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WHAT'S 'IN' AND 'OUT' ON SOCIAL MEDIA

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Mon, 22 May 2023 13:42:00 GMT

Social media is changing constantly. The type of content that worked well previously may not be your most engaged with now and that's because our behaviour and preferences change with the platform's updates.

To keep ahead of the social media landscape, it's all about adapting and changing it up.

So with that in mind, here what's 'in' and what to avoid doing with your social media marketing:

WHAT TO AVOID...

Trying to beat the algorithm - Don't waste your energy because half of what you read online about 'hacking the algorithm' doesn't work. Just concentrate on offering great content that your audience will want to see..
Posting the same type of content - We all engage with different styles of media so if you only post the same style of content over and over again, you will only appeal to the same small group of people and eventually they may even get bored.
Not experimenting - You may be a little scared of writing a blog, or posting a reel for example, but it's never as complicated as you think. It could also be your most engaging content, so what are you waiting for... try something new!
Not engaging with other accounts - Social media works best when you build your online network and support each other. If you want to increase your reach and get lots of engagement, you will have to give it back.
Posting low quality media - You will stand out like a sore thumb amongst all the great content out there so make sure you level up your videos and graphics and keep ahead of the trends.

WHAT TO REMEMBER:

Do your research - What's the latest trend and what's getting lots of engagement? If it suits your business then why not try it out and show everyone more of the personality of your business.

Make it fun – We all love seeing more about the people behind the business so why not mix it up and share more of the fun videos and images to show who makes the business what it is.

Think SEO – It's really important to think of your marketing as 'what is searchable?'. So, what will people look for online and what can you do to appear in their searches? Is it a service you offer? Or helpful advice?

Keep it simple - Keep it snappy, engaging and straight to the point! No one wants to watch a long winded video that takes 5 minutes before it discusses the reason you are making the video, or a text heavy graphic that is not easy to read...

Ask for help - If there are areas of marketing you are unsure of, don't be afraid to ask for help. Managing social media personally and professionally are soooo different so make sure you speak to a professional who can support your business needs and help you marketing your business efficiently. That's where we come in...

Mix it up - Make sure you change up your content with a variation of images, videos, stories, reels etc... Measure what's working and not working but don't forget, what was successful last year, may not be this year.

Review your strategy - This goes back to the point about not being afraid to adapt and change it up. Look back at what your goals and strategy was previously and consider how you need to refresh based on recent trends, behaviour and your analytics.

If you are looking for help with your social media or other areas of your marketing strategy, we offer a range of services personalised to your business needs. This includes training , support , template design and social media management so just get in touch and let's have a chat on 07557407413 or email info@gkmarketingonline.co.uk

THE BENEFITS OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 12:19:24 GMT

The way we use social media has changed so much over the years, and even more so if you use it for business.

It used to be used predominantly as a place to social network on more of a personal level, but now, especially since lockdown, we use it to discover new businesses and buy products more than ever.

It is an amazing tool to push your marketing further and reach audiences that you may not ever reach otherwise.

However, many business owners are unsure whether to get themselves online, especially if they don't use it themselves or aren't confident doing it for their company.

Marketing can be low down on the list of priorities when you have so much else to do in your day to day job, but if you are unsure, here are 15 reasons why you should definitely get your business online:

It's free marketing - Why miss out on an inexpensive way to promote your business, generate leads and boost your sales? You're missing a trick! If your business isn't online nowadays, for most people it can give off the impression that you're not moving with the times.

It increases brand awareness - Did you know, roughly 80% of social media users say they discover new services and products online? With more than half of the population using social media, it's the perfect place to show off your brand, your values, and what you offer.

It increases traffic to your website - The main point of social media (for business) is to increase brand awareness and ultimately, direct them to your website for more information. Blogs are a great way to encourage people to visit your site and share more in-depth information and advice about your service/ product or industry.

You can engage with your audience - Social media works two ways allowing you to interact directly with your audience, and your fans to interact with your brand. To get your followers to engage though, you must make sure you are active and consistent and always respond to the comments/ messages in your brand's tone of voice.

