Showing posts with label tips for small business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips for small business. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Official Launch News

I can't believe it is already August!  As summer draws to a close Marketing Mix Studio has officially launched!  We are excited to take on this next phase and look forward to working with new clients.

We brought Sarah Pfeffer (soon to be Mrs. Wood, she gets married this coming weekend!) on as our new graphic designer.  She has already done some great work re-working our logo and creating new icons for our website (soon to be uploaded).  We will post her formal bio when she gets back from her honeymoon.  Congrats Sarah!

In some other news we recently added a new client, J&B Image Promotions.  We will be working with them to update their newsletter and blog twice a month.  We are slated to start working on this project in August and can't wait!

Our next project we will be working on is updating the website.  We will be updating our services page, as well as add the new logo and icons.  Well that's all the updates for now!

-Vanessa

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Open House with Style Networking Event

The Open House with Style Networking event was a success!  Here are a few pictures from the event and of our booth!  Thanks to all that stopped by!





Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Open House with Style Networking Event

We are excited to participate in this networking event this coming Thursday.  Come mingle, network and check out this fabulous 1.2M dollar property for sale!

Date: Thursday, June 10, 2010

Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: 3151 Echo Gap Road, Larkspur CO 80118




Come enjoy some gourmet food, wine tasting compliments of WineShop at Home and the opportunity to network and shop from an assortment of small business owners, while viewing this fabulous property that is for sale!


Are you a small business owner interested in networking and meeting up with other awesome business owners? Or would you like to participate at a future 'Open House with Style' event and showcase your product or service , or a Realtor or Commercial Broker who would like to host an 'Open House with Style'? Then come and see what it's all about!

Bring your friends and business associates with you to this fun "open house with style" on Thursday evening June 10th from 5-8 in Larkspur!

We all hope you enjoy your 'goodie bag' gift as our thank you for attending!  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

What We've Been Reading Lately......


Wordpress For Business  Great article on the value of blogging and common questions answered on navigating wordpress.

27 Things Entrepreneurs Must Do To Get Known  Creative and innovative ideas to get your companies name out there.

The Next Wave Of Digital Marketing Trends  This article lists and explains 4 up and coming digital marketing trends sure to impact small businesses soon.

10 Ways To Stretch Your Marketing Budget  Simple and useful tips to maximize your marketing efforts without breaking the bank.





Tuesday, May 25, 2010

So you have a blog, now what?


Blog’s can be a great source of information for your customers, however coming up with something week after week can be daunting. Here are some ideas and inspirations for those times when you get the notorious writers block.

-Think about the top questions you get asked by your customers and write a blog addressing those questions.


-What are you working on? You can easily upload pictures and show your readers what your business is up too.


-Interview someone in your industry. Provide your readers with an interesting interview from an industry insider.


-Travel. Get inspired by your surroundings. You don’t have to travel to far off distances even listing some local hot spots can create a blog entry.


-Read. Select a few articles that you have read or provide reviews on books you have recently read relating to your industry.


-Surf the net. By searching the internet you can find interesting articles, stories or pictures for your posts.


-Shop. This is my personal fav :) Shop for things or services for your industry and sharing that with your readers.


-Write a review. In business you use a lot of different services and make great connections so share that with your readers and give your rave reviews about who you use. (Be careful with this one though if your writing a negative review, it could come back to bite you)


-Try new places and things. By trying out new places or things you are not only staying current within your industry but you can provide readers with why your way of doing things is better than the competition.


-Get technical. Are their certain aspects of your business that leave people scratching their heads? Explain in layman’s terms something about your industry.





-Vanessa

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Douglas County Divas April Networking Event

JeNae and I had the pleasure of attending our third DC Divas event on Tuesday night, which of course was SO much fun! If you are not familiar with the DC Divas, you should get acquainted because I’m sure they will be taking over a bar near you :) The networking group was started by Pam Anderson, Heidi Mendoza and Theresa Buckley and meets the third Tuesday of every month. It is a free fun networking group to meet businesswomen in and around Douglas County. I can’t say enough great things about how well the events turn out, the fabulous women we meet and the always fun diva drink of the night (Tuesday nights drink was a mix of pineapple infused vodka and pomegranate liquor YUM!) The event this month had a new twist and started an hour early at the new eco friendly boutique, Chrysalis. Chrysallis was a perfect fit for the event since this week we celebrate earth day. Chrysalis is located in the new Streets of Southglenn shopping area located on Arapahoe and University. If you have not been in this newly revitalized shopping area I highly recommend it. They have awesome new restaurants and shops. It’s also all outside so you can walk the streets and take in the gorgeous Colorado spring weather. Later in the evening we moved over to Bar Louie across the street. Bar Louie is a trendy new bar with a fantastic happy hour. Needless to say the event was a huge success and we are already looking forward to attending the next event in May!

Check out some of the pics snapped at the event:

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Networking and Social Media Marketing 101

When starting a business hearing the word “free” is music to your ears, so this week’s blog focuses on two areas where you can market your new business freely! Networking and social media shouldn't be thought of as the poor man's advertising though. They increasingly are becoming a crucial piece in building brand's in today's market. But before you get started here is the cliff notes version on the Do’s and Don'ts when it comes to conquering these areas.


Networking

Do attend as many networking events as you can to get your name out there. You never know what business connections or future clients you might meet. However, the key here is to be personable!

Don’t talk all about yourself or jump into what your company might be able to do for them. No one likes a pushy sales guy, so don’t be that guy (or girl)!

Do treat the experience as a first date- engage them, ask questions and genuinely act interested in what they are saying. Then if you have something that might help them out or be of interest to them mention it casually.

Do exchange business cards. You want to be able to follow up with your new contact so make sure to swap cards.

Don’t immediately go home and call them! Haven’t you heard this in dating? Well it’s also true in business! You don’t want to appear desperate. Give it a day or two and follow up with an e-mail. This way they can respond when they have time and if you don’t get a response, well then you get the hint.

Do dress professional. Its fine to dress casual but it is quite another to wear your ripped jeans and tennis shoes. First impressions are key and although people say they don’t judge, they totally do. So dress to impress!

Social Media

Don’t over post. Yes your fans and followers want to hear about your business but they don’t want so much info that it is consuming the whole homepage of their Facebook.

Do update regularly. (Now I know I just said don’t over post, so there is a fine line between too much info and not enough info). With that being said, the thing I hate the most is when a company or restaurant hasn’t updated content for over a month or for that matter over a week. By not updating regularly it makes it seem as if you don’t care about your followers. Your followers are your biggest fans so keep them updated!

Do link your social media sites together. If you have a website you should have a social media widget connecting all your pages together. If you are on Facebook you should list your other social media links and so on. This is important so that your customers and clients can easily fan you, tweet you or follow your blog. Without the links in plane sight most likely your following won’t know you are even using social media.

Don’t make it all about you. Yes, your fans and followers want to be updated on your latest business happenings but they also want to be engaged. Throw out questions to your audience (example: If you’re a restaurant, ask your fans what there favorite dish is or if you are a boutique, what trends are your fans loving). These types of engaging questions allow your audience to interact with you. They can also be a source of inspiration and insight into what your audience likes, dislikes etc.

Do post interesting and relative articles to your social media sites. Did you read an interesting article that relates to your business? Well I’m sure your following would love to be able to read about it too!

Do synchronize your social media layouts. By this I don’t mean they need to be identical, but they all should have your logo as your profile picture, similar colors and flow between sites. The last thing you want is a hodge-podge of social media with no real overall design concept.

Now go on get out there!

-Vanessa

Monday, March 8, 2010

Useful Articles On Marketing, Small Business and the Entrepreneurial Spirit!

If your embarking on starting a new business or are struggling with marketing in a down economy, you must read these articles! They offer great tips and insight into what marketing strategies work and how to increase business. In the article titled "59 ways to grow your business credibility and experience" the top 10 tips are services offered by Marketing Mix Studio!


59 Ways To Grow Your Business Credibility and Experience 

Marketing Strategies In A Weak Economy

10 Tips To Starting A Small Business