There are many social media sites that allow businesses to interact with potential customers and clients.  Which ones are right for your business?

• Facebook – This is an obvious choice.  With millions of active users logging on daily, there’s no telling how many people can be reached from your Facebook page.
• Twitter – Within the last year, Twitter has really gained some momentum.  Twitter offers a great marketing stage for businesses of all types.  Companies use Twitter to interact quickly with their clientele, and it is made easy by using desktop and mobile applications, like TweetDeck.
• LinkedIn – Though this site is used more for professional networking, it offers businesses the opportunity to display recommendations from users.  On LinkedIn people can be part of groups, and targeting the right groups can promote your business to the right audience.
• Foursquare – This is a fun one.  On Foursquare, people can check in to restaurants, stores, events and more.  Businesses on Foursquare often offer specials or treats when people check into their establishment.  This encourages people to come back.

Here’s to the Underdogs

There is an essentially exhaustive list of social media platforms for businesses to promote themselves on.  These are just a few of the leaders.  Blogging, posting videos and interacting on these sites are all tools you need to really make your business stand out.  As a small business, it can be a little tougher to get your name out there, but the locals will keep coming in if you stay consistent.

Imagine It Studios in McAllen offers SEO marketing strategy, web design and social media account management.  Contact us at 956.687.1521 for help creating and maintaining your business’s online presence. 

Our client wanted to add something truly unique to their business.  Aside from a killer website and impeccable services, we wanted our client to have a leg up on the competition.  C’mon, how many pest control companies do you know of that have a mobile app?

The App

After coming up with an app idea and getting all the logistics in order, we pitched the idea to our client.  They were more than ready to move forward with the idea and agreed with excitement.

How will it appeal to our target audience? It’s simple really. Nobody likes having a bug infestation in his or her home or office, so the services our client provides can be utilized by anyone who owns a home or business.

We also knew we wanted to include a bug smashing game, but would anyone play it? Of course they would. A game is a game, no matter how small! Dr. Seuss said something along those lines. We’re sure of it. If you think about it, games are hot right now.  We’re not trying to create the next Angry Birds or anything, but we did want to add some flare to our first app creation.

Aside from Bug Smash, app users can schedule appointments with Esparza Pest Control, contact them, view their Facebook and Twitter feed and watch videos.  We even included a “flashlight” to help you spot out those pesky insects in the dark.  If that doesn’t help, hit the location button on the app and see how fast Esparza can get to you.

Let’s App Together

Imagine It Studios is hungry for more of this app high. We had so much fun creating this one and we would love to work with your company to build one that can help set you apart from the rest.

Contact our team at 956-687-1521 to talk to us about building an app for your business or for web design and SEO services from Imagine It Studios in McAllen.

Android Version

iPhone Version

The layout and design of a website tells users a little more about the business. A nice looking website shows people you’re proud of your business. Are you proud? We hope so. Imagine It Studios has web design specialists who love working with businesses to help design a layout that attracts. Contact our team at 956-687-1521 to get some insight in web design.

Here are a few factors to consider when designing a new website for your business:

• Who is your audience? Think of who you want visiting the site and what they will do on your site when there. Knowing your audience will help you make the next steps.
• What is the reason for the site? If your site calls for a lot of user activity, make sure it is easy to use. Eliminating confusion also eliminates the chances of people leaving your site in frustration.
• Your site should be memorable. Choose attractive colors and highlight what makes your business unique. Brand your website, but don’t clutter it. Make it unique, but don’t go overboard. No one wants a surprise visit to a virtual circus.
• Make sure your website doesn’t take a lot of time to load. Time is everything. Nobody wants to wait around a few minutes longer just to see some extra graphics. Our generation is about convenience. Keep it simple.

Web design can make or break your online presence. Get with the experts at Imagine It Studios in McAllen for top-notch web design. Call us at 956-687-1521 to get a jumpstart on design.

Here at Imagine It Studios in McAllen, our SEO team focuses on optimizing search engine for our clients. With a quarter of a billion websites active on the Internet, it’s important to make yours stand out. How do we do that?

By implementing key verbiage and other SEO ingredients, your website will be optimized to stand out among the millions of others. Selling delicious burgers in your hip new McAllen restaurant? Tell the Rio Grande Valley by getting to page one on Google.

Choose a website domain (URL) your audience will remember and click on. Also, be wary of the name you choose and remember itsalloneword (dot) com.

