5 Social Media Myths

By admin | February 23, 2010

Because of the world wide web, businesses are shying away from traditional systems such as publishing, music, television and film. The overwhelming ability to network is enhancing the sales and marketing process for every type of business and industry. Needless to say, there are many business owners and business owners in Montana who don’t see the value in using social media for marketing their services. This is understandable. On first glance, social media may seem useless and mundane–for many this is the case. But if you no how to harness the power of the web, it isn’t always so. Those employing persistence, creativity, drive and intuition into their social media efforts can revolutionize their business and reach their target market like never before in the history of mankind.

 

So let me take a few minutes of your time to debunk the common myths believed about social media for marketing your businesses. If you have any other myths, questions or objections, please leave a comment in the comment section below this article.

1. Busy people do not have time for social media.

Social media is all the rage, and there is a reason for that, it’s where the people are. It opens up networks in unprecedented ways. You can reach just about anyone and everyone through social media, be it through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Ning. Social media is a tool for connecting people, just like a phone, fax machine or email. Everyone with a computer will eventually be involved in the social media world, due to the communication efficiencies it provides. Those who don’t take time for logging into social media sites now are merely behind the curve; and will soon create accounts of their own. (Remember when

email first started?)

2. My client is not on Facebook.

Would it surprise you to learn that the demographics on Facebook are more diverse today than ever. Facebook is the number one photo sharing website in the world. Celebrating their 6th birthday in January 2010, the world’s favorite website boasted 400 Million active members, up over 1/2 from the year before. This number is astounding in the web world, and shows that there are more people interested in social media, and the numbers are still increasing. No longer just for teens, Facebook has seen a rise in the number of seniors and baby boomers. And last month it beat Google out for the top spot for the most traffic!

 

I will agree with you that some of your business prospects may not be on Facebook, but I can guarantee you that they are somewhere on the web, engaging in some capacity with the communication opportunities inherent to the open web. If you hire a good social media strategist, he or she will find your target market, just wait and see.

Social Media can be done by anyone.

 

Social media is an art. The social marketing process combines a number of important skills and more than a little talent to get the job done effectively. Sure, your teen nephew can set-up your Facebook page, but there is more to it than that. A successful social media campaign requires that you:

  1. Build an audience;
  2. Brand yourself properly;
  3. Develop content strategies to add value to your network;
  4. Engage with your audience without offending through direct sales;
  5. Turn friends and fans into customers.

Social media requires expertise in the areas of sales, writing, web marketing, general marketing, branding and genuine human interaction. These skills are not found in your typical “techie.” You need a professional to kick-start your social media campaign and set a pattern for you and your staff members to later follow.

3. Social media sites will not sell my products or services.

Granted, you may not sell all your products or services directly from posting them on Facebook or Twitter, but that’s not the point. The point of using social media to advertise your business product and services is to help you gain name recognition in your marketplace. Using social media sites allows you to distribute positive information about your company to more people, for less money than ever before in the history of the world. Granted you may not sell one product or service directly from social media, but indirectly, your whole local area, your farm area can know who you are–and what you ate for dinner last night.

4. Social media is a waste of time.

Social media is a relaxing activity that can be quite addicting. The process is fun, social and enjoyable. If used effectively, you can be social while at the same time advertising your products and services. Social media also enables you to listen to your target market and your clients, and get a front-row seat into what they are thinking and feeling. There is no better way to analyze market data than by becoming friends with your prospects. People will do business with those they know and they like, social media helps you to get to know your prospects. Waste of time? Think again.

5. Social media content is worthless.

Granted, there is lots of noise on the most popular social media sites. Who really cares what John Smith ate for dinner? While much of the content doesn’t seem valuable, it’s actually solid gold. What better way to bond and connect with your target market than by discussing the best ways to cure a head cold, or commenting on their new baby girl? None! Social media sites like Facebook give you a front row seat into the lives of your prospects and they into yours. Such websites make you become friends with your target market, as together you share aspects of life from the tragic to the mundane.

 

Social media has valid uses for marketing that are so grand, we have only begun to envision the potential of its power. Now is the time to start marketing your business online, because things are not getting any easier, but more complex as they are building upon one another. Granted, our tools are getting better, technology is getting better, but that just means there is more for each of us to know.

