By Brian Sutter on September 26, 2016

Take social media to the next level for your small business​Want to do more on social media for your small business?

A lot of small businesses do. 

Our survey of 1,100 small businesses from earlier this year found that most small businesses have embraced social media, but that they still want more out of it.

Here are a few of the key stats from that study:

• 45 percent of small businesses use social media to sell to potential customers
• 38 percent of small businesses use social media to gain likes and fans
• 34 percent of small businesses use social media to solicit and respond to customers

Does any of that fit with what you’re doing on social, too? Are you trying to get all that done with little to no budget?

If you are, you’re actually like many of the small businesses we surveyed 34 percent spend three percent or less of their revenue on marketing. One in 10 spends nothing.

Source: ​http://www.business.com/social-media-marketing/15-free-social-media-marketing-tools-for-small-businesses/

Business coach Lisa Hughes on why marketing has to stay at the very top of your agenda
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​Why is marketing important for my company?
​Marketing is absolutely key for any business because there is nothing more important than to attract customers because you are trying to grow your revenue and grow your customers. Marketing is actually understanding your market, knowing who your customers are, targeting them effectively, crafting messages to appeal to them and targeting them in a way that is really going to bring them to your business.

Should I have a marketing plan?
Absolutely. Keep it simple, you need a plan but that is really more about “Who are my customers? What problem am I solving? How am I adding value? What solution am I providing?” and then “Where are they right now and how can I connect with them in a way that’s meaningful to them?” because you are looking to create awareness of your product, first of all, and then build that relationship between you so that when they come to buy, or need it, you are top of mind.

What are the key things to remember in my approach to marketing my business?
The most important thing is to keep your buyer persona or your target audience in mind, and really be connected to them and what their challenges or issues are. If in doubt, try something out, bring it to a bunch of people who are already customers of yours or who fit into your category and ask them questions.

What should I avoid?
Spending too much money is a really bad idea. Start small, and test. As a start-up you can get caught up in spending a lot of money which may not necessarily be working for you. Listening in marketing is so important, keeping an ear to the ground of what the customer sentiment is.

How much should I invest in marketing?
Look at every investment you make as a marketing investment. If you are building a website, that’s a marketing investment. If you’re investing in technology to better serve your customer, that’s a marketing investment because you are creating a customer experience. If you look at everything with a marketing eye then all of your budget is marketing budget in some respects. How much you should spend is about what your objectives are.

How important are branding and design?
Branding is the thing that creates the emotional connection with the customer. However, it really depends who your customer is. If you’re targeting silver surfers your Twitter account is not terribly important. If you are targeting time-poor moms in the supermarket with small children then what the packaging looks like actually is really important.

How do I approach marketing if my business grows?
Keep checking in. The biggest real danger as your company grows is that you start to become confident that you know the market and what your customer wants and you just may not. You have to stay connected because if you lose that connection you can’t speak to someone in a real, authentic voice that’s going to get to the heart of what their issues are. And the best brands stay close to their best customers.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/aib-start-up-academy/lesson-plan-is-it-too-early-to-think-of-marketing-my-start-up-1.2805161

When speaking at Content Marketing World recently, I said something that surprised a few people: Modern sales and marketing require both disciplines to act as one.  If you see sales and marketing as two separate functions, then you are living in the past.

The shame is that in most organizations, businesses overlook the importance of a tight connection between the two parts of the organization. When you recognize how today’s customers have evolved in their buying habits, the sales and marketing connection becomes obvious.

A Silo Approach No Longer Works
We used to think of marketing and sales as having two distinct roles. The Marketing Team was there to create interest and awareness. The Sales Team was supposed to build customer confidence and urgency. As more of the buying process continues to shift to online markets, you have a huge opportunity to build customer trust and uncover urgency through content. Smart companies use online content as an integral part of the sales process. The content serves as examples to help your clients better understand how you address common challenges they might be facing, too.

Top performing companies are making the shift. At Content Marketing World, in addition to the keynote session, I delivered a workshop with my good friend, Marcus Sheridan of TheSalesLion.com, about integrating sales and marketing. Two years ago, there were 16 people registered for our workshop. Last year, there were 40. This year, over 75 registered. Next year, several companies have threatened to bring their sales leadership (to a marketing conference).

Attract The Best Sales Opportunities
Is your current messaging rooted in YOUR perspective, or the customer’s perspective? Perhaps your messaging resonates well with your internal team, but not as vividly as you’d like with the customer.

Marketing departments spend hours crafting just the right phrasing to capture a complicated concept in one or two words. Your sales and customer service teams are regularly in front of customers, and they too are well-served to craft their language carefully. They receive multiple questions per day. Ask them for the questions they hear most often.
Make sure you capture the exact words your customers use. Don’t turn it into “marketing speak.” Keep it raw.

Your salespeople not only receive those questions but answer them. If you pay attention to the questions and answers, you’ll have the information you need to create valuable content that attracts your ideal customers.

Accelerate Sales
Great content helps to not only attract the right customers, but to serve as a valuable tool for maintaining a conversation and building confidence and trust with your potential clients.
This means that instead of saying, “Hey, just checking in to see if you’ve made a decision yet…” you can send a note that says, “When we met, you asked a great question about driving traffic to your website. I’ve included a link to an article that might be helpful. Once you’ve had a chance to review the article, I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

The key, however, is to ensure that your sales organization is feeding relevant topics to marketing, and then using that content as part of a follow-up strategy with clients.  In a recent podcast episode on Grow My Revenue, I share how to properly follow up using content you’ve created for your clients.

If you decide to continue keeping sales and marketing separate entities, then know that you are not keeping pace with trends in buyer behavior. If you refuse to change, just be sure to order plenty of cardboard signs, markers and tin cups – you’ll be doing plenty of begging for business.

It’s Your Turn
Where have you gained confidence because the seller shared great content? Share your experiences in the comments or via Twitter or LinkedIn.

Ian Altman is the bestselling author of Same Side Selling and Host of the Grow My Revenue Business Cast.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ianaltman/2016/09/22/sales-and-marketing-still-separate-not-for-todays-clients/#277402f9358a

​The folks at HubSpot, an inbound marketing and sales platform, have just published their eighth annual State of Inbound Report. And the big news is buried on Page 44 of the 65-page long report: Inbound marketers see YouTube and Facebook video as the future of marketing!1 And this future also includes Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine!

Now, most video marketers will shrug their shoulders and say, “We’ve known that video is the future of marketing for years1.” But, take a closer look and who HubSpot surveyed. They are marketers in B2B, B2C, small, and mid-sized businesses. Half of the companies represented generate under $1 million each year. And HubSpot was able to get 4,500 respondents from over 132 countries. So, this is a big freaking deal.

Video & Content MarketingIf video marketers aren’t familiar with the concept of inbound marketing, it’s a term that was coined back in 2005 by Brian Halligan, the CEO and co-founder of HubSpot. Instead of the old outbound marketing methods of buying ads, buying email lists, and praying for leads, Halligan says inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product. The concept started with blogging, which is why one of the questions that the 2016 State of Inbound Report asks is: “How long does it typically take you or someone in marketing to write a 500-word blog post?” (The answers range from under 1 hour to over 4 hours. More significantly, only 42% of blog posts are 500 words or less long. Another 42% are 501 to 1,000 words long. And some are 1,001 to 1,500 words long or longer.)

Unlike most YouTube creators or media companies, inbound marketers aren’t trying to build a large consumer audience that will be monetized by selling advertising to brands and agencies. According to HubSpot, inbound marketers are more likely to work for small businesses or B2B companies that deal with high dollar values, long research cycles and knowledge-based products. They are more interested in aligning the content they publish with their customer’s interests, attracting inbound traffic naturally that they can then convert, close, and delight over time.
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And while inbound marketers may be late to the digital video dance, they have a very clear picture of what the future of marketing will look like. HubSpot asked them, “What content distribution channels do you plan to add to your marketing efforts in the next 12 months?” And 48% said YouTube, 39% said Facebook video, 33% said Instagram, 20% said messaging apps, 15% said podcasts, 13% said Snapchat, 8% said Medium, 5% said Slack, 5% said Vine, and 5% said other.

According to the report, the biggest takeaway, is this: “Marketers are thinking hard about decentralized content. Many are experimenting with taking their content to new channels; this is a fairly new tactic that few have mastered, but many are working on.

In our survey, marketers clearly are accounting for video content’s rising popularity among global online browsers, with 48% planning on using YouTube and 39% looking to use Facebook video.
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With such a large number of respondents, HubSpot can drill down into data and still get an accurate picture of what different segments think about the future of marketing. For example, inbound marketers in North America (NAM) are the least enthusiastic about video content, with only 35% saying they’ll use YouTube as a channel and 28% saying they’ll use Facebook video. By comparison, 56% of their counterparts Latin America (LATAM) say they’ll use YouTube and 50% say they’ll use Facebook video. When it come plans on leveraging YouTube and Facebook video in the future, inbound marketers in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Southeast Asia (SEA), and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) are somewhere in between.

Slicing the data another way, HubSpot reports that video dominates the agenda of C-level business leaders. By far, senior executives are embracing video content for their business, with 56% of C-levels planning to add YouTube as a content channel, 46% thinking about Facebook video, and 17% looking into Snapchat. It’s worth noting that YouTube and Facebook have spotted this trend in the digital video marketing business. Ironically, both video platforms have recently launched traditional outbound marketing efforts to reach innovative inbound marketers. (Double facepalm.)

For example, YouTube acquired Directr, a video editing startup, back in August 2014. The Directr for Business app was tailor made for marketers in small and mid-sized businesses with an iPhone. Among other things, the app featured a storyboard-driven creation process that provided novice video marketing teams the ideas, guidance, and tools they needed to create great HD videos with just their iPhones and share them instantly to their websites, blogs, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Directr for Business included storyboards for:

• Customer testimonials,
• Product announcements,
• How to tutorials,
• Executive profile videos,
• Event videos,
• Social media tips, and
• Press release supplements.

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In June 2016, the Official YouTube Blog announced the launch of the YouTube Director suite of products. Although it is now spelled with “o”, YouTube Director for Business still provides shot-by-shot guidance – so inbound marketers can create a high-quality video ad for their business without needing extensive video editing experience. They can browse through more than 100 video templates designed for businesses like the five in this video, who YouTube challenged to create a video ad in 20 minutes or less.

The folks at YouTube also announced YouTube Director onsite, a service that will send a professional filmmaker to shoot and edit a video ad for free whenever a business spends at least $150 to advertise on YouTube.1 Currently, YouTube Director onsite is only available in six metro areas. But, it’s expected to roll out in more cities soon. Now, I’m not going to knock the app. It’s free. And it solves a real problem that faces many marketers in small and mid-sized businesses who are making a video for the first time. And I’ve got no problem with YouTube Director onsite. Requiring small and mid-sized businesses to spend $150 to advertise on YouTube seems very reasonable to me.
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But, let me ask video marketers a couple of basic questions. First, “Did you know that the YouTube Director for Business app was available for the iPhone in the U.S. and Canada?” Second, “Were you aware that the YouTube Director onsite service is available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.?” I’ll bet that most of you didn’t.

In other words, there’s nothing wrong with YouTube’s product or service. But, inbound marketers will be the first to tell you that one blog post does not constitute an inbound marketing campaign – even a blog post with an embedded video and a link to an associated web page. And the examples in the embedded video above seem fine – if you’re a business that’s already interested in buying a video ad. But, they don’t really resonate with inbound marketers who are planning to create quality content that pulls people toward their company and product.

Heck, the video above shows five businesses running that are using TrueView video ads to reach a local audience and increase awareness. Now, that’s a legitimate marketing goal. But, not one of these businesses seems interested in adding interactive elements – like cards, call-to-action overlays, shopping cards, and auto end screens – that could help them achieve other advertising goals, such as driving consideration, favorability, purchase intent, and sales. Hey, these are legitimate marketing goals, too.

Facebook Video & Marketing

Meanwhile, the folks over at Facebook are also working to help marketers in B2B, B2C, small, and mid-sized businesses small businesses create video ads. For example, the social network launched slideshow, a new type of lightweight video ad created from a series of still images, in October 2015. Slideshow uses video-like motion and no sound, giving inbound marketers a new way to tell their stories to people around the world. This solves two problems.

First, the Slideshow tool makes it a lot easier to create video ads from still images. All marketers in small and mid-sized businesses need to do is upload three to seven still images – which can come from an existing video, a photo shoot, or even stock imagery from Facebook’s library. Then, they simply choose the length of their slideshow – which can be 5 to 15 seconds long. In other words, slideshow reduces the investment required to shoot and edit a video as well as the need for video production time and resources.
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Second, a 15-second slideshow can be up to 5x smaller in file size than a video of the same length. This is especially important for inbound marketers are trying to reach people in emerging and high-growth countries, where connectivity and the prevalence of basic devices make it difficult to deliver video to their entire audience.

In August 2016, Facebook announced some new features for slideshow ads. This included the ability to add text and music, create slideshows from Android mobile devices, and use assets from Facebook’s stock image database and Pages Photo Library. In addition, Facebook launched a new tool that allows inbound marketers in emerging and high growth markets to take existing video assets and turn them into a slideshow that will play on slower connection speeds – in just a few clicks.

Were you already aware of this? Or, did you miss this news about advertising on Facebook? In other words, there’s nothing wrong with Facebook’s tool. But, inbound marketers will be the first to tell you that two posts on Facebook Pages don’t constitute an inbound marketing campaign – even these posts include images, videos, and links to related Facebook Pages. And the examples of companies using slideshow in posts include Coca-Cola in Kenya and Nigeria as well as Unilever’s Paddle Pop ice cream brand in Indonesia. Now, these are both great brands, but I wouldn’t describe them as small or mid-sized businesses.

So, if you work at a brand or agency that’s already interested in buying a video ad, then you might have stumbled over the news. But, if you’re and inbound marketer who is planning to create quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, you probably missed these announcements.

And, even if you didn’t miss these announcements, neither on mentions the fact that you can track website conversions – including checkouts, registrations, leads, key web page views, adds to cart, and purchases – after seeing your Facebook ad. All you need to do is add a snippet of code to the HTML on your website, and you’ll get reports when people see your ad and take action.

Why haven’t YouTube and Facebook connected the dots for inbound marketers? Maybe they’re optimized to use traditional outbound marketing to sell boatloads of advertising to a few big advertisers. But, if they want to solve problems for thousands of innovative inbound marketers, then they might want to practice a little inbound marketing themselves. According to HubSpot, “Inbound marketing is about using marketing to bring potential customers to you, rather than having your marketing efforts fight for their attention.” Hey, what a concept.

Source: http://tubularinsights.com/video-marketing-youtube-facebook-video/#ixzz4LBY1PrD8
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by Jennifer Burns On 21 Jul

With recent current events and tragic news in the media each day, it’s time to talk about best practices your brand should use when it comes to social media during a crisis. Far too often we see brands really mess this one up.

I’m speaking specifically to brands, not individuals. But, if you are an individual who manages a brand’s social community (like a Community Manager), this message is for you.

While it may be tempting to “pay tribute” to someone’s death, or even create a social post “in support of” a particular tragedy as a brand, resist the urge. Sharing emotional feelings during a crisis or tragedy as in individual is completely acceptable. But as a brand, we don’t recommend crossing that line.

Here are a few tips for your brand to keep in mind in the midst of a tragedy

NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR BRAND TODAY. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.

It may sound harsh, but it’s true. During a tragedy, individuals on social media channels don’t care about hearing from your brand. They are more concerned about the current news and conversations within their feed – individuals commenting on the news, expressing personal thoughts and opinions, etc. It’s very likely that the last thing they want to see is a tweet selling them on why they need your latest product. Take the backseat. Don’t be a Cheerio.

Source: ​http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/crisis-management/best-practices-crisis-on-social-media/

by SIMON CANNING on September 20, 2016 4:56

Facebook has emerged as the most popular social media platform for people to buy goods and services, but Australian brands are way behind, with 34% of businesses not using social media at all.

​The first ever Paypal mCommerce Index Report revealed there remains a huge gap between the evolving behaviour of consumers and how business is reacting.
The survey found that 71% of consumers now use their mobile devices for payments, spending an average of $330 a month.
Of those who engaged in transactions directly through social networks – using devices such as ‘click-to-buy’ buttons – 75% have purchased through Facebook.

