Hate Cold Calling? Here Are 5 Alternatives

Hate cold calling? I don’t blame you, most of us do, yet it’s something that the majority of us have done at one point or another. A lot of people starting out in business feel as though they have no other options. If you’ve just a launched a new business and you’re in desperate need of some clients and customers; here are some things you can try instead.

Direct Mail

Rather than spending your time knocking on doors, send potential customers a pressure-free advertisement. Of course, do your research first and target your mailing audience. Send them a coupon, an invitation, something that makes them want to take action. Make sure your piece is attractive, easy to read and of value to them. Then, if you don’t get any response, you have a conversation starter if you decide to call on them. “I’m just following up on the flyer you should have received in the mail last week about our buy one get one special …”

Target Audience

Where can you find your type of customer? Trying to start a business relationship is not much different than trying to establish a personal one. You want to meet people who fit into your target market. If you’re selling baby products, you don’t want to be spending your time at the local senior citizens facility. However, you may want to visit the local daycare with free samples and promotional materials. Donating bag fillers (coupons, business literature or product samples) to local event organizers is also a good marketing strategy. Around the holidays, there always seem to be plenty of open houses, craft shows, and other gatherings with lots of potential.

Media Relations

Being part of a feature news story is free. You can’t beat that price. However, in order to get media attention, you need to fine tune your public relations skills and your messaging. Establish a strong contact list and work at forming relationships with them. Write strong pitches and press releases. (Get help with these if needed!) Make sure you are giving them something to write about. Things like hosting an event or donating to a local charity are great reasons for the media to write about you and your company. Be sure to personalize your story. Why are you different?

Display

By participating in already established events, you can take advantage of the already captive audience. Larger events provide the traffic and much of the advertising ahead of time. Purchasing space at trade shows and expos can be great exposure for your products. Do your research first and select events that pertain to your niche. Around the holidays, local events tend to multiply. Be chatty and talk with as many potential customers as you can. Be sure to offer brochures or giveaways that they can walk away with. Also, don’t forget to talk with other vendors; you don’t want to miss an opportunity for excellent networking!

Network

Network, network, network. Always network. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the local farmer’s market or the monthly meeting of your town’s Chamber of Commerce, be ready to talk about your business. You never know when the opportunity may strike. Keep a stash of business cards in your purse and don’t be afraid to offer them if the situation seems right. You can make plenty of opportunities for yourself by being outgoing and forthright.

Dawn Berryman is the founder of MarketMommy.com and Market Mommy:: The Blog, online marketing resources for mom entrepreneurs. Market Mommy shows moms how and where to market their businesses. She holds a B.A. from Indiana University and has worked in the marketing/communications field for more than 11 years. She resides in rural Ohio with her husband and three children. For more information, please see: Market Mommy.

http://www.theworkathomewoman.com/cold-calling-alternatives/

The Difference Between Pinterest and Instagram

Instagram and Pinterest are actually very different, contrary to popular social media assumptions.  Let’s start with the big similarity… visual social platforms like Pinterest and Instagram both are on fire with brands and consumers. Why?  Well the human brain likes visuals. People process images 60,000 times faster than text and 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visually based.  But in order to make this work for you personally and professionally, you need to understand how to use the visual tools available, including their differences, to your advantage.

You already know that Instagram is my favorite sandbox by far.  But before I was #TheInstagramExpert, I taught business owners how to use Pinterest and other social platforms.  Which means, I played in many different sandboxes.

Pinterest and Instagram are two photo-sharing social networking sites where you can upload photos for other people to see. The main difference lies in the fact that people use them differently, or should. Instagram is more about sharing your own photos while Pinterest is more about uploading and curating photos that you’ve found on the internet.

In order to maximize your chances of user engagement, brand awareness and market feedback, it’s also important to understand what messages and images resonate with users on each of these social platforms.

So, what are the differences?   Here are 7:

1. Links.  On Pinterest, every pin is a link to the source of the image, usually an external site. Therefore, one of the common goals for businesses on this platform is generating website traffic and using Pinterest for SEO purposes.

Instagram only has one place you can direct people to a link and that is in the bio.  So users need to use it more wisely and not bank on that one link for the bulk of their new traffic.

2. Usage.  Specifically, Instagram allows users to take pictures and videos from a mobile device, apply filters and a caption, and then share the image on a variety of social networks.  Instagram users are looking for a much more personal experience with the brands they follow and engage with. Probably why I love it so much!  The content you share on Instagram should give your audience an authentic view into you and/or your business. This often happens through telling stories and revealing an unknown side of something i.e. a behind the scenes post.

With Pinterest, a user’s intent tends to be focused on the discovery and curation of other users’ content. Similar to Google, users can use Pinterest to search for specific content or products or ideas. They can then create visually appealing and special boards by pinning and grouping the content they discover.

3. Target audience.  Pinterest users are predominantly female. In fact, women account for about 70 percent of Pinterest users and are about five times as likely to use the virtual scrapbooking tool as men, the largest gender difference of any social network.  Pinterest users also tend to skew a little bit older, although the core demographic is still 18-34 year olds, representing 56 per cent of users.

Compared with Pinterest, men and women are more evenly represented on Instagram.  Fifty percent of the Instagram users are outside of the United States, making for a more global demographic.  This network is also more popular with the younger crowd—two-thirds are between the ages of 18 and 34 and popularity drops a bit with the older part of this demographic.

4. Photos.  Instagram makes it super easy to create stunning photos that make you, and ultimately your business, look professional and creative. Instagram is able to apply filters to photos while Pinterest cannot within the application.  Pinterest users pin existing photos or alter their own before pinning in programs like one of my faves, Canva.

5. Engagement.  Instagram is currently much more of a conversational engine than Pinterest. So, have some fun and encourage comments here — and get some market feedback in the process. In the description field of your post, ask your followers for comments and questions about the photo you’re posting.

6. Hashtags.  Optimize your chances of being found by users with the inclusion of optimal hashtags.  Hashtags are acceptable on both Pinterest and Instagram, but the quantity used on each platform varies. Don’t clutter the beauty of a pic on Pinterest with more than one or two hashtags.  Instagram allows up to 30, however a relevant 8-10 seems to work best.

7. Storytelling. On Pinterest you can do this through the strategic use of themed boards.  This is a great way to cultivate an engaged audience.  Telling stories visually equates to even more engagement.  Using promotions and contests on Pinterest can be very effective when integrated with your storytelling.

Instagram represents a perfect opportunity for brands to get quick messages, photos and even 15 second videos to their target audience. Customers want a personal experience with a brand that is engaging, informative and accessible. Instagram pictures can give your audience a creative view into your company while providing unique ways to communicate about products and services customers care about.

Pinterest versus Instagram: the real deal

If your business needs to decide between the two platforms, the secret is your audience and how they are using these tools. Are they more likely to curate (Pinterest) or create images (Instagram)? Are you targeting a younger demographic (Instagram) or an older, female group (Pinterest)?  How do you want to present your photos, use hashtags and tell your story?  Do you want to drive traffic to your site (Pinterest) or engage with your audience (Instagram)?

So here’s the biggest difference for me, Sue B.  I am always using Instagram from my phone and Pinterest is just so much more fun to look at on the desktop! Yeah I like to over-deliver so that was #8.

http://www.suebzimmerman.com/blog/the-difference-between-pinterest-and-instagram/