Congratulations on becoming your own boss. At some point, you decided to make a go of it. You already had some experience and expertise in your industry, and you may have already lined up a few clients or customers to boot. But if you haven’t already discovered it, you can’t count on a steady stream of business coming your way unless you continue to build awareness about your offerings and keep prospects and customers engaged. So, let’s talk about marketing. In this blog post, we’ll show you how marketing your freelance business can still be kind to your budget.

Step One in Marketing Your Freelance Business: Create your website (If you have already done this, skip to the next step)

Your website should be at the center of all your marketing efforts. It gives people a place to go and see for themselves exactly what you want them to see. Seriously, if you don’t have a website, create one. If you can’t afford a marketing agency, consider taking a stab at it yourself. There are a lot of templates in a variety of industry themes that you can use to plug and play. Let’s take a look at some website builder options.

Weebly is quick and easy to set up and use, but not as customizable as others. Plus, they own the code. You only own your text and pics. The only reason this is a problem is if you want to move your website off their platform, it’s difficult. Top features include:

• It’s very easy to use, requiring no technical knowledge.
• There are a variety of Weebly templates that are free to use.
• Weebly offers free and paid photos that you can use on your website.
• You get the drag and drop website builder, website hosting, unlimited pages, and online storage space.
• Weebly allows you to connect your own domain or website address.
• Managing an online store is simple, and eCommerce is powered through Square.

 Find out more about Weebly

Wix is also quick and easy to set up and use. But like Weebly, they own the code. Top features include:

• No technical knowledge is required.
• There are over 800 templates in multiple categories to choose from, so you can get something that “looks like” your industry.
• Wix offers over 250 apps that you can use to enhance your site.
• You get a drag and drop website builder, website hosting, webpages, blogging, invoices, online scheduling, and online storage space all in one.
• Wix also allows you to connect your own domain or website address.

Find out more about Wix

Squarespace setup is pretty simple and you can export your website to WordPress if you want to leave the platform for a more customizable, robust one. Top features include:

• It’s easy to use, requiring no technical knowledge for a basic website.
• Originally for artists, the templates are beautifully designed, minimalistic and modern. You can even use more than one template on your website.
• Squarespace has great customer support. If you find yourself not able to figure something out, they are really responsive.
• You get a drag and drop builder, but if you know HTML code, you can enhance the site with it.
• They have low monthly packages that start at $5 per month for a one-page site. Hosting and a custom domain are included.

Find out more about Squarespace

Step Two in Marketing Your Freelance Business: Make sure your website is optimized for both your audience and search engines

• Check your content
  • Is it obvious what you do?
  • Do you tell your prospects what they get, not just what you have?
  • Is your content relevant?
• Check your keyword use
  • Answer questions that your audience would ask in a Google search.
  • Use part or all of the keyword/phrase in the page URL.
  • Use part or all of the keyword/phrase in the page title.
  • Use part or all of the keyword/phrase in page headings and subheadings.
• Check the small details for Google and screen reader (for those with disabilities) friendliness
  • Use descriptive alt tags on every picture. 
  • Use descriptive links instead of “click here.” And where possible, link keywords for improved Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Step Three in Marketing Your Freelance Business: Ask for reviews or testimonials 

If you haven’t set up your Google My Business profile, do it. Some business owners don’t set up their accounts because they don’t want to manage negative reviews. This is a mistake because not only can your Google business listing improve your ranking with Google, but it also gives you the opportunity to turn a negative review into a positive one.

Studies have shown that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Once your Google business listing has been created, you’ll want to populate it with reviews. To ensure your success, follow these tips:

• Ask for a review. The number one reason that people don’t leave reviews is that no one asks them to do so.
• Overcome the awkwardness by asking your happiest customers first so that you get used to asking. Eventually, you will see it’s not a risky move and will have no problem doing it. Ask often. Some times that are appropriate are: after you complete a job, in your email signature, on your invoices, and at the conclusion of a phone call. People forget. It’s that simple. So, don’t feel bad about asking more than once.
• Don’t assume they know how to do it. Make it easy for them to review you by linking to simple “how-to” instructions or linking a video that explains the process. 

Step Four in Marketing Your Freelance Business: Get connected and stay connected with your social media network

Chances are that your audience is on one or more social networks daily. Deciding where you should get social really depends on your audience and industry type. For example, if you are a graphic designer, you may want to focus your efforts on a visual platform such as Instagram or Pinterest. If you are interested in the demographics of social media users, check out Pew Research’s social media fact sheet. Here are some tips on getting the most out of your social media:

• If you choose more than one platform, keep your username as consistent (and closely related to your business name) as possible across all platforms.
• Don’t try to be everywhere. It’s important to work your social media accounts regularly, and if you are trying to be active on every social media channel, you are likely to fail.
• Be sure you have a branded profile. You want your audience to instantly recognize you across platforms, so your website and social media should look like the same business.
• Complete your entire profile. Fill in all the information possible when creating a profile. Always include your website, contact information, and a brief description of your offerings.
• Take part in the conversation. Comment on other people’s posts that are relevant to your industry and audience. Write your own content. And share others’ content.
• Be consistent with post frequency. People skip around to a lot of sites and posts daily, so having a regular schedule helps your audience know what days to expect your posts and helps make you become part of their regular schedule.
• If you have a little bit of a budget, consider advertising on social media. Sometimes the awareness is the push you need to help your business take off.

