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Social Media Trends to Grow Your Brand by @luckifit

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by LaKisha Greenwade | Featured Contributor

Is social media here to stay? Absolutely! Actually, it is an understatement.  Social media will continue to expand reach by integrating with non traditional platforms in the next few years.

When building a brand, please know that you are ‘tardy to the party’ if there is no online presence outside of a webpage.  A fan page on a popular platform is not enough today and considered Pre-K in the school of Business Building.

What does this mean?

It is no longer optional to curate regular fresh content for your audience and interact with your followers.

I have heard many moans and groans from business owners who just want to work on their business versus in it. I understand. However, that is not an excuse to allow your business to suffer due to discomfort with the ever changing social media landscape. To prevent overwhelm, create a content calendar or contract out social media management duties and ads services to:

1) achieve an online presence in platforms where your customers reside,

2) grow your customer base and mailing lists, and

3) prepare yourself for new social media launches and trends that impact the way your customers research brands.

Do you still need convincing?

Well, 4 in 10 internet users say they follow their favorite brands on social media. Over one-third of online shoppers use social        media to “find inspiration” for a purchase and 59% of Americans with social media accounts think that customer service through social media has made it easier to get questions answered and issues resolved.

It is imperative to establish and grow your presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Google Plus.

Facebook is the most widely used platform with 79% of the American population.   LinkedIn is a platform growing in importance for the Business to Business community, especially with use of video. It is critical for those seeking to build their personal brands to create some focus here. Twitter recently launched a service to help brands reach target audiences payable directly to the platform.

This is just the beginning.

Social integrations are guaranteed to dominate in the near future. Once you have established consistent online presence, consider how one of the upcoming trends will aid in your brand building efforts.

  • Artificial Intelligence and Voice programs such as Alexa;
  • Chat bots;
  • Video; and
  • Social Influencers.

It is possible for you to:

1) create micro content for voice focused platforms,

2) improve customer service interactions with chat bots,

3) improve brand knowledge with video on all platforms (especially YouTube), and lastly,

4) integrate the use of social influencers to build brand awareness.

These featured trends of today will become mainstays of tomorrow. Do not delay auditing your brand presence on social media and invest in resources to enhance it for growth. It’s a move you won’t regret.

Valentine’s Day: A Marketing Opportunity for Your Product? [Infographic]

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Valentine's Day: A Marketing Opportunity for Your Product?

by Katie Shabi

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. While the lovey-dovey holiday is fun to celebrate, the rewards of remembering the holiday in your business endeavors can also be sweet. Americans spend an estimated $1 billion every year on Valentine’s candy, making the holiday a great opportunity for seasonal marketing. Should you invest in seasonal packaging for your product this Valentine’s Day?

Is it wise for your company to invest in Valentine’s themed packaging in 2016? To help you figure it out, Grimes Packaging has created an infographic using research from Mintel, the National Confectioners Association, and the National Brewer’s Association. The infographic includes information about some of the most memorable seasonal packaging campaigns—in good ways and bad—from some of the biggest consumer companies. See the infographic below for more information.

seasonal-packaging-infographic

Discounted Product: Great for Moms, Bad for Business

According to the infographic, successful seasonal packaging is all about economy – something female entrepreneurs can appreciate. Maximizing your product’s shelf life is important to the bottom line of your seasonal packaging campaign. As shown above, Hershey’s took some serious profit losses in 2011 when they rolled out too much Halloween-themed candy and were forced to sharply discount all the leftovers starting November 1. Great for thrifty moms on a budget, not so great for one of the biggest candy companies in the world. The next year Hershey’s avoided (or at least put it off until after Thanksgiving) the candy discounting by ditching the ghosts and goblins and sticking to more general autumn colored packaging with fall leaves and uncarved pumpkins. What’s the takeaway? Seasonal packaging works, holiday packaging doesn’t—that is, if you want to avoid being left with a bunch of unusable leftover stock.