In an indictment of how far behind business was compared with consumer behaviour and expectations, 51% of Australian businesses have not optimised for mobile and 20% of Australian business did not know what their ecommerce sales figures were.

“Although online businesses think they don’t have to optimise for mobile now they will have to if they want to stay competitive,” said Libby Roy, managing director, PayPal Australia.

“Mobile-toting teenagers will become wage earners and the population of digital native consumers will continue to grow.”
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She said that 24% of people over 50 were making mobile payments and purchases at least once a week.

​The report also found that ‘dual screening’ was now commonplace with 82% of people reporting they made mobile purchases while at home relaxing or watching TV.
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The data shows that although the majority of consumers do not indicate that mobile is their preferred device for online purchases, they are using their mobile devices to shop when they are at home, presumably when they also have access to a laptop or desktop  computer,” the report said.
“Understanding the prevalence of dual-screening can help to inform future mcommerce positioning, marketing and consumer targeting,” said Libby Roy.

She said the emergence of social commerce was one of the real surprises of the survey.
“It’s definitely emerging as a new frontier for online commerce,” she said.

“11% of respondents have actually purchased via a social platform.”

She said the consumer uptake of social commerce would grow quickly and that 7% of businesses were able to accept payment through social channels, but the huge gap between early adopters and majority of the business community was a concern.”

“A quarter said they didn’t understand how social media worked,” she said.

Source: https://mumbrella.com.au/business-missing-marketing-goldmine-mobile-commerce-396763

How to bring your local business to the next level with digital marketing

Relevancy is a huge part of marketing today. For most brick and mortar businesses, localization is a key element of relevancy. After all, your business depends on people in your area being aware of you and able to find you.

I have worked with many such businesses and always get the same questions: "Why am I not converting?" "Why customers not showing up?"

Whether you are a diner, a car dealership, a coffee shop, a dentist or a marketer, simply adding your business to the local directory will not cut it. You need to think bigger!

​Here are 7 key tips for marketing your local business online:

1. There is no one-size-fits-all approach
The approach you take depends on the results you want to see, and how quickly you want or need to see them. For example, building SEO establishes long term visibility, typically with higher conversions, but takes commitment and time before you see results. SEM, on the other hand, delivers results only for your period of investment, but the results are more immediate.

2. Think mobile
Most mobile search results are location based. If you are serious about attracting people into your business, you cannot ignore mobility. When someone is on the go, looking for a good lunch spot, they're not going to go home to check their computer. They're going to whip out their smartphone! A responsive, easy to navigate, mobile-friendly site is an absolute must.Additionally, Google factors mobile-friendliness into their search rankings, so a mobile-friendly site can also improve your overall search rankings.

3. Think holistically
When setting up your physical business, you look at the whole picture. You don't just need to get people in the door, you need to create an experience for them once they're inside! You consider decor, product placement and accessibility, lighting, music, staffing and more.You need to take a similar approach to the digital side of your business. You need to concentrate on both the post-click phase as well as the pre-click phase, and ensure it's aligned with the big picture. Once someone clicks on your ad or search listing, what happens next? Pay attention to the landing pages, messaging, visitor paths, site flow and ease of navigation.

4. Think local in your messaging
Your messaging - the words, phrases and sentences you use on your site - has a big impact on your search results. Be sure to work your location into your messaging.For example, if you are a Montreal-based photographer specializing in headshots, use phrases like "Montreal headshots", "Montreal headshot photographer" and "headshot photography Montreal" on your site. More generic phrases like "headshot photographer" are too broad, difficult to rank for and don't capitalize on your location.

5. Think first impressions
For most businesses, brick and mortar storefronts are no longer a customer's first impression. People today go online to find virtually everything. Your website is now your first impression. And just as in real life, first impressions are everything on the internet.Be ready for your customers' arrival. Just as you keep your physical store looking its best, make sure your website is giving off the right impression.

6. Think education
Thanks to the internet, customers today are more educated about products, services and, most significantly, your competitors, than they have ever been before.Choose to see this as a positive thing and use it to your advantage. Be the one who is educating them. Drive value in best possible ways by providing tips, news and ideas relevant to your brand, product and target market.

