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Social Media Strategy: How Barack Obama Used Multiple Touch Points to Create a Brand

admin — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 18:56:19 +0000

Barack Obama used multiple “touch points” and social media platforms to create a brand that was a key ingredient to winning the Presidency in 2008. His brand strategy is a case study for marketers to study in creating brand in a New Media Age. President Obama’s branding strategy is something that is a distinct paradigm change from previous social media strategy and branding. It is basic strategy for a company to integrate their websites with social media platforms. What President Obama did that is different is that he created a web site, MyBO.com that functioned as a mini-facebook, a mini-social platform. He broke new ground in the use of social media in branding. Private companies should study Barack’s strategy to understand how to create a world-class brand virtually overnight. In our era this is important for a marketer because there are many, many products. For a product to be chosen from the many, it has to have a strong brand. How does a startup, which is what Barack’s campaign was, create a strong brand when the startup has limitations in capital? Social Media has created a new age. Social Media has changed how modern marketing is done—but a marketer needs a strategy to succeed and that strategy revolves around the strategic use of multiple “touch points”.At this point I think some important introductory comments have to be made. President Obama is a lightning rod. As in all politicians there are many people who like him and there are many who don’t. This article is not a political statement, one way or the other, for President Obama. This article is about social media branding strategy. Irregardless of where you stand in the political spectrum, even Barack’s greatest detractors say his social media strategy was a classic use of social media to create a brand.When I talk about creating “brand”, please don’t interpret this as a cynical statement of our political system and our way of electing presidents. Marketers should study political campaigns because they are classic studies in the creation of world class brands. In each political cycle, a large group of candidates emerges originally. Only one can be elected. A candidate must quickly distinguish themselves from the rest of the political field. The American people are not stupid. American elections are an example of the wisdom of crowds. To be elected a candidate must show that he is different from the rest of the candidates, and if elected can do a much better job than the others in the field. To win the American Presidency, a candidate must be an expert in creating brand awareness, creating a value proposition, and brand positioning. Winning the Presidency is not unlike creating a new product, and creating the brand for that product to be successful in the marketplace. This is why studying Barack Obama’s social media strategy is important. Barack Obama is analogous to a small startup creating a product, but having significant limitations in name recognition and capital.In old media, a startup couldn’t afford a large advertising campaign to create brand. Social Media has changed that. Social Media has created a “Perfect Storm”. To create a brand, a marketer has to have scale and presence. A lot of people have to know about your product, and a marketer has to be able to engage those large amounts of people at the precise moment that a purchasing decision is going to be made. Social Media allows a marketer to do just that. Perhaps ¼ of the world’s population belongs to a social media sight, and most of the major social media platforms are integrated. From those sights, a marketer can observe what a consumer does during their day. This tracking allows a marketer to target the individual consumers that are interested in the marketer’s product. A marketer can now target an individual at the precise time that a purchase is going to made.Barack Obama was one of the first significant marketers to understand the tremendous communication capabilities, database management, and tracking abilities that a social media platform affords a marketer. Barack Obama understood that he could engage large amounts of people at once over many “touch points”. When his campaign first began, Barack had no name recognition and no money. Hilary Clinton had both. Barack understood the forces that social media platforms unleash to a marketer. He realized, far better than anyone else, that his limitations were minor. Barack realized that social media platforms gave him the tool that he needed to create a major brand almost overnight. Before the Obama campaign, social networks were seen as just that—a social network. Someplace you came to hang out with your friends, share pictures, and just basically enjoy yourself. To a limited extent the Howard Dean campaign used social networks to raise money in 2004, but not at the scale that Barack Obama did.Barack’s campaign was not a haphazard affair. His social media campaign had goals, plans, and objectives. Barack realized that personal engagement was going to be critical. He created a web site that had the scale that was going to be needed. Barack took advantage of some major structural changes in the modern marketplace. Modern people no longer trust advertising. People trust their friends. In a new media age, a product is branded and purchased when two “friends” have a conversation, and a recommendation is made. To be successful a modern brand must be a “friend” to the consumer.Two sources best explain the world that modern marketers must function in. The June 2009 McKinsey Quarterly talks about The Consumer Decision Journey. The December, 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review talks about “Branding in the Digital Age”. In both cases, in a New Media Age, consumers no longer develop brand awareness through one experience, such as a major advertising campaign. Rather, a brand is created after many and varied experiences between brand and consumer. In a new media age, a brand takes on almost human characteristics. In human relationships, the more experiences we have with an individual the more trust we have for that individual. We choose are friends for their brand. That brand is based on trust. We can depend on our friends. We know a lot of people, but we trust our friends. In a group of people, we seek our “friends”, from a wide group of people, because we can trust them. We realize that our friends are imperfect—there might be “better” people around than our friends—but we seek our friends because we trust them.How does this trust develop? Trust is developed over a period of time through a series of experiences. This same principle applies in branding products. We develop friends through many “touch points”. Consumers seek out products through texts, video, blogs, podcasts from a social platform. This is how a brand is created—through a social media platform that creates many and varied touch points. Barack understood this.A key element is in his campaign was to create a website that was actually a mini-social platform. Initially, a supporter or a seeker would go to MyBO and a profile would be created. Then, just as on Facebook, you made a decision on just what you wanted to do. The sight was there for you to help. It allowed supporters to access the information that was needed create meetups, to have fund raisers. It had a database of people to call on behalf of Obama. The sight allowed people to what they wanted to do. There was a method to the madness. Through the sight, the campaign could track the people who were strong supporters. This information allowed the campaign to discretely get volunteers to do more committed things. The more committed volunteers held fund raisers at their house, to call friends, to go door to door. An important function of MyBo was to link people who knew each other outside of the campaign to connect, such as is done on Facebook. For instance, if a strong supporter worked at a particular company, the campaign had the names of other people who also worked at that same company who were undecided or leaning toward Barack. The supporter could then go to their coworkers and talk about Barack around the water cooler in a discrete manner. Friends having conversation with their friends to recommend a product (Barack). This is how Barack’s brand was created. This is how products are branded in social media. Barack was able to brand himself as a “friend” in comparison to the other candidates—who were just “candidates”.As the campaign progressed, supporters started making their own texts, videos, shooting their own pictures, making their own podcasts, and sending them to their friends, through the different social media platforms. Barack’s website (a social media platform) had these numbers:• The site attracted 1.5 million members who organized themselves into 35,000 separate activist groups, each of which could be called INSTANTLY from the campaign headquarters to be given specific tasks in drumming up support.• On election day, a MILLION calls were made. There were maps to the polls. Supporters were identified. Rides were arranged. Before the election, absentee ballots were delivered. During the campaign, million new supporters were registered online.• 150, 000 separate meetings were used to mobilize volunteers• Supporters placed their own campaign videos on YouTube. This is significant. People made these videos. The videos were placed on a sight that is one of the most popular on the Internet. YouTube viewership rivals major cable and home TV networks. This added media exposure was estimated at $47 million that the campaign did not have to pay.• $600 million was raised from 3 million peopleThere is a critical fact to observe in Barack’s brand building. The Obama campaign gave the “brand” over to supporters. This is an interesting fact to observe about Barack’s branding strategy. Barack’s branding strategy was organized and managed. There was adult supervision—but much of his branding was done by individual supporters. This is analogous to the Ford Fiesta Movement that Ford Motor Company used in marketing their Ford Fiesta. To create a strong brand in the new media era the brand has to be given over to supporters to develop among their “friends”.The hallmark of social media branding is the development of trust. This trust allows a brand to handle the unforeseen. There are no perfect people running for the Presidency—just as there are no perfect brands. Because of his brand building strategy and the trust that Barack developed, he was able to whether storms that happen in every campaign. People believe in their friends, and trust them, even when bad things are found out about them.In the campaign of 2004, the campaigns of Dean and Kerry were derailed when stories began to appear about their personal backgrounds. Barack was able to handle bad events in his campaign. Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rescko, bad quotes from Michelle, would have been enough to sink a lot of campaigns. Barack was able to weather these events because he had built up a lot trust among voters. To many people, Barack was a “friend” and could be trusted. In new media, because trust is developed among “friends”, when bad things happen to your brand, customers still buy the brand.Barack Obama created a brand through creating a social platform on his website and by engaging supporters at many touchpoints.Dean Hambletondnhambleton@gmail.comdeanhambleton.blogspot.com

