MYTH: Trademarking is only for global brands and celebrities. FACT: Trademarks are important and essential for all businesses. Protecting your brand identity is just as important for small businesses as it is for huge corporations. Trademarking is an important FIRST step when it comes to building an empire. It stops competitors from poaching your customers by imitating your brand. It can also offer your company protection if those copycats attempt to damage your reputation. B

Here's a list of resources to help businesses that have been impacted by the coronavirus. These companies can help boost your business’s online revenue. For the full list, visit: standforsmall.com. Adobe: Create, share and sign documents in minutes with free Adobe Acrobat web-based PDF services and a 90-day free trial to Adobe Sign. Create marketing in a few taps with a 2-month free trial with Adobe Spark. Terms Apply. Amazon: Millions of small and medium-sized businesses, co

When it comes to building a brand and designing a website, there are so many colors to choose from. In this blog, we'll explore the meaning behind various colors and the message each color conveys for your brand. Red - Invokes strong emotion, symbolizes love, encourages appetite, increases passion and creates a sense of urgency. Restaurants, e-commerce sites, dating sites, and politicians (conservative) should consider a red color scheme. Blue - Associated with water, curbs a

We are ending our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog with reminding brands to be creative with their holiday social media marketing efforts. Do you know the definition of insanity? We like to think of it as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result! In the same way, your social media marketing efforts should never be predictable. Mix it up a bit! Surprise your followers will an exciting new video or IGTV feature. On Instagram, use your IG stories to s

Day 11 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog continues with providing excellent customer service on social media sites by being responsive. During the holiday season, it’s important to consider that your brand may have to designate a digital media specialist to reply to feedback 24 hours a day. This may seem excessive, but your followers will often expect a quicker response on social media versus by email or phone. Responding back to your customers’ comments whether bad or good

Day 10 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog continues with a simple tip -- be authentic. Love what you do. Make sure that the passion you have for your business is revealed in your social media content. The minute you start to lose track of that passion, your brand become less unique and followers will be able to tell. One critical mistake that many brands make is by copying the look, feel, style and sometimes overall branding of another company on social media. Just because a

Day 9 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog continues with understanding the importance of training your staff on how to properly promote your products and services to accurately reflect your brand, mission, vision and goals. In order for a company to master social media marketing during the holiday season, it requires diversity and inclusion among the digital team. At some point, we’ve all seen an ad on social media and we’ve wondered who approved it because it lacks diversity,

Day 8 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog continues with knowing how to educate buyers. Product education and awareness are key in the overall social media strategy. Buyers want to learn about your business and the products you are promoting. Before they ever think about buying what you are selling, they first want to know what you are offering. Educating buyers and raising awareness of your products is an ongoing effort, considering most companies are constantly getting new f

Have you ever seen a product featured on Instagram and tapped the product to learn more, only to realize that the link takes you to another product that you were not interested in? Frustrating right?!! By now, most companies understand that the buying process on social media should be simple, easy, user-friendly, and seamless. Consumers should be able to make a purchase from your social media sites in just one click. Facebook and Instagram now offer online stores that integra

Day 6 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog continues with understanding your audience. Before a social media strategy can be implemented, companies need to fully understand their online community of followers. For example, is your company aware of important demographics related to your followers’ gender, age range, and geographic location? Do you understand the time frames and days of the week that they are online most often? Most of this information can be found in detail with

Day 4 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog continues with learning how to create a real conversation on social media. Social media is a powerful tool to spark real conversations with followers and potential customers. Avoid using social media as a one-way communication tool where the only content shared is about your company, your products, or your services. Blah, blah, blah…. No one cares! Instead, let your brand’s personality shine through in everything you share on social me

It’s Day 3 of our “12 Days of Giveaways” blog and today’s tip is critical to the success of any social media strategy, especially during the holidays. Companies must create a strong foundation for any and all social media outreach by first building a relationship. When you build a relationship with your audience, you start to learn more about your customers and their needs. Utilize the power of social media to ask your followers for feedback on your company and directly engag

In the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed a major difference with your business Instagram account.

Often, small businesses have a dedicated staff that is better at remembering the customers who come into their store, as well as their needs. Repeat customers can expect to experience the pride that develops after business owners have earned a customer’s loyalty. Support Small Business Saturday by keeping more dollars in your local community. For more information about Avant Garde Digital Media and its services, visit www.avantgardedigi.com. #SmallBizSaturday #Amex #AmericanE