Business Boosters: Twitter

As most businesses are experiencing low numbers right now, they’re struggling to figure out what to do to strengthen their company during this difficult time. If you’re looking for something to boost your business, consider creating or revamping a Twitter account. Even though Twitter is not a new social platform and has been around since 2006, it is still one of the best platforms for businesses to connect with people on a personal level. It’s one of the best ways to have conversations with prospective clients and answer their questions. It has fast-paced, honest, and oftentimes comedic interactions that, if done right, lead to a reputation that attracts all types of people to your business. Twitter is possibly the best platform to expand your client base. The people who use Twitter are extremely diverse, especially compared to users of different social media platforms. They’re all different ages, genders, etcetera and are from all around the world. Another benefit to Twitter is the camaraderie between other businesses. If you’ve been looking for other businesses to refer your clients to for work that your business doesn’t do, you can use Twitter to communicate with other businesses easily and make connections to help each other out. This connection in the business community is especially important as we all strive to increase industry flow during this difficult time. As long as a business’ tweets are witty and meaningful, a wide range of people will start interacting with them. They will bring in business and refer your company to their friends. Twitter is the place to find new business, interact in the business world, and establish your business as a contributor to its community. If you’re ready to boost your business through Twitter but you’re not sure you have the time to set an account up and run it, email or call us at CeSI and we’ll do all the work for you! We can simply create a business account for you and get you started or we can do as much as posting tweets for your business as frequently as you would like. Also, if you would just like to learn more about best practices for Twitter, we can teach you! If you would like to learn more about using Twitter for your business, read their Twitter Business basics guide.

What It Takes to Work from Home or Remotely

As most people probably know, the government is suggesting that businesses have their employees work from home if possible because of current health events. This is a daunting prospect for many people who have never tried working from home or have tried and failed.

If you’re being told to work from home, you don’t have to be afraid that it won’t go well. There are a few ways of making it successful to the point where you’ll never want to go back to the office again!

Make an at-home work space for yourself. It can be as simple as setting up your dining room table for you to work at or as complex as creating a home office. This designated space will keep you focused and in the right mindset for work.

Give yourself enough time. Don’t let yourself get distracted by chores and other household issues just because you’re at home. You’ll be more productive if you block out enough time in your schedule to get work done.

Get the right equipment. If you don’t already have the right laptop or computer for work, you should get one. When you have the right equipment, working becomes easier. Even if the equipment might be pricey, it’s worth the costs because you’ll be able to get your work done and show your employer that you are capable of and committed to working from home.

Stay in touch with your boss/manager/employer. Oftentimes, when you hear of people who are told they aren’t allowed to work from home, it is because they did not stay in contact with their superior. When you stay in contact with your superior about the status of your work, you prove yourself responsible and productive. It is likely that over time your superior will tell you that they really valued your updates and that you have proved yourself responsible enough to work independently without having to check in any longer.

Rely on your coworkers. If you need help from your coworkers, don’t be afraid to ask! It is likely that whatever job you do, you aren’t a one man band. Just because you’re working from home, doesn’t mean you have to now treat your job like you’re all alone. If you get help from your coworkers and help them in return, everything will keep running smoothly and get done.

Stay up to date with news and clients. Being out of the office doesn’t give you an excuse to be disconnected. Not only does staying up to date simply keep you informed, but you can apply the knowledge you gain to your work.

While working from home requires some adjustments, it doesn’t have to be painful. If you would like more advice on working from home, we have many employees with experience who could share their guidance. Contact us at [email protected].

1, 2, 3, Say “Instagrammable!”

When it comes to making your mark in the social media world, consider making your business “Instagrammable.” Because Instagram is all about the looks, being Instagrammable means looking iconic, photogenic, likable, and share-worthy. Having spaces inside or outside of your business that inspire people to pull out their phones to take a picture is a great way to give your business a presence in social media and attract more customers. To make the Instagramable spaces in your business, consider what makes your company unique and capture that in the form of a backdrop or art piece somewhere visible to your clients and customers. An example of a business that has an Instagrammable exterior is the colorful and beachy Des Moines Doghouse.

