POST CATEGORY : Marketing

How Could Going Green Benefit Your Small Business?

The reasons to go green are often pitched as necessary changes for the continued existence of the world with growing populations and pollution. While not wrong, going green often comes with a stigma of raising costs of business, and in an unstable economy it can seem dangerous to go through any dramatic change in doing business.

How Going Green Could Benefit Your Small Business

Here are some examples of ways going green can save you money and be good for business, all while helping the environment.

Any PR is Good PR, but Positive PR is Better PR

While it may seem like a bad way to think about going green, the fact is that it can easily turn into a great marketing campaign.…

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What Is Zurker And Do You Need To Know About It?

Not one to miss out on an opportunity to stay in the loop with all things social media, I have decided to keep a very close eye on new social networking site Zurker. Since the name first started circulating around in February, there has been much speculation and interest in the new start-up and it has only continued to grow.

Zurker

The name Zurker will frequently come up in conversation or I’ll stumble across another article on my internet travels.   I can safely say that I am both curious and fascinated in Zurker. Here’s why:

Zurker is owned by their members

The first thing that comes to mind is some sort of secret members society.…

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Local Business – Only 1.3% of Fans Actively Engage on Facebook

Only 1.3% of Local Business Fans Actively Engage on Facebook You read that title right. Of the millions and millions of users on Facebook, a new study by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute found that almost 99% of Facebook fans do not engage with the brands they follow.

The study recently published by AdAge selected the top 200 Facebook brands to track over the course of six weeks and studied how many likes, shares, comments, tags and posts occurred for each. The result was that only 1.3% of fans actively engage. That number drops even further to only .45% when you remove the new “˜likes’ from fans.

At first glance, this number might catch you a bit off guard; but is this really that much of a surprise?…

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Lead Nurturing to Maintain Contractor Leads for Local Business

When trying to increase contractor leads for a local business, it’s important to do whatever it takes to not lose them once you get them. If you did, then your efforts would be in vain! Once you’ve already intrigued them enough to visit your site, it’s important to consider how to keep those visitors coming back over and over again. Lead nurturing will allow you to do just that.

lead nurturing tips for local businesses

As we all know, many people like to look around, consider their options, and make sure they are making the right decision before finalizing any purchase transaction. Because of this, it takes a little time to gain a new lead.…

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Monitoring Blogs – Know What’s Being Said About Your Local Business Online

monitor what's being said about your business online

A business blog is essential to maximize your online exposure for a number of reasons, including search engine optimization, building your identity and creating expert status, generating leads, and sharing information to name just a few. You also want to be mentioned and noted in other industry blogs throughout the internet for maximum exposure.

At the same time, you want whatever is said about you around the web to build your creditably to make others want to do business with you. Thus, for optimal results and reputation management, blogging sites are one aspect of your social media marketing strategy that need to be monitored.…

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Five Questions To Answer Before Marketing Your Business

5 questions to answer before marketing your businessAre you clueless when it comes to marketing? Lost in the sea of click-through rates, impressions, search engine bid/ask arbitrage, social media, QR codes and more? You’re not alone.

Here are a few concrete ways to develop – and evaluate – effective online marketing campaigns that can jumpstart small company business revenue without breaking the bank.

CEOs are busy, so I recommend using a checklist to focus your effort, and ensure repeatability. At a minimum, you should be able to answer the following questions before embarking on any marketing campaign:

1. What do I want this campaign to accomplish? This is the most fundamental of all questions.…

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What Improvements Can Your Small Business Make in 2012?

business improvements for the new year 2012

With 2012 right around the corner, your small business is likely hoping the New Year allows you and your employees a fresh start, especially if the return on investment (ROI) for 2011 has been less than stellar.

For those small businesses that struggled this year, there are creative ways to move forward in 2012 and return your company to the black.

Among the things to keep in mind are:

“¢ Review this year – The first and foremost thing to do is to sit down and go over what did and did not work well in 2011. If you have been in business for a short time, did you meet your goals for this year or are you still in the growing process?…

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5 Things You Didn’t Know Your Small Business Needs

5 things you didn't know your business needed

You feel good about the business you’ve built. You’ve got the funding; you’ve got the business plan. You’ve got everything you need to run a successful company”¦or do you?   We’ve compiled a list of the top five things you didn’t know your company needed to help make sure you do.

A website

You would think in 2011 this would be common knowledge but 46 percent of small businesses don’t have a website, according to Entrprenuer.com, so it needs to be mentioned.   So, what are they waiting for? If you want to be successful, you need to be online.

An online presence

What good is your website if no one knows where it is?…

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Is Your Social Media Campaign Falling on Deaf Ears?

As with any campaign your business runs, how it is received by customers goes a long way in determining whether or not it will be successful.

In the event you’ve orchestrated a social media campaign and it has fallen on deaf ears for the most part, there is a reason to focus in on as to why that’s the case.

is your social media efforts falling on deaf ears

Presumably, your company’s reasoning for using social media in the first place is more than likely at fault. Before you dump the social media campaign, ask yourself:

  • What was our goal with social media in the first place?
  • Did we put 100 percent behind the plan or was it a half-hearted effort?
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How To Host An Event That Sells Your Company

Conferences can be extremely good business and hosting an attractive event with the right speakers can ensure a full house of people who are eager to part with their cash in order to hear the wisdom that is on offer.

promoting your company at a conference

While conferences can be a good money spinner on their own, it is important not to overlook the promotional possibilities that are on offer when you are hosting a conference, as the chance to have a room full of people who will have an interest in your products or services can be too good to turn down.

Of course, you don’t want to turn your event into one giant sales pitch, so how do you tread the line between offering delegates a fulfilling and worthwhile event and trying to promote your company?…

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