by Karl Hudson | Apr 30, 2015 | News
I would like to thank the big crowd of people who came to listen to our talk at the North East Expo. I apologise again for any coughing, spluttering or croaks that may have occurred.
If you were sat at the back and didn’t quite see the presentation please click the following:
SEO Presentation
Also if you didn’t receive our SEO Cheat Sheet then please feel free to download it here.
SEO Cheat Sheet
We will be looking to take part in some more talks in the future. If you would like to sign up to our mailing list then please feel free.
Know more about GetMediaWise at https://old.getmediawise.com/
by Karl Hudson | Apr 27, 2015 | Marketing, Online Marketing, Online Reputation Management
Those who truly understand social marketing have reaped great rewards from it. Those who are busy following this group of successful people have had trouble explaining the time and money they put into this venture. A social media marketing strategy needs to achieve the following: authenticity, consistency, patience, and great content. Two traits that contribute to failure are laziness and inexperience. These are some of the mistakes you have been making:
Expecting something from nothing
Posting on Facebook or Twitter once a month while having your annual blog post is great… if you’re looking to maintain your audience of loyal friends and your employees. People use social media to have conversations. They want to engage others as well as be engaged. They want to learn from authoritative people and get access to information they would never have had access to while offline. Your monthly blog post just doesn’t give this to them. You probably don’t even go through the comments made after you write down your 5 paragraphs. Wow. When you stick to these methods, you will end up drastically reducing your chances of prospects finding you.
Being a poor listener
You are going to have to apply the same listening skills you apply in face to face conversations on the online web. How do you listen online? By giving others time to speak. Who are the ‘others’? Lost fans need not get carried away with this one. The others are clients, consumers, industry experts, etc. Never rush to make comments without reading status updates or tweet carefully. Ask questions not to show your intellect, but to feed your curiosity.
Concentrating on making a sale and not connecting
Want to lose followers at lightning speeds? Just try making a sale with every tweet or status update you post. Everyone wants their social marketing strategies to give them high ROI so they make the critical mistake of always concentrating on profiting. Social media marketing is about forming relationships with consumers. You need to get to know them. They don’t want you to constantly remind them about the new products you have on sale.
You think about yourself too much
This is one of the quickest ways to lose your online following. If your social marketing revolves around how great you are, how much experience you have, how privileged others would be to work with you, etc. you are missing the whole point of social media. Be a giver, not a taker. People are looking for interesting stuff to read. If you give them this, you are creating a group of loyal consumers one person at a time.
Deleting negative comments
You would think it counterintuitive to leave negative comments on your blog for everyone to see. After all, you don’t want your consumers finding out about a flaw in your product, right? Wrong. Negative comments present you with a unique opportunity to transform an unsatisfied consumer into a satisfied one… in public! This will give you a chance to look good in front of your other consumers- a re-assurance they needed that they did indeed make the right choice by investing in you.
These are just some of the most critical mistakes businesses make when going about their social media marketing. Learn from others’ mistakes and don’t let this be you. There is nothing as important as securing a strong online presence.
by Karl Hudson | Apr 8, 2015 | Business advice
As you make decisions on what to change this year, it may be wise to make decisions on what to stop doing too. This is in relation to your business and your company. Maybe you realised you don’t have an effective digital strategy or that it isn’t working the way you intended it to from the beginning. Some mistakes may have held you back from reaching your full potential. Maybe you’re still making mistakes and don’t know about how much they are impacting your business. The following are some of the things you need to stop doing.
Being self-centered
Too many business owners forget that the essence of social media is being social. They keep on posting material relevant to their network such as new products, product offers, etc. They never interact with their audience or contribute to forums. The most successful social media strategists will tell you that social media is about being generous and connecting with others. When you promote another person’s page, congratulate them on their achievements, share their events, etc. Others will do this for you too when you need it the most. When you’re generous about promoting other people’s content, congratulating them on their successes, or sharing their scheduled events, others will do the same for your business.
Creating a narrow range of content
When getting started with online marketing, businesses usually stick to one type of content. This isn’t wrong. You’re starting out so you want to play it safe. However, as time goes on, focus on creating different types of content. This will enable you to connect with your target audience. Did you know that longer content affects your purchasing decisions? Some consumers make decisions after reading that long blog post you finally put up. You need to create diverse content this year. You can do that by blogging regularly, creating in-depth content and/or going multimedia. Go multimedia by adding more images into your content.
Forgetting about analytics tools
Amplifying content is about more than concentrating on posts. It is about where you put these posts and when you do so. Analytics tools help you understand how your content affects consumers. Are you one of those businesses that creates a blog post without tracking its performance? You probably end up posting whatever you like, whenever you like and never bother to check what is getting the most shares or views. To beat the competition, try and look at your numbers on social media. Are those the numbers you envisioned for your business? Use analytic tools that show you how your posts are performing. Also, look for patterns in your results. Do some images perform better than others? Do you get more engagement when you share specific content? Make changes based on your results.
