Sometimes the language around digital is confusing that it puts people off from improving digital literacy. Rather than be put off, we need to ask questions and research so that we can improve our understanding that supports improved digital literacy as technologies will continue to develop and affect our lives both professionally and personally.

Should you want to think about your own digital literacy, here are some useful links to get you going.
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https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/digitalliteracy/home
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/digital-literacy-succeeding-digital-world/content-section-overview?active-tab=description-tab
​https://alison.com/courses/core-it-skills

How often do you send emails? Over the year it amounts to quite a lot!! Your email signature is a massive marketing opportunity. When used properly your email signature plays an important part of your marketing efforts when linked with strong and clear call to action. It is an ideal way to share that little bit extra about what's going on in your business with who you are communicating. Subtle but powerful.
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Many will be relevant now, but others will be dependent on what’s going on in your business. So change them regularly. Consider sharing these in your email signature:

• Link to your website
• Links to your social media platforms
• Link to your latest blog article
• Link to a special offer [landing page or website]
• Got something free to give away
• Link to a competition
• Link to your newsletter sign up
• Link to your latest newsletters
• Link to testimonials [google my business / website / Linkedin]
  

Many email providers allow you to create a signature but some may be a little lacking particularly if you want to incorporate visuals. If you want something more, then there are many email signature maker sites to choose from www.designhill.com/design-blog/15-of-the-best-email-signature-generators/

Yours socially
Micala 

I think it is fair to say 'hats off to all small business owners and independents who have taken a huge risk and leap of faith to set up a business'. Particularly here in France. Let’s face it it is not easy! A lot of heart and soul goes into a setting up a business, finding clients and managing the many bureaucratic hurdles that manage to manifest just when you think you have got it sussed.

Customers don’t get to see the heartache, the pain, the planning, the issues behind the scenes, the administration, the sacrifices and to be honest, why should they? Customers have their own set of needs to be met.

Although as a customer when you use the services of a small business owner or independent who has gone above and beyond or is generally a great business to deal with, do let them know. The smallest act of appreciation will put a huge smile on any business owners face whether it is customer to business or business to business.

As a customer when a business owner takes time to build a relationship with you, and goes that extra mile when things go wrong, is easily accessible by phone and/or you know you will get a reply to your email when compared to other much larger organisations that often lack simple customer care skills. All of this adds up to a business owner treasuring their customers.

Some things to consider. Small businesses and independents:

• are run by real people not CEOs
• have what it takes to show sincere and authentic behaviour
• often provide employment
• appreciate the support for keeping their livelihoods going
• are often the life blood of small communities
• know that every single customer matters

By supporting hard-working small business owners/independents, you as a customer are helping keep someone's dream alive and food on the table.

If you are reading this please do think about the small business and independents that you have used and let them know you appreciate them.

• Send them a thank you card
• Pick up the phone and let them know
• Leave positive reviews on Google or Facebook, trip advisor
• If you are asked to leave a review by a business owner do try to action the request
• Tell your friends and family
• Shop with small business owners/independents whenever you can

Yours socially
Micala 

During these unusual times, many businesses are unable to sell BUT you can build stronger connections and create a collaborative environment through tagging.

I did this yesterday on my personal timeline and tagged in Arbres et Abeilles as I had purchased a number of shrubs & trees before Christmas and the good weather of the past few days meant I could plant them in. So I tagged them in to give a bit of exposure and they responded.

First though your page needs to be taggable. Head to settings and click on Others Tagging This Page and make sure you have ticked the box to enable other people and pages to tag this page. Click save.

Think about what you want to ask? Create the question on your own Facebook Business page and be cleart that they share on their own timeline and tag your business page with @nameofbusiness.

You may want to include in your post why you are doing this – it’s about keeping your business out there. You as a business appreciate your customers and followers and during these unprecedented times as a business you are keeping in contact and their participation is hugely appreciated. 

If appropriate share that post to your personal timeline.
If appropriate share to groups – customers may have come from groups. [Be respectful of group rules and only apply to any relevant themed posts that they may]

By them posting on their timeline and tagging your business page in, it will be seen by their friends and family and by you!

Here are some suggestions – you may well have others, but this is just to get those creative juices flowing:

• Share a picture or a memory of a time that you stayed with us - it could be a place, or food related and tag in your page [be mindful of the kind of content to be shared – respecting privacy of certain types of pictures]
• Have you planted something from us? If so, share a picture on your timeline of what you have planted and tag us in @nameofbusiness
• Have you purchased one of my paintings? Share a picture on your timeline and tag us in @nameofbusiness
• Have you purchased one of my handmade crafts? Share on your timeline and tag us in @nameofbusiness
• Share a picture of your pooch that has been groomed by me and tag me in @nameofbusiness

By asking your fans/customers to share like this you are expanding the reach of your business. So be sure to respond to every single tag and keep the conversation and engagement going.

