Influencer marketing is making an impact on businesses around the world. And since Asia is one of the fastest evolving markets, it makes sense that companies in this area would lead the way. Kobe is one platform that’s working on this in the Asian Market. In addition to utilizing an emerging marketing tactic, the company uses new tech to set it apart.

Learn more about the company and what sets it apart in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

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What the Business Does

Facilitates influencer marketing campaigns.

Founder Evangeline Leong told Small Business Trends, “We manage end-to-end influencer marketing campaigns and utilise a self-developed, patented Artificial Intelligence-driven platform to pair advertisers with the optimal influencers for their brand.”

Business Niche

Integrating AI into the platform.

Leong says, “Our system maps campaign objectives to a wide array of factors using image recognition and natural language recognition. It then intelligently auto-generates influencer suggestions, along with recommended fees, that clients can then review and select. It is also able to provide strong, quantitative metrics in order to reflect returns on investment for businesses.”

How the Business Got Started

After a conversation with a vendor.

Leong explains, “The name Kobe means ‘word-of-mouth’ in mandarin and was inspired by a humble noodle food stall in Singapore. When I saw the fierce competition and rising costs of operation, I asked the stall owner what his secret recipe to success was. His answer was simple: ‘My word-of-mouth recommendation is good.’ This piqued my interest and got me thinking about how I could scale word-of-mouth marketing for businesses out there in the world.”

Biggest Win

Winning an award.

Leong says, “We very recently won the Gold and Local Hero awards for the Influencer Agency of the Year category in the Marketing Magazine’s Agency of the Year Awards 2020. The awards are a major event that draw in submissions from some of the largest ad/marketing firms in the world.”

Biggest Risk

Starting with no investors.

Leong adds, “Influencer marketing was a very, very new and niche concept at the time. And nobody believed that it would be a viable business model for a marketing agency. I mortgaged my house and sold my car to come up with the venture capital for the business.”

Lesson Learned

Be careful who you work with.

In the company’s first year in business, Leong says they made some poor judgements regarding their team. As a result, they ended up losing a database and access to the AI system they had been developing. However, it worked out in the end.

Leong adds, “At one point, it seemed as though we would have to go to court over the issue. Thankfully, we didn’t.”

How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000

Supporting the team.

Leong says, “I would invest that into people – helping our current employees to grow and rewarding them appropriately for their work.”

Team Motto

Fail fast, learn fast.

Leong explains, “Everyone is encouraged to raise suggestions and try out new things. We avoid hierarchy, so everyone takes charge – and ownership – of their own tasks in the company.”

Favorite Quote

“It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers.” – Patrick Rothfuss.

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Image: Kobe, Evangeline Leong and Cha Lin

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Did you know that the ad spend on Facebook grew by almost 30% in 2020? According to the same report, the trend indicated that budgets were tightened but more budget was allocated to digital channels and social media.

Furthermore, the trend is set to continue in 2021.

Image via Socialbakers

If you are still not investing in social media marketing, it’s time to get on board with the trends. 

Still on the fence about the role of social media in growing your business? 

Here are the benefits that you can get from it:

1. Boost Brand Awareness

One of the biggest advantages of having an active social media presence is that you can increase your brand awareness. Social media gives you a platform to reach out to users who may not have even heard about your brand before.

What’s more, social media platforms enable you to send targeted ads. When you send relevant ads based on a user’s tastes and preferences, they are more likely to be interested in your content. 

Additionally, you can also target ads based on location, gender, age, and other criteria. All in all, you can boost your brand awareness among your target audience more easily. 

2. Increase Website Traffic and Leads

As more people get to learn about what you have to offer, you are likely to see a surge in website traffic. Since you are reaching out to a targeted audience, you are also likely to see more traffic coming from qualified leads. 

This, in turn, can give a boost to your lead generation efforts. Not just that, you’re also likely to see a boost in other metrics like average time spent on a website.

Pro Tip: To keep track of your leads coming from different platforms, use an advanced program specially designed for lead generation.

3. Improve Your Brand Recall

Don’t you want users to think of your brand first when they think about your niche? Of course, you do! A memorable social media marketing campaign can go a long way in creating a lasting impression in front of your target audience.

It’s okay if users don’t purchase your product right away. If users can recall your brand easily, you can move them down the sales funnel with a few more touchpoints.

Social media helps you boost your visibility and improve your ad recall. If you run a social media campaign for a long time, you can make sure that you are reaching out to more people and improving their ability to recognize your brand. 

For example, LA CREMERIA, a Malaysian ice-cream brand, leveraged Instagram to run influencer campaign campaigns with popular celebrities. As a result, they were able to get a 5.6 point lift in their ad recall in the age group of 35-to-40-year-olds. Their ad recall among women saw a 4.5-point lift as well.

4. Get More Brand Credibility

Social media enables you to work with influencers to promote your products on different channels. Not only can you boost your reach and get more engagement, but also boost your brand credibility. 

Not sure how?

Well, social media influencers work really hard to build a rapport with their followers. Because of their expertise, they also have a certain level of credibility in their field. In fact, their followers wait for their recommendations and advice. 

When they vouch for your products, their followers may tend to establish some trust in your brand. It’s almost like you are piggybacking on their reputation. 

 In addition to influencer content, other sponsored content can also help you establish your brand as a thought leader in the industry. In fact, roadmap software company, Aha!, were able to leverage LinkedIn to gain audience trust by creating meaningful content on the platform.

5. Get More Engagement

When you upload content on social media that resonates with your audience, they are likely to respond to it. You’ll get more likes, shares, and comments if it strikes a chord with them. This, in turn, can boost your overall engagement.

What’s more, you can also host contests, create polls, and publish live videos to keep your audience entertained. In a nutshell, social media enables you to create content that can engage them. 

Why does it matter?

Before you can turn a prospect into a customer, you need to keep them engaged. It’s a stepping stone in the right direction.

