Hope you are enjoying the summer and getting to grips with your marketing efforts!
We wanted to take 5 minutes and share our 5 mistakes to avoid when using social media. We are passionate about helping businesses of all sizes to supercharge their marketing efforts without breaking the budget. With this in mind, there is an abundance of articles on how to be successful but not many articles look at actually what you need to be mindful of to avoid making mistakes.
So here goes…
Mistake 1 – Partially Filled Profiles
There is nothing worse than following a social media page but not being able to find out more about the business because the account has been set up with limited information. Just like a printed advert, remember to make sure you have all of your business information easy to find.
Make sure that whatever social media platform you are on, you have a full, detailed profile/bio that covers:
What you do,
How you can help,
Contact details
Website link
Also, make sure that you check the details regularly and update where necessary.
Mistake 2 – No Strategy
You have taken the time to set up profiles on social media – so what now? We have spoken to a number of businesses recently and asked – “what function do you want social media to do as part of your marketing strategy” – so many businesses have really struggled to answer. You need to be clear about what you want to use social media for. Is it to:
Raise profile of the business,
Increase website traffic,
Generate enquiries,
Share business news,
Provide a customer services function.
If you don’t know what social media is going to help you with, how can you know if it is a success or not? Also by being clear on the goal, you can create engaging content to meet those needs.
Are you updating your social media accounts frequently enough? Nothing shines a bad light on the business like a social media account that is not updated regularly. How regularly is up to you but you need to be consistent!
We are often asked how often should you post on social media and there are varying responses online suggesting 2-3 times per day for Facebook, 5 times a day for Twitter etc. I always start by asking about what content a business has as to how often to post. It is much better to put out quality posts instead of posting 5 times because that is what you have been told to do.
Remember if you have gone to the trouble of setting up the accounts – make sure you use them.
Mistake 4 – Lack of Images / Video Content
A number of businesses we have spoken to recently say the biggest bugbear they have with social media is a lack of images. It is certainly true that posts with images are more likely to receive engagement than posts without, so what can you do about it?
Well, for a start there are a number of image creation websites out there that don’t require any graphic design skills. Our favourite is Canva because it comes with a number of free templates already sized to suit social media platforms and can be easily be adapted to suit your branding.
Alternatively, remember that people still buy from people so how about sharing behind the scenes images of your business and staff? Other image ideas could be location shots, motivational quotes, photos used on your website & so much more. You can create a wealth of images – your only limitation is time!
You need to also considered Video Content – people engage more with video content as it catches their eye when scrolling on social media. Do you have a plan in place to create video posts?
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Mistake 5 – Not Engaging
If you are honest with yourself, how much time do you actually spend on social media engaging with others? We are not talking about posting your own content, we are talking about liking, commenting and sharing other posts.
The whole idea of social media is to be SOCIAL – make sure you make time to engage with others as it will help your account get seen by a wider audience and other people are more likely to engage with you. Ideally, you want to create an online community and as the saying goes – it takes two to tango! Go on, join in a conversation today and see how far you can go.
If you can avoid making any of the mistakes above then you are on your way to social media success. We can easily pinpoint another 5 mistakes to avoid but would like you to take the time to get the foundations right first.
We would also love to hear your tips on what mistakes to avoid with social media – please send your comments to claire@creationzmarketing.co.uk
Claire
p.s Looking for an audit of your social media activity, contact us today for FREE no-nonesense advice – Contact Us P.P.S – Join our FREE Facebook Group – Marketing for Success Club – Free advice & tips to enhance your marketing working
We are looking for a creative and motivated Marketing Assistant to join our small, growing team in Beeston – is this you?
Do you love helping to create Social Media campaigns that get noticed? Do you have a creative flair to help marketing campaigns stand out?
If so, we want to hear from you. To see the full job information then please visit our careers page – Careers
Further Information – contact Creationz Marketing
If you would like to talk through this role in more detail, Chris and I are on hand to answer any questions you may have – call us on 0115 8376 260 or email us info@creationzmarketing.co.ukwith your phone number and we will give you a call.
The Summer holidays are just around the corner! Just think, blue skies, the beach, sitting by the pool relaxing. Sounds like heaven.
But what about your social media accounts. July and August are notorious for businesses to switch off marketing whilst they and their staff are on holidays. But actually, this time is perfect for you to stand out in a less crowded space.
Ask yourself, whilst you’re enjoying yourself on a sunny beach, who’s going to keep things ticking away back in the office? It may not be on the top of your priority list, but social media is such a fast pace environment and if you don’t keep your pages active you may just find yourself being left behind…
Time to stop stressing – there are things that we (and you) can do to help keep your page, staying sunny & fresh.
These include:
Social Media Management – Here at Creationz Marketing we offer support for your break of sun, sea, and sand. This service allows you to switch off your work brain whilst your messages are being answered and comments responded to. Our service makes sure to take away the hassles of your everyday work life. Givng you peace of mind about your business. Leaving you able to enjoy your holiday. To find out more please contact Claire on claire@creationzmarketing.co.ukor call us on 0115 8376 260 – See more – Social Media Management
Consider scheduling – scheduling software is freely available and whilst some people think it may not be the best choice to keep your social media up and running, we think it will provide a solution to keep up posts on social media and get you through the holiday season. This software will schedule your posts, but you will need to check for comments and messages. This wouldn’t be ideal for those who want to switch off completely and just enjoy some family time (or some business free time). Could you get someone back in the offices to monitor the replies etc?
Reduce your posts – have a look at your social media presence. Is it necessary for you to post 2-3 times per day while your away? Can you cut down posts on your site for the week/s and just have one every couple of days or even once a week. This way you don’t have to worry about your social media pages too much and you can still have some time to relax. This may be a great short time solution for you
Whatever you choose to do this summer, it is vital that you take some time to switch off and relax.
You don’t have to be going to a fancy resort in Bora Bora, you can be sat on your sofa at home with a glass of wine. Rest and relaxation is vital to get clear and give yourself time to recharge those batteries.
Have fun this summer and don’t stress!
Further Information – contact Creationz Marketing
There are things you can do to give you a helping hand whilst keeping your marketing ticking over. If you would like to talk through your options in more detail, Chris and I are on hand to guide you through all options and make a plan that is right for your business – email us on claire@creationzmarketing.co.uk with your phone number and we will give you a call.
Send us a postcard – we would love to see where your travels take you this Summer
Claire
p.s Looking for an audit of your social media activity, contact us today for FREE no-nonesense advice – Contact Us
Why It Is Important to Receive Testimonials for your Business!
Testimonials and reviews are extremely important to the success of any business. They help you to build relationships and are the basis of a potential new customer’s first engagement with your company. Having customer reviews for your business every step of the way is vital to improve traffic and enquiries – this leads to more sales – especially Google Reviews.
A testimonial or review is a recorded statement of a customer’s reflection on how credible your level of expertise is. They also build your reputation by mentioning the services you have given them and how trustworthy you are by saying if they would recommend you to others. This helps other potential customers see a bit about you before they contact you about your services.
A good testimonial can go a long way to set your business apart from competitors
Dealing with Negative reviews:
Testimonials are an extremely powerful tool in a positive way even when the review isn’t what you were hoping for. I think it’s definitely a strong argument that you can’t please everyone when it comes to business. Negative reviews are a learning opportunity that a lot of companies miss.
When a customer is not overly pleased with your product / service then it shows what kind of company you are with the way in which you deal with the negative complaint. It might seem like a massive kick in the teeth when you get a bad review. When you first see the review, you may get defensive about it, but the worst thing you can do is to start a dispute even if you believe you did everything right. Working to apologise and make sure processes are in place to respond correctly to negative reviews can really help boost your customer service journey.
How to ask for Testimonials…
Getting a customer to leave a review can sometimes be tricky as most are not sure of the process on how to leave their feedback on your services. So, making this process simple for them could be somewhere to start. Here are 5 simple ideas:
Use the back of your Business Card to give them some direction. List the options that they have to leave a review.
