Facebook Tips for Busy Business Owners

Facebook is hot, hot, hot in the social media marketing world right now. If your business isn't on Facebook, it basically doesn't exist. Even if you hardly post on Facebook [which we don't suggest], your company should at least have a company page with basic information. We know that you are super busy, which is why we compiled this list of helpful Facebook marketing tips:

1. Add basic information. [Time spent: 20 minutes]. It takes less than a half hour to get a professional Facebook page up and running. At minimum, add your business location, hours of operation, and a little about the company. Update the cover and profile picture with something unique. 
2. Create a clear "call to action."[Time spent: 5 minutes]. Facebook allows you to customize your profile with a "call to action" such as "reserve now" or "buy here." No matter what your product or service is, you want to convert lookers into buyers. 
3. Schedule weekly posts in advance. [Time spent: 30 minutes]. Scheduling posts for the week can take a little as 30 minutes, if you are really focused. Taking the time to sit down and plot out what you wanted posted for the week will save you a great deal of stress in the long run. 
4. Boost posts. [Time spent: 5 minutes]. Facebook is a business and it wants to make money too. Unfortunately, in order to get your name out there, you may have to pay to promote. Don't spend money randomly, boost important posts that are likely to give you a return on your money.
5. Expand your reach. [Time spent: 15 minutes]. The amount of shares and likes your post gets is certainly important, but the scope of the reach is more relevant. Facebook is all about community and the algorithm loves when your company shares posts by other people. Whenever you come across a relevant post by a fellow page or business, share it to your own wall and watch the views rise!  

Still sound like too much time? Don't worry! eMarketing247 would love to help your business achieve social media success on a budget!

Social Media Marketing Do's and Don'ts!

The impact of social media marketing on today's business environment is anything but simple! Your business must engage with consumers on many levels in order to attract their attention and keep it. Don't underestimate the enormous value that social media adds to your business website, as well as your brick and mortar presence. For your online marketing assistance, we put together this handy chart on the helpful do's and don'ts relating to successful social media marketing:

Still sound tricky? Luckily, eMarketing247 offers comprehensive social media management services. Visit our website and find out more information regarding this feature.

2 Online Branding Secrets

No matter what industry you are in, your identity as a business is crucial to your revenue and longevity. Consumers are driven by emotions and instant gratification, so being in the right place at the right time is a must. Just as you want to be found at the top of the page during a Google search, you also want to be known as a reputable provider in your industry. Branding is the means by which you build this persona and excellent public relations is the key to maintaining your good name.

If your business has a brick and mortar location, it is essential that this site is kept as clean, tidy, and professional as possible. You could have the best website in the world, but when a client arrives at your business, they will remember that fences were torn, or that the restroom was not spotless. You want your business to showcase your brand both on and offline.

Since this is 2015, your business better have at least one social media profile. You do? Great! You don't? Probably should get on that! Branding your company on social media is important, but customer service should not be sacrificed. If an angry customer comes into your store, you address their issue immediately and take care of the problem at hand. Often times on social media, brands will ignore customer complaints and bad reviews for days, sometimes never responding! This is equivalent to telling your customer to sit outside your business for three days before you discuss their issue. Respond as soon as possible so that other customers see that you are serious about your company's image. 

A little confused about all of this online branding stuff? We will show you the ropes and explain exactly how to accomplish this. Contact us today to get started! 

Free Cups and Cold Beer At Freedom Fest 2015

We aren't kidding about the beer and cups! eMarketing247 is giving away FREE solo cups with your purchase of beer at this weekend's Freedom Fest in Oldsmar. This is Freedom Fest's 6th consecutive year remembering those whose lives were sacrificed in service this Memorial Day Weekend.

The event will run from Friday the 22nd through Sunday the 24th, and will feature live music, food, drinks, vendors, and games for all ages. Lucky for you, you will be able to purchase discounted cups of chilled Budweiser. That's right! Premium beer for a cheap price in a reusable eMarketing247 solo cup that you can cherish forever!

Over the course of Freedom Fest, you will have a chance to score a FREE Asus tablet! Simply toss your business card in our fish bowl and you might be walking away with some new technology come Sunday afternoon!


A $2 donation is suggested to enter this event. To find out more information about Oldsmar's Freedom Fest, please visit their website! 

We hope to see you there!

4 Reasons Why E-Mail Marketing is Still Important

Sure all this talk about social media, updated content, SEO etc. is extremely important to be competitive in today's business environment, but your business shouldn't forget about email marketing! Many people believe that email marketing is outdated, however, this is far from the truth. Here are just a few reasons why sending out emails to customers and potential clients is still important:

• You can reach today's mobile audience.  According to Google, 1 in 7 searches were done on a mobile device in 2013. This number rose 50% in 2014. You see where we are going with this! Emails can be opened on any kind of mobile devices, from tablets to cell phones, and don't cost customers a dime...like receiving text messages sometimes does. 
• It's a great way to offer coupons! Sure, you probably offer coupons straight on your website, but in today's busy world, customers may not have the time to seek out coupons. If the discount is sent straight to their inbox and is opened right in front of their very eyes, they will notice your coupon and will be more likely to visit your business/website and make a purchase.
• It's cheap. Email marketing is inexpensive, and sometimes even free, depending on how you go about it. Whether you are paying to print a traditional paper advertisement, or paying Facebook/social media to "boost" your posts, chances are you are spending a decent amount of money. With email marketing, you can save big!
• It helps create conversions.  The whole purpose of marketing is to convert people from "looking" at your product or service to actually purchasing it! This is called a conversion! Emails are a great way to create conversions because they ask the reader to do something, whether it is sign up, forward, buy now etc. When leveraged properly, email marketing can drive sales! 

Need help starting your own email marketing campaign? eMarketing247 can help! 

SEO vs. Social Media

Here at eMarketing247...we are always looking to educate our clients, employees, and friends. 

Check out this fantastic article we found by Travis Bliffen...we couldn't agree more!

If you have the time or budget to use SEO in conjunction with social media optimization, doing so will allow you to reach the broadest possible audience. If your time and budget limit put you in a positon of having to choose, here is some information that will help you do so intelligently.

1. BrightEdge conducted a study in 2014 that indicated 51 percent of website traffic across their study group came from organic search compared to 5 percent from social media. Even more shocking, when narrowed down to service based sites, organic search accounted for 73 percent of all traffic!  (BrigthEdge)

2. Facebook has an average visitor to lead rate of .98 percent. SEO has a visitor to lead rate of over 14 percent. (Hubspot)

3. Organic Facebook posts only reach an average of 12 percent of your followers. Appearing in the top three in Google organic search results in an average click-through rate (CTR) of 60 percent. Put simply, five times as many people will click an organic result as will even see a Facebook post! (TechCrunch & SeoBook)

4. Imagine this, you wake up to a massive leak in your roof. You just moved to the area and don’t know who to call. What do you do? If you are like over 60 percent of others surveyed by Econsultancy you use Google to find a company. (Econsultancy)

5. What about forecasting? Readily available tools such as the Google Keyword Planner allow you to easily see the average monthly search volume for keywords. Using industry averages, you can take the search traffic and accurately estimate total site traffic for a new campaign. Unfortunately, traffic forecasting is not easy to do for a new social media campaign.

6. What about YouTube? Many of you already know that YouTube is the second largest search engine. While some may argue that YouTube is a social site, SEO is a powerful way to market videos as well. If you are not familiar with YouTube SEO, you can learn more about that in our recent post covering how to generate quick search traffic.

Again, social media can be a great addition to a comprehensive marketing plan but if you are looking to maximize your ROI on every marketing dollar spent, SEO is where you should be investing.

 Lucky for you, eMarketing247 can help you reach SEO success. Contact us today to get started!

Why Your Business Needs Video Marketing!!

She's enjoying watching a video. Your customers can too!

Video marketing is SO important for your business because videos involve visual recognition, credibility, and trust. The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words, but videos combine thousands of pictures to form movement. What could be better? In addition, people love watching videos because they are fast and easy.

Why not improve your business by adding video? Don't trust us? Give our podcast on video marketing a listen and see if you agree. We bet we can change your mind in under 7 minutes!!


LISTEN HERE

3 Crucial Marketing Trends for 2015

Mobile is bigger than ever before!

2015 is upon us, and, if you haven't already, it is time to start researching and implementing the top marketing trends for this next year. Luckily for you, we have got everything you need at your fingertips! Check out some of the this years biggest trends:

• Content Marketing will be bigger this year than ever before! If you don't have stellar content on your website, your online presence, and, in turn, your business, will suffer. Content must be relevant to search engines and potential customers who are Googling your product or service, and it must be constantly updated. Don't have this kind of time? Let eMarketing24/7's team of trained professionals do all the work! 
• Mobile-friendly technology will be crucial. In 2015, having a mobile-friendly website is a must. Although people still search using computers, many surf the web on the go, and are tired of navigating websites that aren't mobile friendly. Chances are, if your website isn't customized to fit the mobile environment, potential customers will continue their search somewhere that is more convenient. Luckily for you, eMarketing has created and maintained tons of mobile friendly websites, so we are well-equipped to help your business succeed.
• SEO and Social must work together. Here at eMarketing, we have been saying and doing this for years, and we are excited that the rest of the world is finally catching on! Social media, such as Facebook and blogs, can be tied to websites and products in order to increase Search Engine Optimization. The amount of "likes" and "views" that a post gains will help search engines determine how relevant it is to people looking for similar products. Want to learn more about how to tie your SEO and social media together? Contact us and we will get you started! 

Why Do You Need a New Website?

Many business owners ask "why do I need a new website when mine seems to be just fine?" Well, a website gives potential customers their first impression of your business. If your website is "just fine" instead of "spectacular," potential customers will get the impression that your business is only average. Definitely not what you were going for, right?

We have so much to say on this subject that it would take three days to write it all down. Instead, we made this short video for you to watch so that you can understand the importance of a new website!

Take a look:

Making so many changes to an existing website is almost like ripping out the seam on a pair of pants, and trying to sew them back together. Sometimes it is just better to start fresh and build and entirely new and improved version of your original website. Your customers will thank you!

Welcome to eMarketing247

Hello!!

We are thrilled to welcome you to our new and improved blog! We know you have never heard of us before and that is exactly why we want to teach you. Let's get started!

Most business owners have an idea for where they want to take their brand online, but they don't know how to carry that vision through to success. Thankfully, eMarketing247 is a premier internet marketing company created to provide you with top-of-the-line products and services so you don't have to worry about where your business will be in the year 2020! No matter what your marketing goals are, we want to help fulfill your needs. 

We have so much to offer your business that we couldn't possibly write it all down, so we created a video about just one service that we offer! Pretty neat, huh? This service is extremely important in today's changing business world so we thought you would like to know more about it!! Take a look:

After you watch it, take a moment to check out our lovely new website and stay tuned for more exciting blog posts in the neat future.

Thank you for stopping by!

-eMarketing247