Creative Agency VS In-House Employee
Creative Agency VS In-House Employee - What is the right fit for your business?
Are you looking to recruit a marketing and social media superstar? Take a minute to consider if an in-house employee is the right fit, or if you should instead, consider hiring a creative agency.
Did you know, that the cost of working with a premium boutique agency such as Melbourne Social Co is generally equal to, or sometimes even less than, that of a junior in-house employee?
Melbourne Social Co’s team of fifteen is made up of specialist digital marketers, brand strategists, content creators, social media managers, web developers and PR gurus. Our team is increasingly sought after by businesses seeking a dedicated digital employee – because we’re able to provide the creative skills and expertise of an entire team at rates comparable to a single employee.
In our experience, it's really difficult to find one employee who can cover all aspects of the marketing and social media space, from strategy, through to creating content (photography, videography and graphic design,) managing online communities, running ad campaigns, engaging influencers, analysing results and more. (If you do happen to find this person, hold on to them!)
As part of your monthly package with Melbourne Social Co, you gain access not only to our entire team and knowledge base, but to our industry connections, our software programs, our training platform, our studio and extensive props department and more. We can also extend our service to you well beyond the traditional 9-5 confines, meaning you have coverage across the clock on social media and your brands’ digital assets.
When you engage our team, you work closely with a dedicated Account Manager, who position themselves as an extension of your team. Coffee date? Count them in. A quick text message to run an idea past them? Fire away! Weekly phone catch-ups to discuss progress? Of course! Your Account Manager will get to know your business like it’s their own, and will become a passionate advocate for your brand.
Here at Melbourne Social Co, we don’t waste time. As a creative agency, we know how to work efficiently and productively, as every hour we work is accounted for. We’re used to working in a fast-paced environment, we buzz with creativity and we love to get results. We genuinely love building relationships with our clients, and enjoy nothing more than being a part of, and celebrating their successes.
Because you only pay for the work you commission, what you won’t find us doing on your time is; sitting behind a desk in your office from 9-5, scrolling online shopping sites, taking extended lunch breaks, calling in sick every month – the list goes on! (And yes of course we scroll online shopping sites and we love to lunch in our own time, we’re Melburnians after all!)
Almost convinced? We’d love to shout you a coffee and chat further about why a creative agency is the way to go - reach out to us and we’ll pencil it in.
Building a social media audience
You've got great content, but how can you make sure it's being 'seen' and 'heard' on social media?
Your engagement rates now play a huge role in your brand's visibility on social media, but how can you go about building an engaged audience? Here are some of our top tips.
Have a good strategy in place to make sure you’re creating the right types of content, and sharing it on the right platforms (at the right time!)
When planning your content, you shouldn’t necessarily be thinking about how to get it in front of everyone – it’s all about getting it in front of the right people! To do this, you must define who your audience is, what their interests are, and create content that will really speak to them. The more engaged your audience is, the more likely it is that your content will be shared.
Consistency is key! Make sure you’re posting good quality content on a regular basis.
Engage, engage, engage! Spend at least 15-30 minutes every day engaging with fans, likeminded users and influencers to build your network. The more you show interest in and support others on social, the more you’ll be supported right back!
Use hashtags, both branded and unbranded to curate your content.
And finally, think about supporting your social media content with an advertising budget through Facebook/Instagram ads.
If you’d like to learn to how master social media marketing from our team, The Social Co Academy are currently offering a very special offer.
For a limited time only redeem Coupon Code: ‘SOCIALMELB50’ at the checkout to receive 50% OFF The Social Co Academy‘s signature online course – the Social Media Masterclass!
4 ways to organically build your social media following
If you’re currently using social media for your business, you would have noticed the increasing difficulty of growing your ‘likes’ or followers on social media organically. This is particularly frustrating for businesses who put time and effort into producing great content that then doesn’t get seen by the people who need to view it the most.
If you’re struggling to grow your social media following, there are a few things you can try today:
- Work with influencers:
Working with digital influencers is one of the most effective ways to grow your social media accounts. Through collaborations such as sponsored posts, influencer take-overs or competitions, you have the opportunity to tap into the thousands of followers of key influencers and in turn entice them to follow your business’s accounts.
- Host a competition:
At Melbourne Social Co, we are big fans of competitions for many great reasons! Competitions are a great way to encourage people to ‘like’ your Facebook page, or ‘follow’ your Instagram account as consumers have an added incentive of winning something. Hosting regular competitions will also help to increase your engagement rate, by encouraging comments and shares – all things that put your brand’s social media content in front of more people.
- Use the power of hashtags:
Hashtags are used for a good reason – they allow consumers interested in your business’s content, products and services to find you. The trick? Ensure you post at least 11 – 20 hashtags on every post and pick popular hashtags that potential followers could be searching. If you’re unsure where to search, try browsing through posts containing a hashtag you’re already having success with. Look to see if there is a trend of any other hashtags you could use and start using them!
- Post great content:
Along with influencer marketing, competitions and using the correct hashtags, it’s important to also post great content so that your new and existing followers want to stay connected to your business and engage with it on social media. To do this, ensure you are posting unique high-quality content that is suitable to your channels and do this on a regular basis. High-quality content could include original images, videos, flatlays and quotes that are relevant to your business and that provide value to your consumer.
Do you need help growing your social media following? Here at Melbourne Social Co, we are experts at growing your social media platforms and keeping your audience engaged with unique and high-quality content.
Contact us today to find out more about the services we offer e: [email protected] – P: 1300 386 165.
The rise of video marketing
If there’s one social media trend your business needs to tap into in 2017 it’s video marketing! From Facebook Live, Instagram stories to the cute and quirky Boomerangs on our Instagram feeds, the options on how to engage with your consumer on social media with video content are endless.
Ready to start including video in your digital marketing strategy? Read on below for more insight into how video content will lead the way this year:
Facebook Live:
Facebook Live is a great way to captivate your audience, create an engaging conversation with your followers and connect with them instantly. Facebook Live gives you a range of options to market to your customers, from demonstrating a product or service, answering FAQs or showcasing some great behind the scenes content. The trick? Prepare in advance, you only get one shot at going live!
It’s all about the stories:
From Snapchat to Instagram stories, businesses now have the opportunity to continue to give their customers updates on their business in ‘real time’ with content that only last 24 hours. These stories are a great way to showcase some engaging behind the scenes content including the day-to-day running of your business or an event or photoshoot. As the stories aren’t permanent, you can be as ‘real’ as you like and don’t have to focus on aesthetically perfect imagery, rather on uploading content that keeps your fans interested.
The power of multiple platforms:
Perhaps one of the best things about video content for businesses is that you can share it across all of your social media platforms! Recent statistics have shown that 85% of adults aged 18-49 use multiple devices at the same time, meaning you have the opportunity to share your video content to someone on your YouTube channel, who is also scrolling through their Instagram feed and checking Facebook all at the same time!
And the best part? Your consumers want to watch it:
There’s a reason video content is becoming so popular, and that’s because your consumers actually want to watch the content. Four times as many consumers would prefer to watch a video about a product than to read about it, which means your consumer is already open to looking at your content, you just have to captivate them!
Are you ready to start including video content into your social media marketing plan this year? Contact your team of content creators at Melbourne Social Co today.
e: [email protected] – P: 1300 386 165
Running an effective social media competition
Running social media competitions are a great way to increase engagement on your channels and get your consumers actively involved in your business!
By asking your audience to participate in a contest or competition, you help to drive brand awareness and grow your followers while providing a little something extra for your fans that we know they will love!
Are you wondering where to start? Here are our top tops for running an effective social media competition:
Know your objectives:
In order to determine the success of your competition, it’s important to know what your objectives are in the first place. Common objectives could be to increase your followers, grow your email marketing database or increase brand awareness.
These objectives will help you to determine the right call-to-action to include in your competition so you can get the results you’re after!
Be aware of the rules:
Facebook in particular has some strict rules when it comes to hosting a competition on its social media platform, so it’s vital to know the guidelines before starting.
Rules to note include ensuring you don’t ask people to “share” the competition on their timeline, citing T&Cs in the post and acknowledging that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
You can view the full list of rules here.
Create engaging artwork:
There’s no denying that all our favourite social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram are crowded with competitions and posts from many other brands and businesses, so to really make your competition stand out from the crowd, you need some engaging and creative artwork. Bold text and an enticing image will go a long way in encouraging people to participate!
Keep it simple:
People are busy and time poor, so it’s best to make the entry requirements for your competition as easy as possible. Simple things like asking them to “like” the post and comment why they want to win are easy ways to increase the number of entrants.
Add an advertising budget:
Now that you’ve put in all the hard work in creating a great competition concept and accompanying artwork – it’s time to make sure people see it! Boosting your competition post with a Facebook and Instagram advertising budget can significantly grow the post’s reach so more people can enter!
Do you need help coming up with engaging content on your social media channels? Here at Melbourne Social Co we are the experts! Call us today to find out more about our services or visit our website.
e: [email protected] – P: 1300 386 165
How To Make Your Social Media Content Go Viral
It’s the dream for all marketers (and business owners) to make your social media content go viral… There’s something exciting about getting your content in front of thousands of people around the world, in turn growing your social media engagement, following and driving leads.
Unfortunately, there's no exact science to creating those highly clickable posts that go from zero to a thousand views in under 5 minutes. However, there are some things you can do to give your content a fighting chance out there in the wide world of social media!
What are they? If you want your social media content to generate as much buzz around the globe as the recent break-up of celebrity favourites Brangelina, read on for our top tips.
Speak to your audience:
Great content is born out of comprehensive social media strategy, that defines your messaging, tone of voice and importantly, your target audience. When planning your content, you shouldn't necessarily be thinking about how to get it in front of everyone - it’s all about getting it in front of the right people! To do this, you must define who your audience is, what their interests are, and create content that will really speak to them. The more engaged your audience is, the more likely it is that your content will be shared.
Encourage User Generated Content:
One of the most effective ways to get your audience engaged is by encouraging them to participate in creating user generated content. By asking consumers to actively participate and engage in your marketing campaigns, you'll generate buzz and take your social media campaign to new levels. But beware - followers are notoriously lazy today, and will only engage in user generated content campaigns if there's an incentive in it for them. Think free product samples, educational ebooks, access to exclusive content and so on.
The more user generated content being created around your brand and marketing campaigns, the greater the reach of your campaign, plus you will seriously enjoy some of the great content your consumers come up with!
Make an emotional connection:
When crafting social media content, don't forget, the most effective posts are the ones that make your audience feel something. Whether it’s joy, sadness, happiness, trust or fear, (although we wouldn't necessarily recommend scaring your audience!) capturing the emotions of your target audience will increase the potential for your content to be shared and liked by many around the globe… Much like the recent news of the Brangelina break-up!
Tap into trends:
Every day there are new trending topics that millions of people around the globe are sharing, commenting and engaging with. A great way to increase the chances of your content going viral is by tapping into these trending topics and leveraging them in your businesses social media content. This includes using trending hashtags as well.
Do you need help creating social media content that can generate some serious buzz?
Get in touch with your digital marketing experts Melbourne Social Co today!
e: [email protected] – P: 1300 386 165
5 Reasons Why Your Social Media Marketing Isn’t Working
As we all know, social media marketing is an essential part of any business marketing strategy, as it’s a great way to connect with your consumers, increase brand awareness, drive sales and a whole lot more!
However, implementing social media for business takes time and effort and requires a strategy to ensure you engage your audience, build a following and direct the right people to purchase your product or service.
If your social media marketing has been a little lacklustre lately, here are 5 reasons why it may not be working:
You’re not consistent:
One of the biggest downfalls of social media marketing is not being consistent enough across all existing social media channels. Whether you’re too busy to post regularly, or your content and tone of voice isn't consistent across platforms and the rest of your branding, your social media will suffer. Consistency is required to develop trust, engage your consumer and get results! This can be done with an experienced social media manager who can create engaging content on a consistent basis and distribute it at optimal times.
You’re posting overly promotional content:
We get it! You love your business and you want the world to know about your amazing product or service, but unfortunately not everyone wants to engage in your promotional content all the time. That’s why it’s best to scale back on your promotional content and introduce content that engages and entices your audience into your communications strategy. A great question to ask yourself before posting is, “would my audience find this interesting?” Here at Melbourne Social Co we feel that if you offer your audience engaging content that adds values to their daily lives, they're going to be more likely to follow and trust your brand, and consume your sales message when you do post it.
You’re not on the right networks for your target audience:
Too often businesses think that they need to be across all social media platforms to be effective. However here at Melbourne Social Co, we believe it’s important to choose the right channels (even if it’s one or two) and to do them really well!
A digital marketing expert (like us) can help narrow down your target audience and recommend the best channels to reach that audience so you can get the best results.
You don’t have an advertising budget:
If you’ve created some amazing content but no one is engaging in it or your reach is really low, then you may need to think about your advertising budget. Recent studies have shown that only 3-6% of your audience will see your content on Facebook so it’s more important than ever to invest in advertising to get your content in front of the right people! Facebook and Instagram advertising is a low-cost advertising option that will really make a difference to your social media marketing.
You don’t have a point of difference:
The internet is flooded with businesses just like yours, so it’s vital to determine a point of difference across all of your digital marketing content. Points of difference could be beautiful imagery, unique aspirational quotes, captivating videos… the options are endless! Let your high-quality and engaging social media content separate you from the crowd.
Are you struggling to cut-through with your social media marketing? Or are you having difficulty creating consistent high quality content that engages with your target audience?
Get in touch with your digital marketing experts at Melbourne Social Co today.
e: [email protected] – P: 1300 386 165
Want to learn how to put together your own professional social media strategy?
Take our Social Co Academy Short Course
3 Steps To Facebook Success
3 things to do to make your Facebook posts visible to your audience
Thanks to Facebook’s regularly changing algorithms, reaching your customers organically on the social media platform has never been more difficult.
Recent studies have suggested that approximately only 3% - 6% of your total fans view your posts, which means it’s vital to start implementing some key tactics to increase your reach and to get your Facebook content in front of more people.
Wondering how? Here are three things to try today...
Boost your posts:
One of the best ways to increase your reach and make your content visible to more people is through boosting. A boosted post is a post from your business page that, for a fee, can appear higher up on your audience’s News Feeds. The amount of people who view and engage with your post depends on the budget you want to spend.
Boosting posts is a great way to ensure that the right audience can view your Facebook page content as you can utilise key demographic targeting options including age, location, gender and interests as well as tailored budget and scheduling functions.
Post content your audience wants to see:
Another great way to make your Facebook content visible to your audience is to post content your audience wants to see, not just what you want to show them! This is important as the more people engage with your content, the greater the reach. To do this, think about who your target audience is and post content that is a mix of business promotion and general interest content you know they will respond to and engage with.
Choose the right timing:
Choosing the right timing for your social media posts should be a vital part of your social media strategy! You’ll be amazed at the difference you get by posting content at optimal times. To do this, ensure you understand your demographic and their social media habits so you can post when they are active online in order to optimise engagement.
Are you struggling to engage and reach your audience on Facebook? Do you need help creating amazing content that your audience can connect with? Get in touch with your digital marketing experts here at Melbourne Social Co today.
e: [email protected] – p: 1300 386 165
Content Marketing For Business
Here at Melbourne Social Co, we are big believers in the importance of content marketing for businesses. Why? It helps to increase SEO, it builds brand awareness and provides extra value to your consumer.
Are you ready to start using content marketing for your business? We've listed the key reasons why you should…
It increases SEO:
If you want to increase your website’s SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) then high-quality and search-friendly content is a must. This content should be unique and original and should include relevant keywords which will boost your ranking on Google, so you can continue to attract more visitors.
It provides value to your audience:
As consumers become more and more savvy, it’s important that you give your brand a point of difference, and offer something via your digital strategy that will add value to your consumers' daily life, encouraging them to keep coming back for more. This is where content marketing comes into play. Think of engaging blogs, eye-catching imagery and emails filled with tips and tricks as ways to entice your consumer to stay engaged with your business.
It helps to build brand awareness:
Content marketing is all about creating and distributing relevant content to attract and increase your consumer engagement. This increase in consumer engagement means more people are listening and connecting with your business and in turn are more likely to buy your product or your service. Types of content marketing you could use to increase your brand awareness include blogs and email marketing, which help to capture the attention of your consumer, increase brand awareness, provide value, generate sales and increase SEO! Sounds perfect right?!
Are you ready to take the next step and build your business’s content marketing? From website content, to blogs, engaging imagery, email marketing and creative copy for your social media channels, Melbourne Social Co does it all.
Get in touch with us to find out how we can help your business today.
Want to learn how to get that great content of yours 'out there'?
Take our Social Co Academy short online course.
Choosing The Right Social Media Platforms For Your Business
Most businesses today understand the importance of social media marketing, however determining which platforms are right for your business can be hard.
With everything from Twitter, Facebook to Snapchat and LinkedIn, each social media platform plays a different but integral part when it comes to your social media strategy.
So if you’re having trouble deciding on the right platforms to choose to grow your business and engage your audience, read on below for our top tips.
Determine your purpose and goals:
In order to figure out which are the best platforms to use, you have to determine what your purpose and goals on social media are. For example if your goal is to network and connect with potential clients or companies for business, then LinkedIn is great. If you would like to portray a creative and visual side of your business then Pinterest and Instagram are a must.
Identify your target audience:
The best part about social media is that you have the chance to engage one-on-one with your target audience through unique content and conversation. However, there’s no point posting content that your target audience won’t see because they don’t use that platform. That’s why it’s vital to determine who they are, what their interests are, and what platforms they use the most, so you know you will reach them.
Highlight the best parts of your business:
What is your business really about? Does it have a visual and creative product to sell, or it is more service driven? Keeping that in mind, think of the best platforms that will portray these key qualities and unique selling points of your business. By identifying your business’s strengths, you will be able to choose the best platform (as well as start to create a content strategy based on these key features.)
A few key questions to ask:
- What is the unique purpose of this social media platform?
- Will using it showcase the best parts of my business?
- Is my target audience on this platform?
Are you just getting started on social media and need some help choosing the right platforms? Or are you an established business needing to improve your current social media marketing strategy?
Melbourne Social Co has a team of experienced social media professionals ready to grow your business through digital marketing today.
Get in touch for more information: [email protected]