Online SMB Reputation Management

Reputation Management is the practice of monitoring and managing the opinions and information that that are posted about your company on the Internet. It is a developing practice but vital for long-term success for online marketing. By utilizing available tools, companies have the ability to interact directly with what customers are saying about them and fix potential problems from the outset. Trendistic and Google Alerts are primary tools that can help cast a wide net for reputation management include.

Trendistic is a fantastic tool for monitoring communication on twitter. Many customer concerns and reviews are communicated on social networking sites like twitter. By utilizing Trendistic, companies can monitor everything posted about them immediately. By monitoring these posts, companies can react and respond immediately to the concerns of a disgruntled customer and generally change a potentially negative situation into a positive. This not only helps customer retention, but also assists in priceless branding that other customers and prospects will see.

Google Alerts is much more sophisticated and broader in scope. Google Alert lets you establish your search terms, frequency to receive reports and then it literally “Monitors the web for interesting new content related to your company name, products or even competitors.” This tool is invaluable for reputation management efforts. You can now monitor what is posted about a particular search term or set of terms on any website indexed by Google. Additionally, a direct link to the sites for responses is provided. By directly addressing the source, you can insure that your image or messaging is positioned properly. Google Alerts is particularly good for monitoring industries as a whole such as SIP Trunking, VoIP or IP Communications. You can track keywords like “Business VoIP”, “Hosted PBX” or “Broadvox” and receive daily updates to what is posted across the web.

By incorporating these tools to monitor what is posted about your company or products, you can then engage in communication to resolve negative hits to your online reputation. For example, if a customer has a bad experience or misunderstanding with a sales rep and posts a tweet or blog post online, you are quickly notified, and, by accessing the post, communicate directly with the disgruntled customer. Through Twitter, you can reply directly to tweets and open a dialogue to get situations resolved. You can respond and point the person who is upset in the right direction for resolution. For blogs, you can leave a comment or send an email to address any negative comments. And for larger corporate sites, you can usually contact the editor or publisher and work to influence a negative article or opinion. For the most part, publishers will not post negative information without contacting the business in question for a response, but it is still important to keep an eye on all websites to for the few surprises.

Remember, the majority of people only vocalize their opinions when they are negative. It is a lot more common for an upset customer to post comments than a satisfied one. By communicating directly with customers about their concerns, you may change a negative comment into a positive review. Broadvox has had success using these tools to correct information, address partner concerns and positively engage our customer base. Please add this effort to your SEO, SEM and GEO targeting efforts. It is through the integration of each of these efforts that you will gain the greatest benefit of Internet marketing.

Social Media for SMB

Social media has helped revolutionize the way people connect in unforeseeable ways. 10-15 years ago archaic chat boxes peppered AOL accounts as users began interacting with unknown counterparts in the online space. Today, users utilize their phones, laptops, or tablets, to give their friends and followers up to the second information from anywhere in the world. In other words “Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.”

As Social Media has moved into the main stream, businesses have been finding ways to monetize these tools to increase retention and customer interaction. It is now desirable to have a presence on multiple social media services including Facebook, twitter, flickr, LinkedIn, and YouTube, in order to respond to opportunities and concerns that may arise from customers and partners. Broadvox has established presence on all of these sites to support our product offering and sales. These media services allow unobtrusive access to our clients to let them know the goings on of Broadvox and details pertaining to new products or updates without spamming their inbox with emails.

Our endeavor into the social landscape is still very experimental. We are continually testing new services and new ways to utilize these platforms to increase our advertising and market share. We have found that twitter, LinkedIn, andYouTube offer the best access to provide information about the company to our VARs and customers. These 3 websites provide a great avenue for information distribution and interaction. We have also seen success using Facebook, butFacebook is inherently geared to avoid the business to consumer interaction. I anticipate in the coming months that Facebook will make major changes to their platform in order to allow businesses greater access to their customer base. In order to compete with the upcoming Google me social media product, Facebook will have to find new ways to monetize their brand and customer interactions. By allowing businesses greater direct access to their database, they will be able to stay competitive with Google’s ambitious venture into social media.

