Marketing Mojo for Small Business | Building a Better Website

Looking For An Effective Low-Cost Marketing Tactic? Try User Generated Content

Does an inexpensive, highly effective marketing tactic that requires minimal time investment sound too good to be true? Well it’s not – and it’s called user generated content (UGC). The best part? Other people do most of the work for you.

Okay, that last bit might have been a bit hyperbolic. While it’s true that a UGC campaign does center on content provided by outsiders, the best campaigns do require some time investment from the marketer running them. There is planning the campaign, and then effectively leveraging the materials that are generated by it, but everything in between is up to brand advocates – your current and potential customers.

Typically on the Webs blog we are focused on you as a small business owner or as an entrepreneur. But today, we are going to focus on you as an individual; to better yourself as that business owner or entrepreneur.

Of course, we are referring to personal branding.

Personal Branding is defined as:

the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands

In which case, for those of you who feel it’s impossible to distinguish between you and your company, you can understand that personal branding is just as important as your company’s brand itself.

As a small business owner, you wear many hats. CEO, accountant, HR manager, marketing director, and more. In your marketing function, knowledge of upcoming trends is important – especially when they will directly effect you!

There are lots of articles out there about marketing trends, and how small business owners can reach their customers, but wouldn’t it also be helpful to know how larger companies plan on marketing to you? We think it would, so today we’re going to discuss a recent study that looked into just that.

Spring is only 21 days away here on the East Coast, which can mean only one thing: wedding season approaches!

To get into the spirit, we thought we would browse some of our amazing Webs user sites and feature a few services that are devoted to making your wedding occasion a special one.

But first, let us remind you what makes any website a great website:

We surveyed the inside experts here at Webs – from the people who make our tools to those who help users make the most of them – and found that 64% of respondents have not purchased something from a website due to its design or its content.

When starting a new business, the early decisions can make all the difference. This includes choices like how you craft your business strategy or the tools you use to create a professional website, but equally important are the hiring decisions you make.

The policies you have in place from the very beginning will impact how early employees view their roles and responsibilities and will help set the tone for the future of your company. To get you off on the right foot, take a look at these seven policies that you should definitely have established before hiring your first employee.

Last night, the 87^th Annual Academy Awards was more than just a stage for the stars of Hollywood. It became a platform for politics, including (but not limited to) gender equality, race relations, suicide prevention, and immigrant rights.

I felt that this representation for touchy subjects demonstrated how the entertainment industry is ever-evolving.

It’s not always about the glitz and the glamour, but also about making a difference in the world.

Just take a look at one of the movie moments celebrated at the 2015 Oscars: the 50^th anniversary of The Sound of Music.

It is often said that content marketing is strengthened by a visual, or that an image will have more engagement versus a text update on social media.

But, have you ever thought about the science behind as to why this is true?

AdWeek shared 13 scientific facts for what makes infographics so desirable to a user for consumption of information, and (indirectly) why you should consider using them more in your content marketing strategy.

And hey! You’re in luck.
This article will tell you why your brain loves infographics WITH an infographic!

Map Pinpoints - Local Listings - Cover Photo

Late last year, we released Local Listings, a tool that helps your business or group get listed in over 100 online directories with just a few clicks.

Recently, we’ve talked about the importance of local search for small businesses and how local search differs from Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

So by now you know that showing up in local searches is incredibly important for your business. But do you know what to include in your local search listings?

To help you cover all your bases, we’ve put together these 10 best practices to help ensure that not only will you show up in local searches, you’ll show up first!

We’ve talked before about the value of user testing for your small business website, and a few ways to go about it. But have you ever wanted to get the same unbiased feedback to help you make other strategic decisions? Whether it’s a logo, a user experience flow, a new ad, or some copy you’re trying out, getting measurable feedback early in the process can help you save money and get better results.

So, how can you get a significant number of opinions in a way that’s easy to read and base decisions on? Desinion. Every now and then a product or service comes along that seems so fantastic that I just can’t believe that it’s really as inexpensive as it seems. Desinion is one such service. There are free and paid options ($19/year), both of which seem to provide a really excellent value.

Every few weeks, we feature Webs users here on the blog and highlight many of the interesting ways that they are using Webs to create truly stunning websites.

Recently, we’ve featured a dance psychologist, a beautiful art store, and a Turkish ice cream company!

In those posts, we’ve shared how you can achieve similar designs, use the same features, and learn from the experience of others.

Today we’d like to dig a little deeper and share a full small business success story. Several weeks ago, I reached out to Kerri, the owner of Majestic Wonders Photography, to see if she would be interested in sharing her story on the Webs blog. As a product owner on the Webs team, I was interested to hear more about her experiences with Webs and how our products helped her business succeed.

Looking For An Effective Low-Cost Marketing Tactic? Try User Generated Content

Small Biz Owners: 5 Key Insights About How Companies Will Market to YOU in 2015

3 Great Examples of Wedding Websites Using the Webs Site Builder

7 Policies Your Small Business Should Have In Writing Before Making Your First Hire

Oscars 2015 Recap: The Digital Evolution Edition

13 Scientific Reasons Why We Love Infographics [INFOGRAPHIC]

10 Things to Include in Your Small Business Local Listings

Want To Make Better Business Decisions? Crowdsource Feedback On This Very Cool Website

Small Business Success Story: Majestic Wonders Photography

Webs makes small business marketing simple.

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Webs makes small business marketing simple. Explore the Webs online marketing platform below.

STYLE SWITCHER

Layout Style

Header Style

Accent Color

Webs makes small business marketing simple.

Explore the Webs online marketing platform below.