When starting any sort of new business venture, social media marketing and online promotion have become two of the most important ways for an entrepreneur to get their products outRead More
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]]>When starting any sort of new business venture, social media marketing and online promotion have become two of the most important ways for an entrepreneur to get their products out to consumers.
While social media is free (for the most part) and easy to use, it is also easy to make mistakes. Getting distracted by all of the bells and whistles that come with social media can keep a budding startup business from true success.
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” – Seth Godin (Highlight to Share)
There are a variety of social media mistakes that entrepreneurs make when it comes to marketing their business online. Using social media platforms to communicate is a great format, but only when done properly. We’ve interviewed many authors on social media marketing and I compiled a list of the common social media mistakes most entrepreneurs make so you know what to avoid.
Perhaps you were extremely accomplished in your previous ventures or maybe you have a very strong pedigree. There is nothing wrong with being proud of the accomplishments of your past, but most of your social media followers will not care to hear about them on a daily basis. When you share too much about your past achievements, it is a huge turn off to those who do not already know your work.
Just like anything else in life, talking about your past achievements is best done in moderation. There are instances where your past experiences will come in handy and when they are germane to the discussion, there is nothing wrong with bringing them up.
However, social media users are savvier than ever. They will see through any attempts to call attention to yourself by being boastful and may decide not to use your products or services because of your arrogant social media presence. Even worse, this affects your company’s word of mouth in a negative manner.
Social media is great, because it gives potential consumers a chance to get to know you on a more personal level. This can be a bad thing if you are a person who allows themselves to get swept up in negativity. We all have bad days and personal beefs, but social media is no place to air your sour grapes or complain about the hard times in your life.
Consumers use social media as a means for escaping the drudgery of day to day living, so the last thing they want to be confronted with are the harsh realities of your life. Airing your personal frustrations about the problems that you are having with other people or whining about how hard you life is will lose you social media followers and create bad word of mouth.
Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. Would you want to buy a product from someone who used their social media profile as a place to vent and complain? The answer is usually no in most instances. Before you fire off your negative social media post, take a moment to consider what your customer base will think of it.
Social media is a great outlet to speak intelligently, but it is even more important for you to use it as a place to listen. By using social media to garner consumer feedback, you have the opportunity to collect information that is specifically designed to help you. If a consumer has a complaint, you can rectify it immediately and ensure that you do not lose their business.
You can also use social media to engage with customers on a more personal level, getting to know them better. While it is great to let consumers learn more about you, learning more about them allows them to feel more valued. Speaking to them about matters more important than your latest sales and promotions is pivotal.
The plethora of tools and usages that social media provides for its users can be overwhelming, causing an entrepreneur to lose sight of the ones that are most important. Social media comes equipped with analytic tools that are geared towards measuring the impact of your social media marketing push.
These tools often come free or can be purchased at exceedingly reasonable prices. The tools will show you which of your posts have become most popular and let you know if any of your materials have shown the ability to go viral.
Posts can also be scheduled when you are too busy to get to a computer or smartphone. With so many options available to you, an entrepreneur would be a fool not to at least explore some of them. No matter what goal you are trying to accomplish, there is an analytic tool designed to help.
One of the best parts of social media is its ability to offer you a means of promoting several different products at once. An entrepreneur can easily leverage social media’s reach to gain as many new customers as possible. There are so many possibilities and there are a million thoughts that are probably crossing your mind about how to pursue them. Enhancing your business prospects comes first and foremost.
Be careful about getting caught up in the madness of trying to promote several different products and services at once. Over promotion can fatigue the audience and cause them to pass by your posts when they are using social media. Training your focus on just one venture allows the audience to get to know the product better. It also decreases the the number of distractions.
As a business mentor for MentorMojo, virality expert Emerson Spartz gives some more effective social media marketing tips in detail here:
The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick
Digital Bacon by Alex Rodriguez
Trendology by Chris Kerns
Do It! Marketing by David Newman
A World Gone Social by Ted Coine and Mark Babbitt
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]]>5 Secrets for Developing Your Own Personal Brand What is the secret to successful brand building? Well, it is a combination of a great plan, and lots of hard work.Read More
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]]>What is the secret to successful brand building? Well, it is a combination of a great plan, and lots of hard work. Whether you are a multi-million dollar enterprise or a home-based small business, you need a clear idea if you want to build a brand identity.
Let’s take a look at the important pointers that can help you with developing your own personal brand:
Want a good example of brand storytelling done right? Just check out the Lego Movie. A fun representation of the possibilities that the brand creates, the movie is equally enjoyable for both children and adults.