Start Online Business Easily

admin — Fri, 12 May 2023 10:21:35 +0000

The internet has brought about great improvement in the way business is done nowadays. Earlier traditional methods used to stay in touch with clients has changed. With the advance in technology, it has become easier to conduct business online and get more profits in return. An online web presence not only makes a huge difference to your business but it also helps in promoting it on a global level.Social media has opened new opportunities to business owners. You can target your audience and get in touch with them faster and more direct. Starting an online business is definitely a wise decision. There are no requirements to start online business, apart from the fact that you have to make your business visible for people to see and find you. There are lots of ways to do that. You can either create a website for your business, which is simple and effective, or you can also make the use of Facebook to target your audience. Facebook allows you to create fan pages as well as ads that will redirect the visitors back to your site thus boosting the traffic towards your business. It depends entirely on how you market your services online, which offers multiple ways of making fast money.So if you are interested to start online business, here are a few benefits from doing so:Freedom – In an online business, you are the boss. There is no one to direct or control you. You are free to make your own decisions and decide your working hours. In an online business, you are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year therefore increasing your earning potential from anywhere. You can sit and do whatever you wish. You can devote as many hours you want. There is no need to spend a fixed number of hours, by creating a simple yet effective marketing plan, you can choose the amount of hours you want, based on your schedule.Personal growth – With an online business, you can learn a lot. Every day you will come across something new that you will want to try. A tool that may be beneficial to the growth of your business. Unless you try, you won’t understand how it can be incorporated in your business and what the outcome may be. There are plenty of opportunities to grow and expand your business. By researching online promotion techniques, or even taking an SEO class, you will benefit greatly personally, and in your business.No to low start-up cost – To start online business, there are no specific requirements. All you need is a laptop or desktop computer and an internet connection. As compared to the offline business or brick and mortar, you need a proper place to conduct the business, insurance and benefits for the employees and staff to handle the customers. This can increase the overall cost which is greatly reduced in an online business. You can hire freelancers and pay them according to the work they do. This is quite inexpensive, but is rewarding.Get connected to social media – Social media brings countless benefits to your business. It has become a popular platform for people to connect and is worldwide. The top networking sites like Facebook and Twitter help you to connect to your customers on a daily basis and let them know about newly launched products or services and specials. There is no need to individually connect to every person but a group message is often effective. Creating fan pages and tweeting are the best way to spread information and people come to you.To start online business is simple but you have to put in effort to create a product or service that is marketable. You can’t just do whatever you like but, you will need to plan as well as use of excellent marketing strategies. That is why it is beneficial to gather information from books, or other successful online business to start an online business. Without the direction or good information you will just waste your time. Perhaps talk to an expert to establish and start your business. Their expertise can be very helpful in making the right decision for the business. Once you get familiar, you will be able to manage it well.Before starting your business, you will have to devote time in exploring the trends of online business and your audience.What are acceptable business practices? And also,What are the costs involved?There are great benefits with an online business if established properly. You will see income generate on an automated level. You probably won’t see results on the very first day, so be patient. When you start online business, it is essential to stay up to date with the changing technology as to not miss out on potential business opportunities.

