Kelly - Tower Marketing

Businesses everywhere are constantly making strategic social media moves to generate buzz, gain followers, and promote their company. Think about it.

Back in September 2017, KFC unfollowed everyone on their Twitter account and replaced them with 11 people: the 5 Spice Girls and 6 people named “Herb.” The subtle play on their “11 herbs and spices” original recipe slogan was iconic, but took about a month for people to notice. When people did figure it out, KFC’s Twitter account was bombarded with likes, retweets, and new followers.

KFC pulled off what thousands of companies spend years trying to do, but they are nationally known and have the ability to use that to their advantage. What about the small businesses across the United States? How can they become just as successful as large, commercially-popular companies? Let’s put the spotlight on small business social media marketing and identify which elements contribute to their success.

Why Small Businesses Need Social Media Marketing

Why Is Small Business Important?

small business example compressor jpeg How to Slay Small Business Social Media Marketing

Not only are small businesses the driving force in our economy, they are also continuously creating jobs and competition for larger companies. According to the latest statistics reported by the U.S. Small Business Administration, 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. are small businesses, and those businesses have created 1.4 million new jobs. There are also 8 million minority-owned small businesses, helping to introduce more diversity.

Without small businesses, commercial companies wouldn’t feel pressure to lower prices for services and goods. The job market would be slim, and many Americans would be unemployed and left to fight for the limited amount of job opportunities out there. Plus, all large businesses start out as small businesses, so if small businesses never existed, neither would large, beloved brands and companies like Pepsi, Apple, Netflix, Uber, or Amazon.

Why Do Small Businesses Fail?

Small businesses can fail for a range of reasons from lack of supply and demand to limited funds. However, one significant reason is that some small businesses can be close-minded when it comes to creating a digital platform and straying from traditional business models.

45% of all small businesses still don’t have a business website, which can be debilitating in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven society. Consumers want information, services, and goods as quickly as possible, and they want to obtain them from the convenience and comfort of their own homes. Without a website or digital platform to provide customers with menus, store locations, operating hours, product listings, or prices, small businesses may be tossed to the side and replaced with other companies that easily provide the desired information.

How Do Small Businesses Survive?

Similar to small business failures, small business survival depends on a variety of elements. One of those elements is adapting to societal changes. In an online world, being offline means you cannot interact or listen to customers outside of your set business hours. Without listening to customers and potential consumers, small businesses can’t effectively fulfill their wants and needs. Small businesses survive with the use of online platforms, active listening, and strategic changes.

Do Small Businesses Need Social Media?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is that small businesses do need social media, but they should make conscious, strategic decisions when choosing the social media platforms they use. Small businesses with the most success utilize social media platforms that make sense for the services or products they provide.

Becoming Successful with Small Business Social Media Marketing

Small businesses can use social media effectively by engaging with their online audiences and encouraging prospective customers to follow them, increasing the likelihood that those customers will buy their goods or use their services in the future. The act of building relationships is a main driving factor for that success.

How to Build Social Media Relationships and Maintain Them

Start Making Connections — Social media platforms speed up the networking process by making suggestions about who you may want to connect with based on interests, what your business provides, or individuals you’ve already connected with. However, you should avoid following hundreds of people at one time, as people may become suspicious about your intent to connect with them. While the suggested connections list is a great tool, be sure to keep in mind that genuine relationships will take time.
Become a Stalker — Okay, okay, we’re kidding…sort of. As you make connections, you’ll want to read their profiles to better understand your followers. By knowing more about them, you’ll be able to create posts, tweets, and conversations that matter to your audience.
Be Social — The goal of social media is to be social! Revolutionary, we know. However, it truly is an important step that many businesses miss. Interaction and engagement with your followers show them that your business is genuine, which can increase awareness of your brand among the core demographic you’re trying to reach. Whether you’re sharing relevant content or replying to user comments and reviews, social media platforms allow you to truly connect with customers to build lasting relationships.
Listen Up — Social listening is another key to small business success that many tend to forget to do. To be successful, small businesses must listen and react to follower comments, questions, and concerns. Active social listening also provides a way to learn how customers view your brand and gain ideas on how to better interact with them. Use sites and tools such as BuzzSumo, Hashtagify.me, and Keyhole to make listening to your online community simple.
Keep Track — With services such as HootSuite and TweetDeck, you can easily implement significant keywords into articles, tweets, and blogs for better SEO (search engine optimization) results. Analyze the results of your efforts and tweak your strategy as needed. Find what works for you, your business, and the social media platforms you’re using.

