Here at Hawaii Web Group, we believe in being transparent.  This is why we’ve decided to issue a yearly “State of the Group” to let our clients and our ohana know where we stand.  See Previous State of the Group.

2011 HWG Traffic

After reviewing our analytics in 2011, we’ve found that our small network of Maui/Hawaii websites (owned and operated by HWG) brought in the following traffic relative to previous years.  All of the numbers below come from Google Analytics.  (If anyone shows you numbers for their sites that are derived from some other analytic program, be wary!  We only trust Google for this.)

Increase in traffic

In the last 31 days, our websites have increased in traffic by over 47% across the board.

In February of 2013, you can expect a similar report.  On this new report, you’ll find that the numbers above will have increased substantially.  Our goal is to grow by around 50% every year for the next 5 years.  Our goal is to market our islands while maintaining an educational emphasis.  We want our visitors to leave with more than just a tan.  We want them to leave with a better understanding of the unique culture and environment that we love on the islands.

New websites built in 2011

MauiWebCameras.com – This site shares the webcameras of Maui by area of the island.

In 2011, we concentrated on building up our social profiles and growing our blogging community.  We also did a few side projects for clients: Haleakala Bike Company and Auntie Snorkel.  We also began building a website about Molokini, which is still in progress.

The Social Web

In 2011, we’ve been extra busy socially on the web.  We’ve built 2 new social blogs and we’ve been diligent with Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Foursquare, and more.  Below are some of our growing numbers.

Outsourcing

We still have yet to hire anyone not on the island of Maui.  All of our independent contractors reside and work on the island of Maui, Hawaii.  We believe its important to keep jobs within our own State.

Overview

All in all, we’re very happy with what our efforts have produced in 2011.  It’s been more work than we’d ever imagined, but the feedback from our clients and our increased numbers above make us feel like it’s all worth it.  How do we do it? The old fashioned way with a lot of HARD WORK. We believe that nothing worthwhile comes from shortcuts. We build the best content possible and focus on our visitors. If they’re not happy with what we give them, the page (or site) will come down. Overall, we want our impact on the web to be positive in a way where our visitors appreciate the work we’ve done and share it with friends.

We’re looking forward to sharing our numbers again in 2013!

• TIME
• More TIME
• And an increasingly complex knowledge of how to convert, which only comes from an obnoxious amount of testing and research.

The first point is why most people fail when using social media to market their business.  In fact, the first point is also why most people fail using the Web to market their business in general.  Even when business owners have the time, they’ll most likely not put it into social media.

I’ve been working with social media for marketing from the beginning, and I’ve hated it ever since.  That doesn’t mean that part of me doesn’t love it too.

I LOVE Social Media when:

• I’m doing business on the mainland, and a Tsunami is supposedly distorting my home.  Reports on mainland News channels covering Hawaii were drastically different from the reality found on Twitter by our neighbors.
• After MUCH time on the web, and many discussions with local social media guru’s #mauiSMUG, I find that my life can be a little less complicated and more efficient with the use of social media.  Using Twitter among other aggregating networks, I can get all of my news in 1 place, directly from the sources, without wasting time looking for it.  This saves me time and effort, contrary to what social media does for most people.
• I build unique relationships with very interesting, web-savy people through a filtered, controlled medium.  There’s sort of a secret society of people that are active socially on the web (and I’m not talking about Facebook.)  People that think similarly tend to gravitate towards each other and then meet “In Real Life”= IRL ( I hate that I just wrote that, but it’s relevant.
• I share something fun and get a bigger reaction than I expected.
• Using social media share buttons on my sites boost traffic, exposure, and a little you-know-what with the search engines.

What most business owners do incorrectly:

• Set up a blog and never post.  Everyone thinks they’ll blog, but unless you like to write, you’re not going to use it.  It’s useless if not used.
• Use Twitter to promote your product without building relationships or sharing anything of value.  I don’t care about your weight lose drug; STOP PUSHING IT ON ME!  No one is listening anyway with your 3 followers.
• Setting up multiple profiles on all networks and leaving them blank with a default avatar.  This is similar to the first point.  It’s like buying a bunch of blank billboards.  NO ONE CARES.
• Highering a “Social Media Expert”.  Personally, I think there are only really 4-5 social media experts/coaches that actually make a living doing it.  There’s too much time needed to go into it, where I believe the only way to get an even ROI is by doing it yourself.  You have to love sharing and writing to really get involved and make it work.  You’ll need some serious budgets if you want to see an “expert” actually function in any capacity that will elevate your brand on a regular basis.  It’s just too time-consuming for most people to get a positive ROI.
• Use social media buttons on their sites to direct traffic to their social business pages.  Why send traffic away from your site?  Aren’t those profiles supposed to bring traffic to you?  There’s a better use of those buttons.

