Is Your Business Inspiring the Market Through Pinterest?

With the holiday season in full spring, many users on Pinterest are looking to the platform more than usual for new recipes and decorations. The site is used to share ideas through “pins”; from recipes and DIY all the way to fashion and inspiring quotes.  It’s where people go to get advice, find products they may like, and to be inspired – it is essentially the word of mouth of the internet. More and more businesses are creating boards not just to get their products out there on the site, but also to have their followers get involved in posting pins through shared boards. One of the famous success stories of businesses on Pinterest is about the magazine Real Simple. With their lifestyle marketing techniques, they have now been able to route the most traffic to their website through Pinterest than any other medium. The thing about Pinterest is that it isn’t necessarily about selling – for businesses it’s about engaging users, leading to brand awareness, loyalty, and the eventual purchase.

Here are a few tips for your business to get noticed on Pinterest

1.       The picture. The photo representing the pin is the first thing users notice. Stick to clean images that represent what you want to share well!

2.      Complete boards. Before promoting pins, make sure the boards for your company have clever names, such as Lowes’ board “Grillin’ and Chillin’”. Also, each board should have at least 5 pins in order to look professional. 

3.   Know your market. Aim to post or share your content through pins that go with the idea of Pinterest. On this site, people are more likely to pin an article about secret tips to decorating than a breaking news story!

Will Your Business Be Profitable on Black Friday?

Close to 230 million shoppers made purchases over the Black Friday weekend in 2012 . That amasses to a shopping power of $59.1 billion. With 2013 Black Friday lurking just around the corner, what are you doing to to capitalize on this Thanksgiving retail phenomenon? 

Here are 6 ways to ensure your small/medium sized business sees profit next weekend 

• Hit Locally- Your prospective clients will be inundated with advertisements in the weeks leading up to Black Friday. Many of these offers will be virtually the same—geotarget your ads to potential customers who live close to your business. 

• Invest in Online Coupons and Advertisements- 41% of 2012 individual spending on Black Friday came from online deals make sure you are reaching this extension of your audience. 

• Mobile-Optimize  Your Site- The way people look up information, shop, and make decisions is turning mobile. Aside from promoting your coupons and ads digitally, make sure someone looking for your business or products from their mobile device can easily navigate your site and make purchases. 

• Use Social Media- Don’t hesitate to promote your Black Friday deals on social media. A great way to rally excitement and increase viewer engagement is by making a count-down clock until the Black Friday promotions launch.  

• Use Data- Look at your records from last year and ask yourself what sold well, what didn’t? What made the highest margins? Plan your advertising and coupons accordingly. 

• Plan Ahead- Take into consideration the extra traffic you will have to your business and plan accordingly. Schedule the appropriate amount of employees to work, plan out how you will run your check out lines, make a customer service strategy, and review the “emergency” plans for various situations with all employees.

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Data from CNN News and The National Retail Federation

How To Cash In On Marketing Gold: Sports Edition

With the World Series having just come to a close here in Boston (Go Sox!) sports fever is at a high in the city. While Boston is known for having particularly spirited fans, it seems to be a trend worldwide that game days are marketing gold – Superbowl anyone? While we touched upon this briefly a few weeks ago, we wanted to share some more examples of how you can take advantage of sports for branding on social media.

Following with the Red Sox shaving superstition, brands including the Red Sox started getting the hashtag #getbeard trending on Twitter. Nike goes so far as to feature it on some of the T-shirt merchandise they’re selling in relation to the team. One week later, and the hashtag is still going strong. Gillette, the razor brand, has also gotten in the action by having players David Ortiz and Shane Victorino come in to their offices to get their beards shaved for the One Fund. This move was well documented on Twitter, as they were the first players to shave following the World Series, getting Gillette a bit of attention through social media. In the weeks working up to the World Series, brands and fellow local teams also wished the Red Sox luck using this particular hashtag. It’s a fun way to show support and get involved with

In general however, some studies have found that users check social media twice as much on the day of a big game. Many will also use social media as a means to get updates on the game if they’re unable to watch. It is easy for companies to show their spirit and get involved with other fans by showing their support for teams! In return, it helps your company brand itself as a fun and engaged business that can connect with customers through sports. Luckily for our Boston area residents, the Bruins, Pats and Celtics are now all in their season, so as a business get some attention by showing your team pride!

