When Twitter first came out, only few saw its potential as an engagement platform. But this hugely successful microblogging site has since grown to have more than 20 million users in the U.S. (and 50 million worldwide) – with networks that cover individuals, communities, small businesses, and even corporations. Even majority of Fortune 100 companies now have Twitter – are even said to have ‘embraced’ the technology. But are they using it effectively? Not really, at least according to a recently released Twitter study conducted by Weber Shandwick. The objective of the research was to evaluate how well Fortune 100 companies were using Twitter to its potential as a valuable communications channel and strategic social network. Among the numbers that were published in the paper were: 73 – number of Fortune 100 companies on Twitter 41 – Twitter accounts that appear to be used as one-way broadcast/newsfeed for branding efforts 50 – percentage of Fortune 100 Twitter accounts that had – Read the full article
So you’re thinking of implementing an E-mail campaign. The challenge is obvious: what can you really do to make sure that those E-mails get opened and read before they’re sent to trash? Cool, sleek graphics? A hard-to-resist subject line? Persuasive copy? Below we explore more tips and strategies for creating a successful E-mail campaign. Of course, these extend beyond hiring the best graphic artist in the world, or waxing poetic on the sales pitch contained in your E-mail. Use A/B split testing Success often comes after lots of trial and error. Better, of course, if it’s trial instead of error. So try A/B split tests. These entail experimenting with E-mail campaigns by using different headlines and content. Find out from these tests the answers to questions like: Which subject line gets me better open rates? What time and what day works best for my E-mail campaign? Are times and dates even factors in my click rate? There’s lots of A/B – Read the full article
Looking to boost local traffic to your site? It’s a must these days, especially if you’re a small business. Getting listed puts you on the online map. Optimizing that listing lets your customers and potentials know where and how to find you. Local SEO: it’s all about getting local consumers in the door and the phone ringing. Here are 6 things that you absolutely must do when optimizing your local business listing. We say ‘must do’; you don’t want to lose out on higher rankings, do you? 1. Claim and submit. List your business at Google Maps. This, you should know already. But it doesn’t end there. Take advantage of other search engines. Claim your listing at Yahoo! Local, Bing Local and Best of the Web. They’re free to submit your information. On top of that, submit your information to major data providers like InfoUSA, Acxiom, and Localeze. The more listings you have in more local business directories, the more – Read the full article
This week we received an email from a DePaul student (Go Blue Demons!), who was looking to interview a web design company about usability. I spent some time thinking about it and developing some answers and I thought I would share it on our blog- Enjoy! (1) Describe the company. Briefly describe the products they build and/or the services they provide Here are some quotes from our website but basically we are a web design company that focuses on Search Engine Optimization and Conversions by using the latest W3C complaint coding (xHTML and CSS) and also using the latest usability compliance. “Web design is more than just creativity, it’s usability. Understanding your visitors and how they use your website will lead to increased conversions. For each new website, our team of graphic designers, SEO consultants and marketing specialists work together on strategy, design, usability, and goals.” Lakeshore Branding, what started as a small marketing firm in 2007 has evolved into – Read the full article
Attention small business owners who think social networking is silly: knock it off. We know you’re just afraid, or confused, but you can’t hide behind those excuses any longer. With the recent announcements of Bing and Twitter integration, and Google’s Social Search, your business can’t hide any longer. Those angry tweets about your poor quality that you ignore? Yep, those are appearing in searches right next to your latest press-release. Photos of your day-old looking food you served up are not only on Flickr, but now they’re in any searches people may perform who are friends with those folks. Bottom line: you’re bad service and poor products are going to be exposed faster, to a wider audience, and with lasting impact. So get involved; interact with your customers, make them feel welcome, make them feel something. Have a great product? Good. Lots of people are no doubt talking about it. Let them know you’re listening. Encourage them to make those – Read the full article
We’re moving beyond the tradition of consulting the yellow pages. With 80 percent of people turning to search engines to find local information, Google last week launched its Local Listing Ads service, which makes fixed-fee advertising placements available in Google’s local search results as well as in Google Maps. The new service demonstrates once again how the Internet – and Google in particular – is changing how local business listings are done – and searched. Available initially in San Diego and San Fransisco in limited beta, Local Listing Ads is different from Google AdWords in that it requires no creative or keyword management and no bidding. The monthly fee is flat, determined by Google with the goal of ensuring that businesses’ ads are seen by the highest number of people looking for relevant local information. Business owners who purchase the ad select the location and business category to ensure local targeting, and from there, Google takes care of the creating – Read the full article
We recently joined the Local First Chicago, a great local membership organization of local owned companies in Chicago. Local First Chicago’s mission is to educate the public on the importance of choosing locally owned, independent businesses. We work primarily through public education, business support, and advocacy. Local First Chicago is a network of locally owned, independent businesses and community organizations joined together to keep money and character in our neighborhoods and build a thriving local living economy. In doing so, we hope to promote the overall social, economic, and environmental health of our economy and communities. Here are 10 Reasons to Shop and Support Chicago businesses like Lakeshore Branding. #1. Keep money in the neighborhood. A recent study in Chicago showed that locally owned, independent businesses put 70% more money back into the local community than chain stores, per square foot occupied. A space filled with a local business rather than a chain puts more dollars back in your neighborhood. – Read the full article
Instant gratification is the key to this – consumers want to find what they want right now and buy it right now. More often than not, a good website will procure repeat business, but it needs to be very professionally managed and easy to maneuver…
