Trust me......
Two words that can make you cringe. If someone has to tell you or ask you to trust them then it’s a good bet you either don’t know them or don’t trust them. Knowing someone (having a relationship with them) is a big factor for trust.
I've been getting daily recommendation requests posted to my Facebook profile from various "friends" in my network. Many of the requests are from people I have never met and never done business with.
The web casts a spell on people where they may feel an intimacy and connection with others they have met online which really is not justified.
Trust is a funny thing. I trust my doctor because he’s got the credentials and the license, but, that trust only goes so far. I had to develop a relationship with him where that trust built up over a number of years of good advice and the kind of professional compassion and skill I look for in a health care professional.
I invest trust in people because over time, they have demonstrated to me that I can.
Online recommendations are powerful. Nielsen’s Global Online Consumer Survey reveals that 90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people that they know, with 70% trusting the opinions by people they don't know.
While I understand that building your online reputation via recommendations is a good idea, boosting your online reputation takes time and effort. Once you have established a consistent pattern of connecting with others online, you will see your reputation flourish and more and more people will want to be a part of your social media network for business. As always, it is all about building and maintaining relationships.
There are many ways in which you can successfully build your reputation online. The generation of large amounts of content, through blogs, videos, etc, are some of the most effective ways to accomplish that. It is important to remember, however, that your reputation will not be built up overnight. It takes time and the consistent involvement of other people.
Building a brand is just like building a reputation in that you need to prove yourself again and again in order for people to put their trust in you and become loyal to you. Follow the 80-20 rule of marketing and spend 80% or more of your time in social media activities that are not self-promotional and only 20% or less on activities that are self-promotional.
Supernova Studios fan page on Facebook is almost 2 years old. It has taken that long to build a strong and faithful following. We provide a service on this page, answer questions, offer tips and advice and rarely "sell" our services.
We are proud of the recommendations we have recieved from our faithful clients. You can check them out on LinkedIn, our Facebook page, Google Places and at our site.
To help "build" our online reputation we belong to the Chamber of Commerce and accredited with the Better Business Bureau
Ahhh, Google Juice. That glorious feeling of doing a Google search for your keywords and turning up on page one. Or better yet, number one page one.
Recently, I was asked to give a presentation to a local real estate company on why they need social media. They gave me 20 minutes. I only needed five.
First I showed them a quick video I had prepared on Canadian social media statistics, and secondly (and my favorite) I opened a web browser, brought up Google and did a search on my keywords. "Nova Scotia social media consultant". Go ahead... do it. We DOMINATE page one. (insert enormously proud grin) I told them, "The last thing I do each night is visit Google Analytics to measure the traffic to my site, clear my cache (to get a true reading) and perform (yet another) search for my keywords." It's true. My routine. The LAST thing I do each night. One particularly outspoken (and fun) guy in the group said, "Get a life".
I bet I'm not alone. It's said that the driving force behind the success of Facebook is vanity. I completely relate. And there is something COMPLETELY satisfying about "the feeling" of being in "control" of your Google ranking.
So... What's my secret?
What is SEO? Search engine optimization is the art making small modifications to parts of your website that could have a noticeable impact on your site's user experience and performance in organic search results. SEO is a quest for increased visibility in search engines via relevant copy, quality links, domain trust, social popularity and search engine connectivity.
Here are a couple of guides that helped me with SEO:
Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide Download
SEOmoz The Beginners Guide to SEO Download
Join Supernova Studios e-Club to download our SEO Guide and recieve our monthly newsletter.
Getting (long term) traffic from Google is about KEYWORDS and LINKS. It’s about being relevant enough for a keyword search, and being trusted enough to rank for it.
To help improve your sites ranking:
What is a keyword? And specifically "geo" keywords.
When you're looking for a great pizza in a town you'll be visiting next week, you do what millions of other people do. You go to Google and type in "Pizza, any town" You ALWAYS include the town/city/location. That's the "geo" in geo-keywords. Note my keywords "Nova Scotia social media consultant" Someone in Nova Scotia searching for my services would (hopefully) perform a search using my keywords. Or possibly "Nova Scotia social media trainer". My site is optimized using these keywords. Specific pages within my site are optimized for various synomyms of my keywords.
What is a "quality inbound link"?
Inbound links are links from pages on external sites linking back to your site. Inbound links can bring new users to your site, and when the links are an authority source, they're also a positive signals to Google about your site's importance.
How can I get "quality inbound links"
Create Good Content: Nothing will serve you better when it comes to inbound links, and many other areas of your site, than creating good content. Writing an insightful blog post or creating a useful template or presentation will not only lead people to link to your site, but also drive traffic and build equity in your site and brand.
Directories can be a great inbound link source. Focus on local/industry-specific options if available.
Online News Release and Article Sites
Vendors/Suppliers These people or groups have a vested interest in helping you succeed. Explain to them that you’re trying to increase your exposure on the web and that this will in turn help them as well.
Business Allies Business allies can include any type of business partner that you’ve worked or networked with that isn’t a direct competitor.
Sponsorships / Charities / Associations If you serve on a Board, have made a significant contribution to a charity or are a member of an association, these groups are looking for ways to thank you and provide value in return -- especially if it doesn’t cost them any money.
Sure hope this helps, I'd be interested to hear from you about your results. Changing your page titles to include your Geo-keywords will take 5 minutes. Do it! Measure your traffic today and compare in 2 weeks. You can thank me then.
To your success! (unless of course we have the same keywords!) wink...
What would you do if you woke up one morning and your Facebook account had been deactivated?
Stranger things have happened.. and with a free service like Facebook, it could be weeks before you got in touch with someone there to have it "fixed".
I love Facebook for storing photos, using the like button as a means of bookmarking my favorite articles/sites, connecting with friends, and of course.. marketing.
It's hard not to feel vulnerable when the information and connections (I've worked years to establish) and have on my profile and pages does not belong to me. I know this is a contentious issue, but I'd be happy to pay for my business page to have more control.
Last night while on Facebook I was logged out several times and asked to log back in. Each time I logged back in I got a message from Facebook indicating that there had been malicious activity on my account. This happened at least a dozen times. And the fear set in.....
What if my account became deactivated by Facebook? What if I lost my business page? All those connections. The hours of work. The information. It kept me awake and on the agenda this morning was to be proactive and do whatever I could to protect my accounts.
The first step was to download my Facebook information.
Go to Account, Account Settings, Download your profile information You will get a message like this: Click okay and you will be notified by email when your information is ready for download. Unfortunately, this is only your profile information and not your brand pages. (gulp...)
Second, I bookmarked the site for Facebook Help should the unthinkable ever happen.
And really, that was all I could do. I recommend you do the same.
Remember folks, do not click any links on Facebook unless you are 100% certain of the source. Also to help keep your account safe: Never paste suspicious-looking links or text into your internet address bar. They could be spam!
For answers to your social media questions or help with Facebook, drop by our page and drop us a line.
More people search for businesses online than anywhere else, so it's important to make sure your business listing can be easily found on Google.com and Google Maps. With Google Places, creating a great listing takes just a few minutes and doesn’t cost a thing.
Check out Supernova Studios Google Places listing.
Google Places - Practical and easy to manage
Your Google listing is an easy way to maintain an online presence even if you don’t have a website. You can visit Google Places anytime to edit your information or see how many people have seen and clicked on your listing.
Premium options, all for free
Make your listing really shine with photos and videos; custom categories like your service area, brands you sell and how to find parking; and coupons to encourage customers to make a first-time or repeat purchase.
Go here to create your Google Places page:
It's a good idea to create an Google Places account using an email address that you don't mind sharing with others or passing along, in case you wish to transfer ownership of your listings.
When you enter basic information about your business, make sure you include the following:
* Company/Organization: This is the business name known in the offline world.
* Address: Enter your address the same way it would appear on a paper mail envelope.
* Phone number: Make sure to include the area code with your business phone number.
* Website: Make sure to list your authoritative business website as your homepage, since Google uses information from your homepage to help improve search results. The URL you provide can be a maximum of 255 characters.
* Description: Tell users what makes your business special.
* Email address: Let users know how to contact you.
Categories
Categories are ways to classify your business that help Google show your business for the right searches. The Google Places will suggest categories that match what you type, but feel free to create your own if you don't see a category that fits your business. Make sure that the categories you choose are accurate and describe your business well. It's ok if they're specific; Google's search algorithm makes sure that users looking for a general business type, like 'book stores,' will see businesses in more specific categories too.
Hours of operation
Let customers know when your business is open.
Payment options
Specify the payment types you accept.
Photos/Videos
Including photos and video adds visual appeal to your listing.
Reviews
Reviews come from three main sources: reviews written by Google Maps users, reviews sent to us by third party providers and reviews collected from the web. Google associates third-party reviews with your listing when the business information given on the third-party website (like Yahoo or Trip Advisor) matches the information for your listing.
