We all know that The Hobbit could have been released with virtually no promotion and still been huge at the box-office. Everyone had been waiting years for its release and it was destined to be huge.

But the brains behind the movie didn’t get lazy. Instead, they launched a full-fledged branding and marketing campaign that we can all learn from. Take a cue from this monster success on how to successfully market yourself. Sure, you likely don’t have the budget that was put behind their efforts, but you can easily take small steps based on these examples.

Commercials, Billboards, Working With Other Brands

There were 16 different TV spots for The Hobbit. There were also billboards on just about every major highway in the universe (this is only a slight exaggeration on our part). There were special collector’s editions of Rolling Stone featuring Hobbit characters. The film even went so far to partner with Denny’s in what seemed like an unlikely pairing. But the promotion worked rather well, as Denny’s released a Hobbit-themed menu. Creative tricks like this tend to grab people’s attention.

Showing Up in Public

Okay, so the appearance at ComicCon is something you’ll likely never achieve (but hey, keep dreaming!) so it’s unfair to even mention it. And you probably won’t get any time of The Colbert Report whereas there was an entire “Hobbit Week” scheduled on the popular show. Again, remember….baby steps. But look at these examples and try downsizing them to fit your local scope and online presence. What can you do to mimic these moves?

Social Media

Actors from the movie showed up in photos on Facebook with Lego miniature figures of themselves. On Twitter, some of the actors participated in real-time Q and As with those anxiously awaiting the film. What can you do mirror these actions for your own band?

‘Sometimes it can do a lot of good to look at what big companies and projects are doing to spread the word. While they have a budget most us could never dream of, it’s the ideas behind their marketing that are what you need to pay attention to.

Anyone that has ever had their e-mail hacked knows just how annoying and scary of an experience it can be. So can you imagine what would happen if your entire business network was hacked?

Sadly, this is something we all need to safeguard against. It’s just one of the realities of owning a small business these days. So what can you do to make sure your business is un-hackable? Here are some small steps to get you started without the help of a professional.

Create a Strong Policy for Social Media in Your Office

For those that have been with you since the beginning and newbies alike, make sure everyone in the office is well aware of your social media policy. One good rule of thumb to follow is to only allow employees to use one single computer to access social media accounts or anything else requiring a password. You should also let them know what sort of information they are allowed to post online concerning their business; you certainly don’t want them posting any sort of confidential information.

Stay Informed

Keep an eye on the news in regards to any new spam of virus threats that are making headlines. This will give you an idea of what to look out for. Make sure you employees know about these latest threats as well.

Routinely Change Your Passwords

This could easily fit into the item listed below, but it also deserved its own entry. Hacking passwords is the most common way those with ill intent will access your accounts. Changing your passwords routinely is a good way to prevent this. Also, make sure you change passwords under any circumstances where an employee leaves your business, even if it is on good terms.

Use Common Sense

Don’t open mails from addresses that are clearly spammers. Also, if you get attachments from clients, make sure you have a virus detection program that scans the attachment before opening it.

What are some precautions your business has been using to make sure you don’t get hacked? Share in the comments below.

Search Engine Optimization—or SEO as all the cool kids call it—is one of those things that people either get or don’t get. There doesn’t seem to be an in between.

Many small businesses that are just starting out can’t afford the often expensive services of professional SEO firms, so they have to figure out the basics for themselves. While this may sound daunting, there are a few ways that you can get down the very cornerstones of SEO without any professional help.

What’s in a Name?

Quite a bit, actually. As a matter of fact, one of the quickest ways you can make it to the top of a search engine search is by having a truly unique name. While this should seem obvious, there are some that have always believed that descriptive words such as “advanced” or “premiere” scores them higher in the rankings.

The more unique and different your name is, the less competition you’ll have in the search engine world. If you can get to the top of lists by your name alone, there’s a very good chance that you’ll remain there for quite some time.

Place Keywords Strategically

Trying to get clever about your business name for the sake of keywords can cause more damage than you might think. If you want to use keywords as part of your central branding (and you should) consider them for taglines or slogans and not your name. Placing an industry-centric keyword in a tagline increases the chance of your search engine success and may end up sticking in the minds of those within your industry more than your competitors.

