Social Media and Your Online Reputation

Which Social Media Site Should You Use to Market Your Business Online?

Social media is a great way to locally market your business online. You can interact with your current and potential clients over things of mutual interest, promote upcoming deals, offer special online savings, or even highlight your role in the community. 

There are MANY social media websites to choose from, but you do not have to be on all of them. Plan on choosing one or two that on which you feel you can remain active and focus on those. 

Different businesses will do better on different social media platforms - to help you choose, let's look at the characteristics of some of the major sites:

• Facebook - Using a Facebook page allows you to post comments or pictures, share articles of interest, promotional deals, and to show upcoming events or activities of your business or staff. If you choose to use a Facebook business page, plan on posting an average of twice each week and to read and respond to any comments you get from others viewing your page. You can expand your Facebook marketing by offering deals or having contests to get the most "likes" on a page or post. 
• Google+ - Similar to Facebook, Google+ is a place to connect with current clients, but it is also directly linked to your Google My Business listing which displays in search results anytime a potential client is looking for products or services related to what you offer. Having your Google My Business listing up to date is important whether or not you choose to be active on your Google+ page. People visiting your Google+ page will be able to see your posts and pictures, read reviews of your business, and even write a review of their own. 
• Twitter - Unlike Facebook and Google, Twitter is a faster paced social media site. Posts are required to be short (no more than 140 characters in length) and are meant to convey something currently taking place. People active on Twitter often post multiple times each day. If you decide to have both a Facebook and Twitter page, you can link your Facebook to automatically post on Twitter, but it is not recommended to have your Twitter feed post automatically to Facebook as there are usually too many Tweets which Facebook users tend to find annoying. 
• Pinterest - This social media website operates on a more visual level. Pinners post pictures they have found across the web with a link for more information. Your business can use a Pinterest account to post a picture from your website that may give tips or interesting information for people. The link to your website will drive traffic your direction while promoting your business' offerings. 

Obviously, there are many more social media websites to consider and you will want to find the ones that work best for you.

Remember, Impressions Review Managing is here to help!  Check more of our blog articles, our website, or contact our friendly team today!

Writing Your Website Content: Marketing Tips for SEO

Website Content Written for SEO​

Writing content for websites seems like it should be a simple thing. Focus on local marketing, provide the best information for your clients, make it professional but inviting, and you should be good to go. 

There was a time when that was enough, but then the major search engines were developed. To help the masses of people wanting to use the internet, they had to find a way to sift through the content on websites to provide the best search results. Writing content to fit what the search engines want is part of what is commonly called, SEO or Search Engine Optimization.

Many articles can and have been written on SEO and there are many pieces to the search engine algorithms, but some of the most important to keep in mind as you write your web content include:

• Page Length - Search engines look for average length web pages to rank highest in their results. Typically between 250 to 500 words is the optimum length.
• Headings - Knowing that headings often give a good summary of content, take care to write your headings with common search words included. Don't sacrifice the quality or readability of the page though!
• Links - The quality of a website in the eyes of the search engines also includes where you link to and who is linking to you. Provide both internal and external links on your webpages to increase your search engine standing.
• Readability - With many people using smart phones and tablets to search the Web, content written in short chunks is much easier to navigate than long paragraphs. Break up your work and use bullet points to help people skim your pages. 

Search Engine Optimization takes a lot of attention to detail, but the payoff can be significant. Remember that IRM is here to help!