Drone Registration Scams—Be Aware!

Drone Registration Scams, be aware.

When you own a drone, it is mandatory that you register it with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of the rules and regulations created in 2016. With the creation of these laws, it opens the doors for others to try and make a quick buck! The FAA has warned people who own drones to beware.

There are lots of organizations that offer their help to commercial and hobby drone owners to file an application for a registration number. Many of these so called companies try to match the look of the FAA’s website with graphics and some have gone as far as including the FAA logo. Some have seen these agencies state that they are an approved agency of the FAA. Believe us when we tell you that they aren’t and you’ll be wasting money by using them.

Some of these companies have extorted fees of almost $150 for their “service”. This is way too high, especially when the actual fee to register your drones is only $5.00 through the FAA website. For hobbyists, you will receive one number for all the drones you own and for others the fee is for each drone. The FAA does not have any regulation or will legitimize any of these outside services.

There is really only one way to be certain that your drone is registered properly and legally with the FAA. We recommend you avoid registering your unmanned aircraft anywhere but at the FAA Drone Zone. Save yourself the high fees or possible drone registration scams by only using this method. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to us at [email protected]. We’d be glad to steer you in the right direction.

Benefits of Email Marketing For Small Businesses

email marketing for small businesses.

Email is a tool most people use everyday. Email marketing is a cost effective solution to directly communicate with your customers, especially for small businesses. Whether it be a monthly newsletter, “Happy Birthday” message or seasonal specials, sending emails to your clients can be a great way to increase brand awareness and help drive sales. Here are five benefits of email marketing for small businesses:

  1. Increased Awareness

    Email marketing is an easy way to stay in front of your target audience. Send them messages to stay on top of their mind. Be consistent for the best results. If your email marketing schedule is inconsistent, people might not remember your business and will be less likely to open the message. Keep your messages fun and relevant for best results.

  2. Consistent Communication

    Like mentioned in the above point, it’s important to send out your messages consistently. Whether it’s once or twice a month or quarterly, make sure you have a plan. You don’t want to bombard people with emails all the time but you also want to stay in front of them. Sending out an email once a year is not going to be an effective solution for your marketing plan.

  3. Increased Website Traffic

    It’s important to have strong call to actions in your emails. Often times, an important call to action would be sending recipients to your website. This needs to be done strategically. You can’t always send them to your home page. Which page is going to have the most relevant information? It could be a service page, a product page, or the contact page. Send them to a page where they would be expecting to go based off the information in the email and a page that will give them necessary information to increase conversions.

  4. Build Credibility

    People are more likely to open a message from a sender they know. Make sure subject lines are relevant so the recipients can see who you are and how you can help them. You don’t want your messages to look like spam. Know your readers and make sure your content is relevant to the people receiving the message. All of these things build credibility for your business and can help increase sales through your email marketing. Get people to trust your business.

  5. Cost Effective Option

    Email marketing offers more cost-effective benefits than direct mail, making this a great strategy for small businesses. With email marketing being a digital platform, you don’t need to worry about printing costs or postage. For an even more cost effective solution, collect emails from your customers and potential customers to build an email list so you don’t need to purchase a list. This will lead to best results and ROI as you’ve already established credibility and a relationship with these recipients.

The Importance Of Social Media Marketing

social media marketing.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and even TikTok are all social media platforms that are dominating the Internet. Their impact alone should make it pretty obvious why social media has become so important. But how does it benefit small businesses? Read on to learn the importance of social media marketing.

There are a lot of benefits, one of them being that it gives small businesses a competitive advantage. If you think about it, the majority of a small business’s target audience is already using social media. In an article posted on statista.com, as of last year, 77% of Americans have a social media profile. So it makes sense for small businesses to make their mark in an already highly utilized platform.

One of the biggest benefits social media has for small businesses is the personal connection to customers. Small businesses typically focus on the community and individuals. Social media provides the opportunity to talk about products and services with customers and have them engage and interact with the content. This is done by sharing pictures, reviews, and answering questions. These interactions in turn, create brand loyalty and awareness.

Lastly, social media is cost effective. Small businesses can reach their target audience through ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Unlike huge product campaigns aimed towards large areas, small businesses can focus on targeting their local area and can update their customers on promotions or new products.

Today, having an online presence has become a must for businesses. It makes them relevant and keeps their customers updated about the latest happenings in the business. It is a research tool for customers to become more familiar with a business and decide for themselves whether they want to invest in what that business has to offer. We hope that by understanding the importance of social media marketing. you’ll consider creating a social media presence if you haven’t already. Contact us at Paragon Marketing Group to get started today.

Does Your Wifi Bring Customers In The Door?

restaurant marketing.

Zenreach is the relationship engine that helps you know what your customers do in the real world, so you can keep them rushing back for more.

  • Boosted Contact List
    Zenreach turns your WiFi network into an automated contact collection tool—effortlessly growing your customer list 5x faster than before.
  • Automated Marketing
    It’s time to truly understand your customers—send messages that are automatically triggered by your guests’ unique visit behavior.
  • Transparent ROI
    Don’t rely on open rates and social media to guess the effectiveness of your online marketing—Zenreach shows you which messages bring customers through your door.

What other tech out there shows you exactly how many customers return after receiving an email? It’s inarguable ROI.
—DogHaus, Las Vegas

  1. It all starts with WiFi
    5 minute setup–Just plug in your access point and customers will get instant access to free, fast, and secure WiFi. Customers can use their own routers or purchase a plug-and-play Zenreach AP.
  2. Custom-branded portal
    No more fishbowls on your counter and manually logging outdated guest contact info. Zenreach automatically builds your contact list over WiFi through a customized portal complete with demographic and visit behavior.
  3. Collect contacts 5x faster
    Send the right message at the right time with our automated campaign tools – personalize messages to each individual customer based on behavior, demographics, and more.
  4. See your Walk-Through-Rate™
    Success your clients can see—We show you and your clients exactly how well their marketing is working by calculating the Walk-Through-Rate™. This is how many customers respond to messages by physically walking through the business doors.
  5. Build Your Reputation
    Get direct feedback and take control of your reputation. You can tell satisfied customers which popular review sites matter most (so they can leave their reviews there) while interacting personally with any unhappy customers before they post bad reviews.

“65% of customers are happy to share their information in exchange for more targeted marketing.”
—Big Commerce, 2015

 

Article Courtesy Of Zenreach

Drones, Safety, and Law: Some Things You Need To Know

Drones in video.

Drones have increased in popularity and the uses for them have grown significantly over the past few years. Especially for video productions that are used for a variety of reasons in the business world. With the increased amount of drones in the air, comes more and more regulations and concerns businesses need to be aware of.

The amount of pilots has increased significantly. Many of the pilots have the proper credentials to operate a drone legally for commercial purposes and many do not. Here are some items that businesses need to take into consideration before hiring a pilot to capture footage for your business:

  1. Be sure the pilot has a license. In order for a business to use drone footage for commercial purposes; it has to be captured by a licensed drone pilot. The FAA has strict guidelines regarding this and penalties can be handed out for used footage that was not done by a FAA tested pilot.
  2. Be sure the pilot has insurance. Many drone companies and commercially licensed pilots do not have the proper type of insurance that specifically covers drones. There are specific types of insurances for UAV pilots. So ask for a certificate of insurance prior to operations.
  3. Ask about their experience. Many people say they are drone pilots but fall short on the experience. Just because the ease of obtaining drones is there, doesn’t mean the individual has enough experience to handle the myriad of situations that present themselves during flights. Ask about how many flight hours they have, ask to see their flight logs, or ask what training they have received. A good pilot will not be offended by these inquiries.
  4. Has the flight been reported? Ask the pilot if he has reported the flight operations to all surrounding registered airports or aerial facilities prior to operations. This is a requirement by law and should be strictly followed.

So as you can see, there are lots of things to consider when it comes to hiring a service to capture aerial footage. Be sure to inquire about these points because taking these steps will insure the operations for your flight are safe and most importantly, legal.

7 essentials to brand awareness

brand awareness.

Recently Paragon has taken on a new effort of working with non-profits to help them grow. We feel it is very important and the more we give the more we receive.

While visiting these non-profits it is amazing how many of them have no brand guidelines. Now, this is not only for nonprofits, but with small businesses, as well. What is a brand guideline you ask? A brand guideline is how people view your company or non-profit. It is how they recognize it is you. Brand guidelines are a roadmap to automatic recognition of who you are.

 

Here’s what should be included in your brand guidelines.

  1. Your history, vision and your top values for your organization.
  2. Your mission statement including what we call “tone of voice” requirements. Yes, the tone of voice is important and must be spelled out as to what can and can not be said and how!
  3. Color palette is essential. Typically your logo will decide this for you but if you have a two color logo then add a couple of colors that you feel go well with it and stick to them.
  4. Where and how your logo can be used is one of the most important things that you will spell out. Can it be used on certain types of materials and on the website? How much white space around your logo? Can it be combined with any other logo? Does it always have to be color or can you do black and white? What sizes are allowed to be used? All very important.
  5. What fonts are people allowed to use is another one that needs to be thought of. There are literally thousands of fonts out there so do not leave it to chance. A good rule of thumb is having 1-3 options of fonts.
  6. What type of photos can be used with your logo? Not only the style but will you require special lenses, lighting. Maybe with your brand, you only want black and white with people in it.
  7. Please provide examples of the following: a business card, letterhead, brochure or pamphlet. Maybe provide a picture of proper use and unproper use of your logo.

Now, none of this matters if nobody knows about it.  Then you are not really creating a brand. Every time you send out your logo to anybody include these guidelines. If they don’t understand them then ask for a proof prior to print or publication. You must know where your logo is and how it is being represented at all times!

 

7 essentials to brand awareness

brand awareness.

Recently Paragon has taken on a new effort of working with non-profits to help them grow. We feel it is very important and the more we give the more we receive.

While visiting these non-profits it is amazing how many of them have no brand guidelines. Now, this is not only for nonprofits, but with small businesses, as well. What is a brand guideline you ask? A brand guideline is how people view your company or non-profit. It is how they recognize it is you. Brand guidelines are a roadmap to automatic recognition of who you are.

 

Here’s what should be included in your brand guidelines.

  1. Your history, vision and your top values for your organization.
  2. Your mission statement including what we call “tone of voice” requirements. Yes, the tone of voice is important and must be spelled out as to what can and can not be said and how!
  3. Color palette is essential. Typically your logo will decide this for you but if you have a two color logo then add a couple of colors that you feel go well with it and stick to them.
  4. Where and how your logo can be used is one of the most important things that you will spell out. Can it be used on certain types of materials and on the website? How much white space around your logo? Can it be combined with any other logo? Does it always have to be color or can you do black and white? What sizes are allowed to be used? All very important.
  5. What fonts are people allowed to use is another one that needs to be thought of. There are literally thousands of fonts out there so do not leave it to chance. A good rule of thumb is having 1-3 options of fonts.
  6. What type of photos can be used with your logo? Not only the style but will you require special lenses, lighting. Maybe with your brand, you only want black and white with people in it.
  7. Please provide examples of the following: a business card, letterhead, brochure or pamphlet. Maybe provide a picture of proper use and unproper use of your logo.

Now, none of this matters if nobody knows about it.  Then you are not really creating a brand. Every time you send out your logo to anybody include these guidelines. If they don’t understand them then ask for a proof prior to print or publication. You must know where your logo is and how it is being represented at all times!

 

The first step to a successful Email Marketing campaign. Understand the law!

These are the words, Know the rules, written on a blackboard.

Email marketing is one of the highest converting forms of advertising. Starting email marketing involves many factors, however, the most important factor is the law. I myself have made mistakes that made an email not conform to the law and I completely missed it. That is one reason why I want to make sure that people don’t make the same mistakes I have.

 

The biggest law out there has been the Can-Spam act that was signed into law in 2003 by George Bush. I won’t bore you with all of the political words but I will tell you what the law says in simpler terms.

 

  1. You must have the email address that the email is coming from. You cannot hide your email or not tell people who you are in it. This should either be a person at the company that is responsible for this or the company name. Either one shows the receiver what is happening and more importantly from where it’s coming from.
  2. Be honest and forthright. Your subject line should be straightforward and honest. Say in the subject line I have an offer for a free consultation for you, that better be what is in the email. Do not say, “I have a gift card for you” and not actually give one. You cannot say, “I have a gift card for you” and then it turns out to be a contest. You must be willing to give what you say. If you are sending an ad then say, “ad from ……”
  3. Where you are located is very important to this rule. Really, this should be important to you anyway as it shows that you are a reputable company. In this rule, it is required that you have a physical address in the email.
  4. Offer your recipient the opportunity to opt out of future emails. The law states that you have 10 days to remove them from your list but I would highly suggest you do it within 24 hours or before another email goes out, whichever comes first.
  5. If you are using a company to send emails on your behalf then make sure they are conforming to these laws. It is you that will get fined and not them. You have to make sure you are working with a reputable company at all times.

 

Recently, we have also been hit with a new rule called GDPR or General Data Protection Regulations. This was created in Europe and took effect on May 31st. I would highly suggest that every company conforms to these rules as you do not know when your site will be viewed outside of the country. A lot of the same rules apply as the Can-Spam act.

  1. You must get all data legally and you cannot spam to add to your email list.
  2. There must be a purpose for the email and they must opt-in for that purpose. You can not use their data for ANY other purpose without explicitly asking and getting permission.
  3. You must confirm all data is accurate. I would suggest sending an auto email to confirm the data prior to adding them to a list.
  4. You will only keep the data as long as you need it. If it is a 6-week campaign then you cannot use it for another campaign after the 6 week period.
  5. Confidentiality is the most important new rule. In the past, you technically had the ability to sell your list to others and make some extra income off of it. Although I have never done this, I heard it was pretty lucrative at times. It cannot be done the same way now. Permission must be given to sharing data across multiple entities. You must have security systems on all data to ensure that nobody can take data without your knowledge.

 

Understanding the laws of email marketing is the first step in starting a campaign. Without this understanding, your email programs will fail and you may or may not be fined. The personal information of individuals is very important to keep secure and not shared. Most email programs do conform to these rules so I highly suggest you use a program like Constant Contact or MailChimp.  

www.paragonmarketinggroup.com

 

Why is video needed in your Marketing mix?

This is a business team gathering around a laptop.

According to Wordstream, viewers retain 95% of information from watching a video compared to retaining 10% from reading the same information. This trend is astonishing to me but also understandable. When I look back at things I buy online or things I learn, it is the same for me. As a matter of fact, I think it may be worse because I can’t read a long article with my attention span but I can definitely watch a video or listen to a podcast. At this point, I am wondering how much more to write and how to line it up. According to that statistic, I should end it here! However, please continue and choose to be the 10%, then please go and watch the video or listen to the podcast to remember the rest.

 

Every good content marketing strategy encompasses a mixture of different things: blog, video, social, web, ads, and podcasts. Obviously, it is called content marketing for a reason! Think about those things, how many of those strategies can you incorporate into a video? The big question that we always get is, why?

 

  1. According to the same article on Wordstream, a video on your home screen can increase conversions by up to 80%. Who can’t use more leads?
  2. Video creates a personal touch that you can’t get anywhere else. The old saying, “People do business with people they like” is still important today. It may actually be more important because of the internet.
  3. According to an article written by Vidyard, 65% of viewers watch more than ¾ of a video. This is not even close to what people read!
  4. Search Engine Optimization asks you to link and backlink as much as possible as long as it is relevant content. What can be more relevant than you talking about your product on a video?
  5. Content Marketing Institute says that audiences are 10 times more likely to engage, share, and comment on a video than they are a blog or social post.
  6. Last but certainly not least, email is more seen and more returned with a video in the message.

 

About a year ago, a friend of mine told me that he was going to start doing a weekly video newsletter along with his regular newsletter. I got his newsletter and I fully admit that I only read about half of it on a regular basis. Since he started doing a video newsletter every Monday, I have learned so much about what is happening and what he is doing. I never knew most of that information before, even though I received his regular newsletter. This is an example of the power of video at its finest and a perfect reason to incorporate video into your marketing campaign.

 

The big obstacle that you will face with this is yourself. Most people do not like to be on video and admittedly, I am one of them. I believe I have a face for radio but I do videos on a regular basis because that is what is being asked of me by our clients. In the next article, I will talk about what you will do with a video once you have it.

Cybercrime affects Small Business

This is a blue circuit board with a blue lock in front.

We have all heard the word Cybercrime and we know that we need to protect ourselves. What most small businesses do not understand is how much it affects them. We have heard all the stories from the news about the big companies getting hacked and information being leaked. What we never hear about is the small businesses that get hacked on a daily basis. According to a survey done by CNBC less than 2% of American small businesses say that they are concerned about getting hacked.The big reason why is, “We are the little guy, they don’t want to hack us.” This thought process is incorrect and is exactly why you should care more than the big companies.

Hackers know that you do not have the time, money, or knowledge to protect your site like the big companies do. Therefore, your website is targeted more than any other. Just because you only have 100 clients or 1,000 clients does not make you immune. It makes you a perfect candidate for hackers. They can go in, get what they want, and get out without anybody knowing. What’s better is that because you are a small business, the word that you got hacked won’t go out to everyone in the world because it won’t be considered a big story.

So, what can a small business owner do to protect themselves? More importantly, what can a small business owner do to protect their customers? Well, here you go!

1. Make sure your website is on a secure server. You have a lot of options when it comes to hosting your website. We highly suggest that you find out what equipment or software your host has to combat hacker attempts.

2. Redundancy is very important. Make sure your host has more than one copy of your site. Having multiple servers in different locations would be ideal. This way, if one location gets hacked then they can quickly change over to a backup copy.

3. Consistent security scans. Security scans should be happening weekly on your site or at the minimum monthly. If you keep up on your security scans you will remove any trackers that may have attached to your site in-between scans.

4. You must be updating your site monthly at the minimum. By staying up to date you are also keeping away any new hacks created by having an old version of the theme or integrations your site requires.

5. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encrypts any conversation that you have with the customer, the website and your office computer. This item is so important that Google is now requiring this if you want your page to be found on Google. It is required as of June 1st to have it. You’ll know you have one by seeing HTTPS:// instead of HTTP:// in your URL.

By following these steps we cannot guarantee that you will never get hacked or that your information will never get out. Hackers are getting smarter and smarter every day and nobody can ever guarantee that. What we can tell you is that by following these 5 things you are giving your clients and yourself the best protection you can.