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Digital Marketing tips & resources
Does social media totally confuse you?
Not sure how to make it work for you and your business?
Overwhelmed by the choices of platforms, hashtags, emojis, engagement, ads, reach and all of the new-fangled words that come with it?
Well, here's my offer to help you straighten it all out so you can get on with business:
We've all seen it and agonised over what we are doing wrong... Facebook reach has become the key focus when one contemplates the efficacy of their digital marketing strategy. The truth is that Facebook has completely changed the way interactions work so if you're not getting the reach, what are your options?
You might have heard about a little website called LinkedIn. Many people (and by "many" I mean millions: 467 to be exact...) use it as a digital CV of sorts, crafting an online persona to put forward in a prospective job search. And that's it. They use LinkedIn only when applying for a new job, dusting off the digital cobwebs before they click "apply".
But what if you're not looking for a job? What if you're totally happy doing your thing, running your own business? What if you just want to network with like-minded people? Is LinkedIn pretty much defunct in your case? Not at all. And I'll tell you why.
It's been radio silence on the Journal here for a while because quite simply, I have been snowed under with work! And don't get me wrong, I completely and utterly appreciate all of the business that you are sending my way - but when that happens, I look at my "what is important and essential list" and decide what needs to fall away from this week's to do list so that I can give my clients my full attention.
E-newsletters, mailers, email marketing - whatever you want to call it - have you included it as part of your marketing strategy? If so, then take a read below - Im about to give you some tips on how to nail email marketing to ensure your newsletters get read by the people who matter the most: customers.
Time is money, so they say. And when it comes to social media - this is definitely the case. Posting at the wrong time could see your reach plummet, while posting at key times of the day and week will ensure your business gets noticed by potential customers. Employing a strategy of sorts when it comes to your posting schedule will be instrumental to your social media activity.
Your profile is the first that potential clients will look at when they consider working with you. If it's a mess, chances are they'll be driven away. A well presented, thought out and considered social media profile will undoubtedly impress your new clients or shoppers and make them eager to strike up a conversation with you. Think of it as your passive income generator: if it looks good, people will want to work with or buy from you - simple as that.
Product Styling is such a powerful thing: it can literally make or break a sale. So to help small business owners who are on a tight budget, I've put together a handy PRODUCT STYLING HANDBOOK. Best of all, it's totally free! In it, I chat about lighting, angles, the rule of thirds, props, backgrounds - the whole thing. It's basically a Styling and Photography 101 which is easy to follow and explains the key things you need to know to start producing beautiful imagery of your offer.
Did you know that not only do I do still styling and photography but I do videos as well? Yup that's right! Given the recent algorithm changes on certain social media platforms, I realised that video was going to be an integral part of a winning digital marketing strategy. Apart from paid advertising on these online platforms, video is the easiest and best way to ensure your brand's reach remains intact.
So you've selected your beautifully styled image (hopefully shot for you by Shout & Co....) and you've posted it to Instagram, waiting for all of those likes and comments to come flooding through. But they don't. Crickets. You might get a dribble through of likes but the comments from followers are few and far between. Not a big deal, right? WRONG. Not getting much engagement on your posts could mean 1 of 3 things:
If you read my previous post about calculating engagement, you'll know that tracking how engaged your audience is is vital to understanding how well you're doing at this social media gig. A low engagement rating (or ER) suggests that your content is not resonating with your followers. A high ER indicates that what you're posting is what your audience wants to see - so continue the good work.
So you're getting likes and comments stacking up on your posts which is great - but how do you know if it's great enough? 52 likes on a post is phenomenal if you have 100 followers, but not so phenomenal if you have 100,000. Knowing how engaged your followers are is key to understanding whether or not your content is resonating with your audience.
