Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 30 Jul 2011 under
Online Marketing,
Social Media |
0 CommentsSocial media marketing has become so common place that “social media coordinator” is the newest title on the job market. Businesses today who are not using social media are seen as behind the times. At Landau Design we frequently get asked, “So how do I start using social media to grow my business?”
Here are 4 simple steps you can follow to get yourself on the social media bandwagon.
1) Commit to a schedule
Like any change in business, the first step is figure out how much time you are willing to commit to make it happen. Social media can be a huge time drain, which is why most companies avoid it. But it doesn’t have to be. Be honest about how much time you have to invest, and base your social media plan on the resources you have available. Even 20 minutes a week is better than nothing.
If you really believe you have no time, read Finding Time to Engage in Social Media to discover some untapped time slots.
2) Define your goals
Why are you engaging in social media? Some common goals are:
- You just want to see what everybody is talking about.
- It is part of your SEO strategy.
- You want to generate new business leads.
- You are trying to create more buzz around your company.
- You want to learn more about how your competitors use social media.
Before you can determine what outlets are best for your company, you first have to decide what you want in return for your participation. The following articles may assist you in determining your social media objectives:
3) Choose your outlets
Choosing your social media outlets can be a tricky business. You want to consider the time you have and your objectives. You should not just do what others are doing because it’s “in”. For example, many people jump on the Twitter bandwagon, but it is time consuming to develop a quality Twitter following. Would your time better be spent on a blog, which really demonstrates your knowledge?
You might want to take a social media class or hire a social media coach in order to help narrow down your choices. The following articles might help you choose the right outlets for you:
4) Follow through on your commitment
Just like any other marketing plan, if you don’t follow through, you won’t get results. Implement your social media plan for at least 3 months, and then gauge if it is right for you. It takes some time to see results, but if you put in the time, you will definitely see them.
Landau Design teaches social media classes to help you establish your online presence. Let Landau Design review your social media strategy to help come up with the optimum approach to grow your business.
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 30 Dec 2010 under
Online Marketing,
Social Media |
0 Comments
The dramatic snowstorm on Sunday, December 26 dumped over 30 inches of snow on the city of Newark. The citizens were trapped in their homes, often unable to get emergency medical assistance or even groceries. But never fear their Mayor was armed with a Smartphone and a Twitter account!
Throughout the clean-up process Mayor Cory Booker was on foot, in the snow, connecting with people through tweets and DMs (direct messages). He kept track of requests for help, made deliveries and motivated people to lend a hand during the crisis. He personally helped dig out cars and even delivered diapers to a trapped family.
Social media is often regarded as a way to grow your business or keep in touch with friends. But when it is used to really make a positive difference, it’s incredible to see the power of possibility it offers.
Read the full article >
Photo Credit: Taken by Dominique Wilson (@BrixCityGurl) and posted on Twitpic.
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 06 Jul 2010 under
Online Marketing,
SEO |
1 Comment
When people are growing their web presence they often focus on SEO (search engine optimization) to the exclusion of all else. The fact is, SEO is only one component of an online marketing strategy, and often what you do in an online marketing campaign can effect your SEO results.
What is SEO (search engine optimization)?
According to Wikipedia, SEO is: the practice of maximizing the volume or quality of traffic to a web site (such as a blog) from search enginessearch results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (“SEM”) which may deal with paid inclusion. via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”)
In other words, SEO is what you do to come up on page 1 of Google. It is essentially the technical site of online marketing. SEO is primarily focused in 3 areas:
- Content generation on your site or other sites.
- Gaining as many links INTO your site as possible.
- Optimizing your website for keywords chosen.
What is Online Marketing?
According to YourDictionary.com: In its simplest form, the term online marketing refers to using the power of Internet advertising to generate a response from your audience.
So Online marketing ecompasses all things you do to gain customers through your website or blog. This could include:
- Social media
- SEO
- Banner advertising
- Print advertising
- Press releases
- Article marketing
- Creating a blog to compliment your website
- Affiliate marketing
- Email marketing
- Video marketing
Online marketing is the process of turning your web presence into a salesman that never sleeps. It incorporates traditional marketing as well as online marketing, and the end goal is to increase the traffic to your website.
Do I have to do both?
The short answer is yes. If you want to maximize incoming traffic to your website, then SEO and other online marketing techniques are both required. But research shows that 47% of potential customers are going to the search engines to find online businesses, and with those numbers, ranking high in the search engines is a critical component of gaining online eyeballs. So if you do nothing else, focusing on SEO will gain you incoming traffic can help you gain half the market share for your niche.
SEO Webinars
Landau Design has SEO webinars to teach you how to do SEO on your own. Join us and find out how you can create a dramatic increase in website traffic in just 3 months:
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 02 Jul 2010 under
Online Marketing,
Online Tools |
0 Comments
We have been working to promote our SEO and social media summer school classes for Landau Design, and in the process we have gathered tools to help us get the word out. We thought we would share these tools since we are certain they would be useful in helping you promote your webinars.
General online event sites
Webinar listing sites
Social networking sites
Don’t miss our upcoming webinars:
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 30 Jun 2010 under
Online Marketing,
Online Tools |
0 Comments
Webinars are becoming a trendy way to share knowledge and grow your business. They provide a convenient opportunity to gather individuals without travel time required by any party. The technology has come so far it literally takes minutes to set up and run a webinar right from your computer.
How can a webinar grow your business?
- It gives you the opportunity to share your expertise.
- You can have anybody with an internet connection join in, so you can reach people who may not be able to come to your office.
- It provides a chance to promote other products.
- It is very inexpensive to hold a gathering.
- It saves valuable time since it takes less time to organize and run a webinar than an in-person presentation.
- It provides an opportunity to stay in touch with your customers.
- Recorded webinars can become assets that you share at a later date.
- Free webinars provide a chance to share what you do.
- Free webinars attract more people than pay ones.
- It is easier to convert an attendee into a paying student once they have experience one of your free webinars.
- It is an opportunity to provide value-added customer service.
Landau Design has been using online meeting software to train our clients in how to use Joomla. Webinars became a natural extension of this service when our clients began requesting training in areas like search engine optimization, blogging and social media. We now schedule quarterly webinar series which clients can choose from to grow and hone their skills.
This summer we are offering the following classes:
