The value of Social media for small business is priceless.

The year 2020 has made social media for small business absolutely essential. Due to the COVID 19 crisis almost seventy percent of small business owners are going through financial difficulties and constraints. Since the financial situation is tight social media can be a boon and lifeline to many.

Some of the enormous benefits of social media in 2021 for small business are:

a. Options of Customer service that brings you closer to your customers.

b. Free social media accounts allow you to have your brand being recognized at low cost.

c. Features like Facebook Groups or Facebook Events give you scope to have event promotions.

Some social media tips for small business.

1. Small businesses do have a tendency to discard social media at the drop of a hat as the executives fail to explain its value and are unable to assure results out of it. So quantifying the right parameters is a very important function in any organization. A company will always be interested in sales brought about by a post but not much in how many likes it secures.

However apart from sales there are other quantifiable parameters too. Engagement rates of other posts, how much traffic tour website garners through social media, certain typical engagements, say likes versus tweets for instance, can also be monitored. Each of these indicators gives information which is only valuable when it helps your business.

2. Your social media is a reflection of your personality. It’s also an extension of the tone and voice of your brand. It’s your style which attracts your followers and that’s why they prefer your commodities, wares and services and stay there too. Keeps this unique character shining through your posts and this typical image should be part of the guidelines of your branding.

3. Most people consider social media as the right platform for customer service and in brand loyalty. Customer service holds a very important place. The fact is that they look forward to your support through social media and are bound to either approve of or criticize your action. So go ahead and make this a noteworthy interaction.

Here, if you are interested we can help you to leverage your social platforms properly and effectively for your business in Melbourne.

4. There is no room for being casual regarding your presence in social media concerning small business. It doesn’t speak well of a brand which has inconsistent activity and presence there. However that does not imply that you have to be present in social media for 24 hours a day. Posts can be scheduled in advance, weeks ahead of time to be precise, so that your presence and activity appear consistent in these platforms.

Although we wish to assist you with your social media solutions concerning small businesses with respect to Melbourne market scenario, and that too anytime you need us, it’s important that we mention some steps that you should consider looking into.

What do you need to do?

A. There should be a plan.

Without any plan you cannot focus on what you are intending to achieve. Which means that you will have no idea about the returns on the investment you have made. So, any business strategy must have a good plan to start with. It’s true that social media tools can be used for free, however your effort and time are investments too.

You should also have goals which are achievable, precise, calculable and appropriate. They should be well-timed too.

Try to find out that how your competitors are using social media. Although you are not a copycat, learning from the activity of others is not a bad idea and helps in the long run.

Look at other businesses after you have found out about what your competitors are up to. You should be inspired from successful businesses across various industries. Now, where will you look for them? The business sections of most of the social network sites have them in adequate numbers.

B. Identify your audience.

It’s mandatory for you to have an idea about your audience, because only then you can target it and that’s one of the ways social media for small business is very effectively used.

Compile data on your present customers for a start. Then get more details with the help of social media analytics. Very soon you will have ideas about who all are buying from you and communicating online with you.

Once they are identified it will be easier for you successfully speak to them according to their buying characteristics and nature.

C. Have great relationships.

It’s improper to directly ask for a sale. Instead, relationships should be built up over a certain period of time. The greatest advantage of using social media for small business is that you can communicate with your customers straightaway.

Simply reciprocate when your customers engage with you or your contents, advertisements etc. This will help you to win their trust and loyalty. These followers while sharing and liking your contents will also help you spread across social networks and unveil your brand freely and automatically as well.

Although trying to get new customers is absolutely fine but never underestimate the power of a loyal customer base. The more you nurture these relationships the more it will help you to increase these faithful followers who will continuously buy from you.

D. You should be aware about the latest trends.

To create the right kind of content that your customers would be endeared to you need to be aware about the latest trends in social media. Only then you will have ideas about what your customers want when they check into their social sites.

You have to be apt at social listening, which is a very important tool to gather information. This helps in knowing what people want to see or expect to see from the brand. So always keep their present needs at the back of your mind because brand contents have a tendency to become outdated easily.

E. Quality wins over quantity.

It is enough to have quality content for a couple of key social media sites. There is absolutely no need to be present in each and every network. The number of options in social media marketing for small business is astoundingly high. It is not necessary to do it all.

Your social media posts should offer value. People will not be very motivated to follow you if your posts are focused on sales only. These platforms for social media marketing are also about building relationships. So stay human, stay honest and post good content so that nothing will be fake around it.

At the end we humbly remind you to give us a chance and watch your social media marketing in Melbourne soar to new heights with our tactics and strategies.

What is Visual Content?

It is an important tool which helps your website visitors to take proper shopping decisions. A visual content offers a great user experience to the visitor which not only increases brand loyalty for you but results in more conversions. It also helps to reinforce your own branding since the content you are providing is also offering real value to these visitors and it’s a platform to display your products and services for their consideration. The opportunities are endless. It can increase user engagement, help to lessen the difference between online and offline shopping and provide an excellent shopping experience to your visitors albeit virtually. In fact it is nothing short of an online in-store experience for your users.

Why is Visual Content important?

To raise brand awareness:

A research says that more than 60% of people learn visually. Which means that they are only able to retain information satisfactorily if they encounter videos, images and visuals rather than written content.

A survey found that around 85% of people would consider sharing with their friends any video of a brand that they have come across. If you want customers to remember your brand then you have to use visual content. Make use of compelling videos, photos and different visuals so that it is easier for your audience to remember your brand. The more they are shared the more visible your brand becomes.

To engage your customers more:

Not only your audience remains engaged if you add visuals to written content but it also makes your content marketing campaigns very interesting. Visual storytelling is so powerful that with any image which grabs the attention of your audience, you can bring about emotions like fear, anger, joy or sadness. That’s why customers also love to engage with visual content.

To increase website traffic:

Video production is expensive but this investment is essential to garner attention of maximum number of people. You may lose a lot of website traffic and business as well if you dither about making videos a part of your content due to financial reasons. Accept the fact that, videos are the most popular way of content marketing these days.

To improve conversion rates:

An outstanding and fruitful visual content marketing strategy which produces customer engagement and high brand recognition results in increased generation of leads and sales.

So you have learnt that conversion rates are boosted by good visual content. That said, you must ensure that the visual content is used correctly.

Few ways of achieving that are discussed below:

1. Infographics - You may have an idea about infographics if you are familiar with digital marketing. It’s delivery in a simple and effective format and design of visually enticing imagery which are developed as well as visualized in a focused manner. An informative and alluring infographic generates a lot of traffic for your website. On most third-party platforms, there are restrictions about visual layout and amount of written content that can be uploaded by the sellers. So you should try to accentuate and illustrate the main features with the help of your infographics because with only lengthy written content you might get lost in the garbage present there. 

2. Unboxing - A hot trend in visual marketing are videos of unboxing. They have become extremely popular of late among most people including celebrities, YouTube reviewers, and influencers. Your target audience would love and lap up a video that you generate where you unbox a product and explain its features. It’s actually a great way to create stunning content.

3. Personalization - Another key marketing strategy is personalization. This attracts and engages more customers. Here you find ways so that your customers can customize and personalize your commodities for themselves. They should also be able to effectively conjure up visions of the personalizations and customizations they have created. 

4. Pictures - A spectacular photo of a product is very important for grabbing the eyeballs of customers in a business website or an e-commerce store. Customers are usually attracted by sharp and clear photos or pictures with details which display your wares and commodities that you want to sell. However there are ways to make your photos and pictures enticing. Hire a professional photographer with top-notch equipments. Feel free to add uncommon and extraordinary style, elegance and braces to the photos. Finally make sure that they are rendered in high resolution so that details are not lost from them if they are featured online.

5. Emotions -  It is always wiser to use visuals showing authentic situations and emotions. It seems people are not very interested in pictures and visuals that appear highly polished and artificial. However visuals with authenticity have sincere appeal and are sure to draw your audience closer to your brand and business.

6. Video Marketing - You should take some time to narrate a story with video, images or any other visual method because this is an extremely effective way to communicate with your target audience. This method of surefire success has been existing for many years and also known as storytelling; it is bound to generate more interest and engagement.

7. Behind the Scenes - To let people have a glance and peek at behind the scenes is highly effective in getting them interested in what you have to offer. Do make this appear like a very special affair. You can create a situation where your loyal customers are made to feel like stars or celebrities which will encourage others to follow too in the same direction. This idea is a great one as far as your visual content is concerned, and makes your offer seem special which will eventually help in generating more interest.

Finally, a few other important things to remember:

Presentations - Presentations help you to delve into a subject which your audience connects with. You communicate about a subject which your audience is concerned about and with proper visuals you engage with these people easily and successfully.

Charts and graphs - Charts are great in visually explaining a complex relationship between two ideas. They also help to reveal hidden patterns. Line graphs, bar graphs are essential and engaging because what these visual maps can achieve easily, others can’t. 

Screen captures - Screen captures of software are actually images of somebody using your services or products. Notwithstanding the kind of business you are into if you supplement each of your step with these then you can very easily explain to customers the best use of your services or commodities on offer. This will make them more engaged and enhance their loyalty towards your brand.

If visual content is currently a major component and mainstay of your digital marketing then we are there to help you so that you can use more of it and eventually grow your business to new heights and unprecedented levels. As premium website developers we in fact, have a passion to grow things digitally and bring to the table many years of digital marketing experience. We would love to be a partner in your branding exercise and help you achieve your business goals too. 

Feel free to contact us and start a conversation.

Everyone knows that there’s simply a lot of content available today out there. Right now, thousands of contents are in the process of being uploaded on the web. So, for most businesses standing out from the crowd and chaos is difficult.

As a business owner, you need to establish your brand as the special one and differentiate it from that of your competitors, if you want to cut through the noisy digital world. However, this might not be the sole strategy that will sustain your organization forever.

But first, let’s understand and define brand consistency. 

What is it? It is the manner of expression that will affect the way your company connects with the minds of people. The more consistently you transmit through your communication, the more consistently you build your brand. Through words, designs or other means your brand should elicit loyalty and trust from people i.e. customers. It should also lift customer awareness levels.

A brand should not be left open to many interpretations and constant customizations. A brand that changes its character very often is not accepted well. So, it’s mandatory to create brand consistency standards both online and offline. Any communication that a customer has with the brand should consist of brand promises transmitted from you reliably, honestly, and understandably.

Now let’s find out the reasons for the necessity of brand consistency.

Consumers want reliability. They are less likely to recommend your business to other people if they encounter a different experience every time they deal with your brand. Customers will repeatedly do business with you, only if you have a consistent brand identity and you are true to your word.

If you have brand consistency, then your business can:

1. Become acceptable:

Deciding on how you want your business and its values to appear to the public is what branding is all about. Impression remains the same across different experiences if your branding is consistent. Consumers understand that your company does not fail on its promises and stands by its commitments and convictions if you keep your message consistent.

2. Differentiate your brand from competition:

Since successful brands are unique, other businesses don’t give what they do. Your uniqueness and special character should always be kept in people’s minds with the help of your branding. Not simply words but actions should back up what your brand stands for.

3. Make your audience grow:

Consistent branding will help you grow your customer base and at the same time, you can also stay true to the people who supported you from the start. Never lose track of your values even if your business grows exponentially in a very short time. While adapting on the way is welcome, you should never fail to understand your audience and try to enhance your growth together with the people who support your venture.

4. Market products and services:

Effective marketing generates an interest in your brand although sales may not happen immediately. People must realize that they can trust you if you want them to spread the name of your brand and be loyal to you.  

5. Become a reputed brand:

If you want a business branding par excellence, then you must have loyal followers and customers notwithstanding the fact that you already might have a good and steady business. Consistency and effectiveness in your branding keep you alive in people’s minds. If you do not ever deviate from your mission and values, you will for sure create more authority and reputation for yourself in the industry that you are in.

The points mentioned above are all necessary for running a successful organization. If you focus on reaching a maximum number of people and want to bring them under your fold, then the mainstay of your action should be consistency in branding.

Now let’s find out what a brand is made up of.

The first thing that comes to people’s minds when they think “brand,” is the logo of the company. The logo represents your business. It visually expresses what your brand is all about and what it stands for.

The logo must possess the right colour scheme, imagery typography etc. In other words, it must have the right visual elements to grab the eyeballs of the public. Only then you have created the visual identity of your company which is very important for successful branding.

The three essential components of branding are:

1. Intrinsic values, which are the guiding principles and beliefs of your business.

2. The logo, which is how the public recognizes you visually.

3. Expression and communication of your brand message.

Let’s now try to figure out how to avoid brand inconsistencies.

For that, you must go to the source of inconsistencies.

Although it doesn’t feel good to accuse someone, it is of utmost importance to identify where you are off-brand and the reasons for it. It is quite possible that mistakes have been made by the campaign marketer who overlooked or missed a copy review or the email marketer who used an obsolete logo. Apparently, these reasons for inconsistencies are innocent mistakes but they are happening because of poor communication of brand guidelines or maybe there is no awareness about the existence of the guidelines, to begin with. 

You must be authentic too. 

Consumers expect a brand to be authentic and customers, especially millennials, are unperturbed about changing a brand for one which is socially more active. If you want to show your target audience who you are and what is unique about you then your brand can communicate that message very easily for you. Although it sounds simple, to make your brand promote a consistent identity not only your creative department but everyone in your company must know exactly what your brand means and what it stands for.

However, we can simplify things for you as your Brand Consultant.

You cannot afford to stand still when the digital landscape is changing fast with time because then you will be left behind. You can quickly modify yourself to changing circumstances and consumer expectations and activate the flexibility required for your team to remain savvy with the latest trends with the help of our guidelines and customized solutions. You can easily update and customize these guidelines. This means future–proof brand strategy, streamlined and current logos etc. will be available at the click of a button.

Not just designers but everyone should know the guidelines.

Although it is a fact that brand guidelines are developed and maintained by only a handful of people in a company, but it should still exhibit the ideas, values, and culture of the whole organization. Simply put, if all employees in an organization are not part of it, they will never be able to apply it correctly and consistently. 

Here again, we can help you by supporting videos, rich content like images, and guides with embeddable style which will make your brand story come alive. We will make them always available across web and mobile gadgets. So, everyone in your company can use it.

However, in the end, your target audience should feel that you care about them because that is what branding means. No matter your specialty or industry you would like to do everything possible to build up a credible brand. That said, consistent branding will help you to maintain that credibility. The imagery you use together with the values you stand for are critical components of your brand. Add your brand consistency to these and you have a perfect recipe to have a hooked following. 

Finally, let every action and decision of yours be guided by your brand story and you will have customers who would prefer to stay with you for life.