PSPINC Official Company Blog

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 177 “Marketing Your Website”

7月

20日

Creating a beautifully designed website can be great for business, but marketing your business shouldn’t stop there. You also need to make sure people know it exists. To do that, you can market your site by updating your site content and sharing the link to social media. Just because you have a great site, it doesn’t mean it always will be. There are plenty of obviously outdated websites still up online because the site owner never updated their site.

Other than updating antiquated website designs, the site’s content also needs to be updated. Not just to display relevant and correct information, but also to help with search engine optimization (SEO). In addition to that, marketing your site with social media can be a great way to spread the word. But promoting your business and site effectively is not always an easy feat. For more help with marketing your business, reach out to our expert marketing team.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #google #marketing #newsletter #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #sales #searchengineoptimization #seo #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #web #webdesign #websites #webtools

Grow Your Business with Social Media

7月

18日

Social media marketing is an invaluable asset to include in your digital marketing plan. It’s an easy but effective way to grow your business online. Most entrepreneurs today know how vital it can be to their business. But it’s what you do with social media that can make a real difference in how effective it can be. It’s not as simple as creating profiles on social media platforms; it’s about what you post.

There are currently billions of social media users worldwide. That only increases the number of potential customers and adds to brand awareness. It’s relatively inexpensive, and it gives you the opportunity to:

· Build your brand
· Grow your community online
· Increase website traffic
· Engage with your online audience
· Learn more about your customers
· Discover where to improve your overall business strategy

9 Social Media Marketing Tips

1. Create SMART Objectives

We’ve talked about SMART objectives here before, but when you do create them, make sure they align and inform your overall strategy. Every business’s objectives will be different, depending on the size of your business. Making sure your objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely will help you grow your business sustainably.

2. Add relevant keywords to your social copy

Hashtags can be great, but they’re not the only thing social media algorithms parse for. They also look for relevant keywords in social media captions. Marketers still debate if hashtags are even effective marketing-wise on social media. For some, it helps increase overall exposure, for others, they don’t report any discernable difference. But adding relevant keywords to your captions will make it more likely that your posts will end up on someone’s For You or Explore page.

3. Target users

The great part about sponsored social posts is that you can easily target the right users to see your content. And finding the right users makes it much more likely they’ll purchase from you because it’ll show for users that are actually interested in what you’re trying to sell. While you can try to sell your products to everyone, the reality is that not everyone wants or needs what you’re offering. Plus, if you’re trying to sell to everyone, your ads end up being vague and uninspired, which won’t convince anyone to buy from you.

4. Focus on brand intent

Social media’s a great way to promote your products. But if all your posts are promotional, your business comes off sounding like a pushy salesperson. And no one likes that. Instead, focus on creating and curating content that shows people what your brand cares about. It won’t just give potential customers a better idea of what your company stands for, but it also results in a much more interested audience.

5. Market on multiple social media platforms

There are multiple major social platforms out there, and marketers alike use more than just one. Each one has something different to bring to the table, including a different audience. So, use that to your advantage! You can tailor your approach toward each platform, taking advantage of the best types of content, posting times, and posting frequencies.

6. Create an editorial calendar

To make it easier, you can plan content in advance with an editorial calendar. On it, add specifics like images, captions, hashtags (if you’re using them), links, and whatever else you want to add to your social posts. But remember, you don’t have to stick to what you have; it’s also encouraged to post something spontaneous sometimes. Especially since sometimes they perform better than what you already have planned.

7. Optimize your posting frequency

When marketing on social media, it’s not just about what you post, it’s about when. There are plenty of sources out there that recommend what times and days of the week work best for reach and engagement. But what works for others won’t necessarily work for you. So, try testing out different times and different days to see what works best for each platform. That way, you’ll get the most out of your social media marketing efforts for your business.

8. Create paid social ads

The way social media algorithms work is mysterious, but the one thing we know for sure is that paid social posts are guaranteed to get seen by more users. So, if you’re having problems with increasing overall reach, invest in paid social ads. Or you can boost or promote an already well-performing post. Regardless, research shows sponsored posts perform better on social media. Just don’t focus all your efforts on it; organic social posts still help tell your brand story online.

