Tag Archives: Social Media Specialist

Why Marketing and Tech are Better Together: The Role of a Tech & Marketing Manager

In today’s digital age, technology has become an integral part of marketing efforts. As such, it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to have a Tech & Marketing Manager on their team. This is because a Tech & Marketing Manager possesses a unique set of skills that can help businesses to leverage technology to enhance their marketing efforts and drive growth. In this blog, we’ll explore why a Tech & Marketing Manager is what a company needs and why.

What is a Tech & Marketing Manager?

A Tech & Marketing Manager is a marketing professional with a strong technical background. They possess both marketing and technical skills, which allows them to develop and execute marketing strategies that incorporate digital technologies. They specialize in leveraging technology to enhance marketing efforts and create more effective campaigns. This can include managing website content, developing email marketing campaigns, and utilizing social media platforms. A Tech & Marketing Manager is responsible for driving brand awareness, generating leads, and increasing sales revenue through digital channels.

Why does a company need a Tech & Marketing Manager?

Technical expertise

One of the primary reasons why a company needs a Tech & Marketing Manager is for their technical expertise. A Tech & Marketing Manager possesses a deep understanding of technology and how it can be used to enhance marketing efforts. They are knowledgeable about various digital tools, such as marketing automation platforms, email marketing software, and social media management tools. With this expertise, they can effectively use these tools to streamline marketing processes, optimize campaigns, and generate higher returns on investment.

Improved efficiency

Another reason why a company needs a Tech & Marketing Manager is for improved efficiency. With their technical skills, a Tech & Marketing Manager can automate various marketing processes, such as email marketing campaigns, social media posting, and lead nurturing. This automation allows for greater efficiency and saves time and resources, enabling the marketing team to focus on other critical tasks, such as content creation and campaign analysis.

Targeted audience reach

Ah, the Tech & Marketing Manager – the elusive unicorn of the marketing world. With their unique blend of marketing and tech skills, they are the magical beings that can bring a company’s marketing efforts to the next level. So, why do you need one? Well, let me break it down for you.

A Tech & Marketing Manager can also help a company to reach its target audience more effectively. They are skilled in using digital tools to identify and segment audiences based on demographics, behaviors, and interests. This enables the marketing team to create targeted campaigns that resonate with specific groups of people. By using digital tools to understand the behavior of the target audience, Tech & Marketing Managers can craft campaigns that are more likely to convert prospects into customers.

Greater ROI

In addition to improved efficiency and targeted audience reach, a Tech & Marketing Manager can also help a company to generate a greater return on investment (ROI). They are able to measure and analyze marketing metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, and conversion rates, to determine the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. With this information, they can adjust marketing efforts accordingly to optimize results and increase ROI.

In today’s digital landscape, businesses need to embrace technology to enhance their marketing efforts and drive growth. A Tech & Marketing Manager possesses the technical expertise, efficiency, audience reach, ROI, and innovation that a company needs to stay ahead of the competition. By leveraging digital tools and insights, a Tech & Marketing Manager can help businesses to optimize their marketing efforts, engage with target audiences more effectively, and generate higher returns on investment. Therefore, it’s clear that a Tech & Marketing Manager is an essential asset for any company that wants to succeed in the modern business landscape.

Innovation

Finally, a Tech & Marketing Manager can bring innovation to a company’s marketing efforts. By staying up-to-date with the latest technology and marketing trends, they can introduce new and creative strategies that can set a company apart from its competitors. This can include new methods for engaging with customers, innovative campaign ideas, and creative uses of data and analytics to inform marketing decisions.

Why Hire a Tech and Marketing Manager?

First and foremost, a Tech & Marketing Manager can help your company navigate the ever-changing landscape of marketing technology. Let’s face it, the marketing tech world is a bit of a circus. There are so many tools, platforms, and apps out there that it can make your head spin. But fear not, a Tech & Marketing Manager can help you cut through the noise and find the tools that will make the biggest impact on your marketing efforts.

In addition to helping you find the right tools, a Tech & Marketing Manager can also help you use them effectively. I mean, what good is a shiny new marketing tool if you don’t know how to use it? A Tech & Marketing Manager can train your team on how to use the tools properly, so you can get the most out of them. Plus, they can help you integrate the tools into your existing workflows and processes, so you can work smarter, not harder.

But wait, there’s more! A Tech & Marketing Manager can also help you measure the impact of your marketing efforts. You know that old saying, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”? Well, it’s true. And a Tech & Marketing Manager can help you measure everything. From website traffic to social media engagement to email open rates, they can help you track it all. And not only that, but they can also help you interpret the data and make informed decisions about how to optimize your marketing efforts.

