COVID-19 has been life changing for everyone. Business owners have especially suffered from the shut-down. It is essential that we change our marketing during COVID-19 to continue growing our businesses.
There are a variety of tools to succeed with your digital marketing during COVID-19. In this video, I reflect on the top three that you can pursue immediately.
Digital Marketing Strategies During COVID-19
Ecommerce Website design
Social Media Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Each of these tools can help sell your product and depict your message. During COVID-19, the most innovative businesses will get ahead. Contact the pro’s at Get Global Marketing to reinvent your marketing. We offer website design, SEO, and Google Ads.
Get Global Marketing wants to help your business gain exposure online. To do so, we are providing online marketing tips. This infograph has key strategy, social media, and content tips to help you build your online exposure.
If you are looking for help from a professional, contact Gillian at gillian@getglobalmarketing.com.
Adding value to your business is essential. I am sure that you have heard it before.
When I started my business, adding value seemed like a mystery.
What is that? Where do I start?
After trial and error, I found what successfully adds value to my business. This article explains a few tricks that worked for me. If you are searching for ways to add value, I suggest trying these techniques.
Respond to Calls, Texts, and Emails ASAP
Strong communication skills are necessary in every relationship. If you aren’t responding within 24 hours you could be severely hurting your business. Your clients should be a priority. Prompt communication is one of the best ways to ensure clients that they are important.
Increase Speed of Production
One of the reasons that I left my previous company was that everything took FOREVER to get done! It was extremely frustrating. After experiencing slow performance, I made it a priority to produce websites within one to two months.
If you are increasing your production speed, you can also get more work done which leads to increased revenue.
Offer Discounts and Rewards
Discounts can come in many forms. If you are an ecommerce company, you might choose to send seasonal coupons through email. Coffee shops often use punch cards.
I provide a $100 reward for current clients who provide a referral that totals over $1,500 in revenue, and a $50 reward for over $1,000. I also provide free SEO audits to potential clients.
Improve the Quality of Your Product
If you want to be a high-quality business, provide a high-quality product. Don’t skip corners.
As a website developer, I try to build the highest quality websites as possible. I also make sure that my clients are 100% satisfied before I complete the job.
Make sure that your clients are happy. Pay attention to your reviews on social media and Google, and provide feedback. Customers occasionally improve reviews if you put in an effort to solve the problem.
Keep Your Technical Skills Up-To-Date
Technology is always advancing. Don’t let yourself get out-of-date.
One of the best examples for every business is responsive design websites. Responsive design websites fit to your mobile device. If you have not yet built a website that is compatible with phones and tablets, you could be missing out on business.
As a website developer, I require the knowledge to convert websites to be compatible with mobile devices.
Adding value is essential when you map your way to business success. Determine your business goals to get started. Contact Get Global Marketing for help with your online marketing.
As a small business owner, marketing is never-ending. I am always networking, optimizing my SEO, and posting on social media. However, if you are not using LinkedIn, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity.
Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to connect with other professionals while directly promoting your business services. I strongly suggest that all business owners use LinkedIn to grow their business. Not convinced? Learn why to optimize your LinkedIn presence today!
LinkedIn is the Professional Showcase of You Online
At it’s core, LinkedIn is an online resume. Be meticulous with your Linkedin profile. LinkedIn profiles are often the first impression for potential clients. You can also use LinkedIn to connect with professionals that you meet at networking events.
What You Can List on LinkedIn
Current and Previous Job Experience
Profile Photo
Education
Credentials
Endorsements
Reviews
Connect with Potential Clients
I live in Bend, Oregon where new businesses are opening every month. It is important for me to reach out to the new business owners when they eventually need a website or online marketing. You can find a list of new businesses on your city’s website.
This tactic can work for almost any business. For example, if you offer cleaning services, search for your ideal clientele and explain your office cleaning services through a private message.
Build Credibility by Publishing Content
Sharing content on LinkedIn helps you remain relevant to connections. You can link posts to your profile or write articles for LinkedIn Publisher. Using LinkedIn Publisher is essential when your goal is to gain connections. The article will be published on LinkedIn’s blogs and has the potential to reach thousands of professionals.
I recommend writing an article for LinkedIn Publisher once per month. Connections from well-written posts can increase your industry credibility.
