Birmingham Social Media Marketing: How Small Business Owners Can Be Successful on Twitter

Twitter is one of the most powerful social media marketing tools in the world today. For many marketers, Twitter is beyond a social media site. It is a very efficient way to grow a business. It also has a great impact on your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Using keyword-focused tweets can  supplement your SEO activities and  help you boost your search engine rankings.

However, even with the many great things twitter can do for a business, still many internet marketers don’t see the potential of using this marketing strategy to improve their business.

Why should you use twitter?

Here are the top reasons you should know.

• Your customers are on Twitter. 
• Signing up for Twitter is FREE.
• You can have a personal account for your business and brand yourself.
• You don’t have to pay to promote your products and services.
• You can connect and ask feedback from your followers and future followers in order to improve your product or services, and/or the customer service.
• You can tweet about the company’s latest updates anytime you want to. Just don’t overdo it. 
• You can tweet about deals and promotions to give your company a boost. 
• It helps increase your customer’s brand loyalty.
• It increases sales and leads.
• It is viral and therefore you can make trending or viral promotion tweets. 
• You can freely spy on your competition through using Twitter Search app.
• Using twitter for your business is fun. 

See how beneficial twitter is? With all these many benefits twitter can offer your business, you are really missing out on a huge opportunity.

On Getting Your Birmingham Business Found on Twitter 

Social networking sites has its own unique characteristics as well as guidelines. While you can post as many characters as you want on Facebook, Twitter is well-known for its 140 character limit per post.  Many businesses find it intimidating. But as they become familiar as to how Twitter works, things began to run smoothly as ever, helping  every Birmingham business get noticed  and generate leads.

Here are a few tips and trick to get noticed on Twitter:

• Use Short Posts–  You only have a limit of 140 characters on Twitter, but shorter posts have higher  interaction rates than longer ones. Reducing the length of your tweet also provides more space for your followers to retweet and reply to it.

• Use Hashtags (#) –  When you place a hashtag (#) before the word in your tweet, it automatically becomes a link, or a topic/keyword of your tweet and is viewable by your followers. This way, anybody on Twitter who searched for the hashtag can see your post. This will greatly benefit your SEO and helps you establish online visibility.

TIP: Use more than two hashtags per tweet so it will not be considered a spam.

• Use Mentions(@) –  Talk to the people who follow you. When you reply or respond to a tweet, use mentions or @. This allows for a conversation, interaction, or discussion between you and your followers. Make sure you reply and answer all the questions from every person on Twitter who mentioned  you or your business.  Customers love it when a company would make efforts to respond to all their comments or their tweets. It’s a great way to show that you care enough for them and their needs.

• Do Retweet (RT) –  Social media is all about interaction and one way to do that is by retweets. Retweeting makes your followers feel special - that you admire their content or tweets and you can relate to or agree with it. In addition, retweets also help you build your brand. Are your posts retweeted?

TIP: If you want people to retweet your posts, leave as much as 20-25 characters in your post for a more convenient RT’s.

• Tweet interesting and helpful contents  - The content of your tweets should also involve helpful business-associated articles, products, photos, etc. that should compel and convince followers to interact and probably purchase the product/services. With your every tweet, it’s either you’re giving your followers a reason to retweet your posts or unfollow you so make sure you tweet something helpful.

• Tweet Consistently -  Keep your tweets as relevant and current as possible. Moreover, it should be fun, interesting, and not too sales pitchy. But first, you have to know the difference between posting consistently (as often as you can) and spamming.

• Post and Post.  Retweeting is not enough. It’s better if you post quotes and interesting links relevant to your business so your new followers will have an idea of the kind of company you are. Remember: Your links should not always point back at you or people are going to ignore you? Do I make sense?

• Respect. One of the guidelines in Twitter is respect. And by that, you need to follow those who follow you. However you must also bear in mind to follow those people who are interesting and are useful for your business.  Don’t just follow them because everyone else is doing it. 

• Don’t Automate.  It’s called ‘social network’ for a reason. Don’t automate your tweets. You can schedule it but be sure it’s not automated or it will affect you and your business and you’ll lose your credibility. Furthermore, answer and respond to tweets and comments in real-time.

Twitter marketing is definitely easy, effective, and most of all FREE (not unless you hire someone to handle your account). But then again, you need to follow some guidelines. If you believe you’re not good at doing it alone, you can get some help from social media marketing services in Birmingham.

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What Facebook Does for Your Online Business’ Social Media Marketing Strategies

They say’ it’s not good to mix business with pleasure. But sometimes, having a good laugh by adding humor to your business marketing  strategy can lead to amazing results.

Business plus pleasure defines social media marketing. Social media continues to evolve as a great marketing tool in the current business world and it is definitely here to stay. Neglecting the power of social media marketing means not taking advantage of every business aspect. And with the competition in this kind of industry, ignoring one may cost you a lot.

