Small Business Branding and Marketing Advice and Commentary
Instagram is far more than a place to post pictures of your family and pets. Over the past three years the platform’s popularity has exploded and is a huge driver of business for many major brands. Additionally, Instagram boasts the highest engagement between brands and customers.
If you’re on Instagram, how can you go beyond just getting likes and comments to really interacting with your audience? This article will show you 5 ways to increase audience engagement on Instagram.
If you own a business then you should be engaged in what the marketing savy call in-bound marketing. That in layman’s terms is drawing customers in to you. The major part of my marketing is exactly this strategy. What I am doing here (writing this post) is exactly that. Generating valuable content that provides value to a potential lead that helps to build your brand and goes a long way to establishing you as a thought leader. In-bound marketing is definitely a long-term strategy but one (I think) is more valuable. It is also more genuine. Out-bound marketing pushes your message out to businesses and relays on them paying attention. Most times in lands in front of them when they’re least likely to buy. In-bound draws in people who are LOOKING to buy.
A good example is appliance stores sending you a flyer in the mail. We all call this junk mail and unnecessary UNTIL our microwave breaks and we need a new one. Then we are a motivated buyer. But that hated flyer is long gone – tossed out with the recycling.
Enter – in-bound marketing.
As that appliance store, all that blogging, updating your Facebook business page, introducing new appliances on Pinterest, wisdom on Twitter, educating in YouTube with videos and email marketing to name a few come into play. Your customer with the broken microwave jumps all over Google. Even if you’ve never given any thought to SEO (search engine optimization), the fact that you’ve provided great free content on all the mentioned social channels makes your business the love child of Google. There’s a strong chance that you’ll pop up on the first page in a search. If you’ve ever wondered what the payoff to all that effort building content was, Google is it. Even though you know your listening audience is super small, this is the payoff – search results.
That’s the huge benefit of in-bound marketing. They search with a need and discover you. They learn that you are a thought leader and want to learn more. Warm lead. Engage them and put a new microwave in their trunk.
It doesn’t matter what type of business you own. The value and goal of in-bound is to attract quality NOT quantity. You’re putting in all the effort for search, then for the opportunity to land a warm le
WordPress has become the platform of choice for many online marketers. It’s touted as being free (which it is) but there are other costs to consider as you plan your website. If you’re a small business owner, (not a casual blogger) you’ll want to consider the total cost of ownership of running a successful WordPress site. This article will help you to determine the best WordPress hosting strategies for your business and your budget.
Are you struggling to get started living your dreams and accomplishing your goals because you’re afraid you’re going to fail? It’s a natural feeling. Even the most successful people fear failure. However, the difference between successful folks and those who haven’t achieved their dreams and goals is what they let fear control.
Accepting that fear is a natural and human response is only the beginning. What you do with that fear is the key to success. If you take that fear and forge ahead regardless, then you learn how to quieten your fear. This makes you stronger the next time it creeps up. You’ve learned that fear is just an emotion – useful if a bear is chasing you but not so useful in business.
You can also let the fear hold you back. Then you learn that fear is stronger than you are, holding you back from achieving any goal that feels risky.
Failure is something that happens only if you’re trying. No trying to achieve any goals and there’s no failure, right? Ask anyone who’s achieved a respected level of success how they got there, and chances are they’ll tell you it took perseverance, a lot of failures and the determination to look failure in the eye and continue on. No one achieves any level of success without failing, often many times. The difference between them and others is that they have the ability to manage their fear.
There are two types of people in the world, it seems. There are those who dive right into the cold swimming pool and those who must start by dipping their toe in first. What type of person are you? If you’re a dive right in sort of person, then the best way to get over your fear of failure is to establish a goal, a goal that’s risky and you might not achieve, and then to just do it. Acknowledge your fear and then shove it aside.
60% of things feared never take place
If you’re a dip your toe in type of person then the best way to overcome your fear is with a bit of analysis. Take a look at exactly what it is you’re afraid of. Are you afraid you’ll lose money? Look ridiculous? Do a bad job? Once you’ve analyzed exactly what it is you’re afraid of, ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen. If you’re afraid of doing a bad job, what’s the worst that could happen? Generally, the worst, unless it’s certain death, is so much more insignificant than our fears.
What’s the worst that could happen if you don’t achieve them? Now, ask yourself what’s the best thing that can happen when you do achieve them? It’s worth the risk, right? Whether you’re a toe dipper or a dive right in, there is a way to manage fear of failure. Know that it’s human, it serves a purpose and you’re stronger than your thoughts and emotions. Go out there and take a few risks!
Let me leave you with this video. It’s short but good. It really spoke to me as well when Arnold says “I’ve been told many times… you have an accent that is laughable.”
As someone who grew up in Asia, you can take the girl out of Asia but you can’t take that accent out of the girl. It’s always been a tough, tough thing for me but now, I embrace it. Let it show and let it all hang out. I speak, and speak up. People notice it, yes but who cares? The only measure to me is how far I’ve come and how much further I can go.
Save it, re-watch it often.
If you’re struggling to keep track of (and find later) the volume of information that you come across every day, Evernote is one of your best bets. And if you have it already, this article will show you how Evernote can become your trusted file system so that you can easily find what you need and never lose track of an important piece of information again.
Many people dream of starting their own business, along with the freedom and flexibility that it can bring. However, getting started can be a little rough. Whether you’re a new or seasoned business owner, you’ll enjoy reading these start-up business tips from an array of successful entrepreneurs from around the country who have been there.
It’s no secret that networking is a key part of growing your business as well as opening up new possibilities for personal growth and friendship. This article will show you how to rethink your existing networking strategies, think outside of the box and overcome any fears that you may have about reaching out to new people.
Subscribe to download this guide for FREE and work through the steps at your own pace.
