Five Ways to Improve Engagement

Five Ways to Improve Engagement

Many professionals are catching on that having a well-planned website and continuous content are an important way to help you brand yourself in the Internet age. However, too many are throwing up dry content that could only be interpreted by someone in their own field. If potential clients can’t connect with your content, they’re not going to buy your product or services!

To help you create more engaging content, I’m going to go over five tips to help make it easier for current and prospective clients connect with your content. Let’s get started!

1)    Don’t use jargon. While you want to show your clients that you are the expert in your field, you need to be able to do that without a minimal amount of jargon. And even more, you need to explain to be able to explain words that prospective clients will be unfamiliar with.  in simple, clear terms. If they can’t understand what you mean, they won’t understand why you’re the expert.

2)    Connect emotionally. If people are looking for your services, there’s a reason why. A couple may be excited to beef up their retirement planning so that they can enjoy an active free retirement where they are free to explore their interests. A small business owner might be feeling nervous because he’s in trouble by the IRS. If you can show how you can bolster their joy or assuage their fear, they’ll be much more likely to engage with you.

3)    Show, don’t tell. You can’t just tell prospective client you can help them, you need to prove it. Luckily, there are many ways you can do this: sharing statistics from studies that prove your point, sharing the stories of other clients you’ve helped, weaving testimonials from happy clients into your bio, creating videos or graphics that clearly demonstrate the facts … this list could go on for a while. If you can back up your opinions with facts and success, prospective clients will begin to trust you.

4)    Keep it brief. With people spending so much time on social media, most people are becoming more and more accustomed to reading shorter blocks of text online. After all, Twitter’s limit is 140 characters, and studies have shown that posts with between 100 and 250 characters get 60% more likes, comments and shares on Facebook. That’s not much to work with! Although your website content certainly shouldn’t be that short, it’s important to keep in mind that attention spans are definitely decreasing online, with most readers only reading about 60% of articles online.

5)    Draw them in early. The first ten seconds a visitor spends on a webpage are the most important. This is when most people “bounce,” or choose to leave after only one page. If you can get them to stay for those first several seconds, you’re likely to get them to stay on a page for at least two minutes, and then hopefully visit other pages on the site. This is why having an engaging title, and interesting, clear first paragraph are so important.

If you follow these fives tips, you should start to see a difference in the amount of time people spend on your pages, and the frequency with which they share your content. If you have additional questions about how to improve engagement for your content, don’t hesitate to get in touch! 

orignial article by Lindsay Dicks

Live streaming has been around....Grow Your Business in 2016

Live streaming has been around since the dawn of social media. Last spring, Periscope and Meerkat released. With one of these accounts, users can create a live mobile broadcast and stream live video and audio to viewers. Mobile live streaming is expected to grow even more in 2016 and it’s easier than ever to apply it your marketing strategy.

How can this benefit your business? 

For starters, it’s a great way to give your followers a closer look into who you are as a brand and offer exclusive insights and behind the scene footage.  

With a live stream app, connecting the audience to the brand is made possible by showcasing a live event, offering training on a product, or giving a look behind the scenes at your office. Several companies have used live streaming video to take a walking tour to show everything that goes into make the product or service a reality. 

Aside from a visual look, these videos are live and consumers have the opportunity to comment and ask questions, offering tools for real engagement.

Right now, there are two major apps in the marketplace: Meerkat and Periscope. They’re quite similar at the core and deciding between the two is about user preference.

Meerkat iOS and Google Play Links to Twitter account and followers Schedule broadcasts for a later date, to let people know exact details of when to tune in Automatically links live stream to a tweet Saves streams to phone, but doesn’t offer off-line viewing Offers interaction features during the stream via Twitter

Periscope iOS and Google Play Links to Twitter account, where you can choose your followers Suggests people to follow Instantly live, no scheduling capability. Users have to share live streams to other platforms Auto-saves broadcasts to watch replays, even off-line Offers interaction features during the stream directly on Periscope

                                 

How to Find Your Facebook Fans' Top Interests by Lindsay Dicks

How to Find Your Facebook Fans' Top Interests

by Lindsay Dicks

In the era of data-driven web marketing, knowledge is power. In the world of social media marketing, the most valuable knowledge is the interest of your fans. With an accurate assessment of your fans’ shared interests, you can utilize that information to target future social media posts and advertisements to Facebook users who follow pages directly related to those interests. For example, if you have Facebook page about business news, and you discover that the majority of your fans are also fans of the TV Show “Shark Tank” you could utilize that information to grow your number of Facebook followers with a Facebook ad campaign targeted to people who LIKE the Shark Tank’s official Facebook page.
The key to deriving this valuable information is to utilize Facebook’s built-in search engine. Below are three steps to find the Facebook pages that your Facebook fans follow.

