Sorry, I don’t speak jargon

Have you ever sat through a work meeting (or a dinner with friends for that matter) and felt at a loss when acronyms or phrases that mean absolutely nothing to you are flung around with abandon?

What about when the words sound familiar, but the context is way off – like when your IT expert talks about hosting something and clusters of clouds. Is she planning a party and worried about the weather?

Ok, that was a bit OTT or, over the top – just in case that’s one of those pesky acronyms that troubles you.

Most of us would follow a conversation that talked about web hosting and a cluster of servers, but could you explain the cloud, flesh our SEO or weigh up the pros and cons of server and hosted email if you were put on the spot?

Meet netspeak

That’s right we’re talking about jargon, or industry specific language. In particular, the jargon that relates to our online world and the marketing that goes along with it.

Netspeak is just one name for the words, phrases and acronyms we use when talking tech. You can also call it blargon, cyberslang, e-lingo or geekspeak.

These are often words you hear all the time – and quite possibly use with confidence – but would be hard pressed to define…well…definitively.

Your go to list of online jargon

Domain name: The name of your website. Usually the same as your business name. It’s important to have full control and ownership of your domain name. Learn more about domain names here

www: World Wide Web. Did you know that most times it’s not necessary to type www before a website name?

 URL: The unique address of a web page, for example: https://onlineinfluence.com.au/penrith-web-designer/

Did you notice? No www.

Web Hosting: A Web Hosting service provides the technologies and services needed for your website to be viewed on the Internet. Websites are hosted, or stored, on special computers called servers.

Cloud Web Hosting: When your website uses the resources of several servers to accommodate all the aspects of hosting your site. The load is balanced, security is taken care of, and hardware resources are available “virtually” so they can be accessed wherever you are, so long as you have internet access. The cluster of servers is “the cloud”. Learn more about the cloud here.

SSL Certificate: Secure Socket Layer certificate. A website that has an SSL certificate is one where website traffic between your web server and the user’s browser is secure and cannot be read. When your website has an active SSL certificate the prefix to your URL changes from HTTP to HTTPS. Learn more about SSL here.

Server Email:  Email that is hosted on your own website server. I don’t recommended this as it’s not particularly secure and can fill up your server. It can also be expensive or cause your website to fail. And, if your website goes down, so does your email.

Hosted Email: A service like GSuite (Google) or Office 365 (Microsoft). This option is more secure. It means your email is hosted separately to your website so, if for some reason your website goes down, your email won’t.

Browser: A web browser is a software application for accessing information on the World Wide Web.  The most popular browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Edge.

Apps: An app is a modern term for a software application. It is most often used when talking about mobile phones and tablets. On a website or a browser, an app is a small piece of software that allows different functions (sometimes called an add-on). App is often used to describe anything that isn’t a fully-fledged software program.

Marketing jargon

Marketing jargon (or should that be margon?) is a special subset of online jargon.

Here’s a few pieces of marketing e-lingo that I’m particularly guilty of trotting out and that are often met with blank stares.

SEM: Or Search Engine Marketing. This refers to paid marketing you may undertake with various providers. In Australia the most popular provider is Google, but elsewhere Bing and Yahoo are also popular. Learn more about Google advertising here.

SEO: Search Engine Optimisation. The practice of improving your chances of ranking well in search engines including Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. Learn more about SEO here

EDM & Email Marketing:  EDM is Electronic Direct Mail. EDM’s is much, much more than email marketing. Email marketing most usually means an electronic marketing campaign in which email send-outs are used to help build an email database or list.  An EDM, on the other hand, is a lengthy process and involves more than just email communication. It utilises multiple forms of communication to relay and reinforce a campaign message.

Content Marketing: A type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote your brand, but is intended to stimulate interest in your products or services. Learn more about Content Marketing here.

Blogging: Blog is short for “web-log”. And blogging is the virtual equivalent of writing a regular column in your local paper. Blogging for business is an effective way to boost your online visibility and build relationships with your ideal audience. By consistently adding quality content on your blog, you are able to provide more value for potential customers, which can lead to more conversions, more sales, and better customer retention.  Learn more about blogging here (part one) and here (part two).

Are you confused by online or marketing jargon?

Of course, I’ve only just scratched the surface here. There’s a whole world of industry specific language out there to explore. At Online Influence we live and breathe this jargon and our team is more than happy to turn it into plain English for you and your team.

And, best of all, we don’t just know what it all means, we can harness the power behind the geekspeak to lift your business to another level. Contact us today to find out how our friendly team can help.

