Mobile Archives | My Social Media Network

Posted by Patrick

3 New Year’s Marketing Resolutions for 2017

May 19, 2017Advertising, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing Campaigns, Mobile, Pinterest, ROI in Social Media, SEO, Social Good, Social Media 0

We’re nearly two weeks into 2017, and that means it’s still time to start making and working on some new year’s resolutions that are really going to stick and turn your life around for the better this year. The same can be said for your small business. There are so many new technologies and programs available today when it comes to marketing and promoting yourself, that it may seem overwhelming to know where to start. But nevertheless, if you aren’t marketing your small business in 2017 in new and exciting ways, how do you expect your business to grow? That’s why we’ve come up with a handy dandy list of new year’s marketing resolutions for your small business in 2017.

Revamp Your Website

January is the perfect time to take a look at your website and decide which pages and graphics, messages, etc. need to be updated, and which things can completely go. Giving your website a fresh new look in 2017 is a great way to attract more leads and potential customers. Be sure to hire the right San Diego website design firm who will take the time and attention it takes to ensure that every detail of your website is psychologically designed in a way that will attract more viewers, and bring them into your storefront or office.

Search Engine Optimization

The Internet is changing all of the time, and if you’re not keeping up with SEO, you may not even be visible in the vast digital jungle that is the web. Be sure to hire a professional search engine optimization firm that will not only help you reach the top of Google search pages, but also optimize your SEO in San Diego so you’re targeting customers nearby. Local search optimization is just as, if not more, important than overall SEO–depending upon your business and industry.

Boost Your Social Media Efforts

It’s always a good idea to make sure your social media content is current and up-to-date. If you want to grow a social following, be sure you’re posting relevant content your followers want to see on a consistent basis. Third party articles from companies you’d like to strategically align with are helpful. You may also want to refresh your profile and background images. Be sure to post content that is behind the scenes, without being too personal, and to mix in a bit of fun with your business-related information. Custom graphics, infographics, links to your website, videos and blogs are essential for social media, and not just on Facebook. LinkedIn is great for B2B marketing, while Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube are growing fast. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with navigating the ever-changing social media world, we are here to help. We offer social media management services that are sure to save you time, while increasing your following and overall profits. We can even create ads for your own personal Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

In this new digital age, it’s essential for small and large businesses alike to jump on the social media bandwagon. Whether you enjoy social media or not, there are billions of people around the globe who do, and it’s taking over the way that marketing and advertising is conducted moving forward. Therefore, we are here for you, and would love a chance to help make 2017 the best year yet for your San Diego business. For more information, or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick

Hottest Social Media Trends for Summer 2016

May 19, 2017Business Tips, Marketing Campaigns, Mobile, Social Good, Social Media, Social Media for Consumer Products, Social Media for Hospitality, Social Media for Party Planners, Social Media for Restaurants, Social Media For Retail Businesses, Social Media predictions, Socially Connected, Strategic Planning, Strategy 0

Summer has arrived, and warm temps don’t mean that it’s time to take a break from your marketing campaign. Quite the opposite. As more and more folks take some much-needed time off from work, you can bet that they’ll be sharing their joy on social media. This is where you want to be as well. Here are the latest trends in the social media universe that you can leverage for your business marketing efforts this summer.

Not Your Grandma’s Video

We’ve been told for years that video is essential for marketing. Now with over a billion users worldwide, Live Stream YouTube has revolutionized video marketing to the masses. Yet, a new phenomenon is sweeping the planet and is pushing internet surfers and marketers alike to up their video game, so to speak: live video streaming. We’re no longer satisfied with simply watching recorded videos but crave the authentic live experience that is broadcast through Apps like Periscope and Meerkat – one of the hottest social media trends today. Periscope, owned by Twitter, is now broadcasting over 40 years worth of video daily. Before you start ambushing customers and live streaming, you may wish to strategize with some social media experts.

Snapchat for Business

Snapchat, as much as you want it to be, is no longer just for teenagers. However, if your customer base is on the younger side, this is a marketing channel to example closely. According to Snapchat stats, 71% of users are under the age of 34, and there are over 100 million active users of the App. This is an App that can be leveraged for video marketing and short messages to reach untapped markets, particularly if your target market fits these demographics.

Social Commerce

Consumers are becoming less and less patient, and would prefer not to click through three separate screens to buy your product if it’s appealing. Fortunately, many of the social media platforms have heard the call, and various commerce-focused features have been implemented to allow the consumer to hit that “Buy” button sooner, rather than later. Facebook and Pinterest introduced these features in 2015, Twitter has been testing a “buy” button, and Instagram is expected to follow suit shortly.

Influencer Marketing

What used to be called word-of-mouth marketing is now termed “influencer marketing.” Same thing. Not only has the name changed, but its importance has gone through the roof. In fact, Nielson estimates that over 90% of consumers trust recommendations of friends and family over an advertising message. So, not only do those Yelp reviews and social media comments about your company matter, but your immediate response to them and prompt resolution of issues matters just as much.

Mobile Rules

It’s no longer “a plus” that your website, blog, and social media buttons are mobile friendly. Today, this is a must if you wish to survive in business. In 2016, it’s estimated that 2 billion consumers worldwide own smartphones, and mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic over a year ago. As content on a website is generally linked to social media, be sure that all of your web properties are mobile-friendly.

Social media platforms and their popularity change frequently and often those changes don’t make sense on the surface. Yet, social media marketing and staying on top of social media trends, is an essential element of connecting with customers and reaching untapped markets. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about social media trends and how My Social Marketing Network’s specialized marketing services can help your business get noticed.

Posted by Patrick

5 Ways Google Adwords Could Work for Your Business

May 19, 2017Advertising, Adwords, Google+, Mobile, SEO, Social Media, Uncategorized

As a business owner the first question you want to ask is “are my prospects searching for me?” YES? Ok, now that we have that squared away, read on to learn more about Google AdWords and why they will work for your business.

#1) We all know that customers have plenty of choices when it comes to buying goods or services. So how can you stand out when they are searching online? You could have a business where your goods or services are very similar to another business in the same town (a drycleaner), state (a vintage Porsche dealer) or country (a clothing brand), but your business probably differs somewhat. How might it differ? It could be anything from the specific items you sell, the service or warranty you provide. The way in which you differ is where you will use targeted keywords to lure people in when they search. The more targeted your keywords (and keyword phrases), the better Google will rank your ad. You will also reach more of the right customers who truly need what you offer.

#2) When you use targeted keywords and phrases you can also use location targeting and geo-target your prospective customers. Example? Say you sell cowboy boots in Austin, Texas. You could target only people within the state of Texas or just in the city of Austin. AdWords also allows you to use radius targeting where ads will only show to people within a certain distance to your business and you can also exclude locations as well in your proximity targeting.

#3) You can target people on the go. AdWords provides many options to target users on their mobile phones with text and image ads. Mobile ads work well for so many businesses from neighborhood shops to online retail. Mobile AdWords ads are especially key to local businesses as people rely more on their smartphones to search for products or services as they need them. Instead of looking up a business on a desktop at home or at the office, people know they can save time by searching on their phones while out and about.
#4) The other geo-based demographic targeting option you have is to serve ads only to people based on income level. So if you sell high-end household items, luxury cars, or sell coastal estates, you can target the top 10% income earners in the specific location you choose.

#5) Have you ever spent some time looking at photos online of clothing, a watch or maybe a set of golf clubs only to find the same photos pop up on another website? That is retargeting and it’s working very well for several businesses. This is how it works with Adwords: if Lisa has visited your website, she gets what is called a “cookie” which is a small, often encrypted text file, located in browser directories. This cookie comes from a code that you have put on the backend of your site. When Lisa decides to leave your site and browse elsewhere, you can target your ads to follow her on the Google Display Networks, or Google search. I can tell you personally I have bought items online because of retargeted ads – those ads were a great reminder to the items I needed/wanted and by clicking on the ads, I am dropped right back into the website to select my purchase and move on to the shopping cart. Yes it’s genius. 

