Chances are, if
you’ve worked hard and risked a lot to start or run a business in your
community, then you are likely a true expert in your field. You have a great
product or service, and you have many satisfied customers to show for it. None
of that does your company any good unless it translates to more business. Word
of your quality service or product needs to get out so that customers know you
are indeed the right company to go to if for great quality and service at a
fair price. Customers need a company that operates with integrity. Let them
know that you are the ones to contact when they wish to be educated or need
help solving a problem. You need to be known as their personal & trusted
local expert and social media can get you there.
Whether your
company is new, or you are trying fresh strategies to promote your existing
brand, it’s important to take a look at the essential marketing tools at your
disposal. While it’s true that many of these tools today revolve around digital
approaches, there’s real value in some older, tried-and-true tools, such as
custom business cards. To be sure you know the best way to create yours, check
out this article.
It might be easy to imagine hiring a virtual
assistant for general office administration tasks for your small business.
Companies with brick and mortar often have accountants, bookkeepers and data
entry done remotely by outsourced or subcontracted remote workers. Even though
business owners must get products and services coordinated, use social media
and marketing, and deal with high level decisions, they often don’t choose to
hand off writing tasks to remote workers, currently referred to as virtual
assistants, VAs. They naturally convince themselves that any writing or
messaging from the company needs to be done by an officer, but this is just not
true. With a little guidance and feedback, a VA can be an excellent resource in
writing all kinds of business copy, saving time and worry for the execs. The
writing might be higher quality, as well.
In general, using social media has become a
necessary part of any marketing plan for small businesses. There are several
social media platforms to choose from, and many companies try hard to keep up
with at least two or three at a time. Social media can be a great way to
connect the public with your website, which otherwise might get little traffic
if people don’t know its out there. Linking your social media accounts to
content on your website is a great start. For more on how social media helps
your business, check out this article.
What
does it mean when a post “goes viral?” For promoters of any brand, having a
post go viral is the “Holy Grail” of marketing. Viral posting is a phenomena
where a message, image or meme reaches thousands, even millions of viewers because
social media users share the link for that post on their profiles and/or groups
that they follow or belong to. A potentially viral post will be shared by
growing numbers of users to multiple groups or pages and eventually on multiple
platforms, which cycle again and again. These posts usually appeal to a variety
of age groups, ethnicities and interests due to its uplifting, humorous,
fascinating or unusually insightful nature. Going viral can be a good thing or
a bad thing for the original poster or those who forward the post. Some viral
posts circulate because of an incendiary or political content. Divisive or
shocking content might not be that helpful for a business. Take a look at this
useful article which discusses The Risks and Benefits of Going Viral.
A successful marketing plan today isn’t your daddy’s marketing plan. In just the past 10 or even 5 years, technology has changed and affected how consumers get their news, enjoy entertainment and do their work. Most people you want to reach are online every day, while fewer people watch TV, listen to the radio or read the newspaper. If you don’t find a way to reach people on the internet and in a digital environment, you’ll miss a vast part of the population. You’re already online but not seeing the growth in your business that you expected? There are reasons for that. First you need to think about what you’re already doing and what exactly is not working. To start with, you can check out a helpful article outlining The Top 3 Marketing Mistakes your business might be making.
