I wanted to keep you all updated of where I might be speaking, exhibiting or attending in 2024. There are some amazing industry events for children's activities providers happening in 2024 and also some other exciting events if you want to upskill or network.
Happity is a marketing and booking platform designed specifically for baby and toddler class providers with over 5,500 activities providers as members.
I am delighted to be speaking to the members on '10 ways to market their children's activities business without relying on social media'.
When: 12th March at 1pm
Where: Virtual in the Happity Community
How to sign up: Members are free or sign up to become a member www.providers.happity.co.uk/
The ICAP Conference is a one day learning and networking event for Children's activities providers and I am thrilled to be hosting a workshop at 2pm on '10 reasons we never get started with email marketing'.
I am delighted to also be exhibiting in the SUPPLIER showcase as an ICAP Partner.
When: Saturday 16th March 2024
Where: Millenium Point | Birmingham
How to sign up: www.institutecap.co.uk/icap-conference-2024-unlocking-potential/
The Digital Marketing Virtual Summit runs from Monday 18 March to Friday 22 March 2024. Over 5 days there will be 30 sessions from 30 inspirational speakers covering Social Media, SEO, Email Marketing, Websites and so much more.
You can come and join me on Tuesday 19th March at 9am talking about all things email marketing.
When: 18th- 22nd March 2024
Where: Virtual
How to sign up: www.thesocialmum.wordpress.com/digital-marketing-virtual-summit/
The Club Hub Awards is one of the events of the Year for Children’s Activity Providers in the UK. A chance to celebrate success and network with others in the community.
Many of my clients have entered, and even I have applied as Supplier of the Year.
We can't wait to find out in March about the nominees and meet the winners in May.
Where: Macdonald Burlington Hotel, Burlington Arcade
How to sign up: www.clubhubuk.co.uk/club-hub-event-2024/
When: Saturday 11th May 2024 – 9:45am to 6pm
I am thrilled to be speaking at this industry event full of personal and business development with the Business Success Network and a range of great speakers.
My session is going to be jam packed with marketing tips for the industry and I can't wait.
When: Friday 31st May
Where: Aston Villa Football Club
How to sign up: www.businesssuccessnetwork.co.uk/product/business-success-conference-for-childrens-activity-providers-2024-attendee-ticket/
In our busy lives capturing the attention of potential families to attend our children’s activities sessions and transforming them into loyal followers feels like a difficult challenge.
Email marketing is an amazing marketing tool for capturing leads, nurturing relationships, and driving conversions and a Capture & Convert lead magnet is the perfect way to help.
Whilst a lead magnet can be an awesome secret weapon, the real challenge lies in effectively promoting our campaigns and converting leads into customers.
So here are just a few actionable strategies to make your Capture and Convert campaign is a roaring success.
Let your lead magnet shine
Imagine creating the most incredible lead magnet and crafting the most engaging emails, only to keep them secret. That's like having a hidden superpower you never use!
Visibility is key when it comes to promoting your campaign. Let your audience know about it by adding a pop-up or link for signing up everywhere possible. This will increase your chances of attracting more subscribers to your list.
The more people see your lead magnet, the more potential subscribers you'll attract.
Consistency with social media
Social media, with its vast audience and engaging nature, is perfect to promote your Capture and Convert campaign. But a single post and then silence won't cut it. Consistency is key. Regularly incorporate your campaign into your social media feed, keeping it fresh in the minds of your followers.
Use all the features of social media
Don't just settle for standard posts. Take advantage of the unique features that each social media platform offers to elevate your campaign's visibility.
A top tip is to pin posts on Instagram and Facebook to ensure that your lead magnet remains prominent in the feed, while stories, live videos, and reels provide dynamic ways to engage your audience and generate leads.
Repurposing Email Content: Smart Work, Not Hard Work
The valuable content you craft for your emails shouldn't be confined to the inbox. Think of it as a treasure trove of information that can be repurposed into insightful blog posts, LinkedIn newsletters, and social media snippets.
This not only amplifies your message across platforms but also saves you time on content creation.
Website integration for lead generation
Your website serves as the digital storefront for your children's activities business. Don't neglect its potential as a lead generation hub.
