How to Create an Infographic Quickly and for Free

Last Updated: November 9, 2016

If you’re at all familiar with what it takes to increase your business’s visibility online, then you know two things:

Informative content matters.
High-quality images matter.

What if we told you there’s an easy way to make content and images work together for your benefit? Combining the value of an informational blog post and the instant appeal of a brightly colored image, we give you: the infographic.

What’s So Special About Infographics?

Infographics are images that contain short, simple, easy-to-digest pieces of information. They help you provide valuable information to your audience while typically requiring less than a minute’s worth of reading. Grabbing attention and then delivering useful, actionable information? No wonder infographics are the perfect images for businesses to share on social media!
Luckily, infographics are relatively easy to create. You can take advantage of online tools that offer free templates so you don’t have to build them from scratch. This is particularly helpful for business owners without much spare time or many design skills.
In fact, to show you how easy it is for beginners, we had one of our writers create an infographic for this blog post. Keep reading to discover how she did it and how to create an infographic of your own.

How to Create an Infographic

1. Choose a Topic.

The subject of your infographic should be something you’re knowledgeable about, something relevant to your business, and, most importantly, something your audience wants to learn about. Ultimately, it must add value to their lives before they’ll want to share it with others.
Topics can be anything related to your business that will provide your audience with information they can actually use. They’re often tutorials, explanations, and presentations of data. Some examples:

How to change your furnace’s air filters
10 things to know about tax deductions
What to expect during your first Swedish massage
5 most popular car accessories
3 reasons to floss your teeth every day

The possibilities are endless.

2. Keep It Brief.

Remember, since this is a visual representation, all your text should be short, sweet, and to the point. Organize your ideas ahead of time into bullet points and short sentences so you can get all your ideas across succinctly.

3. Use a Striking Layout.

Eye-catching design is what makes your infographic stand out. The idea of designing one from scratch may seem daunting if you’ve never done it before, but don’t worry: There are plenty of free templates online that you can take advantage of.
For our infographic, we used Piktochart, a company that offers an assortment of free (as well as paid) template options. This platform was super helpful because it allowed easy customization. Changing background colors, writing our own text, and swapping out graphics were all simple to do. The thorough tutorial at the beginning certainly helped, too.
Another option available to you is to download free templates from companies like Hubspot. While they don’t have a whole program to assist you in creating your infographic, they give you a variety of templates you can use with Microsoft PowerPoint and customize on your own.

4. Share the Finished Product.

Now that you’ve created an attractive infographic you’re proud of, it’s time to share it with your followers. Upload it to a page on your website, then share it with a link in your social media post. (Including the link may encourage especially interested parties to click over to your site.)
Now that you know how to create an infographic easily and affordably, you’ll be an infographic-creating machine in no time. Good luck!
Here’s our finished product, made possible by Piktochart.

Why Customer Service and Facebook Are a Brilliant Match

Last Updated: July 21, 2016

Local SEO isn’t the only way to spread the good word about your business. Offering friendly, helpful customer service is a super-easy way to keep customers happy and strengthen word-of-mouth. After all, customers are much more likely to do repeat business with a company that provides superior customer service.
So why not take this one step further and make your customer service efforts public? When you receive customer comments on social media, particularly Facebook, you can respond right there on the same platform. This way, you’re not just providing a customer with a prompt response—you’re also showing prospective customers visiting your page just how attentive and professional you really are. If you do it correctly, it’s a win-win.
In her recent article on Search Engine Watch, “Five Reasons Why You Should Invest in Social Customer Service,” Rebecca Sentance explores how you can benefit from using social media to interact with customers. Many of her examples focus on Twitter and the big brands that use it; however, we can easily adapt these examples to fit small, local businesses that primarily use Facebook.

Five Reasons to Use Social Media for Customer Service

So, what are Sentance’s five reasons for using social media for customer service?

