Greatson Media – Saco, Biddeford Maine Website Design & Hosting

Having a big presence out on the world wide web isn’t just reserved for the “big guys.” Sure, giant companies have giant budgets to work with, but that doesn’t mean that you have to let them run right over the top of you. You may not have the PPC budget that they do or as much money to spend on online video production, but you’ve got a great tool at your disposal — your content!

Whether you’re taking advantage of article syndication, blog posting, press releases, em@il marketing, or all of the above, the content you put out there is a direct reflection of who you are. If you have the wrong content writing strategy — or no strategy at all — you’re going to give people the wrong impression of you and your business.

I know, I know – You’re busy! You’re a business owner, not a writer! Even if you had enough writing skills to scrape together a few articles or a couple of blog posts, you simply don’t have the time to do it.

So, what do you do?

You come up with a content writing strategy that fits your needs and fits into your budget.

However, that doesn’t mean you go out and find the cheapest writer you can.

Remember, the content you publish is your only chance to connect with your target audience. Make the wrong impression, and you’ll wind up with website visitors that are scrambling for the “back” button, instead of signing up for your email list or buying something from you.

Publish content that’s really bad — like an article that’s keyword-stuffed, a blog post full of spelling and grammar mistakes, or an article that overstates the obvious and doesn’t ever provide any legitimate information — and you’ll wind up with readers who are so turned off that they’ll make a promise to themselves to not do business with you!

Think that’s an exaggeration?

Consider these two examples:

1. A few months back, I was doing some research for a client who sells wicker chairs. During my research, I stumbled on an article that said, “The chair has quite a few capabilities, amongst that is currently being sat unto.”

What would you do if you were looking for legitimate answers and stumbled upon this content writing marvel? Would it encourage you to think of the author as an expert? Would you want to do business with the website that published it? Chances are you’d run screaming in the opposite direction!

2. Last week, I stumbled on an article published by a company that sells flowers. The entire thing was a content writing nightmare, but my favorite part was, “A good bouquet of cut plants affirms a great deal and might be offered for practically all celebrations. Even so, if they get home they generally don’t continue being in good condition too much time. Don’t you think thrilling to obtain pretty flowers out of your local simply to feel down when you view them sag and also normally dry out?”

Doesn’t that make you want to run and grab your credít card and purchase a nice bouquet?!

OK, you’re thinking, these are some pretty extreme examples — from cheap writers that reside right at the bottom of the barrel. Your content writing strategy wouldn’t ever include publishing something like this!

But you could still have the wrong content writing strategy — just by publishing stuff that’s so-so.

Chances are your small business doesn’t have the budget for unlimíted articles, a new blog post every day, or a new video script every week. That means you have to make the most of what you’ve got. If you can only afford an article or two a month, you have to find a content writer that can make them stand out. If you can only afford to create one video for your website, it has to be fantastic. If you can only afford to pay a content writer for a few blog posts, they have to be amázing.

That’s the great thing about the world wide web – You don’t necessarily have to publish the most content. You simply have to provide the most value.

Think it can’t be done?

Think again!

I’ll use myself as an example.

Sure, I’m a professional writer, but that doesn’t mean I have endless amounts of time to spend on my own content writing strategy. Instead, most of my waking hours are spent writing for my clients! Like you, I’m a business owner that has to prioritize, and things get put on the back burner. I don’t update my blog every day. I don’t publish a new article every day.

But when I do sit down and write for myself, I make sure that my content kicks butt.

The end result?

Premier Content Source’s home page is number 1 in Google for its main keyword, and on pages one and two for its other keywords. Our internet traffic has skyrocketed since Google first unveiled Panda back in 2011. My blog is getting thousands of viewers every month. The articles I publish get “liked,” Tweeted, and syndicated all over the place. I hear from new people every day that found me through some piece of content that I wrote.

There’s no reason why you can’t have the same success. All it takes is having the right content writing strategy. If you’re always thinking about how you can answer your readers’ questions and solve their problems — in an interesting and informative way — you can’t go wrong!

By Nicole Beckett (c) 2012

Promoting your business on social media can be helpful in extending your brand, gaining visibility, and building relationships with your customers. Done right, it can be an inexpensive way to market your company.

But too many times I see companies plastering up a Facebook page just because everybody else is doing it. Or, they shoot out a few tweets and after a few days or weeks give up because no one is paying attention.

Is social media the right tool for your business? Here are some guidelines to help you use social media as a strategic marketing tool:

1. Have a purpose. Like any other marketing strategy, social media should be a tool that helps you meet a goal. You wouldn’t just go out and start buying ads without knowing what you want to accomplish, so don’t do it with social media. It might not cost anything to start a Facebook page, but there is a cost in time and that’s also a valuable resource.

2. Don’t sell. Social media is social. People use it to relate to one another and just like you wouldn’t walk into a party and start pitching your wares, you shouldn’t hard-sell on social media, either. There are ways to get people talking about your products or services, but you have to tread softly or risk losing your audience.

