 1. Personalization
Every customer wants to feel like what you offer is just for them. Some companies make this part of their overall business model, but there are easier ways you can incorporate this into your marketing. There are many ways that brands already do this including:
2. Video Marketing It should come as no surprise that short format videos are more popular than ever. With platforms like TikTok, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Stories leading the way, these short form videos give your brand personality. Here are a few benefits behind creating video content:
3. Social Messaging Apps Having a chat service that anyone can access, and have direct contact with your business, is something everyone should consider. People trust a business they can contact quickly and receive accurate information from. Here are some reasons to consider adding this to your list of marketing resources this year:
4. Shoppable Posts Scrolling through Instagram and finding an ad that not only targets your interests, but is also easily shoppable, is the best of both worlds. Without having to leave the app, customers can buy your products. Here are some ways the newest trend of shoppable posts might help your business:
5. Virtual Events Since 2020, the world and the way we hold events has been forever changed. Now that people have experienced virtual events, more people are open to the idea of attending them. Here are some reasons why a virtual event might make more sense for your company than an in-person event:
Try including one or more of these tactics in your 2021 marketing efforts and see how your customers respond. Thinking outside of the box is a great way to be noticed in a space that is overwhelmed with content. What other creative ways are you going to market yourself this year? By Chelsea Bray: Elle A. Design  During 2020 we saw an increase in newly opened small businesses locally and nationally. Many people found themselves out of work and recent business closures created openings in the market. This pushed some people to follow their passion, become their own boss, and start their own business. Starting a business comes with many obstacles, but there are plenty of people to help connect all the dots.
One of our strengths at Berry Digital Solutions is helping new businesses understand and start their marketing efforts. Marketing is a huge part of business, no matter the industry. It goes far beyond just a logo, website, printed collateral, running ads, etc. Before a new business can even begin the processes of marketing, there are certain foundations that must be laid. Branding Before a brand can be recognizable to others, it needs to be developed by the business owners to reflect what they are trying to achieve. Branding not only includes everything from colors, logo, uniforms, website and all other visual collateral, but also is the way a business talk to customers, their management style, and even how they speak on social media. All of these pieces will help when trying to complete each of the next steps. Market Learning the intended market is the first step to successfully targeting it. What size the market is, what local competition there is, the range of prices in the market, and any other defining characteristics help create an entire picture of the market each business will be trying to capture. Learning this information will help define keywords in online advertising, learn the appropriate places to spend a marketing budget, and set attainable goals for business. Choosing Marketing Avenues Once the market is defined, it is time to figure out where they spend their time. Learning what social media platforms, websites, publications, and types of entertainment an audience uses is a good first step when building a successful marketing plan. Not all audiences are found on all platforms and marketing too broadly can waste precious time and resources. Settings Goals and Budgets When creating content, it is good to have an initial budget. Be prepared to spend more during the initial startup phase and then spending between three and five percent of annual turnover on marketing moving forward. As content begins to be created and shared it is good to find a way to track if the marketing efforts put in place are working. Goals that are set should be attainable, specific, and time-based. Once the goals are set make sure they are shared with anyone on the team that can help make them happen. We hope this brief list of marketing basics can help new businesses obtain their goals. We are here to help every new business learn more about marketing and how it can help them grow. Feel free to reach out for a consultation at: www.berrydigitalsolutions.com/contact-us.html By Chelsea Bray: Elle A. Design
 The health of an office is about more than just a gym membership or a wellness program. While physical health is very important, mental health is just as important in any work environment. In the past few years there has been a lot of focus on toxic work environments and how you can make sure your office doesn’t become one. Here are some great ways to build strong connections with your employees and make sure your work environment is a healthy one.
