Forward_Web – Page 4

Tips For Networking At a Business Networking Event

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Forward_Web

Networking events offer fantastic opportunities for your business. For this reason, you don’t want to take the chance to just show up to a conference and wing it. Instead, you want to make sure you take a dedicated approach and be prepared to gain the greatest benefits for the growth of your business. The following are tips Forward Web recommends for effective networking at a networking event:

Tip #1: Have A Plan

You want to go to a networking event with a plan. Know what your main goal is, what you want to accomplish and also determine what you want to learn and gain from each conference you attend. In fact, write a few points down; give yourself measurable guidelines to help you stay on track. Set specific goals which can include: collecting a specific amount (set a number) of emails or phone numbers, finding a specific amount of promising business leads or handing out a specific amount of business cards.

Tip #2: Use The Internet To Connect

The internet is a fantastic tool and especially useful when preparing for such an event. It is wise to become familiar with all of the online resources available to you about a conference you are thinking of attending and use them to your advantage. For instance, you can search for information about the presenters and attendees and connect with them on social media beforehand. Do extensive research and get familiarized with companies and people before you attend. Doing so will prepare you with talking points and keep you consistently engaged.

Keep in mind that nowadays everyone uses hashtags on social media. Most conferences have related hashtags you can search to find other attendees. Also, some conferences sometimes have their own social platforms so keep an eye out for those because they offer exclusive opportunities to connect.

Tip #3: Make Your Attendance Known

Make a public announcement! Use the tools you have such as your website and social media accounts to let everyone know you are attending a conference. For example, you can make a free survey available on your website to ask your customers what they would like to learn if they were going to a conference themselves or use twitter polls for the same purpose. Set out to be your audience’s advocate and use this information to create content and publicity around your attendance.

Tip #4: Mix and Mingle

Do not, we repeat, do not go to a conference just to quietly isolate yourself from everyone, stand off to the side or hide behind your phone. This is not the time to check your email or Facebook notifications. Be alive, engage, be active, be present and interact. Remember, you are there to network! Don’t waste an opportunity for growth.

Tip #5: Branding with Style

Stand out by bringing some great stuff to give to people you connect with. For example, you can offer branded key chains, pens, stickers, magnets, notebooks, pencils, t-shirts which are all easy to carry and any person you meet can use. Make sure to add your business info to all your promo items and remember that a little company style goes a long way!

Tip #6: Offer Exclusive Discounts

Everyone loves a discount therefore, offering an exclusive discount to conference attendees is a great opportunity to extend your services to those you connect with. For instance, you can have a sign-up form available on your website that offers other conference attendees a discount code in exchange for their email address. Remember that the people you connect with are potential customers, referrals (or referrers) and/or investors.

You now have some really good and effective tips, with some great examples for you to succeed at your next networking opportunity. Don’t forget to have plenty of business cards with you at all times. Your business cards should be professionally designed and they should have relevant and updated information (that includes phone number, business email address and website) and make sure you have plenty of them, you can never have too many business cards. You have all the tools necessary to get out there and make amazing connections and if you need help with any of these things, Forward Web is more than happy to be of assistance!

Website Page Speed 101: Facts You Should Know

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Forward_Web

Have you ever experienced slow page speed while on a website? Whether it is your own website or someone else’s, this can be a frustrating experience. Most people believe their internet service provider is the culprit, never really considering their page speed as an internal issue and although download speed and your internet package certainly plays a part in how quickly your website loads, there are also many other factors that determine the speed in which content appears in the browser. Forward Web has put together this list of facts as a guide to help you understand what you should know about page speed, consider this page speed 101!

Speed is such an important part of a person’s website experience that Google decided to include this aspect in their ranking process. This process greatly affects how your website appears in the search engine results page. At least half of all internet consumers expect a webpage to load in 2 seconds or less but, the Google experts expect an optimized website that is worthy of their top rankings to load in under half a second. The fact of the matter is that the internet world is a very competitive market and page speed can lead to serious losses in transactions solely due to the extra time in which people become frustrated and quickly move on to the next option.

With all this in mind, let’s explore what factors determine page speed:

Code

Coding is the true back-end of each website and if your CSS or HTML is too heavy, it will overpower your page speed.

