From HR to IT, to operations and marketing, one of the biggest challenges small business owners face is not only staying on top of it all but getting ahead of the game. Thanks to technology and seemingly endless innovation, marketing is one area that’s constantly evolving.
Staying on top of marketing trends
If you, like many other small businesses manage your marketing in-house, it’s tough knowing everything that’s going on. But miss a trend and you risk missing out on a huge business opportunity. So this week, we’ve compiled our cheat sheet to help you stay on top (and ahead) of the marketing game.
Subscribe to Google Alerts
By creating a Google Alert, you will receive email notifications any time Google finds new results on a topic that interests you.
Get updates on your competitors, find out when people post something about you on the web and of course, keep up with the latest marketing trends and important updates in your industry.
How to set up a Google Alert:
- Visit Google Alerts.
- In the “Create an alert about” box, enter the words you want to get email notifications for.
- Click Show options to say how often you get alerts, what types of results you want to get, and more.
- Click Create Alert.
- Once your alert is set up, you’ll start getting emails any time new search results for your keywords appear.
Subscribe to blogs and news sites
Subscribe to blogs (like this one) that stay ahead of the game for you. Each week you’ll be emailed the latest in small business marketing trends, news and how-tos. Add a few K.I.S.S favourite publications like Mumbrella, Fast Company, Inc and Fast Company and you’ll be all over it in no time.
Need to pull all your sources into one manageable feed? Check out another K.I.S.S fav: Pocket.
Get social
Stay connected via social media Utilise LinkedIn Groups to ask questions about emerging trends and best practice.
Get active on Twitter and create a list of influential people in your industry to track what they’re talking about. Create a secret list of your competitors, monitor them in real time and learn from what they are or aren’t doing.
Network inside and outside your industry
Join a trade or industry organisation to understand how other businesses in your field address the same challenges you face.
Networking with people outside your industry brings a fresh perspective. You’ll also find these people are more willing to give you unbiased feedback and advice as they don’t see you as a direct threat.
Never stop learning
Sign up for at least 1-2 courses, workshops, online training or webinars every six months. Continuous learning and education expands your business mind and keeps you up to date with the emerging trends you need to know about. Check out our courses here (more dates coming in June).
Want to stay ahead of the small business marketing game?
Subscribe to our blog today.
See you next week
Darnelle
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