Traffic vs. Conversion

Traffic vs. Conversion

Would you like to see a thousand visitors a day to your website? Of course, you would. But what if you find out that your main competitor only gets around 200 visits a day but is selling 5 times more widgets than you are.

It’s About Conversion

It’s the classic traffic versus conversion conundrum. If your goal is simply to get more eyeballs on your website then the 1000 visits a day site is clearly more successful than the 200 visits a day site. But if your goal is to sell more widgets, get more newsletter signups, to get people to download your ebook, to fill out your contact form, make an appointment ….

Watch the full video.

WordPress Invades Hub 2012

WordCamp 2012

When I was deciding which CMS (Content Management Platform)  to adopt as my primary web building tool, I chose WordPress because of the size and enthusiasm of its community. Well, I just wrapped up WordCamp 2012 (read my take on WordCamp 2011)  hosted, again, by Boston University and can tell you the community is growing in both size and enthusiasm. It’s also getting younger – or maybe it’s me just getting older. In any case, I’m encouraged by the collective intelligence, creativity and determination of our 20 and 30 somethings.

Who Are All These Smart People?

So as I did last year, I’d like to thank the following people for making me smarter:

Web Designer's Guide to WordPress Book Cover

Jesse Friedman’s book. As he says, “Buy It!”

*Jesse Friedman wrote a book. Here is how he told us about it: “Oh, by the way, I wrote a book. Buy it.” I’m certainly going to, even though, as Jesse said, “you’ll have to wait four months to get it.” Gotta love the off-handed manner in which such a bright young guy announced such an impressive achievement.

See you all next year.

 

I Network, Therefore I Am

Buffalo Wild Wings in Saugus, Massachusetts hosting a networking event sponsored by the Saugus and Peabody Area Chambers of Commerce

Socializing is one of the most basic of human activities. This has been true since the dawn of man. Whether around a fire after a grueling hunt, or the television after an episode of American Idol, we love to gather and tell stories. We are social creatures. It’s what we do.

Socializing With an Agenda

I like to think of networking as socializing with an agenda. Madison Avenue got it right in the seventies with this classic commercial for Faberge shampoo. (I’m not hawking Faberge products. The video is for illustrative purposes only.) Remember the line “they’ll tell two friends and so on”? That’s networking.

Then there’s the young man who, in the early forties, developed a method for turning black polyethylene slag, a waste product produced in oil refinement, into a material that was flexible, tough, non-porous, non-greasy, odorless and translucent. He knew he had something but it wasn’t until he met Brownie Wise in 1948 that he and his product became household names. Brownie’s idea was to hold informal social gatherings in peoples’ homes to demonstrate the product. “If we build the people,” she was fond of saying, “they’ll build the business.” Apparently, Mary Kay and others were listening. The man was Earl Tupper and to this day, the Tupperware Home Party, remains the exclusive outlet for Tupperware. Earl Tupper sold his company to Rexall in 1958 for a staggering $16 million. That’s networking.

Note: Thanks to the Archive Center of the National Museum of American History for the Tupperware story.

Networking Etiquette

I said that networking is socializing with an agenda. There is nothing wrong with that. But you must play by the rules or you will lose the social capital you have earned and may never get it back. Here are some tips that work well for me:

  • don’t play at being interested in others. Be genuinely interested.
  • ask people what they do before you start talking about yourself. Listen to the answer. Really listen.
  • don’t lead a conversation by trying to sell your product or service. Instead, seek to establish your expertise or authority.
  • dress appropriately – this  may seem obvious but I’m still amazed at how many people show up at networking events dressed for the beach, or the nightclub or …. well you get my point.
  • act appropriately – this too may seem obvious, but if you’re spending more time chatting up the bartender than the other professionals in the room ….. well you get my point.
  • business cards – yes, exchange business cards. That’s why you’re there – to expand your professional network. But don’t, I repeat, don’t add your new contacts to your mailing list without asking permission. This is a real pet peeve of mine.
  • don’t be shy – this is a tough one. If you’re shy by nature than the whole idea of networking is probably challenging for you. Remember that everyone is there for the same reason – to make new contacts and expand their sphere of influence. Once you introduce yourself to a few people you will get into the groove.