How to Reach Locals on Social Media

Reaching locals with social media gives your small business a human identity and voice, which most users prefer over automated call systems and online bots. Here are some tips for connecting with locals through your social media platform:

Again, Become a Stalker — Still kidding (sort of)! Find out what your customers do in their spare time, where they work, how old they are, and where else they shop. After you do your homework, remember that quality is always better than quantity. Don’t sign up for every social media platform because you feel like you must. Instead, rock the pages you have time to put your energy into.
Support Other Local Businesses — Did you enjoy an amazing burrito at a local taco shop? Did you strut your stuff and meet a local business contact at a mixer? Talk about them on your page, share their posts, or promote their events. If you tag other local small businesses on your social media page, you increase the chances that your message will be seen by their followers. Not only can you reach their audience, the other small business will likely appreciate the gesture. This connection could lead to further sharing opportunities and partnerships.
Reach Locals with Local Hashtags — While #ManCrushMonday and #ThrowbackThursday are trendy, thousands of social media users from around the world use them constantly, which decreases the chance that your tweets and posts with the hashtag will be seen. Local hashtags will do more to connect you with your audience. Search for a local hashtag by looking up local events or groups and scanning their posts for hashtags unique to your area. If you can’t find one, maybe it’s time to create a local hashtag. However, if you don’t work to promote the hashtag, users won’t contribute to it and you’ll just be filtering your own photos or posts.
Let the Magic Happen — Once you establish an audience, engagement and discussions may generate on your page naturally. Kick-start the conversations by encouraging customers to check-in at your business with signage in your store or a note on your print materials. Urge employees to be socially active, contribute photos, or share your posts with their friends. Feature your fan or customer photos so they share your posts with their friends. You can also find Twitter lists in your area to discover new connections.
Use Geo-Tagging and Geo-Targeting — How can you push local customers to find and connect with you on social media? Be sure your posts include a geotag or location data. Geotags filter your posts in location-based searches. You can even use geo-targeted paid ads that showcase your ads to users in the area.

Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips

The hardest part is getting started, but you’ll begin to see results once you have traction. Use these tips to enhance your small business’s social media marketing strategy:

Utilize the Tools — Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have integrated features in which you can post live video feeds, limited-time video segments, and user polls. Live video catches the attention of many users since they can view everything in real time. Video segments (often referred to as “stories”) are generally available to the public for 24 hours, instilling a sense of urgency in your users that encourages them to check out the content. Integrating polls or surveys in your posts also allows you to engage with many users at once while gaining feedback on products and services.
Be Authentic — Millennials have long been thought to rule the digital age, and they demand authenticity. Millennials desire brands that look and feel genuine. Brands that post user-generated content, share true stories, highlight real people, and showcase un-photoshopped images tend to attract the younger generation.
Always Engage — If you’re not engaging with your audience, you’re missing out on the opportunity to connect with customers and build real, lasting relationships. Those relationships are valuable because they create trust and credibility between businesses and customers. If you interact with your audience and let them know that you care, they will continue to support your small business.
Try Advertising — It’s important to track your social media ad spending and compare it to your return on investment. If you’re spending money on social ads, make sure you aren’t wasting your time and money on content that hasn’t been carefully considered and thoroughly researched. If your small business sells products, track the number of sales you’ve made based on how many users that have traveled to your site because of your ad.
Commit to Consistency — Social media success isn’t something that happens overnight. It truly takes time to build relationships with customers. Because of that, it’s vital that you’re consistent with posting and interacting on your small business social media platforms. You should also ensure your brand and message are consistent across your website, social accounts, and physical products. This consistency will give customers another reason to trust in your brand and company.
Consider Chatbots — In recent years, businesses and consumers have relied heavily on social media messaging. Many customers desire instant contact with businesses, but that may not be feasible 24/7. As a solution, businesses have begun to use chatbots on their social media messaging platforms. Chatbots provide instant responses and feedback to customer questions and concerns while minimizing the labor and cost of paying employees to sit in front of a screen waiting for customers to contact them. The quick response time also increases the likelihood that the customer will use the feature again if they have additional questions.

Small Business Social Media Management

Managing small business social media accounts can be tedious and frustrating. However, with a full toolbox of social media information and a strategic social media marketing plan, your small business will flourish online.

Best Social Platforms for Small Businesses

There are tons of social media resources for small businesses, and some may tell you to use as many social platforms as you possibly can. While that may be successful for some businesses, our suggestion is to choose a few social media platforms that logically suit your company and focus on building those first.

By focusing on the quality of a few platforms rather than trying to juggle 10 platforms at once, you’ll have a better chance at gaining followers and potential customers. Here are the top 5 small business social media platforms:

Facebook

Many businesses begin their social media marketing strategy on Facebook since it’s universally used. Facebook is especially useful if you’re looking to capture an older audience. There are also a ton of individual Facebook groups, allowing you to promote and share your business or services with users that would be more inclined to become customers.