                

LocalAxis Launches Free Local Coupon Store!

Happy Monday everyone! We are excited to announce that our new coupon store launched over the weekend. Our coupon store, which can be found through the Boston Finds page or running through any of the Your Town pages on Boston.com offers high quality local coupons from our clients.

Here's what you need to know...

What is it? The coupon store is an online store of coupons from a variety of local businesses.

How do I find it? You can locate the coupon store two ways.

1.) Go to the Boston finds homepage http://finds.boston.com/ (you can get to this URL by clicking on the "find of the day" or Boston Finds logo on the Boston.com homepage). Once on the Boston Finds homepage click "Coupons" from the navigation bar.

2.) You can also locate the coupon store through any of the Your Town sections on boston.com. Once you have selected a town, you will see coupons appear on the right hand side of the page. By clicking on any of the coupons you will be brought to the coupon store.

How do I use it? If you find a coupon that you like in the coupon store hit the "print now" button. This will then give you the option to email the coupon to yourself or print it out. You don't pay anything for printing or emailing the coupon, it's all free! 

Let's Go Red Sox: How To Capitalize On The World Series

Over Here at the LocalAxis office we have caught Red Sox fever! As the Sox progress in the 2013 World Series it seems like everyone around town is cheering for Boston and sporting their favorite Red Sox gear.

While we are thrilled our team is doing so well we can't help but take a marketer's perspective on the World Series and try to capitalize on the Red Sox success. A great way to support the home team and get your audience engaging with your brand is by offering photo contests. Why, you might ask? Because simply  stated people love their teams and people love having their photos featured. By creating a photo contest or just asking people to share their favorite photos supporting the team catches audience attention, makes them feel important when they see themselves featured and keeps their interest. These people are more likely to pay attention to and engage with your brand as well as talk about and share your brand.

LocalAxis asked Red Sox fans to send in their pictures of them showing Red Sox support. Below are a few of the pictures we have received so far. If you would like to be included in our gallery send pictures to [email protected] with a subject line Boston Red Sox.

Bella Loves the Red Sox! From Kayla, South Boston

Wally! From Brittany, Medford

Leo Reppin' the Sox. From Deb, New Hampshire

GO Sox! From The Boston.com Ad Ops Team

Supporting the Red Sox at Spring Training in FL. From Brittany, Medford

Go Sox! From Elaine, Allston

Ellie's First Red Sox Game! From Ed, Scituate

Watching the Sox Win At Fenway! From Jesse, Needham

Supporting the Red Sox From the Boston Globe Office! From Erin, Quincy

Watching the Sox at Baseball Tavern. From Kate, North End

Lizzie's First Red Sox Game!From Ed, Scituate

More Red Sox Support From The Boston Globe! From Molly, South Boston

Watching The Red Sox Win! From Rachael, Jamaica Plain

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Small Business Expo Recap

Our team had so much fun last week at the Small Business Expo in Boston. The Small Business Expo is the largest nation-wide B2B tradeshow, conference and networking event for small businesses. As a marketing agency that specializes in small to mid sized businesses, the convention last week at Hynes Convention Center was the perfect place for Local Axis. We met a ton of great people, made some new business connections, learned about various business topics at the conference and had fun along the way. We also gave a way some awesome prizes!

If you're interested in leveraging your marketing efforts please contact us at [email protected]

A Window Into Your Business: Marketing With Instagram

Instagram is a social media platform based on sharing photos in real-time.  It has been largely accepted for personal use, but only 123 of all Fortune 500 companies have Instagram accounts. This opens up a perfect opportunity for your business to get ahead of the game and tap into Instagram’s photo sharing as a marketing strategy.  We’ve put together three tips to help you succeed.

1.       Be Personal. Instagram provides a window into your business. Show behind the scenes photos of putting an event together, employees on the job, or sneak peeks of a new product. Try to mix it up a bit to keep your content fresh!

2.       Use Hashtags. Much like Twitter, Instagram has the ability to participate in a thread through the use of hashtags. Use different ones that are relate to your business but are trending to get yourself on to popular threads. Better yet, if you have a specific hashtag you use on twitter try to use the same one on Instagram for branding.

