What’s Not to ‘Like’?
Not long ago, one of my kids was approached by a peer who asked point blank, “Why didn’t you friend me on Facebook?” The response was given with a raised eyebrow and a funny look, “’Cuz you’re not my friend…?” with an unspoken “Duh!!” tacked on the end—not the expected response from a teenager in this media-saturated world. 10% of the 157,418,920 Facebook users in the US are between 13 and 17*—and many of those one and a half million teens (!!!) want to ‘like’ and have ‘likes’ from everyone else—I mean, who doesn’t want a lot of friends?
Well, we of the older mindset have learned with age to be more selective with what we do, when we do it, and with whom. Call us paranoid—or just old—but it simply doesn’t seem right to have 673 friends, and we definitely don’t have the time to ‘like’ everything we see. We truly aren’t interested in what you found in the couch cushions, and we aren’t going to ‘like’ a post about what your dog regurgitated. Yes, we have become discriminatory.
However, in business we know we need to network and talk, make friends and get as many people to like us as possible–in both the real and the virtual world. We also realize that for some the word ‘like’ has become a super-sized commitment to be a part of the everyday minutia of the world–but unlike taking out the garbage and cleaning the bathroom, it’s something we can choose not to do. So why do it? Why should you ‘like’ us?
It’s pretty simple.
When we at Web Savvy Marketers ‘like’ you, it’s because:
- We value you
- We value something you’ve said or done
- We want you to succeed
When you ‘like’ us, it means:
- You value us
- You value something we’ve said or done
- You want us to succeed
It’s not complicated. Your newsfeed won’t be stacked with invaluable, irrelevant nonsense from us–although we will include you when we’re having fun! We will share our ideas, what works for us and doesn’t, and we’ll want to hear about what makes your business tick–your challenges and experiences.
So let’s avoid that awkward middle-school-hallway moment, “Why didn’t you ‘like’ me on Facebook?” and support each other with a click on that little thumbs-up.
What’s not to like?
Avoid copyright infringement or it will cost you…
Just because you can search Google Images or other photography sites and find images online that might look good on your website, doesn’t mean you have the rights to use them on your website.
I’ve run into clients and prospects who are under the misguided assumption that images on the web are free for the taking. Not so. In fact, if the stock photography companies find that your site is using pirated images you could be fined hundreds or thousands of dollars. And they will find you. I’ve had clients who have loaded images onto their website (that were unknowingly pirated from an online source) and eventually they get a call from Comstock or some other Stock photo house demanding payment for the use of their image.
Always make sure that you have the right to use images that you place on your website (or any marketing materials). There are many royalty free stock photos you can purchase for use on your website for fairly low cost. IStockphoto.com is one that we use frequently to purchase stock photography.
Music is another component that people like to pirate. It is not legal to use a song you’ve purchased and downloaded onto your IPod as background music for a video you post to YouTube. Sorry. SoundDogs.com is a good source for music and sound effects.
I don’t have to tell anyone that it’s plagiarism to copy text from another site. Do I?
Holiday Shopping Suggestions – Supporting Small Business Cyber Shops
The holiday shopping season kicked off with some distasteful Black Friday incidents last week. Hearing about these unsavory incidents makes me glad I’ve never bothered with Black Friday, I’m more of a Cyber Monday kind of gal, and I support Small Business Saturday. I think it’s important to support your local small businesses including brick and mortar and online stores.
Although the big kick-off shopping weekend is over, I’m sure there’s more shopping to be done. If you prefer to avoid the mall hubbub and feel like staying home in your jammies and doing some on-line shopping this holiday season, here’s a list of clients who are small business owners that sell or show products online. They’re all reputable honest people with great products. The * indicates you may need to call to purchase.
Art
Astrology Calendar & Services
Books
- Not My Mother’s Wedding
- From May Sarton’s Well
- The Good Financial Advisor
- Montessori Madness and other Children’s Books
- Octavian Chronicles
- Beyond Location, Location, Location…A Systematic, Promotional Approach to Marketing Commercial Real Estate
Food & Beverage
Health & Fitness
- Pedometers from EveryBodyFit.com
- Massage – MyHandsYourHealth.com*
- Personal Training – JudithScottFitness *
- Chair Massage & Wellness Programs – http://totalbalancelifechoice.com *
Jewelry
- AlisonDesignsJewelry.com
- Lapistree.com (see the BellaSanté section for online sales)*
Motorcycle & Auto Accessories
- EzShadow – The easy way to cover your Toll Pass
- GoodGuysPowerSports – Motorcycle Gear & Accessories
- Uni-Go Motorcycle Trailers
Travel Services
Museum Store
- Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum Store & Holiday Events in Wethersfield (no on-line shopping but Black Friday hours at the Museum Store and many holiday events through December) *
And Finally, Santa Claus
- SantaVisitsCT.com to schedule a Santa visit to your holiday party. *
Happy Holidays!
