Facebook can help you do more than just advertise: it can help you actively engage your audience. Using Facebook, your audience can get to know you, but more importantly, you’ll get to know your audience and build relationships with them. When done properly the result will be a community with contributions from a variety of people, from customers to staff and prospects, and you will have turned your ‘audience’ into ‘fans.’ Topping it off, Facebook is free. 

Steps toward a successful Facebook business page: 

Staff  (or, you!) - Although Facebook itself will not cost you anything, you do need someone in charge of your project that is familiar with marketing and has access to all pertinent information about your business. This person might be you, if you are a solopreneur.  Whomever it is, one or two people should be in charge of the general upkeep of your page. 

Targeting –  An early step should be recognizing who your target audience is. Do some research into your potential fans, looking into shopping habits, browsing habits, and how and where they contribute on Facebook. Think about who your current customers are, and consider what information would be interesting to them. 

Create - Armed with your new research, go to work on creating your Facebook page. Here it is important to maintain a consistent image between your actual business, your website, and your new page. There should be no confusion from potential fans about who you are. In your page description, make sure to use keywords that identify your business so that fans can find your page. 

Let’s Create Your Facebook Business Page!

1. In a new tab, go to Facebook Business Page setup.

2. Choose a category. It will most likely be ‘Local Business or Place’, or ‘Company, Organization or Institution.’

You’ll enter some information about your business, including name, address and phone. 

3. For your profile photo, upload a square image of your logo (200 by 200 px works well). Make sure you leave 12px of clearance around all edges to make sure important elements, like text, don’t get cut off. 

4. Can you describe what your business is about in one sentence? Add this to your page, keeping your keywords in mind (for example, Edmonton Organic Bakery). 

5. Set the web address of your Facebook page (usually, www.facebook.com/yourbusinessname). 

6. Add a cover photo. This is the banner image across the top of your page. It should be 851 by 315 px. A photo of your product, an interior/exterior shot of your location, or a promotional banner works well here. 

7. Create your first post. A ‘Welcome to our Facebook page!’ message works well.  People love photos so if you have a suitable business, like a museum or art gallery, be sure to include photos in your posts. Nothing is shared more than photos on Facebook. 

8. Invite people you know on Facebook to Like your page. (under ‘Build Audience’ in the top left of your page). 

As part of the creation process, you definitely need to add a ‘places page’ for your business. Use the ‘check in’ feature from your mobile device while at your place of business and use the ‘add’ feature to add your business to the list. Now whenever anyone visits your business they will be able to check in. Encourage all your employees to check in too, as this will increase your visibility on Facebook. 

What should you post on your Facebook Page, and when?

Your page administrators need a schedule to follow so that posting new content is consistent. Photos, videos, events, general news, and things that will get your fans talking, should be included. Share articles that you see online that will be of interest to your audience, and make sure you send your blog posts to Facebook, too. Don’t be afraid to mix it up.

Post to your Facebook page a few times a week, if you can. 

Post your content at the right time of day, for most businesses this will be mid to late afternoon, you want to be posting close to the time you expect your fans to be online. 

Promoting your Facebook Page

Add your Facebook page to all your promotion materials, including websites, emails, flyers, posters, and business cards. On your website, add a Facebook icon in the top left corner of your home page and link to your Facebook page from here. Also post to your blog that you have a new Facebook page.

Consider ‘launching’ your Facebook page with a promotion that will drive fans to your page. For example, you could provide a discount code on your  Facebook page for your fans to use. 

These are just a few ideas to get you started. For more information, please contact us about social media training or management. 

PhotoDropper - Get beautiful, creative commons licensed images for your blog, without ever leaving WordPress. This plugin gives you simple, fast and free access to images that you need to keep your small business blog interesting, and it’s faster than uploading your own photos. A credit is automatically applied to the bottom of your blog post to credit the photographer. 

WordPress SEO - WordPress is great out-of-the-box for SEO (search engine optimization), but this plugin kicks it up a notch, by helping you write content that helps you get found in search engines like Google. It helps you add things like SEO titles and descriptions, and analyzes your keyword use. 

TinyMCE Advanced - WordPress adds some functionality to the post/page editor, and also lets you customize what you want to see in your editing area. We use this to minimize the editor so it’s less cluttered & confusing. This plugin can also allow you to stop WordPress from removing certain HTML tags by default (ie. line break) as this can be quite annoying! 

