Startup & Small Business - Page 7

Check out our latest entrepreneurial-driven content geared toward helping startups and small businesses grow their brands.

4 Tips for Making Your Way in the Sharing Economy

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This is a great time to start or grow a small business. With the rise of collaborative consumption as a viable economic model, people are inventing brand-new ways to earn a living and reshaping the world of work. It’s much bigger than Uber and Lyft; people are using phones and computer-based apps to find all manner of peer-to-peer work. Airbnb and Couchsurfing allow you to rent a room in someone’s home. You can also locate pet sitters and custom crafters online. There are even apps where you can hire someone to make you soup when you’re sick. Human ingenuity has no bounds; if you can imagine it, you can monetize it. However, it just takes the right setup and planning to become successful in the sharing economy.

The following tips from Keetria can help you find your footing in the sharing economy.

Understand What You Need to Do

Thanks to the gig economy, you don’t need to be an experienced entrepreneur to run a successful business today! As long as you find a platform where you can offer your services and find your first customers, you can start your own business. First, you’ll need to work out a business plan and preliminary budget. These documents will come in handy should you ever decide to apply for grants or look for a business partner.

After you’ve sorted out these important documents, think about how you’ll pay yourself and any staff you hire. It’s important to keep your business and personal finances separated, and you need to dogear funds to send to Uncle Sam on a regular basis. You should also set aside money to pay for health insurance, retirement, and so forth. A payroll app like Quickbooks is the easiest solution. It will remind you about paydays and tax deadlines, allows you to do things like generate payroll on the fly, and even provide you with free direct deposit. The easier you can make it to tackle mundane and complicated concerns like payroll, the better!

Find Your Niche

Having a great idea is just the beginning. Do a little homegrown market research and find out if you have competitors. If you do, consider taking one to lunch. For the price of a meal, you can pick up some information about the nature of the work you plan to do and what the market for that work is like. Look around online to see what is doing well in your area and what platforms exist to support your work. Make sure you avoid the most common pitfalls. Businesses fail when they forget both sides have to get something they want. Sharing should be a win-win situation. However, if you provide poor service or fail to solve the problem you’re addressing, your business will fail too. Make sure your focus is narrow enough to make you stand out from the competition and your consumer base broad enough to support a profit.

Create a Workspace

When your jobs come in on your phone around the clock, it can feel like you’re always working. Designating a workspace and work hours can help you balance your life. This can be a room or area at home where you keep your computer, printer, and records for your business, but it can also be a place you leave home and go to each day. Individually rentable office space is another big part of the new economy. The point is to have a place where you handle work-related business away from your personal life. This will help you to be more productive during the hours you are working and allow you to “leave work at the office” mentally when you aren’t.

Get Buzz Going

It’s hard to get clients if you aren’t easy to find. Make sure you’re on social media and all the relevant apps and platforms. Think of it as good advertising. You may even want to up your game as you get a little more successful and network with others in related lines of work. Say that you’re running a tidy little shop online making custom wedding cakes. You have a friend who is running her business over on Etsy doing calligraphy and etching glass. Consider working together to throw each other clients; people who want wedding cakes often want engraved champagne flutes as well. These supportive networks can be as important to your success as the very platform you use to market your work, so don’t neglect them.

If you are a successful small business, making use of online apps, social media marketing, and the sharing economy will really help you to reach new customers and expand your brand. And if you’re thinking about going into business, the sharing economy means it has never been easier. Every day brings some new way to find your market, and the future is limitless.

 

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!

Why Creativity is So Important for Startup Founders

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creativity for startup founders

Creativity breeds original ideas of developing products and carrying out various tasks. Creative people make new things or find new ways of doing things. A startup founder should possess several skills, and creativity is key among them.

The creative process begins with fragments of ideas. With time and research, the idea is solidified and expanded. Writing is encouraged at this stage. Express your mind on paper; then finally take the steps to bring your idea to fruition.

Bring Something New to the Market

As a startup founder, your main goal should be to bring something different to the market. Can every other new business be referred to as a startup? Hardly. A startup refers to a new business that has put together a definite structure for its operations. With such a structure, the expectation is that you should come up with something that is out of the ordinary. Your startup success will be determined largely by your creativity.

