Category: Social Media

Best Foot Forward: Marketing Your Strengths to Customers

July 27, 2021

By Stepha Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing Communications Specialist Marketing is all about showcasing your best abilities to your clients. What do you do that others don’t, and why should someone ultimately choose to hire you? As a small business owner, especially when you’re just starting out, it’s crucial that you put your top skills front and center as often as you can. This helps draw in your clients and allows them to understand the quality of service they’ll receive before they even contact you. So what are some things to highlight and where can you display them? Consider these options. Figure Out What You’re Best AtStarting off at square one, sit down and determine what you’re strongest at. A way to quickly discover your advantages is to create a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis breaks down your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats so you know what you do well and what needs improvement. If you have a team that works with you, bring them in on the process as well to get input from people with different expertise. Creating a SWOTA SWOT analysis is easy to set up and complete. You can create a presentation, a shared document or simply

Best Ways to Ask for Reviews

June 15, 2021

By Zach Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s SEO and Marketing Specialist It can’t be stressed enough how essential review gathering is to forming a strong presence for your business online. Living in the digital age, you have to take advantage of it or risk being left behind. Especially as younger generations, namely Millennials, are hitting the age where they’re ready to buy a home, reviews are a necessity. If it’s been a while since you’ve marketed for reviews or if you haven’t ever started, here are a few ways to get the ball rolling. Why do you need to stay connected? So how important are reviews in someone’s final decision? Great question! While Millennials do tend to be more plugged in, the general statistic for people that make a choice on who to do business with based on reviews alone is over 90%. Over 80% trust them like a personal recommendation, and nearly 70% decide whether you’re a quality business in as little as 3 reviews. That means you don’t have much time to make a great first impression. Not only are positive reviews important, but stockpiling them is as well. If you only have low-star reviews, a handful of reviews, or

The Benefits of Having a Site Blog

May 18, 2021

By Adam Kiesel, NPI, Inc.’s Digital Marketing Assistant Nowadays, it seems every business, no matter its size, has some sort of blog. In fact, there are over 600 million active blogs across the world. These cover topics on everything from sports, to clothing, and lifestyle advice just to name a few. With as popular as blogging has become and will only continue to be, let’s take a look at the question, “What can blogs do for you?” Pump Up Your SEO Search Engine Optimization or “SEO” is a major part of your business marketing plan. You want to get the most out of your website to appear higher in the search results to get customer traffic to your page. A blog is one simple and effective way to help you inch closer to the top of the SEO summit. Search engines use fresh content to determine where to place a page in the results. Having a blog that’s updated on a consistent basis provides that fresh information to index you above your competition. Also, including keywords in your blogs will make them more relevant to customer’s searches. Incorporate it Into Social Media Keeping your social accounts up-to-date is just as

Integrating Google Posts on Your GMB Listing

October 27, 2020

By Zach Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s SEO & Marketing Specialist Your Google My Business listing plays a key role in growing your business, and it’s important to know how to get the most out of it. There are many nuances with a GMB listing, but knowing each aspect will help with converting clicks to clients. One underused feature that Google offers for listings is the “Posts” section. What the Post Feature Does Integrating the Google Posts feature on your listing gives you a more well-rounded business profile. Along with linking to your web page and providing updated hours, posting on your GMB lets clients know what you’re up to. They get a better understanding of the work that you do by seeing it come directly from you. Being able to communicate effectively through Posts acts as an ice-breaker between you and a customer before you even meet. Google Posts + SEO You’ve probably heard how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) contributes to customers finding your business through Google Search. Having the Posts feature enabled on your listing will increase traffic to your site and boost your SEO ranking. Google likes to “reward” those that are active on the site, and posts is

3 Things You Need to Know About Online Reputation Management

May 17, 2019

By Stepha Vesper Managing your online reputation across social media platforms and review sites is a crucial part of being a small business owner in our tech-savvy, Google-driven marketplace. It’s also one of the most challenging. Here’s how you can streamline your approach to online reputation management and get the most out of your customer feedback. 1. Consistency is key.Like most things related to owning a small business, consistency is the key to successful online reputation management. Once you have all of your social media accounts set up and a good system for posting on a regular basis, monitoring your reputation is something that should always be at the back of your mind. Setting up Google alerts and being on top of your email notifications is a great place to start when it comes to overseeing activity. Make it a habit now so that you don’t struggle with squeezing it in when business picks up. And if you find yourself spending an hour or more a day on reputation management, consider hiring a part-time employee. 2. Respond to all negative reviews – and preferably positive ones, too!Receiving a negative review is tough, and we can’t promise it’ll get any easier

