Before we dive into how to increase social media engagement, it’s important to remember why social media is important. Like we talked about in our post, “Why Your Company Should Be On Social Media,” an active social media presence can boost search engine rankings, increase sales and give your amazing insights as to what your audience is actually interested in.
Sound worthwhile? Let’s talk about increasing the engagement levels, then!
If you want to increase social media engagement, you need to be engaging. Don’t just post the same old content, hoping that you’ll finally go viral. That’s not the goal. The goal is to form a relationship with your audience and to be someone worth listening to. Here are a few ways to make your content more engaging:
What better way to increase engagement than to engage with others actively? This is when an active social media account (leaving your profile to start conversations elsewhere) will often surpass a passive account (waiting for people to find your profile). Here are some ways to get started!
]]>Find growth and long-term profitability by offering a highly differentiated product or service. If not, you’ll find yourself in a race to the bottom on price
A well-designed and strategic brand influences just how well (and quickly) your business grows. Please take a look at our top brand strategies for growth!
What are your monetary goals? What are your main services? Do you have clear workflows for onboarding and communicating with clients? You need to know where you’re going and how you’ll get there before moving forward with brand strategy development.
It would be best if you targeted an audience that can evolve with you. Will the people you serve today be interested in what you have to offer next year or in 5 years? Creating relationships with loyal customers now will contribute immensely to your business growth.
The first thing that will slow your business down is losing touch with your audience. Spend time where they do. Think about what keeps them up at night. By paying attention to what interests them, you’ll be able to evolve WITH them, instead of losing them to another business that picked up on their needs before you did.
In simpler terms, your unique value propositions are 2–3 ways that you do things differently, or 2–3 benefits you offer that your competitors don’t. If you’re clear on these, you’ll stand out from your competitors and will surpass them too.
Some of the fastest-growing businesses had clear, strategic messaging from the start. Think of Apple, who introduced the concept “Think Different” in their 1997 commercial. That slogan is still used today because it resonates with their audience and connects to Apple’s unique value proposition — that they will continue to show up and do things differently.
Your messaging strategy should contain:
This messaging strategy will take your business growth to the next level. (We offer assistance with messaging if you need it.)
After you’ve done the above, you can start to design visuals that align with your UVP, messaging strategy, and target audience. Think about how you can incorporate each of those things into the colors you choose and the designs you implement.
A growing business needs a website that converts. We recommend using storytelling throughout your website. This allows you to make a sale without making a sales pitch.
We specialize in brand strategies for growth, walking you through every step with strategy and in-depth expertise. Let’s talk about your brand strategy. Get in touch here and follow me on LinkedIn for more helpful tips.
]]>Why are you an entrepreneur? Why do you care about helping others? What is the purpose of a WHOLE behind your business?
Once you identify your purpose and start incorporating that into everything you do, you’ll see more of an impact. What you do will have a reason behind it. This leads to spending more time on what matters most in your business. You’ll stop wasting time on projects that don’t make a difference, and you’ll focus on the items that can make your business more successful. Consequently, the latest trends will become less appealing, and on the other hand, you’ll recognize applicable advice that could potentially help you directly with your purpose.
We all run businesses for a variety of reasons. Some want to pay the bills on their terms. Others want flexibility, and then there are those who want to travel and be their own boss. Of course, in the mix, we have individuals who seek something beyond growing their own businesses. Rather, these individuals want to help others. They have an innate sense of serving. That’s their why.
No matter how large, or even selfish your purpose is, you can use it to connect to ideal clients. You can find others who also value travel, or perhaps you can work with others to grow their own businesses while you grow yours.
Plus, although you have your own personal why, think about who should care. Remember the people at the heart of what you do. Why do customers hire you or buy your products in the first place? Remember these reasons with every proposal, product launch, blog, etc. You can’t sell something if you don’t know why someone would want it.
Once you’ve identified you’re why and connected it to the people you serve in your business, you can then create valuable packages that fly off the shelves, literally or virtually. Do your customers need more time, money, or success? How can you help? Talking about your latest product in terms of the needs of your clients, for example, can help you sell that package more successfully. You can use this ‘why’ in your website copy, product listings, and on social media. You can even ask clients what they liked about your products or services, and use their own ‘why’ in your marketing material.
As you develop a consistent message with products and packages that correspond to your ‘why,’ you’ll find that you start to define your own success. You don’t need your own podcast, because that’s not the best way for you to pursue your business’s purpose. Or maybe a podcast would fall in line perfectly with the purpose you’ve established. You’ll start to easily see what can make your business successful, and what would be a time-wasting project. Plus, sticking to your purpose will allow you to connect simply with ideal clients and create a business you love.
Here are some questions that can help you define your purpose:
Contact us here to build a brand centered around your purpose.
]]>Outsourcing branding design and marketing can save you a lot of time and headache, and result in a stunning brand that converts clients. As you approach the decision to professionally brand your business, use this branding budget template to help you get started. Please use this as a starting point and adjust as necessary. We’ve prioritized this branding budget template based on our experience with numerous small businesses. Subsequently, these are the items that were most pertinent and beneficial for them.
The first step to any branding project should be determining your brand identity. This can be done with a brand coach or with your specific logo designer or web developer. We are a full-service brand identity and branding design agency if you need help!
How will you stand out from competitors? How do your services differ? Market research ensures that your business will differ from your competitors.
We’ve listed website design before logos because although logos and websites go hand in hand, your logo will serve no purpose if you don’t have a functional, reliable website. Your website should adequately present your products or services, answer questions, and identify with your ideal clients. In addition, website design encompasses:
To compliment your custom website design, you’ll need a unique logo. This is your primary visual brand identity and will be placed on social media, on business cards, throughout your website, and more. Plus, it adds a level of professionalism, and when done correctly, draws the right clients to you.
With website design, comes the need for a professional photographer. Using stock images can result in a basic brand image. Show clients your process and highlight your specific services with professional brand photography! Moreover, these images can be used throughout your website, proposals, pricing guides, social media, and more!
A content writer also goes hand in hand with a new website design. You can go about this two-fold — hire a professional content editor to proofread and optimize your content or hire a content writer to create everything from scratch. Content writers can help you clarify your message, and some writers also include SEO optimization to increase your search engine rankings.
Remember Messaging is vital to everything. My overall mission with each client is first to help them get clear on what their customers’ problem is and how their service or product solves that problem. When this Brand Script, the overall messaging, comes together, everything else in the branding process falls perfectly into place.
Do you have questions on your branding budget? Reach out, and we’ll help you identify what’s most important for your needs!
]]>This means that social media marketing in and of itself, can be turned on its head. Marketing is now value sharing. What information can you provide that your ideal clients will find helpful? People don’t want to be sold to, they want to be taught, and then they want to hire experts they trust when they have too much on their plates. Be the expert that teaches, shares value and is there to help when someone’s ready to outsource.
Keep in mind that you should use the platforms that most of your target demographics use.
Instagram. With Instagram’s polls, stories, GIF responses, tagging and sharing, the amount of possible engagement is endless. You can share tutorials on IGTV, add mini trainings to your Instagram stories or teach something in the caption of your post. Whether you’re posting a video, uploading a post to your feed or commenting on other users’ posts, you can be sharing value all the while and enticing more engagement! And engagement leads to more leads and more business.
Remember, you put life into social media platforms, it’s not the other way around. You are in charge of creating amazing content. You are in the business of changing minds and shifting viewpoints. By sharing value on social media, and creating an effective social media content strategy, you’ll attract the right clients and grow your business.
]]>How to use storytelling in marketing
Before you can put your story to paper, it’s best to follow the steps below. This will ensure that your story aligns with your ideal client and the problem you solve.
Once you have these four points jotted down, you can begin to apply them in various places.
Website examples of storytelling in marketing
Your website is an important place to use storytelling. The following examples show how stories can be portrayed in a variety of ways, while still connecting with your audience.
We’re a certified B Corp marketing agency with bright ideas, results-driven services, and an adventurous spirit.
Social media examples of storytelling in marketing
You can do the same thing on social media. Oftentimes, this is an easier area to focus on because it’s not as overwhelming as an entire page of website content.
Within one caption, you can:
The importance of positioning yourself as the guide
In stories, there is often a hero and a guide. The hero is the leading role, while the guide is their supporting star. With your marketing content, don’t be the hero. When you write your website content, don’t put yourself in that position. Instead, your client should be the hero, with you as the guide. The two examples above did that precisely, positioning themselves as the ones who help you (the client) drink sustainably and do good work. This makes the client not only feel good but invested in these brands.
If you need help using storytelling in marketing, reach out here. We can help you frame a website, identify a brand strategy and more, all using the art of storytelling.
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