As small business champions, FuelGauge is committed to providing you with helpful resources, and we hope you find value here. Check out our most helpful resource, our cloud-based cash flow projection software that puts your past, present, and future revenues and expenses at your fingertips. With 24/7 online, on-the-go access to revenue forecasting and project capacity planning, you will be able to grow and scale your business confidently.

The post How to Market Your Freelance Business appeared first on FuelGauge.

TIP ONE FOR HOW TO FIND CLIENTS: GET COMFORTABLE ASKING FOR REFERRALS.

The thought of asking for a referral may make you squeamish at first, but “referral marketing generates three to five times higher conversion rates than any other channel.” And there are a wealth of statistics supporting the power of and the willingness of people to give referrals. It’s one of the easiest ways to build your business fast, so here are some tips to help you get comfortable.

1. 1. Offer them options. You’ll both feel more comfortable if they have choices on how to sing your praises. Some people would rather give you contacts; others would rather write a testimonial. And still some are fans of star ratings.
   2. Partner with other small businesses that do what you do. It may sound a little weird at first, but asking people in your niche to let you help out when their project load is more t
      han they can handle can be a win-win. And of course, you should reciprocate.
   3. Refer your clients/customers. Refer your clients to people you know that may be interested in their products and services. Comment on their social media and share their posts to show your commitment to them and stay top of mind.
   4. Use your email signature to call them to action. Your email signature is a great place for a call to action button to make referrals easy for your contacts. Plus, it will be a gentle reminder in every email.

TIP TWO FOR HOW TO FIND CLIENTS: GET LEADS BY CREATING WEBSITE CONTENT.

Remember the line in the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, he will come.”? It’s not always quite that easy with small business marketing. You likely won’t see overnight higher ranking in Google search results, but you can use email campaigns or paid ads to drive traffic to your site. And, your engaging, high quality content will immediately give your site visitors a better impression.
When you build website content, it gives you something to talk about while establishing credibility for your area of expertise. It can also increase your search engine optimization. Consider blogging, and creating videos, case studies, eBooks and downloadable content that will interest prospective clients by helping them personally or professionally.

TIP THREE FOR HOW TO FIND CLIENTS: GET THE INSIDE SCOOP ON JOB BOARDS.

You can harvest prospects from job postings. While you need to be upfront that you are not applying for the position, many companies are wasting money on staffing needs that might be better met with a freelance/small business. Here are some places to check out:

Indeed

Monster

Glassdoor

LinkedIn

LinkUp

Authentic Jobs

Reddit For Hire

Krop

AngelList

We Work Remotely

GrowthHackers

Product Hunt

TIP FOUR FOR HOW TO FIND CLIENTS: GET SOCIAL.

Social media is a great place to find connections and network. Here are a few things you might try using social media.

1. Use Twitter search to find tweets where people are looking for services. Type “looking for a [your keyword]” in the search bar. In the example below, we searched for graphic design work.
2. Find questions that you can answer on Quora that relate to your industry. Most questions are indexed by Google, so you can get discovered by being an expert at what you do. In the example below, we searched “home renovation” and clicked on the “answer” link.
3. LinkedIn gives some good advice on getting clients using its platform in six steps.

1. 1. First, they instruct you to complete your profile so that it’s professional, search-optimized, and client-focused.
   2. Second, they tell you to prospect by searching Groups or using LinkedIn’s Advanced Search, making sure to target people that fit your ideal customer profile.
   3. Third, they want you to simply send a “thank you” message to people who have accepted your request (but don’t try to pitch anything to them).
   4. Fourth, start to send relationship-building messages on a regular basis. These messages are a good use of the content you’ve created for your website that we mentioned in our tip above.
   5. Fifth, check what groups they are in, and join those groups. Get involved, show your expertise and engage your prospects there.
   6. Sixth, convert prospects to customers offline. Get them to talk to you outside of the social media platform once you have built a rapport.

Do you have a favorite tip? Connect with us on Facebook or LinkedIn to share your thoughts. Then, manage your clients better by making sure you can keep track of all the projects that start and stop and move around by signing up for a free trial of  FuelGauge’s cash forecasting software for project-based businesses.

The post How to Find Clients: Four Tips for Future Success appeared first on FuelGauge.

