Successful Blog

Is Your Business Staying up with the Times?

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Man Hand writing Resource with black marker on visual screen.How do you set your business apart from those you are competing with?

One of the ways to do this is making sure your brand is current with the times. This means a number of things, most importantly of which is technology. If you’re lagging when it comes to the tech world, you could very well be watching business and money pass you by.

So, how do you make sure your brand is current when it comes to staying up with the times?

Review and React

Start by doing a review of all your business activities, checking each and every pertinent one.

How much emphasis does your company place on technology?

As the tech world continues to change and grow on seemingly a monthly basis, it is crucial that your brand is along for the ride.

One such area is the uptick in mobile sales in recent years, something your business can be capitalizing on with sound marketing initiatives.

As more and more customers continue trending towards browsing and buying goods/services on mobile devices, your brand must be along for the ride. This includes when it comes to customers and their payment processing options.

Is your company doing all it can to make sure customers have a smooth checkout when completing a sale with you?

Secondly, look at how your employees treat not only the customers that do business with you, but also their co-workers.

Running a successful business in 2016 and beyond means having a workplace where things run like a fine-tuned automobile. That means doing whatever is deemed necessary to make the business tick.

Sure, some co-workers will not get along entirely well with other ones, but always emphasize that it is the company which today, tomorrow, and the next day that ultimately comes first.

Don’t Forget the Social Experience

Also review how relevant your brand is on social media.

Face it; not being active in the social networking world in 2016 is akin to not having an ATM card or still using dial-up to get on the Internet.

Businesses with that social media presence stand a leg-up on their competitors for several reasons.

They include:

  • If a customer isn’t happy with the service he or she received from a business, they’re more apt to tell the world about it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or any number of other social vehicles. The last thing you want as a business owner is having your brand talked about in a negative manner. This is one of the reasons having a voice on social media is important for your brand;
  • You should also use social media as a tool for your promotional efforts. Your products and/or services essentially receive free advertising when mentioned on social networking sites, so why wouldn’t you turn to these? While you want to go easy on the sales pitches on social sites, you should use social networking to tout why your brand stands apart from others. If you are running special deals for current and/or potential customers, use social sites to broadcast such news. You can even include coupons and other rewards on these pages that consumers can then download for savings;
  • You’d probably be lying if you said you never truly cared what the competition is up to. With that in mind, social media is a great means whereby you can learn about your competition. See how they use social media to promote their brands. Do they run contests on their Facebook pages? Do they use their Twitter page to retweet a number of interesting blog posts either from their site or industry-specific to them? Do they have a regular presence on Instagram, allowing them to post images of their products or services? These should all be areas of interest to you as you look to improve upon your own brand.

As you can see, there are many things for you to do in staying up with the times.

When you do just that, it is your business which stands to benefit the most.

Not only are you up to speed on technology, customer intuitions and what the competition is doing, but you show your brand to be relevant in 2016 and hopefully beyond.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

How to incorporate audio into your marketing content

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Periscope, Blab, Snapchat, Vine, and other apps are making it easy to create and share video clips.

But if you try watching a Blab while you’re jogging, you might end up eating pavement.

Allow me to propose audio as a great addition to your marketing content tool kit.

Audio clips and podcasts have some advantages over video:

  • Multi-taskers love to listen to audio (think treadmill, commute)
  • You don’t have to be “camera ready” to record audio
  • People learn well by listening, reinforces message
  • Intimacy, being in someone’s ear is a very distinct connection-builder

Audio also has a few drawbacks:

  • Can be harder to find via search (make sure you post a transcript to alleviate this issue)
  • More difficult to repurpose
  • Works best with special equipment (sound leveling, microphone)
  • Might be hard to monetize, need sponsorships
  • Some audio platforms don’t provide embed code for easy sharing

If you’re ready to give audio a try, here are some tools that will help you record and share.

Anchor

Anchor is like an audio social network, where members can post audio messages and receive audio replies from others. Consuming the content is like listening to a never-ending interactive talk show that covers a lot of random topics. The platform is still fairly new, so there’s lots of opportunity to get creative and become an “Anchor star.”

Once you’ve recorded a clip, you can share it to Facebook or email a link to yourself, but there’s no embed code as of this writing (which makes it harder to incorporate Anchor clips into a blog post or other content).

