Marketing

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October 14, 2024

Advanced Video Marketing Techniques for Your Business

Thanks to platforms like TikTok or Instagram Reels, videos have taken off online. Images and text can help communicate your company’s offerings, but videos are the way to truly connect with your audience. However, everyone is making videos nowadays, so how do you make yours stand out amongst the crowd?

Optimizing Video Content for SEO and Search Algorithms

To maximize your video’s SEO, start with keyword research using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find high-traffic keywords relevant to your industry. Embed these keywords strategically:

Title and Description: Your video title should be a click-worthy headline featuring the primary keyword. Write a robust description (250-300 words) with secondary keywords naturally woven in, providing a comprehensive overview of the video content. If your keyword is “remote employees” then you might create a video title such as “6 Tips on Hiring Remote Employees”. Your description should include the keyword “remote employees” as naturally as possible as well as other, secondary key words such as “small businesses hiring”. Algorithms are smart and know if you are just trying to stuff as many keywords as possible into the description so write it like you would for a human, not the algorithm!
Tags: Add a mix of broad and specific tags. YouTube’s algorithm in particular uses these to categorize content, so include high-traffic keywords and niche-specific terms. For example, a broad hashtag might be #hiring but a more specific hashtag might be #hiringremoteemployees
Thumbnail Optimization: Design custom thumbnails with compelling visuals and text overlays featuring main keywords. Use tools like Canva or Adobe Spark for A/B testing different thumbnails to find the highest CTR. Thumbnails should be bright and easy to read — remember, you only have a few seconds to catch someone’s eye, and thumbnails are very small previews.
Closed Captions and Transcripts: Upload SRT files for closed captions and provide full transcripts. These elements are crawled by search engines, boosting your SEO. Use software like Rev or Otter.ai to automate this process.
Video Sitemap: Generate a video sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console. This helps search engines index your video content more efficiently. Use Yoast SEO or All in One SEO plugins if you’re on WordPress. This is for those that have video libraries on their website, not just their social media pages.

Implementing Advanced Editing Techniques for Enhanced Viewer Experience

The editing process is crucial in shaping your video marketing narrative. Advanced editing techniques can significantly enhance viewer experience:

Color Grading: Enhance your videos’ visual appeal by adjusting colors, contrast, and saturation using tools like Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve. Remember, people like bright videos with vibrant colors!
Motion Graphics: Utilize motion graphics to emphasize key points or data. Tools like After Effects can create dynamic animations that captivate viewers and reinforce your message.
Cutting Techniques: Use jump cuts to condense content, while L-cuts and J-cuts can improve pacing and maintain narrative flow. Don’t be afraid to cut out pauses that aren’t necessary — even if the frame jumps a bit, keep in mind your audience has a short attention span.
Sound Design: Prioritize audio quality with balanced levels, incorporating royalty-free music, sound effects, and voiceovers to create an immersive experience. Try to use a microphone when filming — there are now great tiny mics that plug right into your phone!
Call to Action (CTA): Place CTAs strategically using on-screen text prompts or visual cues to guide viewers toward the next steps. This tells your viewers what you want them to do, whether you want them to subscribe to your channel or purchase a product.

Leveraging Social Media Platforms for Maximum Video Reach

To maximize the reach of your video marketing efforts, strategically utilize social media platforms tailored to their unique features and user bases:

Platform-Specific Formats: Adapt your content to suit the preferred formats of each platform. For example, Instagram Stories and TikTok thrive on vertical videos, whereas YouTube favors landscape orientations. Each platform also has different time requirements; YouTube Shorts can be a maximum of sixty seconds but TikTok videos can be up to ten minutes long.
Cross-Promotion: Distribute shorter video segments or teasers across different social media channels, redirecting viewers to your main video. Customize these snippets to align with each platform’s style and audience preferences.
Influencer Partnerships: Engage with industry influencers to expand your reach. Influencers can offer credibility and attract their followers to your content, boosting engagement and visibility.
Paid Advertising: Leverage the sophisticated targeting options available on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. By using demographic, interest, and behavioral targeting, you can ensure your videos reach the most relevant audiences.
Live Streaming: Integrate live video into your strategy. Live streams encourage real-time interaction, creating a sense of immediacy and fostering deeper engagement.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage your audience to create and share their own videos related to your brand. UGC can enhance authenticity and organically expand your reach as followers share their experiences with their networks.

Utilizing Data Analytics to Measure Video Performance and Engagement

Data analytics is crucial for refining your video marketing strategies. Start by utilizing Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics, and social media insights to gather detailed performance data. Focus on advanced metrics such as View-Through Rate (VTR), which indicates the percentage of viewers watching your video in its entirety. Analyze Audience Retention to pinpoint where viewers drop off and adjust your content structure accordingly. Monitor Click-Through Rate (CTR) to assess the effectiveness of your thumbnails and calls to action, experimenting with different styles and placements to boost engagement. Dive into demographic data, examining age, gender, and location to tailor future content more precisely. Evaluate traffic sources to identify which platforms drive the most views. For videos hosted on your website, use heat maps to visualize viewer interactions, highlighting the most engaging segments. This granular approach will help you make data-driven decisions to optimize your video marketing efforts.