Consider who you are, what your business promises are, and how you started out to get some ideas about your brand’s story. Keep it crisp and concise. And be true about who you are. And you’ll have the base on which to build your brand.
Serious? Cool? Quirky? Every business has a personality of its own. It depends on a number of factors, such as your target market, your products/services, your approach, and so on.
While McDonalds and Burger King both serve burgers, they have a distinctive personality. If you sell video games to peppy teens, your brand needs to reflect a hip and cool image to attract the right crowd.
But it won’t surely suit your brand’s image if you offer technology solutions to new businesses. Again, either of these images won’t suit a luxury brand selling fragrances to the ultra high net worth individuals.
The simple logo, use of green and white, and the entire look and feel of Whole Foods Market convey the concepts of health, freshness and sustainability. Consistency is the key to brand building.
After you have identified the personality of your business, it is important to focus on how to reflect it at every step. Your logo, website design, color choice, text use, and every little detail needs to be consistent with the image you want to project.
If you aren’t on social media yet, it is high time you do it. Consider your brand’s personality and who your audience is before you decide which platforms to engage on and how to do it.
A jewelry designer hoping to reach out to women may do well on Pinterest (as Etsy established). But if you are a telecommunication solution provider aiming to connect with followers, Twitter and LinkedIn may be more advantageous.
You also need to come up with the right ways to engage on social media. Remember, a conversation is a two-way thing. And if you fail to converse, your presence alone won’t be of any help to your brand.
The best way to establish your personal brand is to be there for others. Whether it’s as simple as answering a question on social media or as complex as creating a how-to guide, extend a helping hand.
Not only will it make you feel good, it will also help you earn respect and admiration. And you never know when a good turn results in a new opportunity. While it is essential to learn to say no at times, it is also important to say yes, whenever you can.
Little tactics help create a brand identity that is known and valued by all.
Don’t expect overnight results. Developing your own personal brand takes time. You have to plan it well, put in the required work, and wait for the results. It may be slow, but once your brand identity catches on with the audience, it’ll grow on its own.
Lean Branding by Laura Busche
Hello My Name is Awesome by Alexandra Watkins
Pocket Man by Scott Jordan
Body of Work by Pamela Slim
Digital Bacon by Alex Rodriguez
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]]>5 Reasons Why Your Marketing Sucks Marketing a business isn’t everybody’s cup of tea; and even if you are great at other things, it is quite possible that you areRead More
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]]>5 Reasons Why Your Marketing Sucks
Marketing a business isn’t everybody’s cup of tea; and even if you are great at other things, it is quite possible that you are doing it all wrong when it comes to marketing. And that could mean the end of the road in a few years time.
If your business, albeit being a potential success, isn’t quite hitting the mark, you need to find out whether your marketing sucks! How do you differentiate between a marketing plan that works and one that doesn’t? It’s simple – just take a look at the points below.
Reason 1 – No plan: Where is your marketing heading towards? Which marketing steps work and which don’t? What do you do to replace the ones that don’t? If you don’t have a proper plan, you won’t have answers to any of these questions.
A marketing plan needs to work to achieve a set of goals, have ample research at its back, identify and use the strategies that work, have means to measure the results, and add and alter as and when necessary. Do you have such a plan?
Reason 2 – No budget: You need to determine how much you want to spend on your marketing even before you take the first step. Don’t treat it as a series of requirements – it will only lead to waste of money.
And don’t opt for the cheapest option – usually you get what you pay for. So, even if you don’t need to pay your nephew to design your business logo, its best to get a professional to do it. Remember, it’s not just a logo; it is the first step in your brand building efforts.
Reason 3 – No cohesion: A black and white logo and a multicolored website or an edgy website and a tacky business card – exactly what impression are you trying to convey? Every element in your marketing plan needs to work together to create a uniform whole.
Disparity in fonts, colors, style and any such element can confuse your target market. What image do you wish for your business – corporate, edgy, contemporary, or something else? Make sure every piece of marketing reflects this core concept.
Reason 4 – No social media: If you aren’t on any social media platform, you are losing out. Your target base is out there. And so is your competition. Failing to mix new age marketing methods using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on is sure to lead to loss.
Create a Facebook business page, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn profile, claim your Google+ page, and do whatever it takes. Make sure you update to them regularly. And remember, while Pinterest may work for a jewelry lineup, YouTube works better for a tech service.
