Here’s a really quick 57 second video highlighting the new look Google plus so feel free to take a look at this, and then we’ll talk about specifics:

Cohesive viewing across all devices

After carrying out much research, it’s shown that in a 2012 Google study, around 90% of users may move between devices when hooking up to the internet. For example they may start checking their emails on the way home from work on their mobile phone, but finish checking them on their tablet at home. Alternatively they might see a product or service advertised on TV and then turn to their laptop to carry out further research. Whilst the Google + app for the mobile phone and tablet have already achieved that consistent feel, the web platform itself hadn’t. This redesign makes a much more cohesive brand and viewing across all platforms. All of which can help to centralise your Google Plus marketing efforts

Viewing on multiple columns

Google plus are now introducing multiple columns depending upon the size and orientation of your viewing screen. As of next week you may be able to see two or even three columns on your Google + stream page, your business page and your personal profile. This is very much in the style of Pinterest.

Expandable media content

Google is also rolling out larger style media content. As of next week users will notice that certain media content such as videos and photos will now be expandable to the width of the full google + stream screen.  However what isn’t clear is how they decide what is expandable and what isn’t. Frustratingly, this won’t be something that publishers or page administrators will have any control over either.

Promoting more animations

Google plus is becoming a more interactive site as the use of on screen animations help to boost interaction. For example the navigation menu side bar slides out when you hover over the ‘home’ icon at the top, the cards now flip and fade and the bouncing share-box moves towards the screen centre.

Introduction of Hashtag relations

One negative point that came from users of Google plus is that it lacked depth. By this we mean that previously, users could find and scan posts, but it was impossible to go deeper and explore the subject matter further. By automatically adding Hashtags to any Youshare content, Google plus will then look at the content  and determine what the subject matter is. After Hashtagging it then ranks relevant conversations across the whole network. Now any users that click on a Hashtag will have access to related content by means of the flip and fade cards. You can also add your own Hashtags or remove ones that have been automatically generated. This whole process is very important when it comes to Google Plus Marketing.

Google Hand-outs Now free standalone App

Now Google have transformed Hangouts into a free standalone app, including text, live video features and photo sharing facilities. This makes the feature a much richer experience. You will also be able to download and access the hangouts app from pretty much anywhere.

Cool photo features

Google Plus has also enhanced the photo experience. For example users can now have their pictures automatically backed up as they take them. It will also highlight the best quality photo’s whilst weeding out duplicates, bad exposures and blurred imagery. Automated enhancement is also included to improve the brightness, tone and contrast of any photos taken and finally it will automatically sequence your photos into collective groups for easy access.

From a Google plus marketing perspective it does seem that the emphasis is going to be on visual content,  context and content discovery and these are the main marketing themes that any marketer should be looking at.

The post Google Plus Redesign – So What’s New? appeared first on Epresence.

Fact 1 – Those marketers who spend on average six hours a week or above, using social media platforms to share quality content, benefit from fifty two percent more leads than those marketers who do not.

Fact 2 -  Twitter users generate more than twice the amount of leads as those who do not use Twitter.

Fact 3 – More than one third of B2B and B2C businesses who do market say that Facebook is a critical part of their marketing strategy.

Take from this what you will, but one thing’s for sure…businesses who don’t utilise the power of social media to market their products and services are going to be left behind. With this in mind, let’s take a look at those all important do’s and dont’s of social media marketing.

Do’s

Post regularly – if you disappear for long periods of time, so might your followers.

Be slightly controversial – A little controversy can generate interest (as long as it fits with your brand). However don’t overdo it!

Share content – Quality content sharing through video’s, posts and pictures is the best way to build brand trust and awareness.

Become a source of knowledge about your industry – Make yourself known as an expert in your field to build trust in yourself and your brand.

Encourage interaction – Be open and friendly and encourage that all important social interaction.

Dont’s

Self promote – A little bit of promotion is a good thing but over promotion will turn prospects off very quickly.

Make extreme statements – A little bit of controversy is good. However extreme statements that alienate your position probably aren’t.

Be ignorant – If someone has taken the time to interact with you, the last thing you should do is to ignore them. Always respond (whatever the feedback).

Make it complicated – You may well understand your industry inside and out, but that doesn’t mean your followers do. Using complex jargon is more likely to be a turn off, so keep it simple.

Sing the same tune – Don’t keep rehashing the same content over and over. Give continuity to your brand by all means but be careful not to be repetitive.

As you can see, there is a certain social media marketing etiquette which should be observed and hopefully if you can follow these basic do’s and don’ts then your social media marketing efforts won’t be in vain.

The post Social Media Marketing Do’s And Don’ts appeared first on Epresence.

• Establish you as an industry expert
• Generate quality search engine results
• Keep your website content fresh and encourages returning visitors
• Give you great content to feed through to your social media channels and your potential prospects beyond.

With this said, finding information to blog about doesn’t always come naturally to many people, so where do you get relevant information from?

Here are some great business blogging ideas…

Hot topics within your industry

This is a great source for business blogging. If you have any information on something that may affect, aid or even hinder your prospects or clients regarding your industry then they may well want to know about it. Examples of this could be industry news, legislation or regulations, new products/services or standards, etc.

Client FAQ’s

Do you have access to a list of client FAQ’s that you can give answers to? If the answer is yes, then you may want to blog about them. If not, simply ask your “front line” people to let you know what questions are asked the most.

Client Case Studies or Real Life Examples

Have you worked on a particularly interesting project, a project that had particular challenged – or one that would exemplify the typical concerns that prospects would have. Very often doing a business blog around something like that can be beneficial to your client as well as yourself.

Conference and speech visits

If you or a work colleague has attended conferences or key note speeches recently and have made notes about really useful information, then you may want to share this with your target audience.

Interviewing industry contacts

It could be that you have a network of industry contacts that wouldn’t mind being interviewed. Why not record the interview then turn it into a blog post.

Lengthy existing blogs

If you come across a useful blog post that’s a little lengthy, you may want to turn it into two or three shorter and punchier business blogging posts which you can then share via your social media channels, or on your website.

Content you’ve already created

What about content you’ve already written in the past? You might want to revamp it and use it again.

Re-purposing a series of blog posts

A good idea could be to re-purpose a series of blog posts that you may have created in the past and turn them into an eBook or a white paper. This can then be given away to attract prospects and can be achieved with only a little extra work involved.

Business blogging is all about tapping into your already existing resources and is about working smarter and not harder. If you can embrace it, then you will get results. If you can deliver high impact content now, through a little bit of thought and planning, then it’s almost certain to reap rewards a few months down the line.

The post Business Blogging Why And What? appeared first on Epresence.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using social media for marketing.

Social Media Marketing – Pros

It can help your ongoing SEO efforts

Marketing via social media is likely to support your SEO efforts whether you realise it or not. For example, if people are sharing content from your website by means of social sharing buttons regularly, then by it’s very nature, Google HAS to recognise this as quality content.

Relationship marketing

They say that the best way for a brand to be successful is to create and build relationships. This is something that (if carried out correctly) social media marketing does extremely well. In fact there is no better way to give your brand it’s own unique voice and to build a platform of followers than through regular marketing using social media channels.

Social content can be re-used

Content distribution via social media channels can be re-used on a variety of platforms providing you change the way you post about it. This means that your content has more legs than through other marketing efforts.

Laser targeted customers

Have you ever wished you could target only those customers who really ‘get’ your brand? This is what effective social media marketing can do. It allows you to filter out those that you know wouldn’t be interested in your brand and target those that do. Now that’s effective marketing!

Embraces user generated content

Social media platforms embrace user generated content and in many cases this is a much more powerful message for your brand. It could be said that a photo of a person using your product is far more powerful than a stock image with your added logo.

