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  • How These Businesses are Posting for Small Business Saturday in 2022

    For small businesses, a little visibility can go a long way. And there’s no better time to show off your small business or the ones in your community than Small Business Saturday.Small Business Saturday is an annual event that takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It was pioneered by American Express in 2010 after the global recession and is now recognized all over the U.S. and the world at large.It’s a day meant to encourage people to shop from small businesses during the holiday season – a necessary time as there are more entrepreneurs than ever but also more difficulties than ever. This year, it’ll be happening on Saturday, the 26th of November.There are many ways that businesses can post for Small Business Saturday. Whatever method you choose, it’s a great opportunity to get the word out about your business or encourage people to shop local. In this article, we’ll share some ideas for how you can post on Small Business Saturday by taking inspiration from our favorite small businesses.How these businesses are posting for Small Business SaturdayWe’re big advocates for planning content in advance and extra-big on small businesses taking opportunities when they come. Small Business Saturday is one of those opportunities – a day when people are more conscious of where they shop.But it’s not enough to just be a small business on Small Business Saturday – you need to communicate and perhaps remind your audience. Some businesses choose to set up in-store indicators and offers for customers, but social media is a more accessible way to reach a wider audience.We’ve got you covered with ideas for your posts, featuring inspiration from some great small businesses.Kinfield organized a campaign featuring over 30 small businesses in an easy-access directoryKinfield, a skincare brand, created the Better Together campaign to help customers find female- and BIPOC-owned brands to shop from during the holiday season. They included sustainable companies like Pineapple Collaborative and OUI The People. They also encouraged their audience to tag other businesses in the comments of their post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kinfield (@kinfield) The tagline “Shop Small, Gift with Intention” clearly communicated the goal of their project – to support small businesses. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pineapple Collaborative (@pineapplecollaborative) 🤝If you’re interested in supporting or collaborating with more brands, check out the Better Together directory here.EYO Active and Rubies in the Rubble asked customers to do the spotlightingEYO Active, a sustainable activewear brand, shared an Instagram post asking its followers to tag their favorite small businesses for Small Business Saturday. While the brand chose an alternative path to Black Friday, they urged their audience to shop small if they were going to shop anyway on Black Friday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by EYO® | Sustainable Activewear (@eyoactive) Rubies in the Rubble adopted a similar strategy to EYO, with an additional benefit for its audience. Customers that shared a small business in the comments of Rubies in the Rubble’s Instagram post got a 25 percent discount. The brand also mentioned that it would be sending curated packages to handpicked commenters. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rubies in the Rubble (@rubiesintherubble) This method not only gets lots of eyes on different small businesses but also gets customers excited about participating.DAME and Fishwife spotlighted small businessesIn a more straightforward (but worthwhile) approach, Fishwife, the tinned fish brand, spotlighted several small businesses in its community in an Instagram post and shared a message appreciating them, saying, “One of the absolute best parts of running this business is having so many opportunities to talk to and work with other small business owners. It’s unbelievably inspiring to witness folks build something out of nothing and bust their butts to create incredible products and incredible community.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fishwife (@fishwife) In addition to spotlights, DAME went a step further by offering a discount code and consistent deals throughout the day on their Instagram Stories. They shared the reasoning behind their approach: “Small brands are often lost amongst the Black Friday chaos, so we’re taking this opportunity to put small sustainable brands in the spotlight.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by DAME. (@dameforgood) Everybody World held a physical event with other small businessesPerhaps one of the most interesting approaches to Small Business Saturday on this list, Everybody World not only shared a social post highlighting small businesses to shop from but also held a physical pop-up with them. The event was elaborate, featuring over fifteen small brands, and was done in place of a typical Black Friday campaign. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Everybody.World (@everybody.world) Customers who didn’t want to wait for the day of the pop-up or couldn’t make it had the opportunity to shop from them through the website.Ombar Chocolate and Stojo turned customers’ focus on themTake advantage of your size and turn the spotlight on yourself for Small Business Saturday. Stojo, a reusable cup brand, highlighted that they’re a small business and offered a discount code to shoppers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stojo (@stojo) Ombar Chocolate, a chocolate company, did the same thing but also added that proceeds from their sales would go to a foundation. In addition, they highlighted other small businesses for their audience to shop from, tagging them in their post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ombar Chocolate (@ombarchocolate) Remember, people love shopping small – this Intuit survey found that 70 percent of Americans shop from local businesses. And there’s no better day to reach them than by posting when you’re almost guaranteed visibility.Let your Small Business Saturday campaign reflect your valuesDespite the frenzy around heavy discounts and shopping sprees, your campaign must reflect your values as a business owner. Instead of encouraging overconsumption or pushing sales to get rid of inventory, take an intentional approach to Small Business Saturday. You don’t have to offer discounts – it’s just as beneficial at bringing attention to you or your fellow small business owners. And you don’t have to be limited by format either – there are other ways to approach Small Business Saturday outside of social media.However you choose to approach it, we hope these ideas inspire you as you start planning your posts for Small Business Saturday 2022!Let us know what worked for you this year on Twitter or Instagram @buffer!

