All Entries Tagged With: "growth strategy"

Making The Most Of Your ‘Downtime’

We’ve all had those days. In fact, we’re having one of those days today. There’s about 12 inches of snow making it’s way down all day, client meetings are cancelled, and we’re pretty much caught up on work. It’s a wonderful feeling to have things crossed off your To-Do List. Wonderful that is, until the guilt starts creeping in. If you’re anything like us, you don’t do “downtime” well. While you may be dreaming of cuddling under a blanket and mindlessly binging on Netflix, when it comes to actually doing it, you find it hard to shut your working brain off. And now it’s a snowy Tuesday, and while you probably deserve a day off, you’re finding it hard to get past that “I should be doing something” feeling.

Well, we’re here to tell you it’s ok. It’s ok to take a little downtime every once and while, and it’s also ok to want to make the most of it. We’ve got a list here for you of some of our favorite ways to take it easy, all while keeping your brain churning and your business growing.

1. Review relevant publications. Take some time to review the newest trends that are happening in your business, or better yet how to market your business. You may learn a new way to advertise, how to better optimize your current outlets, how markets are shifting, or how other businesses, like yours, are succeeding. Some of our favorites (for our industry of course)? SmartBrief – An awesome collection of business, marketing and advertising news focusing on newest and upcoming trends. Advertising Age – Check out what some of the largest companies and agencies are doing and brainstorm about how you can use similar strategies in your own business. Business Insider – After checking out a few of the entertaining op ed’s, we head on over to the Advertising and Media sections to get some of the insider information on what’s happening in the industry.

2. Get your learn on. Have you jumped onto the online class trend yet? If not, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to learn some best practices, new marketing techniques, insider secrets and ways to inspire growth. Learn from some of the best in their business and learn the same tips and tricks they’ve used to grow their businesses to become major players in the market. Amy Porterfield – A former business consultant, she’s completely transitioned her business into online training ranging from webinars to social media marketing. Melanie Duncan – The Pinterest queen, Melanie Duncan teaches you how to kick butt in one of the fastest revenue driving platforms on the market. Marie Forleo – The founder of B-School, Marie Forleo can help you get past any negativity or doubt that can come creeping in when you’re not looking. Courtney Foster-Donahue – A little quirky, Courtney breaks down the always illusive Facebook, and how to actually create Facebook ads that work. Hub Digital – Who can forget your favorite crew from Hub Digital? With classes ranging from prepping your digital content, to blogging, to getting your website to the first page in search (that’s right! Exciting stuff coming soon!) we’re sharing all our best secrets that we use to propel our small business clients.

3. Plug into a Podcast. Grab your headphones and listen to some of your fav’s without having to read through lengthy blogs. Better yet? Jump on a treadmill, pick up your duster, or apply a your favorite face mask, and you can now multitask growing your business while getting a little quality “you” time. Amy Porterfield – She’s back, and bringing in some of her favorite friends sharing their top insider secrets. Gary Vaynerchuk – If you’re not offended by swearing, Gary Vee gets real about all things social media, entrepreneurship and business best practices. The Fizzle Show – who says growing your business has to be so serious? The Fizzle Show hilariously takes on entrepreneurship and focuses on how to stay creative.

Stop Whining, Start Blogging

Don’t want to blog? We don’t CARE! (Ok, we do care, but hear us out). It doesn’t matter if you don’t like blogging. You HAVE to do it anyways! Blogging is one of the MOST effective things you can do to promote your business online.

– Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages in Google than those that do not.
– Marketers who use blogs get 67% more leads that those that don’t.
– 47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before purchasing or contacting a company.

Hub Digital – Who We Are

While it might seem like we’re super education-focused lately (our online classes), we are tenaciously passionate about working with small to medium sized businesses to reach their business development goals.
Who are we? We are a dynamic boutique digital marketing firm that is dedicated to serving businesses that know their niche, but might be having some trouble reaching the right audience. Check out our latest video to find out more about Hub Digital.

Stop Waiting For The New Year!

We can be so guilty of this. When it comes to starting any big project, committing to change, or beginning something new, we push it off for a date that “feels” right. It’s never “right now” but rather “the first of the month,” “the first of the year,” or “on Monday.” Call it OCD or just simple procrastination, but whether it’s launching a new aspect of our own business business or starting a new diet, there’s always a better day to do it than today.

This time of year, it’s something we run into constantly with small business owners. With the mad dash to finalize current projects, boost Q4 sales or simply “make it” through the holiday season, often times new marketing campaigns get pushed to the back burner. We often have clients ask us to get back to them in the New Year when some more time opens up.

Here’s the rub with that decision. Launching a new marketing plan takes time to ramp up (you’re looking at a minimum of 1-3 months depending on how involved it is). It takes time to create social profiles (if you don’t have them already), edit current profiles (if you already do), begin creating and populating content, beginning SEO growth strategies, split testing different messaging, and curating images and videos. By waiting until January to start the discussion, you’ve already put yourself at a disadvantage. Now most of your marketing initiatives won’t even be going live to market until well into 2nd Quarter.