by Karen Petrauskas | Mar 9, 2023
It’s all in the list! But how do you grow your business through email marketing?
Understanding how to get good open rates for your emails is a good place to start.
What made you open the last newsletter that was sitting in your inbox?
Coming up with new ideas for your marketing on a regular basis can be tiresome and frustrating – we know and we’ve all been there!
Small business marketing
As a small business owner, and especially if you’re the only one doing everything, you can get either fed up or even annoyed at good results not happening when you feel like you’ve put in so much effort into your marketing and social media. Let’s face it, you’ve got so much to focus on as a business owner, not everything gets 100% of your time. Add in the need to write emails, and good ones at that, email marketing can be something that gets pushed aside.
Let me tell you, you’re not alone.
… Even when you feel like you are.
So, let’s twist this thought on its head and think –
“Why did you open that email?”
a) Because the subject line sounded enticing or interesting?
b) Because you trust the person sending it?
c) Because you were just going through all your emails and opening everything?
Usually it’s either a or b.
Your inbox is a sacred place, and to have an email opened needs to be earned. That’s how I look at it anyway!
I only open emails from either people I already know I can learn from and who I trust, or emails that look like I can gain some value and hopefully put that into practice. Your time is valuable – you don’t have time to look at every email that comes through (especially when you’re good at subscribing to lots of lists)
Email respect :: Relationship building
You see, the more relationship you build with your audience, the more they get to know you. From here you can build rapport and trust. This is important – and we’re always taught to ‘build your email list‘!For me, it’s not about selling and promoting a service every week, it’s about giving value to the readers and knowing that if we can help just one person get further in their online marketing, then we’ve done a good job. If we help more, even better!
Email etiquette :: Communication
Communication is key in marketing. Understanding, knowledge, relationship, nurture, value… the list is endless, but all relates back to communication. How you communicate and what you communicate really matters.
It’s common courtesy to respect the person you’re emailing and to think of them when you email. Keep providing uninteresting content, sell consistently, go on about you, you, you – or are not relevant to the reason why they signed up to your newsletter in the first place – you’ve lost their trust.
Focus on what you’re good at
So, when you’re struggling to know what to do next with your marketing, what post to create for social media, or what to write on your blog, I urge you to reach out to the people you already know are doing what you want to achieve. Open the emails which look like you can learn something. Reply to the emails where you’re invited to and get to know them. Comment on social media content and start conversations. DM prospective mentors or collaborators.Always think further than the now.
Coming up with new ideas for marketing can be challenging – so, seek advise, get ideas and speak to others in your industry who could help. Even consider outsourcing your marketing for a little while to give yourself a break and a breather – you might come back with new inspiration and fresh perspective.
Tip: taking just a 3 month break from your social media channels can be good for you!
Just because someone is doing these tasks for you, doesn’t mean that you have failed. It means that you can focus on other important tasks – and ones that you enjoy the most. You can then bring in a little extra money, so that you can afford to pay someone else to take the things that are not your strong points. This is a win-win situation!
Focus on what’s right for your skillset – and the rest will fall into place.
We invite you to reply to this post, let us know what you struggle with in your marketing – or what you enjoy the most! Let’s have a conversation and get to know each other 🙂 Either comment below, or send us an email – we’d love to chat.
~ Karen, owner of KJP Creative
In the meantime, why not download our free social media awareness days calendar, to give you ideas on what to talk about with your audience!
by Karen Petrauskas | Jan 31, 2023
How do you grow a small business strategically through social media, whilst dealing with overwhelm and perhaps even a little imposter syndrome?
Do you find yourself overwhelmed by all the social media channels; knowing which ones to use, which trends to jump on, what strategies to follow, who to watch, how much content to put out, etc. etc.? So much avenues, so many questions, your mind feels like it’s going to explode?
There is A LOT going on in the world when it comes to social media and the simple fact is, as a small business owner, you cannot do it all, on your own at least.
So how do you know where to start or what path to follow?
Strategy and communication.
Start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start!
Understand what it is that you want to achieve and have goals in mind that you want to meet.
From these goals you are able to establish some ground rules and a steer your marketing in a way that will help you achieve them.
Creating a strategy holds everything in place for you to build from. This is the foundation of what you are going to achieve. It can be easy to sway or to get distraction on social media, what should take 10 minutes can easily become an hour if you’re not careful, so knowing what you’re going to do and when will help deter this from happening.
And don’t be afraid to refer back to your strategy, once it’s created, it can be adapted and grown, just as your business experiences growth – your strategy will grow with it.
Marketing Knowledge
The most important step comes in the research, and for starters, research on your ideal customer, your audience and anyone who might be remotely interested in your product or service. You may need multiple streams for your marketing to flow in order to capture each of these – speaking to all of them at once might mean that your content is not relevant or catchy enough… break it all down.
