Here are 5 elements that should hopefully tickle your social media taste buds:

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This is a must. Filling out your profile correctly means having a short description about what you do. A link to your website and maybe contact number. Make it short and sweet so people would be inclined to take action. You should also make sure that you have a high resolution logo and a good header image. An ugly profile may scare visitors away from your profile.

Use an Image/gif/video

It is statistically proven that tweets with images, gifs and videos have a much higher click through rate. Use videos when you can because they have the highest engagement rate out of the three. However at the bare minimum you should be using images. If you need to find royalty free images here are 40 Awesome Places to Download Free Images for Your Content Needs. Or if you need some royalty free videos here are 4 Royalty Free Video Sites. Unless you are a celebrity you need to have more than just text in your tweets.

Use Hashtags

Using hashtags is also of upmost importance. Tweeting with hashtags means that there is a greater chance that people will see that particular tweet. For example if someone searches twitter with the hashtag #cheesecake your tweet may come up in the search results if you used that particular hashtag. You should always try and use at least one hashtag in your tweets however three is ideal. One important thing to note is to never use a hashtag that has nothing to do with your tweet. Don’t use #cheescake if your tweeting about accounting software.

Employ these three things into your twitter marketing and you will be on your way to becoming a twitter rock star.

If you need any help with your website whether it be content, building or WordPress please do get in touch with us on the form above. Have a great day

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Social media has been global communication tool for a few years now and has grown to a scale where not many would have predicted the sheer size and volume in which it has consumed us the public…yet it can be used with great effect.

For brands, the freedom of expression that social media allows can be something of a blessing or a curse. It’s great when consumers follow what you are doing – like/retweet/engage and generally act positively towards you. However it’s not so great when you have to defend your name and/or actions in the world of social media. Social media is a powerful tool, so put a foot wrong can be a recipe for setting yourself up for a customer backlash and maybe even a media storm.

Most brands have adopted some sort of ‘crisis’ communication strategy to have a ready for such emergencies. Gone are the days which companies had 24 hours to come up with a crisis response. Thanks to social media, the reality is now that catastrophic events need to be dealt with in real-time or else run risk of rumours spreading.

Not that coming up with a ‘crisis’ communication strategy is an easy or straightforward task…but here is a quick run down of some do’s and dont’s of communication in this age of social media immediacy.

• Do – remain calm under pressure;

Every week some sort of celebrity scandal will hit the tabloids and invariably said celebrity would be associated with a brand(s)…the brand then has a decision to make, to either do the normal knee jerk reaction and sever all ties or wait for all the facts to become crystal clear before making a decision.

• Don’t – take your eye off the ball;

Knee-jerk reactions aren’t always the best way to deal with things…as is to do nothing at all, which can be equally damaging as a brand. Always try to keep ahead of the game and know what is going on within your company.

• Do – take responsibility for what you post on social media;

In this day and age, social media is a 24/7 thing, meaning that the majority of people will have access to the work social media account as well as their personal ones on their phones/tablets etc. This can sometimes lead to the unfortunate circumstance when something is posted which is markedly ‘off-brand’. A quick delete seems like the easiest option – but there is always someone there ready to screenshot that mistake. By speaking openly about it and admitting to the mistake it can go a long way to rectifying the situation.

• Don’t – Talk “at” your audience

Without listening and responding to them, this could undermine their trust in the company as a whole. Customers need to be talked ‘with’ not ‘at’.

• Do – accept that social media is a viable, permanent and efficient way to communicate, and embrace it as part of your company DNA.

• Don’t – Ignore comments;

It is vital to engage with your customers. No engagement can make them feel you don’t care. It all comes back to customer service. You should use this an opportunity to interact with your followers and show them how you deal with situations – both good and bad.

To find out more on Social Media Marketing listen to our podcast on the ‘Benefits of Social Media Marketing’ and other marketing topics please click here

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Do you know which social media networks will be most effective in your specific marketing campaigns?

If, like many business owners, you are unsure about how social media can be used to meet your business goals, then it’s worth having a quick read about the main features of each social networking platform. With the functionality available, and the massive populations of these social media sites, you’ll no doubt find it an attractive proposition to your business to be visible in such popular spaces.

Here’s a quick overview of the 5 main social media networks available.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the few social media networks that is designed solely for professional networking purposes. Professionals and businesses use LinkedIn to create connections with prospects and their customers, which opens up a channel of communication – both public (groups, status updates) and private (inbox messages).

LinkedIn allows businesses to connect with individuals by joining groups where they could meet potential customers. Businesses that are centred on IT would be likely to join groups related to their business, so that they would attract the right kind of customers that share the same interests as they do.

Job vacancies are listed on LinkedIn by businesses that have a LinkedIn page. Posting a job on LinkedIn can generate a lot of interest to the vacancy through the targeted search parameters. Businesses can also pay extra money to ensure that their vacancy is on the top of the page for additional exposure.

Facebook

Facebook is the most used social media networks in the world, there are more than 1.5 billion people who have a Facebook account, and over 750 million people who are frequent users of the social network.

Users can create Facebook pages for businesses. Separate to personal profiles (which require friend requests to be accepted before communication can commence), anyone can see, visit and contribute to Facebook pages, which provides a valuable platform for boosting brand awareness and exposure.

Businesses with a large community on their Facebook page have good opportunities to generate traffic to their website, showcase good levels of customer service, and up-sell business products and services.

There are also advertising opportunities available on Facebook to promote products or services directly to your ideal audiences. Facebook Ads can be highly targeted, depending on a wide range of information that is collected in Facebook account. This means the clicks you receive can be relevant to your business and qualified to make purchases.

Twitter

Twitter is one of the most dynamic of the social media networks. Users send ‘Tweets’ – a message with 140 character limit – which can be seen by any other user on the platform.

It is estimated that over 8000 users send out a tweet every second. Anyone on Twitter can send a tweet about anything, which means businesses have to be careful about the content they share and the conversations they engage in.

If someone with a lot of Twitter followers shared an update about a positive experience with your business, then chances are it will be seen by a percentage of their audience and word of mouth can spread digitally.

YouTube

YouTube is the most popular of the social media networks based on video. Individuals use YouTube for a variety of reasons, whether for entertainment or for educational services.

The average human spends fifteen to twenty-five minutes a day on YouTube searching for videos, with the majority of users are between eighteen and twenty-four years of age.

Advertisements have been introduced on YouTube videos in different types of formats. The most used type of advert are video adverts that play whilst the video is loading. Some of the video adverts are skippable after five seconds, and some are not.

Business can also purchase display ads on the side, or overlay ads that appear on the lower portion of the video. YouTube displays relevant ads based on the user’s cookies by keeping a track of all the websites a user visits, so adverts match users browsing history and interests.

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1.Publish Great Content
You need to think of your content as an advertisement. You won’t publish a dull looking design on a billboard advertisement. So don’t do the same for your content. I’m not saying that the content has to have fancy designs or anything, rather it needs to be valuable content that your audience will love to read and share.

2.Create Tutorials
Tutorials that teach your audience how to do something is excellent. If its in video form then that is even better. It’s never been more easy to create videos. Pull out your smartphone and upload it to YouTube. Cheap and effective.

3.Use PPC vouchers (adwords etc)
Companies like Google and Bing are always giving out vouchers for you to try out their advertising platform. This will allow you to test your PPC (Pay Per Click) Campaign without using much of your own money. Take the plunge and try it out!

4.Get On Social Media
Post fun and interesting stuff that your market will love so much that they will tell others about it. If your content is shared enough times it can create a great buzz around your brand.

5.Use Infographics
Using infographics can be a fun way to educate your audience. It’s like a digital poster that is more attractive to look at rather than some dull text. Hire a designer to create one for you and slap your company logo on it. Every time its shared by someone your brand will also be shared.

6.Develop a Customer Referral Program 
This is a great way for you to get leads from your current customers. Tell them to tell their friends about your products and give them both a small reward. For example, 10% off for you and your friend.

7.Online Contests
This is another great way to create a buzz around your brand and more importantly drive sales. The prize doesn’t need to be expensive but just something that people would want. Also don’t go too cheap!

8.Email Marketing
This is actually a must no matter what business your in. Your email list is actually one of your biggest assets. With it you can update your customers with updates and new offers.

9.Always A/B test
No matter what form of advertising you are employing, you need to a/b test or split test. For example if you have a landing page, you should create an alternative one so that you can see which one performs better. One will always do better than the other. Once you see which one is doing better delete the other one and replace it with a new one.

10.Send newsletters
This is related to email marketing because you will be using email to send out your newsletter. Your newsletter is a short update you send out to your list at least once a week. In it you should have the latest news in your industry.

11.Classified ads
This is something you have most probably done but it still needs to be said. Just make sure you post ads on places like Gumtree about your services. Add loads of pictures and describe it well!

12.Get blogging and Comment on others’ blogs
Blogging is a great way to provide great content to your audience whilst getting organic search traffic from the search engines. Google ranks websites high in their search engine if the content is natural and engaging. You must have the right keywords in there if you want to be ranked highly. However, don’t pick keywords that are too competitive. Google’s keyword tool is an invaluable too to find out what kind of search volume a keyword is getting. You should also comment on related blogs because this will get you noticed. Post meaningful comments but don’t self promote!

13.Upsell Straight Away
The best time to sell to someone is the just after they have bought something from you. These customers are ready to buy; they already have their credit card in their hand so grab the opportunity while you can. If you still don’t get the gist I will give you a classic example. McDonalds- “do you want fries with that”. Straight after you’ve ordered something they will try and sell more to you. So don’t underestimate the Power of upselling!

14.Join forums
Joining in on forum discussions is a great way to pose your authority in your industry. When people see you as an authority they are more likely to do business with you.

15.Create A Survey
If you already have a customer database you can survey them to find out what they want or aren’t happy with. With this new found information you can tweek your products and services to suit your customers.

16.Employ scarcity offers
Having deadlines on offers is a great way to get people to buy your product or service. Psychologically, having a deadline makes people want to snap up your deals before its gone!

17.Create a Fear of not Having your Product
This ties in with the scarcity method. If people think that your product or service will no longer be available it will create a sense of urgency when deciding to purchase.

18.Say Thank You
When you’re leaving a supermarket or retail store what do you see as you are exiting. “Thank You for shopping with us”. Just saying thank you to your customers is a great way to make them feel appreciated. Like their business means something to you. More importantly this will make them want to shop with in the future.

19.Exceed in Value
When your providing a service or selling a product always try and over deliver. Your customers will love you for it. And when your customers love you they wont think twice about doing business with you in the future even if you are slightly more expensive that your competitors.

20.Be an Industry Expert
If you position yourself/business as an expert people will see you as an authority. When they see you as an authority you won’t have to do much to make them buy your products and services.

21.Your Best Customers Are Your Existing Ones
Considering you have delivered good service, these customers already know and trust you, so selling to them won’t be too hard. Therefore, a good chunk of your marketing efforts should be focused on these customers.

22.Always State Up-to-date With Your Competitors
No one starts a business without analysing the competition. So you shouldn’t stop analysing them once you are up and running. Business is an ever changing entity so understanding what your competition are doing is of extreme importance.

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed our 21 marketing tips for small businesses. If you employ these tips you are doing what a large percentage of businesses aren’t doing. As simple as they seem, people are just not implementing them into their marketing plan. Make sure you do!

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If you need any help with your website whether it be content, building or WordPress please do get in touch with us on the form above. Have a great day

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