Holiday Packaging for Valentine’s Day?

Using this logic, investing in Valentine’s Day packaging is a risky maneuver, especially for a small business. As we’ve discussed, it’s not that hard to design seasonal packaging that is still generic enough to take your product through the fall season, from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Valentine’s Day, however, with its pink colors and hearts, is a tougher holiday to stretch into an entire season. That’s not to say it can’t be done, though. Hershey’s has offered Valentine’s themed candy for years. While they might be forced to discount leftover product come February 15, they offer the special holiday packaging because they know customers prefer it. As the infographic points out, 65% of consumers feel candy should have holiday packaging.

Seasonal Packaging: The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it, some consumer products will just be more conducive for Valentine’s Day product packaging than others. Entrepreneurs and business owners selling products geared at women will probably have the best chances at hitting the bulls eye with Cupid’s arrow. Sales for chocolate, flowers, jewelry and perfume rise around the holiday, so don’t count holiday packaging out if you think your product could benefit from the extra boost of special packaging. At the end of the day, seasonal marketing is all about persuading new customers to buy from you because of your products clever and appropriate packaging. Weigh the costs, but take advantage of any opportunities to bring in new sales for your company.

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Katie ShabiKatie Shabi is a marketing specialist currently employed by 3PL The Grimes Companies in Jacksonville, FL. With nearly 5 years of marketing experience, Katie enjoys analyzing data to help companies grow using affordable and effective techniques.

Re-Wire Your Brain to Achieve More Success in Business by @KellyMcCormick_

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Brain Idea for Success or Inspiration , eps10 vector format

by Kelly McCormick | Featured Contributor

I was hired as a last ditch effort to save a sinking ship of a business.

The client, we’ll call him Mike, needed to re-launch his company and fast. It wasn’t looking good. Mike was close to giving up.

Today we had our follow-up call. I was apprehensive. The outcome from our work could have gone either way.

1.    What’s Your State of Mind?

SURPRISE! You could hear the excitement as Mike blurted out, “Kelly those marketing strategies really paid off. Not only did I meet the goals we set, I exceeded them!”

Wow. That was great news!

During our call, Mike also acknowledged how personally stuck he had been.

And I quote, “Wow I had so many negative beliefs and attitudes. I don’t know how you were able to get through to me.”

Yep. He was right. Our initial sessions were tough going.

In the beginning, many of my suggestions were shot down at the speed of light.

Even my business logic, and examples of client successes, slammed up against Mike’s stinking thinking.

I heard responses like, “Yah but. In this economy, it’s going to be tough to get these marketing ideas to work.”

Another popular Mike comeback was, “I’ve talked to other business people. They all say the same thing. Times are tough. There’s way more competition today and people aren’t spending money.”

2.    Our Thoughts Are Real

From personal experience, achieving success requires a certain mindset.

But I’m not alone in my thinking.

Experts such as Quantum Physicist Fred Alan Wolf, PH.D., state that “thoughts are real and what we think really does matter.”

3.    Why Limiting Beliefs Sabotage Success

I’ve seen it over and over again. Complaining attracts exactly what you fear, and it keeps you stuck.

Over time, Mike’s negative thoughts had turned into beliefs which became ongoing self-fulfilling prophecies. He was in his own way.

4.    Listen to What You’re Saying

Most of us operate on auto-pilot. It takes a high level of self-awareness to recognize and change habits.

It’s great if you can have someone like me to identify any blocks to success, while helping to build and market your business. However you can also become your own observer.

Here’s the DIY (do it yourself) approach.

Simply tell yourself, “I will hear everything that comes out of my mouth.”  It’s amazing how our subconscious responds to instructions.

Warning! Some of what you hear may not be flattering.

5.    Change Your Thoughts to Change Your Outcome

Next, write down all of your negative thoughts.

Then do a re-frame.

Here’s an example of just one of the belief changes that Mike finally made:

–    “Yah but. In this economy, it’s going to be tough to get these marketing ideas to work” was replaced with “People are going to eat this stuff up.”  Mike had his own lingo.

In my book OutSell Yourself, in the chapter Open Your Mind to Success, there are other examples of limiting messages around success, money, clients etc. You’ll also find positive statements to replace them with.

6.    Say It Like You Mean It.

When Mike started replacing his negative statements with positive ones, I asked him to put some feeling into his voice. This raises energy, which raises your mood and does so much more.

Saying something, and feeling it, sends an altered signal to your brain.

7.    Re-wiring Your Brain’s Auto-Responses

Not to get technical, but consistently thinking different thoughts creates new neural pathways in your noggin.

Eventually the old pathways, leading to the negative beliefs, will die off.

Now positive thinking becomes your brain’s new default system.

8.    Old Dogs Do Learn New Tricks

Mike ended our conversation with, “You know, even in this economy there are lots of businesses that are making money.”

WHAT!? That sounded like something I’d say. Oh I did say that…many times.

Hum. It looks like Mike heard me. And he decided to re-wire his brain to trigger ongoing positive thought patterns, which helped in reaching his goals.

Here are the results:

–    Mike has tripled his income
–    He continues to receive media attention
–    Several new opportunities are opening up
–    Plus, he found a terrific girlfriend (I didn’t help with that marketing endeavor or maybe I did? What the heck. I might ask him to include it in the testimonial too.)

9.    Success Tips on Steroids

Rewiring your brain is part of a process for achieving success.

More tips are in this blog post, Kelly McCormick’s Tips to Succeed – No Matter What.

Please feel free to ask questions or share your ideas and comments.

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Kelly McCormick – Business Growth and Marketing Strategist

[IMAGE #3] Kelly McCormick_ Close Up HeadshotFrom her lawn chair in California, Kelly McCormick helps entrepreneurs and companies world-wide to increase business. She can help package and price your products and services to really connect with buyers. She also develops targeted marketing messages and strategies that get results.

But, Kelly doesn’t just talk the talk. She walks the walk.

Kelly applies a strong gut instinct, an education in psychology and sociology, and real world experience to build successful businesses. She has owned three successful companies of her own, the first at age 21! Kelly has also helped hundreds of other businesses to achieve more success.

Kelly is the author of a Top Ten book, OutSell Yourself: Ethical Business and Sales Techniques. In addition, she speaks about business, marketing and selling at national and international conferences, on-line and off-line events and in the media.

Kelly can help you to package and price your services and products in a way that really connects with buyers. She can also craft your marketing messages and strategies so that you stand out from the crowd. To talk about your business contact Kelly at www.OutSellYourself.com.

Connect with Kelly:

Twitter – Facebook – Google+ – LinkedIn – OutSell Yourself Blog

 

25 Ways to Marketing Your Business for Free by @MarleeWard

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by Marlee Ward | Featured Contributor

6829285309_48f52461a4Let me start by admitting that none of these marketing tactics are actually free.

Each one with cost you a considerable amount of time to be truly effective, but when you don’t have a lot of money, you usually have more time, so invest your time in these free marketing tactics and watch the money roll in.

1.    Attend one networking event per week. Networking is one of the best ways to generate clients for your business. The thing with networking, however, is that it takes time. Most people give up on networking too quickly. On average networking can generate paying clients for your business in 5-7 months (or sooner), but it requires consistent interaction over an extended period of time.

2.    Host your own Meetup group. Meetup is a great vehicle for getting in front of your target audience. Just create a meetup group that caters to their interests, and voila, you have a captive audience to build relationships with. Notice I didn’t say sell to. If you try to sell to your meetup group people won’t come. Focus on relationships first and the rest will follow.

3.    Develop a list of referral partners, and ask them to coffee or lunch. If networking isn’t your thing, but you do well one-on-one, reach out with a personal invitation to coffee or lunch with people who serve the same target market you do. LinkedIn is a great place to start looking for these types of connections and build a relationship that can be taken offline.

4.    Send items of interest to referral partners to stay top of mind. Once you develop relationships with referral partners, don’t let them go cold. One way to stay in front of them is by forwarding an article, event invite, or industry update to them on a regular basis.  You should also try to have lunch quarterly.

5.    Post ads using the free classified sections on sites like eBay ads, craigslist, and StartupNation.
This one is pretty straightforward. Just post a well-written ad and drive the traffic to a specific landing page on your site (preferably with an opt-in). I got tremendous amounts of traffic doing this at StartupNation.

6.    Register your company with all free online directory sites. Use a service like Get Listed  to do it in one fell swoop.  Get listed is a free online service that you helps you sign up with local directory sites in a snap. Need some back links and SEO power? If you’re local, you’ll find it there.

7.    Write personalized letters to highly targeted prospects. Taking the time to personally address a prospect can be very powerful for your business. It takes finesse, guts, and a $.46 stamp, but it’s a surefire way to get the attention of a prospect who wants what you have to offer.

8.    Write for a popular industry publication. Industry publications are gems for free marketing. If your target market belongs to a particular industry, volunteer an article for publication. Publishers are always eager for new perspectives and great content. Plus, you’ll get instant recognition as an expert in your field.

9.    Become an expert for press. Much like the industry publications, the local press always needs fresh experts for news stories. Three ways to gain experts status with the press for free include joining networks like ExpertClick, ProfNet, and HARO.

10.    Give back to your community and pitch the press on it. PR for the sake of PR doesn’t work anymore (not that it did), so if you really want to get on the radar of your local media volunteer your time (with your team if you have one), and serve your local community because you care. These are human interest stories that local news loves.

11.    Send hand written thank you notes to your current customers with a coupon for them and a friend. Your current clients can be the best source of future clients. All you have to do is ask. Take time out to appreciate their business and give them a gift card or coupon they can pay forward to a friend. You give them the opportunity to do something nice, you look nice in the process, and you may get a new prospect.

12.    Speak at group meetings that are made up of your target audience. If you have a fear of public speaking now would be a good time to get over it. Speaking is an incredible vehicle for getting your message and offer in front of the people who need it most. Simply use public event calendars like Eventbrite, local chamber meetings, your local library, and search Google to find out about upcoming events you might be able to speak at.

13.    Host workshops for your target market. In addition to finding groups to speak in front of, you should also host your own event and bring your ideal clients to you. Oftentimes, if you can get enough people to commit to ordering a meal, restaurants will let you use their meeting space for free. Host a lunch and learn on your topic of expertise, so you can increase your credibility and visibility in your market.

14.    Reach out to other businesses that serve your target audience and partner with them to increase your marketing reach. This works a lot like developing referral relationships, but it takes things one step further. In this instance, you can reach out to other business that are doing paid advertising and offer your services or expertise in exchange for access to their paid advertising efforts. This one is tough. You really have to foster relationships first.

15.    Make direct contact with prospects using social media. Much like sending a personal letter, sending a personal note through social media can also be a great tool for lead generation. Whatever you do, don’t make offers or sound spammy when you reach out to people directly using social media. Instead, take some time to read their profiles, find some common interests and start a conversation. Social media is social…not sales-y. Don’t try and sell.

16.    Write a free book, report, or white paper and encourage others to share it freely. Years ago Brian Clark wrote a report called Viral Copy, and without much effort that’s what happened to the report. It went viral. These days it’s much harder to do, but if you’ve got a powerful message, a compelling story, and a few influencers who will share it you could have a viral impact too. The key with this one is being remarkable. Average won’t cut the mustard.

