The Flocksy Blog

Paid Search And Social For Advertising

When it comes to your website you want to use the best way of advertising that you can. But what is exactly the best way to advertise your business? If you are one of the many people that ask that question then I think this post is for you!

There are so many options for advertising your business that it can be hard to choose just one, am I right? Well, I know that I have talked about ways to advertise with SEO, social media and a few other ways. So, let’s have a talk about a couple of different ones.

Okay so let’s start with paid search! Paid search is a great way to get your business out there.

Paid search is helpful because you can watch and see how much business you actually bring in from ads. So that way if it’s not working then you can try and find out what you have to change to get better results. Pretty nice, right?

Take a minute and think about how great that would be for your business! And to make it even better you can use SEO, social media, and any other way of advertising with this if you want! In my opinion, the more ways that you are advertising the better. All that it does is get your business known faster and your website or blog will have a better chance of showing up more in top search results.

Now another great way to advertise is with paid social. I know I have talked a lot about how great the free advertisement is and all when using social media platforms, but hey, let’s face it, sometimes you just have to put the money in it if you want the best for your company. And if you are going to pay to advertise your business then paid social is going to be one of the best investments you will make.

Over five million people use Instagram a year, now that means if you put an ad on Instagram over five million people see that ad. Granted not everyone is going to want to go check out your site, however, even if just 15% of that check it out that’s still a lot of potential customers right there!

Paid search and paid social are yet two more great ways to get your business out there and we totally recommend that you use them both for your business as you look for more ways to advertise. I could say a lot more on both these subjects, but I will have to wait for another post to talk more about how paid search and social work and how they can work together.

Benefits Of Crowdsourcing

You’re in the market for a new logo. Or maybe you just want to update your old one, either way, there are so many options out there sometimes it’s hard to know what is the direction you should move in to obtain said new logo. The choices can seem endless and sometimes very overwhelming.

If you have already decided to go to a local designer and have your logo created than this post is not for you. However, if you are browsing around online and still undecided, then you’ve come to the right place!

I’m going to give you five reasons that crowdsourcing is the way to go:

1. You have the opportunity to work with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of graphic artists. Instead of working with just one artist, you get to see the work of many.

2. An affordable price. When you work with one designer they name the price, you agree upon it and then you go from there. Often since they are putting in so much time and effort the price that you’ll agree upon is rather high (it can range anywhere from $150 to $1000). When you work with a logo design site the price is much lower.

3. You can speed up the process. When you work with logo designers such as Design Pickle, Hatchwise, and 99 Designs you are able to select how soon you want the design. This can range from 10 days to 48 hours. If you are in need of a quality logo basically overnight you can have it.

4. You have the input from artists worldwide. If you work with one designer you are only getting their personal experience and their take on logo design. But if you work with many designers then you get lots of different designs and you can decide what type you like best. Designs vary worldwide, so wouldn’t you want to see logos that reflect that?

5. Eliminate management. Let someone else do all the work. You simply let the designers know what you are looking for, leave some feedback on the designs, select one, and receive your final files. That’s it! So easy and simple. Crowdsourcing takes away all the complications.

The Good And The Bad About SEO

I know I have talked a lot about how social media is so great for your business and that I have talked quite a bit about how great SEO is. SEO is what I want to talk about in this post because I really want you to know everything there is to know about SEO, the good, the bad, all of it.

First off, I would say that the good outweighs the bad by a good amount and there are just so many reasons to use SEO to bring your website up in the top search results by using keywords, social media, and so many other ways.

I always like to hear the good before the bad, so let’s talk about some reasons why you need SEO for your business and then we can move on to talking about why it might not be so good. This way you can know everything and then know if you think SEO is right for your business or if you don’t really need it!

It seems to be that 50% of the time when people look up something on Google they will click on one of the top five results. So SEO can help you to get your website or blog up in the five top search results.

SEO is an investment in the future of your business and even if you don’t see results right away later on in the game you will, and that is what really counts, right?

Now for a little bit of the bad of SEO:

One reason that you might not want to use SEO is that the competition is too strong if you are a small business and can’t afford to put tons of money into making SEO work. If you are not able to put your all into making SEO work then it will probably end badly for you and in you spending a lot of money with no results.

Being in the top results is not always best, there IS a negative and positive. Yes, people click on the top results, but sometimes they simply read reviews and then make a decision. Basically always keeping the quality over quantity in mind with SEO.

The use of SEO for your business is good but should be used wisely and taken slow. If you see good results (more traffic, increased sales) keep at it. If there is a decline slow things up.

Search Engine Optimization

Did you know that Google has more than 3.5 billion searches made on it- per a day? That means that someone must be searching for something every second of every minute of every day. That’s a lot of searches.

But let’s get to talking about what we’re here to talk about, which is Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and how it can help your business.

SEO is a form of marketing that can be very helpful when trying to get your business up in the top search results when people search for content on google and yahoo that relates to your blog or website.

There are a few different ways that you can use this and one of those are to build backlinks. By building backlinks you can get your business known and they are popular when it comes to using SEO.

We are beginning to see that as time goes on it’s looking a lot more like people are interested in a more organic way of marketing and not the normal “paid ads” that most businesses are using right now.

