Using Webinars, Videos and Online Presentations to Promotion Your Business

The amount of videos posted online continues to grow with seemingly no end in sight. A recent study by Cisco predicts that by 2017, videos will account for 69 percent of all consumer Internet traffic—a 12 percent jump from 2012. Webisodes, or web series, will certainly be part of this upswing in viewership. Like scripted broadcast or cable programming, webisodes can have an ongoing story and intriguing characters—but instead of merely entertaining viewers, they can also build awareness of your brand, forge stronger ties with your customers, and provide content that is relevant and useful.

Frame them like stories

Although webisodes are often used as part of a business strategy, experts warn that they are not commercials in disguise. Customers and potential buyers will not sit still for watching a long sales pitch spread out over multiple segments. “Entertaining, engaging content is always king,” says Curt Mercadante, president of Charleston, South Carolina-based Gravina Online Strategies. “Webisodes are like a TV show where people are left wanting more.”

Webisodes can tell stories through different dramatic formats to stoke viewer curiosity and keep them involved with the storyline. For example, Mercadante has partnered with a firm called Feed.Us that develops web-based content management applications. Instead of a hard, direct pitch about the features and benefits of their products, Feed.Us produced webisodes about two of their technicians who answer customer problems over the phone, “but they built [it around] this soap opera of webisodes that has a funny romance,” Mercadante says. “They filmed the webisodes at their desk. Sometimes a grainier look is better because it has that human feel.”

Some webisodes have recurring characters or an ongoing plot, but others can center on a common theme. Mercadante produced webisodes for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform called Faces of Lawsuit Abuse. While these looked like mini-documentaries or news segments, they also tell stories of victims of lawsuit abuse. “The [institute’s] product is lawsuit reform, but it is rarely mentioned in any of the videos,” Mercadante explains. “It’s less about selling the action and more about telling the story about being real life victims.”

Like a morning talk show

Some businesses are comfortable producing webisodes internally. Others find that using a familiar talk show format and a seasoned interviewer can bring out and capture the essence of their business and the personality of the business owner in a more accessible way.

“The video needs to be professional if they want the business to look professional,” says Bella Shaw, a former anchor for CNN who now does videos for the BzS business webisode series. Shaw begins by doing a pre-interview with the subject and using questions before the filming to draw out key points, such as: What makes you the star of your own business? What sets you apart from the competition? What success stories can you share? What is something people would be surprised to know about you? Shaw will also send out an in-depth memo that covers everything from what the subject should wear to how to use simple language and stories to make their points.

“A lot of people are nervous in front of the camera, but I tell them that this is a conversation,” Shaw says. “The nice thing is, it’s not live. I know when I have my sound bite. If I don’t get what I need, I rephrase the question in a way that we can get that.”

The interview takes place on a set that looks like a morning talk show, with footage of the subject at their business or doing something unexpected edited in later. “You have to have good visuals,” Shaw says. “We did a video of a company called Ladyface Ale, a brewery in Calabasas, California. We showed the owner taste testing and walking around the plant. Anything moving makes really good video.”

Taking it on the road

Webisodes provide great flexibility and versatility for involving viewers in a storyline. Just ask Jacob Ballard, self-proclaimed grand pooh-bah of iWebXpert, an Asheville, North Carolina-based company specializing in Internet marketing.

In April 2013, Ballard and his brother, a company vice president, took off for a two-month road trip across the United States for the purpose of interviewing small business owners, pushing the benefits of entrepreneurship—and marketing their own company as well. They edited the videos into a series of webisodes called Big Town Small Business.The amount of videos posted online continues to grow with seemingly no end in sight. A recent study by Cisco predicts that by 2017, videos will account for 69 percent of all consumer Internet traffic—a 12 percent jump from 2012. Webisodes, or web series, will certainly be part of this upswing in viewership. Like scripted broadcast or cable programming, webisodes can have an ongoing story and intriguing characters—but instead of merely entertaining viewers, they can also build awareness of your brand, forge stronger ties with your customers, and provide content that is relevant and useful.

Frame them like stories

Although webisodes are often used as part of a business strategy, experts warn that they are not commercials in disguise. Customers and potential buyers will not sit still for watching a long sales pitch spread out over multiple segments. “Entertaining, engaging content is always king,” says Curt Mercadante, president of Charleston, South Carolina-based Gravina Online Strategies. “Webisodes are like a TV show where people are left wanting more.”