Build Trust with Your Employees Building trust with your employees can take a lot of time and effort. The outcome will make your team much stronger in the long run. Model the kind of trust in others you want them to have in you. Building trust is a balance between leading and listening and making sure you and your team are all on the same page. Promoting trust between employees is also important because everyone should feel like a valued part of the team. Keep Your Employees Informed Communication is essential to building a workspace that is healthy and positive. Keeping your employees up to date on things happening within the company, no matter how big or small, makes them feel appreciated. If a large change is coming informing your employees first lets them know you care and don’t expect them to adapt overnight to change. When in doubt, the golden rule of treating others the way you would want to be treated will help guide you on what kind of information is important to share. Hire Smart The hiring process is when you get to know the personalities of potential employees and see if they would be a good fit for your company. You don’t just want someone who has the technical skills you are looking for; you want to hire someone that will fit with the other personalities of the office and adapt to the workflow already in place. Hiring someone that is excited about their work and long-term goals in their career will give other employees a boost of enthusiasm. Rethink Your Workspace The physical space in which we work plays a huge role in the quality of our day-to-day lives. Natural light, clean air, and tidy spaces play a big role in making us feel good at work. Another way we can rethink workspaces is by personalizing them for each member of the team. If someone needs a different chair, desk, wants to have a plant or hang a picture, allowing them to have these little things goes a lot way to help their mental health at work. Check-in with Your Team Regularly Once you set these things into place it is very important to continue to check-in with team members. Getting their feedback on what is working and what isn’t will help you adjust as your business grows and changes. It will also show employees that you value their opinion and really do care about their experience at work. Everyone deserves to work in a place that wants to help them grow and become the best they can at what they do. As an owner, boss, manager, or leader of a company, you have the power to help make that happen. Each day you get to shape your office environment into what you want it to be. Remember that making a healthy work environment is the first step and maintaining it is a commitment that you have to keep working on every single day. By Chelsea Bray- Elle A. Design  The new year is here, and it is that time when we all start setting goals. If you are a small business owner, or a leader in the community, here are some goals you may want to consider adding to your list this year.
1. Build a Website If 2020 taught us anything, it is that we need to be flexible and adapt to changes quickly in order for our businesses to survive. There were so many businesses that never had an online presence that had to pull together a website last minute to keep their doors open. If you are starting a new business, or just need a refresh, now is the time to get your website polished and make sure it functions exactly like you need it to. Having a website will give customers time to shop outside of your regular hours and you can literally make sales while you sleep. 2. Build Your Brand Building your brand, both online and in your community, is important for the long-term success of your business. While building your brand, through social media and other outlets, you get to share your personality with your customers. People will not only like your products or services but begin to trust you as the owner of the brand. This builds customer loyalty and gives them a reason to return and become a repeat customer. They will also start advocating for your product or services on your behalf giving you more business. 3. Be a Mentor If we all look back to the beginning of our careers, there was most likely someone there that guided us. Did we get the support we needed, or do we wish we had been given more? Are you at a point in your career where you think you can provide some advice to someone just starting out? Mentoring is a great way to give back, not just to your community but in your field of work. It is also a great way to be seen as a leader in your community. Give back this year and find someone that could use a mentor. 4. Get Involved in Your Community Find ways to collaborate with other local businesses. This will not only build your resources and connections but will help your town come together and appear unified. People want to visit a place where they are going to feel like they belong. Building connections around town and being able to support one another make the town feel welcoming and friendly. If everyone supports one another, the whole town will grow together. Find fun and interesting ways to collaborate with businesses, even ones that people wouldn’t expect at first. Step outside of the box and get creative. 5. Fight Burnout and Find Balance With everything going digital and more and more companies coming up with solutions for working at home, the line between work life and home life is more blurred than ever before. In order to fight burnout, it is important to set some boundaries and learn to stick to them. Be sure you are delegating tasks that would be better handled by someone else and make sure to take time for yourself. This includes taking your lunch break (even if you are really busy), not taking phone calls after hours, and leaving emails for the morning. There will always be times when you break these rules, but being mindful of them and why you set them in the first place will help you balance your work life and home life. Everyone sets and maintains goals differently, but we hope there are some ideas on this list you will consider adding to yours this year. It takes a lot of time and dedication to run a small business and be an active part of a growing community. We hope at the end of the day you are taking care of yourself and staying happy and healthy this year! By Chelsea Bray-Elle A. Design  One popular New Year’s Resolution is getting and staying organized! We don’t just mean your closet or pantry either. Get your to-do lists, files, and upcoming projects organized with these free tools. No matter your work style, there is a tool on this list that could help you and your team crush your 2021 goals!
