I just read a very interesting article about women and their influence with online and in-store purchasing decisions. The article, written by Aileen Lee (a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers), points out that women have the greatest influence when it comes to shopping and social media, like Facebook, Twitter, and Groupon. Women also make most of the household decisions when it comes to spending disposable income and saving money. So, knowing this, consider how your business is reaching out to women to grow your bottom line.

Here are a few suggestions to reach out and grow your female customer base:

1. Create female-focused programs and promotions. For example, Amazon created “Amazon Mom” a program that brings together products and retailers of greatest interest to moms. You could host shopping parties, such as a “Ladies Night” for your female customers or “mom-friendly” shopping events where you provide childcare or have a child-friendly program to distract the kids so moms can shop unfettered.

2. Survey female customers. Research shows that female customers drive the majority of purchasing decisions, so take the time to survey the women that shop with you, whether formally or informally. Ask them about what products and services you can provide to keep them coming back. Also ask them what social media networks and search engines they use so you can make sure you are where your female customers are online.

3. Spend more time on Facebook. According to Lee’s article, women make up the majority of Facebook users and women spend more time on Facebook than men. Women also do more posting and interacting. So, knowing that, make sure you are reaching out to your female customers on Facebook by posting, polling and hosting promotions that attract women.

4. Create a female-friendly environment. Whether you have a fly-fishing shop or sell housewares, make sure your store is welcoming to your female patrons to boost your bottom line. Play to your female customers’ five senses and even create female-friendly store displays depending on your customer base. For example, create a display for busy moms or a display of women-specific gear and clothing.

Read the complete article.

According to a recent press release by Google, they have changed their search algorithm to give high-quality websites higher search rankings and give low-quality websites lower rankings. So, what makes up a high-quality site, you may ask? According to Google, a high-quality website is one with fresh, relevant, original content. So, how can you keep your website fresh and thus increase your search engine rankings? Here are three suggestions:

Write a blog
One of the best ways to show off your business and your expertise is to write a blog. Include your blog entries on your website in order to get more attention from Google. Your blog can provide valuable product and industry information, ideas, and inspiration from your perspective on your particular industry.

Include product descriptions
Consider including product photos and descriptions on your website and make sure to update them especially as products change due to seasonality or new releases. This can help you get higher search rankings plus attract new and returning customers. It’s always fun to see a new look and new products when visiting a website.

Include customer reviews
Customer reviews are fast becoming a mandatory requirement by shoppers and websites without them are more often passed over by potential visitors. So, if you don’t already include customer reviews of your store, your service, and/or your products, now’s the time to consider getting started. Plus, adding new customer reviews is a great way to keep your content updated and gain greater attention from Google. Check out a couple low cost solutions like RateVoice (www.ratevoice.com) and RatePoint (www.ratepoint.com), which both make implementing customer reviews on your website relatively easy.

Above all, however you do it, remember to keep your website fresh. Content is still king!

You already know that videos can help you gain valuable market exposure, however you might be questioning exactly what type of content to include. Here are three tips for getting the most out of a video on your website.

Use your video to highlight your store’s uniqueness.
There are so many things that make your store and products distinctive. Use your video to showcase your products, your outstanding customer service, or your fabulous store ambiance. One of the best ways to communicate the messaging about why your store is unique is to interview your customers because testimonials are most powerful when someone else (other than a store owner or employee) is endorsing your brand. This is one of the reasons why social media is so effective—friends are recommending to friends great places to shop. In this sample video from a stationery store based in New England, a client testimonial at the beginning of their video adds more credibility to why you should go visit.

Teach your customers.
Using video you can instruct customers on how to assemble or use specific products you sell. Or you can provide more general how-tos, such as how to make a dining room table centerpiece from items that can be purchased at your store. Here’s a sample video on how to decorate a Christmas tree. You can easily create similar videos as you create your store displays.

Share stories.
One of the reasons why reality TV is so popular is because we love to get a behind the scenes glimpse of how things are done, why people are so successful, and what it takes to run a store. Give people an inside look at why you decided to open your store, how you market it, or what it takes it be a store owner.

In a recent study conducted by EYE, a mall media company, almost 48 percent of mall shoppers will take a second look at a mall poster that includes a human face. Even when they pass by the ad multiple times they take a second look. The results were the same across genders; however the study found that both men and women will look at an ad including a women’s face longer.

The study also claims that it takes about ten seconds for a mall shopper to pass a mall advertisement and if the ad included a human face, shoppers spent about two seconds looking at the ad.

While this study was conducted using mall signage, I would strongly suggest adding a human face (preferably a woman’s) to your upcoming advertising campaign(s) to ensure your product or store has the most exposure possible. Be sure to incorporate a specific call to action so you track the results to see if incorporating a face made a difference.

Read more about the study on MediaPost’s website.

Facebook has recently announced that they will begin offering a daily deals service much like Groupon and LivingSocial. The company says it will begin testing the service in a few local markets beginning with Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco. The daily deal industry is expected to grow from almost $900 million in sales last year to $4 billion by 2015.

Hopefully by now you have a Facebook business page up and running because when this service goes live in your area it could offer you amazing new store promotion opportunities. Here’s how Facebook says it will work: local businesses, like you, will sign up to participate in the service and Facebook users will be able to share the discounted offers with their friends, and their friends friends, and so on, thereby exponentially increasing the reach of your special offer. I’ve suggested using Groupon in the past, which according to posted comments has netted in mixed results. However, it’s possible that Facebook’s version will offer even more powerful new marketing tool for your store.

I’ll keep you updated as the story develops.

If you ever struggle with new ideas for Facebook, Twitter or blog posts, consider recruiting a couple of employees with different perspectives to write posts for you. Your employees are likely some of your greatest, untapped marketing resources. For example, if you have an employee that does your window displays he/she could snap pictures of new window displays and post them. Or if you have an employee that does merchandise receiving, he/she could write posts and include pictures when new merchandise comes in. A local bookstore I know of has staff members post their favorite book picks.

Also, if you have an employee with an interesting background, you can create an ongoing story about them. For example, a company I recently read about introduced a new foreign-exchange intern and got customers involved in giving the intern suggestions on what to see and do in their local area. When you get people emotionally invested in your business they’re more likely to think of you when they need what you’re selling and a great way to do this is to involve others in your staff.

The other day I saw a story about an independent retailer in Munnsville, NY, called Between Us Sisters that sells unique home décor items. The store happens to be up the street from the local food pantry, which is only open the third Monday of every month for donations. Seeing the need for a more convenient drop-off schedule, store owners Gwen Isbell and Michele Russ got the word out to the community that they would accept non-perishable food donations during store hours. The ladies say they have been amazed at how much food is brought in to the store. They have even been inspired to host their own coat and mitten drive. Although altruistic, their idea also brings in more customers, more often. Maybe the ladies’ brilliant idea can serve as inspiration to you to partner with a local charity in your community to both give back to those in need while promoting your business at the same time.

A retailer’s dream came true last week when AT&T announced the launch of its ShopAlert service, a service that matches a consumer’s location with special offers available at near-by retailers. What’s more, the alerts are matched to the customer’s age, gender and interests. All AT&T customers have to do is opt-in to the service and they will begin receiving mobile messages from retailers in a certain perimeter around their location.

For now the service is rolling out only in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco but I imagine once all the kinks are worked out the service will continue to be rolled out nationwide. What a great way to draw in new customers!

Recently I’ve written and spoken about having online contests as a great way to promote your store. Here's a checklist to help your next contest achieve its goals and increase sales:

Promote, promote, promote
Make sure you thoroughly promote your contest by putting it on your website, in your email newsletter, in-store, and post on Twitter and Facebook daily.

Know your goals
Build your contest around what you want it to achieve such as: getting 1,000 Facebook “likes,” encouraging customers to try a new product, or building your email list?

Learn from others
Take time to go on Facebook and Twitter, enter the word “contest” and see what others are doing. This may inspire some ideas of what works and doesn’t work for your contest.

Be compelling
Make sure to create a contest and especially a prize that will compel people to sign up and participate. Avoid being too overtly self-serving.

Be easy
Make is as easy as possible for people to find and enter your contest. Avoid asking for too much information. Knowing your goal for the contest should drive the information you request. For example, if you want to expand your email list just ask for a name and email address. Keep in mind that the more information you request, the more valuable the prize must be.

Throw an online party
Take advantage of the dual promotion opportunity that a contest offers. Promote the contest (and thus your business) before awarding the prize and then throw an online party with posts and announcements to congratulate the winner (and promote your business) following the prize drawing.

Use analytics
Make sure you take the time to view your analytics following the contest such as website traffic, Facebook and Twitter stats to see what you can learn.

If you're looking to spruce up your business’s Facebook page, check out an online article I found that includes an amazing collection of 20 outstanding Facebook pages. You'll likely recognize most of the brands, such as Harley Davidson and Skittles. Although your business may not have the same size budget as most of these guys do, there are lessons and best practices that we can all learn from them.

• Always have a call to action.
• Give fans a reason to keep coming back, whether it’s a contest or a fun poll.
• Fans like to see interesting and educational posts and content.
• Provide exclusive content for fans such as “fan-only” coupons or sneak peeks.
• Include reviews on your Facebook page.
• Always ask new visitors to “Like” your page.
• Know why your fans visit your page, such as to buy gift cards or read reviews.

What are some of the best Facebook pages you’ve seen?