marketing consulting for wedding professionals    Writing, branding, logo design.newsletter design

Optimizing Your Photos Just Got More Powerful

March 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

You know where I stand on how powerful the photos on your website are. If you somehow missed this, read this article on labeling your images for SEO.

In a nutshell…

Today’s bride search by images.

You have to label your images for the search engines to find them.

Well I have just discovered a new tool that will make those images even more powerful. It’s called ThingLink and allows you to embed links, music, videos and even more labels in your images.

Here is a slide show that explains it all

Here it is in use, Click on the icons.

Style shoot for local wedding magazineI

I can’t wait to play with this over on Wedding Dish.

Here are the details.

It’s free.

It’s a breeze to use.

It has analytics!

You can install it on your website as a WordPress plugin.

It connects with just about anything you could want from YouTube and Vimeo to Sptify and Sound Cloud, Facebook and Twitter.

The images on your website just got even more powerful.

Yes, it adds another step but oh it is sooooo worth it.

Filed Under: Announcement, Marketing, Social Media, Website marketing, wedding marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Is Your Primary Marketing Tool Ready for Today’s Bride?

March 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I was reading an article by one of my heroes, Holly Buchanan a true pioneer in marketing to women. Holly posted her predictions for marketing to women for 2013.

Well wonder of wonders! check this quote

I’ve been saying this since 2005, but this trend shows no sign of slowing down. Women will continue to shop, do research and interact online.

Your website, email, social media and mobile strategy should be at the core of all of your marketing efforts. The experience she has with your brand online will be a key factor in how and whether she does business with you on or offline. She is expecting to get the information she needs, when she needs it. Too many brands still fall down on the job with their online customer experience.

I think we all pretty much knew that. Like Holly, I have been saying for years that you have to be marketing to brides online. Now the question becomes, HOW are they accessing the internet?

Here is some information from a Pew Research study:

Almost nine in 10 (87%) use internet or email on their smartphone, while two-thirds (68%) use it to go online on a typical day and one-quarter mostly use their smart phone to go online.

This doesn’t mean they have abandoned their desktop or laptop, they just aren’t chained to it. Thanks to smart phone, they research the internet whenever the thought strikes.

So, we know that the experience a bride has on your website is often key to whether she does business with you and we also know that she will be accessing your website on everything from a large screen monitor to a tiny smart phone in the palm of her hand.

How does your website measure up to this vast potential?

You will also notice from the Buchanan quote, that she is expecting to get the information she need when she needs it. What’s more, she want to be able to find the same content no matter where she looks in a way that is easy to use. The best solution we have today is to build a mobile-responsive website rather than have a variety of sites (Flash, HTML, mobile)responsive website design

Let’s look at one more article. This one is from Josh Byers, writing for one of my favorite sites, copyblogger.com. In it Josh discusses why you should have one website that performs well on any device, from desktop to smart phone.

Mobile users will do anything & everything that desktop users will do provided it’s presented in a usable way. Assuming people on mobile “won’t do that” is a losing proposition

If you’re not designing and developing your entire site with mobile users in mind, it doesn’t really matter if you employ a responsive design, or have a separate mobile site.

Data consistently show that mobile devices, mobile usage, and mobile purchases continue to rise at an enormous rate. This data also suggests that this trend will not slow down in the future, but only pick up speed.

To be successful on the web you must begin your process with a philosophy that puts mobile first.

Mobile responsive design is then the natural outflow of this process.

Simple question~

Is your primary marketing tool ready for today’s bride?

If it isn’t, drop me a line and I can fix it!

Still think mobile responsive isn’t that important? The New York Times doesn’t!

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Trends, Website Design, Website marketing Tagged With: , ,

Do You Know Where Your Website Traffic Is Coming From?

February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I’m sure you are checking the stats on your website, but are you paying special attention to where your website traffic is coming from?  Everybody check to see if there traffic is up and how many visitors hit a particular article. I pay even closer attention on where my traffic is coming from and capitalize on that.

Hello, my name is Christine and I am a stats addict.

Social media is one of the top traffic drivers today, right behind Google(if you are doing it right). Because of that,I have people ask me all the time if they should post on Facebook, or is Pinterest more important; but wait, what about Twitter and should I be on Linkedin. I hate to break it to you, but there is no hard and fast rule.

You all know that I run 2 very different websites under the Think masthead. Where the traffic comes from is very different for each.

