The anatomy of a great website
Whether you are a startup company or are in need of a business refresh, an important component of any digital marketing strategy is a great website.
Why? Essentially, all content marketing strategies begin with a website. This is where you host important info about your brand, and create content to share across your social media channels.
Having a great website will not only optimise leads and increase enquiries for your brand, it will also engage your potential consumers and encourage them to revisit your site time and time again.
Unsure what your website needs? Read on below for the anatomy of a great website.
It’s easy to navigate:
Approximately 55% of consumers spend around 15 seconds on a website which means you need to be able to captivate them instantly and not lose them amongst menus that are difficult to navigate, unnecessary visuals or information. The key to a great website is to have a straightforward and succinct menu, so when your consumer lands on your website they know exactly what to click on to find what they are after.
It’s responsive:
If there’s one thing that you must do when fixing up your existing website or creating a new design it’s to ensure your website is responsive and mobile friendly! More than 60% of people browse the internet on their mobiles and tablets now, so it’s vital to ensure your mobile site looks great and works well. That includes ensuring it fits nicely on the screen, is engaging, captivating, has social sharing buttons, easy navigation and everything else required for a great website.
Great content:
So you’ve got people to your website (congrats!) now you have to keep them there! That’s where great content is invaluable as it helps to keep people on your site longer as you have something engaging and useful for them to read, watch or connect with. Great content includes about pages, information on landing pages including product and service descriptions and of course a great blog. A blog is one of the most powerful ways to captivate your consumer, generate sales and increase SEO.
Social Networks:
Now that you’ve got all of the above essentials it’s time to make sure your website and its content can be shared easily on social media networks and that visitors know where to find you on social media so that they can follow along. Why not put sharing buttons above all images and include visible social media icons on your website so consumers can join your online community.
Is your business in need of a new website? Whether you are starting from scratch or are wanting to update your current site, get in touch with Melbourne Social Co today and we can create the perfect website and content to suit your business.
e: info@staging.project-progress.net
Social Media Etiquette Basics
When using social media for your business there are some key rules to follow to ensure that you always represent your brand in the best way possible when interacting online.
Don't know your social media etiquette basics? Here are a few things to remember before you hit publish.
Fill out your online profiles completely:
There’s nothing worse than viewing a social media account with incomplete information about a business. Ensure you always include 'about us' info, a link to your website, contact information, and opening/closing hours if relevant.
Share information that is of value to your audience and always keep your target audience in mind:
When posting on social media, sometimes it can be easy to forget who you are actually talking to online. That’s why before you hit publish, it’s a good idea to ask yourself would my target audience be interested in this? Will this content be of value to them?
Don’t over share:
Finding time to post on social media when you don’t have a professional social media account manager can be hard and a lot of businesses fall into the trap of posting multiple things at once when they find a spare moment. This spams your audience, causing them to switch off from the content you are posting, or unfollow you. If you are having trouble finding time, or determining the perfect amount of posts to share on your social media accounts it’s best to chat to a professional social media manager who advise you on what might work best for your brand.
Check for spelling and grammatical errors:
It goes without saying! Plan your content in a word document or excel sheet beforehand to ensure you check for any mistakes.
Remember social media is public and permanent:
Before you post something for your business, remind yourself that there is the potential for everyone to see this content (including new clients or family members) so ensure it is respectful and professional and that it represents your business in the best way.
Communicate!
Social media is social after all right? Make sure you are active on social media throughout the day so you can respond to any messages or comments as they come. Fans (and potential customers) love it when you answer their questions or reply to their thoughts in a timely manner and it’s a great way to develop a two-way relationship with your customer.
Do you need help implementing the basic social media etiquette rules? Or are you struggling to find the time to manage your accounts professionally? Melbourne Social Co has an experienced team of digital marketers on hand to help your business stand out from the crowd online.
Get in touch today. info@staging.project-progress.net
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: info@staging.project-progress.net
Using PR To Grow Your Business
Public Relations is a vital component of any business communications strategy, as it helps to build brand awareness, develop lasting relationships with media, customers and key influencers and showcase your product or service in a new way.
By using a range of PR strategies including pitching for editorial coverage, hosting influencer events, sampling campaigns and distributing media kits, you can get your business ‘out there’ and in the minds of your target audience - leading to increased awareness for your brand.
Read on for 3 ways PR can help grow your business today:
Generate media coverage:
PR is a really great way to generate media coverage about your business and share your story to your target audience through high quality content.
From blogs, magazines, newspapers, TV and radio, the options are endless with ways journalists, bloggers and key influencers can promote your business in an engaging, refreshing and interesting way.
Recent studies have shown that PR is almost 90% more effective than traditional paid advertising, as consumers trust this form of media coverage as it comes from a third party source rather than the business itself.
