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 - [email protected] 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!
The difference between Paid and Earned Media
If you own a brand or business, it’s likely (we hope) that you’ve ventured into the world of social media to advertise it. All the while, you’ve probably been exposed to ‘paid media’ and ‘earned media’, while having limited understanding of what these terms mean.
To help you understand how ‘paid media’ and ‘earned media’ impact your digital marketing strategy, we’ve decided to break down and compare these two terms. Wondering what they mean? Read on below:
Paid Media:
Paid media can be considered the more traditional form of advertising – that is, as conventional as it can be when it comes to digital marketing. Paid media involves paying social media platforms to advertise your brand in the form of sponsored and targeted ads. More specifically, the channel is able to target specific groups that will be interested in your brand.
Paid media and social media are a match made in marketing heaven. The use of user data and analytics by social media platforms means that these channels are able to effectively target your audience in ways that traditional paid media can’t. Paid media also allows you to reach your audience in ways that you cannot achieve independently, and provides you with accurate and easy ways to measure your impact.
We all know that you get what you pay for, so if you’re looking for unmatched reach and control, paid media should be a vital element of your digital marketing strategy.
Earned Media:
Earned media refers to the publicity gained through engagement from your audience. The people who engage with your brand are given a microphone, which provides you with free publicity in the form of comments, likes, shares, reviews and mentions.
This may seem like a daunting prospect for all of you out there striving to put your brand on the radar, but rest assured knowing that earned media is reflective of the quality of your brand.
Earned media allows your brand's exposure to grow beyond the traditional boundaries of advertising, and have its voice wedged into every nook and cranny of the social media platforms it inhabits. With this being said, earned media simply can't operate on its own - consumers responsible for the creation of earned media need to react to paid and earned media.
What makes earned media attractive for brands and businesses is that it’s completely free. However, the payment that you make for earned media is the inability to control it and measure its effectiveness. Although this prospect is daunting, if your brand continually produces well-curated content, earned media will most likely reflect the same quality.
And the winner is...
Paid media and earned media are two sides of the same stone; one is unable to exist without the other. On one hand, paid media provides excellent targeting and control. On the other, earned media allows your brand to gain exposure in new and unconventional areas of social media, and enter the consciousness of the consumer from a peer perspective. Each format functions most effectively when the other is also in use. Therefore, to perfect your digital marketing mix, it’s best to include both paid and earned media.
Do you need help shaping a social media strategy or managing your social media accounts? Here at Melbourne Social Co we have an expert team of social media specialists ready to help your business!
Get in touch with us today by sending us an email at [email protected] or calling us on: 1300 386 165.
Melbourne Social Co's tips to create a happier and more exciting workplace!
Here at Melbourne Social Co we've put together our top tips to create a happier and more exciting workplace!
Don’t put up with a dull workplace that stifles your creativity, considering how much time we spend at work each week. A happy and exciting workplace is important to boost productivity and workplace pleasure.
Inspirational quotes and messages
Why not surround yourself with words that inspire and motivate you to do your best. The workplace can get a little dull so adding anything that stimulates employees and pushes them to be their best is a great way to improve and strengthen a workplace. Check out some of our fave inspo quotes here at Melbourne Social Co.
Desk plants and flowers
Bring some Zen to the office! Here at Melbourne Social Co we love adding some gorgeous greenery or fresh blooms to the workplace. It's good for the soul and the mind. Studies have shown that plants can boost office productivity and happiness, so why not brighten up the workplace!
Personalise your workspace
Your workplace is essentially your second home; with the amount of time spent at work it should reflect you! Add some personal touches to your workspace to make yourself more comfortable and at home.
Get an office mug that will make your day, everyday
Stop using the generic workplace provided mugs and get yourself a mug that’ll make you smile! Even something as small as having groovy mug can improve your mood at work and in turn will help to create a happier workplace.
De-clutter
Clutter creates stress, and there is no place for unnecessary stress in the workplace. Do yourself a favour and remove the clutter and mess from your workplace to ensure you can be as efficient as possible!
Want to chat to our team about your digital strategy? Or would you like to learn more about careers at Melbourne Social Co?
Get in touch today!
Is bigger better when it comes to a marketing agency?
Do you believe boutique agencies create more authentic relationships with clients? If so, why?
Absolutely! One of the major perks of business’s working with a boutique agency is that you get a much more personalised experience with our Account Managers as we have a manageable client base so we can really dedicate our time and energy to each and every one of our clients.
At Melbourne Social Co, we pride ourselves on the close relationships we have with our clients – we want them to feel like we are just an extension of their team! This kind of relationship helps us to do our best work, as we’re always communicating with our clients we get to know their business inside out so we can produce content that hits their targets and that we know they’ll love!
Is bigger better when it comes to a marketing agency?