So, you bought the piece of land, planted your vines and now produce a very nice range of wines.

You went big, so there’s enough to sell through your cellar door and at local markets. In fact, you’re producing so much you could supply a chain liquor store.

The choice here is marketing B2B or B2C.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN B2B AND B2C?

The B2B model involves one business marketing to another. In our scenario, this would be the vineyard
entering a supplier contract with, say, Dan Murphys.

B2C is business to consumer. If the wine maker chooses to forgo the chain store option and instead just open her cellar door and sell wine at markets and online, she’s selling direct to individual customers.

Online Influence has a foot in both camps. We market B2B, but many of our clients operate in the B2C space.

So, while we market ourselves to businesses, the wine we’re selling is strategies that connect our clients to their customers. You could say we’re an example of B2B2C!

ARE THERE DIFFERENT MARKETING RULES FOR B2B AND B2C?

Well, yes and no.

The golden rule for business success is to find and meet your customer’s needs. But there are differences depending on who that “customer” is.

With B2B, the customer or client is another business. Transactions or negotiations are less personal and more about cost, features and data.

B2B marketing also usually involves a longer transaction time. Here’s why.

The vineyard owner would need to prepare a business case, ensure she has every scrap of technical information and be prepared to nut out costs and logistics. Armed with this information, she would make contact with the company and wait for a response.

As you can imagine, it may take several attempts to connect with the company, and once contact is made she may need to work her way through several layers of authority before making a “sale” – or in this case, becoming a supplier to the store.

• With B2B the focus is on lots of data, logic and financial scrutiny.
• Because the B2B market involves more decision makers, the costs can be higher.
• It’s important to know, and be able to communicate, what your product or service does rather than what it means for another business.

With B2C your customer is usually an individual and a sale is based more on emotion and brand appeal.

A visitor to the cellar door will be influenced by their surroundings, the warmth of the host and the label on the bottle as much as what’s in it.

The transaction will be relatively fast – a few minutes at least, or possibly a week or so when they realise they should have bought a case instead of just two bottles.

• Your focus should be on the benefits of the product to the person in front of you – literally or digitally.
• B2C is more emotional and often about convenience – think great communication and a variety of distribution channels, in this case cellar door, markets, online orders and more.
• Keep your marketing short and simple – make it easy for the customer to know why they need your services or your product.

Of course, emotion and brand are key factors when marketing B2B as well. A strong connection is vital for any business success, but in the case of B2B you’ll need to back the emotion with facts.

WHERE DOES ONLINE ADVERTISING FIT?

The good news is, Google ads work well for both B2B and B2C. You just have to remember the golden rule and tailor your campaign to the customer and your specific business needs. As you can imagine, the way you pitch to another company is not the way you’d pitch to an online shopper.

Facebook ads generally work better in the B2C space – it’s a friendly, emotive platform after all – but, they can work well in the B2B space if customised to your ideal client. The Online Influence team can help you design a campaign for effective cut through.

And, whether you’re selling B2B or B2C, your website needs to be designed with user experience in mind. Again, the needs and habits of your potential client or customer are paramount. You can read more about hooking customers through a good online experience here.

NOT SURE WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU?

If you’re unsure of how to market your business, or even which business model to focus on, the Online Influence team has the insight and experience to help – we are B2B2C experts after all! Call us today to find out the best solution for you and your business.

What should you prioritise on your website, website branding and presentation, or generating leads and sales? Well, here’s my two cents, and you might not like it.

Many small business owners have been given bad advice. Many have been told to focus their time, money and efforts on branding their website rather than building a website that generates leads and sales.

I disagree with this.

Prioritising sales generation over branding is about focussing your efforts wisely to get the most out of your business website, and not wasting time on things that are not initially profitable. It’s about promoting a clear call to action that will increase your sales and ultimately your profits.

Richard Branson and Coca Cola

Many in favour of branding will use the argument that people like Richard Branson put most of his time and budget into branding, or that Coca-Cola focuses entirely on branding. Well, of course that’s how it looks now, but let’s look back to their beginning.

Richard Branson started his first record shop in London in 1971 and worked hard building and publicising his businesses to increase sales and turnover. He put massive amounts of time and money into each and every business. What we see today is the result of his PR machine at work. Yes, he focuses on branding now, but that’s because his sales were taken care of in the early days.

John Pemberton who started Coca-Cola put his first advertisement in the Atlanta Journal in May 1886 and regularly advertised his product after that. His initial focus was marketing and sales.

Can you begin to imagine the billions of dollars these two well-known brands have spent on promotions and advertising over the past decades?

So what does this mean for you and your business?

Well, branding is nice, but it doesn’t pay the bills. Focusing on sales does! It’s as simple as that. When your business grows to a decent size and you actually have a marketing budget, then you might focus on branding over sales.

Initially you must focus on building your leads and sales. In this way you will naturally build your brand, for no effort or money. Your brand will grow as a by-product of good sales and referrals.

I regularly see business owners falling into the trap of prioritising website branding over sales, but there is no competition. Sales consistently produce results.

Prioritising sales over branding is about focussing your efforts wisely to get the most out of your business website, and not wasting time on things that are not initially profitable. It’s about defining what you want your business website to do for you, and promoting a clear call to action that will increase your sales and ultimately your profits.

So, take a look at your Google Analytics and ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you getting reasonable traffic but no conversions?
• What’s your bounce rate like? The lower the better.
• How many people fill in your contact form?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, make it a priority to find out. Knowing these things is the first step toward working out how to get more leads and sales from your website.

What’s your priority? Website branding or website sales? 

Originally published on Flying Solo

You can do many things to improve your online presence. Here are seven that can have the biggest impact, and they’re free!

I guess my first tip should be “Get a website” but I’m going to assume you know how important that is. Don’t just rely on social media – you don’t own your Facebook account, Facebook does. But you do own your website and these tips will get your website found online.

 

1. Know who your ideal customer is.

Take the time to work out who your ideal customer is, and please don’t say, “Everyone is my ideal customer”. If you try to market to everyone you end up selling to no one.

Create an avatar of your ideal customer. Note that I didn’t say your biggest customer – I said your ideal customer – there is a difference.  Are they male or female? Are they young, old or in between? Are they in business? What are their biggest pains/problems?

Once you have a detailed image of who your ideal customer is, make sure your website and social media talk to them and their pain. Note: don’t solve their problem – just make it known you can solve their problem.

“If you bury your head in the sand and ignore the Internet – you will regret it. Your competition will outshine you, outrank you and outsell you.”

 

 2. Get a free Google Places listing.

This is also known as Google My Business, Google Maps and Google+ pages (I know, it’s confusing).

A Google Places listing is free if you have a shopfront or an office location. It will show up in Google whenever someone searches for your type of business and adds your suburb to the search term. It is usually the first thing people see on the first page of Google.

 

 3. Local business directories.

Search Google for “local business directory” and put your business on each of them – I suggest up to twenty directory listings. Make sure you use the exact address that’s on your website, and be sure to add a link to your website too. Mix up the description for each listing and don’t forget to include your keywords.

 

 4. Blog, Blog, Blog.

 I can’t stress how important this is, and it’s also free. When you blog you tell the world about you and your business. It’s important that your blogging provides relevant, unique information. Mix up the media too – video, podcast, infographics, PDF’s, slideshows and so on.

 

 5. Optimise pages, posts and images.

Use keywords on pages, and use categories, tags and keywords in blog posts. Categories are like aisles in the supermarket, for example the cooking aisle; and tags are like items in the aisle such as spices and sauces. Keywords are the specific items in the aisle, such as “Uncle Bob’s sauce”.

Make sure you use alternative tags for all your images, also known as “alt tags”. These are the words Google uses to read your images. Also, rename your images before you upload them – don’t upload images called IMG-3945.png, change them to a name that’s relevant and keyword rich.

 

6. Use social media.

Every time you write a new post or page, share it on all your social media platforms, and if it’s a popular one, don’t be afraid to share it again a few months later. Pick social media platforms that your ideal customers use. There’s no point madly posting pics to Instagram or Pinterest if your customers are never there! Find out where they hang out and be sure to hang out there too – consistently.

 

7. Spread the word.

Get involved with forums like Flying Solo. Help people by giving honest, informative answers to their questions. Find other forums in your industry or niche and get active. Become the go-to person who gives great tips and useful ideas.

The Internet has changed the world, we all know that. Don’t be an ostrich or a shrinking violet. The online world is about giving and helping, and if you bury your head in the sand and ignore it – you will regret it. Your competition will outshine you, outrank you and outsell you. So start with these seven free strategies and improve your online presence.

 

Can you add any other free ways to improve your online presence?

Originally published on Flying Solo

While User Experience (UX) is definitely a term from the online world, it makes me think of a footpath near my local shopping centre.

Why? Well, UX is about getting to know the wants and needs of your customers and distilling them into a website that delivers on those wants and needs.

