Pinterest Such A Valuable Resource

Pinterest Such A Valuable Resource

Do you struggle to find valuable content to post on your social media accounts?

You could probably spend hours upon hours scouring the internet, setting up Google alerts, checking your RSS feed and so on, but have you thought of checking Pinterest?

According to Omnicore more than 14 million articles are pinned each day, however for many Pinterest is one of those platforms that kind of gets forgotten but it’s such a valuable resource. There are millions of people that have taken the time to pin all these articles on a board for you. You just need to search within Pinterest.

It really is such an easy to use platform. Type 1-2 keywords and you get heaps of content pop up, then you need to just narrow your search by the tabs at the top. Take the below snippet for example I just typed ‘social media’ and it gave me all these options, from here I can mix up the content that I share.

 

 

Your business doesn’t need to have an account on each platform you just need to find what works best for you and be consistent. Hopefully by sharing this tip you can gain a few minutes or even hours back into your week by finding and scheduling your content ahead of time to keep the flow.

 

 

Want to know how often to post on Social Media?

Want to know how often to post on Social Media?

It can be hard to work out how often you need to be posting to your social media accounts. It really comes down to making sure your brand is getting out there and that won’t happen if you don’t post frequently. That doesn’t mean flood your accounts with content but schedule a few posts here and there so you are not forgotten.

How Often To Post On Social MediaLearn more at LouiseM.com

Facebook Marketing Do’s & Don’ts

Facebook Marketing Do’s & Don’ts

Social Media Marketing can be confusing at the best of times, with so many platforms at your disposal. However Facebook is one of the most used platforms for small business owners.

Here are 5 marketing do’s and don’ts for Facebook.

Facebook Tip – How to find groups & tag/promote to others

Facebook Tip – How to find groups & tag/promote to others

Not everyone knows the in’s and out’s of Facebook especially for those just starting out using the platform to boost their brand awareness. One of the more simpler practices for building brand awareness and advertising your products and services on Facebook is to promote in the groups. If you are new to all this you’re probably thinking what groups are they? Well on Facebook there are various groups – Business Community groups where you can promote your products and services, it’s really an online directory like Gumtree and other sites except there are over 2 million users on Facebook.

Before promoting yourself in the groups you need to take note of the rules that state the do’s and don’ts as some groups are more relaxed than others and may have a strict 1 advertisement per week only rule. The best way to find some groups is to;

  1. Type ‘business community’ into the Facebook search bar this will generally bring up a list of Business Groups.
  2. Try typing in the suburb this will also list any groups with that suburb name in it.
  3. From your news feed on the Left Hand Side click on ‘Groups’ under the Explore heading
    1. Here it will list your favourites, groups you manage, groups you’re in
    2. Click on the next tab over which is ‘Discover’
    3. Along the top you have the option of a few headings as well as groups your friends may be in, local, recent interest, business, buy & sell, professional networking and many others.
    4. Click on the join button to join. Most groups you will need to be approved by an admin first some will accept you straight away.

From time to time you may want to tag your own business in a post or another business so I’ll explain how it works. Tagging a business in a post brings that particular post to the attention of the person/business you are tagging. e.g. Someone is asking for a painter and you know of someone and want to bring this post to their attention. You can write you post like you would but include the @theirbusinessname, make sure to leave no spaces when typing it. You can either start to type their business name which will normally bring up a drop down list from you to choose from or if you know their tag you can type that. For instance this is mine below. So as you can see my username (tag) is below the profile picture on my page.

Tagging a business in a post also allows others to click on that tag to take them to that businesses page to have a look.

If you want to put your business page link in the post then you need to type the address which is usually www.facebook.com/tlbadminsupport. You can find this by checking the address bar once on your page.

I hope these facebook tips help you with creating a simple yet effective post next time.

 

 

What Marketing I Used To Get My First Clients

What Marketing I Used To Get My First Clients

Starting your business can be a daunting process and you find yourself in unchartered waters. What do you need do to become a registered business? How will you invoice your clients? And then how do you find those clients to begin with?

I’m coming up for my 3 year Business Anniversary this November and it has been a wonderful journey but I didn’t start getting leads until about a month of advertising and trying to get my name out there. Let me tell you it won’t happen right away it may take several months but it will happen.

My first client I signed up a month after launching my business and he found my advertisement through Gumtree. Never under estimate the power of free advertising on sites like Gumtree, True Local, Hot Frog, Locanto and other free sites. Doing a Google search and typing ‘free advertising sites’ in is a great place to start. Also when you place your advertisement on these sites I found that you increase your chances of being found in a Google search too providing you use the right keywords.

Now it took a further 4 months to get my second client. In the space of that 4 months I thought I was doing everything possible however it wasn’t until I launched my website that I got my second client. It wasn’t by simply launching my website that I got this lead it was the name of my business and the keywords used for my SEO that enabled me to be one of the listings on the first page when he did a Google search. Two and a half years later and I am still working with this client.

Your website doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg or even be professionally built (however if you can afford it great go for it!), but just having an online presence by way of a website will help you build trust with your customers. They can see who you are and what you do. When you think about it anyone can open a Facebook page and say they are running a business but by adding a website to the mix you are showing them you are the real deal.

Fast Forward to the present and I have found that networking is the best tool for growing your business. Join your local chamber of commerce, mine is the Wanneroo Business Association attend networking events and coffee catch ups get to know the local businesses in your area. They may not have a need for your services now but that doesn’t mean they won’t in the future and by getting to know them you are always at the forefront of their mind. Another networking platform to look at is Meetup.com on here you can find heaps of local networking events that you can attend.

If you don’t know the power of social media then you need to get started. With so many people using smart phones, tablets and computers you need to be on social media. You don’t need to sign up for every platform just the ones you know will work for you. Personally I would recommend Facebook and LinkedIn for any small business as they are both great online networking platforms.

Within Facebook you have the power to promote and educate your followers by posting content to  your Business Facebook page. Try to follow the 80/20 rule which is 80% valuable content that your followers would want to see against 20% self promotion.

Join some of the Business community groups and promote your business to the local market however like your facebook page choose the optimal times to post. That being when people wake up early morning, lunch time, dinner time and when people are usually sitting on the couch relaxing. For an indication check your Facebook Page insights and see when your followers are most online.

Both networking groups on Facebook and LinkedIn are valuable as you can share you blog posts, tips and tricks and allow people to get to know you online. If they can see that you are adding value to the groups and get to know you and your work ethic you are half way there.

I’m hoping by sharing my experience that other start ups can get some valuable information from here to help them promote, educate and grow their customers.

Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn & Google+ for more tips tricks and useful information.