What does it mean to market your business with pictures?

We all know that a picture is worth a 1,000 words–so it makes perfect sense to let your pictures tell your story.

That’s why pinterest is so popular–it’s all about telling stories.

When working with client we always ask for lots of pictures and we use them; boy do we use them.

What for? Well for starters your local maps setup (google, yahoo, and bing) just to name a few.

But we also use them in your videos, profiles, social media sites and more.

Now to want pictures is one thing–actually getting them another.

1. nobody likes to have their picture taken–at least I know I don’t

2. we do our best to make it easy–but it’s still one of the hardest things to get completed

3. the how to get them to us–becomes an issue

So, we setup a simple system for our clients to load pictures using DropBox–each client gets their own folder–where they can load pictures, videos, files, and more.

When a client loads files to their new dropbox–I get a notice that new files are added–and our marketing team can take it from there.

In summary–get your camera out–take some pictures–and call us so we can help you with your marketing.

Every once in a while you come across a tool that you just have to share.

EchoSign is one of those tools. If you create contracts and need signatures do you do what I used to do?

1. Create the document

2. Print the document

3. Sign the document

4. Scan the document

5. Send a less than crisp document via email to your potential client

6. Wait for them to complete steps 2-5

I just started using EchoSign and I gotta tell ya–it’s a tool every business needs–that is if you use contracts in your day to day business activities.

1. Create the document (yes still have to do that)

2. Upload the document

3. Email the document

4. Everybody signs with an electronic signature

5. EchoSign emails the signed documents

Very very cool!

I was browsing the internet today and came across a company that creates and designs dental practice websites. No, I’m not going to share the link.

The websites they build don’t look too bad…what caught my eye:

After visiting their blog about 2 or 3 posts down they talk about adding fresh, updated content to your website and how important that is.

I agree 100% with that (although to be honest–my personal blog–I do neglect). My business blog–that is not the case.

But this company has not updated their blog since the middle of 2012.

Lesson?

If you’re going to promote services to businesses–make sure you practice what you preach. You’ll add credibility to your business and it also shows your potential clients that you know what you’re talking about.

If you’re selling Social Media services–make sure your social media platforms are up-to-date.

Short post today.

Next post I’m going to give you a checklist that you can use to “get listed locally”.

It’s January and the time when many small business owners start to think about marketing.

What important elements should be included in your marketing plan?

I’m not going to answer–because I believe that each and every business is different.

For example, if you’re a small business owner in a town of 5000 your marketing wouldn’t need to be as intensive as a business in a town of 25K or 50K. Hell, most of the customers probably know you by name!

BUT are you connected with your clients/customers on the social media platforms? No?

Then you may want ramp up your social media presence in your marketing plan.

Get connected with your customers online! It’s not enough to wait for your customers to come to you.

Let your customers know what you’re doing and blast it to through cyber-space.

Have you updated your marketing plan yet? Isn’t it time?

My posts are short for a reason–you don’t have time to read long posts–you’re a business owner. And if you’re like me too busy to spend hours reading online.

In a nutshell the answer is Yes.

I don’t say that because we offer this service–well to be completely transparent–yes I guess I do.

So what exactly is reputation marketing or management?

Let’s see Wikipedia says this, “Reputation management is the practice of understanding or influencing an individual or business’ reputation.” It actually says a lot more than that–so head on over and read all about it.

I’m not going to go into great detail about what is it–I want to answer the question, “Do you need it?”

According to a recent survey 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations.

Take a look at your business–do you have any reviews? If you’re not sure check out our software–enter your business phone # to find out.

No bad reviews? That is awesome.

Only a handful of reviews? You need to work on it.

Lots of great reviews? That is great! Pat yourself on the back.

Do they really really matter? According to David Nihm (bookmark his page) it does matter! The information is invaluable.

Please don’t go out and ask your family members to give you a rave review–fake reviews can be seen from a mile away.

Don’t “bribe” your clients/customers to give you rave reviews.

Yes do ask them to review your business (ask for testimonials) but don’t coach them.

If you are one of our Reputation Marketing clients we teach you the correct way to get those long-craved for Rave Reviews!

I’ve been working on our monthly newsletter and wanted to let you know–it’s coming soon.

Upcoming Titles for our Newsletters:

Have I Got a Real Tweet For You

How to Claim Your Google + Local Page

14 Online Marketing Ideas

And more…

What else do we have in store for our readers?

We’ll be implementing monthly webinars for small businesses during the first quarter of 2013.

What topics would you like us to discuss?

Local search marketing is growing both personally and also professionally. Many people hear about this growth personally, but the business side of social media is something that many people do not hear about. Outsourcing your local marketing can help you to get involved in a hands free way.

This type of marketing has never been more important to a business. This can take some time to master and you might want to consider outsourcing this marketing technique. If you outsource you can easily find a great company that will have a great deal of knowledge about marketing via the social network scene.

You will want to look at the largest social network sites and make sure that the marketing that is conducted by a service will include these sites. You should also make sure that you are checking any marketing techniques every so often so that if there are any mistakes, or it is not working properly, you can notify the company.

If you want to be a part of any marketing, there are some companies where suggestions will be made, but you will still be a part of the process also. You might not want any decisions to be made without your consent and you should make sure that your wishes are fulfilled.

Outsourcing your social marketing can allow you extra time you would normally spend on the important day-to-day operations of your business. You do not have to spend hours thinking about your marketing techniques and sometimes using a company can be a great stress relief.