What I’ve dubbed my “user experience path” cuts across an area of grass to a footpath on the other side. It’s a generous, well-maintained walkway. But no one uses it. Instead, over time, countless pedestrians have worn a more direct and more convenient path through the grass.

The town planners who put in the path didn’t take the time to get to know their “customers” wants and needs. The result? Their customers found another way.

In terms of your website, if you don’t meet potential customers wants and needs with a good user experience, they too will find another way – to another business.

 

So what is User Experience?

First and foremost, UX isn’t the same as usability, although usability forms part of a good user experience. Confused?

• UX is how a potential customer feels about the interactions they have with your website.
• UX is a customer’s perceptions as they find their way around your site.
• Yes, UX is about usability and accessibility (think multiple device compatibility as well as all abilities access) but it’s also wrapped up in feeling like familiarity, trust and even delight.
• Good UX Design sends a customer’s feelings into positive overdrive and leads to an easy and enjoyable interaction.

 

When beauty is only skin deep

All this talk about feelings may sound “airy-fairy”, but good UX Design really can make a huge difference to the success of your website and your business.

Remember that Blue Suede song Hooked on a Feeling? Well, you can hook more potential customers by giving them a good User Experience.

Here’s an example. We all want our websites and the websites we use to look good. But if your site’s gorgeousness overrides practicality, slows the customer down or confuses the process, it will work against you.

Your potential customer’s initial exclamations of delight will very quickly turn to groans of frustration.

Remember, your website is not for your designer. It’s not even for you. It’s for your customers.

 

Off the rack individuality

Of course, UX is highly individual, changes from day to day and is multi-faceted.

You can’t create or own someone else’s experience, but you can create a kind of “ready to wear” UX range based on cold hard facts.

This research can come in the form of:

• market and competitor analysis
• surveys
• social media feedback, and
• data analysis

 

Data doesn’t lie

Data collection and analysis, including with tools like heat maps, are used to inform good UX.

Heat maps track the path of your cursor or mouse, and in doing so, your eye movement.

This kind of research tells us what newspaper publishers have known for a long time – the top right of your page, or in this case screen, is your “prime real estate”. This is where our eyes go first. Don’t waste that space people!

On the Online Influence website you’ll find our Google Partner badge and our contact phone numbers at the top right of our home page.

 

Simple ways to improve UX on your site

Even without diving into the data pool there are steps you can take to improve your customer’s UX.

• Make sure your site is mobile and tablet compatible – mobile devices now represent 65% of digital media time.
• Don’t let design override usability or confuse your message.
• Maximise your prime real estate – the area on the top right of the screen
• Simplify your content and the processes customers need to go through – too many hoops and they’ll jump ship.
• Make sure your tabs lead to what your customers most want or need –take a step back and examine your site with fresh eyes, better yet, get the Online Influence team to do it for you.
• Tell your story – your customers need to “know, like and trust” you.
• Don’t waste too many words telling people how fabulous you are, instead tell them why they need your services and how you can help them.

 

Forging your own path

This post has only just skimmed the surface. UX and UX Design can lead you down a myriad of pathways – paths no town planner would ever dream up!

The team at Online Influence can help you improve your website to improve your UX and create a welcoming path your customers and your potential customers will willingly follow.

To find out more about how we can help you improve the UX of your website go to our website. 

Do you want your website to bring in fresh leads, new customers, and make YOU money? If you already have a website, there’s many simple changes Online Influence can make that will dramatically increase your business.

Hi, my name is Trish Fehon, and I’m an Online Marketing Consultant & Expert.

The reason most small business websites fail is because they aren’t created by designers who understand marketing.

Your website doesn’t need expensive graphics and bells and whistles. In fact, these can actually hurt sales.

Instead, your website needs to appear prominently in the search engines to the customers in your market.

It also must present your services and products in a way that persuades prospects to buy from you.

In less than 30 minutes, I can ask you a few key questions, examine your current website (if you have one), and provide a very revealing analysis of how you can very quickly improve your response rate.

For example:
When you call today I’ll reveal…

• The single most important element (almost nobody uses) of a money-making website.
• How to get the name and email address of nearly everyone that visits your website — then market your products and services to them for free!
• The amazing 3-letter word that makes your customers want to read every word of your website.
• How to get your website listed on the front page of Google, for FREE!
• The incredible 2-word phrase that forces website shoppers to call now and order your products and services.
• Then, after our call you do have options…

You Can Freely Use My Advice To

Improve Your Website

Or, if it’s appropriate, and entirely up to you… Save Yourself Time AND Get Guaranteed Results By Hiring Me!

