Why Use Twitter to Promote Your Brand? 

Twitter is one of the most popular social media networking and information sharing websites available. It is a premier way to share your business updates, latest product designs, breaking news, and immediate offers in a quick and unlimited way. 

Positive Uses of Twitter:

• Twitter is free (as long as you have an email address)
• Business owners, bloggers, writers, entertainment specialists, and digital media specialists alike use Twitter to debut their content. 
• Twitter can be used to market your own self-brand and expertise in a particular field so that employers, members of the media, and key influencers begin to notice you. 
• You can link your webpage, article, or the websites of others to your tweets in order to establish relationships and connections. 
• People can "re-tweet" your tweet. This means, if someone likes what you wrote on twitter, they can decide to re-post the tweet, also known as "re-tweet" on their Twitter page. This will increase your exposure to the crowd of their followers. 
• Through Twitter, you can gain a fan base. You can begin to recognize who is interested in your content and would like to hear more about it! 

How to Succeed on Twitter:

• Choose your Twitter Friends wisely - it is important to select "follow" on brands/companies/individuals that are relevant to your mission and may be interested in the same things you are. This will increase the likeliness of getting in to their conversation on Twitter.
• Read the conversations that your followers and the folks that are following you are talking about. Pay attention to keywords and topics and use those keywords as #hashtags in your tweets.
• Retweet relevant content - then introduce yourself to the person/business via twitter or via another social media outlet by sending a private message. Let them know who you are and that you enjoy their work and appreciate their tweet. 
• Remain engaged. Start conversations, be relevant, post content often. 

You will be successful on Twitter as long as you continue to continue to engage! 

Sometimes Twitter may be a bit frustrating because you are limited to the amount of content you can write. You are only allowed to use a certain number of characters, not words, actual characters (!_+Abcj F ...all characters). Therefore, if you have a lot to say, Twitter forces you to make your statement concise and cohesive. To be quite honest, in a world where most folks have a VERY short attention span, Twitter has become the best way to get news out fast. 

Another part of Twitter that is helpful to someone seeking to gain awareness is the use of #hashtags! Hashtags are keywords that are relevant to the content you are writing about. Hashtags will link to keywords that are generating "topic buzz" and have an actual conversation going on. By putting your hashtag in to your tweet during certain times of day, during certain occurrences, you will gain more exposure for your brand/name because you may become part of the conversation! 

Business Networking Through Social Media

CommunicatingNOW!

Growing Business Relationships Through Social Media

As business owners it is absolutely necessary to establish relationships and continue to network – CONSTANTLY! We rarely use the traditional Rolodex. Instead, we have now moved on to using the digital contact list on our smart phones, Microsoft outlook, or whatever software we have. In today’s world, having a list of meaningful connections (people who you actually know) is invaluable. Some of the top networking sites to use are, Linkedin.com, Twitter.com, and Facebook.com.

Strategies on how to begin your connections:

•  Create a profile about YOU as the business owner separate from the business.
• YOU are the entrepreneur. It is nice to have an “About Jim Smith” page on your business website, however, do not focus the introduction of your website about how you started your business. Rather, focus your website intro on the mission of your business, products, services, and goal you will be providing to your target audience.
• Linkedin.com: Create a profile on this business website as soon as possible! If you are the business owner, list yourself as either, President/CEO (whatever your title is) and link the company website to your Linkedin.com page. Links are important, so are video and project links. Feel free to include RELEVANT content about your website, products, and services that will attract people to your page.
• After your profile is created, begin to search for people that you KNOW and have an established rapport with. Once you have connected with business constituents, you can see a list of suggestions for whom you may want to connect with. You may also receive connection invites to your inbox!
• Twitter: First create a Twitter.com profile for your business. You can be the person that signs in to post updates on twitter or you may assign someone on your staff to update. This should be done daily, or several times a week depending on what type of business you run. *You may also want to create your own Twitter.com profile for your individual updates as an entrepreneur and you can include your business twitter handle in many of your posts (by using a hash tag).
•   Facebook: This is where you can engage in conversation with your audience with unlimited characters and information (different from Twitter – which limits you to how much information you can post with each tweet). Create a Facebook.com business page. Include links to your website, to your Linkedin.com page, and to your Twitter Feed. You may want to list questions, conduct surveys, ask about products that are relevant to your business.

Social Media Connects Business Professionals:

•    Once you have a Linkedin profile, a Twitter feed, and a Facebook page (in addition to your website or blog), you will begin to notice the connection count growing! Your contact list will increase tremendously. At this point, you can feel confident that if you have an event approaching, it will be a good idea to send an invite to your new connections. Your credibility increases with the greater number of meaningful connections! The more visible your business and profile is on the Internet, the more your reputation with grow.

Here is an example of excellent Business Professional Connection:

• I have been blogging about Digital Media, and best practices in the new media realm. This is a supplement to my website: www.trendsettercommunicationsny.com

•  I was recently connected on Linkedin.com to Melissa Cordial Schenkel, Public Relations Manager for Vera Bradley. Melissa noticed I am the author of a Digital Media/PR blog and invited me to a Vera Bradley event - which showcased the fabulous 2013 Baby Spring Clothing Collection (among other items)! 
•  At this media event, I connected with a myriad of other media professionals including representatives from Broadband Television! 

