Blogging 2 - Old City Web Services

3 ways to enhance customer engagement

June 12, 2013 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Want to improve your level of customer engagement? Customer engagement is the emotional connection between a customer and a company or brand. Engaged customers are loyal to your brand, passionate about your brand and advocates for your brand. Below are 3 helpful tips you may want to consider:
1.) Video
If you spend any time on the internet, you'll find that it's almost impossible to avoid videos-videos of celebrity interviews, dogs doing tricks, commercials-- you name it, it's there! People like to put a face to a brand and with video, you can do just that. Here are two ways video will enhance your customer experience:

Videos convert people into paying customers- in the article, Astounding Online Video Statistics That Brands Can't Afford To Ignore , written by the Social Times, "customers that watch videos of products or services are 85% more likely to make a purchase."
Videos come up in search results-Google announced earlier this year that more than 1 billion unique visitors are on YouTube each month.

2.) Responsiveness

I'm sure you've found that there are multiple online forums and blogs that allow customers to express their opinion or write reviews about their experience with local businesses. For example: Trip Advisor, Urban Spoon and Open Table are a few for the food and beverage industry. According to TripAdvisor's 2013 Fact Sheet, more than 60 new contributions are posted every minute! Of course nobody likes to receive a negative review and it's nearly impossible to prevent them, but there are ways to maintain your valuable reputation by your level of responsiveness. It's important to respond to both the good and the not-so-good reviews. Just make sure you are open, honest and apologetic to the bad. This will reflect positively to other commentators and especially to the one that wrote the review. Maybe your responsiveness even convinced them to come back and give you another shot. If you aren't actively responding to these reviews, you can bet your competition is and their gaining brownie points for doing so.

3.) Social Interaction
I'm not talking about going to mixers or having dinner parties with your clients--I'm taking about social media responsiveness. Not only should you be posting, tweeting and pinning, but you should be commenting and re-tweeting also. Try to set aside a little time each day to engage with your customers and respond to what they're saying to you. If you're only putting content out there, customers may feel you're not listening to them. When you do this, you're adding a personalized touch that your customers appreciate and remember.

Want to learn more ways to enhance your level of customer engagement? Old City Web Services will help you become more responsive and increase your online presence. Contact us today by giving us a call: 904.829.2772 or emailing us: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

Feeling flustered over social media?

May 1, 2013 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Managing your own social media networking sites for your business is not a small fleet! Many business owners avoid social media marketing all together since it doesn't typically have an immediate monetary return, however if you're leaving this out of your marketing mix, you're turning down infinite potential leads and important consumer engagement.

Most likely your customers are already online searching and talking about you so join in on the conversation! According to Harry Menta, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration, "The more you embrace social media, the more opportunities open up for your particular business. Small-business owners have to realize that not all social media may be a fit for them, but they shouldn't just sit on the sidelines. They need to investigate the possibilities."With this being said, knowing what networks to join and who to connect with are important things to consider before signing up for every social media network out there. Additionally, it's key to remember that having a personal Facebook page is not the same thing as maintaining a professional Facebook Business Page.

Feeling overwhelmed yet? Not to fear, Old City is here! Our professional social media experts can take care of all your social media problems, no matter where you stand in the world of social networking. We can conduct preliminary research, set up your accounts (the right way) and train you and your staff on how to manage your accounts. We will give you tips, trends and time-saving resources that will help boost your social rankings and two-way communication with customers.

Start learning how to manage the day-to-day tasks of posting, tweeting, blogging, sharing, pinning and linking today! Give us a call: 904.829.2772 or email us: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com

to schedule your free one-hour consultation.

5 Ways to Integrate Social Media into the Mix

October 10, 2012 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

1.) A Social Website

A call-to-action from any source drives customers to your website. Linking your social networking sites to your home or landing page, allows people to to be driven directly to the product/services you want them to see. Not only are you going to gain a higher volume of website traffic, but you will automatically be able to engage with your customers and discover a unique target audience.

2.) Create a Viral Component

Integrate your social media platforms into your traditional marketing mix. Develop a way for your audience to be involved by creating a contest, giveaway or promotion by using traditional advertising mediums and social media networks. For example: Chick-Fil-A promotes their notorious receipt day using outdoor and print advertising, however it became a viral component when they started utilizing Twitter as a micro-marketing tactic to spread the word across the internet.

