It is no doubt that small business ownership has increased over the past five years, and small business growth will continue to rise over the next few years. According to the latest statistics shared by Oberlo, “there are 33.2 million small businesses in the US, which account for 99.9 percent of all US businesses (SBA, 2022).”
Additional stats from the Small Business Administration (SBA) states those small businesses alone account for nearly half of all private-sector employment. While starting a small business is difficult, scaling it is even more challenging. In the digital age, the proper techniques can make scaling an online business easier. Today, we’ll cover some of the most effective techniques for scaling your online venture.
Conduct Market Research for Business
Market research is a crucial step in scaling your online venture. You need to understand your customer’s needs and preferences and the competition in the market. Market research allows you to identify new opportunities and stay competitive. You can use various tools to conduct market research, such as online surveys, focus groups, and social media listening tools. This data will provide insights into your target audience, including their demographics, interests, and buying habits.
Build a Strong Brand
Branding is crucial when it comes to scaling your online venture. A strong brand will help you stand out in a crowded market and build customer loyalty. You must develop a unique brand identity and message that captures the attention of your intended audience. This includes creating a logo, designing a website, and developing a brand voice. Consistency is key in branding, so keeping your brand messaging consistent is crucial.
Develop a Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing is a great online tool to increase traffic and brand awareness. Creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content can attract new customers and retain existing ones. You can use various types of content, such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts. Focus on optimizing your content for search engine optimization and create shareable content for social media.
Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to ensure your site is visible online, preferably on the first page of Google. You can attract more organic traffic and potential customers by improving your website’s visibility in search results. SEO includes techniques like keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and content creation. Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly, has a fast loading speed, and is secure.
Leverage Social Media
Social media is an essential tool for scaling your online venture. You can easily engage with your customers by leveraging social media platforms. You can use various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Ensure you create a social media strategy that makes sense for your customer base – post relevant and valuable content that invites them to interact and engage. Use social media to promote your products or services, share your content, and interact with your followers.
Invest in Paid Advertising
Paid advertising is a great way to scale your online venture quickly. By investing in paid advertising, you can reach a wider audience and increase your visibility in search results. You can use various types of paid advertising, on and offline, to expand your reach. Set a budget for your paid advertising campaigns and track your results to optimize your ROI.
Implement Email Marketing
Email marketing is excellent for nurturing leads and updating your customers on new developments. You can engage with your customers and build long-term relationships by creating targeted email campaigns. Promote your products or services, offer discounts or special deals, and provide valuable content. Make sure that your emails are personalized, relevant, and engaging.
Hire a Virtual Assistant
As your online venture grows, you may need additional help to manage your business. Virtual assistants can help scale your business without hiring full-time employees. A virtual assistant can handle various tasks, such as customer service, social media management, content creation, and administrative tasks. Make sure you hire a virtual assistant with the right skills and experience to meet your business needs.
Expand Your Product or Service Offerings
Expanding your product or service offerings is another effective way to scale your online venture. You can attract new customers and increase revenue by offering new products or services. You can conduct market research to identify new opportunities and develop a plan to introduce new offerings. Make sure that your new offerings align with your brand and target audience.
Focus on Customer Service
Customer service is crucial when it comes to scaling your online venture. Excellent customer service can help you retain and attract new customers through word-of-mouth referrals. Ensure you have a customer service strategy, including processes for responding to customer inquiries, resolving issues, and collecting feedback. You can use various tools like live chat, chatbots, and customer service software to streamline your customer service operations.
In Summary
Scaling your online venture requires a combination of strategies and techniques. By conducting market research, building a solid brand, developing a content marketing strategy, optimizing your website for search engines, leveraging social media, investing in paid advertising, implementing email marketing, hiring a virtual assistant, expanding your product or service offerings, and focusing on customer service, you can grow your online business and achieve long-term success. Make sure that you regularly assess your progress and adjust your strategies to meet your changing business needs. With the appropriate methods, it is possible to transform your small business into a significant success.
Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you want to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!
