Marketing - Advertising and Social Media Continued...

Some time has past since I last wrote about ways to promote my business and how to proceed with the many options of social media. Here is the update. I am still overwhelmed by the may options that the internet provides in order to promote, grow, conceptualize, market and advertise my business. I realized that as wonderful as it is to have options, not every one of them will be helpful to my business. Now, that may seem obvious to some, but when every entrepreneur around me is tweeting, creating fan pages, blogging, creating Google Ad words, hoping on to foursquare or whatever the next craze is, it is hard not to feel the nagging guilt that you must also be keeping up with the "Joneses." Constantly.

I decided to evaluate my business model again and try to get rid of this social cloud tweeting around my head. (pun intended.) I realized that although it is great to develop myself as a brand, my time is better spent and my sanity is better saved if I choose a select 2 or 3 mediums to develop instead of spreading myself and my time too thin by developing too many networks that go nowhere.

What I have chosen to focus on at this time is:
1.) My blog, of course. It is a great medium to discuss relevant business topics, and give design advice to my readers.
2.) Twitter - At first I didn't really get Twitter, but now that I have a blog, what a great way to promote it along with be able to connect with my readers in a brief and succinct manor.
3.) Linked In - I do have a linked in profile but until recently have not really gotten involved with groups or discussions. I think it may be a great way to network with other business professionals.

I had also previously mentioned that I have tried paid advertising on a site called Interior Design Directory.
So far, I have not received any calls or leads that I know of from that site. I will let it play out of the year and see if anything comes of it.

I also started a Facebook page for Conceptual Interiors Inc., but haven't been able to keep up with the updates (fortunately because I have a lot of work at the moment.)
This will remain on the back burner until the other 3 can be developed and managed more regularly.

Although I am working on those media outlets above, I don't believe that they will bring me any direct business for awhile. It is more about building a name and a brand, which I do think pays off in the long run if handled correctly. What I do think will work and what I plan on working on next will be Google Ad Words. This way, I can manage my own advertising campaign and hopefully reach a targeted and specific client looking for my services as an interior designer.

Now that I have decided on a select few outlets for the time being, I hope to be able to strongly develop my brand while having time to actually do real business.

Someone's got a case of the Mondays!

Monday is here and surprisingly I always look forward to it. It is a great day to get my week organized, make some plans for the business and get my projects in order. This Monday is no different. I start the week with an overview of what I need to do for the entire week as well as for this specific day. It may be cliché, but when I have a task list and I can cross each item off as I accomplish them, I find I am 100% more productive than when I just jump right into work without planning. I even put a star next to the few items that I must do that day even if nothing else gets done. That way, I am my own boss and assign myself tasks to keep me on track.

Once I make my list, I find it is best to start with the items that are nagging at me the most. Usually the ones that have been rolling around in my head all weekend like a fly buzzing around that just won't go away. That way, if I can take care of those first, I find the rest of the day is much smoother sailing!

Being a designer there are two mindsets I need to get in to. The creative mindset and the business mindset. The creative usually includes starting out a design for a client like a furniture layout, apartment or home layout, or selecting decorative fixtures like tiles or lighting. The business mindset deals more with the organization of the business, billing, taxes and finances, and even project coordination and administration. Being your own boss in a small business means wearing all of the hats!

Mondays are usually better for wearing the business hat. It keeps me focused for the rest of the week and get's a lot of those nagging issues taken care of so I am free to design my heart away on Tuesday! :) Today's list looks something like this:

1.) Review Project 'A' and create punch list of outstanding items that need to be taken care of in order to complete job.
2.) Speak to custom furniture shop about Client 'B' regarding which wood samples we will need to get going in order to finalize selections with client.
3.) Continue selecting plumbing fixtures and vanity along with tile layout for presentation to Client 'C' this week.
4.) Set up any networking meetings for the coming week and next. Time is valuable so who is top on the list to meet and do business with this month?
5.) Quick check of bank account balances and client invoices. Who needs to be invoiced and what payments are still outstanding? Does the bank account match Quick Books? Reconcile!!

Well, that's the start to my day and week... Have a great Monday and check for more business development info next Monday.

Advertising, Marketing, Social Networking, EXHAUSTION!!

So now that I am back to work, I am looking for ways to start advertising and marketing again. Well, as wonderful as the internet is with all of its endless possibilities for advertising, it can also be quite exhausting! Everyday there are new sources, media outlets and networking opportunities that it makes it very difficult to figure out what is just hype and what will actually work for my business. Not to mention that a lot of advertising costs money, so deciding how to make the most of my advertising dollars is a big consideration as well.

The first thing that I did when I came back to work, which didn't cost me a cent was to email past and current vendors, clients and associates announcing my return, along with a photo of Benji. A lot of people appreciated the brief but personalized message and some people contacted me right away for work they needed. That was very encouraging and made me feel productive right away. It also was a good excuse to say 'hi' and remind people that I am here if they need anything.

The other place I am listed on now is the Interior Design Directory (check out Conceptual Interiors Inc.)
I haven't received any leads from this yet, but I am going to try it for a year and see what happens. I chose this website for two reasons. The first is that a colleague of mine uses it and said it has gotten him some business. The second is when I Google "New York Interior Designers" and other similar searches, a link to the page where my listing is comes up. I figured this was a good sign that people using Google for this type of search would find me.

Now it's time to move on to other advertising and marketing ideas. I would be interested to know what other small businesses do in order to get their company and message out into the world in a targeted way. There is so much speculation about social media, for example. Does Twitter and Facebook actually bring in business, and if so, for what type of profession? Is getting work the goal or is it more of a branding strategy?

I'm going to start experimenting with Google Ad Words before I get lost in the world of social media (aside from this humble blog and Twitter account - intdesignmom). Fortunately, my husband works in the field of computers and online advertising and will be able to help me (free of charge of course!) set up an account with Google Ad Words and get my advertising dollars working for me! I hope that this form of advertising brings in more direct and immediate business. My plan is to try a few avenues and put more effort into them rather than spreading out too thin both financially and emotionally!

Keep you posted on my progress. Let me know how you get your business!