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Click-to-Call: Hyperlink Your Telephone Number and Get More Calls

By on September 26, 2012 in Marketing, Mobile & Local with 3 Comments

Click2CallAn infographic on Mobile Content Consumption shows that 22% of all content consumed in the U.S. is seen from a mobile device. And the number is rising.

If you operate a business that relies heavily on incoming calls or walk-in traffic, it’s important you start making the phone numbers on your site a “Click-to-Call” link. It’s actually pretty easy.

Create your “Click-to-Call” hyperlink like any other link.

  1. Start with the text. My number is 515-802-2273.
  2. Hover and highlight the text with your mouse and go to the button in your editor to make a link (usually looks like a chain).
  3. Instead of the “http://” and a web page address, replace the “http://” with “tel:” (no forward slashes)
  4. Create the link

So in review, instead of a full-on web address (e.g., “http://www.converstations.com), to make your phone number a “click-to-call” number so mobile users can click to call, simply create the link (e.g., “tel:515-802-2273).

If you’re adept at writing the full code out, you’ll still want to <a href= at the beginning of the link and the closing </a at the end. This is similar to the “mailto:” link for your email.

There is going to come a day and a prospect who sees your phone number on their mobile device, finds it’s not clickable, and goes on to the next business.

Small steps like these are what I call “Small Biz Tracks” and I hope they help you engineer your way to greater small business success. If you have questions, give me a call: 515-802-2273     (see how I did that link there?:-))

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Feedburner Issues – Let’s Not Panic

By on September 25, 2012 in Blogging, RSS Feeds, Social Media with 8 Comments

While this posting may get a bit technical, I’ll try to keep things super-simple …

News that FeedBurner APIs are going away has some people running for solutions.

This post will glance at three things:

  • Feedburner
  • APIs
  • An old garage door opener for a house you no longer live in

Feedburner is a tool that allows many, many sites, and blogs (including this one) to have their updates automatically syndicated and sent out so people who subscribe (free) via a news reader or email alert get notified – many times with the full post.  Hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people read updates from these “feeds” in various manners.

Illustration of a garage door.

An API ( an acronym for Application Programming Interface) is …well, it’s a … an API is sorta like your garage door opener. Or perhaps the remote control to your TV.  If you were to lose your garage-door opener, it doesn’t mean you could never open your garage door again. Nor does it mean your garage door goes away. Just the add-on tool that helped you open your garage door.

Of course, if you don’t use your garage or have no need to use that big door – you probably wouldn’t miss the door opener. I know a few people who still have an opener to a house they don’t live in anymore. They still have the API, but not the program.

Feedburner APIs going away doesn’t mean that Feedburner is going away. The APIs that Feedburner used are mostly for metrics (now part of Google Analytics) or simple add-ons like the FeedFlare items. They’re getting rid of old garage door openers.

I am confident if Feedburner (a property of Google) is going away completely, Google would let us all know. There are some major sites, and a mass multitude of sites, using Feedburner.

That Google hasn’t said anything gives me confidence Feedburner will remain. Its name may change (Google RSS? Google Feeds?).

That Google hasn’t said anything at all (neither confirming or denying) leads me to cautious research for an alternative.

Among the voices of the blogosphere I trust who have made a move away from FeedBurner, I’m inclined to follow bits of their advice:

As for me? I might park my car outside for a bit longer and see what happens – though I have read the FeedBlitz guide mentioned above and am at the ready to move things. I’m cautiously optimistic we’re simply losing a garage door opener (that we no longer use) – not the whole garage.

Now where did I put that remote control?

 

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Don’t Refrain from Repeating Your Chorus

By on September 24, 2012 in Blogging with 0 Comments

One of the hardest things to grasp in publishing to a blog or other social media is the benefit of repetition. And repeating a good thing can be beneficial.

If you write something today in a post or status update, how much of your potential audience sees it? And what of newcomers six weeks or two months from now? Did they catch up to that gold nugget now sitting in the archives?

Your posts and updates are like your online inventory. Your blog, your wall, your stream – just the display. It’s okay to repeat or refresh your best. We all love a good rerun. That’s why folks are still buying Sienfeld episodes.

The most memorable music is often repeated – even within itself:

“…
For I don’t care too much for money,
For money can’t buy me love.

Can’t buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can’t buy me love
No no no, no.”

Above is the refrain and the chorus from The Beatles’ Can’t Buy Me Love.

Your most memorable thoughts are worth repeating – and sometimes, your most memorable thoughts become memorable because you repeated them.

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Why Do People Visit Your Small Business Website?

By on September 17, 2012 in Marketing, Mobile & Local with 1 Comment

Phone CallDo you know why most folks visit a business website? Knowing the answer might provide light on the next few small steps you take with your site.

Why do people visit your small business website?

To Call: A majority of the visitors to your site are simply looking for a phone number. Make it easy to find. Put it on every page (and preferably in a place above the bottom of the page in a font size that doesn’t require a magnifying glass.

To Visit: Are your business hours listed?  A lot of people want to know when you are open (yet a lot of websites don’t list that information). Is there a map along with your address?

To Research: Potential customers want to know your backstory, who you’ve worked with, and how you work.

Action Steps

  1. Phone Number – Get your phone number on every page. Above the fold. Put it in your banner or on a side bar. Having a contact page is an extra click for the visitor. Don’t make them work so hard.
  2. Business Hours – If you have a CONTACT page, you could list your hours of operation, your map, email address, and phone all right there. Forms are great, but don’t make that the only way to contact you. You’ll lose more business than the spam you’re afraid of (and probably won’t get).
  3. About You – Include a brief company history – emphasis on “story” – even if you’re new in business, a backstory can be a connective tissue to some great new business relationships. Pictures are a great addition on this page.

If you need a hand or have a question on these small steps, give me a call:-)  515-802-2273

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Image Optimizer Resizes Your Images, Speeds Up Your Site

By on September 12, 2012 in Cool Tools with 3 Comments

One fantastic thing about social and mobile is watching how a business owner gets excited taking and using their own photos. Pictures of their store, their products, their employees, the new tire on the company truck … once that bug bites, it’s fast-spreading.

A challenge is that the images uploaded from your phone or camera are often HUGE. And if you put these photos on your site in their original form – it can really slow your site down. A lot.

One browser-based tool I’ve been recommending is ImageOptimizer.Net (also available as a download). Simply upload the photo, pick a maximum size desired (for web use, I use 500), and optimize.

Here’s a screen shot of a how ImageOptimizer resized a recent photo I uploaded from a digital camera:

ImageOptimzer Screenshot

The original image was 2560w by 1920h and 2271KB. After Image Optimizer, we went to 500 by 375 and 33KB. Big difference! Though I haven’t downloaded the software, I understand you can batch upload many images at once.

If you are a MAC user, consider using Automator to batch resize your photos (help from OSXDaily). It’s my preferred method if I’m at my own computer. Additionally, WP plugin WPSmush.it helps reduce images sizes for WordPress users.

Know of other forms of resizing or optimizing your images? Share them below.

 

 

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Taking Smaller Steps to Success

By on September 10, 2012 in Blog Coach, Social Media with 10 Comments

Small Success Equals Tangible SuccessWe live in an era of “Quick-Attention Span”, not “Short Attention Span” – it’s become a necessity to filter quickly.

Information. Requests for our time. To-Do lists.

In this quick-attention economy, I’ve found that smaller, quicker steps towards success are a more sure way to bigger successes.

When talking with small business owners, I can sense when the weight of a project or proposal is getting too big. My desire is to stop well short of “heavy” for two reasons:

  1. Quick Steps to Tangible Success – Smaller projects are often a quicker path to tangible successes. I might have a larger project in mind, but breaking it down into smaller steps (think “kaizen”) builds habits (and relationships) of success.
  2. Model Digestible Tasks – By taking on projects and tasks in smaller steps, I am modeling how the business owner I’m working with will be able to take on their new tasks in using the web and mobile to improve their business.