Showcase your product in a different way:
Whether you choose to host a fun event or simply want to send out beautiful media packages (featuring your product and marketing material) to bloggers, journalists and more, PR gives you the opportunity to showcase your product or service in a new and creative way that helps you stand out from the crowd.
By stepping out of the box and getting creative with your PR strategies, you can increase brand awareness and develop lasting relationship with people that will help to grow your business.
Share your own story:
Perhaps one of the most powerful things about PR is that it gives your business a voice. Through the above-mentioned strategies like media coverage, media packages, events and a whole lot more – you have the chance to share your business story in a positive and respected way that people want to listen to.
By working with PR professionals like us here at Melbourne Social Co, we can help share the great things about your business to your target audience so your business can keep on growing!
Are you ready to use PR to grow and build your business? Get in touch with Melbourne Social Co today!
e: info@staging.project-progress.net – m: 0439 856 522
Instagram Fast Facts
Are you thinking about using Instagram for your business? If not, you should be – as one of the most active and engaged social media platforms world-wide, 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 huge audience looking for great images to like and share.
Not convinced? Here are some facts to consider:
- Instagram has 400 million active monthly users
- Instagram users have shared over 40 billion photos to date, and now share an average of 80 million photos per day
- 75 percent of Instagram users come from outside of the U.S, making it a truly global platform
- Instagram adoption is at 85 percent among top brands
- Top brands on Instagram are seeing a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21 percent
- Instagram’s per-follower engagement rate for top brands is 58 times higher than on Facebook and 120 times higher than on Twitter
Now that it’s permanently on your radar, why not start using Instagram for your business today!
Need help creating 'double tap' worthy 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!
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 – info@staging.project-progress.net
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
Stats via: www.instagram.com/press/
How To Build A Following On Pinterest
One of the biggest social media platforms right now, Pinterest, is an essential digital marketing tool for many businesses.
However, building a following can be hard, so it’s important to build a strategy and to implement some great techniques to amp up your Pinterest profile and to develop an engaged online community.
Read on below for tips on how to grow your following on Pinterest.
Create niche boards:
In order to stand out from the crowd on Pinterest, a great tip is to create niche boards with titles and images that are very specific. This means you have a better chance to be found and can be followed by a specific and more engaged target audience.
Post to your most popular boards:
Regardless if you are new to the Pinterest world, or an expert, if you continue to pin most of your content to your most popular boards you know you will get a great response. There’s a reason people love those boards and chances are others will continue to discover your content!
Use keywords:
Pinterest images with keywords rank highly when they are searched for on Google, so ensure that you caption all your images with keywords that describe your board, theme and business. This will not only help people find you on Google, but it will attract the right target audience to respond to your boards, pins and profile.
Advertise:
Coming soon to Australia, Pinterest advertising is the next big thing to help you grow and expand your Pinterest community. You can selected two main campaign objectives, including boosting engagement with your pins, or increasing traffic to your website. All campaigns allow you to personalise your budget and target audience and track your campaign.
Promote!
Don’t just leave your pinning to Pinterest. Promote your pinnable images on your website by adding a button that allows readers to pin your content straight from your site. Also adding in a follow section on your website, blog, email marketing and even sharing content on other social media networks will help to spread the word.
Have you got a Pinterest account that needs a boost or simply need some help getting started? Contact our expert team for some advice today.
The Power of Bloggers
One of the most powerful ways to get your brand or business noticed is to work with digital influencers (or bloggers.) Their reviews or shout-outs promoting your product and services will not only work to build trust and your reputation amongst consumers, it will also work to increase brand awareness and enhance your marketing strategy in a way you’ve never experienced before.
Thanks to their huge followings, devoted fans and worldwide reach, the opportunity to speak to new markets and spread the word about your business has never been easier.
Need more convincing? Here are a few more reasons to work with bloggers today!
They have a diverse following:
Thanks to the virtual world of social media, the boundaries of location and other demographic variables are no longer barriers to who you can and can’t connect with or market your brand to. Bloggers now have huge followings across the globe, which means they can spread the word about your brand to a far great audience than traditional advertising ever could.
People want to listen:
Blogs are in the top 3 most influential forms of marketing, which means that people look to bloggers and online influencers to authentically review brands and products. Consumers are keen to know what products their favourite bloggers love and are 32% more likely to buy that product or service over traditional marketing or advertising from a brand themselves.
They market your brand in a refreshing and creative way:
While you may have a certain style to your marketing promotions, have you ever thought about presenting your product or service in a different way? This could allow you to potentially reach a new audience or captivate an existing customer database with a refreshing new marketing message. Bloggers are great at doing this, as they use their talent and creativity to showcase, review and present your product or service in new ways you’ve never even thought of!
