The Bureau of Small Projects

Who Has Your Passwords? Unfortunately protection and ownership of digital property access is not a priority with some companies — until something goes wrong. We've found gaining access to those channels to run ads can eat up valuable time, pull in stakeholders who are very busy and cause frustration throughout the company. Here is some practical advice to reign in your digital properties and control your channels. Create a Process Get your team together and create a structured discovery process that uncovers everything including hidden integrations. Ask everyone what tools do they log into, what platforms do they use weekly, and what platforms they receive system email notifications from. Review How You Conduct Business Go through how your business functions and ask questions such as how do customers find you?, how do they pay you?, what tools do you use to communicate with customers?, who built the site?, and who runs social media? By focusing on the functionality of the business you can get close. In parallel review bank statements, credit cards and receipts and identify those hidden expenses you might forget otherwise. Review your website! Typically the site functions as the hub for most or all connected third party services. Review all the site add-ons with your web admin to determine if you need to own some you don’t already. Check your browser bookmarks and saved passwords. For very small teams, browser data can be a great place to discover hidden costs or old platforms where you need to retrieve data. Review apps on your and your teams’ phones. Click here to read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eaQk2ypN

Influencer Marketing Simplified The term “influencer marketing” can spread fear in the hearts of small business owners who just don’t know the details about cost effectively managing influencer marketing. This article breaks things down so you can get started on your own. What Influencer Marketing Means Today Influencer Marketing is the practice of partnering with people who already have the trust and attention of a specific audience to genuinely recommend or talk about your offering. In today’s world we’re not talking about famous celebrities. For small businesses, it is most effective with what are called “micro” or “nano” influencers who have smaller but highly engaged followers. These types of influencers feel more relatable, creditable and human which aligns perfectly with what customers want from small businesses. You don’t need a massive budget or complex social media tools. Here are some steps to dig in. (Click the link to read more.) https://lnkd.in/ekgKSGds

Use your small business "mojo" for big results.

Tell A Story Bigger Than Your Products People don’t just buy what you sell, they buy why you do it. This can be an edge versus larger competitors as big brands often don’t communicate the personal side of the business because there isn’t one. Why It’s an Advantage for Smaller Businesses People buy from small businesses because you feel human. Your story is the backbone of why there are real people at your organization focused on a real purpose behind what you sell. Combined with a great value proposition this can cement the deal for many of your customers. Large companies do often have stories, but the stories can be filtered through legal terms, brand guidelines, and many layers of approval. By the time their story hits the website page it’s diluted and less impactful. Small businesses don’t have these challenges, and this freedom can build trust. When you share the “why” you created your business and “what” you are personally trying to solve, this comes across as more genuine and relatable as people see alignment with their own goals and challenges. Click here to read the full story... https://lnkd.in/eWJM9NbS

The Lost Art of the Phone Call Connections matter. Relationships matter. In business, just like in normal everyday life, relationships and connections don’t just happen. Smart business owners follow a disciplined process to ensure they grow their meaningful connections over time. Relationships Should Not Be A Coincidence Have you noticed how isolation is becoming the default? But opportunity favors those who go out of their way to work at building the right connections. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ggaBybsT

Say less. Mean More. What do movie titles have to do with marketing? Learn how studios use processes to come up with names that engage and drive curiousity and how you can use these processes for great service and product names across your industry. (People try to cram definitions into names. The first goal is interest and engagement. You can always explain FOLLOWING engagement but you can't explain if people are not interested.) https://lnkd.in/griYF8sY

We're excited that Jay Volak, an amazing SEO and AI Optimization Strategist has joined The Bureau of Small Projects. His expertise spans many types of businesses and he is working hard for our clients and The Bureau for our own optimization. A Colorado musician, photographer and artist, we're looking for amazing things from Jay in the future. Welcome aboard Jay! https://lnkd.in/gaFCwzjC

Is Strategy a Lost Art? With the new year around the corner, here's a quick read about applying strategy to everything you do which in turn can really help you dial in your business planning. Topics discussed include: ·     Prioritizing strategy in the morning ·     Strategy in communication ·     Strategy in Business Tools and Services ·     Strategy for Your Well Being ·     Strategy in Delegating ·     Strategy in Problem Solving ·     Strategy in Relationships ·     Strategy in Environments Click here to read the full article. https://lnkd.in/gAnXPbKn

This is not new but these folks are so amazing. U.S. Fish and Wildlife came to the Bureau for a complete rebrand for the National Wildlife Refuge System that has 568 locations across 95 million land acres in 50 states. We were thrilled to provide all new messaging, a logo, brand manual and a new campaign called “Find Your Wild.” Then we reached out to people across America to spread the word. They are wonderful people doing amazing work and we feel so honored to be involved. Thank you! If you'd like to see some of the work, please click here. https://lnkd.in/gfcfZpr8

I am so proud of all of our team members at the Bureau of Small Projects. Live and Let Live is a wonderful non-profit we are proud to be involved with.