Blog – Page 82

Social Media and Your Business

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

You’ve probably heard that social media is the newest, best way to market your business. Social media like Google+, Twitter, and Facebook can all be powerful tools for promoting your company, but the simple truth is that most businesses are going about it all wrong!
Many small business owners forget about the “social” part in social media. It’s important to look at FB and Twitter as a way to interact with your customers, current and prospective, not a way to drown them in offers and sales pitches. Communication is a two-way street, and social media is just another form of communication. So don’t only talk to your customers: ask them for opinions, respond to questions, and provide them with information they are interested in.
To put it simply, social media is just the tech age’s solution for going back to the way things used to be done. Back in the day, if you were looking for an electrician, you just went and asked the neighbors for a recommendation. Social media is changing the way this type of interaction happens, but the content is staying essentially the same. The only thing that’s changing is that instead of asking that neighbor face-to-face, now folks go online and ask a group of “neighbors” on the web instead of in their backyard. So, you see, it’s not as different as it may seem.

Easy Rules for Successful Social Media Campaigns

Participate! Social media isn’t about just creating a Twitter account or Facebook page and then being done. Keep in mind that your customers are constantly asking, “What’s in it for me?” So if you aren’t interacting with them or giving them helpful info, they’re not going to keep on following your brand/company. Remember, if the goal of social media is to be an online “backyard” for chatting with “neighbors,” you need to be out there “talking” through posts! Over time, this enables you to develop a reputation as a knowledgeable and reputable person.
Put Your Expertise to Work. Share what you know about your industry. You are an expert! So if you work as a plumber, share tips on unclogging a toilet or saving on water bills; if you’re an appliance repairman, offer hints on basic maintenance; etc. Drawing on your knowledge to provide info is a great way to build loyalty and brand trust.
Stop Selling and Start Sharing! SELL SELL SELL is not a good approach for your social media sites. Think about it this way: If you had a friend who was always trying to sell you this or that, how long would you stay friends? If you’re always promoting one offer/product or another on your social media sites, you’re just going to come across as a pushy salesman. Instead, consider your social media sites as a place to create brand loyalty and educate your customers. If you do want to put out the news about a sale or product, just make sure that’s not the only content you’re pushing on your social media sites. And remember, social marketing is a long-term strategy, not a magic wand, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results after just a few months.
Respond to Unhappy Customers. Make sure you’re responding to negative feedback both promptly and positively. The unhappy customer will appreciate that their complaint has been recognized, but more importantly, you’ll be showing other people that their concerns won’t be ignored. And, even though it may be hard, make sure that you’re responding in a way that shows you understand where the customer is coming from.
Don’t give in to wanting to argue each point with the person who submitted the complaint. Instead, respond positively: When you’re dealing with customer satisfaction issues, about 75% of the point is to show OTHER people who may read your response that you truly care and will strive to resolve the client’s concern (and make sure the situation is not repeated). Handling customer complaints online is NOT about being right: It’s about stopping the complaint from costing you future business prospects!
Patience Is a Virtue. Developing a successful social media campaign is never going to happen overnight. It takes time and dedication. Make sure you’re logging in every day to respond to customers in a prompt manner. When you’re in the process of building your following, try putting up a post a couple of times a week. Once your fan base has grown and you have a feel for what content they appreciate most, feel free to start posting more frequently.
Promote It! Your Facebook/Twitter/Google+ page isn’t going to promote itself. If you’re not giving it a hand, it’s not going to be found. Put a link on your business card or website, add a sign in your store, etc.

How to Get Started

Here at PG, we actually create and optimize FB, Google+, and Twitter pages for all of our clients. But that’s just the start! Our goal is to get you found on those platforms, but to really maximize these resources, YOU need to take the reins. Outsourcing can backfire majorly, so invest a little time in your social media marketing and reap the rewards!

Stay Connected with Phone and E-mail Features

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Our last post highlighted the photo gallery and blog features of your LeadTrax site, but we offer a whole bunch of other great features you may not be aware of. Today we want to focus on a number of other options we offer to make it easier for you to communicate with your prospective customers. After all, when it comes to sealing the deal, communication is vital, so we want to make it as easy as possible for you to connect with these potential clients!

