All posts tagged business
Once upon a time, a business had a story. Prospects and customers connected to it; they found it personal, telling, truthful and relevant. That’s what made it a good one. Just like every person has his own story, so does every business. You can use storytelling to get your target customers’ attention and resonate with them on an emotional level. It works in every niche because it relies on human psychology. Our brain is hardwired to respond to a story.
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With the capricious nature of our digital word, an intriguing question is constantly being asked- Are learning communities going to replace physical college degrees or be the new school? Although this might not be a preference for all professionals, there’s a lot of question in whether the traditional education model can keep up with the pace of change within the current corporate environment. So that is where online learning platforms can play a really major role.
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LinkedIn is a powerful tool for small businesses looking to grow their network, boasting 660 million members worldwide
Because it’s a business-focused social network, having a presence on the platform is a necessity for those running B2Bs. But B2C businesses can thrive on LinkedIn as well. Since the network is all about business, many users are going there to seriously look for solutions to a problem they have (unlike Facebook or Instagram, where they might just be going to look for cute pet photos).
If you understand how to use the platform effectively, it can help you grow your network and get ahead of the competition. Here’s how you can do it.
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One of the trickiest things about social media is that there are multiple platforms you need to keep up with. Just about every business should have a presence on “the big four” (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn). And for certain businesses, additional platforms like SnapChat or Pinterest might make sense.
When you’re juggling customer information that’s coming in through your website, your email, your customer service numbers, and all of your social channels, if you don’t have a system to keep it all straight, you’ll want to pull your hair out!
That’s where a customer relationship management tool (AKA, CRM) with a social component comes in. A social-friendly CRM allows you to track all brand interactions in one place. This provides tremendous value to your business.
Let us walk you through the five biggest, but least talked-about, benefits to using a CRM system with a social component.
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Your social media marketing can sometimes feel separate from your other marketing efforts. After all, social media is about engaging with fans and having a little bit of fun with your brand, is it really a place where you should be thinking about the customer journey?
The fact of the matter is that all of your marketing efforts should be shaped around your customer journey, and that includes social media. And yes, there is a way to fit social media into each stage of the customer journey without resorting to sales-y posts or spammy messages.
Here’s how you can incorporate social media at every stage of the customer journey, from know, like, and trust to try, buy, repeat, and refer.
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Every business has competitors. No business will ever be the only option available to a client or customer. So every brand has to do some work to differentiate themselves from the competition. Why would someone pick you over that other guy or gal down the street? What unique value are you bringing to the table that they just can’t get with anyone else?
This is where storytelling comes in. Sure, there are a number of businesses out there that could theoretically solve your prospect’s problem. But by crafting a compelling brand story, you can differentiate yourself as the brand that understands the problem the best and has the most thoughtful solution to the issue.
There are five key elements to any effective brand story. Here, we’ll share the tips you need to create a statement that sets your business apart.
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A great SEO strategy has a lot of moving parts. For small business owners, it can be difficult to keep pace with the ever-changing elements that go into optimizing your content for search engines. After all, Google alone uses hundreds of metrics to rank pages for search results, and they keep those metrics (and how exactly they’re weighted and used) under tight wraps.
So if you’re already busy running a business and don’t have time to stay up to date on all the ins and outs of SEO, we have a shortcut for you. Focus on producing useful content, and in the process you’ll check off a lot of SEO boxes.
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Video is an increasingly important marketing tactic. Consumers today have shorter attention spans and are often consuming content on the go. They don’t always have the time to sit and read through a thousand word blog post; they’d much rather catch a four minute video on the topic while they’re riding the train into work or eating a salad on their lunch break.
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If you are an entrepreneur, the start of your business can be very overwhelming. To keep you on track despite the pressure, here are 2 of our favorite productivity apps that can help you:
Some time ago, I posted a poll on my social media page asking business owners “Who is the hero of your business? You or your customer?” It surprised me that half of those who participated did not vouch for the latter.
For the longest time, we’ve been so accustomed to seeing “About Us” sections on websites reading things like “our company has been the industry’s pioneer,” or “we are committed to providing only the best,” or “our product solves problems and reduces costs.” Although there may be truth to all these, shining the spot light on your company instead of your customers is a huge mistake. You can tell these stories with as much zeal and confidence as you’d like, but it will not make customers like or trust you.
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