They build your online community:
By promoting your business to their diverse followers in an engaging and refreshing way, bloggers ultimately help you grow your online social media following and send traffic to your website by tagging your social media handles and linking to your site. That means a more active online community, increased brand awareness and sales! What more could you want?
Are you ready to increase your brand awareness, build your online community and reach new customers? It’s time to start working with bloggers.
Melbourne Social Co can help you get started. Get in touch today: info@staging.project-progress.net for more information.
5 Signs You’re Addicted To Social Media
Here at Melbourne Social Co we are big lovers of social media, however we understand that sometimes it can be a little hard to switch off.
If you are like us and are constantly glued to your phone, you might have a social media addiction! Read on below for 5 telltale signs.
- It’s the first thing you look at in the morning and the last thing you look at before you go to sleep:
One of the biggest signs you may be a little too dependent on social media is if you reach for your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter accounts before you even hop out of bed in the morning. This is equally as true if you scroll through your feeds before drifting off to sleep every night instead of reading a book or spending time with your partner and family.
- You check it constantly:
According to a study from the PRIA, 13 million Australians are spending 18 hours a day on social media and are logging on to check every five minutes! If you are nodding in agreement that this sounds a little like you (or are questioning how people even last five minutes) then maybe you need to scale it back a bit. Our tip? Allocate a few blocks throughout the day not to check your phone, including at meal times or when talking with friends and family.
- You post and share EVERYTHING:
We all have those friends and family members who take to Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat to post hourly updates on their lives. If this sounds like something you do – why not use that time updating your status to catch up with friends or family face-to-face to share your good news.
- It’s your first choice of recreation:
Have a spare few minutes in your day? Do you check social media? This is a big sign you love it a bit too much… Instead take use your precious spare time to read a book, go for a run or spend time with loved ones.
- You have trouble switching off:
Can you last a whole day or even a few hours without logging onto your favourite networks? If you can’t leave your phone in the other room for fear of missing a notification or new update than you are probably addicted.
- Switch off and let us take care of things for you
Okay by now you may have realised your way spending too much of your day on social media. Here at Melbourne Social Co, we understand the 'round-the-clock' pressures of managing a digital marketing campaign for your business, and are here to take some of the load off you! If you're after some advice, strategy or amazing digital marketing content for your business or personal brand, feel free to get in touch today.
Contact us: info@staging.project-progress.net
Social Media Terminology 101
Sometimes the world of digital marketing and social media can seem hard to understand, that’s why we thought we’d share with you some of the most commonly used terms in social media so you can start to get your head around this essential marketing tool.
Common social media marketing terminology:
SEO: Perhaps one of the most important terms for all businesses to know is SEO – which stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Search Engine Optimisation refers to implementing strategies and techniques to improve the quality of unpaid traffic to a website from search engines.
Hashtag: A hashtag is used to categorise content on social media platforms and make it searchable for consumers and audiences. An example could be #fashion.
Engagement Rate: Here at Melbourne Social Co we are big believers in measuring the engagement rate of your social media marketing content. But what does it mean? Engagement rate refers to the amount of times people have clicked, liked and shared your content on any given platform.
Facebook Advertising: Advertising on Facebook has quickly become a huge part of any business marketing strategy. It refers to paying to “boost” posts on Facebook so more people can see the content and engage, or to create banners or posts with varying objectives to target your consumer. Facebook advertising can be tailored to a range of demographic variables from location, age, gender and interests.
Re-tweet: This term comes from Twitter and happens when another account shares the tweet you have posted so that their followers can also see the content regardless if they are following you or not. Re-tweeting is a great way to make your twitter account and content visible.
Snapchat: Loved by millennials, Snapchat is a social media platform where you can send pictures or videos of your day-to-day life with a 10-second time limit to your choice of friends. You can send “stories”, which means all your friends can view the 10-second media for the next day or so, or send images directly to a person for a one-time only viewing.
Instagram: One of the most on-trend social media marketing platforms right now is Instagram, a great way to share images to your followers in a visual, creative and engaging way.
Pinterest: Commonly referred to as the new ‘Google’ of image searching, Pinterest is a way to create visual boards of images on various topics that have link backs to your business or personal website or other sites of interest.
GIF: GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, which means small-animated images that consumers love!
Handle: This term refers to the name of someone’s social media account. For example, our Instagram handle is @melbournesocialco.
Need help figuring out other social media lingo or social media in general? We have a range of packages and services available for your business, including content creation and distribution and social media 101 training.
Contact us: e: info@staging.project-progress.net
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.
e: info@staging.project-progress.net