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Social media is more important than ever in the everyday online activities of consumers. Not only are people spending significant amounts of leisure time on websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but they are also getting advice and making decisions about the way that they will spend their money. Travelers look for hotel recommendations, diners are looking for great restaurants, and website users are sharing their opinions with one another. Businesses must find a way to engage people in this communal space.

How can you traverse the great time drain that can be social media? After all, a person could spend her entire day chatting with potential customers or commenting on photos or spending time on a myriad of other activities without any measurable results. Businesses need a strategy. Social media is great for brand awareness and for running promotions and for several other things, but here is the bare minimum that you need to consider for your online social presence.

Claim your business identity in the social realm before someone else does. In the same way that businesses position themselves to own their branded urls (www.cocacola.com, macys.com), businesses need to set up profiles on social media channels to ensure that they are properly represented.

Create visually attractive profiles. Be sure to get a nice copy of your logo for your profile picture. Do you have products that you would like to highlight? Add attractive images of them. How about social gatherings or a grand opening? Focus your photo galleries around the events, products, or locations that define your business.

Pay attention to what people are saying. This is important for a couple of different reasons. First of all, social media is a direct link to your consumer base. If a potential customer contacts you or posts a question to your profile, you need to respond at your earliest convenience. Think of it as an extension of your customer service. If your response is posted a week after the initial question, people will get the idea that you are slow in your day-to-day service as well.

The other reason it is so important to pay attention is to address your business reviewers. Thank everyone who gives you a positive review. It only takes a second, and your response reinforces the reviewers’ positive opinions. You should also be ready for the naysayers that will eventually find their way to your profile. You cannot please everyone all of the time, but you can demonstrate how you are able to meet customer needs. Other consumers will appreciate your concern. You can also take these comments as ways to potentially improve your business.

If you have other questions on how to best use social media for your business, contact Compucast Web Media.

If you’ve ever been looking for an excuse to pay extra attention to the design of your website, now is the time to do it. Google launched Instant Previews today to give searchers the ability to see a static preview image of websites in the search results before clicking through to the actual website. Apparently, not all markets have this feature automatically turned on as of this morning, but Google will be rolling out the feature to all users soon.

With Instant Previews, a small magnifying glass icon appears on the right side of regular search results. Once users click on the first icon, they can see a preview of that current site. After clicking the first icon, users simply hover the cursor over a listing to get the preview.

The search engines battle continues to provide users the best service. Facebook and Bing just recently partnered up to show “socially relevant” sites in your search results, or sites that your Facebook network of friends “like.” While the branding of Facebook will certainly make a positive impact for Bing, Google’s new features continue to keep the search engine giant on top – at least for now.

To get a chance to use the new Instant Previews service from Google, go to http://www.google.com/landing/instantpreviews/.

Dedicated to bringing you the best of New Orleans, Compucast recently launched a new site at NewOrleansLawServices.com. Legal matters are intimidating, potentially difficult matters, and you need confidence in the person or team that will represent you. New Orleans Law Services features firms that specialize in business incorporation, criminal defense, divorce settlement, bankruptcy, taxes and much more.

Let New Orleans Law Services help you find the legal assistance you need.

If you represent law firm and would like to be included in our listings, please contact us to find out more.

During the past week, Compucast officially made the Aaron, PLC website live to the public. AaronFirm.com is one of the first websites featuring Compucast’s custom content management system (CMS), built by one of our in-house programmers. For those unfamiliar with a CMS, management systems are in place for clients to be able to make changes to a website’s content without requiring knowledge of HTML or Flash or any other specialized language. Think of a program similar to your word processor or your favorite social media site.

At AaronFirm.com, managers of the site are able to add new content, create links, and upload photos. They also have the ability to create new blog posts to help users keep up to date with all of the latest news. Not only is new content helpful for users, but it also benefits the site with the search engines. Updated information demonstrates to users and search engines that the site is active and continually growing.

If you would like to learn more about our custom Content Management System or how a CMS can benefit your business, please feel free to contact us.

Compucast is committed to promoting the city of New Orleans and the best it has to offer. Compucast recently launched New Orleans Catering to help you find the best caterer for your upcoming social event. Not only does the site provide a recommended list of catering companies and restaurants that provide catering services, New Orleans Catering also gives helpful hints to assist you in finding the best resources for your meeting, reception or party. Use the online map to locate the caterer of your choice.

Enjoy the site, and let New Orleans Catering take the headache out of your event planning.

Compucast Web Media, a New Orleans-based full-service internet design and marketing firm, is proud to announce the celebration of their 15^th year serving clients with a complete range of web site solutions.