Social Media Marketing – Cons

Need content

As a tree needs nutrients to thrive and grow, so your brand needs content and lots of it. Without it you’ll simply have a branded empty shell, taking up cyber-space. In order to be really successful using social media marketing, you have to spend the time and effort generating quality content. This can be a big undertaking and one which many businesses might not have the time to do.

No overnight fix

Unfortunately social media marketing isn’t a quick fix solution. Instead you’ll have to establish a solid presence, build a community and hone your content strategy skills. This is done over time and time is something that has to be set aside.

Content ages very quickly

We’ve already said that quality content is king in social media circles. However it has a short shelf life. This means that you can’t adopt a ‘set it and forget it’ mentality. Instead you have to be prepared to constantly source quality content and this can be frustrating for brands, not to mention time consuming.

Be the listening ear

By the very nature of social media, there are millions of conversations happening every second of every day. This means that there’s a pretty good chance that someone somewhere is talking about your brand. As a result you have to be available to monitor conversations. This way you can be proactive in the case of simple customer service issues and be available to step in and pre-empt problems if  larger issues arise.

As you can see social media marketing is a big undertaking and you have to be prepared to put in the time and be in it for the long haul. However if carried out correctly, it can show results far over and above any other form of marketing.

The post Social Media Marketing – Yes or No? appeared first on Epresence.

Even though you may have built up quite a large database of potential customers, your offers and news isn’t going to appeal to your entire market.Sending out emails to those who may not connect with what you have to offer is a sure fire way to see an upsurge in un-subscribers. Instead it’s far better for your email marketing campaign to be targeting those who you know will be interested in what you have to offer. This way you can run different deals for different segments of your audience.

So just how do you go about segmenting your email marketing list?

Think about the type of email marketing campaign you are running and then think about who it would benefit most. For example, ask yourself if the product or service you’re promoting would better benefit men or women, old or young. Also think about location and if it would have an impact on those that purchase your products.

Here are some other ways that you can look at segmenting your list…

Interest based

Previous research conducted may tell you that certain segments of your email marketing list may have certain interests or pursuits. This being the case, your products or services may be of greater benefit to them.

Already clients

Prospects that have already purchased from you should be moved into a different segmented list. This prevents the embarrassing moment of knowing that you’ve just sent an email to them as if they were still a prospect.

Those with higher opening rates

Any subscribers who frequently open your emails as part of your email marketing campaign might also be segmented. This way you can look at testing other methods on them, to see what does and doesn’t work.

Purchased by product line

If your business has large numbers of products, you mat want to look at segmenting your list by means of product. This way it’s much easier to tailor make campaigns aimed directly at them.

Purchases made by price

Another way of segmenting your list is by the amount spent by each purchaser. This way you may want to tweak email letters differently to those with a higher rate of spend, than those with a lower spend rate.

VIP’s

Any customers that are on loyalty and VIP programs need to be remembered. Therefore any special or exclusive offers can be directed at them.

If you can direct your email marketing campaigns to the right people then segmentation can prove to be a powerful tool. However if you simply fire off a blanket email to those who may have no interest in your offer then ultimately you could be setting yourself up for failure.

Why not sign up for our free trial with Constant Contact Email Marketing and receive a complimentary information packed email marketing guide from WSI today. Click here for details.

The post Email Marketing – The Importance Of Determining Your Customer Segments appeared first on Epresence.

Pay per click

Advertising on your own branded items.

How often have you put in a search for a company name and a competitor has come up before the company that you were searching for? You may well think it’s a dumb move (given that the search is company specific) but many people are trying to get the edge by advertising this way. If you find that your company is being targeted then you might want to put a Pay Per Click campaign together based around your own brand. There will be far less competition than other non-branded keywords, therefore cost per click can often be kept to a minimum. Try running campaigns on different variations of your company name and do include misspellings.

