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Small Business Marketing - Page 5

5 Minutes With a Green Technology Entrepreneur @ Charleston Airport

Green Technology
Brian Heather is a serial entrepreneur; young, dynamic, good looking and with a real social conscience. Not only is he in the business of sustainable environments, landscaping and water proofing, this 30-year old business man is changing the landscape of green buliding.

It may be a buzz word to many, but let me assure you, being green is more than meets the eye. Brian is a much sought after entrepreneur who has landed himself in the spotlight with his inaugural Ted Talk on June 23 on "The importance of reconnecting our cities to nature" as well as the natural charisma of an entrepreneur who is really going places.

His business, Solterra Systems, is a fully licensed electrical, landscaping and waterproofing company that focuses on integrating environmental technology into buildings.

This can range from green roofsproducing food, through to rain screen siding systems that protect the building from the elements with plants. 

But enough about that, how can we connect our cities to nature. Here's what he had to say:

What can communities be doing more of to connect their cities to nature?

The first step is attaching an ROI to the benefits associated with being in nature for all humans. For example, they estimate that the average American spends 26% of the day being distracted; think text messages, facebook, telephone or advertising. But right now technology is very much a part of what we do. The issue is that there is a loss of productivity in the workplace and people have, in general, very un-balanced live that is enhanced by the fact that technology plays such a huge role in what we do and how we live our lives.
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Are you being heard?

I experienced a frightening moment late last week when a star design intern in our Sydney office acknowledged the exchange we were sharing as the third time we'd ever spoken outside of work.

He's been with Marketing Eye for 4 months.

I work in Marketing Eye's Sydney office - every day, as does he. In fact, he and I sit no more than one meter apart but this close proximity evidently has no bearing on our track record of communication. Sure, we talk all the time about visual communication and client work and then there’s the phone that rings 50 times a day and it's a really busy time for Marketing Eye at the moment as we all step up to bring everything we can - but 3 actual conversations in 4 months?! That's appalling. In fact, I'd go one step further than that and say it's *beep* disgusting.
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It's time to settle down

It's time to settle down

I don't know about you, but I am exhausted. It's only April and already my migraine has set in and isn't about to subside - unless of course, I make some hard decisions.

Business expansion has been exhilarating, hard work, fulfilling, adventurous, rewarding and above all, something that I am proud to say that I have made the steps to do. There is still a long way to go and the road looks very long, windy with ups and downs going far into the distance. Hopefully, I will pick up some hitchhikers along the way to keep me company and that the car will be full of people all wanting to head in the same direction. No doubt, there will be people who will want to get out along the way and those who will feel car sick but then, miraculously, they will get over it and start enjoying the scenery and the ride.

Never for a moment have I been mistaken that this is not going to test me and every single person in my team. It singularly has been the bravest thing I have ever done and although I am a person who sticks to a plan, I never imagined for a minute that I would be living in Atlanta, in a hotel room, desperately wishing that I was home in my comfy bed with my Maltese Schnauzer, Pip, perched beside me. Nor would I imagine that I would leave her for long periods of time in the care of another.

Starbucks isn't my favourite coffee blend

It's funny, this morning I wished I had a jar of vegemite beside me and coffee that didn't come in a Starbucks cup. Vegemite reminds me of home and I have deliberately not brought it with me for the journey so that I open a new chapter without being so glued to the past that I can't get out of my normal routine. It's the lack of comforts that somehow gets me through.
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The Hot Tip for Business Success

hot-tips-for-business-success

I love my job. It’s the difference between meeting oodles of fabulous individuals - and not. Day in and day out I meet great people, each with their own story.  Largely, they’re entrepreneurs.  Now, I love entrepreneurs. I love being around them, hearing what they have to say, conversing with them, learning from them. Their energy, their knowledge, their confidence, their stories, their drive. I haven't dropped a love drug prior to writing this despite it being the Tuesday after a 4-day long weekend - everything I'm saying is actually true.

I personally will never wear the shoes of an entrepreneur though because I can't have that cauldron-of-ideas bubbling without strategy and planning the detail. That's me. There are entrepreneurs and then there's me.
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How Social Media Campaigning = ROI

Wina Slice of Thailand - Social Media Campaigning

The past few years has seen us as marketeers witness the tip of a technological iceberg. 

In a world where the word ‘Facebook’ is now as internationally recognised as the ‘Coca-Cola’ and ‘OK’ of yesteryear, we can conclude that social media and with it, social media campaigns, are the order of the day.  Businesses won’t maximise business without an effective social media presence - it is essential to play in today’s extremely competitive business environment and create long-lasting communications to build brand image and trust.

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One of the most beautiful places on earth....home.

This year is my 40th. I say that with much hesitation for fear that you will view me differently. I have been practising the word over and over again for months now so that I get use to it and it doesn't come as too much of a shock when the day finally arrives.

40 isn't old anymore - not like what I thought when my very own parents arrived at the same age. My mother had five children by the time she was 31 years old and by the time she was 40, she felt like she had done it all. It was time for retirement.
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When business expansion isn't what it's cracked up to be

Phew! Exhausted. Seriously. Whoever said that expansion was a walk in the park needs their head read.

While the first week was the most exciting time of the year to date, the second week was riddled with sleep deprevation, home-sickness and a case of missing the basic home comforts that I have come to enjoy.

On top of that, I realized that although getting new clients was relatively easy (for today) it is twice as hard to get everything else organized around that from an administrative point of view when you don't have your entire administration team at your disposal.

And... the time difference means that instead of 12 hours a day at work it was now 16 hours a day with little time to spare and if I was really lucky, I would get Sunday off, but probably not, because there is so much to do.
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The Dancing Queen Knows Something About Business

"Sounds unbelievable. My Melbourne dancing queen becomes a global business tycoon. I always believed in you. You are a female version of myself when I was your age. Only you have more balls. You are a real entrepreneurial woman and I was too long a successful manager with golden gloves. I admire people like you. I started my own businesses far too late. I am proud to be your friend."

I woke up at 5am this morning to this message on Whatsapp.
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How by marketing to egos you will get better sales results

That age old battle - the ego vs the heart - is more relevant now than ever to us marketeers and anyone directly involved in business development. It dictates how you speak to the people you need to be speaking to; how you capture their attention and it applies to every communication you put out there – online, direct mail, posters, brochures, social media.

The thing is though, with everyone communicating to everyone else - shouting, pitching and bargaining for a share of the market - it can be hard, defeating and infuriating for those of us running ethical business operations to compete with ‘get rich quick’ and ‘lose 7kg in 7 days’.
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Visual social media - the new phenomenon

Social Media

It feels like the birth of the sweeping social media phenomenon occurred just five seconds ago, with Pinterest’s viral growth to dizzying heights, Facebook’s takeover of Instagram and Twitter launching the new network, Vine.

The new medium is continuing to grow and evolve, spawning a new phenomenon of its own: visual social media.

Like moths to a flame, humans are innately drawn to visual elements including images, photographs and sensational design. As more of us are increasingly mobile and engaging with social media on smartphones, viewing an image is far less tedious than squinting to read a few lines of tiny text on a moving train.
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Are some business women cutting off their noses to spite their face?

An extraordinary thing happened yesterday. I arrived at a client meeting and was greeted by their inhouse / incumbent agency and felt like I had walked into a one-woman war zone.

It was suppose to be a meeting whereby both parties worked together on different projects to accelerate the growth of a company, working on the strengths of each agency - but it didn't quite go to plan.

Firstly, this woman walked into the room, didn't acknowledge me at all and sat down and started typing away on her computer. After 10 minutes, she was faced with having to be introduced to me and as she shook my hand, she nearly broke it. I hear men say that this happens with people who try to make a statement, but in 14 years of business, this has never happened to me. I have never met a woman who has shook my hand so aggressively that my fingers turned blue.

My first thought was about how the meeting was going to unroll and whether it was worth me being there.
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How to produce a mind-blowing podcast

Podcast


As business owners and managers in an ever evolving world, our jobs become more challenging every day – every hour – to cut through clutter and make consumers notice our message.


How many times do we find ourselves repeating what we say to co-workers to get a message across?  For most of us, this isn’t a reflection of how we’re gauged as professionals or individuals but 95% attributable to the ‘151 rule’.


They say a person needs to hear new information at least three times before it registers into his/her mind for immediate recollection.  This has been taught over and over again to us and you can test it by saying aloud a new name you come across three times consciously.


When you target a market with a specific message the same rule applies, all except your target isn’t one person and those three times won’t cut it.  It’s all about repetition.  You have no control over which people are listening at what time of the day - so the logical bet is to be accessible and available 24/7/365.

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How does a "guru" change your opinion?

It's only Tuesday and I am incredibly tired. I have been a week back in the US from international travels and all of a sudden it has all hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I arrive early to my hotel room, my place of residence until I make time to find a home in Atlanta, and I plonk all my bags down on the carpet, just by the door. Reluctantly, I reach for my bag and pull out my laptop case. As I unzip the case, I walk towards the small table in the corner, with a light beaming into the triangle of the wall.

I grab my Apple MacBook Air, flick open the screen, type in my password and stop for a moment. I am tired. So, tired that my body aches and my shoulder blades feel like I have a knife edged into bone. This is the life of someone who travels.
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What small businesses can learn from the Superbowl

What small businesses can learn from the Superbowl

Oreo
Four minutes. That’s how long it took for the first Twitter advertiser to bid on “power outage” as a search term after the lights went out at the New Orleans Superdome.

It also didn’t take long for cookie giant Oreo to respond to the now-infamous #superbowlblackout, spawning more than 13,000 re-tweets and nearly 5000 favourites.
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Do you have a marketing problem that needs solving: Exclusive to Atlanta Companies

Do you have plans to grow your business in the next 12 months? If you do, then we should talk.

There are many compelling reasons why businesses don’t achieve their goals; finance, people and marketing to name a few.

In the past 12 months, my business has embarked on global expansion. In that time, I personally have gone through everything from over the top excitement in signing a new deal, to dreading opening my emails - just in case something doesn’t go to plan. It’s part of the journey of any entrepreneur or businessperson that is on a high growth path and willing to take a risk.
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