NextGen Gallery- Add a slideshow or photo gallery anywhere on your website and manage images/thumbnails with this handy plugin. 

Share Buttons by AddThis – Automatically add social sharing buttons to your blog posts, making it easy for readers to share your content via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. 

Gravity Forms – This is a paid plugin, but it’s worth it! For complex forms, from event registration to product ordering, this is hands-down the best form plugin available for WordPress – Nearly 60,000 users (and growing!) can’t be wrong.

FooBar - ($14) Add a notification bar to the top of your website to show announcements and promotions, or encourage newsletter sign-ups. 

Spam Free WordPress – Avoid those pesky spambots with this plugin. 

Bulletproof Security – Save yourself the stress and let this plugin secure your site. 

Events Made Easy - Promote and accept registrations for your events with this plugin. Give your visitors the details they need,  and even accept registration fees via Paypal. 

What are your favourite WordPress plugins? Is there a super-powered plugin we just have to add to this list? Let us know in the comments! 

Blogging is perhaps the most powerful and cost-effective marketing tool available to small businesses. Not only will it help you to provide value to your current customers, blogging is also a proven method for reaching your target audience and attracting new customers.

To really see results, though, you have to do it right. Here are a few important things to keep in mind when small business blogging:

Know your audience

Before you can write content that appeals to your audience, you’ll need to figure out who you’re writing for. Your blog will read very differently if it targets 55 year old male golfers vs. 28 year old first-time mothers, for example. By discovering who you’re writing for before you put pen to paper, you’ll have a good idea of what topics will interest your website visitors, and what voice/tone your website should have. If you’re writing for corporate managers, your writing will be more formal than it would be if you were writing for teens, for example.

Action Step: Write a mini-bio of your “typical” customer. Consider age, gender, location, income, job position, family, interests, technical proficiency and so on.  

Keep it fresh

It’s essential to post new content on a regular basis. Easier said than done, we know! When someone visits your blog and sees that you only have three entries, or that the most recent one was from six months ago, they might wonder if you’re still in business. On the other hand, if you’re consistently updating your blog, it’s obvious that you’re active and hard at work. Don’t feel like you have to write a thousand words every time, though. Somewhere between 300 to 500 words is a good target length, but you can also do a deeper dive into your topic and write a longer post every once in a while.  In fact, blog posts don’t always have to be words – mix things up by posting photos and videos. 

Action Step: Write down three things that your current/prospective customers would be interested in, that you could write a blog post about right now. 

Make it beautiful, and easy to read

The best content in the world won’t get its message across if it’s hard to read. Generally, you’ll want an eye-catching photo at the top of your blog post, one font for your paragraph text, and maybe one more for your headings (or just a different size). Use headings, lists, and images to break up your post, so that readers can quickly scan down the page and see what the post is all about. A professionally designed website will let your content stand out, and your visitors aren’t overwhelmed by ads, colours, textures or busy graphics. 

Action Step: Quickly scan through one of the blog posts you have on your site. Can you make it easier to read by adding headings and lists, or by replacing some text with an infographic or video? 

It’s not about you

It’s ok to use your blog to talk about your company sometimes, including new features, exciting news and success stories. But, the majority of your blog posts shouldn’t be specifically about you. Your blog is a portal through which potential customers can find you, but what they’re really looking for is useful information, so provide it! The single most important business blogging tip is simply this: Write interesting stuff that real people will actually want to read. If you consistently post useful, engaging content about your industry, eventually people will find you, and they will view you as a helpful expert in your field. So keep your focus on the needs of your potential customers, and write blog posts for them.

Action Step: What are the three most common questions your customers ask you about your industry? What are they confused about? Add these to the list of possible blog posts you started above.

Writing matters

If you don’t have lots of writing experience – that’s ok! Do make sure that your content reads well, though. Check your grammar & spelling, for example. Content Management Systems like WordPress have this built right in. 

Each blog post has to do four things: 

• Capture your readers’ attention by “hooking” them right away, using your headings and first sentences.
• Build interest by telling them a story or making them feel involved. Speak directly to their pain points.
• Create desire for your future posts, products or services. 
• Direct them using your call to action. Go easy on this, though. 

Action Step: Take a look at one of your blog posts – does it capture attention, build interest, create desire and call the reader to action? If it doesn’t, look for opportunities to include these. 