Not at all. In fact, I think it’s very much the opposite.
Working with a boutique agency has many benefits from offering a more personalised service that can be tailored to individual clients and their needs (no more one size fits all packages!), to being more cost effective. We also have an ‘all hands on deck’ approach, which allows senior members of our team to oversee all accounts big and small and lend their input and expertise.
What’s your opinion on boutique agency, versus, one in house employee?
Working with a boutique agency is great way to get the skills of 5 or so people, for the price that’s usually equal or less than a full-time junior employee’s annual salary. When we work on our client’s accounts, we combine the skills of our content creators, copywriters, community managers, Facebook ad experts and account managers so we always have an expert working on the different elements of our client’s campaigns. It’s rare to find an employee who is an expert in all of those areas!
In recent times, larger, more traditional marketing agencies have been seen to use identical and standard marketing approaches. Do you believe that boutique agencies offer a more innovative and unique approach?
Without the confines of a larger agency, a boutique agency can remove the red tape, so we can get creative, try new and interesting ideas without having to get sign-off from various senior staff or board members. This means we can produce out-of-the-box content for our clients that is different to all the other digital marketing content and strategies on the market. This is the best way to get your business to stand out from the rest and get some serious results!
What flexibility does a boutique marketing agency offer?
A whole lot! From our packages (we tailor them to suit you!), to deadlines, to your entire digital marketing strategy. We get that your business is different from any other, and we work with you to offer you a digital marketing service that best works for you.
Do you believe that boutique agencies offer a more streamlined and responsive approach?
Certainly. As we are juggling a lesser client base and have account managers dedicated to managing only a handful of clients at a time, we are always flexible and super responsive to our clients wants and needs.
What is your favourite part of working at a boutique marketing agency?
Our clients are so varied! We have the opportunity to work with clients big, medium and small so each client and each campaign is totally different. Keeps things interesting!
Want to pencil in some time with Rebekah and the rest of our team to chat about your creative requirements? Contact us today to schedule in a session with our team.
The importance of consistency on Social Media
The most successful brands on social media make sure their brands are consistent and professional at all times. This week we’re chatting to our Digital Marketing Specialist, Sam Gray to get her insight into the importance of consistency on social media.
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Is it necessary to be active on all social media platforms?
Not necessarily – it’s important to establish your target audience before you start your social media strategy.
If your target audience isn’t on a particular platform, then it’s probably more beneficial to concentrate your energy and resources into a few key platforms instead of trying to master them all.
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Tell us a few social media faux pas that affect the consistency of a brand’s online presence.
It can be easy to get caught up in regramming photos that people have taken of your product or at your venue. Everyone has their own unique flare and social media persona, so regramming too often can confuse your own theme and social media identity.
Try not to go too crazy with the filters either! Just tweaking your photos by up-ing their brightness and sharpness is all you need to do to prep them to go live on your account.
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How important is regular posting?
A regular posting schedule is super important to maintain and build engagement rates.
Delving into your stats will help you decipher which days and times are best for you to post so you can establish a consistent posting schedule.
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Stock images or original content? What is better for consistency?
Creating original content is the best way to maintain consistency across your social feed. If you struggle to consistently develop original content, using stock quote templates is a good way to keep up with your posting schedule, while giving you a break to get your creative juices flowing again!
What elements make for visual consistency across social media?
There’s a few elements you can implement into your social strategy to create a consistent aesthetic. Here’s a few things to consider when establishing your visual identity:
- Colour story and style guide, including key fonts and preferred colours
- Photography style
- Scheduling patterns e.g. posting a quote, flatlay then product image to keep your feed in a strict grid
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Do you think tone and personality in text play a large role in keeping your socials consistent?
100%! Whether it’s short and snappy, full of colloquial language and slang or product focused – your copy should always stay consistent and true to your brand’s identity.
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What links are there, if any, between engagement and consistency on social media?
It’s all about consistency! It’s important that your audience is able to identify your content, without seeing your handle! Consistency in copy, content and scheduling should be the main pillars of your social media strategy. If your audience starts to recognise and love your content, engagement will follow!
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Quantity or quality when it comes to your social media profile?
I would say quality over quantity! If you can only manage to get a few posts up a week, make sure that they’re great posts – look at when your audience is most likely to be online and try to get them out on these days every week to help your engagement rate grow.
Want to chat to a member of our team about your digital strategy? Contact us today.
Should you make your Instagram feed shoppable?
Consumers have shorter attention spans than ever, so discovering a way to streamline the shopping experience from inspiration through to purchase was crucial. Without further ado, it’s time to introduce the shoppable Instagram feed!
Have you seen those posts on Instagram with a little shopping bag logo in the corner? Those posts are what we call ‘shoppable’ posts, meaning if someone taps the image, a product name and price will pop up, allowing the user to purchase the product.
