Social media Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Get Social With Grace

How to turn customer reviews into amazing social media posts

April 5, 2023/in Social media

Online review sites are the biggest way for consumers to share feedback on products and services. And when prospective customers are considering a purchase, they’re one of the first things they check.

Collecting ratings and reviews is great, but are you making the most of this valuable data? You can use testimonials to create social media posts that engage your audience and build trust in your products for services.

How to generate reviews for your business

Google My Business is the platform that is linked to Google’s search engine. When customers search for a business, Google displays a listing alongside the search results as displayed below:

It include details such as opening hours, photos, location and reviews (plus you can post content).

Gathering reviews on Google helps with your search ranking, and the more you have, the more credible you’ll appear to people who are looking up your business. Plus from my experience, there is a much better response in asking people to leave a review on Google than to email a testimonial. Perhaps because it’s not direct – who knows – but for me it works much better!

When asking your customers to write a review, send them a link which takes them directly to the review section of your Google My Business page to make it as easy as possible for them. You can use bitly.com to shorten the hyperlink.

If your business is listed on TripAdvisor or Trustpilot, you may wish to direct people to these platforms instead. But I would always suggest they leave you a review on a platform instead of via email, for the reason above but also because it’s then getting the advantage of being displayed in one of these places.

Facebook also has its own ratings and revies system, which may be relevant to you if you frequently use your Facebook page.

How to promote reviews on social media

1. Keep the message short

If the testimonial is lengthy, pick out the essential parts. You could then link to the full review wherever it is written such as on Google, or if it’s displayed on your website.

2. Use visuals

Words alone are unlikely to capture the attention of social media users. That’s why you need to get creative and use visuals to promote customer reviews. Canva is a brilliant tool for creating social media graphics, and they have an endless amount of testimonial design templates which you can customise with your colours and branding.

Another great way to share received reviews is to take a screenshot of them and share it to your social media channel.

3. Use reviews to ask for more feedback

When you share a testimonial, whether it be in the form of a graphic or screenshot, take the opportunity to encourage others to leave you a review too, stating which channels they can/should leave a review on.

Hopefully this quick guide has given you a few tips and tricks that you’ll be able to implement yourself when it comes to sharing reviews online. Good luck!

A guide to influencer marketing

March 13, 2023/in Social media

Influencer marketing in its current form is a fairly new concept. If you’re a small-medium sized business considering influencer marketing but not sure where to get started, this guide is for you.

There are many benefits and it doesn’t need to be costly. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to do it, only how it works for your business. But in this guide are some pointers to get you started.

We’ll cover:

What influencer marketing is
The basics of reaching out to influencers
The do’s and don’ts of influencer marketing campaigns
Pricing and knowing how much to pay

First off, what exactly is influencer marketing?

It’s a type of social media marketing where businesses and companies pay people/influencers online to be part of their campaign, promote their products, promote their services or represent their brand. A contract is always required as with any partnership or collaboration. Sometimes the influencer is paid a monetary sum, or are given free products, free membership or free services. The nature of the collaboration is between the influencer and the business.

There are different types of influencers, the type you work with will depend on your budget and business aims.

MEGA: they have a large following of at least 1 million people. Because of their large influence they can be more expensive.

MACRO: they usually have closer and more trusting relationships with their followers and somewhere between 100K – 1 million followers.

MICRO: These types of influencers usually have 10K-100K followers. They are good brand ambassadors, but it’s important to manage your expectations of what they’re able to achieve when working with them.

NANO: Up to 10K followers. While they’re following may be small, they can still have a big impact. But again it’s important to manage expectations, as they can’t be compared to a Mega or Macro influencer.

The basics of reaching out to influencers

Your options usually include DMing or sending an email. Your communication should always be professional because ultimately they are their own business. Therefore even if you reach out via DM to introduce yourself and your business, it’s important to move things over to email as soon as possible. It’s a more direct and professional way to communicate and establish how/if you’d like to work together.

Some influencers will have a virtual assistant, PA or manager. This is more likely especially with more well-known influencers. So keep in mind you might not be communicating just with them initially, but with their employees and team.

The dos and don’ts of influencer marketing campaigns

Some of the key points of working with influencers…

THE DOS:

Ask for stats around their audience reach and demographic information
Ask for information about the types of businesses and brands they’ve worked with in the past
Find out about their pricing structure or expectations around payment
Be upfront about your KPIs
Be clear when reaching out about your aims to ensure they are in-line with theirs
Put a contract in place when working together
Write a brief and script if necessary

THE DON’TS:

Work with an influencer who makes promises about the number of people they will reach/engagement stats (social media is unpredictable and specific stat results can’t be promised)
Work with an influencer who encourages you to buy followers
Be vague when reaching out – ultimately it’s a collaboration between 2 businesses and should benefit each party

Pricing and knowing how much to pay

Every influencer is different and will have different expectations. It’s important to remember that offering free items, gifts, memberships, tickets and services is usually in addition to some type of monetary payment or monetary payment structure. Ultimately influencing and being people of influence on social media is how they make a living.

Some influencers ask for a set amount per post, others set a total payment for a whole campaign, or you may choose to set up an affiliate programme. Affiliate programmes work by providing the influencer with a code or link. As they promote your products or services and provide their audience with the code, they will get a percentage of the sales they gain for your business.

So how much can you expect to pay?

Mega influencers can charge anywhere from around £5000 – £10,000 per post, if not more. But don’t forget their influence and reach is huge. You can also agree on a different structure than pay-per-post. It could be a total for a whole campaign, a bundle deal for multiple posts, or an affiliate programme.

Nano influencers tend to charge anywhere from £10 – £100 per post. But again, you can operate through a different structure if you choose. They are much cheaper, but keep in mind what your expectations would be for this collaboration as their reach will also be slightly less.

Ultimately whatever your aims or budget, there’s an influencer out there who will suit your needs and still get you results!

Should my business be on TikTok?

January 26, 2023/in Social media

The answer to this question is – it depends. But I have compiled a list of useful questions to ask yourself to find out if it’s the right place for your business to be marketed.

Many businesses get slightly intimidated by TikTok. It’s much more tailored to a younger audience overall than the other platforms (although this audience in changing to be an older demographic) and it’s fully video based. Therefore all your content needs to be video.

But hopefully after reading my article, you’ll see that the platform isn’t as complicated and intimidating as some business owners find it. And you’ll be in a better position to understand if it’s the right platform for you to utilise or not. Before we get into it, here are some statistics worth knowing…

TikTok has been downloaded 3.5 billion times worldwide, making it the 5th app to accomplish this and the first non-Meta owned app.
An impressive honour for the video-sharing app, TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2021. It beat out long-time social media favourites Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
According to TikTok statistics, “entertainment” is the most popular content category on the platform worldwide. This particular hashtag has amassed 535 billion hashtag views. The next most popular categories include dance, pranks, fitness/sports, and home renovations/DIY.

Is your audience on TikTok?

It’s important to do some research, delve into your social media stats, and consider the age range and demographic of your target audience. But here are TikTok’s user-demographics:

Ages 10-19 are 25% of users
Ages 20-29 are 22.4% of users
Ages 30-39 is 21.7% of users
Ages 40-49 is 20.3% of users
Ages 50+ are 11% of users

Is this surprising? Most people think TikTok is generally “used by the youngsters”. However the age demographic is changing. The majority of people who actually create posts are younger, whereas there are more people in the older age brackets using TikTok, but they use it more to scroll than to share content.

In terms of gender, females account for 57% of the platform’s active users and males account for 43%.

Can you do things on Tik Tok that you can’t do on existing channels?

The platform can be a highly effective method to reach new audiences, if you’re able to create high-quality, snackable and on-trend content. And if you have the time and resources to invest. But this won’t be suitable for every business.

Perhaps you all work remotely and recording high-quality content with the right hooks is too tricky. Maybe you work in an industry where you work with highly sensitive information. Or you work in a sector where your business needs to show a more sensitive and private image rather than humourous and entertaining. These are all things to think about.

But if you feel you have the time and resources, and your team is eager to collaborate on content creation, it might just be the best next step for your business. And it could become a team building activity for your employees!

Can your business benefit from influencer marketing?

One of the most positive and impactful things social media marketing can offer your business is exposure through collaborations, with other businesses and/or influencers.

Social media has changed the way many businesses market themselves. Many industries now base their entire marketing strategy on influencer marketing and collaborations (such as fashion and beauty brands). With this they can also explore referral codes and affiliate programmes. The opportunities are endless.

Could your business benefit from an influencer/social media collaboration strategy?

Can you create snackable content?

A ‘hook’ is the way you grab the attention of the viewer when they come across your TikTok video. If you don’t have a good hook, they’ll scroll past. If you do, they’re more likely to stay, engage, and then visit your profile to watch more videos.

It’s a little more difficult to market service-based businesses on TikTok rather than product-based. Simply because with a product the viewer has something to see in front of them. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Many people use TikTok to see “life hacks”, meaning if you can provide insightful content, you could also be onto a winner. So it’s important to think about your strategy and the type of content you’ll be putting out.

In conclusion

TikTok has the potential to give your business exposure in a new and exciting way. Even potentially in ways that the other social media platforms currently can’t. But it’s important your business isn’t on TikTok just for the sake of being on it. Use the questions and points above to understand if it’s the right social media strategy for your business – or have a chat with me!

8 social media marketing trends for 2023

January 9, 2023/in Social media

Would you like to discover emerging social media marketing trends that you can put to work right now? Wondering what will matter in 2023?

I’ve researched and rounded up some predictions on key social media marketing trends for 2023 that business owners and marketers should be aware of.

1. Short form video content leads the way

Without question, the strongest type of content across most of the major platforms in 2023 will be short-form video. Consumers have simply fallen victim to their own attention spans! Short-form video, spurred on by the success of TikTok, is now the content type of choice.

To navigate the change, I recommend a few things:

Do what’s right for you and your business. Not every person or brand has the ability to be goofy on TikTok. But everyone can be informal and educational. Instead of shooting for a style that isn’t you, find what you can provide through video that’s useful to the audience you’re trying to reach.

Create videos when you have something to say. Forget what people say about the frequency required to break through algorithms. If you produce one good video a month, this is better than forcing out rubbish more often for the sake of it.

2. Prioritise social customer care

Many marketers have made social media more about content and less about connecting. This puts social media in trouble; the whole premise of connecting and building relationships gave way to the broadcasting of infomration without a real aim at building trust and loyalty.

Instead of focusing on content, focus on customer experience and conversations. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes – they’re increasingly using social media to:

Discover new brands and products
Research product features and reviews
Make buying decisions
Ask support questions

Simply put, they want to talk with your brand digitally with as much ease as they would in a traditional brick-and-mortar store. Research shows that since the pandemic, brands have gotten worse at responding to mentions on social media.

Brands spend enormous amount of time on money on content marketing, but what people really want is connection. Embrace this thinking by:

Examining your social media channels to see where most of your customer care conversations are happening
Creating content that gets people talking
Responding to questions and complaints and quickly as possible on your channels
Find where your brand or products are being mentioned but you aren’t being tagged

3. Authenticity rules over curated perfection

TikTok has become so appealing due to its authenticity of the every day person. Your coffee doesn’t need to be aesthetic, you don’t have to “look perfect” – you can show up as you are and create. Other channels, particularly Iinstagram, will start to value authenticity over “perfect content” to attract its Gen Z audience. Not just in content, but also creators. People who show up as themselves and businesses that stand for a cause.

When it comes to new features, I believe we’ll see a lot of new features rolled out on Instagram related to helping creators monetise. Maybe we’ll even get audio-specific content, like podcasting.

4. LinkedIn influencing grows

LinkedIn added almost 100 new features in 2022. Their Creator Mode encourages people with personal profiles to build a following, which will become more prevalent in the new year. 2023 may be the year that LinkedIn joined YouTube and Facebook in paying creators and allowing them to monetise their presence and content.

There also appears to be a growing focus on SEO. LinkedIn already has a new tool to optimise your new and existing articles; time will tell if using these tools will help people find your older articles.

5. LinkedIn content trends

Interestingly, video seems to be performing less well on LinkedIn than it ever has. My advice is to test it on your audience, keeping length short to 30-90 seconds. Still images will help a post get higher engagement. Posts with images are performing better than those without. There’s been a huge increase in the number of document posts with a combination of text and images. Use document posts for instructional purposes, testimonials, and if you have them, displaying products.

Personal content will also continue to succeed – create personal content as part of your marketing strategy but don’t let it dominate. Try to relate any personal content back to the work environment.

Current thinking is that more personal content will lead to a reduction in the amount of ‘salesy’ content. People are increasingly aware of the need to build relationships to do business and convert leads.

6. LinkedIn content boosting

LinkedIn announced that they are rolling out the ability to boost personal profile content. Up to this point, we’ve only been able to promote company page posts. We know that company posts don’t get the same interaction as perosnal posts, so this could be a boon to those companies whose executives are actively sharing great content on the platform.

7. TikTok Live Shopping

TikTok Live Shopping is currently rolling out. The experience lets customers click and buy without having to leave the TikTok app. This is a huge opportunity for product-based businesses. My advie is to get familiar with the new features, so you’re ahead of the curve when you get access to them.

Also, TikTok is rolling out a feature update that will allow anyone to send you a DM on TikTok, very similar to Instagram. This opens up the opportunity to have private, one-to-one conversations with people who don’t yet follow you.

Over 40% of people on TikTok right now are over 30. They aren’t posting content, they’re consuming it. As TikTok matures, its features are maturing for both creators and viewers. In late 2022, the character count for descriptions rose from 300 to 2,200.

8. YouTube leans further into short videos

Competing with TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube has made some major changes, introducing YouTube Shorts. They’re showing up in search results on both YouTube and Google, plus they’re linking back to YouTube channels more than ever, giving creators a bigger reason to be experimenting with this type of content on the platform.

This year, YouTube will also be releasing its podcasting platform. It will be a huge opportunity for anyone doing podcasts and also for people creating multiple types of content. This new podcasting section really aligns with YouTube’s overall direction, moving to become the one major content hub for all types of content.

6 digital marketing podcasts worth listening to

November 25, 2022/in Social media

If you work in social media or another area of digital marketing, podcasts are a brilliant way of keeping up with what’s happening in the digital world. Not only that, but they’re a great place to learn about relevant news, industry updates, platform updates and tips and advice from others as to what’s worked for them and what hasn’t.

Digital marketing is not as easy as creating a nice looking graphic, posting it on social media, and waiting for the likes, comments and new business leads to come in! Or sending out a newsletter directing people to your website, and being done for the rest of the month. It takes a lot more work, analysis and networking than that!

So below are some super handy digital marketing podcasts I recommend you give a go. Each of these is unique in what they discuss, how they discuss it, and the way the hosts lead the podcast. But they all bring highly valuable knowledge!

1. The Art of Social Media

This podcast focuses specifically on social media marketing. The podcast is a series of interviews, focusing on some of the world’s most influential and innovative social media marketing experts and thought leaders.

The advice, tips and focus of the interviews, is all about how to grow your business through social media. If you’re a business with a social media presence (which should be everyone today) or you work with clients and manage their social media accounts, I highly recommend listening to this podcast.

2. Marketing Week

This is one of the most famous and respected marketing podcasts in the UK. The podcast’s aim is to get straight to the point and give marketers concise information that they need, in one place.

3. The Money Marketing Podcast

If you’re a marketer that works in the financial industry, or you own your own business, The Money Marketing Podcast aims to be your definitive guide to all things financial planning.

The podcast runs series which focus on specific topics or issues. And overall, the podcast aims to provide marketers with the latest news, views and expert analysis. You’ll also find leading industry experts as guests.

4. Future Proof

This marketing podcast is from Said Business School at Oxford University, and Kantar, the marketing insights and consulting company. Each episode finds them having a frank discussion with an expert, about how businesses and brands can navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing.

The podcast looks at big industry questions with lots of data, market research and academic references mentioned.

5. B2B Marketing Podcast

If you’re a marketer who works with B2B clients or is involved in B2B marketing projects, this one’s for you. The podcast hosts take you through their plan to provide you with everything you need to know around B2B marketing.

6. The Cambridge Marketing Podcast

This podcast aims to give marketers all the insights they need to know about marketing overall. You’ll find different guests providing their expertise, opinions and analysis on a weekly basis. The podcast covers a range of different topics, so if you’re a marketing agency owner, employee or have a digital marketing role within a company where you’re involved in a wide-variety of digital marketing aspects, this one’s for you.

Staff profiles: why and how to introduce your team on social media

October 18, 2022/in Social media

It’s really important to give your followers and clients a peek “behind the curtain”, and this can be done by showcasing what it’s like to work at your company and who the people are working behind the scenes. Staff profiles humanise your brand, help your clients and audience connect with your business, and create opportunities for more engagement on social media. They can also help to boost your company culture and create stronger bonds with your employees.

Types of meet the team posts

New employee (shows growth in the company and makes new people feel welcome)
Celebration of a promotion or certification
The first 90 days – a look at how it’s going after a few months
Celebration of a work anniversary
Staff members’ birthday (even better if you’re celebrating in the workplace)
Highlighting an employee who does interesting public service work or a charity fundraising event
Just because – someone you would like to spotlight

Below are some great examples of staff profiles I have created on behalf of clients.

Wondering what to write?

It can be fun to do a short interview-style post. This makes the post interesting to the readers, and means they can find out more about the staff member. Below are some questions you can ask, but just select up to five of them to keep the post short and sweet.

What is your job role?
How long have you been with X?
What is your favourite thing about your job/ working for X?
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
*Something related to the business e.g. Which is your favourite X product?*
Tell us a surprising or a fun fact about you

Make sure to share an accompanying photo of the member of staff, preferably in their working environment so people can get even more of a behind-the-scenes insight. Also ensure you choose employees at all levels of your organisation so you have a broad cross-section of perspectives represented in this series.

For independent business owners…

If you’re an independent business owner and wondering how this type of content can apply for you, sharing a “day in the life” style of post works well at giving people a personal insight into how your business runs. Share with your audience the type of work you’ll be undertaking, any meetings you’ll be having with clients, any events e.g. networking, and so on. You could even end it with something you’re up to in the evening after work. If you can incorporate a photo from your day with the post, even better.

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

My greatest social media tips for 2022

September 22, 2022/in Social media

Right now, businesses need to be very strategic with their social media efforts if they want to get their message heard above all the noise on social platforms.

It’s my full time job to help dozens of businesses in a variety of sectors utilise social media, through content creation and organically growing their audiences. There are lots of little tips I often give to my clients and contacts, and I thought, why not collate them in my next blog post? So here we are… Read below for my best social media tips in 2022.

1. Schedule posts in advance

The biggest tip I give to businesses is to schedule posts in advance using a free tool. With Buffer, you can add up to 3 channels on a free account (e.g. your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, and Instagram page). Use it to create posts for all of your pages which can be customised, and then you can set a day and time in the future for the post to be published.

It means you can spend a block of time each week or fortnight creating a batch of content, rather than sporadically putting a post up on your platforms every other day or so. You’ll find that your posts will be higher quality because you’ll be spending time thinking about your content, and you will save so much time by not thinking about what to post throughout the week.

2. Utilise your LinkedIn tagline

Your LinkedIn tagline appears in search results, invitation requests, and every time you create a post, leave a comment, or send a message. So it’s pretty much everywhere on LinkedIn.

Make sure it states not only exactly what you do, but how you add value. Too often, I see taglines which only say “Founder of X”. If you didn’t know me and saw my tagline was “Owner of Get Social with Grace”, would you understand exactly what I offer? Likely not.

The above shows my current tagline, which elaborates on what my business is about. I’ve also added in some emojis to make it stand out and give it some character. You may wish to do this too, although in some roles it may not be appropriate to do so.

3. Prioritise quality over quantity

“How often should I post?” is a question I’m frequently asked. It depends on your business, but generally a good consistency is 3 posts per week. This way, if you’re a B2B business posting Monday-Friday, you’re still having a constant presence to your followers.

By posting 5+ posts per week, you likely won’t achieve the level of quality that you need to in sharing posts that are engaging and well thought out. You can even begin with 2 posts per week if you struggle with creating content (click here for quick content ideas), because it’s much better to prioritise quality over quantity.

4. Key Instagram insights to look at

With the time it takes to create content, keep your profiles optimised, and respond to messages and comments… The last thing you want to add to your list is analysing every single post, particularly when each social media platform shows a huge range of different insights. It can be overwhelming.

However, there are two key insights which I recommend active Instagram users look at:

Your followers’ most active times of day. Click on Total Followers to see their demographics, which might be of interest to you. But if you scroll to the bottom, you can see their most active times of the day and days of the week. These are the times you should be sharing your content – when your audience are using Instagram the most.
Content you’ve shared. Go back to your Insights page, and under the ‘Content you’ve shared’ section, click ‘Posts’. Change the top right dropdown arrow to Last 6 months or Last year, and then you can see the order of the posts with the most Reach. You can change the middle dropdown arrow to the most Likes, and other metrics. So here you can see the order of your most popular posts. Is there a trend?

(Instagram Insights layout may have changed since writing this article in September 22)

5. How to run successful giveaways

A good way of boosting likes and engagement on your Facebook and/or Instagram pages is by running a competition. Provide a prize which is tangible such as a food hamper or gift vouchers. You could even collaborate with another local company who could promote the competition to their audience too.

Make the competition stand out with a snappy title. Then request that people like/follow your page, like and share the post, and tag 3 friends in the comments to enter. This will help the post spread. See below two examples of giveaways I have previously created for clients.

Always include a nice photo of the prize, and don’t let the competition run for longer than 2 weeks as it will lose momentum.

6. Don’t forget your competitors

Struggling with content ideas? Take a look at what other businesses similar to yours are putting out there. Now I’m not saying copy exactly what they’re doing… But looking at competitors’ channels and what they’re getting good engagement on can give you some really good inspiration and ideas.

Also check out the social media channels of the giants in your industry. For example if you’re a landscaper, you may be interested to know what the Society of Garden Designers are putting out there.

Conclusion

I hope you found some of my tips useful. In fact, feel free to let me know if you did find any of them particularly helpful!

I also provide 1-2-1 social media training sessions, which are completely bespoke to your business. We look at the platforms you should be using and how to utilise them effectively, a variety of content ideas that your audience will be interested in, and lots more hints and tips. Find out more here.

5 reasons why people aren’t following your business on social media

December 15, 2021/in Social media

So you’ve set up some accounts for your business on social media, well done! But if you’re reading this, it’s fair to assume your channels aren’t performing as well as you’d like. Mainly, you aren’t getting many followers.

This could be for a number of reasons. But don’t worry – I’m here to help. Below, you’ll find the top 5 reasons why people aren’t following your business on social media, and what you can do about it.

Posting too little or too much

One of the worst mistakes you can make with your account is not posting frequently enough. With the way social media algorithms are set up, if you aren’t posting enough you’ll simply disappear into the dark corners of the internet. Irregular posts will lower your relevance, so you will appear in people’s feeds less.

And believe it or not, posting too much will harm your follower count in a similar fashion. If you’re spamming followers with poor quality content, they’ll become tired of you and therefore stop following your accounts.

The solution? Have a content plan. You should be hitting the sweet spot of 3-5, top quality-crafted posts per week. If Use a scheduler such as Buffer to manage your posts in a better way.

Out of sight, out of mind

Many businesses make the mistake of not telling their customers or clients they are on social media. It’s unlikely that people will find your social media accounts on their own. So spread the word! Start with posters in your store or office. If you have business cards, put your handles on them. Include buttons/links on your website and in your email signature. These are small steps you can take that will make a difference.

If you’re looking to really push your numbers, why not run a promotion or giveaway competition? This will drive up your followers. Announce a worthwhile prize – more on running giveaways here.

You aren’t engaging back

You’re much more likely to retain followers if you’re engaging back. The main reason people and businesses use social media is to connect. If you aren’t participating in the conversation, people won’t continue to follow you.

When people comment on your posts, reply. If you get a direct message, write back. This builds trust with your current audience and shows people who don’t follow you that you care about your audience.

Relying on organic traffic

Unless you have the brand reputation of Nike or Apple, people won’t be going out of their way to follow your accounts. So on top of regular posting, what can you do?

Take advantage of boosted/promoted posts, particularly on Facebook and Instagram. This is a cost-effective tool you can use to boost your followers. For just £5 you can reach up to 1000, targeted people. Set yourself a budget of £30 for the month and try boosting some of your existing posts. If it works well you may wish to increase the budget.

You aren’t adding value

If you are simply promoting your products or services, people won’t follow you. Your accounts need to be more than just promotional pages.

Look at your content and think about how you can give more value to your customers. Your content should be a mix of being engaging, inspiring, humorous and useful. If you’re a hairdresser, why not share hair styling trends? Or if you’re a business coach, you could offer advice on different topics of business?

If people feel like they get value from your page, they’ll follow you.

14 Instagram Story ideas for businesses

November 15, 2021/in Social media

Marketing products on Instagram, but unsure what you should post every day? In this article, you’ll find 14 unique Instagram Story ideas you can use for marketing your business.

1. Tell a story about the products you offer

Tell the story of how a particular product came to life. What made you create it in the first place? What does it do and how is it used? How has it made a difference in the lives of your customers? Paint a picture when telling this story.

2. Share the process of making your product

Behind-the-scenes content enables viewers to become invested in the journey of bringing a product to life. Do this through photos and videos on your Story. Build excitement and interest from your followers by allowing them to see the step-by-step process of taking your product from an idea to its finished form.

3. Reshare user-generated content

Get your current customers involved in content creation by encouraging them to share photos and videos on Instagram. Have them tag your business, so you’re able to see the content and repost to your Instagram Story. Not only will your customers feel appreciated by you sharing their content, it also shows potential buyers that others love what you have to offer.

4. Showcase your favourite products

Have a weekly feature where you showcase just one of your products in an effort to drive sales. This could be your favourite product or something that has been a bestseller that week. Share photos, videos, and even a review of that product from a previous customer.

5. Vlog your day

‘Work with me Wednesday’ is a popular theme for businesses owners to share. Commit to bringing your followers along for a day in your life for at least one day each month. Let them see your morning routine, what’s on your to-do list, and even what you’re eating.

6. Answer frequently asked questions about your offerings

Odds are your Instagram followers have some questions about your business or products. Give them the chance to do that by having a Q&A session every so often. You can use the Questions sticker to encourage them to ask away!

7. Tease upcoming sales

Sales are always a good way of bringing in new business. If you have a sale coming up, let people know a week before on Instagram Stories. You can even include a countdown sticker so they can choose to be reminded when the sale begins.

8. Share customer testimonials

One thing you should absolutely do is share testimonials from your customers. Take screenshots of reviews posted on Facebook, Google, etc. and post them to your Instagram Story. Sharing testimonials from past customers shows credibility.

9. Poll your audience to get to know them better

Use polls to gain a better understanding of those who follow you. Ask about their demographics, interests, preferences and other useful information. Many brands like to play a game of “This or That” on their Stories by adding polls for engagement. Some questions are just for fun, while others offer feedback about the business or products.

10. Create a regular Story series

Sometime’s it’s easier to create content when you have a theme planned for each day. For instance, you might use #MondayMotivation to share an inspirational quote to start the week. You could also have days dedicated to highlighting specific products, team members or customers.

11. Repurpose past content for Stories

Every piece of content you create doesn’t need to be brand new. Dig into previous posts, blogs and videos to find content that’s still relevant for your audience today. Then rework it into a Story using pictures or video.

12. Recommend other businesses

Sometimes it’s nice to spread the love to other small businesses that are doing amazing things just like you are. If you know a business that your customers might purchase from, tell them about it. Create an Instagram Story that features this business and what they’re all about. It may just encourage them to reciprocate the gesture.

13. Show a behind-the-scenes look at your workplace

This idea for Instagram Stories isn’t for directly promoting a product, but it’s still a great way for followers to build a connection with your brand. People are more inclined to purchase when they have a strong relationship with you. Give them the chance to see into your workplace, so they can learn more about who you are and how you work.

14. Introduce individual employees

Customers want to know the faces behind the business logo. Interview your employees on camera and ask them a few simple questions. They could simply introduce themselves, talk about their role in the business, and include a fun fact for people to get a greater sense of their personality.

Conclusion

When marketing on Instagram, it’s smart to use a combination of these different types of Instagram Story posts to get the most out of the platform. The more high-quality content you share, the better your chance to expand the reach of your business and boost sales.

How to run a successful social media giveaway

October 14, 2021/in Social media

A social media giveaway is a proven strategy to boost engagement and awareness for your online business. Are you curious on how to run a successful social media contest? In this article we cover all of the must-follow steps, so you can start building a great rapport with your online followers.

Step 1: Set your goals

There are varying reasons to host contests. So what’s your goal here? Determine whether you’re trying to increase social media followers, generate more leads or simply increase brand awareness. Each goal can lead to different types of contests, so you need to begin by knowing what you’d like to achieve.

Step 2: Determine your contest type

Once you know your goal, you can base the type of contest on the outcome you’re looking for. If you want to increase your following, request entrants to follow your page to enter.

If you want to generate more leads, you can request that people sign up or enter their email. These can be done on a landing page, or you can create a Facebook tab specifically for your giveaway.

Or if you’re most interested in simply generating brand awareness, you can collaborate with other companies and both share the giveaway, or ask entrants to tag a friend as a form of entry to spread the word.

Step 3: Pinpoint your budget

If you plan on running regular giveaways (which is a great strategy to keep your followers engaged and excited), make sure you plan out a budget for the year.

Once you know how much you can spend on the giveaway, you can break it up between ads to promote the contest and money to put behind the prize.

Step 4: Choose your prize wisely

For the best results, select a prize that’s tempting. The higher the perceived value of your prize, the better. It needs to be tangible.

It should also be relevant to your business and potential customers. For instance, if you run a membership site, you could give away free access to your membership for a year. That way, you’re capturing the interest of prospective customers with an enticing offer that’s aligned with your core product.

Step 5: Test different platforms

Test social media giveaways on different platforms to see which one generates the largest response. Figure out if Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or another platform will bring you the best results, then focus on that platform to lead your future recurring contests.

If you already know there’s a social media platform that outperforms all of the rest for your business, you may want to skip this step.

Step 6: Run your social media giveaway

We’ve made it! It’s time to start your giveaway. Announce it on your chosen social media platform, and give it a boost to increase your reach even further. Cross-promote it on other platforms, your email newsletter and even your website to create more buzz.

Announce your prizes, set the length of your contest (no more than 2 weeks otherwise it will lose momentum) and watch as the entries pour in.

Step 7: Measure your results

Once the contest is over, you’ve announced the winner and sent off their prize, it’s time to check out the results. How well did your social media giveaway actually perform?

This goes all the way back to your goal. What were you trying to achieve? You want to measure results based on what your objective were.

Social media giveaways should be all about improving engagement, reach, followers and potential customers.

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