We show you how, plus 9 other awesome tips to help your business succeed.

The Hottest and Most Brilliant Business Tips for YOU – Create More Likeable Social Media and More

Our research ninjas at Business Credit Guru smuggled out ten amazing business tips for you! Be fierce and score in business with the best tips around the web. You can use them today and see fast results. You can take that to the bank – these are foolproof! More likeable social media can get you more prospects and more sales – and we show you how to do it!

Stop making stupid decisions and start powering up your business. Demolish your business nightmares and start celebrating as your business fulfills its promise.

And these brilliant business tips are all here for free! So, settle in and scoop up these tantalizing goodies before your competition does!

#10. Business Success is in Your Hands

Our first jaw-dropping tip is all about running a successful business. HubSpot quotes some sobering statistics. Currently, 9% of American businesses close each year. Yet only 8% of businesses are started each year. And around half of all new businesses close after the first five years.

Still, that means half don’t. So, how do you get into the other half? You know, the good half?

This article is jam-packed with great stuff so we encourage you to read it all. Hence, we’ll concentrate on bits of it.

Offer Benefits for Staff

Now, you may be wondering why I’m zeroing in on this. It’s not necessarily something which businesses start with. Yet, it’s still vital.

Why is it so important to offer employees benefits? Well, some are required by law no matter what. You’ve got to offer jury duty leave. And you need to have workers’ compensation. But there’s another reason to do so.

Benefits help to motivate your employees. And they help your employees with buy-in. Employees are more likely to be loyal to a company with decent benefits because benefits directly help them. Life and disability insurance could help a struggling family more than nearly anything else. Beyond employee loyalty, you’d also be doing the right thing. Can’t beat that!

#9. You Don’t Have to Go it Alone

The next awesome tip is about working with an advisory board. Startup Professionals notes working with an advisory board can help to fill any talent gaps in your organization.

Now, this article is in the context of startups. But there’s no reason why you can’t work with an advisory board even if you’ve been in business for a while. An advisory board can be as formal or informal as you like. They’re essentially people you turn to for advice on your business.

Fill Knowledge Gaps

Gather ‘round for a quick true story.

Over a decade ago (oh my gosh, it really is that long ago), I worked at a startup. It was four engineering students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. And me. You know, Wendy and the Lost Boys.

None of us really understood how to do everything from working with suppliers to doing the books. That’s not to say we didn’t try. And the school provided some assistance. But it wasn’t truly enough.

You don’t need to know everything. And you don’t need to do anything. Cripes, no.

Get help from others – and in this article the biggest takeaway is that a regular, formalish advisory board is the way to go.

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Create more likeable social media and win over more customers and prospects. Plus, nine other awesome tips to keep your business humming.

#8. Spending Money to Bring in Employees to Help You Make Money

Our following life-changing tip concerns improving your recruiting budget. Indeed lays it all out for us. First, the budgeting process for recruiting should be going on all year long. And, the truth is, budgeting for everything should probably be more or less constant. Being able to roll with the punches and turn on a dime is good for nearly any aspect of business.

But let’s talk about your recruiting budget.

Examine Your Process and Refine It

So many businesses seem to be stuck in an older mindset when it comes to recruiting. They’re advertising online, yes, but that’s about the only difference between today and 1960.

It’s still vetting tons of resumes, in-person interviews, etc.

So, let me tell you a story.

The Never-ending Recruiting Process

Well, at least it seemed that way at the time.

A few decades ago, I was interviewing for positions and the standard was, you’ll hear in a week or so. Okay.

There was a company which I ended up interviewing with for two separate positions. Both of them said it would be a month before I would hear. So, for the second one, I asked why. And they told me it was to get through the pool of applicants and meet them. All of them.

I asked – how many people are interviewing for this one role?

Oh, forty.

Say what?

That business had never learned to triage its applicants. As a result, the recruiting process had to have been extraordinarily expensive.

Vetting and Meeting and Deciding

To combat this, that business would have done well to vet the applicants and their resumes better. Vetting takes some time. But it’s far cheaper than pulling so many people out of their work routines to meet with over thirty employees who would never work there.

By devoting more time and attention and money earlier in the process, you’ll save money. And you can save cash later in the process, too. After all, just how many people have to meet every single applicant? The first interview should be a second stage of vetting. Your, say, 40 applicants should be vetted down to maybe 20 who get a first interview. And then there should be maybe only 10 – 15 people who make it to the second interview round.

Putting off the big decisions and saving them for the end of the process wasted everyone’s time and money.

Tech to the Rescue

That company – and yours, too – could have used better triaging technology. It didn’t really exist then. But it sure as heck exists now. You may find the expense well worth it, to eliminate less acceptable candidates faster. And then you can concentrate on your best prospects.

