AdSplash~Marketing For Women In Business!

Secrets To Market Your Small Business On Facebook

2012-08-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

Small Business Marketing on Facebook

So, you wanna get your Facebook page recognized to increase your small business marketing? Well there are a 5 critical secrets to market your small business on Facebook.

EdgerankChecker

1. There are many insights we can get from our Facebook usage. Edgerankchecker.com offers a free service that can tell you what are the best days your post get the most activity, what days do not get the most activity. Edgerank will also tell you the days you get more fans as opposed to other days when you do not.

This valuable service allows for you to use this data to further cater your post, and Facebook ads accordingly.

Facebook Ads

2. There has been many articles that suggest that using Facebook ads do not help to grow your Facebook fan base. I have seen my page grow over 100% with using the right type of Facebook ad while targeting my core audience. There is a right way to use Facebook ads to grow your small business and there are wrong ways to use Facebook ads.

There are 2 major points in creating a successful Facebook Ad.

You must have a unique strong headline.
The photo you choose must be something everyone can relate to...here's a hint DO NOT USE YOUR LOGO UNLESS YOU ARE A WELL KNOWN BRAND!

Videos

3. Videos should be used as much as possible to grow your engagement. Facebook's algorithm ranks video's first, photos second, and link's third as far as what it chooses to show in its news feed.

The more you include the post that Facebook likes, the higher your chance of your post being shown in the news feed.

Engagement

4. Adage.com reports that only 1% of fans engage with a brand. So if your wondering why you do not see much engagement it is because only 1% are doing the engaging. Do not be discouraged, the more favorable content you give to your audience the more they will eat it up.

Time

5. It takes time to build a worthy Facebook page. Sure, you can buy Likes and have millions of fans, but the question is are they going to convert to a sale? It is the same as inviting all of your friends and family to Like your Facebook page. They probably do not have an interest in your business, the majority of them most likely do not. So building your fan page with uninterested people over time will not add value to your page, it will only increase the number of Likes.

These are Secrets I have found that really have helped me grow my Facebook page in about a week and create more engagement.

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3 Steps To Handling Unsupportive People

2012-08-01T10:52:00.001-07:00

3 Steps To Handling Unsupportive People

Unsupportive people can come in all titles of your life. They can be mothers, sisters, fathers, children, even spouses. My personal unsupportive person was my ex-husband. As you can see he is now an ex! While I'm not suggesting that any person who does not support your dreams and goals should be kicked to the curb, I am suggesting that you have a right to choose who you allow in your space to give you advice and criticism.

When your starting a business or a new venture, its tough enough just to muster up enough courage to begin, the last thing you need are naysayers who have no real idea on what you're doing, what's motivating you and how you have researched and planned this whole thing out. Inspirational speaker, Iyanla Vanzant says "we have 2 primary emotions, love and fear." Actions of unsupportive people are operating out of fear. Bottom line if we can see that they are afraid for us or our success it helps to understand where the unsupport comes from.

First Step-Understanding the fear

As I mentioned before there are 2 primary emotions love and fear. Someone who is unsupportive of a dream or goal is typically operating out of some form of fear. Whether it be fear of seeing you fail, fear of watching you succeed, or fear of loosing you. Many types of fear may arise as you grow your business or dream. Understanding what the root of the fear is and addressing it with them will help both of you keep a loving relationship and help them understand where you are and become more supportive in your life.

Second Step-Talking It Out
Many times relatives, friends or even spouses, may not understand what exactly it is you are doing and that lack of understanding makes them go into a place of unsupport. Talking it out with them and understanding where they are will help them to feel more connected in your journey and be the cheer team we all love and need. After all, starting a business or going after a big dream is a huge deal and we ALL need as much support as possible.

Third Step-Backing Away
As in many things, we need to know when to let it go. Some people do not deserve the right to comment on the validity of your dreams. And as you are perusing your dreams, negative people have absolutely no place in where you are going. People whom you have little to no connection to and don't play a major role in your life need to be treated as such, always with respect but with strict boundaries.

We will come up against many obstacles as we maneuver towards our life goals. Having unsupportive people in our lives constantly making us feel bad, or insane for going after our dreams, can severely damage how you see yourself and your vision. Your vision needs to be consistently feed healthy, positive encouragement to continue on the journey. Be open to constructive criticism but be cautious as to who has your best interest at heart.

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Women In Business Make It Possible!

2012-07-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Attention we are changing our focus here at AdSplash. We are shifting from stories of all types of business to, well..women in business. Why you ask? Well, this is what I know best! Im a mompreneur, recently divorced, mother of 2 girls, one who has special needs and my education in is Marketing and advertising. I've even invented a baby product, which is getting quite some buzz I might add. So this blog will now on focus on the wonderful creatures called women.

Our first quick little article is a success story! What better way to get you motivated about your business, but to hear someone who has done it! Lets begin.

First I'll tell you right away this is my story. I'll make it short and sweet cause I know you have plenty to do.
My oldest daughter was teething and she kept dropping her teether EVERYWHERE! It was completely annoying( yeah I know you aren't supposed to say that about your child...but anywho). She would be cranky and pooping all unhappy while teething and drop her teether, because most teether's aren't very child friendly as far as holding them goes. So one day I had a thought...what if it was on her wrist. I hand made her a teether and she loved it...4 years later we have TeetherTops™, A wrist teether with interchangeable toys!

It took months and years of testing and researching to get the right sized product, to create the best characters, to find a manufacturer, to get a patent, to create the best marketing plan. But we are finally here and I have pre-orders and I'm slowly beginning to release content about the product. I feel like a success already because I have so many people who are interested in the product..
So baby industry here we come!

My newest adventure, The Curinton Group a creative boutique ad agency is something that I have always been involved in, so to speak. As a singer and songwriter living in NYC, I would help my fellow up and coming artist design covers for their albums and photo shoot sessions. I later went back to school for marketing and advertising, because I found that I was quite good at it and wanted to refine my skills.
I will say this is a success because well...we have clients and we are growing.

Stay tuned for even better women in business articles to help grow your business!

3 Myths of Marketing for Small Business

2012-07-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Small Business Marketing That Works!

Many small businesses don't understand the task at hand when it comes to marketing correctly. If the large companies are spending millions to keep their brands in front of you then marketing must mean a whole lot! Does that mean it takes millions? Absolutely NOT!

The Myths:

Its going to take boat loads of money! While it does take some money for marketing and advertising. It doesn't take as much as you think. To be able to sustain yourself in business you have to have some start-up capital. There are many DIY (Do It Yourself) ways to market and advertise that cut cost without cutting corners. More on that below.
I Need to be a marketing genius! Well not exactly...marketing know how is a must but there are many small firms that work specifically with small businesses. Also, the internet is a great way to find information, piecing it together is the challenge.
Internet Marketing is enough, OR offline marketing is enough! Any one of these in any order at any time of day, is FALSE! I can not stress this enough. I come across so many small businesses that do not have a web presence or a social media presence its unbelievable. I also see many businesses online who think all they need to do is have a fabulous online presence. Unless you a internet marketer, then there is more you need to do offline.

These common myths that taunt small business owners don't have to be debilitating because there are actions you can take.

The Facts:

Money: Yes you need start-up capital and working capital but it doesn't have to be boat loads. What I mean by that is you can DIY. Create press releases that showcase your specials and deals. You can even create video press releases which are even better. PRlog.org offers a free service to help do both. Visuals such as pictures and videos are always more friendlier to search engines than just text and next on that list would be links. On your Facebook page create pictures that showcase your deals and specials, Facebook LOVES pictures and video! Save the more detailed and difficult jobs for that affordable small business marketing firm.
Social Media: So many small businesses misuse social media for their business. Get a Facebook business page aside from your personal page. Make it snazzy where people have cool and interesting things to look at. Also remember, social media is social, not sales. Do not be the business that everyone runs away from because you are constantly selling them. You may need to hire a social media expert in this case. Social media provides a low cost way to create brand awareness for your target market, if done right.
Offline Efforts: First make sure you are consistently branding all your collateral (brochures, visual aids, web content, etc). Every piece needs to communicate your brand message, who you are and what you are about. This builds brand awareness and creates trust and also builds a relationship with your audience. People buy from brands they know, like and trust, so always keep that in mind in whatever marketing effort or piece you create. Printed and digital branded material does not have to be expensive, if you trust yourself enough to create the right message, you will only need to hire a graphic designer for your pieces. Doing so will greatly reduce your expenses.

