Small Business News

Author: John Rampton

When creating your brand, it’s imperative that you think about everything from your logo to color scheme to to the tag line. You also have to have a memorable brand name, strong message, support system, and all of the necessary legalities, like getting trademarked, in place.

But, that’s only the beginning of your branding process. To help you complete creating your awesome brand, give these nine tips a spin as well.

1. How do people see you?

“The interesting thing about your personal brand is it’s never what you say it is, it’s actually what everyone else says it is,” writes founder and chairman of the award-winning matchmaking firm PCBA Paul C. Brunson. “Therefore, the first place to begin in the building and growth of your brand is to know what people think of you.”

Paul adds that you can find out how others view by: “googling yourself, holding a focus group (of close friends), or asking a life coach or business coach to conduct a 360 analysis on your behalf (we do this for all of our clients and it’s very effective).”

 

Read More at entrepreneur.com

Author: Debbie Hemley

Do you blog? Feel like you’re trying to reinvent the wheel time and again?

Looking for some ideas to simplify your content creation process?

What follows are 26 tips, from A-Z, to help you create optimal blog posts every time you sit down to write.

A blog post contains several areas that require our attention and care. Pamela Seiple refers to six parts of the anatomy of a lead-generating blog post:

Call to action at the bottom

Relevancy—making sure the post is relevant from top to bottom

By knowing the ins and outs of your blogging platform, you’ll ensure that your posts look as good as they can. Take the time to master the visual editor (or raw HTML, if you prefer) so that you know how to format a post, insert an image and embed a video or podcast.

Whether you’re working in platforms such as WordPress, Tumblr or Posterous, it’s good to stay up to date on the features and new versions.

If you’re not comfortable with the more technical aspects of blogging, try to find someone who can be a resource for you to answer questions as they arise.

 

Read More at socialmediaexaminer.com

Author: Debra Aho Williamson

It’s that time of year again, when the TV networks talk about how great their upcoming fall shows will be — and everyone else talks about whether they will survive the relentless onslaught of OTT, cord-cutting and myriad other challenges.

Social media is one of those challenges. Companies like Facebook have never been shy about touting themselves as excellent companions to TV. They routinely conduct research studies that show lifts in seemingly every metric imaginable, as long as ad buyers use TV and social together.

But this year, eMarketer believes the conversation about social and TV will change. For buyers who want the best way to reach their audience, the growing video businesses of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat now present a viable alternative to TV.

Before I go on, it’s important to say this: It’s not as if vast sums of money will shift from TV to social this year — or even next year. This year, $70.6 billion will be spent on TV advertising in the US, according to eMarketer. Investment bank Cowen and Co. predicts Facebook’s video ad revenue will be roughly $2 billion worldwide this year. So we’re talking about a relative trickle right now. But the trickle can very easily become a strong flow.

 

Read More at adage.com

Author: Datamentors

As marketers, we all want to know the numbers. What is working, which strategies are driving conversions, and where can I get the most bang for my buck? Below is a list of 50 incredible marketing statistics that every marketer should know and live by in 2016.

76% of digital marketers will produce more content. (source)

51% of digital marketers will increase their content marketing budget. (source)

In 2016, 67% more leads will be generated by companies with an active blog. (source)

88% of B2B marketers currently use content marketing as part of their marketing strategy, yet only 32% have a documented content marketing strategy. (source)

94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn as part of their content strategy. Other popular platforms include Twitter (87%), Facebook (84%), YouTube (74%) and Google+ (62%). (source)

B2C marketers use infographics more than any other content strategy. 62% report using infographics, and 63% of this group said they were effective. (source)

The most popular social media platform among B2C businesses is Facebook, with 94% reporting its usage. Other popular platforms are Twitter (82%), YouTube (77%) and LinkedIn (76%). (source)

 

Read More at channels.theinnovationenterprise.com

Author: themuse.com

Back in the day, etiquette rules were fairly simple. Always send a thank-you card. Don’t put your elbows on the table. Hold the door open for other people.

However, social networks have made matters much more complicated, and Emily Post isn’t much help when it comes to online etiquette. That’s why we’ve compiled the ultimate list of LinkedIn dos and don’ts. (Thank-you card not required.)

Do: Connect With People Right Away

It might be considered desperate or creepy to friend someone on Facebook right after you’ve met that person, but LinkedIn has completely different rules. I’ll chat with someone for 10 minutes at a conference, leave to attend a session, and request to connect with him or her as I walk away. The longer you wait after the meeting, the less likely people are to remember you. So don’t feel weird—send that request.

Don’t: Try to Connect With Someone When You’re Not on His or Her Profile

Say you’re scrolling through LinkedIn’s list of “People You May Know.” Underneath each person’s headshot and title, you’ll see a blue box that says “Connect.” Don’t click it—you won’t get a chance to customize your invitation. Similarly, if you’re looking at search results, you’ll see a blue connect box to the right of each person’s info. Using that button won’t allow you to make your request unique. The only way you can change the connection request is if you click “Connect” when you’re on someone’s profile.

 

Read More at themuse.com