• Do not underestimate the impact of online reviews. Studies have shown that 88% of consumers trust online reviews  as much as a personal recommendation. It’s important to accept that your customers will believe online reviews. That’s why it is important to have a strategy for responding to them.
• Consider reviews an opportunity. You will get negative reviews. While they may be hurtful, you should embrace them for the insights they provide. It gives you an opportunity to fix issues you may not have known existed. Earnestly and honestly investigate what happened to cause the customer to have a bad experience and fix what you can on your end. Craft your response by apologizing for the experience. Tell what you are doing to remedy the cause of the situation, and invite the reviewer to take the discussion offline to talk personally. By admitting fault and addressing the situation, you show that you care about your customers and are more concerned with their satisfaction than saving face.
• Embrace slight imperfection. No one is perfect. In fact, Spiegel Research Center found that purchase likelihood typically peaks with ratings in the 4.0 – 4.7 range, and then begins to decrease as ratings approach 5.0. The goal is to keep your overall average up, not to have all 5-star ratings. If you find your ratings creeping down, ask for more reviews from happy customers to give you a boost.
• Respond 100 percent of the time. Even if the reviews seem irrational or unreasonable, address each negative review calmly and rationally. According to Google, consumers believe businesses that respond to reviews are 1.7X more trustworthy than businesses who don’t (76% vs. 46%).
• Responding appropriately can drive a reviewer to change their review. In a study published on Moz, customers willingly reversed their negative reviews because of a variety of reasons:

1. 1. 70 percent said that poor or rude service was rectified by a second experience in which staff were caring.
   2. 64 percent mentioned that the owner/manager/staff proactively, directly reached out to the customer with a remedy.
   3. 32 percent mentioned that the item was replaced or the job was re-done for free.
   4. 20 percent mentioned that the customer decided to give a business a second chance on their own and was better-pleased by a second experience.
   5. 6 percent mentioned that the customer realized the fault for a misunderstanding was theirs.

While you cannot change the past, or what others think and feel, you can choose to remain calm and kind, honest and trustworthy. By owning your mistakes, being willing to fix them and communicating with your online reviewers, you are more likely to build a referral base that will garner you more good reviews than bad. So, if you find yourself at the bad end of a review, remember all is not lost. Some of your worst customers may turn out to be your best if you handle the situation properly.

The post Ouch! What should you do when you get a negative review? appeared first on FuelGauge.

For a small business owner, the new year is a great time to take stock. What successes from last year can you build upon? What new goals can you set for your business for the coming year? What are your plans for growth and expansion? How are you going to achieve those goals? 

Setting a budget to market your small business should be at the top of your to-do list. But how do you know if your marketing budget is right for your business? There are differing schools of thought on strategies for setting a marketing budget. Some companies follow the tenet that your marketing budget should be a percentage of your total revenue … anywhere from one to 10 percent, based on your industry, how long you’ve been in business and what you can afford. (The SBA recommends between seven and eight percent for businesses that gross less than $5 million per year.) Some companies simply carry forward what they did last year, perhaps increasing it by a percentage. And some companies don’t set a budget at all. They simply react to opportunities as they arise, then wait to see if those opportunities yield results. (Also known as the “throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks” approach.) 

So, what’s the right marketing budget for you? There is no single, right approach. However, there are some things you should consider before you try to set a number. Check out these four essential ingredients to create a marketing budget for your small business in the new year. 

1. Tie your budget to your goals. The first element of setting your marketing budget is setting goals. Get specific with your goals, as they’ll help you decide where to focus your marketing efforts. An article on Entrepreneur.com suggests setting two or three attainable goals, such as improving PR placements, sales conversion rates or market share by a specific percentage, in addition to the typical goal of increasing revenue.
2. Find a way to finance your marketing. Growth doesn’t typically come for free. An article on Forbes.com suggests that you consider marketing as an investment, not a cost. Marketing is often an overlooked element of a small business owner’s budget. If you’re serious about growing your business, you might need to look into some small business funding sources that will give you the cash flow you need to invest in growth while still covering your fixed operating expenses.
3. Budget for a diversified marketing plan. The old adage about not putting all your eggs in one basket certainly applies here. It’s essential to develop a diversified marketing strategy that includes multiple channels that make sense for your market. These may include: digital marketing, pay-per-click advertising (PPC), traditional advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) through blogging and website content, social media, association memberships and networking, and lead generation efforts.
4. Measure your results. Regardless of which elements your marketing plan includes, measurability is key to planning future successful marketing budgets. Tracking your results to see which approaches are actually generating leads, increasing revenue and creating ROI is, by far, the best way to chart a course for future sales and marketing spend. If only one avenue is generating results, you might choose to discontinue other platforms (for example, traditional advertising) and put those dollars into more online lead generation content, if that’s what’s working. 

The bottom line

Marketing your small business is essential for growth. So, if growth is a priority for you this year, let your marketing budget reflect that. Spend some time creating your goals, doing some research on ways to fund your marketing, develop a diversified marketing plan and keep an eagle eye on your results. Then, do more of what’s working and dig in a little deeper next year. As you do, you’ll grow fearlessly and take your business to the next level. 

About FuelGauge

FuelGauge is a simple, easy-to-use, cloud-based cash forecasting software created BY a small business owner, FOR small business owners. FuelGauge is an affordable business planning tool with nimble drag-and-drop functionality and straight-up awesome customer support that helps you tame the chaos of projects starting, stopping and starting again, as projects often do. 

Committed to helping owners of project-based businesses succeed

At FuelGauge, we’re committed to helping small business owners succeed. So, in addition to our awesome cash flow software program, we continually create content that offers small business owner tips and small business marketing ideas that have worked for us, and we KNOW will work for you. 

Get a FREE trial 

If you’re ready for a new way to gauge your project-based business, plan with confidence and achieve the goals you’ve set for your small business, get the power of FuelGauge today, with a FREE 45-day trial. You don’t even have to provide a credit card number. If, after 45 days, FuelGauge hasn’t rocked your world, you can simply walk away. 

With FuelGauge, you’ll have your past, present and future revenues and expenses at your fingertips, anytime of the day or night.

The post Marketing for Small Business; Four Keys to Create a Budget in the New Year appeared first on FuelGauge.

What is SEO? Well, it stands for “search engine optimization.” In essence, it’s the practice of increasing organic traffic to your website by providing useful and relevant online content by Google and other search engines. That’s a fancy way of saying: SEO gets your website noticed.

If you’re not familiar with the term “organic” traffic, it simply means visitors to your website who have found you without the help of online advertising, such as pay-per-click (PPC.) PPC can be effective, but it might not be in your small business marketing budget. Other than the time you spend working on your SEO, search engine optimization is free. You achieve search engine optimization by adding content to your website that contains relevant, helpful information, presented in a concise manner. That content also needs to include terms that help Google understand what your site is about, while helping humans get answers to their online searches.

Keywords are the key

Google (and other search engines) are on a mission to get online searchers the fastest and best answer to any question they might have. So, your best practice to get search engines to send traffic to your website is to offer clear answers to the questions your current and future customers might be asking in your blog content. The words and phrases people use to ask their online questions are called “keywords”, and including them on your website and in your blog posts is, well … key.

So, with all that in mind, here are three top tips to effectively use keywords to optimize your SEO and get your small business website noticed. 

1. Don’t try to take the whole pie. Give some serious thought to your keywords. For example, if you’re a freelance graphic designer just starting out in Indianapolis, you may have a hard time finding your way to page one in a search for “graphic designers in Indianapolis.” There are lots of them out there who’ve probably been around longer than you have. So, instead, focus on your niche specialties and optimize the heck out of them. For example, if you specialize in wedding invitations, try using “custom wedding invitation design” or “unique wedding invitations.” This strategy is commonly referred to as using “longtail” keywords. Essentially, that means that you’re not trying to own the whole pie, just a few tasty slivers of it. 
2. Publish or perish. Google is like that nosy next door neighbor who always notices if you switch up your daily routine. If you’re not constantly adding new content to your site, that “nosy neighbor” assumes you’ve gone on vacation and stops paying attention. According to hubspot.com, blogging is one of the best ways to add new content to your website on a regular basis. If you don’t have time to do it, see if you can find an intern who is knowledgeable about writing for SEO, or hire a freelance writer to do it for you. Once you’ve posted your content, be sure to share it on your social media platforms to maximize its impact. And our final piece of advice here is, don’t be tempted to simply re-post others’ content pieces, or worse yet, plagiarize them. Your nosy neighbor will also figure that out and punish you in your rankings. Your savvy customers will notice too!  
3. Don’t overdo it. Once you’ve chosen some keywords, it’s not a competition to see how many times you can get those words on the page. Keywords will get folks to your page, but if your content doesn’t actually address the question they’ve asked, or doesn’t answer the age-old question, “What’s in it for me?” they’ll go right on to the next site. Writing content specifically for the use of using keywords and cramming them into your post is called “keyword stuffing”, and it might do you more harm than good. While there’s no absolute rule about how many times you should use your keywords on a page or in a post, a good rule of thumb, according to Moz.com, is to use your keywords once in your title, once in your headline, two to three times in your content, and once in your meta description, which is the summary of your blog post that will appear in the search results. (Most website management platforms will allow you to edit this. If not, you can use a plugin like “Yoast” to edit your content.) 

What’s the KEY takeaway? 

Your website is your virtual storefront. Taking a little time to improve your SEO with blogging that offers truly helpful and relevant content along with strategic use of keywords can be the difference between your storefront sitting on a dark, overcrowded side street or occupying primo real estate on a bustling downtown street corner. So start optimizing today. 

About FuelGauge

FuelGauge is a simple, easy-to-use, cloud-based cash forecasting software created BY a small business owner, FOR small business owners. FuelGauge is an affordable business planning tool with nimble drag-and-drop functionality and straight-up awesome customer support that helps you tame the chaos of projects starting, stopping and starting again, as projects often do. 

