By TE Cunnigham Have you been thinking about using LinkedIn as a way to grow your business? It’s a great networking tool, but ads may also be a good fit for your company, especially if you are B2B. To start advertising with the social network, you will need to use its Campaign Manager. You will want to set up an account and follow these simple steps.   Choose Your Objective What do you want to have the viewer do? Do you want them to book an appointment, join a mailing list, buy something, etc.? Set your objective first.   Define [...]

By TE Cunningham Your budget numbers are higher than ever, and you need to get your new online ad campaign rolling. While visuals and copy are vitally important to grab attention online, your landing page must be given just as much thought. The design of your page can clinch a sale or desired action or have the opposite effect if not constructed properly. Many local advertisers feel they have invested so heavily in their website that taking the potential buyer to the homepage is the way to go. Not so. Your website encompasses all you do, while your landing page [...]

By Emily Raunig You may not think about Instagram captions much, but the right caption can elevate your content and create better engagement. It can be tricky to describe the work picture or video you just posted without boring your audience, but that must be the goal!   Instagram captions shouldn't be overlooked just because you put a picture up. You should focus on pairing your graphic and caption to make quality content that can lead to sales and brand awareness.   If you need help creating great captions for the content you post, here are six quick ways to [...]

By TE Cunningham Today, more than ever, finding a great employee can be incredibly challenging for local businesses. Yet, it is critical to the success of the organization. Not only are you looking for a specific set of skills in a responsible and engaged individual, but you are also typically doing it on a tight budget. Here are some tips for a better chance at a successful hire. Job Description Ensure you have a clear job description authored, formatted and free of grammar errors. Include a small paragraph about your company and its vision, along with a favorable outline of [...]

By TE Cunningham For the busy local business owner, planning is critical to organization and accomplishing everything on your hefty “to-do” list. Social media is no exception to this rule; unfortunately, it is often the item on the list continually pushed to the bottom. Social media scheduling tools are a must for small and local businesses working with a skeleton crew! Here is a great list of free and economically-priced scheduling tools. Today, we add to that topic by discussing using a social media planning calendar. Social media should be a crucial part of your marketing strategy, with its ability [...]

By Tammy Cunningham Are you looking for a user-friendly marketing tool to regularly communicate with your clients via email? Do you want to grow your email lists? Are you looking for new ways to incent your customers? Email marketing is an effective tool for all of these circumstances. It’s a must for the small business owner in today’s competitive marketplace. At TLC Marketing Consultants, we use our preferred provider, Constant Contact, to further customer relationships. What is Constant Contact? They are a leading online expert resource for email marketing and have been around for over two decades. Why do we [...]

By Sofie Thompson Coming up with the perfect gift ideas for important clients can be stressful, especially if last year's gift is hard to top. When brainstorming ideas, keep in mind that gifts the whole office or team can share are ideal. Whether DIY or purchased through a service, make an impression on your clients with these creative yet straightforward gift ideas. Most importantly, whatever your budget – find a way to put a personal spin on whatever you give. It can make all the difference. Here are five ways to take a typical client holiday gift and add a [...]

By Sofie Thompson With Thanksgiving right around the corner, SMBs can use the holiday as a platform to thank their customers as the year comes to its conclusion. Maintaining a good relationship with your customers is critical for small businesses, and it’s always a good idea to be intentional in showing your appreciation. Here are some easy ways to thank your customers this Thanksgiving. Send an email. Send a message to your customer email list wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving and thanking them for supporting your business. Digital thank you notes are an easy and fast way to remind your [...]

By Sofie Thompson Around the world, the first week in October recognizes the critical role customer service plays in almost every organization. Established in 1984, this recognition week focuses on acknowledging the impact customer service has on the loyalty and satisfaction of customers. Here are some easy ways SMB owners can celebrate National Customer Service Week. One of the ways we recommend celebrating this day is by showing appreciation to your employees who provide that frontline customer service.  They spend a significant amount of time making your customers feel special and taken care of – take this week to do [...]