Mobile Marketing Trends

March 26, 2012 – 12:07 am

Marketing a business we all know is the only way to keep existing clients and attract new clients and mobile marketing trends are here to stay. Marketing being one of the most important tools where improving your business financially is concerned has over the years take n different forms. Formally, many companies were not interested in mobile marketing trends like road shows, outdoor advertising in general or moving billboards to market a product or service but today that’s not what we see. Many companies big, medium and small are very much interested in mobile marketing because it has proven to be more useful and with mobile marketing, results are seen at once so you know if you are making progress or delay.

Today’s development in technology and the rate at which people are getting accustomed to computerized systems and the computerized way of living is making marketers concentrate on the usage of electronic systems to market their products. Most companies or marketers all over the world have found a new way of marketing their products which is by using mobile SMS marketing techniques which is all about promoting and advertising through smart talk phones. Even though this trend is new on the market, it has a very bright future because it is very simple, less complicated and very efficient when it has to do with the delivering of SMS’s to a particular audience or clientele base.

Also, using billboards and television road shows to promote a company or its services is another mobile marketing trend. No matter what kind of business you are operating, mobile marketing can be used because it is not limited to any specific type or class of companies or individuals. Using text messages for marketing is one of the best options for many companies since these services cost less and is more than efficient. For instance for restaurants and bars, you can use the mobile phone marketing to send text messages to your clients or customers of new recipes and upcoming events at your bar also; discounts on your services can be sent to them using the mobile phone but you must first draft a short survey for your customers to know if they won’t mind to have weekly or daily messages from your company to their phones before you go ahead because most people do not like to receive such messages so make sure you know for certain or with consent from client before you begin.

Staying in touch with your customers regularly and making them aware of new promotions in your company as a private business owner or a corporate company is very important because doing this makes the customer feel important and when a customer feels a kind of belonging they never see the need to hire the services of other companies. Although email marketing is also good, it is not as efficient as mobile phone marketing because many people do not check their emails frequently which make it difficult for them to know about these promotions ahead of time. Currently it is said that more than 90% of customers check their text messages within the hour.

What a great way to get in contact with your customers and follow the current mobile marketing trends!

Mobile marketing trends

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Key Reasons Your Business Needs a Mobile Website

March 7, 2012 – 9:34 pm

Why you need a mobile website

If you are responsible for marketing your business, then there’s no doubt you are aware of just how important it is that you have a strong presence on the Internet. There are many ways of developing this presence, from social media sites to blogs, and you should be taking advantage of all of them. One of the latest, most effective ways of taking full advantage of the world wide web’s marketing potential is by using a mobile website. A mobile website is just what it sounds like – a website specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices. So, why does your business need a mobile website if its traditional site is doing just fine? Here are five compelling reasons why:

Aesthetic appeal. You may wonder why people can’t just view your existing traditional website on their mobile devices. The truth is, they can. The other truth is that your traditional website simply doesn’t look very good on a mobile device. Do this: shrink the view on your web browser by zooming out until you have to squint to read the text. Not a good viewing experience, right?

Can you afford NOT to have a mobile website?

The statistics. You can’t argue with numbers. Basically, more people today use their mobile devices to access the Internet than they do their desktop or laptop computers. As a matter of fact, many people accessing the web today ONLY do so through their mobile devices. Can you afford not to cater to this considerably large market sector?

Data transfer costs. Many mobile users must pay data transfer fees. Traditional websites have much more data than mobile websites, and therefore can cost a lot of people a lot of money to view. How often are customers willing to pay you to market to them? Enough said.

Navigation. As previously mentioned, traditional sites are much smaller on those tiny mobile device screens. That means site visitors must do an awful lot of scrolling to take the whole site in . . . and let’s face it, web surfers don’t want to have to work to read a web page. Also, it can be nearly impossible to hit navigation buttons on such a tiny screen when the website hasn’t been optimized for mobile devices.

Today’s web audience. The fact that most people access the Internet via mobile device also means that most people use their mobile devices for any of a wide variety of things – shopping, searching, entertainment, and more – and these are all aspects you could add to your mobile website to increase your reach and broaden your customer base.

How to get your mobile website designed

As you can see, there are a number of very good reasons to build a mobile website for your business, and as soon as possible. Enlist the help of professionals to get started today. Social Media Consulting CFL can be reached by email, Ursula@socialmediaconsultingcfl.com. Or call 386-527-5089, to reach your mobile website designer.

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Boost Your Business With Mobile Marketing

November 27, 2011 – 8:04 pm

socialmediaconsultingcfl mobile expert

Mobile Marketing is on the rise with the success of smart phones. People are beginning to use their cellphones more than ever before for many different functions.

This means you can target prospective customers through mobile marketing,

and here are some great ways to use mobile marketing for your business.

Mobile marketing and design

Keep mobile marketing in mind when designing your website and messages. When it comes to your website, you want to make sure you have a mobile friendly website. There are several ways on how to accomplish that (please look for specifics in one of our next articles).

Timing of mobile marketing messages

Try not to send messages at strange hours or on weekends and holidays. On the one hand, you want to reach customers right when they are making buying decisions. A restaurant might want to text a message about lunch specials in the morning hours, a professional business might want to text within regular business hours. Make sure not to disturb you customers when they do not want to be interrupted.

How to sign up new customers

Entice customers to sign up for your mobile messages by using discount offers. These days, in order to get likes on Facebook or have people signing up to your e-mail or text messages, you have to give them something they like. Either a free product or service, discount, special treatment or advice they might be looking out for.

Make sure your messages address a problem potential customers have. This can be information your customers want about your products, events, etc. or discounts and specials for all those looking for deals in a weak economy.

Mobile Marketing and Message Length

How long should the message be and how often should I send them? Text messages are limited in length, about the length of a Twitter message, which is 140 characters or less. We suggest you do not text too often. This will depend on your kind of business, but clearly not more than once per day. The benefits of offering a “Stop messages” option. Always, make sure to end a message with an opt-out or “stop messages”. This will guarantee that you oblige with the FDIC rules and also, people will feel more comfortable just having that option available to them.

Mobile marketing is the newest and hottest way to try to reach your customers and here to stay. Use these tips to boost your business before your competitors use mobile marketing to boost theirs.

Creating a mobile marketing campaign can be easy if you have help from a professional.

If you need more information about mobile marketing, visit http://socialmediaconsultingcfl.com

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Keyword Selection for SEO purposes

August 27, 2011 – 1:23 am

One way of getting your website and blog to be viewed is by implementing SEO

Seo (aka Search engine optimization) genuinely isn’t rocket science but there’s a lot to understand and contemplate when optimizing one’s web site.
In the forefront will be the knowledge of keywords/keyword phrases and what impact they have in your ability to obtain targeted internet site visitors.

What’s a keyword/keyword phrase anyway?

It’s the phrase, or words, that web customers are typing in when they conduct an web search. Fortunately for us, you’ll find many different tools that maintain track of this incredibly useful data.

With that comprehended, here are some tips to support you select the right key phrases for the website… keywords and phrases which will draw the particular kind of guests you are in search of.

SEO Keyword tools

You will discover many different keyword tools, both free and compensated. Unless of course you might be an Seo expert, you will most likely want to use the free instrument supplied by Google.

To discover it, basically conduct a search on Google for the expression (aka keyword phrase), “Google Keyword Instrument.” As Google has performed its job to optimize for this keyword phrase, you will come across it to become the 1st “organic” listing on page one of the results.

Search Volume

Search volume is an indicator that tells you how a lot of times a particular keyword phrase is searched upon. The information is “search engine specific” so you’ll find that the numbers differ depending on which search engine’s information you are searching at.

It is important to note that Google now tracks “local” and “global” search volume separately and may even tell you how regularly somebody is searching the phrase having a mobile system.

Most Seo Consultants disagree as to the accuracy on the information so you must look at the information to be far more “comparative” than correct. As an example, if “keyword phrase #1″ is said to get 3,000 searches monthly and “keyword phrase #2″ is said to obtain 500, it’s secure to say that keyword phrase #1 is much more searched upon.

Competitors

It’s vital to bear in mind that most search engines only indicate ten “organic” listings on any page on the SERPs (Search Engine Outcomes Pages). Because of this, you’re competing using the websites/web pages which are previously ranked for your keyword phrase(s) you might have picked.

In order to get your web page listed on “page one” to get a particular keyword phrase, you’re going to have to outperform one of your rivals.

