marketing

Size Doesn’t Matter – It’s What You Do With It That Counts!

Cupped hand holding out a transparent sphere with social platform logos on a blue background

That’s right, you guessed it! We’re talking about a Social Media account …

When it comes to social media we are often asked ‘Why don’t I have more followers/ likes?’. 

There are plenty of things to consider (check out our Digital Marketing blogs for lots of organic strategies on how to grow your social media presence: https://momentumbusinesssupport.com/category/digital-marketing/).  

But for now, I want to focus on WHY you want ‘more’ followers. Why do you want your account to appear bigger than it is?

True, the more people that follow your accounts the better it could appear, the higher your reach per post might be and it will probably make you feel better about the time and effort you’re putting in. Realistically though, why is your business even on social media?

If it’s just about having as many people or companies as possible following you, I’m going to be blunt and suggest in that case you’re wasting good time that should be spent elsewhere on your business.

If however, you’re utilising these valuable marketing tools to increase your exposure, uplift your SEO, provide a portal for prospects and customers to interact with you and ultimately generate new business, then the question I pose back is ‘Does size really matter?’.

Conducting a social media account in a way that positively represents your brand, your values and your products or services is much more important than sharing funny cat videos (unless of course you’re in the business of funny cats!). The cute animal pictures or the on-trend humour memes or the afore-mentioned ‘funny cat videos’ may all gain a certain level of reach or interaction and will endear a certain audience to your content, but what is it all achieving? Unless those posts are part of an overall marketing strategy culminating in reaching your ideal target audience, your time and effort is wasted.

I know it feels good to have a large number of followers, but the aim of the game when it comes to using these free marketing tools, is to win more business. Isn’t that why you do all your other marketing? So why treat social media any different?

If you made 100 prospecting calls and gained 10 leads, you’d be thrilled! But if you had 10 followers and not 100, you’d be disappointed. What I’m trying to say is, if you focus more on quality and not quantity, you will find that even if you only have a perceived ‘small’ number of followers, they will become advocates, influencers and even customers. So size really doesn’t matter – it’s all about how you’re using your social media marketing that counts!

If you’d like to chat through your next social media marketing strategy, please get in touch, we’re always happy to provide free advice: makeithappen.. E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com T: 01903 688789

Make It Happen – 20 Of The Best ‘Call To Action’ Phrases To Try

white keyboard with custom keys and the CTA "BUY" displayed on the enter key

A call to action (also known as a CTA in short) has the power to direct your potential customers where you want them to go. Whether it’s via your social media channels, website, newsletters or even in person at networking events (remember those days?) you need to make sure that your call to actions are clear and engaging. Put yourself in your customers shoes for example, when you want to purchase something, you want to be told exactly where to go, right?

The best call to action phrases are always specific, clear (to be honest, sometimes just kept super simple) and emphasised with urgency to drive your potential customer to take action. 

To give you some inspiration, below we have listed some captivating CTAs (including some that we have had the most success with) so, the next time you need to use a call to action – why not try out one of these?

1. Click Here To…

2. Download Now

3. Sign Up For Your Free Trial

4. Join Now And Get…

5. We Want To Hear From You!

6. Sign up At…

7. Learn More Here

8. Continue Reading

9. We Look Forward To Hearing From You

10. Please Don’t Hesitate To Call Us

11. Drop Us An Email

12. Give Us A Call

13. Read The Blog

14. Get Yours Now

15. Tell Us What You Think

16. Don’t Delay, Act Today!

17. Book Now

18. Join Us

19. Subscribe For More

20. And finally, of course – our personal favourite – make it happen..

Want to find out more? (That’s another one to add to the list!), then please do get in touch with us – we’d be more than happy to help. 

E:  makeithappen@mbsmih.com  T: 01903 688789

7 Free Ways To Promote Your Small Business

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We’re often asked about the cheapest and easiest ways to promote small businesses, so here’s 7 quick-fire ideas to help you promote yours:

Create a Google listing

It’s easy and it’s free. Just search ‘Google business listing’ and get your business (literally) on the map.

Get blogging

The more you give, the more you get. Use your expertise to write about topics your customers and prospects will find valuable and interesting. Share your blogs in as many places as possible and tell everyone about them.

Tap into social media

Everyone else is doing it, so get out there and get heard. Share company updates and offers, impart knowledge and information, and directly interact with your target market.

Go networking

People buy from people. One of the best ways to promote your business is to get out there and share your passion and enthusiasm.

Collaborate with other businesses

Think of businesses whose target market is the same as yours. For example, an accountant will have a similar customer base to an HR consultant. Build relationships with them and help each other out with promotion and referrals.

Ask for referrals

Don’t be afraid to ask your current customers for referrals. You can also ask friends, family, your business network and anyone else you know.

Enter awards

Take part in local awards and national awards relevant to your industry. At the very least the judging panel will learn about your business, but much more will likely come if you’re shortlisted – and even more if you win!

If you’re unsure about any of these ideas, or would like help getting them in place, please get in touch: 01903 688789  |  makeithappen@mbsmih.com

How Can I Market My Small Business?

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Create Meaningful and Engaging Content

The foundation for everything is creating your own meaningful and engaging content that you’ll be able to share in multiple ways and places. Answer a question, talk about the latest trends, make a podcast, create a regular feature… the list goes on. Create content that speaks to your ideal customer. Content they can connect and engage with.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a must for any business. It is an important tool that you can use to build and maintain relationships with clients, prospects and leads. You can use Email Marketing to showcase your products, services, promotions and valuable content directly into inboxes through regular e-newsletters.

Social Media Marketing

If your business isn’t active on Social Media, you are seriously missing out. Having a presence on social media is vital for your brand awareness and is a great way to engage with potential clients. We recommend starting off with the big 3 – Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn, as these are the accounts your ideal customers / clients are likely to be present on. Ensure that when you have created your social channels, you are posting content and interacting on a regular basis. Talk about what you offer, how you can and share useful content with your audience too (blogs, tips, advice, opinions, etc.). This sort of content will encourage your audience to engage with you.

Blog

Running a business blog and updating it regularly is an amazing way to share your advice and knowledge with your audience. What’s even better is that posting blogs to your website will help your SEO. This means your website will be more highly recognised in search results.

Networking & Building Relationships

“Your network is the people who want to help you, and you want to help them, and that’s really powerful” – Reid Hoffman

Starting out as a new small business can be very lonely. Attending networking events will not only make you feel reassured by others in the same boat as you, but also help you to build relationships, find clients and gain referrals. It’s all about who you know – making connections is a great way to gain awareness of your business and what it can offer for others.

Starting out with marketing your business can be an overwhelming thought. Where do I start? How do I know if I’m doing it right? We know exactly how you feel – we’ve been there ourselves.

We are truly passionate about supporting the growth of small businesses (we do after all make up approximately 95% of the WORLDS businesses!) So if you’d like some support with starting out with your marketing, get in touch, we’d be happy to talk through the options with you. makeithappen@mbsmih.com | 01903 688789.