Facebook Rolls Out New and Improved Business Page Analytics

I came across this article yesterday and thought I'd share it with you. If you have a business Facebook page, this is great news!

http://blog.hubspot.com/facebook-revamps-business-page-insights

How to Write a Call to Action

You’ve got a great website built with good information about your company and products. But what makes your prospects want to buy from you? An effective call to action is necessary.

A call to action tells the prospect engaging with your website what you want them to do next. Create a logical next step that will be comfortable for your prospect and in line with the information they are viewing. Let your prospects know the call to action is a benefit to them.

A call to action can be for the prospect to download a free eBook or white paper in exchange for their email address. Capture the lead and you create a way to reach out to the prospect with additional information.

Where should your call to action be on your landing page? It should be in or near the upper right-hand corner because that’s where a prospect’s eye will generally land first. The call to action should visually stand out from the rest of the landing page. But make sure it fits with the overall look of your brand. The goal is to draw a prospect’s eye without being annoying or distracting.

Whatever your call to action is, deliver what you promise quickly and easily.

Simple Tips for Content Marketing

Marketing is all about writing content. It’s not difficult, just figure out what you want to say and find a way to say it. So where should you say it?

Start with your website. Ensure your website content is well written. Your landing page (home page) should consist of bullets with short sentences, keeping the text easy to read.  Include pull marketing questions so your prospects are nodding their heads, finding themselves, and want to reach out to you for a solution.

Write articles.  These articles will show you as an expert in your industry. There are many website that you can submit articles to. If you belong to an association, submit articles there too. Your articles can be used in your blog too. Write once and post it in as many places as you can for increased exposure.

Write a newsletter. Educate your customers, share your knowledge, and promote your products all at the same time.  Email your newsletter to your customers and post it on your website.

If writing scares you, reach out to a marketing consulting company, such as Blue Dog Marketing. We help our clients write content for their websites, blogs and newsletters.

Marketing Mistakes Small Business Owners Make

At Blue Dog Marketing, we see many things that our clients are doing right, but we also see the mistakes they are making. Here are some of the mistakes we’ve seen:

1.   Going for a sale like a “one night stand”: You wouldn't marry someone after one date so why would your customers purchase from you after one 'date'? People like to buy from businesses they know, like, and trust. It takes time to create relationships. Nurture the relationships.
2.   Not having a call to action: Gone are the days of simply getting people to subscribe to a free newsletter. Today, people are too busy and protective of their emails. It is essential to use an enticing free offer to gather leads. It could be a free report or eBook. It’s the call to action on your landing, or home, page that allows you to capture their information.
3.   Thinking that sending out one message about your product or services will increase sales: Sending one product message isn't going to break through the information overload your customers are experiencing. Your prospective customers need to see your message seven times before they will purchase from you.
4.   Thinking social media is the only marketing you need: Social media is free and it allows you to build relationships with your customers and prospects. And, today, everyone is using social media. You have to be strategic to reach your target market. Social media works best when used in conjunction with other marketing strategies.

At Blue Dog Marketing, we help our clients correct these mistakes and create a truly comprehensive marketing campaign to target the correct audience effectively. Let us help your business be successful!

Four Ways to Use Social Media in Your Small Business

Social media is a great, and inexpensive, way to reach your customers and prospective customers. At Blue Dog Marketing, we help our clients set up their social media and train them to use them most effectively.

There are many different social media applications, such as a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, that you can use. How do you use them effectively in your small business? Here are some tips:

1) Social media allows you to interact with your customers. They want to know about you, your team, and your products. Let them get to know you and your company. Use attractive pictures and create clever conversations to let them know about you. Create a positive image.

2) Engage your followers in conversation. Build rapport with your customers. Listen to what they say.

3) Let social media provide updates on your business. If you have an online store, ensure it is visible online. Allow customers to create feedback about your products. This allows you to enhance and improve your products. It also allows you to earn the trust of your customers.

4) Promote your business through a blog. A blog allows you to position yourself as an expert. It is a way to educate your customers too. Use your blog to direct readers to your website.

In today’s marketplace, integrating social media into your marketing is crucial for the success of your business.

Five Tips to Enhance Your Online Brand

Branding is an extremely important part of your marketing campaign. Branding can help establish a unique identity for your business and set you apart from your competitors.

