The Importance of Social Media During the COVID-19 Crisis.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen the COVID-19 virus impact citizens around the globe with many businesses having to make tough decisions on how to adapt to the ever changing landscape we are currently facing.
Along with other small businesses, we’re already seeing the huge impact that the current climate is having on the economy and business around the world - which is why digital marketing has never been more important. Due to its reactive nature and potential to reach large audiences, social media is a highly valuable and cost effective medium for businesses looking to navigate the current climate and future proof their businesses.
With more eyes on social media channels looking for news and business updates than ever before, now is the time to ensure you are posting thoughtful and engaging content including sharing business updates and showing how you are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the everchanging government regulations.
Determining the right approach for your social media campaign during a pandemic can be challenging, which is why we are sharing with you our tips on how you can leverage your social media channels during a crisis like COVID-19.
Unsure where to start? We’ve outlined our top tips below!
- Acknowledge the crisis and how your business is adapting or changing
- Keep your audience updated with your business changes. Consumers will be looking at your social media channels first for all of your latest business information including things such as opening hours, service changes, takeaway menu items as well as insight into the measures you are putting in place to keep your staff and customers safe and healthy
- Review all scheduled posts and paid ad campaigns to ensure messaging is appropriate and call-to-actions have been adapted to new business updates. Don’t waste money on running ad campaigns with old information, instead use your paid ads to promote new services such as your new takeaway menu, or online workout program!
- Ask your audience what they want to see on your social media feeds and adapt your content strategy as needed. With more people on social media now, it’s important you give the people what they want!
- Tap into features such as Instagram Live or Stories to provide value to your audience outside of your usual offerings
- Adapt your content to new customer behaviours. As we are all encouraged to stay indoors during work and after hours, ensure your content speaks to this and angle your business or service to fit into these lifestyle and behavioural changes
- Be responsive to your community, provide answers and support them. During a crisis like COVID-19, there’s a lot of uncertainty on a business and personal level, so providing information, educating your audience and ensuring you are fostering relationships is key
- Tweak tweak tweak! We all know that social media is trial and error, so it’s vital to ensure you are reviewing and improving your strategy every few days. Think about new ways you can add value to your customers and enhance their experience with you (eg. Being more responsive to messages and comments, uploading an IGTV on how your business is adapting to the regulations, providing free advice on your service or product, sharing FAQs via stories)
- Add a human element into your content. More people will crave seeing faces and hearing voices as we feel more distant from human interaction due to social distancing and self-isolation. Videos (feed and IGTV) / stories / lives are a great way to add this in.
Need assistance in navigating social media during the COVID-19 crisis? Our team of experts at Melbourne Social Co are here to help you. We can provide a range of services to assist your needs including virtual consulting sessions, copywriting, ad hoc graphic design, digital marketing campaign management and more.
We have a full team with all hands-on deck available to support you.
Get in touch with our team today for more information on how we can help. info@staging.project-progress.net
Latest News - Support Small Business
Hey guys, Shelley here.
Like many small businesses, we’re already seeing the effect that the current climate is having on the economy and in-turn, our business. And while we’re not sure what the short term future might bring, what we do know is that for small business, now is not the time to fall silent. With more and more Australians spending time on their phones consuming news and social media content, now is the time to capture this audience with thoughtful, engaging content - not only to let your consumer know how you’re handling this crisis, but to stay front of mind and to encourage them to shop local and support your business.
While we understand that many businesses need to look at where they can scale back costs at the moment, marketing, and in particular social media content creation and distribution, needs to be viewed as business-critical. Your social media communication is now more important than ever - it is the most effective tool you have to promote your business in these highly reactive, times of uncertainty.
With that in mind, our agency is offering a range of different packages and resources to support your business through this crisis. I’ve created a coupon code upskillathome to offer you 70% off our online training resources, should you be looking to upskill in social media management, strategy or content creation during your time at home. You can access our online courses here: courses.thesocialco.com.au
We’re also offering reactive content packages to help you craft the right messaging for your consumer, and are able to quickly turn around graphics, copy, video and imagery to get the message out to your audience in a professional and timely manner. If you’d like some more info, please reach out to me - shelley@staging.project-progress.net and let’s pencil in a chat.