 

Take time to educate yourself on web marketing and social media, and hire a trusted professional who can not only build your profiles, but consult with you on branding, web content, audience building and engagement. Contact Brenda Segna today at Blstcreative.com for a free consultation. 406-690-6239.

 

Can you think of any other Social Media Myths, or reasons why people won’t engage with new media online? I would love to hear your comments! Please post them in the comment section below. Thank you for reading!

 

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Want to become famous among your target market? Get a Life!

By admin | February 19, 2010

If you want to market your business on Facebook, Twitter or any of the other social media networks, then you’ll need to get a life. Why? Because Social Media Marketing is about people connecting with other people. If marketing is your goal, then you need to learn how to attract lots of people without repelling them away. Get people to look at you once is easy, but success in social media marketing mandates that you hold their attention long term. There is not a person out there who cares what you have to offer if your every day life is boring, but people can’t wait to get back to your page or you if you’re exciting, interesting and saturated with positive

vibes.

 

Successful social media necessitates that you GET A LIFE!

That 15 minutes of fame that most people crave, guess what you can become famous among those in your target market, and grasp their attention brilliantly using social media networks like Twitter and Facebook and for longer than 15 minutes! Doing this requires many marketing tools, like anticipating the needs of your audience and providing the content that they want, but there’s more. You need to be an interesting person. The underlying rule of social media reflects that of real life social situations. People say, “If I’m going to listen to you, you must be a person worth listening to.”

You have to bring your own energetic spark to the party.

How do you become more interesting?

 

For each one of use, creating an interesting life is well, just part of life. It’s not an easy to task to create a life that’s worthwhile, but it’s definitely attainable. Not only that, but getting a life won’t just help you market your business, but it will also change your life for the better. Getting involved in all that life has to offer can help you become a more cultured, well-rounded person that people want to be around. And the added bonus here is that you will definitely like “you” better too. Post your photos on Facebook, don’t make all of your posts about business, don’t be afraid to share YOU and remember, be positive!

 

For those of you who need a little help, here is a list of things that you can do to become more interesting.

  • Rejuvenate yourself and refresh your soul by taking a vacation, a break or just a walk.
  • Like to read-pickup a good book and share what you learned, what you liked and didn’t like-engage in conversation!
  • Get out of the house, join a club or two that interest.
  • Always wanted to take a Sulsa class or a cooking class, there’s not time like the present.
  • Have a few friends over for dinner, invite friends from your social media pages.
  • Church has always been a great place to meet people and get involved.
  • Be adventurous go hang gliding or learn to ski.
  • Always wanted to try cosmetic surgery, go for it!
  • Volunteer
  • Travel
  • Go to a new restaurant, attend local concerts and events.
  • Become more social.
  • Spend quality time with your family.
  • Learn new social skills if necessary such as conversation skills, making friends or how to read body language.
  • Release anger, resentment and unforgiveness against those who have wronged you, this will open your life to more positive relationships.
  • Organize your life physically, spiritually and emotionally.
  • Read self-help books.
  • Move past the idea that you have to be a movie star to be interesting. Reality TV profits from the mundane. You are probably waaaay more exciting than you realize!

So if you are wanting get a life, then go for it, but remember it will take effort, time and persistence. Don’t give up if you don’t become interesting over-night. Give yourself plenty of time to change into the person you want to become, and reward yourself along the way for small victories. Every day, do something towards your goal and one day you’ll wake up with the life you’ve always wanted–and be a person that others want to know.

 

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How Will “Google Buzz” Affect Your Local SEO?

By admin | February 15, 2010

Everyone’s buzzing about the new social media launch from Google dubbed “Google Buzz.” While millions of people are checking out the great new features it brings and new worlds of communication it has literally just opened up, all of us in the search engine optimization profession are asking, “How Will it Affect Local SEO?”

Let me first point out a few all but obvious strategic advantages Google Buzz has over its competition:

* Google is darn near synonymous with search, what I am saying is they control the gateway!

* Google Maps is by far the most used maps application on smart phones

* All Gmail accounts were automatically enrolled in Buzz

* Oh Yeah… and all new smart phone users that use Android automatically set up a Gmail account

I know you are thinking, they are devious geniuses… and I would have to agree!

With that said I don’t see Google Buzz taking over Facebook or Twitter in the near future in the social media realm but from a Local SEO perspective Google Buzz in the very near future will provide more Local SEO benefit than Facebook or Twitter will. I will clarify the prior statement in just a second, but first I want to share some of my experiences so far to help you get an idea on how Google Buzz may impact your company’s brand and online presence in the near future (yesterday).

