2. We are Breaking Even
We have an office in Bar Harbor.
We've designed over 100 websites and have
spend more hours on social media than we
will ever admit (thousands.)
Everyday, we find out more things we don't
know... but we're ok with that.
nicole@breakingeveninc.com
alice@breakingeveninc.com
4. As you see, they are spending time
on social media websites.
5. Most people's online goals can be
accomplished with social media
1) Drive more traffic to my website.
2) Make more money in my (online) store.
3) Be known as a 'leader' in the industry.
4) Get good word of mouth.
5) Do better customer service.
Today, we'll talk about this!
6. Important: You Need More Specific
Goals
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Relevant
T = Time-bound
Vague goal: I want more Facebook likes.
SMART goal: I want 500 total Facebook likes
between January and May of 2013.
7. Great, but what can I measure?
Clicks on a link- Bitly.com and/or Google
Analytics
Scans of a QR code-
Some paid service (or Google Analytics)
Traffic to social media: Facebook Insights, etc.
9. Let's do a sample one...
1) Create account on bitly.com (or log in).
2) Copy and paste the link to shorten/track:
10. Let's do a sample one...
3) Customize and/or group the link as
necessary:
11. What can you do with your Bitly
Links?
● Share them on Twitter (because they are
short.)
● Share them on Facebook (to see who clicks
since Facebook stats stink.)
● Use them in print ads, press releases, and
other places that won't tolerate HTML links.
The less someone has to type in, the less
they are likely to mess it up.
● See trends in what people like/don't like.
Because they will never tell you.
12. But what about those fancy QR
codes? Can I make those?
Yes!
13. How To Create and Measure QR
Codes:
Option 1 - the free one:
● Make a free QR code (Google 'free QR code
generator' - there are tons.)
● Send scanners to a specific page on your
site and measure that with Google Analytics.
Option 2 - the cheap but easier one:
● Use a service that will let you create and
track one. (These seem to be around
$10-$20/month.)
15. Using Social Media To...
1) Help more people find me/my business
2) Make more money in my online store.
3) Be known as a 'leader' in the industry
4) Get good word of mouth
5) Do better customer service
Today, we'll talk about this!
16.
17. Overly Simplified SEO (Search
Engine Optimization)
Search engines like three things. Put them on
your website and Google will be happy:
1) Keywords- terms people are searching for
2) Links- other websites saying 'hey, this stuff is
good'
3) Frequently updated content- the more often
you update your site and the more pages are
on it, the more Google comes back to visit
20. How would you use keywords?
● Write on social media using them
● Rewrite web pages using them
Nicole Ouellette's landscape paintings are for
sale at several galleries in the northeast United
States and in her online store...
● Write blog entries with them
● Write on another website using those
keywords (guest post, leave a comment,
etc.)
21. Overly Simplified SEO (Search
Engine Optimization)
Search engines like three things. Put them on
your website and Google will be happy:
1) Keywords- terms people are searching for
2) Links- other websites saying 'hey, this stuff is
good'
3) Frequently updated content- the more often
you update your site and the more pages are
on it, the more Google comes back to visit
22. Links
Links coming into your site say to the search
'Hey other people think this is good.'
Site A: 2 links coming into it
Site B: 200 links coming into it
Which one will Google show you?
23. Links: A Note
Not all links are created equal.
Google Page Rank determines how awesome
links are for you. Pages are ranked 1-10 which
gives you an idea of how important they are
(based on traffic and more). Google is a 10,
Amazon is a 9, Breaking Even is a 3.
A link off NewYorkTimes.com is worth more
than a link off BreakingEvenInc.com... but all
links help!
24. How Do I Get More Links?
1) Ask for them. (Check to make sure the
Chamber, the galleries you sell in, etc. are
linking to you. If they are not, ask if they would
mind doing so!)
2) Write a blog with cool/useful stuff in it.
People will want to link to that.
3) Use social media and link back to your site
with it.
25. There are all kinds of places to put
links in social media...
26. Overly Simplified SEO (Search
Engine Optimization)
Search engines like three things. Put them on
your website and Google will be happy:
1) Keywords- terms people are searching for
2) Links- other websites saying 'hey, this stuff is
good'
3) Frequently updated content- the more often
you update your site and the more pages are
on it, the more Google comes back to visit
27. Frequently Updated Content
Frequently updated content tells Google
someone cares about this site.
Website A: Updated 1 week ago
Website B: Updated 6 months ago
Which one does Google see as more relevant?
28. What do you need to add to your
site?
Blog!
Other Stuff Besides A Blog:
● FAQ- Make your life easier by answering
people's (possibly ridiculous) questions
● Product Galleries- Show textures, your
products 'in the wild' ect.