Asana Asana is an online Project Management tool that you can use with your team to stay on top of all upcoming projects. It is a great to use when collaborating because you can invite unlimited guest users. The tool can be used to see progress long term and to break out day-to-day tasks that will keep you on target to reach those goals. If you are part of a team that needs constant communication, Asana is a must-have online resource. The best part is there is a free plan for up to 15 people so even a small business can get a lot out of this tool. Trello If you like lists, Trello may be the best tool for you. You can create boards for each project and lists within them for things you want to get done. This platform offers great visuals and is easy to use as a team. You can share boards between users to keep everyone on the same page. The cards on each list can be moved from list to list to keep things organized as you progress through a project. There is a free plan offered by Trello but there are paid plans as well that upgrade some of the features. Google Apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar and Mail) Google Apps are designed to be shared and the cloud-based storage makes it so you can access your files from anywhere. You can easily share your files with other contributors, and you can both work on them at the same time. Using the calendar in conjunction with mail will keep you up to date on all of your meetings and calls with the simple click of a button. These tools are powerful and run by a highly trusted company, so you never have to worry about losing an important document. WeTransfer Sometimes you just need to get files to people. You don’t need to store them long-term or have a dedicated space for files being used in a collaboration. This is where WeTransfer comes in! It is a free online service where you upload your files, fill in the recipients contact info, and send it to them. The site sends you notifications when the file is sent, opened and when it is about to expire. It is a fast and secure way to send files without having to give up any of your storage space. Pinterest has been around for years but is evolving year after year to fit the needs of its users. Did you know when Pinterest first started you had to have an invite from a user to join the site? They have come a long way! It is a great place to find inspiration and collect images onto boards to have for later. You can also create collaborative boards between team members so you can all pin ideas for projects and see each other’s inspiration. Pen and Paper Last, by certainly not least, is good old-fashioned pen and paper. If the online world is too much for you to jump into or if you just like having a physical connection to your to-do list, a pen and paper is all you need. Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than literally crossing something off your to-do list. It leaves you with a great sense of completion. If you want to up your pen and paper game, look into bullet journals. There are so many resources out there on different lists you can create to help you stay on track and reach your goals! We hope this list inspires you to look into some new and improved ways to stay organized in 2021. No matter how big or small your team, or the task at hand, these tools can help you stay on top of everything.  We want to take time at the end of the year to reflect on 2020 and how much your support has meant to us. To every single customer that supported us this year, we want to say, “Thank You!” We are so passionate about supporting small, local businesses, and we are glad you are too. We know this year has been a rollercoaster for everyone, but we have all worked together to come up with unique solutions to not just survive but thrive through these tough times.
We hope that you and your family have a safe and healthy holiday season. Some of you may not be having a normal Christmas this year, but we hope you're inspired to create new traditions. As we welcome the New Year, we hope that 2021 brings everyone the health and happiness they deserve. We can’t wait to work with you in 2021 and continue supporting your businesses. From all of us here at Berry Digital Solutions, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Heading into the holiday season we want to highlight a client of ours that focuses on giving back, Caring Kitchen. Every year they host a free Thanksgiving meal open to all Champaign County residents. They provide much more for the county than just one meal though. They offer emergency shelter services, a food pantry, a soup kitchen, tutoring, clothing and more all throughout the year. They are an outreach ministry in Champaign County that strives to advocate for and to provide services without discrimination to people in need. This year, more than ever, our neighbors need us. Help them have a wonderful day with their family this Thanksgiving by donating a food item or monetary gift to the Caring Kitchen. Here is a list of items they are still collecting:
If you are able to donate any of the items listed above, please drop off by Friday, November 20th to Caring Kitchen at 300 Miami St. in Urbana. You can also donate a monetary gift by going to their website and looking at the donations page. There you can also find a list of ongoing items they are currently in need of. Keep an eye out again around Christmas for another meal donation collection, as well as food boxes they put together for local families. If you would like to attend the Thanksgiving Day meal, or participate as a volunteer, call 937-653-8443. They will have carryout times from 11:00am-12:30pm and deliveries from 10:30am-12:30pm on Thursday, November 26th. Please help us spread the word by sharing with your friends and family so we can make this holiday season special for all of our neighbors here in Champaign County.   The Holiday shopping season is quickly approaching! This year is going to be a little different from any year before, but there are things you can do to make sure your store is prepared for this shopping season. Here are five things you should consider adding to your holiday plan:
With a lot of retail shops having limited space for customers this year, people have started to get creative as to where shopping can take place. You could set up a tent outside your store to have more room and show off your product to people walking by. Also, consider expanding into an empty space for the season. If there is a building in town for rent, see if you can rent it month to month and have a second location to double your traffic.
