Valentine’s Day has come and gone and we have increased our business this year (it seems like tenfold). Many new requests for custom work and several new designs in the works now. 2011 was a great year but 2012 is looking even better.
We had a great Search Engine Optimization meeting on Saturday. Our speaker, Stephan Barrett, our strategic partner with Rise Creative Group kept everyone on their toes. His presentation regarding branding and how social media has impacted our industry over the past two years was received with rave reviews. Attending were clients from around the Central Florida area who were looking to improve their websites. We have had such a great response that we are scheduled for two more events. Our speaker next month will be Freelance Writer, Shelly Gerig. She is sure to offer our attendees a look into professional writing skills.
Blogging and writing has earned a special place in the last two years in our industry. Technical ability and programming excellence is of course still very important. However, all clients are tasked now with keeping their blog posts fresh and new.
A client must now hire a professional writer if he or she is not willing to take the time necessary to develop the site themselves. For those clients that cannot afford professional writers, it is important for them to spend the time to develop their writing skills to compete with sites that have a professional writing staff. We are providing a class each month to offer these clients a glimpse of good writing methods and an opportunity to learn what search engines are looking for. Our suggestion to our clients is this…. Just get started by writing something.
As you feel more comfortable with writing, raise the bar by looking for topics which will rock your world of expertise. Become an authority site. Educate your viewers and they will come back over and over again to learn more.
Another subject which was discussed at our SEO meeting was the phenomenon of uploading social video to our websites. By developing an interesting video about our company services and distributing it on YouTube and other social networks is another way that companies can gain a competitive advantage over the competition
Mobile marketing is another way to reach your readers. Mobile websites are just the ticket now to reach viewers on the go. Use your QR (Quick Response Code) on your randing material. Offer your customers a great deal. Suggest a savings on a service you normally offer or come up with a great giveaway plan to entice viewers to keep coming back.
If you have email marketing such as Constant Contact or Campaign Monitor software available be sure to ask your viewers to subscribe to your newsletter or email campaign. Create killer newsletters at least once a month if possible and develop your subscriber list going forward. Set up an expiration date of a week to 10 days and watch the interest rise. Staying in touch with previous clients and those asking for inquiries through your website will produce results if you continue with good communication without overloading them. Once a month or even once a quarter may be enough to generate interest.
Enjoy your week ahead and hurry back for more savvy suggestions from our team of design wizards.
Step InsideDesignOrlando.com and be wowed.
Jean Holland-Rose (Chief Creative Officer) Orlando Website Design
