Top 30 Ways to Promote Your Business

If you’re a new company, established and struggling to keep with the times, or stuck for ideas, you’ll be surprised how small changes can generate substantial business gains.

Here are 30 different ways you can promote your business to hit your goals.

Promote Your Business for Free

Everyone loves a freebie. Often these are the quickest and easiest ways to generate business. People need to know who you are.

So here are five free methods that won’t touch your budget.

1: Encourage Word of Mouth

2: Volunteer for Charity

3: Make the News

4: Get Yourself Listed On Business Directories

5: Ask Friends and Family for Help

Ideas for a Quick Fix

It isn’t all about saving money. Sometimes it’s a matter of urgency and damage limitation.

A quick fix is always short-term to start. Still, many of these promotional ideas can be applied long-term and used in your promotional material to highlight how your business is growing.

6: Check Your Grammar

7: Hire a PR Agency

8: Conduct a Business Clean-Up Operation

9: Extend Opening Hours

10: Keep Up with Current Affairs

Develop Your Back-End Business

So how can you promote your business this way?

Well, focusing on improving your operations will result in better time management and improve your overall product quality.

11: Outsource Your Website

12: Invest In Quality Software

13: Run Google and Facebook Ads

14: Keep Up with Current Affairs

15: Re-Brand Your Business

Focus On Your Customers

Customers and clients bring you income.

Proactive engagement is the best way to understand your business from the outside. That way, you gain a proper understanding of what it means to become your customer.

16: Encourage Reviews and Feedback

17: Respond to Everyone

18: Give out Thank You Cards

19: Run Promotional Offers for Repeat Customers

20: Offer Recommendations

Focus on Social Media

It’s easy to forget that social media isn’t just about posting pictures of cats. When used correctly, it can be a very effective way of generating business.

Whether you manage this yourself or get someone else to do it, communication is vital to ensure the right message gets across.

21: Start a YouTube Channel

22: Become a LinkedIn Professional

23: Create a Facebook Group for Community Vibes

24: Use Twitter as Your Business Brain

25: Allow Your Ideas to Shine on Pinterest

Wildcard Ideas to Inspire

These last five are here for fun to get your brain thinking. But these might inspire you to develop the idea into something you can put into practice.

How will you change the world?

26: Break a World Record

27: Create a Theme Song

28: Run a Geocaching Event

29: Become a Character in a Video Game

30: Turn an April Fools Idea Into a Reality

Any Promotion is Better Than None

There’s a saying in some industries that bad press is better than no press. Therefore, if you can get the basics right and come up with something unique but relevant, you’ll increase your revenue in no time.

Now you know how to promote your business, so it’s time to get started!

For more top tips on how to market your business, click here for more creative ideas!

The Top 3 Paid Social Trends of 2021

This past year has been like nothing we’ve seen before, as some businesses have been forced to close their doors, others have grown drastically in the wake of a massive shift in consumer behaviour.

As old trends fade, new trends are beginning to appear, one of the more significant ones being observed – paid social media marketing. With over 70% of Americans using social media, digital marketers are beginning to realize the value social media can bring to their companies.

Staying ahead of the paid social trends for 2021 can reap significant benefits for your company. Keep reading this guide to learn more.

Branching Out From Facebook

Facebook has been on top of the social media hierarchy for some time now, but 2021 may be the year things begin to change. Facebook brought in nearly 70 billion in revenue from ads in 2019, mainly from corporations like Coca-Cola and Starbucks.

However, Facebook recently got into some hot water with advertisers over its failure to stop the spread of certain content on their website. Companies including Ford, HP, and Adidas were some of the big-names to join the movement. With the rise of apps like Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Twitter becoming more popular, advertisers are looking to diversify their investments and reach a different audience.

Paying for Video

Video marketing has been advancing the past few years and is really taking off in 2020. With the wealth of information users can obtain from watching a short video, why would they want to read through a manual.

According to recent research, 96 percent of people have watched how-to videos explaining a product or service. On top of that, close to 66 percent of people noted they preferred watching videos rather than other forms of content. Videos should be an important part of your digital marketing strategy.

There is a clear trend among younger generations preferring watching videos that can be seen with the explosive growth the mobile app Tik Tok has experienced. Even though the company was facing being banned in the U.S. just a few months ago, the app has managed to generate nearly 54 million weekly average users, 75% growth since last year.

Personalized Ads

Advertisements have been getting more personalized for years, but it seems 2021 is going to shape up to be the most personal yet as social media’s algorithms are becoming increasingly more complex. Social media targeting isn’t necessarily a new thing, but brands are seeing the benefits it can bring since it has become more advanced.

Facebook is at the helm of utilizing personalized ads, using various data categories like:

  • Demographics
  • Interests
  • And behaviours

Then, they breaking those categories down into subcategories to get as specific as possible, like what car you drive, if you are a homeowner, and what type of technology you prefer.

Get Ahead of the Paid Social Trends for 2021

Understanding what the top paid social trends are for 2021 can help give you a better understanding of where to allocate your digital marketing budget. Using a mix of both paid and organic social media marketing tactics can help significantly increase the growth of your followers. It’s important to track which methods are working best for you and adjusting your strategy accordingly.

If you are looking to get ahead of the top paid social trends for 2021, contact us today, and we can help build a digital marketing strategy that works for you.

Why is Website Translation Important to Global Businesses?

Running an international business requires speaking the language of your target audience. And when it comes to your website, speaking their language can make or break your sales.

You have a new website that you want to promote to a bigger audience or a website ready to go worldwide. Make it available in different languages to stand out from your competitors.

Read on to learn why you need website translation for your global business and how you can use it to attract more customers.

To Attract More International Customers

When your website is available in more languages, it’s accessible to international customers or the other ethnicities in your own country.

The more people can benefit from your services, the more opportunities you have to make a sale. At the same time, websites with content in multiple languages are rare, so word will quickly get around about yours.

To Boost International SEO Rankings

If you’re trying to position your business in the international market, optimizing your website for search engines is an important step.

If you translate and localize the website in the languages of the countries you want to expand to, you’ll boost international SEO rankings.

To Improve Localization

Localization in SEO is crucial if you want to target a specific audience that speaks a certain language. It’s also important if you want to target local areas.

For this to work, your best bet is website translation services to make your website accessible to your target customers. This way, even if someone searches for keywords in their language, your website will show up among the first results.

To Increase Time on Site

When a customer lands on your business website and it’s not in a language they speak, they’ll leave and look for one that is. If you offer your website in different languages, you’ll actually increase time on site.

This is because they’ll be interested to see what else you have to offer and might even decide to become your customers. The better the translation, the more trust you’ll build.

This shows customers you’ve put time, money, and effort into your website. Even more importantly, you’ll show customers you’ve dedicated time and effort to understand their needs.

To Build a Stronger Brand Worldwide

If you’re expanding your business worldwide, translation services for your website are a must in order to get closer to your target customers.

Since your company will be new on the market, you need something to attract customers with. Having a website in several languages will not only make them get to know your business better but also build trust.

Invest in Professional Website Translation To Boost Sales and Attract More Customers

Whether you’re trying to expand internationally or want to be available to a wider audience, website translation is a must if you want to boost sales and build trust with customers.

Ready to give your online presence a makeover? Reach out to Big Bold Thinkers today and let’s explore your digital marketing and SEO options for business growth.

Winning at Hybrid Events: 3 Tips to Flex Your Creativity for Success

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people worldwide to embrace remote working. Across all industries, companies experienced huge changes that led to complicated challenges.

Almost overnight, governments banned face-to-face interactions. Executives had to quickly provide another way to deliver meetings and training. Employees had to gear up for a digital way of working.

This lead to the use of virtual conferencing platforms skyrocketing. And although there seems to be hope for the crisis to ease pretty soon, most companies will continue to offer hybrid events.

Do you want to find out how your company can organize successful virtual marketing events in the post-pandemic era? Then read on: we are about to dish out the three best ways to do so.

1. Get All the Right Gear and Tech

First of all, you want to make sure that you have all the necessary equipment in place. Unlike purely virtual events, hybrid ones still include some in-presence features. For example, you’re going to have to book the right venue, for the right length of time.

Allow for some wiggle room here and there time-wise, in view of potential new regulations around security and sanitization.

Once you’ve got the venue sorted out, you’ll need to either hire or buy some tech equipment. This usually includes mics, speakers, and cameras. Bear in mind that, just because the gear is not a lot, you’ll still need high-quality tools to ensure the smooth running of your event.

2. Cater to the Needs of Both Live and Remote Participants

Now, because a hybrid event features both live and remote speakers and delegates, you’ll have to cater to the needs of both.

