At Marcy Design are occasionally asked whether we think there are any “rules” to the relatively new game of social media marketing and website design. While it’s just coming into vogue, and constantly changing and evolving, there are two that always come to mind. The first is that every company and marketer needs to give social media a try. You can’t win, as they say, if you don’t play, and that’s definitely true on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites. And Auttr is fast becoming the social network of choice for auto dealers.
The second rule? Share early and often.
By sharing, we mean that you need to be a constant source of content. Whether it’s news, press releases, or especially blog posts and articles, it’s important that you don’t keep your ideas to yourself. Writing, video, and audio clips all help you build a strong and healthy social media profile – not to mention a steady list of clients, friends, and interested prospective customers.
Why is your content so important? For one thing, it makes it easier for people to find you. So long as you’re keeping your posts, updates, and articles focused on different aspects of your industry, or topics that matter to your customers, they are going to feature a lot of the keywords and key phrases that you are likely to be concentrating on for your search engine optimization campaign. That’s important, because Google, Yahoo, and Bing are all beginning to emphasize social media content more heavily, so a steady stream of updates could help you climb to the top of the search engine listings.
The more immediate, and important, reason is that the more content you add, the more there is for your colleagues and clients to look at, or even pass along. An interesting piece of industry news, advance notice of a new product with special pricing, or some exclusive advice from a professional is almost always bound to catch someone’s eye. If that person happens to be someone who already buys from you, then they will be more likely to keep doing so in the future; if they’re currently working with someone else, you might make them wonder if it’s time to look at making a change.
Of course, for any of this to work, you don’t just need content… you need quality content. The old tactic of “article marketing” with chunks of copy that read like infomercial scripts no longer carries much weight. Online readers and customers are far more savvy – and a lot less patient – than they have ever been before. To catch and hold their attention, you need to come up with ideas that are different, interesting, and that matter to them.
Remember that as you craft material to add to your social media accounts and profiles; a video or piece of writing is only interesting in a way that matters if it answers some question your customers have.
Wish you had some professional-grade help putting together your content, updating your social media profiles, or turning your online marketing efforts into more bottom line results? At Marcy Design, we’ve helped dozens of businesses just like yours, so contact us today to see what we can do for you.
Pronounced “Otter,” Auttr is the first and only social media site devoted exclusively to the auto industry. Like Facebook or Twitter, you can find friends and colleagues, and create a profile. But unlike these other sites, Auttr gives you access to tools and contacts that can help you with your business, career, or car search.
Here are just a few of the things you can do on Auttr:
- Search hundreds of thousands of cars in dealer inventories
- Become a smarter car buyer with educational articles and tips
- Find best practices and regulatory information for dealerships
- Read posts and check out videos from auto industry experts
- Create and share professional profiles
- Catch up on national and international auto news
In other words, Auttr is a place for car buyers, dealers, and industry experts to come together. Whether you are looking to buy a car or sell one, get the best deal for your money, or learn to operate your dealership more efficiently, you are sure to find just what you’re looking for on Auttr. And Auttr has a new website design to make navigation easier.
As hot topics go, it’s hard to beat social media, website design and networking. Just as search engines hit a “critical mass” several years ago when they became the stepping stones to the rest of the web, sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Auttr are now many people’s first and most frequent stops when they go online.
That’s a tidal wave that’s hundreds of millions of users strong. Given that nearly everyone you know, from your family members to your best clients, is using social media, it’s offering businesses and professionals an unprecedented opportunity to make important connections.
Unfortunately, many companies are missing out.
That’s because, even though they see the value in using social network marketing, they aren’t using these sites like marketers. In other words, they’re approaching their relationships and communications with customers and potential customers they same way they do the people they know in their personal lives. Or, worse yet, they’re not employing any strategy at all.
Here are five tips for using social media to find new business:
Follow your business plan. Whatever your normal, everyday strategy for gaining buyers is, make sure your social media efforts mirror that. If you need to drive customers to a retail store, use posts and updates to invite people in; if you compete by offering better service than your competitors, be sure to highlight that service in your profile. The point is to use social media to highlight your competitive strengths, just as you would in any other marketing environment.
Be in business. As we mentioned, it’s easy for business owners and professionals to fall into the trap of being overly “social.” There’s nothing wrong with showing off your personality or sense of humor, but try to let your customers, and potential customers, see you as a vendor, not someone who is overly goofy.
Treat social media like an online networking event. Just as in the offline world, the key to making the right connections is in showing up ready to meet people, being interested in others, and being polite. Introduce yourself to as many people as possible, and pay attention to those who want to meet you – you never know how close you might be to a big account.
Post and update frequently. It’s pretty easy to tell the people who are really interested in social media, and the ones who want to do the bare minimum to show they’re in business. Stay involved with your social media profiles, updates and messages. Have a little bit of fun with them. The more frequently you stay go online and stay involved, the easier it’s going to be for colleagues and potential clients to find you.
Link back to your site and dealership. Remember, your social media profiles don’t have to exist, and work, all on their own. Make it easier for people to click through to your website, or even visit your retail store – you’ll have an easier time forging a business relationship once your contacts have had a chance to see you the way your current customers do.
Need help advancing – or creating – your social media marketing plan? Find out how Marcy Design can help.
I’ve been letting our customers know for some time how important Mobile Technology and Social Media are to their website design and online marketing efforts. Below is an article from Inc. that offers great statistics that should open your eyes about your efforts as well. It’s time for you to take full advantage of the potential of your online marketing.
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I’m picturing a big venn diagram in my head as I write this. One circle is the mobile web and the other is the social web. The overlap seems to be getting bigger by the day with the outer parts of the circles getting smaller. Case in point; Facebook!
Facebook announced some new mobile features this week (for example one step sign-in). However buried in the fine print they let it drop that out of the 500 million Facebook users, 200 million are now actively accessing through mobile devices. 200 million is triple the number from just a year ago.
If you were to graph this, the trajectory of this trend would look like a hockey stick.
Throw in location based services like Facebook’s new “Places” feature (their answer to Foursquare) into the mix and you can expect this to be a very long-handled hockey stick.
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1001 Ways, Web Site Design•
on November 2nd, 2010•
Recently, a new client asked an interesting question; for all the talk about search engine optimization (SEO), what makes it such an important part of a new web design?
Rather than go on and on about online profitability, increases in visits to their company’s pages, greater competitiveness, and other details, we decided to take a different track and answer his question with a question – why does it matter where a restaurant is located?
For most business owners, the answer is pretty obvious; because if you’re too far out of the way, no one is coming to eat. Yes, you need good food, a friendly staff, and to have a menu that seems like a good value, but those things only matter if there are people coming through the front door. Even the best eatery is going to go out of business if you have to drive hours from town through winding, unmarked roads to find it.
That’s about as good an answer as we could give you when it comes to SEO – without good, optimized content, it’s going to be hard for people to find your website. It won’t matter what you sell, how you price it, or who you’re trying to sell it to… none of that is important until you find a way to attract Internet traffic.
Effective search engine optimization is like taking your business, virtually speaking, from an empty side street to a bustling metropolis. Regardless of what you sell, it can help you bring many times more customers to your front door. In fact, it’s even better than a prime location, since it only brings you visitors who have indicated (by what they’ve put into the search engine) that they have an interest in what you are offering. In other words, it’s not just about getting more potential customers or clients, but better ones at the same time.
If that wasn’t enough of a reason for you to be interested in search engine documentation, consider this; it doesn’t only help new customers find you, but existing ones, too. To go back to our restaurant analogy, what if your favorite place to eat moved to new location? You might continue to go there if you knew the address, but you also might not – especially if there were dozens of other very similar restaurants you had to drive by to find where it had gone.
Knowing how important it is to bring visitors to your website, the key question might not be why it’s so important to have search engine optimization be a part of your new design, but rather whether any website could even be a good investment without SEO. After all, a business with no customers is sure to be a losing proposition, so doesn’t it make sense to do everything you can to keep the buyers showing up as often as possible?
What it really comes down to it, search engine optimization isn’t just about web design, it’s about marketing – and that’s something every business needs, online or off, to keep the cash register ringing.
Web design and search engine optimization go hand-in-hand. Don’t forget to utilize Auttr.com to improve the SEO of your business website well.
