Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton didn’t want any of the credit after finishing one of the most dramatic alley-oops in NBA playoff history, a last-second dunk that gave his team a 104-103 win for a 2-0 series lead over the LA Clippers.
The post Suns share in glory of Ayton's winning alley-oop appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.
Article URL: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/instamenu/jobs/KqO4MW1-founding-full-stack-engineer
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27590600
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Article URL: https://www.polleverywhere.com/jobs#full-stack-engineer
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27594154
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Your business won’t succeed by doing the same thing as everyone else.
Content marketing is powerful, but it’s also hugely competitive. If you’re just rehashing the same points as everyone else, you won’t get anywhere.
Your business is unique and so is your audience. If you want to make the most of content marketing, you need to produce content that is helpful, detailed, and different.
Below, we’ll cover 30 content marketing strategies that will help your brand stand out, but first, let’s cover why content marketing matters in 2021.
What brings people to your business in 2021?
In many cases, it starts with a question and they come to your website for a solution. They expect your business to solve their issue, but it’s not just your product they’re looking for.
They want information.
In many cases, content is the moment when your relationship with the customer begins, and that content is going to be with them through every step of the customer journey.
Your content marketing tactics are as important in 2021 as ever because the modern consumer craves an experience. It’s not just about your products or service, it’s about how people interact with your business—and your content plays a huge part in this.
Content marketing ticks nearly every box for your business. It helps:
Content marketing isn’t just good for customers; it drives profits. In fact, the yearly ROI for a successful content marketing campaign is $984,000.
This is why 70 percent of marketers are actively investing in content marketing. Really, the number should be higher with all the benefits content marketing has to offer.
Every business is unique, and each one will use different content marketing tactics. What works for one website might not necessarily work for another, so what’s important is that you find the blend that works for you.
When it comes to content marketing, you’ll want to be particularly aware of your brand voice. For example, if you’re a highly respected law firm that people look to for advice, strategy number 22, “Be a little weird,” might not be the best option.
This is where it pays to sit down and brainstorm before you create your content marketing strategy. Understand what your brand stands for, how you want to convey your values, and the goals you want to achieve.
Once you’ve worked out these details, it’s much easier to pick and choose which content marketing tactics will work for your brand.
I’ve experienced the power of content marketing first hand. It’s what my entire business is based on, and I want you to achieve the same kind of success through your content. Over the years, I’ve tried out lots of different content marketing tactics, some of which have paid off big time, others that have crashed and burned.
By trying new things and not being afraid to get creative with content, I’ve narrowed my list down to 30 content marketing tactics that’ll skyrocket your search traffic.
My search traffic almost tripled when I created advanced guides for SEO and several other internet marketing topics. Each of those advanced guides has a separate landing page, optimized for the applicable keywords.
Mailshake, a comprehensive email outreach platform, had success with this, repackaging its cold email masterclass into an eight-part email series. This allowed them to create targeted landing pages and offer user-specific content that matched their place in the customer journey.
In under a year, Mailshake acquired 5,321 email opt-ins for its masterclass.
Or, take a look at Copyblogger Media. Copyblogger has dozens of landing pages, each aimed at a keyword that the target audience is passionate about. That’s a lesson for you when developing a sound content marketing strategy: when creating more landing pages, think strategically about keywords and build your content around the right ones.
The easiest way to start creating high-quality landing pages is to use templates.
There are plenty to choose from, but I like Unbounce and Instapage. Both are paid platforms, but they’re a great way to create effective landing pages quickly.
Smart content marketers know they need to segment their audiences based on product need. Segmentation is crucial for one simple reason: some of your blog readers aren’t buyers, but others are.
Simply put, your content can’t suit everyone because people are at different phases of the buying cycle. So, for example, content designed to create awareness with new customers is wasted on loyal repeat customers.
Make the most of your marketing efforts by segmenting customers based on their personas. Remember, a buyer persona is a fully fleshed-out profile of one segment of your audience. It enables you to develop content that speaks to each segment more effectively.
Here’s an example of one in action:
Segmenting your target audience is difficult on your blog or website (though not impossible with content personalization), but email segmentation is pretty simple.
Email list segmentation is a must if you want to get the most from your list. According to Campaign Monitor, marketers who used segmented campaigns saw a 760 percent increase in revenue. Not too bad!
Check out my article “How to Use Email Segmentation to Increase Conversion Rate” to find out how email segmentation can boost your content marketing.
Before you can create successful, engaging, and overall great content, you’ve got to know your audience very well. The first step is to perform keyword research to discover what your ideal customers are looking for.
Start by getting a better idea of the existing demand for your topic through Google Trends. Just type your main keyword into the search box to learn how many searches it received within a specified period.
For instance, here’s the Trends graph showing the popularity of the keyword “content marketing:”
This will give you a rough overview of how people are searching for your keywords, but for more detailed information, you should look at Ubersuggest.
Follow these simple steps to gain access to hundreds of keyword opportunities you can use to build engaging content.
Remember, the more you know about your readers, the more precisely you can base your content creation on them, and the more effective your whole content marketing strategy will be.
If you want to dig in deeper, here’s a complete guide to keyword research, including tools, tips, and examples.
Sometimes, you need to personally verify results or data through experimentation. What was true five years ago, or even last year, may no longer apply.
Instead of accepting everything you read on other sites and blogs at face value, get in the habit of thinking tactically and critically.
Results are relative. You may experiment and get a different result. Through observation, brainstorming, and A/B testing, you can come up with a new concept that others can learn from.
That is how you become a content marketing expert; not just following the rest of the crowd.
Millennials and Gen Z now make up a huge segment of the U.S. population.
There’s a good chance these groups make up a large chunk of your target audience, so your content should speak to their needs and values.
Both of these groups grew up with technology as a big part of their lives, and so they have high expectations for how businesses use technology. They also value experience above almost anything else, and this plays right into content marketing.
While both groups have similarities, you need to target each of them in a slightly different way. Find out more about how to market to Millennials, and target Gen Z.
Adaptive content is one way to go. Adaptive content is simply the content that supports meaningful interactions across different platforms. Think of it like water—whatever you pour it into; it takes the shape of that container.
For example, you might use their name at the top of a booking site or suggest content based on their past interactions with your brand.
Your readers should be able to access your content on a desktop computer, then continue where they left off using their smartphone or complete their purchases through your mobile app, with absolutely no hassles at all.
A hedgehog is a small mammal with stiff spines and a small, pointed snout. What does a small mammal have to do with content creation and your marketing strategy? (There’s a point, I promise!)
The hedgehog concept is based on an old parable about a hedgehog and a fox. The fox knows lots of things—he’s constantly trying new ways to best the hedgehog. The hedgehog, however, stays focused on one big idea.
What does this mean for your content strategy?
It simply means you should start where you are and stay focused. Why worry about the fact your blog isn’t generating 1,000 monthly visits yet? Instead, create content consistently and use a content marketing strategy to reach your goals.
Instead of obsessing over reaching 1,000 monthly visitors, for example, focus on 100 each month. Just make sure that your goal is realistic and measurable.