AudioBoom

AudioBoom is a global, streaming audio platform with a wide variety of content, from small local podcasters to big brands like the BBC. It’s mostly geared toward those big podcasters, but with a free account, you can still upload audio files and share them to Twitter and Facebook. If you upgrade to a paid account, you get access to all of the bells and whistles of a professional recording platform, with ad support, distribution, and social sharing tools.

Clyp

Clyp is a very lightweight, intuitive way to upload and share audio files. There are some social networking aspects, like voting up other members’ clips, but the thing I like the most is the ability to just drag an audio file onto their home page and instantly get a shareable link. Warning, since it’s free to upload, the list of popular clyps can be NSFW.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is the granddaddy of audio sharing sites, and has more recently skewed toward musician uploads, but still has great tools for uploading and sharing other audio files. What I like the most about SoundCloud is the nice embed code you get for each clip, making it super easy to incorporate sound clips into your blog or other web content.

You get up to three hours of free space to store your audio files, as well as the ability to engage with comments on your audio. Upgrading to a paid plan gives you more pro tools including analytics and unlimited space.

Next steps

  • You don’t have to launch a major new podcast in order to take advantage of audio options. With some of the tools I mentioned, you can just record a quick 10 minute audio note and include a link in your next newsletter. You can start engaging and interacting via audio on some of the social tools, to get used to the idea.
  • Remember that you still need to pay attention to your tone of voice, your enunciation, and make a good impression. It’s OK to use the microphone from your earbuds for those short, casual clips, but if you plan to routinely record audio, invest in an external microphone. They’re not that expensive, and will sound much more professional. Here’s a fantastic episode from the Content Pros podcast that will help you get started.
  • If you’re recording for business, try to find a space where there will be minimal ambient noise. Hearing your dog bark or your phone ring in the background will undercut your message.

Are you currently incorporating audio into your marketing outreach?

Feel free to share your handle or podcast name in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Featured image via Flickr CC: Patrick Breitenbach

The Business of Earning More Money

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Budget ConceptWhat are you doing to earn more money?

Some business owners (and regular consumers for that matter) will try and come up with myriad of ways to bring in some extra income, especially in a day and age when media incomes are stagnant for many people.

With that in mind, have you been toying with ideas in 2016 as to how to make your wallet or purse a little fatter in terms of the green stuff?

Be Innovative

So that you can increase your income this year and moving forward, have you thought about some of these ideas?

  • Selling products on the side – From Avon to jewelry and much more, selling a product or products on the side from your full-time job is a good means to earn extra money. In fact, some individuals sell such products as their regular jobs. This allows them in essence to be their own bosses, work from home, set the hours best suited to them and more. If this might sound of interest to you, going online is a good place to start. Doing a Google search of such items will get you going in the right direction. You may also have a friend or friends that sell such items on the side or full-time, so they would be great reference points;
  • Overtime hours – While some companies have strict rules on working overtime, many others will allow employees some overtime opportunities from time to time. Get with your boss to see if you in fact are eligible for some bonus hours at work. This is great because you do not have to (unless you so choose) find a part-time job or two on the side. Working extra hours at your full-time job also allows you to build up more experience in your current position, something which could help you with a possible promotion and raise down the road. One thing to avoid, however, is working too many hours to the point where you essentially suffer burnout at some point;
  • Consulting – It is not uncommon to see older workers turn to consulting, something which can lead to less stress and still provide a decent stream of revenue. This is especially a good option if you have years and/or decades in a chosen field. Go online and do some Google searches for consulting in your field of expertise;
  • Leasing your land – Not everything revolves around your resume when it comes to making some extra money. If you own a sizable amount of land, you could lease it out on occasion for a variety of purposes. Hunting on leased land has become more popular in recent years, especially given the fact that more and more land is being consumed by developers, those same developers that are looking to build office spaces, shopping facilities and more. If you are willing to rent out some of your property for hunting, fishing or other such outdoor activities, be sure to draw up a contract each time, making it clear what the rules and regulations are for anyone spending time on your property. You might also consider renting out space on your property if it is large enough for someone to run a small business from there. With rents oftentimes sky-high in cities and towns, small business owners on a shoestring budget wouldn’t mind saving some money. Having them renting a portion of your property to get or keep their businesses up-and-running until they have more resources to expand one day makes sense. Still another idea is renting out extra parking spaces if you have them on your premises. Neighbors may be willing to pay you on a monthly or yearly basis to use such spots, especially if they are limited where they can currently park and/or have multiple vehicles. While your land is your pride and joy, there could be cash-flow opportunities sitting right under your nose;
  • Helping those in your community – From family and friends to neighbors, there are probably a number of extra income opportunities you have not thought of before. Some of these involve helping those closest to you. From babysitting to working on people’s properties, get creative and see how you can pad your wallet or purse. Sometimes knowing you are helping others, all the while adding a little extra to your income reservoirs, is a great feeling.

