by Myra Stacey | Feb 21, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Web Design
If you manage your company’s website or are building a new one, you might hear about something called a CMS. While there are many to choose from, not all are created equal — and the one you select can help or hinder your business.
What is a CMS?
A Content Management System is a software used to produce, edit, and manage content. For a business owner, these systems offer the ability to create a website without extensive knowledge of coding or programming. With a wide variety of content management systems available, it is essential to consider the pros and cons when deciding what platform is best for the needs of your business.
Proprietary CMS
A proprietary system is usually owned by a company that licenses the use of their CMS to other businesses. Some Cary and Raleigh marketing agencies will require you to use their CMS. Because a proprietary CMS typically requires a license or permission, these platforms can be expensive and inefficient. Business owners may not be able to edit or customize their website. However, for some, this is an easier path; these platforms are usually managed entirely by a third party and are often maintained by experts.
Open Source CMS
Open source content management systems have become increasingly popular with business owners. Even when managed by a third party, these systems allow a business owner to access their site to make changes quickly and without extensive technical knowledge.
An open source CMS is also a cheaper option. Because the website is built specifically for the business, you are the owner of that page on the platform and do not have to pay to use it. WordPress and Joomla! are two of the most popular open source content management systems, but there are other options.
What You Need to Know
Some business owners find it useful to work with a proprietary system because someone else manages and maintains the site. However, some agencies will use an open source CMS and still offer maintenance services, without locking you into a system. We’ve seen business owners pay thousands of dollars for a proprietary system only to lose their entire website later when they decide to rebuild the site with another marketing firm. No matter which approach you take, you must:
● Know your login information for your website and have admin-level access.
● Know your login information for your domain name (URL) and own it under your name or your company’s name.
● Have your hosting login or information.
Consider those three logins the “keys to the castle.” Without them, you will struggle later to manage your website.
If you are setting up a content management system, ask yourself:
● How much access do I need to the site?
● Do I want to be involved in it or let someone else manage it?
● Can someone on my team manage it?
● If the system is proprietary, what is included in the package?
● Does the system offer options for optimizing? (SEO)
If you need to set up or rebuild a website for your business, talk to us about the best content management system for your needs and goals.
by Myra Stacey | Feb 8, 2018 | Inbound Marketing
The Internet dominates much of today’s marketing sphere. With shopping, socializing, learning, and more available at the world’s fingertips, it’s vital for businesses to have a robust online presence. However, without having some background in computer science, digital marketing, or technology, it can be difficult to understand the inner workings of your website and online marketing. When you speak to a Cary marketing agency, you might wonder about the terms they use — and what cost to expect on a proposal.
If you need a little help with your Internet lingo, don’t worry; we’ve pulled together some of the most useful web and online marketing terms for you to know and some of the going rates.
1. Hosting: Also known as “web hosting,” a “web host” is a business that provides storage space and access to the files that make up a website. Hosting typically costs around $10 a month or less if you’re sharing server space with others.
2. URL/Domain: A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), or a Domain, is the address of a website (e.g., https://printandwebdesigner.com/). It functions just like a physical address; you give it to your computer, and it searches for the website’s online location. Computers use Domain Name Servers (DNS) to translate the URL into a numerical location (think GPS coordinates). The numerical location is called an Internet Protocol, or IP.
Before naming your business, it’s a good idea to check if a URL is available. Some companies pay thousands, even millions of dollars for their web domains. According to WhoIsHostingThis, the average annual cost for a domain is only $10 to $15. Most of the .com names are taken, and the shorter the domain name, the more expensive it is. If your desired name is taken, you can try a variation or use a .net or .biz version.
3. SEO: Search Engine Optimization is the effort to make sure your company website appears early in search engine results. For example, if you type “dog daycare” into Google, the businesses which appear at the top of the first results page have excellent SEO. There are lots of ways to improve your SEO, such as by creating regular content or fixing broken links. The cost to hire someone to manage your SEO starts at a few hundred dollars per month and goes up from there. Beware anyone willing to manage your SEO for less than that. Also, avoid anyone who guarantees you will get on the first page of Google search results.