Your Web Host

Where you host your site pays massive dividends when it comes to customer experience.

Your Theme

The theme you choose may have complex coding which adds to your load times.

External Media

YouTube videos and other content is a great idea, however, make sure it is only as large as you need it to appear (in terms of frame size).

Widgets

Widgets are another thing that can be coded densely and requires serious processing power.

Large Images

There is a significant difference between the necessary resolution for screen based imagery and print. Keep in mind that larger file sizes can be compressed to strip unnecessary data.

Too Many Ads

Too many ads can make your speed drag therefore, only use them if they are worth the extra processing.

Un-Optimization For Certain Browsers and Devices

With so many device and browser options available nowadays, your website will respond differently on each of them. This isn’t a huge issue most of the time but, for example, if your website is working great on Google but isn’t formatting correctly on Firefox then your ranking will be penalized.

It is typically impossible for the average website owner to know what is preventing their pages from loading efficiently, however, each of the facts above can contribute to overall speed. If you have already considered the above facts and are still experiencing slow page speed, fortunately, there are several accredited web tools that can assist you in determining if your website is loading slowly and where the weak points in your website are occurring (making it much easier to adjust or make the necessary corrections). We recommend Google’s PageSpeed Insights since the purpose of page optimization is to rank well with Google and knowing what they recommend for better page ranking is essential. Forward Web is always happy to answer any questions or provide you with further assistance when it comes to your page speed, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

How To Build a Website Yourself

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Forward_Web

Are you considering building a website yourself? The process can seem overwhelming, especially when you are in the beginning stages. Many people choose to hire a professional web designer to take on this task instead but unfortunately, not everyone has the budget to hire out from the very beginning. However, there are a lot of tools, information and tutorials available which allow anyone to build a quality website within a reasonable amount of time and Forward Web provides some helpful tips in this article to build your very own website yourself:

The first thing you will need to do is set up your hosting and domain name. Of course there are many sources online where you can do this but with Forward Web, this step is fast, easy and simple! You can purchase your domain name (or transfer an existing one) and set up your hosting within minutes and if you need assistance, just let us know and we are happy to help. Once you have obtained your website and hosting, you now have the basic framework set up and you can begin building your new website.

Next, install a CMS (Content Management System). Forward Web recommends WordPress because it is an open source project that gives people the opportunity to build and manage their own website without having to learn code. However, if you want to learn code, WordPress still allows for you to work with the code for your website (as WordPress is Open Source), so it offers the best of both worlds.

In addition, building your website with WordPress means you are you able to host your website with any web hosting company that supports PHP/MySQL (which includes most web host’s). Being able to move your website to the web host of your choice is a great advantage over other site builders. Once your website is launched, you will want to have the freedom/option to change web hosts (if needed) vs being stuck with the same web hosting company you are building your website with.

WordPress has over 2,000 free and attractive themes (templates) for you to start building your website with. However, if you do not find any themes that you would like to use, you can go into the open market and purchase a WordPress theme of your liking (usually for around $30-$80.00). Either way, you have plenty of options in regards to the design of your website. Feel free to browse the latest free themes by WordPress here.

Creating a website from scratch takes patience and a lot of experimentation and trial and error. At the same time, it can be a truly worthwhile process if you are up to the challenge/learning experience. Luckily, there are a lot of tools and information available (such as this article). If you are just starting your business and you have a very limited budget, learning to develop the website yourself might be the best solution. However, if you do have the budget (or want to save time), you might want to consider leaving the development of your website to the professionals (Forward Web). Another factor to consider is the complexity of your website. Are you planning to sell any items via your website? If so, we highly recommend contacting Forward Web first, so you can explore both options before committing to your approach.

Create Your Blog In Three Easy Steps

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Forward_Web

Blogs have become very popular, they have been for a while now, and they can be really life changing (for the better). Blogs are amazing, regardless of who you are, from entrepreneurs to multi-million dollar business owners; blogs can do wonders for yourself and your brand. In this article, FernGullyGraphics explains how to create your very own blog in 3 easy steps:

1st Step: Get Started

Getting started on your very own blog is very simple. To get started you will need a secure domain name, a great web hosting service and you will need to install WordPress. Forward Web can provide you with all three of these components and is happy to assist you in this process.

