Tag Archives: social-media

Does Your Business Really Need A Social Media Presence?

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Hosting

The post Does Your Business Really Need A Social Media Presence? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Social media is one of the most talked about topics in the online world today. Soon we may even have children with social media accounts before they even begin to walk. With all the hoopla around social media and all the social media “experts” telling you which strategy you should employ it can be difficult to make a decision. After all, social media is a huge investment of time and spending too much time going in the wrong direction can be deadly for your business. In this post we’re going to explore the benefits of social media to see if you even need to be active on social media for your business to succeed.   Understanding The Current Social Media Landscape Social media seems to have transcended the trend status and all signs are suggesting it’s going to be around for good. The real reason social media gets confusing is because there are so many different channels to be on and be effective on. The ways of communication across each channel differs greatly, and your core group of customers may not even be using the network that you’re trying to build an audience on. The landscape is very diverse and requires that you pay attention to the networks you’re using and the reasons you’re using them. If you’re not aware of the time you’re spending chances are you’re going to be wasting it. However, just because a lot of brands are using social media doesn’t mean it’s right for your business. For starters, if you’re just going to mimic the same strategy that everyone else is, then you’re better off not going on social media in the first place. Fortune favors the bold and your social media strategy is no different.   Some Businesses Don’t Need To Use Social Media Before we continue it’s important to dive into the reason your business might not need a social media strategy. Think of social media as a means to deliver your message. If it doesn’t align with your customer base, then don’t use it. For instance, if you run a personal sailing school and most of your students tend to live in the local community you might be better off leaving flyers around town, or hanging out at the local docks. Sometimes offline marketing can be better for your specific business. Social media is a means of marketing for your business, but if the people you’re marketing to don’t hang out there, then it doesn’t make sense being on social media. However, for the vast majority of businesses who should be considering moving forward with a strategy there are a few things you should take into account.   Constructing An Effective Social Media Strategy At the heart of any good social media strategy is a good business. If your business doesn’t inspire your customers, or communicate your business in a clear manner, then your social media strategy isn’t going to make your business an overnight success. Think of social media as an amplifier of your business. So, if you have a captivating business, then executing your social media strategy will be much easier. 1. Maintain Consistency Think of your business as a friend that you trust. This person is always honest and tries to be as clear as possible, and they do their best to not send you mixed messages. You want your business to be the same way. When you’re communicating across social media platforms make sure your message and tone stays the same, and make sure you’re always honest and open. That way people are more likely to trust you and be open with you. 2. Speak To Your Market We alluded to this earlier, but you need to be on the social media platforms where your audience hangs out; that’s the only way to reach them. On some social media platforms you can be more friendly and down-to-earth, while others are more geared towards business-speak. Make sure you’re in line with the communication standards of the platform, while still being honest with yourself. 3. Be Unique Face it, no one wants to read a boring post on social media. There’s enough garbage to scroll through most of the time anyways, and you don’t want to continue adding to the noise. You don’t have to be sensational, but you can be honest and show what makes your business unique from your competitors.   Make sure you emphasize these traits and at the end of the day remember, you’re speaking to humans, so act like it. web hosting Continue reading →

Posted in HostGator, Hosting, php, VodaHost, vps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Entrepreneurs, the Internet, and Speed: Why Page Loads Matter

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Hosting

The post Entrepreneurs, the Internet, and Speed: Why Page Loads Matter appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Entrepreneurs utilize the Internet in a variety of ways: a means of promoting themselves or their products, completing market research, setting up a marketing plan, and so forth. It’s no surprise that, as a result, businesses are able to rise and fall in days or even weeks. If an idea takes hold of the public’s subconscious, it’s liable to explode. If the idea, regardless of promotion, never takes hold in the mind of the public, the company is liable to languish, forever lurking in the darkest corners of the Internet. Not all ideas are gems, but at the same time, something as simple as presentation could be preventing the organization from taking off.   Speed Everything happens quickly online. Pages load in a fraction of a second, transactions are able to be completed in minutes, if not sooner, and manuscripts from hundreds of years in the past are able to be read and reviewed in less than a few hours, all without ever leaving the relative comfort of your computer chair. People have come to expect expediency when dealing with all things online. If you don’t believe it, go from a cable modem back to dial up and see how quickly you become frustrated with the inability to work at your normal pace. (If you can’t bear to complete that experiment, switch from your cable modem to a satellite connection in the middle of a rainstorm; the experiment will show you how much you have come to rely on speed without being quite as painful as the dial up experiment.)   Turning it Around to Your Benefit Take a second to clear your browser cache and attempt to visit your website like a new visitor would. How fast does your site load? Do experience any frustration as a result of the load time? If you get frustrated with the speed at which the pages load, or the amount of time it takes you to find a certain piece of information, there’s a good chance your users will be frustrated with it as well. Remember, you’re creating your site to get their attention, not to frustrate them. Speed is now of the essence; make sure your website gets the attention it deserves.   Image Source: Catchpoint. (2012). Brain wheelie. Retrieved from http://blog.catchpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/iStock_000018917656Small.jpg web hosting Continue reading →

Posted in HostGator, Hosting, php, VodaHost, vps | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How To Build An Effective Hashtag Campaign

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Hosting

The post How To Build An Effective Hashtag Campaign appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Hashtags have slowly become a part of the popular culture, especially the digital culture. Over time they’ve grown to become a central part of an effective social media campaign. However, if you’re just getting started with using hashtags they can be overwhelming, and frankly a bit confusing. Once you get the hang of using hashtags it will get much easier, but it’s important to know the basics so you have a better chance at running an effective campaign from the start.   What Is A Hashtag? In a way, hashtags can be seen as keywords. They allow for the aggregation of information that’s all based around a certain topic. Originally, hashtags were used by Twitter as a way to categorize their messages. Since their inception hashtags have grown across other platforms as well, including Instagram, Flickr, Vine, and more recently Facebook. For instance, if you’re posting a picture of a tasty cup of coffee on Instagram, you may tag that picture with the hashtag #coffeelove. Or, if you’re posting a picture of a beautiful sunset, you could use the hashtag #sunset. Of course, hashtags apply to more than just pictures. In order to utilize the power of hashtags for your business it’s crucial you create your own. You may be able to reach new followers by hopping on existing hashtags, but to truly create the buzz you’re looking for you’ll want to get creative. A successful hashtag campaign will help to build awareness for your brand or business, or even promote certain contests or giveaways you might be running.   Rules For An Effective Hashtag Campaign The most effective hashtags are short, sweet and inspire action. To get to that point it’s going to take a little work, but it’ll be well worth it.   1. Be Unique, But Not Too Unique When you’re creating your own hashtag you’ll want to make sure it’s unique and memorable. If you already have a company hashtag you’ll want to improvise on this to show association, but still have enough difference so it stands out. When it comes to length try not to overcomplicate things. Face it, no one will remember a hashtag that’s a sentence long, but it will also be hard to differentiate from other tags if it’s only a few letters long. Finding the right balance is crucial. Your hashtag also needs to be relevant to the campaign you’re trying to run. For example, if you’re trying to create a hashtag around an event make sure the hashtag alludes to what the event is actually about. Once you’ve come up with a unique, catchy, easy to remember, and slightly descriptive hashtag, then it’s time to move on.   2. Use It Across Multiple Channels As was mentioned earlier, hashtags are useful across multiple social media platforms. When you’re executing your campaign you’ll want to have a presence on the social media platforms your audience hangs out at. People use different social media platforms for different purposes, but your hashtag can help weave a thread back to your business throughout all these seemingly disparate networks. This will help your hashtag get more exposure across more social channels, which will increase the likelihood of your campaign catching fire. Secondly, this will help people remember your hashtag, as they’ll be exposed to it in multiple settings.   3. Always Research First You’d hate to tweet your super unique, extremely creative hashtag only to realize that another person has been using the hashtag for an entirely different purpose. This would not only be detrimental to the success of your campaign, but could also result in serious customer backlash. It’s always worth it to spend time researching potential hashtags to see what comes up. Make sure you check across multiple platforms as well. By doing this beforehand you could avoid a seriously embarrassing incident for your company.   Overall, an effective hashtag campaign is all about using a memorable hashtag at the right time, all in service of your customers. The steps above will get you going in the right direction.   Photo Credit: quinn.anya via compfight web hosting Continue reading →

Posted in HostGator, Hosting, php, VodaHost, vps | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Small Business Can Benefit From Marketing Automation

