Relationship website: Design your website to be relationship oriented. Invite your visitors in a warm friendly way and offer a good user experience. Show your hospitality on your website by offering your guests free goodies in the form of free information, eBooks or tools.

FAQ: A well developed FAQ (frequently asked questions) area on your website or blog makes it easy for people to locate information and get answers to their questions quickly. Always encourage a two way dialogue where your visitors can easily call, email or message you for immediate answers.

Interactive: Make your website interactive. Create a two way flow of information with live support. Allow your visitors to describe their unique needs and make them receive specialized answers to their questions.

Blog: Your blog allows you to regularly reach interested readers on a conversational level. Each day you can reach readers with business advice, problem solving ideas and insights on how you can help them. They can then answer back with comments. You can also engage in a blogging conversation with them. Your blog allows you to develop strong bonds with your existing and future customers.

Email communication: You can stay in touch with your customers that gave you permission to send them emails. Offer to send visitors valuable information or resources. It is all about creating a positive experience, not spamming.  Everyone hates spam, even the spammers. Always offer an easy way for them to opt out from future emails so that they are in control.

Social Media: Using social media tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn, you can interact and network with your prospective customers. There are hundreds if not thousands of social media websites and tools where people from different market niches gather and converse.

The key to using the Internet for relationship marketing is to distinguish yourself from from the masses. You must also be willing to do what others are not willing to do. You need to dare to be different.

Learn about all the digital marketing techniques that can help your business build credibility online and help you stand out from the crowd.

Based out of California, Ron welcomed the challenge to open a WSI franchise back in 2003 and has since been able to build and maintain a profitable Internet Consulting business. Notably, Ron’s success continues, even in the face of the economic challenges across the United States. And comparatively, helping to re-build the economy is one of the very philosophies behind the creation of Investing in America. Ron is one of the exceptional entrepreneurs who have recognized a formula for success that will excel even in difficult economic circumstances.

“WSI continues to provide additional tools and knowledge that help me update my business model, and they’ve given me the opportunity to work cooperatively with other franchisees and vendors. WSI definitely provides the framework for success.” – Ron Packer

And in relation to the group of US Military veterans that this WSI franchise opportunity is geared toward, Ron has an admirable history with 5 years on active duty in the Army and 21 in the Reserves. It was this experience that acted as a large contributing factor in his path to owning a WSI franchise.  You might even say that his Military background instilled in him essential experience to be successful in the world of digital marketing.

“My experience in the Military gave me the skills I needs to operate a WSI franchise. I had the ability to work with disparate teams of people, help identify specific goals and objectives, and develop, implement and coordinate projects.” – Ron Packer

Though this program speaks to the unique abilities of Military veterans, and works to improve the poor economy, Ron is also the perfect example of someone who has fulfilled the third objective of the Investing in America Program: he continuously aims to “pay it forward.”

“All you have to add is personal initiative, ethics and the ability to work with people. As a small business owner, I am more closely aligned with the local community than at any other time in my career.” – Ron Packer

It is individuals like Ron Packer and the success they’ve accomplished as a WSI franchisee that have inspired us in this program’s creation and has assured us that a program like Investing in America has been a long time coming!

If you are a young entrepreneur or a military veteran and are interested in receiving more information regarding the Investing in America Program, please visit our site.

Here are a few questions to ask a digital marketing consultant to ensure you’re hiring one with the right expertise to give your business world class digital marketing solutions to drive growth online!

1. What are your success stories? Asking to see examples of which sites they’ve worked on should be the first thing you ask. Case studies will help you get a feel for the consultant’s past work and illustrate how they’ve helped other businesses with their online initiatives. Digital marketing consultants with sites you’ve heard of and brands you respect are great signs. Also, gold stars should be given to consultants whose SEO work has transformed small businesses into visible search engine contenders. Avoid anyone who is reluctant to pull up examples of their organization’s work. A true digital marketing expert would jump at the chance to showcase their successes. Stay away from those who skirt the issue.

2. What would you do for my business? This is a simple question, but one that – if answered correctly – should reflect knowledge of your website, brand and vision as well as web solutions that are innovative and multi-layered. Generic answers and aggressive sales pitches without solutions should be tossed into the “no thanks” pile. Digital marketing consultants worth keeping will have answers you never would have dreamed of. After all, that’s why you’re hiring an expert.

3. How much SEO does my business need? A no-nonsense consultant will lay out for you every service they recommend, what it will do for you, and how much you will pay. This question will again be a litmus test to figure out how well they know your business and its needs — not to mention how cost-conscious they will be with your marketing dollars. Ideally, you and your consultant should share a goal to get the best return on investment as possible.

Hiring a digital marketing consultant should be an experience that benefits your business while providing an education in SEO. The best consultant will meet you in the middle armed with information and world class business solutions for your website. To talk to a consultant about your SEO needs today, contact one of our knowledgeable WSI Digital  Marketing experts.

