Some Humor with SEO
From: http://wiep.net/talk/category/seo-humor/
Some SEO humor. With special thanks to the DIY Motivator Tool
Great post on SEO and Social Media from Mashable!
Great stuff to follow. SEO should be a key part of the Social Media strategy. http://mashable.com/2009/04/15/social-media-seo/
Read MoreHow to ask a customer for a review or testimonial
Customer reviews are one of the mainstays of customer confirmation and is paramount to getting found online. But how do you ask a customer for a review or testimonial for your product or services? Here are a few tips to get you started in requesting customer reviews and testimonials to hasten your business status online:
1. Simply Ask.
Amazingly this step is often overlooked. Sales people, at the end of the transaction often don’t want to bother the customer or just want to finish the sales and move on. However, asking for customer quotes or testimonials can be a way to build stronger relationships with the customer. A customer, especially a happy one, will be flattered. They will want to talk about their experience and often do by telling others about your business. Why not lead them to ask for a referral or testimonial online?
2. The key is to lead them to where to leave a referral.
Make sure it is easy, simple and quick for customers to provide the review. Provide links to sites you prefer they leave testimonials on. A good place to find sites that you want to promote reviews on is to find where your customer leads are coming from. Website Analytics (Google Analytics, Urchin…) are a great resource for this information under “Referring Sites” or better yet, ask your customers where they found you.
Don’t be afraid to give your customer guidance on what you are looking for. Tell them what you are looking for. “John, I am so thankful you are happy with our service. Would you mind giving us a review online?” Then hand a card to them outlining where and how to post a review. Clearly you would like them to indicate their name and company to the review, but it is OK if they’d like to remain nameless. An unidentified review is better than no review at all.
If the customer has practical feedback, give them an alternating path to provide that information rather than letting it go into a public review. You want to be sure to capture and address specific comments or concerns, so as to direct them to the appropriate person, email or site. Management of bad “press or reviews” can help your business grow.
3. Get easy one’s first.
Ask your happy customers for testimonials and reviews. They will be happy to assist and you can then get the ball rolling to integrate a process of asking into your sales process. Requesting past customers for reviews will let you see the value as well by demonstrating the return through more leads. A recent case is one of our clients at LuCorp Marketing said a majority of their leads come from Kudzu.com because of the testimonials posted. Through 8 reviews his company is number one on the Kudzu website for services his company provides. He gets leads all the time off the positive reviews on the Kudzu site.
4. Combine requests with an existing marketing program.
If there is a newsletter going out to all your current customers, you may want to include a message about reviewing your product or service. On your billing invoices you may want to add a thank you and “if you liked our services please consider reviewing us on….” But make this personal to the customer if at all possible.
5. TRY NOT TO BE IMPERSONAL.
Really try to take a personal and targeted approach. Determine who your most satisfied customer is, who you feel will give a review for your service or product. Be careful here though! Do not pay for reviews. The Federal Trade Commission is coming down hard on companies that pay for reviews in the future. The reviews will need to be transparent and follow a business trail. Be above board on all of this and you won’t have issues in the future!
The point is to ask and you shall receive. Many customers are happy to give their input. That’s why Yelp and Kudzu are such strong websites! People want to hear other’s experiences in this high-tech world!
Read MoreAZ River Runners
Arizona River Runners great example of reaching new audiences with social media. You can visit their site at raftarizona.com
Read more about how we can help you reach potential clients.
Read MoreQ&A for a Good Social Media Strategy
Here’s some great questions to ask yourself or company when setting up a Social Media strategy:
Who do you want to talk to?
How will you engage them?/
How will you market your messages?
Where do you find people to listen?
Do you know what people are saying in the target market you are in?
What do you do to help customers become part of the process? Is there something you could do or say that would entice a customer to work with you in conveying the message?
What are your goals for the Social Media plan?
Can you build a stronger relationship with your client through Social Media?
AND, probably some of the most important things to consider: Are you able and willing to maintain consistency, maintain postings regularly? If not, don’t attempt a program unless you want it to be short lived. Also consider that Social Media should become a part of the overall marketing and communication programs for your company.
If you haven’t consider these things, be sure you do! Hire someone to give you guidance if your not sure how to set things up and to develop a strategy a plan for your company. You could also hire a company to do your postings and manage the programs for you as well. Many companies decide to do this in an effort to become consistent.
LuCorp Marketing’s affiliate company, Social Media Management Company provides both marketing strategies and Social Media Management for small to mid-sized companies.
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