Rules around social distancing, mask-wearing, and handwashing are still likely to apply. So, you should ensure that the venue satisfies all of these requirements for your live speakers.

For those joining the event from their homes, you’ll want to minimize any technical disruptions, and offer an easy way to connect and communicate.

3. Keep Your Remote Audience Engaged

If you’ve hosted even one virtual meeting, then you’ll probably know that one of the biggest challenges is keeping your audience focused and interested.

Hybrid events will face just the same hurdle. To overcome it, you could try a few approaches.

First of all, send your home-based delegates some material on the event ahead of the day. This will help them to understand in detail what the event is going to be about, and might even motivate them to prepare some questions or observations.

Secondly, you’ll probably want the event to last no longer than a few hours, and have plenty of breaks. These could be virtual “coffee breaks” that include ambient music and a live chat to allow participants to relax with a hot drink.

Last but not least, how about sending your home delegates a quick survey after the event? This will enable them to provide any suggestions that you might incorporate in your next hybrid meeting.

Hybrid Events: The Future of Conferencing in the Post-Pandemic World

In the post-pandemic work landscape, hybrid events will feature heavily. For this reason, it’s essential that your company prepares to organize and host meetings that engage both a live and a remote audience.

With our tips, you’ll be ready to achieve this in no time. Just follow your guide on how to host a great hybrid event, and your employees will look forward to them.

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Success in Sales: Understanding Automated CRM Solutions for B2B

When CRMs first arrived on the scene, they really were little more than tech-driven Rolodexes.

A few people might have added their sales info to the database, but for the most part, data on prospects were still in people’s heads or never discovered at all.

Today’s customer relationship management system is all about the relationship. Gone are the silos between salespeople. Gone are the barriers between marketing and sales and customer support.

CRM solutions for B2B especially work to provide a complete customer journey from interest to contract to support. Automation tools drive the ability to do this consistently across departments. If you’re looking for a new B2B CRM, take a close look at how well it executes in this area as automation drives success today.

Marketing: Lead Generation and Nurturing

Step one of the sales process is to find some customers, right? This is where marketing comes into play, gathering leads and moving them from initial curiosity to warm interest.

The best B2B CRM software options today have brought the marketing piece of the journey into the system and connected it with sales. Aligning the two functions consistently delivers higher revenue, better customer retention, and higher win rates.

You want your CRM to track leads, but also gather information about those leads to ensure their quality. Once you attract a lead through email marketing or online ads, automation rules decide what contact to make next and their level of interest based on their behaviour.

The goal of marketing automation is to better track prospects and guide their customer journey in a personalized way. Any lead nurtured to a certain point in the process should be ripe for more in-depth contact.

Sales: Lead Scoring

Advanced analytics and AI-based predictions can determine how likely you are to close a deal. Lead scoring ranks prospects based on the intelligence gathered by marketing and lets you prioritize the ones that are farther along in the sales funnel.

This alleviates a common sticking point between marketing and sales. Research shows some sales departments ignore up to 80 percent of the leads marketing sends them. This is understandable when you consider in the past, 73 percent of leads they received were not ready to talk to sales yet.

Automated CRM solutions shorten the long B2B sales cycle by only passing on leads that have shown sales-ready behaviour. Being able to take the guesswork out of when to take the next step in the process underlines the importance of CRM in B2B markets.

Choosing CRM Solutions for B2B

Automation plays a key role in the customer journey today, making your CRM more of a prospect intelligence system than a database. As you consider new CRM solutions for B2B, you want to consider closely how well the system can execute automatically.

The first part of the process is to drive and nurture leads. If you need help with your marketing strategy or have questions about lead scoring, we’d be happy to walk you through the process. Contact us today to get a campaign going to fill your sales pipeline.

Level up Your Next Online Event: The 411 on Virtual Event Giveaways

You are swag.

You are an innovative businessperson. You want interesting and engaging ways to connect with your clients. You give to people every day, and the best way to reach clients is to just keep giving.

Virtual event giveaways are becoming one of the most popular ways to reach out to clients. Get in on the action with this guide.

Activate Your Brand: The Theory of Virtual Event Giveaways

Clients have stuff. The average household has 30 promotional items. But clients remember where they got that stuff; 85% of consumers remember the advertisers who gave them those items.

Every time a consumer wears a branded T-shirt, they see the brand and remember it. They tie the brand to something positive, an item they can use in their day-to-day life. The recall and positive view of the brand encourage them to do business with the brand.