Keeping your online store up-to-date is going to be very important this year. If there are any upgrades for tracking inventory you have been putting off now is the time to make those happen. Anything that will help you keep your online store running smoothly will be beneficial. More shoppers than ever before are going to be shopping online exclusively this year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still shop local!
The holiday season is a time when a lot of retail shops extend their hours anyway, but you might want to consider how you add those hours to your schedule. This spring and summer we saw many stores open early for seniors and immune compromised individuals. If you want to attract those buyers, it might be good to have some morning hours specifically for them, along with later evening hours for people who work 9-5.
If you are reading this, you should already have an idea of what your holiday shopping season will look like for your retail location. People are going to start shopping early and trying to beat the rush. This even applies to online shopping because there have been many reports that shipping this year is going to take much longer than normal. Don’t wait until after Thanksgiving to start your Christmas marketing!
With shipping times taking longer, store having less capacity, and people still socially distancing, having a curbside pickup option can change the game! People can shop locally and get the product the same day all from the comfort of their home and car. It is the best of both worlds, bringing online shopping and shopping local together in the perfect way. If your business hasn’t started thinking about how to make the most of the holiday season yet hopefully there are some ideas on this list that can help. We hope everyone has an amazing holiday season and we encourage everyone to think about shopping local. More money spent local will stay local and it will help our neighbors all have a happy holiday season!  We all know that color plays a big role in the way people perceive a brand, whether they realize it or not. Color, and the psychology behind it, have been used for many years as a way to get people to do certain things, shop certain places, eat certain foods and more. Let’s talk about the ways color does the talking for you and what it is saying. We will also show some color combos and how pairings of colors can even further relay the message.
1. Blue Blue is often seen as a peaceful, calm, stable and trustworthy color. This color often reminds people of the sea or the sky. Be careful though because it can also remind people of sadness and coldness. If your brand uses a lighter shade of blue, it can signify innocence and openness. Darker shades of blue often represent professionalism and make people feel like the brand is mature and trustworthy. This color is often a background player and is best paired with a bright attention-grabbing color. 2. Red Red is one of the most intense and captivating colors. It drives action and captures attention. It is often associated with excitement, passion, danger, action, and energy. It can provoke strong emotions both positive and negative, so it needs to be used carefully. On a website it is often used as a call to action getting people to click a button, notice a sale, or just learn more about a product. Using the color red is one of the fastest ways to grab attention! 3. Yellow Yellow is closely associated with sunshine. It gives people the feeling of happiness, optimism, positivity, and warmth. Using the color yellow within your core brand colors is a great way to show that interacting with your business is going to be a positive experience for the consumer. This bright, vibrant color grabs attention in a way that red fails to. People are drawn to its positivity and it can impact the way people interact with your brand. It is one of the easiest colors to visibly see and is the first color infants respond to! 4. Orange Orange is another amazing attention attracting color. It often gives the feeling of creativity, adventure, enthusiasm, and success. While not as commanding as red, it is still used often as a call to action color on websites. The energy that orange creates gets people excited about your brand and gets their curiosity flowing. It has also been shown to stimulate appetite which makes it a great brand color for restaurants! 5. Green Green is very connected to nature. It gives people the thought of growth, health, nature, and serenity. Often used within brands that are connected to nature or health in some way, green is a great color to ground people with. It makes them feel like they are connected to nature and that your brand is as well. The only negative connection people make with green is a sense of greed or envy, so be mindful when choosing the correct shade for your business. No matter what color you choose to go with it is also important to have secondary and background colors that pair well together. Your main color will be the color that effects customers most directly, but you can use these ideas about color theory to pair elements together and use color to your advantage. There is so much more to learn about colors and how they are used in marketing, but we hope this gives you a good starting point when thinking about branding your business. |
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