content Archives -

19/10/201719/10/2017

How to create a successful social media strategy focusing on content

In the previous articles of the content is king series we talked about writing a good about us page and blogging. Now it’s time to focus on your social media strategy. After all, if you don’t spread the word, how are your customers finding your great content?

So, let’s see the why and what content to share on social media. I think one of the most important thing that you have to keep in mind is to experiment and see what is best for you and your audience. And then just repeat what works. You can also share content that had great engagement multiple times, as you already know your audience likes it.

Why content matters in your social media strategy

What brands usually want to achieve from their social media strategy is more awareness, more website visits and, ultimately, more conversions in general and sales. But sharing something regularly is not enough: it has to be compelling, in order to have people engage with it.

The social media algorithms tend to reward posts that have already some interactions by showing them to more people. So, the more interesting your content is, the more followers will give some sort of feedback on it. The more engagement the post has, the broader the audience who sees it. And, ultimately, the broader the audience, the greater the chance of conversions.

This is why it’s also important to have conversations with fans on social media. So, involve them in your business life, tell stories, ask questions, ask for comments and to answer to surveys. Try to have a dialogue with them and encourage their interaction with you and within the community of followers. This is good not only for your analytics, but also for your image, as it shows the human side of your brand and that you care about you customers’ opinion. It also helps growing your content.

Having a good, informative and useful content is also a sign that you value your fans’ time. They will appreciate your posts and be more likely to share them with their friends. This will make them ultimately respect your business and brand more.

Social media content: some ideas on what you can share

When it comes to what social media content to share you might think that your options are very limited. Well, they are not. There’s a lot you can post to create a page people will interact with. Here are some ideas:

Visuals are more eye-catching and less intimidating than full text posts. Try to capture your followers’ attention when scrolling down the feed with some images, GIFs or videos. Remember, people check their social media when they are bored and are looking for something interesting. This an amazing opportunity for you to provide them with something that entertains them.

To engage your customers and show the human side of your brand, share images or videos related to your routines as well as special occasions. They might be from team building activities, your Christmas party, to introduce new hires, as well as new products. But don’t focus on selling: as we have already discussed for blogging, you are trying to provide value.

Your fans won’t spend too much time reading very long articles. However, if a catchy visual gives them a quick understanding of what the text is about, they might be keener to read or at least skim through it. Their time is limited and they will appreciate you taking it into consideration. An image or video is also a great way to break long paragraphs, making them easier to digest for online readers.

Announce your new blog posts or any other content. But try to be creative, with visuals and compelling descriptions. I also recommend to add a call to action, maybe a question for your fans on how they deal with the subject of your article or ask to comment on it. This helps keeping them engaged and drives traffic to your blog.

Re-sharing your users’ content is a great thing you can do for many reasons. First of all, it shows that you care about them and that you are grateful for their engagement. Secondly, it’s content that is already there without you needing to create it. It’s also free advertising you get and it’s of the most genuine kind, since you didn’t even look for it. Always remember to thank and credit the follower.

Ask your fans to answer a survey on your services/products or a poll on something related to them. As we previously said, it’s a great way to show how much you care about them and your opinion and how much you want them to be part of your decisions. A nice and funny poll is also something your followers might share themselves with their friends, giving you more visibility.

Create a contest. For instance, you can ask people to share a picture of them using your product and to tag you. Whoever gets more likes will win a prize. People can become competitive and you’ll be surprised to see how much engagement it can get. However, this works best if you already have an audience.

Share compelling third party content related to your field. It gives credibility to your business, as you show that you know the big players in your industry. You also want your page to be interesting, informative and useful for your audience. Content that comes from somebody else is great to add value. You are welcome to use it but always credit your source.

You can also post inspirational quotes to make people think and too improve your image. Think about it, when you’re having a bad day, this kind of content can help you feeling better. And if you helped a customer feeling a little better, there are more likely to remember you and visit you page again. For some people, your quote can become a daily or weekly boost.

And now to you, what is your social media strategy? What do you like to share? I’m sure I missed some type of social media content… Please leave a comment below to let me know if you know something I didn’t include! Thanks.