I’m personally supporting as many small businesses as I can at the moment, and I urge you to as well. We’re all in this together!
Influencer Events at Melbourne Social Co
In December, we hosted a beautiful influencer brand showcase at our Moonee Ponds Studio. We were excited to share some of our lovely stable of brands with a gorgeous group of influencers. A big thank you to everyone who came along, we loved meeting you all!
At this event, we showcased a selection of our brands to influencers across the mummy, lifestyle, health and foodie space. This meant that we had a wide range of personalities who had a much broader reach.
Our guests were delighted with the variety of brands available at the event, and were able fill their goodie bags with products best suited to them. Some of the goodies included Avène skincare, Chris’ Dips, Chi Khi children’s clothing, Alessi Beverages and many more. One lucky winner was also the recipient of a brand new Fitbit Versa 2, from our friends at Fitbit.
We had such incredible feedback from our guests. Firstly, being that they loved seeing all the products displayed on the tables. This allowed our influencers to take home products which they feel are most relevant to them and their needs. Secondly, they loved the ability to be able to ask and find out more about the products by having our staff there rather than going home and having questions.
Collectively, the Instagram followers of all the influencers reached 310,502. There was over 90 Instagram Stories and approximately 30 posts on Instagram.
If you’re a Melbourne based influencer and would like to join our mailing list, please reach out to jess@staging.project-progress.net. Or, if you’re a brand who would like to go on the waitlist for our next showcase, please email amy@staging.project-progress.net.
-
-
Influencer Events at Melbourne Social Co -
-
-
-
In November, we hosted a beautiful influencer brand showcase at our Moonee Ponds Studio. We were excited to share some of our lovely stable of brands with a gorgeous group of influencers. A big thank you to everyone who came along, we loved meeting you all!
Want to learn how to create beautiful social media content (like the images above) for your brand? Our latest online course is launching soon - pre-register now.
The latest news from Melbourne Social Co!
Melbourne Social Co has moved!
You may have seen on our socials, Melbourne Social Co has recently moved office to bustling Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds.
We had two years in wonderful Yarraville, but due to exciting growth in our business, we needed more space! Our new studio has gorgeous New York loft vibes, lots of natural light and is the perfect space for our growing team to get creative!
Come in and say hi!
We would love to welcome you in check out our space. Not only do we offer custom consulting and strategy sessions by appointment, but we also have a few dates left in 2019 for our Melbourne Social Co Beginners’ Social Media Workshops! If you’re new to the world of social media, these full day workshops are the perfect place to start. Facilitated by our training guru Charlotte, we cover everything from scheduling content to writing captions, creating eye-catching Instagram stories and more. Tickets are selling fast, so visit our events page to secure yours now.
Is your strategy up to date?
There have been lots of developments in the world of social media marketing in the second half of this year, from algorithm shifts to the removal of visible likes on Instagram. If you’re an established business but you’re finding things are a little ho-hum on your socials at the moment, it might be time for strategy update! Our Senior Strategist Jess would love to pencil you in for a session, to run through your goals and objectives, target audience profiling, competitor analysis and more, to make sure you’re getting everything you can out of your social media marketing efforts.
Contact us today to pencil in an appointment with Jess and the team.
Christmas is just around the corner!
Can you believe it's only a few short months until Christmas? And that means festive marketing plans are well underway. If you're in need of any creative content to support your festive sales strategy, get in touch with our team today, we'd love to assist!
Who runs the world? Girls!
2018 was truly a big year for women, with the year seeing plenty of incredible moments of female activism and empowerment. From the foundation of new movements and celebrations of important milestones, there is no denying that 2018 was the Year of the Woman.
So, in honour of International Women’s Day, here’s a round-up of inspirational women we believe excelled in their industries in 2018.
1. Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin was named one of ten CNN heroes of the year.
Twitter: @AbisoyeAjayi
Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, 34, is a Nigerian Women and Girls Advocate Social Entrepreneur. A graduate of Business Administration from the University of Lagos, Ajayi-Akinfolarin began her career working for E. D. P Audit and Security Associates. Soon she realised the large gender gap in the tech field and started a non-profit organisation, Pearls Africa Foundation, focused on minimising the gender gap in technology and encouraging more women to gain relevant technological skills.
Through GirlsCoding, a free programme run by her Pearls Africa Foundation, Ajayi-Akinfolarin seeks to educate — and excite— girls about computer programming. GirlsCoding has boosted the girls’ self-esteem. They now have a voice and know their rights. Since starting the initiative, Girlscoding has reached more than 400 beneficiaries, including girls from orphanages and correctional homes, in addition to young women fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency.
On November 1, 2018, Ajayi-Akinfolarin was named one of ten CNN Heroes of the year. Later that month she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.
Credit: Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin / International Women’s Day
2. Zoe Foster Blake also published a book! Have you heard of the Break-Up Boss?
Instagram:@zotheysay
Website: http://www.zotheysay.com
Zoë Foster Blake is an Australian author, columnist, magazine editor, and cosmetics entrepreneur. She has now she delivered us Break-up Boss, a rather light-hearted but realistic pocket guide to break-ups and its companion piece, an eponymous app.
it has a singular goal: to help women handle, heal and move on from their breakup in a healthy, positive way. Also, 10 per cent of every purchase goes to the Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre in Victoria.
Credit: Wikidata / International Women’s Day
3. Michelle Akhidenor made the list for her outstanding hardship in starting the Peer Project in 2018!
Instagram:@michakhidenor
Website: https://thepeersproject.com
Melbourne born, Michelle Akhidenor is considered as one of the most energetic millennials around. A multilingual entrepreneur and coach, she is the founder of a global podcast which interviews some of the world's most outstanding millennial entrepreneurs. She offers guidance and helps young millennials challenge their assumptions and align their passion.
While there is still a way to go, the progress made so far marks the beginning of a new wave of activism, empowerment, and change. It’s this sense of celebration of the past and determination for the future which highlights why 2018 was a great year for women!
Credit: Hotsta / International Women’s Day
4. Cardi B for becoming the first female solo artist to win Best Rap Album
Instagram:@iamcardib
Okay, you caught us. Yes, Cardi B was the first female solo artist to win Best Rap Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards in 2019, but surely this needs to be in the top five!
Cardi B became the first solo woman to win best rap album for "Invasion Of Privacy" at the 2019 Grammy Awards. According to Time Magazine, Best Rap Album only became an official Grammy category in 1996 and has typically been won by male artists, with the exception of Lauryn Hill (won as a member of the hip-hop group Fugees in 1997).
This marks Cardi’s first Grammy win, and she spoke about the challenges of creating the album while pregnant during an emotional acceptance speech.
Credit: Vogue Australia / International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s day, there is no denying that 2018 was the Year of the Woman. Here at Melbourne Social Co, we're proud to be a team of 15 creative and wonderful women. Learn more about us here.
Melbourne Social Co celebrates our 7th Birthday
We’re excited to be celebrating our 7th birthday at Melbourne Social Co this month!
Director Shelley Friesen began forging a career in social media over ten years ago – establishing Melbourne Social Co in 2011. While pursuing IT wasn’t a stylish choice for a child of the 80’s, Shelley’s intuition to pursue social media was bang on, and now seven years later the digital marketing world is as thriving as ever.
Being in the industry this long has allowed us to evolve over time and be able to offer more than just standard social media management. We know that there is “no one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to amplifying a brand’s presence online.
The evolution of Melbourne Social Co is something our team is truly proud of. Moving into our 8th year now, our agency’s focus is on creating innovative and game-changing digital content for our wonderful portfolio of clients.
“The business we founded in 2011 is very different to the agency we operate today, such is the fast-paced and ever evolving digital marketing landscape. That being said, this evolution has been a wonderful journey to go on, from humble beginnings as a social media management team, to our positioning today as brand strategists and premium content creators. It’s such a rewarding industry to be a part of, and a pleasure to work with a creative, dynamic team who are incredibly passionate about what they do.” Shelley Friesen - Director, Melbourne Social Co
Want to know more about our team? Get in touch today.
