manasota.score.org 941.955.1029 1 internet marketing & social media for business v.20140825

MANASOTA.SCORE.ORG941.955.1029

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Internet Marketing & Social Media for Business

v.20140825


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Introductions

Go Around the Room

Tell everyone:– Your Name– What type of business you

are currently operating– What you hope to get out of

this session– 60 seconds!


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About SCORE

• Successful and experienced executives acting as volunteers.

• National web site, www.score.org, provides useful information and resources for small business.

• Seminars and workshops• Free Mentoring

– One-on-one– Email mentoring

• Contact Manasota.SCORE.org

http://www.score-suncoast.org/


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Manasota SCORE Local Sponsors


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SCORE Office2801 Fruitville Road Suite 280

• Manatee Chamber of Commerce

Downtown and Lakewood Ranch• Sarasota Chamber of

Commerce• Venice Chamber of Commerce

Your Place of Business

Location convenient to you and your mentor

Mentoring Locations


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Emergency Exits

Restrooms

Please do not

wander around

the building!You are HERE

Classroom Safety – Argosy U


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Emergency Exits

Restrooms

Please do not

wander around

the building!

You are HERE

Classroom Safety - ComCenter


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In today’s session, we will cover:

Technology helped me

boost sales

Getting People to Your Site

Search Engine Optimization

Pay Per Click

Social Media

Online Video


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To inform potential customers about your business with relevant and concise information

To advertise and describe offerings and location To sell products and services To generate business leads To brand your business and provide contact information To be “found” by potential customers using search

engines To build a foundation for customer interaction

(ordering, returns, feedback, etc.)

Every Business Needs a Web Presence

Keep in mind: 78 percent of Americans use the Internet every day.


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Does Every Business NEED a Website?

- Businesses with an online presence can expect to grow 40% faster than those without

- Add credibility to your online presence – 50% of small businesses have a website

- Contains organized information that may not change as much as social media

- Single point of sales for online purchases- Gather valuable customer information via

web analytics

YES!


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Website Traffic


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4 Functions of a Website

• Promote

• Publish

• Communicate

• Serve

your business by telling customers about it

information that’s useful to your customers

with customers

customers by handling business functions


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Where does Website Traffic come from? Direct Traffic

Referral Traffic

Search Traffic


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Direct Traffic

Every Communication Channel should lead

to your website.

When a person types your website’s URL directly into their

web browser, this is considered direct traffic. Direct traffic can

result from finding your website URL in: Brochures

Magazines

Newspapers

Business Cards

Advertisements

Presentations


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Referral Traffic

YOUR

WEBSITE

Referral Traffic is when

a visitor clicks on a live

URL/Link on ANY website other than

your own, but one that

was not a result of conducting an

internet search.


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Search Traffic

Two things to keep in mind when thinking about

search engines: Keywords

Relevance

Ask yourself:

1. Does your content line up as a possible result for any search queries a user may enter?

2. Are the search terms relevant to any of your content?


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Search Engine – Organic Results vs. Pay Per Click (PPC)

Pay-Per-ClickOrganicResults

Organic search results are listings on search engine results

pages that appear because of their relevance to the search

terms, as opposed to their being advertisements.


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SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) : The process of improving the number and quality

of visitors to a web site from “organic” search results.

How to achieve good rankings: Develop great content that has value to others

Use SEO Best Practices

Target Keywords in the content

Monitor your results


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SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Source: Experian Hitwise 2012

Percentage of US searches among major providers

Globally, Google processes over 3 billion search requests/day!

How will someone find YOUR website?


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SEO - Best Practices Checklist

Content is King! Make sure your site is full of good content. You will

want to have between 200 to 1000 words in your body copy. Don't forget to use your SEO keywords.

Use these tips to writing effective content:- Know your target audience- Keep it short and simple

Headings 8 words or less Paragraphs 40-70 words

- Write active content- Write for how people search- Edit and proofread- Establish a clear call to action


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Meta Tags- Your page title should ALWAYS include your keywords.

(Preferably closer to the beginning of the title for better prominence)- Every page on your site should have a description meta tag which includes a description of the page content including use of your keywords- Keyword meta tag should include a list of your keywords specifically for the target page

Right click on a web age and click View Source to see the page HTML code


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View your competitors (and other) pages to find out how others have used meta tags effectively


Title - Appears in the top “tab” of your browser when you are on that page. It appears as the first line for a search result for that page.

Description - a more detailed description of what is on the page(s)

Keywords - used by search engines to match search termsdog grooming, dog grooming tips, grooming your dog


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Image TagsAll the images on your page have the opportunity to use ALT tags to provide descriptive text for the image.

Link TextAttempt to incorporate your keywords within link tags on your page.

Body ProminenceKeywords which are located closer to the top of the body text and/or page have more importance

Frequency/ DensityA count of the number of times you used your keyword on the page as compared to other words within the page


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Target Keywords for SEO

What would I use to describe this?

What makes a good keyword? The best keyword is typically

not a word but a phrase

Relevant to your business

Popular with searchers

Use words that will attract your target market to your site

What words are other people using

to search for something like your business?

