Determine your Social Media Strategy

The appeal of social media is strong. According to Econsultancy, social media and blogs are the 4th most popular online activities, even beating out email. The mystery of social media is almost as great as it’s appeal, however.

There are a lot of social media terms thrown around these days, and sorting through all of the jargon can be tough. First, let’s differentiate between the “big three” social networks.

Facebook is a social network site that connects friends, family, and businesses. People can share updated statuses, pictures, personal information, links, and more. With more than 250 million users in the world, 120 million of which log on daily, there is a large market to reach here.

Twitter is another social network/micro-blog that allows users to to send and read messages (or “tweets”). Tweets can be up to 140 characters, and they are shared on your personal page and distributed to people who choose to “follow” you. In the last year, Twitter’s growth rate surpassed 1,000%. The potential here to reach customers is huge.

Wordpress is a personal publishing platform that works as a blogging service and as a web hosting service that is run on PHP code and a SQL data backend. Confused? Wordpress.com offers a free blog hosting service that requires no PHP code knowledge and a user friendly interface that allows easy updating, customization, and built in widgets to add to your blog. 77% of internet users actively follow and read blogs, so this platform also provides great opportunity to reach and engage potential customers. Wordpress isn’t the only blog hosting application out there; there is also Blogger, Vox, and more.

Now that we’ve covered some basics, let’s go into more depth…

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What’s New From Union Street Media?

Since the last site launch post, Union Street Media has been busy with a variety of exciting projects:

New Hampshire real estate agency Prudential Spencer Hughes is a long time client of Union Street Media. They went for a redesign to update the look of their website. They’re also continuing with our Report Recommend Revise Internet Marketing services to ensure the site’s high level of performance.

Overland Summers is a teen adventure program that offers a variety of lifetime experiences to youth. Their offerings include hiking & biking excursions, writing programs, language immersion programs, and more. Overland came to us wanting a redesign that would better express the incredible programs they offer. They are also marketing their website through Union Street Media’s RRR Program.

Eve Thompson is a Reston, VA, realtor who has been utilizing our Internet Marketing services for some time. Eve made the decision to have Union Street Media build a brand new website that reflects the “new urban” appeal of Reston. Our Internet Marketing team continues to work with Eve on her online marketing efforts through the RRR program.

The Burlington Tennis Club is a member-owned, non-profit recreational club located in Chittenden County, VT. They came to Union Street Media wanting to keep up with the times, and attract younger members with a cleaner, better designed website. Their goal was to shift their advertising focus from traditional methods to include more digital marketing.

Located in Greenwich, CT, Brunswick School is a college preparatory day school for boys in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12. Brunswick needed a fresh, new design for their site that provided easier navigation for potential students, their parents, and alumni. Union Street Media gave them the functionality they desired in a professional and aesthetically pleasing package.

Bullrock Corporation has been in construction management and real estate development since the early 1980s, and in 2000 they became involved in the senior living business. Bullrock Corporation came to us needing a website that provided clear information about their services, targeted potential customers, and provided a professional representation of their business.

Union Street Media is proud to add each of these sites to our evolving portfolio of clients!

Blogging Businesses Experience 126% Higher Lead Growth

Lately our blog has been focusing on the benefits of business Facebook pages; but what about business blogs? According to a recent study of 2,300 HubSpot customers, the ones who had blogs witnessed an average 126% higher lead growth than those who didn’t blog.

Blogging can lead to other benefits for your business as well…

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Facebook vs Blog: Where Should You Post Your Content?

This is the third installment of the Facebook for Business series.

As the number of businesses using multiple social media platforms continues to grow, the question frequently comes up:  Which content should go where?

The two platforms that provide the biggest source of confusion are blogs and Facebook. There is a purpose for both, and each is ideal for particular types of content. It is important to understand the intention of each of these channels.

So, should you put your next update in your blog or on your Facebook page?

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8 Ways Facebook can Unlock your Business Potential

This post is post #2 of the Facebook for Business Series.

Facebook this, Facebook that… You can talk all day about what you can do with this tool, but before getting into the details of how to use the site, we should first establish why to use it.

There are a number of areas where this social networking platform can help your business on and offline. Here are 8 reasons why you should take advantage of them.

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Union Street Media’s Newest Site Launches

There were a number of exciting site launches this month:

Camp Pemigewassett (or “Camp Pemi” for short) is a family owned boys camp in the beautiful Lakes Region of New Hampshire.  They needed a better laid out site to reach potential campers to experience this character building camping experience. Their new site helps extend their reach and foster relationships with alumni.

Dream Maker Properties LLC is a boutique real estate firm in North Carolina that needed a stronger web presence to highlight their expertise. With offices in Chapel Hill and Elkin, they needed their website to extend their viability in North Carolina real estate. The new website and blog is designed to achieve just that that.

OMARA is a non-profit booster club that works with the Okemo Mountain Competition Programs and Okemo Mountain School to provide support to those who are serious about their future in their respective discipline. Their site offers more insight into what they do, who they serve, and the awesome snow sports programs at Okemo Mountain Resort.

This Massachusetts real estate agency needed to display their experience in Cape Cod commercial real estate, vacation rentals, and collection of other properties they offer.  Their new site gives visitors a fresh new interface, easier navigation, and a blog for the folks at Bayside Realty Consultants to display their knowledge.

This hydro-powered commercial property in Stowe needed a website that illustrated its authentic beauty. Redstone Commercial Group can be proud of this historic property, which was formerly a saw and grist mill. Check out the captivating Tubbs Mill and matching website here.

