Blog Archives - Page 6 of 111 - The Social Media Advisor

January 2, 2022
Social Media Strategy

How to Amplify Your Business This Year

My word for 2022 is Amplify.

When you break down this word, it means to increase the volume of something. And, in 2022, I want to increase the volume in both my professional and personal life. I’m ready for more success AND to have more joy and abundance in my life.

Does this sound like a good plan for you as well?

Well, if you want to amplify your business this year – you’ll need to ramp up your marketing.

Amplify Your Online Presence

Did you have a robust online presence? Can a complete stranger interested in your work find enough information about you online? Building out your online presence is all about trust. There are many ways to do this but I always recommend starting with your website.

If your business doesn’t have a website yet, then begin there.

The more information people can find about you online, the more comfortable they become to reach out, connect, and ask questions about what you do.

Here are some other ways to amplify your online business this year:

Build your Google My Business (GMB) page and post to it at least once a week.
Submit your business information to relevant online directories.
Build out your social media profile(s) and post regularly.
Pitch what you do to content creators that do interviews with other business others so that you can get on their video show/blog/podcast.
Encourage your existing clients to post a great review about you on Facebook, Google, or Yelp.

Be patient. This is a long game. In fact, if you don’t even have a website yet, the search engines may ‘ding you’ for the first few months to make sure you are a legitimate business that plans to stick around before they start showing your website in search results.

Amplify Your Social Media Marketing

Do you have a social media strategy for 2022? If not, it’s time to sort that out as well. Creating a consistent presence on social media is a great way to amplify your business this year. We recommend starting with only one platform. Preferably, one that you will enjoy using and sharing content on.

Once you are consistently posting, it’s time to look at social media advertising to get your content in front of more people who want to see it and engage with it. Social advertising is an affordable way to gain more traction and reach with your social media marketing.

Amplify Your Relationship Marketing

Making connections with other people in your community is the most effective way to amplify your business. Relationship marketing is all about connection, collaboration, and community. Bring your value to the table, get to know others who are sharing their value, and work together to support, lift, inspire, and motivate each other.

Once you start building relationships, as opposed to focusing solely on sales, you’ll notice more word of mouth, more referrals, and more satisfaction in the work you do.

What better way to amplify your business this year than to find a group of people that inspire you to be the best you can be?

Amplify Your Impact

How can your business make an impact in your community this year? If you truly want to amplify your work, consider adding a philanthropic or charitable aspect to your work. Small businesses and community impact go hand in hand! People will be drawn to your mission and vision and will talk about the great work you are doing with others. It’s a win/win/win situation for both you and the people around you.

Join me this year in amplifying our efforts to reach for even more success and impact in 2022! We gather in my Be Awesome in Social Media facebook group to support and encourage each other and collectively increase our impact together.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

November 2, 2021
Social Media Strategy

Showing Gratitude in Your Social Media Messaging

Marketing your business online is more challenging than ever before. As more small businesses are created, there is an ever-increasing amount of noise on the Internet. Everyone wants your attention. Everyone wants your business. It’s easy to lose focus of what really matters as a small business owner.

Are you showing what your company is grateful for in your social media messaging? November is the season of gratitude and an excellent opportunity to praise and celebrate your customers, your power partners, and your vendors.

Stay True to Your Vision

What is your vision for your small business? This vision is a key element in creating content to share online. Whether you use it as a guiding compass or incorporating it into your social media and brand messaging, your vision is where everything starts. Your vision is what inspires you to do the work you do and it inspires others to follow you, sign up, and spread the word about your brand. This month, we are challenging you to take your vision and GO BIG on social media with your content by combining your vision and your gratitude into social media messaging.

Keep It Simple

One way to avoid overwhelm in your social media marketing AND to show your respect and appreciation for your people is to have a plan! If you develop a plan using simpler systems, your online marketing can be fun! Discovering and implementing new tools and systems to streamline your marketing efforts helps you to free up time in the long run and get clear on where your priorities are.

If you need help getting started, our team is well versed in creating a marketing roadmap for small businesses. We teach our clients how it all works using online tools and walking you step by step through each process. These tools will help you create content in an easy way and incorporate strategies that help you get found organically.

Honor Your People

Once you have a plan, supported by your vision, then it’s time to shout out your gratitude to the world! Take this opportunity to tell the world just how grateful you are for the people that help you do what you. This is the perfect time of year to create appreciation content for your audience, your clients, your team, and your collaborative partners. Whether you create shout-outs to share on social media, promote a giveaway or contest for your followers, or give a behind-the-scenes tour of how it all works (and all the amazing people involved) – folks love to consume real, authentic content that gives insight into your mission and vision.

Do you have to show gratitude in your social media marketing? Of course not. However, my team has found it’s an effective way to grab audience attention, get engagement from followers, and inspire loyalty from your team and partners.

