What is a Content Management System? How best do I edit my site?
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Uncategorized on February 1st, 2010
What is a Content Management System?
It used to be back in the day that you put a web site up on the web and then left it. Well, as search engines started rewarding web sites whose content was regularly being updated, it became more important for web sites to be easier to edit. Also, most marketing these days drives people to a web site where visitors should be able to easily connect the offline advertising or message with what’s on the company site. That means, content will probably need to change often, to coordinate with whatever special, incentive, message etc. is out there. Now with social media booming, integrating the content with your social pages, content that is constantly changing, is another reason why “How do I keep my site up-to-date?” is a growing issue.
There are 2 basic ways you can address edits:
- Hire an outside developer, agency, IT person to make the edits for you
- Utilize a program, software or Content Management System (CMS) so you or your staff can self-edit
So, what is a CMS? It’s typically a log-in, non-public system, meaning anyone who visits the web site will not know of its existence. Only people provided with a username and password would be able to access it. Through this system, personnel would be able to edit information, typically text, such as pricing, specials or even photo galleries. A CMS is not usually used for pages like About Us or Contact Us, mainly because that information is pretty much going to stay the same for long periods of time.
When trying to decide which option is best for you, here are some things to think about:
- How much time do you or your staff have to spend on editing the site?
- Most of my clients really want a self-editing CMS, but don’t realize that even with a user-friendly system, that it still requires them to sit down and make the edits themselves.
- Depending on how much time you have during the day, it’s sometimes quicker to just E-mail a change and have someone take care of it for you.
- How quickly do changes need to be made?
- If you want to be able to make changes instantly, a CMS may be the way to go.
- When working with an agency or IT person for example, there will probably be a 24-48 lag time between your change request and that change being executed.
- How comfortable are you with learning a new system?
- There are thousands of ways you can build a CMS, but bottom-line, you do have to be comfortable with learning a new system, making mistakes and experimenting.
- Even the most intuitive of systems will take a little time to acclimate oneself to.
- Cost versus Need
- Ask yourself – how often do you need to make changes on the site? If it’s not often, you may just want to use a developer or IT person.
- If you feel your site needs to be updated frequently (1x per week for example), you may want to pay to develop a CMS.
- A CMS will cost you more upfront, but depending on your developer or agency’s hourly rate for example, if edits are frequent enough, a CMS may be worth the additional upfront costs.
I would like to bring up that even if you have a Content Management System, you will still need a developer in many cases. A CMS is a tool to edit easily editable information that needs to be refreshed frequently. So, the key is 1) easy-to-edit content and 2) content that needs to be edited often.
CMS is not usually a creative editing tool. For example, if you have a photo on your home page, you may be able to take down or upload a new photo, but you will often times not be able to edit the photo itself, for example to re-size the photo, fix the coloring, etc. Also, anything that moves, for example your navigation, flash intros, videos etc. are usually not included in a CMS as the time to develop a useful CMS to edit such functions would exceed the benefits and would probably also be too complicated for the average person to be able implement, even with a well-developed system. For these types of changes, I suggest using a professional web programmer or developer.
Bottom line, there are a ton of “can’ts” and “cans” when it comes to developing a CMS. It will be important for you to outline what you want to be able to edit and then place the onus on the person developing the site or functions to tell you whether or not it’s logistically possible, and if they are honest, whether or not you really need a CMS based on your objectives. As mentioned, sometimes using a developer for 2 to 3 hours per month can save you a lot of headaches and may actually be cheaper. One last thought – if you want written instructions or a manual on how to use your CMS, make sure to let the developer know. It may lead to an increased cost, due to the extra time it would take to develop a manual, but it may be worth it if several people will be using the CMS for example, or if you learn better by reading.
Brought to you by CEA Marketing Group. www.ceamarketing.com
CEA Marketing Makeover: Interviews
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in CEA Marketing Makeover on February 1st, 2010
Hello,
My name is Jennifer and I am an Account Manager at CEA Marketing Group and will be working with the CEA Marketing Makeover Contest winner! If you’ve ever wondered how an agency works or what working with CEA would be like – I will be documenting the entire experience from start to finish via this blog.
We were extremely excited about our response. We received over 50 entries from various businesses throughout Florida. CEA, like everyone else, was working with a minimal advertising budget 
, always key these days, and were elated with our results. Most of our entries came in off of our E-mail campaign, as well as Facebook.