Have other creative questions ready to post out over coming weeks, ideally once a week if appropriate.   And over the next week or so, I am going to give some thought to other businesses that I have collaborated with or purchased from, post about it and tag them in. Every little helps. 

Let me know how you get on.

Yours socially
Micala 

For those who have ventured into creating blog articles you might be thinking “what do I do with it now?” It is published on my website, but I want others to see it. Of course you do.

Once you have created your article it will sit permanently on your website for visitors to see and read. But you want your blog to have a wider reach than just your website visitors.

So how can you achieve this? Here’s a useful list of where you can manually share your blog article to expand it’s reach. Some may apply to you, all may apply. Try to space out your activity. Don’t tick off the list all in one go, leave a day or 2 between each activity.

Wherever you share it – add some insight with your link. Don’t just say here’s a latest article. Add what it means for the reader – share a compelling line from the article and leave the reader wanting to click on read more.

• Add link to your email signature.

• If you are sending out regular newsletters a prize blog article has a place on your newsletter.

• Share it to your Facebook page. Don’t forget that just because you have posted it once, doesn’t mean you cannot post it again. Dependent on the relevancy it might be useful to post monthly, or quarterly. Each time use a different image and a different perspective. Facebook users won’t necessarily scroll through continuously in June to read a blog post that you posted in January. So if it is relevant for continuous use, do so.

• Share across your other social media networks – LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram. Some articles may have a place in your bios.

• Add to your Google My Business space. There is an area in your profile space to add image and some words. Unfortunately with Google My Business character space is limited so you can only use the first couple of paragraphs and add the link back to your article.

• Share into Facebook groups that you are party to, particularly where there are opportunities that allow you to regularly place your blog creations.

• Do you have a trusted circle of business owners who would be happy to share your content on their page or through their social platforms?

Tip: sometimes your blog link can look long and bulky and doesn’t look particularly pleasing to the eye of a reader. I use something call bitly. Bitly is a URL shortener and takes your 30something blog link and shrinks it to a smaller one or you can create your own custom link with them. Each time I use bitly I can then copy and share a custom link across my various platforms and track clicks.

Continue to enjoy your blogging journey and feel free to share any other tips that you have found to be useful in increasing your blog reach. If you have any questions, let me know.

You might also like to read Why You Should Be Business Blogging in 2020

Yours socially
Micala 

Do you see yourself as a leader when running your own business? Or do you see leadership as something that is for the bigger companies? Managers leading teams of people having successfully waded through a fast track leadership management course?

As a small business owner you are in effect a leader in your own right and yet may not realise it. Do these skills come naturally to you? Or have you learned and honed these skills in previous jobs, professions or activities where leadership is required? Many will find that they have mastered good leadership skills in their business through experience and time. There is a place for good leadership in your own business. You might not see yourself as a leader and that you just have your own business.   

“Leaders never outgrow the need to change.” – John Maxwell

Imagine your business as a sailing vessel. It needs someone to handle the day to day operations. It needs a destination. It needs navigating and knowing when to adjust the course when relevant. It needs management. It needs a captain! Welcome aboard your business, Captain!

Here are some thoughts to consider when leading your ship.

Good leadership means taking responsibility for yourself and continuously learning and developing not only for but your business as well. Self motivation is key for the success of your business. This is what keeps you focused when challenges occur and when you need a reminder of why you have your own business.

Good leadership means as a business owner you will have a plan, a vision of where your business is going in the next 12 months and beyond. What are your goals? Make financial plans for retirement? Sell the business on? Maintaining a lifestyle that suits you and your family?

Good leadership as a business owner embraces change, plans for it and adapts. You look at what is coming in and what is going out. Looking ahead, being aware of potential problems that could occur, and planning. Planning for growth, trimming back a bit, moving direction, taking on staff, all of the immediate actions that could impact on longer term goals.

Good leadership as a business owner delivers not just good but great interpersonal and communication skills when dealing with people interactions on a daily basis. Exceptional skills enable you to influence others to get the desired results all round without others losing face or feeling they have been beaten into submission.

Good leadership as a business owner enables you to be decisive. That means trusting in your gut instincts, looking at facts, gaining insight from others, avoid burying your head in the sand and standing by the courage of your convictions.
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Running a business is a demanding task and good leadership skills are vital to the success of your business. What other important leadership skills should be on your list?

Yours socially 
Micala 

Every year something new comes along on the social media scene that keeps us distracted, think TikTok! And while many flock to see what all the fuss is about and set up accounts the tried and tested methods of increasing your business awareness often get sidelined in favour of newer methods.

Blogging is one of those old firm favourites. As with all forms of digital marketing it is subject to trends and changes and blogging is no exception.

There are many benefits to blogging for your business. Particularly if you have a website and can incorporate a blog page on your website. A website is a business owners key asset, remember that social media sites are rented spaces, you don't own them, someone else does. But your website is your asset and you have control over what goes into it.

