google-site-verification=OMQxqJQQQq2oLU6zSINISwgbxzQImK84SV3pPW4CYGo
So there is all this hype about content marketing being the building block to your online presence, the corner stone to making you sound authentic and real when you write, this is all true, but how did we get here? Whatever happened to talking to people in real life and not just going to networking events and elevator pitching everyone! Why did we stop conversing? This is our reality now, and in this crazy and fun world of online marketing and technology, we must adapt to make it work for us, however let's not forget to simply have a conversation with people. I personally make a point of doing this by meeting new people and interacting socially, it truly helps me to keep the conversation real! Now as marketer, I am always reading to keep up to date on the latest news. Recently, I've come across so much information about content marketing and with so many concepts and ways to get your point across, some very good information and some just overwhelming. That's why I created this simple guide to help you decipher what is important. Do you struggle with content marketing? DOWNLOLAD MY FREE E-GUIDE TO HELP YOU GET FROM CONTENT IDEAS TO EXECUTION IN NO TIME! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.
The Cinco de Mayo fun fest weekend is here, what are you up to?
It’s time to fiesta, celebrate our diversity and of course enjoy a few bevies and then a few more. With so many celebrations happening, why stop the party after one day, why not extend it for 5 days especially for your business and customers. Here are 5 easy ideas no matter what your business is: 1. Create a video with 5 tips on a specific subject. For example 5 easy drinks to make with Tequila for those in the hospitality industry or anyone who just wants to inject a little fun into their social media page. 2. For those within the retail industry - offer deals such as 5 items for $5 or $5 for select items in store or online. 3. Have a consulting business – offer 5 new clients who sign up for an offer within the first 5 minutes a free 5 hour training session. 4. Are you in the health and wellness industry? How about 5 tips to jump start your workout routine after a weekend of indulging. 5. Selling food products, how about provide free samples for 5 days. Get customers to try a different product each day of the week. HAVE AN AMAZING WEEKEND AND MAKE SURE YOU RELAX AND ENJOY A MARGARITA! April 22nd is Earth Day. What does this mean? GIVE BACK TO MOTHER EARTH! It also means you will see an increase of brands, campaigns and events surrounding this amazing month of earth awareness. With this in mind I wanted talk a little about how you can show your socially aware side everyday even if your brand or service does not fit the criteria for being eco-friendly. As a company especially a small business, utilizing a “give back” strategy can enhance how you are perceived and will show another side to you and your business. It is also a great way to get your employees involved in doing something fun for the community. Here are 5 easy ways to show your earthy friendly side without killing the budget! 1. Host a charity event: host a charity event at your place of business where a small percent of everyone’s purchase will go the charity. 2. Donate goods: if you are a store that sells items that can be donated for use such as clothing, food, or general supplies. Make it a point to set aside items that can be donated to needy charities. You can create a yearly drive. 3. Set up a donation vestibule: how about setting up an empty box in your store or at the entrance where you can encourage customers to donate used clothing, shoes or anything that maybe of use. 4. Sponsor a cause and get involved: you can get focused on a particular cause such as tree planting and show your support by participating through registered organizations already doing this. It is a fun and easy way to get your staff involved. 5. Give a per cent of sales to a worthy cause of choice: if you want to keep it simple, donate a per cent of sales to a charity of your choice, you can make this fun and alternate the charities that receive donations monthly or quarterly. Also partner with the charity of choice to send out co-promoted emails. Thanks for reading, I hope you found this helpful! Click to like, retweet and share. Spring has sprung and we are into the second quarter of the year, can you believe it! Are you thinking about what the next quarter holds for you and what you want to achieve? I know I am! For some of us, it is time for a fresh start, a time to evaluate our goals and how we are going to achieve them. I personally find it easier to set objectives especially when I have a big project, but as a routine I make a habit of setting daily objectives to avoid getting distracted from my end goal. Now, by definition objectives are a specific result that a person or system aims to achieve within a time frame and with available resources. In general, objectives are measurable, specific and easier to measure than goals. That is why I like them! For me, as a Marketing Consultant, defining my marketing objectives is an important part to creating successful programs that drive results. Do you always create objectives before starting any marketing program? Today, I would like to share with you my: 5 tips on how to create clear objectives to turn your marketing ideas into reality! 1. Make your objectives quantifiable: having a clear quantifiable objective in either number of units to sell, a percent increase to obtain or sales revenue to generate will give you a specific goal reach. For example: I want to sell 10 units this month. 2. Set a clear time frame: having a start and end date to anything helps, so do the same for your marketing program. Knowing how much time you have to realistically achieve your goal is a great motivator to completing any project. 3. Strategize: understanding how you are going to execute against your objectives is crucial in achieving success. Once you know what you want to achieve be sure to create a step by step plan so you and your team are on board to turn it into reality. Your plan should outline every detail possible and have contingency plans. A simple calendar outlining your strategy from start date to end date will keep everyone on track. 