, ,

Landing Page Mistakes That Are Killing Your Conversions

BIMS_4.21.15

If you are to ask any website owner to choose a section of their site that is hardest to create, you’ll probably get the same answer over and over again – the landing page.

Have you been putting it off because you’re worried it will suck? Creating a landing page doesn’t have to be a difficult process. We’ll make it easier for you by citing some of the most common landing page mistakes. Be sure to avoid these mistakes as these could be killing your conversions.

Not explaining clearly what to do

A landing page is simple, straightforward and designed for a single focused objective. It should guide your visitors toward your intended conversion goal. If your goal is to direct visitors to a particular page and urge them to sign up for a free trial, then that page should be about trying to get them to leave their email address.

But most of the time, landing page asks users to do a lot of things. Confused about what to do, visitors leave without doing anything. A landing page that does not communicate its purpose is a poor landing page.

Ignoring basic aesthetics

It turns out that some of the most common mistakes are design related. Trying to capture the attention of people, some seem to lose their minds on the appearance of their page. Garish colors, cheesy stock photos and crazy fonts do not directly influence conversion rates. Rather, they could hurt your brand’s reputation and credibility.

Blowing the headline

The headline on your landing page is what tells your visitors what your landing page is about. This is your chance to overcome the attention filter most of us have developed due to information overload and ads that offer nothing but empty promises.

If you want your visitors to keep reading, you need to add a benefit to the headline. Show them how you can help and how you can address their needs.

 

/by
, ,

4 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website

WebTraffic_1.6.15

Most business owners dream of driving relevant traffic to their site. Unfortunately, dreaming about it won’t get your there. You need hard work, consistent effort and high quality content to give yourself a boost.

Let’s take a look at some effective ways for generating high quality, organic search traffic to your website.

Content is king

Search engines are rewarding businesses that are generating high-quality consistent content.

To make your content appealing to different kinds of readers, it would help to vary the format and length of your articles. List blog posts also get more traffic than any other kind of post.

Write articles frequently

The longer you are in business and producing quality content online, the more likely are you to succeed. This will also increase your chances of showing up in search results.

Be sure to post articles on a regular basis so your readers know when to expect new content. Also, add fresh content a few times a week to keep your readers coming back for more.

Work on your headlines

Headlines are the most important parts of your content. When your blog posts are shared via social media, they are typically the first thing readers see. That said, it is important to create a headline that would pique the interest of your target audience. An effective headline would get you more views and shares than usual and will definitely drive traffic to your website.

Be social

It’s not enough to share your content across different social channels; you also need to participate actively in the community. Mind you, social media is actually intended to interact with your followers. So be sure to engage with your readers and respond to their questions and comments. Nothing turns people off faster than using social media merely as an advertising channel.

 

 

/by
, ,

Choosing the Right Cover Photo for Your Business Page

COver Photo

In social media, first impression means everything. Your cover photo provides a great opportunity for your business to connect with prospective customers. Within seconds, clients and customers will decide if they do have a good feeling about your company or brand, based on these images.

Being the focal point of your Facebook page, it is extremely important to choose an image that would best represent your brand. Create a stellar first impression by following the tips below and use them as an inspiration as you redesign your cover photo.

Promotional

Your cover photo is considered as a space to showcase an area of your business. So, use it well to attract your fans to learn more about your business.

Use it to advertise new products, talk about a contest you’re holding or promote upcoming events. Remember, this is the first thing your fans will see. So, if you are promoting something, get the message across through your cover photo. The best part is you can swap out the photo as often as you want.

Call to action

Facebook has a 20% text rule, and we suggest that you take advantage of it. If you want people to visit your website, purchase a product or like your page, go ahead and add it as a call to action. Make the most out of the 20% text rule and let your audience know exactly what you want them to do.

Show it off

If a potential customer visits your page for the first time, draw them in with an impressive cover display. If you have recently received an award, feel free to put it on display. After all, you have every reason to boast about it.

User submitted photo

This is a great choice for service oriented business. Customer recommendations have the biggest impact on a person’s buying decision. So, go ahead and place a photo that showcases just how much your customers enjoy your business. Plus, it encourages user engagement by featuring photos from real customers.

/by
, ,

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Presence

LinkedIn, being one of the oldest social media sites, still proves to be one of the most valuable and important among the social channels today. Regarded as the world’s largest professional networking site, LinkedIn aims to connect you to the business world and other professionals from all over the world.

Experts suggest that LinkedIn makes 20 times more revenue per person as compared with Facebook. While connecting people with other professionals is the ultimate goal of LinkedIn, users don’t communicate a lot on the platform. Rather, the value for users lies in searchability.

With that in mind, here are a few tips on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and increase your chances of being found.

Make your Profile SEO Friendly

There are more than 1 billion searches on LinkedIn each year. While most users are searching for companies and individuals, keep in mind that they are also using keywords. Making your profile SEO and keyword friendly is beneficial since LinkedIn search results are sorted by relevance.

Since there’s no way to predict what someone is looking for, it would be best to use keywords that ranges from broad to very targeted. Remember, where you put these keywords matter.

Headlines Matter

When checking your profile, your headline is the first thing other users will see about you. Make it as specific as possible and make it catchy. Mind you, your headline will be your selling point. So, lure them with your headline and wow them with your expertise.

Profile Image

Your photo is important as it would give other members a good representation of you. It shows who you are and that you are real.

Since this is a professional networking site, it would be best to stay away from party shots or group shots. It doesn’t have to be a professional photo either. Just choose a photo that is clear and most importantly, depicts who you really are.

Showcase your Achievements

LinkedIn gives you the option to add documents, test scores, certifications, honors and award, some of your previous projects etc. This will add a lot of value to your profile.

If you are a writer, feel free to add a chapter of your book to your profile. If you are a graphic designer, adding your portfolio would be a great idea. If you are a public speaker, adding a video of your most recent speaking engagement might be advantageous. If you think these things will put you ahead of your competition, add it here.

/by
, , , , , ,

Social Media Red Flags: 5 Signs You’re Using it Wrong

The sheer value of social media marketing combined with the rapid rate in which these platforms are progressing is something most business owners and companies cannot cast aside.

Social media marketing works and is here to stay. Everybody knows that. But that does not necessarily mean you’re using it right.

In an attempt to help you, we have outlined 5 signs that you’re using social media wrong plus a few tips on how to fix it.

Not updating regularly

Not sticking to a regular posting schedule is the most common mistake new social media marketers commit. If your profile runs dry for a few days or weeks, your followers may fall out of habit of checking in with your business.

Your tone is inconsistent

The internet is a noisy place. If you wish to cut through that noise, then you have to employ a unique tone for your business. Employing a unique voice will help you build trust, build and maintain your reputation and engage in meaningful conversations with your followers. Without it, your message shall be left twisting in the wind.

You are constantly broadcasting

Social media is all about interaction. Sending your thoughts in a one-ways fashion will not help you in any way. Instead, you’ll be missing out on the powerful benefits of engaging with people.

You ignore negative comments

No matter how popular your company is, you can’t prevent negative comments from coming. Instead of ignoring or deleting them, it would be best to offer your sincerest apology, provide them with a candid explanation and any actions you might want to take. Plus, re-assure your client that this won’t happen again in the future.

You are focused on quantity

When it comes to building a social media following, you should not focus on quantity alone. You may have a lot of followers but if your engagement rate is close to non-existent, then you’re definitely doing it wrong.

Build a following that would help you grow your business. Try to connect with people who would find your contents useful and whose content you can benefit from as well.

 

/by
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Benefits of Social Media Marketing

There are a lot of blog posts and articles which stresses the importance of
integrating social media into your marketing strategies. Most people believe that
social media platforms provide a great impact on a business’ lead generation and
sales.
Listed below are some of the benefits of social media marketing. Keep in mind,
though, that these benefits may not be seen overnight. You have to put in a great
deal of effort and wait for a few months in order to see significant results.

Communication
Social media platforms are created in order to share information and interact with
other people. To maximize your marketing efforts, it is best to develop a social
media marketing strategy that would encourage your followers to interact with you.
This has to be a two-way communication.

Networking
Social media does not only help you extend your reach and build new relationships.
It’s also a great place where you can deepen and maintain the existing ones.

Build a reputation
As a business owner, you know that having a good reputation is one of the most
important ingredients to success. While your marketing efforts are focused on
maintaining what has been created, social media marketing makes these benefits
more pronounced.

Drive traffic
While driving traffic to your site is the main reason why you decided to create a
social media account, this comes as a great bonus. You can post a link to your
newest post and see people click the link and visit your site.

Promotion
Social media platforms are also a great avenue for promotion. Promote your brand
or your newest products, provide information about them and increase awareness
about your brand. You can also use social media to promote your events. Capture
people’s attention, create buzz and invite them to attend your event.

Extend reach

There are millions of users who access their social media accounts on a daily basis.
With this, it would be easier to reach as much people within a single post.
With over 150 million registered users, Twitter has been named as the 9th most
popular website on the Internet as of May 2011

/by

Inbound Marketing… Huh?

what-is-inbound-marketing

Inbound Marketing: Any marketing tactic that relies on earning people’s interest instead of buying it. Inbound marketing means creating and sharing content that is specifically designed to appeal to your qualified prospects. The content keeps these dream customers and businesses coming back for more until they are ready to make a purchase.