Strategically place signup links and calls-to-action throughout your website, directing visitors to your Capture and Convert campaign to sign up.
Link in Bio and Email Signatures
Make the most of your online presence by integrating your lead magnet into your Instagram link in bio and email signatures.
These subtle yet effective placements serve as constant reminders to potential subscribers, increasing the chances of capturing leads.
At your events and Relevant Groups: Tapping into Niche Communities
Events and relevant community groups are perfect for promoting your Capture and Convert campaign.
Share your campaign link in relevant local groups and online forums, always seeking permission before posting, of course.
Don’t forget to also utilise your in-person events as an opportunity to sign people up too.
You can set up digital signup stations or QR codes, making it easy for attendees to join your mailing list.
Facebook Ads: Targeted Outreach for Amplified Results
Leverage the power of Facebook Ads to reach a wider audience and drive targeted traffic to your Capture and Convert campaign.
Facebook Lead Form Ads can be a simple and cost effective way to seamlessly collect leads directly within the platform.
Additionally, retarget website visitors and identify similar audiences to expand your reach and improve conversions.
Analytics and A/B Testing: Data-Driven Insights for Continuous Improvement
Embrace data as your compass, regularly analysing the performance of your Capture and Convert campaign. Data can help us make better decisions with our marketing.
Identify which strategies are providing the most leads and which ones need refinement. Conduct A/B testing to experiment with different approaches, testing your campaign for maximum impact.
Creating your own Capture & Convert campaign
If you would love to get started with an email campaign that can land you more children’s activities customers in 4 weeks, the Capture & Convert program is for you.
Capture more leads than ever and convert those leads into customers via email with:
Discover more about Capture & Convert here: https://www.dotstripe.co.uk/capture-and-convert-program/
6 ways to elevate and automate your marketing so you can do more of what you love this summer
This 60-minute masterclass will show you 6 ways to ensure you can set your marketing to autopilot and stop worrying about how to juggle your business AND family around the summer break.
Join me for this LIVE class on Tuesday 27th June at 11:30am
Anyone who joins LIVE will get some JUICY bonuses but the replay will also be available to those who sign up.
This marketing masterclass will share plenty of quick wins that could help you to spend LESS time on your marketing over the summer.
This is the perfect session for you to get the guidance, training and accountability so you can get your marketing sorted and ready to relax over the summer.
Sign up with your details below to register for this LIVE class on Tuesday 27th June at 11:30am
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The annual Pinterest Predicts report for 2023 has just been released and I think it’s up there as being one of my favourite New Years treats for any small business.
Pinterest Predicts describes itself as a ‘…not-yet-trending report shares 27 of the biggest trends we expect to rise in the year ahead’. In fact for the last two years 80% of the trends they predicted have come true.
So what is Pinterest Predicts and how can it help with marketing your small business (even if you aren’t using the Pinterest platform)?
Pinterest is a powerful visual search and discovery platform that can help businesses in a variety of ways. One of the most powerful features of Pinterest is its ability to predict what users are interested in and show them relevant content. This can help businesses reach their target audience and increase engagement and conversions.
Each year Pinterest pulls together data based on what people have been searching for. As Pinterest is the place that people come to plan, they can see what people are already searching and considering for the future.
Pinterest themselves say ‘People come to Pinterest to plan. And because they’re designing everything from daily dinners to milestone moments, we get early signals on what’s coming next. It’s direct insight into what’s likely to be really big, really soon.’
The end result of the analysis and skill is 8 out of 10 trends annually coming true.
The 2023 trends include everything from gender neutral parenting, rave culture, fringe fashion, burnt orange wedding trends and much more.
How does this help small businesses?
This report is an excellent tool to help you plan marketing campaigns, shape your social media content and inspire ideas for new products or services to your business.
Sign up to the report and you should also benefit from access to a Pinterest predicts webinar which will talk you through each of the trends in more detail and how you could align in your business.
Firstly, spend some time analysing these trends to see if they align with your business- either directly or indirectly. Would your ideal client be interested in any of these trends or likely to be searching any of the key words aligned with them?