For Think, Linked in drives a ton of traffic, so does StumbleUpon. On theDish, it’s Pinterest and Google image search.

This isn’t a guess, it is what the stats tell me. So what to you think I do with this information? Why I exploit it to the nth degree!

As soon as I publish a post on Think, I use the socialize buttons on the post to send it to my groups on Linkedin and to StubleUpon because I know they are already interested in what I have to say. I have Linkedin set to email me every time there is a like or a comment on one of the discussions I have started. I respond as close to immediately as possible. Yes, I also have the app on my phone. Oh sure I put it on my Facebook fan page and if it has an image that goes to my marketing board on Pinterest.

Over on the Dish, it’s Google image and Pinterest. To optimize the Dish I pay special attention to labeling my images. Yes it takes time but it really pays off. I have the Pin it button enabled to make it easy for everyone to share. Not only others, but I use it myself as soon as the post goes live.

I am sure there are some of you thinking that if Linkedin works so well on Think, why not use it for the Dish. The answer is that they have 2 different targets and I pay attention to my stats. It all ties in with yesterday’s post where I said to forget about your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths.

Why should I beat my head against the wall trying to get Think noticed more on Pinterest when I can really soar on Linked in?

Where is your traffic coming from and are you exploiting that to it’s maximum potential?

Do a little testing and see which social media network is best for you.

 

 

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Website marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bridal Salon Website

July 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

JJ Kelly Bridal Salon in Oklahoma City knew it was time to update their website. Their wish list included a simple, elegant look to reflect their clientele and an e-commerce function to sell discontinued samples from their stock. They also knew how important it was to have a website that functioned well on all mobile devices.

Using WordPress and the Genesis Framework (affiliate link) we created a completely new site that captured everything they wanted in an easy to use, easy to update, easy to navigate site.

As always, click the image to check out the site.

Bridal Salon Website for J J Kelly Bridal

Website designed for a Bridal Salon

 

Filed Under: Announcement, Ecommerce, Portfolio, Website marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

A Word About Keywords to Attract Brides

June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By now everyone knows that you have to use keywords on your  website to boost your search ranking, but are you using the right keywords to attract brides?

Huh, what? Of course you do! If you are savvy you come up with some keywords you think describe your business and run it through the Google  Adwords tool and refine it a bit and you are good to go. Well that is true ~ IF ~ you start from the right assumption.

Here is the problem I see most often, you are starting with the words that YOU and YOUR INDUSTRY use to describe your product.  You should  start with the words brides use to describe your product.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.

I was working with a lovely woman who had been in the men’s formal wear industry forever. At the time I was webmaster for a membership site that had vendors upload their own business listing. She called me and was pretty mad that when she searched the site for “tuxedo’ her business didn’t come up. Off to her listing I went to see what was happening. The word “tuxedo” never appeared in her listing! Every where she could have used “tuxedo” she had used “formal wear” which is, of course, the correct term in the industry. It isn’t, however, the word anyone outside the industry would use to search for it.

Google is pretty damn smart but it is only an algorithm, not an intuitive brain. It doesn’t understand what a tuxedo is, it just pulls the word or related words.

I did a little experiment on the Adword Tool and here are the result. The search term Formal Wear had 832,000 Global Monthly Searches. In related terms the highest was Formal Wear Dresses with 550,00 Global Monthly Searches. (not even close)  The search for Tuxedo yielded much different results; 1,500,000 Global Monthly Results. The only related term that even came close I was Tuxedos. Which keyword should my tuxedo client use?

Yesterday I was working with a bridal salon on tagging images for their website. I asked her point-blank, how would a bride ask for a gown like this? The words she used were much different from the almost clinical description that the image came with.

You have to remember that your brides don’t have the same level of knowledge of your segment of the industry as you do.

You need to listen to your brides. How do they describe your product? That is how they will search for it. It may sound silly to you, but not to them.

Take a stroll through the brides forums on sites like Wedding Wire. How are they describing what you do. You may be pretty surprised.

You know the beautiful lighting used for monograms on walls and dance floors is a gobo, but they may search for “monogram for dance floor”

Why put all that work into refining your keywords and keyword density if you are using the wrong keywords to begin with!

