New Year’s Resolutions for Small Businesses

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Shortly after the holidays many businesses will see a dip in their sales. The reason is that many consumers have overspent during the holidays and are now on a tight budget especially if budgeting is on the top of their New Year’s resolutions list. Small business owners shouldn’t get discouraged because with the right marketing strategy and with continuous effort your business will thrive. Here are four resolutions for your small business that will help get your business out of the after holidays slump and create a continuous momentum all year long:

  1. Promote your products/services

While humility is a virtue that should be practiced in your everyday life, being humble about your business is another story. Regardless of the size of your business, the amount of revenue it brings in, or how long you’ve been in business you should be your business’ biggest fan. Whether you sell ladies apparel, pet products, tech services, or consulting services, it is imperative to maintain your business image in a positive light always. You have to be excited about your products or services in order to get others excited about it too. Just remember the old saying, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” People will be more interested when you talk positively about your business. The more likeable your business sounds the more likely they will hire your services or make a purchase. Let everyone know about your business: friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, strangers at the grocery store, social media, the internet – I mean everybody. If you have new products or a sale let the world know. You can promote your sale through Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, and word of mouth. The more people know about your business the more leads you will get resulting in more paying customers.

  1. Start or increase your email list

The new year is the perfect time to begin an email marketing campaign. The first step is to build an email list of those who are actually interested in your products or services. You can easily build your email list by offering a discount to new customers if they join your email list. Email marketing is a great way to market your business without spending too much money. The key to an effective email marketing campaign is that your emails are interesting, straight to the point, and visually appealing. The thing with emails is that people will often read the subject line first so if your subject line is uninteresting or appears spammy, guess where your email will go? It will go straight to the spam folder. If your email seems pushy then there is a high chance the receiver of the email will unsubscribe, so while email marketing seems easy enough it has to be done with professionalism and tact, otherwise your efforts will be wasted.

  1. New photos and web content

A new year calls for a new look, but not drastically unless you want to rebrand your business. Updating your web content and adding new photos won’t change your brand image, it will only polish it up. Adding a new landing page or adding a blog section to your business website will increase web traffic organically and internet traffic is what you want to aim for. You want to always maintain a sense of freshness regardless of how long you’ve been in business because consumers are attracted to businesses that are modern and keep up with the times.

  1. Up your social media presence

Social media is the most effective platform to introduce your products and services. More and more consumers search for products and services on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Their purchasing decision is often based on what they’ve seen online and their online experiences. For example, if someone sends a direct message to a couple salons offering the same services and only one responds within an hour and the other two responds days later, guess which salon gains a new client? The one that treats potential clients and existing clients like they matter. Social media allows you to build customer trust and customer loyalty as long as you provide exceptional services and products. Days of searching the Yellow Pages is long gone in today’s Digital Age. If you want to up your leads and your customer base, then you need to start upping your social media presence in 2018.

 

Need help maintaining your business resolutions? Send your emails to: [email protected]

 

 

 

Businesses Should Start Their Online Marketing Now for the Holiday Season

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Do not wait until December to start implementing your holiday online marketing strategy. In fact, you should start now. The fall months are the perfect time to start your online marketing to build momentum leading into the holiday shopping season.

Start using social media

Regardless of your industry if your company isn’t using social media to boost sales then you are missing out. Consumers often use social media for purchasing decisions based on photos, captions, and hashtags, so if your social media is getting traffic you can be certain your website will  receive traffic as well.  In addition, social media isn’t called social for no reason – many happy customers will often share products or services they’ve enjoyed. If your product(s) or services are mentioned on social media you can expect that there will be an increase in your company’s trust, visibility, and influx of new customers. Now don’t go assigning your part-time receptionist or packing assistant the role of social media manager, unless you don’t mind looking unprofessional. Your social media reputation is vital for continuous growth.  A professional social media manager isn’t a luxury reserved for larger companies, it is a must for businesses of all sizes, especially smaller businesses who have yet built a name for themselves.

