The following is a guest post from Elena Stewart.

It’s an all-too-common scenario these days. You’ve worked long and hard to start, sustain, and grow your small business, only to have the proverbial rug pulled under you practically overnight because of the COVID-19 pandemic. You’re not alone, but it doesn’t make that any better. What can make it better is the fact that though your lifeblood may be considered “non-essential” these days, it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of your business. Rather, there are workarounds you can take to keep it going and growing through this pandemic and beyond.

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As some of you know, I recently moved from Texas to Kansas. While excited to move, I was bummed out to miss both Social Media Week: Austin and SXSW: Interactive. To my joy (and to the joy of many other local marketers I’m sure), Digital Wichita recently hosted Social Media Day: Wichita. Read on to hear my speaker and strategy highlights!

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Photo credit by Pixabay

You’ve heard that the gig economy is growing and that right now, it’s a hot ticket and a great way to have independence in the workplace. Is it for you? We’ll take a look at what the gig economy is, who can succeed in it, and how to get started.

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Marketing analytics can be a real minefield for small businesses – with a seemingly limitless list of acronyms and myriad of tools both free and paid for – it’s no small feat for a business owner to get acquainted with and understand what analytics mean – let alone use them to benefit their business. That’s why the team at AppInstitute took it upon themselves to create this Definitive Guide to Marketing Analytics to demystify the world of marketing metrics.

Can you believe it’s already 2018? January is always a very reflective and exciting month for us. Not just because of the usual New Year’s celebrations, but because we celebrate our business anniversary on January 3rd. Back in 2013, I lost my retail management job on those weird days between Christmas and New Year’s. Shortly after, Dean and I stayed up until the wee hours one night creating our business plan and marketing materials. Now, we are celebrating 5 years in business! Last year was by far one of the most challenging years, read on as we share four important lessons that we believe will help any budding entrepreneur.

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Every marketing agency has their horror stories. Many involve a client not knowing exactly what they want and the situation can quickly turn into a downward spiral of disaster. Over the years, we have found that whenever a project is headed that way there are always red flags. We have gathered up our top marketing agency stressors, and have provided some tips on how you can keep your relationship with your marketing team powerful.

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As younger generations become more fascinated with the arts, having a strong graphic element to your marketing is more important now than ever. It’s no secret that graphic designers are in high demand. Unfortunately, just because you can give yourself the title “graphic designer” doesn’t mean you should. To put it simply, a graphic designer must have an eye for what looks good and what looks bad – but that is easier said than done. At any given point in time the Hayse Marketing team is working with a handful of small to medium businesses. Some business owners come to us with great graphic design elements already in place, some need us to create graphics for them, and other’s designs just need a complete overhaul. So, we’ve rounded up a few things to look for when you are hiring a graphic designer.

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If there’s one battle any company must prepare themselves to fight, it’s handling a public relations crisis. With social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – one small misstep can easily turn into a worldwide embarrassment. There is however a solution – call them your company’s “Avengers” whenever trouble arises. They are your official Crisis Communications Team. Building this crucial company component is more important than you may realize. The way in which you handle these situations can sometimes define your company. The ideal scenario would be having a team who can handle the crisis in a clear, safe, and concise manner. But what are the steps in setting up a Crisis Communications Team? Firstly, you must assign the roles of each member of the team as follows. Each team member should be assigned to the role that best fits their skill set. (Note – for smaller organizations you may have shared roles).

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Every employer is looking for a multi-skilled employee who can not only get the job done but add something unique to the company. Michael Vybiral was that find for Hayse Marketing. Coming up on 2 years of working for us, he’s dipped his hand in video production, graphic design, website design, and content writing. One of the best things about Michael – he is ambitious. He wants to do everything and can master anything given enough time. When he’s not working for Hayse Marketing, you can find him volunteering as a CASA, delivering sweet tunes from his violin, or even be performing theatrically on stage.

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Did you know that the U.S. Small Business Administration celebrates National Small Business Week? This year Small Business Week is scheduled for April 30th – May 6th. Did you also know that we have a completely free business counseling resource for small businesses here in New Braunfels? The University of Texas Small Business Development Center is currently located at the Central Texas Technology Center. We highly suggest working with our local advisor, Larry New, if you are a small business or are thinking about starting one. We used their advisors regularly in our early stages of business and attribute much of our early success to their guidance.

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