Part of the new landscape for any online marketing plan has to have a substantial investment in time and energy for social media. It is the most direct way for you to reach your customers at a personal level.

SMB SEO - Search Engine Optimization

SEO

Over the last decade, broadband speeds have allowed businesses and consumers to connect in new unimaginable ways. With a simple search on Google, customers have gained unparalleled access to any information they are seeking – both good and bad. This week, I will take a step back from discussing IP communications and focus on the ever-expanding industry of online marketing.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of tweaking and adjusting content to make your website more “search engine friendly.” This capability set has been around for quite some time but has recently grown in importance as companies realize the value of high search rankings for related keywords. Showing up on the first page of a Google, Bing, or Yahoo search provides your company prime real estate to connect with potential customers. Additionally, by leveraging SEO GEO targeting tactics, businesses can target customers locally or regionally based upon their business presence.

Years ago, people viewed SEO as a secretive and manipulative process where individuals could game the “system” and implement questionable tactics to maneuver websites to the top of the rankings. This was a false perspective. Google and the other search engines actually encourage companies to use SEO best practices in website design. By implementing certain techniques, businesses help increase usability and standardize web search, which creates a better experience for anyone searching for information. A quick example of this includes using an alt=”” tag when placing an image online. The alt text for images enables a company to describe the image, which is important for text-based browsers or browser readers for the blind. Without the alt description tag, there would be no way for the search engine to know what the image is.

Finally, in the arena of SEO, Google is very important. Globally, Google has an 84.8% market share and 65% in the US. Bing is on the rise, but your best bet at achieving strong SEO results is to focus your efforts on Google.

PPC Marketing vs Search Engine Optimization

I recently wrote a series of blogs for the company I work for.  I have changed it up a little but, but the general post follows -

Pay Per Click Marketing, unlike Search Engine Optimization, is a paid approach to search engine advertising. Companies pay the major search engines for placement in the sponsored links sections typically on the top and right hand side of the search engine results pages (SERPs.) The placement of a company’s sponsored ad depends on a Quality Score derived by the search engines based on the quality of content on the company website, the context of the ad, and the amount a company is willing to pay per position. For the most part, the business model works well for the search engines, advertisers, and potential customers. Unfortunately, there are a couple of glaring issues with search engine marketing.

The first issue with PPC is that there is a 95 character limit on ads for paid search. It is nearly impossible to offer product differentiation from company to company when confined to 95 characters. This makes ad copywriting a very creative and difficult task, as you need to find a way to provide relevant information as well as your value prop in a very confined space. To add a little perspective, twitter, which some view as restrictive, allows a tweet to be up to 140 characters.

The second, more issue with PPC is the persistent rise in cost per lead acquisition. Many companies are competing for the same piece of the proverbial pie and offer very similar products. This competition especially in paid search is continually driving the cost per click higher on the top industry keywords. Over the past year, we have seen as much as a 50% increase in cost per click for higher converting keywords. This directly increases the cost per acquisition across the industry and as each company tries to spend more to outbid the opposition for better positioning, costs continue to increase. Unfortunately, there is no short term solution for this cyclical increase in online advertising. Unless each of the company’s marketing managers and directors get together and put a cap on online spending (hint, hint), advertising spend will continue to increase until the cost per lead and cost per click reach equilibrium and the model implodes.

Obviously, Google loves this type of competition. If the statistics are correct and Google receives 90% of their revenue from Paid Search advertising, then it is absolutely no surprise why they have a market cap of nearly 150 billion and growing. I see no end in sight as long as this type of advertising continues to be beneficial to both Google and the advertisers who are using their AdWords platform.