Seattle Chocolate Company has created Instagrammable spaces both outdoors and indoors. From the street, people can see a vibrant, large-scale wall mural. Inside, the factory as a whole is picture-perfect and has multiple walls that make great backdrops for pictures. See our office administrator, Holli, featured below. With the entire wall covered in truffles, who wouldn’t want to get a picture and share it with their friends?

Another business that has created Instagrammable spaces using its products is diecutstickers.com. In the photo below, Owner Daniel Diederichs and General Manager Jerry Perschke are standing in front of one of two walls that are covered by small stickers the company has created for its clients. These sticker walls not only help make them Instagrammable, but also help them support their clients’ brands. In addition to these two walls, there are walls that are covered with large-scale, landscape stickers.

These walls don’t just make for great backdrops for photos! They also show clients how large and impressive diecutstickers.com’s stickers can be. In addition, there are walls in staff offices and the conference room that have inspirational graphics that make thinking of a caption for an Insta pic really easy. Displaying the range of their work (from small to large-scale) in this way prompts clients to snap selfies during a tour of the state-of-the-art facility.

For businesses looking for clever ways to get more interaction in social media, we recommend finding or creating a space in your business where people will want to take pictures. Whether it is a statue, a fun wall, or a unique product, having something aesthetic in your business will lead people to stop, look, snap a picture, and post. This is a natural way to create brand advocates and people who will market your business for you.

If you would like to brainstorm specific ways to make your business more Instagrammable, please feel free to contact [email protected]

Why Google Search Is the Best

When we determine the best SEO practices for a client, we prioritize Google. We like to use the phrase “Google is King.” Here are two reasons why: First, the majority of people still use Google. Google encompasses almost 90% of the search engine market traffic, while Bing, Yahoo!, and others are still being used by a small number of people (see StatCounter’s graph below.)

Second, Google is picky and its SEO standards are high. Achieving strong SEO practices for Google will also make your website searchable in other search engines. This means that if you prioritize optimizing for Google, then you will end up being well-optimized for the other search engines. If you are interested in a complimentary review of your website and it’s current SEO standing, email Elizabeth at [email protected]. Interested in other SEO related reads? Check out our blogs Remediating Search Engine Rankings and White Hat vs Black Hat SEO.

Building Business in Difficult Times

Every industry and business has its cycles. Most businesses do best when the economy is strong because consumers feel optimistic and are willing to spend money, even when it requires using their credit cards. Other businesses struggle when the economy is booming. For example, auto repair businesses are less busy when people think they can afford a new car instead of just repairing the old one. Regardless of whether or not a business does well in a strong or struggling economy, the business may find that its goal is simply to survive the difficult season when sales fall flat. Unsurprisingly, the steps to survival are the same as those for building a business. Build relationships (or rebuild old relationships.) This builds trust and helps you identify who needs what your business has to offer and who has what your business needs.

Tell your story. What has your business accomplished? What is your business’ passion?
Invite a prospective client to try your business’ services/products.
Provide what you have committed to provide and, if possible, provide more than was promised!
Be as eager to buy what your business needs as you are to sell what others need. This continues the process of building relationships.

When businesses take to heart these strategies, they experience growth even in difficult times, and the communities that they are in benefit from that growth. To submit your own ideas about surviving during tough times, email me at [email protected].

