Best of Small Business, Week of September 16, 2013 Posted on September 20, 2013June 1, 2016 by Nicci Troiani Happy Friday Hatchbuckers! Here’s our small business picks of the week. 1. No, Gmails Promotions tab didn’t Just Kill Email Marketing by DJ Waldow We have been getting a ton of questions about Gmails new tab for promotional emails. Waldow explains why this is not the death of email marketing and why it’s just too early to tell. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227668 2. 8 Web Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make by Ilya Pozin As a small business, a lot of your livelihood relies on your website, whether you realize that or not. Pozin gives some good tips on what to avoid with your site. http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130917155848-5799319-8-web-design-mistakes-small-businesses-make?trk=cha-feed-art-title-214 3. 5 Ways to Measure Engagement of Your Business Website by Randy Milanovic Engagement with your business can greatly indicate future sales… but how do you know if your audience is engaged with your website? Milanovic shares his concept here. http://socialmediatoday.com/randy-milanovic/1755641/5-ways-measure-engagement-your-business-website#!
If Your Small Business Was a Social Media Site… Posted on September 16, 2013June 1, 2016 by Nicci Troiani People have a lot of fun comparing social media sites to actual people. It’s easy to relate because each social media platform has it’s own, distinct personality. So which social site would your business be? and why should you care? While it is ideal to have a presence across all social platforms, many small businesses don’t have the time to keep up to date on them all. Find out which social site meshes with your business, brand, customers and prospects and focus there for the best return. Facebook Your business is classic, laid back and has a lot of friends. Your stamp of approval or “like” is influential. Facebook businesses have a close knit fan base or community. With Facebook now implementing hashtags, it is going to be easier to reach larger audiences. In the past, it was harder to grow an audience on Facebook than on Twitter and you really needed to have a good audience base to have much of a following on Facebook. Facebook is great for sharing content with your fans. When you post a blog link, it pulls in a thumbnail image as well. (read “Use New Facebook Hashtags to Market Your #SmallBiz” to learn more about hashtags on Facebook) Twitter Your business has a lot to say and wants to reach a large audience. Your business follows trends and news. Twitter is great for a small business to reach a large audience. You can use twitter to post any content you have, like blogs, as well as re-tweet other people’s content. By using hashtags or incorporating trending topics into your tweets, you can increase your reach. Twitter limits you to 140 characters, which is a good thing. It keeps your post brief, which means its more likely to get read and you can link back to a blog or website to say more. Pinterest Your business has a do it yourself mentality, is creative and visual. You are either a woman- ran business, or focus on an industry where your prospects are mostly women. 80% of Pinterest users are women and only 5% of users are under the age of 18. The site became popular extremely quickly. Pinterest is great for retail and food businesses. An additional bonus is that you can link the images you upload to anywhere that you like. By linking them back to your website, you can increase traffic back to your site. (read “How Small Businesses can use Pinterest for Lead Generation” here) LinkedIn Your business is strictly professional. You thrive on networking and meeting like-minded people. LinkedIn is known for it’s networking purposes. You are able to join groups to network within people from your industry or region. You can also create a company page for your business and post content and updates here. LinkedIn also allows you to share your content into specific groups– this is great if you want to expose your content to certain groups or segments. YouTube Your business has a message and wants to be seen. YouTube houses many different types of messages and audiences. Because of this, YouTube can be great for marketing. Not every business has the time to create, record and edit educational videos for YouTube. If you do have the time, YouTube is the 3rd largest search engine, and the potential to reach a lot of people is great. Google+ Your business is practical and wants more attention. While Google+ has still not really taken off with the general public, many marketers and Google enthusiasts still use the site, because updating your Google+ account helps with your website SEO. (Read “Why Google+ is Still Relevant for Small Businesses) Instagram Your business is trendy and visual. Instagram, like Twitter (and now Facebook) allows the use of hashtags, which is great for expanding your reach to people outside of your audience. Instagram really benefits companies who are more visual (like retail or food) since you don’t get more than an image and caption with your posts. Vine Your business is creative and quirky. Vine is the new kid on the block. Like Twitter, which limits you to 140 characters, Vine limits you to 6 seconds of video. This has inspired some business to post some great, creative videos which can leave a lasting impression on your audience. Here are some other fun social media comparisons that helped inspire this post: If Social MediaSsites were Fictional Characters found on Mainstreethost by Olivia Roat http://blog.mainstreethost.com/if-social-media-sites-were-fictional-characters#.UjcR68bkuYg What Social Media Sites Woudl Look Like If They Were in High School found on Social Media Today by Brian Wallace http://socialmediatoday.com/nowsourcing/994236/you-are-what-you-share-infographic Check out another blog “Social Media Overload: How to get Focused” if you’re feeling overwhelmed with options! http://benchmarkcrm.com/blog/social-media-overload-how-to-get-focused/
Best Of Small Business – Week Of September 9, 2013 Posted on September 13, 2013June 1, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud Said to be the most wide-spread superstition in the US, Friday The 13th is once again before us. If you are like many Americans, today you will be avoiding stressful situations by all measures. I recently read a statistic that says on Friday The 13th, Small Businesses lose nearly 900 million dollars’ worth of business is lost from people avoiding everything from traveling to shopping. Some business analysts even speculate that Small Businesses take the hit on this particular day. Why not turn this day into a lucky one for your Small Business? I’ve collected a few articles that will help you make sure your sales and marketing isn’t scary this Friday The 13th! The Scary Movie Guide To Improving Your Marketing Campaign – http://www.impactbnd.com/the-scary-movie-guide-to-improving-your-marketing-campaign/ Three Effective Content Marketing Lessons from Your Favorite Scary Movie – http://blog.contentboost.com/2013/07/29/three-effective-marketing-lessons-from-your-favorite-scary-movie/ 13 Lucky Marketing Benefits From LinkedIn Groups – http://www.visualinspiration.com/blog/bid/298073/13-Lucky-Marketing-Benefits-From-LinkedIn-Groups TGIF!