1. Go to the search bar at the top of Facebook and search the phrase “Pages liked by people who like [Insert name of your Facebook Page]. E.G. “Pages liked by people who like CelebritySites.”

       2.  If you want to find pages liked by people near your physical geographic location, choose the option “Pages liked by people who live near [Your page’s name]

 

               

     

       3.  If you want to find pages liked by people who also like your page, select the option and click the magnifying glass.

 

Armed with this valuable information, you can apply this knowledge by targeting these pages in Facebook ads to promote your page to people who don’t follow your page yet. You can also consider running Google Display ads on websites that match the Facebook pages. For example, if you see that many of your page fans are also fans of  the USA Today Facebook page, you could add usatoday.com to your list of websites to target on Google’s list of websites eligble for Google Display ads.
 KEY TIP: DON’T FORGET YOUR COMPETITION! Consider some of your top competitors and use the same steps to find Facebook pages followed by their fans. Once you find those pages, consider adding those to your ad campaigns as well.

Enjoy this week's alert!
Lindsay






Lindsay’s FAV SEO/ SMM Alert- November 13 Edition

Why You Need A Twitter Dashboard
Adding the twitter Dashboard to your social media plan has its benefits. This article touches on how the changes made to Twitter in the past couple of years can really help you boost your presence and organization on Twitter.

 Snapchat tripled its daily video views to 6 billion in 6 months
Snapchat ‘s dominance for video channeling social media is growing fast.

7 Quick Tips Before You Choose Your Domain Name
Are you about to create your own domain name? Before you do, take a look at these tips and ensure you’re picking the right name four brands.

 How to Make Better Facebook Video Ads
Are you using Facebook video ads? Social Media Examiner explains how to make your ads better.

Facebook Loses Relevancy, Twitter Picks Up "Likes" | Social You Should Know
Keep update to what has been changing in social media, from new features on Twitter to a decrease in Facebook’s relevance.

Instagram Productivity Tips: How to Create a Workflow That Works
Because Instagram is primary a mobile application, it can be difficult to find the right flow on to use it effectively. This blog expands on ideas to use Instagram to its fullest.

How to Use Twitter Buy Buttons and Pinterest Buy Buttons
Twitter and Pinterest are now making it easier than ever to produce sales on social media. Learn how to add these features to your pins and tweets.

Content that sells: curate and convert using social media
Find our content curation can help your content marketing strategy stand out among the masses of Internet information.

For more information about Lindsay, Click Here!

How Much Should You Spend on SEO Services?

•

Nearly every business today must decide how much to spend on search engine optimization (SEO). This isn't an if question. Robust online marketing is imperative for survival in a web-driven world.

The question every business professional must ask is, "How much will we spend on SEO?" Keep reading for all the information you'll need to make that decision, plus some helpful tips on how SEO agencies work so you can be successful as you forge a crucial partnership with an online marketing firm.

SEO Payment Models

To understand the dollars and cents discussed below, you must understand payment models used by agencies. SEO agencies typically offer four main forms of services and payment:

• Monthly retainer: In this model, clients pay a set fee each month in exchange for an agreed-upon array of services. The monthly retainer is the most common payment model, because it provides the greatest ROI. Monthly retainer arrangements usually include regular analytics reports, on-site content improvements, press releases, link building,keyword research, and optimization.
• Contract services at fixed prices: Nearly all SEO agencies sell contract services. Often, before a client is ready to engage a monthly retainer, they will select contract services that they want to have completed. The services that an SEO agency offers are often advertised on their site, along with a price. A typical example of this is an SEO website audit which can help determine existing strengths and weaknesses in the client’s online presence, competitive analysis, as well as keywords that have the highest potential to return positive ROI.
• Project-based pricing: Project fees are similar to contract services with the exception that they are custom projects created specifically for a client. Pricing varies according to the project. For example, a local cupcake shop may ask an SEO agency to help them with their local online marketing. The client decides that they want the agency to establish their social media accounts. The cupcake business and the SEO agency will decide on the scope and cost of the project.
• Hourly consulting: This familiar consulting model is an hourly fee in exchange for services or information.

Most SEO agencies use all of these payment models. Likewise, clients may work with an agency using more than one model. For example, a client may choose to enter into a monthly retainer, purchase a contract service, and engage in a special project with the agency, thus entering into three of the payment models.

Typical SEO Costs

So, what should you expect to pay? Here's a survey of the range of the costs according to the payment models described above.