9. Interact with your audience online

Lastly, interacting with your followers and potential customers should be a vital part of your marketing plan. Engagement on social media is highly valued by each platform’s algorithm, so replying, reacting, and reposting other users’ content will increase your profile’s overall exposure. And it’ll encourage other users to do the same.

Marketing on social media isn’t always easy, especially since best practices are continually evolving. So, reach out to our team, who are experts in helping small businesses grow online.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #app #b2b #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #facebook #google #instagram #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #seo #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #twitter #web #websites #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 176 “Different Types of Web Hosting”

7月

13日

Last week, we talked about having high-quality web hosting for your website. There are three different types of web hosting: shared, dedicated, and VPS. Shared hosting is usually what you’ll start with when starting your website as it’s the most basic, cost-effective form of web hosting. But for higher levels of isolation, security, performance, and control, dedicated hosting is the better choice.

Lastly, there’s VPS hosting, which is a cross between shared and dedicated web hosting. VPS stands for Virtual Private Hosting and is a single, virtual machine on a piece of physical hardware shared with other virtual machines. But unlike other hosting options, it gives you more control over your website with dedicated resources. That’s why we offer a dedicated VPS here at PSPINC. We customize every VPS to suit our customers’ needs, so contact us for details and pricing. To learn more about different types of web hosting, watch our YouTube video that breaks down each type in detail!

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #entrepreneur #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdev #webdeveloper #webdevelopment #webhosting #website #websites #webtools

Twitter’s $250M Copyright Lawsuit Explained and What Businesses Can Avoid It

7月

11日

Last month, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) sued Twitter for $250 million for copyright infringement. Why? Because Twitter’s been letting users share copyrighted music without a license for years, as the lawsuit claims. It’s been an issue with the platform for years, but the lawsuit claims it’s only gotten worse since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company. When looking at how other social media platforms compare, most have cut a deal with music publishers and labels, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitch.

So, why hasn’t Twitter made a similar deal? Simply put, Twitter’s been dodging copyright infringement for several years. The reason behind this is financial, as it would cost the platform possibly over $100 million a year. But Twitter had reportedly been in negotiations for a licensing deal with three major labels: Universal, Sony, and Warner since 2021. Those, however, have since stalled since Elon Musk took over. Speaking of, the lawsuit explicitly mentioned him because of his comments about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In a now-deleted tweet from 2022, he called the DMCA “overzealous” and “a plague on humanity”.

Why the NMPA is Suing Twitter

man in black shirt wearing headphones in front of monitor

Not only has Twitter allowed its users to post videos containing copyrighted music, but the only punishment those users receive is a temporary suspension. On other platforms, it’d go as far as risking the removal of those users’ accounts. But tweets including copyrighted music don’t just go on without discipline, many actually go viral. For Twitter, it only benefits the platform with increased user engagement and ultimately advertising revenue. All while not paying to license that music.

In the lawsuit, the complaint cites more than 1,700 songs, consisting of many that have blown up on Twitter. Examples include “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars by Mark Ronson, “All I Want For Christmas” by Mariah Carey, and “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift, among many others.

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement as a Business

classy executive male reading papers on couch

For a business, getting into legal trouble is one of the last things you want to happen. The easiest way to avoid copyright infringement suits is by using your own content. Especially in advertising material. But when you can’t, that’s where free royalty-free photos, videos, audio/music comes in handy. There are multiple sites where you can easily find this kind of content, but one of our favorites is Pexels. As long as you use material that isn’t owned by someone else, you’re golden.

If, for some reason, you have to use something that isn’t free for commercial use; you need explicit permission from the owner to use it. And you may have to pay a fee to do so (like those other social media platforms with licensing deals). Otherwise, you may find yourself slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #branding #business #businesstips #digitalmarketing #dmca #elonmusk #lawsuit #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #news #nmpa #smallbusiness #socialmedia #tech #technology #twitter #web #webdesign #website #websites

PSPINC’s 36th Anniversary!

7月

8日

Today on this exact day in 1987, our founder and CEO, Kenichi Uchikura, started Pacific Software Publishing Inc. (PSPINC) and has since evolved to become what it is today. We’re proud to say we serve more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world, not just by providing web hosting, but with all their website needs. We have an amazing team working hard to design and develop software in-house to help businesses thrive online.

Thank you to all our customers and employees today and over the years for helping us get to where we are today.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstools #ecommerce #hosting #marketing #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdevelopment #webhosting #website #websites #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 175 “High-Quality Web Hosting”

7月

6日

Web hosting is about more than just getting your website online. Investing in a good web hosting service ensures better security, better customer service, and better maintenance support. A good web hosting service provides an SSL certificate for your site. That way, users won’t encounter an error page, warning them that their connection isn’t secure when entering a URL. And the service should also include frequent backup services. If something were to happen, like accidentally deleting an important file, you’ll still have your backups to rely on.

Dreamersi is our premiere web hosting service with email hosting, VPS packages, and more robust SSL certificate options, available as add-ons. In all our Dreamersi web hosting plans, our customers get a free domain, free access to WebdeXpress, our easy-to-use web builder, data backups, domain validation (DV) SSL certificates, and world-class support. We’ve had over 20 years of experience providing high-quality web hosting services to small businesses everywhere. Get started today.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #ecommerce #hosting #marketing #marketingdigital #newsletter #pspinc #searchengineoptimization #security #smallbusiness #tech #technology #webdesign #webdevelopment #webhosting #website #websites #webtools

The Reddit Blackout Explained

7月

4日

Reddit is a forum full of thousands of communities, or subreddits, where people share news, content, and opinions. Seven years ago, Reddit released a free API or Application Programming Interface. With an API, developers can integrate existing software systems into new applications. For example, when signing in to certain websites with your Google or Facebook account, it’s using an API to do so.

Developers use APIs for multiple different reasons, like sharing information between different platforms and carrying out diverse tasks. All while still building out their own interface. With Reddit, whenever a user wants to view or comment on a post from Reddit, the app sends a request to the API. However, this won’t be the case anymore. Reddit announced in April that they’d start charging third-party applications for API access. In other words, developers that made an app for Reddit and those that use its API will now need to pay for requests to use their API.

Why Reddit Users Are (Still) Protesting

The trend of charging for API usage isn’t new, as Twitter did the same after Elon Musk took over. But it also shut down dozens of third-party apps. With Reddit, they’ll be charging $0.24 per 1,000 requests. It doesn’t sound like much until you realize that the app, Apollo, a popular iOS Reddit app, makes upwards of seven billion API requests a month. That’s almost $2 million a month and over $20 million a year, which is just too high of a price for most companies.

When you compare it with Twitter’s API cost, it costs developers anywhere from $100 to more than $5,000 a month. And their plans have limitations set on them. For larger businesses on the enterprise level, it’ll cost much more than that. To protest, Reddit users agreed to what started as a 48-hour blackout called Reddark, where nearly 8,000 subreddits were set to private starting June 12. But even after the 48 hours were up, the blackout persisted, as over 6,000 communities on Reddit are still private. Regardless, it hasn’t deterred Reddit from changing its mind.

Reddit’s API Changes

So, why did Reddit update its API terms? According to its CEO, Steve Huffman, the free API model just wasn’t sustainable. Especially now that Reddit has its own ad network now. Users coming to Reddit via third-party apps don’t see those ads, which greatly impacts how effective and how profitable Reddit’s ad network is. And advertisers won’t want to work with Reddit anymore if they’re paying for ineffective services.

Despite the backlash and online protests, Reddit is moving forward with the API changes. Even though large and popular subreddits have remained private, there are still plenty more that haven’t. They aren’t nearly as sizeable, but it’s enough not to deter Reddit from its plans. Shifts like this seem to prioritize profits over the community-building atmosphere these platforms are known for, which doesn’t sit well with users. So far, Twitter and Reddit are the only large social platforms that charge for API requests. But whether others will follow in their footsteps is yet to be seen.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #api #apollo #applicationprogramminginterface #blog #developer #developers #digitalmarketing #elonmusk #marketing #marketingdigital #reddark #reddit #smallbusiness #socialmedia #stevehuffman #tech #technology #twitter #web #website #websites

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 174 “Asking for Feedback”

6月

29日

We’ve talked about the importance of positive Google reviews, but feedback is important to every business. Especially a small one. Asking for feedback from your customers shows you care. But for businesses, feedback also tells you more about how customers feel about your products, services, and experiences. More importantly, it highlights where you can improve. If you see a lot of the same complaints about a product, reviews will alert you to the problem. The last thing you really want is to have a faulty product and not know about it. And if you don’t know there’s a problem, it also means you can’t fix the problem.

Other than using Google reviews, you can also ask for feedback from customers with an online form embedded on your website or with Opinion Stand. With an online form, you can ask multiple questions tailored to your business and your customers’ experiences. And you don’t even need to know how to code if you use InforMakers. If you’d rather just get a general rating, embed Opinion Stand into your website, emails, and other digital media. Or create a QR code where customers can click on which face best expresses their overall experiences. Book a demo today.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #customerfeedback #customerservices #forms #informakers #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #newsletter #opinionstand #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #website #webtools

Adobe’s $20 Billion Acquisition Deal for Figma Explained

6月

27日

Last year, Adobe, the company behind the invention of the PDF and popular programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, announced its plan of acquiring the cloud-based design tool, Figma, for $20 billion. One that even our web designers use here at PSPINC. Adobe has a history of acquiring more than 50 companies in its 40-plus years of existence. So, if this is so standard for Adobe, why are people making such a big deal out of it? For starters, this is the most money Adobe’s ever spent in acquiring a company. About four times more. Their second largest acquisition behind Figma was Marketo in 2018 for $4.75 billion. So, the real question is, why is Adobe investing so much in buying out Figma?

Adobe has a rich history of acquiring companies and either adopting them as their own or letting them slowly die out. For example, Photoshop is arguably the most lucrative acquisition deal Adobe’s ever made. They purchased Photoshop for $34.5 million in 1995, right when computer technology and digital photography technology advanced. But Adobe has also bought out companies just to eliminate the competition slowly. An example would be FreeHand. And there’s a reason you probably don’t recognize the name. Adobe acquired FreeHand in 1994 for $525 million and by 2007, Adobe announced the end of FreeHand.

What it Means for the SaaS Industry

turned on silver screen macbook air on wooden desk

Figma, as of June 2021, has a valuation of $10 billion, but because Adobe sees the value in it, they offered double the amount. And it’s for a good reason; Figma allows for greater collaboration between designers. And it’s something Adobe hasn’t figured out how to do effectively yet. While Adobe has the Adobe Creative Cloud, many designers have expressed their frustration with its lack of collaboration features. Figma, however, has browser functionality, which is something Adobe doesn’t have with any of its design products. Including the program they created to directly competed with Figma, Adobe XD.

Because of Adobe’s history of products like FirstHand, Figma users are worried about what Adobe will do to what’s become an essential design tool. One of those worries includes making Figma a paid tool rather than a free one. The fact that Adobe’s offer is double Figma’s value speaks volumes, and it has the potential to create a big impact in the SaaS (Software as a Service) industry. Unfortunately, the Adobe-Figma deal is now facing anti-competition concerns. EU authorities are pushing for a formal investigation. And the U.S. Justice Department is preparing an antitrust lawsuit, which, if successful, would effectively block this deal. So, only time will tell how this will pan out.

December 18th, 2023 Update:

Adobe and Figma have reached a mutual agreement to terminate their merger agreement after facing pressure from regulators.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#acquisition #adobe #adobexd #blog #branding #business #collaboration #creativecloud #design #figma #firsthand #history #illustrator #marketing #pdf #photoshop #saas #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdevelopment #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 173 “Invest in a Go-To IT Company”

6月

21日

Getting good quality IT support is an underrated service. Only when something breaks do you need to call someone to assist you. So, having a go-to IT company for when you need it is a good idea. When you frequent one company for your IT services, it’ll result in better response times and a better experience overall because, after a while, the hope is that they’ll remember you and your problems from the last time you called. If the company’s local, that’s even better because you won’t have to worry about long-distance call expenses, and they can come out to help you if you need on-site technical support.

Unfortunately, the IT industry, as a whole, doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to customer service. People have complained about long wait times, unfriendly, and lack of follow-up. That’s exactly why we focus so much of our IT support efforts on making sure our customers have the best experience. When you call for IT support from us, our team has an incredible reputation, working closely with our customers to help with whatever technological need they have. So, consider making us your go-to IT company, and reach out to our IT support team for any questions.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.