Convenience: People are spending a lot of time on social media daily. It makes sense to meet them where they already are.
Attention: People want to be heard. When they don’t hear back from a company, they react negatively and often disparage said company on social media. On the other hand, when they do hear back promptly, they’re much more likely to view that company favorably.
First impressions: Frankly, responding on social media makes you look good. It shows accountability and personality.
Retention: Studies show consumers are willing to switch brand loyalties and even pay more if they think they’ll receive better customer service. Keeping customers happy—and doing so publicly—will help you attract and retain customers.
Feedback: Social media, especially Facebook, is a great tool for getting customer feedback. You can survey your audience to hear their thoughts on your current product offerings or what kinds of new services they’d be interested in. Basically, you can use social media as low-cost market research to help you improve your business.

Of course, when angry customers take to social media to air their grievances, things can get ugly. However, this is likely to happen regardless of how active you are on Facebook or Twitter. Cooler heads always prevail in these situations. As long as you respond professionally and respectfully, you’ll come out on top.
Want more details? We strongly recommend reading Sentance’s full article over on Search Engine Watch. It’s a deeply insightful read.

Why Social Media for Small Businesses Is Essential

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

For businesses large and small, social media isn’t optional anymore. It’s essential. Does your business have a social media presence? If not, then you’re missing out on a staggering number of benefits—benefits your competitors are probably enjoying as you read this.
So, what are the benefits of social media for small businesses? How can you make the most of them? Keep reading to find out.

Social Media Fosters Connection

One of the biggest reasons for social media’s rise has to do with how easily and quickly it connects people. In your case, social media will enable you to connect with your target customers (and vice versa). By sharing, commenting, and generally interacting with current and potential customers, you’ll strengthen your relationship with them.
In fact, social media platforms like Facebook have become another channel customers are using to directly contact businesses. Whether it’s through public wall posts or private messages, customers may rely on social media to inquire about your products or services, send you valuable feedback, or to even ask for a price quote. Contacting you via social media is even easier than sending an e-mail (never mind making a telephone call), so the frequency of this method of contact is expected to rise.
As Lauren Friedman explains,

Your customers are on Facebook throughout the day—especially those that work with the internet, so it’s only natural they would much rather stay on the same website rather than switch or pick up the phone to call you. Many of them use Facebook Messenger now like text message, chatting with their friends and family throughout the day.

However, if you aren’t on Facebook, then that’s one fewer way customers are able to contact you. And don’t you want to make it as easy as possible for customers to get in touch with you?

Social Media Makes You Feel Real to Customers

When you’re active and engaged on social media, you’ll also be showing off your personality and the real people behind your company. This will build a relationship between you and your customers. They’ll begin to see you as a group of living, breathing individuals. Eventually, this will lead to more business. As Internet entrepreneur Evan Carmichael says, “People buy from people, not companies.”
At the same time, a professional social media presence will also give you the appearance of a cohesive, legitimate company. Prospective customers will see your regular updates and posts on Facebook or Twitter and feel you’re genuinely invested in your business.

How to Make Social Media More Effective

Social media for small businesses doesn’t have to be complicated. It may feel like a daunting project at first, but once you get into the swing of things, you’ll barely even think about it. Heck, you might even enjoy it!
Here’s how to make your social media presence as effective as possible:

Be active. Don’t just create a Facebook page and forget about it. Regular activity is key.
Share status updates, photos, helpful articles and videos, and any other content that will give your audience a peak behind the curtain. Make yourself and your team seem as real as possible.
Regularly check your message inbox, as well as your page, and reply to anyone who has reached out to you about doing business with your company. You can’t reap the benefits of a direct line of contact if you aren’t there to respond!

How Prospect Genius Can Help

Feel like there’s not enough time in your day? Can’t figure out how to get started? Fear not! Prospect Genius is here to help.
Our selection of social media packages offers assistance at all levels. Whether you’re just starting out or you want a more advanced, fleshed-out campaign, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what we offer:

SocialStart: For clients who are just getting started on social media, we’ll create accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Then, we’ll write several blog posts for you that we’ll share on your accounts so you have a handful of posts right out of the gate.
SocialStream: For clients who are established on social media and want to share content regularly, we write a set number (determined by you) of blog posts each month and share them on your accounts.
SocialBuzz: For clients who want to be engaged on social media but don’t have the time to share updates on their own, we create and share weekly status updates on your behalf.
Paid Facebook Advertising: For advanced clients looking to expand their reach, increase visibility, and drive more traffic to their website, we create and manage targeted Facebook ad campaigns.