3.       Launch a Competition.  Everyone loves being a winner, and setting up photos contests on Instagram is a great way to get engagement while promoting your brand. Companies like Mercedes-Benz and Walgreens have done a great job utilizing Instagram  to get customers reaching out though Instagram to win various promotions.

Check out the Instagram For Business Blog for more ideas! http://business.instagram.com/blog/

The Power Of A Webinar

Webinars are a newer, more convenient way of hosting a seminar where people from all over can participate (given they have internet connection). People can attend from the convenience of their own home, just by logging in and watching. This is something that many businesses are capitalizing on nowadays, and here are just a few reasons why.

First of all, webinars are much cheaper than hosting an actual event because the platform is through the internet and doesn’t require a location. The main expense typically comes with the promotion of a webinar; however, there is no limit to the number of people who can join so the more promotion for attendance the better! Hosting webinars are also great because they help you foster new relationships, especially if the webinars are hosted live. You can take time for questions and really be able to see what is important to the customer, while also informing them of your products and building their trust. You’re engaging the customer past an article or blog post, and if someone has a question about the information you’re providing they can ask you to clarify almost immediately.

Another thing to think about: people who tune in to your webinar could potentially turn into sales leads and customers. If you host webinars on a regular basis, then people may subscribe which could turn into a loyal customer base. Some businesses also market their webinars as a class/”how-to” and charge attendees as a source of income. Finally, following the live webinar, you can break up the recording and post it to your site as podcasts or write it up as a blog post for additional content. So if a webinar is something you never considered doing for your business, take a minute to think all of these benefits! Maybe it’s something that could work for your business too.

Social Media Changes Preventative Medicine: Here's How

If you suffer from allergies like I do you can relate to the misery of allergy season hitting before you are ready. Stuffed up and puffy, a panicked call to the allergist is made begging for a new prescription of nose spray or anti-histamine. 

Imagine if 10 days before each allergy season your doctor sent out a tweet, a post on facebook and an email alerting you. Instead of being “sneak attacked” by symptoms you could prepare in advance and avoid the dreaded emergency “ I need something to help immediately” call or even worse a rush to the hospital.

This scenario is exactly why doctors have started utilizing social media in a revolutionary way. More and more of them are creating accounts and using them to push relevant information to their patients, share events, and give advice. The outcome is more prepared, informed and connected patients, and less emergency calls for doctors.

So… Is It Working?

In a recent visit to my allergist, my doctor excitedly asked me “are you on social media?” A bit caught off guard I told him that indeed I was and asked why he asked me.  After he informed me of his new Facebook, Twitter, and email push alert accounts we talked at length about what the effects have been on his practice. According to his office records, which track all emergency calls and the full medical history of all patients, emergency calls to his office have dropped nearly 70% since implementing a social media strategy.  What he has found is that the same people were calling each year with emergencies because they were having flare ups from their allergies. Now with his new social media strategy, he updates facebook and twitter with the upcoming allergy aggravates as well as sends push notifications through email to his patients.   As he explained to me, college students and busy working people (the majority of his patients) don't always think to check for themselves when pollen season is coming, or how much ragweed is in the city they are traveling to. Since most of these people are already utilizing social media, the most effective way to reach  and prepare them is through social media. For him, social media has proved in a short period of time to be an exceptional tool for preventative medicine. 

Because social media use by physicians for information pushing and treatment is new, we do not yet have sufficient data to conclude on its effectiveness. However, there is no doubt social media will continue to penetrate the medical sphere and in the case of my allergist has already proven to be a helpful tool. 

Facebook's Free Analytics Tool Is Too Easy Not To Take Advantage Of!

While the number of Facebook “likes” your business has is a good indication of how popular your brand is, it doesn’t always mean your message is reaching these people effectively through this platform. The better indication of how well you are using Facebook is through how engaged your audience is – how many users shared your post through their personal account? Or clicked through to a link? These are just some of the aspects of Facebook you should be watching to judge how well your audience is reacting to the content you post.