The Pros and Cons of Paid Search

March 29, 2019

By Zach Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s SEO and Marketing Specialist When it comes to digital advertising for your business, you’re not short on options. One choice many business owners overlook, for a number of reasons, is paid search. The major player in paid search is Google, and their Google Ads platform makes it easy to reach your ideal audience and increase your marketing ROI. We’ll break down the pros and cons of starting a campaign with Google Ads and help you decide if paid search is right for you. Pro: Paid Ads Can Extend Your ReachAbove all other digital marketing methods, Google Ads can help you achieve better market saturation, increase your brand recognition and put your business in front of your perfect customers. With a Google Ads campaign, you can choose exactly who sees your ads and when they see them, and you can even target your audience by geographic area to make sure you’re not showing ads in places that aren’t relevant for your business. Con: There are No GuaranteesLike any other aspect of digital marketing, your results with paid search will be based on how thoroughly you perform your initial keyword research and how often you experiment with

How to Make Time for Social Media

February 28, 2019

By Stepha Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing Communications Specialist As a small business owner, you probably feel pretty rushed. You want to be sure that anything you do will be worth it in the long-run so your business can thrive. We can tell you with confidence that social media is definitely worth the manpower, but how can you allocate that priceless commodity, time? Here’s where to start. Take a look at your task list.If you’re trying to make time for anything, it only makes sense to take a look at what you’re actually doing over the course of your day. Now is a good time to create a list of tasks you already do, from the moment you wake up till the moment you quit work for the day. Be sure not to leave anything out! Now that you’ve made a list, take a close look at it. What items on your list absolutely have to be done every day? What items have flexibility? What items are you just not sure about in terms of long-term success? What items aren’t helping you reach your goals at all? Once you have a definitive list of must-do tasks, you have a great place

The 6 Biggest Mistakes You Could be Making with Your Google My Business Listing

April 27, 2018

By Stepha Vesper Google processes more than 40,000 searches every second–that’s 3.5 billion searches a day! Needless to say, your Google My Business listing is a key piece (if not THE key piece!) of your digital footprint. Below, we’ll tell you the top six mistakes business owners make with their listing as well as the best ways to optimize Google My Business for happy customers and maximum return. Not Choosing the Right CategoryWhen you first create a Google My Business account, you’ll be prompted to select a category for your business from a drop-down menu. While this tiny task is easy to brush aside, choosing the wrong category has less-than-tiny consequences. That’s because the category feature is one of the primary ways Google accurately indexes your listing in local search results. Accidentally selecting the wrong category can “hide” your business from the right customers and confuse anyone who comes across your listing. If you set up your Google My Business listing years ago, it’s more than worth it to re-confirm your category choice. Google does allow you to add multiple categories to your business listing, but keep in mind that order matters. If you perform multiple services, you’ll want to

Tips on Marketing to Millennials

February 5, 2018

By Sydney Arp Millennials. Generation Y. It’s the age group that marketers across the country are endlessly analyzing. Let’s [try to] begin with a definition. Major publications label a millennial as someone who came of age around the time of the millennium (2000). Born between 1980 and 1995, Millennials range from 22-38. Yeah, you read that right. Some “Millennials” are nearly 40 years old. Surprised? The fact is, Millennials make up 25% of the American population. In the real estate industry, if you’re not marketing toward the millennial age group, you’re completely overlooking what should be your target market. Here are some insightful tips from a Millennial herself: 1. User-generated content is what we trust.43% of Millennials rank authenticity over traditional marketing tactics. We want to hear from a service user not a service provider. Think about it: our generation is more likely to trust news that comes from friends on our social media feeds than news we see from random sources or companies. In today’s world, the never-ending stream of promotions has transformed us into walking ad-detectors. Simply put, we know genuine content when we see it. Thus, brands that boast generalized, impersonal verbiage such as “the best” or

6 Traits To Look For When Hiring A Marketer

November 21, 2023

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach Entrepreneurs tend to start off their business solo, or if they’re lucky, they can tap into spouses or family members for help. Eventually, as business picks up and they begin to struggle to keep up with the demand, marketing efforts tend to be some of the first activities that begin to fall off. This situation isn’t all bad, of course! But once a business pulls back on marketing, that inevitably means that they’ll end up missing out on opportunities for further growth – leaving work either on the table for the competition, or leaving would-be clients’ needs unmet. Of course, business owners aren’t simply doomed to fall into this trap! They have options: first, to allow software to take marketing efforts off their hands, such as through scheduled social media posting, recurring email campaigns, or automated review gathering. Once these routes have been explored, though, it’s time to face the facts. It’s time for some extra help. Inviting a new voice into a small business can be incredibly exciting, and somewhat terrifying at the same time. After all, a bad hire could result in a time, effort, and money investment loss

