Your Mobile Guide to Christmas Town USA

CC Communications Launches A Mobile App Full of Holiday Cheer!

Photo courtesy of Christmas Town USA

This week our team put the finishing touches on a new mobile app, just in time for the holiday season. It's called Christmas Town USA Mobile Tour and it's designed to guide you through the streets of McAdenville, North Carolina, during their beautiful holiday light show. This annual display showcases thousands of twinkling lights, which you can view for free along a driving tour through the town. It's one of the largest and most popular holiday light shows in the state, and our app, which is also free, is a perfect companion to download before you drive.

The Christmas Town USA Mobile Tour app provides you with an enhanced experience when visiting our holiday light display. A map of the area highlights can't-miss points of interest, and includes information about parking and wait times from key locations leading into McAdenville at different times of the month. Notifications within the app tell you when that day's light display is nearing the end, and notifications from organizers let you know of important, up to the minute information about the festivities within the app.

Download the app for free, here:

Is Your Email Marketing Considered Spam?

It's said that the average person receives about 105 emails per day. Anyone else feel like this number is severely deflated? In any case, estimates suggest 300 billion emails are sent every day worldwide, and out of those, nearly 90% are considered spam.

As a business, email marketing is one of the most effective sales conversion tools you can use, but do it wrong and you'll see the number of unsubscribes grow, or worse, they'll hit the dreaded spam button. So how do you market your businesses via email without people hitting the spam button?

DON'T ADD CONTACTS WITHOUT PERMISSION
If you've ever received an e-newsletter from a company you've never done business with, then it can make you take pause. How exactly did they get your information? If it seems suspect, it's because it is. Occasionally marketers will buy or rent lists of leads and load them into their database. This is a surefire way to get yourself blacklisted by the search engines. Focus on building quality leads through signup forms on your website or social media channels, and require a double opt-in for good measure.

IS YOUR SUBJECT LINE FULL OF WIN?
As people sift through their inbox they use the subject line to determine whether your email is worth opening. You've got 65 (or so) characters to impress so make it count. You should be personable and tease the e-mail content in a way that drives click-through. For example, "Don't miss out on our 24-hour flash sale" - Using pronouns like "our," "you," and "we" make it personable, and the limited time offer entices people to click now instead of later. Notice the absence of an exclamation mark in the example. Using those can get you flagged by spam bots so use sparingly. Also don't substitute numbers for letters. If you've obtained first names in your database, then by all means use them in the subject line. Most email marketing service providers have this feature built in and it helps when trying to catch someone's attention.

GET TO THE POINT
Have you ever opened an email and immediately deleted it simply because your mind is boggled by the sheer amount of text? Nobody has time to read an email novella. Keep your content brief with a clear call to action. When designing your email layout, work to find the proper balance of images & text. A good rule of thumb is to ensure recipients can understand the point of your email within 3 seconds.

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Copywriting for SEO - Why it's Still Crucial for your New Website

There are many things to consider when your company is gearing up for a website redesign. You have to consider every little detail - from the new site map, to your navigation, to ensuring your web pages are redirected properly. And the list only gets longer from there. With so many details to manage it may be tempting to attempt shortcuts, lifting items from your current website to integrate into your new website. Don't allow your content be one of those shortcuts!

When a website redesign action plan is put into place, most concentration is placed on making sure that the website is visually appealing, mobile responsive, and user-friendly. Yes, those facets are extremely important, but no matter how attractive a website looks, if the content on the website lacks, so too will the traffic generated from search engines. Start your website off on the right foot and make some serious updates to your website content. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

Content Comes First
Don't put website copywriting off until a later date. Make an effort to implement your new website content when your website is first launched. We all get busy, and though you may have the best intentions to write your website copy, often times this crucial update is placed the back burner. Don't let this happen to you. There is likely to be a lot of attention when you launch your new website. Make sure that you put your best foot forward!

Mind Your Tone
If your website content was created in-house, chances are the content was written in an internal tone and voice, using insider, or fast-track, knowledge of your product or service. Chances are your website visitors do not share this same knowledge so make sure that the tone and language is not written in a way that would turn off or confuse website visitors. Also avoid using industry jargon, acronyms, or initials.

Writing for Robots
Your website content isn't just read by humans, it's also crawled by search engine bots to determine the subject and context of your website. Since these bots can't read or see websites as humans do, they scan your website structure, keywords, and layouts. It's important to note that as we enter a new era of semantic web, search engines are starting to recognize the intent behind our content, and keywords, while still important, are playing less of a role in search results. Your best bet is to write high-quality content that is relevant to your business or services and you will be rewarded with strong search results.

Keep it Fresh
Writing your website content is an ongoing process. To keep your website 'crawl-worthy' on a consistent basis, update your website regularly. This shows that your website is evolving and offers new content, which is a key tactic to maintaining SEO health. Make small tweaks to your home page copy, add new blog posts, or update your company news section on a monthly to quarterly basis to gain the most benefit from this strategy.

Do you need assistance evaluating your website content? Are you in the midst of a web re-design and need help to get your website content in tip-top shape? Email the CC Communications marketing team or call us at 706.761.4676. We're here to help!

Happy Halloween!

What's in a Domain Name?

Creating a domain name for your new website is extremely important as it serves a first impression for your online visitors. It defines your online presence. It can be the key to your online successes. It's how you're ultimately found. Make sure when choosing a domain name you're following these best practices.

Unique & Memorable
You want your domain to be well-branded with your business, but it's equally important for your domain to be memorable; either something that is exact to your business name or a variation that stands out and makes a statement for your business.

Keep it Short
Also, consider the length. If we're in a hurry and are typing quickly, it's extremely easy to make mistakes in entering a lengthy domain name. As a general rule of thumb, keep your domain name under 20 characters.

Consistency Counts
Be sure to use brand elements from your domain across all of your inbound marketing channels. If your company is active on social media, then make sure your social media handles match your domain name. If you have an e-newsletter, then incorporate your domain name in the branding. The same goes for an online blog. Providing this consistence will create a stronger brand identity for your business online.

Don't-Do-Dashes
Your domain will also provide SEO benefits. One tip to help improve your search rank is to ix-nay dashes (-) from your domain name. While it may be easier to read, dashes within a domain name can and often indicate spammy behavior to the search engines.

We'd love to hear what domain names have made a resonating impact on you! We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences below in a comment. If you need assistance re-directing your domain name, making a good selection, or are seeking web development assistance, contact the CC Communications team.

5 Things Your Website Must Have to Convert Visitors Into Customers

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When a potential client takes the step to explore your product or service options, your website will typically serve as the first line of defense. Getting customers to your website requires an effective inbound marketing strategy, but once you have them on your site, then what? Do you have the right elements in place to help convert them from a causal browser to a customer? Here are the top five things you should have in place to help bring in more customers from your website.

Tell Them Who You Are
Visitors like to know about who they'll be engaging for services. This is your chance to shine. Tell the word about the services you provide and what makes your business unique. Is your business complex? Write your copy in a way that anyone can understand. Also avoid marketing speak. Your message needs to be as natural as possible to convey a sense of authenticity. And while it's not imperative, you should consider adding a photo that shows off a bit of your company culture. Images of people can help instill a sense of trust, something you miss out on when you skip this pic.

Testimonials or Portfolios
To write engaging copy is only half of the battle. Having the opportunity to show your visitors and clients the products and services you provide is priceless. Be mindful to straddle the line and not come across as boastful or 'showy'. Illuminate your strengths and show visitors examples of how you can serve their needs.

Social Media Icons
How you present yourself on social media is becoming more and more important. Allow your site visitors to remain engaged with your company by displaying social media icons which link to your social media channels. If a particular social media channel is not properly maintained, opt to leave that platform off of your website. An unattended social media account could indicate to followers that your business is no longer in operation.

Call to Action 
We know that it's imperative to have a contact page for interested visitors to further contact you. Equally as important is a strong call to action, or an interactive way for a visitor to continue connecting with you. A call to action could be to follow one of your social media channels, subscribe to your blog - or even better, fill out request for a new business quote! It's important not to bury this call to action below the scroll line - make it clearly visible on the page, and use color to draw attention.

Added Value 
There's no better way to position yourself as an expert than to offer your visitors an added bonus for coming to your website. Said benefit can be entry to an exclusive email list or an informative white paper - Something that markets you but more, offers your visitors an unexpected extra.

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The Do's and Don'ts of Hashtag Use on Social Media

CC COMMUNICATIONS SMART TIPS ON PROPER #HASHTAG USE

The hashtag started off as an obscure way to search for content on Reddit and Twitter, and over time has become a social phenomenon, appearing on all social media networks, offline in other forms of media, and even spoofed on late night comedy shows. At this point you can't watch a show on television without seeing a hashtag in the corner the screen, prompting you to begin your two-screen experience.

For those who are still unclear on how to harness the power of the hashtag, it's a simple matter of inserting the pound symbol (#) directly in front of a keyword, which then helps organize and track conversations surrounding that particular keyword. Used correctly, hashtags can help you stay informed, engage in conversations where you can add valuable insight, and effectively promote yourself or your business. Used incorrectly, you can annoy your social media contacts, proving to be detrimental to your social media efforts.

Never fear, though - Hashtags are quite easy to implement and use! Stick with the CC Communications' list of do's and don'ts and you'll be incorporating one of social media's newest phenomenas like a champ.

DO'S

* Use a hashtag surrounding a current news topic, trend, or create one specific for your brand, a la #JustDoIt

* Use hashtags sparingly. Not every update on social media should have a hashtag so limit the number you use. We suggest no more than 2 hashtags per update.

* Use hashtags to facilitate an online conversation like a Twitter chat.

DON'TS

* #Do #Not #Hashtag #Each #Word - Not only is it obnoxious and forced, it serves no purpose and is considered a spammy practice.

* Don't over-complicate your hashtag. Stringing an entire sentence like #ILoveToUseHashTagsALot is not a good method. Be obvious with your intended keyword and keep it simple.

It's also important to note that you cannot exclusively claim or own a hash tag, and it can be viewed in a public forum. With that being said, be very careful about what hashtag you select to begin promoting or utilizing. There have been dozens of stories of hashtag snafus, like this one. Do your research and ensure that a hashtag is 'safe'.

So what's your verdict? Are you a hashtag lover or a hater? Any valuable tips you'd like to share?