What is one thing you wish more people did in their video marketing? Share it with us so we can let our audience know!

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April 9, 2024

Unleashing the Power of Your Small Business with a Talented Content Creator

A content creator is someone with the skills and experience to create compelling content, including web pages, blogs, social media posts, videos, and more. This content can be used to engage customers, build trust, and increase brand awareness, which can ultimately lead to increased sales. With a talented content creator, you can unlock the power of your small business and reach new heights.

Defining the Role of a Content Creator

A content creator is a crucial addition to any small business team. They are the driving force behind creating engaging and valuable content across various platforms. Whether it’s crafting compelling web pages, writing informative blogs, or creating eye-catching videos, a content creator knows how to captivate an audience. They understand the importance of storytelling and have the skills to convey your brand’s message effectively. From developing a content strategy to implementing creative ideas, a content creator brings immense value to your small business.

The Benefits of Hiring a Content Creator for Your Small Business

First and foremost, a content creator can help you establish a strong online presence by consistently producing high-quality and engaging content. This can attract new customers, increase brand awareness, and ultimately boost sales. Additionally, they can save you time and effort by taking on the task of content creation, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. They can also bring fresh ideas and creativity to your brand, helping you stay ahead of the competition.

Finding and Hiring the Right Content Creator for Your Small Business

Finding the right content creator for your small business is crucial to the success of your content marketing strategy. Start by clearly defining the qualifications and skills you are looking for in a content creator. Look for someone who has experience in your industry and understands your target audience. Consider reviewing portfolios and previous work samples to assess their creativity and ability to produce high-quality content. Don’t be afraid to ask for references and testimonials from previous clients to ensure they have a track record of delivering results. You can also work through a paid test with them where you assign the person a small project to see how they work with your team and what sort of quality their output is.

How to Work Effectively with a Content Creator for Optimal Results

Establish clear communication channels to ensure both parties are on the same page. Provide a detailed brief, and be open to feedback and collaboration. Encourage creativity and allow the content creator to express their ideas. Set realistic timelines and be mindful of the content creator’s workload to avoid burnout. Regularly review and analyze the performance of the content created, providing constructive feedback to help refine and improve future content. By fostering a collaborative and supportive working relationship, you can maximize the potential of your content creator and achieve exceptional results for your small business.

If you want to hire a content creator but need a little help, our Small Business Concierge Services can take the guesswork out of the hiring process. Work with our HR Experts to find your dream candidate!

Already been through the process and found an amazing content creator? Share your tips with us on how to improve the process!

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July 31, 2023

Maximize Your Marketing Potential with a Digital Marketing Specialist

It’s no secret that digital marketing is the way of the future, and businesses everywhere are beginning to recognize the need to stay ahead of the curve. If you want your business to be competitive, it’s crucial that you invest in a digital marketing specialist (DMS). With the right strategies and expertise, a DMS can help you maximize your marketing potential and give you the edge you need to succeed in the digital age.

What is a Digital Marketing Specialist

A Digital Marketing Specialist (DMS) is an individual who is well-versed in all the strategies, techniques, and tools necessary for marketing a business in the digital space. Digital Marketing Specialists have a diverse skill set and a deep understanding of the online world, including search engines, social media, email marketing, content creation, and advertising platforms. They are experts in identifying a business’s unique needs, developing comprehensive marketing plans, and executing campaigns that drive traffic, engagement, and revenue.

The Role of a Digital Marketing Specialist

A DMS is an expert in promoting businesses, products or services online. They use various digital channels to attract and retain customers and generate leads. They work in close collaboration with the sales team, content writers and designers to create a digital marketing plan that aligns with the business goals.

The core responsibilities of a DMS include:

Developing and executing digital marketing campaigns
Creating engaging content for website, social media and other online platforms
Analyzing website traffic and other metrics to measure campaign performance
Optimizing the website for search engines (SEO) to improve online visibility
Managing and monitoring social media accounts and ad campaigns
Designing and sending email marketing campaigns to potential and existing customers
Conducting market research and analyzing consumer behavior to inform digital marketing strategies
Collaborating with other departments to ensure a cohesive brand image and consistent messaging across all channels

A Digital Marketing Specialist must also stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in the digital marketing industry. They should have a good understanding of various digital tools and platforms like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, SEO tools and more.

