Archive for July, 2011

Mobile Compatibility

Websites and blogs alike tend to look completely fine when a person is accessing them through their desktop computer, laptop, or tablet.  However, many people like to access the internet through their phones these days, and sometimes a site or blog simply does not function well on such a small screen.  The design may look bizarre and the content may become jumbled.  In other cases, the site may remain normal, however, if there is a lot of content on the screen, it can be a bit of a hassle for people with phones to scroll through, resize, and move all over the page just to read a simple article.

 

This is where mobile compatibility comes in.  There are a few ways you can handle mobile compatibility these days.  Evolving technology has now given us options so that almost no matter what device a person uses to access the internet, your site or blog will look fine and be easy to navigate.  Because each phone uses a different operating system and web browser, it may not be possible to get your site to work on each and everyone, but you can make it close.

 

The best and easiest way to find out how your site looks is to test it first on different mobile devices.  Don’t start making changes to your site until you have a firm grasp of how they will look on several different devices.  In some cases, you may not need to make changes at all.  You can get a few free trials from sites such as Gomez.com, BrowserCam, and MultiBrowserViewer.  If you find more places you can check, feel free to try them.

 

These sites allow you to type in your site’s address and show you what your site looks like on multiple mobile devices.  For example, Gomez will let you test your website on an iPhone 3GS, iPad, BlackBerry Storm 2, and a Nexus One (Android).  BrowserCam expands their results to include fifteen different versions of some of the most popular device browsers today.

 

Depending upon where your site or blog is located, you may not have to do any work at all to get it into a mobile compatible form.  For example, Blogger offers a mobile compatible format option that bloggers can check in their settings.  People accessing their blog with a typical computer will see the usual blog – people accessing it with their mobile devices will see the compatible version.

 

When everyone everywhere can see your site with ease, you can count on more traffic, smaller bounce rates, and improved business overall.

 

Posted by admin on July 25th, 2011 | Email | Print |

Social Media Sales Promotion for a Small Business

It doesn’t matter how large or how small your business may be.  Social media is an excellent method of sales promotion.  If you haven’t already jumped onto some of the big sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or LinkedIn, now is the time to do it.  Social media allows you to connect to thousands – and maybe even more – potential customers.

 

The majority of big businesses out there quickly discovered that social media sites are excellent places to promote their goods and services.  You too can use social media as a tool to show people what your business is about and what you can offer them.  Bring people in by offering interesting things, such as fun posts on Twitter, amusing videos on YouTube, or useful blog posts that many people will read.  Make your business accessible online – avoid being too dry or robotic.  People want to be entertained and have a good time when they visit social media sites, so see how you can transform your business’s online presence into one that people will want to take a look at again and again.

 

You can wait until you have a large number of followers or friends, or you can start promoting your company immediately through the use of coupons, deals, free stuff, contests, or any other promotional methods you can come up with.  The decision is up to you, though in almost any case you are likely to see an increase in connections and possibly even business during those times in which you offer things to people.  Bigger companies like to use contests and offer coupons.  When it comes to free items, free samples are always a great way to bring people in.

 

Cast your net wide when you start promoting your business with social media.  For example, while Facebook and Twitter are the most popular sites out there when it comes to social media, they are not the only places people visit.  You can find other people not on those two sites at places such as MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Del.icio.us, Kaboodle, and many more.  Some sites aren’t general social media, but instead have a specific focus.  YouTube features videos, Flickr is an image site, Del.icio.us is a popular social bookmarking site, and Kaboodle is all about shopping.

 

You don’t need to join up with every social media site available – that would be too much to monitor.  Instead, choose some of the top sites and then a few that are more closely tailored to what you do.

Posted by admin on July 18th, 2011 | Email | Print |

Social Media and Making You Money

Before diving in to social media, it is first important to remember – social media is not about making money.  Social media is about connecting with people, making friends, and keeping in touch.  This is the prime reason social media exists.  Making money with it simply means you are using it as a tool to drive traffic to your business, therefore earning you new customers.  So the more you force it, the less likely you are to succeed.

 

Instead of being aggressive with social media, it is better to think of these sites as you would when dealing with potential customers on the street or in person.  You need to remain smart, cordial, and of course, get people to like you.  Remaining dry and dull while on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or any of the other numerous social media sites won’t move your business forward in the least.  People are not interested in basic business online – they visit these sites to have fun and look at things they like.

 

Figure out ways to draw people in to your sites by posting interesting tidbits of information.  These don’t always have to be business related.  Remember – people are on these sites to be entertained, so you need to be able to do just that.  Not many people will want to read tweets featuring dry sales figures or other robotic pieces of information.  Take a moment to consider some of even the biggest companies and their social media presence.

 

A lot of companies like to offer things to their social media connections.  If they are on YouTube, they’ll post funny commercials or other videos intended to entertain visitors.  Companies may offer coupons on various social network sites, whether it’s Facebook or MySpace.  If you’ve seen any advertisements on television lately, you have probably noticed the numerous contests that companies run – all a person has to do is Like them on Facebook.  All these little things quickly add up to having thousands if not millions of people connected to you, and through them other people will see your name and your brand and come to take a look.

 

When you have a successful social media presence, you will see an increase in traffic to your webpage and even your physical business office (if you have one).  People like coupons and contests.  They like funny videos and exciting offers.  Social media is a party, after all, so once you walk into that door, make sure that you’re the life of the party.

 

Posted by admin on July 11th, 2011 | Email | Print |

Small Business the New Big Fish: Pushing the Small Business Profile

Whether it’s buying local to help support the local economy or simply seeking out a business that is more tailored to a person’s needs, small businesses often have an upper hand against big companies.  The key to making the most of this upper hand is to push your profile as much as you can to let everyone know you are out there and you have what they want.

 

Getting your name and brand into the world takes time and effort, but the rewards can be well worth it.  People have taken to shopping at small businesses more and more, especially within the last few years.  Even government officials such as senators, state representatives, and even presidents constantly talk about supporting small businesses.  After seeing the trouble that so many massive companies can get themselves into, it’s a good time to show people that you have something more manageable and won’t let them down.

 

Bringing out your profile means letting people know all about what your business stands for.  Be sure to announce all your highlights.  Let people know about your company’s history.  People like to hear about how the little guy got started and crafted a successful business.  Point out the high quality products or services that are involved in your business.  You can even make people aware of how efficiently your company is run and how pleased employees are to work there, whether it’s from the atmosphere or great benefits.

 

Past performance can also be a great factor to point out, as well as what you believe your future performance will be.  And of course, always inform people of what you have that other companies do not.  Taking note of certain movements can help give you the extra edge.  Does your company take part in being green by recycling or offering green products and services?  Does your business give back to the local community by supporting volunteer groups, schools, or other philanthropic groups?

 

By making an effort to stand out, stand strong, and letting everyone know that you are a strong small business, you will quickly discover that more people are likely to seek you out and become new customers.  If you have a high quality profile and practice what you offer, then those new customers will soon become loyal customers.  The time for small businesses is now, so give yours an extra edge, show off what you’ve got, and shine brighter than even the biggest company.

Posted by admin on July 4th, 2011 | Email | Print |