GYBO: Special Livestream Workshop - The Highlights

We enjoyed an amazing turnout today from local business representatives who took advantage of our free workshop that we hosted for Google's GYBO (Get Your Business Online). Google presented a livestream at 12:30pm and partnered with the following industry leaders for a very informative and helpful workshop: 

• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Facebook
• Square
• Constant Contact

The agenda for the presentation was as follows: 

• Welcome from the SBA
• Keeping Your Business Competitive - Square
• Create a Positive Experience for Online Shoppers - Google
• Take Your Small Business Online and Go Global - Facebook
• How to Get New and Repeat Business On Autopilot with Email Marketing - Constant Contact
• Live Q&A - #SBAOpen4Biz

Among its other helpful and practical services, the SBA provides free business counseling. In that spirit, they partnered with Google to put on this fine livestream event for the benefit of those availing themselves of this presentation. 

Here are some highlights from each company's segment: 

Square - Keeping Your Business Competitive, by Zack Ashley

Retail through digital sales channels, which includes mobile channels, increased by a whopping 23% in 2015.

Customers 1) research online and buy in-store, 2) love brand cohesion, and 3) want to reach you 24/7.

To get the most out of your website,  

• Gather research.
• Create a voice for your brand.
• Get the basics in place. 
• Engage your customers. 

Google - Create a Positive Experience for Online Shoppers, by Stasia Kudrez

Over 40% of online transactions are now done on mobile.

46% of people say they would not purchase from a brand again if they had an interruptive mobile experience (i.e., pop-ups that don't provide value for the shopper/user).

Stasia also brought out that good websites naturally are:  

• Search-friendly
• Functional
• Useful
• Goal-oriented (provides clear direction on what the user can get out of the site)
• Intuitive (flows nicely and doesn't leave the visitor guessing on how to navigate)
• Organized 

Tip #1: Don't let promotions steal the show (look at https://www.kansascitysteaks.com/ on your mobile devices for a good example)

Tip #2: Provide full product details (look at https://www.tecovas.com/ for a good example)

Tip #3: Need info? Make it easy. 

Example: when it comes to forms, keep them short and simple. Visitors have privacy concerns. Set up forms to auto-fill and offer to create account after purchase. 

If you already have a website, review your Google Analytics for tips to improve. (Alt Media Studios would be happy to help you with this by providing you Digital Marketing to enhance your user experience)

Facebook - Take Your Small Business Online and Go Global, by Amelia Rossi

To grow your small business and expand beyond your home market, this was a very helpful segment!

Cross-border eCommerce - 84% of people in the U.K. would love to buy products made in the U.S.A., but the likelihood of them doing so is only possible if they know about you!

Our market research can provide you the tools to help them know about you (not just U.K., but elsewhere...), including:  

• Demographics
• Age
• Education
• Language
• Devices used
• Household income
• Cultural nuances

Constant Contact - How to Get New and Repeat Business on Autopilot with Email Marketing, by Dave Charest

Gaining a new customer can be 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.

A 5% increase in retention increases profits 25% to 95%.

91% of consumers check their email at least once per day on their smartphones.

52% of consumers will switch brands if a company doesn't personalize communications.

• A person should feel like you're talking to them directly, not to a group of people. 
• Offers, information, and conversations should feel timely and relevant to get the best results. 

Personalized promotional emails typically receive an 11% higher open rate.

Personalized promotional emails receive 27% higher unique clickthroughs.

Dave also answered the following: 

1. How to turn 150% more website visitors into new contacts
2. How to automate timely engagement with new contacts
3. How to do more business by sending relevant emails

Among his helpful tips were: 

#1: Stop asking, "Join our email list." Don't make it about receiving more email. 

#2: Focus on what's in it for them. 

• To receive promotions or discounts
• To receive exclusive content
• To show support for an orgnanization

He also included a tip for carrying out a proper email marketing strategy. Watch his segment of the video below for more details. 

After some concluding comments by Google's Whitney Cox (Small Business Marketing Team), the next and last segment was the live Q&A session with all panelists and led by Alix Peabody. 

We will have many more events this year, please stay tuned on our blog or sign up for our newsletter for updates. We hope to hear from you and see you at one or all of our events! Contact us to discuss how we can help you with your digital marketing needs. 

To watch the complete event, please see below...