Finding Network Events For The Telecommunications Industry

admin — Fri, 12 May 2023 04:59:29 +0000

Obviously there is an abundance of networking events in the telecommunications industry, but one of the more difficult tasks for those that do not actively work in telecommunications is finding out about these events. Luckily there are a number of publications, groups, websites, and societies available that help both amateurs and professionals get access to these networking events.If you would prefer to find a networking event closer to where you live, there are several websites available that can help you find one. Undoubtedly the most popular is LinkedIn, which allows users to join groups ranging from international membership to those within a small town or county. Many of these groups organise events for their members to meet, so it is well worth taking a look at the forum notice board to find these events. Another avenue of finding a networking event is in the pages of a website affiliated with the telecommunications industry. For instance, Telecom Engine has a separate section of its website devoted to telecom events, along with news, features, and other paraphernalia along the top banner. Another website worth taking a look at is Total Telecom, which hosts an events section together with a jobs bulletin and a handy news section divided by continents, which allows readers to keep up-to-date on the latest developments in any region.Trade magazines are also a viable option for those researching telecommunication events for networking purposes. It is advisable to take notice of the advertisements in these magazines, as sometimes nationwide events are publicised there. Sometimes subscribers receive a discount on tickets, so it is always worth subscribing to the magazine to keep updated on the latest news and reap the benefits of membership. Alternatively, some of these magazines have a separate calendar or events section within the magazine. Telecom 2.0 is one such example, with a section of its magazine and website devoted to events. Connect-World magazine also has a devoted events section, and offers its subscribers deals with the magazine if they purchase access passes to the ITU Telecom World event.If the idea of meeting like-minded individuals interests you, but you also want to join a networking group that actively advances your career, then perhaps applying for membership to a society or organisation might be of interest. For instance, the I.E.E.E. Communications Society is formed by those in the communications industry with an interest in advancing the field. The group sponsors a host of educational programmes, conferences, and technical events that enables those interested in the field or actively involved to stay afloat of developments in the sector. Other groups worth considering are the International Telecommunications Society, Society of Broadband Professionals, and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation.

Construction Finance and the Problem With Banks

admin — Thu, 11 May 2023 14:41:17 +0000

High street banks are often the benchmark for clients looking to borrow money. This is true of personal mortgages, loans and no less so for funding building projects. Most would agree that they provide the cheapest rates and all builders and developers are looking for the cheapest construction finance.The problem is that for most clients the high street are simply not an option at the moment, and from news I have had, nor will they be for the foreseeable future. I have dealt with clients who should be able to obtain bank funding, having clean credit, a good track record and years of experience in the sector. They are still being declined for various reasons, such as the loan amount is too low, the type of build is not what the bank wants, they have other loans that would need to be repaid first – the list goes on.However, just because your current bank will not give you construction finance does not mean that there are no options available to you. It does mean though that you should not judge quotes we, or others give you, on the basis that the rate of interest or fees might be more than you are used to or were expecting.Off high street lenders are NEVER going to offer building finance as cheap as the big banks. They are specialists filling a gap in the market, and to be frank, they know that your options are limited. Lenders such as this are mostly funded by investors who want to see a return on their money and the lender themselves need to charge a margin to stay in business. The market has set the rates that others are prepared to pay and so you have a stark choice – pay the higher rates or do not borrow the money. For those that are cash rich there is no issue but for the majority that want to leverage their capital it is the difference between building or not building.Of course, paying more for the construction finance means less profit for you, the developer, but it does mean you are making more profit than not doing any work at all. If you cannot get a project funded at a high street rate then the rates you have in mind or might want to pay are not applicable for comparison. A bank may have given you funds at 1.5% above base in the past but that is irrelevant now. The past is not today.The fact that building finance is available is good news but now is as crucial a time as ever to use a broker with experience and knowledge of the market. Making the wrong choice could cost you thousands in unnecessary fees and interest.Going through the internet looking for lenders directly is possible, of course. But how long will that take you? Hours or days? How do you know they will be the best fit for your project? Will they give you all the information you need day 1?Working with an experienced broker can make the process much easier as they will have a real understanding of how each lender works, the process they go through and what costs you can expect, before you get too far into an application.So, construction finance is out there but for your own sanity don’t automatically compare it to what you are used to and what you think should be available.

