There is no doubt that SEO has become crucial for marketing in the Internet age, but it’s also a very volatile industry. There was a time when getting search engine hits involved using certain keywords and phrases several times within your web content, but Google’s constantly-changing algorithms have basically killed that SEO strategy. That doesn’t mean that SEO should be ignored in 2016, only that marketers need to change with the times and adopt new strategies to get their websites near the top of search engine results.

Optimize for Rich Answers

If you’ve entered a common question into Google’s search engine in the last several months, you’ve probably come across Rich Answers. These are short excerpts from websites that show up at the top of Google search results that provide you with a quick answer to your question. According to a recent study by Stone Temple Consulting, Rich Answers show up on 19.45 percent of Google search results. That may not seem like a high number, but it is almost certain to increase with time.

To optimize your content for Rich Answers, you should first rank your site well for the query you want to answer. This is the most important part, and it is probably the element that is closest to “traditional” SEO. You need to optimize your content for the keyword in the query, which should help you get onto the first page of a Google search result. Start your sentences with command words to sound more authoritative to Google, and keep your heading as clear and unambiguous as possible.

Google’s Rich Answers algorithm is still fairly new and cannot be boiled down to an exact science, but these simple techniques should give your content a good chance of showing up as a Rich Answer.

Measure and Improve User Engagement

User engagement refers to statistics such as how long users stay at a website, how often (or if) they return and where they click when they are using the site. It’s obviously very important and a good indicator of how successful a website is, but it is also very difficult to measure. Tools such as Heat Maps from SumoMe and Crazy Egg can help you determine where your visitors are clicking and how long they stick around, but it will be up to you to optimize your content by improving CTA links and other features based on the data you accumulate.

Mobile App Optimization

The mobile market is huge right now, and it only stands to get bigger. Google has recognized this and has updated its algorithm to encourage site owners to develop mobile-friendly versions of their websites. This not only means developing what are essentially new websites that can be easily viewed on smartphones and tablets, but it could soon mean developing ASO – app store optimization – strategies that are designed to get apps ranked highly on app stores. Apps aren’t indexed on Google searches now, but they are indexed on App Store and Google Play, making ASO the potential future of SEO.

Please contact Blast Creative today for all of your SEO needs!

The post SEO Tips 2016 appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Although it might not seem so at first glance, beauty is one of the more dynamic properties throughout history. From thin to plus-size, you can see different representations of what men and women find desirable in different eras. There was a time when “extra” size was especially attractive, because it suggested wealth and prosperity, for example. Today, in a time when social media and the ubiquity of internet access has made multiple forms of beauty very apparent, the people are responding positively to many of the unique results that are emerging.

Hashtag HonorCurves

Let’s face it: up until the last few years, during which social media has exploded as a primary means of business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer communications, you were inundated with images of super-skinny models as the overriding standard of beauty. Although both men and women have to deal with looking at models, and then looking at their own body and feeling subpar; most would agree that this is an issue that especially affects women.

Facebook user Sara Sofia Almeida grew tired of always having to compare her body to the popular mass media images. Using the hashtag #honorcurves#, she sought to have all the people out there appreciate their bodies and realize all the amazing things it can do – swim, run, hug people, love, laugh, and enjoy life. Basically, her body positivity contribution was that you should manage your perception of yourself, and don’t let the media define you. Her post received thousands of likes and dozens of comments; the hashtag itself was created by a young lady name Honorine, and has been used nearly 300,000 times to date.

Hashtag BigFinesBreakTheInternet

Yet another movement that celebrates larger women; the Big Fines Break the Internet hashtag was started to help women feel more positive about their bodies; particularly to help combat the results of studies showing that 54% of women between 18-40 feel dissatisfaction with their bodies. The 2014 survey done by Glamour showed that body negativity was actually growing worse, since back in 1984, a similar poll showed that just 42% of women in this age-range felt unhappy. The cause? Big magazines and social media – which proliferate the message that one kind of body is attractive. #BigFinesBreakTheInternet# is seeking to help change that perception.

