Internet marketing company Fusework Studios has recently developed a third website for the Indianapolis Zoo and an accompanying mobile version.  The new site, which can be found at www.indianapoliszoofuture.com, was developed and designed to promote and raise awareness for the International Orangutan Center scheduled to be completed in 2014.  The exhibit will be a one-of-a-kind attraction for the city of Indianapolis and an unprecedented exhibit for the Zoo, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to interact with endangered orangutans.  The site also showcases other projects such as the recently opened Tiger Forest.  

Last week Google rolled out a much needed feature to its Google+ Pages.  Just like Facebook Pages, Google+ Pages can be used by businesses to allow them to have a presence on the Google+ social network, to share content and to engage with individuals. 

When Google+ Pages were initially launched though, a business profile could only be managed by the person who created the page.  In other words, there was no way to allow multiple people to post content and interact with others on Google+ as the business page unless they logged into the personal Google account of the person who originally created the Google+ Page. 

In addition to not being able to assign other people as admins of a Google+ Page, there wasn’t a way to transfer ownership of a page from one person to another.  If the person who created the Google+ Page for a business left the company or misused the page, there was no way to transfer it to another employee or clean the page up.

Last week Google implemented a new feature to solve both of these issues.  Google+ Pages can now have up to 50 page managers and the ownership of a Google+ Page can be transferred to others. 

If you haven’t created a Google+ Page for your business here’s a quick way to do it:

1.  Go to https://plus.google.com/pages/create

2.  Select the category that your business falls under

3.  Add information about your business and click the red ‘Create’ button

4.  Add a tagline and your logo or some other appropriate profile picture

5.  On the next screen you can choose to share the page you just created to those in your personal Circles on Google+ or just click the ‘Finish’ button.

6.  The next important step after your page is created is to click on the ‘profile’ icon in the top left corner of the page so you can add information about your business.

 7.  From the profile page click the ‘Edit Profile’ button

8.  Then click on the section of your business profile that you’d like to edit and fill in the information and your Google+ Page is complete.

If you need help creating a Google+ Page or have questions about it just send us a message here

Grade Your Website
Use the Website Grader tool from Hubspot to see how your website is doing compared to your competition. Find out if it has SEO problems and how popular it is in social media.

http://www.websitegrader.com/

Spider Your Website
See the website as a search engine sees it.

http://tools.seobook.com/general/spider-test/

Check Your Inbound Links
Who is linking to you?

http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/

Review Your Website


Testing, analyzing and reviewing your website should take an hour or two depending upon how complex and deep your website is. The time can turn out to be invaluable and arm you with the information you need to make your website work for you.

Don't have an hour or two? No problem, contact us at Fusework Studios and we'll present the results to you. No obligation and no strings!

Fusework Studios recently helped the Muncie Area Career Center IT Academy launch a new website to connect with potential students. The website also fosters in-classroom communication by allowing students to interact with their instructor as well as each other.

http://www.macc-it.com/

Educator Tammie Gill approached advisory council member Mark Shaffer in the spring of 2011 about an opportunity to work with a small group of students to build the website. Matt Howell, Director of Production & Account Management, met with the students over a two-month period before the end of 2011 school year to help plan the website and lay the backend foundation. When the school year resumed in the fall, the project was resumed and completed in November.

"We were very excited to have Mr. Howell come in and advise the students on website design and development. The students involved learned quite a bit in a short period of time." Tammie Gill commented.

The website presents information to potential MACC IT Academy students by promoting the curriculum, possible certifications that can be earned and dual-credit opportunities. There are also success stories from former students who have gone on to greater things due to their education in the IT Academy. In the classroom, the website is a vehicle for daily announcements and interactivity between the teacher and students.

"At Fusework Studios we promote and encourage community involvement. This was a great opportunity to influence the future information technology workforce and connect with the next generation of creative individuals." commented Mark Shaffer.

Fusework Studios is an internet marketing company helping businesses and organizations in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas develop, implement and manage their online marketing strategies as well as provide business computer and IT support.  Fusework specializes in providing a broad range of benefits and services to its clients including website design, online video production, social media consulting, content creation, blogging, search engine marketing and internet marketing strategy.  Fusework Studios has been the recipient of numerous awards for its innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For additional information, contact John D. Fisher, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fusework Studios (jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com).