Remediating Search Engine Rankings

In the early years of the internet, businesses that had simple websites with a lot of text benefited from a phenomenon known as “grandfathering.” These businesses listed their websites in search engines and weren’t charged anything because the search engines were trying to compile the biggest, most relevant database. This was before search engines charged for inclusion or pay per click. If the businesses were in well-defined niches, their websites had high rankings for several phrases related to their business and web-generated business was good! Then, in 1995, those businesses that had ranked highly in natural search for several years saw their rankings drop significantly (from first page to 16th page or below.) This was because the search engines’ algorithms evolved continuously, while the businesses websites did not keep up with international standards. Today businesses that don’t keep up with coding developments intended to make web pages load more quickly and efficiently on both PCs and mobile devices and/or that don’t maintain the text and images to keep current can expect to see their search engine ranking positions (SERPs) drop. Gone are the days that you can build a website and then ignore it for years. Optimizing an older website to meet current, international standards typically involves over a dozen tasks. There is simply a list of tasks that take about three weeks to complete. These tasks include: 1. Conducting research to identify which phrases will get the most web traffic 2. Writing text that is easier for the search engines and humans to read 3. Eliminating code that slows down search engine robots 4. Adding structural elements that help people and search engine robots get through the site faster 5. Deleting any inappropriate strategies that may have been in place before optimization Businesses that have experienced dropped rankings represent about half of our new clients for the search engine optimization services. We call this work ranking remediation because it involves working to remedy dropped rankings so that web-generated business levels are restored. Restoring dropped rankings takes less time than securing rankings for sites that are new or have never been well-ranked. A business that has dropped in ranking knows the value of their search engine position because they rely on web-generated sales. This makes them highly motivated to assist in the process. Short turnaround time and high client motivation make ranking remediation an especially fun type of project for us at CeSI. If your business’ website is in need of ranking remediation, contact Cascade e-Commerce Solutions at 206-244-9092 or [email protected]

White Hat Versus Black Hat SEO

Clients often ask me, “Does Google try to make it difficult for SEO specialists to do their work?” What I tell them is I don’t believe Google does anything to make it difficult for White Hat SEO specialists like me. A White Hat SEO specialist is someone who chooses to follow Google’s recommendations. However, they make it very difficult for SEO specialists who use Black Hat techniques. People who use Black Hat techniques are those who look for ways to get lots of traffic quickly, even if it isn’t the right traffic. They are also looking for short term gains through temporary loopholes, rather than long term growth for their clients. In addition, they want to “automate” all the processes involved in securing high rankings. I believe you can’t automate the key processes involved in developing good content for a website, such as text and photos. You must take the time to get to know the business, to know what makes them unique and best in their niche. You must become part of their marketing team and work hard to get into the head of their ideal customer. Google has a large team of programmers that is always in the process of creating new algorithms to filter out websites that are utilizing strategies that violate Google’s Webmaster Quality Guidelines. These guidelines have been the same for years, and so there really is no excuse for SEO specialists to not follow them. They can’t say they didn’t know. You can’t trick Google and you shouldn’t want to. On more than one occasion, we have helped a small business client get a refund from a major SEO company because the company used a strategy that was specifically stated as a violation in Google’s guidelines. Employment of this strategy caused the business to have the worst level of web traffic and sales in 35 years. Their SEO company literally tanked the website in the search results, and they tried to say they didn’t know it was wrong. They used the fact that Google didn’t catch up to them for several months as an excuse. In a meeting with them and the client, we pulled out Google’s quality guidelines and other Google public documentation and they knew the game was up. They allowed the client to cancel their service and gave them a refund. Over the years, our clients have outperformed their competition in search rankings and new sales from online marketing because we’ve helped prevent them from doing spammy things. Google spells out in their quality guidelines that they will penalize those spammy things. While there have been short episodes during which our clients’ competitors were securing higher rankings by using spammy strategies, their reputation ends up so ruined that they had to let go of their domain names and completely rebuild their websites. Once the reputation of a domain name has been damaged, it takes a human at Google to remove the penalty. Google won’t do that unless you humbly admit you’ve made a mistake, you call out the specific details of the violation, you provide evidence that you’ve remedied the violation,, and you promise never to let it happen again. Even then, Google is under no obligation to tell the business that their website has been penalized or to lift the penalty. We’ve had several clients come to us after another SEO company has done something spammy and caused their website to be penalized. We are happy that we have been successful in getting penalties removed for these clients’ websites. These clients then go on to become some of our best clients because they have learned the value of following quality guidelines and they support our efforts to do so. While I know that Google is in the search business to make money, I believe that their quality guidelines are in the best interest of internet users and of businesses that market through the internet. Other SEO experts might try to call me overly optimistic and naïve. However, I can point to over 20 years in the industry, and my adherence to quality guidelines has always benefited my clients and my small business. Even when I’m pressured to follow the latest loophole, I stand firm and ask my clients to wait out the latest Black Hat strategy. I’m proud of the success of those clients that have done this time and time again. They’ve survived downturns in the economy and the short-term loss in rankings that happened when competitors were temporarily leading in search rankings due to Black Hat SEO strategies. We love seeing that our clients are getting the right results for consistently doing the right thing over the long run. It’s rewarding to see that the good guys win!