I would then invest some time into creating content that might fit into these categories for social media or your website. This can be a great way to really stand out to your ideal customers.
Make sure you include those all-important key search terms in the content- including hashtags too. Pinterest is one of the largest search engines and traffic drivers.
It might be a good opportunity to plan marketing campaigns that link with this trend too- particularly if they are seasonal trends.
Let’s take a trend example- the burnt orange wedding trend and you are a wedding photographer.
You could create case studies of other weddings that have followed this trend, use photos on your social media that use these colours, create a blog on how you can bring this trend into your wedding or even host a live on social media or a webinar to bring in guest experts who could help style a burnt orange wedding.
Of course, you want to make sure that any content you are creating is also curated and utilised on Pinterest too- an amazing platform for all businesses whether you are a product or service based business.
If you do sell products, you should absolutely ensure that your e-commerce platform is connected to Pinterest and if you can, you could create products or services that are brand new that follow these potential trends.
Pinterest Predicts can help you indirectly reach both new or potential clients, expand your content, marketing and brand as well as showing that your brand is well ahead of trends for your ideal customers. You can really showcase that small businesses can be forward thinking just like much bigger brands.
If you aren’t already using Pinterest as a marketing channel it’s certainly a platform worth exploring for all industries and businesses.
Pinterest can help businesses is by showing users relevant Pins based on their search queries and browsing history. This can help businesses reach users who are actively searching for products or services related to their business. For example, if a user searches for "DIY home decor," Pinterest may show them Pins from businesses that sell home decor products or offer tutorials on how to make your own home decor.
Another way that Pinterest can help businesses is by suggesting Pins to users based on their interests. For example, if a user has been browsing Pins about travel, Pinterest may suggest Pins from businesses that offer travel products or services. This can help businesses reach users who may not have been actively searching for their products or services, but are still interested in related topics.
Pinterest also has a feature called "Promoted Pins" which allows businesses to pay to have their Pins shown to users who are likely to be interested in their products or services. This can help businesses increase visibility and reach new audiences.
In addition to these features, Pinterest also offers analytics and insights that can help businesses understand how their Pins are performing and how they can improve their marketing strategy. This includes data on how many users are seeing, saving, and clicking on their Pins, as well as information on the demographics of their audience.
Overall, Pinterest's ability to predict users' interests can help businesses reach their target audience, increase engagement and conversions and make their marketing strategy more efficient. By using this feature and the other tools available on the platform, businesses can gain a better understanding of their audience and tailor their content to their interests.
Have you heard of the rise in popularity of selecting a ‘word of the year’ to summarise your focus and intentions for the year ahead?
Rather than creating a list of New Year resolutions it’s about choosing a word to encapsulate and represent the year you want to have. It can help set up your direction, productivity, and mindset.
It is something that I have done in my business for the last two years. 2022’s word for me was CONNECT – focusing on connecting all the tools, resources and marketing channels I utilise in a much clearer funnel, but also CONNECT with more business owners, say YES more and work alongside other experts in my business.
It really didn’t take me long to consider my word for 2023. SIMPLICITY is my word for 2023.
I have been working hard on simplified ways to support you with my 1:1 strategy sessions and Marketing Marvels Toolkit- making it much clearer for my perfect customer to understand how I can support them.
Also following on from 2022 I am streamlining all the marketing tools and systems I use too and cutting out all those subscriptions and platform payments we forget about or use once in a blue moon.
I am really keen to also not over complicate my out of business life. Juggling two kids, school runs, after school clubs and still maintaining friendships and the business can be tricky. The juggle struggle is real, RIGHT? So, I have been working on trying to move the children’s extra curricular activities around to have at least a couple of days a week where I am not running around like a headless chicken!
I have also scheduled dates in the diary with friends and loved ones right up until April 2023- particularly those we didn’t get to see enough in 2022. Don’t get my wrong- I will still have spontaneity but I wanted to also have lots of fun and amazing things to look forward to.
I am also working on simplifying my diary to a more online shared solution with my husband so we can both see what is coming up and all the life-admin doesn’t always have to fall to me. Can anyone else relate?