Types of Facebook Ads:

Boosted posts allow you to “push” specific posts on your timeline to reach more users than a traditional post would. These boosts can vary depending on the selected audience criteria and available Facebook Ad budget. Boosted posts allow a small budget (even as little as $10) to go a long way.
Photo ads use images and minimal text to catch user attention. These are simple to create and are great at generating engagement.
Video ads go a step beyond photo ads by utilizing active videos to capture audiences. These are great for how-to videos or videos showcasing new, revolutionary products.
Slideshow ads allow businesses to display up to 10 rotating images of products or services. This type of advertising is great for businesses looking to promote their latest products.
Carousel ads only show on mobile devices, but work similarly to slideshow ads and are just as effective. They use 10 rotating photos or videos with text to promote goods and services.
Collection ads are also only available on mobile devices. This type of ad is perfect for showing off multiple items in full retail collections.
Canvas ads use text and up to 20 photos or videos to generate engagement and brand awareness. Pre-made templates make this type of ad simple to create.
Lead ads provide users with a few details and a call-to-action. This type of advertising guides users to a specific form, page, or website that businesses are looking to promote.

Instagram

This platform is great for showcasing products and services visually. Women and millennials are the majority of users, so that is something to keep in mind as you create content. High-quality, creative pictures also tend to attract more users and potential customers. If you decide to use this platform, you may want to invest in a smartphone with a great camera or hire a professional photographer to manage all photos for your business.

Types of Instagram Ads:

Photo ads promote businesses by generating relevant pictures in users’ Instagram feeds. They use compelling photos to promote sales and entice users to follow businesses.
Video ads have the same goal as photo ads, but use videos instead of pictures. Videos help to capture more attention for even better results.
Carousel ads allow users to swipe to view multiple videos or images from a business or company, taking advantage of both photo and video ads in one campaign. These ads give accounts the ability to promote multiple products or services, giving them more of a chance to gain followers and user attention.
Story ads appear to users in between the Stories posted by the accounts they follow. These ads show up for a limited time to evoke a sense of urgency. Businesses also have the ability to make impressive, creative ads with the assistance of templates provided.

A more professional social media platform, LinkedIn is perfect for promoting businesses and connecting with other business owners. It’s also great for recruiting new employees and participating in groups with similar business goals. You can also showcase your work, find recommendations, and discover new business strategies.

Types of LinkedIn Ads:

Sponsored content allows businesses to share posts to a targeted audience, helping to increase visibility and engagement.
Sponsored InMail allows companies to send personalized messages to users through LinkedIn messenger. Users are targeted and will only receive the messages while they’re active on the social media platform to generate more responses.
Text ads are a quick and easy solution to LinkedIn advertising. They allow businesses to simply grab users’ attention with a few words. It’s great for promoting job opportunities and upcoming events.
Video ads have yet to roll out on LinkedIn, but are expected to pop up sometime in 2018. These ads will promote business video ads on user feeds.
Display ads showcase businesses to increase brand awareness. They utilize text, audio, video, and images to capture user attention.
Dynamic ads display personalized user messages and call-to-actions, providing businesses with a way to generate responses and increase interaction.
Marketing partner ads allow businesses to team up with partners that are experts in certain marketing areas. The partners also provide tools to create successful marketing campaigns. Generally, these ads provide better overall marketing results compared to businesses tackling ads alone.

If you are interested in learning more about these ad types & more, our guide to LinkedIn advertising goes into everything you need to run a successful campaign.

Twitter

Ideal for targeting teens and millennials, Twitter allows you to easily promote your business through tweets. Since one of the main components of Twitter revolves around followers favoriting and re-tweeting content, you have more of an opportunity to reach potential customers. You can even follow and interact with similar businesses with a larger social media presence and following. You could observe their strategy or even partner with the company for cross-promotion and brand visibility.

Types of Twitter Ads:

Promoted tweets allow businesses to display tweets to users that aren’t currently following their account. This type of advertising may increase a company’s number of followers and/or allow their content to reach more users.
Promoted accounts work similarly to promoted tweets, but the business account is what is being shown to users. Accounts that are promoted will be targeted to specific users in hopes of gaining interested followers.
Promoted trends show up in various places on browsers and the Twitter app for maximum visibility. Advertisers can promote specific hashtags to generate conversations and boost user engagement.

YouTube

This video social media platform is perfect for engaging with audiences through visual content. Whether you’re vlogging (video blogging), showcasing your services, or creating educational videos, YouTube is the perfect social media resource. Plus, you can upload videos and use other social platforms to link back to your YouTube channel. Ultimately, YouTube provides another way to reach a personal level with audiences. It’s also great for supportive content such as product assembly or how-to videos.