4. Set a budget: nobody wants to waste money, so setting a budget is the best way to stay on track. You will know exactly what your return on investment is. 5. Measure: Last but not least measure your results, simply review your objectives and determine if you achieved them with the resources and tools utilized. Most importantly ensure you were able to achieve the best ROI possible. Thanks for reading, I hope you found this helpful! Download your free objective planning template here. Join my social network on Facebook - Smallbiz Marketing from idea to execution Click to like or share. Promotion is one of my favorite P’s in the Marketing Mix because you can truly measure your results. Through my experience, creating promotions have worked really well for any type of brand once you have clear objectives. I’ve ran promotional campaigns for brands such as Fiji Water, Kellogg’s to image brands like Red Bull and Stolichnaya and have always had great results one way or another. Here are my top 5 reasons why promotions really work! 1. You can measure your results – done properly promotions allows you to measure your ROI in a timely manner, but first you must set clear quantifiable objectives to measure against. This can be as simple as selling 100 additional units or to increase your fan base by 500 fans in 6 weeks. Make your objectives attainable, realistic and give yourself a stretch target for that extra push. 2. Drive Sales – I think promotions are one of the best ways to quickly drive incremental sales. I love using promotional tactics such as enter to win contests or gift with purchase to drive immediate sales, but make sure your sales return pay for the prize or gift you offer along with incremental sales. Spend the upfront time determining your objectives and developing the best strategy before executing. 3. Gives you focus – what a great way to get focused on what you want to say when you have a great promotional campaign with a clear message to push out to your customers. Having this focus will allow you to communicate effectively with a consistent message allowing you to stay on track with your objectives. 4. Cross promote – the cross promotional opportunities are endless when running a promotion. Find a complimentary product or company and promote away through prize donations for contests, in store trials, posting on each other’s platforms or create a joint email blast. 5. Create engagement on many platforms – with one promotional concept to communicate your message should be clear and concise allowing you to have fun creating superb engagement through your social media platforms. For example; get customers to post pictures using your product if it ties into your promotional campaign. GET YOUR FREE PROMOTIONAL PLANNING TEMPLATE - 8 STEPS TO EXECUTING A KICK-ASS PROMOTION! I hope you find this helpful. If you have any additional tips or reasons why promotions work for you, please feel free to leave a message or contact me. Join my social network on Facebook - Smallbiz Marketing from idea to execution By: Farzanah Mohamed | Smallbiz Marketing Consultant | www.smallbizmarketingconsultant.com March has arrived, what promotions do you have running for your small business? The month of March in itself is a promotion, with fantastic built in ideas you can use. Can’t figure out what to do, take advantage of these easy ideas and start creating! Celebrations are always fun, try these built in around key holidays happening in March! 1. March Madness – take advantage of the entire month with the marketing of MARCH MADENSS! Create a March Madness theme promotion with an enter to win contest, discounts or giveaways. How about your own version of the March Madness Bracket.? Click here for an example of how the bracket works. Click here for examples of March Madness theme promotions. 2. March 10th is Daylight Savings Day – have fun with this and simply give your customers extra savings for shopping at your location on or offline on March 10th! A focus on a one day sale can give your business the extra boost it needs that month. 3. March 17th St. Patrick’s Day – Irish or not, everyone is Irish for a day! This is a great opportunity to theme a promotion around this very celebrated holiday. Have fun with this and get creative with green drinks, food, décor, prizes, giveaways, contests and more! 4. March 29th Good Friday and March 31st Easter - What a great weekend promotion you can create out of these two holidays! Entertain and entice consumers with good deals and Easter treats when they enter your store or site. Hope you found this helpful. Please join my Smallbiz Marketing Community on Facebook By: Farzanah Mohamed | Marketing Consultant | www.farzanah.com The 80/20 rule applies today more than ever, where 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers so you need to take care of them. As a small business owner it's easy to get caught up running the day to day of your business and neglect doing the little things. Here are 8 easy ideas you can share with your staff or anyone helping you out on a part time bases. 1. Give your customers an exclusive early bird discount on any new products or services you are launching before releasing it to the general public. It is also a great way to do some market research. 2. Feature your customer as a success story on your website, social media post or within your blog. I am sure they will appreciate the plug and in turn others will see it exposing you to more potential customers. 3. Create a loyalty program to keep them coming back. For example Smoothie King has a great program, it kept me coming back time after time to get my 10th Smoothie free. Furthermore, sometimes I forgot my card, so they would give me a new one, but I didn't have to start all over again, they simply accumulated my cards to add up to the tenth. 4. Show your customers who they are doing business with. Posting pictures of yourself or your team at your place of business is a great way to connect with your customers, so they have a face to the store they are buying from especially if you are 100% ecommerce. 