Kutztown University SBDC Blog

Meet The Interns

2015-12-10T08:40:00.001-05:00

Justine Ebbert:

During the Fall Semester of 2015, I have been interning at the Kutztown University Small Business Development Center. My responsibilities include managing all the social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest while also assisting with the marketing portion of client consultation reports and recommendations. In addition, I am enrolled in four class towards my B.S. in Business Administration: Marketing with a minor in Spanish and a member of the University’s Track & Field Team. Being a student-athlete balancing class, practice, and this internship has helped me develop my time-management skills even further. Working along side with grad assistants and professionals to meet deadlines and help our clients has been a rewarding experience.

Marissa Fazekas:

These past four months of interning with the KU Small Business Development Center have gone quicker than I had expected. The opportunity I was given here to be an HR intern is one that I will forever be thankful that I had taken. I was able to be in the business environment and gain experiences that cannot be found in a classroom. I formed business and client relationships, experienced the professional environment, and I was influenced by business communication. As there are many Small Business Development Centers in Pennsylvania I was able to communicate and interact with business consultants through telecommuting and email. The clients that I had worked with alongside a consultant had confirmed my interest in being in a business career. There is nothing more rewarding than watching an individual make their dreams happen. To be an intern means you are willing to learn and to bring a sense of creativity into the environment. From research to job analysis to job descriptions, I was able to bring HR into the Small Business Development Center.

I will be graduating in the Spring of 2016 with my undergraduate degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Following that I will be attending graduate school for Organizational Development and Leadership. The experiences I’ve had here at the Small Business Development Center will carry along throughout my life.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-fazekas-91b886101

Blog post by Marissa L. Fazekas

Small Business: The Implementation of Rewards and Recognition

2015-10-22T12:08:00.003-04:00

As a small business owner you may also find yourself being the head supervisor of your employees. Regardless of the type of product or service that you produce, you have individuals dedicating their time towards making your business successful. When business owners and employees consider the topic of rewards, they instantly assume that they come in the form of bonuses and raises in pay. In fact, many will be surprised that employees often appreciate other types of rewards.

Rewarding employees and motivating their performance in your business does not have to cost you a large amount of money. You will be surprised to learn that most employees prefer different types of recognition. It is important to remember that deciding upon employee rewards and recognition will not be an easy task as you choose what is best individually and collectively. But the overall goal of your rewards program is to maintain organizational commitment and culture that promotes appreciation for the work that the employees do.

This post will hopefully help you begin your own business rewards and recognition program.

1. Identify what work behavior you want to recognize.

Are you showing appreciation for their job performance, attendance, and innovative ideas? This is the beginning of the process. Has the specific employee excelled in sales, team work, or leadership? You need to establish what it is that you want to reward to develop the core of the program.

2. Introduce the recognition program.

Your idea for this program may sound great to both yourself and other managers, but if your employees do not feel the same you will not have a successful program. Without the employees support of the program, you’re bound to see a decrease in commitment and lower performance. This is the time where you take your ideas and communicate with your employees to see what would motivate them. Together you can combine ideas to develop the best rewards.

3. Alignment of rewards program and business goals.

Are you rewarding behaviors that promote the service or product of your business? Additionally, you should make sure that the rewards would be accepted in your culture. Introducing new ideas is fun, but you should make sure that the idea will fit into the organizational culture that you want to encourage.

Now that you have the plan, what are the rewards?

Recognizing the good work produced by your employees is important. People enjoy acknowledgement and gratitude for the work that they do. Following this theory, you will find that your employees are loyal to your business.

1. Praise

You can acknowledge and thank your employees by simple word of mouth, through email, or a hand written note. It may seem silly to some, but this form of recognition goes far in regards to their performance. If someone acknowledges the work you have done and appreciates it, you are more likely to keep doing what you are doing because you feel valued for it.

2. Flexibility

If an employee has demonstrated their commitment to seeing the product through in your business, giving them the flexibility of leaving early one day or changing their hours may be an option. This is the idea of family-work balance, by valuing the individual you can also respect the life aside from your business.

3. Gift cards

This option indirectly includes money, but it’s more personable. It proves to your employees that you have taken the time to get to know them and their interests. Not only are you rewarding their performance, but you are demonstrating that you care.

4. Opportunities and Responsibilities

If your employee has demonstrated success in a certain area of your business plan, see where else their talents could be used. Furthermore, you can involve them in decisions if you find them to have the knowledge required to do so. You can also think of other projects that they could lead or manage.

You can still give out those perfect attendance awards or plaques if you find that your employees appreciate that. But the best way of having organizational commitment and a motivated workforce, is to be aware of the uniqueness of each individual and how they impact the company. This rewards and recognition program has the ability to build a strong team environment, promote positive behaviors, and encourage continuous interest. The program does not have to be costly to your company. It is simply about the effort you put forth as the supervisor of your business, to appreciate the team that you have.

Written by:

Marissa L. Fazekas

Kutztown University Small Business Development Center

Small Business: The Application of Human Resources

2015-10-06T10:56:00.002-04:00

Being the owner of a small business includes the responsibility of recruiting and retaining good employees. In order to survive and be successful in your business you have to have the talent within the business to demonstrate value. When you recruit and retain talent within your business, you are securing your future as a successful business. While it may seem relatively easy to hire good individuals, retaining them is not so simple, and that is when the field of human resources becomes important. It may come surprising to some small business owners that despite the low number of employees, human resources is still an important aspect.

The Society for Human Resource Management is a knowledgeable and valuable resource for you as a small business owner. Their article “10 Tips to Help Small Businesses Avoid Costly HR Errors” is successful in touching on the core aspects that affect you in your small business. I will briefly summarize their key points but I greatly encourage that you take a look at the article and the site for the resources that are available to you.

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/businessleadership/articles/pages/hr-tips-for-small-businesses.aspx

1. “Don’t Delay Hiring Good Talent”

It is important that you have the basic hiring skills that are needed. When it comes to a small business, hiring talented individuals is a have to. In order to bring these individuals into your company you have to interview consistently. If you are unable to interview multiple individuals in one day, be sure to make your decision upon hiring the individual quickly.

2. “Evaluate Employees”

When you take the time to hire employees that demonstrate the needed talent to be effective employees in your business, you protect yourself from lawsuits. If you hire someone who is a good employee you will not find much reason to fire them. In the event that you hire employees that end up disappointing you because of lack of good evaluation, you may choose to fire them. Depending on the circumstances with firing them you may have a lawsuit on your hands if the former employee is from a protected class. The use of performance evaluations is important in order to have documentation of an employee’s performance.