But perhaps the most valuable thing a Tech & Marketing Manager can bring to the table is their ability to speak both marketing and tech fluently. Let’s face it, marketing folks and tech folks don’t always speak the same language. Marketing folks are all about the creative, while tech folks are all about the data. But a Tech & Marketing Manager can bridge that gap and help everyone get on the same page. They can translate marketing-speak into tech-speak and vice versa, so everyone can understand what’s going on.

And let’s not forget about the innovation factor. A Tech & Marketing Manager is like a mad scientist, always tinkering with new ideas and ways to make your marketing efforts more effective. They’re always on the lookout for the next big thing, whether it’s a new platform or a new way of doing things. And they’re not afraid to experiment and take risks. After all, that’s where innovation comes from – taking risks and trying new things.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Wow, a Tech & Marketing Manager sounds too good to be true. Do they really exist?” Yes, they do! But like all unicorns, they’re a rare breed. They’re not just marketers who know a little bit about tech or tech folks who know a little bit about marketing. They’re a special breed that combines the best of both worlds.

So, why should you invest in a Tech & Marketing Manager? Well, they can help you cut through the marketing tech circus, use your tools effectively, measure your impact, bridge the marketing-tech language barrier, and drive innovation. They’re like a one-stop-shop for all things marketing and tech. Plus, they’re just really cool people to have on your team.

In conclusion, if you want to take your marketing efforts to the next level, you need a Tech & Marketing Manager. They’re like the missing puzzle piece that makes everything fit together perfectly. So go ahead, take the leap, and invest in a Tech & Marketing Manager. Your marketing efforts.

If this is something you are interested in learning more about, we would be happy to chat. We have limited spots available, but go ahead and book a free no strings attached strategy call with us today while spots are still available

7 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make Every Day

Today is the most important day for your business. Why? What you achieve today impacts what you can accomplish tomorrow, next month, five years from now. In our fast-paced business world, it’s easy for our days to blur together. Too often we cultivate bad daily habits without even realizing it. But these little bad habits add up to impactful shifts in our success down the road.

Many of us are guilty of the following daily mistakes of small business owners. Taking the time to identify, and then correct, these mistakes helps empower you to achieve your full potential. And what business owner doesn’t want that?

Not Prioritizing Your Own Health

Notice I didn’t say “value your own health” or “take care of your own health.” You need to prioritize your health because it is the best way to prioritize your business!

Your body is remarkably like a machine. Optimal performance requires quality fuel, proper maintenance, and adequate rest. Skimp out on one of these areas and the performance suffers.

Many of us buy into this workaholic American mentality. You slaved away at the office for 60 hours this week? Gold star for you! You worked through lunch? Gold star for you! You stayed up all night working on a presentation and gulped down four coffees to make it through the day? Gold star for you!

Stop it with these gold stars. The best entrepreneurs know your health should be a bigger priority than your business. Taking care of your health leads to being more effective and efficient as you work, maintaining better work-life balance, and being all around happier. Think of it as the ultimate productivity hack. Hit the gym, bring healthy lunches to work, and turn off the screens an hour before bed. A few weeks of healthy habits and you’ll be amazed at your increased work output.

Not Posting to Social Media Daily

Social media for businesses is not a spectator sport. Either you are all in. Or you don’t enter the game at all.

Granted, all in does not need to mean several hours a day online or a disproportionate chunk of your marketing budget. But posting to Facebook once a week and never keeping up with the always changing marketing trends is not going to cut it.

Take some time to choose the best one to three platforms for your business (more if you are a large business with more marketing resources). Dedicate the necessary time to get these platforms thriving. While most businesses opt for the traditional Facebook and Twitter platforms, consider alternatives like Google+ and Facebook and LinkedIn Groups. These offer unique marketing benefits most marketers fail to take advantage of.

Failing to Organize

Is your desktop scattered with documents and folders? Is your desk overrun with papers and packets? Does it take you more than 15 seconds to locate any given document?

It’s time for improved organization. To many entrepreneurs, organization can seem like a luxury. Who has time to look for (and then implement) the best organizational system? But the longer you go without one, the more time you waste searching for that one filed buried under desktop folder after desktop folder.

Take some time to actually implement a thorough organizational system. Then be sure to stick to it every day. Always put digital or physical files in their correct location with the correct labeling. Deal with any papers dropped on your desk right away. Don’t save to your desk drive or let stacks pile up on your desk. Every day be sure to keep things organized.

Starting the Day With an Email Check

This can be one of THE hardest bad habits to break. We are all guilty of logging onto our computer and going right for the email.

But nearly every business productivity expert gives the same advice: don’t!

