Tips for Sharing Quotes & Memes to Your Business’ Social Media Channels

~ Geyer Profile

Sharing inspirational quotes and memes is part of what makes social media … well … social. However, there are some tips to keep in mind when you are sharing quotes and memes on the social media accounts for your business.

Make sure you promote yourself.

quote exampleI see many small businesses, entrepreneurs, consultants, and coaches caught up in the circle of sharing advice by famous people, or by big name business competitors. Instagram is filled with quotes by folks like Gary Vaynerchuk and Elon Continue reading →

Things Small Businesses Can Learn from Street Artists about Standing Out on Social Media

~ Geyer Profile

It’s a noisy marketplace out there on social media. When you post on Facebook or Twitter, it can seem like a leaf falling in a forest. Yours is just one among thousands of posts happening across the internet at any given moment.

How do you stand out?

Graffiti and street artists have a similar problem, so there are some great tips we can learn from them to help us stand out on social media. Continue reading →

The Call-to-Action: What is it and why do you need to use one?

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So, your blog post or newsletter article has really inspired your potential customer. Is that all you want your blog post to do? What’s next? Are you just going to leave them hanging there? What do you want them to do now?

Every blog post or newsletter article you write, every advertisement you create – and probably almost everything you generate to reach out to your potential customers – should have some sort of a “Call-to-Action” (aka CTA).

What is a Call-to-Action? It is just what it sounds like – it’s an invitation to the reader or viewer to take some sort of action. Continue reading →

Helpful Tools for Small Businesses – Apps & Websites

~ Geyer Profile

I have been collecting information about a wealth of helpful tools for small businesses – some of which are apps, and some of which are websites. Because small businesses are always concerned about cost, my reviews will focus on the helpful tools that have a free basic version, but that can be upgraded as your business expands.

Here’s a look at three of the tools I’ve been looking at (and using) over the past few months.

Ripl

Ripl is an app that helps you create animated images to promote your business. There is a free basic service, which includes a limited number of templates and font/color options. The animated images are created as short MOV files, which can then be uploaded to your social media profiles, or put on a website. Continue reading →

“Do the Essential” – and other advice from Valley in Berlin 2017

~ Geyer Profile

Valley in Berlin 2017, hosted by Scout24, brought together close to 400 professionals in Berlin’s startup industry for a day of talks, pitches, and networking. There were many speakers whose words I found valuable and inspiring. One thread that connected several of the presentations was the importance of “fluid intelligence” in the new economy – the ability to use past experience to apply to new problems.

It’s not just a matter of individuals needing fluid intel to bring all of their experience and knowledge into the new economy. It’s a matter of vital importance to corporations that have been around for decades, and who must adapt to the new marketplace with either new products or new uses for the products they know how to make. Scout24 is an example of this, itself: it began as an online classified marketplace but has moved into creating a networked marketplace – “to inspire people’s best decisions.” Christian Bubenheim, Senior Vice President of AutoScout24, said in his remarks that this has come to include inspiring innovation not only within larger companies, but also from outside the companies, arising from the needs of the marketplace. Continue reading →

How I Get to Know My Client’s Unique Voice

~ Geyer Profile

Do you remember when the theatrical show STOMP hit the scene in the early ‘90s and – suddenly – every advertisement had the same percussive stomping audio track? No matter whether it was cars or sports shoes (maybe even bathroom cleaner?), for a while there, it seemed like one advertising agency was using the same ad format and sound for all of its clients.

For businesses that create content for other businesses, how do you avoid having all of your clients’ materials sound exactly the same? Continue reading →

Viva Tech in Berlin Panelists Talk European Startup Growth

~ Geyer Profile

From time to time, I report on business events I attend in Berlin, most of which focus on the startup community.

On 9 March 2017, Viva Technology hosted a panel at Factory Berlin to discuss Growth for European Startups. The panel was moderated by Tolgay Azman, editor-in-chief of Business Punk, and the panelists were

  • KATHARINA LÜTH (Weltsparen/Raisin)
  • JOHN FRIJTERS (ReWalk Robotics)
  • ANTON WAITZ (Project A)
  • JULIE RANTY (Viva Technology)
  • MAXIME BAFFERT (Viva Technology)

Much of the discussion revolved around differences between the major European cities with respect to startup culture, activities, and investment. According to Ranty, France expects 3 more unicorns to emerge from its ecosystem, which they anticipate will grow following the Brexit. However, Lüth concedes that London will need to lose a lot of startups to become weaker than Berlin or Paris. Continue reading →