Top Investment Tips For Small Business Owners

When you start a business, you take on a lot of risk. You put everything that you have into the business and if it fails, you could be left in a very bad financial position. That’s why it’s a good idea for small business owners to start investing a bit of money. Having a few investments to fall back on will protect you and it also helps to secure your finances for retirement. Unfortunately, a lot of business owners don’t think to invest any money and then, when they retire, they realize that they don’t really have much in the way of savings. If you haven’t considered investing before and you want to get started, here are a few tips you need to read first. 

Don’t Invest Everything 

When you are investing money, it’s important that you don’t take too much money out of the business. There are some important investments that you need to make in the business, like improved marketing campaigns, better staff training or new technology. If you don’t put money back into the business, it will never grow and you will stagnate. So make sure that you set aside plenty of money for improving the business and then take any surplus money and put it into your own personal investments. 

Start Small 

If you are new to investing, you need to proceed carefully and start small. Don’t take all of your money and start putting it into investments because you will probably lose it. Start out with a small amount of money and look for investments that are well suited to beginners, like Forex trading or penny stocks. As you become more confident, you can invest larger amounts and start diversifying your investments to reduce the risk. 

Consider Mutual Funds 

Mutual funds are one of the best ways to reduce the risks involved with investing because they allow you to diversify your investments. A large mutual fund will consist of hundreds of stocks, which are all managed on your behalf. Your money enters a pool with a number of other investments and you are all paid a share of the profits. A mutual fund is so effective because, even if some of the stocks drop in value, there are enough that increase in value so you still make a profit. Having somebody else manage all of the trades for you is a big bonus as well, especially when you are busy trying to run a business. 

Don’t Forget The Fees 

The biggest mistake that new investors make is forgetting the taxes and fees involved. The money that you earn from investments will be taxable, and if you are using a mutual fund or a stockbroker, they will take a fee as well. These extra fees could eat into your profits in a big way, so it’s important that you consider them before making any investments.

As a small business owner, you need to think about protecting yourself as well as growing the business. By following these investment tips, you can build an investment portfolio to fall back on if the business hits hard times.  

What Do Consumers Expect From Modern Marketing?

Just as print media can seem vastly out of date in 2020, it’s true that marketing methods are somewhat falling by the wayside, too. This is true of even tried and tested methods that have been here for some time. Consumers, on average, are becoming too smart and are too able to filter out bad advertising for a business to approach them without thought.

But what do consumers expect form modern marketing? They may be great at tuning out during a radio advertisement, or flipping past pages in a magazine that have full banner advertisements to proudly present – but it seems that the online space has opened up a plethora of new options for businesses up and down the country.

That all sounds very well and good – but what approach should you actually take? Nuance is important here – and your approach could usually be more directed than you think. So – where are you supposed to get started? Let’s explore three tidbits of new wisdom together, as they’re liable to have the best effect:

Easy To Digest

Easy-to-digest marketing is something quick, snappy, but also informative. It doesn’t outstay its welcome. Think of how most people will focus on your marketing. It will be through a social media feed, or through a quick advertisement on the radio or television. It could be a billboard. These platforms must immediately show the product or service and why it’s good, in an understandable fashion, in a very short space of time. If you can’t do that, then it’s important to refine your approach. While Christmas television advertisements can often be long and endearing, we all know this is because captured attention is at a peak. When your approach is easy to digest, you will stand a better chance of being noticed.

Clear & Consistent

Staying clear and consistent in your strategy is an essential component of marketing yourself and your brand well. For instance, if using corporate video production services to help you design a range of excellent short promotional films, keep the themes tight, and digestible, and understandable. This will help you retain that sense of strength around a certain virtue you wish to push and have understood – and it will also help your brand seem cohesive, trustworthy, and interesting. That’s a good place to start.

Something Novel

Novelty matters. You need to show them something they haven’t encountered before. This could take the form of humor, or perhaps a showcase that is unlike anything they may have imagined. We can all think of the times a food advertisement managed to shoot a particular foot product in such a way that we started drooling in our minds (or perhaps physically) – this is the result you should hope to achieve. Novelty draws attention, and attention can be converted into a purchase. With that goal, your days of mediocre ad campaigns will be over.

With this advice, we hope you can operate in-line with the marketing suitabilities of modern consumers.

Top 5 Benefits Of Video Marketing

As the marketing industry changes, businesses must evolve to remain competitive and future proof. One of the most effective ways to market yourself in 2020 is by creating compelling video content. There are plenty of different ways that you can approach video content, including advertising campaigns, product videos, live streams, tutorials, or webinars. Whichever type of video marketing you choose, there are plenty of benefits.

1 . Increase conversion rates 

According to Biteable, ‘videos attach 300% more traffic and help to nurture leads.’ When your site visitors watch a compelling video, they are likely to share it, tell their friends, and invest in your product or service. Video content can help you to tell your brand story, showcase your individuality, and entertain your audience. Using video content, you can appeal to the values and emotions of your consumers and nurture your leads.

2. Boost your SEO

Using videos can increase your ranking on Google in several different ways. Firstly, using video boosts your click-through-rates, including increasing your organic traffic. Secondly, using video is proven to reduce bounce rates; people tend to spend longer on pages that include video. What’s more, high-quality video content increases your chances of getting quality backlinks. It’s advisable to put your video on YouTube, seeing as it’s the most popular search engine besides Google. Videos are frequently shared on social media, so you’ll also improve your online presence.

3. Improves trust and branding

Video content is a fantastic way to improve consumer trust and boost your brand power. Videos are by far the easiest way to forge a connection with your audience; they are more visual, personal, and engaging compared with copy alone. Videos can help you to provide informational content, and allow your audience to get to know you, which generates trust. Oberlo reported that 81 percent of consumers said that they need to be able to trust a brand to buy from them.’

4. Improve your email marketing

Video can help to improve your email marketing campaigns. It’s often a challenge to get people to open emails, but including video can actually improve your open rates. Most of us can relate to the fact that it’s just easier to watch a video than to read over a longer piece of copy! It’s widely suggested that viewers retain more of a message from videos when compared to text alone. If your email marketing campaigns need a revamp, video is certainly the way to go.

5. Educate your audience

Modern marketing is about educating your audience as much as it is about selling. To gain a loyal following, you must seek to become a thought leader in your industry, offering your audiences unique insights. Providing educational content is far easier through the medium of video. With the right video production team, you’ll achieve beautiful content that helps your business to stand apart from the crowd. For live streaming, some of the most popular platforms include Facebook Live, Vimeo, Periscope, and Dacast.