How To Benefit From Social Media

So here we are with the second installment of my "How To" series, now I could simply fill this post up with lots of stats and bamboozle you with amazing website growth stories but that's not going to help you to utilise it for your own business..

Lets be honest here we're ALL very busy people, one of the things I hear most is "I don't have time to do social media", now in recent times you would simply ring the local paper tell them you want a credit card size ad, send them your text and forget about it.. of course you were then charged what seemed like the cost of your first born son for the privilage but the hassle was theirs and not yours.  Today there is more ownership for marketing especially in small businesses and this indeed does take a certain amount of time.  So what's the best way..?

As with all business decisions take time to review the different platforms, understand their position within the spectrum of social - business and don't rush in joining as many as you can in one hit..
Whilst the scattergun approach may get your website seen in many different places it's unlikely you'll have the time or inclination to keep them up to date once your initial spurt of enthusiasm has worn off.

The obvious candidates are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Myspace and Google+ of course you can then branch out and look at more niche marketing sites but initially these are the sites best placed to get you started.

So do you need all of them? -  No is the simple answer. 
In my opinion every business should have a Twitter and a LinkedIn account as the bare minimum. These are both at the "business" end of the spectrum and allow you to not only network socially but also promote your business to people that are  interested in hearing from you.
Many businesses are simply not suited to Facebook, and having a static page with no "Likes" or content can potentially be more damaging than not having one at all.  A site that isn't updated or current can give the impression that a company is no longer trading..

Does it have to take all day everyday and will you still have time to actually work..? Well unless you're me then no you shouldn't be on social media sites all day!!  There are a couple of "good practice" rules to get into and then it's down to you to invest as much time as you realistically can afford.
As I mentioned earlier though it IS important that you don't allow your sites to become dormant, try to do something every day so that people begin to get to know you, remember you and ultimately use you!!

So best practice..

• Use a platform that will allow you post to more than one site at once, I recommend Hootsuite but there are others such as Tweetdeck and Seesmic. This means you only have to say it once and saves you valuable time.
• Post on the move.  Most of us have a phone that can connect to the internet, so use this.  If you're out and see something worthwhile then share it (although please see my earlier blog regarding Twitter and coffee shops!!).
• Set aside 1 day a month.  Use this time to schedule business tweets, write your blog and update your website.  Once that's done you can then use any other time for sociable posts that allow potential customers to see you as a real person.  Remember people buy from people NOT companies.
• Acknowledge.  If someone takes the time to comment, mention or Re-Tweet you then acknowledge it.  Get in the habit of being friendly and good mannered.  In some ways the internet and mobile phones have encouraged people to become less formal in their business relationships and common courtesy can be overlooked at times.  This isn't good practice and as they say manners cost nothing!

Social media is here to stay and is an invaluable tool for any business especially SME's that have little or no marketing budget.  All of these sites are free to use and the only cost is your time.  Can you afford not to?

How To Find A Good Web Designer

A few years ago any networking event you attended would be abound with accountants, estate agents and solicitors but that's now all changed.

How often have you found yourself sat at a table with a solicitor, banker and 3 web designers/online marketing experts?

It would appear that we have evolved and grown and found that there is a huge market for our services.. "Great" you'd think.. well no not necessarily.  Like all sectors we have our fair share of sharks, con-men, wannabees and the just downright awful! So how do you pick your way through this mind field and find a professional in an area that you're unlikely to have a huge amount of experience?

I have lost count of the amount of times I've had clients come to me having been ripped off for hosting or basic maintenance, hearing how much they've been charged for a simple static website or worse have someone tell me they've given up on the internet because they've had such a bad experience..

Part of the problem is the availability of code-writing software such as Dreamweaver, free template sites and schools teaching a little "media" as part of the curriculum.
Being able to buy a "Create Your Own Will" pack from WHSmiths does not a solicitor make me and unfortunately a lot of "web designers" are doing no more than filling in the blanks of a pre-made document.  Even more scary hiring cheap labour from India and having no concept of how to fix the bugs once a site goes live.
So how DO you choose a good, reputable web designer?

I've listed a few points below and I hope that these will help you to avoid costly and business damaging mistakes..

• Ask for referrals.. Seems simple enough in a social media world where everyone is scratching each others back BUT it works.  If I'm going to refer someone I'm going to make sure that I know, like AND have seen or had experience of their work. After all it's my reputation on the line if I pass a bad referral.
• Check out their website.. Ok so anyone can have an all singing all dancing website but you can still glean valuable information here.  If their site is all Flash driven chances are they have some whizzy kid out of uni and little experience of SEO, if their site is tired and dated then they're not moving with the times and will be unable to help you move your business forward, equally if it looks like everyone elses then chances are it's template driven and they're not offering you bespoke no matter how much they say they are. I realise I'm generalising here but you get the idea.
• Compare prices... Cheap is not necessarily bad and expensive not always the best! If it sounds too good to be true then chances are it is and look for hidden costs, if it makes you suck in a breath then you're paying too much!  In todays market a ball-park figure for a fully bespoke CMS (Content Managed System) site with basic SEO should not cost you any more than £700 - £900, a template site that's been customised for you will be significantly less.
• Talk to them.. again really obvious advice but until you speak to someone you don't know whether they're going to be someone you can work with.  A good designer might not have to meet you in person BUT they should be able to get a feel for you and your business ethos in a very short time. If they don't "get" you then they cannot accurately create a site that reflects your company and its direction.
• Know what you want.. How many times have you gone into a shop not sure about what you wanted and come away unhappy with the purchase because the shopkeeper has bamboozled you? Have a look at other websites, think about what you want the site to do for you business and know some terminology. No one is expecting you to speak code but do try to find out the basics - we don't need to be car salesmen to know what FSH, PAS, VGW mean.
• Finally find out about aftercare.. once the site has gone live that's not the end of your web designers job.  You need to know that you can get help, advice and follow up service such as SEO, social media and marketing help. 

As with any professional read their terms and conditions, find out how long they've been in business and if possible look at what they've done before.

A few terms to help:-

CMS - Content Managed System -  a good one will allow you to add and remove pages (including on a drop down menu) update your content, allow you to upload images and re-size them, add spreadsheets, pdf's or any other item you want to display on your site.  Don't expect to be able to change the basic site layout though!
SEO - Search Engine Optimisation - how your site is ranked and found in search engines such as Google.
Analytics - how your site is performing, there is no reason for you not to have even a basic monthly overview of performance.
PHP, HTML, CSS,JAVA - these are languages and scripts that a designer will use and shouldn't expect you to understand!!

Hope that helps to provide  a little more insight and gives you confidence to find the right designer for you.
If you need any more information please don't hesitate to contact me.
http://creativethinkingcdm.co.uk/contact.php

How to...

I decided to write a series of blogs  based on a "how to" approach.. I'm often asked how can I improve my web presence? How can I use social media or how do use Twitter?

So I thought why not put together a useful list of helpful suggestions to get you going..

I've decided to tackle the things I know about so I can't tell you how to create a million pounds but hopefully I can help you avoid online scams and marketing pitfalls!

So this first in the series will be "How to find a good web designer". With so many about how do you know which one to go with.. I'll give you a list of things to look for, questions to ask and reasons to avoid...

Following that we'll have "How to benefit from Social Media" and why EVERY business needs it.. "How to improve website rankings" and what scams to be aware of.. "How to network sucessfully" when not to be boring or a sheep!  and finally "How to ask" when to do it yourself and when to ask for help..

If you can think of any other blogs you'd like to see please comment and let me know!