Dove Gets Into It

Soap and body care company Dove jumped into the body positivity fray and launched a campaign that may be the largest yet. The #ChooseBeautiful# hashtag caught on like wildfire, when it was revealed in a study that 96% of women don’t choose the word “beautiful” to describe their bodies. This social media campaign has springboarded off the success of the Choose Beautiful hashtag to launch the Speak Beautiful variant, which encourages women to talk positively about their bodies with each other, to help realize their gains in self-esteem and self-perception.

A Celebration of Culture and Modesty

Melanie Elturk is Muslim, and despite that religions staunchly conservative appearance requirements for women, she’s taken to social media to show that girls can be attractive even in conservative garb. Her Haute Hijab movement is big on Instagram, where she showcases herself and other Muslim women wearing fashionable headscarves and other accouterments.

To celebrate your business on Social Media, please contact Blast Creative today.

The post Social Media is Changing Beauty Standards appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

How do you measure accomplishment at the end of a day of writing?  Is it pages, words, or time?  Ask yourself that question because it is different for all writers.  The prolific writers, the ones we turn to for advice, even for something as small as a quote, have mostly all spoken about accomplishment.  While Hemingway was in Montana he wrote most mornings, and spent his afternoons fishing for trout or hunting.  Other authors start and don’t finish until they’ve hit some predetermined goal—Steven King’s five pages every day, or the gold standard one thousand words, or Karen Russell’s goal of maximizing quality time spent engaged within her story (she’s not a word robot).     

Why do we listen, then?  Do we plan to copy Hemingway’s write-only-in-the-morning style?  Will adhering to Steven King’s prolific writing style make us as celebrated an author as the man himself?  No.  At least for the most part I believe no.  We listen to them, because being in the room at the desk alone can feel daunting.  For the most part, writing is not a team activity.  It’s just us.  There’s no one to whom the writer can compare himself against but himself.  It’s an activity that entirely self-motivated—unless of course you have a deadline or a job which requires you to write—and the reason we look to other authors for advice is that these are the people who discovered something about themselves.  They all discovered who they are as writers. 

Start easy, start a journal.  Don’t simply walk away when things get difficult—if the right word is not coming, or if you’re simply stuck staring at the screen—keep writing.  You’ll be amazed at the ideas you will find yourself capable at times of the greatest stress.  Those ideas might not flesh themselves out with perfect articulation, but they might be there.  Keep writing and determine the things that work best for you.  Consider the amount of time you need to stay focused every day, or even every other day.  Understanding what will keep you focused, keep you at that desk for those ours or those pages or that word count will, eventually pay off.    

If you need a content writer or a copywriter, please contact Blast Creative today.

The post Writing 101 appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

It should be pretty clear by now that the micro-blogging platform, Twitter, isn’t going anywhere. As one of the biggest social media platforms out there, it’s a serious oversight on your part if you’re not using it to grow your business, or get your message out there. I mean, you’re missing out on over 300 million monthly users! That’s basically the entirety of the United States. And, with the natural word-limit built into the Tweeting system, you don’t have to worry about long pieces of content to engage – just make every word count.

Twitter: 140 Characters Goes a Long Way

What do Megan Trainor and Twitter have in common? It’s all about that bass! As it is with most social media networks, Twitter is all about that follower-count; so make your content matter. This can include a short motivational quote, or even just a link to a relevant article on the web. This makes Twitter the easiest social network to latch on to for newcomers.

Simply create an account, use an avatar of yourself (people love getting to know the real you, so to speak), and start following other people that you find interesting.

Why Should You Follow Others?

Why not? After all, it’s a social network; reciprocation is its lifeblood. The more people you follow, the more end up following you back – thereby building up your stable of Twitter-colleagues. A major difference between this platform and Facebook’s is that, when you tweet something out, every single person that’s following you sees your tweet – it shows up in their feed. Facebook makes you pay for that privilege; otherwise, only a small fraction of your friends see your Wall posts.