5 Cost Effective Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses

November 14, 2023

By Sydney Bailey, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing Director Seasoned business owners know that every industry experiences ebbs and flows. There are times when the phones are constantly ringing and the calendar is packed. On the flip side, there are stretches where work is more scarce. It’s often during the slow seasons where cutting back on expenditures is a natural impulse, but business owners should be careful not to handicap their marketing efforts. Marketing is critical for reaching new clients and keeping your business top-of-mind for your established referral sources, so you should be hesitant to cut your marketing spend when business is down. With that said, there are ways you can be more intentional with your marketing budget. If you find yourself limited on funds, here are a few cost-effective marketing strategies worth exploring. Refine Your Communication SkillsStanding out from your competition is critical when business slows down. For some owners, explaining to prospective clients exactly what sets their business apart can be difficult. While effective marketing and networking can make your phone ring, it won’t do much good if the person answering the call doesn’t conduct themselves with enough confidence to actually book the job. With this in mind, business

Key Steps For Managing Your Work Vehicle As A Home Inspector

November 7, 2023

By Jon McCreath, NPI, Inc.’s Technical Supervisor & Training Administrator When imagining life as a home inspector, naturally one’s mind jumps to the on-site experience of gathering photos of a house’s interior and landscape, as well as maybe climbing onto a roof or roaming through a crawl space. What people who haven’t actually been a home inspector may not realize is that a surprisingly large amount of our time is actually spent in the car, traveling between locations, especially if you’re an inspector that serves a larger or mostly rural region. Keeping your work vehicle looking sharp and in working order is crucial to running a professional, successful property inspection business. Although you may have a great system already in place, here are a few reminders about how to take care of your mobile property inspections headquarters! The Importance of Vehicle MaintenanceKeeping a consistent routine of vehicle maintenance and servicing appointments scheduled should be a normal piece of your business’s expenses each year. While it may seem obvious, if an inspector’s vehicle breaks down or is delayed on the way to a job, their entire day’s schedule could be thrown off. Emergencies happen, of course, but changing plans at the

Marketing Insights: The Importance of Finding Your Audience

October 31, 2023

By Zach Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s Senior SEO & Marketing Strategist Any experienced marketer, when speaking about how to grow a business and reach long-term goals, will preach on how important it is for a business to find its audience. For many business owners, this might sound a little strange. After all, shouldn’t entrepreneurs be looking to find as many clients or customers as possible in order to convert on leads and maximize their sales? Of course this is true! But this doesn’t mean that the best marketing strategy is to speak to everyone all at once. Imagine you’re making a speech in a massive auditorium. For most people, the more people there, the more difficult it will be to capture everyone’s attention. If too many people are there, the audience further in the back will struggle to see you, and even the most expensive sound equipment will start to fail, leaving your message completely unheard to many. In the same way, marketing to a massive audience tends to be expensive, and a business that chooses to market in this manner can often see their message lost, becoming indiscernible as it competes with too many other businesses for attention. Instead of

Got Your Six: The Veteran’s Guide To Re-Entering The Workforce

October 24, 2023

By Sammi Marcellus, NPI, Inc.’s Recruitment Coordinator Enlisting in the military is a great opportunity for many to learn practical, real-world skills, all while serving their country. With that said, many struggle with making the move from the structure that military life provides, to the seemingly chaotic nature of being a civilian. Finding a career that’s fulfilling while also featuring these same benefits of a position in the military can be a tough ask, but that doesn’t mean veterans should be caught with application paralysis. Veterans looking to find a good job fit for themselves should recognize their strengths and the challenge ahead. To move forward with confidence, here are just a few notes to consider when pursuing the next chapter. Acclimate to Civilian LifeOne major struggle that Veterans experience upon transitioning away from the military is their daily schedule. In the military everyone has a specific job and their days are planned out extensively for them, which frees them up to focus solely on their duties rather and reduces the need for self-management. In the majority of civilian workplace settings, this strict schedule is gone, which can be jarring for many to adapt to. Veterans should decide early on