Grab Social Media Names

Before you start your social media attack, make sure your brand’s name hasn’t been taken by other companies or individuals. As silly as it may seem, having to place that 01 behind your name to differentiate yourself form the person that got the handle first can make your brand weaken.

You may want to check for the availability of your brand name before deciding on the name. It is very important in terms of social media and brand respectability that your name remains the same across all social media networks. If you can’t secure the proper handle for all of the appropriate social media platforms, you may even want to reconsider your brand’s name.

So your website is polished and looking sweet. Your blog is packed with Grade-A info that everyone within your target audience wants to know. And you’re even running a few specials that should be filling up your inbox and sending people barreling through your doors.

But nothing has changed. Looking at your business, all the parts are there, but the word doesn’t seem to be spreading. So how can you make sure people are out there sharing news and information about your brand?

Here are some easy tips to help you get started.

• Start with the no-brainers. If you aren’t on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, go remedy that now. Also, if your company is in any way related to arts or decorating, you may want to get a Twitter account, too.
• Speaking of social media, keep social media etiquette in mind. Share links and information that others are sharing and you will likely receive the same treatment.
• Create an opt-in business newsletter than people that visit your website can easily sign up for. Make this more enticing by offering special discounts to your newsletter subscribers.
• Start participating in the comments section of popular blogs within your industry. This gets your name in front of many other like-minded people that could possibly be able to sour services later down the road. This is also a great way to share links to your own site.
• Don’t let all of the winning content on your blog just sit there and collect dust. Shine them up and expand on them to create engaging articles that you can then submit t high-ranking sites within your industry.
• Start making videos and put together a YouTube Channel. This is also a great way to get in on Vine, a social tool that is really starting to take off. Get in on the next big thing before everyone else is doing it and potentially overshadowing you.

Make sure you have a site and a brand that you actually want others to share. Once you have caught the attention of enough people, word will start to spread. It’s just a matter of putting all of the pieces together and letting people know that you have a brand worth sharing.

In a perfect world, all of our customers would always be happy—so happy that they would tell all of their friends about our business and keep us loaded to the brim with satisfied customers.

But the world doesn’t work like that. Every now and then, even businesses with stellar customer service and a very high success rate gets a disgruntled customer for some reason or another. The trick to making sure this anger is short-lived is in knowing how to handle these types of customers.

Even if you are 100% certain a customer is in the wrong, you must always live by the clichéd motto of “The customer is always right.”

In the event that you run into an angry customer, try out these strategies to turn them into a happy customer.

Take Them Seriously: This goes for those of you that are sure you’re 100% right. Hear them out. This way, you understand their problem and when it turns out you were really only 99% certain, you can work together to resolve that 1%.

Treat Them With Respect: If you fail to treat an irate customer with respect, they will probably grow even angrier. Always lead the conversation with comments similar to “I certainly understand your frustration.” Under no circumstances should you ever turn the situation around on them, trying to place blame.

Offer Solutions: Your angry customer isn’t looking for someone to console them or clam them down. No, they want action. They want solutions. After you explain your own solutions to the problem, ask them what they’d like to see in order to have their problem resolved. Work with them instead of cowering in fear or worrying about losing the customer.

Follow Up: After you’ve worked together to resolve the issue, give them a few days to cool off. Then follow up with an e-mail or phone call to make sure they are fully satisfied. Take this opportunity to apologize once again and let them know that you appreciate their business.

A happy customer means referrals are on the way. Angry customers that have been reformed to happy customers are often the best people to sing your praises as they have seen your problem solving skills and the extent of your customer service.

You can find an excuse for a launch party at any point during the life of your business. If you’re just starting out, have a launch party to celebrate the fact that you’re now open for business. Or, if your doors have been open for a while, you can have a launch party for a new product or service.

Everyone likes a party, right? The reason for having it, in this case, is up to you. And if you’re going to have a launch party, you need to do it right. Here are all of the elements necessary for putting on a killer launch party that will keep your brand fresh in the minds of those in attendance well after the party is over.

Spread the Word: This is pre-party stuff, but your party will stink if no one shows up. Make sure you get the word out via social media channels. Reach out to local press outlets to see how you can get the word out with their help as well.

The Invitation List: More pre-planning stuff..but make sure you have invited all of the right people—from those that could benefit from the service or product you have thrown the party for, as well as those within your industry that hold some sway and importance.

Have an Appropriate Theme: If it’s summer, put on a beach theme. If it’s winter, use snow or Christmas as your theme. The trick is to not just invite folks to a Plain Jane party. If you can find a way to incorporate your brand into the theme, all the better!

Work Up Your Connections: If you know a DJ, ask him to help. The same goes for caterers, bartenders and so on. Sure, you can hire others to do these tasks for you, but when you have friends working the stations, you stand a better chance of having your band talked up during the festivities.

Music: This is a given. Any good party has to have music. Think about the invitation list and let your DJ know the types of music that they’ll need to play to keep the crowd lively.

If you can stick to these basics, you’ve got a great party on your hands. Add some personal touches to it (a drink based on your brand is a great addition) to make it truly memorable.

Okay, so we obviously left a few brands out the other day. In all actuality, there are a ton of great brands to follow on Twitter. These are brands that do more than just inform their audience about their business and any specials or offers currently taking place.

The secret for a winning social media presence is to not only inform your audience, but entertain them. And, like the examples from our previous post, here are four more brands that have mastered the art of tweeting by keeping their audience entertained and always on the lookout for their content.

Old Spice: These guys have gotten funny social media strategies down to a science. More than that, they also often pick friendly fights with other brands that often end in light-hearted cross-promotional tweets back and forth. This might be one of the funniest brand-owned Twitter accounts out there.

Whole Foods: This is a great Twitter account for foodies to follow. While they also use a bit of humor here and there, Whole Foods has also been known to provide recipes and food ideas to its followers. They have done a great job at creating a Twitter presence that literally anyone could follow and be entertained and well-informed.

GymIt: The copywriters for GymIt are geniuses—and while that may seem like an overstatement or an exaggeration, just follow them and check out a few of their awesome one-liners and brand-centric quips. One of your favorites is: “Mmm, fresh new gym smell!”

Charmin: Yes, there are certain dirty jokes that automatically come to mind when you think of toilet paper. Powered by a hash tag of #tweetfromtheseat, Charmin is a great example of how to use Twitter to keep your audience waiting for your next tweet. They have successfully blended humor with their product…and in a way that doesn’t resort to potty humor. (See, we can make puns, too).

Share some of your favorite Twitter accounts from famous brands in the comments below.

So your business is doing better than ever and there seems to be no end to your success. Congrats! You’re achieved something that countless business owners have been trying to do for years.

But even after success has come along and your business is growing, there are some fundamental tools that you need to hang on to. Some staples of business remain the same no matter how successful you are. And believe it or not, one thing that successful business owners need to keep polished and at the ready are their resumes.

Yes, that’s right…even after you’ve made it, your resume is just as important as it was when you were just starting out. Why?

Glad you asked.

It Keeps You Competitive

If you are consistently keeping up with your milestones and achievements, your resume serves as something of a marker of your progress. Even if you are keeping t for nothing more than a way to keep a running record of awards received, professional associations and so on, keeping your resume up to date will always keep you sharp and competitive it make it as stellar as possible.

Outside of Work

If you’ve become successful, your resume can act as a promotional piece for activities you may be interested in outside of work. A well-polished and up to date resume is a great way to introduce yourself to people in local community projects, associations, or even other industry specialist. It never hurts for others to have a copy of your resume. It’s more detailed and personal than a simple business card and shows that you take pride in your work and accomplishments.

Just In Case

No one wants to hear this, but it’s a harsh truth: everything you have created can be gone in a very short time. With the current economic situation in most of the world, nothing is certain. S if the absolute worse does happen and you somehow end up losing your business, it’s going to be a massive advantage to have you resume ready and up to date.

So how is your resume looking? Have you been keeping it polished up and presentable?