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2026 Tech Trends Whisper in Your Ear

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Freelance professional are not only happily engrossed in performing paid client work; you must simultaneously perform labor that is unpaid—not yet— searching for more work. Ambitious Freelancers are networking to maintain visibility and participating in activities that showcase your professional chops, such as appearing on webinars and podcasts and publishing a blog or newsletter. Your core business development strategy is to convince prospects of your ability to consistently produce the deliverables they need when planning to hire a Freelance worker in your professional category. But in addition to carrying out your revenue producing strategies, the often unspoken role of a Freelance professional is that of small business owner.

As you work both hard and smart to develop and maintain a thriving client roster that generates your preferred number of billable hours and bottom-line revenue, you can never lose sight of the responsibility for managing and optimizing all aspects of business operations. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that staying abreast of major developments in the constantly evolving B2B technology sector is a significant portion of your business management obligations. Dozens of technology tools have been brought to market over the past three or four years and it is certain that one or more potential is capable of creating operational efficiencies in the back-office operations that support your accounting, contract management, lead generation, email marketing, or client onboarding, for example. Time and/or money could be saved, clients will become more satisfied with the after-sales support and other customer service functions you will seamlessly deliver. Even if you are by nature a late adopter, let 2026 be the year that you introduce at least one innovate and undeniably practical technology tools to make a positive impact on your business operations.

Responsible decision-making can only take place when trustworthy information is available; you can keep up with emerging technologies by simply paying attention. Speed read articles and watch videos to learn about new tech products so that you can assess their potential relevance for your organization. You may already be familiar with the sites TechCrunch and Wired and may also find them informative.

While researching, keep this question in mind—does it appear that incorporating this technology will enable you to expand your business success by capitalizing on the outcomes and results it is expected to produce? You already know that most newly released tech products are outside the scope of your needs and budget but as a new year approaches, consider that late adopters often find that they’re leaving money on the table by ignoring technology advancements. Your perspective must always be big-picture and long-term.

Finally, to fully access the intended usefulness of your new technology tool, it must be integrated into your workflow. If you have an employee, develop a strategy to encourage buy-in of the tech tool’s purpose and benefits, so that this new resource will become part of your company culture—how things are done now. Be strategic as you evaluate tech-enabled upgrades you might like to introduce. Below are areas where recently released technology tools could enhance your business operations.

Use emerging tech for leadgen and marketing

The days of cold calling have all but faded away. The gold standard of B2B lead generation in 2026 and beyond is powered by AI-driven tools that enable targeted personalization and feature text, audio and video marketing content, product demos, case studies or testimonials and even live streaming that allows prospects to interact with your company in real time. AI has transformed B2B leadgen to enable marketing campaign activities to deeply engage prospects, a capability that results in higher sales conversion rates.

AI-powered leadgen tools enhance your marketing funnel by analyzing prospect behavior and interaction data to identify to identify and nurture top-quality leads—while complying with current privacy regulations and best practices. By addressing prospects’ specific needs and challenges, you will be able to design marketing campaigns that truly resonate and deliver. As marketplace competition intensifies and customer demands become more exacting, Freelancers in the B2B sector may discover promising benefits in tech innovations.

Account-based marketing has revolutionized the way B2B leadgen by identifying a more narrow swath of high-value prospective client leads rather than reaching out to a less dicrete audience. ABM delivers customized information to key decision-makers, which often leads to better sales conversion rates and smarter use of your resources. ABM uses a precise, data-driven strategy and takes a deep dive into target lead profiles, cross-department priorities and key insights. ABM tactics include:

  • Personalized Outreach: Creating tailored marketing campaigns for individual accounts based on the industry, whose messages will acknowledge client pain points, business goals and other priorities.
  • Custom Content: Developing case studies and presentations that address the challenges of target accounts. Providing relevant educational content, which is one of the most effective ways to attract and nurture B2B leads. Instead of pushing a sales message, content marketing educates by providing useful insights, industry best practices and potential solutions that facilitate informed decisions that yield good results. By addressing typical pain points and offering effective solutions, Freelancers can build trust and position themselves as a partner and go-to resource.
  • AI-powered opportunity identification: Growth leaders in B2B sales are using AI to find new niche, potentially lucrative markets.
  • Value-based AI-enabled pricing: B2B companies are using tech innovations to more comprehensively define value, as they gravitate toward dynamic models that can automate pricing models that are personalized to attract discrete customer segments.
  • Customer Relations Management: Automation software tools will help you analyze customer data, industry trends and competitor behavior to identify accounts that have the most sales potential for you.
  • Search Engine Optimization: SEO is a foundational lead generation strategy that helps B2B companies attract high-quality leads by improving their visibility in search results. When potential customers search for industry solutions, thought leadership content, or service providers, for example, a robust SEO strategy can ensure that your business appears at the right time. By consistently optimizing for search engines and user experience, your Freelance entity can attract a steady flow of organic leads who are actively seeking solutions, thus making SEO one of the most cost-effective B2B leadgen strategies. By optimizing website content, technical website structure and backlink profiles, your business can drive organic traffic and generate leads that convert to paying customers. SEO tactics for B2B lead generation include Keyword Optimization, that is, targeting high-intent search terms that align with buyer needs and search behavior and On-Page and Technical SEO, that is, improving page speed, site structure and mobile usability to enhance search performance.

Use emerging tech to improve the customer experience

Customer experience can be defined as the impression that customers and prospects have of your brand—the company, its products and services and, by extension, you—as they move through your company’s buyer’s journey. Each touchpoint on the journey is an opportunity to create a confidence-building impression that contributes to a satisfying and memorable customer experience. The presentation of an excellent customer experience has for some customers become non-negotiable and in fact, a customer experience that’s perceived as exceptional for some customers outweighs the importance of pricing. B2B customers are responding more like B2C shoppers and adopting many more consumer-like behaviors, e.g., seeking more robust buying experiences.

Include operating with a thoughtful strategy, delivering effective value propositions, optimizing for a wide variety of channels, and sustaining growth. But to stay on the front foot, B2B sales organizations can leverage technology to find the right markets while discovering, retaining, and delighting customers across all channels. Today’s leaders understand the value of embracing innovation and using cutting-edge technology to execute strategies. McKinsey’s latest B2B Pulse Survey reveals a widespread willingness to adopt advanced digital solutions,  yet only 20 % of respondents say they have consistently implemented technologies that fuel outsize growth. 

An exceptionally positive customer experience is a powerful differentiator that can drive revenue and brand loyalty. According to a 2025 Zendesk CX Trends Report, 60% of customers have purchased a service or product from one brand rather than another based on the customer experience they expect to encounter. A 2017 World Economic Forum report predicts that your customers will obtain “more choices and control than ever before” over the next decade thanks to technological advances.

To distinguish your company from competitors in the crowd, Freelancers would be wise to explore and evaluate tech innovations as a way to optimize your operations and appeal to the evolving demands of your clients and prospects. An exceptional customer experience will prioritize:

  • Personalization–Tailor services and communications to respond to individual customer preferences and purchase history
  • Efficiency–streamlined, fast and accurate delivery of service
  • Consistency–Provide a predictable and comforting level of product performance and service
  • Empathy–Show customers that you feel genuine concern for their needs and perspective by actively listening and recommending solutions that your services or products can provide
  • Communication–Provide customers with accurate and timely information
  • Feedback–Provide methods for customers to comment or request assistance and demonstrate that you value their input

Use the new technology to make available a customer experience platform for your company so that you can account for all client and prospect interactions with your company, from the first viewings of your website to advancing through your buyer’s journey to become a qualified lead, to making a purchase and becoming a full-fledged customer and culminating with post-sale support activities. Click here to view options.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Gamutstockimagespvtltd

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Summer Reading 2025

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Professional development is like getting regular exercise and maintaining a balanced diet—a gift you give to yourself as you strive to become a successful business owner. When thinking of professional development, conferences sponsored by professional associations or skills building courses held at a college may come to mind but think again—professional development is available in a variety formats. Among the most accessible and affordable methods to obtain professional development can be found in books.

Reading has traditionally played an important role in the development of successful business owners and leaders. When you open a book, a world of ideas, information and insights will be there to enlighten you. You’ll find lessons and experiences that can be critical to your growth as a business owner and leader, shared by authors who give first-person accounts of how they overcame challenges and found success. The books you read can teach you how to sharpen your business acumen and use your newfound proficiency to propel your business forward. The practical knowledge contained in a typical business-themed book can result in your discovery of actionable insights that can become competitive advantages, from refining your decision-making prowess to bolstering your effectiveness when working with teams.