It showcases the people behind the business - People love nothing more than seeing a real person behind the brand. For the naturally nosey you can wet their appetite with 'behind the scenes' and 'day in the life' style content. It also builds trust to show real people using your product and benefitting from your service along with highlighting the human side to your brand.

It can increase sales – This won't happen overnight (or at all if you're not active enough) but if you use your platforms correctly and share good quality content then you will encourage your audience to become customers. If not straight away, then possibly later down the line.

It's a good way to manage reputation – All businesses can receive good and bad reviews and there's nothing worse than if people are sharing negative feedback online or by word and mouth. A good way to manage this is getting ahead of it and acknowledging it and letting people know why maybe something was off. The way you respond can make a difference and do a lot of damage control rather than not responding at all.

You can keep your eye on the competition - It's always wise to be aware of what your competitors are up to and what they offer. You want to stand out from the crowd and offer a unique service so your platforms should reflect that.

You can keep on top of industry news - As well as promoting your brand and services, you also want to showcase the fact you are an expert in your field. If there is a topic in the news relating to your product/ service, make sure you share a credible article with your opinion or advice relating to it. You can also keep on top of your industry news by using social media and following respected sources.

You can target your marketing - You can create adverts to reach a specific demographic and it doesn't have to cost you a lot. You can decide your budget and who you want it to reach and tailor the advert accordingly.

Showcase yourself as an expert in your field - People will follow you because they are interested in you, your business or your service. Treat your social media like an online portfolio and showcase your business as a leader in your industry and a place of great knowledge. Blogs on your website are a great way to do this by giving advice, sharing tips and tricks, and discussing relevant topics in more depth.

It's a good way to remind people about your business - Shopping trends are now so different, especially after the pandemic and most of us buying regularly online. Sometimes just your product popping up on someone's home feed will remind them about what you offer and prompt them to buy from you or get in touch to find out more.

It's the new way to network - Social media is a great way to network with other like-minded business people. You can do this by following them online, help promote them by sharing their content and encourage them to do the same for you. By building up a relationship you can possibly collaborate, generate more business for each other and support locally.

You could go viral - The more people comment and share your content, the more visibility your profile will get and the more you will hopefully attract new followers and potential customers. The more this happens, the more that content is shared across the internet and the more exposure your business will get. Aslong as it's for positive reasons this of course is a win win.

You learn more about your customers - All the main platforms offer analytics which will show you who is looking at your content, when and where. It will show you what content works well and what doesn't and this can give you insight into what your customer wants or needs.

We could continue with the reasons to get your business online as there are so many but we hope these are a good starting block to convince you why.

If you want to get started but don't know where to begin or what you need to do, we offer a range of services to help you along the way, just click the links to find out more:

Get in touch and find out how we can help you to market your business successfully here.

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS TO HELP YOUR MARKETING

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Mon, 30 May 2022 14:52:51 GMT

If you're a business and want to want to promote yourself, you should be on Social Media. That's a fact. Especially as social media is the heart of the post-pandemic shopping experience as we have grown more confident using online portals to access the products we need.

Most of us are usually scrolling through our smartphones throughout the day so it's a great way to reach a wider audience that we wouldn't necessarily via other routes.

But, having a business profile and occasionally posting basic content isn't enough, however.

Every platform offers a range of tools that allow you to push your profile further, but it can be hard to keep up with all the latest features as they evolve weekly. This is why we wanted to help you by compiling a list of the top tools you should be using right now...

Posts - This is the main way to share your content, and when done well, you would expect your audience to engage and share onwards. Varying the type of post you share is key, and making sure you include a CTA (call-to-action) to encourage your reader to act further depending on what you are offering in the post.

DMs (Direct Messenger) - This might be an obvious one but you'll be surprised how many accounts do not respond to private messages from potential customers. The quicker you can engage with your audience (on comments also) the more people will engage and consider doing business with you.

Reels – Videos that grab attention, entertain, and provide something of value is the best type of content you can share. Reels on Instagram are short videos that allow you to promote your brand in the most creative way, just like TikTok videos. The algorithms across the platforms are favouring videos and giving them the most visibility so if you want to be seen, this is the best type of content to do so.

Carousels – This is a great way of posting multiple images, graphics or videos all in one post that can be viewed by swiping or clicking left. Up to 10 can be added on Instagram and up to 30 (as pdfs) can be uploaded on LinkedIn (although that many is a bit excessive in one post don't you think?).

Hashtags - A hashtag is combination of letters, numbers, or emojis following the # symbol that categorise your content and make it more discoverable in searches. This is a great tool to help you promote your brand and reach an even wider audience than just your followers. For even more information on how to use them, you can read our blog 'A beginners guide to hashtags', here.

Geotags - This is a way of adding your location to your content and similarly to how hashtags work, it makes you even more discoverable to your target audience searching in your tagged location.

Buttons - Social buttons are clickable icons that allow your readers to share your content on their own social networking profiles. You can also add CTA (call-to-action) buttons on Facebook which allow your audience to act further. This is a great way to take them directly to a web page, or a phone number, or even to donate to a charity, for example.

Connections - This is essentially the network of like-minded people you build on social media. When you share content you want it to go out to people who will either want to do business with you, or people who will support your brand and share onwards. This is something you want to constantly build on and update regularly.

IGTV - This is essentially Instagram's answer to Youtube as a way to watch videos designed for the mobile-optimized viewing of long-form videos. Any user can set up their own channel and share video content that's up to an hour long.

Stories - This function allows the user to tell a story or share information in short clips that appear in a sequence and allows you to give a more 'behind-the-scenes', personal feel to your content. The stories of who you follow sit at the top of your home feed and showcases content before it's even shown on your main feed. Although the content disappears after only 24 hours, you have no restrictions in terms of content length. It's also a good way to draw attention to your latest post.

Highlights - These are selected Stories (see above) that are saved on your profile and can be viewed beyond the 24 hour limit from posting. This is a good way to group your content into categories such as services, tips and tricks and progress images for example.

Lists - This tool allows you to customize, organize and prioritize the content you see in your timeline from specific accounts. You can choose to join lists already created by others, or create your own from your own account by group, topic or interest.

Jobs - This is becoming a popular way to now find jobs as more and more businesses are using their platforms as a recruitment tool. You also need to be cautious however, as employers frequently check out prospective employees’ social media footprint, so maintaining an ‘uncontroversial’ social media presence is a must when job hunting.

Publishing tools - This tool on Facebook allows you to access all your content whether it be archived content, drafts, shop feature, as well as scheduling future posts. It can recommend the best times to post based on your engagement and allow you to view the post as you're editing it.

Event pages - You can set up a page specifically for your event which will include all the details as well as the option to upload images, include directions, and invite a targeted audience. You can post in the event page (and allow others to if required) and people interested or attending will receive updates directly.

Saved posts - Saving posts allows you to access content from any account open to you at anytime you want and remain private to you to access. This is good if you need ideas or inspiration to revisit at a later date.

Blogs - This is such a useful way to share invaluable information relating to your services and products whilst getting people to website. Blogs don't need to be long-winded essays, but rather a way to get straight to the point of a particular topic. You can find out more about what it entails in our blog, 'Things to consider when writing a blog'.

Insights - Measuring what content is working well/ not working is so important to allow you to learn and improve going forwards. Instead of focussing on how many followers you have, you should monitor what type of content is working best for you and how much reach (content views) and engagement (reactions) you get.

We hope this has helped but if you need more information about any of the features mentioned above you can get in touch for support via our contact page.

There is so much to cover when it comes to social media so why not book one of our training packages, all personalised to your business.

Find out more about our services here or get in touch today.

COMMON SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 16:27:51 GMT

Social Media can be overwhelming, and so if you don't know what you're doing, much time can be wasted with little result.

If you are spending lots of your valuable time on your social media, but find that you don't seem to be getting anything back from it, there may be a few reasons why.

Here are 10 of the most common mistakes made and some tips on how to avoid making them yourself:

1. Counting Followers

This is all about quality over quantity. It's better to have a few followers who are possible customers and are likely to engage with your content than many who aren't interested in your business or what you offer.

