Embracing Instagram Stories as a Small Business Owner

By Jennie Lyon / May 14, 2019

If there is one thing that I’ve learned doing digital marketing over the years, it’s that yesterday’s fad is today’s “next big thing.” A perfect example is SnapChat. When SnapChat debuted a few years ago, it was treated with scorn from many marketers. Heck, even the general public looked at it with suspicion. Why on earth would you only want to take super-short, 15-second videos of yourself? And then share them? Who would watch them? Just a few years later and SnapChat-like functionality has been integrated into countless apps and social media networks: Facebook among them. But probably the most…

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The Framework of a Great Social Media Campaign

By Jennie Lyon / April 30, 2019

When you were a kid back in elementary school, did you ever trace? Tracing was like a gateway into drawing. You just put a piece of paper over top of the original and draw a copy. No, it wasn’t your work, but it was a great way to learn the basics. I’ve always found that frameworks act in much the same way for learning a new skill, like creating a social media campaign. When you first start out, you might not have a clue how all of the moving parts work together, but if you have a framework to base…

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Instagram is On the Rise! Marketing Trends to Watch Out For!

By Jennie Lyon / April 16, 2019

The funny thing about our social media networks is that we still don’t have any idea of their potential. Do you remember back when Facebook first made the scene? It was thought to be a digital Rolodex. Today, it’s a multimedia sharing hub and one of the premier marketing platforms in the world. Social media networks and other digital services often grow in ways that you can’t expect. Just look at Instagram. From its humble beginnings as a mobile-only Facebook knock-off, it’s emerged as the biggest competitor to Facebook (Well, sort of competitor, seeing as Facebook bought them). And we…

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Facebook Ads Got You Down? A Virtual Assistant Can Help!

By Jennie Lyon / July 17, 2018
Facebook Ads Got You Down? A Virtual Assistant Can Help!

Facebook is king. Don’t take my word for it, just ask someone if they have a Facebook account. Chances are that they will say “Yes!” Facebook and other social media channels have replaced our address books, photo albums, and even started to replace more traditional forms of advertising. By using Facebook as a marketing platform, you will be able to reach out to a huge group of potential clients for a fraction of the cost it would have just a few years ago. So let’s take a look at the reach, power, and ROI (Return-On-Investment) of Facebook Ads! The Reach…

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The Big Differences Between Boosted Posts and Facebook Ads

By Jennie Lyon / May 8, 2018

So, have you heard that Facebook’s been in the news lately?! The last few years have been pretty tough for Facebook, with advertising accountability issues and huge data breaches. Thankfully, it seems that the ship has steadied and Facebook is on track to make a big recovery! This makes it the perfect time to take a look at how your small business can best take advantage of the variety of advertising options Facebook offers. Although it was never originally designed as an advertising platform, Facebook has evolved over the years to become an incredibly valuable marketing tool. It enables brands…

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Facebook Advertising: What’s Changed for 2018 and Why?

By Jennie Lyon / February 20, 2018
JLVAS New Blog Images-Facebook Advertising What's changed for 2018

2017 was a huge year for Facebook, and not always in a good way. They got a lot of really bad publicity because of foreign countries using Facebook advertising to influence the opinions of Americans. Due to this and other factors, Facebook is planning on making a few changes to the way they do advertisements, along with introducing some new features that could impact how you use the service as a small business in 2018. Changes to the NewsfeedAt the beginning of the year, companies and brands of all sizes got the fright of their lives when Facebook announced they…

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My Top 5 Favorite Productivity Podcasts

By Jennie Lyon / February 13, 2018
JLVAS top 5 favorite productivity podcasts

What are your favorite podcasts? I adore podcasts. They are the perfect way to distract yourself while doing chores around the house, going for a run, doing some yoga, or basically anything else where you can put on a pair of headphones. In my line of work, productivity is king, which means that I listen to a good number of productivity podcasts. Here are my criteria for a good productivity podcast: First, it needs to be entertaining. If the podcast is boring, it doesn’t matter how good the productivity tips are, I’m not going to waste my time listening to…

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How to Grow Your Business and Sell Your Products with Facebook Ads

By Jennie Lyon / October 17, 2017
JLVAS_how_to_grow_your_business_and_sell_products_with_Facebook_ads

With the advent of social media, the world of advertising has been blown wide open. It used to be that small businesses would have to pay through the nose to get print ads in major publications. I mean, how else could they get the attention of new customers? But social media and the internet changed all that. Now, small businesses can run specifically targeted ads on social media platforms, and best of all, they can do it at a price point that is WAY cheaper than it used to be. One of the best advertising platforms today is an app…

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5 Strategies for Successful Advertising on Facebook + Free Ad Template

By Jennie Lyon / March 21, 2017
5 Strategies for Successful Advertising on Facebook

For small businesses on a tight budget, it’s important to only run ads that successfully bring in new clients. Ubiquitous ad blocking software and general marketing oversaturation makes potential clients far less likely to see or click on your online ad. That’s why Facebook is currently one of the best places online for small businesses to do their advertising. Because ads show up in the newsfeeds of Facebook users just like any other post, and often get viewed on mobile devices where ad blocking is less commonly used, you can get far more eyeballs on your ad! An effective Facebook…

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3 Ways to Build and Maintain a Positive Brand Reputation

By Jennie Lyon / July 3, 2015

As entrepreneurs, we put enormous amounts of time, energy, and money into creating and building our businesses and creating a positive brand reputation. So why does our business sometimes struggle or experience unexpected dry spells? If you’ve stopped receiving inquiries from prospects and repeat business from existing clients, your brand reputation may be to blame. Despite our hard work and daily toil, even one bad review or negative comment on a blog can prove very detrimental to our reputation. Brand Reputation is Important As amazing as it seems that one or two pieces of negative information online or via word…

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