● Stuff you are sharing on social media
● Customers loving you
● Map of where you are selling your stuff in the
world (aren't you popular?)
29. For All The SEO Stuff.. .
A blog is the easiest thing to do it all...
Since about 40-90% of website traffic is driven
by search*, do better in search engines and
more people will come to your site.
30. Most people's online goals
1) Drive more traffic to my website.
2) Make more money in my online store.
3) Be known as a 'leader' in the industry
4) Get good word of mouth
5) Do better customer service
Today, we'll talk about this!
31. Three Ways To Think About Small
Business Online
● Ecommerce On Your Own Website
● Ecommerce Not On Your Website (Social
media, third party services, etc.)
● Instead of Ecommerce...
32. Option A: Ecommerce On Your
Website
● Think 'open source software'
○ Free and Frequently updated
● WooCommerce, Virtuemart, Zencart, etc.
● Setup Costs ($1000+ for a web developer)
● Ongoing costs (accepting credit cards)*
○ Secure certificate- $10-$100+/year (The more
security you want the customer to feel, the more
expensive they are)
○ Payment gateway: $30/month possibly plus
percentage/set amount per transaction (Paypal Pro)
*Alternative: https://www.braintreepayments.com/ and https://stripe.com/
33. Option A: Ecommerce On Your
Website
Pros: Can accept credit cards, can control
entire user experience
○ Integrations so they buy more (Ex: social sharing,
featured products)
○ Integrations so they buy again (Ex: subscribe to our
email list, 'wish list')
Cons: Ongoing fees (monthly charges to accept
credit cards*), takes time, and initial setup costs
34. Option B: Third Party Website
Third party websites = lots of options
Big Cartel, Shopify, hundreds of others
○ Eventbrite (events/ticket sales)
○ BigCartel ('artists')
○ BookBaby (ebooks)
○ Etsy (homemade)
Pros: Low commitment/cost, easy to start
Cons: Not so customizable, can't control user
experience, can only accept Paypal (unless you
pay extra), can be expensive over time
40. Someone who is nailing the custom
form...
IWantToDrawACatForYou.com
41. In short...
● Show you are at least open to the option of
selling online
● People aren't buying on social media... yet.
● Services like BrainTree Payments are going
to keep driving costs lower to do this for
yourself.
42. Selling More In Your Online Store
(Besides Getting More People There)
● Optimize your online store.- You know all
that keyword research you did in part one?
Use it here in your store description and
product descriptions! Remember no robots!
● Offer free shipping- People love it. Why?
http://bit.ly/freeshippingbuymore
● Cross sell and upsell products.- If your
software doesn't allow this, put it as linked
text in your description. "These plates also
have matching bowls and matching cups to
complete the set."
43. Selling More In Your Online Store
(Besides Getting More People There)
● Make online friends and crosspromote.
● Test design with A/B testing.- Test one
version along with another and see which
one gets you more sales. More sales from
same amount of traffic. Win-win. http://bit.
ly/abtestingguide
44. Most people's online goals
1) Drive more traffic to my website.
2) Make more money in my online store.
3) Be known as a 'leader' in the industry
4) Get good word of mouth
5) Do better customer service
Today, we'll talk about this!
45. Get People To Know Your Face
● Your face and 'about' info on your site
● LinkedIn and Google+
● Microdata/rich snippets
● Gravatar.com
● Guest post
You want people to think, "That So-And-So is
everywhere! They must be awesome!"
46. Your Face On Your Site
When I got started blogging, a fellow Maine
blogger Meg Wolff somehow saw my picture.
"You should put your face online! You're cute!"
She said so I stuck it in the sidebar of my site.
A month later I was recognized at John
Edwards as 'the girl who blogs'. True story.
Put your face on your website! Human faces
mean 50% higher conversion.
47. Make A LinkedIn and Google+
Profile
● Put professional (and other)
accomplishments.
● Link back to your own website.
● Both in cahoots with Google so if someone
looks up your name, those are the things
(besides Facebook) that are likely to come
up. Only these profiles are open.
48. What's the other cool thing with
Google+?
Your face can be in search results! (Microdata
and Google Authorship)
49. Gravatar.com
Why is my face not next to the comment I just
left? I've been leaving comments on blogs to
get links back to my site...
50. Gravatar.com
Go to Gravatar.com and create a free account.
Then people can start seeing your face (and
linking back to your website) when you leave a
comment.
51. Guest Posting
An easy way to get famous? Guest post on a
complimentary website or blog.
1) Look for blogs you read and want to be
associated with. Read their 'About' or 'FAQ' to
make sure they are open to guest blog posts.