We’ve gathered some of the latest statistics about the current state of social media marketing:

1. In the U.S., 27% of total internet time is spent on social networking sites. Source: Experian Marketing Services)
2. In the US, 15% of total mobile internet time is spent on social networking sites. (Source: Experian) 
3. Social media lead conversion rates are 13% higher than the average lead conversion rate. (Source: HubSpot)
4. 21% of marketers reveals that social media has become more important to their company over the past six months. (Source: HubSpot)
5. 23% of marketers are investing in blogging and social media this year, a 9% increase from 2012. (Source: HubSpot) 
6. Approximately 46% of online users count on social media when making a purchase decision. (Source: Nielsen) 

Have you gone social? If not, now is the perfect time to adapt.

Facebook: The Biggest Social Media Marketing Tool

Facebook is the biggest social network and it’s the perfect place to find your prospects and potential clients in Birmingham and all around the world. Facebook marketing allows every Birmingham businessman to have a more enjoyable social media marketing experience.

Maybe you’re still on the fence on whether Facebook marketing is really for your business. You have set up a Facebook page already but posting consistently is never an easy job for you.  You find it boring and unsuccessful. If this is you, probably you just didn’t do it right.

Here are several rules in Facebook marketing to ensure your success

1. Facebook is FUN

What do people do on Facebook? People on Facebook aren’t there to buy, they’re there to build relationships and have fun. Facebook is the place where people can interact, share photos and videos of their lives or of the things that matters to them or interests them. But they can be drawn to your business and can become your potential clients if you understand how to work it properly. They want fun so give them fun. How? Avoid hard selling. Instead give them fun  content.

2. Keep your customers in mind

Although not every business industry has the same pattern, everybody agrees that you need to build on your customers passion points and interests.  Here are some of the things you must do:

• Give your customers something remarkable.
• Post and share interesting and creative photos and videos. 
• Post on weekends.
• Make your posts short and simple.
• No outdated, irrelevant, or repetitive content.

3. Showcase Your Brand

Your Facebook cover and profile image should be attractive and must represent your brand identity. All information about your brand as well as your URL link should be included in the About section of the page.  And, don’t forget to use Facebook apps for a more appealing and interesting page.

Tip: If you need help with Facebook page development, you can just check out social media marketing services agencies within Birmingham to help you. 

4.  Build Relationships

Auto-generated emails or posts do not at all times work. Your fans deserve a special treat. Make them feel special by replying to their comments using their first names. Moreover, you can share their opinions and views about your products and services. This will help build trust and healthy relationship with your fans. Reciprocity matters much.

5. Less Is More 

Post daily but don’t overdo it. Bombarding your fans with too many posts and updates a day is never a good idea. One or two posts a day get higher interaction rates than having more than three posts.

6. Gratify your fans

Running a contest or competition will not only raise brand awareness but it can also expand your audience. You can run sweepstakes, essay, photo and video contest on Facebook. Identify which one will work for your business best. However, you MUST adhere to Facebook’s guidelines when it comes to running a contest to save yourself a headache.

7. Post when your fans are awake

This may sound a common sense but is often overlooked by Facebook marketers. Generally, if you want a day off from posting, make sure it’s not the day when your fans are most active.

Find out when your fans are online and interact with them. Weekends can be the best time to post updates and other stuff and get the most responses from customers.

8. Don’t forget to have fun

In everything you do with Facebook, whether it is posting a status, setting a campaign, or running a contest, remember to always inject fun. This is what Facebook is all about. FUN and having fun.
Social media marketing is definitely the trend today in Birmingham. Facebook marketing provides businesses an easy and fun way to engage with existing and potential customers. When you feel you’re on your way to success, you know you’re doing right.

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Blogging for SEO: How to Write Blogs That Help Increase Your Birmingham Business Online Visibility

Blogging as a marketing strategy has been around for years. But just like SEO, blogging strategies constantly change from time to time. The inevitable alterations are simply the explanation why you find your blog optimization change its ranking regularly. And if you’re unaware, this may risk your place on search engines in the long run.

Apart from not monitoring the search engine algorithm alterations, another reason is bad blogging habits. And this by far, is what bloggers continuously do. To help you avoid these common mistakes again, here is a list of the most common blogging habits that can kill your search engine rankings. Of course, you’d get hold of how to break them as well.

Being Company or Product -centric

Blogging or posting any information about your company on social media and blogging sites is not a crime. However, when you talk and boast a lot about how awesome your company is week after week, you will lose your credibility. Readers will see you as promoting your company and not someone who can help them provide information about the things they need. As a result, they will not return to check out your blogs.

What to do: Your content should focus on useful and relevant information that people care about such as providing tips and guidelines to business owners, employees, consumers, etc. Still, the best way for a company/brand to be boasted about is through word of mouth from the public and not from you (e.g.: testimonials and feedbacks).

Inconsistent Posting

If you are serious about your business, keep your blog updated all the time by posting uniqe blogs frequently. Post anything that relates to your products or services. Share videos. Announce upcoming events. Think out of the box to come up with more content. Once a week posting is fine but making it twice is a lot better. Your constant updates simply show that you still exist in the online world and the people can more likely rely on you to cater them right away if ever they need something.

What to do: Write as many blogs as you can for you to be prepared when the need comes. You can even hire bloggers to do the job for you. If you are from Birmingham, there are web development agencies that offer a wide range of services - from web design to SEO services to blogging.

