Tools & Tips – Page 9

The 7 Common Fallacies About Your Website’s Security

August 26, 2016 Beth Devine

site security — “Birthday Presents” by Mike McCune, used under CC BY / Modified from original

The three things you can be sure of in this world are death, taxes, and being hacked. Were he alive today, Benjamin Franklin would add the third, I feel fairly certain.

This latest of life’s certainties comes with being connected to the internet in any way at all. Every time you’re online, you’re a potential victim. And if you own a website for a small- or medium-sized business, your vulnerability is far greater.

By taking your business online, a necessary move if you want to be competitive, you become a target to a variety of attacks. Yet if you’re like most small business owners, you believe you’re safe.

Here’s why you’re wrong.

Fallacy #1: Small businesses aren’t worth a hacker’s time of day (or night).

Why would anyone want to bother with a small- or medium-sized business like yours? Because you’re far more likely to lack security, that’s why. Hackers know you’re less likely to take all the necessary measures to protect yourself, making you the low hanging fruit that offers itself as an easy target.

The fun they can have with your site is no different than what they can do with big business sites. Their three main reasons for hacking a website is to send out spam email, gain access to your mailing list, credit card information, and other private data, and to install malicious software onto your site or your end user’s computers.

Fallacy #2: You’re doing everything right to stay off Google’s blacklist.

As long as your site is free from malware, you’re safe, right? Except for when you do something wrong, and then Google punishes you for your mistake. When you make a mistake that lands you on its blacklist, your site will be shut down from all traffic. No more business as usual.

These mistakes often involve methods to improve your SEO, but the end result is the opposite. Using clever SEO tactics that turn into the wrath of Google can happen to anyone.

Fallacy #3: Your SHA-1 site is alright with you.

SHA-what, you ask? Because if you knew what SHA-1 was, you wouldn’t be all right with it. Basically, it’s old and decrepit and if it’s not replaced, collision attacks could lead to “catastrophic effects on the security of the internet.”

Here’s an example of what SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) does. Let’s say you sign in to a website’s login page using your password. SHA-1 might be used to verify that your username and password are authentic. Behind the scenes your password is turned into a secret checksum and compared to the checksum that’s stored on the website. You’re granted access only when the two match.

All sites are being required to update to SHA-2 by the end of 2016 due to the weakness found in its predecessor. Chances are, your site has been changed to SHA-2. Check on shaaaaaaaaaaaaa.com just to be sure.

Fallacy #4: Your site is safe because it’s WordPress.

WordPress is the largest content management system in the world, with thousands of plugins and widgets written by the community that enhance user experience. Hundreds of people all over the world are working on it, making it as safe and reliable as possible.

The problem is, they can’t make site owners take responsibility and keep their sites’ WordPress version up to date. At any given time, there are tens of thousands of WordPress sites with outdated versions, ripe for the picking by hackers.

It takes these attackers only a few minutes at most, using free automated tools, to find your site’s outdated version and exploit it. WordPress issues updates regularly for good reason. Don’t delay in making the upgrade.

Fallacy #5: I need to download all these plugins and themes because they’re so cool.

The single biggest source of vulnerability to your WordPress site is that nifty plugin you had to have. With over a thousand plugin vulnerabilities at any given time, keeping your plugins updated to their most current version is critical.

Not only that, don’t download plugins that you don’t need. Unnecessary plugins are like storing potatoes and forgetting about them until the smell of decay infests your home. Either use them and keep them updated, or throw them out.

Fallacy #6: My password is safe and known only to me.

New bruteforce cracking software is available, making 8 million guesses per second in its attempt to crack passwords. Yet the use of common passwords persists, despite the growing threat of cybercrime.

Based on the annual list of worst passwords released in 2015, people are still using passwords that don’t follow the simple formula of CLU: Complex. Long. Unique. Notice #25 on the list: Star Wars. When you think you’re being unique, think again.

Try this password checker to get an idea of how fast some of your old passwords can be cracked. As a precaution, don’t type in anything you’re currently using. You never know who’s watching even the online checkers.

Have trouble dreaming up a strong password? Use a password generator to generate strong unique passwords. A strong password in combination with a password management program like LastPass will help you secure your identity throughout the internet.

Fallacy #7: I’m the administrator of the site, so that should be my username.

Remember those brute force attacks used for cracking passwords? They are also used for getting past your username, since a hacker will need to have both to break in. Making your username “administrator” gives them exactly half of the information they need.

Making your username your actual name is another mistake. If your name is on the site anywhere as a site administrator or contributor, it’s a no-brainer to attempt hacking in using those names as hopeful admin roles.

Last year saw the largest number of cyberattacks recorded around the world, with 230,000 new malware samples produced daily, according to PandaLabs. Website security is never going to be a process of eliminating risk. It’s about reducing risk when full-proof security is unattainable.

Stop making these common mistakes and ditch the fallacies about site security. Take proactive security measures and watch for the next post on what you can do now to fix your site’s security weaknesses.