I recommend that anyone looking for a new job or client optimizes their LinkedIn profile. Not sure where to start? Check for any errors that could be killing your LinkedIn credibility, such as:
Spelling Errors
Incomplete Sections
Few Connections
Unread Messages
Unprofessional Profile Photo
LinkedIn is a well-used social platform that can build your professional credibility. If you are searching for new clients, optimizing your LinkedIn profile could help improve your career.
Websites are hacked every day. Most of us assume that won’t happen to us.
Well guess what… the other guys did not think their websites would get hacked either!
Security precautions can be taken to block hackers. Every website should be secured with an SSL certificate.
SSL stands for “secure sockets layer” and is a form of security for sites that handle sensitive information such as customer names, phone numbers, addresses and credit card numbers. It creates a secure connection between the customers browser and the server. An SSL certificate is essential for ecommerce companies.
As a website developer, I secure all of my websites with an SSL certificate. Most of my websites are hosted by Bluehost. A security service allows you to apply the SSL certificate within the CPanel. Your SSL certificate is easy to set-up. Web developers can upgrade the account for subdomain protection.
How Can I Tell If the Website I am Visiting Is Secure?
Checking your web security is simple. The most obvious method is looking at the URL of the website. A green padlock is displayed when a website is secure. The website will also say HTTPS instead of HTTP.
HTTPS is the acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is the protocol for secure communication over the computer network. HTTPS ensures that the website data is encrypted.
Chrome will be making more obvious alerts for internet users beginning in July 2018. Over 55% of internet users use Chrome. Now Chrome is labeling websites “secure” or “not secure” on the search bar of the domain. Many internet security software programs like SiteAdvisor will provide warnings for websites that do not have the “secure” tag.
What Are the Benefits of an SSL Certificate?
Encrypts Information
You should know why SSL certificates exist if you own a website.
Picture a website like your home. An SSL certificate is like a door lock. You lock the door to keep your family and belongings secure. You lock your website to ensure that hackers do not break into your database.
Your SSL certificate encrypts sensitive information. This include credit card numbers, addresses, names, usernames, and passwords. Only you and the server are able to understand the information. It will be unreadable to a hacker and identity thief. SSL certificates are essential for ecommerce companies.
Improves Customer Trust
Identity theft can be a nightmare! A thief can ruin your credit, take out loans, and steal your social security number. Online purchases make it easier for someone to steal your identity. A secure website is protected from hackers, therefore earns more customer trust.
84% of people will abandon a transaction if the website is not secure. Your company loses revenue with a website development error that is a simple fix. Every website that I develop is protected with an SSL certificate.
Good for SEO
HTTPS is essential for website security. However, a secure website can also be good for SEO.
As an online marketer, I provide SEO services in Bend, Oregon. Creating a secure website is one of the primary responsibilities on my SEO checklist.
Beginning is July 2018, Google will mark all websites that are HTTP as “not secure”. This will hurt the rankings of those websites. Secure websites will get more traffic which is essential for to increase rankings on search engines.
Over 68% of Chrome traffic on both Android and Windows is now protected
Over 78% of Chrome traffic on both Chrome OS and Mac is now protected
81 of the top 100 sites on the web use HTTPS by default
Speak with your website developer about securing your website with HTTPS and SSL. Get Global Marketing develops secure websites in Bend, Oregon. Contact us today to revamp or build a new website.
Marketing has many different avenues. There is social media marketing, SEO, print, radio, billboards – the list goes on. Nevertheless, blogging is one of the best things that you can do to build a new client base.
As an online marketer, I know that an optimized blog can improve your professional reputation, help you gain leads and sales, and increase your rankings on Google. Let me explain how this works:
Improves Your SEO
Every business owner I know wants to rank on the first page of search engines. If you have higher rankings than you can gain more traffic to your website, therefore exposure to potential clients. A variety of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) methods can increase your likelihood of ranking on the first page of Google. Blog articles are one of the most important methods to include into your SEO strategy.
Why Blogs Are Valuable for SEO
Blogs create opportunity for your website. You can strategically place keywords, back links, and images that creates domain authority. Blogs create more content for Google and other search engines to index. You can also link your blogs to social media.
Makes You Appear as an Expert in Your Industry
Most businesses have fierce competition. When you have competition, you have to find a way to make yourself stand out.
