Author: Evan Hoeflich

Running a small business isn’t easy. With more and more startups being launched, it takes a lot of hard work to get your business noticed. However, if you fail to grow your business, all those other companies will start to outperform you and make surviving in the market impossible. That said, one of the most important goals you need to set is growing your business. And if you want to do this fast, here are five tips that can really help.

Use social media

With so many people using social media, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have become one of the best places for attracting new clients. And if you want your business to grow fast, attracting more and more clients is an absolute must. That said, you might want to think about creating social media pages for your business. You can use these to share content social media users will want to engage in. Just remember that the more quality content you share, the more users will check out your pages and browse your products.

Form partnerships

When running a small business, it’s also very important that you partner up with the right companies. Of course, identifying those companies is much easier said than done. The best way to start is to take a look at businesses that offer similar but not the same products you do. Contact them and try to come up with a deal that both parties will be able to benefit from. Besides partnering up with other companies, you should also look for influencers in your niche who might want to become your brand ambassadors.

Keep an eye on your competition

Another important thing you should do if you want to take your business to another level fast is keep an eye on your competition. That way, you’ll be able to figure out what types strategies are working well for them. Luckily, researching your competition is now easier than ever. All you need to do is visit their website and social media pages as often as possible. There are also various tools you can use to help this process as well. Besides doing research on your competition, you might also want to take a closer look at companies in your niche from abroad and see if there’s anything you can learn from them.

Deal with problems

Every entrepreneur starts experiencing problems at some point. Your business might be able to keep operating even if you choose to ignore these but overcoming any issues that come up is recommended. For instance, if you’re in the food or manufacturing industry and you start experiencing low voltage problems, turning to power quality experts is a good idea. Also, if your clients fail to make their payments on time, you should turn to a company that offers unpaid invoice collection services.

Create viral videos

The internet has undergone a lot of change and staying on top of the most recent trends is essential to business success. Some of the newest trends could help you obtain loads of new customers in a short time span, which is exactly what you should be aiming at. We’re talking about trends such as viral videos. Creating just one of these can do wonders for your business. Of course, creating a viral video isn’t going to be easy, and you’ll need to put a lot of time and effort into it.

When it comes to business, there’s no recipe for instant success, no matter what niche you’re in. However, with these five tips in your arsenal, you’ll be able to reach milestones that can catapult your business to success.

Author Bio:

Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls interested in topics related to finances and latest business technologies. In her free time she enjoys exercising and preparing healthy meals for her family. Follow Diana her on Twitter and Google+.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Many businesses and content creators struggle to come to terms with the fact that content quality in itself is not enough. A “craft it and they will come” mentality does not cut it since the internet is an immensely crowded place. One has to cut through the noise and the only way to do that is to come up with a smart promotion plan. Otherwise, you would be spending precious resources on posts that do not generate any value in terms of prospects and sales. The good news is that it is possible to spread brand awareness and extend your reach without breaking the bank. Here is how to pull it off.

A sound game plan

To reap benefits, one has to put in consistent effort over a longer period of time. Random promotion activities every now and then are not the way to go. Instead, come up with a comprehensive content promotion plan. One of the main objectives should be to garner loyalty and trust, which lays the foundation for building a following. Remember that these are long-term goals, not immediate gains. To reach them, conduct thorough research and develop a deeper understanding of your target audience. Find out how and why it interacts with brands and their content via major online hubs.

Once you figure out to whom to promote your content, you have to decide where to do it. Amidst all the channel saturation, social media is the real king.  To gain its royal favor, you have a lot of ground to cover, but feel free to start small. Promote a new piece of content via social media and carefully measure the effects. It will probably not be great because algorithms are designed to bring you diminishing returns after the initial impact. Most social media posts usually last around eight hours and then they get buried under a mountain of other content.

Social platforms

So, the top of the funnel must be filled constantly or at least more frequently. If you want to save time, repurpose old content and simply post and promote it again. To make it appear fresh, add new quotes, images, questions, and facts. Note here that visual content is a mainstay of successful content marketing strategies. Thus, steer away from the tired old “roundup” posts and generic blocks of text. It takes more to hit it big. And the more you share the same post, the more prospects you drive your way.

Furthermore, assemble a social sharing schedule to make the timing work to your maximum advantage. Learn how to create early buzz and excitement around your posts as well as the brand in general. You cannot go wrong with holding social media contests. Take this chance to tap into the amazing value that is user-generated content. Invite people to submit their pictures, videos, and articles. Winners can receive a gift such as a prepaid visa card, USB, vouchers, early access to products, or some other type of promotional item.

Influencer marketing and other options

Network diffusion is one key aspect many people overlook. Do not make that mistake: influencer marketing is one of the most powerful promotional tactics. To get started, locate important influencers and trusted experts in your niche field. They can help you gain exposure, even if you do not have any brand recognition yet— one share from them tends to produce a cascade of subsequent shares. Of course, to make it happen, you must foster relationships with important figures. This is a fine art that takes time to master.

Finally, once influencer marketing is in place, you can explore other forms of promotion, such as guest blogging, outreach/PR, paid search, display ads, email marketing, and syndication. Their synergy could produce incredible results. Namely, at one point, the effects have to kick in. You have an army of brand ambassadors in your camp. They will actively share your content and work wonders for your content promotion strategy. Until then, of course, you have to do the heavy lifting alone.

Smart prospecting

Never neglect the second part of the content marketing equation, one which allows you to get your work in front of people and spread the word. You cannot expect all the spoils and accolades to roll in on their own. For better or worse, pressing “publish” and then calling it a day is a thing of the past. So, forge a solid content promotion strategy, identify your audience, and make yourself visible in the avenues it uses. Your efforts are likely to pay dividends in the form of driving more traffic, prospects, and leads. Start building and growing an engaged audience now. Reach that critical mass and go viral. The sky is the limit from there.

Author Bio:

Lauren Wiseman is an entrepreneur, currently based in Melbourne and a regular contributor to bizzmarkblog.com. She assists clients in growing their personal and professional brands in a fast-changing and demanding market environment. Covering finance and investment topics, Lauren strongly believes in holistic approach to business.

How are you promoting your content?

In the last couple of years, more and more people have decided to give running their own business a go. If this the case with you and you’ve been in the world of entrepreneurship for some time, you might be looking to grow your small business. That said, we compiled a list of 5 hacks that will really help you grow your small business.

Automate everything you can

We live in the age of technology and so many time-consuming tasks can now be automated. And if you want to take your small business to the next level, making the most of automation technologies really is a good idea. Since there’s almost no other area of running a business that requires more time and energy than accounting, investing in an accounting automation software is recommended. Moreover, automating tasks such as service bookings and social media efforts can also turn out to be pretty fruitful. Keep looking for new automation software you could have some use of as these are being released quite often.

Get on social media

If you’re running your own business, you probably already know how important social media is. However, if you’ve just created social media pages for your business and you use them only from time to time, they’re hardly helping you move forward. What you need to do is make sure you find ways to create quality content you’re going to share on your social media pages. That way, you’ll give your followers something to engage in and help you spread the word about your business. Besides quality content, you also need well-designed visuals for your social media pages.

Discourage multitasking

Take a look at your office and if you see any of your employees trying to multitask, you might want to discourage them from doing so. Even though it may seem like multitasking helps your team members get more work done, it actually makes them less focused and more likely to make mistakes. Therefore, if nobody in your office is multitasking, you’ll get more work done and help your business move forward. One of the best ways to eliminate multitasking is creating a no-cell-phone policy in your office. Getting rid of all the office clutter you can also be quite effective.

Get your office design right

Another thing that can help you grow your small business is your office environment. The better you design your premises, the better your employees are going to perform. However, designing the perfect office isn’t as easy as you might’ve believed. It’s very important that you let in enough natural light, since it can help everyone in the office stay focused. Most modern-day offices have break rooms so deciding to incorporate one such well-designed office for your employees does make a lot of sense. Also, investing in quality shelving can help you keep your office organized, which is always a good thing.

Hold 15-minute meetings

No matter what kind of business you’re running, meetings are a necessity. Still, traditional meetings tend to be too long and tiresome, and avoiding them as much as possible might be a good idea. So, what you can think about doing is holding 15 minute meetings on a daily basis. Short meetings like this are a great opportunity to provide your employees with all the information they need, without sacrificing their time and energy. Of course, long meetings sometimes can’t be avoided, but try to limit these to only at the beginning and at the end of large projects.

With these 5 hacks in mind, taking your small business to the next level is going to be a lot easier. Just don’t forget to keep improving your products/services and you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Author Bio:

Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls interested in topics related to finances and latest business technologies. In her free time she enjoys exercising and preparing healthy meals for her family. Follow Diana her on Twitter and Google+.

Do you use any of these hacks? Let us know!

There are many reasons why only one in ten startups actually finds its feet. So many failures are usually caused by not having a sound business idea or plan, or perhaps the market changes and becomes unfavorable for a company trying to break into it. Still, one of the main reasons is always related to the people behind the idea.

It’s true that the most responsible person is the one whose brainchild is a company wishing to grow. However, they can’t be alone in this process. A lot depends on all those involved in the daily operations of the company, which means it’s vital for every entrepreneur to recruit the right people.

So, what is it that they need to know and do in order to attract the best talent?

Look for people who fit and can contribute to the company culture

It’s not easy to define what company culture is, but we are all fully aware of its existence. If you’re the person in charge of recruiting, you need to find those people who can work in an atmosphere that you wish to have and who can improve it. You need to look for those who will cherish the working environment you’re offering and be able to thrive in it. It’s only when people feel secure, relaxed and appreciated that you can expect them to give their best. So, some candidates might have impressive resumes, but you need to take into account the fact that they might not be able to deliver in the given circumstances.

Make use of modern technology

It’s now easier than ever to collect information about potential employees since most of them are present on various social media channels. An insight into their posts can tell you a lot about the person you’re thinking of hiring. LinkedIn is particularly useful because it’s a CV platform on its own. Also, you shouldn’t forget to run a background check and get useful police clearance for every shortlisted candidate. This way, you’ll know if they’ve had some problems with the law that you might not be aware of.

Look for recommendations, but avoid friends

Ideally, the perfect candidate will be recommended by someone you trust and who understands what kind of person you’re looking for. You might want to ask such people for help, but only if they are in the same or relevant line of business. However, be careful about hiring friends. Although you may feel much more confident having a trustworthy person by your side, you need to know that it’s much harder to give friends a negative feedback or even fire them. Also, in case your business fails, or simply suffers, you can expect your friendship to be tested.

Select carefully

Making the right call when it comes to hiring is one of the most important tasks for every entrepreneur. If you make a mistake, you’ll not only lose a lot of time trying to find someone to replace the underperforming employee, but you’ll also notice that your business operations are affected and slowed down. Always go for the best possible option available and don’t settle for mediocre talent.

Offer attractive package

Most startups don’t boast a budget big enough to be able to offer new employees the conditions they would have in a well-established company. However, if you can’t put together an inviting and attractive package, you can’t expect to attract the best talent. The package should not include only the salary, but bonuses and perks, as well. You need to offer promotion opportunities and chances for your employees to continue their professional development if you want to keep their motivation high.

Finding the best possible candidate for your startup is not easy, but it’s necessary. That’s why you have to approach this task with the utmost care and invest significant effort.

Author Bio:

Carolin Petterson is a Business Lady/Content Marketer and contributor for a number of high-class business and marketing websites.

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