by Karen Petrauskas | Sep 25, 2020
The art of growing a business is getting your audience to know, love and trust your brand – communicating with them on all levels and ensuring they feel valuable.
Creating a marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals is essential in ensuring that you’re on the right path and gives you the guidance in which to stay on track with the direction that your business wants to head.
We always say that “a strategy is where a business is heading, a plan is how to get there”. And that’s exactly true, we map out and do the research of what we want the business to look like, incorporating the different aspects like competition, trends and marketing targets. But it’s how we put that into practice which matters. We need to take action to see results.
Facebook is a great platform for building a community for your audience – using Facebook groups.
Have you noticed that your Facebook page engagement is declining, or at least not as good as it used to be? Are you finding it hard to get the interaction that you desire and are forever trying to think of new ways to get the buzz going?
Facebook groups are your answer!
Facebook groups is a place where similar minds, shared interests and common goals can come together.
The flip of the coin in a Facebook group is that you’re not there to promote your business, but to create an environment where people can feel safe and comfortable. This is a place you can invite people to come and share, be inspired, learn, engage, and so much more.
Setting up a Facebook Group
The first step is to setup your group. You can check out these easy to follow steps to get started. One thing to consider is whether you want it to be a public, closed or secret group:
- Public: Anyone can join the group. Everyone can see the posts
- Closed: Anyone can see and request to join the group. Only members can see the posts
- Secret: The group cannot be found in a search, it is by invite only. Only members can see the posts.
Depending on what your business needs are, will depend on what type of group you want to focus on.
For example: If you offer a paid-for coaching programme, you may have a secret group where members can pay to join.
Once your group is set up, you’ll need to customise it. Set your banner / header, write a pleasing description of the group and who it is for, and then start to put a few ideas for posts together so that when people do join, they’ll have some content to get started with.
We definitely recommend that you create a welcome message and let your group members know who you are and a little about you or the purpose of the group. This is a great thing to see when people first join.
Content Strategy
It’s all well and good having lots of members come over to your new Facebook Group, however you want them to be attracted to what they see and hear from it. Think about meaningful, inspirational, educational content that will keep them engaged and give them reason to want to invite their friends.
Having the right content is the key to keeping your members engaged. This is where a strategy comes in. Please, please do not waste time posting content that they can just get from anywhere else… make it meaningful for the type of people you want to be in your group.
Goals
- What is the goal of your group?
- What do you want people to do in your group?
- Are you selling?
- Are you a support group?
Answering these questions can help you put your strategy and plan of action together. Think long term, not just for now, and work out a plan of what you want to do for your members on a long-term basis.
Curating content
Once you’ve got your plan, it’s time to create or curate the content. It’s always good to have original and authentic content that your members know comes from you. It’s also absolutely fine to use other people’s content to make a point or to help boost education, for example (just don’t try to pass it off as your own!).
Where do you find content for your Facebook group: there are many sources but how about starting with Google (or your favourite search engine). You can easily set up Google Alerts and have the latest article and news coming straight into your inbox. This can save you the time of having to trawl through articles trying to find suitable content – you can simply sieve through the smaller amount of relevant articles emailed to you on a daily or weekly basis.
You can use your favourite websites to gather articles or quotes. And you can use a programme like Feedly to gather all your favourite sources together in one place (we personally love Feedlly!).
How about keeping a notebook to hand and writing down anything that inspires you. You’ll be surprised at the amount of content you can create just by the little things that inspire you! Use a programme like Canva and put your inspirations into images share them in your group.
Get personal with video
There’s nothing better than using video to engage even further with your group members. This could be a video of visual content, or you could decide to go LIVE and post a video of yourself. Whatever you feel comfortable with, you do! We can guarantee that if you decide to do personal videos, whether LIVE or pre-recorded, if you’re not confident in doing so, the more you do it, the better and more confident you’ll get.
If you’re looking to put videos together of various content, why not try a programme like Animoto which allows you to put images and text together to tell a story – a very easy and effective way to reach out to your audience.