3.) Socialize your Signature

This can be as simple as adding social buttons into your e-mail signature asking the recipient to follow you, like you and sign up for your RSS feeds. This is a two-way street so you must also put an app or button on your social media sites, asking people to sign up for your weekly e-newsletters. Many e-mail marketing programs offer you the ability to share e-blasts with your fans on Facebook or followers on Twitter. This way you can convert social followers into e-mail contacts.

4.) Blog, Blog, Blog

A company blog that is updated frequently can be an extremely useful marketing strategy. A successful company blog tells its audience useful information and gives insight on their products and services. This is an excellent resource for small businesses to stand out, show their credibility and share expert advice. A company blog is a great opportunity to enhance your SEO, create content for your Facebook page and find out what your audience is saying about you.

5.) Crisis Communication

A crisis has occurred and you need to reach your entire audience immediately. TV, radio and print media are not always the fastest strategy. This is where integrating social media becomes essential. Social networking sites, blogs, RSS feeds, mass text messages and e-blasts give you the potential to communicate relevant messages to a mass group of people in an instant. This also allows you to keep the lines of communication open and gives you the ability to respond honestly to concerned citizens/customers.

Find out more on how to utilize social media to its fullest potential by joining Our Mailing List & signing up for one of our business clinics!

Blogging 101: What you need to know to write a successful blog.

January 20, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

What in the world is a blog?

It’s not a monster that lives under your bed, a swampy lake or a germ you can catch in foreign countries. The term “blog” was originally coined in 1997 from a combination of the terms “web log” to describe what is essentially an online journal.

Back then, few people had the time, need or desire to start a blog, but in 13 years the world wide web has evolved into something of a blogging machine. CNN has one, ESPN has one, your ex-girlfriend from high school probably has one and we have one, too. In fact, there were a reported 152 million blogs on the Internet in 2010.

You might think that with so many blogs available, it’s pointless to have one of your own–but that’s not true! With a little help and direction, you can have a very successful blog that serves to promote your business and improve your SEO rankings (as we talked about last week), which is why we’ve put together this week’s list of tips we call Blogging 101.

If you don’t have a blog yet for your business, we can set one up for you! Our content management system makes it easy to write and post blogs, sort them into categories, monitor comments and more. Call us today and we can get you on the road to blogging success.

– Old City

5 Tips to Help You Write a Great Blog

1. Bigger is not better.

The word “blog” is not synonymous with “novel.” Blogs do not (and should not) be extremely wordy. Keep in mind that most visitors to your site will be reading your blog while watching TV, surfing the web or cooking dinner. You don’t have their undivided attention, so keep things short, sweet and to the point. A couple of paragraphs should suffice for most topics, though on occasion, longer blogs are okay–but don’t feel like you have to write 5,000 words every time you post.

2. Timing is everything.

The moment you decide to start blogging, you need to set yourself up on a schedule. Choose something that you can handle with your current time constraints, whether it’s weekly, once every other week or once a month. This will help you stay on track, let your readers know when to expect something new and show the search engines that you are making regular updates to your website.

3. Topics galore.

You might think that you have very few topics to discuss on your blog, but that’s not true. There are endless possibilities when it comes to updates and information you can write about. On busy days, just find an interesting article related to your business, throw the link in the blog and write a paragraph or two with your take on the article. On days when you have more time, tell people about how your business got started, what you enjoy about it, what you’re working on now, what your vision is for the future. Here are a few more blog ideas:

Talk about some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in business.
Share your favorite part of running a business.
Highlight a positive experience with a customer.
Discuss what you would like to change in your industry.

4. Spread the word.

Just like newspaper boys used to stand on street corners shouting “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” you need to get out there and let people know that you have a blog worth reading. Use your social media accounts, website, weekly e-mails and any other tool at your fingertips to tell your customers every time you post a new blog. You can write a great blog, but if no one comes to read it, your time will be wasted.

5. Keep it consistent.

No matter how you decide to run your blog, the most important thing is that you keep it going forward. The worst thing you can do to your blog is leave it sitting stagnant on your website. It would be like leaving the same message on the marquee in front of your business for months on end.

Start blogging today with a content management system!

Call Old City Web Services and ask us to help you set up a content management system with a blog today. We have affordable solutions to give you the latest technology you need to not just keep your business afloat, but motoring.

Call us today at 904-867-4112 or send an e-mail to letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

What is website hosting?

November 1, 2010 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

More than meets the eye with OCWS hosting services.

You probably know by now that Old City Web Services offers website hosting services–but did you know that your hosting package includes up to 10 e-mail addresses at your domain? You don’t have to use that old Bellsouth or Hotmail account for your business, just give us a call and we can set it up for you today.

Old City Web Services’ hosting services also include three links to your business’ website from Northeast Florida’s most popular web portal, OldCity.com. These links from our site (which is the first result for “St. Augustine, FL” searches on Google.com) will boost your SEO rankings and offer a direct path for some of the 60,000 visitors to OldCity.com each month to visit your website as well.

But the best part of hosting with Old City Web Services can’t be found online. It’s our in-house crew of familiar faces and names located right here in St. Augustine. When you have a problem or a question, we’re here to help. Call us or stop by during office hours just to say hello. Technology doesn’t have to be impersonal.

– Old City

What is website hosting?

If you have a website, you have a website host. It might be one of the massive web hosts like GoDaddy.com or it may be a smaller, more familiar operation like us, but either way someone is hosting your website.So what exactly does that mean? Well, just like your home computer stores files that you can access from your desktop, a website host has servers (computers specifically designated to hold files that can be accessed by multiple users) where they can store the files that make up your website.

Can’t I just host my website on my own computer?

Unlike your home or business computer, a website server must be on and active 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has to have top notch security that allows access when necessary, and blocks out potentially devastated viruses and other computer spam. The most reliable servers have back-up power sources and certified administrators who ensure that the necessary software programs are kept up to date and that the server is constantly protected from hackers.

Where is the Old City Web Services server?

To ensure the safest environment for our servers, we house them at what’s called a colocation facility. Colocation means we are provided with space, power and security from an existing location, but our staff still performs the maintenance to our servers. Our chosen location is inside a building that can survive a Category 5 hurricane and includes back-up generators for emergencies.

A few more hosting terms you should know.

• FTP: File Transfer Protocol (better known as FTP) is the way most servers permit access to their files. We use FTP to download and upload files when we make changes or add new websites to our servers.

• The Cloud: If you hear us mention that our servers are “in the cloud” we don’t mean that we literally tied our servers to rockets and sent them into the sky (although that would be pretty cool). It just means that our servers virtually interconnected for extra reliability and flexibility.

Need more help? Call us!

If you still have questions or want more information on how you can host your website with Old City Web Services, let us know! We provide top notch hosting to hundreds of clients in and around the St. Augustine area. Our hosting services are available on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. Discounts for non-profit organizations are also available.

Call us today at 904-867-4112 or send an e-mail to letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

Do You Comment On Other Peoples Blogs?

August 18, 2010 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

I hope so.

Why?

Because it is a great way to build online exposure and build relationships with other social media savvy businesses and bloggers. Ideally you should have around 12 blogs on which you regularly comment Make your comments meaningful and real…not a little short ditty that says “I like your blog” but rather something a little meatier. Doing so is helpful to the other blog owners and should pay off for you in the long run as you build goodwill in the blogging community in which you are involved.

These 12 blogs become your blogging circle of influence and as your relationship becomes more solidified you will find that many of the bloggers you have gotten to know will reciprocate by blogging about you on their own blogs. This will help you launch products, establish yourself as an expert in your area and much more.

Go ahead and give it a try. Start searching for your 12 blogs today!

Questions of the day:

In what area do you want to be seen as an expert?
How many blogs do you currently follow?

Do You Blog on a Regular Basis?

August 11, 2010 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

If you answered yes, then take a bow because you are doing your followers and your business a huge service. Trust is built when you blog on a regular basis. Much like a television show that comes on at 8pm on Thursdays each and every week, your blog can become a regular part of your followers’ lives. On the other hand, if you blog sporadically then that teaches them not to come to your website on a regular basis.

So how often should you blog?

Well, that is up to you, your style and the amount of time that you have. The most important thing is that you are consistent so that you can set precedence and the expectations of others. With that said, if you are new to blogging then start blogging one day a week for a couple of months and see how that works out for you. You can always add more days later if you find necessary.

Sidenote: One woman I know told me that she made the decision not to cook from the very beginning of her marriage because she didn’t want him to expect her to cook on a regular basis. And he doesn’t!

Questions of the day:

If you could only blog one day a week what day would you choose to blog?
If you had to give your customers/clients 13 success tips what would you choose? Why is this tip important? (answer this question set and you will have 13 blogs done in a flash)