theIT support, website, and marketing news from EZSolution / SEPTEMBER 2014

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111 Centerville Road • Lancaster, PA 17603

Web: 717.291.4689 • EZSolution.com

Tech: 717.291.0370 • EZSolutionIT.com www.facebook.com/ezsolution

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ress In August of 2013, Charles returned to

EZSolution as a Business Development Representative after working as a Sales Consultant in the early 2000s. With an educational background in Business Administration from Shippensburg University, Charles has 25 years of experience helping businesses market themselves utilizing radio,

television, print, networking associations, and the Internet.

Born in Lancaster, Charles has been active in the Martial Arts more than 40 years, operating karate schools locally and educating women in personal self-defense.

A jazz enthusiast, with a passion for authentic ethnic cuisine and a discriminating palate for good wine, Charles is quick to take advantage of Lancaster’s close proximity to New York, Washington DC., and Virginia on the weekends.

Every business has had to start somewhere. Today, every business has to start somewhere online. So how does a small business or startup generate more brand awareness and become an authority online in their industry?

Content MarketingThe goal of content marketing is to funnel your visitors through your website to convert into leads and hopefully sales, which provides the ROI for your content marketing campaign.

Whenever you’re creating valuable and resourceful content that answer questions in your industry, you’re just another step closer to becoming an authority in your niche, by the search engines and by potential customers. As users take their questions to the internet and � nd that your content answers them, they could become loyal, long-time customers that put their trust in you as the expert.

The search engine optimization (SEO) industry coined the type of content as “linkbait.” This means, if the content is amazing, people will want to mention or link to it.

The greater, more resourceful, and awesome the content truly is, the better chances that authoritative sites in your industry will mention it, which is a great way to increase your tra� c, rankings, and brand awareness.

Outcome of content marketingContent marketing is “evergreen” in helping your visibility and authority in the search engines, unlike pay-per-click. PPC is great for when you need tra� c now, but doesn’t help you long-term to gain tra� c and build authority unless you keep using it.

Any content you create will also help you across social media platforms. The more high-quality content you put out, the better the chances of gaining new leads and customers.

However, don’t get caught in only promoting your own services and content. Always be sharing content from in� uencers in your industry that aren’t direct competitors. If you do it enough, they will start to share your content, gaining more followers and eyeballs to your site.

Five reasons to do content marketing1. Increase in rankings, tra� c, and lead generation

2. Future-proof as long as it’s high-quality and unique

3. Become the trusted authority in your niche

4. Create amazing content with graphic designers, content writers, and marketers that will help your business in the future

5. Your competitors are already doing it

Deciding on content to createThe content you create depends on your budget and industry. With a limited budget, you can do top 10 blog posts, interviews, share images, and curate trending content within your industry. Bigger spenders who want increased value can develop infographics, whiteboard videos, e-books, widgets, and more.

Determining what content to create is just as important as where you want it to be shared. You’ll want in� uencers in your industry to share it, and you’ll want to share it on social networks where your audience is active. A business or tech company may not get very many leads by using Pinterest every day, but they may get leads from creating high-quality content on LinkedIn.

This is why you should speak with the experts at EZSolution to discuss your goals! Call Chris DeMeo at 717.291.4689 to talk about a custom approach to your marketing e� orts.

Winner of August’s Quiz:O� cially, what season are we in during September?

A. SummerB. AutumnC. WinterD. Both A & C E. Both A & B

This Month’s Quiz:

Email your entry to Stacey Snovel (stacey@ezsolution.com). She will put all of the correct answers in a hat and draw the winner on September 15. The winner will receive a $25 Gift Card to Isaac’s or Amazon.

Gene Duncan of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology won a $25 Gift Card.

Last Month’s Question:Born on August 17th, 1786, Davy Crockett was killed defending the Alamo. Which of these descriptions does NOT appear on his tombstone?

Correct Answer Was: E – Hero

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Get ready to mosey on over to the EZSolution cook house for our BBQ Open House. We’ll be sure to have a selection of your favorite BBQ items — chicken, pulled pork, with all the trimmins…and if you have a thirst, we’ll have a beverage suited to your taste. So reserve

your spot now and dig out those cowboy boots and hats and shirts and we’ll see you on September 5, 2014.

Friday, September 5, 2014 from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM

EZSolution Offi ce • 111 Centerville Rd. • Lancaster, PA 17603

Friday, September 5, 2014

OPEN HOUSEAND

Join the herd…

… and head to our

Catered by

Register TODAY at www.ezsolution.com/2014bbq

Why Your Small Business Needs Content Marketing

IN THIS ISSUE:SEPTEMBER 2014

the

Take the September Quiz and Win a $25 Gift Card.

Why Your Small Business Needs Content Marketing

You’re Invited to Our BBQ Open House

“ I never studied anything, really. I didn’t study the drums. I joined bands and made all the mistakes onstage.”

~Ringo Starr

Quote of the Month

Presort First ClassU.S. Postage

PAIDLancaster, PAPermit #23

111 Centerville Rd.Lancaster, PA 17603

Gebco Insurance Associates, Inc. has provided the Baltimore and DC areas top-quality insurance coverage since 1971, helping more than half a million drivers � nd the best car insurance rates possible. Gebco o� ers car, motorcycle, home, and renters’ insurance—with a focus on personal service that allows customers the opportunity to talk to an experienced agent live whenever assistance is needed.

We were pleased for the opportunity to talk with Lisa Radov, owner of Gebco, about her experience working with EZSolution.

“We started working with EZSolution because it seemed like no one could � nd us online. We were trying to get as many people as possible to our site, and it just wasn’t working out. Other SEO companies wanted to ‘make it easy,’ but we never saw results.

“With EZSolution, I began to understand that there’s a di� erence between doing SEO and doing it right. Before our partnership, I had absolutely no idea what a keyword even was. I was never told! Everyone at EZSolution has taken a lot of time to go over the ‘here’s why’ part of the process while explaining the jargon of the industry very well.

“Each person we’ve worked with has been a knowledgeable expert—patient, creative, honest, and direct. We didn’t feel like we were just working with a bunch of ‘computer people.’ They were always willing to explain, listen to feedback, and follow up with me. The constant contact made me feel like I was working with a computer concierge service!”

EZSolution thanks Lisa for taking the time to talk with us about her ongoing project with EZSolution! Take the time to check out Gebco Insurance’s new website at www.gogebco.com. If your website needs help generating tra� c, get in touch with Dan Meyer at 717.291.4689.

Gebco Insurance Associates, Inc.

“ You don’t have to accept poor customer service and lackluster support when it comes to your small business IT services!”

Tom Malesic President

Do you have mountains of information stored on your server that you’ll never use, but feel like you should keep? You are not alone. Given expanding regulatory rules, some businesses save every bit of data they have, just to be safe.

You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal in keeping everything?” While it is true o� -site data storage costs have gone down by about 25% every year, the fact is that keeping your data forever can create big management challenges and lead to retrieval headaches. Most often companies that save everything don’t do so because they think it’s the best way, but because they aren’t sure what needs to be saved.

Every organization needs to save data for its own purposes, such as transactions, accounting records and so on. Not only that, but industry regulations require companies to save certain kinds of content for a prescribed period.

So what should you be doing? Here are four data-retention strategies you must consider:

1. Start with the storage analysis, not the storage technology or procedures.

Know what data has to be kept and for how long. Many times requirements are dictated by industry or legal requirements.

2. Segment user populations. Use categories such as executives, back-o� ce employees, sales and

people who deal with the company’s intellectual property and treat their data di� erently.

3. Be precise and consistent with data-retention policies.

4. Don’t confuse backup with archiving. Since backup systems don’t generally have the granular control needed

to save some types of information for a short time and others for longer, using them as archival systems can be costly and risky.

We can assist you in identifying best practices and cost-e� ective software tools for your business. Give Brad a call at 717.291.0370.

Mountains of Data