Even though Google is the alpha dog and has a commanding lead in search traffic across the board, we have seen success in utilizing Bing and yahoo for paid search advertising. Both secondary search engines have a substantially lower cost per click and still drive a considerable amount of traffic to our website.

Although there are major issues with PPC, this advertising platform isn’t all bad. The company I manage PPC for sees quality leads come through our paid search campaigns on a daily basis. You, too, should work to gain market share with online advertising, and try out various PPC techniques to increase your quality score and gain competitive advantage. 

twitter me this

well, I haven’t been as active as I like on the internet. I like to contribute and interact as much as possible but that hasn’t been a possibility as of late. moving forward i will be using two primary twitter accounts - @thispointofview and @yourthinkbox start following those accounts for frequent updates~

Tutorial: How to easily create a Google Maps for SEO Part 2

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about when I was going to release part 2 of my Google Maps for SEO API tutorial.  Well, here it is!  and I have made it more simple than ever.  In this tutorial, I have included a simple KML file for your viewing to see how to set yours up.  I have also included the snippet needed in order to call the KML in the API on your website.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2">
  <Placemark>
    <name>Simple placemark</name>
    <description>Attached to the ground. Intelligently places itself
       at the height of the underlying terrain.</description>
    <Point>
      <coordinates>-122.0822035425683,37.42228990140251,0</coordinates>
    </Point>
  </Placemark>
</kml>

Now you can see how the KML file is suppose to look, you can add as many different locations as you want within the kml file.  just add an additional <placemark> and you’re good to go.  I recommend creating additional fields within the KML placemark including <address> <street><state><zip> etc. By doing this you will let google know more accurate information about what you’re trying to show on the map and will also increase SEO information and bait for the search engines.  If you know basic html, you can also add image or hyperlinks to the code. ( NOTE: in order to add this type of information or any other html markup, you must use CDATA in your XML KML.) The coordinates are great and required, but additional information is key to success for any SEO.  I have found great success doing this for a string of tire dealerships on the east coast.  I did not design the website, but i did implement the Google Maps SEO.

Example 2:

<Placemark>
<name>Edinburgh</name>
<description><![CDATA[

<div><a href="http://localtiredealers.net/kramer/locations-hours/edinburgh.html">

221 Carmichael Way <br> Chesapeake, VA 23322 </b>

</a> </div>

<div><img src="http://www.yourthinkbox.com/ifc/coupons/chesapeake.jpg" width="200px" border="0">

</a></div>]]></description>
<styleUrl>#C</styleUrl>
<Point><coordinates>-76.234312,36.65978,0</coordinates></Point>
</Placemark>

From there, You’ll use your typical map settings (refer to part 1 of my tutorial) and add the overlay of the KML file you created.

var gx = new GGeoXml(”http://www.website.kml”);

map.addOverlay(gx);

This javascript is very easy to use and can be implemented to almost any website.

check back soon because I will be posting a tutorial on how to easily place google maps into wordpress for SEO best practices.

How effective is facebook for small business?

facebook Slogan : “facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you”

We all know what facebook is and what its for. We love connecting with our friends and frenemies to see the gossip and stories of our lives. We connect with one another in unparalleled ways and can monitor the activities of loved ones without actually having to pick up the phone. I love facebook and appreciate its effectiveness daily, but the real question I’m asking is how effective if facebook for Small Business?

My short answer: facebook is not very effective in the SMB space. The inherent setup of the website is geared toward connecting friends with one another, not connecting people with business. There are anomalies and I believe that some businesses can strive and succeed by utilizing the facebook platform, but I am no longer big on the idea of connecting with businesses and blatantly accepting their advertisements in my feeds.

The main problem is that when people are on facebook, they dont want to be bombarded with updates from X number of businesses they became fans of oh a whim. As I said, there are exceptions - Companies can incorporate Value prop’s including coupons and discounts to entice followers and I spoke about this in great detail in 2009. Social Media and the value prop. The idea sounds great. Offer value to your followers to continue to advertise to them. The main problem with that is that even with the value add, I know personally I am not going to follow car wash X for a service I am not going to utilize on a regular basis. I’ll wait until a receive a traditional coupon or when I need to utilize the service I will go and negotiate the same sales price I received last time. I dont think companies like this can succeed on platforms like facebook.