There are many factors to consider when gauging competition but the principal ones contain:

• On-page Optimization – Put simply, how properly have they optimized their page around the keyword phrase(s) they’re ranking for.
• Age of your domain – Normally speaking, the older the domain, the superior.
• Domain extension – Though it is possible to enhance the Seo of any internet site, individuals with a .com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov or even a nation specific domain have a tendency to rank far better than those with other extensions.
• Inbound links – The quantity of hyperlinks the page has from other internet websites as well as these coming from other pages with the internet site alone.Seo (aka Search engine optimization) genuinely isn’t rocket science but there’s a lot to understand and contemplate when optimizing one’s web site.
In the forefront will be the knowledge of keywords/keyword phrases and what impact they have in your ability to obtain targeted internet site visitors.

What’s a keyword or keyword phrase anyway?

With that comprehended, here are some tips to support you select the right key phrases for the website… keywords and phrases which will draw the particular kind of guests you are in search of.

Keyword tools

You will discover many different keyword tools, both free and compensated. Unless of course you might be an Seo expert, you will most likely want to use the free instrument supplied by Google.

Search Volume

It is important to note that Google now tracks “local” and “global” search volume separately and may even tell you how regularly somebody is searching the phrase having a mobile system.

Competitors

In order to get your web page listed on “page one” to get a particular keyword phrase, you’re going to have to outperform one of your rivals.

There are many factors to consider when gauging competition but the principal ones contain:

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged keywords, SEO, Social Media Consulting | Comments (0)

Free Facebook Fanpage

August 10, 2011 – 1:38 am

Are you a business owner who wishes to have a presence on Facebook with your own Facebook Fanpage without spending a lot of money to set it up???

I am now offering you a basic FREE Facebook Fanpage so your business can get more visitors to its website, generate more sales, increase your brand recognition and loyalty and provide a direct communication link to your clients and customers…

Free Facebook Fanpage

Buy Now

Price: $0

Time left:

Offer Closed!

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Google+ and Google +1, the lastest in Social Media

July 22, 2011 – 4:45 pm

Google+

Google is on a quest to catch up and/or overtake Facebook as the largest Social Media platform and it looks like they are getting it right this time

At the current time Google has released Google +1, its social voting system

+1 Buttons will show up in the Google search results, if you are logged in.

Google +1 works similar to Facebook Like button, as it is an up vote for sites that you like; +1 can be installed on your site just like the Like button from Facebook. All you have to do is click the +1 button (it looks like the symbol above) when logged into your Google account. It will be next to the search results in Google or on just about every blog out there soon.

Google +1’s and Google Plus shares are bound to become a part of the basic algorithm across the board, which means, as a business you will want to participate for better ranking of your sites on Google. Twitter and Facebook shares, along with Digg, Stumbleupon, and others, already are a part of the algorithm.

Another key element of the Social Media development is that we are going to continue to see more and more “personalized search results.” That means that when you search for a certain keyword the results might be different from when somebody else I searching for the same keywords.

Now to Google+, Google’s social network

Right now you must have an invite (email me if you want one) as Google+ is still in the Beta phase. However, it has been reported that there are already 10 million Google+ users, so my assumption is that Google+ will be the fastest growing Social Media platform ever.

Google+ works very similar to Facebook; it has a “Stream” which is basically the same as your Facebook news feed.

One of the exciting new features is that you can add people to “Circles” instead of friends;

Circles give you the option of dividing up those who you follow into different groups. Further, you can share posts only with certain circles if you so choose. This certainly closes one of the missing features of Facebook, where all your friends get all your wall posts. In Google+ you can create as many circles as you want and add people to as many circles as you want.

Further, you can share links, photos, status updates, locations, etc., just like Facebook or Twitter.

Google+ also offer the “sparks” feature, which works like a RSS feeder and allows you to follow certain interests of yours.

“Hangouts” allow you to chat or video chat with up to ten people at one time, also a function that is currently not available in Facebook.

Google Mobile allows you to basically use the same functions on your smart phone including the “Huddle”hich is a group texting function.

A Google+ business platform has been announced to get released at a later date and seems to have more of the functionality like a Facebook Fanpage, so for my business I will hold off participating in Google+ at this time, which is also what I recommend to my customers. Then again, I have started playing around on Google+ personally…. Go ahead and give Google+ a try, too!

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Google Places Business Listing, a great way to achieve a Page 1 status

July 3, 2011 – 9:54 pm

Are you aware of your Google Places business listing?

Did you know that Google Places is the easiest and fastest way to get your local business listed in the top 7 searches on any major search engine? And all for free? And using information that you as a business owner already has on the tip of your fingers?

