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Social Media Marketing for Small Business Owners

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! ShareSocial media on the web is an often difficult place to navigate, especially for small business owners. With so many social media outlets, it can quickly become overwhelming for small business owners just starting to get their feet wet [...]

Good SEO \ Bad SEO

ShareI assume you’re familiar with the term Search Engine Optimization, aka SEO, because everyone seems to be. Well, this article will be something about SEO too, but with a twist. I want to caution readers about over-optimizing your website or blog because doing so may get you penalized by search engines. Bad SEO:  Common Forms [...]

Anatomy of a Tweet

ShareTweets are the building blocks of your communications on Twitter. You’ll be surprised by how much you can say with 140 characters or less. 1. HASHTAG A hashtag is any word beginning with the # sign. People use hashtags to organize conversations around a specific topic. Clicking on a hashtag takes you to search results [...]

Market Your Business With Facebook!

ShareCan Facebook actually be used to bring in leads, opportunities and sales to your small business? YES! You can’t use Facebook for your business the same way you use it for your personal life – you need a clear social strategy in place before you’ll see results. This isn’t hard to do, and can easily [...]

Social Media Marketing for Small Business Owners

Social media on the web is an often difficult place to navigate, especially for small business owners. With so many social media outlets, it can quickly become overwhelming for small business owners just starting to get their feet wet in the world of social media. Fortunately, JaxWorks SEO & Web has the solution for you. Here are a few tips and tricks on promoting your small business with the use of Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook is a social networking site that connects people and their interests based on location. Users connect with old friends, coworkers, and family members and share pictures, interests, and favorites. Businesses small and large usually have a Facebook presence by creating what’s called a page. This page on Facebook allows for users to receive information about your business.

Many small businesses stop there, but you can further utilize your presence to gain more of a following. Try offering specials or discounts to customers who follow you on Facebook. Or, gain more exposure by offering deep product discounts to those who share your page with their friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pinterest is a virtual pin board where users can post their favorite outfits, recipes, quotes, and anything else they want to keep tabs on. Small businesses utilize this technology by telling their own story. For example, many restaurants post pictures of their own dishes, allowing users across the world to post the picture to their own pin boards.

 

Also, many businesses post tutorials which generates a following. If you are a cleaning business, for example, post a tutorial about one of your best cleaning tips. The more information you spread, the bigger following you will have, resulting in eventual sales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instagram is a fairly new technology that allows users to turn phone camera pictures into works of art with the use of various filters. One savvy business owner posts daily outfit pictures of herself to promote her clothing company. Another business posts pictures of their weekend book signing events. Whatever your business, using Instagram can help personalize your small business.

pinstagram

 

 

 

 

 

So, um, what is Pinstagram then?

Pinstagram is a free service that lets you enjoy Instagram on the web.  It works seamlessly with your Instagram account.

Pinstagram lets you view your feed, popular photos, and more.  Pinstagram is a work in progress and is brand new!

Promoting your small business using social media doesn’t have to be an arduous task. It becomes fun and fulfilling to connect with your customers. For your social media needs, email us at Yvonne at JaxWorks or call 832.889.9242.  Other business owners could profit from this post so share us with your friends!

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Good SEO \ Bad SEO

I assume you’re familiar with the term Search Engine Optimization, aka SEO, because everyone seems to be. Well, this article will be something about SEO too, but with a twist. I want to caution readers about over-optimizing your website or blog because doing so may get you penalized by search engines.

Bad SEO:  Common Forms Of Search Engine Over-Optimization…

1. Repeating keywords or keyword phrases too often.

2. Breaking up the proper flow of paragraphs in an article or post to facilitate keyword stuffing.

3. Over-emphasizing your article or post by repeatedly using text modifiers such as bold, italic or headline tags.

4. Purchasing inbound links or exchanging links with low quality sources.

5. Creating backlinks by leaving comments on blogs or forums and repeatedly using the same anchor text.

Over-optimizing will increase your organic ranking over the short term, but eventually search-engine spider bots will flag your website.

Good SEO:  Great Optimization Practices…

1. Have unique and useful content, with proper keyword density. Unique and relevant content is one of the main factors the latest Google Panda algorithm iteration is looking for.

2. Optimize your articles by including your main keywords or keyword phrases in your title and description tags, which should also be unique for each page.

3. Include your keywords in heading tags, and at the beginning and end of your article, plus have variations of your keywords salted throughout your content. However, make sure including your keywords still allows for correct sentence structure and grammar, and that articles and posts make sense.

4. Have your keywords optimized within your URL. For Bloggers that means your permalinks should be based on your keyword or keyword phrase, and not numbers or dates.

