Still Don't Have a Google+ Page for Your Business?

I work with hundreds of small business owners or their representatives/managers.  Throughout our various meetings during the year, we discuss their digital presence, or where they "rank" on Google.  There is so much confusion for the small business owner and they really don't have the time to constantly study and stay up to date on the changing landscape of the internet.  So, they rely heavily upon my experience, knowledge and assistance to make sure they have their bases covered online.

One thing I have identified for the majority of my clients is that they have not claimed their Google+ page.  I know, you are thinking, "What is that?"  Right?  Well, Google entered into the social media game and over the past year and a half or so Google+ has morphed into a primary player in the social media game.  Also, since it's owned by Google, it is becoming more and more critical to a small business that they have and manage their Google+ page as it is affecting the rank of their website in the organic listings and ads on the Google SERP.

So, what are the benefits to the small business owner?  Here are just a few:

• Ratings & Reviews are all linked back to a page that the business owner can manage, approve or disapprove. Any business owner will tell you that the ability to manage and respond to reviews is critical.
• Coupons & Offers can be posted and shared directly through Google and in the Google local listings through the Carousel feature.
• When searching a local business, the consumer can link directly to the Google+ page and see all those reviews and offers.
• Although Google says that having a Google+ page bears no weight in the SERP results, when logged into my Google account I see more and more Google+ posts in the SERP rankings.

So, hopefully you, as a small business owner see the benefit of claiming and managing your Google+ page.  I'm here to help and assist.  I don't profess to know everything, but I have great resources and can get answers to any questions you may like answered via this blog.

Thanks!

I have a website, now what?

I work with hundreds of small to medium business owners or their managing agent as a component to their overall marketing and advertising strategy. Some use my services completely and some just dabble enough to notice the expense but not the results. That's right, results take an investment.

While working with several of my clients it's become apparent that many business owners are finally beginning to think they should have a business website. That is progress, right? However, after the website goes live, then they kind of sit back and think, "Now what?" Well, here's the "now what"!

Having a website is great, particularly if it's an effectively built website designed to convert a browser to a buyer. Website brochures are obsolete. Now, let's go over what to do after getting the website live. If you aren't a business owner who has time or knowledge to do these things yourself, there is help out there. So, here goes:

- Put the web address on every printed material that could end up in a potential customer's hands or the hands of a current customer

- Create an email signature that includes your URL

- Have an SEO professional analyze the site from the perspective of the search engines

- Link all social media to the site and share the site on all social media outlets

- Have any vendors you associate with to put a link to their site to your site

- For quickest rise in rankings, invest in online pay per click ads on Google, Yahoo & Bing - it is important to implement all three major search engines for a fast start

- Submit your URL to Google & Bing - all the rest will follow

- Choose a few listing directories and list your site for free - suggestions are: Yelp, Yellowbook.com, WhitePages.com, Angie's List, Local.com, Yahoo Local, City Search, Manta.

- Set up Google Analytics and apply code to the website so you can monitor traffic

I wish you the best in your business and hope I have given you a little bit of advice to help you monetize your website and increase revenues. Because, after all, you have a website to make money.

Learned a few things today...

I have said for many years that if I learned something today, it was a good day. Well, today was a good day. In fact, it was a very good day because learned several things. I'm only going to blog about a couple of the things I learned today, simply because they relate to my livelihood and are of interest to me.

The company I work for recently added a new product in my area that I am selling. We now have a really nice community magazine publication that I'm selling ad space for, something that is totally new to me. As I've gotten into presenting the magazine and talking about it more with business owners and their staff, I've learned a few things about magazines in general, people and a different conversation that make sense... to me anyhow.

Magazines are usually sold to subscribers, right? Magazine ads are sold to businesses who want to brand their business and cause "top of mind awareness" amongst the readership, right? Well, at least this has been my personal take on magazines forever. I subscribe to several magazines. In fact, I have one laying by my chair, another in the bedroom and others in each bathroom in our home. Magazines have always been a part of my life so I enjoy them. Well, I did until I learned a little about how some magazines are sold and "circulated".

Ah, there's that word circulation. Circulation by definition as it relates to printed media means "the distribution of copies of a periodical among readers". Now, today though I learned that not all circulation statements from magazine publishers means the same thing. For instance, there are magazines I see all around town, in banks, insurance offices, realty offices, doctor offices, etc. In fact, these things are everywhere! I believe it is actually on purpose so they are easier for me to find. They are a great lead source for me! See, circulation means a totally different thing to that publication than it does to the one I am selling. Let me explain.

Here is the circulation process of the magazine I am selling. The magazine is printed with an address and name on the back each month. The magazines are taken to the post office and every copy is mailed out to a specific list by zip code, age, annual income and home value. Next month, the same process or "circulation" if you will, is followed again. In fact, there are so many of these magazines being "circulated" or "distributed" that the numbers rival those of the WSJ.

Let's think about the circulation of the publication I see laying around in banks and insurance offices. The magazines are printed, lots of them I've heard, and then they are bundled together. Those stacks or bundles are then delivered or "circulated" out to all the advertisers who have paid to have their business represented in the magazine. For about two months, those magazines "circulate" around the lobby. Then after a couple months, a new magazine is ready to start "circulation" and the old stack is "circulated" right into the trash can. That's right folks, off to the landfill with all those "circulated" magazines. Then the vicious circle begins all over again with the next publication.

How sad! All those trees! All that garbage! I learned a lot about circulation today. I learned that when a company states that they circulate a number of magazines, we should ask them how many are being mailed to a person's home, and not just a person, but a person who can use or may use the services or products I offer from my company.

I await your comments.

Your Brand & Online Display

What is online display you ask? Well, online display is sort of like having a billboard on the internet except you can actually measure how many times these billboards are seen. You can also measure how many times click them to your website and engage with your business. Types of online display ads can include banner ads, rich media, video, and more. Let me explain.

I have the ability to help you create ad content that is dynamic in nature in that it actually moves on the page. Now, I'm not talking about pop-ups and crazy things moving around in your ad, but rather a subtle movement that catches the eye of the viewer. This is what gets their attention as the images change and move about. Besides, who wants a blah old ad anyhow, right?

Once your ads are created, we load them in to a display network, one of the largest in the US through the Microsoft network and other well-known websites such as yahoo.com, yellowbook.com, parenting.com and thousands more. We also allow you to choose some geographical targeting. This means that if you only want customers within your town, county, state, etc. you can have your ads display only in those areas. A potential customer for your business may live out of the area but may be searching for your type of business in your area and still find your ads. The cool thing though is that as that one customer travels throughout the internet, your ads keep following them so they see your ads over and over again burning that impression into their brain so that when they need your type of business, you are top of mind!

Let's go over a few statistics related to online display:

The current global display advertising market is predicted to reach $25.27 billion this year, with a 36% growth to $34.4 billion in 2013.

The overall internet advertising market, which also includes paid search and internet classifieds in addition to online display ads, will increase around 31.5% from $72.18 billion in 2011 to $94.97 billion in 2013.

If you are planning on creating, enhancing or expanding your brand, online display is strongly advised. In today's modern age, no one can argue that the majority of consumers are online. They may not necessarily buy online, but they are researching and shopping online and online display is part of a branding campaign and will encourage engagement with consumers.

I offer various packages of online display that will help you create, enhance and expand your brand recognition. You may reach me at 304-885-4403 or by emailing info@blazonbrilliantly.com www.blazonbrilliantly.com

Successful SEM Management - What does it really take?

So, today I'm sitting here wanting to write something on my blog but not knowing what topic is most relevant nor where I should begin when out of the blue one of my clients calls me. It's Saturday and sometimes I'll answer client calls on a Saturday but sometimes not. This time though I chose to pick up the cell and see what's going on. Boy was I glad I did!! My client is a local home improvement business and in managing his internet marketing and website we are in a constant flux so that we manage his budget to maximize results. Just before Thanksgiving we'd met for a few hours and gone over some analysis and trending data so that we could increase his calls which had really been dismal of late. Trending said to focus on other things so we built our strategy and went to our analyst and asked her to make some changes. Well, the call today was a huge thank you! What a pleasant surprise to hear from a client whom I've worked with for about 5-6 years and hear that with the few simple changes made by his analyst, his phone is ringing again! In fact, he received two calls just today!! After getting the second one, he called to thank me and say that whatever I did, it worked!! I'm so excited for my clients when the strategies I build and implement for them pay off. My ultimate goal is to help a business owner maximize their marketing investments and reap the rewards financially. This is truly plain out fun!! What did I do that caused such a positive outcome for my client? I simply researched trends for his services, those that are most used this time of year and throughout the coming winter months. With that analysis we could see what people are more likely to search pertinent to his business and we adapted his online marketing strategies accordingly. The pay off for the client is more phone calls as a direct result of his online marketing campaign. So, the lesson here is two-fold: First, when a client calls, think positive and pick up the phone! Two, a well-managed online marketing strategy is imperative to success into today's fragmented marketplace.

