Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Outreach CRM in Build111 and Church111
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We are pleased to announce the addition of an Outreach feature to our Build111 and Church111 website builders. This time our 111 gnomes have been busy at work creating a simple and easy-to-use CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) type of followup system so you can reach out to your members and keep track of all the contacts you or anyone on your team makes with them.

Here's how it works. If you have the Build111 or Church111 Member's Section enabled, there is now a new button called "Outreach" on each member's record. When you click it, this simple CRM allows you the option to either 

  • set a task and a due date for a future contact
  • enter a dated note to record a contact you made with the person
  • enter a general note that provides useful information for future contacts

Each contact can be tagged as either a successful phone call, a voice mail message left, an in-person visit, an email or a snail mail contact. The details are recorded for the future so you or others can follow up later and know what was done before. 

A handy twist is the optional use of teams for those of you who would like to use teamwork to more effectively reach out to your contacts. When you set up a new admin user, you can make that user a member of a team. Then your teams can collaborate to stay in touch with all your members. The system generates reports for "Outreach by Team", and "Outreach by Company". 

We hope you enjoy this great new CRM / outreach feature from 111 Web Studio. If you have any questions about this or any other features of Build111 and Church111, please give us a call at (877) 397-7605 or contact us for more information.

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Posted on 07/29/2014 3:42 PM by Customer Service
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Thursday, 24 July 2014
Another WordPress Hack
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We are sorry to report yet another WordPress vulnerability. This one has already effected some 50,000 websites and comes to you through the plugin called MailPoet which allows hackers not only to enter and abuse your website, but also to use that entry point to access any other websites on shared accounts on your hosts servers. So not only do you have to worry if you're using this plugin, but so does you neighbor!

To remedy the situation, you must upgrade your WordPress plugins, especially MailPoet. For more information, pleae check out this blog article about the subject.

As a side note, Firefox has announced an update that they strongly recommend, so if you use that browser, be sure to upgrade to version 31.

For clients using Build111 and Church111 as their content management platforms, this vulnerability is no worry. 111 Web Studio takes care of your updates for you when they are necessary. For information about our services, please call us at (877) 397-7605 or contact us for more information.

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Posted on 07/24/2014 10:06 AM by Customer Service
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Tuesday, 22 July 2014
New Project Page Type in 111
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We are pleased to announce the launch a new page type for our Build111 and Church111 content management systems called the project page. This handy collaboration tool allows 111 clients with a members area to give subgroups of members the ability to work on a project together and keep track of progress all in one place.

The first step is to have the members area feature enabled for your 111 website. Not only do you get project pages, but you'll have the ability to send eBlast messages to as many as 3000 people at no additional cost, members can enjoy an online directory, a live chat, a threaded message board or forum and many other enhancements. 

Next, you wil establish a project group. For example, if you need to collaborate about a project for setting up a 111 website, you might name the project "111." 

Next, add people to your members area and to your project group. You can do this one at a time or by uploading a spreadsheet of all group members at once. One of the handy features of the upload system is that you can establish a "group" at the same time you perform an upload. If a group has already been established, you can upload your team and add them to that group in one step. Another nice feature is that if a person is already in the members area and you upload a spreadsheet to a group with that person in it, they will not be added twice. Rather, they will just be added to the group and any new information about the person will be updated.

Now that you have your project team set up, simply create a project page and assign that group to the page. Each of the members will get an email any time another member updates the page. Members can unsubscribe and re-subscribe to project groups as long as they are a member of the group. Project pages are password protected so that only team members can access the page.

We hope you are able to find a use for and will enjoy this new collaboration tool. Let us know if you have any other great ideas for 111 Web Studio's Build111 and Church111 content management systems and we'll see if we can implement those, too. Contact us at (877) 397-7605 or visit online

 

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Posted on 07/22/2014 10:03 AM by Customer Service
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Friday, 18 July 2014
Branding: Questions To Answer Right Now!
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As a Digital Marketing consultant I spend a lot of time discussing a company's content, messaging and social media. During this process I often find that I need to introduce some essential branding questions. These questions have either been ignored, forgotten or sometimes never even asked. It's even common to find partners within the same company who have very different answers. Today I will lay out some of the decisive questions every company needs to answer before they embark on any marketing efforts. It will help in multiple areas of your business, but from a marketing stand point it helps create focus, consistency and targeted messaging. These are the keys to a successful marketing campaign.