Where does your ideal customer like to hang out online? This will be where you need to focus your efforts. There’s no point spending all your time on TikTok, if your audiences lives and breathes Facebook – get the drift?
Research.
And what type of content do they respond to best? Are they engaging with funny videos, do they prefer knowledge based images or carousels?
Research.
There’s no harm in asking a few questions too while you’re getting to know them. Communication is a good tool to nurture – and this is two way – interact and engage as much as possible to understand them as best you can.
Overwhelmed by social media?
Overwhelm is common on social media, some people deep-dive in, hit every channel at a fast pace but sink very quickly or burn out after time. It’s not always sustainable to be BIG all the time. Some people take their time, test the waters, discover their path and grow slowly but steadily.
Each and every business is different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ in this – however doing the ground work well will pay off.
If you’re struggling to get ahead on social media, find it too intense or can’t keep up, take a step back and start from the beginning. Create a strategy that works for your business. And don’t be afraid to reach out and speak to those around you who are already successful and achieving.
We’d love to help you strategise and put a plan of action together in order to smash your goals this year, helping you to realise your full potential. Hit the contact button and let’s talk 🙂
In the meantime, why not download our FREE Awareness Days calendar to get your audience talking!
by Karen Petrauskas | Dec 23, 2022
When you’re creating your marketing strategy, especially as we come into a new year… a customer journey is SO important. The way a consumer is looked after and treated throughout their experience with your brand is absolute key. If they love you, they’ll want to talk about you and recommend you to others. And that is the result we are looking for. Have you heard of word of mouth marketing?
As a business owner, you can spend so much [wasted] time creating content after content, scheduling up your social media channels, creating free content or giveaways, and everything else in between – but if it is not noticed, this is wasted time and resource.
A strategy holds the key to creating content and an audience that will love your brand.
Lots of small business owners, start-ups and anyone who doesn’t necessarily understand marketing thoroughly can struggle because they lack direction, knowledge and wisdom. But with a little steering and guidance this can change dramatically and amazing outcomes can be born.
Money can be poured into advertising campaigns, staff, experts and more – but for someone starting out, a good business plan is to utilise the most cost-effective strategy there is… word of mouth marketing.
WOMM is not a new thing, in fact it is the most original and basic strategy we have, and also the most effective, but not many focus their efforts on it.
Word of mouth marketing relies on customers sharing their experiences and recommendations with their networks, friends and family. They are bringing their own feelings and thoughts to the table and giving people an opportunity to trust their views. An extremely powerful process – and one that when done correctly, can impact massively.
And the facts speak for themselves; according to Nielson, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. WOW!
How can we utilise word of mouth marketing?
We can stop thinking about our needs and what we need to achieve and start to connect with people on their level.
Engage: Drawing people into conversations, understanding their pain points and creating relationships and rapport that can be nurtured and developed.
Solutions: Providing the solutions to what people are looking for and understanding what would work for them. Empower them with the answers that makes sense.
Emotion: Everything has an emotional value. If you can trigger an emotion in a consumer, you can start to relate and bring them on a journey.
Influential marketing
WOMM has influence and can trigger the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ of anyone’s decision making process. Its powerful effectiveness is often not known to outsiders, however, when you can take hold of this, and incorporate it into your business and marketing plans, you’ll see big results.
How can you influence the people you want to work with, or the types of people you want to love your brand?
Customer experience
Success with word of mouth marketing starts right at the beginning of a customer’s journey. Before they even know you exist.
You want to get to know your ideal customer [persona], understand what they are looking for, how they engage, who they talk to, where they hang out, what their pain point is, what would be the ideal solution, their budgets, their lifestyle, their demographics… research.
You also want to know what attracts, what looks good, what sounds good, styles, colours, feelings, what brands do they already engage with – this all play a part in the process.
When you have all the information you need, you can formulate a plan of action incorporating all these aspects, making sure you tick every box. When your ideal customer comes along, they will be attracted to your message and want to find out more. Their journey has begun…
Bring them through a process. Not many people will buy on the first message. They need to know, like and trust you. They will want to see proof that you are legit and when they get to a point where they trust you, they’ll start engaging with the things you say.
The more you can nurture and build a relationship, the better your chances of winning that customer.
That customer will then be happy to share their experience with others. When family members ask, when a friend is looking, a recommendation can be a powerful action.
If you’ve fallen down within the process, that review may be tainted, so it is essential that everything part of their journey is 100% good.
Have you experienced word of mouth marketing in your business and has it helped push your brand forward?
If you’re looking for exceptional results in your business marketing and would like to make the most of WOMM, we’d love to chat with you and get you started. Get in touch today, and let’s talk.
by Karen Petrauskas | Nov 30, 2022
Struggling to create engagement on social media?
