Have you considered using Facebook Live to host an on-screen walkthrough? Learn how to broadcast with Facebook Live using free open-source software.
Read the full article at: www.socialmediaexaminer.com
Define Your Own Rules
Turn It Up Tuesday: Tips from Insightly to Take Your Business to 11
Welcome to Turn It Up Tuesday, where we bring you 4 weekly tips—a tip on running your business, a tip on using Insightly CRM, a tip on improving your sales, and a tip on improving your life. Enjoy this week’s tips!
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Streamline Your Day with the Insightly Calendar |
| Maintaining a calendar is a waste of time, right?
Wrong! An online calendar is essential for staying organized and creating accountability. If you don’t schedule something, there’s a good likelihood it will never get done. It may require a few extra minutes each day, but it’s worth it. In today’s fast-paced business environment, it’s understandable why busy sales professionals often bypass their calendars. Proposals, prospecting, and quotas consume nearly every waking minute. When the name of the game is making sales, a calendar is simply a luxury that many cannot afford to enjoy. Insightly solves this problem by including an intuitive calendar within your CRM interface. With Insightly, you can quickly add events for:
You can even link calendar items to your other records. For example, let’s say you’re working on a big deal and have scheduled an in-person sales pitch. You might enter that as a new calendar event, add the date, and link it to the lead.
One final thought: if you’re already using an external calendar, Insightly has you covered there, too. Simply enable calendar sync, and all of your existing events appear in Insightly. It’s important to note, however, that you’ll still need to use an external calendar for sending meeting invitations. Your Insightly calendar simply serves as a hub of all your scheduled time and commitments.
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Define Rules for Your Calendar |
As you get into the routine of using an online calendar, you may begin to feel frustrated by all the clutter. It’s a good idea to set some best practices, as to avoid this feeling. As alluded to in the previous tip, the Insightly calendar can pull in events, tasks, and milestones. Although similar, there are distinct differences between these records. Depending on your business model, you may choose to use each of them slightly different. The important thing is that you define rules for using such records and stick to them. For example, if you’re a software developer, most of your time is likely spent on the following “calendar-worthy” items.
By systematically using different types of calendar items, you make it much easier to sort and/or hide your daily workload. Rather than feeling overwhelmed, you can now visualize what must get done (such as attending meetings) and what could potentially wait until tomorrow (such as less important tasks). Get started by analyzing how you spend your time each day. Then, match your needs to the existing functionality in your CRM. In doing so, you’ll set a solid foundation for your future productivity!
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Keep Notes for Personal Connections |
You take great effort to keep your CRM records updated. Each lead, opportunity, and contact is complete with names, telephone numbers, email addresses, notes, hobbies, and other fun facts. Doing so is practical for business reasons, but it also makes conversations less awkward. Unfortunately, your personal records are a different story. Your closest connections are likely stored in your phone, but they’re usually limited to names and phone numbers. Your Christmas card list contains dozens of mailing addresses for many people you haven’t spoken to in years. And, your social media “friends” are a hodgepodge of distant acquaintances and family members, organized into a real-time news feed. With varying degrees of information constantly bombarding our minds, it’s no wonder why we lose track of what people are really up to. To remedy this situation, take a page out of your CRM’s playbook and start keeping notes about your personal connections. Get in the habit of updating your smartphone’s contact record for each person you engage. If the person is a new acquaintance, add him or her (even if you don’t have a phone number) as a new contact. In doing so, you’ll be able to better prepare for future conversations. Also, you never know when a personal connection could turn into a business opportunity. Start by keeping info on your phone, which you could always export and then import into Insightly later.
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Set a Goal: Impress Prospects with Less Effort |
Stop and think about all the things you do to impress prospective customers. Although each customer is different, you may find yourself performing the same activities over and over. How can you use technology to reduce effort and still impress clients? Here are a few quick ideas for streamlining redundant work. Writing one-off follow up emails for each lead – Rather than crafting a new email for each lead, leverage the power of email templates and merge fields. Most CRMs offer this type of functionality, which could save you hours of non-value added work each month. Manually delegating leads to your staff – When you only have a few leads per month, it’s easy to stay organized. However, as you scale your inbound marketing efforts, you’ll likely see an uptick in volume. Invest time to build logical lead assignment rules in your CRM. Looking for quotes & invoices – For every opportunity, there are usually at least two associated documents: a quote and an invoice. For every client, there could be dozens of opportunities and, therefore, countless associated documents. In addition to keeping local copies on your computer, consider attaching order records to the appropriate opportunities in your CRM. Rather than digging through file folders, you can now just search for the customer’s name and instantly find what you’re looking for. What other redundant tasks are holding you back? Spend time identifying other issues and then seek tools that help improve your output.
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Send Us Your Tips. Would you like to share your tips with Insightly customers? Send them to us! If we use one in our weekly feature we’ll send you a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or send us an email.