                

Thankfully, there is a Facebook tool named “Facebook Insights” to help make it easier for businesses to measure data from interactions they have with fans on the site. For example, Facebook Insights can help you keep track of how many active users you have as well as where they may be coming from. They even provide an overview graph that includes total likes, friends of fans, people talking about you, total weekly reach, and the dates that you’ve posted. Other helpful data that can help you include: 

•  Number of people who check into or recommend your business through Facebook
• Mentions or tags in posts and photos
•  Likes and comments on your posts
•  Number of times users share your posts to their friends
•  Number of people who may have seen the content from your user page versus the engaged users who actually clicked through links
•  How many people visit your page on each day

Overall, the Insights tool is a great way to keep tabs on how interested your Facebook fans actually are in your business. The number of “likes” your business has becomes less relevant if none of your fans are engaging with the content you post. Take a look at the Facebook Insights page to find out more about what it can do for you – it’s free to use, so why not? 

Check out the link to Facebook Insights help page here: http://www.facebook.com/help/www/336893449723054/

Digital Marketing 101 in 30 Seconds

There is no doubt that a ton of hype exists around digital marketing. With regard to marketing strategies, it is the “way of the future” and with over $100 billion ad dollars put towards it last year alone, it’s easy to see why everyone wants a part of it. But digital marketing is more than just a 100 billion dollar industry; it’s a fundamental change in the way advertising and marketing plans are created, executed, and converted.

So What Is Digital Marketing Anyways?

Business Dictionary summarizes it well. They say, digital marketing is “the promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media. For example, advertising mediums that might be used as part of the digital marketing strategy of a business could include promotional efforts made via the Internet, social media, mobile phones and electronic billboards, as well as via digital and television and radio channels.”  

So Why All The Confusion?

Have you ever played “telephone”, the game where one statement gets whispered to a string of people? Eventually the message gets confused, added to, and changed along the way.  In some regard, the same thing has happened with digital marketing. With so many people talking about it, information gets distorted, built upon and sometimes is flat out false. 

5 Common Misconceptions About Digital Marketing

1.)    Digital Marketing Is Social Media- One thing that drives me crazy is when people use digital marketing and social media interchangeably. Let’s make one thing clear; social media is a form of digital marketing. Period.

2.)    Digital Marketing Should Be A Separate Strategy- NO! Digital marketing should be a seamless continuation of a company’s overall marketing plan. Just as a company creates a message that they convey on TV, in magazines, billboards etc, that same message should be present when sending out tweets, posting blogs, or placing display ads. The client doesn’t distinguish marketing efforts; they associate content with the brand regardless of where they saw it. Key take-away: keep everything consistent.

3.)    Digital Marketing Is For Large Budgets Only- Actually, digital marketing can be the most cost effective way to advertise. Online display ads are typically sold at a rate that is 3 times lower than their print ad counterparts.  When looking at TV ads, the national average cost per 30 second spot ranges from $35,000- $2 million. With digital advertising, a business can have a professional video created for a few thousand dollars and then distribute it pro bono with social media and other digital outlets or pay a low CPM cost for video pre-roll or other types of paid video promotion.

4.)    Digital Marketing Is Hard To Track – Aside from the obvious, that any banner ads running on the internet (like IAB standard ads or other display ads) are trackable through cookies, other forms of digital advertising, like social media posts and content creation are now nearly just as trackable. Because of platforms like google analytics or facebook’s built in analytics panel, digital content has become remarkably easy to track. There are even tons of apps like Birst, Yellowfin, Bime, Tableau Software and countless others that report on and track data for you. So when taken as a whole, I would argue that digital marketing is the most targeted and trackable form of marketing available.

5.)    Digital Marketing Only Targets A Young Audience- According to a recent ETC study, over half of all seniors already use the internet.  As our world continues to become more digital (bills, medical records, communication, news) more and more seniors will migrate to the online space. What this means is that businesses targeting seniors will have just as much success with digital marketing as businesses targeting a younger crowd. What it comes down to, is not avoiding digital marketing altogether, but understanding where in the digital space to send your message.  

8 Tips to Increase Twitter Followers

For some time now, Twitter has been taking on Facebook as the most popular form of social media. While it’s not quite the leader yet, Twitter is undeniably the site to visit for the most current news and trending stories. Its popularity tied with its purpose of sharing simple messages makes it a great platform to connect with customers. 

Here Are a Few Tips to Increase Your Followers on Twitter

1.Use hashtags, but no more than 3 to a tweet - bonus points if one of the hashtags are already trending!

2.You have 140 characters – keep your message simple, meaningful, and fun.

3.Start trending a specific hashtag for a contest your business is hosting.

4.Retweet fellow businesses with relevant information to your product – this will sometimes prompt them to retweet you!

5.Join the Twitter directories for businesses and other relevant groups.

6.Retweet your current followers and loyal customers, especially when it comes to customer service.

7.Ask questions to engage followers and start discussions.

8.Promote your Twitter everywhere you can - including email signature lines and the business Facebook page!

Remember to tweet several times a day, even on the weekends! Doing this will increase your presence on Twitter and will be the most helpful in gaining followers.

 PS- You should follow us on Twitter if you don’t already! https://twitter.com/LocalAxis

4 Ways To Optimize LinkedIn For Better Networking

Guess what the number one piece of advice business professionals give to college students about to join the work force. If you guessed join LinkedIn, you’re right! Our intern Margaret says she’s heard this countless times, but never took it seriously until doing some research and seeing what LinkedIn could do not just for her, but for anyone in the professional world. However, there are a few things you must do before you can optimize the value of this site.

1.       Complete your profile.  It’s easy to get to a point in your profile where you think “Okay, this is enough”, or maybe that one part doesn’t apply to you. However, not completing your profile to the 100% makes you look less professional to viewers of your profile. And don’t forget to include a professional picture of yourself! It seems silly, but many users don’t ever complete their profile - be one of the few to show the effort, it counts.

2.       Join Networking Groups. Join groups relevant to your business area, as well as alumnae groups. Create or join a discussion and provide valuable insight on the topic to build trust from other members in the group. This is a great way to make contacts and find sales leads that already have an idea of what to expect from you.

3.       Ask for Recommendations. LinkedIn provides a place on your page where people you’ve worked with can recommend you as an employee. Likewise, you can ask customers who have had good experiences with your services to leave a comment on your page. This adds an extra star to your profile, and makes an impression on those who view it.

4.       Connect. One of the interesting aspects of LinkedIn is its ability to show you who have been viewing your profile. While it’s easy to view this as just creepy, it can actually be a valuable tool for networking. Reach out to these people and see why they were looking at your page- a few might be weird, but the worst that could come from it is making a new contact. Some may be interested in working with you and your business, and you reaching out to them is a great show of initiative.

Overall, once your profile is complete LinkedIn is a great source for networking in your field. Get involved and take advantage of all this site has to offer – you never know what kind of people you will meet or what sales you can make from it! 

Infographic: Benefits Of A Promotional Business Video

E-Marketing In the New Gmail: 3 Ways To Stand Out

A few weeks ago, Google launched a new format for Gmail that separates the type of email you receive into three marked tabs: primary, social, and promotions. While users are now able to enjoy a less cluttered Gmail, the promotions tab makes email promotions less visible to the consumer – a problem all businesses, big and small, have to face. While we wait on the numbers deeming the success or failure of this new tool, let’s talk about a couple ways to help your business stand out from the others under the promotions tab!

1.) Unique Subject Line: It’s always important when sending out an email campaign to do your best to stand out. However, with the new format you need to try twice as hard – your emails will be directly competing with other businesses for the reader’s attention. Almost every promotion in my inbox right now consists of a “Summer Sale” or a “Fall Preview”, so try something different! Include a “How to” or a contest subject line that will draw the attention of the reader.

2.) Timing: We all get inundated with emails throughout the day, but there are times when we are more likely than others to open promotional emails. Try to schedule email launch times for optimal engagement with your clients. Best time include between 7-9 AM (to open during the morning commute) between 12-2 PM (to be opened during lunch) and between 5-10 PM when people are home from work. 

3.) Become a "Primary": You can also encourage your subscribers to mark emails from your business as primary, which can easily be done by moving one email they receive from you into the primary tab. All future emails sent by you would then be received in their primary tab folder, away from other promotions and competition. 

We can look at this change positively too. Now, readers will only be checking promotions when they’re ready to see them and then you have a more engaged reader. So stand out and get their attention!

Facebook for Businesses- A Quick Guide for SMBs

With over one billion users on the site, Facebook continues to be the most popular form of social media. Considering the depth of the audience you can reach, it is very surprising to find that many small businesses do not utilize the various tools that Facebook offers – especially because use of the site is free!

As a small business owner, how can Facebook be valuable to you?

For starters, if you do Facebook right then the price means you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. The site is a relatively customizable and easy to use platform for you to interact directly with customers and create greater brand awareness. You can share promotions, videos, blog posts and more from your business to your audience through posts, and may even go as far as generating discussions to engage users. It is a useful and easy way to distribute content to a wider audience.

If you are hesitant to start a page because you are unfamiliar with the social media site, then don’t worry! Facebook has recently launched a more business friendly “Help” center in order to encourage less social media savvy businesses to join the site. Facebook also provides advice for marketing on the site with tips on how to build brand awareness, advertise, and other feedback on how well your posts are received which is useful for even the more experienced users.

Facebook is also a great way to get free endorsements. Interested users can “Like” your page and posts, post positive interactions, or tag the location of your business. If a customer writes a negative comment or has a question, Facebook allows the opportunity to respond directly, saving face and educating your client.

Finally, if you are a small business looking for targeted leads, Facebook is a great resource. You can see who is interested in your brand through their interactions with your page, as well as users who are engaging online with your competitors. It is also a great way to keep tabs on what related businesses are up to, as well as join groups of interest for your business to network and make new contacts within. Overall, Facebook is a great tool for businesses to take advantage of and if you don’t have one yet then I encourage you to get started!

Some research from:

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2285544/New-Facebook-for-Business-Hub-Launches-With-Tips-Tools-Case-Studies

5 Must Know Facts About Ad Retargeting

Mobile Is The Movement: Are You Missing Out?

Next time you're sitting in a waiting room or commuting on the subway, stop what you are doing for 1 minute and look around. I guarantee you will find most of your comrades face down, fingers tapping, engrossed in their mobile devices.

Mobile devices, be it cell phones, tablets, or gaming have changed the way we give and receive information and pass our time. There is no question that with 91% of adults carrying their mobile phones within arms reach 24/7 people are using mobile for tasks they previously wouldn't have been able to. In fact, Mashable reports that the audience for mobile apps alone reaches over 58 million users during primetime; more than the top three network TV spots.

Where there is space, there are ads... 

Mobile ads can be placed virtually anywhere. From online coupons linked to your store's website, to embedded within games, and even on google maps. This means that the teenager playing Candy Crush, the mom looking up how to cure a cold on Web MD, the commuter reading Boston.com on his tablet, the woman shopping for new jeans, and the man in Albany looking for a pizza parlor all can see your ad, geo targeted and key word targeted specifically to them.

Mobile ads are also better designed for call to action than desktop ads. Since people are likely already using their smart phones, when they click on the ad they can automatically be connected to your phone number, download a coupon that they can use without printing, or have events put directly into their calendars. Considering 80% of consumers use smartphones to shop, and 95% of all text coupons (regardless of industry) are opened within the first 5 minutes of being sent, if you aren't taking advantage of mobile you are missing out!

Take a look at this infographic from social media today for more mobile ad stats

Transforming Customer Service With Social Media

Transforming Customer Service With Social Media 

Simply put, business is based on relationships. Our clients want to know we are credible and reliable but just as importantly they want to feel a personal connection with us. It is our job as successful markers to engage our clients in a way that makes them feel like we care about them while ensuring they receive the best service/product.

Think about this: social media is a platform through which people and businesses can engage in free, real time communication regardless of geographic location. 

So, what does this mean for your business? Regarding customer service, this could mean everything. According to Social Media Today, customers spend 20-40% more when businesses engage them with social media. Below are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about social media and customer service. 

Using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ etc allow for customers and potential customers to "follow" or "like" our brands. This automatically gives us a list of people who have interest in the company and are more likely to respond to our news updates, promos, event invites etc. Aside from being able to share relevant content to an interested audience, we also can reach out to them directly. For example if my company sells shoes I can send out a tweet saying something along the lines of "we just released our new running shoe, what is your favorite color?". When followers reply we can respond to them directly, which acknowledges them as individuals and makes them feel a personal connection to our brand. 

