superfast business - winning and keeping customers online (dorset)

SUPERFAST BUSINESS

Top Tips for Winning and Keeping Customers On-line

David Lakins

Key Multimedia Ltd

www.keymultimedia.co.uk

@davidlakins

Yesterday Today

Go to the computer to use the Internet / web

Open a browser or Appto use the Internet / web

Internet Today

we can dream up...

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/03/17/elon-musk-tesla-model-s-third-party-apps/

Changing user behaviour

• Youtube clip - fountain

Agenda

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) • Mobile marketing • The power of e-newsletters • Google Analytics • Social Media • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) • Gaining customer insights • Managing your on-line reputation• Q&A

What is SEO

• Desktop • Smartphone• Local• Maps & Location – Google knows where you are !• Video• Sound – Shazam• Personal • Google Glass• Google Now• Google’s Knowledge Graph

What is SEO

What SEO used to be

SEO = LINKS

Then came Panda

• Panda adjusted the search rankings to favour web sites with more pages of 'quality' content. That meant:

– Fewer near-duplicate pages– Fewer pages with embarrassingly bad writing– More pages with deep, useful information– More pages that actually, load in less than 20 seconds

Then came Penguin

• Penguin introduced severe penalties for sites violating Google's Terms of Service by acquiring links through 'artificial tactics.' Those tactics included:

• Over optimisation of page content and unnatural links

– Keyword stuffing– Building link networks of poor quality sites and linking them back to your primary site– Purchasing lots of links

• Check if you have been hit – www.panguin.com

Check if you have been hit

• Panguin Tool – www.barracuda-digital.co.uk/panguin-tool/

More recently….

• “not provided” – limiting the keyword data you can see in Google Analytics

More recently….

• Google Humming bird

– targets natural language search and mobile

Search is now about …

SIGNIFICANCE the quality of being worthy of attention

AUTHORSHIPwho created the content

SEO Myth:We must rank No. 1

Future-proof SEO tactics:

• Google is moving away from links & keywords

– Ensure all content is discoverable– Ensure all content is easily classified– Pay attention to document structure, both in HTML and in

your writing.– Share your content

SEO Tip 1: Understand Your Target Audience

SEO Tip 2: Create a User-Friendly and Search Engine-Friendly Website

• Can Google crawl your website easily?

– Try site:www.yourwebsite.co.uk

• Is your navigation and site architecture easily understood?

• How do pages link within your site?• Google Analytics - Page speed &

Bounce rates matter!

Google Page Speed Test

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Google Page Speed Checker

GA Bounce Rates

SEO Tip 3: Your Best Friend is Google Webmaster Tools

• Set up Webmaster Tools• Check HTML suggestions• Check crawl errors• Test robots.txt• Set up an XML sitemap

SEO Tip 4: Content Creation

• Create a content strategy – drives your site architecture and navigation

• Content is an on-going task – Google loves fresh content

• Think about Hummingbird. Give your users exactly what they want.

SEO Tip 5: Title & Meta Tags are still important

• Title Tags and Meta description tags are still very important.

• Use your most important keywords in the Title tags, while also making them something worth clicking at the search engines.

• For your Meta descriptions, use some additional words that best describe each page's offering.

SEO Tip 6: Micro Data & Search Rich Snippets

• Using multiple schema/mark-up types on the same page along with the data highlighter - will allow Google to display different rich snippets, according to the type of search query.

• Rich snippets boost click-through on your Google listings

– Author headshots– Video thumbnails– Star ratings– On product pages– On category pages (based on aggregate ratings)

• E-commerce sites – micro data mark-up is a MUST !

Rich Snippets

SEO Tip 7: Spread the Word

• Online - learn where your target audience hangs out and become a part of their communities.  Those places may consist of various social media such as Twitter or Facebook, and it might include other online communities such as blogs and forums.

• Offline, Press releases, sponsor local events, advertise in magazines, newspapers, mailers or radio

• Your goal here is to do whatever it takes to get people to know about your brand, and ideally help you spread the word.

