Web Savvy Marketers

Social Media During the Lenten Season

So I heard that people are giving up Facebook for Lent.  I’m not Catholic, so it isn’t something that I would ever have to contemplate doing myself, but I am in awe about the implications associated with this fact.  Any marketer worth his salt should take note.  This statement puts Facebook right up there with chocolate, TV, gambling, and gossip.  It reveals Facebook as a beloved activity that, to give up is truly a sacrifice.  Anyone who thinks that this is a fad or a fluke should reconsider that opinion immediately.

So what should marketers learn from this:

  1.  Social Media is on its way to becoming mainstream.
  2. If you serve a general target market, your consumers are there….therefore, you should be there.
  3.  If you serve a very niche target market, your consumers might be there…therefore, you should consider being there.
  4.  Other marketers are figuring out how to leverage all that traffic.  Shouldn’t you be a part of that?

 If you have a great social media story, we’d love to hear it. Leave your comments here! If you’d like to know more about how companies are interacting with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or any of the other social media sites, please contact me.  New stories are being created every day!

Do you know where your domain is registered?

“Do you know where your children are?”   Do you remember that PSA that used to run in the evenings?  As a web developer whose seen some unfortunate clients lose their domains or get scammed out of some cash, I’ll ask “Do you know where your domain is registered?”

It’s important to know where your domain is registered and to monitor the contact information on the domain to ensure that you retain control.  In many cases your domain name is closely tied to your brand so you should be very protective of maintaining that domain.   I’ve seen customer’s lose  domain names because they changed their e-mail address and didn’t receive the renewal information.  And I’ve seen domains transferred to different regsitries in response to unscrupulous sales techniques.

Most domain registries handle renewals with automatic credit card billing and e-mail notices.  If your credit card expires and the e-mail on account with the domain registry is no longer in effect the domain will expire and you may lose your domain permanently if the problem is not caught in time.  Make sure you keep your contact information current and do not ignore renewal notices from your domain registrar.

There are a few unscrupulous domain registry companies out there whose practice is to send transfer solicitations that look like domain renewal invoices to domain owners.  Domain owners sometimes miss the text that says that by sending a check it authorizes them to transfer the domain to their company. And since the domain owner doesn’t remember who is their domain registrar, they assume the invoice is legitimate and they pay the bill.  The company doesn’t transfer ownership–you’ll still own the domain–but why change your domain registration company and pay a higher rate in the process?

In closing, if you don’t know where your domain is registered,  find out now, before it’s too late.

What is Website Optimization and Why do I Care?

This is a question that I’ve received on more than one occasion. Anyone who has a website should care about website optimization. If you have a website, odds are you’ve spent time and money to create it. So what is it doing for you? Too many people create a site and do nothing to drive traffic to their site, then, wonder why business hasn’t improved. In traditional terms, you can create the most beautiful advertisement, however, if you never place it where it can be seen, it’s useless. It’s the same for websites. That is where website optimization comes in. It’s the practice of driving traffic to your website. There are several ways to do this.

The first way to drive traffic to your site is to ensure that your site can be found. This is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. By including meta tags and descriptions as well as improving the content of your site, you can improve the organic search-ability of your site so that people can find you. This is a long-term investment that pays off in gradual increments. Over time, search engine optimization will help improve your search engine rank and make it easier for potential customers to find your site.

The second way to improve your website optimization is a traditional pay-per-click program. These are the ads that show up in the right hand column of a Google search. The nice thing about these ads, as the name says, you only pay for those searches that actually click through to your site. This program is intended to drive unknown prospects to your site.

A third method of website optimization is called e-marketing. This includes creating an e-newsletter campaign and/or blog to help educate your customers. It is a good way to ensure that you have a consistent presence with your existing customers and known prospects. It will remind them that you’re out there and in some cases, depending on the article, educate them about capabilities you have that they may not know about or have forgotten.

The final form of website optimization is inclusion of RSS feeds to your website to pull the latest news from a blog into your site. This can help to keep your site updated with little effort. This will also help your search engine optimization and gives users a reason to go back to your site more frequently as they’ll know that you have updated information.

Basically, website optimization is a means to get your site working for you. Years ago, when people created or changed their website, they would let everyone they knew know about it. We’ve gotten away from that practice. Website optimization takes the best of those practices and incorporates them into a program that will make your website work for you.

How To Be the Perfect Client

This week I finished up writing the content for a simple Web site for a massage therapist. She wasn’t convinced at the outset that she needed help from a copywriter, and wasn’t prepared to pay for much more than “tidying up the home page.”

As the project moved forward, she began to see the value of a copywriter’s contribution: clearly stating her core message; developing a powerful call to action for each page; keeping copy concise and easy to scan; and introducing important key words and phrases that potential clients might use to find her in a Google search.

She turned out to be a terrific client. She gave me good raw data to work with, got back to me right away with her feedback, and really understood and appreciated what I was trying to accomplish on her behalf. The cherry on top? She paid her bill within two weeks!

I called her right away and said, “I wasn’t sure how things were going to work out for us, but now I wish all my clients were like you!” Know what she said? “I’d be happy to write a testimonial you can use on your own Web site!”

So, again, what makes a perfect client? Someone who:
*Values the contributions to the project
*Provides what is needed to get the job done
*Responds right away with feedback (So the project stays on track!)
*Works in a collaborative fashion
*Pays the invoice in a timely fashion
*Speaks highly of the work to others and makes referrals

Nancy Simonds, promotional copywriter

WebSavvyMarketers.com launched

Last week a collaborative team of Web Savvy Marketers launched the new blog WebSavvyMarketers.com.  The team is made up of Rahna Barthelmess, Nancy Simonds, Beth Devine and me.  Our goal is to explore and discuss the numerous online marketing options availabe for businesses today.  Each of us operates our own marketing and web related business yet we all have different specialties.  Check out websavvymarketers.com and feel free to comment and ask questions.

Mary’s Place launched

Marysplacect.orgFriday we launched the redesigned website for Mary’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children in Windsor, CT.  I designed the original Mary’s Place website in 2003. After six years it was time for a fresh look.  We incorporated video and some flash slideshows into the new design in addition to making it easier for people to donate directly through the website and through Amazon.com  and IGive.com affiliations.  Check out Marysplacect.org

Let’s talk passion

WebSavvyMarketers is a group of four marketing professionals who have joined together to explore and comment on digital and on-line marketing.  We each have a unique passion that drives our individual careers and as savvy marketers we recognize the power of strategic alliance and collaboration.  Meet the WebSavvyMarketers.  

Rahna Barthelmess, who jumped in with the 1st post on the blog, has a passion for marketing. She’s helped  large corporations and small companies navigate the digital marketing world with up to date, and effective online strategies.   She’s focused and energetic about her passion. Tap into her energy here and through her website beacon-marketing.com.

Nancy Simonds loves to proofread.  Isn’t that an unusual passion?  In a world where the practice of texting has developed a new lexicon and threatens the art of a complete sentence, we need people like Nancy.  Although Nancy has helped develop web content for many business websites, she would probably be the first to admit that blogging, facebook, and twitter are a bit, shall we say, beyond her comfort zone.  But exploring new worlds is part of being a websavvymarketer and I think Nancy’s perspective on this “new world” will bring comfort to those of you who might  find some of the new technologies overwhelming.  More about Nancy at simonds.com

Have you ever met anyone who loves to cold call? Meet Beth Devine.  I swear, her passion for cold calling, could possibly be an addiction.   What’s her perspective?  How does a cold calling addict become a websavvymarketer?  Stay tuned.  By the way, Beth also creates multi-media sales CD’s and tradeshow presentations.  and recently has begun to work with me on SEO projects.   More at devinesolutionsinteractive.com,

And finally, who am I and what’s my passion?  I’m Carolyn Griswold and have a passion for the web and for building websites.  I love the technology that is ever evolving.  I love the immediacy of the web.  I love the interactivity, the functionality, the design, the language and the art.  I love to explore the web and as I explore I plan to use this space to share ways to become a web savvy marketer.   More at cgwebhelp.com

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