In 1994, Judy and Marc Weitz decided to create a web site — ExperienceNewOrleans.com — to promote the positive side of New Orleans and help visitors plan their trips. Having been online since the 80s, she was increasingly surprised at the negative perception so many people had of New Orleans, and was determined to change it as much as she could by showcasing the best of our great city.

Over time, as the need for internet marketing grew, Compucast stayed on top of the ever-changing field of internet technology and online marketing and continued to provide online services to businesses who contacted them for help.

ExperienceNewOrleans.com evolved into the comprehensive site that is visited by millions worldwide.  Today, Compucast designs sites for all businesses and specializes in the New Orleans hospitality industry with several flagship web sites promoting the New Orleans businesses it represents (including NewOrleansRestaurants.com, WeddingsInNewOrleans.com, NewOrleansKids.com, NewOrleansCoupons.com, MardigrasNewOrleans.com) assisting visitors, tourists, and business travelers planning their trips to the area.

Compucast Web Media has shared their internet expertise in popular publications such as Hot Wired Magazine, Meckler Media’s Publication: Internet World’s Internet Broadcasting and Southern Hospitality Magazine and is often called upon to participate in local seminars on internet marketing due to their working experience in the area. Recent radio interviews include the BBC (Mardi Gras morning annually) and the Disney Channel on “What Kids Should Know about Mardi Gras”. They are known as the internet webcasting firm that broadcast the annual (and the first) Mardi Gras LIVE.

Judy was awarded “Small Business Champion of the Year” for the State of Louisiana in one of 6 categories, and was selected as one of 5 finalists as “Woman Business Owner of the Year” through NAWBO.  She was asked to meet with the Director of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, at his request during a post-Katrina visit to New Orleans.  Upon introduction, Chertoff called Judy “the poster child of business preparedness” due to her uninterrupted service – for extended periods of time at no charge — to so many businesses during and after Katrina as one of only two New Orleans web sites to stay online.

We’ve always seen importance in creating great sites and promoting them; this is one of Compucast’s specialities, and one reason our clients love us. For us to consider one of our sites to be “successful”, it needs to attain ranking in the search engine results and it must get visitor traffic. In other words, we expect no less than top results from our efforts.

Just to illustrate what Compucast is able to accomplish, we were happy to see some of the latest statistics from the market intelligence company Hitwise. The Hitwise monthly report for the Travel vertical for February highlighted one of our flagship sites – Mardi Gras New Orleans. We were ranked as one of the Travel category’s “Fast Movers” for the month, placing us in good company with other travel sites that placed highly in traffic ranking for the last four months. The website analytics company Compete.com also paid attention to Compucast – ranking Mardi Gras New Orleans in the top 10,000-most-visited websites! (See the full report here.)

We didn’t just gain one noteworthy traffic ranking, however. Our very own Experience New Orleans cracked the top-50,000 sites (as ranked by Compete.com).

In addition, a few of our clients’ sites have gained ranking significance: both Tiger Rag and Maison Dupuy are top-500,000 sites. When you realize just how many sites exist on the internet, this number takes on a whole new meaning!

We’re proud of our accomplishments, and we will continue to apply our expertise to meeting our clients’ needs. If you have a need for solid marketing, a fresh new design, or a brand-new website, give us a call!

Luckily today was a beautiful spring day, as it provided a perfect setting for French Quarter Festival’s annual press conference and jazz brunch.

Held at the Court of Two Sisters, press, patrons and friends were able to take in great food and some illustrious company, while presenters such as New Orleans City Council Vice President Jackie Clarkson, CVB representative Mary Beth Romig and French Quarter Festival’s Executive Director Marci Schramm set the stage for what to expect from this year’s festival.

If the excitement of the crowd foreshadows the fun to come, we will certainly be in for a ride. Headliners for the festival include some of New Orleans’ favorites, and that’s not even mention the food. There’s even a crawfish eating competition!

The team at Compucast, along with locals and tons of visitors alike, cannot wait for it to be festival time. Can you?

Things are settling in here at the new office, as we only have left to hang the gong (which we use to celebrate the launch of new sites) and put away a few boxes.  TV’s are getting installed on the walls, and soon, the conference room will be glassed in. We’re even getting custom sketches on the the front doors!

After 15 years, Compucast has grown so much, that we have had to move into our very own space – which you can find at the bottom floor of 6660 Riverside Drive, Suite 100, Metairie, LA 70003.

An office party is in the mix, so don’t worry, you will have your chance to see it!

We hope that you do visit, and that you love the new digs just as much as we do.

Judy Weitz, owner of Compucast Web Media and Marica Mackenroth, Search Engine Marketing Specialist for Compucast, are both attending the PPC Summit in Chicago this week.

The rest of us are anxious to have them return and give us all the latest data on what’s new in the world of “Pay Per Click”.