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  • 5 Easy Strategies to Help Small Businesses Get More Backlinks

    5 Easy Strategies to Help Small Businesses Get More Backlinks

    Running a small business is a dicey game. It is by no means without its rewards; you get to be your own boss and manage your operation as you see fit, and every success is attributable to your hard work.

    But you also have to contend with limited funding most of the time, as well as the responsibility of wearing many hats.

    Even if you’re familiar with the industry that you choose to enter, you’ll still have to handle all manner of tasks that you might not be cut out for, such as accounting, sales, and marketing, just for example.

    And in this day and age, it simply won’t do to ignore the potential value of an online presence, even if you’re only a small, local business.

    Nearly everyone looks online these days rather than using the Yellow Pages, so if you don’t build a website and start to optimize, chances are good that consumers will never find you.

    As part of the package, you’ll want to find ways to get inbound links that direct interested parties toward your website.

    Here are just a few ways to secure the backlinks that will point people your way.

    Killer content

    In a post-Penguin world, content is of the utmost importance anyway when it comes to optimization.

    Google’s current algorithm is designed to ensure that the websites getting top placement for searches are actually providing the engaging and informative content users expect, rather than the keyword-stuffed articles of old that were meant to bring in traffic while delivering little value for visitors.

    But there’s an even better reason for providing stellar content than sating Google’s search bots: you want to impress those who come to your site.

    When you provide the value that consumers are seeking via your websites, blog, social media, and so on, you increase the opportunities for sharing, and this will help to increase the inbound links you seek.

    Easy-to-share items

    Massive blocks of text may be the most comprehensive means of delivering information, but they are in no way the most efficient, nor are they particularly attractive.

    The long and short of it is that you need to provide bite-sized snippets of information that are easy to share if you want to encourage visitors to spread your content to contacts online.

    By creating self-contained content through graphics, infographics, and videos, for example, you can offer customers the easy-to-share content they crave. And embedded links will lead straight back to you.

    Social media profiles

    Social media plays a major role in sharing, so you really can’t afford to let it fall by the wayside.

    That said, you must treat your profiles like any other professional venue.

    Despite the fact that they are terribly casual, social media outlets provide you with an opportunity to reach out and connect with prospective customers.

    But they also give you a way to offer sharable content, and that’s where your inbound links will start to multiply.

    Participate in the online community

    There’s a lot to be said for networking, especially in the online arena. So sign up for forums, comment on blogs, and see if you can get some patronage and collaboration going within your virtual community of peers.

    Participation can go a long way towards netting you additional backlinks.

    PPC services

    You might not be keen on the idea of paying for links, but when you run a small business you’re either expending time or money, and most of your time must be devoted to your operations.

    Luckily, there are some strategies for building a web of inbound links that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

    And pay-per-click services may qualify.

    Getting listed with directories is another good option for the business on a budget.

  • Why Small Businesses Need A Compelling Logo?

    Why Small Businesses Need A Compelling Logo?

    The small businesses are in their initial stages and need to rise in order to gain more customers.

    As per experts, the need of the logo and that too, a compelling one is most needed for small business.

    Always believe in the fact that the first impression is the last impression.

    Do you know the human attention span (7-8 seconds) is shorter than a goldfish’s (9 seconds)? You only have 7 seconds to grab a website visitor’s attention.

    The Logo is like a small ad for your company. When you begin the process of logo creation make sure you have developed your brand strategy to convey the right message. Having a great logo will avoid many business problems in the future.

    If you are successful in creating a good impression of your business in front of the visitors, the chances are very high they will visit again and also provide you with the mouth publicity.

    According to Wikipedia,

    “A logo is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic (symbols/icons) or are composed of the name of the organization.”

    Su Mathews Hale, a senior partner at the New York brand strategy and design firm Lippincott said,

    “A company’s logo is its shorthand, a visual cue that tells a story of the brand’s culture, behavior, and values,”

    Entrepreneur.com recently published an interesting piece in which Matthews Hale explains Walmart Logo Design

    “Mathews and her team decided to keep the color blue, which Mathews said is the world’s favorite color, but go for a brighter hue they believed evoked modernity and trustworthiness. They replaced the sharp angles of the original letters with “a more humanistic font.” Finally, they decided on an asterisk-like symbol they wanted to look like “a lightbulb going off in your head,” a metaphor for Wal-Mart shoppers being smart for taking advantage of affordable, quality products. They chose a hue of yellow that appeared hopeful but didn’t make it too bright because “bright yellow is associated with low-cost items in retail,” said Mathews. She was happy to find that focus groups also interpreted the spark as a sun or flower, both positive associations.”

    Unilever is a global consumer goods provider company. See the Unilever Logo.

    The “U” in Unilever logo is creatively filled in with a variety of images, but every single icon used actually represents an aspect of the Unilever business.

    According to Unilever, “Their logo was designed to include 25 icons, each of which represents something important to Unilever. Each icon has a rich meaning at its core, and represents some aspect of their effort to make sustainable living commonplace.”

    In the process of making a small business look like a well-established brand, the logo plays an important role.

    There are several reasons why small businesses need a compelling logo:

    To look bigger and well established

    As discussed, the logos are a way to symbolize your business as well established and bigger. The great logos create a great impression and people most often remember the logos, which are unique and well crafted.

    While, many may forget the brand name, but if the product is well suited, people look for the logo in the next purchase. Thus, create a logo which is hard to forget.

    Attract new customers

    Always remember a fact that your customers see a lot in the market, and thus expecting them to remember you is a bit difficult task.

    But, if your logo is a bit appealing, it may send a direct message to your potential customers over making you as a choice over your competitors.

    Thus, differentiate yourself from your competitors by the use of a compelling logo associated your brand and give yourself a better chance to gain more footfalls.

    Think about how your logo will appear on business cards or stationery. You can also greatly utilize the logos in your T-Shirts, which is a trend of today.