Branding Questions You Should Answer Right Now!

  1. Who is your Audience?

This question needs to be developed; who are they? Where do they spend their time? What are their interests? You need to align yourself with them, to create trust and loyalty.

  1. Who is your Business?

It's often helpful to first think of your company as a persona. This should be as authentic as it can be, that will always be most effective. However the target customer and your "persona" need to be symbiotic.

  1. Who is Your Competition?

Knowing your market and who you are up against is essential for being able to ascertain where you want to fit in the picture.

  1. What Sets You Apart? (What's your value?)

This is in some ways a combined analysis of all the above. Establishing this picture should help you realize what you want to offer your audience and why. It should also set you apart from the other options in the market.

These 4 questions will bring you a huge amount of understanding and focus. It will help you streamline your marketing and create much better content. There is obviously much more that will develop from this and these questions themselves require work and deliberation. It's often overlooked but in the long run will cost you more time and negatively affect your impact if you do not give these questions the attention you should. With a clear understanding of these 4 questions you will have a solid foundation from which to produce your marketing content on every platform. It then becomes the litmus test for everything you intend to communicate.

If you have any questions about how your business should be engaging in its online marketing efforts I would be glad to answer them. If you need to align with an expert in the social and content marketing field we are here to assist. Email me: mark@111webstudio.com or call 615 370 1530 ext 705

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Posted on 07/18/2014 2:08 PM by Mark McGowan
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Tuesday, 15 July 2014
5 Tips for Better Google SERPs
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The more technically minded SEO focused clients out there will want to read on for some exciting and helpful ideas. For others, you might want to skip this article unless you are looking for a mild sedative to help you sleep. If so, keep this handy; it may serve you well. For the adventurous of you, here are some helpful tips for better SERP listings (Search Engine Results Pages) and Goal Measurement.

Sitelinks

You can manage which pages on your site should not appear in the Google SERPs sitelinks. If there are pages you'd rather not have Google list in a future sitelinks listing, log in to your Google Webmaster Tools account and navigate to the "sitelinks" section found under the "Configuration" menu. There, you can list any pages on your domain that should not be included in this feature.

Authorship Rules

Google's authorship rules allow you to send the Google indexing robots more information about the content on your site. Then, whenever your pages appear in the SERPs, Google can tie this information back to your authorship data automatically adding pictures and extra data to your search listings. https://plus.google.com/authorship

Meta Tags

Use copy-written content in your site's meta tags. Even if your site's meta tags don't contribute much to its overall optimization, these fields in particular, your title tag and meta description are frequently pulled by Google to form the snippet for your site that appears in the natural SERPs.

Blog Post Tips

Each blog post should be at least 400 words and focused on a single keyword phrase, bold it once, use it 2-3 times throughout the article and if you have a video associated with your article, be sure to use the same keywords in YouTube. Spend 65% of your time on getting the title right, the rest on content. You should include an internal link in the post and if possible an external link, preferably to a highly respected site. Subtitles inside the post should be used and tagged H3 or H4. Find forums to make comments and link back to your posts - be helpful rather than sell in your forum responses. Find other bloggers who might link to you. Post links back to your article from Twitter, Facebook, etc. Develop sharable graphics for visual interest and sharing. For more details, check our recent article on blog tips.

Goals

Determine what your goals are (conversions/sales, leads/form submissions, behavior/page views) based on the mission of the site. Use appropriate tracking method (E-commerce, Event or Standard) to measure your success rate.

If you have any questions about these or other SEO ideas, or if you'd like some help with your website, SEO and social media, please give 111 Web Studio a call at 877 397-7605 or contact us

for more information.

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Posted on 07/15/2014 9:57 AM by Customer Service
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Thursday, 10 July 2014
Get Noticed Online - Be An Authority
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Getting Google to place you high on their results page is 5 parts knowledge, 4 parts skill, 3 parts persistence and 1 part magic sauce. But in the end the goal is to be perceived by not only Google but also your real audience, as an authority in your field.

