SEO Hattiesburg
How to Schedule Social Media for Your Small Business
April 11, 2012 | Author Michael Cornett
“I am so busy handling the day-to-day duties of my small business, how in the world do I have time to plan for social media?” Between your daily activities and new social media sites like Google+, having time to post on your various social media accounts can seem like a cumbersome chore. Today we’re going to talk about how you can form a plan to really connect with your target audience through social media without letting it take over your day.
1 ) Create a social calendar-Knowing what you are going to post about weeks in advance can not only help you post relevant, engaging posts, but it will also help to alleviate the time you spend each day posting. Although it may seem difficult at first, I recommend developing a social media calendar at least 1 month in advance. The easiest way for your small business to do this is to plan your social media according to your upcoming events, sales, time of year, or new items and services. By planning out your social media posts with current business activities, you already have subjects to post about!
2 ) Block out 10-15 minutes-You already put briefings, business meetings, and the rest of your daily activities on your schedule…so why not put social media on your schedule? You don’t have to block out hours, perhaps 10-15 minutes a day will be plenty! Don’t forget that the time of day you post matters!
3 ) Let co-workers help-Once you have developed your social media calendar, it will be much easier to have someone else in your business post occasionally. Don’t feel like you have to be the one to post every time. Do make sure whoever else is posting knows what to post about and when to post.
4 ) Avoid 3rd party API’s-Although there are some apps and websites that will automatically post on a particular day and time, I do not recommend using these. First of all, your engagement could drop by 70%. Secondly, remember that social media should not be looked at as a chore, but rather a means to reach new customers and interact with current customers.
Conclusion: Social media is a great resource for businesses small and large, but can seem extremely time consuming without a solid plan. Be sure to develop a social media calendar, set aside 10-15 minutes on your schedule for social media, and don’t be afraid to let others within your business post! Remember that social media is an avenue to grow your business and potentially reach customers that you wouldn’t reach elsewhere. So, how do you plan your social media? Does your small business have a dedicated “social media” guy? Does your small business have a social media success story? Tell us all about it below!
Posted in Internet Marketing Jackson MS, Internet Marketing MS Gulf Coast, SEO Hattiesburg, SEO in Jackson, SEO in Mississippi, Web Design Hattiesburg, Web Design Jackson MS, Web Design MS Gulf Coast | 
Tags: Social Media Marketing in Mississippi, Social Media Marketing Jackson MS, Social Media Marketing MS Gulf Coast, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Design Jackson MS, Web Design MS Gulf Coast | 
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Facebook Promotions 101
January 17, 2012 | Author Michael Cornett
So your small business has created a Facebook Page and now you want to run a contest to attract new fans. The only problem: How do you run a successful Facebook Contest? Don’t panic, because today we are going to look at some great Facebook Contest Apps, cover Facebook’s key rules, and talk about what makes a contest successful.
Facebook’s rules for promotions
Before we get into our tips for running a successful Facebook contest and great Facebook contest apps, we need to look at Facebook’s rules for promotions. I encourage everyone to read the full Facebook guidelines for promotions which are available at here.
The most commonly broken rule that I see with promotions on Facebook is that all promotions must be administered within Apps on Facebook. That means that everyone you see promoting a contest for wall post submissions, photo contest, etc. that are not using a 3rd party app are violating the rules. You can have contest in which photos and other entries are submitted as long as it is done through a 3rd party app.
Another commonly broken rule is this: You can’t use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry, aka “liking” your page automatically enters them into the contest. Liking your page can be a requisite in order to enter the contest, if done so through a 3rd party application.
Facebook contest apps
Now that we have looked at some of the key rules for Facebook Promotions, let’s look at some of the available apps. My personal favorite apps are Offerpop and Wildfire, due to their ease of setup, analytics, pricing, and in the case of Offerpop, ability to create Twitter promotions as well. There are several other apps such as:
If you have used or know of other Facebook or Twitter Contest Apps leave a comment below.
Creating a successful contest
Now that you know the rules, know where to find some contest apps, how do you create a successful contest?
- Promote your contest: Don’t limit yourself to posting about your contest on Facebook Page. Run Facebook Ads promoting your contest, Tweet about it, post a blog with a link to your contest, include details about the contest in ongoing traditional marketing.
