Category Archives: Get More Business

Get On Google- How to Add Your Business To Google Maps

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Here is a quick tutorial video that can help you add your business to Google Maps & get on Google for Free!

So first, type in your address into Google and it will show you the position marker on a map.

It should give you the option to add a place that is missing if you are not yet visible on Google, here you will want to fill in the relevant information like your website and name.

Once you have done that, there is a link asking “are you the business owner?” Click there.

Then you claim this Google Place.

Fill out the proper information and verifications. In the “Category” option – which is for search engine purposes – you want to think about what are people typing into Google that are going to be looking for what you offer.

You have to pick form the pre-populated category then hit continue. Follow the prompts.

Choose a verification mode and it will prompt you that it will not appear as verified until it is verified but it will be added.

Next you want to edit any information that may be missing and search engine optimize the area.

Click to enter your website and edit everything like hours of operation, photos etc. It is very, very important to fill in these fields as complete as possible.

Now, let’s focus on Introduction.

Here is where you want to add in links to your website in order to drive traffic back to your site and have it working as efficiently as possible for you. Here you can also add in as much information as you like.

Once you have completed that, go back and look over the page and double check in the future to make sure it has been verified.

After about two weeks, if this hasn’t been done, call Google directly and get your page verified!

 

 

The Effectiveness of Mobile Marketing

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mobile marketingResearch shows the effectiveness of mobile marketing

Set aside your traditional marketing channels, mobile marketing is exploding like dynamite. Reaching customers on a smartphone or other hand-held device is one of the best strategies for today’s marketers.  And mobile marketing isn’t just growing; it’s booming.  So, as a marketer you know mobile marketing is highly effective in enticing consumers to buy what you have to sell.

Marketers use mobile to reach customers quickly (in real time).  And customers use their smartphones and tablets to communicate, shop, search, travel, play, read, and discover, from dusk to dawn.

The proof that mobile usage—and mobile marketing—are surging in popularity isn’t just in knowing there are 1.4 billion smartphones in use around the world; the evidence lies in the latest research on how and why customers and marketers are crazy about their mobile devices.

Let’s look at the following statistics:

Consumers check their mobile devices 150 times a day.
Ninety percent of the time mobile users respond to text messages within 90 seconds of receiving them.
Seventy-nine percent of smartphone owners use their devices to buy products and services

How Marketers Use Mobile

Consider that customers use their smartphones and tablets to email, text, post, tweet, buy, and connect. This means that mobile is a multi-channel “product,” and that marketers can use mobile marketing in a number of ways. For example, marketers can measure what customers want in a brand.  They can advertise, post messages, and move customers to commerce sites to view their products.  Finally, they can answer customers’ questions and measure their satisfaction with a purchase.

According to a provider of multi-channel communications to some of the world’s best retail brands, 20 percent of all current mobile traffic goes to e-commerce sites.

If you’re still not convinced of the value of mobile marketing, consider that customers spent $182 billion on mobile commerce last year alone.  And that number is estimated to grow to $707 billion by 2018.

What’s more, mobile empowers marketers to create, deliver, and measure personalized marketing campaigns. “Nothing gets marketers closer to consumers than mobile,” says Greg Stuart, CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association.  “There is no other platform that is as personal and pervasive.”

The personal value of mobile-marketing campaign

Because mobile is personal, research shows that one campaign message doesn’t appeal to all consumers.  In a one-message-fits-all campaign, the marketer sends a single message to teens, seniors, business professionals, and other target groups.

For years marketers bought 30-second radio commercials and mailed brochures to millions of homes.  Research shows, however, that these campaigns may entice some but not all of the consumers reached.  Mobile marketing calls for a focus on each customer group by deploying a campaign that is deeply personal and practical.

Summary of Mobile Marketing

This article has looked at impressive research findings surrounding mobile.  The key to making mobile marketing effective is knowing that:

  • Mobile marketing must be a key strategy in your marketing plan, especially since smartphones and tablets are used to communicate, shop, search, travel, play, read, and discover;
  • Mobile is surging in popularity.  Remember, consumers spend a hundred billion dollars on mobile purchases each year;
  • Your mobile-marketing messages must be on all channels—mobile email, mobile social media, and so forth;
  • Your mobile-marketing message must be personal.  You need to craft a single message for each type of consumer group.

Make mobile marketing a part of your marketing strategy today.