In today’s fast-paced and endlessly-evolving business landscape, continuous education is not only beneficial, it’s essential; but in the age of information overload, it may be difficult to find time to read when you devote the majority of your time to operating your business. Furthermore, you may feel too overwhelmed by the process of researching and identifying topics that will be most useful or interesting to you—the business books genre is a wide field. With those realities in mind, I am happy to share with you a selection of books curated to appeal to Freelance consulting professionals and also business owners or leaders. I hope that one or more titles will interest you. First, here are suggestions that may help you find time to read this summer (and beyond!).

  • Schedule. Like scheduling time for any important task, specifying your reading time will help you choose a convenient time and make it easier to honor your commitment to professional development. Consider reading after dinner, to lend a “relax and unwind” vibe to your reading. You may find the 8:00 – 11:00 PM time slot, three or four nights a week, a great way to wrap up your day.
  • Formats. Especially if your commute is 45 minutes or longer, or your fitness routine is self-directed and not in a class format, consider listening to audio books and/or podcasts as your method to obtain professional development. When in transit or working out, insert your headphones and tune in to an interesting book or program that expands your knowledge, builds skills and enhances your performance as a business owner or leader.
  • Topics. There are many business-themed titles published each year, but it is inevitable that only a select few will appeal to you. Reading book reviews of titles that grab your attention—in the business section of your local newspaper, in the Wall Street Journal or other nationally known newspaper, in Kirkus Reviews , or Goodreads—to winnow potential reading choices as you discover and evaluate titles and authors that may appeal to you and maintain your motivation to read and learn. Below are 10 books to cue up on your Summer 2025 reading playlist.

Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business (2019) Paul Jarvis

Online-tech veteran Paul Jarvis, whose A-list clients include Microsoft and Mercedes Benz, describes the advantages of running a “company of one,” whether as an independent Freelance professional or as an autonomous, corporate employee. Jarvis has most emphatically not bought into the “grow or die” ethos and prefers instead to operate as a “lean and agile” entity. Jarvis explains how running your one-person shop enables you to both achieve a work-life balance that works for you and, just as importantly, enables you to avoid the need to navigate a potentially suffocating corporate hierarchy and sometimes poisonous office politics. In your little empire, you can work efficiently. Jarvis has learned that smart entrepreneurship isn’t about size—it’s about building a better business that works for you.

 Company of One details a refreshingly original business strategy that’s focused on a commitment to being better instead of bigger. Jarvis has discovered that staying small results in maintaining the freedom to pursue more meaningful pleasures in life as you avoid the headaches and complications that are inherent in traditional growth-oriented business. With this groundbreaking guide, you’ll learn how to set up your shop, determine your desired revenues, manage unexpected crises, keep your key clients happy and find self-fulfillment as you do.

Competing in the Age of AI (2020) Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

Here’s a book that is an excellent resource for business owners and leaders whose organizations currently use, or are considering, Artificial Intelligence powered tools in their operations. The authors have produced a useful guide to the realities of doing business in today’s digital landscape and present actionable insights into how introducing AI-driven operating models can enable businesses to achieve scale and scope at an unprecedented rate.

Iansiti and Lakhani show how reinventing a business entity around data, analytics and AI removes centuries-old constraints on scale, scope and machine learning advantages that have traditionally restricted business growth. Recent examples of companies such as Amazon and Google demonstrate how AI-driven processes vastly improve the ability to scale, when compared to traditional data analytical processes, and allow massive scope increase, enabling companies to straddle industry boundaries and create powerful opportunities for machine learning—to drive ever more accurate, complex and sophisticated predictions that make business strategy becomes a new game.

The authors also outline the inherent risks associated with AI and offer recommendations for rethinking current operating models; they also examine the responsibilities that the introduction of AI requires of its users. Finally, Iansiti and Lakhani are transparent about the potential societal impact of AI and point out the potential for algorithmic bias, privacy concerns and cybersecurity threats, along with the need for responsible AI development and governance.

How To Talk To Anyone About Anything (2021) James W. Williams

James W. Williams has written a refreshingly honest, easy-to-follow guide to meeting and greeting and initiating conversations that’s tailor-made for an era when many meetings and even networking opportunities are regularly held in virtual format. As a result, the only avenue to connect with colleagues and attempt to parlay fleeting interactions into deeper connections is hobbled by a computer monitor. Engaging communication skills are increasingly recognized as a powerful and influential competency. 

While some are born with a silver-tongued gift of gab for many, communication aptitude must be developed and nurtured. Williams’ advice is likely to bolster the social acumen of even the most shy and introverted among us, the wallflowers who feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable when attempting to navigate business-slash-social gatherings. If you’ve ever felt awkward in the midst of a meet & greet, or unsure of what to say after an introduction has taken place, this book will show you how to access your communication potential and learn to become a confident conversationalist.

How to Talk to Anyone About Anything provides a user-friendly roadmap that will enable you to practice, grow and eventually shine in social and professional situations. Active listening, small talk and storytelling are situations that the author discusses, as is how to develop the fine art of appearing approachable to your fellow guests when you’re standing alone and wondering if you’ll talk with anyone. Readers will appreciate the many good examples that provide teachable moments and make this book ideal for professionals and social learners alike. Williams’ book is a great soft-skills business resource, that will be a great help to those who struggle with small talk, pitching to clients, or relationship-building within your team. The insights are perfect for occasions where first impressions and informal conversations can open the door to business-enhancing or career-building opportunities.

10X Is Easier Than 2X (2023) Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Call this book a must-read for ambitious business leaders. When the mission is to level up business growth, here are insights that give an eye-opening perspective on how to achieve exponential, rather than incremental, growth. This no-nonsense read can give business leaders and owners actionable insights into scaling their businesses rapidly, leveraging technology and resources more effectively and positioning their entity to stay ahead—of the competition and customer tastes—in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Businesses leaders often aim to achieve progress, for example, and may focus on doubling their results year over year. However, Sullivan and Hardy argue convincingly that aiming for tenfold growth is not only feasible but also more practical and rewarding. As they see it, going for 10x requires letting go of 80% of your current life and going all-in on the crucial 20% that’s relevant and high-impact.

Readers will find practical strategies and mindset shifts that inspire you to break through limitations and achieve exponential growth. The authors emphasize the power of thinking bigger, setting audacious goals and taking massive action. For business owners and leaders, this approach is invaluable as it encourages innovation, pushes boundaries and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Acting Up: Winning in Business and Life Using Down-Home Wisdom (2019) Janice Bryant Howroyd

“Never compromise who you are personally to become who you wish to be professionally” is the core message offered by author Janice Bryant Howroyd, who grew up in a family of 11 children. Here she discusses the principles and techniques that she used to build a multinational staffing agency. The author guides readers through questions of leadership, risk-taking, developing confidence and networking, among other topics.

Howroyd also emphasizes the significance of data-driven and strategic business decisions as she simultaneously encourages readers to take a holistic approach to making the most of both their professional and personal lives. The author addresses as well the topic of diversity from the perspective of a black female entrepreneur and urges readers not to define her by demographics. In sum, Howroyd shares in her book the values she lives by and continues to represent: that of a leader who works for good, for growth and for innovation, for her family values and for the same ideals upon which she founded her company—that success is transferrable.

The 1-Page Marketing Plan (2018) by Allan Dib

“The most common way small business owners decide on this (marketing and advertising) is by looking at large, successful competitors in their industry and mimicking what they’re doing. In reality, this is the fastest way to fail and I’m certain it’s responsible for the bulk of small business failures.” Now you know why this book is included in the reading list!

In The 1-Page Marketing Plan, serial entrepreneur and marketer Allan Dib reveals a marketing implementation revolution that makes creating a marketing plan uncomplicated and fast—it’s literally just a single page! By creating and implementing that one-page wonder, you’ll have an effective marketing plan that you can put into motion. Dib understands that small business owners (and Freelance professionals as well) trying to jumpstart their marketing often don’t have adequate resources—money, time, or expertise—provided by employees or Freelance consultants—that big businesses do. The author has devised a credible alternate path that shows how you can create a basic marketing plan to help steer your business in the right direction and, as Dib himself says, puts you on “the fastest path to money”.

Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working (2025) Dan Heath

Reset offers a guide to fixing what’s not working in your business operations—in systems and processes, organizations and companies and even in our daily lives. Author Dan Heath provides real-world stories and actionable insights that can empower you to create lasting change in your organization—and maybe in your life, as well.

What if you could somehow learn to unlock forward movement and achieve the progress that matters most to you, without the need for more resources—like money and connections? Heath shows how, with the same relationships you have and the same financial resources you can access, it is possible to reconfigure the circumstances and bring dramatically better outcomes to your life. Yesterday, you were stuck. Today, you can reset.

The author explores a framework for getting unstuck and making beneficial changes that matter. Heath says that the secret of success is to find the leverage points—places where a bit of effort can yield a disproportionate return. Do that and you can rearrange your resources and activate those pivotal points. Heath also points out that to even experience the feeling of progress can be a leverage point that can accelerate the arrival of the positive change you desire.

The 48 Hour Start-Up: From Idea to Launch in One Weekend (2016) Fraser Doherty

This can’t be done, you say? Well, author and serial entrepreneur and Scottish citizen Fraser Doherty MBE (who was awarded the honorific title Member of the Order of the British Empire for his achievements) begs to differ. In his book, Doherty provides actionable advice on how to identify and shape a viable business idea that is ready to launch in only two days. Doherty’s reasoning behind the 48-hour deadline is simple—he argues that prospective entrepreneurs (aka wantrepreneurs) spend too much time and energy obsessing over the “perfect idea”. The time they waste waiting for the “perfect idea” to appear is time that could be used refining and adapting that business idea for customers who could actually use it.

The book is helpful with the initial decisions that aspiring entrepreneurs must consider when starting a business. In his considerable experience, Doherty has found that launching a business does not have to involve complicated financial projections, elaborate presentations, or extraordinary innovation. A simple, well-executed idea is what it takes to launch and sustain a successful enterprise and Doherty has done it more than once—the first time while still in his teens. 

Doherty also emphasizes that before you invest significant time and resources, quickly reality-test your idea with potential customers and conduct basic market research. The process will help you gauge market demand for your product or service, assess your main competitors, identify and address potential problems early on and, in general, refine your product or service based on the uncensored feedback received from potential customers.

Good Strategy Bad Strategy (2011) Richard Rumelt

It is a given that developing and implementing strategy is the primary task of a leader—whether military leader, business leader, baseball manager, or tennis coach. The definition of a good strategy could be expressed as a specific and coherent response to—and approach for—overcoming the obstacles to progress. A good strategy works by harnessing and applying power where it will have the greatest effect. Yet, author Richard Rumelt asserts that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate Mom-and-apple-pie values, fluffy buzzwords, motivational slogans and financial goals with “strategy.”

Rumelt displays an astonishing grasp and integration of economics, finance, technology and history to expose and clarify the often-muddled thinking that is the foundation of too many so-called strategies and his book details a clear way to create and implement a powerful action-oriented strategies that will be effective in the real world.

The book helps readers to recognize and avoid the trap of bad strategy and guides them to adopt good, credible, action-oriented strategy that honestly acknowledges and responds to the challenges that businesses encounter. Rumelt cautions readers that strategy should not be equated with ambition, leadership, vision, or planning; rather, strategy is a coherent, action-backed plan supported by a rational argument.

Rumelt emphasizes that strategies are often confused with goals and visions and points out that a plan is what sets strategies apart from goals and gives you a clear idea of what is necessary to succeed. To evaluate and decide which strategies are suitable for your organization, the author says it is necessary to confirm whether you have the resources to implement your strategy and, in addition, ensure that your strategy fits with your current situation. The actions need to fit with your present circumstances and work together to give you the best possible advantage. After this, you’re well on your way to a faultless strategy implementation.

The Courage To Be Disliked (2018) Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

Strictly speaking, this book is not a business book. One might consider it as an accelerator that gives the determination to push forward with a desire to launch a business entity or achieve other important goals. Kishimi and Koga present their book as a dialogue between an older philosopher and a young man. Over the course of five enlightening and thought-provoking conversations the philosopher, who happens to draw from the theories of Alfred Adler, a late 19th- and early 20th- century psychologist and thought leader in that discipline (along with Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and B. Fred Skinner), explains to his pupil how each of us is able to determine our own life, free from the shackles of past experiences, doubts and the expectations of others. The wisdom that the philosopher reveals is deeply liberating and enables his pupil to develop the courage to change and to ignore the limitations that others, or even the pupil himself, may use to control him.

The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance, yet it is not without controversy; certain of authors’ premises you may find shocking or, at least, unrealistic. Still, the book is, at its core, about reclaiming your power and using it to shape the life that is meaningful to you.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©Beli_photos

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Crisis Communications: Monitor and Defend Your Online Presence

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Managing the online presence and reputation of a brand, whether personal or company, is no longer considered mere vanity or over-reaching micromanagement. Regular tracking and review of all content that pertains to your organization and shows up in searches—its services and products, the company itself and its leaders—including AI-powered searches, is now recognized as a necessity. Vigilant and consistent monitoring of information that appears online about your company and you, as the principal of your Freelance consulting practice or fractional executive, owner/leader of a traditional business, small or large, or not-for-profit organization executive, can be viewed as an aspect of risk management strategy.

It is imperative for all business owners and leaders to carefully shape and defend their brand’s online image and ensure that all information presented is accurate and leaves viewers of your content with a positive impression, meaning, a portrayal that encourages credibility and trust.

Unflattering or outright negative content associated with your brand, as well as inaccurate info, has the potential to undermine or damage your organization’s credibility. It is therefore highly recommended that Freelancers and other business owners and leaders regularly assess all AI-generated and online mentions of their company and personal brand and verify the accuracy of the information found.

Take control of your online presence

Integral to a comprehensive marketing campaign is building a digital presence that illustrates the competence and credibility of the organization. Online reputation management is essential to defending that carefully curated image, whether you maintain a solopreneur consulting practice, operate a small company, or lead a national or multi–national conglomerate. Failing to take defensive action and waiting until negative content has become an embarrassing crisis may cause an unfortunate outcome that stains your own or your company’s reputation.

Inspection tours are the how you’ll discover inaccurate information and/or negative content. Inspecting the search engines is Step One of your mission to defend and, if necessary, correct online information pertaining to you and your organization. Learning where and how to locate, edit, or suppress content that is untrue or unflattering is the most important step of restorative crisis communications activity. Proactive monitoring and strategic content creation will be central to maintaining control of your online image. The presence of negative content, which may include customer reviews and other user-generated content, can have a direct effect on company reputation and sales revenue: Approximately 94% of customers report that a negative merchant review on a review site persuaded them to avoid doing business with that merchant.

Step Two of your brand defense is the actual defensive action, where you may simply update information to correct what appears sites like Yelp or Google. More thought and time will be necessary if you discover content that is inaccurate and perhaps also misleading; in these cases, you may decide that a substantive reset of your brand narrative is in order. Your best defensive action will be to create and publish relevant, high-quality content that is capable of enhancing your online authority and burying the harmful content by pushing it further down in search rankings.

Google search operators

Re: your search engine inspection tours in most cases, a Google or Bing search of the brand will surface a comprehensive list of brand mentions. However, a more thorough search might locate additional content that you can review and if you discover incorrect information or harmful material on less popular search engines or on online communities, you can explore how to make corrections and/or counteract negative content with a post or two that displays your authority and integrity.

To take a deeper dive and search for potentially harmful content that might otherwise go unnoticed., you’ll be pleased to find that Google’s search capabilities extend far beyond entering a name into the search bar to see what appears. Dipping into advanced search operators will broaden your scope and, if it exists, may help you to locate negative content that does not appear in a traditional search.

To find what may be hiding in the shadows, launch an exact match search by placing your name in quotation marks (e.g., “John Smith” or “The Best Company”) to specify search results to that unique name and eliminate unwanted mentions. To further refine search results, you can exclude irrelevant pages using the minus sign. for example, searching for “The Best Company” -Instagram removes Instagram results and help your mission to dig up potentially damaging content pertaining to your brand that may be posted on less visible sites.

Furthermore, a site-specific search can help when you suspect that a particular domain features negative information about your brand. Typing the site domain address, followed by a colon and your company name will produce only results from that chosen site. It is also useful to search variations of your name, for example, “J. Smith” or “Best Company;” — subtle changes could possibly bring up mentions that do not appear in the traditional searches.