6. Get Detailed Customer Insights

One of the biggest advantages of advertising via social media is that you can get access to customer insights. All social media platforms collect user data. From user interests to demographics, these platforms record all kinds of behavioral data. 

When you run an ad campaign, you can also get insights into how people are engaging with your content. This data can help you figure out which content your audience resonates with the most. Based on that, you can create a more robust content and marketing strategy. You can also use specialized tools for social media management to get detailed insights.

What’s more, this data can help you learn how to get the most out of your ad spend. In the long run, it can help your business save money and get the most out of your budget through campaign optimization.

Once you have data on what works, you can leverage retargeting to follow up multiple times with users who may be interested in your brand. This, in turn, can help you boost your conversion rate.

Conclusion

Regardless of your industry or business size, social media can be a powerful tool to grow your business. It can help you get more visibility, reach out to a broader audience, and generate more qualified leads. 

Not only can it help you increase your sales and revenue, but it can also help you create more cost-effective campaigns. You can leverage social media to gain more credibility and improve your brand recall value.

By tracking your campaign results, you can optimize future social media campaigns for better results. All in all, it has multiple benefits, so you shouldn’t miss out. 

Are you ready to create a social media strategy to grow your business?

Do you have any questions about the role of social media in growing businesses? Please feel free to mention them in the comments section.

Image: Depositphotos.com

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Countertop displays organize a collection of items for your customers to browse and make selections. Be they brochures magazines, jewelry, or any item of interest they help boost visibility and sales.

By placing them near checkout counters, they increase the chances of customers making additional purchases. They entice customers to make those last-minute purchases thus improving your bottom line. Countertop displays can also help increase brand awareness by highlighting the main features of the products that are being displayed. This can help reinforce your brand online and offline.

Countertop displays come in a wide range of form factors and materials, and only you can decide which one will best suit your business. If you are you searching for countertop displays here are a small number of styles and materials to give you an idea of what is available.

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Best Countertop Displays

 

MOOCA Showcase Rotating Acrylic Display

Top Pick: A key feature in a good countertop display is simplicity. The MOOCA rotating acrylic display is easy to use and it clearly shows your product. The display has four levels with removable shelves so you can place small and large items in it.

You can store and display jewelry, watches, glasses, collectibles and more. Overall, the unit is 13 1/2″W x 7 3/8″D x 17 3/8″H and it has key lock.

MOOCA Lockable Showcase Rotating Acrylic Display Stand with 4 Removable Shelves

Buy on Amazon

 

MyGift 4-Tier Industrial Designed Display

Runner Up: This 4-tier display takes a different approach to showcasing products. The weathered gray wood on a black metal base provides a great spot for jewelry, glasses, electronics, curios, collectibles, and other items. Each riser is at a different height to provide a different angle for each product.

Overall, it is 5.8 H × 8.7 W × 8.7 L inches and each platform is 2.36 H to 5.8 H × 4.3 W × 4.3 L inches weighing in at two pounds.

MyGift 4-Tier Industrial Designed Weathered Gray Wood and Metal Pedestal Jewelry Organizer Display Riser Stand

Buy on Amazon

 

Mind Reader SNACKCAR

Best Value: Mind Reader SNACKCAR is a two-tiered, 360⁰carousel snack display that allows users to browse through an assortment of snacks and then pick their favorite. Made with plastic this unit comes in at 14 x 14. 5 inches and offers 12 slots on top and large open bottom for convenience.

Weighing just three pounds this is a perfect countertop for small spaces and can allow users to stack almost anything. This includes disposable coffee and teacups, lids, utensils, chips, protein bars, single-serve coffee pods, and much more.

Mind Reader SNACKCAR Supreme Snack organizer, 14 x 14.5 Round, Black

Buy on Amazon

 

MyGift Decorative Clear Glass & Brass Countertop Display

This countertop display box provides a different approach to showcasing your products. The brass and glass construction has 6 separate cubes in which you can put your items. And the hinged top lid comes with a latch and a metal chain to keep the lid from swinging back too far.

The clear glass and brass metal design can complement a wide range of decors to showcase jewelry, antiques, collectibles and more. The approximate dimensions are 2.25 H x 9.0 W x 6.25 D inches and weighs 2.29 pounds.

MyGift Decorative Clear Glass & Brass Metal Frame 6 Compartment Jewelry Shadow Box/Countertop Display Case

Buy on Amazon

 

Masqudo Acrylic Display Stands

The Masqudo acrylic display stand is a simple yet effective riser countertop display shelf. You can use the 2 in 1 stand as a three or four-tier display to maximize your countertop space. This design allows you to place almost any small item you want your customers to quickly see and purchase in your store.

The display comes in at 12×9 inches and weighs at 3.9 pounds. And you don’t need any tools to put it together. Best of all, the company provides a zero-risk, 90 days, 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Masqudo Acrylic Display Stands 2 in 1 Usage Acrylic Riser Display Shelf for Amiibo Funko POP Figures Cupcakes Stand for Cabinet Countertops Table

Buy on Amazon

 

Countertop Spinner Rack Display Stand

This is a classic countertop spinner rack display with three tiers. This is yet another simple design that can hold a range of items. From jewelry to chips, masks, memory cards and so much more. It is easy to assemble, adjust the height, and doesn’t take too much space on your countertop.

It comes in at 2.5 pounds and you can adjust the height up to 20.8 inches. And the silver mirror finish allows it to fit almost any store decor.

Display Stand 2 Tier/3 Tier Countertop Spinner Rack Silver Metal for Malls, Showroom, Retail Store

Buy on Amazon

 

FixtureDisplays Wire Rack for Countertop

This is another no-nonsense wire rack countertop display that serves multiple uses. Whether you run a convenience store, restaurant, auto parts, or computer store, this display stand can accommodate virtually every industry to showcase products. You can use it to display everything from books to magazines, and newspapers to candy, chips, other snacks, and many other items your store sales.