Webisodes can tell stories through different dramatic formats to stoke viewer curiosity and keep them involved with the storyline. For example, Mercadante has partnered with a firm called Feed.Us that develops web-based content management applications. Instead of a hard, direct pitch about the features and benefits of their products, Feed.Us produced webisodes about two of their technicians who answer customer problems over the phone, “but they built [it around] this soap opera of webisodes that has a funny romance,” Mercadante says. “They filmed the webisodes at their desk. Sometimes a grainier look is better because it has that human feel.”

Some webisodes have recurring characters or an ongoing plot, but others can center on a common theme. Mercadante produced webisodes for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform called Faces of Lawsuit Abuse. While these looked like mini-documentaries or news segments, they also tell stories of victims of lawsuit abuse. “The [institute’s] product is lawsuit reform, but it is rarely mentioned in any of the videos,” Mercadante explains. “It’s less about selling the action and more about telling the story about being real life victims.”

Like a morning talk show

Some businesses are comfortable producing webisodes internally. Others find that using a familiar talk show format and a seasoned interviewer can bring out and capture the essence of their business and the personality of the business owner in a more accessible way.

“The video needs to be professional if they want the business to look professional,” says Bella Shaw, a former anchor for CNN who now does videos for the BzS business webisode series. Shaw begins by doing a pre-interview with the subject and using questions before the filming to draw out key points, such as: What makes you the star of your own business? What sets you apart from the competition? What success stories can you share? What is something people would be surprised to know about you? Shaw will also send out an in-depth memo that covers everything from what the subject should wear to how to use simple language and stories to make their points.

“A lot of people are nervous in front of the camera, but I tell them that this is a conversation,” Shaw says. “The nice thing is, it’s not live. I know when I have my sound bite. If I don’t get what I need, I rephrase the question in a way that we can get that.”

The interview takes place on a set that looks like a morning talk show, with footage of the subject at their business or doing something unexpected edited in later. “You have to have good visuals,” Shaw says. “We did a video of a company called Ladyface Ale, a brewery in Calabasas, California. We showed the owner taste testing and walking around the plant. Anything moving makes really good video.”

Taking it on the road

Webisodes provide great flexibility and versatility for involving viewers in a storyline. Just ask Jacob Ballard, self-proclaimed grand pooh-bah of iWebXpert, an Asheville, North Carolina-based company specializing in Internet marketing.

In April 2013, Ballard and his brother, a company vice president, took off for a two-month road trip across the United States for the purpose of interviewing small business owners, pushing the benefits of entrepreneurship—and marketing their own company as well. They edited the videos into a series of webisodes called Big Town Small Business.
The amount of videos posted online continues to grow with seemingly no end in sight. A recent study by Cisco predicts that by 2017, videos will account for 69 percent of all consumer Internet traffic—a 12 percent jump from 2012. Webisodes, or web series, will certainly be part of this upswing in viewership. Like scripted broadcast or cable programming, webisodes can have an ongoing story and intriguing characters—but instead of merely entertaining viewers, they can also build awareness of your brand, forge stronger ties with your customers, and provide content that is relevant and useful.

Frame them like stories

Although webisodes are often used as part of a business strategy, experts warn that they are not commercials in disguise. Customers and potential buyers will not sit still for watching a long sales pitch spread out over multiple segments. “Entertaining, engaging content is always king,” says Curt Mercadante, president of Charleston, South Carolina-based Gravina Online Strategies. “Webisodes are like a TV show where people are left wanting more.”

Webisodes can tell stories through different dramatic formats to stoke viewer curiosity and keep them involved with the storyline. For example, Mercadante has partnered with a firm called Feed.Us that develops web-based content management applications. Instead of a hard, direct pitch about the features and benefits of their products, Feed.Us produced webisodes about two of their technicians who answer customer problems over the phone, “but they built [it around] this soap opera of webisodes that has a funny romance,” Mercadante says. “They filmed the webisodes at their desk. Sometimes a grainier look is better because it has that human feel.”

Some webisodes have recurring characters or an ongoing plot, but others can center on a common theme. Mercadante produced webisodes for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform called Faces of Lawsuit Abuse. While these looked like mini-documentaries or news segments, they also tell stories of victims of lawsuit abuse. “The [institute’s] product is lawsuit reform, but it is rarely mentioned in any of the videos,” Mercadante explains. “It’s less about selling the action and more about telling the story about being real life victims.”

Like a morning talk show

Some businesses are comfortable producing webisodes internally. Others find that using a familiar talk show format and a seasoned interviewer can bring out and capture the essence of their business and the personality of the business owner in a more accessible way.

“The video needs to be professional if they want the business to look professional,” says Bella Shaw, a former anchor for CNN who now does videos for the BzS business webisode series. Shaw begins by doing a pre-interview with the subject and using questions before the filming to draw out key points, such as: What makes you the star of your own business? What sets you apart from the competition? What success stories can you share? What is something people would be surprised to know about you? Shaw will also send out an in-depth memo that covers everything from what the subject should wear to how to use simple language and stories to make their points.