4. Custom website vs. template: When building a website, you’ll have two design options; a custom website or a template. A template is a pre-made site design, which usually works well for a low budget or a more restrictive development timeline. However, using a template means risking the chance that another business has the same website layout. A template could cost anywhere from $30 to $200.
A custom website design shows greater professionalism and individuality. While big brands pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a custom website, small business owners can find help in this area for $2,000 to $10,000.
5. Keywords: The words you want customers to use to find you. For example, if you sell pencils, you want someone to type in “red pencils” and find your website in the search results. You must use these keywords on your site when describing services or products. However, it’s essential to balance this with how often keywords are searched. For example, “red pencils” is searched far more often than “Raleigh red pencil shop” or “red pencil with a blue stripe and large eraser.” While you won’t get as many “hits” or visitors to your page with the latter, they are far more likely to buy, because they are searching for something specific. You can use Google’s keyword planning tool for free, though you’ll have to set up an AdWords account first. If you find this confusing, give us a call to talk about SEO.
6. PPC: Pay-per-click (PPC) is a method of online marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time their advertisement is clicked. For example, if you advertise your restaurant, you would pay Google a few dollars for every click that your ad received. This is an economical option for many small business owners because you can focus your advertising to a specific group of people or by time of day. You can also track the types of people clicking on your ads and adjust accordingly.
Questions about your marketing? Contact us to get a free consultation for marketing your Cary or Raleigh business.
by Myra Stacey | Feb 8, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Services
Marketers tell you to use social media to expand your reach and interact with existing and potential customers. Some of these platforms are tried and true, but it seems that every time you turn around there is another social media site everyone is using.
LinkedIn has been around for years, but it’s often underused or misused. As you may know, the platform is focused on businesses. The aim is to grow your network and showcase what you have to offer; LinkedIn has the potential to connect you with customers, employees, and industry professionals. Here are some helpful tips and tricks to make the most out of LinkedIn
For Your Personal Profile
1. Add an appropriate, professional photo of yourself. This allows connections to put a face with your name. Make sure the photo is close up, so someone could identify you at a networking event.
2. Fill out all the fields about your education, industry, and past work experience. The more detailed your profile, the easier it will be to connect with others in your field.
3. Your headline should state your role, and don’t be afraid to use keywords in this space in addition to your official title. Fun titles are OK, but people are over “ninja” and “guru.”
4. Your profile is a place for you to showcase all of your accomplishments and demonstrate your skills. Don’t be afraid to tell the story of your small business journey, as well as your future goals for your enterprise. Elaborate on your previous work experience and/or your entrepreneurial ventures.
5. Use relaxed language. You’re telling a story, not writing your resume.
6. Add video, presentations, and photos to every single job. LinkedIn’s layout looks best with either two images or five because of the way it stacks, so dig up that art!
7. Find, take, or buy an interesting image for your background/banner. This should say something about you and your work but can express your personality as well.
8. Once you have created your profile and begin to build your network, you must continuously post pertinent content to keep yourself and your business relevant. For example, you can post status updates to share important business events or milestones. You can like or share articles, images, and videos related to industry happenings, or post your own blog entries.
9. Groups used to be a considerable part of LinkedIn’s value, but many have found them to be of little help due to some of the platform’s methods. In 2018, LinkedIn announced changes to groups, but whether you will find ROI by spending time there depends on you, your industry, and your efforts.
Important note: Many business owners worry a lot about their business page. But you may not find yourself getting a lot of followers there. LinkedIn is more formal than Facebook, so it’s often not an appealing feed. However, this platform is more about the individual anyway. Small business owners should set up a business profile, but spend far more time interacting and posting as an individual.
