Your business’s website is often the first point of contact between you and your customers. As such, you want to ensure you are making a good first impression that is going to turn a potential customer into a returning customer. So what makes for a great website? You want your customers to experience your website the same way they would experience your office or storefront. First, it’s important that they are able to find you easily. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in...

There are a lot of blogs out there – from personal ones about lifestyle or fashion or food, to professional ones filled with career advice and how to succeed. You may have read some of them but aren’t sure whether blogging is something that is important for your small business. Perhaps you want to have a company blog but don’t know where to start. Let’s break it down. First off, what does the data tell us about blogging? Companies that blog have 55% more web visitors than companies th...

I’ve volunteered at a few non-profit organizations in the past and one of the most consistent struggles they all face is getting more donation dollars in the door. Typically, there’s no shortage of work that can be done with those dollars once they get there, they just need to come in. Social media can help in a big way. There are lots of examples of social media campaigns that have gone viral – take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge for example. That was a fun way for people to get involved, ...

By now, I think most, if not all, companies have realized that they need to have a social media presence online. If your company hasn't, here are some stats to consider: 27% of time spent online is on social media channels Facebook yields a 77% customer acquisition rate for B2C (Business to Consumer) companies Twitter yields a 55% customer acquisition rate for B2C companies LinkedIn yields a 51% customer acquisition rate for B2C companies I could keep going but the bottom line i...

One of the most important lessons I teach my clients is that consistency is vital when it comes to social media marketing. I have seen far too many companies out there who start off really strong with regular updates only to lose steam and fizzle out. Sometimes what happens is that the company is consistent in their posts but aren’t seeing much tangible growth in followers / likes and give up too soon. I’m here to tell you that it takes time and once you get going, you need to keep it going....

One of my favorite sayings is “You need to know where you are at before you can take the steps to get to where you want to go.” It encapsulates the main reason why it is important to benchmark your online presence against that of your competitors. Why? Because there is a very good chance that your customers and prospects are doing the same thing. The first step I take when working with a new client is to evaluate their existing online presence. Using various key metrics, I analyze everyth...

I've said many times that social media allows you to connect more intimately to your customers. It allows you to show them what your personality is and why they should buy what you’re selling. It also allows your customers to speak to you directly – now make sure you’re listening to what they are saying… In case you haven’t already figured it out, everything you do online is public the second it gets posted. Even if you delete it afterwards, there is still a very good chance that a copy o...

You've probably heard the term SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, thrown around a lot in recent years. Most people know that it has something to do with websites and search engines like Google, but don’t really know how it all works. Think of SEO in terms of a party that you’re hosting. The venue for the party is represented by your website. All of the decorations, food, drinks, music and let’s throw in some party games too, are all represented by the textual and graphical content on you...

You've probably heard a lot about social media marketing lately and have no doubt been inundated with all the statistics about why it’s so important. What you may still be asking is why it should be important to you. Perhaps you don’t see the value social media marketing can bring to your own business. Well, let me shed a bit more light on that for you. It used to be that when you wanted to try out a new business or service provider you would have to meet with them face-to-face and get a ...