by Karen Petrauskas | Jul 31, 2021
Does your marketing have PURPOSE? 🏆
What drives you in your business, what impact do you want to achieve, what results do you want to see come to fruition? Is your business PURPOSE-DRIVEN?
There needs to be some passion behind the face of your social media channels – you’ve got a chance to make a difference and to get your business in front of a such a wide potential of customers, the impact you can achieve (when done right) is never-ending, but you’ve got to have the drive and ambition to get there and to make STUFF happen.
Have you got the passion?
If you’re not enthusiastic about your brand, who will be? Your marketing is the face of your business and your passion needs to be visible. Think of creative ways to showcase your passion – video, vlogs, behind the scenes stories – try to do something that’s different from the normal pattern you’d use in order for it to stand out.
SHOUT about what you’re doing, what makes you do what you do and why you love it so much. Get people to be passionate with you, embracing your values and pushing the awareness of your brand.
Back to basics
Let’s go back to the basics from when you first put a marketing strategy together, and also considering that we are coming through a pandemic and everything is looking a lot different than it was two years ago… think about your business plan and goals; can you answer these questions:
- Where do you see your business at the end of this year?
- Where do you see your business in 5 years from now?
- What people do you want to influence or affect?
- Who can benefit the most from what you have to offer?
- What makes you unique?
Now, using each of these points, map out what marketing methods would be best to get these points in front of your audience, and how you can create engaging content that reiterates the message you want to get across.
- Can you stick to organic posting?
- Could you be doing more?
- Can you use stories or another channel to reach a different type of audience?
- How about paid advertising?
Your purpose is what keeps the business going – it gives it a mission and direction to reach the people you want to help.
Strategy example
Make sure you have a clear goal in marketing, that way you can measure if it happens or not. If one of your aims is to see an increase of 5% to your website traffic, for example, you would need to put in place steps to drive the extra traffic. What can you do to send more people there? Would this include more call to actions on your organic posts? Could you implement some paid advertising to target specific interested parties?
If you want to increase your engagement by 20% on your social channels, you could look at content that encourages engagement, i.e., polls, asking questions, asking for feedback etc.
If you look at the bigger picture, when you increase social media activity, this will build trust and authenticity. When followers start to trust and like your content, they are more likely to head over to your website when you direct them. Once they’re on your site, what can you do to keep them there? Have a goal in mind for when they are browsing your website and ensure that navigation is easy. With this approach, and taking one step at a time, you are aiming to hit both your targets with one sweep.
From here, it’s a case of measuring the activity on your channels and determining if you are gaining an increase. If not, can you do more?
Be a risk taker in marketing
Don’t be afraid to try new things – risk takers are more likely to get results because they’re not afraid to try something that ‘may not’ work – but if it does… winner!
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
What’s your purpose and how can you use social media marketing to get there?
We love working with purpose-driven organisations who have a clear mission and goal – and we love helping these people achieve their goals through social media. So, if you’re looking to get ahead and make your mission fly, let’s talk about a strategy and action plan. Get in touch today 🤙
While you’re here, checkout our FREE gift to you: our Social Media Checklist – don’t forget the basics! 👇🏻
by Karen Petrauskas | Jun 26, 2021
Do you have a blog on your website?
- Why should you have a blog?
- Not enough time to blog?
- What’s the point of blogging?
- I can’t write blog posts
Which question are you asking right now?
Some small business owners struggle with keeping up with a blog on top of everything else they have to [usually] solely manage.
And larger organisations don’t always use the resources they have to create a blog as their teams are busy doing other things.
BUT having a blog on your website is extremely beneficial for these reasons…
- A blog drives traffic to your website
- Traffic turns into leads
- Provide knowledge and expertise and create authority
- Help solve problems, whilst building trust
- Build relationships with fellow readers
- Boost social media efforts
- Blogging is an amazing way to drive traffic to your website and increase your SEO
Here at KJP Creative we use our blog to help answer questions that people are asking, in order to give them value and help them in their online marketing journey. It ticks more than one box when it comes to engaging with an audience, answering the common questions that customers have, and providing content that can help other business owners in topics that they may be contemplating within their business.
Blogging also helps us to keep up to date with relevant news and trends, and keeps us on our toes in terms on knowledge and expertise. We also love to be able to share how-to’s, advice and tips with our audience, which is a great way to engage with people who are searching for solutions.
Blogging is a must for SEO
Absolutely, search engine optimisation helps to create fresh and exciting new content on a regular basis and will do wonders for Google! It will help to raise your profile, get you appearing in more search results, and help to improve that search listing. Want to be on page 1 of Google… get blogging!
Create fresh blogs / content
When we say ‘fresh’ content, that’s what we mean, not just updating a few lines on a page or swapping out an image, we mean creating regular new pages with lots of juicy content that the search engines can use when people are searching online for your products or services.
Use keywords in your blog posts
Ensure that you’re using keywords within your content and that it is all relevant to what you are writing about, however, the last thing you want to do is create top heavy keywords throughout the whole post, without relevance to the specific content. It will not work! Research your topic, understand the audience and what they might be looking for and typing into Google when they’re searching for a topic. Use free keyword tools to generate ideas to help you incorporate these into your posts.
Always use good blog titles and headlines
Again, a must when it comes to blogs and articles on your website. You want the post to be found and by creating a title that is directly what someone maybe searching for, gives you more of a chance to be found. This is also said for the meta data that goes with title. What people see and read on their search feed will determine whether or not they will click through.
What will entice them, what will make them click, what urgency or interest can you serve them in order for them to choose your post over another?
Having a blog on your website and utilising specific keywords gives so much more opportunity for your business to be discovered and also when it is, providing information-rich content will go a long way in establishing trust and reputation for your brand.
Not sure what to blog about?
If you’d like to blog but not sure where to start, why not make a list of all the questions that people ask you within your business. These questions can be turned into full blown answers, which can be written, structured to incorporate other links and helpful advice, and put onto your website.
If you’ve not got the time to blog, that’s ok. Many businesses don’t create the content themselves but instead they use people have. This is a perfectly normal practice for business owners of all sizes. Content creators are experienced in researching a given topic and finding the best way of putting this down in writing for others to read and act upon. Perhaps you’ve got lots of topic ideas but simply don’t have the time to put it into action – outsourcing your blog is definitely a solution.
There’s always a way if you want to make blogging happen and to give your business the extra credibility it deserves -, and with the added bonus that blogging is such a great way to boost SEO and search result listing, you’d be mad not to take advantage 😆
Get in touch if you’d like to find out more out blog and content marketing services.
In the meantime, why not download our free social media checklist to help ensure you’re ticking all the boxes when it comes to your social media marketing… enjoy!
by Karen Petrauskas | May 28, 2021
Are you struggling to create engagement on your social media channels?
Here’s a secret… you don’t have to dance, sing or point to word bubbles on Reels or TikTok to create engagement on your social media channels. Of course, if you want to then that’s absolutely fine! But for those less comfortable with jigging in front of a camera, there are other ways to make the magic happen. Yes, videos do help build on engagement, but they don’t have to be cheesy – always stay on brand.
If you’re looking to grow your following on social media, create content that is worthy of all the hard work you put in, whilst staying professional and in line with your brand’s mission and identity – it all comes down to strategy. A marketing strategy gives you clear guidance, a path to follow and a goal to work towards. So, how do you put together a social media strategy?
Here are our 8 tips for creating engagement that goes way beyond a 60 second Reels jingle and will keep your professionalism still intact!
Be original.
It can be hard to create content that is 100% unique, yes? There is so much competition out there that you’re bound to cross paths with someone. However, the way to get around this is to be original. Put your own spin on a topic, create content from your point of view, with your personality – as if you’re talking to the reader. Make it completely original content, written from your perspective.
Tell a story.
We all have a story to tell, you might not think that yours is very interesting – but it’s YOUR story. Business is built on trust, people buy from people they trust, people like to understand and see behind the scenes and what happens behind the face and voice of a brand. This is your chance to shine and to tell everyone about what you are doing, why you are doing it and the mission that you have.
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 still to it. This is where content planning comes in handy.
Add value.
This goes without saying. Everything you produce, say or do, should add value to the recipient. Try not to think about what you might be giving away for free – the more you give, the more you will get in return. If someone thinks they are getting value, they will keep coming back and more importantly, they will tell others what they have discovered. Always give without doubt, offer advice, guidance, even things that will give them a step-up, the more they like what they see, the more you will see them back for more.
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. Think about your tone of voice, image and type of content, logos and personas, frequency… all things that make your brand recognisable and unique.
Solve problems.
People are searching and seeking for answers. Here’s your chance to help someone. Understand your audience and give them answers to the solutions they are seeking. Be there in their times of need or pain points – show up when you say you’re going to, and give them something they can take away right there and then, which will make them feel like they’ve achieved what they need to.
Create eye-catching content.
There’s no point in creating content that no one is going to see. It’s a waste of your valuable time and it benefits no one. What would you want to see if you were on the other side? What would make you stop and look? Start there. Create content that touches on an emotion, or tells a story, or that speaks directly to a circumstance – images need to make the audience stop scrolling and read what you have to say.
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.
When and if you start to implement a 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? 🚀
Get in touch and let’s have a conversation on how your business can benefit from high engaging content.
Be sure to grab our FREE 2021 Social Media Awareness days calendar while you’re here to help discover more ways of engaging with your audience…
by Karen Petrauskas | Apr 29, 2021
We all know that marketing is important to any business, but when it comes to social media, are you one that forgets about creating regular posts and engaging with your customers online?
Yes it can be easy to forget, we get that – you’re a busy business owner with lots of plates to spin – but it’s also a vital part of your growth strategy which will help you further down the line.
- Putting off posting because you don’t know WHAT to post?
- Putting off posting because you don’t have the TIME to post?
- Putting off posting because you don’t think it’s RELEVANT?
All of these factors are important things to consider – but when you understand them, it’s a lot easier to put them into practice.
What to post on social media:
So many people have absolutely no idea what to post on their social media channels. We hear things like “I want to grow my business, but what on earth do I put on a Facebook page?”. They watch us take over for a month, and they’re like… “yes, we get it now”.
The first thing to do when you hit a brick wall like this is to get your notepad out and start to write everything down about your business. Split it up into sections, for example, if you’re running an e-commerce store:
- What types of stock do you sell
- Who is the stock for / age range / demographics etc
- What are the prices
- What’s your USP? Unique selling proposition. What makes you stand out from the rest. What makes your product better than anything else?
- Who would benefit from your products.
… you get the idea – everything you can think of in relation to what your business is about.
This then can be thought of in terms of a Facebook or Instagram post. Creating a post that’s showcasing a particular beauty product, list it’s benefits, who it’s for and the amazing price. This of course, would be a post that is targeting for selling.
*Tip: Don’t sell, sell, sell across your channels, you’ll need to mix it up with other engaging content as well.
When to post on social media:
Take some time to research when and where your audience is hanging out and what times of day they are most likely going to see your content. If you’re targeting new parents, during the day probably wouldn’t be best, as they’re busy looking after their newborn. But, how about early in the morning when everyone else is still in bed and they’re up feeding the baby at stupid-o-clock? Or later in the evening when they’ve put the baby to bed and have some time to lounge on the sofa and check their Facebook feed?
Get into the mindset of the reader and consider the most likely times they will be around. This might take a few trial and errors, but you’ll soon discover what times of day gets the most engagements. Then all your content can be scheduled ahead of time, ready to reach the reader when they’re ready.
Is your social media content relevant?
Some people think that their content is just not that relevant to others on social media, they have a ‘boring’ niche, or it’s not your average choice of reading material. Hey, everyone’s got to have what they need at some point in time, and why not while they’re scrolling their news feeds?
We’ve worked with quite a few Accountants in the past, and this is pretty similar to how they think – who’s going to want to hear about accountancy when they’re trying to relax!
Well, let’s switch it up a bit. You’ve got your newbie mum, looking after her baby and has lots of amazing ideas for what she could do instead of going back to work. She is etching to get a new business started when she has some free time. She’s worried that she won’t have the right knowledge in order to get started. Should she be a sole trader, start as a Limited Company… she’s lost. One evening she puts the kids to bed, tidies up the toys, and makes room to stop for the last part of the evening for some ‘me’ time and heads over to her Instagram feed. The first post that pops up is an accountancy company giving their top 5 tips for starting a new business – with tips on choosing the right type of company structure. This post instantly appeals to her and she stops to read, gaining confidence in the content she’s just read and giving her more ideas for her new business venture. Where is she likely to go back to when she wants to learn more?
You’ve got to know who your content is relevant for, how to target them and how to hit their sweet spot.
Your content isn’t going to be relevant if you go and post something about home life, when you’re looking for professionalism. It’s not going to be relevant if you want to target older couples and you use images of teenagers… work out who you’re speaking to and create the content to reach them in their safe zones.
At the end of the day, your competition WILL be online and growing their business through social media, and we don’t want you to get left behind. Your social media channels are a lifeline and can create many opportunities to see bigger and better results.
So get the post-it notes out and leave reminders for yourself to post on Social – every day is possible! Create a reminder on your phone to make time to write the content. When you find something that inspires you, write it on a post-it and keep them to one side ready for when you’re able to sit down and post… just get social! ❤️
Need help getting started? Get in touch today 👆
In the meantime, we’d love to give you a copy of our Social Media Awareness Days Calendar to give you some ideas of what to post about – find the ones that are relevant, get the conversation started and jump on the engagement with lots more relevant and timely content. Have fun!
by Karen Petrauskas | Mar 13, 2021
This past year has given way to what can only be described as an explosion on social media towards people asking the bigger questions about life. And this is the perfect opportunity for the church to meet people in their times of need or providing answers to their big questions – by sharing the gospel.
As Christians we have each been called to spread the word of God and to ‘make disciples‘ across the globe, so how effective can your outreach be if you can reach a much wider and bigger audience or community via the means of social media?
People are looking for answers. In this time of uncertainty and walking the unknown, comfort and peace is what people are seeking. The world is much more open to spiritualness and God at this time and having conversations that can bring light or hope is what’s needed.
The church has a place online to rise up, to bring light into the darkness and to help see lives changed. And by using social media the church can have more effective resources to meet people right where they are, in their homes and in their safe place.
Start with a conversation
That’s all it takes. Social media is as the name suggests, all about getting social. That means it’s about having conversations and engaging and interacting with people in their safe place. Each social channel is different and has its own set of users but choose ones where you think your church will have the most influence or impact. If that’s Facebook for example, set up a Facebook Page (not a profile) for your church, start inviting members or friends to join and post content relevant to what your church’s mission. When people start noticing your page and start engaging with the content, you have an opportunity to reply and to keep the conversation going. From this point on, and especially if anything gets heated, you could take the conversation away from public eyes and use the Messenger service as an alternative. Or even better still, ask for the phone number and arrange for a physical conversation! (And in time, hopefully a coffee and a chat!)
What to post on social media?
You may be stuck for ideas on what content to put on your page and that’s pretty normal when you first get started. You can split this up into different categories – not every post is going to speak to every reader. For example, you have your regular attenders and you have your visitors. You will also get people passing by or stopping by to take a look. Then you’ll have friends of friends who have seen comments that others have made – they might not be Christians but are interested in what’s being talked about. Theses are all very different audiences – so you need to try and cater for them all in some way or another.
What types of content you post can vary depending on which of the categories you are talking to. For example:
Scriptures
Posts that contain scriptures or daily bible verses – these are great for inspiration or encouragement. How great it is to speak directly into a situation, a post that provides confirmation or clarity.
Information or educational
Information posts – what’ on content that mentions the things you have going on in the church. Whether these are online or offline, provide some clarity and information about what’s going on and the groups & meetings you have. If it’s an online meeting, where is it being held, how can people join etc. If you don’t want to publicise Zoom links, ask people to message the page if they require the link. If you’re having in person meetings, are there guidelines that people need to know about, do they need to register, how do they register?
Videos
Live streams – videos from people in the church that are ‘live’. It’s great for a Pastor for example while in their study or out for a walk to take five minutes out to talk to the church through their Facebook page. When it’s Live, it gives opportunity for people to engage back with the speaker and for a two-way conversation to be had through the comments. If you’re having in person meetings, have you thought about Live-streaming the service so that people at home can watch and join in too?
It doesn’t have to be a complicated set up, all you need to get started is a mobile phone, tripod and the internet! Obviously, the better quality you want, especially in a live service scenario, the better the technical equipment you’ll need to look into. Here’s a great introduction to digital media for churches.
Videos – not live. You may not be comfortable doing a live video but perhaps you still have things that you’d like people to hear? A thought for the day, a prayer, an interview – why not video the conversation and upload it to your page? Videos get a much higher engagement rate on social media compared to still images – why not give it a go!
Other
Articles from trusted sources are also a great way of communicating to your community. If you’ve read something that you think would benefit someone else, share it to the page.
You could also try some real-life photos or images of people from the church and again, things that are happening in your community. Try to keep it real and true to who you are as a church.
Evangelism online
There have been many stories of people becoming Christians during the Covid19 pandemic and much of this has happened through online sources. Social media is such a powerful tool which can be used for a variety of reasons and evangelism is definitely one of them. There are hundreds of resources available to help you outreach online, you only need to Google the phrase online outreach material find an array of material. But bringing this back to your own community and making your church more effective online can only bless and encourage those who need it.
If you’re not yet back to in person church, or if you are but there are still those that cannot for whatever reason come into the building, use your social channels to speak to them and to reach out. Help them feel less isolated and included in what the church is doing. Use your socials to let them know what they can be doing from home.
Encourage your congregation to use your social channels and if you need to have a team of people to help manage the various platforms, seek out those who could do this for you. Got young people in the church? Why not set up an Instagram or TikTok profile and ask one of the young people to help manage it?
If your church is new to social media or doesn’t yet have a presence online, we’d love to chat this through further with you. Social media is definitely a tool that can be used to enhance evangelism and outreach if used correctly and can bring a community closer together too. Here at KJP Creative, we offer 20% discount to church social media packages – so if you’re considering getting started, get in touch and let’s have an initial conversation.
Testimonial
Malvern Hills Church was a prime example of utilising Facebook to keep their church engaged during the first lockdown. Not having much of an online presence, when lockdown hit, the leadership team were unsure how they were going to reach their community and beyond. But KJP Creative worked with them for 3 months to build their Facebook community and to help them ‘do church ‘online’ and promoting their first online Alpha. Now they have a vibrant Facebook page with great interaction from both their church members and their wider community. Read their full review here.