Add some new product descriptions

A problem that most companies have is that their product descriptions are stale, boring, and unappealing. The company that gives value to their customers, provides helpful information, and makes  purchasing decisions easier is the company that will have higher revenues. You cannot solely rely on product photos to sell. Consumers want more than just images- they want the whole experience. So, before you list that red sweater as “Red Sweater” available in sizes S-XL – okay, what about the sweater that makes it stand out and why should anyone purchase it? If your product descriptions are lacking that oomph and keywords, then it’s time to add life to them just in time for the holiday shopping season!

 

SEO

Forbes recently reported as many as 40 percent of Americans start their holiday shopping well before Halloween. With the holidays only weeks away, now is time to optimize your website in order to get higher rankings in search engines. Do not wait until a week before Cyber Monday to begin your search engine optimization because timing is of the essence and like the saying goes “The early bird gets the worm” proves true to both traditional brick and mortars and online businesses. Big retailers are always in competition with other big retailers and if you are a small business or ecommerce than you are not only competing with big retailers, but you are in competition with thousands of other small businesses. If you want consumers to find you in an already oversaturated market then you need to start getting your search engine optimization on.

AdWords

If you want immediate marketing results, then using paid ads should be part of your holiday marketing strategy. You can easily get targeted PPC online marketing through AdWords. Your ad will be visible online when a person does a search for similar products or services you offer. The catch is that in order for them to be redirected to your website they have to click on your ad. The key is to create an appealing ad with a catchy caption and text that will attract buyers. A professionally created ad through AdWords will help you get more traffic, more leads, and more sales. While some find AdWords a little costlier, your ad will be viewed by a larger audience and you only pay each time your ad gets clicked on.

Generate a sense of urgency

People tend to shop very fast during the holiday season. Most consumers like to avoid the crowds and the stress that often comes with Christmas shopping. Many would rather do their spending online due to the convenience of online shopping. These types of shoppers are too busy balancing both their professional and personal life that spending hours shopping is just a waste of time to them. Incorporating a call to action on your social media posts, business blog, and landing pages will boost conversions drastically. Your goal is to get a potential customer to become a paying customer by offering CTAs. Common CTAs are: Buy Now, Add to Cart, Read More, or Share Now. Placement of CTAs are important and shouldn’t be plastered just anywhere, in fact your CTAs should be placed strategically in order to receive the maximum attention and engagement. When done properly, CTAs are a powerful sales booster.

Use analytics

Consumer spending habits fluctuate all the time. The marketing strategy used two years ago may not be as effective for the current year. In order to get the best ROI in your holiday marketing you need to do market research. You need to understand your target market by having a better understanding of their spending habits based on data and statistics. Having a full understanding of what customers want will then allow you to offer specific products, prices, and services based on their wants and needs. Continuous market research will be helpful in long-term business growth and brand development. If you want customers to find you and get to know your business then you first need to take the initiative to know who they are.

 

For help with your holiday online marketing, contact: [email protected]

How a Blog Can Help Your Business

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With competition being so fierce nowadays, it is important for a business owner to leverage their business website by adding a blog section. Here are some reasons why a blog can help your business:

Increase natural traffic

As a business owner generating traffic to your website increases leads and sales. Having a blog allows you to offer high quality, reliable, and pertinent information that will be of value to your audience. If your blog is of good quality that readers will enjoy reading then you will see an increase in natural traffic. The idea is to have quality content that’s reliable and which your users can implement and use in their day to day life.

It brings a human aspect to your brand

Most companies tend to have a robotic approach when it comes to their website management. That being said, blogs allow you to humanize the entire experience. A blog will give your business a voice which when done right will gain the trust of your readers. Most buyers will make a purchase from a company they feel they can trust.

SEO

When you naturally incorporate key words into your blog post for search engine optimization readers will find you. When you provide valuable information to your blog you will attract readers to your website. The better your blog, the better your ranking in search engines such as Google.

Higher conversion rates

Companies all over the globe have managed to generate more business thanks to blogging. HubSpot states that the ROI can increase exponentially to the point where you can have 13X more sales. Of course, the numbers will vary from one business to the other, but you do get to have more leads and customers. Research suggests that you can get a 6x increase in leads and 60% of businesses who blog obtain more customers.