    Employees are your first brand ambassador. Design your company T-shirts with your brand’s logo, it’s a powerful and affordable marketing opportunity.

    Logos are a sign of professionalism

    In fact, logos are a branding way. The logos serve the purpose of giving you a professional look and imbibe a sense of confidence among your customers.

    The customers feel safe and proud to connect with you if your presentation is good in the market. The logo is a way to send a message of professionalism.

    It infuses a sense that you are stable and build a much-needed trust of your customers in you.

    Logos are a sign of your niche

    Most of the times, logos serve the purpose of conveying your niche field. The logos are just a symbol, but in most of the cases, it serves more than this.

    It serves as an identity of your niche you are dealing with. It also conveys your company name and thus acts as a visual clue for your business.

    You don’t need to spend a thousand dollars on a logo to stand out from the crowd. In case, you are looking for a well-reputed logo designer, who can create a great logo for you, there are several brands available in the market.

    Get a well-reputed logo designer and start your branding with the perfect logo for your business.

  • 9 Social Media Marketing Mistakes You Need to Stop Making

    9 Social Media Marketing Mistakes You Need to Stop Making

    It’s literally impossible to market effectively without a heavy social media presence these days, and for some businesses, social media can be enough of a platform to fulfill all marketing goals.

    No matter what you’re looking to market, you absolutely can’t afford to make social media marketing mistakes in an increasingly connected world, so follow these tips to get your message across as effectively as possible!

    #1 Client Comes First

    This is really important to remember. You might want to expand your client base or focus on different products, but remember that your current clients are your followers, and to keep them as clients then you will need to speak to them too.

    This doesn’t mean you can’t market your new stuff and reach out to more people, but never forget to post content directed at your loyal customers.

    #2 Keep Your Word

    To be successful in any business, you need to do what you say you’re going to do, or your client will lose faith, and you will lose them. On social media, this is even more important, as everything is time-stamped and what you said is right there on their screen. If there’s a competition, an announcement, vlog, or new product that you say you will post on Friday, then it really does need to be there on Friday.

    #3 Focus!

    This encompasses a lot of factors. Focus on what you want your customer to do, whether that is to ‘like and share’ or add something to their basket, or sign up for something.

    Don’t ask them to do all three.

    Also, focus on information relevant to you, don’t post random things that are irrelevant, and never forget your target audience in your post – focus on them or your message could be lost.

    #4 Know Your Audience and Engage With Them

    You need to know what your audience wants, and social media is a really great way to get to know them and make them feel valued.

    Respond to comments, like other relevant pages and posts, link back to yourselves on relevant posts so your audience really feels like they know you, and that you care.

    #5 Always Have a Plan!

    Having a plan is essential, followers won’t just come to you. Decide how much you’ll invest – if not in money, but in time – in social media marketing, and stick to it. Plan your content, have a clear strategy, don’t rely on likes for random posts, as those likes may not be from your target audience, or anyone interested in your product.

    #6 Use Tech To Track

    Use everything at your disposal, though google analytics is normally the first step, to see what time, day, and content is attracting the most content, and try to build on that.

    Figuring out what times and whether articles, videos, gifs, or whatever is driving traffic is a great thing to know and build on.

    #7 Use the Right Platform

    If the majority of your users are finding you on Facebook, then focus on that, you don’t need to be on every single platform to be effective.

    There is no use using Snapchat to get through to people on Instagram, you are wasting your time and energy when you could have a time-saving and effective strategy.

    #8 No Fakes

    Everyone can tell when your followers are fake, it’s very simple when your base and your likes are so drastically different. While it may be harder, having an organic base that has supported you and interacts with your feed looks way better to the public.

    #9 Make Sure You Proofread!

    The public in general on social media are extremely unforgiving when it comes to grammar mistakes, and factual errors are so easily checked by google that you will be called out straight away.

    And when you’re looking to market something, whether it’s yourself or a product, you need the trust of a customer, they need to feel that they can put their faith in you.

    That is unlikely to happen if your posts are accompanied by a bunch of negative comments regarding your accuracy.

    You need to appear smart, competent, and reliable, and a great way of doing that is making sure your content is perfect before you post.

    There are some amazing online resources specifically designed to ensure your content is awesome, and there is no good reason not to use them!

    Some of the best ones to ensure grammatical correctness are:

    • Ginger Software– this app is really great for non-native English speakers, as it includes a dictionary, grammar checker, and will even help rephrase complex sentences to ensure your writing is clear and high quality
    • Hemingway App – this is an amazing site for marketing as it emphasizes strong writing styles, removing adverbs, overly long sentences and other awkward features that may appear in your work
    • Type my essay – some people, however, will always prefer a real person looking over their work and providing suggestions, comments, and improvements. For a personal touch from an expert, you can try the following online writing tool.
    • Readability-score – it’s essential to write your marketing posts with your audience in mind. Check the reading level of your text with this website to make sure you’re not treating doctors like thirteen-year-olds or vice versa
    • Edit Minion – this is a new site, but really effective at analyzing short passages and picking up on the common mistakes that spelling and grammar checkers often miss. This is super quick and completely free
    • Assignment help – here experts will review your work and will be able to improve your language and strengthen your message.
    • Autocrit– is an awesome way to review your texts in an in-depth way, that picks up on mistakes a human often doesn’t – like too many adverbs or the passive voice
    • Word count tool – if you’re not using word, this little site is a handy way to monitor the length of your content – you should be aiming for at least 300 words per post, and this can make sure you’re hitting those targets.
    • PhD writers – the tool suggests a professional to look over your work and pick up writing errors that a computer can’t, and offer helpful suggestions.

    As all of these resources are available online, and many of them ae actually free, it would be madness to not utilize all the help you have available to you, and produce the most effective social media marketing ever.

    There are no excuses for inefficient or ineffective social media marketing – follow the above steps and success will follow you.

