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Going Green generally means recycling soda cans and paper, but you can also go green with your content.  Reusing your own content is essential to working smarter, particularly in today's content fueled marketing strategies.  Let’s consider some simple ideas about reusing the thought leadership you've already created and how to extend the value of that which you'll create in the future.

Going Green with your Content to Maximize its Impact

If you provide content in any format online or digitally (a newsletter, a twitter account, a blog, etc.), you can probably get more out of the work you do by having an effective content "recycling" strategy. This simply means you will reuse content in a structure way in many places - so a blog post, is tweeted, posted on your company page on LinkedIn, retweet a couple weeks later, etc.  

Basically, you can use the same idea in various forms in multiple places – do the research, writing once and adapt it to the different channels.  Link them all back to your website (your blog post) to drive traffic over time.  Here's an idea of what your content recycling strategy might look like:

• Define an idea, then write a blog post
  • Consider turning this post into a series.  And, over time, you could consider turning the series into an ebook, manual, or guide.
  • Put an excerpt of relevant posts into digital marketing materials (a link or summary) or in your email newsletter.
  • Bring your idea to life in a video, screencast, or podcast.
  • Refresh the post, if needed, after 6-12 months to keep it current and relevant
• Find/create an image/take a photo
  • Post that image or picture on Instagram, Pinterest, or Flickr
  • Use the image in a SlideShare presentation.
• Feature your post in multiple tweets for your post to share over a period of time (30 – 90 days)
  • This will give it maximum exposure - one every other week is probably the right frequency to retweet the same post
  • Be sure to write different tweets (please don't use the same one every time).
  • Use a scheduling tool, such as one found in HootSuite to time your messages.
  • This keeps your Twitter page and feed active, with minimal effort.
• Use your posts to create updates for your LinkedIn Company Page or Facebook Page.
• No new ideas?  Interview your internal experts or customers - these make great posts as well.   
  • Turn that interview into a blog post, include photos or video.
  • Tweet excerpts from the interview linking it back to your or the guest’s profile or blog pages. 
  • Cross-posting and sharing/calling out guests will help introduce you to a new audience and also potential customers.  
  • Follow the same strategy as listed above

Final thought: Repurposing content makes good business sense, especially if it is already proving to be effective in retaining current customers and gaining new ones. Moreover, this efficient, time-saving practice will save you money and countless man-hours.

     Want Help? Contact our team today ask a question via the form to the right.

     ChangeU: for your independent study…

1. Check out Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/ The world's largest community for sharing presentations online. SlideShare also provides users the ability to rate, comment on, and share the uploaded content. 

2. “The Three Pillars of SEO In 2013: Content, Links, And Social Media” Forbes.com 5/23/2013, Jayson DeMers  http://goo.gl/gJ9Ar  A good SEO strategy is the difference between your business easily being found online and getting lost in the noise of thousands of other businesses trying to stand out.

3. Top 100 Tools for Learning: http://goo.gl/4vuM1 Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013: Results of the 7th Annual Learning Tools Survey The list was compiled by Jane Hart from the votes of 500+ learning professionals from 48 countries worldwide - See more at: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/#sthash.8k6o5mLm.dpuf

A common mistake that small companies make is they want to be everything to everyone.  Even big companies make this mistake too.  The truth is that your business, particularly if you sell some sort of technology offering, will be BEST SUITED for only one particular type or profile of customer. 

And, because time and money are limited, the exercise of narrowing your lens to focus on just that type of customer could help you increase the yield of your various lead generation and sales activities. 

Why is it important to narrow your focus?

1.  To concentrate on your organization's core competencies.  Put another way…do what you do best.   Passion, creativity, and the willingness to go the extra mile will come through in the product or service – and clients will immediately take notice.  The attention to detail, research and best-practice methods will even spark innovation -- leading to countless new products that your organization can consider launching into the market.

What if I lose business?  You won't.  Instead, you will actually gain business, because you will be demonstrating a commitment to clients in an industry that will regard you as a trusted resource or advisor.   If you are concerned that you might lose potential business – perhaps a client in the periphery to your core market – you should instead concentrate on serving the market with the products you know best.

What if I become obsolete?  Markets, preferences, customers, and products can all be expected to change at a moment's notice.  One big fear of narrowing focus on only one product or audience demographic might be that the product no longer becomes useful or interesting – that it becomes obsolete.  You can combat this if you and your organization have been strategic all along.  By accurately drawing a product roadmap and being able to accurately predict the direction of your target market, you will be able to predict obsolescence long before it is an issue.  And if you have been maintaining a narrow, concentrated focus all along, you will be able to harness both internal and external resources to develop a plan that addresses any product or market shortfalls long before they become an issue.

2.  To improve overall communications and messaging.  Instead of general messaging, do not be afraid to let your audience know about the specific type of product that you offer, or the specific market that you serve.  This is a radical departure from current marketing communications trends but additional rewards will surface in the form of journalists and bloggers who will not only easily find you, but also more easily write about you, as your corporate and product story is much more easy to relate.  As such, you will win over a notoriously difficult constituent group – which any business needs to carry forth its brand messaging and communications.