Now you’re starting to understand the importance of what we mentioned earlier: post good content. Think about it this way: when you tweet a short message (this is called microblogging), or tweet a link to an interesting image or website, your followers may choose to retweet your original post. This can cause it to go viral – which can be an absolutely tremendous boon to your business. But if you tweet nonsense, your followers will start to ignore you. Some may even – gasp – unfollow you!

The Keys to a Dazzling Twitter Setup

1. Right off the bat; you need to understand the importance of your profile; it’s pretty much everything on Twitter; at least in the beginning stages of the hunt for followers. Your account username must be relevant to your brand, so that people have an easy time remembering what you’re all about, and how to reach you on the platform.
2. Next, pick an avatar or account picture. It’s best if it is the most flattering or carefree image of your face – or even your product, in some cases – that you can find. Just remember; you want to convey a personal touch to your impending viewers.
3. Fill out your profile completely – we mean EVERY field. Think of social media as a real-life introduction to people, and do most of the things that you’d do for a face-to-face.
4. We mentioned this above and now is the time to actually do it – start following people.
5. Start tweeting. This is just a practice run, so don’t feel like you have to say something comparable to the writings of Confucius. Just start talking; it’s best if you read some of the things written by others and put in your thoughtful two-cents. Remember; as you get more and more followers, you’ll have more people see your tweets and possibly retweet what you write. You can also send direct messages (DM’s) to your followers.
6. Last but certainly not least – this is the essential part for search engine optimization (SEO); you can start including a link to your website in your tweets – but remember to say something of substance, in order to compel people to click on the link and drive traffic to your site.

Contact Blast Creative if you are interested in our Social Media Marketing Services.

If you are a business owner in any of these genres, financial, photographers, dentists, hotels, restaurants, construction, HVAC, hardware stores, real estate, or any business owner and want more information on Internet Marketing, please contact Blast Creative today!

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There is a famous saying that goes like this “you only have one chance to make a good first impression.” Nothing could be truer when it comes to writing headlines for your blogs, articles, eBooks or any other online content.  Without magnetic headlines, you may not be able to grab the attention of your reader and motivate him/her to continue reading past your headline.

Statistics show us that an average of eight out of ten people searching for information online will first read the headline, and out of these ten only two will be persuaded enough to read the rest of your content. These statistics, clearly answer the question “what is in a headline?” the answer being “power.” So, if you are an online content marketer or a copywriter, developing magnetic headlines is a valuable skill you should possess if you want to create clicktivism.  Below are some tips on how you can write magnetic headlines:

Start with the Headline
While the headline might seem like the most challenging part of writing (at times it is), you should always try to start your writing with the headline first. That is because the headline is the promise you will give to readers, so it must clearly communicate what you intend to deliver to the reader. Of course, before creating the headline you need to have a clear understanding of your subject matter. Once you have identified your subject matter or what the content of your writing will be, go ahead and create a headline. If you write the headline last, you will be looking for the promise within your content, instead of first making the promise and delivering it through your content.

Newsy headlines, grab attention
Newsy headlines are the type that makes announcements such as discovery, new product release, finding, invention and more.  You can use these headlines to introduce new services or products in the market and to make press releases. People are usually captivated by the concept “new” and are, therefore, more likely to read on to discover “what’s new.” Examples of newsy headlines are those that begin with words such as “announcing”, “introducing”, and “at last.”

“How To” headlines are magnetic
One of the most used headlines is “how to”, simply because this is a magnetic headline that is sure to grab and retain the attention of the reader. These types of headings answer the question, “what is in it for me,” which most readers will ask themselves before reading any content. So, if your content answers the question “how to,” consider creating a “how to” headline such as ‘How to Write Magnetic Headlines.”