The competition in the foodservice industry is fierce – to say the least – and Larry’s article outlines the best practices for increasing a corporate online presence, effectively incorporating social media into a business’ marketing mix, and increased ranking on search engine results pages. Overall, readers gain invaluable digital marketing tips that are guaranteed to boost your brand and drive traffic to your site.

Here’s a short excerpt from the article:

Both affordable and effective, an online presence can build business’ credibility and increase traffic to its website. It’s important for chefs and restaurateurs to set themselves apart from countless competitors and broadcast their delicious food and services through the Internet. With more than two hundred million people around the country using the web and social networking becoming more popular than ever, Internet marketing has become integral to a businesses’ success. So next time you experience a slow day, hop online and take advantage of the following marketing tips that will surely boost your brand.

Click here to read all of Larry Patrick’s tips for “Feeding Your Online Appetite.”

Check out other great success stories featuring WSI and our growing network of WSI Digital Marketing Franchisees

The book is based on Yahoo!’s own in-house style guide developed by working web editors, writers and professionals. Yahoo!’s editors cover everything from basic grammar to how to write for an international audience. Keys to creating an accessible website and how to improve SEO with strong content also are explored in the guide. While no one yet knows whether Yahoo! will score big with the book, we do know the need for strong content is bigger than ever.

So why does content warrant the publication of such a book?

Content is the middle of the sandwich on a website. It’s the tasty filling that users come back for time and time again. With more and more established writers and publishing veterans taking their craft online, great content is becoming the norm. This is a call to action for small businesses and organizations to truly step up their game. Yet, this isn’t as scary as it sounds. With a little thought, a lot of creativity and some help from a seasoned pro or two, anybody can achieve this sort of content.

Great content is content with a vision — your vision. It should express all the unique and exciting things about you and your business. Your voice is the key. Only you can express how fantastic your idea or business is. Go wild when describing your vision of your website — the sky is the limit! After all, it is a reflection of you and how brilliant you are.

But what if you’re not a “word person?” That’s when an extra set of hands comes in handy. Some lively sessions with an experienced writer who understands your vision can produce the content you’ve always dreamed of. With your style guide in hand and writer in place, amazing content is within your reach! Learn even more about the power of content and content marketing right here.

Your LinkedIn Network

LinkedIn is a three degree network in as much as it only considers your first three degrees as your network. So people you know are the first degree, their connections are the second, and those that know them the third. This makes sense since the more degrees of separation the less personal the connection and the harder it is to reach them. If you want to reach people who are outside of this you should become a member of a group that they are a member of. You may then contact them directly, as long as they have not changed the standard privacy settings, which most do not.

Join LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups can also help you to raise your online visibility. If you think of online networking as being based on increased communication, then you should be taking part and sharing or giving information, asking for help and thanking others for help provided. This will increase your visibility and profile, as well as strengthen your relationships with those in your network.

So take some action and

• Answer questions in the Discussion forums and post relevant articles in the News section
• Ask for help and information from your network, make sure you have thought through the question and people will provide help and assistance to you, which helps to build relationships
• Thank people in public, in a current discussion or forum or start a new thread. Be specific and generous and you will be amazed at the results you will obtain.
• Provide a recommendation to someone who has provided a service or helped you in some manner.

So if you wish to use the network to find new customers, a new employee, supplier or partner, then LinkedIn can provide the information and connections to make that happen.

Join our network on LinkedIn for daily updates and some best-in-class industry tips for your company’s digital marketing strategy.

The Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies Program enforces a rigorous selection process with an evaluation of the caliber of management skills and abilities. It’s become the country’s leading business awards program and actively recognizes excellence in Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues of over $10 Million.

This nomination – received by a program sponsor, CIBC Commercial Banking – symbolizes corporate success as measured by the achievement of sustainable growth and profitability. This speaks volumes to our collective performance in both a financial and operational sense.  And it’s great to know that our organization can stand among other top Canadian companies!

This opportunity is one that will undeniably inspire us to continue developing the business processes that ensure the most profitable methods in our digital marketing system.  We continuously aim to further develop our world-class strategies and maintain and exceed our level of excellence in the marketplace. It is this very initiative, after all, that has contributed to our long-standing success in the industry’s most well recognized franchise listing, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500.

This nomination celebrates the efforts and commitment of WSI staff members, franchisees and suppliers, who have all contributed to expanding WSI’s success throughout the years. I, along with the rest of the senior management team, sincerely appreciate the efforts of all those involved.  It’s a nomination that is indicative of the successes yet to come!

Read more great success stories featuring WSI and our growing network of WSI Digital Marketing Franchisees

The Traditional Conquest

This is where a business positions their advertisement (for example) directly next to that of their competition in order to benefit from the marketing efforts of their competitors. For example in print, if your competition pays for a large advert that attracts attention, you could place your smaller, less expensive advert directly underneath, so benefitting from the immediate grab of the large advert, benefitting from this Traditional Advertising Conquest.

You will also see this on the supermarket shelves where supermarket’s own brands sit next to major brands.

The Web Conquest

When it comes to the web, most of us search online using the major search engines, like Google, Yahoo! and Bing.  It is the area that the results of Pay Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can easily be seen.

A web conquest technique, similar to that of traditional conquesting, can be used in SEO campaigns and PPC campaigns (although Google monitors brand names and often disapprove the advert). By creating pages on a website, writing about a competitor’s brand, acquiring some good quality links, a web page could feature at the top of the results, despite not owning that brand.

And what if that company is getting negative reviews and is dominating the search engines with your branded keywords on their website?

As you can see, this may be damaging, and monitoring your brand online can ensure that you are in a position to stop this from happening before it gets out of hand.

Research your own brand or brands. Ensure that other sites are not brand squatting to your detriment and be prepared to do something about it if they are.

But conquesting has the potential to be an effective form of digital marketing and by benefiting from a bigger name brand, it can be very cost effective. As long as companies do not post false defamatory comments regarding their competitors then it is difficult to have these reviews or web pages removed. In fact, if you try, sometimes this can backfire and create a bad review when there was not one to start with.

Discover the digital marketing technique that can best help your business’ search engine results and its online reputation.

Importantly, this rule is very much applicable to your online audience as well. And knowing how to keep their attention (and keep them on your website!) can be a tricky skill to master. Just one small mistake on your landing page can cost you a customer!

For September’s Internet marketing expert webinar, WSI Certified Research Analyst, Chuck Bankoff, will be facilitating a free webinar that will take you through the appropriate steps to keeping your audience interested and ultimately get your business increased conversion. He’ll share proven digital marketing methods that will work to turn your site’s visitors into paying customers.

To supplement his webinar, Chuck has also made a complimentary whitepaper available with even more industry tips and best practices for creating effective landing pages appropriate for your business and your audience.  Entitled “Landing Page Design: Common Mistakes & Tested Techniques,” this whitepaper will cover constructive, best-in-class digital marketing techniques for your landing page strategy.

Some whitepaper highlights include:

• Best process for designing your landing pages
• Common design mistakes to avoid
• How to create compelling content on your landing page to draw interest and drive conversion
• Determine which elements are absolutely essential to your business’ landing page

Skills like these do not come naturally, so this whitepaper is definitely worth checking out. Together, the free webinar and complimentary whitepaper will provide a comprehensive view into industry expertise and solutions for your business’ landing page strategy. And when it’s all said and done, you’ll know exactly how to execute landing pages that will appeal to your audience and to your conversion rate.

Click here to download your complimentary copy of the whitepaper.

Also, be sure to register for the free webinar before spots fill up!

Just remember that this isn’t a secret. Many other talented subject authorities are seeking the same exposure on the top blogs. So how do you differentiate yourself and snag one of those prime guest blogging spots? Here are a few tips:

1. Understand the Blog…Know your audience: Yes, you might actually want to READ the blog you are soliciting BEFORE writing your articles. Popular topics evolve and if yours is of no interest to the owner or the readers, your blogging request will be denied.

Go back a few months and get a feel for the theme and the direction of the topics being discussed. Don’t pitch topics that have already been covered unless you have an interesting rebuttal or a completely different take on the subject.

2. Know the Rules of the Road: Not all blogs are looking for guest bloggers, so if it’s evident they don’t, you might be able to pitch them the idea. If they do accept guest bloggers, they might actually have blogging guidelines posted on their site. If you break the rules before you get started, chances are you won’t be taken seriously by the managers and you will probably blow the opportunity.

3. Write First, Ask Later: The more popular the blog, the busier the blog managers. Don’t bother going through a long relationship building courtship…get right to it. Just write the article (after assuring yourself that it is appropriate) and send it to them. If they like it, they publish it and no one has to jump through too many hoops. If they don’t like… shop it around to another blog, or use it yourself.

4. Credibility… Credibility… Credibility: This may be obvious, but and article written by an industry expert will carry more weight than just a random person with an opinion. Along with submitting your initial article, make sure that you explain why you are qualified to write on a certain topic or how you can bring a fresh new perspective to that topic.

5. Write an Interesting Headline: There is so much information out there that people no longer read…they scan. That goes for busy blog editors as well as curious readers. Think about your own reading habits when surfing the Internet. We all do the same thing…we scan headlines and move on until something catches our eye. That’s when we take the time to read the article. Write something amusing, witty, mysterious, shocking, or even a question that infers an answer in the article.

OK, I guess I’ve convinced myself. If you want to take a shot at guest blogging, contact me here, and be my guest….

Learn more about how you can enhance your business’ online brand and build your online credibility.