by Unibit Solutions | Oct 16, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
Funding is a major hurdle every new entrepreneur face, not only digital marketing agency owners. Time and time again, raising money for a new company is the main reason why aspiring digital marketing agency owners don’t make the switch to becoming actual business owners. Here are a few ways to fund your new agency: 1. Get an SBA Loan If you are in the United States, you could get a Small Business Administration (SBA) start-up line. Traditional bank loans and SBA loans are generally the most difficult and slowest way to get money for your business. To get an SBA loan for your digital marketing agency, you will generally need a high net worth real estate with equity that can be used as collateral for the loan, an airtight business plan, and a credit score above 700. If you meet all these qualifications, congratulations! It is difficult to achieve. You’re likely a good fit for the Small Business Administration’s community advantage program and micro loan program. 2. Use Your Retirement Funds Wisely Speak to an accountant about a rollover for business startups (ROBS), which allows you to invest funds from your retirement account into your new business without paying early withdrawal penalties or income taxes. Essentially, you are buying stock in your company with funds from your 401k and holding that stock inside your retirement account. ROBS are best for people who have at least $50.000 in their retirement account. 3. Home Equity Loans Digital agency financing option number three is home equity loans and lines of credit. Did you know that home equity loans and lines of credit...
by Unibit Solutions | Oct 7, 2019 | Digital Marketing, General |
Digital marketing and social media offer a huge opportunity to not only be a brand awareness but also a sales tool for your business. However, social media can also be a huge challenge for those of us who wear multiple hats throughout the day, particularly those who run small businesses or entrepreneurs. Here are a few tips and strategies that are going to help entrepreneurs prioritise what’s important in social media so that you can grow your accounts and drive sales starting today. 1. Commit to Social Media You have to make a commitment to social media. Social media can be a real challenge, so our top tip to you as entrepreneurs is to make social media a priority for you, your business and your employees. Start off by planning. Create a strategy and set goals so that you know what you will see as a success on social media. 2. Set Goals Are you looking to boost brand awareness or increase sales? Or, is it somewhere in between? Everything starts and ends with goals. Therefore, setting proper goals based on desired outcomes is the most important thing that you can do. It is very important to develop a social media strategy that aligns with your goals so that you can determine whether your social media program is successful or not. 3. Find out What Your Competitors Are Doing Before you kick-start a social media strategy, look outside of your business to your peers and competitors. Check out their online strategies and see what’s working for them. 4. Be Authentic Remember to share who you are as a brand...
by Unibit Solutions | Oct 1, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
It’s not uncommon for digital marketing agency owners to work 100-hour weeks, sacrifice relationships and get caught replying to emails in the wee hours of the morning or sneaking off during a holiday with family to work. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Finding enough time for your work and yourself is a huge challenge for small business owners. In fact, lots of owners worry if their revenue goes up, their downtime goes down. Here are some tips on how to get your work-life balance right: • Identify Time-Wasting First, track how you spend your time at work. Understanding this makes it easier to spot and eliminate time-wasting. For example, you may spend more time on emails and catching up on social media than you think. Not all emails need immediate answers. To work efficiently, schedule times to look at emails at work and maybe avoid checking them at night. • Identify Your Priorities Next, identify the most important tasks you need to do for your business and make them your priority. Think about how technology could help you. It doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Accounting software can automate daily accounts and a website can be your 24-hour a day shop window, sales team and help desk. If you’re still too busy trying to do everything, it might be time to find an extra pair of hands. • Hire the Right People Hiring the right person at the right time can boost productivity and free your time up. Before you hire staff though, do your sums and make sure you hire the best. • Outsource to...
