If you have a small business and it’s not on Facebook, then you’re missing out on a bunch of FREE advertising. Yes, free advertising! Of course, like Google, there are opportunities for paid advertising on Facebook. But every small business should be on social media, especially on Facebook. The most common age of Facebook users is between the ages of 25-29 at 29.7% of users according to Zephoria. This is also the most targeted age for marketers. So why don’t you promote your small business on Facebook? Here’s how to start.

First of all, create a Facebook business page. Add all of your important business information; name, contact info, hours, products, website if you have one. Make your profile picture your business logo, and add a cover photo that accurately reflects your business.

Once you’ve created the Facebook page, you need to update it regularly. That means at least once a day. Users like to see behind the scenes photos too, such as employee photos, anniversaries, and things that show off your business. They like pictures and videos, just keep them on brand with what you’re trying to promote. Use Facebook’s free tool “insights” if you’re unsure of what and when to post.

Friends of Fans is Facebook’s “word of mouth”, so encourage people to “check-in” or to tag your business in a post. You can do this by having them check in to receive a discount or tag to enter a contest. When a fan does this, their friends will see this and see your business. Free Advertising!

Create events! Whether it’s a grand opening, a sale, a special tasting, whatever it is, create an event. That event will show up in the events tab, and people will see it. When people are interested in it, or check that they’re going to it, their friends will see that too!

Engage with your fans as well as with other pages. Be sure you’re responding to questions and comments on your page. It’s equally important that your page is interacting with similar pages, as well as local businesses. These actions will help get your business name out there.

If you need some help getting your business set up on Facebook or other social media outlets, Webtivity Marketing & Design has got you covered, reach out to us online or give us a call at (941) 753-7574!

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What is it that makes a business credible online these days? When businesses are competing for the same space in Google’s SERP’s, often it comes down to which business is more credible. So let’s break down some ways to build online credibility.

Search your business profile online and make sure that not only are all elements filled out accordingly, but that they match, and that they’re interesting to read. Add elements that would make you feel like the business is trustworthy if you were searching, such as pictures, logos, or an address. Include your staff if you have any.

Yes, we’ve said it before but blog. Become an authority – an expert in your field. Don’t just blog, but blog often. Not only does blogging increase your online search engine traffic, but it can also increase your leads, and help to back up your sales pitch if necessary.

Get active on social media accounts. More often than not, after someone finds a business online, they go looking for that business on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. If they find an active social media presence, that business automatically gets a leg up on the competition. By being social, you create trust and connect with your online audience. Be authentic, transparent, and be sure to listen and to respond to comments, questions, and reviews in a timely manner.

Highlight what it is that makes YOUR business unique! What makes you stand out? Whether it’s your standards, your warranty, or your timeliness. Whatever it is that makes you different from your competitor, show it, improve upon it, and make sure your customers feel good about choosing your business over another.

Nothing stands out to a potential buyer more than proof of credibility. Proof of credibility can include testimonials from previous clients, any awards your business has received, memberships/badges with credible associations, endorsements from credible sources, and even degrees from academic institutions. The more sources you provide, the more confident you will make potential consumers trust in your business.

If you need help increasing your online credibility in the Bradenton or St. Petersburg area, give us a call or reach out to us online!

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There are many reasons to keep a business website fresh. Customers like a fresh website, it gives them reasons to keep coming back to it. Technology is changing daily, which also makes technical reasons for keeping a website fresh. And search engines love fresh websites, so if you’re looking to rank higher in search engines, you need to keep your website fresh.

How do you keep a website fresh?

There are quite a few different ways to keep a website fresh. Because technology and design are constantly evolving, if your site was designed a few years ago, chances are it needs an upgrade. Not only is it outdated, but even if it was popular a few years ago, it probably isn’t mobile friendly (which is a must these days) and it probably isn’t very SEO friendly. It is worth it to invest in an upgrade.

Check your website from time to time for broken links. For example if you have linked to another business, or blog, perhaps they have gone out of business or changed something. If that link is no longer working it will show up as an error or a broken link leading your consumer to go elsewhere.

Google keeps track of how fresh your website is. If you increase the size or footprint of your website each year, Google will reward you for being “fresher” than other sites. You can increase your footprint by creating new pages.

It’s also important to update the content on the pages already on your website. This can be done by adding content, adding links to other areas of your website, or by adding photos to your page. You can also change the ALT tags on your photos. This is important because SEO rules are always changing, so the ALT text that was once there, might not be important SEO wise any longer.

Creating a blog is a great way to update your website. Not only does a blog keep your website fresh, when blogging about things your target market is interested in and searching for, it will attract new visitors. See our post on blogging. You can always repurpose a blog and update it too. Just don’t rename the URL, or you will lose all the SEO benefits gained from it.

Keep in mind that keeping your website fresh will benefit you. It will benefit your search engine traffic, your rank, and help to generate more traffic. If you lack the time to do this, it’s worth it to consider a professional marketing team and web designer to do these tasks for you. If you’re looking for a fresh website, we’d love to hear from you!

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Owning a business today, is ten times harder than it was ten years ago. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire with the popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Maintaining your reputation across these mediums is important, and requires strict diligence. A little effort goes a long way. Here are 10 things to know about online reputation management.

• It’s important for your business to be present across all types of internet properties. This begins with having a website.
• Create social media accounts for your business, this should include all the major ones such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIN and YouTube. Keep them active, and engage with your followers to help build trust.
• Claim your business on Google My Business, Yelp, and anywhere consumers might be leaving reviews. For example if you’re in the travel industry, you’d want to consider Trip Advisor as well.
• Blog on your company website. Not only will it improve your company’s rankings for SEO, but it goes a long way in building your company’s reputation.
• It’s important to listen to what’s being said about your business. Listen through social media, listen online, and listen to your business reviews. Like mentioned above, today word of mouth spreads like wildfire! All it takes is a quick Google search and anyone can see what is being said about your business. You don’t want to be driving potential customers to the competitor.
• Respond to all reviews, but be sure to apologize when responding to negative reviews. Do this publicly, then you can take it offline and come to a resolution. But by being transparent with your apology, it can help to bring the situation to a close. Be sure that the apology is authentic, consumers can see right through nonsense, and with the amount of  competition out there, they will be quick to take their business elsewhere.
• Whatever you do, don’t get into an argument with customers online. It only makes your business look bad. Like mentioned above, take it offline. Ask them to call you, or send you a direct message. You’ve still shown that you’re addressing the problem. Showing your professionalism is more important than proving you’re right.
• Focus on customer service. Customers will notice how you treat them, and that is key to building a great reputation. They will be more apt to forgive mistakes if they’re treated well.
• Ask your customers for reviews. You can also leave signs at your counter, leave links at the bottom of emails or receipts. When you receive reviews, post them to your website and social media accounts.
• Not only do the number of quality reviews matter when potential customers are looking to do business with you, but it matters how current the reviews are. This is why it is important to keep a steady stream of reviews coming in.

Remember, the major review sites have steps in place for inaccurate reviews. If you have a review from someone who was not a customer, you do have the right to flag it as inappropriate, or in violation of the site’s guidelines. For help maintaining your online reputation for your business, contact us. Webtivity is here for you.

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Every business is trying to jump to the top of Google’s search results. With everyone vying for that top spot, it’s important to take each page of your business website, and position it for the best results possible.  People are always searching for something “near me” and you can’t just keyword load “near me” or “close to me” in all the pages of your website. Here are some tips to make your location page work harder for your business website.

Business Name, Address, and Phone Number

Be sure that your Business Name, Address, and Phone Number appear exactly the same as it does on your Google My Business Profile, as well as all other citations you have claimed.

Photos

Include photos in your location page, with correct ALT tags. Don’t just have outdoor photos, have photos showing the interior of your business as well. This allows potential customers to see what to expect when they arrive. Exterior photos should include your sign, a parking lot, as well as nearby businesses; this is especially helpful for new businesses and if your business is in a strip mall.

Describe Business Location

Include your business location, and what makes your location unique. If you have several locations, don’t just copy and paste the same info while changing out the city.

CTA (Call to Action) Options

Use CTA’s which are helpful to the user such as directions with a link to Google Maps, a link to request an appointment, a button to shop now, or a call now button.

Directions

When you’re including directions to your business, it’s an excellent way to add some geographically specific keywords to your page.

Optimize for SEO

Be sure to optimize the location page for SEO. This includes images, the title, and the meta data of course. The meta data will be used for the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), so it should include your brand, the location keyword, as well as your keyword; all of which should have been in the title too. The meta data allows a bit more space for extra selling tips!

Your website is your 24/7 sales tool so your website must be ready to receive visitors and convert traffic into sales. We work with you to understand how you approach your business and industry, your customer acquisition tactics, and most importantly your competitors and how you position yourself against them. With this information we solidly position your business online and become your partner in success.

Show your business to the world with Webtivity Marketing & Design!

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It’s important for your business to have a Facebook Business Page, but how do you utilize it to your best advantage now that you have it set up? Facebook is constantly evolving to give business owners the opportunity to market themselves better, so what better way to market yourself than by putting yourself out there on this giant?

The size of your business doesn’t matter. Your business can be big or small, what does matter is setting your brand up for success by getting your business out there, and keeping up with the times. Facebook is a great tool to help keep your customers in-the-know when it comes to new products, events, and growing your audience.

Here are some marketing tips to help you utilize your Facebook Business Page:

Audience

Know who your Facebook audience is. Facebook has a built in tool called Audience Insight which can give you useful information about your targeted audience to help you maximize your ad budget so you can target people who are more likely to become customers. You can also tailor content towards your audience by posting with the right tone and at the right times.

Strategy

Your Facebook Business Page won’t become an overnight success. This takes time and work. Do your homework and research to be sure that you’re not wasting clicks in the wrong places.

Free Marketing

Think of your Facebook Business Page as a free marketing avenue. This page helps people get to know your brand, your services and offerings by what you’re posting and sharing. What you’re sharing should be useful to them, and connected to your business.

Content

Post engaging content and on a regular basis. Posts with either an image or a video receive two times the engagement than those with text alone.

Monitor

It is very important that you monitor your page on a daily basis, this way you can respond to comments, questions, and messages in a timely manner. People love interacting with the brands they love. Even negative comments are good, because when you respond to them, it helps you to improve, and it shows your audience they can trust you.

Hopefully with these tips you can begin to find that Facebook can be an essential marketing channel for your business. For more information about Webtivity’s marketing programs, click here.

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