Archives for April 2019

Growth Tip #6: Generate Social Proof & Trust Signals

April 22, 2019 by Kyle Leave a Comment

About Social Proof & Trust Signals…

It’s not a new concept, but it’s extra important on the web. If you’re looking for a good dentist, you ask your neighbor Becky, with the good teeth. 😉 Online, people typically look for one of two things: lots of great reviews for a business, and/or someone who is like them recommending a business. They need reassurance they’re making the right decision going to you.

1. Get Saturated With 5-Star Reviews

Yeah, I know. That’s vague and easier said than done, but it can be done. I had the highest rated computer repair business in my county on Yelp & Google. I didn’t fake reviews, but I’ll bet there were companies who did a better job out there, just not getting credit.

The two main factors to getting good reviews are:

Show the client they had a good experience
Create a way to almost guarantee a 5-Star review

One way I’d accomplish this goal manually were to incentivize the staff to get great reviews. Pay them $10 per 5-star review. If someone gets 100 5-star reviews, that’s $1k out of your pocket, but I bet $20k in extra business that year, maybe more. Think about how much more business you’d get if you were the highest rated business in your field. I bet it’d bring a significant increase in revenue.

2. Create Engaging Social Media

I’m sure most business have given social media a stab once or twice, with underwhelming results. Social media is a different animal than traditional marketing, but done right , it can be very powerful. The fact that most businesses don’t get it can be in your favor.

Create contests to get your followers engaged. Heck, create a contest to encourage your followers to share your content.

“Share this post and you’ll be entered into a drawing. Tag your friends and you’ll get a 2nd entry. Whoever we pull gets this sweet xyz.” Watch your influence grow!

3. Make Sure Everyone Knows!

If you’re hot stuff, scream it from the mountain tops! On your website, anywhere you’re selling should have your 5-star reviews proudly displayed. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes… if there’s ever a point you think they’d be unsure about using your service, BOOM, did you forget we have 100 5-star reviews on Yelp? Why wouldn’t you choose us?

There are some really successful strategies that involve social proof and trust building to increase sales and web conversions. This can be one of the most powerful strategies to turn a casual visitor to a paying customer often before they’re ever on the phone.

Growth Tip #5: Test, Iterate, Optimize, Analyze, Rinse & Repeat

April 18, 2019 by Kyle Leave a Comment

Check Your results, improve constantly

This is probably the most important step in this process, but the one that requires the least amount of detail. Things online are constantly moving. Tech trends are constantly shifting, and the way your customer searches, learns, and buys are always changing. You should always pay attention to the efficacy of your digital marketing, making tweaks and tests along the way.

1. Create A/B Tests

Let’s say you have an ad and it’s doing pretty well. Could it be better? Maybe people are clicking, but you’re not getting as many leads as you could.

Doing a/b tests on landing pages and ads is a great way to know you’re getting what you’re paying Google or Facebook for. Always test, always iterate.

2. Poll Your Customers

Is your messaging coming across right? Are your social media posts providing relevant content on Facebook and Instagram? Are you offering value?

Ask your customers what they want to see more of. Creating a poll is a great way to get engagement on your posts.

And when you end up posting something a follower requested, you can expect more activity on that post as a sign of gratitude. People love to be heard.

3. Never Stop Never Stopping

When we set up a new account, there’s always a TON of work to do in the beginning. SEO, building ads, creating a content strategy, etc. but once things slow down a little, you can carve out a little time each morning to accomplish one or two maintenance tasks.

Taking 10 minutes to 1 hour a day to promote your business is a great way to make sure nothing is slipping through the cracks. Never stop never stopping!

That’s it! You made it through my 6-Steps! How do you feel?

I know many of these tasks seem like a lot of work, but that’s because they are. But with enough determination and resolve, anyone can do it. I’ll do as much as I can to give you tips and tricks to grow your business using digital marketing, but much of it you’re just going to have to learn from experience.

That being said, I’m always here to help… whether that means build a growth plan from soup to nuts for your business, or just pinch hit when you need help, use Let’s Get Clicks as a resource. I took my business from zero to hero… I can do the same for yours.

Growth Tip #4: Create Small, Paid Social & Search Ad Campaigns

April 15, 2019 by Kyle Leave a Comment

PAID ADS ARE A FAST WAY TO GENERATE BUSINESS

While technically, you can run an ad at any time, with or without a dialed-in website, you’re likely to waste money doing so. But, if your message is sound and compelling, your website is on point and ready to convert traffic to qualified leads, paid ads are a great way to bring huge ROI.

1. Target An Insanely Specific Audience

The first step in any digital advertising is to identify your customer. I know this seems obvious, but it’s more than just determining they’re “people who need computer repair” or something along those lines. What kind of things are they into? Where do they hang out online? How do they think?

