Yearly Archives: 2010

Five Website Trends to Watch in 2011

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If you’re like many small businesses, you try to keep up with technology and follow the latest new “trends”, especially when it makes sense for your business to do so.  But – how do you know which online “trends” are only fads, and which ones are actually useful for business? Although the answers may vary depending on whom you ask, here are a few stand-out online trends that we think are worth watching – or implementing – in 2011:

  1. Mobile
    Mobile devices like smart phones, PDAs, Blackberrys, iPads, etc., are everywhere – it’s been reported that more than 90% of the U.S. population today has a mobile device!  Businesses have already started to take advantage of this emerging trend by developing mobile websites, apps, advertising, and mobile marketing initiatives to help them stay in touch with their customers anytime, anywhere.

  2. Social Media
    As the use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter continues to grow, businesses will have even more reason to build a solid social presence for interacting with customers and potential customers.  Businesses want to be where the customers already are, and right now, they are on the social networks.  In addition, businesses get a tremendous SEO benefit from their social networking efforts, because search engines now index the social content found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

  3. Online Marketing
    Online marketing includes a wide range of initiatives today; from specialized websites and landing pages, to email marketing campaigns, to marketing on the social networks and mobile marketing programs.  There are many low-cost or no-cost online marketing initiatives, making it affordable for most businesses today regardless of their size.  Online marketing results are also measurable, and can be tracked via any number of criteria (number of clicks, search terms used, number of opens, number of page visits, etc.), making it easy to track successes and identify areas that may need improvement.

  4. Content Marketing
    You’ve heard it before – you must continually provide value to your customers, Fans, and Followers, and one way to do that is to provide lots of useful content on your web pages, your blog, on your Facebook Custom Tabs, in your LinkedIn posts, and in your e-campaigns.  Write articles in your area of expertise, and submit them to quality online syndication sites.  Create how-to guides and videos that can be shared socially, or put together an online Resource Library with whitepapers, presentations, e-books, etc.  Search engines love new content, and it keeps visitors coming back as well.  

  5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
    Getting to the top of the search results page may be harder today than it used to be, but now is not the time to hide your head in the sand!  Features like personalized search, real-time search results, and instant previews may be changing how users search the web, but it does not change the need for your website to be optimized properly so it can be read and indexed by the search engines, and ultimately found in the top search results.

So no matter where web technology takes us in 2011, these five trends are solid, tried-and-true initiatives that you can implement today to help your business stay ahead of the curve and (hopefully) ahead of your competitors!

Suddenly, Looks Matter – Google’s Instant Preview

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If you are a Google user, you have probably noticed the latest new feature from Google called Instant Previews.

After performing a search, users can mouse-over a small icon beside each listing on the search results page, and a mini-version of the web page pops up beside the link.

The previews also display highlighted areas that identify where on the page the search term was found.

Since the preview image is not a full-size image, not all of the page content is visible or can be read in the preview (because the image is fairly small).  However, headlines and sub-headers are typically readable in the preview, and users can instantly see the general look of the website (layout, graphics, design, colors, depth and type of information, amount of useful content, etc.).

Before Google Instant Preview was launched in November 2010, studies reported that users took less than 4 seconds to decide whether to stay on your website or to click the “Back” button and move on.  But with Google’s Instant Preview, users no longer need to actually visit your website to preview it, and the decision to click on your site could be based on nothing more that the overall look of the site and/or the headers that can be read from the preview image – which may take even less than 4 seconds.

If users are not initially drawn to your site based on what they see in Google’s preview, there is little chance they will visit your website at all, especially if the other sites listed on the results page have previews that are more interesting, seem more useful, or are more eye-catching than yours.

Now more than ever, every page of your site must be well designed and look professional (not outdated or amateurish), and must be appealing and interesting enough to motivate web searchers to actually click on your link in the search results.  Now, your site not only competes on keywords, title tags, and description tags (which used to be the only items displayed in the search results), but must also impress searchers visually as well. With Google’s Instant Preview, the overall design and appearance of your site suddenly matters more than ever before.

