Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Now’s the time to refresh your website

Now the weather is changing and we’re moving out of the gloom and cold of the winter season, we can feel the returning spring in our step and the sense of renewal that this new season brings. For most people it has us starting to refresh, renew and reset in many areas of our lives and spring cleaning is a right of passage at this time of year. An area that is often overlooked though (for several reasons) is your business website. What can you do to remove the stale and encourage the sale? You can take some time and refresh in a few of the areas shown here.

Start with a review: When was the last time you updated your website? It’s not a bad idea to refresh a couple of times a year to keep your content current and to keep things fresh. Take a walk through your site as a visitor, or a potential client. Is it easy to find the information you want to highlight? Does the content support your directive and speak to your ideal client’s pain points? With some focus here, you can improve the visitor experience, and that can really help.

Refresh your colour palette: If you have a branded colour palette have you been using it? You can freshen up the how visitors feel about your content by selecting images and photos that reflect your colour palette, when you update font colours for your headings, quotes, and pull-out text you can get a huge bang for your buck. Is it worth it? Yes. A simple change in this area can work wonders and give you a brand-new vibe within your chosen palette.

How’s your blog? If you’ve been a little lax about your blogging lately there’s great value in getting back in the swing. Your clients and potential clients can learn so much from what you have to offer, and blogging is a way to share that knowledge as you spread your word. As an entrepreneur or small business owner you will get love from search engines such as Google, Bing and others because they love fresh content. Remember, growing your blog doesn’t have to be about writing. There are different options to creating content for your blog – think video blogging, audio (podcasting), or having guest writers provide content for your blog.

Add a survey: You can encourage your visitors to interact with your site and you can learn from them at the same time! Choose a topic of interest and use one of the many survey tools out there to learn more. Looking for an easy to use survey tool? Consider Type Form for an elegant solution. There’s lots of options out there from the plain (Google forms) to the complicated and expensive. You can find a solution to meet your needs.

Set objectives for your website: Create your key objectives for your site, then work to meet them. For many website owners an important objective is to build your subscriber list. Make it easy to find and use your opt-in boxes by placing them strategically and make it valuable to the visitor to trade their email address for what you have to offer.

Ready for video (or audio)? Using either of these items on your website can make it so much more interesting, particularly in these days of mobile devices and short attention spans. It’s becoming easier and more affordable to use either or both options. You can do something as simple as adding a Facebook Live video to your website or add an audio file to your about page for better effect.

There are so many options you can bring to your website that can help clear the cobwebs and breathe fresh air into your content and your visitor experience and it doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming as these examples demonstrate. If you haven’t refreshed your website in the last year, where will you start to bring it into the same realm as your business strategy right now? Pick as least two things to refresh because it will make a difference to you and your visitors, and now is a great time to start!

 

Barbara Jemmott is the founder and business strategist at Your Entrepreneurial Spirit. Her 4-point YES to Customer Acquisition Program (C.A.P.) allows her to work her passion which is helping entrepreneurial women grow their audiences and income, online. She got here through her 20+ years of experience helping businesses understand and implement systems, strategies and procedures to increase productivity as well implement change and streamline operations. With experience and responsibilities to design, develop and deliver training for small to large technology training initiatives for Fortune 100 companies, she brings “Big Business” expertise to the small business space. Learn more about Your Entrepreneurial Spirit and the YES to Customer Acquisition Program at www.yourentrepreneurialspirit.com

 

Bridge Building 101

Sheralyn

Using bridges as an analogy for great communication is a pretty common theme for me and I believe it’s a message that occasionally bears repeating. Great communication is about building bridges between people.  Like a bridge that facilitates transportation between two geographical points, a communications bridge acts as your platform to transmit information. It requires a solid foundation, pillars of support and the actual bridge span that connects the two. The definition of communication is this: “The development of skills in three critical areas: Listening, Language and Writing.” Think of these three skills as your pillars, foundation and bridge span. Communication is about sending a message and ensuring that message is both received AND understood. When communication fails, it’s because the bridge was left unfinished or because it crumbled, not having been built on a solid enough foundation.

The bridge could be your website, a blog, a video about your business, perhaps it’s a sales call to discuss your product or it takes place while you’re conducting a seminar in front of an audience. Whatever your “bridge” it is based on the premise of creating a two-way flow of information. (It’s important to note however, even a one – lane bridge allows traffic to flow in both directions, we just have to take turns! Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we did?)