When we start with an email check, it puts our brain in reactive mode rather than a proactive or creative mode. When we arrive to work, we are often at a peak mental state (assuming we didn’t suffer from a horrid commute and got our cup of Joe). This precious optimal mental state should be used tackling the hardest projects of the day, not scanning through emails.

It’s best to get a project or two done before checking your email. As a business owner, you often are bombarded with questions and comments from clients and employees. Set aside dedicated time to check your email, say at 11am, 2pm, and 4pm to deal with these emails. This allows you to really focus on your work and use email as a slight brain break during your natural energy dips.

Not Taking Breaks

This is another difficult mistake to stop engaging in. It’s all too easy to sit down at your desk in the morning…and never get up again. We falsely believe the best way to maximize our work is to maximize our hours working. In reality, our brains are much more efficient when we take breaks. Even just a few minutes every hour getting up and stretching can help your brain feel refreshed and ready to tackle whatever problem awaits you.

Try this Navy SEAL trick. Every hour, set an alarm on your phone for a SLLS break: stop, look around your surroundings, listen and try to name as many sounds as you can, and smell and try to name as many smells as you can. Soldiers use this when they are trudging through the worst environment possible for days on end. You can use it when you need a break from the hours staring at a computer.

Failing to Look Long Term

In the daily hustle and bustle of work, it’s easy to get a narrow focus. There are so many tasks needing to be done now. But each day, you need to be preparing for the future. Spend time working on moving your business forward a few months from now. Send your current clients a little gift to strengthen that relationship. Attend a networking event or conference to build up your prospective client list. Take an online class to hone your skills. Try out new tools. Do something daily to prepare for the future. When the future comes, you’ll be ahead of your competition.

Not Delegating or Outsourcing

This is a mantra all small business owners need to hear. Just because you can does not mean you should.

All too often we take on tasks that can and should be handled by someone else. We do this for many reasons. Maybe our team is so small we feel guilty passing along the task. Maybe we struggle with relinquishing control over our passion project. Maybe we worry it’ll take more time managing the employee than just doing it ourselves.

The reality is delegating is a powerful tool to maximize your business. Every small business owner should be delegating in some regard. You can delegate to your own employee or rely on the strength of a virtual assistant. Whatever approach you take, you can free up your valuable time to projects more pressing for your attention. It’s painful letting go, but you will be so glad you did!

14 Opportunities and Ideas to Help Add Additional Income During the Pandemic

Hello loves! I wanted to share some information that may be helpful for those that recently were laid off and/or you are looking to supplement your income during and beyond the Convid-19 Pandemic. Like many online business owners, I have a unique birdseye view because of the work that I do and the business I run. None of it is a secret or a ninja trick, and much of it you already have likely heard about, so most of it is just a re-iteration.

I have compiled a list of 14 opportunities and ideas to help add additional income during the pandemic for yourself and your family in these times of uncertainty.

As we start to do more and more delivery and curbside shopping, eating and etc… we will see that we simply do not have the force to support it. Here are places that you can look into if you are looking for work.

1) Grocery stores are hiring and their services are in high demand. Check into Clicklist and Instacart shoppers particularly

2) Doordash and Uber Eat Drivers – Even Pizza Delivery as well

3) Talk to your local marijuana dispensers and liquor stores – See about helping them with their curbside services…and in some cases delivery options

4) Amazon warehouses are hiring as well as drivers and customer service agents. Amazon alone is providing over 100k jobs

5) Become a secret shopper. I know that times are different right now, but there are many online secret shopping opportunities, for instance, customer service secret shopping with Expedia. The restaurant and retail store options won’t be available (unless they pivot) is my guess, but there are other opportunities. Let me preface that this is NOT a huge moneymaker, but it is great for supplemental income. https://www.bestmark.com/ I always had fun with secret shopping and I think you could too.

If you are looking at making some extra money in the online sphere here are some pretty great options.

6) For online work look into https://jobs.sykes.com/ , these are customer service jobs that you can do from home. You must have a dedicated phone line (not a cell phone) and highspeed internet.

7) Working Solutions is another home-based customer service opportunity as well – www.workingsolutions.com/

8) United Health Care for those that work in more of a medical field, they are hiring to help with the influx of calls that are coming in.

9) If you have a special craft, like content writing, graphic design, etc… you can look into www.upwork.com or www.guru.com and if you make and sell your own goods, look at facebook market place, www.etsy.com and www.ebay.com.

