The Morning Routine That Leads To Your Success

The Morning Routine That Leads To Your Success

We get it, the mornings are so much more difficult to crawl out of bed when you know the cold is out there waiting to embrace you like an annoying boss that sends you an email before the work day has even begun. But being a morning person and making a routine that works for you are two separate things. The difference being one can help set you up for success and the other isn’t a guarantee. Let’s get one thing straight, being a morning person isn’t synonymous with success, but a flawless routine and mindset? Yes, pleaseee!

I’m not sure about you, but I like to start my mornings slowly (should you be fortunate enough) and need to ease my mind before having a full-fledged conversation with someone. Where your cortisol levels (aka your stress hormone levels) are known to be highest in the morning, it’s vital to make a healthy and fun routine that sets the tone for your day.

Let us begin.

A great healthy morning actually starts the night before, and that’s getting enough sleep (roughly around 7-9 hours). Although it’s life and we can’t always guarantee to achieve a good night’s rest, this routine is more so for how you should strive to live your life most days so bear that in mind as that is the goal.

Get up early (preferably without an alarm). I got into the habit of waking up early that my body does so naturally at this point, but setting an alarm to wake up at a time that works best for you can help you much later on in life.
Apart from any hygienic activities, set yourself up with a great skincare routine! It makes all the difference and gives you a natural glow that adds even more radiance to your day.
Tidy your room before leaving it. No one wants to come back to a messy room. If you’re not a firm believer in making the bed (I have mixed views about this) at least make it look nice.
Try to think positive thoughts and say positive affirmations aloud. If you are a person who hasn’t used affirmations before, it may sound a little silly at first, but getting into the practice of positivity truly rewires your brain into thinking happier thoughts. If you don’t want to try affirmations right away, you can also try reciting your favorite quote or any spiritual sayings or prayers to help guide you (based upon your beliefs).
This may take people by surprise, but try not to make major decisions early on in the day. Remember, you’re trying to ease your body into a natural, calm and successful state and making stressful decisions in the morning can help throw you off that path immediately. Save those decisions for the afternoon, which leads us to the next step.
Limit your screen time! Those emails, calls, texts, news updates? Those all can wait until after breakfast. Although it is tempting to grab your phone immediately upon waking, screen your phone real quick for any emergencies then proceed to go back to your routine.
Get moving! I’m not saying run a mile, but if you do that’s great! Try stretching, yoga, meditation. Crank up your favorite jams and dance around your kitchen (in the refrigerator light — T Swift anyone?).
Pour yourself lemon water or hot tea with lemon to start your day. Limiting your caffeine intake can help avoid the jitters and upset stomach later on.
Don’t Skip breakfast! Breakfast is truly the most important part of your day. If you can’t eat early in the morning, reach for an apple, yogurt, or smoothie. Your brain and body will thank you later. This also means taking your vitamins and supplements!
Think about what you want to accomplish for the day and then get started with that goal in mind! Don’t try to take on too much however, as multitasking can create lack of direction and more stress.

We hope this helps you on your journey to self care and success! The two go hand-in-hand and is something we strongly believe in here at BOBO Marketing Services.

What is your favorite part of your morning routine? Let us know!

Small Businesses: 4 Common Myths About Content Marketing

Content marketing, content creators, content this, content that. What is it?! More importantly, WHY is it all the buzz?

What is Content Marketing?

Besides being essential for small businesses in 2021, content marketing is simply creating and distributing content that is valuable. However, that simple definition doesn’t correlate to it being a simple task. In fact, it is why whole jobs are created around it and some businesses struggle.

For today, let’s debunk the misconceptions that surround the content marketing industry once and for all. Whether you consider yourself a content pro or you’re just getting tips, these truths can help you out tremendously. Learn how to become better at content marketing while running your small business here!

Myth #1: Simply posting content will get you noticed.

A common misconception is that posting your blog or video gets the job done, but that is not the case at all. If it were that simple, everyone would be getting noticed! This is what us marketers call Posting & Ghosting in the content marketing industry.

Truth: Instead, look at which social media platforms you are on, which of your hashtags are performing the best and what your analytics are all telling you. Do this all while actively engaging with your audience. This means interacting with other accounts using your top performing hashtag, responding back to comments and messages. Don’t forget to interact with accounts in your niche!