- Have a great prize: The more exciting or useful your prize, the more buzz your contest will create. While a free trip is wonderful, most business can’t afford giving away a free trip but what you can do is offer your services/products for free or at greatly reduced pricing.
- Track your results: If you are tracking the customer interaction throughout your contest, you can adjust it based upon the feedback you receive. It is also important that if you are having customers sign-up (and you should), you can capture their information.
- Have a plan after the contest: Now that your contest is over and you just increased your fans by 40%, what do you do? Establish a clear goal of why you want more fans, and what your plan is once you start gaining them. Perhaps you will promote your products, inform your fans, or run another contest.
To sum everything up, make sure you read Facebook’s promotion rules, install a contest app you are comfortable with, and plan for after the contest, not just the contest itself. Shine Online Marketing offers complete Social Media Marketing packages including social media accounts setup, contests management, and social media pay per click solutions. Please call us at 601-336-3001 or email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com for a free consultation.
Posted in Facebook for Small Business, Internet Advertising Hattiesburg, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg, Search Engine Marketing Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, Social Media Marketing Hattiesburg, Web Design Hattiesburg, Web Development Hattiesburg | Tags: Facebook Contest, Facebook Promotion, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg | Comments Closed
Our New Division, HattiesburgWebsiteDesign.com
January 11, 2012 | Author Michael Cornett
Good morning small businesses owners, internet marketers, and web designers. On behalf of Shine Online Marketing we hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are glad you are back with us. Today Shine Online Marketing is proud to announce its new division HattiesburgWebsiteDesign.com. Our new division was created to help small business have more web design options with a smaller price point.
What is the difference between Shine and Hattiesburg Website Design?
We’re glad you asked! Hattiesburg Website Design will work under the same management as Shine Online Marketing and will serve to provide high quality, dynamic websites at a much reduced cost. All of your internet marketing needs as well as more advanced, custom web design will still be handled by Shine Online Marketing.
What are the price points?
Hattiesburg Website Design offers 3 website design packages: Basic, Plus, and Premium. Our Basic Package is a flat fee of $699, the Plus Package is $799, and the Premium Package is $899.
What platform will Hattiesburg Website Design use?
All websites designed by Hattiesburg Website Design will be built on WordPress, the most popular and powerful content management system (CMS) available. Shine Online Marketing still offers a wide variety of web design on different platforms including Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and much more.
Which type of website is right for my business?
We don’t believe in a “one size fits all” approach at Shine Online Marketing or Hattiesburg Website Design. We take the time to get to know your business, budget, and goals before advising which website and internet marketing services will best benefit your business.
How do I get started?
It’s easy! Just email us or call us at 601-33-3001. Also feel free to visit HattiesburgWebsiteDesign.com.
Posted in Internet Advertising Hattiesburg, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, Social Media Marketing Hattiesburg, Web Design Hattiesburg, Web Development Hattiesburg, Website Design Hattiesburg | Tags: Facebook Marketing Hattiesburg, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, social media marketing hattiesburg ms, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg | Comments Closed
New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business
December 28, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
No, we’re not talking about losing weight or quitting smoking, we’re talking about New Year’s resolutions for your small business. Have you thought about it? Maybe you want to increase sales by 5%, cut your overhead by 3%, or finally start you social media campaign. We are going to look at a few New Year’s resolutions that may help you decide the best, achievable goal for your small business.
1) Form an LLC or corporation-If you are operating as a small business, but don’t do so under the protection of an LLC or corporation, now is the time to protect your assets. Forming an LLC is less expensive than you probably think and should something ever happen in the future, will be well worth the time and money.
2) Update your website-Investing time into creating a great Facebook or Google Adwords campaign isn’t going to help tremendously if customers are funneled to an out-of-date, boring website. Update your website to make it more engaging, exciting, and ensure that it is converting those potential customers into actual paying customers.
3) Start your social media campaign-Once your website is ready to go, make a resolution to block out time for social media. When 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook, it would be outlandish to pass on engaging those potential customers through social media. Start out with one or two social media sites, as delving into all of them at once may make your head spin!
4) Try real world social networking-While social media sites may have all the hype, good ol’fashioned social networking is still worth the time. Visit your local ADP, business networks, Kiwanis club, or just stop in to other local businesses and introduce yourself! You may be surprised to find how much connections to other small business owners can help your business.