Picking a domain name is the most important part of this process (that is going to be your www.yoursitename.com) that you will be using for your site. Keep in mind that the more generic your name, the more likely it will be that it’s already registered and if that is the case, you will need to be a little more creative. Additionally, we recommend that you use a .com, .net or .org.

Finally, make sure to setup your website hosting and install WordPress. This is a fast and simple process with Forward Web!

2nd Step: Use Your Passion to Build Your Blog

Being that it is in fact so easy to set up a blog, there are millions of blogs on the internet everyday. That means that your blog will have to be extraordinary in order to stand out from the crowd. When creating a blog, it would be wise to create it around your personal name, a passion of yours or your existing business name/brand.

Most people usually start a blog for the following reasons:

#1: Business. The purpose of this type of blog is to share information about your company while creating quality content around products and services.

#2: Passion/Hobby. This is your very own little space on the internet to write about whatever you like.

#3: Personal Brand: This becomes a place for you to build an online profile/resume and makes it easy for others to find you online.

A lot of blogs start out as a passion or even a project that usually turns into something much bigger down the road. Of course, the more passionate a person is about something, the more likely they are to put more interest and focus in it. Unfortunately, this is where a lot of bloggers struggle because blogging is a long-term project and when bloggers don’t see the immediate results they are looking for (such as readers, traffic and revenue), they lose interest and give up. Ultimately, your blog will become what you make of it.

3rd Step: Create Meaningful and Extraordinary Content For An Epic Blog

The content you create for your blog will determine it’s success. As we mentioned before, there are millions of other blogs out there in the internet world competing with each other therefore, it is imperative that you create something extraordinary that will make your blog stand out from the crowd.

Blogs tend to be very niche-specific, which requires focus. For example, if you choose to write about fitness, it would be wise to niche down from “fitness” to a specific area of fitness such as weight training. The purpose of doing so is to eventually become the authority in your space and not only target but reach people that are looking for exactly what you are writing about. Also, avoid being too generic because you want to make sure people find exactly what they are looking for when on your site, and you don’t want your site to be difficult to rank in the search results for ‘generic keywords’.

Once you have figured out your niche and come up with a winning topic, you are ready to start creating content. Your goal is always to create amazing content; do some research! What are other top ranking blogs writing about and how can you do it better? If they are writing text articles then you need to write a text article AND include images. If you want to step it a notch, you can even make your own videos.

The most effective way to create an epic blog with outstanding content is to put yourself in the shoes (or eyes and ears) of your visitors. If you find value in what you are about to publish, you have succeeded in creating a fantastic blog. We wish you great success and if you have any questions or need help getting started, do not hesitate to reach out to Forward Web!

5 Steps for Avoiding Newsletter Related Abuse Complaints

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Forward_Web

As a small business owner, it is important to stay on top of new marketing strategies and by now, you’ve probably realized that online marketing is one of your best marketing tools available. If you have been doing your research about online marketing then you know that creating an email newsletter list is a fantastic marketing strategy. Although this is a very effective tool, there might be some challenges that arise from time to time and in this article, Forward Web provides us with this helpful guide of 5 steps for avoiding newsletter related abuse complaints.

One thing you should be aware of is the potential for getting email newsletters complaints (such as reports of spam and email abuse). If not handled properly, this could lead to some serious repercussions such a negative reputation for your business or even legal trouble for you and your business (in the worst of situations). However, there are steps that you can take to help avoid these types of situations and in turn, run a more effective and reputable newsletter. Take a look at the following 5 steps:

Step #1: Identify Yourself Clearly

To make sure your readers know exactly where their emails are coming from, use your company or website name ans the “sent from” name. Not only will this encourage the reader to open the email but it will eliminate any confusion. For example, some email newsletters add their first and last names or some other name in the “sent from” field, but this can oftentimes look and feel like spam mail to your readers (even if they recognize your website or company name but might not recognize your first and last name at all).

Step #2: Allow for Easy Unsubscribing

Even though this might seem counter-productive, it is important to give your subscribers the option to unsubscribe if they desire to do so. This is mainly to establish good rapport between your leads/clients and your company. From your subscriber’s perspective, it can be very frustrating to try to unsubscribe from a newsletter only to continue to receive these emails regularly therefore, avoid putting your subscribers through this by adding a simple “unsubscribe” link on the bottom of each email. If your subscribers have any difficulties with this process and they contact you because they are frustrated or upset, make sure to assist them. It is certainly better to help them unsubscribe and keep them happy than to deal with complaints about your newsletter or company later.

Step #3: Require a Double Opt-In Process

What is a double opt-in? This is the process where after the subscriber signs up through your website, they then receive an email confirming that subscription. Once the subscriber opens that email and goes to the link within, then the subscription is confirmed (otherwise, the person will not be added to the email list). This process gives the subscriber another opportunity to make sure they want to be a part of the list and also helps ensure that people do not enter other peoples’ email addresses in the field to sign them up.

Step #4: Send Quality Emails

I’m sure we have all signed up for some sort of email newsletter at some point and once we did regretted it because we thought they would be better than they actually turned out to be. That is a very negative experience. One which you don’t want your subscribers to experience. You don’t want them to be disappointed by your emails or even change their mind and assume that your company newsletters are spam. Putting effort in creating quality newsletters is therefore very important. Create a newsletter that is useful, helpful and interesting and avoid any overbearing sales verbiage. Your goal should be for your newsletter to be just that, a newsletter; one which readers can enjoy. Doing so will help ensure that your emails are well received and effective (and will prevent any issues for “spam” emails).

Step #5: Do NOT Spam Your Subscribers

People do not like spam. I don’t like it, I’m sure you don’t like it and frankly, I can’t think of a single person who does. With this in mind, let’s discuss frequency; the frequency with which you should send out your newsletters varies on a lot of factors but ultimately you shouldn’t be sending out newsletters more than once a day. In fact, many companies have found that once a week is more than enough. A great option is to allow your subscribers to choose the frequency of their newsletters. Allowing them to customize their subscription (whether they prefer to receive newsletters daily, weekly or monthly) is a good way to ensure they are satisfied.

Avoiding newsletter related abuse complaints is pretty simple if you follow these steps. Not only will you have less complaints to worry about but your newsletters will be much more effective and even enjoyed by your subscribers! At the end of the day, you want happy and satisfied subscribers. For more information and tips on creating effective newsletters or if you have any questions regarding any of our services, please feel free to contact Forward Web.

Love Modesto 2016 Recap (Catherine Everett Elementary School Project)

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Forward_Web

On April 23rd, Forward Web had the honor of being one of the sponsors at this year’s Love Modesto community event. About 5,000 people participated in this year’s event to show love for our city and community. There were close to 100 projects around the area and this year we had the privilege of sponsoring Catherine Everett Elementary School Project again, which is one of the local elementary schools in our community.

It was amazing seeing so many people getting involved in this years event. Friends, families and neighbors all came together to improve our city and our community by cleaning, serving, helping, volunteering and/or sponsoring!

We all worked together to make our city more beautiful!

The Catherine Everett Elementary School Project was one of many. There are so many ways to get involved and give back to our communities.

There were several parts to this project which included decorating the fence at the front of the school, gardening and painting the continents on the playground’s blacktop.

We had so much fun as we helped paint the continents on the blacktop for the children to enjoy!

Some of the children that participated were students of this wonderful school but many of us were complete strangers. We made many friends that day and seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces was truly priceless.

The Catherine Everett Elementary School Project was a complete success! We thank everyone who was part of this project and event, it was truly a pleasure working with this amazing group. We can’t wait to see what new opportunities we will have next year, we are very much looking forward to the next Love Modesto!

If you want to support the Modesto Community, you can visit Love Modesto for ways you can help.

Why Having a Website is Important to Your Business

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Forward_Web

Surprisingly, it is not uncommon for many small business owners to think that their business cannot benefit from having a website or that a website is not within their budget. Some even still believe that just because they are not computer savvy, neither are their potential customers. These are incredible misconceptions and in this article, Forward Web discusses why having a website is indeed important to your business.

