Web vs social

[John HC]

Random question....
...for those of you keeping track...what seems to yield better results...with regards to inquiries or potential sales leads ... web traffic or social media....Im running a small home-based vinyl sign shop....primarily vehicle-lettering...rigid signs, banners, etc.(I do NOT work on my kitchen table...)
Just trying to plan my next steps...hope to expand next year...pick up more traffic...so far, business has been mostly word of mouth and referrals...

Thanks guys for sharing the knowledge...your input is invaluable

 

[Graphic Destruction]

Social media for sure. Facebook, when used properly drives more sales and directs more people to our website. Both need to be setup correctly and work together to be successful.

 

[rjssigns]

All depends on your target market, demographic and sometimes luck. I had over 6000 followers on Twitter and it didn't generate enough income to justify the time invested. Wife developed a dandy website that works 24/7 with a minimal investment in time. We picked up a marina because of it. Going out this week to do another two boats.

 

[Quark]

All depends on your target market, demographic and sometimes luck. I had over 6000 followers on Twitter and it didn't generate enough income to justify the time invested. Wife developed a dandy website that works 24/7 with a minimal investment in time. We picked up a marina because of it. Going out this week to do another two boats.

6000 followers! How did you manage that?! It's insane!

 

[joshGN]

I personally have found FB to be a complete waste of time.

It generates nothing but a bunch of BS jobs you dont want.

 

[Solventinkjet]

If you are just starting out and only want local jobs, you can always buy a Google ad that is targeted to your local area. This is a great way to advertise online without breaking the bank. When set to a local target, you only get impressions and clicks from local searches instead of everyone in America being able to see the ad and wasting your advertising dollars. Most of the time you get $50 to start an ad campaign for free so it's worth a shot to see if it is worth it to you. $50 for a local ad campaign should last a while depending on how populated your area is.

 

[rjssigns]

6000 followers! How did you manage that?! It's insane!

Time, lots of time, and posting other things besides constantly pushing the business. People need to be compelled to visit because of content.

 

[John HC]

If you are just starting out and only want local jobs, you can always buy a Google ad that is targeted to your local area. This is a great way to advertise online without breaking the bank. When set to a local target, you only get impressions and clicks from local searches instead of everyone in America being able to see the ad and wasting your advertising dollars. Most of the time you get $50 to start an ad campaign for free so it's worth a shot to see if it is worth it to you. $50 for a local ad campaign should last a while depending on how populated your area is.

...excellent!!
Thanks folks...I will keep checking back...I think I will look at this "google" thing you speak of...

 

[Graphic Destruction]

$50 on google or FB won't get you ****.

 

[Solventinkjet]

$50 on google or FB won't get you ****.

It all depends on how you set it up. We noticed we were getting a lot of clicks but not conversions on Roland parts. After looking at our keywords, we realized that our Roland keywords were too generic and would get a lot of clicks from people looking for Roland music equipment. If you optimize your keywords and manage your Google adwords account properly, you should be getting good return on investment. Google isn't the biggest advertising agency in the world for nothin'.

 

[rossmosh]

In general, there is no excuse not to have a "simple" 5 page Word Press website. In less than 30 hours you should be able to put something up that looks relatively professional.

Home Page: Basic text of what you do with SEO in mind and some pretty pictures of your best work.
Products/Services: More detailed of what you do. Include pictures.
Work/Portfolio: Show off pictures of anything you want to sell. Less text. Should be mostly visual.
Contact: Email/phone/facebook
About: Map, phone/email, and services offered.

Once done, you generally only have to update the Work/Portfolio section.

Then use Facebook to drive users to your website. Keep your page active as you can stomach but keep it VERY professional.

 

[visual800]

I took down my FB page for my business and just advertise it off my personal. it hasnt gotten me a damn thing but stupid questions and PITA jobs.

As far as a my website its out there for portfolio only, it does nothing. My main source of work is word of mouth and me going after it