Last week, we wrapped up the majority of our interviews. We selected the top 14 contestants and invited them all to an agency meet and greet. First, we filmed each of them as they pitched why their company deserves to be selected. Everyone did a great job! I was very impressed; most everyone did it without a script.
We then sat down and asked some questions. It was fascinating learning about all these different types of businesses from a Moving Company to an Auto Repair Shop to a National Plastics Chain to a High-end Doggie Merchandise web site, Derby Darlins and Football . . . there were so many great stories and so much opportunity for success.
I will be posting our top 5 contestants online no later than Monday.
Once we select our winner – let the fun begin!
Thoughts on Social Media as a Customer Service Tool
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2010
I know a lot has been publicized about using social media as a way of providing excellent customer service. I think this is just one way social media can be used; it’s also probably the most time-consuming and has the greatest possibility for doing more harm than good. The reason I say that . . . unless you have expert personnel able to address customer service inquiries, complaints etc. quickly and efficiently, than using social media to show off how much you care, your responsive and knowledge etc. isn’t really going to work all that well. If you do consumer forums where customers help customers, I can see that working, but none of the social media platforms in my opinion, lend themselves to that function very well. Plus, you have to have highly invested individuals or advocates of your brand or product that would participate – very difficult to gain traction in.
I’m in the camp that social media doesn’t have to be a customer service tool and in most cases, actually should not be one. You, as a company investing in social media, are contributing lots of money and time to making these social pages work for you. Yes, there is the interaction part, which is great and everything, but you don’t have to allow people to bash your brand on a site you are paying for. That’s just silly really. If someone posts something you don’t like on your page, you aren’t committing some sort of cardinal social media sin by erasing it. Just because a lot of people know about this customer service in social media idea, you set the objectives and purpose of your page. Consumers may feel entitled to voice their opinion, but you also have the right to manage your page the way you want. For most of my clients, we will leave criticism up if it meets a standard of intelligence, meaning it’s not the ranting of a crazed and incoherent individual. If it actually has some substance and is written in a respectful and thoughtful way, we keep it. But, set a protocol for how to handle negative feedback ahead of time, because it probably will happen at some point, and you should have philosophy on how to handle those situations. Also, if you don’t want to use your page for customer service, make sure to not include any posts or language that would lead people to think that. That way, you aren’t falsely promising something you can’t really deliver on.
Brought to you by CEA Marketing Group.
Hiring a Web Developer Versus a Web Company
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Design, Marketing, Web on November 3rd, 2009
Hiring a Web Developer Versus a Web Company
When you are looking to design or redesign a web site, it’s a good idea to get multiple quotes. Often times, the pricing will vary from company to company. Some times, we as an agency quote against a single individual, often a developer who knows how to program web sites. Although, this may be a great option, as it is often less expensive to use a developer instead of hire a web company, there are some things you should consider before committing.
1. Redoing the web site is usually more expensive than doing it right the first time. A web site is not only a monetary investment but a huge time investment, and usually, you get what you pay for. All developers / web companies are not created equal, so make sure when you are comparing quotes that you realize the difference between a developer and a web company.
2. Web developers will often expect you, the client, to drive the strategy of the web site. There is a lot involved in how a web site is put together; what should go on what page; how the site should be organized; what the functionality on each page should be etc. If you are comfortable providing that type of direction, a web programmer is probably a good option for you.
3. Web developers usually don’t come up with your key word strategy or your copy. The client in this scenario often has to provide the copy to the developer and then the developer will drop that copy in to the design. There is often times not a back and forth, consulting, copy-writing role when working with a solitary developer.
4. Developers have a very distinct way of designing. Usually, there is a web designer and then there is a back-end developer, at least two people working on one project. When working with an individual developer, if you are going for a certain type of look, or a certain level of sophistication with your site, I suggest asking for design examples, and make sure they were the one’s that actually designed the site, not just programmed it.
5. Developers are more accustomed to working on one project per day. Multi-tasking, meeting with the client, organizing feedback, providing updates, taking notes on revisions, translating direction and proofing are all examples of tasks that a lot of developers are not extremely comfortable with. This role is typically filled by a project manager or account executive when working with a web company. This individual would manage the job, serving as the liaison between client and artist. This individual is specifically trained to work with the client and make sure the vision and direction of the client is noted and realized.
