Check out the top SEO, search engine and Internet marketing industry news stories from around the Web this week.
Search Dominates Other Sources for Local Information – Study A new study performed by Harris Interactive showed that search is the most dominant way people look for local business information. The study also showed that on mobile devices, review sites have just as much influence as search engines. Read on for details.
Facebook Says 600,000 Accounts Compromised Per Day In a blog entry, Facebook stated that every day 600,000 log-ins are compromised. Facebook’s proposed solution to this is “trusted friends.” If you’re locked out of your account, Facebook will send codes to your friends to give to you.
Visibility magazine recently wrote an article about the importance of email marketing and rules to follow when sending out your messages. Here are five email marketing techniques you should use when reaching out to your email subscribers.
1. Create an aesthetically-pleasing visual design. Every time customers receive an email from you they should know right away that it’s from you because of the format and design. Always keep your design consistent so you don’t confuse your subscribers and your message is remembered long after they’re finished reading. Make sure your design is easy to read, consider colors, font sizes and offer plenty of white space and points of entry on the page so they can skim and read the full articles that they’re really interested in.
2. Provide interesting content for your readers. Make sure the point of the email is very clear and ensure that the content is valuable. Keep your email short and avoid long paragraphs; people generally like to skim online. Use catchy headlines that will drive email opens and clicks. Shorter headlines are best.
3. Share your social media. Encourage your readers to find you on social media for more information and updates. According to a study by GetResponse, newsletters that have a social media sharing option have a 30% higher click-through rate than those that don’t include sharing options.
4. Email your message at the right time. It’s important to test the time of day you send your message as well as the day of the week. Sometimes a letter sent at the beginning of the day might not be as effective as one sent in the afternoon. Plan a day of the week and time that you think will best work for your clients and stick to it for every email message in the future.
5. Conduct tests. Test subject lines, time/frequency of delivery, text format, images vs. no images, design/layout, etc. to figure out what gets the best response from your target audience. Most email marketing systems will be able to provide you with this information.
Follow these tactics in order to send successful email marketing messages to your clients. Start driving customers to your website with the help of email marketing today.
Social media networks are a powerful marketing tool. However, when used incorrectly, they can actually do damage to your reputation, annoy your customers and drive potential customers away. Here are 5 social media faux pas that you should never commit.
1. Using your social media network exclusively as a sales tool. This is the surefire way to get “unfriended” and “unfollowed.” People already have enough advertising coming at them from all angles online and offline, they don’t want it overtaking their social networks where they come to communicate with friends, family and their favorite brands. It’s okay to send some sales messages but they need to be spaced out between engaging, useful content that your reader will enjoy. People love to hear about promotions and sales but too much advertise-y talk will definitely turn your followers off and encourage them to give you the boot.
2. Posting the exact same content to your Facebook as you do to your Twitter. This makes it obvious that you don’t really pay attention to your social networks; you’re just on there to spread your message, not interact or engage. You want your fans to follow you on both Facebook and Twitter, right? Well then why would you post the same thing on both networks? Those who do as you wish and follow you on both will get duplicate information and no one wants to waste their time on that.
3. Asking your existing fans to help you find more followers without rewarding them for doing so. Nothing will make your current fans feel less important than begging then for more fans. They’ll think, “What? Are we not good enough?” and who wants their fans feeling unappreciated? Everyone wants more fans, but don’t beg your current audience to help you find more. Instead, make your content so great that they’ll want to share with other and recommend you to their friends.
4. Pretend the negative feedback you receive on your social network just didn’t happen. Let’s face it, we can’t make everyone happy. There will always be a disgruntled customer who will try to leave rude comments on your brand’s Facebook or Twitter. When this happens, it’s important to address those irritated customers in a concerned manner and try to troubleshoot the problem. One annoyed customer can potentially go on to tell their friends about their bad experience with your business. That’s why when a less-than-impressed customer is brought to your attention, do what you can to make them happy. If they hated the food and service at your restaurant, invite them to come back for free and try it again. If you handle the problem with grace in public on Facebook or Twitter, you’re allowing the world to see how much you care about every customer.
5. Open a promotion to “new customers only.” It’s great that you’re promoting a special discount on your social network; but don’t ruin it by only opening it up to new customers. This will make your current customers feel left out and unappreciated which is a definite no-no. Keep in mind that it’s important to reward your Facebook and Twitter followers as a whole, because they already are a segmented group of your entire customer base.
Stay away from these 5 social media marketing no-no’s and you should be free from the dreaded “unfollow.” Remember to always post engaging content that your followers will be interested in and good luck in your social media marketing endeavors!
Social media networks are a powerful marketing tool. However, when used incorrectly, they can actually do damage to your reputation, annoy your customers and drive potential customers away. Here are 5 social media faux pas that you should never commit.