by Myra Stacey | Jan 25, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Online Marketing
Building your new business is exciting, a challenge to conquer. One of the many things you will do as you get going is market your business to potential customers. Some things seem fairly obvious, while other marketing strategies may not be as familiar to you.
Here are some of the marketing mistakes we often see from new business owners.
Mistake No. 1 – Not creating a website. Every business needs a website. Think of it as not having a listing in the phone book in the 1980s. No one would find you if you weren’t listed. Today, that’s what a website is. Some business owners prefer to create only a Facebook page. While we understand the reasoning behind that, you don’t own that page or have the same control over it as you do with a website. A website stands out as more professional and, most importantly, a website has Google search. While your Facebook page might be found via search, it’s not going to give you the same overall SEO.
Mistake No. 2 – Not setting up social media profiles. While you shouldn’t use Facebook in place of a website, you should create a social media profile on at least one platform. Facebook is the most common, though we also recommend setting up your Google+ and business pages for SEO purposes. Even if you aren’t using your social media profiles at first, go ahead and create them so you can claim your business name. (Though really, you should be posting.)
Mistake No. 3 – Using your personal Facebook page as your business page. However, many business owners just turn their personal page into a business page by changing the name. Do not do this. First, Facebook may shut your page down. Second, your friends might not appreciate suddenly seeing all your business stuff instead of you and your family. Third, as your business grows, you will probably want to keep your business and personal information separate.
Mistake No. 4 – Not keeping a list of email addresses. Email marketing remains one of the best ways to reach your audience. Start a spreadsheet of email addresses and add to it regularly: every friend you meet, every potential client, every current client. Set up email marketing on an easy platform such as MailChimp, which is free at first. If you’re not ready to do this from the start, that’s OK, but you’ll be far better off when you do get going if you have a list of valid email addresses.
Mistake No. 5 – Not figuring out a way to manage the marketing grind. Marketing takes more work than most business owners realize. A solopreneur, for example, might want to work 40 hours per week. But he or she won’t be able to bill for 40 hours. Some of that time is administrative, and some of that time he or she will be marketing. Either that person works 50 hours per week or gets paid less than he/she expected. The alternative: hire someone to help with marketing. Remember, marketing is an investment in your businesses.
What questions do you have about marketing? Talk to us to get answers.
by Myra Stacey | Dec 14, 2017 | Inbound Marketing
Social media is not a straight path to becoming a billionaire in your small business. No, you won’t go viral three weeks after you start a Facebook account. However, your Cary marketing agency or manager is probably telling you to launch some social media accounts — for many good reasons. Here are just a few:
● SEO – We talk a lot about search engine optimization because it matters. More people than ever go online to find what they need. You certainly want them to see you. Social media accounts are just one more element in the many that help your SEO. Sometimes, you may search for a business and find its Facebook page listed higher than its website.
● Social proof – If you needed a plumber, you might go online. But you might also ask your friends and neighbors for recommendations. Maybe you even do this on Facebook or Twitter. (We see this a lot.) If you already have those accounts, it’s far easier for someone to share you and tag you when they recommend your business. Someone not referred to your business can check your social media accounts and discover they know someone who wrote an excellent review on your page. He or she is more likely to choose you.
● Spreading the word – You share something useful on social media. Your friend, Mary, shares it with her friends to see. Her friend John “likes” the post and realizes his friend George is looking for your services. John passes your name along.
● Connections – Connecting with your customers makes them more likely to be loyal to your brand.
● Leads – Connections are also far more likely to convert; they are already a “warm” lead.
● Monitoring – People might be talking about you online, even if you’re not there. With social media, you can monitor keywords related to your business to get a sense of what people complain about, what they praise, what your competition is doing, and more. You’re keeping an ear tuned to the conversation.
● Advertising – If your business wants to advertise, social media platforms are one place to consider. While a radio ad or billboard may reach more ears or eyes, you can’t target your audience based on your typical customer. With social media ads, you can, focusing on location, interests, gender, and more.