Reason 5 – No metrics: Yes, you may think that your marketing efforts are paying off, but unless you are capable of measuring it, how do you know it for sure? Also, you have no idea which of your strategies work and which don’t.
Analyze and evaluate every step to make sure it is of any advantage. Do A/B testing to identify marketing efforts that do well and the ones that don’t. Use the metrics tools available to determine whether your efforts are paying off.
It is easy to sit back and be smug about how good you are at marketing. But it won’t be so easy once you are aware of why it sucks. But don’t despair; rectifying a mistake becomes easier when you have identified it. Take your time, and get your marketing back on track.
Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days by Jay Levinson and Al Lautenslager | Listen to Al give a deep dive here
Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers by Justin Mares | Listen to Justin give a deep dive here
A World Gone Social by Ted Coine and Mark Babbitt | Listen to Mark give a deep dive here
Moving Targets by Gabriel Aluisy | Listen to Gabriel give a deep dive here
Digital Bacon by Alex Rodriguez | Listen to Alex give a deep dive here
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]]>5 Advantages of Creating a Mobile App for Your Business Do you really need a mobile app for your business? Whether you have a small, medium or big business, goingRead More
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]]>5 Advantages of Creating a Mobile App for Your Business
Do you really need a mobile app for your business? Whether you have a small, medium or big business, going mobile is the only way nowadays. People, especially the younger crowd, are constantly using their mobile devices to browse the World Wide Web and if you aren’t there, you are missing out on the opportunities.
But isn’t having a mobile site enough? Not anymore.
With a mobile app, you can achieve results you simply cannot with just a mobile-friendly website. For starters, the app, once downloaded, stays on in the device, while the website doesn’t! Why do you need to create a mobile app for your business?
Get to understand the real advantages of creating a mobile app for your business and you’ll find the answer.
It boosts interest: When you develop an app, it gives you an easy way to showcase your products or services to your customers and prospective customers. Whenever they want, they can just use it as a one-stop point to get all the info they need.
And when you update the content, you give them a glimpse of the new products or services you have on offer. This excites and interests customers and prospects to check out your updates regularly. A good example of this is the Etsy app.
It enhances engagement: Most shoppers cannot resist the temptation of a good deal or a great discount, especially when one stares at their face. And this is exactly what you can do with your mobile app.
Engage your customers with offers and incentives in real time. You can use their profile information and location to customize your offers to make them more attractive too. Kraft’s iFood Assistant takes the cake in this matter.
It aids promotion: Suppose you have an apparel and accessories boutique at a central location. And you know that many prospective customers walk by your store every day. What if you design an app that lures them to your store?
Create an offer that is simply too irresistible and notify about it through the app. An easy way to promote your business, apparently, but you will soon reap its benefits. Groupon is an example that does this very well.
It offers support: While it is often a hassle to receive and respond to a customer support request, the same becomes easy when you have an appropriate app to do it. With a mobile app that can offer instructions and how-to’s, you are sure to win approval.
Develop a mobile app that makes it easy to connect with you, or offers customers the tools to make it easier for them to use your product or service, and you’ll make them happy.
It ensures ease: Users today wish for a fuss-free experience, whether they access your site or your app, and whether they do it from their PC or their Smartphone. With a good plan and a clear vision, it becomes possible to deliver on their expectations.
When you design the app for your business, first determine what it will be for. Users prefer certain categories of apps – those that make life fun (Angry Birds), those that simplify (wikiHow), those that interest (Yahoo Sports), and those that let them shop (Amazon).
Before you appoint a professional to create your app, decide what you want it to do.
And once you are sure of it, get the basics on your own – the images, the content, the logo, and so on. Next, get a professional to design the mobile app for your business. Don’t try to save money here; it won’t do you any good. Also, make sure you have a flow of new content to keep the app fresh and interesting for users.
How To Build A Billion Dollar App by George Berkowski | Listen to my interview with George here
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]]>5 Simple Ways Entrepreneurs Can Attract Customers To Their Business You have a great product or service and yet you seem unable to attract customers to your business and makeRead More
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]]>5 Simple Ways Entrepreneurs Can Attract Customers To Their Business
You have a great product or service and yet you seem unable to attract customers to your business and make a sale. Almost every new entrepreneur faces this challenge after they start off a small business.
And the root cause of this problem is often your inability to reach out to your customers.
The lack of advertising and marketing your product or service may be drawing you back from your customers. But for a small business, with limited funds, it is often difficult to allot a substantial amount for advertising and marketing.