 

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Marketing, Website marketing, wedding marketing Tagged With: , ,

Is Your Website Ready for the Mobile Web? Website Design to Reach Today’s Bride

May 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I had a client tell me recently that they believed that when brides sat down to really research on the web for their wedding that they did it on their main computer. Guess what, they aren’t. They are sitting on their couch or the bus stop or a park bench and doing their research on their tablet or mobile.

The thing you have to remember is that today’s bride is as comfortable with new technology as they are with the very air they breathe.

Here is something else, they might discover you first on Facebook or another social media, but when they decide to check you out, they head straight for your website.

Now that you know that, let’s get back to the original question:

Is your website ready for the mobile web?

Pull your site up on your smart phone or tablet. If it’s Flash, you won’t see it. Even if you have an html website, check those slide shows you spent so much time designing. Many times designers will use Flash plugins for the slide shows. That leave a gaping hole in your beautiful design.Your potential brides WANT to SEE your work, not a big black hole.

OK, so you did the right thing and switched to an html website and you checked all your slide shows and they work.

Now I want you to pay attention to how much of your site shows without scrolling. Most likely just the upper left corner.

What is in the upper left corner? For most of you, nothing! “Oh, but my logo looks so much better centered” Yep, it sure does on that giant monitor in your office, but that is rarely how potential brides will first see your website.

Here is a cool little site that you can use to see what they see, Studiopress Mobile Responsive Design.

Today there are a wealth of tools to make websites more mobile responsive. Everything from sites that are arranged to automatically rearrange the layout depending on the screen it is being viewed on to slide shows that automatically resized to be viewed with out scrolling.

Your other option is to have  yet another site built specifically for mobile devices. That option is already out of date, but it is a great play for web designers to get you to buy a second site. it is a lot like the one that talked you into having a Flash site and an html site for search with a splash page as your landing page.

Just remember, it isn’t enough for a website just to shrink to fit a smart phone, you need it to be usable at that size. You need all of the features on your site to be available on mobile devices. If it is important enough to be on your site it  is important enough to be usable on a mobile phone.

Don’t just listen to me. NET Magazine chose  Responsive Web Design as the #2 trend for 2012 Not just that, trend #7 is Mobile Gets Bigger.

If you are thinking it’s time to update your website, it probably is already past due. When you do it, do it right.

Here is one I finished recently for a client. This screen capture doesn’t really do it justice.

Mobile responsive web site Designed by Think Like A Bride

Go to Studiopress and type in http://www.bahamasdestinationweddingsgroup.com/ and play with it yourself. Pay special attention to the slide show as you scroll down. While you are there, you may want to check your own site. I’ll be here when you contact me.
This illustration from NET Magazine shows beautifully what I am talking about.

 

 responsive website design

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Website Design, Website marketing, wedding marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Are You REALLY Embracing the Internet?

May 2, 2012 By 6 Comments

Do you really understand all the ways brides use the internet to plan their wedding?

Oh I know, you have a website and a Facebook fan page, maybe even a Twitter and Linkedin account. You might even have discovered Pinterest and be rockin’ that out too, but do you really get it?

There has long been an undercurrent from a large part of the wedding industry that if only the internet would go away, things could get back to the way they are supposed to be. ~sigh We have moved so far past that point that we have crossed yet another threshold.

Shopping has moved primarily to the online world. US e-commerce sales will grow 62% by 2016, to USD 327 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012). Even if someone goes into a brick and mortar shop, they have already fully researched what they are shopping for and in most cases made their selection. There isn’t much that can’t be bought online.

Even physical locations are popping up for online shopping. Huh? Ok, check this out.

Shopping by ap

A grocery store in Seoul has billboards at bus stops with QR codes. Just scan what you need with your smart phone and arrange when you want it delivered. I know, I know, “But Christine, that’s in South Korea how does it affect my bridal salon in Backwater, Kansas?”

It affects you because it is coming your way.

E-bay is already doing the same thing in New York and London. During New York’s Fashion Week, Glamour magazine partnered with L’Oreal to enable passengers riding in selected cabs to buy Lancôme products they saw featured on the in-cab TV screens.

“Oh but Christine, this will never come to bridal,” you say. Really?  Then explain to me the surge in brides buying everything from bridal gowns to wedding day shoes online. Invitations have long been bought online, even flowers are available online. Heck, even engagement rings are bought online.  You have heard of BlueNile, right?

Your brides have been shopping online since they could use the keyboard, why would you think they would shun it for their wedding? They are used to it, it is the way their world works.

