New Clients for Web Star

We've not posted for ages and the reason why is that we have been busy getting new clients and designing some fantastic new websites.   The last two months have also seen some mega interest on the optimisation front and also social media marketing.

Websites need to be promoted......I'll say it again.......websites need to be promoted and that's just what we are doing we are promoting some websites and running campaigns to target followers for social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter -  and here are some of our results:

• Facebook account - increased friends to over 1800 within a 3 month period.
• Increase in sales by 572% over a period of 3 months.
• Decrease in bounce rate over a period of 6 weeks from 62% to 28%.
• Increase in CTR (click through rate) on Adwords from less than 1% to over 8% in 4 weeks.

How did we manage to produce these amazing results?  Give us a call to find out.
Tel: 01625 821072     Mob: 07784 128016

Why use Social Media for your business?

Over the last number of weeks I’ve been coaching and advising a few people on using Social Media to promote their business. Normally when you mention Social Media people's eyes glaze over and you can see their thoughts turning to more interesting topics, such as paint drying or cleaning out the cat litter.

Because most people do not understand the energy (dare I say 'hype') and cannot for the life of them see why they would need 'online social media' to run a business - in other words Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or a blog, I believe that many are taking the “wait and see” approach and frankly hoping that it will all die a horrible death and go the way of other .com trends.

Sadly however much you resist this new sector you simply must keep up with the pace. Online communities are the prime weapon of choice for anyone under 30 and it is now seen as an acceptable and quick way to communicate to your audience. We live in an open society. Knowledge used to be power. Now sharing is power - are you sharing?

If you are still undecided then we will be posting some information about Social Networking in the next few posts to help you decide if it is right for you.......and here are a few reasons why you need to think about using social media for your business - don't get left behind because the consumer is in the driving seat here and if you don't jump on the wagon with them, someone else will.

Why use Blogs, Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn?


You need a Blog to:
• improve your search results in Google - blogs can increase search results by up to 75%
• showcase your skills, services and products
• give up-to-the-minute news and events quickly to your readers
• promote yourself as an expert in your field
• engage in conversations with visitors to your blog


A Facebook page can help you to:
• chat more informally about your services and products
• listen to your customers
• share help and advice related to your business
• drive visitors to your homepage / blog where there are calls-to-action
• learn more about your audience

It’s great to be on Twitter to:
• chat more informally with customers
• listen to what’s being said about you and your competitors
• be on the look out for news that’s related to your industry=
• drive visitors to your blog or facebook page
• share useful and helpful information in a friendly way
• show a different side of your company personality


LinkedIn can benefit you by:
• acquire new customers through online recommendations and word of mouth
• find business partners to work with
• build an industry network
• get answers quickly from people you can trust
• win new business by answering questions in your area of expertise
• share unique blog content
• keep your friends close and your competition closer


If you need some help or advice getting started then give us a call - it's free to chat and we can help you decide if Social Media would benefit your business, or if you have a question email it to us and we will get right back to you.

Call on Tel:  01625 821072    |    Mob: 07784 128016  

Email: michelle@yourwebstar.co.uk

Strangers, Friends and Lovers - What does it mean?

Upside Down Marketing  - Because sometimes you need to turn things upside-down to see it clearly.

Say you think of your clients and potential clients in four simple categories:

• Strangers - a broad market, they don't know who you are.
• Friends - prospective clients, you've met, they know who you are, but they haven't bought from you so you're not that close yet!
• Lovers - current clients, who love you.
• Ex-lovers - ex-clients who have fallen out of love with you!

HOW TO BE CONVENTIONAL:

Most business budget their time and money as follows:

• 60%  -  Strangers
• 30%  -  Friends
• 10%  -  Lovers

They spend most of their marketing  effort focusing on people they don't really know.

NOW TURN CONVENTION UPSIDE-DOWN:

It's mad to spend most of your time and money on people who don't event know who you are.  It makes no sense at all.  If you were a betting person you'd only bet where there's the best chance of getting a result.  Yet you're betting all your time and money on getting the worst results possible.

What about this for a mad idea?  Spend your time and money like this:

• 10%  -  Strangers
• 30%  -  Friends
• 60%  -  Lovers

The greatest effort with the people who already think that you are great - they already love you, and by spending more time and money with them they will spread the word.  They will act as your ambassadors, your 'raving fans'.  They know your strengths and weaknesses; they can help by spreading the word or giving you warm referrals.

Top Tip:  Spend a little time considering this piece of upside-down thinking - in the right business this process will increase your marketing effectiveness tremendously - GUARANTEED! 

What's new at Your Web Star

Its' ages since we posted but we've been so busy which is great.  We've got some new clients and have uploaded some great websites.....so what's been happening?

Sale Domestic Appliances contacted us and need a website in a hurry. Their previous site had gone down and they had no web presence.  Sale Domestic Applicances sell, repair and install all kinds of domestic applicaces. The brief was to provide a simple website that would be able to develop into internet selling in the future. 

They wanted to be able to update the website themselves and add new images and information when it suited them so we provided a really simple CMS that they found really easy to use.
 
Visit their website and if you would like a website like this for your business.  Call us on 01625 821072 or email michelle@yourwebstar.co.uk

Bambooo Childcare contacted us and asked for advice on how to optimise their website.  We suggested adding a blog because blog posts get optimised and can get quick results without much expense.

We added a blog to their existing website and the cost was just £150.00.  After a few months they have reported that they are now appearing on the first page of google organically when you type in ‘nanny agency Manchester’ or childcare agency Manchester’. 