  • Finding Investment For Your Business: Due Diligence Works Both Ways

    Finding Investment For Your Business: Due Diligence Works Both Ways

    There’s nothing quite the same as experiencing that eureka moment when you decided your idea was more than just a pipedream and it’s time you did something about it.

    Telling your friends and family, brainstorming until you run out of Post-it notes, designing a great business model… these are the first steps towards becoming your own boss, and it feels great.

    That’s when the stress kicks in.

    The majority of entrepreneurs I meet rely on bootstrap finance to kick themselves off, but there comes a time when you really need to think about how you plan on ensuring your business has some steady cash flow to implement the necessary next steps.

    I’ve written a lot about alternative finance and the different routes available for startups today.

    For an investor, willingness to give away a lump sum of cash to a startup who has limited past experience and a very fragmented idea of their financials and future profits is intimidating due to the amount of risk attached to that deal.

    Consequently, investors are very cautious and will ask questions and perform as many checks necessary to inspire enough confidence in your business model to justify their signature on the dotted line.

    It’s hard for startups not to bite the hand off any investor offering much needed capital to facilitate growth. However, this is where a lot of entrepreneurs go wrong.

    This being common knowledge, it’s hard for startups not to bite the hand off any investor offering much-needed capital to facilitate growth.

    However, this is where a lot of entrepreneurs go wrong.

    Due diligence doesn’t just work one way; you need to have enough assurance in your idea, your team and your pitch to make an investment deal work for you.

    When you’re pitching, think about your hook – tell a story and get them excited, don’t just bog them down with figures that may or not come to fruition. Illustrate your passion and remember that, as a startup, all good investors will expect you to fail at first, so never overpromise and under deliver.

    It’s important to demonstrate how your investor can realise their investment by outlining a prospective exit strategy.

    Whilst it’s very important to talk about numbers, scale, growth and margin, don’t leave out how you plan to execute your strategy.

    Ideas in themselves don’t make money. It’s excellent execution that delivers results.

    Appointing an investor to your board is like a marriage, you need to work with them day to day. ​

    As an entrepreneur, you need to know what kind of investor you’re looking for. It’s not just about finding a person with deep pockets to keep financing your company; it’s about finding someone who believes in your product almost as much as you do.

    Appointing an investor to your board is like a marriage, you need to work with them day to day. Whoever you chose is likely to be on the board for years, therefore, you need to consistently work on the relationship, which will take time to nurture.

    It should also be a pre-requisite that your potential investor has experience scaling and selling a business in the same industry as you.

    Remember that the best thing about angels, other than their money, are the contacts they’ve managed to curate over years of experience. The doors that could be opened by appointing an angel investor absolutely have the potential to transform your business.

    By sitting on your board, the investor will play an essential role in discussing and setting the strategic direction of your business. By pulling you away from the day-to-day to focus on the strategic issue of what maximises value creation they will hone your strategic thinking and steer the direction of the business.

    This is exactly why working with the wrong investor could be a major deterrent for your business.

    If you’re in the phase of pitching for investment, be sure to ask every relevant question you can think of can and learn as much as you can about them and their experience, before you make a decision.

    If they’re a right fit, this could be the first step towards success, not only in this round of finance but future rounds (depending on your relationship management).

    On the contrary, if they’re not right, don’t be afraid to walk away, otherwise, you’ll end up with a pile of legal fees trying to get out of a sticky situation.

  • How To Get More Engagement For Your Youtube Channel?

    How To Get More Engagement For Your Youtube Channel?

    Do your research

    YouTube has a great tool, the YouTube Keyword Tool, which reveals the phrases people search and how often. The word “how to” is search over 8 million times a month in Australia!

    This tool will give you some ideas about what the people want and how often they want it. This information is gold when it comes to content planning and video optimisation (see point 2).

    Video optimisation: being as descriptive as possible

    Videos & channel pages can show up in YouTube & even Google search results – if done right, this could lead to heaps of additional exposure!

    To do this, we need to give the YouTube robots as much information as possible so that they can understand our content. Use the research from point 1, do following:

    Write snappy titles

    Try and summaries your title in a short, keyword rich 1 liner. I.e. “VW Gold GTI 2014 Australian Review”. Don’t be afraid to tweak your existing titles

    Write a comprehensive description

    Explain what your video is about. Try to write about 150-300+ words per video.

    Firstly, write a short paragraph which summaries the entire video.

    Then secondly, create additional meatier paragraphs.

    Thirdly, add links to anything relevant such as the official webpage – we do this to try and help user continue their journey once finished.

    Completing this step, will also help improve your chances of being shown as related video. Remember, a picture tells a thousand words and you are talking to a robot – it can’t see what you can see!

    Feature your sparklers!

    If something really cool or someone really famous appears in your video make sure you mention it in your description. Robots won’t know this till you tell them. If you’re talking about a product mention the full name. I.e. ‘VW Golf 2.0 GTI 2014 Review’ is waaaay more descriptive than ‘VW Golf Review’.

    Accurately describe your channel

    Your channel page is like your homepage, it is the gateway to your video content and kind of acts like a content page would in a book.

    With that in mind, it is really important to include a keyword rich description on your YouTube About page as it will help YouTube understand what your channels theme is.

    Encourage users to subscribe

    Subscribers are like votes; the more you have the more important you are. To get more subscribes we need to communicate the value that you have to offer. What’s the benefit if they subscribe? Why should I follow you? You can do this in 3 ways.

    Verbally prompt users at the end of your video to subscribe. Eg. “For more weekly XXXXX tips press subscribe”

    Show an annotation at the end of your video prompting users to subscribe. Do this inside your video manager

    If you have a website or another Social channel then add the ‘YouTube Subscribe Button’ to your website and post regular prompts on your social channels. Be sure to highlight why we should subscribe.

    Be 100% Complete

    It’s all about experience. YouTube channels with 100% information on their profile perform better than those with less. Create an about page. Fill in all your fields. Be as descriptive as you can.

