Tips on Social Media Marketing With Facebook

Website Tips No Responses »
Feb 072012

Planning and executing effective marketing is a challenge for every business. Give your marketing efforts new life by using social media.

Facebook has over 300 million users. This may seem like a huge number for you to target but Facebook offers a very powerful way to build a social marketing presence and connect to prospects at a low cost.

If you’re business is not already active on Facebook; get started right away!

Tip #1:  Search Facebook for your competition and take a look at their Facebook set up. Spend some time reading their posts, looking photos and/or videos and get an understanding of how they’re using Facebook to market themselves. Note the types of Pages they have created, any groups they have created, and how many fans do they have?

Tip #2:  Be aware that if you use your company name for your personal account, you won’t be able to use it for your company’s Fan Page (Fan Pages have special rules).  Create a page before reserving your company’s name.

Tip #3:  Register a Business Account on Facebook.  There are limitations on these types of accounts but you’ll have a Business Fan Page to send out your message. As people register as a “fan” they will view your updates as they flow to their pages. You can also link to local ads on Facebook.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: ,

Are Website Builders for you?

Website Tips, Website Tools No Responses »
Jan 242012

Website builders (and website creation software) are tools that give you a way to build and design your own site. Website builders are intended to be for the DYI (do-it-yourself) person with little knowledge of programming code like HTML or PHP.

Many website builders are free as long as you use the hosting provider that offers that free service. An alternative is to purchase the software and then you have the flexibility of hosting the site anywhere you want.

According the web builder experts, your website builder should:

-          include a good library of webpage templates. 

-          allow you to add scripts such as JavaScript and VBScript.

-          include multimedia such as Flash animation, video and audio.

-          offer ecommerce, shopping carts or the ability to sell goods and services online.

-          include FTP functions.

-          let you edit the HTML code directly, if necessary.

-          come with a large selection of images like clip art, animated .gifs, and buttons.

-          allow you to optimize, resize, and crop images.

-          be easy to use.

-          offer a user guide, an on-line knowledgebase and some limited technical support.

I recently read an ad for a web building tool that claimed, “….you can build a new website in minutes!”  I just shake my head because I don’t know of any do-it-yourself project that can be completed in minutes.  More often than not, overwhelmed and frustrated people call Comstar for help because they’re in over their head using a web builder.   Sometimes the web builder was too limited and couldn’t do the things they wanted it to do.  Or, they got started and discovered that they just don’t have the time to complete such a big project.   

What I hear most from business owners is that they want their site to be easy to manage, easy to update.  And they want to leave the web building to someone else!  If you’ve reached this point, call me, Bryn, at 262-953-6025 or visit me on the web, www.comstar.biz.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: , ,

Creating Websites – Exposing the Myths

Website Tips No Responses »
Jan 032012

It’s time to build a new website or update a current one.  Now what?  How do you determine which website professional is right for you and your business?  There are many half-truths or even complete lies out there.  I have made a small list of website myths and busted them for you!  My hope is that it will help educate you so you can make an informed decision about your next website.

A website design company is the same as a website development company.

False.  Website design companies create good looking sites that are visually appealing but lack the ability to interest and guide visitors to what they really want to accomplish.  A website needs to be USEFUL and USED, going beyond the look and feel .  The purpose of a website development company is to provide it all; design, functionality, quality traffic and conversion.   

Adding a blog to your website is a waste of time and money.

False.  Nearly 40% of businesses in the U.S. use a blog as a part of their internet marketing strategy and report that it is vital for establishing credibility with their target audience and improving the quality of their website visitors.  These businesses also claim that their website blog increases lead generation by approximately 90%. 

The design elements of the website are the most important.

False.  Today’s web designers have tools with lots of artistic capabilities.  They can use Flash, shadows, even 3D effects to give you the unique “WOW” factor you’re looking for.   Be careful.  Research studies have shown that only 10% of web visitors are awed by the design of a website.  76% of web users are more interested in sites that are easy to use and helpful in finding what they’re looking for.  Visitor satisfaction means user-friendly navigation, painless shopping and up-to-date content.

A mobile version of your website is not worthwhile.

False.   Accessing the web using a mobile device is a growing trend that, in my opinion, is not going to go away anytime soon.  Many professional web development companies offer mobile friendly versions of both new and existing websites.   For some businesses, a mobile version might not be important due to the age of the target market.  But that could change quickly.  More and more older consumers are using smart phones and tablets.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: , , , , ,

Website Analytics Are Good For Business

Website Conversion, Website Tips No Responses »
Dec 062011

Web analytics is a tool used to measure, collect and analyze internet data.  Today’s analytics do more than just tally up how many visitors come to your website each month.  Analytics can tell you where your visitors go, how long they stay there, and whether or not they complete the sale, sign up or achieve whatever conversion goal you have in mind.

Your Internet marketing efforts can benefit from learning as much about your website visitors as possible.  Analytics can show visitor traffic increases or decreases after the launch of new advertising or promotional campaigns.  It is perfect for tracking trends.  Analytics can help you see if changes to your website impacted your sales and conversions.

