Tag Archive for: websites for small business newmarket

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Take Your Shopify Store to the Next Level: Our Top Shopify Apps for Increasing Conversions

A graphic that has the shopify logo (A green shopping bag with a white S on it) with clouds around the bag. The title reads : "Take your shopify store to the next level: Our top shopify apps for increasing conversions."

As a Shopify store owner, there are many tools out there to help you increase conversions. There’s no denying that competition is stiff online, and the past year has been incredibly challenging for business owners. By using the Shopify apps we share below, you’ll find that you can boost your sales in no time at all.

Privy- Shopify Apps To Send Emails & Messages

Privy is one of the top eCommerce marketing platforms out there for Shopify store owners. It offers you the ability to send emails and SMS messages all from one place. On top of that, you’ll find that it’s a great option for running contests and building your email list. We really appreciate that it offers you the chance to record your Shopify conversions directly related to your Privy efforts. You’ll see your hard work pay off in no time at all.

Zipify

Building an attractive landing page is one of the key ways to convert customers to purchase your products or services. Zipify is a landing page builder which offers you templates that are proven to convert. The team at Zipify uses their own experience growing a successful eCommerce business to create the tools that Shopify owners need to enjoy an easier and more profitable life as a business owner. It’s suitable for first-time store owners and more experienced professionals and will help you to make the most of your Shopify store.

Social Photos – Shopify Apps That Links To Your Instagram

A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s crucial that you update your site and social media accounts with attractive images. Social Photos offers you the chance to curate social media photos of your products. This is particularly useful for apparel and home goods stores. By encouraging your customers to share your photos with this Shopify app, they will help to boost both sales and interest in your business. This app integrates with Instagram, so you can moderate your feed and have full control over your posts and tags.


GroWave

GroWave is one of the most impressive Shopify apps, which provides you with all of the tools you need in one place. It combines reviews, social proof, loyalty and rewards, and a wishlist feature. The loyalty and rewards features are ideal for anyone looking to increase the lifetime value of each customer. You can work to give each of your customers the VIP treatment, which will boost their loyalty to your brand. GroWave also helps you to simplify the buying process by offering you the chance to send personal reminders about sales, price drops, and items running out of stock on your site.

We know that increasing Shopify conversions is one of the biggest challenges for Shopify store owners. By using these Shopify apps, you’ll have all of the features you need to support you on your journey to increasing your conversions over the next few months. If you need help deciding what Shopify Apps to add to your website or need help installing them you can book a call with us here!

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COVID-19 Government Support for Small Business in Ontario

covid-19

Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, I have been thoroughly impressed with our government’s responsiveness. Not only are they developing these programs quickly, but they are rolling them out in a very organized fashion.

Because we work with so many entrepreneurs and small businesses, we wanted to put together this COVID-19 Cheat Sheet of Programs available to Small Businesses. We will continue to update this article as more information is released by the applicable governing bodies.

Main COVID-19 Programs Currently Available to Small Businesses in Ontario:

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

What is it: Interest-free loans of up to $40,000.

To Qualify: Have paid between $20,000 – $1.5 million in total payroll for 2019.

To Apply: Via your online banking with bank/credit union.

Note: Interest-free if paid back by December 31st, 2022.

Quite a few of our clients have applied and been approved for this program. It’s a great relief to have peace of mind and use this when absolutely necessary to keep things moving smoothly and stay afloat. The application process is simple. Log into your normal online banking and there will be an intake form to complete. Once approved the money will deposited into our account within 5 business days.

We recommend keeping a detailed excel document of any uses of this loan, and then creating a payment plan based on when things get back to normal. Ensure you pay back and loan amount by December 31st, 2022 to avoid any interest payments. If you do that you may also be eligible for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

This is an incredible effort to keep as many people employed as possible during COVID-19. The responsibility is still on the employer to provide a safety compliant workspace for the employees.

What is it: Subsidy covers 75% of an employee’s wage up to $847/week.

To Qualify: Your business must have suffered a drop in gross revenues of at least 15% for March and 30% in April & May.

To Apply: Apply via your CRA Business account on April 27th.

Note: Be ready to apply; calculate how much you’re eligible for via the CRA website: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-calculate-subsidy-amount.html

We have a few clients who are eligible for this wage subsidy program, Rosewood included. It’s a good idea to use the calculator now so you are prepared for a quick and easy process on April 27th.  You will need to have copies of your payroll statements or your T4’s for individual employees.  It also takes into consideration whether you are an “arms-length” employee or not, meaning if you are related to the business owner.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

Small business owners with brick and mortars have been begging for this program. We have signed petition after petition to have this program made available. Without this, it would be the demise of main street businesses across Canada.

What is it: The Canadian government is partnering with provinces to provide a subsidy program for commercial building owners. The business owner pays 25%, the building owner pays 25% and the federal and provincial governments split the remaining 50%. This in effect will lower rent by 75% to commercial small business tenants. It also includes a moratorium on eviction during COVID-19.

To Qualify: The building owners must give their renters a 75% reduction in rent for May and June.

To Apply: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will administer and deliver the CECRA via a rent forgiveness program. Forgivable loans will be dispersed by the mortgage lender. Application details are coming soon and we will update here.

Note: We will update this post once more details are made available. More information is available here: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/04/24/prime-minister-announces-partnerships-provinces-and-territories

We’re trying our best to stay up to date with details on these programs available to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Ontario during COVID-19. We will continue to update this article as new details are released regarding these three programs.

Let’s Connect

Rosewood is a full-service digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020 or to discuss how Rosewood can assist you in building your website!

Sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with our latest news!

Until next time,

Deanna Simone

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Let’s Talk About Social Media Scheduling Apps

social media scheduling

It’s 2020. So, let’s face it, social media is HUGE in the world today. It is important to post meaningful content frequently; we recommend posting at least posting 2 times per week. With that being said, we understand that it can be difficult to remember to schedule these in with the busy lives that we all (especially entrepreneurs) live. This is where social media scheduling apps come in!

That’s why we are comparing 4 of the most popular social media scheduling apps.

Why Use a Social Media Scheduling App?

As we mentioned before, it can be difficult to keep up with a set schedule for social media as life is busy for all of us, and understandably so. With a social media scheduling app, you can keep your content flowing and generate a larger audience through the use of hashtags. If you dedicate just one hour each week to planning and scheduling your social media content, you can schedule an entire week’s worth of content and not have to worry about it again until the following week.  Wondering what to post about? Check out our blog on Social Media Content Solutions for Small Business.

Scheduling App #1: Planable.io

Planable is a great tool for social media scheduling. If you are an agency with multiple clients that you manage, Planable is definitely the best option for you. Their premium plan offers 5 workspaces all under one login and allow for up to 7 users. This means you can allow your clients permission to make changes, or upload their own imagesinto the shared workspace. Planable allows you to plan a post for a specific date and time and will notify your mobile device when it’s time to post. Planable is definitely a favourite of ours here at Rosewood. However, if you work on your own and wish to do the scheduling on your own, Planable may not be the right option for you. Enter, Later.com.

Starter Plan

 Premium Plan Enterprise Plan
  • $32.50/month
  • $82.50/month
  • Customized by Planable for you
  • 1 Workspace
  • 5 Workspaces
  • Custom Number of Workspaces
  • 3 Users
  • 7 Users
  • Custom Number of Users

*Please note that these prices are in USD*

Scheduling App #2: Later.com

Later is also a Rosewood team favourite. Unlike Planable, Later allows a free option. Who doesn’t love free?! With Later, you are able to have a visual Instagram planner to properly plan out how your feed will look. Later also offers an automatic publishing tool, this feature alone is worth its weight in gold. You simply schedule your posts for a specific date and time, and your posts will automatically go out for the set date and time. Keep in mind that as Facebook and Instagram change their APIs, you may need to refresh the connections. If you work on your own, Later.com is the best option for you.

Free

 Plus Premium Starter

Brand
  • For Individuals
  • For Solopreneurs
  • For Small Businesses
  • For Growing Companies
  • For Agencies and Large Teams
  • Free
  • $7.50/month
  • $16/month
  • $24/month
  • $41/month
  • 1 Profile per Social Platform
  • 30 posts per social platform
  • Allows you to add Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
  • 1 Profile per Social Platform
  • 100 posts per social platform
  • Video Scheduling
  • IG Story Scheduling
  • Allows you to add Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
  • 2 Profiles per Social Platform
  • 250 posts per social platform
  • Video Scheduling
  • IG Story Scheduling
  • Allows you to add Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
  • Shows You the Best Time to Post
  • 3 Profiles per Social Platform
  • Unlimited posts per social platform
  • Video Scheduling
  • IG Story Scheduling
  • Allows you to add Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
  • Shows You the Best Time to Post
  • 5 Profiles per Social Platform
  • Unlimited posts per social platform
  • Video Scheduling
  • IG Story Scheduling
  • Allows you to add Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
  • Shows You the Best Time to Post

Scheduling App #3: Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media scheduling platform that has been around a long time. With Hootsuite, if you’re not using the professional plan, you’re paying a fairly large amount of money monthly to manage your social media in comparison to Planable and Later. Typically, we do not recommend Hootsuite as a social media scheduling platform to use. Hootsuite has a very confusing interface that isn’tmodernized; making it difficult for the average person to use. The platforms we’ve mentioned above are much more intuitive, seamless to use and less expensive.

Professional Plan

 Team Plan Business Plan
$29/month $129/month

$599/month
  • 10 social media profiles
  • Unlimited Scheduling
  • 1 User Profile
  • Auto Scheduling
  • 20 social media profiles
  • Unlimited Scheduling
  • 3 User Profiles
  • Auto Scheduling
  • 35 social media profiles
  • Unlimited Scheduling
  • Up to 10 User Profiles
  • Auto Scheduling

Scheduling App #4: Buffer

The last social media scheduling platform we’ll compare is Buffer. Buffer, like Hootsuite, has been around for several years and has a fairly difficult interface. We found Buffer difficult to use and not as user friendly as Planable and Later.

Pro Plan Premium Plan Business Plan
$15/month $65/month $99/month
8 Social Accounts

100 Scheduled Posts

1 User

Connects to most social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc)
  • 8 Social Accounts
  • 2000 Scheduled Posts
  • 2 Users
  • Connects to most social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc)
  • IG/FB Story Scheduling
  • Drafts management
  • 25 Social Accounts
  • 2000 Scheduled Posts
  • 6 Users
  • Connects to most social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc)
  • IG/FB Story Scheduling
  • Drafts management

Which Social Media Scheduling App Do We Recommend?

After looking into all of the above-mentioned social media scheduling platforms, we can say with confidence that Planable.io and Later.com are the best choices. If you’re a larger business that needs multiple social profiles, Planable is a great option for you. If you’re looking for something that is free of cost and doesn’t require multiple social profiles, Later is your best bet!

Let’s Connect

Rosewood is a full-service digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020 or to discuss how Rosewood can assist you in building your website!

Sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with our latest news!

Until next time,

Cassandra

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