Tag Archives: marketing company Calgary

Your Cheat Sheet: 22 Social Media Do’s and Don’ts:

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social-media-dos-and-dontsForgetting the “rules” of social media? No worries, things change so quickly it can be difficult to keep up.

That’s why we’ve created this printable social media cheat sheet – 22 Do’s and Don’ts for success!

12 Social Media DO’s

1. Champion others – share their stories, like and comment on their news feeds and support them in their endeavors. The law of reciprocity means they will return the favor.

2. Give to get – Give helpful, entertaining, funny, inspiring or clever content to your social media audience. The more you can provide value, the better your odds of ensuring your content is shared, thereby growing your network.

3. Use multimedia – Use image or video based content whenever possible.

4. Optimize your accounts – YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook properties all appear in Google Search, Google + does as well, but Twitter does not anymore. If possible, use your keywords in your usernames.

5. ASK. Ask people to share, comment, like, re-tweet, sign up for your newsletter, visit your website or whatever you want them to do.

6. Be interested not interesting: be genuinely engaged with your social media contacts. Check in and see how they are, like their statuses, wish them happy birthday, ask their opinion.

7. Grow your network: Add all contacts you meet in real life and send them a hello message. Regularly add your email contacts and people you might know to your various social media profiles.

8. Add your social media live feeds, or at the very least, icons to your website or blog.

9. Suggest your Facebook page to friends on a weekly basis and participate in Follow Friday on Twitter

10. Ask your network to promote you

11. Comment on the news and events of the day

12. On Twitter – Use Hashtags to contextualize your conversation and connect with others discussing the same topics

Social Media Don’ts:

1. Don’t create an account and abandon it – set aside 10 minutes a day to check in and post something

2. Don’t be offensive or post in bad taste – you can be opinionated without being rude

3. Don’t talk only about yourself – self-centred people are as off putting online as they are off.

4. Don’t fail to acknowledge when people interact with you – it’s just rude

5. Don’t Sell, Sell, Sell! – no one likes a pushy sales person

6. Don’t make Spelling Mistakes: Use spellcheck!

7. Don’t expend a bunch of energy without a strategic plan

8. Don’t assign your social media marketing in its entirety to an intern – they can help you, but make sure their work is on point and you’re coaching them. Remember they are representing you online.

9. Don’t get too familiar – you can be cordially social without providing too much information

10. Don’t get into contentious or political conversations unless they’re part of your brand and you’re prepared for the fact not everyone is going to agree with you

 

Follow these 22 simple tips and you’ll have a failsafe methodology for engaging with your customers, clients and prospects on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google + and more.

Behind these points is the guiding principle of being genuinely likeable and providing value to your audience.

By being interested in others and consistently applying these tips, you’ll be well on your way to social media mastery

 

Learn more about Social Media.

 

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

What Should You Pay To Get On Google?

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internet-marketing-resultsThere is such a huge range of costs and methods of billing to get on google that it can be confusing to know what is a good deal, and what is too good to be true. Likewise, it can be hard to understand why some firms charge 10 times more than others for what appears to be the same work.

Here is a breakdown of the different billing types, SEO Package services, and rates that typical SEO Companies will offer you to ensure your company’s website will get on Google:

Billing Type:

  1. Per hour: According to a 2012 survey by SEO MOZ, most SEO professionals charge between $76-$200/hour to help you get on Google.
  2. Flat rate or per project: Many firms will charge a flat rate for a very specific service to be performed ie: keyword analysis, site optimization or backlink creation
  3. Retainer: By far the most popular, a monthly retainer ensures specific services are performed each month. The advantage of this model is flexibility in allocating resources to what service within the offering is needed the most at that time.

Most common types of services needed to help you get on Google:

  • Pay per Click: offering to create and manage your ads for you
  • Google + local: claim your google + page
  • Inbound organic optimization: creating backlinks and directory listings to point back to your site and drive traffic
  • Web optimization: adjusting and tweaking the code of your site, including metatags to better “tell: the search engines what your site is about
  • Content marketing: Creating keyword heavy blog posts for distribution across the web.

Variables to the cost to get on Google:

  1. Amount of competition for keywords/ complexity of goal
  2. Size and complexity of site
  3. Experience of SEO firm
  4. Range of services provided- full service to bare minimum

Price Range of services that will help:

Keyword Analysis:  The low range is around $250, and the highest range is $2500. The variable can be attributed to how in depth the report is, and how experienced the SEO packages professional

Site Optimization: The low range is around $300 and the high range caps at $3000. For best results, ask for a price range based on hours of work. This directly correlates to how big and complex the website is.

Monthly retainer: For on-going SEO Packages: (Site and External to Site Services) $1000-$3000.

Content Marketing: Blogging + content submission: $500-$2500 a month, depending on how many hours/blog posts.

Google + Page Claim: $300 month seems to be the average price, but they go as high as $500.

Social Media Management: Yes, Social Media and SEO are blending into each other, making it hard to do one without the other.

Internet Marketing Consulting and Recommendations: Range from $76-$200 on average. Most SEO firms will include a set number of hours in their monthly retainer SEO Packages.

It’s recommended that, at the very minimum, your SEO package includes not just recommendations, but actual hand coded SEO Optmization of your website.

It is also recommended that your provider use the triple prong approach to off page SEO: Places, Organic, and Paid. This way you can cancel your SEO Package and still receive the benefits of a high ranking website well into the future.

For more information on the three ways to get on Google.

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

 

How to: Track and measure your internet marketing results.

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Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.netMost of our clients contract us because they want a steady flow of qualified leads to their business, effortlessly.

As one of the only firms in Calgary that guarantees internet marketing results, I often get asked, what results do you guarantee and how can we track them?

The most obvious results we generate are leads.

Leads are typically thought of as phone inquiries, web inquiries, or walk-ins to a retail location. However leads from an internet marketing campaign can also take the form of Facebook fans or messages, sign ups to your newsletter or webinar etc.

By determining what a lead looks like for you, you’ll then have a great foundation from which to measure the results of your internet marketing campaign.

What you can do is download the internet marketing results tracking template from our blog. This gives you a handy spot to measure all contacts to your company. It’s as easy as asking every single inquirer how they heard about you, and marking it down all in one place.

This information will not only show you the return you’re getting on your investment in an internet marketing campaign, but also what methods are the preferred and most successful in terms of driving business.

From our perspective, generating leads is the end result of a lengthy sales funnel we’ve created for you as the core of our internet marketing strategy.

Typically a consumer needs to go through a 7 step process to get to the point of being a qualified lead.

So, we view results as being quantifiable increases in all the factors that contribute to converting a prospect from mildly interested, to the- cheque-has-cleared.

In a very common situation a consumer will conduct a search online and find your site. If they’re satisfied with the information on your website, they’ll take action to contact you. This is internet marketing in its simplest form.

In order to generate these types of leads, we work backwards, delving into detailed metrics.

Based on a 4% conversion rate (the average percentage of people who will take action based on a website visit), how many visitors do we need to get to the site? So, we measure increased visitors as a metric of a successful internet marketing campaign.

Likewise, page one placement on Google is also viewed as a success factor, as this generates the exposure and traffic necessary to generate the leads.

Fundamentally, we ask, are we generating enough exposure and interaction with prospects to generate leads?

If you’re the business of selling to other businesses, the sales cycle may take quite a bit longer than the ideal internet marketing situation described above.

Typically a business or commercial consumer will go through more steps before becoming a customer, but the payoff is generally larger per lead closed if you end up with a customer for life.

In this case, we measure things like the open rate and click through rate on your newsletter, as well as the rate of sign up.

No matter what your unique situation, you can be sure we measure all the pertinent statistics on our end. Using Google Analytics, a free web traffic measurement tool, we’ll deliver monthly reporting on your web traffic and all internet marketing success factors.

However, the most accurate measurement needs to take place internally. You may even need to provide an incentive for your staff to provide accurate measurement for you.

Here’s the template.

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

 

How to Get on Google: 3 proven tactics to drive new business.

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Google-RankingYou already know that having a presence on Google is critical for maintaining a steady stream of automatic leads.

But did you know there are three different ways to attain the coveted position of page one on Google?

Here’s the lowdown on your options.

Get On Google, Fast: Pay Google Directly.

Also known as setting up a Pay Per Click or Adwords account, paying the search engine giant directly is the fastest and easiest way to get to page one.

How it works:

You create a Google Adwords account, create your ad, set a daily and monthly budget and supply them with your credit card number.  Each week they will bill your card for the amount of clicks your ad received.

graphic 1

 

Your ad will then display near the top of search results.  Where you show up exactly, and how often depends on your ad budget and what your competitors are spending.

What you need to know:

You need to do 2 things to maintain your page 1 position.

  1. Check your ad regularly and implement the not so optional suggestions.
  2. Continue to pay

Fail to do these 2 things and you will drop into oblivion.

Get on Google: organic ranking

Organic ranking is when your website shows up on page one without directly paying.

How it works:

Typically Organic Ranking is achieved with Search Engine Optimization services, which is when your online presence is optimized based on best knowledge of Google’s algorithm.

Google has a mathematical algorithm which dictates where your website displays in their ranking. There are many factors that go into this algorithm including how your website is coded, how many visitors you get to your site etc. To be ranked high, your site and presence on the web needs to adhere to and be optimized for all factors in this algorithm.

graphic 3

 

What you need to know:

Organic ranking typically won’t change too drastically, even if you stop marketing for a particular set of search terms. So, while it may take longer to achieve page one ranking, the payoff is much higher as the benefits of page one last far beyond the initial investment.

Typically results can take up to 90 days to appear.

Get on Google: Google Places Account

The third way to get on page one is to claim and optimize your Google Places account.

This means you’ll show up in the maps search section of of a search results page.

graphic 2

How it works:

You’ll need to claim your Google Places account – which requires a physical address, as they will send you a postcard to verify.

Once you have claimed your account, you’ll need to spend time filling out your profile and soliciting reviews.  Where exactly you’ll rank depends on what your competitors are doing, as well as how active your places account is. For best results get as many people to review your business on your places account as possible.

We have covered three ways to get on Google. The tactic that works best for you will depend entirely what you’re trying to achieve and what resources you have to allocate to your objectives.

For best results, a combination of all three tactics is recommended for best possible internet marketing results.  But, the best thing to do is start anywhere you can right this minute.

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

 

This month’s featured website design: Duri Homes

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A behind the scenes look at how we launched a complete website design project in less than 30 days.

website-design-duri-homesWhen I walked into Duri Homes’ latest home in Aspen Wood Estates I was, in a word, impressed.

A long-time client, Dean Duri’s small home-building company had been steadily growing due to word of mouth and a steadfast commitment to quality.

In that moment I realized that Dean had arrived.  His new home was spacious, beautifully designed and absolutely luxurious. The calibre of homes Dean is now building has clearly come a long way since he started his company.

When we sat down to discuss revamping his website design, I knew we’d need to pull out all the stops to ensure it was an accurate reflection of the quality of this luxury home. To make sure we were on point, we reviewed a few Calgary website designs from competitors and colleagues and discussed his businesses goals.

A week or so later, I got a call from Dean asking if it would be possible to get the new site up in time for his Show Home opening on October 20th.

Typically our website design projects last about 3 months, so it was a tall order to complete the site within less than 3 weeks.

That being said, I knew how important it was to Dean that his old, outdated website design was replaced as soon as possible. I took a deep breath and told him we could hustle and get it done.

That week was spent in a flurry. Getting text written and approved, the images from the photographer and carefully reviewing my notes in order to ensure everything Dean needed for his new website design would be incorporated in the build.

On a Tuesday afternoon just 4 days before the show home opened, we got Dean’s approval on all the materials necessary to put his site together.

There was one huge problem though. Our website developer was going in for day surgery on the Friday, and the site was supposed to go live on Saturday.  Despite his impending surgery, our developer worked around the clock Wednesday and Thursday to get us a first draft of his site for Friday morning.

As I reviewed the first draft of the website design with Dean, I felt a sense of pride that we could pull through for a valued client in his time of need. Only a few quick revisions were needed, but couldn’t be completed until Shane had recovered from Friday’s surgery.

We agreed to meet online Saturday morning. I reviewed the changes and called Dean to confirm.

His new website design site went live 10 minutes ago, 15 minutes prior to his show home opening. It is gorgeous, and an accurate reflection indeed of what Dean is capable of creating for his customers.

As I sit back in my chair after a very early morning this sunny Saturday, I feel such a sense of gratitude.