Now, my question to you is are you embracing these changes. I have long said that the business that succeeds is the one that gives consumers what they want in the way they want to purchase it. It isn’t about how you want to sell, it is about how they want to buy.

We have moved in to a See it, Click it, Buy it world.  Has your business moved there yet? Are you giving brides what they want?

 

 

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Facts & Stat, Internet Marketing, Trends, Website marketing Tagged With: , ,

Website for A Wedding Planner

March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I just finished a lovely website for a very lovely lady, Marva Munroe.

Marva plans weddings all over the Bahamas and wanted an update for her site that reflected recent changes in her growing business. She also wanted it to be mobile friendly.

Not only did we make it mobile friendly, we made it mobile responsive.

Huh? Mobile responsive means that the site rearranges itself depending on the screen size it is being viewed on. In short, it will align differently on an iPhone than on a desktop.

As always, click the image to view Marva’s new website.

website for a destination wedding planner

Filed Under: Announcement, Blog, Portfolio, Website Design, Website marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,

What is the Purpose of Your Website?

March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Really? Have you actually asked yourself that question recently?

In yet another epic example of “the cobbler’s children have no shoes” I just recently asked myself that question. The answer was to sell my services. Yep seems pretty simple, doesn’t it. The problem was, years ago when I first started TLAB the goal was to sell subscriptions and the site was still set up that way.

That isn’t what I sell anymore. Now I sell website design, ebooks, consulting and copy writing. Hmmmm, time for a change.

I am sure you have noticed the changes on the website recently, those are all a reflection of finally doing what was right for my own marketing.  Front and center are now 3 calls to action: website design, consulting and other services.  Those pages used to rank at the bottom of my stats. Now I am pleased to say that they are in the top 5 pages every single day.other services

My homepage has my most current blog posts and those are what draw visitors in, but once here they can’t miss the calls to action. Aren’t those really the point?

So back to the original question; what is the purpose of your website. Ask yourself that question and be as brutally honest and precise as you can. Then take a fresh look at your website and see if it is doing what you pay it to do.

One more note about all this, stop looking at simply how pretty your site is. Yes it should be attractive and reflect your unique style and branding but if it isn’t doing the job you pay it for it’s just eye-candy to make you happy. Isn’t that kind of like hiring a supermodel to be you receptionist even though she can’t figure out how to answer the phone? (no disrespect meant to supermodels, just trying to make a point)

Frankly I think TLAB looked better before the change but it wasn’t doing half the job it is now.

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Building Your Business, Marketing, Website marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

What’s Up with Think’s Website?

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The short answer is that I’ve been playing!

The long answer is a bit more complicated.  Have you ever heard the old saying “The cobbler’s children have no shoes?”  What that means is that way too often, people are very good at what they do but they stay too busy to get around to doing whatever ‘it’ is for themselves. The classic example is that in all those year that I owned one of the top bakeries in the city, my kiddos usually got a cake from Baskin & Robbins for their birthday! I know, it’s pretty sad!

It’s the same thing now that I do marketing and design website. I can’t remember the last time I updated Think, a year and a half maybe. Sure, I did a tweak here and a tweak there, but nothing major or thought out. Besides, I really like the way my site looked. marketing consulting

Two things caused me to get in there over the weekend and start rooting around.

Call to action. I preach it all the time that all of your marketing material needs really clear calls to action. No,duh!  You would think I would have had mine front and center. I imagine it was a bit of not seeing the forest for the trees. I had a session with one of my consulting clients last week and in the course of conversation it came up that they didn’t even know I designed web sites. Well Shit! How are going to sell something people don’t even know you do?

Mobile Responsive. The second thing that made me do it was the recent launch of some really sweet mobile responsive child themes for the Genesis framework.   What is mobile responsive you ask? I am not just talking about having images that show up on iPhones and Androids.  My new site will resize itself depending on what device you are viewing it on. No more scrolling from side to side. Really, try it out.

That is a really cool thing, but there is a learning curve and I wanted it on my site, not a clients. There are still things to tweak, like I have to find a new way to display my portfolio. That will come.

Anyway, that’s what’s been going on. I’ll continue to play, especially with the graphics. I’m not in love with those, but you see one of the things I love about the web is that it’s “liquid ink.”  Don’t like something, you can change it on the fly. Keep watching as the new site and framework evolves.

 

Filed Under: Announcement, Marketing, Personal Coaching, Website marketing Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts