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10 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Facebook Advertising

10 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Facebook Advertising

by | Feb 1, 2019

Are you using Facebook advertising for your business?

As a business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything that’s going on and jumping in with two feet trying to do it all: video marketing, blogging, email marketing, SEO, social media marketing – there are many options, it’s endless.

But the reality is that we cannot do it all – that is without burnout! Therefore, we must focus our efforts on what works, where our audience is likely to be and what attracts them. If we’re not reaching our audience, we might as well give up.

If we try to do every form of online marketing, we can find that we stretch ourselves too thin and work becomes sloppy, disengaging or not to the point and sales become a dream. In order to make online marketing effective for your business you need to establish what works for your business and stick to it.

There is one fact we know. Your audience is on social media. The social platforms are dominating all things online and this is where you need to get specific and dig deeper into how to target your audience at a personal level. Don’t throw all your eggs into one basket either, test what gets results and measure what works for you.

There is one platform though that can give your business amazing results if worked correctly, and that’s Facebook, in specific, Facebook advertising. Why do we choose Facebook? Here’s why:

Your audience is on Facebook!

With Facebook being the biggest of all social networks (2.32 billion monthly active users) it is providing individual businesses the biggest opportunities to get right in front of their ideal audience. It may not be your ideal platform but your target audience is on there somewhere, if you know where to look. 10 Reasons why you should be using Facebook Advertising for your business

Facebook ads are cheap!

They’re not free, but they can often not be far off. Facebook ads can be the cheapest form of online advertising if your targeting options are correct. You can easily set daily budgets so you can be assured you don’t spend more than you intend to.

How far can you get with the budget that you have? It’s about creating a clear focus and following a simple strategy that aligns with your targets, goals and budget.

Helps organic reach

Facebook encourage businesses to advertise and want you to spend money (of course!) but favour those who do. This means that your organic social media reach will go further. We totally believe in organic posting for Facebook – adding in paid Facebook ads will help boost your organic posts.

You don’t need a huge budget

As we said, you can do Facebook advertising on a budget. Typically, £5 worth of ads could get your business in front of 1,000 people. Just think how much £50 could reach, or even £100 – amazing, right! And you can be extremely picky on who those people may be by using in the targeting options when setting up your ads.

Facebook Ads are fast

Yes, Facebook advertising drives traffic almost instantly, and you can see immediate results. You could start reaching thousands of people today! If you’re looking for a quick way to drive traffic or to create conversions, this is a fantastic way to make this happen.

Brand Awareness

This is what all small businesses are striving for in a busy digital society, to be recognised and known. By using Facebook advertising you can create brand awareness very easily. It’s a great way to let people know what you’re offering and to promote services or products. If someone has seen your business in their news feed, they will be more likely to make a purchase when they realise this is something that they need. 10 Reasons why you should be using Facebook Advertising for your business

It’s easy to target customers

Facebook ads are brilliant at being able to target specific details, whether that be demographics, interests, job titles, or down to post codes – you can get specific with your audience. And you don’t have to just use one target, you can layer those details depending on what your promotion is offering. Save your target audience for another time or change them as you go – the options really are endless.

Once you’ve found an audience that converts, you can replicate them – this is called ‘lookalike audiences’. Facebook will take a custom audience and reach new people who are similar to that audience – meaning new targets for your business and new opportunities for conversions.

Facebook re-marketing

This option is also amazing! Re-marketing basically allows you to target people who have already taken an action, for example visited your website, used your mobile app, or given you an email address etc. These ads are presented when users visit other websites or use social media, watch videos and such like. It’s an extremely effective and powerful tool that could triple your conversion rates.

This option is ideal for hard offers – for sign ups, downloads, consultations etc.

Facebook increases website traffic

Facebook advertising is a great way to get more traffic to your website. By simply setting up a website click campaign, you can have users visiting your website in minutes. Once you’ve done this a number of times, you’ve got a batch of information to use for further retargeting campaigns and to entice people who have already taken the bait. Website click campaigns can be done from all forms of advertising but the joy of doing it within Facebook is the fact that it’s so precise and cost-effective which makes it more beneficial than other forms of advertising.

Quick advertising

Facebook adverts have a simple set-up process and produce fast results – the perfect equation for any advertising campaign. Compared to Google advertising, managing Facebook ads is a lot easier and once you are familiar with the process it can become an easy task to complete.

Don’t forget that using Facebook adverting will bring new users to your website and you will see an increase in your activity but this is not the end game – you want to see conversions! Ensure that when users visit your site or landing page, they are presented with something that is true to your business, provides value and gives solutions to what they are looking for. Make sure that your landing page doesn’t look tacky and it’s branded exactly the same as the advert they clicked on in the first place, including your tone of voice.

Your Facebook ads are still the voice of your business and should be professional and welcoming at all times.

Have you tried Facebook advertising for your business? What are your thoughts?

If you’d like to see bigger results this year and are ready to push forward with targeted social media advertising, we’d love the opportunity to chat with you. Get in touch and let’s talk.

 

Have you tried our 2020 social media awareness days calendar? Download for FREE and get your social organised.

2020 awareness days calendar free download

Top Tips on How To Grow Your Small Business With Online Marketing

Top Tips on How To Grow Your Small Business With Online Marketing

by | Oct 31, 2018

If you’re a small business, you probably have a small marketing department, (if it’s not just you on your own trying to fill all the roles yourself) and it can be rather confusing or overwhelming at times. Not only does it require time and effort, but it can be frustrating if you’re not seeing results or growing your online presence.

Even though it can be a frustrating, it is a necessity in today’s digital world and the need for your business to be out there and seen is ever more important.

Many businesses are seeing a shift away from the conventional way of marketing and offline material and heading towards a variety of online marketing means. This gives way to much competition and the need to promote your brand as best as you can. Social media is the main marketing tool for most businesses and brands are seeing great results from well-managed marketing strategies and plans.

If you’re a small business trying to catch up with the larger organisations, you’re not alone and there are many things you can do to give your online marketing the best outcome possible, if you follow the best tips of how to get going on social media.

Build a commendable reputation

This isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Learning to connect with the RIGHT people will help your business get noticed in a better light, rather than just connecting with anyone for the sake of it. This starts with brand awareness. And this is best done by creating an online presence that represents your whole brand and who you are both online and offline. This powers down from every little thing you use to market your business, from your logo and tagline to your visuals, social media posts, blog posts and website. The design and feel must match your persona and core values.

If you’re not good at the design side for your business, don’t be afraid to outsource this to someone that it. Having a logo designed professionally or your social media profile started with professionalism will set the standard of what your brand stands for and that you mean business.

Be where your audience is

When we mention that you need to connect with the RIGHT people, that means to be where your audience is, and to focus on their needs and not a generalised version. Who are your ideal clients? Which social platform can they be found mostly on and can you reach out to them? What solutions are they looking for?

If you generalise in your marketing, you’ll find things very wishy-washy and hard to build a solid business. If you focus down and discover your niche and the audience within that, even though the amount of people you are reaching is probably a smaller percentage, they will be more dedicated to your cause and open to what you have to say.

Online marketing for small businesses. Don't struggle with social media marketing - you can grow your brand with these top tips

Don’t spread too thin

The worst thing you can do when running a small business (or big one, in fact!) is to spread yourself too thin. Everything has its place and everything has its priority. Marketing should be high in those priorities but there are other things too that have a place in the to-do list. Therefore working out the best place to spend your time on social media or online that will benefit your business, is where you need to market. It can come with some trial and error and yes that can take a bit of time, but establishing the best place for social media marketing rather than splashing posts all over the place that have no relevance will be better in the long run.

You could put the same post up across all your social channels and fill a slot for that day, but does that speak to your audience or does it show laziness and not much thought process? Of course if it’s something that is relevant for all channels then that is fine, but be sure to tweak your posts to engage with the audience on that platform, along with creating images that fit correctly. It looks unprofessional for the same text and image size to be slapped on all platforms.

We suggest thinking about brand awareness, relationship building / networking, value, sales. Which social platform gives you better opportunity to reach your target audience in these categories? This may be Facebook, it may be Instagram, it may be LinkedIn – or it could be a combination of a couple of social channels. But if you’re managing this yourself, try not to spread yourself too thin by doing all of them at once. Not only will you burnout, your marketing efforts will be less effective and you’ll miss out on potential opportunities trying to keep up with it all. Establish a solid presence on one platform, then move up to two if you feel you need to, and gradually build from there. If you’re listening to your audience correctly, you’ll know where they are and where you need to be focusing your marketing.

Follow your plan

As with anything, it’s good to start with a plan – and to stick to it! When you started your business, (hopefully) you put together a business strategy/plan to build your targets and objectives into. This is the same for your marketing. You need a social media marketing strategy to keep focused and on track to ensure that you’re meeting goals and heading in the right direction. When you fall away from plans, you lose sight of what you’re actually doing. It can be very easy to digress or go off on a tangent, but if you have a marketing plan to bring you back in line, you’ll be ok!

Another reason for following a plan is that you are able to physically see when something does not work. This is a good thing! It can help you be more productive and efficient by allowing you to tailor your social strategy to what does work! All your ideas and thought can go into the brainstorming part of the plan and be incorporated as the plan progresses. Always be open to trying something new, if you don’t take risks, you’ll find yourself in the same place years down the line.

Have you got a plan for your Online marketing for your small businesses? Don't struggle with social media marketing - you can grow your brand with these top tips

Be engaging – get social

Social media is all about being social and engaging with your audience. You need to really relate and get to the heart of what your followers are looking for and speak their language! Understand them with as much research as possible and start engaging with them in the places that they love and in the way that they communicate. This is where your ideal social platform comes into play – you need to be engaging where your audience is.

Facebook’s algorithm likes engagement. If you create a post and no one engages, it will not push it onto other people news feeds. However, if you create something that is really engaging and people start to comment or interact, Facebook will see this as a ‘good’ post and will show it to more people’s news feeds. Facebook favours friends over pages and businesses, so it can be worth asking your friends to like your posts to get some interaction started.

The key is to ask questions or create a post that engages the user and for them to want to comment or share. An eye-catching image with a question in the status above can grab the attention of your audience and boost your marketing efforts.

Give your small business a chance to grow with social media marketing - a must have tool for small businesses

Be appreciative

Many large businesses can get carried away with the sales that they actually forget to thank people and be personable. This is your chance to stand out from the crows and appreciate everyone that engages. Even if you just like their comments or give a quick reply, they are aware that you’ve taken the time to read what they have written and it makes them feel appreciated.

Social media is not all about selling. In fact selling should only be about 20% of your content, the rest should be made up of other types of content to add value to your audience.

If people see ‘sell, sell, sell’, they are going to get bored very quickly. They will know that you’re not really interested in what they want, just about what you want to get. Therefore use your social channels to give value, as we mentioned before, and build relationships with the followers you have. They will notice!

Have a clear goal

The most important aspect to your online marketing as a small business owner, is to ensure you have a clear goal in mind. Having a goal gives you direction. Direction gives you a path. And following that path allows you to reach success.

However you manage your business is down to personal preference but always have your goals in mind in everything that you do.

Here at KJP Creative we work with small and medium sized businesses to provide online marketing services in the form of ‘virtual assistance’. You don’t need to hire a marketing assistant to be in the office with you throughout the week – just pay for the service you need. By working with specialists in social media, you can have peace of mind that you’re in good hands and keeping up with latest trends and requirements. Give your business a boost and get serious about your social media marketing – it’s not an add-on to your business, it is the future of your business.

If you’d like to talk about your marketing strategy or need advice on how to manage as a small business, please get in touch, we’d love to chat with you.

Work With KJP Creative

How To Find Customers On Social Media

How To Find Customers On Social Media

by | Sep 27, 2018

If you’re a startup or a small business that has just started out, you may be struggling to find new clients and to get your business moving forward. You need to know that social media is your friend. It’s there to assist in your business growth and to help you discover a whole world of endless possibilities.

As social media grows and develops, there are constantly new discoveries that are impacting our businesses and giving opportunities for client growth.

If you’ve jumped onto the social media platforms and opened every one available but not seeing results – that’s because you need strategy. You need to find what works for your business and work with social media channels that are aligned with what your business and clients need.

How can you find new clients on social media and how can you turn them from leads into converts? Check out our top 6 focus points…

Share user-generated content

Social media is a great place to create engagement with your customers. But it’s also a great place to find new customers. You can do this by sharing user-generated content. How? By encouraging users to submit photos showing off / wearing or using your products, asking them to tag the photos along with providing a dedicated hashtag that you can then monitor.

Proof that people are loving your products or services is reason for new customers to try and buy. Photos on social media can be seen by a wide audience and if users are mentioning your business in their posts, it will give way for potential customers to come and see what the fuss is all about.

You can then share or retweet the positive posts, along with any reviews that come through – showcasing your business.

Start at home

In the early days of starting a business, it’s vital to spread the word by telling friends and family about what you offer, then going further afield in your personal (and professional if applicable) network circles. Let everyone know what you’re doing and the step that you’ve taken. You can do this by physically speaking with people and leaving them a business card or you can share via your personal social media channels, directing people to check out your business social media pages.

Know your business

You need to be credible and to be positive in what you’re offering. Have a complete understanding of your core values and your USP (unique selling proposition). If you have this clear in your mind, you’ll be more confident when talking to people and sharing what you offer without waffling or stumbling.

If you’ve already started working with clients, ask them to write a short testimonial for you so you can use these as proof of what you offer. Add these to your website and direct people to them to confirm that you are credible. You can use snippets of these in social media posts and share your business posts through your personal profile to achieve a wider reach of audience. The more people who see what you’re offering, the higher chance of attracting new customers.

Find new clients using social media - and grow your business

LinkedIn is a goldmine

Using LinkedIn to connect with like-minded individuals and business connections to build a network around your business is a great way to become known and established. Ensure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date with all your business information on there, if you have set up a business LinkedIn page, make sure it’s referenced in your personal profile. Then network. Join network groups and local groups and start to engage and interact with other individuals that you would like to work with or who could help your business grow. Contribute to discussions and show off your expertise or knowledge by offering solutions to problems or guiding people in the right direction. The more you engage, the more people will connect with you. Once you have a good network of connections, and build up trust among them, you can message them and let them know what you do and offer your services, where appropriate.

Understand your ideal customer

If you want to grow your business, you need to understand what it is they are seeking. By delving deeper into social platforms, you can discover what people are really looking for and asking questions about. By answering their questions and providing solutions to their needs, you are showing authority and building a level of trust.

You can use the search function on each of the social platforms to establish whether your customers are using those platforms and whether it’s worth your time marketing on them. Search for keywords related to your niche, similar brands, industry leaders and any competitors you have that people may be following. This will give you insight into what your customers and competitors are doing and how you can steer your marketing strategy to be in line with what your customers are seeking.

Twitter’s Advanced Search is a great way to get down to specific customers. You can search within a geographic area, using phrases or hashtags, as well as looking at other accounts and in a date range. Find and discover your ideal customers and connect with them. Introduce yourself and what you have to offer and keep on top of industry changes and how you can be an effective leader in your niche.

Make it easy

People give up easily. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they will move on to the next business, and it’s a simple click to do so. And this is applicable on your social media platforms too. If you offer a product that people can buy online, make it easy to buy direct from your social channel.

People are using social media to be social – you may be using it for business, but others will be on there to connect with friends and family. Therefore, you need to catch their attention in a split second and make it easy for them to click and be directed exactly where you intend them to land. If people aren’t specifically looking for your product, they may like the look of what they see if an advert pops up but not necessarily want to go to your website.

How can you make it easy for user?

Facebook – add a shop tab to your page.

Instagram – Use the Shop now button function (you’ll need a Facebook shop to action this)

Pinterest – with Buyable Pins, a user can purchase directly without leaving Pinterest

Twitter – although there isn’t a ‘button’ you can use, utilise links to your products or storefront to make it a simple click step.

There are a number of ways you can entice and grow your customer base but it’s about being seen, known and getting in front of your target audience in a confident and professional manner. Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed about telling people what you do. At the end of the day, it’s your business and you should be passionate about it – wanting to shout about it from the roof tops!

Use your social media channels to let that passion be seen and engage with those that do show interest. Provide great customer service and each new customer will have all but praise for your business.

If you’d like advice or help in getting your social media marketing strategy started or moving in a new direction, we’d love to help. Feel free to get in touch for an initial consultation and let’s see how we can make your business grow.

 

If you’re a startup or a small business that has just started out, you may be struggling to find new clients and to get your business moving forward. You need to know that social media is your friend. It’s there to assist in your business growth and to help you discover a whole world of endless possibilities.

As social media grows and develops, there are constantly new discoveries that are impacting our businesses and giving opportunities for client growth.

If you’ve jumped onto the social media platforms and opened every one available but not seeing results – that’s because you need strategy. You need to find what works for your business and work with social media channels that are aligned with what your business and clients need.

How can you find new clients on social media and how can you turn them from leads into converts? Check out our top 6 focus points…

Share user-generated content

Social media is a great place to create engagement with your customers. But it’s also a great place to find new customers. You can do this by sharing user-generated content. How? By encouraging users to submit photos showing off / wearing or using your products, asking them to tag the photos along with providing a dedicated hashtag that you can then monitor.

Proof that people are loving your products or services is reason for new customers to try and buy. Photos on social media can be seen by a wide audience and if users are mentioning your business in their posts, it will give way for potential customers to come and see what the fuss is all about.

You can then share or retweet the positive posts, along with any reviews that come through – showcasing your business.

Start at home

In the early days of starting a business, it’s vital to spread the word by telling friends and family about what you offer, then going further afield in your personal (and professional if applicable) network circles. Let everyone know what you’re doing and the step that you’ve taken. You can do this by physically speaking with people and leaving them a business card or you can share via your personal social media channels, directing people to check out your business social media pages.

Know your business

You need to be credible and to be positive in what you’re offering. Have a complete understanding of your core values and your USP (unique selling proposition). If you have this clear in your mind, you’ll be more confident when talking to people and sharing what you offer without waffling or stumbling.

If you’ve already started working with clients, ask them to write a short testimonial for you so you can use these as proof of what you offer. Add these to your website and direct people to them to confirm that you are credible. You can use snippets of these in social media posts and share your business posts through your personal profile to achieve a wider reach of audience. The more people who see what you’re offering, the higher chance of attracting new customers.

Find new clients using social media - and grow your business

LinkedIn is a goldmine

Using LinkedIn to connect with like-minded individuals and business connections to build a network around your business is a great way to become known and established. Ensure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date with all your business information on there, if you have set up a business LinkedIn page, make sure it’s referenced in your personal profile. Then network. Join network groups and local groups and start to engage and interact with other individuals that you would like to work with or who could help your business grow. Contribute to discussions and show off your expertise or knowledge by offering solutions to problems or guiding people in the right direction. The more you engage, the more people will connect with you. Once you have a good network of connections, and build up trust among them, you can message them and let them know what you do and offer your services, where appropriate.

Understand your ideal customer

If you want to grow your business, you need to understand what it is they are seeking. By delving deeper into social platforms, you can discover what people are really looking for and asking questions about. By answering their questions and providing solutions to their needs, you are showing authority and building a level of trust.

You can use the search function on each of the social platforms to establish whether your customers are using those platforms and whether it’s worth your time marketing on them. Search for keywords related to your niche, similar brands, industry leaders and any competitors you have that people may be following. This will give you insight into what your customers and competitors are doing and how you can steer your marketing strategy to be in line with what your customers are seeking.

Twitter’s Advanced Search is a great way to get down to specific customers. You can search within a geographic area, using phrases or hashtags, as well as looking at other accounts and in a date range. Find and discover your ideal customers and connect with them. Introduce yourself and what you have to offer and keep on top of industry changes and how you can be an effective leader in your niche.

Make it easy

People give up easily. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they will move on to the next business, and it’s a simple click to do so. And this is applicable on your social media platforms too. If you offer a product that people can buy online, make it easy to buy direct from your social channel.

People are using social media to be social – you may be using it for business, but others will be on there to connect with friends and family. Therefore, you need to catch their attention in a split second and make it easy for them to click and be directed exactly where you intend them to land. If people aren’t specifically looking for your product, they may like the look of what they see if an advert pops up but not necessarily want to go to your website.

How can you make it easy for user?

Facebook – add a shop tab to your page.

Instagram – Use the Shop now button function (you’ll need a Facebook shop to action this)

Pinterest – with Buyable Pins, a user can purchase directly without leaving Pinterest

Twitter – although there isn’t a ‘button’ you can use, utilise links to your products or storefront to make it a simple click step.

There are a number of ways you can entice and grow your customer base but it’s about being seen, known and getting in front of your target audience in a confident and professional manner. Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed about telling people what you do. At the end of the day, it’s your business and you should be passionate about it – wanting to shout about it from the roof tops!

Use your social media channels to let that passion be seen and engage with those that do show interest. Provide great customer service and each new customer will have all but praise for your business.

If you’d like advice or help in getting your social media marketing strategy started or moving in a new direction, we’d love to help. Feel free to get in touch for an initial consultation and let’s see how we can make your business grow.

 

Top Tips: How To Use Instagram For Business Growth

Top Tips: How To Use Instagram For Business Growth

by | Sep 22, 2018

Are you using Instagram for your business marketing? With over 1 million active users on the social platform, that alone is a reason to start engaging with an audience that is hungry to hear from you!

Facebook is the largest of all the social networks, showing a monthly growth of users at around 3.14%. On the other hand, Instagram is growing at about 5% quarter to quarter – Instagram is the fast-growing network at the moment!

It’s important as with anything that you ensure your brand runs throughout everything you do, and that includes your Instagram images. If you take a look at an Instagram feed that is branded well, you’ll notice consistency and transparency throughout the posts.

So how can you use Instagram to grow your business? Take a look at our top 7 top tips (not in any particular order!):

Be creative

Instagram is all about the imagery – so instead of focusing on the products that you sell, which can be represented on other social platforms, focus on how you sell them or the solution that you provide.

It’s essential that you you grab the attention of a user on Instagram by being creative and inspiring. Get creative in how you present – if you’re a business that is out and about – showcase where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing.

Give your business a face for people to relate to.

Introduce the team or behind scenes in snaps of how the business is running.

Make it interesting and fun while portraying who you are and what your business represents.

Use your brand identity to show colour and life to your images. You can add text and quotes to your posts to make them more interesting – make them inspiring and attractive.

Add value

This is important across all your marketing efforts, you must add value in everything you do. Just because you’re dealing with pictures, doesn’t mean you have to lose the value aspect!

Your images can add value to your customers and look pretty at the same time. What your customers see has an impact on how your brand is represented and remembered. Show off your business culture and values, share how-to’s and your mission behind your business. Visuals are a valuable and excitable way to speak to your audience.

Plus your visuals need to speak to people’s emotions. They need to grab their attention and get to the heart of what they are searching for. By adding value in every post, you can assure your audience that you care and have something to give that is beneficial and worthwhile.

Create a great bio

Try not to focus on the number of characters available in your Instagram bio – focus on embedding your USP (unique selling point / unique selling proposition). This is what differentiates you from your competition and makes you stand out from the crowd, along with highlighting what you have to offer. 

Grow your business with Instagram. Check out our 7 top tips to build business on Instagram

Engagement

Engagement is key in any social platform and presenting ways for users to do that will encourage more people to engage with your brand. Always be courteous and reply to comments on posts, reply back to shares from your posts and thank people for kind words. Customer service goes a long way in attracting and retaining clients.

Create posts that encourage engagement – that means speaking directly to your audience and aligning what you’re delivering to what they’re wanting to see and hear. Make your posts memorable and shareable, and always keep the interaction going when it starts.

Even if you get some negative comments (of course we hope that you don’t) but even if you do, let the conversations roll as this will show the algorithm that it’s an engaging post – worthy of being seen.

Use your analytics

First of all, ensure that your page is set up as a business account which will enable you to use the insights function. If you’re not sure how to set up a business page, just give us a shout and we can run through that with you. But once you’re ready to go, you are able to keep an eye on the posts that are working – and the ones that are not so much. From here you can establish a pattern of posts that your audience likes to see and engage with – these are the types of posts that you want to create more of.

You can then also dig deeper into the insights of your posts and the interaction they are getting. Find out which day of the week or what time of day people are engaging most, their gender and where they are located. Tailoring your content to your insight results will give help encourage further engagement.

Collaborate

Working with influencers on Instagram will give your posts better chance of being noticed and will boost your brand awareness. Search for the top hashtags that relate to your business and find micro-influencers using those hashtags who have a large following. Once you’ve established a list of influencers, contact them and ask if they’d be interested in promoting your product on their feed. You can either offer a monetary reward or exchange their time for something you could do for them. The influencers already have a large following of their own which means that if your product is being shown to their audience, with their backing and enthusiasm, you’re more likely to grow your audience when people start to notice your products.

Big brands use influencers all the time by using celebrities to endorse their product – the same idea can be used on Instagram on a much smaller scale for your business. There is no harm in approaching people and asking, the more people you ask, the better chance of finding someone that will work with you.

Use Instagram stories

Everyday over 300 million people are creating Instagram stories – that’s a lot of stories! These are snaps or video sequences that disappear 24 hours after being posted. On average 1 in 5 businesses receive a direct message from their Instagram Stories. And those direct messages are leads.

There are different things you can do with stories, like go behind the scenes, share Q&A sessions, create tutorials. All of these will disappear after 24 hours but can be kept as highlights after that time to sit directly under your bio as the first thing a customer will see when they click through to your profile page.

Instagram stories give way to creativity and allow a business to showcase their attributes in a more dynamic way.

It’s always great to plan ahead and with the video function for stories, this is possible by utilising videos that you have created within the last 24 hours. Therefore, create your videos in advance and post them strategically when you know your audience will be watching.

Don’t forget to add a ‘call to action’ to your Story as this tells people where to go next. You don’t want to lose your potential lead by allowing them to go onto the next business / next Story, direct them to where you’d like them to go by swiping the page.

Instagram is fun, it’s enjoyable and best of all it’s where people are at-  so that’s where your business needs to be.

Create authentic good quality images that tell your story, show your value and provide solutions and you’ll grow your Instagram with ease.

If you’d like any further tips on getting started with Instagram or how to incorporate it into your online marketing plan, get in touch, we’d love to help.

 

Why Blogging is Important For Business

Why Blogging is Important For Business

by | Aug 22, 2018

If you own or run a small business you could be asking yourself whether it’s worth the time and effort in writing a regular blog. Our answer to that question is “Yes!”.

Blogging is an inexpensive marketing material that can be used over and over again and can be used for driving traffic to your website, highlighting your industry experience or even reaching new and potential clients. It’s an all-round marketing tool that is definitely worth the effort.

In our opinion it is one of the most valuable marketing tools that you can keep in your arsenal. If you’re not yet blogging for your business, it’s time to start! If you’ve not got the time, either a) create time or b) outsource this task – it’s extremely important for your business and for business growth.

Here are our top 7 reasons why blogging is important for business:

Personal Development

While the purpose of blogging is for your audience, it’s a great place to enhance your own personal development. Blogging can open up opportunities for you that you were not expecting and allow you to express your interests and passions to an audience that is really hungry for your content.

The more you write, the more knowledge you have. The research that is involved in writing opens up a world of industry knowledge and can help build your confidence and share opinions.

It can be challenging to write a blog but when you are passionate about a subject, you have the power to express who you are and what your values are.

 

Tells a story

A blog is a chance to tell your brand’s story, it’s a chance to offer insight and background of who you are and what you value, offer and represent as a brand. You are able to share ideas and customer experiences, challenges and how you’ve overcome them. You can share about the staff or team that make up your business and what experience they bring to the company. There’s so much you can do to highlight your brand’s ethos and showcase everything that you have to offer – make the most of the opportunity to talk about your business and then use your blogs on your social media platforms so that it can be seen by as many people as possible.

 

Builds an audience

Blogging is a place where you can create value and build an audience of people who are interested in what you have to offer. You’re not writing for just anyone, you are writing for people who want to hear what you’re talking about. Aim your words to those people, this may not be exactly what you would want to hear, but understanding your audience and providing value to their needs will increase your readership and help you stand out as a thought leader.

 

Builds discipline

Getting in the habit of writing is a good thing! It builds discipline and routine into your marketing plan and gives you something to focus on, on a regular basis. Whether you set yourself a weekly task or allocate one day a month to writing, it shapes you into a writer’s mindset and gives you good practice.

 

why blogging is good for business marketing

 

It boosts offline marketing

When people see the content you’re writing, the value that you’re providing, this can often lead to offline opportunities. Speaking at events, writing for magazines or articles, writing a book. It allows your voice to be heard outside of internet circles and enables you to do bigger things with your content. Blogging is not just about bringing people to your website (although that is a large part), it is about showcasing who you are, what your business represents and the industry knowledge that you have. Use your blog to delve into different areas that you may not have been able to in the past. With your confidence and discipline building, push yourself to do more with your business and speak to a wider audience.

 

Cost effective

Marketing can be expensive with all the different aspects that you could be paying for, however blogging is completely free! The only cost is your time and as a business owner, building marketing into your business plan is a must. By blogging you’re not paying for magazine space, you’re not paying for a TV or radio advert, you’re not even paying for banner adverts (in this context), you are simply writing content for your website which has the potential to be seen by many people, and the more you blog, the more people will see your content. Once your content is out there, it’s there forever which is an extremely cost-effective way to market your business!

 

Blogging is inspiring

When you start to write, you start to see more opportunities in the world around you. You become inspired by what’s around you, what you see and hear and the things happening in the world. Even just walking down the street can give you inspiration for your next blog post!

There are many reasons to blog for your business and if you are a small business, this is your chance to have a voice and to be heard in a busy online world. Make your voice count, allow your business to stand out over your competition and attract customers by being an inspiration and giving value and knowledge in all that you write about.

If you’d like to provide a blog for you business but are not sure where to start, we offer a content marketing package and can write your content for you! There’s really no reason not to blog! If you’d like advice or help moving forward, get in touch.

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