“A lot of people are nervous in front of the camera, but I tell them that this is a conversation,” Shaw says. “The nice thing is, it’s not live. I know when I have my sound bite. If I don’t get what I need, I rephrase the question in a way that we can get that.”

The interview takes place on a set that looks like a morning talk show, with footage of the subject at their business or doing something unexpected edited in later. “You have to have good visuals,” Shaw says. “We did a video of a company called Ladyface Ale, a brewery in Calabasas, California. We showed the owner taste testing and walking around the plant. Anything moving makes really good video.”

Taking it on the road

Webisodes provide great flexibility and versatility for involving viewers in a storyline. Just ask Jacob Ballard, self-proclaimed grand pooh-bah of iWebXpert, an Asheville, North Carolina-based company specializing in Internet marketing.

In April 2013, Ballard and his brother, a company vice president, took off for a two-month road trip across the United States for the purpose of interviewing small business owners, pushing the benefits of entrepreneurship—and marketing their own company as well. They edited the videos into a series of webisodes called Big Town Small Business.

eleanordrury310 May 15, 2014 Today's Businessbusiness_website, Marketing, marketing_videos, online_marketing, promotional_videos, Using Webinars, video_promotion, videos, Videos and Online Presentations to Promotion Your Business, webisodes, website_videos 0 Read more >

Social Media Q & A: Expert Ed Gazarian Talks About First Steps for Small Businesses

Social Media Q & A: Expert Ed Gazarian Talks About First Steps for Small Businesses
by Sherron Lumley.

Ed Gazarian is a native of Boston, a graduate of Northeastern University and Harvard, who works for Pandemic Labs in Boston, one of the oldest social media marketing and analytics agencies in the U.S. He took some time to talk with writer Sherron Lumley about what’s new in social media and the first steps a small business can take when creating a social media strategy.

SL: Tell me about the business of Pandemic Labs.

EG: Pandemic is a 100-percent social media agency; we are not in print media at all. We’re all about customizing for actual customer needs. Rather than be tied to a specific set of platforms or technologies, we’re an agency committed to the notion that marketing is a dialogue, not a monologue. Our client roster runs the gamut from top-tier luxury brands (The Ritz-Carlton), to global retail chains (Au Bon Pain), and to regional groups (Fairmont Parks Art Association and The Roaming Boomers). We’ve also run campaigns with Dunkin’ Donuts, Puma, Canon, and DIRECTV.

SL: What are the basic social media steps that you advise your clients to take today?

EG: First, identify whom you want to communicate with. Based on who a brand wants to engage, the platforms, technologies and strategies we deploy will vary drastically from client to client. Knowing your audience is the absolute first step.

Next, figure out where those people are. If it’s Facebook, you know that’s a crucial part of your overall strategy. If your consumers are more active on something like LinkedIn, or social media’s latest darling—Pinterest—then focus your efforts there. There’s enough demographic info about the major channels out there, to make an informed decision about which channels to operate on. Depending upon what platforms you choose, your methods of engagement will differ. Understand that you will have to commit some time—and money—to these endeavors.

The last of these basic steps is identifying metrics of success. Yours will not be the same as those of other brands operating on the same platforms. Don’t get bogged down in things like “The Top 3 Metrics In Social Media”—lists like that are a dime a dozen. Don’t be dazzled by ‘The Next Big Thing’—does anyone still think Google+ is at all relevant? You know your brand, and you know who you want to go after. Be thoughtful in how you define what success means for you.

PQ_QAedgazarian.jpgSL: How has this changed in the last few years?

EG: Mobile and touch-based technology are easily the biggest game changers over the past few years. The ubiquity of devices like the iPhone, iPad, and their ilk have made social media campaigns based on these things extremely easy—and extremely cost-effective—to deploy on a large scale. Foursquare is a great example of this.

SL: Why is online marketing important today and looking forward?

EG: People are increasingly connected through social channels like Facebook and Twitter. We know, both anecdotally and through vigorous research, that people’s purchase decisions are more significantly influenced by recommendations/reviews/suggestions from their personal connections, than by any brand messaging. This is never going to change. Brands that capitalize on that fact through active engagement on social channels will reap the rewards.

SL: What are some examples of niche areas or groups in social media marketing?

EG: The B2B crowd is definitely one. In the small businesses world—from mom & pop storefronts, to local restaurants, and even 15 to 20-person niche service firms—opportunities abound. Just about every eatery near our office participates in some form of social campaign, such as group buying (through services like Groupon or LivingSocial), and they’ve enjoyed success using those channels.