For most companies, periodic reviews are a must, when it comes to keeping things on track and moving projects forward. While larger companies might rely on formal meetings and audits, smaller businesses and self-employed professionals typically keep things lower key, preferring to review the books, and future plans, with a cup of coffee or during a long weekend.
Regardless of how you and your company look things over, however, there are likely to be ongoing changes. It might be that your marketing plan isn’t yielding the results you’d hoped, or that you’re ready to roll out some new products. How do you know what kind of changes you should make to your website?
Contrary to what you might expect, we are not going to advise you to redesign your home page every time you decide to try something new. Much as we would love to have the work, there are times when big changes just aren’t warranted. What we will advise you, though, is to remember that in many ways your website is the most important part of your business… and certainly your most prominent marketing piece.
That means that any time your business plan gets a big overhaul, some parts of your company’s website design probably should, too. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Pricing and product info should always be current. If you decide to make a major change to what you sell, or the way you price it, update your site to reflect those changes immediately. It’s a never a good idea to have customers find inaccurate information on your site.
Form should follow function. A lot of business owners and marketing managers get too attached to current designs. We can understand: if something has been working for a while, why be in a hurry to change it? That’s not a bad way to think, but it’s more important that your site show visitors what your company is all about, especially if it’s changing.
Different is good… follow your own instincts. Just because a competitor changed up their site, or even their whole business, doesn’t mean it’s going to make much sense for you. Make sure that your business plan (and your website) stays in line with your business plan, not your competitor’s.
You can’t know until you test. A good web design team can help you test different layouts and ideas to see what your customers like best. That’s important, because the best options aren’t always clear until you’ve had a chance to test drive them.
Your website can be a great place to recruit. If your new business plan calls for expansion, don’t forget to post job openings on your company’s site. Often, your best employees can come from your customers – since they already know and like your company, its products, and the way you do business – so don’t miss the chance to bring some of them into your team.
If you’re in the process of writing your next business plan, or wishing your website had kept up with the changes you made the last time around, give us a call and find out how Marcy Design can help.
When was the last time you heard anyone say they wanted to buy anything?
Unless you have a spouse or child that really likes to shop, it probably wasn’t that recently. Few of us look forward to spending money, and even fewer enjoy the process of finding and selecting the right product or service. We live in a world where not only everything just seems too expensive, but where it’s increasingly difficult to find the exact product or service we’re looking for. There are lots of choices, but very few real answers.
Believe it or not, this isn’t just a problem for buyers.
As online marketers, we feel the same pinch, indirectly. The folks who visit our sites, whether they’re doing so for personal or professional reasons, aren’t in a mood to be sold anything. Instead, they’re online because they have a problem that needs to be solved, and usually they don’t know where to look.
You have probably experienced this sensation – and frustration – many times yourself. The only way it ends is when you either give up, or finally locate the resource you were looking for online. So, as someone who wants to see their company’s sales grow, what should you make of this insight?
The answer is clear: don’t set up your site to sell anything; instead, let it solve your customers’ problems. This is a subtle, but important shift in philosophy. Instead of writing overbearing sales copy, for example, post articles and product descriptions that help people make the best choices. Rather than leading them to an endless line of “buy now” buttons, offer video tutorials and product guides.
The best websites make a lot of money, but not usually because they are only focused on moving products and collecting credit card numbers… it’s because they help people find the answers they need. And website design plays an important role. If that sounds like an element that might be missing from your webpages, contact Marcy Design today to see how we can help.
When most auto dealers look at a new web design, or decide to upgrade what they have, their thoughts turn to flashy photos, stylish fonts, and quality content management systems. Those are good ideas, since they’ll help you sell autos, but there are other things that factor in to the effectiveness of your dealership’s site, too.
One of those things – and one that’s often overlooked by dealers and web designers alike – is the writing on your pages.
After visitors have been blown away by your great design, stunning photos, and unbeatable reputation, they’re still going to have to read about your dealership and cars you are selling. Paying a bit of attention to what you put on those pages can give you a leg up on the competition.
Here are three tips to get more mileage out of the copy on your dealership website:
Tell a story. It’s almost cliché to say that people buy cars for emotional reasons… but that doesn’t make it any less true. If you can describe your autos in a way that makes it easy for buyers to see themselves in them, that will translate into more people on your lot.
