Online Marketing for Local Business
jhaynes
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Posts by jhaynes
Social Media is Now King Over Email
12 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
It’s Official – People Now Spend More Time On Social Media Than In Their Email Inbox
At Hat Trick Associates, we have talked at depth about the continued power of email marketing. In a 2012 study in fact, 74% of respondents said that email was still their preferred method to receive commercial communications. But that doesn’t take into account that many people do NOT associated interaction with some brands and companies via social media as “commercial” communications, like they would a coupon or special offer, and that number (that 74%) is admittedly in a terminal decline downward. What does this mean? Well, your email list is still a very good way to get web content to your prospective clients and customers or current ones…and a “clean” list of email addresses of those you do business with or would like to still has tremendous value to your organization. But social media as a marketing strategy is no longer an afterthought, and for many businesses it has become “the” place that the bulk of their marketing can and should be applied.
Social Media Web Content Trends
This also doesn’t take away from web content SEO needs, and the fact that your homepage, overall website and any landing pages you create should be very well designed and opitimized, both for search engines and also for the user experience – or sales conversions, you know, the reason you have a site in the first place? (You’d be surprised at home many companies lose sight of that fact when focusing just on SEO for their web properties). But your social media efforts need to be robust (for most businesses, ESPECIALLY B2C companies) and need to be integrated into your other marketing. Which means it has the same tone, the same voice, messaging, etc. that all your other marketing does. Is your brand a break-the-mold, irreverent type of service or product that has been promoted that way? Then make sure your Twitter feed or Facebook posts match that same voice…and don’t instead have plain, boring posts that are informational in nature. In the same way, if your brand is a very upright, by the books “show me the specs” type of company or in an industry such as that overall, a wacky off the wall social media voice probably won’t work best for you. So INTEGRATE this marketing vehicle, and include your plans for social media when crafting all of your other marketing plans and proposals. Don’t allow social media to be a tack-on marketing effort that isn’t incorporated into your overall company goals. Set targets, and do your best to measure metrics. Have minimum posting schedules in place, a strategy for addressing immediate, this is your only shot-type of opportunities (Think: Oreo’s “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark” ad and social media during the black out in this year’s Super Bowl).
It’s more important than ever before for an agency to provide its clients with a specific social plan to grow their social audience, promote their best content on social, and measure the effects of each effort. Ensure that YOUR marketing department is one of those that is “doing it right” when it comes to your social media efforts, it will pay off for your organization in the long-term assuredly.
The Importance of SEO, and Can You Do It Yourself?
12 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) is a rapidly growing form of internet marketing. SEO companies spring up almost overnight, but inside the ever-changing online world many of them die just as quickly.
Why is SEO such a booming business? As more commerce moves online, it’s only natural that marketing should move with it. Since billions use search engines daily, being found by search engines is obviously a vital part of every organization’s online marketing strategy.
Is SEO important for YOUR website? The answer is a certainly YES for commercial or informational websites; probably not as much for personal sites. The bottom line however – If you want people to find your site themselves, SEO is important. If you plan to make money from lots of people visiting your site, then SEO becomes not only important but essential.
The next question becomes, is SEO something you can do yourself? That depends. SEO requires basic knowledge of a website’s tags, an ability to learn which keywords to focus on, an ability to incorporate keywords into rich, informative articles that readers value, and other items. It also involves the ability to get backlinks to your site — a critical part of SEO.
Your SEO and Web Content Writers
Your ability to perform the work and your willingness to spend the time required to get good rankings determine whether you should do it yourself or hire someone to help you. At Hat Trick Associates we have the expertise as a web content writer, online distributor and SEO professional that can help your company acheive the high search engine rankings and online sales revenue/conversions.
Whichever one you choose, in the end, SEO is an important part of your website, and it’s not something you can afford to overlook if you want to drive traffic and generate revenue.
Business Tips for a Web Content Writer or Graphic Designer
12 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
At Hat Trick Associates, we like to share information that better prepares ourselves and even our competitors when it comes to successful web content writing and other online services. (Why? Because we often partner with other freelancers in what we do, and education is a primary goal for our company) When being a freelancer things can go wrong because we haven’t properly prepared. Today we have put together a list of sort of rules to follow as a web freelancer or web content writer, let us know which of these you follow and which ones you wish you knew before something bad happened.
Always get a deposit
This is a tricky one but a must. It is important that they give you a percent of the price up front to insure you get paid for your work. The typical rate is from 25% to 50% depending on the size of the project. However this can back fire for clients as I’m sure its happened to most of you, I recently hired someone to redesign WebDesignDev and I paid 50%, when he showed me the design I told him I liked the concept but it lacked design, he turned on me and said its obvious you won’t like it so you can either pay me 25% more for PSD or I will just go with your deposit. Everyone has this doubt and it does happen often, reassure your clients about this and make sure you will be there for them, you will follow out the work you have been set to do or you will refund them.