Working flexibility is very important to me, and redefining what is means to run a business is a passion of mine and something I am still learning to do well. Realising I don’t have to follow the 9-5 that was so drilled into me in my corporate marketing career and actually make my business work for me will continue to be a focus. I know I can still do an amazing job for myself and my clients whatever hours I work or where I do it from.
Simplicity is already in action for me for 2023- you should be able to start to see a clearer picture of my offer across my marketing channels and social media.
Having this word as a focus is really helping direct my mindset and give me a vision of how I want my 2023 to play out. Of course, this word with sit alongside my business and marketing strategies for the year too.
What is your focus for 2023? If it involves getting to grips with your business and marketing then I would love to help you.
My 1:1 support sessions are a great way to get a picture of your focus for the year and I can help you map out the marketing projects and tasks so you can start getting the results you really want, rather than just going through the marketing motions.
I would love to hear what you think of my word of 2023 and please do share yours. You can reach me via my contact form or email [email protected]
Testimonials are an amazing way to build trust with your ideal customers and showcase your expertise. They help show potential buyers your products or services do what your marketing is telling them.
Customer reviews of their experience with you can be a great opportunity for potential new customers to learn about you, particularly as many buyers head to review platforms to learn more before purchasing.
Despite the value in testimonials many small businesses fail to include a process to both capture and repurpose our client feedback.
Here are a 6 places you should be requesting a testimonial so everyone can see the amazing job you are doing:
Google My Business
Google is still the world’s largest search engine so a Google Business page is still important regardless if you have a product or service based business.
You simply need to head to google to set up a verified account for your Google My Business page where you can add relevant information about your business to help you get found.
But did you know that customers can add reviews about you here and you can ask to request them directly from customers who have purchased from you or worked with you.
You can create and share a link for customers to leave a review on your page by going to ‘customers > reviews > Get more reviews’ and even reply to reviews you get.
LinkedIn call their testimonials and reviews section a ‘recommendation’. This is a brief testimonial to recognise those who have worked with you or used your services.
You can request recommendations from your connections and give them to others too. Once they are completed they will be visible to your network.
This is particularly useful for service providers who can contact individuals they are working with or have done work for.
As a service provider, I tend to take the time to request that all important feedback myself and also return the favour with a recommendation for my clients too.
Via a form or customer survey
It is very easy to build your own form or customer testimonial survey using digital tools like TypeForm, Google Forms or even on your on website forms section.
You could also consider an offline paper form or tick box card if you deal with customers face to face. These are great in physical premises or at events or fayres.
Social Media
Sometimes a simple message via social media can be an effective way to request a testimonial. Simply direct message your customers to ask for a brief review you can use across your marketing platforms with their permission.
Review Platforms
There are some independent review platforms like TrustPilot where clients can leave reviews. Customers can leave a star rating – from one to five- and leave comments.
It’s simple for individuals to set up a free profile to review your business and they don’t need an invitation to leave a review, so it’s worthwhile checking incase there is feedback here on your business.
If you are involved in the travel and entertainment industry then it’s always worthwhile checking TripAdvisor – this is where consumers can leave reviews and photos of their experiences when travelling.
Get Your Process for requesting feedback in place
You should include a process to request feedback and testimonials throughout the process of working with a customers, you don’t just have to wait until your time together has come to an end. Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews across platforms
Add a process or reminder in place to check in with your customers regularly if you work together over a long period of time.
If your customer journey is much shorter, let’s say a customer is purchasing from your website, then you could wait until the customers item has arrived and check in to see how they found the order process and the item itself. This is a great opportunity to upsell to them or to remind them of how they can order from you again in the future, you could even ask them to send a referral to a friend.
As a service provider, my process is to send a regular check in email and include in relevant links to my testimonial platforms in the communication to request feedback. Then when I am offboarding a client, I would do the same.
Don’t be afraid to ask more than once for that all important feedback. We are all busy and when we put ourselves in a consumers shoes we are often quick to leave negative feedback but don’t often take the time and effort to leave the positive.
We are already into one of the busiest periods of the year, whether you are product of service-based business, but the light at the end of the tunnel is the festive break upon us- so we want to do all we can to prepare your marketing.