You need to know how they’re going to find you. Do they already have a need and are searching for your services, i.e. Google Search, or do they need to be inspired to find a service like yours, i.e. Facebook, social media, etc.

Once you identify your customer, who they are, where they are, and how they think, you can choose the best strategy to meet them and compel them to purchase your product or service.

2. Make Sure Your Ad Stands Out

In a sea of sameness, how do you stand out? If you’re advertising on Google Ads, see what your competition is doing, note what’s compelling, keep that and write something so unique, your prospect doesn’t see any other ad than yours.

If you’re advertising on social media, like Facebook, images that look like a friend’s post or something very eye catching tend to get attention. When combined with an engaging body of text, like a contest or an irresistible offer, you have a winning ad.

3. Make Your Ad Match Its Destination

With Google Ads, it’s super important to make sure your ad copy text relates directly to your search keywords, and just as importantly, the destination webpage the visitor is directed to. High relevance in keywords, ads and landing pages create a better quality score and in turn, cheaper costs.

For Facebook Ads, it’s important that your text compliments your visual (image or video) component closely. There are a few cases where you want to shock someone, but this rule holds true for nearly all the ads you’ll be doing. If your ad headline says, “Spring is in the air”, a natural Facebook image should have something to do with Spring, not a dog in a raincoat smoking a cigar.

4. Have A Clear, Focused Call To Action

Unless you have some grand scheme in mind, your call to action should tell your prospect exactly what you want them to do. Do you really want them to “learn more” or do you want them do buy this thing you’re selling. If it’s a product, “buy now” is a great way to get them to buy now. If it’s a more complicated product, “learn more” can definitely apply, but be as clear as you can here.

5. Demonstrate Value Clearly

This experience isn’t about you, it’s about your customer. You should always lead with what value your customer is going to receive from your product or service. If you’re an appliance repair company, selling what you do is less important than selling what feeling your customer will have when this is all done. If it’s solving a problem, help them envision the relief. If it’s a leisure product, sell the wind in their hair. Actually, always sell the wind in their hair if you can. If you own a mortuary and can find a way to sell the wind in their hair, do it. It always works.

6. Avoid Industry Jargon; Keep It Simple

In most cases, and almost always in business-to-consumer, using easy-to-understand language is the best way to convey your message without muddying the waters or alienating a potential customer, ready to buy. Even if you imagine your customer to be a well-informed pro in your industry, I’d recommend simplifying your message and playing to the lowest experienced customer. More often than not, your message will come through much clearer than it might have otherwise. Three components you should use whenever possible are:

What you’re offering
How it benefits them
What action to take next

Even my company name, “Let’s Get Clicks” was considered from the customer’s point of view. Would I resonate with the average small businessperson if my company name was, “Let’s Get Maximum Conversions and ROI From Your Ad Spend”? Probably not.

7. Demonstrate Transparency & Honesty

If you have an opportunity to be transparent in your ad, see if it fits. Sometimes showing rates and pricing, even if you know you’re higher than the competition can work. If your product and marketing are good, price may not matter. Many times, showing the price up front will weed out penny pinchers and bring more qualified, easier to close buyers your way.

8. Use Your Voice

This one is my favorite: make sure your marketing has a voice. People like buying from people. And they want to know who they’re buying from. For me, I enjoy conveying a cheerful, playful attitude when I market. It’s who I am in real life, and it seems people really take to it.

If you’re a serious authority in your industry, convey that. Worry less about Mad Men style catchiness, and more about pouring your essence into your ad copy.

Your clients have been marketed to for decades at this point, give them something fresh and real.

Growth Tip #3: Work On Daily SEO Tasks

April 11, 2019 by Kyle Leave a Comment

Work on daily SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Tasks & content? Really?!

Yes, really. In addition to paid ads, I received a good amount of traffic from organic web traffic, i.e. traffic when people search Google and click on the regular, unpaid links. I spent an insane amount of time on this and was obsessed on showing up in organic, local and paid search results on a page. Dominate!

1. Start With Content

One of the most important things you can do these days to be found organically is create content. Whether it’s written blog content, video content, a podcast or active social media posts, content is a huge part of ranking highly in search engines. Not only do you need to create unique content, you need to post it a certain way so you get credit for what you create.

Blog posts are the easiest way to create content, and you can then share it with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.

Your post should be at least 500 words, but more is better. Stick to keywords you want to be found with online. Tip: the top ranked pages have ~2,000 words on average. Yikes!

2. Chip Away With Daily SEO Tasks

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a tough nut to crack. Everyone wants to be listed on page 1 of Google or in the local search, but not everyone can be #1. “There can only be one.” It’s a competitive game.

The good news is, most people aren’t that great at it. Some businesses just get lucky, but with the right strategy, constant, and steady work, those are often the easiest to overcome.