Get 100% verification of what you must do for your client
When starting a new project with a client, be sure to find our 100% exactly what it is you need to do. There is no point in starting a project if your unsure. You will get half way through it and then client will say its all wrong. You will just be wasting time, so get verification.
Decide an hourly rate or rate on a project basis
It depends a lot on the freelancer which works best for them. If you like to take your time and get it perfect then hourly rates are the way to go for you. If you work fast and because of this value your time more highly then you could consider a price per project. However in experience I have found working a hourly rate allows more freedom to explore ideas and get things perfect. It also means that if the client wants revision after revision then you can keep going as you will be paid more.
Never ask for referrals
Don’t ask your clients for referrals. If they say you have done a good job for them, then I’m sure they will refer you to friends, and most likely come back themselves. Asking for referrals can make you sound desperate for work.
Offer incentives to your regular customers
If you regally go out to eat at a restaurant, and the restaurant know you are regular customers and know you, then I am sure every once in a while they put drinks on the house etc, as a reward for coming back to them. Freelancers should do this with their regular clients, to let them know they are special.
Keep your clients notified
This can help you gain / keep that professional status. If you notify your clients every time you reach a checkpoint, then they can stay updated, and it keeps them informed on how fast you’re working and generally what’s going on at your end.
If you’re hosting for them, remind them of costs
Hosting clients websites can be a good upsell you can use on your clients but its very important if you are offering it that you let them know that there will be further payments to make, perhaps on a monthly or yearly basis. Make sure you make this clear when you quote the price for hosting or domain names.
Be Honest
Be honest with your clients. An example would be if you wanted more work, just say to them, hey if you have any more design projects that need completing, feel free to send them across as I’m a bit short of work at the moment. If the client likes your work and the way you do things, they will sure take you up on the offer – that is if they have any more work.
Keep business and friendship separate
So often great friends fool out before they do business together. Keep a strict rule that you don’t work with friends however tempting it may be.
Be flexible
You need to be flexible, for instance if you were meant to be having a conference call with one of your clients, and they did not show, be prepared to rearrange your schedule and tackle something else. If they show late then reschedule again.
Use Social Networking Sites
Freelance designers should use social networking sites to promote themselves, and connect with clients. Some of these sites specific to design are allfreelancework, linkedin and deviantart.
Know your clients by name
If you know your clients by name, then they will feel comfortable employing you to complete their web design / graphic design project. On the other hand if you can’t remember their name, they may think you’re a really really busy person who has no time for them. Clients are number 1 priority – after all they pay your bills.
Make conversation with your clients
Freelancers don’t always have to talk about the project in hand. Make small talk with your clients on a personal level, maybe about sport, or hobbies etc. The client will like the fact that you are interested in them, and will most probably come back for more work.
Have set prices for follow up work
Quite often you will be hired to do a design job, be specific about what is included and make it clear that anything on top will cost more money. For example they may ask for revisions, new sub pages, other small features. Your time is money and make that clear.
Learn how to say no
With all freelancers, it may get to a point where you have a lot of work, and your mates may ring up and ask you to come out for a drink. You need to learn how to say no, no matter how tempting the offer maybe, if you have a website that needs to be emailed to a client within the next hour, or a design project that needs finishing off, then that takes priority to keep you staying professional.
Set completion dates
Its important that you set a date to complete, this is good for yourself and the customer. Customers are always excited to see what you have come up with so make sure you give them a date to keep them happy. It will also make you more organized so that you can plan future work and time off.
Be Persistent
Don’t forget about something if you don’t get a response. Chase people up, but not to the stage where it’s annoying. Showcase your work and sell yourself to new clients.
Always offer a top notch service
You should always offer a top notch service, whoever the client. If they are really bossy you have to deal with it and stay professional. If you offer a top notch service, customers are sure to refer you and come back for later work.
The customer is always right (with exceptions)
Ever heard the phrase the customer is always right? Generally speaking they are, but sometimes they can be wrong, very wrong. If the client has given you a spec and you have completed the design, and they said it’s not as they described, they wanted a red color scheme when they clearly said in the brief they wanted a green color scheme, they are wrong. You just have to deal with fussy clients like that on a professional and mature level.
Go that extra mile
To make yourself stand out from the freelancer crowd, go that extra mile for your clients. If you have just designed a beautiful website for them, go the extra mile and say you know what, how about I upload that for you? No extra expenses. It doesn’t cost you anything, and your client will be amazed at your level of service and will be sure to come back time and time again.