Are you planning on building a website that contains multiple pages? Does your website need constant updating, without the need to load multiple web pages? Have you considered integrating a content management system into your website? There are a lot of benefits available to you, if you choose to integrate this system into your website.

The first question you may have is what is a Content Management System? Simply put, it is a system that allows you to have multiple authors uploading content at any given point in time. You will be able to manage large amounts of content without any problem.

The first main benefit is that a CMS website is driven by their database, which means that you can have hundreds of pages within the database without having to take the time to update each one individually. This will save you a lot of time and hassle. Who doesn’t want a system that will save them time?

Next, you will be able to have multiple authors on your site. This means that if you have many different authors that want to contribute to your website, you simply set up multiple user accounts within your administrative panel. Each author would be able to log in and add their content at their own convenience, without interfering with anything else.

Next, you will be able to access your website from anywhere. If you have multiple authors or editors, they will be able to log in to the site from any computer that is equipped with an internet connection. You can have multiple users around the world updating the site all at the same time, without interfering with each other.

Finally, you are going to save time. Everyone needs more time and now you can have it with a CMS. Instead of your authors having to download the pages from the server to their computer first, and then have to update them and upload them to the server again, you will have eliminated all of that hassle. You are going to save loads of time and prevent the possibility of numerous errors.

What are you waiting for? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from a Content Management System. Contact Fusework Studios about redesigning, or migrating, your website into a content management system today.

When looking at web design and development companies, you may find that hosting cost is a factor in your decision. However, you shouldn't let it be the only deciding factor. There are many disadvantages to choosing a cheap hosting service and you should definitely do your homework before choosing the right hosting service for your personal domain or business website. With that said, Fusework Studios offers great services and at affordable prices. Some of the pitfalls of cheap hosting are lousy customer service, a lot of site downtime, and the company disappearing completely.

The East Central Indiana Social Media Group, an organization that Fusework Studios helped found and is actively involved with, will hold its monthly seminar Thursday, December 15, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Innovation Connector, 1208 W. White River Blvd., Muncie.  

This month's seminar will focus on methods to put your marketing content inside of Facebook. Whether you are trying to promote your own fan page or if you build fan pages for others, you need to extend Facebook’s abilities to handle your content and the presentation will show you the easiest and most effective ways.  There is no fee to attend this seminar but reservations are required at www.ecisocialmedia.net.

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2535385406

About ECI Social Media Group
The East Central Indiana Social Media Group is a group of social media professionals connecting with local business professionals to educate, discuss and promote the use of social media in the workplace.

Reach out to every phone, iPad and tablet user with mobile websites. Mobile websites expand any business because more people are turning to mobile devices for daily use. There are some great advantages to having a mobile website.

Inexpensive
Making a website for mobile devices cost less than developing an app to download. Plus it's much simpler to make than making an application from scratch.

Less Wait Time
Mobile websites mean no more waiting on the pages to load up. Enjoy faster browsing and faster download speeds without the hassle.

Portable
Mobile websites can be accessed anytime, anyplace, anywhere. The site goes where the people go.

Offline Media Integration
Merge your website and mobile site together with the help of QR codes. Using QR codes is great for reaching Smartphone users because when people scan the code online or on a sheet of paper the code will link them to more information about the company.

Advertising & SEO
Mobile websites give companies a new way to promote themselves. Reach audiences with ads and bring them back to your mobile website. Speaking of advertising the best advertisement would be to get a great SEO ranking. Use SEO techniques on mobile search engines and mobile traffic will increase. It can also be placed in local and mobile directories.

Mobile Identity & Competition Advantage
The first thing visitors identify with any business is the website. This is no different from computer websites or social networks. Having a mobile website gives out an identity of what the business stands for in a positive light. It's good to have a polished site that captures attention, stands out from the competition and looks good on mobile devices. If not visitors will move on and the competition will take your traffic.

User Experience
Websites are best viewed on the computer and mobile websites should be viewed on mobile devices. If the roles were reversed the experience would be sorely lacking because the website was not made for that situation. Go further in viewing user experience by analyzing how the website is being used. From there a company will know what went right and what went wrong. Use analytics and read comments to further prove the results. All of this will lend a hand in improving the visuals, navigation, layout, knowledgeable information and overall feel of the mobile site.

The advantages alone make mobile websites a smart move for businesses and a convenient choice for visitors. Are you ready for a mobile website? Contact Fusework Studios today to speak with an Internet Marketing Specialist.

