Whether you’re a start-up or an established enterprise, the start of another calendar year is the ideal opportunity to further nurture your business. Much like growing a sapling, you can cultivate the areas that work and prune away what doesn’t in order for your business to grow to its full potential. Here are five tips to get you started:
Out with the old and in with the new
As work piles up throughout the year, it’s almost certain that, less pressing tasks get sidelined – for example, that glitch on your website that you’ve been meaning to fix, or those recent press clippings that you’ve wanted to upload. The new year is the ideal time to update all your text, revamp your company blog if it’s looking cluttered, or add fresh new photos to your business Facebook account. Nothing says professionalism like a well maintained, up-to-date website, and giving your visitors something new to look at will engage them and get them coming back for more.
Spread the word
New year = new marketing strategies. Take a critical look at what worked effectively in the past year, and invest your time and manpower along those lines – after all, your business can’t grow if nobody knows about it! One of efficient forms of marketing can be growing your social media presence. This can be achieved simply by making sure your business has a presence on current social media platforms, such as Instragram or Vine, posting consistently and curating your content based on interest. This means prioritising and preparing for key dates, so, for example, you know what you will be posting at Chinese New Year or Valentine’s Day. Invest in the outlets that drive attention to your business, be that more sponsored Facebook or Linkedin posts, sending out monthly press releases through PRWeb or relying on apps for advertising through Lexity.
Jot it down
While it’s definitely important for businesses to set new goals for the new year, it’s just as important to write them down. Studies have shown that having a visual reminder activates your subconscious to work harder to manifest those ambitions. Whether it’s a corkboard, a Pinterest board or dreamitalive.com, where you create a collage of images and inspirational phrases to help you and your colleagues to better visualise your targets, these images will help keep you and your business stay on track this year.
Back it up
If you’re planning some exciting new projects for 2016, you’re going to need funding, and this is where your enhanced social media presence kicks in. Sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo allow small businesses to seek funding by creating a platform for owners to showcase their project or produce, collecting funds through crowdsourcing. The stronger your social media following, the more people you can direct to your campaign to contribute.
Rinse and repeat
It’s no good simply creating resolutions if you’re not going to follow through. Turn these good intentions into a firm habit by setting concrete schedules and rituals. That might mean mandating that a new Facebook post be uploaded at 9am every day, or organising a monthly team meeting where everyone gets the opportunity to voice concerns or questions – something that engineers at Groupon were asked to do, and that apparently worked wonders for morale. No matter what it is, be as specific as possible and start small, because keeping these small promises will, over time, give you and your colleagues the confidence boost needed to fulfil larger goals throughout the year!