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Sometimes it seems like having a Facebook page for your business is just another item on your to-do list that you just don’t have time for, but what you may not realise is that with more than 250 million people on Facebook, this is your quickest platform to refer people to your website. More traffic to your website could mean more sales or donations.

Make sure your posts are interesting

This is way is guaranteed to get your more followers. If the things you post are awesome, people will share them because they want their friends to think they are posting great stuff. If your Facebook page is consistently interesting you will gain more followers for fear of missing out on one of your amazing updates.

Don’t always try to sell your product or service

If every single post is trying to pressure your followers into buying your goods or service or donating to your non-profit charity, you’ll soon see your Facebook fans disappear into the social media abyss.

A picture of video is worth 1000 words

Keep the text light and ensure you use either a photo, infographic or video with every posts. Long text-heavy posts get skimmed over and are not likely to be shared.

Encourage engagement

This is your opportunity to find out what your customers think. Find out your fans likes and dislikes. Ask pertinent questions, use surveys or polls. You can utilise Facebook fans’ answers to improve or upgrade your products and services.

Let your hair down

Social media doesn’t always have to be serious. Take for example Philips Search and Rescue Trust’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rescuehelicoptertrust). They operate New Zealand’s largest pool of rescue helicopters and with the type of missions they attend their content could easily lean towards being quite depressing. Their Facebook posts are interspersed with inspirational quotes relevant to the service they provide and once a week they post Friday funnies.

Utilise your Facebook Insight

By familiarising yourself with your Facebook analytics, you can determine the age, location and times your fans are online. This can allow you to tailor posts to your followers.

Experiment

Don’t be afraid to try different posts. If something doesn’t get a lot of response, that’s okay, you’ll know better for next time. Sometimes the most unexpected posts generate plenty of engagement. If you have a post that is well received, look for similar posts you can schedule for the future.

Use scheduling

If you can’t afford a dedicated social media manager, the scheduling function is your best friend. It doesn’t mean you have to be glued to your computer, you can plan posts in advance.

Ask for help

If you need guidance in social media whether it’s content, attracting followers, Facebook advertising, setting up landing pages or creating graphics for posting, took to the team at XDesigns, they’re waiting for your call.

1. Social media will affect your Google ranking

If you have ever thought there’s no point in your company venturing into the world of Social Media, think again. In 2015 Google will analyse your social media activity and apply this to your search engine ranking. To get around this without doing any extra work, you may want to have a live feed widget which posts to your tweets and status updates directly to your homepage on your website.

2. Content marketing is crucial to Facebook marketing

Facebook are cracking down on business posts which promote downloading apps, buying products or coerce users into entering competitions, instead you will need to be posting content rich information rather than status updates with buy now. Posting regular and relevant content is an important aspect of making sure your Facebook feeds appear in newsfeeds. Targeting your posts to different ages, countries or even genders and including high quality photos can also help ensure more people see your content.

3. Having mobile friendly website is not an option

Last year it was advised to ensure your website is responsive, this year, it’s not an option. According to statistics, over half the world’s population will gain access to the internet via a mobile device. Upgrading your website will make the interact experience a lot simpler. Navigation anywhere on the website can be done with literally one or two swipes.

4. Post well-thought out Tweets

Tweets need to be keyword heavy, include hashtags, images and personalised links to rank higher with Twitters new upgrade to a better search engine similar to Google.Use bit.ly to personalise your links with keywords and use short, relevant hashtags, rather than an obscure attempt to be funny.

5. Utilise your Facebook and Twitter Insights

Analysing your social media insights can assist you in making informed marketing decisions. With these tools you will be able to see what your customers are liking, sharing, what times they’re most active, right down to the average age and whereabouts.

If you’re confused about how to make sure your business is staying on trend for 2015, need help implementing digital marketing strategies or just want a quote for a mobile friendly website, contact the team at XDesigns Advertising. They’ll help you achieve what you always thought was unreachable.

We’re going to cut straight to the chase, if you want new customers fast, you need Google Analytics. If you don’t know what Google Analytics is, just know it’s an essential means to make your marketing more effective and potentially increase the number of new customers.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics allows you to monitor the number of people to your website, how they found your website, how long they spent visiting each page, which pages are the most popular and much more. Before you can start analysing the data, you’ll need to install it.