Social media has many other benefits, even if you don’t have thousands of followers. Talk to us about the role social media can play in your small business marketing.
by Myra Stacey | Dec 14, 2017 | Inbound Marketing, Print Design
Business cards have been part of business for centuries and don’t seem to be going anywhere. Newer business owners in Raleigh and Cary will often turn to these online printing sites to churn out hundreds of business cards before they head out to network.
Not so fast. While online ordering is cheap, quick, and easy, you are losing out in other ways. Here are five reasons you should order your business cards from a local print and web marketing agency:
1. Less customization. While you can choose some options online, such as the thickness of the paper, you won’t get the full range of options you’ll find from your local printer. These might include embossing, foils, and more. While you may not want to go crazy with business cards, each little thing you do differently helps you stand out. (See point No. 2.)
2. First impressions matter. We’ve handed business cards to hundreds of people. The first thing they do is rub it a little and look at it. The weight of the card, the thickness of the paper, any embossing — all of those are noticed quickly. The tactile nature of a card affects their impression of you, whether they mention it or not. When your card is later tossed into a bowl on that person’s desk, you want yours to stand out. To get a stand out card, you need to speak to someone who creates business cards. He or she can talk to you about your options (see point No. 1) and let you see and feel samples of what you can get.
3. Personal contact. You can call up your local print agency if something is wrong and they will work hard to fix it for you. They will talk to you about the pros and cons of papers and explain everything you might have wondered about it.
4. Higher quality. If you work with a local printer, you will view a proof so you can make sure it’s exactly what you want. A good printer will do color checks, review everything multiple times, and make adjustments as needed. Your online order is 1-2-3 done so they can move on to the next batch.
5. Support local. You’re a small business owner asking others to support you. Spread that same karma to your local printer and marketing agency. The online printing company isn’t going anywhere.
Each of your cards represents you, serving as a silent representation of your interest in quality. As you ponder your business cards and your brand, contact us to take your business to the next level.
![[Project] Full Branding for a Business](https://printandwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/b2ap3_large_7x11-10-2017-1080x675.jpg)
by Myra Stacey | Dec 14, 2017 | Inbound Marketing, Project Files
A potential client called us with an urgent request: he needed a piece of direct mail sent in seven days.
Direct mail can take longer than that, depending on the client, the design, and the mailing specifications. But within one week, we sent out Danny The Trainer’s mailer card. He was so thrilled with the piece, he turned around and hired us to do something he’d long put off: branding for his business.
Challenges: While Danny the Trainer had a good business, he needed to create more than that: he needed a brand. Many business owners put off designing a logo (or pay someone $5 to create something using stock imagery). But a brand is more than just the logo. A brand encapsulates what a business does and who it is through images, colors, the tagline, and more.
Solution: We met with Danny multiple times to get to know him, his business, and why his clients keep coming back. With that in mind, we designed not just a logo, but an entire brand around Danny and his tough-on-the-outside-but-will-help-you-achieve-your-goals image.
Danny had nice things to say about us in his online review:
“Highly recommended! Myra and her team are very responsive, great communication and get very reasonably priced work done – fast. Will definitely continue to use for my business.”
Thanks, Danny!
Contact us to get started on branding your business.
![[RECENT PROJECTS] Magazine Layout for On a Mission Magazine](https://printandwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/b2ap3_large_2017_09-1-600x675.jpg)
by Myra Stacey | Nov 16, 2017 | Inbound Marketing, Print Design
When you read a magazine, you probably don’t spend much time thinking about the design. You flip from one page to the next, enjoying the articles and the photos. That’s what good design does — makes it easy for the reader just to keep going and focus on the content.
We recently worked with a new magazine publication, organizing the layout for On a Mission. While creating a design for a magazine may sound simple to some, a publication like this takes enormous work. Each page requires consideration of the content — words and images — and what presentation will create a positive experience for the consumer.