Sound like a lot? It is, but let’s break it down for you. Repurposing your content is key. That one blog post you wrote? Make that into a savable infographic or a carousel that users can swipe through. In fact, Instagram recycles your carousel posts if users don’t interact by showing them a different slide than they’ve seen before. Better yet turn it into a video reel.

Don’t forget to share your content to Instagram, your website, social media and whichever platforms you’re established on. Actually listen to your audience by looking at which content performs the best and start creating more value-driven content from there. Look at your built-in analytics in Instagram or your host website and look at which content is getting the most clicks, saves, likes, comments and views.

Myth #2: In my industry, businesses don’t need content marketing.

Not true at all! Whether you’re a construction company or an organic beauty based company, you should be planning your content marketing strategy now. Think about what your values are as a company and start sharing that with your consumers.

For example, if you’re in the construction industry, start sharing which building materials are best fit for warmer and rainy climate areas. If you’re an organic beauty based company, what does your research show consumers why they should choose organic beauty based products over well-known luxury brands? Get creative with it!

Truth: Every industry can benefit from content marketing because there is so much information to learn and share out there. Clients or customers who are loyal to you and your brand chose you for a reason. Providing them with insider information or a behind-the-scenes look at how you run things expands upon your expertise and proves to your audience that yes in fact, you do know what you’re talking about.

Myth #3: The more content, the better.

After we just established that having content for your business is important and essential to growth, that doesn’t always equate to more being better, however. There are certain instagram strategies and tips that you can follow to gain more followers and grow that way (i.e. posting 4-5x a week to the feed, 5 stories a day, 5 reels a week). Again however, this is where your analytics and content strategy research comes in.

Bonus: If you need quick tips on growing your social media business, check out our blog post on this here.

Truth: When starting out, you really want to focus on the value you’re providing and build from there. It takes time and practice, but it will be so much more productive than burning yourselves out by posting mediocre content that your audience isn’t really resonating with.

Myth #4: Video marketing is just a trend and will go away soon.

There’s a reason users are swarming to TikTok and why YouTube started implementing their own version of reels onto their platform. Video marketing is here to stay and if your business isn’t showcasing any kind of video, then chances are you won’t be able to compete against other businesses in your industry that are.

This doesn’t go to say that ALL of your posts need to be videos and you can’t have a successful growth strategy without them, but implementing them here and there will definitely benefit your small business in more ways than one.

Truth: 78% of users got more traffic to their website after using videos, according to RenderForest. Videos don’t need to be all that complicated, but they do need to be high-quality and thanks to the everyday use of smartphones, that’s all you need to get started.

We hope you now know the value in providing your users with value-driven content and the importance of implementing a content marketing strategy for your small business.

It’s no secret that content marketing can be overlooked anymore in 2021. It being worth a $300 billion industry speaks for itself (Content Marketing Institute, 2020).

With that said, we wish you luck on forming your content marketing strategy and hope you reap the benefits of your hard work soon. Trust us, you will!

Should you need any help with ways and tips to grow your small business, do not hesitate to reach out to us at bobomarketingservices@gmail.com. We would love to help!

We specialize in copywriting, social media content and management, digital media and graphic design and public relation services for small businesses.

What’s the craziest myth you’ve heard about Content Marketing? Do you believe Content Marketing is worth all that time and money? Tell us in the comment section!

How to Set Work Mode Off

With so many more people working from home than ever before, many have noticed an increase in blurred lines when it comes to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. For instance, more people are finding themselves taking phone calls past 6 o’clock and catching up on work on the weekends.

When these start to become habits, it can be a little bit difficult to get rid of these unhealthy routines so we at BOBO Marketing Services have put together three tips to help wean you off that 24/7 work mode!

1. Believe in the Data.

Society has come to believe that more is better, but when it comes to productivity that may in fact be false. In order for our behavior to change, we must first replace this inaccurate belief with a more realistic one. According to a Psychology Today article, workaholics may look like they’re getting more done but in actuality they are more apt to being less efficient. They also likely struggle to maintain focus. Not only that, but workaholism has shown to put an individual at an increased risk for depression and anxiety. So let’s replace the more-is-better mentality with an positive affirmation: “A healthy work-life balance leads to heightened productivity in the long run.”

2. Set Clear Boundaries.

The best way to maintain this balance is by implementing clear boundaries. Set a cut-off time for when work is finished — no matter what! For instance, although you can’t turn off your phone, you can screen them. Or better yet, there are plenty of apps like Line 2 that offer a seperate phone line for an affordable price. Another behavior that blurs the lines? Checking emails after work. Just say no!

