How to Start a Conversation with Customers on Facebook

Most every business has a Facebook page. Do you? It’s a great way to let your customers know about your business, who you are and what you do.

But remember it’s social media and you have to be social. So, how do you start a conversation with customers on social media like Facebook?

Here are some foolproof ways to get that conversation started.

Ask questions

One of the best ways to start a conversation with your fans is to post a question.

Questions are a great way to promote your business and find out what your customers are thinking.

Asking a question can also give your social media a great boost. Every fan that engages with your post (likes, shares or comments on your post) boosts the number of people who also see your content because the engagement is shared in their newsfeed to all their friends.

What type of question should you post? Your question can be anything from asking for feedback on your latest product to a short survey.

Share tips and tricks

You’re the expert in your field, right? So share some of your knowledge with your fans. Post a short video or blog with some information that you think your readers would find helpful.

Are you a chef? Share a great recipe that you’ve found or a great kitchen shortcut that would save your readers time in the kitchen. Are you a hair stylist? Post a video of a great color that you just did for a customer. 

Be yourself

Your fans want to get to know you and your company. If they know you and trust you, they will do business with you.

Use your Facebook page to show the behind the scenes parts of your company. 

Highlight new (and old) employees. Post about charities that your business participates in.

Post testimonials from happy customers. Testimonials aren’t just for your website!

Inspire

Do you have some great quotes that inspire you? Share them with your fans. Sometimes a great quote will resonate with your fans and increase your engagement.

Remember the social part of social media. If your fans are commenting, you need to follow up and continue the conversation.

Are you ready to start having conversations with your customers?

Don’t let being a woman hold you back from the leader that you’re destined to be. – Jamie Farsnel

6 Tips For Writing Catchy Email Subject Lines

Fact: 33% of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone.

That’s why it is so important to craft a compelling subject line…..so people will open and read your email.

Here are some tips to write email subject lines that people will actually click.

Keep it short

Email subject lines will get cut off if they are too long, especially on mobile devices. And 40% of emails are being opened on mobile devices first.

You need to keep your email subject line to fewer than 50 characters. This will allow people to see the entire subject line when they’re scanning their email.

Use a recognizable sender name

If the sender is unknown, most people do aren’t want to chance opening spam. It might contain a virus.

Also, emails from ‘info@” or “customerservice@” are unlikely to get opened. They don’t sound friendly.

If you need to have emails coming from a generic email account, set one up using a name, such as ‘Sue@”. You’ve just increased the likelihood of the email being opened by having it come from a person.

Use action verbs

Similar to the Call-to-Action on your website, you need to let people know what to do and express the urgency to open the email. An action verb used at the beginning of the subject line can entice readers to open your email.

Make them feel special

Give your readers a sense of exclusivity; that they are on the inside. This can help build loyalty by creating a sense of belonging.

For example, your subject line could be ‘You’re Invited’ or ‘Exclusively for our favorite customers’. This will make them feel special.

Keep it concise

Since people quickly scan their inbox, you need a clear and concise subject line that will grab their attention.

Think about how your email will benefit the reader. Make that benefit clear in the subject line.

Don’t use all caps

People will feel yelled at if your subject line is all caps. And no one likes to get yelled at!

Also, overusing exclamation points can be a big turn off too.

Using all caps or too many exclamation points can make an email look like spam.

If you have something exciting to share with your mailing list, remember to craft a compelling subject line and your email will get opened.

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. – J.K. Rowling

I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist. – Ginni Rometty

How To Brand Your Small Business

If you’re not a marketer, the term ‘branding’ can be confusing. What is it? And is it expensive?

Actually, branding your business doesn’t have to be expensive. It does take an investment of your time, though.

Here are some simple steps to help you brand your business.

Know your audience

Every small business should take the time to create personas. These are semi-fictional ‘characters’ that have all the qualities of the actual customers you are trying to reach.

Knowing your personas will aid you in figuring out the goals, needs, and behaviors of your potential customers. This information will make it easier for you to talk to them about your products or services. You will also discover what kind of social media your personas are using, how they like to be communicated to, and what motivates them.

Hubspot has a free tool, MakeMyPersona,( http://www.makemypersona.com/), that will guide you through some easy and quick questions to figure out the ideal person you want to reach.

Create your brand identity and voice

Once you have identified your potential customers, it’s time for you to create your brand identity and your voice. Your brand identity consists of the things that make people aware of what your brand it and the voice is the tone you will use in your website content, any marketing materials and social media.

Now is the time to think about what your company’s values are, what it represents and what you want people to say about your company.  It’s the ‘know, like, trust’ factor. More homework for you!

Be consistent on social media

Now that you have a clear picture of your potential customers, you have to figure out where they are spending their time on social media. Remember, it’s most cost effective for you to reach potential and current customers where they already.

