Posted by marlene on December 28, 2009 under Technical Talk | 
Getting your marketing plan ready for the new year can be daunting. You definitely need a plan of action. Here are some quick tips to get you started on your business marketing endeavor for the new year:
- Do a Website update; refresh your site
- Focus on social media … Tweet, tweet!
- Comment on a blog
- Customize when you can on correspondence and e-mail marketing Campaigns
- Try video
- Run a contest
- Consider a sparing use of direct mail
- Review your brochure — both print and electronic
- Collect e-mail addresses
- Join a new trade association
- Ramp up PR
Get busy with planning basics. Have a happy and successful new year!
Posted by marlene on November 13, 2009 under Technical Talk |
F5 is a function key–available on the top row of most keyboards. It is known as the “refresh page” key.
F5 refreshes Internet browsers and other Web pages that either take too long to load; load incorrectly; or clears the cache to bring forward a newer version of a Web page.
Use F5 to clear or refresh anything that may be viewing a bit funky. It’s a great little shortcut!
Posted by marlene on October 12, 2009 under Just a Thought |
This may not be the kind of information you want from your Web and marketing company but … we came across some good ol’ fashioned health tips for “H1N1 Prevention” everyone could use. This info can be used to prevent all types of viruses throughout flu season and beyond:
1. Frequent hand washing (most viruses enter through the nostrils or mouth/throat)
2. Hands-off-face approach (is always best practice, anyway)
3. Gargle twice daily with warm salt water or Listerine to rinse away viruses that have entered the throat/mouth but have not yet proliferated the body yet (viruses usually take a few days to take hold).
4. Rinse nostrils with saline (if you can stand it)
5. Keep up with your vitamin C’s and Zinc to boost the immune system
6. Drink hot fluids often as they may rinse viruses into the stomach where they will die before they can proliferate the body to make you sick.
Stay healthy!!
Posted by marlene on October 6, 2009 under Just a Thought |
Discover the 7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters during a 60-minute, live Webinar hosted by Jason Zickerman, president and CEO of The Alternative Board®. During times like these, it is important to have the support and experience from a seasoned group of business owner advisors when faced with tough business decisions.
Register today for this great event on Tuesday, October 27 or Thursday, October 29! Click here to learn more.
Posted by marlene on October 5, 2009 under Technical Talk |
Not only do blogs need to be kept up-to-date (in terms of content), but is it is your responsibility to make sure that you are running the latest software version. Security best practices dictate making software upgrades as they become available–especially for onsite blogs. The reason: updates usually fix an exploit that is out there. Exploits are nearly always driven by an entity with not so nice intentions (i.e. spammer, mischief maker, or other). You can usually see what version your onsite blog is running once you login. It will clearly say — Version xxx; latest version available xxx. If you compare the two version numbers, you’ll be able to discern if you are up-to-date. If you pay attention now, you can avoid problems later.
Posted by Nancy on September 18, 2009 under Technical Talk |
Have you “Googled” yourself recently? The Internet has transformed just about everything we do. We use it to catch up on news, shop, market our businesses, reconnect with people in our past, research products and so much more. The trouble is that with so much that is useful, there are also possible negatives.
Social media and review sites are great; but have you checked out what each say about you and your business? Part of your online marketing needs to be managing your reputation.
Start by ensuring everything you post on the Internet is how you want people to see you. This includes posts you make to your personal accounts like Facebook, myspace, you tube and Linkedin accounts. Remember, if someone “Googles” your name (especially if your business name includes your surname), these accounts will show up in search results. If you’ve made an inappropriate or negative comment people may see it.
Also, be sure to see what people might be saying on review sites about you. If there is something negative, try to address it as soon as possible. And, don’t be afraid to ask the person to update their review with the positive outcome. A great way to manage positive reviews is by including testimonials on your site.
With so many people researching products and business online before doing business with them, it is important to make sure you have a professional, positive image on the web. So be sure you “Google” yourself frequently to ensure your online personality is what it should be.
Posted by marlene on August 3, 2009 under Just a Thought |
Seeds take time to germinate. While you are waiting to harvest sales from your prospecting efforts, make sure you don’t forget to service existing customers. Reinforce your relationship with loyal customers. By keeping in close contact, you keep your capabilities current with client needs and learn about new opportunities first.
Posted by marlene on July 30, 2009 under Just a Thought |
In this market, companies are cutting costs — especially in their marketing campaigns. Print marketing is a great strategy to stay healthy and competitive. Create the perception of stability in unstable times and gain a competitive advantage. Print campaigns are good to use during a recession as there is less junk mail in mailboxes. It’s a perfect time to develop and maintain a database of customers and prospects. Contact them on a regular basis. Mailings of postcards, newsletters, sales brochures and letters will keep your company’s name in their minds to help expand your marketshare of business.
Posted by marlene on July 21, 2009 under Technical Talk |
We sometimes get questions about webgraders and their outcomes. Why do certain sites score higher than others? Aside from some basic onsite code issues such as 301 redirects, image alt tags and site metadata, webgraders evaluate sites on a number of other criteria such as:
• URL birthdate – older URLs are given more credibility
• Expiration date of a URL – sites with an expiration of more than a year are more favorable
• Inbound links
• Outbound links
• Directory listings in DMOZ, Yahoo and Zoom Info
• Bookmarking site links and other social site connectivity
• Blogs
• XML output
It is important to actively market your site and create monthly todos to ensure you can grow your overall site score. Just because you build it, doesn’t mean instant traffic to your site. Newer URLss, in particular, need to work extra hard to achieve visibility in this Web-centric world.
Please feel free to call or email us to find out how we can assist you with enhancing your onsite code or social visibility.
Posted by marlene on July 10, 2009 under Just a Thought |
Getting your small business in a competitive market means you will need to invest in successful marketing, and with the technological advances of video marketing on the Internet, your business can reach a wider audience.
Video marketing can ensure that your business is getting more coverage and more information out to your future clients. Videos can increase your ranking on search engines, which means more people are viewing your web site and your marketing videos.
Advertising and marketing through conventional means can get expensive and advertisement search engines do not always grab the attention of customers. Including videos on your website does not mean you have to be an award-winning director or cost a lot of money.
Check out our series of small business education videos at http://www.youtube.com/piratewebswagger.com –we produced the series in-house (recording the voices of our staff and creating our puppet stars.)
Small businesses can create a showcase their business services and plans to customers. A video means that your future clients can have tangible evidence to the actual services, producing more trust and confidence in your business.
With so many web sites utilizing the video craze sweeping the Internet, it seems like a no-brainer that your advertising plan include video too!