2) Leave periodic comments for 2-3 months.
3) Email them (use their name) with an idea for
a blog post you'd like to write.
4) Send them the blog (preformatted HTML if
you really want them to like you) with links built
in, pictures to run with the post, etc.
52. Guest Posting Benefits
● New audience to see your work
● Free link coming into your site
● Makes you seem more legit if someone is
letting you post on your website
● Present your art in a different way/voice then
you are used to
● Blog readers tend to be more affluent and
likely to buy online than non-blog readers i.e.
your target audience
● There are blogs for everything so be as
nichey as you want.
54. Most people's online goals
1) Drive more traffic to my website.
2) Make more money in my online store.
3) Be known as a 'leader' in the industry
4) Get good word of mouth
5) Do better customer service
Today, we'll talk about this!
55. Getting Better Word Of Mouth
● Email after transaction (1 week later), asking
for a product review (send them links to
where to post the review!)
● Do something good. Donate $100 to a
charity every month, etc. and talk about it.
● Post to social media more. Exposure
research shows the more people are
exposed to you, the more they like you.
● Set up a Google Alert to address concerns
right away.
58. Refine Over Time
● You may have to include or exclude certain
words/phrases:
Ex: 'nicole ouellette -lacrosse'
● If you can, leave a comment. If you can't,
message the person directly.
59. Your Abbreviated Guide To Social
Media
● Facebook
● Twitter
● LinkedIn
● Google+
● Pinterest
● Youtube
User profiles for each site and how/when to
post on each site. (Data from Quantcast)
60. Facebook
Who: Everyone (largest growing demographic is
55+), women's profiles more viewed
What: Visuals
Photo shares are the 'liked' on Facebook. Asking
to share also helps
61. Profiles Versus Pages Versus
Groups
Profiles: Nicole Ouellette
● Set up by an individual person ('Friend'-
mutually agreed upon)
● Can be public, private or a blend
● Stats not available
Pages: Breaking Even Communications
● Connected to a profile, not necessarily
publicly ('Like')
● Stats available and are public
Groups: Cheese Eating Club
● Hybrid, usually informal/network-y ('Join')
62. Creating A Facebook Business Page
www.facebook.com/pages
1. Click 'Create' (upper right)
2. Follow the instructions (most of you are a
local business if you have a location or a brand
if you don't really).
3. You can add this stuff...
67. Anatomy Of A Really Good
Facebook Post
● Certain days are better than others but
Wednesdays stink.
● Posts during off peak hours (between 7 pm and
8 am, on weekends)- 14% more interaction
● This stuff is a moving target so test for yourself.
68. Twitter
Who: Everyone (largest growing demographic
is 18-24 year old minorities)
What: Links
Use Twitter to find and share links. Since their
'breakup' with Instagram, photos not so
popular.
Using hashtags can also allow you to be part of
conversations. Ex #photography Find more and
how they are trending here: http://www.
hashtags.org/
69. Anatomy Of A Really Good Tweet
● Tweriod.com will let you know when the best
time to tweet for you is.
● 'new blog' and 'please retweet' are perennial
well performers.
● This stuff is a moving target so test for yourself.
70. LinkedIn
Who: Everyone (More affluent males 25-65
who have a grad school level education)
What: Personal directory for business
connections, can follow companies, can collect
recommendations.
(I mean I can say how non sketchy I am all over
my own website but if 22 people on LinkedIn
say how cool I am, I must actually be ok.)
71. Anatomy Of A Really Good LinkedIn
Post
● Think of it as a combo between Facebook and
Twitter. You are sharing a link but there is a
visual too.
● This stuff is a moving target so test for yourself.
72. Google+
Who: 50 million+ active users, tend to be more
male (63%), and skew towards 18-34 year olds
and incomes over $100K
What: Place for people to find you, being famous
in Google searches with your face
74. Anatomy of a Great Pin
● Pin something that
lives on your own
website.
● If it doesn't make
sure to link back to
your site in the
caption. Add a price
and the info will go in
the upper left (but
stuff without prices
gets more clicks)
77. When Should You Pay?
● You are reaching a specific group of people.
(Ex: People who make over $100,000 who
have just moved to San Antonio)
● When you want to get bigger on that network
(i.e. more fans on Facebook).
● When you want to test your messages (Ex:
run simultaneous ads about soft baby
blankets, unisex baby blankets, and under
$20 baby blankets and see what has the
most return)
78. Is This Every Social Network?
No.
● Flickr/Instagram (Photos)
● Yelp/Foursquare (Location based)
● Spotify/Last.fm (Music)
● ustream (Broadcast)
● Digg/Delicious/Reddit (Bookmarking)
● Lots more....
