The Best Digital Marketing New Year’s Resolutions for Crushing It In 2018

Digital Marketing

After the last echoes of ringing in the New Year subside, everyone reflects on how to make 2018 better through their own actions. If you’re a digital marketer, this time marks the perfect opportunity to set ambitious goals and pledge to cut out bad habits.

 

To help inspire you to do better in the New Year and meet success head on, here are our 5 top recommended digital marketing New Year’s resolutions for 2018.

Read More

One Habit That Will Immediately Improve Your Online Reputation

Online Reputation

Millions of business owners all over the world struggle when it comes to generating a positive image of their company online. Despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to get momentum behind people expressing positive sentiment.

 

But one simple strategy can change all that: ask for a review.

 

Businesses that consistently ask people to review them after a transaction or service has been completed are far more likely to receive a higher volume of positive reviews. They also tend to get more detailed feedback from both happy and unhappy customers, which can inform strategic improvements.

Read More

8 Secrets of Social Media Marketing That Everyone Misses

social media marketing

Social media marketing sounds simple enough to many newbie business owners, but they need to recognize the difference between personal social media use and professional use.

 

Think about it like this: if you make a good pot of coffee to serve your family, then that’s something you can manage on your own. But if you plan on serving 1,000 cups of coffee to peers over the course of a three-day business conference, then that’s an entirely more complex matter!

 

Everything gets more complicated when you move from personal to professional, and the results matter more, too.

Read More

How to Market to Different Generations on Social Media

 

social media

Social media is becoming an ever-increasing part of running a business – but where do you start when you need to narrow down your target audience? What inspires each generation the most?

While it’s clear to see that social media platforms such as Facebook are firm favorites across the board, there are differences that could mean your marketing efforts aren’t maximized if using the wrong platform for your target audience. What might work for Generation Z won’t necessarily work for Baby Boomers and vice versa.

There are a number of different factors that relate to social media with each generation, and each one of these factors can impact how successful a marketing campaign is so it’s important to know what these are and how you can utilize them.

Read More

Five Star Reviews For Local Search Essentials From Satisfied Customers | Internet Marketing St Augustine FL

First of all, our reputation is an essential part of who we are. At Local Search Essentials, we take pride in serving our customers to the best of our ability.

Click here to see more reviews from satisfied customers like the one below and give our Facebook page a like:

Local Search Essentials

At Local Search Essentials, we are industry pioneers and leaders in helping local businesses & organizations attract customers via search engines & local business directories. Turn strangers into customers & promoters of your business! We do it all, so you can focus on what you do best… Running Your Business! Call us now (904) 823-9747

The Top Five Social Media Trends

Social media is an integral part of online marketing, and it’s always changing. What’s trending
today may be completely irrelevant to the social media trends tomorrow. It is necessary to stay up to date with social
trends and know when to adopt a new social strategy or when to let a trend simply pass by.
Here’s a look at the top five social media trends of the moment to guide your social media
marketing strategy and improve how you communicate with customers.

Integrated Video Is the New Standard
YouTube is a social media powerhouse, and the reason is simple: People would rather watch
videos than read articles. Videos are easily digestible, entertaining, and highly sharable. Because
of this, other social media sites are placing an emphasis on video. Facebook gives businesses the
ability to upload videos directly to the social media site and embed them on other sites. Other
social platforms will likely follow, making a video strategy a necessity for a strong social
marketing campaign.

Social Media Includes “Buy Now” Options
Along with integrated video, social media sites are offering the option to buy products from third
party advertisers without leaving the page. This could allow you to see increased conversions
and create more focused social ads that pay for themselves.

In-the- Moment Posts Are Increasing
Live streaming video and in-the- moment posts are a huge trend among social users. Sharing a
snapshot of one’s own life or the day-to- day business operations has become so popular that apps
like Periscope are being built simply to live stream videos. This shift may require you to adjust
your strategy to include more in-the- moment updates rather than just scheduling out your posts.

Blogging Is Happening on Social Sites
However, there is still room for scheduled content when it comes to long-form social posts.
Blogging is back, and it is taking place largely on social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Not only is long-form content bringing more visitors to businesses’ social pages, but it can have
an incredibly positive impact on your search engine rankings overall.