10) I realize that the stock market is a pretty scary place right now, but it also offers a lot of opportunities. Stocks are at a record low right now. The market will not be this unstable forever and it is guaranteed that there will be a boom (just don’t know when). The beauty of that is if you can get in at a cheap buy-in, like now, it could provide a huge return in 6-months. Only look into this if you feel empowered to do so. You can start up through Robinhood, which is a free platform for buying and selling stocks in the stock market. It is pretty intuitive and if you use this link you can earn free stock to start your journey with. Truly investing in stock (if you have the means) now might set you up for life. It could be like buying Amazon in 1997 if you get my drift! For Robinhood, though, it doesn’t require any investment right now, just sign up, get your free stock and start dabbling. Use this link to get your free stock >>> https://bit.ly/freerobinhoodstock-jg

11) For those that are toying with taking their business or ideas to Facebook, I have a free mini-training “8 Ways to Revive your Facebook Business Page Organic Reach” that you can take. It is a tiny bit outdated, but the content is still very relevant. www.va.alpinesbsolutions.com

12) If you are looking to take your vision into an online setting and getting serious about taking this time to pivot instead of panic, I would like to offer up some of my time to help you brainstorm. While I do have limited time, I still would like to offer up my own time as a resource. I am offering free 30 minute consults for a limited amount of folks (no strings attached, just value, value, value) the rest of the month. Private message me if you are interested.

13) I am also working on some additional free training and webinars to help people with making supplemental income online or to finally start your own online business journey. If you have a topic you would like me to touch on or have someone in the community talk about, please private message me or put your request below.

14) Lastly (for now), I would love to create a container for those interested to network together and join in on the opportunity to join think tanks, masterminds, engagement circles, and other self-promotion threads so we can all build each other up, stay connected, and love one another.

Do you have things to share or add to my list, please do? The more the merrier. The more information we can put out there the better. I will continue to harvest more ideas around this as the days and weeks unfold.

For those that are in a position to help, please help people, offer your time and what resources you can. This is a time to band together, practice impeccable hygiene, be compassionate and remember we are all in this together. Do not lead in fear…keep being amazing and I am rooting for those that are having a hard time. Please share with someone that you think might benefit from this information as well. I love you!

The Best Practices to Ace Your Pinterest Marketing

In the world of social media marketing, Pinterest is an odd duck. Sure, it’s a social platform. Sure, it’s a marketing tool. But Pinterest works differently than the platforms we’ve come to know and love (or, at the very least, begrudgingly use because we know it’s important).

The algorithm is different. The way audiences use the tool is different. The approach you need to take as a marketer needs to be different. Follow these best practices for a stellar Pinterest marketing strategy.

Do Optimize Your Pins.

Strategic keyword integration helps optimize your pins. Scatter keywords throughout the image file names, pin descriptions, board names, and board descriptions.

Do Conduct Regular Analysis.

Pinterest offers a great amount of data within its site for free. Every month or so look over to see your numbers. Pinpoint top performing pins, underperforming pins, and site traffic. Use this to tweak your strategy for the next month.

Do Integrate With Your Other Social Tools.

Let your social tools play off each other. Help your current followers find your account more easily by cross linking them. Every so often, tweet about one of your Pinterest boards to direct traffic to your page. Leverage the audience of one platform to build the audience on another.

Do Showcase Your Products.

Skip the highly promotional “buy this item” pins. These won’t perform well since using sales-y words like buy and sale anger the algorithm.

Take an indirect approach instead. Show ways customers can use your products in their lives. If you sell organic cage free eggs, make a board of all types of recipes using eggs. If you operate a microbrewery, make a board of DIY projects that recycle beer bottles.

Provide knowledge and value like you do with other pins, just integrate your product subtly into the mix.

Don’t Forget to Engage.

Remember the “social” part of “social media!” Make sure you pin posts from other accounts rather than only uploading your own links. It gives your boards the crucial variety and helps you get on the radar of other pages. Who knows, they may return the favor and follow you back.

Don’t Neglect It.

Pinterest requires you to “feed the beast.” The algorithm rewards consistency. It’s better to regularly pin rather than go on a one hour straight pinning spree. Aim for between 5-30 pins a day.

Don’t Use Hashtags.

These not only offer no search engine benefit, they can actually hurt your pin ranking.

Don’t Neglect the Images.

Pinterest is a highly visual platform. Paying attention to your images helps make the difference between a viral pin and an ignore pin.

For an optimized pin, focus on

Making a tall image with a 2:3 or 4:5 ratio
Using red/orange colors over blue ones
Using medium light
Using more than one dominant color

Don’t Pin Just to Pin.

It’s great to pin often and curate large boards bursting with pins. But it’s only great if these pins are worth pinning by your target audience. It’s easy to pin everything in sight in hopes of building up a Pinterest presence. But this sacrifices quality for quantity, which is not what your business is about.

Pinterest is a valuable asset to your marketing strategy. Using these best practices can help make your Pinterest presence stellar and improve your company’s marketing. If you lack the time to implement these strategies, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We are happy to offer social media management services for Pinterest (or any other platform). Give us a call or sign up for a free consultation today.

Facebook Chatbots: What Are They and Why You Need Them

Customer service is a crucial component of your business. Quality customer service can generate new sales (after all, it’s cheaper to maintain current clients than to obtain new ones). Plus, an unhappy customer can take to Yelp and other online services to destroy your reputation among your target audience.

The customer service industry was recently revolutionized with the introduction of Chatbots. More specifically, the Facebook Chatbot.

What the Facebook Chatbot Is

The Facebook Chatbot allows you to essentially outsource your customer service interaction to a personalized-to-your-business technological tool. Your company can interact with numerous customers around the world without paying a cent of a customer service representative’s salary. Save big bucks. Make lots of happy customers. It’s a great set-up.

The Facebook Chatbot allows companies to create responses with video, audio, GIFs, files, and text. This variety allows for a high amount of personalization to your company’s brand. The bot can be built by you or by Facebook’s bot creating partners. The bots are designed to learn as they go. The more they are used, the smarter they become.

The Prevalence of Chatbots

In today’s digital world, more customers are turning online to seek help. We saw this rise with Twitter and Facebook. Customers didn’t want to be put on hold when they called the customer help line.

So, instead they turned to social media, where their requests were public and companies had an increased incentive to reply quickly and effectively. Companies who dropped the ball in customer service replies were ridiculed online. Companies who excelled were praised (and often gained new followers and customers).

Customers adapted to this quick reply system, turning less and less to calling in and instead typing in their requests. This set the stage for Chatbots to take off. Customers already turn to the web for assistance. What’s changed is the company’s ability to reply with intelligent, pre-crafted responses.

The Chatbot world is growing, with over 11,500 bots developed and many more in the works. More and more big-name companies are jumping on board and using Facebook Chatbots to revolutionize their customer service. It might be time for your company to get on board too!

Using the Facebook Chatbot for Your Business

The Facebook Chatbot is pretty versatile with the right programing. Take advantage of the many features they offer.

Let customers make a purchase. Customers can place orders within the bot itself, which is especially great for highly mobile target audiences. Pizza Hut, for example, allows customers to place orders through the bot (and reminds them of current promotions).
Let customers get updated information. Send out updates on your business or your industry. The Wall Street Journal, for example, gives users live stock quotes when they text a set code.
Connect customers to your products. Some industries, like tech industries, lend themselves well to this integration. HP allows people to print through messenger to an HP printer.
Help customers make appointments. If you provide a service, the bot can handle appointment times. Sephora noticed an 11% increase in bookings through the bot compared to their other booking methods.
Provide personalized content. The bot can help customers find relevant articles and information on your site. The Whole Foods bot helps customers find a great recipe by typing in words like “lunch” and “turkey dish”
Let customers keep a record of the information. The beauty of bot conversations is they are recorded. Some customers can benefit from keeping this information handy. No more frustrating calling a company for assistance, writing down the instructions, then losing the instructions a few days later. Now customers can just pull up the app to refresh their memory.
Conduct customer analysis. These bots provide a wealth of information and insight into your customers. Go over frequently asked questions. See what customers are struggling with. Find out what they are curious about. It’s like market analysis for much, much cheaper.

The Facebook bot will take time (and, in turn, money) to create and implement. But for many businesses, it can be a valuable investment. Maybe your customer service department is overflowing with the same types of questions. Maybe you want to offer more convenient ways to order products or make appointments. Maybe your target demographic is often online. These are a few reasons to jump on board the Facebook Bot train. If you want assistance with developing a solid Facebook bot marketing strategy, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! Give us a call or shoot us an email today for more information.

The 5 Barriers of Delegation and How to Overcome Them

As a leader and entrepreneur, you will find one of the biggest challenges to be delegating tasks. In 2013, Stanford University conducted a survey which exposed the fact that 37% of chief executives struggle and are working to improve on delegation skills. Outlined are five disadvantages that might be keeping you from reaching your delegation goals. To overcome these barriers, we must first identify them.

It Takes Time & Mentoring

We all know that time is money, and we are always looking for ways to save time and be more efficient in what we do. Those voices in your head are telling you that you don’t have the time to adequately explain or teach the skills for the task at hand to your team member. The good news is, delegating task actually saves time. It might take holding their hand and teaching them all the nitty gritty at first, but once they have it down, that is one less task on your plate in which you can focus your efforts on more important business goals.

Loss of Control

Admit it, we can all be a bit of a control freak at times. Many business owners have a long history of making things happen with their own skill and determination. Even though business owners think they can do the task better, your business will not be successful if there’s a leader micromanaging everything. A way to overcome this is by providing planned accountability amongst your team members, which will calm your anxiety. Besides, you may find out that one of your team members discovers a new, more efficient method of completing the task at hand!

