Tag: Business

January 7, 2021

Using Proper Social Media Etiquette for Business


It has been quite a while since we last discussed social media etiquette for business. However, there is a lot to be said on the subject. In this article, we will give you new insight into an extremely important aspect of professional behavior.

The rules to follow

At this point, social media is certainly not new or mysterious although it evolves at an extremely rapid pace. New aspects of the various social media channels are being introduced frequently. Of course, there are the basics of proper etiquette and then there is another layer that is certainly worth consideration. Just to think about the history of social media etiquette for a moment, it all started in the 1990s and just evolved from there to what it is today. In the beginning, nobody really had a clear sense of how to behave exactly. There was a bit of a trial and error situation initially but, at this point, the proper etiquette is pretty well established.

Undoubtedly, there are certain behaviors that are obviously wrong to everyone who experiences them. In those cases, it is easy to understand right from wrong. Then there are those behaviors that are more subtle and those are less obvious and more difficult to determine whether they are right or wrong or just a personal preference. One thing that makes it easier at times is that some of the social media channels will provide you with their rules of etiquette. That leaves no wiggle room on your part. Whether you agree with those rules or not, you have an obligation to follow them if you wish to be a part of that particular social media channel. It is the rules that have a subjective element to them that need to be determined. The sad fact is that if you can’t figure those out, you may get into uncomfortable situations that you are not entirely sure how to get out of. In addition to following the etiquette rules of other people’s choosing, you should also come up with your own rules as well. That will help to guide you and it will make things a lot easier on a day-to-day basis.

One thing that makes it easier at times is that some of the social media channels will provide you with their rules of etiquette. That leaves no wiggle room on your part. Whether you agree with those rules or not, you have an obligation to follow them if you wish to be a part of that particular social media channel. It is the rules that have a subjective element to them that need to be determined. The sad fact is that if you can’t figure those out, you may get into uncomfortable situations that you are not entirely sure how to get out of. In addition to following the etiquette rules of other people’s choosing, you should also come up with your own rules as well. That will help to guide you and it will make things a lot easier on a day-to-day basis.

Contribute something of value to others

When it comes to the content that you are sharing, you want it to be educational, valuable, compelling, and you want it to make your readers want to share it with other people whom they know and trust. In fact, your ultimate goal is to get your content to go viral through the actions of the people who are reading it. If you are going to achieve that, your content must not only be well-written but also exciting to read. You may think that having to meet all of those criteria is quite a burden. However, once you start to write and to share valuable content that other people have written, it will start to go much smoother. You will see! It is a really good idea to sit down and think about what you want to write before you actually do any writing at all. You want to write content that resonates with a large number of people, that the person reading your content can use to improve his or her business, is in the friendliest format, that fulfills the needs and wants of the people who read it, and that is available to your readers at a time when they will be inclined to read it. If you accomplish all of that with your content, you will succeed.

Write personal messages

Automating certain things is really valuable and convenient. However, when it comes to responding to other people online after they have made an effort to reach out to you, that must be done personally. After all, you are trying to build a human relationship with the other person. There is no way that offering a canned message will suffice. If you do that, the human/emotional element will definitely be missing. Without it, you will not get anywhere. People don’t appreciate being treated like they don’t matter and that is exactly how an automated message will make them feel. How would you feel about it?

Be timely

Not only should you respond to other people personally but you should also respond to them quickly. You probably would not want to wait a long time for the other person’s response so why would you think that the other person would feel any differently about that? Again, it all goes back to building a relationship together. In order to do that, you need to interact as humans. If you are overwhelmed with work, you should ask someone else (who is connected to your business) to respond on your behalf. No matter what, the response needs to be the human kind. The fact is that the comments that you receive online will not all be positive. The negative comments are the ones that are even more urgent and critical to answer. That is all part of your relationship-building. If you address concerns quickly and manage to rectify them, you will be earning trust and credibility, which are two of the building blogs of a solid relationship.

Show some class

As a parallel, think about the divorced couple with children. The shared custody and each one speaks bitterly about the other to the children. We all know that to behave in that manner is inappropriate, destructive, and just plain wrong. Okay, now you can apply that concept to whether you choose to be respectful when you are speaking about your competitors. The fact is that your competitors are not doing anything wrong by giving you a run for your money. They are in exactly the same position as you. They have a brand and products and/or services that they believe in. Their wish is to improve someone else’s experience based on that brand and those products and/or services. Don’t you feel exactly the same way? Chances are that you do. Don’t say negative, disrespectful things about them. It makes you seem insecure and petty. If you have confidence in what you are doing and what you are offering to other people, there is no need for that. It all starts from within you.

Make your content as shareable as possible

The format of your content is very important when it comes to making it easy for other people to share it. If you follow the rules of the particular social media channel to which you are posting, it will be a lot easier to share your content. As you are probably aware, some of the social media channels have length restrictions. As difficult as that is, you need to do your best to respect those. Otherwise, your content will be truncated. That certainly will do you (or your content) any good.

Always put your professional foot forward

You are probably well aware of the fact that you have social media for personal reasons as well as for business. Of course, what we are discussing here is a business. You need to ensure that you keep any personal element out of your interactions on social media for business. It is just not appropriate. You should make sure to have separate accounts for personal and for business. Trust me when I say that if you don’t do that, your professional connections will not take you seriously. If that happens, you will not succeed in business.

Conclusion

Social media etiquette for business is critical to your success. The chances are great that you are already doing most of what would be considered proper etiquette. You may have to adjust some minor things that didn’t occur to you before but it really is no big deal. What should drive your behavior at all times is respect and admiration for your other people. Of course, you need to make sure that your content is in no way offensive to anyone and that it helps other people in some way. That should be another (and very important) motivator for you.


January 6, 2021

The Top Business Trends You Must Keep in Mind


As you know, we live in an environment where it’s “blink,” and you missed it. Still, there’s always an urgent need to keep on top of what is happening so that you can stay ahead in business. I own several companies and, candidly, I don’t think there’s a single day I’m not thinking about how to make things better and improve our competitive advantage in our industries.

A couple of days ago I read an article about a luxury yacht company that had been in business for generations, and although they had client orders on hand, in the tens of millions of dollars, they fired everyone and shuddered their doors. They were hemorrhaging money and not paying attention to the changing winds.

The reality is that I can sit here today and write what you want to be looking for in business trends and then a year from now, write the same sort of article with different ideas to keep an eye on as business and society evolve. Still, there are some areas that I think will remain constant and you should pay attention to in your company.

Always Pay Extra Attention to Millennials

For decades and decades, the “darling” of generations were the Baby Boomers because of their sheer size and buying power. As the Boomers are now seniors, the same can be said about Millennials. They will be, and already are, a force for years to come and they are the first generation that is pure digital natives. Your products and services should be marketed to them and how they think. By 2020, Millennials will have an estimated $1.4 trillion in spending power.

Get Comfortable With AI, IoT, and ML

What used to be buzzwords such as AI, IoT, and ML, are not anymore. They are not the future; they are the present. Most of you know about AI (Artificial intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), but maybe you have not heard about ML (Machine Learning). Machine learning is when computers do things without being programmed to do it because they are learning it for themselves. Through machine learning, we are given self-driving cars, excellent web search tools, practical speech recognition programs and a host of other platforms. As technology evolves, all of these elements will play a more substantial part in life and business.

Remote Workforce

I have a preference for my team to be onsite, but for some functions and aspects of our work, these elements are outsourced. Currently 40% plus of American workers are doing some work remotely, without having to be present at their place of business all the time. This trend creates demand for adequately training remote employees through video conferencing platforms, especially for social media and programming positions. All that is required is a computer and Internet.

Get Past the Clutter

The way you brand your business is essential. People are drowning in data and information, and you have to be able to cut to the chase immediately. Branding, which encompasses the name, logo, etc., creates instant identification. With excellent branding, you are perceived as an authority, successful and trustworthy because you pay attention to the details. Also it makes prospecting easier. Customers find you. You can hire better talent. Candidates seek you out rather than looking to apply for a position with an unknown company. Because of branding, it is easier to create more businesses under the same name.

Opportunity Exists in Buying Businesses

There are more businesses for sale due to the retirement of the Baby Boomer and Millennials will be buying them and then reinventing the companies they buy. Keep an eye out for your competition because there’s always an opportunity in looking to buy an existing competitor. For instance, you can buy their entire client base, or perhaps they’ve excelled in e-commerce, and you’re able to bring that into your portfolio. I’ve successfully purchased some of my competitors, and it’s only helped my businesses grow.


January 5, 2021

ExpertPreneurs – The 6 Business Platforms You Must Build to Support Your Expertise-Driven Empire


Every expertise-driven business has at its center a leading expert or recognized guru who has successfully leveraged the same six basic business building blocks into massive profits and extensive product empires.

Emerging experts, established experts and entrepreneurs also can leverage these same building blocks into successful ExpertPreneurial product empires and multiple profit centers. And, it does not take a fortune nor does it take forever.

These six building blocks include:

  • Content – at the core of your expertise-driven business is your content, body of knowledge and experience. It is your voice, your message and your area of expertise delivered through speaking, writing, and recording.
  • Connection – who you know is important. But more important than who you know is who knows you and most import, is how they know you. Connection is where you build and foster your personal community and create your center of influence. It includes contacts throughout your personal and professional business networks; members of clubs, organizations or groups in which you lead or actively participate; and mentors, coaches, and colleagues.
  • Branding – who and what your personal brand represents and how you are positioned in the marketplace. Branding includes every aspect of how you are represented from your visual presentation to the feeling you want about you and your products. Branding is where you appeal to your prospects and clients through the five human senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. The more visceral your brand is, the more memorable it will be.
  • Media – The media world has evolved dramatically during the last decade to include mainstream news and feature media, social media and independently produced media. In today’s business environment, ExpertPreneurs and entrepreneurs are the media and as such are on level playing field with the traditional media. The key to developing a solid media base is seamlessly bridging from one type of media to the next creating a massive media presence through strategic marketing.
  • Public relations – not only does public relations include press relations and ongoing time-sensitive publicity but it also is reputation management and community relations.
  • Speaking – live, in-person and virtual presentations, teleseminars, key note speeches, workshops, round table talks, and seminars. Basically, every opportunity to speak to any group from your target market.

Mastering each of these areas allows entrepreneurs to leverage themselves and to develop highly profitable product lines based on their expertise. The result is building an expertise-based business with you at the core as the undeniable expert in your chosen area. Prospects will seek your services rather than you searching for clients. And, last, you will make more money while working less.


January 5, 2021

5 Basic Steps to a Million Dollar Information Marketing Business Model


Building a million dollar information marketing business doesn’t start with buying the latest article or blog submitting gizmo or list of 5 million subscribers for $27! It also doesn’t start by investing in ever more popular fly-by-night tactics that work today and are obsolete (or banned) tomorrow.

Instead, information marketing millionaires first build strong foundations for success by focusing on developing an effective business model that allows fast growth.

There are five key components this business model must include. All of them are equally important for long term success, stability, and profitability of your business.

Once you have a specific business model mapped out you can identify the specific strategies you want to focus on. This in turn will dictate what specific tactics you need to employ, and what action steps to take to reach your objective of building a million dollar information marketing business.

So let’s explore those five key components of an effective business model.

Component 1 – Generate Traffic

The first step on this model is to generate traffic. You’ve got to have “duplicate-able”, repeatable, sustainable ways to generate traffic.

You can get your traffic for free – but it will take a bit longer to get it. Or you can buy it and have people visiting your website in a matter of minutes.

Some of the free traffic generation strategies include article submissions, blogging, social media presence, like video and audio podcasts and accounts with popular online networking sites including LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter.

And let’s not forget something as simple as a “Tell a friend” button somewhere on each page of your website.

The fastest way to get traffic to your website is to buy it. Bying PPC (pay per click) like Google’s AdWords is probably one of the most known paid traffic strategy, but there are many others.

You can also buy text links, banner advertising, display ads on other people’s sites and blogs. You can also buy classified ads in other people’s ezines and even solo-mailings to other people’s lists of subscribers.

A lot of savvy marketers also use strategic alliances or JVs (Joined Ventured) to quickly drive massive traffic to their websites. While it’s a very effective strategy, it’s not free. Your JV partners will typically want to get a hefty percentage of the sales they generate with their promotions of your site. But – it will be quick!

Component 2 – Lead Generation

One of the biggest mistakes most people make is they try to get a sale too soon! Instead, a much better approach is to generate a lead first, then convert that lead into a paid first-time customer.

Let’s take this one step at a time – converting visitors into subscribers of some sort – a.k.a. “leads”! This is a critical step because it will allow you to continue communicating with people interested in your products or services.

You’ve probably heard that in any business your money and success are in your list, in your database of subscribers and your relationship with them. It’s very important to learn how to get people to come to your site and then entice them to want to give you their name and email.

It used to be enough to just say something like “subscribe to my newsletter,” or “get updates about my business,” somewhere on your website to get people to opt-in to your database. But those days are long gone.

Today you must be really good at presenting great value fast and making irresistible first offers to your visitors to persuade them to give up their contact information. Strategies that still work great include giving your web visitors access to special reports, audio downloads, or informative video and audio presentations.

Obviously the better the quality of your “carrot” and the better your presentation of it, the better your conversion will be. (Conversion is the comparison of the number of people that take you up on your offer and subscribe to your list to the total number of people that visit your website.)

Component 3 – Lead Conversion

Now that you have a list of subscribers – a.k.a. database of leads – how do you convert them into paid customers, someone who would actually gives you a few dollars? Generating that first sale is your lead conversion.

Just like lead generation, lead conversion strategies will vary from business to business, depending on what you are selling and who your customers are. But the key to your success is to systemize and automate this process as much as possible. Let me give you an example.

Think of a service business, for example some like a professional life coach.

Most likely they have no systems in place. Every new client is gained a different way. A conversation with each new prospect is different from others. Every lead is generated a different way. Every lead is converted differently. It’s no wonder their businesses are overwhelming them and generating very little money. There are no systems in place.

Now let’s look at a different professional and scenario; someone like an orthodontist.

Everything is systemized. From the same lead generation mechanisms to how patients get introduced to the doctor’s office to the first experience when they come in, to how they get to meet the doctor, how their initial evaluation is presented and delivered, how the price is quoted and how the treatment is initiated.

Everything is identical for each new patient! Everything is done the same way over and over and over. Everything is a system. And that’s what you are looking for in successful information marketing business model – systemized and automated lead conversion strategies.

Component 4 – Profit Multipliers

Once you generate the first sale, you will sell more products or services to your new customer. It’s important for two reasons. First, you probably have more products and services that can help that client much more beyond what they initially received from you. And second, that’s the way to maximize the success and profitability of your business!

Here are few examples of profit multipliers.

First there is down-selling. Basically what it means is that if someone comes to your website and says, “I don’t think I’m willing to pay $97you’re your multi-media course – and I’m leaving your website,” you present them with another opportunity to purchase a similar product that sells for $47 or even less and say, “Maybe $97 is too much for your budget right now. Can I interest you in getting a similar highly quality course that costs only $20?”

A different down-sale would be to offer a payment plan. You’d say something like this, “If $97 is too much right now, can I make it more affordable for you by letting you pay in three payments of $33?”

Next, there is a cross-sale. If they pay $97 for your first program, maybe they like to add another program that will help them get more value out of their initial purchase, especially if it’s priced attractively. It’s an effective way to immediately increase the size of each initial transaction.

Then there are continuity programs. For instance, if you are a coach you can have a system in place where after the initial first sale of some type of a home study course the customer receives an invitation to join a group coaching and support program for which they would then pay monthly.

And these are just a few simple ideas of what you can do to multiply your sales and profits.

Component 5 -Scalability

Your ultimate goal is to systemize and automate your business so that its growth can be expended beyond your own efforts.

Once you have all of the key components in place, focus on simplifying, systemizing, automating, delegating – in short, you want to optimize your business for maximum performance with minimum efforts.

Then simply start driving more traffic through this “profit machine”, and, if you designed it well, it will work like a charm and continue making you more money. It’s like of like turn the faucet knob on full blast.

So to have an effective business model first you need to generate traffic to your website, then you need a way to convert that traffic into leads, then convert leads into first-time customers, and then use profit multipliers to maximize your sales and profits.


January 4, 2021

Best Business Models On The Internet


There are two main ways people make money on the internet. The first is the Influencer Model and the second is the Lead Collection Model. Learn how they work, what the process for each is and see how you can use them to start earning money online in this article.

The essential difference between the two is that one is slow, but free, while the other costs a lot more money, but can be up and running a lot quicker.

Influencer Model

The Influencer Model is slow but free. It’s the one most people online start with and there are many success stories out there.

Your main goal for this model is to generate a lot of traffic.

The way you do this? Create and post a lot of content.

You’ll have to be consistent and prolific with the content you create. You can post your content as part of a blog, on social media or YouTube.

It takes a lot of time and effort to build a following, but if you put both in you will have a solid base to start earning money online.

With the Influencer Model you create income by placing ads beside your content, using affiliate links or by selling premium content or goods.

Lead Collection Model

Leads are people who have expressed a desire for what you have to offer. They have already expressed an interest in something you sell, so you reach out to them and try to convert your leads into customers.

The most important thing, then, is being able to contact your leads. The easiest way to do this online is with their email address. You could sign people up to a newsletter and get in contact with them.

If you are set up on social media, people who follow your account are your leads.

You could attract leads with online content, but that’s the Influencer Model. But with the Lead Collection Model you buy your leads instead. That means you get them a lot quicker.

You profit by making sure you are buying leads for less than what you earn from each one. It is the fast but expensive approach.

Which one is best for you?

You have to think about your goals and approach before selecting one model for you. Do you want to get traffic by being a consistent content creator? The Influencer Model is probably the one to go for in that case.

If you want to create a system that makes more out of each lead than it costs to get them, the Lead Collection Model is the one to look at then.

Which Model Is Best For Affiliate Marketing?

Both can work with affiliate marketing. A blogger or social media influencer can recommend items to their readers and earn commission. Affiliate marketers can buy leads and convert them into customers as well.

Each has positives and negatives. Knowing each can help you figure out which works best for you.


September 27, 2020

Blended Futures of Aging & Business Innovation


Communications and convenience giant (Nasdaq: RIMM) RIM, the maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry, sees a number of defining trends ahead. These reflect the themes of my own research and are cornerstones of the MIT AgeLab

Motley Fool’s Dan Dzombak January 26 article, “4 Key Trends RIM’s Futurist Foresees,” reports on a talk given by RIM’s Manager of Innovation & Technology Futurist, Joseph Dvorak, PhD. Dr Dvorak identifies four trends affecting the future of the smart phone:

(1) Aging world: the median age on the planet in 2000 was 26, by mid-century it will be 36 and the number of people over 60 will triple — to nearly two billion people;

(2) Connectivity: smart phones, other devices and wireless providers will blur activity, place, and push trends we already see in social media and interaction;

(3) Empowered consumers: Consumers will continue to adopt tools that help them monitor and manage their relationship with companies, e.g., social media that advises on everything from restaurant choices, to financial services, to ‘hey, where’s my package?’

(4)’Values’ purchasing (e.g., green consumers). Values purchasing is not just for kids. Where there is a rise in ‘color causes’ (my phrase) — buying green, supporting pink, and helping red — aging baby boomers are increasingly interested in their social impact and legacy. That is, ‘what am I contributing and what will I leave behind?’

Insight & Innovations

Alone these trends are interesting and business as well as government must be aware of their possible impact on the future. However, the future of aging and innovation is a blending of these trends – not the extension of any one.

What happens when older consumers are ubiquitously connected, empowered and make purchase decisions on values beyond cost and quality? For example, what might wireless-enabled health or caregiving services in the pocket of an aging boomer look like? Will ubiquitous computing power, social media, and value purchasing create virtual collaborative networks of service providers for sandwiched boomers today and frail boomers tomorrow? Can you imagine the emergence of a 24/7 on-demand, always ‘visible’ on your smart phone, green, transportation service for a social network of ‘friends?’

The business opportunity is not to be simply aware of these trends, but to blend them, envision competing realities and to see these alternative futures as drivers of product and service innovation.

Lyfeloop


September 26, 2020

Social Media Marketing Firms – How They Can Make Your Business A Success


Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn among others have literally transformed from simple social network sites to major business/product/service marketing platforms. This is simply because of the large number of users accessing the sites on a daily basis. Like with any other marketing process, social marketing is a process that businesses/marketers employ to attract attention or gain traffic to their traditional business websites.

A common feature of social marketing is creation of relevant content that not only attracts but also encourages social networking users to share the same with their social networks. As users share content, a business/marketer gains what is referred to as “earned media” instead of “paid media”. Transformation of social networking sites to business marketing platforms has made it possible for a good number of firms to specialize in social media marketing, offering their services to millions of small, medium-sized and large businesses across the world.

There are several ways through which social media marketing firms can make your business a success story.

Business Reputation

Just in the same way that you strive to gain good reputation among your local clients, it is also very important that you have the same with social networking users. This makes it necessary to know what the users say about your business/product. A dedicated social media marketing firm will normally have what is referred to as Client Centre, a nerve centre that gives you information regarding what is said about your business/product on social media sites. A firm will normally gives you access to the centre with valuable reputation management tools for your own use.

Monitoring/Reports

Monitoring the performance of your marketing campaigns on social media sites can be a big challenge considering the fact that you need to focus on your business. Monitoring and reporting is one of the most important services that a social media marketing firm will provide you. A dedicated firm will continuously monitor the performance of your marketing campaign and report to you what is good about it and in case of poor performance, advise you on what needs to be done to improve the campaign.

Customized Marketing Campaign

Engaging the service of a social media marketing firm can be of great benefit when it comes to directing your campaign to a specific population in a geographic area. Although you may manage to gain a huge following on social media sites out of your own efforts, driving them to your traditional business website can be very difficult. A social media marketing firm will go the extra mile to keep your followers engaged through updated and encouraging content to attract them to your website.

Regardless of how small your business may be, having a presence on social networking sites is something you cannot ignore when you need to expand your business. However, engaging a social media marketing firm for the purpose of marketing your business on social networking platforms requires that you research carefully to identify a reputable firm that will take your business to the next level.

Lyfeloop


September 25, 2020

The Advantages of Social Media for Business


There was once a time when social media was considered nothing more than a source of entertainment. A place where people went for fun rather than for business. Today, however, businesses realize the importance that social media plays in their promotion and establishment. As a matter of fact, social media plays a huge part in the overall advertisement and set up of the business. You may be wondering what is social media business advertising. Well, it might as well be one of the most powerful means of promotion there is. There are several factors associated with social media, here we introduce some of the major advantages of social media for business to help you realize the critical part that it plays.

Increase awareness about your brand

The many advantages of social media for business start from the introduction of your brand to new people. Statistics say that more than 30% of the world’s population rely on social media to search up new brands and explore different products. This means that displaying and explaining your product on these platforms is sure to get you the attention that your business needs. Furthermore, it helps fortify the beliefs of those clients who have just found out about your business, ensuring they revisit again and again.

Look into your audience

Social media gives you the opportunity to look into the audience that is likely to visit your brand. It gives you the statistics about what is trending and gives you a thorough feedback of the effect of the different tactics you employ. All the preferences of your onlookers, their choices and what they like are displayed neatly in the form of elegant statistics for you to analyze and use. Discovering more about your audience helps you to target them more effectively which is why knowing, what is social media business is so important.

Customer service

Customers have started using the social media platform as a point of interaction with a business. Many times, they won’t contact the business directly but will go ahead to post an online comment. If your business is active on these pages, they can address and solve these issues which increase their worth. Also, they can use this platform as a point of interaction with their customers, seeing to their needs, issues and queries. Customer satisfaction is increased by a lot and ultimately it is a win-win for the business.

Feedback

Social media platforms act as sources of rapid feedback. This is one of the great advantages of social media for business. Whatever new implications or bugs that may arise are immediately brought to light, which allows the businesses to correct them as soon as they can. If the business is not available, customers can’t express their valuable experiences which impede the progress of the product.

Brand equity

Although it is surprising but the social media presence of a business is used to judge its popularity. The more popular the name the popular the business. This acts to further increase the confidence of clients in the businesses name. It is a great reason why it’s so important to know what is social media business as it can be one of the easiest walks to fame. It’s amazing how people can relate likes or shares to the effectiveness of a brand, but this is now the way it is and it surely is one very useful method to avail to your advantage.

A good eye on your competitors

The advantages of Social media for business are not limited to your business. Instead, you can have a great knowledge of what your competitors are up to too. This helps you strategize and plan accordingly to meet your competition at your best. Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies, well competitors actually, closer!

Considering all these advantages, it is evident that the advantages of social media for business are uncountable. It is essential that you know what is social media business because it can act as your boost to the top. After all, social media has become an entirely integrated system consisting of a two-way flow of implementation and feedback. We can even go as far as to say that social media is a great way to analyse your own products with the actual live audience. Not only will it help to increase customer satisfaction, it also helps better your business more and more.

Lyfeloop


September 25, 2020

Grow Your Business With Social Media Methods


If you own a business – chances are that you’re already using Social Media platforms and methods to get the word out about your business. If you haven’t begun using this platforms – you are probably seriously considering it and you should be…

The fact of the matter is that approximately 82 percent of small businesses are using this platforms, such as: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to support the growth of their businesses. If you are still debating whether or not you should resort to this platforms for the growth of your business then you should end the debate and get started as soon as possible.

This platforms are effective in the growth of your business. In fact, many people find out about different businesses, their products and services via Social Media Networks.

Below You Will Find 6 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing Works!

1. Social Media Gets the Word Out About Your Business.Yes! As a matter of fact, different platforms will support you in getting the word out about your business. It really works!

Your business will gain exposure! Needless to say – this is a very good thing! But more importantly, this will allow you the opportunity to develop relationships with your targeted audience. You’ll be able to gain followers, make connections and engage with people who will now know about your company. Furthermore, people who have done business in the past with you will now be more inspired to tell other people about your products and/or services.

2. Social Media Marketing is Extremely Cost Effective! The more algorithms added to different platforms and / or networks – the more likely it is that it’ll affect your organic content, as you can get lost in the scuffle. For this reason, we strongly advise you to take advantage of advertising options offered by many networks, which will promote your business, content and special deals and/or offers. Best of all, social media advertising is relatively inexpensive.