5) Optimize for mobile and local search-53% of mobile searches on Bing have local intent according to Microsoft. By 2015, more U.S. internet users will access the internet via mobile devices than computers. If your small business is not visible on local search (ex: plumber Hattiesburg, MS) and accessible on a mobile phone, your small business may suffer.
Staying true to all 5 of these New Year’s resolutions may be tough, so pick a one or two that you think could truly benefit your small business. What resolutions have you already planned for your small business in 2012? Does one of these resolutions ‘hit the nail on the head?’
At Shine Online Marketing we work with small businesses to develop internet marketing strategies that help your business Shine! If you would like to receive a free quote, email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com, or call us at 601-336-3001. Also be sure to visit our site at shineonlinemarketing.com and subscribe to our RSS feed for all the latest updates.
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Posted in Facebook for Small Business, Internet Advertising Hattiesburg, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg, Local SEO Mississippi, Mobile Marketing Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, Social Media Marketing Hattiesburg, Web Design Hattiesburg, Web Development Hattiesburg | Tags: Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, social media marketing hattiesburg ms, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg | Comments Closed
The Future of Online Shopping
December 19, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
What will the retail shopping world look like in 25 years? Will we have brick and mortar businesses or will most retail shopping occur online? Today we are going to speculate about the possibilities of a mostly virtual retail shopping world. What would it look like? Why would an all virtual retail shopping experience fail?
Online Shopping is Growing
Cyber Monday sales increased 33% from 2010 to 2011 according to Smarter Commerce, IBM’s online retail study. While 2011 Black Friday spending was still significantly more than Cyber Monday, the percent of growth for Cyber Monday grew more than Black Friday when compared to 2010. Does this show a trend in online shopping growing to become larger than in-store shopping?
What would an online shopping world look like?
Well, it would probably look similar to how it does currently, but with more features. I still feel like there are a lot of people who like to try on clothes, feel the quality of an item, or hear the quality of those speakers. To overcome these types of obstacles, online retailers would need to encourage more reviews of their products, have software that gives shoppers the ability to upload photos of themselves and try on virtual clothes, and create other types of software that gives users more of a hands-on shopping experience.
Customer-Retailer Interaction
What about good old fashioned person to person interaction? Some shoppers like to ask questions of the retailer before they buy a product. There is always that great salesperson that knows just what grandma would love for Christmas. Could social media be the answer to customer-retailer interaction? We are already seeing social media become a massive platform for business to customer relations. Websites like Facebook give customers the ability to have a near real-time exchange with savvy businesses that monitor and respond to customer questions, thoughts, and opinions.
What do you think?
Would you miss shopping in brick-and-mortar stores? Do you prefer the excitement of shopping at midnight on Thanksgiving Day? Are you happy sitting in your pajamas purchasing all your Christmas gifts?
At Shine Online Marketing we work with small businesses to develop internet marketing strategies that help your business Shine! If you would like to receive a free quote, email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com, or call us at 601-336-3001. Also be sure to visit our site at shineonlinemarketing.com and subscribe to our RSS feed for all the latest updates.
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Posted in Internet Advertising Hattiesburg, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg, Local SEO Mississippi, SEO Hattiesburg, Social Media Marketing Hattiesburg, Web Design Hattiesburg, Web Development Hattiesburg | Tags: Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Mississippi, Online Shopping, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, social media marketing hattiesburg ms, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg | Comments Closed
10 Free Citations for Local SEO
December 12, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
Just how many people using search engines are looking to buy in an offline store? 43% according to comScore Networks. In a previous post, we talked about the importance of local seo. Building citations is one of the most important factors in local search optimization. Today I am going to present a list of 10 free citations for local seo that every small business should have.
2) Bing Local
3) Super Pages
4) Yelp
6) Yahoo
7) Yellow Bot
8) Citysearch
9) YellowBook
10) Mapquest
While it may take some time to visit each of these sites to input your information, the local seo benefits will be well worth the time. If you are already listed in these sites, be sure that your information including your address, phone number, and website are all listed correctly. Also, claim your listing if you have not done so.
At Shine Online Marketing we work with small businesses to develop internet marketing strategies that help your business Shine! If you would like to receive a free quote, email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com, or call us at 601-336-3001. Also be sure to visit our site at shineonlinemarketing.com and subscribe to our RSS feed for all the latest updates.