What if the creative gets stifled?  If you are feeling that your creative is getting a bit worn out, or that you have said everything you can possibly say, you are not working hard enough.  Challenge your marketing team or agency to develop more engaging content, or better yet, crowdsource your messaging: use your Yammer, Chatter, or online community software instance to ask both your internal and external communities for input, advice, and ideas on messaging.  Don't forget to gamify the experience, and reward the winner or winning team with something valuable (or fun).

3.  To differentiate your organization and its capabilities.  Ironically, in an age of 'solution providers' that promise all things to all people, focusing on only one product, category, or industry will set you apart.  Just as with becoming memorable to journalists, bloggers, and influencers or your razor-sharp focus, you will become indelible to your clients for delivering a stellar product or service to an audience whom you clearly demonstrate to know very well.

4.  To better balance risk.  Small companies often over-extend themselves to grab a new, tangential piece of business – rather than focusing attention on core segments OR they become too focused on that one or two really great clients and ignore other opportunities in their bailiwick.  The best approach to this is to balance harvesting your core segments, and your best customers, while also diversifying with a choice few new ones.  Be sure to give your best customers your fullest resources and attention while you grow – but also be willing to balance your time and resource investment with new customers that might bring greater profits and/or growth.  This will be a challenge, but one worth fighting through.  The rule of thumb is – if you’ve got more than 50% of your revenues coming from ONE customer, you need to diversify.  And, if your resource allocation does not reflect your profit yield per customer (meaning the most profitable customers get the most support, value-add, etc.) then you need to consider how you are serving your customers – this should match up reasonably well.   Lastly, if you don’t know the profit yield of each customer – you will probably benefit greatly from better accounting and budgeting practices. 

5.  To increase productivity and profitability.    Because nearly everyone in your organization will be more focused on the products or services that will yield the highest sales with the least number of customer service issues, your company will become more productive and profitable.  Knowing what works best will enable you and your company to avoid developing, selling, and servicing products which will not work, making your organization more efficient over time.

Final Thought:  Narrowing does not mean limiting.  A razor-sharp focus on clients with targeted messaging about the right product will lead to sales.  Today's marketing professional may struggle with this concept, but when sales and satisfied customers result, the rest of the industry will take notice.  Since all marketing should tie back to revenue, your team will easily be able to measure the results of this strategy. 

It's always a tough decision to break away from the pack.  Make the tough decision to focus on what your company does best in order to concentrate on favorable outcomes.  And, more importantly, you can point your efforts to outcomes that will really matter to the success of the business.

Want Help? Contact our team today ask a question via the form to the right.

ChangeU: for your independent study… 

1. THE GLOBAL INNOVATION 1000:  http://goo.gl/AVZk30 How the Top Innovators Keep Winning Booz & Company's annual study of the world's biggest R&D spenders shows why highly innovative companies are able to consistently outperform. Their secret? They're good at the right things, not at everything.

2. The Nine Principles of Branding:  http://goo.gl/Y4F4cr Greg Stine identifies 9 fundamental qualities of a good branding program to help companies positively differentiate themselves and their products from that of the competition.

3. Discipline of Market Leaders:  Target your Customers, Narrow your Focus, Dominate your Market, by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema: http://goo.gl/VzZwKS From the best-selling book, The Discipline of Market Leaders, research shows that businesses achieve sustained success by using 3 disciplines:  operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy.  Successful companies excel in one of the disciplines and must be satisfactory in the other two.

Running a business large or small requires an enormous investment of time and attention to dozens of details.  So how involved should the CEO or business owner be with marketing, communications, and messaging?  Is it worth his or her time for the CEO to blog?

In short, the answer is Yes.  And there are ways to do it effectively and efficiently without removing his or her managerial responsibilities.

A Credible Source

Perhaps the best reason for a CEO to blog is authenticity and credibility:  if the public has the chance to read the words of the leader, the organization can break down barriers of communication and the public can not only learn more but also, via the Comments or sharing features, engage in a one-to-one dialogue with the most senior leader.

What’s Old Is New Again

The idea of a personal letter being written from the CEO and disseminated to a wide audience is nothing new.  The CEO is often the byline of the ‘Welcome’ letter in a New Employee Orientation package, and the CEO (or CFO) is the one authoring the Management Discussion and Analysis portion of an Annual Report. 

However, for anyone who’s spent time in the PR or HR function of a company, such letters are often ghostwritten, and final signoff from the CEO doesn’t come until much later.  If this is widely understood and accepted, does that undermine the credibility of the CEO?

Not necessarily.  Single-use letters like the Welcome letter or Annual Report introduction can have long lead times, but a blog’s format requires a much more active messaging format.  As such, a reader may fully expect that the CEO receives assistance from a PR team member or designated writer, but by and large, many of the posts will be written directly by the source.