3. Social Media Is Super Duper Popular! You don’t have to be a devoted reader of blogs on technology or a pro on digital marketing to be aware that this is extremely popular amidst an array of consumers.

Per the Pew Research Center – approximately 65% of American adults are utilizing this platforms and / or networks. This means that this is more likely to reach almost every customer that walks into your business or visits your website.

For the majority of small businesses – Facebook has over 1.5 billion monthly users, which means that FB is the platform where your business will be able to reach more of your targeted audience. We recommend that you get started on your marketing campaign with Facebook.

4. Social Media Marketing Reaches All Demographics & Ages. This doesn’t have age barriers. In fact, age barriers are defied in social media networks. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center discovered that 65 percent of adults in The United States are active in these platforms.

Between 2005 through 2015 – people between the ages of 30 through 49 had increased their usage of social media networks. It doesn’t make a difference how old your targeted audience may be – it is more than likely that they’re already logged into their preferred platforms and are waiting for you and / or your business to become visible.

5. Social Media Inspires Two Way Engagement. This allows you the means and the control to become more informed about your targeted audience. With this you’ll have the opportunity to learn all about your audience’s interests and you’ll be able to acquire feedback.

Engage with your followers and / or customers and ask them to ask you questions and share their thoughts, opinions and ideas on how you should get to know them on a deeper level, so that you can pander to them better. You’ll be able to offer quick responses without the usage of a phone or without having to worry that your customer may have missed your reply.

6. Social Media Networks Allow You to Share Loads of Info About Your Business. Different networks have become the place where consumers go to gain more information about your business. The reason for this is because these platforms offer and allow businesses to post up to date info about all their services, products and future events.

Moreover, a lot of the profiles and activity on social media networks can be public, which allows a lot more visibility to users. This also, means that your profiles can be indexed by Google and other search engines. This is just one more way that you can be certain that your business and/or company will come up during searches on search result pages.

As you can see, Social Media Marketing is one cost efficient way that will support you in the journey of making your business known to your targeted audience and other users. Best of all, this will most certainly help you grow your business!

Lyfeloop


September 25, 2020

Ignite Social Media for Optimal Small Business Visibility


Social media has come close to surpassing almost any other type of communication device known to man. However, with this type of exposure and popularity, how does a small business ignite social media in a way that creates visibility for their business on levels in which they’ve never realized? Well, here you will discover some important information that deals with small businesses and their ability to use this platform in a way that will drive targeted and relevant traffic to the products and services that they provide. If you aren’t currently using this platform in your marketing strategies, the information provided here will be extremely important.

Facebook alone has over 800 million users. 250 million of those users are active at any given time. 100 million of those users are looking for products and services to purchase. 50 million of those users make purchases on a daily basis based on what other users are recommending. Now, this is just Facebook alone. There are other social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare, MySpace, and Plaxo. If you aren’t utilizing these services in any way shape or form, you are missing a vast marketing opportunity for your small business.

Now, it’s important to understand that owners really don’t have the time required to create a presence in each and every one of these areas. However, a small business cannot afford to wait until they can. In fact, a vast number of owners that have made a decision to ignite social media for optimizing their visibility have seen their numbers drastically increase. In fact, after making a decision, many owners strictly utilize the power of this type of marketing for driving traffic, creating exposure, and marketing their products and services on a consistent basis.

Using this type of marketing that involves Social Networking and Social Bookmarking for your business is more important today than it ever was. In fact, there are so many users that utilize these networks, that at least eight out of every 10 people you talk to will either be using this platform, or know someone that does. So, if you’ve been thinking about tapping into the exposure and popularity that this platform can provide for your company, it’s time to ignite social media, whether via Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, YouTube or any of the various other Social platforms available today, in a way that can optimize your visibility and allow targeted relevant traffic to find the products and services your company provides.

Lyfeloop


September 24, 2020

The Significance of Social Media for Business Marketing


Let us talk about a simple fact, which is, social media presence is really significant for your business these days. This significance is growing at a great speed with each passing day. No matter you are the owner of a local shop in your area or running a company or business at a national level, you need to understand its significance for a while. It is crucial because it is an essential piece of the marketing strategy of your business.

What are the potential benefits of using social media platforms for your business? It helps the business owners to connect with potential customers all over the globe. It let them boost up their brand awareness without much efforts & time investment. All of this will consequently increase sales & ROI for your business.

For all those people, who still don’t have social media business profiles, this guide is worth-reading. Here are the top reasons for which you must invest in this wise business move.

# Build brand awareness

The people will only come to you if they know your business otherwise not. This is the reason it is vital to make the people know about you. Social media increases your visibility within short time amongst your targeted customers & you can reach a wider audience this way. The most amazing thing about all social media platforms is that it let you create profiles free of any cost. You have to invest time in making an effective strategy for social media.

#Communicate authority

In this digital era, the people before making a final decision about the brand they support, browse your company’s website profile. The choice is yours whether you proffer them the rich information source via these two things or they end up finding an empty storefront. If you are looking for the best ways to build up authority as a company, you must be careful in this scenario. All you need is a robust social media profile with updated content about you. In this way, you will be able to make your very first impression in a positive manner. As a company, people recognize you reliable, knowledgeable & most importantly approachable. Your potential customers will also have confidence in you this way.