About the author: Matt Keener is a marketing consultant and President of Keener Marketing Solutions, LLC. Matt specializes in content marketing and strategic planning, having helped numerous Saas (software as a service) companies and other small businesses worldwide. Read more of Matt’s work, check out his book, or connect with him onLinkedin.
50 Influential Women in Digital Marketing: North Stars & Rising Stars
Check out this year’s list of influential women in digital marketing.
Read the full article at: www.toprankblog.com
5 Ways to Improve your Business Organization and Increase Sales on YouTube Live!
Join Ramon Ray from Smart Hustle Magazine and Erin Mathie from Business Made Simple for a YouTube Live event where they’ll have a candid, informative discussion on “5 Ways to Improve your Business Organization and Increase Sales”.
Ramon Ray is an entrepreneur, small business advisor, speaker, and editor of Smart Hustle Magazine. An avid lover of technology, Ramon works with Small Business Technology and SmartHustle magazine to educate professionals in how to strategically use technology to grow their business.
Erin Mathie is co-owner of Business Made Simple, a solutions consultancy for small and growing businesses. She is an operations and process professional and has helped thousands of small business owners run their business like a boss!
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
Are you the icing or the cake? The art of being indispensable
Help the people you work for become even better versions of their own awesomeness—and do the same for yourself in the process. Be the cake.
Read the full article at: thenextweb.com
New SBA website simplifies certification process
The new website is designed to streamline the application and certification process for women-owned small businesses.
Read the full article at: www.federaltimes.com
Update your records in bulk using Insightly’s improved Import Wizard
By popular request, I’m happy to announce Insightly’s improved Import Wizard. With it, you can now update your Insightly records in bulk. So, you’ll never have to manually update numerous records again. For example, if you just exhibited at a trade show, received a list of booth visitors and want to mark them as such in Insightly, you can now easily do it with just a few clicks. And, not only does it update existing records, but it also adds new records if a match isn’t found. And, if you think this only supports leads or contacts, you’ll be happy to know that the new Import Wizard allows you to update all Insightly records; leads, contacts, organizations, opportunities, projects and tasks.
With Insightly’s improved Import Wizard, you’ll never have to manually update numerous records again. Learn more about it in our help articles. And, if you just want to learn about importing to Insightly, in general, consult our Importing Guide.
And, if you like this feature, be sure to like and share it on social media!
What You Need to Know About Video Marketing Right Now
Video is quickly becoming established as the go-to option for marketing professionals. The rapid growth of high-speed internet connections has seen online video consumption explode; by 2017, 74% of all internet traffic is expected to be video.
This ever-growing market presents real opportunities for advertising, and on a relatively level playing field where any video has the potential to be a hit, smaller businesses have just as much chance of reaping the benefits as their larger, wealthier rivals.
But only if they get it right.
A poorly-made video that no one wants to watch may end up being more than just a waste of time and money – it could even lead customers to view your business in a less favorable light.
Video is tough – tougher than almost any other form of marketing. Before you jump in, you need to know the basics.
Making Use of the Golden Seconds
The first thing we have to accept when making a video advertisement is this: most people don’t like ads. As a society, we think they’re invasive and annoying. They use up precious mobile data and, given half a chance, we’ll do everything we can to avoid having to watch them.
Anyone who’s ever been on YouTube will have experience of this – how many times have you stared at a countdown, watching the seconds tick down, waiting for the option to skip the video you came to see?
It’s not so much an issue when the viewer is already interested in the product and has chosen to watch, but if you’re sending your video out into the wider web and are hoping to grab new business, you need to engage people before they lose interest and decide to click away.
The opening few seconds are crucial. If the first impression is good, a viewer is more likely to stick around to catch the full message – and more likely to take some form of action.
Creating Viral Potential
You’re probably hoping your video “goes viral” – that is, gets organically shared from person to person, spreading far and wide without costing you a dime.
But no marketing agency or department – unless they have an army of compromised, fake or very tame social media accounts at their disposal – can guarantee a “viral video.”
The product that leaves the studio is just a video – the viral part doesn’t come along until later, when the ordinary online population decides it’s interesting enough to share it with their friends, family or professional networks, who then share it again, and so on.
All the creators can do is increase the likelihood of that happening.
So the first step is to establish who you’re trying to reach with your video. Get to know your customers. Once you have your target audience nailed down, think about the kind of videos those demographics like to share. Most viral marketing success stories fit into one of five categories – funny, “wow”, heart-warming, bizarre or useful.
This video of a commercial preceded by a commercial is genius. You’re clicking through to watch an Apple Music commercial featuring Taylor Swift. But before you can watch the commercial, you might be treated to a commercial advertising a movie about teenage Carole King.
Your video needs to stir some kind of emotion and do more than just advertise a product. No one wants to share an advert – but most of us are more than happy to share a cool video. Who doesn’t want to watch Taylor Swift falling face-first off a treadmill?
Doing it Yourself
Anyone can create very simple content – a six-second Vine clip, or a short video for Instagram on a average smartphone, while a decent HD camcorder will provide a small step up.
Mounted on a tripod, basic equipment can give acceptable results if you’re making, for example, a simple how-to guide. For informational videos, content matters a lot more than sheer quality – if you can cook up a good script and come across as trustworthy and knowledgeable on the topic, you’re 90% of the way there with minimal cost.
However, you may find that “homemade” videos are limited in what they can be used for. If you’re aiming to make a real showcase video for your brand or product, poor quality in any area – such as writing, sound or picture – could well turn potential customers off.
For a polished, professional-looking finished product that will truly get your message across in style, you may need to outsource to a video company – providing you can afford it.
The Cost of Professionals
The cost of a paying someone else to make your video can vary widely; factors such as length, what you want in your video, the reputation of the creator, and their location will all play a part.
If your chosen professional has only a local reputation and works out of an area with a low cost of living, you’ll pay less than you would if you hired a nationally-renowned company based in New York City.
But as a rough guide, a well-made video will set you back around $5,000 per minute, plus whatever you are willing to spend promoting the video.
Look into how much this is likely to cost before you make a decision on who to hire. Some video professionals will offer a full service, including promotion – this may prove a smarter option than a video-only package.
Your Video Marketing Campaign
Putting together a video marketing campaign can be harder work and more expensive than other forms of online advertising, but don’t let that put you off.
In a worldwide survey, 93% of marketing professionals said they were using video as part of their strategy, and 52% of them stated it gave a better return-on-investment than any other method.
Adobe reports that those who watch videos are 1.81 times more likely to purchase than those who don’t, and video has proven successful when used in all manner of ways – on home or product pages, in emails, on social media and out on the wider web.
Furthermore, search engines love rich media – pages containing video tend to rank higher in Google results than those without it.
It’s not easy and there are no guarantees of success. But video is the future, at least in the short- to medium-term, and any company not doing it is at risk of falling behind.
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
What Will Break People’s Addictions to Their Phones?
Tristan Harris believes Silicon Valley is addicting us to our phones. He’s determined to make it stop.
Read the full article at: www.theatlantic.com
Have mobile phones become the new oxygen for our culture? Can we truly eat, sleep, and be productive without them?
How CRM Helps Organizations Elect Data Security
If nothing else, the 2016 election cycle introduced the country to a lot of “firsts” – and for many Americans, it marked the first time cybersecurity became a topic of focus in daily news feeds. While candidates and their surrogates raised and responded to questions about security, some onlookers couldn’t help but start taking their own security into serious consideration as well.
For businesses, security has long been a paramount concern. It’s also an aspect of business that constantly needs revisiting; you can’t “set and forget” your security plan and expect it to keep up with today’s evolving threat landscape. Employee habits should also be periodically evaluated and kept in check, as some of the actions that can expose sensitive data seem unlikely to create risks. However, if a team member accidentally updates or deletes the wrong spreadsheet, or a period of high employee turnover results in a high number of former employees with up-to-date access credentials to the company’s private files, something that starts as a simple misstep can result in a massive data breach.
Organizations should also take care to ensure their third-party vendors or partners are following security standards that reflect or surpass the company’s internal policies. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are particularly vulnerable, as they were the No. 1 target for cyberattacks last year, and often don’t have the same resources necessary to respond to an attack as a major enterprise. To ensure that your SMB (or enterprise, for that matter) is keeping its internal policies updated and asking the same of its vendors, consider the below questions.
- Can we restrict access permissions for sensitive data? The more users have access to the intellectual property (IP) or personally identifiable information (PII) – which is almost always present in a third-party solution like a CRM – the more chances you’re facing for that data to be in danger. By creating layers of permissions based on user levels and histories, you can ensure the right people can securely access the records and data they need.
- Are we, and our vendors, compliant with SOC 2? Security organization controls (SOC 2), a security standard developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), helps ensure data security and prevent unauthorized access.
- What’s our backup plan for accidentally deleted data? Misplaced or accidentally deleted data can result in lost time, wasted resources and compromised information. Be sure that you’re able to restore files if a human error or security attack wipes them out – and that when you intentionally delete sensitive data, it’s destroyed for good.
- Can we generate new API keys if our records are exposed? API keys are usually long, complex passphrases that help prevent outsiders from hacking into your system. However, if they fall into a hacker’s possession, the tables quickly turn. Work with applications that can generate new, secure API keys as needed, giving you more control over your data’s security.
For individuals and brands alike, limiting the opportunities for data exposure is a key strategy for protecting that data. By working with partners that actively support secure protocols and restricted permissions, you can stop worrying about data security and resume keeping up with the latest political news.
Learn why Insightly is the market’s most secure CRM solution.
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
