If you haven’t yet dived into Facebook ads, I’ll help you out a little bit: there are a ton of different options, not all of which are obvious from the outset. The basic categories of Meta ads are awareness, traffic, promotion, engagement, leads, app promotion, and sales. Within each category are infinite options based on audience targeting, ad copy, final destination, and more. I have experimented with almost every single different kind of ad with varying degrees of success…
Read MoreOne complaint I often hear about marketing: it’s expensive. On the one hand, I truly believe that great marketing will pay off far more than any monetary investment you make but on the other hand, I completely understand that everything is expensive (especially right now!) and a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners are constantly looking for ways to cut costs.
The good news is that good marketing does not have to mean big money, and since I regularly work within the constraints of a tight budget, I have learned a lot of free marketing ideas over the years. So if you need a few easy and free ways to marketing your business, here are my top 5:
Read MoreWhen you have to constantly come up with social media posts every day, it’s easy to run out of ideas or feel like your life is too boring to talk about with any kind of excitement. I understand this struggle deeply as I manage not just my own Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, but all the social media content for about a dozen othter businesses. There are days when it’s a struggle to come up with something unique and compelling for any and all of these social media pages.
So, in case you’re running out of options and need ideas to post on social media, here are 5 quick ideas for when you’re feeling stuck…
Read MoreBefore you see the title of this blog and think it’s just another post about what hashtags to find on Instagram, I’ll cut to the chase: this is not about which hashtags to use, but how to effectively use hashtags on Instagram. There’s a big difference, and thinking about it in that way could be just the mindset shift you need to dive in a little deeper.
While I do have a fairly good and consistent Instagram presence (see it here), it’s not necessarily a main focus of my business. My ideal client - a small business owner with a deep value for marketing but no time to do it - is certainly on Instagram, but is most likely using the platform to try and expand their businesses rather than find someone to fill the marketing holes they have. Of course I believe in long-term investment, but my main strategy on this fast-growing platform is interaction and engagement over posting, reels, stories, and live video…
Read MoreOf all the issues business owners have with social media, the biggest one is this: when it is constantly changing, how in the world should I keep up? To be honest, the question is not only valid, it’s one that I think about all the time. When I’m managing social media advertising and profiles for 5-10 different businesses at one time, it is imperative that I stay on top of trends and anticipate changes.
In addition, the world of social media is nothing if not constantly in flux. The Facebook of today is worlds apart from the platform of one, five, and ten years ago. Everybody knows that, but only business owners think about how this impacts the bottom line. If the algorithm prefers a certain type of content one day and a different one the next, how can you possibly know what to post?
Ultimately, though, the question comes down to…
Read MoreLet’s face it: none of us knew how big social media would become when Facebook first launched its platform in February 2004. Not only did that particular business grow beyond belief, dozens (maybe hundreds?) more have sprung up since then. With the addition of Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and countless others, it feels like there is always a voice in the room telling business owners that if they only did this on this platform, they would be successful.
But we simply cannot do it all. There is no way to run a business and be wildly successful on each social media platform. In the end, it can constantly feel like you are behind because your business is not killing it on _______________ (fill in the blank). Too often I have seen overwhelmed business owners so stuck in this mindset that they decide to forego social media altogether.
That, however, is decidedly not the best solution…
Read MoreOne of my goals when I train and coach other business owners in the area of Search Engine Optimization and online marketing is to make sure they have continued resources to rely on past the time we spend together. While I am always willing to answer questions, the marketing world is constantly changing and updating as time goes on. It has not been nor will it ever be something static that can be studied once and forgotten!
For this reason I have several sources of knowledge that I love to recommend for other business owners to watch as algorithms change and the knowledge base shifts. If you are looking for blogs and websites to follow that will help enhance your SEO and online marketing efforts, look no further!