#Offer support

Gone are the days when there were communication barriers amongst customers & the companies. In fact, social media platforms have broken down all of them. Now the customers don’t need to call the company to ask any sort of query or seek help. Instead, they turn to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook etc to get their problems resolved or find any sort of information.

For offering great customer support as a company, make sure to develop your repute as a caring & responsive brand for your customers.

#Grow affordably

Small companies or start-ups can’t usually bear the huge costs of business marketing campaigns. Social media marketing tactics are a suitable alternative to this. No matter what your business is about & what is its size, you always have the opportunity to grow your business & achieve its goals reasonably. Instagram & Facebook ads are of key importance in this regard. When it comes to ad campaigns, the major thing you need to know is your targeted audience & aims to achieve.

There are so many other things that make social media platforms an important part of business marketing. Don’t ever get stressful managing it as it is not something complicated. Let us start with the first step i.e. creating your business profile without wasting any time.

Lyfeloop


September 23, 2020

Why Social Media Marketing Is Important to Your Business


SMM, the new tool in the business arena has shown a promising rise, the recent years. The web world is going gaga over it & Social media has shown a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. Today nearly 84% of B2B marketers use social media in some form or the other. No matter what you sell and who your target audience is,, using social media as a marketing tool is a sure shot way to you grow your brand!

Not having an active social media presence is kind of like living in the ancient times. People may ask what is social media marketing going to do for me? Do I really need it? Yes. Yes you do just check out the reasons why:

Increased Web Traffic

Social media posts can drive targeted traffic. Creating a new page on your site, landing pages, well-placed social media posts can make all the difference. A single link on Reddit or links submitted to StumbleUpon can transform a page from a handful of visitors a day to hundreds. Who wouldn’t want to capitalize on that?

Boost SEO

Social media can boost your site’s SEO. Search engine crawlers know which pages are consistently earning traffic and which are just floating out there, forgotten and ignored. Driving traffic to your optimized pages with social media posts will cause them to climb much faster in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Connect with Consumers & Industry Leaders

Social media leads to real relationship building. Twitter and Instagram marketing can get you free interaction with your customer base – you can read their tweets and status updates to get insights into their daily lives like what products they prefer and why etc. & maybe you can fine tune your strategy.

You can also use social media as a tool to connect with thought leaders and tastemakers in your space, as well as journalists who cover your industry.

Get your message across

As people view Twitter and Facebook as social networks, not marketing machines they’re less likely to see what you post as marketing and will be more likely to hear what you have to say. This translates to serious web traffic when you link to your site and posts that market themselves as your friends and followers share what you’ve posted.

Targeting and retargeting with Ads.

The highly customizable nature of social media ads. like Facebook ads, is one of the reasons social media is important. These ads even allow you to target users by things like location, education level, industry and even purchase history and the pages they’ve liked. You also have to the option to retarget the users who visit you & even convert them into solid leads and sales.

Get noticed at events

It’s easier to get noticed at events and even generate earned media coverage with social media posts. At any event there’s no better way to leverage your presence than with the help of social media.

Immediate response

The feedback you get in the process of SMM, you’ll be the first to know when there are issues – and you can take immediate steps to resolve them right away and consumers appreciate companies that respond to customer complaints.

Builds Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty can be built on a strong social media presence. It has been found that brands with active social media profiles have more loyal customers. Being active on social media helps you become less like a business and more like what you truly are – a unified group of people who share a vision.

Are you ready to jump ahead of your competitors with social media? Want to see your rankings climb fast? Pull out that phone and give us call. We’ll help your dreams come true.

Lyfeloop


September 23, 2020

How Social Media Can Help Your Business Grow


Social networking has become a huge part of people’s lives in the last 5 years with Facebook and Twitter in the forefront. People now use social networking sites to communicate, discover and get their news. If your business isn’t using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook then you are losing hundreds if not thousands of potential customers.

One of the best forms of advertising is word of mouth, Twitter and Facebook utilize this. How do you choose where to take your business, by price, location or maybe by recommendations? Many of us will take recommendations from our friends and family, the people we trust. If you friend or family member has had a good customer experience with a business then he/she is likely to mention it to their friends and family, and considering many people communicate online and through social media you can’t afford not to be involved with Twitter or Facebook.

So through word of mouth over social networking sites you can quickly build up a happy client list. Let me give you an example of what I mean, If I want to eat at a new restaurant I will check for reviews online, like many people would by typing the restaurant into Google, if the reviews are mainly positive that’s great, but what I’m really looking for is a Twitter or Facebook page, it means that customers enjoyed the restaurant so much they took the time to go to Twitter or Facebook and follow or “Like” them.

Having a Facebook or Twitter account also means that you can stay in constant communication with all your clients, both current and potential, you can send out messages and emails with all your latest deals and promotions completely free. This form of advertising is fantastic because you are penetrating a specific demographic, if you send out flyers or put an ad in your local paper all you are doing is “scattergun advertising” (randomly advertising) meaning you are advertising to all demographics, but through social media you can advertise to people who you know are interested in your business because they have visited before.

People have hundreds of friends online so when they “Like” or follow your business some of their friends will be notified, so from that one person you can grab several of their online friends, and all this for doing absolutely nothing, that is the power of the internet, it never sleeps so your business will be advertising 24/7.

Lyfeloop


September 9, 2020

8 Reasons to Start a Facebook Community for Your Business


Promoting your business on Facebook is hard work. The cost-per-click is constantly growing. Organic reach is dramatically decreasing since Facebook has prioritized ‘posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions.’ Considering this, what should a business do?