Here are five tips you can use for your online branding. It’s best that you adopt these approaches simultaneously.

1.   Website optimization is very important. Keywords and diverse anchor texts need to be used effectively. SEO improves your visibility and brings more traffic to your website.

2.   Social media is an excellent platform for branding. Start by blogging. It helps you communicate with your customers on a more personal level and poises you as an expert in your industry. A blog helps build trust and goodwill for your brand.

3.   Other social networking channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are also very effective. Respond to comments and engage in a “conversation” with your customers.

4.   Write creative and believable press releases and submit them to news sites. Customers trust articles published on news websites.

5.   Do you check the internet from your smart phone or tablet? Your customers are also searching internet on their mobile devices. Your website should be compatible with mobile devices.

You can add newsletters, tutorial videos and eBooks to your branding campaign.  A marketing consulting firm, such as Blue Dog Marketing, can help you with your branding by doing the marketing for you, allowing you to focus on your business.

Four Landing Page Strategies

One of the services Blue Dog Marketing offers to our clients is web site creation. Many websites need help with their landing, or home, page.

Your landing page is the first place prospective customers see you on the web and you want to make sure you grab their attention immediately.

Here are some landing page strategies that you can apply to your business:

1. Post pull marketing questions to grab your prospective customer’s attention. Your ideal customer will answer "Yes" to each of these questions. These questions also help you develop trust and credibility with prospects.

2. Write engaging content. Your prospect’s attention span is very short so you want to grab their attention as quickly as possible. Use bullet points and short sentences to make the text easier to read.

3. Address your prospects concerns and offer a solution. Keep the focus on the "what and why" and don’t share how to do solve their problem. This will create a need – for them contact you to find out more information.

4. Explain how you work with clients. This is part of building that trust and credibility.

Customer Incentive Programs

Do you belong to a customer incentive program? Many businesses, such as airlines, car rental companies, and credit card companies have proven that a customer incentive program is an effective way to influence customer purchasing habits.

How can you, as a small business, implement an effective customer incentive program?

First, why should you implement a customer incentive program? A customer incentive program helps keep your company’s brand and products in the foreground of your customers. Your competition is probably using an incentive program.

To get started, you must design the program and features to the benefit of your company and the interests of the customer. The program should be designed to promote your organization’s strategic goals and products. It should be designed drive profit at a higher ratio than program expenditure.

To be successful, your customer incentive program requires the full participation of your staff and your customers. The program should be tailored to your customers interests and have attainable goals for them. Establish clearly defined rules that are easy for both your customers and employees to understand.

Insure that the program is quantifiable and accountable from a reporting standpoint. It is imperative that your company can track the data you designed into the program.

Create a page on your website where your customers can enroll.

Facebook Changes – How to make the most of them!

On March 7, Facebook announced changes which could impact your small business marketing. These changes, which are positive and move Facebook in a good direction, gives Facebook users the choice to view news feeds for either just their friends, or for the pages they like or for the music their friends are listening to.

Therefore, if your fans choose to view the news feed from just their friends, they aren't going to be seeing your posts like they used to! So what can you do to ensure your posts remain visible. Here are some tips:

1.   Instead of text only status updates, include photos or other visual content. Visual content can appear in photos-only News Feeds or a "following" brands News Feed. Therefore, visual content has the opportunity to gain a larger reach.

2.   If your fans have opted to view just their friends’ posts, they won't be seeing yours. Facebook ads may become more and more important for businesses to be found on Facebook. If you advertise on Facebook, include an eye-catching picture in the ad. This will attract clicks on your ad.

3.   One of the Facebook changes allows video to have a larger prominence on your Facebook page than it had in the past. If you post videos, invest in a professional video producer to help you make your story told effectively.

4.   Post content in that is interesting and, therefore, sharable. If your posts aren’t shared, your message isn’t getting out. It’s worth the extra time spent to make sure your posts are liked and shared. Facebook gives you a ranking dependent on how popular your posts are. If no one ever interacts with your fan page, that's not good for you or your ranking.

5.   Grow your fan base. The more people that like your page, the more opportunities you have to send people to your website. Facebook ads can help you grow your fan base. Also, advertise your Facebook page on your website and in your place of business. Your customers are your fans….so encourage them to “like” you on your Facebook page.