12/10/2017

Why starting a blog will be the key to your success

In the previous article of the content is king series, we discussed about good about us page. Now that you have reformulated your website, you should focus on creating something new. Starting a blog is actually the most cost-effective way to promote yourself online. It will help you building an online audience of followers while avoiding the costs of paid channels.

This time, we will focus on why doing it, what to do and how you should do it.

Why do you need to start a blog?

If you are a startup or small business, a good marketing strategy is key to your success. However, many people wonder why would you even take the effort of writing. Starting a blog is very time consuming but does not generate direct revenue. This is true, thus there is so much more:

A blog is a place where you find your customers, provide them with valuable information while promoting your brand. Don’t sell your products, but tell something related to them. This really helps building more awareness: your customers and readers will have your company in their minds. It also adds value to their perception of your brand making them want to visit your website more often.

Blog articles are also great original content to share on your social media pages. You know you have to keep your followers engaged posting every day but sometimes you don’t know how to make it more variegated, so use your articles.

Your website will rank higher in the search results if you have a blog. This means that there will be more organic traffic to your website. Why? If you think about it, when you google something, it is very likely that you check the first 3-4 results of the first page, like 95% of people. The higher you are, the better chances you get to be seen. The search engines like fresh content, so they will reward you. However, your content needs to be CICO, as we discuss in the following point.

How to write a small business blog

When it comes to how to write, always remind to be CICO: Compelling, Informative, Correct and Organized.

It is important that you use the right keywords your customers might be looking for. The more you have on your website, the better search engines will rank you. So, when planning to write your posts, think at what your target might search for. There are some tools that will show you if the keyword you chose actually drives traffic. One of them is Key Word Planner. To use it you just need a Google AdWords account, which you probably already have. Key Word Planner will give you insights on how often the key words you choose appear in searches in your target location. The best part is that it’s free.

Remember not to write a text that is a sequence of keywords, but something interesting and factual. Also, don’t forget proper grammar and double checking typos. Write something you would also read through: the more time your visitors spend on your website, the better.

For what concerns timing, of course, the more often the better. In general, you should post at least once a month. Do it regularly and plan it in advance. If you know you don’t have much time for blogging, hire a content writer that will do the job for you. If that’s the case, it’s important that you have ongoing conversations and maybe interviews with this person, in order to make sure the posts are consistent with your style.

It’s always better that your blog is a section of your main website, as you don’t want to create confusion in your audience, but want people to relate to your brand. If you kept it on a different site, you would drive the organic traffic coming from your fresh content there. This would be highly counterproductive for your business goals.

What to write in your small business blog

First of all, remember that you are writing your small business blog for your customers, exactly like your website. You should already know your target, so design the posts for them and what appeals to them. The focus should always be on creating compelling and informative content. If you are in that specific business, you are an expert. Even if your experience doesn’t go back to the 90’s, you know the industry you are working in. You can do this!

A very easy way to start is by telling what, how and, most of all, why you do what you do. People will relate to it and this will keep them more engaged. If you share your knowledge and experience regularly, you will create a sort of expectation that will make people come and visit your blog for education purposes.

If you have been in business for a certain amount of time, you might always get the same questions. So why don’t you write about them? People are obviously interested in that specific topic. You might also decide to address a certain need you feel like your clientele has. In this case, your product is the solution, so make them realize it, but in a subtle way. Don’t just try to sell it at any cost.

Try to do more in-depth articles to position your blog as an educational, reliable and knowledgeable tool. You will also build trust and relationships with prospect clients, as well as fostering them with the current ones.

Involve your team in the posts. Even if there will always be one person coordinating the blog, having your entire family taking part to it will make your business more human as well as give fresh ideas on the content. Blogging will become a more fun team effort.

It is also good to check your competitors, to find inspiration but also to differentiate yourself. Like in your business strategy, find your unique selling proposition and use it for your posts. Looking at what the competition does is also great for tips about the design and the user experience you want for your blog.