How do you use social media? Pay attention to the people and pages that inspire you to like, comment, and share their content. What makes these content creators so relatable? The answers to these questions are the first steps into designing a social media strategy and content marketing plan that works for your business. Are you ready to define your brand story and build a long-term relationship with a loyal audience? Let’s do a Discovery Session to see which programs best fit your small business needs and get your ramped up before the new year!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

August 28, 2021
Social Media Marketing

Top 3 Reasons You Should Create Your Own Branded Images for Social Media

We are constantly seeing brands get in trouble for using images that they have curated from various places on the Internet. It’s shocking how many small business owners don’t understand copyright law or the trouble they could get into by saving something from Google or another social media channel and then sharing it on their own social media.

The biggest trouble comes when you use an image you didn’t create and attach your brand colors and logos to it and brand it as yours. You have now violated trademark and copyright laws.

Most of the time, it’s innocent. Businesses aren’t experienced enough in this area to understand that what they are doing is wrong. Seeing other business owners do the same thing is just reinforcing dangerous behavior.

Here’s what you should do instead:

Create Original Images

The best way to avoid this problem is to create your own images to share on social media. If you don’t currently have photos of you or your biz that work, there are plenty of stock photography websites you can use to download images that are legal and appropriate. A few of these websites are free to users. The better images will involve some sort of investment.

Here are some websites to explore for creating your own images:

Brand Photography

If you are struggling to find stock images that resonate with the brand messaging you are trying to create, it may be time to invest in making your own. Brand photography utilizes the services of a professional photographer, skilled in the process of capturing your company’s personality and values on film. Not only will this keep you from getting in trouble with the copyright police, your audience will respond so much more to photos of you than random images of anything else. Just be sure that your agreement with the photographer allows you to share the images digitally. Not all photographers allow for that so you’ll want to look for a brand photographer that specializes in images for social media marketing and pay close attention to your agreement with them.

Connect with your Audience

If you spend your time sharing other people’s content, you are not inspiring them to work with you. This type of content does not relate to your brand, your story, your messaging, or your company culture. It’s easy to confuse those mindlessly scrolling their social media feeds and they won’t connect your post with your work. When you are creating your own branded images for social media you are using your photos, your fonts, and your brand colors. This is the ideal situation for online branding and marketing for any business. These types of posts are instantly recognizable to people who know you and are 1,000 times more interesting to people who don’t.

Are you struggling with not knowing how to use social media for your business? Not sure when to post, how to post, or what #Hashtags even are? Over three months, we will develop a roadmap of exactly how to use social media for your business in our Quarterly Roadmap Sessions. Branded images and content are just one of the things we’ll work on together. We will also work on ads, reporting, creating posts for higher engagement, and break through the fears and frustrations small businesses experience with social media marketing. Let’s chat.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

August 22, 2021
Social Media Marketing

Top 3 Reasons Professional Headshots Are Needed for Social Media Marketing

You know that businesses that only seem to share quotes and the occasional promotional post on social media? Do you get excited about following them or engaging with their content online?

Yeah, me either.

Social media was always meant to be a social experience. If you want to be successful on social, you need to get comfortable in front of the camera. The most engaging content on social media are photos and videos where a small business owner shows up for their people and shares information, ideas, and opportunities that actually interest, engage, and excite their audience.

You can’t do that hiding behind a graphic you stole off of Google.

Here are our top three reasons to invest in branded headshots for your social media channels:

Content

One of the struggles for any business on social media is the creative aspect of creating content that an audience will engage with. Getting 1-3 branded photo shoots done a year keeps your content fresh, interesting, and attractive. It helps you create content for your audience that will actually get attention and social engagement.

Engagement

Your followers will be less likely to scroll past your content if they see your smiling face! If your followers are into you and what you do, seeing your photos will inspire them to like, comment, and share your posts! This engagement will showcase your content in more feeds, inspiring others to engage and will organically create the sort of attention you want for your social media posts.

Professionalism

While the occasional selfie isn’t going to hurt you, it doesn’t make the same impact as professional, branded photography. It doesn’t matter how good your selfie game is, there are ways to demonstrate your company culture and brand personality that simply can’t be accomplished with a selfie. Branded photography tells the story of you and your company. It removes the veil that small business owners tend to hide behind and is the bridge between you and an engaged audience.

Images of YOU are going to bring higher engagement than any stock image out there. Plan to get a series of great photos done professionally that show your brand voice. What sort of brand images work well? Indoor, Outdoor, doing a fun activity you love, different times of year, they all work! Incorporate blank space in areas for adding quotes and tips to your images later. The key is to show your personality! These images are what people will resonate with and use to connect with you, follow you, and choose to do business with you.

Are you struggling with not knowing how to use social media for your business? Not sure when to post, how to post, or what #Hashtags even are? Over three months, we will develop a roadmap of exactly how to use social media for your business in our Quarterly Roadmap Sessions. We will work on ads, reporting, creating posts for higher engagement, and break through the fears and frustrations small businesses experience with social media marketing. Let’s chat.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

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