No matter what you do full-time for a living, are you interested in earning more money?

If the answer is yes (you might be hard-pressed to find those who would say no), then put your thinking cap on and get to work at it.

Being savvy when it comes to earning more money and just improving your overall life is something you should always be thinking about.

What are you doing in today’s challenging economy (business or personal) to make more money?

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

Did You Hire the Right Financial Advisor?

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Risk Reward GraphGiven the importance of your financial investments (whether you are a business owner or just a normal consumer), it should come as no surprise that having the right person oversee them is something you should never take for granted.

That said you might be surprised how many consumers leave their financial well-being up in the air.

As a result, they leave themselves vulnerable to financial calamity sooner rather than later. Even if they stave off financial problems for the foreseeable future, their idea of a perfect retirement can very easily be put in jeopardy.

So, with the idea that investing in your financial future should always be taken seriously; take stock in your current financial picture and also where you would like to be down the road.

Research and Never Settle

If you haven’t already, start by research financial experts to see who and which investment company is best suited to handle your money needs.

With many still expressing concerns about an ability to retire one day, keep in mind that you are not alone with your fears.

You want a financial pro that has the following:

  • Experience – Although it sounds like a no-brainier, be sure that you hire someone who has some real meat on their financial resume. How long have they been in this line of work? Have they stayed with the same firm over time or jump around from place to place? What do their colleagues think of them? Have they and/or their company been involved in any concerning business matters over the years, notably complaints or even lawsuits from consumers? These are all areas that you should research;
  • Customer service – Nothing is more irritating as a consumer than having to chase down the person who is supposed to be working for you, not the other way around. While that individual obviously has countless other clients, be sure they can make time for you when needed. Whether it is a simple financial investment question or you have a financial matter of urgent concern, they need to be as accessible as possible to you.

You Have a Job Too

While locating the right financial pro is necessary in advising you of the best moves with your money, you also have an important role to play.

Unlike younger investors who have some “recovery time” on their hands when they either get a late start and/or make a few financial investment mistakes here and there, older investors do not have such luxuries.

If you are an older investor, it is important that you make sure all your financial eggs are in order, including playing catch-up if you are over the age of 50. Investors over that age are allowed to invest more money (up to a limit depending on if it is an IRA, 401K etc.) than younger investors.

Another key area of importance is whether you have a family or not.

If you are on your own, you have a little more flexibility. For those with a spouse and perhaps a child or two, financial decisions become all the more important.

Individuals in these situations should also make sure that they have a sound life insurance plan in place.

With a good life insurance plan, the breadwinner of the house can rest a little easier, knowing that his loved one or ones are covered should he or she become disabled and unable to work or even pass away.

While insurance agents are typically the go-to people for life insurance and other such needs, your financial pro can help lay out the basics for you, giving you some guidance on how having such a policy can impact your financial situation now and down the road.

Finally, with April 15 (tax day) creeping closer and closer, be sure to understand how your financial decisions can and will impact your tax burdens.

If you are contributing to personal IRA’s for example, you can note those contributions as deductions for the previous calendar year, lessening your taxable income.

With all there is to know about your financial situation today, tomorrow and ultimately down the road, make sure you’ve gone about hiring the right financial advisor for all your monetary needs.

When you do, you could find yourself being one happy camper.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and financial topics on the web.

Repair Your Marketing Message

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Market Business Global Business Marketing Commerce ConceptIn the world of marketing, getting your message out to the public can mean the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity.

No matter what brand you are marketing, it is critical that you get your message out there correctly the first time around.

So, do you feel confident that your brand’s message is being heard by the right people at the right time? If not, how can you go about repairing that message so you get it right more times than not?

Get Your Brand the Attention It Needs

To start with, take a good look at your brand and who you are trying to promote it to.

For example, say you want to market a repair manual, be it for electronics, vehicles, household appliances or a host of other items. Such manuals are all but a necessity for millions of people, especially just after they have purchased a new product.