Facebook can be a powerful and cost-effective channel to promote your business by investing nothing in advertising. The answer is in the runoff: it’s time to create and grow your own Facebook group.

Almost every business owner has already tried to benefit from a Facebook page. And it has turned out that having a business page on Facebook doesn’t necessarily end up with engagement, referral traffic, and closed deals without an advertising budget. Why? First, most businesses don’t know how to engage their prospective clients. Second, a business page on Facebook is often viewed as an advertisement. Rather than manage a business page, switch your focus to building a Facebook group for your business.

Building a Facebook group for your business is a viable way to build a fan community, bring people together, and build a great marketing platform at the same time. Facebook groups allow you to be helpful and relatable to your prospective clients as well as understand their goals and partner with them to overcome challenges.

Learn more about your target audience

Use your Facebook group as a focus group for your target audience. While members are expecting to get useful information from the community, you can also collect valuable insights from them. For instance, built-in Facebook functionality called Facebook Insights provides details about your community members and their activity.

Also, your Facebook community members’ discussions, comments, and feedback will help you discover what your community needs from you. It’s a handy and easy-to-adopt way to validate your business ideas.

At Chanty, our fans help us shape our product map. We let our group know about ideas for features or product updates and gather their feedback. Here’s one of regular polls we conduct in the Chanty community on Facebook:

Engage with prospects on a personal level

A Facebook group will humanize your company with the help of social connections, nonbusiness interactions, and friendly communication. Your brand will get an opportunity to show its human side, not just a company logo.

Facebook groups allow you to build rich and human relationships with prospecting clients. Customers don’t want to engage with brands and join the conversation provoked by a business. Facebook groups remove this barrier and gives you the opportunity to be more personal, which builds connection and trust with your company.

Here are a few tips on how to start engaging your Facebook community:

  • Be present in the group on a daily basis
  • Post useful and relevant links (not promotional ones)
  • Ask group members to contribute or give feedback
  • Organize contests and promotions
  • Offer incentives for activity

Receive organic testimonials

Testimonials are a part of a wider concept called social proof, which is a way to show your prospects that others have already found your products or services to be of high value. Testimonials prove that your business is trustworthy, featuring those who have purchased from you and had a positive experience.

There are a few ways you can benefit from testimonials:

  • Testimonials build trust around your business
  • Testimonials impact sales
  • Testimonials increase website traffic
  • Testimonials ensure a higher conversion rate on your website (sign-ups, downloads, etc.)

How can you use your Facebook community to gather and feature testimonials? If your fans aren’t already posting their own testimonials, gently ask some of your customers to post a positive experience in the group. Or when you’re promoting an offer, reach out to existing clients and ask them to write positive feedback about your offer.

build trust around your company by providing value

Without credibility, your Facebook group won’t be highly engaged; you won’t drive attention to your offers and your polls won’t receive feedback. There’s a simple rule: to build trust, you must provide value and serve your followers.

Share first-hand experience, hold question-and-answer sessions, create exclusive content for your group, and provide the community with valuable and entertaining information. Your Facebook community is not an advertising platform. Instead, it’s a place for you to explain, motivate, inspire, and teach.

Gain hot leads with one post

When the group members are warmed up with valuable content and meaningful interactions, pin a post to the top or roll out an announcement. Your Facebook group will give you a highly targeted audience to which you can present your offer. However, try not to be overly spammy and make sure that your proposal provides value to your group members. Here’s an example of regular offers in one private Facebook group. As you can see, this post has brought a few hot leads to the group owners.

Generate networking opportunities

Your Facebook group will unite your potential clients, existing clients, fan base, and even potential business partners. Your Facebook group can turn into a platform where you and your potential business partners can solidify relationships that otherwise may not have occurred.

As seen here, this Facebook group devoted to SaaS marketing allows a group member to find almost 30 business opportunities in the blink of an eye. That means anyone can simply click the green JOIN GROUP button and dive deeply in the world of valuable collaboration and partnership.

Get in front of your prospects and clients every day

An increasing number of people are searching on Facebook to find products and services to solve their challenges. 1.73 billion users are visiting the social networking site on a daily basis. As a result, Facebook makes it easy for prospects to find you and join your Facebook community.

What can you do to appear in your fans’ feeds more often and get even more exposure? Here’s a list of tested-and-tried activities:

  • If you host a webinar, list your events, and invite people in your group.
  • Share your company’s blog posts in your group if the content is highly relevant and valuable..
  • Ask your group members to share your content IF it is highly relevant and valuable.
  • Stream live video with Facebook Live. The intimacy of live video creates the sense for the group members that they are getting a behind-the-scenes peek and creates emotional bonds between you and your fans.
  • Avoid link-dropping and direct advertising. Make sure to provide context to any sales message.

Offer an excellent service hub to your clients

In your Facebook group, support clients when they complain about your business. Be transparent and share updates when you’re working through issues. Answer quickly and candidly to questions, so that your customers know that you are there for them.

Overall, Facebook business pages are hard to grow organically, but you have the opportunity to grow a Facebook group by focusing on engagement and communication, not on direct advertising. While a Facebook community is not a small task take lots of your time and energy too. But in the long run, Facebook groups enhance your relationships with the target audience and expand your business growth.

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Free Speech Social Media Platform


September 8, 2020

Instagram is Making it Easier to Kickstart your Small Business




Marketing