Working remotely can certainly have its challenges, but we’ve found having video calls with screen sharing greatly improves communication. In many ways, we’ve found that it’s even better than having face-to-face meetings. Here’s a quick run-down of how to get set up to use Zoom for conference calls, screen sharing, and webinars (if applicable).

Video Overview

Using the Zoom Application

Because the web client version of Zoom has limited functionality, we highly recommend downloading the Zoom application instead.

To download the Zoom App, click this link and follow the installation instructions: https://zoom.us/support/download

Click here for system requirements.

Using Your Browser

The Zoom web client allows joining a Zoom meeting or webinar without downloading any plugins or software. However, the web client has limited features and functions best on Google Chrome. If you decide to use a browser other than Chrome, you won’t be able to use your computer’s audio.

Joining the Meeting:

1. Click the link to join the meeting.
2. An option Join from your Browser may appear automatically. If it does not, select download & run Zoom.
3. The option Join from your Browser will appear.
4. You will be prompted to enter your name.
5. Click Join to be taken into the meeting.

Join Audio

Once you have joined, you can join the audio by computer,  dial in by telephone, or choose call me (if enabled for the host’s account).

1. Click Join Audio.
2. Click Phone Call, Computer Audio, or Call Me tab to choose your join method.
   1. Phone Call: Follow the instructions on the screen for dialing in by phone.
   2. Computer Audio: Click Join Audio By Computer. After joining computer audio, you can Mute/Unmute at the lower left corner or click on the ^ to select a different microphone and/or speaker. 
   3. Call Me: Choose the country of the phone you are calling from the drop down. Enter the phone number. Check Remember the number on this computer if you would like this number stored for future meetings. Click Call Me.

Viewing Video

When joined into a Zoom meeting from the web client, you can view one participant’s video in Active Speaker view or if the host spotlights a video. If multiple participants are sharing their video, you will only be able to see one at a time.

Conclusion

If you have any issues at all with this, feel free to give us a call and we’ll do our best to get you ready to go for our next call. Talk to you soon!

The post How to Join a Zoom Conference Call appeared first on Midas Marketing.

If you walked into a McDonald’s, you’d probably know at least half of the food items they offer without even looking at the menu, even if you’ve never been inside one before. That’s how effective their brand build process has been over the years.

Even small companies are recognizing that creating a successful brand leads to more customers. But it’s not always so easy to figure out how to create a brand.

Learning how to build a brand takes some time and deep thinking. You need to dig deep and learn a lot about your company and your customers in order to be successful.

But when you find a winning combination, it can make a huge difference to your business and the type of people you attract.

In this article, we are diving into the process of how to establish a brand that makes the right people sit up and take notice.

Start Your Brand Build by Learning More About Your Customers

If you believe that your product or service is something “everyone” will enjoy, you’re wrong. Even Amazon doesn’t have 100% of the market.

With every business, there are people far more likely to become a loyal customer than others. Your first priority is to find out exactly who they are.

The more you know about your top customers, the easier it is to find effective ways to reach them. Factors like age, gender, and income levels are good ways to begin.

Figure out where and how these people live. Determine how they spend their free time, and what they do for work.

While some information may vary, usually there are common interests or factors most of them share. Once you have that information, it’s much easier to build a successful branding and marketing strategy.

Make a Brand Based on the Core Values of Your Company

56% of Americans will stop purchasing items from brands they feel are unethical. 64% of customers are more likely to shop with a business that shares the same values as they do. People only buy from those they know, like, and trust – whether it’s an individual person or a large enterprise.

Figure out why you’re in business in the first place. Determine what your real goals are.

Write down your morals and values that you want to bring to your company. Share them with your employees.

Then find a way to share them with your customers. People buy from people, not businesses. The more you have in common with your customers, the more loyal they’ll remain.

Set Yourself Apart from Your Competition

Coca-Cola and Pepsi both make very similar products. Yet they have some fiercely loyal customers who swear the two sodas taste completely different.

That’s because both companies have heavily researched their competition. They know exactly what each company does well. And they know exactly what they’ve failed at.

Researching your competition allows you to learn what to do and what not to do. And it helps you find ways to separate your company from the competition.

Find ways that make your company unique and start sharing those differences with your customers. This is your brand identity.

