Blog Archives
14 Best Places Your Business Should Be Found Online
We all know our business should be online, but where do we start? After a website and Facebook page, now what am I suppose to do? I have compiled a list of the best places you and your business should be listed online. Keep in mind, there are a TON of other places you should be listed as well, like directories, for example, but this list is of the top sites you should check out. Sites listed with a blue check mark also have a an iPhone/Android app…even more reasons!
1. Website – Everyone in business needs a website…NEXT!
2. Blog – WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger(Ideally connected to your website). You don’t need to be a writer to blog, but blogging about your business or industry creates a buzz, gets you noticed, and makes you the expert in your field.
3. Facebook Business Page - Make sure your business is a “page” and not a “profile”. Oh yeah and USE IT! √
4. Twitter - Yes, you want to be there. Period. √
5. LinkedIn – A social place for business, post your bio, upload your resume, make business contacts, create a business page, join groups, find jobs/employees and more. √
6. Yelp .com– A user review site that integrates Google maps, allows users to post pictures, rate, and review. √
7. Four Square – Using the GPS system in your phone to tell where you are located, users “check in” at these locations. Free advertising for you and (hopefully) perks for them. √
8. YouTube –Create your own commercials, how to videos, or vlog and ‘Broadcast Yourself √
9. LetsLunch.com – Great face-to-face networking tool, get on board!
10. Google + – Google’s answer to Facebook and Twitter…and then some √
11. Itsmyurls.com – Your entire online presence in one place
12. Instagram – Free photo sharing app where you’ll find a whole new following online √
13. Pinterest – A virtual pin board for the visual side of your business √
14. Google Places/Maps – It’s Google, don’t fight it. √
Did I miss any great ones? What are your “must have” online locations? Tell me in the comments below, I would LOVE to check them out and pass it along!
Thanks For Sharing!
25 Signs You Are a Social Media Addict
1) You wake up and reach for your iPhone before turning the alarm clock off
2) It’s 3pm and you just now realize you haven’t eaten anything.
3) You make a deal with yourself to do push ups and sit ups every time you get up from your computer so that you can say you “worked out” today.
4) Your computer over heats every now and then due to the 23 windows you have open on Chrome
5) Your teenager says you use Facebook more than he and his friends combined.
6) You have been the mayor of Walmart, Starbucks, and your church at least once
7) Your ultimate goal is to be the mayor of the Apple store
8 ) You know what a “drive by” is and understand it has nothing to do with guns
9) You have more friends than people you actually know
10) When searching for a business you search Facebook before Google
11) You are slightly bothered when nobody mentions you on #FF
12) “Checking in” is a crucial as buckling your seat belt
13) Your dog has his own Fan page
14) Facebook has warned you against making too many friends, and you were actually scared.
15) Tweeting while in the sauna at the gym is no big deal
16) You don’t understand why anyone would delete their account because they need a break from Facebook
17) Something funny or annoying happens to you and your first thought is to blog/post/tweet about it.
18) You stopped paying attention to Facebook event invites last year
19) You had the new Facebook timeline back in 2011
20) You get excited when you get promoted on Empire Avenue
21) Klout just ticks you off
22) You blog using your phone while on a road trip
23) Halftime means update your status and tweet about how your team is playing, then check in to “on my sofa watching the game” and hope there is a badge for that.
24) You’re thinking you could add a few to this list
25) You will definitely repost/re-tweet this
Click the pic!
Summer Vacation
Social media is a constant, 24 hours a day medium. It never stops. So when it comes to marketing via social media, you can’t stop either. Or can you?
It’s now mid August, school is about to start (for us on Monday) and I have 4 teenagers and a husband who travels regularly for work overseas. My social media efforts have no doubt been lacking the last 2 weeks and this week especially. In fact I have not been on the computer in 2 1/2 days with the exception of my iPhone, and thank heavens for THAT little piece of technology!
I didn’t even go on vacation this summer!
My point is…Well, I don’t really have a point actually but things will be back to normal on Monday, thank goodness! It’s hard to blog, video blog, and play on Facebook and Twitter when I have kids running around screaming their heads off. Oh that’s right, I’m not suppose to let them act like that….well, I’m out numbered. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it!
See ya next week! 
20 Places You and Your Business Should Be Listed On The Web In 2011
Earlier this year I wrote a blog about sprouting legs so Google can find you and if you haven’t read it, please do so here. The point of that blog and this blog for that matter is to help you get noticed by Google. SEO practices, pictures and videos, and good content help Google, or new customers, to find you but you also need to be everywhere you possibly can be. While most businesses may have a website and hopefully have a Facebook page, that is only a couple of places for Google to reach out and find you. However, if you are listed in 20 different places, guess who begins to rank higher on Google? You, hence the term web crawling! It’s no secret what these sites are, you just have to look for them, but they can be a bit time consuming. That’s where I step in. One of the services I offer to business owners is a set up package which sets them up on about 15+ different online platforms. But today the list will be given to you FREE OF CHARGE, you just have to invest your time. Have fun! Now go sprout some legs and start running…you never know who is chasing you!
- Facebook Business Page – Make sure you set this up correctly and NOT as a personal profile page for your business
- Twitter Account - Yes, it’s a must.
- Yelp.com – A user review site
- LinkedIn – A social place for business, upload your resume, make business contacts, and post your bio
- Blog – WordPress is the best. You don’t need to be a writer to blog, but use it for informational purposes, write articles, etc.
- Four Square – A geolocation service that uses the GPS system in your phone to tell where you are located (store, restaurant, movies, etc) and you “check in” at these locations. Foursquare will post this info on your Facebook and Twitter accounts. This is FREE advertising for these businesses if used properly.