E-mail to Robo-Call

Time is of the essence when it comes to closing a deal, and, unfortunately, with e-mail correspondence, sometimes you don’t see the message in a timely manner. So don’t let not responding to the message quickly enough cost you the lead! PG offers a complimentary feature that can turn your e-mails into calls: We’ll send the message to a robo-call service, which means when you answer the phone a robot will read the e-mail out loud to you. So if you have your cell on you, you won’t have to keep checking your e-mail to keep track of leads. If you’re the kind of pro who’s always on the go, this feature makes it easy to stay on top of those e-mail leads.

E-mail to SMS (Text)

We can also transform your e-mails into text messages for your convenience. This works just like the feature mentioned above, except that instead of a robo-call, you’ll receive an SMS message containing the first 140 characters of the e-mail.

Advanced Phone Package

Did you know that your CallTrax number can do way more than just monitor call volumes? We can also set up your CallTrax number to forward calls to different numbers (based on schedule or number of rings) and even add extensions… Don’t be limited by only connecting your CallTrax number to one phone.
Our three advanced phone options include:
1.   Multiple rings—If you have several different phone numbers where you’d like to receive calls, we can configure your CallTrax number to ring at each one in different fashions. A popular option is the “round-robin” style: the first two rings can go to phone A, the next two rings can forward to phone B, and so on. You can also opt for sequential or simultaneous rings. These options increase the chances that an incoming call will be answered instead of missed. And missed calls often mean missed opportunities.
2.   Daily schedule—Would you rather receive phone calls at certain numbers depending on the time of day? We can do that, too! Let’s say, for example, that you want to receive leads only on phone A in the morning, on phone B in the afternoon, and on phone C in the evening. With our advanced phone package, that’s possible! We can also route your calls based on the day of the week.
3.   Extensions—If you have multiple lines, we can set up extensions for you. For example, you might have one line for customer service and another for parts, and you might want to allow leads to choose which line they want to connect to. For your convenience, we will set up extensions and even record the automated message, along the lines of: “Thank you for calling Advanced Appliance. To speak with customer service, please press 1; to order parts, please press 2.”

Advanced E-mail Form

Frustrated by not having all the information you need when prospective customers communicate with you via e-mail? Get all of the relevant info the first time around with an advanced e-mail form from PG. We can customize the form to make sure you get everything you need from the client, saving you both time and frustration. Check out a recent example for ideas, but remember, we should be able to create a fully customized e-mail form for your particular business needs.

Call Recording

Have you checked out your call log recently? As a convenience to you, we log and record all calls generated by your campaign. That means even when you don’t have pen and paper handy when you answer a call, you can listen to the call later to catch any details you may have missed.
If you’re interested in utilizing one of our convenient phone or e-mail features for your LeadTrax site and campaign, just let us know. Contact your customer service representative or campaign manager, and we’ll get you set up with the high-tech communication tools you need to succeed.

Show Your Stuff: Photo Gallery and Blog Features Make It Easy for You to Display Your Expertise

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Did you know that Prospect Genius’s LeadTrax sites can include a bunch of extra features like photo galleries, blogs, and more? Most are free as part of your lead generation package, so take advantage of these tools to expand your site and reach out to your prospective customers in a dynamic, engaging way!

Photo Gallery

With the photo gallery, adding pictures to your LeadTrax site is straightforward and hassle free. Images of your team at work, your staff, and even your company vehicles are a powerful addition to your site, and can make a huge difference in transforming site visitors into paying customers.
Wondering just how much difference photos of your technicians can make for your business? Well, check out the current practice of Safelite AutoGlass.
When clients schedule a service call with Safelite AutoGlass, they’ll receive an e-mail containing a bio and photograph of the exact technician who will be coming to perform the work on their vehicle. As an in-house survey reports, 85% of customers said that the e-mail photo made them feel more comfortable with the technician, and 88% stated their belief that the job would be done professionally and properly after seeing the photo.
What does this mean for your company? Well, as the above statistics show, pictures of the staff who actually perform the services for your clients put folks at ease. So adding images of your team to your site will provide customers with peace of mind and set you apart from the fly-by-night “pros” who may also operate in your area.

Blogging

Showcase your professional expertise with your LeadTrax site’s blog! Conveniently included in all new sites, we’re offering an easy-to-use blog platform to help you reach out to current and prospective clients with professional tips, useful hints, and other information that can help draw people in. For example, you might want to blog about a challenging job you recently aced or offer helpful hints relevant to your particular industry. No matter what you write about, the trick to successful blogging is to provide useful information.
To get you started with your blog, PG automatically creates your first two blog posts for you. For a small fee, we can also write additional blog posts on your behalf, but you’re always free to add as many posts as you’d like on your own.
You can access both the photo gallery and the blog through your client portal.
So make sure you’re maximizing the value of your lead generation campaign by taking advantage of our free blogging, photo gallery, and other features!
Have questions? Just call your campaign manager or customer service representative and we’ll provide you with the info you need.
Want to sign up? Call or e-mail us now!

