Anyone who is business savvy knows that the difference between the death and survival of a company is its marketing strategy. Without a comprehensive, strategic marketing strategy, the chances that a business will survive are quite low. This continues to be true to this day, although marketing tactics have changed with technology. Traditional marketing tactics such as print, radio and television advertising are no longer considered to be of the utmost importance, and have instead been eclipsed by internet marketing. Given the fact that the internet has changed the way the world turns, it is crucially important for your business to not only have a high quality website but to market it effectively so as to drive sufficient traffic. Internet marketing is the wave of the future, and will soon determine a business’s lifespan completely.

Building an online presence doesn’t have to be hard, and can basically be boiled down to four different internet marketing tactics: email marketing, Search Engine Optimization (or SEO), Social Media and Paid Ads. By taking advantage of all of these marketing strategies, you will inevitably drive far more traffic to your site than you would otherwise be able to.

Email marketing is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website. Think of email marketing as technology’s answer to direct mail, and you’ll understand how important it can be to boosting your online presence. In fact, email marketing has the highest return on investment among all internet marketing strategies; the bottom line is that it works. However, building a list can take quite a bit of time and resources, which makes email marketing a difficult option for those with limited resources to consider. Nevertheless, email marketing is an important, highly successful form of internet marketing.

SEO, or “Search Engine Optimization” is the new buzzword among businesses looking to improve their internet presence. Optimizing your website for search engines by including back-links and relative keywords in the source code will help Google to better index your site, increasing the chances that your site will grab an early spot on Google’s search lists. Since much of the world navigates the web via search engines, SEO is crucially important to a well-planned internet marketing strategy. However, it needs to be ongoing to be effective, and can take some time before results become apparent. Regardless, SEO is a very important part of effective internet marketing.

Social Media is by far the most popular concept to hit the internet in the last decade, and continues to gain steam and popularity amongst its users. The popularity of social media makes it a perfect breeding ground for marketing your website. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter rely on ads to stay in business, and placing an ad for your website or business will likely result in quite a bit of extra exposure. Social media is especially effective for those who own retail businesses, as it can enhance the brick and mortar feel of your online presence.

Paid advertising is another option. For those who are willing to invest the money, Adwords is an extremely effective service that will result in top rankings on Google. The downside is, your rank disappears as soon as your budget does. If your company has the money, it can be wise to invest in Google Adwords.

It’s happened to the best of businesses. Somewhere along the way, a customer is going to complain. And in the new business world of social media and online shopping, opportunities abound for customers to express their opinions, good or bad, more than ever before. Ignore social media, and you’ll ignore a valuable customer base: more than 93% of people shop via the internet, and online reviews are big factors in decision making. Simply put, what your online reviews say about your company matter.

Transparency struck. Now what?

Gleaming web-fronts on social media networks are a start, but what about addressing negative reviews when they come in? Approach each issue in a logical, straightforward manner. Yes, people can be unpleasant, but at the end of the day most customers just want to feel they’ve been listened to. Ignore an angry customer and they’re much more likely to continue to complain publicly. Take the negativity in stride and analyze potential issues with an end goal of arriving at a solution. By addressing customer concerns in a timely fashion and a polite ear, those negative reviews will end up being solid representations of how diligently your company provides excellent customer service.

Don’t despair.

The solution to handling negative online reviews won’t be solved by ignoring them, but by following good business practices and being proactive about the company’s online image. Set up profiles on major social networking sites, and take charge of the face your company puts forward to the public. Offer solid, honest information about goods and services, and encourage customer feedback. The more transparent you are, the better, and taking good and bad feedback in stride will earn you respect among consumers, building a loyal base of customers over time.

Deal with it like a professional.