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Small Business Social Media-10 Do’s and Don’ts
November 28, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
When 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook, your small business should definitely establish a social media presence. With that being said, I see far too many businesses that are not using social media to its fullest potential. Today we are going to talk about 10 do’s and don’ts of social media for your small business.
1) Do establish your brand on Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media sites that are relevant to your small business.
2) Don’t setup an account for your small business on every social media site available, but neglect to update the information and interact with your customers.
3) Do link to current events, statistics, and other information related to your specific industry
4) Don’t treat your business page as a personal page. While showing that there is a face behind your small business is important, posting about how your day is going, your dog misbehaving or other personal issues should be posted on your personal profile.
5) Do use apps to enhance your Facebook page. There are many great free apps that can enhance your Facebook page such as a contact form, listings for real estate agencies, or create other custom tabs.
"Booger"
6) Don’t go weeks without posting something new to your social media page. If your business suddenly stops posting or tweeting, your customers may lose interest in your business and move on to a more consistent competitor.
7) Do use rich media when applicable including videos, pictures, and other media to engage more customers.
8) Don’t ignore analytics. Know who your target audience is, when they are using social media, how often they visit your page. This information is vital to increasing the ROI of your social media.
9) Do hold contests and ask your audience questions to increase interaction between your business and customers.
10) Don’t get discouraged. Like everything worthwhile, building your brand with social media takes time, stay focused and stay positive!
What are ways your business has used social media effectively? Have you established a social media marketing plan for 2012? Let us know your thoughts and questions!
At Shine Online Marketing we work with small businesses to develop social media strategies to help your business Shine! If you would like to receive a free quote, email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com, or call us at 601-336-3001.
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Posted in Facebook, Internet Marketing Hattiesburg, Local SEO Mississippi, SEO Hattiesburg, Twitter | Tags: Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, social media marketing hattiesburg ms, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg | Comments Closed
Farewell Yahoo Site Explorer
November 22, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
With the exit of Yahoo Site Explorer yesterday, many internet marketers and small business owners will be scrambling to find the best alternative. Today we are going to look at a few alternative options to Yahoo Site Explorer since it was rolled into Bing Webmaster Tools.
Free Alternatives to Yahoo Site Explorer
The majority of these free alternatives limit your ability to research backlinks in one way or another. Some limit the amount of searches per day, while others will only provide the number of links for a particular page which can be very time consuming.
Free Plugins
These plugins, like some of the free alternatives, only provide the number of links for the individual page that you are viewing. While using one of these tools may help to get a quick snippet of how many links a particular page may have, it is difficult to see the overall picture of the site’s complete link data.
Paid Alternatives to Yahoo Site Explorer
Unfortunately, the best alternative to Yahoo Site Explorer may indeed be a paid version. The tools listed below range from $99 a month to almost $500 a month. Personally I love that SEOmoz includes several other tools in their monthly fee aside from link data.
SEOmoz Open Site Explorer
Majestic Site Explorer
Farewell Yahoo Site Explorer, You Will be Missed.
Were you a fan of Yahoo Site Explorer? What will you use as an alternative? If we left off your favorite tool please leave a comment below and let us know!
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Posted in Internet Marketing Hattiesburg, Local SEO Mississippi, SEO Hattiesburg, Small Business Marketing, Web Design Hattiesburg | Tags: Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, social media marketing hattiesburg ms, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg, Yahoo Site Explorer | 1 Comment »
How to Choose a Web Design Company
November 14, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
With over 2,000,000 searches on Google every minute…
it’s important to have a website for your small business. Having a website can build your brand, be a great source of lead generation, and can even be a great source of income if you decide to sell directly on your website. With thousands of web design companies from local companies, corporate web design firms, and even websites that let you build your own website, where should you start?
Today we’re going to talk about 6 things to consider when choosing a web design company that is right for your small business.
1) Quality of previous projects-With so many web design companies out there, it’s important to ask for a web design company’s previous projects or portfolio. Looking at a portfolio will let you see if the quality of the websites that they have previously done are to your liking.
2) Abilities of web Design Company-Ensure that the goals that you have for your website can be met by the web design company that you are considering. Ask questions such as, do you build custom websites or use templates; are you able to incorporate social media, videos, and more; are you comfortable with HTML, Flash, JavaScript; do you have the ability to add custom forms, even calendars, shopping carts, or booking platforms.
