Uncategorized 4 - Old City Web Services

Which Social Network is Best for Your Business?

March 19, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn...just to name a few!

Facebook

What is it? Facebook is the world's largest social network; it allows users to share content and conversations, create events and deploy targeted ads.

Should I use it? Yes. Every business should have a Facebook Business page. More-so, every business should develop a Facebook strategy and delegate the work, whether that's internal or contracted out.

What are the benefits? Generating and fostering relationships with potential and existing clients; advertising; promotions, etc.

How do I maximize my reach? When posting to your Facebook page, include value to the user. Add a few brief business insights when linking to industry news or ask users for feedback when posting pictures. Sharing real-world tales of how your company overcame challenges can connect with users on a personal level, which makes it more likely they'll become clients.

Twitter

What is it? Twitter lets users post micro-messages ("tweets") of 140 characters or less.

Should I use it? Yes, with over 230 million active users, Twitter allows you to target almost anything including keywords, gender, similar followers, interests, etc. Owners who can set aside a few hours per week to read, send and search messages should do so on Twitter.

What are the benefits? Promoting events, news and specials; advertising to specific audiences; building your customer base by fostering conversations where you can show your expertise, Geo-targeting (Twitter's used in nearly every country & in 35 languages).

How do I maximize my reach? Use the Hashtag symbol (#) with trending topics related to your messages and use the advance search option to find new industry-related questions that you can provide the answers to.

What is it? LinkedIn is the world's largest resume pool; a place to read career-oriented blogs and news articles.

Should I Use It? Yes; every business owner should create a LinkedIn profile for their company, especially B2B companies looking for new customers.

What are the benefits? Hiring and networking to reach potential clients.

How do I maximize my reach? Establish relationships with high-quality potential hires and join a few LinkedIn groups that relate to your company or market. Once you've established yourself in a group, work to answer questions and foster conversations-- this will boost your reputation as an expert and help others get to know who you are.

Need help getting started or interested in learning about other social networks? Schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation today! You can email us at: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com with "Make me Social" in the subject line or just give us a call: 904-867-4112.

Why Video Says it Best:

March 12, 2014 by anoadmin

Voice conveys rich information, movement grabs attention & emotions are contagious

Audiences and advertisers alike are racing to online video, eager to consume and capitalize on digital entertainment. In March 2013, 85% of US internet users viewed online video, and video ads accounted for 25% of all videos viewed. (Source)

Online Video Ad's Are Effective

Video ad's allow businesses to gain exposure quickly. In June 2013, video ad impressions exceed 20 billion-- reaching nearly 54% of the total US population, approximately 121 times per month! (Source)

Not only is the reach far more effective with online video than television, but it will also lower your advertising campaign costs. Furthermore, one of the newest trends in social media is micro-video, a movement toward real-time video sharing featuring 3-15 second video clips.

Start Making Online Videos Today

Start making videos today! Whether it's an online advertisement or a YouTube Channel, we can help you gain incredible exposure to your both your website and brand within no time. Here are three ways we can help:

Super Expanded Listing with Video - Click Here to View An Example (The Raintree Restaurant)

Create a YouTube Channel - Since YouTube is owned by Google, this will prove to be extremely valuable to your business in terms of SEO benefits. Let us customize your YouTube channel by giving it a branded skin!

Socialize Your Videos - Share the videos on your Facebook Business Page, Tumblr, Vine, Instagram, etc. Your message is much more likely to stick with fans/customers with a video than with any other form of content. Spreading the videos will reach multiple audiences at once and increase your chances of becoming viral.

We can help form your video marketing strategy! Schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation today by emailing letusmarketyou@oldcity.com with "Video Help!" in the subject line or just give us a call: 904-867-4112.

SEO You Can Count On

February 20, 2014 by anoadmin

Old City Web Services understands the importance of getting top level search results. Besides, what's the point of having an awesome new website if nobody can find you on the web? Well, we provide our customers with custom search solutions that focus on local and niche markets. We offer three levels of SEO plans that are designed to ensure you remain competitive with other companies in your industry. We work with you to customize a strategy that is best suited for not only your business, but also within your budgeting needs. The best news of all? It works. Plain and simple, having high rankings in top level search engines will guarantee an increase of traffic to your site. More visibility means more leads, inquiries and revenue from customers wanting to buy your products and/or use your services.

Proof that Old City Web Services is the best company to optimize your website is written in our very own business model. OldCity.com is the oldest and most popular web portal in St. Augustine. It strives to provide useful information to both visitors and residents --and it works! OldCity.com is proof that a website can accumulate revenue for a business, solely based on traffic. OldCity.com shows up within the first 3 search results when it comes to the most highly used keywords and search terms . Just see for yourself with the two examples below.

Google Search Results done on Feb. 18, 2014:

1. What to do in St. Augustine

2. Where to eat in St. Augustine

Schedule your free 1/2 hour SEO consultation today by calling: 904-867-4112, emailing: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com....or just Google Us, we'll be sure to pop up! 😉

Small Business Resolutions for 2014

December 18, 2013 by anoadmin

As we ring in the New Year, reflect on ways to improve your business

Start setting your marketing goals for 2014

As 2014 quickly approaches, take a moment and think about where you want to take your business next year. What ways would you like to improve or grow? Here are three resolutions all small businesses should consider for the upcoming year.

Learn how to delegate & do more of it

It is no small feat to run a small business and sometimes it's easy to trick yourself into thinking you must juggle every task imaginable. Wonder why your always frazzled, constantly feeling overwhelmed or consumed with tiredness? Determine your personal R.O.I. (Return On Investment) and let someone else do some of these tasks for a change. Just remember - Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance.

Make promoting a priority

It's easy to let the task of regularly and consistently promoting your business fall to the wayside while the urgent tasks seem to always remain at the top of the to-do list. The reality is, if you want to attract new customers, you must make promoting a priority. Make it a new years resolution to better promote your business. Try experimenting with different mediums such as an online advertisement or a promotional event.

Out with the old, in with the new

Is there a piece of office equipment that it so ancient it's interfering with your success or maybe it's something you don't have that makes your working life harder? Maybe it's your pain-in-the-you-know-what fax machine, an outdated computer or the eye-sore of a website that isn't doing you or your business any justice. Whatever it may be, get rid of it and find a replacement that will make your work-life a thousand times easier. Call it an early Christmas gift or a promise to replace it in 2014.

Old City Web Services can help you achieve your New Year's Resolutions! Contact Us for more info by giving us a call: 904-867-4112 or emailing us: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com

Expand your reach via email marketing

August 7, 2013 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Want to know one of the best ways to stay in touch with your customers? Email marketing is an easy way to produce a message and get it to your audience within seconds. It's cost effective and, if done properly, can help build brand awareness and loyalty. This form of marketing can cost as little as a few cents per message and generally speaking, the response rates remain strong when it comes to opens and clicks. Because email is alive and kicking, email marketing is still a central channel for most businesses. With this being said, it has become increasingly important for small businesses to utilize email marketing properly. Below are 3 tactics to increasing your email marketing reach.

1. List Management

Collect, manage and send messages to segmented groups of customers by creating customized contact lists. Let a professional help you organize and manage your contacts in one place. Old City Web Services helps clients by quickly exporting contacts into an email marketing system, then grouping them accordingly (i.e. general interest, repeat guests, brides, etc). We will keep your lists current and manage both new subscribers and those who wish to unsubscribe.

2. Social Share

Not only are you reaching hundreds or thousands of customers via email, but you can increase the volume of people exposed to your messages by sharing your email campaigns with the company's social media followers. This creates potential to spread your message through the viral channels of social media.

3. Tracking

How many people opened your email? Of those people, how many forwarded your message to others? Did you gain or lose subscribers? All of these questions should be asked and analyzed to determine what's working and what's not in order to maximize the Return on Investment (ROI).

Let the professionals help! Old City Web Services offers email marketing campaigns catered to small businesses. Expand your reach today and start targeting your customers 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.

Recently Launched Websites & Design Work

April 17, 2013 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

It's time for some Spring cleaning (and we don't mean around the house)! From website development, re-designs and eCommerce solutions, to new online marketing strategies, Old City Web Services has been busy this Spring helping small business clean-up their web presence and digital design needs. Below, we've highlighted a couple samples of our recent work that may have you thinking-- what can I do to improve my existing website or branding efforts?

Client: Jack Ward Fire Consultants

Services: Website re-design via Content Management System (CMS), custom mobile site

Description: Our friends at Jack Ward Fire wanted to be able to update their website easily and efficiently, therefore we re-designed their site with a built-in CMS. We also developed a custom mobile-friendly site for them as seen in the image below.

Click Here to view the new Jack Ward Fire website

Client: Jack Ward Fire Consultants
Services: Business card re-design with QR Codes
Description: We re-designed their business cards for each employee including a QR code allowing smart phones to scan which adds the contacts' information to their mobile device within a matter of seconds. See image below:

Client: Generations Diamonds and Estate Jewelry
Services: eCommerce Integration into existing CMS, eCommerce system training
Description: Generations Diamonds buys gold and sells some of the finest pieces of jewelry. They wanted to begin selling their products online so OCWS implemented an eCommerce solution into their existing CMS website. Their new eCommerce system is user-friendly and provides customers with a seamless online shopping experience.

Click Here to view their new eCommerce Shop

Additionally, Old City Web Services has a lot of projects that are currently in the making so stay connected with us on Facebook or by Following Us on Twitter or any of our other social media networks found under "Quick Links" above!

Let us help you with your web and marketing strategies this Spring by giving us a call: 904.829.2772 or emailing us: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com to set up your free consultation.

Re-branding that works!

January 23, 2013 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Your brand is more than your name, logo or slogan - it's the entire experience your customers have with your company, product or service. It's your promise, what you stand for and your overall persona.

Re-branding your company is typically required when you fall behind on new market trends in your industry, identify too closely with your competitors, to bypass negative publicity or as a means to jump-start your new business.

Research, research, research!

We cannot emphasis this enough- when it comes to developing a new brand, you must consider both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. A few key research tactics include: website usability, ad tracking and R.O.I. metrics and segmentation studies.

Kid Tested, Mother Approved

Your brand must be both relatable and defendable - for example 'Volvo and Safety' or Kix cereal and their slogan, "Kid Tested, Mother Approved." Both of these brands conducted extensive preliminary research to determine their target audience and what unique message they wanted to communicate based on their products, services and values.

Launching your new brand

Before you roll out your re-branding efforts and introduce it to the world, it's important to make a plan and remember that consistency is key in making this a seamless process. You'll also want to make sure that you include your re-branding efforts in each of your various marketing channels.

Here's a list of tactics you may want to consider as part of your re-branding strategy:

New Logos and Corporate Identity
E-Mail Campaigns
Online Advertising
Print Ads (i.e. brochures, business cards and rack cards)
Sales Material and Collateral
Signage

Old City Web Services offers countless re-branding services including logo and print design, e-mail marketing campaigns, online advertising on OldCity.com, print advertising, signage, etc. We work with our clients on an individual basis in order to give them a strong band that will work across multiple platforms.

If you are interested in re-branding your company or need assistance building a brand for your new business, give us a call: 904.829.2772 or e-mail us: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

5 ways to improve your company blog

December 20, 2012 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

"The only difference between an audience and a community is how you face the chairs."

-Chris Brogan, CEO of Human Business Works

We are all well aware that a company blog will help improve your SEO & overall web presence, but additionally, blogs allow you to instantly interact with your customers and help create a unique voice for your company.

1.) Q&A

Your customers will always have questions and you, as the expert, are expected to provide the answers. In doing so, you'll improve your credibility and appear more personable. If you notice a trend in the questions people are asking, create individual posts to address the most common inquiries.

2.) Incentives

Posting offers and highlighting certain products or services will keep customers coming back for more. Share specials, new products or tips on how to get the best deals. Showcase upcoming events and ways your company is involved in the community. Here's a few examples of post titles:

Our Top 3 Best Sellers
10 Reasons Why Customers love_____.
Why you love what you do

3.) Keyword Tools

One of the best (semi-kept) secrets in the world of small business bloggers is the ability to see what keywords your potential customers are using. Free tools such as Google AdWords & Wordtracker will give you tons of new blogging ideas and will tell you the best words to plug-into your posts.

4.) Today I...

Over and over again we hear: "But I don't have anything to talk about." That's not true! Your customers want to know who you are and what you're trying to accomplish with your business. This is a cornerstone for trust-building, plus --it works. Sometimes the "little things in life" truly are the most remarkable and your customers want to hear about them. Write about an act of kindness you received from a stranger or how you resolved a conflict. Even sharing a photo of your lunch from a neat new place you found will get people excited.

5.) Comment & Follow Others

Commenting and following other resourceful blogs will not only increase your following and traffic, but it will show others that you have the go-to blog for customers to find useful information. Your goal is keep your following coming back for more and in order to do so, you must contribute to others conversations.

If you have not yet joined the blogosphere, hopefully these tips will convince you to jump on in and join the conversation!

Here's a few questions to get you started:

Who are you?
Where are you from?
Why did you choose your specific business location?
What are you most passionate about?
What struggles have you gone through to get where you're at today?

Need help setting-up or linking your blog to your website? Old City Web Services can help!

Give us a call or send us an e-mail for more info:

904-867-4112

letusmarketyou@oldcity.com

Be Smart: Mobile Friendly Sites & Apps

December 5, 2012 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

By 2014, it is projected that more users will access the internet from their phone than from a computer! Creating a mobile site does not have to be fancy or expensive...in fact it's typically a more simplified version of your actual site. The most important part in developing your mobile site is identifying the key actions you want your users to take.

Here is a list of things to keep in mind when designing your mobile site:

Keep forms simple--Name & Email are sufficient enough!
Minimize the content...just keep the important stuff--who, what, where, when & why.
Limit the size of the files--whether its 3G, 4G or 10G, phones are going to take a lot longer to load files that are too big.
Always include 'click to talk' phone numbers, allowing users to simply click "Call Us" and be connected with you in seconds.
Smart phones have GPS--make sure that your location is set-up for users to get directions to your business wherever they may be.

Let Old City Web Services help you reach your customers at their fingertips at any time of the day! We can design & program a custom mobile friendly site for your business in a timely & professional manner.