Category: Internet marketing Page 10 of 14

Viral Marketing For Austin TX Businesses

On October 5, 2012

October 5, 2012

“Viral marketing” might sound as an increasingly complex and technical term at first sight. But when you gain an understanding of it, you realize that it is probably the simplest, yet most effective marketing technique for any business. The name “viral” stems from how, much as the microorganism, such a marketing campaign proliferates rapidly, and goes on to become the one thing everyone’s talking about. We’ve all had a taste of this, whether in the form of an amateur YouTube video that was strangely compelling, or a television ad that we couldn’t help talking about wherever we went. In other words, a viral campaign is one that relies on word of mouth.

Social media networks have made it simpler than ever for businesses to launch viral marketing campaigns, whether by sharing interesting content with their users, or by using the ever-powerful reviews as a means to attract new customers. Nothing can work more effectively than a positive review by a family member, friend, or even acquaintance, for a product or service. The fact that such a review is sure to be unbiased is what makes it stand out from the most elaborate advertising gimmick, and it is on this reliability, that viral marketing thrives.
The following viral marketing techniques have been proven for their efficacy, and if you haven’t yet applied them for your business, now is the time to get started-

Upload videos- Video-sharing sites like YouTube and Metacafe are a god-sent for internet marketers. Take some time to decide a theme of your video, ensuring that you keep it relevant to your business, while still managing to capture the interest of your target audience.
Social media marketing- SMM is emerging as a whole new profession in itself and works as a powerful boost to viral marketing campaigns. Make the most of social media networks like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Just having a profile is not enough. You need to make a constant effort to keep your users engaged through your online presence on these networks.
Share widgets- Make sure that the content on every page of your website is accompanied with share widgets for top video sharing and social media sites. This is a great way to generate quality back links for your website.
Content, content, content– At the end of the day, viral marketing is all about the content that you send out on to the web. This could be in the form of articles, blogs, e-books, newsletters, etc. Choose topics and themes carefully, and ensure that you make no compromise on the quality of content.

We at Centex Technologies provide Internet Marketing solutions to our clients in Austin, Dallas and Killeen areas in Central Texas. For more information, call us at (800) 236-1497

Increasing Pinterest Traffic On Your Website

By centexitguy

On September 28, 2012

In Internet marketing, SEO Marketing

September 28, 2012

Pinterest provides a dynamic platform to engage your users and drive traffic to your website. The social media platform thrives on the power of images to grab interest and pique interest. If you own a blog, Pinterest can help you to generate interest for your blog posts, among your target audience. The quality back-links generated from the website can also work to boost your search engine rankings, bringing your website higher on Google and other search engines. Considering the massive growth that this platform has undergone since its inception in May 2011, it makes perfect sense for business owners to turn to it for positive publicity.

The following tips guide you on how you can use Pinterest to draw traffic to your website-

Create content-rich boards- The richer and more informative your content, the greater are the chances of it getting re-pinned, and people clicking on it to visit your website. You need to work out a captivating content strategy, involving posting your original content, as well as sharing relevant content by other people. The idea is to leave your followers waiting for the next update from you, and avoiding falling into a stereotype.
Choose long images over short ones- With the idea of social networking being relatively new, the learning process is changing every minute. A recent study conducted on Pinterest popularity shows that images that are “taller” have a greater chance of getting re-pinned than shorter ones. This does not mean that you should unnecessarily elongate images to make them longer, but instead, what you can do is combine a series of short images to create a longer one, serving the process of an info-graphic.
Remember, it’s all about images- What makes Pinterest stand in a league of its own is the fact that it chooses images over text. As a web marketer, you need to keep that perspective intact when using this platform. If you wish to pin your posts from your blogs, remember to keep blocks of texts minimal, and instead replace them with catchy images that convey your idea in a single glance.

Centex Technologies specializes in Internet Marketing strategies for Austin, Killeen and Dallas based businesses. For more information call us at (800) 236-1497

Austin Internet Marketing Tips : Podcasting

By centexitguy

On September 21, 2012

In Internet marketing

September 21, 2012

Put simply, a podcast is your personal radio show that you can update every day. With millions of iTunes listeners and web users downloading, creating, and listening to podcasts every day, podcasting is emerging as one of the best marketing tools for small businesses. It scores better than conventional marketing tools like e-mails and newsletters. Podcasting lets you put your message in a way that is actually heard and not directed to a spam folder.

Considering that an average podcast is 15-20 minutes long, it is important to make sure that you are talking about something that is informative. It should keep your listener engaged and desirous to know more from you. Once you find a topic and style that you are good with and one that appeals to your target audience, you have won half the battle of using podcasting as a marketing tool for your business.

The reason why podcasts are so popular among internet users is that they allow one to multitask, not requiring 100% attention. Moreover, a podcast can be heard from anywhere, right from a waiting room to a car, while driving. Some podcasters choose a format where they interview various experts in the field of their business, hence ending up with content that scores high on rhetoric. By gaining a user base on your podcast, you earn the reputation of being a reliable figure in your business, who is an expert in his field. This plays a great role in raising customer loyalty for your company.

