The benefits of using social media cannot be understated when it comes to businesses. Social media platforms can help small businesses compete with industry titans for a fraction of the cost.

Your business needs a social media plan to get your social media marketing campaign off the ground. Here are the benefits of social media platforms to help you create a marketing plan using social media.

Understand your audience

Use social media’s analytical functions to know your audience. That data can help you compile a persona that targets your audience to make a sale. One of the best things about social media is it gives you the ability to target a specific demographic. You can create ads and promotions that target the audience you’re looking for to land sales.

You can also communicate with your audience to find out their likes and dislikes about your product or service to improve your business. Your business will be left to the dust if you do not innovate, and social media can point you in the right direction.

Increase awareness

Over half of the world uses social media. A lot of people who use social media actively look for goods and services, which is where you need to place yourself. You can create a page that explains and promotes your goods and services. A social media page allows customers to find your business regardless of distance.

Be sure you choose the proper social media platforms to promote your business. You also need to cultivate a positive image on social media. Get positive reviews in the comments section or even a video to get people to trust your business.

Establish credibility

Your business has a product or service that people need or want in their daily lives. Establish your clout by creating helpful content that helps your audience improve their daily lives. Make sure that the problem is solved by your product or service to establish yourself as a leader. People sometimes need a push to why buying your product or service can improve their lives.

You can write content about a problem and tips to solve that problem. Your content must establish a problem and explain how your product solves it. Enriching your audience’s lives can help you stand out from the competition. Your audience will think of your business first when they need your product or service.

Check Trends

Social media can show you what the latest trends are to help you keep up with the times. Trends change regularly, and it’s important to stay on trend to prevent getting left behind. You can also check what your competition is doing to ensure you stay competitive.

Get more leads from web traffic

Writing ads, social media posts, and blogs can get people to enter your website. You can then promote your content through various social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Add a link to the content through those platforms to help them find your business. Participating in chat to help your audience and promote yourself may also work.

Include your website address on all your social media platforms to make your business easier to find. You can create content that targets a specific audience and direct them to a page where they can learn more about your business to get more customers.

The benefits discussed above are only a fraction of what social media can do for your business. Learn how to use social media to establish and promote your business to stay competitive.

Reach out to us to get help with your social media marketing strategy!

Starting a business from your home can help you climb the economic ladder toward a more prosperous life. Read on to learn the requirements of starting your business.

Starting a business from your home is not easy and can feel overwhelming, but taking one step at a time will make things easier. Running a home business gives you the advantage of saving time and money from retail space.

Decide on your Business Idea

Decide on what kind of business you will start, and the rest will follow.

Review your skills and talents and find your passion and use them for a business idea. If you’re book smart, then a tutoring business in the suburbs might be helpful.

Not every skill or talent can be made into a business idea. For example, being excellent in soccer does not mean you can coach kids in soccer as a business.

Analyze whether your business idea can be run from your home. Certain types of businesses have different requirements issued by your local government. You need to check whether your business type fits a home-based business format.

Checking whether your business idea is worth investing in is the next step.

Analyze your environment to find out what people in your area need.

Check your startup costs before you do anything because different businesses have different start-up costs. One of your business ideas may be more feasible than the other based on costs.

Test your idea by getting a few customers first, like tutoring on the side in the suburbs. You can also start selling sweets you bake online to test who and how many customers you can get for your business.

Write your business plan

Your business plan will contain all the information you need to run your home business.

Here is what your business plan needs

1. Executive summary
2. Business overview
3. Market analysis
4. Product or service description
5. Sales, marketing, and financial plans

This step is very important because you will know how your business will proceed and operate by creating a roadmap for your business. You can also show this document to investors to help you get more funding. It may be wise to get someone knowledgeable in business to look at your business plan to ensure it works.

Choose a name and decide on your business entity

Choosing your business name is important because that is how people will recognize your business. You need a name that people remember, and it must also establish what your business is all about. Make sure you have a unique name and that the name is available as a domain to establish your trademark.