First what is blogging? Blogging is taking ideas, insights, discussion, discoveries and facts and putting them into written form [some good quality visuals always help support] and then this content is published onto your blog space on your website and remains there for future visitors to see. Just because it sits on your website doesn't mean it ends there. There are many ways to increase the reach of your content through the use of social media platforms and email marketing.

Why blog? As a business owner you know what goes on in your business. You know what your customers want. You have helped solve problems for them. You know what goes on in your industry. When you create content that shows how you have solved a problem or create content updating readers on new industry standards, your readers are learning more about you, your business and YOUR expertise. This in turn helps build trust between you and a potential client. Readers want to be educated in a non salesy way. Plus it allows them to interact with your business when they ask questions or offer comment.

You need to create regular, thoughtful, good quality content. So time is required of the business owner to think and plan for content throughout the year. [Suggestion: create a content calendar for 2020]. The internet is full of content, it's about how well you write, what you are going to say that keeps your readers attention span and engage. A well ranked website with a regularly updated blog is great for search engines. And yes, even SEO – search engine optimisation has undergone some changes that clearly benefit sites that have great content. And once you start to create ideas and a plan of what you are going to write about for your website, you can then start to to reformat it for your social media platforms.  

Do you blog?  Do you blog regularly enough? Will you be doing more in 2020?
What blogging tip would you share to readers?

Yours socially
Micala

​For business owners, a new year can be quite liberating, a new blank canvas to play with. Many thrive on the challenge of new year, new goals, let's do this. For others it can be very daunting, if the calendar is empty of business. And depending on your industry, businesses hit highs and lows at various times. Whether you are feasting on work or experiencing a famine, ALWAYS keep your business awareness high!!

A continuous mix of activity throughout the year lets people know you are still there, still contactable, still in on the market for business. Some industries such as construction tend to enjoy work scheduled onto a work calendar months into the year. This doesn't mean you shouldn't be promoting your business, you should. Other industries such as retail and food rely on immediate sales and footfall and therefore need to be constantly promoting their business.

Use this January to up your game and apply these tips which are not just useful for January but each month too. Even if you do just one or two of these activities each month, they help keep your business star burning brightly and the funnel of enquiries coming in. It is easy to say I'm busy, or I don't have time or I don't need to at the moment. But time has a habit of flying by very quickly.

• Get out there! If you are part of a network - make yourself visible – talk to new people. You are the face for your business – make sure it is seen. Never underestimate the power of your network who are able to talk about you in ever increasing circles.
• Talk to other business owners. Share ideas. How do they get past the quiet times? What can you learn here?
• Don't overlook the use of email marketing. Get in touch with current and past clients. You never know, they may need new work. Use it to introduce new products and services provide exclusivity to your best customers.
• Get rid of those business cards by that I mean give them out! leave them in strategic spaces and places. Hand them out to friends, family, existing customers. Let them know your are available to speak to potential new clients.
• Get some advertising – think long term. An ad in your local magazine for a year means you have promotional activity on the go without having to think about it – other than to update your message. Think of creative ways of appealing to new and existing customers.
• Your social media requires constant attention. Don't just use your Facebook business page or any other platform for when things go quiet – it should be kept busy during your busiest times too. Think carefully what you use.... social media is a drainer of time. Be sure that your potential clients are there before committing. Get creative with your content.   

Yours socially
Micala 

At a recent networking meet up the topic of talking about ourselves and our businesses was comfortably discussed over tea and cake. Talking about ourselves in a professional capacity can be a BIG barrier for many of us. There's something uncomfortable about blowing our own trumpets or talking about ourselves. It means taking a risk with fear of being judged. What if they don't believe me? What if someone else is better than me? So many what ifs. While fear keeps us safe, it can also hold us back and can have a marked effect on how we develop our businesses and grow.

Being self employed means we need to be able to talk about ourselves and our businesses. When self employed, by default we are selling. Selling ourselves, our products, our services. In order to stand out in a very noisy world we need to get comfortable and confident with talking about ourselves.

We are all unique. We all have different skills. We all have different perspectives. We all do things differently.

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."  - Dale Carnegie

Some business owners are naturally confident, others have worked on it, or are working on it. And more often than not it means we are all working on it. Confidence in a professional capacity was something that I had to work on. I spent seven years as part of a local toastmasters program gaining skills and confidence to stand up and talk in front of people, which allowed me to host events and give talks about my topic of social media.

For many it is difficult to see ourselves and our businesses in the first person but feel comfortable doing so in the third person. To feel more comfortable in the first person, sit with a trusted friend or business owner who knows you well to help you shape a business statement that you can confidently share whenever you are in a personal or professional setting and someone asks what do you do? The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Here are a few suggestions you can try to build your confidence:

• Remember we are all human
• Understand yourself, know your strengths and weaknesses
• Swap negative self talk for positive self talk
• Read, listen to podcasts, visit Youtube – to improve your confidence boosting skills
• Acknowledge the wins in your businesses
• Have your own business statement articulated and ready

What tried and tested action have you taken to build your confidence and talk more about you and your business?

Yours socially
Micala