DAVID
Investing in your business
Investing in your business could be one of the most strategic and production financial decisions you can make, providing your business is heading in the right direction and has potential. If your business is failing an investment could make your business and increase sales massively, only if you invest in the correct areas of your business. But you must keep in mind that not all businesses make it big.
Investing in marketing could see your business grow and sales increase but before investing you will need to consider; does your business have the potential to grow? Is your service or product unique? if not what sets you above the rest? Investing in your business can be a risky move and could cost you a lot of money. You must ensure that your business is ready for growth.
Several businesses have the potential to grow and expand but funds may be limited, if your business is already flourishing but limited funds are holding you back then an investment might be the best business decision you will make.
Can you grow your social media organically?
With so many options out there for cheap marketing such as Facebook ads or google ads the art of organically growing your business is becoming less and less.
Many people are opting to pay for advertising due to convenience and now more than ever it is cost effective. But for small businesses or start ups the funds to plough into advertising may be tight or non-existent.
Often a lot of businesses think they need to pay for advertising to grow social media platforms but this is far from the truth. With time, effort and commitment, you can easily grow your social media following and engagement without spending a penny.
The real key to growing your socials organically is commitment. Sharing one post or story once a month really isn’t going to do much at all. You need to commit to sharing valuable and engaging content very frequently with most experts recommending one post per day with several stories will give you optimal results.
Hashtags on Instagram
Using hashtags on Instagram is a great way to expand your reach, increase engagement and up your following but if you use hashtags incorrectly and it can have a negative effect.
How many hashtags should you really use?
Instagram allows a maximum of 30 hashtags per post, you could use the max and hope for the best but this will only do so much. Some users report that using less hashtags or a max of 10 has a better reach than using the full 30, others report that the more hashtags the better. The perfect amount will vary from business to business, so we recommend you have a good play. Switch things up to see what works best for you.
What hashtags should I use?
You should always use hashtags that are relevant to what you are posting, just using any old hashtag will not work – you want to reach your ideal customer so use your hashtags wisely. You need to be strategic with your hashtags. Research popular hashtags for your business. You want to use hashtags that have following so short and popular words may work better.
The do’s and don’ts of Facebook ads
Facebook ads are a great way to promote your product or business and engage with new or current customers. They can drastically increase leads and sales if done correctly.
Dos
– Target Audience – it is super important to target the correct audience for your business
– Use different ad formats
– Get creative with your headlines
– Use top quality images
– Include links
– Check your stats to see how your ads perform
Don’ts
– Advertise to everyone – you don’t want to waste your money showing ads to people who are unlikely to turn into a customer
– Be boring and repetitive – create eye catching and fresh ads
– Come across too ‘salesy’ – people find this off-putting
– Copy the competition – save yourself the embarrassment if you get caught out. Be original.
– Don’t forget to check your ads before posting – spelling mistakes, grammar etc.
When it’s time to stop procrastinating
If you’re a business owner or are perhaps a self-employed freelancer, one of the challenges you’ve most likely faced at some point is procrastination.
We’re all guilty of it. This is when we delay important tasks that need to be done or possibly leave those tasks until the very last minute. It’s an easy thing to do, especially at university, as it seems most students do this, but you have to act very differently as a business owner or freelancer. If you’re not driving sales, chasing money owed to you and producing good quality products or services, you’re putting yourself in a vulnerable situation. There is nobody above you to pick up the slack; you have to put in the work to drive sales for your business. Freelancers have to act the same in many ways because without marketing your talents, you can’t expect people to invest in you or trust you. Staying organised is one thing, but make sure the work that needs to be done is being completed, because this can be a tricky spell to get out of if you let too much work build up.
Utilising LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn has become the number one B2B online networking platform, but of course, it’s widely recognised as a social network too. It’s not just B2B companies utilising this space though, there are many B2C companies that see benefits of using LinkedIn too, whilst it’s a great way to upload your CV and create an online profile, so you do have a varied mix of people using LinkedIn. With this in mind, utilising LinkedIn ads can be extremely beneficial. It can help you build connections with the right type of companies or individuals, it can help you raise awareness of a particular product or service, or it can be used to spread the word about your brand in your local area. There are many different ways to reach key demographics, but as far as targeting goes, LinkedIn’s advertising platforms is up there with the best, and we do recommend you give it a try for one of your next campaigns.
How email marketing can help your business
Combining online and offline marketing strategies are the best way to get maximum reach from your business. That said, email marketing tends to be pushed to the back of the queue compared to social media marketing and business brochures for example.
Email marketing can be an effective tool if done correctly. Once you have a growing list of subscribers, sending out regular emails is definitely an effective marketing strategy, but only once the email is opened. Improving your open rate can be achieved by creating curiosity with your email title, making the recipient want to know more.
Once the email is opened you want to include a good amount of visuals complimented with to the point written content to drive the point clearly. A great way to break a chunky text box up is by using bullet points with simple short points. Always provide easy links to your website and relevant contact information for the readers.
Only invest money you can afford to lose
This saying goes a long way when it comes to investing, and in actual fact, this is a phrase you should live by. If you are looking to make an investment and you are not worried about the outcome of the situation as you have other sources of income, and you’re willing to take a gamble, then so be it. However, if you are taking a gamble on money you really can’t afford to lose, you could be about to step into a nightmare. Smart investors will always invest money they can afford to lose, because any investment will have some risks involved, and you can’t leave it up to chance, because you could find yourself in a horrible situation, possibly losing a lot of money you’ve worked incredibly hard for.
Investing in money you can afford to lose is really rule number one of investing, so never forget this!
Keeping your website updated with quality content
Business websites should be updated on a regular basis, including written and visual content to improve their position on search engines and also keep their customers engaged.
Online marketing is so important these days, due to the increasing level of web users, more businesses are turning to online marketing strategies to improve their company sales. While there are many elements to online marketing, keeping your website up to date with fresh relevant content is probably the most important. For instance, having eye-catching social media posts that direct customers to a poorly designed website will not benefit your business at all.
A good way to keep content on your website fresh is by including a blog, this way to can add new posts in a very interactive way.
You should also update any written text on your site regularly and change images to suit recent promotions or a change of season. All these small steps in keeping your website fresh will help to improve SEO, in turn leading to more traffic to your site.
Investing in a friend’s business: The risks
If you’re considering investing in a friend’s startup but are having a few doubts, it’s important to not make any rash decisions. Whether you’ve grown a company before, or are also a first timer in investing, you have to go through the facts. You need to put on your business face and ask your friend:
What are the risks?
What’s the timeline?
Who else is investing?
How much have you already put into your business?
Will this impact out friendship in any way?
Are you doing this full time?
There are of course many other questions your friend will need to answer, but by asking these first, you’ll get a better feeling about how likely success is for the startup. You also have to forget your friend’s personality and how nice they are, but look at them as a businessperson or entrepreneur. It’s not just about having faith in the product or service, you also have to put faith in the individual, and ask yourself whether you feel you can genuinely help them succeed. Investing is a big decision; so take your time to really think things through.
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