Posts Tagged MI

Lansing and Charlotte, Michigan Small Business Marketing Solutions

small-business-marketing-solutions-lansing-michigan

Looking for small business marketing solutions? We receive calls everyday from small businesses looking for answers to their marketing needs. We also receive phone calls from other marketing companies trying to sell to us! I am amazed by the volume of calls (some robo calls, don’t get me started on those-ugh!) from marketing companies. Each call promises increased  Google rankings, website visitors, social media followers, decreased pounds   – wait, no, that is a call that could actually be helpful…

I met with a customer this week who received one of these calls. The call spurred a discussion about Google rankings and how we could help. We’ve also met with a couple of small businesses in Lansing and Charlotte, Michigan have monthly marketing package agreements with Town Square Media. Town Square Media have a large sales forcey, targeting small businesses in mid-Michigan and throughout the country who need help with web design and marketing. They build responsive websites and offer social media management. They also promise search engine optimization (SEO) and monthly edits to small business websites for a set monthly fee.

Marketing Packages for Small Business

Marketing packages are beneficial small business marketing solutions if they offer consistent, fresh, customized content, at a set affordable cost. We were surprised to hear Town Square Media customers were paying twice as much per month as we charge. Plus, their customers were getting a very  small percentage of the service we provide. Some of the small businesses who had WordPress responsive websites built were paying over $200 a month. They also told us that if they wanted to cancel they would lose their website. After over a year of paying for a website the didn’t even own their website!

Fortunately, we have been able to help these Lansing and Charlotte, Michigan businesses. They now own their website designs and have control of their internet marketing. Can we help your small business save money and get more ROI and higher brand recognition?

If you are a Town Square Media customer in Lansing or in the surrounding small towns please give us a call today. We believe in small businesses and we relish the opportunity to help you grow. For those of you who are paying monthly for a responsive e-commerce website or other small business website that you will never own – cut your losses.

Affordable Small Business Marketing Solutions

We will build a custom website for similar or less cost than you have paid and you will own it once paid in full. We will also train you on how to edit your responsive website. Have problems with edits? Call us, we’re here to help and we will walk you through updating your website. We’re here for you if you have major changes you prefer not to attempt. We will provide an accurate time-based estimate to get your website design developed quickly. You don’t have to take our word for it, our reviews speak for themselves.

For small businesses with professional websites who need answers about social media management, email marketing, SEO and getting reviews posted on Google, etc. please give us a call. Don’t sign on with a company you haven’t researched or with a company who doesn’t know you, or your local area.  We will meet with you over the phone or face to face. After the meeting, we can develop a custom plan. Plans can include fee based services, or we train you how to achieve similar results. Take back ownership of your brand, connect with us today!

Authentic Website Content and Blogs – The Tao of Enlightened Story Telling

authentic website content and blog posts - June image
Content, content, content. What Google wants, Google gets.  The best part of feeding Google accurate, credible, relevant and authentic website content is that search engine inquiries return fairly accurate results. Local companies can compete with national chains, customers can find you quicker and they keep coming back because your information is current and is trustworthy.

Blogs

One of the most powerful ways to drive traffic to your website are blogs. Rich with keywords, when updated regularly search bots love to crawl and index blogs. What topics are of interest to your customers that also highlight company products and services? Make sure your blog is part of your website and is not a separate blog with a completely different domain name. Share industry information and make sure you have the same voice each post. Add some personal anecdotes in there – personal to youauthentic website content categories or situations your company has encountered. People want to read stories, not just statistics. Truthful, authentic website content will resonate with your audience.

List a few blog topics of interest to your customers. Can you cover multiple categories (products, local news, upcoming releases, etc.)?

Page Content

Let your website work for you. Websites should also serve to help your visitor make a decision. Be proactive and consider what questions your customers typically ask and answer them on your site!
Do some research. What do people call and ask you most often? Can you include these answers on your website? Do you offer a unique service or go the extra mile with customer service or off referral discounts. Share this information on the pages of your company website – blogs are not the only parts of your website that get crawled by search engines. Having clear, authentic website content that answers your website visitors questions will get you further ahead.

What website information can you expand on?

Keywords

Still powerful generators for standing out in search engines, keywords perform best in search results when they are included in paragraphs such as articles, bios, descriptions, etc. What are known as key phrases are the best for search results these days.
For instance instead of saying we provide content writing and use content writing as the keyword the suggested approach is we write a longer phrase.  For example: we develop authentic website content for Lansing area businesses. Note website content for Lansing area businesses is more targeted than just blog writing. By adding a targeted phrase to our local market we reduce the amount of websites we are competing against when people search for content writing for Lansing area businesses.
Consider how you would search in Google for your product or service. Choose words and phrases that are relevant to your product or service for a higher return. For example since we design responsive websites for small businesses, we could use mobile friendly website designs for Lansing area small businesses as a relevant keyphrase. Writing about my vacation in St. Petersburg Florida or penning a how-to on business networking is not relevant to our responsive website design service.  Google will not return our website in results when people search responsive website design for small business in Lansing, MI if we only write about the fabulous sunsets in St. Pete . Remember to feed the keyword and keyphrases in your blog and the pages of your website. You can also use Google’s Keyword Tool to get some ideas on search volumes for particular words and phrases.

What are some keywords and key phrases to start with?

graphic54d91c52c35e6-800x800.jpgPhotos / Graphics

Looking for attention? Want to stand out from the millions of website content shared each day? Post a photo or create a graphic. Product photos, image and text slides in a moving slideshow can help with promotions, or services. Sharing statistics in visual formats keep visitors on your website twice as long. Can you add professional custom photos of your building, staff, products or even stock art that represents your product or service? Can you create a graphic with an inspiring quote to post to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and include your company logo on it? How about adding interaction with an automated slide show?  Authentic website content is not just copy, website content includes images, moving or static, photographic or illustrative.

Make a list of photos you have to use on the website and a wish list of photos that would add relevancy and visual interest.

Now search your harddrive, get out your smart phone or search Google for a local photographer in your area.

Videos / Animations

Google owns YouTube. Need we say more? Post videos on your YouTube, channel and link them to your website. Share them on other social media sites and increase your search result returns. Videos increase your search ranking and get higher page feeds in Facebook’s current algorithm. Create instructional videos, product videos, video tips, video testimonials, compile photos for products or your your office and stream them together in a video app.. There are so many options these days, you don’t have to be a professional videographer – although a professional quality video with good sound and story boarding is always best!

Which type of video will benefit your customers and your business?

Social-Media-Infograph.jpgCustom Infographic Creation:

Everyone loves a well designed infographic! Why? Because they are visual and pack a ton of information in a clear, concise manner. Design some infographics just for fun and see how far they travel in social media when people share them. What industry or local statistics of interest to your customers could be converted to
an infographic? Make sure if you are sharing stats that they are accurate and cite your sources!

Do you have stats for your company or industry stats that are impactful? What types of stats are of interest to your customer?

 
Now you have a lot of ideas for website content to drive searches and answer client questions. No time to develop all of this important content? Connect with us today. We will meet with you to discuss best options for your company website content and develop copy and visuals to increase your credibility and drive  targeted web traffic.
God luck and stay connected!