Category: Blog
The Benefits of Outsourcing Social Media for Small Businesses
In today’s digital era, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales. However, managing social media accounts effectively requires time, expertise, and consistent effort. This is where outsourcing social media can provide significant benefits for small businesses! Not sure if you’re ready to pass your accounts over to someone else? Explore the reasons why small businesses should consider outsourcing their social media management and how it can contribute to their growth and success.
- Expertise and Strategy
Social media platforms are constantly evolving, with new trends and algorithms emerging regularly. Outsourcing social media to professionals who specialize in this field ensures that your business stays up to date with the latest strategies and best practices. At Blab, we understand the nuances of different platforms, target audience demographics, content creation, and engagement techniques. We can develop a customized social media strategy tailored to your business goals, maximizing your online presence and driving results. - Time and Resource Optimization
Running a small business often means wearing multiple hats and juggling various responsibilities. Managing social media accounts can be time-consuming and detract from core business activities. Outsourcing social media allows you to focus on your strengths and allocate your time and resources more efficiently. By entrusting social media management to Blab, you free up valuable time to concentrate on growing your business, serving customers, and developing new products or services. - Consistency and Brand Voice
Maintaining a consistent brand voice across social media platforms is vital for establishing a strong brand identity. When you outsource your social media to Blab, we work closely with you to understand your brand values, personality, and tone. We ensure that your social media content aligns with your brand, maintaining a cohesive and authentic representation of your business. Consistency in messaging and visuals helps build brand recognition and fosters trust with your audience. - Content Creation and Engagement
Producing high-quality, engaging content is key to capturing and retaining the attention of your social media followers. Outsourcing social media allows you to leverage Blab’s expertise when it comes to copywriting and content creation. Blab can develop a content calendar, curate relevant content, and create original posts that resonate with your target audience. Additionally, we can monitor and respond to comments, messages, and reviews promptly, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. - Data Analysis and Performance Tracking
Social media platforms provide a wealth of data and analytics that can offer valuable insights into your audience, content performance, and campaign effectiveness. However, interpreting and utilizing this data effectively can be challenging, especially if you’re not a numbers person! Outsourcing social media management includes monitoring and analyzing social media metrics, allowing you to track the success of your campaigns, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. These insights enable you to refine your social media strategy, optimize content, and allocate resources more effectively. - Scalability and Flexibility
Outsourcing social media management provides scalability and flexibility to adapt to your business’s changing needs. As your business grows, Blab can scale your social media efforts accordingly, ensuring that you reach a wider audience and maintain consistent engagement. During seasonal peaks or product launches, they can ramp up efforts and create impactful campaigns. Additionally, outsourcing allows you to adjust your social media strategy as market trends evolve or your business goals shift, ensuring you stay agile and competitive.
Outsourcing social media management offers small businesses a host of benefits, including access to expertise, time optimization, brand consistency, engaging content, data-driven insights, and scalability. By partnering with Blab, small businesses can leverage this powerful marketing tool to enhance their online presence, connect with their target audience, and achieve their business objectives. Consider outsourcing your social media management to Blab and unlocking its full potential!
3 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Social Media Training
I think it’s safe to say that social media has proved itself an incredibly vital tool for any small business! Whether it’s a place to tell your brand story, a community that allows you to directly engage with your customers, or a powerful targeting/listening tool to help you reach important audiences with your message, no other media platform can compete.
Whether you’re a small home-based business or a multi-million dollar corporation, social media provides a level playing field and new opportunities that continue to grow and develop as the years pass and the platforms evolve. That being said, all this potential and change can be overwhelming! As a small business owner, where do you even start? If you need to make a big impact with a small budget, you should consider custom social media training sessions.
Here are three reasons why you should elevate your knowledge while investing in yourself and your business in 2021 and beyond:
It’ll help you reach your goals faster
Some goals can be easily attained based on your current skill set and connections, but others can take a lot more time to conquer due to lack of time, resources or knowledge. Social media training sessions can help you reach those seemingly unattainable and frustrating social media goals faster by empowering you with the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to get the job done on your own time!
It’s a Budget-friendly short-term commitment
Unlike the cost associated with traditional marketing campaigns or long-term agency contracts, social media training can be booked and paid for on an as-needed basis. No contract is required and you can book as few or as many sessions as you want. Whether you’re looking to invest in training every month to keep your knowledge current, or you’d prefer to invest in one session to help you solve a specific problem you’re currently facing, training gives you that freedom.
It keeps you in control
Many businesses are worried about investing in social media because they don’t like the thought of someone else being in control. Social media training does the exact opposite; it keeps you in the driver’s seat the entire time. You’re in control of the topic, you get to ask all the questions and you guide the session entirely from start to finish. No external access to your accounts and no trusting someone else to create content, just the tools you need to empower you to grow your own business from the inside.
Looking to learn more about how Blab’s training sessions work? Want to book a custom private session? Contact us and let’s get the conversation started!
Mastering Social Media Scheduling: Tips for Efficient and Effective Management
There’s no denying that social media scheduling has become a crucial aspect of any successful marketing strategy. By strategically planning and automating your social media content, you can maintain a consistent online presence, engage with your audience, and drive meaningful results. These essential tips will help you master social media scheduling and streamline your efforts for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
Understand Your Audience
To effectively schedule your social media content, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of your target audience. Analyze their demographics, preferences, and online behavior. Identify the platforms they frequent and the times when they are most active. Utilize social media analytics tools or platform insights to gather data and gain insights into audience engagement patterns. This knowledge will guide you in scheduling your content at optimal times for maximum reach and impact.
Establish Clear Objectives
Before scheduling your social media posts, define your goals and objectives. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or foster engagement? Establishing clear objectives will help you align your content and messaging accordingly. Create a content calendar that outlines specific themes, campaigns, or promotions for each social media platform. This approach ensures that your posts are purposeful, cohesive, and contribute to your overall marketing goals.
Utilize Social Media Scheduling Tools
Leverage the power of social media scheduling tools to streamline and automate your content posting. Popular platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social offer comprehensive scheduling features that allow you to plan, organize, and publish your social media posts in advance. These tools enable you to schedule posts across multiple platforms, manage content libraries, and even preview your posts before they go live. By using scheduling tools, you can save time, maintain consistency, and ensure a steady flow of content for your audience.
Optimize Content for Each Platform
Tailor your content to the specific requirements and nuances of each social media platform. Each platform has its unique audience, posting formats, character limits, and engagement features. Customize your content, visuals, and captions to suit the platform you are scheduling for. Additionally, consider the optimal posting frequency for each platform. While platforms like Twitter might require more frequent posts, platforms like LinkedIn or Pinterest may have a different posting cadence. Adapt your scheduling strategy accordingly to maximize engagement and reach on each platform.
Balance Automation and Real-Time Engagement
While scheduling tools offer automation benefits, it’s essential to strike a balance between scheduled content and real-time engagement. Allocate time in your schedule to actively monitor your social media channels, respond to comments, and engage with your audience. Actively participating in conversations and providing timely responses enhances your brand’s authenticity, fosters relationships, and encourages ongoing engagement. Blend your scheduled content with spontaneous, real-time posts to showcase the human side of your brand.
Continuously Monitor and Evaluate Performance
Regularly monitor and evaluate the performance of your scheduled social media posts. Utilize analytics tools provided by the social media platforms or third-party applications to measure engagement, reach, click-through rates, and conversions. Analyze the data to identify trends, popular content types, and optimal posting times. Adjust your scheduling strategy based on these insights to optimize your social media efforts continuously.
Social media scheduling is a powerful tool for managing your online presence and effectively engaging with your audience. By understanding your audience, setting clear objectives, utilizing scheduling tools, optimizing content, balancing automation with real-time engagement, and continuously monitoring performance, you can streamline your social media efforts and achieve desired results. Embrace the power of social media scheduling and watch your brand flourish in the digital landscape.
How to Adapt Your Social Media Strategy to a Post-Pandemic World
It’s no secret that social media has become critical to marketing during the pandemic. With spending on social media marketing predicted to rise, traditional advertising investments are starting to decline. So how can you, as a small business, continue to build on this growing trend? These five tips will give you a great place to start:
Play Around With New Channels and Features
Having a social media strategy is all about being in the know when it comes to unique features and updates so you can leverage them for success. Whether it’s Instagram Reels, Facebook’s integration with gift cards or TikTok’s opportunities for businesses, there are so many tools being launched that provide a unique opportunity to engage with your customers on social media platforms. Get connected with what’s new so you can quickly create content for new features and take advantage of them to hack your growth.
Integrate Your Social Media Marketing With Your Regular Marketing
A lot of small businesses make the mistake of looking at social media as a separate branch of marketing entirely, as opposed to another leaf on the original branch itself. As social media takes centre stage in our post-pandemic marketing world, it needs to integrate more seamlessly with your broader marketing strategy.
Harness the Power of Social Media Influencers and Content Creators
Marketing budgets that include influencers are on the rise, up to 7.5% from 6.5% a year ago and expected to rise to 12.7% in the next three years! As online traffic continues to increase, it’s so important for brands to identify the right influencers that will attract target customers and identify growth segments. It’ll also be important for social media managers to invest in influencer training and relationship building. Maintaining communication with influencers to discuss product updates and gain feedback on trends they’re observing, will go a long way toward creating a mutually beneficial partnership.
Adapt Your Creative Content to Current Times
COVID-19 is a reality right now all around the globe so why not adapt your creative content to suit it? Searching for stock photos to share with a blog? Avoid photos of large gatherings in public places because consumers will perceive that as outdated, or worse, insensitive. Just because your content lives online, doesn’t mean it’s exempt from the current trends and lifestyle adaptation brought on by the pandemic. On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of customers are beginning to feel fatigued absorbing content that enters on the virus, so tread lightly and do your part to understand the delicate balance before you slap something up on social media.
Take Time to Consider the Right Platforms for Your Business
Most businesses rank brand building as their top reason for utilizing social media platforms. That being said, it’s important to understand how each platform impacts the customers’ perception of your brand. Transparency and trust are huge factors in our current climate so consider which platforms you use based on their policies (i.e. privacy, hate speech etc) and how they might undermine the consumer’s trust.
As the pandemic continues to push more consumers online, social media is becoming increasingly important for small businesses. No matter how experienced or uncomfortable you are with using social media as a business, taking the time to create a connection with the consumer, building up their trust and focusing on brand awareness, will always pay off in the long run.
Not sure where to start? Contact us to learn more about one-on-one training sessions and how they can help empower you to grow your brand presence on social media.
How to Crush Your Email Marketing Goals
By now it’s clear that we’re all spending much more time online! Given the quarantine and social distancing restrictions, it’s no surprise that we’re surfing the web much more frequently than we were pre-pandemic. Despite that, it may surprise you to learn that we’re not visiting the same websites we used to.
As our digital viewing behaviours changed, so did our demand for specific types and sources of content. Just because there’s more people online more often, doesn’t mean they’ll automatically be swooning over your every word. As our lives continue to shift and change, so do our priorities and interests. If you’ve found your email marketing isn’t quite converting the way it used to, it may be time to reevaluate your efforts and kick off a new game plan that’s better suited to our pandemic lifestyle and beyond.
Break Out Your Customer Personas
Remember those personas you created forever ago that seemed useless and silly? Well now’s the time they come in handy! While it’s impossible to identify every customer’s every need, having customer personas to work from can help you stay relevant while continuing to reach a large audience. These personas will help you make assumptions about current pain points, tone and value propositions for individual “niche” markets. You’re still trying to reach the same people, you just need to witch up the nitty gritty details of how you do that in our current environment and beyond.
Lead With Empathy
If you want to bring in new leads and make sales, emotional intelligence is critical. That’s precisely why pandemic-related email open rates saw a 41% increase in March 2020, according to Worldata, despite overall email open rates plummeting. Consumers felt isolated and uncertain, so they wanted support and direction. If creating this empathetic, emotional content isn’t your strong suit, try the age old trick of putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. What do your customers need from you? What are they going through right now? What kind of support will they need in 2021? Try to focus on what possibilities will resonate most with your target audience and lead with that.
Prioritize Data
In the marketing world, data will always be your friend. While it can sometimes be complex or confusing to interpret, taking the time to learn more about the data behind your choices will pay off in the long run with more efficient and cost-effective campaigns. We’re all moving through uncharted territory so don’t be afraid to take some risks and dive deep into the data behind your email marketing campaigns to determine how to build a stronger inbox presence in 2021. Start small be evaluating your email subject lines and once you’ve mastered that, move on to mastering the preview text, composing an impactful greeting, writing a perfect call to action etc.
While the pandemic has definitely changed our everyday life and email marketing as we know it, you don’t have to throw everything out and start over. You just need to go back to the basics and work on reinventing your messaging to better suit your customer’s current needs. Not a fan of writing content? Don’t know where to start? Contact us to learn more about our content writing services and how impactful content can help you grow your brand online.
Why Instagram Stories Matter
By now we’re all super familiar with the “story” function that seems to be built into every major social platform at this point. What was once a unique feature on mobile app Snapchat, is now all the rage on Instagram, trying to break through on Facebook and rumoured to be launching as a built-in camera feature on Twitter soon.
Whether you use the feature religiously on or you’ve never bothered to check it out, it’s important to know what value it adds and how it can be used as part of an Instagram strategy to help you reach further and engage better.
Stories Vs. Posts
The first thing we need to determine is what the difference is between the two and how you can strategically decide what type of content to post where on Instagram. Social media has always been about sharing small snapshots and tidbits from our lives over the course of time and Instagram’s newsfeed does a wonderful job or organizing those for us in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Unfortunately, the news feed is where the algorithms come into play which means sometimes your narrative can get lost or your messages can unintentionally annoy or bombard your audience due to the system making guessing and trying to assume what people want to see and when.
Stories provide a fix for these challenges by literally stringing together the narrative and keeping it moving.
Ease of Use & Accessibility
The major value of stories is undeniably where they’re located on Instagram and how people engage with them. When your content is front and centre at the top of the app at all times, your audience is much more likely to see it and dive in to explore as organic impressions can be all over the place and based on previous engagements.
Compared to Snapchat, Instagram’s integration of the feature is much easier to navigate. Plus, thanks to the popular app, Instagram’s audience was already quite familiar with the functionality so it was easily and quickly adopted.
The Big Benefit
Stories present a unique opportunity to post as much as necessary and not have to worry about being penalized by the algorithm. They’re fantastic for more grassroots, raw content that encourage engagement and input with features like the Question button or the Poll option. Businesses can have fun using GIFs, filters and stickers to jazz up their content and can also tag other users, locations and even include hashtags to be part of a larger collection of stories curated by keywords.
Stories place your content front and centre and instead of forcing your audience to consume it, the feature give them the power back when it comes to what they view and for how long. If people are viewing your content in stories, they’re doing it because they want to and they’ve gone out of their way to check out what you’ve got to say.
What’s Next?
It seems like every week there’s a new update to the stories feature! While some directly benefit users, some are also great tools for businesses so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the Instagram “New” story at the top of your feed to stay up to date with the newest updates.
What new feature would you like to see incorporated into Instagram stories?
Will You Be My Social Media Valentine?
As the first month of the year comes to a close, Valentine’s Day is creeping up on us. I heart Valentine’s Day, and not in the tacky, gushy kind of way. More like in a nostalgic, wholesome kind of way.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved giving out valentines to friends. Although the style has somewhat changed over the course of time (has it really though? lol), there’s no doubt that I’m still a child-at-heart. Cinnamon hearts are my jam and I love all the cute cards with silly puns!
While I don’t have to go around a classroom and drop my valentines into decorated paper bags anymore, I do have a blog on the internet and that’s almost the same thing haha! In the spirit of Valentine’s Day and my love for social media marketing, I’ve put together a few social media valentines you can share on Snapchat, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories or all of the above if you’re a serious social media aficionado!
This Valentine’s Day, even if you skip the heart shaped chocolates and complicated dinner reservations, you can still send some love to friends, family and complete strangers on the internet.
2019: The Year Your Business Needs to Invest in Social Media Marketing
Technically we could swap the date in the title with any date in the last 10 years and this would still be a relevant message, but for the purpose of keeping this current, let’s stick with 2019. The marketing opportunities within the realm of social media marketing have done nothing but grow exponentially for years on end and we’ve all been witnesses. Whether we’re spending our personal time exploring these platforms to stay in touch with friends or land a new job, or we’re doing research to see how they could help our startups or employers send their messages out into to the world, social media has become an unavoidable part of our every day lives. So much so, that brands and businesses have caught on and it’s more clear than ever that this is where you need to be to succeed.
That being said, are you keeping up with the times? Are you two steps ahead of your competitors or five steps back? If you’re going to make any resolutions in 2019, make one to really sit down and find your place on social media so you can invest accordingly.
Whether you’re skeptical (seriously? STILL?!) or just need some reminding, here are five reasons why you really really really need to invest in social media marketing for your business in 2019:
It Provides Authenticity
As a society, we’re far past the point of trusting everything that advertisers say. We’re skeptical, educated and bolder than ever when it comes to our outlook on marketing so as a business, you need to adapt. Social media gives your brand a channel to push out messages on a regular basis, that aren’t robotic advertisements, and stay in touch with consumers by offering a transparent view into your company that lends itself well to the overall genuine vibe that all consumers are searching for.
It Helps Strengthen Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the acronym that we’re all familiar with but aren’t quite sure what it means or how to achieve maximum success using it as part of a marketing strategy. Luckily, you don’t have to know much to know that updating social media profiles regularly can help you show up in relevant search results on Google.
It Works Well With Your Other Advertising Initiatives
Research has proven that 81% of consumers research a business online before they make a purchase so where you show up, what information is provided and how you come off to the world are incredibly important. Social media campaigns are just one part of the puzzle. Make sure that when you’re running a promotion or campaign on other platforms (newspaper, radio, television, magazines, in-store handouts etc), that your social channels match. It’s all about using them as part of an overall strategy.
It’s Cost Effective
Seriously, for real. While the platforms themselves are free to join, it’s no secret that we’re not all exactly equipped and confident navigating them on our own. Even if you pay for assistance with platform maintenance, the cost breaks down to just dollars per day and isn’t your time worth much more than that? You could also invest in custom training sessions to help you feel more confident setting and achieving goals online. Either way, the cost is a fraction of what you’d pay for a one-off magazine ad the size of a business card. Plus, the skills you learn are much more valuable in the short and long term than the real estate on any one magazine page.
It Builds Engaged Communities
Regularly updating your social media channels means you’re giving consumers a chance to learn more about you and what you offer. When followers interact with your content, their personal connections can see that they’ve endorsed and supported you and that’s worth much more than a 15 second radio spot ever will be. Over time, an engaged online community builds on itself in ways that other mediums just can’t compare with.
So what are you waiting for?
Reach out today and let’s get social!
Five Tips To Sleigh Your Digital Holiday Content
Tis the season for new ideas, concepts, giveaways and promotions but is your business ready? It’s one thing to have some cool ideas, but will all of your content come together in time to make an actual impact online? The holidays offer such a short window of opportunity as time seems to fly towards the end of the year. It often isn’t until Halloween passes that we realize what’s coming next from a marketing perspective and we’re often caught with our hands still in the candy bowl, wrapping up these promotions as the fall season comes to a close.
The key to success with holiday promotions is more than just giving people a discount on something they need/want, it’s about making sure they have enough time to make purchase decisions and that they’re reminded of you and your awesome products/services as much as possible during this short window of time. Need some help slaying your holiday content as we approach December? These five tips will help you put it all together in time!
- Tell a holiday story
The easiest way to make an impact with your holiday content is to tell a story and tug at those heartstrings. The holidays are ripe for emotional expenditure so make sure your social content does more than just earn you double taps. When it comes to content, think more quality storytelling and less direct selling. - Use stories for complimentary content
Think outside the grid and plan content for your Instagram stories that compliments what you’re sharing and promoting in your posts. Take it a step further and consider incorporating live video to help amplify your messaging and push through the holiday clutter! - Consider influencer marketing
Influencer marketing works…and there’s stats to prove it! Finding a few on-brand, high-influence social media users to amplify your message can have a huge impact. If you’re not sure how to choose influencers or where to start, consider looking up some research tools and ask yourself whether each influencer you look at has the aesthetic, audience size, and engagement you’re looking for. - Run paid ads
There’s no doubting that paid ads can have a huge impact for small businesses, if they’re done the right way. When it comes to the purchase cycle, the holidays are the peak of consumerism so getting into that cycle with a series of paid and targeted ads is a no brainer. Do some research on your audience to determine what they like, want, feel and need so you can curate your ad content accordingly. Think beyond geographic and demographic targets and look deeper for your core audience that’s likely to purchase/sign up/join. - Create a schedule and stick to it
Stay a step ahead of the crazy holiday season by creating a schedule that works for you/your team and using it to fuel everything you do online. This will help you plan our promotions, reminders, contests and more with ease as you move through the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Tools To Help You Step Up Your Social Media Game
We’ve all been there; juggling 20 tasks at once, pretending to be a graphic designer and fiddling around website code like you’ve done it a million times before and aren’t in the least terrified to break everything. As a business owner it’s not unusual to wear many hats at once, and often times, limited marketing budgets make this more of a reality than we’d like to admit. But whether you have a plethora of incredibly useful skills, or you’re a one-trick pony that specializes in one realm and crushes it daily, there are definitely some apps, programs and tools out there that can help you make the best of your unique situation and needs. There’s a time and a place to step back and let technology help so just give in and let it happen. Your schedule and your brain will thank you!
Design
Let’s be honest, very few entrepreneurs have what it takes to navigate the Adobe Creative Suite of programs and blast out incredible branded content. Even those who do have the skills, might not be able to find the time. Cue these great tools that can help you do everything from gather inspiration for content, create collages, add text, motion graphics and more.
Canva
Ripl
Adobe Spark
Instagram Layout
Copywriting
There are very few people who actually enjoy writing and find it a simple task to accomplish. For most entrepreneurs and industry employees, writing is not fun and for some, it’s downright terrifying. Luckily, there are some pretty cool tools and apps you can use to step up your writing game and get the support you need to communicate your ideas clearly.
Grammarly
Hemingway
Photo Editing
So you’ve got some great photos but need to touch them up a bit without uploading everything into a complex computer program and pretending you know how to use the hundreds of special tools they offer. These apps and programs can make this process a lot simpler and keep your editing contained to your device where the photos already live.
ColourStory
Google Snapseed
VSCO
Scheduling
We could all use some help when it comes to scheduling updates on our social media accounts, especially since the list of platforms seems to be never ending these days! There are a bunch of popular industry tools that provide free and paid options which are bound to make things a lot less stressful when it comes to sourcing content, scheduling and maintenance.
Hootsuite
Buffer
Sprout Social