Committed to helping owners of project-based businesses succeed

At FuelGauge, we’re committed to helping small business owners succeed. So, in addition to our awesome cash flow software program, we continually create content that offers small business owner tips and small business marketing ideas that have worked for us, and we KNOW will work for you. 

Get a FREE trial 

If you’re ready for a new way to gauge your project-based business, plan with confidence and achieve the goals you’ve set for your small business, get the power of FuelGauge today, with a FREE 45-day trial. You don’t even have to provide a credit card number. If, after 45 days, FuelGauge hasn’t rocked your world, you can simply walk away. 

With FuelGauge, you’ll have your past, present and future revenues and expenses at your fingertips, anytime of the day or night.

The post What DIY Small Business Marketers Need to Know About SEO appeared first on FuelGauge.

1. THE OFFER. Your offer is the first element of creating any ad. It is the reason your audience is attracted in the first place. Follow these guidelines when creating your offer.
   • Captivate. You have a little under three seconds to grab a reader’s attention today. So, go for a clever, attention-grabbing headline. The main role your headline plays is to communicate the most important benefit your product or service provides your audience and make them want to continue reading.
   • Compel. Don’t simply tell your audience what you have with a bulleted list of your services. Tell them how they will benefit. What do you do for THEM? How can you make their lives easier? Write an ad that speaks to your audience on that level, and make them an offer they won’t want to refuse. But, don’t stop there.

2. INCENTIVE. What else is it in it for them? Your competitors have offers too. But what makes yours better? Appeal to your audience’s emotions and include a bonus for choosing your product or service. Here are some ideas:
   • Donate to a charity to incentivize purchase.
   • Create a loyalty program with a reward for certain buying behaviors.
   • Give a free sample, demo or trial offer.
   • Offer discounts.

3. MISSED OPPORTUNITY. What will happen if your audience doesn’t act on your offer? We have all experienced regret from not acting on a great opportunity at some time or another. The phenomenon even has a name—FOMO (fear of missing out). Consider these statistics: 60 percent of people make purchases because of FOMO, mostly within 24 hours; seven out of 10 millennials experience FOMO; and 48 percent of millennials have spent money they didn’t have to keep up with friends. Here is how you can use missed opportunity in your ads:
4. • Make your offer for a limited time and/or quantity.
   • Create a “one-time” offer.
   • Appeal to your audience’s desire to have what their idols have, and use influencers and celebrities in your ad.

4. SENSE OF URGENCY. First, get your timing right. Don’t place an ad at a time when your prospects will be too busy to notice it. For example, if you’re targeting vendors in the wedding business, try to reach them in the winter months, when they’re in planning mode, not in the summer and fall, when they’re working constantly and exhausted. Here are some ways to create a sense of urgency.
   • A clear call to action. Once you manage to capture someone’s attention and get them interested in your product or service, what do you want them to DO? Here are some examples of a clear calls to action: Call now to schedule your FREE 30-minute consultation. Or, Get our FREE Guide Now. Make sure you have easy and obvious clickable links for your prospects to take action.
   • Use power words in your ad such as now, hurry, don’t miss out and before it’s gone/too late. 

One of the best things about digital marketing for your small business is the fact that it’s highly trackable. Don’t spend money on advertising without having a clear way to track the results. Creating unique codes to redeem or different landing pages for each ad gives you the ability to analyze what’s working and what’s not.

About FuelGauge

FuelGauge is a simple, easy-to-use, cloud-based cash forecasting software created BY a small business owner, FOR small business owners. FuelGauge is an affordable business planning tool with nimble drag-and-drop functionality and straight-up awesome customer support that helps you tame the chaos of projects starting, stopping and starting again, as projects often do. 

Committed to helping owners of project-based businesses succeed

At FuelGauge, we’re committed to helping small business owners succeed. So, in addition to our awesome cash flow software program, we continually create content that offers small business owner tips and small business marketing ideas that have worked for us, and we KNOW will work for you. 

Get a FREE trial 

If you’re ready for a new way to gauge your project-based business, plan with confidence and achieve the goals you’ve set for your small business, get the power of FuelGauge today, with a FREE 45-day trial. You don’t even have to provide a credit card number. If, after 45 days, FuelGauge hasn’t rocked your world, you can simply walk away. 

With FuelGauge, you’ll have your past, present and future revenues and expenses at your fingertips, anytime of the day or night.

The post Four Essential Ad Elements to Get Results appeared first on FuelGauge.

Small business owners have widely varying opinions on social media. Some view it as a necessary evil—something they have to do to keep up with the competition, and they do the very least they can to maintain a presence. Perhaps they set up a Facebook page with a bare minimum of information and steer clear of all the other platforms. Others take a polar opposite approach and blanket every platform with images and posts touting their products and services.

What’s the right approach for YOUR small business marketing strategy? 

Social media is an amazing tool for entrepreneurs. Savvy small business owners realize the value of social media as an integral part of their small business marketing plans. In addition to in-person networking, it’s a way to stay in touch with their current customers, introduce new products and services, show off projects that have been completed and court new prospects. Plus, unless you’re advertising on social media, it’s free, so it won’t cut into your marketing budget or your cash flow.

Make sure it aligns with your business. Savvy small business owners realize that not every platform is the right fit for them. Posting on platforms that aren’t the right fit for your business is like walking into a roomful of people who are already engaged in a conversation and realizing you have nothing to say to them. Don’t let anyone convince you that you have to be on every platform. 

The top social media platforms for most businesses are Facebook and LinkedIn. Houzz is a great option for contractors and other home improvement businesses but not appropriate for other types of businesses. Instagram and Pinterest are perfect for retailers, artisans, restaurants and other businesses that create a product with a strong visual impact. Twitter tends to be more of a conversational platform, often focusing on current events and politics, but it could be used to communicate promotions.

Be committed. Once you’ve chosen the platforms that are appropriate for your business, keep them updated. Make an effort to post once a week and no less often than once a month. Failing to update your social media sends a negative message and may be worse than not being there at all. If it’s been a while since you have updated your social media, don’t give up. After people like or follow your account, they often only notice your posts when they appear in their feeds. So all is not lost. Any time is a good time to get committed.

Let’s take a look at some of the top social media platforms for businesses and evaluate which types of businesses they’re most appropriate for. 

Facebook 

While Facebook is a good small business marketing medium for B2C businesses to share more “fun” content, a presence on Facebook is expected for most every type of business, and prospective customers will often check out your business’ Facebook page to get a more personal view of your business than what your website presents. (However, small business owners should know that a Facebook page does NOT take the place of a website … you need both.)

• Should your business be on Facebook? 
• • • In a nutshell, every business should have a Facebook page. No matter what industry you’re in, consumers expect to be able to find you on Facebook.

• Facebook is particularly helpful for these types of businesses: 
• • • Businesses that do special events, promotions, sales, or open houses.
    • Businesses that regularly create blogs, as Facebook is a great place to share them.

• Using it to your best advantage: 
• • At the bare minimum, your Facebook page should contain your logo, be listed in the proper business category and contain your correct phone number, address, website URL and hours of operation. However, in order to maximize your impact, you should be posting not only your products, specials and innovations, but also sharing your blog posts and offering content that’s helpful to your target audience.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the premier platform for B2B marketing. A strong following on LinkedIn will lend credibility to your company. You should encourage all your employees to update their profiles with their positions at the company, “follow” the company and share any articles or posts that the company and their co-workers make.

(Here’s a helpful LinkedIn hint: Username and password recovery with LinkedIn is very tricky. As a business owner, it’s a smart idea to create a separate email address and password for your business’s social profiles. If you have an intern or other employee set up your LinkedIn profile with their own email address and they leave the company, you’ll have a difficult time gaining access to your profile without access to their email.) 

• Should your business be on LinkedIn? 
• • • Any professional service, software, or manufacturing company should absolutely have a LinkedIn page. It’s less important for retailers and other businesses that market exclusively B2C.

• LinkedIn is a great platform for: 
• • Business professionals on LinkedIn are often looking for people or companies who can do one of three things: give them great advice, provide a solution to their business problems, or hire them.

As a result, LinkedIn is great platform for posting thought leadership articles, announcing new products or services (especially technology or SaaS) and posting open positions if you’re looking to add to your team. LinkedIn is NOT intended to share GIFS, funny anecdotes and/or personal stories; doing so may lessen your credibility.

Instagram and Pinterest

As we mentioned earlier, Instagram and Pinterest are amazing platforms for businesses that create or promote visually impactful products. These media are not the right place for professional services or manufacturing businesses.

• Should your business be on Instagram and/or Pinterest? 
• • These platforms are ideal for showing off things like beautiful, completed projects (like renovations), pictures of food, jewelry, clothing and homes for sale.

• Using it to your best advantage: 
• • Choose your images carefully. There’s a lot of really stunning stuff getting posted all the time. Remember that you’re adding to a “wall” of images, so think about how your images will fit together as part of one big, beautiful digital billboard for your product or service. Instagram and Pinterest are also very emoji-friendly, so make sure you include relevant emojis to make your posts more engaging.

Summing up social strategy for your small business marketing plan… 

The ultimate takeaway here is this: Social media offers small business owners awesome opportunities to connect with current and future customers, promote their products and services, share ideas and show personality in a way that websites don’t allow for and generally stay top-of-mind. However, there’s no perfect combination of platforms that’s perfect for every business, so be choosy and commit to only the platforms that make sense for your business. Then, get creative and watch your followers and business grow!

About FuelGauge

FuelGauge is a simple, easy-to-use, cloud-based cash forecasting software created BY a small business owner, FOR small business owners. FuelGauge is an affordable business planning tool with nimble drag-and-drop functionality and straight-up awesome customer support that helps you tame the chaos of projects starting, stopping and starting again, as projects often do. 

Committed to helping owners of project-based businesses succeed

At FuelGauge, we’re committed to helping small business owners succeed. So, in addition to our awesome cash flow software program, we continually create content that offers small business owner tips and small business marketing ideas that have worked for us, and we KNOW will work for you. 

Get a FREE trial 

If you’re ready for a new way to gauge your project-based business, plan with confidence and achieve the goals you’ve set for your small business, get the power of FuelGauge today, with a FREE 45-day trial. You don’t even have to provide a credit card number. If, after 45 days, FuelGauge hasn’t rocked your world, you can simply walk away. 

With FuelGauge, you’ll have your past, present and future revenues and expenses at your fingertips, anytime of the day or night.

The post Which Social Media Platforms are Right for Your Small Business? appeared first on FuelGauge.

It’s all about who you know. In today’s increasingly fragmented and impersonal business landscape, here’s a universal truth: People want to do business with people they know. Online reviews definitely help, as prospects are more likely to choose a vendor that has some positive buzz and at least four stars. But, there’s nothing quite like being able to pick up the phone and call a person who knows your name. When you’re first starting out marketing your small business, you may be unsure how to find the ones who might eventually become your customers. In this post, we cover some networking rules of thumb that can help you get your relationship marketing off the ground.

Where to network

All networking opportunities are not created equal, so don’t feel like you have to work every room you’re invited to spend time in. As a small business owner, your free time is limited enough already—a few nights a week spent collecting massive numbers of business cards may not be the highest and best use of your time. So, do your research to figure out which groups have the best potential of yielding fruit for your business, and concentrate your efforts there. These are a few types of networking opportunities to consider:

1. Area chambers. Chambers of Commerce are a great place for new business owners to start their networking journeys. The members are typically quite friendly and are there for the same reason you are—to meet people and get leads. Membership dues are generally pretty reasonable for small businesses; you can expect to pay between $200 and $300 per year, depending on where you live.
2. Trade associations. Trade associations are a great way to develop potentially lucrative relationships with your peers because they provide a collaborative environment for getting to know your competitors. Networking within your trade may actually present the opportunity to grow your business. For example, you might team up with other businesses in your industry to expand your reach into other territories. And you may even end up with referrals from a competitor when they can’t fulfill customers’ needs.
3. Closed networking groups. These types of groups require a membership fee, although you’re typically invited for one or two free meetings to see if it’s a good fit for you. If your cash flow is tight, you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of this investment. Business Network International (BNI) is an example of this type of networking group. They meet weekly and generally limit their membership to one person or business from every industry and everyone agrees they will refer to that person anytime they have an opportunity. While that might sound like a dream come true for new business owners, make sure you are comfortable with the group’s requirements. Some of them are strict about how many referrals you contribute to other members, and you might feel like you’re spending more time trying to refer others in your group than working on your own networking and marketing plan.
4. Social media networking. Virtual networking strategies on LinkedIn and other platforms can work if you have a strong professional online network, particularly if you’ve just taken the plunge into entrepreneurship or switched gears professionally. However, don’t simply “friend” a bunch of people you don’t know based on where they work or their job description and ask them for work. You’ll alienate more people than you attract. Use social media networking for posting articles that tell people what you do and how you can solve their problems. And if new connections and leads come your way as a result, that’s gravy.

How to network

In order to get the maximum return on your networking efforts, you need to be strategic. You also need to remember that networking is a two-way street. Here are some tips to consider:

1. Have a plan. Study the membership roster of the organization and figure out in advance who you’d like to meet. Arrive early and check out the name tag table to see if any of your targets are there. Keep an eye out as people arrive and try to catch your folks as they’re arriving. Introduce yourself and offer to get them a drink.
2. Be generous. Don’t approach networking with a “what’s in it for me” attitude. Instead, do the reverse. If you know a few people in the room, and you’re chatting with them, keep your eyes open for “lone wolves” in the crowd and welcome them into your group. Ask questions about people’s lives and businesses, and LISTEN to their replies. Think of ways you can help them solve their problems (and not just by selling them your product or service). Make any introductions you can, and be a friend. In other words, be in it for the long game.
3. Follow up is EVERYTHING. There’s absolutely no point in spending your evening at a networking event if you’re just going to come back to your desk and dump all the cards you collected on it. Be disciplined about scanning your collected cards into whatever type of database you’re using, whether it’s a sophisticated CRM or an email program like Mail Chimp or Constant Contact. Take the time to connect with each person you met on LinkedIn, and send a quick follow-up email.

The network effect

Given that people want to do business with people they know, it stands to reason that the more people you know, the more business you’ll have. So, do a little research, find the community you want to be a part of, and go all in. The more you give, the more you get.

About FuelGauge

FuelGauge is a simple, easy-to-use, cloud-based cash forecasting software created BY a small business owner, FOR small business owners. FuelGauge is an affordable business planning tool with nimble drag-and-drop functionality and straight-up awesome customer support that helps you tame the chaos of projects starting, stopping and starting again, as projects often do. If you’re ready for a new way to gauge your business, plan with confidence and achieve the goals you’ve set for your small business, get the power of FuelGauge today, with a FREE 45-day trial. You don’t even have to provide a credit card number. If, after 45 days, FuelGauge hasn’t rocked your world, you can simply walk away. With FuelGauge, you’ll have your past, present and future revenues and expenses at your fingertips, anytime of the day or night.

The post Relationship Marketing for Small Business Owners appeared first on FuelGauge.

Whether you’re a freelancer or at the helm of a fledgling business, these universal marketing tips apply to YOU.

You started your business because you’re really good at what you do, whether that’s cooking, building, event planning, graphic design, photography … or whatever your trade happens to be. And maybe you did it because you didn’t want to work for someone else anymore. You wanted to be your own boss. But now that you’re out on your own, you know that just being really good at your trade isn’t everything. Until you can hire all the people you need to round out your team, you have to figure out accounting, budgeting, planning, scheduling, human resources, sales and customer relations and marketing. Even with the best product or service in the world, if no one else knows about it, it’s not going to gain much traction in the marketplace. 

So, marketing your small business is key and marketing is an expense that you should have considered when you were starting your business. However, if you don’t have the marketing budget to bring on the pros, where do you start? You can start by understanding these three marketing truths NO small business owner can afford to ignore.

1. Beware “the curse of knowledge.” As the owner of the business, you suffer from “the curse of knowledge.” This means that you know your product or service like the back of your hand, and, if you do your own website, you are likely to do an “information download” of all your services and options to your website. This can result in a website that’s simply a laundry list of everything you have to offer, instead of a presentation of solutions to your prospective customers’ problems.

Have someone who doesn’t know anything about your business look at your site, put on a “prospective customer” hat and see if your content (particularly your homepage!) tells them what they need to know about your business and how your products or services will make their lives, or their jobs, easier or better. If your current content doesn’t do that, it’s time to take another swing at it. You need to get your message across, and quickly, before your prospective customer “bounces” to another site because they don’t understand what you do.

2. Google comes first. When it comes right down to it, your website needs to appeal to Google first and people second. Why? Because if Google can’t find you, your prospective customers don’t stand a chance of finding you. And if you don’t have a budget to buy PPC (pay-per-click) ads to show up on page one, getting Google to smile upon your website is your best option.

How do you do this? Through search engine optimization, or SEO. You need to figure out what terms (keywords) your customers are using to search for businesses like yours, and put them on your website. For example, if you are a wedding photographer in Indianapolis, but your website says things like “capturing your special moments” or “timeless photos for your special day”, Google may not find your site when someone searches “wedding photographers in Indianapolis.” This doesn’t mean you can’t use those other phrases. It just means you should also include the ones that Google will use to pull you closer to page one.

3. Social media is your ally. Too many small business owners view social media as a “necessary evil” that they must participate in to keep up with their competitors, instead of viewing it as a golden (and FREE) opportunity to speak directly to their target audience.

Think of social media as just another networking platform, as a roomful of people who might have a need for what you do. And remember, you get to create your own room! Choose only the platforms that apply to your business. At a minimum, you should have a business profile on Facebook and LinkedIN, and you should also be on Instagram if your work has a visual aspect you want to showcase. Resist the temptation to start a profile on every platform, as “ghost” profiles with no activity are worse than not being there at all.

Perhaps you spend 15 minutes every morning mindlessly scrolling on your phone (or an hour or two every night in bed, staring at the ceiling and worrying about your business.) Instead, use those minutes (or hours) to create your networking “room”. For example, if you’re interested in real estate agents, search for and follow, or like them. That’s it. They’ll often follow or like you back. And that’s how you build your room.Then, when you have something to say that would be of interest to them, you’ll already have their attention. But make sure you’re talking about your ideas for how to make THEIR lives easier and better… not about how awesome YOU are.

Start somewhere! 

There are a multitude of options for ways to market your small business. It can feel overwhelming to choose what to focus on. But the fact of the matter is, you have to start somewhere. When in doubt, look at what your top competitors are doing and emulate their plans. Decide what you can afford to spend on marketing, do your research, make a plan, and commit to it. But don’t feel like you’re done once you’ve launched your initiatives. See what’s working and what’s not, and adjust your plan accordingly. And take a deep breath. You’ll get there. 

About FuelGauge

FuelGauge is an affordable, easy-to-use, cloud-based business planning tool, created BY a small project-based business owner, FOR small project-based business owners. It offers nimble drag-and-drop functionality and straight-up awesome customer support. FuelGauge helps you manage project chaos and plan the growth of your small business with confidence. 

If you’re ready for a new way to gauge your business, plan with confidence and achieve the goals you’ve set for your small business, get the power of FuelGauge today with a FREE 45-day trial. You don’t even have to provide a credit card number. If, after 45 days, FuelGauge hasn’t rocked your world, you can simply walk away. But we’re willing to bet you won’t. 

The post How to Market Your Small Business appeared first on FuelGauge.