For Your Business Profile
1. A business profile is set up differently than a personal profile. Ensure that you are setting up the correct account.
2. Add an image and your company logo. The logo will appear on you and your employees’ profiles, as well as in search results when other users search for you, your employees, or your company.
3. Include a description of your business. Highlight what it does, what it has accomplished, what goals you might have, and what sets it apart from your competitors.
4. LinkedIn offers a “follow” widget you can add to your website that allows visitors to immediately access, engage with, and follow your business page. If you have a strong B2B focus, you might want to use this widget instead of the usual social media buttons.
5. Similar to your personal page, it is important to post content that is relevant to your business and your industry. You can generate this yourself, share posts from others, or a combination of both. Ask your employees to develop content from their perspective within the company, or even post client testimonials.
Not sure how to get started with LinkedIn? We can help you get set up and manage your account.
by Myra Stacey | Jan 25, 2018 | Entrepreneurship, Inbound Marketing
Building your new business is exciting, a challenge to conquer. One of the many things you will do as you get going is market your business to potential customers. Some things seem fairly obvious, while other marketing strategies may not be as familiar to you.
Here are some of the marketing mistakes we often see from new business owners.
Mistake No. 1 – Not creating a website. Every business needs a website. Think of it as not having a listing in the phone book in the 1980s. No one would find you if you weren’t listed. Today, that’s what a website is. Some business owners prefer to create only a Facebook page. While we understand the reasoning behind that, you don’t own that page or have the same control over it as you do with a website. A website stands out as more professional and, most importantly, a website has Google search. While your Facebook page might be found via search, it’s not going to give you the same overall SEO.
Mistake No. 2 – Not setting up social media profiles. While you shouldn’t use Facebook in place of a website, you should create a social media profile on at least one platform. Facebook is the most common, though we also recommend setting up your Google+ and business pages for SEO purposes. Even if you aren’t using your social media profiles at first, go ahead and create them so you can claim your business name. (Though really, you should be posting.)
Mistake No. 3 – Using your personal Facebook page as your business page. However, many business owners just turn their personal page into a business page by changing the name. Do not do this. First, Facebook may shut your page down. Second, your friends might not appreciate suddenly seeing all your business stuff instead of you and your family. Third, as your business grows, you will probably want to keep your business and personal information separate.
Mistake No. 4 – Not keeping a list of email addresses. Email marketing remains one of the best ways to reach your audience. Start a spreadsheet of email addresses and add to it regularly: every friend you meet, every potential client, every current client. Set up email marketing on an easy platform such as MailChimp, which is free at first. If you’re not ready to do this from the start, that’s OK, but you’ll be far better off when you do get going if you have a list of valid email addresses.
Mistake No. 5 – Not figuring out a way to manage the marketing grind. Marketing takes more work than most business owners realize. A solopreneur, for example, might want to work 40 hours per week. But he or she won’t be able to bill for 40 hours. Some of that time is administrative, and some of that time he or she will be marketing. Either that person works 50 hours per week or gets paid less than he/she expected. The alternative: hire someone to help with marketing. Remember, marketing is an investment in your businesses.
What questions do you have about marketing? Talk to us to get answers.
by Myra Stacey | Jan 25, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
Increasing your SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is key to expanding your business’s reach online. When someone is seeking your service, having your website at the top of their search results makes it easier to find and more likely to be used. You might’ve heard some SEO tips and tricks thrown around, but do you know if they’re really going to help? Here are a few myths about SEO and the truth behind them.
Myth 1: Someone can guarantee to get you on the top page of search results.
Fact: If someone absolutely promises to get you to the No. 1 spot in search results, he or she is lying. Even Google advises against listening to anyone with that message.
Myth 2: SEO is all the marketing you need.
Fact: Businesses should never put their entire marketing budget into SEO. Instead, SEO should be one pillar of a larger marketing plan. How else are you working to make contact with your clientele? Are you using all of the available platforms and media methods available to you? Small and local businesses, especially, must connect with customers on many levels, through advertising, networking, branding, and more.
