Social Media

Explore expert insights into social media trends with Croydon’s leading web design and digital marketing company. Tailored for SME business owners in South London and Surrey, our category page is the go-to resource for enhancing your digital presence and engagement

Taking an Instagram story for a business

Instagram Stories for Businesses

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On average 300 million people use Instagram Stories around the globe, the photo and video sequences lasting 24 hours have gone viral, becoming an obvious step for new businesses aiming to enhance their social media reach. With this new age of digital marketing coming quickly upon us, it makes sense to become part of the conversation!

Instagram is a social media platform allowing people of all ages, whether using android or smartphone, to share pictures of their hobbies, lifestyle, family or even their favourite dog with friends and followers. This new platform has become incredibly popular, allowing you to tag other followers in pictures, with many brands growing untold amounts due to one tag from a celebrity as follower’s rush to buy what they’re promoting.

Instagram Stories have grown to become an integral part of a business’s social media presence, as well as helping increase awareness and ultimately the growth of your customer base. On average one in five Instagram Stories gets a direct message, that’s a lead, according to the Hootsuite article! The Stories have become an ideal way to keep your followers up to date with any news about your brand, allowing them to feel an increased interaction with you.

The diversity of Instagram Stories helps businesses create new ways of appealing to their customer bases, take the example of The New York Times showing followers behind the scenes pictures of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show giving fans a richer experience of its events. Ben & Jerry’s have used the Stories to break the news of fresh products to their range, giving followers a first glimpse at their ‘Non-dairy crew’. Whilst Maybelline New York had Instagram Influencer, Jordyn Jones, take over their feed for an inside look at New York Fashion Week, both her and the brand were able to harness relevant attention from the others audience, increasing their followers and therefore brand awareness.

Review the full article on Hootsuite’s blog which offers loads of tips on how to implement posting your story on Instagram. If you’re looking to create a digital marketing campaign and want a little help, then give Smart Cow a call on 020 3137 1826 or email today. A digital marketing agency in Croydon, we’re happy to help with any additional enquiries. 

Social channels and marketplaces

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Today, social media channels rule the business world, with 55% of consumers having made a purchase via a social media channel*. With this information to hand, it would seem erroneous to miss out on the world of social media and the amazing opportunities it can give your business.

Make use of what social channels offer you

Explore the options a social media platform can give you, to help boost your business. Facebook accounts for 19% of purchasing through social media channels**, but with channels such as Instagram recently having introduced a shopping function which allows you to create easy to use links on posts for potential customers to use there is clearly a demand for purchasing and selling via social media. Instagram’s shop. You also have access to important algorithms for analysis on how your posts are doing. Read our blog for more information.

Social networks, the new marketplace?

Nearly a 1/3 of shoppers say they use social channels to shop**. This is a huge chunk of consumers that you could be missing out on by not using all social media’s facilities. So, all you new and small businesses out there should be focusing on social media presentations. It is becoming more and more popular for social media platforms to offer buttons or links such as ‘install’, ‘buy now’ or ‘learn more’. A lot of brands have yet to use these shopping functions, so introducing this into your feed is a great way of separating you from the crowd and making a firm mark on the marketplace.

Social media Croydon

It makes sense to join the social media conversation. If you would like help to kick start your digital marketing strategy get in contact with us.

Sources: *Econsultancy ; **Marketing Week 

Create valuable social media content

Create valuable social media content

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People spend up to 0.7 seconds longer on tweets if they contain an image*, with this in mind it’s time to shake things up and really think about how you present social media content through images or videos.

In today’s modern age, visual aids are more important than ever. Having images or videos on your website or social media page could make the difference between gaining a customer or losing one.

Something as simple as taking an extra few minutes thinking or planning images to use, or how to best present your message visually, will make people stay on your page for longer and can help give your business a boost.

In 2015, an article in The Guardian asked, ‘would you be reading this article or would you be watching it in the future?’**. It’s an interesting concept and we are watching more and more. With the ability to film and take pictures on smart phones and share quickly via social media the costs for creating videos are non-existent, but what you do need is good and relevant content.

Use everything a social media platform offers you to your advantage. If the platform offers a live stream application then use it. If you can use hashtags, incorporate images and videos, add easy to use links to your website, then do it! Anything that is visual or interactive will be more attractive to potential customers.

Social Media marketing agency

Here at Smart Cow Marketing we will help your business’ social media take off. We can take control of your account and teach you how best to use social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Sources: *MarketingWeek **Theguardian.com

Snapchat for business

Snapchat for business

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Snapchat’s Spectacles offer a handsfree way to capture the world around you as you see it. This exciting invention has recently been revised to be waterproof, with better camera quality and comes in an array of colours. The previous generation of glasses may have not sold well but the added extras could prove popular. Here’s some highlights.

Snapchat

The social network, Snapchat, has attracted more than 173 million daily users. And no wonder it’s so popular; Snapchat is a fun creative way to immediately share content with friends through photos, videos and text. Its strap line: ‘The fastest way to share a moment!’ You can connect with people worldwide, follow your favourite celebrities, use a variety of funny filters or special effects, and even catch up on the news.

Although it seems that Snapchat is dominated by younger people, with 60% being under 25, the older generation is getting to grips with Snapchat and usage is growing, even much-loved TV presenter Philip Schofield uses it daily – although, as some in the office know him from children’s TV, we wouldn’t call him old! So, it seems to appear that Snapchat is becoming an app phenomenon loved by people of all ages.

Snapchat Channel

With so many users, businesses are tapping into it to promote their services or products. It is advertising on a budget, or in some cases for free. Starbucks has successfully used Snapchat to increase exposure, Kylie Cosmetics by Kylie Jenner also uses Snapchat, and she has claimed to have spent hardly any money on advertising by utilising it.

Snapchat Ads

The great thing about Snapchat is that it’s a platform that small businesses can use to raise awareness. Snapchat Ads allow you to record a 10 second video that will show in between people’s stories, and with so many users per day this an opportunity not to be missed.

Content

At the end of the day it won’t matter how much time you spend creating Ads for Snapchat, if the content isn’t up to scratch you won’t be gaining followers. Ensure your ads are unique and appealing to the audience you want to target. Look at how other successful ads work via the Snapchat platform and be sure to take inspiration from them.

Social media agency Croydon

If you want advice in making your business stand out on social media contact Smart Cow we’re here to help. As one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Croydon, we are happy to aid you in any way possible.

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