The Final Countdown To Photo Editing Freebies

August 15, 2016 Beth Devine

Social media is like a giant block party where anyone can drop in to meet people, have conversations, and make connections. When you share content on social media that lacks images, it’s like showing up to the party wearing a starship cloaking device.

No one notices you because it’s as if you’re invisible.

Without images on social media, you’re doomed to travel at warp speed into oblivion. You might as well hang up your Starfleet combadge now, because effective communication requires more than plain text.

You need images, and you need the tools to make your images pop. This is your third and final post in a series of free photo editing sites. The final countdown before takeoff, where you’ll hit intergalactic space with a full cohort of spectacularly edited images to post. Or something like that.

Pho.to

Looks like Pho.to reworked it’s site, although if you find yourself at the old site, you can easily navigate to the new version by clicking on the upper left corner in pho.to. The new site is chock-full of features, whether you’re a business, a designer, or a photo-editing fan.

Depending on which feature you select, you’ll go back and forth between the old and new site versions. But don’t let that slow you down. They all have easy to navigate menus, with the features clearly identified. The only feature that is slightly complicated is the boost your business with branded photo effects.

The pho.to editor will give you the options you’re most accustomed to, such as cropping, resizing, image brightness and contrast, and color enhancement. You can create funny photo montages, turn a photo into a greeting ecard, and make a magazine cover or a money portrait with more than 600 effects. Make a point of testing out the make-up effects for enhancing your portrait.

LunaPic

Despite its first impression of being slightly clunky – it doesn’t appear to have been updated recently – the vast number of effects make up for any lack of modern appeal. Be prepared for some surprising fun on LunaPic with a full menu of interesting editing options.

For example, where else can you find instant lightening? Or give your images an old movie effect, complete with a black and white color change and scratchy moving vertical lines, all in one click? The animation alone has plenty of hidden gems for your adventures into retro looping imagery. Hey, wait, isn’t that what’s called a GIF nowadays?

Speaking of which, you can instantly create GIFs using LunaPic, whether it’s with a video or a live photo. And if that’s not addicting enough, you can mess around with your video frame-by-frame to change the order or create a Polaroid pile.

Plus, it’s so easy to navigate, you can try out effects and undo them in a snap. Just click on any previous version of your photo displayed above the central image that you’re working on in a thumbnail history format. Or, click on edit and then undo last action in the drop down menu.

Photomania

Photomania has more than 500 photo editing effects that include camera, sketch, painting, magical, vintage, textures, cartoon, and pop art filters. Show your artistic flair with the click of a button and create pieces of art, or simply embellish your images with some fun add-ons.

Choose from a wide range of fun features ranging from the offbeat to the uniquely useful. If you want to make an ecard for a special occasion in a matter of seconds, this is the site for you. While some features indicate a preoccupation with certain teen celebrities, there’s enough variety here to outweigh this, presented in a very user-friendly format. One of the site’s more surprising perks is its Photomania blog. Get photography tips, inspiration for ecards, and a few editing tutorials.

What’s missing is a way to make multiple edits on the same image. As it stands, you have to save and upload that image again for each additional edit. There’s a mobile app for iOS and Android which supposedly allows for this, so why the tedious application for the web version? If you’re a true photomaniac, this is an essential feature.

Pixlr and Pixlr Express

All your basic edits are found in Pixlr, giving you the full experience of an online editor comparable to Photoshop, but totally free. A pro version is available for a fee if you want to get all the fancy upgrades.

However, you can find enough in the free version to keep you busy. The main toolbar has more features than a novice might feel comfortable with. No worries, check out their handy support page. You can begin with the Pixlr toolbar editor explained, and then move on to tutorials, such as how to create a nostalgic appeal with retro skies.

You know those fun editing tricks of erasing the background or cutting out images to add to another image? Pixlr has you covered. With simple how-to’s, you can quickly master the art of “fakery and creativity,” or using the magic wand to create some eye-goggling photos for your audience.

For a fast touch-up, Pixlr Express is your no-frills option to Pixlr Editor with six simple tabs for all your basic editing needs, including text, pre-fab layers, and several effects. No prior experience required here.

Instant Fun Effects

When you just want to get silly with your photos, take a look at 10 Superb Online Tools For Fun Photo Effects. Forget Yearbook Yourself and Gooifier, which no longer work, but Photo505 has many crazy effects to try, such as the old face or the avatar face. Funphotobox has similar options, with the added GIF appeal to a selection of effects. And Photofunia gives you some unique options for adding text to various backgrounds, including movie marquee, foggy window, and Einstein writing on a chalkboard.

Whatever your image needs, your mission is clear: to boldly go where no photo has gone before.

More Free Online Photo Editing Sites

July 11, 2016 Beth Devine

image editing sites — Using free photo editing site Fotor makes image pop out.

Give your photos some fine tuning with more free online photo editing sites. In the last post we covered several sites for boosting your social media and website photos, but the list keeps growing.