Smartphones, Local Search, and Your Business

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Here a Smartphone, There a Smartphone…

Do you ever feel like everyone has a smartphone these days? And that people are constantly staring down at their screens playing games, using the Internet, and checking their e-mail?
Well, it’s not quite constant, but the truth is more and more people are choosing smartphones as their primary tool for mobile communication. From iPhones and BlackBerries to the latest Android-platform phones, smartphones are becoming increasingly common in the US. In fact, the Pew Research Center just released a study in February that reports 46% of all adults in America (spanning all sexes and socioeconomic groupings) use a smartphone. And this statistic is up dramatically from the 34% reported in May 2011, a little over a year ago.

Why Business Owners Should Care

As a small business owner, you may not think that the growth in smartphone usage has much to do with you. After all, your company probably isn’t in the business of manufacturing mobile phones. However, the continued growth of smartphone usage in the US is starting to change how people use the Internet—and thus how they might find your company.
Check out these statistics:

61% of smartphone users perform local searches from their devices.
49% of smartphone users regularly use search engine apps (e.g. Yelp, Yahoo!, Bing, Google Maps, Citysearch) for local searches.
50% of all local searches are conducted on a mobile device.

In fact, some experts even predict that mobile Internet usage will surpass desktop Internet usage by 2014!
Because so many people are now relying on smartphones and tablets to search for local businesses, it’s easy to see how companies without a mobile site are destined to miss out on a large number of prospective customers.

Get Ahead with Mobile Optimization

That’s why mobile optimization is the new “SEO.” Having a fully functional website is crucial to your company’s success, but having an equally functional mobile site is increasingly vital as smartphone usage becomes more and more mainstream. As a result, mobile optimization is becoming a critical part of any online advertising campaign that hopes to be successful.
Now, you may be thinking, “What’s the difference? I already have a website, so why can’t people just look at that page on their phone?” Well, they can, but that website is going to display with tiny print, a crowded layout, and difficult navigation that can be a major obstacle. If prospective customers can’t read your site from their device, they’re much more likely to move on to a competitor who does have a mobile site.
The difference between regular websites and mobile sites is that the mobile version is simplified and scaled back to allow for easier readability/navigation on a mobile device like a smartphone. With a mobile version of your website, the font will be larger and the navigation more straightforward to make the overall experience easier and better for people who are trying to learn about your company.

The Growing World of Social Media

It’s hard not to notice that social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook seem to be consuming the time and attention of an entire generation. But did you know that young folks aren’t their only users anymore? Each and every day, people of all genders, ages, and backgrounds are turning to social media accounts to stay connected.
Social media usage is becoming more and more widespread at the same time smartphones are growing in popularity, with the result being that a large number of people are now utilizing their mobile devices to access social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Why is this significant to your business? Here’s some food for thought: Local business searches performed via social media are up 67% since 2010. And 35% of the people who use social media for local searches do so on a daily basis.
So, since more smartphone users are accessing social media through mobile apps, and these same social media outlets are becoming a tool to search for local businesses, you can see how it becomes even more imperative that businesses have a strong presence on these social sites.

Staying One Step Ahead

Here at PG, we’ve offered mobile versions of our sites since way back in 2008, but we’ve just rolled out a new and improved version for all of our clients. These sites feature all of the same vital information included in the full LeadTrax™ site, but with a simpler design that can be easily viewed on any mobile device.
As part of your lead generation campaign, we’re also already in the practice of automatically creating a presence for your business on platforms like Twitter and Facebook as well as listing you in online directories such as Yelp, Citysearch, Yahoo!, Bing, and Google Places—all popular search destinations with their own mobile apps.
To put it simply, while many business owners are worried about the changing direction of online advertising, PG’s clients have been ahead of this trend for years. Keeping your online advertising campaign at the cutting-edge of local search, we make sure you get the web exposure you need.
Learn more about your business’s existing mobile site by contacting your campaign coordinator. Or, if you’re not already a PG client, call us to find out more about how our lead generation program can help maximize your business’s Internet visibility.

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