3) Ability to edit/update site-This is one aspect of a website that many customers overlook. While you may have no desire to immediately update or change parts of your website, there will come a time sooner than you think when a special will end, pictures will need to be updated, or maybe you are now offering a new service/product. Ask the web design company if you will be able to make your own changes via a CMS (content management system) or will they continue to charge you for any changes.
4) Price-At the end of the day, sometimes it all boils down to the bottom line. While pricing can be a make-or-break deal, sometimes the saying “you get what you pay for” can play a major role in web design. It is very important to shop around and make sure that you are getting a fair deal, but be cautious if the deal seems to be too good to be true.
5) SEO-Another aspect of web design that is often overlooked is search engine optimization (SEO). In a previous blog we talked about creating a website that is search engine friendly (SEF). Having a website is great, but it’s vital that your website will be found by potential customers through search engines. Ask the web design firm if they are familiar with SEO best practices such as title, meta, and header tags, keyword research and implementation, and website analytics.
6) Meeting-It may not always be possible, but ask the web design company if you can setup a meeting. Maybe I’m just a little “old school” here, but if possible, I like to meet with people that I will be doing business with. Today there are many great tools which can make this possible, via web cams, webinars, and web conferencing.
How can Shine Online Marketing help with your web design?
We offer custom web design and web development that is built on a content management system. We offer competitive web design pricing and include all search engine optimization best practices when creating your website. If you would like to receive a free quote, email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com, call us at 601-336-3001 or click to receive a web design quote.
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Local SEO or Bust
November 7, 2011 | Author Michael Cornett
Have you googled any products and services lately? If you have then undoubtedly you have noticed the increased emphasis on local businesses. In fact, in many searches local results consume the entire space “above the fold.”
New Google SERP
Google is now giving additional information and pictures on the right hand column for many local places. As an example if I was looking for somewhere to eat on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and a friend mentions a great place called Mary Mahoney’s. Since I’m not very familiar with too many restaurants on the coast I Google Mary Mahoney’s Biloxi and wham, I get a new look from Google. Now not only do I see many organic results, but to the right I see a map, photos, details about the restaurants, and reviews from several other websites such as yahoo, tripadvisor, urbanspoon, and more. See a picture of my SERP below:
So what does this mean for your local business?
If you’re the owner or manager of a local business you need to check to make sure your Google Places Page is owner verified and optimized. Last week we put together a Google Places Prezi presentation walking you through the steps of creating, verifying, and optimizing your Google Places Page. If your places page is already up to par, consider adding new photos showing off the best products and services that your business has to offer. Since Google is now displaying this information in the actual SERP, many more people may determine whether to use your business or your competition simply by what they see when they Google you.
What types of businesses will this change affect?
According to Google, the change will affect a wide range of real-world places from restaurants, hotels, local businesses, landmarks, museums, and more. If you read that the way I do, I would assume most everything you would want to find locally will be affected.
How can Shine Online Marketing Help?
We offer Local Search Engine Optimization and can help your business rank well for keywords that are vital to your business. Not only can we create a Google Places page for you, but we can optimize your business for local search to capture those customers searching for your products and services. Ex: You own a local plumbing company. Potential customers are searching for plumbers daily by typing in keywords related to your business such as “plumbers, plumbing, plumbing company, and local plumber.” We help to put your business right in front of those people searching for your products or services. Call us today at 601-336-3001 or email us at info@shineonlinemarketing.com.
Is your business performing well in Local Searches? Have you optimized your business listing? Do you want to gain leads from people searching for your products and services?
Shine Online Marketing | 72 N OF FLDS, Hattiesburg, MS 39402 | 601-336-3001 | info@shineonlinemarketing.com
Posted in Local SEO Mississippi, Online Marketing Tips, Search Engine Optimization, SEO Hattiesburg, Small Business Marketing, Web Design Hattiesburg, Web Development Hattiesburg | Tags: Internet Marketing Hattiesburg MS, Internet Marketing Mississippi, Local SEO Hattiesburg, Search Engine Optimization Hattiesburg, SEO Hattiesburg, Web Design Hattiesburg MS, Web Development Hattiesburg | 3 Comments »
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