101 Tips for Using Your Website and Other Online Tools to Market Your Business

The internet is quickly becoming the #1 way people gather information. If your internet presence is lacking, you may be missing out. We will discuss messaging, using your website, and other internet marketing tools like search engines, social media, PPCs, and directories.

Planning

1. Set goals: What are you hoping to accomplish? More fans, interactions, e-mail addresses, are you looking to become an industry leader?
2. Create a plan: Just like any business project, to ensure success you need a flushed out plan
3. Create a timeline: Determine reasonable mile markers, set due dates, and celebrate accomplishments
4. Create a schedule: Use your schedule to ensure you make your deadlines
5. Assign responsibilities: Although much of the online marketing campaign may be high level delegate where possible to ensure work gets completed
6. Assign accountability: This should be a third party that will hold you to your word, a business coach, advisor, or partner are ideal

Messaging

7. Define audience(s): The internet allows you to interact with individual audiences, be sure you communicate with each audience in the appropriate way.
8. Define needs: No one cares about what you sell, they want to know how you solve their problems
9. Keyword research: Don’t go with your gut! Research what people are looking for and find niches where you can compete
10. Educate: Provide free information to your target audience to help them solve their problems and make good decisions
11. Entertain: Make your products, services, company, self fun; Example Will It Blend? http://www.willitblend.com
12. Engage: Engage in existing conversations or start your own, but don’t “sell”

Integrate

13. Website: Once you have established your social media venues be sure to have links from your website
14. Social Media: Your Profiles and Posts should link back to your website and blogs
15. Blogs: should link to your website and other social media venues
16. Video: When you create a video, post it to You Tube (a popular search engine), embed it in your websites and blogs, and create posts that link back to it
17. Optimization: Optimize ALL your venues not just your website
18. Directories: Find local and niche directories and be sure to use all venues if possible
19. Advertising: Be sure ads point back to your websites, blogs, and indicates your Social Media when possible
20. Mobile: Be sure phone numbers are in traditional text format so they are will automatically dial
21. e-mail Signature: All e-mails should easily allow recipients to find more information
22. Print: Be sure your online marketing is supported by your offline marketing, QR codes make it easy find information, most people expect to see an URL, and the social media logos
23. Interactions: Different people want to receive information in a form they are comfortable with, be sure to provide multiple options for interactions

To learn about the other 78 tips visit me at the 2011 COSE Small Business Conference Wednesday, October 19th from 10:15-11:15 am!

Natalie Morris

Internet Marketing Specialist 

The Search Guru

Ready for a brain dump?

Oh thank you to COSE again! They were able to get Leslie Carruthers “the Search Guru” to give an amazing presentation on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in The Panda Era.

I was happy to hear from the expert herself, that our SEO motto of good content and lots of links still holds true even after “the Panda”.

What’s new? A few things, first and in my mind the most expected was the increased importance of “like-able” content. In other words content and information that comes from Social Media and points either to your site or blog, or merely talks about you.

Another major change is the fact that junk pages – filler pages with low quality content or duplicate content – actually have the potential of bringing your site rankings down. Although more pages will help your site, having trash pages won’t.

Leslie’s top 4 Search Engine Tips

1. Bake SEO into your site structure – be sure your developer understands SEO or hire someone who does
2. Know the language of your visitors – but don’t use your “gut” – use keyword tools to search and determine what people are actually looking for and what is reasonable in the world of competition.
3. Develop as many incoming links from “relevant” non-competing sites. Relevant is key. A baker linking to an oil change shop is not as good as a baker linking to a restaurant supply chain.
4. Create fresh, relevant, interesting, optimized content!

I have about 6 more pages of notes but that’s all for now!

Have a terrific day,
Natalie

Search Engine Optimization
Web development and design

Cose Small Business Conference

Wednesday, October 19 and Thursday, October 20, 2011

The sixth annual COSE Small Business Conference, is a two-day, first-class conference experience packed with educational workshops, national keynote speakers, a business-to-business trade show and effective networking opportunities.

As a small business owner, your time is incredibly valuable. That’s why COSE designed the conference to fit your busy schedule. Each workshop is carefully selected to deliver immediate, practical tools and information that can be applied to your business right away. So whether you attend for an hour, a day or both days, you’re sure to leave with
valuable new strategies to enhance your business’s success.

http://www.cosesmallbusinessconference.com/conference-overview

101 Tips for Using Your Website and Other Online Tools to Market Your Business

The internet is quickly becoming the #1 way people gather information. If  your internet presence is lacking, you may be missing out. We will discuss messaging, using your website, and other internet marketing tools like search engines, social media, PPCs, and directories. We will also give you an overview of what type of costs you can expect, where to save, and where to spend.

Natalie Morris
Morris MC, Ltd.

http://www.cosesmallbusinessconference.com/workshops

Eldercare and the internet

So far so good with my attempt to stay current on my blog! For now my advice is to put it in your calendar and think of it as an inescapable task that must be completed before you can move on.

Also by having an idea of what I am going to write about, it’s easier to get started. So my note in my calendar is “industry review”. Which granted is very broad, but for me it gets me going in the right direction.

The industry news I want to share is on September 23rd I will be presenting at the Eldercare Professionals of Ohio East Side networking group. This is a group of individuals who focus on providing services to the elderly in our community. Originally I had gotten involved with this group via my mother who was involved in a venture that fit quite nicely into this niche. However as time has gone by my business of internet marketing has been very warmly received by the community.

Although the elderly are not quite as quick to gravitate to the internet to do their homework, the children and caretakers of those individuals are fairly early adopters. And although we all want to think our facility speaks for itself, that’s only true if people are willing to come in for a tour. With so many choices out there, and people being in a constant state of rush, the internet is the ideal venue for a frazzled daughter to review a dozen facilities without waking her sleeping baby.

Another important audience for the eldercare community are the discharge coordinators. They are the first line that families come to, to determine what is the next phase of their loved one’s recovery. If the discharge coordinator is educated about a facility it is easy for them to recommend that location to someone looking for those particular services.

An even more important internet marketing issue that many of the senior communities are facing is where else is their name showing up. As we all know people who are happy will share that information with a few people, however those that are upset will share that experience with anyone who will listen. The internet is a great place to track what people are saying about your facility. When if comes to the elderly, we are talking about people’s moms and dads, if there is one bad review, that may be what bust the deal. However if you have one bad review, that has been buried under a ton of good reviews, than that may be a saving factor.

Thank you and have a terrific week,
Natalie

www.morrismc.com

 

Keeping Up

So if anyone read my last post, it was about keeping up with blogging, and social media in general. I talked about some of my excuses – lack of time – and some of my motivations – it brings me business. Now I’ll let you know what I have done so far, and I hope it helps you to keep up.

I went to my Google Calendar (www.google.com/calendar)  and put a place holder into each Monday to Blog. Now honestly I have done this in the past and it didn’t work, so this time I took one more step. I added what the blog should be about. Nothing graphic, that required thinking just broad like today I am blogging about Social Media. With that little bit of guidance I was able to focus on a subject and that made it easier to just go with it.

Here’s a hint on picking a topic: My pain is your pain.

My “pain” is keeping up with my social media, and I figured if I was having that pain, than there’s a pretty good chance that there’s someone else out there that is having the same pain as me. So why not offer my insights as to what worked for me, and hopefully it will work for you too.

Have a terrific day,

Natalie

http://www.morrismc.com

Oops! How time flies!

I am sure all of you have experienced the same problem as me. My plan says I need to write a blog every Monday, and send out a post on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter letting everyone in my network know I have completed by blog.

The problem, oops it has been almost 2 months since my last post!

Now I have a ton of excuses, working on other projects, clients come first, family emergencies, lack of hours in my day. But the truth of the matter is for some reason I just don’t see it as a high priority for me. Which is completely insane for a few reasons.

1. I am a social media expert – so people expect to see my social media online
2. I have been able unequivocally track new clients to my social media presence

So I know people are looking for me, and I know it works so why is it not one of my top priorities?

So the question is how can I motivate myself to do something I am not motivated to do?

So I am going to try a few motivational techniques on myself and see if they work. Over the next few weeks I will let you know what does, and what does not work for me.

Have a terrific day,
Natalie

Professional Social Media Marketing

Social Media has evolved dramatically from when I first got into it. When it started it was all about building relationships – one by one. It was a networking tool akin to face to face networking, the only difference was it was virtual.

The draw was “it’s free!” Who needs an expensive print marketing campaign if you can do more by yourself using these great tools. The good news is it’s true, they are free, and you can do a lot of the work yourself. The bad news is so is print marketing, you can use Word to create a brochure, you can find free clip art online, write the content yourself, then print it off you office color printer. But you don’t do you? Why not? Because it looks cheap, it doesn’t look professional, because you don’t have the expertise to create a compelling image and message. You know that to create a good print campaign you need professional designers, marketers, and printers.

Unfortunately Social Media is turning into the same thing. If you want your company’s Social Media presence to look professional then you need a professional.

I actually came to this realization for myself a few weeks back. Not that I need someone to come up with a plan for me. I have that under control, but I need someone to make the updates for me, I need someone to be responsible to making sure everything happens the way I’ve decided in my plan.

I’m a business owner, I’m a problem solver, I’m also a control freak. It’s hard for me to admit someone else will do a better job if I just give them the guidance and the opportunity.

Do you need help with your social media?

Natalie

www.morrismc.com

Client Spot : The Cleveland Gladiators

The Cleveland Gladiators are an arena football team in Cleveland Ohio, and I have the absolute pleasure of working with them on a Facebook PPC campaign to get 10,000 fans by the end of the season.

There are a lot of things that make working for the Gladiators fun. Of course the season ticket don’t hurt, and the fact that the sport is actually really exciting so I can honestly say I enjoy the games. Then the fact that so far they are having an excellent year makes it even more fun.

The next reason why I like this project so much is the people I work with are wonderful. They are a fun group who is optimistic and excited about what they do. They are very supportive of us and of each other. There is always a feeling of comradery and a true desire to do a good job on everyone’s part.

The last thing that makes the Gladiators a blast are the fans. Having a group of people who are that supportive of an organization is really amazing to work with. Because most of our campaign focuses on the Facebook Fan Page keeping up with the posts is imperative on our part. It is great to hear all the positive comments of how much the fans enjoy the games, but what I get an even greater kick out of is how the fans will defend the team as if the guys playing are their own flesh and blood! It really shows the power of Social Media.

Besides running the PPC campaign on Facebook the Gladiators have someone in charge of monitoring and engaging visitors on the Fan Page. This is a great place where they can get feedback and find out what people really want.

Give to receive is another thing the Cleveland Gladiators embrace. They ar currently running a Military Night to honor all the men and women who have dedicated themselves to protecting our freedom. Thank you to all our Armed Forces!

Thank you and have a terrific week,
Natalie

Morris MC, ltd.

Q & A: If I add keywords to my profile will it help me get more hits?

Normally I would say yes, that will help you, however if you are not using social media the way it was meant to be used, then adding a few keywords are not going to help you.

For example if you only have a few connections then making some minor changes to your profile is not going to make a big difference in the number of hits you get. The only people who are going to see the update you made are going to be people you are connected to.

If you have 30 connections and you make an update, you are not going to be reaching large numbers of people. However, if you have 300 or 500 connections or more! Then you make an update to your profile, that includes a keyword you think people would be interested in, then all of a sudden you will be making an impact on a large number of people.

However as I have mentioned before, if you are not involved in your social media:

• if you are not building relationships with people
• if you are not updating your status on a regular basis

Then no one is going to care that you added a keyword to your profile.

Like I have said so many times before, social media is about relationships. Think of Social networking as live networking.

If you go to the same networking meeting every single week, or even every month, you build relationships, you help people, you interact with them, they get to know you and what you do. If you then walk in one day and say “guess what everyone! I just started doing this” everyone is going to be interested in what you are doing.

However if you go to a group once never go back or only go for 2 minutes to drop off your business cards then stand up in the middle of that meeting and say “guess what everyone! I just started doing this” no one is going to care, because no one there knows you.

The only thing about Social Networking that is easier than real networking is that you can do it on your own time. You choose WHEN to update your profile, when to comment on people’s status, when to read what’s going on, or to pass on good information. Social Networking does not let you skip that part of networking. You still need the relationships.

Adding keywords to your profile will help you if you have built a strong community. If you add new updated information to your profile, and there are people who are following you they will see what you are up to, and hopefully pass it on to their connections if it relates.

Adding keywords will also help if people are searching for the product or services you add. However, if you are not connected in any way it is going to be difficult for them to connect with you, and if they have other people who are related, they will appear above you.

For example if you sell insurance, and only have 10 connections, and those connections only have 10 connections. However your competitor has 500 connections and those connections all have 300 connections (who have connections) if someone does a search for insurance, they will probably see your competitor above you, and they will see who they know, who knows them.  This gives them the advantage of being “familiar” to the person searching. It also gives the person searching the advantage if they want a referral, they know who to call and ask. If there is no one in their network that can vouch for you, or who even knows you, then they are going to be lest trusting of you and your services.

Optimizing for keywords is helpful, but only if you are “using” the social media.

Thank you,

Natalie

http://www.morrismc.com

Internet Marketing – What the heck does that mean?

The world of marketing has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. Part of that change was adding Internet Marketing to the mix.

When the web really got going as a Marketing venue it was treated almost identical to any other marketing venue.

• Determine who you market is – in a very broad sense
• Sell your products and services
• Wait

Now with the onset on Social Media, this formula doesn’t work the same way. In some ways it’s much better, in others it’s much worse.

How it’s better:

• Small and medium-sized companies can enter into the marketing pool
• Local businesses can easily reach global audiences
• Customers can communicate directly with companies
• Changes can be made instantaneous
• Target audiences can be very specific

How it’s worse:

• Large companies that had market dominance now need to share
• It’s easy to shop price from your home
• You need someone to be watching conversation about your company constantly
• People expect an immediate response

So what is Internet Marketing? In a nutshell it’s coming up with a comprehensive plan that takes into account:

• Website
• Pay Per Click
• Natural Listings
• Social Media

Each one of these areas needs to be handled specifically for that particular media. For example it’s ok to “sell” your product on your website, but it is not ok to “sell” your product on social media.

Also each item above may have multiple venues, for example your Social Media Campaign may include LinkedIn, a Blog, You-Tube, and Google Places. Similarly the Natural Listing may include your website, a blog, directories, and Google Places. As you can see items may overlap into other areas. Blogs will appear both in natural listing and are considered a Social Media venue.

A good internet marketing plan takes into account all internet venues and ensures they work together.  A blog that does not link back to your website, or to your You-Tube account is not going to be as productive as one that does.

More on this topic to come!
Natalie

http://www.morrismc.com