When it comes to addressing negative reviews, professionalism is key. There’s nothing that looks worse for a company than an overly emotional or unpleasant reaction to customer criticism. It may not be fair, but separate your personal feelings from the criticism and maintain professionalism. Stooping to unprofessional attacks on critics usually ends up drastically decreasing respect and credibility for your business. Once you post online, it’s public. One poorly timed nasty comment towards a customer only takes a fraction of a second to post to Twitter, MySpace, or Facebook. Avoid fallout from engaging in personal battles with customers; be the bigger person, maintain some dignity, and don’t let someone get the best of you. A quick visit to consumer rating sites such as Kudzu or Yelp is a virtual graveyard of companies who have chosen to lash out at customer criticism and failed.

Is it a legitimate complaint?

There’s also the possibility that negative reviews won’t be legitimate. If reviews seem inaccurate, fraudulent, or just plain ridiculous, politely acknowledge the comments but keep it short and sweet. Engaging in drawn out battles over small issues can reflect poorly on a business, and seem petty. Even better, if a particularly ridiculous customer insists on publicly posting an angry tirade, write a polite response indicating all the ways the company addressed the issues. Staying calm and publicly sticking up for your company’s response can turn a negative into a positive. Customers will recognize a jerk when they read one, especially when the company proves it addressed all the complaints. By showing clearly and professionally the ways which the customer’s concerns were resolved and addressed, it indirectly shows the pettiness of the negative reviewer- contrasted with the measured, factual response from your company, readers will end up admiring the way in which a difficult situation was handled with ease.

If ten people say you have a tail,
you should probably look behind you.

If a series of complaints about a similar issue arise, it may be time to examine your business model. What can be improved operationally to bring a higher degree of satisfaction to customers? Are there processes that can be introduced or changed to remedy concerns? It’s important to address criticism as constructive – perhaps some of those negative reviews will end up pointing out issues early on that could potentially have become PR nightmares. Swaying a discontented customer can be challenging, but showing you are working to address their problems goes a long way in building a positive public image.

Learn from the experience.

When dealing with the public, it’s a given that dissatisfied customers will rear their ugly heads from time to time. Use the criticism as a chance to improve and strengthen your business plan. Simply put, the best way to avoid negative reviews is to run a solid, respectable company in the first place. Understand that the negativity isn’t personal, and view it as a way to potentially improve your business or product to make it even better. Criticism and feedback is essential to keeping a solid handle on customer experiences, which greatly influence a company’s bottom line. To keep the profits pouring in and complaints to a minimum, maintain transparency and address concerns swiftly and directly. Be proactive, positive, and honest when maintaining a presence on social media networks. Put your best face forward and encourage satisfied customers to post their experiences as well. Follow this framework and you’ll achieve one of the greatest business strengths of all–a loyal and dedicated customer base.

Encourage positive reviews.

Let’s say you’ve been following all of the advice above but still feel your customer’s online comments aren’t properly reflecting the company’s merits. Perhaps there’s an imbalance between positive and negative reviews. Maybe there aren’t very many reviews period. There’s an easy solution for this: encourage happy, satisfied customers to post reviews and responses online. Remember, the social media sites are meant to reflect accurate customer experiences, not merely complain. A great way to encourage positive feedback posts is to e-mail reminder messages, simply and politely worded, asking customers to post positive feedback regarding their experiences. More often than not people will be flattered to be asked their opinion, and will publicly state their love for your product or service.

Keeping your browser up-to-date is important for keeping the internet and your computer safe. Most updates are security updates. Many of the viruses on the web are spread through vulnerabilities in older browsers, especially Internet Explorer. Here is a guide to updating the most common browsers.

How to update Internet Explorer:

1. Check to see what version of IE you are using.
2. Open Internet Explorer (IE)
3. In the file menu at the top, click HELP => ABOUT INTERNET EXPLORER.
   If you do not see the file menu, right click in the header below the title bar (blue bar). Select MENU BAR.
4. The current version is IE 8. If you are using anything lower, update your browser.
5. To get the free update of IE, go to Internet Explorer’s page.

How to update Firefox:

1. Open Firefox
2. In the file menu at the top, click HELP => CHECK FOR UPDATES

How to update Safari

You should be notified of updates automatically through Software Update. These instructions are for manual updates only.