Here are a few simple tips on how to build a better bridge to your customers:

  • Keep your communication clear and concise. State your position (just the facts) using language that is precise and carefully chosen.
  • Avoid over reliance on industry specific jargon – not every one “gets” it.
  • Avoid excessive and unnecessary elaboration. Say more, with less.
  • Ensure understanding by soliciting feedback.
  • Encourage two-way dialogue by asking questions.
  • When creating content for your website follow the techniques we have blogged about before: Treat web content like it was a Resume and answer the basic “Who, What, Where, Why and How questions.
  • If you have a contact button on your website – RESPOND when people use it! Encourage the conversation. If you put a tollgate on your bridge, make sure it’s staffed otherwise no one is getting across and not answering a customer query means a lost business opportunity.

 

If communication is further defined as the ability to “express or exchange information” what else can you do in your business to ensure that exchange takes place? I would argue that listening is the single most important pillar of the communications bridge. In any relationship, business or personal, listening to the other person helps them to feel valued, that their opinion matters or that there concern has been addressed. By listening, I am referring to “listening to hear,” (to understand) not “listening to respond” (planning your comeback.) Listen to what your customer is asking for rather than trying to sell what you think he needs.

Just like a poorly built bridge, the stakes are high and the consequences long term.  Perhaps you read about the recent collapse of the Nipigon River Bridge, severing the Trans-Canada Highway, the only road linking Eastern and Western Canada. It’s not only an enormous and costly mistake for the bridge builders but has long term consequences for any business attempting to transport goods and services to its customers along this corridor. Similarly, what are some of the consequences of poor communications for your business?

  • Misunderstandings
  • Lost business opportunities
  • Angry employees or customers
  • Poor sales
  • Potential legal ramifications
  • Long-term damage to your reputation

You may have heard the old saying; “If it’s worth saying, say it right the first time!” or my personal motto “Say only what matters because it matters what you say!” Either promotes the same message – good communication needs a solid base to “bridge” the gap between your customer and your business, between fostering good relationships and repairing bad. Communications is a bridge that runs both ways and if it doesn’t, it leads to nowhere.

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead

selfy photo

I recently attended a meetup at Ryerson University, in their Transmedia Zone.  It was a fantastic evening of discussion and debate about content, media, and how the platforms we are using to communicate – social media, Youtube, The Internet itself – are changing our ideas around production and consumption of content, and even ownership of media.

One idea that came up was the idea that media, or content (we were primarily discussing video but it could as easily have been a discussion of any kind of media), is no longer something that we just consume.  It is something that we produce and in fact, it is a way we communicate as much as anything else.

We express our identities, our thoughts, and our ideas in media, as media.  We speak “video”.  And for those who don’t create their own, from scratch, we share what others have produced, as a kind of shorthand for what we want to say.  When I share a captioned photo on Facebook, or content created by a brand like Coke or Red Bull, I am speaking volumes about who I am, what “tribe” I belong to.

Where does content marketing fit in?

I stared to think about what role content marketing plays in this content-sharing-as-communication ecosystem, and why it is so important for business.  To define what I mean by content marketing, have a read of this article, or download a handy infographic here.  Content Marketing is a system in which a business uses content, not advertising, to generate and nurture leads for their business, build trust with their customers, and get found online.

I encounter an objection again and again when I work with clients who are-shall we say-not digital natives, when we get around to a content marketing discussion.  The objection goes something like this: “I am a private person; I don’t want to put myself out there in social media, or by blogging…I’m sure no one wants to hear what I had for lunch.  Plus, I am not willing to give away all my secrets in a blog!  If people want to get my help, they’ll have to hire me!”

That is kind of like moving to France and refusing to speak French.   Digital Media is communication tool, and content is a language that, as a business, you can’t NOT speak.  The best way to get your brand out there is to use media – video, photography, blogging, graphics – to communicate with your customers, and in fact to use media that they will want to share.  To use what Henry Jenkins calls “spreadable media”.

Henry Jenkins: Spreadable Media

This video, titled Spreadable content makes the consumer king, is an episode from Pull: How Technology is Changing the Conversation.  IT was produced by TVO and Q Media and it is taken from  a discussion I had with Jenkins in 2013.

Spreadable media is the best reason I can think of to generate content marketing for your business.  It is how you leverage your existing customers and followers as marketers, giving them the media they need to spread your message for you.

Jenkins also speaks in this interview about the new digital divide, that he calls the participation gap.  He talks about kids in schools who may not have access to skills and opportunities, but it just as effectively applies to business people who don’t have the skills, the training or worse, the willingness to participate in this new language of identity and brands, the language of content.

As Jenkins says: if it doesn’t spread, its dead.  Creating high value, sharable content that your customers can use is the best way to close that participation gap.

