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
The Importance of Email Marketing for Businesses
Now that the new year is upon us, it's time to make a resolution to add email marketing into your marketing strategy to generate some serious results for your business in 2016.
Email marketing has countless benefits and is one of the most effective ways to reach your consumer, giving you the chance to share news, promotions or updates and continue to stay in the minds of potential buyers.
Not convinced? Here are a few reasons why email marketing is vital for businesses:
Opportunity to share updates, promotions and news about your business:
This is one of the biggest benefits of email marketing for businesses as it allows you to share updates on your company as well as special promotions or news about your business in an engaging and permissible way. Consumers are more willing to open emails and to listen to your marketing message than many other traditional advertising and marketing mediums and with a great call-to-action can result in sales.
Tailored ways to target your audience:
Many email marketing platforms like MailChimp allow you to send different messages to various demographics in your database to get the most effective results possible. This is vital to ensure your marketing message resonates with the right people so they will continue to be engaged and responsive to your business.
Generate sales:
If you want people to purchase products from your sale, sign-up to your services or join in on a competition (and any other marketing message you are after), email marketing is key. And the best part? Templates are mobile friendly which is where most of your consumers will be opening them, so they can simply click on the content and links and be directed to your website or social media pages for seamless sales. According to a study by ExactTarget, 77% of consumers prefer to receive permission-based marketing communications through email, which means they are ready and waiting to hear your message.
Want to learn more about why email marketing is right for your business and how to leverage it to transform the way you market to your consumer?
Get in touch today e: info@staging.project-progress.net
3 Reasons Social Media is Vital for Small Business
So you have a small business and need to increase your business awareness and get people buying your products or services? Look no further than social media marketing.
Social media is a popular low-cost digital marketing tool, that allows you to not only present your business/product and services to a huge online community but gives you the opportunity to connect with your consumer to develop lasting relationships that will have an undeniable effect on your businesses growth and success.
Read on below for 3 reasons social media is vital for small businesses.
Increase brand awareness
One of the most important benefits of social media for small business, is its ability to increase brand awareness reaching a large number of people at a relatively low-cost compared to traditional advertising methods. A recent study has reported that 78 percent of small businesses attract new customers through social media. But you don’t have to be on all social media channels at once! Here at Melbourne Social Co, we are big believers in choosing platforms that are right for you and your business for the best results.
Legitimises your brand/business
You know your product or service is great, but how else will people know it? Going hand in hand with increasing brand awareness, having social media networks makes your business real.
When people search for a particular product or industry, they typically go to their social media networks to find out more about the business and to get a feel for their brand personality, style and what they offer. Having social media is extremely beneficial for your business’s SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) as well, as it increases your Google ranking so people can find your business on Google faster.
Develop a relationship with your consumer
You want your business to last, and there’s no better way to do that then by developing a long-term lasting relationship with your consumer. Luckily thanks to social media this two-way interaction is easier than ever, as you can like, comment and share content from your followers and encourage them to do the same about your business. This means they are actively involved in your business and are more likely to develop brand loyalty.
Are you a small business owner and are not sure where to get started on social media? Luckily here at Melbourne Social Co we are experts are developing social media content and strategies to build your business from the ground up.
Get in touch today to find out more about our social media management services - info@staging.project-progress.net
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.
Contact us for more information.
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.
Contact us for more information: info@staging.project-progress.net
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.
Read more about the top tricks below:
Select the best lighting:
Selecting the best lighting is the number one rule and trust us, it really makes a difference. Natural lighting is your best option, so make sure you choose your table next to a window for a natural light that isn’t too harsh.
Find a table with pretty props:
While gorgeous latte art stands out by itself, surrounding your focal point with pretty props can instantly make your Instagram picture look amazing. Pick a café that has flowers or candles on the table if possible, otherwise simple wooden tables, marble benches or white tablecloths also create a great contrast. If there are none present, a designer bag or pair of sunglasses are always a great addition. When choosing a prop however, make sure your breakfast or coffee is still at the centre of the image or to the left or the right without having any unnecessary props taking over the shot. Centred images are great for beginners, as they always look neat.
Choose the right angle:
Along with choosing great lighting, picking the right angle is essential. While we don’t recommend standing on the chairs, don’t be afraid to stand up to get the best shot, as food and drink looks best when shot above or on the side. Everyone does it!
Do you need someone to take these professional Instagram images without you having to embarrass yourself? Lucky for you, here at Melbourne Social Co we are experts (at both). We have a series of social media and content creation packages available for any business.
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
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.
Contact us for more information: info@staging.project-progress.net
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 – info@staging.project-progress.net
Want to get a feel for our style? Follow us on Instagram @melbournesocialco