If you are anything like me this ‘break’ is also coupled with the children finishing school and nursery until the new year- ekk. So how can you prepare your business and marketing for this period so you can enjoy a well-deserved break but still generate results?
I wanted to share a few tips with your that you might not have considered to be the best prepared in your marketing over the Christmas period.
Don’t over stretch yourself
As our Christmas activity starts to ramp up you may need to consider a few quick and easy ideas to continue to market yourself without over stretching and over committing yourself. If you have the time (and energy) to invest in some creative marketing campaigns this is always worthwhile but commit to delivering what you can.
The wonderful Claire Grace from The Assistant Quarters shared an amazing template with me called Do, Ditch, Delay and Delegate. Create a list of all the elements of your marketing plan and focus on what you can DO before you finish and DITCH the elements that aren’t important.
DELAY is all about re-prioritising tasks until you have time and DELEGATE is about getting the right support to help you get the task done by outsourcing to an expert.
Managing customers’ expectations
One thing that can often get overlooked during your busy periods is communication and managing your customers’ expectations. Be sure to let your customers and audience know your availability over the festive period.
You should do this across all your marketing platforms like posting to social media, sending an email to your email list, adding your opening times to your website, updating your Google Business page or simply calling your customers to let them know. It’s important to do this more than once too as many might miss your update the first time you share it.
Don’t forget to set up your voice mail and your email out of office too.
Top Tip: On Instagram you can pin up to 3 posts on your profile. Why not set up one of these as your availability so it’s the first thing customers see.
Another important area to communicate with your customers during this period is your last shipping dates for Christmas deliveries too. Nobody wants a missing present under the tree so keep letting your audience know when their last time for guaranteed delivery will be.
Don’t forget that customers spending doesn’t stop
Although you may be taking a very well-deserved break, don’t forget that your potential customer may have more time on their hands to peruse your website, scan your social media and purchase your products or services.
I highly recommend continuing to market your business during this period, dependant on your product or service of course, many of your potential customers are looking for deals and offers to spend their Christmas money on.
Following on from communicating your shipping dates, you should also let your audience know when you will be stopping and restarting deliveries too so they aren’t disappointed.
Schedule your emails and social media
None of us want to be tied to our phones and laptops over Christmas. Unless you get a brand new one from Santa you want to play with of course but remaining active on your key marketing channels can be a great way to be in your ideal customer’s mind.
Social media scheduling tools and email marketing platforms can be a great way to share your message on a date, time, and social media platform of your choosing without having to be attached to your device.
Some of my favourite social media scheduling tools include Buffer, Meta Creator Studio and Metricool. You can even now schedule directly in the Instagram App.
For email I highly recommend Mailerlite for newbie email marketers (Free up to 1000 subscribers) and Klaviyo for e-commerce businesses, with its sophisticated email automations and connections with e-commerce platforms like Shopify.
My Marketing Marvels Toolkit has some great training sessions on these platforms if you wanted some training to help you get started.
Just remember you don’t have to remain as active as you normally may be- but as I said before- just manage your customers’ expectations and schedule only what you think is necessary for you and your audience.
Prepare for the New Year
Don’t forget to also start preparing for your return in the New Year. I would recommend spending some time on planning your marketing efforts and marketing plan for 2023, without a plan you will otherwise drift aimlessly.
Knowing where to start with creating a plan can be tricky- Download my FREE Marketing Plan template here to get you started or it’s a great time to book in a 1:1 session with me where we can map out the marketing year ahead.
I hope these tips have been useful and given you something to consider but as always if you have any questions don’t hesitate to book your FREE discovery call to see how I can support you further.
I had the pleasure of working with Cransley Hospice in early 2021 to support them with their social media management. Cransley Hospice provide care for patients with a life-limiting illness who need the specialist help of hospice care, based in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
I absolutely loved working alongside the marketing team at Cransley Hospice, who are so passionate about raising awareness and funds for the much-needed hospice.
Jenine Rees, Marketing Manager kindly offered to tell you all a bit about how I supported her and the team.
Thank you Tamara for all your hard work. You've enabled us to continue our growth strategy consistently across all channels and it's been a real pleasure working with you over the last few months.
Jenine Rees- Cransley Hospice Marketing Manager
What support have you had from Dot & Stripe?
Tamara supported us with social media magnement for four social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) for just over four months.
What were your goals prior to working with Tamara?
It was important for us to maintain our presence within our community, build engagement and reach for each channel, in line with the overall Social Media strategy. We needed to promote the Cransley Hospice Trust events and fundraising activities to generate income and attract customers through the various channels.
What challenges were you experiencing?
Time was our biggest challenge.
What was most important to you when choosing the right specialist to work with?
We needed someone with a proven track record of skills and experience to take the role on and run with it, with minimum management from the team. A good cultural fit with the team. Someone with an awareness of the sector and sensitivity to the charity.
How has Tamara made a difference to the business? And how has hiring her affected your own role within the business?
Tamara enabled us to maintain our presence across all social channels, fitting in with the team from day one. Her suggestions and advice have helped to shape the Social Media calendar and given us the opportunity to try out a new scheduling tool- Agorapulse.
What results were improved?
All our channels experienced uplift and growth.
What three words would you use to describe your experience of working with Tamara?
Professional, flexible, nothing too much trouble (oops more than three!)
What would you say to someone consider working with Tamara?
I would definitely recommend Tamara. She's worked really hard to help us with our Social Media management whilst we recruited a new digital marketing coordinator to the team. She didn't just do the job, but offered advice and recommendations to the team, coming up with fresh ideas for content to improve the SM calendar.
Do you feel like you are going around in circles trying to market your small business?
You might be going through the motions but not making the progress you would like – with social media, your blogs or Facebook ads? Or you might have a new product or service and you aren’t quite sure where to start? Or something may not be working as it should be and you need a fast fix?
A power hour is a great way to get the support of a professional when you need a bit of guidance, you’re on a tighter budget or you need help fast.
What is a power hour?
A power hour with me is 60 minutes of dedicated 1:1 time to power up your knowledge of a marketing topic of your choice for only £199. I now call these Marketing Ignite Sessions on my 1:1 page. I want to ignite your passion for marketing your small business.
I have expertise in marketing, social media and ads management so I have lots of experience to share.
Here are 5 ways a marketing power hour/ ignite session can help your small business
Do you find yourself going around in circles with new ideas and then don’t end up making any progress? I know it can be difficult to prioritise all of the tasks in your business, particularly when it comes to marketing and battling all the noise and jargon can be difficult.
Having an hour of focus to ask your questions, bat around ideas or sense check are huge benefits of a power hour. I can guide you on where you should be focusing your time or help you expand on your thoughts and ideas.
2. You get to ask an expert
I have expertise in marketing, social media and ads management so I have lots of experience to share and coming up with new ideas is my cup of tea.
Power Hours could be used on a variety of marketing, social media or Facebook ad topics including:
Marketing Focused Power Hour:
Social Media Power Hour
Facebook Ads Power Hour
…and much more
3. Speed up your marketing tasks
I have lots of tips, hacks and advice on how you can speed up various marketing tasks in your business. Your power hour could even focus on getting some bite-sized training on marketing tools like Instagram Reels, social media scheduling tools or email marketing software, for example.
A power hour can help you prioritise your marketing tasks and get some best practise in place to help speed up or even automate some of your marketing.
You could also check out my FREE guide on my Top 5 Tools I use to speed up my marketing for lots of tips and advice.
4. Cost effective way to work with a professional
Not all small businesses have huge dedicated marketing budgets or have the resources to employ a full-time marketing professional.
A power hour is a really cost effective way to get the benefits of a professional without the need for the resources that come from hiring an employee or ongoing freelancer.
You can jump into a power hour during the times you need it most.
5. Be productive with your limited time
As a small business owner you are the expert in your business, and that is where you should be focusing your already limited time and energy.
A power hour allows you to be productive and focus on getting expert support and advice, rather than having to be the expert in everything in your business.
I often use the analogy that I wouldn’t try and fix my car when I am not a mechanic. We would always go to the expert to get the best results.