There is an excessive amount of traffic coming from your Region.

admin — Thu, 11 May 2023 09:40:30 +0000

#EANF#

How To Bring Originality To Your Business Ideas

admin — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 17:32:19 +0000

If you are immersed in the world of internet marketing, you have probably heard many times the advice: don’t re-invent the wheel, follow someone successful. But simply copying a business idea is sloppy and might not get you the results you are dreaming about, just because it has been done already in that way. So how can you add a zesty twist to your business idea?Many people use the excellent technique of brainstorming. You simply write down, without editing, all the business ideas you can think of. Remember, you shouldn’t judge any idea at this point.The best place to start, of course, is to think of business ideas relating to your interests and passions, things you know quite a lot about or are passionate about learning more about. Anything can work: pet care, model airplanes, car accessories, home decorating, knitting…But identifying your passions and interests is only the very first step toward a great business idea. Let’s face it, many people have cats, for example and learn about the best food for their cat or all about the best product for eliminating tics. So how can you come up with original business ideas on such a popular topic?For your first business idea, try to stick with things you have experienced. Do you have a special tip to share with people? Something you learned while trying something new? Is there a life experience you can describe in detail and through it help others who are going through the same experience as well?The point is that you will always have an original twist to your basic business idea, because no one has gone through any experience in the exact way you did, with the same emotions and lessons, conclusions and thoughts…You will always have something different and unique to say about something common, some small change to offer to an already existing system, a personal perspective on things that gives you something to offer. There lies your personal bank of business ideas.A first original business idea can help you establish yourself as a brand name in the field of your interest. But what about other topics? What about your next business ideas?Continue to brainstorm, using associations and questions. Associations can help you identify smaller markets, different ideas for complementing products, such as a series of books or a suite of programs, create related websites and much more beyond that. The sky is the limit, plain and simple!The questions you can ask yourself about a business idea are, for example: does such a product already exist? Can I improve on the same idea? Is there a concern of people who share my interests that has not been taken care of yet? Can I come up with a simple solution to a simple problem?Remember, someone may have come up with a business idea you are interested in already, but you can always look for a personal twist of your own to add and make it uniquely yours.Brainstorming is the key to that mind vault of business ideas each one of us has. You can brainstorm everywhere, by your desk or in a restaurant. All you need is a piece of paper or an open file. Most people would prefer peace and quiet for this exercise.You can write single words or complete sentences, draw pictures that relate to your business ideas or any other technique that will keep the idea clear later when you review it. Let your brain run, don’t hold back.When you are done, you will be surprised at how many new and unique business ideas you can collect from this list. Simply add your personal twist and you are on your way to fulfilling your dreams.

What Is SEO and How How Has It Changed Over the Years?

admin — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 15:47:46 +0000

Many business owners will here hear the phrase ‘search engine optimisation’ (or SEO) from friends in the business community or even competitors and may consider it as a route to increasing sales, but what is SEO? Alternatively, a business owner may have tried ‘SEO services’ in the past and found it either didn’t work as well as expected or was working, but no longer as effective – this article explains what SEO is, and why ‘new’ SEO is working better than ever.I have been working in search engine optimisation and ranking website market, before it was even called SEO. Here are the changes in SEO since the start of the new millennium and what you should be looking for in the SEO services that your SEO Agency offers or provides.We take a look back at SEO through the years and explain what SEO is today and how best to utilise it for our website.SEO in 2000Back at the start of the Millennium the ‘big’ search engines that most people were using were Lycos and Excite. Of course, back then a very small percentage of the UK population had access to the internet and those that did had a slow ‘dial-up’ system.Websites were one or two pages with basic information to allow them to load quickly (within 20 seconds). SEO practices back then were to ‘hide’ as many keywords on a page as possible, so the website was found for those searches without making the page look to spammy for visitors.In 2002 Google launched something called ‘AdWords’ and it was predicted to be the death of SEO, as people could pay for prominence, on the now the number 1 website for starting internet searches.In 2003, Yahoo purchased Inktomi, AltaVista and FAST, which was basically the end of all of the ‘smaller’ search engines. Google started to stamp down on ‘spam’ practices and websites. At the same time Google realised that ‘AdWords’ were not going to kill off SEO and that in fact the ‘natural listings’ encouraged visitors back to their search engine platform. Google started to recognise ‘professional SEO’ experts and promoted good SEO rather than spamming SEO.2004 saw the first website ‘banned’ from the internet as Google took action against websites that were spamming them. They also took legal action against the “SEO Company” responsible.To rank a website in 2006 you just needed links back to your website and so buying links / link exchange was all the rage and most websites had a web page where they would list companies and links to their website (I am still amazed how many websites continue this practice).Between 2004 and 2008 Google, now was the only real “player” in the search engine world, started taking action against poor linking practices and companies and started tightening up on spam and buying links. The ‘Noughties” ended with all “naughty” SEO practices being practically stamped out, as Google concentrated on ranking websites based on their content and it’s relevance to the search being carried out.SEO in 2010Between 2010 and 2015 we started to see the search engines take notice of ‘Social Media’ sites and soon the results were filled with Twitter ‘tweets’ in the results. (I can still see the face of one of my customers when searching Google for his business, and the whole first page of the search results were compiled of tweets of a Twitter conversation that two members of staff had been having about how terrible the company was!)Videos and images were also brought in to the search results with the Google ‘Caffeine’ update.Google introduced “personal search results” with the websites shown in the search results based on your previous searches and websites you had visited before. This caused a ‘bit of a stir’ in the SEO world as customers claimed their websites were “top of Google” for any search they did related to their industry, just because they had visited their own website many times before, so Google of course fed them back the website for all relevant searches. This can still be a bit of an issue until you show them the new ‘Google Incognito search’.The focus on ranking websites was on being found for BIG keywords. A ‘Plumber’ in Bristol would want to rank for that search, and so that was the focus.Google ‘Panda’ and ‘Penguin’ updates figuratively killed off ‘link exchanges’ with huge penalties for websites who had irrelevant links pointing towards them. At the same time Google introduced “no follow links” to allow websites to provide relevant links to other websites and information without penalising either party. It was the start of “safe linking”. Quality and relevant content was now the key to ranking in the search engines.A report by the ‘Office For National Statistics’ in 2014 stated:

38 million adults (76%) in Great Britain accessed the Internet every day, 21 million more than in 2006, when directly comparable records began.

Access to the Internet using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, from 24% to 58%.

74% of all adults bought goods or services online, up from 53% in 2008. Clothes (49%) were the most popular online purchase in 2014.

Of all adults in Great Britain, 67% are aware of Internet storage space services, but the take up of these services to store data is much lower at 35%.

In Great Britain, 22 million households (84%) had Internet access in 2014, up from 57% in 2006.

Fixed broadband Internet connections were used by 91% of households.
The UK was now (almost) internet savvy and usage of mobile phones to visit websites was huge.SEO 2015 and OnwardsThe biggest change to the search engines in 2015 was the ‘penalisation’ of websites that were not “mobile friendly” – a mobile friendly website has different information for the smaller screen to make it easier for the user to read and understand. In ensuring that users got the best experience Google started ranking mobile friendly or responsive websites (where the website automatically changes its size and format to fit the screen) higher in the rankings.The UK population were using their mobile phones for local searches, and local companies could at last gain an advantage over the large corporates or ‘national’ companies on the internet.The introduction of ‘semantic search’, where Google brings back websites in the results not based on the keywords, but the content on a page, again changed the way SEO agencies looked at working on websites. Ranking for the ‘Big’ keywords, such as ‘Plumber Bristol’ became less important, as internet users became more savvy with their searches. ‘Long tail keywords’, and as many as possible, started to grow website visitors and more importantly, conversions.What is The SEO Process Today?It is probably correct to say that the processes or practices associated with search engine optimisation have now out grown the term ‘SEO’In years gone by working the content and structure of a website was enough. Now, there is so much more to do to not only rank a website in search engines, but to get customer engagement. A better description of the service would be ‘digital marketing’.Old practices, as mentioned earlier, meant ‘big’ keywords were key to ranking. A focus on a single keyword per page or even for a whole website would rank the business and back then it was all about ‘rankings’.Old way of doing SEOToday there are a number of factors to consider in regards to SEO. ‘Semantic search’ is the main driver and conversion the main goal, not rankings.Semantic search is where Google returns information on the page, not the description the website creator input, back to the searcher. An example of this would be to take the ‘Plumber Bristol’ example. A few years ago you would have concentrated on ranking the business for “Plumber Bristol”, “Plumber in Bristol” and perhaps “Emergency Plumber Bristol” – although this still holds true for businesses that offer a solution for ‘distress purchases’ (where time and a solution outweigh the need for information and advice) better practice throughout a website is to add content that offers advice and guidance and includes ‘long tail keywords’ (3 or 4 word searches) such as “Emergency plumber with free callout in Bristol” or “Reviews for an Emergency Plumber near me”. Google wants the user to have the best experience and find the relevant information quickly, and semantic search achieves this. This is also sensible for a business owner. Would you rather your website was found by a searcher looking for “Plumber Bristol” where they could be after information, looking to get a job, looking for a plumbing service that you may not offer, or for a specific and targeted search such as “best emergency Plumber near BS7″? “Plumber Bristol” will get you a website visitor, being found for “best emergency Plumber near BS7″ will get you a customer.In terms of keywords this is the largest change Google have made and it is here to stay. SEO or digital marketing is no longer about where you rank, but how many different search terms you can be found for and their conversion in to paying customers.Website ContentA few years ago (and only 2 or 3 years ago) Google suggested to professional SEO Agencies that 300 words on a page was sufficient content. Last year they stated the MINIMUM should be at least 500 words.Every day I am asked to review a website by a potential customer – and most of them have between 150 to 250 words on a page. This is common practice. There are two ways to look at this. Either Google has to change it’s expectations as most websites do not meet their grade or another way to look at this is as an easy way to jump the competition by simply adding content to your website. Do you think Google will lower it’s expectations or expect websites to improve to their standard? Google released the ‘mobile friendly’ update knowing that somewhere around 80% of websites would need to be upgraded – and they did it anyway as it benefitted over 50% of there users. Quality content effects 100% of their users.I recommend to our customer about 800 words per page. This is enough content to be ‘semantic search’ friendly, provide relevant content and not be too word heavy.Good practice is to have:

Page Title – say what the page is about (‘Big’ Keyword if you must)

Headline – asking a question

First paragraph explains briefly explains the content / solution

Image / or video

Longer description of the solution
Take our Emergency Plumber in Bristol, as an example:

Page Title: Emergency Plumber Bristol

Headline: Are you looking for the best emergency plumber near you in Bristol?