Think of something people will share and there
is a social network built around it online...
probably.
79. But how do I manage it all?
1) Figure out what you are going to do.
(Hint: Not 'all of it')
2) Create a posting schedule.
3) Automate what you can.
4) Respond to comments/questions.
5) Track data.
81. Hootsuite: Schedule What You Can
● Free for up to 5 accounts
● Schedule ahead of time, shrink URLS, add
attachments
● Works less well with Facebook post
scheduling (in terms of prettiness)
83. Do More Customer Service
● Use FAQ/blog to head off easy questions
and help people narrow down what they
want. (Can I pay with check? Click buying
FAQ here: www.somethingofyours.com)
● Social media put out and respond to specific
information. (Yes, Jean we have that in red.)
● Use personal form to collect what you may
need from someone interested in buying... or
let them buy right on your site!
84. How Could You Save Yourself (And
Customers) Time?
● Think of your 3-5 most common questions.
● Address them via blog, social media, and
solutions on your own website.
Our three:
● Why do websites cost at least $3000? (blog
post, case studies about each)
● When is your next workshop? (..com/events,
Facebook event, and bottom of email
newsletter)
● What do you do? (portfolio, testimonials)
85. Putting It All Together
You may have...
● an online store
● a website (may be same as store)
● blog (may be same as website/online store)
● social media profiles
● an email newsletter
● email signature
Make sure it is linked together... here are a few
of our favorite ways how...
86. Integrations
● Automatically tweet/Facebook blog posts
and other site updates.
● Put links to social media in your email
signature, in your newsletter and, at least on
the home and blog pages of your site.
● Let people subscribe to your newsletter via
contact form, order form, and page on your
website. (Tweet/Facebook out the page
before you send your newsletter.)
● Use Facebook apps to display stuff, like your
Twitter feed or blog posts.
87. My Brain May Explode. What Now?
1) Set goals.
2) Try stuff.
3) Do more of what works, less of what doesn't.
4) Evaluate and reset goals.
88. You guys have time to do this stuff
all day...
Um, if we don't want to ever get paid!
We:
● blog 2-3 times a week
● Tweet once a day
● Facebook five days a week
● Pinterest when we want to
● Google+ and LinkedIn once a week
● Email newsletter once a month
● Youtube quarterly
In total, we spend between 8-10 hours a month
on our stuff.
89. That's not bad. What saves you
time?
● Schedule 'push'es ahead.
● Hop in and interact once a day. (pulls)
● Write a batch of blog posts when inspired
and schedule ahead.
● Keep a document of ideas for tweets, etc. to
write in while out and about... or at a boring
meeting.
● 'Perfection is the enemy of getting anything
done.'
90. What's the one thing no one is doing
much about but people should be
starting to think about?
The mobile web.
91. Mobile Facts
● Over 50% of
Americans own a
smartphone.
● One iPad is sold
every 3 seconds.
● 2/3 Americans who
bought a mobile
phone in the last 3
months got a
smartphone.
92. Yeah but do they buy anything?
● 32% smartphone users made purchases
with their phones. (23% pick their laptop)
● 39% of iPad users use them to buy physical
goods.
● Average order value from tablet $123,
computer $102, smartphone $80
● 55% shoppers share their shopping
experience on a social networking website
93. Mobile Customers
● 50%+ of website visitors are expected to be
mobile (reality in Downeast Maine is around
10-20% typically right now- but it's going up)
● Foursquare, Yelp, and Facebook deals
● Easy links (QR codes or bit.ly links)
● Offer text offers/notifications (not everyone is
on a smartphone)
● Your site: Mobile friendly
94. App Vs Mobile Site Vs. Responsive
Mobile Site ($)
- Visit in browser (but not teeny writing)
- Good for viewing info
- Have less control over interface
App ($$)
- Download from the app store
- Good for function (play a game, etc.)
- Can control interface entirely
Responsive ($$$)
- Adjusts to any screen size
- New and hot way to design... you'll hear lots more about
this
98. OK, my brain might actually explode.
Don't worry, here's your list!
● Set a SMART goal (or three).
● Decide what to do *consistently* over the
next 6 months. (You can't do it all, we don't!)
○ Who are your people and where are they?
○ What do *you* like to do?
○ We recommend: blog (for the SEO), email
newsletter (for the current customers/'luddites'), and
a social media site like Facebook (for prospective
customers)
● Look at your stats... did it work?
○ Do what works.
○ Stop doing what doesn't work.
○ Think about trying something else.
● Delegate, automate, rejuvenate.
