Tag: internet

#AwesomeInSocial – People Are Searching You Online…What Are They Finding?

When was the last time you searched for you or your company online? Most consumers will start their search online before ever using your company. Reviews, social media interaction, comments left on product pages, website ease of use, and more are key factors in determining whether a new customer or client will do business with you.
When you consider that online reviews are the key to people’s trust in your business, the choice is clear. You have to know what people are saying about you. A recent survey by BrightLocal states that 84% of people will trust an online review the same as word-of-mouth.
This means it’s more important than ever for you to take control of your social platforms. You want those conversations to happen with you and your social channels. That’s not all. Knowing how they find you can help you identify new opportunities to reach customers on platforms that you’re either not using or have underdeveloped. In some cases, it can even help your company evolve to meet the changes of your customer base.
I’ve compiled a list of ways to find out how you’re being searched.
Use Multiple Search Engines
If you want to know how people find you, the best way to begin is by using Google or Bing to see how you measure up. A key point here is to use your browser’s private browsing feature so that your previous searches don’t affect the results. Google uses “Incognito” and Firefox has “Private Browsing” but they both work the same.
Do a search for your business name and see what the first page results are. You’ll likely find your website/blog, Facebook page, review sites like Yelp, online listing platforms like Google My Business, and other social networks.
After that search is complete, you’ll want to try search terms that could drive people to your business. Start with your website. Most website analytics will track the search terms that get people to your site. Compile that list and start searching. Where do you stand in first page ranking?
Next, you’ll want to do a local search for your business using key terms related to your work. This one is easy. Take your most popular key terms and add your town to the end of the search. A repair shop, for instance, would search for “car shop in [town name]”. If you offer particular services, make sure you use those terms as well. Where do you stand?
With this list, you can determine where your business is showing up and note the places where it should be listed, but isn’t.
Social Media
Make sure you use Twitter and Facebook’s search options to see what people are saying about your business. Search your business name first. What do you find? If your business has a more common name, you can add keywords to the list. This is a search you should often perform, since it helps you stay on top of customer complaints and celebrate business successes.

Also, your online presence will play a big factor in the impression you make to anyone searching for your business. What are they finding? Are the accounts current – or have they not been updated in ages? If you have social media accounts active, showing a lack of current content makes the audience believe you are no longer investing in your business. It’s better to not have an account at all then to have one that hasn’t been updated in ages.

If you have been posting recently, does that content coincide with your branding strategy and goals for the current year? Or is it random and confusing for your audience – sharing content that appeals to you but isn’t strategic can be damaging and counterproductive.
Set Up Analytics
You can use Google Alerts to search the web for keywords related to your business. Those results will be sent to your inbox as often as you wish. Social media platforms like Facebook now offer analytics, and you’ll want to keep track of those. Google My Business offers insights for your business listings. As mentioned earlier, you can also set up your website analytics to find out how people are tracking you. The tools are available, so make sure you use them.
Once you figure how they find you, the next step is to make it easier to connect with your business. The key to success is to keep on top of this. Your online reputation and being #AwesomeInSocial work hand in hand in convincing potential clients to contact you and set up a discovery session.
Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Lifecycle of How Technology Changed our Business Communications


(Image found on Google)

Many of us remember the days of passing notes in the classroom, to getting letters in the mail. The first introductions to phone calls transformed into hoarding the phone from our parents because there was only 1 line with no call waiting. Communication with people has transformed drastically in the last 20 years. Let’s take a walk down that journey so we can better understand how to communicate with people today due to the technology changes.
Before telephones, people communicated in person, through mailed letters and although it seems like times were simpler, communicationtook much longer to make. You could invite people into your home for visits, but anyone not living within your community would get what we call today “snail mail” and respond in return.  It was a superb technology at the time that served well for many, many years.
Over time, the telephone was developed in many variations. From operator calls to family lines to later phones in most homes for people to call and visit on a more real time basis.
From this technology came the need for further access, introducing car phones and pagers. Not necessarily the most “real time” solutions as in most cases you were required to either pay at a phone booth for your call or access a friend who had a nifty brick phone in their automobiles.  Children still played in the streets until dark, letters were still being mailed, notes passed around classrooms, but communication was an optional, as these were less required things that not everyone felt the need to have.
Eventually the evolution of the car phone became the introduction of the personal handheld devices. People began to migrate more away from pagers and leaned more toward systems with voice mail and other features making communications a bit more accessible.
Then came the Internet and shortly after, email communication.  Businesses flocked to the new technology which became a spring board for businesses to have online presence, easily accessible website and people began to communicate more over email than letters.
Texting erupted quickly which migrated communications a little less from email (for personal users), eliminating a lot of need for personal, handwritten letters between people and a lot more real time – “where you are” – communication started happening.
Shortly after, texting on mobile devices became Email and Internet compatible devices which allowed people to spend more time out of the office (if your job allowed for it) and more dedication to notifications on your phone.
The phone quickly evolved from a “dumb phone’ system with texting capabilities to a “smart phone” system with quick access to email, quick access to internet and quick access to basically any type of application that could either make your life more intertwining or more enjoyable in the process.
During this time frame … specifically, the last 10 years, while the Internet was developing, email was thriving and communicationwas changing before our eyes, people discovered platforms and websites where they could communicate with friends and business people without having to pick up that phone or write a personal letter.  They could now communicate in social media.
Take a second … 10 years, people have been using social media.  Cloud computing which has been used in social media, has been around for YEARS! Look at Amazon, Facebook, Google and any other website you go to, to make purchases.  The internet has transformed our shopping, our games, our communication. It is no wonder that in this world now, with access to communicate, real time, at your finger tips, social media is so prominent.
Take a look at this evolution over time.  Your clients, have before them, the World Wide Web at their finger tips.  24 hours a day,  7 days a week, 365/366 days out of the year.  With this much activity online, you are truly missing the boat with visibility if you don’t have a website, if you don’t have an online presence and you aren’t communicatingactively. 
Your clients are online at any time, any day, searching for information in many, many platforms.  It is your choice on whether you will engage with them in this new age of activity in social media, or if you are choosing a presence where your clients aren’t active. 
We challenge you to take the step your clients already have. Get active, get social, remain in the front of your clients mind.  If you aren’t, your competitors are.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don’t get left behind ~ 

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , Pinterest and the tools to manage them. Click here for her Social Media Links

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