SL: What are the benefits of targeting small audiences in social media?

EG: The more detailed you get, the more effectively you can tailor things, from the images and copy used in a Facebook ad, to strategically timing your tweets, to the text used in your Tumblr posts. The next evolution of this would be identifying your most engaged audience members. Solutions like Offerpop and Foursquare give small brands a way to compete with the Coca-Colas of the world, without being priced out of the market.

If you’re a local clothing designer with a single storefront, and you want to spread the word about your label to women around 35 years old, that live near your city, and that are interested in fashion—then there are channels (like Pinterest and Instagram) that are uniquely suited to that demographic. The people are already there, and the conversation already exists. Your job—and what will set you apart from the novices—is to find the relevant conversation, and take part in it. Anytime you can mix the value of in-person communication with the reach of social media, that’s a win.

eleanordrury310 January 2, 2014 Today's Businesscustomer_behavior, facebook, foursquare, iphone, Marketing, online_marketing, purchasing, small_business, Social Media Q & A: Expert Ed Gazarian Talks About First Steps for Small Businesses, social_media, social_media_campaign, social_media_marketing, social_networking, twitter 0 Read more >

7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season

by Jennifer Shaheen.

7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season. 7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season. If you’re in e-commerce, you know the crucial holiday selling season is right around the corner. And with consumers looking for the best deals—and Amazon expanding the range of products and services it offers—it’s getting increasingly difficult for independent retailers to compete.

With these concerns in mind, we turned to leading e-commerce experts to ask them what small business owners need to do right now to enjoy a more profitable holiday season.

1. Seed the ground now for holiday sales

In an environment of economic uncertainty, customers want to make the most out of their purchasing dollar. Ron Rule, an e-commerce engagement expert, urges retailers to start offering gift cards on their websites now. “There is a psychological difference between gift cards and coupons and they’re perceived differently by buyers,” he says. “A coupon means you’re saving money, but a gift card is money.” These gift cards can be used to make additional holiday purchases, boosting your customer’s buying power. “In the end, you’re still just discounting your order but that difference in perception to the buyer will make result in a better response than a coupon of the same value,” Rule adds.

7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season

2. Time is of the essence

For every person who’s starting their holiday shopping right now, there are plenty who wait until the very last minute. That’s why it’s important to be clear about your delivery times, according to Andrew Youderian. The author of Profitable e-Commerce operates several e-commerce businesses. “Shipping times are always important to communicate clearly, but there’s no other time of the year when it’s as important to get it right as during the holiday season,” he says. “At the forefront of most shoppers’ minds is: ‘Will this be here in time?’”

Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery has made it an incredibly popular option among holiday shoppers. When you’re competing with Amazon, you need to provide the same level of service. Details matter, Youderian says, adding, “Make sure you’re very explicit about when items will ship and, more importantly, when you guarantee they will arrive. Don’t simply say things like ‘Three-Day Shipping’. Instead, give an exact arrival time so customers don’t have to guess or calculate themselves.” 7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season

Highlight your recommended products

“Gift buyers want to get the perfect gift with the least amount of research,” says Youderian. “So while they know Dad would love a new power drill, they really aren’t interested in researching tools for two hours to find it. Make life easier on them, and prominently recommend your top-selling products, and the best choices for different types of applications and users.” Top-of-the-page placement is often best, as it helps you capture the attention of shoppers too busy to scroll down. “Keeping these recommendations short, specific, and to the point will dramatically increase the chance of the shopper buying that gift from you,” he says.”

4. Reach out to existing customers

Remember to re-engage past customers, says Rule. “It’s a million times easier to sell to someone who’s already purchased from you than it is to attract a new customer,” he says. “The best way is to segment your customer list based on what they’ve previously purchased and email them a promotion on something else they’re likely to buy. Even sending the same message to everyone is better than doing nothing.” 7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season

5. Build demand through strategic blogger outreach

Terry Lin, creator of the podcast, Build My Online Store, recommends reaching out to bloggers as a long-term strategy to boost holiday sales. “Bloggers enjoy sharing new stuff they like with their audience, so reaching out and sending them a sample to provide a product review, or working together to host a giveaway contest is a great way to get started,” he says. “In addition, you’ll also get on the radar of other bloggers in the market as the recognition snowballs over time.” The fall season is the ideal time to leverage established blogger relationships by asking for their input and participation in holiday marketing campaigns.