by Unibit Solutions | Sep 25, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
Under insurance is a term that is used when a person or business doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the cost of loss or damage to the things they own or cover the cost of legal fees if somebody sues them. You are considered to be under insured if your insurance covers less than 80 percent of the value of the items that you are insured for. While it may be tempting to go for the cheaper insurance to save yourself money, it’s not so good when you need to make a claim. Apart from not receiving enough money to cover the full cost of your loss, if you are significantly under insured, your insurance company can reduce the percentage of your payout by the amount that you are under insured by. Under insurance occurs when the coverage isn’t set at the business owner’s needs. It can result in reduced claim settlements and significant financial loss for customers. Sometimes, it can even leave brokers at the risk of professional negligence claims. Infrequent valuations are a major cause of under insurance. As asset values and a business owner’s circumstances change over time, it is essential that you regularly re-evaluate your figures to avoid under insurance. Under insurance can have a widespread financial impact. Take this example: Your digital marketing agency is damaged in a fire and you are significantly under insured. As a result, you need to source additional funds before you can begin repairs. This delay’s the business’ recovery, causing you to exceed your business interruption policy’s maximum indemnity period before you are fully recovered. ...
by Unibit Solutions | Sep 18, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
True sustainability is a clever mix between people, profit and the planet. As a digital marketing agency owner, you need to make sure that you are touching on each of these three aspects in order to be truly sustainable. Whether selling social media services, SEO or any other type of digital solution, you need to focus on profit, however, you can’t focus on profit alone. Research has shown that people want to work for companies who are not only aware of what their impact on the environment is, but who are also focused on reducing their carbon footprint. So, not only will being eco-conscious be good for the planet, but it will also help you to attract and retain better people. • Reduce Printing Everything from invoices to meeting notes and client feedback often gets printed at digital marketing agencies. Host an awareness campaign at the office to introduce digital tools that can replace printed items, such as Mind Map or other online brainstorming tools. • Do Away with Plastic Cups and Stirrers Plastic cups and stirrers can contribute to a lot of waste and plastic pollution. Invest in glass bottles for your staff (better yet, brand the bottles with your logo!). Show your staff how much you will save by not purchasing plastic cups and stirrers in a year. • Invest in Green Cleaning Products Cleaning materials are often filled with ozone-depleting ingredients. Switch to eco-conscious cleaning products so that your office can remain clean without having a negative impact on the environment. Need help with your digital marketing franchises, SEO or social media marketing? Then contact Unibit...
by Unibit Solutions | Sep 11, 2019 | Digital Marketing News |
Starting a business, particularly a franchise, can be a time of great excitement and great fear. In the current economic climate, every industry is met with the challenge of fraud and scams; franchising is no different. One of the things that soon-to-be franchise owners fear most is buying a franchise, going through all the training and securing your location; only to be faced with a contract that has tied you into unforeseen taxes and obligations. Contracts can be misleading, and even with a keen eye, there could be fine print that catches you off guard. Here are a few ways to protect yourself from frauds and scams in the franchising industry: • The Flashy Salesman Often, fraudsters selling dodgy business opportunities will arrive in a fancy car, wear an expensive watch and be dressed to the nines to give the appearance of success. They look like money, leading people to naturally hope that some of their success and wealth will rub off on them. So, be sure to ask for the company’s financials. Franchise companies need to be audited in the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular, so double-check whatever information is given to you. • They Press For a Quick Decision If they tell you that locations are going fast or that you need to make a decision within the next few days, it should serve as a red flag. These sales pitches are geared to make you feel like you are indecisive and not ready to take action. Don’t be bullied into making a hasty decision. Recognise the crude closing technique for what it is and go through all...
by Unibit Solutions | Sep 6, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
When starting a digital marketing agency, there are very few things that are as valuable as having a mentor on your journey to success. Your ability to secure the right mentor could mean the difference between making it and failing miserably. Those who underestimate the power of mentorship are less likely to succeed. By definition, a mentor is someone who offers his or her wisdom, knowledge or advice to someone with less experience. There are multiple types of mentors, but the concept stays the same. A mentor is someone who has already walked the same road you plan to walk and that can, therefore, actively help you to speed up the process. You can have multiple mentors at the same time – you can even have dedicated mentors for different aspects of your life, such as a mentor for your health, spiritual well-being, business accounting, digital innovations and digital marketing strategies. • They’ve Been There and Done That If you choose your digital marketing mentor wisely, you will find someone who has not only already grown his agency to success, but that has also helped many clients harness the power of the internet. When you are mentored by someone who has already achieved what you are doing, you can be guided away from pitfalls and steered on the track to success by a pro. They’ve already made mistakes and found creative solutions. A mentor will share these insights with you, decreasing the time it takes you to reach their level and maximize your success. • You Can Talk to Someone Who Is an Unbiased Third Party A mentor should...