Invite your members!
Once you’ve got some content running on your Facebook group and you’re ready to invite some people, now’s the time to send the invites out.
Depending on what your group is about, you might want to start off with close friends who can help you start the engagement at the beginning and from there, invite a wider circle of people relevant to the purpose of the group. You can utilise your other social media channels to invite people, you can share on your personal channels, why not do a video to invite people on your own Facebook page?
Facebook groups are not always about the number of people, but it does help to have a good number in there to push the engagement and to be able to get people talking. Ensure that you stay on topic to your group. There are so many Facebook and social media groups available that if someone gets bored or hears a repeated message too many times across other groups, they will leave. What’s different about your group that will make them stay?
You need to keep the engagement going within the group – talk to them, ask them what they want to hear or talk about. What inspires them? What can they learn from you? Have you gained industry thought leaders that can also share and give value to the group – utilise them!
Give value in every post you create, this is where your content strategy comes in. What type of content did you plan to use and how can you use it to engage your members?
Conclusion
Facebook groups are a great way to get your community engaged and more focused on the finer details that you have to offer. They are a way of showcasing your expertise, your products or services, your own personality and whatever else you have to give to those who join. Grow your business through your Facebook group, bring people to a higher level in what your business can do for them. Make it personal and make it relevant and most of it, keep them engaged and coming back for more!
If you’ve got any tips on using Facebook groups for business, we’d love to hear them. And if you’re a woman business owner looking to meet other like-minded ladies in order to build your brand in an inspirational way – we’d love to invite you to our online community! Join here or head over to Facebook.
Also, feel free to get in touch if you’d like help in putting a marketing strategy together to grow your business. Whether you’ve been going for years and are struggling to make an impact or you’re new to business and need to headstart, we’d love to chat with you. We specialise in social media marketing, strategy and Facebook Ads. Speak soon!
by Karen Petrauskas | Sep 14, 2020
When do you start creating marketing campaigns for Christmas? Are you too early? Have you left it too late? When it the right time?
Often we leave it far too late to make a proper impact with our Christmas marketing. You see Christmas stock appearing in the shops as soon as summer finishes and we may think to ourselves “wow that’s early” and ignore what we see. But the truth is that some people do start buying or at least thinking about Christmas well before December. That means September / October time is the perfect chance to put ideas into people’s minds and to give them the inspiration they need for Christmas.
Set your targets
A common mistake with business owners is that they don’t set proper targets for their sales for different seasons of the year. This is one vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to putting your marketing efforts into action as it will give you an indication whether you’re doing enough marketing in order to reach financial goals. As with any business plan, set your targets, create a budget, put a strategy and plan in place and make the magic happen.
Research your audience and product
It may be an obvious point to add in but there are many who do not do their research when it comes to marketing a product or service. They know the product they have and put a few posts out there for all to see, however, not everyone is applicable for that particular product and then the marketing gets lost in translation. Do your due diligence, research who your product is for, the right competitive price, the right look / feel and branding – everything that you would normally do when selling or marketing. Christmas is no exception and there is much more competition at this time of year so you want it to reach the correct audience at the right price, in the right place and time.
If you’re unsure, why not conduct some surveys or polls on your social media channels and understand first-hand what your audience wants? Ask people when speaking to them, ask friends and family their thoughts or views. Get as much research done as possible so that you know that when you’re when you market your product it’s going to be right. This is both cost effective and efficient productivity!
Get your content out there
One thing that you actually have to do is make your content visible for the world to see. You may have the best product to hit the shelves for Christmas but if you don’t let people know about it in time, it won’t be a very successful year. It’s that simple. Getting the timing right in your Christmas marketing is important.
But don’t worry, social media is your friend! Everyone is online in some capacity. Yes people may still trawl the shops the nearer they get to Christmas or for last minute panic buying ideas but everyone spends time online in a social capacity everyday of every week of every month of every year. Reach out to them and get ahead of their thinking. Be the inspiration that they are looking for. Be the reason they actually decide to buy your product. Make them think, make them decide that your product is the perfect gift.
Why? That’s your selling point.
What makes your product the best? What makes your product the one for them? Why should they buy from you?
Tell them. Show them. Demonstrate. Give them a reason to get ahead of their Christmas shopping.
“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” – Tom Fishburne
The real trick is making a reader not realise that they’re actually being sold to! If you’re clever in the way that you produce your content, you’ll be telling a story, getting into the minds of your audience and speaking their language without the need for ‘selling’. Become a reliable and trusted source, a place of inspiration, a brand that is known for its integrity and worth. Love your audience, your customers both old and new, and give them a product that speaks for itself.
The best thing is to just get started with your marketing. Create a strategy, make a plan, and go for it. It’s never too early to start promoting for Christmas and it’s always better to be early than late in anything in life!
Here’s our blog post giving you eight top tips for Christmas marketing campaigns – if you want to talk through any of them, please do give us a call. Or if you have any extra tips to add, leave us a comment below!
If you’re looking for inspiration when it comes to marketing your business online, or you’re just not sure how to do Christmas marketing well, we’d love to chat with you. Get in touch and let’s talk Christmas strategy.
In the meantime, if you’d like to receive social media tips and tricks to your inbox, join our online community where inspiration and encouragement in growing your business online is our priority.
Happy marketing!
by Karen Petrauskas | Aug 18, 2020
Many people strive for success and this can come in various forms depending on what success means for you. Financial freedom, a good work-life balance, owning a business – each and every person has their own thoughts on what success means for them.
If you’re not completely satisfied with how your career or work life is going or heading, and you’re not feeling the joy of success, perhaps it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate.
Setting up a business and working for yourself can have huge implications to your life, especially if you’re seeking a better work-life balance, and can be the answer that you’re looking for in order to be a more happier, independent and passionate person.
Many people dream about having their own business but get stuck on the ‘how to’ of getting started, often causing a stumbling block and even an excuse not to get started. But if you’re looking for encouragement in getting started and help along the way – we’re here to offer that and to give you as much guidance as we can to help you on your way. Don’t let barriers get in your way, hurdles and obstacles can be overcome – but you need to be in the right mindset to get there.
What are the main benefits to owning a business and working for yourself?
1) Financial freedom
Working for yourself means that you have the opportunity to work the hours you want or need in order to obtain the financial income that you want, or need. Depending on the industry that you head into, and the other commitments you may have, the world is your oyster in how much you can benefit financially when becoming your own boss.
However be aware that it is harder to motivate yourself and stay on track when you’re running your own business! There’s no one there to push you forward, telling you to get the work finished or making you stay 9-5 … you have to do this yourself. Not having a time-sheet or accountability can be hard at first, but when you are in a routine and have the motivation to want to earn, you’re on the right track. It may not happen overnight, but you will get there if you persevere.
Set goals of what income you need in order to see financial freedom – and what does financial freedom actually mean for you as this is different for everyone. Little by little you can reach your financial goals until you hit the place where you need to be. Once you’re there, make a plan in order to sustain that income.
2) Work-life balance
Yes it’s hard work being a business owner, especially when you first start out but if you can start out with the mindset that this is going to work around your other commitments and personal life, you’ll have a better chance that your work-life balance is going to be successful. Start as you mean to go on!
On the flip side of that, you still need to give 100%. This may mean working in a way that you are not used to, or working different hours to accommodate, it’s about balance and finding a routine that works for you personally.
What does a work-life balance mean for you?
Do you have family responsibilities, volunteer commitments, regular things that you need to do? However you balance your workload is completely up to you when you’re a business owner – find a pattern that is sustainable, try not to commit to things that are out of reach or make life harder, and enjoy the benefits of both a happy lifestyle and business that is passionate for you.
3) Achievements
When you own your business, you can set your own goals and see them achieved.
When you’re working for someone else you can often feel trapped into achieving someone else’s goals. This is your chance to find your feet, set your own targets and head directly for your own success.
- What do you want to achieve?
- What have you always wanted to do that could be brought into the goals of your new business?
The best way to see success and achieve your goals is to set out a business and marketing plan aligned with where you want to be and how you’re going to get there. Follow the plan and if necessary find someone that you can be accountable to in order to stay on track of your plan.
4) Organisation & Efficiency
If you’re not one for being efficient and simply doing ‘what you need when you need to’, running your own business (should) shape you into being effective in all that you do. Productivity is a must if you want to be successful – start with this mindset when you begin your business and stay in this habit in order for it to continue long-term.
- How do you plan your day?
- What steps do you do in order to see something accomplished?
How about starting with a physical planner where you write down your goals, create step by step targets to achieve them and work out a plan of action in order to see the results? Much better than playing it by ear and hoping for the best! Efficiency and productivity are great tools but ones that need to be worked at and adhered to. However when you get into the routine of following them, you’ll see a more positive outcome and better results.
5) Positive Attitude
When you’re doing something you love, you’ll have the motivation to do it. Unlike a 9-5 where you go because you have to, watching the time tick by, you’ll be positive in what you’re doing. When you’re positive and happy in what you’re doing, you’ll see better results.
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” ~ Zig Ziglar
Success and achievement have an effect not just on the physical aspect of what you’re doing but in your personal attitude and lifestyle too.
Everyone dreams, everyone has goals that they’d love to see come to fruition. If you can put that desire into your own business and see dreams achieved, how much more confident and passionate will you become?
When it comes to starting a business, ensure that you find something that you are passionate about. Once you’ve found that passion, create a plan of action and a timeline of how you’re going to get started and what you need to move forward. Set SMART goals – be realistic in achievements and plan out your marketing to reach those goals.
Get creative, find inspiration, be motivated by passion.
Are you thinking about starting a business? Once you’re ready to get started, give us a call to talk about an online marketing strategy – we’d love to hear your story, see what you’re looking to do and help you get there. Speak soon!
by Karen Petrauskas | Jul 25, 2020
Our social media news feeds are filled to overflowing of posts and articles that half of the time are pointless to us. There is so much content out there that it can be really hard to make an impact or float your business above everything else that is going on out there. But there is a way for you to be proud of your posts and make people more aware of you and your brand – and that’s by being passionate about your business.
Let’s be honest, it’s quite easy to put a quick Facebook post together and put it out there in the hope that someone will see it but it’s not as easy to create a post that is going to get noticed and create a reaction.
We need to stop ‘just putting posts out there’ and start being passionate about our brand, the products or services that we produce and put our enthusiasm into the content. There was a reason you started your business, there is a reason why you believe in what you’re doing, there is a reason why you want people to work with you. You have a story to tell, you have a drive and motivation that you want to get out there… and that’s the ammunition that you need to use in order to create a result.
Start with yourself and your story
This is a good place to start, from the beginning. What made you passionate about what you’re doing? How did the whole business get started and how has it built to where it is today? Take your customers / followers on a journey or getting to know the real you. Let them gain enthusiasm like you do and take them through all that you love, say, do in order to really understand everything that you’re doing. You want to create a bond, a trust with your audience and you want them to love your brand as much as you do.
Speak with relevance
As we said, anyone can create a quick Facebook post but does it have meaning, is it true to your business, will it inspire or educate someone, does it reflect your brand? All these things make up what a post should include. It needs to speak to your ideal audience, not your next door neighbour or family member. Don’t put up a post that has no meaning or relevance to your business, you can do this on your personal profiles, but stick to relevant content that your readers are going to want to hear.
Create eye-catching content
We’re not all brilliant graphic designers but there are many (free) tools out there that can help. If you’ve not yet discovered Canva, we suggest you take a look! The perfect space for you to create images to the right size, with the right feel, utilising templates, colours, fonts and more to speak to your audience. There are many pre-made templates to inspire you and if you simply don’t have an eye for design, you can use these as your own. There are also many royalty free stock image sites that you can make use of too. The image you choose for your social media posts are going to be the stopping point, or not, for your readers. If they like the image, they’ll stop to read what you have to say.
Use thought-provoking copy
Just like the image, your copy should make someone have a reaction. Whether you are trying to make them smile, laugh, cry or think, touching a reader’s emotion will create an impact. By understanding your audience and knowing what they are looking for, you’ll have a better understanding of what to put in your posts. Create emotion, empathy, use real-life illustration or examples – touch hearts and minds by what you write.
Use call-to-actions
You don’t need to do this in every post but the way to create engagement is to tell your readers what you want them to do after reading your post. Do you want them to comment, to share, to click through to a website? Ask them to! In most cases you need to ask someone to go to the next step in order for them to do it. It’s not cheeky and don’t feel guilty about asking people to do things – use your social media in the best way possible to get people to know, like and trust you – if that’s by giving them something further to follow or read, that’s fine!
With everything you create online, be sure to keep it branded, relevant and inspirational. You want your content to stand out and you need people to engage, as that’s what social media is all about! The key to growing your business, seeing an increase in sales, building a following and creating a sustainable business is in the engagement. When you’ve established how to get people to interact and engage, you’re on the right path to seeing the rest fall into place.
If you’d like help with creating a strategy or social media marketing plan that will keep your audience coming back for more, we’d love to talk. We’re online marketing specialist who love to get social, love to get to know your business and want to help you create a successful, engaging brand online. Get in touch today!
In the meantime, why not download our social media checklist – don’t forget the basics to get you started. It’s FREE! 👇
by Karen Petrauskas | Jul 8, 2020
We’ve all heard it said by someone; “What’s the point in social media marketing?”, you’ve probably even said it yourself at some point. But as a business owner there is absolutely point in making an effort to showcase your brand online through the power of the many social media platforms there are to hand.
Not every platform is going to be relevant or applicable to your business. Not everyone has time to spend creating fantastic eye-catching content to spread across social media. But the point of the matter is, it is a necessity in today’s digital world that a business needs to be online in order to be heard.
- But where do you start when it comes to online marketing?
- How do you create great posts, especially if design or creativity is not your strong point?
- When and where do you post and how do you manage it all?
- Why should you bother?
Lots of questions and all that have some great answers which we’ll cover in this post.
Here at KJP Creative we believe that you must have a passion and drive for your business in order to believe in it. There’s absolutely no point pursing a business venture if you don’t believe in it. And this is the same for your social media content, your online presence along with everything else that you do and say when you meet others. Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people turned to online resources to stay afloat and to keep their business going. And things are not going to stop here as the world heads back to normality – this has changed the way of business, this has created such an impact on the online world that you need to be in it and with it to be noticed.
We’ve said it before, but those who are visible and adding value through everything that has happened, will be the ones who are remembered when it stops. This is applicable to any pandemic, not just Coronavirus, it’s about standing out, creating a safe place for people to find out about you and providing value to every person that you come into contact with – both online and offline.
Where do you start?
You need to start with your audience. Our coaching courses dig deeper into this but we fully believe that in order to know where to start, what to say and who to say it to, you need to understand your audience and be confident that the content you produce is what is needed in a very noisy and busy advertising world.
Get to know and understand your audience. Research everything you can about their likes and dislikes, their needs and problems. What they want to hear or see. What would make them buy from a business? Put yourself in their shoes and think as they would – what would make you buy from you?
Along with this, there’s probably other brands that are doing exactly what you’re trying to do too – so use this, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. As well as researching your audience, research your competitors. What works for them? What type of content do they produce? What are they saying, who are they reaching, what are they giving or providing? What works for them may work for you too, so take note and use what you can.
How do you create great social media content?
Not everyone is artistic or creative, we get that, so how can you produce great content if (you think) you’re not good at it?
There are a few ways to look at this question. First off, you can learn! There are plenty of free tools out there to help and that are great resources to help you get started. We absolutely love Canva and wouldn’t be without it. There’s a free version so you don’t need to pay out to get started and you can experiment and play with the variations in order to create some images and content that goes with your branding.
The most important tip we can give you in this is stay true to what your brand is about and use the inspirations inside of you to think of ideas.
What is your brand about? What’s your story? What are your beliefs or values?
These are the types of things you can be thinking of when you want to put a (for example) Facebook post together. Find an image that says what you’re thinking of, something that says exactly what you’d like to say if you didn’t have words. Then think about the wording that would go with your post, for the text on your chosen social platform. Your image and text should go hand in hand, not contradict each other and be inspirational or educational to your audience.
Even if you think you don’t have a creative bone in your body, you know what you like, you know your business better than anyone and you can use this to create content that is unique to you and your brand.
The second answer to this question is that you can outsource. We all have our strong and weak points and you may find after a few attempts of creating content that it really isn’t for you – that’s ok! You don’t have to be good at everything. And this is something that as a small business owner you can get het up about and struggle with. Stick to what you’re good at and let an expert take over this section of your business for you. You’ll see a much better return of investment by doing so, and you’ll be less stressed and relieved at the whole process.
Example: Talking to a hairdresser who was in a similar situation, who really wanted to be online and creating a fantastic social media presence – but she simply didn’t have the time or the energy to do it well and make it successful. She worked out that if she did one extra set of highlights (or whatever service it was!) a week – and for her it was doing what she loved and using her own skills – she could outsource her online marketing for the month. Result.
How much better is your business going to be if you’re filling the holes with the right sized pegs?
How do you manage it all?
This is a good question and social media or online marketing needs to have a strategy and a plan of action. This is fundamental to making it successful and doing your best to make it work well. Many people post content for the sake of it, or rush it at the end of the day when they realise that nothing has been posted that day. But what good is that to your audience if you’re not a) consistent or b) putting thought or value into what you’re providing?
Planning is key. Organisation is key. And that’s why we love our Social Media and Marketing Strategy Planner – it’s a wonderful resource to ensure you’re heading in the right direction, you’re making notes and building up a plan of action and you can see ahead to what’s coming and what needs to be done. Yes it takes time and dedication but as with anything, if you’re going to do something, you should do it well.
There are scheduling tools that you can use to manage your posts and to make it easier to create content ahead of time, the last think you want to do is be on your social media channels all day every day, you’d never get anything else done! That’s where a planner comes in which works with your business plan and marketing strategy. Everything comes together to form a smooth social media presence that will help your business be noticed, become loved and trusted and in turn, successful.
So why should you bother with social media marketing?
We hope that you want your business to grow, to flourish and to be loved. If you’re a small independent business, do you want people in your local community to hear about you and to use your products or services?
Did you start your business with the mindset that you’d like to see it bigger than just the little startup that you began with, or do you see it stagnate and fizzle out and die? Probably not!
You have a passion to see results. You have drive to be successful in your ventures. You want a successful business, something that you can be proud of, something that will pay the bills (and more) and something that you will get you known within your industry / sector and allow you to become an expert in your field – right?
Your social media presence will help you get there and achieve these things. Raising brand awareness is not always an easy task but with the help of social media, it’s lot easier than it used to be!
We hope that you have that passion and desire to want to succeed and realise that online marketing should be part of your business growth strategy in order to make that a possibility. If you’d like to find out more or talk to us about strategy and planning, we’d love to help. Get in touch and let’s have a conversation. Speak soon!
In the meantime why not download our “Social Media Checklist – don’t forget the basics” which hopefully will help you think about the basics of what social media entails and provide you with a checklist of what you can do. If you want to talk through anything, feel free to contact us, we’re here to help at the click of a button.