You get to have fresh, new content all the time

A blog is easy to create and maintain. You can add new content whenever you choose which is a great way to introduce your services, products, or relevant industry information. You can add hyperlinks to certain key words which will take the reader to a specific area of your business website – increasing visibility to specific products or services.

Popups, sidebars, and ads

Besides providing content, links, and images in your blog, you can also add a popup that gives the reader the option to sign-up for future promotions and newsletters. Custom ads on your blog’s sidebar is also an excellent way to turn readers into buyers by directing them to your online shop.

Content Marketing

A blog is an online marketing tool that can increase your online visibility organically. Your business blog is a marketing channel that has the potential to influence your business growth. When done right, it is a cost-effective marketing tool for all businesses regardless of size and industry. The key is providing good content, so you want to give the blog writing responsibility to someone experienced in blogging, who not only has great writing skills, but is also knowledgeable in SEO and copywriting. Unlike personal blogs, a business blog needs to be professional because it reflects your brand and the last thing you want is a blog filled with typos, bad grammar, boring content, and irrelevant information that will give readers a bad impression.

For professional blogging services, send inquiry to: [email protected]

What is Search Engine Optimization and How Can Your Business Benefit from It?

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Also known as SEO, Search Engine Optimization is an activity that allows you to optimize your website for search engines. Simply put, you are using SEO as the means to optimize your site for a better search engine rank. Search engines have different requirements from websites, and you use Search Engine Optimization as the means to optimize the site according to those requirements.

What types of SEO are there?

When you do Search Engine Optimization, you focus on optimizing everything on your website. This means you can focus on the on-page elements such as: website components, images, content, HTML codes, and so on. You also have to find the specific keywords that your customers are most likely to use in order to find products or services similar to yours. SEO shouldn’t be forced, but instead adapted into your content for a natural, professional, unforced flow.

Moreover, you also have to focus on the off-page SEO. This means you have to create backlinks to your site, link the site to social media and connect the site to other relevant entities in the online world.

Aside from On-page and Off-page SEO, there are two major Search Engine Optimization methods that you can use. The white hat methods allow you to rank naturally, using the guidelines offered by search engines. Black hat SEO, on the other hand, focuses on the use of tricks and unlawful methods to get immediate ranking. While white hat SEO will last for a very long time, black hat SEO just delivers fast ranking, and it won’t work very well for you. That’s why your business needs to do white hat SEO at all costs.

Benefits of Search Engine Optimization for small businesses

There are many reasons why your company needs Search Engine Optimization. From generating more exposure for your business to improving the customer experience on your site, there are tons of benefits, as you will see below:

  • Your website will look a lot better, and it will have an improved functionality. Once you optimize for SEO, you will customize your site in order to compel your visitors to spend more time there. That means you will create better content and offer an increased value for your audience.
  • Thanks to Search Engine Optimization, you can bring in more customers. After you include the right keywords into your content and optimize it for SEO, you will note that more and more people will start visiting your site. As a result, you can generate more leads and customers naturally. The marketing costs will decrease, and your revenue will obviously increase because of it.
  • When you do SEO, you have increased conversion rates. The reason is simple; you won’t just have any traffic. You will get targeted traffic and those people that visit you will be interested in your products or services.
  • Search Engine Optimization allows you to increase brand awareness. With a better search engine ranking, you will get to have a lot of new customers and leads. This way people can learn about your business and what it has to offer.

Staying in front of the competition is important and vital for business sales and growth. If you are not embarked on the SEO train, you are definitely limiting and halting your business.

 

SEO to increase web traffic and sales.

What You Need to Know Before Becoming an E-Commerce Entrepreneur

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Online businesses are on the rise at a rapidly growing rate and without the high overhead costs a traditional brick and mortar store has, it is no wonder many hopeful entrepreneurs are opting for the e-commerce route. 96% of U.S. consumers have made at least one purchase online with 51% of U.S. consumers preferring shopping online in comparison to shopping at a physical store. 67% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer to do most of their retail shopping online than in-store. Baby Boomers are also appreciating the ease of online shopping with many embracing the ability to shop from the comfort of their homes. Being an e-commerce entrepreneur allows you to set up shop online and target a ready-to-buy audience, but don’t assume you’ll be able to stream in sales once you upload some products and launch your website. It takes a lot of work to scale an online business and even harder work to get online shoppers to choose your store over your competitors. That is where e-commerce becomes difficult.