I have been “buzzin” since they launched Google Buzz. First jumping into it from Gmail I was seemingly unimpressed. It wasn’t until I jumped on from my mobile phone through the updated Google Maps application that my brain started reeling! You can set a layer in your Google Maps application that allows you to see all of the other people who are “buzzin” in your local area. Though this does bring up many privacy issues (that we are not going to discuss right now, but you can choose not to share publicly), it is really cool!

When you search for businesses in Google Maps and you go to their mobile place page there is now a button that says “Buzz about this place“. You can Buzz about a business you like, you don’t like, etc. This is an area where Google is leagues a head of Facebook or Twitter as people who are using Google Maps to search for local businesses will be able to see what other people are saying about this business, much like a review.

So how is this all going to affect local SEO? Good Question!

First let’s discuss what is already in place and then let’s speculate about possible next steps by Google. Deal? OK, so we already established that Google Buzz is built into Google Maps Mobile edition, that people can buzz about businesses and that other people can see theses posts on their mobile Google Map, so it is pretty obvious that we want as much positive buzz as possible, right? Makes sense. Also, if someone posts negative buzz about your business, you may want to reply to their post to help bring them back in and salvage whatever went wrong, this also will tell other people that see this Buzz that you are concerned about your customers and that this is most likely an isolated incident. Yes, if you thought you were avoiding social media, you’re not anymore!

Now, let’s speculate what a few next steps for Google might be. I was writing an article on the future of search and what is interesting to me is that what I was speculating would come about in the next 3 years is partially here with the launch of Google Buzz and much more will follow in 2010. But, back to our speculation… It seems obvious to me that standard Google Place Pages will soon incorporate the “Buzz about this business” feature I believe they will also have a section on the Google Place Page which says something akin to “What’s the Buzz about this Business” and lists public Buzzes about the business (Again think of these as reviews). I would also think that Google would want to add a layer in their desktop Google Maps which allows Buzz users to add that same layer.

My last speculation! I promise!

I have been participating in one of Google’s lab studies with Social Media & search, but haven’t been super impressed by it and actually stopped participating a little while ago. The premise was that search results would incorporate information from your friends on social networks in the search results, so your friends posts from Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, etc. What is all but obvious to me now, is that they were running that lab test to determine how to best serve Google Buzz results along with “the other” social media platforms in search results most effectively. So, I believe in the very near future we will start seeing this lab released as a full blow feature or at least one that can be selected to show local social information on what you are searching.



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Happy New Year…Now what?

By admin | January 8, 2010

The economy hasn’t improved much despite the government’s stimulus packages. Surprise, surprise! And what about you? Are you finally creating your own economic recovery, or still waiting for the government’s to kick in? Hundreds of new service and business professionals each week are coming to BLaST creative to get their web site optimized so that it quickly ranks on the top of major search engines (like Google), but we don’t stop there! Increasing online traffic is only part of what we do. 

BLaST creative Web Design and Internet Marketing is with you for the long haul. We stay on top of the changes in the web marketing industry and share them with you as they happen. For late breaking news, just visit one of our blogs or contact us and ask your questions. We make the necessary changes for you, so that you can focus on your business and customers.

And since your website is the front door to your business, we can help you with a redesign so that you look fresh and up to date. Remember first impression is everything. We not only design or redesign your website, but we can design all of your social media sites as well, keeping them uniform so that your branding covers all of the sites. Image is everything and we at BLaST creative are here to help you with yours!

So Happy New Year, now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Economic recovery is up to each one of us, now get those websites working for you. For a search engine optimization analysis of your site, contact Blast creative today!

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Search Engine Optimization

By admin | December 11, 2009

Did you know that over 85% of web users use search engines to find sites like yours? Millions of people each day turn to the major search engines to find products, services and information. With over one billion web sites listed with search engines, how will your customers ever find you among the competition? Search Engine Optimization is the solution.

 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can help your site achieve top rankings. Without such rankings, especially in the top 30 positions on the major search engines for keywords related to your products or services, you are missing the bulk of your potential client base. Most people will hardly look beyond the first 30 links returned after they run a search on the engines and hardly anyone looks beyond the first three pages of search results. If your site is not within the top 30, your potential clients will not know you exist!

