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Brands, Engage Online! Your Customers are Waiting!

July 9, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

In today’s fast paced world, customers want engaging content. Content that is mobile-friendly and easy to access from their smartphones on the go. Businesses that want to engage with their customers as well as gain new ones must adapt to the every changing flow. The way you used to do business where you posted an ad online or did a email blast every once in awhile is just not enough to hold your potential client’s interest much less attention.

Brand engagement with those that are looking for their good or services will differentiate themselves from their competition by interacting and being found.

No matter your brand, it is time to engage online, your customers are waiting.

Social media channels of brands especially small businesses many times go left unattended. If you have not posted within the last week or so, you likely have lost customers. They are not interested in doing business with a brand that is not interested in them. And yes, they will leave you for someone else without thinking twice.

Lack of engagement shows lack of interest, whether true or not, perception is reality.

Same goes for your company website. If your site is aged and has not had any recent post activity. Your brand is perceived to be stale.

If you suffer from broken links, poor images or your site’s user experience is below par. It may be time to redesign and refresh your site. You might think you don’t have time or the know how to make your site come alive. There are web designers that would be more than happy to help you out and get you up to speed with your clients and their needs.

Have you gotten a 5 star review from a enthusiastic client, yet you did not respond? A few seconds of your time could easily create a return loyal customer and even generate new ones.

No longer is it okay to think that just because your company is on social media that means you are socially relevant.

Having a website is no longer enough, your visitors want interaction. In the age of chatbots and AI, a site with a “please email us at” is no longer enough.

Is your company “voice friendly”? That means when they search for a restaurant, dog groomer, or whatever “near them” are you the one being found? You might be thinking that is crazy as you say “Ok Google” or “Hey Alexa” in your home, office or just on your phone. Voice is not only the future it is now.

No matter the way you choose to engage with your customers, the key is that you do. You spend time, energy, and money creating your brand. It is time you spend similarly on engaging with your customers the way they want to be engaged.

How are you engaging with your customers? We would love to hear your thoughts on the future of brand engagement. Leave a comment and share your thoughts and ideas below.

Some of the Best Business Advice Was From The Guy Washing My Car

June 17, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

This may sound a bit obscure, but as a local small business owner, some of the best business advice I have received was from the guy washing my cars.

A few months ago my neighbor was having his cars washed and detailed. Busy running my business, our vehicles were in need of a good detail themselves. I went next door and hired the guy and his team on the spot to clean our cars as well.

As he finished up cleaning our cars, we got to talking about his business. He shared with me some of his recent wins in the car detailing industry. He mentioned how a program through our local Chamber of Commerce really changed the way he ran his business.

Small businesses depend on other small businesses to survive. If we fail to support one another we all lose.

This program he mentioned I had heard about at a couple of Chamber council meetings but had not given it much thought. When he shared about how the program worked and that it was open to anyone in the community. Whether you were a business owner or just someone who had a dream. It did not matter if you were a Chamber member or not. He peaked my interest, if for nothing else but the passion in his voice as he shared how it helped his business grow.

That evening I went online and found information about the Jax Bridges program through the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. Submitting my application I felt unprepared and unequipped to join the program based on the questions on the application. Little did I know that those questions proved how ready I was for the program.

After a few more steps in the process, a couple weeks had passed I was accepted into the next cohort of Jax Bridges.

Little did I know that the next twelve weeks of my company’s existence would change how I did business entirely.

Jax Bridges is a program provided through the Entrepreneurial Growth Division of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. It gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to vet their product or service. They take you through the process of creating a business model, value proposition, capability statement and so much more. It is an educational opportunity based on real life experiences rather than the antiquated ideas taught in textbooks. All of which provides each entrepreneur the tools and skills to be successful.

Business owners are inundated with what business advice that generally amounts to little more than opinion.

Jax Bridges gives you not only advice but actionable ways to implement the tools step by step to build your business. Whether you are a fledgling startup or a veteran business owner, everyone can reap the rewards and benefits learned in the program.