The Website Designer Scam

Ok, so it's happened again!! The audacity of some people never ceases to amaze me. I uncover these scammers, wannabes, whatever you want to call them so regularly you would think they would get blackballed and put out of business. Here's a little scenario to hopefully help you prevent from being ripped off! A website design company, or really someone posing to be such, attends a local networking group such as a BNI group, Chamber of Commerce gathering, Rotary, etc. They schmooze their way around, making sure to gauge the level of understanding of the business owner in all things digital. As they work the room, the narrow their focus to just a few unaware souls so they can devise their attack. Their plan... secure a contract for a new business website! Now, the business owners in their sights are unaware of the scam about to happen. They are honest, hardworking people who just want help from a knowledgable individual to help them with a business website. They are willing to invest the money to get this done but cannot usually invest heavily. So, as the conversation continues over time, days, weeks, etc., the scammer knows who he can consider a great target and he comes in for the kill! Contracts are signed, promises are made, and the business owners has such high hopes for a great, functional website that he/she would be proud to show any propsective client. He's usually been promised that his website will be on page one of the search engines and business will boom! Well, then reality sets in for the business owner. The "website company" often delays and delays work. Sometimes they will use all kinds of reasons as to why things aren't getting done... oh, we have to install software, you didn't send us what we need, etc. Then, there are the design issues. The business owner will send loads and loads of content and photos, go through interviews, etc. and then the "website company" cannot interpret the design concepts. And don't even get me started on getting them to make updates and changes!! Optimization, that's a completely different topic because they never know what optimization even means. I just hope that the small business owner will contact someone like our company for advice before signing up with any website company. This is not just to get a professional opinion, but to also prevent lost time, revenue and many headaches! We have several good, reputable alternatives we can refer them to if they do not want a site built by hibu.

Why Still Go Yellow?

Yellow you ask?  Is that still being used?  Do people really use those Yellowbooks?  Is it relavent today to my business?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes!!

All across America the phone book is still being used by millions of people on a regular basis.  See, perception and reality simply do not match on this particular instance.  Just ask one of the hundreds of thousands of business owners who still advertise their business in the local phone book and they will tell you the same thing.  Yes!!

Now, has usage declined?  Has usage changed?  Are the leads as good as they once were?  Are people using them less?

Yes, yes, yes and yes!!

That's right, I said "yes" to the fourth question.  Usage of the yellow pages has declined.  Industry data shows this to be true.  However, my opinion is this... Yellow page advertising is by and far one of the least costly forms of advertising when you look at cost per lead.  One call to a patio contractor for instance, pays for his entire year of advertising and likely the next few years if he lands a great customer.  So, does declining usage mean that nobody uses the yellow pages anymore?  Of course not!

Business owners have a responsibility to their customer base and to local consumers to advertise their products and services.  What's the old phrase, "Inquiring minds want to know?"  When a consumer looks into their local directory and your business isn't running an ad there, guess what, they are going to look to your competitor.  If nobody is advertising what they need or want, they will seek in other ways.  You just lost a customer!!

Remember this... one new client/customer/patient is worth the $1200 or $3000 or $500 you spend in yellow page advertising.  One new customer is also a referral source to your business and you must consider the lifetime value of that new customer.  If you do a great job, they will come back time and again, right?

Invest in yellow!  You will be glad you did!

Deadlines!! What a pain!!

Deadlines create unnecessary pressure from so many angles in my world.  I am a professional marketing consultant and sell advertising as I share advice with my clients and prospective clients.  In my world, a deadline is a time of a sales cycle that creates unnecessary pressure because there are just so many people out there who just don't respect my time. 

For instance, I have a few clients that I actually have called regularly.  I actually take time out of my day and call and call and call and email and email and email and I still get the same result, nothing!  I'm not bothered to not sell anything.  I'm mostly bothered by the fact that people waste my time which is valuable.  I have plenty of clients who like me and enjoy working together for the betterment and financial gain to their business.

Deadlines are also brutal because it just seems like technology doesn't like to cooperate when I'm in a rush.  I mean, just imagine you are down to the wire and BAM!!  The computer just seems to go haywire and nothing works.  I normally sit and watch the little circles spin half the day anyhow, but at deadline time, the circles seem to go even slower.  Then, a contract that normally takes 10 minutes tops ends up taking an hour and a phone call to get help!  Why, oh why??