*For more information on steps to start your social media, I noticed a great article in called, "Social Media Tips for Building a Social Media Strategy," published on Business News Daily on September 26, 2012. There is excellent advice in this piece. Check it out! 

Increase Your Website Traffic, How to Be Consumer Friendly!

Consumer Friendly Websites With Easy Navigation = More Time Spent on Your Website = Growth in Revenue! 

There is a great video available on SeachEngineLand.com that provides a brief tutorial on the basics of SEO. Let's start there. In order to optimize your website, you must:

• Know Your audience
• Create a title that is about the content/subject/service you offer
• Include links to credible websites 
• Post relevant content often - use Facebook and twitter as vehicles to engage with your audience. Starte conversations, find out what your customers want, need, and like. Don't be afraid to ask, it will be appreciated! 
• Graphics should reflect your written content

The goal of creating a website, as a business owner, is provide a source for users to view your information so they can complete a transaction, find information from you as the expert, or gain something they were seeking. As a result, you as the business owner, will have the consumer loyalty if you have provided them with the information they need and the ease of use from your website. 

Making information too complex, and creating barriers in order to complete a purchase or transaction is not recommended. Consumer-friendly websites, that are simple, content light and contain relevant graphics are more likely to have a higher click rate. Transforming your website to a consumer-friendly website is most often a recommendation made by content strategists. 

Let's use a hospital website as an example.  Feel free to read this article I have drafted on:

"Patient-Centric" Websites, and Best Practices for Hospitals:

“Health care organization websites need to reach as many people as possible, the study said. This means the content should be accessible to those with low computer literacy levels as well as those who have physical disabilities that limit their ability to use a mouse or who use nonstandard browsers (Ford, E., PhD, 2012).”

Healthcare information disbursement over the years:

Innovative hospitals are moving away from traditional means of informing patients on complex medical data. Now, more than ever, it is absolutely necessary for patients to obtain healthcare information quickly and simply.

NOTE: (I would have wrote: clear and concise format, however, this is not the type of content we will be using in order to create a “Patient-Centric” site).

         · Hospitals are becoming increasingly aware of the digital revolution and the impact their website presence has on the publics’ perception.

         · Complex medical jargon is quite often too difficult for most patients to understand, the pamphlets and old brochures are being thrown away once the patient is home.

         · 88 Billion people search the internet per month, this is not discriminatory to patients who visit the hospital.

         · Hospitals are not as inclined to spend money on print and traditional marketing, instead, the surplus of information they can present on the web is much more COST EFFECTIVE.

         · Websites are consumers’ first point of contact with an organization in contemporary America. 1 
Why do hospitals need to change their websites to become more user-friendly?

       * In coordination with the latest healthcare reform guidelines, many ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations) are mandated to institute preventative health care practices. The goal is to provide the patients with as much information, resources, and tools in order to AVOID/PREVENT hospitalization and the READMISSIONS in the event a patient is in fact admitted.

        *How are hospitals/ACOs increasing awareness of their preventative efforts, seminars, videos, and best practices? THROUGH THE INTERNET! 
2


         · Patients are searching the web to find out healthcare information, searching definitions, and best places to go for the best physicians and the best healthcare.

         · Studies have shown that when the website is too complex, or even “sanitary” looking with HEAVY CONTENT, and not enough visual effects – the patient is inclined to leave the site.

        * Patients do not want to feel inferior and confused, especially when they are concerned about receiving healthcare or if their loved one may be receiving healthcare treatment. THEREFORE patients must be able to visit a site that makes them feel comfortable and helps them UNDERSTAND what their diagnosis is, navigate the page, and find information easily – in their language, not the language of a biochemist or the Chief of Medical Oncology. 
Patient-Centric vs. Physician-Centric and WHY THIS MATTERS!

        * Physicians are able to communicate in relativity to medical content in a highly complex way that for most people is far too advanced and quite confusing.

        * Patients prefer to receive information about their healthcare in brief statements, with common terminology associated so that they can have time to process the information and then follow up with questions.

        * It is IMPERATIVE to differentiate and separate the language on the website from physician to physician, vs. physician to patient. 
How to design the site? 

         · Minimal heavy content à USE BULLET POINTS

         · Mix capital font with lowercase font

         · Use ONE consistent font

         · Increase visualization and video

         · Allow for whitespace – do not clutter the page – this makes the viewer feel overwhelmed and confused

         · Use terminology that would be appropriate for the 11th grade reading level

         ·Explain the information as if you are speaking to the patient, have a conversation with 
your reader 


         ·Use common words: (cardiologist = heart doctor), (podiatrist = foot doctor), (Oncology = cancer), (search by specialty = what does your doctor do? –or- What do you need help with, where is your pain?)

         · Make the navigation section EASY and APPARENT. Do not make your viewers SEARCH for your SEARCH? Get it?

