Today we carry on with part two of our special three part series on making the most of your online space.  If you missed the last post, you can find it right here, where we covered domain names, and how to be found in a Google search.  

This week we are going to dive into the world of social media, and our tips for how best to use it in your business.

I see a lot of screwed up faces when I discuss social media with my clients in a business sense.  The word "social" in social media, tends to downplay the usefulness of having a business presence on any of the social platforms.  However, in doing some research for this section of the series, I have come across some pretty interesting figures that I'd like to share.

Keeping all of these statistics in mind, here are the recommended social media platforms you should have a business presence on, including some of the best ways you can use these platforms to your advantage.

Facebook
You can't think of social media, without thinking of Facebook.  The number one social media platform that everyone loves to hate.  And hates to love.  The bottom line is, you need a business presence on Facebook.

One really important piece of advice, is that even though I highly recommend having a business page on Facebook, this should not be the only place your business can be found online.  Facebook does not replace a fully functional website. Potential clients will search for you on Facebook.  But this is not likely where they will stop when trying to find information about you, your brand, and your products and services.

A simple business page set up with all of your contact details is really crucial in allowing your business to be found.  Frequent updates are a necessity to keep your page current and relevant, but it is important to remember that like most social platforms, Facebook works as a constant scroll, so older posts are unlikely to be seen by new visitors.

Facebook is great for reminding people that you exist, as your posts will show up in your follower's news feeds, and since Facebook has the largest audience, you will continue to reach your followers.  Facebook does have the ability to control what your followers are seeing however, those businesses who pay for promoted posts will always be shown over yours if they are in the same category.   I will potentially write a post about paid Facebook advertising at some point in the future, as that is a whole other ball game.

Selling physical product on Facebook is not recommended.  While it is possible, the user experience is less than satisfactory, and the overall look is unprofessional from a branding point of view.  You will be guaranteed to have better results using a proper online selling service to sell your product, and use Facebook for the marketing of those products.  There are many online services available for selling product, or you can talk to us about building a store into your website!

#Hashtags
I'm giving this it's own section, since hashtags are used on all three of the social platforms I have covered in this post.

There is only one rule when using a hashtag, don't use spaces.  Other than that, you can be as creative, or as basic as you like.  Just like a Google search, try to use words you think your poteintial audience will be using in a search.

#ahashtagthathastoomanywordsisprobablynotgoingtobesearchedfor

We've covered a lot in this post, but hopefully you are now confident in the steps you need to take to have a business presence on social media.  As always, feel free to reach out if you want any advice, or want the Wright Way Design team to assist with your social media set up.

Our next blog post is going to be the last in this special three-part series.  I'll be covering tips and tricks for the hub of your business information - your website.  Make sure to check back soon!

The internet is the number one place people go to for information.  In most cases, it is the only place the go for information.  When it comes to your business, or your brand, it is important to take steps to allow it to be quickly and easily found online, and that all information that you want your potential audience to know is readily available for them to find!  This not only helps you advertise yourself, and potentially gain new clients, but also gives you a higher chance of being seen before your competitors.
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As mentioned in our last blog post , it is important for us at Wright Way Design, to know how to achieve this and what steps to take to make this happen for you. It is also important for you to know a few ways your business or brand can make an impact in its own little space on the internet - that's what this post is all about!  Keep reading to find out more about how to make the most of your online space, and due to the length of this post in its draft form, I have decided to split it into a three-part special.

We also have our domain pointed to our mail server.  This allows us to have professional email addresses such as our main contact - hello@wrightwaydesign.co.nz.  When you send us an email to this address, our domain tells it exactly where to go in order to reach us.

Having a domain name is a pretty simple way to gain a professional online appearance.  Just like having sign writing on your car attaches your business to your vehicle, having a domain name attaches your business to your online space.
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Once that is all done, you will find that when your business name is searched, you will now have a neat little side bar showing all of your business information!  There is also an area for your potential clients to ask you questions and leave reviews - these will be emailed to you when they come in, so make sure when you set up your Google account, that you use an email address that you check often.

Your designer should also have direct access to Google, which will enable them to provide additional information to help Google learn more about your website, such alternative web addresses that point to your site, and providing a "site map" which shows exactly how your website and all of its pages are organised.

​Giving Google as much information as possible gives your business a higher chance of being seen in the early days.  Once you are established, and your business is being found and clicked on frequently, you will start showing up higher and higher in the search results.

Next Week...
Check back next week when we dig deep into the world of social media and provide tips on how to streamline your social accounts!  

If you have any questions on any of the topics covered in this blog post, or think you might need some help setting any of this up for your brand, make sure to reach out and contact us here for some free advice!

Here at Wright Way Design, we often come across conflicting opinions on web design.

There are many do-it-yourself resources available when it comes to graphic and web design, and plenty of places that you can easily get your online space up and running quickly and easily.  Wright Way Design itself is even partnered some of the most known resources on the internet.  So why should you spend money on having someone else sort it for you?

Here are our top reasons that you should.

Technology advanced at lightning speed from here, and I was watching it grow and change before my eyes.  Since I was also working in the industry while these changes were happening, I understand how we've got to where we are now, and I will continue to learn as things continue to change, so that I can lead my business and my clients towards the future.

Paid web designers want your websites to look stunning on every available device, every computer, every browser, every mobile phone.  We want your websites to work on your own domain, with attached email and other services, giving you an overall professional and official looking brand.  We want you to be found online, bumped up in search results, and to continually grow with each passing month.  Which is why it is important that we know how to achieve all of this.

Your job might be to manufacture and sell product.  It might be to provide a service to the public.  It might even be to share your information and knowledge to the world.  We all work hard, our time is precious, and it is far easier to be spending our time on the things that we know.

We have several clients who have come to use after trying to set up their own web space.  It wasn't because there wasn't enough DIY resources available, or that they were too complicated to use, it was because after spending their time doing it themselves, they realised that their time was better spend on their actual job, rather than one they had no experience in.

These clients often become our favourites, because they already have a pretty clear idea of what they want.  All we have to do is use our skill to turn their plans into a reality.  It is extremely satisfying to see the joy on their faces when their ideas come to life.

Services are always something that it's hard to put a value on.  A service is not the same as a product, it is not a tangible object.  The best way to understand the value of a service, is to remember the age old saying "Time is money".

Design services are not free, but they are not as expensive as you think.  Most designers, including ourselves, price based on the approximate time it would take to get a project completed.  This is based on experience and time it has taken to complete similar projects in the past.  Our websites have a base price, which is made up of the amount of hours it would take to not only create the aesthetics of the site, but all of the background configuration, the online search optimisation, the device compatibility and so on.

A website is not a product, it is the result of hours of a service.  When you think about it from this angle, it doesn't work out to be as expensive as you may have originally thought.

We are partnered with some well known hosting companies, that allow us to securely host our websites.  We pay for a well functioning online portal, to allow us to easily maintain our fast increasing number of websites.  We invest in the latest and greatest design software, and pay subscriptions for access to licensed imagery and elements for those times we can't create them ourselves.

All of the tools we have in our arsenal allow us to provide the very best result, one that couldn't be produced with just one online service.

Having someone else take care of your webspace gives you peace of mind.  Peace of mind that your branding is being looked after by an expert, that your website remains current and up to date, and that without having to take care of all of this yourself, you are able to get along with growing your business and doing whatever it is that you do best.

Our clients become part of our Wright Way family.  We not only love to be doing the work that we do for our clients, but also love to learn more about what our clients do, and get involved with their businesses as much as we can.