Let’s explore the following points:

A Website Saves You Time

Without a doubt, we all know that time is money and whether it’s face-to-face, emails, brochures, flyers or on the phone, providing information to your customers is invaluable but takes time. However, with your website up and running, you can incorporate the use of an online catalog and provide your clients and potential clients a ton of information about your products and services (which is available indefinitely).

A Website Saves You Money

In addition to saving time, a website allows you to save money as well! It is unbelievable how many times we hear business owners express that they cannot afford a professional website, when in fact the reality is that as a business owner, you can’t afford NOT to. Of course the cost of designing a website varies (make sure to find about the great offers Forward Web has available), but it is a valuable investment. Consider the potential market you can reach with a website, compared to the cost of a newspaper ad, it is a very cost effective way to promote your business!

Your Business Will Gain Credibility

Nowadays, it is very common for customers to use the internet to search for the products or services they need and with that in mind, it is a fact that your business will immediately gain credibility by having a professional website. We are living in a time with a very competitive market and without a website, potential customers will go to your competitors that do. If you currently have a website but it is outdated or perhaps home-made, having it professionally re-designed will provide your business with a professional look which will inspire even greater confidence. This is especially beneficial if you have a home-based business which doesn’t have a store front to promote your products or services.

A Website Provides A Medium on Which to Showcase Your Work

This brings us to our next point; regardless of what type of business you have, a website is a great way to showcase your work. You can demonstrate what makes your business unique by incorporating an image gallery, a portfolio and testimonials/reviews about your work on your website. This goes a long way!

A Website Improves Customer Service

A website allows you to provide your customers with a plethora of information and depending on your business’s industry, that may include tips, advice or detailed information about a specific topic directly related to your business. By including blogs, uploading newsletters, adding articles (such as this one) or even including a FAQ page to answer all your customers’ questions, you can keep them up-to-date. Sharing information on your website that suits your customers’ needs is the best way to provide them with value added service and what better way to do so than with an effective website!

A Website Enables You to Keep Your Customers Informed

A website is one of the most invaluable tools to provide information and we simply cannot emphasize enough how imperative that is to the success of your business. Consider your website as an online brochure or catalog; it is much easier and effective to update information about your products and services, let customers know about new products, upcoming events, special promotions or new services you offer on a website versus printed material.

A Website Makes it Possible to Target a Wider Market

Everything sells online! From cars and houses to services and a variety of products. The internet is a an amazing tool that can be used to your advantage. For example, as a retailer, an eCommerce website is a great place to sell your products to a wider market. But regardless of whether you provide products or services, a website will provide an alternative location to sell them (even services can be made available worldwide!).

A Website is Always Accessible

With today’s busy lifestyles, we all seek convenience and there is nothing more convenient than to have access to a website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Having your website available to both your customers and potential customers is a great selling point when making a purchasing decision because it allows them to review your products and services when your store or office is closed, facilitating their decision process.

It is very clear that having a professional and effective website provides many benefits and is of the utmost importance to your business. If you are having a difficult time setting up your website, do not have the time or you would like help improving the website you or someone else developed contact us. Forward Web wants to improve your website and are always available to discuss any questions and/or thoughts you might have about the development of your website.

5 Reasons Why You Should Use WordPress for Your Website

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Forward_Web

Which content management system (CMS) are you currently using? Did you know that WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world? That’s right, WordPress is responsible for over 50% of the sites that use CMS on the internet! Therefore, if you are not already using this content management system, continue reading because Forward Web provides 5 reasons why you should use WordPress for you website in this featured article:

Reason #1: WordPress is Easy to Use

It never fails; when someone uses WordPress for the first time, they immediately become amazed when they realize how easy it is to use and how straightforward their new administration will be. It is unbelievable how easy it is to publish articles and change content. Due to it’s popularity, many people have become very experienced using it and therefore, it is much simpler and faster to train new employees or editors when they join your company.

Reason #2: WordPress is Open Source

Being open source means that no one owns it, which means that no one is obligated to support it. There was a point when this fact used to be a big disadvantage for WordPress but now, this has become its greatest strength.

