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By Todd Brannon 24 Jun, 2023
The Simplicity and Benefits Explored
By Todd Brannon 24 Apr, 2023
Content marketing is creating and sharing valuable and relevant content to attract and engage a defined audience for profitable customer action. It includes blog posts, videos, social media posts, and more. In this article, we'll focus on the value of blog content for attracting customers, building brands, and establishing authority. We'll discuss how a clear content creation strategy can extend website visits, reduce bounce rates, and generate leads. Why Should You Develop a Strong & Consistent Blog Content Game? According to HubSpot, companies that blog have 55% more website visitors than those that do not. This is because blog articles can help you rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords. Secondly, blog content helps to engage website visitors. When you create valuable content that solves problems or answers questions for your target audience, you can increase the time that they spend on your website. The longer visitors stay on your site, the more likely they are to engage with your business, whether it's by filling out a form, subscribing to your newsletter, or making a purchase. Thirdly, blog content helps to generate leads. By creating content that addresses the pain points of your target audience, you can position your business as a solution provider. By including calls-to-action (CTAs) in your blog posts, you can encourage visitors to take action, such as filling out a form, subscribing to your newsletter, or downloading a lead magnet. Extend Website Visit Duration, Reduce Bounce Rate, and Generate Leads Long-form blog posts provide value to visitors and increase website visit duration. This can lower bounce rates and increase engagement with other pages on your website. Companies that blog have a 70% lower bounce rate than those that do not, according to HubSpot. Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave a website after only viewing one page, which could mean they didn't find what they were looking for. Quality blog posts addressing your audience's pain points can keep visitors on your site longer and encourage them to explore other pages, reducing bounce rate. Posting blog articles can also generate leads by addressing your target audience's pain points with valuable content. Solve problems and answer questions to position your business as a solution provider. Include CTAs in your posts to encourage action, like filling out forms or downloading lead magnets, and capture contact info to nurture visitors into customers. Studies and Metrics Several studies and metrics demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of blogging for businesses. Here are a few examples: 1. HubSpot found that companies that blog have 55% more website visitors than those that do not. 2. A study by Content Marketing Institute found that com panies that prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their marketing efforts. 3. According to HubSpot, businesses that blog receive 97% more links to their website , which can help to improve their search engine rankings. 4. A study by Curata found that 74% of companies surveyed reported an increase in lead generation as a result of content marketing, including blogging. 5. The same study by Curata found that companies that blogged more than 11 times per month saw the greatest increase in traffic and leads . 6. According to a study by TrackMaven, companies that publish 16 or more blog posts per month saw 3.5 times more traffic and 4.5 times more leads than companies that published 0-4 posts per month. Creating an Effective Content Creation Strategy To maximize the benefits of blogging, it's important to create an effective content creation strategy. Here are some tips to help you get started: 1. Identify your target audience: Understanding your target audience is essential to creating blog content that resonates with them. Define your buyer personas and tailor your content to their interests, pain points, and questions. 2. Conduct keyword research: Conducting keyword research can help you identify the topics that your target audience is searching for on search engines. This can help you create content that is optimized for search engines and more likely to attract organic traffic. 3. Develop a content calendar: A content calendar can help you plan your blog content in advance, ensuring that you are consistently publishing quality content that addresses the needs of your target audience. 4. Create high-quality content: The quality of your blog content is essential to its effectiveness. Focus on creating in-depth, valuable content that solves problems and answers questions for your target audience. 5. Optimize for search engines: Optimize your blog content for search engines by including relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and alt tags. 6. Include CTAs: Including clear CTAs in your blog content can help to generate leads and move visitors further down the sales funnel. Conclusion Blog content creation is an essential component of any effective content marketing strategy. It can help businesses to generate traffic, engage website visitors, and generate leads. By creating quality blog posts that address the needs of your target audience, you can position your business as an authority in your industry and attract potential customers to your website. A strong content creation game will extend website visit duration, reduce bounce rate, and generate leads that your website otherwise would not. By incorporating blogging into your marketing efforts, you can achieve a positive ROI and grow your business. Here are the links to the studies referenced in this article: 1. A study by HubSpot found that businesses that blog receive 55% more website visitors than those that don't: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/business-blogging-in-201 5 2. A study by Content Marketing Institute found that companies that prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their marketing efforts: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2020_B2B_Research_Final.pdf 3. According to HubSpot, businesses that blog receive 97% more links to their website: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/business-blogging-in-2015 4. A study by Curata found that 74% of companies surveyed reported an increase in lead generation as a result of content marketing, including blogging: https://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/content-marketing-tactics-2014/ 5. The same study by Curata found that companies that blogged more than 11 times per month saw the greatest increase in traffic and leads: https://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/content-marketing-tactics-2014/ 6. According to a study by TrackMaven, companies that publish 16 or more blog posts per month saw 3.5 times more traffic and 4.5 times more leads than companies that published 0-4 posts per month: https://trackmaven.com/blog/the-data-behind-why-long-form-content-marketing-works/
By Todd Brannon 04 Jan, 2023
Introduction Negative reviews can be a double-edged sword for small businesses. On one hand, they're an opportunity to improve your business and provide better service in the future. But on the other hand, negative reviews can cause customers to leave without ever giving your business another thought—and that's bad news for everyone involved. The good news is that there are things you can do both before and after someone leaves a negative review so that you don't lose any more potential customers (and their money!). Accept that negative reviews are a fact of life. It's a fact of life that people will complain about your business. It's also a fact of life that people will post negative reviews about your business. And it's also a fact of life that people will post positive reviews about your business—which means you should accept this as part of the way things work in the world and move on to doing what you do best: putting out great products or services, listening to customers and helping them solve problems. Seek out the review for yourself and check for accuracy. If you want to make sure that the review you're reading isn't an exaggeration or a lie, it's important to check for accuracy. This can be done by looking at the profile of the reviewer and checking their past reviews. If they have a history of being negative, then this is probably a person who just doesn't like your business and will continue to give bad reviews no matter what you do. In addition, if there are other reviews by this same user on topics related to yours (such as competitor products), then take note of them as well because they may not be completely honest either! \ Read the full review, not just the star rating. When you find a negative review, it’s important to read the full review, not just the star rating. The star rating is meant to help consumers decide whether or not they want to buy something. However, when reading reviews for your business or product on Yelp or Google Reviews, don't focus on those numbers alone. Instead take note of what other people had to say about their experiences with your product or service so that you can learn from others' mistakes and avoid them yourself in future customer interactions. Look for a theme among your reviews. When you look for a theme among your reviews, it's best to focus on the most recent ones. The more recent they are, the closer they are to being a true representation of what is happening with your business. If someone gives you a negative review but then leaves within two days (or even less), this could be because something happened that caused them to change their mind about buying from you—and if so, this could lead back into why they left in the first place! Another reason why looking at older reviews can help: It shows whether or not there have been any trends over time that may have affected how people feel about buying from your store. For example, if most people find one thing difficult about shopping at your shop but don’t mention it in their initial feedbacks? That might mean something else has changed since those initial reviews were written (like maybe more staff members now?) and thus needs addressing before moving forward with any plans related directly toward improving customer satisfaction through changes implemented by management team members such as yourself! Be proactive with your customer service. When you receive a negative review, take action. If the customer is requesting a refund or exchange, send them an email explaining why you aren't able to offer one at this time. If there's something specific that needs to be fixed on your website or product, respond immediately and make sure it gets fixed as soon as possible. You'll want to use the same response for all reviews—this helps set yourself apart from other businesses who may respond differently depending on what type of complaint was made (e.g., "I'm sorry" vs "This isn't working"). The best way to handle negative reviews is by finding out what exactly went wrong with their experience so that you can fix it right away! Respond to each negative review with professionalism and transparency. Once you've received a negative review, be sure to respond quickly and publicly. You should do so in a way that respects the reviewer and shows them that you take their concerns seriously. You can ask for more information about what would make your business better or improve their experience as well as provide any solutions you think might help resolve the situation. If possible, use humor when responding (but be careful not to come off as defensive). Respond to the same review in a few different ways. It’s important