First Paragraph: Smith Plumbing offer a 24 hour emergency plumbing service in Bristol. We do not charge a call out fee and can be with you in 20 minutes. That is why our customer reviews and feedback say we are the best emergency plumbing service in your area. Call now on…

Image of the van or the Plumber looking professional

Longer description: What they can fix, common problems they resolve, some of the quotes from their customers etc.
This has a number of benefits.Firstly, those people who just want a Plumber will read the first paragraph, see the image of the van (build authority and professionalism) and call the Plumber. Other people will want more information which they can find further down the page. Is this cheating at SEO? Absolutely NOT. You are providing relevant information to the user and Google will love you for it. How content is structured and written on a page is the “new” SEO.The second benefit is that your website will start to be found for a combination of the words on the page – semantic search – in the example above the Plumber could be found by customers and potential customers looking for “Smith Plumbing”,”emergency Plumber near me”, “Emergency Plumber in Bristol”, “Best24 hour emergency plumbing service in Bristol”, “emergency plumber Bristol reviews” and dozens more search terms. If you were a Plumber would you rather be found for one big keyword or multiple relevant customer converting keywords? I thought so, and so does Google.Old practices were to create website content for the search engines. Now you must create content to provide value for customers. This is an easier process than you might think.What were the last 5 customer enquiries to your business? What was the problem they were trying to resolve? Write about the problem and your solution.Link BuildingThe historic way of ‘link building’ was to get as many links from as many places as possible. This year we has a very large company contact us about their SEO and they were horrified when we suggested that they needed to remove their 1.4 MILLION links back to their website as they had spent a fortune over the years buying the links. Irrelevant links, and the more you have the more detrimental it is, highlights to Google the irrelevance of your website – regardless of how relevant it might be.Today, a few, relevant links is far better than a Million links back to your website. Today, links have to be built through engaging relationships. Taking our Plumber once more, a link back from the ‘Gas Safe register’, a local plumbing centre or bathroom showroom, and a few local websites that like his information would be enough.Social MediaEven though we still get a some companies like this now, a few years ago when we suggested businesses should be on Facebook I was normally told “Facebook – that is for teenagers isn’t it? That is not our market”. If done well, Facebook can drive more traffic and paying customers to your door than your website. Facebook’s largest user group is 25 to 34 year olds, second largest is the 35 to 44 years old age group. The 45 to 54 year olds are using Facebook more than teenagers, and as nearly as much as 18 to 24 year old.Facebook Users UK age – courtesy of statistaFacebook allows a business to build a brand, engage customers, get customer reviews and instant customer feedback. Unlike reviews on your website which potential customer may see if they visit your website, a review on Facebook is seen immediately by all of the users friends and if their friend ‘likes’ the comment – all of their friends, friends. More and more of our customers are getting leads from Facebook. People are asking their friends for suggestions on businesses to use and getting dozens of suggestions back – if you are on Facebook you are more likely to get a direct link to your contact information.What is next for ‘Social Media’? Live streaming! Twitter has purchased a company called ‘Periscope’ which allows you to live stream video from your phone. “So what?” I hear our ‘emergency plumber’ asking. If I were a Plumber I would be live streaming my work as I fix a problem, with the video going out live to all of my followers and their friends – my own television channel that is free-to-air across the whole world. Next time your business conducts a ‘brain storming session’ – periscope it – your customer will tell you what the solutions are.Video MarketingThere are no ‘old’ SEO practices for video as it just didn’t exist and when YouTube started out it was for showing funny videos of cats and the like.Today that has all changed. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world and is owned by Google. YouTube has over 1 BILLION users worldwide and every minute, 300 hours of videos are uploaded. It would take you about 2 years to watch all of the videos that will be uploaded in the next hour. It would take you the rest of your life to watch all the videos uploaded today. Google’s own statistics say that by 2018 73% of searches put into a search engine will result in the person watching a video. Think of it another way, in a couple of years when 10 people search the internet for your product or service – 7 of them will watch a video, 2 will visit a website. That is why I create videos for our customers as part of our ‘digital marketing service’.

Should You Use an SEO Agency for Your Business?