Having an online business allows you to target a broader market without limiting yourself to just your home city and surrounding areas. Because your online store is accessible to anyone who has internet access you can have customers from practically any part of the world. While having an online store is cheaper than an actual physical store it still takes money and the proper know-hows to start, operate, and grow a successful online business. Before you jump on the online store band wagon make sure you have what it takes to be a successful online entrepreneur. Here are just a few important must-haves for a successful e-store, online boutique, or any online business:

Find your niche market and stand out

Do you want to sell ladies accessories, handmade goods, tech gadgets, trendy apparel, high-end fashion, leather goods, books, artwork, home décor, sports memorabilia, bridal fashion, menswear, or baby products? The possibilities of what you can sell online is endless, but just make sure there is a need. The last thing you want to do is have a storage full of products that aren’t budging and will depreciate in value as they sit and collect dust. After you decide what you will sell you have to figure out how you can stand out from your competitors. You need to offer something different that your competitors are not, whether it be selling a unique product nobody else has, offering lower prices, free returns and exchanges, or free shipping.

Online Store/Website

Regardless of the niche you choose you will need a website. In order to launch and grow your online business you need an attractive, easy to use, mobile-friendly, search engine optimized website that your customers can go onto to look at your products and check out without risking their personal information. Your website should be clean, meaning no unattractive colors and fonts. You have to think from a buyer’s perspective when designing your website. Would you buy something from a website with a bright orange or green background and barely readable fonts everywhere? If there is too much going on buyers may get turned off and go elsewhere. Your buyers should feel comfortable being on your website and your products are what should be standing out. A streamlined website is crucial for business growth and success.

Web content

Because you don’t have an actual physical store there are no cars driving by and no pedestrians walking by your store front. Your website is your store front, product shelves, and check-out area in one – which means you need to have some good web content. For instance, if you are selling a men’s polo shirt don’t just upload the photo and as the description use: “men’s polo shirt”. The buyer already knows it’s a men’s polo shirt but online shoppers make decisions based not only on photo quality, but descriptions and specs. What makes your men’s polo shirt good enough to buy? Since buyers can’t feel and try on the product they are relying on what you tell them via your website to make their purchasing decisions. Make sure you have a professional homepage with a short sales copy to attract buyers to browse through your online store, an “About Us” page, “Contact Us”, and professionally written product descriptions with keywords for search engine optimization to increase traffic to your website. An “About Us” page is an important aspect of an online store because most buyers want to know who they are giving their money to. A website without an “About Us” page will not win the trust of buyers, decreasing possible sales conversions.

Online Marketing

Before you can start packing and shipping your orders- buyers have to find you. You now have some wonderful products to sell and an amazing website, but without online marketing you will not get any sales. In order to increase traffic to your online store and get conversions implementing online marketing is a must. If you are on a budget adding a blog to your webstore allows you to connect to your target market while providing relevant information. Incorporating keywords and hyperlinks to direct readers to your products is a great way to drive traffic and increase sales. Creating a social media business page allows startups, small businesses, and online businesses to increase awareness and build a customer base. Having a social media presence makes it easier for customers to find you, generate leads, and stay on top of your competitors. Google AdWords is also on the list of “must do” because it’s a great way to advertise online to thousands of people who are looking for exactly what you have. If you want to be a successful e-commerce entrepreneur you need to market online which is easier said than done. Being an online entrepreneur in general is hard work and even the most seasoned online entrepreneur still seeks professional help in order to reach business goals. Working with online marketing professionals and consulting with a branding consultant will help you strategize and execute properly so you can see sales sooner rather than later.

Online shopping retail sales are predicted to grow to $370 billion in 2017, an increase from $231 billion in 2012.