Visit bamboo childcare at:  http://www.bamboochildcare.co.uk/ and take a look at their blog.

If you would like to talk to us about providing a blog to your existing website call us on 01625 821072 or email michelle@yourwebstar.co.uk

Special People North works exclusively with children and young people with a wide variety of special needs.  They first approached us last year to optimise their website.  After looking at all the options they decided to develop a new site and update their image.

It was important to keep the logo,  but we changed the colour slightly to fit into their new design.

The easy CMS systems means they can update their website whenever they like and saving costly designer fees and a blog lets them pass on important information to the public, their visitors and their clients.

A tight budget meant we prioritised the work they needed doing immediately from development work which could be staged over the next year.

Their new site has been a hit with their target audience and early feedback has been good in addition their visitors are up by 33%. 

Visit their website at http://www.specialpeoplenorth.org.uk/ and if you would like to talk to us about a website like this for your business call us on 01625 821072 or email michelle@yourwebstar.co.uk.

Race for Life - 4th July Cheltenham

I raced for life with my Sister-In-Law Julie for Doreen our Mother-In-Law much loved and still missed since 17th April 2007.

We were proud to race with 4,000 other women and raise funds to fight cancer.  Thank you everyone who sponsored us.

See our tribute here....


                 

Meet Google in Manchester - 27th May

ECommerce Expo North 2010 is THE industry event for ecommerce professionals in the North of England. Showcasing over 50 exhibting companies and a FREE to attend conference running from 9am - 5pm, it is the place to come to learn about what is new in Ecommerce.
The show is for everyone and anyone interested in doing business online, whether you have just started or are a major online retailer. ECommerce Expo can show you the latest innovations in the market, help you update your current systems or simply let you network with your industry.

Plenty of seating is available at the Google University. This year, Google will be running 2 sessions covering:

Analytics - find out how your website is performing and also find out more about Adwords - learn how to drive relevant traffic to your site.

A show not to be missed get your FREE ticket at http://www.ecommerceexponorth.co.uk/

Marketing for the Web - Brilliantly

So far we have looked at how to make a website work and how to turn theory into reality. This month we will be looking specifically about digital marketing and how to do this brilliantly. Why do you need to bother with digital marketing? Because it is increasingly the most important marketing you will ever do.

It allows you to reach people on the move, to interact and engage with your audience and digital is now the prime weapon of choice for anyone under 30. In addition to web sites digital now includes mobile, marketing sites through search engines and the use of chatrooms and communities like facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Brilliant Tip : Because the sector is moving so fast and has so many different opportunities it's really smart to spend some time with someone who knows what's going on and whom you can understand.

Step 1: Keeping up with the pace.

In order to be able to compete you first need to understand, how dramatic web sites vary from a standard middle of the road site. How people use website and why or how they work, or more importantly why or how they don't work.

We live in an open society. Knowledge used to be power. Now sharing is power. Unless you really understand the concept of sharing you won't understand digital marketing. Read The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom.

Step 2: What's changed?

The numbers have changed dramatically. But they are only part of the story.

FACT: Advertising spend on the web now exceeds advertising spend on TV in the UK.

FACT: 60% of business owners are looking to increase their natural and paid-for-search budgets in the next 12 months.

FACT: Digital is the future, but if this is so you need to make sure you are in brilliant control.

FACT: The way we use email is changing. 18-35 year olds use email about half as much as +35 year olds, chatrooms and social networking and instant messaging are the choice of the 18-35's. This means the role of email as a marketing tool is changing.

Step 3: Questions to ask and things you should do.

1. Does your email marketing support your brand claims.

2. Email lists need to be tightly controlled and segmentated. Spending time in this area is a wise investment of time and so often overlooked. Are you making sure that your news, events and offers are reaching an ever-larger group of people?

3. The average number of friends on Facebook is 102, so if an email recipient adds something from your email or website to their Facebook page, all those friends are mailed an alert automatically telling them what content has been added and by whom, a chance to covert to a sale and a personal intro/endorsement as a bonus. Are you using Facebook to introduce you to new people?

4. Think forward into change. Plan out how you can combine web site, text, blogs, social networks, e-newsletters and viral advertising to create real momentum. Use all these mediums together in a structured bid to market your brand.

5. Get the best help you can on search engine marketing, do not be tempted to try this yourself. This is where the smart money is.

6. Have Fun. How can you customise your message? Find a conversational as opposed to a corporate tone of voice.

7. Get a fresh view of what you do. Make a list of the major aspects of your business. For each aspect write down what would be the opposite. For each opposite, brainstorm what might be a practical interpretation of the reversal. When you've generated lots of ideas go through them and find the ones that are worth considering.

In Summary:

Don't ignore Facebook, LinkedIn or other new technology because you don't understand it, it has grown 600% in the last 12 months, be part of that growth and use it to your own advantage. The internet is going to change marketing before it changes anything else....don't get left behind.

Marketing is all about balancing left and right brain, gauging performance, measuring results as well as developing a sense of intuition, but it is a discipline based around 'return on investment' too which you must learn. The world is changing and we have to change with it. You must know your market and what will work for you and your business.

Marketing for the web lies in getting 3 areas absolutely right.

1. Being Relevant. Get on your customers/clients radar screen.
2. Being Accessible. Be their kind of people, connect and engage with them.
3. Being Different. We seek innovation the whole time, don't be ordinary - be extraordinary.