• Monthly retainer: $750-5,000 per month. Within this range, the amount that a client pays depends on the size of their business and the extent of services provided by the agency. On the lower end of this spectrum are small SEO agencies that offer a limited range of services. On the upper range are businesses with greater needs working with full-service SEO agencies. Most businesses pay between $2,500 and $5,000 for a monthly retainer.
• Contract services at fixed prices: price variable. Businesses that are just testing the waters in SEO usually choose a contract service as an entry point. Typical contract services include things like SEO copywriting ($0.15-$0.50/word), site content audit ($500-$7,500), link profile audit ($500-$7,500), and social media site setup ($500-$3,000).
• Project-based pricing: price variable. Since there are a variety of projects, there is a wide range of prices. Most projects cost from $1,000 to $30,000.
• Hourly consulting rate: $100-300/hr. SEO consultants, whether individuals or agencies, usually charge between $100 and $300 per hour.

(Some of these figures are taken from a 2011 SEO moz survey of 500 consultants and agencies.)

Things You Should Be Suspicious of

Any discussion of SEO agencies and pricing isn't complete without a few warnings. To help you guard against indiscriminate SEO agencies with unethical business practices, read and heed. Be suspicious of the following promises:

• Guarantees. SEO firms generally can't provide guarantees due to the constantly changing nature of the industry.
• Instant results. True, some SEO tactics can get "instant results" by gaming the system. Be warned that these can hurt you in the long run. Instant results often involve SEO practices that are against webmaster guidelines put out by search engines. Invariably, Google seeks out these techniques and penalizes them, resulting in lost rankings that can take months to recover.
• #1 spot on Google. If an agency promises you the number one spot on Google, it sounds great. Hopefully, you'll be able to get it. However, it's not something that a firm can promise to hand over to you.
• Costs lower than $750/month. When it comes to SEO, you aren't shopping for the lowest price; you're seeking the best level of service. Be wary of rock bottom prices or "unbelievable deals."
• Shady link building services. Link building is a crucial part of SEO. You can't have a highly-ranked site without inbound links. But there's a dark side of link building. Link trust is gaining importance to appear high in the rankings. Before you enter into an arrangement with an SEO agency for link building services, ensure that their link building services are ethical, white label services. You may even wish to ask them where they may be able to gain links for a business in your industry.

Things to Keep in Mind

As you begin shopping for SEO agencies and making your decision, be mindful of the following points:

• SEO takes time. A monthly retainer is best. Think of SEO as a long-term investment. Aggressive campaigns and major pushes may have their place, but the most enduring SEO results come from a long-term relationship. In SEW's Mark Jackson wrote, "The real value of SEO efforts are, generally, not realized in the first month(s) of the effort." It's true. SEOs don't wave a magic wand and get instant results. Instead, they perform extensive operations that will produce results months down the road.
• SEO changes, and your rankings will change, too. The field is full of competitors, and rankings rise and fall with the changing of algorithms and the entrance of new competitors. One-and-done SEO tricks simply don't work. It takes constant monitoring to keep your website ranking well and performing at top-notch levels.
• Not all SEO services are created equal. Again, SEO isn't about shopping around for the lowest prices. It's about finding the finest agency you can. Look for an SEO agency that defines its scope of services, and takes the time to educate you.
• SEO is important. Do it. The point of your website is to increase and/or improve your business. Unless people are finding your website, it's not even worth having one. The smart thing is to pay what it takes to keep your site findable by the people who are looking.
• Hiring an SEO agency is best. You may be thinking, "Can't I just do this SEO thing on my own?" A tiny percentage of business owners or professionals have the skill and savvy to do their own SEO. Even so, comprehensive SEO takes way more time than most business owners can afford. Even an employee who "knows a lot about SEO," will be hard-pressed to deliver the level of services and excellence found in a SEO agency. You'll rarely come out on top if you try to go it alone, and you'll never get the same level of ROI that you would with a competent SEO agency.

You Decide

For most businesses today, SEO is the highest ROI marketing effort. The benefits it provides exceed the value of other marketing approaches – direct mailing, broadcast advertising, online ads, etc.

No longer do businesses decide whether they need SEO services. Instead, they decide how much they're going to spend. As long as they choose a quality SEO agency, their decision will lead to incredible amounts of revenue.

Original post 

Book Signing Party for Jenn Foster - Stand Apart - STAND OUT From The Crowd to Achieve Ultimate Success

SAVE THE DATE!

You're Invited!
Join Me at A Touch of New York Salon and Spa
10382 S Jordan Gateway
South Jordan, UT
Friday January 24, 2013
5-8pm for the signing of my new book,
Stand Apart - STAND OUT From The Crowd to Achieve Ultimate Success!

• Book Signing
• Marketing & Business Success questions answered. 
• Enjoy a free 5 min chair massage from Zen Massage
• Receive a replenishing paraffin hand treatment from A Touch of New York Salon and Spa
• Enter to Win over $250 in gifts and Prizes!
• Refreshments served

- Jenn FosterBiz Social Boom / Online Marketing Utah



Check Out Our Sponsors!