Advertising & Marketing For You and Your Business

When it comes to owning a business, or even trying to branch out as yourself, everyone knows that you must do some advertising and marketing. Though this can feel like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be! There’s a multitude of ways to advertise yourself and your business whether it be for free or if you have the freedom to spend a little cash.

Marketing Yourself

Before we start with advertising your business, it’s important you market yourself just as well! As a business owner, the way you present yourself has an impact on your business. Even if you are not a business owner, it’s just as important to create a good name for yourself. First and foremost, you want to be yourself! Being authentic allows those similar to you to find you and gives way to the kind of company you want to be a part of/are a part of. Next, become a master in your field. Although a big part of being a professional in a job comes with experience, you can still take time to study, read, or even watch videos about different topics in your field. Having a wide range of knowledge and lesser known information in your field can give better insight to more problems and helps you to stand out from everyone else.

In our digital age, social media is a necessity that can expand you (and your business) anywhere you want it to go! If you are creating a new social media, there are various choices in picking the right platform, so think about your target audience and what you think will reach them best. Stay true to yourself as customers will be more likely to bond with you/your company when they see a genuine side to you. Another way to stay online is to join an online community. This may help you expand out more and/or learn more from others all over. Outside of the digital world, don’t be afraid to network! Going to tradeshows, local events, or skill workshops can open an opportunity to meet like-minded people and talk about you and your business even more.

Advertising your Business

When it comes to advertising for your business, there are many ways to make your business more distinguishable than the rest. For starters, everything begins with a quality website. Even though having a website will usually cost you money, it is a must have expense. Websites are your home base for everything; it shows what your business has to offer, ways to reach out to you, and gives an idea of what your company is like. In your website, consider creating a blog. The blog should center around answering questions or giving advice to certain topics that are in your field. Having a blog grants the opportunity for more clients to find you when searching for information related to what you’re writing. This is because search engines pull keywords from the text you write; so the more you write, the more likely you are to be seen. According to a study done by First Page Sage, consistent publication of high-quality content is the number one factor in high search engine optimization (SEO). Additionally, think about having an email marketing campaign. You can send your blogs out in the email campaign or simply update customers on the newest things that are happening. Don’t forget to add a call to action in your emails! A call to action prompts customers to get in touch with you quickly and efficiently about any questions, comments, or concerns they may have.

Earlier we brought up SEO. SEO can be extremely beneficial as a means for free advertising for your company. There are a considerable amount of ways to improve SEO as it is a collection of different algorithms that improve your ranking on Google. One way to help improve SEO is to make sure you fill out every category on your Google’s business page with the most important being your company’s name, address, and phone number. Furthermore, creating a (free) Google My Business account will allow you to verify your business page on Google, increasing your SEO as well. Another way to boost SEO is to create listings on major directories. Directories show off your business’s contact information. By adding yourself into the larger ones, the lesser known ones will automatically pull information from the bigger ones; thus, your business will show up in more places. Some examples of free and large directories include: Yelp, Bing, and the Better Business Bureau. Bear in mind, there are multiple ways to increase your SEO and it takes time to increase so don’t stress if it doesn’t all change immediately!

Now that we’ve talked about quite a few ways to advertise for free (for the most part), there are a few ways to advertise by spending some money. First off, and the most straightforward, Google, YouTube, and Facebook Ads. In Google, this puts you above organic listings; automatically giving you a headstart in advertising. Next, creating promotional merchandise can have a profound effect on your company. In a study done by the British Promotional Merchandise Association, 77% people said they appreciate promotional merchandise with 78% of people keeping their merchandise for a long time. When creating merchandise, keep in mind that you will want these products to serve your target audience well. Also, take into consideration if these items will be reusable or if they are eco-friendly as these factors impact customers. In addition to handing out promotional merchandise, you could also host giveaways or competitions to win them instead. This gets the word to spread about your business and creates excitement within your community.

In what other ways is advertising important?

Advertising is more than just how many sales you can bring in. It helps to inform customers of your products/services and introduces new products/services as well. Advertising influences the way people see your business too. By showing your values and having a strong mission statement, this enhances customer trust and magnifies your business’s identity. As your business grows and your advertising reaches more people, this makes it easier to monitor supply & demand as well as see your target audience more clearly. Last but not least, working for a business that is well received and talked about will make employees feel good about their jobs. All of this boosts employee morale and means employees are more likely to spread the word about their company.

Advertising and Marketing Comes in Many Forms

In regards to advertising and marketing, there are numerous ways to make your business stand out from all the rest! Don’t forget to check out the following blogs, from us: Business Models & Their Importance, Social Media Presence, and Kindness & Its Value In Your Business, as they tie into many things we talked about earlier. (Having a target audience, social media tips and why it’s important, and why having high employee morale is important alongside the significance of reviews!)

Small Businesses & Insurance

There are a million types of insurance out there. From medical to auto to renter’s, it seems like we are always shopping for insurance. Just like any other important insurance, business insurance is crucial to take care of your business.

Why insurance is important & Tips to pick the right insurance

Business insurance is extremely important because it protects the business from having to pay out-of-pocket for expensive damages via property damage or legal claims. Most insurance is not required for a business. Although, if you are of a certain size, you may have to pay different kinds of insurance. For example, employers with fifty or more employees are required to provide health insurance to their employees. Despite the fact that most states don’t require insurance, if you own or rent a workspace, there is a good chance you’ll need a business owner’s policy (BOP). BOP usually combines general liability insurance and commercial property insurance. Typically, these policies are flexible and you may add more types of insurance atop of this to get the coverage you desire. BOP is not the only type of insurance out there though, there are many different types of insurance out there for businesses. Finding the right insurance may take a lot of research but it will be well worth it!

When picking insurance out for the first time, it can seem really overwhelming. Remember to really take your time and now what your policies will cover. Although BOP may be a good general blanket for insurance, it has many of its own exceptions and additions you may have to make to cover your business perfectly for you. Furthermore, there may just be other types of coverages that work better for you. Consider a few different things when picking out insurance. For starters, different business industries require specific coverages- make sure you’re finding something that matches the type of work you do. Next, think about where your physical property is located and how much property and other equipment you have. Finally, assess your intellectual property and amount/type of employees and customers. After you’ve determined what you need, make sure you know the risks of the coverage you’ve decided on. Compare quotes to see what will give you the most for your money and the best protection. Last but definitely not least, find a good agent and review your policy regularly!

Working with Insurance Agents – Country Financial with Gabrielle Zenner

Finding a good insurance agent is vital as they are also responsible for helping to protect your business. Country Financial is a boutique, regional insurance carrier that writes coverage that serves homeowners, farmers/ranchers, and small business owners. Their vision is to enrich the lives in the communities they serve. Gabrielle Zenner at Country Financial loves putting together thoughtful recommendations for clients to meet their scope of needs which is essential in having a good insurance agent. She says that her business can sometimes be challenging during inflationary periods in the market because budgets could be made to cost a certain amount but end up being a higher total. Although they experience rates like everyone, their business has made changes to make the loss ratios reduced and continue to give clients the best coverage they can. The number one advice for clients is, “If you want a total loss claim to go smoothly, make a video walkthrough of your home belongings showing manufacturer’s labels every year. You never know exactly what you have when there is a fire, but a video record makes it easy for an adjuster to cut the personal property check.” says Gabrielle Zenner. Another important thing she mentions for clients is to update their insurance policies- especially after renovations. If you don’t update your value on your insurance, you would be getting the old version of something rather than your new, renovated one. Don’t leave your policy the same as the first time you bought it years ago! These are all extremely valuable tips and a good reason to have an insurance agent like this!

Overall Insurance Importance

Even though there are many different types of insurance and most aren’t required by law, it is still very important to insure your business. Having the right agent also plays a vital role in helping you find the right insurance and creating security in your business.

Social Media Presence

Social Media is a huge part of our daily lives. Whether it’s where we get our news, catch up with family or friends, or follow people with similar hobbies to ours. You may already have a business account that isn’t used very often or you are all about social media. Either way, social media is essential in our modern day.

Why is Social Media important?

Social Media can be extremely impactful in marketing as a business. For starters, this allows your business to build brand awareness. According to LinkedIn, “When an admin posts on their Page, 30% of the engagement comes from their employees, who are 14X more likely to share that content vs. other content types.” So even if you’re just starting out, you’ll most likely have the support of your workspace! Also, this allows the content to spread even further since your employees are sharing it within their spaces as well. Next, social media allows you to generate and nurture leads. Customers/clients are given the space to communicate through your posts about questions they may have or start conversations about interesting topics you posted about. This may inquire them to learn more about you & your business and thus further your potential business together. After this, listen to feedback! Read through what people are saying about your business and consider what you can do to improve these things but it’s important to remember that you can’t please everyone! (In general, business reviews are extremely important- for some extra information on this, check out our other monthly blog titled:” Kindness & Its Value In Your Business”) Finally, social media shows off brand authenticity. It allows people to see you as a real person- especially if you’re interacting with customers and showing you’re personable behind the screen.

How to Improve Your Socials

Now that we understand why social media is so vital to business, you may be wondering how to improve yours. Well, there are many different ways to make a mark and let your socials stand out! The very first thing to figure out is who is your target audience? Are they more likely to use a certain platform? Depending on the type of content you’re trying to upload, a certain platform may be more suitable for you but don’t be afraid to be on multiple platforms! Next, remember how we just talked about being personable behind the screen? This means showing who is behind the business. Taking pictures of your life or the group activities you do with your employees. Let people know there’s a real side to you and you’re not just a robot posting every week. Third, get visual with your posts! According to HootSuite, LinkedIn posts with images get two times higher engagement than posts without. Having a common theme makes your account appear more appealing as well. Fourth, accessibility goes a long way. This means making each social media platform & website accessible to one another. This could also include captions or subtitles for videos for those who are hard of hearing or individuals who struggle with English not being their native language. Finally, don’t be afraid to piggyback on what’s trending! Use hashtags that pertain to what’s getting the most attention in the moment or maybe even just jump into the conversation. This doesn’t mean you have to copy what everyone else is saying or doing but by using what’s trending, you’re riding a wave to get ahead.

Social media for business nowadays has tools that are extremely helpful in measuring marketing efforts. Platforms like Meta Business Suite allow you access to both your Instagram and Facebook account (since they are owned by the same parent company) and see your engagement, amount of followers, page visits, and more! Additionally, there are other platforms that allow you to link multiple different social media sites to be able to post & track engagement as well. These websites can also be helpful because they can automate posts for you, allowing you to have a schedule; that way you can keep active and have consistent content.

Social Media Impactfulness

Social media has a major influence on businesses but it doesn’t have to be difficult to change yours. With all the different types of social media and its resources, there are plenty of ways to update yours with no cost to your business! All in all, it’s a long game of natural growth. Paying for views/subs/etc. doesn’t really reach your target audience and doesn’t connect you with the real people who want to be connected with your brand in the long-term.