In the current fiercely competitive business environment, it is increasingly crucial for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors. With
In the current fiercely competitive business environment, it is increasingly crucial for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors. With so many similar products and services in the market, it can take time for companies to stand out and get noticed. However, by using creativity, businesses can break the mold and set themselves apart.
What is creativity & why its important?
Creativity is the ability to develop unique and innovative ideas different from what already exists. It involves thinking outside of the box and challenging conventional thinking. Creativity is not limited to the arts alone; it also includes business.
When it comes to branding, the main question is how to make your business unique. Using creativity in your branding efforts, you can create a distinctive and memorable brand that resonates with your target audience. A creative brand can also help you connect with your customers on a deeper level and build a loyal following.
Utilizing your creativity to be differentiate
Think beyond the logo
While a logo is an essential branding element, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. To truly differentiate your brand, you need to think beyond the logo and consider all the other factors that make up your brand identity. The logo should include your brand’s color palette, typography, tone of voice, and overall visual style.
One example of a company that has done this well to differentiate itself is Airbnb. Instead of using a traditional logo, the company created a symbol that represents the idea of belonging. This symbol is used across the company’s branding efforts and has become a recognizable and memorable element of the Airbnb brand.
Tell a story
People love stories; storytelling in your branding efforts helps to connect with your audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story about your brand, you create a more personable connection with your customers.
One example of a company that differentiates well is TOMS Shoes. The company’s founder, Blake Mycoskie, started after a trip to Argentina, where he saw children without shoes. He created TOMS Shoes as a way to help provide shoes to children in need. TOMS brand has helped the company build a dedicated and loyal base of customers.
Embrace humor
Humor can be a powerful tool in branding. Using humor in your marketing efforts can create a sense of fun and approachability that can help you connect with your audience. However, using humor that aligns with your brand values and doesn’t come across as offensive or insensitive is essential.
One example of a company that uses humor in its branding to differentiate is Old Spice. The company’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign, featuring a shirtless Isaiah Mustafa, was a huge hit and helped the brand appeal to a younger, more male audience.
Be authentic
Consumers are looking for authenticity in the brands they interact with. They want to know that the brands they support are genuine to their values. By being authentic in your branding efforts, you can build trust with your customers and create a sense of loyalty.
One example of a company that differentiates itself well is Patagonia – the company has a solid commitment to the environment. By being true to its values, Patagonia’s customers appreciate the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
Experiment with new mediums
In today’s digital age, there are endless opportunities to experiment with new mediums and technologies. By exploring new ways to communicate with your audience, you can create a unique brand experience that sets you apart.
Nike is a great example of a company that has been successful with new mediums. Nike has used technology to create interactive experiences for its customers, such as the Nike Training Club and Nike Run Club apps. These apps allow customers to track their fitness progress, connect with other Nike users, and access personalized training plans. By using technology in innovative ways, Nike has differentiated a brand experience that goes beyond just selling products.
Collaborate with others
Collaboration can be a great way to bring fresh ideas and perspectives to your branding efforts. By partnering with other brands or individuals, you can create unique and memorable campaigns that stand out.
One example of a successful collaboration is the partnership between Spotify and Uber. These companies collaborated to create a feature that allowed Uber passengers to control the music in their rides using the Spotify app. This partnership began a unique brand experience for both companies and helped them stand out from their competitors.
Take risks
Finally, if you want to break the mold and differentiate your brand, you must be willing to take risks. Taking risks means being open to trying new things, even if they might not work out. You can discover new ideas and approaches to creatively expand your brand by taking risks.
One example of a company that differentiates itself is Red Bull. The energy drink company has been involved in various extreme sports and events, from sponsoring skydiving and base jumping competitions to hosting the Red Bull Flugtag. In this competition, teams build and launch their human-powered flying machines. By taking risks and sponsoring these events, Red Bull has created a brand associated with excitement, adventure, and pushing the limits.
Recap
In today’s competitive business environment, creativity is more important than ever for brands that want to differentiate themselves. By thinking beyond the logo, telling a compelling story, embracing humor, being authentic, experimenting with new mediums, collaborating with others, and taking risks, businesses can create unique experiences that resonate with their target audience. Whether you’re a small startup or a large multinational corporation, creativity can help you stand out and build a loyal following of customers who appreciate your brand’s uniqueness and innovation.
Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you want to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Book promotion can be a daunting task for any author. With so many options available, knowing which strategies will most effectively reach your target audience can be challenging. Public relations (PR) tactics can be a powerful tool for authors looking to promote their work. In this article, we’ll explore the top PR tactics for authors to help them connect with readers, generate buzz for their book promotion, and increase their visibility in the crowded publishing industry.
1. Create a Killer Press Kit
A press kit is a collection of materials that provides journalists and media outlets with everything they need to know about your book promotion. It typically includes a press release, author bio, book synopsis, high-resolution images, and contact information. A well-crafted press kit can make it easier for journalists to write about your book, increasing your chances of getting media coverage. You can create a press kit on your website or use a service like Fiverr to streamline the process.
2. Connect with Influencers
Influencers have a large social media following or are in a specific industry. By connecting with influencers, authors can tap into their audience and leverage their credibility to promote their books. Consider reaching out to book bloggers, podcast hosts, and social media influencers who may be interested in your book promotion. Offer them a free copy of your book in exchange for a review or feature on their platform.
3. Implement Social Media
Using platforms like Twitter, Instagram, TikTik, Facebook, and even LinkedIn can be powerful tools for book promotion. Authors can use these platforms to connect with readers, share news about their book promotion, and build their brand. Consider hosting a Facebook Live event where you answer questions from readers or creating a social media campaign with a unique hashtag to generate buzz for your book.
4. Host a Book Launch Party
A book launch party is a fun and effective way to celebrate the release of your book and connect with readers in your local community. You can partner with a local bookstore or library to host the event or even host it in your own home. Consider inviting book bloggers, podcast hosts, and other influencers to the event to help spread the word about your book promotion.
5. Offer a Giveaway
Everyone loves a good giveaway, and authors can use this to their advantage when promoting their books. Consider hosting a giveaway on social media or partnering with a book blogger to offer their audience a free copy of your book promotion. This can generate buzz for your book and encourage readers to check out your work.
6. Partner with Bookstores
Bookstores are a great place to connect with readers and promote your book. Consider partnering with local bookstores to host a book signing or reading event. You can also offer to do a virtual event if you are unable to travel. Partnering with bookstores can increase your visibility in the community and generate sales for your book.
7. Utilize Book Clubs
Book clubs can be a great way to connect with readers and generate buzz for your book. Consider contacting local book clubs and offering a virtual or in-person reading or Q&A session. You can also partner with online book clubs and offer members a free copy of your book to read and discuss.
8. Reach Out to Book Reviewers
Book reviewers help increase your book’s visibility and provide social proof that it’s worth reading. Consider reaching out to book bloggers, podcast hosts, and other influencers who review books in your genre. Offer them a free copy of your book in exchange for an honest review on their platform.
9. Attend Book Festivals
Book festivals are a great way to connect with readers and promote your book. Consider attending local book festivals or even larger events like BookExpo to connect with readers, bookstores, and other industry professionals. Be sure to bring copies of your book to sell and sign and promotional materials like bookmarks or postcards.
10. Utilize Email Marketing
Email marketing can be a powerful tool for authors to connect with readers and promote their books. Consider building an email list of interested readers and sending out a monthly newsletter with updates on your book, upcoming events, and exclusive content. You can also offer a free chapter or exclusive content to incentivize readers to sign up for your email list.
11. Offer Exclusive Content
Offering exclusive content can be a great way to incentivize readers to purchase your book. Consider offering a free chapter, a bonus story, or a signed bookplate to readers who pre-order your book or buy it within a specific timeframe. This can generate buzz for your book and encourage readers to purchase it early.
12. Leverage Book Awards
Winning or being nominated for a book award can significantly increase your book’s visibility and establish credibility in the industry. Consider submitting your book for recognition in your genre or partnering with book award organizations to help promote your book.
13. Utilize Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can effectively promote your book, especially if you want to reach a wider audience. Consider using platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads to target readers in your genre. You can also partner with book bloggers or social media influencers to promote your book through sponsored content.
14. Host a Book Club Kit
Creating a book club kit can be a great way to engage with readers and provide them with everything they need to host their book promotion club discussion. The kit can include discussion questions, author interviews, and recommended snacks or drinks to make the experience more enjoyable.
15. Utilize Book Trailers
These short videos provide a glimpse into your book promotion and can help generate buzz for your release. Consider creating and sharing a book trailer on your website, social media platforms, and other promotional materials.
Summary Book Promotion
Promoting a book can be challenging, but utilizing these top PR tactics for authors can increase your visibility, connect with readers, and generate buzz for your book. Whether you’re finishing your first novel or an established author, incorporating these strategies into your book promotion plan can have tremendous results on the success of your book.
Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you want to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Colors play a huge role in branding, without proper explanation and the use of color, you may be sending the wrong message to your audience. You may not know, but every color that you see out there, particularly in the marketing domain explains color and a story behind it. There is always a relationship between the branding colors and the message that you want to convey to your audience. Therefore, it is important to research well and then choose a color for the brand while still looking for the answer to a very obvious question “who is going to make a Logo for me”? Once you have decided on something, it is important you send over the message to the designers so they know what they are expected to do.
With the use of the right color in the logo, you can influence your audience. There is a critical influence of color on the way we see the world. In case you are planning to start a new business or maybe thinking of rebranding, it’s time you understand the impact of colors on the consumer’s behaviors.
It is time you take a closer look at how you can incorporate colors into your brand strategy by keeping the following things in mind because obviously, you do not want to mess up your branding.
Colors and Its Meanings in Branding Life (Your Brand)
First thing first, here we are going to discuss how each color indicates something and means something in marketing. The use of the wrong color can just completely jeopardize your whole branding. Nevertheless, here we go!
Red: If you are looking to grab attention and get your audience excited about something, red is the color to go with. It signifies anger, comfort, love, and life.
Yellow: When advertising something adventurous, travel, enthusiasm, or happiness, yellow is the color to choose.
Green: Sustainability, health, knowledge, and anything educational or healthy, if your brand promotes any of such a thing, go with green.
Blue: It is the color of competence, integrity, high quality, reliability, and honesty.
Purple: When it is about creativity, respect, and royalty, there is no better color than purple.
Pink: It signifies romance, sophistication, compassion, love, and gentleness.
Black: When you have to be sophisticated, serious, and intelligent, choose black.
Grey: Choose grey, if your brand is all about class, timelessness, practicality, and neutrality.
White: It shows innocence, space, cleanliness, and purity.
If you are still confused about how to choose the right colors for your brand, you need to read stay here and keep reading.
5 Tips to Choose a Brand Color
Create Your Brand Identity
The colors that you choose for your brand say a lot about you, we have already discussed it before. However, you need to understand how the colors reflect your brand identity. They are one important part of your whole identity and how you should go about it. The whole palette explains your values and the message that you want your brand to communicate. In order to reach this point, you need to first explain your brand identity.
The most common practice that is followed normally is listing all adjectives that explain your brand character, list them as if you are talking about a person in general. Ask questions to yourself and see what perception you want of your brand in your customer’s minds. What is that thing that differentiates you from the other brands in your industry?
2. Explore the Meanings of the Colors
The industry you are in and the message you want to send over to the customers is the deciding factor in the overall branding. However, you must understand that colors are not the exact science and there is no particular equation that can accurately explain what the color defines. And this is where we make the use of the color combinations. If your message does not come in the palette of regular colors, it is time you make some right combinations.
As we have already discussed colors, explain the brand message therefore, proper study and research should be done to ensure you are on the right track. In order to understand, if you have chosen the right color for your brand you need to think of the differences in the meanings of the different shades when combined with the other colors. Blue alone may show something else but when combined with another color, it would mean something else.
Following industries use these colors in order to signify the right meaning. a) Food industry: You would see most of the logos of the restaurant industry in the warm tones, one of the reasons is because they attract attention and hunger. Colors like yellow, red, and orange are a few of the many colors that are used for this purpose. However, when the brand is all about nutrition and health, green is the color that most brands use for their identification. And of course, pink and blue for the desserts and sweets.
b) Health and wellness: When we talk about health and wellness, cleanliness is the first thing that comes to your mind and nothing represents cleanliness better than blue color. The blue color shows responsibility and trustworthiness. Other colors to choose from are green and orange as they represent nature and wholesomeness.
c) Fashion: If your brand is all sophisticated and elegant you MUST go with the black color. No fashion brand can ever go wrong with the black color. You would be surprised to see how black and white are the most classic colors and they are always the safest choice. Nevertheless, you can also go with pink, red, and orange as well to show excitement, passion, and confidence as well.
d) Technology: You would most see blue color when it comes to advertising technological products. The color symbolizes intelligence, efficiency and trust. Moreover, you can also use orange as well as it is more friendly and optimistic. Other than this, purple also stands for creativity and quality.
3. Look for Inspiration
There must be a story behind your brand? Or a reason why you started it? Or something that must have influenced you to begin your brand. When you are working on branding your brand, you need to look for the reasons why you started the brand, what was the initial inspiration for you. It would help you decide your brand colors. Look through the colors your competitors are using the palettes they go through and try to think of their pattern. We are not in any way recommending you to copy their theme or influence, but you should look for inspiration from them. You both are in the same industry and nobody can guide you better than someone who has already been in your shoes. Think of all the lessons that you can take from their color choices, and the ways you can be different from them.
4. Choose the Main Color
Once you have taken all the inspiration from the competitors, it’s time you decide on the main color. The primary color will later then decide the whole palette for the brand. Such as the primary color for Tiffany’s is blue, you would see different shades of it in their whole branding. The same goes with the brands like Pinterest and Facebook, there is always so much that you can do with your primary color. The only thing is how you choose to do it.
Choose one main color that you think explains your business the best and their meaning is perfect for a brand. In order to reach the final color, you can try o the different colors and then choose the one that goes with the brand the best.
5. Choose Secondary Colors
You cannot depend on a single color for your whole branding, as good as it looks sometimes you have to choose other colors as well for the same purpose. When you have chosen the final color, look for the combinations and the colors that make the best combination with the primary color. You can choose more than one for it and then make sure the meaning of the combination is not confusing for your customers. It might be tricky for you but once you have decided on the whole palette everything later becomes easy.
Wrapping up!
Going with a branding color only because it’s your favorite is one irrational decision, you should know the science behind all the colors and understand why should it go with your brand. Most brands make the mistake of going with the colors only because the color is trending or the vibe of the color is good. It is not recommended at all. Changing your branding, again and again, is not possible therefore it is important when you are taking an initial step you should know when and how to go about it. The color you choose for your brand says a lot about you as it has a strong subconscious impact that most people do not know about.
Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Great events are driven by great ideas, full of ambition and creativity. However, the reality is that the better your ideas, the more funding you are likely to need. For that reason, sponsors are essential, but how exactly do you get them? Here, we’re going to look at four methods of finding the sponsorship your event needs and what it takes to attract it.
Talk to event organizers
You are not the first person to try put an event together. You may have event organizers with some experience on your side. If that’s the case, talk to them about sponsors they have worked with in the past. If you have attended events run by others or are on good terms with other organizers, reach out to them, too. Never underestimate the power of networking. You may even gain some helpful tips and insights along the way. If they’re a direct competitor, they may not be so keen to help, of course.
Look at past events like yours
If you have seen events similar to yours in the past but you don’t know the organizers, you might not want to get in touch solely to ask a favor of them. Instead, you may want to look directly at the sponsors instead. Once you know your event goals and your sponsor criteria, start looking through the sponsor listings for those events. List all the sponsors and narrow them down to the most applicable. Make sure they have a higher potential inclination to sponsor your event, too. Find the individuals from those companies most readily able to make the decision to sponsor an event. Many of these stakeholders can be found easily through social platforms like LinkedIn. Once you find them, send them a personalized pitch detailing your offer.
