days, and apps make it so much easier to check your social networks on the go. Phone calls are no longer even the primary function of a phone. A recent study of Samsung users found that 39% of their customers said social media was their favorite thing to do with their phone, and over a billion of them have downloaded the Facebook app.
So how can a small business tap into the powers of social mobile marketing and connect with their audience, even when they’re on the go? Leveraging your mobile presence can be tricky, but we have some tips that should get you on the right track and make your mobile marketing magical:
Think Mobile First
Content is now viewed on a mobile device more than ever, so it’s important that anything you produce is mobile-friendly and responsive. Isn’t frustrating when you go to look at something on your mobile device and you can’t read it because it’s too small or formatted incorrectly to consume on your mobile device? Make sure that the content you create is formatted in a readable and shareable way, and that any images will respond and resize to the appropriate mobile device screen.
When you have internal links you want to place in your content, make sure and look at whether they will take the reader to another piece of mobile-friendly content. Mobile users share content twice as often as desktop users, so it’s important to make sure your social buttons are properly working across all platforms – this allows your audience to easily post your content straight onto their social networks.
Schedule Your Content to Post at the Right Time
Newsfeeds and timelines get updated so regularly that your content needs to be published right in front of your audience’s eyes. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ time of the day to aim for, but Facebook’s insights feature will tell you when your fans are online.
As a good rule of thumb, your audience will be looking for new content on the commute to and from work and when they are sitting around on their lunch break. People are more likely to engage with and share content when they have time on their hands, so targeting them while they are at work or after they have gone to bed is unlikely to get you the traction you desire.
Repurpose Content for Different Channels
The great thing about social channels is that they all have their different strengths and advantages. Facebook is great for longer written posts, Twitter gets the message across in a bit sized tweet, Pinterest and Instagram focus on pictures, and YouTube is obviously brilliant for videos.
When creating a piece of content, think about how you can utilize these channels to make the most of your content on every different social media app. Mobile users love visuals, and content with visuals is much more likely to grab someone’s attention on a smaller screen or device. Consider using tools like Canva or Picktochart, they enable anyone to become a designer.
Don’t Wait for Free, Use Paid Advertising
It is estimated that by the end of this year, the global mobile ad market will surpass $100 billion and count for more than half of digital ad spend. In 2015, 78% of people who clicked on a mobile ad then went on to make a purchase a couple of days later.
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube all offer a range of advertising opportunities that can easily be tracked and amended, and short social ad campaigns can be relatively inexpensive. Instead of taking up a small space in the sidebar, social media advertisements on mobile take up a large chunk of the user’s screen, meaning they are more likely to be seen and clicked on.
Be Consistent
Your business should have a consistent brand presence across all social channels, but a surprising number of businesses don’t. It’s important to keep all your contact details up to date and to use the same logo and branding across all channels. Mobile devices have small screens, so quick and easy recognition is key, and sometimes just having a consistent logo can make all the difference to a user recognizing your brand.
Try and be active on each of your social channels on a regular basis, so your audience knows to expect regular content from you. Mobile users have a shorter attention span and want fresh, relevant content presented to them as soon as they check their phones, this means you need to keep your posts consistent and engage with your audience at every opportunity.
The Take Away
The world of social media and mobile marketing is always changing, but it’s good to stay on top of your game and focus on the areas you can control. There are lots of different ways to maximize your social media strategy on mobile, you just need to build up your following and post regular, engaging content.
Monitor your efforts and track your audience’s internet habits, then analyze the results and tweak your strategy where necessary. In an ever-evolving world of digital marketing, sometimes it’s just about keeping your engagement levels high and showing your audience the human behind the brand.
Are You Connection Rich? How to grow your local business.
Connection Rich: When value is generated by making connections.
Is your business connection rich? Are you utilizing every possible avenue to increase your company’s visibility and reach new customers where new customers are looking? Let’s take a look at what you need to be designating a full time position to for your business to survive and thrive in 2016.
1. Social media. For many — if not all — small businesses, connecting with customers, prospects, suppliers, and others via social media can deliver tremendous value. It is always suggested that you hire a professional, like everzocial, to assist you in covering all these basis on a consistent and daily basis.
