How to Increase Brand Awareness and Generate Leads with Twitter

If you are a small business that is using Twitter to market your product, service or brand, congratulations! Twitter is an outstanding way to increase brand awareness and generate sales leads.

However, as is the case with all types of social media, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. That is why it is so important to continue to use the best Twitter practices to promote your product or service. What follows are some of the latest and greatest ways to use Twitter as part of your overall marketing strategy:

  • Be careful how many links you put in your tweets. If you have an important link to share, do so – but for the most part keep in mind that tweets without links get more engagement.
  • Hashtags give your tweets context but don’t overdo it. Want to find out how relevant your hashtags are? Rite Tag is one of the many tools available today to help you do just that.
  • Images improve engagement. Further, images set you apart from the competition, especially when the competition doesn’t take the time to use them on a consistent basis.
  • Want to quote someone? Try quoting yourself. This gives you credibility and establishes you as a thought leader.
  • Send out tweets on a regular basis. It is important to reach the happy medium between tweeting too much and not tweeting enough. Once or twice a day is probably the right amount unless something really important is happening in your industry.
  • Track mentions and keywords so that you know what is being said about you on Twitter. It also is important to respond quickly to any praise, comments or complaints.
  • While you probably retweet on a regular basis, favoriting tweets can get you even more attention.
  • Special discounts or deals offered to your Twitter followers are a great way to engage followers.
  • Make sure that Twitter is just one part of your overall marketing effort. For example, if you are running a Twitter promotion, send the link out to your email subscribers, as well.
  • Don’t underestimate the power of a mention. Include @username in your message to thank someone, ask a person a question or give someone a shout out. This is an outstanding way to build relationships.

Twitter is one of the most important and effective ways to market your business. Make sure you are taking full advantage of it by keeping up on all of the latest trends!

 

 

 

Want to Get More Out of Your Website? Put More into It!

Website Design, SEO, Google Marketing

Every business owner understands that in order to succeed in today’s crowded marketplace, they must have a website. After all, if someone is looking for your business, or a product or service that you offer, the first place he or she will turn is online.

While getting your website up and running is a great accomplishment, it is only the first step in making sure that your website is doing all that it can for your business. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t even know what they want to get out of their website. Is it lead generation? Brand awareness?

Whatever you want your website to achieve, it is important to remember that what you put into it is going to have a direct effect on what you get out if it. To ensure that your website is doing all that it can to advance your overall business strategy, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Is it easy to find? You can have the most impressive website in the world, but if no one can find it, it won’t matter. If you want your website to be noticed by all the major search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing – and appear as high as possible in the organic search results of those search engines it must be optimized for search, including mobile search results. This is accomplished through fresh, relevant content that is updated regularly. Such content encourages engagement by compelling people to leave feedback and share it with others.
  2. Is it easy to update? One of the biggest reasons why businesses don’t update their website more frequently is that it is too difficult. This is common when businesses maintain their websites in-house without a dedicated staff that really understands the ins and outs of website maintenance. It also occurs when a business farms out their website maintenance to a huge company – sometimes overseas – that is impossible to reach and has very little interest in customer service once a contract has been signed.
  3. Is it easy to look at? Does your homepage reflect the personality and culture of your business? Is your contact information front and center? Is there a good mix of white space, text and visuals? We’ve all visited websites that are so far from user-friendly we simply move on. A quality website is easy to navigate because it is organized in a logical, user-friendly manner.

Like every other aspect of your business, your website must constantly evolve to meet the needs of your business. Unfortunately, many business owners mistakenly believe that if they build a website, people will find it. The truth is, websites must be built, maintained and kept fresh and up-to-date. Only then will customers and prospects visit your site, and keep coming back for more.

 

 

 

 

How to Keep the Workplace Merry and Bright this Holiday Season

Every year, you begin the holiday season believing that it truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that sometimes work is anything but wonderful thanks to an office full of co-workers and a job to do.

Fortunately, there are ways to make the season bright while still getting your job done. What follows are some tried and true tips to help you do just that:

  1. Don’t go crazy when it comes to decorating. Whether you are chasing sales leads, seeing patients, answering phones, or updating mailing lists, it is important that your surroundings reflect your professionalism. Sure, a few decorations are fine, but leave the blinking lights, scented candles, and musical figurines at home.
  2. Try not to overindulge in office goodies. Putting on a few pounds over the holidays is normal but if you overindulge all day, every day you are going to end up feeling sluggish and unable to concentrate. Bring some healthy snacks and keep them at your desk if necessary to keep yourself from being tempted.
  3. It may be better to give than to receive but don’t go overboard. Giving gifts to all or even a few of your co-workers or boss can get tricky. Most people are stretched thin this time of year and if you are giving out gifts, they may feel like they must reciprocate. If you do feel the need to hand out gifts, be sure to keep them very inexpensive. Expensive gifts are rarely – if ever – appropriate in the workplace.
  4. Get some fresh air. Although the weather outside may be frightful, if at all possible try to get outdoors during the workday and take a short, brisk walk. This will do wonders for your energy level and help to reduce stress.
  5. Remember the Golden Rule. Take your cue from your co-workers. If a fellow employee doesn’t share your exuberance for the holidays, don’t try to force him or her into the holiday spirit. There is nothing worse than an overbearing co-worker. Likewise, try to be patient if you are the one who thinks holiday cheer has no place in the office. Don’t be Scrooge, and as much as possible, try to go with the flow this time of year. After all, it won’t last forever.

 

 

 

 

When Thanking Clients, Think Outside of the Box

One of the best way to connect with your customers is to thank them for their business. While there are tried and true methods – a handwritten note or a box of candy, for example – it is important to mix things up.

If you are struggling to come up with unique ways to thank your clients, we’ve compiled a list of ideas that will help to set you apart from the competition.

  1. Ask clients what their favorite charity is and make a donation to that charity. Along the same lines, if a client has lost a loved one to a particular disease or has a child with a chronic disease, consider making a donation to a relevant charity.
  2. Give your best client a shout-out on social media. Not only does this acknowledge their business, it gives them some free advertising and potential sales leads.
  3. Invite them to come speak to your employees about their area of expertise. Do you have a financial planner for a client? Let them speak to your employees about investing or saving for retirement.
  4. Send them referrals. Nothing says thank you like sending business their way.
  5. Throw a customer-appreciation party. Summer barbeques or football tailgates are just two fun ideas.
  6. Acknowledge significant business anniversaries. Opened their doors five years ago? Just grew their staff to 100? These are all great reasons to congratulate them.
  7. Offer them a deep discount on your product or service. Imagine sending your monthly invoice with a zero balance and a note that says, “This month is on us – thanks for your business.” Talk about making an impression.
  8. Send them a book that you think they would be interested in or that is related to their business. Remember, it’s the thought that counts and this type of gift shows you put a lot of thought into it.
  9. Send a client two gift cards. Ask them to keep one and use the other one to make someone else’s day.
  10. Take them out to lunch at a nice restaurant and talk everything but business. This tells your client that you are willing to spend time and money on them – no strings attached.

Customer loyalty goes a long way. Competitors are always going to try to steal your clients. When your customers know how much you value them, it will make them much harder to lure away.