The latest Facebook vulnerability has been making quite a bit of news in recent weeks.  What can you do?  The steps to protect yourself are almost identical to the general steps for safe computing whether you use Windows, Linux, or a Mac.

First, make sure you install operating system and software updates when prompted.  Better yet, enable automatic updates whenever possible.  As a Managed IT provider for businesses in the Muncie, Indiana and surrounding area, we frequently see that computer users or their former Managed IT providers simply didn't install Windows, OS-X, or other updates.  This leaves users vulnerable to known security problems that have already been corrected and is entirely preventable.

Second, use strong passwords.  A strong password is at least eight characters long, contains a number and a non-alphanumeric character [like the '+' symbol], and utilizes both uppercase and lowercase letters.  Avoid using the same password for multiple sites or services.  Using the same password for Facebook and online banking is a very bad idea.

Third, don't install applications unless you actually need them.  For example, many legitimate applications like Java will install browser toolbars or other unnecessary secondary programs.  If you review the installation options, most often you can choose to install only the desired application.  Use the same cautious approach toward Facebook applications.  If you have any doubts, just don't install the application.

Fourth, make sure you have an up-to-date antimalware program installed.  Microsoft Security Essentials is a reasonable and free choice for Windows users at home and for small businesses with up to 10 PC's.  Do you use a Mac and think you're immune to this sort of thing?  If so, you're wrong.  Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac is a great choice and is free for home users.  ClamAV has long been a leading choice for Linux users and is free for home or business use.

This is a quick but effective list.  There are other many other ways you can protect yourself such as utilizing the Google Safe Browsing plugin for your browser, installing an Internet security suite that includes social media and identity theft protection, and other options too numerous to mention here.  Fusework Studios is always here to help if you need business computer support.  We can work with you to develop a comprehensive and effective plan to protect your computers, network, and data.  For more information contact John Fisher at jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com or call him at 765-286-0000.

Fusework Studios is pleased to announce the addition of Kasey Bradley to its team of Internet Marketing Strategists in the Indianapolis area.  In this role Bradley will help to improve the internet marketing efforts of businesses and non-profit organizations throughout Indiana. 

Before joining Fusework Studios Bradley held multiple positions including Lead Technical Writer and Client Services Manager with Fishers-based offsite IT company Netfor, Inc. Previously, Bradley served as a Public Relations Specialist at Indianapolis-based business ratings company Angie’s List.  He has held internships with Zionsville-based PR firm Miller Brooks, Inc. and Lafayette, Indiana’s daily newspaper, The Lafayette Journal and Courier.

“Kasey’s knowledge and understanding of online marketing especially in the areas of search engine marketing and content creation is an asset to the company and our clients, we’re excited to have him as part of our team” stated Director of Sales & Marketing John D. Fisher.

Bradley holds a degree in Journalism-Public Relations from Ball State University where he held multiple editorial positions for the school’s daily newspaper, The Ball State Daily News. Bradley also currently works as a freelance public relations, digital media, and audio production/design consultant in Indianapolis.

Fusework Studios is an internet marketing company helping businesses and organizations in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas develop, implement and manage their online marketing strategies as well as provide business computer and IT support.  Fusework specializes in providing a broad range of benefits and services to its clients including website design, online video production, social media consulting, content creation, blogging, search engine marketing and internet marketing strategy.  Fusework Studios has been the recipient of numerous awards for its innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For additional information, contact John D. Fisher, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fusework Studios (jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com).

Indiana-based Internet Marketing Company Fusework Studios has added Chris Cunningham to its team of Internet Marketing Strategists.  In this role Cunningham will primarily focus on the review and assessment of current online marketing efforts for businesses and other organizations and, among other things, make additional recommendations to their internet marketing strategies.

Before joining Fusework Studios Cunningham held a post-graduate internship at Indianapolis-based marketing firm Redwall Live. Previously, Cunningham served as the Promotions and Marketing Assistant for Indianapolis-based 92.3 WTTS FM.

“With a background in internet marketing and a record of successfully helping businesses in their marketing efforts, Chris will not only make a strong addition to our team but will also have a positive impact on the success of businesses throughout Indiana,” stated John D. Fisher, Director of Sales & Marketing for Fusework Studios.