Types of YouTube Ads:

Display ads are very traditional. They use text and graphics, and usually show up above the list of suggested videos generated by YouTube for individual users.
Skippable video ads, also known as TrueView ads, show up before YouTube videos and allow users to skip the ad after a certain length of time. This advertising method shows the ad to a wide variety of users for increased visibility, yet gives businesses the ability to narrow down users that are interested in their products or services.
Non-skippable video ads are generally unpopular due to the fact that users are required to watch them before watching the desired video, which can lead to the feeling of annoyance or anger. However, because these ads force users to watch and/or listen to a message, it can be an effective way to spread brand or product awareness.
Bumper ads are non-skippable ads, but they are only six seconds long to reduce the user negativity that comes with traditional non-skippable video ads. Bumper ads are great for capturing attention in a short amount of time.
Overlay ads pop up as users’ desired videos are playing. They are generally text-oriented but may include graphics. These ads are less intrusive and allow users to either click to view more details or remove the advertisement from the video.
Sponsored card ads are preferred because they are unobtrusive and allow users to interact with a business ad within the video frame. The ads display in the corners of video frames and are fairly small unless clicked on. Once clicked, the ad will expand to provide users with more details.

Alternative Social Media Platforms for Small Businesses

Once you’ve established a following, you may want to consider venturing onto other social media platforms. Here are a few other social media outlets that could be useful for your small business social media marketing strategy:

pinterest in use compressor scaled How to Slay Small Business Social Media Marketing

If you’re blogging, using high-quality photos, or selling specific goods and services, Pinterest may be a great social media addition for your business. 81% of users are female, and a majority are millennials, so you’ll want to take that into consideration as you create and post content.

Successful Pinterest posts display engaging content and the most popular categories include food and drink and technology. Shopping is also an in-demand topic since 2 million people pin rich pins showcasing product, recipe, article, and app information every day.

Snapchat

Advertising on this platform can be extremely effective if businesses use it in the proper way. Snapchat allows for the creation and use of customized, promotional photo filters in which users can apply to their pictures and videos and send to friends or followers. As the filters are used and visibility is increased, users are more likely to feel the urge to visit websites or physical stores associated with the filter.

Snapchat also offers Snap Ads, which are 10-second, full-screen vertical video ads that appear between Snapchat Stories (short snippets of videos and/or photos compiled in a post in chronological order). The Snap Ads allow advertisers to include a “swipe up” option so users can easily access in-depth content, videos, apps, or websites.

Yelp

While it may not be a traditional form of social media, a majority of individuals look for reviews and conduct research before choosing to visit a restaurant, store, or hotel. It’s wise to keep business profiles on Yelp up-to-date with menus and contact information, ensuring customers can quickly and easily find your business.

Pictures of your store or restaurant, along with images of items you sell, may entice potential customers to come to your business. In addition, you should monitor any negative comments and work to solve those issues publicly. This will allow Yelp users to see that your business wants to provide the best possible experience for each customer.

Social Media Advertising for Small Businesses

Most social media platforms offer businesses the opportunity to pay to boost advertisements and posts. This provides a way for businesses to be seen by more users and increase website or in-store traffic. Not convinced yet? It has been reported that 25% of people who see a social ad will respond by visiting the store or website.

While it may be an investment, the pay-off can be exponential. Here are some benefits of social media advertising:

Spreads brand awareness for increased recognition
Elevates conversion rates and boosts website traffic
Boosts search engine rankings
Promotes more communication between businesses and customers
Improves customer insights, allowing for better customer experiences

Overall, social media advertising’s benefits outweigh the cost of marketing your brand and business. By allowing more customers to see what you have to offer, your company is bound to grow.

Small Business Social Media Marketing Plan

If you are looking to simplify your social media marketing plan, you’re in luck! We’ve created an easy-to-use template that you can simply print to begin planning your marketing strategy.

3 Small Businesses in Lancaster That Are Slaying Social Media

These Lancaster small businesses are doin’ it right! They have implemented small business social media marketing in a way that works for their companies. Take a look at each business and the social media components that work in their favor:

Walk In Love

This small business’s story began with one man who created 100 shirts to help fund a mission trip across the world. With some time and high-quality photos, his creative t-shirt designs became popular — so popular, in fact, that the t-shirt creator opened up a store at Park City Center, a local Lancaster County mall. With the help of their inspirational mission and consistent social media, Walk In Love grew even larger and the products were eventually sported by celebrities like Chris Pratt, Tim Tebow, Steph Curry, Russel Wilson, Kevin Durant, and Russell Okund (mic drop)!

Here’s how they’re slaying small business social media marketing:

Actively engages with users
Has consistent branding across platforms
Utilizes high-quality photography to captivate users
Reposts user-generated content
Uses and promotes their own hashtag — #iwearwalkinlove
Owners share stories about their personal lives, allowing users to connect with them

Penny’s Ice Cream Truck

Penny’s is a family-owned business that started out in a food truck, serving heaps of locally-made, hand-dipped ice cream to the residents of Lancaster County. Thanks to the overwhelming support of the ice-cream-loving community, Penny’s has opened up a store location to satisfy Lancaster’s sweet tooth.