Taking the next step

This requires you to set up a Google Analytics account and copy and paste a tracking code into the back end of your website. If this sounds too hard already, then you can pick up the phone and contact the team at XDesigns. We can set up an account, install the tracking code and show you how to analyse the Google insights.

Set up a tracking code

Once your tracking code is set up, Google Analytics provides you with in-depth information on your web visitors’ behaviour. How much time are people spending on each page? After the arrival on the landing page where do they go from there? What part of the world are your visitors from? What pages never receive web traffic? How many visitors are returning customers and what is the percentage of first time visitors? How did people find your website in the first place? What sites are generating the most traffic to your website?

Ask the important questions

The information you acquire from analysing your website traffics will only be any good to you if you take action. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Which websites are referring the most traffic to you?
2. Are there advertising opportunities you can utilise on the websites they are being referred from?
3. Which web pages receive the least amount of traffic?
4. What ways could you improve on the least visited web pages or would anyone notice if they were deleted?

Gain a deeper understanding

Once you have a clearer understanding of your website visitors you can use Google Analytics to plan your next big advertising campaign, refine your website and discover new avenues where you can capture more web traffic.

Once you get visitors to your website, you need to ensure they keep coming back. XDesigns can make certain that visitors to your page aren’t just bouncing to another website because yours doesn’t look professional or isn’t user-friendly. Let the team help refine your design.

Don’t be scared to ask for help

If we lost you at the words, Google Analytics, but you still are desperate to gain a better understanding of your website visitors, leave it to the XDesigns team. All you have to do is pick up the phone and ask for our help.

Staying with your finger on the pulse in terms of how to keep your business relevant in 2015 will certainly give you the upper hand on your competitors.

Last year, marketing was all about content marketing, providing detailed information and answering clients’ questions. In 2015, the marketing trend your business needs to embrace is social media.

You might think Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest are a waste of time, but refusing to get on the social media band wagon could be the biggest mistake your company could make.

With over 13 million Australian’s spending an average on 18 hours online a day. Generally, 16 minutes of every hour is spent checking social media accounts. Keeping in mind these startling statistics, it’s no wonder Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat are following in Facebook’s footsteps with paid advertising being a part of their new strategy for 2015.

These companies are growing their mobile marketing channels to stay relevant, so what can you doing to make sure your business won’t be left behind in the dark ages.

Mobile responsive websites

It’s not enough to have a flash website anymore, it needs to be mobile responsive – easy to navigate on smartphones and tablets with a flick of the finger. If your website needs to be dragged into the present, call the XDesign’s team now and discuss your options.

Social media accounts

You should have a presence on Facebook and Twitter at a minimum, but your company should also be on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube, all of which are regularly updated.

Get an app

Get interactive with your customers and provide them with an app that allows them access to your services or to purchase your products with just a few taps. Hoyts offer a great app that allows you to see what’s screening in your local area, times and book tickets, while many food outlets give you the option of ordering online.

Use language your mobile audience understands

In the online community, it’s acceptable to forgo the Queen’s proper English and use works and acronyms that will be easily understood by the tech savvy. Don’t be scared of using hashtags, LOLs and emoticons.

Get image heavy

In this day and age, a picture speaks a thousand words. So, it’s important to use quality images in your websites and apps. It’s simply not enough to use stock images, your company needs their own professional shots to appear authentic.

Create video content

People love to watch videos and the success of YouTube just goes to prove that. If you post content with videos, it’s proven you are likely to gain four times the likes you’d get if you simply posted an image.

If you struggle with simply turning on your mobile or have been avoiding going social because you’re not exactly sure how to go about it, or perhaps you simply don’t have the time to go mobile and need help, talk to the team at XDesigns Advertising , we’re more than just a graphic design studio.

Did you know the average person receives approximately 147 emails a day? It’s little wonder why so many emails go unread. So how do you make sure your email catches your clients’ attention amongst the hundreds of other digital communications arriving in their inbox?

It’s all about the subject line. Let’s look at some examples you can use next time you are doing a mass marketing mail out.