SEO Round-up

• Put your address on every page• Make sure local citations match your address• Make linking easy• Make sharing easy• Avoid page duplication• Page speed matters• Give search engines what people want

Spanner in the Works – Google+

Google+

• Google+ is 3 things

• Google+ (application platform)• Google +1 (voting system)• Google Authorship (credits authors of content)• As a social media platform Google+ wins BIG – mash-up

between Facebook, Twitter plus some

Google+ Integrates everywhere within Google

• YouTube• Google

Google +1’s

• Google +1’s is a voting system for content• Found something useful or interesting +1 it share with

your followers

Google Authorship

• Google Authorship is the power player. • It connects content with an individual's Google+ profile.• Note the 'individual' — companies use brand pages,

which can't use authorship.

Google+ & SEO

• Remember the old school SEO link scenario? Here's how it might play out now:-

– I write an article– It makes the front page of the Telegraph website (a guy can

dream)– That alone makes it authoritative

Google+ & SEO

• But then it also gets lots of links and +1s• If Google authorship is in place, then Google knows that

the Dave Lakins who wrote that article also wrote content on the Key Multimedia blog

• Google can redistribute authority from the Telegraph piece, knowing that I'm a more authoritative author than I was before

Google+ for SEO

• Include the +1 share button• Make your content shareable• Ensure authorship is set up on your website / blog so that

your content can be credited to you!

<a href= https://plus.google.com/ud02761?rel=author>David Lakins</a

• Share it on Google+

Mobile Marketing

We have only just started with Mobile

Mobile is already here!

iBGStar Blood Glucose Meter

• Connects to the Apple iPhone and iPod touch for the flexibility to manage your diabetes

http://www.bgstar.com/web/ibgstar

The importance of location

The importance of location

Why is mobile so important?

Google – March 2013

What are people using the mobile web for?

1. Social Networking2. News and Information (mobile search)3. Email

• Real time• Relevance

It’s time to go mobile

It’s time to go mobile

1. Standalone Mobile Site

2. Responsive Website

3. App

But it’s different to desktop!

• Touch • Context• Responsive• A multitude of devices

Responsive Design

• http://ami.responsivedesign.is/ - check for responsive design

Mobiles & Email

• Users are accessing emails first on a smartphone then following up on a desktop

Mobile - Key Tips

• Pay special attention to load times on mobile devices - smartphones usually have significantly less processing power

• Make sure to test your mobile site on as many phone types and operating systems as you can. It’s not a one-size-fits-all world.

• Optimize your mobile site to not only load and function well, but to tell the story of your site in a quick and concise manner.

• Mobile users have even shorter attention spans than desktop visitors – make sure your site converts in an instant.

• Ensure emails are readable on a smartphone device

Email

• Email has been around for ever – even before the web• Some would say it is not as shiny and exciting as social

media

Email

• E-mail is still a personal, one-to-one medium• Email is effective because it’s permission-based. • With the prevalence of smartphones and tablets, they’re

always listening• But the window is narrow. When people read email on a

mobile device they do it quickly. That means your emails must be powerful enough to grab attention.

• It is 100% measurable

Social Media

Social Media = Communication

• Most people tend to focus on the channels e.g. Facebook, Twitter, forums, blogs, podcasts etc.

• Think about these channels as languages

• They can be mastered easily but content and value of the conversation is all it matters.

Social Media

“It's a process, not an event.”

Companies shouldn’t invest in social media for quick results, it’s a process to build relationship with potential clients, and maintain good relationship with existing customers.

Seth Godin

Ideal Social Media Strategy

Social Media

• Social Media Strategy is NOT the same as Digital Marketing!

Using social media for business

• Social media shouldn’t play the role in direct selling, it should instead :-

– influence viral conversations, – build brand awareness, – improve customer service and;– engage with your target as a “friend”

• When making purchase decisions, would you trust a friend, or an advertisement?

Listen Directly instead of Asking

• Social media gives you the ability to “listen in” (legally and ethically) on potential and existing customers to learn what they think about a product / service.