We’ve put together this list of what we consider to be Inbound Marketing. Which tactics do you use for your business and how have you seen them increase your website traffic?

 

/by
, ,

The Importance of Mobile Marketing

It is no secret that today’s consumers are constantly in sync with their mobile phones. The traffic on mobile Smartphones is constantly increasing; and there is no reason it will slow down any time soon.   As a marketer, you want to be where your consumers are.

How does your website look on a mobile phone? Most websites are not compatible with a smaller screen, and they may be difficult to use. Make sure that your website is optimized for mobile, or establish a mobile friendly application. Do not underestimate what your consumers may be using their smartphones for – it is best to assume your company website falls into that realm. So, make it easy on your consumers.

Reading email is one of the most common activities that take place on a Smartphone. Make sure that any email you send to a client is ultimately designed for a small screen. This means use larger fonts, large images, and concise content. Make sure the subject lines are attention grabbing and do not appear as spam.

Constant access to the Internet means that consumers may be researching your company while they are physically in your store. Embrace this information. Focus on the quality of not only your product, but your customer service as well.

Mobile marketing is all about convenience on the go. Use this to your advantage to reach your consumers. Evaluate the mobile interaction with your company from your client’s perspective

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Your Blog Should Be As Professional As Your Business

Blogging for your business?

We are used to thinking of blogs as informal pieces of writing.  Even so, it  is important to recognize that your company blog reflects directly on your company. When blogging for your business, you must share professional quality posts.

Treat every post as a product.  A blog post, like a product, will only be useful if others want to use it. Write content you believe people will be interested in reading about.  Tip: before publishing a blog, tweet a question that pertains to the blog. You can gauge the responses to the question and then determine if your content is of interest.

Producing your own media content is essential to creating a quality blog.  Use your own images and graphics and incorporate them into your topic. Be sure to link your visuals to your original blog post to boost your exposure.

To add value to your blog posts, include research on topics, not just opinions. Use examples to add in-depth coverage to your posts. Cite reliable sources for your readers.

Don’t hold back on the content you post just because it is available on the internet. Showcasing your expertise and knowledge on a blog shows viewers that you are good at what you do.

Run your blog like you run your business. Keep it professional and worth your reader’s while.

 

 

/0 Comments/by
,

Avoid Harming Your Social Media With Poor Web Design!

 

 

 

Lots of companies today are putting in a lot of time and effort to create their business’s social media platforms. They are creating engaging campaigns, producing quality content and making a true effort to communicate with consumers.

But, after creating a strong social media presence, you MUST have an equally strong website that is easy for consumers to navigate otherwise all your social effort could be lost. Consumers who are initially interested in your brand after engaging in your social media platforms will be turned-off by your brand if your website rubs them the wrong way.

Too many companies get too focused on elaborate web design, and in the end their website can end up being too flashy, hard to navigate and confusing. Try to avoid these issues by creating a simple design strategy to compliment your social media efforts.

One of the major mistakes when designing websites is that there is no distinct call to action. Before making your site, ask yourself, What do you want consumers to do once they come to your site? Do you want them to contact you? Buy from you? Ask for more information? After you address these questions, then you have a set purpose in mind and you can design your website around that purpose to get the results you want.

Another mistake is confusing navigation. You do not want your potential consumers to arrive at your site and end up wasting time trying to find what they’re looking for. You want your site to be easy for users to navigate. Design it so that they are able to conveniently go back and forth from their location. Set up your site as if it’s a department store: you want clear signs shown obviously so users can see exactly where it is they want to go.

Additionally, you want to try out different browsers before settling on one. You might find a browser that looks great in Internet Explorer, but consider how it will look in other applications like Safari or Chrome. Before choosing your website design, test it out in a variety of different browsers so it is appealing to users no matter what application they’re utilizing.

Poor readability is another common issue with website design. Green and orange may be your company’s colors, but they might not read so well on the Internet. Make sure your visitors are able to read the text on your site by avoiding clashing colors. Also make sure that the size of the text is not too big or too small. If you have text that’s placed over images, check that the text is still readable.

The final mistake made when designing websites is enabling too much Flash. Websites that highlight important information with Flash elements are likely to run into several issues. One of these issues is that the design ends up being harder to read. Flash elements also slow down the load time of your site and consumers might end up leaving the site before it’s fully loaded. It’s also important to know that Flash is not good for SEO. Anything in Flash will not be indexed in search engines.

By avoiding these common web design mistakes, consumers enticed by your company’s social media will be more likely to stay interested in your brand by creating a well though out website. A simply designed website will be attractive to consumers and traffic to your site will ultimately increase!

 

 

/0 Comments/by