Here’s how they’re slaying small business social media marketing:

Actively engages with users (and uses Instagram’s story feature!)
Has consistent branding across platforms
Utilizes high-quality photography to captivate users
Reposts user-generated content
Uses and promotes their own hashtag — #pennysicecream
Continues to maintain an aesthetically-pleasing Instagram grid with a bright, color-blocking theme
Caters to traditional customers (local store) and private, high-volume events such as weddings and parties (original ice cream truck)

Rolled Cold Creamery

A new addition to Lancaster, Rolled Cold Creamery provides customers with a twist on a traditional, sweet treat. They create individual orders in front of each customer’s eyes on a cold, steel pan set at -19 degrees Fahrenheit. First, a fresh, sweetened ice cream base is placed on the pan. Then, fresh fruits, cookies, candies, and other flavors are mixed in. Once frozen, the ice cream is rolled up with a spatula, carefully placed in a cup in sections, and topped off with additional goodies.

Here’s how they’re slaying small business social media marketing:

Actively engages with users
Has consistent branding across platforms
Utilizes high-quality photography to captivate users
Reposts user-generated content
Uses and promotes their own hashtag — #rolledcoldcreamery
Utilizes a local hashtag (#Lancaster) to capture attention from other users looking into local pictures and posts
Updates menu with seasonal flavors and crowd-pleasing toppings

If you’re still looking for great social media marketing examples, check out other Lancaster businesses that are channeling their social media gods and goddesses. Don’t forget to also take a peek at our social media platforms! We’re continuously updating our Instagram and Facebook with great marketing tips and tricks.

Still not sure how to effectively create and manage your social media platforms? Let us do the work for you!

Contact Team Tower

Don’t have time to read this blog? Listen to the audio version while on-the-go!

A new website can be a crowning achievement for your marketing team and all eyes throughout your company will be on the final product. You’ve worked through sitemaps, wireframes, page layouts, and content. But now is the moment you’ve been waiting for. The website testing phase is your first opportunity to see your website (almost) live and in action on the screen!

However, testing a website is a huge undertaking. Of course, you’re looking at each page to ensure it matches the approved designs, getting a feel for the load speed, and experiencing the final user experience first-hand. There’s more to the website testing phase, though than a quick browse through each page of the site. With much back and forth, a typical testing phase can take about a month total. But as the saying goes, all in good time!

For a successful test phase and a fantastic end product, we’re breaking down everything you should be giving attention to when testing a website.

1. Cross-Browser Testing

No two users will browse your site under the same set of circumstances. One visitor will be using Safari on the iPad, another will be using Chrome on an Android phone, and there may even be a visitor using IE8 on a desktop computer (shudder!). And, it’s probably safe to assume that the majority of users are not using the latest and greatest browser version, although our developers would love it if this were the case.

With older browser versions, aspects and functionality of your new website may not translate perfectly. Cross browser testing, or reviewing your website across several browser platforms, allows you to catch any browser incompatibilities before your site goes live.

The most popular browsers that you should use when testing a website include:

Google Chrome
Safari
Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer

And you should also test these browsers using devices with different operating systems and from different manufacturers (iOS, Android, Apple, Samsung, Google).

If you haven’t already, dig into your Google Analytics which can offer insight into the browsers and devices that your visitors are using most often when they come to your site. This will give you a good starting point for your cross-browser testing.

These are some of the more common browser “bugs” that you want to look for as you explore your website on different online browsers.

Safari generally uses font smoothing which causes certain fonts to look lighter or thinner as opposed to other browsers.
Older versions of Internet Explorer don’t support certain modern attributes which can cause breaking layouts or animations that fire off incorrectly.
Forms are generally the greatest offender for cross-browser testing. Dropdowns, input fields, even submit buttons are all masked differently by each browser.
Audio and video formatting is also very important. You may that some browsers don’t support your video files and they won’t play properly.
Scrolling may be different from browser to browser. If your site includes Scroll Magic or any Parallax scrolling, it is important to make sure it is smooth across all browsers.

2. Testing a Responsive Website

This step of the website testing phase has become more crucial as responsive web design has taken over web development and design. Responsive testing hones in how on the design adapts for different screen sizes. During this phase, we look for aspects of the page layout that are off-center, cut-off, overlapping, or missing altogether. Websites should be tested on a desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile device at a minimum.

Here are two ways you can easily test that your website design and content adapt appropriately for all screen sizes.

Use Actual Mobile Devices

When you receive the test site from your development team, you’ll probably sit down and start testing on your desktop or laptop. But, to get a true picture of how your website will perform on smaller screens, your best bet is to use these actual devices. So tell your team to gather their Surface Pros, iPad Minis, Samsung Galaxys, and iPhones (new and old!) and give your test site a thorough review, noting any issue they encounter.