Visual media is a must when you want to attract attention, whether it’s in your online newsletter, blog, Facebook post, or your website’s homepage. Don’t miss out on these photo editing sites for free and easy ways to get your images ready to make a big impression on your visitors.

Photoshop Express

Photoshop Express is Adobe’s solution to giving you free online editing software to use wherever you go. It’s available on not only all the major platforms, but on your smartphone and iPad apps.

It supports JPEG files no larger than 16 megapixels, the size typically used by point and shoot cameras and mobile phones, and seamlessly shares your images to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. When you just want to create a high-quality image in a few clicks, it’s the quick fix you’re looking for.

For software that boasts the basics plus a few fun features at no cost, here’s an alternative to Photoshop that any beginner can learn. You won’t go away disappointed.

Photocat

Contrary to what the site’s name suggests, cats are not required when using this photo editing site. You can upload any image to Photocat, and it will automatically resize it if it’s too large. So those high megapixel images from your smartphone aren’t a problem.

You get all the basic editing tools as well as some fun retouch effects, such as changing eye color, removing blemishes, and adding blush, making it perfect for creating an instant glamour portrait. You can also create easy collages to share.

Photocat is free to use on the web or for $.99 to buy as an app on your smartphone, and offers direct sharing with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Fotor

Fotor reminds me a lot of Picmonkey, so if you’re already familiar with either of these sites, you won’t find too much difference. One of the easy-to-use features of both is the ability to add text, including the ability to use the text saved to your computer.

The one exception is the HDR feature in Fotor. This is when you have the AEB (auto exposure bracketing) photos of the same scene with different lighting, such as one that is overexposed and one underexposed. Fotor HDR will take these multi-exposure shots and create one image. Learn more about it Moblivious, and note that you can select your own already taken AEB photos now.

Fotor also has a convenient 1-tap enhance button that works well for when you’re in a super rush.

piZap

This is the site for you if you want to create images that appeal to teens and kids, or you’re aiming for something quirky and humorous. For someone interested in adding some “piZap” to a Facebook photo, this is also the place. It has a fast meme-making option and a killer collection of stickers to color your images with.

For the user who wants basic photo edits, this is not the place, although there are some funky fonts, backgrounds, and frames to perk up your photos if that’s your style. You can also create your Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube cover photos with the design app, or use their new transparent background.

There’s plenty to have fun with, and it’s as straightforward as it gets, including the first editing step of selecting your photo. You get to choose directly from any of these: your computer, Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Search, piZap Backgrounds, Webcam, Flickr, and Picasa.

So go and give your photos some piZap, and don’t forget to have fun.

Phixr

When you create an account on Phixr, you are able to access your settings and current work from any computer. It supports easy upload of your photos from Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, and Dropbox, which you can then directly upload to your favorite social media. They’ve also just enabled upload straight to your WordPress site’s media library, a handy feature not typically offered.

You get your basic editing features plus Phixr’s fun effects, including text, speech bubbles, color effects, and some really cool overlays. The site is not the most modern you will come across, but the unique features make the trip here totally worthwhile when you want to experiment with new effects.

Be sure to stay current on any new features with the Phixr Blog, a good indication that this photo editor site continues to be monitored and updated.

There’s more to come on free photo editing sites, so check back here soon and get the complete list at Web Savvy Marketers.

Give Your Images on Your Website and Social Media Some TLC

June 20, 2016 Beth Devine

Are you tired of the same old photo editor? Do your website and social media images suffer from the same monotonous treatment? Don’t miss out on some great alternatives to kicking your images up a notch. It’s time to step outside of your editing box and try something different.

Most website owners and bloggers understand the importance of posting eye-catching images, but finding the time to create the desired effect isn’t a priority. So you stick to what’s familiar instead of giving your images some new life. If you want to find new, easy, and quick ways to edit your images, then read on.

If you’re a Photoshop pro, then continue to focus on your high-end editing skills while the rest of us savor the fares of the many free image editing sites available. Free and easier-to-use alternatives that give excellent and effective results — what are you waiting for?

Sumo Paint

For an online photo editing tool with superb painting applications, this is your Photoshop pseudo-facsimile. The toolbar at the top is easy to use, and the selection of painting, shapes, cropping, and transform options in the left toolbar gives you many editing options.

If you’re unhappy with the result, simply hit the arrows at the bottom to undo or redo your editing. To get all the options in the menu at the top, you’ll need to upgrade to pro.

Use it without downloading in your browser, or get the free app for iPad. Go to the Sumo Paint YouTube channel for helpful video tutorials and inspiration.

Ribbet

If you’re accustomed to using PicMonkey, this will be familiar territory. Ribbet was built to stand in for the closure of Google’s Picnik in 2012, using the same platform and offering many of the same features. If you like frogs and you want an easy transition from either Picnik or PicMonkey, then try this. You might even find you like it better.