Be Easy To Do Business With: A Lesson From Warby Parker Posted on September 11, 2013 by Lindsey Stroud Let’s face it; we want things to be easy – especially when doing business. It’s like we expect our experience to be handed to us on a silver platter. All it takes is a couple of roadblocks to deter us from doing business with someone. I recently had a refreshing experience with a company called Warby Parker (they did not pay me to say this, by the way!) I stumbled on their website after my eye appointment, and found that they will personally mail you 5 pairs of glasses to try on and wear in the comfort of your own home for FREE! There is no catch. All you have to do is select your 5 pairs of glasses, answer a couple of questions, and put a credit card on file (they won’t charge you unless of course you do not return their glasses.) I had a couple of questions, so I hesitantly picked up the phone to call the 800 number listed on their website. To my surprise, a live person with a wonderful attitude picked up the phone on the 2nd ring! She introduced herself, answered all of my questions, and made casual small talk – a huge difference from most of my calls to other companies. Once I hung up the phone, I jumped on Twitter and gave them a shout out for the excellent customer service. Within 5 minutes, I had a reply and a link to Youtube with an employee video introduction. In the video the Warby Parker employee introduced herself and told me to reach out if I needed help choosing a style of glasses – how helpful! I couldn’t have enjoyed my experience with Warby Parker any more, and the best part? THEY MADE IT EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! I encourage you to think about the roadblocks that exist within your business that may drive potential customers to your competitors. Here are my tips for “Being Easy To Do Business With” Make It Simple To Contact You – Plaster your phone number, address, and email on everything you do. Create “Contact Us” forms. Have a live chat feature. Do WHATEVER it takes to make sure when someone wants to contact you, they have the information at their fingertips. A Live Person Goes A Long Way – The minute I hit a voice-mail loop, I am frustrated. It’s so refreshing to have a live person answer the phone after a couple of rings with a friendly demeanor, willing to answer questions. Revamp Your Website – Your website should be clean, informative, and easy to navigate. If someone has to spend an excessive amount of time sifting through your website to find the information they need, they will quickly stray. Keep your website focused, and highlight the most important information a prospect would need to move forward in their buying process. Be Active On Social Networks – You have probably heard this time and time again, but people are conversing on social networks, and you need to be a part of that conversation. Replying to questions, concerns, and praises shows that you are listening and willing to be a part of that conversation. Go forth and BE EASY!
Take your Small Business Back to School Posted on September 9, 2013 by Nicci Troiani Maybe it’s just me, but every fall I miss that going back to school feeling. Every year feels like a new start to do something exciting. Buying new clothes, new school supplies.. it all feels so fresh, new and promising. That sort of fresh feeling inspires and motivates new students. Many small business employees and customers get that beginning motivation as well.. but then it wears off. Not only do your employees need to stay motivated and educated, but your customers need to be reminded why they did business with you in the first place. Here are a couple of ways to give that fresh new year motivation to your employees and customers: Set Goals The beginning of the school year was always full of more resolutions than New Year’s for me. It’s a great time to try to improve upon something. In the workplace, it’s easy for workers to lose that sort of new-year feeling. Give updates to all of your employees regularly so that everyone is up to date. A little team competition (between your sales team or whole team based on performance) can keep the team motivated as well. Set goals for yourself regarding your customers. Goals like following up with current customers more often just to check in and stay top of mind (how often are you doing this now?). By just saying hi and checking in, you are doing much more than other businesses they have done business with. These friendly conversations (automated emails are a great way to start this while not spending additional time) are always great transitions to more sales opportunities as well. Your customers most likely don’t think about you or your business other than when you contact them. This way, they have a fresh, recent impression of you. Educate Part of the fun of going back to school is learning new things and becoming more knowledgeable about things than you were the year before. This applies to your employees as well as your customers. Employees should be reading industry articles in their spare time and sharing with each other. Many industries also need to educate their customers about additional products that they offer or changes in products they have already bought. By updating customers and keeping them educated, you are viewed as an industry expert and are more likely to keep your existing customers. While your unique small business may not be exactly like a school, I’m sure you can see the correlation. With the Fall season beginning, now is a great time to put some new procedures and practices in the mix.
