Tag Archives: social media
Your Social Media Plan for 2019
Social Media is no doubt here to stay, we’ve seen this grow and be a key part of a developing business of the last few years, how they engage and reach out to their customer base, so here our the key trends for another successful year of social media marketing for your business.
Engagement is should be top of your list
Facebook often updates its algorithm and for us the key one was made in early 2018 when they announced a focus on meaningful interactions. So what does this mean? well their algorithm started favouring content that sparks a genuine conversation, which should inspire your business page owners to really try and create more engaging content. So as this organic reach becomes far more harder, the only way for a business to reach out to new and existing customer is to ensure that their content is interesting, appealing and engaging so its time for 2019 to really think of what your business strategy for every channel to continue reaching your followers where ever they may be.
Influencer marketing and the rise of micro-influencers
You will no doubt have heard all about influencer marketing and how big brands are using trend setters as part of their marketing mix and indeed for influencers the benefit is being able to reach a dedicated audience and they can make considerable sums through things like paid sponsorships and the like. For a growing business the big influencers are becoming more expensive so this is where the micro-influencers come into play, maybe its a instagrammer with a massive reach in the Devon restaurant trade or a school mum, both of these nano-influencers could work for your business if you have a restaurant in Torbay or a book shop for example. The key part is that you don’t require a big budget to work with them but you may need to spend more time on the research to find the perfect one.
The use of social media for selling
The use of social media is moving from awareness and engagement and moving towards consideration and sales enablement in your business sales funnel: does your business have a plan for this?
Artificial Intelligence and customer service
The use of automated bots and automated messaging have already shown up in many businesses customer service and indeed if you have a GMail account this is already reading your emails and suggesting suitable replies. There can be no doubt that social media has made it easier for customers to reach a business and this in turn leads to customer expectations about a far better response time from the business concerned. It is our prediction that in 2019 this will bring an ever increasing adoption of artificial intelligence as part of social customer service and it’s time for business to give it a try.
Stories, stories, stories
The use of stories has grown massively in 2018 since Snapchat first rolled them out, they have been adopted by competitors social networks and are emerging now as a key element of customer engagement simply as they’re seen be far more genuine, in short stories are short user-generated photo and video collections that disappear after 24 hours.
The end of fake followers
It used to be that a business could overnight have 10,000 followers, they bought these for a fee and for any social media concerned about its reputation this had to stop as they all want a social network where people (and brands) can grow their community through genuine interest and engagement, not fake followers. This significant change started rolling out mid 2018 and we predict that 2019 will prove that the number of followers will not be as relevant anymore comparing to the actual influence and engagement that you’re having within your community.
So in summary your business should not be chasing an increase in followers on any social network if you’re not already engaging with your existing ones. A smart business in 2019 will spend more time on growing their community organically increasing engagement with interesting and relevant content.
We would be delighted to listen to your business goals and help you realise them, please get in touch today on 01392 241653 or contact us through our website here, we’d be delighted to have a no obligation chat to see if we can help your business grow.
Your Digital Strategy for 2018
In 2018 your business needs a digital marketing strategy and this needs to constantly evolve if you hope to stay ahead of your competition, we have a wealth of experience in managing this and developing new strategies for customers as their businesses evolve . As alot of it involves staying on top of current marketing trends and keeping your website and social media profiles properly updated their are also some key issues to be aware of, so here are a few things that you can do that will help your business work better online.
Consistent tone of voice across all social channels
A customer should be able to recognize your business through the look of the business and how you ‘speak’ online, if you want one of the best examples ‘Just Do It’ is one of the simplest, most recognisable slogans of all time – a line Nike has used for the past 15 years – what is your business tone?
Multiple Devices are here to stay
Now more than ever your strategy needs to focus away from only how your business features on a computer screen, to how it features on mobiles, tablets. So your digital marketing strategy should cater to that with ads scaled to fit mobile devices and webpages that can be viewed easily on any device. Mobile ads should even take priority over television and radio ads, especially if you’re targeting a younger demographic.