You may be wondering how I can possibly make these claims. Well consider this awesome fact: anytime someone enters local search terms into Google ( that means those search terms referring to a town or city or state or zip code), it automatically triggers Google to display Google Map listings on its first page of search results and those listing cover up to 30% of the screen. Every other search result related to WebPages, videos and images gets pushed further down, so that makes Google Places an incredible marketing strategy for any local business.

Here is a list of basic information you already know as a local business owner that by correctly submitting will increase your chances of high rankings.

Business Name

Official registered business name, mailing address, phone number and website URL
You can choose up to 5 categories to describe your business niches

Business Category

Hours of Operation
Payment Options your clients have when they buy from you
Photos- already on your webpage, on your camera or on your walls to be simply uploaded
Videos- already on your webpage or on your YouTube account, or your video recorder

But this is only the tip of the iceberg for a top Google Places Business Listing

This next set of information will be like feeding steroids to your business listing. It revolves around a very simple yet often overlooked principle: your business’s unique selling proposition i.e. the things that set your business apart from your competition in very unique ways that will make a customer choose you over them.

Submit your USP details in the area called ‘Additional Details’. Go through this list and the examples provided to jog your creativity:

Pricing- Moderate, $15 buffet. $30/month
Facilities and amenities- kid friendly, free parking, valet service
Handicap accessibility- handicap accessible
Areas of specialty- plastic surgery, pet grooming
Delivery- free delivery, delivery in Bay area only
Locations served- serving downtown LA only
Currency- USD, Cash only, Cash and Credit
Significant achievements – Voted Best Bank in Norfolk County
Type of clients- 3-5yrs, over 18
Products or services offered- commercial painting, foreclosure assistance
Nearby landmarks or attractions of interest- 1 mile from New York Museum

As you can see, optimizing your business listing is something you can do very easily as a local business owner if you creatively describe the special attributes of your business.

Another tip to move your Google Places Business listing up in its position:

Get customers to leave reviews for your site. This is especially important if you face stiff competition in your industry and area.

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Why I-frames are great for Facebook fan pages

April 13, 2011 – 1:37 pm

The new changes to Facebook fan pages were launched to provide solutions to problems that page owners encountered and to enhance to look and usefulness of fan pages. With many new and exciting features to maximize fan page effectiveness, now is the time to upgrade your fan page to iFrames.

Facebook’s recent overhaul of Facebook fan pages has caused quite a stir in the virtual world.

Some panicked at the thought of no longer being able to enter simple FBML code (Facebook’s own code). Others worried about the cost of hosting their images now that Facebook required outside hosting for all pages. Many were just confused because fan pages seemed to function well and met their needs. Why fix something that isn’t broken? The answer is simple: Facebook realized the great potential of fan pages and decided that some much needed changes would help fan pages become all they were meant to be.

Panic and worry over any change is just human nature and the changes to fan pages may require some adjustment time, but the growth and benefit potential of their new iFrames style far surpasses any growing pains fan page owners might encounter. If you currently operate a Facebook fan page and worry about what iFrames will mean for you, consider the exciting possibilities that are now at your fingertips by making the switch to iFrames:

Your page can become a mini website. With the new tab features available with iFrames, your fan page can now be so much more than ever before. Allowing you to enhance and customize your fan page with endless variations, you can now use your fan page as a natural extension of, or in place of, a traditional website. Add multiple pages, videos, links…the possibilities are endless with iFrames!
Facebook fan pages can now reflect your style. Forget the cookie-cutter fan pages of last year; today’s iFrames on Facebook allow you to create a customized fan page that represents who and what you are like never before. Imagine a fan page that resembles your website style with logos, background images and elements that incorporate your brand’s image. iFrames make it possible!
iFrames make things fair. In the past, fan page owners were more or less at the mercy of the designers they hired to create their fan pages. These fan page creators held the key to the codes that made up the page and could make changes at their discretion, as well as make money by incorporating links that led page visitors to their own business pages. In essence, page designers had the power to essentially hold page codes hostage and page owners were paying the price. With iFrames, you can now eliminate the middleman and host the code on your own website!
Less overall cost for professional design. Due to the complexity of design challenges less tech-savvy page owners may encounter, many fan pages are now being designed by professionals who understand iFrames and the marketing potential behind them. Though this additional cost may seem prohibitive to some, the good news is that it is a one-time fee and the designer will plant the code on your website. No more monthly storage fees to page creators make it easy to justify outsourcing design to an affordable graphic design professional.
Conduct sales transactions right on the page. iFrames now allow what many fan page owners have long desired: the opportunity to conduct sales right from their fan page! Page visitors used to have to click a link to take them to an independent website in order to place an order, but no longer. With iFrames, customers can now browse galleries of images with detailed product descriptions, add what they love to their virtual shopping cart and check out without ever leaving your page! It’s a timesaver for shoppers and a great money-making tool for fan page owners.

