Melbourne Social Co, Author at Melbourne Social Co

The Biggest Content Marketing Trends for 2016

The New Year is fast approaching and here at Melbourne Social Co we like to stay ahead of the curve, so we’ve rounded up some of the biggest content marketing trends to look out for in 2016.

The biggest content marketing trends for 2016 are:

New publishing options available on social media:

Facebook started this trend when it introduced “Instant Articles,” which allows you as the consumer/ or us as your social media managers to publish articles directly onto the Facebook platform. Google is also going to introduce its own version of this and we bet other social networks will follow on! This trend highlights the importance of high-quality written and visual content for brands and businesses as part of any social media and marketing strategy.

Content will demand more visual mediums:

We’ve said it before and we will say it again! Visual content is king. Content on blogs and social media will rely more on adding images and videos to engage and connect with consumers. Great visual content has become a vital way to quickly grab the attention of your consumer, who are becoming more time poor and are after fast media consumption.

Mobile optimisation is key:

You can’t deny the importance of ensuring that your business website is optimised for mobile users, as the majority of your consumer will likely be accessing your website from their phones. Mobile optimisation is essential to keep visitors and potential consumers on your website and coming back for more. Make sure your mobile site is also share friendly, allowing consumers to share your content and images via their own social networks to increase engagement and to get people talking.

Buy buttons will be everywhere:

Facebook and Pinterest have added buy features to their platforms to transition their social media consumers into buyers of products and services, making it more vital than ever to be on social media and to have an effective strategy. Other social media and online platforms are sure to follow suit and the trend will only grow as buying habits change.

Need help?

Is your business set-up to adapt to these content marketing trends for 2016 so you don’t get left behind? Get in touch today to find out how we can create amazing digital content, branding, strategy and more for your business.

by Melbourne Social Co

4 Reasons Your Business Should Be On Pinterest

One of the fastest growing platforms, Pinterest, has become an essential part of any digital marketing strategy, with its powerful Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) benefits, ability to increase traffic to your business website and an opportunity for pinners to become creatively interactive with your business.

Not convinced? Here are 4 reasons why your business should be on Pinterest.

Your target market is using it:

A recent survey announced that more than 100 million people are on Pinterest, which means there is a large consumer base just waiting for you to connect with. The target market is typically females under 40-years-old, who have broad interests in a range of topics including pets, fashion, food, travel, fitness, creative DIY, business and more.

Pinners want to engage with businesses:

According to Pinterest, a recent study has shown that when pinners were asked if they’d rather follow a celebrity or business, 83% said they would rather follow a business. This means Pinterest encourages active audiences who are keen to know about your product or service and engage in your business inspirations and interests.

Your pins last forever:

There’s no secret that social media and content marketing is gold for Search Engine Optimisation and Pinterest is no exception. Unlike other forms of SEO strategies, your pins on Pinterest last forever. That means that as search and discovery are at the forefront of what makes pinners engaged, your content will always be there, available and searchable so they can be pinned, clicked on, liked and shared for many years to come.

Pinterest drives traffic:

If one of your main social media objectives is to get people to click through to your website, then Pinterest is the place to be. When you pin an image from your website, it allows pinners to then save that image onto their own boards, or simply click on that image to be taken to your business’s website for more information or to purchase your products or services.

Do you know how to strategically use Pinterest to boost SEO, increase website traffic and create an active online following for your business?

If not - Melbourne Social Co has a range of social media account management and training packages available for your business now.

by Melbourne Social Co

How To Take The Perfect 'Foodstagram'

We’ve all been there before, snapping the latte art on our coffee or delectable breakfast at one of our favourite café hotspots to post on our Instagram account, but how do you get the perfect 'Foodstagram' without embarrassing yourself?

The trick is all about planning ahead, selecting the right lighting and choosing places that have their tables adorned with pretty props to do the hard work for you.

Melbourne Social Co's Product Photography For Instagram Package:

As part of this service, your business will receive:

14 professionally styled product images per month. Our team will style, photograph and edit a series of product images for use on Instagram, (as well as Facebook, Pinterest and within blog posts.)

Together we will plan a look that will not only suit the aesthetic of your brand, but will push you in a new and exciting direction, showcasing your products in the best possible light.

Cost: $599 + GST per month

Want to get a feel for our style? Follow us on Instagram @melbournesocialco.

Need help managing your Instagram accounts on a daily basis? We can take care of that too.

Tailored specifically to your businesses needs and goals, our team are experts in social media strategy, content creation and audience engagement, and would be more than happy to discuss managing and building your Instagram profile on your behalf.

Contact us for more information – [email protected]

Product Photography For Instagram Package Terms and Conditions:

These rates are only valid for clients who sign a 3 month booking with Melbourne Social Co. Month by month rates are available, please ask us about these
Each booking will be specifically quoted after a consultation with the client
The images created by our team will become the property of your business. We may share these on our website and social media channels from time to time, crediting your business. Please let us know if you don't want us to do so

by Melbourne Social Co

Why your business needs to invest in Facebook advertising

A vital part of any Facebook marketing strategy is Facebook advertising – a great way to increase business awareness, grow page likes, gain valuable insights about your consumer and importantly, increase Facebook engagement and reach allowing you to develop a strong online Facebook community for your business or brand.

Want to know more? Here are some great reasons why your business needs to invest in Facebook advertising now:

Enhanced Audience Targeting:

Thanks to Facebook’s advanced targeting strategies, you can now reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business as well as existing customers by directly targeting them through a variety of tailored demographic variables. These include targeting specific age groups, locations, interests and behaviours so you can grow your online community and promote your business to a larger audience.

Development of An Online Community:

Perhaps one of the most important parts of your Facebook marketing objective is to build an online community around your business that is created through conversation, engagement and interaction between you as the business and your audience. Facebook advertising provokes this, by letting more people interested in your business and business industry see your page, your content and click through to your website to purchase your products or use your service.

Makes Your Content Visible:

Unfortunately with millions of businesses on Facebook, getting your content seen can be tricky, which is why Facebook has declared that paid content will be more visible. Investing in a small amount per week to boost your posts allows them to be seen by your current and new audiences.

Key Consumer Insights:

Thanks to the amazing insights on Facebook, Facebook advertising is a great way to clearly define and understand your audience across all demographic areas as well as to understand what products, services or content types your audiences are most interested in for more effective marketing.

Want to know more? Melbourne Social Co creates outstanding Facebook advertising and social media content tailored to your business through a range of services and packages from our team of specialists.

by Melbourne Social Co

Building A Following On Instagram

Are you thinking about Instagram Management for your business? If not, you should be - as one of the fastest growing social media platforms in Australia, Instagram could be your next great marketing tool.

By using Instagram, you can showcase your products/services in a visually appealing manner, take followers behind the scenes of your organisation, (making your business more personable) and you can take advantage of the growing number of users looking for great images to like and share.

So now you know why it’s an important platform for business, here are some of our top tips on Instagram Management for your brand:

Post good quality images. Instagram is after all, a social media platform for people that love visuals! So to ensure maximum engagement, make sure you're posting high resolution images that are both on-trend and visually appealing.
Post often. Building a big following on Instagram is a balancing act: You need to post often enough to keep your followers’ attention but not so often that they feel spammed and block you. 2-3 posts per day is a happy medium that seems to appeal to users. Remember - consistency is key and regularly posting good quality images will go along way to helping you build your profile.
Strike a balance between strategic and fun posts. It is also important to strike a good balance between business (strategic) posts, and fun/lifestyle images. Instagram is not about hard selling - you want all sales messages to be subtle and appealing to your followers. Where possible, tell a story with your image and if you are utilising the image strategically to tell users about a service or product, use your caption to talk about your message and direct users to your website (by including a relevant link in your profile and using the #linkinprofile hashtag) for more information.
Follow & interact with others. Follow and interact regularly with like-minded brands and influencers within similar industries. This encourages these users to follow back and like/share your images.
Get to know Instagram's filters. Instagram offers more than a dozen automatic image filters, but they’re not all created equal. Choose a filter that not only looks good, but leaves you with a sharp, clear , professional looking image.
Experiment With Video Clips. To give it a try, use the movie camera icon within Instagram to record up to 15 seconds of footage and then apply a video-specific filter to improve its look.
Now try Stories. Recently, Instagram introduced 'Instagram Stories' as a way to share all the business moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. Swipe right into the camera to take a photo or video. Create anything you want, from product sneak-peeks to your worst selfies. Unlike your timeline posts, these photos and videos disappear from your feed after 24 hours, so there's less pressure to maintain your aesthetic, allowing you to have a little fun with your content!
Introduce Key New Employees. Whenever you hire a key new employee, take a photo of him or her and post it to Instagram. Doing so helps your followers to build personal relationships with your team, while also filling your feed with content that isn’t directly self-promotional.
Use Relevant Hashtags. Hashtags are incredibly important on Instagram. It’s a good idea to regularly search around for similar content to see which hashtags are likely to lead to the most awareness and engagement. We recommend posting 10-20 good quality hashtags in the first comment on your post - this seems to generate the best results for content.
Host Competitions. One of the best ways to quickly build followers is through competitions. Check out Instagram's blog for some examples of successful competitions and for tips on the best ways to run these competitions on Instagram.

Need Help?

Need help creating beautiful imagery for your social media channels? Eye-catching images are key to engagement and success on Instagram, but do you have time to source and create beautiful images on a regular basis? Our creative team can take care of this for you!

Our Instagram Management Packages start from $599 + GST per month.

Contact us for more information – [email protected]

Want to get a feel for our style? Follow us on Instagram @melbournesocialco

by Melbourne Social Co

Building A Professional Personal LinkedIn Profile

Not sure where to begin when it comes to LinkedIn?

Here's our checklist for building a professional personal LinkedIn profile:

Create an informative headline

Your LinkedIn headline is one of the first things people will see on your LinkedIn profile so make sure it is direct, clear and to the point. It’s important that your headline includes your job title and industry keywords that will be instantly recognisable for people searching.

Choose a professional photo

Having a high quality and professional headshot for your profile’s photo is a great way to personalise your LinkedIn page.

Add important contact information

This means your email address, website, business/company name and other vital information people will instantly be looking for when browsing your profile. It’s also a great idea to edit the URL of your LinkedIn page to include your full name for professionalism and search optimisation. Find out how to do this here.

Create a catchy and engaging profile summary

This is a chance for you to show off your skills and experience. Your profile summary should resemble the first few paragraphs of a well-written cover letter, ensuring it is concise and direct, pin pointing your goals, passions, qualifications and experience. Make sure your profile summary is easy to read and not too long. Bullet points or short paragraphs are a great way to easily highlight these key areas.

Fill in your education and experience sections

Similar to your resume, this area on your LinkedIn profile is where you add in your qualifications, education and experience. You don’t have to list them all! Just select 3-5 past work vocations with short summaries on your job description, roles, achievements and skills.

Show off your skills

This area is a great chance for you to show off your skills and get colleagues, boss or friends to endorse your specific skills and abilities. Make sure you include general skills as well as industry specific skills to show a great variety of capabilities.

Add media

Now that you’ve got the basis of your LinkedIn profile complete, it’s time to make it visually appealing! A great way to do this is to show off your past or current work by adding website links, images, documents, presentations, videos and more to enhance your profile. Go to your selected experience section, click the pencil on the right hand side and click add media.

Connect!

An easy way to start networking with people on LinkedIn is to connect with people already on your email database. Simply go to the top menu and click connections, add connections, type your email address and LinkedIn will pull up all of your contacts from that email address who have a LinkedIn profile. If you want to connect with potential or current clients, businesses or agencies, you can search them in the top menu, click on their name and request to connect.

Join A Group

LinkedIn is a great platform for you to join groups with people from likeminded businesses or industries. You can search the groups in the top menu, or if you need a little inspiration, search for a client and see what groups they have joined on their profile and join! Now that you’ve joined, why not post something relevant or comment on a status update by the group? This will help make your profile more visible and will start the networking process.

Update

All the basics of setting up your LinkedIn profile are done! Now all you need to do is update your status a minimum of once a week. The best days of the week are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before work 8:00am - 8:30am, or towards the end of the work day 4:00pm -6:00pm.

Updates could include:

• Links to your company blog

• Interesting and relevant articles

• Events you’re attending

• Recent projects

• Industry tips and business news.

Need a little help? We offer Personal Brand Management services to help sharpen up your personal image.

by Melbourne Social Co

The Benefits of Blogging

You’d have to be living under a rock, or a very full shopping bag, to not have seen the rise of the art of blogging. And without question, businesses need to get on board. Not only is a blog a great way to connect with potential clients and share information about your business and it’s services, it is also a fantastic SEO tool and can work to improve your Google ranking.

Did you know…

Websites that blog daily get 5 times more traffic to their website than those who post weekly or less
95% of businesses with a blog report an increase in their search engine ranking
Adding between 21 and 51 blog posts to your site boosts traffic by up to 30%
And when you’ve added at least 52 blog posts, your traffic increases by 77%!
Small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than those that don’t
70% of consumers admit blogs influence what they buy
Blogs are 63% more likely to influence purchasing decisions than magazines
58% of consumers trust editorial content
Blogs educate your customers and visitors. Who would you rather buy a car from ... someone that's taken the time to educate you about cars by providing free, unbiased, educational content, or someone that you've never met or spoken to before in your entire life?
Blogs build brand awareness. Every person that lands on your website represents an opportunity to generate a new lead, too. If you write a blog post that 100 people read, you have 100 opportunities to turn those readers into leads by putting a call-to-action on that blog post.

So how do you get started?

Step 1: Find your focus

Before you write your first post, brainstorm a selection of topics that your blog will cover.

A good question to ask when defining the focus of your blog is, what interests my target audience, and what kind of unique insights can I provide for my audience?

Step 2: Discover your content marketing platform (CMS)

If you don’t know anyone with coding skills who owes you a favour, and don’t have a CMS developer on staff, you can check out a range of different easy-to-use blogging platforms online.

Before you set out to look for the perfect fit for your business, make a list of all the must-haves for your blog.

Do you need a platform that lends itself to sharing high-quality images?
Do you want your CMS to do all the coding for you?
Do you need fast access to blog analytics?
Can you invest money into a paid host, or are you looking for a free tool?

This will narrow down the list, so you can save time and begin blogging sooner.

Step 3: Do your research

In order for your blog to be successful in generating new leads, it must be original and offer something that your competitors don’t. To be aware of what this is, you first need to get familiar with the blogs already created by other businesses in your field. Subscribe to the blogs of other businesses in your field. Note the focus you think their business might have, and the customer personas they may be targeting with the content.

Step 4: Start off strong

Now that you have your list of topics and have done your research, it’s time to write your first post! When you’re ready to go, remember to post often.

Consistency is key, and regular posting will ensure you get great results from your blogging strategy.

Okay, now know what to do, but don’t have the time to consistently create blogs?

We can help.

Melbourne Social Co offers blogging packages, tailored specifically to your business. We can write one-off blogs that showcase your brand, or you can engage us to create blog content for your website on an ongoing basis.

e: [email protected]

by Melbourne Social Co

Why is Social Media important for small business?

Because your customers are already using it.

Consider these statistics of Australian Social Media users from August 2014:

Social Media Statistics Australia – August 2014 - source socialmedianews.com.au

1. Facebook – 13,400,000 users (steady)

2. YouTube – 13,000,000 UAVs

3. WordPress.com – 6,100,000

4. Tumblr – 4,600,000

5. LinkedIn – 3,900,000

6. Blogspot – 3,050,000

7. Twitter – 2,791,300 Active Australian Users (see calculation)

8. Instagram – 2,060,000 Active Australian Users (see calculation)

9. TripAdvisor – 1,550,000

10. Yelp – 1,300,000

11. Snapchat - 1,070,000 Active Australian Users (see calculation).

12. Tinder – 1,000,000 Australian users

13. Flickr – 740,000

14. Pinterest – 380,000

15. Reddit – 160,000

The chances are that much of your target market is already using social media. If you want to reach clients and prospects, you need to be where they are – by using social media you’ll increase the odds that your marketing message will get through to a significant number of them.

It will help you connect with your customers/clients.

Most marketing channels are one-way in nature – a business sends out its marketing message, and the consumer receives it. With Social Media, you can actually have a conversation with your audience. Social Media helps to create a community of fans and followers that see you as more than just a business entity.

They’ll view you as someone they trust, and people use the services of those they trust.

Not sure where to start in the crazy world of Social Media? Melbourne Social Co offer a range of packages for businesses looking to begin, expand on or capitalise on the ‘noise’ their brand is making in the digital world.

by Melbourne Social Co

Melbourne Social Co

The New Year is fast approaching and here at Melbourne Social Co we like to stay ahead of the curve, so we’ve rounded up some of the biggest content marketing trends to look out for in 2016.

The biggest content marketing trends for 2016 are:

Not convinced? Here are 4 reasons why your business should be on Pinterest.

Melbourne Social Co's Product Photography For Instagram Package:

Need help managing your Instagram accounts on a daily basis? We can take care of that too.

Are you thinking about Instagram Management for your business? If not, you should be - as one of the fastest growing social media platforms in Australia, Instagram could be your next great marketing tool.

So now you know why it’s an important platform for business, here are some of our top tips on Instagram Management for your brand:

Need Help?

Because your customers are already using it.

It will help you connect with your customers/clients.

Don’t go without saying goodbye!