Benefits of Hiring a Digital Marketing Specialist

If you’re considering whether or not to hire a DMS, you might be wondering what benefits they can bring to your business. The truth is, a skilled Digital Marketing Specialist can bring a wealth of advantages to your company, from increasing brand awareness and driving more traffic to your website, to boosting your customer engagement and conversion rates:

Expertise: They have the skills and knowledge necessary to develop and execute a successful digital marketing campaign that meets your business goals and objectives.
Focus: They can take care of all your digital marketing needs, leaving you free to concentrate on other important areas of your company.
Cost-effective: Digital marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a large audience, especially when compared to traditional marketing methods.
Increased reach: With the right digital marketing strategies in place, you can expand your customer base and drive more traffic to your website, leading to increased sales and revenue.
Data-driven insights: By analyzing data such as website traffic, engagement rates, and conversion rates, they can continually optimize your campaigns for maximum effectiveness.

Maximizing Your Business Potential with a Digital Marketing Specialist

A DMS will use analytics to identify your target audience and develop customized campaigns that reach the right people. This targeted approach will help ensure that your marketing dollars are spent effectively, and you’ll see a better return on investment. A specialist will help optimize your website and content to improve your search engine rankings. Higher rankings will drive more traffic to your site, resulting in more leads and conversions. Additionally, a Digital Marketing Specialist will manage your social media accounts to engage with your audience and increase brand awareness. They will develop content, track engagement, and monitor your online reputation.

Specialists will also have the expertise to create and manage digital advertising campaigns. They will ensure that your ads are optimized, targeted, and reach the right people. Finally, a Digital Marketing Specialist will monitor and measure your marketing campaigns to track results and make necessary adjustments. This data-driven approach will help you continually improve your marketing strategy and stay ahead of your competition.

If you need help hiring a Digital Marketing Specialist, check out our Small Business Concierge Services. Already hired someone? Share your tips for what to look for with our audience!

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January 23, 2023

Get noticed on LinkedIn: 5 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success

Are you looking for ways to market your small business on LinkedIn? If so, you’re in the right place. The professional networking site is an invaluable tool for small businesses, and is a great way to reach new customers, build relationships, and increase brand awareness. But it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to promoting your business on the platform. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with five tips to help you get noticed on LinkedIn and maximize your small business marketing success. Read on to learn more!

1) Use Keywords in Your Profile

Step one for marketing on LinkedIn is obviously to create a business page! Once you’ve done that, it’s time to fill in all the blanks on your profile using keywords! What are keywords? Well, they are words and phrases related to your industry and what people are searching for. By including them in your company description and job titles, you’ll be more likely to show up when potential customers search. Don’t be afraid to use common industry terms and phrases as well – this will help ensure that people who are looking for what you offer can easily find you.

There are third party services you can pay to find keywords for you, but if you don’t want to use one of those, you can do some manual searching on LinkedIn to see what’s trending. First, take a peek at trending articles in your industry. Second, use the search feature to lookup hashtags, and you can see how many posts are using the hashtag you think might be relevant.

2) Optimize Your Company Page

Having a strong presence on LinkedIn is important for any small business that wants to reach potential customers and build a network. One of the most effective ways to do this is to optimize your company page. A well-crafted company page can help you stand out from the competition, generate more engagement, and give you more exposure on the platform. Here are some tips to make sure your company page is optimized:

Make sure your page looks professional. Use high-quality photos and relevant copy that accurately reflects your business and services.
Link to other platforms. Make sure your page is linked to your website and other social media channels to increase visibility.
Leverage tags. Use relevant tags that describe your industry and target audience so people can find your page more easily.
Encourage followers. Invite existing customers, partners, and colleagues to follow your page and share it with their networks.
Monitor performance. Track how many visits, likes, and shares your page receives and adjust your strategy accordingly.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your company page looks professional, reaches the right people, and drives more engagement on LinkedIn.

3) Create Shareable Content

Creating content that your followers will want to share is essential to success in marketing your small business on LinkedIn. Start by creating content that provides value to your audience. This can include blog posts, videos, articles, or other forms of media that educate, inform, and entertain them. When it comes to content, quality should always be prioritized over quantity. Focus on producing high-quality content that resonates with your target audience.

It’s also important to consider the frequency of your content. Consider scheduling out posts in advance using a tool like Hootsuite. This will help you stay consistent in your posting schedule and ensure that you are actively engaging your followers with new content. Finally, make sure to promote your content across other social media channels as well. By leveraging different networks, you can extend the reach of your content and create more opportunities for engagement and sharing.

4) Engage with Others

Engagement is key to success on any social media platform, and LinkedIn is no exception. Interacting with other users can help you build your brand visibility and credibility, and it’s a great way to network. Here are some tips for engaging with other users on LinkedIn:

Comment on posts. Commenting on posts from people in your network is an effective way to show your support, start conversations, and build relationships.
Post interesting content. Sharing content from industry leaders or thought leaders is a great way to show that you’re knowledgeable and current on trends.
Ask questions. Posting questions related to your industry or niche can help spark conversations and engage people who have similar interests.
Connect with influencers. Connecting with influencers in your industry can help build your network and expose your brand to more people.
Join groups. Joining relevant groups can be a great way to connect with potential customers and prospects, as well as build relationships with other professionals in your industry.

