Rants and Raves

We won an Award!

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

That's right, Bacio Catering was voted the 7th best web design out of 576 entries this past week in San Diego, CA, even beating out one of mega company Carnival Cruise Lines websites, CarnivalEntertainment.com.

We want to thank Bacio Catering for letting us go crazy on their website and giving us the freedom to make them an awesome design. We also want to thank them for providing us with such amazing photos to use on the website, without them the site would not be the same.

You can view the list of winners here: http://www.americandesignawards.com/winner.aspx?Date=08/2009 . Be sure to check out some of the other designs, the ones that beat us are simply amazing. Our hats off to them.

We have lots of specials going on right now at Steps Marketing so if you know anyone in need of an award winning website, send them our way!

Hope you all had an amazing New Year.

Steps Holiday Specials

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

Steps Marketing is huge on the Holidays so we want to spread around some of that Holiday cheer. To do that we have decided to put all of our web services on special!

For a limited time we are offering custom websites for only $1,499. These sites are 100% built to your specifications and are the best marketing tool you will ever use.

Benefits of a Custom Website include:

* Ability to target tens of thousands of searchers each month

* Increased market size

* Attract new clients

* Increase sales and revenues

We are also offering our Managed Online Advertising services starting at $149 a month.

This includes:

* Advertising on Google and Facebook

* Social Media Integration and Promotion

* Local Listing Enhancement

We also have Pre-Designed websites for just $199 to setup and $19 a month.

You can see some of our custom websites here:

Bacio Catering

5^th Street Steak House

Chico State Career Fair

LaSalles

Rileys

Coldwell Banker Dufour Realty

Why your business NEEDS a website

Cody Sweet - Interwebs Kung Fu Master

Why your business needs a website, even if you've never left town.

Many business owners think that they don't need a website because they are a local business and have no plans to sell anything online, or even just a couple of towns over. They think this because they don't understand how people use the internet and what they do with it.

Let me enlighten you a little bit.

Google is used mainly as a research tool, not a shopping tool.

Yes, many people use Google to find products to buy. But this doesn't mean they are buying these products online. Many people use Google to gather information. The large majority of people still prefer to touch something before they buy it and simply use Google to research the product or service before they make a purchase. They also use it to find where to purchase what they are looking for.

It takes much more time and effort to flip through hundreds of pages in the phone book than it does to type 3 words in Google. People decide they want something, go to Google to see where to get it, and end up in your shop or office later that day to get what they want. If you are not on Google then this extremely large segment of internet savvy users are much more likely to end up as one of your competitors clients who does have a web presence.

Google is the new yellow pages, the yellow pages is the new door stop.

Google has gone and surpassed the yellow pages so fast it'll make your head spin. The yellow pages are on their death bed. How many phone books do you have sitting at your house? I have at least 3 and I can't even remember the last time I used them. The only reason I still have them is because I am too lazy to take them to the dumpster, that and they weigh 20lbs a piece.

So if the yellow pages worked well for you in the past, then you should probably get ready to make the switch online. Before you know it the yellow pages will cease to exist and your business may be right along side it.

It's not called the information superhighway for nothing.

The internet did not get its nickname for no reason. It really is the information superhighway, as cheesy as that sounds. As I said, people use the internet to gather information. It is a place where thousands of potential customers can go at anytime of the day and learn about you and your business. You don't have to call them, write them, talk to them or anything.

Potential clients go to Google and get information about your business. If you have a great website then the chances are that you will be seeing them in your place of business sometime soon. If you have no website or a bad website, then chances are the business across town will be seeing them very soon.

There are literally hundreds of ways to use your website to promote your business. Getting a great website is just the start, but it is a start that can go a long ways

Twitter for Businesses

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

Twitter is the latest in the social media craze, and for good reason. Twitter allows you to connect and network with thousands of people. You can keep in contact with your current customers, become friend with you customers friends, network with other businesses in your area, and you can even network with people in your same industry in other parts of the world.

Here are a few ways Twitter can help your business.

1. Network with other businesses.

You can use Twitter to meet and network with other business owners who you may be able to share business with. Do you own a hair salon? Maybe a local day spa will want to work with you and refer clientele back and forth.

2. Meet your clients friends.

You can look at your current clients profiles and start conversations with their friends. If one of your clients is having an interesting conversation on his Twitter page you are more than welcome to add your thoughts. This is the great thing about Twitter, people are not excluded. It is not weird for you to share your thoughts on someone else's conversations. This will then lead to others talking to you and you being able to get your business name out there even more.

3. Keep your clients updated.

Just like your blog, Twitter is another great place to update your clients. As a matter a fact, you can even integrate Twitter with your blog so every time you post a new blog it will show up on Twitter and vice a versa. If you are having a special or a sale or have a new product Twitter is another great place to let people know.

4. Share ideas and problems with others in your industry.

This is probably my single favorite use of Twitter. Say you own a Sushi restaurant in San Diego. Maybe you are having problems with your Saki distributor or youâ€™re marketing campaigns are just not doing as well as you would like. Well with Twitter you could ask your network of 37 other Sushi restaurant owners all across the US and get their advice and opinions. Maybe an owner up in Carlsbad has a great Saki distributor and he will give you their number. Or maybe an owner over in Chicago just created a new marketing campaign and would be happy to share his thoughts on what works and what doesn't.

I am sure you have a million questions you would love to ask other owners about but are unable to ask the ones you know because they are your direct competitors. Well now with Twitter you can ask other owners all around the county or even the world.

These are just a handful of the ways Twitter can help your business. Integrating Twitter with your website, blog and other social media is a surefire way to drive traffic to your website, and ultimately your business.

Don't have your brother or cousin's friend build you your website.

Joe Duenat - CEO/Interwebs Kung Fu Master

Yup, just about everyone knows someone that knows somebody else that can make a website. But very few do it well. This is what WE DO. We know the in's and out's of website design, coding, optimization and maintenance. You are really doing yourself a disservice to your company if you get a "pro bono" website from a friend or family member and here's why:

Say the site goes down, needs changes, gets hacked, email breaks, files lost... Who do you call? What if your friend/family member is on vacation, doesn't have time, doesn't want to, is unavailable?... Then what? This scenario happens more often that you can imagine.

Steps Marketing offers a professional service that you can count on. We are here for you, we will help you if things go haywire and will applaud you when sales are going through the roof (on your new e-commerce site)

Remember, just about anyone can make a "website," but few do it well. Now more than ever, you need a strong online presence to be competitive. We help businesses and individuals establish and enhance their image online. We offer a hassle free solution that takes just minutes to get started. Call today for a free consultation.