Why is Social Media Optimization Essential to Your Success?

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Social media optimization is a marketing strategy that’s simply too important to ignore. Social networks are growing steadily and they are providing small businesses an opportunity to reach out to a bigger audience. In today’s online world, you would need to be thriving socially if you want your business to get more customers and crush your competition. Not convinced with the power of social media? See our Infographic: Amplification: Beyond Reach, Engagement Social media is an effective tool for reaching your prospects and engaging them. According to Pew Internet research, 67% of all Internet users also use social networks. Meanwhile, comScore estimates that one in six minutes spent online is on social networks. These statistics simply mean that when people are online, they also connect via social media—giving business owners and marketers an opportunity for customer reach and engagement. But what makes social media powerful is amplification. The more engaged your friends and followers are, the bigger your amplification factor grows. This is turn results in more reach, deeper engagement, and again, bigger amplification. The social cycle goes on and on, and is similar to the buying cycle: awareness, interest, desire, action, loyalty, and advocacy. Amplification, however, makes the difference as it broadcasts the advocacy to a bigger audience, amplifying the number of leads and customers you can reach and engage. Facebook Leads Social Network Growth More and more social networks are being created nowadays but some of the crucial ones businesses need to focus on are as follows: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. These are networks that have shown steady growth. These are where most of your prospects share and connect with friends. Facebook, in particular, should be a business necessity. The social network now has 1.11 billion monthly active users, up from 680 million in 2011. Its […] Read more »

SEO Goes Natural & Social with High Quality Content

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How to Comply with Google Panda and Penguin Updates Doing effective SEO has evolved into a more “natural” and “social” process. Algorithm updates, particularly Google’s Penguin and Panda, are continuously changing the course of conducting search engine optimization. Penguin targets bad links while Panda goes after poor content. Google, through their algorithm updates, has reiterated that website owners and search engine optimization practitioners must create a better experience for users. And that trying to manipulate rankings through keyword over optimization, link schemes, and black hat methodologies will only harm your website — and your business. See our Infographic: Here are some Penguin and Panda update-compliant SEO methodologies. Publish High Quality Content The era of run-of-the-mill, duplicate, and poor content is over. If you want to get into the SEO battle and win, then producing high quality, compelling content should be in your arsenal. Great content is key to increased visitors, more engagement, more inbound links and higher rankings. 72% of B2B marketers use content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy – BtoB Magazine 86% of B2C marketers use content marketing – Content Marketing Institute 90% of consumers find custom content useful. – TMG Custom Media 90% of CMOs say high quality content has a positive effect on audience attitudes – Custom Content Council 79% of marketers say their organizations are shifting to branded content – Forrester 72% of marketers rate branded content as more effective than magazine ads – Custom Content Council 60% of consumers feel more optimistic about a company after reading onsite custom content – Content Plus Stamp it with Google+ Google+ Authorship & Publishership Google+ is not just the search engine giant’s answer to Facebook. Plus is a social layer that connects all your Google activities. Google+ authorship in particular is a powerful SEO tool […] Read more »

Go for Mobile Responsive Web Design

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Getting More Leads and Sales, Not Just Fancy Cosmetic Redesign Implementing responsive web design means opening up your online storefront to mobile visitors, effectively increasing your chances of getting more leads and sales through your site. While it may come as a mere fancy redesign to some business owners, you should realize that this change is geared toward marketing more than cosmetics. Making the decision to have a responsive site means giving your business more opportunities to grow, especially for the long haul. See our Infographic: Responsive Defined In a nutshell, a responsive web design adapts itself to multiple screen sizes using the same URL, the same page, the same content, and the same code. Having a responsive web design means your website responds to or adjusts automatically to the size of the screen of various devices: a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone. Today is the perfect time to go responsive as mobile ownership is up and will continue to rise in the future. In the U.S. alone, there are already over 120 million smartphones and 50 million tablets, estimates digital research firm comScore. By the end of 2013, there will be 1.4 billion smartphones across the world, adds another research firm, ABI Research. It is also expected that by 2014, there will be more mobile Internet users than desktop users. But it’s not just mobile device ownership you should look at; it’s what people do with their laptops, tablets, and smartphones that you should pay attention to. Digital Media Consumption through Mobile Owners are so engaged with their mobile devices that 37% of time spent on digital media is now driven by smartphones and tablets. Research shows that mobile (43%) is closing in on desktop (57%) in terms of preference when reading news. User preference […] Read more »

Is Your Local Business Invisible Online? Discover Local Buzz!

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More and more consumers are using the Internet to search for products and services in their area. Sadly, local businesses are struggling to keep up with the trend. They are finding it more and more difficult to stay visible to potential customers online. On the other hand, a select few local businesses are thriving. They are dominating local listings and enticing prospects to come and visit the shop. Want to dominate your local area for your products and services, too? Discover how you can thrive locally with the help of optimized local listings, customer ratings and reviews, check-ins, and maps – otherwise known as “local buzz.” Local Search and Why It’s Growing Many local business owners are aware that nearly 8 in 10 consumers use the Internet to look for products and services online. Google, of course, is the leading search engine of choice. That’s why business owners spend majority of the budget on having a website and optimizing it for search results. What many owners are realizing now is that they should optimize their online presence based on location too, not just on products and services they offer. That’s what local buzz is all about. Local search happens when prospects type in geographic keywords in their search queries (i.e. “best wedding gowns san francisco” or “website design in chicago). Some 54% of searchers include a local modifier (city, zip code) in their search nowadays. Much of the popularity of local search can be correlated to the growth of mobile device ownership and usage. Some 74% of smartphone owners get real-time location-based information through their phone, as of February 2012, up from 55% in May 2011, comScore said. Local Buzz Means Money for the Biz For now, it is clear that consumers are online and they are looking for a […] Read more »