US Chamber Advice for Small Businesses This Holiday Season
A new report from Intuit Quickbooks shows a unique opportunity for small businesses during Small Business Season. Based on survey results from 5,500 consumers and 1,500 businesses, consumers are planning to spend “over 40% of their holiday shopping budget at small businesses” — an estimated total of $88 billion! Because of this, the US Chamber suggests, “it’s the perfect time for small businesses to lean heavily into their holiday marketing campaigns and possibly even launch a new product in time for the
Christina Metcalf
Is It Time to Join Forces with Another Business?
As a child of the 80s, I remember the excitement when the Wonder Twins would join forces and utter those magical words “Wonder Twin powers activate!” Sure, there were often comical results but both characters used their strengths to save the day. The same is happening with business these days. We’re seeing a lot of it among big brands, unlikely partnerships to sell additional products or services. Some of them are umbrella situations where the companies are owned by the same parent organization, but others
Christina Metcalf
What’s Your Biggest Marketing Challenge?
When a business operator finally decides they need someone focused on their marketing, and they resolve to hire for the position, it usually goes something like this: “This position will be in charge of posting to our social media channels.” But if that’s all you’re doing, you can put that in the hands of the nearest thirteen-year-old. If you’re contemplating stepping up your business marketing, you need more than a scheduler. You need someone who understands the different kinds of marketing, your audience,
Christina Metcalf
5 Ways to Level Up Your Small Business Marketing (and yes, it’s time)
Christina Metcalf
6 Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out During a Local Event
Does your town host a Wine Walk, Holiday Stroll, First Friday, or other downtown event where they close off streets and encourage people to get out and support business? If so, you may know that those events often bring the crowds but also bring “tire kickers,” people who are just out for a stroll, not really interested in what you sell. They’re just going into each business, poking around, and usually leaving empty handed. The hard part of that is that you likely brought in full staff to ensure you had
Christina R. Metcalf
20 Ways to Celebrate National Holidays
All in, there are almost 2000 national days and holidays in the US. In May, for example there are days celebrating: orange juice, truffles, nurses, shrimp, wine, walnuts, hamburgers, paper airplanes, paperclips, and more! If you’re like me, you may find them hard to keep up with, but they can be a great source of engagement for your business. You just have to know how to use them for maximum return and get a little creative. Celebrating these days serves to connect your audience with your business so make
Christina R. Metcalf and Nick Sharps
36 Creative Ways to Bring More Attention to Your Business
Do you need more attention? Do you feel like your business isn’t top of mind in your community? People won’t buy from you if they don’t think of you. While the easiest way to increase sales is to upsell existing/current customers, the second-best way is increased exposure. These days—to stand out—you need to get creative. Here are a few ideas to help get your business the attention it deserves without breaking your budget.
Christina R. Metcalf
20 Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day
March 8, 2022, is International Women’s Day when the world celebrates the many contributions of women everywhere. If you’re not sure how to celebrate, we have some ideas for you and your business. For the ideas in this article, think across multiple mediums to add content on your blog, in videos, reels, podcast episode, audio quotes, social media posts, etc. The same content can be repurposed in different formats to ensure everyone can find their favorite way to enjoy it.
Christina R. Metcalf
TikTok Basics for Business
Are you on TikTok? Maybe you’re just figuring out video and livestreaming and you have written off TikTok as a site for kids. While you aren’t wrong about that (32.5% of users are between 10 and 19, while 41 percent of TikTok users are between 16 and 24 years old), the TikTok adult audience has grown at a rate of about 5.5 times in just 18 months. The app now boasts 1 billion active users. TikTok videos are becoming a way to pass time for many people and the average user spends about 52 minutes per day on
Christina R. Metcalf
Engagement = Content: Good for You and Your Audience
Whether you are a business or a nonprofit, operating in the public sector or the private one, serving businesses and organizations or serving individuals, established in your sector or just starting out, running an empire or “lone wolfing” it, your audience wants to get to know you better. In fact, they expect it. So, what does that look like and how does that benefit you?
Christina R. Metcalf
