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What’s Your Password?

“What’s your Password?”

Here’s how to keep track of passwords on all of your digital marketing and social media accounts.

Keeping track of all of your small business digital passwords can be time consuming and confusing.

It’s great to know that we have so many ways to access our accounts online. Password authentication technology such as a digital key, fingerprint technology and faces, CAPTCHAS , biometrics, and 2-Factor Authentication) are ideal tools to use.

Yet, one of the biggest stumbling blocks I have when onboarding new clients is obtaining correct login information, access to social media accounts, and website information. Small businesses usually have one employee with the ‘key’ to opening all of their social media accounts. What if this employee leaves the company? User names and passwords leave with them.

Individual business owners with the login credentials sometimes do not remember which email address initially was used to sign up for Facebook or Twitter. This makes recovering passwords an obstacle to digital marketing success. First, we need to access to all user accounts before I can do my job effectively.

It would be ideal to walk into a new client’s business where I’m immediately blasting social media posts and increasing website visitors right away. I’m not saying this does not happen. However, this is the exception and not the rule.

My observation: Most small business owners do not have login information beyond their own social media accounts. Additionally, they have difficulty tracking the information down in a timely fashion. They are, in essence, ‘locked out’.

There are easy ways to fix this problem.

Here’s how to avoid getting ‘locked out’ of your social media and online accounts:

Write user names and passwords down in a central location and keep them under lock and key. Keep a password diary and lock it in a small safe, or use an app or software with password lists.
Require 2-3 employees have access to all accounts with 2-factor authentication. Include the business owner or partners in this grouping. If one of the 3 employees changes a login user name or password, the ‘key’ or ‘access’ club gets notified.
When an employee with this type of access is leaving the company, do a final password check. Have them sign you in to your accounts with correct login credentials prior to their last day. This will allow you to ‘check’ the login information and will give you the impetus to change ALL passwords immediately.
By changing passwords on a quarterly basis, all accounts are reset and new passwords are fresh on everyone’s minds.When changing to new passwords, take the advice from a recent 2021 list and avoid all of these passwords!

By focusing on your password and account access within your small business from the start, your social media consultant will thank you!

Thank you,

Cheryl Friedenberg
Marketing Consultant
High Key Impact LLC
cheryl@highkeyimpact.com
@highkeyimpact

Is Your Small Business Ready for SMS Marketing?

Is Your Small Business Ready for SMS Marketing?

The average email marketing campaign has a 20% open rate. How would a 90% + open rate sound? According to a Dynmark report, SMS texting crushes email open rates at a whopping 98%!

While email is a critical communications tool to stay visible in front of your customer base, small businesses should pivot their thinking and open up to SMS marketing.

SMS stands for Short Message Service, another word for Text Messaging. While MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service, or media sharing via text messaging (photos, videos, emojis, bitmojis, etc.).

Let’s take this one step further, according to Gartner, email response rates are 6% whereas text response rates are closer to 45%.

So let’s jump on the SMS bandwagon and look at our options for small businesses.

What should my SMS messaging look like?

Look at this SlideShare from Jake Jeffries with The Complete Retail SMS Marketing Guide.

Within the framework of SMS, he provides recommendations for the best days of a week and times of day to send text messages.

Message content may include your current sales/promotions, a personalized happy birthday text, holiday greetings, new product announcements and thank-you-for-your-purchase notes, all within 160 characters of a text.

Create content which grabs attention as the text comes through. Calls to action with exclusive offers, are personalized or ask a question make a difference in your messaging.

What are the pitfalls of SMS Marketing?

To be effective at business texting, small business owners must divide the time and resources to create campaigns with a punch. By spamming your customers (sending too many messages) or, on the flip side, not creating a consistent text campaign, you may lose subscribers who opt out.

Get inventive with your message as the immediacy of texting causes recipients to act. The same content you use with other social media platforms may not work as well with SMS.

Which SMS services will help me get started?

Read this comparison from Top Ten Reviews to help you decide which SMS messaging service is best for your needs. Another comparison published by Capterra looks at even more SMS services. See which features are stand-outs. Also, think about your database and how you will capture mobile phone numbers if you don’t currently ask for them. Will you buy a list or ask for a mobile number at checkout? Many of the SMS services have an opt-in number for texting so that your customers may subscribe on the spot.

Have you had SMS text messaging experience within your small business? Comment below.

By Cheryl Friedenberg

High Key Impact

Cheryl@highkeyimpact.com

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Your Small Business Holiday Marketing Guide

As the holiday season approaches, so do the opportunities to ramp up your marketing efforts. Whether you have a retail location, professional organization or service-oriented small business, the amount of possibilities to get the word out are plentiful this time of year.

Here is a list of just a few of the ways to boost your business:

*November 25th is American Express Shop Small Business Day. Small business Saturday is a way to put the focus back on small businesses after the big Black Friday retail box store frenzy. Amex provides digital and print marketing materials to help promote the event.

* Google My Business is a powerhouse for helping your digital marketing efforts. A new, creative tool introduced by Google allows you to search your business and create marketing materials using recent online reviews. Take a peek at Small Thanks With Google to see how it works. All you need to do is to plug in your business name. Google will generate a poster available for print,
Your end result may look like this: (from a bra store client)

Around the holiday season, as more potential customers find your business online, your online reviews are golden as they could make or break getting a new customer. Utilizing Small Thanks With Google promotes your positive reviews throughout your social media channels.

*The most common way to promote holiday cheer is to follow the website NationalDayCalendar.com for fun, unusual and to keep up with National Days such as December 15th–National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day or December 21st–National Re-Gifting Day (just to name a few).

The usual suspects of Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa are mixed in with National Days & Weeks including National Hand-Washing Week (Dec. 4-7) or Crohn’s & Colitis Week (Dec. 1-7).

You’re probably wondering how these National days may help your business? If you are in the medical field, national days revolving around medicine are apropos. Some National Days may not apply to your business, however, if you think they will put a smile on someone’s face, then post about it. (for example, Dec. 20th is National Absurdity Day!)

*Charitable giving shows that you are interested in helping out the community at large. A large donation check is not always necessary to publicize charitable giving. Small acts of kindness such as offering free hot chocolate, free shipping, free gift wrapping are a good start. Or how about taking your team to an organization to contribute their time. There are warehouses for the underprivileged where you can help sort clothing and toys or you may volunteer at a local soup kitchen. Volunteer choices are endless!

Posting about your team’s volunteer contributions show your company’s dedication to the local area and citizens. Post video or several photos telling the story of your employee volunteer achievements.

For more small business digital marketing ideas,
contact Cheryl Friedenberg at High Key Impact LLC. cheryl@highkeyimpact.com or https://highkeyimpact.com/contact/

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Attention Grabbers: 5 Unique Content Marketing Ideas

5 Unique Content Marketing Ideas

One of the biggest ways to make an impact with Digital Marketing posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media sites is with attention grabbing small business posts. You’ve probably posted handfuls of articles and blogs about the same old topics. These topics can only get recycled a few times until your followers get bored with the same-old, same-old.

What should you do if you’re on the hunt for new, refreshing content which will revitalize your social media feeds? Where should you turn?

I’ve compiled a list of 5 ways to jumpstart your small business social media posts:

Using animals will help you sell. Posts with dog pix get a wide range of viewers and likes as compared with posts including people pix. People love cute dog photos.Here’s an example of a recent Instagram post I created for my Realtor® client. The bottom line: Animal photos sell services and product best!

Quippy quotes will capture more views.
Posting a well-known, overused quote such as “Do one thing every day that scares you.” anonymous
VERSUS
Posting a quote with a little more humor and imagery such as the Thrifting quote shown here.
“I don’t need therapy, I just need to go thrifting.”
What’s the difference? One is more serious and is seen day in and day out on many social media sites. The other is refreshing, new and niche specific. It will get the attention of those who are passionate about thrifting.

What’s the lesson learned?
Stand out from the pack with unique, fun & humorous sayings and quotes. Have fun with your marketing images.

Moving images are gaining traction. We know that video is king when it comes to social media posting. There are several image-based apps out there which utilize moving images with unique features. By utilizing these quick, hit apps, you’ll take a huge creative leap and save time with video editing.
Boomerang-Create captivating mini videos that loop back and forth, then share them with your friends.
Legend-Turn text into stunning animations!
Waterlogue-See the world like an artist.

Feature your team members in video. Showcase a day in the life at xyz company through the eyes of your team or interview a team member about a customer service experience where they went out of their way to help. Allowing customers or clients to see what goes on behind the scenes is alluring and will get your business noticed.

Customer Testimonial Images. Recommendations and 5-star reviews are key to getting your small business noticed on social media. When you receive a 5-star review, create an image to post with the review to showcase it even further to your followers. It will increase reach and keep more eyes peeled to your post. Take a look at this example:

Do you have other unique attention-grabbing tools or ideas for social media marketing posts? If so, email me at cheryl@highkeyimpact.com

Cheryl Friedenberg, www.highkeyimpact.com

Digital Marketing Secrets Revealed Part 2

Ready to learn more digital marketing secrets? To help small business owners become more aware about the opportunities available online, I’ve developed this list, along with the first list published last month entitled: Digital Marketing Secrets Revealed.

By empowering business owners to take charge of their marketing efforts, my hope is to help them understand the latest tools available.