Originally, shopping on Instagram was only available to businesses in the United States, but it has since expanded internationally with businesses in over 44 countries now being able to utilise the feature.
Many big-name brands have made their Instagram feeds shoppable, in order to connect with customers in a fresh, more immersive way. The shopping on Instagram feature encourages customers to follow through with their intended purchase. Many shoppers will abandon the shopping pursuit if it’s too difficult. For example, a customer sees a pair of pants on an Instagram feed and heads to the link in bio to shop it. They’re taken to the main website and have to sort through hundreds of pairs of pants. Unless they’ve fallen head over heels for the pants, they’ll most likely abandon the shop and look elsewhere. Sad face.
So, a shoppable Instagram essentials tries to prevent this from happening by making the shopping experience seamless. By tagging products in posts, you’re allowing consumers to complete the entire buyer journey from discovery to checkout, without ever leaving the Instagram app!Talk about a one stop shop!
If you have quite a large inventory with an extensive range of products, we’d strongly recommend creating a shoppable feed. This way, consumers can simply shop the look they love straight from Instagram rather than having to look through a website.
If you have a smaller stock offering, it’s completely up to you whether you want to adopt a shoppable feed or not. We definitely wouldn’t discourage the idea but go with whatever you feel comfortable with!
Still not sure whether a shoppable feed is a good fit for you and your business? Why not pencil in a chat with our team to discuss your Instagram strategy.
Want help creating the visuals for your Instagram feed? Read more here.
Top tips for successful influencer collaborations - by an Influencer
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a technological rock (assuming one without wifi), you’ve probably heard a little about social media ‘influencers’ and the benefits that follow from collaborating with them to help endorse a particular product or service. This new avenue for content creation and distribution has been a blessing for advertising and marketing businesses, making for a unique, timely and cost effective service available to clients.
This week we're chatting to our Senior Content Creator Alice Honey about the in's and out's of influencer outreach.
As a Senior Content Creator and ‘Micro Influencer’, I find myself on both sides of the equation when it comes to understanding the logistics behind what it takes to facilitate successful influencer collaborations. Here are a few tops tips, consisting of what I consider the most important factors to be considered by an agency or business when embarking into the world of digital collaboration with influencers and online personalities.
Pick the right influencers for your brand:
Whether you’re outsourcing for a client or your own business, it’s extremely important to consider what it is you hope to achieve from your influencer collaboration. Be sure to pick an individual to work with that you feel can meet your expectations. It’s essential to consider the visual style of the influencer and whether your product or service is something their online presence/brand would convincingly align with. Managing yours or your clients expectations by reaching out to well considered individuals sets you up for success.
Make the brief clear:
Once you’ve reached out to an influencer who is willing to work with your particular product or service, write a clear and concise brief that outlines your expectations of the work they produce (if any). This can be short and sweet, or in-depth depending on the size of the project. The more detail you can provide, the easier it will be for an influencer to work with your product and reduces the risk of receiving undesirable content for your brand. Creating a seamless brand-influencer relationship can open up future opportunities between both parties and create a sense of loyalty to your brand or client.
Pay for your collaboration:
I would strongly recommend considering adequate remuneration for an influencer’s time and work, in order to get the most of out the collaboration. By paying an individual for their content creation services, you are able to be more specific as to your requirements/brief outline, and in return will receive more considered and high quality work from your influencer. A reasonable price for influencer services can usually be determined via contacting them or their management directly, however it is important to keep in mind that the more well-known or ‘influential’ they are, the higher their price will likely be.
There are always going to be variables when it comes to collaborating with digital influencers. Taking adequate steps and being professional, yet approachable is without a doubt the best way to make the most of your collaboration and solidify positive brand-consumer relationships.
Want more handy hints on influencer outreach? Read more here.
Watch Alice's top tips on how to get the perfect shot for Instagram here.
Instagram algorithm changes – a return to form?
In March, Instagram launched a fresh series of algorithm changes that aim to organise user feeds more chronologically. This change addresses criticism by users that feeds are regularly clogged up by old photos viewed hours ago, with new posts seemingly lost.
The shift will be a welcome change to users, who can now feel more confident that their posts will be seen by their followers in a timely fashion. However, these ‘changes’ aren’t really a huge shift, if anything they’re a return to form for the platform, who until 2016 arranged user feeds entirely chronologically.
If we had to organise social media platforms in terms of their user feeds, you could quite neatly divide most platforms into two camps. In one camp are platforms such as Facebook, who rely very heavily on algorithms to predict and arrange a user’s feed according to their activity and habits. In the other camp, real time platforms such as Twitter, who arrange their user feeds predominately chronologically and encourage news-based interaction and live tweeting.
Increasingly, Instagram isn’t very easily distinguishable into either camp. While the platform was founded on the principle of showing you and your friends’ personal snaps as they happen, the major shift in 2016 to an algorithm based feed mirrors its parent company Facebook. This latest ‘change’, best described as a ‘revision’ will hopefully strike an equilibrium by controlling what a user sees while keeping feeds fresh and timely.
The main takeaway from this latest round of changes? Expect to see more up to the minute posts, less photos from 2 days ago but a feed that is still arranged around your user habits. This minor tweaking of the Instagram feed is a timely reminder for businesses to evaluate their own social media strategies, and to explore the growing list of features Instagram now offer. At the top of the list is Instagram stories. Stories are a great way to reach users up to the minute, encouraging a series of posts throughout the day and lessening the dependence on the traditional feed to reach users.
Would you like to review your social media strategy or content plan? Get in touch today.
Why Instagram Stories are a must for business in 2018
Instagram Stories are a feature that Instagram introduced last year to fight off competition from Snapchat. The feature allows users to post photos and videos that vanish after 24 hours (unless you add them as a highlight on your profile, which stay there indefinitely). Instagram Stories are proving to be very effective in getting brand engagement for those who have embraced them already. So, what are you waiting for? Get insta story creating!
Fun facts:
- 250 million people use Instagram Stories daily
- Users spend 28 minutes more on Instagram now thanks to Stories
- 33% of the most popular stories are from businesses
- 20% of stories posted by businesses result in a direct message
Here are some ways to best utilise Instagram Stories for your business:
- A look behind the scenes
As a general rule, consumers love friendly, relatable brands. Stories is informal in nature, so use this to build a rapport with your followers. Show them the process of setting up a photoshoot, the planning that goes into an event or a product launch for instance.
- Gift unique offers
Try running ‘stories only’ competitions and putting discount codes up on Instagram Stories to build brand loyalty and reward those that check out all of your content. We all love a discount code or giveaway!
- Embrace geotagging and hashtags
Posts that feature one or more hashtags receive over 12% more engagement than those without and posts with a geotagged location get a whopping 79% more engagement. Another great benefit of adding tags to your posts is that you’ll get improved visibility as your post will be included in the Story ring for that area and hashtag. So, add in that hashtag and geotag location stat!
- Create polls
Adding a ‘poll’ sticker is a fabulous way to gather opinions from your followers and also get more engagement. The poll sticker allows you to ask your followers a question and customize the answers. E.g. What’s your favourite colour? Red or Green. Polls allow the audience to feel involved with the business and decision making. You get answers and they feel involved…win win!
Social media can be a confusing aspect of business for many people and that’s totally okay! If you think your business would benefit from a little help when it comes to Instagram and your other social channels, shoot us an email - we’d love to chat with you about your strategy!
How To Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
New Year, new you. How many times have you said that to yourself? Every year? Us too! So many of us set unrealistic resolutions each year and end up breaking them. The key to setting reasonable New Year’s resolutions that you won’t break is to make them measurable and achievable. We’ll leave your personal resolutions up to you, but to help you get on track for a more productive year at work, here are some of our top productivity tips!
- Address must-do’s first
Have you ever put of a big project in favour of smaller, less critical ones? We’re all guilty! Although you may get the smaller tasks done faster, you could find yourself running out of time to complete the big project. So, to ensure they get done on time, always work on the more important projects at the start of the day. Your future self with thank you.
- Take breaks
Try to figure out when your productivity begins to drain and take a break. Go for a walk around the block, grab a drink or snack. When you sit back at your desk, you’ll feel more alive and ready to tackle your to-do list. Also, taking time out of each day for a bit of mindfulness will do wonders for your productivity.
- Stop multitasking
It’s a myth, okay. We all think it’s possible but really it’s not. Instead of jumping between multiple tasks at once, commit your focus to one task at a time. You’ll be surprised how much faster you get them all done simply by tackling one project at a time.
- Schedule email time and turn off notifications
These are two infamous concentration breakers. Having a set time to check emails means you aren’t getting distracted throughout the day. Set aside time in the morning and afternoon to read through and respond to emails. As for notifications, turn off the insignificant ones to allow yourself to focus on the job at hand. Nothing is more distracting than a snapchat notification popping up on your phone!
- Know when it’s time to delegate and outsource
Many business owners think they can tackle everything on their own, and this is when they become overloaded and overworked. Learning which projects and tasks can be outsourced and which ones require your input is a skill. By outsourcing jobs to other professionals, you’re freeing up your time to focus on more important jobs.
Here’s to a greater, more productive work year for you and your team!
If you find your workload increasing and think you may need to outsource, whether it be with content creation, branding and strategy, or community management, our team is here to help! Shoot us an email to book a consultation.
