5 Areas to focus on when your small business is slow during the coronavirus pandemic
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Cooped up and scratching your head about what to do during the COVID-19 pandemic?
You’ve probably told yourself you’ll focus on your business a few times so far. Some of you may have done exactly that. With small businesses floundering in local areas, it might look disheartening to be putting much effort into your small business start-up, regardless of when you started.
So much is happening around the world and changes are being made to everyone’s lifestyle.
There are a few ways to distract yourself through work, however. You can be productive and make a difference in your life for the better during this trying time.
Here are a few things that you can improve on in your business start-up and still make an impact on the future of your small business.
Accessibility Standards
Accessibility might not be high on your list of priorities when it comes to your website or products. It should, but you might not even think about something until it directly affects you.
Accessibility can mean many things. For some, it might mean creating a printed product in braille. For others, it might mean needing a screen reader. And for others, it might mean they have poor eyesight and needing contrasting colors to read or distinguish something.
Some simple things to keep in mind in regards to accessibility in regards to your website and content are:
Limit text on images
Alt-text is a great help when it comes to SEO, but alt-text is also a tool for screen readers to detail images for the blind and hard of sight. When you place text on an image, you must add all of the text to the alt-text for an accurate reading.
Contrasting Colors
ADA requirements have a ratio to keep in mind when putting colors against each other. Colors should have somewhere between 3-5 points of contrast between the two of them to be compliant. Check out Leonardocolor.io, colorsafe.co or contrast-ratio.com to see how accessible your color palette is for visually impaired customers.
Remove Flyers
Flyers are rampant on websites. You might have a few for your services, maybe a few more for events, and maybe even more for your portfolio. Limit your use of using flyers because those will also have their accessibility standards to meet.
Accessibility could be a small way to make your customer base larger without having to put much effort into your regular tasks.
Copy-writing
Is your website feeling a bit drab? Try spicing things up by focusing on your copy-writing skills.
Every additional piece of writing, whether it’s a paragraph about your services or a bulleted list of your favorite tidbits about yourself, is your stamp on copy-writing.
Look through your website or marketing materials to see where you can further the purpose of your brand. Your copy-writing skills should focus on the feeling your customers retain when browsing or interacting with your store, website, or even you!
Start by taking your target audience and see how they would interact and feel with others. Maybe they need a more direct or playful approach than what you are currently conveying on your site. You might have to create a few options to see what works, but it’ll be easier in the long run to attract more of your target audience with appropriately written content throughout your business.
Content Management
Many business owners I know have been struggling with their content management over the last few weeks and months. Not only is the content having to change for many businesses but it has been a struggle to produce content.
Many bloggers I’ve associated with have been turning to apps or systems, like Asana, Dubsado, or Trello, to manage and keep up-to-date with creating content or track a project’s progress. While we might be quarantined or socially distant from others, it can be difficult to stay on track.
It’s much simpler when you have a tool to schedule your content compared to manually doing yourself during this time. Planning your content with tools such as Tailwind or Later.com allows you to focus a chunk of time without having to focus on smaller tasks throughout the day and you can focus more of your time on other projects for your business.
If you need a physical copy or prefer writing your calendar, I’d suggest CREATE Blog and Editorial Calendar or Epic Blog for blogging and an easy agenda to keep track of your projects and appointments for your business.
With so much going on and daily lives changing every day, it can be comforting to keep something in your life planned and structured.
Social Media Engagement
Social media is a great way to stay social while social distancing or quarantining. For many people, it might be their only way to engage with others during this time.
While many businesses are showing how they have adapted during COVID-19 restrictions, find your way to engage and comfort your audience with your social media posts.
If you consider yourself a novice when it comes to social media, whether that’s Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you are in a prime position to learn and piggy-back on trending #hashtags and challenges.
Instagram is probably the most engaging social media platform. It’s easiest to create a social media content calendar to create content beforehand. Need some help? Enroll in Tailwind’s Instagram feature to find #hashtag recommendations.
If you are looking to improve your social media following and content, now is the time to learn and improve.
Editing and Proofing
Remember that old post or maybe the first post you wrote? Maybe one of your Pinterest pins went viral and you never got around to editing and proofing the content afterward?
Editing is a great skill to work on while in social isolation. Whether you focus on your spelling, commas, or sentence structure, you’re always able to make something better when it comes to your writing.
Editing isn’t just for the long written stuff either. If you’re editing a piece, look at how you can improve your headline writing. Some content is great in a longer format, but it isn’t where the work is needed.
When you start editing, look into editing software to help, like Grammarly Premium. It’ll help you learn why and how your writing has improved over time.
I’d also look into some light reading to have handy when you get stuck. I like Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, especially since there are spiral and electronic versions for sale.
Good writing takes time to develop. With a few tools and remaining conscious of your work, you are set to improve throughout your career.
So you might be stuck in your home for a bit longer, but there’s always a way to improve your small business. Once you get started, you’ll wish you had more time to devote to other areas of your business that you are working on now.
It doesn’t matter if you improve your accessibility or improve your grammar with Grammarly Premium or plan out more social media posts with Tailwind. Your small business will get better every time you put in the effort.
It doesn’t matter if you improve your accessibility or improve your grammar with Grammarly or plan out more social media posts with Tailwind. Your small business will get better every time you put in the effort.
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