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9 Best Practices For Social Based Customer Care
The post 9 Best Practices For Social Based Customer Care appeared first on HostGator Blog . It is no question that social channels can be an extremely valuable tool for a business. It not only increases brand awareness and connects you to potential users, but gives you a direct channel to your current users as well. Yet, as the saying goes, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ Now that you are talking to your users, know that your users are talking to you, and it is not always positive. Using social media as a tool for customer care not only let users feel heard in a medium they feel comfortable with, but it also sends the right signals to potential customers about how you treat your users. Here are some best practices to doing this properly. 1. Don’t Disregard The Issue Everyone wants to be heard, and a generic, “take a look at our FAQ’s page for answers to most of your issues,” is just useless enough for your user to look elsewhere. Put a pinned comment at the top of your Facebook page, or in your twitter bio, that sends user to try your customer care channels first. Many may ignore it, but a number will listen and be dealt with there, only coming back if the problem persists. You may need to try harder to keep them happy after the process but at least it isn’t clogging up your social feed. 2. Treat Your Users As People Not Problems Don’t be afraid to banter and have an informal chat, as long as you don’t make it inappropriate or too personal for a public forum. Users respond to the human element and will have a more positive impression than if they receive generic, robotic answers. Look at your user’s basic information. The instructions you give to a tech-savvy teen, would not be appropriate for someone with less technology experience. Adapt your support accordingly. 3. Keep It Short And Sweet You need to keep you user engaged, the worst kind of service is one that is met by the sound of crickets because you have lost your audience 4 tweets ago. Make sure your answers are informative but do not drag on longer than necessary. If you can be as effective with three words as using a paragraph, opt for the three. You will maintain your audience’s attention span and not make them feel that their time has been wasted with superfluous information. 4. Don’t Be Afraid To Take It Elsewhere Some issues are universal and your reply could be of value to all users, if this is not the case, then you should carry on the conversation in a direct message or through email. If they have opened a support ticket before contacting you, take their ticket number and flag it up with your support staff to be prioritized. 5. Give Clear Answers Try to make your post, tweet or Facebook message as informative as possible. Be aware that talking on your Facebook homepage or through main twitter channels means that anyone can see your interaction. Both current and potential users can be listening, and your decorum can be a make or break for some of them. Make sure not only that you are patient and helpful, but also that you are using proper grammar and punctuation. When someone’s account is frozen, it is not the time to bombard them with emojis. 6. Look Out For The Little Guy There will always be that shy user that will post once, oftentimes as part of an unrelated thread that will get lost unless you are actively looking out for them. Signaling them out and answering their issues or concerns sets you apart from much of the competition, and lets the user feel important which could result in lifelong loyalty. 7. Deal With Complaints Some users are out for blood, ignoring a negative comment can be more disastrous than you realize. Be warned that some users may use their social following to bombard you page or ‘trash’ your brand. They can do this by creating inflammatory hashtags or posting multiple comments across all of your social channels. Early intervention is key here. 8. Separate The Wheat From The Chaff Not all users on your social channels are what they seem. Keep a sharp eye out for competitors looking to harm your brand, and destroy your service’s reputation. If you are sure a user is not what they seem, and they are becoming more hassle than their worth, don’t be afraid to block them from your account. You should only do this as a last resort! A perfect page looks fake, and will cause you to loose trust from potential users. 9. Manage Expectations If you are a small business, no one expects you to have a large social media support team. Be honest with your audience and don’t spread yourself too thin. If users know that it could take up to a few days to have their complaint attended to, their expectations will be better managed and they are less likely to be fed-up and leave. Just be sure to keep your promises, if you say it will be up to two days, make sure it is. ***** Natalie Lehrer is a senior contributor for CloudWedge . In her spare time, Natalie enjoys exploring all things cloud and is a music enthusiast. Follow Natalie’s daily posts on Twitter: @ Cloudwedge , or on Facebook . Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosauraochoa/3256859352/in/photolist-5XNfPs-dUmKE4-amC4jN-6mYWTq-aFy3bt-dZxNRq-6u2DBs-5XJ1Qc-9eVCSc-99BVQZ-9MoWtb-9hNywz-9x7H6Z-8bspY4-4oUWXS-6DtPYC-axnKy3-6u2Dkq-7rY7do-6qPE85-7YNkeA-7YNkh5-8Q7LKc-8Q7LSH-8Q7LZ4-8QaSeA-9yMPBV-71ZNv4-8NyVNa-yv3t2-6tXvgR-6qPE89-7oytoK-8H6Z3P-6qPE8f-aucWr1-dU7Cn1-9iAUEF-9iAVoa-9iAVf2-9iE4fm-9iATSR-9iE2eb-9iE3uw-9iAWvP-9iATHv-9iAUmz-9iAUY2-9iE4od-9iE47b web hosting Continue reading
The Future Of Video Advertising: 360 Degree Ads Hit YouTube
The post The Future Of Video Advertising: 360 Degree Ads Hit YouTube appeared first on HostGator Blog . In the famous words of Nam June Paik, “The Future is now!”, at least in the sense YouTube’s Advertisements have just pioneered the 360 degree world of video, rolling out the capability on Chrome, Android and iOS. Back in January, Google unveiled being able to support the feature, and has very recently seen the first takers from Bud Light & Coca-Cola with exceptionally high-production value. JR Futrell, YouTube’s Ad product manager, remarked the new 360-degree format as a “mobile-first” initiative for two reasons: Motion – 360 ads will move with the mobile device, allowing you to view the video through a virtual lens. Mobile Is Dominating – In ten countries around the world, mobile searches have now surpassed that of desktop use, inspiring innovations to keep viewers watching advertisements longer. When looking at how revenue is earned on YouTube in the first place, engagement is the most important aspect. It’s always been rumored that the more views you have, the more you make, but even videos with 1 million views could earn nothing unless viewers engage with the advertisement. That’s why in the ever-changing world of video YouTube has taken the concept of viewer engagement to an entire new dimension: The World of 360 Motion. Not Just For Corporations Right away many viewers new to the concept would expect this technology to be limited to corporations or businesses with a large marketing budget to support the production value. But, creating a video in the three dimensional space has become surprisingly easy, and highly accessible to even the smallest business looking to advertise. The trick is acquiring a camera capable of filming 360 Degree video format. As the technology improves, the amount of camera options has readily increased, including: Ricoh Theta Kodak SP360 Giroptic Bublcam Allie Tapping Into Viewers Curiosity In order to run any effective advertisement you must capture the attention of your viewer within a split second. We’ve all seen the “Skip this Ad” after 5 seconds button, which has set the standard for how fast you need to capture your audiences attention on YouTube. Skipped ads don’t create conversions, and nowadays unless there is something dynamic built into a video, viewers are quick to simply ignore it. The goal with 360 Degree video is to take the viewers from a place of feeling passive, into a realm of activity and curiosity. The Ad can involve scripted elements similar to Coca Cola’s, or it can simply allow your viewers to spin the camera behind the scenes to get a perspective on how the ad was created. Google sees this innovation as the future of advertising, and as food for thought, imagine how obsolete regular ads will feel once users can tap into this form of virtual reality. Like everything, we’re advancing towards higher forms of stimulation. Staying Ahead Of The Curve Understandably, many business owners might feel overwhelmed by the prospect of generating 360 ads on their own. However, we assure you the process is as easy as regular video once you own the right camera mentioned above. Getting into this trend before it’s inevitably dominant will keep your advertising campaign at the forefront of newer innovations once they happen. The more interesting your ads, the greater ROI for your company. Once you have workable videos, follow these steps provided by Google to upload. Campaigns for 360 degree videos running as TrueView Ads can be set up in Adwords. Image Source: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9VrfFpXPK4E/maxresdefault.jpg web hosting Continue reading
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Tagged advertising, careers, copyright, domains, events, hosting, small-business, tutorials, web and hosting tips, youtube
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2015 Holiday Dash
The post 2015 Holiday Dash appeared first on HostGator Blog . HostGator Holiday Dash Giveaway Official Rules NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Eligibility The HostGator Holiday Dash Giveaway (the “Giveaway”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including District of Columbia) who are eighteen (18) years or older at the time of entry. Void where prohibited by law. Employees of The Endurance International Group, Inc. or any of its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, or any other company or individual involved with the design, production, execution or distribution of the Giveaway and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children) and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each such employee are not eligible. The Giveaway is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Giveaway. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. Sponsor The Endurance International Group, Inc., 10 Corporate Dr., Suite 300, Burlington, MA 01803. Timing The Giveaway begins on September 21, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on October 16, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the “Giveaway Period”). Sponsor’s computer is the official time keeping device for this Giveaway. How to Enter During the Giveaway Period, you will automatically receive one entry into the Giveaway for doing one of the following: Tweeting your favorite tip from HostGator’s Holiday Dash email series using the hashtag #dashwithsnappy; or Alternatively, you may enter by hand printing your name, age, complete address (including zip code), daytime phone number and e-mail address on a 3″x 5″ card and mail it, postage prepaid, to: The Endurance International Group, Attn: HostGator Holiday Dash Giveaway, 10 Corporate Dr., Suite 300, Burlington, MA 01803. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by October 16, 2015 and received by October 21, 2015. Mail-in entries will NOT be accepted via messenger/courier delivery service or any means other than United States Postal Service mail. Sponsor is not responsible for lost or misdirected mail in entries. Limit one (1) entry per person during the Giveaway Period regardless of method of entry. Any attempt by any participant to use multiple Twitter accounts to enter will be ineligible. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to any entry, the authorized account holder of the twitter account used to submit the entry will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person listed as the owner of the twitter account. Potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. All entries become the sole and exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be returned Winner Selection On or about October 22, 2015 the Sponsor will select one (1) entry as the Prize winner in a random drawing of all valid entries received during the Giveaway Period. The entrant will be contacted using the Twitter handle or email address provided with the entry and may be awarded the Prize (subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these rules.) Sponsor’s decisions as to the administration and operation of the Giveaway and the selection of a potential winner is final and binding in all matters related to the Giveaway. The winner will be notified one day after the drawing. POTENTIAL GIVEAWAY WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE GIVEAWAY. Verification of Potential Winner The potential winner must continue to comply with these Official Rules and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. The potential winner will be required to sign and return to Sponsor within five (5) days of the date notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release (except where prohibited) in order to claim his/her prize. If a potential winner of the prize cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period (if applicable), or if the Prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, the potential winner forfeits the Prize. In the event that a potential winner of a Prize is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor may award the applicable Prize to an alternate winner by random drawing from among all remaining eligible entries. Prize Winners One (1) prize winner will receive a goMobi bundle, which includes a professionally set up mobile site and one (1) year of goMobi service (the “Prize”) for a total value of Two Hundred and Fifty-Nine Dollars ($259). The Prize is non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute the listed Prize for one of equal or greater value for any reason. The winner is responsible for all taxes and fees associated with Prize receipt and/or use. Odds of winning a Prize depends on the number of eligible entries received during the Giveaway Period. Entry Conditions and Release By entering the Giveaway, each entrant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Giveaway; (b) release and hold harmless the Sponsor and its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, the Prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Giveaway and all of their respective past, present and future officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a participant’s entry, creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Giveaway, acceptance or use or misuse of a Prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, exploitation or use of an entry; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsor from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to an entrant’s participation in the Giveaway and/or entrant’s acceptance, use or misuse of a Prize. Publicity Except where prohibited, participation in the Giveaway constitutes winner’s consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. General Conditions Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Giveaway, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Giveaway, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Giveaway or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Giveaway may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Limitations of Liability The Released Parties are not responsible for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Giveaway; (b) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (c) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Giveaway; (d) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Giveaway or the processing of entries; or (e) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Giveaway or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason an entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Giveaway. No more than the stated number of Prizes will be awarded. In event that production, technical, seeding, programming or any other reasons cause more than the stated number of Prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of Prizes by a random drawing among all legitimate, unawarded, eligible Prize claims. Disputes Entrant agrees that: (a) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Giveaway, or any Prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Giveaway or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (b) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Giveaway, or any Prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively by the appropriate court located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; (c) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual and reasonable out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Giveaway, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (d) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Giveaway, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Entrant’s Personal Information Information collected from entrants is subject to the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy. Giveaway Results For Giveaway results send a hand-printed, self-addressed, stamped envelope to Winners List – HostGator Holiday Dash Giveaway c/o The Endurance International Group, Inc., 10 Corporate Dr., Suite 300, Burlington, MA 01803. Requests for the winner list must be received by December 15, 2015. Twitter is a trademark of Twitter, Inc. Twitter is in no way affiliated with or a sponsor of the Giveaway. web hosting Continue reading
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Tagged advertising, careers, domains, events, facebook, linkedin, massachusetts, php, promotions, small-business
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Constant Contact And Email Marketing
The post Constant Contact And Email Marketing appeared first on HostGator Blog . Despite the stigma that surrounds email marketing, due primarily (and justifiably) to “spammers,” this channel remains a valid and profitable avenue for generating leads, sales, and generally just reaching people. Roughly 10% of HostGator customers are Non-Profit businesses, and a recent study shows that these businesses actually get the highest open rates of any industry. An “open rate” is defined, fairly self-explanatorily, as the percentage of email messages that are opened (and presumably viewed) relative to the total number of emails sent out as part of a given email campaign. In other words, people are more likely to open an email sent from a Non-Profit than they are any other type of business. However, email marketing remains one of the best performing and most-effective ways to market a business. The aforementioned study, which was created by Constant Contact , also contains valuable information regarding the optimization of email campaigns and was created via the analysis of over 100 billion customer emails. Constant Contact is an excellent tool for small businesses to execute successful email marketing campaigns. HostGator customers can learn more by visiting this link . web hosting Continue reading
What Does Your About Page Say To Your Audience?
The post What Does Your About Page Say To Your Audience? appeared first on HostGator Blog . Your about page is a crucial part of your website. You can use it to convey valuable information about your business and connect with your user in new and more meaningful ways. Sadly, most business don’t use their about page to actually deepen their relationship with their users. Instead they just use the page to talk about themselves and give a quick rundown of their services offered. These elements are necessary, but they shouldn’t be the sole focus of your about page. Make Your About Page About Your Visitors When you’re at a party, or having a conversation with someone and they keep going on and on about themselves, it’s not a very fun conversation is it? Your about page comes across the same way when you only talk about yourself and your accolades. Instead, try a different approach, and make your about page about your readers . The moment a visitor clicks over to your about page you’ll want to tell them the benefits they’ll receive if they stick around. You want to speak to anything that will prevent them from clicking the back button. Address their needs and pain points as soon as possible. Speak To Their Feelings When you can convey emotion and feeling with your about page it’s much easier to get them excited about what you’re offering. By taking the time to explain their feelings, your visitors will automatically feel like they’re accepted and part of what you’re building. It’s much easier to get someone to take action when you show that you deeply understand their needs. Get Into Their Heads Once you’ve shown you understand them on a level of emotion you need to make your readers feel as if you can read their minds and present them with the perfect solution. You can do this by going deeper into their pain points, and showing how you can solve their problems, and that you’ve done it before. Use The “Humble Brag” When you brag about yourself or your business accomplishments you need to do it in a way that doesn’t turn off your readers. Simply listing your accomplishments can actually isolate your readers and make it harder for them to relate to you. A great way to do this is to wrap your accomplishments inside of a story or a joke. Or, you can highlight them alongside other less than perfect details. Wrap Up With A Call-To-Action Once you finish your newly upgraded copy on your about page it’s time to tell your visitor what to do next. Since your about page often gets a lot of traffic you should conclude the page with a call-to-action that leads to a subscribe form or some other course of action. Give your users a way to continue the conversation with you. Making sure your about page connects with your users is a crucial piece a lot of online business owners are missing. Get this piece right and you’ll see your subscribers and relationships start to blossom. web hosting Continue reading