17.    Learn to talk about your business in a way that starts a conversation – not a sales pitch.
This has to be one of the most difficult things entrepreneurs face in networking and talking about their business. Many of us have been trained to create an elevator pitch, and most of the time it sounds canned, corny, and kills conversation. Instead of giving your “pitch” when you talk about your business start a conversation using the Do Do Dialogue method. This is hands down of the best ways I’ve ever heard someone teach how to talk about your business. It’s easy and fun. Try it!

18.    Offer testimonials to vendors you use and like for use in their marketing, advertising, and website materials. This is one of my super secret tactics for sniping lots of web traffic. All you have to do is give an honest and rave review to a high profile vendor that serves your target audience (like Dropbox, or Basecamp, or Freshbooks), and let them publish on their site. Curious folks will follow links they post and find their way back to you.

19.    Write guest articles for websites that serve your target audience (like I’m doing for this one). Guest posting is time intensive, but if you do it well it’s a fantastic way to generate leads for your business. In fact, if you want to move your business towards the six figure mark and beyond using the Web, building your list through guest posting should be a top priority.

20.    Join civic organizations or volunteer as an organization instead of as an individual. This is both an opportunity to build relationships and gain visibility for your business. You can even tag team this with no. 10 and see if the press picks up on it.

21.    Give away a free trial of your product or service to the customers of businesses that serve the same target market. This is similar to tactic no.14, and is truly win-win for everyone involved. In this case you want to give your “partner business” permission to give away your product or service to their audience. This allows you to gain exposure to their customer base while making the “partner business” look uber-caring for providing a give-away.

22.    Start a YouTube Television show. There are more than 1 billion unique users visiting YouTube each month, over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month, and 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Need I say more? If you’re selling to humans, they are probably on YouTube. It may serve you well to be there too.

23.    Start an iTunes podcast. If you have a computer and a microphone you can start a podcast. Podcasting via iTunes is a fantastic way to target segments of your market that you might not otherwise be able to access. ITunes serves as a channel for those prospects to find you. Plus, when you have listeners engaged in great content on your podcast, you have a captive audience that you can address anyway you like.

24.    Publish articles to your website weekly. You don’t have to blog weekly to grow a loyal audience for your online presence, but if you want to capitalize on as much organic SEO power as possible, weekly publishing is the fastest way to make that happen. If you are targeting the right keywords, dominating your niche in organic search can happen much faster than you think.

25.    Answer questions in online forums with a branded signature. This isn’t the fastest way to bring visitors to your website or attract new clients, but the back links can help improve your site ranking and your insight can demonstrate your authority in your niche. Never participate in a forum with the intention of selling. It won’t work. Instead, focus on providing value and making connections. The rest flows naturally from there.

These marketing tactics may not be sexy, but they work. I know because I’ve used every one of them to build my business or help my clients build theirs.

If you’re marketing on a shoestring these are activities that can take you a long way. Just pick some diverse options and commit to executing on them consistently. With the right message, and the right market, you’ll be making money in no time.

Photo Credit: Victor1558 via Compfight cc

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03142012 Marlee fuji 400H-3_nacweMarlee Ward empowers solo entrepreneurs make more money and serve more people by teaching them how to leverage high-level marketing principles, online tools, multiple income streams, and a success mindset, through personalized coaching programs, online training workshops, and live training seminars.

After practicing law for nearly five years, Marlee left her career as a lawyer to pursue her passion – seeing individuals succeed as entrepreneurs.

With over 10 years experience in marketing, public relations, and new media technologies, Marlee speaks to a variety of industry specific small business in the US.

She’s served as Business Editor of the popular woman’s blog BizChickBlog.com, co-authored Engagement from Scratch! How super-community builders create a loyal audience, and how you can do the same, and was voted “Top 40 under 40” by a Central Florida Magazine

To receive your FREE weekly marketing and mindset training, plus a free copy of the mp3 training audio “6 Ways to Increase Your Income”, visit http://marleeward.com.