Listening tools

• Google Alerts• SocialMention• Addictomatic• Radian6 (paid) * recently acquired by salesforce.com• Tweetdeck• Hootsuite

Google Alerts

Social Mention

What is Twitter

• Tweet and your followers will see your messages• If you follow others your Twitter timeline will display their tweets

Twitter Basics: a Tweet

• 140 characters to leave a message or an update• You can add text and links• You can tweet via a PC or on the go via your mobile / tablet

Twitter Basics

• Tweet - Posting a message to Twitter • Retweet (RT) - when you re-post a message that

someone already posted. It gives credit to the author and content provided.

• @ + name – a command which allows replies to be sent • Direct Message - Private message sent between two

people (not shown in your public profile) • Favourites - A public area to save your favourite tweets

Using Hashtags

• The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. It is a way to categorise messages

– Hashtags organise your tweets– Hashtags target your audience– Hashtags can get you more retweets– See what is trending and follow hashtags

#WSX#journorequest

#staycation#dorsetbusiness

Twitter - Starting out

• Easy – go to www.twitter.com• Pick a username• Fill out the biography so people know what to expect from

you• Now you are ready to send your first “Tweet”• Find people to follow by adding friends or by searching your

interests • Listen and find who want to follow • Update regularly

How I use Twitter

• Core number of Twitter contacts I keep in touch with on a regular basis

• I keep a watch out for

– New followers (and will always respond / thank them)– @davidlakins mentions of my name

• Schedule some tweets with Hootsuite• Track specific keywords with Tweetdeck - with the notion

that I can join the conversation if necessary

Hootsuite

Facebook

• Facebook is a “different animal” to Twitter and should be treated so.

• It is a closed network – so building a following can be more difficult than Twitter

Your goal: get FB users to Like your Page

Your goal: get FB users to Like your Page

• WHY?• So your updates will

appear on their profile page as viral marketing to those who follow them

• FB post last about 1.5 days

Likes vs Engagement

• Likes are important — but the key element is engagement!

• The more Likes you have, the more people your message is reaching.

• Regular “likes”, comments and shares means your follower has become a brand advocate.

• Facebook Edgerank

Best Of British Holiday Park - Case Study

• Increased following from 180 to over 8,000 likes in six months

– Targeted Facebook Advertising– Regular posting – Strong imagery– Soft sell– Building followers and advocates

Best Of British Case Study

Facebook Targeted Advertising

Facebook – Key Tips

• Facebook fan page likes are precious• Keep your Facebook Fan page populated• Like to get Liked - find other Facebook Pages where your

target is likely to be present and like each of these pages

Pinterest joins Twitter and Facebook asthe newest Social Media tool

What is Pinterest?

• Pinterest is a virtual pinboard which allows users to organize and share interesting content they find on the web

• A great platform for storing and sharing your brand’s images which helps drive traffic to your company website or even help sell products

Why is it great for businesses?

• More than 10 million users• Fast growth• For some businesses Pinterest is driving more traffic to

brand sites than Facebook, Twitter and Youtube• Only social media tool where embedded links are counted

towards SEO value

Pinterest Tips

• Great potential for retailers• Boost your brand image by sharing cool but relevant images• If you have a catalogue this is one opportunity to digitize it• Inspire people and generate a viral effect• Share what’s interesting and drive traffic to your website• Pin, re-pin and like other users’ images that you find relevant• Keep in mind, social network rules apply

LinkedIn

• Largest business networking site in the world• Messages are more professional. Conversations are

geared toward partnerships and transactions• Make sure you fill out your profile 100% • Connect with people• Recommend others

Join a group and actively

contribute to it

Update yourstatus withmeaningful & appropriate content (this is a professionalnetwork)

Use anestablished connection

to ‘get introduced’

A complete profile and

smart use of keywords

will improve your

findability

Write arecommendationor endorse a skill(don’t sit and wait to be recommended)

Q&A

SUPERFAST BUSINESS

Top Tips for Winning and Keeping Customers On-line

David Lakins

Key Multimedia Ltd

www.keymultimedia.co.uk

@davidlakins