To get connection rich using social media, you need to understand who you are trying to reach and what your goal is when you reach them. In other words, it wouldn’t make any sense to consider established customers and brand new prospects in the same way. Further, you might establish social media relationships with suppliers as a way to improve your competitiveness; suppliers may, for example, use their social media channels as pipelines for insider tips and other useful industry information.
Taking this a bit further, Alignable is one social media platform whose purpose it is to create and enhance relationships between businesses. Connecting with similar small businesses can be extremely helpful, for example, when you’re trying to determine which cloud services would best suit your business.
2. Review sites. When you’re using your social media accounts, you’re broadcasting information about your small business and trying to spur people’s interest. When customers say something about you on a review site — or their own social media accounts — they are taking over the microphone. You need to recognize these instances as opportunities to create connections.
An important attribute of being connection rich is to recognize that it’s not just about your direct connections, it’s also about the onlookers and others who will hear things via word of mouth. Take advantage of the review sites and even create strategies that will point your customers toward positive reviews to start a conversation among people that will cover to positive revenue for you.
3. Forums. Forums are probably the most overlooked avenue for engaging prospects in becoming connection rich. Some successful small businesses have started because their owners first established themselves as experts on the forums. However, the point to stress here is that you should engage on as many good forums as there are that relate to your business, and your posts should be very helpful and knowledgeable. To be ranked as an authority you have be an authority.
Create time each week or hire a designated Marketing professional, like everzocial, to browse relevant forums and look for posts that pose questions or discuss problems. The connections you make while interjecting can be very valuable in the long run of your success.
4. Local community. Old-fashioned local networking should never be overlooked in this age of high-tech, web-based connections. For many small business owners, their local connections are by far their most important.
Have you noticed that all the highly successful local business leaders are heavily involved in community business groups along with other local events and organizations? Do you think this is merely coincidence? Do you think they had achieved their level of success before they got involved with the community?
Social Media and SEO and a great Website Design are merely the tools you have to have full time in order of survival. The roots of your business and how it grows are strongest at its personal core; the people and personalities behind the business that are worthy of being connection rich. Many newcomers start out as unknowns, but by working with community groups they make names for themselves as both knowledgeable and trustworthy. Establishing yourself in your local community will pay big dividends over the years. These are investments you’ll make more with your time than with your money. The Beatles were a success in Liverpool first; then they hired a manager to market them and they went global. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Contact us today for free assessment of your online needs and goals.
5. Employees, family and friends. Connecting with all the individuals in your business and personal lives is extremely important. Your family and close friends should be among the biggest boosters for your small business. This means that you should be certain they understand what you do and have even experienced it themselves.
They should be shopping at your store or using the service you provide whenever possible. Then, when they know people who need what you provide, you’ll get a recommendation.
This is extremely important with your employees. You need to develop these connections so well that they go beyond mere employees and become brand advocates who are ready to put in a good word for your small business even when they’re “off the clock.” This means you must treat your employees well, give them opportunities to advacnce and have input regarding the direction of your business: If you don’t listen to your employees, you can’t expect them to speak up for you.
Your business is your business. No one cares more about your business than you do. Your business should be taken very seriously and should be met with great passion and exhilaration. Do your part to grow your company in the community face-to-face and get involved with other local business owners that are also growing. Hire smart. Delegate all tasks other than your sole focus of increasing your revenue. Utilize all your connections and turn them into revenue boosting tools that you can press like buttons to generate sales and new customers. Being connection rich isn’t just about having the connections, it’s about using those connections to further your business and grow your revenue.
At everzocial we would be very happy to assist you in all your online needs, so that you can focus on your business.
Contact us today for Free Assessment.
The Latest [Dec 2014] Facebook Cheat Sheet for Facebook Admins [INFOGRAPHIC]
Keeping up with all the changes that Facebook makes is hard. TechWyse a leading Canadian Internet Marketing firm has come up with an updated cheat sheet that every Facebook Admin should have in their toolset. Make sure and share this with your friends and associates that manage Facebook pages, they will thank you!
See How Mobile Technology is Changing the Business World [INFOGRAPHIC]
According to some recent statistics, mobile internet usage has exceeded desktop internet access in early 2014.