6. Developers often times do not provide very in-depth proposals. This means, that you don’t have a very clear picture of what is included, which can be problematic. It’s often good practice to have a very detailed and accurate outline of what the web site scope of work is so you know for sure that what you want is indeed understood, and more importantly, that the final product meets your expectations and objectives.
7. Because search engine optimization starts with a SEO-friendly design and programming, make sure that your web developer or web company understands how to design for search engines. Good on-site SEO is very important when investing in a web site, as you want to position your site to grow in search engine ranking over time. Also, you may want to find a web company that can also implement an off-site SEO campaign, like link-building for example. (It may also be helpful to work with a social media web company, so you can integrate all of your online efforts with your web site design.)
Web developers are a really great option for clients that are technically-savvy and confident in their writing skills. It’s also a good option for people that can package and deliver exactly what they are looking for and don’t need the consulting or strategic management indicative of an experienced web company. Also note the additional time commitment on the “client” side as you will be the primary driver for the project. In my experience, if you want a 20 page web site complete in 2 months, estimate out on average 2 hours a day at least if you have to create the strategy and web flow chart, work personally with the developer and write and edit copy.
My final word of advice would be to ask for references, for a developer or a web company, and then actually call the references!
Good luck on your web ventures!
Complainers on Social Media – What to do?
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Social media, Uncategorized on October 23rd, 2009
Complainers on Social Media – What to do?
Advice on how to write an effective complaint.
When we first started learning about social media, one of the most pervasively sited reasons for delving in was the idea that the “conversation” is going on without you; you might as well participate; it’s a golden opportunity for you to be able to influence and respond to the dialogue versus simply ignoring it. This is especially true with negative feedback I think – I buy in to the idea that it’s better to know about it then be completely ignorant to it – and I also buy in to the idea that it can help drive positive changes within your company/product/service, that is, if your company structure is flexible enough and has the time and personnel to be making responsive changes.
Anyhoo, what I’ve realized recently is that this whole idea of engaging “influencers” and targeted groups is great when it’s all positive, but when you are dealing with an angry, frustrated or disappointed individual, it’s very hard to know what to do. There are two ways to probably look at this situation: 1) This is a great opportunity to showcase our customer service skills 2) Wow, this looks really bad; we need to get rid of this post. Now, you may poo poo on the option 2, but honestly, I know very few companies who feel comfortable getting in a pissing match with an irate customer that is most likely not going to be swayed by a compelling argument, no matter how sincere, congenial or right the argument may be, especially in such a public forum. You run the risk of further infuriating the negative “post-er” and you also run the risk of making the other people in your social media community uncomfortable. For me, there is really no light
at the end of the tunnel that is assured when reaching out to the angry, let alone a predictable response when engaging the author of a negative comment; you may just be adding fuel to the fire. So, what do you do?
Here is one suggestion I thought of, although this is just an idea meant only for discussion; I have no idea if this would be the “right” course of action:
If someone does post a negative comment and you don’t feel comfortable leaving it on your wall for example on Facebook, take it down, but let them know via a message that the comment did not go unnoticed. The next step in my example is inviting them to share their opinions on a blog or in a forum; you would like them to be able to weigh in on the important topic they brought up. You can create a specific entry or topic around that complaint, and then have a subject matter expert within the company respond. (This is assuming that the negative comment had some semblance of intellectual value and wasn’t just a string of manipulated, but obvious expletives.) A blog or forum is more conducive to in-depth conversation, dialogue that can’t be achieved in short posts like on Facebook. And in my opinion, both offer a more appropriate platform for this type of communication; you are not ignoring the individual. You are actually giving them a voice in an arena that is more private for you, the business, (Not public on a “wall” that pops up on all your fans or friends pages.) yet STILL AVAILABLE to the public – since some people just want to make a “public” stink. And, you are actually doing a couple of things that social media people always tout – ENGAGING and LEARNING!
(One caveat to my previous statement about blogs and forums being more “private”, bloggers link to other bloggers, and the viral growth and page ranking growth of a blog or forum can be greater than a Facebook page in a lot of ways. You of course don’t want this blog or forum coming up higher on Google than your company web site, especially if it’s addressing a cluster of complaints, so I would put together a Key Word avoid List, so that the author avoids using certain words and tags.)