SEO brings new visitors to any site. If you’re looking to increase clientele, SEO will attract online users to your site. Getting exposed is a huge part of the game. Making sure your site looks good is the next step.

SEO can take you a long way, but if your site isn’t user friendly or attractive, you’re not letting it do its job as best it can. Make sure your content is organized, information is updated and your layout attractive. Whoever said looks don’t matter was not talking about the Internet.

Businesses start up every day and setting yours apart is necessary to keep it running. Contact Imagine It Studios in McAllen for SEO and web design that will catapult your business to position one, page one on Google. Call our team at 956-687-1521.

There are several important factors that must be incorporated into your website if you want your site to be more than just a “brochure type” website. Rather than simply presenting your company or business to the customer through your website, a successful website should be designed to steer the viewer to complete a certain action, thus increasing sales.

POA

To create an effective website, there must be a point of action or POA. Point of interest on a website is what you want your visitors to do. This can be anything from making a purchase, downloading a demo or submitting information.

Website conversion

The definition of website conversion is the percentage of total visitors who follow through after clicking on the company’s desired point of action (POA). The percentage of visitors that complete the desired POA signifies the conversion rate for the website. Multiple visitors will take a path that you desire for them to follow, but will not complete the form, download, etc. The percentage that completes an action signifies the conversion rate.

In order to boost the website conversion rate, companies and small businesses need to determine why potential customers drop out at certain points in the process, and eliminate the factors that interrupt possible sales.

Take rate

The number of visitors who show interest in your POA and take action, comprise your take rate. One of the biggest ways to increase your website’s take rate is by making it very clear to your visitors, on every page of your site, what you want them to do. Your site should make it easy for visitors to take the POA, no matter where they are on your website.

Why it matters

Your company or business website should be designed with one goal in mind. Ultimately, your goal is to attract more customers and make money. Website conversion allows you to do just this. Changing certain variables on your website will allow you to increase conversion and take rates.

Before Apple’s invention of the iPhone, mobile phone applications were non-existent. The arrival of smart phones heralded a phone apps boom that has given us the ability to count calories, translate a language, and find an obscure restaurant, at our fingertips. The mobile phone’s role has changed from being just a convenient phone, to a satellite-supported distributor of information gleaned from every Internet resource available on the planet, and all because of phone applications.

The mobile phone applications industry has skyrocketed to a multi-billion dollar industry. Corporations use them for mass marketing, boutiques use them to announce sales, and children use them to create games. But the sales of these phone applications have led to some unscrupulous behavior.  People are selling “rights” to platforms that aren’t theirs. Marketers are charging thousands of dollars for phone applications that the consumer can find for free. The popularity of these applications has persuaded people to set aside their caution for convenience. In return, the phone applications they are buying may not even work and perform the designed function, or the applications have been sold for a higher price than they are worth.

Marketing a product through mobile phone applications can make millions of dollars for a company if done correctly. There is no gauge on what should be paid for these applications, but through careful research, you should be able to educate yourself on the kinds of products there are and how much they should cost. This should protect you from anyone trying to cut themselves a slice of your profits.

The most assured way to guarantee that you do not fall prey to any scam, besides doing the research, is to find a reputable marketing firm you can trust. Anyone can say they are marketers and sell you a single service, but it is the professionals who offer comprehensive services and products that can help you analyze your market and design a phone application based on your needs and projected outcomes. Their professional input can help prevent any costly mistakes that can save time and prevent the loss of momentum in your marketing campaign. Mobile phone applications are available for sale from a variety of platforms, but a professional marketing firm can differentiate between what is real, and what can make a difference in your business.

The widespread use of mobile phone applications as a marketing tool has gained popularity from businesses and corporations, and they will continue to grow with innovation, and the advancement of technology. If you are looking for the right phone application for your business, and are overwhelmed by the many choices and high prices, do the research, consult professionals who know the business and can help you decide which applications and services are the right ones for you.

I guess you can think of a website as a car.  You have your high-end sports cars that are customized and are truly one of a kind, and you have those that you’d be scared to get behind the wheel of…but technically they’re still a car.  We do not have any lemons on our lot or sell cars that would be considered death traps.  Our vehicles are top of the line and always have room to upgrade.