Set-up Google Alerts for ongoing monitoring

It is wise to be vigilant and regularly monitor your name online, to prevent damage before it spreads. Google Alerts is a free tool that notifies you whenever new content is indexed and includes your name. To get started, visit Google Alerts and enter your full name and company name along with relevant variations (e.g. “Jane Smith” or “Jane K. Smith”). Use quotation marks to ensure your alert captures the exact phrase. Then click “show options” to select how frequently you’d like to receive alerts —the “as-it-happens” option is best for reputation management. Set alerts to receive notification of name mentions and be sure to correct inaccuracies and gratuitously negative content. Counteract what is negative with relevant and compelling content that can potentially suppress unflattering narratives.

You can also filter alerts by geographic location and type of content, such as blogs, news articles, or discussions. Finally, enter your email address to start receiving updates. These alerts act as a digital early warning system. You’ll know immediately if a new piece of content starts gaining traction — giving you time to prepare a response or counter-strategy. Staying visible online requires more than awareness — it demands consistency and strategy.

  • Monitoring social mentions and online discussions

Negative content is known to more frequently begin on nontraditional search engines. Social media platforms, forums and blog comments can amplify by way of the metaverse effect and damage to your brand image can spread quickly—even as it never appears in traditional search results.

To really scrutinize your online presence, investing in the services of a social listening site such as EmbedSocial or AgoraPulse will detect online conversations that mention your name and your company name across blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, media outlets and more. Social listening platforms also provide sentiment analysis, an excellent feature that distinguishes between harmless chatter and attacks on your brand reputation. Most social listening platforms are a paid service but if a free solution will be more appropriate for you at this time, consider Talkwalker Alerts (by HootSuite). Incidentally, Talkwalker provides more extensive web and social listening coverage than Google Alerts and is easy to integrate into your workflow.

Finally, make a point to investigate online communities like Reddit and Quora. These platforms typically feature informal discussions and some have been known to quickly go viral. Get your investigation started with a targeted search— reddit.com:The Best Company to uncover mentions that might not appear on Bing or Google. Knowing what’s being said about you when you’re not in the room lets you know who your friends are and also gives you the opportunity to respond with a brand image defensive strategy.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Behnaz Farahi. Gaze to the Stars, an installation created by Behnaz Farahi, Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. Gaze to the Stars was displayed on the MIT Great Dome December 2024-March 2025.

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Trend Tracker Is Free Help from Yelp

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Launched in 2014 at the platform’s 10th anniversary, Yelp’s Trend Tracker is receiving so much flattering business press of late that it feels like a relaunch (and I’m sure it is)! If you operate a small business and maintain an active Yelp account, whether or not you subscribe to Trend Tracker, Yelp is talking to you. If you’re a Freelance solopreneur who’s claimed your free Yelp listing and then dropped the subject, Yelp is talking to you, too. Or maybe you’re a self-employed professional, a Freelancer or SMB owner, who does not have an active Yelp account? Whatever the case, Yelp and Yelp’s Trend Tracker beckon with insightful and potentially actionable data that pertains to your industry and can support your mission to build a profitable and sustainable business entity.

What is Yelp’s Trend Tracker?

Trend Tracker is an AI-powered, cloud-based tool that monitors customer searches, reviews and interactions to identify trending topics in real time. Trend Tracker reveals and reports customer search patterns, behavior and emerging customer preferences across a broad array of industries. Trend Tracker harvests data from unique searches the Yelp platform receives each month (178 million in January 2025) and measures the frequency of specific phrases and topics used in those searches. This data sheds light on what you want to know, from customer purchasing trends to popular B2B and B2C services. Furthermore, Trend Tracker goes beyond search terms and also analyzes the text of customer reviews, to further clarify the picture.

It can literally pay to know this stuff because from time to time it may be worthwhile to respond to certain information. You may decide, for example, to update the key words in your content marketing material if Trend Tracker data indicates that target customers have begun to use certain terms when searching your product or service category.

Free market research for Freelancers and SMBs

Trend Tracker analytic insights are available free of charge—join the mailing list and you’ll receive data that is relevant and updated monthly and enables those who pay attention to access boots-on-the-ground marketing insights that can potentially help to promote your products and services more effectively. Supported by Trend Tracker, you’ll be positioned to detect and quickly respond to customer preferences, adjust marketing strategies and/or tactics to better align with shifting customer priorities and maybe even tweak your service or product line to reflect a significant shift in customer tastes.

When business decisions are guided by relevant, reliable data, decision-makers are more likely to achieve their intended outcomes. Decisions and actions that are guided by what matters to prospects and customers IRT will be immensely helpful to business owners. One of the biggest advantages of Trend Tracker is its ability to give you the heads-up on developing trends before they go mainstream and giving you time to update your position and be among the first providers to capitalize on emerging customer demand. Trend Tracker enables you to:

  • Identify emerging customer interests before they become mainstream
  • Adjust marketing strategies and tactics to respond to customer interests in a timely fashion
  • Create events and promotions that reflect developing trends
  • Improve your brand’s online visibility and search engine optimization with trending keywords
  • Stay ahead of competitors (who may not have access to reliable data-driven insights)

What else can Trend Tracker do for you?

So what’s trending that applies to you? Trustworthy intel is what’s trending and it applies to your entity in many ways. Trend Tracker data can even be a resource when you must conduct market research to evaluate your business planning, from the feasibility of scaling or expanding your venture to clarifying your decision-making as you verify, or rethink, a side hustle you hope to launch. News flash! Re: business planning, can we acknowledge that Freelancing does not exclusively pertain to B2B services such as marketing, website development, graphic arts and shooting and editing videos? Can we recognize that Freelance expertise can also be applied to a B2C service entity? In other words, could it be that upgrading home interiors is a more satisfying expression of your entrepreneurial talent than cybersecurity? That seems to be the case for the Property Brothers.

You may be interested to know that the Trend Tracker September 2024 issue reported that in 2024, home services produced record growth for business owners in that industry across the U.S. and drove an all-time revenue bonanza for the category. Trend Tracker data indicated that in 2024, home services were the fastest-growing segment of B2C services in every U.S. state plus Washington D.C. and was the top category for new business launches among all industry categories on Yelp as well. This still trending growth cycle is fueled by renter-friendly home upgrade projects. As many citizens come to recognize that attaining home ownership or trading up from starter house to a more spacious (and grand) residence is unaffordable, remaining in the current home for a longer period of time has become yet another New Normal reality.

As a way to make home feel more comfortable or look more stylish, people are investing in improvements that upgrade living spaces without upsetting the landlord. Another home services industry hot spot, this one pertaining to homeowners, is weatherproofing services that make homes more resilient to what seems like increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Trend Tracker data shows that Yelp users have increased searches for both renter-friendly and homeowner services—could responding to the growing demand become your side hustle or even your full-time Freelance or SMB enterprise? Aspiring business owners have set up shop as Freelance solopreneurs and SMBs to address those priorities, which resulted in big increases in Yelp searches in 2024 vs. 2023:

  • home organization (+362%),
  • peel and stick tile (+73%),
  • wallpapering (+41%),
  • snow removal (+36%)
  • home automation (+27%),
  • drapery installation (+11%)
  • waterproofing (+23%)

In sum, Trend Tracker can be a game-changer that might potentially have a direct impact on your ability to gain or maintain competitive advantage and monitor customer priorities—and maybe even launch a successful business or side hustle. Tara Lewis, who spent 15 years at Yelp helping businesses connect with their target customers and also served as its trend expert, advises that the best way to get started with Yelp’s Trend Tracker is to check out the latest trends noted in the monthly newsletter and pick one insight to test in your business this month. Lewis says that even a small adjustment can lead to noticeable improvements in brand visibility and sales revenue generated. She recommends the following:

  • Practice authenticity in trend-chasing. Don’t just follow trends; make them your own to help your business stand out.
  • Connect with valued customers through shared trending interests. Form meaningful connections with your community by creating events and social spaces that appeal to those who matter most.
  • Use Yelp Trend Tracker data to highlight what you already offer. Your business may be in tune with rising trends — adapt your marketing strategy to make these products or services more visible to customers.
  • Position your business for long-term trends, not just momentary fads. Some trends are fleeting; others reflect larger shifts in consumer behavior. Identify trends with staying power and incorporate them into your business vision.
  • Your brand’s unique personality is your trendiest asset. Lean into what makes your business distinctive to set yourself apart and keep customers coming back.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Freepik

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Getting Things Done: 10 Tasks to Outsource in 2025

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Outsourcing is the practice of delegating certain business functions to an external agency with the goal of enabling the business to focus on primary tasks and responsibilities. Outsourcing enables Freelance consultants and other business owners to devote time and talent to the organization’s core functions by selectively delegating certain tasks to a highly skilled external expert.