Delegate But Still Oversee

One strategy for the CEO to blog or write personal thoughts is the idea of note-taking, and using technology to ‘ideate’ and capture thoughts as they occur.  Communications professionals can provide their CEO or members of senior leadership with tools to capture thoughts in transit – as they often travel – and then take these disparate notes and put them into a more structured format suitable for a blogpost.

Indeed, even recording audio or video clips can be extremely valuable, as the communications or marketing team can transcribe the material – or with permission, use it as part of the blogpost itself, for extra authenticity. 

For CEOs involved in a more day-to-day, client-facing capacity – as so many are these days – a video capture can do wonders for communicating with a key prospect, supplier, or industry partner, and can open the doors to more detailed discussions and communications.

For busy or shy CEOs, all it takes is one customer to reveal, ‘I read your blogpost,’ or ‘I saw your video,’ and they will realize the value of the effort.

Perfect Shouldn’t Be the Goal

The search for perfection is what often prevents many people from starting on their social media journey.  Luckily, with the dynamic tools of social publishing these days, attempts can be corrected or modified quickly.

Over time, the CEO will discover his or her ‘voice,’ and a willing audience will embrace it.

Final Thought:  As businesses of all sizes these days are doing more with less, and with so many customers bored or tired with faceless communications, a continuous stream of real messaging from the CEO can go the extra mile in converting naysayers to believers.

Figure out a combination of tools and strategies that work, and produce an outstanding platform that makes people want to come back for more.

Want Help? Contact our team today to ask a question via the form to the right.

ChangeU: for your independent study…

1. THE 2103 BRANDFOG CEO, SOCIAL MEDIA & LEADERSHIP SURVEY:http://goo.gl/fH8CBi  This second annual survey was conducted to better understand C-Suite social media strategy and measure its effect on executive leadership, brand image, and brand trust.  The results?  Over 80% of respondents believe that that social media is an important communication channel for CEOs to engage with customers and investors.

2. THE SOCIAL CEO:http://goo.gl/6yHKL4 Research firm KRC and public relations firm Weber Shandwick teamed up to study perceptions of CEOs who engage in social media.  One interesting finding:  73% of executives with social CEOs search to see what their CEO is posting.

3. RESEARCH FROM CEO.COM: http://goo.gl/CYHRyM  After sending his first tweet, Warren Buffett joked, “Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?”  However, according to this report from CEO.com and Domo, 68% of CEOs have absolutely no presence on any of the major social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google Plus). 

Personal services businesses can find great success with the right digital marketing plan because the new online innovations that make it possible to promote these kinds of services require a greater level of customer engagement.  As the technologies continue to evolve so does the consumers’ expectations; they now want more than just information, they want an experience.  With the proper planning and the smart use of current digital applications you can attract more local customers and build a brand that reaches a national audience as well. 
 
Here are some ideas to consider when developing a plan to improve your digital presence.  
First impressions count 
The first step in any successful digital marketing strategy is creating a website that is representative of your brand. The nature of a personal services business allows you to be creative, therefore your audience will expect see a site that is visually appealing and engaging. Push the limits creatively, but  keep it professional.  Show your best work, include pricing, location information, and feature products you use.  Also, include a brief bio about yourself and your team to let potential clients see who they will have the pleasure of meeting when they arrive at your location.  Remember, people looking for personal services want to invest in more than just products, they want to invest in an experience and getting a feel of who you are is as important as knowing what services you offer.  

Claim your listings to increase your visibility
Stay on top of the minds of people looking for your services, while increasing your digital presence by using existing online business directories that already have an established audience, as well as the technology to reach them on mobile devices.   Having a plan that includes claiming your business on local directories is a smart addition to your digital marketing strategy.  They provide free or low-cost advertisement, connect you directly with people looking for your services, and creates another opportunity to engage with potential clients.  There is a good chance your business may already be listed, if so take the time to personalize the listing by adding photos of your location and a brief description of your services.  Google is the most widely used search engine, consequently, your business information should at the very least be listed on Google My Business. Other important directories to consider include Yelp and Mapquest.   
 
Google My Business on iPhone

Use social media to support your brand  
For personal services businesses like beauty salons or spa, social media has significant potential to increase your digital presence. With more than 1.32 billion users worldwide, Facebook is the largest social networking site, making it a good place to begin your social media journey.  Likewise, it is equally important to invest in the premier photo sharing sites such as, Pinterest and Instagram, because they are visual goldmines for businesses looking to create a stimulating extension of their brand.  Your customers will visit your Pinterest or Instagram profile expecting to get a more visceral tour and experience of your business. So, plan to use high-quality photos and stunning videos for your posts to these sites.  If you specialize in hair coloring, post photos of your best highlights or color transformations.  If you offer spa services post photos that display luxury and serenity.  Take the time to learn the unique features and advantages of each social media platform in order to effectively connect with your audience and convert them into paying clients.     
Use video to connect with your audience
Video allows you to take a proactive approach in maximizing your exposure and attracting customers.     You can easily embed video into your main webpage by creating a YouTube channel that always links to your website.  You can customize the channel with your company logo, there are also basic editing tools available to add need a little extra production value.  With video you can share your story, show your personality, and introduce your co-workers.  By doing this you become more familiar, making potential clients feels a connection to you before they make their first appointment.  Some additional benefits of video include: being able to showcase your skills and expertise, promote products that you use in your business, which can lead additional revenue  through retail sales, and gives you a platform to potion yourself as an expert professional in the industry.  More importantly, video lets you share the tone and atmosphere of your business through virtual tours and customer testimonials. Your audience will find significant value in being able to experience your business before deciding if you are the right fit for their needs.  