At eight pounds and 23 x 23 x 13.3 inches, this metal stand is sturdy and you can remove the shelves to create more space for larger items.

FixtureDisplays Wire Rack for Countertop Use with 3 Open Shelves

Buy on Amazon

 

What to Look for in Countertop Displays

The purpose of countertop displays is to help capture the attention of customers and prospects. They are ideal for those grab-n-go Point of Purchase (POP) displays that sit on counters in check-out areas. And this will help you to tap into impulse shoppers or those consumers who can’t resist grabbing items while in line.

They are also equally important for customer service counters. With these displays, you can put up your brochures and marketing collateral for prospects to get more literature and information about your products and services. While shopping for displays look for the following:

• Easy to assemble and use: Your displays should not require complicated instructions. They should not give you headaches in terms of deciding on the right screwdrivers, hammers, drill bits, and so on. If you plan on using your displays in multiple locations, complicated assemblies can be difficult. They should also be easily cleaned and managed.
• Size: When you purchase your displays, you need to make sure you actually have sufficient space for them in your store or office.

• Should stand out: The purpose of countertops is to make sure that what you are showcasing capture the attention of prospects and customers. The color and design of your displays should be in keeping with your desired image while also standing out from competing products.
• Sturdy: It is important that your displays can hold your products without falling apart. This is because customers will be handling it a lot. They should be designed with that in mind.
• Return policy: Make sure to check that the supplier has a no-hassle return policy. If the display does not meet your needs ask whether they come with a return policy.

Benefits of Countertop Displays

• Boosts Brand: Custom display stands can help boost your brand in many ways. Countertop displays strategically placed in front of the customer or visitor help the brand stay on the minds of the customer. Because these displays are so versatile, you can easily reconfigure your graphics and marketing message, creating a specific display for each audience you are trying to reach. They are more visible and are an ideal marketing tool that work 24/7.
• Convenience: Your sales tactic should be grounded on providing convenience for your customers. You do not need to place additional obstacles for your customers to find your product. The reasoning is simple, if customers can get your product with relative ease, they buy.

• Customization: When you use different materials for your display stands, they stand out. By using the right color, design, and signage, it will help your placements rise above the competition. This allows you to align your displays with the particular needs of your image and the stores and outlets will be happy to use your display as a showcase.
• Increase Revenue: Business is all about increasing revenues, and display stands for retail can play a role in how people buy. They help to boost in-store purchases thus putting you in a better position to capitalize on additional sales.
• Low investment: Displays come with a relatively low price tag and can potentially bring more revenue. Compared to advertisements and sales associates that have to stand around all day and offer literature and insights into your product, the cost of retail displays is a real bargain.

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Images: Amazon.com

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According to HubSpot, There are almost 4 billion daily email users. And 99% of consumers check their email every day and it is the preferred way of getting an update from a brand. So it goes without saying, being able to write a writing an impactful email marketing copy is extremely important.

ZOHO is holding a free webinar titled, Email Marketing Basics: Writing Effective Copy, that will show you the tips and tricks to write a better email for your marketing campaign.

In this webinar, you will learn how to establish your brand’s voice, hone in on your goals, and get some campaign ideas. And once you get these skills under your belt, you can continue to further your email expertise with the next three webinars ZOHO will be holding in the month of February.

The first one, Email Marketing Basics: Writing Effective Copy, will be on February 10, 2021, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST.  All you need to join the session is to have the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Opera browsers.

Click the red button and register now.

Register Now

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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Women in Cloud Summit 2021
January 28, 2021, Online

The Women in Cloud Summit is a three-day, life-changing event for women tech entrepreneurs, corporate and community leaders, policymakers, and allies from around the globe. Women are key drivers of economic growth, and the Summit strives to change the industry narrative by creating economic access for women in the cloud economy. Summit attendees will hear from inspirational speakers, connect and communicate with industry leaders and experts, and network with other community members and entrepreneurs. Join us virtually from January 28-30, 2021.

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Email Marketing Basics Webinar: Writing Effective Copy
February 10, 2021, Online

Want to write impactful email marketing copy that utilizes your unique voice? Join this webinar for tips and tricks! Learn how to establish your brand’s voice, hone in on your goals, and get some campaign ideas.

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WEBINAR: Email Marketing Basics: Building and Maintaining Your List
February 17, 2021, Online

Learn how to build, segment, and nurture your email lists in order to improve engagement and retain quality campaign subscribers. In this webinar you will also gain a better understanding of GDPR, avoiding spam filters, and the importance of keeping your lists clean.

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WEBINAR: Email Marketing Basics: Automating and Monitoring Your Campaigns
February 24, 2021, Online

Learn how to build, segment, and nurture your email lists in order to improve engagement and retain quality campaign subscribers. In this webinar you will also gain a better understanding of GDPR, avoiding spam filters, and the importance of keeping your lists clean.

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Email Marketing Basics Webinar: Automating and Monitoring Your Lists
February 24, 2021, Online

Learn how to create automated email marketing campaigns to streamline your customer acquisition process. You’ll also learn about managing your sender reputation score, as well as key email marketing metrics to track to make sure your emails are performing as well as they can.

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WEBINAR: What Business Structure is Right for You?
April 28, 2021, Online

Picking a business structure is usually the first big legal decision for a new business owner and one of the most confusing. However confusing, it is an essential step to protecting your personal assets from any liabilities of the company. In this webinar, Nellie Akalp CEO of CorpNet.com, will share insight on business entities to help guide you to the best decision for your new venture.

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WEBINAR: Best State to Incorporate
July 28, 2021, Online

Some say Delaware, others say Nevada while someone else may say your home state. What is the best state to register a business in? What if your business is expanding into new territory? At what point should you Foreign Qualify? Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet.com, will go in-depth to answer these questions and more in this webinar.