6. Don’t forget to say thank you

“Using a smartphone, record a 60-second thank you video and send it out to all your customers over the past year giving them a quick update on the business, and include a coupon code at the end of the video thanking them for their support,” Lin say. “People buy from brands they know, like, and trust, and nothing conveys this better than seeing the owner of the business in a video. Once it’s recorded, promote it across your social media channels, email list, friends, family, and colleagues.” 7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season

eleanordrury310 November 6, 2013 Today's Business7 E-commerce Strategy Tips for a More Profitable Holiday Season, e-commerce, marketing_strategy, online_marketing, website 0 Read more >

How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales

by Jennifer Shaheen.

How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales. There are three reasons why retailers should want to use the recommended product feature on their websites, explains Dave Huckaby, author of the Grabapple Guide to E-Commerce. “You increase conversion rates, increase ticket size, and increase user engagement,” he says. “Amazon is the king of product recommendations, and we can all learn from their example.”

Carol Friedman, owner of Books to Bed, which sells children’s sleepwear, agrees. “I wanted the Amazon effect,” she says. “After adding the recommended product feature to our website, we saw an increase in how long our visitors were staying on our website. And the longer they stay, the more they spend.”

Making the most of the recommended products feature

There are two ways for a retailer to add the recommended product feature. The first option, custom-coded websites, generally incorporate a SAAS (software as a service)-based solution where a third party manages the recommended product feature for a monthly fee. Custom coded websites are a pricey option, costing at least $5,000, which Huckaby says is typically out of reach for many small businesses. On the other hand, a majority of e-commerce sites, including Shopify, Yahoo Stores, and Big Commerce, incorporate a recommended product functionality as part of their standard package, with enhanced versions available as an upgrade. How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales

“It’s one thing to have a recommended products feature, it’s another thing to use it strategically,” says Linda Bustos, director of e-commerce research at Elastic Path, a provider of e-commerce software. “The biggest mistake is using defaults out of the box, and not applying appropriate merchandising rules to your tools.

Taking a hands-on approach is essential to success with the recommendation products feature, Bustos adds. “The key is to begin with your sales strategy, and ensure your tool is set up to deliver you goals. Systems that automatically generate recommendations require some behind-the-scenes fine-tuning to ensure that your customers are seeing the products you want them to see. How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales

“Whichever platform you choose, take a quick run through the instructions, watch any videos the host may provide, and see what the tool’s limitations are,” Huckaby recommends. “The best way to learn the software is to just start playing with it. See what you can do and what you can’t.”

Huckaby, who uses Big Commerce to host his own e-commerce sites, used this method to discover a problem. “On the categories pages on my site, there’s lots of relevant text, which is great for Google, but that text is the first thing the customer sees.” he says. “They have to scroll down to see the product. I had to go into the code and fix that myself. It’s an example of how these solutions aren’t necessarily tailored to the needs of the retailer. You have to be willing to go in and tweak them.”

Location is everything: The best place to display product recommendations

“Where you show product recommendations matters,” Bustos says. “It’s very common to do so on a product page, but you can also use the recommended product feature to display merchandise on your home page based on past visit viewing behavior or incoming search terms. You can also make use of the recommended product feature right after the action ‘add to cart’ and on your cart page.” How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales

“You want to alter your product recommendations based on where your customer is in the buying process,” Huckaby adds. “If your customer is looking at bass boats, for example, you can recommend other bass boats. But if they’ve started spending a lot of time looking at one particular bass boat, you’ll want to display trolling motors, oar locks—the type of add-on items that would increase their satisfaction with the purchase. Once they have that boat in their shopping cart, you want to recommend the specific bolt-on accessories that are made for that particular bass boat.”

Creating your own recommended products feature

Using your site-search feature, you can create your own recommended products feature if the results you’re getting from your embedded tool aren’t satisfactory. “Let’s say during the holiday season you want to offer gift sets containing several items, but your system doesn’t have the capacity,” Huckaby says. “Making use of your site-search feature, you can do a search by tags to include all of the gift sets. Then you save this search as a static web page, and link to it from your product page. When customers click on the link, they’re presented with all of the gift sets.” How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales

Test everything

“As the store owner, you want to keep a log,” Huckaby says. “Track your results over 90 days to see how things are working. Then, if you go in and make some tweaks, you’ll want to track those as well.”

Bustos also recommends extensive testing of the recommended product feature. Her list of what to look at includes where the recommendations are placed; how many per page; and the price points. She also advises retailers to use language such as “you might like” and “recommended for you” rather than “similar item” or “goes perfect with.”

eleanordrury310 November 5, 2013 Today's Businessbusiness, e-commerce, entrepreneur, How Recommendations can Boost E-Commerce Sales, keyword_relevancy, Marketing, marketing_strategy, online_marketing, small_business, website 0 Read more >

Etsy Dos and Don’ts: How to navigate the web’s handmade heaven

Etsy Dos and Don’ts: How to navigate the web’s handmade heaven
Posted by SBOC Team in Internet and eCommerce on Oct 29, 2012 8:04:36 AM

Etsy_Body.jpgby Erin McDermott.