Whether you need some advice on a creative way to promote your business, how to use a specific marketing or social media channel or tool or need some expert advice on your marketing strategy, a power hour is a great way to get a fast fix from an expert.
I have expertise in marketing, social media and ads management so I have lots of experience to share.
How does a Power Hour work?
Cost:
£199 for a one-off power hour session (Additional attendees are charged at £30 per person)*
If you would like to BOOK YOUR POWER HOUR you can complete my detailed questionnaire so I can prepare ahead of our call and select the date and time that suits you, as well as being able to pay.
I also work with clients on a more ongoing basis with nurture packages (when you need a little more support), training or even ongoing mentoring.
If you would like to learn more feel free to get in touch we can get to know each other and I can guide you on the best route for your business.
*price as of April 2022 and subject to change on time of booking.
Do you feel as though you’re going round and round in circles with your social media while getting nowhere fast?
Do you feel though you are going through the motions with your social media but not making the progress you want to see?
Do you look at your competitor’s feeds and wonder how they manage to do it all? It's time to start thinking strategically.
A social media strategy Is a vital starting point to help save you time and energy (and who doesn't want that?) It can help you connect with your Ideal customers and bring them Into your world.
Here are 3 key steps to a winning social media strategy
Step one: Know your audience
This may sound obvious, but a huge percentage of businesses never get clear on who their target customer is. It’s about going far deeper than just focusing on a particular Industry or demographic.
If you don't know your Ideal client then your messaging is always slightly off-kilter and doesn’t quite land the way it should.
So, the first thing you need to do is create a customer persona. This is a fictional character who represents your dream customer or client.
What are the demographic and psychographic factors about them that make them the perfect customer for you? Jot down their age, financial status, where they buy their food and clothes. Think about where they hang out online, what motivates them in life and what holds them back.
Most importantly think about the pain points that your product or service solves for them, as well as the barriers that stand between them coming to you for help.
Once you’ve identified all these issues you can start to craft content that speaks directly to them and lets them know you understand.
If you have more than one ideal client, that’s fine, but try to find the characteristics that bond them - what do they have in common?
For example, if you are a yoga studio. Your Ideal client might be:
Step two: Decide what to post
One of the biggest challenges the small businesses I work with face is knowing what to post on social media. Sound familiar?
But there’s a simple trick you can use to overcome this.
The fancy term for this hack is ‘content pillars’. But, put simply, it just means deciding on a variety of topics your ideal customer will be interested in!
Once you have your pillars you can start to map out the kind of content that will fall into each one.
So, for example, let's take our yoga studio again. The content pillars for this business could be :
Promotions - Session times, loyalty offers, discount codes
Problem Solving- How does yoga help you overcome stress, how yoga breathing can help you unwind
Personal- Behind the scenes content, pictures during yoga sessions, customer photos, reviews
Positioning- Great yoga positions to try at home, tips for yoga breathing, yoga clothing
Having a clear idea of what you are going to post means your followers know what to expect and helps build your reputation as an expert.
I recommend you set aside time each month to plan your social media. It will save you heaps of time and worry in the long run.
Step three: Make friends with your analytics
I know number crunching isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but making a habit of looking at your Insights can really help you to see where your efforts are being wasted or rewarded.
They’ll show you the best times to post and give you valuable information on who your followers are. This could come in handy if you’re struggling with Step One.
You might find you have slightly different audiences on different platforms and this will help you to craft your content more specifically for them. A lot of businesses cross-post the same content to each platform to save time and money, but it’s not really best practice.
Aim to look at your Insights at least once a week and make a note of your top three performing posts. You will soon build a clear picture of what you’re doing well.
For help understanding your platform analytics get in touch to book a Power Hour or quick discovery call.
Now you know the three steps you need to take to start building a clear and successful social strategy.
But remember, social media is a long game, not a quick fix. You need to be prepared to invest time and energy into getting it right.
If you know you need to up your social media game but haven’t got the headspace to do it yourself, I’d love to help you.
Here are a few packages which can support you with your social media strategy:
I offer a range of services to suit your budget and need and you can trust me to get the job done. To find out more book a FREE 30 minute discovery call and we can discuss how I can help you plan you strategy In more detail.