admin — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 14:09:29 +0000

8 Benefits of Engaging SEO Agencies to Boost Your Online Presence!Advertising has transformed to one of the most demanding and crucial aspects of having to run a business. This ultimately means that the overall success of your business is going to depend mainly on the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.Nowadays, online is where everyone’s at, which is also the reason why most businesses look to promote their products or services online. To do that, one needs to have a business website which will run their internet marketing campaign. With an abundance of spam links and countless other websites floating around in cyberspace, it’s easy for a business website to get lost or rank so low in the SERPs, that the chances of searchers to find the website are seriously diminished.Since, paying a search engine to place your business website at the top of its list doesn’t come cheap, the next best thing one can do is to use search engine optimization or SEO techniques to increase the clicks to the website and help it work its way up the search engine’s results page.Why You Should Hire a SEO Agency?Optimizing a website for a search engine can be not only a tough, but also costly process, mainly because there is just too many business websites competing for the coveted number one spot on the page rank, by using the exact same keywords.While businesses can opt to do their own SEO, hiring a SEO agency that has experienced search engine optimizers will no doubt, help businesses reap ROI in the long run. One of the best ways in which businesses can do that is by outsourcing their SEO needs to qualified SEO agencies.The growing demand for SEO services has lead to a mushrooming of many a great number of SEO agencies fulfilling their business objective, which has lead many businesses seeking SEO services asking the question, “how do we find the best SEO service provider?”Obviously, all those searching for SEO agencies will have to make their selection by passing SEO companies through careful and meticulous scrutiny, in order for them to get the best in search engine optimization for their business website.Benefits of Using SEOOne of the most obvious advantages of using the services of SEO agencies is their ability to enhance the visibility of a business website, but that being said, business owners also raise concerns on affordability, which can only be analyzed when businesses know the benefits of using the services of SEO agencies. In more ways than one, the following are some of the benefits of using search engine optimization services, especially the right ones, which can allow businesses to enjoy the following advantages.Target TrafficWhile businesses embark on an SEO marketing campaign, they should realize that an entire marketing campaign can fall flat on its face if a business is unable to reach the masses, that is, their target audience. It doesn’t really matter whether your business website is attracting hundreds of clicks per day, if those visits are not from your intended target demographic, you will only be seeing them spending time on your website without actually buying anything, which is really the opposite of your marketing intentions.Get a Well-Made Business WebsiteEven though, search engine optimization is necessary for businesses to compete with one another online, the importance of the website design cannot be undermined. While hiring the services of a good SEO agency can get you good marketing copy for your website and an effective use of the related keywords, having a brilliantly designed website will help a lot when it comes to attracting people and even the search engines to your website. This is true because search engines always take into account different aspects of usability and the overall layout of the business website.Cost EffectivenessThe fact of the matter remains that while using radio and TV advertisements can be an effective means of marketing a business’s product or service, it still is very expensive, especially for start-up businesses. By taking their marketing needs online and hiring the services of an experienced SEO agency, a business is able to reach thousands, or even millions of people which they would have not been able to otherwise.Using SEO Best PracticesHiring an experienced SEO agency will allow you to get information on the various techniques they have adopted in their SEO tactics. Hiring a SEO agency that has been in the game for a while will also provide you with the added advantage of not having to worry about them using any SEO techniques while working on your business website.Hiring experienced SEO experts will ensure that your website climbs the search engine ranks without using any illegal practices or short cuts that could produce short term spikes in the website’s ranking, but eventually lead to your website having to pay penalties.Access to Latest SEO TechniquesNeedless to say the field of SEO is constantly evolving, which means that it is important for businesses to stay abreast on all the latest SEO techniques that can help them stay in the game. That being said, businesses usually have little or no time to keep up with the latest developments in SEO techniques. However, an agency providing SEO services is all about being proactive in keeping up-to-date with the latest search engine news and changes in SEO techniques.Cutting-Edge ToolsKeeping in mind the last point, SEO agencies are fluent in navigating through a wide range of online marketing tools that helps increase the value of your marketing strategy. Whether it’s using web analytics for carrying out research or conversion tools that monitor and report the usage of important keywords, SEO agencies know how and where to get the information they need to save time and reduce your in-house cost.Comprehensive SEO KnowledgeAs mentioned earlier, SEO agencies are usually the most qualified in dealing with various verticals of online marketing, mainly due to the nature of their work. Therefore, an SEO agency is able to solve a multitude of problems which a business simply cannot handle by itself. An SEO agency can work together with a business to provide an added perspective, when it comes to understanding and developing marketing strategies for different sectors and various types of business websites.Bottom LineLastly, search engines like Google realize all too well that websites that don’t add value to a searcher’s experience on the internet are not worth a mention in their index. Furthermore, in some cases Google might also decide to drop your website from the SERPs altogether if you’ve used spam to get a higher page ranking.The two main goals of SEO agencies who develop marketing strategies to push your product or service online, is to make sure online content is interesting and no techniques have been used for obtaining your goals. So, are SEO agencies worth it? Absolutely!

The Fundamentals Of Planning Your Business Travel Like An Expert

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 19:10:07 +0000

ENSURE YOU HAVE A CLEAR-CUT TRAVEL POLICY SET UP
A well-defined travel policy is an important (and cost-effective) manner of effective travel management. A specified travel policy should outline clearly stipulated guidelines for all employees with regards to responsibilities and while traveling; travel arrangements and travel expenses.There are a numerous factors to consider when compiling a travel policy for your company.Although cost-effectiveness is an important requirement, it is vital that you don’t jeopardies the safety and quality of travel service, as well as compromise on travelling employees’ travel needs. Offer a small variety of options that allow employees to select one that suits them the best. You can avoid unnecessary compromise even further by letting employees offer their thoughts and/ opinions during the decision-making process.Always ensure that you always have your employees’ up-to-date contact details on hand, in case of emergencies.Responsibility regarding expenses – personal, business, leisure etc. – must always be clearly and precisely set out.GET A GRIP ON TRAVEL TECH
Travel planning has undoubtedly been revolutionised by the rise of online booking apps. The trouble with the increase in availability of such tools is choosing which one to use for your business travel planning.A great option is to have a ‘personalised’ online booking tool that has been custom made according to you business’ particular travel policies and needs. Although having your own travel tech has its advantages – such as being able to increase efficiency with built in approval processes and managing your travel at any time – there are a few disadvantages that should be noted. The initial designing and assembly, as well as the continued administration, of a custom online booking tool can be rather steep. Another drawback is that all the research necessary will be your responsibility. It begs the question whether the convenience is worth the required effort and cost.A terrific option is to make use of a travel management company (TMC). Working with a TMC means acquire an experienced travel management asset that is a devoted travel manager. A travel manager can assist you in making the best travel decisions, based on your unique business requirements. Further benefits include help with a multitude of other details, such as VISA applications; arranging ground transport; arranging Forex and taking care of travel emergencies.The smart choice would be to use a combination of the two. The advantages of TMCs are clear and they often have an online booking tool that companies can use. This way you get best of both – the convenience and control of managing your travel bookings yourself, as well as the individual support and assistance with more complicated and/ or time-consuming processes.ENSURE TRAVELLING EMPLOYEES’ SAFETY
Although business travel is an essential and probable part of most businesses, is doesn’t come without risks. A company has a duty of care to its employees. This means it has a legal (and moral) obligation to elude risk of injury to an employee during a business trip, as much as possible. The onus is on you (the travel planner) to ensure that all the proper safety plans and measures are in place. This means assigning sufficient travel insurance, which includes medical cover, lost luggage, flight cancellations, as well as natural disasters and terrorism and everything in between.Employees must be informed of the associated risks of their destinations, before travelling, and need to be informed of the course of action to follow in case there is a travel emergency.It is vital to always know where your companies travelling employees without exception. There is a multitude of apps and online tools that you can use to help keep track of and stay in touch with your travellers.PRE-BOOK TO SAVE
You can save more when you plan ahead when it comes to making travel arrangements. Research has proven that business travellers who only book their flights a day beforehand – can end up paying as much as 200% more for their flights.In contrast – airfares are generally the cheapest from three weeks and more before the departure date. Employing an advanced purchase strategy, you can reduce or moderate the influence of price fluctuations on your company’s travel budget. Although it’s not always possible to book so far in advance as meetings and schedules are sometimes changed at the last minute), it is definitely worth the effort in the long term.APPOINT THE MOST QUALIFIED PERSON
Travel planning is not an easy task – it’s far more than just coordinating itineraries. The responsibilities of a travel manager range from bookings, policy management, budget approvals, reporting and handling travel emergencies. Then there’s the time-consuming task of finding the most affordable flights, ground transport, accommodation etc.Managing your company’s travel plans yourself has some advantages, such as great understanding of the needs and schedules of your travellers. However, employing an experienced and well-equipped corporate travel agencies will save you a great deal of the hassle. Quality TMCs have a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the travel industry, which empowers them to know when, how and where to find and book the best offers. Furthermore, TMCs often have global buying power and long-standing relationships with suppliers – which offer you the added benefit of being able to secure discounted fares on larger travel volumes.

Online Education Tip: How To Compare Online Universities

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 11:24:20 +0000

In order to select the best online university from so many good universities that offer online degree programs, you have to compare them. But, comparing these online universities can be a challenges. You may know the degree you are looking for, but it is not an easy task to narrow down the list to the best online degree program that meets your requirements. Below are the five considerations that you can use to compare the online universities before you select the best one among them.1. Compare The AccreditationIt is your responsibility to make sure the online degree you earn is worth the value. Don’t fall into the trap of diploma mill and earn a fake degree. Therefore, accreditation is the most important factor to consider when comparing online universities. Besides avoiding the scams, the consideration of accreditation is important to make sure you have a smooth start in your future career. For example, if you pursue an online degree program from a regional accredited university, you have an easier time finding jobs, using the degree to further your study or transferring your credits to other schools. Besides the regional accreditation, degrees from online universities that are accredited by DETC (Distance Education and Training Council) are widely accepted by employers.2. Compare The Admission RequirementsEach school has the admission requirements for online students. It will be a waste of time if you are trying to apply for the online degree program that you are not qualified for. You should compare the admission requirements of online universities for the course you are interested in pursuing. Make sure you can meet the requirements before you submit your application.3. Compare The Residency RequirementsWhen comparing the online degree programs offered by different online universities, it is important to compare the residency requirements and make sure you select the one that fits your lifestyle. The education programs may be offered entirely through the internet or require you to attend some hours of physical classroom sessions or face-to-face discussions at a brick-and-mortar university. If there is residency requirements, you may want to consider the online degree programs with physical facilities near your home or workplace.4. Compare Online Class SchedulesFlexibility is a feature and the advantage of online education. Many online education programs allow students to learn based on their pace of study. But, it may not apply for some programs as they need the online students to meet strict deadlines for every subject they sign up in a semester. Depending on the time you can allocate on online study, you should compare the class schedule for the courses offered by online universities. If you are a working individual and your job requires you to travel frequently from one place to another, you may want to consider the online degree program that gives the maximum flexibility so that you can plan your own schedule to fit your times.5. Compare The Examination RequirementsAlmost all online degree programs require students to complete the examination in order to earn the degree. Each online university will have its examination requirements. Many of the universities have specific examination centers for their online students to sit for the exams. You will need to compare the examination requirements from each online university to make sure you can meet the requirements. There are also online examinations allowed in some degree programs, you can choose this type of examination if it is your preferred method.SummaryYou should compare the online universities in order to select the best online degree program that fits the best for you. The above considerations are the comparison of universities in choosing the best education program.