How Celebrating Holidays on Social Media Can Benefit Your Business

October 17, 2023

By Stepha Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s Senior Marketing Communications Strategist As your business grows, building an audience online can quickly become a strong stream for new leads and an opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition. In our previous article discussing how to use pictures to boost engagement on social media, we talked about how varied content is important for businesses that want to improve their performance online. While this is a great goal in theory, coming up with a consistent stream of unique content is tough. That’s why if you haven’t jumped onto the holiday post train yet, now is the time to start! Holiday posts are a great way to capitalize on current events in a way that breaks up your regular social media schedule. For some extra inspiration before the holiday season really kicks into gear, here are some things to consider when it comes to posting during the holidays! Choose Which Holidays to HighlightCapitalizing on a holiday on social media isn’t as simple as looking at the next one on the calendar and making a graphic to accompany it. Ideally, owners and social media managers should take some time to think about why their business has

Tips for Delivering a Bad Inspection Report

October 10, 2023

By Jon McCreath, NPI, Inc.’s Technical Supervisor & Training Administrator There’s a reason why “don’t kill the messenger” is such a commonly repeated phrase. Delivering bad news is a tough position to be in, especially when someone is caught blind-sided by the message. Even though you may have not been the cause of the situation, you were the one that disrupted the status quo. Whether fair or not, the one that delivers bad news often becomes the villain, and no one wants to be the villain. Home inspectors are frequently caught in the awkward position of needing to deliver information that clients probably don’t want to hear. The truth of the matter is that issues and defects in homes would exist whether the inspector discovered them or not. It’s only through a thorough home inspection that buyers can make their biggest investment with confidence. For property inspectors, delivering bad news in a calm and courteous manner is a skill worth building. Start by setting the right expectations. Don’t Hide from the ReportMany negative reactions from clients can be curbed through establishing a proper understanding before the inspection even begins. Inspectors know very well that no home is perfect, but sellers

Getting the Most Out of Networking Events

October 3, 2023

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach There’s a lot that goes into growing a small business, between learning the industry, making smart connections, and keeping up with the newest innovations. Naturally, this means that networking events can be a valuable opportunity for entrepreneurs to get their foot in the door and truly elevate their business. Any time a business owner can get themselves into a room where they are surrounded by other like-minded industry professionals, they have a chance to learn new strategies and techniques that can take their business plan to the next level. Unfortunately, many find networking events to be lacking as they struggle to make meaningful connections. Whether spending time at a convention, giving a presentation, or attending some other industry event, sometimes it can be tough to see immediate returns on your time and energy. If you’re looking for some strategies on how to capitalize best on networking events, give this process a try! In so many ways, successful businesses are built on relationships. Here’s how you can more reliably make a good first impression. Take Some Time to PrepareAs with most things, good preparation is the best way to set yourself up

How to Prepare Your Business for Your Vacation

September 26, 2023

By Michael Trimble, NPI, Inc.’s Content Marketing Coordinator Small business owners take so much pride in their work, it can be hard to take even a short break. The risk of losing momentum, missing out on business, and potentially damaging valuable relationships keep small business owners from taking a vacation–some go years and years without a break. While these concerns are valid, many may not realize that they are missing out on a necessary reset by forgoing an extended holiday. The truth is everyone needs a physical and emotional break from their work. Plus, new experiences and a broader perspective can provide much-needed creative energy to entrepreneurs. If you’re nervous about how to handle an upcoming vacation, here are a few actions you can take to ensure your break goes off without a hitch! Notify Your Clients (and Share Your Experience!)If you are your only employee, vacations mean that your business can’t do much without you. To keep any consistent referral sources or clients from being surprised, it can be smart to send out a notification in advance. Whether through an email blast or a few phone calls to associates with established relationships, offering a heads up is sure to

What to Research Before Becoming a Home Inspector

September 19, 2023

By Celeste Black-Harr, NPI, Inc.’s Recruitment Coordinator There are plenty of attributes that draw those with an entrepreneurial spirit into the home inspection space. Whether it’s the opportunity to own a business, innovate within a market, or control a personal schedule, many look to the prospect of being a home inspector as the answer to their career goals. The only issue is that, with the wealth of information there is out on the internet about how to get started as a home inspector, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Owning a successful home inspection business begins with asking the right questions. How can I be sure that my business will be profitable? What business model should I choose? What hours should I list for my business? No two businesses are the same, and while there isn’t necessarily a cookie-cutter model for success, there are a few places worth starting before getting caught up in the minutiae. With this in mind, here are some important areas of research from which every prospective home inspector would benefit. Check Out Your State WebsiteThe first step of becoming a home inspector should always start with nailing down an area of operation and reviewing that state’s