Why Content Is King
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 content marketing.
Whether it be a blog, beautiful imagery for Instagram and Pinterest, or engaging copy for your social media channels – by now you’ve no doubt heard that content is king!
But why is creating good quality content important for your business? Here are our top three reasons why content creation is a vital part of your marketing strategy.
- It gives your brand personality and sets you apart from the crowd. If you want to create a point of difference for your business in a crowded market place, developing your brand’s personality is a great place to start and the best way to do this is through content marketing. Use blog posts, images, videos and social media interaction to connect with your customers and share your passion, knowledge and skills in a way that people want to connect with.
- It aids Search Engine Optimisation. Not only does great content give businesses a way to connect with consumers online and share information about the business and it’s services, it can also be a fantastic SEO tool and can work to improve your Google ranking.
- It provides you with engaging material to share on social media. For maximum reach on social media, we recommend businesses post online at least 2-3 times per day. This may seem like a lot of work, but when it comes to social media marketing, consistency is key. You can assume that each time you post online only 20-30% of your following will see your content – so now you see why it’s important to have a presence throughout the day to ensure visibility. By consistently creating quality content for your brand, you will have plenty of engaging material to share out to your audience online, putting your brand one step closer to social media success!
Here at Melbourne Social Co, we understand that when you’re running a business, finding time to create engaging content and consistently manage your social media presence can be stressful and time consuming.
That’s where we come in.
Melbourne Social Co has a team of highly experienced content creators at our fingertips. From bloggers, to photographers and stylists – we have the right content creator to suit your business.
We will customise a content creation package to suit your business. Contact us today to find out more!
Why You Need A Personal Brand
With over 2 million businesses currently trading in Australia, creating a point of difference for your brand and business has never been more important.
That’s why as part of your marketing strategy, you need to implement personal branding to project a relatable and engaging voice behind your business, demonstrate your expertise and ultimately separate yourself and your business from competitors.
If you’re not sure of the value of personal branding, all you have to do is think of Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson (to name a few) whose personal reputation and brand became a well-known asset and advantage in their business careers.
Still not convinced you need a personal brand? Here are a few more reasons why you need to implement personal branding today!
It creates a point of difference:
If you want to create a point of difference for your business in a crowded market place, developing a personal brand is a great place to start. It creates an individuality and uniqueness to your business and gives you the opportunity to share your passion, knowledge and skills in a way that people want to listen to and connect with.
It’s is a life long asset:
One thing you can rely on throughout years of business is your personal brand as it’s a powerful way to showcase what you are good at, who you are, why you are an expert and the best part? It will last a lifetime. A personal brand can create respect, trust and loyalty from your consumers which means they will keep coming back for more.
You can position yourself as an expert:
Whatever product or service you’re selling and promoting, people need to know why they should buy from you above everyone else. When you develop your personal brand you can share your personal stories of success, advice, tips and day-to-day life experiences so audiences can really believe you know what you’re promoting and therefore more likely to purchase what you are offering.
Ready to start presenting your personal brand to the world? From online reputation management to developing your personal brand from scratch, Melbourne Social Co has a variety of services to really make a difference to your career and business.
Get in touch today for more information.
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?
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.
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
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.
Contact us for more information - [email protected]