Another issue with using facebook for a small business is what i’ll call the “friend effect.” I have a friend that has a small business and they are moderately successful in this venture. I am wholeheartedly happy for this person and I am glad that they are loving their new venture. Unfortunately, this friend heard about the social media craze and how facebook can be effective for their business. The hastily created their brand new facebook fan page and invited all their friends become fans of said business. This person then began spamming the crap out of their new business facebook profile and just annoyed their friends. I know for a fact I wasn’t alone in this irritation as we had mutual acquaintances that shared my frustration. If you are going to make the jump into social media with your SMB and add all your friends as fans, at least spare them the spam of having to 20 wall posts a day promoting your niche website that nobody is going to use on a regular basis.

My next post will focus on the types of businesses I think can find success on facebook and if I am feeling it, I will post an SMB etiquette guide to insure that you dont piss off your followers and fans.

New Horizons!

I would like to sincerely apologize for the delay in updating this blog. It has been far too long and that is inexcusable. In a decision for my sanity, health, and future, I recently left my previous employer for what looks to be a very promising and fulfilling new position acting as the internet marketing manager for a very impressive VoIP company. This will hopefully free up a little spare time in the evenings and weekends to start participating more on this blog and the community in general.

Social Media Fail. - You NEED value added

It is no surprise that social media is the future of online connectivity and advertising.  Businesses are trying to connect with customers and potential customers in unparalleled ways.  Right now, companies are jumping on the Facebook, Twiiter, Yelp, bandwagon in attempts to increase exposure and retention.  Recently, a colleague of mine saw a great ad at a local carwash encouraging customers to become fans of this company on facebook. The ad is actually a great ad.  It encourages customers to mobilize and connect with the company via facebook.  There is just one huge problem - why would a customer want to become a fan of this company?

In order to maximize this ad, the advertiser should have had some sort of value proposition.  It doesn’t really matter what it is.  It could be a 20% off coupon or even some text saying monthly specials for facebook fans.  The point is, Customers need a reason to connect with the business.  Why would a customer waste their time to go home and become a fan of a company with no benefit for themselves?  I know I wouldn’t.  But for a promise of a discount, monthly specials, or some sort of other deal, I would be more likely to investigate this further. In the future, this company should have a value prop in their social media efforts.  They will see greater results. Guaranteed.

Is RSS really Dead? Not yet.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been seeing more and more news trickle through my twitter, rss, and facebook streams informing me of the apparent death of RSS.  This Death is definitely news to me.  While my RSS usage has fallen quite a bit over the last quarter,  RSS has become much more valuable for me in different ways.

For the latest technology, industry, and web design news, I have joined my counterparts in utilizing twitter as my primary source for immediate information.  For social interactions and a secondary platform for other relevant news, facebook is my best friend.  For a third-tier source of information - comedic, industry, or otherwise, I love me some digg.  But as a database for important articles and information, RSS is still king.

I find myself using RSS more and more as an information trove instead of a resource for the latest up-to-date information.  Google Reader has amazing search capabilities that allow you to quickly, easily, and efficiently, go back and find articles relevant to anything you need.  Obviously, logging into any RSS reader and finding over “1,000 unread items” can be overwhelming.  When this happens, I usually quickly browse through my favorite folders and then mark the rest as read.  If I need to go find information at a later date, I can just do a search.

In my opinion, RSS has been surpassed.  The web 2.0 revolution has created new ways for information to be pushed to the eyes and ears of the web.  As an archive of information, RSS still may have lasting power, but the shift has begun away from RSS as the primary source for up to the minute information.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the RSS dominance to fully fall as more efficient methods continue to take over.

What are your thoughts?