Are you seeing fewer posts from pages in your Facebook feed?

Earlier this month, Facebook announced that it would start giving news-feed priority to personal posts from your family and friends, while showing less from businesses and media.

More and more it seems, small business owners can't rely on Facebook to get their messages across. 

While there are some ways around this new algorithm, like producing more live videos and running highly targeted ads, the news is still discouraging and downright frustrating for small business owners.

And with so many of our customers small business owners, we wanted to address this topic and offer a solution.

With 28 years of small-business ownership under our belts, we know the answer is traditional marketing. That's right: A traditional marketing strategy is the secret to staying top-of-mind in today's digital world. It's crucial.

When Facebook posts, tweets and emails inevitably get lost in the sea of digital marketing, traditional marketing sticks around — if you do it right.

For almost three decades, our customers have trusted our famous magnetic calendars, sports schedules and more to put them in front of their clients daily. Every product we make is carefully designed to be the most useful for our customers and their clients. 

We can't count the number of success stories we've received over the years about leads and referrals generated from one simply, handy magnet on their clients' fridges. 

Here's just one example: 

"A man who lives in my neighborhood called about a house that had just come on the market. When I picked him up to look at the house, his adult son was with him. When we returned to their home to drop them off, I handed the son one of your magnetic calendars. He took it out of the envelope and thanked me, then his Dad laughed and said 'Jim, that's how I got your number and called you! Your calendars have been on my refrigerator for years, I use them often, so when I wanted information on this house, I called you.' This resulted in a cash sale in the $600,000s."

Ready to see how traditional marketing can work for you, too? Ready to have your own success story? Start with magnetic baseball schedules, our famous magnetic tear-off calendars or a popular non-dated magnet. 

Are you looking for a change of pace, change in scenery or maybe a change in ... boss ... in 2018? Magnets USA might be the right place for you. 

Here at Magnets USA — an award-winning small business in beautiful Roanoke, Va. — we work hard and play hard. We pride ourselves on creating a fun, inviting culture that appreciates big ideas and small moments.

Our management team is constantly on the lookout for employees who go above and beyond, who see solutions where others see problems and who inspire those around them.  

2018 — our 28th year in business — will be a big one for Magnets USA. Wonderful, exciting growth is on the horizon, and we need talent that can keep up and continue to propel us in the right direction.

We're currently seeking candidates for: 

• Sales
• Customer Service
• Front-end web design and development
• Creative Services (graphic design, prepress, proofing and data entry)
• IT
• Accounting
• Manufacturing

For more information, please email your resume, position desired and a little about yourself to [email protected]. 

Like so many of you, we see a new year as a time to reflect and resolve.

Well, we've done a lot of both lately, as a group and individually, and we've decided that we want you to know us a little better.

We want you to see an email from Magnets USA, a postcard, or a box, and know that it came from a team of real people who care about your success and providing a superior, one-of-a-kind product. 

For years, we've called ourselves a friend to the real estate community — and now, we're stepping up our game, so you truly know us as a friend.

Each week in 2018, we'll be sharing something about ourselves, in a series called This Is Magnets USA. We hope you'll enjoy our stories, and in return, share some of yours. 

Whether you know it or not, every order placed at Magnets USA is the culmination of a dozen hardworking people. Real people. Local people. People who have passions and goals and families to support.

Just like in your business, the holiday season (a.k.a. busy season) comes with challenges and excitement. And like you, we do our very best to meet those challenges.  We say this often, but it's true: Your success is ours. 

To all those who have helped make this season — our 27th in business — rewarding, worthwhile and fun: Thank you from bottom of our hearts. It's because of customers like you that we love what we do. 

Let us first say that it's no coincidence we're making this announcement on Thanksgiving week. Our customers mean the world to our small business, and we're forever looking for ways to make life easier for them. 

Since launching LifeLong Gifts (back then, LifeLong Cutlery) in 2014, we have received such an outpouring of support from the real estate community. It's been extremely humbling to see how our lineup of high-quality, personalized gifts has impacted your business relationships.

So this is our gift to you, our way of saying thank you.

Here's what you'll notice when you visit the completely redesigned LifeLong Gifts home: 

• It now features a responsive design, which means it works beautifully on your smartphone or tablet.
• Easy personalization workflow. We've worked hard to bring you an intuitive program that makes it easier than ever to personalize your cutlery and gifts.
• You can now reorder without having to call in (though we're always ready and happy to answer your calls!).
• You can now view your past orders.
• You can now submit questions, or let us know if you come across an issue.

Why are we doing this? 
To put it simply, we love you and care about your time with us. This transition is part of the bigger picture of Magnets USA and our dedication to provide every customer with a positive experience. As we embark on our 28th year in business, it is our goal to continue to improve, grow and stay relevant. 

​We hope you'll tag along for the journey...