Final Thoughts
The success of your personal services business relies on how effectively you can connect with customers, making it increasingly more important that you understand your clients’ behaviors, likes and dislikes, as well as how and where they communicate. In short, it is critical they you use this knowledge to develop a digital marketing strategy that meets and exceeds these expectations through deeper engagement and better customer service.

ChangeU: for your independent study ...

Beauty Salon Business Overview & Trends, 2014  http://bit.ly/1o8iw8N
The US hair care services industry includes about 86,000 establishments (82,000 beauty salons; 4,000 barber shops) with combined annual revenue of about $20 billion. Major companies include Regis, Ratner Companies, Premier Salons, and Sport Clips.

Beauty Industry Analysis 2014 - Cost & Trends  http://bit.ly/1o8jh1H 
Comprised of a diverse yet interrelated set of business lines, the beauty industry helps us look and smell our best. Before we leave the house each day, we have likely undergone our personalized beautification ritual. 

Everything You Need to Know About the Nail Industry NailsMag.com  http://bit.ly/1qWZJI5 Everything You Need to Know About the Nail Industry

How can Chiropractors get maximum benefits using social media? 
As more people turn to the internet for products and services, it’s important for chiropractors to have an online presence beyond a website to stay competitive, more importantly, because consumers expect it.  A chiropractor should focus their digital marketing efforts on boosting visibility to ultimately bring in new business. 
Here are a few ideas to help local chiropractors create a strong online presence. 
All things lead back to your webpage 
Your website is one of your most valuable assets, and as such all your marketing efforts-online and offline-should lead back to your website.  Look at your website as the place where people come to learn about your practice and the services you offer.  Conversely, your social media profile are different in that they are a more casual and personal place where you can engage and communicate with your patients and followers.  With this in mind, your social media pages should always have a subtle, yet compelling call-to-action to go to your webpage.  Provide multiple links within your posts that  direct visitors back to your website to begin the process of educating them about the more technical and useful aspects of chiropractic care.   
 
Content Rules  
When promoting your practice use the 80/20 rule in social media, with the intention of helping as many people as you can.  This rule is simple, yet effective in conveying a message of sincerity.  Eighty percent, of what you post on Facebook or other social media pages should reflect value, be relevant and be insightful. The other twenty percent of your content should be for self-promotions and ads to convert your followers to patients. Remember that the majority of people spend time on social media to learn and build relationships, by respond to this by continuing to share value and education.  

Connect with and educate prospects
Some or your prospective clients may not be fully aware of what chiropractic care really entails and are skeptical about trying it. The smart use of social media can help them to overcome many of objections they may have, educate them, and build a relationship with them.  Use your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+  to help you do these things. Additionally, a YouTube video channel is another powerful educational medium that can go a long way in showing potential patients what to expect when they come to you.  By using these tools to connect more with your fans, you have a much greater chance of converting them into patients.  
 
Spinal Works Chiropractic YouTube Channel

Stay in touch to establish expertise
When looking to stay in contact with current patients or anyone familiar with your practice on an on-going basis, social media is the most effective option. By nurturing these relationships you remain on their mind, making them more likely to refer other people. This word-of-mouth promotion is also a big asset from a marketing and advertising perspective. Additionally, the viral nature of social media provides unlimited opportunities for you to establish yourself as a prominent expert in your field. By continuing to post useful, pertinent content you can develop an esteemed reputation in your local area. 

Final thoughts
A chiropractic care business should definitely invest in a digital marketing strategy to grow the practice and reach new patients. Invest the time to know which where your potential patients spend their time online, take note of how current patients learned about your practice and refine your marketing strategy around this knowledge.

Today, it is not unusual for workers to have multiple job titles during the span of their professional career, due in part to advances in technology and changing job descriptions. To mitigate the transition from one job to the next, many of these people turn to temporary staffing agencies as a way to learn new skills, increase their networking opportunities, and help them stay relevant and employable during a down economy.

As a result, savvy business owners and managers are changing their hiring strategy to include both permanent and temporary employees, in order to meet their objectives and develop an effective workforce.

Let’s consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of employment.

Benefits of hiring temporary employees:

• Access to specialized skills - The traditional ‘temp’ talent pool has evolved from the general laborer and receptionists, and now includes people that are highly skilled in virtually all industries. This gives you access to almost any specialized skill you need to quickly complete one-time projects.
• Lower cost - Get manpower at reasonable costs without having to pay for expensive benefits packages. Generally, it is more cost effective to hire a temporary employee for short-term assignments. Similarly, if you are using an agency, you won’t have to bear the cost of recruiting, testing, doing payroll and tax deductions, because the temporary employee is employed by the agency.
• Evaluation without commitment - By employing potential perspective candidate on a temporary basis you can evaluate their performance while on the job. The benefit here is being able to see how effectively the candidate will perform without having to make a long-term commitment.

Disadvantages of hiring temporary staff include:

• Loss of in-house experts - Using temp workers is an ideal solution if your business has specific jobs that require special skills, however, it doesn’t allow your own in house staff to upgrade or acquire new skills. The nature of your business and how often you require specific specialized skills will determine if it is worth having an onsite expert compared to using a temp for each special project.
• Additional costs - Depending on the position, using a staffing agency to find a qualified temp worker could be more expensive than recruiting a new employee. Most staffing agencies require a fee to use their services as well as a percentage of the temp worker's salary. Therefore, it is important to fully understand the agency’s compensation structure and fee schedule.
• Disruption in workflow - Each time you hire a new temp worker, they have to be brought up to speed with how your company operates and of course the specifics of the assignment. This constant ‘starting over’ process is disruptive and could greatly impede the progress of some projects.

Benefits of hiring permanent employees:

• Loyalty - Investing in a permanent employee is an investment in their loyalty, which translates into more productivity because they are personally invested in your company’s success. This also creates a willingness to wear multiple hats to achieve the goals of the business.
• Seamless workflow - Permanent employees do not have to ‘restart’ for every new job assignment, as they are already familiar with projects and your business processes, which ensures the workflow is consistent and uninterrupted.
• Stability - As a fixed part of your staff, permanent employees offer you a welcomed level of predictability and stability, allowing you to be more strategic when making long-term plans.

Disadvantages of hiring permanent employees:

• Limited skill upgrade - Although permanent employees develop expertise in their respective fields, they are often limited on the time and resources required to learn new skills. This challenge is compounded when employers use temp workers to complete tasks that require specialized skills instead of training their in house staff. Unfortunately, this leaves permanent workers and more importantly, your business at a disadvantage when a new application or technology is introduced.
• Higher expenses - Insuring permanent employees can be expensive, especially for small and new businesses with limited working capital. With permanent employees comes extra overhead, i.e. processing benefits, payroll, providing training and tools, and the rental fee of the space impacts the total cost of employing permanent employees.
• Recruiting efforts are expensive and time consuming - Finding the right talent for your workforce is a time consuming and costly endeavor. Diverting time and resources required to list open positions, screen candidates, and interview them can stall projects and reduce productivity.

Final Thoughts
Developing an effective workforce requires the same energy in planning and consideration as it does in creating a business plan or digital marketing plan. The reality is that both types of employment have varying degrees of benefits and challenges. As such, whether you choose temporary or permanent employees, or a combination of both, defining your company needs is the first step in successfully creating and managing an effective workforce.
 

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

White Paper: The talent shortage continues - How the ever changing role of HR can bridge the gap http://bit.ly/1xVonjD
Bureau of Labor Statistics http://stats.bls.gov/
6 Unique Ways to Build a Better Talent Pool With Social Media | The Staffing Stream http://bit.ly/1zw22uX

The answer is YES!

I can honestly say I'm not a "holiday" person.  All the hoopla and activity around national and local holidays often seem like an unnecessary use of time and resources to me...but this is changing.  I now understand the significance of holidays for my staff and clients (and me) - and as such, have become keen to celebrate along with them.   So, I use holidays as an opportunity to let my team and my clients know how much I value them, as well as use these special days of the year as an opportunity to reach my audience in a more personal, friendly way.

Holidays present businesses, especially small ones, with a variety of social, branding and commerce opportunities, which should not be ignored.  Business owners and leaders should definitely make it a regular part of their planning process to explore if it makes sense for their company and brand to show some cheer on certain holidays - and when doing so, to do it respectfully to all their customers and prospects.  Especially for bigger companies, navigating the various cultures and local festivities can be a challenge (and hence why multinationals tend not to do festive things), but with the right kind of guidance and empowerment for local staff, it is possible to pull this off with flying colors. 

Holidays present companies with two main opportunities:

1. a chance to show your staff that their personal time and balance is important to you and that you are celebrating this time with them
2. an interesting opportunity to engage your prospects and clients in a more personal way, without invading their privacy

My tips to maximize your Business' Holiday Cheer:

1. Do something nice for your team that's festive.  Whether it be giving them an afternoon off or a small bonus on your country's national holiday or during the year-end holiday cycle - take a moment to celebrate alongside your team on important national and local holidays, where possible.  This is really about building a "team" culture with your employees, and showing them that their personal time off during these holidays is important to you too.  

It's a well-researched fact that over-working your staff leads to lower productivity over time.  So, not only is giving time off (within reason) on holidays important for them, it's important for your business.  If you don't feel that you can spare one day or afternoon off for your staff (or parts of them) - you're probably operating your company beyond capacity and should invest in improved processes, efficiency enhancements or more staff.

2. Tickle your Audience with Creative Holiday-relevant Messages.  There aren't many chances were you can appropriately ping your audience with a somewhat personal message and have it be relevant.  For example "Happy Monday" vs "Happy New Year."  The first seems silly, while the second is an appropriate starting point to discuss how you would like to explore their needs in the New Year, etc.  It's a good habit to reflect on EACH holiday on your local calendar and decide if it makes sense for your business to do something.  "Something" could be to put up decorations, send out festive greetings, or add new items to your menu, etc.  Your customers and prospects are likely to be celebrating each of these holidays, so give them an opportunity to celebrate them with your company as well, at least in a small part.  
3. Show holiday Cheer in a Meaningful Way: As you'll see, Change3 has updated our usual website visuals with some festive images.  And, we've also featured this blog in our monthly newsletter to tie the holiday theme back to our core business - Digital Engagement.  The trick is to find a meaningful, credible way to connect the holiday to your business.  

For example, this year-end holiday season, a restaurant might communicate something like this: "This year, we've decided to give a little more to help our community and will be donating 1 meal for every 10 guests eating in the restaurant between now and Christmas.  We are also accepting canned goods and toys to donate to the local children's shelter.  I hope you'll stop by to make a donation and be our guest to make this holiday season that much brighter for those less fortunate than us.  Happy Holidays!"  In this example, taking the extra time to do something important in the community while reaching out to customers to get them involved will help others while helping your bottom line – not to mention make your business a nicer place to work.

4. Reflect & Encourage Your Staff and Customers to do the same.  I generally use the holidays to reflect on how my business has performed and to reach out to my customers and staff to talk about what's next, because they often use holidays in the same way.  If you make this a regular practice - you'll find that you're having more productive conversations on a regular basis, because we all know how it's easy for the year to zoom by without raising our head to see where we've traveled.  

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Should You Incorporate the Holidays into Your Marketing? http://bit.ly/12lsoSx
Perspectives on holiday marketing from a B2B executive.

Seven Holiday Marketing Mistakes To Avoid http://entm.ag/1D22u76
Strategies to boost year-end sales, from Entrepreneur magazine.

Small Business Owner's Guide to the Holiday Bonus http://bit.ly/1yKyxUT
Facts and tips about giving holidays bonuses.

Retail & Consumer: 2014 Holiday Outlook http://pwc.to/1AYZmnI
Top trends, consumer behaviors, and implications for retailers - infographic.

Survey Shows Minor Spend Can Equal Big Rewards for Small Business Owners http://bit.ly/1G8URKf

8 Little Touches to Get Your Customers in the Holiday Spirit (and Start Spending!) http://bit.ly/1z1sUAD
A few of the most cost-effective ways you can get customers in the shopping spirit.

How do your customers find you? The hospitality industry is a huge market with a wealth of competition so regardless of your specialty you need to be doing something that makes your business attractive enough to get people through the door.

Where are your customers?
Some of your customers will physically see your business, others will be referred via their networks and if you are lucky you may engage people via good media coverage. However it is, when you create an exciting digital presence you open up huge opportunities to grow your business.

Why? Because:
• 81% of consumers have searched for a restaurant on a mobile device and 75% say they often choose a restaurant to dine at based on those search results
• 65.4% of hotel bookings are made on home website and 65% of same day hotel reservations are made from a smartphone

If you are not easily found online customers will simply bypass your business – it is important to not just have a presence but one that stands out.

What makes up an exciting online presence?
The good news is that with a bit of creative thinking you can use both paid and free options to build an engaging online presence. Let’s have a look at some of the things you can do:

1. Digital front of house – your website
All digital avenues should lead back to your website so this is where you start. Make sure that it:
• Is easy to navigate to the essential sections like how to make a booking – obvious calls to actions are key;
• Has lots of gorgeous images that show people interacting and loving your services/products/venue – you want people to want to be your customer;
• Includes videos so that users can feel that they are virtually there;
• Has friendly and welcoming content – less is better. Use enticing language rather than great slabs of text that most will give up on after the first couple of sentences;
• Optimize for all devices so the person on the move can easily access critical information.

Examples: http://bit.ly/1z4dfig | http://bel50.com/

2. Social Media aficionado
Don’t make the mistake of getting onto any one of the popular social media sites and simply pushing sales. You do need to create awareness of your brands goods and services BUT make sure you create a network of loyal followers, otherwise anyone that does land on you page can easily drift away.

Try:
• Uploading interesting content that suits the platform – encourage interaction and make sure that you acknowledge comments and use them to start a longer conversation;
• Understanding your demographic and solve their problems BEFORE they mention them in relation to your particular niche;
• Creating giveaways and competitions - they are always popular and perfect for expanding your fan base.
Examples: http://on.fb.me/1CPDkYE | http://bit.ly/16Ot6tx

3. Customers are going to talk
They say that any exposure is good exposure – not true especially in the digital world where news travels fast and your business can be damaged before a customer has even left the premises.
There are two parts to the way people talk about your business:
a. They love you – people have had a great experience at your restaurant, hotel, casino and are raving online in all of the right places. Enough said this is great for business;
b. They hate you – we all make mistakes and sometimes customers don’t have the greatest time, the key thing for you is how you deal with it. They will talk online and potential customers will see negative feedback and make a decision about using your services. Answer quickly and positively and always apologize – even if you don’t think it was your fault. Remember people are watching and this can be crucial to your ongoing business success.
Example: http://bit.ly/1zGsJwv

4. Third party buy in
There is a broad range of third party sites that you can use to list your hospitality business. One of the most popular is Trip Advisor.
Listings are free for accommodation and restaurants and this is seen as the go to site for travelers when they want to find out how good you are – you may already have been reviewed there, always check in case it is bad.
Example: http://bit.ly/179jDha

Final Thoughts

What we have included here is a small selection of options available to you. Create a digital marketing strategy before you get started. If you don’t have the skills, time or personnel a specialist agency can help guide you in the right direction.
A successful digital marketing strategy must communicate your business’s brand, features and overall experience to customers using a combination of tools or an all-in-one digital marketing management platform. More importantly, regardless of which tools you choose, they must be flexible and prepare your business for the constantly change demand of digital marketing.

ChangeU: For your independent study….

Customer Preferences for Online, Social Media, and Mobile Innovations in the Hospitality Industry - http://bit.ly/1FtHJ1o
Hotel Online Reputation Research, Statistics, and Quotes - http://bit.ly/1DezJBZ
Mobile & Online Hotel Spending Soars – Is Your Digital Presence Ready? - http://bit.ly/1FtHN16
The Website Rules That Will Drive Hungry Customers To Your Restaurant - http://onforb.es/1EVdF1j

Mobile devices are being heralded as the fastest adopted technology ever and this is changing the way all businesses need to look at how they reach customers. Additionally, mobile sales are on a steep rise - eBay realized a 67% increase in mobile sales in the third quarter of 2014, which was 21% of total sales and equalled $14 billion - and unless you take steps to include mobile devices in your marketing plan, you risk losing potential opportunities.

Engage your customers ‘on the go’
According to Gartner, 2014 was the year for marketers to up their spending on mobile marketing strategies. In previous years the mobile devices market had been approached with caution because of the range of variables involved but with over 50% of Americans owning smartphones this lucrative market came sharply into focus.
You should consider targeting mobile devices because:

1. Always online: People are always connected and able to shop anywhere and at any time;
2. Allow expansion: Expand easily into new markets globally without bricks and mortar overheads;
3. Outpace competitors: Give your business a competitive edge by adopting cutting edge technology;
4. Satisfying personal experiences: Apps can include components that help you connect with customers on a personal level;
5. Increase revenue: Marketing across multiple channels and reaching people where they ‘live’ has the potential to increase your ROI.

Mobile marketing tips

1. Optimize your website – Before starting any mobile marketing campaign, make sure that your website can be viewed properly on mobile devices.
2. Solve a problem - Make it as easy as possible for customers to interact with you. Your messages need to be focused on filling a need that your customers have.
3. Use push notifications sparingly – If people are not responding to the push notifications regarding your business, don’t keep blasting them - just send more to customers that respond favorably.
4. Privacy is paramount – Always respect your customer’s privacy. They will be quick to walk away if they feel you cannot be trusted.
5. Giveaways – Give special deals and discounts to your loyal subscriber base and watch it grow as customers share with their networks.
6. Get Social – Include social media in your marketing plan to target customers where they play.
7. Apps – Develop a standalone app that simplifies interaction with your brand and fills a gap.
8. Part of the plan – Mobile is not a standalone marketing option. Make sure that you integrate it with your overall, multi-channel strategy.

Final Thoughts

Including mobile marketing as part of your growth strategy is now a must. Any business that is not easily found and interacted with via mobile devices is in danger of losing a large chunk of their business to competitors that have embraced the mobile revolution.

Examples:
10 Amazing Retail Mobile Marketing Examples http://bit.ly/1BgUo9n
6 Great Examples of Mobile Marketing Campaigns http://bit.ly/1ECNZ5T

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

5 Trends Your Marketing Team Should Budget For In 2015 http://onforb.es/1AdGXUP
Gartner Survey Reveals Digital Marketing Budgets Will Increase By 10 Percent in 2014 http://gtnr.it/1Fhx4d2
The Mobile Revolution: How Mobile Technologies Drive a Trillion-Dollar Impact http://on.bcg.com/1ECOCMR

Medical professionals might question whether or not digital marketing is something they should engage in. This decision should not be taken lightly with time and manpower being scarce; however, investing resources in intangibles like a website, blog, Facebook page, and the like can make a measurable difference in the longevity of your practice.

Digital Marketing is a necessity even for those who already have a loyal following. Maintaining the level of community presence not only allows a practice to present thought leadership, but also increases the likelihood of prospective patients coming across any number of your tactics. This type of marketing enables you to be a practice that people trust. Your practice should absolutely maintain a website and engage in multiple digital marketing strategies.

Before you write it off completely, read the tips below and learn to implement something successful your first try!