Virtual Machining

If you don’t have access to a number of different devices, you can turn your desktop into a “virtual machine” that allows you to view your website as it would look on a variety of popular mobile devices. Follow these steps:

View your website using Chrome browser
From any page, right click your mouse and choose Inspect
In the top left menu, click the Devices icon (it looks like a tablet and phone side-by-side)

Screenshot of turning on Virtual Machine for Website Testing

Use the drop-down menu to choose a mobile device

Screen shot of Choosing a Mobile Device Size in Virtual Machine

When reviewing your new website for responsiveness, here is a list of what you should be on the lookout for:

A common responsive issue affects subheader navigation items. For example, if you hover to get to the subheader on a desktop or laptop, you may find that certain mobile devices will not recognize the hover and instead users will be stuck clicking on and transferring to the parent page.
Overlapping layouts can occur. As newer phone models are introduced and their breakpoints are different than what the developer designed for.
Image cropping can also occur since viewports need to be decreased for mobile devices. Background images can be aligned top, left, right, center, but some cropping may still occur.
Make sure your content is comfortably readable. The font sizes should decrease on your mobile device for better readability.
You may find some pages become much longer when viewed on mobile devices. Make sure your design includes a simple “back-to-top” arrow or a sticky hamburger icon to help with this issue.

3. Testing User Accessibility

Currently, there are over 57 million Americans living with disabilities, including visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive disabilities. Over one million individuals report that their disability makes it challenging to browse the web.

Certain elements make it difficult or impossible for those living with disabilities to use a site. In many cases, these individual are using special tools (screen readers) or alternative methods (using a keyboard instead of a mouse) for navigating and interacting with your website. When building a new website you need to be sure your website is accessible to all users and provides everyone the same web experience.

When testing a new website, your development will use an online tool to “grade” your site’s user accessibility. It will look for errors that include:

Improper hierarchy of heading tags (H1, H2, H3)
Links or buttons that don’t include text or text that is not specific enough
Images that are missing alt text
Issues with tab navigation (using the tab button to navigate between links)
Missing form labels
Color contrast that could be hard to read

There won’t be much additional testing that you need to do, but it recommended that you run a report on your site at least twice a year to ensure that no new errors have developed.

4. eCommerce Testing

Testing an eCommerce website requires a few more steps because you need to make sure your website can properly support all shopping scenarios. In addition to the testing methods outlined above, there are additional tests you should run before launching a new eCommerce website.

Adding new categories, sub-categories, products, and product variations (size, color, material) to the website
Adding different types of products to the site (product bundles, virtual products, downloadable products)
Placing an order
Canceling an order
Confirming proper sales tax and shipping costs
Ordering multiple products
Testing discount codes
- use a discount code for eligible products
- use a discount code for ineligible products
- use a discount code with an appropriate order amount
- use a discount code when the order amount is too low
Setting up a user account
Setting up special user groups (users who receive special pricing or users who can only access certain products)

5. Attempting to Break the Site

As a final step of the website testing phase, we always tell clients to try to “break the site.” Our theory behind this request is that if we can break the site during testing, then a user will be less likely to stumble upon an area that is broken once it launches. It may be time-consuming, but it’s necessary to visit each page of your website and take the following actions:

Test all links (throughout the navigation, footer, sidebars and body copy) to ensure they go to the correct page
Make sure all videos play correctly
Complete and submit all forms and ensure they go to the proper person or email system
Test any downloads
Sign-up for any email subscriptions or lead generators and make sure your information is populated to the correct mailing list
Test any third-party plug-ins to ensure they work properly with the new site

Is there a key part of the website testing phase that we’re missing? What’s the first thing you look at when testing a new website?

Contact Our Team

In the past, we’ve talked extensively about Google’s search engine, Analytics, Adwords, and more of what we consider the best Google tools for marketers to use. As a tribute to the Internet and technology giant’s upcoming birthday, celebrated on September 27, today we’re highlighting our team’s favorite Google tools to use on a daily basis, whether professionally or personally.

For Collaboration & Organization: We Love Google Drive

If you’re part of a large team working on a big project, then you need to be familiar with Google Drive. With Google Drive, (previously called Google Docs) multiple users in far-off locations can access and edit the same documents, spreadsheets, or presentations, shared in a cloud environment. No more asking, “Wait! Do I have the most recent version?” and, maybe even better, now you don’t have to beg (or threaten) a coworker to close out a file so you can access it to make your changes.

For a Busy Social Life: We Love Google Calendar

Amethyst, our Social Media Intern offered up her favorite Google tool to use. Amethyst is young enough that she travels to fun places and does cool things. So she loves the fact that when she purchases plane tickets or concert tickets, the dates and events are automatically added to her Google Calendar.

For Those Who Are “In the Know”: We Love Google Alerts

This one comes from me! As a content writer, I need to keep current on numerous and varied industries that range from commercial construction to elementary education and personal finance to digital marketing. Using Google Alerts, I can have the latest industry news delivered to my inbox as it happens, daily or weekly. To create an alert, simply enter a keyword or phrase you want to monitor and you’ll begin to receive emails listing all the latest news and web pages on the subject.

For Artistic Souls: We Love Google Fonts

Our Web Designer, Ashleigh, warns us that not all fonts are appropriate for web use. For example, the font that was used to design your logo may not necessarily translate well into web design. She uses Google Fonts when designing web pages because she can choose from a portfolio of web-friendly fonts that will provide an excellent user experience, all for free. An added bonus – Google Fonts will inform you, based on the number and styles of fonts you choose, how your site’s load speed will be affected.

For Building Web Sites: We Love Google Maps API

Almost every website that our developers build includes a Contact Us page with an interactive map, and this is where they turn to the Google Maps API. With this tool they can build websites with rich map components like customized maps, accurate directions, and street views, all with minimal code.

For Google Haters: We Still Love Android

Our Web Developer, Tim, admits that he’s not a very big fan of Google. But even he appreciates their Android mobile operating system. He’s a fan of the fact that the Android operating system is open source code that can be modified and customized.

Did You Know Google Also Owns…

Zagat Survey

Google acquired Zagat in 2011 and quickly integrated its rating system and reviews into the Google Maps and Google + platforms, making your local searches even more rewarding.

YouTube

Google purchased YouTube in 2006, just one year after it was founded. It’s now the second largest search engine in the world, with 3 billion searches per month.

Blogger

Did you know you were reading some of your go-to blogs on a Google product? Purchased by Google in 2003, Blogger continues to be one of the most popular free blogging platforms on the web.

Waze

This rapidly growing crowd-sourced navigation app was purchased by Google in 2013. Unlike the traditional Google Maps app, Waze allows its users to add real-time information on traffic conditions, accidents, road closures, or obstructions along the road.

Nest

Talk about a hi-tech home! Nest Labs produces programmable, self-learning, sensor-driven, and Wi-Fi enabled thermostats, smoke detectors, and home security systems. They were acquired by Google in 2014.

What’s your favorite Google tool? Do you rely on the popular, heavy-hitters in the Google universe or have you fallen in love with a hidden Google gem? Tell us about it!

In 2014, online and eCommerce sales accounted for $101.9 billion of the total holiday retail sales. An increase of 6.8% from the previous year. It’s no surprise that online shopping is growing into a major contributor of holiday sales. So much so that it’s spawned several of it’s own holiday shopping milestones, including Cyber Monday and Free Shipping Day.

So whether you run an online store only or your eCommerce platform supports a physical retail store, it’s important to understand the psychology of online shopping, what motivates buyers and why online consumers make the choices they do. As you put together your seasonal promotions plan, consider these strategies, inspired by how shoppers think, to motivate online purchases on your site.

Make Sure Shoppers Are in the Mindset for Shopping

An important first step is to understand when people are shopping. This way you can “speak” to them when they are in the mindset to make purchases. Shopify has shown that people begin searching Google for Christmas ideas as early as August!

Of course, all retailers prepare for the official kick-off to the holiday shopping season, both in-store and online, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Additional dates that have become top performers in the lead-up to the holidays are:

Green Monday – The second Monday in December is named Green Monday for the influx in cash it brings to retailers. This is the date when people start to feel the crunch and stop procrastinating.
Free Shipping Day – In 2015, Free Shipping Day is being celebrated on December 18. Promoted by countless online retailers, they will provide free shipping on standard deliveries, and can still offer delivery by Christmas Eve.
Super Saturday – This is the last Saturday before Christmas and a big day for those who typically save their shopping for the last minute.

Keep these dates in mind when you are planning out your sales and promotions throughout November and December.

Create A Sense of Online Urgency

psychology of online shopping - limited inventory

This is a classic example of FOMO! That’s Fear of Missing Out and the struggle is real. No one wants to miss out on the perfect gift or the biggest savings. Take a page from the grandaddy of online retailers, Amazon, and call out items with a dwindling inventory.

Amazon uses “20 left in stock” as their trigger to promote purchase urgency. If you have an item that does sell quickly and goes out of stock, allow online shoppers to sign up for an email alert when inventory is replenished. The follow-up email can also spark a fire for shoppers to get their purchase completed.

psychology of online shopping - countdown

Additionally, you can use a countdown feature to show shoppers exactly how many days, hours, or minutes they have to take advantage of a site-wide sale or special promotion. As the days tick by, add a “Need it By Christmas?” callout to each product page. Tell shoppers how many days are remaining to place their order so that it arrives by Christmas Eve.