What’s the big deal about that? Well, this means there are thousands of WordPress developers all around the world that dedicate themselves to working day and night in order to improve the system. And the best part of this is that none of what they do costs YOU a penny! This includes free security and feature updates every quarter. Does your content management system do that? The community of WordPress developers continue to improve it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that is hard to beat!

Reason #3: WordPress has Numerous Plugins

The WordPress developers have created many extensions due to it’s popularity (which are referred to as “plugins”). These “plugins” are pieces of code (oftentimes free) that are created with the purpose of extending the core functionality of your website and help your developer save time, and of course, that means more money in your pocket!

Reason #4: WordPress Makes SEO Simple

When WordPress was first created, it began as a blogging platform and it eventually evolved into a powerful content management system which is capable of so much more than just blogging. In fact, one of the reasons that WordPress became so famous and is now loved by bloggers and marketers alike is it’s highly effective search engine optimization (SEO) features, which are integrated into the core of the CMS. Good SEO optimization is priceless!

Reason #5: WordPress Suppliers are Not a Problem!

WordPress allows you to have access to a nearly unlimited group of developers. You will never be locked down to a particular provider again and you will never have to go through those nasty “hostage” situations where your website is developed on a unique, arranged system that will not allow you to move it to a new provider.

There are so many reasons why we love WordPress, and the reasons we discussed in this article are some of our favorites. We hope that you found this information helpful and inspiring and if you don’t already use WordPress as your content management system, perhaps now you will give it a try. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like further information about WordPress or our web development services, Forward Web is always happy to be of assistance!

7 Basic Fundamentals for Creating a Great Website

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Forward_Web

Are you looking to build your first website? Today, there are many options which allows people to build/manage their own website but frankly, so much information can get overwhelming. To simplify this process, Forward Web has put together this guide, which provides 7 basic fundamentals for creating a great website!

Effective web design is judged by the users of the websites (not the website owners) therefore, it is important to consider the many factors that affect the usability of a website because it’s not just about how good your site looks, but functionality plays a major role.

Websites that are not designed properly will experience poor performance and have less than favorable Google Analytics metrics such as high bounce rates, low pages per visit, low time on your site and low conversations. What makes a website design ideal? Let’s take a look at the 7 basic fundamentals, which consists of making yous site not only aesthetically pleasing but is also easy to use, effective and engaging:

1st Basic Fundamental: Purpose

What is the purpose of your website? For example, is your website intended to provide information, some type of interaction or entertainment? Or perhaps your website is designed to transact with your business? A good web design always caters to the needs of the end user and each page of your website must have a clear purpose in order to fulfill your website user’s specific needs (in the most effective way possible).

2nd Basic Fundamental: Communication

One of the most important aspects of your website is effective communication. The internet was created to provide information and internet users want information quickly, therefore, it is imperative to communicate clearly (making sure your information is easy to read and comprehend). With this in mind, some effective tactics you can incorporate into your design includes: organization through the use of headlines and sub headlines, use bullet points instead of long run-on sentences, and being concise (keep it short and to the point).

3rd Basic Fundamental: Navigation

Navigation is essential to the success of your website because it determines how easily people can take action and move around your website. We recommend incorporating a logical page chain of command, using bread crumbs, designing clickable buttons, and following the “three click” rule (which means that users are able to find the information they are looking for within three clicks).

4th Basic Fundamental: Images

We’re sure you’ve heard the expression “a picture can speak a thousand words” and it could not be any truer when it comes to web development. Choosing the right images for your website is going to help with brand positioning and connecting with your target audience. Make sure to use high quality professional photos, and if you don’t have access to any of them, consider purchasing stock photos to improve the look and quality of your website. Another thing you could consider is using graphics, videos and infographics because these can be even more effective at communicating than the most well written piece of text.

5th Basic Fundamental: Typefaces

When considering fonts, Arial, Verdana and Sans Serif are generally easiest to read online. As far as sizes go, ideally, 16px is a font size that is easy to read. We also recommend sticking to a maximum of 3 typefaces in a maximum of 3 point sizes to keep your design streamlined.