Failing to amplify your content
Look up the word ‘amplify’ in the dictionary and you get the definition: enlarge, strengthen, and make something great. Amplifying your content means extending it so that it can reach beyond the small group of people already enjoying it. Sometimes, someone influential can amplify your content. Other times, social media can do all the amplification for you. You may consider learning which kind of content works best for you on social media, seeking out influential people to share your content, re-promoting your content by always updating the statistics mentioned, or adding any other relevant material.
Try and ditch your smoking habit, junk food as well as these poor marketing strategies.
by Karl Hudson | Mar 31, 2015 | Social Media Marketing
Boost Your Marketing With Social Media
To some people, the concept of social media marketing can be likened to rocket science. However, it really isn’t that difficult to come up with creative ideas that will boost your social marketing. The following are some suggestions.
Social media contests
People like winning. Create a chance for them to win. Introduce a social media contest where consumers have to guess what a particular object is. Provide a kind of reward to increase motivation. A beer company once posted a picture of one of their 20 beers in a clear mug. They asked the audience what type of beer it was and said the right answer would win a free 6 pack. They told their consumers that a hint was on their website and then provided the link. This gave the business two unique advantages: free traffic and a boost in their online following.
User Based Decisions
Your business makes decisions every single day. What products do you need to stock? How many hours will that take? Should you introduce a new product or service? You probably end up making these decisions without thinking to ask your consumers. What was the most important lesson you learned in your marketing class? Listen to the consumers. Social networks such as Facebook, Google+ and twitter are great platforms to interact with your consumers. Post a picture and ask them what they think. The thrill is even greater for them when there are 2 or more products to choose from. You can start with something simple like ‘red vs. white’ and see what your consumers say. They like to be involved in this kind of decision making.
Caption this…
This one is a fun way for your consumers to begin interacting with you. You can post a picture related to your business and tell fans to post the first thing that comes to mind. Adding a little motivation like ‘the funniest comment will win a free T-shirt’ can also boost your following. At the end of all of it, you will end up with a fun game that involves all your consumers and keeps them interested enough to watch out for the next ‘contest’.
Promotional contests encouraging people to ‘share’ or ‘retweet’
When a business comes up with a new product, one challenge is to find ways to get the word out about the product. Most businesses know that there is no better way to do this than to get a good recommendation. This is where sharing and retweeting comes in.
You can tell your consumers to post a status related to the new product. The most shares or retweets will get free tickets to that event you’re hosting this weekend or a free gift voucher. Your consumers will tell their friends to help them win the contest thus making their friends curious about what your product is about.
These are just some of the ideas your business need to put into good use on your social media platform. If you look closely, you will see that these ideas require no finances on your part (except maybe buying a T-shirt or that gift voucher we mentioned). Get your creative juices flowing and come up with interesting ideas as well. The goal should be simplicity and increasing your online followers.
by getmediawise | Mar 17, 2015 | Conversion Optimisation, Email marketing
Once upon a time grabbing your target customer’s attention was relatively easy. Unfortunately with the continuous growth of the internet. Markets have slowly become saturated. With new competition entering your competitive environment on a by-weekly basis capturing that much-needed attention of your target audience has become increasingly difficult.
In the past, you could simply craft a creative email, roll it out to your email subscriber list and watch the clicks and sales roll in. But then with the internet boom it all suddenly changed. The target audiences attention suddenly became very short, and the number of similar strategies increased rapidly.
So how can you capture your readers attention and most importantly maintain it in this hyper-competitive world? My intention in this post is to provide you with a simple three-part formula which will increase your email click-through rate.
I intend to provide you with an overview on how to craft a story which will draw the attention of your target audience and increase your email click-through rate.
Part 1. Paint a picture of the past.
The first objective of your story is to establish your goal is to paint a picture of your reader’s environment as it was.
For example:
“Once upon a time it was easy to grab the attention of your target customers. Few forms of media existed, and you could effortlessly carry your message to the masses.”
Part 2. Add a pinch of drama
The second objective is to create a shift in the readers environment.
For Example:
“But then it suddenly all changed. A shift occurred, and competitors started sending more emails, engaging with their audience and posting more tweets. It simply became much harder to get your message heard above all of the noise.”
Part 3. The solution
The final objective is to demonstrate to your readers how your product can provide a solution to the drama and stabilise their world.
“By telling a story in your email campaigns you can engage with your target audience in a way no one else is. Helping to allow your emails to pass through the noise and drive sales.”
