3 Gifts Small Business Owners Should Give Themselves For Christmas
Most small business owners I have ever met are very generous people. They are good to their employees and that goodness manifests itself particularly at Christmas. It is rare for small business employees not to get something from their employers even if its only a modest gift card or a ham.
In demonstrating their kindness to their employees, however, some small business owners fail to give something to themselves. This may sound a little selfish but there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving yourself a gift especially if that gift will greatly improve the future of your business. So in the spirit of giving I propose that there are three really crucial gifts that every small business owner should give themselves if they haven’t done so already.
1. The gift of blogging – Just the mention of the word blogging may cause some of you all to cringe. Before you start looking for the exits, consider the following statistic: businesses that blog get 88% more leads than those who do not. 1
Tip: Add a blog to your site. Blog on topics that are relevant to your business. Let people know both your expertise and your personality. People would rather do business with someone they know than a faceless entity. Also make sure that your blog or site has social media buttons that link to your Facebook page and Twitter profile if you have them.
2. The gift of Facebook – When I last checked, Facebook had over 800 million users. That means that if Facebook were a country it would be the 3rd most populated in the world. Also 67% of businesses surveyed in a recent report claim that they had gotten leads through Facebook. Do you really want to miss out on that? 2
Tip: Create a custom Facebook profile that is consistent with your brand. Make sure that your blog posts are automatically posted on your business Facebook wall and that you engage with those who like your page.
3. The gift of Twitter – Tweets, tweeting its all for the birds, right? Not so fast, bucko. Did you know that businesses that use twitter on average get twice as many leads? 3
Tip: Set up a free twitter account. Have your blog posts set up to automatically get sent out as tweets through a service like twitterfeed. Be sure and follow people who might contribute to your knowledge and who are fun to follow. They might just follow you back. Also, make sure that your email signature and business card have the address of your Facebook page and your twitter account.
So how generous do you plan to be to yourself this year? Leave a comment and let us know.
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- 2011 State of Inbound Marketing Report, Hubspot, page 76 http://www.hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-marketing/. ↩
- 2011 State of Inbound Marketing Report, Hubspot, page 103 http://www.hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-marketing/. ↩
- 2011 State of Inbound Marketing Report, Hubspot, page 129 http://www.hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-marketing/. ↩
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