Web Assessments

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Today’s websites are the greatest marketing tool there is.  They are the best tools for communicating with customers and showcasing your products and services.  They are the lifeblood of your brand and convey your status, reputation, and position in the market.  That’s why web assessments are so critical to learning whether you are making the most of your website.

These are a few questions that our web assessments answer:  (1) Can consumers find your website easily when they search the internet for companies that sell the products and services you do?  (2) Does your company’s name surface often on the internet?  (3) Is your website designed to invite customers to your site’s inside pages to check out your products and make a purchase?  (4) Can people locate your website through social media? Do your social media sites direct traffic to your website?

Web assessment points 1 and 2 (above): Can consumers find your website easily?

Web assessments tells you whether search engines like Google and Yahoo can “read” your website, so that your company name and products come up often when people search for them on the internet.  Through search-engine optimization (SEO), your website and products are located more often, and your name can even seem to pop up everywhere when someone searches for your brand.

SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the search terms or keywords typed into search engines, and which search engines are used by your targeted consumers.  The more often a website appears in search-engine results, the more often people will visit it.

By the way, can consumers access your website using their mobile phone?  That’s another matter to consider when you ask for web assessments.

Website assessment point 3: Is your website designed to invite customers?

Every site is designed, but few are designed well.  When it comes to website design, you don’t want it to look a mess.  You want your brand, logo, colours, and company’s personality to explode from the home page and pull consumers inside.  On the inner pages of the site, they read fascinating, well-written snippets on what’s great about you and your products and services.  They see exciting themes– photographs, drawings, or picture-caption copy that communicates as well as the writing.

Bear in mind that a website built from a cookie-cutter template lacks original design and can seem amateurish for companies in the business of attracting customers or even employees.  If you want to look professional—hire a professional designer to make you look good.  Your reputation is at stake.

Consider the amazing sites that will impress visitors

All websites can be scaled to include digital catalogs, e-commerce, forums, message boards, blogs, auctions, contests, sales coupons that flash like light bulbs, newsletters, chat, classifieds, photo galleries, games, reviews, donation buttons, event enrollment forms, comments sections, and response forms. The only limitations are your imagination.  By the way, we design catchy and meaningful logos.

Website assessment point 4:  Do your social media sites direct traffic to your website?

Are you on social media?  Your competitors are.  Do you “share” your web content on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and so on.  Since you want to be on every corner of the web, it’s essential to incorporate social media into your website.  This means having great social media links.  You want all your sites—social media and web—to communicate with one another.

Web assessments are a must.  If you do any digital work at all, ensure it’s focused on improving your website’s design, SEO, and connection to social media.

3 Guerilla Marketing Techniques for Business Owners on a Budget

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Today we are going to talk about three Guerilla marketing techniques any small business owner can use.

These are free marketing tools you can use to to get more credibility, exposure and generate leads from your web presence.

The first thing you want to start doing as a small business owner is start blogging.

Essentially that is just writing articles and posting them on your website. – See? Marketing can be that easy!

What that is going to do is attract your qualified prospects and help build trust that you know what you are talking about and you are a leader in your industry.

As a bonus this will also increase your visibility on search engines and increase the odds that google will place you on page one of their search engine which will give you lots of visibility to your existing and future customers!

The second thing you want to do is start video blogging which is what I do here:

What this does is help you build trust with your future customers, because they get an idea of who you are and start to get to know, like and trust you.

As well it gives you exposure on Youtube which you may not know is owned by Google and increase the odds you show up on the search engines.

The third thing you want to start doing is use Google+ local which gives you a free listing on the Google Search Engine and is also tied into Google+ the social media network.

Also this is tied in with Youtube so you can have your video blogs automatically posting to Google+, your presence on Google Maps and Google+ Local for free, and use Google+ the social network to connect with future prospects!

Keep Reading For Detailed Instructions on Exactly How to Implement These 3 Digital Marketing Techniques Yourself:

Should Your Business Take a Selfie? Capitalize On HOT Social Media Trends.

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Today let’s talk about Social Media trends and how you can capitalize on them to grow your business.

The first thing people talk about all the time is the selfie-so how can you use the selfie to actually promote your business and connect with your future customers.

Image credit Social Media Today

Fact is, people like to see photos of other people.It helps create connection.

Tip #1: Take A Business Selfie.

You don’t necessarily need to make ridiculous poses in your bathroom mirror. But you can take pictures of yourself with your customers, with new products and suppliers and on location to help create connections with your future customers.

So go ahead and selfie it up and see what kind of reaction you get! I am betting it is going to be higher than posting information about your business that is text related.

Tip #2: Use Multimedia.

My next point is multimedia. Multi media is a huge trend in social right now, especially the use of video and photos.

So wherever possible, make sure you are using multi media instead of text. So you can take quick videos on your smart phone and upload them actually right from your phone to your social networks which take up more space on the social newsfeed, which basically gives you more visibility to your target audience and community you have already built on social.

Tip #3: Capitalize on Theme Days.

The third thing you want to do is engage in theme days. You may have heard of “throw back thursday” and other Trending Topics

These are conversations already happening on social & they’re easy to capitalize on.

Simply join the conversation by using the hashtag to get exposure to an increased audience size.

Foy using the hashtag throw back thursday – #tbt, you can get more traffic simply because people are already having a conversation about it instead of having to start from scratch!

Tweet This!
#Biztips: Join Conversations On Trending Topics To Get More Exposure on #socialmedia via @new_media_group

That’s your one minute tip! Remember, if you liked this tip, please share!

 

 

A Beginners Guide To Blogging For Business

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Today on our one minute tip we are going to start from scratch with blogging for beginners.

What is a blog post anyways and why would you want to start blogging as a small business owner who already has a million things to do?

3 reasons every business owner should be blogging:

You want people coming back to your website, you want people sharing your website on social media and you want your website to be found on search engines.

So one of the most effective ways to kill all those birds with one stone is to blog!

A blog is actually just a fancy name for an article. 500 or so words is all you are looking for.

How to Blog for Business, Step 1: Brainstorm topics.

Think about what your customers or perspective customers always ask you about your business.

If you can think about 5 or 10 topics, pick one and start there.

How to Blog for Business, Step 2: Answer customer questions

Then think about 3 points you normally use to address that question or that topic to your customer.

Expand on those points.

Sit down and write if that is easier or you can use your voice recorder tool on your smart phone which can translate your words to text and will basically write your blog post for you!

Once you are done your 3 points you have expanded on, just add a summary and introduction paragraph to the beginning.

How to Blog for Business, Step 3; Create a Catchy Headline

Think of a catchy headline, like, “3 Mistakes That Most People Shopping for a Fireplace Usually Make”.

Then post this on your website and try to do it on a fairly consistent basis, even once a month is better than none at all.

That is your one minute tip! If you liked this tip, please share and follow our youtube channel here:

 

A Busy Person’s Shortcut To Marketing Yourself On Twitter

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Today lets talk about how to use Twitter to get more credibility exposure and lead generation for your business.

If you are like most small business owners, you are avoiding Twitter because you just don’t see the point! It’s actually really, really simple, which is why most people find it complicated.

But, more importantly it’s an effective way of boosting your visibility and credibility by getting you exposure to your future customers.

Step One: just create a Twitter account.

Step Two: Hashtags

Figure out how to use Hashtags, the pound symbol – the number sign, #.

What that does is connote a key word or topic. Make sure in your profile you are using hashtags to describe what you do. Use your city or a keyword like #pizzadelivery, #vaccummrepair.

That means when people are searching users with those hashtags, your profile will show up!

Step Three: Work your contacts

Once you sign up, make sure you add people you are already know and start following people you like and business’s that you frequent and start engaging with them.

Step Four: Engage in Conversation

Re-tweeting those people and business’s you follows tweets.

It’s a really great way to get their attention and let them know that you are out there because everybody appreciates free publicity and if you are engaging and promoting that business and those people, they will take notice and at least thank you for that. That’s how you start to engage on Twitter.

Step Five: Grow Your Network

You can also search other users by hashtags as well and you can start to follow people in your target market like in your city or people who are talking about the things that you provide solutions for.

Step Six: Get More Visibility

Those are a couple ways you can start using Twitter to generate a bit more exposure for your business and start engaging with your target audience and community at large.

Don’t forget to post your Twitter link on your website, your email signature, and any other promotional materials you may already have.

Best of luck and if you found this valuable please share and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel!

 

Pro Tips to Using Pinterest for Business

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Today in your one minute tip we are going to be talking about how you can use Pinterest to promote your small business.

Pinterest is a social media marketing tool that is free to use and really easy because its basically about collecting images and pinning them.


So why can this work for small business?

First, pins on Pinterest last a really long time on the newsfeed.

so if you pinned something 3 months ago that has the ability to stay in the news feed and get promoted, seen or shared for up to 3 months from the time you posted it.