Market your event widely
You want sponsors with a marketing and advertising department since they can lend plenty of outreach to your event. Those with active marketing teams also tend to have an eye on the marketing in their sector. Put time and effort into event marketing through channels like social media and press releases. The better your marketing, the more likely you are to catch the interest of a marketing head of a potential sponsor.
Use sites built to connect sponsors and events
There are online communities and platforms built specifically for the purpose of connecting event organizers and sponsors to one another. Resources like SponsorMyEvent, SponsorPitch, and SponsorPark not only have active communities but they also have tools that allow you to quickly put together your proposals. It’s a good idea to have set criteria for sponsorship so that any interested parties can quickly see what you have to offer and what you need in return. Besides helping you reach out to sponsors, these platforms can be great for better understanding what your event sponsorship package is going to look like.
Your sponsor (or sponsors) can be a crucial part of your event’s success. Make sure that you have a proposal that is built to catch their interest, clearly outlining the potential reach of your event and the links to their own aims. The more you show the event’s viability, the more interested they are likely to be.
In the current fiercely competitive business environment, it is increasingly crucial for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors. With
Most small businesses attract customers the old-fashioned way—via “word of mouth.” While word of mouth marketing works, it’s a painfully slow process to build a business. If you have a business, no matter how small it is, the best way to grow your customer base quickly is to advertise.
Here are some easy-to-implement advertising ideas you can do so you can effectively reach your target market:
Make your Business Newsworthy
If you want newspapers and magazines to write about your business, you need to make your business newsworthy in the eyes of the press. A write-up in a publication won’t cost you anything and can help get the word out about your business. So how do you go about it? You need to think of interesting stories that can create a buzz for your business. Examples of these are:
If you have a salon, you can devout a weekend giving free haircuts to orphans or the homeless.
If you have a small pharmacy, you can start offering delivery service to your customers.
If you have a store, you can have a Kids are the Boss Day and let children of your employees handle the day’s business.
If you have a restaurant, you can make a conscious effort to make your business eco-friendly
The key is to come up with stories that hit home emotionally. The story may not be directly about your product offerings but it’s a great PR tool for you.
Make a YouTube video
As focus shift from television to computer screens, YouTube has become one of the most important platforms online. With over 30 million visitors every single day, and five billion videos viewed daily, YouTube is an essential tool for any business looking to reach a large audience. You can create a video demonstrating your product and post it on YouTube. Or you can even create a series of videos that revolve around your product and its benefits and place them all on a YouTube channel. Here are some of the types of videos you create for your business:
A how-to video demonstrating how to use your product.
A Q&A about your product or service
A series of video testimonials from your customers
A video how your product is made in the factory
Maximize your Facebook Business Page
The Facebook for Business Page has easy-to-use and affordable advertising tools for small businesses, use it to your advantage. You can boost a post and make it appear on your target market’s New Feed or promote your business page by clicking the Promote button. Here are other ways to advertise on Facebook:
Facebook Events – get the word out about your business by creating an event on Facebook. You can invite your friends and prospective customers and watch your guest list grow.
Content syndication – if you already have a website or a blog, you can use Facebook’s Social Plugins to enable them to be shared quickly.
Nowadays, social media dominates the conversation around influence-building in the digital landscape: exploring alternative strategies that can help you establish
An app that seems simple in what it does at first but really saves you from some awful moments, Localechanges your phone’s ringer settings based upon where you are located. If you are stuck in an important class or meeting, it will automatically know, and adjust your ringer. What started out as a mere embarrassment solution got more popular as people loved being able to use the GPS features on their phone so it would know when they couldn’t be bothered. Another great feature is having the VIP caller list that always lets certain people get a hold of you no matter what type of business you’re attending to!
In the current fiercely competitive business environment, it is increasingly crucial for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors. With