Lacking of Customer Engagement

Communication is one of the most important aspects of a business. A good communication relationship between managers and employees, or business owners and consumers is what keeps any business up and running.

What’s the best thing about a blog is that you can communicate and interact with your readers through comments and exchanging contact information. Take advantage of this opportunity to get to know the mind of your readers and what they want or need. And don’t forget to appreciate them for sharing their thoughts  and honest opinions.

What to do:  Think about your community and make it easy for your readers to leave comments.

Using Bad SEO Techniques

Blogging is one way to drive traffic and increase search engine rankings. Developing SEO strategy is great, however there are those that make poor content. One example is through filling the blog with as many keywords and phrases which make the content to SEO-focused and loses its credibility.

What to do: Don’t hire SEO companies that are incapable of dealing with search engine tactics. If you do SEO yourself, identify top keywords relevant to your business and incorporate them in your blog – every now and then. Don’t forget to make it interesting for your readers.

Long posts

 

Readers only have a limited attention span, they don’t stay long. While it is good to have longer posts and great content, the best way to grab the reader’s attention is through putting images and illustrations. Photos and images are visually attractive and engaging and they can convey a concept or an idea to your customers. Just make sure that you got it from sources that allow you to get their photos or better yet, the images must belong to you.

What to do: Break longer posts by using images that are pleasing, attractive, and relevant to your posts. Don’t forget to use images with creative commons licensing unless you have the right to use any photo you can find on the net.

Bloggers for Hire! ( Where to Find Bloggers in Birmingham)

Let’s say you have launched your blog and you are not sure what will happen next. Don’t worry, in case you need bloggers or writers for your company website, you can look for blog writing services company in your area. If you’re from Birmingham, most SEO service providers in the city also offer writing services that can help your business pull in inbound traffic.

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Why Writing Good Content is Important for Birmingham Online Business Owners

The popularity of internet marketing and search engine optimization makes online press releases (PR) and ad campaigns indispensable in the business world. They have become the most profitable and cost effective promotional and  marketing strategies today.

However, even when they are verified and attested to by internet marketing experts, there are still businesses who have not shown a keen interest in including them in their marketing plans. Why? They may not realize how valuable online PR and ad campaigns are because of their focus on web design and graphics. Though it’s just plain text, many businesses have benefitted from it.

The Benefits of  Online Press Releases and Catchy Ad Campaigns 

Today, the internet is taking up most of our time. People go to the internet to look for a particular product or service that interests them. In addition, it has become a great tool for many online marketers to spread news and updates related to their business through online press releases and ad campaigns. This is why many Birmingham agencies that provide content writing services are taking advantage of this.

How are online press releases and ad campaigns advantageous for any business?

• They significantly increase brand awareness and spark the consumer’s interest.
• They increase profitability for the business which can result in a wider target market 
• They increase search engine rankings and increases online presence.
• They increase sales inquiries.

Effective Content Writing For PR and Ad Campaigns: How To Get It Right

The common misconception about online press releases is that a business needs to have HUGE news before they can submit a press release. Or that they need professional writers, which is absolutely WRONG. You can produce a newsworthy press release even though you’re just announcing an event or just generating a feature story. Furthermore, you don’t have to be Dr. Seuss or J.K. Rowling to be able to write great content. When it comes to business news, it just needs creativity.

Birmingham internet marketers know for sure how vital good content writing is in online press releases. A good quality press release content attracts new visitors and drives traffic to your website or blog and thus helps boost business. Moreover, it should provide value to your brand as well as value to your readers. An ineffective, poorly written content is just a waste of money and time. You wouldn’t like that, do you?

So, how can you create efficient online press releases?

Here are a few tips:

• Find an interesting subject for your PR. 
• Make sure about your target audience. 
• Your PR should pique a journalist’s interest.
• Make your headlines interesting.
• Create unique content.
• Avoid complex sentence structures. 
• Make sure the content is easily digestible. 
• Use lists as opposed to long paragraphs.
• Make your content easily shareable across the various social media sites.
• Use visual content like images, infographics, charts and graphs 

If you follow these tips, you can ensure that your readers won’t immediately reach for the ‘back’ button. Instead, they would love to learn more about your company and probably become your loyal customers in the long run.

And, how about for ad campaigns?

Many businesses spend millions on advertisements just to achieve a successful brand awareness. Why? Because in business, it always pays to advertise. Advertisements is a sure and effective way to enhance sales and boost your business.  No matter how effective your product is or how excellent your services are, if you don’t advertise nobody will be acquainted with your business.

An ad needs to be persuasive, engaging, and written properly for the intended audience in order for it to be highly efficient. How can this be done? There are guidelines and writing tutorials all over the internet you can use. Some of them are listed below:

7 Tips for creating a compelling ad campaign:

1. Highlight at least one beneficial property of your product.
2. Have a catchy tagline.
3. Be memorable by using a little humor and choosing a memorable image.
4. Keep the messaging as brief as possible. Less is always more. 
5. Know and keep your target audience in mind.
6. Make sure to include all the relevant information.
7. Be persuasive but do not deceive your customers. 

Keeping these tips in mind when writing content for advertisements, you’ll be able to sell your product more effectively.

You’ve heard this time and time again, but there’s no harm in reiterating it: In online marketing, content is king. Whether it is an on site article, a video, an ad campaign, or a press release, it’s your content that convinces and persuades potential customers and drive them to your site.

There are  a lot of website  content writing companies in Birmingham that offer a wide range of services – such as SEO writing, copy writing, press  release writing, ads/ad campaigns writing, etc. You can check them out should you need their services.

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Getting More Leads for Your Birmingham Business Through Search Engine Optimized (SEO) Videos

The essence of online marketing are online visibility, generating leads, and increase in sales. There are many ways for your business to be found online, such as through ads, email marketing, content marketing, video marketing, and a lot more.

In Birmingham, SEO videos have become the most effective tool to get more traffic and increase sales. Why? Because videos simply work.  People want to see you, feel you, and get to know you better. All these can be achieved through incorporating SEO videos on your blogs or site. Videos allow potential customers to get to know you and like you, and probably you’ll become their logical choice.

How Video Marketing Helps Improve Your Online Presence

When you create a new website, you can’t just expect it to automatically get traffic. You must have to prove that your website is the most relevant among all others to increase its online visibility. In order to achieve this, you need the help of SEO experts.  They are skilled and well-trained with search engine marketing and they have developed innovative techniques and strategies to increase your online presence.

If you’re one of the thousands of Birmingham online marketers looking for more leads, it’s high time for you to hire the services of an SEO expert. However, if you have trouble convincing yourself or the marketing team how important video marketing is, you might want to know how beneficial SEO videos are for you.

The Benefits of Video Marketing You Need To Know

• People love watching videos online. YouTube alone has more than 4 billion views each day and Google loves (and owns) YouTube. In a recent study by Ooyola, an online video technology provider, they predicted that in 2016, around 1.5 billion people will watch at least one online video a day. What’s more interesting? This number of people can be your potential customers!
• Videos are educating and engaging. People love visuals and there can be no other more efficient in educating and entertaining consumers at the same time than through videos.  Moreover, a video keeps consumer glued to your site. 
• Videos establish brand identity. Compared with other online marketing tools, a video is way better at making consumers learn and get to know your brand better.  
• Your competitors are using online videos.  According to PRWeb, From 70 %, now 81 percent of businessmen and marketers use online video in 2011. Your competitors can be too way ahead of you.
• Videos are searchable. Consumers who will be looking for your products can easily see your videos. YouTube videos get ranked high in Google. 
• Videos are likeable and shareable. No matter the publishing platform ( YouTube, Vimeo, Vine, Viddy and Keek, etc), your videos can be shared in a matter of minutes repeatedly. Video sharing allows your message to reach your potential customers. 
• Videos allow for real time comments, feedback, and interaction. People love to comment and share their opinions or reviews about the product they have tried or the services they get. Videos would be a great tool for you to learn about what customers say about you.  
• Videos are mobile. Online videos can be accessed through Smartphones and other handheld devices. Isn’t it amazing to know that you can be in people’s hands almost all the time? And yes, buying your stuff is just a click away from their mobile phones. 
• Videos are forever.  When you upload videos online, they stay there forever, unless of course, you delete them. Haven’t you noticed that you can still view videos online that are over 5 years or more?  

Now, efficient videos are not just fun and entertaining. They also have to be search engine optimized. If you aren’t optimizing your videos, it will less likely reach your intended customers. So no matter how many videos you upload every day, they are useless.

TIPS for An Efficient and Successful Video Marketing Business

So how do you ensure your videos get results? As previously mentioned, videos should be optimized. We refer this as SEO videos. This is what SEO experts in Birmingham do.

Below are SEO experts’ tips on how to build and increase your online visibility.

• Make sure the video content is relevant, and informative, engaging, and offer viewers something they want to see.
• Make sure that the video is of exceptional quality for better viewing. 
• Make sure you incorporate your brand and logos into your videos. 
• Keep the video short. It should only be five minutes or less. For longer videos, cut it into several chunks for better viewing.
• The title of the video should be catchy and interesting and must contain keyword/key phrases relevant to your brand or service. 
• The  ‘Tag’ section of the video should be filled with relevant and important key phrases.
• The video description should also be keyword-rich for better searching. 
• Make sure that you put your website at the bottom of your video and also at the ‘description’ section.
• Video transcriptions are a must. Make sure that you also have an on-page copy that can be indexed by search engines.
• Make your video go viral by allowing users and viewers to embed your video whether on their own website or blog.
• Submit your video to RSS feeds and syndicate your videos to gain more exposure for your brand or service.
• Take advantage of the popularity of the social networking sites and share your videos. 

Now, having read this, you might think that you don’t need the help of SEO experts anymore. You’re wrong. Absolutely wrong.

Remember, in video marketing (or online marketing as a whole), change is inevitable. With regards to SEO, Google always changes the rules. SEO strategies today may be not efficient in the next few months and your website needs to stay relevant and current. So, it is recommended to have an SEO expert for your business to thrive in the very competitive world of internet marketing in Birmingham.