Invariably that one client whom you have spoken to time and again now calls and says, "Is it too late?"  There's one every campaign!  Why??  Just make a decision, people!  It's the cheapest form of advertising out there so just decide!!

Now, at the same time, I like deadlines.  The quicker pace and interactions are actually much more fun than usual.  Additionally, it seems like I get more done.  Maybe I do.  Who knows?

How Do You Know?

Often I am working with a client to enhance and broaden their online presence.  In fact, this is an almost daily occurence.  In the course of these conversations it's rather interesting that they will get a call or email from someone out of the area promising to guarantee first position on Google for their website.  Sometimes they even get that call from a local person masquerading as a marketing professional.  Well, here's the advice I give.

• For those who are not local, that is easy.  I tell them if the person cannot walk into your office or meet you out in the public if you don't have an office, tell them to get lost!  Seriously, do you think there isn't someone in your local community or the next closest who cannot help with your online visibility?
• For that local person who can walk in, let's determine their knowlege level with a few simple questions you can ask them such as:
• What is a SERP?
• What determines ranking in Google Places?
• What is a title tag?
• What order does Google read the website?
• What is an alt tag?
• For the local person who can answer all your questions, let's talk about their experience and outcomes:
• How many current clients do you have?
• Do you have written and signed testimonial letters?
• What will you charge me for each change I want  you to make?
• How many of your current client websites rank in first position on the major search engines?
• How many of your current client websites rank on page one or two of the Google search results?
• What level of ongoing support do they offer?

This is just a brief conversation to share with you some of the things you, as a business owner, should be asking anyone who wants to manage your online visibility and presence.  If you have questions or comments, please post here or email me at lisafausey@gmail.com.

Spring Planning

Doesn't this beautiful warmer than normal weather make you want to get outside?  I know it makes me want to plant seeds, cultivate the soil, and then watch it grow.  Well, the same can be said for your business.

Let's apply the spring planting concept to business.

Farmers have been sitting for the winter, anxiously awaiting the spring thaw so they can "get back to work".  Now, that's not to say that farmers don't work year round as they certainly do.  Coming from a farm family background, I know a farmer's work is never done.  However, there is something to be said for that early March time frame when things begin to warm up and crocuses start to pop up out of the ground and bloom. 

In business, there are many industries that are sitting right now just waiting on that spring thaw for their business.  Landscape contractors, home improvement guys, deck builders, paving companies, and so many more rely on the warm months of the year to build up their winter storehouse of funds to sustain themselves through yet another winter.  So, what are you doing to prepare for Spring in 2012?

Here are a few suggestions for business owners waiting out the winter:

• Set up a schedule for your marketing and advertising now!  Do not wait until March as the phone will start ringing from your past efforts and clients and you then won't have time to spend trying to build a new customer base.  Now is the time to secure and schedule your direct mail campaign.  Now is the time to design and purchase flyers, business cards, yard signs, etc. 
• Now is the time to work with your webmaster to update your website.  Work with a reliable optimization and online marketing expert to be sure you are on page one of all the major search engines.  It can be done! If you don't have a website, contact me or someone who has built thousands of sites so you can use their expertise.  Please don't make the mistake of thinking  you can do it yourself or enlist your cousin's brother's sister's friend to do it.  It just doesn't work!!
• Now is the time to perform preventative maintenance on all your business equipment such as mowers, trucks, sprayers, power tools, etc.  Change the oil, rotate tires, and be ready to get out on the road when the customer calls.
• If you require some sort of inventory for your business such as chemicals for a pest control business, seeds, oil, small tools, etc., now is the time to purchase those and store for the busy season.  Later, you won't have to come home at 9pm and go online and place orders when you are exhausted and want to spend time with your family.
• Now is the time to go out and secure spring/summer contracts.  At the beginning of the year homeowners and business owners alike are thinking about where they will get their services this spring/summer/fall.  If you rely on such agreements, you must solicit them now via direct mail and in person. 

So, hopefully you have some ideas for your time as we wait out the rest of the winter months.  Before long Spring will be here and you will be busy.  Plan now and if you need personal assistance, feel free to contact Lisa Fausey at Lisa.Fausey@yellglobal.com for personal assistance for all your marketing, advertising and business solutions needs.

