by Team KJP | Mar 18, 2025
Your customers are the foundation of your brand.
Community is hugely important in social media strategies, and you can’t afford to ignore it or push it to the side. Lots of businesses are now hiring people specifically for this function, but what if you don’t have a large budget?
What does a Community Manager do?
CM’s do a wide variety of things from responding to comments to organising online events. One common theme in all community jobs is engagement, getting your customers to be active and forming relationships.
Why is community important for your strategy?
Community management to us means transforming your marketing from a one-way to a two-way relationship, shifting away from traditional marketing at people to engaging with your customers and forming a relationship.
But why does community management matter?
- It gives you a much easier and direct way of receiving feedback and comments about your brand straight from your customers.
– Customers can (and will) tell you what they don’t like about your product, use this to your advantage, it’s free feedback!
- It will change the way your customers build trust and loyalty with your brand.
– Having a brand that interacts 1-1 with their customers makes you automatically stand out against other brands.
- Your brand will be more authentic in the way it treats customers.
– Taking the time to listen to your audience, treating the relationship as valuable is going to build your reputation.
All of this is a lot to take in and manage if you’re a small business, so we’ve got a few tips for you to implement this into your strategy without taking up too much time.
- Interact with any comments you receive, even if it’s a small ‘Thank you!’ It makes a big difference.
- Listen to your community. For example, if you have received lots of comments asking how a feature works, why not create a video demonstrating it?
- Reward your community. When you’ve nurtured your community, you want to make sure you continue to reward their engagement and loyalty to your brand with contests and giveaways.
- Experiment with different ways of engaging. Take a look at what other brands are doing well, research how they interact with their community and use it to try out new strategies.
Every brand is different.
Some are playful and casual, some more serious and professional but for every brand it can be hard starting out, wanting to follow trends and copy big brands.
Sometimes though, that can be more harmful if you’re not tailoring your strategy to your audience.
If you’re a small accountancy firm, your strategy is going to look very different to a small business selling knitting kits, and that’s something to embrace.
It would be difficult for an accountancy firm to host workshops for their customers to make their own knitted scarf, but it would be a lot easier to host a Q&A session about tax returns.
Don’t underestimate low value actions, customers will appreciate your authenticity as a small business and place a lot of value on small interactions and thoughtful gestures.
If you need some more help with your community management, we’d love to hear from you!
In the meantime, download our FREE social media checklist to ensure you’re not forgetting the basics when it comes to your social media marketing.
Post by Alice, our KJP Creative Community Manager
by Team KJP | May 31, 2024
How can you BOOST your social media efforts?
As a small business owner, navigating the world of social media can feel overwhelming.
With so many platforms and constant changes in algorithms, it’s easy to feel like you’re just treading water.
But we’re here to say not to worry! With the right strategies, you can turn your social media presence into a powerful tool for growth.
Here are SIX game-changing tips to help you explode your social media presence and see real results.
* And yes, they really work! *
#1 Consistency is Key
One of the most fundamental aspects of social media success is consistency. Posting regularly keeps your audience engaged and shows that you’re active and invested in your business. But what does consistency look like?
–> Plan Ahead:
Create a content calendar to plan out your posts in advance. This helps you stay organised and ensures you’re always ready with fresh content. It also allows you to align your posts with key dates and events relevant to your business.
–> Stick to a Schedule:
Whether you post daily, three times a week, or weekly, find a rhythm that works for you and your audience. It doesn’t matter the how often you post, just that you are consistent in your approach.
Consistency in timing helps your audience know when to expect new content from you, building anticipation and engagement.
–> Use Scheduling Tools:
Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, Social Pilot or Later (or many others out there) can help you schedule posts in advance. This way, you maintain a consistent presence without having to be online all the time.
Plus, these tools often provide analytics to help you understand what content works best. *Always good to measure your work.
#2 Engage, Engage, Engage
Social media isn’t just a broadcasting tool; it’s a platform for conversation.
Engagement is crucial for building relationships with your audience and increasing your visibility.
–> Respond to Comments:
Always take the time to reply to comments on your posts. This shows your audience that you value their input and encourages more interaction.
–> Engage with your Followers’ Content:
Don’t just wait for people to come to you. Go out and like, comment on, and share your followers’ posts. This not only increases your visibility but also strengthens your community. Win win!
–> Join Relevant Discussions:
Participate in conversations within your industry. Whether it’s in groups, forums, or the comment sections, your active participation can position you as a thought leader and attract more followers.
#3 Visuals That Wow
Let’s face it, there is so much content out there, readily available in every direction you look.
In this crowded world of social media, eye-catching visuals can make all the difference.
High-quality images, graphics, and videos are more likely to grab attention and drive engagement.
–> Invest in Quality:
Use high-resolution images and professional graphics. Poor quality visuals can undermine your brand’s credibility.
–> Use Tools like Canva:
Canva is an excellent tool for creating stunning visuals, even if you’re not a graphic designer. It offers a wide range of templates for social media posts, stories, and more.
*There are others out there too, this is just our favourite!
–> Mix Content Types:
Diversify your content with images, infographics, videos, and live streams. This keeps your feed dynamic and caters to different audience preferences.
#4 Tell Your Story
People connect with stories more than they connect with products or services.
Sharing your journey, challenges, successes, and behind-the-scenes moments can humanise your brand and build deeper connections with your audience. It’s about original content, authentic and raw.
–> Share Your Journey:
Let your audience in on the story behind your business. What inspired you to start? What challenges have you overcome?
–> Highlight Milestones:
Celebrate your achievements and let your audience celebrate with you. Whether it’s hitting a target, launching a new product, or an anniversary, share these moments.
–> Show Behind-the-Scenes:
Give a peek into your daily operations. This transparency builds trust and makes your audience feel like part of your journey.
* We personally love this one – everyone likes to see what you’re up to behind the scenes.
#5 Use Hashtags Strategically
Hashtags are a powerful way to increase your reach and visibility on social media. But it’s important to use them strategically to avoid looking spammy.
–> Research Popular Hashtags:
You can use tools like Hashtagify or Instagram’s own suggestions to find popular hashtags relevant to your industry. Or on your favourite social channel do your own research to see which hashtags are popular.
–> Create Branded Hashtags:
Develop a unique hashtag for your brand that your followers can use. This encourages user-generated content and increases your brand’s visibility.
–> Mix It Up:
Use a combination of popular, niche, and branded hashtags. Popular hashtags increase reach, niche hashtags target a specific audience, and branded hashtags build community.
#6 Analyse and Adjust
To truly succeed on social media, you need to understand what’s working and what’s not. Regularly analysing your performance helps you refine your strategy and achieve better results.
–> Use Analytics Tools:
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer built-in analytics. Tools like Google Analytics and your own scheduling tools (usually on the paid-for versions) provide deeper insights into your social media performance.
–> Track Key Metrics:
Focus on metrics like engagement rate, reach, impressions, and follower growth. These metrics give you a clear picture of how your content is performing.
–> Adjust Your Strategy:
Based on your analysis, tweak your strategy. Double down on what’s working and experiment with different types of content and posting times to see what resonates best with your audience.
—
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” ~ Seth Godin
Implement these tips, and you’ll start seeing a boost in your social media presence in no time. Remember, it’s all about being consistent, engaging with your audience, and creating visuals that stop the scroll.
Ready to take control of your social media journey? Start today and watch your presence explode!
Got questions or need more tips? Leave a comment or reach out – we’re here to help you every step of the way.
Speak soon!
by Team KJP | Mar 6, 2020
How often do you come to write your content and find yourself hitting a brick wall? You’ve set aside time to put pen to paper but you simply have writer’s block! How do you get around that or how do you make the writing process easier when you’re on a tight schedule?
Find inspiration around you
Start to notice the things going on around you and take note of what other people are doing or share about. Use other people’s experiences to give you ideas and inspiration. All you need is an idea or a seed and you’ve got something to start from.
Plan ahead
Take a few moments every week to make a list of relevant topics or titles which you can use another time. Research what is trending, what other people are writing about and most importantly, what your audience will want to read or hear about. Your content should be relevant to the people who are likely to read it so they can gain the value and insight from what you have to say.
Keep a notebook
One of the best ways to never find yourself with writer’s block is to keep a notebook with you all the time and to jot down ideas as you think of them. Someone may ask you a question which you could later turn into a blog post. You may see something on an advertising board that gives you an idea about a series of ‘how to’s’ or tutorials. You may be in a coffee shop and find inspiration from the conversations that you hear. In all these situations, you don’t need to write a load of content there and then but make a note in your pad so that you have something to write about the next time you sit down to put your content together.
Research
When you hit writer’s block, hit the research button! Spend some time looking at other reputable businesses and industry leaders to see what topics are hot at the moment. Use Twitter to see what questions people are asking or what people are searching for – what’s popular and what subjects need to be addressed.
Research is a good process to go through regularly anyway, whether you have writer’s block or not – it keeps you up to date and in touch with those around you.
Ask your audience
What better way to give your audience the content they want to hear by asking them the question.
Ask them: what do they want to know about \ what would they like to learn \ what would inspire them \ what would help them in their business or life situations?
Gain insight directly from the people who the content is for. If you’re asking them what they need and you’re writing content to accommodate, they will come back for more.
When you hit writer’s block if can be an extremely frustrating time however with planning and keeping your eyes open to what is around you, it becomes easier to overcome. Have processes in place that when you get to a time when you are drawing a blank on content, you’ve already got a backup plan to help you through.