When you are seen as a source of knowledge, you are seen as an expert.

7. Don't always think budget
A low budget is not an issue. Inaction is an issue. The most important thing is to start somewhere and measure results. Even a small investment will give you something to analyze and optimize, so that you can continue to improve results and drive more business.


Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/tarek-riman/local-business-marketing-strategies_b_12032250.html

​Habit. Routine. Discipline. Compliance. These are the magic words of marketing success. Just take a look at any successful, profitable business and behind the curtain is truly a master musician; a business owner who understands what it takes to win: focused intent followed by disciplined action, repeated daily.
The distinction between these words is subtle but powerful. It all has to do with the level of thought and intention that goes into the work being done. Habits require little thought; they are an automatic response triggered by an event. In many ways, habits drive you instead of the other way around. Routines are slightly more intentional and flexible. They can be consciously adjusted or skipped without too much of an impact. Discipline, on the other hand, is fully intentional and doesn't require triggers, or even flexibility. All that discipline requires is an awareness of regulations and a desire toward an outcome. It's this desire that drives you to create a routine that ultimately becomes a habit. In short—to get the bottom line results that you desire, you've got to be disciplined, create routines, and develop habits of thought and action that you do DAILY.
3 Simple Steps That Lead to Profitable Habits
Bad habits seem to have no problem insinuating themselves into our lives. It's the good habits that will take us to where we want to be that we struggle with. In their 2010 book, "Switch"[MJM1] , Chip and Dan Heath discuss the inner conflict between our logical brain and our lizard brain. As it turns out, it takes some conscious management of the conversation between these two brains to successfully put new habits in place.
Break your goal up into easily achievable small pieces. Then, find and show your brain that it has been done before -- by many people. If they can do it, you can do it. Then give it specific instructions. Your lizard brain is like an impulsive toddler; when you are ready to create a new habit, make a list of simple tasks or instructions your brain can follow.
10 Marketing Habits That May Lead to More Profitable Customers
Here are some simple marketing habits that you can easily incorporate into your day. Do not attempt to do all of them at once. Instead, choose one at a time, give yourself 30 days of practice, and then move on to the next. In a year, you could be flooded with profitable, loyal customers.

1. Insert your marketing message in at least three conversations each day. Your marketing message is like your mantra, you can use your 30-second commercial, your unique selling proposition (USP), or your mission or vision statement. Whatever you use to describe your business to someone, make a conscious effort to communicate this to at least three people each day. You can do this in a blog post, a social media share, email, face-to-face conversation, or phone call. The idea is to focus on the benefits your business brings to others and learn to say it quickly, effortlessly, in simple human language. It's an effective reminder for you and it guarantees that you've promoted yourself to over 1,000 people each year. (Yes—do this even when you are on vacation.) Now, imagine if each of your employees did this as well. This is the best, free advertising deal out there.
2. Connect with at least five referrers every week. You may have lots of referrals, but do you have a relationship with specific people who regularly refer you? Identify friends, partners, and influencers who are in regular conversation with your ideal customers and connect with them regularly. Be sure to see how you can help them and don't be afraid to ask for referrals for your business.
3. Leave a recommendation on LinkedIn every week. Identify at least 50 prospects, customers, or potential referrers and leave a written recommendation for at least one of them each week. This will accomplish two things; they will write a recommendation for YOU, you will be on their radar, they will email you, you can schedule a phone call and create a whole new conversation that may ultimately lead to new business.
4. Ask every satisfied customer for a review on Google or Yelp every day. Businesses with many customer reviews get more customers and make more money. Put a review system in place that makes it easy for customers to leave positive reviews. Use a system like Online Review Builder that makes it easy for customers to leave reviews on your website. Be on the lookout for happy customers -- ask every happy customer to leave a review every day.
5. Talk to your customers on Facebook daily. If you have a company Facebook page and you're not "talking" to your customers there, you are missing out on FREE advertising. Every time someone "likes" your page, your posts end up in their newsfeed --FOR FREE. Ask questions, create Facebook Live videos, talk to your customers, fans, and friends. Using this method in place of expensive market research, you will get real customer feedback. It's much harder for a customer to leave a business when they have a relationship with the owner.
6. Write an informative blog post every week. Be sure that your blog is connected to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and an email marketing system. Then take the time to write an interesting, topical blog post once a week. Every blog post you write is free advertising. If you're struggling with what to write about, make a list of the top 50 questions your customers ask and answer them.
7. Talk to one influencer on Twitter every day. You are missing out on thousands of dollars of free advice if you aren't connecting with influencers and brands on Twitter. These folks live for talking with small business owners just like you; they are happy to answer your questions and help you. If Facebook is where your friends are, Twitter is where your top notch experts reside.
8. Care about your customers daily. When you care about someone, you might think about how to surprise them, find ways to make their life easier. Every day, find and do something that shows your customers that you care about them. This can be anything from solving a customer complaint to holding the door open.
9. Read business books and articles every day. The best marketing ideas are adaptations of something that's being done in another industry by another small business. Use tools like Feedly, RightRelevance.com, and BuzzSumo.com to grab feeds from your favorite websites and magazines. All of these have sharing options so you can read, get ideas, and start conversations on social media around the topic.
10. Ask yourself "So what?" at least once a week. Imagine that you're the customer and you heard a featured product or service in a sales conversation. Then, ask yourself, "So what?" That is exactly what your customer is thinking. Come up with as many answers as you can and pick the best one.