Back to my point – with a blog or a forum, you’re also providing great content that others may find interesting and compelling. For forums specifically, content is more like a discussion, so others may feel the need to defend, agree, disagree, etc. All great stuff. And, you don’t just have to address complaints; the majority pf posts can be about the good stuff going on, educational stuff, editorial stuff etc. One of the main pitfalls of my defer-to-blog idea, is you have to have someone with the time and confidence to be the discussion point person on behalf of the company. This can be a very difficult situation in that if something is said that is wrong, it may fall back on this individual, and often times, having an approval process can be too tedious – by the time a discussion or content is approved, it may be too late. A possible solution to this is to not make it an obvious company blog – meaning don’t post Official CEA Blog all over the place or host it on your company site etc.
Disclose that the author works for and is paid by CEA, but the comments and discussions this individual posts represent their opinions only. You still have to have a huge trust factor, but this may be a good option for some. Lastly, one other pitfall is that most companies are uncomfortable with housing a collection of complaints in one place and making it so readily available for anyone to find it on the web. This is a legitimate issue; so it’s really just weighing your options:
1. Take down the post – that’s that (May even want to block the post-er.)
PS – There is no shame in this! It’s your social media page. And, if you don’t want to be social with someone who is slamming you, it’s your right to manage the page the way you want! You don’t “owe” anyone anything – this is your tool, and although ENGAGING, talking, and interacting is all part of the true beauty of social media, it’s ultimately your tool to wield and control how you see fit.
2. Talk to them on Facebook – Facebook has a “Discussion” tab where you can carry on the conversation away from the extremely exposed “wall”.
3. Alternative game plan – like the blog or forum.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure you have a protocol in place for dealing with
negativity on your social media sites. It will happen, so ya gotta have a plan.
FOR CONSUMERS:
My advice for those posting negative feedback is to keep it clean and keep it smart. I saw a post from someone on one of our client’s social media pages where they were very frustrated when trying to sign in to the web site. They went point for point, talking about what was going wrong. Turns out, there were programming issues with this crucial page, and they ended up fixing the log-in. The important thing to note, yes, she was frustrated and yes, it wasn’t a cushy post, but it was written in a way that wasn’t overtly inflammatory and that wouldn’t cause any immediate discomfort just from reading it. A post worth commenting back to! So, negative post-ers, if you want to post a complaint, concern, or vent, make sure that it’s worth posting, and don’t lash out! It will just get you removed or blocked from ever posting again. But, more importantly, if you have a legitimate statement to make, the best way to get it resolved or addressed when
using social media as your outlet is to not abuse it. In my social media world, be respectful and you’ll receive respect in return. ☺
www.ceamarketing.com
Manage Your Online Content with SilverStripe
Posted by Jason Keene in New Media, Technology, Web on October 20th, 2009
With new technologies like wave, pubsubhubbub, and rss cloud being developed and adopted the real-time web is becoming more and more a reality. If you thought Twitter was overwhelming now, imagine when there is zero delay between your status updates and your follower’s peepers. Or when you receive a push notification on your mobile the second a transaction is posted to your account. It won’t be long before the real-time experience will be expected by users and this puts a lot of pressure on content providers who would historically hide behind the technical limitations of the medium as an excuse for providing stale content.
The demand for fresh content will force everything else on the web into the background. So why is your website’s content only being updated once every three months, if that? Why is it still being maintained by the resident of your agency’s cold damp basement? Someone with the communication skills of a caveman and just so happens to refer to himself as “Web Master” or “Master of the Webiverse” in some desperate attempt to live out his He-Man fantasies, “I have the power!” This just won’t do. The time has long passed for individual businesses to take control over their own online presence, this includes your website’s content! You’d think we would be well past this by now but I’m continually surprised by how many companies I advise that don’t.
The solution, get your hands on a decent open-source CMS to manage your content such as SilverStripe, Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, etc, or insist that the web company or agency you work with provides you with one.
Why open-source and not a proprietary or home-brewed solution?
- There are no licensing fees.
- You are not subjected to vendor lock-in. In the event you have a falling out with your web company you have the right to both your data and the underlying system since it is an open platform.
- There is a huge community of developers from all over the globe continually adding new functionality to the system, and you get the result of their labor for free.
- Any additional functionality you’d typically need is available via a plugin or module and doesn’t have to be custom developed. If you want your site to integrate with your twitter feed, no problem!