Delegating Yourself Out of a Job or Losing Tasks You Enjoy

Another barrier business owners may come across is the fear that you are going to train yourself out of a job. Or maybe there’s a reoccurring task that you enjoy but you offloaded it to a team member. This is a great problem to have! Now that you have less on your plate you can move to a higher position, take on more challenging tasks, or focus on those business development plans you never had the time for. You will also be rewarded by seeing others succeed because of your coaching.

Lack of Confidence/Faith in Your Team

Leaders may be hesitant to delegate tasks because they don’t have confidence or faith in their team members. It’s okay to feel this way, but it’s something you must overcome for successful delegation. Start small, take small risks and set your team up for success. Successes early on will give you the courage to delegate more and more in which you can gradually increase the complexity of tasks assigned. Be sure to thoroughly prep your team because the more prepared they are, the less worried you will be! Additionally, your team may lack the confidence in themselves, or they are worried they won’t do well. By starting small together, you can inspire confidence and trust side by side.

Asking for Help is a Sign of Weakness

Asking for help sucks, and you might feel like it’s a sign of weakness, when really it is a sign of strength and trust. We are only human, and we can’t do everything by ourselves. Often it is fear that fuels this anxiety: Fear of over-stepping. Fear of appearing too needy. Fear of imposing. Fear of revealing our struggle and having people realize we don’t have it all together after all. When we support other people to be more successful, we discover opportunities for collaboration that ultimately enable us to be more successful ourselves. Besides, didn’t you hire a team of talented people? Leverage their capabilities, you will be surprised!

To tackle the fear and uncertainty associated with delegation, you need to lay the groundwork for success. Clarify the work that needs to be delegated. Which tasks can realistically be handled by other team members? Also determine the tasks that must be done by you, and only you. Be sure to communicate with your team the objectives and goals of each task so they know what is expected of them and how it fits in with the larger picture. Be sure to set deadlines and milestones and/or the frequency of checking up on their work. Be open with communication and make sure that your team understands they can turn to you and that it is ok to ask questions and further guidance.

Have some tasks you need to delegate-Let’s talk!

Why a Social Media Marketing Funnel is crucial for your Business

Your social media strategy is probably incomplete. Too many marketers create a plan designed to create a thriving social media presence with lots of followers and likes…and stop there.

Wait, isn’t that the point of social media marketing?

Not completely. It’s all well and good to have an active company social media presence. But a social media presence that is all buzz and no buying is a bust. The missing component for many marketers is a social media marketing funnel.

What the Funnel Is

The “sales funnel” is a buzzword in marketing, one that is thrown about so much it often loses its meaning. So let’s take a second to define it.

A sales funnel is the process where someone goes through the following steps:

Becoming aware of your brand
Becoming interested in your brand
Having desire for what your brand offers
Taking an action in accordance with your brand (such as buying your product/service)

The goal of course is to move as many people through the funnel as possible. In the perfect world, everyone who becomes aware of your brand eventually takes action.

But of course, that perfect world doesn’t exist. That’s why it’s a funnel – it’s largest at the top where people become aware of your brand. Fewer people eventually become interested. Fewer have desire. And fewer end up making that purchase.

Crucial action taken by you can help move along more people through your funnel.

Why You Need a Specific Social Media Sales Funnel

Social media is a unique beast. The tactics used here are not ones you would use in email marketing or when setting up a booth at an expo. This unique beast calls for a unique, tailored sales funnel.

When you create a social media sales funnel, you supercharge your social media marketing. No longer is it simply about growth. After all, growth can be overrated if that growth never leads to anything. It’s great to have 1,000 followers on your Facebook page, but what is that worth if none of them ever spend a dollar on your company?

When you use a social media sales funnel, you shift the focus. You keep that end point (making that moolah) in mind. This helps inform the work you do, making it more effective and strategic. It takes some effort. But it’s worth it.

How to Create a Social Media Sales Funnel

Building an effective social media sales funnel requires strategy at every stage of the customer journey. The first step is to generate that awareness by being where your target audience is. Take some time to identify which channels your target audience is and how to run yours effectively. All too often, marketers spread themselves too thin. It’s far better to be on two channels (but doing them right) than on five channels half-heartedly.

Once you know which channels to be on, you can work on generating that awareness. Facebook ads, for example, can help potential customers discover your page. When applicable, tag other organizations in your posts to help your posts show up on their followers’ pages. Cross promote your social channels through strategies like including the social links in your email signatures or newsletters.