Lisa Brooks Fausey, Business Solutions Consultant

Who's Watching You?

In today's digital world, many of us have online chatter on various social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google + and more. We recognize and encourage others to see our thoughts, opinions and life events.  However, do we really know who's watching? 

Recently I noticed a posting on Facebook by an acquaintance, someone I don't really know except through the social site, related to a particular topic. I commented in a light-hearted fashion that previously my husband's employer was not on board with this topic but thankfully they had finally joined the 21st century.  I never gave it a thought afterward.

Then, a couple weeks later, one of the secretaries at his employer calls him with a warning that their boss didn't like my comment and that she is watching every thing both of us are saying online!  I have no issue with her watching as I allowed her that permission, but now that permission will be revoked!  I don't work there and refuse to be bullied to clam up!  Besides, what I said was really a kudos for implementing a new system.

I know my own employer watches the online comments of its employees. Recently one of my coworkers made a simple statement online that she's always looking for the next job opportunity.  It didn't take a day for that to make its way through the management levels and a top level manager was out to our office to investigate.  Its great that they value us employees, but do they have to hang on our every word?  I mean, who isn't open to new opportunities?

On a personal note, I once posted to Twitter about something work related and had emails asking how I got that info before our management got it.  It wasn't long after that a corporate policy regarding social media was sent out.

So, do you know who is watching you?

Using Search Marketing to Stay Out of Bankruptcy | ClickZ

Using Search Marketing to Stay Out of Bankruptcy ClickZ

Jami playing and and singing

Ratings and Reviews Contest

Ratings and Reviews Contest

Marketing a Local Event for Free!

Last year a pair of local business owners in our community decided they would begin a contest to see who was the best at making a one of America’s favorite foods, a hamburger. This idea began as the brain child of local entrepreneur Selina Meehleib. Selina’s husband is a local butcher who is half owner of a local butcher shop, Mountain State Meats and Catering. Selina runs the business and in particular the catering portion of the business. Having a background of being an expert in the meat industry gave Selina and her husband Ryan the validity in founding this local competiton. But, Selina needed to have other support in starting this and actually pulling it off and her funds were limited.
Selina approached local business owner Jason Roach of Sunfire Hearth Patio & Spa. Not only does Jason’s business specialize in outdoor patio furniture, spa and hot tubs, indoor/outdoor fireplaces, woodstoves, pellet stoves, etc. They also specialize in gas and pellet grills. How do most American’s prefer their burgers? Grilled! When Jason and Selina put their collective ideas together, the Big Bad Burger Contest was born!
Ok, so they had a great idea but again the funds were limited with which they would be able to market their idea of the contest and then there were prizes and press so here is how they pulled it off, all things anyone can use to market their big idea with small funds.
First, both Selina and Jason began talking to everyone about their idea. Selina knows hundreds of local business men and women and she talked up the contest to everyone seeking support in prizes as well as free marketing. Jason likewise knows hundreds of local business men and women and also spoke to many of them looking for support and particiation as contestants. Their goal was to have 50 contestants but they would be content with 20. Early on the local newspaper, The Journal, jumped in with support in print as did a local radio station owned by Prettyman Broadcasting. It wasn’t long before other sponsors and supporters jumped in to make the contest successful.
Finding judges was important because they had to be local yet someone who was experienced. Selina was able to secure West Virginia State Senator John Unger, II as the celebrity judge. This was very helpful as Senator Unger has experience judging in other local food competitions such as the Chili Cook-off and is a Kansas City BBQ judge. With Senator Unger’s participation this created validity for the competition and entrants began to come in quickly.
Selina also employed the knowledge of yours truly to create an online buzz through Twitter, Facebook and various blogs. As word got out and others jumped on this buzz was expanded by Around the Panhandle Magazine, The Buyer’s Guide, Hospice of the Panhandle, Inthepanhandle.com, and others in local media. It wasn’t long before they reached 20 entries in the two categories, beef and alternative burgers.
Jason and Selina were able with a very limited budget to build this event to actually be the largest first year event in Martinsburg, WV. Other than the cost to print full color fliers, and the time involved, they were able to market this event successfully with their own efforts. This coming year when they host the event, social media will be a large part of their marketing effort as well be the concerted efforts of the organizers to speak to as many local business owners, supporters and participants as they can reach personally. Who knows, maybe TV stations from the DC area will come out to feature the event or if they are lucky somone from the Food Network will sit up and take notice and attend as well.