Not sure where to start on your next Google AdWords campaign? We can help, contact us: info@mysmn.com or 877.576.9766

Posted by Patrick

Why You Need A Well Executed Mobile Marketing Strategy

May 19, 2017Advertising, Email Marketing, Mobile, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Uncategorized

According to Nielsen’s U.S. Consumer Usage Report back in 2012, smartphone owners officially made up “the majority of mobile subscribers, as 56 percent owned a smartphone as of Q3 2012.” And according to new research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (2013), 61 percent of Americans own a smartphone. Pew’s research also states that twenty-eight percent of all cell owners are Android users, while iPhone owners represent 25 percent of the cell-owner population. As well-known digital marketing blogger Jay Baer puts it “the majority of adult Americans will have, in their pants, access to most of the world’s knowledge, at all times.” Thanks Jay, so that means if your business is online, you can get into your customers pants? Wow, I never knew marketing would come to this!

On a more dignified note, let’s get back to creating a mobile marketing strategy. What does your business need in its tool bucket?

First, a mobile friendly website. If you are thinking about re-designing your website or you are starting from scratch, think about designing for mobile first. Why? Because more and more people are accessing your website for the first time from their mobile phone. You’ll want to make it convenient for them to purchase or take other actions.

Second, analytics. Are you keeping an eye on your website’s mobile traffic? It’s an important metric for your overall analytics efforts. You will want to see how much traffic is coming from mobile users and which devices make up most of that traffic. Knowing what types of devices most of your customers use will help ensure your mobile design is easy for them to access and appropriate for the way they are viewing content. You can then also create mobile ad campaigns targeting users with those specific devices.

You will also want to get clearer insight into consumer behavior. Which videos are they watching from their mobile phone? Which pages are they spending the most time viewing? What is the average time spent overall on your website? By understanding those metrics you can change up or tailor new content to smartphone and tablet users.

Third, videos. If you do your research you will see various reports, like this one from Business Insider that “about 50 million people in the U.S. now watch video on their mobile phones. Fifteen percent of all online video hours globally are viewed on tablets and smartphones” and “40% of YouTube’s traffic now comes from mobile.” Set your business up with a YouTube channel and start creating videos to highlight your customer testimonials, products, services, staff, mission and culture and the benefits and solutions you provide.

Fourth, advertising. As mentioned above, by understanding mobile devise use, you can create better advertising campaigns. You can also use targeting parameters in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks to drive specific target demographics to your mobile friendly website or to a landing page. Just make sure you do not lose any leads with a cluttered website that has small links, difficult navigation or tiny “purchase now” buttons. It’s such a let down when a brand has advertised some shiny new device or some life-altering service, and has made the rest of the purchasing process difficult. If you spent all that time creating an eye-catching Facebook ad, make sure you convert that lead into a new sale and a new loyal customer.

Fifth, Social Traffic. Are most of your likes coming from mobile users? Make sure photos posts are 620 pixels wide by 412 pixels high. Good new for retail: According to ComScore, “Nearly half (48 percent) of time spent in the Retail category occurred on mobile devices, with smartphones (34 percent) outpacing tablets (14 percent).” If you are in the business of retail create photos posts that also offer web-based coupons and promotion codes within your photo posts. If your customers are using Twitter and Instagram, they are very visual-mobile beings as well – another great opportunity to share coupons and promos.

Sixth, Email Marketing. Are all of your email newsletters or promotions optimized for mobile users? They should be! Here are some quick stats:

45% of decision makers reading their email from their mobile phones
Daily we spend 9 minutes on email via a mobile device, that is 7,6% of the total 119 minutes we use our phone per day. O2 – “Mobile life report” UK (2013)
More email is read Mobile than on a desktop email client. Stats say 49% of email is now opened on a mobile device Litmus –”Email Analytics” (Jan 2014)
52% of cell phone users use their phones to send or receive email (Pew)

Good luck on your mobile strategy and check back for future posts where we will cover this topic again.

Posted by Patrick

5 Important Functions To Build An Optimal Website

May 19, 2017Advertising, Applications, Mobile, Social Media, Uncategorized

1) Which Pages Do I Need?

Before you sit down with a website developer, you’ll want to map out the pages you want on your website. This saves time and money before you start the clock with a designer, and makes for a more organized representation of your brand and messaging. These are the five pages you’ll need to start with:

a. Home — Add a prominent call-to-action, and make it clear the way in which you’d prefer visitors to contact you.
b. About Us — This is where you can establish trust and a sense of community with your brand. It’s where you can create a relationship and connect on a more personal level. Share short bios of your staff and include something interesting about each staff member. Have a law firm? You might share that one staff member enjoys skiing on the weekends with family. Own a cupcake company? Be a bit more playful and tell us why Lisa loves watching Downton Abbey and having a bit too many chocolate chip cookies!
c. Products/Services — Start working up a list to share with your designer and include detailed descriptions, images, pricing, any warranties or return policies.
d. Customer Testimonials — Prospective customers are looking for solutions or lifestyle benefits – how can you give your visitors the opportunity to understand why you are different and how you have helped others? Display reviews for products or testimonials for services. It’s a quick and easy way to showcase your customers’ opinions. After all, most people are influenced by the buying behavior of others, whether strangers or friends and family. You can copy positive reviews from Yelp and link them back to the original review so viewers know it’s the real deal.
e. Contact Us — Make it very easy for people to access phone numbers, email addresses, your hours of operation, location and a Google map so it’s easy for anyone to pull up on their mobile phone for quick directions.

2) What About Design? Simple & Clean!

Quite often I see businesses cramming too much information into websites, which causes much confusion and leads to higher bounce rates and lower conversions. You want to make the most of those first couple of seconds when a user lands on your website. Make sure you know your target consumers, and then attract them with the right imagery, colors and verbiage (short and sweet) that speaks to them, compelling them to stay and take action. Look at other websites you personally view often, what elements of design do you like most and why? Are there other similar businesses to you that have an awesome design? Share it with your designer to aid in the design phase.

3) What Does “Take Action” Mean?

When you acquire a visitor, you want them to take action. That could mean calling for an appointment, buying something, using a code for a future purchase, signing up for your mailing list or a promotion. Your goal is to generate sales and capture future customers. Don’t be afraid to spell out exactly what you want customers to do, like: “Order Now!” or “Call Us for a Quote” or “Sign Up for VIP Discounts!” or “Get Expert Advice Now!” If you offer something of value in return for their information, they will be more likely to move on your words.

4) Everyone Needs to Get Social!

Ever stumble across a website with way too many social media share buttons? What is way too many? In my personal opinion, six or more buttons is too much. In order to decide which social media share buttons to put on your website, you will need to know who your target demographic is and then which of your social media networks are receiving the most interactions. Social media buttons are great because they can generate free advertising as more and more people share your content. After you have placed the buttons on your site you should test them and monitor how they convert for your site.

5) Mobile Friendly

Did you know that one in every five billion people in the world own a smartphone? And smartphone use goes beyond time spent while waiting in line, sitting in traffic, shopping; it also takes place while in public restrooms, in bed, while spending time with family and friends, on a date or even places of worship. It’s sad to say, but what does this mean for businesses? Your ability to capture more eyeballs is greater than ever before. So make sure your website is mobile friendly! Ask your website designer to explain options for a responsive design or separate mobile site design.

Have questions about your new website? Looking for expert advice? Give us a call, tell us about your business and we’ll be happy to discuss your options.

Posted by Patrick

5 Benefits of Email Marketing Vs. Social Media

May 19, 2017Email Marketing, Mobile, Social Media, Strategy

54% of small businesses surveyed rated e-mail as the top online promotion to drive site visitors and customers to their web sites and storefronts. (Source: DMA Interactive). Where does your business fit into this picture? If you have a website and sell products or services, you have customers and those customers have email addresses. An email address paired with a name, a profile, past browsing and buying behavior is an incredibly powerful thing for any business owner to have.

Most businesses can benefit from a mixture of social media marketing and email marketing, but between the two, the benefits of email marketing are one of the top tactics for lead generation, sales and maintaining customer relationships.

It’s Targeted – Email Marketing is more personal and it can be tailored (segmented) to very specific audiences –

If a customer is not ready to buy yet, you can share content that will help them during various stages of the buying cycle
Email customers that live in specific cities, states, regions
Had a successful year or event? Call out your top customers and thank them for their business
Email customers before their birthdays and offer them discounts
Email by gender, generation or cross different cultures
Based on what you know about your customers’ behavior while they have been on your site, you can retarget by reminding them about the items they clicked on or left in their carts.

It’s Business-Minded – When it comes to running a business, making lasting connections is more “grown-up” via email marketing rather than with most social networks. Think of it as a one-to-one conversation that’s landed in your customer’s very private email box – your message is not so private on social networks. Instead of speaking to thousands of people, your message is directed at each person by first name, and can again be tailored to that specific relationship.

It’s Mobile – More and more people have smartphones and they are checking email messages constantly along with their social networks and apps. Hubspot reports that forty percent of all emails are now viewed on smartphones, which means your emails, need to look exceptional on mobile devices.

It’s Permission Based – Your customers have given you the go ahead to communicate with them. It’s not like Twitter where it’s more of a mating dance – listening and promoting others comes first before engagement (sharing, promoting, selling) and new followers (people who sign up for email have a higher likelihood to become real customers if they haven’t already).

It’s Selling – Customers are expecting deals or discounts when they sign up for email newsletters and you can take advantage of this by telling your customers what to expect and give them exclusive deals only if they sign up. It’s an intimate level of exclusivity not similar to social networks. Social networks are better for engagement, brand loyalty, brand awareness and contests.

And speaking of deals and discounts, according to eMarketer, 92.5 million people in the U.S. redeemed digital coupons in 2012. By 2014, U.S. digital coupon users will exceed 100 million. There are many people who access coupons via desktop computers, but coupon users with smartphones are aiding in overall growth. Think of valuable discounts you can give your customers with digital coupons in your next email blast.

Good luck on your email marketing campaign and while you’re at it, subscribe to our email newsletter to receive tips on digital marketing!

Posted by Patrick

Top Apps to Improve your Work Life

May 19, 2017Applications, Mobile, Uncategorized

Apps have become one of the mainstreams for smartphones as people all over the world are doing their best to not only make the use of smartphones and tablets easier, but life as well. There are numerous apps out there that are made specifically to improve your business on the go. Many business owners do not have much time at the office and are constantly moving throughout the day.

1. Office Mobile-Although this app may be a little high in price, it is well worth it based on the quality experience you will receive from using it, especially if you know you will be spending a large amount of time on Microsoft Office. This awesome app makes creating and editing your word documents with your mobile device simple. This app offers Microsoft Word, Excel and even PowerPoint and allows you to create charts and graphics

2. TripIt- Mobile Travel Organizer- This app is a must have if you travel a lot for your business and will make it simple to keep your travel plans organized. By forwarding confirmation emails from agencies you’re booked with to plans@tripit.com it will recognize your reservations and keep them booked for you. Keeping your travel plans organized will help you to not be late or forget anything important.

3. Square Register- If you are on the go and need to be able to manage your business wherever you are then this app will be great for you, especially if you handle transactions on the go. You can accept credit cards with the free credit card reader and it comes with free POS (point of sale) tools. This app was created by Jack Dorsey who also created Twitter. For the use of all major credit cards, 2.75%is taken from each transaction.

4. Cisco WebEx Meetings- Are you on the go all the time, but need to have meetings wherever you are? If so, then this app is for you. It allows you to begin or join any web conference using 2 way video. The coolest part of this app is the fact that you can attach files, including presentations with a spreadsheet. This is the ultimate on the go meetings app. They have a free version which can support up to 3 people in a meeting.

5. Billminder- This convenient app serves as a bill reminder and organizer that can help you track your expenses with graphs and reports. It allows you to set alerts and even sync other devices.

Posted by Patrick

My Strange Web Addiction

May 19, 2017Mobile, Social Media, Uncategorized

Web Addiction

Addiction is no laughing matter. Or is it? Certainly heroin addiction is tragic, as is addiction to painkillers or the most recent craze to hit the United States, Krokodil. But what about Internet addiction? Some estimate that between 5 and 10% of Internet users exhibit some form of Internet dependency. Others dispute this claim and argue that excessive Internet usage is really a symptom of another disorder.

Although Internet Addiction Disorder or Problematic Internet Use have yet to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, there’s no doubt that many of us would find it hard to survive more than an hour (more than 5 minutes if you’re a teenager) without some interaction with the internet. This fact in itself is somewhat comical if you consider what a luxury it is to have the Internet at our fingertips, and how far from a necessity it is. The tragedy, of course, is that in a lot of ways the Internet really is like a drug. For many people, it not only offers an escape from reality, but it can also be a temporary relief from loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

The less serious manifestations that Internet addiction can take involve frequent visits, posts, and scrolling of websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Smart phones facilitate this dependency with convenient apps and push notifications. Dependency on these sites is relatively harmless, and most of us have probably exhibited this mild addiction. When taken into perspective, it’s really quite absurd for anyone to choose a tiny screen over a natural panorama, but at least we can sit back and laugh at this absurdity (even if we don’t do anything to change it). What we should be concerned about is when Internet addiction leads to online gambling and other more dangerous activities, because that’s when the consequences can be much more severe.

TLC’s hit show “My Strange Addiction” has introduced us to everything from hair consumption to couch pillow consumption and all of the bizarre addictions in between. Chances are we’ve cringed and laughed at these addictions, so there’s no reason why we can’t do the same with our own Internet addictions. At MySMN, we just hope that our Internet addictions stay light.

Posted by Patrick

What People Are Doing Online: Top Online Activities

May 19, 2017Mobile, Social Media, Uncategorized 0

I seem to be online all the time. That seems normal though, right? I’m a marketer. Well, it seems that most people spend A LOT of time hooked up and online, but what are these people doing all this time they are connected?

Every year the Pew Internet releases a study showing what people are actually doing when they are online. Are they emailing? Facebooking? Shopping? Watching questionable content? The results were quite interesting. Let us share.

A few stats:

– 294 billion emails are sent daily

– 2 million blog posts are written

– Facebook receives 172 million unique visitors per day

– Twitter receives 40 million different people per day

– 22 million different people frequent LinkedIn per day

– 20 million hit up Google+ per day

– 17 million visit Pinterest on a daily basis

– 4.7 BILLION minutes are spent on Facebook

– 532 million statuses are updated

– 250 million photos are uploaded to Facebook

– 22 million hours of TV shows and movies are viewed on Netflix

– 864,000 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube

– The average time for Internet users viewing porn is 14.6 minutes

– 18.7 million hours of music is streamed on Pandora (would love to know the what it is for Spotify)

– Over 35 million apps are downloaded daily

– Oh, and get this…iPhone sales surpass the amount of babies born per day. WOW

Those statistics are pretty impressive if you ask me! Now for the Pew Report’s findings:

– Email and search are the two biggest activities everyday. About 6 in 10 online users will participate in either one of these activities.

– Online banking and shopping are the second most popular online activities. 61% of online users do at least a portion of their banking online.

– Social networking comes in third with 65% of all users use some sort of social network.

The top 5 sites visited on a daily basis are:

5. MSN.com

4. Wikipedia

3. Live.com

2. Yahoo!

And, yes, you guessed it, Facebook in number 1!

(Source Huffington Post)

So, there you have it! These are the top statistics for what people are doing on the Internet everyday. To be honest, most of these were pretty predictable, but there were a few that shocked me. I wasn’t expecting Yahoo! to be numero dos, and the 4.7 billion minutes a day nearly made me fall out of my seat. All in all, it is clear that the email marketing, social networking, online banking and e-commerce aren’t going anywhere.

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