Keeping on top of social media content and regularly posting to a blog takes time and effort. If you’re using a multiple of social channels and are committed to providing valuable content to your audience, it can be a lot of content to write! Try to keep your message from going stale, keep relevant to your audience and be sure to be giving them content that helps them. If you’re providing value, you’ll have loyal followers, you’ll grow your audience and (hopefully) grow your business.
Remember that in everything you do, refer back to your initial marketing strategy and keep to your goals – long and short term – in order to measure what works, what you are achieving and the direction you are heading.
If you still find yourself hitting writer’s block and you know that writing is simply not your thing – talk to us about our content marketing packages.
Why not download our FREE Awareness Days Calendar to see if the day you’re stuck, there is something you could write about – at least you’ll be on trend!
by Team KJP | Feb 27, 2020
Where do you start when marketing your business online? Do you struggle with getting a relevant, interesting and authentic message across? Do you find it difficult to come up with content that doesn’t repeat everything else you say?
Sometimes when a marketing message goes stale, we need to take a step away to refresh, recharge and revisit our mission statement. What we think we are saying, what we really say and the way that message comes across can be completely different things. Do you find yourself in the trap of repetition and regurgitating the same content over and over again? It’s time to freshen up!
Go back to basics
Go back to the drawing board, it’s time to brainstorm.
Start at the very beginning of your mission statement and the values that you hold, the things that are most valuable to you and your business. What is it that drives you forward, that gives you the motivation to do what you do? These are the fundamental elements that glue your business together and make you want to succeed. And these are essential parts that your audience need to know about when getting to know who you are and what your brand about.
Start the storyboard
Moving from your mission and values, start to set the scene and tell the story of where you’ve come from to where you are now. Everyone loves a story and for you to be authentic and unique will set you apart from the competition. Get the story rolling by sharing the heart behind your mission, the thought process of why you do what you do, the emotional angle of what’s precious to you. And then you can move on to the services you offer, why you offer them, what products you have, what value you give, what people can get from you and everything that physically makes up your business. By now your brainstorm should have lots of parts to it, all different aspects relating to the make up of your business.
Now you can start to link them together and begin to pull a common thread through it all. All these things together are what you’re going to share with your audience. You don’t just have one message to share but lots of multifaceted aspects that make up your brand.
Your message will not have a chance to go stale when you constantly go back to the basics, revisit the drawing board and brainstorm regularly to bring new ideas and visions to the table.
New content with new ideas
Once you have the ideas flowing and you’ve got everything that says what your business is about, you’ve got an opportunity to create some new content to go with it.
- Blog posts
- Newsletters
- Ebooks/Books
- Social media content
- Webinars
- Podcasts
- Videos/vlogs
How can you put your message into the above types of content? It’s about getting creative and sharing your message in different ways. Jump behind the scenes and share a video about what’s happening/ what’s going on/ your team/ your network/ your office. Interview people or create a podcast, this could give an opportunity to work with industry professionals – it’s not necessarily you doing all the speaking but it’s giving value and a variety to your audience. How much more engaging can a video or podcast be rather than a simple blog post? Both varieties have their merit but by doing both blog and video you automatically have two types of content that you can use across your social media, which you can then re-purpose and use again and again.
Once you’ve written a blog post, how many images or types of posts (i.e. infographics / how tos etc) can you create that share a similar message which you can use across your channels? Re-posting the same blog image could get repetitive but 5 or 6 different images that relate to the same thing will give a variety to your readers and your audience.
Complacency
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of what’s always work should always work – but that’s simply not the case, especially in a fast paced online world where there is so much competition and fight for attention. There is no place for complacency. You may be comfortable, you may love what you do, but are you seeing measurable results from it? If the answer is no, you’re just wasting valuable time that could be better invested in your business. Try not to sit on the fence hoping that something will change ‘soon’, if it’s not working, something needs to give. Go back to the drawing board and figure out what your message is truly about and give your marketing some fresh substance for people to get a hold of.
At the end of the day, your message needs to be fresh, consistent, inline with your values and mission and giving value to your audience. If it doesn’t meet these needs, you’re going to struggle to make it work. Use this opportunity to get creative in your marketing, to relight the fire and passion about what your business is about and to think of new ways of getting the attention of your audience. What is it they want to see, what do they want to hear that will solve their pain points? Be there in the forefront of their minds, show up when no one else does and give purpose to your brand. If you love it and share that zeal, then other’s will catch on and be there with you.
If you’d like to chat over your marketing plans or strategy or simply know that it’s time to outsource your social media marketing to a team that want you get results – and know how to get them!, we’d love to talk. Contact us today for an initial consultation.
In the meantime if you’d like some inspiration on what to talk to your audience about, why not download our FREE 2020 Awareness Days Calendar – and start the conversations today!