Things that change the price of a website (no matter where you get it):

1.) How much money are you going to invest into your site?   Translation:  What’s your bottom line / budget?  We will always advise a potential customer on what their options are to get the most out of their budget.  We’ve even sent them to free website resources, but like anything in life…you really do get what you pay for.

2.) Options.  “Do you want a leather interior or cloth?”  The more features your site will need the more time it’s going to take to get it online.  Time is money so the price does go up.  We’ve always prided ourselves in trying to save a customer money, and I think we are one of the few design agencies that leave money on the table for another day.

3.) Speed Speed Speed.  “How fast was I going officer?”   If you’re going to need your website sooner, the price will reflect it as most designers have other projects in the pipeline.  If you’re not in a rush, most of our sites are off and running in thirty days but we need your help on this one.   We’ll need all your photos, text, email boxes, forms, etc all together so that we can get cracking on your new project.  Finally we’ll need to make sure that you’re around to look at the project.    We’ve developed a method to allow you to look at your site going up (similar to a house being built) but you’ll need to be involved in the process.  If you show up on the closing date without ever looking at the project, it’s going to set you back on your launch date.   Make sure you have a reasonable time frame for your web project and enough time to stop on by and let us know what you think of the progress.

Abel’s Final Thought

If you’ve ever heard me speak or lecture somewhere you’ll usually hear me close with this.   YOUR WEBSITE IS THE ONLY TEAM MEMBER THAT DOESN’T CALL IN SICK (or drunk) AND WORKS 24 HOURS  A DAY AND 7 DAYS A WEEK (at least it should if it’s built right).  So make sure it’s an accurate reflection of your company and it’s goals.  If you’re a lawn care company, you’re not going to want to go with a techno theme just because it’s a free template you found on someone’s page.  Treat your website as a satellite office that will be seen more often than your real office.  With the price of gas still high (at least in my opinion it is) the decision-makers will look at a website before they drive down the road looking for your office.

Sometimes a custom-designed site is out of your budget, but ask if they can work with you.  (We always do).

It’s not rocket surgery (to quote John)…you need to get the word out.  Tell your customers that you DO have a Facebook page (or what ever the social media flavor of the month is).  Look at where people can interact with you.  Tag the bottom of your emails, post the links on your website, and have your team mention it when they interact with customers.  If you own a restaurant it only takes two seconds to have a cashier say something along the lines of “Hey! Follow us on Facebook (and or) Twitter.” You’d be surprised who’ll follow you.  You may want to even do something special online to shake things up.

Schedule Your Social Media

If you’re producing videos /blog posts you can use a scheduling program (such as PING.FM) to get the job done.  Just use your head when it comes to this.  If you’re going to check out for a few days (hit the beach or feed the Las Vegas economy) make sure you are open and honest.  If your auto post program posts a question and people answer it….you’re not going to be around to carry on that conversation.  You’d think it’s a pretty straight forward process, but as you follow social media….you’ll see that this happens all the time.

“Talk To Me Goose”.  Engage with your customers

Answer your Email!  Business should engage with their customers as quickly as they can.  Set up a goal if you have to.   We’re all bombarded by requests for information and it usually comes in waves so many people won’t expect you to get back to them.  To Borrow a phrase from Tony Hsieh, “Deliver WOW Through Service.”  Get back to them as quickly as you can.  You’d be surprised.

Somethings to think about before you decide NOT to do a mobile website.   There are a lot of nay sayers out there that will do nothing…

1.  Of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones 1.08 billion are smart phones.

2.  By 2014 more it’s estimated that more people  will access the internet through their phones instead of traditional desk to prompters.

3.   In the US the Average mobile internet user spends 2.7 hours a day on their mobile device.

Sources:  http://www.bivingsreport.com/2011/some-facts-about-mobile/

Isn’t time you market yourself where your customers are?

Just this morning we had our most recent success as one of our customers, Michael Pruneda, who is #1 on Google for McAllen Business Lawyer and #1 for McAllen Employment Lawyer, just moved to the first page in the Google organic rankings for Austin Business Lawyer.

Our clients are reaping the rewards of our SEO program as their websites are no longer just a static brochure site but instead are becoming a money maker that is bringing them a solid return on their investment. If you want to be found on Google, whether you are doing business locally or you are selling your product worldwide, Imagine It Studios can help your website be found. Give us a call today at 956-687-1521 and tell us you want your website to be found on Google!