Getting quick results with Pay Per Click

If you’re in a time-sensitive campaign and your organic results simply aren’t bringing home the bacon, then a pay per click advertising campaign can help. It’s no match for organic longer term strategies, but in the short term, it can be key. You can easily get an ad-words campaign up and running in a couple of hours and your adverts can be right where your main audience can see them pretty quickly. You can adjust bids to increase your rank if and when necessary.

Content analysis

Using Adwords can be a great way of effectively gauging which key phrases work the best. This can be immediately seen by looking for the ones with the highest click-through rates (CTR) and using analytics, you can track this right through to see which ones drive the higher conversions. This way you can build more terms around these key phrases in order to really corner your target audience. Pay per click can also be used to measure the relative effectiveness of different landing pages or different offers. The flexibility provided through Pay Per Click allows you to direct site visitors and to measure the comparative results.

Spotting a target audience in an obscure niche

No matter how obscure you think a product or service is, you can bet your bottom dollar that there’s an audience for it. The problem is finding them. By bidding on relevant keywords for your specific (if somewhat obscure) niche market, you can still attract them. These niches can be based on specific end client needs, geography or other segmentation. Pay per click allows you to quick test your markets – with immediate results.

‘Bigging up’ your local search presence

Adwords gives the ability for local businesses to be able to advertise in a specific location. For example by bidding on keywords such as ‘best butchers in Cork’ it will be much more laser targeted, and therefore more often than not, it’s also cost-effective. The reason for this is that money won’t be wasted by people clicking through who live nowhere near your location. Instead you’re far more likely to receive genuine leads from people who live solely in and around your area of business. Statistics show that even if you have a presence in the Organic search results – appearing in the sponsored ads as well gives you brand greater credibility and results in increased site traffic.

As you can see, if pay per click is used properly it’s a powerful tool in your advertising arsenal. However it can prove costly if not used in the right context. This being the case, you might want to seek advice from a Pay Per Clickexpert who can guide you on best use.

The post How To Get The Best Out Of Pay Per Click Advertising appeared first on Epresence.

Tip 1 – What’s in it for me?

The idea behind an engaging subject line is to try and make a connection with your audience right away. Most of us are bombarded with email marketingfrom all angles on a regular basis and as such, yours needs to stand out. A good way to connect with your audience is to put yourself in their shoes and ask ‘what’s in it for me’. If your subject line can answer that question, then you stand a better chance of your reader opening it.

Tip 2 – Don’t fall foul of spam triggers

Whilst it’s understandable that you’re trying to keep your title snappy and catchy, you have to be careful that you don’t fall foul of spam triggers. Every Internet Service Provider has spam filters that are triggered by certain words or phrases. For instance stay away from TOTAL CAPS in your subject line and stay clear of excess exclamation marks!!!!! Other words that might be triggered are

Call to action phrases such as call now, click here, act now and order now

So called money words such as money, cash, sale discount and cheap (Free is another spam trigger word but it’s known that people still respond to it. Just be careful not to use it at the very start of your subject line)

If you are unsure, you can always run your newsletter or email marketing campaign through a spam checker

Tip 3 – Do use motivational language

As you only have around 40 characters to play with, you should choose words which are likely to motivate your audience into doing something (to take action). Verbiage such as focus, boost, discover, improve and enhance are powerful words that (when used in the right way) can really boost your email marketing campaign.

Tip 4 – Make it urgent!

By conveying sense of urgency your audience is far more likely to open your email. Without any form of urgency your reader will probably pass it by and move on to the next one. Phrases such as ‘Only 5 days left’ or ‘Today is the last day to act’ or ‘response needed by…’ are all ways in which you can portray a sense of urgency.

Tip 5 – It’s all about the numbers

Another good way to open up a subject line is to include numbers. They work because they quantify exactly what’s in the email. A prime example is this post. ’7 top tips to writing a compelling email marketing subject line’. The reader knows straight away that before they read on, that’s exactly what they’re going to get. In addition numbers take up very little character space and are quick and easy to read.