1. Open Safari
2. Go to Apple’s Website.
3. Click SUPPORT =>DOWNLOADS.
4. Type ‘Safari’ into the search box in the upper-right hand corner of the screen and press the ‘Enter’ button on your keyboard.
5. Look through the search results for the latest Safari update and click on the link.
6. Click the DOWNLOAD icon.
7. Install the Safari update on your computer.

How to update Chrome

1. Open Chrome
2. Click on the wrench icon => ABOUT GOOGLE CHROME.

I have seen some really interesting things happen to brands lately with the shift to social media. Even if you are not using social media to promote your brand, proactively handle customer service or monitor industry trends, your customers are! Never in history have we had the opportunity to communicate with our customers as we do now through social media. There are opportunities to go big or to fail big time.

Here are a few tips to help you manage your online brand through social media.

• Have employees set up online user names to write company blog posts, visit online forums and blogs that talk about your product or service and leave comments or start conversations about your brand.
• Do not lie. When something is posted online, it is forever. It can not be deleted or recanted. Lying about your product or service will be remembered for a long time and may start a flame war that may damage your business.
• Saying you have good customer service IS NOT a replacement for good customer service. Listen to what people are saying and deal with it honestly and respectfully, no matter what the situation is.
• Watch what your employees say online. Their reputation affects yours. Have employees set up a separate online identity that supports the brand and use it at all times when representing the brand.
• Having no competition doesn’t mean you can be sloppy or lazy. Just because you are the only one who does what you do today doesn’t mean that’s the way it will be tomorrow. Stay on top of the game or lose your footing forever.

Do you thing an optimized website will get good amount of traffic or that if a site ranks on the first page of search engine listings, it will get high traffic? It’s a good start, you also need to promote your site to get the targeted traffic.

There are websites that rank on page 1 for numerous keywords and still have minimal traffic. The bottom line is that high search engine rankings is no guarantee of getting high traffic. It is true that rankings are important for driving traffic, but that is not the only factor. There are many other factors that ensure you get many qualified visitors on your website. Let’s find out what entails ideal website design and promotion.

1. Website Design

The design is the first thing your visitor will see when landing on your site. Design tells them whether the company is professional and serious about its business. Instantly the visitor forms an impression. We provide you great looking, SEO friendly and user friendly website designs customized to your needs. If you need a content management system, we can do that also for you.

2. Search Engine Optimization

When your site is being designed, make sure SEO guidelines are being followed during the design stage. Otherwise, it will lead to rework later. All “on page” optimization activities can be done along with design. This ensures that your website will be found by those who are looking for products and services you offer. Typically when you hire a web design firm, that’s all they do is design the website. There is no SEO or even planning for SEO involved. A website should be optimized during the design stage. If you would like a website optimized after the design stage, it will be more costly because it may involve a redesign. When you choose us as your website design company, we also ensure that optimization techniques are implemented at the onset to maximize your return on investment.

3. Internet Marketing

Next comes Internet marketing to promote your site so that your target audience knows that you exist. Being found by the search engines is a good start, but search engines don’t buy from you.  After a thorough analysis of your online business and competition, we will determine the online niches where your potential traffic hangs around and devise a website promotion plan accordingly. Our web promotion techniques include email marketing, Pay Per Click advertising, Social Media Marketing, Blog set up and more.

For a customized Internet Marketing Plan, get in touch with Shanna Korby at 218-422-0000.

In order to be successful, your business or your company should get noticed by your target audience. In this fast-paced internet culture, the World Wide Web is the best and most effective way to promote your business. Owning a website is easy but getting it noticed is the most difficult task. For marketing or advertising of the website you need to fix a budget, according to your goals and resources available.

Already there are millions and millions of websites present in the world of internet. Hence, making your brand new website noticeable is a difficult task. As compared to other media, websites have a higher visibility in every way. Since the count of web users is increasing daily, most website owners are spending significant sums to get noticed. This article discusses some important strategies to get your website noticed.