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WEBINAR: Steps to Start Your Business
October 20, 2021, Online

Starting a business can be an exhilarating time, where everything seems full of potential and purpose. But navigating the logistics of launching a business can be daunting. In this webinar Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet.com, will outline the steps necessary to legally start a business and get up and running on the right foot.

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More Events

• Talent Acquisition Week | VIRTUAL
  January 25, 2021, Online
• Claire Wasserman & Her Father, Steve Wasserman: ‘Ladies Get Paid’
  January 25, 2021, Online
• neXco National New Chapter Info Session – Montgomery County, MD
  February 5, 2021, Online
• Rail Cybersecurity Summit USA
  February 9, 2021, Online
• neXco National Presents B2B Speed Networking
  February 9, 2021, Online
• ProductWorld 2021
  February 17, 2021, Online
• 5th Advancing Project Controls Summit 2021
  February 22, 2021, Online
• Free Thought Leadership Webinar!
  February 22, 2021, Online
• Employee Wellness Summit
  February 24, 2021, Online
• Social Media Strategies Summit | Virtual Conference
  February 25, 2021, Online
• Chief Data and Analytics Officers, Financial Services: Live 2021
  March 2, 2021, Online
• Digital Marketing World Forum – North America Online 2021
  March 24, 2021, Online
• Power BI in 2021
  April 1, 2021, Online
• HR Benefits Conference, April 2021
  April 7, 2021, Las Vegas, NV
• TECHSPO New York 2021 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
  April 15, 2021, Online
• DigiMarCon Mid-Atlantic 2021 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
  April 26, 2021, Philadelphia, PA
• DigiMarCon At Home 2021 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference
  April 28, 2021, Online
• Sitecore CMS in 2021
  May 1, 2021, Online
• DevOps Engineer in 2021
  May 1, 2021, Online
• DigiMarCon New England 2021 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
  May 6, 2021, Boston, MA

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends.

You can see a full list of events, contest and award listings or post your own events by visiting the Small Business Events Calendar.

Image: Depositphotos.com

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As a business besides making sure your products are shipped safely and on time you can also improve your image by showing you also care about the environment. By investing in eco-friendly packaging, you are showing your customers your sense of social responsibility. As a retailer, one way to instill eco-friendly practices in your business is to limit the use of plastic in your product packaging and shipping materials. This includes offering eco-friendly alternatives to bubble wrap.

Unfortunately, plastic bubble wrap is not a sustainable form of packaging. Not only is it unrecyclable, but it also increases our carbon and environmental footprint. Customers too are more and more concerned about what role they play in the production and sourcing of the products they purchase.

Eco-friendly packaging is mostly made from biodegradable, recycled material to help reduce waste and encourage conservation. Their manufacturing process is also efficient, further reducing the negative impact on the environment.

From recyclable plastics to biodegradable materials, there is seemingly no end to the options available to the environmentally-conscious business. Here are seven options your business can consider when it comes to bubble wrap.

 

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 Best Eco-Friendly Bubble Wrap Alternatives 

 

Ranpak Ready Roll Geami Protective Paper

Top Pick: If you don’t want plastic at all, Ranpak offers a 100% paper-based, biodegradable and curbside recyclable option. The honeycomb cell design also eliminates the need for tape because they interlock themselves. The roll is made from a combination of kraft and tissue paper and you don’t need scissors to cut it.

The roll can protect glassware, houseware, pottery, electronics, artwork, decorations and more.

Ranpak Ready Roll Geami Protective Paper Cushioning Wrap (Bubble Alternative)

Buy on Amazon

 

Realpack Recyclable Antistatic Bubble Wrap

Runner Up: RealPack’s anti-static bubble wrap is ideal for providing your merchandise protection while in transit and keeps packed contents free from damage from electrostatic. The eco-friendly bubble wrap is made from a soft textured polyethylene material and weighs 4.64 pounds. Its sealed air bubbles offer cushioning and shockproof features. The bubble wrap comes in green color and comes in 27.95 x 20.08 x 20.08-inch dimensions.

Realpack Recyclable Antistatic Green Eco-Friendly Bubble Wrap

Buy on Amazon

 

EcoBox Cushion Bubble Wrap

Best Value: EcoBox offers a biodegradable bubble wrap with a 125 feet long and 12-inch wide roll. This bubble wrap comes in blue and contains a special formula called d2W which causes the bubble wrap to breakdown after you throw it away and it is in a landfill. The bubble wrapper’s air-filled protect from jostles and jerks, keeping fragile items safe from damage while in transit or storage. Weighing 2.25 pounds it comes with 1/2-Inch bubbles and is perforated every one foot to guarantee strong protection and ease of use.

EcoBox 24-Inch x 300-Feet Biodegradable Bubble Cushion Wrap with 3/16-Inch-Tall Bubbles

Buy on Amazon

 

KTOB Biodegradable Bubble Envelopes

KTOB’s biodegradable envelope bubble wrap is made of Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT) and modified corn starch. Weighing 1.46 pounds one packet comes with 25 envelopes in 6×10 inches dimensions. The envelopes come with a strong self-adhesive glue for easy packaging which is perfect for packing precious merchandise and more. The envelopes have a shelf life of 12 months and are great for mailing smaller breakables jewelry, make-up, photos, and much more.

100% Biodegradable Bubble Mailers, Compostable Padded Packaging Wrap Envelopes Pouches Eco Friendly Self Seal Bags

Buy on Amazon

 

Airsaver Eco Friendly Cushioning Air Pillows

Airsaver’s eco-friendly cushioning air pillows is another green packing solution. Made with Low-Density Polyethylene materials this packaging is 1.2 ml thick and can be reused unless punctured. The air pillows offer vibration protection and cost less than traditional packaging materials. Each package comes with 175 prefilled airbags in 4 x 8-inch dimensions. They are durable yet they also help to reduce shipping costs.

Airsaver Pack 175 Pre-Filled 4″ x 8″ Green Eco-Friendly Cushioning Air Pillows from

Buy on Amazon

 

Bubblefast Biodegradable Poly Mailing Bags

Bubblefast’s brown biodegradable poly mailing bags are self-sealing and come in 10 x 13-inch dimensions. This is a packaging solution for items like clothing, documents or other materials that don’t require padding. They come with a tamper-proof peel and water resistance. They are made from polyolefin plastic that is 100% recyclable and bear the green earth-friendly seal.

Unlined Biodegradable Self-Seal Poly Mailing Bags

Buy on Amazon

 

RUSPEPA Kraft Paper Poly Envelopes

RUSPEPA’s kraft paper poly envelopes come in 9.3 x 13-inch dimensions with 25 envelopes in one pack. The robust 100% recyclable mailing bags can protect dresses, shirts, documents, and other items during transit. The waterproof envelopes are made from oiled kraft paper which comes with two peel and seal strips, which makes them reusable. This makes them ideal for round trip (two way) fulfillment of samples, replacement parts, exchanges and returns.

RUSPEPA Kraft Paper Poly Envelopes Mailer, Self Seal, 100% Recyclable, Reusable Packaging

Buy on Amazon

 

Eco-Friendly Features

Eco-friendly is all about using materials and manufacturing methods that have minimal impact on energy consumption and the environment. This type of packaging is not just about minimizing the amount of wrapping, it also includes package design, processing as well as the entire product lifecycle. Some features to look for when looking for an eco-friendly packaging solution include:

• Biodegradable:  It is important that the material in the packaging supply is biodegradable and has minimal impact on the environment. Recycled packaging is a great way to extend the life of previously used materials. When deciding on boxes, mailers, or containers it is important to consider using packaging that’s made out of recycled materials. Paper-based packaging is one of the most common examples of recycled packaging.
• Lower shipping costs: Eco-friendly packaging may require some initial investments upfront to create your sustainable packaging toolbox but they do guarantee good returns in the long run. Look for packaging solutions that are cost-effective and can cut your shipping costs. Light but durable eco-friendly packaging can make a significant impact on shipping freight costs. In addition, using smaller boxes, bags, and containers for your products can also lower your shipping costs.
• Compatibility with merchandise: Make sure that the packaging materials are a good match for your products. Ask whether your merchandise needs cushioning or is sturdy enough to only require protection from the elements.
• Multipurpose uses: Besides packaging, look for materials that can have other applications after they have been used for packaging. For example, you can use them as cushioning material.

 

 Types of Eco-friendly Packaging Material

• Biodegradable plastic: These are available in bulk and are used for making plastic bags, mailing envelopes and other packaging materials. When discarded they can easily decompose and do not linger in perpetuity polluting the environment and are good alternative to traditional plastics.

• Corn starch: It has plastic-like properties and is a good substitute for plastics. Packages made from corn starch are biodegradable and have a minimal negative impact on the environment. Another advantage of using cornstarch is that it is safe for packaging food items.
• Mushroom packaging: Is a fairly recent alternative to both bubble wrap and Styrofoam, Mushroom packaging consists of 100% biodegradable and renewable material that can be recycled directly. It resembles foam, is durable as well as being flame resistant. It is completely renewable and biodegradable.

•  Paper: Paper and cardboard are reusable, easily recyclable, and biodegradable materials. They are safe, cheaply available in the market, and are affordable, as a result, they enjoy great popularity among package manufacturers.

 

Using environmentally friendly products is not difficult. The key is to start with one thing and keep adding more things. If you haven’t started, maybe you can do so with your next purchase of an eco-friendly bubble wrap.

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Images: Amazon

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If you own clothing store or a boutique you probably know that clothing racks are important to showcase your merchandise.

While almost all clothing racks provide the same essential function of showcasing clothes that are for sell, they are not all created equal. Clothing racks come in a variety of designs and styles as well as price points. Whether you are looking for functionality or aesthetics, below are some of our seven top clothing racks for your business.

 

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Best Clothing Racks

 

Econoco Garment Rack

Top Pick: Econoco directly serves the entire retail industry and the company has manufactured store fixtures and displays since 1925.

Econoco’s garment rack weighs 25.8 pounds and it is made of steel. It has a hang rail with 1-1/4″ round tubing and measures 60 1/2″ long. At 34 x 9 x 4.5 inches it also includes four casters and has a z-base with parts that bolt together for additional stability. Ideal for use in showrooms and warehouses this commercial garment rack is quite easy to assemble.

Commercial Garment Rack (Z Rack) – Rolling Clothes Rack, Z Rack With KD Construction

Buy on Amazon

 

Simple Houseware Clothing Rack

Runner Up: Simple Houseware’s steel clothing rack comes in a chrome finish, it is collapsible, and easy to move around. The horizontal rod can be extended from 42.5 inches to 66.75 inches and has four heavy duty 3-inch casters for easy mobility. The clothing rack comes in 42.5 x 18 x 62 inches and weighs just one pound. This rack is lightweight and is easily adjustable, so it can be used to hang shirts one minute and then extended to display dresses the next. It is also easy to assemble and take apart. This clothing rack is ideal for any clothing retailer for displaying sweaters, jackets, skirts, shirts and much more.

Simple Houseware Heavy Duty Clothing Garment Rack, Chrome

Buy on Amazon

 

Whitmor Adjustable 2-Rod Garment Rack

Best Value: Whitmor rolling garment rack comes with adjustable heights and widths which is great for organizing clothing. Weighing 7.16 pounds it is coupled with double hanging space which allows room for hanging pants, sweaters and also has enough room for other items on bottom rack. It comes in 20.13 x 36.25 x 73 inches dimensions and can be assembled without tools. The black epoxy frame and chrome hanging bars can easily blend with your showroom.

Whitmor Adjustable 2-Rod Garment Rack – Rolling Clothes Organizer – Black and Chrome

Buy on Amazon

 

AmazonBasics Expandable Hanging Metal Garment Rack

AmazonBasics’s expandable metal hanging wardrobe with shelves comes with plastic sleeves and weighs 39.74 pounds. This is a clothing shelf and rack hybrid that comes handy for displaying an assortment of garments. It is easy to adjust the rack to suit your particular needs.

It comes with 10 adjustable-height shelves, with five on each side. For added stability it has four extra-wide leveling feet. It can be expanded to adjustable-width hanging rods that can either be moved up or down in one -inch increments. The unit comes in 57 x 14 x 72 inches dimensions and is offered with a one-year limited warranty

Amazon Basics Expandable Metal Hanging Storage Organizer Rack Wardrobe with Shelves

Buy on Amazon

 

UDEAR Garment Rack

UDEAR garment rack comes with double-rod design to accommodate double the number of clothes to meet your display and storage needs. The bottom shelf can also hold multiple pairs of shoes while the top rack can hold clothing articles. Made with alloy steel this rack comes in at 43.3 x 21.2 x 59 inches and has a non-slip foot pad that makes the rack sturdier while protecting the floor from being scratched. Weighing 6.16 pounds it is easy to install and remove.

UDEAR Garment Rack Freestanding Hanger Double Pole Multi-Functional Bedroom Clothing Rack, White

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DecoBros Garment Rack

DecoBros garment rack comes in 51” L x 22” W x 60” H inches dimension with four inch casters. Weighing just 16 pounds it can holds up to 250 pounds of load. The horizontal rod can extend from 51 to 75 inches and the frames of the unit are made from industrial-strength steel.

DecoBros Supreme Commercial Grade Double Rail Garment Rolling Rack, Chrome Finish

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Honey-Can-Do Height-Adjustable Clothing Rack

Honey-Can-Do’s adjustable rolling clothing rack comes with a steel frame that is sturdy and rust-resistant. This clothes rack has 2.25 x 34 x 6-inch dimension and the height can be adjusted from 40 to 65 inches. The locking swivel casters makes it easy to move around merchandise with ease.

Honey-Can-Do Height-Adjustable Rolling Garment Rack with Shoe Shelf

Buy on Amazon

 

Types of Clothing Racks

 

Clothing racks are great for showcasing clothing in a way that’s easy for both shopper and shopkeeper. They help keep garments catch the eye of customers without taking up a great amount of space. Here are some of the types of clothing racks to look out for.

• Two Way and four-way clothing racks: These racks help customers to see the entire front of the garment rather than just the shoulders. They are designed in a Waterfall style where the arms allow multiple garments in different colors or styles to be easily seen on two sides. Allowing customers to easily compare how various color options of a given clothing stack against each other. They help to maximize storage and display area and are viewable from just about any side.

• Double Bar Racks: Double bar clothing racks are great for apparel retailers because they help to maximize the amount of inventory on the floor. These racks are designed to hold a large number of garments on two sides. By providing easy and robust displaying options these racks help you to maximize the availability of your offerings without taking up much space.

• Rolling Racks: Provide for easy mobility within the store. They also come in handy during fashion shows or trade fairs. Clothing racks with caster can easily transport merchandise around the shop, or from one place to another, making them perfect for stores that change layouts on a regular basis..

• Circle or spiral Racks: They help to showcase as much merchandise on the sales floor and come in various sizes. These are ideal in retail to showcase garments in an elegant manner with a bit more style than a regular straight bar rack.

• Shelf-Rack Combo: These help to show customers a complete repertoire of outfits. They not only facilitate sales of numerous products by making it easy for customers to put together an ensemble but also by placing everything together.

 

Clothing Racks Benefits

Given the fact that clothing racks come in various shapes and capacities, their main purpose is to hold and display items. Their applications include sales, promotions and creating experiences. Additional benefits of clothing racks include:

• Add Dimension: A benefit of clothing racks is adding dimensions and volume to your store. Not all display racks should be the same height, size or shape. Play with heights and widths to show the full range of your offerings. This will help create a visually appealing ambiance to attract interest and encourage sales.
• Create a great experience: Clothing racks can play a role on how customers experience your store. By creating an experience, you can draw attention to foot traffic using your creativity.
• Increase product bundling: Clothing racks provide a sense of organization and can be crucial for customer experiences. You can use them to display products together that complement each other to further boost sales. Different racks allow different items to be displayed at the same time.
• Promotions: Clothing racks can play an important role in promotions. They can help feature items that you want to promote so they can stand out. You can also boost your promotions by incorporating signage on these racks for added effect.
• Set the Tone: Because of the image you want to portray for your business there are different styles, colors and sizes of racks that can align with your store’s needs. The clothing rack you choose to use can add to the ambiance that can resonate with your customers and consistently promote a recognizable brand.

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Images: Amazon.com

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Scaling content sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just write more content more frequently. 

If only it was as straightforward as that.

The art of scaling content isn’t to simply increase the amount of content, but to scale the impact of that content — more visitors, more clicks, more conversions. Like a snowball rolling down a hill gathering snow, you want to attract as much attention as possible. But if your snowball is rolling too fast, nothing sticks.

To build brand awareness and increase your customer base by scaling content, you need to strategically plan your efforts. Otherwise, you’ll spend hours creating reams of content that doesn’t hit the mark. So, how do you create more content without compromising value?

Check out these tips on how to scale your content production without dropping quality.

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Why scale content production? 

61% of companies claim content generates leads and over half of B2B businesses agree that branded content boosts sales. In other words, if you want more sales, you need more content. By scaling content, you open doors to new avenues of lead generation by increasing the visibility of your brand. 

High-quality content is optimized for popular search engine search terms, bringing your content further up search engine results pages (SERP). When scaling content, the trick is to reach the top Google spot for as many relevant search terms as possible. The more search terms you rank highly for, the greater your brand’s visibility. In turn, you’ll see a growth in lead generation. 

But, scaling content without a plan can lead to a severe dip in quality. Without robust processes to ensure high quality and punctual delivery, you’ll struggle to get content out on time that connects with your audience. Make sure you’re employing strict procedures to scale content without dropping quality. 

How to Scale Content: A step-by-step walkthrough 

If you don’t scale your content in a systematic fashion, the quality of your content will suffer. Follow these steps to scale your content without sacrificing quality. 

1. Create a robust SEO content marketing strategy

The best way to scale branded content is to give the audience what they want. The best way to know what they want is to understand the trends and issues in your industry. To get an idea of the trends in your industry, you need to analyze current search patterns.

This is a two-step process:

1. Perform an SEO audit + backlink analysis
2. Perform a SERP analysis

How to perform an SEO audit

Enter your website into SEO audit tools such as:

• Ahrefs
• Ubersuggest
• Woorank
• SEOrush

An SEO audit will show you your top-performing keywords and related keywords. 

image: app.neilpatelThese keywords show you what content people were searching for that led them to your site. By focusing on this popular content and your top keywords, you can scale content by covering these topics. 

How to Perform a SERP Analysis

A SERP analysis shows you the top results for your focus keywords so you can see the types of content people are searching for. Identify the top keywords from your SEO audit and type these into Google one at a time. Note the types of content that Google returns as this is the type of value your content should add to the industry.

By targeting these keywords, you accomplish two things: 

1. You create relevant content that captures your target audience. 
2. You simultaneously build a robust SEO content marketing strategy to increase your visibility for these keywords in Google. 

Keep in mind that your content should appeal to humans first. That’s why 60% of organizations prioritize customers’ informational needs over promotional content marketing. So, make sure you’re focusing SEO content on solving problems not selling products.

2. Plan Content Clusters

Your content structure should show in-depth expertise in your field. This architecture should also provide a map for Google to quickly search your site to rank it.

Over 55% of content marketers use a pillar and cluster content strategy to achieve this. Pillar articles are long topic guides that solve industry-specific issues. These articles should be between 2,000–4,000 words. Within these articles, link to shorter subsidiary articles, known as cluster content, that explain the sub-topics in depth. 

Using this structure as a guide, it’s easier to scale the volume of content as you know which topics to tackle next. Equally, the internal linking between your articles scales the quality of the content by enhancing SEO. The knack to a killer cluster strategy is to build a connected architecture, so the more links the better. Almost a quarter of content marketers use over 30 links per article. 

3. Structure your Content Library to Scale

Quality is important. But so is quantity and regularity.

Posting 16+ blogs per month leads to 3.5x more traffic than posting less than 4 blogs a month. To build content volume without dropping quality, plan to produce content in bulk for each sub-category. Choose four key topics and add five pieces of content to each per month. Try adding a pillar article, a cluster blog, a video, an infographic, and a podcast, for example. 

The sleep guide, Sleep Junkie, does this by categorizing content by the problems it solves. 

image: sleepjunkieNotice how the bold, illustrated hero images teamed with SEO title tags makes the content clear to both readers and search engines. Content is released regularly to meet high monthly volumes. By doing this, Sleep Junkie ranks for nearly 45,000 keywords and reaches over 18,000 monthly visitors.

4. Organize your Content Creation Process

Plan your end-to-end content process to create an actionable content calendar. This will keep you on track.

It should look something like this:

1. Plan
2. Outline
3. Draft
4. Edit
5. Optimize
6. Upload
7. Schedule/Release
8. Analyze performance (SEO rankings, visitors, click-through rates, etc)

To keep the content creation process on schedule, you can use content creation and workflow tools. Consider a tool like Trello or Asana to organize your content creation process. Use content tools to plan and organize content, standardize practices, assign tasks, and streamline content creation. That way, it’s easy to identify and fix bottlenecks in the content scaling process in real-time.

5. Hire a Content Team

To scale quickly, outsource to content writing professionals. Let’s be honest, 53% of companies admit they need an SEO writer and 63% of marketers admit that interpreting marketing analytics is tough.

By outsourcing to a content team, you’ll save time and money. Top content writers are experienced at interpreting content analytics to produce high-quality content fast, so you’ll get epic ROI.

Just look at web optimization agency, Crazyegg. After hiring a professional content team, Crazyegg now has 337K+ organic keywords, a Domain Authority score of 90, 2.8 million backlinks, and 440K+ monthly organic visitors!

6. Diversify Content Production

Think beyond blogs — adding more written content isn’t the only way to scale your content production.

For example, why not try supporting written content with video? Video content is highly shareable on social media, therefore it can be recycled across multiple platforms to scale its impact and reach. You can hire a video designer, enabling you to scale your content without overloading your content writers. That way you’ll not only be producing more content, but you’ll be producing more diversified content that reaches different types of audiences. After all, not everyone’s a reader.

Not only that, but video content gets the point across simply; without the need for lots of written text. This means you can scale up your message in a more succinct and professional way.

7. Create Multilingual Content 

Scale content by translating existing branded content so it reaches an international target audience. This enables you to penetrate different search engines and scale a global link-building strategy.

Consider these statistics:

• 40% of consumers won’t buy products in other languages
• 65% of people prefer content in their native language
• 73% want to see reviews in their native language

Doesn’t it make sense, then, to scale content by creating multilingual articles, videos, images, and so on. That’s how Shutterstock reached over 170 countries with its “Creative Trends” infographic. By making the graphic available in 20 languages, the image was shared all over the globe.

Be aware of cultural idioms and slang when producing articles for multilingual purposes. Many phrases don’t directly translate, so make sure you hire a professional translator when scaling content production across multiple languages.

8. Streamline your Content Release Process

Don’t let your content bottleneck at liftoff. Around half of companies use a content management system to organize content but these tools don’t always help when it comes to migrating content.

So much time is wasted uploading and fiddling around with formatting. Use tools that streamline the content release process by helping you check content quality, upload content, and schedule it easily.

image: wordableFor example, Wordable makes it easy to migrate Google Docs content to WordPress so you don’t miss any SEO details.

Use content tools that aid:

• Keyword analysis (Marketmuse, Moz, Ahrefs)
• Spelling and grammar (Grammarly, Writer)
• Plagiarism (Duplichecker, Quetext)
• Content migration (Wordable)
• Content scheduling (CoSchedule, Hootsuite)

Conclusion 

Now you have a bunch of top tips to scale your content production without harming quality, it’s time to put these strategies into action.

Remember that strategizing and planning will help speed up content creation later. Use content technologies to help you execute on time.

Image: Depositphotos.com

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The structure of your business will greatly determine a whole host of issues. And one of the most important ones is taxes. A new webinar from CorpNet in collaboration with Small Business Trends titled, Tax Advantages of LLCs, S-Corps and Corporations will address the advantages of choosing one of these structures.

Nellie Akalp is the CEO of CorpNet.com and Anita Campbell, Founder and CEO of Small Business Trends LLC, will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each incorporation.

Aklap will explain the tax savings features of different entities along with the following lessons:

• Identify the many benefits of incorporating a business or forming an LLC.
• Understand the differences between C corporation, S corporation, and LLC.
• Determine which business structure is best for you from a tax perspective.

The webinar is going to be held on Jan 20, 2021, 2 p.m., Eastern Time (ET).

Click the red button and register.

Register Now

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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Do You Know the Tax Advantages of LLCs, S-Corps and Corporations?
January 20, 2021, Online

There are many advantages to incorporating a business and forming an LLC or electing S-Corp status. One of those benefits is tax savings. But which entity provides the best savings? In this FREE webinar, Nellie Akalp of CorpNet.com will explain the different tax benefits of each. Register today!

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Women in Cloud Summit 2021
January 28, 2021, Online

The Women in Cloud Summit is a three-day, life-changing event for women tech entrepreneurs, corporate and community leaders, policymakers, and allies from around the globe. Women are key drivers of economic growth, and the Summit strives to change the industry narrative by creating economic access for women in the cloud economy. Summit attendees will hear from inspirational speakers, connect and communicate with industry leaders and experts, and network with other community members and entrepreneurs. Join us virtually from January 28-30, 2021.

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WEBINAR: Email Marketing Basics: Building and Maintaining Your List
February 17, 2021, Online

Learn how to build, segment, and nurture your email lists in order to improve engagement and retain quality campaign subscribers. In this webinar you will also gain a better understanding of GDPR, avoiding spam filters, and the importance of keeping your lists clean.

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WEBINAR: Email Marketing Basics: Automating and Monitoring Your Campaigns
February 24, 2021, Online

Learn how to build, segment, and nurture your email lists in order to improve engagement and retain quality campaign subscribers. In this webinar you will also gain a better understanding of GDPR, avoiding spam filters, and the importance of keeping your lists clean.

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WEBINAR: What Business Structure is Right for You?
April 28, 2021, Online

Picking a business structure is usually the first big legal decision for a new business owner and one of the most confusing. However confusing, it is an essential step to protecting your personal assets from any liabilities of the company. In this webinar, Nellie Akalp CEO of CorpNet.com, will share insight on business entities to help guide you to the best decision for your new venture.

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WEBINAR: Best State to Incorporate
July 28, 2021, Online

Some say Delaware, others say Nevada while someone else may say your home state. What is the best state to register a business in? What if your business is expanding into new territory? At what point should you Foreign Qualify? Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet.com, will go in-depth to answer these questions and more in this webinar.

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WEBINAR: Steps to Start Your Business
October 20, 2021, Online

Starting a business can be an exhilarating time, where everything seems full of potential and purpose. But navigating the logistics of launching a business can be daunting. In this webinar Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet.com, will outline the steps necessary to legally start a business and get up and running on the right foot.

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More Events

• Decoding Future HR 2021
  January 19, 2021, Online
• Healthy Minds Innovations Virtual January Masterclass
  January 19, 2021, Online
• IoT Forum on Cybersecurity
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• Talent Acquisition Week | VIRTUAL
  January 25, 2021, Online
• Claire Wasserman & Her Father, Steve Wasserman: ‘Ladies Get Paid’
  January 25, 2021, Online
• Rail Cybersecurity Summit USA
  February 9, 2021, Online
• ProductWorld 2021
  February 17, 2021, Online
• 5th Advancing Project Controls Summit 2021
  February 22, 2021, Online
• Employee Wellness Summit
  February 24, 2021, Online
• Social Media Strategies Summit | Virtual Conference
  February 25, 2021, Online
• Chief Data and Analytics Officers, Financial Services: Live 2021
  March 2, 2021, Online
• Digital Marketing World Forum – North America Online 2021
  March 24, 2021, Online
• Power BI in 2021
  April 1, 2021, Online
• HR Benefits Conference, April 2021
  April 7, 2021, Las Vegas, NV
• TECHSPO New York 2021 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
  April 15, 2021, Online
• DigiMarCon Mid-Atlantic 2021 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
  April 26, 2021, Philadelphia, PA
• DigiMarCon At Home 2021 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference
  April 28, 2021, Online
• Sitecore CMS in 2021
  May 1, 2021, Online
• DevOps Engineer in 2021
  May 1, 2021, Online
• DigiMarCon New England 2021 – Digital Marketing, Media and Advertising Conference & Exhibition
  May 6, 2021, Boston, MA

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends.

You can see a full list of events, contest and award listings or post your own events by visiting the Small Business Events Calendar.

Image: Depositphotos.com

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