If your site can make the visitor feel the experience was natural and easy, then you’ve connected with them in a way that will grow your business.  They will visit more often and recommend your site to friends.  Analytics can help you make your site do this by giving you feedback to changes that improve your site.  And improve your bottom line!

Website analytics can help the marketing executive determine which online ad is the most effective, which keywords lead to conversions, what traffic trends do visitors respond to the most. 

Analytics can also point the weaknesses in your site such as visitors leaving the site before taking action, or abandoning their shopping cart in the middle of a purchase process.

Your business wants valuable, loyal customers and website analytics can provide you with enough information to find them and, more importantly, to keep them.  Comstar has experts on staff to talk to you about your analytics options.  We offer both server-based website statistics and  website based Google Analytics.  Visit www.comstar.biz or email Bryn at bkirk@comstar.biz.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Mobile Devices and Tablets Drive 7% of Total U.S. Digital Traffic

Website Tips No Responses »
Nov 292011

A recent report from comScore,Inc. called “Digital Omnivores”, revealed that nearly 7% of digital traffic in the U.S. is driven by smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.  The report says that digital media consumption is exploding and the impact on online visitation is tremendous!

The term “digital omnivore” is defined by the report as “a consumer who accesses content through several touchpoints during the course of their daily lives”. 

The report goes on to say that, “…in order to meet the needs of these consumers, advertisers and publishers must learn to navigate this new landscape so they develop cross-platform strategies to effectively engage their audiences.”

According to the report, half of the total U.S. mobile population uses mobile media and those mobile media users grew 19 percent to more than 116 million people at the end of summer 2011. Almost 54% of tablet owners use their tablets to research information before making a purchase.

What does that mean for your business website? It means you need to have a mobile presence for a connected device (phone or tablet) in addition to your current web/internet presence.  If your website is not optimized for mobile devices, now is the time to act!

Interested in learning more about making your website mobile compatible?  Please give Bryn a call at 262-953-6025 or visit www.comstar.biz.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: , , ,

Cloud Computing

Website Tips No Responses »
Nov 222011

Understanding the concept of Cloud computing has been compared to electricity – you don’t have to see it or understand it, you just use it and it works! 

“The Cloud” has a real definition, too.  It provides a service that you can access from your computer or mobile device and is delivered over the internet in real time. 

Ok, so perhaps The Cloud is a fluffy marketing term and metaphor for the Internet, but it does handle new technology in new ways.  And how is using the cloud different from how you are using technology right now? 

Well, most of the time, if you want to do word processing or send emails, you have to open a program on your computer like Microsoft Word or Outlook.  Also, if you want to save something, you store it on your hard drive.  Most of what you do on a computer is operated by the computer using the installed software.  Make sense so far? 

Good.  If you switch to using Cloud computing,  a lot of your “stuff” – documents, emails, pictures– is no longer stored on your computer (or other devices) but is kept on remote servers probably operated by familiar names such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon.   In addition, you no longer open a program on your computer, you open your browser or app and work off “the net”.

For business owners, cloud computing is especially good news. Businesses no longer need an infrastructure of networked computers in the office and an IT department running it.  For individuals, cloud computing frees them from having to buy special software to run on their computers and other tech devices. 

The cloud can provide apps, software, data access, storage and backups, all from web-based tools.

I have read that The Cloud was made possible by the development of high speed internet connections and the technology of vast information sharing and handling that came from search engines like Google and Yahoo.  Those combined advances led to the cloud computing we are getting to know today.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: , ,

Backing Up Your Blog Content

Website Tips No Responses »
Nov 152011

It’s not enough to back up your blog template because it is not the look and feel of your blog site that matters.  It is what you have to say that counts.

If you have a separate corporate blog that links to your corporate website, then it’s important to think about backing up your blog content.   Your blog site is a tool; it educates your customers, it demonstrates your expertise and it helps to drive traffic to your website.  You don’t want to lose all that search engine traction or the comments and interactions with your customers.

Let’s say you have a blog set up at WordPress.com.  I know WordPress backs up blogs, but I recommend you learn to export your blog content yourself and do it often, especially if you change content daily.  It is also a good idea when you have multiple users assigned to your blog.  Administrators and editors are able to delete posts or pages and there would be no way to restore material that is accidentally removed from your blog. 

Use the WordPress dashboard (WordPress Database Backup Plugin)  to export or use FTP to download both your database and filebase (XML files).  This filebase should contain your posts, media (video and images) pages, plugins, comments, categories, and tags.

If the worst thing should happen – your blog site crashes- having a contingency plan is a good idea.  The plan should include the following:

-          Restore the database from the backup file.

-          Upload (FTP) your most recent backed up blog filebase.

-          Use Google or Yahoo search engine “cache” feature to recover any recent articles that were posted after the last backup.  It may be that one of the main search sites (Google, Yahoo and Bing) indexed and cached, or saved, the content of a page from one of your recent posts. 