Promotional items are also a subtle way of promoting with others. A T-shirt can reach more than 6,000 people. Someone walking by sees the branded T-shirt, and they remember and want to do business with the brand.

Swag works even when it is virtual. The key is to give away items that attendees will value. You have many choices.

Virtual Event Giveaway Ideas

Consider specializing your swag. Give packages to general event attendees, but also give special packages to speakers and VIPs.

Speaker packages can include custom backdrops. Zoom features virtual backgrounds, and you can create your own for your event. Include your brand name and other meaningful visuals.

You can have one-on-one meetings between your VIPs and important people in your company. Schedule a time that works best for both parties, and loop the VIPs in on your plans and ideas. Give them time to respond.

For general attendees, you can send out coupon codes. Providing discounts encourages them to buy more products. They also remember you for having lower prices and for valuing customer loyalty.

If you are location-oriented, you can send out virtual flipbooks about your location. Include photographs and writings about your city or country. Send out lists of places to visit, and give out travel pointers.

If you are health-oriented, you can send out guides. Include recipes, playlists of songs, and daily wellness rituals.

Promote interactivity through contests and special events. Put up premium prizes, including physical goods like drinkware and apparel. Encourage attendees to write, give speeches, and take photos of different things.

You can also tie in social media campaigns to your events. Encourage people to share or respond to your content in exchange for rewards.

Go Big, Go Bold

If you want swagger, you should give away swag. Swag activates your brand, putting it into action through useful and fun items that your clients use.

Virtual event giveaways work just as well as live event giveaways. Specialize and personalize giveaways to speakers and VIPs. Give out coupon codes and E-books to general attendees.

You can level up your next event with the right help. Big Bold Thinkers offers a number of marketing and creative services to meet your needs. Contact us today.

The Most Effective Principles on How to Create the Best Web Design

We live in the digital age, and every company that wants to survive must have a digital presence. E-commerce is steadily becoming the main source of consumption. By 2021, e-commerce will generate $4.5 trillion in sales, and by 2040, it is projected that e-commerce will account for 95 percent of all transactions.

If you want to have a piece of this huge pie, you have to create a website. However, your website has to be appealing and navigable for people. This can seem difficult to make happen, but don’t worry here’s an effective guide to creating the best web design.

Website Purpose

Your website must be recognizable and should be designed with the consumer in mind, catering to their every question. They should answer the most basic questions:

  • What’s your website for?
  • Why are you here?
  • What can this website do for the consumer?

If these are not answered, you need to reevaluate the website’s purpose and realign it. Your website is made to serve the consumer, and if you don’t understand your own website purpose, an everyday consumer won’t either.

Remember the core purposes of most websites: Recognition of your brand, description of your services/products, promotion, and customer relations.

Image Use

The imagery on your website is crucial. Let’s be honest, people don’t like to read, in fact, over 90 percent of people prefer visual content overwritten.

Images will bring more interest from consumers, as they can see the products or services they are investing their money into. Adding images will make creating your website both easier and more effective for its target audience.

Choosing the best images for your website is something we do well at Big Thinkers. We can make your website aesthetically pleasing while balancing the effectiveness of the images.

F-Shape Formatting

Studies show that our eyes follow the “F-pattern” when reading. Most times, the eyes don’t even make it to the right of the screen. The F-pattern follows the same way we are taught to read in the West.

By strategically placing important images or crucial information closer to the left, you make consumers more apt to view what’s there.

Easy Navigation

Navigation of your website is integral to the retention of visitors. They should be readily able to find whatever they are looking for on your website. If not, navigating for them will be too difficult and confusing.

They then will give up and go elsewhere that’s easier. We can make this happen at Big Thinker.

Mobile Friendly

Website design also includes making a mobile-friendly version. Most people spend the most time online using their phones.

Making a website design that caters to this fact is important to the success of your website, and one we can take care of at Big Thinkers.

Create the Best Web Design

When trying to create the best web design, you have to consider several things. If you want to make money, then you should be sure to follow these points. At Big Bold Thinkers, we understand what you need in a good website design.

Let us build that website for you so you can get a slice of that money pie. It tastes delicious. Be sure to contact us here if you have any questions or would like to know about what we have to offer.

What Is Google My Business and Why Do I Need It?

It’s not a secret. Google has without a doubt become one of the most popular search engines in the world. And while you may utilize it often as a consumer, it’s just as important for business owners.