You Still Don’t Have a Mobile Site? Prepare to Be Ignored

As a Social Media Marketing Specialist and Content Developer, I can tell you that my boyfriend understands about half of what I do on a daily basis. He’s an engineer, so writing and marketing are not his specialties. Because both of us are in our 20s, we tend to assume that every company has already jumped on the digital marketing band-wagon. Every time we have to find something, for example somewhere to eat dinner, we only make the decision off of what we find on the internet. Now, you can have your opinions about how the internet plays such an important role in young peoples’ decision making, but that’s not going to change the fact that it does. When I talk to my boyfriend about my latest projects at work, he used to have a hard time believing that my clients really need that much help with their online presence. However, recently, his 20-something year-old perspective was changed when he was doing research on his move across the country. He was looking for a company to ship his car and found that almost every company available had no real online, mobile-friendly presence. And since he is in his 20s, that meant that he doesn’t consider any shipping company to be viable and worthy of his money. He now knows that many companies think that they can still get by doing business the old way, even though we live in the digital age and make all our decisions with that in mind. What those businesses don’t know is that that just makes them look shady to us 20-something year olds, so we’ll just find another business that does have a good website. Some companies may say that that’s all fine and dandy, and that they’ll just choose to rely more on the business of older people because they think those people will have more money to spend anyways. They should be prepared though, because 20+ year-olds are making bigger purchases than many business owners realize and those decisions are not only for their own service needs, but also for the needs of their family members. Young people are currently buying houses and cars, moving, and seeking out services for their older and younger family members. Businesses that ignore how young people choose services won’t see any of their money, unless they step-up their digital game.

Here’s How to Affordably Start Marketing

Starting a new business and have a limited budget? Here’s how to affordably start marketing. As an internet marketing specialist who has been in the business for over 20 years, I have been asked by many people how they should start marketing their new business while taking their start-up level budget into consideration. In response, I ask the new business owner to share with me:

the name of their business and how the history of that name
a description of its services and products
a description of its ideal client or customer
its intended geographic reach
a statement of what will make the business unique in its market niche

If the business owner can’t answer these questions succinctly, then I respond by encouraging them to meet with a local Small Business Development Center (SBDC.) The SBDC will help them learn how to categorize and market their business. If the business owner can answer these questions, then I ask whether they have developed a logo, company colors, or any other brand identity pieces. If they don’t have these, then I recommend that we start with these with the goal of developing a logo and business cards that will help the business owner make traditional, in-person connections. Next I recommend the following marketing strategies:

Keyword research to identify the phrases that people might use to find the business online
Content development to include keyword-rich text
A mobile friendly, quick-to-load website
Optimized pages in local maps and review sites such as Google My Business (Maps), Yelp, etc.
Online reputation monitoring and coordination
Email marketing
Pay per click marketing
Social media marketing (selection of specific strategies such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, etc. depending on ideal customer demographics)