Are you wondering what the secret is to gaining engagement on social media – if you’ve tried everything and nothing works, if you’re fed up with going round in circles and not getting the results you desire – it’s time to stop and take stock, re-evaluate, and regain focus. There is no magic formula to get the engagement flowing on social media, but there are things you can do to encourage it and to build your network.
It’s no secret that videos on social media are a good for business, but what happens when you don’t like to put yourself out there in front of a camera?
– Do what feels right for you.
Yes, videos do help build on engagement, but they don’t have to be cheesy. Video marketing is number one for social media marketing, if you’re not already using it, we encourage you to build it into your marketing plan. If you are already using video in your marketing, there are always ways to grow and improve to get a bigger and better impact.
Video marketing will help increase leads, get your audience talking and interacting, give more opportunity for your content to be shared and overall will be a good strategy to use for a small businesses looking to scale.
Our top tips for creating engagement goes way beyond a 60 second dance or lip sync and will keep your professionalism looking good! *Note, you do not have to be a copycat and look silly on TikTok to increase your following (unless you want to of course!) – stay sane with our more manageable strategies!
Plus, these can be engineered to work both on camera and through static graphics – pleasing both worlds and giving you the option of mixing things up and getting a little creative.
Top Tips for increasing engagement on social media
#1️ Be consistent.
Always show up when you’re expected. If you create daily content, create daily content. Don’t try it for a week and give up the next. Always find a balance to what you can do and what works, and stick to it. If you’re starting with video marketing for the first time, create a plan of what you intend to do over the course of a week / a month. Plan the days you’re going to create the videos, as well as the days they will be posted. You can ‘batch’ create if it’s easier and spend a chunk of time producing lots of content, which can be split up and made into individual posts for a period of time. Or you can create one video at a time as you go.
Social media videos do not need to be polished, they just need to be authentic – be you 🙂 Know what you want to say, make notes if you need to, and hit the record button. Choose a filter or sticker which goes well with your image, and be consistent in using those in subsequent videos.
Tip: Don’t go all in too quickly. You can build up to more content, but make a realistic plan of how much content you are able to produce so that it’s not too much pressure to keep up.
#2️ Add value.
This goes without saying. Everything you produce, say or do, should add value to the recipient or the audience. Your followers follow you for a reason, why do they keep coming back? Because they know what they’re going to get and they appreciate what you offer. By going above and beyond their expectations, you give them more reason to show up.
Always give more than expected; under estimate, over produce. You audience will grow and be receptive when they realise the value they get from your content.
#3️ Keep on brand.
Your brand is your identity, it makes you unique and stand out in a crowded room. Create content that is easily recognisable and true to your mission.
How can you showcase your brand?
What can you share that promotes your brand?
How can you incorporate your brand into everyday life without a pushy sales line on every post?
What makes you unique?
What’s your mission and what visions do your have?
#4 Solve problems.
People are searching and seeking for answers. Here’s your chance to help someone. Understand your audience and give them answers or solutions.
Use video to talk about the pain points people are going through, how you can help them see a solution?
Demonstrate work-arounds, problem solving, ideas and inspiration.
Showcase your wins – how they have happened and what you did to get there.
Be relatable to your audience and let them see that they are not alone.
#5️ Create eye-catching content.
There’s no point in creating content that no one sees. It’s a waste of your valuable time and it benefits no one. So, how do you create content that people notice?
What would you want to see if you were on the other side? What would make you stop and look? This is where you start, step into their shoes and visualise what it is that would make you stop scrolling.
Stickers, filters, music, captions, colour, branding… all these things come together, when done right, to create eye-catching material that is ready for your ideal customer.
Find your style, find what works for your audience, research what other people are doing and make your own version in line with what you do.
#6️ Be passionate.
Absolutely! If you don’t love what you’re doing, why should anyone else? This is your chance to share your passions, your ambitions, your desires, your visions, your goals… and to make a difference. Love your social channels, the followers, the people who interact – and give them a reason to love your brand too.
Be enthusiastic in your videos, smile in your photos, let the happiness bounce off the post. When you love what you’re doing, you give your audience reason to love you too! They’ll want to interact and engage, they’ll want to get to know you and build rapport, and they’ll want to share what you have to say with others who are looking for the same.
***
When you start to implement a dynamic strategy into your marketing, and follow these basic rules about how to find relevant and interested parties – then you will see results happen. And if you’re not sure where to start or how to do any of these things… ask!
Are you ready to take action?
If you’re still unsure about how to get started, now is the perfect opportunity to schedule a call and talk to us. We’re here to help your business get off the ground, gain exposure and get positive recognition. Let’s go – get in touch today!
Speak soon.
by Karen Petrauskas | Oct 21, 2022
How to create a basic marketing strategy
If you’re looking to grow your small business and see explosive results in the months and years ahead, there’s something you need to focus on right now… goal setting and a marketing strategy.
