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3 reasons why you need a professional headshot

Why you need a professional headshot

  1. A selfie is not professional enough
  2. You need to look the part
  3. It is good for your small business
  4. Easier for publicity efforts
  5. Portrays who you are

In the era of selfies, we can be tempted to think that we can just use one for our small business website. But even the best selfie won’t compare to a proper photo. Here are three reasons why small businesses need a professional headshot.

Makes you look more professional

Your online presence is the first thing your potential customers will see when they search for your small business. Your About page will show the faces of you and your team. If you invest in a professional photo, your business will come across as more legitimate. That you’re in it for the long haul. A sharp, well-lit photo of you on your site also gives confidence to your site’s visitors, compared to a blurry selfie taken with little light.

professional headshotEasier for publicity/media

The aim for all small businesses is to get noticed – be it by potential customers or the media. Free publicity is good publicity. You want to make it easy for the media to have a good photo of you to go along with the story. A professional headshot can also be used for your marketing materials or social media profiles. It gives all your channels cohesion when you use a good professional shot for all of them.

Shows who you are

When we talk about professional headshots, it doesn’t mean you need to be in a studio. It depends on what your business is about. You have to think of your brand and what kind of service you provide. If you want something less corporate with more warmth, you can do the shoot outdoors. There are different types of headshots that convey different things. Have a think about what you want to portray and tell your photographer. It’s worth brainstorming.

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Why your small business needs to be on Facebook

Why your small business needs to be on Facebook

  1. Facebook is still King
  2. It reaches billions worldwide
  3. It has highly targeted advertising
  4. Facebook has community-focused features
  5. It is not super expensive to advertise
  6. Facebook has Events feature you can use

There are many reasons why your small business needs to be on Facebook.

For one, as of the third quarter of 2018, Facebook had 2.27 billion monthly active users. But you’re only a small business, you don’t need that many people, surely.

That’s true, you don’t have to reach all of them. Still, there are many benefits to having a Facebook presence.

Facebook is King

If you’re not into social media or find it too confusing, that’s understandable. But if you’re going to do just one social media profile, it is best for it to be Facebook. Your small business needs a community around you because these days, it is so much more than just selling your product/service. You can build your community using Facebook. Your audience is in there, and your competitors are as well. Having no Facebook page means you don’t have the same advantages as your competitor. Customers these days go to Facebook pages before the website. You need to be in there too.

Why your small business needs to be on FacebookIt has highly targeted advertising

Because of the number of people using Facebook, you can target your advertising. How targeted exactly? Well, down to the last detail. You can look for a specific age, sex, location, hobby, favourite movie and more. Plus, it is affordable. You can specify your budget (even $7 a day) and how long the ad is going to run, so that you’re not spending too much money on the ad. Because it is affordable, you can play around with ads so you know which ones work well and which ones don’t.

It has “community-focused” features

Facebook has features that other social media channels don’t have. It is immediate, and puts your products/services directly in front of your customers. Features like Events allow you to organise your business’s events and share it with your audience. Then there’s Facebook Live, which is a great tool to share updates in a fun way. You can interact with your customers directly and create a discussion on your page. Sharing about your small business using Facebook will show a human side to your establishment.

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Be the subject matter expert

Be the subject matter expert

Small business owners are the best subject matter experts. You don’t believe us? Keep reading below as to why we think so.

Running your own small business isn’t a small feat. There are learning curves so steep it sometimes seem insurmountable. But you figure it out, and you use your skills to run your business.

In the process of doing so, you learn a thing or two on top of the things you already know. The knowledge you have makes you an expert. Here are some steps to help you figure out what you’re an expert of.

What have you learned?

Think about the business you’re running. The fact that you have a business means there is a skill there that you can talk about. Now add to that the things you learned while researching how to set up your own business. That’s another thing you can talk about with authority. No one else went through that same exact journey as you. But what you went through will help others who are thinking of doing the same thing as you.

Be the subject matter expertWhat were your mistakes?

Yes, your mistakes. You can either be embarrassed by it or you can use it to your advantage. With every mistake comes a lesson learned. Your issues with permits, financial advise, picking a location, so on and so forth are great experiences that can become even better subject matters. You’d be amazed just how much information you know that are important to other businesses or aspiring business owners. How did you solve the problems? What could you have done better? Think about all the hardships you’ve gone through and the lessons you learned along the way.

What were your questions?

Think of all the questions you asked before you set up your business. The answers you accumulated over time through your own research and personal experiences are great resources for others. Write them down and think of what you went through to figure out the answers. Did anyone help you? Did you seek professional advice? Were there free events you went to that helped you? Share the external resources you have learned over time.

 

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Why your small business needs a blog

If you are a small business owner you might have wondered why your business needs a blog. What is a blog anyway? A blog can be part of your website that’s written in an informal tone, aimed to give you more credibility while providing free helpful information to your readers and customers at the same time. In this post, we will discuss why your small business blog will help you.

A blog gives you street cred

You know that you know what you’re doing but aside from family and friends, others might not know that. Writing blog posts on topics related to your business will show to your customers (and potential customers) that you know what you are talking about. You are the expert of your business. That expertise will show when you share knowledge that others find helpful. You might think you have very little to share or talk about but if you sat down and thought about it, you’ll find that there’s more than you initially thought.

small business blogIt helps people find your site

A well written, helpful and SEO-healthy blog post is a big boost for your website’s online presence. Without making it too complicated, it basically means when people Google certain topics ones that you’ve written about on your blog will pop up on the search. But you need to make sure that your blog posts are SEO healthy. Stuff like featured image, internal and external links as well as keywords will help boost your online presence.

A blog helps convert readers into customers

Your blog posts will show readers you know your business and your products/services inside and out. This gives them confidence that you are there for the long haul. It also shows them that you can help them with whatever it is that they need because you have the capability to do it. The confidence they have on you will convert them into new customers. Once they become customers, and they love you, they will then share your site and blog posts on their social media sites, bringing new readers to your website. It’s an evergreen process.

If you need ideas for blog topics, try Googling ‘blog ideas generator’ – there are plenty of sites out there that can help you.

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3 Ways to start building your community

Ways to start building your community

  1. Know your people
  2. Focus on your audience
  3. Be a good source of info
  4. Respond to their inquiries online
  5. Participate in your local community

Building a community around your small business will not only attract new customers but also encourage long-time followers to your brand. There is something to be said about wanting a community, especially when the biggest of brands are doing it too.

The hard part, however, is starting. Here are three ways to help you start building your community today.

Know your people

No one else knows your business and what you can provide more than you. Have a think about what you stand for, what your business stands for and what kind of people you want to attract. Having a specific focus of audience will help you reach them more, instead of trying to reach too wide and ending up with the wrong type of followers. It is worth having a sit down with someone you can bounce ideas with to narrow down that target audience.

building your communityMake it worth their while

You are an expert in your small business, and because of this you are a great source of information for your area of expertise. Share this knowledge with your community via your blog and social media sites. Engage with your customers online or offline and make sure you respond to their queries in a reasonable timeframe. Reward your followers by giving them up-to-date information on your latest events, giveaways and promos. This will encourage them to share with their friends and invite more people into your brand.

Participate in your local community

Your small business belongs in a community so it’s good to be visible when it matters. Sponsor a sports team in your area, or maybe your local school fete. Have a booth when there’s an event, or reach out to your local council to see if you can be a resource speaker about a topic that would help other people. Investing in some community goodwill is always good. Your brand will be associated with the spirit of community, which will encourage long-term supporters of your business.