Developing a brand identity and voice helps sets the tone for how you want people to talk about your company.

Create a Brand Logo

A small, white apple with a bite taken out of it. It’s simple, yet incredibly powerful. Everyone knows that’s the Apple logo.

Creating a logo is another way for your customers to easily recognize your brand. Find an image that is powerful.

Choose a font that is easy to read yet sets you apart from your competition. And choose colors that best represent your company. Color improves brand recognition up to 80%.

Make sure to create a logo that can stand the test of time, as Quaker Oats has done. While the famous icon has gotten a makeover from time to time, since the 1800s, he’s been an iconic brand figure.

Start a Blog

Content is king and always will be. A blog is a great way to share your brand with new and existing customers.

It’s also a way to set yourself up as an expert in your field. And a great way to set yourself apart from your competition.

Blogs are considered a trusted source of information. Plus, it’s easy to formulate for SEO purposes.

A blog is also a great source of material to use on social media. The problem with blogging is not everyone is a great writer. And some claim they don’t have time.

But it’s too much of an integral part of your business to ignore. Your choices are to either hire a professional blog writing service or set aside 30 minutes to an hour to write an article.

Even if people don’t read your blogs, just seeing that you are actively producing content related to your industry builds trusts and creates a positive brand association experience with every impression.

Get Online Reviews and Testimonials

91% of your customers are reading reviews and testimonials about your business. 84% of them trust these online reviews as much as they do a friend personally making a recommendation.

Even as few as five reviews can make a huge difference. And there are tons of ways to get online reviews these days.

You can have a testimonials page on your site where customers can leave their own review. You can claim your Google Business Listing and ask customers to leave reviews there.

There are also tons of sites like Yelp or Angie’s List where the entire premise is for customers to leave reviews. No matter what type of business you’re in, reviews help people learn more about and trust your company before they’ve even attempted to make a purchase or contact you.

Have a Social Media Presence

Creating a brand means getting involved with social media. You don’t have to build a profile on every single social media site out there (and you shouldn’t).

There are over 100 social media sites, and it takes time and effort to create a brand on each site. Instead, start by determining which site(s) your customers are most likely to spend time on.

Once you have pinpointed the best site(s) to reach your niche audience, it’s time to build up your presence on that site. Make sure that the brand you’re building is represented on this site.

It should have the same look and feel as your website and all your marketing materials. Then, develop a consistent marketing strategy. Don’t just post once every few months, post several times a week.

People have to see your brand consistently before they’ll begin responding. But if they don’t see you at all or only sporadically, then it’s out of sight, out of mind.

Improve Your Customer Service

If you think customer service isn’t part of your brand, you’re wrong. And that belief can quickly ruin your business.

Let’s go through some customer service stats. 50% of your customers will stop a transaction or service because of bad service. 33% will consider switching to another company if they have a bad customer service experience when doing business with you.

Your employees are just as much a part of your brand as you and your business are. That means how how they act and what they say will all contribute to a customer’s experience.

Think of all the bad press Dunkin’ Donuts has received lately because of poor customer service that reeked of racism. Their brand has suffered as a result of Dunkin Donuts employees, and in some cases, franchise owners have behaved poorly when dealing with their customers.

While people will tend to talk more about their bad experiences, this isn’t always the case. News of stellar service spreads as well. Your focus should be on promoting your brand through excellent customer service with each and every customer you handle.

Delight your customers, and your brand equity will blossom!

Be Consistent

Whether you eat at franchised eateries or not, you know that no matter which one you enter, you’re getting the same quality of food. And you pretty much expect a similar experience at all of them.

That’s because franchises recognize how powerful consistency is. People want to know what they’ll expect even before they do business with you.

Brand building is about creating a consistent message with everything you do. That means your website, logo, social media presence, customer service, and business cards all need to share the same consistent message.

But being consistent also means sharing your message and your brand on a consistent basis. You can’t just write a blog article and then stop for a few months.

You can’t have employees wear uniforms one day and then let them wear whatever the next. You can’t change your logo three times in one year.

None of these actions help others take notice of how consistent your company is. Your goal is to build trust. One way to do that is to prove time and again that your company can provide great service and products each and every time.