Sound simple? It is! Now, here are more detailed step-by-step instructions for how to add your business information to Google Places:
Nova Scotia social media consulants Supernova Studios helping you to get found on Google.
Credit: http://www.google.com/places/
The main difference between http:// and https:// It's all about keeping you secure
FIRST, MANY PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF
HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol, Which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol (a language, in a manner of speaking) for information to be passed back and forth between web servers and clients. The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.
The S (big surprise) stands for "Secure". If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://.
This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecure' language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.
This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website! But if the web address begins with https://, that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.
You understand why this is so important, right?
If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://. If it doesn't, there's no way you're going to enter sensitive information like a credit card number.
PASS IT ON (You may save someone a lot of grief).
Supernova Studios, Nova Scotia web media consultants - helping to keep you secure.
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As your professional Nova Scotia Social Media Consultant helping you achieve your virtual goals. With proven ways to market your business on social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn.
Nova Scotia Social Media Consultant.
You either found me through my connections or my reputation and they're just the beginning of the story.
Ten years ago it was nearly impossible for us to share our "art" with the world. Today any one of us can have our own television or radio station (on the net.)
The question is, are you leveraging this new power to share your art? If not, I can help.
I’d love to join your marketing team and support you in creating a step-by-step strategic integrated social media plan, incorporating Facebook and Twitter among other platforms, to explode your business.
We offer the very best powerful marketing tools including interactive 360 full screen virtual tours, HD slideshows, Nova Scotial social media consulting, web design, virtual staging and print media. All of our services and tools are professionally designed so you look your best, drive more traffic, increase sales while spending less.
All of our services and tools are professionally designed so you look your best, drive more traffic, increase sales while spending less.
It’s no secret that social networking is quickly becoming the norm in internet marketing. That is why our Nova Scotia virtual tours have social networking built right into the virtual tour viewer. With a click of the mouse, viewers can add your virtual tour to their social networks.
Do yourself and your business a favor; put yourself on the map! Get your business noticed and give your customer the “wow” experience at the same time. I use Supernova Studios (Nova Scotia virtual tours) so much now after our first call and Nancy was there in less then 1 hour! She even went back for new photos when the exterior weather was bad. Efficient, I know! Tons of services offered for any budget. Thank you Nancy for always providing professional quality service, something I have come to depend on.
Mark Seamone Associate Broker
EXIT Realty Inter Lake
Bridgewater Nova Scotia
We have been clients of Nancy Bain et al for the past ten years and have always been very impressed by the consistent high quality and timeliness of the company’s service.
John Duckworth
Duckworth Real Estate
Nancy Bain has made advertising fast and effective with a focus on providing excellent customer service and a product with high standards. :) Thanks again Nancy!
Chris Acomb
Mariner Real Estate Ltd.
Coastal Winds Realty Ltd is pleased to be a new member of the South Shore Real Estate Community and be a part of an important Real Estate publication to the South Shore area. Taylor Design has stepped us through the process of providing the specs and setting up our ad space and we are very pleased with the end results! Thank you Nancy and the Team of Taylor Design!
Bob Harris & Anita Wintzer
Brokers/Owners
Coastal Winds Realty Ltd.
Dear Nancy, I just wanted to wish you all the best with your new addition to an already successful business. I have been working with you since you first started doing our South Shore Real Estate Guide, many years ago. I have watched it grow over the years from a few pages to the current publication that is not only local but sent around the globe by people like me to prospective clients.
What really impresses me is the fact that you take the time to check out the quality of my photos. If they need “fixing” you do it. If they are not going to come out well in print, you give me the opportunity to get a better one. I can always count on you to come up with something special for my ad whether it is a special new listing or a holiday greeting. You listen to what I want and turn it into something I love and that all my clients like. I have no doubt that you will apply that same talent and care to this project too. I look forward to using your new service.
Cathie Billings, Broker
Royal LePage People First
I find Nancy excellent to work with. She takes pride in the book and works tirelessly, on a one-to-one basis, to make sure that realtors have the properties displayed the way that maximizes the marketing effect. She is accommodating and focused. The R.E. Book is the “Bible” of south shore real estate.
Joan Harris-Reid
Tradewinds Realty Inc.
We have been doing business with Nancy for over ten years. She is a pleasure to work with; always professional, courteous and punctual. We wish her all the best in her new venture.
Stan Rose, Broker
Mariner Real Estate Ltd.
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