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Responsive Web Design: The Future of Your Birmingham Online Marketing Business

Not too long ago, when the web can only be accessed through desktops, web design experts worry just about one thing – making the website look right and great on this platform. That was barely two years ago.

Today, mobile internet users are currently overtaking the desktop internet user population. As we all know, the way people access the web is changing fast - we can browse the internet through tablets, Smartphones, game consoles, and 3G/WIFI capable handheld mobile devices.

So, as a website owner, how can you possibly meet the needs of your clientele? How can you make sure your customers can access your website no matter what device they’re on?

The concept of responsive web design is here to solve this problem. Responsive web design (RWD) is the hottest trend not only Birmingham online marketing but all over the world as well. To the unfamiliar, this is a new web design technique that allows web designers to create a single web page layout that is flexible enough to look good on multiple screen sizes and works on any device that it’s being viewed on. It’s like “one size fits all”.

Top 2 Reasons Why You Have to Switch to Responsive Design

You may ask ‘Why should I switch my website to responsive design?’

2013 is dubbed as the ‘Year of Responsive Web Design’. Now, if you are not on it yet, you should be concerned.

1. We are in a mobile, digital age. The majority of the consumers today are buying tablets and Smartphones. According to a study done by Pew Internet, as of December 2012, 45% of American adults have a smartphone and as of January 2013, 31% of American adults own a tablet computer. Moreover, in other parts of the globe, many people are also using these mobile devices to access the Web. If this is the case, how would your customers around the globe able to access your website conveniently through these kinds of platforms?
2. Your competitors are in it! Most of Birmingham online marketers and website owners realized the vitality of having a responsive web design for a solid online presence. And they can’t afford to lose this huge opportunity. If you don’t act now, you may find yourself being left behind. 

Still unsure of switching to a responsive design? I can understand that. Now, here are more proofs as to why responsive web design is vital for your local Birmingham business. 

The Benefits of Responsive Web Design 

Your site is the best representation of your business. Having a responsive website allows your customers to see everything about your website – images, ads, information, contact details, products, etc., laid out and displayed properly however it is accessed.

Why is a responsive web design beneficial to Birmingham website owners?

1. It provides the best viewing and browsing experience. RWD automatically resizes and adjusts itself to fit the screen size of your visitor’s device, making it a more enjoyable user experience especially for people that are always on the go.
2. Since it automatically resizes, web design experts need not have to create multiple sites for various types of handheld or mobile devices. This will save you money and time as well.
3. It increases sales and conversion rates. Its accessibility will surely have a positive impact on the part of your customers, attracting higher traffic. 
4. It increases customer loyalty. The fact that customer experience is your priority, no doubt their loyalty will be for you. And, yes, never underestimate the power of the ‘word of mouth’. A satisfied customer can recommend you to his or her friends. 
5. Google recommends it. If Google says you should have a responsive design, you should. Am I right?

So if, after reading this, you still don’t think you have to switch to responsive web design, assuming that you don’t have yet, you might regret it. If you are looking to provide your customers a great experience and give your business a competitive edge, you should consider switching now. Responsive web design is the future of Birmingham online marketers like you.

Speaking of Birmingham online marketers, you can check out several web design service providers that offer to help improve your online presence and the impact of your business.

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Make or Break: The Impact of Social Media Review Services in Birmingham for your Business

The successes of many businesses in the antiquated years of ink and paper are partly because of the positive reviews they receive. That is a fact. When one says something good about a product, naturally another person will want to prove it either right or wrong. Especially from a person or from an entity with strong credibility for a specific business type, the reviews are likely to be perceived as more convincing.

Online businesses have also become a fad for the past few years.  They have been existing in such a manner that we almost cannot imagine the Internet without them.

Online or offline, businesses are like a pile of books stacked on a second-hand book shop shelf. In order to be handpicked by a meticulous reader, a specific book needs to stand out from the rest – by the synopsis of its content, by the integrity of its author, and by its starred reviews.

Today, in order to establish a sturdy list of positive reviews, businesses make use of social media services where apparently more number of people frequent.  Perhaps the best way to generate more reviews is to create a business page on any of the more popular social media sites. By the end of this article, a person will know more about that plus the following:

• How important are online reviews to your business
• How to get more positive reviews for your business
• Top sites to collect online reviews

The Significance of Online Reviews for Your Business

Businesses have been relying for the longest time on newspaper reviews and magazine reviews. Today, do online reviews make the same amount of difference? Yes, in fact, even greater. Why is it important for your business to have an arsenal of positive online reviews? Just take into consideration the following facts from the Local Consumer Review Survey (2012):

• 52% of consumers reported that positive customer reviews make them more likely to use a local business compared to just 28%, who make their selection based on other factors like location and price. 
• 52% of consumers trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations -- provided they look authentic and less spammy, or with real people as authors.

In another survey, it was also found out that 76% of consumers regularly or occasionally use online reviews to determine which local business to use.

If those are still not enough, consider the following quick facts:

• 89% of consumers viewed online sources of product and service reviews as trustworthy. 
• In 2011, 85% of those surveyed said they’d be more likely to purchase if they could find additional recommendations online. 