Tip 6 – Enticement

By teasing and enticing your audience, you’ll stand a far better chance of getting your email opened. Phrases such as ‘learn the secrets to…’ or ‘discover how…’ or ‘want to know how to…’ these are all really effective ways of teasing your audience into seeing what’s beyond the title or your email marketing.

Tip 7 – Test out your email marketing subject line

The only way to see if a subject line really works is to test it out. Before you launch your entire email marketing campaign, test subject lines out on a cross section of your audience. Monitor the results and go with the one which works best.

So there you have it, 7 top tips to writing effective email marketing subject lines…get it right and you could have great success, get it wrong and your email marketing campaign will be finished before it’s even gotten off the ground.

Sign up for our free trial with Constant Content and get our email marketing guide absolutely free.

The post 7 Top Tips to writing a compelling email marketing subject line appeared first on Epresence.

But what is Content Curation?

In essence content curation is taking existing news, facts and relevant content found on the web and enhancing it by adding personal opinions, expertise and advice. It’s this personalised re-telling of a story or piece of news that makes it compelling to audiences. If you then look to share it with your audience through social media channels, then it’s easy to see why content creation is a powerful way of creating awareness of your company and credibility.

Content Curation is successful because…

• Written in a personalised way it can really resonate with target audiences
• Good content curation can portray your brand as an authority
• It can also facilitate networking by means of linking, sharing, or referrals
• It can generate traffic and increase your search ability through social media such as Facebook and Twitter
• Written well it’s great for nurturing leads

Content curation provides that fine balance between content creation which can be extremely labour intensive and content automation, which simply doesn’t engage your target audience. Here are some ideas on best practices for the curation of content.

The best places to look for items for content marketing are news sources. These can be found through

• Industry specific newsletters
• Shared content sites such as Stumbleupon, Reddit, Dig
• Blogs in your niche/topic
• Curation tools such as Scoop.it, Storify.com and Flipboard
• Google news or Google alerts

The types of news that you are looking to curate should include

• Any industry related news
• Any content created by influential people within your niche/market
• Any interesting reports, white-papers, case studies or info-graphics relating to your industry
• Content that gives advice such as how to’s, best practices and tips
• Collation of comments from industry specific blogs, or indeed your own blog
• Relative content from video sites such as Youtube, Viddler and Vimeo

Once you’ve found your content and put your own personalisation on it then you need to spread the word. Best ways to do this are to….

• Publish on your own company blog
• Engage with people by publishing through social media channels
• Send out an email newsletter to your list
• Submit your blog post to industry specific sites with a high following

As you can see, if your content is compelling and personalised then there are many ways that great content curation can reach and connect with your target audience. For this reason it can really set the bench mark in terms of your content marketing efforts. There is of course an art to perfecting it correctly, but get it right and you may be surprised at just how powerful it can be!

The post Content Curation and How It Can Help Your Content Marketing Processes appeared first on Epresence.

Before we go on to giving you tips to build a list, it’s important to briefly mention a couple of things you that you really don’t want to do.

Firstly you need to build an ‘opt in’ email marketing list. This is a list of people who have agreed that they want to receive details about offers, products and services from you. This being the case you should only ever market to these people. It’s not a good idea to send emails to people on your list who haven’t ever opted in because it’s classed as spam and is the quickest way to get youremail marketing campaign shut down before it gets off the ground.

Secondly it is possible to purchase lists of people, or you can even borrow lists. However this again isn’t the best idea as many people on these lists have either changed email addresses, or no longer wish to receive emails. By building your own email marketing list, it may take time, but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

So that’s what you shouldn’t do, now here’s what you should do in order to build an extensive list

Tip 1 – Simply ask for their details

Every time you communicate with prospects, whether this is through meetings, networking events or daily business, always ask for their email address. People are far more inclined to give away email addresses than they would say a phone number, so if you don’t ask you don’t get.