3. Accept Slip-Ups.

No one is perfect. Instead of giving up all together when you find your thoughts centering on work past business hours, accept those thoughts and move on. An efficient way to do this? Simply jot down your ideas in a journal for tomorrow and let them go, and tell yourself you can revisit them during regular work hours. The benefits are two-fold — one, important thoughts won’t be forgotten, and two, you won’t feel guilty for not focusing on them as they come.

Want more info on how to increase productivity? We simply loved this article on Entrepreneur.com.

Resume Tips for 2021

Let’s face it… Most people view job searching as a hassle, making us less inclined to put our best foot forward. Our team at BOBO Marketing Services has put together some quick tips to simplify the job search process and make sure you’re on the right track.

Tip 1: Use The Right Marketing Keywords.

Nowadays, we’ve learned that the right keywords play a critical role in marketing and branding a business. The same applies to marketing yourself. Our advice? Take a look at job postings for the positions you would like to target. What keywords do they list that match the experience you already possess?

Let’s say you’re looking for a position as a content writer. First off, go to a job search engine, like Indeed.com, and do a search for “content writer” in your area. Then take a look at what skills and responsibilities are common factors in each of the job descriptions. For a content writer, we’d expect to find phrases like “write blog posts and newsletters” as well as “edit content and proofread websites” to name a few. Be sure to use these keywords in your resume as they pertain to your experience, and you’ll be good to go. Sometimes we can get hyper focused in our job descriptions that our resumes become a big list of tasks — ultimately lacking focus on the big picture. Doing this research can help condense a job seeker’s experience while still targeting the crucial aspects to the job.

Tip 2: Ready, Set, Action!

The first tip focuses on showcasing how you already excel in completing the responsibilities of the position. Now let’s make sure you stand out from the crowd! Hiring managers are looking to employ individuals who think outside the box and can become an asset to their organization. Think about what you’ve done differently from other people in your same position and pair those accomplishments with action words. “Championed,” “boosted” and “achieved” are great verbs to drive the point home that you’re an initiator, rather than just a task completer. For instance, “I generated interest from a reputable magazine through my monthly newsletter” is specific and action-oriented. Be sure to visually highlight these actionable items on your resume as well, perhaps through bullet points, in bold or even in a dedicated Accomplishments section.

Tip 3: Stick to the Basics.

Applicant tracking systems are all the rage, which is why we generally don’t suggest getting too creative with fonts or the placement of basic job descriptors like position, company, employment dates and location. Computer scanning software might not be able to recognize this vital information, needlessly leaving you out of the running. The goal is to get a human to look at your resume, and in order to do this you have to make it past the initial scanning systems.

While we’re on the topic of order, be sure everything on your resume is in chronological order. Start with the most recent experience first and work your way back. Present and expand upon jobs that are most directly related to the position you are applying for first, and skip over the ones that aren’t. Unrelated job experiences can be included in an Additional Experience section that simply lists these unrelated positions in chronological order to account for any lapses in time. At maximum, stick to job experiences in the last 10 years. Anything more than that is overkill — unless you’re targeting an upper management position. For upper-level positions, 15 to 20 years worth of experience should be more than sufficient.

Those are our most essential resume writing tips. Hope our little tidbits get you off to a good start. Happy job hunting!

Let us know in the comments what helped you the most 🙂

Quick Guide to AP Style Writing

There’s just something special about professional writing. Your message needs to translate as clear, concise and consistent — and generally easy enough for a fifth grader to follow. So we at BOBO Marketing Services have put together this essential guide to copywriting — easy enough for a fifth grader to understand.

Most of the content creation projects we provide include some level of business-to-consumer, or B2C, copywriting. That means the copy is client facing and included in a number of different marketing collateral. Examples include landing pages, e-newsletters, blog posts and more. If you’ve ever dabbled with the marketing industry, chances are you’ve come across the phrase AP style writing. Marketing agencies often require a working knowledge of it.

So what is it? No, it’s not APA or MLA. Those have more to do with citing sources for research papers. Officially called Associated Press Stylebook, AP style was originally published in 1953 for journalists in connection with the Associated Press for consistency in grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage.

Hyphens, En-Dashes & Em-Dashes

Did you know there was a difference? Let’s take a look at the symbols: – – —. See the difference now? To help you remember, an en-dash is the size of an N and an em-dash is the size of an M. A hyphen should never be used unless it’s connecting two words.

As far as when to use all these dashes, you have to take a look at the usage. An en-dash should really just be used for formatting purposes. Think lists! An em-dash can be used in lieu of a semi-colon, to separate two thoughts within the same subject. When used correctly it can help break up wordy text and create visual interest to the piece. For example: These balloons are vibrant like you’ve never seen before — in a fiery red, ocean blue and everest green.

Hyphens are a little tricky. If you’re playing hide-and-seek then you would use hyphens because it’s a noun. But if your kids want to hide and seek, you wouldn’t because these words are being used as verbs. Also, you want to use hyphens as modifiers connecting words that describe a noun … before the noun. Exhibit A: She has a show-stopping smile, especially when walking into a room. Exhibit B: This black-and-white kitchen has the finest high-end appliances.

The Serial Comma

This one’s highly controversial in the business writing world. AP style says one thing, while other writing styles say another. It also doesn’t help that most of us are taught to use it growing up. More professionally referred to as the Oxford comma, the serial comma is when there is a comma included before “and” or “or” in a list or sequence. For example: The balloons are red, blue, and green. AP style hates this. It prefers “red, blue and green” with that final comma omitted.

Numbers

Spell out numbers less than 10. Everything above 10 can be written in numerals UNLESS at the beginning of a sentence.

If you’re talking about dollars and cents, however, you would use digits. For example, something that costs $5 or $5,000 would always be written this way. Commas should be used to clarify thousands. When you go into millions and billions, you should shorten it to include the words: $1 million, $300 billion. Remember, AP style likes to be concise.

Making Things Plural

1990s not 1990’s. Wednesdays not Wednesday’s. Apostrophes mean possession, so when in doubt slap an S and call it a day.

Abbreviations

Street names should be spelled out when there’s no street number included. When there is, you should abbreviate St., Ave. and Blvd. For states, spell them out when used alone. When used with city names, we recommend doing a quick Google search for “AP Style States.” You’ll see they’re very different from the postal version we grew up learning. For example: Orlando, Fla., New York, N.Y. and Los Angeles, Calif.

For months the same rules apply. Spell out the name of the month if there isn’t a date included. But only shorten these months: Jan. 1, Feb. 1, Aug. 1, Sept. 1, Oct. 1, Nov. 1 and Dec. 1. For names, you should list John Smith Jr. and John Smith Sr. without a comma.

Hope you enjoyed our AP style cheat sheet — let us know your favorite AP style tips for professional writing!

The Power of Positive Thinking: 5 Ways to Navigate Your Business

The Power of Positive Thinking: 5 Ways to Navigate Your Business

The reality of running your own business during an unpredictable pandemic and the holiday season is that there are going to be a lot more noes until you get to the yeses. As long as you push through with the power of positive thinking, build a professional brand for your business and use smart marketing tactics, the hard work will eventually pay off. Not getting any business in the beginning is definitely a scary thought — especially in the current economic climate. People have even asked us, “Aren’t you afraid of the instability of running your own business?”

The answer to that question is definitely yes, but honestly there’s no better time to try it than right now. The year 2020 has definitely been one of the worst years in recent history, but there has been light in the increase of time we’ve been able to spend with loved ones, experiment with the idea of remote working and flexibility or get that big push to try something new if you were one of the millions of people furloughed or laid off this year.

We try to use that fear to keep us motivated, growing and moving forward. And when something doesn’t work out, we try to learn from that experience so we can handle it better in a similar situation in the future. It’s the power of positive thinking. If you find the good in any unforeseen situation and remain positive, the better and more successful you’ll be in the long run.

Below are some simple examples of how to maintain positive thinking as you grow your business:

1 – Eat healthy and drink lots of water.

Taking care of your body and providing it with the right nutrients are so essential to feeling good, thinking clearly and achieving your goals. When you feel good on the inside, you’ll feel it on the outside too. Staying hydrated and eating right are some of the best ways to encourage productivity and positive thinking.

2 – Find your escape.

Listen to music, draw, write in your journal, sing, paint, dance — whatever it is, do it. Take a break from the senseless nonstop hours and find your escape. Allowing yourself to be immersed in creative and stimulating activities leads to an increase in mental clarity and productivity. That’s because you’re relieving stress and allowing your mind to wander and be free. You’ll be surprised by the new perspective you can have.

3 – Be someone who offers to help.