You could create amazing ads and beautiful social media posts but it’s essential that you depict yourself as an expert. There are two great ways to portray your expertise online:
Portfolio
Blog Articles
In your blog provide tips and “how-to” articles. For example, if you are an interior decorator, provide “Best Interior Paint Color Combinations,” or “Laminate Versus Hardwood”. You are not only a service provider but a resource of knowledge.
Gives Your Brand a Voice
Your clients want to work with a business that they can trust. Writing blog posts personalizes your company. You can optimize these effects by introducing the author at the beginning of the article.
Do not be afraid to say, “As the business owner of blank…” That way, your audience will know that the article is being written by an expert.
You might notice that, I use this technique throughout my blog articles. I do not want my readers to feel like they are reading another generic blog article. Readers are obtaining information from the perspective of an online marketer and small business owner.
Creates Opportunities for Backlinks
How many times have you found a random article online and posted it on social media? Probably more than you can count!
Your blogs provide opportunities for others to share as a resource on social media or link on their own website. Inevitably, sharing content can get you more traffic on your website which is great for SEO! Create beautiful blog articles for plenty of opportunities to flourish on the web.
If you do not have a blog on your website, it is time to start! I recommend posting a new article once a week. Contact the professionals at Get Global Marketing in Bend, Oregon to get you started.
As a social marketer, I often speak with people who do not understand the power of LinkedIn. Over 240 million people are LinkedIn users. In my opinion, Linkedin is the most powerful method to connect with other professionals. You can post jobs, find jobs, and display your products and services. It is a great place to connect and grow your business.
A great LinkedIn profile can be a powerful marketing tool. To succeed at using LinkedIn for marketing, you need to pursue steps to improve your personal and business profiles. The following steps can help you build the leads you need to meet your business goals. Please review the video for a visual transcription of this blog.
Top 5 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Marketing
Keep you profile information current and complete
Your LinkedIn profile could be your first impression to a new business connection. This means that your profile should be current and complete for a great representation of who you are.
Make sure that each section if filled out. Your photo should be professional and high quality. When you create your LinkedIn profile, review the following important points:
Photo
Biography
Interests
Job History
Build company page
Social media provides the unique opportunity to share your company with millions of people on one platform. LinkedIn reaches other professionals who are potentially referrals or partners.
Your LinkedIn company page offers a description section to display your products and services. You can also say the size of your company. An added benefit is your employee’s can link to your company page on their personal profiles.
Grow Connections
The more connections you have, the more opportunities you gain to engage with valuable leads. There are many ways to grow your connections. Start by providing valuable links for your industry. As a thought leader, you can gain more connections with people who want more expert knowledge.
Send invite over email
Request introduction from connection
Use Inmail
Provide consistent information on company page
Use Status Updates and Links to Post Relevant Information
The internet is a resource of videos and articles that can give you quality information that you need. The convenience allows me to search Google whenever I have a technical question. LinkedIn allows you to provide a wealth of important information in your industry through status updates. Your status updates can contain valuable blog posts or videos.
I link Get Global Marketing’s blog to my company and personal profile. By using hashtags, I can draw users that are not connections to my posts. The increase of traffic to my website can increase my website’s domain authority.
LinkedIn Ads
Connect with other influential professionals with LinkedIn ads. Your LinkedIn ad is a B2B campaign. There are three precise methods of targeting your LinkedIn Ad:
By job title and function
By industry and company size
By seniority
A LinkedIn ad campaign can be started in minutes. You will pay by clicks or impressions. LinkedIn has no long term contracts and the ads can be stopped at any time. A LinkedIn ad is a great way to showcase your company and build new relationships.
Each social network targets a different audience. LinkedIn can be a very valuable method to improving your B2B marketing. Networking with other reputable businesses can earn referrals or build partnerships. I can help all of my marketing clients build their LinkedIn presence.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”610″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Swivel conference in Bend. One of the speakers was Brand Strategist, Mel Carson. Mel managed the digital marketing for Microsoft and now owns Delightful Communications.
During the conference, Mel spoke on personal branding. This infograph shows important points from his lecture.
We often treat “act” as the first stage in marketing. This means that we do not determine our “why” and create a plan. When we start with “act”, we can often waste hours of work and money. The “How-To Create Great Social Media Content” infograph is a guideline to create a “why” for your successful social media campaign. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