5) Advertise on LinkedIn

LinkedIn Ads provide a great opportunity to promote your small business. You can create targeted campaigns that reach the right audience and measure the success of your campaigns with real-time analytics. With LinkedIn Ads, you can create lead generation forms to capture contact information, drive website traffic, and measure conversions. Start exploring today to find out how advertising on LinkedIn can help you achieve your business goals.

What marketing tips do you have for using LinkedIn? Share them with us today!

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January 23, 2022

Get noticed on LinkedIn: 5 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success

1) Use Keywords in Your Profile

2) Optimize Your Company Page

Make sure your page looks professional. Use high-quality photos and relevant copy that accurately reflects your business and services.
Link to other platforms. Make sure your page is linked to your website and other social media channels to increase visibility.
Leverage tags. Use relevant tags that describe your industry and target audience so people can find your page more easily.
Encourage followers. Invite existing customers, partners, and colleagues to follow your page and share it with their networks.
Monitor performance. Track how many visits, likes, and shares your page receives and adjust your strategy accordingly.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your company page looks professional, reaches the right people, and drives more engagement on LinkedIn.

3) Create Shareable Content

4) Engage with Others

Comment on posts. Commenting on posts from people in your network is an effective way to show your support, start conversations, and build relationships.
Post interesting content. Sharing content from industry leaders or thought leaders is a great way to show that you’re knowledgeable and current on trends.
Ask questions. Posting questions related to your industry or niche can help spark conversations and engage people who have similar interests.
Connect with influencers. Connecting with influencers in your industry can help build your network and expose your brand to more people.
Join groups. Joining relevant groups can be a great way to connect with potential customers and prospects, as well as build relationships with other professionals in your industry.

5) Advertise on LinkedIn

What marketing tips do you have for using LinkedIn? Share them with us today!

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November 1, 2021

How a Social Media Manager Can Help Reduce Your Stress and Make Your Online Presence Soar

As a business owner, you have a full plate. Chances are some of the things on that plate include managing your social media accounts and conducting promotions. Social media promotions are the lifeblood of many businesses. They also require time and expertise and may not be your strongest suit or even an area of interest.

You can’t quit social media. But, you can hire a social media manager to make your life easier and increase the quality and effectiveness of your social media presence. If you think that sounds expensive or like a lot of work, hear us out about how bringing a social media manager onto your team can reduce your stress and workload while changing your online presence for the better and creating meaningful results for your business.

The Basics

There are four main steps to running a social media promotion. At a high level that includes:

Setting goals for the promotion.
Creating an offer and making a plan.
Communicating the offer.
Assessing your results.

Let’s look at how a social media manager can enhance each of these areas for better results.

Setting goals

Ideally, your social media promotions will drive more business, reach new customers, and cement loyalty with your base. Because it’s essential to identify what you want to achieve at the outset of any communication activity, goal setting is the first step for online promotions.

As you embark on a promotion, your goals may vary. For example, your goal could be expansive–like attracting 500 new followers. Or, it may be specific, like selling a certain number of products within a particular time frame. Either way, setting clear goals for the promotion is the first step.

When you work with a social media manager, the goal-setting process grows and is more expansive. You’ll work together to take a broader look at your social media presence and think about where you want to go in the short- and long term.

The social media manager can create an overall social media strategy that broadly supports you based on your business and growth goals. Often, the strategy will include promotions with specific goals aimed at particular audiences and in distinct timeframes.

For example, a social media strategy may span six months and have four promotions across three different platforms. One of the promotions may be aimed at attracting new followers and one may seek to reward your best customers with a special offer. Each requires a different approach, which the social media manager can identify.

As part of goal setting, the social media manager will set specific desired metrics for each promotion. The metrics serve two purposes.

Helping the social media manager develop the right tactics to share the message and refine her approach over time.
Providing a view into how different promotions perform. This knowledge can drive decisions on future promotions and provide important insight into what matters to your customers.

Creating an Offer and Making a Plan

The next step in social media promotion is to create an offer. Many business owners have a feel for the types of promotions that move their business forward and often return to the same well when creating new promotions. While this approach can be practical for a while, in the fast-moving environment of social media, these promotions can fall flat and stop delivering.

When you work with a social media manager, she will include your preferences and historical offerings into the planning process. But, she also has the skill set to create new and different types of promotions that can help keep your content fresh.

With insight into the types of social media campaigns that other companies are doing and knowing more about how those efforts are working, a social media manager can identify the promotions that make the most sense based on your objectives. She can also explain the ins and outs of the process based on her experience.

In addition, she will bring you new promotional ideas–some of which may push the envelope beyond your comfort level. But, it’s still helpful to have a sense of the universe of promotional opportunities and see where the market is going.

Once the two of you agree on a strategy and goals, your social media manager will create a calendar of promotions and posts aimed at realizing your goals.

Part of this process includes selecting the right platform for your message. Social media managers understand the nuances of different social media sites. So, they can conduct detailed audience analysis to determine which social platforms are most attractive to your customers while creating plans to develop new audiences.

The calendar will include plans for optimizing your posts with keywords and the right hashtags so people can find your company and see your promotions.

The calendar may also include opportunities for paid posts to boost your exposure at crucial inflection points and with specific audiences. In some cases, your social media manager may recommend a partnership with a key influencer.

Your social media manager will look across the plan to ensure brand consistency across platforms to ensure your promotion consistently reflects the right tone. And, she will make sure that the timing of each promotion makes sense and fits into the broader plan.

Communicating the Offer

When communicating the offer, a good social media manager does the heavy lifting. She will move into creative mode to produce the media used to share your message and the specifics of your offer. This can include:

Developing social media content, such as writing posts, taking photos, making graphs, creating memes, and developing infographics.
Creating video scripts, sourcing talent, and producing video work.
Finding related content that can be cross-promoted through your sites.
Updating your company’s profile pages to reflect the latest information about your promotions.
Responding to comments and posts on your behalf. This includes answering questions and sharing regular updates with you in a summary.
Integrating customer data from other platforms and other social media sites and using email and website traffic to ensure that your promotion and message find the right audience.

Assessing Your Results

At the end of each promotion, your social media manager can analyze engagement across platforms. She will determine how each post performed and tie that work back to the goals established at the beginning of the project.

If posts or promotions are falling short of goals–or if something is taking off–she can adjust the plan and the calendar to keep you moving in the right direction.

At specific time increments, your social media manager will sit down with you to discuss progress and help set new goals.

Finding a Social Media Manager

Working with a social media manager doesn’t have to be expensive. Many excellent social media managers work as contractors and find clients through niche sites such as HireMyMom.

If you can offer flexibility and a remote job opportunity, you are well-positioned to find an experienced resource who can help your business grow and make your social media content sing.

When you use HireMyMom, you have access to a dedicated pool of professionals looking for remote work. Because HireMyMom charges job seekers a fee to access job listings, all our job seekers are serious about finding work. And, the volume of resumes that flow in is more manageable than the numbers that arrive when jobs are advertised on free job sites.

Tell us About Your Experience

We’d love to hear about your experience working with a social media manager. Please drop us a line and let us know how the partnership changed your social media presence and helped you realize your goals.

Written by Lesley Pyle

November 16, 2020

Business Promotions Made Easy with These 4 Simple Steps

Social media is an inescapable force. It appears on your phone, it can drive a news cycle, and it is the basis for many conversations between friends and neighbors. Love it or hate it, social media is an efficient, low-cost way to reach a broad audience to promote your business and grow your brand. More and more, small businesses are using social media to interact with customers and potential customers. (Check out our prior posts on creating a stand-out social media presence.) One of the key ways social media can grow your business is through promotions. Here’s a step-by-step guide for finding and running the right social media promotion for your business.

Determine the Goals for your Promotion

In addition to generating buzz about your business, promotions are great tools to achieve specific objectives. So, as you consider a promotion, think about your purpose. Because there’s a vast universe of promotions, there’s not a one-size-fits-all prescription for promotional goals. Some potential options include:

Gaining followers
Growing engagement
Finding referrals
Promoting loyalty
Sales of a particular item or over a specific time frame

Once you know your goal, it’s easier to choose the right promotion and create an offer meaningful to your followers.

Craft Your Offer

Crafting the offer’s specifics is often the most fun (and challenging) aspect of the process. In general, the offering should be unique to your business and feel special for your followers. Consider your overall value proposition and how your offering could drive engagement. Make sure the promotion offers something that your followers will find desirable.

Specific promotional options are endless. Here are some ideas to help get you started:

Contests, including scavenger hunts, talent or art competitions, kid writing or coloring contests, product raffles, or prize drawings, often generate a lot of participation.
Free items, like a gift with purchase or a small free item during certain hours/days, can drive business during slower times.
Discounts and coupons available to anyone who shares your promotion or earned with specific interactions, such as tagging friends or starting to follow your social media accounts, are popular options.
Swag giveaways of premium items, such as mugs, hats, pens, and branded water bottles, can really bring out your fans. Many business owners like to give away promotional items because it results in free advertising as customers use them.
Exclusive access opportunities are a great option to drive traffic to shops, restaurants, and events. Social media followers can gain exclusive access to your business/product based on the steps you outline in your promotion or by using your website or other online processes to make a reservation.

As you consider your offer, keep the potential prize proportional to the entrant’s investment to participate. For example, don’t give away a high-value item to everyone who shares your link. Likewise, if you ask your followers to make a significant investment in your promotion, such as creating a meme that shows why they love your product, the pay-off should be more exclusive. If you conduct a contest, you may need a panel of judges (such as employees or other superfans) to pick a winner for your prize. Discounts in exchange for link sharing are generally a good trade-off in this area.

You also want to make sure that the graphics that you have for this campaign shows your business logo, too. This helps familiarize your audience with your logo and improve your brand awareness. Designing a professional logo is easy with the use of logo makers such as BrandCrowd or working with graphic designers.

Next, develop a timeline for your promotion. Include plenty of time to do any pre-work and build in some time for follow up and assessment.

Draft a Communication Plan

With your offer and timeline in hand, it’s time to consider your communication plan. Communication is the key to a successful promotion. Look at any existing communication plans you maintain and see if opportunities exist to take an upcoming communication or advertisement and add information about your promotion. Depending on your goals, consider a mix of social media and traditional vehicles for reaching your audience.

Then, prepare your posts and other media well in advance of your start date. Be sure to:

Clearly outline how the promotion works, including any exclusions or deadlines.
Include plans to publicly share the name of your promotion winners, if appropriate.
Thank everyone who participates.
Share your appreciation for the enthusiasm your followers show around the promotion.

When the launch day arrives, deploy your communication materials and monitor the feedback you are getting on your posts. Posting comments and making updates based on questions or comments that appear will let your audience know that you are engaged in the promotion. To help keep your promotion top-of-mind, regularly share information about it with your followers.

Assess Your Results

When the promotion ends, take a look at how it went. Consider:

Did you meet your goals?
Did managing the promotion take the time you expected? Less time? More time? (If the answer is more time, you might want to hire a Virtual Assistant to help in the future.)
What feedback did you hear from those who participated? How about those that mentioned the promotion to you but didn’t participate?
What did you learn in the process?

Answers to these questions will help you craft even more successful promotions in the future.

What’s Working for You?

Promotions are a fun way to drive business. We’d love to hear about your experiences–the good, the bad, and the ugly. Drop me a line and let me know what promotions you’ve tried.

Written by Lesley Pyle

October 5, 2020

How to Wow Your Audience with Amazing Blog Content

If you’re reading this, you understand the power of blogs. Blogs offer fun and interesting ways to learn new things, connect with others who share similar interests, and interact with your favorite personalities, brands, products, and services.

As a business owner, entrepreneur, or mompreneur, blogs offer a fantastic opportunity to increase your online profile, share more about your business or area of expertise, and grow your brand. Some blogs are personal passion projects, and others are geared toward selling. But all great blogs have three things in common. They all:

Speak to a specific audience.
Are relevant and authentic.
Encourage action, discussion, or debate among readers.

If you have a blog or are thinking about starting a blog, these tips can help you take your blog to the next level.

Know Your Readers

Part of the magic of a blog is that it lets readers and writers connect in new ways. Thanks to the vastness of the internet, readers can find blogs on almost any topic imaginable. That same vastness means that your universe of potential readers is gigantic. Because your blog’s reach can easily exceed your customer base, the key to tapping this magic is finding the right readers for your blog. As a creator, this means that your blogs must be targeted to specific readers.

When you create a business blog, you want your content to find the right people–those who might have an interest in your product, service, or business. To make sure your blog lands with the right audience, picture the reader before you start writing. Ask yourself what you want the reader to:

Know
Feel, and
Do differently as a result of reading the blog.

The answer doesn’t have to be serious–many blogs are for fun or branding. Your answer can also be part of a goal, such as creating interest in a new product and converting a certain percentage of readers to buyers. Starting with the reader in mind makes it easier to write content that resonates with your readers and accomplishes your goals.

Like all communication, understanding your audience is vital. Think about what interests your audience, what drives them, and what moves them to act/buy. Consider spending some advertising or promotion dollars to help find your followers and make sure they see your content. A social media consultant can help you find and entice the right readers. (Hiremymom.com is a great place to find a freelance Social Media consultant.)

Write Relevant and Authentic Material

With your audience in mind, it’s time to start creating content. Here are some tips to help you start writing:

Determine what you want to say. Pick one topic for each blog. It’s tempting to try to put several ideas into one blog but stick to one. Once you start blogging, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to share all your content. And, sticking to one idea makes it easier on you as the writer and for your readers.
Make sure the content you are considering is relevant and authentic to your voice and your brand. When you write about things you know and care about, your expertise and enthusiasm shine through.
Choose words, phrases, and an overall style that reflects you and your business. If you are blogging about decorating, a fun, breezy tone is probably the right fit. If you blog about estate planning or insurance, you likely want a style that shows more gravitas to help you establish credibility and reflects your expertise.
Add photos and graphics to create visual interest.
Use spell check and tools like Grammarly to make sure your blog is free of spelling or punctuation errors. You can use a free-level grammar check or purchase an annual subscription to help make all your writing sing.

Need help writing?