- Since the source code is available for you to view and modify you can hire any developers with the appropriate skills to add in custom functionality without worrying about licensing issues or code obfuscation.
- Did I mention there are no licensing fees?
I recently have started to adopted SilverStripe as our primary platform for managing content. It is highly extensible and provides nearly all the functionality our clients typically need. If you find yourself in the above situation and want a system like this setup to manage your website’s content, we got you covered!
CEA Marketing: Social Media Done Wrong?
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Advertising, Social media on October 6th, 2009
ARTICLE
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20559
Vantage Credit Union to offer account information and funds transfers via Twitter
RESPONSE TO ARTICLE
Interesting . . . this article kind of hit a nerve today as I just had a recent convo with someone about this.
Soooooo, now I’m going to go on a soap box for a second . . .
This is just one of those things that I personally don’t think belongs in the world of social media. If you don’t want it to be shared, I don’t think it should be included in the communications plan for social media. I think it’s a cute idea, but the risks in my opinion totally outweigh the benefits. To answer general questions about the credit union, as a customer service tool that is not automated is a different story – individuals seeing that type of messaging, whereby the credit union is providing great customer service, showcasing their responsiveness and expertise, as well as showing people that they care to be there for their members is something worth using a social media platform for – where others seeing it is a benefit to the company. In this case, everything is confidential and you are using a social medium just because it’s all a-buzz right now when there are other methods that are less risky. Also, anything that relies on using an automated means of communication again goes against the grain of “Social” media. People don’t like to talk to robots – social implies people talking to people. I like their idea here, but I think it belongs with e-alerts or a log-in page on the web site, or even a log-in .mobi page so people can access it on their phones – a more secure method of communication – not to mention, you have no control over when Twitter goes down; it has a lot of technical issues, playing catch-up technically due to it’s overnight explosion, and we don’t know what improvements or changes are going to be made – The lack of control can be a dangerous thing if people start to rely on this type of usage. it seems like a very large and possibly dicey investment logistically without a lot of return, other than to say you use Twitter in a novel way.
As mentioned in the article e-alerts can basically do the same thing but don’t have the same security issues.
www.ceamarketing.com
Top 10 tips for choosing the right web company
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Web on September 9th, 2009
Top 10 tips for choosing the right web company:
You know you want to redesign your Web site; better yet, you think you may want to redesign your Web site. You’re not sure how much it would cost. You also don’t really consider yourself a “techy-type” person. So, how do you get started, and how do you choose the right company!?!
1. Ask yourself, why do I want to redesign my Web site?
This is a very important question. I usually start out a meeting asking “Why” first. The most common answer, “It looks old and isn’t a good representation of my company.” That’s a good reason to redesign! My one caveat would be though, it’s only a good reason if updating the look will help you sell more. See my opinions on when it’s the “right” decision to redesign. In short, make sure your Web site goals are on point and clear before investing your time and money.
2. Scope out the competition.
Start looking at other Web sites within your industry, companies you may be competing with and companies you feel are doing it right! Put a list together of things you like and don’t like.
3. Research web companies.
A great way to get a feel for the sophistication of a web company is to go to their Web site and snoop around. Most marketing and web companies view their Web site as a critical tool or portfolio piece, so it’s usually a good representation of the business and their capabilities. From your research, put together a list of top web companies you want to reach out to.
4. Create an RFP!
An outline of objectives or an RFP in my opinion is a critical step. And, you don’t have to be a web expert to put one together. It’s really just an organized document explaining what you want to do. The RFP would be used to guide the proposal for all of your prospective web companies so you can more easily compare apples to apples, AND ensure that what you want to accomplish is being conveyed in writing. The onus would then be placed on the web company to come back and ask good questions to help clarify a scope of work. This would also be their opportunity to make additional suggestions and to come up with creative ideas of accomplishing your goals. I will be writing another blog about how to construct a good RFP coming soon!
5. Have a budget in mind.
The concern that “I don’t know how much a web redesign costs” is a legitimate obstacle when faced with setting a budget. However, knowing how much you really have to spend on the project is different. You may have $10,000 for a site redesign, but what you want to accomplish is in the $60,000 range. If you decide to not disclose your budget, give the web company the opportunity to prioritize for you after all the money cards are laid out. Also, understand that the first proposal may have anything and everything you ever wanted included, but that based on your budget, you may not be able to afford the most glorious Web site in the universe at first. Plan on setting a follow-up meeting with the web company to review the proposal and costs. A lot of web companies can work within any budget, even around the $2,000 range these days, but you have to be prepared to prioritize and work in phases based on what you can afford.