Check out the Pew Research Centers’ Demographics of Social Media Users (http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/). This report profiles the users of the five major social media platforms – Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and  Instagram.

When looking at this report, you should be able to see where your personas spend most of their time online. This will help you narrow down the long list of social media platforms to use to promote your business.

Once you’ve narrowed down the social media platforms you want to use, remember to post to them on a regular basis. Your fans will expect it.

Blog

I’ve written about the importance of blogging before. You are the expert in your field so start writing about what you know. Share your knowledge.

Blogging allows you to share the information that your personas are looking for. It will turn strangers into regular visitors to your website. Research has shown that after friends and family, blogs are the third most trusted source of information about a company.

Be customer focused

Make customer service a priority. Create a great, fun, sharable experience for your visitors. Once your customers have had a great experience with you, they will talk about it. Let customers post on your pages. Ask satisfied customers for testimonials and use them on your website and in your social media posts.

Consider partnering

A great way to co-brand your business is to partner with an existing business that has similar values as yours. Align yourself with a brand that will help grow your business, that you can partner with in business ventures and that you can bring a broader audience to. It’s a win-win for both businesses. You just have to be smart about who you partner with.

Get branding!

Have fun branding your business. Use the tools I’ve mentioned above to get your small business branded in a few easy steps. 

Celebrate Martin Luther King Day!

Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want. – Dianne Feinstein

How to Find The Perfect Keywords For Your Website

You want your website to rank high. It’s how you will be found. Having the right keywords for your website will get you on the first page of a search.

Keywords are 2- to 5-word phrases that people searching for you, or a similar business, would type into a search engine.

You may know your business very well, but quite often knowing which keywords to use is not intuitive.  Here are some tips to help you determine your best possible keywords.

Make a List

The first step in determining your keywords is to make a list of phrases that your clients would use to find you on Google. Don’t think like the business owner; think like your customers. How would they describe your business, your products or services?

Your next step is to use these phrases to see if your competition comes up in a Google search. If they do, then you’re looking at the right phrases.

Get Specific

Your keywords should be terms that describe what you do and the products or services that you sell. Consider pairing these terms with words that are more specific, such as your location. For example, if you are a hardware store, it’s great that customers can purchase hammers and paint from you, but by adding your location to your keyword term, you are targeting customers in your area.

Use a Keyword Tool

Take advantage of some great, and free, tools available to you to help choose keywords. I love Google Keyword Tool. Other tools are SEMRush and Moz Explorer.

These tools can tell you exactly how many people are searching for specific terms each month. The tools will also suggest terms you can use and tell you if a specific keyword is very competitive.

Google’s Keyword Tool is free, which is great! Unfortunately, Google has changed the rules and unless you’re running an Ad Words campaign on Google, you can’t access this tool.

Moz Explorer (https://moz.com/)  charges a monthly fee but you can get a free 30-day free trial. SEMRush (https://www.semrush.com/) only allows one free day to try out their tool then you have to pay.

Find a Niche

When many businesses use similar keyword terms, it can be nearly impossible for a small business to make it to the top of the search. Look for your unique niche and use keywords that reflect that niche. Are you a local restaurant that makes a fantastic pizza? I’m sure that there are many such businesses in your area. What if you also make gluten-free pizzas? That is your niche. Add some specific adjectives to your keywords and you’ll increase your chances of ranking high.

Now that you’ve identified your list of 5-10 awesome keywords, it’s time to use them throughout your website. 

Where To Promote Your Website

You’ve had a beautiful website built, so now what?

You want to let people know your business is up and running. You want to be found.

Here are some great places you can promote your website….for free!

Social Media Platforms

Social media is a fantastic way to spread the word about your website and your business. Facebook (www.facebook.com)  for business is someplace you should be. 

Also, you can create a business page on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a great platform to follow industry leaders and gain your own following too.

Does your business have products that would photograph well? Instagram (www.instagram.com)  and Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) might be a place for you.

Other social media platforms include:

·         Google+

·         Yelp

·         Buzzfeed Community

·         WikiHow

Online Business Directories

Online business directories can be local or very high-profile. And they can cover a wide range of audiences. They all work pretty much the same – you submit your website’s URL and some additional information about your business. These sites add you to their data banks so that when their users are searching categories, your link shows up in the results.

Also, by adding your website’s URL to these directories, you will increase your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and improve your website’s ranking in searches.

·    

     Google My Business

·         Bing Places

·         Yellow Pages

·         eLocal

·         MapQuest

·         EZ Local

·         Merchant Circle

·         Local.com

·         Entire Web

·         Manta

·         Insider Pages

Where will you promote your website?

You manage things; you lead people. – Grace Murray Hopper