Emphasize the positives. It goes without saying that every model of car – every shape, color, price, and performance profile – makes it a good fit for somebody. Learn to describe those benefits on your website the same way you would to a shopper.
Don’t go over the top. At the same time, no one wants to feel like they’re being oversold, so take care to ensure that the language you use doesn’t go too far. Point out what’s great about a certain model, and then let it speak for itself.
Too many dealers fail to put a lot of thought into the copy on their website, which is too bad, because it keeps buyers who might have otherwise been interested from checking them out. Follow these tips and be sure your dealership’s web copy is giving you an edge. Or, if you really want revved up results, talk to Marcy Design about giving your site a tune-up – it’s a great way to increase sales.
When we sit down with a new client to talk about a web design project, lots of topics come up naturally: Topics such as branding, online revenue, social media, and hosting platforms, to name a few.
But one thing that’s mentioned surprisingly less-often is the company’s current image and profile… or the one they would like to have.
Much of the time, of course, it’s thought of an off-hand way, usually as part of the overall look and feel, or the incorporation of a logo and photos. But even so, it’s odd that a lot of business owners don’t think about the way they want their site to be perceived – especially when a website is usually the company’s most important way of presenting itself to the world.
And so, with that in mind, we would invite you to spend some time thinking about not only what your site says, but what it says about you as a business, no matter what stage of the design process you’re in. Here are a few questions to get you started:
Are you heavy on flash, style, or substance? Contrary to popular belief, there’s nothing wrong with emphasizing any of these. Do clothing designers worry about their content, or the “tone” of their writing? Of course not; they’re all about giving you something with glitz, and it works for them.
On the other hand, if you sell something that’s highly technical, or needs lots of explanation, it’s probably better to have a site that leaves people feeling more informed than they were in the past. The point isn’t that any one idea or feel works best, but that it should be consistent with the feeling you want people to have when they visit your pages.
Is your website a good reflection of your company off-line? Naturally, there’s a fine line here. If you work at home in your pajamas, there is no need to share that with the buying public. But at the same time, your website should feel like an extension of your company’s culture and personality.
Does your new design reflect your future ambitions? Likewise, if there is a direction you want to take your business that is different, but your site is stuck in the past, then you’re going to have a problem making the transition to reality. Remember, your company’s website is going to be the first – and often last – part of the business people are going to see, so make sure they get a taste of what you are, or what you’re trying to become – not the way you worked years ago.
Your website can be a profitable part of your business whether it has all the latest tricks and tools, or features a few pages of simple, clean layouts. Either one, or anything in between, is fine – but only if it accurately fits your company’s image.
Need help with your website design so it’s more in line with your branding vision? Contact Marcy Design today and we’ll walk you through the process start to finish.
Twitter has grown from an interesting social media platform to a full-out revolution in news and opinions. What started with a relatively bland set of 140 character messages has grown into the preferred way for celebrities, musicians, and other “A-Listers” to broadcast their most recent news, pictures, and musings to the world. We’ve got athletes tweeting during games, reporters logging on in the midst of developing stories, and noted authorities carrying on long debates back and forth in short bursts.
But how does that help you – a marketer or self-employed professional trying to get your social profiles off the ground? How do you gain Twitter followers if you aren’t already a known name?
You don’t have to be on the cover of a magazine to get fans and followers online. In fact, here are three things you can do to get more Twitter followers today:
Develop laser-like focus. As with search engine optimization, or any kind of online marketing, really, the best way to attract attention is to first figure out who’s attention you’d like to attract. By tightly defining your audience, you make it a lot easier to reach them effectively.
Bring followers in from the outside. If you already have a website, blog, Facebook profile, or other existing web presences, encourage those people to link to your Twitter account. It’s easier to get followers when you already have a few, so start with the people you already know.
Tweet early, often, and with a lot of flair. Here comes the hard part: no one is going to follow you if you seem just like everyone else. People are drawn to interesting ideas and personalities. Make sure your account is a steady stream of information, insight, or at least a different point of view. Put out enough eye-catching ideas, and your following will soon take on a life of its own.
Wish your business was using Twitter more effectively? Talk to Marcy Design about our social media marketing services.