Get Help Branding Your Business

Creating a brand isn’t always easy. It’s hard to take a deep look at yourself and your company and figure out what your core values are.

You may need some help. Ask your employees to help out, but don’t be afraid to dig deeper. Sometimes, an expert is your best option.

If creating a brand build your customers won’t soon forget is your priority, we can help. Click here to start the process!

The post What Goes Into a Winning Brand Build for Your Company? appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Great web design can double sales, reduce bounce rates, and improve customer perception of a brand. Designing a website from scratch is impossible unless you have a web design background. Finding a trustworthy web development company to build out your site should be priority number one for many businesses around the globe.

Many companies, both Portland-based and elsewhere, are turning to the great state of Oregon to find and hire a Portland web development company. The creative talent of the city, along with its mid-market rates, attract a wide variety of companies looking to hire a Portland web design team.

Just because you know you want to Portland company does not mean it’s going to be a clear choice though. Vetting web design services is going to take time and lots of research. In the end, all of this effort will pay off in both the product and total investment. To make things a bit more manageable on your search, we’ve constructed a checklist of things to review as you hire a web development company.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when hiring a web developer is focusing on prices alone without a proper understanding of the value received per dollar spent. Don’t make that same mistake. Follow our guide and you’ll protect yourself from sloppy, amateur web design.

Portland, OR boasts a huge creative heart with design and development rates often less than those seen NY and LA – without compromising on quality!

Designing is a Two-Way Street

No matter how little you think you know about web development, having no say in your company’s website is a recipe for disaster. Your website is such a key component in your brand’s identity. You need a cohesive design that compliments your business’ core offerings.

A professional web development company will listen to what you have to say…not just dictate the project! They should be asking you lots of questions, as well as answering yours. Don’t let their fancy portfolio give you the impression that your input isn’t valid.

What Are Their Plans/Ideas?

On your initial consultation, the web development specialist should have some first-impressions or ideas already. If they can’t give you any feedback or a rough outline of what they could do for your business, it might be bad news. Inexperience speaks from a place of uncertainty and a lack of creativity.

Responsive Web Design

During your early talks, ask them if they will be incorporating responsive web design. What this basically means is that your website will be designed for all screens–mobile, tablet, and computers. This means that your website will be designed with one theme, which is adjustable for all devices.

Ever since Google updated their algorithms to adjust for the overwhelming chunk of the mobile browsing population, there has been a major push for web developers to get some semblance of a standard for website functionality. That’s where the concept of responsive design was born.

This was the most effective solution to being stuck with websites that are not properly for mobile users. Design one webpage that can display the same proportions and features, no matter what size screen you’re looking at.

Lastly, don’t just choose a responsive template and expect your site to be perfect. While many design platforms now incorporate responsiveness into their code, your website still requires fine-tuning for different screen sizes. Ask your web development company how they implement their responsive design process before moving forward.

Optimized for Google

Responsive websites, while not explicitly listed as the only preferred mobile browsing option, will perform better on search rankings than those who are using a simple mobile HTML-based website.

Any website design that isn’t responsive will usually leave tablets and hybrid tablet users with a lower-quality experience. This may mean that their screen space is either not being utilized, resulting in blank spaces on the sides, or that they are forced to browse the desktop-size webpage that requires more scrolling and swiping to navigate. Either way, they’re getting a second-class experience.

Local and National

If your business has a local audience, then you should ask if the design company has experience with local SEO. Branding and optimizing at a local level requires a specialized skill set. Google searches are much easier to rank for when your website is optimized locally.

That includes geotagging various website elements, organically hitting local keywords, incorporating Google Maps effectively, and more. 78% of all local mobile searches results in an offline purchase. People are looking to buy, and if your website isn’t optimized locally, you’re missing sales.

Advanced Web Design

Responsive web design doesn’t just look more polished, it enables the website to perform. The amount of coding that is needed to deliver a smooth experience for all types of devices, without using responsive templates, is unreasonably heavy.

Responsive websites are simple, yet visually impressive. They can be easily updated, migrated, and compartmentalized, without having to constantly adjust the code to work on all devices. Taking out the time and money wasted on the guesswork is well worth the investment in a new website if your current one isn’t mobile responsive.

User Interface Standards

As processors become faster, networks quicker, and convenient shopping the new standard, you don’t want to be left in the past with a clunky, unimpressive web design. Graphics and user interface buttons are becoming much sharper, and mimic the tactile feedback without tradeoffs of slower page loads or glitches due to inadequate processing power.

Users will start to look at web pages that are slower, flatter, and harder to navigate as outdated and not worth browsing. With so much competition out there, you can’t afford to lose a customer due to poor UI.

Your web developer needs to know about these visual trends, coding improvements, and advanced analytics. If they are just churning out simple websites and swapping out color themes and logos, they may not be the best if your brand requires a deeper web experience.

Experience is Crucial

How old should a web development company be before they’re deemed experienced? Well, this can vary, but you want them to be in business for a couple years, at least. You don’t want to fall into the trap of paying for a service from a fly-by-night operation.

Look at their portfolio, see how much work they have under their belt. Great web design should be met with great customer reviews and testimonials. It also helps if they have an active social media presence. It’s a lot harder to curate or manipulate customer feedback on other platforms.

Do They Have Marketing Experience?

Are they just a team of graphic designers and programmers or are they a complete web development company? Hiring a company who knows more than just aesthetics is a huge bonus. Your website is going to perform a lot better when it created with things like CTAs, bounce rates, conversion rates, and campaign strategy are understood.

Navigation and page elements won’t need to be forced into the design after the fact. Natural integration of buttons, subscription fields, and upsells is extremely valuable in web development.

Understanding Industries/Niches

While you look through their portfolio, take the range of companies they have worked for. Do a lot of them center around the same niches? Are their designs built for only a handful of industries?

This is important to know when searching for a web development team that will work outside the box. If the majority of their business is cookie-cutter websites, then that means they aren’t willing to challenge themselves. At worst, it could mean they are reliant on templates with little modifications. These developers may offer slightly more affordable prices, but the value you receive is significantly less, and your customers will be able to sniff this out.

If you want your business to stand out, you cannot afford to settle for a barely-modified template that does the job. You can have a clean, well-balanced, and unique web page design without breaking the bank.

Modern Designs and Trends

Have you ever watched an old movie or TV show and seen what websites looked like in the past? Go back far enough and you’ll be met with big, ugly, and flat pages with no “life.” Go back less than a decade and you’ll see ugly designs, but with less obvious flaws.

The reason why many amateur web designers have cheaper-looking products is not just due to technical skill. It’s about following modern designs and trends. People grow tired of looking at the same things for years on end. Just take the ultra-flat designs spurred from smartphone development.

Today, users find it a chore to navigate through these flat websites, taking 22% longer to find what they’re looking for. You don’t want to be left behind with an outdated look on your website. Ask the web developers what the current trends are in web design, and how they plan to implement them into your project.

Comparing Prices

We end on price, being the least important aspect to consider while shopping around for web developers. The reason, of course, is that much of what passes as web design these days is editing layouts and themes on WordPress. There’s nothing wrong with this approach for simple blogs or landing pages.

If you want a professional, brand-appropriate, and cutting-edge website, you’re not going to find it for less than $3,000. Another big issue with selling yourself short is not having all the security in place to prevent hacks and server attacks.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t negotiate and shop around. Businesses just need to understand that your website is a serious investment that you should budget for considering long-term ROI, not just the immediate return enjoyed from saving a buck or two.

Finding a Portland Web Development Company

Finding the right Portland web development company is not the easiest job with so many to choose from. The time spent interviewing and bouncing ideas off companies is well worth the investment.

We’d love to discuss your company and potential web design needs if you have further questions.

Contact us today to see what we can bring to the table!

The post How to Choose a Portland Web Development Company appeared first on Midas Marketing.

How does your website stand up in today’s digital age? Will potential patients contact you for an appointment after they land on your site?

When a potential client clicks on your website, you only have 10 seconds to wow them.

Your website design is the most important digital tool for your online reputation. So, you better make it count.

Get it right and you’ll be converting new patients left and right. But get it wrong and risk losing potential business for your practice.

Here are 7 dental website design must-haves for your practice.

Investing in a clean, custom dental website is necessary to position your practice for long-term success – it’s no longer optional!

1. Use Your Homepage to Impress Your Audience

Your homepage is a digital first impression of your brand. It’s where potential patients go to find information and learn about your company.