The next stage is getting people interested in your brand. Create engaging posts that capture their attention (video can be a great tool for this). Showcase how you meet their needs. Push out relevant non-salesy content. Persuade them that your content is worth their precious time. Don’t make sales here yet, simply display your value.

The third stage is generating that desire for your brand’s services/products. Create posts that show exactly how you meet a given need. Promote an upcoming training event. Use your channels to push out the message that your company solves their problem.

The fourth stage is prompting that final action (usually a sale!). Make this as simple for customers as possible. Some platforms, like Pinterest, allow you to make posts that direct customers directly to the shopping cart for a given product.

Not all the sales in your social media funnel will happen directly through social media, whether it be a sale in the platform itself or clicking a link in the post itself. But social media can be a great tool getting customers to the other three stages of the funnel.

Take some time to establish tangible action steps you can take to nudge customers to each new stage of the funnel. This will help your marketing efforts be tailored and targeted, rather than focusing simply on building a presence and hoping it leads to sales down the road.

A social media marketing sales funnel is a crucial aspect of your social media marketing. If you want some assistance creating and improving yours, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We offer sales funnel services to help grow your business. Check them out today!

Start Off the New Year Strong

Ready for the new year? It’s a time of new beginnings, evaluation, and dreaming big. Channel the enthusiasm of resolutions and the fresh start to make this year a great one for your business. Use our checklist to start off the new year strong.

Client Relations

Review current client list. Double check the information to ensure it’s up to date. Make sure points of contacts, email addresses, etc. did not change in the new year.
Review your prospective client list. Decide which potential relationships to prioritize cultivating in the new year, and outline steps to take to turn the prospects into fans of your organization.

Employee Management

Evaluate staffing needs. Identify any areas lacking support staff. Maybe it’s time for a social media manager or another administrative assistant. Consider a virtual assistant as an efficient and cost-effective way to meet your staffing needs, without draining the bank.

Business Management

Create a strategy for the year. Create tangible, measurable goals for your organization. Think about what you want to accomplish in the upcoming year and how success is defined for your business. Then prioritize efforts for the first quarter.
Make a thorough budget. It’s tedious, but important to make a budget for the full year. It’ll change as unexpected expenses and outstanding situations arise, but it will help provide the clear direction necessary to ensure money is being spent where it’s most needed.
Review your processes. Examine your hiring practices, sales strategy, social media and marketing strategy, customer service practices, everything your organization does. Identify what is working, and what needs adjusting.
Examine your technology. Make sure the security features on your devices and accounts are as secure as possible. Update any programs. Add in necessary equipment purchases in the budget for the new year.
Clean up and clean out. Start off the new year with an organized workspace. Get rid of unnecessary documents on your computer. They just add clutter! Clean out and organize your desk to ensure everything is in its place for the new year.

Social Media and Marketing

Conduct a social media audit. Go through all your social media channels. Evaluate their success and value to your organization, and cut ones that are not working.
Review your branding. Sometimes a new year calls for a new look. Go through your website, business card design, and logo to see if anything should be updated.

It’s a new year, but there’s still the same old administrative tasks begging for your attention. If you’re stretching yourself (or your employees) too thin, outsource projects to Alpine Small Business Solutions! We can handle any business-related tasks for you, freeing up more of your time to manage your business in the new year. Give us a call or send us an email today.

You Need to Train Your Virtual Team

Most businesses provide company training to their in-house team members: explaining the details of company branding, ideal methods of communication, and the proper procedures for projects. Yet, most fail to provide this training to their virtual assistants.

Why?

Think about it. Businesses recognize the importance of articulating how things are done in the organization, which is why trainings in the corporate world can take weeks. Yet, few entrepreneurs provide this guidance to their online team.

Sure, virtual assistants can get by without this training. They’ve worked for a variety of clients and know how to handle the tasks you assign. But they aren’t mind readers-they don’t know how to handle the task in the preferred way of your business unless you show them.

Why You Should Provide Training

Yes, your time is stretched thin right now. That’s probably why you hired a virtual assistant in the first place! It’s easy to want to avoid organizing a system together, documenting processes, and explaining them to the VA. But think long term.

You’re limiting the growth of your business by failing to provide this training. Time is wasted as the virtual assistant reinvents the wheel and figures out how your business runs. Remember, they’re working with several clients and each one works differently. They’ll be able to figure your business out. But it will take more time than a bit of training would.

Training your virtual assistant will help you get the most out of your partnership, which helps your business run more efficiently.

What the Training Should Include

The training should cover everything your in-house team members get, and possibly more. Remember your virtual assistant isn’t in the office, so they aren’t being exposed to how the company functions on a day-to-day level. It’s harder to understand the company values, branding, etc. when you’re not experiencing them in person (which is why training online team members is so essential).