For example, I can provide:

• A custom made website (or re-design your current site) that…
• Gets you listed on Google, Yahoo & MSN and brings in plenty of targeted traffic.
• Gets you more calls, more customers, and more profit.
• Gets you a lower cost per lead than any other advertising you are currently doing.
• A domain name for your business. (For example, YourCompany.com) — You’ll also have company email, like you@YourCompany.com
• Secure “hacker-proof” website hosting to keep your files (and customer data) safe from prying eyes.
• Web-based software that captures the name and email address of your customers, then automatically sends them information about your company while you sleep.
• Tracking software that shows you exactly which pages of your website your customers visit… how long they stay… which products they’re interested in… and where they go afterwards!
• And too much to list!

After our brief discussion you’ll undoubtedly get more value from your website than ever before.

 

Hiring an SEO service provides a lot of advantages for offline business owners who do not have advanced internet marketing experience. First, firms who provide search engine optimization services take care of all the details related to running a successful SEO campaign. This helps the offline business owner focus on other important things – their core competencies – while new customers are generated on a daily basis.

Here’s how the typical process works when an offline business owner chooses to use the services of an SEO company:

• The SEO service provider critiques and restructures a business’ existing website. To better optimize a business website for the search engines, an SEO provider gives recommendations for changing the structure of a website, inserting main keyword phrases, and changing page titles. This increases the chances of a website to get higher rankings on the search engines.

• The provider creates the seed content for distribution. “Seed” content refers to original articles which may eventually be rewritten and distributed through key internet marketing channels. Usually this is done by creating five to ten original articles which are rich in keyword phrases related to a chosen niche or industry. SEO formatting is crucial for these articles to obtain maximum results and traffic after distribution.

• Seed content is rewritten and ‘spun’ in order to create many versions. The SEO service takes the seed content and then rewrites it in order to create many versions. This is crucial in the entire SEO process because Google values original content. Both human rewrites and article spinning are used in order to generate as many versions of the same article as necessary.

• The article versions are distributed systematically on the web. SEO companies, after creating and rewriting content, proceed to distribute the articles throughout the web by using various manual and automated tools. The exact method will depend on which SEO company is doing the service. However, the goal of content distribution is the same for all SEO firms: to generate hundreds of quality incoming links for a website, resulting in ongoing search engine traffic.

• The SEO provider performs other manual tasks which are vital for generating organic traffic. Other tasks are done by an SEO service such as commenting on blogs, reposting article link locations, repurposing articles into other forms of content (such as audio and video), and broadcasting content through RSS feeds. This may seem a bit complicated for those with limited online marketing experience, but reliable SEO companies make this entire process easier for business owners.

An online business consultant is someone who offers solutions to businesses for the promotion of the business, its products or services, through the internet. Here are just some of the various services that a reliable online marketing expert can provide:

Lead Generation Campaigns

In any business, generating leads and prospects is a must for the enterprise to survive and grow. Online consultants provide help in this area by implementing various lead generation methods. Some of the most common lead generation methods are as follows:

• Social media marketing. Using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter can greatly increase the exposure of a business to its potential customers and clients. By implementing lead generating activities in social media platforms (both free and paid), the number of people who regularly visit a business website has the potential to increase over time and ideally transform into repeat customers.

• Paid advertising campaigns. Based on specific market information, an online marketing consultant may opt to recommend paid advertising programs such as pay-per-click, banner advertising and direct media buys, or by providing reliable SEO packages.

• Article Marketing. Some consultants are mainly content-driven and choose to write and distribute high-quality articles within the market in order to build authority and credibility among readers and potential buyers. The number of leads generated from article marketing campaigns is relatively lower than other advertising methods but has a higher conversion rate.

List Building

Aside from generating leads, an online business consultant helps businesses to develop their list of subscribers by capturing the contact information of web visitors. This is done by installing contact forms or subscriber forms on website landing pages — visitors can subscribe to receive website updates and be automatically included in the contact list of a business for later follow-up.

Lead Conversion and Upselling

Once the leads are generated and the subscriber list is developed, the online business consultant helps his or her client to convert those leads into sales. This means that website subscribers may be offered various products and services that thorough research has shown that they want and need:

• Front End Sales. These are low-priced items which aim to initially involve the customers with the company. Some examples of these are discounted tickets, starter packages, 30 day free trial, basic membership plans, and so on.

• Back end sales. This is the upsell. Existing customers are offered higher priced items to encourage repeat business.

These services are able to be provided by reliable and knowledgeable online business consultants. Any offline business that wants to reach a greater number of customers should consider engaging a local online business consultant to help it grow and prosper.