The importance of outsourcing in today’s business world cannot be overstated. It is a valuable resource that, when implemented wisely, has the potential to offer significant benefits to businesses of every size, in particular cost savings that would be associated with hiring one or more employees to do work that is instead outsourced and obtaining access to specialized skills that are not available within the organization. Outsourcing promotes effective time and resource management.

Devoting time to functions that are core to your business and gaining useful professional expertise that can upgrade how your business functions are the most persuasive motivations for introducing outsourcing to your entity. Accessing specialized professional skills that would otherwise be unavailable to your organization can be a game-changer that has the potential to enhance productivity, efficiency and even the current or future profitability of your venture. Increased operational efficiency, positioning the business to grow, expand, or scale and promoting risk management practices are additional benefits that can be derived from strategic outsourcing. As businesses strive to become agile and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market, outsourcing has become an integral part of business strategy.

In addition to choosing the right business functions to outsource, it’s also important to know what you want outsourcing to enable you to achieve. Keep goals in mind—do you want to improve productivity and operational efficiencies, save money, protect your IT network security, or increase profit margins? Set goals and record their starting metrics; continue to follow and measure the impact that outsourcing has on your entity.

Oh, and let’s not confuse outsourcing with off-shoring. Outsourcing is a way to get work off your desk and an opportunity to access special skills that you don’t have in-house and enables you to concentrate on business functions that are best performed by you. The purpose of off-shoring is to find cheap labor, typically located in a developing economy, and paying laborers there to work at an hourly rate that is considerably lower than what is paid in a developed nation. Off-shoring is about minimizing costs by transferring certain business functions to locations outside of the U.S., taking advantage of international currency values and slashing business expenses (payroll, for example) as a way to increase profitability.

Below are 10 tasks you may want to consider outsourcing in 2025, perhaps by hiring a fellow Freelancer.

  1. Accounting and Finance Delegating your entity’s accounting, bookkeeping, or other financial functions to a trustworthy external provider can include tasks such as cash-flow management, tax preparation, payroll management, financial reporting and auditing. Staying compliant with tax laws and regulatory requirements is crucial for every business and an experienced outsourced accountant will have deep knowledge of current laws and ensure that you’ll avoid fines, penalties and legal problems. Additionally, accounting firms typically have in-house expertise in risk management and are able to identify potential financial lapses before they escalate. Freelancers and small business owners can further benefit from the guidance of an outsourced financial expert who has detailed knowledge of the company’s financial position should they inquire about the feasibility of scaling, growth or expansion, or where money can be saved. When interviewing prospective accounting/finance outsourcing experts, consider asking these questions:
  • What’s the biggest financial challenge for a company like this in today’s business landscape?
  • What specific accounting/finance services do you provide?
  • Can I expect monthly, quarterly and annual reporting? Will recommendations be made where necessary, based on the numbers?
  • Will you help me set realistic goals for business growth?

2. Customer Service tasks can range from answering customer queries and handling complaints to providing technical support and managing social media interactions. Your outsourced customer service specialist can provide these services through various channels such as phone calls, emails, live chat and social media platforms and allow your business to provide support 24/7 and otherwise enhance customer satisfaction and the customer service experience that impacts your brand. Your external providers will likely have a team of trained professionals who can handle a wide range of issues and ensure high-quality service. You can help the experience by using automation tools to integrate FAQs and chatbots, complementing human support. When investigating customer service outsourcing, the questions below should be helpful:

  • Does the outsourced customer service candidate possess superior communication skills and highly evolved Emotional Intelligence and excels at clear and empathetic communication?
  • How familiar is the candidate familiar with your preferred support platforms, like Zendesk or Intercom? Multichannel experience is crucial.
  • Define clear and reasonable guidelines for response times to customer questions and tone of voice, in order to maintain consistency and meet customer expectations.

3. Human Resources Under the HR umbrella are numerous subspecialties, such as talent acquisition, payroll processing, benefits administration, training and development, compensation strategy, onboarding and background checks. Delegating HR tasks to a specialized HR outsourced service provider is proactive risk management that will ensure your company’s compliance with labor laws, for example.

HR experts are responding to the evolving business environment that calls upon those in the field to meet the special circumstances of Freelance workers and fast-paced agile business practices. There is now Freelancer Management System (FMS) software that allows HR companies to efficiently manage hundreds or even thousands of Freelance worker, who could be located anywhere in the world, and seamlessly implement their onboard, store documents, manage projects, send invoices and make payments.

As noted above, there are many HR subspecialties and no one is equally adept in all aspects. When addressing this suite of critical business functions, it’s imperative that you work with an outsourcing HR partner that best suits your needs. Insightful questions to ask when considering an outsourced HR talent for your entity will likely include:

  • What services are you most qualified and comfortable supporting? N.B,. it’s important to consider both current and future needs, such as the possibility of scaling or otherwise expanding your entity, which could necessitate talent recruitment.
  • How long will it take to implement the services you need? Also ask about the software or cloud computing required to support those services.
  • Which metrics and reports will be provided? Your HR expert should discuss the reports you’ll receive and how often you’ll receive them.

4. Information Technology Needless to say, your business entity cannot function without the right technologies and they must function reliably and seamlessly. Freelancers and SMBs frequently seek out outsourced IT expertise for essential services such as network management, cloud computing, cybersecurity and website maintenance that ensure your IT infrastructure operations are seamless and secure. Your preferred outsourced IT expert will have invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology that enables business clients (you) to access cutting-edge technology that can maximize productivity and even give your company an advantage over competitors. The following questions will give you useful info:

  • Do you operate 24/7?
  • What services do you provide?
  • What is your approach to security issues?
  • Do you (and possibly also colleagues) work from home, in an office, or as a hybrid?
  • How do you manage power outages?

5. Market Research Is there something you need to learn about your customers or your industry as a whole? Whether you’re thinking about launching a new product or considering expanding into a new market, proper research is integral to the process. In the world of business, knowledge is power—competitive intel, analyzing market trends, identifying target audiences and discovering niche markets directly impact the profitability of your venture.

A diligent market research maven who knows where to look for the relevant data and how to analyze the information can be a game-changing resource for supporting informed decision-making. Those insights can shape product development, marketing strategies and even overall business direction.

In most businesses, data and market research are integral to business success, but data deep dives are known to be rather too time consuming for single person entities maintained by Freelance professionals or skeleton crew sized SMBs. Actually, in nearly every organization, workers should direct their focus to implementing data rather than finding it. Interviews with market research outsourcing candidates can include the following questions:

  • Describe a market research project where you identified a significant trend or insight that impacted business strategy?
  • How have you used quantitative and qualitative research methods?
  • How do you stay updated on the latest market research techniques and technologies?
  • What steps do you take to avoid bias and ensure that the data you collect accurately reflects the market you’re studying?

6. Design and creative Very few people have artistic talent, making outsourced design and creative work a common request. Many professionals accept the limits of their creative ability and delegate design to the artists, who can produce a professional, brand-building appearance for a website, social media pages, logo or business card, December holiday and thank you cards and even branded swag items to send to your most loyal customers when special occasions arise. You might explore the following topics and questions when discussing outsourcing a design project:

  • Review candidate portfolios to ensure their style matches your brand’s aesthetic.
  • What experience do you have with video editing and animation?
  • What is your experience using Artificial Intelligence and how does it fit into your creative process?
  • Discuss and agree on the number of design revisions are included in the project fee.

7. Search Engine Optimization SEO is essential for driving traffic to your website. Freelancers specializing in SEO can audit your site, optimize content and improve your search rankings for competitive keywords. To ensure that your website does what you want it to do, that is, function as your inbound marketing engine and hub for many marketing functions, you should regularly update site content with fresh, optimized info to maintain visibility. You will do well to explore the following topics and questions when seeking to outsource SEO:

  • Ask to see case studies or client testimonials that verify tangible results.
  • Discuss and agree upon the SEO strategy, that is, a clear plan that will prioritize keyword research and backlink-building tactics.
  • Ensure that regular progress reports will be received and that performance results will be incorporated into data-driven strategy and/or tactical adjustments.
  • At what point can you expect to see the SEO needle move in a positive direction?