Once you posted your article, share it on social media to tell the world. Also, always promote your posts among your newsletter subscribers. Email marketing is still the marketing tool with the highest ROI, more than SEO and display ads.

How do you write your blog posts? Leave a comment, would love to hear from you!

05/10/201705/10/2017

Content is king: how to write an about us page that people will remember

If you want to improve your online presence, one of the easiest things you can look at is your content. Is it interesting? Does it appeal to your target? Would you spend time on it if you were a visitor of your website?

In this series of three articles, you will find my best tips on how to improve your content for a better online presence.

I don’t’ know about you, but the first thing I do when visiting a new website is checking the About Us page. It has all the information on the brand and it is the first impression visitors get about a company. This is why the first post of the series is on how to write an about us page.

Starting from it will make you rethink at the message you want your brand to vehicle. It will also help you reconsidering the way you communicate to your audience. Once you’re done with that, you can go to the rest of your website.

Remember that the about us page doesn’t need to be very long nor too detailed. The following are just a few tips for inspiration, you don’t need to use all of them!

Think at what makes you special

Sometimes when running a small business or a startup we forget our purpose. Our to do list is so long and we focus on the day to day activities, neglecting the basics.

If you have to write or rewrite your about us page, start with thinking at what makes your business unique and why should customers buy your product and not your competition’s. What is the problem you are solving? What is your vision?

Spend some time on it and when you figured it out write it down.

An absolute no go when it comes to expressing your ideas is a boring list. Who wants to read that? You have to be creative to engage your customers. A good way to do this is by telling a story:

Tell a story

If possible, tell a story. Narratives are very effective when it comes to marketing because our brains remember them much better. We relate much more to stories than some abstract ideas. This is why even our ancestors would tell stories to keep record of important historical facts before they could write and read.

Keep the focus on your customers making the content relevant to them and the problem you are solving. Be entertaining and maybe a little unusual with a different angle. However, you should always be authentic. Don’t make up something crazy to seem more interesting. It will come back to you and you will lose credibility as well as people’s trust.

Always include visuals

What do you think at when you see a full text website without visuals? It’s so 90’s, right? You don’t want to be like that!

So, add visuals to make your design more appealing. Ideally you should have your own pictures, and videos. If you don’t have the material nor the budget for professional services, there are some great tools that will help you. Don’t use a random image that you find on Google, as it might be subject to copyright and affect your SEO score.

You can buy images or icons from various online stocks for very reasonable prices. I like canva for images: you can choose from over 1,000,000 and create your own designs. They are also valuable for social media posts. Some pictures are free and for others you need to pay 1$.

iconsolid is great for icons: they have over 1,075 vector icons in several file formats and sizes. You have to buy your licence, starting from 39$ to have access to their entire stock.

I think it is a good compromise when you are on a tight budget. You will use professional services when the time will be right.

Add a timeline

Facebook made a timeline a very popular tool for people to present themselves. So, why not taking that idea from them and using it in the About Us page?

Visitors will see your company’s history, from where you started to your greatest achievements and future goals. If you have been in business for a couple of years, include some relevant milestones. If, on the other hand, you just started, you can put your next steps. This is especially useful if you run a startup, as you will need this timeline in your pitch desk.

Again, don’t write just a list, try to be engaging and creative with visuals. A timeline is actually a great tool to show facts and detail in various formats, not just in text. Your customers will appreciate the simplicity of the information you display. Maybe you can add some fun images of your company history to make it even more compelling.

If you are not sure about how to create a timeline infographic, follow these steps.

Don’t forget your team

Adding your team will make your business more accessible and human. Your clients will be able to give a face to a name!

So, add each team member with their pictures and a brief biography, but highlight the real person outside the office. We all like to think behind the products and services we consume there are human beings, like us. Tell what are their values, what they like and what makes them special.

It doesn’t need to be formal, actually it’s better if you use a simple and relaxed language. People need to be able to relate to it. If applicable, add their contacts. We want to get to the right person when we need them.

Once you’re happy with your about us page, you can move to the rest of the website to match your new communication style.

Still not sure on how to write an about us page? Check the Best About Us Pages for some inspiration or contact me.