Cunningham holds a degree in Communications from the University of Indianapolis, where he held multiple positions at student radio station 88.7 WICR and was a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America. His involvement with the community includes regular performances at the Indianapolis Irish Festival and active participation in the Indianapolis independent music scene.

Fusework Studios is focused on helping businesses and organizations in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas develop, implement and manage their internet marketing strategies as well as provide business computer and IT support.  Fusework specializes in providing a broad range of benefits and services to its clients including website design, online video production, social media consulting, content creation, blogging, search engine marketing and internet marketing strategy.  Fusework Studios has been the recipient of numerous awards for its innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For additional information, contact John D. Fisher, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fusework Studios (jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com).

The East Central Indiana Social Media Group, an organization that Fusework Studios helped found and is actively involved with, will hold its monthly seminar this Thursday, October 20, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Innovation Connector, 1208 W. White River Blvd., Muncie.  

This month's seminar will focus on using social media to support your brand.  The presenation will include a discussion about what defines social media branding success along with examples of companies that have successfully used social media in their branding efforts and those who have fallen short.  There is no fee to attend this seminar but reservations are required at www.ecisocialmedia.net 

About ECI Social Media Group
The East Central Indiana Social Media Group is a group of social media professionals connecting with local business professionals to educate, discuss and promote the use of social media in the workplace.

Fusework Studios recently launched a new website for Trophy whitetail deer hunting preserve, Buckeye Whitetail Quest.

The website features a gallery of the trophy bucks, photos of the lodge and an easy-to-use online booking and deposit process.

After more than 30 years of combined experience hunting whitetail deer, practicing whitetail deer management and farming whitetails to produce world class trophies, John and Joe Murrell are proud to offer some of the finest Ohio trophy whitetail deer hunting available.

"We were very happy with the results produced by Fusework Studios" commented John Murrell.

About Buckeye Whitetail Quest
Buckeye Whitetail Quest’s hunting preserve is located among the rolling hills of southern Ohio and encompasses approximately 150 acres of woodland, wood draws, wooded creek line and farm fields.  Within the preserve, our hunters will have opportunity to pursue management, trophy, super trophy and world class whitetails that have either grown up within the enclosure or have been stocked from our rigorously managed breeding program.

http://www.buckeyewhitetailquest.com/


About Fusework Studios
Fusework Studios is focused on helping businesses and organizations in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas develop, implement and manage their internet marketing strategies as well as provide business computer and IT support.  Fusework specializes in providing a broad range of benefits and services to its clients including website design, online video production, social media consulting, content creation, blogging, search engine marketing and Internet marketing strategy.  Fusework Studios has been the recipient of numerous awards for its innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For additional information, contact John D. Fisher, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fusework Studios (jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com).

In October of this year Muncie Habitat will build a home for its 100th family!  Muncie Habitat is inviting the entire community to celebrate with them and ‘Make a $10 Difference.’ In just one week (September 12-17), Muncie Habitat and local media outlets are launching a campaign to raise $50,000 through $10 donations from 5,000 people in our community.

Fusework Studios is proud to support the Muncie Habitat's effort to raise $50,000 in one week by providing:

• Updates to the website to support the "Make a $10 Difference" campaign
• A special Facebook tab for easy giving within Facebook
• Email marketing consultation, service and support
• Promotional support for the 14+ local media outlets

Anyone may donate $10 simply by:

• Giving online at www.munciehabitat.org
• Dropping off a donation at any MutualBank branch in Delaware County
• Dropping off a donation at Muncie Habitat’s traveling wall panel locations throughout Muncie during the week of September 12th. (A wall panel that will be in the 100th family home will be traveling around Muncie the week of September 12, so people who wish to donate may sign the wall. Locations and times will be listed on the website at www.munciehabitat.org.)

This is a part of a greater overall media awareness campaign for Muncie Habitat for Humanity. Over 14 local media outlets are partnering together to raise awareness and build the 100th family home in partnership with Muncie Habitat for Humanity. 

About Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Muncie Habitat for Humanity will mark its 25th anniversary in 2011.  The organization was formed in 1986 to serve families in Delaware County with housing and homeownership opportunities.  Muncie Habitat – in partnership with 1,000’s of volunteers and donors – will serve its 100th family with housing this year.  Muncie Habitat for Humanity provides housing solutions through construction of new homes with sustainable building practices, rehabilitation of vacant and foreclosed homes, and through repair of existing homes (A Brush with Kindness program). 