    Engage commenters

    YouTube users love to comment. YouTube knows that higher quality videos tend to have more comments. Therefore, videos with more comments tend to get more exposure.

    Often, channel owners or companies negate to reply as quickly (if at all) as they might on a Facebook page.

    This often leaves users feeling under appreciated. If someone asks question or critiques your content you should engage with them.

    Tag with pride

    YouTube can better understand your video if you write tags that are really relevant to your content. Try to think; what questions does my video help answer? Include these as part of your tags.

    Create lots of short ‘How to’ videos

    We saw earlier how the phrase ‘How to’ was one of the top searched queries on YouTube. The beauty of phrases such as these are that they happen all year round (evergreen).

    If you have the skills to answer a common question then you should look to create a quick video about it.

    Try to do one video per question. For example; ‘How to jump start a car’ or ‘How to pot a plant’, ‘How to re-wire an Australian plug’ or ‘How to clean a Playstation’. Views from videos like these will quickly add up, driving more exposure.

    Build relationships influencers & competing channels

    Try to collaborate with other YouTube users who run similar channels. Comment on their videos and try to offer some extra value with your own knowledge.

    Where appropriate, link to your videos but be careful not to spam – YouTube & the channel manager could remove your comment.

    Post your content on websites & forums

    Outside of YouTube you should also look to be sharing your content in relevant communities such as forums or blogs.

    As a rule of thumb, in forums try to answer questions instead of creating new threads/subjects. To find relevant posts use the ‘search’ function.

    Post regularly & consistently

    YouTube uses a complicated algorithm which probably looks at thousands of factors. One of those is ‘dormancy’ or frequency of update. Where essentially channels which aren’t updated often enough gradually become buried or no longer trusted. Keep your channel regularly updated.

    Try to post weekly, or bi-weekly.

  • How to Improve Your Website Security

    How to Improve Your Website Security

    Websites are easy targets for hackers and adequate security is crucial in order to not only protect the site itself, but also any personal or business data.

    Here are some practical tips to improve your website security:

    Hosting

    As a technical minded person, I can honestly say even I get confused and baffled by the world of hosting. But your hosting company is your first line of defense and how secure your site is depends on the type of hosting you have.

    This of course is made harder by the huge choice of cheap hosting. However, the cheaper options more often than not mean you are sharing your space with tens, hundreds, if not thousands of other sites and, if one of them does something untoward (SPAM anyone) you’ll also be burdened with the consequences.

    Not to mention the potential of being infected by a virus. So choose wisely.

    Password

    Password strength is something that is very often neglected, but is a vital first line of defense. A good method is to have several difficult passwords for different logins…

    • Bank
    • Blog
    • Email
    • Online Subscriptions

    The ideal password should contain a mix of lowercase, uppercase, numbers and special characters, by doing this you can use names and numbers to create complex and memorable passwords. For example, a wife’s name and date of birth could be:

    Helen1983

    H3l3n_*_1983!

    Here’s a link to check how secure your password is: https://howsecureismypassword.net/

    Essential Plugin

    There will always be attempts to break into your blog. If you have a WordPress blog there are several plugins to stop these attacks, the easiest of which is Login Lockdown. This simple plugin limits the amount of times someone can attempt to log into your blog before blocking them completely.

    Updates

    This is another simple yet all too often overlooked part of managing a blog. For those running a WordPress blog you will have seen the update plugin and update WordPress warnings. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not ignore them, these aren’t merely updates to some functionality issue or some additional feature; more often than not these updates contain security patches which if not updated will leave your blog open to attack! So please check your blog and keep it updated.

    Security

    How often have you gone for a coffee, logged into the free WIFI and typed away the username and password?! Did you know that someone could be snooping and picking up your passwords? My advice would be avoid public WIFI if you need to login to your site.

    Further Measures

    Please note that multiple plugins can and will slow down the speed of your site, so do take care when loading them on your site. However, as with your home PC, a firewall serves as a layer between your site and the outside world.

    These plugins require a little more than a basic install and activation, but they are worth considering:

    WP Simple Firewall:

    http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-simple-firewall/

    This is a simple yet effective plugin. It is relatively new and the lack of a premium upgrade catch makes this one a good plugin to test and secure your site with. Note that if you do install this, you can uninstall Login Lockdown.

    Dealing with SPAM…

    Spam can slow your site down and fill your comments area with garbage! For this I would recommend one of two plugins:

    1. Akismet

    Built in wordpress plugin. Requires you to register a WordPress account.
    https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/

    2. Anti-Spam

    Another simple and effective plugin that works really well at minimising spam.
    http://wordpress.org/plugins/anti-spam/

    Hopefully these tips will help you improve your website security.

  • The Touch Points You Can Use To Hire On Values And Build Company Culture

    The Touch Points You Can Use To Hire On Values And Build Company Culture

    Whether it has been consciously designed or not every business has its own unique culture and you can always tell what that culture is by simply spending some time inside the business.

    Regardless of any values you’ll find written on the walls or championed on the website, the truth will out.

    Culture is an atmosphere. Culture is a feeling. It cannot be hidden, and it cannot be cheated.

    Even the most inspirational cultures find themselves under constant threat. Threats from targets not being met, threats from competitors, threats from growth. Yes, growth is a serious threat to any culture, for it often leads to new people entering the workplace.

    With new people, come new dynamics and consequently new challenges.

    So how do we navigate the risks involved with bringing new people into your business?

    Whilst CVs have proven themselves to be ideal for understanding a candidate’s experience and skills, embellishments aside, they offer little insight in terms of what really makes a person tick.

    That’s why we have interview processes, as ultimately we are looking to answer one simple question with any new hire: can we trust them?

    Trust them to deliver, to fit in, to add value, to take the business forward.

    Most people wouldn’t get married to someone after the first date, so how do we establish enough trust to make a decision to hire?

    Today, most businesses try to adopt a ‘hire slowly, fire fast’ approach to recruitment, getting to know candidates better before making a decision, yet so much of our hiring processes are built to establish reliability, not trust.

    And even the ‘fire fast’ aspect can create some accountability problems for a business. Imagine for a moment that you were unable to fire at all. What would your recruitment process look like as a result?

    It may sound crazy but Next Jump has adopted such an approach. A job for life. Their attitude to hiring can be found on their culture page which simply states: “We don’t hire employees; we adopt family members. We don’t fire… we coach.”

    Whilst this approach may not suit everyone, there is much to learn from their approach to hiring and talent development and it all starts with values.

    Just as culture eats strategy for breakfast, values trump performance. Values are the currency of trust.

    So, why values? Taking the literal meaning, values are “principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgement of what is important in life”. Sounds pretty simple, right? So all we need to do is ask people what their values are and we will know if they are a fit for our business or not… not quite.

    Values only manifest themselves in our behaviours, which in turn determine the actions we take and the results we achieve.

    This is true not just in business, but in life.

    What do values come from?

    So, how are values formed? Our experiences in life inform our beliefs, which in turn shape our values.  Once established our values rarely change and provide us with an operating framework, guiding all of what we do. It is for this reason values are critical to the success or failure of any new hire.

    Just as culture eats strategy for breakfast, values trump performance. Values are the currency of trust.

    So how do you hire to values? The law of attraction will play a big part in this process, so try not to make your company, or a role within it, appealing to everyone or chances are you will fail to attract the people you really want.

    Start with a wish list, but along with skills and experience spend equal time thinking about ideal personality type and behaviours.

    What characteristics are you not willing to compromise on?

    Consider every point of engagement as a potential filter to eliminate those who do not match your wish list.

    Once you know the type of person you want you’ll need to create a job description, but don’t limit that description to tasks. Take the opportunity to convey the experience of working in your business. What does an average day in your company really feel like?

    Every touchpoint with a candidate is an opportunity to demonstrate your culture and express what makes your business unique. Think about how you want your dream candidate to feel when they read the job description – you never get a second chance at a first impression.

    Equally, consider every point of engagement as a potential filter to eliminate those who do not match your wish list. Don’t be afraid of putting people off. The more unsuitable candidates you can eliminate at this stage; the more time you can spend getting to know those who do possess the qualities you are looking for.

    Crafting interview questions

    Next, you’ll need to think about your interview process and technique. I would suggest always setting some form of challenge to respond to. This can be something relatively simple that’s designed to test a candidate’s attention to detail or you can ask them to prepare a short presentation to gain the first-hand experience of their approach to problem-solving.

    The way we approach one problem is typically representative of how we approach all problems, so this exercise can be very insightful. You should also look to include focused, open-ended interview questions to encourage storytelling, whilst mixing things up with the occasional high leverage question to gain insight into how they see themselves.

    Storytelling questions such as ‘tell me about a time you did x or y’ can be related directly to your company values and will encourage candidates to draw from real-life experiences. High leverage questions are designed to provide maximum insight with minimum effort and again can be linked to your values.

    Storytelling questions can be related directly to your company values and will encourage candidates to draw from real-life experiences.

    A great example of a high leverage question comes from The Luck Factor by Dr Richard Wiseman, which argues that people who see themselves as lucky are generally happier and easier to work with than those who don’t. The question, in this case, would be: ‘how lucky are you on a scale of naught to 10?’

    You should also include questions designed to see beyond a candidate’s response to the role on offer. Asking them about what their ideal job would be can expose hidden skills and talents which your company may later benefit from.

    Finally, think about how you accept a successful candidate into your business. Acceptance is another opportunity to make a lasting impression, so make it memorable.

    Also, be sure to say no to those candidates who are unsuccessful.

    Not only will they value hearing from you, but your brand reputation will get a boost from treating every candidate like a human being.

    Of course, the process doesn’t stop at saying ‘yes’ – in reality, that is just the beginning. Your induction process needs just as much thought and attention as your selection process.

  • The Importance Of Instagram Videos And How To Use Them For Your Business

    The Importance Of Instagram Videos And How To Use Them For Your Business

    Are you wondering how to set up Instagram videos and how you can make your business more visible?

    Are you wondering how to make images and videos work for your business? Then let me tell you the importance of Instagram videos and how to use them for your business.

    Instagram is not only for those in the food or fashion industry; it is for all businesses big or small.

    It is one of the many social networking platforms that you could use for your business to take pictures and videos then share them on Instagram or other social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and the likes. Learn more about this social platform and you will see the importance of videos marketing and how to include it into your marketing strategy.

    Instagram is centered on visual content where users can edit or post photos and short videos of up to 15 seconds but no text updates like what is commonly used in Facebook or Twitter.

    How to Create an Instagram Account

    Before you sign up for an account, you need to download the app to your mobile device since Instagram is a mobile-only app. It is a free app and can be found in both Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. There are two ways of signing up; one is by connecting through Facebook and your personal information is automatically gathered by Instagram which includes the email you used for Facebook and your profile picture. And the second is by putting in your email address which is preferred by some to keep personal and business information separate.

    Just like most social networking platforms, you would have the option to edit your profile information and the likes. But in this article, we will focus on making Instagram videos and how to use them for your business.

    The first thing you need to know is how to navigate the app. It is pretty simple since at the bottom of the app are the five buttons where you need to go, and these are the Home tab, Search tab, a Camera button, an Activity tab and, of course, your Profile tab.

    How to Create an Instagram Content

    As I mentioned earlier, Instagram is all about photos or videos. Just tap on the camera button and it will ask you if you want to take a new photo or a new video, or simply select something from your phone’s gallery. After you tap on the next button, you can already start editing your photos or your video.