5. Share any tips and ideas you know can help your customer improve their business and do this without expecting anything in return. A self-less act can go really far. 6. Respond to your customer's posts, questions or inquiries so that they know you care and that you are listening. How about dedicating a day each week for FAQ on your social media page, where you answer questions, give out advise, or offer a "how to" tutorial. 7. Customer service; to keep it simple, say thank you, please and greet your customers when they enter your store. A small gesture like this goes a long way. 8. Get feedback on how you are doing, especially if you are in the service industry. Create a short survey online, or offer a customer discount to complete a survey in store. It will give you fantastic first hand data you can use to improve your business. Hope you found these helpful. Please join my Smallbiz Marketing Community on Facebook By: Farzanah Mohamed | Marketing Consultant | www.farzanah.com 1. Business card – offer a free trial, inspirational quote or a call to action on your card. You are giving it out every day so it may as well be more than a name plate. 2. Co-host an event with a local charity – it could be a meet and greet event partnering with a local charity or a volunteer sign up and information sharing opportunity with interested guests. This is a great way to show off a new product or your services. 3. On site business card draws – do you have a business card fish bowl at the entrance of your establishment? Instead of quietly pulling the winner in your office when no one is looking, why not do it on a busy lunch hour in front guests waiting for their seat (assuming it's a restaurant). It will be great PR and encourage others to place their cards giving you a bigger email list. 4. Email signature – this one maybe obvious but I still see lots of emails without a complete signature which should include social media plugins, phone numbers and a call to action where necessary. 5. Co-promote – offer your goods to another business owner to utilize as a prize for contests. This way a great way to reach a new audience. You can consider sharing the email contacts as a way for both of you to benefit. Want more ideas sign up here and get industry specific ideas. By: Farzanah Mohamed | Marketing Consultant | www.farzanah.com I found a great article with smart tips and techniques you can use to give your business a fresh start for the New Year. Here are 10 essential tips you can do, however, do not feel you need to this all at once, pick 3
critical ones and start from there. My favourite one is ofcourse: UPDATE YOUR MARKETING PLAN! 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Small Business 1) Organize Your Accounting Monthly. Do not be one of those business owners who scrambles to get all of your accounting done so that you can get your in one month. Know your numbers by the 15th of every month so that you understand how much profit is in every sale. 2) Leverage Technology to Save Time and Money. Take classes to learn how to use your smartphone, tablet or laptop device. If small tasks make you crazy, there really is an app for that. 3) Check Your Keywords. If you are using a content strategy to build your social media footprint, it is only as good as your keywords. They can change over time, so use WordTracker.com or Google’s keyword research tool to make sure you are up to date on your target customer’s search habits. 4) Update Your Marketing Plan. Develop your 30-day sales goals and then develop your marketing action steps to accomplish your goals. If you need twenty sales in a month, figure out how many phone calls, emails, blog posts, tweets, videos or Facebook messages you need to post to generate enough leads per week to close your required sales. It’s a lot easier to manage your business finances with this kind of sales and marketing plan. 5) Upgrade Your Customer Experience. Make your customers love to call you. Retrain your team in customer service procedures. Think of at least three ways to boost your customer experience. Can you shorten your shipping time? Upgrade your packaging? Add more freebies with upsell products? Or create a loyalty program? Do a few things. 6) Go Mobile NOW! There are a large number of adults who only access the internet from a smartphone. You need to make sure that your customers can find you online with a mobile device. Upgrade your website so that it is mobile ready which means simplify your website. 7) Look For Growth Opportunities. If you don’t grow your business, you could get left behind by a competitor. You should make sure that you stay on top of trend data in your industry. Did you notice a potential opportunity with your customers that you could leverage this year? Is it time to go international? Is there a new niche you should pursue? 8) Create a New Giveaway to Build Your Email List. Social media is great for brand awareness and lead generation, but email is still king to close a sale. Each year it’s best to create some new content that is helpful, juicy and shows you are invested in your target customer’s success. They will need to give you their email address to access things like a sample product, white paper, free audio download or webinar series. 9) Mind Your Data. Use your Google Analytics to learn more about your regular website visitors. What content do they share the most? How many pages do they click per visit? What is your bounce rate? What are your best traffic referral sources? Also look at the activity in your shopping cart and track conversions overtime. Then use the information to give your target clients more of what they want. 10) Try One New Thing in Social Media. If you have spent the last year or so dominating on one social media platform, it’s time to add one more site to your regular social media mix. Pinterest, Google+, BlogTalkRadio and YouTube are great options to consider. Do you have any more resolutions that you are working on in your business for 2013? Repurposed from: Melinda F. Emerson |
Hi my name is Farzanah. I am a marketing pro with 10 + years of experience in marketing management and a busy mom dedicated to helping small business owners improve their marketing with copy writing that transforms their online visitors into taking action. Trending Posts
|