Budgeting for such software should help to offset some of the human hour costs. So, be sure to factor that in when putting a final bow on your improved recruiting budget.

#7. Stretch Productivity Without Stretching Numbers

So, for our next sensational tip, we looked at upping sales productivity without upping headcount. LinkedIn says that most salespeople spend about 40% of their time selling. But if you could raise that to 50% for a ten-person team, then you would effectively have the work of 11 salespeople.

Pretty neat, eh?

But how do you do that?

Reduce the Time Spent on Things Which Keep Your Salespeople from Having Enough Time to Sell

Like what?

Well, like onboarding, for example.

How do you reduce the time onboarding? Isn’t it important? Of course, it is.

So, make your salespeople want to stay. And you won’t be onboarding quite so many people.

Another way to save non-selling time is with technology. Are your computers too slow? Do your employees constantly do workarounds to get their work done properly? Then your tech could stand an overhaul.

And our fave was good old outsourcing. Are your salespeople typing up orders, or keeping the common areas in your office tidy?

Why are they?

Pay someone else to do less skilled and mission critical work. Save your salespeople for what you hired them for – selling.

#6. Hello, I’d Like to Sell You Something

This tip is so easy, and it works! Mail Shake tells us all about selling over the phone. This article covers some fundamentals when it comes to any sort of selling – not just over the phone.

The tip I’d like to concentrate on is the one about action. As the article notes, once the writer knew what to do to make sales, he kept doing the same thing. Over and over again.

It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of this point. So, it means less experimenting, perhaps – or maybe not. After all, to be genuine with your prospects, you can’t say the exact same thing over and over again. Treating people individually is the name of the game – just check out our tip #5 for the specifics on that.

Instead, here’s an analogy which should be more instructive.

Free Throws

Have you ever played basketball? Any level, even pickup, counts.

There are a ton of variables in the game, as there are in all sports. Except for in one area (this is operating under the assumption that you’re inside – the outside world has wind as a variable).

Free throws.

It’s just you, the ball, the basket, and the free throw line. Basketball courts are of a regulation size. Unlike baseball diamonds, they have to conform perfectly to certain measurements. This includes court size, where the free throw line is, and the height of the basket. The ball stays the same (if you’re in an all-female league, the ball is smaller, but it’s the same size from game to game and from team to team).

Once you start making free throws, should you change your technique? Of course not. Just ask Hall of Famer Rick Barry.

Sales isn’t perfect. There are variables. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

#5. Generate More Likeable Social Media

Grab this mind-blowing tip while it’s hot!

More likeable social media is where it’s at.

Word Stream says treating every platform the same way is a mistake. And so is just tossing any old content out there. Be intentional with your marketing.

Actually, that’s good advice no matter where you’re marketing, or how.

Treating Everyone and Everything the Same is SO 1956

We live in a world of personalized marketing and branding. So, hop on board that train. It’s not going away any time soon.

But what does that mean to your brand?

It means paying attention to your customers’ and prospects’ demographics – and knowing those might not match perfectly. And it means paying attention to what they are saying and doing. If they’re not clicking on and liking cat videos (not everyone does – shocking, I know!), then don’t use cat videos in your marketing.

Here’s a tip which truly stood out for us.

Match the Visual with Relevant Copy

How many times have you gotten a message on your feed from a business? Probably lots of times, whether that’s on Facebook, Twitter, or elsewhere.

How many times did a cute puppy (awwww) accompany a message about buying brooms or taking a pottery class? Hopefully, not too often. And what did you do with those ads?

You probably ignored them. And you may even have felt a nagging, unconscious feeling that those ads were weird, as were the companies serving them.

Your gut was trying to tell you something.

Getting attention for a social media post with a wholly unrelated image can leave your audience with a vague feeling of being cheated. Because you have cheated them, in a way. You promised one thing, yet you failed to deliver on that promise.

Don’t do that.

But what do you do if your product just isn’t that attention-grabbing? Or you sell a service that is maybe harder to visualize, like life coaching?

Adding a Visual to a Concept Which Doesn’t Lend Itself to Visuals

Consider how the NBA team, the Miami Heat, does it. After all, heat is an amorphous concept. And they can’t go with the sun, as that visual goes along with another team, the Phoenix Suns.

So, the Heat did it with an image of flames. Even now, their name has a stylized flame tailing away from the T in Heat. And before, the image of flames was even more pronounced.

There is a team called the Calgary Flames. And they also use images of flames. The Heat can coexist in this space because the Flames are an NFL team. Hence, the Heat’s imagery won’t be confused with a rival’s.

So, consider related imagery and similar imagery. Maybe your life coaching visual can show pictures of the coach/coaches with clients or alone. Or maybe you can go with a more representational concept, like a ladder or a series of stairs, showing how a coach helps clients succeed. Experiment and play with the concept until you find what works.

We suggest reading the article in its entirety as there are plenty of other terrific tips in there.

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Create more likeable social media and win over more customers and prospects. Plus, nine other awesome tips to keep your business humming.

#4. Up Your More Likeable Social Media Game

So, check out this spectacular tip, all about better promoting your company on social media. The Self Employed notes that, for example, you should never, ever buy followers.

The article is actually an infographic, and we recommend checking it out.

However – here’s a caveat.

The infographic refers to Klout Score. Which hasn’t been around since 2018. So, take it with a grain of salt. This doesn’t mean the infographic is no longer useful. It is! But we recommend digging a bit deeper and not just accepting every bit of it without some further investigation.

#3. Up Your Website Traffic with Influencer Marketing (Talk About Getting More Likeable Social Media!)

So, it’s not your imagination: this winning tip can increase your website traffic with influencer marketing. Noobpreneur tells us there are a number of ways to bring influencers around to working with you and your brand.

And these don’t have to be influencers with enormous followings. But wait, back up a sec – what’s an influencer?

The Power of Recommendations x 1000

When was the last time you bought a new car, or at least a new-to-you car?

Did you talk to your social circle about it? Maybe you wanted to find out if the new model you were looking at was really worth it. Or maybe you were trying to figure out if you could get a better deal on the other side of town. Perhaps you were asking about features you didn’t have and thought those options might be a good idea.

Whatever the reason, you were talking to influencers. Your personal influencers probably don’t have a million Instagram followers. But you trust them. So, their follower count most likely doesn’t matter to you.

That’s what influencers are. Except these are folks who you don’t know well, if at all. Hence, your degree of trust is different.

Divulge Any Commercial Relationships

In the article, they say you should be paying your influencers. And that makes sense – they’re offering a valuable service which you need. But at the same time, an influencer is supposed to be a trusted recommender. Doesn’t that feel like a paradox?

It doesn’t have to. By disclosing all commercial relationships (you disclose, and so does your influencer), then your audience is respected. They know – or at least they should know – that your influencer isn’t motivated by love, like your Aunt Sally.

Any savvy consumer will understand your influencer would be compensated for their services. But you will attain and retain their trust if you make it clear that your influencer gets some cash for saying your widget is better than your competitors’.

This does beg the question, though – what about when your customers are very young children? If this applies to your business, then I would advice you to use an overabundance of caution when working with influencers.

After all, you probably wouldn’t like it if your kids were overly influenced by someone – or manipulated by them.

#2. Prevent Facebook Ad Mistakes!

Our second to last unbeatable tip can give you a new perspective on avoiding Facebook advertising errors. Main Street ROI reveals all about the kinds of blunders which so many fall prey to on the world’s largest social media platform.

By the way, some of the errors involved not properly targeting an audience and not writing the right kind of ad – talk about needing to create more likeable social media!

But beyond that, here’s our favorite tip because we think a lot of people ignore it at their peril.

Don’t Ignore Custom Audiences

It is in Facebook’s best interests for your advertising on their platform to succeed. After all, if your company makes money, then you’ve got more money to spend on advertising on their platform.

And if you do well, you’ll tell others, etc.

They provide a ton of tools to help you succeed. Those tools are free.

So, why the heck aren’t you using them?

The Wonderful World of Custom Audiences

The idea behind custom audiences is to best target the people who will receive your sales messages. There probably aren’t any real universal products out there (I’m not talking about oxygen, which is technically not a product. And I’m not talking about health care, either, which is more like a galaxy of several products and services). So, because there are likely no truly universal products, your audience needs to be tailored in some fashion or another.

Even if you don’t have a perfect handle on the demographics of your audience, Facebook knows the demographics of the people who like your page.

So, target your Gen Xer customers, or your customers of color, or your female customers. Giving people the content they want means, to them, you’ve got more likeable social media content. That means engagement. And it can mean sales.

Think laser-like pinpointing, not blanketing.

#1. SEO, Like Politics, is Local

We saved the best for last. For our favorite remarkable tip, we focused on local SEO. Succeed as Your Own Boss says it all starts with Google My Business. Google gives you a ton of free real estate to provide detail about your business. And the search behemoth pulls from GMB when people search for services like yours in your area.

So, why are there blanks in your profile?

Fill ‘em.

You have space to tell Google what you are and what you do – and where you do it.

This means well-defined service areas. Let’s say you’re in Brooklyn. Your service area might be Queens. Or Bushwick (a part or Brooklyn). Yes, neighborhoods count. Make this information painfully clear. Because when someone is searching for your product or service in Park Slope (another part of Brooklyn), you want them to be able to find you!

So, which one of our brilliant business tips was your favorite? And which one will you be implementing now?

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Create more likeable social media and win over more customers and prospects. Plus, nine other awesome tips to keep your business humming.