I offer a one hour complimentary consultation to help businesses develop a prioritized outline of possible marketing strategies. To schedule your complimentary consultation, please call me at 206.244.9092 or email [email protected]

Setting Your Price

Originally by Elizabeth Paulsen on May 26, 2009, updated 1/22/2020. I enjoy mentoring new businesses. One of the most common questions I hear from new business owners is “How should I set my price?” This is what I tell them. Know your competitors’ prices. Gather as much information as possible about your competitors’ prices and why they are charging those prices. Make certain that for each price you know the specific products and services that are included. Know your lowest possible price. List all your costs for each service/product. Possible costs include supplies, staffing, shipping, overhead, and follow on services. Then, for each service/product, add your minimum margin (the money your business needs to make above the costs for that item to be viable.) Compare your competitors’ prices to your lowest possible prices. It helps to build a table of each service/product and list your prices in one column and the prices of competitors in other columns. Then, study the options below and select the option that works best for your business.

Lowest Price Option

Consider being the lowest price competitor when:

You know for certain that you can sustain the price for a long time.
You know that your competition can’t come near your prices because their overhead and other costs are higher and they don’t have the funding to offer your price or lower.
You know that another competitor can’t enter the market and offer a lower price.

Don’t aim to be the lowest price competitor when:

Prospects who are shopping for your services/products may think yours are substandard in quality because prices are associated with quality in your industry.
There is a competitor who has the funding to drop below your lowest possible price. A competitor who has adequate funding can drop their prices just long enough to get your customers to switch. This will make you raise your price or force you out of business.

It is important to note that customers who shop for the lowest price are fickle. As soon as your price is no longer the lowest, they’ll feel fully justified in moving on. Don’t count on them loving your services/products so much that they will stay loyal to your brand.

Highest Price Option

Consider being the highest price competitor when:

You have at least one success story that you can share. If you have done the same work for a previous client and can tell a prospect that you significantly contributed to that client’s success, you can command a high price.
You know that you and your services/products are worth it. Prospects can sense confidence. They’ll believe you’re the best if you believe it.
There are enough prospects for you to sustain your business.
You can sustain the level of service and quality that your price promises.

Don’t aim to be the highest price competitor when:

There are too few prospects to buy your services/products. You could become too dependent on those few.
You’re not confident that you are better than your competitors and you have no story to tell of past success.
You don’t yet know how to sustain being the best for a long period of time.

Middle Price Option

Consider being a middle priced competitor when:

You want the greatest flexibility in pricing.
You don’t have a great success story to tell right from the beginning.
You have no desire to make huge waves amongst your competitors right from the start.

Don’t aim to be middle priced option when your business model is really better suited to either lowest or highest price.

Pricing to the Level of Responsibility

There is a practice that I call “pricing to the level of responsibility.” This practice involves charging higher-end prices. This practice is good for a business to implement. When a business is implementing this practice and is charging a higher price for their product/service, prospects will believe that the business must be the best because it charges a higher price. The logic is that if a business has the courage to charge that much, then there must be a reason, so they deserve the business. This logic can carry on into a contract. A prospect might believe that because they are paying a company that much money, they might as well use all of its services/products and listen to its representatives. By doing so, they believe they aren’t wasting all the money they’re spending. They are also giving the majority of control to the company, which means that projects can be completed in a timely manner without hiccups caused by overhead. This practice should never be leveraged simply to secure a high price. The customer would see through that and become offended. This practice is very helpful in cases in which the customer needs to have a strong commitment to the project. Pricing to the level of responsibility encourages both the customer and the vendor to work together as a team, which will lead to a successful result. When a business defines its pricing, it can confidently communicate with prospects and customers. Clarity around pricing helps set a positive tone for the business/customer relationship. The earlier a new business can set its pricing, the faster it can become successful. For more information contact Elizabeth Paulsen at [email protected]