What was your favourite Small Business Highlight of the Year?
Maybe it was an intriguing new development?
A useful new innovation? A fresh opportunity to market your business in an exciting new way? Or simply a comical highlight which made you smile?
My own Rapid Roundup of My Favourite Bits of 2013 hopefully includes a brief sample of all of the above…
I did ask some of my fellow Martin Print team members for their own thoughts, but I must have forgotten to stress the ‘business’ element.
Josh was very keen to point out that the highlight of his year was reaching Level 172 in Candy Crush Saga with only minimal screams of frustration.
Charlie, our Shipping Supremo with a mind rooted in strategy and tactics, seemed particularly proud of his work mapping me out a brand new route to the Sweet Pastry Shop.
It shaves a whole two minutes off my travelling time, although I now get stung by nettles and scratched by thorns every lunch break.
Meanwhile, Old Bert claims that his highlight of the year was beating Big Ted at Snakes and Ladders in a high-tension match which went on for days. His victory celebrations lasted just slightly longer.
Hmm.
Well, I’ll politely skip over those for now, and unveil my own selection of the hottest highlights of the year for Small Business.
From long-overdue changes to Facebook Contest rules which change the game completely, to the rise of NFC marketing, via the funniest Social Media meltdown of the year.
Did you miss any of these juicy bits of 2013?
Facebook Relaxed Contest Rules…Finally!
Here’s a great concept for spreading the word on Facebook with added viral power;
Create a quick and easy contest with just a single Facebook post, giving away a prize or discount voucher to the randomly selected lucky winner.
Users are encouraged to ‘enter’ your prize draw by simply ‘liking’ or commenting on your post which of course dramatically increases the post visibility and gets your shrewdly promotional post seen by a potentially huge audience. You might even end up with a minor viral success on your hands.
Sounds like a winning idea, doesn’t it?
Frustratingly, such a concept has always broken Facebook’s notoriously strict guidelines which stated that a business page must never run a contest which uses a Facebook function (such as a ‘like’ or ‘comment’) as a basis for entry.
The good news is that Facebook finally saw sense in 2013 and relaxed these silly contest rules, so you’re now free to create a simple but incredibly powerful contest as outlined above, without the risk of getting your business page closed down and without having to use a fiddly third-party Contest App.
Hurrah!
Here at Martin Print, we’re taking advantage of this game-changing move, and giving away stacks of exclusive high-value goodies on Facebook throughout January!
Stay tuned and keep connected if you don’t want to miss out…
One word of warning, though. It’s still against the rules to encourage users to ‘Share’ your post as a basis for entry. Only Likes and Comments are allowed for now, I’m afraid.
Check out the full revised guidelines before planning your own contest.
Pinning Down
a Social Media Trend
Of course, the ongoing Social Media revolution isn’t all about Facebook.
In 2013, Pinterest was recognised as the world’s third largest Social Networking site (after Facebook and Twitter) boasting a staggering 85 million unique visitors per month.
This online scrapbooking platform has certainly been the Social Media site to watch this year, presenting a range of opportunities to add a new visual twist to your business marketing.
This very recent Blog article takes a deeper look at how to get started with the basics on Pinterest, and reach out to a whole new online audience…
NFC Technology Delivers Enhanced Digital Marketing
NFC Technology has grown in popularity in 2013, as pioneering small business owners take advantage of a new dimension of digital marketing.
NFC Business Cards and NFC Key Rings retain the reassuringly physical presence of a beautifully designed marketing product, but they are also embedded with a tiny microchip packed with extra digital functions and features which can be unlocked with a simple tap from a compatible Smartphone!
Apple may have refused to join the party with their range of iPhones, but the list of NFC-enabled Smartphones continues to grow without the help of those party-poopers.
If you’re a complete newcomer to the thrilling new world of enhanced digital marketing, you might be interested in taking a look at this exhaustive introductory guide.
Or if you already have a little bit of knowledge on this cutting-edge format, you may prefer to investigate some of these creative and surprising ways to use your NFC Goodies for business and for fun!
It’s easier than you may think to get started with NFC marketing, and there’s no shortage of inventive ideas to get your recipients opening up your extra slices of content on their Smartphone screens!
The Biggest Online Meltdown of the Year
It might seem a little cruel to poke fun at the misfortune of business owners who get it horribly wrong.
But the married couple behind Amy’s Baking Company Boutique & Bistro lost the plot in such a mind-bendingly ridiculous way and on such a grand scale, that pretty much the whole of the internet ended up laughing at them.
If we’re being entirely honest, it’s very difficult to have much sympathy.
So, whether you missed out on one of the funniest highlights of the year, or you fancy re-visiting the epic online meltdown one more time, here’s a useful lesson on How Not to Treat Your Audience on Social Media.
The Changing Face of Email Marketing
This year, an intriguing new report from Alchemy Worx suggested that everything we think we know about good Email Marketing might well be completely wrong…or at least, a little outdated.
However, the truth of the matter is perhaps not quite as simple as that.
This recent article from the Martin Print Blog attempts to untangle fact from fiction…
We Grew Bigger by Helping You to Think Smaller
Finally, 2013 was a big year for Martin Print as we expanded in size whilst delivering lower prices and a wider choice of options for your business.
We launched our brand new Mega Monthly Deals in September which give you the freedom to order your Glossy Stickers, Fridge Magnets, and Stubby Holders in a new wider range of very low and very high quantities at very special prices.
So whether you’re after a single Stubby Holder for 99 cents, or a thousand Glossy Stickers for just $18.50, you can always choose the option that suits your exact needs and make incredible savings along the way.
We also recognised that many Small Businesses often require just very small quantities of uniquely tailored goods from print and design companies, but the cost generally turns out to be relatively expensive.
That’s why we’ve been getting busy on slicing our prices and widening your choices to deliver bigger value than ever before.
All the products in our new Price Slice range are now available to order in Exclusive Low Quantities with Exclusive Low Prices to match, including Post Cards from $45 per set, Leaflets/Flyers from $24.90 per set, and DL Cards from $58.50 per set.
If you’re interested in placing a much bigger order, you’ll be pleased to hear that these prices have been slashed right across the board – by as much as 80%!
Check out the handy price calculators on the links above to discover how much you can save when choosing your ideal quantities!
So, what was your red hot highlight of 2013?
Did you discover a new innovation, squeeze benefits from a new opportunity, laugh out loud at a comical novelty, or perhaps you achieved a memorable milestone with your own business?
Let me know below…and a very Happy New Year from the whole Martin Print team!
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