For an in-depth look at all of your digital marketing needs and goals, call us today. (904) 823-9747

How to Handle Negative Reviews

Online reviews have become commonplace as part of the shopping experience for consumers seeking local services. In fact, a recent Local Consumer Review Survey showed that 92% of consumers read online reviews, and 40% of consumers form an opinion after reading just 1-3 reviews. What’s more is that the star rating has become a leading factor by which consumers judge a business. This means that even one or two negative reviews of your business on sites like Yelp or Google+ could have a significant impact as potential customers search for services online. While standard practices of popular review sites will not let you simply delete most negative reviews, you can reduce the negative press of these reviews by joining the conversation and responding to customers who have had bad experiences with your business. Read on to discover more about the best strategies for handling negative reviews with ongoing reputation management.

Find the Source of the Review

Legitimate reviews from real customers will not usually be taken down by the review site, regardless of how negative the reviews are, because review sites are intended to serve as a forum for customers to share their experiences. You can, however, have non-legitimate reviews—those written by direct competitors, for example—taken down by contacting the review site directly and identifying the source of the review.

Respond to Legitimate Negative Reviews

Ignoring a one- or two- star review can be a detrimental step for your reputation management, because negative reviews actually present opportunities to offer great customer service. When you respond to negative reviews, you are not only taking important steps to turn a bad experience with your company into a positive one, but you are showing prospects that you care about customer satisfaction. In some cases, you might discuss the issue on the open forum of the review site, or it may be more appropriate to offer the customer a chance to resolve the issue via phone or email. In either situation, you will want to be polite and take strides to highlight the positive aspects of your business.

Encourage Clients to Post Positive Reviews

One negative review will be much less impactful when it is among a long list of positive customer reviews. While you should not offer direct incentives to get customers to post positive reviews, you might simply encourage clients to like your business on popular review sites. Of course, offering great customer service is the first step in prompting positive reviews, but you might also make it easier for customers to post reviews by using widgets from review and social sites on your own website.

negative reviews

Negative reviews do not have to take down your business. To speak with one of our marketing experts about reputation management and other elements of a comprehensive online marketing strategy, give Local Search Essentials a call for your initial consultation with our team. (904) 823-9747

What You Need to Know About Local Listings

local listingsAs you invest in online marketing efforts for your business, you might wonder how ads and optimized pages will reach clients in your area. Maintaining accurate local listings is an important tactic in reaching the audiences you want to interact with your website. However, there are some misconceptions about local listings that can impact your visibility when local individuals perform searches relevant to your business. While some business owners assume that local listings auto-update, local listings do actually require some effort to remain accurate.  And to drive traffic not only to your website, but also to your physical location.

Small businesses need to manage their own local listings.

Most businesses will have listings that they did not create. Addresses may be automatically pulled from maps, government documents, local directories, or even your website. Therefore, you only need to claim and manage listings rather than create them yourself. In addition to updating your listing with a current address, name, and phone number, there is also another task. You should categorize your business to ensure that it shows up correctly in local searches. It is also important to manage local listings in all major directories. You do not want to rely entirely on services like Google My Business. Consistent, accurate listings can go a long way. This means that it is worth the time to manage all existing listings with the right information.

Local listings can improve visibility and leads.

A local listing contributes to your SEO efforts. It does this by increasing the likelihood that your business will come up in a set of local listings on a search engine results page. It can also improve visibility of your physical location when a person uses Google Maps or any other online map service. Another important attribute of well-managed local listings is mobile marketing. This is becoming increasingly important in the changing landscape of web searches.

A growing number of people browse exclusively on mobile devices. You should not overlook the value of reaching these audiences, which begins with your local listings.

Managing local listings can help you beat out national competitors.

If you are competing against businesses that serve a national market rather than a single local area, your local listing is critical to achieving visibility above your competition. The good news is that Google will reward your listing for having local address and contact information within a given area. To give your local listing even more power against national competitors, include pictures and reviews in your listing.

Like many online advertising efforts, managing local listings is an area where you can find help from local experts. We are ready to boost the visibility of your business. To see how Local Search Essentials can assist in maintaining your local listing and improving your SEO, call us today for a consultation. (904) 823-9747 Or sign-up for a free analysis by clicking here.