1. Free $20 credit for the first 1000 customers

People love free stuff and its almost guaranteed to make sure your email is opened providing the offer is enticing enough. Be sure to make sure your offer is genuine, there’s nothing more annoying than making your subscriber feel like they’ve been tricked.

2. Your VIP invitation for a red carpet event

Make your subscribers feel special by inviting them to an event. It could be a movie premiere or a free seminar.

3. The Photos we hoped you’d never see

Alluring vague subject lines that infer your readers are getting to view something not meant for their eyes will arouse their curiosity.

4. Congratulations, you are a movie mogul

Flattery will get you everywhere. The above is an example of what Hoyts cinemas use to flatter their Rewards program members. People love to hear compliments, so if you appeal to their ego, there’s a good chance they’ll read your email.

5. Would you like to lose 20 kilos in time for summer?

Asking questions directed at your target audience will entice them to open your emails.

Make sure when you are writing your email subject lines you are not misleading clients. For example, you’re going to get inundated with unsubscribes if you your email subject reads “Would you like to lose 20 kilos in time for summer” and the content is about attending a seminar on property investment.

If you need help with your email marketing, whether it’s writing subject lines, content for mass mail outs or even setting up CRM software, give the team at XDesigns Advertising a call. We’ll help steer you in the right direction.

1. Believe in yourself.

Don’t panic, you’ve come up with great ideas before you can do it again. Grab a piece of paper and write down everything that comes to mind no matter how random. It may trigger an idea.

2. Pretend you’re a customer.

Ask yourself what you’d want to know about your business if you knew absolutely nothing about the industry in which you work. Write a blog answering each question.

3. Crowd source.

Why do all the thinking for yourself? Post the question on your social media outlets and wait for your Facebook or Twitter followers to put their two cents worth in.

4. Ask a guest to blog for you.

Find someone or related to your industry to write a guest blog on the topic of their choice.

5. Search trending topics in a Google.

Hot searches on Google will give you a good indicator of what everyone on the internet is talking about and searching for.

6. Use predictive search for Google or YouTube.

Start typing in one idea and both Google and YouTube will automatically give you a list of other suggestions which might inspire a few ideas.

7. Get inspiration from reviews on eBay and shopping sites.

Look at reviews from similar products or services you are selling and address feedback or comments made online in a blog.

8. Visit forums.

Find out what internet forums are talking about, address questions posted in these groups and turn it into a blog or a social media post.

9. Listen to podcasts.

Find podcast related to your industry and set aside some time to listen to a few. It’s a great way to generate ideas.

10. Outsource to a professional.

Far too busy to worry about coming up with your own ideas, contact XDesigns who have the creative tenacity to conjure up content for you.

11. Visit a blog idea generator.

Google blog idea generator and add in three keywords you’d like your blog to be about and it will think of the ideas for you, then you just have to write them.

Google recently announced a new Google algorithm called BERT and they’ve already started rolling out the changes. What does this mean for your business? Should I be worried?

In this article we’re going to cover:

• What BERT is
• What effect will the algorithm have on search engine results pages (SERP)
• How the Google update will affect your business
• The changes you can make now to ensure your website stays relevant

What is BERT?

BERT is an acronym that stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transforms. We know what you’re thinking. So what does that even mean? In the most basic terms BERT has been developed to help computers understand the way humans speak and our language patterns.

Will Google’s new algorithm affect search engine results?

Definitely. In fact, Google has already started to introduce changes, starting with English and then being updated globally. It is the biggest change since the introduction of RankBrain (part of Google’s core algorithm that uses machine learning for computers to get smarter) and it will affect 1 in 10 search queries. In the most basic terms, there is no doubt that it will affect the traffic to your website.

Using Natural Language Processing (NLP), it allows Google to predict what you’re trying to search for before you even finish typing. You may have noticed when you type into the search engine bar, Google will try to anticipate your next words, this is called Natural Language Processing.  Try this out for yourself. Open Google Chrome and start typing: What does the…Google will try to predict what you are searching for and provide you with a selection to choose from. As you keep typing, if it hasn’t already figured out what your are searching for, it will keep throwing up suggestions. Google was already using this before the introduction of it’s new algorithm, but let’s take a closer look at the effect Bert will have on search results.