3. “Get an Employee Handbook”

An employee handbook allows to policies to be stated and understood. The best employees are those who know their expectations, options, and the mission of the company.

4. “Onboard Employees Immediately”

It is important to incorporate an employee orientation so that their expectations are known and they can begin to be a successful employee for you.

5. “Give Feedback and Rewards”

Even though a business is small, it is important that you acknowledge and appreciate the employees that work for you. The motivation that your employees will have to perform their tasks will increase and you have the possibility of obtaining organizational commitment.

6. “Ditch the Paper”

Bringing about technology in your business will prove useful in making things run smoothly and effectively. Even though you may have a small amount of employees in your company, keeping track of their hours may be better recorded through an online program. A program geared toward keeping a schedule of events for the business and even the use of email will assist in organizing your business. Additionally, the applications of potential employees can be sent to you through a program.

7. “Keep Abreast of Laws and Regulations”

Make sure you are aware of what can and cannot be done in a business regarding the treatment of your employees. There are numerous laws and protections for individuals, make sure that you are never in violation of any of them.

8. “Get a Good Attorney”

A “seasonal” attorney may be needed to clear up any issues that you may come across.

9. “Mind the Compensation”

Classify the employees that you have correctly in order to prevent paying additional money for not being paid, make sure you follow the laws regarding wages.

10. “Don’t Go It Alone”

Connecting with external resources and companies may prove useful in maintaining a good human resources portion of your business.

The world of human resources is ever changing and extremely important. The 10 key concepts that SHRM has mentioned in their article are just the basics, your knowledge can extend much farther if you so choose. It is important that your business has the skills and talent that it needs, and the only way to do that is to have a hiring process that supports that. The ability to have individuals that are organizationally committed to your company will come as a result of how you treat them and the culture that you present within your small business. Remember to take advantage of the resources that are out there for you to be successful.

Written By:

Marissa Fazekas

Kutztown University Small Business Development Center

Marketing: The Key to a Successful Business

2015-03-17T12:56:00.002-04:00

Creating great products is no longer the way to obtaining successful business. New business owners often say, “My product/service will sell it’s self”, this is no longer the case. Too many businesses fail because of poor marketing.

Apple is one of the most successful technological companies in the industry. They produce what they call “High Quality” products at a “High Quality” product price. However, Apple’s competitor, Microsoft, offers products with much better “specs” than Apple products at a much lower price. How then could Apple be a competitor with an obviously “better” product from Microsoft?

This is where Apple’s genius lies. Apple focuses on what the consumer wants, rather than what the consumer needs. This gives Apple the upper class of technology feel. People want what they do not need and need what they do not want. For example, we need a car that is reliable and safe to drive, but want a car that is fast and exciting. They are both cars but one satisfies a need and the other satisfies a want.

Microsoft is the “need” company. They produce high quality products with the consumers need in mind. Therefore, it is a practical, not too fancy product that will give the consumer exactly what they need and paid for. Microsoft is a computer for productivity and “work.”

Apple is the “want” company. They produce high quality products with the consumers want in mind. Therefore, this machine is not “practical” in a sense because what the consumer really needs is a computer. But what they are getting is more of a piece of art. Apple is a computer for the creative and “fun” consumer, not the stiff business consumer.

Apple focuses on appeal; they want their consumers to feel a sense of uniqueness or prestige. Since Microsoft obviously is the dominant computer in the business world, Apple focuses on the “personal” computer. Again, they make computers that people want to buy, not computers they need to buy.

Apple’s success is purely because of the marketing genius of Steve Jobs and the rest of the marketing team at Apple. Their products were not the one’s that caused the company to market, but it was their marketing that caused their products to be made.

Produce products and services that the market wants or will want and that product or service will surely provide you with a successful return. Do your research into what market you wish to sell to and develop a product or service that will enhance that market. We are no longer in a society where products create markets; we are now in a society where markets create products.

A Scientific Guide To Writing Popular-- And Shareable-- Headlines for Twitter, Facebook and Your Blog

2014-08-13T11:04:00.000-04:00

Your company has a Facebook page as well as a Twitter account, but not much action happens on either of these websites. You might just be asking yourself, "how can I write great headlines for social networks?" Fast Company, has found a scientific guide on great headline writing for Facebook, Twitter and even your blog. When it comes to Twitter, finding the right headline for your tweet is one of the most important tasks one must do. Come up with two headlines for an article that you think will perform well. Tweet both of these headlines roughly at the same time, but at least an hour apart. Compare the data and decide which headline to settle on.

After 200,000 link containing tweets were analyzed, tweets that contain more verbs and adverbs had a higher click-through rate as compared to noun and adjective heavy tweets. Another technique that is very successful is asking for a retweet. Tweets in timelines with an "ask to retweet" increased retweets by 311%. Curious to learn what the top 20 most retweetable words are and how to improve your Facebook posts? Click here.

10 Mindsets of Successful Entrepreneurs

2014-07-30T09:26:00.000-04:00

Entrepreneurs come in all different sizes, shapes and colors. They all have a different mindset that helps contribute to their success. Perhaps this mindset has to do with their personality or the field they've chosen to work in. Here are some examples of mindsets from 10 well-known and successful entrepreneurs.

Reach out to the customer first. According to Greg Gianforte, it may seem like product development should come first, this is the wrong approach. After to moving to Montana with his family, he decided to focus on the tech sector which he had a lot of experience in. Instead of unveiling a new prototype for a product, he started by getting on the phone with potential customers. This led to conversations about what kind of product they would buy.
Find a new market for an existing product. Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records surely did not invent Rock 'n Roll, but his small Memphis label will forever be linked to its beginnings. He established this studio and record label as a way to capture the interaction of both country and blues music, which he was already familiar with as a DJ. He eventually discovered musicians such as Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Use networking to build your business. Many entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of networking, but few know actually how to do it. According to Jason Nazar, CEO of Docstock.com, he owes part of success to his networking efforts. He used networking to raise $4 million in startup funds. According to Nazar, first, measure the return on investment you are getting from your networking efforts. Second, make sure you give something of value first when making connections instead of trying to ask for something in the beginning.
Give without expecting a return. Author James Altucher believes that opportunities come your way when you offer something without looking for a payback. He regularly sends out ideas to people whom he would like to do business with and asks for nothing in return. Sometimes he won't even receive a response, but sometimes, when he does, the results are magical.
Keep control of your vision. Jack Ma, founder of Hong Kong's wholesale eCommerce site, Alibaba, keeps debating going public with an IPO, but Ma wants to keep a tight control of his company. This is a difficult task especially when investors enter the picture and want to have a say in your business. Ma believes in his vision for his company and the culture he has created to get the job done.
Understand the power of brand. Filmmaker George Lucas, saw there was so much more to Star Wars than a pop culture phenomenon. To George, the first trilogy of films and the three additional movies that followed became a powerful brand. This brand became a spring board to lucrative licensing deals from live attractions, toys, memorabilia, and even video games.
Focus your energy on what's good for your business. Jay Z owns a nightclub, a clothing line, a sports franchise and even has a few best selling albums. His success is based in part on his focus. He refuses to spend time on anything that does not expand his entrepreneurial ventures.
Always maintain quality control. From the age of fourteen, Lionel Puoilane, had an obsession with the quality of bread that bore his family's name. He later became world famous for the artisan crafted bread baked in wood fired ovens. As international demand for his bread grew, he continually refused to mass produce his product. He insisted that each loaf still be hand crafted by a baker personally trained in his techniques.
Set your product apart. The idea to create a product that stands alone is nothing new. In 1783, the Primrose brothers promised to produce crystal as fine as any in Europe leading to the Waterford brand being born. The brothers had a technique of combining both glass and minerals to produce crystal that actually "sings"when tapped with the finger became renowned. Their crystals are also known for deep and ornate carvings created by skilled artisans that give it a distinct appearance.
Take Ownership. Oprah Winfrey experienced success as a broadcaster and even in the entertainment industry even before launching the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. After some initial TV and radio jobs, she hosted a successful chat show in Baltimore and later a show in Chicago that beat Phil Donahue in local ratings. It wasn't until after taking ownership of her talk show from ABC that Winfrey's entrepreneurial skills became coming into focus.

To read more about successful entrepreneurs and their mindsets, click here.

8 Intelligent Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should Bootstrap Startups

2014-07-28T13:38:00.000-04:00

One of the earliest, most critical decisions an entrepreneur must make is whether they should raise outside capital through investors or self-fund a startup by bootstrapping. Your business's chance of success and your relationship within the company can be determined by how you decide to fund your company. Here are our top five reasons why you should consider bootstrapping:

Creative Freedom- Bootstrapping allows for a company to have freedom without having an "outside" voice trying to protect its investment. When you bootstrap, you are the creator and that voice. Bootstrapping allows for more control over your business in the beginning.
Better Products- Bootstrapping allows for one to have a better control of their products and services. The pressure of having a shorter runway will allow business owners to get their products right since every last dollar matters.
Smarter Decisions- Lets face it, you are more cautious with your own money as compared to someone else's. Bootstrapping with incentivize you to intelligently grow you business and ultimately become a better manager.
Faster Progress- There is usually less time to get your company up and moving because there is less cash being used. This is one of the greatest motivators to quickly build a product and offer it to the market. Iterating and rapidly testing are both cost-effective and efficient ways to help your product.
Higher Stakes, Higher Rewards- You are your only stakeholder when bootstrapping. You retain equity as well as control. It also aligns your incentives with the success of the company, allowing for ownership to remain clear and manageable.

To continue reading if bootstrapping is the right way to fund your business, click here.

Small Businesses Dealing with Aftermath of Disasters

2014-04-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Here are 8 tips for businesses who are dealing with the aftermath of a disaster or ensuring that they are prepared for them:

1) Plan and test your social media strategy — Know how you will utilize social media if a disaster was to impact your organization and make a plan for it’s monitoring and it’s use.

2) Keep information up to date — It is essential that information is regularly updated and updated quickly in disaster situations. Ensure that you have plans in place to get content up quickly and smoothly.

3) Monitor your social media — Set up your means for monitoring social media. If you are working in a disaster area, set up searches to monitor discussion on the disaster. If the disaster is impacting a specific region, location based monitoring of a geographic area can be extremely useful in seeing the online chatter coming out of that area.

4) Respond to issues, not matter how small they may seem — People who are not directly affected by a disaster versus those going through the trauma of a crisis are going to have different needs that have to be met. It is up to you to understand who your audience is and how you can help deliver their needs before the time arises.

5) Be vigilant about the accuracy of information and correct mistakes — Mistakes in disaster situations can often be the meaning between life and death, make sure that mistakes are quickly corrected.

6) Don’t assume that just because something is online, that everyone has seen it and understood it — Don’t just rely on social media, your communications plan must try to reach people using a number of different tools and tactics. In many cases, choosing to use just one social media platform is not enough.

7) Remember that sometimes the best way to help someone is offline not online — Although this post has a focus on the importance of social media, we cannot forget that human contact is one of the best ways of helping someone. Taking things offline wherever possible will sometimes be necessary.

Social Media and their Role with Natural Disasters

2014-03-26T20:09:00.002-04:00

Social media and their role with natural disasters

People use social mediums to get information as it’s happening — Mobile phones are often the major means of 2-way communication available to people in disaster situations. Read on to learn more:

Incorrect information can spread like wildfire — Disaster info is one of the most highly forwarded or retweeted information in social media. Many users, who are often removed from the situation at hand, lend their support by forwarding info to ensure it reaches as wide of an audience as possible. This has it’s advantages, but also its dangers - read on below for more info regarding this.

Incorrect info can spread like wildfire — Info on social media is placed on good faith that the poster has the correct info at hand. However this good faith can sometimes be incorrect because emergency situations can often change faster than the speed of social media. Or the heightened state of pressure during a crisis can often lead to the misreading of a situation.

Online information and social media conversations needs to be a part of a multiple mix of tools for recovery — Often when you talk to anyone who works in recovery, they will tell you that one of the hardest things about communicating with those affected by disaster trauma is the low levels of retention of information. Essential info impacting victims of recovery needs to be given using multiple mediums and repeated a number of times to ensure that it has reached and been understood by your audience.Online plays an essential role in this, as the displacement of large numbers of people during disaster recovery, means that online info is the one central point of information.

Do You Know What to do in a Crisis?

2014-03-24T19:51:00.000-04:00

Do You Know What to do in a Crisis?

When a crisis hits your company you only get ONE chance to make things right and your time here is limited. Here are some tips to correctly handle a crisis:

1) Get the facts:

- You want to be open and honest with your audience. Ensure you are giving out the correct information; once you’ve said something you can’t take it back.

2) Sort your spokesperson:

- This is going to be the person dealing directly with the media so ensure this person is properly trained and is able to answer tough questions in front of the camera.