Often we can be afraid to move forward for fear of going backwards – if you’ve found yourself feeling like nothing works in your online marketing efforts – let us tell you that you are not alone.
Or perhaps you have bursts of great things that work, and then you hit a dry period. You think you’ve found something good, but then it doesn’t work again. Sound familiar?
Let’s look at the definition of a strategy: a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.
This means that when you map out exactly what you want to achieve, inclusive of your overall business aims and goals, you can create a plan that will help you execute and deliver the goods.
There is never a better time than NOW to put plans into place to see an end result. Whether we’re coming into the busiest time of the year, coming to the end of the year, starting a fresh year, or are halfway through – there is always a time to put a strategy in place. Without a plan how do you know where you are going?
It’s the same as if you were on holiday, stick Google Maps on and enter your destination. You don’t know the area or where you should be going, but the device will point you in the right direction and make sure that you get there. You can tweak the route or ‘recalculate’ if you need to, and you will still end up in the right place.
This is a great analogy for online marketing too. The digital world is a busy place, there’s so much constantly going on around us and we can get distracted with just one click. It’s easy to jump on your favourite social platform to check or post something and come away an hour later with nothing to show for your time. We know where we’re supposed to be going but without a clear plan of what to do, we can get lost very easily.
So, how do we get away from this and find the clear path?
5 steps to creating a basic marketing strategy:
1) Identify and Set Goals
2) Understand your audience
3) Communicate your USP
4) Select your tools
5) Execute
#1 – Identify and Set Goals
Your marketing goals should reflect the goals that you’ve laid out in your business goals. If you’ve not done this, take a step back and have a think on your overall business expectations first of all. When you know where your business should be heading, you’ll have an idea of the direction that you expect it to go in.
Using these goals as a foundation, identify how you can make them come to life through marketing. For example, if your business goal is to have £XXX of revenue by the end of the year, your marketing goal may be to increase sales by 10% each month.
Identify the target, create the goal.
#2 – Understand your audience
Are you marketing to the whole world, or to the people that need to hear your message? If you’re not clear on who you are targeting, then you’ll end up with a wishy-washy message that gets lost in translation.
Identify the people who you want to target – create a persona. You may have more than one persona, but each goal can be directed to a particular one. It’s a snapshot of who your ideal customer would be.
Here’s a closer look for example: “A woman between 30-45, who lives in the city, who loves to shop, is looking for an outfit for work”.
This is a clear and definitive picture of who we can target. From this we can get to know her a little, where she hangs out online, what types of people are in her network, where she might like to shop, what types of content works best…
Understand the ideal persona.
#3 – Communicate your USP
USP – unique selling proposition, or unique selling point. There is always going to be competition, whether you’re aware of it or not, so learn to love your USP and use this to get over and above the crowd.
What makes you stand out, what makes your product or service the perfect choice? Why should someone buy from you?
Knowing how to position yourself will become part of your secret weapon!
Be unique and authentic.
#4 – Select your marketing tools
Wow, this is a big one, with so many online marketing tools to choose from, you could easily get lost in just this point. So, do some research. It may take time, but it’s better to do it before hand rather than during or after.
How can you measure what you’re doing and how can you create a systemised approach to your marketing?
Do you have the right equipment to see what works and what doesn’t, can you measure each step along the way?
Can you find a marketing tool that makes life easier?
Different areas of the marketing process will require different tools, so think about planning, communication, execution and measuring. Can you combine any of these, do you want to pay for premium platforms or go for free versions?
Find the tools that work for your business.
#5 – Execute
Once you’ve got everything laid out – you’re sure on who your ideal customer is, you know what your goals are, you understand what sets you apart, and you have the correct tools to get started – now it’s time to put the factors together and formulate a plan of action. You should by now know which direction you’re heading in! You need to get SMART!
It’s time to take action, it’s time to put into practise everything you’ve collated together and plan out a way to bring it to life. This needs careful consideration. You could look at all your data and still not use it to create the perfect marketing plan (please don’t do this!) – instead, use all the research you have pulled together to start your marketing journey on the right track.
Take the necessary action steps to move forward
Organisation can be a great asset at times like these – and with our Yearly Social Media Planner you can be sure that you can track all your goals; weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly, all together. It even includes a calendar to map out your monthly content too. Something this simple can be extremely effective in helping you stay on focus throughout the year across your online marketing channels.
If you’ve read all this, know it’s something that you need for your business but simply don’t have the time, knowledge or skills to put it together, we can help! Schedule a free consultation to introduce yourself and let’s see how we can create a great marketing plan for your business.
In the meantime, feel free to download our FREE social media checklist “Don’t forget the basics” to make sure you’re ticking all the boxes 🙂