RE/MAX Presidential is a real estate agency serving the Mount Washington Valley in New Hampshire and Maine. They needed a better designed website to feature their extensive property listings and wealth of local knowledge. Check out their new site to see how easy to navigate it has become.

The Merritt & Merritt & Moulton boutique law firm, located here in Burlington, VT, provides support and guidance to a variety of start up companies. Their new Wordpress template better displays the depth of professional services they provide.

This forum for Vermont entrepreneurs was also switched to the Wordpress platform. It now has better functionality to provide a better link to the network of associated organizations and individuals. You can see the site and find out when their next meeting is here.

The Union Street Media team is proud to have these new additions to our constantly growing portfolio of awesome websites!

Facebook for Business

The Social Media boom may be bigger than you think; Facebook is at its forefront. Our “Facebook for Business” series will help you make sense of this powerful tool. You’ll learn how to tame the beast and harness it for your business. Follow our series during the next several weeks and:

• Learn Facebook basics
• Learn how to leverage Facebook to underscore your brand
• Learn how to get fans (and what to do with those fans)
• Learn how to optimize your Facebook page
• Learn about applications and FBML (Facebook Mark up Language)
• Learn how to measure your Facebook traffic
• Learn how to effectively link your networks

With over 300,000,000 Facebook users, 120,000,000 of whom log on daily, the business opportunity Facebook presents cannot be ignored. According to Socialnomics, social media has claimed the number one web activity spot over the previous “less acceptable” contender. Facebook is a free way to improve your online presence. To increase your success online, your business must be part of this popular activity.

Leading companies have joined the crowd and are successfully using their Facebook pages to keep their customers happy and connected with with their brand.

Look at who is making the best of Facebook: 10 Successful Facebook Business Pages (from the Penn Olsen Social Media blog). With due diligence, and focused hard work, your business could be among the leaders.

A business Facebook page is different than your personal Facebook page.

• You have “fans” instead of “friends”
• It represents your brand, not you.
• You have access to much more information about your traffic.
• There is more customization for privacy settings.

The business page is built off of your personal account and gives you plenty of tools to reach the growing network of individuals using Facebook. You can run ads on the Facebook sidebar, track the demographics of your page traffic with Facebook Insights, create a badge or fanbox to promote your page, start discussion boards with the fans, add company information and events, and much more.

There are many ways to use these features and many ways to optimize your page; but to start, how do you create a business page?

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Union Street Media’s Latest Site Launches!

Union Street Media has a lot of exciting new website launches this month:

From the Upper Connecticut River Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire, James Becker provides custom furniture, reproduction furniture, and his own original designs.  Jim provided USM with excellent photography and site copy.  We were able to put it all together to create an awesome looking site for Jas. Becker Cabinetmaker Inc.

All of the agents at Ski Home Realty are avid skiers and snowboarders, making them experts in Mount Snow region real estate. They needed a fresh new design and content to reflect their expertise. From their office at the base of Mt. Snow, Ski Home Realty provides quality townhouses, condos, vacation rentals, and more to those looking for an exciting Vermont snow adventure.

Chip Craig and the team at GreyBeard Realty are based in the mountains of Western North Carolina.  As longtime Union Street Media clients, the came back to us to refresh their site to make it more functional and user-friendly.  We were happy to help out in the process and are proud of the results!

The Aloha Foundation on Lake Fairlee in Vermont is another longtime Union Street Media client that relaunched their site with us this past month.  After visiting the site, you’ll see why we’d love to go back to camp for a summer!

The Green Castle Estate House is an intimate vacation villa on a remarkably beautiful and historic plantation in the Jamaican countryside. Green Castle brings together diverse stakeholders that are committed to a positive future. They specialize in eco-friendly vacations and they needed a clean new design to illustrate the gorgeous environment Green Castle inhabits.

The Burlington Climate Action Plan is helping the City reduce emissions to 80% below what they were in 2007 by 2050. The BCAP needed a more functional website to make their plan more widespread and easier to find on the internet.

The Church Street Marketplace is an award winning open air mall that is a hub of activity. Union Street Media gave this Burlington cultural center a new design so web surfers can easily find out more about the various stores, restaurants, and events that make Church Street such a downtown hot spot. Visitors of Burlington can also find information about history, directions, parking, and store hours.

At the Putnam Indian Field School in Greenwich CT, children build positive relationships, grow in independence, develop skills, and gain knowledge in areas that interest them in a warm and nurturing environment. The redesigned website allows new families and returning ones to have easy access to PIFS information and enriching programs.

All of these sites are proudly welcomed to our expanding portfolio. If you want your website to better represent your business, contact Union Street Media today!

Twitter: Using Social Media to Increase Business Success

According to Mashable, The Social Media Guide, Twitter saw a 752% growth in 2008. It’s no wonder everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon.

There are many benefits that come with proper Twitter usage:

• Reinforce your brand and increase awareness by linking your Twitter account with all of your other web outlets.

• Check your Google Analytics; Twitter is a direct source of traffic.

• Network with like minded professionals, potential customers, and other local businesses.

• Tweets are now indexed in Google; we smell potential for organic Google traffic!

What a lot of people don’t realize are the practical uses of this valuable tool. Many businesses recognize the potential with this platform and yet after creating an account, have no clue what to do. It’s important to know about Twitter etiquette, hashtags, practical applications, and more.

Before getting started, there are a few things to remember.

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