Keep Online Shoppers Happy

Did you know that coupons bring happiness? A study from Coupons.com and Claremont Graduate University proved that coupon recipients experience signs of happiness, lowered stress, and relaxation. And while coupons and discount codes are a staple of online promotions, the psychology of online shopping shows that they still bring joy.

So what’s the winning discount strategy? A percentage off? A set dollar amount savings? A BOGO offer? There may not be a concrete answer, as every shopper may be enticed by a different promotion. We recommend implementing A/B testing into your email marketing strategy to see which offer resounds best with your customers. With all else created equal, same subject; same graphics; same delivery date; same products, test two different offer types (20% off or $25 off) to see which results in more purchases.

Also, consider an element of exclusivity in your discount offers. Create a flash sale, a sneak peek event, a bump in savings, or added 2-day shipping for select customers. Segment individuals who have signed on for loyalty programs, repeat customers, or first-time visitors. Making someone feel special is never a bad thing.

Get Online Shoppers Over the Final Hump

psychology of online shopping - shipping dates

One reason that some shoppers choose to shop in retail stores is that they can avoid the added shipping costs associated with ordering online. Shipping charges are often cited as the main reason that an online shopper will abandon their shopping cart. Whether you offer periods of site-wide free shipping or an everyday free shipping thresholds, shipping promotions can break down that mental block that shoppers have about buying online. Be sure that you’re clearly communicating your shipping policies and, more importantly, cut-off dates for packages to arrive in time for the holidays.

Also, consider offering free returns. Many times shoppers are reluctant to purchase products online because if things don’t work, they have to pay to return their items. Zappos was one of the first online retailers to offer Free Shipping & Free Returns and has built a loyal fan base because of this generous customer service strategy.

Need help understanding the psychology of online shopping and what goes on inside the brains of online shoppers? Contact our team for our marketing advice.

Contact for Insight

The stats on including visuals in your content are staggering. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. 40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text. Posts generate 94% percent more views if you add compelling visual elements. In addition, all the major social media platforms are giving more prominence and exposure to posts that include a visual element.

If you’re design challenged (raising my hand!) and don’t have a design team at your disposal, I suggest these three tools for visual content marketing that will have you creating Twitter covers, blog headers, infographics, and incorporating top-notch photography like the true artist your 5-year-old self always thought you could be!

Canva

The beauty of Canva is that they offer templates for any kind of visual content you need to create. Whether it’s a Facebook or Twitter cover photo, Pinterest graphic, blog image or title header, or social ads, they offer numerous templates in a variety of styles. The pre-designed templates, allow you to simply tweak the copy to suit your needs or delete components down to a simple background image and then begin building a unique design.

As a tool for visual content marketing, I tend to use Canva not for template designs, but for smaller graphic pieces. Canva offers, what seems like, an unending supply of modern and quirky little icons, word bubbles, illustrations, photography, and holiday and seasonal images that make Clipart look ridiculously outdated. (Which it is. So please stop. Stop using it.)

There are so many free elements on Canva, but if you fall in love with a background or icon that does cost you something, you’ll find you won’t pay more than $1.

Piktochart

Piktochart is a lot like Canva, but instead of social media or blog images, they offer templates for infographics. They offer over 400 ready-to-use designs, although most of them fall under the Go Pro package ($29 per month/$290 annually). However, there are free themes available and I’ve always found something free that suits my needs. They are eye-catching and modern, and categorized for easy browsing. There is also a gallery of recently created Piktocharts to use as inspiration.

Although you’re starting with a pre-designed template, you can edit just about every element of the design. Change titles and body copy, colors, or images using editing tools that are easy and intuitive. You can even add or remove blocks of content to make your infographic longer or shorter as necessary. Start with a template comparing the benefits of tea and coffee and end up with a infographic comparing different student loan options.

What I like about Piktochart is that for a design illiterate like myself, I don’t have to worry about choosing colors and fonts that work well together. That’s all taken care of for me.

Death to the Stock Photo

I saw this slideshare shared on Google + not that long ago and I loved the ideas they shared on how to turn cold, generic, Stepford stock photos into something a little more edgy and interesting. In addition, I also stumbled across Death to the Stock Photo.

The site was started by two photographers who wanted to make their work available for friends who were writers, artists, freelancers, etc. Once you sign up on the site, a pack of stock photos is emailed to you at the start of each month. You don’t even have to think about it, it just shows up! You download the pack and the images are yours to use. Each month comes with a new theme – Wired, Slow Down, and Creative Space, are a few examples. Some months the images aren’t exactly a good fit for the clients I work with, while other months it’s a total jackpot!

They also have a Premium service, where in addition to the monthly pack, you also have access their library of over 400 images for $20 per month.

Share your go-to tools for visual content marketing! Or if you want to add visual content to your marketing strategy, contact our team!