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Four Small Business Tips for Getting to Grips with Social Media in 2020

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Take your small business to the next level in 2020 by using the tips in this blog to get to grips with social media.

If your business doesn’t yet have a social media presence, then you’re at a disadvantage compared to competitors that do.

Effective and consistent use of social media can improve your business’ reach, build your brand, increase conversions, establish a following and even improve customer service.

But the success you achieve on is dependent on how committed you are to the cause.

Here are our top tips for achieving social media success in 2020:

Dedicate time and resources to it

Let’s face the reality of the situation here; social media for business isn’t something you can pick up, put down, and then expect to see big returns from. Building a successful social media presence requires research, planning and dedication. So, if you’re serious about using social media as a way of adding value to your business, it’s vital to allocate time and resources to it.

Take a ‘social media simplified’ training session with Pink Spaghetti

Here at Pink Spaghetti, our team of social media experts run short, affordable, social media training sessions that make understanding social media for business simple. We have seven different sessions available including training in Facebook, facebook for business

Instagram, LinkedIn and Hootsuite. When you take part in one of our courses you also receive access to a private Facebook group where you can receive ongoing help and support with any problems you have.

Create a social media strategy and content calendar

Research, planning and preparation are important to staying organised and consistent with your social media efforts. A social media strategy will help you to identify your audience, the type of content that encourages engagement, and the frequency with which you want to post. A content calendar ensures you don’t miss important dates and help you to plan, organise, and schedule in a good mix of content for the months ahead.

Use the free resources, tutorials and courses provided

Who is better placed to tell you how to get the most out Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram than the people behind the platforms themselves?

Once you’ve identified the most appropriate channels for your business, take the time to read through the free resources and tutorials available on their websites to discover useful tips and tricks to help you to get more from your business page.

Some key free resources available include:

For help or advice with extracting and analysing data from social media, why not speak to one of our expert virtual personal assistants here at Pink Spaghetti? Find your local Pink Spaghetti office.

Small business guide to managing fluctuations in sales at Christmas

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Wrapped presentWith the right planning and preparation, your small business can effectively manage and even capitalise on any fluctuations in business over the Christmas period.

Most small businesses experience some level of seasonality with peaks and troughs in sales occurring throughout the year. Some common causes include the weather, holidays, university terms and the economy.

For some Christmas is their busiest time of year, but for others the seasonal period can be barren.

If your business usually experiences fluctuations at the turn of the year, it’s important to prepare for how you’re going to manage them.

Here are our top five tips for managing dips or peaks in business this Christmas:

Review last year’s sales

Analysing your business’ performance at this time last year can give you some idea what to expect this time around. Don’t forget to consider any anomalies caused by unexpected events like snow days or problems with suppliers and stock. Ideally, you should make a habit of reviewing your business’ Christmas performance early in the new year so you can budget accordingly for the next 12 months.

Manage your cashflow

Cashflow should be carefully managed throughout the year to account for any seasonality, including changing trends at Christmas. If business is usually slow, then you’ll want to save money made during busier periods to see you through. Meanwhile businesses that are busy over Christmas should make sure they have cash available prior to the festive period to invest in stock, advertising and marketing campaigns to help them make the most of an opportunity.

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7 reasons your small business needs to go paperless

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personal assistant prices for your home.Going paperless has countless benefits for your business and once you’ve gone digital, you’ll never look back.

If your office cupboards and drawers are bursting with paperwork it can be time-consuming and frustrating trying to locate important information.

Timesheets, invoices, contracts, statements, receipts, meeting minutes, and printed copies of emails can stack up over time, until there’s paperwork overflowing out of every drawer.

Most of this paperwork is also often printed unnecessarily and ends up going in the wastepaper bin.

Here are 7 reasons why your small business should consider going paperless.

Save time

Searching for a particular piece of paperwork amongst a huge bundle can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. When all your paperwork and documentation is saved electronically, a simple search on your computer or phone should help you locate the information you need in seconds.

Work more efficiently

Storing information and paperwork digitally can help you to complete many tasks more efficiently. Rearranging or organising information can be done with the click of a button and it is far easier to edit or share digital information than it is paperwork.

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4 cost benefits of working from home

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Is going to work costing you more than you think? Here are four ways you can reduce your expenses simply by working from home.

Many people are choosing to take back control of their lives by starting their own flexible home-based business venture.

Flexible home-based working opportunities like those that we offer here at Pink Spaghetti won’t only improve your work/life balance and job satisfaction, they can also help you to significantly cut your expenses too!

Here are 4 cost benefits of working from home that you may not have considered yet.

The commute

Is there anybody out there who actually enjoys the commute to work? Whether you spend it packed tightly on a tube or tram, stood checking your watch in the rain at the bus stop, or stuck in traffic in your car, the daily commute is the bane of many people’s life.

And what’s more, unless you’re one of the lucky few who can walk to work, fuel and public transport usually costs an arm and a leg.

Cutting out the commute will not only save you a considerable wad of cash, it is also better for the environment and saves you time and stress.

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What is Competitive Research and why is it so important?

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Outsource to virtual assistantCompetitive research is a type of strategic research that monitors and analyses what your competitors are doing.

The aim of conducting competitive research is to gain an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape. This can help you to identify opportunities in the market and keep the products or services that you’re offering competitive and current.

It can be particularly beneficial to carry out thorough competitive research at key stages of setting up and running a business, like when launching a new product range.

However, it is just as important to keep up with some level of consistent monitoring of competition on an ongoing basis. This can help your business to keep its finger on the pulse when it comes to changes and developments within your industry’s marketplace.

 

How to carry out competitive research

The areas that you choose to examine as part of your competitive research are likely to vary depending on what stage your business is at.

A few key areas that you may wish to consider if you’re carrying out competitive research at a higher level include:

  • List of competitors.
  • Who their target market is?
  • What makes them, their products or services unique?
  • Price points.

A more in-depth analysis may include some of the following:

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Franchisee Case Study – Amy Milchard

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Amy Milchard

Amy Milchard

What was Amy’s initial situation?

Amy had had a varied employment history, having worked in both the private and public sectors in HR, property management and sports promotion as well having extensive catering experience.  However, she opted to take voluntary redundancy as the organisation she worked for was changing and the opportunities for career development were reducing.

Amy was then faced with the task of deciding the next steps she wanted to take. Having worked in a variety of roles, she has a wealth of experience. However, she decided to look into working for herself to improve her skills and accept a new challenge.

 

How did she think Pink Spaghetti would solve this?

Amy wanted the opportunity to work for herself with the support of a trusted business model.  She began her search for a new opportunity that would provide her with the support she needed to develop her career.

Whilst researching, she found Pink Spaghetti and saw that it compared favourably when alongside other companies who offer similar franchise and work opportunities. Amy preferred the approach and the proven success of Pink Spaghetti.

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5 ways small business owners can make more time in their working day

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Get OrganisedImagine all the things you could achieve if you had just an extra couple of hours in your working day.

If you’re feeling time-starved and worry that your business may be beginning to suffer as a result, then it’s time to review where you are wasting time and what you can do to gain more hours in your working day.

Your time is best spent developing new ideas, progressing your business, and focussing on revenue-generating tasks, but if you’re bogged down with the day-to-day running of your business then business growth could be slow.

A shortage of time can be caused by many different factors including inefficient processes, unorganised information, distractions, and a work overload.

Here are five ways you can counteract some of these common problems and start gaining more time in your working day.

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8 signs your small business could benefit from hiring a virtual assistant

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personal assistant prices for your small business.Knowing when it’s the right time to get help with running your business can drive its growth and prevent you from burning out.

Entrepreneurs are often guilty of living and breathing their business.

Burning the candle at both ends and wearing many hats all comes part and parcel with running your own business. As your business grows though, you will find it harder and harder to keep all those balls in the air, all by yourself, all of the time.

Here are 8 signs that it’s time for you to think about hiring a virtual assistant.

You’re spending all day doing admin – If you’re spending all your time on day-to-day admin and there’s no time left for revenue-generating activities, then it’s time to outsource the time-draining tasks so that you can focus on growing your business.

Big ideas and projects keep getting pushed back – If you’ve got lots of exciting projects sitting on the side lines but find that they keep getting pushed further down your to-do list then you’ve probably got too much on your plate. A virtual assistant can reduce your workload, giving you back some of the time you need to work on new projects.

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How to avoid isolation when you work from home

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Working from home gives you freedom, flexibility, control and quality of life, but if you don’t look for opportunities to socialise it can become isolating.

Working from home has plenty of perks. You get to be your own boss, take a break when you most need one, wear what you please, and make yourself the most amazing cooked lunches; but it does mean sacrificing the office environment.

Even those that thrive on their own company can find that their home office becomes a little too quiet and boring at times.

The good news is that working from home needn’t be lonely, but it’s up to you to make sure that you’re putting aside time and making the effort to be sociable.

As well as ensuring that you keep a healthy work/life balance and spend plenty of quality time with your friends and family, you should also take steps to make your working hours feel less isolated.

Whilst working alone can be great for your concentration, feeling disconnected can be demoralising, lowering your mood, enthusiasm and productivity. Staying connected and speaking with others, even whilst still working from home, can be inspiring, give you a new perspective, improve your knowledge and be highly motivating.

Here are five ideas to help you to beat the isolation blues.

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4 types of email marketing campaigns to try

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MarketingYour customer email list is one of your business’ most valuable assets, are you using it to its full potential?

Email marketing is a simple and inexpensive way of delivering messages to many people at once.

When used effectively, email marketing can play a key part in the success and growth of a business by growing brand awareness and driving sales and engagement. Successful email marketing campaigns are usually targeted, personalised, attractive, mobile-friendly, compelling, and concise. Sending the same old tired promotional emails time and time again is only going to result in one thing, unsubscribes.

Don’t blow your chance with lazy email marketing, create a strategy and use a variety of campaign-types throughout the year to engage and inspire your subscribers.

Here are four of the most popular and effective types of email marketing campaigns to get you started.

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email help@pink-spaghetti.co.uk or click here to find your nearest team