Tips for Google Instant Preview

Google’s Instant Previews give you another opportunity to attract searchers and persuade them to click on your website instead of the competition. Plus, there are also some additional strategies you can use to improve your chances of getting that all-important click now that Instant Previews are here.  Below are some tips to help you make the most of this new Google feature:

  • Upgrade Your Design – The overall “look and feel” of your website is the first thing most searchers notice when they preview your website.  Your site must have an attractive layout with plenty of white space, readable headers, eye-catching use of colors, and it must look professional and credible.  It is unlikely that “home-grown” or DIY sites can win many clicks when displayed in the search results beside professionally developed sites.  The way your site looks in Google Instant Preview will now be the first impression of your website, and may determine whether it gets clicked on at all.
  • Improve Your Graphics – If you are still using freebie clip art on your website, it’s time to upgrade your graphics!  Using photos and/or professional graphics can make your site look more sophisticated and credible, especially in the smaller Preview image.   
  • Use Large-Fonts for Headers – For headers and sub-headers, be sure to use a web-standard font (such as Arial or Verdana) that renders correctly in all browsers.  Also, use a font size that is large enough to be read in the Instant Preview window.  Try to write catchy, attention-grabbing headlines that capture attention and entice searchers to click on your site.
  • Layout Information in sections or columns – In Google’s Instant Preview, your page layout has to look useful, readable, and attractive.  Try to break up the page layout with graphics, sidebars, info boxes, or call-out quotations, rather than using margin-to-margin text.  Text-heavy pages without a good layout can look overwhelming – especially in the small Instant Preview image.
  • Use an Integrated Approach – In addition to organic search results (non-paid), Google also has specific search results categories for images, videos, news, shopping, books, Places, blogs, real-time results (social), and discussions.  Be sure to optimize your other marketing efforts (e.g., video, blog, social, etc.) so you can be found in these additional search categories as well. The more you show up in Google’s results, the better your chances of getting clicks and new traffic to your site.

Five Sparrows, LLC Offers Free Strategic Planning Reports

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HARTLAND, MICHIGAN, December 15, 2010 — Website development & online marketing firm Five Sparrows, LLC today announced a new website feature that enables small businesses to request a free Strategic Planning Report to help them improve their marketing results. The new feature is available on the Five Sparrows website at www.FiveSparrows.com/strategic_planning.htm. Based on the information provided via an interactive form on the website, Five Sparrows can create a customized Strategic Planning Report and send it to the email address that was entered on the form.

“Many small businesses really want (and need) to improve their marketing results, but they don’t know where to start, or which initiatives to spend their budgets on,” said Lauren Hobson, President of Five Sparrows. “Our customized strategic plans give businesses specific, concrete marketing recommendations on what to do, how often to do it, and how to measure the results – all customized to their individual business situation.”

To request a report, visitors can use the web form to enter basic information about their business and current marketing initiatives, along with general information about their website, search engine optimization (SEO), and any social networking platforms that are currently set up for the business. From there, Five Sparrows reviews and evaluates the info submitted, and creates a customized report that focuses on the areas most important or problematic for each business.

The free Strategic Planning Report also includes suggestions on new marketing strategies and/or tools that could be implemented, and helps businesses identify what they must do to better market their products and services and improve their overall visibility. All information submitted on the form is kept strictly confidential, and is not stored long-term by Five Sparrows.

“The report is designed to give businesses a marketing outline to follow, with actionable ideas that they can start using immediately to improve their results,” said Hobson.

The Strategic Planning Report is a free service from Five Sparrows, and is available at www.FiveSparrows.com/strategic_planning.htm.

M is for Mobile

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The use of mobile phones and mobile devices has grown very quickly over the past few years, with more than 5 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide today. That’s huge, especially considering that there are a total of 6.8 billion people on the planet, and 5 billion of them have a mobile subscription. Whether they are using the mobile web, mobile email, or mobile apps, people are using mobile technology like never before, and experts predict that the adoption of mobile will continue to grow at a brisk pace with no slowdown in sight.