Time to automate your Content Marketing
There area a multitude of tools that marketers can use to publish content across multiple social media platforms and these tools have evolved to allow you to create and publish content automatically with the push of a button. Social media is even more important than ever in 2018, and the ability to quickly post content to a wider audience will help you stay ahead of your competition.
Please ensure that you share useful content
As important as it is to come up with your own content, you shouldn’t hesitate to share other people’s content if you find it useful and interesting. This is a great way to share links back to your own content and reach a wider audience, especially if you stick to content that is relevant to your own company. You should read out post Social Media and the rule of Two Thirds for more helpful advice on getting this right.
These are just a few things that you can do to stay on top of digital marketing trends during the coming year. As simple as they may seem, they won’t help you if you don’t put in the proper effort. Always work to keep your website and social media profiles updated, and pay close attention to your competition. Digital marketing changes quickly, and you want to make sure you aren’t left behind.
More than ever in 2018 developing a digital strategy for your business shouldn’t be just an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their business growth from the start. Now the sales bit, if you need help in creating your digital strategy for your business then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
Why do you need a call to action?
A common phrase used by marketers is ‘call to action’ or the acronym CTA. Basically this means that after someone has read your content they come to a place in it which has a call to action asking them to do something, be that contact your business or buy the product or service you’re offering.
The key fact is that you want your reader to do something, be that share the post on social media or buy a product, whatever it is your call to action must be compelling. You dont need to write pages of copy for your call to action to work better or worse, it just needs to be compelling and reflect what you business is and stands for – your brand.
If you make your call to action unique great as it will be memorable, if its in your business tone then even better, so if you business is fun then so should your call to action be, if its serious then it follows that your call to action is similarly serious. So our three top tips to make your call to action a winner….
- If your call to action is as simple as BUY NOW excellent but you could take a higher level approach with a prize if the user shares some content as that way they may well discover more content applicable for them – hence this is often used in a retail environment.
- Ensure your call to action is short and 100% clear, as with all content dont waffle or else you risk confusing the viewer.
- Can you offer a deal, buy now and get % off your next order is a common one, or sign up for our newsletter and get offers JUST for newsletter subscribers is also a good one.
Whatever way you choose to go, think differently and look at the potential to try out new ideas to really make your call to action come alive….
Getting your business facing these challenges and have them working for you shouldn’t be an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their strategy from the start. If you need help in ensuring your business has the ‘killer’ call to action then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
Does your business think local?
It should go without saying that its no good having a great product or website if people cant find it, almost pointless in fact.
We’ve written previously about the importance of a Google local listing and it is vital that this is optimised so that your business can be found by local customers. Local information is becoming increasingly important in search engine results pages and Google continues to to show and place importance on mapped and local results wherever possible.
So how does your business fix this?
- First of all if you haven’t already then you need to claim and verify your Google local business listing, ensuring it has the correct details, name, address and opening times are key.
- Then optimise content, keywords and contact details, all useful information for anybody searching, you also need to make sure your contact details across the web are universally consistent.
Finally the ‘icing’ on top is by collecting reviews, and yes this is difficult, you’ll ask far more customers than will give you reviews but do you ask?
Just for the record you can read our Google reviews here and our facebook reviews here both actively collected and always asked for….
Getting your business listing correctly on all search engines shouldn’t be an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their strategy from the start. If you need help in ensuring your business is listed correctly then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
Why outsource to a Digital Marketing Agency
Owning a small business is rewarding, but also a lot of work. For most small businesses, outsourcing elements that are not core to your business makes sense. With outsourced digital marketing, you gain a number of benefits – an experienced company can quickly ramp up marketing efforts, help you gain new perspectives on your business and give you easy access to the skills you need. All of this is accomplished without adding a large salary or lengthy commitment. These are the reasons why many small businesses prefer to outsource their digital marketing efforts:
Skills and experience
Often, business owners think they can do it all. They will do the marketing themselves and learn as they go. While this sounds great in theory, most owners quickly learn that their days are finite and some important things go undone. Additionally, without the skills and experience needed, it adds a learning curve for a business owner as well, and that takes precious time, too. Of course, you could hire a marketing professional in-house, but that requires a hefty salary and a long-term commitment.
Alternatively, you can partner with a digital marketing agency with a wealth of experience and skills in the industry. This can quickly and inexpensively get your business up to speed, and without any lengthy commitments.
Budget constraints
When you outsource your marketing efforts, you have more strict control over what is spent. You can negotiate rates and projects with your digital marketing agency, and can follow their lead or design your own path. You will find that our agency is easy to work with!
Strategize
You probably know who your target customers are, and have some ideas for reaching them. Digital marketing professionals can offer fresh ideas and valuable insights about your marketplace, and offer some strategy ideas you may not have considered that will produce very well for you.
Getting it done
Once your solid marketing plan is in place, executing the plan is crucial. This is where a digital marketing firm can really shine. While you are handling daily business needs, the agency is quietly working on your behalf in the background.
Outsourcing digital marketing today makes so much sense; it offers flexibility and affordability for almost all small and midsized businesses. A solid marketing plan will increase your sales and revenue, and help your business grow. Our agency is well-skilled and experienced and ready to get to work for you, you can find more about us here along with testimonials from clients and our contact details are here – we look forward to speaking with you soon.
The Importance of Social Media Integration with CRMs
As a small business that is either in the startup phase or looking to ramp up and become competitive, it is important to integrate as much technology as possible in order to streamline your operational capability. One such tool that is important to all businesses is sales automation tool integrated into a customer relationship management system or CRM.
A CRM is simply a tool used to integrate all points of interaction with a customer, from initial enquiry to sale to post-sale follow-up. The capabilities of your CRM system without a fully integrated social media platform is limited in terms of what it can do to grow your aspirations as a business owner. Social media works to keep your business current and relevant with the needs of your customers.
Why CRM/Social Media Integration is Vital
According to the Small Business Social Media Engagement 2015 Digital Marketing Survey published by IT research consultancy Clutch and a survey by IT firm Sprout, the following came to light concerning the use of social media by small business:
63% of millennials use social media to stay up-to-date on the brands they are interested
46% use social media to accomplish their online purchases
53% of small businesses surveyed use social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.)
More than three-quarters of small businesses (76%) see the same or an increase in their social media investment
These numbers more than suggest that social media is a huge influencer on purchasing decisions, particularly for tech savvy millennials. This is an important to note as for example millennials in the USA alone – 80 million consumers – are expected to spend over $10 trillion over their lifetime.
A well integrated and managed CRM with social media will give you the tool to reach this group and effectively engage them as consumers, your business growth depends on you being able to manage and grow this, you can read more about our Sales Automation/CRM on our website here and get a free download that may help in your decision process.
Sharing content on Instagram for your business
Instagram is the perfect social media platform to inspire people with images that tell a business’ story. The visual aspect of Instagram uses the power of simple imagery to get the message out to current and potential customers, while humanizing and showcasing the company. With over 400 million active users that share 80 million photos every day, those photos garner more than 3.5 billion likes per day and awesome comments, lots of sharing and engagement as well. This is a community that is very passionate and upbeat; sharing content on Instagram spurs interaction between businesses and customers, establishes trust and solidly brands a business to allow them to magnify their message cost-effectively. And you thought Instagram was nothing but selfies!
What (and how) to post on Instagram
Though that first post might be intimidating, you will quickly become a pro and look forward to posting on this fun and dynamic social media site. Here are a couple of ideas to inspire you:
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Behind the scenes at your company: Funky and authentic, these really personalize your business. Describe what’s going on, and be sure to add relevant industry hashtags and funny ones, too. Hashtag ideas: #beforecoffee #meetingsarefun #hardatwork
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Selfies: These are everywhere, but we don’t mean a picture of you in the bathroom mirror with your best pout. How about grabbing a selfie of the creative group at lunch, or brainstorming a new Instagram campaign? Hashtag ideas: #teamatwork #bondingtime
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Quotes: Share inspirational or funny quotes for strong engagement and sharing. Even better if you pair it up with an image to match. Lots of apps are available to do this; some favorites are WordSwag, Phonto, Font Candy and Typic. Hashtag ideas: #quote #quotes
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Memes: Funny and irreverent, but so memorable and shareable! Sprinkle memes throughout your account for a lighthearted feel. Use meme generators to create custom memes for your business in minutes. Hashtag ideas: #memes #funny #pleaseshare
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Newsjacking: Positive posts about things going on in the world, but tread lightly so you don’t offend people. Donald Trump’s hair? Fair game. His ideas about immigration? Steer clear. Hashtag ideas: #newstoday #whatshappening
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Content promotion: Use a great image and caption to promote your recent blog posts, and ask people to follow your bio link to read it. Hashtag ideas: #readthis #ourblog
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Product or service promotion: Do this sparingly or you will turn off your audience; but showcase your company products or services occasionally using the 90/10 rule–90 percent of what you post should be valuable to your followers and 10 percent can be self-promotional. Of course, it is Instagram, so make your promo content fun and compelling for best results! Hashtag ideas: #ourproductinaction #checkoutournewest
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Reposts from followers: There is no better way to get someone’s attention on Instagram than to curate and repost their images; this is the ultimate form of IG flattery. Be sure to @tag them, so they know you did it and gave them credit. Hashtags: #repost #coolstuffwefind
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Action requests: Ask your followers to tag their friends when you post a funny meme, or request that they follow you on Twitter or Facebook. Broaden your reach with these requests. Hashtags: #tagyourbff #followusonFB #doyoutweet
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Videos and GIFS: You can post short videos on Instagram and make them funny or functional. Either way, it is another way to increase engagement. Hint: people love babies and animals, so if you can somehow relate either to your business, you are golden! Hashtags: #howwedoit #playfulpuppies
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Throwback Thursday: Save your vintage images for Thursday and give everyone a peek into your past. Hashtags: #TBT #throwbackThursday
Businesses of all sizes, from really small companies to major household names, are successfully using Instagram to drive ad recall, engagement and customers! These ideas will get you started, but you will quickly find lots more inspiration for posts. Remember, make people laugh and they will double tap and like your post, probably leave a nice comment and follow you. It takes time to build engagement and trust, but post on Instagram regularly and you will see much more of both.
Now the sales bit, we’ve been training businesses large and small how to get the best out of their social media activity for many years, indeed we run over 20 social media seminar with our sister business GrowMyCharity.com. If you think your business could do we help getting your social media engagement focused then please contact us through the website here for a no obligation chat or call us on 01392 241653.
Why your website needs to be mobile friendly
With the continual change of advanced phone technology, websites are in effect continually going from desktop browsers to tablets and mobile phones. This means that your website needs to change to suit the distinctive screen sizes and be cross browser perfect with the plethora of mobile gadgets now available in the business sector. The experience that a mobile client receives is so critical in your business and if you’re in any doubt then this article clarifies why you ought to make your site responsive / mobile friendly.
Higher Ranking in Google Search
Beginning April 2015, Google began offering giving preference to sites that are mobile friendly or have a mobile friendly version of their site, according to Google’s Webmaster Blog:
“When it comes to search on mobile devices, users should get the most relevant and timely results, no matter if the information lives on mobile-friendly web pages or apps. As more people use mobile devices to access the internet, our algorithms have to adapt to these usage patterns. In the past, we’ve made updates to ensure a site is configured properly and viewable on modern devices.”
Other internet search engines share a similar view with the inclination to favour mobile friendly websites. Yahoo and Bing for example have followed a similar path to Google requiring that you offer a mobile friendly / responsive website and if any any doubt then Google offer a free tool in which you can test your website mobile friendliness here https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/.
Various Screen Sizes
The primary reason for any website ought to be to serve up what the user needs and how the user wishes to view your website on a device of their choice. The massive development of smart phones and tablet devices means that websites need to adjust to a variety of screen sizes accordingly. This is called Responsive Design and is utilized to get the website information used on any portable device by removing the irrelevant parts of the site and just concentrating on the essential viewpoints. Advanced website design must make conformities for various sorts of screens including mobile telephones, tablets, portable workstations, desktops, projectors and even window display and each screen needs the special components taking into account their use and in view of their usefulness to your business.
W3CSchools says that “RWD remains for Responsive Web Design; RWD can convey site pages in variable sizes; RWD is an absolute necessity for tablets and cell phones.”
Concentrate on essential features
Bigger buttons, bigger text dimension and a configuration upgraded for a portable screen are perfect in giving the best site experience to a mobile friendly client. Different components which are given need is component dispersing, particularly for things such as connections, popups, catches and even drop down records. The general purpose of this is to guarantee that the end client concentrates on precisely what they need and not the extravagant components of your site which are displayed to desktop clients.
Whatever your website need we can help identify and then help your business reach its customers on any device so that you can concentrate on managing and growing your business, to find out more please contact the team either through the website here or call us on 01392 241653.
Why put a human face on your business?
In 2016 developing your business is greatly helped by building personal relationships and engaging with your customers and prospects as this will help your business develop brand loyalty and a greater sense of trust. It then follows that people are more likely to trust your business if they know that real people work there, so how do you do that, these are are top tips to put a human face on your business.
1. Use genuine pictures of your team with bios where appropriate.
2. Why not conduct an interview with the MD or a key member of staff.
3. Collate and share images of your products and services that customers have shared with you.
4. Positive feedback from customers and people you work with is always good to share.
5. Why not include a thank you for something that a customer has done for you – could this be a long standing award.
6. Include any charity work any staff member has done, run a marathon for example.
So there you have it just a few examples of how you could put a human face on your business and so develop the trust in how your business is seen by your customers and prospects. How you get this out in front of your customers can be by things like blog posts or email marketing or maybe your audience is of a different demographic so Tumblr or Shapchat is more appropriate?
Whatever this is we can help identify and help your business reach its customers so you can concentrate on managing and growing your increasing enquiry levels, to find out more please contact the team either through the website here or call us on 01392 241653.
Why your business needs a Digital Plan
If your business does not have a digital strategy then how do you know where you’re heading and what you’re trying to achieve?
In this post we identify 5 problems that in our experience will effect the operation of your business if you do not have a clear Digital Plan.
Your business has no focus
We find that businesses with a digital plan do not also have a set of business goals for what they want to achieve in terms of customer development or business growth and if you do not have these business have goals you likely do not have enough resources to reach the goals and you then do not evaluate whether you’re achieving those goals.
Do you really know your customers at all?
There can be no doubt that digital is one of the most measurable marketing tools ever. However alot of the common statistical programs in use today will only tell you volume, not demographics and touchpoints – so how do you identify areas you can improve unless you know them?
Your business is not integrated
We often find if a business does have some kind of digital activity this is not focused on the business its run by ‘John who knows facebook’ at the same time as being a salesperson or the managers PA as she has a few spare hours a week. This should be integrated with your business so everyone buys into the digital plan and can play their part in identifying opportunities for the business to grow online.
You are loosing out to competitors who do have a clear digital plan
Pretty much every business we work with has some form of statistical monitoring of enquiry traffic and even just traffic – Facebook insights??. Unfortunately for alot of business this is as far as they go, they do not review and then act on the results of that review so they can decide where to implement the key aspects of the business marketing like email marketing and social media marketing.
Your marketing is not cost effective
Digital in 2016 has to be one of the most cost effective ways for any business to reach its target market, the only issue the growing business we work with come across is the lack of specific specialist digital skills which make it difficult for the business to respond effectively and this is where we come in as your outsourced digital partner.
So there you have it, five clear issued that will be effecting your business if you do not have a clear Digital Plan – if you are one of those businesses why not get in touch now, through the website here OR call us on 01392 241653 for a no obligation chat…