by Unibit Solutions | Aug 24, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
Digital marketers considering taking the plunge and establishing their own digital marketing agencies should consider the option to buy a franchise and grow using a model and systems that have already been proven to work. It is one of the best ways to hedge against the struggles that see many startups failing in their first year. But could anything go wrong? Below we discuss four risk factors to research before buying a digital marketing franchise. Level of Support for New Franchisees The opportunity to get coaching from people who have been in the trenches and who know what it takes to succeed in an industry is why many people buy franchises. A franchisor must have a working system for training new franchisees, especially if you are in an industry that is poised for growth. As digital marketing is in constant flux – SEO being a prime example – a good franchise must have a structured coaching programme that constantly evolves to adapt to new technologies and industry trends. If a franchise opportunity does not come with ongoing support should be an obvious red flag. The Full Extent of Franchise Obligations Buying a franchise ties you, as the franchisee, to a set of obligations. These are meant to protect the franchisor’s business goals and to ensure adherence to the franchise’s operating procedures, values and brand promise. Before signing any franchise agreement, it is critical to understand what you are signing up for. You may even realise you’re giving up too much of the independence that made starting your own business so appealing in the first place. For starters, you should...
by Unibit Solutions | Aug 17, 2019 | Social Media Marketing |
With an algorithm that makes it easier to focus your message on a clearly defined demographic, Twitter has the potential to expose your digital marketing franchise to the right audiences. However, with every other business targeting the micro-blogging site for their social media marketing, standing out from the crowd is tough. To rise above all the noise, you need an effective strategy to get your franchise trending, which is easier said than done. Below we discuss ways you can dominate the conversations on Twitter in under 281 characters, even if it’s only for a short time. Be the First with the News Twitter is built for sharing, and people on the micro-blogging platform generally follow and engage with people who share content on topics they are interested in. Keeping your eyes peeled for positive press (and sharing your opinion on the reported topic) before anyone else increases the chances of your followers sharing your tweet with their own followers. If you can, create and add your own hashtag to your comment on the breaking story. If the topic eventually goes viral, as its originator the hashtag will always be associated with you. With that said, be careful with being the first to break controversies as that can expose you to wrong audiences and suck your brand into messy debates. Stick to sharing content that informs and empowers your core community. Tap into other Trending Topics Social media survives on content. Yet, creating unique and shareable content is expensive and takes time. A trend that is quite popular nowadays is to tap into already trending topics by searching for conversations...
by Unibit Solutions | Aug 12, 2019 | Digital Marketing |
The exponential growth of the internet has created an opportunity for specialist digital marketing agencies. But as it happens normally, there are now many agencies competing for the same clients. Below we share tips on how to run a digital marketing agency that can thrive in the face of all this competition: Identify a Niche Market to Specialise in Targeting every type of client is one of the easiest ways to struggle as a digital marketing agency. Those agencies that thrive, target a specific type of client or industry. By studying the unique digital marketing challenges of a specific market, like dental clinics, restaurants or legal practices, for instance, you get better at meeting their needs. Specialise at First, Scale Later Related to the tip we shared above, being everything to everyone is an easy trap to fall into, especially for new agencies. At first, it may be better to offer only one or at least a limited set of services. Specialise in the beginning and expand your services later. If you started as an SEO consultant, offer that service at first before adding conversion optimisation and only consider adding paid search to your service package after you are sure you can successfully manage multiple accounts and client relationships. Get the Right Skills To be honest, a digital marketing agency isn’t that difficult to start, especially in an age where building a website does not require any coding skills. But like any business, running that agency into growth and profitability requires you to invest in the right skills. If you are selling yourself as an SEO agency, you better...
