Marketing Your Business for the Holiday Season – 2012

So Friday officially started the Christmas season – and it is started with a marketing bang!  Consumers are shopping smarter with their limited budgets, and every business wants their piece of the holiday spending pie.

Did you miss out on the marketing starting gun?  Did you not have your ads, your Facebook promotions, your website ready for the holidays?

If you didn’t, you may be feeling a little left out.

OK, so live and learn.  We can get started right now – it’s not too late to pump things up with Facebook and Google+.  Printed promotions are still possible; and if you call me now about a website, you’ve taken the first step to making that finally happen.

What I’m saying is, it’s never too late to start something to promote your business.  A late something is better than nothing – and a small start is better than no start. 

So, let’s get started.  If you call me now, we can get a Facebook page up and going right away and begin to lay out great website.  If you’re interested in print advertising, promotional brochures or post card mailings, we can discuss that too.  Or maybe you just want to find out what your options are.  Good – let’s set up a free consultation and do some brainstorming.

Next year you’ll be ready to run with everyone else when the big race starts.

Call for a free consultation or to get started on your business marketing plan – 330-591-1070.  connect@michelleharbour.com

Make Some Memories This Holiday Season

 

Remember - EVERYONE looks great in black and white!

When you’re around family this week, make sure you’re ready for creating and saving memories with lots of photos! Before everyone gets together, prepare yourself and your gear so that all you have to do is point, shoot, and have fun! Clear off that memory and charge up your batteries – buy more if you need to. If it’s been awhile since you used your camera, look over the manual and take some practice shots.

Now you’re ready for the big day! Have your camera ready to capture it all! Grab candid shots and don’t be afraid to ask for poses. Get the young posing with the old and break through everyone’s hesitation by asking for silly poses first! Make sure you get Mom pulling the turkey from the oven, and grab some close-ups of Gramma’s best apple pie. Years from now, you’ll be glad you did. Did you practice your timer shots so you can get into the photos too?

A guaranteed way to get awesome shots is to start a conversation and shoot while your subject tells a story about their life or their work or a favorite activity they do. Usually they are so involved in sharing that they don’t mind the close up shots, because they’re feeling good about themselves. You’ll learn some interesting things about your loved ones and wait until they see the photos you capture! Everyone looks great in photos when they’re feeling good and enjoying themselves.

When you’re shooting those little ones – get down to their level and shoot. You’ll get much better shots that way. Join in their playtime and be ready to move fast to capture the best action shots!

Finally, after you’ve taken all those photos – back them up. Then make prints and share them with everyone at Christmas time or when you mail out your holiday cards. What good are all those photos if you don’t share them with the family? You can email them too, or post them on a photo sharing site, but a print in the hand is still a lot of fun! Even better, go on places like zazzle.com or Walmart.com and have mugs, shirts, mousepads and more made with your favorite prints to give as stocking stuffers or for gift exchanges. Share the memories and some smiles this year!

Google+ is Ready for Your Business – NOW!

After months of waiting and wondering, last week businesses were told that they are finally able to build a page for themselves on Google’s new social media – Google+; and they are jumping onboard by the millions!  

Are you on there yet?

“Why Google+?” you ask.  ”I already have a Facebook page for my business!”

Well, this is Google’s baby – which means that everything you do on your Google+ page and everything your followers share and ” + ” is going to be noticed by Google – big time!  

For every six minutes that US citizens spend online, one of those minutes is spent on social media – like Facebook, Twitter, and now Google+.  And Google will soon be allowing us to follow a business’ Google+ page right from a search’s page results on which that business appears!  And soon you’ll be able to connect your  Twitter, Facebook and Google+ together to make one post to all at the same time.

Small business owners – do you see where this is going?!  It is free and it will only be good for your business!

It is time to get on Google+  NOW!  Fill that page with content and keep it active and busy!  If you need help with set up and upkeep, that’s my job!!  Contact me today and let’s take advantage of what might turn out to be the next best thing in FREE MARKETING!

After I wrote this post, I wrote another post about Google+ a month into using it for my small business.  You can read that post here: http://michelleharbour.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/google-plus-a-month-in/

A 3/50 Project and Some Good Will for the Holidays

Have you joined The 3/50 Project yet?

The holiday season is upon us.  Don’t believe me?  Just look at the store displays and watch a little TV tonight.  It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  That song line holds a very special meaning for business owners.  In many cases, it’s this time of year that determines whether or not they can cover their operating costs for the first three quarters of the present year.

If you ever get a chance the next time you’re in a small local business, chat with the owner for a bit.  Ask them how long they’ve been in business and what made them decide to open shop in the first place.  Listen to their stories – how they came to be, how they’ve grown and what their goals are for their endeavor.  You’ll hear passionate stories of dreams of bringing a quality product or service to the community they love.  They work hard to find provide the best at the most affordable prices they can offer.

Really, are you getting that at the Big Box Stores?

In the economic times we’re living in right now, every penny counts.  But it’s more than just cost – it’s about value.  Are you really saving when you by an inferior product at a Big Box Store that doesn’t work or wear as it should and then breaks or wears out and needs to be replaced right away?  Trust your small business owners; they’ve done all the work for you – finding you the unique, the quality and the value you’re looking for.

Shop close to home, shop local this holiday season and support your local small businesses.