After graduating from cohort 8, my business, the way we interact with our customers and community is forever changed. We have more focus to provide the services to the clients we serve. By leveraging our resources we are prepared to scale our business in a way I could never have imagined or even attempted a short three months ago.

Now you may be wondering how is it that not only a business changing, but in some aspects life changing organization like Jax Bridges stay somewhat unheard of? The answer is simple, they need no advertising or marketing plan themselves. Graduates like myself spread the word organically. After 8 cohorts there are enough coin holding ambassadors in and around Jacksonville to keep Jax Bridges going for years to come. In fact if you happen to know an entrepreneur or small business that just does things differently there is a good chance they too hold the coin to success.

Building Traffic Patterns for Your Small Business

June 1, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Business owners spend a great deal of time and money trying to “gain traction” or get “traffic” to their websites only to see little results.

Generally the reason is simple … and so can the solution be as well.

There are a few things either you or your web designer can do that can help get you noticed.

When did you update your website last? A stagnant unchanging site will not bring in visitors. Change some images, add some content, re-purpose old content, make things fresh and relevant.
Outdated or expired sales or specials. Once the sale is over take it off your site. Having a special that expired weeks ago will frustrate anyone that may visit. Use plugins that automatically remove popups or messages that are expired.
Market your local community. Everyone has heard of SEO by now yet few get specific for their local market. Use keywords that set you apart from the competition not just in your niche but also in your neighborhood.
Spend a little to get a lot. Google can be your best friend, but like any friend you have to spend time with them. Stroke her ego, spend a little in Google Adwords, she will return the favor with online admiration.
Mobile matters to you and your customers. If your site is not mobile friendly you are losing. Everyone uses their phones first when searching, make sure when they find you they have a great user experience or they will never come back.
Back-link love with permission. Linking to other websites may seem a bit counter-intuitive but Google and your clients will love you for it. Be sure if you do that the links make sense and bring value to your clients. Depending on the content you might want to ask the owner first, many times they will reciprocate the link love.
Get social with a purpose. Social media changes all the time, even the best social media marketers have to stay on their toes to keep up with the best practices. It is not enough to just create great shareable content, but they must be active on the applicable social media channels to get their message out to the world.
Use internal links on your own content. Whenever you create new content look for ways to link to other content that you have already created to link to within your own website. Users of Yoast SEO have the advantage of the Yoast Internal Link tool that assists them in finding content to link to as they create.
Make sure your site has speed. Slow websites cause high bounce rates. Optimize your images, check your site structure, use hosting that is worth its weight. All of these contribute to the speed of the web page load which in turn either keeps or loses visitors.

Keep in mind these are simple steps that either you or your web designer can do to start building traffic patterns for your small business.

We could keep going but you would likely get overwhelmed and want to stop reading. If you would like to learn more on how you can generate traffic to your business or even better yet have us help you accomplish your goals contact us and schedule your discovery session today.

7 things to keep in mind when picking a web design agency

April 29, 2018 By Charles Johnston 1 Comment

The days of handing out business cards at networking events being enough are over, if your organization is not online you are missing customers everyday.

I know what you are thinking, aren’t websites expensive, hard to maintain, better yet you don’t even know where to begin…

Truth is, it is more expensive to not have your business online. Not only are your customers missing being able to engage with your brand 24/7, even while you sleep, but they are likely finding your competition instead.

So you or perhaps your boss has given you the “green” light to begin your search for a design agency. You know your organization needs to get online, but don’t even know where to start.

We come across business owners, admins and entrepreneurs all the time that are in the same situation and thought we would layout 7 things to keep in mind when picking a web design agency. Doing a little legwork upfront will allow you to pick the right agency for your business and in turn save time, money and speed up the process of getting online.

We put together a simple list of how to get started when looking for a web design agency. While no list of tips is ever complete, this will at least get things started.

1.) Know your customer – Every business knows its customer whether they know it or not. Believe it or not, everyone is not your customer. With a more targeted approach to who you serve, your designer will be able to appeal to your online visitors.

If you are a brick and mortar store, your customers will be looking for something different than say a real estate agency. Are you a physical therapist who is looking for patients, say specifically runners? Perhaps you sell coffee to support orphans on the other side of the globe, or are a startup looking to create your own brand. Whatever your vision is or the market you minister to, your web designer can tailor the user experience for the clients you serve.

2.) Timeline – If you are a startup, you likely need your website yesterday. Even as a well established company, once the ‘need’ is determined, there tends to be a sense of urgency to get it done. Many times we have found clients even want their sites to go ‘live’ before they are completed or ready just so they can start getting all the traffic. As an agency, this can actually be a warning sign because as a designer we like to be aware if we are being put on the hot seat from the get go. Realistic expectations on both sides of the project ensure client satisfaction as well as a successful web design.

Scope is key to creating a timeline that works for everyone. Depending on the complexity of the design, the delivery of any applicable content, an average time-frame from inception to delivery would likely be between 60 and 90 days. Some projects can be turned around much quicker depending on the level of need and amount of content, pages, etc. If you have a special event, promotion or need a simple informational page to get things started they can be designed expediently but can at times cost a bit more if rushed. Proper planning can reduce cost as well as avoid inconveniences such as unrealistic expectations or rushing the project.

3.) Money Talks – One of the things business owners tend to shy away from is their budget. One speed bump that can throw a curve into the discussion of a web design project is when the budget is not discussed upfront. Know what you can afford and be forthcoming when asked, and you will likely be asked pretty quickly in the conversation. Web agencies do this to save both of you time and well many times money. Nothing can be more frustrating than a designer to spend hours working up a scope for the project only to find out that they are not even in the ballpark of what the client can afford.

Say you have a budget of $5,000 if you don’t share that budget upfront with the design agency could spend hours working on a proposal and come back with a quote of $10,000. All of sudden you are at odds and the designer is frustrated as they wasted time working up a scope you could not afford if you wanted to at the time. If you share your budget, even if just a ballpark upfront that gives the designer numbers to work with. One of two things will happen from there, they will create a design that fits your budget, or let you know right away that they are not the right agency, either way you win.

4.) Stakeholders at the table – It is inevitable that when shopping around for a designer it can be easier to hand that task off to say your secretary or administrative assistant. If you are a nonprofit you will need to get board approval before spending large amounts on anything. Perhaps as a business owner you have partners or investors that are the decision makers before any purchase can be made. Without the right people in the conversation when the details are discussed can cause confusion, delays, and unnecessary complications.

Picture discussing the project, going through the discovery session, the designer gives the proposal in writing only to find out not all the people were in the conversation. All of sudden there are other opinions, thoughts on how the project should go, design changes, or budget negotiations that were not expected. This can cause delays in getting started on the project, incur additional costs due to re-scoping or changing the design as well as having to discuss all over again the project and its course with those that were not at the table to begin with. It is best once you have narrowed down the design agency you want to work with that all stakeholders are involved upfront to make the process easier for everyone in the long run.

5.) Make a list – just like when you go shopping for a car or house, there are things you like about certain models and don’t like, the same goes for a website. Before meeting with your designer make a list of the websites that you like the look and feel of. These can be websites of your competitors or a completely different industry entirely, it helps you get an idea of what kind of design you want and even more perhaps what you don’t want.

Bringing a list of anywhere from four or five to as many as a dozen or so gives your designer a great deal to work with. When a designer has the look and feel of what kind of user experience you want for your customers it makes the actual designing of your vision that much simpler. It can be things like color schemes, widgets, or perhaps a specific slider or something else that you like that the designer can implement into your design as you want. The more information you can provide to the agency upfront provides a strong starting point to begin the design process from.

6.) Who are your competitors – Knowing your competition helps you do better at what you do right? Same thing goes for choosing a website. Who is at the top of your game? Google your industry and find out who is winning in your space. Focus locally, unless you are a big name global corporation you likely serve a local market, it is that area that you want to scope out your competition.

We suggest that you pick out three of your competition and provide them to your design agency. This will give them an upper hand on what you might be up against locally in your market. It will also give them insight on what your competition offer and how they can potentially adjust your strategy to compete. It also enable the designer to implement search engine optimization that will allow for organic growth not only for you but also by organically leveraging what might be also working for your competition.

7.) Shop around – Anyone that has spent any time shopping around for a design agency, they will find there is a big difference between agencies. Not every designer is for every client just like every client is not for every designer. Spend some time vetting your designer, look at their previous work, get to know them personally. If the design agency is the right fit usually you will be able to tell in the way they interact with you not only on the phone, but also online, via email or chat.

At HeartWired we believe in taking our clients through a personal discovery session, this enables us to find out not only your design needs but also get to know the person behind the business. When a potential customer contacts us, we are fully aware that they are looking for generally a few main things, while some are looking for the best deal, almost always they are looking for someone that cares.

Choosing a web design agency can be a difficult task, we hope that these 7 things to keep in mind when picking a web design agency come in handy. If you are ready to start the process or have questions we can answer, we are here to help.

What I Wish Everyone Knew About the Name HeartWired

March 18, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

What I Wish Everyone Knew About the Name HeartWired “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Ever since I started my company in 2016, I have hoped and prayed that everyone would know that we were a company that cares for the individual behind the organizations we serve just as much as we care for our own. We pour our heart into every web design project and treat it as if it were our only one. Our company name itself defines our business. Sure it may be a play on words, but it encompasses much more than that.

HeartWired was initially a play on words for “hardwired” a common term in the technology industry meaning “involving or achieved by permanently connected circuits.”

Even the Ethernet cable in the form of a heartbeat in the logo is representative of the vein of our company’s being. Our deep rooted desire to serve each client where they are has become the focal point of our business model.

Compassion and technology are usually terms that are rarely used in the same sentence. In a fast paced world, focused on numbers rather than service, it is all but a lost art. Our motto “Technology and Web Services with Heart” has become our mission. Rather than treating people like a number, we prefer to learn about their story and get to know their heart before we ever take them on as a client. In doing so we believe we believe we can restore the heart and compassion one satisfied customer, better yet friend at a time.

Small business owners at the core are community leaders, they hold the responsibility to build relationships within their local neighborhoods and cities.

Whether your business is a brick and mortar or strictly online or perhaps a combination of both, you serve your community first and foremost. The more involved we have gotten in our own local area, the more businesses we have been able to serve, the more we have grown through word of mouth more valuable than any advertisement dollars we could spend.

Occasionally there is confusion when people look at our logo, they ask if we are in the medical or health field. While we have served clients in those industries as well as nonprofits, realtors, local businesses, bloggers and more, we are a technology and web design agency through and through. While we offer web design solutions, SEO services, digital reputation management, proximity marketing and more, at the heart of it all we provide various ways for people to share their heart-filled stories online.

Take Your Business Further with Digital Reputation Management

February 27, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Advertising your business ever feel like you are throwing good money after bad?

So you ran a bunch of online or print ads and the return (ROI) seems so small.

You have a great product, fantastic window space of your store, yet getting customers to come inside is like pulling teeth (of course if you are a dentist or oral surgeon this is a good thing).

How do you get them to know you are there?

Ever “Google” or “Bing” yourself?

Okay, that second one just sounds silly…but.

Did you know that your digital reputation goes farther than what is on Google? In fact, Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp are all just the beginning. They simply are the most common ways people search for businesses.

Imagine if you could control the information that your customers and potential clients see beyond Google. What if the information was the same everywhere they looked?

Sure you have your main “listings” up to date. Are they reflecting identical information? How easily can you change them if something was to change? Better yet how quickly can you change hours, menus, services, specials…Everywhere…

That means updating all the main search engines, in fact over 70 places, at once, within 24-48 hours all the sites are the same. What could that do for your business?

Instead of looking like numerous people tried to fill out the tedious forms each search engine requires. All you need to do to maintain your digital reputation is to provide the updates or changes once. By providing your clients correct information the first time, you eliminate their wanting to search elsewhere. Not only will all the new information that you put out about your company be consistent, but the errors that already exist will be scrubbed clean.

Whether it is local SEO, a product or special you are running, or simply your hours of operation and phone number, Your businesses digital reputation matters. Being able to maintain what your customers see in one place is ideal.

We now offer digital reputation management as both a service included in some of our web design packages, but also as an a la carte service to anyone. If you want a way to manage your online presence on a regular basis or simply want to correct what is currently out there. Use our complimentary scan tool, see where you stand then contact us, we will be glad to help you get your great reputation back.

How to Shop for Web Designers

January 3, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Is your website in disrepair and in need of a fresh look for the New Year?

Perhaps you don’t have a website. Or are well, just not up to the challenge or frustration to create one out of the box.

Where to Shop for Web Designers you might ask…

Web designers create your story online, choose wisely. — Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

First stop look online… do you see a website that grabs your attention? Good chance the designer put their stamp on the site in the footer. Worse case you can always check and see what theme they at least used by looking it up on sites like WPTD. That way you have a starting point of what you might like when you find your web designer. Be sure to save the link, you will likely find many that you “like”, this will make your life and that of the designers much easier…trust me.

After you have found a couple of web designers of interest, check out their work. Now many people think this means check out their other clients, and it does sort of. Their work is composed of more than just their “web designs.” Check out their Facebook page, are they promoting their clients or just themselves? Do they provide value or just one sales pitch “hire me now” after another?

Next stop, check out their Instagram, this will show snippets of their creativity. Also, you can find out a lot about a company or person by what they are willing to share, or better yet what they have the common sense not to share at times.

Web designers have control of your digital marketing reputation when you hire them. You entrust them to build a website that reflects you, your story, your brand.

You likely check out restaurants before eating at them, contractors before allowing them into your home or place of business. The same due diligence should be used when hiring someone to create your online marketing. A website is open 24/7 and can be a great marketing tool for your small business, organization, non-profit or corporation. By hiring the right designer with a knack for putting their clients first. You will benefit by allowing them to tell your story as well as they tell theirs.

If you would like to schedule a complimentary consultation for your business or non-profit contact us today for more information on how to get started.

Give Your Business a Gift that Keeps on Giving

December 13, 2017 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas and the holiday season, there is one on your list that is always forgotten… Your Business.

We search high and low for the perfect gift for our loved ones and friends. Yet we tend to neglect the one that makes it all possible.

All the hard work, the late nights and long hours go unappreciated. After all of that, not even a Christmas card or Fruitcake is sent. However come the New Year when all the holiday lights dim, it will still be here supporting you and your family.

What better way than to show appreciation than to give your business a gift that keeps on giving.

Give your business a gift that keeps on giving all year long with a new website design or redesign.

You might ask what that might be right?

The best gift you can buy your business is a new or renewed website for the new year.

Every day, twenty-four seven it will keep giving back.

Websites provide a portal where your customers or clients can find you any time of day. Whether you have an e-commerce site where they can buy the same or perhaps even different items that you have in your brick and mortar. Or perhaps you offer goods and/or services strictly online. Your business is open for business all day every day when it is online.

People used to use the Yellow Pages to find a business, now they just Google it. What if when they Google, they don’t find you?

Let’s face it – we live in a world where people Google before they shop, visit online review sites like Yelp before they buy and “check-in” via Facebook as they go about their days. – Forbes Magazine

Websites create a level of trust for the customer that your business will have a hard time obtaining without one. People like to “shop around” before they buy, and many of them prefer to window-shop from the comfort of their own home or mobile phone.

So wrap your business a brand new website design or redesign this Christmas and holiday season. A gift they will never return or exchange and one that will keep on giving throughout the New Year.

From all of us at HeartWired Technical Solutions, we wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and blessed Happy New Year in 2018.