If you’re able to hit that smaller goal, the hedgehog model says to treat them well and deliver great content they’ll share with their friends across their social media channels.
Apply the same technique to your email list. Focus on getting three to five subscribers every single day, instead of your first 100 subscribers. By the end of the month, you’ll have 90 to 150 email subscribers.
Are you consistent at split testing? A study by AdPushUp showed conversion rates typically range from one to three percent. A/B split testing helps you drive that rate up, and even a single additional percentage point in your conversion rate can be significant.
Whether you’re on a team of B2B marketers or you’re a small business owner, running A/B split tests is crucial to know for certain which headlines, calls-to-action, and types of content work best for your readers. Once you know what strategies work, your work becomes much more effective and your overall content marketing strategy much clearer.
You can split-test just about anything. Since you’re concerned about search traffic, however, you should focus on the elements that impact search performance, such as headlines, site speed, visuals, landing pages, CTA, and so on.
As Rohan Ayyar says,
Instead of a one-size-fits-all philosophy, create multiple landing pages for the same call to action to suit the user’s preferences.
A/B split testing can send more targeted buyers to your product pages, as well. For example, Lyyti.com, an online event management software company, ran a split test on their product pages. They set up a product page variation and tested it against the control.
At the end of the testing, the variation page performed better. It clearly showed the features offered in each plan, while the original design wasn’t quite clear enough. Implementing the results of this test increased visits to their “Free Trial” sign-up page by 93.71 percent.
Mobile testing is also crucial. The majority of search traffic comes from mobile devices now, so you have to offer a good mobile experience.
You can’t afford to run A/B split tests solely on desktop users. If you’re experimenting with mobile testing, look at any key user behavior, especially behaviors related to conversions, such as email opt-in form and landing page preferences.
Content marketing is a lot easier these days, considering all the statistics, data, and content that can be accessed for free.
According to KPMG, 90 percent of corporations use online learning compared to just four percent in 1995. People visit these online training sites in part because they’re effective. E-learning is proven to increase knowledge retention by 25 to 60 percent.
This is good news for content marketers because with online learning platforms like Udemy and LinkedIn Learning, you can benefit from all that useful content provided in their courses and modules.
Essentially, you can pick the brains of experts in different industries to create top-notch content for your target audience. There’s no longer any need to waste tons of time researching your topic because someone with better training, resources, and time has done all that for you.
So, let’s say you want to create an in-depth article about link building. Here’s how to research your topic using Udemy:
Note: Most courses at Udemy will typically cost you between $15–$199, although there are free courses available. If you have the budget for it, you can buy the course. Here, however, we’re just looking for ideas to organize your blog post from module titles, so there’s no need to sign up for the course itself.
From the highlighted module above, I can create five unique and high-converting headlines for my next blog post.
Spending just 10 to 20 minutes each week studying Udemy course modules will give you lots of ideas to write about and expand your analytical skills and give you a more thorough understanding of your industry and your target audience.
Overall, it’ll enhance your content marketing strategy and inform your content creation.
Just remember, the goal is inspiration; don’t copy other people’s work.
Core values are the building blocks of every human being—and every business (or other organization).
Personal core values guide an individual’s behavior and choices. The same is true for your business’s values, as well.
For example, if you believe your target audience will benefit from the information you share, then you’ll research extensively and craft the best content possible.
Take the time to articulate your values in writing, just as Google and Buffer have. Google believes in putting users first. Buffer believes in showing gratitude, which helps make their social media management tool so valuable for content marketers.
There is no single rule for defining your core values. Just make sure each value originates from your deeply-held beliefs. When you start to write content based on what you truly believe in, you bridge the gap between your message and your readers’ expectations. Solid content creation will flow from there.
Storytelling can also help bridge that gap. From personal experience, I can tell you that it’s much easier to tell stories based on what I know and believe, instead of what someone else says or believes. Such a marketing effort will feel, well, effortless to your readers.
Native advertising is a form of online marketing in which the “ad” content matches the platform where it’s published.
Although we’re very accustomed to seeing this form of advertising, many people believe native ads are deceptive because they don’t “look like ads.”
It doesn’t have to be that way. Native ads can still offer value as something more than just a promotional piece.
Whatever you may think about it, there’s no question that native advertising works. For example, Newscred regularly paid for sponsored content on LinkedIn, with an ROI of $17 for every $1 spent. That’s almost six times the ROI you can expect from Google Ads.
Although the stats point to native ads being an important content marketing tactic.
According to eMarketer, native ad spend more than doubled between 2018 and 2020 and is expected to increase by 21 percent in the next year. If you want to join the trend as part of your content marketing tactics, make sure your ad is consistent with your other content.
Above all, native ads should meet the needs of your readers and engage the audience, just like your other content does.
Bottom line: Native ads work and will continue to work. The best practice is to approach it with your content marketing mindset and ensure that you use only high-quality content.
For example, if you decide to do sponsored posts or paid tweets, make sure that your landing page is well-designed and your content is crafted to welcome visitors and convert them into email subscribers or buyers.
As Inc.com says,
Content marketing is always changing because the way we interact online is always changing.
You should be willing to change and adapt to the latest developments in your industry. That might mean enrolling in a content marketing course to further your education, or, it might simply mean reading extensively to stay on top of trends.
Business models evolve, and the only way to stay competitive is to always work with the most current information. Never be caught unaware.
As the business and content marketing world constantly evolves, you’ve got to keep your business viable. For example, you should keep abreast of Google’s algorithm updates if you want to keep generating sufficient search traffic.
I’m always ready to change what I’m doing if I find it’s no longer yielding significant results. I don’t throw in the towel and quit. Rather, I stay flexible and continually adjust.
You can do the same. Be prepared to satisfy your customers no matter what the economic situation or new government policy might be. It’s your responsibility to evolve for the sake of your target audience.
Competitor analysis isn’t optional these days. You can effectively spy on your competitors to know exactly what they’re doing and find ways to outsmart them.
Industry experts agree that competitor analysis is an integral part of search marketing success. When its results are integrated into your strategy, competitor analysis can improve many aspects of your marketing, including your conversion rate.
The easiest way to know what your competitors are doing, in terms of where they’re getting backlinks and how many quality links they have, is to use the right automated tools.
First and foremost, you’ll want to find out who your strongest competitors are. You can use Google to search for your main keyword (e.g., beginners guide to blogging), then check which sites are competing with you.
Another way to perform competitor analysis is with Ubersuggest. Select competitive analysis from the left sidebar and then enter your domain.
You will then see a list of websites that compete for similar keywords. You can dig deeper into each competitor to find out which specific keywords you are competing for by clicking “view all.”
This provides an immediate picture of who you are competing with and what keywords you should target.
Not every visitor to your website is as valuable as the next. For example, if you’re a local brick-and-mortar business in Florida, getting thousands of web visitors from California doesn’t do much good.
A recent study found 46 percent of Google searches are looking for local information, and this is hugely important for your business. Why? Because 78 percent of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase, so local SEO isn’t just a great tool to get your business found—it also drives sales.
Your content is a great opportunity to drive your local SEO. Create valuable information for people in your target area and make sure you’re focusing on local keywords (use Ubersuggest to discover local keyword opportunities).
Competing for big national keywords in competitive industries may not be possible, but it could be a realistic goal in your local area. Use my guide to local SEO to make sure you’re ranking for those important local keywords.
The best way to create magnetic headlines is to target emotional keywords. Doing so will supercharge your content. People will not only read it; they’ll be inspired to share it on social media and beyond as well.
For example, if you were trying to lose weight, you’d probably go to Google and search for keywords like the following:
Here are more variations to the three search terms above:
In our example, if you found an article or video targeting any of the keywords above, you’d respond positively. That’s because those keywords mirror what you deeply desire.
The same is true for your target audience. When they’re searching for keywords, and you notice a hint of immediacy, you know that those keywords will convert into clicks, visits, and sales when you eventually rank in Google.
Let’s assume you help companies and digital businesses to grow revenue. Here are some of the keywords you can use to create powerful headlines to grow your search traffic and rankings:
From the screenshot above, you can see the “emotional keywords.” I call them “emotional” because searchers are already pre-sold on the idea of increasing revenue. They’re just waiting for a nudge to take action.
To make your headlines high-converting, include numbers—especially odd numbers because some studies show odd numbers outperform even numbers.
Let’s craft some headlines based on those emotional keywords:
Better yet, you could turn the emotional keywords into data-driven headlines to share your experiments and results:
Worried you aren’t a great writer? You’re not alone. According to research statistics from Teach Taught, “fewer than 50 percent of college seniors feel their writing improved during college.”
You can change that, starting today. It begins with fueling your passion for writing. After all, if you’re passionate about what you do, there is nothing in this world that can stop you. Success requires consistent effort, and it’s a whole lot easier to be consistent when you’re passionate about the thing you’re doing.
This simple formula shows you how to find your passion:
With time, you’ll find something you never believed you could do at all may become pretty easy.
Blogging and business require creativity, but it doesn’t necessarily have to come from your writing (it’s just not for everybody). It can also come from the way you manage other people. Modern technology has made it incredibly easy to work with freelancers around the world, and this can make a huge difference in your content marketing.
There are plenty of talented people that can help you expand your content output while still ensuring quality. It’s about being creative with your processes and putting the right systems in place to get the most out of your freelance team.
I never started as an expert. There was a time when I couldn’t put together a 500-word blog post. I had to continually learn and fuel my passion for writing. Eventually, I got better, learned more, and became the expert I wanted to be. You can follow this path and write your content, but you may have just as much success working with freelance writers.
Listen up: Successful content marketers don’t know it all. They’ve struggled to get things done, too. Because they’ve developed thick skins, they can meet the challenge and come out stronger and more influential.
If you want to attract a loyal audience and boost your site traffic, pre-sell your content and product. For example, if you are going to release a new post next week, tell your readers about the process of writing it before you publish it.
Behind-the-scenes experiences are welcome moments for your fans.
I do this a lot when I write content. I’ve even started doing it when I reply to comments as well, by telling my readers that I’ll be publishing a new post that will more thoroughly address their questions.
Another example of a “behind-the-scenes” experience is when Michael Hyatt asked his blog readers to help him choose the best cover for Living Forward, a book he co-authored with Daniel Harkavy.
Of course, this is also a type of pre-selling, because the customers and loyal readers now know the book’s title, and will look forward to its launch. Now, the majority of them are ready to buy.
Before they buy, they’ll tweet the page, cite it in their blog posts, recommend it to others on their other social media platforms, and follow the updates. This will increase referral traffic to Michael’s blog and his search performance will likely improve as a result of social signals.
The internet is full of brilliant content.
You don’t always need to create fresh content from scratch because there are lots of other people out there who are also doing a great job at it. This is where content curation comes in.
It allows you to find the best content and bring it together in one place. Moz does this extremely well with its weekly round-up of SEO content.
Your goal is to bring people the best possible information, but it doesn’t mean you have to write it. As long as you’re crediting the content owners, you can use content curation to engage your audience and help solve their pain points.
This content marketing tactic is a great way to add to your content production, but consider what businesses you are linking to. Make sure you’re only sending your audience the highest-quality information, and be careful about sending people to your competitors.
A few tips to help you drive more traffic and leads from content curation:
If you want to give content curation a try, here’s a guide that will walk you through the process.
Social media is one of the best ways to reach your audience today. If you’re not marketing yourself on social media, you could be missing out on a huge portion of your audience.
It’s not just about building out your profiles and engaging people through the platform, though; it’s also about what action you want followers to take. One of your goals with social media should always be to bring people to your own space.
You have more control over your blog and email list than any social media profile or platform. No matter how successful you are on social; you don’t own that connection. Make sure you’re not abandoning your blog audience for social followers.
Grow your social media presence, but make sure you’re using it to bring people to a medium you control. From here, you can control the customer journey, build your email list and nurture your subscribers.
An editorial calendar helps make your content marketing strategy low-stress and rewarding. Unfortunately, most people never take the time to craft a plan for creating content, marketing it, and tracking its effectiveness.
The importance of an editorial calendar can’t be overemphasized. You need to develop yours as quickly as possible and use software to guide your process:
The three steps you need to take to make your editorial calendar effective are:
Remember to keep a steady flow of content going out. That’s the way to generate more leads and indexed pages and improve organic traffic.
Blogging can help you reach more of your target audience, particularly if your blogs are frequently shared across social media channels. How do you get more referral traffic from your content, though?
You’ve got to think outside the box. Inbound marketing works, but you’ve got to diversify your efforts if you want to get outstanding results. The majority of your target audience hasn’t visited your blog yet. They are, however, on Slideshare, YouTube, and other content platforms.
You’ve got to be everywhere they are. Your content should make a mark online. If you’ve spent your precious time creating great content, don’t let it sit there in oblivion.
It’s time to embrace content repurposing.
This content marketing tactic helps you make the most of your content by using it in different formats.
For example, you could take an article, convert it into a PDF report and offer it as an e-book. You could also create PowerPoint presentations and upload them to Slideshare or create an infographic out of a case study.
Be very careful to repurpose only your high-quality content that produced measurable results the first time around. Not every piece of content will work for this purpose.
The web is a virtual university. You can learn just about anything online if you know where to look. Content marketing will continually produce high ROI when you give it time and consistently work to upgrade your knowledge and skills.
According to Bianca Male,
Listening is often the best form of learning.
The bad news is that your competition will continue to get more intense. The good news is that we’ve never had so many effective and affordable tools and knowledge resources from which to learn.
Using the right marketing tools, developing your skill sets, and networking smartly will get you to the top. If you want to succeed and reap huge dividends, channel your learning efforts towards better understanding your target audience.
Everyone loves a company that is willing to go against the grain. There is something about a healthy dose of irreverence and tasteful humor that increases the likability of brands.
It also makes you stand out from your competitors.