Taking smaller steps may lead towards bigger successes. Sometimes quick is better than fast.

Photo on Flicker by Marquette LaForest via Compfight

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8 Reasons Your Business Needs to Go Mobile – Free LogMyCalls Webinar

By on August 14, 2012 in Conversations, Marketing, Mobile & Local with 1 Comment

LogMyCallsI’ve shared stories about the lack of measurement and tracking in small business operations and I still hear about it too often.

Tracking how and why customers are reaching you is more important now than ever before. With social media at its highest and most widespread use and the rapid growth of click-to-call phone numbers (on mobile or with VoIP), measuring this data is extremely important for sustained success

How many people are coming in? What channels are they coming in from? Does your marketing work – or is it money down the drain?

According to research from LogMyCalls, 70% – 80% of SMB marketing doesn’t pay for itself. LogMyCalls is a great solution for small businesses in measuring how calls are coming in so you can keep from throwing money down the drain.

On Thursday, August 16th at 2:00 PM ET, I’ll be with LogMyCalls on a free webinar talking about the 8 Reasons Your Business Needs to Go Mobile

We’ll talk about:

  • How to get started on mobile today
  • Powerful data about mobile marketing in your segment
  • Pros/Cons of mobile sites vs. apps
  • Why it is critical to track calls coming via mobile
  • Where mobile will be in 5 years, 10 years

Registar today for the free webinar on Thursday, August 16th at 2:00 (even if you’re on a mobile device).

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Searching – and Finding – Small Business Success

By on August 6, 2012 in Marketing, Mobile & Local, Social Media with 3 Comments

Recently, we were looking for a place to do some commercial-sized laundry, our own machines too small for the job. We started looking where most others do … on Google.

I queried Google for the term ‘Laundromat’ and also typed in my city to get the most local place. One of the results was this Google+ Local page for Wash World Coin Laundry. Success!

  • They have a Google Plus Page!  A definite “plus”
  • Store Hours were easy to find
  • Glowing reviews (to which I’ve added mine)
  • Photos show a comfortable, large facility
  • It’s in a shopping area I do my groceries and get my haircut. Convenient!

When we got there, the manager was heroically helpful (we don’t often do commercial-type laundry) and offered free Wi-Fi and free coffee while we waited. Great experience.

Moral of the Story: Every day I hear small business owners who’ve given up or sunk down. “We’re not big enough for Google” or “Our customers know we’re here” is often the crutch they lean on. An opposite and healthier stance is Wash World Coin Laundry. They have a clean and informative website, a findable presence on Google+ Local. And they service what they sell once you walk in the doors.

Wash Word Google+ Local Page

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How A Smartphone Addiction Becomes Blogging Insight

By on July 26, 2012 in Blogging, Social Media with 3 Comments

Guest Post by Joe Pawlikowski

I’m Joe, and I’m a smartphone addict. The signs are all there. I check my phone constantly. I write about phones every day. And oh yeah, I own four of them.

Before this addiction got the best of me. But now I’ve channeled the lessons from that addiction into blogging. It has yielded many insights.

Picking the right tool

It seems sometimes that everyone has an iPhone, right? In the same way, it seems that every blogger uses WordPress. While these might be the most popular tools of the trade, they aren’t the only ones.

My personal phone is a T-mobile smartphone. They don’t even have the iPhone! Yet for my own personal use it makes sense. In the same way, a blogger might be better served using the Blogger platform, or even Drupal.

Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

Compulsively checking in

If there is a smartphone in my pocket, chances are I’m going to pull it out and check for new notifications in the next five minutes. It’s the most distracting, pointless, counter productive practice. But an addict will do it — it’s our fix.

Bloggers have a similar addiction. They constantly check their stats. How many page views? How many uniques? How long are people staying on the site? They might check these numbers hourly. It’s their fix.