In such a circumstance, what do you do? Simple; you just focus on the ways to do it right. Let’s take a look at some simple ways entrepreneurs can attract customers to their business:
Tip 1: Rely on word-of-mouth. This tried-and-tested option never fails! If you can build an army of satisfied customers, it will work much better than a couple of billboards or television ads. They are the best tools of advertisement you may find.
To turn a customers into satisfied customers, you have to work on the three premises:
• Offer a great product/service – the basic necessity for a successful business
• Ensure great customer service – remember, always serve with a smile
• Offer a reward for referral – the bigger the incentive, the better your opportunity
And soon you will have a good number of spokespersons at no added cost!
Tip 2: Involve and engage. When a prospect walks in, make sure you turn them into a customer. How do you do it? Interest them with an offer, give them a free sample, request them to enter a contest, and use any other means you can think of.
People love free stuff. They also love offers and discounts. And when they get something at no cost or maybe low cost, and are happy with it, they are sure to come back and pay for it. And they are sure to talk about your business to their contacts.
Tip 3: Build a website. If you aren’t online yet, you need to be – NOW! A website isn’t a luxury anymore; it’s a necessity. If you aren’t online, you are missing out attracting the prospective customers who stick to their PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, et al.
You don’t really need to invest thousands of dollars to ensure a web presence. Just make sure someone who knows how to do it right does it. Otherwise, you will be stuck with a site that doesn’t work for your business.
Tip 4: Connect on social media. When Mandie Miller started off her business Got What It Cakes, she built a website. But the business only picked up once her sister put up a Facebook page for it.
Lesson learned: While a website is essential for your business, no business can ignore the reach of social media these days. Create a page on Facebook, get an account on Twitter, or add images on Pinterest and Instagram – do whatever it takes to enhance your reach.
Tip 5: Get involved. While you will always have competitors, and you will always have to keep a lookout for them, you also need to focus on collaboration. Make a list of complementary businesses and promote each other to your respective clientele.
Also, don’t forget about the community; after all, you are a part of it. Give back. Charitable or environment-friendly work never goes unnoticed. And once you are part of something big, you’ll get people interested in what you do.
It is possible to get the attention of customers; you just need to know how to do it right.
1) Lean Customer Development by Cindy Alvarez | Listen to my interview with Cindy here
2) It’s Not The How Or The What But The Who by Claudio Fernandez-Araoz | Listen to my interview with Claudio here
3) A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger | Listen to my interview with Warren here
4) Traction – A Startup Guide To Getting Customers by Justin Mares | Listen to my interview with Justin here
5) The Seven Levels of Communication by Michael J. Maher | Listen to my interview with Michael here
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]]>5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make With Marketing and Branding Marketing, when done correctly, is considered as an investment to a business. Since entrepreneurs can’t splurge huge amounts of money on theRead More
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]]>5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make With Marketing and Branding
Marketing, when done correctly, is considered as an investment to a business. Since entrepreneurs can’t splurge huge amounts of money on the promotion of their products and services like larger brands, they need to be very particular about their marketing plan to ensure that not a single marketing dollar gets wasted. A great marketing plan can bolster the market reputation of a business and can help it win the trust of its targeted audience eventually, whereas a bad marketing plan can hurt its business prospect in more than one way.
Building a brand image is never easy. It takes years to build a solid brand but it takes just a few seconds to ruin it. Don’t believe us? Well then, try posting something nasty via your company’s social profile and you will see how the reputation of your company comes crumbling down [safety notice – don’t try this at home/office].
The thing is that most entrepreneurs have no idea about promoting their brand and for that reason, they try different things only to find themselves in deep trouble at the end. Sometimes they prioritize product development over marketing and branding and sometimes, they just ignore the concept of branding altogether. Here are some 5 mistakes entrepreneurs make with marketing and branding:
You Have no Idea About Your Targeted Audience
Imagine a scenario that you are selling anti-aging products and you are targeting mainly teenage boys. The probable outcome of this bizarre marketing initiative is easy to predict – a big Disaster. You need to realize the truth that you simply can’t target everybody around. You need to identify your targeted audience first before even thinking about marketing products. Culture, age, sex, geographical locations etc all play pivotal role while choosing your targeted audience.
You Don’t Care About What People Are Saying About Your Brand
Some business owners tend to remain oblivious to the fact that people might be discussing about their brand right now on different social media sites. You may never know that an irate customer might be venting his anger by spitting venom about your brand on Facebook or Twitter and if you don’t intervene right now or don’t redress his problem, things might go out of your hand. You need to keep a hawk eye on different social media channels otherwise a small issue can get snowballed into a major crisis.
