Blog

How to get personal with your business page

It’s easy to forget a simple business truth in a world that is increasingly digital: people like interacting with people. Whether it’s talking to a real human to solve an IT issue or handle a payment problem instead of navigating an automated voice maze or handling some kind of consumer complaint, there’s no substitute for... Read More

6 free ways to increase interaction on your Facebook page

As you know by now, there’s more to maintaining a business Facebook page than setting it up and hanging up a proverbial “Open” sign. Much like your business itself, you need to interact with the people that visit it in order to make your Facebook page successful and to grow your business. It doesn’t take... Read More

FIve ways to get additional traffic to your website

Your web site won’t do you much good if nobody sees it. There are ways to promote it, of course, through advertising venues like Google Adwords, Facebook—and virtually every other social media platform out there, as well. If you’re just starting out, however, or if you have a very limited budget, there are some things... Read More

Commonly misused business terms

We’ve often said that if your customers don’t trust you with the little things, they won’t trust you with the big things—like giving you their business. Proper word choice is one of those “little things.” If you’re positioning yourself as an expert in a field of service, your task will be more difficult if you... Read More

5 tips for mobile web sites

By now, you know the statistics favor businesses with mobile friendly websites. More than 80 percent of consumers have a smart phone and they use it as their primary access to the Internet—particularly when they are out searching for a business or service. You know your website has to be mobile-friendly, but how hard is... Read More

Facebook fights fake news–and what that means for you

Facebook is taking steps to combat the spread of fake news and to create a more-informed user base In a blog post this week, the social media giant announced that it would no longer allow pages that repeatedly share fake news stories to advertise. “We’ve found instances of Pages using Facebook ads to build their... Read More

Use your social media feeds to improve customer service

Your social media channels are not just another way to reach out to new customers and engage with the ones you have. They’re also very effective at dealing customer complaints and improving customer service. More than 42 percent of mobile patrons use social media to direct their anger or general dissatisfaction at businesses—or to ask... Read More

What Facebook’s latest change means for you

Facebook announced a change to its news feed algorithm today that will force marketers to keep on their toes if they want to their content seen. In order to reduce the number of low-quality links Facebook users see in their news feeds, the algorithm will allow Facebook to show more stories that users will find... Read More

Six mistakes that will make your website look unprofessional

You don’t have to be a scientist to avoid these unprofessional mistakes. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. It’s true in life, it’s (mostly) true in business and it’s true on the internet. As a small business owner, you can’t afford to make the mistakes that might drive away potential... Read More

Where to find photos for your social media posts

Good graphics will increase your engagement, no matter what platform they’re viewed on. It’s no secret that posts with graphics tend to get more attention than text-only messages. In fact, according to bufferapp.com, photographic posts get 39 percent more attention than text-only or even video posts. There are a number of reasons for this, and... Read More

How nostalgia marketing can help your brand

  Everybody remembers the ‘good old days.’ Holidays like Memorial Day certainly usher in the feeling, but no matter how old you are, there’s always time that you refer back to fondly, whether it was the 90s, 80s, 70s—or further back still. Nostalgia is part of the human condition and it’s also becoming a part... Read More

Five great social media monitoring sites

Your social media channels won’t do you much good unless you’re paying attention to them. In order to use them effectively to build your brand, you have to know how effective they are, in the first place. That’s where social media monitoring comes in. There are a number of ways you can track how effective your content... Read More

Survey says: local, online reviews are crucial for your business

According to a recent study by brightlocal.com, online reviews are more important than ever and, when it comes to the origin of those reviews, the closer to your business, the better. Brightlocal has conducted the survey every year since 2010. Last year, they polled more than 1,050 individuals to get insight on how online reviews... Read More

How to maintain brand consistency–and why you should

You may think your business isn’t big enough to be a “brand,” but you’re wrong. Any business, from the smallest mom-and-pop operation to a corporation like Coca Cola, is its own brand. A brand is defined as what people think about your business—the impression they get when they see or hear its name. It’s more... Read More

How to write effective Calls to Action

Having an online presence or social media business page is just the first step in the process. When customers find you, either through a google search, by following a Facebook ad or some other means, what do you want them to do? That’s your call to action: essentially the purpose of your online efforts. It’s... Read More

Four ways social media can help your CRM

Marketing with social media is effective because it can help build or strengthen your connections with existing customers. Used properly, it can enhance your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) results and build a solid, loyal customer base. There are plenty of reasons to improve your CRM, of course. The biggest is the cost factor. According to... Read More

SEO trends for 2017

The Search Engine Optimization market, like the algorithms that power it, are constantly in flux. Google’s algorithm is almost constantly being updated, which keeps business owners and marketers alike on their toes. This year will be no different. Here are a few things to keep in mind if SEO marketing is one the main ways... Read More

Should you give up your Facebook business page?

You may have noticed that the organic reach of your Facebook business page is dwindling. It may seem like no matter how creative, graphic or entertaining your content is, the vast majority of your customers do not or will not see it. Well, you’re right. The Facebook newsfeed algorithm is constantly changing and, it seems,... Read More

A quick social media checklist

Social media has long been an important way to market your business. There are almost as many available channels today as there are channels on your television, but you don’t need to be active in all—or even most—of them. Here’s a quick checklist of the best ones and a couple questions you should ask yourself.... Read More

6 ways to persuade customers through social media

Your business’ social media pages are perfect places for you to persuade customers to visit your shop, use your services or buy your goods. It’s more of a soft sell that other forms of marketing, like direct advertising or cold-calling; you’re trying to foster a relationship to build up trust to bring customers into the... Read More