Online Marketing for Local Business
Posts tagged social media marketing
Every Web Page Should Be A Marketing Page
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Your website’s content will get noticed (read) if you use your headline and first paragraph to let readers know precisely “what’s in it” for them. Here are some techniques to make that happen.
First, you can’t know which page web visitors will see first, since there are many different ways to enter a site. Some will land on the homepage for sure, but blog posts and other content will show up in search engines (that’s the hope, at least!)…so don’t assume that any one page is more important than the rest, although the homepage does deserve the most attention.
Second, only a tiny percentatge of visitors will be responding to even the highest quality ads. You’ll have to work a bit harder for the rest of your readers. To get conversions, you’ll have to use the content on all your web pages.
Who Is Your Site For, What Do They Want?
When you’re busy creating content, it’s easy to focus on SEO and forget that your website exists to sell your products and services! Even if you don’t forget such a thing, can the same be said of everybody who writes for you? It’s sometimes hard for experts in a field to put themselves in the shoes of a visitor, who will spare just a few seconds to find a reason to read the content.
When constructing an argument or presenting a product, it seems logical to first present the building blocks of your case before giving the end result. The end results should be something that will make your readers’ lives better.
People Purchase Benefits Not Features
You should always spell out the benefits before describing features. A feature is a description of what you’re selling or offering. Benefits are more important, they are the things that those features do for your customers.
For instance, people don’t purchase light bulbs for features like being long lasting, bright, and cheap! People purchase light bulbs because they don’t want to live in the dark, and for benefits like “saving money” or maybe “saving the planet”.
Your Headline Is The Most Important Part Of Your Content
If your headline does not promise something of interest, then your article won’t get read and you’ll struggle to sell. This is because most visitors arrive at a page, read a headline and then make a decision to stay or go.
*Also, please note that these guidelines are just as appropriate for blog posts, e-newsletters and other online communications!
A few good guidelines for headlines:
Promise benefits – tell readers exactly what your content will do for them
Don’t make readers think too much, don’t be overly clever, obscure or ironic
Don’t make visitors read the story to then understand the headline
Do ask a question about a problem and then entice with a solution
Do provide things Top 10 lists or 3 Best Ways To…
Do make sure your first paragraph is as clear as possible, elaborating on the most important idea you’re trying to get across
Top Myths About Social Media Marketing
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Myth #5: Social Media Is Hard Work
Well, this one isn’t a myth, but it’s worth addressing while we’re at it. Sure, successfully growing and interacting with a community on social networks require dedication and reasonable, but sustained commitment.
If that sounds like a bit of hard work to you, well, it is! But the rewards justify the effort. If you’re allergic to hard work, then you probably shouldn’t be in business anyway. Take some pride and joy in the interactions you have with your community and soon, what may have felt like another item on your to-do list will actually be one of the best parts of your day. And when you start having a demonstrated affect on sales and start capturing purchase intent with social media interaction, then all the hard work will be worth it.
I hope these myths won’t hold you back from engaging in social media interaction any longer. There are customers out there waiting to talk to you, and all you have to do is join the conversation.
So which other social media myths do you think need to be “debunked”? Have you fallen victim to any of those listed? Do you have anything to add when addressing these myths? Leave your comments in the box below.
Top Myths About Social Network Marketing
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Myth #4: If I Engage on Social Media Sites, I’ll Get Lots of Negative Comments
It’s true that no one likes to hear negative feedback about their work, their product or service. Many businesspeople fear that their social media profiles will be overrun by people posting complaints and competitors “flaming” their brand. But the beauty of social media interaction is that transparency and responsiveness rule the day.
If a customer chooses to voice a complaint publicly, you then have the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your superior customer service ability to a far wider audience. If the customer becomes unreasonable and continues to post negative information, people observing the dialogue are more likely to admire your efforts to right the situation, rather than take to heart the customer’s angry complaints.
Plus, sometimes your customer base does the heavy lifting for you, and promotes your brands in unbiased ways that you cannot, or perhaps haven’t even thought of.