Research your keywords

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a complex process, but a great place to start is with your keywords. What words would your potential customer enter into a search engine like Google to find you? You can do some research using the Google Keyword Tool. 

Action Step: Write down 5 keywords that your potential customer would find you. Look for opportunities to add these to your website’s content and blog. 

Get the word out

It helps just to keep fresh content on your site, but it helps even more if you can drive traffic directly to it. Every time you post to your blog, let the world know by using social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. If you use WordPress for your blog, you can automate this and save yourself some time. Accompany a link to the post with an intriguing question or provocative statement to pique your readers’ interest. 

 Want to know more about blogging for small business? Contact us to find out how blogging can fit into your bigger online marketing picture.

Square: Now Available in Canada from Square on Vimeo.

Last weekend, we used the Square Mobile Payments system for the first time, at a fundraiser we were helping out with at Oscars Pub. We were running a silent auction, and, while there is a credit card processing machine at the pub, it’s set up next to the bar. Our event was tucked away in another area, and using their credit card machine every time we sold an item just wasn’t going to be realistic, especially with the volume of people we were expecting. This is just one of the small business tools that might help your business become more efficient. 

Where to buy?

So, we picked up a Square reader at Best Buy. They can also be purchased for $9.95 at Future Shop and the Apple Store, in Canada. Find the location closest to you, here. There’s a rebate when you buy the reader, so essentially, it’s free. 

Setting Up

This handy little gadget fits into the headphone jack on your iPhone or iPad. It also works on Android devices. To set up, we downloaded the Square Register App, on the iPhone. The App needs some information, including the Account Number and Transit Number for the bank account you intend to deposit to. To connect with your bank account, Square will make two small deposits to your account. Check your online banking to get these numbers, and then your bank account will be verified with Square. Keep in mind that it can take a few business days to post these transactions, so you’ll want to do this a few days before you need to use Square. 

How it works

Each time we needed to process a transaction, we simply opened the app, entered an amount and swiped the card (Visa or Mastercard) through the reader. The customer signs on the screen with his finger. A stylus like the Jot Pro (our favourite) would work too. We really liked that the customer could get a receipt by email or SMS sent to them straight away. 

Square deposits funds into your bank account the next day, and you can see the payments you’ve collected in the app or in the web interface when you sign in to their website. Each payment triggers an email sent to you, so you know straight away that the  transaction has processed correctly, and you always know your running balance. 

For companies that need more advanced functionality than we did, the iPad app has inventory management, and can print receipts too. If I ran a restaurant or retail store, I think I’d ditch all the fancy POS and payment processing systems, and opt instead for an iPad POS app and Square (or similar). I don’t see a need to spend upwards of $10K on a Micros or Pixelpoint POS when this can be done for the cost of a $700 iPad and a POS app software license (around $1500, I’d imagine)… but more on this in another post. 

Who is this for?

 The Square mobile payment system will be really handy for any small business that needs to accept credit cards on the go, but doesn’t want to deal with merchant accounts and variable fees. At just 2.75% per transaction, the processing fee is reasonable, too. There’s a flat $275 per month fee that you can choose instead of per-payment fees, it just depends how the math works out for you. if you process a lot of payments, this might be a better option.

Square has partnered with Starbucks in the US to take payments with Square at checkout. If you use Paypal, they have their own reader (Paypal Here) that may be an option for you, too. 

What do you use for mobile payment processing? Had an experience with Square that you’d like to share? leave us a comment, below. 

We’ve recently begun offering starter websites for small businesses who are just starting out, or who want to get online in a fast and affordable way. As a new business, getting online and being visible in search engines like Google is your best bet for finding customers.

Did you know: 97% of searches for products & services begin online?

Many local business owners think that advertising in the local paper or the Yellow Pages will give them all the visibility they need. But, think about how many ads you see every day.

• How many billboards do you pass on the way to the office?
• How many ads really stand out for you in a local paper that is full of them?
• When is the last time that you searched for a product or service in the Yellow Pages?

The marketplace is changing. Small business owners are making the shift to online marketing. Traditional advertising costs are extremely high when compared to online marketing with a website. Just one ad in the local paper can cost over $400, and the Yellow Pages? Forget about it. $1500 for a tiny ad amongst hundreds of competing ads – how can that be effective? That’s where websites for small business come in.

Google is where it’s at now. Savvy small business owners are looking for ways to get their business online in a fast and affordable way. Our new starter websites for small business are perfect for small business owners. For just $47 per month ($197 sign up fee), you can have:

• A professional website design that uses your colours and logo
• An easy to update website that you can manage yourself, no IT guy required!
• Hosting, maintenance & all the no-fun technical “stuff” taken care of
• Help with updates, if you don’t have time to do them yourself (additional $30 per month fee) 
• A website that’s ready for mobile, search engines and social media integration
• Personalized service & marketing tips to help you grow

We love small businesses – we have one ourselves! Our favourite projects over the years we’ve been in business have been with small business owners who have turned their passion into a way to make a living. We love the excitement and dedication that it takes to start a small business, and we’re passionate about helping these businesses grow.

Our websites for small business are designed to meet the needs of the startup business owner, or those who want to take their business to the next level. When you start a business, you’ll usually find that most of your first customers come from word of mouth. You can enhance the power of word-of-mouth marketing and kick it up a notch, by getting a website for your small business, so that interested customers have a place to find out about what you do. It’s easy to share websites with friends through email and social media, so that word of mouth network you’ve begun to build can grow with the help of your website.

Learn more about our websites for small business, or sign up today!

• Private sessions (Success and More)
• Reiki training (Reiki Training Centre of Canada)
• Hypnotherapy training (Hypnotism Training Institute of Alberta)
• Personal blog (AnnySlegten.com)

The problem was that each site had a different design, and a confusing navigation system that tried to provide internal links for each site, and link to each of the other sites as well. The navigation was different on each site, so a visitor who moved from one site to another had to figure out how to get around, all over again. The sites had a lot of clutter, in the form of images that linked to various sections of the sites, and much of the information was scattered throughout the site rather than having a specific area for each type of information.

Our challenge was to redesign the individual sites with a uniform feel, while keeping the individuality of each. We had to restructure much of the content, arrange multi-language support for the blog, create an easier way for visitors to view and sign up for classes, and streamline the user’s experience.

We think we handled the challenge well. What do you think?

But, for Apple to innovate the way it has, there have been a few casualties along the way. In the case of the new and fabulous iCloud service, this means that iWeb, Apple’s basic website builder, is out.

When Apple’s new service, iCloud was announced in 2011, no one knew if iWeb created sites would survive the transition. As it turns out, Steve Jobs himself answered the question at the time “Will I need to find an alternative website builder and someone to host my sites?” with one word “Yep.”

So where does that leave you, if you’re one of the small business owners who did the quick & dirty iWeb website thing? Well, you have until June 30th to find a new hosting company for your website and get your files moved over, so it’s time to get a move on!

As to the iWeb software itself, you can still use it as long as you have an older Mac with it installed. If you buy a new Mac, it won’t come bundled with iWeb. Soon, you’ll find that trying to run an outdated version of iWeb on your new system is a no-go, so it’s time to move on.

So, what’s the business owner on a budget to do?

Finding a new web host

If you decide to work with a web company like us, they’ll usually take care of hosting for you.
If you’re going at this alone, there are some great web hosts out there who offer service & support for only about $80 per year, plus your domain (around $15), which works out cheaper than what you were paying for MobileMe. We use Site5 and we have nothing but good things to say about them. You could also try Bluehost, DreamHost, or MediaTemple.

What about the site?

The best thing you can do for your business at this point, is to use this opportunity to move to a CMS system, preferably WordPress. Why? Because you’ll finally have a website that can grow with your business, that’s easy to use and update, and indexes well in search engines. It’s time to move to your own domain and take control of your website instead of having one with search engine problems, or one that’s covered in ads from some other freebie website builder.

We’ve designed a starter website package that works really well for people in this boat. For $49 per month, you can get a professionally designed website that’s easy for you to update and use. Your domain, hosting & email is covered, and you get access to marketing tools that will help you grow your business. We send you content reminders every month, and we can even do the updates for you, for a small additional fee ($30 per month). It’s easy to get started, low cost, always secure, updated & maintained, and we tweak the designs as we go so that your site never looks outdated.

Take the end of iWeb as an opportunity to do something big for your business, at a very small cost, and upgrade your website. If you don’t have design or web training, building your own site can be more hassle than it’s worth (and a poor site is a major detriment to your business!) Let’s face it, any site that you create in a freebie or self-builder program will never look as good as a professionally designed one. You can sign up today for a starter website with us, and be up and running within a couple of weeks. Let’s get started!