One of the examples of Bert in action that Google provided was a search that included the phrase ‘2019 brazil traveller to usa need a visa. In this search, the word to is exceptionally important to understanding the correct context of the phrase. Before Bert, Google would have struggled to comprehend that sentence structure and the relevance of preposition and would have included search results about travellers from the USA travelling to Brazil. Now that Bert is on the scene, Google now knows that the word ‘to’ is very pertinent to the search results. Going forward, Google will be able to take into consideration words like ‘for’ and ‘to’.

There are also changes to featured snippets. For example, if you searched how to parallel park on a hill, Google would put the emphasis on the parallel parking part of the search query and ignore the hill aspect of the question, so the Google update is going to make your search requests much more relevant.

What does the new Google Algorithm mean for my business?

If you haven’t paid much attention to your SEO, it would be a very good idea to get an SEO or marketing expert audit your website. People are getting more specific in their search queries and with the update, it means your website and SEO need to be very specific too.

What changes can I make to my website to ensure it says relevant?

Any SEO expert will tell you to create extra long educational content is the answer, but BERT doesn’t count words. It doesn’t care whether you have a 500 word page or 900 words, because it’s quality that counts. Does it answer the questions your customers would be typing into a search field? Is your content informative and educational? Are you using the specific words in your page titles? It’s time to get ultra-specific.

Check out where you rank on the search results, if you notice you’re not ranking as highly or you’re not getting the traffic you used to, at XDesigns Advertising we can help you get back on track. Remember, it’s not about ensuring you just rank for certain keywords, it’s a holistic approach that’s required. For an SEO health check to ensure your website is ready for the BERT Google Algorithm updates, contact us today.

Websites are continually evolving.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) feels like a mammoth task to get your head around. It feels like you just get to grips with what it takes to get your website to rank in search engine results and BAM, Google updates their algorithms.

There have been vast improvements on voice recognition software and with searches via mobile phones being increasingly popular way to access the web, Google is focusing more on answering questions.

So what do you need to know to future-proof your website for 2016?

It’s all about being mobile

It seems like common sense considering the popularity of smartphones and portable devices like the iPad, but you would be surprised at how many businesses still don’t have mobile responsive websites. The goal is to make sure the user experiences the same experience they would access your site from a desktop computer. This means when designing the website layouts and page elements need to be taken into consideration.Here are a few options you can incorporate to improve the experience for your potential customers navigating your website

• Think about designing for the mobile first, rather than just what looks on a desktop computer.
• Keep design simple.
• Make sure the products are set out clearly and big enough to see with priority given to products mobile users may purchase more frequently.
• Consider using mobile coupons.

Making sure your website is mobile-friendly is your first priority

Become an authority on your product or service.

When users are searching, they are more like to ask questions like “How do I know if I have Shingles?”, “Where is the best restaurant in Melbourne?”, “How do you do a French braid?”

Providing the direct answers to questions people might ask about your products or services will help with your SEO. Particularly now that voice command software is increasingly becoming more popular.

Make yourself an authority on your business by providing the answers to everything can possible imagine. This is made easier by remembering the 5 W’s – Who, What, When, Where and Why, and the one H- How.

Think about the way you interact with Siri, Samsung Galaxy, YouTube voice search, you don’t just say, “Cold”, the web search is likely to generate thousands of search results on cold weather, cold places to live, anything with the word cold. You are more likely to say, “How do I cure a cold?” Siri or whatever voice search software will reply with here’s what I’ve found on How do I cure a cold?. If you are a naturopath or have a pharmacy, having a page on cold cures and making yourself an authority on all things to do with colds and flu is going to help you rank higher.

Concentrate on making your content local, don’t skimp on product information and pricing

Make use of Google+ Local

Get your friends and family to review your website, products or service on Google+ Local, The more rave reviews, the more visible your website will be. After all, what’s the point of having a great website if no one can find you.

If you’ve been putting off future-proofing your website, now is the time. Don’t miss out on prospective sales and clients. Contact XDesigns today to get your current website evaluated so you start off 2016 in the right way.