Choosing your business entity may require the help of an attorney and business consultants.

Here are samples of business entities

Sole proprietorship

This kind of enterprise is owned and run by only one person where there is no legal distinction between owner and business entity.

LLC

Limited Liability Company has the liability-shielding found in corporations and the flexible nature along with tax pass thanks to advantages found in partnerships.

C-Corporations

C-corporations have corporations taxed separately from the owners.

Register your business

It’s best to register your business to ensure everything is above board. Each state has its own unique steps in registering your business, so be sure to go to the business bureau to find out how to do it. Register your business to the federal government and apply for an employer identification number to get some benefits.

Get a business license

Getting a business license is required to start a business but can be difficult because the requirements may vary per state. Get a lawyer onboard if you are having trouble with this part.

Here are some types of home business permits

Home occupation permit is required to operate a lawful business in your home. This permit shows that you are not adding significant noise, traffic, or problems to the environment by operating your business.

Property and zoning permits are required to know if you are even allowed to operate your business in your area.

Licenses and permits

Talk to a lawyer to ensure you have all the requirements to legally operate a business. You may need an operating license or a trade certification to lawfully do business.

Finances

Protect your finances by separating your personal finances from your business finances. You will be personally responsible for the liabilities and debts of your business for the most part. Protect your personal assets by separating them from your business assets, and it will be easier for bookkeeping and tax filing purposes.

Open a business bank account to track the money coming in and out. It will be easier to check your profits and pay your employees from a separate account.

Accounting software is needed for easier bookkeeping and tax filing. You need software that can defend against cyber attacks.

In conclusion, learning how to start a business from your home can help you live a more prosperous life. You need to get all the requirements first and then start your business for a smoother process. Look before you leap and do your best to succeed in your endeavor.

Get great hires by offering these benefitswhen you post a job ad in 2022. A lot of people either lost or left their jobs during the pandemic, and it’s your chance to get really good talent in your company. Sometimes a high salary is not enough, and offering certain benefits will have great talent work for you over others.

Here are some benefits employees are looking for in 2022:

Flexible work arrangements

The pandemic has opened the eyes of the world to how working from home is no longer seen as impossible. Thanks to advancements in technology, employees are still able to produce quality work without having to be physically present in the office. Many companies switched to a work-from-home arrangement to protect their employees.

While there might have been issues with mental health during the lockdowns because social interactions were forbidden, plenty of people agree that they love work-from-home and want to keep it.

Your company needs to get in on the action to either keep your employees or attract new talent. More than half of employees want to work from home at least some of the time. Most people want flexibility and options when it comes to working arrangements, and you need to find the sweet spot that gets people to apply to your company.

Some of the reasons your potential hires want to work from home are to save money and to avoid the hassle of commuting. Considering the potential hire’s preference can help you get the talent you want for your company.

Mental health benefits

Every year 20% of all adults experience mental health issues, and as an employer, you need to find a way to address this issue. As an employer, you must address your employee’s mental health problems by adding mental health benefits. Getting a health plan that offers mental health services will be crucial when it comes to benefit packages. Not only do mental health benefits help to incentivize job seekers to pick you, but they also keep your employees happy, which adds productivity.

Employee Engagement

The pandemic has forced a lot of people to shelter in place and keep away from home. This reason has made getting teams together to laugh and build relationships to create a more cohesive team more difficult. You can set up zoom meetings for lunches or dinners to help your employees get to know each other. Offering free lunches or dinners also works to keep employees happy. Find ways to keep your employees happy and build a community spirit to make them more effective when they work for your company.

Child Care Assistance

Many daycares shut down during the 2020 pandemic, which has forced families to keep their kids home while working. This scenario made it difficult to care for their kids for families everywhere.

You and every other company out there knows this fact, which is why offering child care assistance is important. Job seekers are looking for child care benefits because of how expensive the service is and how difficult it is to raise a child while working.