8. Data Analysis Data-driven insights may need translation and interpretation, so that you can be confident about the story your numbers tell. A data analyst can help you make sense of your business metrics and therefore enable better decision-making. Your business data guru can identify trends, predict customer behavior and provide actionable insights that will guide marketing campaigns and strategies, or even new products or services you might launch. To find the right analyst, ask the following questions:

  • Choose an analyst who’s familiar with your sector to ensure that you’ll receive relevant, timely, actionable insights. How familiar is the candidate with your industry?
  • Review case studies to see examples of past projects so that you can assess candidate ability to make actionable recommendations that drive results.
  • Ensure the candidate is proficient in the use of analytical tools, such as Google Analytics, Microsoft Excel and Power BI, SAS and also the role of AI in data analysis.

9. LeadGen One of your smartest and potentially most successful outsourcing moves can be to stimulate the all-important leadgen process by using marketing automation that’s supported by the Artificial Intelligence capability known as AI-powered Intelligent Virtual Assistance. Time is money and Freelancers who want to drive results would be wise to investigate IVA outsourcing options to streamline their marketing/sales funnel operations. Smart forms, your AI “Agent,” will engage potential clients through interactive conversations, social media, or even direct telephone calls, to efficiently capture leads and qualify them in order to enhance customer acquisition. You’ll also receive regular updates of relevant metrics, most notably your campaigns’ cost per lead and the number of leads that originate from specific professional audience segments. Then, all you’ll have to do is nurture those leads and persuade them to convert. Reach out to your leads across multiple channels, conduct targeted email campaigns, or even host webinars—whatever you need to convert to customers. When meeting with a leadgen outsourcing expert, explore the following questions:

  • How do you create leadgen campaigns that you can expect will produce the desired results?
  • By what standards do you identify robust leads?
  • How do you measure and adjust leadgen campaign results?
  • Please give an example of a challenging leadgen situation you encountered and how you overcame it?
  •  How you have handled objections and rejections in leadgen?

10. Public Relations Freelance consultants often don’t have time to pitch themselves to editors of business publications, speakers bureaus, podcasts and webinar hosts, or business organization liaisons who can schedule them to speak of make an appearance on a webinar or podcast. But everyone knows that PR is an important component of brand-building and positioning oneself as an expert in the field. Authoring a blog or newsletter and social media activity also matter, but face2face interaction has a special impact. To make sure that you don’t allow this important marketing function get lost in the shuffle, consider outsourcing.

While most PR specialists want to design a strategy and use it to shape their client work, it’s usually possible to have your own goals and hire the PR expert to make them happen. Still, understand that an external PR agency can bring a fresh perspective to your business. Your outsourced PR expert can offer unbiased insights and innovative ideas that may not be apparent to you. This outside viewpoint can be invaluable for identifying new opportunities, addressing potential challenges and crafting messages that distinguish you in a crowded marketplace. Another set of eyes can see your brand from a different angle and recognize creative and impactful PR strategies that you did not anticipate.

Furthermore, PR agencies have established relationships with journalists, media outlets, influeners and others in the promotional communications sector. These connections are routinely leveraged to obtain media coverage for clients and amplify your brand’s message. By outsourcing your PR activities, you gain access to this extensive network, which is a resource you would be unlikely to build and maintain on your own. A well-connected PR agency can open doors to new opportunities and ensure that your brand is heard by the right people. The following questions will be insightful when meeting with potential candidates for outsourced PR:

  • How do you develop PR strategies for clients?
  • How do you obtain media placements and coverage for clients?
  • Can you share examples of how you’ve improved a client’s brand visibility or reputation?
  • Do you have case studies that showcase your work and results in our field?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©ARTpok/ Shutterstock

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TikTok Countdown: Proceed to Pivot

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The Supreme Court announced on Friday January 17 that it voted 9-0 to uphold the Senate-approved “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”, a ruling that defined TikTok and other apps owned by Chinese corporations that operate in the U.S. and have more than a million U.S. users as a national security risk for America and compelled ByteDance, owner of the popular TikTok social media platform, to either sell out to a U.S. company or cease operating in this country as of Sunday January 19, 2025. On Saturday night January 18, ByteDance shut down TikTok in the U.S., per the SCOTUS ruling. Site visitors were greeted with the message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

Furthermore, the SCOTUS ruling prevents American companies from hosting or delivering content for the Beijing-based social media platform unless parent company ByteDance sells the platform to a U.S. buyer, or a U.S ally. A source close to TikTok reportedly said that “multiple critical service providers” indicated to TikTok that they would no longer carry the app or its data, which forced the app offline. Service providers cited fears that the ban would be applied starting Sunday January 19, despite Biden administration signals to the contrary. The app went dark on Saturday January 18 about two hours before the shutdown deadline and as of Sunday January 19, the TikTok app was not available at the Apple App Store or the Google Play store.

But in true soap opera cliff-hanger style, TikTok did not remain offline in the U.S. for any length of time and leave 170 million U.S.-based TikTok users in the lurch. In fact, it was evident that TikTok would quickly resume operating in the U.S., perhaps inspired by a growing awareness by lawmakers of both parties that the decision to force a TikTok closure is quite unpopular. Some congressional leaders who originally championed the TikTok law are now considering delaying enforcement. So, Washington is setting up to pass the buck—surprise!

  • A U.S. official has confirmed that the outgoing Biden administration would not force TikTok to cease operations in the U.S. on January 19 and will allow the incoming Trump administration to implement the law.
  • In a TikTok video, platform CEO Shou Zi Chew asked President-elect Donald Trump to find a solution that keeps the site available in the U.S. Trump said he would “be making the decision” about TikTok and confirmed that he discussed the platform with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a phone interview with NBC News on January 18, the President-elect confirmed that he would “most likely” delay the TikTok ban for 90 days after he takes office on January 20 but added that he had not yet made a final decision. Incidentally, Mr. Shou expects to be in attendance for Trump’s inauguration.

What would a TikTok ban look like?

OK, so what might the world look like for TikTok users if the unthinkable happens and the site really is banned in America for a significant length of time? Before going any further, let’s confirm that it will not be illegal to have TikTok on your phone. TikTok has been banned in the U.S. as of January 19, but it’s not illegal to keep the app on your phone or other devices.

  • No new downloads: TikTok was removed from app stores on January 19 and aspiring new users were unable to download the app. Current user accounts were blocked and shown the message detailed above.
  • No updates: Those who are somehow able to access the site would no longer receive updates and the site would eventually stop working properly. Functionality would diminish.

If you are one of the approximately 7 million U.S. residents who use TikTok one minute videos to promote a business, you are advised to act now to protect your entity. President Trump‘s vow to keep the app available notwithstanding, the clock really is ticking and this drama is your wake-up call. It’s imperative that you be proactive and prepare to pivot into Plan B and develop actionable strategies that enable the transfer of your business marketing functions out of an exclusively TikTok arrangement and into a safe, multichannel harbor. Whether or not there is a prolonged TikTok shutdown, keeping all your eggs in one basket has always been risky and is nearly always inadvisable. There is strength in diversity and that’s our mission today. Let’s discuss Plan B—your pivot and survival strategy.

“We have to save it”

As you’ve heard, the TikTok shutdown was in effect for just 14 hours and President Donald Trump pledged to issue an executive order following his inauguration and give TikTok a 75-day reprieve before the SCOTUS law goes into effect, saying that “We have to save it.” President Trump suggested that a 50% American ownership of TikTok is his preference at this time. If TikTok plays a vital role in your marketing campaigns, you can breathe again—-but this soap opera isn’t over yet and you would be wise to use the 75-days to get your house in order.

1. Build and optimize your own website

You relied on TikTok and don’t have a business website, you say? You should protect yourself and take control now, by way of a DIY site-building (and tutorial assisted) project or by outsourcing to a Freelance web developer colleague whose references you’ve checked, so that you can create a website solution that’s customized to fit the needs of your business venture. The only online platform that you completely control is your website. Social media platforms belong to the company that owns them, meaning that your TikTok content actually belongs to ByteDance and your Facebook posts belong to Zuckerberg. If that thought doesn’t motivate you to create a functional website for yourself, I don’t know what will.