Oh, by the way, you should follow our social profiles at Facebook and Twitter!  Haha, I know, a bit hypocritical, but you gotta do what you gotta do…

Yes, Hawaii Web Group has acquired the Twitter Handle @Maui!  So now you can follow us at this easy address:

http://twitter.com/maui

This falls along the lines of our ongoing effort to secure the highest quality visitors by being the most visible.  Simplicity is also our goal here.  We’ll still be using @MauiHawaiiInfo for our business here at Hawaii Web Group.  Follow @Maui for updates on the island.

Here at Hawaii Web Group, we believe in being transparent.  This is why we’ve decided to issue a yearly “State of the Group” to let our clients and our ohana know where we stand.

2010 HWG Traffic

After reviewing our analytics in 2010, we’ve found that our small network of Maui/Hawaii websites (owned and operated by HWG) brought in the following traffic.  All of the numbers below come from Google Analytics.  (If anyone shows you numbers for their sites that are derived from some other analytic program, be wary!  We only trust Google for this.)

Increase in traffic

In the last 31 days, our websites have increased in traffic by over 55.92% across the board.

In February of 2012, you can expect a similar report.  On this new report, you’ll find that the numbers above will have increased substantially.  Our goal is to grow by over 50% every year for the next 3 years.  In early 2015, expect to see a report of growth of over 100% from the previous year.  After that, we won’t settle for less than 150-200% each year.  Mark our words! Hawaii Web Group is on a mission to not only gain in strength as a content provider, but we also intend on building Hawaii’s image (especially Maui’s) to our potential visitors.  With our help, we believe visiting Hawaii can become the most attractive option for travelers worldwide.  Our goal is to market our islands while maintaining an educational emphasis.  We want our visitors to leave with more than just a tan.  We want them to leave with a better understanding of the unique culture and environment that we love on the islands.

New websites built in 2010

MakenaBeachGolfResort.com – Built as a fan site and recently acquired by the resort owners.

Maui-Hawaii.Tumblr.com – A social photo blog built to promote local Maui moments.

MauiHawaii.Posterous.com – A social blog with photos and slideshows of Maui.

MauiSailing.com – Built to promote 3 boating clients as well as offer quality information and custom maps of harbors and boat ramps on Maui.

Maui-Maps.com – A huge undertaking, this site was 2 years in the making.  It was recently completed and offers information on almost every activity and area on the island.  It also features a unique flash map of Maui that people love.

KeonekaiVillagesMaui.com – This was built to promote a condo complex in Kihei, south Maui with photos, videos, and information.

The Social Web

In 2010, we’ve been extra busy socially on the web.  We’ve built 2 new social blogs and we’ve been diligent with Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Youtube, Foursquare, and more.  Below are some of our growing numbers.

Facebook Maui

Fans: 4,273

Twitter Maui

Followers: 727
Tweets: 1,918

Tumblr Maui

Followers: 111
Posts: 197

Posterous Maui

Subscribers: 11
Posts: 170

Youtube Maui

Videos: 42
Views: 160,554
Subscribers: 63

Foursquare Maui

Check-Ins: 96

Maui Newsletter

476 Subscribers
We also have aproximately 6,000 subscribers to our other Hawaii newsletters.

Outsourcing

We still have yet to hire anyone not on the island of Maui.  All of our independent contractors reside and work on the island of Maui, Hawaii.  We believe its important to keep jobs within our own State.

Overview

All in all, we’re very happy with what our efforts have produced in 2010.  It’s been more work than we’d ever imagined, but the feedback from our clients and our increased numbers above make us feel like it’s all worth it.  How do we do it? The old fashioned way with a lot of HARD WORK. We believe that nothing worthwhile comes from shortcuts. We build the best content possible and focus on our visitors. If they’re not happy with what we give them, the page (or site) will come down. Overall, we want our impact on the web to be positive in a way where our visitors appreciate the work we’ve done and share it with friends.

We’re looking forward to sharing our numbers again in 2012!

The Client: Hawaii Web Group LLC

Project Description: This is one of our favorite websites ever made.  We think our visitors are going to love the Flash interactive map on the home page.  Each location and activity page has a Twitter feed for each subject, video, photos, local tips, and detailed information.

Feel free to poke around and enjoy the site.  We’ve spent a lot of time to make it great.  Mahalo!

Visit Website: Maui Map