Owning Your On Line Presence

The big social media platforms are always changing, searching for new ways to gain users, keep engagement up and make money. Yesterday, Google+ announced new leadership and the reorganization of some of the features. Within the last year, Facebook has changed the way business pages are able to reach followers, drastically dropping organic reach. Twitter is working on implementing more advertising and native video. And the list of changes goes on and is happening on every single social media platform.

With the adoption of social media as a 'required' marketing element for business, one important reality is often overlooked...that every single one of the platforms is owned by someone else. As a user of any of those platforms, you have absolutely no control over what they decide to change, how they decide to present your information and when they will require paid inclusion. While I don't underestimate the value social media can provide right now, I don't think it's a good idea to have your on line efforts solely focused there. The best questions you can ask yourself are,

"What if (social-media-platform-of-choice) disappeared today?  

                 Would I still have an effective on line presence for my business tomorrow?"

The very best approach to social media is to use it as a supplemental tool, not as the end-all-be-all of your on line presence. It is time for you to own your on line presence and not leave it in the hands of others. So how do you accomplish that?  Develop and maintain a good website.

Now more than ever, your website needs to be the hub of information, content, calls to action and marketing efforts. With your website, YOU are in control of your company message, brand identity and business information, both how it is presented and the way it reaches your target audience. Investing in the development of your site is a long-term strategy that allows you to utilize short-term tools to boost effectiveness. (Read my blog post, "Is Your Business Internet Presence A Well-Oiled Machine?" to see how social media fits to an effective on line presence equation.)

So in the end, make the effort to develop your website - it is truly the element of your on line presence that will stand the test of time.

3 Simple Ideas To Create Effective Business Goals

Whether it's the beginning of a new year or you're starting a new business venture, goals are an important aspect of planning and strategic thinking. However, many small business owners struggle with the concept - because it's either viewed as a waste of time or they just don't know where to start. But setting goals is a key element of success. Earl Nightingale said it best, "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going...It's as simple as that." Use the following ideas as a road map to begin creating goals that help your small business succeed:

1. Make goals achievable yet challenging
   It doesn't do any good to set targets that are truly unrealistic. If your goal is to have $1 million in sales this year and you only had sales of $25,000 last year, there is not much validity in your target. Be honest and thoughtful when creating the expectations. Feel free to use industry standards or comparisons for ideas but keep in mind the goals you set will be unique to your business and circumstances.
   
   Also, consider realistic time frames for making things happen. As a small business, take into consideration your time, abilities, strengths and current project load when setting targets. For example, if you know the first quarter is usually busy, don't make all of your goals focus on things that need to happen in February. Common sense goes a long way in creating achievable business goals!


2. Use specific benchmarks
   A vague goal of "increase sales" or "grow the business" isn't much of an aspiration without specifics. A simple $1 increase in sales is an increase. But is that really what you meant? And for business growth, does that mean by number of employees, a larger physical location, or any other number of achievements that would fit the circumstance?
   
   To develop goals worth striving for, make measurable, calculated determinations of what you want to accomplish.  For example, if your goal is, "Increase sales to $250,000," it is now measurable and tangible. Partner that with realistic due dates or time lines and you have a goal that can motivate as well as hold you accountable.


3. Plan and act
   For every goal you develop that is a realistic challenge and has some specifics behind it, you need a list of actions to make it happen. Goals don't just magically fulfill themselves. For example, I can't decide to run a marathon in 6 months, register and get to the starting line with the expectation of finishing if I did not train. Finishing a 26.2 mile race requires a training plan as well as the resolution to follow through with the plan.
   
   In business, that 'training' looks like a list of tasks for each goal that will bring about the desired objective. Using the example goal of increasing sales to $250,000, we may decide the following things need to happen : 1) hire one salesperson by March 31; 2) outsource accounting functions by February 15; 3) update website content by July 31. That's a simple outline of tasks to make follow through clear and measurable.
   
   And remember, your plans and actions may vary from others in your industry because your unique business situation is different. What one small business needs to do to increase sales could be completely different than what another needs. So while the overall goals may be similar, the benchmarks and actions will be individually yours.

Knowing where you want to go is half the battle of business success. Now get moving by creating effective goals and follow through...it's as simple as that!