You have one chance to impress your audience with a clean and comprehensive homepage. Use this as an opportunity to be out-of-the-box creative and visual. The homepage should draw attention, without being too busy or cluttered.

Go for one amazing image that showcases your practice and captures the essence of your brand. Think bright, happy, and healthy smiles in wide dimension. Dentist office websites should evoke a sense of comfort and care from your audience.

Remeber to think above the fold, like a newspaper. How long the viewer stays on your site depends on what they see without having to scroll down. A modern yet simple design theme is best.

You want to stay light on content and incorporate your logo and slogan on the homepage. Also be sure to include a call to action. As well as clear and easy to find contact information.

2. Make It Easy to Navigate

Easy navigation is what makes a good website. It keeps it easy for viewers to find the information they need. Without having to waste time searching throughout your site.

Have a clear and concise menu at the top or side of your website. list your most important pages here. Use a drop-down function to keep lower priority pages out of view.

A dental practice website design should include the following sections:

• About Us
• Meet The Team
• Services
• Reviews
• New Patients Section
• Contact Us

You may also want to consider adding a special page about your dentistry experience. This is a section to showcase what makes the dentist unique. Highlight education, awards, and community involvement here.

I can also be helpful to list insurance providers on your website. Shortcuts to important information and documents are also appreciated by new patients.

Include office hours, address, and an interactive map in the contact us section. This helps users find you through Google maps when using their mobile phones.

Include a linkable logo on your website template so it shows up in the same spot on every webpage. This way it’s easy for users to get back to your homepage.

The website footer should include your contact information and social icons. Make it easy for viewers to call, email, or find more information.

3. Consistency Is Key

Be consistent throughout your entire dental office website design. Have your branding evident, with a pleasing color palette.

Make sure your digital branding techniques translate well to all other marketing materials. Text, colors, logo, and content should remain consistent across all marketing channels. This will help patients to identify your brand and better relate to it.

Use optimized images for your website. Go for quality, not quantity. Too many images will also affect how fast your site loads. A site that takes a long time to load will receive a higher bounce rate.

Pay attention to the size and spacing between letters and images. Text and background colors should complement one another and be easy to read. 16 pt size text is a general rule of thumb.

Use a text that reads well on all web pages. Sans serif fonts translate best for online text.

You’ll also want to limit the number of fonts you use. Too many different fonts can look unorganized and distracting.

Use subheadings and bullet points to break up text on web pages. It is friendlier on the eyes and will help your reader find information quicker. Your audience will also find your dental practice website design more engaging and be less likely to look elsewhere.

4. Get Friendly with Google

If you want your website to rank high on search engines, you’re going to need to make friends with Google.

To do so, pay special attention to your content. It should be fresh, inventive, and relevant.

You’ll want to lace important keywords throughout your website. This includes headlines, titles, descriptions, and meta tags. Google is also a fan of long-tail keywords.

Content should be natural, and easy for readers to digest. Local keywords are also important. They will help Google recommend you in local dentist searches.

Need help figuring out which keywords to use? Consider an SEO expert to increase online traffic to your website.

Linking to other affiliate sites (online review platforms, etc.) can also boost your SEO. Always check your hyperlinks to make sure they work and pages have not gotten moved.

Google also pays attention to the speed of your site. Use an online tool, such as Pingdom, to test how fast your site responds. Also, be sure to claim your business on Google My Business.

5. Keep Content Fresh and Relevant

Having fresh content is key for keeping your website up-to-date. Not only does this help with SEO, but it shows patients you pay attention to the details.

Be sure to keep your website updated with office upgrades and changes in company policy. Make sure your dental website designer gives you access to the backend of your site. This will allow you to make quick changes when needed.

It’s also helpful to use Google Analytics to measure traffic. If certain pages are getting low or non-existent viewing time, redesign them.

Blog About It

One of the easiest ways to add fresh content is by blogging. It’s simple to add a blog to your website using WordPress.

Aim to update it at least three times per week. Cover topics ranging from company updates to best practices to dental trends. Pick trending topics that patients can relate to, such as teeth whitening methods.

Start a Newsletter

Create a company newsletter as part of an email marketing campaign. It will let you stay in touch with current customers and reach out to new leads. Have an easy newsletter sign up right on your homepage.

Use an automated service such as MailChimp to create and deploy campaigns. Track the effectiveness of campaigns to see what tactics get the most engagement.

Get People Talking About You

Online reviews and testimonials are important for your business.

84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. So, ask all those happy customers to share their experience with the online community.

Aim for quality reviews on Google, Yelp, and other third-party sites. Don’t forget to respond back to your reviewers. It shows you value their feedback and are open to recommendations.

You can link reviews and testimonials right to your website. New patients will want to see real-life feedback from your customers. It will also do wonders for your SEO.

6. Don’t Get Left in the Digital Age’s Dust

The digital age doesn’t take lightly to old, outdated websites. And neither do your patients.

Over 50% of people use their mobile phones to conduct online searches. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly and test every single webpage. This will also make Google happy and push your website ranking higher up.

Younger generations expect to be able to do everything from the comfort of their smartphones. Consider a booking widget on your website. This will allow patients to make appointments after hours.

Use video content where applicable. Did you recently redesign your dentist office? Use a digital tour of the new space as a marketing tactic.

You’ll also want to avoid these website design mistakes.

Share Smiles

Be present on social media and use it as a tool to share stories of your brand. Facebook and Instagram are the main channels your patients turn to when seeking more information.

Share relevant articles and images. Showcase your employees and become involved in the community. Post seasonal highlights and holiday favorites to boost engagement.

7. Be Digitally Convenient

Use your website to meet the needs and expectations of your patients. Give them the information they seek right at their fingertips. Nowadays, people prefer this over calling and speaking to someone in the office.

Consider a patient portal. It makes it easy for patients to pay bills online, review records, or leave a message for the dentist. Appointment scheduling tools are also appreciated.

Go paperless and have important forms available online. This way patients can fill them out right on the website or email them in. Hyperlink your email address to make it quicker for patients to get in touch.

Provide a contact form for potential patients so it’s easy for them to get in touch. Add an FAQ’s section to help save time by answering popular questions.

Dental Website Design Tools for Online Success

Following these dental website design practices can help turn leads into new patients. Use these tools to enhance your digital brand and maintain a happy client base.

Is your website in need of a revamp? Learn more about how a contemporary and user-friendly website can transform your practice.

The post Dental Website Design: 7 Must Haves That Will Skyrocket Your Success appeared first on Midas Marketing.

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We gained first-hand experience early in our careers that marketing was either a luxury or an afterthought for most small businesses. Once you decide to move past the do-it-yourself phase, you either work with students and freelancers who typically lack professionalism, or you swallow the bullet and attempt to work with an ad agency who would much rather chase big fish than give great service to the “little guy”.

The post Our Roots appeared first on Midas Marketing.

The pop culture quote “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply to the internet. Just because you have a website published doesn’t mean people will be able to find you. It takes the right approach, the right platform, and a strategy for SEO.

That’s why businesses that are serious about growing take advantage of a WordPress Specialist. These gurus know how to build an aesthetic website that is easy to find, easy to navigate, and generates qualified leads for your business.

How do they do it? And is it really worth the investment? We certainly think so! But you should decide for yourself after reading these 5 highlights of hiring a web designer trained in WordPress:

The Advantages of Hiring a WordPress Specialist

Did you know WordPress is the #1 content management system (or “CMS”) in the world?  This massive platform makes up nearly 27% of the websites online today.

That’s why there are so many WordPress Specialists available. They know the in’s and out’s of this advantageous platform, and how to help your business make the most of it.

WordPress has and will continue to take over the web design world. Working with a WordPress specialist can turn website from a liability to a sales-driving asset.

Here are 5 ways a WordPress specialist will bring your website to life:

1. WordPress Serves as a Powerful Engine for Your Website

If your website isn’t built on WordPress, you could be missing out.

Google is a big fan of WordPress sites. They rank well in search engine results because of well-structured content and the tendency to have a steady stream of updates.

In fact, Google endorses the use of WordPress for site design. The advantages of WordPress allow you to build a custom website that serves as a lead-generation machine for your business.

After all, your site is more than just a digital billboard. It serves as the hub for most digital marketing strategies. Used correctly, it should turn your web traffic into conversions that grow your business.