  • How to Promote Your Business on Facebook

    I was only 12 years old when Facebook became available for anyone with a valid email address.
    By the time I was 14, one of the top trends was to create a fan page that anyone could follow. I remember that feature being used by friends as a way to tell jokes and post funny content.
    But things are a bit more sophisticated in the world of social media nowadays.
    Now, Facebook is a great place to advertise your business and interact with prospective and current customers.
    Below, let’s discuss how you can use Facebook to promote your business.

    1. Sign up for a business page.
    The first thing you need to do is create a business page. This is a simple process. All you have to do is log on to Facebook, click “Pages” in the left sidebar, and then “Create New Page.”
    To get started, you’ll upload a profile picture, a cover photo, and basic information about your business. This will include what type of business you run whether you run a B2B business, a local business, or an ecommerce site.
    Once you sign up, it’s smart to start optimizing your page.
    2. Optimize your profile.
    Now that your profile is up and running, you’ll want to optimize your page. This means writing your About section, adding business information like your website and business hours, and including a call to action button such as “Book Now,” “Shop Now,” or “Sign Up.”
    Additionally, you’ll want to draft several posts that will engage your audience. Think about what type of posts they might like on social media. How are they interacting with your competitors? What posts perform well for your competition? This is the type of content you’ll want to model yours after.
    Now that you’ve built and optimized your business page, it’s time to engage with your community.
    3. Be active in Facebook groups.
    A great way to promote your business on Facebook is to participate in Facebook groups. You can engage with public groups or join private Facebook groups.
    To get started with this, you’ll want to consider what type of groups your audience would be a part of. Once you’ve finished brainstorming, you can join the same communities that your audience is active in.
    4. Create your own Facebook group.
    While it’s important to engage with your audience where they’re at, it’s also important to attract your audience to your own pages. You can do this with your own Facebook group.
    Krystal Wu, a social media community manager at HubSpot, says, “Facebook Groups allow our audience to connect with each other and have valuable discussions. Businesses who center a Group around their brand or industry can build a community around it — making our brand and products even more valuable to potential customers.”
    5. Promote events.
    Another way to promote your business on Facebook is to use the social media platform to promote your events. If you’re a local business, this is especially important.
    Attracting people to an event can feel like an undertaking, and you need to use all the tools at your disposal to promote it. That’s why you should post your event on Facebook and also plan an ad campaign.
    6. Interact with your followers.
    This might seem like social media 101, but it’s important to interact with your followers. The best way to get engagement on social media is to make sure your posts show up for your followers. To do that, you need to create interaction. Make sure you answer questions, respond to comments, and participate in your online community.
    7. Use live streaming.
    Facebook live is an excellent tool to promote your business and provide valuable content to your audience. You can use this feature to showcase your company culture, host a panel discussion on industry topics, or even display your industry expertise.
    Additionally, you can host events virtually on Facebook live as a way to interact with your audience that can’t be at an event in person. This is a great way to promote your business because going live will notify your followers and prompt them to engage with your page.
    8. Run Facebook ads.
    One of the best ways to promote your business with Facebook is to use Facebook ads. The social media giant has created one of the most popular ways to reach your audience with its advanced targeting options.
    To get started with ads, you can review this lesson from Facebook directly. Make sure that you review the types of Facebook ads and various bidding strategies to help you succeed.
    9. Talk about your company culture.
    When you post on social media, your content should promote your overall brand messaging. A great way to do this is to talk about your company culture. Showcase your employees and their day-to-day tasks.
    You can also use Facebook as a recruitment tool, hosting panels on what it’s like to work at your company, or posting jobs right on your business page.
    10. Manage contests and giveaways.
    Encouraging engagement is one of the main objectives of Facebook promotion. To do this, you can host contests and giveaways that your audience will want to participate in. This will help increase brand awareness and encourage interaction from your followers.
    11. Have a customer service representative field comments and requests from customers.
    Social media is a great way for your customers to get in touch with you. However, if they choose to reach out to you on Facebook, you need to be prepared to answer their questions and address their requests. To do this, consider having a few people from your customer service team answer messages or comments from your customers.
    12. Post valuable content.
    Ultimately, the best way to promote your business on Facebook is to provide valuable content for your audience. Content is what attracts people to your social media profile and is the way you’ll build an audience online. You’ll want to include different types of content including images, videos, text, Stories, or even polls.
    Facebook is an essential part of your social media marketing. No matter what type of business you’re running, it’s important to develop both organic and paid social media strategies to promote your business on Facebook.

