Social Media

With 2.8 billion social media users*, we take a closer look at a successful business that has utilised social media to gain a loyal following and consider why it is so important for small businesses to get social.

Marketing Week recently interviewed entrepreneur Ella Mills about the role that marketing has played in the success of her business. She has built up a massive online following with her brand Deliciously Ella which has an audience of about 28 million. She started her blog in 2012 following an illness which affected her mentally and physically. Her business stemmed from her learning about diet and lifestyle and how it could have an impact on her illness. She subsequently recorded what she was eating in her blog. She gained a loyal base of followers interested in her recipes and progress. Fast forward to today, and Ella is regularly engaging and reaching out to her audience directly via social media and built on her business model by introducing bricks and mortar delis. For Ella, she sees social media as ‘accessible, authentic and approachable’ and ‘the most important way of keeping in touch’.

With Ella’s success of social media marketing in mind, we consider how small businesses can utilise and benefit social media for themselves

Content is king

One of the key things to remember about any communication with your audience is the need for good quality content. By creating interesting and relevant blogs and videos you can share these via social media. So, providing tips, advice and commentary on trends, can help you attract and retain customers.

Think strategically

Understanding why you are on social media will help you achieve your goals. The channels are not just there for engagement and a #ThrowbackThursday comment, they are about customer retention, brand awareness, sales and quality leads. So, spend a little time initially working out what you want to get from social media and devise your strategy.

Understand your audience

Conduct a straw poll with your customers to find out what channels are most popular and research which social media channels your competitors use. This way you will have some indication of where to focus your efforts if you are starting out or doing a review of relevant channels you’re signed up to. For example, a local café may find Facebook and Instagram popular for spreading their message. But, it is not necessarily the same approach that is best for an accountancy firm, where Twitter and LinkedIn may provide the best approach.

Let’s face it, if your competitors are using a particular channel then it’s worth sharing the same space as them.

Marketing plan

Remember, to see social media as just another marketing tool. It is providing a way to reach out to your target audience, so working out what you want to say to them and how is all part of the process. For a small business, it is sometimes difficult to manage or perhaps the last thing on your mind with everything else you have to juggle. So, look at tools such as Hootsuite which can help you manage when you send messages out and at what time.

Social media Croydon

If you’re looking for some initial help, the Smart Cow team can help you formulate a social media strategy and create content for a few months to set you on your way.

Drop us a line if you have any questions about social media for your small business and we can help guide you through.

Source: *We are Social: Digital in 2017 Global Overview

With over 400million users*, Instagram is an influential app to engage with your customers and get your message out there. There’s so much to understand about this clever social network but knowing that there’s 80 million photos uploaded each day to Instagram**, here’s our top tips for getting that perfect image to gain interest and attract new followers.

Top tips for Instagram photos

1. Firstly, you need to use a great shot that really makes you stand out in a crowded market place.

2. Make sure the lighting is good. If the image is too dark it won’t gain as much traction because this is an image led feed.

3. Does your image need a filter? Before you post it, think about using the filters available and look at the many tools under edit. These can really enhance your image and make it pop.

4. Think about adding movement to your feed. Utilising an app such as Boomerang is a simple yet effective way to do this – it’s great for a teaser campaign for example a snapshot of a box opening with a new product inside. Or, create short snappy videos on a smart phone – perfect if you’re attending an event and you want to showcase where you’re exhibiting. These can then be edited into several videos post event and used again and again.

5. You can now select the ‘multiple’ function which means you can upload 10 images at once. This is great if you want to show a montage of new products or dishes on your menu.

6. Remember that your business profile is just that! Images should be relevant to what you do. Avoid posting your holiday snaps unless there’s something related that you think your audience will be interested in.

Spread the word with good images and relevant hashtags

More and more consumers are using images whenever they post, even if it is just an emoji – a picture can say a thousand words. Therefore, utilising the social media channels to spread the word of your business is key but what is crucial is that your images are eye-catching.

You then need to tailor your written message to your target audience with a snappy caption and relevant hashtags. Hashtags are really important on Instagram. They can help spread your reach much wider as people who don’t follow you will seek out specific phrases in search of the subject matter they are interested in.

Social Media marketing agency

If you’re a business starting out on social media and you need further advice on creating the right campaign for your specific needs then email us at saymoo@smart-cow.com or call on 020 3137 1826 to find out more.

Source: *via Digital Trends; **via Marketing Week

So, the Emoji Movie hasn’t exactly wowed critics, but while emojis may not be performing well at the box office, they are certainly doing well in the subject line of email marketing campaigns.

Research* by Return Path found that the ‘lips’ emoji used in a Valentine’s email had a read rate of 24%, compared with a text-only subject line of 20%.

The ‘sunglasses face’ emoji is great to use in the subject line if you have a summertime special offer running and this research also indicates its use resulted in a read rate of 23% compared with 21% for text-only.

A few years ago, using an emoji for business would have been unheard of. However, it is now more acceptable with brands such as Pizza Hut being among the first businesses to adopt using them in communication. It even developed an emoji-only menu to tap into the younger market**.

Our content manager Louise says: “This research really highlights how far emoji’s have moved on and are actually helping to boost email marketing campaigns. Coupled with the knowledge that mobile is preferred over webmail and 60% of emails are opened on Saturday and Sunday*, you get to build up a really good picture of just how important it is to tailor each of your email campaigns to increase success rate.”

Audrey is our social media queen and loves an emoji. She says: “Why use words when a picture can say a thousand? On Facebook, emoji’s work a real treat. Depending on the nature of your business, we’d recommend using emojis when you’re commenting on a post and wanting to build engagement with your customers. It shows a fun side, but it also adds warmth to your response. Obviously pick them wisely as there are limitations as to which are appropriate for businesses to use – there’s a time and a place for everything!”

Looking to reach out to your customers with an email campaign? Give us a call or drop us an email and let’s chat.

Call on 020 3137 1826 or email saymoo@smart-cow.com to find out more.

Sources: * Return Path via b2b Marketing; ** Telegraph.co.uk