- Website – Everyone in business needs a website
- YouTube – Never thought your small business could afford a commercial? Create your own commercials with a video camera, upload it to your own YouTube channel and ‘Broadcast Yourself’. You can also start your own vlog!
- Flickr – A social site to share pictures and videos
- Yellow Book Pages – Directory
- Google Places – Directory
- DMOZ – Directory
- Yahoo City Local – Directory
- Manta – Directory
- Bing - Directory
- About.Me
- Empire Avenue - Buy stock in yourself and others, all for fun!
- Google + - Google’s answer to Facebook
- Letslunch.com – Great face-to-face networking tool still in the infant stages
- Pinterest – A virtual pin board that is the 3rd largest social media site to date!
3 Fabulous Tools For Your Tool Chest
Many business owners are just now realizing how social media can effect their business, so now it’s just a matter of fine tuning what you know and how you are using the tools you already have. Well I have a few tools to share with you that you may or may not know about. These tools will save you money if you have a smaller budget and can save you time and a headache.
1. Hootsuite
Many people are aware of Hootsuite, but if you are not it is an awesome tool for the busy business owner. While Hootsuite can do many things for your social media marketing, it’s main claim to fame is it’s ability to schedule posts on multiple accounts. For example…If you want to post on your business page at noon but you have a meeting, then you can schedule it through Hootsuite and it will post automatically to whichever account or to multiple accounts such as personal profile pages, business pages and Twitter. Hootsuite offers many other services but the beauty of it is it’s FREE for up to 5 accounts! Click here for a video tutorial.
2. Involver
Involver is a great site to find FREE apps for your Facebook business page. It will allow you to link your blog, Twitter feed, Flicker account, YoutTube, you name it and it will add it as a featured tab.
3. ShortStack
Have you seen some Facebook pages that are all done up like websites? They are called “professional Facebook Pages” or “Welcome Tabs” and are a great way for new visitors to your page to “like” you and want to share your page with others…it’s whats called “curb appeal”. Oreo and Victoria’s Secret are good examples of these pages. Normally to create one of these custom pages, you would need to hire a web developer to write the code for these pages and it will cost you minimally $500-$1500 or more to do this. With ShortStack, you can use one of their templates and upload your own photos, videos, text, polls, and many other widgets all for FREE! If your page likes gets to be at a certain number then you will need to pay a minimal fee to maintain the custom page but it’s a great place to get started for a small budget.
I hope the information on these site have helped you get started on your social media marketing success. If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment on this post, email me at GetNoticed@ChandaGunter.com, or just give me a shout at 435-767-8184.
Sprouts Some Legs, Why Don’t Ya!
I get asked all the time “Now what exactly is it that you do?” and I try to explain it in just the right amount of time and detail without boring you to tears and losing you all together. I almost always get the reply, “So you post on Facebook?”. Yes and no. I do so much more for your business that includes Facebook but is much bigger than Facebook. The reality is, everyone knows about Facebook and most business owners understand they should be on Facebook, but the majority of people still don’t fully understand just what Social Media is and what it can do for their business. While Facebook is a huge part of social media, it is just one aspect of social media. Think of it like this…
If you have a Facebook page for your business and a website, then Google only has 2 places to reach out and find you when someone is searching for your business. What social media does is it takes your business, literally sprouts legs, and begins to crawl all over the web. Word of mouth is the best advertising you will ever receive for your business, correct? Well, Social Media is word of mouth on steroids!
Don’t limit yourself to “just” a Facebook page for your business. Sprout legs and run, you never know who is chasing you.
If You Build It, Will They Come?
If You Build It…Will They Come?
There are so many options out there now days to market your business, with social media being the latest and greatest. But just because you build a website or create a Facebook or Twitter account, does that mean customers and clients will flock to your site? Yes, if you do it correctly. No, if you don’t have all the tools you need to make it succeed. Below are some tips on some of the most popular types of online marketing today.
- Creating a website for your business is a no brainer but can come at a high price. The golden rule is you get what you pay for, for the most part. Websites can cost thousands and look and work great, but most small businesses just don’t have the money for that. Try a WordPress site. It’s a blog site that costs little to no money and can be set up to look just like a website…unless they are a “computer guy”, nobody will notice the difference, or won’t care. The one thing you want to make sure you do on your website is to change the content on a regular basis. Google looks for relevant material and if your website has been the same since 2010, yes I know we are in January 2011, then Google loses interest in your site. Add video and pictures, a weekly blog, whatever you need to do to keep it from being a stagnant site and you are on your way!
- Many businesses are building custom Facebook pages using the “Welcome” tab feature. This is a great tool to make your page look nice and professional but there is no guarantee this feature will bring you new “likes”, customers or business. Facebook and other developers provide you with many useful tools for your Facebook such as tabs for linking your blog, twitter feed, and YouTube account. The bottom line with getting more “likes” on Facebook is to provide good content on your page by giving a healthy combination of useful information for the industry, promoting your business, and engaging your fans.
- Be everywhere you can be! If you only have a website and a Facebook page, then guess where Google will find you? Great, you say? If Google can only reach out to 2 places to find your business, where do you think you will rank? However, if Google reaches out and finds your business in 20 different locations on the web because you are utilizing social media to it’s maximum potential, now where do you think Google will rank you? Exactly!
The moral to the story is this…Just because your website or Facebook page looks pretty, doesn’t mean anything. How does that business communicate with me? Do they care that I am a customer? How do they treat me? Are they just one commercial after another? Do they really want my business or am I just another “like” to them? What have they done for me lately?