Whether your business sells products via an e-commerce platform or you’re building a website designed to showcase your services, WordPress gives you the tools and options to create what you need without constraints.

But keep in mind that not everything about WordPress should be “DIY”. While anyone can create a website on the platform and select a theme, it takes an expert to know how to optimize it and integrate various features.

From mobile responsiveness to plugins to SEO optimization, there’s a lot that goes into building a professional and useful website design, which is why hiring a specialist comes in handy.

2. Having an Expert Build Your Website Saves a Lot of Time

When you’re running a business, time is precious. You don’t want to waste weeks–or even months–trying to overcome a learning curve in order to build a website. Not only are you wasting time better spent on running your business, but you also run a high risk of missing important web design steps or elements.

By hiring a WordPress specialist, you guarantee quality results while opening up your own time or the time of your employees to be better spent on their job responsibilities.

Plus, the task gets done quicker. The average timeline for a custom web design is often 6 to 8 weeks. In that span, a good developer mocks up, stagings, and launches your website for you.

As he or she goes about this process, they will use expertise picked up through formal education and/or training to ensure that your site is built correctly from the front-end to the back.

They can also train you on how to post blogs, make updates, or manage your website properly, or you can hire them to do this for you.

The latter of these two options is a worthy investment. One that saves you time while ensuring the job is done right.

3. The Ways a WordPress Specialist Makes Maintenance & Management Easier

Because websites require monthly updates after they’re published to maintain optimal functionality and SEO, it’s good to have an expert available who can handle it.

Typical website security and maintenance services include:

• Updating Plugins & Themes
• Monitoring Website Security
• Responding to and Preventing Downtime
• Initiating Website Backups

But what about the other stuff, like uploading new photos, creating new pages, or formatting and posting your company blogs?

Enter Website Management: a service most businesses choose in order to save money, improve efficiency, and gain peace of mind.

When you put your website’s management into the hands of a WordPress Specialist, you save on the cost of having to hire a website developer in-house in order to use your site to your advantage.

These individuals are no stranger to coding. From HTML and CSS to PHP and Javascript, they know how to create, maintain, fix, and update this foreign “web language” so your website maintains a professional look as well as its structural integrity.

They can also include this coding on any site updates you create. This is important when you’re making changes to your website. Even blogs have a unique set of coding that is essential to its formatting and SEO performance.

Not knowing how to update your website properly can lead to poor display, broken elements, and other “emergencies” you don’t want your web traffic stumbling upon.

4. A WordPress Specialist Can Help with Your SEO Strategy

Okay, so we’ve covered your website’s design and maintenance, but what about SEO? There’s no point in having a website nobody can find.

No matter how good your website design is, you aren’t going to pop up on the first page of Google overnight. It takes strategy to move up in search engine rankings, and the competition can be thick.

Currently, there are over 18 BILLION websites on the internet today–and counting. Carving your place on the world wide web requires you to prove to search engines your content and services are the best solutions to certain keywords researched by its users.

To do that, businesses develop or hire someone to develop an SEO strategy. This strategic marketing approach researches the most relevant keywords in your business, then uses both internal and external content to help you rank for them.

SEO is a full-time job for most businesses. It requires not only implementation but also maintenance. Your ranking changes in real-time based on new websites entering the pool and updates on existing websites trying to rank for the same keywords as you.

That means getting to the first page of search engines is only half the battle. The other half requires constant, daily monitoring and maintenance if you want to achieve optimal performance.

WordPress Specialists trained in SEO can do that by:

• Producing Relevant On-Page Content
• Producing Relevant Off-Page Content
• Building Quality Backlinks to Your Site
• Auditing Poor Backlinks to Your Site
• Improving Your Site Speed
• Improving Your Mobile Responsiveness
• And More…

All of these things are ongoing strategies, not singular tasks. They have to be implemented continuously in order to build and maintain your SEO performance.

But what if you need to rank fast? There is a strategy for that, too. It’s called Search Engine Marketing, or SEM. Many WordPress Specialists trained in SEO are also familiar with SEM strategies, including AdWords, Google’s popular platform for digital marketing.

The difference between SEO and SEM is that SEM is paid advertising. You’ve seen it before. From the banners on various websites to the top 3 listings on each of your Google search results, SEM puts you in front of your customers’ eyes.