You have several options to market such manuals, among which include:

  • Your website – First and foremost, your company website is your greatest tool when it comes to marketing your brand. That said too many companies drop the ball as it relates to their sites, having websites (specifically blogs) that are ho-hum at best. From boring copy to broken links, there can be (and oftentimes are) a host of reasons as to why consumers are simply passing your brand by. When that happens, it is oftentimes your competition that swoops in and scores the sales. In order to lessen the odds of that occurring on a regular basis, review your site often. Look for not only stale copy or copy that fails to gain you ground in Google searches, but also links that do not work, a lack of imagery, and failure to leave proper contact details for interested consumers;
  • Social media – If you’re one of those company heads, who still hasn’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, why is that? SM is a great tool whereby you can give your brand the attention it needs, all the while barely spending a dime in the process. If you’re yearning for inspiration, take a look at some competition’s social networking endeavors, seeing what clearly works for them and what may need to be tabled. One word of caution, do not try and be too many things for too many people. Instead of trying to be on multiple social sites and not having a true handle on things, focus-in on a couple of sites (typically Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. are good starters) and get to work. Your Facebook page is a great place to run surveys of consumers, offer specials and deals (contests are great too), and interact with those interested in your product or service. With Twitter, you can tweet and retweet messages about your brand and the industry you are a part of. Make sure you’re brand is part of any relevant discussions, as you can very well find new customer opportunities with just a few tweets and retweets. Whether you know it or not, Instagram has exploded in just the last year or two, giving businesses a great opportunity to market their products and services. Post images of your brand (including how-to manuals etc.) so consumers have a better idea of what you offer. As the word spreads from shares, your marketing message will better position itself to take off (see more below);
  • Employees – Stop for a moment and think about whom are some of your greatest marketing ambassadors. If you missed your employees, revisit that topic quickly. As part of your company, your workers should always be assisting you in getting the right marketing message out there. While you likely have a marketing coordinator (and or department) in place, there is no reason everyone in the company can’t do his or her part to help in repairing your marketing message when it is not working. Have company meetings from time to time, with instructions and feedback on how to better market your brand. Also consider letting your employees use social media on occasion to help push your marketing message to the public.

If your marketing message is in need of some repair, open the manual of commonsense and get it working today.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and marketing topics on the web.

Do you need another voice?

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Do you need another voice? Does someone in your life hold a “trump” card? Do you bounce ideas off a trusted colleague, friend and/or spouse regularly? Do you respect their opinions?

I am so thankful for the voices in my life. But I wasn’t always thankful for them. Sometimes I’d try to shut them out and write them off and justify why my way was better. But even if we don’t always like them, we need other voices.

Why we need other voices:

  • Our emotions can veer our lives and businesses off course. Be it fear, anxiety, or foolish optimism, we can wreck our judgement with tunneling down one path driven by our emotions. Outsiders may be better at seeing our situations more objectively.
  • Our thoughts and ideas aren’t always the best or even good enough. Period.
  • It’s best when we share our lives with others. When we allow others to speak into our decisions, we allow them into our lives. When we share our lives with each other, we grow together and learn from each other’s decisions. Everyone is better and richer when we learn from each other’s lives and mistakes instead of living in isolation.

Yet, we all already have voices in our lives – whether we want to listen to them or not. Because of this, we may not really see our need for another voice in our life. We may be working hard to shut out the ones we have already. However, there are some signs that make it evident that we to listen to another voice or two in our lives.

Ways you know you need another voice:

  • You always think your way is the best. (It isn’t – we’re all fallible!)
  • You cut people off all the time. (If we can’t hear others out, then we can’t hear their voice in our lives)
  • You are set in your ways – your routine, your thought-process and your idea sources.

We all could probably use more quality voices speaking into our lives. However, most voices aren’t one-size-fits all. Though wise people are generally wise overall, it’s likely that you’ll have certain voices you listen to for business matters and others that you listen to for personal ones. In fact, we should listen to a variety of diverse voices, tease out the wisdom and gain from it.

We all need voices speaking into our lives – to keep us from falling on our faces and to speak truth into us when we do. This is a reminder to keep listening and discerning. The more we do, the more we will grow and prosper together.

 

Cover image info: Original, royalty-free image from Pixabay.

About the author: Lindsey Tolino comes alongside artisans, craftsman and people monetizing their passions to help them create healthy businesses. She shares tips and thoughts at ToBusinessOwners.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyTolino.