How to Make Facebook Ads Work for You

Facebook ads

Social media has become one of the most effective venues to market products and services.  Due to the ability for companies to create more effective marketing campaigns by targeting their precise audiences, companies can dramatically increase revenues while maintaining, and often times, reducing costs.


Facebook Ads

Facebook has grown to be the largest social networking site in the world.  As of May 2013, data showed that there are a breathtaking 1.11 billion monthly active users and an unbelievable 665 million active users on any given day.  Combine the number of active users with the ability to target users based upon their demographics and you’ve got an opportunity that no company can afford to pass up or they’ll be foregoing opportunities for increased revenue on the table for their competitors to take advantage of.

The best thing about Facebook ads is that, despite how powerful and effective it is as a marketing channel, it is incredibly simple to setup and delivers targeted marketing at a fraction of the cost of its’ competitors.

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Why small businesses need more than just a website?

small business websitesWhile a website is vital to the long term success of any business, it’s not of much use if it’s not generating targeted traffic and converting valuable leads into customers.

Why can small businesses no longer just get by with a website?  A website on its own won’t create customers, it needs to attract visitors!  Furthermore, these visitors must be potential customers.  If you own a comedy club in Ottawa, and the majority of your traffic is from the US, you can be certain that it’s not generating you additional customers.  Even worse, if it’s not generating traffic at all then it serves no purpose whatsoever.

“A website without traffic is like a business without roads to get to it”
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N-VisionIT Interactive CEO Brent Mondoux receives Forty Under 40 Award

Ottawa Top Forty Under 40Thank you to my wonderful team at N-VisionIT Interactive for motivating me each and every day to give 100% and push myself outside of my comfort zone. Being recognized with a Forty Under 40 award is an honor and I consider it our entire team’s award, I couldn’t have done it without all of you.

Enclosed is a letter that our company sent to our customers and partners, but I’d also wish to thank all of my loyal blog readers as I sincerely appreciate your input, feedback and emails on a daily basis.

Dear Customer,

Every time we work on your website, mobile application or social media, we’re thinking about the big picture: How can we help you help others?

Because of N-VisionIT’s philosophy and because of the support of clients like you, our co-founder and CEO Brent Mondoux has just received the Forty Under 40 award from the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. The award, which received 150 nominations this year, recognizes top entrepreneurs who give back to the community.

“I attribute this win to our team’s success,” says Brent, who co-founded N-VisionIT with Reid Ivens in 1999. Since then, our business has gone on to build websites, mobile applications and social media marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies including the likes of Sara Lee and Sony as well as both the Canadian and the U.S. government.

Just four years after we opened, N-VisionIT was named one of Profit Magazine’s Hot 50 Companies. Why? Because, as you know, N-VisionIT cares about helping you connect with and take care of your customers.

“We’re not here just to make clients more money. We’re making clients products and services that will help people, and this award is proof of that,” says Brent, who was named one of Ottawa’s Forty Under 40 because of his expertise in web development and social media, his achievements with N-VisionIT and real estate firm Amplified Investments, and his philanthropic efforts.

Thanks to a client list that includes you, we’re able to donate website creation and other resources to help charities and non-profit organizations help the less fortunate. Since we created N-VisionIT Gives Back, we’ve built websites that have helped raise money for rare diseases and donations for the homeless.

Please join us in congratulating Brent in his commitment to making the world a better place, and in his contribution to businesses like yours which are striving to do the same.

Sincerely,
The team at N-VisionIT Interactive

Brent Mondoux
CEO, N-VisionIT Interactive
brent@betterwebsites.ca

Ottawa web design

Social Networking on LinkedIn for Business Success

Published in February 2013 Ottawa Chamber of Commerce newsletter

Social networking on LinkedIn for business success

Why do people go to networking events? Because it works! We meet new acquaintances, obtain new leads and in time these new connections transform into lucrative opportunities. As these new connections introduce us to others, the cycle repeats itself and our networking success begins to compound.

There’s no mystery that business networking still remains one of the most valuable methods of building and strengthening our connections; however, still today, many people have yet to discover the true power of networking on social media channels.

Social networking mirrors the same activities as business networking with one exception: face-to-face communication comes later. While business networking is still, and will always remain, a vital method of business development, there are many benefits to social networking that can bring your business development activities to the next level.

One of the most successful social networks for business-to-business networking activities is LinkedIn. Here’s why:

Unlimited connections

When performing traditional networking, your time is limited to the duration of the event and there are only so many people you can meet. LinkedIn eliminates time restrictions, giving you the freedom to research, target, and connect with the connections that you want to make. By controlling the quality and quantity of connections you are able to make better use of your time and target the best opportunities.

Better targeted focus

At networking events it’s challenging to target the best leads. LinkedIn enables you to learn the goals, accomplishments and interests of a potential connection prior to initiating conversation. We all know people do business with who they like and trust, so knowing a little bit about them prior to an initial conversation creates an advantageous position.

Easier referrals

LinkedIn makes it easy to ask for targeted referrals. Not only does it show you who in your network is connected with the lead you’re targeting, but it only takes is a simple message to initiate the process. At networking events, gaining targeted referrals is nearly impossible due to time and availability constraints.

Don’t eliminate your traditional business networking activity. Amplify your success by leveraging LinkedIn and other social media channels; believe me, your competitors are. Don’t leave opportunities on the table, it’s only you who will pay the price.

Join the FREE webinar on “Growing Your Business with LinkedIn”. Thursday, March 7th 2013

Click Here to Register.
Brent Mondoux is the CEO of N-VisionIT Interactive.

Social media superhero saves businesses with top-secret strategy

N-VisionIT Interactive SM2 social media superhero.

N-VisionIT Interactive SM2 social media superhero.

Ottawa, ON, Aug. 21, 2012 – Deep beneath the streets of Canada’s capital lives a superhero who catapults brands into the Internet and saves businesses from the perils of poor social media marketing.  His name is N-VisionIT Interactive CEO Brent Mondoux. His superpower? A top-secret strategy known to agents as SM2 – social media superhero methodology.

Mondoux invented the revolutionary SM2 so businesses could arm themselves with a new weapon in the fight to increase website traffic and sales. SM2  helps businesses build loyal, authentic communities using long-term, customized social media strategies.

“It’s not just how to use social media. It’s how to use it well, today and over time, as your business changes and as technology evolves,” said Mondoux, whose company has created websites, mobile applications and social media strategies for clients around the world, including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

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Blogging for Business Success

Blogging for business

by Brent Mondoux, CEO, N-VisionIT Interactive.  Published by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

Social media continues to evolve at breathtaking paces.  It’s becoming increasingly challenging for business professionals to decipher which endeavours reap rewards and which merely consume unnecessary time and energy.  With so many quick and easy social media options at our fingertips, many businesses are underestimating the importance of blogging.

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Are coupon sites good for small business owners?

GroupOn coupon sitesToday I’m going to cover a topic that small business owners ask me almost on a daily basis.  If you’ve done a quick search online, you’ll quickly discover that opinions are all over the map, ranging from celebratory at one end of the spectrum all the way to demonization at the other end.

So then, what’s the truth?  Well, to add to the confusion, they both are!  Running a daily coupon shouldn’t be a split second decision and you need to understand both the pros and the cons of making this commitment.  Yes, you heard that right.  Running a coupon is a commitment… it’s a commitment to your company, your employees and your customers in a huge way.

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Using Pinterest to Grow Your Small Business

PinterestA few months ago, barely anyone even heard about Pinterest.  Today, however, a very different picture has been painted.  With a staggering growth of 261.6% in the last 3 months, Pinterest has been taking the social media nation by storm!

Having already reached 2.2 million daily active users and gaining the coveted rank of being the 59th most visited website in the world (16th most visited in the US), there are already rumors of Pinterest being considered as an acquisition target of social media industry leaders, Facebook and Twitter.  Think the growth is about to wane?  Actually, it’s the opposite… now that the site is getting to be known, it’s growth is about to explode at an exponential rate that hasn’t yet been witnessed to date!

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A Dozen Tips About Using Twitter Effectively to Gain Customers and Increase Profits

Twitter

This week I thought I’d put together a few tips for users who are trying to learn to effectively use Twitter in order to engage an audience and create new connections.

The most common reason that Twitter isn’t working for many companies is because they simply haven’t taken the time to learn how to use it effectively.

I’ve put together a brief list of the best tips that will help get you on your way to successfully leveraging the power of Twitter in your social media marketing efforts.  What’re you waiting for?  Let’s get started and start creating some real buzz around your brand!

Here are the tips:

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What’s an Internet presence? If you said ‘website’ you’re so 2000!

I’ve been having a lot of discussions about what an Internet presence encompasses.  Only a few years ago this conversation would have been brief, discussing primarily website presence, but today an Internet presence has dramatically evolved into much more!  Today Internet presences aren’t centralized around just a website.  While a website is an absolutely essential aspect, other presences have also become vital in ensuring an edge amongst competitors.  Chances are if you’re not there, your competitors are and they’re gaining business from potential customers that don’t even know you exist.  This is almost like if you were a farmer trying to sell your fruit and vegetables on a side street when there’s a huge farmer’s market around the corner.  Quite simply… by not using common sense you are missing out and helping your competitors to get rich while you accept the status quo!    Aspects of an Internet Presence