How often do you check out the Instagram Stories that show up at the top of your account? As a digital marketing expert, I think that Instagram Stories are a brilliant addition to Instagram (and the other platforms like Twitter that are introducing similar features). Instagram Stories are a limited-time form of social media: short-form videos only available for 24 hours. While this might seem like a downside, it’s actually a big plus! People rush to watch the Stories while available, boosting the number of eyes on your posts! As videos tend to have a well, video component to them,…
How many social media channels do you have for your small business? Many small business owners think they need to post EVERYWHERE on social media. They spend dozens of hours crafting platform-specific posts, commenting, and trying to engage with their audience. And while I applaud their commitment, I am here to tell you that might not be the best use of your time. As a small business owner, you have a limited amount of hours in the day. You can only do so much, and social media is one of the biggest time-sucks ever. That means, if you are planning…
When you hear “social media,” you probably think of Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. But there are other social media networks out there that can also offer incredible value to a small business owner. For example, Pinterest! In the world of social media, I think that Pinterest is MAJORLY underrated. It’s simply a fantastic place to spend your time online. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, it’s free of much of the “drama” that’s traditionally associated with social media. You can simply log into Pinterest and take a look around for some great content! But the real magic of Pinterest for a small…
How many influencers do you follow on social media? A social media influencer is one of those concepts that no one saw coming at the birth of social media. Today, influencers are more important than ever when it comes to marketing! Attracting influencers to your social media channels should be a key component of building your following. Getting a retweet from someone big in your industry can instantly bring many followers to your accounts! Of course, that’s easier said than done. And before you get to that point, you need to make sure that your social media is in fantastic…
I get asked this question all of the time! Should I focus on social media marketing or email marketing? Which one is more important for my online business? Ok, I am going to preface this by saying that I absolutely love social media marketing. The arrival of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other social media networks we use today completely changed what digital marketing meant for small businesses. Before that, your digital marketing options were limited. There was your homepage, landing pages, and maybe pop-up ads on some websites, and that was it. Social media changed all that. It allowed small…
Do you feel that your social media growth has stalled? One of the most frustrating parts about creating an online community is the feeling that it isn’t growing. Many small business owners start pages for their businesses on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and invest hours and hours into them, only to see their followers tick up one at a time in slow motion. Many social media “experts” will tell you that the trick to social media is perseverance, and I agree with that. However, it’s important to remember that spending hours every day on social media is NOT your job! And…
How much time every week do you spend on your social media? I’m not just talking about writing it. Creating compelling content is only one of the keys to social media marketing success. So much more needs to go into it if you genuinely want to build your audience and convert your followers into paying customers! Here’s an admission for you: I’ve been spending WAY too much time recently growing my Instagram! But I genuinely believe that it’s worth every second. Social media channels like Instagram and Facebook offer small businesses an invaluable (and remarkably cheap) advertising platform to reach…
I bet the holiday shopping season is going to be a little different this year. Every November, you see the same news story on Black Friday: hundreds of people crowding outside of Walmarts and Targets around the country, waiting to grab as many deals as they can. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year with sales galore. COVID-19, however, has changed all that. I suspect that we won’t see the insane crowds as usual outside of stores this Friday, November 27th. As large indoor gatherings are prohibited, stores won’t allow a borderline mob to roar in, grabbing everything in…
Are you on social media? Of course you are! Who isn’t! Do you remember your very first exposure to social media? Oh my gosh, for me it was Classmates.com! Haha. But for many of you, it may have been MySpace! Do you remember what it felt like to, for the very first time, have unlimited reach? You could make friends and connect with anyone in the entire world. Communication was the way of the future. That was the promise of social media in the late 90s. But no one could have predicted what it would become in the 2010s! Facebook,…
Want to know an online business secret? Content equals growth! It’s true! Content creation has been the core of everything I’ve done with my businesses for the past 20 years. However, when I took my content creation to the next level that is when my business really took off. Take my green lifestyle blog, Sweet Greens. Haha! Are you thinking, What? She has a green lifestyle blog too? Sweet Greens was born of my passion for environmental causes and green products. It started as a simple blog (I thought it would be a fun way to document the fun eco-friendly…