It took a lot of thinking and planning, but I finally quit. I don’t have any more notifications that go to my phone’s home screen. In the same way bloggers need to let go. Checking your stats a couple times a week? Perfect. Checking your stats hourly? Distracting, pointless, and counter productive.

Using it with a purpose

Before admitting my addiction, my smartphone would be out during any lull in action or conversation. Even if I had checked all my email, my Twitter mentions, my Facebook timeline, I still browsed around. I’d make all my plays in Words With Friends. I’d watch a view YouTube videos. On and on it went. I was using the phone without a purpose.

Bloggers can display similar behavior. Instead of checking every app on the phone, they try to write every post on the internet. Many bloggers, even on single-author blogs, try to match pace with Gawker and BuzzFeed. They’re aimlessly blogging about any topic that arises. And it’s killing them in the long term.

Every time I pull out my smartphone not, it is with a clear purpose. I’m going to send an email. I’m going to add an item to my to-do list. I’m going to confirm an appointment on my calendar. Bloggers too need a purpose when they write a post. Do they have something to say? Or are they just trying to pump out posts? One clearly has a purpose. The other not so much.

It’s been a long road to recovery. I still have four smartphones, but I no longer check them compulsively. I’m still an addict, of course, but the ticks are under control. Bloggers can learn a bit from this. We all can, really.

Joe Pawlikowski writes several mobile phone blogs, hence owning four of them. He keeps sanity logs at his personal blog, A New Level.

What is Your Social Media Page Saying about You?

By on July 18, 2012 in Blog Coach, Conversations, Marketing, Social Media with 4 Comments

A targeted social media strategy offers big opportunities for businesses of every size. Social media can be a channel for stronger customer relationships, brand awareness and promotions.

But social media can be a double-edged sword, creating both positive and negative images of your company with far-reaching effects. Here are some easy-to-deploy tips to create positive impacts, while avoiding negative effects on your company’s reputation and brand.

How to Make Your Social Media Page Say ‘We Get It’

You’re doing social media right if your page:

  • Creates conversations: Blatant promotional updates are boring. Social media is not about you; it’s about creating conversations and building relationships. Listen to your customers. Ask them questions and answer their queries promptly. Let your customers be your promotional team.
  • Shows appreciation: Every Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube follower is valuable. Those who comment on and share posts are potential gold, with the power to influence others. Offer them perks. Ask for their opinions. And don’t forget to say, “Thanks.”
  • Is a sounding board: Embrace comments and complaints. Fix the customer’s problem and you’ll create a fan out of him/her and everyone who sees (and shares) the conversation.
  • Engages daily: Social media gives businesses an easy way to stay in front of customers. Take full advantage of this powerful opportunity – post every day.

Does Your Social Media Page Say ‘We Don’t Get It’?

It’s easy to see who “gets” social media – and it’s pretty obvious when a company doesn’t. You could be guilty of social media that leaves a bad taste if your page says:

  • We’re robots: People want to connect with people, not corporations. When interacting on social media networks, be a person. Use “we” and “you” statements. Have a personality (keep it in line with the brand strategy).
  • We don’t care about you: Ignoring questions and complaints has a negative impact on customers and prospects. Whether or not they’ve had a similar experience with your company, they can still get the impression that you don’t care.
  • We’re inconsistent: Give customers what they’ve come to expect from your brand. If you’re a fun, casual company, be fun and casual. If you’re professional and buttoned up, don’t post photos of employees partying; take a more serious tone but do show your human side.
  • We don’t have time for this: Building a community around social media takes time and effort. Don’t make the mistake of bailing on posts or slacking on quality content. Stick with your strategy, engage regularly and your community will grow.

Social media is a powerful, must-do business strategy. Show that your company “gets it” and you’ll likely reap the benefits.

Jessica Edmondson contributes on social media training and Internet marketing training for University Alliance, a division of Bisk Education, Inc.

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