Muncie Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International – a global organization in over 90 countries committed to a vision of ‘a world where everyone has a decent place to live’.  At the close of fiscal year 2010, Habitat for Humanity International reported more than 400,000 families (or 2 million people) have been served worldwide with housing solutions since the organization was founded in 1976.

About Fusework Studios
Fusework Studios is focused on helping businesses and organizations in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas develop, implement and manage their internet marketing strategies as well as provide business computer and IT support.  Fusework specializes in providing a broad range of benefits and services to its clients including website design, online video production, social media consulting, content creation, blogging, search engine marketing and Internet marketing strategy.  Fusework Studios has been the recipient of numerous awards for its innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For additional information, contact John D. Fisher, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fusework Studios (jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com).

Every month Fusework Studios shares dozens of links to articles and blog posts through our email newsletter, Facebook Page and Twitter feed.  Almost all of the resources and information that we share are related to internet marketing strategy and more specifically, to social media marketing, online video and search engine marketing.  Here are links to five articles we've recently shared that have been popular among those who follow us online: 

[1.] Commenting?: 8 Tricks to Use When you Don’t Know What to Comment

There are times when you want to comment after reading a blog post.  Unfortunately, being unsure or less than confident about how to say what you’re thinking or feeling happens often.  Even so, there are several things that can still be done such as sharing the link to a social network or elaborating on just a single specific point made within the post.  You could even come back to the blog post and leave a comment when you feel a little more inspired.  The link to this article can be found in this Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/fuseworkstudios/posts/10150273472194291

[2.] Top 14 Infographics for Internet Marketers

Infographics are a creative and visually appealing way to summarize and share information and ideas.  There are a lot of great infographics available online but here is a collection dedicated to internet marketing and social media marketing.  We originally shared this link through our Facebook Page: 
https://www.facebook.com/fuseworkstudios/posts/10150279795264291

[3.] Top Tips For Optimizing Your Online Presence

Leveraging the web to help accomplish your business goals involves more than just creating a company website.  Without a thoughtful and well organized online marketing plan, there’s significant risk of losing potential revenue to your competition.  Fortunately, there a few things that can be done to help optimize your existing web presence and its effectiveness like staying aware of your competitors’ online marketing efforts, using social media and regularly reviewing your website’s analytics reports.  The link to the full article on optimizing your online presence can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/fuseworkstudios/posts/10150271766944291

[4.] 12 Most Clever Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns

Sometimes it takes a strong and creative message to get the attention of your target audience; sometimes it’s most effective to combine both offline and online marketing tactics to accomplish the goals of your marketing campaign.  We initially shared this link to examples of visually powerful and attention-grabbing marketing campaigns on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/Fusework/status/101685625211727872

[5.] 4 Tips to Supercharge Call-To-Action Buttons

On a web page that has a call-to-action, using a button for someone to click can be an effective way to convert your website traffic into leads.  There are many things to consider when creating a call-to-action button though.  Everything from the size of the button, the color of it and where is located on a web page can impact its effectiveness.  Here is the link to 4 tips that can help improve the conversion rate of your calls-to-action: 
https://www.facebook.com/fuseworkstudios/posts/10150269950484291

For more tips and resources you can also access our Internet Marketing Resource Library.

RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication. It is part of the XML family that is used for syndicating information. Put simply RSS allows one web site to share information with another web site.

As a website publisher, RSS offers a way to publish information on many websites, which in turns increases your reach on the Internet and the amount of traffic you receive to your website. You also receive more one way links back to their web site. These benefits result in an increase in your search engine ranking.

As a website owner, RSS allows you to receive up-to-date links to information on a regular basis that runs on auto pilot.  When the publishing site is updated, your website is also updated. The result of this is that your website is updated more regularly which also increases search engine ranking.

The other benefit the website owner receives from using RSS is that their information remains "fresh" which encourages their visitors to return on a regular basis.

Finally, as a consumer, you can use feed readers to subscribe to website RSS feeds and put them all in one place. For example, you can use Google Reader or Bloglines to put all your website feeds there for easy consumption without having to go to each individual website every time.

It is worthwhile looking seriously at RSS technology as it is an impressive tool to use to significantly benefit you in your Internet marketing and website exposure.

Ready to learn more? Contact Fusework Studios to discuss your website and Internet Marketing needs.

Q: I recently launched a website for my sporting goods business. Do I need to do anything special to attract customers to my website? I know nothing about search engines and marketing as such. Please tell me where to begin.

A: That is a question that has been asked by every business person who has ever launched a website. If I build it, will they come?

For those of you who didn't get the "Field of Dreams" reference, let me put it this way: No, if you build it they will not come, at least not without some effort on your part.

Assuming that a website will automatically attract customers is the single biggest mistake that many business owners make. It is this mistake that eventually leads them to dismiss their website as a failure and abandon their online efforts.

As website owners, we mistakenly think that all you have to do is throw up a website and that business will automatically double overnight. And when nothing happens we blame it on everything in the world but our own lack of marketing efforts.

If you build it, will they come? That depends totally on you.

When it comes to attracting customers, opening an online business (or an online branch of an existing business) is no different from opening a traditional brick and mortar shop. Without a little fanfare and a well-devised marketing plan, chances are your website will become just another spot of roadkill on the Internet.

The first step in devising your marketing plan is to ask yourself this question: Who is my customer? Who is it that I want to attract to my website? Believe it or not, this is a question many entrepreneurs fail to ask. The identity of your customer is incredibly important because if you don't know who your customer is, how can you expect to market to them?

The next question concerns the locality of your customer. Do you want to attract a local or global clientele to your website? If the answer is local, then you will gear your marketing efforts toward customers in your own backyard, which means incorporating your website launch with your offline marketing efforts.

If the website is the online branch of a brick and mortar business, include the website URL in all your print materials and advertising campaigns. Consider running ads in the local paper, on radio or TV announcing the launch of your site. Use direct mail or in-store posters to announce the site launch to your existing customer base.

In short, keep doing what you're doing to attract customers to your physical store, just add your website address to the mix.

Just remember, it's important to consider your website a branch of your brick and mortar business because that's exactly what it is. A good business website will help you sell more products, widen your range of clientele, and increase your revenue without adding overhead. Don't sell your website short. Make it work for you.

If you are seeking a global audience, your marketing efforts will be quite different. Attracting customers from around the world is a more difficult task than attracting customers from around the block. Fortunately, the task is not impossible. The Internet has leveled the playing field in many ways. Now every business, no matter how large or small, has the ability to do business internationally.

In the most basic sense, an online marketing campaign to attract global customers should include the following efforts.

Register With Search Engines
It is said that 95% of search engine traffic comes from Google, Yahoo! and BING, so start there. It's also important to realize that just registering with search engines does not guarantee you traffic, but it certainly can't hurt.

Pay-Per-Click
The three most popular pay-for-placement programs are Google Adwords, Microsoft Advertising and Facebook Ads.  Visit their respective websites for details on these programs. Be prepared to spend several hundred dollars at a minimum to get your site listed.

Exchange Links With Similar Sites
One free - and potentially effective - way to drive customers to your website is through link exchanges with sites of similar interest. Locate sites that make a good match to your own and contact the owner to ask if they will link to your site in exchange for you linking to theirs. If you sell golf balls on your website, set up a link exchange with another website that sells golf clubs. You post a link to them and they post a link to you.

Go To Where The Customers Are
…or another way to say it, "Fish where the fish are". Depending on your product or service, eBay may be your marketplace. Maybe Facebook, Twitter or Craigslist is for you. You may need to get listed in Angie's List or use a coupon service. Knowing your customer and being where they are will be important to your success.

We have just scratched the surface, but hopefully this is enough to get you started. I wish I could tell you that attracting customers to your website is easy, but the truth is, it's anything but. It takes hard work, creativity and above all, perseverance.

Contact Fusework Studios to discuss your marketing plan for your website and online efforts.

When you're busy operating your business-making sure employees are doing their jobs, ensuring your products and services are delivered on time, striving toward goals and so on-it's tempting to think to yourself that you just don't have time for marketing.

If, in fact, that thought has crossed your mind, you're not alone. However, neglecting your marketing efforts is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as an entrepreneur.

You may be concerned with hundreds of business ownership details, but you still need marketing to achieve the visibility you require to get noticed in the marketplace. This visibility leads to more prospects converted, to more customers converted, to more profits-which is the formula for staying in business. So, by deduction, entrepreneurs need marketing to stay in business.

In the world of marketing, there's a general rule of thumb that 60 percent of your marketing should be spent on current and past customers. After all, they represent your best prospects. These people already know you, trust you and, hopefully, have confidence in your company, products and services. They've already had a good experience with your business, which increases the probability they'll buy from you, especially when compared to a new prospect who doesn't know you and hasn't yet had a positive experience with you.

The remaining 40 percent of your marketing budget should be split up this way: 30 percent should be spent on prospects, and 10 percent should be spent universally. And all this spending should happen simultaneously: You need to keep your prospect funnel full while continuing to convert prospects into paying customers. You can start by using marketing to:

1. Replace former customers with new ones. Customers come and customers go. Sometimes they leave because of us, sometimes because of them and sometimes because of factors beyond the control of either. This can't always be predicted or forecasted. To safeguard against this, you must use marketing to replace former customers with new ones. Obviously, not everyone you market to will become a customer. But to increase your chances of getting those all-important new customers, you must continually put your message in places where they'll see it.

2. Pay attention to your customers. Imagine for a moment that you've secured new business from more customers than you ever dreamed. The good news is, you'll be busy fulfilling their every need. The bad news is that lack of attention is the number-one reason customers abandon a business. So if you get busy, how can you stay in touch with your most valuable customers on a regular basis? The answer is marketing. Different marketing vehicles can reach out to them and show that you're paying attention to them. You can send thank-you cards, special offers, tips and techniques, newsletters and more. The type of marketing activities let you stay in touch without being there in person.

3. Keep customers informed. Now let's say that your business is growing, and you've decided to introduce new services and products. Who will buy them? Current customers will, as well as new ones-but they won't buy unless they know about your new offerings. Product announcements, press releases, newsletter ads and advertising are just a few of the marketing vehicles that can be used to alert prospects and customers to your new products and services. Marketing once again saves the day, pays attention to your customers, informs and educates them, and causes them to eventually empty their wallets into yours.

Effective use of these marketing tactics will let you keep your marketing costs down while increasing your return on the dollars you do spend.

Need help with your marketing? Let's have a conversation and get things started!

This is the number of 'Likes' obtained in the first 30 days of the Jeffrey E. Carter Jewelers Facebook Page. Leigh Carter Edwards from Jeffrey E. Carter Jewelers consulted with Fusework Studios to develop the Facebook page and help gain momentum in the social sphere.

Plan, Execute, Deliver

Fusework Studios started the process by working with Leigh Carter Edwards to develop a plan for the Facebook page plus how to obtain 'Likes' over the next 30 days. Once the plan was in place, Matt Howell, Director of Production & Account Management, executed the plan to deliver a branded Facebook page. Once the page was in place, Leigh and Matt worked together to obtain the first 25 'Likes' by suggesting and asking their Facebook network contacts to 'Like' the page.  This allowed them to obtain a short Facebook URL (facebook.com/jeffcarterjewelers).

Fusework Studios also consulted with Leigh about best practices and tactics to deliver a successful Facebook strategy for the Jewelry store. Matt Howell created a packet of information and resources that Leigh has put into action over the past 30 days to increase the number of 'Likes' to over 200.

“[The] Fusework team made things incredibly easy” states Leigh Carter Edwards. “As someone who is extremely frugal with her marketing dollars, the money I invested with [Fusework Studios] was money very well spent.”

Finally, once the page and short URL were in place, Fusework Studios placed a 'Like' button on the existing website for Jeffrey E. Carter Jewelers (jeffcarterjewelers.com) to attract even more 'Likes' to the Facebook page.

Results

'Likes' don't always equal sales.  However, Jeffrey E. Carter Jewelers has experienced an uptick in sales, positive comments on their postings, 'shares' of posts from their network and direct feedback from customers.  Some customers have stated that they visited the store because of Jeffrey E. Carter Jewelers' activity on Facebook.

Fusework Studios would be happy to work with you on your Facebook or social media strategy. Please contact us today and take the first step towards success with Internet Marketing.

About Fusework Studios
Fusework Studios is focused on helping businesses and organizations in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas develop, implement and manage their internet marketing strategies as well as provide business computer and IT support.  Fusework specializes in providing a broad range of benefits and services to its clients including website design, online video production, social media consulting, content creation, blogging, search engine marketing and Internet marketing strategy.  Fusework Studios has been the recipient of numerous awards for its innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. For additional information, contact John D. Fisher, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fusework Studios (jfisher@fuseworkstudios.com).