Exporting your blog content does not necessarily mean the templates associated with your blog are backed up.  Template backups should be available by your blog account provider.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 12:00 PM Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Back Up Your Website!

Website Tips No Responses »
Nov 082011

Backing up a website is one of those things we often forget only to realize what a poor decision that was when it’s too late.

Why do we skip something this important?  Had we just done the simple backup, we could have restored our lost work and saved time, money and headaches!

If you read last week’s blog, you will start to understand why it is easy to let backups slide.  Most backup operations are difficult to understand and use.   It takes time and effort just to decide how to get things started.

At the very least, every business should have a copy of their original website design, its contents, photos, graphics and databases.

There are many online backup services out there.  In one click, you can “zip” up your website and store it off-site on the service provider’s server.  Or, you can use FTP to download a copy of your website files to a back up folder of your own computer.

Of course, the easiest solution is to let someone else take care of it!  Comstar backs up websites that subscribe to our Small Business Hosting plan, $29.95/month.  We do a full back up on websites and databases each week.  Then, we back up incrementally each night to save your daily changes and updates. 

What if you host with Comstar but did not sign up for the Small Business plan?  Simply visit us at www.comstar.biz or give me a call at 262-953-6025 if you want to upgrade your hosting plan to include backups.

Just imagine the piece of mind you’ll have knowing there is a backup of your website.  Plus, when your website is backed up off-site, it means it’s safe even if a major disaster such as flood, fire or tornado strikes your office! 

What happens if disaster should hit Comstar?  We have backups of backups – and we store them away from our building for safe keeping.  Some say we are overly cautious.  Would you have it any other way?

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:10 AM Tagged with: , , ,

Data Backup Basics

Website Tips No Responses »
Nov 012011

Protecting your computer/ business data is a top priority.  The idea is simple enough, but choosing the right type of backup plan or program can be difficult.

The main goal of data backup is to create a copy of the data so that if the data is lost or corrupted, it can be restored.  Thus, data backup is only one part of the operation….data recovery is the other. 

Data backup is sometimes confused with data storage or archiving.  Data in storage is not currently being used so the primary or original data is moved out of the way.  Backups involve a secondary set or a copy of something that is being used.  Storage is often a low cost service while backup and retrieval services cost more.

There are three types of data backup: full, incremental and differential.

Full backups.   A full backup makes a copy of ALL data and transfers it to tape, DVD or CD. This action takes a while to complete and uses a lot of storage space, but recovery is fairly quick.  Every business should do this at least weekly.

Incremental backups.  After making a full backup, most companies find it important to make incremental backups at least daily. This gives maximum protection of data that is constantly changing or updating.  Incremental backups backup any files that have changed since the last incremental backup.  This means the backup is faster and takes up less space that a full back up.  There is a down side, however.  Restoration of incremental backup files takes longer because you must restore the last full backup along with the incremental ones performed since that time.

Differential backups.  A differential backup is similar to an incremental except that it will copy all data changed from last full backup.  Thus, differential backups require even more space and extra time to complete than incremental backups.

Perhaps the most effective backup strategy is to use a combination of at least two types of backups.  For example:  full weekly + differential daily or full weekly + incremental daily. 

At the end of day, it isn’t really a question of whether to backup your data or not, but rather, which combination of backup scenarios best fit your business and data security goals.  Oh yes, and your budget!

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 10:00 AM Tagged with: , , ,

How Important Has The Internet Become?

Website Tips No Responses »
Oct 252011

And The Internet Survey Says……………..

A recent survey, “2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report”, reveals that the Internet is perceived as important to our lives as water, food or air. More than half of those that responded said they could not live without the Internet.

The international study consisted of two surveys; one included 2,800 college students from 14 different countries and the other included 2,800 young working professionals in their 20s.

33% of college students and employees surveyed around the world believe the Internet is a “fundamental resource for the human race—as important as air, water, food and shelter.” 

Almost 50% believe it is “pretty close” to that importance.

66% of college students respond that a mobile device such as a laptop, smart phone or tablet is “the most important technology in their lives.”

58% of young employees respond that a smart phone will be ready to pass desktop computers as the most technological tool.

19% of college students believe their smart phones are their most important device used every day compared to their desktop computers. 

91% of college students and 88% of employees said they have a personal Facebook account and about 77% check the account at least once per day.  33% check their account at least 5 times a day!

84% of the college students surveyed said they are interrupted at least once per hour while doing projects or homework by texts, social media updates and phone calls.  Nearly 19% indicated that they are interrupted about once every 10 minutes!

70% of employees said they have “friended” their supervisor and/or co-workers on Facebook.

Sure, the internet is important to me – it makes my life a lot easier – but I would never say it’s as important as food or shelter.  Of course, I’m not a college student anymore or a “young” professional as these survey takers were.  I do realize, however, that the younger generation is all about technology.

 If you want to tap into today’s techno generation, your website should part of their world.  Visit our website, www.comstar.biz, or give me a call and I’ll help you take your website to the next level.

Posted by Bryn Kirk at 12:00 PM Tagged with: , ,
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