All Posts, Blog, Podcast
I was recently interviewed on a really well produced podcast called Hello Tech Pros. The creator is Chad Bostick, a fellow techie-guy as well as content creator of a 7 day a week podcast. That by itself is worth a second to imagine how much dedication one must have to have produce content like that on a daily basis.
The topic for me being on his show was for Motivation Monday, and I got really transparent with a pretty low experience I dealt with as a web designer. I spoke about what it felt like to be hacked, and continually hacked for about eight months of time relentlessly.
Listen in on the podcast to hear more about that story if you haven’t heard it from me personally. It’s worth your time I promise! And when you’re done visit the show notes page here for details.
Blog, Podcast
We’re really excited to be working on another media project. This one being audio podcasts. In these podcasts we’ll be talking briefly on business strategy tactic, social media, and web design on a weekly basis. Because there’s so much information out there, we found it to be easier to let our clients and audience digest the things that will matter to them most and in a quick 15min podcast that gives you the points and then ways to take action.
Some of our podcasts will actually be Q&A’s submitted by you. You can ask us questions for things that you’re facing in your business and we’ll talk about them in the show. Chances are you’re not alone in the challenges you’re dealing.
While we’re working to launch you can visit our YouTube page and see some of the How-To videos and other videos we’ve posted.
All Posts, Blog, WordPress
It’s been about four years now that we’ve been working exclusively in WordPress when building websites for clients. We switched over to it as a test with some websites that needed the ability to make content updates on a regular basis, then found it to be so much more resourceful than how we were building our regular HTML websites. And now WordPress sites take up about 26% of websites built on the internet. Pretty cool right?!
For those of you using WordPress though will want to make sure you’re always using the latest version of the platform. There are a few quick reasons why:
- New Functions and Features – With the version updates usually brings new functionality that makes the commonly used tools and options even easier for content creators. Image galleries are easier than ever before, content formatting is better, and so are the themes.
- Security and Patches – Typically you’ll see these in the incremental updates to the versions, but these are always important to pay attention to. Because WordPress is open sourced and community driven, input from users of the platform are actually taken into account when issues are found. Yes even the small little hiccups matter to the developers because they’re able to track and culminate all of that data and package fixes that are then pushed through these updates for all to enjoy.
What does this all mean? Don’t neglect your website. You may be one of the many owners that have several pending updates waiting for you to take action. Before you make those updates, be sure to read what is changing. It helps to understand this because there could be a reason why you shouldn’t update or possible test to see first if the updates will be compatible with your current theme, plugins, and custom settings.
You’ll want to check with your web consultant if you’re not sure, or you can always contact us and we can help with that too. Probably one of the more important things is to be sure and make a backup of your website prior to doing any updates. This could help in case something goes wrong or breaks, and then instead of troubleshooting, you can just restore a backup and then work out a plan for how to move forward.
All Posts, Blog, Branding, Business Strategy, Facebook, How to, PRESS RELEASE, Social Media
This post is part of our Reluctant Social Media Manager series, support for those of us who want measurable social media results with the least amount of effort.
This year has been full of excitement for Design Theory, and this summer is no exception. Earlier this year we launched new services including Managed Hosting, Social Media Management, and the profitable sales tool Automated Virtual Chat.
We’re pleased to announce that starting this summer we will be providing Facebook Training Classes for the Orlando area. We’ve developed a curriculum that will take any Facebook Business Page manager from novice to expert. Our classes cover all of the basics – setting up and managing a Facebook Page, Facebook Best Practices, and Advertising. We’ll go into some advanced topics such as: Managing Ads, Campaign Optimization, Targeting and Insights.
In February I provided a talk on Facebook advertising at WordCamp Miami (you can watch it here) and the response was overwhelming. I was flooded with so many questions after the session, that I realized there is a need for classroom style Facebook training. There are tons of resources online to help you learn how to leverage Facebook for your business, but if you’re like me – there’s nothing like having someone sit with you and work on your own website.
Our classes are designed to be hands on, lab-style. Our students will bring their own machines and log into their own Facebook Pages with me right there in the room guiding them each step of the way. Our first classes will be held later this summer. Click here to join our waitlist and receive a discount on your first class.
Share this email with any entrepreneur you know who could use a little Facebook Management assistance.
All Posts, Blog, Marketing, SEO
When it comes to SEO, there is always questions about how to use it, how much it should cost, is it worth understanding, and more. I asked a friend and colleague of mine who is the owner of an online marketing firm called PalmettoSoft to come in and talk about these common questions and concerns that people have. Meet Rhett while watching this talk and if you have further questions about SEO or his company’s services be sure to reach out to him or place your questions in the comments below.
All Posts, Blog, Branding, Marketing
This post is part of our Reluctant Social Media Manager series, support for those of us who want measurable social media results with the least amount of effort.
We all know engagement on Facebook is almost a requirement for any online businesses. There are millions of daily active users on Facebook, and the ability to engage and connect with your audience on Facebook is so simple it’s scary. Have you ever seen a Facebook Business page or group that posts constantly but the engagement is non existent? Posts that get less than 10 likes, or no shares, or no comments? That business is putting in the work but they aren’t getting the results. Today we’re going to outline the 4 main types of blog posts that provide engagement that matters. Here at Design Theory, we thrive on results, and we can get those results by working smarter instead of harder – that’s even better. Let’s go….
- Share Articles – Let’s started with the easiest form of Facebook posts, sharing content from other sources. Even though this sounds simple, the key here is sharing content that appeals to your audience. Choose a few content leaders and articles within your industry that will resonate with your audience. Did you know, and articles with shock value work well in this space. Here’s an example, we have a client that sells natural hair and skin care. We recommended that they share articles like “10 reasons why your Lotion isn’t safe”. An easy way to do this is to utilize tools like Buffer or DrumUp. Buffer allows you to schedule almost any article or image to be posted to your Facebook page, and it’s free! DrumUp is another free tool that automatically gather content for you based on the keyword you specify. The free version allows you to read and schedule your posts.
- Engagement Posts – These posts take a little more time, and rely on meme’s and images to capture attention. Here are some examples of engagement posts:
- Tag a friend who….
- Polls or Surveys
- This or That using images
- What’s your favorite brand/thing about this/thing to do when…
- Note: Captivating images work best here, try and find attention grabbing images. They don’t have to directly relate to your post, it can be a tangential relation (i.e. an image of a melted ice cream cone, with a post reading “What do you do when…”). There are plenty of free image websites that can give you the content for your posts. Try sites like PicJumbo, and Pixabay to get some awesome images for your posts.
- Sales Posts – These posts highlight a specific product and sales price with a clear call to action. Utilize a link directly to your MailChimp or Infusionsoft account, or directly to your shopping cart. Pictures or videos should ALWAYS accompany these types of posts. These are also great candidates for Facebook boosted posts or ads. We’ll talk in a future post about frequency, but for now sale posts should be the LEAST used type of post on your Facebook page or group.
- Original Content – And finally we get to the most time intensive type of post, but arguably the most effective. Original content allows your audience to know you, know your brand, and make a lifetime connection. Behind the scenes images and videos (using Facebook Live) are awesome ways to create original content without having to spend a lot of time or money on ads. Provide your fans with value by giving them information, statistics on things important to them, insight on how you have positively impacted your community or client base with your product or services. Lastly, provide lots selfies or images that represent your business, product, or service.
Remember that balance between these 4 strategies is key to success. Don’t forget to respond, reply, and engage – and most importantly BE CONSISTENT. After reading this blueprint – what actions are you going to take now to promote your Facebook Page Business? Let us know on our Facebook page, we’ll like your business page AND follow up with you as an accountability partner.