No matter where your business falls on the social media spectrum, Prospect Genius has a solution for you.
Social media for small businesses is critical, but that doesn’t mean you should lose sleep over it. Have fun with it! Sharing details about your company and interacting with your customers can be rewarding and even eye opening.
If you’re having trouble keeping up with Facebook or Twitter, simply give us a call and we’ll see how we can help. There’s no excuse for abandoning your social media presence!

Common Social Media Pitfalls to Be Aware Of

Last Updated: January 27, 2016

Today, in 2016, the importance of social media for local businesses has been well established. We all know it’s a vital way for businesses to connect and engage with potential customers nearby. Ask any online advertiser, and they’ll tell you the same thing.
However, digital marketing strategist and author Roger Rogerson raises an incisive point:

“Everyone is telling you to use social media – but who’s telling you to be careful?”

In his recent article, “The Hidden Social Media Dangers for All Businesses,” Rogerson describes an exhaustive list of scenarios that could get a business into trouble on social media. From disgruntled former employees posting irate messages on your wall to an employee accidentally sharing top-secret company news, he proves there are countless social media pitfalls your company must watch out for.

Other scenarios include:

Dissatisfied customers publicly complaining about your business.
Poorly worded posts being misconstrued and causing backlash.
Competitors slandering your company and spreading rumors.
The local media getting wind of something (such as an erroneous post or a bad customer experience) through social media and escalating the story.
Employee(s) exhibiting unprofessional behavior.
Nasty Internet trolls calling you out publicly or even harassing you.

Unfortunately, the list goes on.
Rogerson’s article is not meant to intimidate or scare business owners away from engaging on social media, though. It’s simply a warning about the various social media pitfalls that can damage a company’s entire web presence.
What you should take away from this article is that your company’s social media accounts must be handled by an employee you trust and respect. This will minimize the damage that can be done internally. You should also take time to develop a company-wide policy for dealing with negative customers, competitors, and other individuals who attempt to provoke you or do you harm. This way, you’ll have a go-to response tactic in place so you can react as quickly as possible. Of course, every situation is unique, but it’s a good idea to at least have a guideline.
Check out Rogerson’s article over on Search Engine Watch for the complete details.

Why Organic Search Will Always Be Vital

Last Updated: September 10, 2015

As you’re well aware, your website can get traffic from countless channels. Social media, paid advertising, and e-mail campaigns all contribute to your site traffic. But did you know that organic results (mainly from Google) remain the most significant source of traffic? This is according to a recent Search Engine Land article by Kristine Schachinger. Titled, “4 Reasons Organic Search Is Better,” the article explains why there’s no match for the long-term effectiveness of organic, SEO-based advertising.
Schachinger supports all of the article’s claims with data from a 2014 report by BrightEdge, which declares organic search “the clear champion” of website traffic. Accounting for 51% of total site traffic, “organic is simply better for delivering relevant traffic.” However, in addition to being the highest-performing traffic generator in terms of raw numbers, there are a few other reasons organic search is still the most viable resource for site visits:

You have more control over your organic presence. When you rely on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to drive your traffic, your success is based on the whims of their platforms—which are completely unpredictable. For instance, Facebook is notorious for limiting the organic reach of business pages, thus forcing businesses to pay for their posts to be seen by their followers.
With organic traffic, you have more long-term security. With sources like social media, e-mail referrals, and paid ads, your traffic will go away as soon as you stop investing in them. (This is especially true for paid ads.) But once you’ve created a secure, organic presence, it takes a significant period of negligence to create a major deficit in traffic.
Visitors who arrive to your site via organic search are more likely to become long-term customers because they sought you out. As Schachinger explains,

“Matching keywords to user intent means you may be present in many searches. The user may find you consistently, and once they get to your site, they are more likely to stay. Organic users are still your best long-term customers. In my experience, they have lower bounce rates and more pages visited, and they are more likely to return.”

This isn’t to say that the other traffic sources aren’t valuable. While organic search results will drive the majority of your traffic, the best way to approach advertising is to capitalize on all possible sources. The synergistic effect of multiple traffic generators is the key to long-lasting performance.
Be sure to read Kristine Schachinger’s full article over on Search Engine Land.

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