Last Updated on May 22, 2023
Insight from marketing practitioners who work with small businesses, non-profits, and schools
- Warren on Learning the Tools We Use for Small Businesses
- Bridget on Social Media and Giving for Non-profits
- Wrap Up
Hey everybody! It’s Bridget and Warren, and we’re back with some more insight from practitioners who work with small businesses, non-profits, and schools, giving you some real hands-on advice from our Online Marketing book for small businesses!
I know this client feeling for me because I have to give them some insight from people who touched the computer and make things happen. So I’m Bridget Willard and Warren Laine-Naida again.
Warren on Learning the Tools We Use for Small Businesses
I reached out to all of my clients this morning about the Google core update coming up in May. I manage websites for about 16 clients, so I reached out today, and I said we should look at optimizing your websites if you’d like to do this. And they all came back and said they want to. So that’s my plate overfilled for the next couple of days!
I think this is something I find important because I’m always learning something about online marketing. I always reach out to my clients, and I say, Hey, you know, this is some new thing that I’ve thought about, or I’ve learned, and I want to share it with you.
Cookies, Corona, and Core Web Vitals: Why Website Owners Need to Stay on Top of Changes
You know, probably once a year is going to be something actionable. A couple of years ago, we had the GDPR, so there was a significant change in cookies. Everyone needed a different type of cookie plugin. I think last year got rolled over by the whole Corona thing. This year is the Google core vitals – page speed being important.
In my group on social media and, you know, you’re in there as well, Bridget, it’s certainly been something that we’ve been talking about how fast your website needs to be? If I look at all the clients that I have and their websites, some are loading well, and some are not there yet. I think this is an excellent opportunity because everyone needs to get their fingers dirty. I think that’s going to be my takeaway from this last week because I encourage my clients to get involved in what’s happening.
If I’m going to put in a plugin, I explain what it is. I show it to them. They need to understand what the tools are. If heaven forbid something happens to me, and I’ve certainly had enough projects coming to me because the person responsible for the website is just sadly no longer with us. So everyone must know how to use the tools. That’s important. I think that clients appreciate that, and I understand it because what I’m doing isn’t magic. They know why they’re paying money and know what they’re getting for the money and learning something.
Especially with small business, I have a mixture of small businesses. I have some non-profits and some schools. Money for everyone is an important issue, and you don’t want to be wasting it. If they can learn something and then do something for themselves later, this is good. In this instance, if their pages load faster and they’re balanced, you’re on Google; that’s great for them as well. You know, dusting, keeping the wheels rolling, you have to oil the wheels and keep it clean, and you have to keep it working. Move it or lose it!
Bridget on Social Media and Giving for Non-profits
For sure. And, you know, I coached some non-profits and sometimes volunteer for them. I volunteered this weekend and quickly jumped in with Sea Turtle Inc., with my friend Sarah and their Twitter account because they were just overwhelmed by the support they got from rescuing.
You know, they’re reptiles. So they’re cold-blooded. So, the Laguna Madre in Texas just got so cold. Anyway, fisherman, the whole Rio Grande Valley was helping out, not only South Padre Island, but I got to jump in there, and even space X donated a generator for them, but some of their equipment was broken. So we went in there, set up a donation form with Givewp.com.
I was proud of the results! They got about 46,000 dollars in twelve hours. It’s pretty much what the insight is that people donate just like they purchase things because it says something about who they are, you know, for me, I was like, Oh no, Fred doesn’t have a place to swim anymore. You see, I’ve loved Fred. He’s one of the residents there. And so I was one of the first people to donate – not just a check tech check the form, but like I was there, I saw Fred, Fred has a big tank.
Turtles need heaters. I touched my heart, and many people were like, Hey, Elon Musk is supporting this. Everybody who, you know, loves Tesla and Tesla file tribe. We’re jumping in on it and also sharing that donation link with new sources to write about it and everything like that. And it spoke to me; something I knew to be true will donate because it has something to do with their own identity.
The story touches on their identity that Elon Musk is doing it. They relate to Elon Musk. They’re going to do it. We like to think it’s because of the great work we’re doing, and we are doing a great job, and we’ve been doing great work. Sea Turtle Inc. has been doing great work since 1977, but once you have somebody identify with that part of the story, they have a motivation to donate just like people buy the tag Heuer watch because Tiger Woods has it, whatever this is.
The Power of Storytelling: How Non-Profits Can Connect with Donors and Build Meaningful Relationships
This is essentially the same thing when you’ve talked about this a lot in your book or customer delight, Warren. So that part of what identifies with our being is why we purchase, but it’s also why we donate. So non-profits need to tell the stories. Even sometimes, there are big stories; sometimes, there are small stories. Either way, those stories are what connects your potential donor to their own identity and their motivation.
Don’t worry, maybe this isn’t the best story, but one of the other non-profits I coach is a home for women in crisis, and a bunch of ladies in their area sewed a quilt for them to give to one of the women who came to the shelter. That’s a story, you know, quilting is. I related to that because I used to quilt.
So I’m like, wow, that’s amazing. Now this person has something that somebody made with their hands, and quilting is a real sacrifice, especially as you age. And you share that picture on social media as they did, or maybe it’s Elon Musk, and space X donated a generator. It can be small, it can be significant, but it needs to be what’s happening to reach your audience.
Wrap Up
So! Did you enjoy getting your hands dirty? Don’t be afraid to get in to the scrum. What you didn’t know today, you can know for tomorrow. How your website works, how to connect with people on social media – and how good that feels are great takeaways for you and your business.
We’re looking forward to that and looking forward to seeing you again!
Click here for information about our book, and a link to the Amazon paperback and Kindle version! http://warrenlainenaida.net/small-business-book
Visit my YouTube channel for all my Online Marketing Videos.
Meet Bridget
Your Voice. Your Power. Your Brand.
Bridget Willard – Social Media and Content Marketing
Business to business relationship marketing.