For a price, of course.

If you’re interested in pairing an SEM strategy with your SEO, be sure to ask a website specialist about digital marketing opportunities.

5. A WordPress Specialist Can Improve Your Digital Marketing Campaigns

While we’re on the topic of marketing, another advantage to hiring a WordPress Specialist is he or she can help you get the most out of your digital campaigns.

From newsletters to landing pages to setting up call-to-actions, a good WordPress Specialist can adapt your website to whatever digital campaign you have going.

Have a sale on a product? Advertise it on your website via blogs, a landing page for SEM, or a slider image on your homepage.

Do you produce a monthly newsletter? Add a newsletter signup pop-up to your website to build your audience.

Perhaps you’re big on social media. Great! Add widgets or icons to your website in order to help new visitors stay connected.

When it comes to campaigns, there are numerous ways your website can both support and expand its reach. However, you won’t know how or when to use them without insight from an expert.

By hiring a WordPress specialist, you receive this expertise through a third party vendor, saving you the cost of hiring an in-house employee while making you money through advanced website development and maintenance.

Pretty cool, right?

Let Us Help You Optimize Your Website

Ready to have your website built and managed the right way? We can help your business grow with your website design, branding, SEO, and copywriting needs. We’ll set you up with a WordPress Specialist who can design and optimize a website tailored to your business.

Contact us to get started!

The post 5 Ways A WordPress Specialist Can Bring Your Website To Life appeared first on Midas Marketing.

A strong brand identity is vital when it comes to making a strong impression on your customers.

Good branding boosts recognition, and clients prefer to do business with brands they’re familiar with and know are trustworthy.

Good branding tips the scales in your favor, making your business look approachable and well put together.

Read on for our top five branding tips for business success!

1. Take Inspiration From Your Competitors

While this may seem like an unlikely place to be looking for branding tips, keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing will give you an edge.

Make sure to analyze a broad range of competitors to get an idea of the bigger picture.

Take note of what they’re doing that works well and channel it into your own business branding.

Equally, take a look at what your competitors aren’t doing well. Knowing your competitor’s weaknesses is something you can use to your advantage, and turn into your strengths.

A good example of this is when supermarkets launch price-cut campaigns that shame their competitor’s pricing to stir up a full-blown supermarket price war!

2. Be Clear and Transparent About Your Company’s Purpose And Values

Authenticity is more important now than ever before. A whopping 91% of customers value honesty when it comes to social media marketing.

Transparency is key when it comes to gaining, and keeping, the attention and loyalty of your clientele.

If it helps, try to personify your brand and answer these questions:

• What problems are you trying to solve?
• How and what do you inspire?
• What sets you apart from your competition?
• Define yourself in three words. Why have you chosen these?
• What are your goals?

If you can answer these questions when it comes to your business, great! If not, perhaps you should consider going back to the drawing board.

In order to effectively implement a strong brand identity, you have to know your business inside and out.

3. Make Sure You Have A Strong Social Media Presence

In 2017, 2.46 billion people worldwide are using social media. Of course, this number is forever growing with every day that goes by.

Suffice to say, social media plays a pretty important role in marketing your brand. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are great platforms to branch out to if you want to jump on the hashtag bandwagon.

Hashtags help engage your audience and are an excellent way of driving traffic your way.

4. Consistent Branding

Perhaps you’ve established yourself via various social media channels. In order to sustain a good rapport with your client base, you must have consistent branding.

For example, imagine your business is a blog that promotes cruelty-free cosmetics. Then one day, you decide to advertise a giveaway which includes non-cruelty free products.

What does this tell your customers? What does it say about you as a brand? It projects a lack of commitment to your following, and most importantly: inconsistent branding.

Again, consistency is something you can only achieve if you know what your brand stands for.

5. Hire Professionals

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help from beyond the confines of your company. This is what professionals are for. At Midas, our highly skilled team can help you with your brand design and digital marketing plans.

Looking For More Great Branding Tips?

For more branding and digital marketing tips, check out our blog. If you have any questions about how our services can help you, get in touch today.

The post 5 Must-Know Branding Tips to Build Your Business appeared first on Midas Marketing.