Not everyone loves the process of blogging, but that doesn’t have to be a barrier to starting a blog that supports your business. If you don’t love writing or don’t have the time to do it well, consider hiring a ghostwriter. You share your ideas with a writer who then drafts your blog in your voice. You still get credit as the author while saving a lot of time.

Invite Engagement

The best blogs make readers think and create engagement, measured through likes, comments, and discussion. So, be prepared to engage with your audience and have a conversation.

End each blog with a question for readers. Invite your readers to weigh in on the topic–whether they agree, disagree, or have experiences to share. Have a plan for responding to comments. Engagement is what keeps readers returning. You may even identify a staff member or hire a virtual assistant or social media consultant to take point on responses.

Blogging is a fun and rewarding way to grow your online presence. These tips can help you take your content from ho-hum to fantastic. Leave a comment sharing your experience with blogging.

Written by Lesley Pyle

September 21, 2020

How to Create Top Notch Social Media Content

Social media is everywhere and if you aren’t already using it to promote your business, you are likely considering it. But, good quality social media takes more than a few Facebook posts. If you’re thinking about dipping your toe into the water (or if you are already fully swimming), these tips can help you make the most of your social media presence.

Find Your Why

The first rule of social media is that you should treat it like all other content. It should be:

Authentic to your brand.
Relevant to your mission and goals.
Strategically focused on helping you meet your goals.

The best way to make sure your social media meets this criteria is to identify what you want readers to know, feel, and do after engaging with your content. Asking this question at the beginning of your journey can help direct you, as you map out your social media strategy and start posting.

The best way to do this is to think about what you’re trying to achieve. For example, do you want your social media accounts to:

Create awareness of your business?
Build your brand?
Increase sales leads?
Lead to more engaged customers?
Serve as a supplement to your website? Replace your website?

Identify Your Base Level of Engagement

Knowing your social media starting place makes it easier to track success. Here’s a quick and easy way to assess engagement:

Take an inventory of all your social media accounts.
Identify your number of followers for each platform. Keep a tally by platform. (For example, 80 Facebook followers, 91 Instagram followers.)
Review all your posts on each platform in the last 45 days.
Look at each post and count reactions from followers. If a post has 47 likes and three comments, count that as 50 reactions.
Calculate an average engagement score over all of your content for each platform.

Based on your number of followers and overall engagement score, you now have a quantifiable social media baseline.

Set Goals

With a good sense of your current engagement level in hand, it’s easier to define what success means to you and identify the time period in which you hope to grow. Here are some sample goals:

Attract 50 new Facebook followers by January 15, 2021.
Grow engagement by 20 percent by March 1, 2021.

It takes time and commitment to nurture a social media presence. Set a realistic time frame to achieve your goals.

Also, this is a good time to check in with your own gut and consider how engaged you want to be in the process. Hire a social media manager if you desire a level of engagement beyond your time availability. HireMyMom is a great resource for finding someone to help with this.

Find Your People

Like all communication, understanding your audience is key. Think about what interests them, what drives them, and what moves them to act/buy. You may find it helpful to create an avatar of your typical customer/follower and use that person to guide your work. Determine if you want to spend some advertising or promotion dollars to help find your followers. A social media consultant can help with this.

Find Your Platforms

Next, determine the platforms most relevant to your audience. Check your competitors to see which platforms they are using. Look at influencers in your industry to see what they are posting and where. Observe how your competitors and influencers engage with their audience. Note what hashtags are trending. A few hours with a social media consultant can make this process easier.

A few tips:

Develop a strategy for each platform. What works for Facebook is different from what works on LinkedIn.
Get the right tools for each platform. For example, high quality photos make a big difference on certain platforms. Professional quality videos are key on others.

Find Your Voice

It’s time to start posting! Find the best way to enter the conversation and start executing on your strategy. Here are a few final tips:

Create a monthly or quarterly editorial plan for each platform to help you stay organized and manage your online presence more easily. Monitor trends so you can add or remove content, as needed.
Develop a blog to help you tell your story authentically. This is another area where a freelancer can make life easier for you.
Be prepared to engage with your audience. Successful social media is about conversations and your audience expects connection through engagement and comments. Identify a staff member to take point on responses or hire a virtual specialist to help.

Share Your Story With Us

Social media is a great way to grow your presence and your brand online. We’d love to hear about your experiences. Join the HireMyMom Facebook community or send a note sharing what’s worked for you.

Written by Lesley Pyle

October 8, 2019

How Smart Entrepreneurs and Mompreneurs Use LinkedIn to Attract New Clients

With over 562 million members in 200 countries and across all industries, there is no denying LinkedIn is the top professional networking site. Facebook is where you have a strong circle of friends, Pinterest allows you to tap into evergreen marketing and boost your blog content but LinkedIn is where you can take your business to a whole new level.

LinkedIn is indexed by Google so when it comes to marketing your personal brand and your business, LinkedIn is definitely an important tool to leverage in your marketing efforts. LinkedIn also gives you the ability to search for and connect with your ideal client.