Telling a story manages to resonate with a reader’s pain points and challenges. With the added benefit of helping them to feel the problem and understand the solution your product/service provides and in turn increasing their desire to purchase.
Learn more about GetMediaWise
by getmediawise | Mar 12, 2015 | Online Reputation Management
Your reputation online is everything. So managing your business’s online reputation can often be strategic nightmare. Balancing a multitude of facets in order to promote your organisation can often be an uphill struggle as it requires a mixture of specialised skills and tech savvy employees who are able to find negative brand associations and actively convert them into positive ones.
If your currently have an online reputation management program or are planning to start one. Here are 3 simple steps to provide a little guidance and help your company manage this mammoth task better;
1. Use Software
Software makes life easier. It enables tasks to become automated and allows you to actively search the far reaches of the internet for any mentions of your organisation. Software simply allows you to monitor when and where your mentioned and enables you to facilitate both positive and negative engagement.
2. Strategy Development
Make a list of all types of positive and negative opinions which may occur. Consider these opinions and create plan on how to counter the negative ones and promote the positive ones. Think about how you can handle a problem and increase interest in good promotion. Consider how to reply to both forms and set guidelines on how employees can engage with such comments.
3. Implement a social media policy
Introducing a social media policy within your organisation allows you to counter any disgruntled employees opinions about your company online. It may be an experience with a customer or another employee but social media opinions can cause unneeded storms. By using such a policy your business can counter any internal problems easily.
Learn more about GetMediaWise
by Karl Hudson | Mar 11, 2015 | News, SEO
Do we suspect a mobile update coming soon to major search engines? Over the past few weeks users have been seeing significant changes in search rankings with regards to mobile search.
Google’s own Jon Mueller was asked about an algorithm update in one of his Google+ Hangouts, he stated that it was not related to a Panda or Penguin refresh, which means it could be some form of new algorithm.
The cherry on the cake was where Google has been sending out warnings to webmasters whose websites were not mobile-friendly and asking them to update their site.
Users suspect the mobile update to be launched around 20th April 2015 so if your website is still not mobile friendly then please wake up and smell the roses and act. It takes very little time for a standard sized website to be converted into a responsive site, making it friendly for all devices.
If you have seen a drop in mobile traffic since the 24th January 2015 then it would be worth checking to see if your website is mobile friendly and if it is not, then act now.
Check more of GetMediaWise https://old.getmediawise.com/
by Karl Hudson | Mar 10, 2015 | Search Engine Optimisation
There are people out there who possess a lot of shrewdness when it comes to a PC. Whether this skill comes from your professional life or your hobbies it still pays to be aware, that unfortunately you can’t know everything. Therefore deciding to do your own SEO might end up being detrimental to your personal blog or business. Without a proper strategy set in place, or a true understanding of all the intricacies that make SEO difficult, your efforts may all be in vain or even harmful. So that being said here are a few reasons why you might consider hiring a pro to help your online business.
Time is money, friend
Time is the biggest restrictive factor in the universe, it won’t stop, slow, or bend the rules for us and we are all dominated by it. Search engine optimisation can absorb a huge amount of your time, I have even had clients spend so long trying to figure out SEO on their own that they almost forgot the trade they were trying to bring in business for. Hiring a company dedicated to this means they can spend their time and experience working for you when you are concentrating on what you do best.
Tools! Tools! Tools
Search engine optimisation companies usually invest a lot of money in the right tools to increase efficiency and accuracy. Like any specific trade, these tools come with a hefty price tag. SEO companies can afford this expense because it allows them to put their strategies in place quicker and manage the process of bringing your website up in the search engine ranking pages (SERPs).
Cost Effective? I Think So
I have already mentioned that SEO companies pay for expensive tools saving you on the purchase, while this saves you money this is not the true marker of saved cost. The true wallet/purse saver is when you look at the cost to return ratio. If you have done a little bit of research you will find that SEO is one of the most cost effective return on investments you can make when it comes to advertising. 4 Billion Searches are made every day on Google and 70% of those click on organic search results rather than paid ads.
Bring Me Those Leads
With all the traffic the internet can bring through your website it is almost guaranteed to increase sales. 60% of people click on the top 3 organic search results, this is why an organic SEO strategy is so important. If your product is getting a lot of search volume it pays to convert that traffic into visitors.
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by Karl Adams | Mar 9, 2015 | Online Reputation Management
When the phrase ‘Online Reputation Management’ is raised in conversation, a common misconception is brought to light. Some believe it’s an additional act attracted to social media marketing (SSM) practices or even something as broad as a public relations thing. In reality it’s encompasses both, However it substantially moves beyond this simple scope often at an unprecedented rate.
In the current business environment the Internet has forged; a sole trader is often found to be on a level playing field with their multi-million pound counterparts. However, it is often the case that little or no attention is drawn to their online reputation. Often organisations completely overlook an integral part of brand royalty or simply have no idea how much it can impact their business and sales.