Elevate Your Brand

Have you noticed that some brands take years if not decades to make their mark on the market, if at all, while others are established and shoot into prominence within no time? If you settle for the usual products, and the usual way of carrying out procedures, your brand is likely to fall in the first category.

Once you inject some creativity, your product instantly creates a buzz in the market. People will be falling over themselves to check out this revolutionary product. With social media, word travels fast. Your brand will be on the lips of consumers within no time; held in high regard. Who wants to purchase and use products associated with a high-ranking brand? Everyone! With such a first impression, you already have yourself loyal clients even for future products.

Learn to Take Risks

New products are not always a success. The market may not be excited about your invention as you are. Every time you choose to do things differently, you must be cognizant of the possibility of failure. That’s what taking risk is all about; proceeding even when you’re uncertain about the outcome.

What’s the worst that can happen really? If the market does not resonate with your invention, you can improve on it. Or scrap it entirely and start afresh. Take the feedback and let it guide you along. Startup success is hardly ever instants. The disappointments and rejections are part of the process. This process will teach you to view failure as a stepping stone, and this will anchor you throughout your entrepreneurship journey.

Inspire Others

As a creative startup founder, you inspire those who work for and with you to do the same. They know that they’re not confined to the rigid, conventional techniques of doing things. They can also try out new ideas, whether they work instantly or not. Such a team will be motivated to get to work. A creative environment boosts productivity and enhances teamwork. Remember their ideas ultimately offer creative marketing for your startup, and you stand to benefit in the long run.

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!

5 Effective Content Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

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Content Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

Content marketing is one of those budget-friendly small business marketing avenues. Unlike traditional advertising where you just put your information out there and hope that it gets to your target audience, here you can track the reach of your advert and receive instant feedback from those who have interacted with it.

Content marketing gives you an opportunity to offer in-depth information about your brand. Your interaction with the consumer goes beyond the sales, and this gradually establishes brand loyalty. Here are some content marketing ideas to start you off:

  1. Create Informative Articles

With article writing, you have an opportunity to not only inform your audience but also boost your search engine visibility through SEO articles. Here you utilize the keywords that are most likely to be used in your niche. For instance, if you deal with skincare products, find out the most prominent topics here. They could include acne, wrinkles, sunburns, blackheads, pimples, and so on.

Create factual, enlightening articles on these topics. Once the search engines lead the readers to your site, they can then view the full range of your products. With time your site will be considered an authority in this niche, and clients will readily trust your products.

  1. Use Audio and Visual Clips

People are sometimes too occupied or tired to read. Podcasts and videos provide an easier alternative of passing the information. One can listen when driving, walking, attending to house chores, or just resting. If you need a step-by-step demonstration, such as a skincare routine, consider uploading a series of photos or a well-edited video that users can watch. Remember to bookmark all your images and videos. Even when they’re shared on other platforms, they should clearly showcase your brand.

  1. Capitalize on Social Media

Facebook and Instagram remain the most visited sites on the interwebs. Visitors may not come to your website, but you can meet them where they spend the most time. Have active pages on Facebook and Instagram at the very least. Interact with your audience often. Provide as much information as they need. Product details, location, prices, delivery terms, and all. Don’t be one of those ‘inbox for price’ marketers. Displaying the full details in plain sight builds trust and is more likely to earn conversions.

  1. Simplify the Numbers

If including the numbers does help your cause, use vibrant infographics to make the information easier to grasp. There are several templates online; all you have to do is insert the numbers and the rest is done for you. A colorful pie chart, for instance, is easier to digest than a cluster of numbers. Bookmark these as well; let them represent your brand wherever they’re shared.

  1. Call to Action

Engage your audience in a way. You can request them to provide their details, fill a form, subscribe, share, and so on. It should not be compulsory though. Just urge them. Some websites do not allow you to proceed before you provide your details. Such blackmail is just uncouth. Should they choose not to take the proposed action, they should still be in a position to navigate the site.

We hope that you can utilize these content marketing ideas to showcase your brand to a larger audience. What other forms of small business marketing have you tried out? Did they work? Do let us know.

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!

How to Take Your Leadership Skills to the Next Level

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Whether you work for someone else or run your own business, good leadership skills can have a very positive impact on your professional success. Great leaders have what it takes to guide their teams toward a common goal. Despite common belief, no one is born a natural leader. Anyone has the capacity to thrive in a leadership role with the right education! Check out the following resources from Keetria to take your leadership skills up a notch.

Get a Formal Education

While you don’t need a formal education to become a leader, pursuing a formal degree or diploma can prove invaluable.

  • Formal training will teach you tried and true leadership methods that you can employ in your own business.
  • Attending university is a fantastic opportunity to network with other leaders.
  • At school, you will learn how to think critically and take other perspectives — key traits of any effective leader.
  • Earning an online MBA degree is a great option for working professionals.

Learn on The Go

If you’re short on time, find creative ways to fit learning into your day! Audiobooks and podcasts are great for learning on the go.

  • Listen to podcasts while cooking dinner or cleaning the house.
  • Play an audiobook during your daily commute.
  • Read e-books while waiting for appointments.
  • Find ways to learn on the job.

Improve Your Communication Skills

Communication plays a key role in leadership. If you’re looking to improve your leadership skills, try learning how to be a better communicator.

Learning how to be a good leader won’t happen overnight. Every day, dedicate some time towards learning and practicing the skills that will help you succeed.

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!

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Top 5 Podcasts for Creatives & Entrepreneurs

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The podcast market is well and truly spoiling us creatives and entrepreneurs! Whether you are a creative, an entrepreneur, or a creative entrepreneur, a good podcast can be insightful, engaging, and inspiring. Let’s show you five of our favorite podcasts so you can develop your skills and refine your life, all while driving the car or cooking your dinner!

Being Boss

A great starting point for any creative entrepreneurial freelancer. If you are daydreaming about quitting your job, or you have been in charge of your own life for a while, there is a wide variety of insight into routines, mindset, marketing, processes, and everything else involved in doing the thing you love. The hosts Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon provide a warm and engaging partnership that reminds us all that we’ve all got to start somewhere.

The Strategy Hour Podcast

We’re not all business-minded in the strictest sense, even though we run a business. If you are looking for marketing tips and strategies to grow your business, this is a podcast that will truly inspire you to work harder at doing what you love. The hosts Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams from Think Creative Collective may have successful six-figure businesses, but they share the nitty-gritty details on how hard it was on the way up. Truly, this is a podcast about the meat and potatoes parts of running a business. The variety of entrepreneurs providing in-depth, real, and human perspectives on somewhat in-human components like sales and affiliate marketing make it a wonderful aural stepping stone to becoming a creative entrepreneur.

The Tim Ferriss Show

The lessons in running a business all begin with the lessons you learn yourself. Tim Ferriss has constantly searched for the “minimum effective dose” in his life, whether it’s working smarter, becoming physically fit, or running a business. And this long-running podcast provides an amazing insight into anything that you want to get better at. Guests like Tony Robbins have shone a light on what they do when they wake up in the morning, and others from a variety of industries remind us all the goal is simple: to learn function at our optimum. When you are trying to run a business, this is crucial.

Badass Creatives

If you are on a mission to change the world, this is the ideal podcast. The host Mallory Whitfield provides a plethora of personal and business advice for creative types. It’s one for those creatives who are looking to delve deep into the creative process, without necessarily going down the typical businessy aspects. While the host is a marketing expert, she is also an artist and speaker, which is an inspiration for anybody that may feel stuck in the digital realm but just dream of becoming creative in the most freeing sense.

Creative Pep Talk

If you want to build a creative career, you may feel you have to make concessions in life. If everybody around you is trying to talk you down, you need a pep talk like this podcast! The host Andy J. Pizza is there to give you insight and interviews with a wide variety of creative professionals to show you that everybody experiences difficulties in trying to achieve their dream!

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!

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Freelancers: Start Creating Financial Security With These Top Passive Income Ideas

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Each year, more and more individuals are choosing the freelancer lifestyle. Having the freedom to work remotely, set your own pay, and follow your passion is an appealing career path for people of all ages. However, with all of its benefits, becoming financially secure is one top challenge experienced by many freelancers — especially at the beginning of their journey.

One solution to this problem is setting up streams of passive income. Not sure how to do this for yourself? Keetria offers her top recommendations for creating quality passive income streams that offer greater financial security.

Write a book.

As a freelancer, you’re already an expert in one (or more) subjects. From writing to photography to graphic design, you understand more than most about your field of work. Leverage this expertise by writing a book about what you know. Research publications in your industry to see what already exists. After conducting your research, brainstorm ways to cover a specific aspect of what you do from your unique perspective. Once you’ve self-published a book (which is more affordable than ever before), you can earn a sizable passive income for years to come.

Launch a business.

Not all business ideas require you to put in hours each day to earn money. On the contrary, many can be run in such a way that you can earn a passive income. Start your new business by choosing what you plan to sell. The best ideas for generating passive income include selling online courses – (check out The Ultimate Guide To Creating Courses Online), eBooks, website templates, and the like.

After launching your business, it is crucial to have the right marketing strategies in place to promote your brand. To keep your marketing as hands-off and effective as possible, consider enlisting influencer marketing services, which you can easily find through online job platforms. Prior to hiring anyone, you can weigh reviews, delivery times, and proposed fees.

Build your own app.

Have some tech development skills? Turn your passion into an app. Related to your freelancing business or not, apps have the potential to generate serious passive income from ad revenue, purchases of your app, and in-app purchases.

Rent out your home or apartment.

If you own your own space — and your HOA or condo board allows it — start renting out your dwelling on one of today’s top vacation rental websites. According to the latest figures, the average host on Airbnb makes $11,000 annually.

Being a freelancer means that you need to have a solid system in place to keep you financially stable as your workload fluctuates. When you set up multiple streams of passive income, you can quickly and easily achieve this goal. Rather than having just one stream of passive income, work to set up between 3–5 for maximum results.

Among her many titles, Keetria is an entrepreneur, lifestyle wellness coach, and business consultant. For more empowering content that leads to your success, visit Keetria’s blog.

 

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!

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Communication Skills Every Entrepreneur Must Master

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Being an entrepreneur means being able to communicate with your employees, your shareholders, your customers, the list goes on… Here are a few tips to communicate effectively

Communication Skills for Entrepreneurs – Being an entrepreneur is more than just coming up with a great idea. It’s more than simply putting that idea to practice, too. As an entrepreneur, you more than likely are going to spend 99% of your time working with others to bring your ideas to life. If you can’t communicate your thoughts and ideas to anyone else, well, unless your business plan calls for a one-person show, you’re out of luck. 

Communication is a critical skill for all entrepreneurs. Even the best idea will never grow if the person who came up with it can’t communicate it effectively. Communication doesn’t just mean talking, either. There are many skills within the subset of communication, from body language to writing to negotiation, which are all critical to success as an entrepreneur. 

Eric Porat, an online entrepreneur shared with us six key communication skills you must master as an entrepreneur. 

1. Listening

Communication Skills for Entrepreneurs – Listening? You might be confused, but a good listener is on the fast track to becoming an excellent communicator. Entrepreneurs are often so caught up in their own brilliant ideas that they don’t stop to hear the thoughts of those around them. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Try to always focus on the person speaking to you and be sure you can summarize what they said in your own mind before you choose to respond and build on the conversation further. Good listening skills will allow you to serve your clients and manage your employees more effectively, because you’ll be able to identify and respond to their concerns and thoughts.

2. Conversing

Conversation is one of the most basic forms of communication, but because of that, it’s also the foundation for almost every interaction you’ll have as an entrepreneur. Basic conversations with your employees will build trust overtime, and they also can help you realize issues before they blow up and become serious. Meanwhile, a chat on the subway with a stranger just might become a sales opportunity.

If you can learn to speak in a friendly way (listening goes a long way here), you’ll be able to apply it to tons of situations, from sales pitches to conflict resolutions and more.

3. Conflict Management

Communication Skills for Entrepreneurs – Conflict management is one of the key parts of being an entrepreneur. Many managers spend nearly half their day dealing with conflicts. It might be between two employees who hold different opinions about their work or responsibilities, or it might be two of your vendors who had some sort of lapse in communication. 

In all cases, the trick is acknowledging both sides. Put yourselves in the shoes of each individual and figure out why they’re upset and what their point is. If you can’t understand both sides, you can’t resolve the issue. Come from a central ground and give each side their fair due.

Also, if you want to resolve conflicts successfully, you need to learn how to push back productively when an employee is in the wrong. That said, make sure any and all pushback is polite and productive, while remaining non-personal. A good plan is to focus on clarity at all times in conflict management. If you can communicate your thoughts clearly and concisely, it makes it a lot easier for people to listen and understand where you’re coming from.

4. Body Language

Much of communication is nonverbal, so mastering your body language is extremely important. Also, if you’re good with body language, you’ll learn to understand your employees and clients much better just from watching their body language. Posture is extremely critical. Sit or stand straight, keep your shoulders back, and hold your head high. ALWAYS look people in the eye and avoid fidgeting. Keep your hands out of your pockets, as well. 

These are mere basic techniques, and there are dozens upon dozens more. Becoming a body language expert is a great way to master communication subtly, because most people won’t even realize what you’re doing, but YOU will. 

5. Presenting

As an entrepreneur, presenting will have to be your bread and butter. You might be presenting your financials to investors, presenting your services to a client, presenting your business to a buyer, or something else. Even presenting the ideas behind entrepreneurship at an event or convention of sorts may be something in your calendar one day. 

Be clear, be concise, and remain poised at all times. Avoid talking too fast and avoid interjections like “um” at all costs. Good body language, like we talked about above, is critical when presenting. If you can present well, you’ll excel in a variety of settings, so work on your presentation skills today!

6. Writing

You don’t have to be the next Hemingway or Faulkner, but you do need to learn how to write concisely, communicating your thoughts in written form as simply and clearly as possible. Email is probably the most common form of communication in the modern business world. Texting and Slack messaging aren’t far behind. You MUST be able to communicate your thoughts clearly via the written word and avoid misinterpretation as much as possible. Being a skilled writer is a great way to become a superb manager.

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!



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Organization Tips for Entrepreneurs – 5 Tips for Organizing Your Day

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Organization Tips for Entrepreneurs – Have you ever been in a situation where no matter how hard you tried you never seem to get things done on time? One thing you might be lacking in your work-life is organization. General organization and having a clear view of what you are going to accomplish for the day can make all the difference in your productivity. Here, we will discuss a few tips that will help you organize your workday. 

1. Write Things Down

The first thing is to write things down. Just write the tasks you are going to do for the day or make a to-do list. As you complete each one, cross that out. It also helps you keep things in check, and you don’t have to recall them repeatedly throughout the day. 

2. Prioritize Things

We’ve all been guilty of prioritizing tasks that aren’t as important as we make them out to be. Make a schedule for the day in which you will write about the tasks in order of priority. Do the tasks & assignments that are most important first. Practicing a habit of prioritizing also releases work stress, and you perform better. 

3. Delegate The Tasks

Get into a habit of delegating work and tasks to the people in your circle who can assist you with – you can’t do everything and you shouldn’t want to. In order for you to be successful, start working towards delegating people for different things. As stated above, you cannot handle the whole workload on your own, so don’t overwork and overwhelm yourself. 

4. De-Clutter

Organization Tips for Entrepreneurs – Clutter and mess, whether in your personal life or your work life, can hinder your prosperity. If you feel like there are things that are of no use and are in your office, put them aside. Even people who are pulling you down and becoming an unnecessary intervention in the way of your success; cut your ties. The fewer, the better!

5. Don’t Procrastinate

Lastly, don’t procrastinate. You will be surprised to know that 84% of us face procrastination. It is that one thing that makes you put off your work for no reason. The best way to deal with it whenever you think of doing something later, get up and do it right away. Your taking action is what will fight this. 

These are our tips that will help you organize your day a bit better. Check out the video above and try these tips. We’re sure they will be the core factors in your success after hard work.

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!

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5 Essential Skills Entrepreneurs – Skills Every Entrepreneur Should Have

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5 Essential Skills Entrepreneurs – If you’re an entrepreneur or interested in becoming one, be sure to visit my video as I share five skills every entrepreneur should have. With an increasing number of new entrepreneurs choosing now as the right time to jumpstart their business endeavors, having the right skills in place will save time, energy & money. Although I’m only sharing five here in the article & video, there are more defined skills and personal abilities that will go a long way in helping anyone on their entrepreneurial journey. 

5 Essential Skills Entrepreneurs – I believe entrepreneurship is a constant state of ebb and flow. It’s a learning process that takes determination, faith, and a decent amount of personal will. Becoming a successful entrepreneur will only work if you have the right skill set and are committed to taking action. So, without further ado, here are five essential skills every entrepreneur should have to build and scale their business. 

When such innovation produces new demand, wealth is created. From this standpoint, one can simply describe the function of the entrepreneur as one of merging a variety of factors in an inventive manner to generate value to the customer. It hopes that this value will surpass the cost of the input factors, therefore spawning greater returns on investment. So the main differences between entrepreneurship and small business is that the entrepreneur takes a risk and hits the ground running with the intent of immediate, and hopefully massive payoffs, whereas the small business generally starts smaller, with less risk and the income and success builds over time under very controlled planning.

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!

Using Virtual Events & Meetups to Grow your Audience

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For the last several months, I’m sure we’ve all noticed the increasing amount of virtual events and meetups. While some companies and brands host virtual events (special events, tradeshows & conferences) to gain their footing as the world pivots, smaller virtual meetings are likely at the request of employers. And the more casual meetups via Hangouts, Zoom, and FaceTime have been a fun way to connect with family and friends.

Whether you are a lifestyle company, startup software outfit, or an influencer, there are several ways to use virtual events and meetups to connect with and grow your audience. Below are three tips on how to best leverage virtual events for business growth.

Virtual Events & Meetups for Business Growth

Build Momentum Before Launch – Prior to your virtual event, spend some time building momentum through all of your social channels. The key to success is making sure your message is uniquely crafted for each social audience – the demographic of your Facebook audience is likely different from those who follow you on Snapchat or Twitter. Craft meaningful messages that outline who the event is for and why they should attend. 

Instead of the traditional promotional post, take the time to conduct social media surveys and contest to gain interest. You can also create a special landing page for the event and give out free resources and other digital goods to those who sign up to attend. 

Be Personable & Encourage Participation – Whether you’re chatting with several friends during a Zoom call or hanging out with them via FaceTime, nothing says, “I care” like genuinely listening to what someone else has to say. Don’t dominate the meetup, it’s not all about you. Be sure to let others speak- encourage participation if you have to!

Businesses can also benefit from this by inviting virtual guests to connect during or after the event. The connecting doesn’t necessarily need to be in reference to business. Think about creating a sort of “after hours” spot for your virtual event where participants can meet and network with each other on social. This way, you end up adding value to all your guests and attendees. Also, your audience is more likely to connect with your brand via social because of the enjoyable experience associated with your event.

A Gesture of Kindness – You know the saying, “Kindness always wins.” This is true – whether you see the direct results of your gesture or not. Identify ways you can go above and beyond to be helpful to those who support you. Whether it’s your client, customer, or someone in your social media audience, make sure to show your appreciation. 

One idea would be to send a customized gif via social media to those who attended your event. Yeah, I’m aware it takes work and time but remember out of all the events people could have attended they support yours. Do something nice. And, if you’re really pressed for time – consider an old-fashioned phone call. Or, for the more modern folks – a text message. Come up with creative ways to give a shout out to those who show up for you. It’s a great way to show how much you care.

In Short

Leveraging virtual meetings can be a great way to grow and maintain meaningful connections with your customers, audience, and friends. As we adapt to this new way of meeting and connecting, we must also take into account the way we engage and interact virtually. Showing genuine interest in your audience, offering value and understanding is the way to go.

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!

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