Once you have laid the basis for your podcast by deciding the subject, target audience, format, etc., the next step is to promote it correctly. You can do this by making your RSS podcast feed iTunes compatible, and registering for multiple blog feeds and specialized podcast ping directories. By doing so, all the major directories will receive a ping each time you upload a podcast.

Another way of making use of podcasting as a marketing tool for your business is through “podvertizing”, which basically means advertizing on a podcast. To do this, you do not even need to own your own podcast, but simply have to look for someone within your industry who uses the podcast as an advertizing medium. Average advertizements last for 10-20 seconds. Since the major population of podcast listeners falls in the age group of 20-35, it is not advisable to use this medium if you are targeting older users.

We at Centex Technologies serve Austin, Dallas and other Central Texas areas. We provide customized internet marketing, SEO, Web development and designing solutions to our client.

Austin Internet Marketing: Common Facebook Marketing Mistakes

By centexitguy

On August 28, 2012

In Internet marketing, SEO Marketing

August 28, 2012

With more than 900 million people having an account on Facebook, any business owner would not disregard the need for Facebook marketing. Although nearly every business seems to have a Facebook page, few are aware of what they should actually be doing to make Facebook work for them. But what’s even more important is knowing what not do while marketing your business on Facebook. Here are the most common bloopers made by business owners on Facebook-

An incomplete profile- While constantly updating your page is a big part of the game, the basics are what you need to focus on initially. Do not leave fields blank, and instead fill out as much information as you can about your business. It also helps to have the same URL for your Facebook, Twitter, and website pages.
Violating cover photo rules- The cover photo covers most of the screen when a user first visits your Facebook page, which explains why some users get over-enthusiastic in their attempts to make the most of it. Contact information, call-to-action buttons, and price information (like 40% off) are clearly forbidden in Facebook guidelines.
Over-posting- With some businesses employing dedicated social media promoters for their Facebook page, they run a risk of overdoing the efforts, and ending up with frustrated followers, who are likely to get irked at the constant updates. It is much better to post something excellent once a day, or even every alternate day, instead of making do with average posts multiple times every day.
Not giving users enough attention- Most business owners are too busy thinking of what to put up next on their pages, and in the process forget who they are actually doing it for. Appreciate your users’ interaction by responding to comments, not forgetting to tag their names in your comments.
Posting irrelevant content- Just like on any other social networking site, it is plain silly to attract users with off-brand posts. Sure such posts might generate likes and shares, but at the end of the day it’s all about generating sales.
Not making use of Facebook ads- Facebook ads have the power of targeting a selected audience, which is rare on any other means of advertising. If you have a Facebook page for your business, you might as well go that extra mile and put out some catchy advertizements.

For more information on how to market your business on facebook and other social networking medium, Call us at our toll free number -(800) 236-1497. We at Centex Technologies provide SEO Services, Internet Marketing, Pay per Click Advertizing services to our clients.

How To Achieve Customer Satisfaction In Online Businesses

By centexitguy

On July 12, 2012

In Internet marketing, IT Support

July 12, 2012

Customer satisfaction is amongst the most important considerations that any online retailer needs to make. A little extra effort put into assuring that your customers get what they need and are not disappointed in any way, can go a long way in setting you apart from your competitors. The following tips can help you in improving the support offered to your customers, and leaving them satisfied each time they visit your website.

Provide valuable information – Working on the content that you provide on your website, whether it is about your products and services, or information related to what you offer, is one of the best ways to have satisfied customers. By doing so, you let your customers know that you are knowledgeable about your field, and also give them a reason to revisit your website.

Share information about yourself – Make the maximum use of your “about us” section by giving your customers an insight into who you are, where you are, how you got into this business, and what makes you different from other sites offering similar services. Also include a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section to address common doubts in the minds of your customers, and to let them know how you shall assist them should anything go wrong during or after they make a purchase.

Be helpful and honest – Just having an active online customer support team is not enough. You need to train your customer support representatives to treat each customer with genuine concern, and to look beyond the metrics like turnover rate or wait time. You can also engage in proactive interaction with customers who appear to be in the need of help, like a customer who seems to be revisiting product pages repeatedly, or one who is spending longer-than-average time at checkout. It is equally important to encourage honesty in all interactions.

Under-promise, and over-deliver – Having satisfied customers is all about delivering more than you promise. Take your customers by surprise by giving them unexpected gifts and surprise offers. An easy return policy is also a key factor in customer satisfaction. However, your principal aim should be to enhance customer support at the pre-sale stage to reduce the likelihood of returns in the first place.

With the power of social media being at an all-time high, every small effort that you make towards customer satisfaction will result in an amplified boost to your online reputation. We at Centex Technologies provide Internet Marketing, IT Support, Web Development and Website Designing services to our clients in Austin, Dallas, Killeen and other areas in Central Texas. For more information, feel free to call us at toll free no – (800) 236-1497

Social Media Central Texas – Roundrock Web Design