Create a Feedback Form that you could give them when you finish the job or send through the post with a prepaid envelope for them to return it.
Follow Up Emails can also be a form of feedback. Asking them how they like your product and how it’s made their life easier in some way.
Use Social Media to publicise your feedback capability and share pictures of work you a have done. Be sure to ask the clients permission first.
Your Website is another place you could use. If you don’t have a leave feedback section, then talk to your developer as you could be missing a trick.
I hope this give you an idea of the importance of reviews for your business. No matter the size of your company, gaining a testimonial from a customer can show other potential clients who you are and what you are like.
Kickstart your testimonial process today and see the results!
You are all geared up for marketing your business in 2019, everything is in place – BUT….
Do you know where you are at today?
Have you taken a benchmark of your numbers today – followers, engagement rates, web traffic, email list etc.
It is vital that you make a most of your numbers on a regular basis so that you can assess your activity and work out if it is successful or not. Don’t waste money on activities that are not working! In today’s marketing world, it is easy to spend time and effort in the wrong place if you are not careful.
We see a number of businesses wanting to hit the ground running with their marketing activity which is great, but they do not know their numbers and within a few months they cannot truly define if something is working or not. Often than not, marketing activity is continued over long periods of time as there is no way to see if it is working.
Take lead magnets as an activity – you could spend a lot of time and money creating fantastic guides & checklists and email landing pages but not knowing how many people are already on your email marketing list, it is not going to tell you how successful it is. Could your time and effort be better spent elsewhere?
Creationz Marketing offers a marketing support programme to help businesses really get to grips with their marketing – could your business benefit from an extra pair of hands where marketing is concerned? If so, visit our Marketing Consultancy page or call us on 0115 8376 260
Our top tip would be to spend 10 minutes just writing down where you are at today with your numbers and then this give you something to assess future activity – it will help you work out if it is successful or not.
We spent time yesterday doing exactly this exercise and we were very surprised at the results. Whilst some activities had grown considerably over the past 12 months, other areas need work, or our attention needs to be focused elsewhere. This will certainly be something we review on a monthly basis and it will help us to shape our marketing plan and be more effective.
Training
If you would like to put together a 12 month Marketing Plan that gives you clarity and action points then check out our Marketing Masterclass Training Programme
FREE Template
If you would like a FREE Benchmarking Template then just email claire@creationzmarketing.co.uk with FREE Benchmarking Sheet as the subject – together let’s shake up marketing in 2019.
Hope you can pop back soon
Claire
p.s We run a FREE Facebook Group called Marketing for Success Club so if you are serious about getting to grips with your marketing and keeping up with all the latest developments then pop over and join our community – Marketing for Success Club
As with all marketing activity, you need to be able to monitor the return on investment and where Social Media is concerned this has usually been by recording the number of followers etc. for each account.
But, it is not just a numbers game!
In recent months I have lost count of a number of times I have heard “I have 1,000+ followers on social media” when asking if social media is working. That’s great, but how many are you actually engaging with and how many are promoting your brand & sharing your content?
Whilst I appreciate you need to have a certain level of followers to be seen as credible by other users, if there is no engagement then you are in effectively talking to yourself.
Hands up if you have followed Facebook pages and twitter accounts but then not visited again? We all have, it is normal behaviour but we must remember that Social Media is all about joining in conversations & being social so this is why engagement is so important.
You can still monitor the number of followers but make sure you add a metric to record the number of people who have engaged with your posts in the past week/month as this will show you how you can grow and develop a successful campaign.
Further Tips:
Make sure you know what channels your client base use on social media and spend efforts on these channels
Don’t just follow everyone to boost your own followers.
Follow related accounts that add a benefit to your business
Engage, Engage, Engage – make your social media count!
You need to engage with others as this helps raise your profile!
Still unsure how you can improve your engagement? Our next article “How to Create Engaging Social Media Posts” will share tips and tricks that get results.
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