5 Tips for Marketing your New Business

Just starting a business? New to marketing yourself? Check out some of our suggestions on how to break into marketing as a small business:

1. Claim your social media. Have a business name? That is enough to claim your Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Google+ username. Even if you don't have time to launch a full social media campaign, claim your account now before it is too late.
2. Give stuff away for free. Generate excitement about your new product or service by giving it away! New ice cream stand? Give away a free small cone for a weekend. The possibilities for giveaway options are endless and don't have to be costly to your company. Getting your name out there will be worth it!
3. Leverage email marketing. Emails are completely free to send. If you are a new business, chances are your email base is small, so you can start by using a simple Gmail account. Keep all customer information in a tidy Excel sheet for future use. Email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools available for new businesses. 
4. Understand your customers. No matter what marketing plan you choose, put yourself in the shoes of your customers and consider what you would want from your company if you were a consumer. Think about why your customers need your product or service and then hone your strategy accordingly.
5. Well-designed website. This may go without saying, but it is essential to have a well-crafted website. Customers stay on a website for an average of 3 seconds. If they do not find what they are looking for in that time, chances are, they will leave your page for a competitor. Spend a few extra bucks and get a website that is worth your money!

Don't know where to start? Contact eMarketing247 and we will get you started! We can help you with whatever you need, from SEO and Social, to website building and PPC! 

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!

Content Marketing is Crucial

Translate all of this information to a successful content marketing strategy! 

The saying "content is king" is SO important when it comes to online business marketing. In order to have a successful online presence, your business must have content that is beneficial to your customer's experience, while still having relevant keywords that help your business to be found by internet search engines.

While many businesses try to find a good content marketing balance, few have actually succeeded. Here at eMarketing 247, we want YOU to be one of the successful companies! That is why we created Content Content Content, a podcast about, you guessed it, CONTENT!

During our podcast, we address pressing questions such as:

• Does content marketing even matter?
• How long do customers stay on a webpage?
• Is content just for aesthetic purposes?
• How can you have content outside your website?
• How can you update your website often to have new and exciting content?
• Do you have any success stories to share?

Beat your competitors by updating your content NOW! Not sure? We will show you how!

LISTEN TO OUR CONTENT MARKETING PODCAST HERE!

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

Questions and Answers about Social Media Marketing

Do you feel like everyone is talking about how social media is important for businesses? Have you always wondered why? Is it even worth the effort for smaller companies? eMarketing247 is going to answer all of your questions! So, let's get started:

•  Why is social media marketing important?Well, first off, social media is FREEE and it offers businesses increased exposure! Sure, having great SEO and content on a business website helps, but creating a social media page on Facebook, twitter, Google+, Instagram etc., helps get the word out even more! Who knows when a customer might stumble along and find the company!Social media is also extremely helpful as an avenue of communication. Instead of having to call or email a company when customers have a problem, they can simply comment directly on a social media page, such as Facebook. These comments may even spark conversations with other customers as well, who may have had a similar experience, or who are interested in the product!
• So if customers post a negative complaint about the service/product, what should the company do? The first thing is to RESPOND! We cannot begin to stress this enough! If there is no response on the social media site, then it just proves that the company doesn’t care about their customers. The customer who posted the negative comment looks “informed” and the company looks like it isn't on top of things. Even if the company DOES care about customers, actions speak louder than words! If a company catches a comment in time it is best to respond immediately. Normally there is a 24 hour “grace” period, but after that it looks like the company does not care at all.
• Well, can’t the company just respond privately to the unhappy customer?NO! If the company responds to the customer privately, they still have to put something on the social media site acknowledging that. If other customers/potential customers see that a company did not respond promptly, they will take notice! Responding quickly and effectively to customers is key!
• Hopefully, not everyone who posts is going to be unhappy though! Right? Exactly! Social media is perfect for building a loyal fan base for businesses. Potential and returning customers are able to follow the business on social media and interact with the company on a daily or weekly business. By simply having a social media presence, a company becomes more “real” to a customer who will see it almost every day. Once a company has loyal fans, it is going to want to reward them!
• Reward them how? Like with free stuff? Sure! A company can use social media as an avenue to present special offers to loyal followers and fans. Maybe this special offer is a discount or a buy one get one free coupon. The options are endless! 
• Okay, but is it really worth the time for small businesses to do social media? Yes! It is totally worth it, especially since creating social media profiles is totally free! As I explained above, customers will be able to interact with a company on a daily basis, be first in line for “secret” rewards, and have the option to contact the company right from their Facbeook!
• What type of content should small businesses post on social media? eMarketing247 likes to post links, videos, blogs, and articles related to the businesses that we manage. For example, when we manage social media that is related to cruising, some days we will share our own blog posts or videos, and some days we will share, for example, “Time Magazine’s 10 tips for better cruising.” Businesses should share whatever they think is applicable to their business audience.
• Okay so only business related stuff! Got it.Well, not exactly. Business related stuff is great most of the time, but companies don’t want to bore customers with posts ONLY related to one thing. Throw in some “thank goodness its Friday” pictures and interesting links for a change!   
• What are some ways that businesses can gain more followers on social media? Well, simply posting consistently will help drive exposure! If people like what a business is posting, they will share it with their friends or retweet it to their followers. In addition, People love free/discounted things. Businesses can make special offers only on social media or do drawings or competitions on social media. Current followers may share or retweet to their followers, who may love the content and BAM you just gained another follower. There are so many possibilities! The company just has to be creative!

We hope that we were able to answer some of your frequently asked questions, and hope that we provided you with some insight about social media marketing! Please visit our website for more information about our social media marketing services! 

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! 

Holiday Marketing Tips

Looking to successfully market your small business this holiday season? eMarketing247 wants to help you maximize your profits by sharing some insider tips and tricks! Here are five holiday marketing tips to get your sales on the role:

1. Create Limited Time Offers. Limited time offers encourage customers to buy now since the deal won't be around forever. Creating limited time offers during the holiday season is a perfect way to entice consumers to make a purchase for that special someone on their Christmas list. 
2. Highlight your Specialty. In business, you always want to highlight what makes your business special. This concept becomes even more important during the holiday season, when shoppers are simply looking for the fastest, cheapest deal. Use marketing to tell your customers why your product is better/cheaper/higher quality than a similar product found at Walmart or a department store. 
3. Hire Santa to come to your Business. Own a brick-and-mortar store? Hire a Santa to come to your store and offer free holiday pictures. This strategy works even better if your business is located in a shopping district, such as Tampa Bay, Florida's "Hyde Park Village" or "Ybor City" areas. Potential customers will come for Santa but may stay for your business.
4. Host a "12 Days of Christmas" sale. Offer a different discount, deal, coupon, giveaway etc. for twelve consecutive days prior to Christmas. This is a great way to spotlight different products and generate a buzz about your business. 
5. Take Clients out to Lunch. Run a business-to-business company? Instead of hosting a corporate holiday party for all of your business clients, take each client out to lunch individually. This way, you will get one-on-one time with each client while saving some money at the save time. 

Don't have time to do a lot of extra marketing for 2015? Let eMarketing247 take the reigns and promote your business to further success. Please visit our website or contact us here! 

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