5 Ways to Stay Creative in Business

At times, we all struggle to be creative at our businesses. It could just be a case of writer’s block or it could be some serious lack of creativity going on. How can you correct this and stay creative at work? Here are five ideas to help you out.

Create an inspiration board

When you come across an article, picture or even a cartoon that resonates with you, cut it out (or print it). Post it on your inspiration board.

What is an inspiration board? It’s a corkboard covered with anything that inspires YOU. I could be a picture of your dream vacation site or the office you desire. It could be a great article about someone who succeeded in business.

Visit your board when you feel you need inspiration. You will be amazed at where your mind can take you when you look at words and images that inspire you.

Socialize

Get out more and network with other business owners. When you meet other business owners, you will find that your discussions can inspire you with new ideas or new ways of doing something at work.

Another benefit of networking is you might meet your next big client.

Write stuff down

Sometimes you have a great idea and you’re in bed…almost asleep. Keep a pad and pen next to your bed so you can write down your ideas when you think of them. Once they’re captured, they are off your mind and you’ll be able to sleep well.

The next day, review your idea. Can you expand on it? Should you act on it now or put it away for the future? Perhaps it belongs on your inspiration board.

Spy on your competition

Take a look at what your competition is doing. Check out their website. Stop by their booth at a trade show. Something they are doing may spur you in a fresh, new direction.

Meditate

If you love what you do, creativity should come easy because you have a passion burning in you. Sometimes you do help from a flash of inventiveness and clearing your mind through meditation can remove those barriers that are blocking your creativity.

You never know where a creative idea will come from. 

Finding the Right Keywords

To have to correct visitors to your website, you need to make it easy for them to find you through relevant searches. The correct keywords will bring them to your website.

There a different ways to find the right keywords to drive traffic to your website. Here are some ideas for you to consider.

Relevant phrases

Focus on relevant phrases. Choose phrases that answer the question of what services or products you are selling. This is one action that will greatly assist you in choosing the optimal keyword phrases.

Stay away from vanity words

Vanity words are words that have been used for a long time and really don’t specify what your products or services truly are. If you are an insurance company, instead of simply using “insurance” as your main keyword, you should specify the type of insurance you specialize in, such a long term life insurance.

Use synonyms

Over stuffing a keyword is not very valuable, but you can use as many synonyms to refer to the same thing differently. It is an easy way of restating keywords to your advantage. Remember that different people will use different words in their searches and the more the relevant your keywords are the better it will be for you to be found and ranked in the searches.

Look at the keywords you are currently using on your website. Should they be updated? If so, take the time to make these changes and you will find more traffic coming to your website.

Customer Spotlight for February: Garman Chiropractic

Back hurting you? Looking for a great place for a massage or an acupuncture treatment? Look no further than Garman Chiropractic. Located at 142 Fairport Village Landing in Fairport, Garman Chiropractic is owned by Dr. Diane Garman. Diane has over 14 years in the local healthcare system, starting as a registered nurse then becoming a chiropractor in 2003.

Diane specializes in full spine treatments, shoe orthotics, IonCleanse Detox Footbath and Cold Laser Therapy.

Diane and her team at Garman Chiropractic offer Swedish Massage, Shiatsu Massage and even offer massages for children. The acupuncture offered is traditional acupuncture along with needle-free acupuncture for those with needle aversions.

Garman Chiropractic if focused on the whole body, looking to balance your body, mind and spirit. For more information or to make an appointment, call Garman Chiropractic at 585-377-5890. 

Have an Effective Logo?

Logos give a business credibility and make it easy to remember your business. As a small business owner, a logo will make your website, business cards and promotions materials look more professional.

Does it capture attention?

Did you know that you only have 8 seconds to capture someone’s attention with your advertising? If you do not have a memorable logo, you will not successfully capture the attention of prospective customers. Don’t miss out on all this potential business with a logo that isn’t easy to remember.

The psychology of color

You can use color to communicate feelings and perceptions to your potential customers. When choosing your colors for your logo, think about the message the colors will send.  Here is a short list of color psychological clues:

·         Black: seriousness, distinctiveness, boldness, power, sophistication, tradition

·         Blue: authority, dignity, security, faithfulness, heritage, corporate stability, trust

·         Brown/gold: history, utility, earthiness, richness, tradition, conservative

·         Gray/silver: somberness, authority, practicality, corporate mentality, trust

·         Green: tranquility, health, freshness, stability, appetite

·         Orange: fun, cheeriness, warm exuberance, appetite, speed

·         Pink: femininity, innocence, softness, health, youth

·         Purple: sophistication, spirituality, wealth, royalty, youth, mystery

·         Red: aggressiveness, passion, strength, vitality, fear, speed, appetite

·         White/silver: purity, truthfulness, faith, contemporary, refined, wealth

·         Yellow: youth, positive feelings, sunshine, cowardice, refinement, caution, appetite.

Stand out from your competition

A unique logo can help you stand out from your competition and be memorable. Use your logo everywhere you can. Your logo should be on your website, social media pages, business cards, printed brochures and on your email signature.

If you need help creating that perfect logo, give Blue Dog Marketing a call. We can design the ideal logo for your business. 

Get Those Great Customer Testimonials

One of the best ways to increase your sales is to have customer testimonials. Testimonials are a third party endorsement of your products or services. Having someone talk about how amazing your products and services are is more powerful than if you said the same things.

Testimonials can be used in many places. Your website should have a “Testimonials” page along with testimonials sprinkled throughout the site. You can post testimonials on Facebook. Use testimonials on your printed brochures too.

Obtaining testimonials from your customers is really easy. Here are a few ideas on how to get a lot of great testimonials.

Create a list

Make a list of clients you would like to get testimonials from. Then, ask these people if they would write a review of your product or service. A phone call or email should be enough, depending on your relationship with the customers.

Conduct a survey

One option, especially if you have a long list of clients, is to send a survey. Ask for feedback about your products and services. Give them open space to write too. This is where you can capture some great testimonials. When you send out the survey, let people know you will be using their comments on your website and in some upcoming promotions.

Take advantage of the survey to ask a couple of questions about your customer service or other area within your company that you would like feedback on.

Talk to your customers

When talking to your customers, if they should say how wonderful your product is, ask them immediately if you can use that statement as a testimonial. Write it down and use it!

As you can see, it really is easy to get testimonials. You just have to ask.

5 Tips on Using Facebook to Effectively Promote Your Business

Facebook put new rules in place on January 1^st that penalizes overly promotional posts. What this means is that “overly promotional posts” will not be as visible in the news feed as they were in the past.

According to Facebook, here are what you should avoid posting to keep from being penalized:

1.       Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app.

2.       Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context.

3.       Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads.

So how do you promote your business on Facebook effectively in 2015? 

Post customer testimonials

Let your happy customers do the selling for you. You’re not being “overly promotional” when someone else is talking about how amazing you are!

Show off your products

Post pictures of your products in use. Talk about how your customers are using your products or services. You can include testimonials from satisfied customers with the pictures too.

Provide value

How will your product or service help potential customers? Talk about how your product or service will save them time or money.

Behind the scenes pictures

Having fun at the office? Working on a new product? Take pictures of what’s going on in your business and post them.  This humanizes your company. It’s all about the “social” in social media.

Posts teasers

Have a new product launching soon? Moving your business? Post teasers about upcoming events and launches. Anticipation makes people want to know more!