The thing about networking etiquette is that the rules aren’t codified or written down anywhere; they’re mostly a matter of common courtesy. But like all rules, violating them comes with a penalty. Many of the people you are likely to meet at networking events are seasoned business professionals. If you come to the party shamelessly selling your wares or talking about yourself non-stop or grabbing business cards and leaving, you will not be taken seriously. That’s the penalty.

And Now Back to You

Are you a networker? Do you belong to any Chambers of Commerce or other professional networking organizations? Has your participation helped you grow your business? What tips can you give others to get more out of networking? Talk to me.

Seek First to Follow, Then be Followed

Listen First

If You Want People to Listen to You - Listen to Them

Last August I wrote a series of posts dealing with the four most common objections to social media:

My purpose was to “handle” each objection – which is really a salesy way of saying I wanted to counter each objection with logic, facts and common sense. I hope I succeeded. But in the past few days I’ve been asking myself (what is it about a new year that makes us talk to ourselves?) a more basic question about social media .

Why Do We Do It? Why Do We Really Do It?

There’s an urban legend that’s floated around Hollywood for years. (Note: I’ve never been to Hollywood.) The legend has it that a young Dustin Hoffman once asked his idol, the great Lawrence Olivier, “why do we act? I mean really, why do we do it?” Pausing for a moment, Olivier looked at Hoffman and said, “there are three reasons why we do this. Look at me, look at me and look at me.” Dustin, it seems was hoping for a deeply philosophical answer. What he got instead was a heavy dose of honesty. For businesses the objective of social media is simple – to connect with your customers in a way that increases your potential to sell whatever it is you sell. For the millions (or is it gazillions by now) who tweet and twitter for personal reasons, I suspect the motivation has more to do with Olivier’s response to Dustin Hoffman’s question. Make no mistake, there is ego involved here. We do it because in doing so we are exercising our very human need to be heard, to be validated. And in the world of social media there is no greater validation than to have people follow your tweets and comment on your blog posts.

How to Increase Your Following

Ah! The holy grail. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet here. There is no “one thing” that is guaranteed to build your following and have hordes of consumers clambering for more. But as Oprah would say, here is what I know for sure. You will NEVER get anyone to follow you if you’re not following anyone. You will NEVER get anyone to read your posts and comment on them if you don’t read and comment on theirs. Keep this word in the front of your brain: Community. To get people to participate in the conversation (and that’s how you should be thinking of your social media efforts) you must participate. Think two way street. Habit number 5 in Stephen Covey’s wildly popular and important book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People states “seek first to understand, then be understood.” I’m sure Mr. Covey would not mind my slight adaptation: Seek first to follow then be followed.

And Now Back to You

Do you blog or tweet on a regular basis? Do you have followers? Do people comment on your posts? If so, how are you building your community? Who do you follow? Do you participate? Talk to me.

Photo credit: Joe M photo

Want To Be Social? Step Away From Your Computer

Asleep at the Computer

Want to really be social? Spend more time away from your computer.

This is not a picture of me. The point is, it could be. Ironic isn’t it? Here I am, a web designer/social media maven/blogger and I came to the sudden and startling realization that I’m spending too much time at my computer. Further introspection has revealed that I may also be suffering from NPWYP syndrome. (That’s Not Practicing What You Preach). And here is where my Baby Boomer perspective kicks in.

Being Social Is Still About In Person Connections

What I love about today’s internet is the ease with which people can connect. It’s been fun rekindling relationships on Facebook and finding old friends on LinkedIn. But we boomers have always been a bit cynical about online relationships. Back in the day there was no such thing. Personal relationships were forged by looking someone in the eye when you spoke to them, shaking hands when you met or said goodbye and …. well you know what I’m talking about. Don’t misunderstand. This is not a case of some old guy pining for the good old days. I’m simply saying that an active online social life should add richness to your offline (real) social life not be a substitute for it. Let me put it another way. If you spend hours each day at your computer tweeting, blogging, facebooking, google plussing, (yes, I’m making up words here), you are not being social. You are being anti-social.