Chrystal Lynn Simmons has been on Etsy since 2006. Her products on this popular Internet marketplace for independent handmade/vintage goods reflect her own life transitions—from cool, colorful metallic bangles and necklaces to bridal accessories to baby mobiles to decorative magnets that indicate whether a dishwasher holds either clean or dirty plates.

But having all of those items under one Etsy shop shingle began to worry her. Was it “just looking nutty” to have such disconnected goods lumped together, she thought? It was time for a breakup.

Now, she has two stores, one for each batch—Metallic Muse and The Tulle Box. In just a few months, sales have more than tripled. “It took me forever to figure it out, but it seems to be paying off,” Simmons says, laughing. “I just realized I was isolating part of my clientele. People who’d come for semi-precious jewelry probably couldn’t care less about baby stuff.”

Etsy_PQ.jpgWhat began in 2005 as an online collection of artisans has now expanded to an estimated 400,000 sellers, with 1.5-billion monthly page views, and sales of more than $375 million through the first half of this year. And while many of the individual enterprises are small, some of their concerns mirror the same faced by small business everywhere, like marketing, customer relations, and cost efficiencies.

So, here’s some advice from the pros on how to navigate the world of Etsy.

DO: Become a better photographer. How to get that crisp, modern look with just a point-and-shoot? “It starts with understanding your camera. It sounds dorky and all, but pull out your manual and read it,” says Cathy Derus, a Chicago CPA by day and shopkeeper of Fiscally Chic in her free time. “You need to understand what those settings are besides ‘auto.’ It’s a lot of trial and error.” She also bought a GorillaPod tripod to steady her shots and downloaded the free Photoscape editing software to help create the right look. Why all the white backgrounds? Etsy sellers are more likely to be added to users’ Treasuries—individual galleries curated by members of projects they admire—if the items look like they’re related, says Marcia Turner, author of the forthcoming book, Complete Idiot’s Guide to Selling Your Crafts on Etsy. Her advice: Turn off the flash and head outside to shoot your product in natural light.

DON’T: Post everything all at once. Like on other social-media venues, an all-out barrage is overwhelming for viewers. Keep it at a steady trickle of new material, adding items at a rate of one a day, ensuring that your items will show up at the top of the search box on a daily basis, Turner says. When to tune in? Try times like Sunday nights, Monday mornings, and weeknights, when the biggest number of surfers are online.

DO: Spell out your shop’s policies. What’s your window for returns or exchanges? What are acceptable forms of payment? What’s your deposit policy for custom work? It’s a lot to think about, but whatever you do, don’t over-promise, several Etsy sellers say. Longer exchange allowances may encourage serial finicky buyers to change their minds, making their indecision your costly and time-consuming headache. And don’t say you’ll ship everywhere (more on this later).

DON’T: Ignore local and state business rules. “This is a business. Even if you only see it as a hobby, the government doesn’t,” says Cathy Stein, a Dallas-area owner of the EDCCollective and Eclectic Skeptic shops as well as a longtime entrepreneur and small business operator. Check with your state, city, and even your county: Rules vary all over the U.S. about the need for registering a DBA—a Doing Business As certificate—for your virtual shop. (Plus, it keeps others from taking your name.) Also, you’ll need a sales tax license. “Federal tax-wise, you have two choices: You either treat it as a business and hope you’re going to make a profit in the timeframe the IRS needs to be able to declare it as a business. Or it has to be hobby income. But it needs to be one or the other and it has to be done right,” Stein says.

DO: Get a good scale and make friends with your local post office staff. Be smart about the weight and dimensions of what you’re about to ship, and what it will do to your profit-margin calculations. Consider the costs of your packing materials and what will take to safely ship your goods. If a box surpasses the size that your advertised shipping rate reflects, the difference is going to come out of your pocket. And beware of padding the price: Turner says Etsy shoppers are well aware of the difference between “shipping” and “shipping and handling” costs, and often move on if they feel they are being charged unfairly.

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/growing-your-business/internetecommerce/blog/2012/10/29/etsy-dos-and-don-ts-how-to-navigate-the-web-s-handmade-heaven

eleanordrury310 October 29, 2012 Today's BusinessEtsy Dos and Don’ts: How to navigate the web’s handmade heaven, Marketing, marketing_strategy, online_marketing 11 Read more >

Up Your Ranking: Six ways your website can move above competitors’ in a Google search

Up Your Ranking: Six ways your website can move above competitors’ in a Google search by Cindy Waxer.