to respond to negative reviews in a way that doesn’t feel like you’re trying to quash them. When someone writes a negative review, they may be responding to something your business did or didn't do. You want the individual who wrote the review to know that you understand their feelings, and that you're willing to work with them on solutions moving forward. The best way to handle this is by communicating with each reviewer individually—and through different methods at different times: publicly (on social media), privately (via email), or in person (if possible). It's also helpful if you can respond quickly so as not give off any signs that they've had an impact on your business' reputation: no matter how positive or negative their comments are here are Strategies for Responding Well when Someone Posts Bad Reviews About Your Business! Invite the customers offline to continue the conversation or resolve the situation. If a customer has a complaint, invite them offline to continue the conversation or resolve the situation. You can find out more about this in our article on how to handle negative reviews as a small business. Be honest and upfront with your customers: Tell them why you made the changes and what went wrong with their order (if you can). The best way for them to know if they’re happy is by hearing directly from the person who took care of their purchase rather than reading an explanation written by someone else later on. Be polite and professional: Respond quickly when contacting customers via email or phone; don’t give off any signs that it bothers you when someone complains about something else besides their experience at your store! Negative reviews are an opportunity to improve your business, not just an annoyance. Negative reviews are an opportunity to improve your business, not just an annoyance. You can use negative reviews to: Improve customer service by offering better products or services that match the needs of your customers. Improve products and services by making them more affordable or accessible, or by providing additional information about what you're selling so people know exactly what they'll get when they buy it. Strengthen your reputation as a trusted source of information on the Internet. Conclusion All of these tips can help you to deal with negative reviews as a small business. Remember that they are only one part of your overall marketing strategy, so don't let them take over or ruin your day. Most importantly, remember that even the best businesses and companies go through periods of struggling with reviews like this on occasion—and it's okay! If you get stuck in a rut, try some of these ideas again and see how they work for you. Image by rawpixel.com
Image by Karolina / Kaboompics for rawpixel.com
By Todd Brannon 04 Jan, 2023
Google reviews can have a significant impact on consumer behavior and the success of a business. According to a survey conducted by BrightLocal, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 7 out of 10 consumers will leave a review for a business if they are asked to do so. This highlights the importance of encouraging your customers to leave reviews, as well as actively managing and responding to both positive and negative reviews. Positive reviews can increase the credibility and perceived trustworthiness of your business, leading to increased customer loyalty and sales. In fact, a study by Spiegel Research Center found that a 1-star increase in your business's average rating on Google can lead to a 5-9% increase in revenue. On the other hand, negative reviews can obviously have a detrimental effect on your business. A study by Harvard Business Review found that a 1-star decrease in a Yelp rating can lead to a 5-9% decrease in revenue for a restaurant. And it almost goes without saying that negative reviews can also lead to a decrease in customer trust and loyalty. Google reviews can also impact your business's ranking on search engine results pages. According to a study by Moz, the number of reviews your business has and the overall rating it receives are both strong ranking factors for local search results. This means that businesses with a high number of positive reviews are more likely to rank higher in search results, leading to increased visibility and potentially more customers. It's not just the overall rating and number of reviews that matter, however. The content of the reviews themselves can also have an impact on consumer behavior. A study by ReviewTrackers found that consumers are more likely to consider your business if it has reviews that mention specific products or services, rather than just general comments about your business. This suggests that detailed and specific reviews can be more effective in influencing purchasing decisions. In addition to the impact on sales and search rankings, Google reviews can also affect how your business is perceived by the general public. A study by Podium found that 78% of consumers have formed an opinion about a business based on its online reviews. This highlights the importance of businesses paying attention to and actively managing their online reputation through Google reviews. You shouldn't underestimate the power of Google reviews. By encouraging and managing online reviews for your business, you can improve your credibility and perceived trustworthiness, increase customer loyalty and sales, and potentially improve your search rankings. As such, it's essential for you to prioritize your business's online reputation and take an active role in managing its Google reviews. Image by Karolina / Kaboompics for rawpixel.com
By Todd Brannon 19 Feb, 2021