Here are ways to offer child care assistance:

1. Add extra money to their salary for childcare
2. Offer flexible work arrangements for your workers.
3. Partner with a child care facility to get discounts in exchange for more customers

Adding this benefit for your employees may nudge plenty of job seekers to apply to your company.

Flexible PTO

Not everyone celebrates the same holidays and giving everyone the option of when to take time off can be a game-changer. This method will give employees the freedom to choose because they are given a set number of hours or days to take time off in a year. This allows employees to take time off when they really need it instead of someone choosing for them leading to happier employees.

Financial Wellness Programs

The pandemic has shown people all over the world how easy it is to find yourself in a bad financial situation. Financial literacy can help solve plenty of financial issues employees are facing. While studying finance is difficult for many, it can be easy to offer financial courses in the company.

Your company probably already has accountants and financial advisors in your office. Get these people to share their knowledge with your other employees as a perk. Free financial education can be very appealing to new employees. You may need to pay your financial experts extra for the lessons, but it’s well worth it.

Technology Support

Work-from-home is appealing but still has some infrastructure requirements. Getting a laptop or PC and an internet connection are all important to ensure work-from-home works. Getting these simple requirements may be difficult for some people.

Help your employees with infrastructure requirements via the following:

1. Lend them a good laptop or PC
2. Give internet and electric bill allowance
3. Subsidize their purchase of a laptop or PC

In conclusion, hiring good staff is not easy because there is a lot of competition. Offering the right perks and benefits may give you an advantage over bigger companies.

Is an e-commerce business really for you is a question you probably asked yourself when you decided to start a business. Read on to learn about whether the e-commerce format is right for your business and its pros and cons.

Here are considerations you need to make to figure out if e-commerce will work for your business:

E-commerce is great if you’re selling a unique product not tied to a specific place and you want to tap into different markets fast. The e-commerce model is good for this business because it has low start-up costs and allows you to reach customers from around the globe.

An e-commerce business model is not a good idea if your goods are not unique because it will be hard to differentiate you from other sellers. A storefront might be better until you are big and successful because then you will have plenty of customers to choose you from other businesses.

Note that a website is still important these days, even if you have a storefront because most people will still check for stores online. Your marketing will set you aside from other businesses. When you are starting out, it may be a good idea to hire a marketing firm to help you stand out from the competition.

The cost drives your decision whether to start e-commerce or a storefront business.

An e-commerce business will keep its overhead costs low but will require more investment in marketing.

A storefront business may be able to use e-commerce to supplement its income.

An e-commerce site costs more to design than a normal website because of the complexities in its design. The platform will require more money because of all the steps required along with company oversight from the web designers to keep the site functioning.

It’s best to do your research by asking your peers and checking the market to figure out what will work for your business.

It’s best to weigh the pros and cons of starting an e-commerce business before making a decision.

Pros

Easier Expansion

E-commerce allows you to expand your reach to customers further than your local areas. You can get customers from big cities or even neighboring towns with e-commerce. The added reach can also give you more income to expand your current business.

Save Money

An e-commerce store can run 24/7 without any employees needing to protect and watch items. It also eliminates the limit to the number of items you can sell at once since you are not limited to a shelf. Inventory can be stored at home or in storage spaces that are cheaper than retail spaces. Foot traffic and parking spaces also become non-issues.

Easier Growth

Growth when it comes to business often requires more employees and a bigger store to expedite the process and keep people happy. The logistics of growing can be a nightmare to deal with, but with an e-commerce model and the right third-party logistic providers, the company can grow without having to worry about space and employees.

Easier Communication

Getting the customer’s email allows you to send and receive messages easily. You can let customers know about sales, check-in to see how they are doing, and promote a new product with little effort. Any concerns they have can also be answered easily and comfortably through email for a more measured approach. Using cookies can also help you analyze customer behavior and adapt accordingly.

Easy Tracking

Digitizing your entire process eases crunching numbers and collecting data. You will easily know which of your items sell best and which ones don’t sell. The data you get from your sales can help you eliminate unnecessary costs.