For starters, Google has excellent resources for business owners who want their companies to list on the top of search engines. One of the staples? Google My Business.

If you’re looking for a great way to increase your local search result rankings, you need to make a Google My Business listing. Here are all the benefits of creating your own listing.

What Is Google My Business?

Before creating a listing, you may want to know what’s the big deal behind Google My Business. If you have ever searched a business on Google, you have probably run into their business profile. Profiles are usually located on the right side of the Google page and have a phone number, address, and hours of operations listed.

The Benefits of Using Google My Business

If you don’t believe there are any real benefits in using Google My Business, think again! Here’s are some ways listing your business on Google can help you generate business.

Click to Call Phone

One of the most convenient features associated with Google My Business is their click to call feature. If a potential client has a question regarding your products or services, they are not only able to view your number but can press it and immediately get a real-time conversation.

Reviews

Let’s face it. Reviews are so important when it comes to validating a company. Studies show that over 60% of customers form an opinion about a company when reading reviews.

Fortunately, creating a Google listing provides an easier way for you to manage Google My Business reviews. Not only can you evaluate areas of improvement, but you can thank customers for leaving positive feedback as well.

Photos

Adding photos to your Google listing is so important when it comes to promoting your business. It gives your clients a better picture of what your company is about and what they should expect when they enter the premises.

Insights

Last but not least in conjunction with Google Analytics, you can gain access to back-end insights. Want to check how your listing is doing in your local market? You can check it here. Want to see what keywords are getting customers to click on your site? You can check it here too!

The Benefits of Google My Business and More!

Whether you’re looking to learn about the benefits of Google My Business or are simply looking to take your marketing efforts to the next level, we’re here to help. We know how difficult it can be to find a reliable marketing agency. Fortunately, we excel at helping customers like you target their ideal demographic.

In need of marketing services? We’d love to help. Feel free to contact us and a member of our team will point you in the right direction.

Online Business: Understanding Your Visitors and Customers

Last year, almost 1.8 billion people shopped online. For any online business, that’s a significant number of people to engage. To make the most of today’s increasing online shoppers, you need to understand your target audience.

There are a few critical factors to consider when marketing to online business customers. Read this guide to learn more ways to boost engagement and generate leads.

Site Analytics

Analyzing your website can tell you a lot about site visitors. The customers of your online business will behave in certain ways, which special tools can track. You can audit your site and generate valuable data on these users.

Google Analytics is a free tool that works for most websites. There are plenty of other alternatives, too. You can find comparable analytics tools, or better yet, consult professionals in digital marketing.

Typically site analytics measure several elements. These metrics include the following:

  • Session visits: number of site visitors and the effectiveness of calls to action
  • Marketing channels: paid and organic search, email, referrals, social media, and display ads
  • Bounce rate: who visits your online business and leaves after one webpage
  • Conversion rate: contact forms generating leads, or other KPIs for your online business

These metrics inform potential action steps you can take for your business. Knowing what motivates your visitors is easier with site analytics.

Click-Mapping

One important extension of site analytics involves click-mapping. It shows everything online business customers click (whether it’s clickable or not). You can learn valuable information this way.

For example, you’ll learn what parts of a webpage receive the most attention. You can see which links get clicked the most and how far down they scroll on a page. There are a wide variety of click-mapping tools available to enhance your online business.

Using this tool, you can create heatmaps of virtual hotspots for online business visitors. You can learn which ads are most or least effective. You can even discover new opportunities for lead generation based on where customers click the most.

Feedback

You can understand your online business audience beyond studying their behaviour. Customer data is certainly invaluable, but so is customer feedback. One of the best forms of engagement occurs with intentional interaction.

However you communicate with customers for your online business, they need engagement. Whether it’s reviewed on your site, comments on social media, or direct email contact, listen to them. You can incentivize responses or use whatever customers provide.

Customer feedback offers rich opportunities for growth and development. The more you listen to customers, the more engaged they feel. They’ll share more and you’ll understand how to best market your business to them.

Learn More Tips to Boost Your Online Business

The world of digital marketing is constantly changing, just like your consumers. To stay ahead of these changes, you need the latest information. We call ourselves Big Bold Thinkers for a good reason.

Part of thinking boldly means staying ahead of the latest industry developments. As experts in digital marketing, we understand how important it is to keep ourselves (and you) informed. Follow the Big Bold Blog to learn more ways to boost your online business.