It’s Top 30 or Nothing
Submitting your web site to search engines does not ensure you web site traffic. If you’re listed but not within the top 30 of search results, you lose, no matter how many search engines to which you submitted your site. A top 30 ranking in a major search engine will often generate more targeted traffic than an expensive banner advertising campaign. A top search engine position is like highly targeted advertising that is both free and effective.

At Blast creative, we are the specialists of Search Engine Optimization. We offer complete Search Engine Ranking Solutions.

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How Do I Get To The Top of Google?

By admin | September 19, 2009

How do I get to the top of Google? Not a day goes by that I don’t get asked that question at leat once. And the answer is always the same, ongoing SEO. SEO, search engine optimization, you can’t get to the top of Google without ongoing SEO. It’s difficult when a designer tells a website owner that all they have to do is create a site and put it out there in the world wide web.

That could not be any further from the truth. There are millions, billions of sites out there, if you want to get to the top of Google or any any search engine for your specific keywords, you will need to do more for your site then just let it sit out there in cyber space and pray to the Internet gods that you’ll make it to the top of the list.

There are a number of things that you can do as far as SEO goes, write articles, get banklinks, write press releases, be active with social media and social bookmarking, just to name a few. And don’t forget directories, they can be very valuable. Work your site just like your business, do Internet marketing, SEO and anything else to get your site where it needs to be.

Getting to the top of Google, isn’t difficult, but it is time consuming. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you work it and market your site. For more information on Internt Marketing, SEO and getting to the top of Google, please contact BLaST creative today!

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My Page Rank Changed! HELP!

By admin | August 27, 2009

This past week I’ve received over a dozen calls, “Please HELP, my page rank has changed and I don’t know why!”

Well, let me share with everyone the WHY on the page rank changed! Google has once again changed the way that it does things. It all has to do with those paid backlinks! Google isn’t counting them and that is not an absolute, some they count.

And some sites weren’t affected by the changes while others were. There is no need to panic! Let me say that one more time, there is no need to panic! The best thing that you can do for your business and your web site is to continue with both white hat and organic seo tactics.

Keep networking your site. Use MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and all of the other social networking sites to get the word out about your business. These sites also let you add backlinks to your site. Post often.

There are a ton of directories out there, use them! That is why they are there, find your category and get your company listed! But most of all, don’t give up, just keep working at it and you will see results!

For more information on SEO Services and Internet Marketing, please contact BLaST creative today!

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Auditing and Improving Your Website

By admin | May 1, 2009

 This article will give you sufficient knowledge on how to maintain a site’s quality level that avoids visibility and usability problems.


You may ask yourself why site maintenance is relevant to search engine optimization, promotion, and internet marketing - isn’t this the job of the webmaster or site administrator?

Remember that the Integrated Approach considers site quality maintenance as a secondary yet obligatory addition to your promotion campaigns and traffic analysis. The content of the website is the foundation upon which to build the online business. The higher the quality of this material, the more successful the business will be.

It is strongly recommended that you start your SEO campaign with a site quality assessment, especially in the following situations:

·     When providing SEO / SEM services and being hired to promote a website already created by somebody else. In this case, you should cooperate (if possible) with the site development and administration team to properly prepare the website for the SEO campaign.

·     When you have just developed a website of considerable size but cannot afford the time or resources to double-test every page and function.

·     When a website you’re working with uses a dynamic technology and/or is constantly changed and updated with new materials, products, news, etc.

·     When the website you’re working with is developed, maintained and managed by a group of people on a regular basis. Even if the team is well coordinated, this usually means that site quality will still yield some gaps.


Site quality assessment means detecting and troubleshooting the two principal factors that ultimately determine site traffic and visitor conversion: site visibility and usability.META and TITLE tags and other elements important for the search engines), it means you’re having visibility problems.


When you’ve removed all errors and breaches that could potentially damage your visibility, pay attention to usability flaws: missing or incorrectly displayed images, broken links (these can frustrate not only spiders but human visitors also), missing JavaScript included or CSS styles. These types of usability problems appear in your site by not displaying or functioning correctly.


Remember your audience is always split into human visitors (the “visible” audience) and search engine spiders (the “invisible” audience). If your site isn’t initially spider-compatible (has broken links, lacks META and TITLE tags and other elements important for the search engines), it means you’re having visibility problems.