6th Basic Fundamental: Color Choices

You might not have considered this to be one of the basic fundamentals, but a carefully selected color palette can really go a long way to enhance the user’s experience. To create balance and harmony, using complimentary colors is key! Contrasting colors (for the text and background) makes it easier for the user to read the content. And while vibrant colors add life and can create emotion, they should be used sparingly (just a pop of color) such as for buttons and call to actions. Lastly, if you are aiming for a modern and uncluttered look, consider using white or negative space, it is very effective. Who knew colors could do so much for your site!

7th Basic Fundamental: Mobile Friendly

If you do not already know, 80% of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices, thus, including a full mobile version of your self storage facility website is a necessity. Nowadays, it is very common for users to access websites from multiple devices with multiple screen sizes, and for that reason it is imperative to consider whether or not your website is mobile friendly. If your website is not currently mobile friendly, you can approach this matter in two ways: you can either re-develop your website in a responsive layout so that it can accommodate to different screen widths or you can build a separate website dedicated specifically to be optimized for mobile users. As you can see, this is a very important factor to consider!

Knowing and understanding the basic fundamentals of creating a great website is the first step and now, you can build your first website successfully using this guide, just follow these steps. If you are having a difficult time setting up your website, do not have the time or you would like help improving the website you or someone else developed, contact Forward Web and we will be happy to discuss your project and answer any questions you may have.

5 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Important For Your Business

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Forward_Web

As a business, in today’s day and age, your digital storefront extends to social media marketing sites (like Twitter and Facebook). Nowadays, it is not enough to only have a website for your business. You certainly don’t want to risk falling behind your competition therefore, it is time to start capitalizing on social media marketing! Forward Web provides 5 great reasons why social media marketing is important for your business:

Reason #1: It will get you more sales!

It is simple; Your customers are more likely to buy from you when they need the service or product you sell if you stay in front of your customer base. Social media is a great tool that not only keeps your company’s name in front of potential buyers, but also gives you the opportunity to constantly give them incentives to buy. For example, try posting and/or tweeting coupon codes (good only to those who are your Twitter or Facebook followers) and you will be surprised by how many people actually use the code.

Reason #2: It gives you the opportunity to observe your target market up close and personal.

The ability to interact with your customers is part of what makes marketing with Twitter and Facebook so awesome (and effective). You get to read their status updates and tweets to get insights into their daily lives. As a result, this gives you the upper hand and allows you to adjust your marketing strategy as needed.

Reason #3: It doesn’t cost you anything!

Ok, nothing could possible beat that! (Especially if you handle your own social media management). If you are inexperienced with social media, or your writing skills are a little rusty or perhaps you might feel intimidated by even the thought of interacting with people online, no problem! Hire a professional PR (Public Relations) company or a company that specializes in web marketing and/or social media management company, such as Forward Web.

Posting poorly written content on social media sites could give a bad impression or even transmit the wrong message, affecting your digital PR presence negatively. Therefore, although there is a cost when you hire a company to manage your social media marketing, it is completely worth it and you will definitely see a return on your investment.

Reason #4: The social media marketing arena is a fairly level playing field.

In the past, companies needed to invest millions of dollars to run traditional ad campaigns in order to succeed but, contrary to the brick and mortar companies we are all used to, all companies start off on equal footing when it comes to social media marketing. Today, if you want to get the most traffic and increase your online sales, you must out-write, outwit and out-network your competition while offering superior products. Your success depends on whether you use the most clever, attention grabbing tactics and the most useful link-worthy content, you have to stand out.

Reason #5: You can address problems immediately.

Of course, you will want to know if there is a problem with your product or service immediately. Social medial marketing is a great source for useful feedback, which is a exceptional way to ensure that you will be the first to know if there are any issues and fix them as soon as possible. After all, the customer is always right and consumers appreciate companies that respond to customer complaints in a timely manner.

As you can see, the reasons why social media marketing is essential for your business are many. Social media marketing is key and there really are so many advantages that you can benefit from it, make sure you are on top of this aspect of your business and you too will succeed tremendously! Make sure to contact Forward Web if you still you have questions or want to inquire about our social media management services!