    The next tab is for the Filters, Lux, and Tools. Filters are where you can scroll through photo filters that are available to you and help you to change the colors of your images, making them more attractive. Clicking on the desired filter will automatically change your photo, so it is easier to choose the right one. When you tap on the name of the filter, it will show you a slider to adjust its transparency. This is how the #nofilter came to be because it shows your true photo without being enhanced by Instagram filters.

    The Lux will adjust the sharpness or exposure of your photos. The Tools section, however, has several options like Brightness, Contrast, Saturation and Highlights which are all self-explanatory. And there is an Adjust feature which straightens or rotates your images. Vignette will darken your photo’s edges and Tilt Shift will blur the outside of the images.

    Instagram videos are a bit similar to the options for your images but with slight differences like instead of 3 options, Instagram videos have 4 options.  The first option is still about adding Filters. Second is how the video will fit on the screen. Third is choosing a cover frame. And fourth is all about the audio if you want to mute it or not.

    Now, why is learning to put an Instagram video so important for your business? Because of the ways you can interact with your target audience and your subscribers:

    #1 Instagram Direct – lets users interact privately. Just go to Instagram’s homepage, that’s where you can find Instagram Direct. It lets you send a photo/video which you upload from your gallery. And if you want to send a message instead, you can choose the Send Message option, and you will be taken to a chat screen where you can type your message.

    #2 Mentions – just like in Twitter, Instagram lets you @MentionSomeoneHere which can call the attention of whomever you “mention” on your Instagram post.

    #3 People Tagging – just like in Facebook, Instagram allows users to “Tag” a certain photo or video to widen the scope of your image or Instagram video.

    #4 Liking Photos or Instagram Videos – is the simplest way to connect with someone in Instagram. But instead of the “thumbs up” sign of Facebook, Instagram has a “heart” symbol to show you like the photo or the Instagram videos you’ve come across with.

    #5 Instagram Comments – lets you comment on photos and videos via a simple tap on the comment button which will take you to a text box where you can type your message, then hitting the Send button will complete the Instagram comment.

    #6 Hashtags – lets other users find your #Instagram content like what’s being used in Twitter and Facebook already. These #hashtags let you check out the competition or those on a similar niche as your brand.

    #7 Photo Locations – allow users to add their location which will automatically map out where you’ve been and generate local followers and of course gain additional interaction. You can also see nearby locations which could attract more customers.

    How to Advertise on Instagram

    Another way that you can use Instagram for your business is through advertising which will appear on the users’ home feeds. Advertising on Instagram can be done with Photo Ads, which allows you to posts photos. But since it is used in advertising, there is an added option to “Learn More” about the “Sponsored Label” found in the photo.

    Instagram videos can also be used as Video Ads which is similar to the Photo Ads since it has the “Learn More” button and shows the “Sponsored Label”. The difference between a standard Video post and an Instagram Video Ad is that the Video Ad has now a 60 seconds length, while your usual video post is only 15 seconds long.

    If you want to use multiple photos, you can use Carousel Ads where users can swipe through the photos and see more of what you are trying to advertise.

    Creating an Instagram content could be challenging at times, but your photo or your Instagram videos can reach a wide array of your targeted audience which is great for any business or brands. It allows you to share a visual story which could get your subscribers wanting more. Instagram can showcase your creativity which can lure your target audience to your business.

    Instagram could give your business that much needed boost because with these photos and Instagram videos, you can disseminate information about ongoing events and promotions. Or even embed these Instagram posts on your website to show your followers and subscribers that your brand or business has an Instagram account, and they are more likely to follow you there too.

    Do remember that links do not work on Instagram. It will only work on your profile, so no use of putting it in the captions or photo comments. Instead add a note on the Instagram video captions or on the photo comments that the website link can be found on your profile. This can help your audience to a specific webpage.

    Wrapping it Up

    After creating an Instagram account, be sure to learn how to fully navigate it properly so that you can abuse the full potential of Instagram and how it can help your business. Use Instagram Direct, Mentions and People Tagging to maximize the reach of your photos and Instagram Videos. Be constant in liking photos or videos to interact with your audience.

    Links don’t work in Instagram comments or captions, and best to put it in your profile instead. Use #hashtags and steer clear of the 30 hashtags allowable in Instagram. Keep it to a minimum. Don’t be a hashtag abuser.

    Make use of the photo locations options to entice local subscribers to your brand or business.

    If you’ve got the resources, then delve into the world of Instagram advertising and explore even more possibilities to broaden your reach.

    Use other social networking platforms to share your photos and Instagram videos. Use automation if you have and if you can. Be diligent in sharing; schedule it if you know how. Hope you’ve seen the importance of Instagram videos and how to use them for your business.

  • Top 6 Social Listening Tools To Use Today

    Top 6 Social Listening Tools To Use Today

    Social media platforms are at the forefront of communications, and where most of the leads are being generated.

    Whenever a small business or enterprise uses social media promotion, it is important for them to be armed with the most sophisticated social media listening services at their fingertips. SearchTarget defines social media listening, as the process of identifying and assessing what is being said about a company, individual, product or brand on the web.

    Top Social Media Monitoring Tools at Your Disposal

    Trying to collect these conversations from each channel is one time-consuming task, and that’s where social media monitoring tools come in. Here are the top six tools that will take your social listening to a whole new level.

    #1. SentiOne

     SentiOne is a user-friendly and effective social media monitoring resource. Not only does it keep tabs on good your brand management and mentions are, but you can interact in real-time with your audience.

    The tool is available in 24 languages, and includes key features from the 12 types of social media listeners. In addition, its capabilities for online reputation management provide comprehensive analytics which can be used to further understand what works, what doesn’t, why, and spot user behavior, patterns, and future trends. Here is the main problem of today’s Social Web: many brands are still passive.

    If you, as a consumer, have an urgent need, and wish to reach out to your favorite brand, you do it with the mindset that this present need will not be met right away. In a way, the consumer loses hope of getting an instant response even before sending a message, because most of the times, there is no real-time engagement.