SEO is a great organic way for you to get your website or blog out there and known.

But we don’t really know, maybe in 2019 it will all change and this form of marketing won’t really progress any further then it already has, or it could only start to get used more and more as we go into 2019.

At least I can say for us, that we hope that it will only continue to grow, and people will start using SEO more and more for organic outreach and growth. I guess all we can do for now though is sit back and see what happens

If you don’t already use SEO as a form of marketing, then you should start looking into it right away. Who knows, you may just see an increase in web traffic, and generate more leads sales while paying less in advertising.

Social Media For Your Business

Are you looking for new and better ways to advertise your business? Maybe you’ve tried the traditional billboards and ads and they didn’t really work out.

How is your social media game? Are you advertising there too? And if so, exactly HOW are you? Are you taking advantage of the free (and paid) advertising available on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest?

Let’s talk a little bit about using social media for advertising your products and/or services.

When trying to get your business out there (and I know it can sometimes be hard), advertising is not an easy thing to do. However, if you have a social media account it can be just a little bit easier.

Okay, so I know you’re now probably wondering, “how can Instagram or Facebook help with my advertising?”.

Well, probably one of best answers I can give you is that IT IS FREE (yes, you can run paid ads, but that’s not what I’m talking about here)! What I’m talking about is the stuff where you post about your company on your social site and it’s no more work or cost than hitting that “Publish” button. If you post and don’t get sales, then it is okay. It’s not like you just spent tons of money on it and then didn’t have any results from it. But if you do get results from it then that would be a nice bonus that comes without a cost.

Using social media for advertising makes it so you can interact with other accounts that are like yours and by doing that people beginning to see what your business has to offer and they want to learn more about what you do. It’s great for networking, reaching potential leads, talking about sales, and just gaining overall visibility online. You’ve spread your reach and promoted your company without paying a dime.

So if you don’t already use social media for advertising, then you should get out there right now and create the account that is going to help your business!

When is it time to update my logo?

How will I know when I need a new logo for my business?” Now, that might be the question you’re asking yourself right now and if so, then I might just have the answer for you.

I’m going to give you three tips on how to know if you need to update your business’s logo.

1. Relevant: You might need to get a different logo if people don’t know what you are selling or what service you are offering by looking at your logo. For example, if people walk in and ask you if you’re a salon when you sell electronics then that’s a tip that you MAY just want to try a new logo design. Make sure that your logo is relevant to your business.

2. Outdated: A good logo can stand the test of time, however, that doesn’t mean that sometimes in certain cases, like rebranding, for example, you may want a fresh logo to go with your new business facelift. Also, if your logo is 20 some years old it may just be time to update it a bit. It doesn’t have to necessarily be a new design, maybe just a refresh of the old one.

3. Eye-catching. You want to make sure that your logo is noticed and easy to remember. Some of the best logos are the simplest. Think MacDonald’s and Facebook and you’re on the right track. You also want people to see the logo for your business, and be drawn to it. You want your logo to inspire interest. If people are forgetting your logo, or worse, don’t even know what your logo stands for, it’s about time for a change.

If you’re wondering why you’ve been seeing a lack of clients or a drop in sales. If you find that you maybe need to give your company a quick facelift than maybe it’s time to consider having a new logo designed. Sometimes that’s just the kick you need to get things spruced up and attract some new clientele. Remember, just because it’s familiar doesn’t mean it’s best. That stays true for life, business, AND logos.

Five logo mistakes to not make

In the market for a new logo? Or maybe just looking to have your current one updated? Either way, there are some things to make sure that you get right or rather, mistakes you should avoid making with your new design and we’ve got you covered with a little list.

1. Stock images. This is a big one. Don’t ever use already existing designs in your new logo. When creating a logo make sure it’s 100% original and that it’s not like any other one!

2. More is less. Keep the design simple and clean. Try to stay away from too fancy of a design as well. You want people to be able to tell what the design is right away, without having to try to figure it out. People don’t like complicated designs.

3. Splash of color. Most people are pretty sensitive to colors. Try to stay away from annoying color choices. For example bright yellow or weird colors, no one wants to look at something that makes their eyes hurt. However, do make sure you have attractive colors. No one wants to look at an ugly design any more than they do a brightly colored one.

4. Font (and designs in general). Make sure that your font is easy to read. Don’t use lots of cursive in the wording. Fancy isn’t always the best choice. Sometimes it’s best to stick to the simple stuff. At the same time make sure that the font is cohesive, you don’t want to use three different fonts in the logo. Find one that’s simple, yet easy to read and does your business justice.

5. Make it your own. You want your logo to be unique. Don’t try to copy other logos, or go with a trend. A good logo is timeless, and by standing out helps potential clients to remember your logo, and therefore your company. Your new logo should be one-of-a-kind and stand out. And remember, this is the logo for your business, so make it worthwhile.

Keep all these in mind while you’re creating your logo and it’ll turn out great. And keep in mind, no one’s logo ever came out looking great on the first try. Experiment and keep trying until you find the right logo that suits your business. Trust us, it’ll be worth it. Be sure to let us know if you’ve got any questions!