Key Word Tool - adwords.google.com


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SEO- Worst Practices

Bad Ideas: – Flash for text content– Splash Home pages with no

content– Images as Text– Frames– Stuffing of Keywords– Invisible text– Duplicate content on

multiple pages– Distribution of Viruses


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Exercise 1 – Key Words

Work with a partner and make a list of 15 terms that your prospective customers might use to find your site

Example – Video Production– Video production companies– film and video production– music video production– corporate video production– website video production

Worksheet is in your folder! 10 Minutes!


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Get listed on Local Search Directories

Yellow Pages Book (oops what is that?)

“Local search is the natural evolution of traditional off-line advertising…to the web.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_search_(Internet)

WHAT + WHERE = Local Search

General: Google, Bing, Yahoo!, AskCity, YellowPages

Industry-specific: Yelp for restaurants, Angie’s List for service and health care providers*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_search_(Internet)

https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/index.html

https://www.bingplaces.com/

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/local-listings/basic-listing/


http://www.ask.com/local?

http://www.yellowpages.com/

http://www.yelp.com/

http://www.angieslist.com/


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WHAT WHERE

REVIEWS

Almost All “Yellow-Pages” Sites Now Include Reviews


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How to Find Your Business Online

• Brandify.com has a 30-day free trial that’s often sufficient for small businesses

• Yext.com (& Brandify & Localworks &…) provides a single location to update your listings on multiple sites, but costs $20-$50 per month

• Getlisted.org includes major sites and is free!• Google/Bing/Yahoo! are individual but free• In fact, listings on most all “online yellow-

pages” sites are free if managed individually

http://www.brandify.com/

http://www.yext.com/

http://www.brandify.com/

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/localworks/

http://www.getlisted.org/

https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/index.html

https://www.bingplaces.com/



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Online Advertising


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Online Advertising

• Search Engine Results Optimization (SEO) • Pay Per Click (PPC)• Banner Ads• Social Networking targets your audience and

provides a great link to the right people for your business.

• “Appvertising” – advertising on smart phone applications

• Blogs can filter your audience• Online Video• Reviews by customers


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SEO vs. PPC

SEO (Organic Search)– Referred to most often– Free, earned on merit– Difficult to get ranked

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)– Referred to less often– You Always Pay– Easy to get ranked

Does it make sense to do both?


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Make your title same as

the keyword phrase

LANDING PAGEDESCRIPTIONTITLE

Create a description that

highlights the product or service Send the visitor to a detailed landing page


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Pay-Per-Click Best Practices

Use phrases instead of single words for your keywords

Match ads to your keywords

Goal - High Click Through Ratio (CTR) View / Impressions AND Clicks on Your Ad

Target the right geography !

Web Analytics are key to success

Have a good place to land


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Advertising Traffic

DESCRIPTION

LANDING PAGE

TITLE


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Pay-Per-Click Pitfalls

• One Word Keywords• Ads don’t match keywords• Lots of Impressions (Views) but no Clicks on

the ad• Bidding Strategy• Lots of Clicks but no sales • No good place to land

on your site


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Measure Results - Analytics

• Google, Bing, Yahoo, others have tools– google.com/analytics/– bing.com/toolbox/webmaster

• Site and page daily traffic / referring websites / time on your site / browser used – lots of data and ways to view

• Compare results to your business goals – modify approach if needed

Source: Google Analytics


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Social Media


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Social Media

• Social Media Defined:Media designed to be disseminated through

social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques.

• Social media is about conversations and relationships

• Customers are in control, but not total control because you CAN participate

• People are talking about you!Chances are there is a conversation going ononline about your products or services, or even the business itself. Are you going to participate, or let someone else?


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Social Traffic

Any website where you can influence people to visit your site

can be considered social traffic. Social traffic can: • Generate exposure to your business

• Increase your website traffic/subscribers

• Result in new business partnerships

• Help to rise in internet search rankings

• Generate qualified leads

• Reduce overall marketing expenses

• Assist in closing business deals


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Social

Med

ia

“Con

vers

atio

ns”

Where should

you engage?


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Social Media Tips – Where to Begin?

Use the POST Method

People– Assess your customers’ social activities– Find out if they even participate in social

media.

Objectives – Decide what you want to accomplish.

Strategy– Plan for how your relationship with

customers will change.

Technology – Decide which social media technologies to

use (communities, blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc.)


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LinkedIn 90 million users

Social Networking> Target your audience by age, gender, seniority, geography,

or job function> Pay per click or by impressions> Stop your ads at any time

Facebook >1 billion users

Social Networking > Connect with more than 1

billion potential customers> Choose you audience by

location, age, and interests> Test simple image and text-

based ads and use what works

YouTube 2 million daily views

Online Video Community> Promote your content> Share promotional videos and customer testimonials> Target audience by keyword

Blogs 126 million internet blogs

Online Conversation> Word of mouth> Communicate promptly > Obtain feedback on products,

service, trends, and industry

Google + Pages 500 million users

Social Networking>Growing rival to Facebook>Organize people into groups or lists for sharing

>Allows businesses to connect with fans

Twitter 175 million users

Microblogging> Connect with customers and quickly

share information > Gather market intelligence and insights> Build relationships with people

B 2 C B 2 CB 2 B

B 2 C B 2 C B 2 C

B 2 B

B 2 B

Business Accounts – NOT Personal Ones


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Pinterest >50 million users >Sharing pictures related to themes or products> Visual discovery tool to attract customers> Most popular with women

Google Places Business Finder> Be found by your customers> Stand out by engaging customers with

photos, offers, and public responses> Get insight on your listing to make

smarter business decisions

Online VideoB 2 C B 2 BB 2 C

Business Accounts – NOT Personal Ones

Video is excellent!


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Customized URL

Basic business info

A customer clicks this to become a “follower”

Twitter Page


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Facebook Page

Customized URL

A customer clicks this to become a “follower”

Basic business info


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Topics to blog about:

• Industry News• Current Trends• Tips & Advice• News about the

Biz• Other Ideas?

• WordPress, TypePad and Movable Type are popular blogging tools

• If you don’t have time to do it yourself, Elance.com, Freelancer.com, or Guru.com are popular freelancer sites

Blogs May Establish Credibility

http://www.wordpress.com/

http://www.typepad.com/

http://www.movabletype.com/

http://www.movabletype.com/

http://www.elance.com/

http://www.freelancer.com/

http://www.guru.com/


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Social Media Pitfalls

• Rush to action without a plan– Wastes time – Focus on the wrong objectives or platforms

• Lack of objectives and measurement– Difficult to translate online activity to business

results • Content guidelines

– Requires Planning– Once the genie is out of the bottle, it’s too late

• Failing to engage audiences – Social Media is about listening and interacting vs.

shouting • Limited Reach

– Social Media works best with a large audience for Return On (your) Investment (ROI)


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Social Media Tips – Omnipresence

Optimizing content is not just about making changes to a site. – You should have content that

can be portable (such as PDFs, video, podcasts).

– Submitting them to relevant sites will help your content travel further, and ultimately drive links back to your site

– RSS (Really Simple Syndication)– allows others to subscribe to your content


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Social Media Tips – Increase Linkability

Remember, the key is to have content that “engages” others and makes them want to link to your site.

Reward Inbound Links – Who is linking to you and what

are they saying? – Track your inbound links – Allow display of trackbacks – Highlight people who write about

you – Engage in conversations on blogs

that link to you


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Social Media Tips – Share!

Make Tagging and Sharing Easy!

Add quick buttons to “add to del.icio.us” or “share”– Making sure pages include

a list of relevant tags – Adding tags to pages first

on popular social sites A “tag” defined

– is just a word(s) that describes content. Tags that describe the content are easy to bookmark and add to Social Media Sites


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Exercise 2 – Social Media

• What major social media technology do you think will benefit your business the most?

• Describe 3 ways you will use it to attract customers

• What experience do you have using this social media?

– 10 Minutes!


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Online Video


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Benefits of Online Video

Rank Well in Search Engines– Google searches may give higher priority to sites with

video as they now own “You Tube”– Most search engines now include Video searches in

their page results– Use descriptive tags in video submission


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Benefits of Online Video

• Create Interactivity and User Interest

– Many customers prefer to play an effective video to get information rather than reading a sales copy.

• Lets Others Advertise for You

– Video initiates new destinations for business online through video sharing sites.

• Brand Recognition

– Videos can be used to show the operations of a product, to introduce a business, for online seminars and conferences or for advertisements in a very effective way to gain brand recognition.


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Application of Online Video

• Viral video– Located outside of a business website– Used for distribution (marketing) and promotion purposes– Embed viral video in several different sites in order to reach

as many audiences as possible– Entertaining, funny, and/or unique

• Educational video– Presented within a business website to educate audience– Typically demonstrates the business or its services

• Conversion video– Placed on the home page – Engages site visitors to concentrate more time on websites,

which in turn provides more favorable circumstances to sell – Proven medium for building up engagement with

customers.


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Workshop in Review

What did I learn today?

Getting People to Your Site


Pay Per Click

Social Media

Online Video


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Do You Have A SCORE Mentor?• Fill out the online request for free,

one-on-one mentoring.– Right after this session!– manasota.score.org – click the

Mentoring tab– A mentor will be assigned in

about a week– Mentor will call you to setup a

mentoring appointment • Ongoing phone and/or face-to-face

guidance to aid completion improvement plans

• Mentor will be available for an ongoing relationship

Take advantage of this free service to help you make the best decisions as you grow and

improve your business!



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Visit manasota.score.org for Schedules and Registration

SCORE Workshops

Specialized Workshops

• Building Your Business Plan• Utilizing Websites to Boost Sales• Internet Marketing and Social Media for Business

Simple Steps for Starting Your Business

• Start-up Basics• Business Concept• Marketing Plan• Financial Projections• Funding Sources / Next

Steps



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Help Us, Help You

Please fill out the workshop

evaluation form

Your feedback is important to help

us improve our programs!

manasota.score.org 941.955.1029 1 internet marketing & social media for business v.20140825

Documents

website traffic slide

customers customers

business leads

type of business

handling business functions

useful information

potential customers

contact information