Have you ever conducted a quick Google search of your company’s name? You might be shocked to discover that your website doesn’t even appear in the first few pages of results. In fact, according to a 2012 study entitled “Small Businesses Just Don’t Get SEO,” conducted by Online Marketing Coach, a whopping 62 percent of small businesses don’t even rank on the first page of Google for even one keyword or phrase.

That’s because many entrepreneurs simply don’t understand how Google rankings work. Simply put, a ranking is a series of algorithms Google’s search engine uses to find the most relevant documents for a user query. Results are based on everything from locally relevant content and page links to keywords and authority.
Unfortunately, getting outranked or, even worse, stuck on a page behind your competitors can cost your business hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue and prospects. Luckily, there are ways you can optimize your small business’s website to earn top ranking without having to break the bank on technical bells and whistles.

Just ask Lourdes Balepogi. President of Chispa Marketing, an interactive marketing firm in Miami, Florida, Balepogi says there are a few simple and cost-effective ways growing businesses can boost their company’s Google ranking. Here’s how

1. Don’t judge a website by its cover

Just because your website is appealing to the eye doesn’t mean it’ll earn a high ranking within Google. In fact, a website’s aesthetics have very little bearing on its overall search positioning. Instead, variables such as fresh content, page titles, and navigability are far more likely to influence where your website will surface in a search. “There are sites that are absolutely hideous that make millions of dollars on a monthly basis,” says Balepogi. “In the end, it’s not about how beautiful the site is.”

2. Consider content

The right keywords—words that best describe your business’s products and services—are critical to your website’s ranking. But rather than focus on single keywords, Balepogi believes in the value of selecting keyword phrases. Adding relevant titles to each page on your website can also help as Google displays search results as a link using the page’s title description. Plus, adding a title might just give you a leg up on the competition: an Online Marketing Coach study reports that only 51 percent of small business web sites use home page titles for strategic keywords.

3. Shop for domain names

Purchasing unused domain names can be a cost-effective method for driving more traffic to your site and boosting your search engine ranking. “For example, if you’re a marketing firm in Miami, find out if “www.miamimarketing.com” is available as a domain name,” recommends Balepogi. “If so, I would purchase it and reroute any traffic to my actual marketing company. Repurposing domain names with special keywords is a great and inexpensive strategy.”

4. Embrace social media

By starting a blog that offers consumers everything from tricks of the trade to educational resources, you can significantly increase traffic and boost your Google ranking as a subject matter expert. “If you’re a carpenter, blog about places to find the best wood or teach customers about the different types of wood,” says Balepogi. “These keywords play just as much a factor [in improving a site’s ranking] as a big search engine optimization campaign that you would be paying thousands of dollars for.”

5. Make the proper connections

Google looks at links both to and from a site to determine page rank. That’s because Google considers the words a website uses in its links to help determine the content of Web pages. For this reason, Balepogi recommends that small business owners introduce a healthy number of links – two or three per page – to related sites. Exchange text links with other relevant websites or make a point of including hyperlinks in each blog posting on your site. Just remember: no matter how you choose to incorporate links, make sure you keep them current.

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/growing-your-business/internetecommerce/blog/2012/09/19/up-your-ranking-six-ways-your-website-can-move-above-competitors-in-a-google-search

eleanordrury310 September 21, 2012 Today's Businessentrepreneur, google_keyword, Marketing, online_marketing, optimization, search_engine, search_engine_optimization, seo_relevancy, small_business, social_media_marketing 5 Read more >

Your Online Reputation: Who’s Watching Out for You?

Your Online Reputation: Who’s Watching Out for You?
by Erin McDermott.

“Awful work and unethical business practices! Stay away!”

“I will be sure to tell everyone I know how disgusting this place is.”

“They will suck the money out of you any way they can and do substandard work. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!”

It’s the Wild West of web commentary out there for small businesses today. Cloaked by online anonymity, customers can and do say anything—including the real examples above, for a dry cleaner, a restaurant, and a portrait studio—often leaving trails of remarkably hostile reviews, false allegations, and even shockingly personal attacks.

But in an increasingly digital world, your search results are also your online résumé, written by people you most likely don’t know.

“People have a tendency to hide behind their computer screens and they’re unedited,” says Ruth Ann Wiesner, founder and CEO of RAW Marketing, a social-media management and online marketing consultancy near Chicago. “They don’t take into consideration that they’re hurting a business or an actual person.

Recently, Wiesner had a client dealing with a commenter posting negative comments on a review site. This unhappy customer even went as far as to attack the small-business owner herself—including nasty remarks about her hairstyle and shoes. “That’s not even the business she was in. I mean, why?” Wiesner says.

Often, companies wait until the web or social-network heat hits a boiling point before they make a move to address their online reputation. (And even old-school shops that don’t have a website aren’t immune: Sites like Google Maps, Yelp, Kudzu, YellowPages, epinions and others include any and all businesses, and offer a review function as well.)

If you’ve been procrastinating about protecting your Internet rep, where do you start? Below you’ll find what a few pros suggest to get started.

First rule, don’t fake a review—ever

You’ll get caught. And forget dirty tricks.

Take a deep breath and Google yourself

Don’t wait until the rabble reaches a crisis point. Take a good look: Is your company site the top result during a search of your company name? Is the information you see accurate? Is it positive or negative? If it helps you sleep at night, Internet search experts say only two percent of users ever skim past the top 10 results. But business owners should dig deeper and look down into search-result pages two, three, four and five. You may see a pattern of where certain comments originate. And who knows—you might even see some glowing recommendations, too.

Be proactive

Sign up your business for official Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest accounts. These will be yours to control—including which messages appear on them and which don’t. And be sure to get a Google Alert for your company’s name, as well as your name—that way, as soon as the Google scanners come across new references, an email will pop up in your inbox and identify it to you.

Another thing, and this may be difficult to hear, gentle reader: Several experts advise small businesses to also query their company’s name on Google Alerts with—sad to say—the word “sucks” next to it. “Yep, you read that right,” says Wiesner. “Make sure you are being notified every time someone on the Internet uses your name along with the most preferred way of showing disapproval.” Another tactic to consider—buying that negative URL as it prevents it from falling into the wrong hands.

PQ_OnlineRep.jpgEngage your reviewers—carefully

Keep cool-headed and stay polite when addressing negative comments. Be firm, but offer solutions to problems. Avoid getting sucked into an unending battle with critics.

Still, watch out for “brand terrorists,” says Andrew Barnett of Elasticity, a St. Louis-based firm that manages corporate reputations, marketing, and social media. He once dealt with a bedding retailer who had a customer whose bed remote control stopped working. After a dispute arose about a replacement, Barnett says the customer went on a tear, bad-mouthing the business on nearly two-dozen sites, even warning off would-be customers who were researching a purchase. Eventually, the retailer broke down and got the customer a new remote. “There are plenty of people out there who have figured out that if you complain enough and loudly enough, it can work to [their] advantage,” Barnett says.

Find a pro to help

Reputation-management services work to emphasize positive remarks about a person or company online and diminish negative search results, by addressing problem comments, boosting new content, and reacting to changes in search-engine algorithms.

“You can’t remove negative comments but there are a great many things you can do minimize their effect,” says DeAnne Merey, president of New York’s DM Public Relations, which specializes in crisis management and online-reputation work. “The goal is to balance the entries and dilute their impact. While the solution is not overnight, with the right response these comments will be displaced and moved further down the search results over time.”

But beware: If you engage a reputation-management company and they don’t ask if the allegations online are true, be worried. “If they don’t mind the fact that you’re ripping somebody off, chances are they might be ripping you off, too,” says one industry insider who declined to be named. Ask for references from businesses they’ve worked with and look at those companies’ search results.

Price-wise, reputation-management companies charge anywhere from $200 to $600 a month for small businesses, depending on the type of business and its geographic region. For bigger companies, the services are much more complex, and the price goes up accordingly.

Double down on customer service

It may sound simple, but try to not give your customers reason to complain. Most of the time, when bad things are said, talking directly with the customer can remedy the situation. This also gives customers a great story to tell that will make you look good and help spread positive word-of-mouth.

Sort of like Ruth Ann Wiesner’s client with the nasty commenter. Wiesner said she worked with the owner to respond to the reviews. The commenter actually apologized and, a few days later, even showed up at the business with flowers, saying she didn’t realize how hurtful the comments were until she re-read what she’d written.

The business owner spoke with the customer and gained some new insights on her criticisms. “She said she would put new policies and procedures into place to avoid the bad situation from happening again,” Wiesner said.

But, the business owner added, “I’m not changing my hair style!”

eleanordrury310 May 14, 2012 Today's Businessbrand, business_reputation, customer_rating, customer_reviews, e-commerce, online_branding, online_marketing, online_reputation, online_reviews, rankings, small_business, Your Online Reputation: Who’s Watching Out for You 0 Read more >

Your Online Reputation: Who’s Watching Out for You?

Your Online Reputation: Who’s Watching Out for You?
“Awful work and unethical business practices! Stay away!”