Christine McGlade is a Business Analyst, Content Strategist, and Usability Consultant.  With over 25 years experience in the media business, Christine helps small business, social enterprise, and Not for Profits how to leverage the power of the Internet to grow their business.  Learn more about Christine at analyticalengine.ca

How To Push Past Difficult Situations

yvonne

How do you push past difficult situations in your job, business, or life? Are you trying start or grow your business with no luck? In this video, I’ll share with you my tips on what you need to do if you are going through challenges in your business, career, or life even if you have been putting in the effort.

 

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Speaker & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc .www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

Buying A New Computer?

Laura Bungarz

So it’s time for a new computer is it? That can be a very challenging experience. What’s the difference between the $399 model and the $799 model? Why should I buy this one and not that one? What was the sales guy talking about?  Lots of questions, lots of decisions. But I’m here to help. Here are some simple questions to ask yourself that will narrow down your decision.

1. What am I going to use it for?
Internet? Email? Videos? Music? Just word processing? Games? The more media types you use (videos, music, games) the more power you’re going to need. Generally the low end models of computers aren’t designed to run online games and store your top 500 favourite movies of all time. They also aren’t meant to stream large quantities of video. Don’t get me wrong, they will do one here and there but it probably won’t have enough power for a movie buff.

2. What’s my budget?
$400 or $1500? There’s a big difference in price and features between a $400 computer on sale at your local computer shop machine and the $1500 top of the line model that does everything but the dishes. You can narrow the list down considerably just by deciding how much to spend.

3. How much do I need to spend to get what I want?
The gap between what you need to spend to get what you want and what you actually have to spend may be wide.  Think about what you can live with for now and what you really have to have.  Many computers, particularly desktop computers, are upgradeable.  You can buy more parts as the budget allows for it.  Things like video cards, sound cards, RAM and storage are easy to add after the fact.  Look for a computer that gives you the room to grow that you need but that still fits within your budget.

4. Laptop or Desktop?
Laptops and desktops these days are mostly equal in terms of power. Technology has advanced enough now that we can squish all of that power into a machine that’s rather small.
There are lots of pros and cons between laptops and desktops, but speed and power aren’t on that list anymore. Decide whether or not you might need to be portable and go from there.
Portability doesn’t always affect the price either. It depends on what brand you choose and how much power you actually need.
Within that you also need to decide how much room to grow you want to have. Laptops don’t allow for the same amount of part changing that desktops provide. Is this something you intend to trade up in the next couple of years or do you want to keep this machine for a while and would like to be able to add a bigger hard drive, a new video card or increase the memory?
Laptops also tend to be disposable.  Once they break they are done.  They aren’t easily fixed and are often more expensive to fix if you decide to go this route.  This is an important consideration for those that may want to keep their computer for more than a couple of years.

5. What did the sales guy mean when he said…?
Yep, computer sales people can be worse than car salesmen at using all that fancy terminology to talk you into buying something you don’t really need.  Here are the big things to think about.

  1. 1.    RAM (Memory):  Get at least 4 GB if not more.  That’s standard these days and it will last you a while.  Extra is cheap to buy and install.  Don’t get talked into a more powerful computer when you can buy a stick of RAM for $40.
  2. 2.    Hard Drive space:  If you’re like me a 500 GB hard drive is impossible to fill, but for some of you that take a lot of pictures or download music or videos, you’ll eat through a 500 GB hard drive in no time.  If the computer with the bigger hard drive is too expensive, think about external storage.  External hard drives are under $150 now.  It’s definitely cheaper than upgrading the computer solely for the space.
  3. 3.    Video and Sound:  Onboard video and sound (as it’s called), is just video and sound that is built into the motherboard.  It’s good, basic quality video and sound for not a lot of money.  If you want amazing graphics or professional quality sound, spend the extra money to buy yourself a video card or sound card.  The computer tech at your local shop can install it for you.
    Laptop users remember that you probably can’t add a sound or video card to your computer.  You have to get a laptop with that already in place.  You can upgrade hard drives and RAM however.

There you go.  Whether it’s a Christmas present for someone you love or a new computer for business, there are lots of things to think about when buying a new computer.

I am Laura Bungarz, owner of Laura Bungarz Computer Training which I started in January of 2012.  I am a certified teacher and English as an Additional Language instructor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  I specialize in helping women small business owners who are terrified of technology but know they need to learn.  Teaching, computers and helping people are my three favourite things to do and I get to combine them every day in my business helping other women succeed in their businesses.

Contact Laura:
Laura Bungarz Computer Training
212-207 Fort Street
Winnipeg, MB R3C 1E2
Laura@Laurabungarz.ca
www.LauraBungarz.ca

Stay Social with Canadian Small Business Women: