Can locals find you?

Can locals find you?

by | 25 Nov 2022 | Promotion

If someone searches for a community centre like yours online, how likely are they to find you?

When someone performs a search for an organisation in Google, they’ll often be presented with a map listing at the top of their search results. Underneath the map, there will be around 3 close matches listed.

Each of the listed organisations will have options for the seacrcher to contact or to click and find out more information. There may also be review stars, showing reviews left by clients.

Take a moment to fire up your favourite web browser and search for your own community centre. Use a search term that represents something a person might want from your community centre. For example, if you’re based in Corio, Geelong, then you might search “art classes corio”.

Is your community centre currently showing up at the top of the search results, next to the map? If you’re not visible there, you’re potentially losing out on visitors and attendees to your programs and activities.

These listings are controlled by a free service that Google offers called Google Business Profile.

To create a listing, head over to google.com.au/intl/en_in/business/. Click the large blue “Manage now” button to begin.

The first thing you’ll need to do is login to Google. If you don’t have a Google account for your community centre, just click on the “Create account” link and follow the online instructions. You’ll need access to your work email to complete the verification process.

If your community centre does appear, then you already have a Google Business Profile page. The message on the page will let you know how you can reset your login details. Alternatively, if someone else set up the page for you, then you’re able to request access.

If the search doesn’t find your community centre, you’ll be given the option to create a Google Business Profile page.

As part of the setup process, Google will ask you to verify your community centre. The verification process works via post, telephone, or email. One of the most usual forms of verification is for Google to send a postcard to your business address, but go for whatever is easiest and most convenient for you.

Once your page is verified, you can then add in your community centre details and information. This includes opening hours, categories, photos and more.

Try and be as detailed as possible with the content that you add to your Google Business Profile page. Good quality content, photos and information, will help Google to see what your community centre is about. The information also helps potential customers who are looking for an organisation like yours.

One thing to mention - reviews are really important. The more reviews you have, the better the chance of showing up as one of the three organisations listed next to the map in the search results.

Your customers are able to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile page. So make sure you take a moment to ask them to leave you a review.

This could be something you do at the point of sale in your centre, for example you might have some business-cards printed with a link and/or QR code to your Google Business Profile. You could also add a note to your invoices or email your clients after a service has been delivered, activity started, or course finished.

Because you serve customers in your local area, it’s crucial that you have a Google Business Profile page set up. It can mean the difference between being visible to potential customers and losing them. Best of all? It’s free publicity!

Build your brand by sharing your knowledge (you can do it!)

Build your brand by sharing your knowledge (you can do it!)

by | 14 Oct 2022 | Branding, Marketing, Promotion

You may think sharing your experience and knowledge, gained over years and likely at considerable expense, is not a good idea. Sharing what you know and how to do it would mean your customers could do it themselves, no?

However, it is more likely that communicating your knowledge lets people know that you are good at what you do, that you’ve put time and effort into your skills, that there may be more involved than it appears. Even for services and products that actually relatively straightforward, you make it clear that it’s your ‘thing’ and you are someone to turn to for them.

Sharing your knowledge is likely to generate sales opportunities, and builds awareness of you and your brand. Both are pretty good outcomes!

So what sort of options are available for you to share your knowledge?

  • YouTube Videos - If you search for a plumbing issue you’re facing, you’ll almost certainly find seasoned expert plumbers who answer this question in a quick, simple and easy-to-understand way. They aren’t “selling” their services to you, they’re establishing their expertise. If they’re doing it properly, their contact information will be available in case someone wants to call them.
  • Podcasts - Podcasts are popular for education, entertainment, self-help and shared interests. Podcasts are easy to consume on the go, or in the car, or while exercising/commuting. You can start a podcast at relatively low cost -all you need is a microphone and a voice and a service to serve it from eg. iTunes. Podcasts let you share your personality, building trust with your audience, so be sure to ‘be yourself’.
  • Books - Books are an easy way of establishing authority in your industry. It doesn’t have to be a full War And Peace tome (unless you want it to be of course!), it can be a short book or even a bite-size booklet. Once you’ve written your draft, there are a number of options to publish to readers; ebooks, printed editions, audio books for example. Often such a book is something you can use as a give-away in return for contact details to build your mailing list, or it can be something you pass on to new customers to help them understand the full picture.
  • Digital Product - Creating a digital product is getting easier and easier with the advent of increasingly powerful yet cheap tools and services. The key is to think about the type of problems that your audience often deals with. Digital products are quick and easy to create. Ideally they’ll deliver value quickly, so that your customer gets an immediate return on their investment. What could your customers purchase and download immediately, that solves their immediate need based on your expertise?
  • Courses - To really share your knowledge, you can teach it to others. Creating a course is a significant time investment because you are putting together something unique, and you’ll need a range of assets such as words, images, videos, and there may be templates or procedures/processes involved too. It’s not a short process when done well. However, when done well, a course is one of the best ways that you can share your knowledge. One thing to note, courses can scale up very well, up to hundreds of students. It could be the opportunity for you to create a revenue stream that is far beyond anything you’re currently doing in business. Take a look at something like Heights for a platform that makes it easy to build, publish and sell a course online (that’s an affiliate link by the way, as I use it too).

How your website colours affect your customer

How your website colours affect your customer

by | 7 Oct 2022 | Website Design

Many brands use colour to evoke emotion and encourage action from their customer base. In this article, we'll run through some examples of commonly used colours and what they may signify to a customer.

Colour is one of the most important factors influencing a customer's buying decision. Studies have shown that colour can affect a person's emotions and behaviour. For example, the colour red has been shown to increase a person's heart rate and make them feel more excited. This can be useful for brands who want to create a sense of urgency in their customers. On the other hand, the colour blue is often associated with feelings of calm and relaxation. This can be helpful for brands that want to create a sense of trust and reliability.

In today's competitive market, it is essential to have a well-rounded website that will capture the attention of potential customers. With so many different colours available, choosing the right one for your business can be tricky. Here are five colours that may be ideal for your businesses to use as a base or accent colour.

  • Red - Red appeals to a sense of excitement and energy. It is also very effective in displaying images or videos related to activities such as sports and adventure.
  • Green - Green is associated with relaxation, good health and nature, making it an ideal colour for websites promoting natural products or services.
  • Orange - Orange is a popular colour because it commands attention. It is perfect for websites pertaining to children's activities, such as games and challenges, as well as fitness websites.
  • Black - Black conveys luxury, power, design and sophistication, making it ideal for online clubs and luxury goods.
  • White - Although not technically a colour, white should still be considered when designing a website because it is high-contrast and stands out against most other colours on a screen and can easily be changed if needed.

The Optus data leak – should you be worried?

The Optus data leak – should you be worried?

by | 28 Sep 2022 | Technology

by Tony Phelps, Winch Websites

In a word - yes.

Even people living under a rock (which at least wouldn’t require an internet connection and a password) will have heard about the millions of Australians included in a very large theft of data from Optus.

While the details of how it happened are yet to (and may never) be published, at the end of the day that’s for someone else to worry about. In the meantime, if you are or have been an Optus customer over the past few years, there is a distinct possibility that your personal details are ‘out there’ in internet-land.

Of course, we are all constantly handing over personal details. Think social media, bank accounts, utilities, job applications, loans, credit cards, holidays, government benefits and services... Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t avoid it unless you’re happy living like a hermit - and even then, there are situations where you absolutely have no choice in this self-service internet-powered world.

Not on Optus customer? All this still applies to you, because this is very unlikely to be the last time there’s a data breach like this.

There are 2 aspects to consider. How to protect yourself before a data breach. How to protect yourself after a data breach.

The first aspect, how to protect yourself before a data breach, is all about being careful with your data and being reasonably suspicious of everything. Received a text-message from the ATO asking to update your info or face fines? That’s a hard “No!”. Phone call from someone who wants to fix a virus on your computer? “No!”. Be very (very) careful when people contact you unexpectedly. Treat text messages, phone calls, emails and other such interactions exactly how you would if someone rocked up at your door out of the blue and started yammering at you.

The second aspect, how to protect yourself after a data breach, is very similar but a whole lot more aggro and lost time. The scumbags that have your data can use it either to trick you into giving access to sensitive stuff (eg. your bank account) or they can use your details to independently get stuff (eg. a loan, online purchases, airline tickets to get refunded, etc). Imagine - a phone call from someone saying they’re from Centrelink, they know your full name, your date of birth, your driver’s licence number, your home address, your email address...

A comprehensive list of what details of yours may be taken, how they could be used against you, and what you can do to avoid or rectify issues, can be found on the IDCare website at idcare.org/optus-db-response. It’s worth a read whether you are affected by the Optus data breach or not.

Where once upon a time the scammers operated in town centre markets or door-to-door and so were few and far between, now they operate all over the world with instant access to anyone anywhere. Your shields of cynicism need to be raised, alas, and your trust in people needs to be lowered. Sad, but a fact of modern life.

So educate yourself, and be alert but not alarmed. We already have plenty of larmeds in Australia.....

Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale

Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale

by | 9 Sep 2022 | Uncategorised

Watch an animated video of this article

If you don't ask, you won't get. It's as simple as that. If you're afraid of rejection or feeling like a burden, then you're never going to get what you want in life. So go out there and ask for the sale. You might be surprised at what you get.

When you need to do something that has an immediate impact.

In today’s business climate, many companies are feeling the effects of the downturn and are looking for ways to increase sales. One way to do this is by emailing your audience.

Emailing your audience can be an effective way to generate sales, but it’s important to do it in a way that doesn’t come across as pushy or sales-y. The goal is to get people interested in what you have to offer without making them feel like they’re being pressured into buying something.

Here are a few tips on how to email your audience without being too pushy:

–Include a personal message: People are more likely to respond to an email that includes a personal message. This shows that you’re not just mass-emailing people and that you actually care about what they think.

–Don’t include too much information: You want to include enough information to get people interested, but you don’t want to overwhelm them with too much information at once. Try dividing larger pieces of information into smaller chunks so that people can digest it more easily.

–Make it easy to respond: Include a call-to-action in your email so that people know what you want them to do next. Make it easy for them by providing a link or offering a discount if they respond and purchase within a certain time frame.

By following these tips, you can email your audience in a way that will generate interest and sales without coming across as pushy.

Put together a special offer

In business, nothing happens until somebody sells something. If you’re not selling, you’re not in business. It sounds obvious, but a lot of businesses don’t actually do much selling. They provide products or services, but they don’t put together special offers and they don’t close the sale. If that sounds like your business, then it’s time to start thinking about selling.

The first step is to put together a special offer. This could be a discount on your products or services, or it could be a freebie that you give away to people who make a purchase. Whatever it is, make sure it’s something that will appeal to your target audience.

Once you’ve got your offer sorted, it’s time to start selling. This doesn’t mean going out and spamming everyone you know with sales pitches – that will just turn people off and make them less likely to buy from you in the future. Instead, focus on building relationships with potential customers and giving them value before you ask for the sale. For example, if you sell online courses, offer potential students a free mini-course so they can see what they would be getting if they sign up for one of your paid courses.

Selling doesn’t have to be difficult or sleazy – it can be fun and rewarding if you do it the right way. So go out there and start closing some deals!

Use paid advertising on a platform such as Facebook

As a business owner, it’s important to get comfortable with the idea of pausing your organic growth in order to invest in paid advertising that will jumpstart your sales. And there’s no shame in admitting that you need a little help getting your business off the ground.

When you use paid advertising on a platform such as Facebook, you have the ability to segment your audience so that you’re only targeting those who are most likely to convert. You can also create lookalike audiences of your best customers and target them with your ad campaigns.

In addition, you can use powerful visuals such as images and video to really capture attention and get your message across. And with Facebook’s new ad capabilities, you can even run ads directly in Messenger.

If you’re not comfortable asking for the sale, that’s ok – but know that you may be missing out on potential customers who are willing to buy from you if they just knew that you existed. So don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and invest in some paid advertising. It could be exactly what your business needs to take things to the next level.