Read MoreI tend to listen to podcasts when I have a little extra time during the day…and, actually, when I feel like I have less time than usual. Let me explain…
When I have more downtime (which, I’ll be honest, is rare), I might sit and listen to a podcast and occasionally take notes. I spend time really focusing on what each word says, and thinking through it all. However, on most days I am rushing from one thing to the next, just trying to fit it all in. On days like that, I turn on a podcast whenever I am doing something with my hands but not my head.
If I’m trying to feed my toddler lunch, there’s almost no way I can listen clearly, but if I’m prepping dinner while she plays outside or I’m making graphics for blogs like this while she naps, I often turn on a podcast. Sometimes, admittedly, my mind wanders and I don’t soak in all the information, but every little bit helps, and I love learning while I’m doing other day-to-day tasks.
So what podcasts have helped me grow as an entrepreneur? Here are the top 3 podcasts I would recommend for any online business…
Read MoreFacebook Creator Studio was actually launched some time ago, but until recently I was still scheduling my Facebook and Instagram posts using third-party software like MavSocial and CoSchedule. While these were incredibly helpful, I recently switched to only using Creator Studio for a variety of reasons.
When I first logged in to use it, however, I was pretty confused by several different features, so if you’re new to using Creator Studio, here is a brief overview of what you can do, and a little bit about why I switched from another platform…
Read MoreCongratulations! You’ve evaluated your marketing efforts, researched your target market and found out who follows you and what kind of content they’re looking for, and now you’re ready for the final step: actually creating a marketing strategy for your small business!
I hope by now it has become obvious what platforms work best for you, where your time has been well spent (and where you might need to shift away some time), and what kind of content you can create that speaks to your audience. Now let’s talk about creating an actual marketing strategy for the entire year ahead! Grab a year-long planner or calendar (I use this one and love it - plus it has an instant download!) and let’s get to work.
Read MoreNow that you’ve evaluated your marketing efforts, let’s move to the next step: research. Now before you close your browser and go running for the hills, know that this step does not have to be complicated or take a very long time, but it is crucial in finding out where to market, and will give you a clear ‘why’ behind the marketing. You can post on Instagram all day long, but if your target marketing doesn’t live there, it’s not a good use of your time! Regardless of what decisions you make, you should at least know where you can go to reach your ideal customers.
There are a few different types of research you can conduct, so I’ll break down the basics here…although I can’t possibly exhaust every option in one blog post!
Read MoreThe title of this post may sound gimmicky, but I’m not into gimmicks…just marketing advice that is 100% true and 100% helpful…yet easy to implement at the same time. That said, let me jump right into the easiest way to increase your Facebook likes for free!
The truth is, as much as it seems like the opposite is true, Facebook wants your business page to succeed. The happier you are with the results you see, the more advertising dollars they get and the more satisfied the consumer (aka anyone not running a business) is, which leads to their own business success. Yes, they have become a ‘pay-to-play’ platform in many respects, but they offer the most options for getting to know who your ideal customer truly is…and reaching them quickly and easily, even if you have to pay a little to do that…
Read MoreHave you ever seen someone ‘check-in’ at a location on social media and wondered how they did it - and why? Do you want to be found when a potential customer is scrolling through Instagram? Here’s how to use location services, geotags, and check-ins on social media to increase your reach!
In short, all three of those terms refer to using a platform (mostly on social media) to indicate where you are at a particular time. On Instagram, the location appears just below the username on a particular picture or video. On Facebook, the check-in appears beside text, images, or videos, and the actual location appears below the title. Below are a few sample images so you can see exactly what I mean…
Read MoreOne of the questions I most frequently hear is, “How do I get more Facebook likes?” or “How do I get more followers on Instagram?” And above all, the follow-up question is, “How can I get more social media fans for free?”
Social media is a whirlwind, and it can be difficult to cut through the noise and actually get your message heard. Business owners everywhere struggle with finding and keeping a following, and even when you’ve accomplished that, it’s frustrating to post on your page and hear virtual crickets from your followers. What’s worse, when you compare your page to a competitor’s, you’ve noticed their audience is way bigger…and seems to actually love the content they’re producing. So what gives?
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