On your website, you own and control your marketing content and can also sell your products and services, post customer surveys and calls-to-action and, maintain a sales/marketing funnel for inbound customer appeals and, best of all, you’ll own and control all customer data that you collect and maintain because the site is yours. Keep in mind that your website can and should be designed to function as the primary hub for all activities that drive customer engagement and transactions of any kind. Furthermore, be certain to enable site cybersecurity and configure https in your website address, which is the secure version of http, the primary protocol used to send data between a web browser and a website. The principal motivations for https are authentication of the accessed website and protection of the privacy and integrity of the exchanged data while it is in transit.

2. Develop a robust email list

Congratulations to you if your TikTok following is significant—but during the site shutdown, all of your customer contact info was Missing In Action, beyond your reach. Because email marketing remains a powerful resource, act now to find an alternative platform that gives you control of your most important piece of customer (and follower) data—email addresses. Investigate and compare email marketing platforms and get started ASAP. Once you’ve selected a provider, create opt-in forms to grow your list as you continue contacting and nurturing your relationship with your loyal base of customers. Your email list is how you own your audience and you must be able to support mutual communication between your audience and your company.

3. Diversify your online channels

Don’t be complacent and let yourself remain a one-trick pony. The TikTok drama reminds us all that social media platforms you rely on today might be gone tomorrow. A good defensive strategy is to spread the wealth and consider multiple channels for your content and customer outreach, guided by the platforms your target market follows. TikTok followers are obviously visual and gravitate to videos, so think Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Facebook for your Plan B pivot into multiple channels—plus your website, which will be the gatekeeper of everything. Pinterest, a visual imagery search engine, could be another useful marketing channel that your customers and prospects like. Diversifying will give you better control over customer engagement and monetization, so instead of betting the house on a single platform, spread your bets.

4. Create a viable sales/marketing funnel

Why not launch your pivot by creating landing pages that lead prospects and other followers to sales/marketing funnels you’ve established on different platforms and advertise your powerful new online presence? It will also be good for brand building to give prospects (followers) and customers a reason to connect with you outside of social media — whether it’s a free e-book, a special offer, or a chance to join a community of customers and followers. You could do well to check out Constant Contact to automate those funnels and turn prospects and followers into active customers.

5. Use SMS marketing to connect instantly

SMS marketing (text messages) can give a jolt to customer outreach. You can invite your email list members to opt-in for real-time updates (always request permission, even if you send the first message without asking first) and exclusive offers via text. This tool can be one of your most powerful ways to stay connected with your target market and reach them instantly. For example, a strong SMS list can boost sales conversion rates of limited time special offers and also lift attendance at your webinars and podcasts where you are a guest or the host.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©Shopee Mobile Malaysia Sdn.Bhd.

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Survey Finds that Marketing Matters to Freelancers and SMB Owners

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An insightful survey of 1000 small business owners and independently employed Freelance professionals sponsored by printing powerhouse VistaPrint and website builder Wix and conducted in March 2024 conclusively confirmed that effective marketing is as important to small business entities as it is to enterprise companies like Apple and General Motors. Despite the enormous difference in the size of marketing teams and budgets as compared to multinational corporations, Freelancers and SMB owners value the impact of marketing and they’re enthusiastic about leveraging its impact to benefit their companies. The survey findings deliver a persuasive vote of confidence for the power of marketing.

Reaching new customers drives the motivation to market for 46% of survey respondents. It was found that 71% of Freelancers and SMB owners do their own marketing, that 79% feel confident in their ability to function in the role of marketing manager for their company and 77% are satisfied with the results of their marketing strategies and campaigns. However, the majority of Freelancers and SMB owners are realistic about their marketing expertise and survey results indicated that the majority of respondents either have or plan to upskill and learn to market more effectively; 63% reported that they took steps to hone their marketing abilities in 2023; and 76% reported that they plan to do so in 2024.

Though Freelancer and SMBs are happy with the results they’ve achieved as marketers, they are aware that they face challenges. Standing out in a crowded marketplace is perceived as their biggest threat, with 53% worried about standing out vs. competitors. Furthermore, 47% of respondents are concerned about choosing effective marketing tactics to promote their business and 49% wonder if their budget can cover their marketing aspirations. Freelancers and SMBs see their greatest marketing opportunities in expanding their online presence (24%), increasing brand awareness (23%) and launching new products or services (22%).

Experimenting

The inevitability of digital marketing is understood by survey respondents but surprisingly, social media outreach and search engine optimization do not completely dominate their choices of marketing strategies and tactics. Survey results showed that while 78% of respondents experimented with “new” marketing tactics in 2023, achieving a balance between digital and traditional marketing tactics and identifying a mix of strategies and activities that work best for their business is the goal.

The importance of social media and search engines is obvious to them, but traditional marketing continues to resonate most likely because customers still value real-life and face2face interactions and physical touch points, as well as digital experiences. In 2024, 48% of Freelancers and SMB owners plan to increase their spend on newer (digital) marketing, while 30% will likewise increase marketing spend, but will continue with the same marketing mix. 

Balancing

Word-of-mouth will always be an asset to Freelancers and SMBs for promoting brand awareness, but a range of marketing touch points is often needed to raise awareness and persuade prospects to do business. For those reasons, achieving a balance between digital and traditional marketing activities is a goal for survey respondents: 28% allocated their marketing budgets 50-50 traditional and digital, while 40% invested more heavily in digital marketing activities and 32% chose to invest more in traditional marketing. The leading digital 
marketing tactics chosen in 2023 were an upgrade of the company website (60%), social media paid ads (60%), search engine optimization (50%) and email marketing (46%).

Traditional marketing continues to play a key role for Freelancers and SMB owners, with 71% reporting that physical marketing tactics are important because customers still value the experience. Regarding traditional marketing activities, 50% of respondents invested in business cards, attended trade shows and similar conferences, 31% invested in paid print ads and 29% used promotional items.

Locavore

It can feel intimidating to compete with major retailers and corporate giants when doing business, however small entities have one huge advantage—many customers want to feel connected to their local neighborhood when doing business and 78% of customers surveyed reported that it’s important to them to “shop local.” Marketing that emphasizes location, loyalty and community can help keep customers coming back, as reported by 1000 small business customers who also participated in the VistaPrint – Wix marketing survey.

Customers of SMB and Freelancers surveyed reported that marketing tactics that help them find SMBs and Freelancers to do business with include social media (54%), search engines (44%) and print ads (26%). Furthermore, 41% of small business customers reported that a primary reason they choose to shop small business over big is to support local business and 46% say they actively seek out such companies. These customers value knowing the owner and staff where they do business and those relationships are a motivation for shopping local. Click to read the full report. https://smb.vistaprint.com/_files/ugd/3121be_d99794458cee45079ba421dbb61ed1d2.pdf

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Santulan Architecture Denver, CO

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Online Reputation Management and Your Brand

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A business owner’s work is never done, it seems. Along with recruiting customers in an increasingly challenging business climate, fulfilling customer expectations, providing excellent customer experiences and instituting procedures that ensure pleasant and efficient after sale support when needed there is, as well, the responsibility to monitor and manage the online reputation of your brand, your business and you. Creating, enhancing and perhaps also defending the online reputation of your brand must be an ongoing component of your company’s PR and SEO marketing strategies.

Developing and nurturing an appealing and trustworthy brand for your enterprise has always been the cornerstone of comprehensive and effective marketing campaigns and strategies. The pandemic-induced acceleration of numerous online communication formats has compelled business owners and leaders to amplify the online presence of their brands in order to effectively compete.

As a result, it is more necessary than ever to carefully curate, align and script all marketing themes and messages used to promote your brands along with the associated image, audio or video content posted to an array of platforms. Business owners and leaders would be wise to actively shape and manage the online image and reputation of their brands to continually reinforce brand narratives and positive perceptions.

Online Reputation Management is now an ever more critical branding function, essential as you develop marketing and branding strategies that build name recognition with the power to attract customers. A trusted brand is a valuable resource and can create for your business a loyal troop of boots-on-the-ground influencers who are motivated to write positive reviews in online rating sites and dispense word-of-mouth endorsements that can make or brake your business. From the online content that communicates relatable brand stories that build trust and loyalty within your target market to search-friendly platforms and key words that promote your brand’s online visibility, you can create an electronic architecture that supports and sustains an appealing and confidence-inspiring brand.

To help your business overcome the multi-year impact of the coronavirus pandemic, do what you can to allocate resources to create and implement a robust Online Reputation Management strategy. For best results, assess the efficacy of your online branding strategies by employing the tactic of social listening.