It also offers the ability to save your favorites in the cloud, something you can’t do in PicMonkey. You can also save directly to Picasa, Google+, Flickr, and Facebook, or print right from the app. As with any free software, there are ads, but I didn’t find them nearly as distracting as with PicMonkey.

Polarr

This photo-editing platform is said to be “leaving other apps in the cold.” Its founder, Borui Wang, is featured in Forbes magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 awards in the consumer tech category. Since founding Polarr in 2014, the company became the number one app on Product Hunt after just one day on the site, garnering 30,000 users in its first month, and over 4 million worldwide today.

If that’s not enough to get you curious, Polarr delivers technical effects geared to the powerhouse photographer. This means the editing tools are effortless, allowing the “Polarrians” (what they prefer to call their users) to “effortlessly express their perspectives and attitudes toward life, universe, and everything, without losing the fidelity of their creative desire and inspirations.”

This gives you more time to do what you like to do and less time fussing around trying to get the exact photo effect. Who doesn’t want that?

A new desktop version is coming the end of June for Mac, Chrome, and Windows, so be sure to check back and see the results.

FotoJet

Image editors help give your blog posts and social media accounts an added visual appeal. There are many options for different layouts, templates, and fun features, but when it comes to fun, FotoJet has it in spades.

FotoJet calls itself a collage maker, but it’s so much more. If you’re looking for a creative way to approach your images, this will give you ample new ideas. There are templates for all the main social media platforms, many different themes for photo cards, and a miscellaneous section that includes magazines, quirky backgrounds, designer frames, and comics.

No need to spend a lot of time and money on making eye-catching images for your social media and blog posts. FotoJet is free to use and very user-friendly, with no advanced technical expertise required, although there are easy tutorials if you need some help figuring the process out..

FotoFlexer

Forget that it looks like it was built fifteen years ago. Despite its unappealing first impression, it has some unique features that are worth taking a look at.

Fotoflexer calls itself “the world’s most advanced online image editor,” although this claim would be more aptly rephrased as “world’s most whimsical” online image editor. The glitter text aside, some of the more outlandish features include green aliens in space.

fotoflexer free image editing tool — “Planet” by Element2048, used under CC BY / Modified from original

Forget using it to add text unless you want to enclose it in a big white box. For ideas on how to use its more singular features are demonstrated in the fotoflexer demos. These options can be adapted for many other uses. For example, changing the background in the “Alien in Space” demo, unless you’re keen on green cosmic visages.

We’re not done yet! Come back next month for more new and exciting photo editing sites that are free to use.

Strut Your Human Stuff On Social Media

June 15, 2016 Beth Devine

social media marketing — Wall-E photo by Morgan, used under CC BY / Modified from original

Does it seem like technology creates more challenges than your small business can keep up with? As the digital landscape keeps changing, businesses must continue to strategically approach new online opportunities — or risk obscurity.

For marketers, social media is a problem that won’t go away. Your efforts to grow your community are met with dire assertions about organic reach requiring paid ads, while the advertisement costs keep going up.

You’re told that there’s limited exposure to your individual feed and content alone doesn’t cut it any longer. Do you have to pay to reach your audience? Will your social metrics go up if you invest in the high costs of paid ads?

You can stop worrying and start focusing on the one critical element that hasn’t changed. There are people on the other end of that post. People who may or may not believe a thing you say.

Without a solid plan to humanize your brand, social media can be the pervasive thorn in your side. How do you find your voice in a world cluttered with algorithmic noise and reach an audience already overloaded with content? How do you make those valuable customer connections?

By being a human, not a robot.

For social media to work, businesses need to humanize their brand and build three things: engagement, relationships, and trust.

Engagement

Engagement isn’t measured using a balance sheet of your Facebook likes. It’s not a popularity contest where customer relationships develop based on clicks of the “Like” button.

Your involvement in the conversation, sharing content, and making and responding to mentions is the criteria for engagement. Sharing real stories, real conversations, and real communication makes for engagement with real people.

Relationship

Customer relationships aren’t made by posting great content. Not even authentic content will lead to human relationships. Relationships involve the proverbial two-way street.

Human relationships involve several stages. You meet, you get to know each other, and you eventually begin to pay more attention to the people who also give you the time of day. Your business also receives more attention in return.

Post great content to get them hooked, and then invest in your followers and customers by spending time with them online.

Trust

It’s no secret that word-of-mouth gets people’s attention. When someone you know gives you a recommendation, you’re influenced by their suggestion. Sometimes it’s just easier to go with what your peers suggest.

Reviews by people you don’t know also carry power to sway your decision. 79% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. There are more places than Google and Yelp for potential reviews. Discover five more, including a little-known way to review on Facebook.

Reviews show us how important it is to build trust. Stay in continuous engagement by responding to any negative reviews or comments in a timely manner. Get input from your customers, give them feedback, and grow your social word-of-mouth.

Which Social Media Platform Is Best?

Each social media platform holds unique potential, but only one shows growth in engagement with brands. According to a new infographic from Morrison Foerster, Facebook is the one exception to the decline in levels of user engagement.

Technology keeps changing, yet the one constant remains the same. There are always going to be people on the other end of your posts and shares. Your social media marketing is ultimately human to human, not B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumer).

Unless, of course, you’re a true believer in so-called progress and more interested in talking to machines.

Emojis: Coming Soon To An Inbox Near You

June 14, 2016 Beth Devine

Apple gets emojified with emoji predictions, emojification, and three times larger emojis, among other changes coming up in their text messaging app.

When it comes to emojis, it seems you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. If you’re in the hate ‘em camp, you’ll be glad to know you’re far from alone, although your ranks are shrinking.

When men aren’t afraid to use emojis, it’s time to take them — somewhat — seriously.

Emojis & Emoticons: What is the difference?

Emojis are the colorful images that present as cartoon-like pictures and are a standardised set of characters available on IOS, Android, Windows, and OS X.

While the meaning of each symbol is supposed to be the same, the artwork varies from platform to platform. So what presents as, say, the “grinning face with smiling eyes”, will look vastly different depending on which platform is being used.

Emoticons are the inspiration for emojis. They are the series of symbols typed from the keyboard that depict the same thing as an emoji. For example, a smiley face is typed out as :-).

Using Emojis in Your Email Subject Line

While it’s not a new idea to use emojis in text messages and social media posts, using them in email subject lines is a fast-growing, popular tactic due to the rise in emoji-friendly devices, particularly mobile devices. And as email inboxes become more and more crowded, emojis help you attract audience attention and increase open rates.

Used correctly, emojis are your ticket to communicating a message that is unique and fun. Get a fresh look and add some character to your subject lines with these colorful and inviting symbols.

Always Check Before Using

Because not all browsers and email providers will display emojis, it’s important to check before using. If the emoji isn’t supported, it could appear as a box, like this: ?.

Go to Can I Emoji? for a handy online tool to check how an emoji will work based on the different browsers.

Where To Find Emojis

There are 1,851 emojis characters supported by current platforms, including Unicode Version 9.0 which releases on June 21, 2016. For the list of new characters that are included, go to Emojipedia and click on each one to see how it will look on the different platforms.

Go to getemoji.com and copy and paste emojis to your heart’s content.

Don’t Make the Mistake of Overuse

Although they are understandably difficult to resist, don’t overuse them in your email marketing. Select an ideal reason for using an emoji in your subject line and use sparingly.

There is no such thing as too many emojis when you’re a social media-addicted teen, but for brands, moderation is key.

Always Ask, “Is It Relevant?”

Before using an emoji, consider the message the emoji communicates, your target market, and your brand image. Check the emoji for its rendering across platforms as well as for any communication problems.

If you find the emoji in question works well, then it’s good to go.

Get Your Emoji On

The best way to stand out from packed inboxes is with visual email subject lines, which, by the way, will be shorter thanks to emoji characters because saying it with a picture means using less words. You’ll be increasing brand awareness by showing your fun side before your email gets opened.

And even if your email isn’t opened, the subject line sends a message by communicating with an emoji. You’re still making contact and reinforcing your relationship with eye-catching visuals that say “Look at me!”

Less Is More

By taking the typical 40 to 60 character length of subject lines and inserting an emoji — typically at the beginning or end — you’re sending an invitation that communicates more with less. Visuals offer more potential for engagement when tied to complementary text.

Be careful when inserting an emoji for a word if there’s any chance of misconstruing its meaning. You don’t want your audience to have to guess what you’re trying to say, unlike the latest phenomenon of “guess this movie” using only emojis.

Test your emoji-reading skills here to see how well you do. If you think that’s a bit over-emojied, then how about Sony’s The Emoji Movie? It’s based entirely on emojis and takes place inside a smartphone.

If you’re still thinking emojis aren’t for you, that’s fine. You’re probably right. But here’s an infographic in case you need more convincing.

For a concise round-up of how to use emojis in your email marketing, look below for “The Ultimate Guide to Using Emojis in Email Marketing” from Marketing Cloud.

Get the embed code for this awesome guide to using emojis in your email marketing at Salesforce Marketing Cloud .

Hyperlocal Marketing: The New Buzzword On the Map

May 13, 2016 Beth Devine

What’s with all the hype over hyperlocal marketing? It’s nothing new to small businesses. Don’t you perform hyperlocal marketing every time you attend or sponsor a community event?

This old-fashioned component to hyperlocal marketing, dating back to the first shop that opened its doors to Main Street, continues to be very valuable. But there’s a lot more to it in our Internet Age of WiFi and GPS.

The term hyperlocal made its debut back in 1991 in a Washington Post article about local television news. Today, hyperlocal is the term being used to describe digital marketing targeting a specific geographic area. It can be focused on a town or a county, although that’s a large area. Hyperlocal marketing often targets a segment of the population that’s more defined, such as shoppers in a mall or consumers anywhere within a mile from your place of business.