Bottom line good marketing can be done for virtually free, better marketing needs a budget. Its worth your efforts to spend a little more to save your business in the end.

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Create Social Media Magic for Your Business!

2012-07-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Create Social Media Success for Your Business!

Knowing what to do to successfully advertise your small business online can be hard to figure out when you do not have a million dollar budget. This video helps small businesses understand what they need to do in order to market online and gives examples of what the big companies are doing to create success for their businesses.

After the video go to Facebook to comment and make sure you click "Like" to get more FREE advertising tips! Also follow us on Twitter for instant updates.

3 Small Business Survival Tips

2012-06-18T12:09:00.001-07:00

Talking with so many small businesses I see where they are so far out of the loop of whats happening in the business world these days. So, I felt the need to cover 3 basics tips that every business needs in order to survive.

#1 Website

You MUST have a website! There is no way around it, no negotiations, no if ands or buts about it. You need to have a way for your potential clients to get a snapshot of what you do and how you can solve their problem. If you do not have a website, you are missing tons of opportunities to get in front of people who are looking for your service or product. If I come across one more small business who claims they are serious with no website I think I may lose it!

#2 Social Media

Lets put it this way, if Cisco, a company that sells networking equipment has a very active twitter and Facebook page your business should too! Every smart business has a Facebook page and is involved in social media some how. Its like word of mouth on crack. You cannot afford to not be involved in social media. It puts you in front of so many people you would otherwise have no contact with. It is said that there are 901 million Facebook users and almost 500 million users of Twitter. This is a ginormous amount of prospects you can out yourself in front of...FOR FREE! In the words of Woody from Toy Story, "if you don't have one...GET ONE!"

#3 A Plan

Yes, I know we all want to just focus on the fun part of business, designing, or creating, or meeting people. But the truth is, if we do not have a plan we are aimlessly wondering about with no purpose, and everything we do MUST have a purpose. Its just like my days as a singer and actress. There is nothing that goes on a stage or television or in an act that isn't purposefully planned out and strategical. Settings goals and planning keeps us focused and moving with intention is our business.

These are some must have small business basics, that if you are well into your business you may not find useful. But for the startups, these are essential to growing.

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3 Small Business Advertising Tips To Skyrocket Sales!

2012-06-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Small business owners struggle everyday with knowing where to spend their advertising dollars. We are constantly asking ourselves, which media outlets will give the best ROI (return on investment)? How do I standout in a completely saturated market? These are all great questions, but many times as small businesses we cannot afford to get the right answers. Meaning, companies who are standing out are paying top dollar for that type of information.

To keep the Out of Business sign off your doors here are 3 top advertising strategies that large companies use to stand out amongst their competition.

1.   Create a conversation- there are so many companies for consumers to choose from; what will make you stand out above the rest? Create a dialogue. Gone are the days where you state your service, provide a coupon and get the sale. Large companies pay big bucks to advertising firms to keep constant creative dialogue. This will make your potential customers feel like they know you and have a relationship with your brand.

2.  Use social media to direct this conversation. Social media is a great digital outlet to allow customers to connect with you and your brand and also an opportunity for you to connect with your customers. It also gives you an excellent opening to see what your customers like and dislike about your service or product…for FREE!

3.   If you want to spend marketing dollars on printing fliers, a sure way to get them ignored is to make the customer feel like they are being sold to. Instead, make the flier creative, and engaging, comedy is always a great tool to use to get attention and hold interest. For example a plumber could advertise-Acme Plumbing- "Happy Pipes, Happy Wife!", with a picture describing the entire scenario. This will engage your readers, make them chuckle and remember your company!

Bottom line, consumers have become immune to ads. They throw out any message they perceive as a sales pitch. They click “close” the moment the banner ad flies across their screen. Consumers have shark’s sense when it comes to being sold to; they will turn it down almost every time. So be creative with your ads, and create a dialogue of engaging conversations with your audience, they will appreciate it and you’ll see sales begin to rise.

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