Challenges: Magazines are also a business venture. When the On a Mission Team got started, they had a vision of creating a publication that provided spiritual and uplifting content. But for it to succeed and continue serving people, it would have to pay for itself. The team knew they needed to sell advertising, but how much? Plus, a magazine needs photographs, but they did not know you cannot pull any images from the Internet.
Solutions: We helped On a Mission organize its magazine layout, determining the number of pages based on the paid advertisements to give the publication balance between the two while still covering costs. Magazine photographs must be very large with a high resolution of at least 300 dpi. Otherwise, they print poorly and appear blurry or pixelated. We helped the team find and take images that would give the magazine a professional appearance without subjecting them to copyright lawsuits.
We first met Carolyn through another publication called Pets Uniting People Society (PUPS Digest). We are thrilled we could help with the On a Mission project, and we’re pleased to share this review from them:
“Myra was wonderful to work with! She was so professional, and her ideas for a few of our pages were excellent! Those pages ‘pop’ with color! I would highly recommend her services! On behalf of all of us at Pets Uniting People Society (PUPS Digest), thanks for a job well done! We will be back!” ~ Carolyn Hayes, director, PUPS Digest / Pets Uniting People Society
We look forward to helping more magazine teams with layout and design. Contact us for guidance on your next print project.
by Myra Stacey | Nov 9, 2017 | Inbound Marketing, Web Design
The Internet is full of terrible websites. Some have ugly design, but many just lack vital elements that make it easy for visitors to get what they need. Business owners must think carefully about this; after all, it’s your website, but it needs to serve potential customers, not you. Forgetting to list your phone number or explain your services can mean losing out on customers.
This list is not all-inclusive and may vary by business, but overall, here are seven things most companies need on their website.
- Contact information on every page. Your address or phone number or email — or all three — should be on every single page. You might put this information in the footer or the header. You don’t have to include all of those together. For example, your address can go in the footer while your phone number appears in the top right corner of the header — a natural place to find it for those seeking only that detail. Email addresses are tricky; if you don’t list it a certain way, you open yourself to receiving a lot of spam email. Bots can crawl websites looking for the @ symbol, so either talk to your web professional about listing your address differently or use a form for customers to fill out. The “Contact” page of your website should also include a form.
- Words. Many people are forgoing words in favor of images and videos. While those are both useful in the design and improve visitor retention rates, you will need words on your website explaining what you do and who you are. These words are for both search engine robots and your visitors. However, many business owners go overboard, assuming their potential customers want to read a novella about them. If your web pages have 1,000 words on them, that’s far too many. Each page should contain 300 to 500 words.
- Images. Yes, you need images, too. Studies show real photos of your team or business, rather than stock photography, increases your conversion rate. Pay for a professional to take a few photos if you can. Otherwise, use stock, because some images are better than none.
- A blog. Business owners often skip this part because a blog means more work. After all, you can’t let your blog get stale, which means you’ll have to write a post each month (at least). Blogs help your search engine optimization and improve your credibility with potential clients. Your customers may not read many or any of your posts, but just the blog’s existence can make an enormous difference. Create a blog and figure out how to post to it at least monthly.
- A clear explanation of services or products. Build your website with your visitor in mind. What questions does she have? What does he need answered to hire you? The second he or she lands on the page, your website needs to explain what you do. While that again sounds obvious, many companies questioning their website traffic turn to us only to discover their wording leaves people confused.
- Branding. People need to know about your products or services, but they also want to know who you are. If you lack a logo, work with a professional graphic designer to create one. Talk to a marketing professional about your brand: what you stand for, what it means to hire you. Create a tagline if you like. The point is that your website needs to show visitors “this is me” and stand out from every other company that offers similar services.
- Title tags. Title tags are those words that you see at the top of your browser bar inside each tab. They describe what is on the Web page, and offer critical information for search engines. Read our post about title tags to learn more about how to use them.
Most businesses need several more things on their website, but this list should get you started. Create a business website that converts by contacting us today.