The benefit headline will get your content read
A benefit headline is like a carrot dangled in front of a rabbit. The reader will immediately identify “what’s in it for them” from your headline. This kind of headline excites the curiosity of readers, and they will want to read on or click the headline for more details. So, when creating a magnetic headline identify a compelling benefit from your content, and serve it up in your article topic. For instance, “Get Your Online Business Noticed Today, With This Amazing SEO Tool.”

When it comes to writing content especially for online marketing, your headline is your lifeline; because a magnetic headline is what will determine whether your content will become a hit or miss.

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I’m not sure what it is the past few years with employees and attitudes. As a business owner, at times, I feel like it’s almost not worth it to have employees anymore. Is it me or do we have a generation of Princes and Princesses who think that the world evolves around them and that our role as employer is to serve them, serve them now and smile?

In the last year, I have dealt with these types of employees who clearly have a high opinion of themselves and as a result come across as somewhat demanding and, well, full of themselves. And we, the parents of this generation of employees have created a generation of young adults who feel so entitled and wrapped up in their own needs that they can’t see how self-centered their requests are?

I think that it comes directly from the attitude that every child should get a trophy just for showing up. They didn’t have to earn anything, everything is just handed to them. We have created this generation and now we have to deal with the consequences.

Let me give you a few examples:

Employee 1: put hours that she didn’t work on her timesheet, when I called her out on it, I was the bad guy for saying anything. How dare I! Next this same employee just didn’t show up for work, no phone call, no nothing. When I finally tracked her down, I was the one in the wrong; I was treating her so disrespectfully. And the kicker, I didn’t fire her, mainly because she is the daughter of a close personal friend.

Employee 1’s social life came into the workplace. Her friends became more important, she started texting non-stop, making error after error. I timed her during 2 four-hour shifts. She texted 3.5 hours out of each shift. Silly me, I thought that I could talk to her, but once again, she became angry, and me, well I am disrespectful. How dare I tell her what she can do at work, during the time that I am paying her for. By golly, she graces me with her presence and I should be thankful for that!

I told employee 1 that she could no longer text at work and that was the end for her; she gave her two weeks notice. But she didn’t stop there, no, no, she told her parents how rude and disrespectful I was to her and drove a wedge between our friendship. I thought at the time that I had a stronger relationship with her parents, but apparently not, because they are so angry with me even as I right this, they are not speaking to me.

I believe that it’s this damn world of helicopter parents, always hovering, making sure all is right in the world for their little angels, but the one thing that I know for sure, is that in the workplace, these parents, myself included, have done no favors to our children and these kids are getting a taste of reality when someone says “no” to their outlandish demands. But as an employer, it is difficult to keep employees, there is no loyalty, there is no need or desire to work, there is no communication, they just quit and go on to the next job. One day this generation is either going to have to learn to follow the rules or they are going to find themselves unemployable.

Another employee from this same generation, Employee 2, she had similar attitudes, how dare I tell her when she could and couldn’t work. For the most part, my employees can self-schedule, they just have a certain number of hours that they have to work each week. But silly me, I actually expect them to work their full FTE. I am such a terrible boss.

Employee 2: Wasn’t following the policies and procedures for my business. I talked to her about it; she said that she didn’t agree with them, they were stupid and not necessary. Okay, but it’s my business, my policies & procedures and she had to follow them. She told me that I was too controlling.

I created a new policy and she told me that because I hadn’t created the policy before she started working for me that she shouldn’t have to follow it. And once again, I was to controlling. I had control issues. She never did follow policies & procedures, so she was eventually fired, but not before we had more issues. I don’t mind changing or adjusting policies & procedures, but there is a right way to go about it and it’s not just blatant insubordination!

Employee 2: At Christmas, asked for a bonus. Literally told me that I needed to give her a bonus. The kicker, I do give yearly bonuses, but they are merit based. It’s hard to give a bonus to someone who doesn’t work when they are suppose to and has to constantly re-do their work or I have to re-do their work. But once again, I am the difficult person; I am the person in the wrong. The little darlings have graced my business with their presence and I should just give them everything.

Employee 2: Again, at Christmas time, told me that she wanted to give 2 of her kids iPhone 5’s for Christmas and wanted me to get a new phone and give her mine for her child and then if anyone else in my family had an iPhone 5, could I do the same thing. Me, I’m thinking that is pretty ballsy, but once again, I am the bad guy. I should be more understanding and willing to help my employees out more. I am a selfish person.

Employee 2: Making $20 an hour and about to get a raise to $25 an hour, wanted a raise to $50 an hour instead, but because I was such a nice person, she would let me by with $30 an hour. It was a demand, not a request. Great negotiation skills! The selfishness and entitlement is almost overwhelming. The jealousy over my life, the family vacations that I take, my cell phone, the issue with not working when she was supposed to, not following policies & procedures was just too much. She was fired.

But now here is the flip side of the coin. As the business owner, I work 20 hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week. If I have an employee who doesn’t show up or who doesn’t work, I have to do their work. If an employee makes mistakes, spelling errors, etc. I am the one who has to correct them and if I don’t catch it, then I am the one who gets chewed out by the client.

Yes, I do try to take vacations with my family, but I work my butt off to be able to take them. Yes, I have nice things, but I have worked hard my whole life and am very fortunate to be able to afford the extras that I have in life. Nobody handed them to me. I didn’t expect anyone to give them to me. I worked hard and I earned them.

As far as being selfish, I do provide incentives to my employees, bonuses, I take them on business trips, pay for educational classes, buy software for their computers that they need. I do a lot of anonymous giving; I’ve paid dental bills for people who couldn’t pay or afford a dentist, but needed emergency care. I’ve purchased a heater for a family in the dead of winter so they could bring their premature baby home. I’ve bought books for college students who couldn’t afford it. I’ve purchased gas cards for college students to get to and from class.The list goes on and on, I don’t think that I am a selfish person.

If you want to come work for me, you absolutely cannot have your cell phone at work. I only want to work with people who are grounded, authentic or real and who don’t believe that they are better than the rest of the world and deserve everything handed to them on a silver platter. I want employees who are comfortable in their own skin.

I know that I tend to get a bit rattled by the shenanigans of these former employees and need to work on that. But what I do know for sure is that I don’t appreciate their behavior or how they treat others. Remember a couple of paragraphs back that I said I work a lot of 20 hour days, I just don’t have time to tolerate the little princes and princesses and there is no way that I am going to accommodate their demands. To me, it feels like bullying and I’m not going to be bullied. I don’t want employees who think of this as no more than just a job!

There are far greater issues in this world and dealing with these princes and princesses who need to be dethroned isn’t worth my time or effort. I just won’t hire them in the future.

This is my business and I am the Queen of my kingdom and here’s what I strive to do:

1. Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable to discuss his or her issues. Not everyone is a prince or princess and I think hearing from the rest of the team on how to behave respectfully will hopefully be taken to heart.
2. Start a program for myself and other small business owners with role models and mentors so they can learn and hear from other people on the impact of their attitude and how that attitude is holding them back. Provide them with opportunities to learn how to succeed and be an active member of the team.
3. I will say no more frequently. I will not reward brattish behavior and I will explain why. None of my employees will get a trophy just because they showed up!

My goal is to try and make the world a better place or at least my corner of the world a better place. Make a better work environment for my employees. To enjoy life and my family! Lets all put down our crowns and realize everyone has flaws, but we are capable of working together and lifting each other up and making our corner of the world a better place!

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You have a business and you know that social media can be a powerful weapon in your marketing scheme. It’s become almost standard practice for businesses to have their own Facebook page, but what about all the other social media sites out there? The truth is there are a dizzying number of social media platforms that can be utilized for business. People are now constantly asking how do you know which one will best boost you brand. The answer’s really much easier than you think; here’s where to start.

Tips for Choosing the Right Social Media Platform

Research: You won’t find the right social media channel without doing a bit of exploration to see which one is compatible with your specific business. Think about what product or service you’re offering and what resources you have available to dedicate to social media. Though social media is largely free, it does require your valuable time.

Don’t Get Sucked into What’s Popular: There are new social media channels popping up all the time. Don’t get tempted to sign up for every single site just because it’s popular. Stick to what is most relevant and effective to your business. It’s better to have solid social media campaigns on one or two channels than mediocre attempts on many.

Develop a Social Media Strategy: Create a clear and implementable plan before choosing which network you’re going to be using. By drawing up a plan, you’ll be able to stay focused and work out which strategies will be most effective to get things done.

Stick With It: Social media can become time-consuming and frustrating, but don’t let it get you down. Be consistent and over time the results will start to come in.

Go Where Your Audience Is

Knowing your audience is the key to all marketing success and it rings true for social media platforms. Don’t spend hours on LinkedIn if you’re trying to sell food recipes, try a more visual platform like Pinterest. Many businesses are trying to be on everything popular, but it’s much better to strategically plan where and what you’re going to post to be the most effective.

Here’s a rundown on the major social media platforms and what audience they serve.

Facebook

This is the one network that everyone is on and should be on, with some 1.15 billion users (1 million active users). It’s pretty much a guarantee your audience is here at least part of the time so make a mini website via Facebook if you haven’t already.

LinkedIn

For a more corporate or professional social media experience choose LinkedIn. Think services like coaching, consulting, copywriting, web development, business development, recruitment, and so on.

Twitter

Twitter now has 450 million users, 65% of whom are female and split in the ages of 25-34, 35-54 and 45-54. It pays to tweet often and make copy that’s catchy and intelligent, not to mention 140 characters or less.

YouTube

If you’re looking for a younger (majority 18-34) audience, Youtube boasts 1 million unique visitors each month and can be a powerful video marketing tool.

Pinterest

While it began as a tool for artists and creatives, Pinterest has found plenty of room for people selling products and services, given they’re attached to great images. There are 30 million users here, 80% female, with the largest audience 45-54. It can work well for mediapreneurs, entrepreneurs, artists, creatives, service providers and e-commerce related brands.

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RF^x Executive Consultant Marcy Lowe from Billings, Montana has her love of shoes to thank for her successful Rodan + Fields business. Marcy signed up to be an Independent Consultant in November 2009 because she wanted to look better, and with R+F products her skin noticeably improved. After seeing her results, Marcy’s family members and friends began using the products, and their skin changed—a lot. At the time Marcy was helping her husband with his construction and land development business, but decided that an endeavor with her own Rodan + Fields business could be great “shoe money” … and shoe money and so much more it because; Marcy quickly became a Level V Executive Consultant working part-time hours.

As time went on, she started focusing more and more on Rodan + Fields, appreciating the fact that she could mold her business into her lifestyle and hold events wherever she goes. Now Marcy can travel in the new Lexus she has earned, a reward that has taken her from classy heels to first class wheels. As Marcy works on building new Level V Leaders, she believes Rodan + Fields has given her benefits that are changing not only her shoe collection. but also the future of her family.

Marcy Lowe
RF ^x Executive Consultant and 2015 RF^x Circle Achiever
Two Time Achiever

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Most people recognize a hashtag post, but they don’t understand the significance. Think of the hashtag as a way to sort things out amongst the hundreds of tweets in your feed. When you click on a hashtag phrase in a tweet, you will get a new page with a list of other tweets that are also using that phrase. If you’ve never clicked on a hashtag before, try it out. You should see dozens (hundreds) of other posts with the same hashtag.

Essentially, the hashtag helps you find others who are talking about the same thing. In a forum such as Twitter or Facebook, you can engage with people who are interested in your topic. One of the most famous hashtag campaigns was #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft, which brought awareness to domestic violence.

Hashtag Etiquette

Using a hashtag is easy enough. Just put together a phrase, put the number sign in front of it, and make the tweet. The trick is finding the right phrase that is relevant. One of the key ideas is to be specific and relevant with your hashtag. Instead of #minivan, be more exact, for example #kiasedona or #dodgegrandcaravan.

Don’t overuse hashtags in your post. Instagram might allow up to 30 hashtags, but you shouldn’t use that many in a single post. Two or three, at most, is enough to reach people, in any forum that you use. When you use more than three, you come off as desperate and it dilutes your original message.

Before using a hashtag, make sure you understand what it relates to. In one of the most famous blunders of social media, DiGiorno Pizza sent out a tweet “#WhyIStayed You Had Pizza.” The company ended up with egg on their face instead of selling more pizzas as they hoped.

Do Some Research to Gain Confidence

Twitter offers a help page that provides support for hashtag use. Click on hashtags to find out how others use them. Although hashtag use started with Twitter, most all social media platforms support them. However, you should understand the limitations within each site. For example, Pinterest hashtags aren’t searchable. On YouTube, hashtags are most commonly used in the comments.

Watch how others use them on the social media platform that you use. Try one out, but make sure you’ve done your homework. It’s always a good idea to ask someone else when you’re in doubt, especially if your post is for a business. Don’t make a social media mistake that gets your brand negative publicity.

If you are a business owner in any of these genres, financial, photographers, dentists, hotels, restaurants, construction, HVAC, hardware stores, real estate, or any business owner and want more information on Social Media Marketing, please contact Blast Creative today!

The post Hashtag #101 appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Google Plus is an effective platform to help you or your business reach new customers, increase brand awareness and cultivate community engagement. While Google Plus doesn’t have as many users as other popular social media sites, it offers enhanced discussions and group conferencing tools to help you interact with your industry. According to Entrepreneur, “your customers will be on it sooner rather than later and many probably already are.” Follow these Google Plus marketing tips and strategies to enhance your online presence:

Branding
If you or your organization use social media profiles with other services, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, you should standardize your brand across each platform. Your profile name should be your business name formatted in the same method on Google Plus as your other profiles. For example, use “ACME Products” rather than “Acme.” Each of your social profiles should also feature the same version of your logo as your profile picture. This is an important branding strategy that can significantly enhance your credibility and increase brand awareness.

Content
You should regularly post new content on your profile without repeating exactly what you have said on other social networks or blogs. Incorporate images, video or links into all of your posts to create a media-rich profile. You receive immediate feedback and potential exposure when users click the “+1” on your posts. Polls are a great feature to include in your Google Plus posts. As you post more frequently, your profile receives more traffic, higher brand awareness and becomes a valuable platform for customer engagement.

Engagement
Open communication with your Google Plus community creates a lasting relationship with your customers. According to a recent study by Forbes, “brands’ Google Plus posts generated nearly as much engagement per follower as their Facebook posts.” Google Plus is unique in that it places extra emphasis on group discussions. When a Google Plus user mentions you in a post, reviews your business or comments on a post you share, you should respond quickly and meaningfully to establish a strong relationship with your customers.

Hangouts
In order to reach every corner of Google Plus, you should consider incorporating Google Plus Hangouts into your marketing strategy. Hangouts is a group conferencing tool that incorporates video, audio and screen sharing. You can schedule Hangouts as events, invite your followers and then promote it on your social media outlets. During a Hangout, you have the opportunity to communicate in real-time with your community. Hangouts are great for hosting webinars, question & answer panels or public release announcements.

Mentions
Referring to businesses, people and other profiles on Google Plus is a great way to network and increase your engagement. To mention a person or business in your post, type the “@” symbol followed by their profile’s name. For example, type “@Google” and then click “Google” from the results to mention Google in your post. The mention is automatically hyperlinked and the profile you’re mentioning receives a notification that they are mentioned in your post.

If you are a business owner in any of these genres, financial, photographers, dentists, hotels, restaurants, construction, HVAC, hardware stores, real estate, or any business owner and want more information on Internet Marketing, please contact Blast Creative today!

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