Myth 3: The more keywords, the merrier.
Fact: A 2017 article from Entrepreneur advises against keyword-stuffing, or filling up your website or domain with words that will make your company “pop.” While including a keyword can be useful (for example, plumbing businesses should use the word “plumbing” in their domain), too many can harmful. Google sometimes views this as a “spammy tactic,” and will refrain from pushing your website up on their results. Make sure you aren’t repeating keywords so much that it decreases the value of your content.
Myth 4: Higher rankings = more money.
Fact: Even if your website appears as a top search result, there is no 100 percent guarantee that you’ll receive more business. Customers might be early in their buyer journey when they find your website. They might click on it only to learn more about the product or service. While they might come back later, they may find an alternative they prefer.
Or, maybe they click on your website but find it difficult to use. If your website does appear as a top search result, check to ensure that your site is well-made and easy to navigate. While SEO can help you reach a broader audience, it’s up to you to make sure that a client’s experience after that initial click goes smoothly!
Myth 5: I did SEO once. I’m all set, right?
Fact: You must continuously work at SEO to maintain your rankings. Think about it: new stuff is coming up all the time. Links to your website become old or disappear, search engines change their methods (algorithms), competition is working against you, and your content becomes old. Yours will begin to lose rankings if you don’t keep it going.
SEO can be tough to tackle. Let us help you get started.
by Myra Stacey | Jan 25, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
Facebook boasts more than 50 million business pages, and 65.8% of US companies with more than 100 employees use Twitter for marketing. If you have a business, you probably have at least one social media profile. (And if you don’t, you should, even if you’re a solopreneur.)
As you create your social media profiles, you are building a part of your brand online. The words you type into the “about” section aren’t only a description; they set the tone for your businesses’ personality.
Similarly, the images you choose have a lasting impact. According to studies, people are only likely to remember 10 percent of heard information three days later. But a relevant image paired with that same information can help people retain 65 percent of it days later.
On social media profiles, it’s important to select images that say something about your brand and resonate with the viewer. Here are seven things to keep in mind:
1. Size matters. Do not upload a tiny jpg for either your banner/background or your profile image. Check the sizes required for each social media platform and find an image that fits. Otherwise, yours will look grainy, stretched, or otherwise icky. What does it say about your work if the photos you post are low quality? If you are struggling to get your logo to fit in the profile image box, talk to your graphic designer (or to us) about finding creative ways to display your brand in the square box.
2. Be authentic. If you can, use an image in the banner that shows off your business in some way. Maybe it’s your team, your location, or your product. Avoid stock photography if possible. In some cases, you can tweak stock images to suit your needs, but customers can always tell the difference. You may consider working with a professional photographer to get a few good images of your service or product, which you’ll also use on your website.
3. Be consistent. Work with a graphic designer to put words on the banner image in the font that matches your logo. A general rule of thumb in graphic design is to have no more than two different fonts. The social media platforms have their own fonts, which you might want to keep in mind. Note that most are sans serif.
4. Use powerful text. The words you put on this image matter. What are you trying to say? Keep the message short and sweet. You’re going for impact, a feeling, not a full explanation of your company. Use this to showcase your brand or as a call to action.
5. Focus on the image. The banner image is a useful place to put some text. But most of the space should be about the picture. Facebook no longer enforces its 20 percent rule — no more than 20 percent text on the banner — but it’s still a useful guideline.
6. Think about the overlap. The profile (smaller) image overlaps with the banner on most platforms. Make sure the two work together and don’t clash. Some companies even have them blend into one another for a cool effect.
7. Don’t get stuck. Consider changing your banner and image once in awhile. You can create a calendar to check them for special events, promote a specific hashtag, mention a current sale, or push a product or service that’s on sale or not selling well. It’s OK to get creative.
If your business pages on social platforms need some oomph, we can help!