Tons of businesses send out the same message, which means consumers notice funny or weird marketing campaigns. They’re a breath of fresh air in a world of cloned marketing tactics.
Dollar Shave Club creates weird, creative, and outright bizarre content. I’ll bet you can’t help but laugh when watching this video.
If you think this video is funny, but that it couldn’t possibly increase revenue or help business, I understand, but that’s simply not the case.
Dollar Shave Club spent $4,500 to create the video, but they more than made that money back. The video has 24 million views on YouTube. They gained 23,000 followers on Twitter and 76,000 Facebook fans from the campaign, and most importantly, they attracted 12,000 new customers in two days.
It turns out that being funny, weird, and irreverent can pay off.
Dollar Shave Club continues that unique brand identity with its Bathroom Minutes articles, and their customers love it.
Similarly, Denny’s uses its blog to put out content in the same style as Dollar Shave Club. Its content is unconventional as this image of a married couple pulling a morning breakfast with their car shows.
Snickers tapped into the weird trend as well, creating its “You’re not you when you’re hungry” marketing campaign.
It also did an AdWords campaign targeting misspelled searches.
What’s the point of all this marketing weirdness?
People like it when your brand does something different. Don’t be afraid to mix it up and see what happens.
Nothing risked, nothing gained; so get out there and do something weird.
I can’t overstate the power of responding to people who are talking about your brand.
Why?
Because responding to real people’s questions, comments, and concerns humanizes your brand. It tells people that your company isn’t just some inhuman entity. Rather, you’re a company that cares about its customers.
Twitter makes this particularly easy, notifying you whenever someone mentions your company’s name.
If you quickly and consistently respond to your customers’ comments and concerns, this shows a level of dedication that will impress your followers.
That’s good news for your business. Responding to people regularly shows you care.
The more people tell their friends about your product, the more products you’re likely to sell—and the more successful your business will be.
When a friend recommends a product, they mean it.
By thinking creatively about your product and doing something that no one has ever done before, your product is more shareworthy. Coca-Cola did a good job with this with their Share a Coke campaign.
They put individual names on each bottle of Coke, personalizing the experience for their customer base. They then encouraged people to share a Coke with a friend and post a photo using the hashtag #ShareaCoke.
In the end, the campaign generated 998 million impressions on Twitter and 235,000 tweets with the hashtag. They sold more than 150 million bottles of Coke, too.
When the experience is unique, consumers want to participate, and they want to share it with their friends.
Burberry ran a similarly share-worthy campaign called Burberry Kisses.
By collaborating with Google, Burberry allowed people to send each other “kisses” with digital messages. Since it was new and different, consumers couldn’t help but try it out. Every time someone sent a kiss to a friend, that person saw the Burberry logo, which increased Burberry’s brand awareness and engagement.
When people share your product, more people buy your product. It’s that simple.
Technology moves fast. The newest piece of revolutionary tech seems to hit the market every week. If you pay attention to these interesting innovations, you can hijack their attention.
The New York Times did this when they created NYTVR (New York Times Virtual Reality). The marketing campaign required users to have Google Cardboard and the free New York Times app.
Users could then experience the world in a different and fun way with a 360-degree view of a video. By leveraging upcoming technology, the New York Times positioned itself as relevant and edgy.
Campaigns with modern tech show consumers that you’re listening to trends and keeping up with the times.
People who’ve used your product are the best salespeople. That’s why testimonials on a landing page and social proof on an e-commerce site are so powerful.
Most people want to feel confident about buying your product. They don’t want to be the first one to try it. They need to know that other people like it before they take the leap.
By listening to the stories your customers tell about your product and creating content around those stories, you’ll inspire confidence in your brand. Microsoft does just that with its “Story Labs.”
This blog tells the stories of people who buy their products, make their products, and inspire their products. By sharing these engaging stories, Microsoft is positioning itself as a trusted business and convinces consumers its products are worth buying.
Eventually, first-time buyers will step up to the plate and try out Microsoft’s goods because of this.
For some businesses, user-generated content is their content marketing bread and butter.
When companies encourage customers to create content for their brands, it’s a double win: the company saves time and money, and they distribute compelling content.
GoPro does a good job of encouraging and posting user-generated content. Consider this video made by an avid “Go-Proer.” Start watching at 1:28 and cringe a few seconds after as you see what happens.
This video has over 13 million views, and it generated a ton of brand awareness for GoPro. All of that was at no cost to the business. Since the user created the content, the business simply stood by and watched while their product was marketed for them.
Can you dream up a new way of playing with your product?
It isn’t always easy, but it can be an effective marketing strategy. Take Blendtec, a company that sells blenders, as an example.
They were unsure how to market their blender and stand apart from the hundreds of other options. Then, they came up with a brilliant idea. They started a show called, “Will It Blend?” where they blended everything from marbles to iPhones.
Don’t believe me? See for yourself here:
And here:
By thinking about the blender in a creative and interesting way, Blendtec became one of the leading sellers of blenders and appealed to consumers all around the globe. Millions of people have watched their videos. That last video has over 4.5 million views alone!
If they can do it with a blender, the chances are you can do it with whatever product you sell.
Creating educational content around your product might not seem like the best idea.
Do people really care about how your product works? Do they want to know the ins and outs of how you created it?
It turns out that a lot of times, they do.
It depends on your target market, but people are always interested in learning more about how a device functions. Remember: people love to know stuff that their friends don’t know. It makes them look smart, and they’ll usually share their newfound knowledge.
Magnolia used customer education to its advantage.
Unsure of how to market their products on a low advertising budget, they decided to create a blog. The blog discusses what electronic products to look for when making a purchase, what to watch out for, how electronics work, and how amazing they are.
What was the result?
Shortly after creating this educational content, Best Buy bought the company for $87 million.
As it turns out, few companies were taking the time to educate their customers about electronics. Magnolia took a leap and went in a different direction and made a massive amount of money from it.
Your customers want you to educate them, especially if there aren’t a lot of people teaching them about a certain product or industry.
Transparency is scary for individuals and businesses alike. What if people respond poorly to who you are or what your business is?
I won’t lie to you: when you tell people about the real you, there’s a chance they won’t like it. I guarantee that some people won’t like it. You can’t please everyone, but I also guarantee that some people will.
It won’t just make you more likable. It will allow you to address your customers’ concerns and create a bond they will remember.
McDonald’s is a company that’s undergone a lot of scrutiny for its food’s quality. They decided to increase their brand’s transparency with their bold, “Our Food. Your Questions.” campaign where they answer questions customers have about their food. This campaign gave them the chance to debunk particularly heinous rumors about their food.
One rumor, for example, was about “pink goop” in McNuggets. In response, McDonald’s eradicated the myth by creating this video that shows how they make their McNuggets.
When you take the time to listen to and answer customers’ questions honestly, people will trust your company. Rumors spread about every brand; creating content around frequently asked questions is a great way to debunk revenue-killing myths.
There is always something trending online, and you can use trending topics to your marketing advantage.
How?
By creating content that plays off of them.
Hootsuite made the video “Game of Social Thrones.” That’s right, a social media tool used Game of Thrones.
How did they do this? It got creative and found a way to connect the trending topic to its brand.
While “Game of Thrones” is popular, it isn’t always the talk of the town. Other topics often are at the forefront of consumers’ minds so how do you figure out what topics to talk about?
It’s easy.
Go to Google Trends.
Glance through the topics on the homepage. These are topics that are currently getting a lot of search traffic on Google.
Use Google Trends to find trending topics to hijack with your content marketing strategy. Doing so can give your content the same appeal as the trending topic.
It’s always important to remember your brand image, though. There are certain topics you don’t want to be associated with your brand, so make sure you’re hijacking the right trends.
Yes. Your content walks the customer through their pain points and gives them actionable advice on how to fix their problems. In short, it’s the moment where your relationship with the customer begins, making it crucial to a successful online marketing strategy.
Every business is unique. What works for one website might not necessarily work for another, so what’s important is that you find the blend that works for you. Focus on creating high-quality content, then test these strategies to see what works for your audience.
Running A/B split tests is crucial if you want to know which headlines, calls-to-action, and types of content work best for your readers. Once you know what strategies work best for you, your overall content marketing strategy becomes far more effective.
Yes, you need an editorial calendar to make your content marketing strategy low-stress and rewarding. Taking the time to create a calendar keeps your content production consistent and more effective.
If you’re not seeing the results you want from your content marketing, then there are lots of different tactics you can use. Not every tactic will suit your business, so test to see which ones work best to engage your audience.
I’ve grown my brand off the back of content marketing. Using these content marketing tactics will help you do the same thing.
Focus on creating exceptional content and use these tactics to take your marketing to the next level. If you do this successfully, then you’re likely to reach more people, get more engagement, and achieve more of your marketing goals.
What’s your favorite content marketing tactic?
With over 2.74 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform. From a marketing perspective, there are many opportunities to engage with new audiences and expand your company’s reach.
How do you capitalize on these opportunities? By devising a Facebook marketing strategy.
For beginners, this can all seem a little daunting but don’t worry. If you’re new to Facebook marketing, let me walk you through using the tools available to your advantage.
Facebook marketing is a catch-all term for the different ways you can market your business on Facebook. It includes:
There’s a marketing strategy for every budget, whether you’re looking for a free social media marketing solution or you want to set aside a regular sum for paid Facebook Ads.
Firstly, over 90 million businesses are already on Facebook. Around 1.88 billion users access Facebook at least once per day, and at least 17 percent of users join Facebook to connect with brands and products.
In other words, businesses are actively pursuing customers across this social media platform, so it makes sense to build your own presence there.
What’s more, 45 percent of internet users across the globe turn to platforms like Facebook to find out more about products they want to buy. You can help them discover your brand by advertising effectively on Facebook.
Facebook lets you choose from four main ad types.
Static image ads are ideal for driving traffic to your website.
They must be in JPG or PNG format, and the headline shouldn’t exceed 40 characters. Since you only have 125 characters for the main message, they’re best for clear and concise calls to action (CTAs).
With video ads, you can showcase a product, promote customer testimonials, or boost your brand. Video posts, in general, have a 6.09 percent engagement rate on Facebook, which is impressive, but you’ll lose viewers if it’s a poor-quality video with an unclear message.
With carousel ads, people can scroll through a host of images to see the same product from multiple angles.
While this is great for e-commerce, carousel ads aren’t ideal for showcasing different products or listings e.g., properties in real estate marketing.
Image collections are great for showing products in your e-commerce store, but as with image ads, you’re limited to a short headline and a 125-character primary message, so they’re not suited for conveying much information.
The ad type you choose depends largely on your campaign goal. For example, an image is great for driving home a visually compelling CTA, whereas videos are useful for engaging audiences.
There’s no set cost for Facebook Ads, either. Since you bid on ad slots across the platform, how much the ad costs depends on how much you’re willing to pay to secure the slot you want.
To use Facebook Ads, it’s best if you set up a Facebook Page for your business if you don’t already have one. Set one up by heading here.
First, you need to access Ads Manager.
Ads Manager is the “hub” to create, manage, and track Facebook Ad campaigns. You can log in here.
Next, determine what you want from your campaign by setting your ad objective. There are three categories to choose from:
Click the green “Create” button and choose your goal:
A name helps you keep track of the campaign within Ads Manager.
Once you’ve chosen a name, confirm if you want to test different versions of the same ad against each other using A/B testing. This is optional, and you can change your mind later.
Move on to the next screen.
First, choose which Page to promote. This is probably your company’s Page.
Then, set either a monthly or daily budget for your Facebook Ad campaign, and determine when you want your campaign to start. You can set an end date, too.
If you want, you can schedule your ad based on time zones to ensure your target audience is most likely to see it. For example, if you’re targeting a U.S. audience, you can run your ads during U.S. daytime hours, and so on:
Build your target audience based on gender, age, location, and language. Once you’ve got a broad sense of your ad reach, you can customize your audience based on user behaviors and interests to improve your chances of reaching the right people.
If you’re happy with your ad reach, move on.
Decide where your ad should appear. For beginners, you might be best choosing “Automatic Placements” so Facebook can determine where you’re likely to get the best traction.
If you’re more knowledgeable, you can customize placement based on, for example, device type, social media platform (Facebook or Instagram), and operating system:
You can specify content you don’t want your ad to appear alongside, such as violent, sensitive, or offensive content.
From this screen, you can also customize your bidding strategy a little more. For beginners, though, it’s a good idea to stick with the default options at first and make changes later if required.
Finally, choose your ad format, type in the ad copy, and enter your images or videos. Once you’re happy with the ad, click the “Publish” button to go live.
Congratulations, you’ve created your first Facebook Ad!
To get the most from your Facebook Ads, here are some tips to bear in mind.
Want to see how businesses just like yours are making Facebook advertising work? Here are two companies putting some of the tips I’ve just outlined into action.
To advertise its one-month free trial, The Teaching Company, a college-level course provider, ran a variety of image ads to appeal to different demographics:
The value proposition is clear, the CTA is unmistakable, and the company makes it easy for customers to sign up for the trial. As a result, the campaign generated 15,540 new subscriptions, which was 10 times more than its average monthly subscription numbers.
The takeaway? Keep your ad fresh by switching out the images regularly, and always include a clear CTA.
To build hype around its HERO9 camera, GoPro ran a contest called the “Million Dollar Challenge.” In exchange for sending in raw GoPro footage from a HERO9 camera, people entered a contest to win a share of the $1-million prize pot.
Twenty-nine thousand people entered the contest, over 668,000 Facebook users viewed the video, and 56 winners took home nearly $18,000 each.
The lesson? Use video ads to bring your audience closer to your brand and reach diverse new demographics.
As I explained earlier, Facebook Ads are definitely not the only way to grow your brand through the platform. If you’re looking to make the most of your Facebook presence, here are some other strategies to try out.
Give your customers a place to interact by setting up a Facebook Group for your business.
You can use Groups to:
It’s free to start a Facebook Group.
If you sell products online, check out the Facebook Marketplace. The Marketplace lets you quickly connect with potential customers who are already primed to buy, and you can also reach local buyers more effectively through highly targeted listings.
It’s free to list on the Marketplace, too.
Your Facebook Page is essentially a free marketing tool.
At the most basic level, you can use it to share content and engage audiences. However, depending on your business type, you can also use it to:
What’s more, you can link to your Marketplace listings to help turn Page visitors into loyal paying customers.
When you run a Facebook marketing campaign, you want to track metrics such as:
– ad impressions
– ad frequency
– click-through rate (CTR)
– conversion rate
– cost per conversion
Facebook offers three main tools for tracking metrics like these: Ads Manager, Events Manager, and Facebook Business Suite.
The Ads Manager “reporting” feature lets you view, at a glance, how your ads are performing. From video ad views to website conversions attributed to a Facebook Ad, you can view all the relevant stats by creating a report.
To create a report, simply open Ads Manager, go to “Analyze and Report,” click “Ads Reporting,” then select the data you want to report on:
With the Events Manager tool, you can set up a pixel to analyze what actions people take on your website.
For example, whenever someone adds an item to their cart or completes a sale, the pixel records this as an action or “event.” You can view this data in a report and then target these users with customized ads in the future.
Access Events Manager here.
The Facebook Business Suite lets you quickly view key data about your Facebook account, including:
-audience demographics
-post and content engagement
-paid ad performance
What’s more, if you have an Instagram account, you can access key insights through the Facebook Business Suite, which helps you unify your social media metrics tracking.
You can also use alternative tools like Google Analytics to measure ad performance and conversions if you prefer.
Need some extra help with your Facebook marketing? Here are some other resources to read.
For even more help, check out my personalized consulting services.
Facebook marketing offers a variety of ways for businesses to reach customers and advertise their products across Facebook. From ads to Facebook groups, you can choose which tools you want to use based on your digital marketing objectives.
Open a Facebook Business Page then access Ads Manager. Choose your objective, name your campaign, set your schedule, pick your ad placement, and you’re good to go.
It’s free to set up things like a Facebook Page or Group for your business. You need to pay to use Facebook Ads, though. The cost is generally calculated per click or impression, depending on the type of ad you select.
Less is often more. Keep images and videos clear and uncluttered, and make sure you highlight your CTA and value proposition. Choose the right ad type for your objectives by figuring out your goals beforehand.
If your audience is on Facebook, then you should really try out Facebook marketing for your business. Try a variety of Facebook Ads and measure your progress regularly to ensure you’re getting the most from your campaigns.
Got a limited budget? You can still utilize Facebook Pages and Groups to draw traffic, nurture leads, and ultimately increase sales long term.
Are you ready to give Facebook marketing a try?
When it comes to business lending, what are your best choices? What are the best business financing options? And what are the details?
Your best business financing options will depend on your business’s strengths. This is in three areas:
In general, business financing options divide rather neatly into those three categories. Four, if you separate personal and business credit, which we’ll do here.
Here’s a great selection of business financing options.
Fundbox will connect directly to your online accounting software. That’s all you need to do. You can get invoice financing or a line of credit. See fundbox.com.
Get a revolving line of credit for up to $150,000. Fundbox will auto debit your weekly payment from your bank account. You don’t need to show a minimum personal credit score, and you don’t need to show a minimum time in business.
You can use outstanding account receivables as collateral for financing. Receivables should be with the government or another business. If you also have purchase orders, you can get financing to have those filled. You won’t need to use your cash flow to do so. Get an accounts receivable credit line with rates of less than 1% with no consumer credit requirement. Receivables should be with the government or another business.
Use your outstanding account receivables for financing. Get as much as 80% of receivables advanced ongoing in less than 24 hours. Remainder of the accounts receivable are released once the invoice is paid in full. Factor rates as low as 1.33%. you can get an accounts receivable credit line with rates of less than 1% with no consumer credit requirement.
This is advanced to a business with a large purchase order or contract but cannot fulfill it. Lender then loans the funds necessary to complete the order and charges a percentage for the service. Then the company can fulfill its order or contract. The difference between purchase order and accounts receivable financing is:
Terms are for Credit Suite purchase order financing. For approval, lenders will typically review your outstanding purchase orders that need to be filled. If the purchase orders are valid and the suppliers you are dealing with are credible, you can be approved regardless of personal credit history. Rates typically range from 1-4%. In some instances, you can get 95% of your purchase order financed.
A loan made to a company is backed by a company’s expected cash flows. A company’s cash flow is the amount of cash that flows in and out of a business, in a specific period. Cash flow financing (or a cash flow loan) uses generated cash flow as a means to pay back the loan.
Often you will need to have a few years in business. You may need to meet a certain minimum credit score requirement. You will need to prove historical cash flow, and present your accounts receivables and accounts payables, so the lender can determine how much to loan to your business.
Merchant lines of credit are lines of credit offered by stores. These lines of credit can only be used exclusively at the store from which they are offered. One such example is Amazon, which offers lines of credit through Marcus by Goldman Sachs.
Terms vary. Eligibility can be based on cash flow (Amazon’s is). Such lines of credit may offer special financing terms during certain time periods, for certain products, or for a certain dollar amount spent at the store. In some cases, payment in full must be made after a specified period of time, like a promotional period.
Contrast with traditional credit cards and merchant credit cards which allow borrowers to continue carrying a revolving balance with interest. In exchange for a shorter repayment period, the borrower may be offered low or zero percent interest, or a discount off their purchase price.
Businesses that accept credit cards as a form of payment may qualify for a merchant cash advance. This means your business must have a merchant account in order to be able to accept credit card payments. Your business must bring in $100,000 or more per year in credit card sales. Typical approval is equal to one month’s credit processing volume. The minimum credit score is 500.
They do not ask for a lot of documents. This is not like what most conventional lenders will want. You won’t need financials, business plans, or resumes. You don’t even need collateral.
Your business’s credit card receipts and business bank statements tell lenders all they need to know. These loans work well for businesses that qualify and need funds fast, and those with credit that is less than perfect. It’s a great way to get money for your business fast with few requirements.
It’s also called royalty-based financing. Business revenue financing is a way to raise capital from investors who get a percentage of the enterprise’s ongoing gross revenues, in exchange for money invested. In a revenue-based financing investment, investors get a regular share of business income until a predetermined amount is paid. Often, this predetermined amount is a multiple of the principal investment. It is usually between 3 – 5 times the original amount invested.
Since repayment of the loan is based on revenues, the time it takes to repay the loan will fluctuate. The faster revenue grows, the quicker you’ll repay the loan, and vice versa. The percentage of monthly revenues committed to repayment can be as high as 10%. Monthly payments will fluctuate with revenue highs and lows and will continue until you’ve paid back the loan in full.
Collateral opens up a ton of financing choices; this is just a handful of what’s out there.
If you have an eligible 401(k), you can use those funds to get money for your business. You must not be currently contributing. You must not longer be working for the company that the 401(k) is under. And you must have a balance of at least $35,000.
You can even still earn interest on your account, and there are no tax penalties. Personal credit doesn’t really matter much. Interest rates are usually low.
In fact, they are often less than 5%. Close and fund in less than 3 weeks. Can usually get up to 100% of what’s “rollable” within your 401(k). This type of loan works well for anyone that has an eligible 401(k) account.
Similar to 401(k) financing. In as little as 3 weeks you can invest a portion of your retirement funds into your business. This gives you more control over the performance of your retirement plan assets. And it gives you the working capital you need for business growth.
In general, you will work with a CPA. They will help you roll over a non-contributing and qualifying account. This allows for cash out of half, or $50,000, whichever is lower. If applicable, the CPA you work with will structure a self-directing IRA for the remaining funds.
Some lenders will make loans using securities as collateral. Securities-based lending provides ready access to capital. This can be used for almost any purpose, such as buying real estate or investing in a business. The only restrictions to this kind of lending are other securities-based transactions like buying shares or repaying a margin loan.
You continue to earn interest on stocks pledged as collateral. Closing and funding takes less than 3 weeks. Rates can be as low as 1.6%. You will have challenged personal credit.
Securities-based lending for bonds is offered through large financial institutions and private banks. People tend to seek out these kinds of loans, if they want to make a large business acquisition, or if they want to execute large transactions like real estate purchases.
Lenders determine the value of the loan based on the borrower’s investment portfolio. In some cases, the issuer of the loan may determine eligibility based on the underlying asset. It can end up approving a loan based on a portfolio of US Treasury notes rather than stocks.
Most investment-grade corporate, treasury, municipal, and government agency bonds are accepted. You keep all the interest and appreciation from your securities. To qualify all the lender will require is a copy of your two most recent securities statements. If your stocks or bonds have a value over $25,000, you can be approved, even with severely challenged personal credit.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
Finance your next inventory purchase with financing from customers and brand supporters and fundraise directly to them. Customers buy through what’s called a Consignment Opportunity. Your customers own the products they helped fund until they are sold by the brand. As soon as the products sell, the customer earns payments. Kickfurther also offers an online store for businesses to market and sell their products. See kickfurther.com.
Get funding for up to $2 million in inventory. Payback terms will vary. At the end of each sales period, submit sales reports and provide payment for inventory sold. You are required to provide a monthly accounting of current inventory levels.
Inventory financing is a revolving line of credit or a short-term loan acquired by a company so it can purchase products for sale later. The products serve as the collateral for the loan. There may be restrictions on the type of inventory you can use. This can include not allowing cannabis, alcohol, firearms, etc., or perishable goods. There can be revenue requirements. And there may also be minimum FICO score requirements.
Get approved for a line of credit for 50% of inventory value, regardless of personal credit quality. Rates are usually 5 – 15% depending on type of inventory. Get funding within 3 weeks or less. It can’t be lumped together inventory, like office equipment.
Equipment financing is when you use a loan or lease to purchase or borrow hard assets for your business. It is a business financing option you can use to buy any physical asset. Physical assets can include items such as a restaurant oven or a company car. You will predictable amounts every month. You can build business credit on a program such as this.
All terms are for equipment financing through Credit Suite. Companies must have at least one year in business. You can get approved even with challenged credit. You won’t need financials to secure equipment financing. Approvals take as little as 24 hours.
You can also lease equipment, rather than buy it outright. And you will often put down less money than you would if you were buying the piece of equipment. You may be able to negotiate flexible terms with an equipment lease. It’s easy to upgrade equipment after your lease ends. This is helpful if your equipment is something like a computer which quickly becomes obsolete.
All terms are for equipment leasing through Credit Suite. You can be approved for equipment financing and leasing with as low as a 640 personal credit score. To get approved lenders will request details on the equipment you are getting. After a quick credit review, you can be approved for as much as $10,000,000 in equipment financing.
A credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured funding. Our credit line hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. Get some of the highest loan amounts and credit lines for businesses. Get 0% business credit cards with stated income. These report to business CRAs. You can build business credit at the same time. This will get you access to even more cash with no personal guarantee.
You need a good credit score or a guarantor with good credit to get an approval (a FICO score of at least 680). No financials required. You can often get a loan of five times the amount of current highest revolving credit limit account. This is up to $150,000.
A bridge loan is a short-term loan used until a person or company secures permanent financing or removes an existing obligation. It allows the user to meet current obligations by providing immediate cash flow. Bridge loans are short term, up to one year. They have relatively high interest rates. And they are often backed by some form of collateral, like real estate or inventory.
The Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid has a term loan program. This bridge loan works as either an add-on to, or in lieu of, the program, when the applicant meets eligibility and is agreeable to either a portion (or all) of their funding, supplied in the form of cash term loans. There is a fixed monthly repayment.
The Credit Suite program is an aggregate program requiring multiple accounts to meet our prequalification. Get $25,000 to $300,000 per applicant. The APR is 7 – 24% depending on creditworthiness and selected term. Terms are 3, 5, or 7 years. You must have a 680 FICO or better, and over $35,000 in adjusted gross income. Actual pre-qualification will depend on Debt-to-Income ratio.
Just like furniture, you can lease computer equipment. You can take advantage of tax incentives and use your cash flow to its fullest advantage. This includes:
Terms can include leasing to ownership. Often, leasing provides businesses with a full deduction of lease payments against current earnings. A large part of approval is based on the personal credit and background of the owners, not on trade or banking information that startups in particular don’t have yet. Lease up to $5,000 to $250,000 and more in computer equipment value. Lease terms range from 24 months to 60 months. See harrisleasing.com/computer-equipment-leasing.
Whether a vehicle is purchased new or used will affect the number of years you can finance the vehicle and the rates you will pay. If a vehicle is used, then the number of miles on it will also affect terms. Plus, business owners may be required to personally guarantee vehicle loans. If you are a co-borrower the loan will most likely report to your personal credit report. Some loans have a prepayment penalty and charge you for paying ahead.
In general, the following will eliminate the need to provide a personal guarantee for this type of financing:
Much like with any other kind of business borrowing, the more assurances you can give the lender, the better.
You need to establish:
Provide documentation that proves you are the owner of a business, like:
You may also have to provide personal documentation like personal credit score and credit history. If you are a sole proprietor and the business is under your Social Security number, you are the borrower and guarantor. Hence you are personally liable for repaying the loan. It is also a good idea to have a loan proposal. A loan proposal should detail your business, loan needs, and financial statements.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
Building business credit will open up even more opportunities for funding. Check out the details.
Starter vendors are open to working with most businesses, even startup ventures. Make sure vendors report to the CRAs – not all do. Vendors report to the business CRAs within 60 days. They help you build your business credit profile and score.
Terms will vary depending on the vendor, but they tend to be Net 30. And you will not need collateral, good personal credit, or cash flow.
Retail credit comes from major retailers. Buy everything from office supplies to power tools. Retailers will check whether your business information is uniform everywhere. They will also check whether your business is properly licensed.
Qualifications will vary, and there can be a minimum time in business requirement. There may even be a minimum number of employees requirement, or a minimum annual sales requirement. Terms can be revolving. You will need at least 3 (5 is better) accounts reporting to the business CRAs.
Fleet credit is used to buy fuel, maintain vehicles of all sorts, and repair vehicles. Even businesses which don’t have big fleets can still benefit. These are usually gas credit cards.
Requirements will vary. There may be a minimal time in business requirement. If your business doesn’t make the time in business requirement, you may be able to, instead offer a personal guarantee or give a deposit to secure the credit.
Bank credit cards are cards like MasterCard. So they can be used pretty much anywhere. These cards may even have rewards programs.
Terms can be revolving. Usually, you will need to have at least 14 accounts reporting to the business CRAs. There can be longer time in business requirements. And there may also be minimum number of employee requirements.
The Small Business Administration wants to see the full package.
Guaranteed by the federal government. Issued by participating lenders, usually banks. They offer a lot of the perks of traditional loans, such as lower interest rates and favorable terms. Due to government guarantee, lenders are able to offer them to those with a lower credit score than would typically be required.
Lenders and loan programs have unique eligibility requirements. In general, eligibility is based on what a business does to receive its income, the character of its ownership, and where the business operates. Hence even those with bad credit may qualify for startup funding.
Normally, businesses must meet size standards, be able to repay, and have a sound business purpose. The lender will provide you with a full list of eligibility requirements for your loan. See www.sba.gov/document/support–table-size-standards.
Ideal credit scores for an SBA loan are 680 or above. There are a number of SBA loan programs, each one designed to work for different needs and situations. Find out more at SBA.gov.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
Banks are often the first place we think of when we thinking of financing. But big banks only sign off on about 25% of the small business loan applications that come their way. Term loans often have lower interest rates than many other funding options. They also tend to be for higher loan amounts.
For term loans, you generally need all four strengths.
Generally speaking, the companies banks end up funding have very strong financials and near-perfect credit scores. You will most likely have to undergo a personal credit check. These kinds of loans may require collateral.
Angel investors invest in small startups or entrepreneurs. Often, angel investors are among an entrepreneur’s family and friends. The capital they provide may be a one-time investment to help the business get started, or an ongoing injection of money to support and carry the company through its early stages.
Angels are not covered by the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) standards for accredited investors. Angels could be friends or colleagues sitting on home equity, or local professionals who are looking to invest. Consider people you know well and people you don’t know so well. But keep in mind, you’re giving up part of your ownership in your business.
Angels are informal investors so there really aren’t any terms. Technically, there is nothing done for qualifying, although investors may (probably should) insist on a valuation of your business. No matter what, it’s always a good practice to get everything in writing.
Venture capitalists give money to help build new startups, if the VCs believe a company has both high-growth and high-risk potential. These tend to be fast-growth companies with an exit strategy already in place. Venture capitalists often look to recover their investment within a 3-5 year time frame.
VCs will also, often, want to own a large piece of a company if not a controlling stake. They want game-changing businesses, so straightforward businesses won’t be on their radar unless it’s shifting the paradigm. Like with angel investors, you are giving up a part of your ownership in your business. VCs often want a larger share of your business than angel investors do.
Because venture capitalists are more formal investors than angels, a valuation of your business is probably going to necessary. Specific terms will be spelled out in your agreement with them. The Securities and Exchange Commission will also have requirements. It is best practices to consult with a lawyer well-versed in business law before you sign anything.
You can get money from the crowd for your business. Start with a service like Kickstarter. But make sure you read the fine print (always a good idea!). Many crowdfunding platforms make you give all the funding back if you do not make your goal by the end of the campaign. But Indiegogo has a flexible funding option.
Crowdfunding platforms will take a percentage of the donations. That’s how they make their money. Crowdfunding platforms may push to have you deliver on your promises. So you’ll have to actually manufacture a product or do whatever else your business is supposed to be doing. Given how much social media we’re all bombarded with these days, it should come as no surprise that donors can become weary of crowdfunding pitches.
Crowdfunding tends to work best when donors can personally connect with a product or service. Straightforward businesses may not do so well. The kinds of businesses which do the best often associate with products not quite on the shelves yet, or artistic endeavors.
Standard widgets will most likely not attract brand ambassadors. They probably won’t get donors too fired up. Because crowdfunding campaigns are time-consuming, it doesn’t make sense to try this form of funding unless you realistically feel your chance of success is better than 50%.
Terms will differ depending on which platform you use. Check and make sure your platform of choice will allow your industry to work with them. For example, even though recreational cannabis use is legal in Massachusetts, Kickstarter (for example) doesn’t allow fundraising for drugs, nicotine, tobacco, vaporizers, and related paraphernalia. Any major crowdfunding platform has a section for rules, a FAQ, or ‘how it works’. Be sure to read such a section thoroughly so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.
The first thing to know is that equity crowdfunding is a stock offering from a company that does not have a stock exchange listing. Equity crowdfunding has been around for less than 10 years. It’s not the same as rewards-based (which comes from places like Kickstarter). Potential investors visit a funding portal website. There, they can explore different equity crowdfunding investment opportunities. Note: there are limits on how much capital an individual can invest based on their income and net worth. Equity crowdfunding gives investors a stake in your business.
Keep in mind that equity crowdfunding tends to be covered by the Securities Act of 1933, Regulation Crowdfunding (17 CFR Part 227), Regulation D Rule 506 (17 CFR § 230.506), and Regulation A+ (17 CFR § 227.100). See: law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/17/227.100.
Federal law can be complex. It is best practices to consult with an attorney well-versed in federal law, specifically, securities and corporations, when it comes to interpreting terms and qualifications (and any changes that may be made to these aspects of the law in the future).
Federal, local, city, and state grants generally do not have to be paid back. For urban projects, try HUD (Housing and Urban Development). For rural projects, try the USDA (Department of Agriculture). Federal funding means paperwork. You often must show experience in what you are proposing. See grants.gov. and grantwatch.com.
Also try city and state websites. These are often less restrictive than federal grants. It helps if you can show you will help the community. Try to partner with a local business.
Grants have varying qualifications. They are very competitive. Be sure to check information thoroughly. This includes due dates and any necessary paperwork. Some grants may offer preferences to businesses with minority, female, veteran, or disabled ownership.
Microloans are business loans with relatively low interest rates. Generally, these loans are on offer to small or developing businesses with modest capital requirements and little to no revenue history. Microloans — as the name suggests — are smaller loans than a traditional bank loan. They generally offer anywhere from $500 to $50,000 in business financing.
Terms and requirements vary among providers. Kiva, for example, charges 0% interest. The Opportunity Fund provides loans to low- and moderate-income immigrants, women, and other underserved small business owners. Accion requires a cosigner. Check the specific requirements of any microloan program that interests you.
This is an enormous buffet of business funding choices! But how do you select the one(s) that’s best for your particular situation? This is where our Advisory Team comes in extremely handy. Or help yourself with our Business Credit Builder. It’s your choice. But it all starts with business credit.
The post What are the Details on Business Financing Options? appeared first on Credit Suite.