You Really Need to Get Out More

Back to me. Why am I guilty of not practicing what I preach? Because I’m starting to feel like the guy in the picture. I’m working hard at building my online relationships but not hard enough on the real ones. I need to get out more. I need to join more groups, meet more people, attend more events, look into more eyes and shake more hands.

And Now Back to You

Do you think of yourself as a social person? How about this one – do you like people? Do you use social media tools to build online relationships? Do you look like the guy in the picture? Be honest.

Photo credit: LuChOeDu »

3 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About LinkedIn

LinkedInConversations with my clients have convinced me that people don’t understand the reach of LinkedIn. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn users tend to treat their profile as an online resume. They set it once then forget it. Big mistake! According to Social Brothers, a social media management and consulting firm, the average age of LinkedIn users is 43 versus 18-34 for both Facebook and Twitter. The average annual income of LinkedIn users is $109,000 versus $26,000-$50, 000 for both Facebook and Twitter. This is a strong and influential demographic and using all of LinkedIn’s capabilities to reach them is a smart business move. Most LinkedIn users are aware of its more obvious capabilities, but here are three less obvious ways to use LinkedIn to help you reach potential clients, solidify your online reputation and find people working inside of companies you are interested in speaking to.

1. Search Companies

Let’s say you want to speak to the Vice President of Marketing at Hubspot (one of my favorite companies). You can use the traditional method of emails, letters or phone calls. Good luck trying to get past the gate keepers who have been trained to keep you at a distance. Or you can search Companies on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn's Search Companies feature

Simply type the name of the company you’re interested in into the search field. Your search results will be a list of people you are connected to who work inside the company. I tried this and was surprised to find that I knew two people working inside of Hubspot. Now I’m not looking to meet the Vice President of Marketing at Hubspot, but if I were what an advantage it would be to get a personal introduction from someone already working there. No more gatekeepers.

2. Join or Start a Group

Groups are online communities built around a particular topic or area of interest. Currently there are over 250,000 LinkedIn groups covering a wide variety of topics. Why join a group? When others view your Linkedin profile they will see the names and logos of all the groups you belong to. This involvement boosts your authority and lets people viewing your profile know that your interests are deep and diverse. In addition, being plugged into groups within your sphere of interest helps you learn from others.

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn's Search Groups feature

Finding groups to join is easy. Type a keyword phrase into the Groups search field. The screenshot below shows the results for a search on the phrase “paul reed smith” (Paul Reed Smith or PRS, is a handmade electric guitar. I own one). This is a highly specialized area of interest so the results show only 3 groups. You can see the Join Group button on the right. If you can’t find just the right group to match your interest or expertise, the yellow Create a Group button on the left allows you to start your own.

The LinkeIn group search results page

The LinkedIn Group search restults page

 3. Ask or Answer a Question

LinkedIn’s Answers feature is a great example of the collaborative nature of today’s social web. By asking a question you are tapping into the knowledge, expertise and experience of hundreds of thousands of people who can see, and if they choose, answer your question.

LinkedIn's Answers feature

LinkedIn's Answers feature

The screen capture below displays the screen you will see after selecting Answers from the drop down menu.

You can either ask or answer a question

When you ask a question, LinkedIn prompts you to categorize the question so that others with expertise in that category can answer it. When answering a question, it is in your best interest to choose a question about something you really know well. Bear in mind that many people will be responding and the person who asked the question gets to choose what he/she believes to be the best answer. If your answer is chosen as the best, this will be reflected in your profile. The more best answers you provide, the more credibility you build… and that, after all, is the point.

Quick Summary

Three under used features of LinkedIn:

  • Company search
  • Groups – join or start your own
  • Questions – ask or answer

Now Back to You

What LinkedIn features have you found useful? Were you aware of the three I’ve covered here?