Tag: Facebook

What Is The Benefit Of The Name National Property Inspections?

December 5, 2023

By Michael Trimble, NPI, Inc.’s Content Marketing Coordinator When starting a new business, entrepreneurs work hard to create a clear plan for growth. While there are many exciting things that come with establishing a business’ processes, brand image, and marketing strategy, owners tend to spend a lot of their energy early on avoiding common pitfalls. One of the most important pitfalls to avoid, of course, is choosing the wrong business name. Names are hard, whether you’re naming a new business venture or your child. For many entrepreneurs, launching a new business is very similar to having a new baby, as they work through the trials and tribulations that come with learning to operate in a new industry. While a person’s opportunities may not be markedly different whether they were named John or Albus, a business name can mean the difference between success and failure. National Property Inspections is a tried and tested name in the property inspections industry, which means inspectors that partner with NPI can see benefits prior to performing even a single job. To get a better idea of why National Property Inspections works so well in its industry, let’s first review what is important when choosing a

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

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

Standing Out From the Crowd with Content Marketing

July 18, 2023

By Michael Trimble, NPI, Inc.’s Content Marketing Coordinator Converting leads into actual customers can feel like an uphill battle at times. Business owners are tasked with finding an audience who might use their services, explaining why their service is relevant to that audience’s needs, and then providing enough evidence to prove that their services are more worth their audience’s time and money than the competition’s. Navigating all of these hurdles as one person is daunting, but owners should know that there is a workable solution. Content marketing is the life-blood for every business’ online activity, and more often than not, entrepreneurs that don’t have a good handle on their content marketing tend to have trouble engaging their clients. This is no reason to be intimidated, however. Small business owners have the opportunity to learn the gist of developing a content marketing plan in no time. But first, let’s discuss a few essentials. What is Content Marketing?Every social media post, blog article, infographic, and video tutorial released by a business is a form of content marketing. While content marketing can come in many, many different forms, they all have a shared intention to ultimately promote the use of a business’ products

5 Strategies to Get More Reviews for Your Small Business

May 30, 2023

By Zach Vesper, Senior SEO & Marketing Strategist Let’s say you’re heading out to eat in an unfamiliar city. You want to try something unique and high-quality, but searching online leaves you with an endless list of options. Mood and taste will certainly come into the picture, but how do you make your final choice? Check the reviews. Across all industries that rely on pulling in new clients and customers consistently, online reviews are crucial for instilling confidence in service quality. Adding positive reviews on websites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp improves where small businesses rank on Google and increases overall visibility through SEO. According to marketing analysts at Entrepreneur.com, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. To start improving upon your online advocacy channels, here are some great strategies for getting more reviews online. For more help building your online marketing strategy, reach out to your Omaha marketing team. today! If you’re interested in learning more about franchising with NPI, get your free info packet.

Expanding Your Online Following with YouTube

May 23, 2023

By Sydney Bailey, Director of Marketing Successful small business owners know the incredible value that a fully optimized online presence brings to their business. Facebook, Google Business, and LinkedIn all work alongside a professional business website to direct and convert visitors into clients. Depending on the industry, business owners might prioritize some of these platforms over others, but it’s clear that each plays an important role for small businesses. One platform that might get overlooked more often than it should is YouTube. Receiving billions of new views and videos every single day, YouTube’s international footprint is astounding. Present in over 100 countries around the world, the video-hosting website is also localized in 80 different languages. But with that said, small businesses usually aren’t interested in reaching an international, or even a national audience. Small business owners are rightly more concerned with reaching clients in their own cities. So this begs the question: How can YouTube be a benefit to small businesses? How Can YouTube Benefit Businesses at a Local Level? Out of all social media platforms on the market today, YouTube is perhaps best known for its intensely competitive nature. Vastly popular creators tend to dominate attention, and often leaving

Daily Videos: Reaching Tomorrow’s Homebuyers with Social Media

September 24, 2024

How can inspectors can utilize short-form video content creation on social media to boost their presence? We’ll discuss realistic ways that won’t overwhelm their busy schedules.

Responsiveness: The Traits of a Successful Property Inspector

September 10, 2024

Being responsive is a valuable quality in any professional industry, but we’ve found that property inspectors who prioritize this trait separate themselves from their competition and set themselves up to leave a lasting first impression.

Viewing a Hire as an Asset, Not an Expense

August 27, 2024

It costs time and money to find the right candidate. How do you make the shift from looking at the cost of a new hire to seeing the opportunity for growth that they bring?

Inspection Insights: How to Stand Out with Sample Reports

August 13, 2024

By Jon McCreath, NPI, Inc.’s Technical & Training Director In any industry, success often comes from separating yourself from the pack. Some businesses have exceptional communication skills, prioritizing customer service above all else. Other business owners invest in a diverse array of add-ons, making them a convenient one-stop shop for their clients. Then, of course, veteran business owners might trust that the quality of their products and services will naturally trump all in the end. Dedicating your attention to becoming the best among your competition is an excellent goal, but proving yourself to clients takes work, too! We’ve talked about how to get more reviews by prioritizing Google business listings for better online searchability, but there is another powerful tool that too few home and property inspectors utilize: sample reports. Home inspectors who host a sample of their inspection report on their website can display the quality of their product for any prospective clients and answer many of their burning questions before they even pick up their phone. If you’d like to start using sample reports on your website but you’re not entirely sold on the concept yet, let’s review a few of the benefits and discuss some of the

Expanding Your Audience by Becoming a Bilingual Business

July 30, 2024

New business owners often feel that they are racing to find a client base and develop trust with their local community. Finding leads, converting them into sales, and creating advocates to spread the word of all the good work that they do – the fight to gain credibility in a market takes plenty of guts and hard work. But after that growth slows, it can be difficult to find a new client base to tap into. Language barriers in diverse populations can limit a business’s market reach, posing a significant challenge. There’s certainly an opportunity to expand by becoming a bilingual business, but making this change involves more than simply translating a flyer into Spanish and calling it a day. Owners who learn a second language or hire employees with language skills may be able to grow their business, but that’s only the start of the story. If you’re wondering what it would look like to start marketing in a second language as a small business, here are a few of the considerations to take into account first. Learning a Second LanguageOne strategy that business owners may consider if they’d like to start marketing in multiple languages is to learn

Franchise Planning: The Importance of an Exit Strategy

July 16, 2024

Without proper planning and vetting, businesses can get mismatched to new owners with the wrong industry knowledge, the wrong skills set, and the wrong expectations.

Keeping Up to Date as an Entrepreneur

July 2, 2024

By Jon McCreath, NPI, Inc.’s Technical Supervisor & Training Administrator When running a business, owners work extremely hard to find their unique strategy for consistent success. Winning over a share of the market takes time and plenty of energy, but one common pitfall that entrepreneurs frequently encounter is losing that initial fire to learn and experiment. Too often, professionals find a comfortable place in their industry and then fall further and further behind while competition follows trends and implements what works into their businesses. So, what’s the solution? How do small business owners stay up to date in their industry? In the home inspection industry, some may point towards licensing requirements in each state as a solution, but this doesn’t resolve the problem for a couple of reasons: Ultimately, keeping up to date with your industry has to start with an internal desire to improve your services and elevate your business. Required courses will not cut it! So, for any property inspectors out there who want to keep their business practices and their personal knowledge on the cutting edge, let’s discuss a few of the top strategies. 5 Ways to Stay Up to Date in the Home Inspection Industry 1.

Ranking Up: Debunking the Service Area Myth on Google

June 18, 2024

By Zach Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s Senior SEO and Marketing Strategist As a multi-national property inspection franchisor, our marketing team gets a lot of questions about how to increase ranking on Google. Of course every small business’ marketing efforts should be multi-faceted, with a mixture of in-person relationship-building efforts and digital campaigns. With that said, there is no question that Google is king for digital marketing, and that all starts with optimizing your Google Business Profile. There are many features on a Google Business page that can be utilized to improve visibility and ranking, but we commonly see people turn to their service areas for answers. Many business owners seem to think that slight changes to the service area field could create the presence bump they need in certain areas. But we’re here to say that this probably won’t be the solution to any Google ranking frustrations. To better understand why this is the case, let’s discuss what service areas actually are, how they should be properly set up, and which strategies are the real secret for ranking up on Google. Defining Service Area BusinessesGoogle Business Profiles can be created for free and are broadly set up in one of two

Game Plan for Growth: Stop Selling & Start Making Connections

June 4, 2024

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach People become entrepreneurs for many different reasons, whether it’s the freedom to control their schedule, the direct impact they have on their business growth, or the prospect for financial independence. For many, “being your own boss” can be a career goal all by itself. However, despite the benefits, there are aspects of business ownership that can be intimidating as well. One challenging aspect that comes up again and again? Sales. Despite your skillset or previous experience, the need to sell yourself, your products, and your services can stop you in your tracks. Maybe you don’t think you’re charismatic enough, or the thought of selling things feels deceptive, selfish, or “slimy.”. The truth is, though, that “sales” has a worse reputation than it deserves (maybe thanks to one or two too many pushy telemarketers or sales clerks). Whether you’re extroverted or introverted, everyone has a unique way to relate to people so that they can become effective “salespeople” and set their business goals in the right trajectory, in a way that’s actually enjoyable. So, to all future entrepreneurs out there: stop selling. Instead, let’s discuss how important it is to invest in

Is Social Media the Right Platform for Political Commentary by Your Small Business?

May 21, 2024

By Michael Trimble, NPI, Inc.’s Content Marketing Coordinator You probably haven’t noticed, but 2024 is an election year! Okay, so maybe you have noticed. In the midst of heavy polarization, heated disagreements, and the general anxiety that comes with national elections, it’s understandable if you want to distance yourself from the political dialogue sometimes. Navigating political discussions in your personal life can be tough, but small business veterans understand how much trickier it can be in the professional sector. Despite this, many feel compelled to jump on social media and add their two cents, either on their personal profiles or through their business pages. The temptation is clear. As a small business owner, you’ve worked hard to build your social media following. Now that you have a platform with people interested in what you have to say, it can seem natural to use it for everything. Some business owners may feel it’s their social responsibility to speak about a particular topic, while others argue they’re exercising their rights. Some may even argue that staying silent is a statement in itself. Before you hit send on your next political post using your small business as a platform, here are a few