With more and more people seeking for some kind of comfort and reassurance for a product and service ONLINE, it is no doubt that online reviews can either make or break your business. But have you ever wondered if there are specific tips on how to acquire more positive reviews and minimize or prevent the negative ones?

How to Get More Positive Reviews for Your Business

Positive online reviews can be a boon, while the negative ones can put a ding on your business. Learn how to bulletproof your business from inevitable online attacks with these simple steps and tips:

Build a social media page and/or website for your business. But don’t just build it, update it. Fill up the About information, showcase your products and services, make it look professional and everything that a business website should be. For cheaper value, you can always opt to avail of social media services and create a Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ pages.

Consider asking for reviews. Not necessarily good reviews, but just honest reviews. Buying a fake review will never work. And remember, it’s better to receive a good number of positive plus a few negative than just a singular positive review.

Acknowledge positive reviews. It’s the least you can do.

Respond to negative reviews in a nice and quick manner. While most of the time, businesses’ reaction will be to defend themselves, it is always more appropriate to respond as quickly as possible and answer their concerns in a modest, but not apologetic manner. A negative reaction to a negative review may even cause greater complications.

Contact negative reviewers that go overboard personally. If the negative reviews are too much to handle publicly (i.e. spamming your review section or getting too personal with their reviews), then it’s the time to handle them personally but still with modestly. Netizens can get overboard sometimes, so make sure they know their limitations.

Top Sites to Collect Online Reviews 

If you want to check out how your business is doing in the online realm, it’s best to know what others are saying, no matter how good or bad they might say. There are a number of sites (and social media sites) where your business can take its first stepping stone towards making a reputation online:

1. Yelp 
2. Google+ reviews
3. Yahoo local listings
4. Facebook
5. LinkedIn
6. Angie’s List
7. Insider pages
8. City search
9. Consumer reports
10. Twitter

Make a name for your business in online realm by availing of social media services in Birmingham now.

More about → Make or Break: The Impact of Social Media Review Services in Birmingham for your Business

How to Earn by Blogging and Utilizing High Quality Content Writing Services in Birmingham

Almost everyone can write, but only a few can write well. It can be learned, but some people were born true writers. Looking past, writing has become a lethal weapon of (political) upheaval, a medium of expression in the form of ink and old paper, and a low-income profession. In this generation of web interaction however, writers or bloggers have become among the online titles that are most sought-after, partly owing to their small population.

­­There are probably thousands of blogs out there, some with impeccable content writing styles and techniques, some the opposite – nothing but frayed content of links and pictures, and there are those types of blogs that are growing the bank account simply out of the writer’s passion.  

Written in the stars or not, knowing how to write for the web means money in exchange. The only question is how.

And that is exactly what we’re going to come back with in this article by finding out about:

•  How to start a blog 
• Useful tips on how to make money from blogging
•  Some popular sites that pay bloggers to write articles, reviews, etc.

Tips on how to make money by blogging

What is a blog?

Basically, a blog is defined as a web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis. It usually revolves around a specific topic that targets a specific group of audience or readers.

Gone were the days when blogging is just considered as a person’s online journal, an open-book diary. These days, when someone talks about making money online, blogging is one thing that is almost never missed. It has become, from a meager passion into a highly profitable avenue. Many bloggers start with a part-time venture but gradually shifts to full-time in scavenge for some quick money.

And perhaps the best thing about blogging is you never have to fit your feet in the shoes of Twain, Dickens, or Tolstoy (but of course, it’s a major plus factor if you could). You have an interest or opinion that you want to share to others, you know the basic rules of subject-verb agreement or the English language in general, and you’re off to start your own blog. BUT this is the rule applied ONLY when you’re blogging for expression.

Blogging for profit is THAT plus a few other significant reminders:

1.  Know where to blog. Blogger and Wordpress are the two most widely used sites to create blogs. Having a common domain name for a free account is the only drawback. But you have the option to pay only minimal amount of start-up costs while expecting hundreds, even thousands each month in return.
2. Customize your theme related to your chosen niche. Your blog design will provide the first impression to your readers. Make sure it looks professional.
3. Know what to blog (choose your target niche market well). Find out about a specific niche that is generating a lot of interest and you can write product reviews on your blog. Market your blog to product vendors by sending interested readers to them. But this is not only limited to products. If you’re a travel-freak, it’s good to know that travel bloggers are even getting paid to write a review for a specific travel destination.

There are also other ways to monetize your blog aside from writing product or service reviews mentioned above:

• Advertisements – get paid by supporting advertisements from online providers which pay you for every site landing or for how many clicked on the ad. Keep in mind though that these providers choose blogs that provide high quality content and are backed up by high traffic.
• E-book selling – if you’re not into technical or product sales writing, then why not try e-book selling? You can also make your book available on Amazon or provide a Kindle version.

4. Remember: blogging is writing. Define what your blog should be, preferably something you’re passionate about that is also of interest to a wide niche market. Give utter importance to good-quality content writing by giving only relevant information and paying attention to sentence structure, grammar and other vocabulary details (anecdotes, punctuations, spelling, etc.). Provide your reader with a wonderful piece and your readers will queue in for your next post.

5. Drive traffic to your site. Invest some time and efforts to gather a large number of readers. Try out email marketing, article marketing software, and perhaps today’s best way to market online – utilizing social media sites.

6. Interact with other blogs. Comment on other blog posts, make friends, and drive more traffic to your blog by allowing room for interaction.

7. Include social media tools. Facebook (or Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+) likes and shares, in pretty much determine how good your blog is. Aside from that, this will build your fan base and increase your rank in search engine result.

8. Update your blog. A blog is after all defined as a place where people post on a REGULAR BASIS. Try to be consistently good in doing this business and consistent money will then follow.

But if you’re too lazy to set up your own blog, you can always rely on external sites that pay you per post:

• SPONSORED REVIEWS (www.sponsoredreviews.com)

“Earn cash by writing honest reviews about our advertiser’s products and services. Write reviews in your own tone and style, and gear them to your audience’s interest.”

• REVIEW ME (www.reviewme.com)

“Get paid $20 – $200 to review products and services on your site. You control what you review.”

• DIGITAL JOURNAL (www.digitaljournal.com)

“Unlike most websites where bloggers post for free (and the company takes in all the ad revenue), DigitalJournal.com shares a portion of its advertising revenue with all Citizen Journalists.”

• PAY PER POST (www.payperpost.com)

“PayPerPost is an incredible new self-service marketplace that allows you to get paid to blog about the products, services and websites you love. You can easily earn $500 per month or more with your current blog!”

• SQUIDOO (www.squidoo.com)

“Every lens carries Google AdSense ads. Those are used to generate royalties for the whole co-op. If you want to increase your direct royalties, though, you should consider adding commercial modules that the visitors to your lenses will appreciate.”

If you’re serious to make money through blogs, make it stand out from the rest by following the above tips and double checking the quality of the content. Or you could opt to take into service content writing services in Birmingham. When they guarantee premium quality content with strict adherence to deadlines, they probably are the answer to that one big blog content hurdle.  

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How Online Advertising Companies In Birmingham Help Improve Your Business?

Millions of people each day use the web for practically everything – from news to entertainment to shopping. This is why many Birmingham entrepreneurs make use of online advertising for their business. Online marketing makes it possible even for the smallest local business in Birmingham to get known and be popular not just locally but even to the rest of the world.

For just about any business looking to advertise online, you must bear in mind that investing online is not easy, especially if you are not familiar with how the system works. So before investing, you must study how online advertising can help your business. Below are two of the most important questions you should ask yourself first before making that very important decision.

• Why Should You Invest in Online Marketing?
• What are the Truths Behind The Common Myths About Online Advertising?

Why Invest in Online Advertising?

As the world went through a great recession, Birmingham business owners find advertising online a way to make their business survive. They take advantage of cost-effective online marketing as a way to cut down operational cost – both in marketing and advertising budgets.

Online advertising is the next big thing. Compared to other forms of advertising such as TV ads, radio ads, print ads, etc, online advertising is the most preferred by entrepreneurs because of very important reasons – cost efficiency and far reach.

• Convenient - The traditional way of marketing such as newspapers and other print ads are not dead. They just don’t work as efficiently as they used to a few years back because of the coming of online advertising. With the availability of news on the net which is easily accessible for everyone who has web browsing capable devices, newspapers are quickly fading and are becoming unnecessary especially for the younger generation who prefers the more innovative way of getting information or news.

• Cost Efficient – Online advertising won’t cost you much but unless you know the secret how, you will find yourself investing more on something that only needs a little amount of money. One of the secrets of getting the most of your investment is hiring the most competitive and efficient online advertising company in your area. If you are from Birmingham, you will surely never run out of advertising companies you can approach. You can even outsource your work online should you feel the need to.

• Far Reaching – How far is the reach of internet advertising? It reaches coast to coast, from east to west. Even the remotest part of the globe, if internet is available, people will get to know your brand or products and services. Unless you want to miss a lot of prospects, you wouldn’t embrace online marketing.

What are the Truths Behind the Common Myths About Online Advertising?

Online marketing is one of the most important and very effective marketing tool nowadays. However, even with the booming online advertising industry, many Birmingham entrepreneurs still have a lot of negative impressions about it simply because the internet is loaded with misleading information, spam scams, fraud, etc.

Have you fallen to victim deceivers and purchased sub-standard products over the internet? Or have you tried online advertising but you think you were just deceived that you want to leave the internet for good?
The crucial part of staying protected from losing your hard earned money online  is by staying informed. Now, if you still want to or is considering online advertising,  you just keep your scam radar on by getting the truth behind these lies. Let’s debunk each one of them.

1. Myth: Online advertising is a waste of money ; Fact:  It is cost-effective

Compared to other forms of advertisement such a sprint, TV, or radio ads or billboards, online advertising is more cost effective. Through the internet, you can reach many people with only a little investment.

2. Myth: It is spammy ; Fact: Not all online ads are spam

The anonymity of the Internet makes it possible for the spams and scams and other questionable ads online. You have to carefully study and examine each and every ads you that caught your interest before you click them.

3. Myth: Intrusive online ads are not a good idea.; Fact: Only unsophisticated marketers feel this way.

Online ads help the customers find the specific product or services without much effort.  Why do they allow these floating ads that cover the content or pop-up ads that open on new windows? Because they are very efficient in targeting the right market.

4. Myth: The value of a click is dying. ; Fact: The Web is all about traffic.

Clicks are the primary source of data collection on the web. If you think clicks are not efficient,      how do people get to a particular business website? They click.  How do you find us? You clicked.

5. Myth: You can get rich quick on online advertising. ; Fact: There is no easy way to get rich.

Most newbies fall into this deception thinking getting rich can happen overnight. Businessmen who were successful online became such because of their hard work and perseverance.

Don’t let these myths confuse you nor keep you from making money through online advertising.  You can partner with a professional online advertising company in Birmingham that can help you achieve the best results possible. With online advertising, everything spreads faster than you ever thought possible. Not taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity will impair the growth of your business.

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From Birmingham to the Rest of the World; How Dedicated Software Programs Changed the Landscape of Graphic Design Regardless of Location

Graphic design can be comparable to the universe since it is a discipline that encompasses a lot of other processes in an almost infinite bound. For example you make images and set typeface letterings for a website, that’s graphics; when you edit images from anywhere, that’s still graphics. And even if you’re already editing animated clips, you can still consider that part of the over-all discipline called graphic designing.


But it doesn’t matter where you are located now or in what ways do you encounter graphic designing, it remains all and the same in its essence. So if you practice graphic designing in Birmingham, London or Glasgow as a profession slash hobby, it may be highly plausible that you already know its general use.




There is a certain thing that is part of an unspoken or common sense rule that is inseparable in its practice though. That is the use of graphic software programs.


What does this piece of technological advancement brings into the picture?

A Milestone in Design (The history of graphic design software)


The whole existence of the field can be attributed to it or at least its rapid development. Following the invention of computers, designing was solely a play thing of fashion enthusiasts or fine art students. It has not yet been fully integrated into the virtual world.


Old fashioned methods of creating images out of nothing were done manually before the onset of computers; not through CGI (computer generated imagery) or smart gadgets. Although design can still be achieved through the traditional paper and pencil technique to this day, graphic software made an interesting addition to its fulfilment which is convenience.


With software, almost anyone can be their own professional graphic designer. With software, graphic design has made itself known in the world under a movement away from fine art.


In the beginning, the word “graphic design” was first coined only in 1922 to refer to visual representations that give way to information, ideas and expression that document human experience. The person behind the definition and its first usage in public was an American type designer, Mr. William Addison Dwiggins who aimed to challenge his contemporaries to make valuable changes to their field and address the changing trends.


But the British already made a classic use of graphic design when it showcased the London Underground logo (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Underground.svg), a decade before Dwiggins even coined the term.


The logo did not just involve timeless design but also ageless typography. Soon thereafter, it became an important part of the whole discipline and was further developed as an integral ingredient in the success of modern graphic design.


And thanks to this groundbreaking introduction of software programs such as Adobe CS and Corel Draw, anyone can now practice graphic designing in Birmingham at the comfort of their own homes.

What applications benefit from it?


Applications in Real Life (Different uses of graphic design and how software programs helped improved it)


Publications – Do you know Gutenberg? He invented the first movable metal types that made mass production of books, possible. From that, everything developed and computers now rule the game with modern printers that can print millions of copy at a desired pace. In graphic design, there are dedicated software programs that worked solely for page lay-out.


If scribes do a lot of manual work to draw intricate images and typefaces before, one can simply create and edit that now through a software. It uses typography (typefaces and set letter systems), and images as illustrations for magazines, books and other printed materials.


Logo Designing – What comes to mind first when thinking of logos that lasted long enough to witness generations fascinated by its longevity? There’s Coke, the Olympics logo and heck even London’s own Underground train system. Programs attuned to graphic designing can match these set of timeless classic with logos for such companies as Facebook, Nickelodeon and Google.


Entertainment Industry – Logos are more on the corporate and business feel, while books are for educational purposes but graphic designing also has a fun side. You can see it vividly enhancing all the images you see in movie posters, leaflets, comic books, DVD covers, and credits in a film.



Some of the best software programs in use according to different standards made all these possible. Here are three of the leading names:


Top Graphic Software Programs (Compare and Contrast some distinctive features)

Adobe Creative Suite – Currently on its fifth version, the 6th instalment is now on a pre-order period. It has 5 main creative suites thus the highest price in the fray. It has superb digital imaging features and intuitive user interface for ease of use.


Corel Draw Graphics Suite – like the pioneer Adobe, it also draws on the idea of a suite or many applications converged to give users more options. It offers a wide array of applications including the complicated vector illustration, page layout and mobile capabilities.


Xara Designer Pro – Unlike the two giants, this product’s general appeal is for the minimalist and consolidator since it is not a suite but a single program that offers all the application without you ever leaving its portal. So if you want to edit an image or layout a page, you only need to open one application. Because of this, it is also the cheapest of the three.



If you’re an aspiring professional or is a company wishing to make use of the advantage that Birmingham Graphic Design brings, then the time is ripe to start the venture to reap off the benefits in the soonest possible time.

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