  • looking to network with marketeers using automation in social media marketing

    Hi. I´m using techniques and software to grow my social media channels and would like to network, chat, discuss, etc with marketeers doing the same. Thank you have a nice day! submitted by /u/passrev [link] [comments]

  • With certainty

    A 98% chance is dramatically different than a 100% certainty.

    Certainty isn’t on the spectrum of chance. It’s a different thing altogether. If the weather report says the chance of precipitation is zero, one should never walk outside into the rain.

    When you leave yourself a few points of wiggle room, you can build more trust. Low chance of rain is fundamentally different than a slight chance of rain.

    At the same time, if it actually is certain, say so.

  • Enterprise Email Marketing: Tips and Tricks to Follow for Ultimate Success

    Email marketing for enterprise businesses differs from email marketing for small business owners. There are unique needs and concerns due to the high volume of contacts involved and email correspondence that will take place between you and your target audience, and internal communications as well. As an enterprise business, how do you market to your…
    The post Enterprise Email Marketing: Tips and Tricks to Follow for Ultimate Success appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • Call Center Motivation: How to Inspire Your Agents

    When you think of improving your call center motivation, do you dream of near-perfect customer satisfaction scores? Impeccable customer service and experience? To get a real sense of how things are going, don’t just look at your customers; look at your agents. If they’re motivated, your customers will likely feel satisfied. If not? Everything goes downhill.
    Call center managers and leaders have some of the hardest jobs when it comes to agent engagement. You’re dealing with high turnovers in contact centers, making it difficult to retain talent.
    Here’s the thing: call center agents have monotonous days. Talking about the same issues with customers gets old after a while. And if you tack on impatient or rude customers, inspiring agents just gets harder. Your first step to inspiring your agents at work is to recognize how difficult their jobs can be. 
    Show some compassion and be proactive to keep agents happy. If not? You’ll scramble to find new talent, and your customer experience, profits, and metrics will suffer. Keeping the ship steady in a call center isn’t just about operational efficiency — it’s also about human connections and inspiring your staff members.
    Today, we’ll walk through ways to do that. Trust us; you’ll notice better retention and engagement if you follow some of these tips. But first, let’s explore what motivation and inspiration look like.
    What Are the Elements of  Call Center Motivation?
    Motivation is a desire to do something. On the floor, agent motivation is the desire to answer calls, help customers, and further business objectives. But you know better than anyone motivation isn’t easily achieved. To fix that, you need to understand two types of motivation:

    Extrinsic: Encouraged by external factors, like money, recognition, accomplished tasks, reputation, and time off. In the same vein, extrinsic motivation might come from a desire to avoid a negative external factor, like a demotion, longer hours, missed deadlines, or less engaging tasks.
    Intrinsic: Encouraged by self-fulfillment and personal satisfaction. Examples include autonomy, pride of work, self-improvement, and connection.

    Of course, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are both necessary to inspire your agents. Extrinsic motivation speaks to bonuses, vacation time, competitive compensation, recognition, and improved status. Your agents want to feel monetarily and respectfully rewarded for their hard work.
    But intrinsic motivation is just as, if not more, important. Call center agents have pretty restrictive jobs, set hours, and scripts to follow. It’s hard to find freedom or autonomy within these bounds — unless you intentionally foster it!
    Forbes describes autonomy as a key driver for happiness. So if your agents feel autonomous, they’ll feel more motivated and inspired. Other ways to inspire intrinsic motivation include self-improvement and educational opportunities, as well as software to enable quicker wins.

    DID YOU KNOW?
    Fonolo’s Voice Call-Backs reduce abandonment rates by 60%.

    5 Ways to Motivate Call Center Agents
    If you don’t have motivated employees, your call center may not be a positive work environment. The good news is that you have ample opportunity to pump up motivation. Let’s start with the most important tip.
    Encourage Autonomy
    Nobody likes a micromanager. You hired your call center agents because you trust their capabilities — start acting like it! Giving your call center employees freedom to pursue company goals on their terms is a fabulous start in motivating them. Take a look at your internal processes and consider which steps are absolutely vital versus those with room for flexibility.

    Can you simplify agents’ work with programmable call-backs?
    Does every team member have to start at 8 am, or can accommodate flexible hours?
    Do you have to train new hires, or can you trust a senior agent to mentor them?
    Do you tell agents how to fix things, or do you offer them a floor to share their ideas?

