When planned and executed properly, you can reap these benefits of organic social media:
Sharing your brand story to a wider audience for free.
Establishing your brand’s personality, values, and positioning
Building and strengthening connections with your customers and prospects by sharing informative, inspiring, entertaining, and shareable content
Engaging with your customers: Supporting your customers with their concerns or questions
Cultivating a community surrounding your brand
STRATEGY
Develop your focus on creating a Marketing Plan involving your current followers
See the Insights, behaviors and stats
When planned and executed properly, you can reap the benefits of organic social media
2. CONNECTION
Posting content on social media to engage with your audience. by sharing informative, inspiring, entertaining, and shareable content. It helps you strengthen your connection with your customers at scale.
3. STORYTELLING
Tell your brand story STORYTELLING is big when it comes to relating to each other. Your STORY is important because people are now buying based on the experience, what you bring to the table, your journey.
4. BRANDING
Increase the interaction so your branding can grow within their own network. Engaging with your customers
Asking questions, polls or even in the stories ask for feedback. Followers love that, and it opens doors to sell as well as to increase your numbers (KPIs)
5. COMMUNITY
Cultivating a community surrounding your brand By bringing a community together, you nourish and help within your location Online work brings the offline and online fusion while increasing exposure
As business owners, we tend to do or perform as best as we could with the tools given. When you start the entrepreneurial world, nobody gives you the keys to the end goal or the way to keep the “eyes on the prize”. In our Small Business Strategy series we will be talking about “Propostion”
What a Business Value Proposition is and why it is important
•••
Your value proposition is the promise you give to customers that you will deliver something of value to them.
It’s a statement that explains:
(1) the benefit you offer;
(2) who will benefit; and
(3) why you are the best choice to deliver that benefit.
What Is a Value Proposition in Business Development?
As you develop your business, your value proposition defines both the purpose of your business and your relationship with your customers. It should be clear and concise.
To create an effective value proposition, you need to know and understand your target demographic. Ask yourself:
Why are you the best business to solve that problem?
What benefit will customers gain from working with you?
Once you understand your customers’ needs and values, you’ll be able to create a value proposition that appeals to them.
How to determine your marketing value proposition?
Establish the benefits of your product or service
Communicate the value of these benefits
Pinpoint a problem a consumer could be facing
Relate the problem to the value provided by your product or service
Revisit the Vision Statement
Your business vision statement is the starting point for any business development planning, as it’s the core of your inspiration and motivation.
Evaluate Your Business
This second step of your development plan involves examining the current position of your business. First, the easy part.
What are your business’s three best strengths right now?
And what are your business’s three areas of weakness?
Use the SWOT diagram to have all these detailed and worked on.
(1) the benefit you offer
Define your customer by getting to know everything you possibly can about him or her. Think carefully about your product or service.
Exactly who would want to purchase it?
prospective customers about:
What companies they like
What they look for in an industry-specific product or service
What type of language resonates with them
(2) who will benefit
Consider what challenges or pain points your customers have and how you are addressing those problems. Think about both the practical and psychological benefits your solution provides.
For example, if you’re a property management firm, you aren’t just buying and selling real estate on behalf of your customers. Hopefully, you also offer specific advice that makes them feel their money is safe and well-invested.Brand messages should be reinforced throughout many – if not all – of the touchpoints in your customer’s journey with your brand.
(3) why you are the best choice to deliver that benefit
Consider what challenges or pain points your customers have and how you are addressing those problems. Think about both the practical and psychological benefits your solution provides.
If you have one, your value proposition should also include your unique selling proposition, or the thing that sets you apart from all of your competitors.
Value Propostion Examples
SHOPIFY
Shopify’s customer value proposition essentially says that it can do everything you need it to, all on a single platform. This speaks to some of the fundamental needs and concerns of someone who’s starting a new business: it can all get real overwhelming, real fast.
The company’s website says that the platform supports customers “from first sale to full scale,” and features everything you could need to start, sell, market, and manage your business.
To back it all up, those four items have their own page in the website’s main navigation, allowing users to directly explore how Shopify can help with each of those facets of starting, running, and growing a business.
CROSSROPE
Crossrope is a unique jump rope with a very clear product value proposition. They flat-out say that they’ve perfected the jump rope with “meticulous engineering” and “hours of testing.”
It’s clear that the makers behind the Crossrope have put a lot of work into it, and they clearly explain the elements of their design that make these workout tools unique and high-quality.
The company also has clever names for the two types of Crossrope: the “Get Lean” set and “Get Strong” set. These differentiate the two types while clearly stating the benefit for the customer.
Manitobah Mukluks has a more purpose-driven story and brand value proposition than many other ecommerce stores.
On the homepage of the website, you’ll learn that the company is Indigenous-owned, with products that are handmade by Indigenous artists who receive 100% of the proceeds. Throughout the website, the team at Manitobah Mukluks does a great job of weaving the stories of their ancestors throughout the brand’s products.
Ignite a community of compassionate problem solvers through intentional and inclusive play.
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, a Smithsonian Affiliate, opened in 2009 to provide an inclusive, explorative space for children across the Upstate to learn, play, and connect with the community.
With a main location in downtown Greenville and a satellite young-learner space in Spartanburg, TCMU’s high-touch model has met extreme and unique challenges with the onset and spread of COVID-19.
Nonetheless, in the true spirit of creative problem-solving, the museum staff and leadership have truly lived up to their mission to “create a world where no barrier is bigger than a dream.”
With a deep desire to provide continuous service to the community, TCMU immediately pivoted in response to the viral threat by moving to digital storytime and clubhouse activities via Social Media, mobile birthday parties, and online resources.
In accordance with CDC guidelines, summer camps were scaled back to allow for social distancing, with the highest priority on cleaning and sanitation. These health and safety regulations were developed, tested and adjusted as needed, all while remaining responsive to culture movements and providing allyship with the community.
The good news?
The hard work, thoughtfulness and research has paid off. TCMU reopened to the public on July 7th.
As you can imagine, though the Museum is open, things do look a little different to ensure the health and safety of all visitors:
Masks are required for all adult visitors
Masks are encouraged, but optional, for children
TCMU staff are required to wear masks at all times and have their temperatures taken upon arrival to the museum
New sanitizing wipe stations have been installed throughout the museum
Frequent sanitation and cleaning schedules have been implemented
High-touch toys and props have been reduced on the museum floor, and various exhibitions that are deemed difficult to keep safe have been closed
Kids Experiences- taken facebook
But there is no less fun, learning, and creativity to be explored at TCMU! As a non-profit, TCMU depends on donations and entry fees to continue to provide this invaluable resource to the Upstate community. If you are unable to visit, you can donate in any amount here. Or, if you are able, beat the South Carolina heat and take a young mind (or two) to TCMU for one of the best experiences in the Upstate!
TCMU seeks to ignite a community of compassionate problem solvers through intentional and exclusive play and create a world where no barrier is bigger than a dream!
Sounds silly, right? Who doesn’t know how to have a vacation where all you have to do is…stay home?
None of the planning, packing, scheduling, reserving, or Yelping. No pre-cation dieting, Instagram-worthy outfits, or budget-busting supply lists.
Just…stay home. Right?
Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation. For me, vacation means a few simple, but critical things:
A clean, comfortable space that’s somehow better than the place where I spend every other day
Activities that are so far removed from my norm that I actually forget about said norm for a while
Amazing food
Here’s how to get there, without ever going anywhere.
Start with a budget
A budget? For what?!
You want to make this time special – especially if you have children at home. This isn’t just another week of Netflix and cereal for dinner. Just like with any vacation, you will want special meals, activities, and experiences that will create connections and memories. Order an inflatable pool, a new puzzle, games, or movies, or splurge on a new streaming service and a projector for outdoor or bedroom movies.
You will also want to plan for special meals, whether you spend a day cooking something special or venture out for high-end takeout.
It’s all in the prep-list
If you’re like me, cleanliness is critical to relaxation. Do yourself the favor and spring-clean before you “leave.”
SNACKS. Life is not fun without snacks; give them the attention they deserve. Prep some healthy (or not) snacks and quick meals so you can pop down to the lobby-restaurant any time without a ton of work.
Get away from the routine – even in a small space, you can carve out some new scenery. Make plans to eat dinner in the bedroom, shower in a different bathroom, or have breakfast on the balcony.
Nothing ruins a vacation like work. This isn’t the time to get ahead on a big project or clean out your inbox There is nothing about email, negotiations, or reporting that says, “recreation and relaxation.”
Tie up your business TIGHT before you “leave”
Meet with your Marketing team to:
Schedule all posts and launches during your time away
Review any tasks that cannot be put on auto-pilot
Project-out those tasks that will need to be completed upon your return and get them on the calendar
Designate a point of escalation (NOT YOU)
Level-set boundaries and expectations
Reach out to customers and clients with your coverage plan
Pitfalls
There’s nothing easy about tricking your brain into vacation mode when you have nothing new in your visual space. Beware of some of these biggest trouble-makers:
Boredem – Hello, old friend. Now, truth be told, boredom is usually my tippy-toppest goal for any vacation. But when you are stuck at home, it can be lethal.
Work – If your aim is to complete some major projects around the house, be intentional and honest with yourself. Schedule them and stick to it. Otherwise, don’t allow yourself to work – whether it’s the paid kind or not.
Quitting early – Respect your time and need for a break. If you don’t, no one else will. Squeeze out every moment you can before you have to be a responsible adult again.
Self pity – This one might be my biggest trap. I have to avoid my feed, especially in the middle of beach season. Start or end (or both) every day by reviewing all the good in your life and beauty in your space. If you have kids, turn this into a craft so they have a tangible reminder to lean on when self pity starts to creep in. If you don’t, make yourself a list!
Too much screen time – staring at a screen can be a needed break from reality, but it can also make time pass by so quickly that you miss the whole trip. Kids and adults both need time (outside if possible) to stretch their brains and fill their lungs.
Promote the local economy
Did you know you can actually Yelp or post about your favorite restaurants, shops, and attractions in your own town?
What?!
Seriously, this is the time to build up your community and local small business, just like you would on vacation. Try some new places or new dishes at your favorite spots and post about them. Give them some Google stars, a shout-out on Instagram, or like them on Facebook – just like the organic, word-of-mouth exposure you crave for your business.
Drive over to the other side of town and see what’s over there. And then share what you find.
Don’t just skip the vacation this year.
No matter what your year has looked like, you need a break. We all do.
With an MBA from USC, 15 years with AT&T, and a tech background, Bill Fitzpatrick might not seem like the kind of guy who would dedicate years of his life to the preservation of small-town religious sites in South Carolina…but he is. And thank goodness!
When given the opportunity to take a few years away from the business world, Bill began a journey of exploration and research that quickly ignited a passion for history, travel, photography, and literature that had been growing since his childhood. This wasn’t his first tour – he once rode his bike across the country with a friend “just for the heck of it” and had already published several books and columns on travel and small-town America.
Having lived in Charleston, Columbia, and now Greenville, South Carolina, Bill admits that he “never much thought of the history or people that are in places like Abbeville, Cheraw, or Daufuskie.” But as he traveled, he realized that “too many of these places that were once the center of every community and so much of our history are now at risk,” without any support from the government and very limited economic support from mainstream religious denominations.
What began as a hobby – visiting, photographing, and learning about forgotten historic landmarks – turned into a dozen stories for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a 264-page coffee table book. People were so enamored with his “scrapbook” that he was soon looking for avenues to share his work. That’s when he found Mike Bedenbaugh and Preservation SC. A newly-created Sacred Spaces Fund and 1,000 copies later, Bill’s book South Carolina’s Sacred Spaces is now in its second printing! Proceeds from the book are already helping save these precious sites, like the major steeple renovation happening now at Trinity of Abbeville. The communities and congregations who love these spaces are forever grateful to Bill and his work with Preservation SC. And so are we.
“Bill has given us a sacred book and one for the ages.”
-Tom Poland, Author, recipient of the 2018 “Order of the Palmetto”
“What Bill Fitzpatrick and Mike Bedenbaugh and Preservation South Carolina are trying to do in the 21st century is help to preserve the texture and the spirit of rural South Carolina. Whether it’s the Lower Long Cane Presbyterian Church or Trinity Episcopal Church in Abbeville, these buildings reflect generations of communities; communities which are beginning to disappear…”
-Dr. Walter Edgar, “Walter Edgar’s Journal”
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