    If you use the Facebook search graph to identify the pages of your favorite brands in your country, for example, most brand pages will display a response rate of under 75%, and “likely to respond in within a day”.  By offering a real-time engagement solution, tools such as SentiOne manage to create a space of connection for brands and consumers.

    This helps enterprises in staying connected with their audiences independent of region, country, industry – which is the basis of a functional, healthy community.

    #2. Sprout Social

     Sprout Social is another easy-to-use tool. You have important functions like integrated analytics.

    The ability to schedule and queue posts from the different social networks enables users to really target their message, and save time in the process.

    What could be added down the road to the software is being able to get a consolidated report.

    #3. Falcon.io

     When coordinating multiple teams (marketing, local marketing group, dealerships and supporting agencies), Falcon.io makes collaboration simple and ensures a consistent brand message.

    It means the incorporated functionality allows the targeting of their messages to be similar across different locations.

    #4. Oktopost

     The social media monitoring tool options from Oktopost offer in-depth reporting. It is a fantastic data-driven marketing software since you can track conversions dollar-for-dollar. No need for previous experience, or a dedicated social media person or team.

    What some users have reported missing is the integrated customer service function within the tool. But the tool offers plenty of advantages in terms of ROI. This article explains more.

    #5. Hootsuite

     Hootsuite has been around for many years. The software allows you to monitor keywords, manage multiple social media accounts and schedule posts.

    You can view all your social networks within a single place. Aside from the comprehensive functionality and reporting, the cost compared to the rest of the competition makes one wonder why it is not more affordable.

    One issue to look out for though is the scheduling part: if not setup accordingly, you can wake up one morning to find your Twitter filled with “monologues” of text without any actual links or images. Happened to many!

    #6. AgoraPulse

     The AgoraPulse tool can be characterized as a social media marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) suite.

    A lot of ease in scheduling, managing, and publishing posts across different social media platforms.

    The only functionality to be addressed is you cannot group social media channels per brand along with the scheduled publications in a brand group.

    Social Media Care and The Importance of Social Media Monitoring

    The use of social media care, social media customer service, is the process of answering questions from users about your products and services in a specific time frame.

    According to Socialbakers, “Using social listening to generate leads means tracking conversation around your own company and your competition in order to discover interested prospects.” Another important aspect is it allows businesses and organizations to leverage their online reputation.

    Answering within a reasonable time frame to posts by users shows the brand is listening and makes interactions more meaningful since you are responding to concerns.

    Valuable Takeaways

    Compiling these top social listening tools was the result of examining reviews and references via G2Crowd. All these tools stood out from tens of apps and software solutions available worldwide, each offering unique features to their respective markets.

    Beyond social media listening, it is clear just how much of an impact social media marketing has on our daily lives. Not just as brands, but also as consumers.

    Brands can no longer rely solely on pushing sales pitches. It’s time to upgrade: they must resort on effective story-telling, and addressing questions from potential customers.

    Just like Gary Vee said in one of his LinkedIn video stories, discussing why ToysRUs disappeared, “If you don’t upgrade, you die” – a bit harsh, but it’s the truth. If you’re not following the consumers and their path, you won’t ever meet them halfway.

  • Google My Business: The Hows and Whys of Getting Your Business Listed

    Google My Business: The Hows and Whys of Getting Your Business Listed

    If you’re like me and you have a WordPress website that promotes your business or service, then you’ll always be on the lookout for new ways to get targeted visitors to your site. In this article are going to look at one such way and that is Google My Business.

    For anyone promoting themselves and their services online, there has never been a better time to be doing so than now. With so many different channels available that can send potential clients and customers your way, the hardest part of generating traffic today can be choosing which method to implement next.

    While focusing on SEO and ensuring you’ve done all you can to increase the visibility of your website in the search engines should be your first priority, after that, you’re spoilt for choice.

    From paid advertising, content marketing, guest posting, social media marketing, and a whole host of other options, there’s always something new to try. I would recommend though to hire a professional company for SEO services since SEO is much more complex these days.

    However, most of those channels for generating more traffic are ongoing and that means your work is never done. Nevertheless, there is another way you can attract more visitors to your site that you might’ve overlooked. That is adding your website to Google’s recently launched My Business service and it’s something you can do today, and then check off your list.

    In this article, we’ll explain the purpose of My Business and how it ties into Google’s new strategy. We’ll also walk you through the process of getting set up on Google My Business. This will help you to start getting more targeted traffic to your website and increase the number of ways you can be found online.

    As well as this being something you can implement for your business website, it’s also another value-adding service you could offer your clients. So let’s get started and find out how to get featured on Google My Business.

    What is Google My Business?

    How your website and listing could look across Google

    From the mouth of Google, My Business enables you to connect directly with your customers. Due to the unparalleled reach of Google and their services, plugging into the My Business network means your customers and clients can now find you more easily through Search and Maps.

    Google My Business doesn’t just serve traditional businesses with a storefront. You can also sign up and instead of listing your business address, add the area you serve or just details of your brand.

    We all know the importance of being ranked prominently in the Google search engine. It’s by far the most popular search engine out there today. Depending on who you ask Google has between 70% and 89% of the global search engine market share – something that isn’t predicted to decline anytime soon.

    However, when it comes to getting noticed in the search engine results pages (SERPS) there’s more to just working on your search engine optimization and aiming for a top spot in the regular results. As we’ll now see, by signing up with Google My Business, there are more ways to be found and connect with your target audience than ever before.

    What Happened to Google Places?

    My Business is the replacement service for Google Places for Business. It’s a key part of their attempt to simplify the process of harnessing the power of the Google suite of tools to get more traffic to your business. This means that Google Ads, Insights, Maps and Search are all closely tied into My Business, making it easier to use and more powerful than its predecessor.

    Benefits of Being on Google My Business

    Right, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of engaging with My Business in order to get a better sense of what this Google service has to offer you.

