Rebecca Kerchak
Business Openings are on the rise in Florida

The covid19 pandemic put businesses across the globe into a corner. Companies across the country struggled to keep themselves afloat, and several states in the U.S. had difficulties opening up and resuming business operations. However, Florida was not one of those states. The state of Florida was able to charge through the pandemic and give businesses the confidence that things would get better soon enough. Although the pandemic erased around 15% of small businesses in Florida, business openings rose by about 52% in the second quarter of 2021.

Business Openings are on the rise in Florida
Rebecca Kerchak
A Guide to Building Social Media Marketing ...

Over the last couple of years and especially because of the pandemic, one thing that has become more important than ever before is connection.

We need to be connected to work, play, and essentially live, and social media has proven just how valuable it is for people across the globe. Businesses that once were reluctant to be online in any way had to adapt and most are now thriving online thanks to social media.

If you’re too busy to create a social media strategy that will help your business grow and excel, a social media management agency can easily help you.

A Guide to Building Social Media Marketing Strategy for 2022

social media

70/20/10 Rule

70/20/10 Rule

Social Media isn’t going anywhere. Are you drowning or adapting?

Why Should Your Business Be on Social Media?

Why Should Your Business Be on Social Media?

Boosts, Facebook Ads, Conversion Ads, Oh My!

VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO

We went from Facebook to Instagram to Snapchat to Periscope. What we see here is a transition from words and images to just images to now video. With information at our fingertips, the attention span is getting shorter and shorter. Videos are getting more and more important. Some of your target market much rather watch a 30 second video about your business than to try to navigate your website to get a deeper knowledge of your business. Don't make them search for it. 

Either have a video about your business or pick a few topics of your expertise that are interesting and make a video about it. This, of course, will depend on your industry. Be careful of talking heads and rambling. Have a plan, have an outline and execute it. 

Don't just take my word for it.

By 2017, Online Video Will Make up Nearly 70% of Consumer Internet Traffic-Cisco

 "Most of Facebook Will Soon Be Video. Twitter Is Launching Twitter Video, Periscope, and Vine. Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, Etc. Have All Prioritized Video" Founder of EpicSignal, Brendan Gahan, predicts an already evident increase in videos on social media channels. 

Public Relations?

Public relation

Build Relationships

Identify your target audience. Where do they go? Develop a relationship with them. In the same breath of relationships, value your customers feedback, positive or negative. 

social media

What is going on in the media?

Some may not have a problem with this one, but if you are like me, time is something very hard to find, and I have to make it a point to check out social media, exploring new events, offers and trending topics. You could find bloggers, reporters etc who write about specific industries. Who are they? Write them an email, invite them to one of your events, nurture these relationships. 

mouse

Clickworthy Content

Write about something interesting. Period. 
 

bulbs

Stand out

As a business, it needs to stand out. Look at your logo. Your website. Does it stand out? Connect to your target audience, not only as a business, but as a person. Follow other companies, maybe not your competitors, but you get the idea. 

usefull & useless board

What is working? What is not working?

Some techniques work for some businesses and some do not, always evaluate what is working and what is not working. If you are not going to hire a PR team, at least have a plan. Adjust what is working and what is not working and move on. 
 

The Olympic Size Rio PR Disaster

Olympic Rio 2016

 There has been nothing but horrible reportings from Rio. 

  • mosquito-borne Zika virus

  • unpaid policemen at the airport greeting visitors with a sign “Welcome to Hell” 

  • overcrowded hospitals not taking patients

  • body parts in the water

  • drug dealers in favelas selling drugs with Olympic rings on the packaging

  • new bike paths falling apart and killing cyclists

  • incomplete subway lines

  • a fire forcing the Australian Olympic team robbed while evacuating 

At some point, yes these all were true, but have been ridiculously repeated and exaggerated. 

One writer traveled to Rio off of his own penny:

"E. M. Swift Cognoscenti contributor
E.M. Swift wrote for Sports Illustrated between 1978 and 2010, covering a wide range of sports but specializing in the Olympics. He is now a freelance writer." 

Swift has nothing but good things to say about what is going on in Rio.

Swift writes, "It’s a shame. In four days I literally haven’t seen a mosquito, despite tempting fate with a three hour hike through a mountain jungle and dinner at an outdoor cafe."

He hasn't seen a mosquito, people are nice,  he feels safe and the beaches are stunning. It is a shame. He writes how the tickets are very affordable, however some of the pricier tickets are still up for grabs, probably due to the bad media coverage/lack of PR, meaning the corporate big dogs are staying away, but the locals are supporting it. 

I used to want to be one of the newscasters, to report the good that is going on in the world, however, even when something positive happens, the media tends to put on a negative twist. They are also told what to say, so for me to be a newscaster, I would need my own station. 

Have you every counted on what the media is reporting? Make a tally on the positive and negative for one hour. I will give you a high five if you can get the positive column up to 5. 

I understand negative things happen, every second of the day, but why does it need to be dwelled on and repeated 39,443,645,432 times. 

What happened to focusing on the positive, and more positive things shall come? 

I hope to one day have a station that reports the truth and the positive things going on in the world, sometimes you may just have to look a little harder, or see for yourself, as Swift has done with the Olympics in Rio. High five Swift. 

See his full article here: http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/08/02/rio-olympics-bad-press-2016-e-m-swift

Top 3 PR Mistakes Businesses Make

1. Relentless Cold Calling

Yes, there are still businesses out there that cold call. You may even receive a few here and there. While personally, I do not recommend it, if you feel you must cold call, have a plan and do not even try calling the person more than once a month. There is a point where it could seem like harassment, then not only do you lose connectivity and warmth, you also lose credibility. Need a plan? 

Relentless Cold Calling

 

2. Shoving your business in their face

Unless they ask, please don't shove your card in their face. The worst thing you could do, even at a networking event, is, "here's my card, give me yours, thanks." Unless, you are not interested in doing business with them, you're collecting cards for your boss (which you do not like very much), or you're a list builder, please refrain. Would like tips on turning strangers into prospects?

 

3. Business Page, Too much Business

Well of course post about your business on your business page, but be careful not to over do it. Some Facebook Business Pages have almost every post about their business. Yes, I understand you are trying to promote your business, but be careful, it's comparable to relentless cold calling and shoving your card in someone's face. Tips on warm posts?