Do you have any idea how many unique methods there are to increase brand success and get your business more visibility, clicks, and sales? Most small business owners and even many marketers would be amazed to realize all the options they haven't considered yet.
Honestly, there are so many that this post can't cover them all--and if it did, it would be overwhelming. So let's focus on just four ideas now. Choose and implement your favorites, and then expand from there.
Use Apps to Increase Productivity
The first step is to use tools that increase productivity and reduce the time it takes to do what you are already doing to free up time for new strategies. Start by choosing the best apps for your needs. (Ask a marketing consultant to help you narrow down your choices.)
The post "15 Essential Apps to Streamline Your SMB" covers many of the types of applications available. Check them out, and pay particular attention to how your business handles these key tasks:
- Lead generation and follow-up
- Workflow management and time tracking
- Invoicing and bookkeeping
- Social media management
Get a handle on what you are already doing before you expand. It is better to do a few things very well than many poorly. Get the business side of your house in order and then go after new business. Scaling before you have the processes in place often results in unhappy customers and decreases the chance of brand success.
Use Business Dashboards to Monitor Important Metrics
The number one complaint businesses have about social media is that they are not sure it is benefiting them. The easiest way to stay on top of not only your social media, but also your top content and analytics is to use the all-in-one business dashboard Cyfe.
This video explains what Cyfe does and shows how fast and simple it is to create dashboards using pre-configured widgets for just about any important aspect of your business you want to be able to view at a glance:
Instead of having to log into analytics, each of your social networks, your marketing system, and so on separately, you can open Cyfe and see whatever metrics you feel are most important to your business all in one place.
If you haven't worked with business metrics before, read "Dominate Your Competition Using Metrics: Here�'s How." The post will give you an overview of what your goal is, but it doesn't tell you what metrics you want to measure.
Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) vary depending upon what you want to measure. "Metrics Roundup" provides links to resources covering the basics through the most comprehensive strategies for these various types of metrics: marketing, content, social media, video, startups, and IT.
Create Beautiful Documents to Share Online and Off
While the ease of publishing a blog post is great, sometimes a more polished appearance is desirable. PDFs have become the standard for creating sales materials, white papers, case studies and ebooks because of these important reasons:
- The appearance of the document including the fonts used and image sizes can be controlled for optimum results, unlike web pages which look different depending upon the browser and monitor size used.
- PDF files are universally accessible on every operating system.
- Modern browsers allow PDFs to be viewed right in the browser--no PDF application required.
- PDF files can be password protected and encrypted.
- Newer mobile operating systems can open PDFs.
- Fast and easy to create (although something more of a challenge to edit).
PDFs make a business's documents look more professional and do not cause the technical issues they did years ago. Create individual PDFs for each type of client or customer you have.
Use a program like Icecream PDF Split & Merge to assemble PDFs into a portfolio or add them to your annual reports. PDFs are definitely a great way to make your business stand out--and don't forget you can have them printed and use them offline in meetings and presentations, too.
Get Creative With Visual Media
Images, videos, SlideShares, and infographics garner the most attention and have the best chance of going viral. The more time people spend on mobile devices instead of desktops, the more important these become.
Many brands have managed to tie their businesses into sports, popular movies, or famous celebrities to increase their visibility. The following is an example of how the team at Men's Hairstyles Club used an infographic of the Top 5 Male Athlete Hairstyles to get fans of famous sports figures to want their products:
Many consumers who wouldn't otherwise have been interested will pay attention if a sports figure or other celebrity they admire is mentioned. This is a way of tapping into celebrities' audiences without paying them for an endorsement. (To steer clear of any legal issues, just make sure you do not imply the celebrities are endorsing your business if they are not.)
How Will You Increase Brand Success?
These are only a few of the hundreds, or possibly thousands, of ways to promote your business and increase brand success, but they are among the most important. To recap:
- Get your business house in order.
- Use business dashboards to monitor important metrics.
- Give your documents a professional look by using PDFs.
- Go visual with infographics, videos, images, and SlideShares.
Be sure to visit the links referenced in this post for more information--especially about choosing the best metrics to ensure you increase your brand's success.