You Are Trying to Be Everywhere
Some business owners are of the opinion that they should be active on social media channels. Now, there are over hundreds of social networking sites available and that means, there is no way you can be active on all of them. Try to identify those platforms that draw large number of your targeted audience and be active on those platforms. Limit the number of official social account to 4 or 5.
You are Trying to Do Everything By Yourself
Some business owners try to do everything all by themselves. It is good to keep eyes on everything but it will drain all your energy at the end of the day. Moreover, sometimes it is good to appoint a professional rather than doing all by yourself and messing things up miserably.
Your Business Does not Have a Website
You gotta be kidding, right? Why would a business not have an official website in the digital world today? To boost the brand presence of your business on the web, your business needs to have a website. There is no way around it. You need to invest some marketing dollars on design, hosting and content. Make the website live as soon as possible otherwise all your attempts to bolster the brand presence of your business will fall flat on the ground.
If you are looking for some great books that provide insights into marketing and branding, I recommend the following 5 reads:
Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days by Jay Conrad Levinson and Al Lautenslager – Listen to my interview with Al here
Business in Blue Jeans by Susan Baroncini-Moe – Listen to my interview with Susan here
Startup Mixology by Frank Gruber – Listen to my interview with Frank here
Everyday Entrepreneurs by Ken Horn – Listen to my interview with Ken here
How To Get Unstuck by Barry J Moltz – Listen to my interview with Barry here
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]]>3 Advantages of Guerrilla Marketing Every Owner Should Know The competition in the business world is fierce, and it’s hard to come by the profits you aim for. This isRead More
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]]>3 Advantages of Guerrilla Marketing Every Owner Should Know
The competition in the business world is fierce, and it’s hard to come by the profits you aim for. This is especially true for small businesses which don’t have huge resources to invest in marketing at their disposal. That’s why you need to get creative.
Guerrilla marketing techniques involve low cost campaigns that aim at promoting products or services to a smaller demographic. But the novelty lies in the approach – they use unconventional and surprise methods to do this.
What good can it do for your business? Let’s identify the real advantages of guerrilla marketing.
Enhance customer base. Guerrilla marketing aims at three things – attracting new customers, urging old customers to buy again, and making them pay money for more. But they do it in a way that surprises and delights them.
Suppose you own a café. A good strategy to attain profits will be to offer free cookies with coffee for a customer who comes in with two friends. You will earn three customers at one go, and will benefit from the deal.
Or, suppose you have a salon. To attract people, offer a free pedicure with a beauty treatment package. It will lure them in, enhance your customer base and add to the profits too. And the cost of the free item service won’t matter when you get more customers.
Create collaborations. Guerrilla marketing doesn’t always involve freebies. You can think up as many ways as you can to achieve your goals. Try to have collaboration with another business that attracts the same customers as your business does.
Suppose a florist shop is just around the corner on the same street of that of your café. Why not try to collaborate with them? Offer a discount coupon for your treats for people who buy flowers from them. And in turn, attract their customers to your café.
Competition exists. And it will always do. But if you can come up with advantageous collaborations and manage to implement your guerrilla marketing tactics to them, every participant can profit from it. Just give free reign to your creativity.
Best of all – save money! Traditional methods of marketing require ample money, be it a print ad or an online one. The greatest advantage of guerrilla marketing is that the methods are almost always low or even no cost. That means a serious saving.
Any business can create a Facebook page and promote products or services on it. And you can also circulate your innovative ideas on it. It will be much easier to spread the word about your latest offer and that too at no additional cost.
Also, most guerrilla marketing tactic isn’t dependent on much for success. Do you really need to have huge money or resources to announce a promotion that anyone wearing pink on a particular day of the week will get a free dessert? No, you don’t!
So, where do you start? Well, do it whenever and wherever you want.
The basic tenet of guerrilla marketing is to surprise the customers. And whether you dress up or ask them to dress up, whether you arrange a raffle or organize a tasting session, it won’t have too much effect on your monetary resources.
Just ask your employees to come up with marketing ideas that don’t need to spend much. Engage in brainstorming sessions. You will be surprised at the suggestions you may get. Also, take a cue from businesses that have done it with success.
And keep in mind, guerrilla marketing isn’t just for small businesses. Any business can use unconventional means to attract customers, new and old. And they can also make profits, not just revenue.
For a great book in reference to the advantages of guerrilla marketing, we recommend “Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Al Lautenslager.
Listen to my interview with Al Lautenslager as we take a deeper look inside his book >>> LISTEN NOW
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