Tag Archives: Website

It’s official! I have my first “client”.

For the longest while I’ve been tiptoeing around the idea of offering PR consultancy services. It’s not like I’m unsure about a career path, it’s just that I feel as though, like every other industry, PR is a bit saturated.

However, I had been helping out a close friend with PR strategies for her small business. One night she said “B, you can do this as a business you know. You can help people with small businesses, I’m sure there are plenty people like me”. That’s when I started this website.

So let’s fast forward to today. I now have my first official client, whose website (designed by moi) went live yesterday.

In another post I’ll be sure to talk about how easy it is to take your great idea, skill or product from a Facebook page to a professional business.

The point of what I am doing is to provide small business, et al with the tools that will make them standout. Through this new client, I myself have come across a lot of inexpensive tools which can be utilized to do everything from creating a logo, building a website and even creating your own personalized email address (e.g. info@bridgetbeckles.com).

If you’re nervous about doing it on your own, feel free to give me a shout. I’m smack dab in the middle of building my portfolio and would love nothing better!

So, until I actually sit and write about the new tools that I’ve come across, here are a few things that you can either Google or ask around about:

1. Gimp – this is a photo editing tool much like Adobe Photoshop, except that it’s free (an absolute plus for a grad student). Similar to Photoshop, it isn’t the simplest application to use but There are many tutorials on YouTube as well as blog posts around the web.

2. PicMonkey – this is another photo editing tool but is web based and is much simpler to get the hang of. There is a wide variety of fonts, overlays, textures and shapes.

3. Weebly – I used Weebly to build this website. I find that it’s very much user friendly and the pricing is cheaper than other similar services.

So do some digging around and tell me what you think in the comments section of this post.

Well it’s Christmas Eve, so have a very Merry Christmas tomorrow and many blessings for the new year.

Toodles!

One of my main considerations when I included the social media icons on my personal website was, whether or not to link them with my already existing social accounts.

Many individuals who start up small businesses, consultancy firms or non-profits, tend to use their ‘friend list’ as the capital investment into followers, page likes and such. While it may be a good place to start, it is certainly nowhere to remain.

Social Media has become this virtual “soap box” that all and sundry uses to air their personal views (or rantings) on topics that are usually dear to their hearts. However, our personal opinions should not be imposed on our customers, clients, business partners, investors and the like.

It is important to keep it ‘strictly business’ when dealing with audiences in the cyber world. If not, there is the risk of some stakeholders becoming turned off of our brand because they may have contradicting views.

Here are a few tips on managing your online presence with some of the more popular social platforms:

1. Facebook – Create a Facebook business page and invite your friends to like it. Moving forward, use the page for all communication with stakeholders. If someone messages you on your personal profile, it is ok to politely ask them to contact you via the business page. With the Facebook Pages Manager app for mobile devices, it is very easy to maintain communication without having to log out of you personal profile.

2. Twitter – Since there is the option to add multiple Twitter accounts on mobile devices, I would suggest creating a dedicated Twitter account for your business. Twitter is a great way to interact with stakeholders as millions of people tweet everyday. A dedicated Twitter account will help to strengthen your brand’s presence.

3.  LinkedIn – A different approach can be used with LinkedIn since it is a professional network, especially if you have a small business and want to establish personal connections with business partners or investors.  Feel free to add your LinkedIn badge to your company page, but be mindful of the kind of content you post; include any relevant academic qualifications, detail projects you have worked and even describe your business. LinkedIn can be thought of as your online business card or resumé.

Now that you have an idea of how to manage your online presence, choose the social platforms that you think will be of the most benefit to your business.

Remember, keep it strictly business!