6. Have a time line in mind.
Time line is sort of a parallel to budget; you might not know how long things take, but you know when you want to have it done. Make sure you have a general idea of when you would need the project completed by and put that in your RFP. Then, make sure you give the web company the opportunity to explain why certain objectives may take longer to accomplish and so forth. Turnaround is definitely something that should be more thoroughly discussed and outlined later on, but it gives the web company a better idea of expectations.
7. Plan on meeting face to face!
You may just call your top web companies, or you may opt to send out an open RFP requesting bids. Once you’ve narrowed down your top choices, set an appointment at their offices. I’m not saying that just because a company has a swanky office means they’re the best company for the job, but it’s not a bad idea to meet on their turf, so you can get a good insiders feel for who you will be doing business with. Or, if that is not possible, the meeting part is what’s really important. And, in my opinion, it’s really a 2 meeting process: the first to review the initial proposal more thoroughly and the 2nd to firm up the scope of work and budget.
8. Gauge follow-up.
I recommend calling to set an appointment, but you can also fill out the company’s contact us form on their Web site. The contact us test and the phone call are both good ways of gauging the responsive of your future web company. There’s nothing more frustrating than constant voice mail and no call back. Or, if you fill out a contact form and they don’t get back to you within 48 hours, that’s probably not a great sign either. If you go the contact us form route, make sure to explain what you’re looking for if an open field is available; it may help get you in touch with the right person. The reason gauging follow-up is so critical? Web sites are typically longer projects that should include a lot of talking and communication. My opinion? Find a web company that understands the importance of being available and responsive. You don’t want to pull your hair out not knowing what’s going on and not feeling like your project is important. Make sure communication is a priority.
9. Industry-specific work.
When you meet with a prospective web company, do ask what industries they have created Web sites for. Ninety percent of web companies, with some direction, can design and launch a successful Web site regardless of their past project work. However, there is a learning curve involved when implementing a Web site in an industry they may never have design for. So, experience in your specific industry shouldn’t be the end all be all, but it is an important factor to consider, especially when working on short turnaround times.
10. What’s included?
My final recommendation is to ask a lot of questions about what is included in the price. Web sites in general are actually very difficult to estimate out. The project manager you are working with has to make sure the job stays within the scope that was approved. It’s easy to get frustrated if both parties do not agree on what is included in the approved quotation. And, it’s not a bad idea to make sure that the scope is outlined in writing with the quote for both parties to reference. When client and web company are on the same page, it can be smooth sailing!
Social Media: The New Way to Win Friends and Influence People
Posted by Kelly Bosetti in Social media, Uncategorized on July 8th, 2009
Q: Everyone is using social media platforms. How have the rules changed on traditional marketing? How do you build a successful marketing program on the web?
The choices for marketing and public relations look a lot different than the old days. In the past, real estate agents could stick a for sales sign in the front yard and the phone calls would pour in. House hunters spent the weekend at open houses looking for a place to call home. Today, most industries, not just homebuilding, have to be me more creative in driving traffic to their products. Social media has become the new kid on the block that everyone wants to befriend. Because of a struggling economy and the evolution of technology in the 21st Century, we now have new online media avenues like blogs, social networking, and online forums that have homebuyers literally hanging on to the edge of their keyboards to take it all in. The web is the perfect opportunity to tell the world about your expertise. If you have not dove into the social media world, now is the time.
Understanding Social Media
Pulling a dusty encyclopedia from the family study was the old school way to research a topic unfamiliar to you. Now, we bring a cup of coffee into our home office and surf the web. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia with constantly updated definitions.
Wikipedia defines Social media as online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use.
Sound overwhelming? Take it slow. Spend time researching blogs and online forums in the homebuilding industry. Some good ones to follow are topbuilderblogs.com, and themartellexperience.com/blog/.
Writing Effective
The number one rule in marketing and public relations in the homebuilding industry is to understand the needs of the homebuyer and communicate your expertise. Think about the message you want your niche industry to hear. Writing is not a bunch of strung together adjectives that make a house sound pretty. It’s about giving the homebuyer what they want in digestible nuggets relevant to their desire to build or buy a home.