3. Be prepared to invest time and effort into your social media marketing. You will need to understand your target audience and how best to approach them. You need to understand what interests them, and know what it is you have to say that is valuable to that audience. Don’t post or tweet just to do it – make sure you have something to say or you will quickly be dropped by your readers.

4. Understand social media and use it yourself. There is no better way to understand Yelp, Chime In, Twitter, etc. than to participate and use them regularly.

5. Tie your efforts together and integrate them with your overall marketing strategy. You should not be doing something completely different online than you are doing offline. Avoid the split personality – don’t try to be hip and cool online if you are a traditional, conservative business offline. You risk damaging your brand and alienating online audiences who can see right through that.

6. Keep up with the changes. New sites are emerging all the time. Auction sites, gaming sites, photo sharing and music sharing – they are all expanding their focus to include building communities. Some of those communities are bound to include potential customers.

7. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, find someone who can. Often companies have younger employees who are well versed in social media and could, with guidelines, represent the company. There are many agencies that will help you with this.

8. Have guidelines. This ties in with #1 because your guidelines will be driven by your purpose. Establish guidelines for anyone posting on behalf of the company about what they can and cannot say. If you don’t want to put pricing on social media, say so. Be clear about what employees can post on their personal sites, as well.

9. Monitor constantly. Many experts in the field recommend that you start your social media adventure by listening first. Find out what your customers and others might be saying about you online. Once you are active in social media, be sure to set up Google Alerts and other tracking to monitor what is being said.

10. React but don’t overreact. If you see something posted about your company online that you don’t like, feel free to respond. But don’t get overly emotional about it, and don’t fire back. Respond with basic facts and a real desire to solve the customer’s problems – that will gain you a lot of credibility from anyone else who sees the exchange. And remember, one complaint is just one complaint, so don’t overreact.

11. Enjoy it. This is a new way to engage your customers and draw in new customers. People of every age are participating in social media, from teenagers to grandmothers, and it is a growing part of our culture. As you bring your business into the discussion, you may find raving fans who will provide recommendations for you.

12. Online marketíng is a tool – it doesn’t replace your other marketing efforts. Sure, a lot of what used to be advertised in print media is now online. But there is still an important role for all of the other marketing tools including public relations, direct m@il and advertising. Like your toolbox, each tool has a different purpose and you wouldn’t use a hammer to sand wood. Online (or inbound) marketing is a great resource that is very cost effective for businesses, but it must be a part of the larger marketing strategy or it will fail.

By Kim Deppe (c) 2012

Incoming search terms:

• social media sites for business

After assistant professor Michael Luca demonstrated in his Harvard Business School Working Paper the effect Yelp reviews have on restaurant goers, many small business owners nationwide are now trying to employ their own ‘Yelp Strategies.’ Although Luca states the success a restaurant can have with good reviews, other small businesses do not have the same volume of reviews and thus it’s difficult to agree or disagree with his conclusion. Regardless of Luca’s concluding remarks, it is undeniable the impact a local SEO strategy can have for a company. With or without reviews, having a comprehensive local strategy can take you from zero to sixty in a day’s work. Below, I discuss the ins and outs of dealing with Yelp and other major sites plus a look at the evolution of local listings and mobile apps.

Say what? Yelp?

Even though Yelp has made recent news, many people still have no idea what it is or, why it matters. For a quick background: Yelp, founded in 2004, is a local search engine where anyone can write a review about local services, goods, and businesses. With an average of 66 million new visitors, and 25 million local reviews written, Yelp is a premier review site. Yelp offers local business a free listing on their site with a no-follow link to a website of their choosing.

Thanks I knew that, but why should I do it?

Yelp is one of the local citation sites that are a must for anyone with a local SEO strategy. Other sites that fall in this category include Google Places, Manta, Local, and YellowPages (to name a few off the top of my big head). Each of these sites has a free listing option that includes photos, videos and a link back to the listed site. What savvy online marketers know about Yelp, is that their listings are useful for more than just plain old SEO (as if anything is old about SEO…). Yelp also presents an opening for branding your business and for getting visitors to your site that may not have found it otherwise on organic rankings. It is important to update the information listed however, since incorrect contact information, locations and service lists can mean a decrease in credibility for you and potentially a loss in revenue.

Different internet users all have their own preferences for which sites to use to find local businesses. For example, my father only knows how to use Yahoo’s search bar since that is what has always opened up when he opens his internet browser (my mom still uses the phone book.) Others, who are more advanced, such as iPhone-happy foodies, may use Yelp or Zagat to find their swanky bites, or they may just be a common Googler who just goes to the top results on Google Places because they are lazy. Making sure that your information is listed correctly on Yelp and the other local directories helps potential customers to find you easier and get to know what you provide when they need some information.

Great I filled everything out, but what about reviews?

Continue reading “Yelp Help and “The Never-ending Story” of Local SEO Strategies” »