Articulate the method of communication within your business. Which avenues of communication are acceptable (email, phone calls, texting, Skype messenger, Facebook messenger, etc)? Are there appropriate contexts for these channels (for example, texting is acceptable only for after-hours communication dealing with a time sensitive project)? Is internal communication as formal as external communication, or can it be more conversational? Setting clear guidelines for communication helps avoid misunderstandings, over communicating, and under communicating. When communication runs smoothly, your business runs smoothly.

Describe the company brand. What words describe your company’s voice? What sets you apart from competitors? What company values are most important? Are there acronyms or abbreviations for your business name (and if so, when are they to be used)? When your virtual assistant understands the identity of your organization, it’s easier for him/her to create on-brand work (without resorting to trial and error).

Explain how file saving and sharing works. Are completed works to be sent by email, uploaded to a cloud service like Dropbox, or both? Should images be saved as a JPEG or PNG? When are documents saved as a PDF?

Go over the proper procedures for each project. Remember, the virtual assistant is working with several clients and each one has their own set of preferences and procedures, as does your virtual assistant. A broad term like social media management can mean anything from creating a few posts a month to creating a thorough multi-page digital marketing strategy. Start by describing clearly the end result and time commitment for the project. Discuss the steps along the way (and any checkpoints where you’ll touch base). Explain any particular methods you want them to use, especially if there are particular ways of doing things that may not be universal. Describe what needs to be documented, what needs to be sent to you or another team member, what needs to be saved and where, etc. It’s important for the virtual assistant to understand how and why your company approaches projects in these ways, so be sure to allow them to ask any questions. You want to be on the same page just like you would be after training an in-house team member.

Providing your virtual assistant training like you do with in-house team members is important to the success of your business. You’re setting up the team member for success, helping make their work more efficient and productive. It does take time, but in the long run providing this training saves more time than it takes.

If you’re ready to expand your virtual assistant team, consider Alpine Small Business Solutions! We’d love to help with any business building task you need, from administrative work to social media management. Reach out with an email or phone call today.

How to Maximize Your Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant can be a lifesaver. He or she can help you grow your business by tackling tasks you don’t have the time, energy, or experience for. Does it get any better?

Yes, it can! Don’t just use a virtual assistant. Maximize your virtual assistant. Make an already productive part of your business even more productive with these tips.

Find the best tasks to delegate. Using a virtual assistant is like using a jack of all trades. Any task you can imagine, they can handle. Choosing the best tasks to pass on, however, can make your work with a virtual assistant more efficient. The ideal task is one you and your team lack the time/energy/experience for that the virtual assistant has the competence for. Usually these fall under the realm of administrative tasks (like scheduling or addressing envelopes). But don’t underestimate the value of using a virtual assistant to handle social media, blog writing, and other aspects of digital marketing. If they bring experience in that industry, they can really help your business grow. You can use our delegator worksheet to find the best tasks to delegate to your virtual assistant.

Ruthlessly evaluate the necessity of the task. Once you think you’ve got a task to pass on, examine it. As Timothy Ferris, author of The 4 Hour Workweek says, “never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined.” Is this task crucial to your business or can you eliminate it? If it’s crucial, can you automate it? You don’t want to waste money on tasks that don’t need to be done, or don’t need to be done by a virtual assistant. If it’s vital and cannot be automated, then you can assign it to a virtual assistant.

Make the process efficient before delegating it. Examine the process used for the task. Are there any unnecessary steps you can remove? Is there any way to make the task less time consuming? Can you batch tasks to make the process more productive? The more efficient the process, the less money it will cost you for the virtual assistant to accomplish it.

Organize relevant information into one place. Make a document with all the passwords, step-by-step instruction, and provide an example if possible. The virtual assistant won’t need to waste time searching through multiple file locations, and you won’t need to spend time explaining the details of the steps. And when you have a VA do these tasks for you. Have them write the steps and document as well. Having a little handbook of how-to do your business. Then if you ever need someone else to pick something up, there is already documentation on how it is done.

Make sure one other person can handle the task. Someone else, either another virtual assistant or a team member, should know how to complete the task. Remember that how-to manual you are creating? In the event the virtual assistant gets sick, you’ll be able to re-assign the task. That way your business process doesn’t get derailed since you can quickly readjust the assignment.

Use the right tools. Communication tools, document sharing tools, and project management tools can make a huge difference in productivity and time management. Check out our post on the tools. Find something that you like and will use to help increase your productivity. There are lots of great tools out there, but the best is the one that you will consistently use.

A virtual assistant is a great asset for your business. If you’re ready to expand your team, reach out to Alpine Small Business Solutions today! We’d love to help with any aspect of business building, just give us a call or send us an email.