And while that statistic might sound surprising, it’s worth remembering that this isn’t the only impact mobile technology has had on the way we work and do business. For even more insight into this recent trend, let’s take a look at how exactly mobile technology is changing the business world:
The Retailer’s Guide to SOLOMO (Social-Local-Mobile) [INFOGRAPHIC]
Did you know that almost 120 million Americans now own a smartphone, and 80 percent of those use their device to access social networks?
SoLoMo (Social-Local-Mobile) is the addition of local information to search engine results to capitalize on the increasing use of mobile, allowing businesses to push relevant offers to customers based on their location. And the results can be unbelievable – smartphones are expected to influence $200 billion worth of sales in 2013.
This infographic takes a closer look at how retailers are making the most of the SoLoMo opportunity.
Best Days to Post to Facebook by Industry [INFOGRAPHIC]
For those of us who work in social media, switching gears is something we are used to.
One of the the greatest challenges for small business owners managing their own Facebook pages is determining exactly when to post a given piece of content so it attracts the most “likes,” comments, and retweets. A recent infographic from LinchpinSEO could help crack that code by showing the best days to post to Facebook. Even better, it breaks it down by business type or industry.
For instance, companies considered “general retail” will find more engagement on Mondays, whereas nonprofits will see greater success on weekends, according to LinchpinSEO, which analyzed the user engagement of more than 1,800 Facebook pages from the world’s top brands. The data were collected from April 1 to May 31.
It’s important to remember that each type of business will have a different best day and time to post to Facebook. This infographic could help you identify it. If you need further help with your Facebook Business Page, our team of Social Stagers are here to help do it for you.
How To Really Use LinkedIn [INFOGRAPHIC]
LinkedIn is probably the most misunderstood social network for those seeking to market themselves and/or their businesses. We have done tons of research, trial and error, and just plain hard work to find out the best ways to market your business on LinkedIn. Now we aren’t going to share all our ninja tricks right here because there is just way too much to do for the average business owner to be able to do it themselves. We did however, find an excellent resource of tips and tricks that you can implement and have great success with. Here is the LinkedIn Bootcamp [INFOGRAPHIC] for your viewing and learning pleasure. Courtesy of mindflash.com.
![Linkedin Bootcamp [INFOGRAPHIC]](https://www.everzocial.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Linkedin-Bootcamp.png)
21 Rules for Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies
If you are new to the game of social media marketing, here are 21 unwritten rules that are designed to create a solid foundation for your social media marketing efforts!
Instagram Profiles is now LIVE!
Instagram recently released “Web Profiles”. It’s a new way to view and share your Instagram photos with your friends and family or customers [for businesses] via the web. In some ways it looks like a Facebook Timeline fee, no surprise since Facebook bought Instagram earlier this year.
Web profiles feature your photos, your profile photo and bio, sharing with the entire Internet the content you share on Instagram [that might not be a good thing].
Cool Things you Can Do
You can share your own profile with anyone you want to see your Instagram photos. In addition, web profiles provide an easy way to follow other users, comment & like photos, and even edit your profile directly from the web. It makes it easier to find new users that you might miss on your phone. It also makes it easier to share your photos with more people. If you are a business or brand, this is a huge way to build your audience, so we are really excited about this.
It’s Easy to Find Your Instagram Web Profile
To see your profile, or to explore a friend’s profile, simply navigate to instagram.com/[username]. For example, in order to view our profile, @everzocial, you’d navigate to instagram.com/everzocial on the web.
Who Can See Your Instagram Web Profile and Photos?
It works like it does on Instagram on your phone. If your photos are set to public, anyone will be able to see your profile by visiting instagram.com/[your username] on the web and you don’t have to be an Instagram user to view a public user’s profile on the web.
If your photos are set to private, your photos will be visible only to logged-in Instagram users you’ve allowed to follow you.
This is pretty cool for businesses, not sure yet for users. Let us know what you think of this new feature and way of seeing Instagram on your computer. Oh and if you want to be able to upload photos from your computer, that is not a feature they have chosen to release yet. Instagram is focused on the production of photos from mobile devices so I don’t see this feature coming out anytime soon. To follow us on Instagram, find us @everzocial! Happy Instagramming!