Here are 5 big factors that you should learn to help rank your site on top. These are all done on your website, other than #5:

1. Choose Focus Keyword for each page. This is the top phrase you want to be found under.

2. H1 Tag (typically your title) should be near the top of every page, visible without scrolling.

3. Title & Description Tag– Title uses your focus keyword above and description is a thorough description of what the page is about.

4. Content Density & Image Labels are key. Create alt tags on all your images. Your content should be clear, use your focus keyword in the first paragraph. For every photo on the page, you should have between 250-500 words.

5. Get High-Quality Backlinks once your site is top-notch. Find sites Google trusts, reach out to them and see if they’ll link back to you. The more high-quality websites link back to yours, the better your site appears to Google. If you’re hanging out with the good guys, you must be a good guy, right?

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right… this is a lot of work. BUT, if you chip away at these tasks a little every day, it can be manageable.

You can do all of this, but the question is, will you make the time?

Growth Tip #2: Create A Compelling Website Experience

April 8, 2019 by Kyle Leave a Comment

You might be saying to yourself, “I have a pretty good looking website “ and that may be true. But is it your best salesperson? It should be. Imagine that if 5 people visited your site per day and they were so sold by your content, they couldn’t help but buy. Interesting thought, huh?

1. How Compelling Is Your Website?

When people are visiting your site online, you’d think they’re coming to learn about your services. Sometimes, that’s true. But the number one reason they’re visiting your site is to find a reason NOT to use your services. They’re looking for something fishy, something janky.

Does your website load slow? Is it confusing to navigate (for someone who isn’t you… think about it), does it clearly present your service in a way that’s a no brainer to buy/sign up, etc.?

I just got done establishing that your website needs to be your best sales tool, but first we have to make sure it’s not your biggest burden. Would something on it deter you or someone you know?

2. Homepage Vs. Landing Page

When marketing, many businesses make the mistake of using their homepage as the place to direct
all customers. Why wouldn’t you? That’s where all the stuff is, after all!

While that’s the first impulse for many business owners, it’s proven again and again to be a bad place
to direct visitors.

Companies find that specific landing pages outperform their homepage by 115%. And depending
on the state and efficacy of your homepage, it could be even higher.

Controlling the experience is key, and a well structured landing page is the way to do it.

Successful Landing Page Ingredients

• Header + Hero Image showcasing your product or result of your service & a bold statement.

• Initial Social Proof like Yelp reviews, satisfied customer statements, etc.

• Test Call-To-Action with an initial offer. Make it good

• Introduce The Problem while stating it in relatable terms.

• Show How It Works and how they can use it, i.e. open, rinse, chop, eat.

• More Social Proof with some additional testimonials.

• Final, Clear Call-To-Action that is simple, yet compelling. No obligation style works best.

• Alternative Call-To-Action with a different approach, i.e. instead of sign-up, offer a quick call.

My goal is to help the average business shift their perspective on what a website is and isn’t. Things have changed a lot, and if we’re not careful, your business can be left behind pretty quickly.

If you have any questions or something you can add that’ll help a fellow entrepreneur, drop us a message!

Growth Tip #1: Prep For Online Prospects

April 4, 2019 by Kyle Leave a Comment

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, “PREP FOR ONLINE PROSPECTS?”

For many industries, people browsing online exhibit different browsing behaviors than they may do in person. Many times, there are more distractions or a lower barrier of entry to shop elsewhere. Below area few ways to prep your product for online decision makers.

1. Portray As A Solution To A Problem

Most of the time, when a customer is searching for your product or service, it’s to relieve a pain point, fulfill a need, etc. You might say, “Well yeah, and it’s the same in the real world, too” and that might be true.

The difference is, you need to portray that idea very quickly.

For instance, if you’re a mortgage broker
and you’re describing a refinance, you might want to either title and describe it, “Express Cash-Out
Refi, 45-Day Start-To-Finish Avg. Closing Time”, then add a little more to the description below,
specifically pointing out immediate benefits to the customer.

Online, “what’s in it for me?” needs to be addressed immediately and often.

2. Consider What You Can Give Away

It doesn’t have to be much, but remember: you’re competing online with people inside and outside of your industry. Think of how you’ve been trained to use awesome services for free, like amazing search engines like Google, free email like GMail or Hotmail, free and unlimited video services like YouTube… the list goes on and on. People expect free.

The good news is, you don’t have to give away much. What you’re reading right now is an example of a free giveaway that provides some really solid value. Be honest in your willingness to give something
away, even if it’s a discount, some time, etc. It’ll be worth it.

Tip: Amazon’s profits grew exponentially when it started offering FREE shipping to Prime members.

I’m going to keep all of these pretty short. Spend some time thinking about how you can apply these to your business. If you need any help, or would like to help others, leave how you’re applying these in the comments below!