Category Social Media

3 Ways To Get Your Business Online For Free

By admin
On May 31, 2014
In Blogs, Google, Social Media, Web Design

1: Set up a Facebook page

The chances are that you, or one of your close friends or work colleagues uses Facebook. If not. Then stop reading and sign up. For the rest of you who are (or have people close to you) living in the year 2014 then all you need to do is set up a page, you can do so by following this link HERE.

The reason why owning a Facebook page is more useful than a couple of years ago is that Google has started factoring them into their algorithm. If you type in your company name into Google after setting up a page there is a high chance your businesses page will appear (see our image above). Be sure to secure your unique username for your page, you can do this in the settings of a page.

2: Set up a blog

Setting up a blog is totally free and is a great way to start off the process of getting your business online. I recommend the following:

Tumblr – Tumblr, recently acquired by Yahoo! is one of the most interesting blog networks out there. It’s certainly the most interactive. You can choose from a wide variety of themes (design/style/layout) and it’s really easy to use. The URL will be your business.tumblr.com.

Blogger – This Google product can be found HERE, you can again have a different theme on there your business.blogspot.com
WordPress.com – WordPress is by far the most popular CMS, and is what your web designer should be setting you up with. Like Tumblr & Blogger, WordPress offers a similar service. You can pick from themes & it’s very easy to add and edit pages/posts. yourbusiness.wordpress.com is what it will look like. Once you get some funding together you should talk to a web designer about building a custom theme which suits your business & if you sell products introduce an e-commerce aspect to it.

3: Set up a Twitter account

Contrary to popular belief, Twitter is the ONLY real social network. No other platform allows you to interact like Twitter. You can talk to anyone who wants to listen, and even if they don’t. In the same was as Facebook, Google has allowed Twitter profiles to be promoted in it’s algorithm. So by simply having a profile you will have a platform to work from, will receive exposure in Google & you can talk to anyone who could possibly be interested in your product.

There is evidence to suggest that a dormant social media profile on Twitter/Facebook will not be factored into a Google algorithm nor will a blog thats not being updated. So once you start, don’t stop or else that initial impetuous will be lost and it could end being detrimental to your business.

In summary, if you want to get online to start marketing your business it has never been easier. We would recommend you have a play around with the options we gave above on a personal level before you implement into your business.

If you’d like some free and detailed advice then feel free to give us a call on 020 8144 5685 or email matt@freshdeveloper.com.

Twitter Adverts, are they all that?

By admin
On November 25, 2013
In Blogs, News, Social Media

Twitter last week opened up it’s adverts to small & medium businesses within the UK for the first time. The site currently only makes money from it’s adverts so it was only a matter of time before the scheme was rolled out everywhere.

“All you need is a Twitter account and a credit card. You’re in control of your ads, the audience you want to reach, and of course your budget. Best of all, you will only be charged when people follow your Promoted Account or retweet, reply, favorite or click on your Promoted Tweets. You are never charged for your organic Twitter activity.” – Ravi Narasimhan, a product manager at Twitter

How Does It Work

As you can see in the below screenshot, you create a campaign, set a daily budget & enter a max bid. The whole process looks a lot like Facebook’s advertising but so it should, Facebook Ads work. This page shows the impressions your sponsored tweet has made, it’s engagements (people who have clicked the link you provide), what your spend is and the estimated cost per click.

You can see the tweets in a number of places.

At the top of search results pages on Twitter & their Advertising partners.
On a users Home Timeline if it’s relevant to them.
On a Brands profile page or pinned to the top of their timeline.

How can you target people?

Twitters targeted ads are fantastic, you can select other users to target directly by selecting their profiles. Essentially taking away all the hard work of getting those people to follow you & allowing you to direct an advert to them. You can even narrow it down to location & certain interests.

The whole thing is very detailed & it’s exactly how it should be.

Conclusion

Give it a go. Twitter would not of rolled this out if it was at all sub standard. I expect that Twitter Ads will catch up with Facebook & Google Ads in not too distant future within the UK. Check them out HERE.

Snapchat – The New TV Advert

By admin
On July 10, 2013
In Blogs, Social Media, Uncategorized

Imagine a company could make a video of how their product worked or show it in action, then send that video directly too you. You could only see it for 10 seconds and you had to watch it or else you would have one of those annoying unread message icons until you did. Would you like this? Would you find it annoying? Would it even matter if you did, because you watched it, you don’t have much choice.

Snapchat allows this. However, right now, it’s not being used to that effect. Snapchat is untainted, it’s a novelty for some and others it’s now engrained in their life. People send videos & pictures of their everyday activities to people in their contact list. Eating breakfast, driving in the car, reading the paper & walking the dog. All are Snapchat worthy moments. Some may think that’s crazy, but it’s happening. The company itself has secured major financial backing over the last few months and is now a commodity to be reckoned with.

Marketers have not clocked on to it’s usefulness (Lynx have become the first brand to use Snapchat as a marketing tool in the UK) as yet. All you need is somebody’s phone number, a smart phone and a 3G/4G connection. Unlike Vine & Instagram, where videos can be made/edited then stored on a profile page, Snapchat is instantly forgotten (so we hope). As soon as the video (or picture) has been watched. Like a TV advert or as you drive down the motorway and see a billboard, you look, and if it engages you enough then you remember it. 10 seconds to get your point across.

If you think you can capture the attention of people in 10 seconds, not annoy them and be persistent then Snapchat marketing could be the one for you. You are not relying on people “liking” or “following” you, you can just send them something. You have one chance, one opportunity (to seize everything you ever wanted…sorry) to get into peoples heads….what are you going to do?