Blogs are powerful mediums in establishing connectivity because you can get instant feedback after a blog has been posted. Blogs are meant to drive action and what better way to convince someone to take that step than having the ability to respond instantaneously. Writing a blog is one of the most proactive solutions to fighting the negative mainstream media on the housing industry. You can offer custom-friendly answers to any issue that is currently flooding the market. If a newspaper columnist has written a negative piece about the down market, have your sales team put together numbers that prove otherwise in your company. Always be first and always be credible. Blogs should be well thought out communication tools not last minute thoughts thrown together. Communication is power and opting for plain language as opposed to standard industry jargon goes a long way.
Getting Followers
Building an audience for your social media efforts can be exhausting at first and it may be easy to get discouraged just understand it takes time. People need to know where to find your relevant posts. It’s best to create links to your hompage, online news room, post to your Twitter and Facebook accounts and work into online newsletters. People are even beginning to put their social media information on business cards and in their e-mail signature.
Blogs, tweets and Facebook posts should be done on a daily basis on topics of industry interest with your personality incorporated into the mix. Homebuyers like to do business with people they know and trust. Everyone including the media, homebuyers, homebuilders and your competition is on the web reading social media content.
Consistent and regular social media updates produce higher traffic with solid search engine results. Tracking your social media efforts can be done by setting up free Google alerts. An e-mail will be delivered to your inbox when the key words you have selected are published.
Once you have built a following base, you want to keep them, so ensure you are interacting with those who send you direct messages to your Twitter account or posts responses to your blog entry. Etiquette also says to follow those who are following you within reason and reply to posts in a timely fashion. Someone in your marketing department should always been monitoring your social media accounts.
Social media can be scary because there are so many unwritten rules to follow. Relax. Do your research and put together a plan of action. It may be hard to hit the send button on your first blog entry or tweet post, but once you start the rewards are plentiful.
Invest in Websites for Sales not Glory
Posted by Jennifer Maxfield in Advertising, Business, Design, Web on June 16th, 2009
So, even in a down market, I’ve been getting a lot of bites on websites.
“I need my website updated; I need a new website created.”
It’s been very exciting!!!! Plus, then you add social media in to the mix, and there is a flurry of other opportunities. I completely agree, that a good website is extremely important to have these days. A bad website can do a lot of damage; it definitely needs to be professional, and it needs to be a decent representation of your business. And, we all know people are tied to the web – Duhh. But, before you spend thousands or even hundreds of dollars on a redesign, or a spankin’ new site, make sure that it is critical to your sales process or your company’s growth. Does your website really play an integral part in landing new business or some other vital function to keep your business moving forward? Is there a huge missed opportunity because you don’t have a good website? Does your current website hurt you – turn business away? Does your site capture valuable leads that sales staff can work?
There are a ton of ways a website can be a big benefit, helping to bring in additional dollars, but if all it is is a glorified brochure, than you probably don’t need to be investing in a web revamp right now! If you have a basic site that does what it needs to do, even if looks a little 90’s or even 80’s, just make sure it’s worth the investment – not just a cosmetic make-over but an upgrade with substance. Also, if you don’t have enough bucks to extend beyond the redesign into marketing, you may want to rethink your decision to beef up or build the site. You can have the most gorgeous, interactive, engaging website in the world, but if you don’t drive anyone to it, or if it’s not built to good search engine standards, than fooey. What’s the point? IT’S NOT, IF WE BUILD IT, PEOPLE WILL COME process; you must show people the way.
Because a website can be a big undertaking, all I am saying is make sure it’s worthwhile – how do you know if it’s worthwhile – ask yourself, will it make you money? And that doesn’t mean just e-commerce. That can mean, with CEA for example, does this site accurately convey our capability as an agnecy, does it showcase our fine work, does it show our personality, expertise and company culture well enough that someone would e-mail us or call us? For an agency, these things are extremely important. Our website is a porfolio piece, and if our site wasn’t up to par, it could seriously injure us by giving the wrong impression. So the legitamacy thing, the need to impress thing, the collecting contact info thing – all vital to our business. We also market it online and in traditional advertising as well. Our website’s analytics system helps us better understand if our ads our working. That’s why we invest in our website; because it’s vital to our way of life. But to just have a beautiful trophy in the closet where no one ever sees it, well, than it becomes just another piece of not-so-important junk.