When considering the value of a brand’s perception within the eye’s of its consumer, the impact the internet has on such a perception is often astonishing. Simply the need for maintaining a good perception is something companies of all sizes can benefit.
In a nutshell online reputation management is simply about influencing and controlling the perception of a business or individual online. Looking to increase interest and counter negative perceptions through a mixture of online marketing methods including SEO, PPC, Email Marketing, Content Marketing and more. So why is it important? well.
In a short passage of time, the internet has shifted position from being a valued reserve of information to a essential life resource. A tool often used in passive nature has now become predominately about engagement. In the past companies invested little or no time engaging directly with their audience through this medium. Often acting in a passive manner they would frequently miss the opportunity to actively express their voice to a highly engaged audience. Simply the communication landscape was autonomous and approached the audience with a top down approach.
Thankfully the entire situation has changed. We now find ourselves in a realm where businesses are actively engaging with their audience. With more regular interactions on social networks and company blogs, the audience is now able to communicate their opinions directly with the organisations.
Within the modern business environment engagement is undoubtedly a key principle to the success of any organisation. With the size of a company having little bearing on the opportunities for new prospects, clients, customers, etc… actively taking about you.
Whether they write a tweet about you or a Facebook post or write an engaging comment on your blog. The audience can create a feel good buzz around you. However, such material can fall either side of the fence. It can often be uplifting and a great promotional tool, but it can unfortunately also follow the dark and unsavory path in which comments can create a negative perception. In which a member of your audience can actively damage your online reputation through their interactions with you or about you.
If you think this is something you can forget about or even pretend it doesn’t occur. Then I would highly recommend you wake up and drink some strong coffee!
Your audience is actively influencing your brand’s reputation online at a second by second rate. You cannot simply ignore people’s opinions or reviews on your products and services. To do such a thing is simply enabling your competition to chip away at your companies tombstone. It may take months or even years, but your reputation is the most important influence on the success of your business.
In closing a bad reputation online can hold dire consequences for your business. There is growing need to counter such negativity in order to increase your brand’s reputation within the minds of the consumer. If you choose to simply ignore it, It won’t suddenly vanish from existence. When an item is published online it is often represents a stain that doesn’t wash off or disappear. The active management of your reputation online is essential to counter negative opinions and will enable you to provide a better service to your dishearten customers if actively incorporated into your marketing plan.
by Karl Hudson | Mar 6, 2015 | SEO
The ways SEO can benefit your online business are numerous. Search Engine Optimisation encompasses everything from reputation management to just a simple increase in traffic flow. SEO is unique in an advertising sense that it connects you with people seeking you out already, this is hugely advantageous to any business.
Search engine optimisation can also be used to propagate awareness of your brand online. Anything from local awareness, even to an international scale. SEO does this by focusing on getting you to rank highly for brand or keyword related search terms.
SEO is a 24 hours 7 days a week endeavour. It will work for you when you’re sleeping as search engines never rest. Once you’re brand is recognised on the first page for keywords of your choice it will continuously bring in visitors seeking what you offer.
Being in the spotlight for your keywords naturally means more sales. Expanding your business to reach hundreds, thousands or in some cases millions of people who are seeking your product will result in increased revenue.
Pay Per Click is ubiquitous with online businesses, unfortunately many businesses aren’t aware of all the nuances of ad management, split testing and landing page optimisation. This could save massive amounts of money on their campaigns. Thats where SEO companies come in, they can offer their vast experience with ad campaign management.
Long term cost for pay per click is reduced through keyword optimisation. Pay Per Click judges your ads based on the quality of optimisation of your website. This means that if your website is poorly optimised the cost of running your ads will always be at the apex of ad bidding. Hiring an SEO specialist to optimise your website for your keywords will reduce the amount of money coming out of your budget to get those customers on your website. Eventually you could get rid of cost per click all together. If you’re website is already ranking first for your chosen keywords, Then PPC is no longer needed. Long term SEO can achieve these results.
However keep in mind when you hire an SEO specialist, that it’s like any other business there are always going to be people who will sell poor quality service, for premium prices. SEO evolves like any living being over time. It constantly changes and can be every bit as disastrous for your business as it can be profitable if not handled carefully. Hire an SEO company that care for your brand and can provide a clean service. Black hat SEO is very popular in the underbelly of the search engine optimisation world and if not carefully monitored can destroy your chances of online visibility.
Being a UK born company GetMediaWise are proud to stand out from rogue SEO agencies that want to take your money and offer very little or nothing in return, in some cases even damage your brand. GMW will always strive to go one step further to achieve your goals. Our online marketing team marketing team is ready to handle anything that is thrown at us.