You may be wondering if your business needs a website or if you can still rely on your existing brick-and-mortar operation alone. Or maybe you think you are doing well with just a Facebook page and all those 'likes'. Indeed, gone are the days when a business could operate without a website to engage its audience or market. Nowadays, regardless of the size or scale of your business, having a website to show off your products, services, and expertise, as well as connect with your customers and clients is an absolute must. There is a myriad of reasons why your business needs a website. In fact, did you know that by having your own website for your business, you are not only ensuring that your products or services appear online, but you are attracting new customers to your business and ultimately increasing your sales. To help you understand why your business needs a website, below we discuss the top 5 reasons to have one, including how a website can increase your revenue, solidify your brand and allow you to remain competitive in a digital world. 1. Attract more customers Instead of relying on the location of your store and traditional forms of marketing to attract customers to your business, a website gives you the freedom to attract people from all over the world far more reliably. Indeed, traditional marketing, including direct mail or print advertising, can be incredibly expensive and as you cannot directly track the returns, it can be difficult to know if you are making a return on your investment. Relying on foot traffic can also be limiting, particularly in times such as these. However, by having a business website, you can take charge of your marketing yourself and sell directly to your customers online, regardless of where they are in the world. A business website also allows you to measure the specific results of your marketing efforts so you can make sure every dollar you spend on marketing is justified. This is a huge advantage for any business and can help you to double, if not triple, your revenue. 2. Do business 24/7 Unlike a physical store or even an office, Google is open to anyone and everyone 24/7. This means that if you have a business website, it can be available when you or your employees are not. Indeed, by having the ability to do business 24/7, instead of merely within business hours, you can find and secure new customers at all times. Moreover, a business website means you can always keep your customers updated on your most recent projects, promotions and events and dramatically increase both your brand exposure and sales. Best of all, you can even make money while you sleep. 3. Offer social proof Did you know that 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making a purchase ? A business website is the perfect opportunity to convince potential customers to do business with you – whether on or offline. Not only is a business website the perfect place to share your positive customer testimonials, but it also allows customers to leave you Google reviews which convert more customers. Indeed, nowadays, the majority of customers will read business reviews before deciding to do business with you. In fact, 76% of consumers say they trust the reviews they read online as much as personal recommendations . By having a business website with glowing reviews of your products and services, you can quickly establish trust with your customers and increase your sales. 4. Solidify your brand Creating a business website that tells your story and showcases your products or services in the best light possible is the perfect way to establish your brand online. Your website should be an extension of your business and explain to your customers who you are, what your unique offering is and how it can help them. By investing in a well-designed website, you can further enhance your brand image and attract new customers. You can also use high quality images to entice customers to visit your premises in person and spend even more. This is particularly useful if your business is not well located. As such, it is vital to take the time to create an on-brand and well-designed website to set you apart from your competitors and get your brand out there. 5. Beat the competition When a customer is deciding who to spend their money with, they usually do their due diligence and research online, including checking out a brand’s website, reviews and reputation on Google. As such, it is imperative to have a business website. Indeed, if you do not have a business website, then you are automatically going to lose out to the competition. Furthermore, without a website people may question your legitimacy as a business and distrust your brand. This may cause you to lose out on further sales and allow your competition to easily overtake you as the leading business in your industry. In today’s digital world, the question is no longer if your business needs a website, rather it’s if it can afford not to have one. Although it may seem overwhelming to create and manage your own business website, TruSponse is here to simplify both. Our expertise can guide your through the development process as well as manage your site after it is published. Our platform offers a one stop shop for custom domains, hosting, and content management. We use AWS servers to ensure industry best site uptime and all of the sites have an SSL certificate. This ensures your site visitors can be confident their connection to your site is secure. So, although as a business owner you may have a million things to do, if you do not have a business website then it is time to add it to the very top of your to-do list. Indeed, if you would like to increase your revenue, establish your brand and beat the competition, we suggest you take the first step and get in touch with us today. Here at TruSponse, we pride ourselves on responsive web designs that are made to order for our clients. Our philosophy is built on a mobile-first strategy, ensuring you can reach the mobile device users that make up the majority of all web traffic and can attract new customers to your business today.
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