Tip 2 – Create an opt-in form on your site

A great way to build your list is to create an opt-in form on your site where they can receive specific information, offers, services or promotions that aren’t always available to those that don’t opt in. It could be in the form of a newsletter, a free e-book, or 10% off promotions on special items. Whatever it is make sure it adds real value and most importantly give it away. Remember people don’t like to be sold too straight away. For an email marketing campaign to truly work, you firstly have to build a subscriber list based on trust, value and relationships.

Tip 3 – Give away a report, E-book or white-paper

Tip 2 talks about adding value and building relationships. Well a great way to do this is to is to give away an e-book or report in exchange for their email address. They can be based around important factors that are happening in your industry, or insider hints and tips that a potential customer might need to know. If you aren’t confident at doing it yourself or you simply don’t have the time, there are plenty of experienced people who will be able to write it for you.

Tip 4 – Include ‘forwarding friends’ links in you email marketing

When you compile a newsletter it’s a really good idea to include ‘forward to friends’ links within the newsletter. This way a reader can do exactly this and pass it on, especially if it’s something of value that will resonate with them and their friends. It’s recommended to put the links into two places. The first being the top right hand corner of the letter and the second being at the very bottom near your signature. In addition always include a text box where a reader can write a personal message to their friends telling them why they’ve forwarded it on.

Tip 5 – Running a competition

A great way to capture email addresses is to run a competition or contest. People love to enter contests, especially if they think that there is something of value at the end of it. This is where you can really get creative and it doesn’t have to cost you the earth either. Advertise the contest on your blog, website, or social media channels alongside an opt in box to capture email addresses.

Once you have a good idea of all the different ways in which you can collate email addresses and deploy some or all of these techniques, it’s possible to build up a substantial list of people in a short space of time. This is the basis upon which your email marketing campaign should be used.

For further tips on how to build an effective email list then why not sign up for a free trial with Constant Contact and receive WSI’s Free Email Marketing guide. It’s packed full of hints and tips to help you with your email marketing campaign. Click here for more details.

The post Email Marketing – 5 Top Tips To Building A Great List appeared first on Epresence.

The main issue is that when companies post on their business page, they are under the misconception that it is automatically seen by their fans. The reality is that this is not the case. Instead Edgerank determines the degree upon which your post is viewed.

So what exactly is Edgerank and how does it decide on what’s seen and by how many people?

Facebook Edgerank works in the same way as Google page rank operates in that it uses specifically crafted algorithms to sort results into best match scenarios for a fan’s search intentions. This way engagement is maximised and spam is minimised.

Some of the underlying factors are as follows…

Previous interaction

When it comes to Facebook marketing, interaction with your target audience is key. It’s always been at the heart of Facebook and it’s still as important now as it was back in the day. For this reason Edgerank will look to see if your target audience have interacted in any way with you before. It will also take into account similar interactions with other posts, polls and videos.

Engaging with social graphs

A fairly new concept by Facebook is that of social graphs. It has become a large part of Facebook Marketing and one which will continue to be so for many years to come. As a result if your content or post is engaged by the social graph of your target audience, then chances are that your post is going to be seen on their news feed. If it doesn’t connect or engage with a reader’s social graph then it won’t. It’s as simple as that!

Spam, Spam, Spam

Like Google, Facebook hates spam. Therefore if your pages have received complaints by other users, then Edgerank sees to it that your post isn’t going to be seen by them.

So what’s the most effective way of spreading the word?

Facebook has always said that it provides a platform in which people can connect and share with each other, and this has never changed. Despite this many businesses still look on it as a way to broadcast their products, messages or services, similar to a PR company.

Instead with over one billion people using the platform it’s all about building communities and (similarly to bricks and mortar communities) these are built on a foundation of trust, value, and to some extent friendship. For instance when someone ‘likes’ your post, product or service, that isn’t an ‘opt in’ and therefore isn’t a carte blanche excuse to spam them to death.

Alternatively if you build up trust by giving your audience something of value, sharing great content with them and make that content specifically relevant to them, then this is by far the most effective way of Facebook marketingand one in which Edgerank is inextricably linked.

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