Now every business and every genre can and should work toward this goal. There are different variables according to your business as to which way to approach it. Often it is best to work in a team with those who bring expertise in the field you are in and another who is skilled in the technical presentation of the information online. These two things combined are the key to a strong foundation in content marketing.

This applies to the content on your website and your social media; but the most effective and suitable tool to establish yourself as an authority is a blog. A blog is a powerful method of syndicating your message and feeds your website and your social platforms. So needless to say if you want to improve your online standing having a blog is a good step to take. Once you have this platform running you need to fill it with comprehensive, keyword heavy, engaging content. Now every business and genre is going to require slightly different types of information and will decide whether information or entertainment should be emphasized, but in all cases the content should have some of both. You also want to make sure your blog is geared toward helping your audience and not selling your wares. The blog is not a platform for direct sales as much as it is a bullhorn to display and share your expertise with your peers and clients. This effort will attract Google, instill confidence in your market and organically increase conversions for your business.

"Align yourself with a good partner in social and content marketing."

The art of presentation in this market is very important, so once you have run your mind and spilled out a essay its smart to run this through a SEO or Content Marketing expert to see how the information can be displayed effectively to achieve its intended results. Depending on what the goals are effects how each piece of content should appear. For instance some blogs are written with the soul intention of tickling Google's attention. This is dense, technical, content full of detail and keywords, most likely not to be read by too many and not as important to be shared. Then there are pieces that are made for sharing, with nice visuals and entertaining, easily absorbed nuggets of knowledge. Of course there are many variants of this, and understanding this part of content presentation can have a huge impact on how effective your efforts are.

You can start today making headway into this process. Write out 400+ words articles on any field of interest you can, that will display your expertise. Do not be afraid to align yourself or reference other experts. This confidence and simple association will almost certainly work in your favor. Make sure you have the outlets in place to spread this information. You should be on a minimum of 3 social media platforms and in most cases even more. You MUST be on Google + this is essential for your authorship ranking and Googles way of establishing authorities. Align yourself with a good partner in social and content marketing. But more importantly than honing all these skills or perfecting that article you have been working on for a month, is simply starting to produce content. Begin posting right now. It takes time to establish yourself as an authority and having a body of work is a vital part of that. You can always go back to old content and refresh or simply repost it, but you have to be thinking for the long game. Be well read in your field; understand your market and the other players in it. See how you can learn and where you can improve upon what's out there. Often finding a niche that is less saturated will give you a better chance to make an impact.

"Start Producing Content!"

This can be a daunting task and is often, despite the best intentions, left undone. The importance of this work cannot be emphasized enough. It is not quick work so the longer you wait the harder it will be to compete with your competitor who is doing the work now.

If you have any questions about how your business should be engaging in its online marketing efforts I would be glad to answer them. If you need to align with an expert in the social and content marketing field we are here to assist. Email me: mark@111webstudio.com or call 615 370 1530 ext 705

 

 

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Posted on 07/10/2014 12:25 PM by Mark McGowan
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Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Don't Do It!!!
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One of our customers clicked the other day. The result was a minor disaster that cost significant time and money. In that case, it was done by accident, but it turns out that others do it with full knowledge of their actions.

Despite all the internet security warnings that IT experts provide on a regular basis, it turns out that some users are willing to give up their personal security for as little as a penny. Some will hold out for a nickel, a dime or a buck, but regardless, it's clear that most people have no idea the risk in which they place themselves by clicking on a link in a fraudulent email to something they should know better than to possibly trust.  A recent paper entitled, "It's All About the Benjamins," by Carnegie Mellon University's Cylab proved that with just a small incentive, users will click on something and actually install software on their systems, bypassing Windows security warnings to do so. 

You can listen to a podcast by one of the authors talking about it, but the bottom line for all you very smart 111 Web Studio clients is, "Don't Do It!!!" Don't click on links in email or visit websites you don't know about.

  • Malware is dangerous to you.
  • Your bank accounts can be emptied.
  • Ransomware can encrypt your files until you pay a ransom.
  • Your machine can be used in an attack on others.
  • You can be a victim of fraud.

And for those of you thinking, "Gee, you mean someone might pay me to install malware? Where can I sign up?" the cost of having to purchase identity theft protection as a result of such an event will absolutely be higher than any reward you might receive from any incentive. 

So, don't do it. Don't click if you don't know what you're clicking on. Even if you think you might know, take a look at the link to be certain where it actually goes. At the end of the day, your personal protection is up to you. The bad guys are out there, so be warned. Don't be a victim of fraud because your ignored the internet security advice of people you trust for a bit of cash. The old saw is still right on... There ain't no such thing as a free lunch!

If you have any questions about this or other web related issues, give us a call at 877 397-7605 or contact 111 Web Studio for more information.

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Posted on 07/08/2014 9:53 AM by Customer Service
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Tuesday, 1 July 2014
10 Tips to Get Your Blog Noticed
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We thought this might be a good time to take a moment and review those things you should consider if you want an effective blog article that will pack a punch and get noticed. You're already a thought leader in your field or you wouldn't be sharing all your great content. The trick now is to make sure your content gets noticed by as wide an audience as possible. We've assembled a list of the top ten things you should think about when writing blog posts to make yours a most effective blog.

Article Length

To make a useful point and generate interest, a blog post should typically be about 400 words. However, there is a place for a longer article, too. Studies have suggested that longer posts may get shared more often if the information is solid. Of course, if you're a regular blogger with, by the way, a real job, you probably don't have the time to generate a deep dive into a particular subject very often, but if you can do it once a month or so, there's a good chance your readers will appreciate it.

60% on the Title

This one may surprise you a bit, but you should try to spend over half the time you spend on your article with getting the title right. If you spend ten minutes writing your article, take 12-15 to think about and work out the best possible title. It should reflect the content and should be catchy enough so someone will glance at it and think, "I need to know about that."

Focus on Keywords

Each article should focus on a particular keyword phrase. You want the keyword to be something you expect a potential visitor to type into a search engine. The keyword should be bold at least once in the article and used two or three times throughout the post for the most effective blog possible.

Links

If possible, you should have a link to an internal page on your own website that is relevant to the topic of your blog post. If it's practical, the most effective blog will add at least one external link, preferably to a highly respected site. An external link shows search engines that you are happy to reference an appropriate source to help establish the validity of your content.

Subsection Title Tags

Subsections separating the content inside your post should be used and should be tagged with the H3 or H4 HTML tags. This helps people identify when they are entering a new topic, but it also helps search engines know what the main topics are in your article.

Video Blog Keywords

If your article is a video blog, you should tag the videos at YouTube with the same keywords you used on your own blog article. It's a good idea to post your videos on YouTube and place them on your website using YouTube's embed code because you get exposure both from your website and also from YouTube. A short video to enhance a blog post can be an effective way to capture the attention of your audience.

Be Helpful Elsewhere

Make an effort to surf the web looking for forums or other blogs where people are having issues that you can help solve. Without making a sales pitch, you can often find a way to provide a comment that links back to one of your posts to answer a particular question or solve a problem for someone. As in all your online efforts, you should try to be helpful rather than sell. If you are helpful and the person needs more attention than you have already provided, they will recognize you as the thought leader you are and they will come to you when they need work done. While you're out there, don't be afraid to engage other bloggers who might profit by linking to you or one of your articles.

Syndicate Your Posts

Just as you have done to promote all that great content on your website, be sure to post links back to your article from Twitter, Facebook and your other social media outlets. The most effective blog articles are shared by others and can generate a lot of healthy traffic for your entire web site.

Sharable Visuals

Most people to be visually oriented and would rather look at a picture rather than read. To make your blog post more sharable, consider a video or at least a visual representation of the topic for people to study and share. Graphics obviously make the article more enticing, but more importantly, if you or someone else likes to use an image sharing platform like Instagram or Pinterest, they will very much appreciate a helpful graphic. Be sure to link back to your article from the image.

As always, if you need help with SEO, social media, blogging or anything else web related, be sure to give us a call at (877) 397-7605 or contact us for more information.

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Posted on 07/01/2014 10:01 AM by Customer Service
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