That is a long time compared to other social media sites. For each pin that you are pinning, you get a lot of longevity out of that.

Secondly, it is really easy to build community on Pinterest.

All you need to do is go and re-pin others content, share it to your own boards and like it and comment on it. Its that easy!

There is lots of fantastic stuff that people are talking about on Pinterest. They’re talking about holidays, food, all kinds of stuff.

You don’t need to necessarily pin anything business related, just go and network with the people that you already know. You can go and sync your existing contacts into Pinterest and just begin with your community and go from there.

Third, you can use Pinterest to drive more traffic to your website.

If you re-pin images from your website, IE your blog, onto Pinterest that allows you to drive traffic back to your website and position yourself as an expert in your field.

So its a triple whammy, using Pinterest to start driving business to your site.

That’s your one minute tip and if you found this valuable, please remember to share!

If you like this video- subscribe to my channel & never miss a tip!

 

 

Everything You Need to Know About Marketing Yourself on Social Media

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In this live on Google Hangout’s interview we cover what every business owner needs to know about social media.

The interview is a follow up to Laurel’s book- Social on 17 – How to successfully market yourself on social media in only 17 minutes a day.

In this 49 minute interview, we cover; Social Media Do’s and Don’ts, How often to Post, Using Automated Tools, The HIT List, How to Blog for your Business.Screen Shot 2014-06-03 at 3.11.00 PM

BONUS: How to ask for the sale and How to Differentiate yourself from the competition.

Hit play and go on with your workday, and in less than an hour you will have learned everything you need to know about marketing yourself on social media!

If you like this post, please share!

 

Social in 17 now available

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Social In 17

If you’re feeling confused and overwhelmed about how to use Social Media as a marketing tool, you are not alone.

This book cuts through confusing lingo and contradictory advice to bring you up to speed in under 10,000 words.

Complete with printable cheat sheets, this book will quickly position you to receive the increased exposure, credibility and leads that result from successful marketing on social media.

Buy the book on Smashwords
Buy the book on Amazon
Buy the book on ibooks

 

By focusing on practical and tactical information, you will learn:

  1. The differences between Traditional and Digital Media
  2. The Common Pitfalls of marketing using Social Media, and how to avoid them.
  3. Straight Up Social Media Do’s and Don’ts
  4. Growing your network exponentially and continually.
  5. Converting Contacts To Customers
  6. What to Post- Content Curation and Creation
  7. Automation- Save time with today’s automation tools
  8. Getting Set Up– Starting from Scratch or Renovating
  9. Execution– Marketing Yourself in Only 17 Minutes a Day

If you want to:

● Learn to use Social Media to build your business- without spending long hours
● Learn the exact, hands on, proven tactics the experts use to deliver measurable returns
● To receive the step-by-step to-do’s that will help to translate these concepts into daily action

Then this ebook is for you.

Get it from Smashwords
Get it from Amazon
Get it from ibooks

 

What people say about Social in 17:

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As a budding author trying to market my books online, Social in 17 has given me a perspective on how to manage my social media presents. I believed that social media was another direct sale tool. With this attitude I did not achieve good results and gave up. Laurel Anne Lindsay’s approach of cultivating a network with sales as a result that network makes more sense to me. Laurel gives an easy to follow plan on how to use social media and suggestions on what media to use. I know that with the tools from Social in 17 I won’t be a social media newb for long

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Super job Laurel!
Great read – keeps me engaged throughout.
Good solid advice on social media.
Lays out easy to follow strategies to keep up to date and current on your social media accounts.

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“Really! Social Media can be done in 17 minutes a day. Laurel gives you the structure, the tips, and the ideas. This book is quick and easy to read. She touches on all the major social media platforms but she isn’t short on details. I enjoyed Laurel’s clear and concise style. Well worth my time (and I teach courses on social media). “


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This whirlwind tour of marketing in the social media age gets right to the point(s) with highly actionable, no-nonsense instructions on how to get the job done. While Ms Lindsay does set context with a solid nod to the What and Why, she deftly takes you to the How and When very efficiently so you’re able to put the learning into practice without delay. Social in 17 is an excellent resource for anyone looking to market their business on social media without having to spend extra consuming theories and hypotheses of arguable utility. Its basically a marketer’s Coles Notes for the modern internet!

 

Get it from Smashwords
Get it from Amazon
Get it from ibooks

 

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