Similarly to initiating conversation with our customers, social media allows a platform for customers to instantaneously reach us. By responding within a reasonable time frame (within 24 hours) to a client's request or question we have the opportunity to a.) direct them to the right information, increasing likelihood of a sale b.) make a personal connection with them c.) become credible and reliable in the customer's eyes. 

Unfortunately, with all the good that comes with the internet, there is the reality that our clients can post negative feedback online.If not addressed correctly, this can damage our reputation and deter clients from using our services. However, leveraging social media provides the perfect opportunity to fix these otherwise undesirable situations. We can respond to the negative feedback on the platform it was posted to, which shows our followers how we carefully handled the problem and worked to make it better. We can also reach out to the person with the complaint directly to make sure they feel comfortable with the solution. Both posting a solution publicly in response to initial negative feedback and responding directly to the upset client will help regain a positive image in a situation where otherwise our reputation could have been tarnished.

Keeping in mind that business is essentially based on relationships, using social media as a manor of customer service is an effective way to connect with customers and improve satisfaction.

3 Easy Blogging Tips To Better Engage Your Audience

3 Easy Blogging Tips To Better Engage Your Audience 

I remember when I was younger listening to my uncle rant about his political blog. Given he is a Communications professional and very politically charged one can imagine the vigor in which he discussed his posts and the corresponding comments he received from readers. At the time, the early 2000s, I didn't really understand what a  blog was. Blogging hadn't become mainstream and so at the time it seemed irrelevant to me.

Lets fast forward a decade to now--- Blogging has become so streamlined that it seems like every tween, college student, business and grandmother considers themselves a blogger. The sheer quantity of digital content is enormous, and much of that content is trivial or spam. So the question now becomes how do you provide content on your blog that is relevant to your target audience? 

As we know, regularly maintaining a blog can bolster a company's online presence and help with SEO. But, simply filling your blog posts with keywords can violate Google's compliance laws and negate some of the most important benefits of blogging. We want our clients to view us as credible and trustworthy and in order to do so we must reach them with engaging content not just a jumble of keywords. Writing a forthcoming blog can be an effective and cost efficient way to do this. 

Let's look at three main components of writing an engaging blog: 

1.) Be passionate: Excitement and expertise understanding of a subject are transferable in writing so stick to what you know. Whatever it is that "lights you up" is what you should blog about because you will be viewed as credible. For example, I could write for hours about sightseeing in Boston because I love and know Boston. If I tried to write a post about something I am less excited and knowledgeable about like fishing, the style and information in the two posts will likely be very different. Simply put if you are a lighting company, write about lighting, don't try to capitalize on other industries you don't know about. Your readers will pick up on this and make a judgement on your credibility accordingly. 

2.) Put in the time: One of the great things about blogging is that it lets us push out searchable content quickly, however this can also be our own biggest vice. While it is more convenient for us to write a blog post quickly than it is to sit down and put hours of effort into it you have to think of a blog post as an extension  of your business. Just as you wouldn't rush an untimely client through a sales meeting or serve sub-par food to a diner at your restaurant, you don't want sloppy content on your blog. 

3.) Interconnect your social media: Let your blog act as a hub for all your social media to radiant. You can use your blog as a way to create the content that you tweet or post on facebook and expand upon your social presence. Tweet your content to people directly who may be interested and get them to engage with you. 

Notice a change? Insights is now part of LocalAxis!

Our blog's got a new look! Insights is now a part of LocalAxis, a new program from Boston Globe Media that offers a suite of digital marketing services. Don’t worry, Insights users, none of the promotion you receive will change nor will the pricing. You can expect similar content here from us that we create to help you better your marketing efforts from blogging to search marketing to retargeting to mobile advertising and everything in between. If you have any requests for blog posts, please share them with us in the comments below. 

Also, be sure to check out the new localaxis.com and let us know what you think. We have a list of services there as well; if you're interested in speaking with us about bettering your marketing efforts, please contact us at [email protected].

Thanks!