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Posts Tagged ‘Branding’
Friday, January 6th, 2012
Just as in the old days, word of mouth was one of the best forms of advertising. It is basically the same today in cyberspace. Online reviews about your business, yourself or your products can and do go a very long way in bringing customers in.
The way it works is that if you put your website on other sites for review, consumers will be able to review your site and make comments. As others come to the site, they will read the reviews and will be influenced by what they read. It’s just like word of mouth.
This is an easy way to market your business and put it in a glowing light with consumers, providing you are providing a good quality product, interact with your customers and are available to your customers.
On the other side of the coin, if you don’t provide good customer service, or your products are always shipped late or your website is just not user friendly, you will get bad reviews. This in turn will keep potentials shoppers from your site which will be bad for business.
Between reviews and social media sites, your on line presence will grow and so will sales. Give the review sites a chance. Try something new. You never know, this strategy may just boost your business better than you ever thought. And, every business needs a boost now and then.
Tags: advertising, Branding, internet marketing, local business, online marketing
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
If you are one of many people out of work and have been out of work for a while, take the initiative and start a small business. It is not as hare-brained as some may think. One, the United States needs more businesses and you need to go to work. Think about the skills you have and utilize them to start your own business.
New business start ups have been steadily declining for several reasons. However, the country needs new business as that is how this country was started, by entrepreneurship and hard work.
Even if it is not your skills, but maybe something in your area that needs a certain product. For instance, if you live in an area that does not have specialty furniture, like rustic furniture. If you know that there are enough people in the surrounding area that would purchase from your store, go for it. It could be any number of things that might be easy start up businesses in your community.
Options for financing include visiting with lenders in your area or applying for a small business loan through the small business administration. They have a number of resources available and can help those wishing to start a new business.
Another consideration is starting your business from home. If it is possible, it will save you thousands of dollars in start up costs alone.
There are a thousand ways you can start your own business. It also beats sitting around waiting for that job interview to call. Take the initiative and be your own salvation. Once you get the business going, you will be glad that you started it.
Tags: Branding, business, local business, small business
Posted in Tools for Small Business | 5 Comments »
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
With the economy and the job market in the shape that they’re in, more and more people are learning to start their own small work from home business. The work from home business has been growing by leaps and bounds. No longer is it just about selling candles or crafts online. Many top businesses are hiring people to telecommute and others are building a business based on their expertise.
Many companies are now hiring contractors to work from home. That includes secretarial positions, writing jobs and email support specialists. In addition, computer website design, management and troubleshooting positions are available.
Instead of worrying where your next job is, take the initiative and start building your small business on the Internet. Start a website to market your expertise and start looking at job boards for available positions that are needing just what you have to offer. It may be slow going at first but many people are now earning a decent income simply by trying something new and becoming a success at it.
As with any job, there are good ones and bad ones. But, there are truly legitimate positions to be found on the Internet. A good rule of thumb is that if a website expects you to pay something up front, then it’s probably not going to be financially successful for you.
Build your website and brand. Use the social media to get your message and availability out there. Also, check out sites such as Odesk.com, Indeed.com and many others. Many are free to sign up for and search for available positions. Once you build your brand and name recognition, the days of worrying about a “job” will become distant.
Keep in mind that the pay structure is a little bit different working on the Internet, but when you compare the money saved by not driving to a job, money for meals, fuel and upkeep on your vehicle, you will basically be making the same as a traditional job. Check out the Internet today and look for something that you are good at. It beats sitting around worrying. You will at least know you are trying.
Tags: Branding, small business, Social Media, telecommuting, website development, work from home
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 18 Comments »
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
One of the best ways to market your business at a low cost is to use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. However, because of the sheer number of users who practically live on Facebook all day, it can be hard to market the one business you have and get a lot of hits to your status posts and website in general. So how do you go about it? The following tips will help you build your business on the social media sites.
- Have a website or a blog. There are a number of free sites where you can start a website and/or a blog. The sites are customizable and easy to use. Not only will you be able to put your products on the site, you will need to keep information up to day in the form of a blog post or article. Once that is done, link your site to all the social media sites, including Facebook, Google + and Twitter. Link to as many as you feel comfortable doing on a daily basis. Alternatively, you can also hire a business consultant who will help you get a website set up and give you pointers.
- Emails and Comments. Stay in contact with the people who visit your site. If they make a comment, be sure to respond back. The same goes for emails. Emails are a great way to build a client base and to market sale items. At the same time, put a status on the social media sites about the sale or a comment about the new post for everyone to read.
- Third Party Endorsements. Search for online magazines or journalists who typically write about the brand and/or products you have. Ask to be interviewed, don’t wait to be. There are thousands of small businesses out there and you may never get noticed. If you have a third party endorsement, it will go a long way in building integrity for your business.
All it takes is thinking about a different way to brand and market your business. It’s a new world with new ideas, so jump on the bandwagon and try your hand at standing out from other businesses in order that your on line presence will grow.
Tags: advertising, blogging, Branding, business, facebook, google
Posted in Social Media | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Anyone who has surfed the internet for several years will remember the early days when you had to search for something with several words separated by + signs. Sometimes you got good results and sometimes you didn’t. It all depended on how you phrased the words. It could cause a migraine to say the least.
With new Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics, it has become much easier to find what you are looking for. And now, you can usually find what you are wanting with a very simple term, such as cell phones. The search engines then pull several pages of cell phones.
Google is the most used search engine with 65.3% of users while Yahoo dropped to 15.5% according to SearchEngineWatch. Google even uses auto-complete to finish the search for you. It is not always right, but it’s quite eery to think that a computer can actually finish our sentences as well as it does.
Small businesses can take advantage of this by branding their business. If you have a unique name, brand it so that the search engines will catch it with just one word. For example, say your business is named “Tiny’s,” and you deliver pizza. A search for that one word by someone in your town could pull up your business so that consumers can find you. Of course, a lot of times it’s not that easy to brand your business.
But, if you want to move up in the ranks of the search engines, think along the lines of branding something that will be unique to your business. Between a brand and a logo, you could in essence have your online business grow as you have never imagined it would. If necessary, search for small business consultants who can help you get your name out there.
Tags: Branding, google, internet marketing, online marketing, SEO
Posted in SEO for Small Business | 4 Comments »
Friday, December 16th, 2011
Many tend to think that branding and logos are one in the same. It is and it isn’t. Branding encompasses so much more than just your logo. Logos are a part of branding to the extent your customers recognize who you are by seeing the logo. But branding is actually who and what your company is about in all things.
The correct definition is from The American Marketing Association AMA, which states that the “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.”
What this basically means is that it is the building of an image that is specific to your company, that customers will quickly identify as your business. Besides the logo, it will be the customization of your website along with your mission statement, design and colors of the website. An example would be Apple Corporation. The logo is a large part as everyone knows about the big red apple. But it is also more than that if you really look at their website and core values.
You will want a website that will reflect your business and beliefs and will be easily recognized by your customers. For instance, let’s say you sell western riding accessories, your branding would be a western style website with perhaps a horse or a lasso as the logo.
If you already have a website but are not happy with the way it looks, then it’s time to try something different that will pull in more customers and reflect your business better. Your brand must reflect the type of business you have. Otherwise all of your hard work will have been for nothing.
Tags: advertising, Branding, internet marketing, Reputation Management, web design
Posted in Branding | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
There is a new contender on the block as far as Facebook is concerned. Google has just announced it’s newest product, Google + brand pages. Google+ brand pages look a lot like Facebook’s fan pages for businesses or brands. The platform is still in beta stage but is open to the public.
Since Google+ is still less than a year old, they don’t have the following yet that Facebook has but it’s only be a matter of time. Why, you ask? Simply because of the name, or brand, if you will. The Google name will go a very long way in bringing in numbers.
The new Google + has some of the same styling as Facebook as far as profile, pictures, friends and news pages. Friends are put in circles, such as friends, family, etc. There is also an option to choose the latest news headlines or people you find interesting and add them to your pages as well.
Additionally, Google already has a good grasp on search and other means of keeping track of what people are searching for online. Think about your ad placed on Google +. This alone could be a potentially big boost for your business. Google + is already ahead of the game in this area. More so than Facebook.
On Google + you can start a “hangout.” There is a webcam attached so all of your friends or business acquaintances can get together and visit or talk about business. It seems there will be a little bit of Skype, Facebook and YouTube all rolled into one platform. That will be much simpler than having to tab back and forth between them.
It’s going to be interesting how well Google + is received. For all intents and purposes, it looks like it’s going to be a huge success simply because of the name.
Tags: advertising, Branding, facebook, google, internet marketing, Social Media, social networking
Posted in Social Media | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Twitter has announced that they will have a new version of Twitter coming out. This new version will have all the bells and whistles for businesses so their business can take flight.
Enhanced profile pages will help businesses better establish their brand on the internet. The enhanced profile page will have a better layout, a place for logos and larger photos. It will be much more user-friendly but will be able to handle more tweets so you can always tell who is following you and what they are saying. Businesses will now be able to choose what content they want on their home page at Twitter, along with a videos they choose to share on their page.
Some businesses have already jumped on the bandwagon and are partnering with Twitter for the new enhanced pages. Those on the list include General Electric, Disney/Pixar, American Express, Staples and McDonald’s. Of course, you will have to have the new enhanced pages yourself in order to see the other business’s pages. And they’re not quite rolled out to the public just yet so you’ll have to wait to get yours.
The new enhanced Twitter pages will continue to be free and everyone will eventually have the benefit of these new pages. You can go to fly.twitter.com in order to see how to get the new profile pages for your business.
This is definitely has the potential to bring in more business for those who put the new Twitter brand pages to use. Communication means everything in a business and the new pages will definitely bring your communication with your customers to a new level. This will help you stay in touch with your customers easier and you will be able to quickly see what others are saying about you. That way you will always be on top of the momentum where your business is concerned.
Head on over to Twitter and check out the new enhanced pages. I think you will be very pleased and will enjoy tweeting about it.
Tags: Branding, internet marketing, Social Media, Twitter, website
Posted in Social Media | 4 Comments »
Monday, December 12th, 2011
We have been hearing a lot lately about Facebook. What it means to individuals as well as businesses. Most of us understand basically what Facebook is. It is a way to stay connected with family and friends and to keep current on events in their lives. That is correct. What a lot of us don’t understand is how it will actually help businesses just by staying connected with friends.
In nearly every aspect in our lives we depend on the references or opinions of others that we do trust in order to make informed and responsible decisions. This can be something as simple as where to eat to what companies we will trust our personal information on the internet.
That information is what drives the search engines to small businesses. It’s like the old saying “what goes around, comes around.”
For instance, you are chatting with a family member on Facebook. You may be telling them that you need a new roof replaced. They may have used a company from your area that they were very impressed with themselves. They give you the name, but they don’t have any other information. After you get off Facebook, because you trust that family member, you are going to do a search for that particular company, right? Right. That is just one way Facebooking and Search Engines can work together.
Social Media marketing is only going to grow. Make sure your business stays on track by using social media sites to build your business. Start a fan page. It’s just like word of mouth, but it will be word of friends and family. The family and friends of fans of your page will look at your page. Because they trust their family and friends, they will like your page as well. Your audience will only grow. And getting bigger means more sales for your business.
Tags: advertising, Branding, business, facebook, publicity, search, search engine optimization, small business, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | 3 Comments »
Friday, December 9th, 2011
What is the definition of an online business? Any business, whether it is a physical location or just a website, you need to advertise everywhere you can. Because people are on the go so much these days, they prefer to see a website address that they can jot down and go to the site later, when they have time.
Online advertising is a great way to advertise. But for those who never think of searching for items online, when they see a poster or a business card with a website address, they will be more likely to go to the website when they are relaxing at home.
The traditional ways of advertising can be increased by adding your website to the ad, whether it is newspaper, radio or television. You could conceivably pull customers in from everywhere.
Be sure to also include your email address so customers can email you with any questions they have. You can also do an email marketing campaign. If you regularly stay in contact with your customers, you will be able to bring your online business and you physical business together.
One of the best ways of advertising off line is to take a walk around your local town. Meet and greet people, hand them a business card, let them know what your business is all about. Mention the website and email address. You would be surprised at how well this works, even in today’s technology.
Tags: advertising, Branding, e-mail marketing, internet marketing, small business, website
Posted in Tools for Small Business | 14 Comments »
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