I’ll be speaking on 3 panels:

Content Marketing – 8:45am

Successful social media starts with solid content marketing. Covering relevant timely and newsworthy content is a great way to grow your site audience and take advantage of trends that get people more interested and thus more engaged. Learn the tools other social media experts are using.

Social Selling – 9:30am

Social selling is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. Today this often takes place via social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, but can take place either online or offline.

Social Tools – 1:15pm

Wondering how your peers are using social media? Discover which social media tools the top performers are using. Also see how much time marketers spend on social media and much more!

Social Media Tools we may cover:

• Scheduling / CRM: vCita , Calendly , Harvest , Insightly
• Research: BuzzSumo (social media) , EpicBeat (content) , Majestic (content/SEO) , idea.IamOnDemand.com (content/SEO) , Facebook.com , Twitter.com , Pinterest.com
• Media: Canva (graphic design) , Animoto (video marketing)
• SEO / Website: ahrefs.com , similarweb.com
• and much more!

Reduce your trial and error time: Why experiment with your social media marketing when you can fast-track your time to success? The experts at this event will empower you to focus on what really works (and prove it to others).

Network with marketers just like you: Imagine connecting face-to-face with thousands of people just like you—as you share stories, gather ideas and build relationships. Meet the bay area’s top social experts!

Check out these social media tips and tools to see if they’re a good fit for you!

The post Social Media Selling and Tools: Social Media Summit 2016 appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

Shared Hosting: I just signed up for a 2 years shared hosting plan with InMotion for $107 (50% Black Friay Deal), here is the proof of purchase:

I saved $131.94 on two years shared hosting!

This is without a doubt one of the best shared hosting Black Friday deals I have seen.

As a web designer I have used almost every type of shared hosting out there, and I can tell you that InMotion is well regarded as one of the best performing shared hosting services.

Shared hosting is often a roll of the dice, as unlimited often doesn’t really mean unlimited, and the performance of your website is directly affected by the server management of the company. This means when shopping for cheaper plans, do your research before signing up for an annual plan, no matter how good the Black Friday hosting deal is.

Example: A client of mine was using HostGator earlier this year and because there was a sudden spike in hacking attempts and spam traffic they shut down the website completely without notice, this not only negatively affected business but prevented us from fixing the problem.

We then upgraded the account for $300+ because Hostgator told us it would fix the problem. It did not, the hacking and spam traffic continued and they shut down the website again without notice.

Hostgator continued to avoid responsibility and we ended up switching the client to InMotion who helped us locked down the admin link to WordPress with a firewall (shouldn’t be rocket science to a hosting company).The hacking and spam traffic continued on InMotion hosting and they ended up throttling the traffic to the website multiple times (slowing it down) instead of completely shutting it down like HostGator.

This is only one example of why you should go with the reliable host, to protect your business from future problems [click here for InMotion shared hosting discount].

VPS Hosting: I just signed up for a 1 year VPS hosting plan with InMotion for $344.88 (Black Friay Deal), here is the proof of purchase:

I saved $195 on one year VPS hosting!

If you want peace of mind that your website isn’t going to be slow because of crowded shared hosting then you need a VPS (Virtual Private Server). This is what I use for www.techdesignstudios.com and I recommend it for anyone planning to grow their website’s SEO and online business.

I just got an email from a client a couple days ago saying “Hostgator will not handle the traffic. We anticipate maybe 1000-2000 users on the website. What should we do?”Hostgator was trying to push a bigger hosting plan on them without properly explaining what’s going on and what are their options.They are happy to sell a larger hosting package without the support required by the business.

My response?
“You probably need a VPS server, not shared, it’s what I use for my main site: http://bit.ly/tdsinmotionvps (costs $30 a month)”

These links all say InMotion is the best VPS host:
Google search (best vps hosting 2015):
#1 result: http://www.hostingadvice.com/reviews/vps/
#2 result: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/
#3 result: https://webhostinggeeks.com/bestvpshosting.html

Need I say more?
InMotion hosting has one of the best shared hosting services, and the #1 rated VPS hosting service, now that’s a reliable web host. [click here for InMotion VPS hosting discount link]

I was a little disappointed with the Black Friday hosting deal because I saw only the first month discounted and wanted to know if I could get a better deal elsewhere on an annual plan.  I quickly found out that other VPS hosts were happy to sell cheaper plans, but at a fraction of the performance that InMotion would offer.

Research Examples:
#1 result: http://www.hostingadvice.com/reviews/vps/ says #1 InMotion, #2 Bluehost, #3 Media Temple

• InMotion offers: $15/first mo ($30/mo for the next 11 months, will renew at $44.99/mo) for 4GB RAM
• Bluehost offers: $15/first mo ($30/mo for the next 11 months) for 2GB RAM
• Media Temple starts at $30 (2GB – 64GB RAM)

#2 result: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2455706,00.asp says #1 InMotion, #2 Dreamhost, #3 HostGator

• InMotion offers: $15/first mo ($29.99/mo for the next 11 months, will renew at $45/mo) for 4GB RAM
• Dreamhost offers: $15/mo (no Black Friday hosting deal for VPS?) for 1GB RAM
• HostGator offers: $24/year (65% OFF, will renew at $50/mo) for 1GB RAM

The closest competition to InMotion VPS hosting is Bluehost, same price for half the guaranteed performance. And everyone else is willing to charge more for less [click here for InMotion VPS hosting discount link].

I’ve always been very impressed with InMotion Hosting and have been using them for my clients that are on a budget without sacrificing speed or support.  I also use both their Shared and VPS hosting plans. If you are looking for new affordable WordPress hosting, or maybe thinking of switching, I definitely recommend checking them out! Use the links above to get 30-50% off on the launch, power, pro and VPS plans.

As always feel free to leave your comments below, I would love to hear your thoughts.

The post Best Black Friday Hosting Deals 2015 (InMotion Hosting) appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

Double your monthly page views, jump start your non-profit marketing!

To be eligible for Google Grants an organization must:

• Hold current and valid charity status (for example, in the US you must have a current 501(c)(3) status)
• Acknowledge and agree to Google Grant’s required certifications regarding how to receive and use donations obtained from the grant (we will go into more detail)
• Have a website that is both functioning and provides adequate detail on your nonprofit

Google Grants = Free Money. You can use Google Grants to:

• Reach donors, volunteers, and consumers when they’re searching on Google
• Raise awareness by choosing relevant keywords and creating unique ads to highlight your work
• Track online donations, newsletter sign-ups, and volunteer registrations
• Promote your organization’s website on Google with in-kind AdWords advertising

Whether you’re new to search advertising or are a seasoned pro, Google Ad Grants makes it easy to launch effective campaigns, with advertising solutions designed for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes. Google Grants is only available to Google for Nonprofit members. Signing up as a Google for Nonprofits member is free, with some restrictions that you can review online before applying.

Recently we’ve been helping companies with their online marketing goals by providing internet marketing tools, strategic social media plans, and connecting them with charities and backlink sources. We are a digital agency designed to help nonprofits increase their impact by leveraging data and technology.

We can help you figure out how to set this up for your nonprofit! Contact us to help you spend your Google Grants budget effectively.

The post Power Your Non Profit SEO with a Google AdWords Grant appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

Businesses that fail to maximize the holiday shopping season miss a huge revenue opportunity. Brands that invest only a small portion of their budget on timely, seasonal ads flounder while competitors with bigger budgets win the wallets of consumers.

During the holidays, companies have a chance to capture loads of new customers.

Here are some of our favorite holiday marketing tips and examples to strategize your own strategy for the holidays:

• Holiday Marketing Tip #1: “There’s a lot that businesses can do on Facebook to get more sales during the holidays. The easiest thing for brick-and-mortar businesses is to target audiences by using the new Local Awareness feature. This allows you to target ads to people only when they’re physically near your business. You can even give people directions to your location right on their phones. Another way is to use Custom Audiences to find your best customers on Facebook, and then use Lookalike Audiences to find similar people.” –Mari Smith, Facebook Marketing Thought Leader

A successful holiday season depends on preparation and research months before the holidays arrive.

Indeed, one of the secrets of holiday success is spending a disproportionate amount of your marketing budget on festive advertising. Brands should do is prepare for the holidays early, and celebrate them sooner. Make sure to accommodate such dramatic growth in market opportunity.

• Drive that local cheer:
  The holidays experience in New York is different than in San Francisco. Your messaging should reflect that. Leverage geo-targeting tools to know from where your customer is. Then you can create content they can relate to and messaging that resonates with a personalized brand experience.
   
• The key to the holidays is user-generated content:
  How do you connect with audiences when they are already inundated with advertisements? You make them the hero. Businesses that can actively leverage user-generated content are the ones that will drive deeper connections with fans. Most people today are programmed to ignore ads. Showcasing authentic photos of your audience drives your intended message while encouraging a deeper, emotional interest from new and loyal fans alike. Relate to them with real people, in real moments, using your product and services.
   
• Promote ads weeks in advance of the shopping season:
  Doing so gives you ample opportunity to try new copy and images to learn how consumers react. To help kick off your holiday planning, we’ve compiled a set of tips and best practices designed to help you maximize your success during this important time of the year.  The first set of tips will help you prepare for the holidays by:
  • Testing different creative
  • Planning your holiday budget
  • Optimizing your mobile experience
  • Getting to know your audience segments

Ramp up spend, quick: Double your ad spend immediately when you identify the creatives that engage customers.

Establish a marketing plan for every holiday your customers celebrate – Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, New Years, and more. When you celebrate holidays early, you get a chance to have fun with your customers, outshine the competition, and dramatically increase sales.

• Holiday Marketing Tip #2: Ask yourself what your best customers, the people who support you all year round are doing this month…. Forget about what you think the season the holidays are about. Ask what your customers are focused on.

Holiday Marketing Links: 

• Email holiday marketing: listrak.com/resources/holiday-insights/
• Facebook holiday marketing: facebook.com/business/a/pre-holiday
• General holiday marketing: entrepreneur.com/topic/holiday-marketing

Future tips will include how to drive momentum before the holidays, maximize sales during the holidays and keep customers engaged at the end of the year. What’s your best Facebook holiday marketing advice? Please let me know in the comments.

The post It’s Never Too Early to Start Marketing for the Holidays appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

Before Your Event: The first step is to make people aware of your event, to mark it on their calendar, and to register.

1. Market Your Event Through Facebook, Google+ & FullCalendar
   1. Facebook Events – Facebook is the largest social network in the world, meaning that, for most events, all your attendees are probably on it. What’s more, Facebook Events is actually surprisingly versatile; with a few clicks, you can create an event for just about any occasion with a hub on which you can easily post updates. Co-ordination of attendees, venue, and location are all nearly effortless as well.
   2. FullCalendar Event Promotion – Send your event listing to papers, websites, radio stations, & email lists.
2. Market Your Event Through Your Website / Blog
   Whether through an existing blog or a blog created specifically for your gathering, be sure to create posts announcing the event, calls for presenters, and sponsorship opportunities. Follow up with guest posts from presenters who should welcome the opportunity to reach a wider audience (and build visibility with those who might have attended the event).

During Your Event:

1. MailChimp + Gather (iOS and Droid)
   1. MailChimp – Use this email marketing software to create a subscriber base, automate and personalize emails.
   2. Gather (iOS and Droid) – Text message your MailChimp subscribers to keep them updated during events.
2. A Picture Says a Thousand Words
   Although iPhone photos are great and shareable, hire a photographer for the day. If you can’t afford one, consider an in-kind trade of a free pass. And/or ask a friend to take pictures.

After Your Event: Reflect on how the event went, what you learned, and even how the next one could be better.

1. Follow up with a Second Blog Post, or at Least Update Your First One + Share / Email
   Ask for feedback and suggestions in the comments field. Share / post something similar to your Facebook page and encourage fans and friends to continue the discussion on your page or in a group.
2. Post Video & Images to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Other Sharing Sites
   When distributing your videos, social channels are your best friend. You’ll want to post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and G+ but you’ll also want to consider a clever use of Instagram and Pinterest.

What platforms do you use, what techniques have proven especially effective, and how did you generate excitement and fill the seats at your last event?

The post Event Marketing Tips + Tools for Before, During & After appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

Blogging / Content Marketing

One of the most effective and efficient ways to market your business online is by having a company blog. The following tools will save you time and make sure your content is SEO friendly:

• Copyscape: The free version lets you check a page on your site to see how often it’s been copied (and if you rank wellà it probably has been). Also good for testing upcoming copy for potential issues.
• Grammarly: I’m terrible at Grammar. I probably have half a dozen comma splice errors in this post as well. This is why I trust Grammarly to spot the errors I can’t catch, all for free.