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Hosting

The post How Small Business Can Benefit From Marketing Automation appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Running a small business can be compared to a very delicate and complex form of art. Our time has become increasingly more valuable, and maintaining a successful company requires implementing diverse and complicated marketing strategies. While it’s beneficial having access to an array of varying platforms to reach our audiences, it can also be time consumptive and difficult to keep up. It’s no wonder the largest demographic seeking the benefits of marketing automation are small to mid sized businesses. Can your company use some extra time? Let’s find out.   First things first. What is Marketing Automation? Considered one of the fastest growing solutions for sales and marketing professionals, marketing automation refers to technologies and certain software platforms designed for businesses to more effectively market online through multiple channels and automate recurring posts. These services seek to optimize visitor/customer retention, improve conversions, cut marketing costs and perhaps most importantly revamp sales operations. Marketing processes that would have otherwise been done manually, can now be streamlined to make new processes possible and make old task more efficient.   Taking a look at common product features Marketing automation is still a relatively new tactic to most businesses, and for that reason it’s important to know which features will best serve your immediate and long-terms sales problems. Below are the most common found in the leading software:   Lead Management – Leads are the lifeblood of a business; therefore, it’s easy to see why this is considered the greatest challenge and number one goal of marketing pros. Lead Nurturing- Increases the upsell-rate by retaining customer engagement, while also automating the qualifying leads process. Lead Scoring – Applying metrics to leads and prospects Web Analytics – Using quality analytic data will allow you to pursue leads based on their web browsing tendencies. Email Marketing – This is all about sending the right e-mail at the right time through the use of email scheduling. Schedule email blasts to disperse at the optimal time and save time by setting up autoresponder emails. CRM Integration – Otherwise known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), this feature is an application that is designed to assist you and your business by organizing all the data that you have on your customers. CRM Integration then is building your website to function seamlessly with your CRM.   The Benefits As a small business, this is probably the section you were waiting for. When used correctly, marketing automation allows a staff with limited resources the ability to run successful marketing campaigns in a highly personalized fashion that may have otherwise been difficult to do manually. The major benefits include: Huge Time Saver – We all have days with less going on and marketing automation allows you to make use of that extra time to create an entire month’s social media posts in one day, so when deadlines are approaching you won’t need to worry about posting content manually. Maintain Consistency – Chances are you’re trying to maintain multiple platforms for social media posting, and for good reasons. The spread of our customer demographics have different preferences for social media use and if you’re forgetting to maintain one of them it may be a sign to your followers that your business cannot manage its customer communication or doesn’t care to. Easy For Everyone – A large concern for anyone looking to adopt a new technology is, “will it be user friendly?” And the answer is yes. Marketing automation is simple even for those who aren’t technically inclined. Most applications are equipped with easy to use editors, templates, and helpful guiding interfaces. Detailed Reports – Automated solutions will keep track of every social media post. Text, email and provide detailed graphs, statistics and other useful data to help you optimize future campaigns.   Selecting A Marketing Automation Platform Before selecting a provider, here are several questions to consider: How Long is the minimum license period? – Many ask that you sign up for 1 year, though you may want to look into monthly installments. What is offered in the minimum license fee? – Certain platforms cap once you reach a certain amount of contacts in your database, this detail is very important as you expand networks. Is there a training manual and customer support? – Nowadays the number one do not in licensing subscriptions is getting involved with a company/platform that doesn’t offer customer guidance.   There is no software or automation tool that can replace good planning and strategy; however, once you learn how to define goals marketing automation can take on the repetive and analytical taks for you in order to achieve a sustainable marketing plan.   Image Source: http://www.justaminutellc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/5-13-marketing-automation.jpg web hosting Continue reading →

Posted in HostGator, Hosting, php, VodaHost, vps | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google Authorship Dead In 2014?

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Hosting

The post Google Authorship Dead In 2014? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . If you’ve searched for anything on Google in the last month or so (who hasn’t?), you may have noticed slight changes in the results. First, the author pictures next to the results conspicuously disappeared. Then, videos started to vanish for most results (except those of YouTube and other sources where video is a primary source of content). Now, author names have disappeared. According to John Mueller from Google’s Webmaster Analytics team, Authorship has indeed been removed from your search results . A few months ago, the same search would have displayed the associated Google+ profile picture and related information, as shown in the image below from our prior Authorship blog post :   Now the posts are stripped down to provide you the content that you’re looking for without the fluff.   Why Was Authorship Removed? If you ever set up authorship, then you know it was not the easiest process to start with. There were several steps involved, including an update your site’s code to add the markup. If you were using a CMS like WordPress, the markup wasn’t too hard, but HTML sites were a little harder to modify. Since the entire ordeal wasn’t an easy 1-2 step process, it had a low adoption rate. As stated in Mueller’s post, and speculated by many, Authorship simply did not have any direct impact to an increase in clicks or rankings. A direct quote from the post: “If you’re curious — in our tests, removing authorship generally does not seem to reduce traffic to sites. Nor does it increase clicks on ads. We make these kinds of changes to improve our users’ experience.”   Is Authorship Completely Dead? From search results, it appears to be mostly (though not entirely) gone. As explained by Mueller, search queries will still show relevant posts from your Google+ connections with their information. So if you were connected with an author and searched for information pertaining to them, then you may see something like this: Keep in mind, the rel=author markup didn’t just affect search; social media displays this information as well. With Pinterest, you can stand out with rich pins . As you see in the picture below, you will still see the author markup:   You can also see it on Twitter with Twitter cards as shown below. If you’re able to edit the author Twitter handle, you’ll also get another spot in the author section. Do You Want To Advertise On Facebook But Don’t Want Your Followers To See Those Ads? Check Out Dark Posts http://t.co/P1b9NNheYX #Marketing — HostGator (@HostGator) August 16, 2014   Conclusion Although authorship has been mostly removed from Google search, it still does serve a purpose and cannot be entirely considered dead.. perhaps undead… zombie(?). You don’t necessarily need to go through the process adding the authorship through Google+ to include the rel=author tag, but who wouldn’t want a good branded back link on a Google product? What do you think? Is authorship just dead and should never be touched again or will you still be including it on your blog? Let us know in the comments! web hosting Continue reading →

Posted in HostGator, Hosting, php, VodaHost, vps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment