ABCN Training Focus

We all know that the Web is the best way to get the most bang for your buck. But what are the specific trends you need to follow to make sure you're getting as much publicity and free marketing as possible? In this issue of Training Focus, we'll teach you four of the the hottest – and easiest – methods ALLIANCE recommends for you to manager your website for maximum marketing impact.

You might have been too busy worrying about your business center issues to have heard of Twitter, but we hope to introduce you to a whole new way of receiving and delivering information — as well as having fun.

Twitter is growing at a phenomenal rate and so is the eco-system around it. It is a free service that allows anyone to say almost anything to anybody in 140 characters or less – also called "micro blogging." Twitter isn't just for personal miniblogging; it's an excellent marketing tool that can keep you in touch with your prospects and clients.

Set up a Twitter account to announce new products and services at your center and advertise special discounts and sales. Use it to remind your clients of existing services.

With 13 Million users, Flickr is the No. 1 free online photo sharing application on the Web, supporting the uploading, viewing and sharing of digital photographic images.

Flickr can help with your marketing efforts. With its community and photo tagging properties, Flickr provides excellent opportunities for you to use Flickr photo profile pages to advertise your center's products and services, build brand awareness, educate consumers, get product feedback and connect with clients and prospects. Be careful, though, as your marketing via Flickr has to be done in a subtle, non-commercial way, otherwise the community and groups will not appreciate it and you won't get the exposure you are looking for.

Flickr offers a "crawlable-friendly" site architecture and features that help with basic search engine optimization. Because of this, Flickr offers the best potential to be an additional source of free web site traffic for your company.

Photo profile pages have great benefits when embedded links from within the photo captions link back to relevant pages in a web site. This generates additional free referral traffic and improves the link popularity of the Website and the rankings in the contextual organic search results at major search engines.

The secret to Flickr is "tagging," or labeling photos with popular and related keywords and phrases so that search engines can determine what the picture is about. Add applicable and keyword-rich "tags" to all photo profile pages. Upload photos of your center and related subjects and tag them with related words and descriptors, like OBC, center, business, suites, executive, offices, Manhattan, California, etc. This way, visitors to the photo site will see your photos when they search those phrases.

Add keyword-rich hypertext links to the photo captions and link those back to related pages on the Website. This simple and quick practice can bring prospects to your Website and through your doors.

Is There a Way You Can Tap into over 10 Million iTunes Users Worldwide?

The answer to the above question is "Yes." Podcasts are quickly becoming one of the more popular ways to reach people. Research shows that about 50% of online users have downloaded a podcast, and about 18% listen to one daily. Podcasts are no longer just enjoyed by the young and technically advanced - more people in the 55+ age range are listening to podcasts than teenagers. Research has also shown that podcast listeners have high incomes, and are more likely to be online buyers.

Why are podcasts so effective? It is easier to communicate through audio and video than through written word, and listeners tend to absorb and retain more information this way. Through a podcast, you can create a more personal connection and convey your sincerity and enthusiasm for what you're talking about.

Podcasts are a great medium for reaching an international audience. Now is a great time to get in on this budding trend, since in many ways, podcasting is new and so there are fewer competitors who are using this communication method.

Podcasting offers your listeners choice and control; they can listen at a time that is convenient for them, which means they will be more receptive to what you are sharing. Not everyone has time or is willing to sit reading at a computer for long periods, but your audience can easily take a podcast away and listen to it in the car, at the gym or while doing housework. When people listen to a podcast they are a captive audience. They are really interested in what you have to say and have committed to listening to it. In fact, when someone downloads a podcast they are intending to shut out other noise and distractions in order to listen solely to your recording and give it their full attention.

With podcasting, reaching your audience has never been easier. You can even publish your podcast to iTunes so it can be seen by millions of podcast listeners.

Statistics show that having voice on an order form increases order completion by 30% or better. Audio clips can have some of the same appeal and advantages as podcasts. This easy method of communication will allow your listeners to:

Absorb and then retain more information.
Create a more personal connection with your prospects, clients, and other site visitors.
When your audience hits play and listens to your pitch, you have an opportunity to draw them in.
Voice recording on your site will induce visitors to stay longer, improving your chance of the visitor taking action, whether it's buying a product, signing up for your email list, or passing your site on to their friends and colleagues.
The typical visitor will listen to your entire audio clip and view your webpage in the process.
Voice increases visitor confidence, giving your website increased credibility.

You can even use audio to help your order process. Just remind visitors about your guarantee, your secure site and give them a few instructions to guide them through the order process. With audio, you give your website personality through a natural sales medium that visitors can relate to, making your website easier to understand and more accessible.

1. Website visitors are impulsive, so keep content scannable and links simple.
2. Place calls to action near popular content and on every page.
3. Avoid objects that look like ads or large graphics. Advertising is a turnoff online.
4. Content and knowledge, not flash and graphics, drive conversions.
5. Product photos on all pages and detailed descriptions are very important.
6. Use unique Web phone numbers, along with email and contact information.
7. Test special offers and incentives.
8. Have a professional, high quality design.
9. Use consistent branding and messaging on your center's site.
10. To build credibility, be very well-organized in navigation and usability.

For a full discussion on how you can manage your Website for maximum marketing impact, contact ABCN Media's Creative Director, Esther Szasz at eszasz@abcn.com.