    Better Search Visibility

    Stand out in the SERPS

    Ever wondered why some businesses you search for are featured in a high-visibility panel that lists their information, right next to the regular search engine results? This isn’t anything to do with paying Google through their PPC Ads service. Instead, it’s a result of being on My Business.

    Once you’ve been included in the service, your most important info will be on display right away, with the rest of your content only a click away from those searching for you. You’ll still be listed in the regular search engine results, but now you’ll also take over the right-hand column, giving you even more exposure.

    Put Your Business on the Map

    While no longer being the world’s most popular smartphone app, Google Maps is still accessed on over half of all smartphones in the US as of July 2019. Apple is making great strides with its own mapping app, but there’s no doubt about the current popularity of Google Maps.

    Therefore, it’s vital that your business – or those of your clients – is listed on the Google Maps platform.

    Google My Business gives you an easy way to verify your business and get it added to Google Maps. Now your customers and clients can find their way to you much more easily. They’ll also be able to view information about your business and check out your ratings and reviews.

    Display More Useful Information

    Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to complete the integration process, useful information about your business will be readily displayed on Search and Maps.

    This business information can include a description of your business; hours of operation; directions; busy periods; and the all-important call now button which are displayed for mobile users.

    Google My Business is fully mobile responsive

    As Google is fully committed to the mobile revolution, your listings will be as easy to access on smartphones and tablets as they are on notebooks and desktops. Your audience will see the same information as they switch devices, delivering a consistent user experience before they even get to your website.

    Another Chanel of Communication

    By creating a My Business profile, you’ll be opening up another new interactive channel of communication with your target audience and existing clients and customers.

    Easily update your listing from anywhere

    How to Get on Google My Business

    Ok, so now that you’re convinced of the need and benefits of being on My Business, let’s look at what you have to do to join the party.

    Sign Up

    Firstly, you’ll need a Google account. If you’re already using a service like Gmail then you should be good to go, if not sign up here.

    Choose Your Listing Type

    Choose the right type of listing for your business

    If your business has physical premises or a storefront, then choosing this listing type this is the best option. But what if you’re an online-only business or operate from a home address? Alternatively, perhaps you serve your local area, but just don’t work from a standard location and instead go and visit your clients and customers. In these cases, you can use the service area or brand options.

    Add your business details

    Whether you want to create your listing with a storefront location or just a service area, you will need to create a business listing first. Once you’ve added your business you can then choose not to display your physical address if that information doesn’t need to be made public.

    Do you operate remotely?

    If you don’t want to display your business address, you can instead enter the area you serve. To prevent your listings from publically displaying your business address, check the box that states that you deliver goods and services to your customers at their location. Then uncheck the box that states you also serve customers at your business address.

    Set the area your business serves

    The service area is a flexible feature of Google My Business. It allows you to enter whole cities and zip codes that you serve, or set a custom radius from your business location.

    Once you’ve completed those steps you will need to verify your business listing to prove your address. Depending on your business type, this usually takes place by mail verification.

    While you are waiting for your postcard from Google, you can get started on setting up your business page. This gives you an opportunity to build out your profile and add your contact information, hours of operation, and upload a selection of photos.

    Make any necessary changes

    Thanks to the new integration features of My Business, through the dashboard you can start promoting your listings with AdWords Express right away. You can use the pay per click service to ensure you listing shows up in more places than it would otherwise. However, this isn’t essential, as by simply having a listing, you’ve already created a new way for your target audience to find you.

    Drive traffic with easy AdWords integration

    Once your account has been verified, you can find out how often your listing has been viewed through the Insights tool. As a verified account holder, you can also read and respond to reviews left for your business.

    Creating a Brand Page

    If you don’t have a physical location that you want to publish and you don’t need to enter a specific area that you serve, the best listing type for you is a brand page.

    When creating a brand page you can get started by entering your details, before verifying your account. You get a few different options for verifying your account, with the default choice being by SMS or a call to your phone.

     

    Create a brand page instead

    Once you’re, in you can create your brand page and start populating your profile with information about your brand and the services you offer.

    View your brand page

    Managing Your Google My Business Listing

    After creating your My Business profile, you have plenty of options for managing your listing. You can do this through the My Business online dashboard, on either your desktop or mobile device. Alternatively, you can download the apps for Android and iOS devices.

    Get the mobile app for management on the go

    These mobile apps make it easy to stay up to date with and respond to customer reviews; update your business details, such as a last-minute change in opening hours; upload photos straight to your listing, and view the Insight visitor analytics data.

    If you are on the go and need to respond to customer queries, feedback, and reviews in near real-time, these apps and their notifications can really help you out.

    Integration with WordPress

    There are a few plugins out there for integrating your Google My Business listing with your WordPress website. However, the best of the bunch seems to be the freemium Google Places Reviews plugin.

    Google Places Reviews plugin

    This plugin gives you the ability to display reviews that have been left on your Google My Business listing in the sidebar and other widgetized areas of your website. You can also embed these reviews into your posts, pages, and other content by using the included shortcodes.

    While the free plugin does get the job done, if you want the ability to filter the reviews that are displayed on your site by their star rating, then you will need to upgrade to the pro version. This commercial version of Google Places Reviews is available from $37.

    By using a plugin like Google Places Reviews, you not only get an easy way to add some social proof and credibility in the form of customer reviews, but it also adds an easily accessible link to your Google My Business listing.

    Following this link gives your visitors a quick and straightforward way to view your listing and location on Google Maps – if you’ve set one in your profile. To really make your listing stand out amongst the competition, you will need to acquire as many positive reviews as possible. Any method that gives you an easy way to send visitors to your Google profile page is welcome.

    Final Thoughts

    Hopefully, you can now see the benefits of engaging with this recently updated service from Google. Getting on board with My Business gives you more opportunities to be found, connect with your audience, and send more targeted traffic to your website or offline premises.

    It’s a free service from a market leader and it’s very easy to setup. What more could you ask for?