Here are some tips to help you fully leverage LinkedIn as a smart entrepreneur / mompreneur!

CREATE AND FULLY COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE

Your profile is the most important aspect of your LinkedIn account. It’s the first impression people have of your personal brand and business.

Ensure you have a high quality photo and make sure your face is 50% of the size of the circle.
Create a banner image that will be displayed at the top (Canva.com has lots of free templates to help you). Think of this a free highway billboard and use it wisely to promote you and your business.
Add your name and you can also add a title with it to let me know right off the bat what you do. For example “Amanda Jones | Digital Marketing Professional”
Add a short bio
Complete the ABOUT section. This is a great opportunity to highlight what you do and the ideal client you are looking to work with and use as many characters of the max 2,000 as you can. Think of LinkedIn like Google. Your goal is to create a profile that comes up in search results. And remember, most people will only see the first 3 lines so make them count.
Complete all sections to add your experiences, work history, education, volunteer work, skills and website
Add samples of your work or blog posts

It’s important to spend quality time on this and to fully complete this before moving on and connecting with other professionals. Feel free to hop over to my LinkedIn profile to see how I have set up my profile and I would love to connect with you too while you are there!

ENDORSEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Once your profile is fully complete you can reach out and connect with people you know and have worked with on LinkedIn. People you already know is a great place to start because you can ask them to leave you an endorsement and recommendation. This helps to edify you to new people you want to connect with. Be sure to return the favor and leave a recommendation for others as well.

USING LINKEDIN

MAKE NEW CONNECTIONS

Now that you have created your profile, connected with people you know and received some recommendations and endorsements you are ready to start making other connections, especially with people who are your ideal client. Think of LinkedIn as an online network group and search engine. Let’s say for example you are a logo designer and you are wanting to network with website designers who can refer clients to you who will need a logo designed for their website.

You can go to the search bar in LinkedIn and type in “website designer” and have it filter for “people” and it will pull up search results for those that have “website designer” in their profiles. LinkedIn will filter the results by mutual connections you have with other people.

When you click on the “connect” button, you will have the opportunity to type out an invitation before sending. LinkedIn will have a generic one but it’s important that you personalize every invitation you send. Take the time to look at their profile and make the invitation all about them not about you.

“Hi Lori, I see that you are a website designer and as a graphic designer in the same industry I would love to connect and know how I can support you and send referrals your way. Look forward to connecting with you.”

People will be a lot more likely to accept your invitation to connect if they feel valued and not like you have an agenda.

POST UPDATES

Make LinkedIn part of your daily marketing routine. Use LinkedIn to share your blog content and other articles that would interest your network of connections, tips, resources and to highlight your work. Remember as with any social media platform, the goal is to tell instead of sell.

LinkedIn also has an app that can make posting and the time you spend networking easier too.

CREATE A SOCIAL VIBE ON LINKEDIN

Ensure you are engaging with your network through their status updates too. You can’t expect to post and not spend time supporting others on their posts. Social media doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Set a timer to spend 10 minutes to like and comment (5+ words on any social media platform shows the algorithm that your comment is a real genuine comment and not a bot).

THE POWER OF GROUPS

LinkedIn has a lot of great groups that you can join to connect with more like-minded people and share your expertise. You can use the search bar to search for groups in your niche. Be selective and only commit to joining groups that you feel you can actively participate in. You will need to send an invitation to the moderators for them to approve your request. Once they do, be sure to read the group rules and be a respectful member of the group and give value. It’s a great opportunity to find more people to connect with.

Take the time to implement these tips and you should see some great connections and future clients before too long!

ABOUT HIREMYMOM…

Over the past 12+ years, HireMyMom has helped thousands of small businesses find the perfect candidate for their projects while helping thousands of mom professionals find in their remote dream jobs. We do that by providing a platform that brings the best group of qualified and passionate women together with the best group of successful and growing small businesses who are looking for highly qualified virtual professionals with skills, experience and expertise.

How is HireMyMom different?

As more of a boutique site, candidates on HireMyMom do not have to compete with 100s or 1,000s of other applicants and our small businesses do not have to wade through 1,000s of applicants,
We do not take a percentage or commission of earnings from virtual professionals OR the small businesses,
HireMyMom is more than a job site; we are community offering personalized services, training, support and virtual high-fives,
- Moms, join our FB Community here.
- Small Businesses, we invite you to join us here.
Our site is primarily for those in North America and native English speakers familiar with U.S. Business culture and in or near the same time zones,
We offer our Small Business VIP Concierge program where our HR Specialists will hand select top candidate(s) for our Small Business clients.

Mom Professionals looking for legitimate, remote jobs and projects, start here.

Small Businesses looking find high-quality, independent candidates, start here.

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Get noticed on LinkedIn: 5 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success

Get noticed on LinkedIn: 5 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success