Category Archives for "Small Business Tips and Tricks"

0 Tourism Marketers: Time to Rethink Messages

Cold dreary Winter is fast approaching and many of us have resorted to browsing through the Internet in search of some warmth.

So how can hotel operators best turn our idle calls and website searches into solid bookings?

An AUT University marketing researcher has identified a simple way that hotels can get traction with potential guests – by tailoring the promotional messages they send to potential guests, depending on how far away the proposed stay is, in time and in location.

Read the full article at: www.aut.ac.nz

This research about tourism marketing is nothing new to online marketing, but it’s great to hear it being backed by research at the AUT. Google Display (banner advertising) is great for reaching people in far-off places before they make a decision about waht to do.   

Closer to their visit however, one of the tools tourism marketers can readily use is targeted Facebook Advertising. The latest feature released by Facebook advertising offers tourism businesses the ability to target people visiting their region. This is a huge, affordable opportunity for small tourism businesses to put themselves in front of prospective customers.

For example: John visits the Nelson / Tasman Region for 5 days. Facebook knows he has an interest in outdoor adventure. Simon owns an adventure tourism business in the Abel Tasman National Park.

Simon specifically targets people like John so he puts an a ad together targeting people like John who are visiting the area with a nice picture and very little text.

Facebook knows John is visiting the region and will display the ad on John’s Facebook feed as a ‘Sponsored post’. John can visit Simon’s Adventure Tourism business website directly from Facebook and make a booking from his mobile phone. Costs start at as little as $2 a day. This makes advertising very affordable for small businesses.

Have you tried Facebook Advertising for your tourism business? I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment and let me know.

0 How to Find Your Optimal Work Environment and Boost Productivity – The Ultimate Guide to Remote Work – Zapier

There’s no shortage of productivity articles to read or techniques to try, but I’ve realized lately that optimal productivity comes in different states for everyone. Not only are some of us morning larks and others night owls, some of us need to move around a lot, others find a standing desk works best, and some of us work to music while others need silence.

The most important thing I’ve recently come to understand about productivity is that embracing what works for me (once I know what that is) is the best way to get more done. If you’re struggling to improve your own workflows, here are three areas to start experimenting with.

Read the full article at: zapier.com

Many of us work best in the morning, some work better late at night, Some like their office hot, and others like their office cool…

The concept of a workplace is evolving from the industrial 9-5 routine, and increasingly, employees or business owners work more away from the office.

Whether you are in an open-office, or you work from a home office, it’s important to find your own rhythm and establish what works for you in order to be productive.

Another factor to consider, is that it’s not just about working set hours – increasingly, it’s about using your time productively.

If possible, make moves to create a work space and your working hours fit your personality. You will see better productivity and results.

0 5 Simple Ways to Increase the Reach of Your B2B Content Marketing

B2B firms are investing a great deal of time and resources on content marketing to attract and engage prospects and leads.  One of the keys to success is getting your content in front of as many peo…

Read the full article at: www.business2community.com

It’s not enough to simply produce Content for your website / social media. A business needs to look at promoting Content Marketing. Here are some great tips for doing that:

1. Promote

Make sure you promote you premium content (resources such as e-books, courses, etc) on Facebook, Google +, Twitter and LinkedIn regularly

4. Paid Amplification

Consider using promoted posts on Facebook and/or Twitter to get content to audiences.

5. Email Marketing

Send subscribers a summary of the posts you’ve made over the past week / month. You can safely assume that most of your audience will have missed your posts on social media. This way they might have time to read that article they missed.

In summary: Don’t forget to promote your content! 

0 Distributors: Please Quit B***ng About The Online Competition

Read the full article at: promokitchen.com

Is your business fed up with competitors who win more business because of competitive pricing online?

Maybe you need to re-consider a new business model: It’s nearly impossible to compete on price alone (unless you’re The Warehouse or Amazon.com).

This article explains exactly why EVERYTHING has changed in business in the last 20 years. Very relevant insights for those selling products (hint: there is light at the end of the tunnel).

0 Social Media Is a Waste of Time Without Building an Email List

Businesses need to start investing more into email marketing and building an email list rather than putting all of their energy into social media alone.

Read the full article at: topdogsocialmedia.com

Essentially, if you aren’t building an email list with your social media audience, you are missing a key strategy for your digital marketing plan.

Here’s a very simple breakdown of the content marketing/social media sales funnel and how it connects to building an email list:

1. Content is shared on social media with intention of driving traffic back to website.
2. Visitors read article and (hopefully) follow your call-to-action to join your email list.
3. Use emails to deliver higher value content on a consistent basis.
4. When sufficient value has been provided, make a sales offer.
5. Repeat

Obviously, this 5-step list makes it sound easy, and it is in theory, but there are a number of technical intricacies that are needed to make this happen. Consider taking my free course ‘Be Remarkable – Cut Through the Noise Online’ at www.dickiebird.co.nz to learn more.

0 The Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors

“Search engine optimisation — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals.

Our chart above summarises the major factors to focus on for search engine ranking success (and thanks to Column Five Media, for the infographic design).”

Read the full article at: searchengineland.com

If you’re new to online marketing, this chart might not mean much to you. If, like myself, you work with businesses that want to acquire new customers online, then this infographic about SEO factors is gold (I’m going to stick it on my wall)!

It’s great to see elements such as Social Shares, Trust and User Location are included in this image.

For those of you that understand this, make the most of this resource! Those of you who don’t get it, don’t worry – I will be making more entry level resources available to grow your business online. 

0 Summary: How to Win Friends & Influence People

Looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-read summary of the best-selling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People? This guide (or PDF) summarizes it all.

Read the full article at: www.getsidekick.com

I read this book at 19 years old on a Singapore Airlines flight when I left NZ to travel to the Netherlands. I can say with confidence that it changed my life.

Now you can read a summary of the book right here in one PDF (got to love the internet for that)!

Here are some key points from the book:

“Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes them strive to justify themselves.”

0 Don’t Ignore Your Header Images [Social Media Tip]

Almost every social media network now provides header or cover image options. Header images are like billboards on your profiles, so don’t ignore this prime real estate.

Read the full article at: www.dharilo.com

Here’s an important tip from #Dharilo: Header images are prime real estate. They are the first thing your audience sees, so use them wisely! A beautiful, or informative image captivates your audience and lets them know about your brand.

My favourite tips for header banners:

– Highlight a new product: For example, if you are offering  new product or special offer, make sure your header banner highlights this

– Change it: Every time you change your banner that news is placed on your audiences news feed. This makes it a great way to promote your business.

– Make sure your header banners are consistent across social media channels (and your website).

My tip: If you want to quickly and easily design a new header banner, check out www.canva.com It’s a free online design tool, and Canva provides templates for header banners.

What’s the best header banner you’ve seen?

0 7 Email Hacks That’ll Turn You Into an Insanely Productive Entrepreneur [Infographic]

In this exclusive infographic from serial entrepreneur and bestselling author, Chris Ducker, you’ll pick up email hacks that’ll catapult your productivity!

Read the full article at: www.chrisducker.com

Q: Who gets fed up with email? A: Most busy and productive people! I’ve used a number of these techniques to help me deal with ‘Inbox Overwhelm’. 

My favourites:

One

Unsubscribe from email lists you don’t read. You’re not doing yourself or the other business a favour by not reading those emails (it fills your inbox and lowers their open rate)!

Five (and Seven)

Use a Project Management System – don’t use your inbox as a to-do list. I personally recommend Asana. It’s free and it’s easy to use. I literally forward tasks from my inbox to Asana, and tick them off as they’re done. I even pay invoices this way.

With these tips in mind, you should find more time in your day to get on with business!

If you like the post, please share and help other people to become remarkable!

0 When bad meetings happen to good people

If you’ve ever walked into a meeting with high hopes of getting things done, and walked out feeling confused or annoyed that it was a waste of time, you’re not alone. Bad meetings happen to the best of us, and, unfortunately, they can happen often.

We put our heads together (in a meeting) to think of all the ways we can improve some of the most common meetings we have here, and ways to avoid pitfalls. If you adopt some of these tactics, you might even receive a rare and desirable compliment from your teammates— “Hey, great meeting!

Read the full article at: blog.asana.com

Meetings can be far more effective than they usually are: Time is precious. Here are 5 tips from project management tool, Asana (I use it every day and swear by it – it’s FREE)!

Insight: Plan your meeting agenda and share it with your colleagues / client before you arrive.

I should mention that I use Asana to manage a great deal of my workload: from projects with teams, through to bills I need to pay. HT to @Rachael Goodchild for a great article on meeting (in)efficiency.