A landmark incident has occurred in this country and it has affected millions of people.  Richard Smith, CEO of Equifax is living the nightmare that haunts many administrators these days, especially if they are responsible for the security of people’s Personal Identifiable Information (PII).  Not only is he getting criticized for one of the biggest breaches in US history at 143 million records, but also for the delay in notification, for the possible impropriety of executives selling stock before the news broke, and for not having in place a standard set of practices to follow in the event of a breach.  After all, being in the business they are in, they should have assumed they would at some point be a target and be prepared for the reality.  If they thought they were, they grossly underestimated their vulnerability and the expectation of the public.  

Content Marketing is one of the hot trends in branding these days. From creating landing pages to gather emails, creating a blog and affiliate marketing content to social media graphics and video. If created and curated properly, your content can create huge dividends for your brand.
 
The biggest response I have received from clients and others I advise is that they have a hard time coming up with ideas to even get started creating content or finding ways to leverage their brand.  

​So in this post I’ll give you three unique ways to help leverage your brand presence to your audience and create a cycle of content to lead them to your website, create a new customer, and in this post, a new revenue model for your brand. 

April is “International Customer Loyalty Month” and even though building customer loyalty should be a year-round strategy, this is a good time to plan on how you can improve on relationships with your customers.

We all know the statistics: studies show that it costs at least 5 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Not only that, but loyal customers spend more. Existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products, and spend 31% more than new customers, confirms a 2016 Customer Loyalty Statistics Research.

So, if retaining customers is less expensive than acquiring new ones, and if it’s proven that loyal customers spend more, it makes sense to work on building Loyalty with your existing customers, doesn’t it? In this article, I will give you 3 quick ways that you can beef-up your customer loyalty program during this International Customer Loyalty Month:

With the pace of technology today, the walls that minded us as creatives are opening. Gone are the days of being tied to your computer at your office or cubicle. Many freelancers enjoy the flexibility and freedom associated with their lifestyle. That still doesn’t mean that we can’t ignore our client needs and deadlines. From coffee shops to airports, technology offers us the power to create great work for our clients virtually anywhere.

When I want to get out of the house, coffee shops or bookstores can be my secondary headquarters. To produce great work on the go, there are five tools I require to help me create awesome work and thrive as a creative.
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These are in no specific order or importance, but these tools have helped me get projects done on time, no matter where I am.

Lori Lawson is a LegalShield Director and is an ID Shield specialist.  Her company, New Line Associates is located here in Oceanside and she has been a Chamber member for over ten years.  Visit their website at newlineassociates.com.   Email her at lori@newlineassociates.com for a free, no obligation fifteen-minute consultation. 
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by Quantal Langford
 
I hope everyone is having a great start to 2017. For all my entrepreneurs, leaders and creatives, are you keeping on track with strategies or goals you wanted to implement for this month? 
For me, there’s technology and online marketing strategies I am starting to implement as well as some offline strategies that I think could be huge for your brand presence in 2017.
 
1. Video Content
This is a strategy I expect many online entrepreneurs and businesses to use heavily as a part of their marketing strategy. From a recent survey, video content consumed by audiences could account for 70% of content through social media. In a recent consultation with a leadership coach, he was looking for various ways to increase his brand presence. I asked him about FB Live Feeds and incorporating more of these in his content marketing. The results have skyrocketed for him from a branding perspective. His live feeds have reach thousands of people on each live post. Also mentioning any blog articles as well as his website address to funnel his audience into his website is key.

After initial meetings, hours upon hours of revisions and tweaks, you finally have the logo that best exemplifies your business and brand. Now what? Some think that if they place their logo on a website or Facebook business page, the loyal customers will come. I only wish that was true!
Much like a farmer, you have to plant and cultivate those initial seeds, with your branding and marketing before you can reap the rewards.

By Quantal Langford, Langfordesign
 
Developing a mission and purpose for your brand is what connects your brand to your audience emotionally. When your brand vision is concise, it allows you to communicate what your brand represents and how you wish to be perceived to your audience. It builds brand trust and loyalty. When that bond is sealed, through a strong inner vision of your brand, you build a tribe of followers that will buy your products and services, share your social media content and become advocates of your brand.
 
Your brand vision shouldn’t be confined to various taglines and slogans. How do you see your brand evolving in the next 5 to 10 years? Your vision should be expansive enough to reflect a company’s future growth and what the company could become. Your vision should be aspirational, to connect with employees, management, and leadership and allow the vision to encompass each individual within the company. From hundreds of employees to an employee of one, allow the brand vision to be organic, flexible and adaptable to brand strategists, marketing, creative, and leadership.

Over the past 5 years, Small Business owners have really understood that Social Media is a new way of doing Marketing in a non-threatening, non-intrusive environment. And, for various reasons, currently, Facebook has come to be the biggest channel one can pick in that arena.
 
However, while more and more businesses are getting a Facebook page, how well does yours work? And more importantly, what have you been doing with it?