Social Media

Obviously, social media should be one of the foundations of your event marketing. There are literally hundreds of tools out there to make social media marketing easier, but for my money, I’d pick these:

• Buffer: Helps you schedule social media posts across a number of social channels. I highly recommend Buffer.
• Monarch: Take social sharing to the next level on your WordPress website, this is a social media plugin with Style.

Video / Presentation

• Animoto: Animoto is the easiest video editor around – it will help you create a stunning video in just 3 simple steps: add your photos and videos, customize your video with music, styles and other features of your choice, embed it on your website and voila – you got yourself a great video in a matter of seconds! The tool is also available as an app to help you share videos on mobile.
• Prezi: This presentation tool helps users organize and share ideas by creating visualizations.
• Google+ Hangouts: A free, interactive video production tool that lets you host live video conferences with 10 participants, while other viewers can watch, message questions, and comment in real time.
• Canva: Create graphics for your blog, social channels, website and much more with this online image creation tool that also comes with a stock photo library.
• Slideshare: Probably one of the best presentation tools on the Internet. Using the platform, you can create documents, PDFs, slideshows, videos, and webinars; all presentations and keynotes at your event can further be streamlined and gathered into one place. Factor in the platform’s ease of use, and it’s clear to see why most everybody utilizes it: because it works.

Search Engine Optimization

Want to start driving quality traffic to your site? These resources cover a variety of tools to better optimize your site and some basic strategy behind why SEO is important:

1. Keyword Research Tools:
   
   • Bing Keyword Research Tool: A popular Bing product to know what people are searching for and getting keyword ideas and suggestions.
   • Google AdWords Keyword Tool: Yes, we all know how we can use this tool to see the performance of a list of keywords and create a new set of keywords.
   • Google Analytics: Say Hi to Google Analytics- increase sales, find more visitors and enhance your mobile app. Go through this checklist from Google to find out how you can drive maximum advantage out of Google Analytics.
   • QuickSprout: Neil Patel’s SEO and Content Marketing site called Quick Sprout is the best. I can’t tell you how much I have learned from his posts and newsletters and guides. What I can tell you is that while we do a great job for our clients using SEO techniques, his Advanced SEO Guide is the absolute best resource for rocking search engine optimization. After 3 months of work on a client’s site following the instructions in that guide, we have already seen a massive increase in traffic for our targeted keywords and it just keeps growing.
2. Link Building Tools:
   • Ahrefs: One of the most powerful tools for checking links.

Local SEO: Get More Customer Reviews

Reviews very often contain relevant keywords, drawing attention to your product but their biggest strength lies in how Google perceives them. Each opinion written by a client contains unique wording and style. Search engines see that and prioritize your websites over other outlets:

• Wisestamp: Email signatures that can utilize social, productive and engaging apps and features.
• Moz Local: Improve visibility online at a price that works for your business. Consistent, visible local business listings across the web—and the reporting to prove it.

Online Marketing

• Primer is powered by Google and meant to offer the best way to learn without ever spending a penny. Topics include things like branding, SEO, analytics, ad buying/selling and how to target the right audience. Primer is meant to be for Internet users but the marketing guides can apply to many different industries.

The post My Favorite Online Marketing Tools: September 2015 appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

1.  Go to Publish menu on your vCita dashboard

2.  and select Add to Website.

3.  Click on Edit / View next to the LiveSite Widget option to customize and design your widget.

4. Click Add To Website button and select Other websites5. Copy the LiveSite Widget HTML code:

6. Once copied, go back to WordPress:

1. From WordPress left navigation panel, select Pages>All Pages
2. Find and Edit the page you wish to add the widget to
3. Select the Text tab on the top right of the page editor
   
4. Paste the code copied from vCita within the editor

External Resources:

• https://support.vcita.com/entries/22815163-Add-LiveSite-to-Wordpress-without-a-Plugin-or-on-specific-pages
• https://support.vcita.com/entries/22800763-Add-the-LiveSite-Widget-on-selected-pages-Wordpress

The post Add vCita to WordPress on Specific Pages appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

There was a last second change of schedule and I was asked to fill in. We talked about event and video marketing tools, and do-it-yourself tips for your business.

Date: September 30th, 2015 7:30am – 9:00am (this event has ended)
Address: Bocanova, 55 Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94607

We learned about:

• Event promotion tools – Send your event listing to papers, websites, radio stations, & email lists
  • SMS alert system for events
• Make great business videos, easily – Get your business noticed and connect with customers
• Schedule & strategize social media – Drive more traffic, increase fan engagement and save time on social media
• How to audit your website’s SEO online for free

Missed our Oakland event?

Want to learn how to improve your event marketing and video to generate more leads and sales? Here is our Prezi presentation, which you can quickly and easily repurpose and reuse for your own event or video:

Join us on social media and connect with us for the post-event discussion:

Facebook: Event Marketing & DIY Video Tips
Google+: Event Marketing & DIY Video Tips

The post Oakland Event – Sept. 30th: Event Marketing & DIY Video Tips appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

With marketing methods that are constantly changing, it can be tough keeping up. It can also be easy to get caught up in all the latest trends and forget about some of the tried-and-true methods that still really work.

Don’t let your business be on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Date: September 30th, 2015 10:00am – 10:30am (this event has ended)
Address: Chevys Fresh Mex, 157 Plaza Dr, Vallejo, CA 94591

We talked about how to:

• Generate online referrals and word of mouth
• Create offers to increase online conversion rates
• Find do-it-yourself SEO tools, resources, websites and more

Missed our event?

Want to learn about quick do-it-yourself (DIY) tips and tools to boost your businesses online marketing? Here are our downloadable event resources:

Join us on social media and connect with us for the post-event discussion:

The post Vallejo Event – Sept. 30th, 2015: DIY SEO for Small Business appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.

Reviews from previous clients and customers are available and important to take advantage of. By following this guide, you will be able to embed Google Plus Local Business Page Reviews straight into your WP blog or website. It will take no more than 5 minutes to get through!

Step 1: Share Your Google+ Review

Get signed into your Google Plus Business Page and then share your review to your stream.

Sharing Google Plus Reviews is a great tool which few people take advantage of. Make sure to share your Google+ review as it is on your own page. Do not get the review from the profile of the specific person who wrote it! This is important. This is because by sharing the review as it appears on the persons profile, the shared information will not include the name of the person, which will decrease the authenticity of the review. If the person doesn’t have a Google+ account you will not be able to share these Google Plus Business Page reviews.

Tip: To start with do not add any descriptions to the reviews you share. I’ve discovered this makes visitors focus less on the reviewer’s name and on the review.

Step 2: Get The Embed Code From The Review You Shared

Click the drop down arrow in the top right corner of the Google+ Review, and then click “Embed Post”. You’ll find a code pop up, which is needed for embedding the review in a website/blog. You can choose a code which allows comments or disables them.

Step 2.1: Insert Header Code

To make the reviews function properly on your website/blog you need to embed a short JavaScript code between the <head></head> part of the website code. Below, for WordPress I have shown you how you go into the WordPress theme editor to enter the code. Then you must go to APPEARANCE>EDITOR and open the HEADER.PHP file.

Step 3: Embed The Google Plus Review!

This is what you have been waiting for! Copy and paste the next part of the embed code straight into the HTML editor of your website. Warning…This will not work if you try embedding the code into the WYSYWIG editor. Save and publish!

The Benefit Of Embedding Google+ Reviews On Your Website

The number one benefit of embedding Google+ Reviews into your website  is you get to show what REAL PEOPLE are saying about your business, with their full names and everything.

Conclusion

Writing and placing testimonials into one’s website  is an old-school method and it is not a good idea. With testimonials, website visitors cannot tell when a website owner has written up their own testimonials or when it is authentic. This could negatively impact the credibility and attitude towards your brand. It is well known, consumers are more likely to make purchases on a website which has ratings and social proof, and especially legitimate proof. By embedding Google+ Reviews, you are taking the extra step of authenticating the positive comments real people are making about your business, and it is from a credible source!

The post Feature Google+ Local Business Reviews On Your Website appeared first on Tech Design Studios: San Francisco Bay Area Web Design.