There are a variety of ways to employ hyperlocal marketing, such as using news items, the weather, or apps. The most common application is – you guessed it – mobile phones. The built-in GPS and WiFi allows companies to connect with customers based on their particular neighborhood, zip code, or shopping location.

Thanks to Google and the search function, local online directories, and social media, this ability to connect is at an all-time high. Our digital world gives companies without big name recognition the opportunity to be found at a local level like never before.

So even though it’s a new buzzword for an old idea, hyperlocal marketing is here for the long haul. Here are a few things to be sure you’re doing with hyperlocal marketing as a small business.

Claim Your Local Business Page

By signing up with Google My Business, your business gets on Google Maps and your local search rankings increase. Customers can easily find your location as well as your business hours, updates, and reviews.

Make sure your business name, address, and phone number match what you have on your website. If you have more than one location, each business should have its own listing.

Optimize for “Near Me” Searches

Google said that ”near me” searches doubled in 2015, indicating that this is a trend that’s not leaving anytime soon. With “near me” searches, Google’s algorithm increases how important distance is from the searcher’s location.

To help optimize for this, make sure your business name, address, and phone number are prominently and frequently displayed on your website. Get someone who’s tech-savvy to provide local business information to Google by doing a structured data markup for your site.

Respond To Any Negative Reviews

Google and Yelp, the two top consumer review platforms, give businesses the option to respond to customer reviews. Your attention to consumer comments can be a great way to demonstrate your excellent customer service.

Anytime your business site is mentioned in reviews online, it’s counted by ranking algorithms used by search engines. Getting a lot of positive reviews is helpful with your local map rankings, so aim high.

Mobile-Friendly Location Pages

Mobile marketing is an important focus as mobile use continues to grow — with 62 percent of digital media time spent on mobile, the next frontier in digital marketing is here. It’s important to have a mobile-friendly website, and in particular, mobile-friendly location pages.

Avoid giving users a frustrating experience when they try to get to your location. Because these pages are often the most viewed, and more than half of all web activity is on mobile devices, it’s critical to get your site’s location pages optimized for mobile.

Like so many old ideas in marketing, hyperlocal marketing has been reinvented with new dynamics. Get your hyperlocal on and into your marketing plan.

Free Tools for Making Easy GIFs

April 29, 2016 Beth Devine

Now that we’ve covered different ways to use GIFs in the last post, what about how to make them? When you want to create and share your own unique content, GIFs are the perfect way to express emotions, show some snark, capture a live event, and turn a serious problem into a quick fix.

There are a number of easy GIF-making sites, giving you the potential to become a GIF-creating connoisseur in a matter of minutes. Here are a few of the best online tools.

Fast and Free Online Tools for Making GIFs

Recordit

Want to make a quick and easy GIF straight off your computer screen? How about that tricky step in a software program, or a DIY quick fix you’re tired of trying to explain in tiresome text?

Next time you’re about to throw your hands up in exasperation, make a video instead. Recordit allows you to make a recording of up to five minutes, turn it into a GIF, and share with a URL. Your problem is solved and everyone is happy, because who isn’t glad to see a GIF in action?

Next time you need to explain something over and over, do a screen capture of it with Recordit, and solve your problem with a GIF anyone can watch as often as they need.

Giphy

If you have a video clip, YouTube or Vimeo file, or even a live iPhone photo you want to turn into a GIF, Giphy makes it easy and fun. It’s perfect for the GIFs you want to add some text to, giving your GIF an added pop of humor or commentary.

You can create GIFs using mp4, mov, mpg, and m4v file formats. The maximum file size is 100 MB, and the movie files can’t be longer than 15 seconds. Because Giphy is a favorite place for viewers to find and enjoy GIFs, you might want to make an official brand account on Giphy. Go to giphy.com/partners to contact the Giphy folk.

Free Gif Maker

If you want to make a GIF out of a series of photos, this platform lets you do that using up to 10 photos, as well as using a YouTube video.

If you want to add some fun effects, Gif Maker has a number of unique animated effects all demonstrated with Mr. Bean photos. You can even make a GIF and then make it play in reverse.

Picasion

A fun feature here is the ability to split a GIF into individual frames and share a single frame. If you have a need to separate and splice a video or live photo, here’s your solution.

Picasion lets you select a size for your GIF before creating, as well as choosing an animation speed. You can also directly import photos from Picasa, but since that was recently “retired” by Google, this is probably not a strong selling point.

Make a Gif

Easy buttons make creating GIFs a no-brainer here, but the best part is the GIF extras. You can learn everything you need to know from the Tutorials (coming soon!), order a flip book of your GIF, or add an extension to Chrome. There’s even a GIF TV page; just click the channel to change selection.

Gickr

If you have a Flickr account, this makes it easy to grab photos for instant GIF creation. It’s very similar to Picasion, and dates itself by mentioning MySpace.

Imgflip

This platform has its own cult following who enjoy competing for upvotes on their GIFs, memes, and pie charts. Given the ability to add text, an off-center sense of humor dominates most uploaded GIFs, but don’t let that deter you.

There is a tiny watermark in the lower corner, something you won’t find with Giphy or Gif Maker.

4 GIF Apps for Use With IOS

DSCO

In response to the GIF-making craze, photo editor app VSCO made a GIF app for its IOS users. You can find some of the same artistic filters, but it seems you need both apps so you can save your photos directly to VSCO.

GiphyCam

This has the appeal of a GIF messaging app with lots of versatility. You can directly send instantly created GIFs a-la-Snapchat-mode through text or Facebook messenger, or you can share to your other favorite social media sites where they don’t disappear like Snapchats.

There are overlays, filters, and text you can add for supreme fun and entertainment. Thanks to the Giphy folks, you can carry your GIF addiction around with your iPhone or iPad.

Phhhoto

This app is now also available on Google Play for Androids. In addition to making GIFs – what it calls “instant moving pictures” – it’s also a popular teen social network device. You can share your GIFs with other users in “parties.”

You can also easily save your GIFs to your camera roll. Just select the share arrow below the photo, then hit Save GIF. Or press the Down Arrow in the top left corner of any Draft. If you have saving to your camera roll enabled, it automatically saves when you post a photo to Phhhoto.

Phhhoto takes 4 images to create your GIF, with new filters often added daily. You can’t take images from your camera roll to make GIFs; only those shot using the app can be used.

Boomerang

For all Instagram fans, you’ll want to get this IOS app for instant GIF recording. Boomerang takes your photo bursts and turns them into GIFs expressly for Instagram, although it also autosaves to your camera roll.

So get photo-bursting and make some fun GIFs when you’re out and about.

Creating animated GIFs is easy with these free, customizable, and click-to-upload online services. Just be sure to refrain from overuse. Too many GIFs is like too much noise. It will make your audience want to run and hide. But used well, GIFs are the answer to giving your followers engaging and original content.

Have Fun With GIFs In Your Marketing

April 15, 2016 Beth Devine

It all started with emoticons. Then it was online memes. Today, GIFs are more than corny banner ads or headache-inducing social avatars. The animated GIF is a common staple seen across social media, blogs, and websites.

Like video, GIFs are visual eye candy that will grab your audience’s attention, but their format is short and sweet, only about five to fifteen seconds long. They can be a series of still images or a short video clip that plays over and over again.

They don’t (usually) have audio, giving GIF’s a retro appeal with their silent film feel. Besides, there’s something annoying about repeatedly hearing the same sound, whereas we can watch something many times over without the same aversion.

Images invoke emotional responses, break language barriers, explain complicated ideas, and prompt imagination — all at a glance. Make them come alive with GIFs and you’ve got a riveting story in motion.

Marketers have jumped on the official GIF bandwagon with new ways to use them for stand-out content that delivers its message fast. Why use words alone when a GIF can – literally – stand up and do a jig for you?

5 Ways To Use GIFs In Your Marketing

1. Social Media

Facebook joined the ranks of platforms that support GIFs, along with with Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Google+. Because images generate more likes, reactions, and shares than plain text, posting GIFs makes your content more clickable and increases engagement.

So what are you waiting for? Now that you can easily add a GIF to social media updates, the internet relies even less on words. Why say anything with words when a moving image says it so much better?

2. Blog posts

Why settle for static images when you can boost your blog with GIF-appeal? Follow suit with sites like BuzzFeed and Unbounce and make your posts jump off the page with an occasional GIF.

GIFs give your audience an immediate message. Compared to asking your audience to click on a link or watch a video (which they might not even do), a well-timed GIF doesn’t require asking for anything.

3. Free Ebooks and Whitepapers

Creative use of GIFs can change boring static ebook images into looping graphics of relevant text, charts, and quotes. Spice up your offerings with captivating GIFs instead of settling for the same old inert images.

4. Announce New Features

Anytime you have something new to shout about, whether it’s new software, a new service, or a new product, GIFs are a way to call attention from the rooftops of your corner of the internet. Their instantaneous nature make them effective attention-grabbers.

Attach them to your newsletter, send in an email, or include them on a landing page, in your “About Us” page, or on your home page. They take up less place than posting a series of single static images.

5. Describe How To Do Things

Have you ever tried to explain something in text but were unable to keep it short and simple with just words? Try making a GIF to describe how you did it.

Whether it’s how you manage your files, a step in your software solution, how to do a quick install, or any quick fix. Think of ways to highlight a key function or feature, such as a series of GIFs demonstrating a short tutorial or illustrating the steps to a process. The sky’s the limit with what you can record into a GIF.

Look for how to make GIFs in the next post.

How To Persuade People With the Ugly Green Drink

March 22, 2016 Beth Devine

Persuading people to agree with you and do what you’re asking them to do is difficult. Whether you want them to buy your product or service, vote in a particular way, or make different lifestyle choices, it involves understanding the Ugly Green Drink.

For my son, drinking smoothies is all about flavor. Imitating Starbuck’s new smoothie glamour or pushing veggie health won’t convince him to drink the Ugly Green Drink. I tried that.

It has to taste good, and if it’s green, then that’s just not possible according to the Book of Hungry Teen Boys. Despite being ugly and green, it’s just as good as purple or red smoothies, but try telling that to a green-phobic youth.

He helped me earn my badge in the art of persuasion. Now it’s your turn to learn the Ugly Green Drink technique and get the help you need to persuade people.

Say What You Have To Say

How you say something is as important as what you say. If you say something with anger or resentment, your listener will put up automatic defenses. If you say something with drama and self-judgment, it will be received as dramatic and worthy of judgment.

When I said the Ugly Green Drink was better for him than fruit-only smoothies, and if he couldn’t see past the green then he wasn’t trying to be an adult, I was the know-it-all mother. And he held fast to his question-mom-in-everything thinking.

Like the story in Seth Godin’s Poke the Box when the 1860s Hungarian doctor realized washing hands would save lives. No one listened to him. Can you guess why? Because he knew it all and didn’t bother to pretend otherwise. He was a pompous jerk.

Say what you have to say by taking into account how you say it so your audience will think you have something worth listening to.

Frame Your Story So It Fits Their World View

People suffer from what can be called a “moral empathy gap.” This inability to comprehend moral world views that are different from our own renders us incapable of persuading others to adopt our position.

In other words, you can’t persuade someone to take a different course of action or buy a product you want them to buy when you use your own system of belief. Without empathy, your attempts at persuasion will fall flat.

The Ugly Green Drink didn’t need to be healthy or a status symbol. Unlike Mikey of the Life cereal ad, persuading my son to like it was not as simple as shoving a bowl in front of him. I needed to use empathy and step inside his shoes.

“This is the ugliest drink you’re ever going to try; it’s as disgusting looking as the bottom of your backpack.” However, if I can persuade him that green doesn’t mean it tastes like cooked spinach, I’ve won. But first I have to get on his plane of thinking.

They’re Not Wrong

It’s close to impossible to persuade people that they are wrong and then have them do something differently. You can convince them with facts and figures by appealing to their intellect, but you can persuade them by “appeals made to the will, moral sense, or emotions.”

Godin reminds us that marketers don’t convince, they persuade. Moms serving Ugly Green Drinks must also learn the fine art of appealing to the passions, fears, and fancies of their target teens. Forget the brain and go for the heart.

Unless it’s brains you’re eating. “It’s so gross! If you drink it, you’ll be drinking monkey brains!” That was enough of a challenge for Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes to eat his smelly dinner. It warrants a try.

Help persuade your audience to make a change or a new decision instead of admit they’re wrong. Arnold Schwarzenegger shows us how with his bold, four-asterisk word in an appeal to our future.

Use Placebos To Surround What You’ve Built

Godin’s Placebos begins with a story illustrating how placebos work. A guy walks into a health food store with a nasty cold and asks for the strongest placebo they’ve got. Unfortunately, that particular store didn’t carry any.

“A placebo is a story we tell ourselves that changes the way our brain and body work,” Godin says. You have to first make something terrific that works, and then you have to build a story around it to break through all the noise and competition.

This is emotion again, the appeal to the heart and soul of your audience by going beyond the obvious features and benefits. “With the Ugly Green Drink you can forget about having to fork up boring vegetables. And you’ll be chugging down added protein you want for sports. All in mere seconds!”

I’m thinking Popeye the Sailor Man. He’s probably thinking The Expendables. Whatever works. Build a story around your great idea, product, or service, and let the placebo effect kick in.

Make Metaphors Happen

The Ugly Green Drink is my metaphor. It gives you imagery, helps you to understand the idea, and makes it easier to communicate it with others.

Put your metaphors at the beginning of your story. This way your audience doesn’t have to work so hard to understand your argument. The metaphor is the lens that focuses them in on your idea and helps to persuade them to think and act differently.

When you get others to drink the Ugly Green Drink, you’re persuading them to do something they might not want to do otherwise.

Pay It Forward

Simple reciprocity is a great persuasive device. Give someone an unexpected gift and you will create a need to reciprocate. Like the notion of pay it forward, people like to return favors as a way of showing their gratefulness. Think of how in your personal life you’re more inclined to ask someone for a favor if you’ve done a favor for them.

Businesses are applying this principle every day by offering free ebooks, free trial memberships, free samples, etc. The feeling of gratefulness for the free information creates a tendency to feel obligated to return the favor and make a purchase or a recommend to a friend.

Make sure you understand your audience and what they want before using reciprocity to influence their choices. Persuasion is most effective when the right favor is granted.

Offering my son a bowl of tortilla chips to go with the Ugly Green Drink will be far more persuasive than a dish of crunchy kale. Maybe I’ll work on kale chips next since I’m on a green roll.

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