​The key to implementing new habits is to create structures in your life that make it easier for you to do the desired behavior. Take any of the habits on this list and rework it as part of your daily routine. You may put it in your calendar as an appointment, or create a trigger instruction such as, "Whenever a customer checks out, give them a card and ask them to give us a review." Growing a profitable business doesn't have much to do with marketing magic. It has everything to do with taking personal actions that create new customers every day.

About the Author:
Ivana Taylor is the publisher of DIYMarketers.com. She ranked #21 out of 30,000 influential people on the Internet in Fast Company. Ivana is also one of D&B Top SMB Influencers. She is the book editor for Small Business Trends, a contributing author to AMEX Open Forum and has appeared on MSNBC.
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Source: http://www.paychex.com/articles/marketing/10-marketing-habits-small-business-owner-should-have

By AJ Agrawal On  SEP 9, 2016  

There are lots of new marketing strategies that have arisen with the march of technology. The best businesses are not exclusively using these brand new ideas, though. A lot of the ideas from the past still work today. With some slight tweaking, you can take what worked yesterday and make it relevant to today.
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This guide is going to introduce you to some of themain marketing strategies from the past that still work today.

ive Out A Promotional Gift

Businesses have been giving away free samples since time began. The concept of the free gift has always been a great way of making an impression on a customer. The fact you’re giving out something for free is a demonstration that you appreciate your target market.

Promotional gifts can be absolutely anything. They’re an insight into your business. Impress your target audience with what you have to offer and they might just come back to find out more about you.

The majority of free gifts given out by businesses require a tiny investment. There’s no reason why you have to use huge amounts of money on this. Even a small token is enough to leave a lasting impression on your target market. And it can lock in clients for years to come.

Using Your Mailing List

Talk to anyone about email marketing and they will comment on the fact it’s an archaic marketing strategy, even though 82% of companies still use it. That’s true because people have been using it for years and people have been talking about how email marketing is dead for just as long. But the studies don’t lend any credibility to the idea that this form of marketing is ready to be buried just yet.

Those same studies reveal how email marketing remains one of the most effective ways of promoting your business. Your mailing list is the only way you’re going to get a direct connection to your target market. No matter what happens you will always have that email list to get in touch with.

It’s a big asset to have by your side. It’s the one thing you have total control over.

​Using Your Mailing List

Talk to anyone about email marketing and they will comment on the fact it’s an archaic marketing strategy, even though 82% of companies still use it. That’s true because people have been using it for years and people have been talking about how email marketing is dead for just as long. But the studies don’t lend any credibility to the idea that this form of marketing is ready to be buried just yet.

Those same studies reveal how email marketing remains one of the most effective ways of promoting your business. Your mailing list is the only way you’re going to get a direct connection to your target market. No matter what happens you will always have that email list to get in touch with.

It’s a big asset to have by your side. It’s the one thing you have total control over.