I am grateful that our developer, despite his medical concerns was able to pull through for us. I am grateful that our designer put in extra effort to make sure the website design was “wow”, and I am grateful that we can be a part of Duri Homes’ success as they open a new chapter of their business.

Mostly though, I am grateful that I am part of such a fantastic team capable of pulling off huge accomplishments in support of our clients.

If you get a chance, visit Duri Homes new website design and check out their show home.

I think you too will be very impressed.

4 ways to use domain names to get better internet marketing results

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internet-marketing-domain-nameThe best way to get better internet marketing results is to regularly review your campaigns and try new things if they aren’t producing the results you want.

Becoming familiar with the strategies you’re employing and being willing to tweak things a bit will provide you with much more accurate data to analyze, drive more traffic to your site, and ultimately get better results on Google.

Here are four things you can do with your domain names right now to enhance your internet marketing results.

Register Multiple Domains

The first step to leveraging domain names for internet marketing is to register several domains. Think of them as web assets.

Then you can use one domain name per campaign, which means you can now run split tests and track how well your advertising or media distribution is working. This is done by reviewing how much traffic you get from that specific domain name.

You will need to renew them once a year, but we think you’ll find the following 3 tips to leveraging domain name registration for internet marketing purposes will convince you this small cost is well worth it.

Leverage Domains to Track Internet Marketing Campaigns

If you own multiple domains, you can run split tests and hone your marketing skills and get to know what best appeals to your intended audience by observing how many people came to your site through the various channels your domains have opened.

Here’s an example. Say you purchase a banner ad as part of a campaign. In that ad you decided to use a secondary domain name, so instead of using www.mybusiness.com, you use www.bestwidgetsever.com.

Since you have not used bestwidgetsever.com in any other internet marketing campaigns, when you look at your web statistics, you’ll know right away how much traffic that particular domain name sent you and you’ll be able to compare it against your other campaigns. Did it work better or worse?

Also, this tactic is very useful for judging the effectiveness of traditional advertising campaigns like radio or billboards. A catchy domain name is easy to remember, which will help by driving more traffic to your website. If your domain name isn’t catchy, go buy one that is and see if it makes a difference to your site traffic.

Use domain names to increase your ranking on Google

Another way you can use domain names for internet marketing purposes is to purchase easy-to-remember domains with in-demand keywords.

We for example, we own bestcalgarywebsitedesign.com, which is catchy and also helps us rank highly on Google because it is full of good keywords.

Also, older domains typically receive better ranking than newer ones, all other things being equal. The better your ranking on Google, the better your overall internet marketing results will be.

Use Domain Names to Create Niche-Specific Internet Marketing Campaigns

Another way you can use your domain name for internet marketing purposes is to point a domain name to a specific, or even hidden, page on your website that is only accessible through the link you sent out.

In this way you can promote a specific campaign to a smaller niche market without everyone else seeing it. You can promote or even discount your inventory without having the discounted prices available to your regular customers by displaying these items only on, for example, ‘discountwidgets.com’ instead of ‘widgets.com’.

Another tactic for niche-specific marketing is to purchase and utilize domain names per specific geographical location you deal with, or per specific product you offer.

So say you have a campaign running in Calgary. The domain name discountwidgetscalgary.com will be an easy domain name to promote, remember, and it will likely rank well on Google.

If you can create a page on your website that is specific to the area and the campaign, you’ll find this performs better than if you didn’t use these internet marketing tactics.

There are many ways you can use specific domain names to help you track and optimize your internet marketing efforts if you get creative, but these three are easily the most fundamental.

Learn more about Internet Marketing

Have you used domain names for internet marketing before? What have been your challenges or questions? Tell us below.

5 Most Common Small Business Marketing Mistakes

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Is your brand turning prospects off?

disgustin

Are you portraying your business in a way that creates desire with your target market?

Think about in each possible way a prospect could encounter your business. Far from being just a logo and business cards, your brand should at the minimum:

‱ Convey what you do at a glance
‱ Appeal to your target audience
‱ Communicate your key differentiation point
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Why Should Anyone Buy From You?

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Do you know exactly what makes you a better choice than your competition?

Photo by www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/4616727529

If you’re struggling with finding out what makes you different, keep reading.

We’ll show you how to uncover what makes your business the logical choice, and how to use this information to get more business!

Continue reading →