But if you’re like many small businesses, you may not have yet considered a specific mobile marketing strategy for your business. However, it’s also likely that at least some of your customers are already using their mobile devices to read your marketing messages and email campaigns (designed for email on a PC) on their smart phones, Blackberries, and PDAs.

Here are a few tips for making sure that your email campaigns can be read effectively, are displayed accurately, and delivered to your customers correctly – regardless of the technology they are using to read them.

  • Give recipients an option: Consider adding a “View on Mobile” link at the top of your email message. Then, link it to a text-only version of your message hosted on your website or listserv account. Most mobile devices (even older ones) can easily handle this type of HTML/text display.
  • Use a mobile stylesheet: In CSS3, there is a directive called @media that lets developers tell a mobile device to display the message using a special set of rules for mobile. You can also specify this special set of mobile rules if a device’s screen is below a certain size.
  • Get to the point quickly: Make sure you deliver your value early in your message, somewhere near the top. You don’t want to risk having users delete your message too soon, or miss scrolling down far enough to see the offer because of the smaller screen size.
  • Track and measure: Be sure to gather as much data as you can about how your recipients are viewing your email marketing messages. Your existing web analytics tool, website hosting account stats, and/or your listserv service should all be able to capture this type of basic information about the devices your recipients use to read your campaigns.

With the continued adoption of mobile technology, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to see your own customers adopting mobile as their primary communication device, if they haven’t already. It’s best to be prepared, so implementing these ideas now can help ensure that your email campaigns are accurately delivered to your customers on their preferred device, channel, or technology.

5 Ways to Integrate Social Media into Your Marketing Mix

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As I’m sure you know by now, social media is a powerful tool in any small business marketing toolkit, but it produces the best results when it is integrated into a cross-channel, multi-faceted strategy that involves your existing marketing activities as well.

Instead of creating a bunch of little social media “islands” where each social profile is a stand-alone channel, you need to find ways to integrate social media with the marketing activities you are already doing.

Here are five ways you can integrate social media into your existing marketing mix:

  1. Social Media with Email
    Whenever you send email campaigns, be sure to add permanent links to your social profiles, along with links for social sharing of your email campaign’s content. Then promote your email campaigns in your social platforms, including links to the specific campaign or offer you are promoting.

  2. Social Media with Search Optimization
    The more content you create for your website and social platforms, the more attention you will get from the search engines. Be sure that all of your content is optimized for your specific keyword targets, including your static content as well as new content, updates, or posts. That way, when the search engines crawl your content, there is plenty of optimized, keyword-rich material that can be indexed, ultimately improving the chances of your business being found in searches.

  3. Social Media and Your Website
    Providing multiple channels for your brand and marketing messages is essential in today’s multi-channel world. Reaching customers and potential customers in the way they prefer to be reached is key to any marketing campaign’s success. Be sure to cross-link your social media information with your website, and provide recognizable social icons on your website so visitors can easily jump to their preferred method of interaction.

  4. Social Media with Events
    Whether you are speaking to a group, teaching a class, giving a presentation, or sponsoring or attending an event, get the word out via your social media platforms. Promote the event and provide links to supplemental information before the event, then be sure to post photos and a copy of your presentation (or notes) and let your social sphere know about it before AND after the event.

  5. Social Media with Online Marketing
    Don’t forget to add social icons and links when sending out press releases, creating your Google Place pages, sending out e-newsletters, or any other type of online marketing initiatives that you regularly send out. Then, be sure to promote the availability of any new content (e.g., press release or Google Page) on all your social channels to let as many people as possible know about you and your brand.

Social media marketing works best when it is part of an overall, integrated strategy that promotes your business over multiple channels and technologies. The more content you have out on the web, the better the chances that customers and potential customers will find your business. By widely distributing your content among all your marketing channels, you not only improve your online visibility, but can also boost search engine positions, generate new leads, and convert new customers.