Creating a solid and consistent brand presence in the dynamic business world is crucial for success. One indispensable tool that aids in achieving this consistency is a well-crafted style guide. This document serves as a compass, guiding small business owners through the intricate landscape of graphic design and branding. In this blog post, we will delve into the essential elements of a style guide and explore how it can become the cornerstone of your brand's identity. Defining a Style Guide: A style guide is a comprehensive document that outlines the logo, colors and fonts of a brand. It is a ...

Do you have a solid marketing foundation in place for your small business? If not, no worries, we understand. As small business owners ourselves, we know what it’s like to wear many hats. From CEO, managing the marketing department to customer service and fieldwork, it can be tough to focus on growing your business while keeping everything organized and running smoothly. That’s why it’s crucial to have a strong marketing foundation in place. But what does a robust foundation entail? Here are our nine must haves to building a robust marketing foundation for your small business. First What is a ...

All small business owners know what differentiates them from their competitors, but they often don’t communicate it to their potential customers in a way that the customer can understand.  By creating a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), you can bridge that disconnect and begin the journey of building a solid brand. What is a USP? Your unique selling proposition explains and highlights to your ideal customers what makes you different from other businesses like yours, and how you solve your customers' problem. Why is it important to have a USP? A clearly defined USP is a handy marketing tool to help ...

A logo is a visual representation of your business’s personality (and yes, your business has a personality!) It is often that very first important impression someone gets of your business. You wouldn't go to work in the morning without thought to how you were dressed, would you? You take great care with your clothing, hair, and cleanliness. You want to do the same for your business. But how do you know you're doing it right? Your logo needs to represent your business's ethos, (the spirit behind your company), the way your clothing, cleanliness, and hairstyle reflect your own personality and ...

As a small business owner, it can be incredibly frustrating trying to gain exposure for your business when you have a very small or nonexistent marketing budget and no idea where to start. Luckily, there’s a ton of free information on the internet these days. The only problem is sifting through it. We’ve saved you hours of surfing the web and compiled the top 4 online marketing strategies you can use to begin marketing and building awareness of your small business for free. Before we go over marketing strategies, we want to make you aware of these few essential steps ...

Having a tough time getting your small business social content in front of your target audience? Businesses both large and small have seen a decline in their organic engagement due to Facebook’s algorithm updates to the newsfeed. To overcome the decline in organic engagement and prevent your brand’s posts from seeing a decrease in reach, your content needs to increase share ability by generating more comments and likes (engagement) without resorting to tactics like engagement baiting. This may seem confusing and hard to do, but it’s certainly achievable. Understanding the Basics of Social Media Algorithms The first step in using ...

The aim of all informational blog posts is to provide the most helpful answer to a searcher’s question in the simplest way possible. Writing informational posts like these builds trust between you and your potential client. When you’re helpful to your ideal customer and they see you as an established expert in your field, they’ll turn to you first when they need your product or service. Here are some helpful tips and guidelines for writing blog posts that will keep you at the forefront of your customers’ minds. Know your audience Know your customer’s passions, pain points, things that frustrate ...

Negative reviews can be crippling to a small business, especially if you're in the beginning stages of business. However, they can actually be a great public relations opportunity if handled right. By responding correctly, you can turn the situation around, win back your customer, and simultaneously win over future potential customers. Dealing with bad reviews doesn't have to be hard, and if you follow these guidelines – you'll find it quite simple. Why Respond to Negative Reviews? Every single review should be replied to, whether it's positive or negative. It turns out that taking the high road and simply ignoring ...

Have you ever wondered how major brands like Coca Cola and Whole Foods started out, and what they had to do to get themselves where they are today? Every solid brand has started right where you are now. One of the cornerstones that got them where they are today is their mission statement. Every company needs one, yet so many businesses either put it off because they have no idea where to start, or they make the mistake of misusing it. What is a mission statement, and why do you need it? Your mission statement is essentially a brief description ...

So you’ve opened a business, sales are steady, and you want to take it to the next level. Where do you start? This can be one of the most difficult hurdles in your journey as an entrepreneur. We get it - we’ve been through it ourselves, having cut our teeth owning an online clothing and gear store. Luckily for you, we’ve also discovered a way to find clarity and foster growth while at this stage. Here’s an important line to remember: people will only buy from you if they know, like, and trust you. So how do you get there? ...

While we’ve got a lot of sharp marketing strategies up our sleeves, we’ve also got a list of “unsharp” strategies that we studiously avoid. One of the top unsharp strategies on our list is comment baiting (or any other kind of engagement baiting) on social media. What is Engagement Bait? According to Facebook, engagement bait is “a tactic to create Facebook posts that goad people into interacting through likes, shares, comments, and other actions – in order to artificially boost engagement and get greater reach on News Feed.” Facebook and Instagram’s latest algorithms are cracking down on posts like these, and if ...

Inc.com reports that 84% of people trust online reviews just as they would a personal recommendation from a friend1. That's a staggering percentage, and one that clearly indicates that online reviews are important to the success of your business. It's not wise to leave them to chance with the hope that people will give take time from their busy day to praise you online–simply out of the goodness of their hearts. Sure many people are quick to take grab their digital megaphone and sound off when something isn't right, but that just makes it even more importnat that you have ...

Recently, a friend of ours who owns a business received an email in their inbox that quite rudely interrupted the lovely morning they were having. The email was sent by the attorney of a stock photo company and stated that our friend (we’ll call him Tom) had an image on his website that was owned by the stock photo company, and the stock photo company couldn't find Tom's license to use it. As a result, the stock photo company required that Tom send them proof that he had a license for use of that photo. If he couldn't show that ...

Starting a Facebook Business Page for a brand new business or venture can be challenging. Not sure where to start? We’ve compiled the essential things you need to know to set your Page up for success. Here are a few simple tips to get you started: TIP: Optimize your Facebook page so that it looks smooth and professional before you start promoting it. In a nutshell, here are the important things to check off your list: Visually appealing cover sized photo - ideal size is 851 x 351 pixels. Your logo as your profile photo - ideal size is 360 ...

To grow a Facebook audience from scratch without paying any advertising can be tricky. However, it can definitely be done! Once you’ve set up your Business page properly (see 5 Essential Tips to Start a Facebook Page from Scratch), the next step is to put a bit of effort into creating great content.  Here are some simple tips to set you up for success and great organic growth: The best way to grow your page without paying for advertising is to post relevant content that your audience will relate to, and to post it on a regular schedule. You can ...

The process of creating or revamping your website can seem a daunting task. It's a tall order to design a website that's not only clean, modern, and organized - but functional and effective as well. Every time our team designs a new website or updates an existing one, there are 4 important things that if we succeed in getting right - we know we did a good job. Of course there's a lot more that goes into website design, but if you get these 4 points right, you'll be well on your way to having a great website. 1. A ...

At first glance, the business world of social media can seem like a confusing myriad of platforms, engagement, and analytics. Many business owners delay establishing their brand presence on social media because either the effort doesn’t appear to convert to an immediate visible return, or they feel they don’t have the time. Does this sound like you? While social media may seem less important than everything else on your plate, it’s the perfect place to build brand awareness, connect with your customers on a personal level, establish authority in your field, improve search ranking, and improve sales as a result ...