My Secret Weapon – Google and an unknown 13-year old
Today I had a unusual call from a long-time client. (I promised not to reveal her name). She apologized for calling me because the problem had nothing to do with her website or her online marketing but she was extremely disoriented because her computer screen had flipped upside down.
I laughed.
“How did that happen?” I asked and then I chuckled some more.
Apparently my client had accidentally hit the combination of keys that’s the shortcut for flipping your display. Yeah, that’s a handy shortcut. Thank you Microsoft.
“It’s not funny,” she said. “Not only is the screen upside down, but the mouse is backwards”.
I laughed again. “Did you try turning the mouse upside down?” I asked.
Meanwhile, while poking fun at my client I did a quick Google search for “upside down display screen” and I quickly found a forum where others had run into the problem. Scanning the forum I saw one that began with “I’m 13 years old and I have the answer to the problem…”
The 13-year old recommended going to the display settings where you will find the option to flip your screen. Who knew? I’m 53 years old and I didn’t know that option existed, but Google and the 13-year old kid made me look like a hero. Thank you Google and unknown 13-year old (you little smartie-pants).
WordPress Tutorial #3 – How to insert a link
This morning I had two different clients ask how to insert a link in the text on the WordPress website. This short video demonstrates how to insert a link to other pages within your website and to a web address outside of your website.
2-D Animation
Our client had a process that they wanted to show but could not accomplish through straight video. We were able to combine video, photos and 2-D animation to fulfill their need. Adding copy and voice over allowed them to highlight the points and products most pertinent to their customers. Although the piece was created to use at meetings and sales presentations, the addition of music allowed them to use it at trade shows as well. View the presentation
10-Minute WordPress Tutorial #2
This tutorial is for beginners just learning how to add pages to their WordPress website. Topics include adding a page, copying text into the page, adding a text widget to the sidebar, and adding a menu item using the custom menu feature. The demonstration site in this tutorial has the Enterprise /Gensis Theme by Studiopress installed.
SEO is Not a Silver Bullet to Sales
This morning I came across a post offering the top things not to do when optimizing your site for Google search. See “Search engine optimization Elite Review On Google Prime ten NoNo’s” The points are all valid and a well optimized site should follow all the rules if they want to have their site rank as high as possible. The problem I see with many customers is their laser-sharp focus on getting a good search engine rank while neglecting other marketing and possibly even the website itself.
This hyper-focus may have been enhanced by the glut of SEO experts telling people how vital SEO is to their success. But, web site owners would be wise to remember that the only thing good SEO will do is have your site show up in a site search. It’s not a silver bullet to sales. It will only improve the odds or bringing customers to your website. After that it’s up to you and your website to impress potential customers with amazing content–content that’s current, clear, accurate, informative, and attractively designed.
So while you’re reviewing SEO strategies (because I’m not discounting the effectiveness of a well-optimized site at getting people to the door) don’t forget to review your website. The stuff that customer’s actually see is as important as a good SEO strategy. Here’s a brief checklist of things you should be looking at:
- Is it clear (to the layperson) within seconds of landing on any page in your website what you’re selling?
- Is your phone number visible? On every page?
- Do you give people a reason to call you? Do you clearly state benefits of doing business with you?
- Is your navigation easy to follow?
- Are your markets clearing defined. Do you provide market specific content for different market segments?
- Do you update your content with current information?
- Does your site design look professional? Does it look current or dated? Does it show well on mobile devices?
- Is your site design (colors, typography, logos, images) consistent with your brand?
- If you have a shopping cart, is the cart secure? Are products clearly displayed and identified?
- Are customer service policies, shipping methods, return policies, privacy policies in place.
- Do you provide a physical location and multiple ways for people to contact you?
- Are you using social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others that are appropriate for your markets?
Always focus on building a website that benefits your clients and potential clients. If you keep that in mind as you optimize your site and your content you may find that customers are not only finding you, but they’re also buying from you. And that’s really the ultimate goal isn’t it?
Event CD
Our client was hosting a large event that had more than 30 different presenters. Although each attendee could choose which break-out session they wanted to go to, the client wanted to provide them with information on all the sessions and the presenters. Since the theme was “Going Green” the paper route was not an option. We created an interactive CD that allowed them to view all the information at their leisure. Note: the image used was provided by the client.
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