Finally, whether you’re a hired hand or running an SEM campaign for your own site, you may want to clean up the technical waste which emerges when a website has been on the Web for a long time or when it lacks proper supervision. This generally means orphaned files which are no longer included or linked to from anywhere and just clutter your hosting space.


For more information on Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing or Web Design, please contact BLaST creative today.


 

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BLaST Creative SEO Marketing Tips

By admin | February 21, 2009

Search Engine Marketing is being talked about all around the world. Today, I will give you an exact definition of what it refers to, and how it relates to both Web Search and Web Marketing.

Search Marketing is also known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and as such we will refer to it as SEM.

Search Marketing is a part of business marketing efforts that is aimed at increasing traffic (the number of visitors) to your website from the search engines. Additionally, it addresses conversion (the percent of visitors who become buyers). The first is achieved by increasing search engine visibility, i.e. the position of your site in search engine results for certain keywords that people type in the search box to obtain these results.

For instance, if someone wants to find a landscaper in MT, they will go to a search engine such as Google and type “MT landscaper” in the search box. Google will list, in this case, a bazillion results. If you are a landscaper in MT, offer any related services, your site may be listed among these results. Here, everything depends on how deep you are. If you are on the first or second page of the search results, it’s more likely that such visibility will bring many visitors and customers from Google. If you are the 300th result, it’s unlikely that anyone at all will come to you from Google.

Together with the power and size of your banner / ad network, your affiliations and partnerships, SE visibility comprises a broader concept - Web visibility (aka online visibility).

Generally, there are two main methods of carrying out SEM: 1) Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 2) using pay-per-click and paid inclusion listing models.

Although paid inclusion and pay-per-click advertising methods seem like the fastest methods to search engine marketing, website owners prefer to adopt a more time consuming search engine optimization method to obtain better marketing of their website on search engines.

Organic rankings are results that you get for free. That is, you create Web copy and publish it, then after a certain period of time a search engine robot finds it (either by itself or as a result of your submission).

Finally, the robot reads your content and puts your site into its index. Now your site will be found by this search engine when people query for some words contained within your pages. Obtained this way, your positions in the result list are called your “organic search engine rankings“.

Paid listings are different: pay a search engine and it guarantees the inclusion of your site in the index. Moreover, many search engines offer advanced pay-for-performance programs, such as showing your site / ad in the search results for keywords of your choice. These are the so-called “sponsored” results. Most commonly, you will have to pay a specified rate for each visitor that comes to your site from this search engine that clicks on these ads.

Mastering both methods and their proper combination can provide maximum search engine visibility. Because things keep changing, search engine marketers need to devote a good deal of time staying on top of the SEO industry and its trends.

The aim of SEM is not only to find a proper balance between organic and paid listings, but also to achieve maximum conversion of visitors into loyal customers. Nowadays SEM relies on the statement that it’s not the traffic itself that matters, but how targeted and convertible it is. The way your traffic converts also matters a lot –  even more than your site rank on a search engine. You can rank worse than a competitor and yet the percentage of your visitors that turn into buyers can be high enough to actually outperform a competitor several times over.

SEO Services cover a lot of areas like email marketing, directories, and the list goes on and on.  If you have questions, post them on the blog, or contact BLaST Creative.

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BLaST Creative SEO Marketing Tips

By admin | February 20, 2009

I know that I keep on saying this, but it bears repeating, your website is the front door of your business.  Most people will visit your website long before they enter the front door of your business.  And if you have a shopping cart on your site, they may never grace your brick and mortar structure, your website is all that they will see.

So first impression is everything.  Your website should be the best that you have to offer.  The next thing that you should think about is how to get people to visit your site.  Without visitors, a stunning design, well-coded HTML, and sharply written content are just a waste of time and effort.

But don’t fret, BLaST Creative SEO Services or Search Engine Optimization can offer you a few tips.  One of the best things that you can do for your business is to make sure that it’s listed with Google and the other major search engines.  If you don’t know how to do this, the service is part of BLaST Creative’s SEO packages.

You can leave it to chance eventually Google scans most sites, but submitting your site manually will get you indexed quicker.  Another important factor are the keywords that use not only in your meta tags, but in your content as well.  The best thing too do is to focus on a couple of keywords per page.  This is something that your web designer should incorporate in the design of your site.

SEO Services cover a lot of areas like email marketing, directories, and the list goes on and on.  If you have questions, post them on the blog, or contact BLaST Creative.

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