1. Search engine submissions

Search engines are the best way to promote websites. People use these search engines when they are searching for any information or have a doubt or a query. The search engines which are used by most web users are Google and yahoo, MSN, Ask Jeeves and a few more. Search engines give all the possible answers to any question anybody can have. They help web users get complete information regarding the products or about the sites listed with it.

Once you have your website live, it is very important to submit them on all major search engines. By doing so your site will get indexed which means that it will be added in the search engines’ database.

When you first publish your website on Google, make it clear to the Google local that the website really subsists in the first place. For this, fill out a simple form for Google for the purpose of indexing. Google gives the option of searching several websites or information on several products in your local area.

Yahoo local is also a search engine, which is quite familiar to the web users. It is very similar to Google local. Yahoo local is known for its top rated services, and to let you know about the events occurring near you and even provides fabulous business reviews. It contains business directories for many companies with maps, reviews, events, ratings etc. Yahoo’s rules are more or less the same as those of Google.

2. Articles and PR Submission

The content of your website is very important. It must be well-written, nicely formatted and keywords rich. You can also publish articles related to your website theme and Press Releases containing some newsworthy event for enhancing online visibility.  This is a perfect way to attain back links as well.

The richer the content the more popular your website becomes. Hire a good SEO consultant and get professional articles and PRs written and distributed on the right channels on a regular basis.

3. Using signatures

An email signature is a block of text attached to the end of the email message. It usually contains the sender’s name, phone number, address or any other necessary information. It is another way of promoting your website. However, there are some policies over writing a long email signature. When you are sending an email to any business partners, friends or anyone never forget to include URL of your website.

If you are an enthusiastic user of forums or message boards, then forum signature is the best way of introducing your website in forums. Forum signatures also have the same definition as that of email signatures. The only difference between the two is that forum signatures are introduced in forums and email signatures in emails. Just add the website link to the forum in the form of signature. To add these signatures, first you need to sign up at the forum. Then add a signature to it. You can get ready made signatures create your own.

4. Using comments on the blogs

People use others’ sites and give comments on others’ blogs. Therefore, when doing so, it is advisable to add your URL link at the end of your comment. You can comment on other blogs and can also create your own blog wherein you can say what you want to through your website. Regular use of blogs and a good quality of your content count a lot. The posts which you write should be attractive, informative and understandable. Interacting with your customers by replying through the blog will help you improve your website.

5. Using social media outlets

Social media marketing is also a way of getting your website noticed. There are many popular social media outlets to use like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and many more. These social media outlets not only promote your website but also allow people to give their feedback on it. Through these valuable interactions the popularity of your website grows. These media outlets also have a special feature of introducing a button system. Clicking on the button directly takes you to the specified website.

6. Using business stationery

Generally, every businessperson owns a business card. To utilize it more, it is advisable to print your website link on it. When these business cards circulate within your friend circle or among your customers, they find it easy to learn about your business through your website. Include these website links not only in the business cards but also in all other business stationery like letterheads, envelopes, stamps, embossers, company related gifts, etc.

To sum it all up, if you do all these things today you will surely get your website noticed!

Regardless of how well you go about advertising your business or how many visitors your website may get you might still not be able to do as well as you should if your website is not properly designed. Here are a few tips which should help you tweak your website for maximum performance.

Welcome your visitors

When someone enters your shop the first thing you do is to welcome them. This is basic business etiquette which unfortunately does not follow though in the online world. When a visitor visits your website for the first time it’s imperative that they are greeted with a welcome message. This gives them a feeling of being valued as well as that this is a professional business.

Get people to your blog

When people come to your website they do two things they either buy or they don’t buy from you. However your job in addition to selling your products and services is to get them involved in a conversation. This means that your website needs to have a blog. When people get involved in a blog they begin to trust you. Your ratio of returning business increases as well as the ratio of people buying from you. Many times even visitors who don’t need your service at that time will come back when they do need your service, because they remember you from your blog.

Add value to your service

Many businesses complain that their clients never return or that the ratio of return business is significantly lower than their competitors. The reason you are not getting return business is because you are not giving your visitors a reason to return. You need to show them exactly why they need to come back to you i.e. discounts, excellent service, freebies etc.

Educate your client

People who are new to your service or if this is their first time doing things they may have many questions. These questions should be answered politely as well as effectively so that they don’t turn off the customer.

There are many reasons why any business should have a blog. There are many benefits of web 2.0 and the biggest one being that it gets people involved and it helps you get your word out about yourself and your business.

SEO benefits of a blog

Out of the many benefits of a blog for business SEO seems to be the one taking over all others. The reason being that search engines such as Google, Yahoo and now Bing have a soft spot for blogs. Blogs seem to get more visibility because they are so content rich. This is why almost every business you see nowadays has a blog.

Communication is business

Communication is the lifeblood of any business whether its email, chat or a blog. However the advantage of having a blog is it can be used to keep your clients both previous and present informed of the latest updates to your business. You also get to communicate with more people which increases your chances of converting and eventually doing more business.

Establish yourself as an authority

A blog is sort of like a one way dialog where you talk about yourself and various aspects of your business. Its also a great way to establish yourself as an authority by providing expert views and tips. The information you present should be helpful because the more helpful it is the more people will begin to take your word for it.

Don’t turn comments off

When people comment you should reply. Unlike many blogs you need to focus on communicating with the people who take the time out to leave a comment on your post. This helps establish a relationship with your subscribers. You should also give your readers a chance to communicate about what they think about your post. So your post needs to be written in a way that attracts attention and entices them to comment on it.

You might have come across quite a few websites that has a pop-up that says “click here to chat” and often wondered how effective these were when it came to conversions. The live chat option has many advantages one of the biggest advantages being is clients don’t have to call your toll free number or send you an email if they want to discuss something with you.

The fact that they can just click and get in touch with you means that you will have more people contacting you than if you were to just place your phone number on your website.

Advantages of live chat

1. It’s easy to manage as you can chat with several clients at the same time.
2. Live chat also has a spell check option which allows you to correct mistakes and errors as you are chatting.
3. There are times when you simply forget a few things your client said to you and then calling back your client can be a bit of a daunting task. With a live chat you can simply save your entire conversation. This is great as it allows you to refer back to check if you got everything correct.
4. Many live chat solutions have an option often called “push page” which enables you to send a client to a specific part of your website. For instance if a client is enquiring about your rates you can send them to the packages page of your website.
5. With live chat you can actually see which parts of your website your client has been on and how much time they have spent on your website. This allows you to understand the client and makes it easier to close a sale.

Disadvantages of live chat

1. One of the biggest drawbacks for businesses is that live chat cannot run on auto pilot. It needs to be manned so you need people with knowledge of your business to handle this for you.
2. You also can’t take credit card numbers and other personal information over live chat since it’s insecure.

Today blogging is something that everyone seems to be getting into. Businesses mainly blog because it helps them increase traffic coming to their website, but how does blogging increase traffic? How it exactly works needs to be fully understood before you start blogging. Some experts believe that regular blogging can increase traffic to your website by as much as 250% while others people that you can experience a boost of 500% depending on how effective your blogs are.

Establishes credibility

One of the first things a blog does is it increases and establishes credibility of both you and your business. When you blog about things such as your business, offer useful tips and tricks etc it gives people a feeling that you are someone who really knows what he or she is talking about. This makes it easy for you to sell to them your products and services, because you have already managed to achieve the biggest hurdle in sales i.e. establishing trust.

Makes it easy for people to find you

Even with the millions of blogs out there it’s still easy to get good organic search engine traffic to your blog. With the right set of tools and the right articles you should have no problem getting lots of traffic to your blog which can then be sent towards your website.

Starts a dialog with potential clients

When you have a blog its like a one way dialog where you are saying something in the hopes that someone will hear it. When people do hear and like what you have said they will leave comments, in addition to that they will also check out what you are recommending. However you need to ensure that your blog posts are fresh, useful and thought provoking so that people get involved in it.