5. Do not link too deep, with folders containing viewable content within other folders. Use as few folders for content as possible.

6. Your articles and videos should be interlinked for related content, as well as related articles interlinked too. This will greatly help with flattening of your site architecture.

7. Have only relevant, high-quality inbound links and outbound link only to related sites with higher ranking than yours if possible.

Follow the Good SEO practices and eliminate the Bad SEO Practices for great rankings on Google and other search engines.

If you think this post will help others, please share it with your friends!

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Anatomy of a Tweet

Tweets are the building blocks of your communications on Twitter.
You’ll be surprised by how much you can say with 140 characters or less.

1. HASHTAG
A hashtag is any word beginning with the # sign. People use hashtags to
organize conversations around a specific topic. Clicking on a hashtag takes you
to search results for that term.
2. MENTION
Sometimes you want to bring a Tweet to someone’s attention, but you still want
all of your followers to see the message. So instead of a reply, use a mention.
Include the @username of whomever you want to mention in your Tweet, and it
will appear in the Mentions section (in the Connect tab). All @username mentions
are clickable and link back to the mentioned individual’s profile.
3. REPLY
You can respond to a Tweet by hitting the reply button. When you reply, your
response is public, and will show up in your home timeline and the timeline of the
person to whom you are responding. The reply will also be visible in the home
timelines of people who follow both you and the person to whom you sent the
reply. Meaning, someone not in the conversation has to follow both of the people
replying to be able to read both sides of the conversation.
4. RETWEET
You can pass along someone’s Tweet by retweeting it. Just hit the retweet button
to send the original message to all of your followers.
5. LINKS
Twitter’s link-shortening feature allows you to paste a link of any length into the
Tweet box and it will automatically be shortened to 19 characters. This makes it
easier to fit long URLs into the 140 character limit.

From American Express Smallbiz

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Market Your Business With Facebook!

Can Facebook actually be used to bring in leads, opportunities and sales to your small business? YES!

You can’t use Facebook for your business the same way you use it for your personal life – you need a clear social strategy in place before you’ll see results. This isn’t hard to do, and can easily be achieved a few times per week. Automate your status updates, then visit your Facebook page to prod discussions and answer questions.  Be sure and respond when someone comments!

Here are some of the most common questions my clients ask me about Facebook marketing:

Do I have to use Facebook’s paid advertising?
NO! You can use Facebook to bring in leads without ever touching their paid advertising features.  However, if you want to advertise online, Facebook ads are very targeted and reasonably priced.

What are a few Facebook marketing tips?
photos iconEngage with your audience. You’d be surprised a small amount of time has on the number of fans on your Facebook page. Taking a few minutes a day to interact with the people on your page will make you see huge results from Facebook. Another tip is to use photos on your Facebook page. The new design displays photos prominently. Most businesses don’t feature photos. Upload a few today!

What’s a basic Facebook marketing plan?
Here’s my 3 step overview to Facebook:
First, send people to your Facebook page. No one will like your page unless they know you have one.
Next, use automated social media tools to schedule content and status updates.
The third step is to jump in and engage. Make your page a fun and lively experience by encouraging fans to interact on your page.

Does Facebook offer business accounts? Can I create a business profile on Facebook?
You’ll need a personal profile in order to create a page for your business. “Pages” are the Facebook equivalent of Facebook business accounts.  And now there’s the new Timeline!  Need a custom Timeline page done for your business?  Contact JaxWorks today!

What’s the difference between a Facebook page and a Facebook profile?
pagesFacebook profiles are for personal use and you are only allowed one profile per user. You can always recognize a profile page if you see the “friend” option. Only personal profiles have friends. Facebook pages on the other hand were designed to be used for businesses and you can create as many pages as you like. You’ll know your on a Facebook page if you see a “like” button.

How can I see who is looking at my Facebook page?
Facebook offers in-depth user data about your page, called Insights. You can access this by going to “edit page” in the top right corner, then clicking on “Insights” on the menu on the left-hand side. Insights includes information on the gender, age and location of who is looking at your page, as well as which types of status updates are the most popular.

Why is Facebook better than other marketing channels?
Unlike traditional marketing, where you can only hope that a small percentage of people you are trying to reach will pay attention to your message, on Facebook, they’re already paying attention.

You’re not popping up a billboard on the highway in the hope that you will capture someone’s interest as they drive by. You’re not getting in their face with unwanted advertising.  Everyone who Likes your page is raising their hand and expressing their interest in learning more about your business. Your customers are already on Facebook, so why not plant your business where they already are?

How many friends can I have on Facebook?
friend finderFacebook allows you to have no more than 5,000 friends. Once you reach 5,000 you’ll simply be unable to accept new friend request. However, Facebook pages allow an unlimited number of “likes”. This is one of the many reasons you want to use a page and not a personal profile to promote your small business on Facebook.

There are many reasons to use Facebook to market your business.  But obviously, you shouldn’t stop there. There are a lot of social media sites out there and depending on your product or service and the type of business you have, some work better than others.  If you would like to discuss getting an inexpensive and simple Facebook marketing plan that you can do yourself, call Yvonne at 832-889-9242.

And don’t forget to share this post with your friends!

 

Some info above derived from http://www.lauraroeder.com.

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What Do I Blog About?!

Blogging is a great way to inform people about your industry and what you do. It also counts on Google as adding unique, relevant, and new content. And if you and others share it on social media platforms, your info will be in a lot of different places for people to find.  But what do you write about and how do you think of new things to say?

1. Do a screencast with Screenr of your product and share it on your blog.
2. Show a step-by-step guide on how to do something in a screencast, how-to video, or show seo the woodlandsthe steps in a series of photos.
3. Create a blog post video or music video for your company and post it on the blog.
4.    Share a cartoon about your business or something that has to do with your business, or create an original one.
5. Write a how-to article. Give instructions with screenshots or photos on the steps someone needs to take to do something that’s relevant to your business.
6. Point out common mistakes in your industry and offer solutions on how to fix or avoid them.
7. Offer a list of benefits for doing something that has to do with your industry or business, or offer helpful techniques.
8.    Share a list of some things to avoid or look for in your industry.
9. Relate your how-to content to a current event or a celebrity. Example: “5 _____ Lessons from Lady Gaga” or “What the Election Teaches Us About ____”.

10.  Write ANYTHING!  Posting on your blog is a great way to increase traffic, improve your search engine optimization, and inform people about your business.

Here’s to happy and productive blog post writing and if you like this post, share it below!

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Why Your Web Designer Should Know About Internet Marketing

Many fantastic web site designers know virtually nothing of internet marketing, and this is a major issue. Promoting a site in search engines demands that the site be designed in a search site compatible format. These are some things website designers should really know about web selling.

Meta Tags

Usually Internet design experts will put the same meta tags on each page of a site. This just isn’t effective because the search engines target the meta tags of each page. Having pages express meta tags is an alternate way of showing not just search engines, but your visitors, precisely what your page is about.

Load Times

Pretty sites with a lot of graphics and flash may look grand, but are commonly so slow to download that web visitors will simply go somewhere else before the site even finishes downloading. Some search engines also may penalize sites for being to slow.

File Names

When planning a site, all the file names of the site should be representative of what’s on all pages. File names like page_1.html aren’t useful in conveying what’s on the page.  Make your sites clear about the data being provided. Detailed, yet short names, like web_marketing_design.php tell not only search engine spiders what’s on a page, but humans also. Like file names, URLs should be made in formats that that are significant to humans and search sites. Regularly URLs are a mixture of website names, list names and file names. All these elements should be detailed of what’s on the site, the list and the page respectively. Also, many shop cart use URLs like http://www.somesite.com / store / index.php?pid=2786247642 .  This is unreadable by humans and search engines.  Shopping carts that don’t use question marks in the URL are available and make for cleaner looking URLs that are less difficult to remember, for example http://www.somedomain.com / store / sky_widgets is much better.

Alt Tags

Alt tags are displayed when graphics have been turned off.  A surfer may turn off graphics to improve Net speed or may depend on alt tags due to physical impairment. This is maybe why search sites still appear to weigh alt tags into their search ranking processes.

Utility

There are specific elements that users of the web have learned to expect of the sites they encounter. Examples would be Home and Contact buttons. Ahh, what a breath of fresh air to go to an internet site and find the menu in the same location on each page and have the 1st button be Home and the last button Contact.  This makes finding your pages that much more simple and clean.

Typically, before planning a site, it is a great idea to figure out your keywords first. Determining your keywords is the subject of another article altogether. Planning your keywords into your internet site will give you a big edge over many rivals and is way easier (and less expensive) than planning keywords into a site after it’s been designed.

So, make sure your web designer knows a little about internet marketing before building your site…in the long run, it’s more effective at letting potential clients find you.

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20 Ways to Increase Your Facebook Likes!

  1. Advertise on Facebook to get more “likes”. This is the quickest way to grow your fan base. The Supre fashion brand did this to obtain almost 400,000 fans quickly.
  2. Rotate your ads “DAILY” !
  3. Add Facebook Social Plugin Box to your Blog and Website
  4. Offer a free exclusive video that can only be viewed if you like the page.
  5. Run a competition. Everyone likes a competition! :)
  6. Make it obvious on a custom landing page by providing a big bold “Like our Page”
  7. Initially ask friends and family to like your page. A bit overdone but essential at the beginning
  8. Offer a free ebook or whitepaper to obtain a “like” (just like you should be doing for email subscriber acquisition on your website)
  9. Post content from your blog to Facebook whenever you write a new post. Facebook users love receiving new content on Facebook without having to go looking for your blog. Treat Facebook as an extension of your blog.
  10. Provide enticing high resolution photos. Compelling photos that are appropriate for your target audience will keep them coming back and make them share and so drive more likes from their friends
  11. Ask questions regularly using Facebook’s native question app.
  12. Include a link to your Facebook page in your email signature
  13. Provide a compelling welcome video on your Facebook landing page
  14. Simple but often missed: Add a “follow us” on Facebook button near the top of your website and blog pages
  15. Create an incentivised “Like” page that gives people a reason to like your page.
  16. Include the Facebook like button on your email HTML template so that people can like your facebook page from the regular email newsletter
  17. Add a large custom banner to your blog and website asking people to “Like
  18. Add a link to your Facebook page as one of your three LinkedIn website links that are part of your LinkedIn settings in your profile
  19. Add a newsworthy update that is relevant for your industry or market niche to your Facebook page every day
  20. Offer “Specials” including discounts to Facebook fans. The majority of Facebook users “like” a page to obtain a discount.

Well, you have lots of ideas here so get busy and implement them!

 

 

Source for much of this info at http://www.jeffbullas.com.

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Tools To Help You Manage All That Overwhelming Social Media!

Managing all your social media platforms is sometimes overwhelming.  With a little help from web-based tools, this can be manageable and time-saving. See below for some of the tools available for managing your social media platforms.  This is in no way a comprehensive list….it just give you an idea of what’s out there.

Ping.fm: Ping.fm is a simple and FREE service that makes updating your social networks a snap! It allows you to simultaneously update accounts like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flickr through their web interface, text message, email or instant message.

HootSuite: According to them, they are the leading social media dashboard to manage and measure your social networks.  This is a tool that allows you to manage multiple social media channels through one dashboard. If you have a company with more than one contributor to your social media program, HootSuite is a good solution.

TweetDeck:  TweetDeck is an app that brings more flexibility and insight to power users.  Like HootSuite, TweetDeck provides a way to track many of your social media channels on one dashboard. It can be a time-saver and a productivity- enhancer, assuming you’re not easily distracted.

Cotweet: Cotweethelps companies of all sizes engage customers, manage conversations, and report results across leading social networks like Twitter and Facebook. CoTweet is perfect for companies who have multiple people contributing to their social media campaigns. In addition to organizing and monitoring your Twitter and Facebook pages, it allows you to assign updates and social streams to members of your team based either on their expertise or who working at the time.

Seesmic:  Seesmic connects you wherever you are. Keep up with all of your personal and professional networks, anywhere, anytime.  Manage your Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Ping.fm, and Foursquare accounts all from one simple interface. Whether you want to access your social networks from the web, a desktop application, or your mobile phone, Seesmic has a solution.

NutshellMail: Manage your Facebook Pages. Keep track of Likes, Posts, Comments, and Insights. Manage your personal Facebook profile too, with all your Facebook Birthdays, Photos, Friend Requests, Wall Posts, News Feed, Event & Group Invites, and Messages in one interactive email.  This is by Constant Contact.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social will deliver relevant messages from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs & Articles, competitor insights, check-ins and more directly to your dashboard.  Another organizing tool, Sprout Social manages multiple social networks from one dashboard, allowing you to optimize your outreach in each channel, identify people interested in your brand and convert them to loyal consumers.

PostRank: Tap into the intelligence of millions of online users active on the Social Web. PostRank delivers objective, real-time data and analysis on any topic, trend, or interest relevant to you or your business. Learn how you can use PostRank.  PostRank, recently acquired by Google, has a dashboard that aggregates what is happening with all of your content across the web in a constantly updated feed. This way you can see what type of engagement your content is getting across different channels right as it happens.

If you don’t have time to manage your social media, even with these cool tools, JaxWorks SEO & Web can do it for you!  See below and contact us for more info.  These plans enhance and are part of the custom Facebook fan page we build for you, which start at $70.

 

 

  • Maintenance refers to changes you would like to make to the fan page
  • Posting services refers to us doing more than one generic post a week. It is a custom proposal that may include multiple post a week on FB and daily Tweets.  This also could include other social media platforms like LinkedIn or Foursquare
  • Social Media Advisor is available to assist and answer questions about the social media platform we built for you
  • Monthly Tips are general monthly social media tips.

 

 

 

 

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Should you use Search Engine Optimization or Pay Per Click?

Selecting between Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t a case of measuring Return on Investment (ROI). There are big differences between the two approaches and the decision between either is reliant on different factors.  There is a need to understand the differences before a last call is made on your choice between the two or your use of both.

Which to choose – SEO or PPC?

Many internet marketing experts who’ve used PPC  advertising, worried by the ever growing value of PPC or stung by examples of click-fraud (click fraud is where your competitors continue Search Engine Optimization The Woodlandsto click your ads so you are charged and your budget is used up), are looking towards SEO  as a substitute or alternative for their Pay-per-click efforts.  Unfortunately, comparing Pay per click to SEO is like comparing an IBM AS 400 mainframe to an Apple Macbook Pro…there’s simply no comparison. They have distinct differences:  they might be close in that both are PCs, but the differences outweigh the likenesses. Selecting between Pay per click and SEO isn’t a case of tossing a coin.  It’s better to have to have a real understanding of each approach and the way to measure the ROI of each before reaching a decision.

Pay-per-click Ads

The key to Pay per click selling is to think about it in a rather similar way as ‘conventional’ advertising:  the money you pay out ends up in the ‘display’ of your ad for a particular period. The instant you stop paying, your advertisements will be removed. Results for Pay-per-click advertising are instant and quantifiable because you begin to get results inside a few days of your ad being posted on the search website page and much of the time , folks stop visiting your website the instant your ad is removed.

Organic SEO

A search engine optimization campaign, alternatively, can have an outlined start and end point  (outlined by the details of the contract made between you and an SEO company), but the results can last outside the contract’s termination date just because the measures implemented are, to a great extent, “permanent.” Think about an SEO effort as your classic brick-and-mortar conglomerate…you have the place and the goods and the SEO company paints the building, sets up window displays, puts your products on view, and then waits for the buyers to come in.

If your SEO team did the job correctly, folks will ‘wander’ in. You can choose to let your SEO group go after a year and leave everything as is, but folks will still drop by for awhile because their attention will continue to be called by your site’s window displays, exterior painting, merchandising display, or word-of-mouth.  Eventually, your site will drop down in the rankings and will no longer be on the first page, but that can take a few months.

From this viewpoint, it isn’t necessarily a case of ‘choosing’ between Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimization.  There are express conditions where one is better than the other, either temporarily or permanently.   For instance, if you want fast results, then Pay per click is the right way to go.  If you want long-lasting results that take longer to achieve, then SEO should be your choice.  Another option is to use PPC until your SEO company’s organic SEO efforts are making you rank on the first page and then drop the PPC.

There are hundreds of thousands of websites out there and if you want to be found for your product or service, SEO or PPC is the way to help others find you.  Hopefully, you can now make a better choice of which way to go.

If you liked this article, please share below, and good luck on your internet marketing campaign!

 search engine optimization the woodlands

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5 Sixty-Second Video Ideas to Help Market Your Business

1. Tell your company story.
Though it may seem like simple advice, the story of why your company exists is a great place to start with a video. In contrast to the typically useless text on your company website’s about page, using a video gives you a chance to share the story of your business with authenticity and can also be a great way to introduce new customers as well as new employees to your business.SEO The Woodlands video marketing

2. Show your products or services in action.
Depending on your business, video can be great as a way to demo your products and show a potential customer what the experience would be like. Another great way to use this type of video is to focus on answering some of the most common questions you get from customers and potential customers. Pointing them to a video can be a great way to save yourself some time and also offer value to a customer.

3. Get a customer testimonial.
Anytime you see a suggestion like this, it almost always sounds easier than it is in real life. Asking your customers to record a testimonial doesn’t have to be awkward, though. The key is to make it feel more like an interview than a scripted message. That means building three or four good questions to ask your customer, such as what the project was and how they evaluated who to work with and chose you. Then ask the ultimate question of whether they would recommend you to a friend or colleague and why — you’ll probably get pretty close to 60 seconds already.

4. Show your location.
If you are a business with a retail destination, showing your location can have a great impact to help customers to learn more about your business and even find it more easily if they happen to be headed your way.

5. Animate your Powerpoint.
Aside from the video that you create by shooting footage, there are now a host of sites like Animoto that can help you create a video out of your powerpoint presentations. This can be a great way to take content that you already have and make it more interactive and compelling for customers to engage with — without a huge amount of additional work.

There you are…five fast and easy ways to marketing your business. Share this with your friends and get busy!

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