Use Your Website Resources

1. You don’t necessarily have to start from scratch. If your website is not up to date, that needs to be your first step. Patients will notice that you put the time and effort into providing them with the most recent site that continuously makes improvements to better their experience. They will connect this experience with the type of service your practice must be known for. Your finished product needs to reflect your brand, be well-organized, easily navigated, and most importantly – modern.

• Showcase the medical professionals who work in your practice. Consider staff biographies with photos and a few personal sentences.
• Include testimonials from patients who provide valuable feedback or positive reviews
• Link your social media accounts. If you are not active on these, get active!

2. Consider streamlining the process. Adding call to action buttons for the two most requested elements of your practice is a great way to create a functional site - e.g.: requesting an appointment and FAQs. See example below:

Another option to introduce a more streamlined process that is also mobile-friendly is the introduction of apps to manage things like FAQs and scheduling.

3. Consider becoming a member of a larger Healthcare interface. Two of the more widely known options are the Healthcare startup HealthTap, which started out as a Q&A site for patients to ask a medical expert questions, and ZocDoc, an appointment-setting app. These innovative apps have created opportunities for physicians and other medical professionals to create their own personal pages and upload various digital assets.

Physicians see the value of participating on these apps and networks when new patients discover their practice and make appointments.  Usually it takes one such conversion to get a doctor hooked.

Join the Conversation

After structuring your website for success, your practice needs to implement and maintain a blog. A blog allows you to keep up digital marketing consistency, while only requiring weekly posting. These thought leadership efforts can be amplified by syndicating the content with links published to social channels, like Twitter, Facebook, or Google+, and any email newsletters or alerts distributed by the practice.

• As individuals consume the Web with more specific intent, users are increasingly typing in longer phrases, questions, and search strings.  A medical practice’s blog that can anticipate and address such expected medical questions, or specific medical terms, acronyms, conditions, symptoms, or medications, is sure to get found more quickly.
• If you’re struggling with content, consider why preventative care is needed for any number of common situations, as well as the time of year and what illness or struggles people might encounter. For example, in the springtime, many suffer from allergies and a blog post about combatting them would help your community.
• The information shared in a medical practice blog is meant to be informative. The only way to keep your blog on track is to pair the right level of advice with lack of over share. Some argue that the act of blogging can diminish a patient’s desire to schedule an appointment. While that may be true in some cases, reminding readers that it is first and foremost recommended to schedule a visit to the practice if there are concerns can alleviate this affect. 

Distributing Content: Go Where Patients Are

Content distribution should always begin with social media. It is important to allocate which mediums you will be using and maintain consistency. There are apps that can assist you in this process, especially with the lack of downtime that those who work in your practice have.

• Hootsuite is an app that allows you to manage all of your social networks, schedule messages, engage your audiences, and measure ROI directly from the app.
• Another helpful tool for multi-site posting is Tweetdeck. This approach is extremely helpful when pressed for time or juggling multiple job duties at one time. The only thing to be aware of is that you will still want to post individually to each of your social media sites from time to time in order to maintain interest among clients or business affiliates who may be following you on all mediums.

Each social media site is unique in the approach to connecting you with your patients.

• On Facebook, you can ask for a response to a certain post or question. Facebook also offers what they call sponsored ads, where you can promote certain posts and reach a larger audience and gain exposure. This is a fairly inexpensive tactic that has yielded results.
• Twitter allows for an easy way to boost promotions, as long as you are doing your part in maintaining followers. Instagram can showcase your facility and your staff in an everyday, relatable environment.
• In addition to traditional social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, LinkedIn is emerging as one of the best ways to distribute content marketing. Utilize LinkedIn for blog posts, as well as showcasing new and exciting business news. You will spread your outreach and interact with your community on a business and personal level. 

Patient Marketing

While this might sound like a complicated strategy to implement, it really isn’t. It all begins with a core value that your practice might already hold: Treat your patients right.

Since patients have a choice where they bestow their business, you must make sure you are providing a respectable experience; otherwise, all the marketing you do will not matter if your patients don’t feel valued. 

! Follow up on visits with phone calls, mail outs, or offer in-house survey feedback. You could even pair any one of these with an incentive.

Lastly, a surefire way to distribute content to patients and community is to create an email newsletter. Always remember to be concise and clients will appreciate the updates without having to put too much effort into reading through them.

Final Thought: A medical practice should have a digital presence for many reasons, perhaps starting as a page on an existing healthcare social network and eventually building to a robust, standalone presence.  The key is to present compelling thought leadership and engage in proper search engine marketing.  This is what separates one expert from another online, and in the competitive medical industry, and a highly regarded blog can make all the difference. Getting found based on insights and expertise will serve the medical practice well.
 

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Healthcare Social Networks:  New Choices for Doctors, Patients http://ubm.io/1GkeHU3
A review of social networks for the medical community.

Social Media on HHS.gov http://1.usa.gov/1GkeQXq
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ guidelines on social media usage.

3 Keys to Digital Marketing in Healthcare http://bit.ly/1GkeSih
Digital marketing insights from marketing software provider Hubspot.