The act of monitoring social media and other online platforms helps track mentions and notifications about your brands and facilitates quick responses to customer compliments or complaints, which are the building blocks of an effective engagement strategy. Social listening means discovering patterns and connecting the dots in the comments or questions heard in monitoring. Social listening reveals to you the big picture—not just the trees, but the forest—and encourages you to analyze the context and larger trends that surround those (online) conversations, so that you might discover opportunities to act that enable you to better speak to and serve your market.

The customer data and marketing platform Clutch.com recently reported the following:

  • 54% of digital marketers consider Online Reputation management necessary for the success of their company
  • Brands frequently utilize social listening, following the social media outlets favored by their customers, to gain insights into what is trending or waning in customer preferences and priorities
  • The primary benefit that companies gain from investing in Online Reputation management is growth in sales
  • 35% of businesses queried plan to allot more time and money to Online Reputation management

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Fredric March as Dr. Henry Jekyll in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) directed by Rouben Mamoulian

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3 Easy Hacks to Grow Organic Searches

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In the lazy waning days of summer, ambitious Freelancers (and we are all ambitious) can implement a few quick hacks to ramp up leadgen and bring fresh possibilities to our sales pipelines. Now is the time to energize your marketing tactics and push to bring in potential clients who have both motive and money to do business. Setting up for a healthy fourth quarter is everyone’s goal, whether your target clients will return to the office soon or delay until January. Freelance consultants would be wise to encourage local organic traffic to their website, that is, site visits that are not prompted by pay-per-click campaigns by way of Google adwords or some other paid advertising service and are made by bricks and mortar businesses in your geographic location. Enhancing your company’s presence in local organic searches is a potentially game-changing inbound marketing strategy for any company and it’s within your reach.

Let’s pause here for a minute and discuss what is known as referral traffic—- it has significant impact. When a visitor clicks a link to move from one website to another, the original site is considered the referrer. The referring site can be a search engine, a social media platform, a blog, or any website that contains links to other websites. So—-the more you post in digital publications, social media sites and whatever online forums, the more your company name and URL will appear in direct searches. A potential client who has your company on a short list for follow-up will probably visit a big search engine and type in your company name to see what comes up. You’ll want to have several impressive postings available.Organic local site traffic is sent from search engines, most often Bing, Google and Yahoo, and is influenced by Search Engine Optimization.

The better your website ranks for descriptive keywords common in your product or service category, the more readily will your business appear in local organic searches. Big businesses have the advantage, but small and mid-size companies should nevertheless strive to be found. Your digital presence, bolstered by relevant keywords, including long-tail keyword phrases that impact the increasingly important voice searches, will eventually produce an increase in your website’s local organic search traffic and improve your positioning in search results. Here are three free actions that you can take now.

I. Frequent posts

Blogging, writing articles that appear in digital publications and getting quoted in online media outlets will enhance both your credibility and visibility. Frequency is a big plus. If you can keep up and publish a blog or other article or get quoted about once a month, in a few weeks or months your company may show in organic searches, even if not in the coveted top 10 (first page). In 2018, we learned that powerhouse Google follows the E.A.T. algorithm—-Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. In other words, quality content counts.

Your use of key words and long-tail phrases should not be heavy-handed. Sprinkle them into your content where they fit, so when prospects type those words into a search box, or speak them into Alexa or Siri, you’ll increase the chance that your business name will appear in local searches, at least in the top 20 names for your locale.

II. Social media presence

Being active on social media is one of the best ways to communicate and engage with current and potential clients, as you become familiar with their priorities and also drive traffic back to your website. The website hosting service Go Daddy found that 61 % of its high-traffic sites had an attached Facebook page.

While having a Facebook page and Twitter account is more or less considered a requirement for most businesses, establish your company presence on platforms that your clients and prospects follow and trust. B2B likes LinkedIn and Alignable is growing, as is Clubhouse.

III. Search engine sign-up

Register your company on Google My Business and Bing’s Places for Business, free services that will give your organization a boost in local SEO. For best results, provide lots of descriptive info about your business, including optional categories.

Treat your Bing and Google listings like social media platforms. Update them at least quarterly by adding educational info, text. or video and discuss some aspect of a company product or service is a reliable and efficient solution for goals that users want to achieve (but not a sales pitch). If it will be politically correct, ask a couple of clients to write a (positive!) review. Rumor has it that both search engines ignore reviews and other content that is more than six months old.

Thanks reading and Happy Labor Day,

Kim

Image: Traffic gets heavy in a Venice canal, August 2013

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Where the Freelance Money Is

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You’ve written a business plan—now what?  Kim is the midwife who helps you take your business from the drawing board to reality in  “Business Plans:  Next Steps”.  Bring your completed business plan and join Kim and other hopeful entrepreneurs in round robin discussions where you’ll get a critique of your business model;  smart marketing/PR/social media  advice;  insights into sales distribution channels that make sense for you and your customers;  and suggestions on how to finance your business in today’s economy.  Wednesdays March 13,  20  & 27  5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Boston Center for Adult Education 122 Arlington Street Boston.  Register at  http://bit.ly/Zd9dqR   or call 617.267.4430 class ID 9074.

Some Freelancers are more likely to earn the coveted but elusive six-figure annual revenue than others.   Maybe you’re there or could be,  with some good luck and timing,  opening doors with the right skills.  Here are six potentially lucrative occupations that attract Freelancers:

Writing

Magazines do not often pay $2.00/word anymore and there are only so many 5000 word articles bring commissioned in this era of short attention spans,   but allegedly there a number of Freelancers still able to pull in big money through writing assignments of various kinds.  This category includes not only magazine and newspaper article generation,  but also technical writing.  I am acquainted with two or three Freelancers who’ve made a nice piece of change in the latter category.  It’s very boom and bust,  but the money is sometimes there.   Also,  Freelancers pay Freelancer colleagues to produce content for websites,  blogs,  newsletters and marketing collateral.   Writers need no special equipment,  other that a computer and writing software like Apache OpenOffice or Scrivener.  

Translating

I have a friend who regularly gets assignments translating Arabic and German to English and vice versa  (hello George!),  although he has other revenue streams in addition.   According to the American Translators Association,  their certified translators average $72,000/year and those without that certification average $53,000.   As you’d expect,  much depends upon the language you translate.   No surprise that there is a big demand for Spanish translation,  with Arabic,  Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin),  French,  German,  Japanese and Korean also showing strong demand.

Photography

Photography has long had the potential to produce a healthy Freelance income.   Wedding photographers have traditionally commanded large sums and they continue to do so,  in spite of robust competition from videographers.   Portrait photographers also command high prices—business owners and corpoate execs need a professional headshot for websites,  annual reports and other promotional uses.   E-commerce fattens the wallets of product photographers,  who make items sold on-line look appealing.  Food photography and fashion photography are lucrative sub-specialties.   Those lucky enough to have an  “in”  with colleges and/or big corporations can make a nice living,   as do those who have relationships with busy special event planners.  The downside is that good cameras and Adobe Photo Shop editing software are expensive.

SEO Search Engine Optimization

Freelancers who hope to drive traffic to their website pay confreres Freelancers for this potentially revenue-generating service.   Those new to the field can expect to bill $50.00/hour and allegedly the best known can command up to $500.00/hour from big corporate clients.  It is furthermore essential to be well-versed in the various metrics that prove your worth to clients,  so that satisfied customers can be recruited to give testimonials that help you obtain more clients.

Mobile App Development

Writing software applications for mobile devices like cell phones and tablets lured one million Freelancers to the field in 2010 and no doubt that number has grown significantly.  App development is like a modern day gold rush.   I recently read an article in the New York Times  (11/17/12)  about those who aren’t making money in the app development business and that is the usual scenario.  As author David Streitfeld details in his comprehensive article,  don”t quit your day job and developing for Apple is akin to sharecropping.   Still,  you may be the one who can retire on the residuals of the next  “Angry Birds”.  Another downside is that you must spend a hefty sum on the technology needed to test your apps in development.

Social Media Strategy

Millions of Freelance consultants and owners of businesses large and small feel that social media cannot be ignored and that in order to maximize its potential and not leave money on the table,  a specialist must be hired.  If you can convince decision-makers that you know how to choose social media that is appropriate for their business,   plan and execute a social media campaign and know how to  demonstrate measurable results,  you can be off to the races.  Newbies to the field can expect to bill $25.00 /hour and top-drawer known experts can allegedly bill $250.00 /hour to big corporate clients.

Thanks for reading,

Kim