2. Doing Too Much

Over-posting and being active on the wrong platforms can be a waste of your precious time. Focus on where to find your audience and how to engage them rather than being everywhere all at once. This way you are only sharing your best content with your specific audience and freeing up time to create more.

3. Not Measuring

Use your analytics to monitor your activity. Learn from what is working and build on what isn't. If you don't know how your content is performing, how can you refine what you do?

4. Comparing Yourself

Stop comparing yourself to your competition and learn from them instead. Use them as inspiration to build your own strategy that works for you and what you what to achieve.

5. No Strategy

This is the most common mistake marketers make. Aimlessly posting and hoping for the best will waste your time and achieve very little. Work on a strategy - what will you do, how often and where.

You can find out how we can help you with your strategy here.

6. Posting The Same Content On Every Platform

Tailor your content for each platform so it speaks to each audience in the way they would expect it there. For example, the way you would use your hashtags on Instagram is different to Facebook (up to 30 on Insta).

7. Not Varying Your Content

Your audience will be quick to turn off if all you post is about your business. Why not mix it up. You could share quality information and articles about your industry to encourage discussion and showcase your knowledge of your service/ product. You could also help promote other local businesses by sharing their posts and hopefully they will do the same. You can click here to read our blog 'Content Ideas For Social Media' for some inspiration...

8. Not Uploading Videos Straight To Social Media

Videos are shared 5 times more if they are uploaded straight to the platform instead of sharing a link to YouTube. People will watch a few seconds of a video on social media but are less likely to click elsewhere to watch it (just think of our scrolling behaviour). So bear this in mind when uploading a video...

9. Not Tailoring Our Content For Our Target Audience

Making your content relatable to the people you want to reach is going to get you more engagement than just posting very general stuff. Think about who your ideal client is and what they would want to see if they followed your account and create your content based on that. Remember... provide your audience with something of value or that they can relate to.

10. Not Replying To Audience

The whole point of social media is to engage with your audience, and quickly. So if someone comments or messages you and doesn't get a response for ages, or at all, they aren't likely to engage again. The way you engage is so important so bear that in mind. People are more likely to use your product, become a loyal customer, and share their good experience if you have responded politely and professionally, which overall is great for your business.

We hope this helps and remember, we offer a range of services to help you with your social media and marketing needs.

If you are looking for help with your social media, whether it be training or management, or specifically your marketing strategy, speak to us today about our personalised packages tailored to suit your needs. Find out more o n our services page or g e t in touch and let's have a chat!

CONTENT IDEAS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:02:22 GMT

Are you struggling for inspiration of what to post on your social media accounts?

Anyone who has anything involvement in running a business account on social media will know it can be pretty overwhelming to keep thinking of fresh ideas to post. You want to keep your followers interested whilst attracting new ones, but doing so isn't easy...

So when it comes to creating content, the phrase 'quality over quantity' couldn't be more appropriate. Always ask yourself, will this help or inspire? What am I aiming to achieve? Will it engage my audience? These questions will help make sure you're posting great quality content that will keep your audience coming back for more. The key is to have a healthy balance of information that promotes your service and knowledge of expertise, but also show off the personality of your brand and keep your followers entertained.

So if you're looking to vary your content and engage your audience, why not mix it up with some of these simple content ideas:

1. Tips and tricks

Share some handy advice that your audience will find useful

2. Ask a question or start a poll

Nothing gets your audience more involved than asking them for an opinion - this could be for something you are currently working on or something to inspire maybe.

3. Inspirational quotes

Share a quote that not only motivates your work, but will also inspire your followers

4. Share a customer review

Quote feedback from your happy customers and share your good work.

5. Repost old content

Don't be afraid to use old content, whether it's a blog, an infographic or a case study, for example...

6. Meet the team

Showcase the people behind the business and have some fun in how you do it.

7. Fact Friday

Share some useful facts relating to your industry or your business

8. Case Studies

Share a video of clients talking about their experience or staff members talking about a project.

9. Blog

Share blogs on your website with helpful advice/ how to's/ discussions about relevant topics. Also use to showcase projects, important information or activities.

10. Get involved in a national event

This is a great opportunity to get involved in a topic of discussion and use your hashtags. Make sure it's relevant to your business though and not just for the sake of it.

We hope this helps and remember, we offer personalised training which includes lots more tips and tricks when it comes to your social media and marketing.

If you are looking for help with your social media or specifically your marketing strategy, speak to us today about our personalised training and packages tailored to suit your needs. Get in touch and let's have a chat!

HOW TO GET MORE ENGAGEMENT

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 16:03:07 GMT

Do you find yourself constantly posting on your socials and getting hardly any response?

Whether you're a social media manager, business owner, or influencer, when you're trying to boost your profile online it's hard to find the balance between how much time spend slogging away on your marketing and what you're getting back from it. You might have the best ideas for content but if you can't get your audience to engage then it's going to feel like an uphill struggle. If people aren't getting value from your posts, what's the point, eh?

The more people that engage with the content you post, the more your profile will grow, and the easier it will be for potential customers to discover your business.

Read our 9 simple tricks below that will help you get more people to engage with your profile...

1. Ask questions

To encourage discussion on your post you could include a question or ask for feedback on something you are working on. Post something that encourages people to tag another person on your post.

2. Captions

It's important to use an attention grabbing caption that will make your audience want to stop scrolling to read and then share. Make sure you include key words that are about your main topic.

3. Hashtags

On Instagram you can use up to 30 hashtags, so why not use them all - just make sure they are all relevant to your post. Include a hashtag of your location whether it is where you are based or where you are working. Use both niche and popular hashtags and make sure you mix them up for each post. Read more in our 'Beginner's Guide to Hashtags' blog.

4. Time of day

Timing is key with social media so make sure you post at peak times when your audience is online for maximum chance of exposure. Don't over-post though... allow your post to gather momentum and when it comes to stories, let the last one expire before sharing a new one.

5. Engage

Spending a few minutes every day to do the following will help with your online visibility:

Follow accounts of potential audience
Searching related hashtags and comment on posts
Search location hashtags and engage with your potential audience

6. Type of content

Variety of content is key as not only is it more interesting to your audience, but also the platforms now favour your posts if it uses all the features. These include:

High quality videos/ images
Carousels
Stories
Reels
Shared information
Questions/ polls
Go Live

7. Call to action

Don't just post information you want to share, and leave it at that... make sure you have included a call to action for the audience to act further. This can include adding a link to your website, or a button to get in touch, donate, visit your site etc... Don't forget to remind people to get in touch and don't be afraid to ask people to share your pos t.

8. Have a think...

When you're planning your content, ask yourself the following questions to ensure it is worth posting:

Is it shareable or saveable?
Who am I looking to reach?
Does it add value?
Does it make you stop to read?
Does it make you want to follow your account for more?

9. Measure

Logging the performance of each post will help you measure how your posts have been performing. You can then tweak future posts based on what has worked well or not. If something hasn't performed well, go back to the points listed in point 8 to reach your audience better.

We hope this helps but remember, we offer lots more tips and tricks when it comes to your social media and marketing.

If you are looking for help with your social media or specifically your marketing strategy, we offer personalised training and packages tailored to suit your needs. Get in touch and let's have a chat on 07557407413 or email info@gkmarketingonline.co.uk

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO HASHTAGS

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 10:57:51 GMT

Do hashtags send your head in a spin? Are you confused about how to use them and what they actually do?

You have probably read or heard many different things about hashtags and how they work but the main thing to realise is that they are a FREE marketing tool. If used correctly, hashtags help your content to be discovered by categorising it to appear in searches.

There is no one set rule on how to use them, but there are definitely best practises and tricks to get the most out of them. Ultimately, they are there for you to use as a way to push your content further than just your current followers and help it reach who you want it to.

If you can set aside a little bit of time here and there to work on your hashtag strategy, especially for Instagram, then you will get the best results. Based on research and experience using them, here is a know-it-all starter guide on how to use them...

SO...WHAT IS A HASHTAG?

A hashtag is combination of letters, numbers, or emojis following the # symbol (e.g. #NoFilter or #ThursdayThoughts)
They are used to categorise content and make it more discoverable in searches to your target audience.
As well as making your content more visible, they help to increase brand awareness, followers, engagement and hopefully... more sales!

HOW DO YOU USE THEM?

Use all 30 - You are allowed a maximum of 30 hashtags per post (on Instagram) so why not use them all for more opportunities to be discovered – remember, it's free!

Make them relevant – Make sure the hashtags you use are specific to what your post is about but also your industry, your location (if relevant), and your services. Hopefully your posts will be varied so make sure your hashtags resonate with your target audience.

Mix them up – Try and use a different combination of hashtags for each post, tailoring them specifically to the content. A good idea is to make a big list covering what your business is about, what services you offer, what industry are you from, and topics add value to your audience, and pick out what's relevant each time.

Do your research - When we talk about spending time on a hashtag strategy that includes looking at your peers, competitors and the influential people in your industry and noting what hashtags could be relevant to you. You can also use the search tool (magnifying glass) to search tags and discover related tags to help tailor your lists ready for your content.

Location, location, location - Including your location can help with location based searches, especially for localised services. So for example, if someone is looking for a Hair Salon in Cheltenham, they may search the following hashtags: #HairSalon #HairSalonCheltenham #CheltenhamHair #CheltenhamHairDresser #HairstylistCheltenham #HairStylist #CheltenhamHairDresser

Size matters - Try to use a combination of both popular and niche-based hashtags. If you always use extremely popular hashtags, your content will struggle to be seen amongst the vast amount of other content. By posting content people want to engage with, along with hashtags that aren’t being used as commonly, you won’t disappear into a high level of post volume. You can check the post volume when you search for a tag as it will show the number alongside it.

Include hashtags in your story - This is a trick that often gets overlooked but stories are now the more popular way to interact with another account. When you post a story, include a hashtag or two and shrink them so they are not highly visible.

Measure to see what's working - If we don't find out how our posts have performed, how do we know what is working/ not working and hope to improve? On Instagram, if you click 'View Insights' below each post and scroll down, you can see your impressions from hashtags. This is a great way to see if your lists are working well or if they need to be tweaked.

We hope this has helped but remember, we offer lots more tips and tricks when it comes to your social media and marketing.

SOME OF OUR RECENT PROJECTS

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:45:10 GMT

It really is exciting when you land a new client and can invest your time in helping them develop their business. The best part of working with a client here at GK Marketing is when you see things have clicked with them and you know they now have the confidence to go forward with their marketing. It's like being a proud parent watching your child go off to school and in this case, watching the business you've worked with flourish online. After a busy few months we wanted to showcase some of the businesses we have recently worked with and give you a little insight into how we’ve been able to help them with their marketing.

They are all in different stages of their marketing journey so it’s been refreshing to work on various elements whether it’s a new project, or a long standing business looking to push their online presence further. The best part of the process is offering content ideas with a fresh pair of eyes which offers a fresh perspective to go forward.

Website Sorted

WHO ARE THEY...

Based in Bristol and Pontypridd, Website Sorted specialise in designing and developing websites for businesses.

HOW WE HELPED...

Set up in 2006, the business has built a steady client base over the years but tended to put their marketing on the back burner simply from lack of time. We wanted to show them that it didn’t need to be overwhelming and time consuming. It was about focusing their energy in the right places.

We started with an audit of their marketing activity and then carried out a social media marketing workshop with additional focus on blogs and e-newlsletters.

To begin, we clarified what their marketing objectives were, and from then we could complete a workshop that broke down what their brand was, who their desired audience was, where we needed to reach their audience, and what specifically they needed to be doing.

We were so thrilled that by the end of the training they were not only full of ideas of what to do going forward, but also more focused on how to be more efficient when they do it.

Following the training, I have supported them when they have needed it and every few months we complete an audit to review what is working / not working.

WHAT THEY SAID...

"We have always known that social media was an untapped source for new business. However, we did not understand how to make the most out of the different social media channels available. Giuliana helped us identify who we are targeting and how to target them. Since doing the training we have gained not only some new business but feel we are now connecting better with our existing customers."

Maad Frog

WHO ARE THEY...

They specialise in illustrative design and bespoke artwork, perfect for personalised gifts or projects.

HOW WE HELPED...

This was a fun project to sink our teeth into as Maad Frog was a new venture with lots of visual appeal being an art studio. They had lots of work built up to showcase but wanted to ensure it remained professional looking whilst keeping the fun element of the brand. It was essential to make sure we had mapped out specifically how we wanted to visually market the business and exactly who the potential customers were.

Creating mood boards was really important to ensure we showcased the work in a way that did the artwork justice, and also encouraged people to visualise their perfect gift for someone special.

By the end of the training, our client was a lot clearer on their overall brand, tone of voice, and how to reach their audience more specifically. They have commissioned many personalised illustrations through their social media since completing the training and they seem so much more confident with the marketing now compared to when we first sat down.

We provide them with regular support to check in and make sure they are feeling happy with what they are doing and how exactly they are going to do it.

WHAT THEY SAID...

"2021 was a brand new start for me. I have always kept a casual Art & Design page going for many years alongside my full-time work but this year I decided on a big drive forward to do something on my own two feet. Along with a rename and rebrand I knew I was going to need to team up with a professional marketing team to really get me off to a good start. I employed GK Marketing before I did anything. Its now 6 months in and my business is 10 times busier than I was expecting and it's all thanks to GK Marketing's guidance.

What has been most important is how friendly and understanding they treat your specific needs as a company and we consider them a very important part of the Maad Frog family. Moving forward we know how important it is when presenting ourselves online and we will be continuing to use their 5 Star services for years to come"

If you are looking for help with your online marketing but not sure how to progress further, get in touch today and find out how we can help you.

We offer personalised training programmes, content makeover packages, and ongoing support to help you along the way. Find out more about our services here or get in touch today.

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THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN WRITING A BLOG

fullers@websitesorted.com (Neil Kinnerly) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 15:07:59 GMT

Where better to start our series of blogs than with one about... well, writing a blog!

So many people feel overwhelmed at the thought of writing a blog but it's not as complex as you'd think. The key thing to remember is to have fun with it, make sure your brand personality shines through, and that it's readable.

TOP TIP: Write your blog as if you are having a conversation with someone so the tone is informal and more personable.

You could discuss a prevalent subject in your industry, offer advice, or update your followers about your business and service. The key is to sound conversational whilst remaining professional at the same time.

The point of a blog is to use it as a tool to direct people to your website. After reading the invaluable information you are sharing, they will hopefully have a look around your site and find out more about what you offer. It's also a great way to go into more detail about a subject you might have only touched on on your social media.

So before you start blogging, here are a few things to consider before you get stuck in:

WHAT TOPICS WILL YOU COVER?

You want to engage your specific audience so the topic you cover is important. The idea is to select a subject that is relative to your niche and will convert the reader into a customer at some point.

You could share some tips and tricks about a subject within your field, or showcase a project or activity you have completed within your company.

HOW WILL YOU GET PEOPLE TO READ IT?

There's no point writing a blog if no one sees it. Social media is a perfect platform to share your blog and tell your audience what it's about. Asking friends, family and clients to share it and also guest blogging for another company is a great to reach a wider audience. Always make you can upload your blog to your website and then direct your audience there with a link in your posts.

HOW OFTEN WILL YOU POST?

You want to find a balance between how often you blog and the time you spend doing it. Consistency is key for your audience but you still want to make sure all your time isn't spent writing blogs when let's face it, you're probably already really busy with your business. Setting a goal such as a monthly blog will maintain consistency and help drive regular traffic to your website. Quality over quantity is the key thing to remember to ensure you are posting blogs that your audience wants to read and not just blogging for the sake of it.

So there we have it, a few simple things to consider when you are writing a blog. Just start by jotting down a few relevant ideas for topics, and remember, use your social media to share them!

If you need any help with your blog writing or social media, feel free to contact us .