Best of Small Business, Week of September 2, 2013 Posted on September 6, 2013June 1, 2016 by Nicci Troiani It’s that time again–Friday! Here’s the best articles (that we found) for our small business friends and the rest of you Hatchbuckers! Enjoy! 1. Should Everyone Work in a Startup at Least for a While? by Richard Moran We love start up culture and love the great points that Moran shares about working for one. http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130904151601-10878085-should-everyone-work-in-a-startup-at-least-for-a-while?trk=cha-feed-art-title-214 2. Inbound Marketing Vs. Content Marketing- Whats the Difference? by Frank Isca While many times, people use these terms interchangeably, Isca points out the differences between the two and how they support each other. http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/inbound-marketing-vs-content-marketing-whats-difference-0606015 3. Four Steps to Build Brand Awareness Through Storytelling by Cynthia Montgomery Montgomery discusses why you need to tell your story and how it can affect your brand. http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130905134835-204276375-four-steps-to-build-brand-awareness-through-storytelling?trk=cha-feed-art-title-204 We hope you enjoyed our picks this week! Have a great weekend!
19 Easy Ways To Celebrate Your Employees Posted on September 4, 2013June 1, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud Held on the first day of September, Labor Day is a national holiday honoring our work force. While an extra day off is always welcome, it is important to celebrate and reward your employees on a regular basis. Reason being? Happy employees make for productive employees – while unhappy employees drain resources and produce a lower quality of work. According to the Healthways-Gallup Health Index, it is estimated that disengaged employees make for more than $300 billion in lost productivity annually. Employee recognition delivers a double-bonus: It boosts employee morale and also recognizes and rewards ideal performance. Here are some easy ways to celebrate your employees: Give a Starbucks Giftcard Include The Employee In Your Business Newsletter Honor The Employee At A Company Meeting Give Your Employee A Flexible Work Schedule For A Week/Month Throw A Pizza Party (…Think Elementary School!) Give A Complimentary Day Off Flowers Create An Employee Of The Week/Month Program Assign Reserved Parking Spots Take Your Rockstar Employees Out To Lunch Invite A Masseuse To The Office For Free Massages Handwritten Thank You Notes Host Company Cook Outs Free Tickets To A Movie/Sporting Event/Concert Stock The Kitchen With Free Breakfast Recognize Hard Workers At Business Meetings Extra Long Lunch Breaks Celebrate Employee Birthdays Allow Employees To Work From Home When Needed
Labor Day Pinspiration! Posted on August 30, 2013June 1, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud Happy holiday weekend to all of our hard-working friends! We know that as a Small Business, a break is hard to come by. We hope you take some time this weekend to enjoy family, friends, and a day of relaxation. We’ve gathered some Labor Day Pinspiration for your pleasure! Labor Day History: (Thanks Arkansas Flag and Banner!) Inspirational Message: Travel Forecast: (Thanks Triple A!) Labor Day Humor: “The Best Burger, Ever!” Link to recipe: http://www.littlemissmomma.com/2011/10/best-burger-ever-recipe-with-secret-sauce.html
How To Stay Human In A Technological World Posted on August 28, 2013June 1, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud “I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction…” – Albert Einstein Is it safe to say that Albert Einstein’s biggest fear is finally coming true? Majority of businesses are now powered by messaging systems, automated interactions, and complicating software. In a world ruled by technology, it seems almost unheard of to meet over coffee, or receive a handwritten thank you card after meeting. You can almost do anything today without ever having to see or speak to another person. Here are some ways you can remain human in your small business: 1) Use technology to trigger human interactions Majority of us are too busy to remember to eat breakfast and brush our teeth these days. The beauty of technology is that it can keep track of our to-do’s and remind us of our open tasks. Use technology to help spark actual human interaction. A system like Hatchbuck will send email reminders to trigger phone calls, emails, and meetings so you can maintain good follow-up practices. 2) Write hand-written thank you cards to express gratitude When is the last time you received a handwritten thank you card from someone other than a friend or family? It’s probably been a while, but chances are it made a huge impact on what you thought about the person or business on the other side. Handwritten cards add a human-like element that an email or text message cannot match, and people remember them! 3) Create lasting relationships with customers Customers are a key component to a business’s success, so treat them as you would your dearest friends and family. Create a community amongst your loyal customers by promoting interaction and creating rich referral opportunities.