Tag Archives: Social Media

How to Start a Successful Business from Home 3/3 – How to Market Your Business

Posted on 19 March 2013 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

How to Start a Successful Business from Home 3/3 – How to Market Your Business

In this series, we’re taking a look at what you need to know about starting your own successful business from home. In the third and final installment, we’ll consider how you can market your business to bring in new customers and clients who are willing to part with their cash for what you’re offering.

This is absolutely essential because regardless of just how good your business is, if no one knows about it, it can’t become a success. Thankfully though, there are many tools available to you. Let’s take a look at the ones you might want to consider.

Social media

You probably already use networks such as Facebook and Twitter on a social level, and they provide endless opportunities for marketing your business. They’re free to use and give you instant access to millions of people who could be interested in what you do. Start by checking out your competitors and researching how they’re using social media to connect and engage with followers. You’ll need a robust social strategy if you want to get results, and this takes time, but the opportunity is there for the taking.

Search engine optimisation

Search engine optimisation is all about ranking your website in search engines such as Google when users are looking for products or services just like yours. So imagine that you sell summer dresses. Whenever someone types ‘summer dresses’ into Google and your site is first on the list, imagine the potential sales that you could make. It’s a complex field, and you may wish to use the services of a professional SEO company, though there are several things that you can do for yourself if you’re willing to put in the time and effort.

Offline marketing

The joy of the internet is that it’s widely used and it puts your target market right at your fingertips. Depending on the nature of your business though, you might need to stick with more traditional means. Leaflet drops and newspaper advertising, for example, are still very effective for certain industries, and shouldn’t be ruled out altogether without some careful thought.

The main question you should be asking yourself is who your target customers are, and where they hang out. Do they use the internet a lot? What sort of sites are they browsing? How can you reach out to them on their terms? There are so many possibilities, but the right solutions will vary from business to business.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this series and that it has given you plenty of inspiration for starting a successful business from home. Are you thinking about joining the world of the self-employed? Which of our tips have you found most useful? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

This article was brought to you by Ruth Hinds on behalf of WebSearch SEO. WebSearch is based in London and offers risk free, ‘pay on results’ SEO services including link building packages for online synergy and success.

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Posted in Business Start Up

Tagged business, business start up, Marketing, Search engine optimization, small business start-up, Social Media, start up

Management – strong customer service can create valuable crisis management opportunities

Posted on 5 June 2012 by Wendy Mason | 1 Comment

Clare Balding (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Crisis Management & Customer Service by Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a freelance writer and Bernstein Crisis Management’s social media manager. He also edits Crisis Manager, the newsletter about crisis management from which this extract is taken.

In an article from my most recent Crisis Manager newsletter, friend and reputation management consultant Jeff Chatterton wrote about the significance of customer service in crisis management and the negative results that quickly come from ignoring said customers. On the heels of that came a posting by my colleague in the UK, Jonathan Hemus, on his Insignia Talks blog, that provided even more proof of this principle. First, the Tweet that inspired his post:

Earlier today BBC presenter Clare Balding posted the following tweet:

Sat next to nice woman who’d been on Qantas flight when engine blew up. She said pilot was amazing. He spent 2 hours talking to passengers afterwards and gave them his mobile number if they had questions or problems. She said Qantas were amazing.

Unless you make the effort to be there for your customers, such helpful word of mouth would never be generated. How do you do it, you ask? Jonathan knows, and goes on to share his insight with readers …. find the rest of this post at this link. http://managementhelp.org/blogs/crisis-management/2010/12/13/crisis-management-customer-service/

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Posted in Customers, Management, Management Today

Tagged Being a good manager, Bernstein Crisis Management, Career Coaching, change, Clare Balding, coach, Crisis management, Customer service, leadership, life coaching, Management, Personal development, Social Media

Career changers: 30 minute daily strategy – a great post from Dorothy Dalton

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Wendy Mason | 2 Comments

Dorothy is an international talent management strategist, working on both sides of the spectrum in executive search and career transition coaching, from “hire to retire”. She sources hard to find candidates globally and connects top people, organisations and jobs.

In December last year she wrote a post for anyone embarking on a job search related to career change and developing what is now called a “personal brand”. It includes great advice for handling social media – LinkedIn etc! I would thoroughly recommend you follow the link below to read the rest of the post and that you follow Dorothy’s blog, Meanwhile here is an extract and the link.

“Strategic alliances
As recessionary thinking starts to hit us again after a very brief interlude of optimism, the job market looks set to shrink. Economic downturns touch even the brightest and the best. It’s imperative that developing a personal brand and raising visibility becomes a daily part of all job seekers’ routines - before there is a crisis. Social networking is a great way to supplement and enhance actual networking, although ( and I stress) not a substitute for it.

Simple basics
Select a primary platform – for most people this should be a professional network (e.g. LinkedIn, Viadeo, Xing) to showcase career success stories and background. The largest English language one is LinkedIn for and anyone seeking a career in an international arena, I would always advise a profile placed on this platform. As a minimum I would suggest the following activity:…..

For the rest follow this link

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Posted in Job Search, Networking, Social Media

Tagged Career, Employment, Job hunting, Job Search, Job-Hunt, LinkedIn, Seeking emplyment, Social Media

How quickly will you find your first five customers?

Posted on 12 January 2012 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

Today we have a another great guest post from Margaret Adams who is an expert in all aspects of business communications. She started her career in the public sector but has gone on to run a successful business. She is the author of The Solo Success Start-Up Guide. Find out more about her work at: www.margaretadams.co.uk and at www.solosuccess.co.uk.

Many people leaving employment to start their own businesses devote a lot of time and energy to the day-to-day of running their business. Running the business, in the early days, includes: deciding on your offer, organising your website, ordering your stationery, sorting out your desktop printer and so on.

Quite a few people get so caught up with these tasks that they fail to spend sufficient time on bringing in revenue. This is a mistake.

The most important task you can work on – until your order book is full or your practice has filled up – is the task of getting customers.

It takes twice as long . . .

You need to work hard to bring in business because it’s an activity that is often more difficult than new businesses think it’s going to be. The advice I was given about this when I started my business twenty years ago was:

“Always assume it will take you twice as long as you’ve planned – whatever it is.”

This was good advice then. It’s good advice today. All sorts of issues get in the way of your efforts to bring in business. The best thing you can do is to allocate a length of time to a task. Then double it. This approach will often turn a hopeful estimate into a realistic projection.

Why five customers?

If you can get one or two paying customers you might just be lucky. Get a third customer and that could be a referral – or luck. The fourth customer could a happy accident, too.

However, when you get to five customers there’s a good chance you’re doing something right. It could also mean that you’re going to be good at selling.

Do you know who you’re looking for?

Spend some time thinking about your answer to this question. If you’ve developed a good idea of the type of customer you’re looking for, then the chances are this will shorten the length of time it takes you to find them.

Why?

You’ll be looking for customers in the right places. You’ll be looking for them in the places where they congregate. You’ll recognise them when you see them or interact with them. As a result you will ahead faster and bring in business faster, too.

Do you know why someone should buy from you?

Stand in the customer’s shoes as you think about your answer to this question. Remember that the customer isn’t interested in you or your offer. The customer wants to know how whatever it is you do will help him or her.

So, what’s special about you?
What’s different about you?
What’s better about your offer?
Why should a customer buy from you rather than from another supplier?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you to get the customers you need.

As you try to find answers to these questions steer clear of differentiating yourself on the basis of time or price. There will always be someone who can do what you do faster than you can do it. There will always be someone who can do what you do more cheaply than you can do it.

Therefore, find other ways of differentiating yourself, if you want to succeed.

What do the statistics say?

The statistics that are often quoted suggest it will take you between five and ten months to get your first five clients.

I believe this is a realistic projection.

It’s worth doing a bit of forward planning when you think about your timescales.

What are the implications for your business if it takes you ten months to get your first five customers?
Can your business survive if this happens?
What can you do today to accelerate the process of getting business?

And now?

It’s taking action to find customers quickly that will help your business to survive, so as well as thinking about the inner workings of your business, spend more time and energy on sales issues – today.

Margaret Adams helps consultants, coaches and other service professionals to get more clients and to charge what they’re worth for what they deliver. She is the author of The Solo Success Start-Up Guide. Find out more about her work at: www.margaretadams.co.uk and at www.solosuccess.co.uk

Where Are The Delighted Customers? [Robert Craven] (ecademy.com)
The Importance Of Push And Pull In Sales (customerthink.com)
Marketing is just for big businesses, right? (premierlinedirect.co.uk)

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Posted in Business Start Up

Tagged business, business start up, Career, Career Change, Customer, Facebook, Marketing, self employment, Small business, Social Media

Social Media Recruitment With More Than LinkedIn

Posted on 8 November 2011 by Wendy Mason | 1 Comment

Today’s guest post comes to you from Cashier Live who provide point of sale software for small businesses

Social Media Recruitment with More Than Just LinkedIn

There are various avenues through which to recruit employees online, obviously one of the largest being LinkedIn. However, while the long reach and general quality of LinkedIn should not be ignored, there are plenty of other social media outlets to consider. Many job recruiters have produced great results by effectively utilizing other social media, and it is of note that the hungry and eager job market is extremely willing to use alternative ways to seek out jobs. Here are some other social media outlets to consider:

Various Blogs in your Niche

Blogs are typically forgotten as a source of classified job recruiting but more recently, some of the larger blogs have begun to incorporate “job banks” into their website using various third-party software applications. GigaOM, Guy Kawasaki’s blog, and Jeremiah Owyang’s blog have all started to add a career hunting aspect to their websites. Employers now have the opportunity to use existing blogs such as these as recruiting possibilities, or duplicate these models in their own effort to secure employment.

Some recruiters may even use guerilla tactics such as commenting on reputable blogs relevant to the job position in order to market his or her position as an alternative.

Online Video Sites (YouTube)

With online video being so conducive to the younger generation, more and more prospective employees have begun to create “video resumes” and post them on video sharing websites such as YouTube. These resumes provide the employer with a unique perspective into the applicant before even having to interview them! With such a multi-dimensional resume, one can evaluate an applicant’s verbal and interpersonal skills, as well as any other attributes that translate more clearly on video than paper. For job hunters, YouTube provides a clear way to stand out from the pack, whereas if they can aptly demonstrate their abilities on video, they can leverage a significant advantage from the “video interview.” Not only does this help to expedite the hiring process, but it can also make it less costly.

Smartphone Job Apps

According to a recent survey by LinkUp, 20% of job hunters are using their smartphones to look for jobs. With such a significant portion of the employee market eating up cell phone minutes, it makes sense to take advantage of the app friendly community. Smartphone apps such as JobCompass, Careerbuilder, BusyBee, and Monster provide recruiters with a platform on which to advertise customized jobs to the users who are searching the app. In addition, the apps permit recruiters to utilize the RSS or notification features that the phone is capable of. Using these apps, recruiters can have more control and selection over who they choose to interview or hire.

Twitter

One of the key features of Twitter is that it enables users to reach people that they do not know using a combination of keywords and common interests. Job recruiters can actually target Twitter users to advertise to based on the things that they do or say on their Twitter account. In this way, job recruiters are likely to have a wealth of prospective users to target. Twellow, a third-party Twitter tool searches user biographies and URL’s within the bio. By finding matching job hunters, recruiters can then send 140 character messages to the users. Then, through a series of responses to the posting, it can take on a snowball effect as more and more users who “follow” each other are exposed to the job posting. In this way, Twitter messages can become truly viral.

On the other end, Twitter is extremely useful to the job seeker. Numerous job search engines and classified services are available through the social networking giant and can perform comprehensive job searches. For instance, TwitterJobSearch.com allows you to search Twitter messages for job postings simply by using keywords. By utilizing the wealth of tools available on Twitter, recruiters and job seekers alike can greatly improve their chances of finding new opportunities.

At the end of the day, it is beneficial to recognize that there are more types of social media with which to recruit through. With just a little extra creativity, job recruiters can reach an enormous amount of prospects through several easily accessible avenues.

About Cashier Live

Cashier Live provides pos systems for small businesses, from antique to grocery POS software. Whether you’re looking to have an easier checkout, analyze checkout data, or find new hardware pieces, Cashier Live is a solution for all your POS software and hardware needs.

Twitter 101 for Job Seekers (biojobblog.com)
Are You Afraid to Use Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) in Your Job Search? Just Stop It! (carolhbates.com)
Be social: Recruiting using social media (marketing.yell.com)