When you do something nice for someone you often feel good inside and find pride in that your value and worth are acknowledged. That sensation is empowering in revealing the possibilities of how you alone can make a change. Whether it’s simply teaching someone an easy hack for a mundane activity or actively volunteering to feed the homeless, for example, doing something for others can actually teach you more about yourself and what you are capable of accomplishing.

4 – Take responsibility.

Own your mistakes, learn from them and move on. It’s so important to recognize that you are human, and there are going to be multiple occasions where you could’ve done something differently. As long as you learn from your mistakes, there’s no reason to not look forward to the next time because you’ll already know what to do!

No one gets to where they are without failing every now and again. But failure is just a temporary lapse in a successful person’s career. Failure doesn’t have to be an end but instead a temporary outcome to a lesson on the road to success. As long as you learn and keep moving, failure doesn’t exist.

5 – Breathe and remember why you are where you are.

Breathing in itself has a magical way of reducing stress and increasing your focus. There are some amazing breathing exercises out there to help you stay calm and focus on working toward your goals. Once your mind is finally quiet, remember what got you to where you are today as inspiration. The little things holding you down might not seem as big as you thought.

Staying focused on the goal is so important to fostering a successful startup. Hopefully these tips will inspire you to maintain a more positive outlook as you progress your business!

If you you’ve found our tips helpful and that they’ve worked for you, please don’t be shy and click the share button!

Feel free to let us know what other tips you may have for us or for others in the comments below 🙂

Using Social Media for Your Business — Quick Tips

In today’s modern world of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and more, it’s important for businesses of all sizes to recognize the opportunities and resources they have easily available to them.

Using social media for business is one of the best ways to promote your brand online and create the potential to gain some new clients. The best part is creating a social media account is totally free — with of course the option to purchase paid advertising to really drive up exposure.

If creating your brand’s presence online is something you’re thinking about doing, be sure to keep in mind some of these quick tips below:

1 – Determine which platforms match your brand.
It’s important to understand how each social media platform works and if it makes sense for your brand. For example, a photographer should definitely consider showcasing their photos on Instagram. Someone who works in fashion might pin their products on Pinterest. A performer might share some behind-the-scenes recording sessions on Snapchat.

One platform that everyone should use regardless of the industry they’re in is Facebook. Facebook, in our opinion, has become such an important facet to branding your business and building an official identity. So much so that creating a website might not even be necessary in some instances. It’s also a great platform for sharing quick updates via stories and creating top-of-mind awareness for your followers every day.

If you run your own business like we do, don’t be afraid to use your personal Facebook page, especially when first starting out. It makes it more … well, personal. And it gives your clients a chance to get to know the real you and your friends and family the opportunity to see just how passionate you are about what you do. Plus, it gives your company double the exposure making it a win-win.

2 – Keep things professional and polished.
If you’ve created a company account, then it’s important to remember to use your company’s voice. Something very common in small businesses is that people forget they’re posting on behalf of their company’s social media account and not their personal page. You don’t want to use words like “I,” “my” or “me.” You want to stick to “we,” ”our” and “us.”

This is especially true when responding to a comment or liking things. It might be a little weird for a person to see that ABC Company liked their selfie of them in a bikini.

Also, make sure you use proper spelling and grammar as well as refrain from anything controversial (unless essential to your brand).

If you use your personal Facebook page for business, we’d recommend going back through all the posts and photos you’ve shared. If they’re not stuff you’d share today with your brand now associated, you should probably delete them.

3 – Create a balance of business life and personal life.
Using social media for business doesn’t necessarily mean you only post things related to business. Be sure to share fun happenings around the office or content about your business that is personal to you. Share tidbits about your employees too! Maybe share a day in the life working from home.

If you use your personal accounts, this is especially important. You want to share enough business content to show that you are credible in what you do but also enough personal content to show that you’re still a fun person on your own. The one where you’re on a Zoom meeting with a client and your dog pops up in the background? Yeah, that one.

4 – Try to stick to a routine.
You want your followers to be able to rely on you for content. Sometimes there’ll be times when life gets in the way, but try to stick to a general routine when sharing posts, photos and videos. This will give your followers something to look forward to! We recommend not overcommitting yourself though to a schedule you maybe can’t follow.

Remember: The key here is to keep your routine realistic and stick to what works best for you, while still maintaining a steady schedule to get enough brand exposure.

If you’ve found our tips helpful and that they’ve worked for you, don’t be shy and click the share button!

Feel free to let us know what other tips you may have for us or for others in the comments below 🙂