Cons

Lack of Personal Touch

Plenty of people still want to talk to experts when it comes to purchasing products to ensure it fits their needs. There is no replacement for face-to-face interactions no matter which way you compensate. People also want to experience the item before purchase.

Fraud

Your consumers are always at a risk of experiencing identity fraud whenever they enter their details in your shop. The people need to know and be convinced that your processing is secure, or they may not purchase from your site. Phishing scams and cyber attacks are a constant risk for your business.

Lost Gratification

Shoppers from online retailers have to wait for several days to get their items which removes the joy of shopping for some. Shipping is also difficult in case of refunds and can add to the cost of the item.

Price wars

The online retail industry affords you the chance to lower your prices, but unfortunately, everyone will do the same thing. Not having the lowest price can see you lose a sale, and even lowering your prices will see a dip in your profits.

In conclusion, the e-commerce business model is not for everyone, but learning about it can help you decide whether it is right for your business or not.

Learning how to conceptualize a great business idea can lead you to a successful venture. Don’t go in blind and read these tips to help you get started.

Focus on your strengths and passion

When it comes to coming up with a business idea, you need to play to your strengths. You don’t need to be an immediate expert in your chosen field, but you must learn it quickly. It’s best to stick to what you know because you will be leveraging your experience and skills to succeed. You need to like what your business does, or you may not be able to keep it when things inevitably get rough.

Match your business with your skillset to increase your success rate. You wouldn’t start a finance firm without any knowledge of accounting. What you should do for example is we’ll say your old job was in advertising. You may want to start a marketing firm to use your knowledge and experience in the industry to benefit your clients.

Solve your problems

Everyone has problems, and so do you in your daily life. The good news is most people probably face similar problem/s to yours on a daily basis. One way to get a business idea is to solve a pain point you and so many others are experiencing every day.

Find a problem that you find painful or annoying to deal with in your daily life.

Create a method or item that will solve the issue that is inexpensive and fun.

The two factors above are very important for the success of your business. You need to find something that people need or want, and the next step involves solving the issue for them using your product or service.

Find business ideas in your current job

Check the processes in your company, whatever department it may be, and find something that can be done better. Whether you belong in accounting, marketing, etc, there is always something that can be done better.

Check if your coworkers are happy? Is there a process they hate that you can take off? Can you do something to make them happier, even if they are happy? You need to consider this factor as a top priority because a happy employee is more productive.

Check if your company’s product can be made better. Is there a way to make the product cheaper but more efficient? These angles and ingenuity are the edge start-ups have against big companies.

Transferability of the products and the processes is also important because many processes or products can be used in another industry. An example would be cleaning products because they can be used at restaurants, schools, and homes.

Read about different subjects

You need to read about different topics from different areas every day to help you get more business ideas. Being knowledgeable in a variety of subjects can help you get the inspiration you need to start your business.

1. Blogs can give you ideas for businesses you have never tried before.
2. Reading medical journals can help you find medical supplies that sell really well.
3. Reading news reports can help you get a grasp of the state of the world and trends.

Do not be afraid to expand your reading list to get as many ideas for your business as possible.

Test your business idea

It’s best to do a dry run of your business concept, but first, make sure you check everything. Here are the following factors you should check before starting a business:

Here are the following factors you should check before starting a business:

1. Make sure you check if the product or service you provide is in demand.
2. Start-up costs are also very important, along with how to attract customers to your business.
3. Write a business plan that details your goals and how you will achieve them.

You can also adopt a low-risk model for your starting business. One way to do this is the following:

Selling cookies or pastries online can be done through social media and tagging people. When people buy your product, you can deliver it yourself or through a courier. This method does not require a physical store and allows you to work from home for a smaller risk than normal. You can use this method to check if there is a demand for your product in a low-risk way.

In conclusion, going on a business venture requires an awesome idea first. A few tips to come up with good ideas may be just what you need to get a start.

Studying marketing ideas for your small business can improve your bottom line by getting you more customers. Read on to learn some marketing ideas and boost your business.

Marketing Tips for starters

Optimize SEO

Optimize your website for SEO to get organic traffic. You need your website to inform people about your products or services, but that won’t matter if no one sees your website. Using SEO and a website enables potential customers to find your website.

Tips

1. Find ways to raise your SERP ranking
2. Make sure all your web pages and pictures load fast.
3. Create quality content for your website based on the keywords.
4. Focus on local SEO and use long-tail keywords to improve your chances of visits.
5. You also need to do thorough research to find the keywords before you write content.
6. Use keywords in all of your website’s landing pages, meta descriptions, and titles.

There are a lot of tips to improve the SEO for your website. Be sure to search for new practices regularly to stay competitive.

Storytelling

Your brand story is a great way to connect with your customers. What you need is a good and authentic story to capture the hearts of your audience. To be successful,
however, you also need the help of a great storyteller. Someone with a way with words that can help you put your best foot forward. You may want to hire an author or a blogger to help you tell your story.

You can put a summary of your story on the homepage and have a more detailed story on the about us page. Include the major milestones in the business’s history to show your progress. You can also include pictures and videos for storytelling purposes to make it more compelling.

Social Media

The cheapest way to promote your business is through social media. Investing the proper amount of effort and time can allow you to keep the social media marketing spending to a minimum.

Here is a list of advice to get you started for social media marketing:

1. Put your website link on social media posts
2. Use the relevant hashtags to become more visible
3. Create specially branded hashtags for the business
4. Find the right brand voice and stay consistent in using it.
5. Have a regular schedule when releasing things on social media.
6. Eye-catching visuals are a must to grab the audience’s attention
7. Find the platform the potential customers use the most and master it.
8. Drive more traffic to the company’s social media posts by using proper tactics.

The advice above is only meant to get you started. Be sure you also do regular research to ensure your campaigns stay relevant.

Use Video Testimonials

Do you have a very happy and satisfied client? If you said yes, maybe it’s time to ask them for a video testimonial. You can also try to do a video interview with them when they are at your establishment. Another way is to simply have your clients film a short review on their phones.

This type of content is perfect for boosting your social media profile because it helps build trust in your establishment. You also don’t need to spend a lot of money on this venture as people watching do not expect professionally made videos. A homemade video will also make the testimonial feel more authentic. In the age of fake reviews and comments, a video testimonial will help you stand out.

Use Facebook live and stream the interview of your happy client talking about their happy experiences from using your product or service.

Add live chat to your website

You may find that there are plenty of people visiting your site, but no one ever makes a purchase or contacts your business. Live chat can actually help improve your odds of making a sale. Nothing can compare to human contact. A chatbot can never give the quality interaction you get from a human. Getting an actual person to receive and answer questions can also encourage a potential customer to make a purchase.

Empathy can be a secret weapon to help you make that sale. A human can show sympathy and empathically listen and encourage a person to make a purchase which is beyond what a chatbot can accomplish. Getting 24 hours live chat is ideal but maybe too expensive. You can opt for live chat during the time of day that customers usually visit your site to make a purchase.

Handling all of these tasks may be too much for you because running a business and handling marketing at the same time is a lot of work.

Hiring Smartworks International can solve these issues by handling your marketing needs.

1. Smartworks is staffed with experienced web developers backed up by an SEO team to ensure you get a website that stands out from the competition.
2. They have writers to help you craft the best story for your brand.
3. Social media can also be handled by a writer and SEO team to ensure you get good posts and marketing campaigns.
4. You can submit your customer’s video testimonials, and the team will make sure it’s posted and seen.
5. For live chat, the company knows a few reputable customer service providers to help you get the best customer care.

In conclusion, it’s hard to handle your business and marketing at the same time. There is also no shame in asking for help. Getting help from the right digital agency can pay off when you get more customers.