- TIP: ABC — Answer, Bridge, Control: This is the best way to deal with tricky questions. Just listen to politicians to fully understand how this works: they answer with one word and then bridge to their actual message BEFORE delivering it again and again.

3) Coordinate your team.

- Ensure that your team is properly trained. Inform them that journalists will start calling an may come in disguise so they should be cautious with who they are giving information out to. Most reporters aren’t concerned with who gives them a quote, as long as they get some information. The people handling the calls should be well briefed and experienced.

4) Stay calm and composed.

- Whoever’s handling the calls will probably get difficult, leading questions, which can easily lead to inadvertent quotes appearing in print if you’re not careful. Get a statement read, get it approved and offer it to anyone who contacts you.

- TIP: Avoid saying “no comment.” This phrase becomes a dangerous one, making you and your company look unprepared and guilty. Always supply reporters and the public with open and honest information.

5) Understand who your stakeholders are.

- It’s not just the media you should communicate with in a crisis. Make sure you’re handling all your audiences, including staff and customers. Internal communication is as important as external in dealing with a crisis.

6) Stay consistent.

- If you’re working for a large organization, there will be lots of people whom journalists will try to approach for a quote or background information. Staff should be briefed with your contact details when the journalists come knocking.

7) Have everything in place in advance

- All of the above should be part of a crisis communications plan that’s drafted and finalized long before it’s actually implemented. Trying to pull something together when you’ve got your boss in one ear asking what to do next and journalists in the other demanding a response as the crisis unfolds, is nearly impossible. Even if you do manage it, you will look unprepared and will run the risk of missing important details.

Crisis Communication Plan

2014-03-10T12:02:00.000-04:00

‘A crisis is unpredictable but not unexpected.‘ — Timothy Combs

When an emergency occurs, the need to communicate should be immediate. If business operations are disrupted, customers will want to know how they will be impacted. An important component to any business is having a crisis communications/disaster plan ready for when a disaster happens. A business must be able to respond promptly, accurately and confidently during an emergency. Without an immediate response your audience will be left in the dark with what they should be doing. Potential rumors and false information may also result. The image of the business can be positively or negatively impacted by public perceptions of the handling of the incident.

First and foremost, understanding who your audiences is and their specific needs becomes crucial. The challenge is to identify potential audiences, determine their need for information and then identify who within the business is best able to communicate with that audience. After all, customers are the life of a business, so contact with them should be top priority. They’ll require accurate, timely and apologetic communications. Be sure to include:

What products or services you won’t be able to provide at the usual times
What alternate accommodations they can make
Any compensation you plan to make

Always present communications that demonstrates your business's empathy for the disruption of services. However don't be tempted to extend promises that later you won't be able to fulfill.

Company’s Number One Asset:

They say organizations are only as good as their employees. Therefore your staff also needs to promptly be communicated with. In some cases employees may be the only voice to the public — making them become the face of the organization. Proper in-advance training should be implemented. In times of crisis only those employees who are being communicated with in an open, timely and truthful way are both able and willing to represent their company and actively support it’s goals inside and outside the organization.

Develop, implement and continuously improve a crisis communication strategy and matching crisis communication plan tailored to the company’s needs. Assign responsibilities and thoroughly train the designated employees. Once your employees know the chain of command, there’s one big piece of the puzzle left: What are they supposed to communicate?

The following questions should be addressed when a crisis occurs:

What is the desired outcome of the communication? This is your objective.
What will be communicated?
Who will initiate the communication?
How and/or where is the communication going to happen?
When will the communication take place?

The following questions must be addressed both during the crisis and as part of the post-crisis evaluation and crisis preparedness planning:

Was the communication objective met?
How can we do better?

If you do have power during a disaster, use each communication method to its full advantage:

Phone — Many businesses set up and have a prepared automated system with recorded updates to reduce the number of calls you or your employees will take. It may be beneficial to set up a special number for disasters only.
Website — Post relevant and timely updates about your disaster-recovery progress.
Email — For a sample email and what to include click here.
Social Media — Utilize sites such as Facebook and Twitter to provide status updates about the emergency. Turning to social media may be the best outlet to use. In many cases, especially in form of natural disasters, this may be the only means your audience has to receive updates.

With a solid plan and informed staff, your business can spend more time recovering from the disaster and less time worrying about the communication. Keeping open communication with your consumers, media and staff will help keep things running smoothly when all else may be chaotic.

2014-03-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

25 Ways of Gaining More Social Media Followers

So you’ve done all the right steps in creating the perfect blog or social media profile site but you only have 12 followers. What’s the next step in getting more exposure and followers? Here are 25 great tips to gain more followers:

1. Enable Social Sharing

• Add buttons to your blog and other website pages that allow visitors to share your content on social sites.

2. Share Quality Content

• If you have interesting content on your profile you’re chances of having more followers becomes higher. If your tweeting self-promoting posts, no one wants to read that.

3. Get Employees To Follow

• People are more likely to follow pages that already have some sort of following, so your employees will help build those initial numbers.

4. Invite Partners, Vendors, Clients, and Customers

• Send a friendly, personalized, email to anyone you have a business relationship with.

5. Email Signature

• Add links to your company’s social media profiles in your company email signature. Create a signature template that includes these links and encourages your coworkers to use this signature as well.

6. Blog Comment Signature

• When you make a comment on a blog post, link to your most active social media profile in a signature-like style.

7. Include Links on Offers and Assets

• Link to your social media profiles on your whitepaper cover page, webinar thank you page, one-page guide footer, etc.

8. CTAs onThank You Pages

• After a new lead fills out a form on your site, it’s a good idea to include links or calls-to-action on the subsequent thank you page encouraging these leads to follow you via social media.

9. CTAs on Thank You Emails

• Just like you’d add calls-to-action to your thank you pages, add them them to your emails.

10. Cross Promote

•Add your social media links on each other’s pages. Example: add your twitter link to your Facebook page, etc.

11. Contact or About Us Pages

• Include links to your social media profiles on your contact us/about us page. The more visible you make your social media pages, the more exposure you’ll receive.

12. Business Cards

• Include links to your most active social media profiles on each of your employees’ business cards.

13. Newsletters & Lead Nurturing

•Include links to social media profiles in the footer of any company emails.

14. Direct Mail Assets.

• Still using direct mail as part of your marketing strategy? If you can’t let go, include links to your social media profiles on any direct mail pieces you send, including catalogs, coupons, or any other direct mail asset.

15. Facebook: Like Box on Website

• Install a Facebook Like Box (previously known as Facebook Fan Box) on your website, blog page, homepage, or any other high-trafficked page sidebars.

16. Facebook: Hide Content From 'Non-Likers'

• Create a default tab on your Facebook business page that contains hidden from anyone who has not yet liked your page. This creates a great incentive for someone to like your page.

17. Facebook: Suggest to Friends

• Facebook gives the option to encourage users to ‘suggest to friends’ to share any Facebook business page with any of their friends who would be interested.

18. Facebook: Invite Friends Tab

• Add an ‘invite friends’ tab and periodically encourage your fans to head over to invite their friends who might be interested in reading your updates as well.

19. Twitter: Twitter Directories

• Add your company’s Twitter profile to Twitter directories under categories that are relevant to your business. This will make it easier for prospects to find you based on their interests. WeFollow, Twellow, and Listorious are a few Twitter directories available.

20. Twitter: Add a Twitter Badge or Module

• Promote your Twitter profile on your website by finding a Twitter badge that fits your site’s design, or add an official Twitter widget to your site. Your blog page, homepage, and other high-trafficked page sidebars are good places to install a Twitter widget.

21. Twitter: Talk to People Who Mention You

• Track your brand in social media using HubSpot’s social media monitoring tool or Google Alerts so that you receive notifications whenever someone mentions your name or brand. When they do, follow them and/or reply to their tweet. This is your opportunity to publicly show you are friendly and willing to talk with your customers about any questions/concerns they may have.

22. LinkedIn: Add Links to LinkedIn Business Page

• Add links to your most active social media profiles on your LinkedIn business page. You can add these links in the ‘about’ section.

23. LinkedIn: Add Links to LinkedIn Profile

• Add a link to your most active social media profile in your links. You can optimize these links by clicking ‘other’ and write “Follow (Company Name) on Twitter” when adding your link to Twitter, for example.

24. LinkedIn: LinkedIn Answers Signature

• When you make a post or comment on LinkedIn Answers, link to your most active social media profile in a signature-link style or as one of the web resources.

25.Youtbue: Embed Your Videos

• If a picture is worth a thousand words then how about a moving picture? Video blogging (sometimes called vlogging) is an established alternative to the written word, and it’s as accessible as it has ever been. There’s something about seeing a person on screen rather than just reading their words that creates a connection. If you have any videos to share, add them to your YouTube profile and then embed those videos on your site. That way people can discover your YouTube page, and you have potential to benefit from YouTube’s viral nature.

How Small Business Owners are Wrecking Their Own Chances at Success

2014-02-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

Early last week I was in a rush to get indoors and escape the bitter weather. By the time I had realized I was running on black ice, it was too late. I had fallen on the pavement and instantly was in pain from the hard fall. I was desperately in need of a doctor that was close by. The fastest option I could think of was to look online. After using a search engine for a mere 5 minutes I was able to get all the information I needed. I was able to see which doctors were in close proximity, read reviews from previous patients and was able to book my appointment. It doesn’t get much more convenient than this. With today’s technology we are given boundless opportunities allowing us to live in a fast-paced world that connects us all.

Small business owners may struggle in keeping up with all the demands of their company; for many, if working alone, integrated marketing becomes neglected. There are endless advantages for businesses with the technology available today. So why are so many of us fighting this when we should be embracing it! By making the decision to steer clear of taking your business online, you are missing out on many opportunities.

Shockingly, a Yodle survey found — only 1 in 10 small businesses have taken advantage of social media or online advertising to market their product.

• For more information on this survey click here.

So what are you waiting for? There are limitless chances awaiting your success online. All in which, helping you engage with not only your current customers but any potential customers as well. Remember — I became a new customer to a near by chiropractor after searching online. The doctor had appropriately promoted their business on a search engine site, showing the company’s legitimacy and contact information, making it effortless for me to book an appointment.

Side note: The demographic of who your customers are, determines which online base you should be using. The most popular social media sites that can help get you started in the right direction are:

Twitter
Facebook
Putting your business on LinkedIn
Getting a Yelp presence started
Angie's List (this site is specifically for publishing customer reviews)
WordPress (this is a blog site that allows you to get started on creating a website for your company)

These are just a few of the infinite options available. All are painless to sign up for and the best part of all, free!

For more information regarding this subject, contact Kutztown's Small Business Center.

Small Business Gets Serious: Digital Trends for Small Business in 2014

2014-02-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

With each new year, we all have hopes and aspirations for what the new year will bring us. With small businesses it becomes essential to address these new goals. One of the most important steps towards success is evaluation. With this, we want to look back on the last year and make a list of what worked and what didn’t quite work out as planned. Make this list as in-depth as possible.

One reason businesses remain unsuccessful is because they skip this crucial step. It is here that you decide how to stay on top of the trends and find fresh ways to bring in new customers. Otherwise, any mistakes you had made in the past are just being recycled into the new year. Understanding potential opportunities that will present themselves in the coming year is something that can make or break any business. David Brown, CEO of Web.com has generated a list of tips to help maximize any business. By acknowledging the following areas your company will surely prosper:

•Going digital: This is crucial for any business. In a recent study conducted by Web.com, it was found that only 4 out of 10 businesses utilize and maintain an online website. Living in era that is dedicated to the internet, it seems silly not to indulge in this area. In doing so, you are given a FREE opportunity to connect and engage with potential customers. More and more companies are picking up on this trend and at last recognizing the strong demand for online interaction. In 2014, expect to see an increase in small business internet presences.

Tip: Now more than ever, customers want to know that their voices are being heard. Respond to them by utilizing social media channels and responding to their comments and concerns.

•Local is where it’s at: The percentage of online search queries focused on local businesses continues to accelerate, with an even greater growth in local search via mobile devices. Small businesses should stake their claim on basic local channels such as Google Places, and populate those sites with information your consumers most likely would want to know. Products and services, hours of operation, contact information, physical address, etc., are just a few examples of what a majority of customers search for. With the right search engine optimization (SEO) in place, information for a small business can easily appear highly ranked on local search results.

Tip: For more information on SEOs, click here

•It’s time to partner up: As a small business owner, focus should be on the business — not on IT and online marketing. To better increase business results this year, small business owners should look for a partner, whether that be a nephew or neighbor down the street, that fully understands the digital demands of the company. This will help save time and aide in achieving online success. With the help of an experienced online marketing partner, owners can focus on what should be their primary goal — making the business successful.

•Mobile use on the increase: Did you know that nearly 30% of all web traffic is generated via mobile devices? As this technology popularity begins to expand, this percentage is only going to rise. If you have a smart phone and regularly utilize the web on it, you know the frustration with web pages that give limited content and clunky navigation. Make sure your company web page is mobile user friendly.

•E-commerce will boom: As we begin to move towards a digital era, we should continue to recognize the growing demand for businesses to deliver online services such as online shopping and electronic billing. Begin to make a more digital transition with your
business and you will be sure to see happier customers.

•Paid marketing and social networking to generate awareness and drive sales: 2014 will see small businesses increase paid marketing efforts for both advertising and social networks. Facebook has recently moved towards a more ‘pay-to-play’ model with their advertisements, meaning a paid campaign will get posts and pages more visibility. According to a Pew Research Center study, one-third of U.S. adults are now receiving their news from social media channels; some of which include Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This research reinforces the need to create and maintain a personal and interactive relationship with consumers.

•Talk about TLDs: New Top Level Domains (TLDs), have created more choices for companies when registering domain names. The benefits to this include: added visibility and increased search results online. TLDs are the very last section of an internet domain name, located after the last dot: .com, .net, .gov.

Understanding these trends for the 2014 year will help establish personal relationships with consumers and help to keep your company’s image fresh and up-to-date. Keeping up with these ever changing demands is what separates your company from the next. Make 2014 a year to establish your online presence and success!

2014-02-20T15:57:00.001-05:00

5 Social Media Trends for 2014: New Research

Based on new research from Exact Target’s 2014 State of Marketing Report, here are 5 recently developed areas that businesses should start paying attention to effective immediately for the new year.

#1: Social Listening Becoming Important

•We are seeing more brands beginning to truly listen to their customers.

•Social listening offers opportunities to directly interact with consumers.

•Tips for social listening:

Don’t just listen; understand first.
Consider the context of online updates and conversations 74- Are consumers directly reaching out to your company or just talking with friends? It’s their context, not yours, that matters. Your response should fulfill their expectations.
Consumers have shown they’re willing to give up some level of privacy in exchange for better service and incredible value. Engage with the intention of delivering mutual value.
Demonstrate how listening builds relationships, rather than 'intruding’ on consumers’ conversations. As previously mentioned, customers want to have a relationship with your brand. However with that, you must remember that people are still sensitive about their privacy.

#2: 57% of Marketers Use Social Advertising

•U.S. consumers spend an average of 37 minutes per day on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

•Educate yourself and learn the most effective ways to leverage social ads in the current market.

•Here’s a simple plan to get started with those ads:

Establish measurable marketing goals
Set your budget
Know your audience’s needs.
Pick the channel.
Research different ad types (how they work, how to leverage them and how your audience will then perceive them).
Check out your competition and what tactics they are using. What is working for them and what is not.
Optimize your landing pages.
Experiment and create ad copy (2or 3 versions).
Test and measure. Evaluation is key to success with any business.

#3: Email and Social Integrate

Many people are under the false impression that social media has taken away email’s popularity. According to 68% of marketers however, email has remained the core to their organization. In fact, social media has made email more powerful now than ever before. There is a relationship between email and social media. Email marketing allows you to stay current with your existing customers. Then by encouraging your email subscribers to connect with you on your social media sites, their friends will then see your brand, thus creating more social visibility for you.

•Here are some tips for integrating your email and social media marketing:

Use email subject line testing to optimize Facebook ad headlines and vice versa.
Incorporate your most popular email content into status updates and vice versa.
Test image effectiveness via email and incorporate into status updates and vice versa.
Just like sponsored stories, incorporate your fans’ enthusiasm for your brand into your email content.
Tease upcoming emails via a Facebook status update.

#4: Assemble Your Social Media Dream Team

Social media teams are becoming more and more common, with 57% of respondents having a dedicated team to strategize, execute and steward social media initiatives. Typically, these teams include 3 or less people.

•Here are some basic tips if you’re a one-person show:

Start with a strategy. Know what you want to accomplish from social media and choose your social networks wisely.
Create a workflow process. Schedule some time each day for routine social media activities (listening and monitoring, posting updates, networking, and so on.)
Develop quality content. You’ll need to create original content on a regular basis (e.g. blog posts, images, videos, graphics, etc.) Even with a small budget, you can get other people to create high-quality content for you by using a service like Fiverr.
Get the word out. Encourage friends and co-workers to engage with the company on these social media channels. It’s also a good idea to join an online community where you can tactfully get the word out to others (without spamming them). The more value you add to their conversations, the more receptive they will be to discovering and engaging with your online brand.

#5: Social Media ROI Remains Elusive

While marketers are dedicating more time and resources to social, they’re not 100% sure how effective it is in terms of ROI. Many small business owners are making the mistake of not measuring social media ROI. At this rate, you’ll never have an understanding of how your social media efforts are benefiting your business. Evaluation, as mentioned, is key to success. By taking the proper time to evaluate, you can spend less time and resources on useless tactics that don’t work.

Start by defining clear, measurable social media goals such as brand awareness (Facebook likes), lead generation (email opt-ins or content downloads) or customer retention (compare cost of retaining a social media customer vs. a non-social media customer). Then develop a content strategy to achieve those goals (remember that content drives social). Focus on one or two social channels where your target audience hangs out and gradually scale as your audience and your resources grow.

The 9 Worst Ways To Start A Meeting

2014-01-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Your boss tells you to be in the office at 9am promptly for a business meeting this week. The day of the meeting arrives and you arrive in the office even before 9am. Your boss doesn't even get in the office until after 9:30am. By this time, you're beyond irritated. By avoiding these crucial mistakes, you can run the most productive meeting ever.

Not starting on time- Almost 40 percent of meetings don't start on time. Not respecting the announced starting time frustrates those who are punctual. One common reason why meetings don't start on time is because a lot of people spend the first few minutes grabbing a refreshment or socializing. This is important but not if it means starting the meeting late.
Skimping on refreshments- Researchers at Yale University studied the effect of holding a warm cup of coffee in one's hand. Physical warmth can make us not only see others as warmer people, but also causes us to be more generous, friendlier and trusting. *You may increase the level of camaraderie when coffee and snacks are offered before the meeting.
Not articulating the three most important items- Three key items one must articulate at the beginning of a meeting are stating the purpose or objective of the meeting, the benefits of attending and the desired outcomes.
Neglecting to define what kind of meeting it is- Keep in mind, there are multiple types of meetings such as: decision-making, brainstorming, problem-solving, planning sessions etc. It's important to define what kind of meeting it is, which set the right expectations of everyone present and ensures the right participation.

To read more about ways to improve your meetings in the workplace, click here.

7 Simple Social Media Moves That Work

2014-01-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Chairman of Likeable Media, Dave Kerpen, personally responds to thousands of Tweets, messages and emails daily. Does this make him crazy or genius? According to Dave, social media isn't free. It also won't bring immediate results. He also claims that it cannot make up for a bad product or service. Here are few reasons why Kerpen still insists that you get involved:

Listen, Then Talk- When Kerpen was in Vegas, the check-in line at the Aria hotel where he was staying took forever. So, he did what he does best, posted a tweet to twitter saying: Waiting in line for 45 minutes at the Aria. Not worth it. #fail. Now, keep in mind he didn't hear anything back from Aria. But, a local hotel, Rio, down the road tweeted back at him in two minutes apologizing for the bad experience he had. Kerpen didn't switch hotels on that trip but more than likely, the next time he's in Vegas, he will be staying at the Rio.
Respond (to Everyone!)- An outstanding 60 percent of brands do not answer customers or prospects on social media websites. By responding to your consumers, you have a huge competitive advantage. If a consumer complains, you have the chance to respond publicly that you're working to solve the problem.
Tell, Don't Sell- According to Kerpen, social media is most powerful when used to tell personal stories and not sell products. A prime example of this is how both Kerpen and his then fiance couldn't afford a fancy wedding, so they raised over $100,000 from sponsors. This story has helped propel Likeable into a $7 million business.
Just Be You- According to an Oprah Winfrey quote, "I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I've become. If I had I'd have done it a lot earlier." Kerpen then begins to explain how when he is authentic and himself, customers want to do business with him.
Advertise (Better)- You can use all the information that Facebook has and target your market based on that. Rather than trying to reach 1,000 of the wrong people, try focusing on improving your advertising and reaching 100 of the right people. Another advantage of advertising is word-of-mouth endorsements.

To learn more about Dave Kerpen's tips when it comes to social media, click here.

How To Compete Against A Giant Brand AND Win

2014-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

This article focuses on a company called Strutz who makes orthopedic supports. Recently, they signed a deal with Walmart to have their products on their shelves. One down fall, Strutz has to compete with the infamous Dr. Scholl's, which has made quite a name for themselves. Dr Scholl's has been around since 1906 and spends millions of dollars annually on both marketing and advertising. How should Strutz go about competing with Dr. Scholl's? Strutz uses different technology, so their goal is to educate their consumers about how they're different compared to their competitors. Most inserts slip into a shoe and comes off when the shoe does. Strutz uses arch support wraps that wrap around the food and stay put when the wearer changes their shoes or decides to go barefoot. They rely mostly on word-of-mouth advertising and social media also plays a large role. Strutz is now a corporate sponsor, which "helps build a sense of community, allowing you to get your name out there in a very positive way." Their company only has four full-time employees, which according to them, can be quite an advantage. When trying to contact Dr. Scholl's you must call an 800 number and you won't even be able to reach the CEO. So, this is another advantage that Strutz has over their competitor. Although it seems as though Strutz doesn't have much room on the marketplace when it comes to orthopedic inserts, they've been trying to make quite a name for themselves to stand out from their competitors. To continue reading about how you can compete against a giant brand and win, click here.

How Can You Use Instagram To Market Your Business?

2014-01-15T12:00:00.001-05:00

Recently, Facebook announced that Instagram had reached 150 million active monthly viewers. Did you ever think that you could market your business on Instagram? You could use Instagram to share sneak peeks of your products, showcase your employees and highlight your customer service. Here are a few tips on how to use Instagram in your business:

Try becoming a regular user first. Try using Instagram as a regular user so you can see how other people use it. This will provide ideas for trying to platform into other social media efforts.
Think about your product. Without trying to be too promotional, you can get your followers engaging with your product. For example, Starbucks posted a picture of a customer holding their pumpkin spice latte, with a "PSL 10" sleeve.
Remember that cuteness sells. Cute animals with funny quotes are more likely to go viral.
A lot of people enjoy a "do you remember when..." moment. Use Instagram to show users a depiction of the history of your brand.
Show your brand's personality. Keep in mind, there should be a nice balance of showing the brand's personality as well as giving the followers information about the brand.

To learn more about how you can use Instagram to advertise your business, click here.

How To Create A Dynamic PowerPoint Presentation For Your Next Meeting

2014-01-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

PowerPoint presentations are a powerful way to communicate ideas within a business. One of the worst things about some presentations are that presenters can read directly off each and every slide, post word for word what they want you to learn or just have a boring presentation. Many business owners lack the skills to create a vibrant and informative presentation in hopes of conveying their message. Here are five tips on how you can make your next presentation more dynamic and interesting:

Decide on the message you want to convey. Before creating your presentation, decide what exactly you want your listeners to take away from your presentation. Perhaps if you are trying to explain a new pitch, you goal is to make your PowerPoint eye-grabbing and compelling. If your speech is focused on the sales aspect of your business you might want to focus on a specific strategy or product in order to convey your message to your sales team.
Make notes or an outline. Try introducing your main point followed by some key points to back up your main point followed by a solid conclusion. Try writing all of this down in a concise format, your listeners do not want you to read directly from your slides.
Consider aesthetics and readability. Use bullet points as compared to whole paragraphs in your presentation, this will make your presentation more reader-friendly. Try using clipart or charts to convey your information as well. Keep in mind that too many visuals can hinder the ability of your audience to absorb information as well.
Make the presentation more interesting. Create a paper handout, about one to two pages that you can give your audience. This will allow them to stay on track with your presentation and allow them to review the main points of your presentation. This will also allow you to include any extra tips or points that you weren't able to include in your initial presentation.
Practice before your deliver your presentation. Make sure you've practiced your presentation before delivering it. You want to make sure that there are no spelling errors and that your presentation runs for as long as the time allotted for it.

To continue reading on how you can improve your PowerPoint presentation skills, click here.

Should I Expand My Business or Keep it Small?

2014-01-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

When you first become an entrepreneur, things seem pretty simple. If everything starts to go well, you will ultimately be faced with a decision. That decision is whether or not you should expand your business or keep things the way they are. If you decide to expand your business, you can hire staff members to help meet the needs of your customers, raise capital and even invest in equipment. First you should dig deep and try and reflect. Take a closer look at yourself and determine what motivated you to become an entrepreneur in the first place. Perhaps you became an entrepreneur so you could travel or even spend more time with your friends. If this sounds like you, you might want to consider scaling back and not hiring a full staff in-order to keep things rather flexible. If you hire a staff will only increase the responsibilities you must fulfill. Try to remember that if you're trying to expand your business but you are still enjoying your freedom, you can put your expansion on hold. Another strategy you can use is consider your business model. For example, if your business involves producing electronic devices you might want to expand your business rather quickly in-order to pay for manufacturing costs and eventually improve your profit margins. Perhaps your business produces an one of a kind product, expanding your business might cause your product to lose that "special touch" your current hand made product has. To continue reading about whether or not you should expand your business, click here.

Turn Fear Into Success

2014-01-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Most view fear as a negative thing. But, for great leaders, they have learned to master their fears and use it to their advantage. Here are a few pointers on how to overcome your fears and turn them into successful situations according to Inc. columnists.

Focus on the Essential. Bill Murphy begins to explain how petrified he was when he was about to take his bar exam, considering he didn't even study. He was too busy trying to build a company. He immediately received the exam, skipped what he didn't know and answered what he did know. During his breaks, he was on the phone with advertisers pushing them to sign deals. The results were in, Bill passed his exam and learned that fear can be an entrepreneur's friend.
Don't Let Fear Be Infectious. According to Eric Holtzclaw, the way you approach fear and uncertainty will also set the tone for your organization. Eric begins to explain how he lost two crucial employees in one week and his attitude towards that situation reflected on the entire staff of his organization. Instead of dwelling on the situation, he used the changes to improve the organization as a whole.
Consider The Root of Your Fear. People fail to think about their first reaction which is usually the cause of fear in the first place. Perhaps you're afraid of flying, this is probably because you are forced to give up control. Same goes for being afraid of public speaking, perhaps you're insecure or feel as though you do not know enough information about your topic. According to Lee Colan, "when you stop to think about your fear, you can determine if your primary response is insecurity, sense of loss, need for control or discomfort with uncertainty. Once you honestly identify your primary response, you start to know your fear more intimately. Then, you can equip yourself with information and experiences to fearlessly manage change and achieve your goals."

Click here to learn more about how you can turn your fears into success.

6 Tech Debuts to Watch For in 2014

2014-01-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

With 2013 soon coming to an end and 2014 being right around the corner, there are quite a few tech debuts you should keep your eye out for.

Curved phones. Samsung already has a curved phone on the market in Korea, but rumor has it Apple may just be working on a curved phone as well. The curvature works with the large screen so one can view images and read text easier. Also, the curvature design fits better into one's hand.
Small cells for wireless everywhere. These wireless receivers work like miniature cellphone towers enhancing signal wherever they are placed. For example, small cells will be placed in sports stadiums where too many connections usually weaken signals currently.
Touchscreen tablets will be built into cars. The Tesla Model S is a prime example of this. The Model S features a 17 inch tablet-like-display in their automobiles.
Li-Fi. This technology transmits a frequency from the lights in a store to a shopper's smartphone app, almost like a GPS system. This will allow the company to target customers with appropriate marketing messages based on their location in the store.
Pay by wireless. "When a customer enters a store, they can "check-in" using the PayPal app. Their phone will chime or vibrate to let them know they are connected. At check-out, a customer can just say they're paying with PayPal and the merchant can authorize the transaction--the customer doesn't even need to take out their phone."
Ubuntu Phone. The Ubuntu Edge will make its debut in early 2014. Ubuntu claims it's operating system will be faster than Android's currently and match up better with a Linux operating system.

To read more about these interesting tech debuts, click here.

The Truth About Treadmill Desks

2014-01-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

More and more companies are beginning to use treadmill desks. Essentially, a treadmill desk is exactly what it sounds like. A desk that is attached to a treadmill so employees can work on their fitness while doing their job. Sounds pretty interesting right? According to Owen Thomas, who is editor-in-chief of ReadWrite, usually walks about 10 miles a day when he's not traveling. Thomas has dropped 13 pounds so far ever since using this treadmill desk. But has the treadmill desk made him more productive you may ask? "Measuring overall work output is tough because I hop on and off a lot," says Thomas. "Don't think of this as a piece of gym equipment in the office. Think of it as a way to turn desk time into walking time-- a walking meeting with yourself," says Thomas. Owen Thomas recruited two of his colleagues to convert to treadmill desks, who originally thought they could get their afternoon run in. Unlike those treadmills at the gym, the top speed of most treadmill desks are 4 miles per hour. Thomas usually keeps his pace at 3 miles per hour since he finds that he can't walk and type at a faster pace than that. There are quite a few benefits of treadmill desks. According to Susan Orlean, who is a New Yorker writer, she claims that this exercise helps her concentration. She claims that your body is walking and your brain can be busy being a brain. To learn more about treadmill desks and how they may or may not be right for your business, click here.

Part Two: 10 Lessons From Steve Jobs That Every Marketer Must Learn

2013-12-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

In case you missed Part One: 10 Lessons You Can Learn from Steve Jobs That Every Marketer Must Learn, click here. Here are the last 5 lessons you can learn.

Keep secrets and build mystery. Steve Jobs was the master of suspense, as well as surprise. People lined up at Apple events not only because of his rock-star charisma, but in hopes that he might just unveil something extraordinary. Months before a huge product launch, Apple would start leaking information. An initial hint lead to a rumor and then more rumors that contradicted the first rumor. Most of it was misinformation, but it drove people into a frenzy of speculation. Jobs was famous for his "One more thing" gesture he would use during presentations. Toward the end of his presentation, he would say "Oh, one more thing." and then unveil something that blew everyone away. The lesson: Most marketers rush out to tell everyone as much as they can about their products. Jobs did the exact opposite, he held back information to create excitement.
Find an enemy. One of the first rules of story-telling is that drama requires conflict. The first rule of propaganda is that you need a bad guy. For Apple, the original bad guy was IBM. Eventually, turning into Microsoft. Recently, both Android and Google turned into their enemy.
Turn customers into evangelists. Apple fans don't think of themselves as customers, they feel as if they're apart of a movement, a mission, something larger than themselves.
Don't talk about products. The 1984 commercial contains not a single image of the Macintosh they're unveiling. They only mention Macintosh and Apple in the last ten seconds of the advertisement. Take this advertisement for example, there is no picture of a computer whatsoever.
Use pictures, not words. Apple devotes tremendous effort to saying things in as few words as possible. Apple takes pride in their core value of simplicity as well. Jobs realized that images are much more powerful storytellers. Here's an example of Steve Jobs introducing the MacBook Air. Jobs came on stage with a manila envelope and slid the slim laptop out of it. The crowd went absolutely wild. That one simple gesture blew people away AND said more about the product than words could.

I hope that you've taken away a lot of information from the marketing genius Steve Jobs himself. Click here to continue reading about the lessons that every marketer must learn.