Biz Yelp

No small business is immune to online reviews, good or bad. Your small business is no exception. Yelp is the ‘go-to’ for online reviews. Claim your Yelp page by visiting https://biz.yelp.com . They typically offer $300 worth of free ads. Try it just for the free version to see what it may do for you. Free never hurts. And Don’t forget to respond to ALL online Yelp reviews, whether positive or negative.

Bing for Business

Just as Google My Business offers a free business listing, Bing Places for Business does the same within it’s search engine. Register your business by going to Bing Places, fill out your company’s profile and get verification from Bing. Add photos, reviews and utilize their platform to help advance your company’s SEO beyond Google.

Adwords or Adwords Express

Through your Google My Business page, your small business may easily set up an Adwords Express campaign to further your reach. The key benefit of using Google Adwords Express is that it is virtually maintenance free. Set up a campaign, choose an audience, define your budget and then Go! See results quickly.

Google Adwords is more complex. Typically small businesses in highly competitive industries need a larger monthly spend on Adwords to see substantial results. Google Adwords usually involves hiring an agency or Google partner to help set up the ad, oversee it and tweak it as necessary. The complexities are taught online with video lessons, however, if you are spending the ad dollars, it’s worth hiring an expert or Google Partner.

Facebook Page

Get your business page Verified on Facebook to maximize it’s reach. It can be said for Facebook verified pages that better results, impressions, ad campaigns and optimized search are reported. How do you know if your Facebook page is verified? This article spells out how to check and verify your page.

Have other Digital Marketing Secrets to reveal to Small Businesses? Any questions about the content I shared?
Feel free to comment to this post.

Cheryl Friedenberg, cheryl@highkeyimpact.com
www.highkeyimpact.com

Need Some Marketing Oomph?

Is your Facebook Page’s reach dwindling? Are your website visits at a standstill? Trying to come up with the next big marketing push but don’t know what to do?

Many marketing gurus look at analytics and algorithms to see what works on a never-ending basis. And there are some obvious current trends.
Where content marketing is King, live video is Master-of-the-Universe!
And the ‘Oomph-iest’ live video tool available is free and easy to use!

Facebook Live
You’ve probably tried it a couple times and thought “I hate myself on camera” or “What should I say?”.
The idea with Facebook Live is to give your followers information which is interesting & relevant, timely and grabs their attention.
Are you attending an industry-related gathering? Broadcast a few minutes from Facebook Live. Is there an expert guest visiting your business? Broadcast it!

Also, script your ‘Live’ feed in advance so you know what to say. A Facebook Live feed without direction tends to get few viewers, however, if you are introducing a new product or highlighting another product or service, describe in detail all along the Live feed what is happening. Silence will not keep followers watching.

Another key is to stay ‘Live’ more than a minute or two (our normal Facebook video cut-off point) in order for Facebook to notify your followers. Once they see you are live, the hope is that they interact with your broadcast. After the Live portion is over, the Facebook followers who missed it may view it as a newsfeed post. We’ve heard by using Facebook Live consistently, your reach organically tends to get more attention. Try it at different times of the day and various days of the week to see what works best!

By using Facebook Live, your small business marketing may just jump to the next level!

Cheryl Friedenberg, Marketing Consultant, High Key Impact LLC
www.highkeyimpact.com, cheryl@highkeyimpact.com

Crazy, Hectic and No Time for Marketing!

Small business owners know how overwhelming their operations can be.

Perhaps the sales funnel is dry and administrative needs are taking over your day-to-day functions. Or clients are in need of a lot of TLC lately and your marketing gets pushed to the wayside. Is it that your accountant is awaiting your P&L’s to get taxes together?

My advice: Don’t let your marketing blitz fall apart!

Here are 5 EASY ways to fill your sales funnel this month:

–Send a Quick Email to your clients asking for referrals, testimonials and online reviews.

–Hop Onto LinkedIn and Connect to more friends and professionals as well as local business groups. Post about what you do for a living every so often to remind others what your business is all about. Approximately, 10% of your posts may be ‘sales’ related….the remainder should be industry focused.

–Knock on a Few Doors at a local corporate park and hand out fliers (menus, product brochures or your business card). Follow up with a friendly phone call and potentially offer a freebie if there is any interest. If one administrator in the building is a fan of your product or service, the word-of-mouth referrals may start funneling in.

–Call 5-10 Existing Clients with whom you are most comfortable speaking with and ask for referrals. What can you offer them in return? (It doesn’t necessarily need to be a financial reward..perhaps just a referral for their needs.)

–Keep Up With Your Social Media Accounts with simple posts. You can post a ‘Quote of the Day’, a ‘Slideshow’ of recent photos or all about an Employee of the month. Don’t stop the posts to maintain your social media momentum!

For more quick-hit marketing ideas, contact Cheryl Friedenberg at cheryl@highkeyimpact.com, www.highkeyimpact.com

6 Free Ways To Promote Your Small Business

With the opportunity growing daily for small businesses to utilize social media marketing opportunities as a sales tool, many business owners are not taking advantage of the many freebies provided.

As small business owners focus on sales, budgets, daily customer deliveries and P&L’s, social media marketing may take a back seat.

What are the lesser-known easy-to-use tools to help small businesses grow their online presence? Here are just a few:

Facebook Slideshow

Go to your Facebook Business Page, Create a new post and click Share a photo or video. This drop down menu will show you several options with ‘Create a Slideshow’ towards the bottom. Click the button and Facebook will walk you through the process. You may add several photos, text and audio to your slides. In the end, the slideshow is just as impactful as a video!

Analytics from Google, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.

With a business account, you will have immediate access to your daily, weekly and monthly views, clicks, likes, comments and more. Analytics are designed to inform the business owner what types of posts, ads and content works best for their pages.

Customer Video Testimonials

Have a happy customer or client? Have a cell phone or mobile device? It’s that easy to record their story and experiences utilizing your product or service and share it on your pages and/or platforms.

Google Tools
Sign into your Google My Business account and go to Google Optimize, where you may now sign up for a Beta test. From Google’s page: “Whether it’s a custom-tailored message at checkout or a completely revamped homepage, Optimize shows you which site experiences engage and delight your customers, and gives you the solutions you need to deliver them.”
Google also is providing a Data Studio to take analytics and transform the data into reports, graphs and spreadsheets. Click here for the Google Data Studio.

Video Marketing Tools
Vimeo, Wistia and You Tube all offer free online versions to create and market video promotions, testimonials and your business story. If you haven’t heard the news, video is overtaking the social media market by storm and is the ultimate platform to reach the widest audience. Make a small business video today.

Family and Friends

Did you know that the simplest way to spread the word about your small business is through your existing network of friends and family. Post on your personal Facebook and LinkedIn pages all about what your business offers. Ask family members and friends to like your page and share content. If you have 500+ friends on Facebook, think about what that means for your reach!

What tools do you already use for your small business?

Use the hashtag #highkeyimpact and tell us what you use…

Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses to do’s

How does a small business owner begin a social media marketing campaign? What does it take to do it correctly?

I’ve narrowed this process down to several small steps so that your business can see growth and results within only a few months. Why not make 2017 the year your business reaches new heights?

Start by doing this…

Hire a Professional. Freelancer or Part-Time Employee. Or perhaps a current employee can build their resume by learning social media marketing from an expert and taking on this project within your organization.

Optimize your Website. Make sure it is mobile-friendly and has all of the back-end SEO set up correctly. Your hire from above will help you with this.

Define your Audience. Based upon your audience demographics, you can easily decide (along with your marketing expert) which social media platforms would be the best fit. For example, a senior citizen audience —and utilizing Snapchat as a tool to reach them— would not be a good fit—Facebook is the ideal choice here.

Start Small. If you delve into too many social media accounts and do not maintain them properly, your brand may take a hit. Take your time with it. Build a Facebook page, create content, develop your Likes and build a solid Facebook presence… Once it’s a well-oiled machine, branch out from there.

Send out Email Newsletters. Whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, sending a company email to your customers on a consistent basis is crucial to keeping your name in front of them. If you miss out on a buying opportunity versus a competitor, most likely your email campaign is not engaging or content-rich. Make your newsletters worthwhile; say something important and provocative to grab their attention.

Become a Blogger. You know your products/services inside and out and, most likely, are an expert in your field. Why not write about it? If you are not a terrific writer, you have many options for a ghost writer… including your administrator, marketing team or a team member with a writing passion. Add the blog to your website, and voila!, you have automatic content for social media posts.

Images and Video Rock Social Media. Online content telling your product’s story through video or photos will receive the widest reach of viewership versus just posting text and words. Even better, a happy customer’s photo using your product or service is one of the most powerful content tools available to reach your prospects.

Paid Ads Blow Away Organic Search. In order to get the most bang for your buck, start with paid ads via Google AdWords Express, Facebooks post Boosts or Facebook local awareness campaigns. Organic (or unpaid search) is becoming more difficult to obtain since search algorithms seem to change on a daily or weekly basis. If your organic results are nil, a paid campaign of only $5/day could do the trick.

Check out the Results. Social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest and others have analytics to show you how your page is performing. Let the numbers speak for themselves and compare your business to online profiles of your competitors. This will help you seek out where you need to grow your presence online.

Feel free to comment below with your small business social media marketing experiences.

Cheryl Friedenberg

Marketing Consultant

High Key Impact, LLC

Highkeyimpact.com

Cheryl@highkeyimpact.com