With so many exciting options, making the switch to iFrames style on Facebook fan pages is a smart move for every business. Though the changes may include a bit of a learning curve, the benefits are clear: endless customization, easier navigation, less hassle and more money in your pocket! Make the change to iFrames style for your Facebook fan pages today and see for yourself why change can be good!

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

7 Tips to ensure your business website / blog is reader – friendly

February 18, 2011 – 3:23 pm

Your business website is your online store front and its image and functionality determines whether users stay on it or click away. Here are some tips to make sure your website is friendly and attractive to users.

1. Adopt a minimalist approach

It’s tempting to “fill out” your web pages with unnecessary content just make it look weighty but that only gives your readers viewing fatigue. Keep it simple so that users can quickly scan your content and find exactly what they want.

2. Text Layout

Make sure your text is divided into short sections complete with titles and subtitles. Also give information in point form or bullet form, and space it out into brief paragraphs so it’s easier for your users to read

3. Links that open in new windows

If your website has multimedia content like videos, audio files or PDF documents, make sure that their links open in new windows so that as the large files are downloading your user can multitask and remain on your webpage. That saves him time.

4. Be consistent

If your website has multiple pages, maintain a consistent design theme. Make sure navigation tools, colors, layout, text font and other features are the same on each and every page. You don’t want your user to feel that they have clicked the wrong link and wonder whether they are still on your website or not.

5. Look professional

If you want to be taken seriously, it helps to have a professional looking website instead of one that looks outdated or created with childish- looking freebie templates. It pays to have a website designer help you get your look together instead of trying to do it yourself.

6. Graphics and media

There’s nothing more annoying to a website user than drumming his fingers impatiently as he waits for your website to load heavy graphics and multimedia. The world is getting busier and people’s attention span is getting severely shorter, so keep those graphics simple, your videos about a minute in length and resize your images for fast loading. Your website should not take more than 15 seconds to load.

7. Spelling and Grammar

It’s often the basic things we get wrong. The spelling and grammar of your content should be perfect. Wrong spellings and confusing content shows you don’t pay attention to details and turns off users. They will probably wonder why they would want to buy anything from you, if you can’t even get your spelling right.

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Why would I want to use WordPress instead of a regular website?

February 14, 2011 – 3:55 pm

WordPress is designed to make your life easier. It will allow you to log in and handle all of your own content. This enables you to control your content, instead of waiting for a web designer to go in and do it for you!

What will my WordPress website look like?

It will look just like a regular website! You can choose a custom template that will look exactly how you want! You can add almost anything, including music, videos, blogs, shopping carts, photos, etc.

What are the benefits of using a WordPress blog?

Every company should be accompanied with a blog design, blogging and social networking are the future of the web and every company should stay up to date with the changes in potential marketing on the internet. There are numerous reasons to have a blog designed, here are a few of what we think are the top reasons:

- The ability to post daily information about your product to your customers. Show clients any updated information about your company within seconds.

- Blogs are a search engine’s best friend because the content is fresh and constantly updated! It helps search engines to read more content to find your site easily.

- With the help of plugins many difficult tasks can be made much easier. If you have an idea for something you want on your website, odds are there’s a plugin that will do just what you’re looking for.

- It is the best way to make money using revenue ads.

- The ability to subscribe to RSS feeds and follow updates easily.

- Easily post many links on your site.

- Interact with visitors on your blog. They can submit comments on each post. It is a great way to get feedback!

What else can WordPress do for my website?

If you have a special need for your website, chances are all you need is a simple plugin. Plugins are designed specifically for WordPress and will only work on the WordPress platform. Plugins offer many different advantages that just aren’t available for regular websites. From photo gallery plugins, to SEO plugins, to Poll plugins, to wordpress plugins, the options are limitless.

Is WordPress search engine friendly?

WordPress right out of the box is extremely efficient for search engine optimization and with the addition of certain plugins can become even more powerful. There are various plugins available for SEO purposes that will make your site rank high in search engines!

By Ursula | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)