Happy New Year

As 2015 comes to an end and we start to plan ahead for 2016, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support over this last year. 2015 has been a big year for this little business and I look forward to an even better year next year, supporting more businesses, sharing more tips and information and taking the pressure off many of you by assisting you with your own social media management. Happy New Year everyone - may 2016 be good to you all!!

Amanda

   

Resolutions

R E S O L U T I O N S

I've never really been one for resolutions. I like to think that I set goals for myself that are achievable, both personally and professionally but sometimes throughout the year, these goals change and/or I become a little distracted along the way!

I found this great image on Pinterest yesterday and loved it!! I like the idea of resolving to do more things that will make me smile, motivate me and encourage happiness along the way so the following list is what I will be resolving to do more of in 2016! What about you? Have you set yourself any resolutions or goals for the year ahead?

The Best Times to Post on Social Media

I get asked this question all the time and if you're reading this, you must be wondering as well!! The truth is, there is no "best time" across the board but there will be a "best time for you". Use your page insights for a snapshot into the activities of your page likers. Try to post at different times across the day and see which posts receive more "likes", more engagement, more reach, more retweets and you will soon work out the ideal times for you and your business.

As a starting point, I found this great info graphic at Social Media Today which I think provides a good guide across each of the platforms. I would be interested to know if you've spent time on working this out for your own business.....what did you decide were your best times?

I hope this helps you achieve better results across your chosen social media platforms.

Amanda

Using Photos in your Marketing

I posted to my Facebook page recently regarding the use of photos in the marketing of your business. You can find the relevant post here. With photo sharing and the use of images playing such an important role in social media, I am aware that people often search Google Images for photos that can be used on websites, Instagram, Facebook and even Twitter and Google+ as we all know that the reach of posts can be so much more successful when an image or images are added.

What some people don't realise is that many of the photos that are made public on Google Images are actually copy righted images that can't be used without a license or having been purchase to use to promote your own business activities. Getty Images own the rights to many of these and they will fine businesses for the incorrect use of these.

If you are searching for images the make sure you add the word "FREE" to your image search and confirm that the images your are downloading are Free for commercial use with No attribution required.

There are several sites that you can join that allow you to purchase images if yours is a businesses that needs a good range of images to use regularly but if you are just looking to use free images once every so often then there are some great free sites to use as well. I've added a few links to my Facebook post to get you started! I hope it helps.

Amanda

Your Biggest Opportunities Could be the Smallest Moments

Following on from Sunday's post, I just wanted to share this video from www.thinkwithgoogle.com with you. I love this.... I think it perfectly sums up how much we now rely on the internet, smartphones and electronic devices and how we expect to have the information we need at our fingertips at any given time!

Do you live your life in moments?
I-WANT-TO-KNOW-MOMENTS
I-WANT-TO-GO-MOMENTS
I-WANT-TO-BUY-MOMENTS

Consumers are turning to their mobile devices more and more to fill these moments....will they find your business? Recent statistics from Google show that 95% of Smartphone users tun to their devices to help them make a product decision. Are you one of these Smartphone users? I know I am!

Consumers are looking for immediacy. They want their questions/searches answered quickly and if the links or information and not there or not working they will quickly move on. Their expectations are higher ad they are loyal to their needs so businesses need to be there when the consumers need arises.

It's never been more important for businesses and retailers to be "in front" of people in that moment in time......you might just find that "Your Biggest Opportunity is the Smallest Moments"!!

Amanda

Micro-moments

I had the pleasure of attending a Digital Masterclass just over a week ago. It was inspiring, informative and thought provoking....everything you want a training session to be. The focus of the session was on how we use Google and how strong our online presence was. Customers are turning to their smart phones and tablet devices more and more frequently during any given day/hour/minute/moment to find the information or product they need - MICRO-MOMENTS....

 

Some of the key points that came out of the session that I think all businesses need to consider were: 

• Micro-moments and how critical these are for businesses in terms of being found and easily contacted 
• consumers check their smartphones up to 150 x per day 
• 95% of users will turn to their smart phone for immediate information, ideas or advice. 
• businesses need to be able to get "In Front" of people in that micro-moment in time to be in the consumers consideration set 
• how strong is your online presence 
• is your business website mobile responsive
• how well are you advertising your business 
• is your business well represented and active on chosen social media platforms 
• are your advertising your business online through Google Ad Words or Facebook Ads 

Some further statistics to consider:

• there has been a 34% increase in mobile's sharing of online sessions 
• there has been a 7% decrease in time spent on a page 
• there has been a 58% increase of sales conversions 

In short.....consumers are spending less time searching in shorter bursts but more frequently and if they can find the "right"information then the conversion to a sale has increased. I have so much more information to share....please stay tuned for upcoming blog posts and if you have any questions at all just let me know!

Amanda

Top 10 Benefits of Social Media

Still trying to convince yourself that you need a well established and active presence on Social Media to market your business well and reach a winder audience? Well Forbes have listed what they think are the Top 10 benefits and we think they're all pretty spot on. Link here: http://onforb.es/1sO73KY If you're looking for support with your Social Media presence and daily management then we'd love to talk to you about how we can assist. Please get in touch today!