    Do you give your agents enough #EmployeeAutonomy at your contact center? Here are some tips to foster agent motivation: Offer flexible hours, Ask them for feedback, Equip them with the right software and Allow them to share their skills…Click To Tweet
    Recognize Hard Work
    You know what’s worse than negative feedback? Radio silence. How can agents feel motivated if their hard work is met with zero feedback or rewards?
    Regular feedback is a must for motivation. Receiving kudos for a job well done improves their self-esteem. Criticisms (always given privately) should be coupled with training opportunities, a pathway forward, and a goal to strive for. Here’s where you can make use of extrinsic motivation.
    Recognize your call center agents’ performance with:

    Promotions
    Career advancement and more responsibility
    Time off
    Recognition and praise

    Help Them Soar with Education
    We mentioned career advancement as an extrinsic motivator. But helping your agents advance their skills can engage both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation drivers.
    Think about self-improvement. When you learn new things, it’s natural to feel more engaged and confident. Training opportunities offer the same satisfaction to your agents. Not only will the extra knowledge make their skills more marketable; but it will also help them feel a sense of purpose and self-satisfaction.
    And by training, we’re not just talking about a lunchtime PowerPoint. Invest in your agents. Set some room in the budget for education. You might even consider hiring a field expert for a workshop.
    Agent education opportunities might include:

    Courses
    Conferences
    Bootcamps
    Workshops
    Job shadowing

    Create a Positive Work Environment
    Gallup released an article about employee engagement measures in the workplace. One statement that promotes engagement is:
    “My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.”
    Another statement: “I have a best friend at work.”
    You get the gist: people want to connect with each other and feel a sense of belonging, even at work. All that comes down to company culture. While you don’t have to ensure everyone has a best friend, you should promote intra-office communications and social opportunities. If people feel connected, that’s a strong indication of a positive work environment.
    What if your agents work from home? You can still encourage employee discourse and friendships. Consider hosting online social events where employees can gather and play games, or learn to paint with an guided online group painting session.
    Encouraging your agents to share feedback can also spur their motivation. Welcome their thoughts through internal newsletters, suggestion boxes, time to speak at meetings, and so on.
    Invest in the Right Tech
    If industry competitors are helping their agents with innovative tech for day-to-day efficiency, why aren’t you? Trust us; your agents will notice if your business processes are ancient and behind the times. The right contact center tech is a great motivator. If agents know the software will make their job easier, they’ll feel more enthusiastic to go about their work.
    Fonolo’s Voice Call-Backs help alleviate the wrath of angry customers on your agents. Customers will feel more in control of the situation, and your agents won’t hesitate to avoid long hold times. Ready to take the first step toward more motivated agents? Start with the right tech. Book a demo of Fonolo’s Voice Call-backs today!
     The post Call Center Motivation: How to Inspire Your Agents first appeared on Fonolo.

  • Courses for marketing automation strategy

    Any recommendations of links you can share? Something for intermediate to advanced. Thanks! submitted by /u/Ok-Choice-972 [link] [comments]

  • Tableau Order of Operations: An Overview

    If you work with Tableau, you will be aware of the potential intricacies involved when applying correct dimensions and measures to produce the views you want. I can recall several occasions when analysis was not providing aggregated data in a way I was expecting, which… Read More

  • 50+ Salesforce Formula Examples

    When it comes to formulas, which are used in a variety of places in Salesforce, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the good old formula field! In case you haven’t yet created your first formula field, feel free to take a look… Read More

  • Different Ways to Make Money Online – OnlineStance

    There are a number of ways to make money online. Here are some of the most popular methods: 1. Sell products or services online: This is perhaps the most common way to make money online. You can sell just about anything online these days, from physical goods to digital products and services. There are a number of platforms that you can use to sell your wares, such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify, and more. 2. Start a blog: If you have something to say and you’re passionate about a particular topic, then starting a blog can be a great way to earn some extra cash (or even a full-time income!). There are a number of ways to monetize your blog, such as through advertising, affiliate marketing, product sales, and more. 3. Provide freelance services: There are a number of sites that allow you to offer your services to others in need of your skillset. Popular platforms include Fiverr, Upwork, and PeoplePerHour. You can offer services such as content writing, graphic design, web development, and more. 4. Take part in online surveys or sign up for paid focus groups: Companies are always looking for consumer feedback and are willing to pay for it. There are a number of websites that you can sign up for that will allow you to take part in paid surveys or focus groups. 5. Invest in cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency has become quite popular in recent years. There are now many different types of cryptocurrency, with more being created all the time. Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized, meaning they are not subject to government or financial institution control. Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was created in 2009. Cryptocurrencies are often traded on decentralized exchanges and can also be used to purchase goods and services. If you like this Upvote and share with others. Thanks for reading. submitted by /u/KKJA102 [link] [comments]