         · Hospital and health system websites can also be improved on the technology scale, as many sites do not return clear descriptions of links to search engines such as Google and Bing that use webcrawlers to collect information. 
Case studies and proven success:

         · A recent article published in the Journal of Healthcare Management discusses the first study conducted to uncover the assessment of hospital websites and the impact on patient/viewer readership. The study included an evolution of 630 hospitals based on four major criteria: Accessibility, Content, Marketing, and Technology.

          · A study conducted in 2010 at the Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, concluded that an effort to increase healthcare literacy by using an assessment tool to evaluate service areas concluded that consumers increase their literacy are more inclined to engage. 4

         · New Jersey Hospital Association created a “Consumer Website” specifically designed for patients with heart failure in order to provide them with a user-friendly website filled with information, resources, links, clinic information, and ways to follow up with care in order to PREVENT READMISSION. This has helped the providers as well because they can refer patients to the site for a wealth of information. 5

         1Hirsch, L., Gandolf, MBA, S. (7, May, 2012). Study: Healthcare website need updates as Hubs for patient engagement. Retrieved: http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/healthcare-marketing- advertising/study-healthcare-websites-need-update-as-hubs-for-patient-engagement.html

           2 Schilhavy, R.A.M., Menachemi, N., Huerta, T.R., Ford, E.W. (2012). Effective US Health System Websites: Establishing Benchmarks and Standards for Effective Consumer Engagement. Journal of Healthcare Management, 57, 1, pg. 47
Hirsch, L., Gandolf, MBA, S. (7, May, 2012). Study: Healthcare website need updates as Hubs for patient engagement. Retrieved: http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/healthcare-marketing- advertising/study-healthcare-websites-need-update-as-hubs-for-patient-engagement.html

         3MedCityNews.com published the results from the Journal of Healthcare Management and included the top 25 hospitals that scored the highest in accordance with the four evaluation categories. The list can be found here: http://medcitynews.com/2012/02/hospital-websites-study-lists-top-25-in-the-nation/ 


              4 Gazmararian, J. A., K. Beditz, S. Pisano, and R. Carreon. 2010. "The Development of a Health Literacy Assessment Tool for Health Plans." Journal of Health Communication 15 Suppl 2: 93- 101. 


                       5American Hospital Association (2012). www.aha.org. America’s hospitals: Caring for patients, strengthening communities. Committed to Quality and Safety. Retrieved from: http://www.aha.org/advocacy- issues/initiatives/quality.shtml
Hirsch, L., Gandolf, MBA, S. (7, May, 2012). Study: Healthcare website need updates as Hubs for patient engagement. Retrieved: http://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/healthcare-marketing- advertising/study-healthcare-websites-need-update-as-hubs-for-patient-engagement.html

Increase Your Website Clicks and Decrease Your Bounce Rate!

CommunicatingNow! 
TrendSetter Communications, Top Online Digital Services

Leah Luddine

Lesson on more clicks, and keeping your users on your website!

Clicks don’t come to you, just like the old saying… “Create opportunities, don’t wait for them, they may not come!” It is extremely important to run an online analysis of keywords that relate to your business, brand, product offerings, skills, top talent, and any other related categories that you think would be pertinent to your web presence. Try to understand, as a business owner, it is important to think like a consumer sometimes. Take a step back and ask yourself, “If I was searching for my product, what would I type in to the search bar in order to find it?” 

Survey : List of Keyword

Make a list of the top keywords that you can think of. Conduct surveys, ask your top customers to give you their insight on what they searched in order to find you in the past. Ask strangers what they would think to type in to the search bar. They key is to seek the attention of your target audience, when conducting your survey and overall research, GO ASK YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. 

Targeting:

If your demographic is working women, ages 35-55,  living in the New York Metro Area, who do their shopping around mid-night online…make sure to research by targeting questions to these key prospects. Once you gain a substantial amount of information, then conduct an analysis via Google Insights, Analytics, Adwords or other sources that are not costly. If you have the budget, great, you can use more expensive tools! 

Examples:

Let’ go over some examples. Using the demographic above, suppose you are an online lingerie company. You have now done all of your research and you find that most of the women who answered your keyword search terms agreed they would type things like, “classy lingerie,” “top quality lingerie,” “sexy lingerie,” and “intimate wear for women.” You should now focus on using those terms in an online ad campaign which includes Paid Search, Banner Ads, and video, and target/geographically focus your content to your audience.  Watch your click rate go up! 

Professor : School Article (Match Content)

Content Management:

The next step is to match your written content with your graphic and creative content. Always make sure what you are writing about is in sync with the pictures on your page. Don’t include words about school, college, and advanced education and have a picture of a group of people smiling. While it’s nice to see people happy, a picture that shows a school, a blackboard with a professor writing notes, computer rooms with students, etc., would be much more advantageous to content matching. 

These are important parts of the “Do it yourself” business owner mind-set. It is truly important to study, take the time to learn, and understand what you are putting out there for consumers to see. Once they visit your site, if the overall view is too cluttered, confusing, or convoluted…the user is most likely going to leave the page – this is known as “bouncing” off. You want a low bounce rate, which would indicate your visitors are staying on your site for a decent time period. 

I hope this is all starting to make sense for you! Please post to me if you have any questions! As always, stay tuned!