This doesn’t have to cost you a penny

So… (awkward silence) How are you feeling about your small business these days?

Things have been tough, and if you are still hanging in there, then you are a trooper.

Since we are approaching the end of the calendar year, now would be a good time to think about re-energizing your business. And maybe we should also be re-energizing ourselves a little too.

The most hardened business people will tell you that success is motivation enough. But you know, we are only human. It’s been a crazy year, and we could all use some fresh energy.

If you’ve been feeling demotivated like I have, then allow me to share with you a few things that have been getting me excited again.

1. Refresh your brand look

When the world knocks us down, many of us like to have a bit of a makeover or treat ourselves to something new to pick up our mood. In the past, I’ve absolutely done the post-breakup haircut as a way to change up my energy.

So what I’m suggesting here is that you do the same for your brand.

Now this isn’t for everybody. So if your brand ‘ain’t broken’, then don’t try to fix it. Meaning that if you already love your brand, and your customers recognize and love it too, then don’t go making any big changes.

You can still take yourself shopping or get a new haircut though, if you want to.

But if your brand is feeling tired to you, then maybe now is a good time to sharpen up your online image.

I’ve been reading about the psychology of color, and of logo shapes, and there is some really interesting data out there.

Did you know that triangle-shaped logos inspire feelings of growth and possibility? I think I need a triangle-shaped logo for myself, although I’m not totally set on the color of it yet.

Blue is statistically the top color for inspiring trust. I think there is a good reason that Facebook is that calming shade of blue. We do share a lot of our personal information with them, don’t we?

But personally, I’m not going to choose blue when I do my own brand makeover. I feel that it is becoming overused. So I’m on the hunt for a new color. All suggestions welcome!

If you feel ready for a change but struggle to choose something, then why not make it a fun conversation on social media?

You could post a poll in your Facebook group and ask your loyal customers or clients what colour they think works best for your brand.

Not only will it get them thinking about you (sneaky marketing trick), but it will also freshen up your social media engagement too.

2. Switch up your approach to social

And that was a seamless link from point 1 to 2.

If you’ve been posting about your products or services for a while, your social media feeds might feel a bit boring. So let’s switch things up.

Try posting more questions. Ask people what they want to read more of from you. Poll them, quiz them, and generally delight them with some fun facts.

I try to apply the 80/20 rule to my social media. This means that I only post a sales-based call to action 20% of the time. I use the other 80% to share value with them. This is typically in the form of a free mini lesson, telling a story, or asking them a question.

3. ‘Gamify’ your KPIs

If you have a list of Key Performance Indicators to meet each month, then you know the joy of ticking them off when you are successful.

But since we’ve had such a rubbish year, how about incentivising yourself to make that extra push each month?

I have a cork board where I plot out my KPIs for the month ahead. Each time I reach a goal, I treat myself. It makes a game out of work.

Again, I know that our harsh inner critic might tell us we shouldn’t need to motivate ourselves with treats. Success should be enough reward, blah blah blah…

But after the toughest, loneliest year we could all be forgiven for falling off the motivation wagon. We can all benefit from being a bit nicer to ourselves.

Above all, remember why you started your business. You have a message and a way to help people — and that’s valuable. Don’t give up now.

Originally published on Medium, Dec 15, 2020.