Tips to improve social media for your small business

With 4.2 billion active social media users in the world, it’s never been more important for small businesses to get their social media right.

So here’s some top tips to help:

Think about your audience

Consider your target audience and which social media platforms they use most. There’s no point spending time creating the best Instagram posts, if no one in your industry uses it.

Using the right platforms will help you build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, engage with customers and sell online.

Regular content

Posting content regularly will help your business get noticed and targeted content will help with SEO (search engine optimisation) and get you more followers.

But you can have too much of a good thing! There’s a danger of losing people’s interest if you post more than once a day. For many, once a week is ideal.

Schedule posts

It’s worth putting together a plan with interesting content ideas and deadlines. It can be tricky to break away from something when you’re in the middle of it, so creating and scheduling your posts in advance will give you a chance to focus – and make sure you don’t forget to post!

Scheduling posts for key times of the day, when people are most likely to be checking their phones or social media accounts, will help you reach a wider audience.

Mix it up

Changing the format of your social posts is also a great way to boost engagement. If you usually post a photo, try a video or a GIF, adding emojis and hashtags is also an effective way of breaking up text.

Don’t forget to change the tone, style and content of your posts when using different social media platforms. What you post on Instagram doesn’t have to be the same as what you’d post on LinkedIn.

Connect

Social media is a great way to connect and build relationships with your customers. It’s also an instant way to respond to your customers and start conversations.

It’s good to keep an eye on social media trends in your industry, to understand what people are looking for, helping you to create engaging content and remain current.

A simple way to stay connected in your industry is to reshare posts and show appreciation for your staff, customers and industry innovation.

Call to action

Attention spans are short, so adding images is a great visual way of getting your post noticed.

Now that you’ve got your customers’ attention, make sure you follow it up, give them a reason to get in touch.

Check it’s working

Take a step back and see which posts your target audience are engaging with – and to put it simply, do more of them! Posting unrelatable content will cause you to lose followers.

There’s no denying planning, creating and posting attention-grabbing social media content takes time and experience. If it’s really not your thing, why not enlist the help of social media experts.

For a free marketing ideas session with social media experts, contact us on 01962 600 147 or email info@tlc-business.co.uk

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Best Length For a Blog Post

Producing blogs is a great way to share expertise, drive traffic to your website and build engagement. If this sounds like something you want for your business, the next question people typically ask is, “what is the best length for a blog post?”

 

Getting the answer to this right is important because it has implications for SEO, engagement and more.

Before starting to write a blog, you must consider the collection factors that will influence how well your blog performs. Your audience, the structure of the post, the topic and the promotional channel are all elements that will determine the ‘perfect’ length for your blog.

You are probably now saying, “that is all great, but how many words should I write?” If so, let’s dive in deeper and determine what the best length for a blog post really is.

 

Is there a perfect length for a blog post?

You probably already knew this, but the truth is, the best length for a blog post completely varies depending on the content you are producing. Sounds like a cop out, right? But a word count does not define how meaningful (and effective) a piece of text is.

 

For example, if the topic is frequently asked about and searched for by many users online, a substantial (we’ll get on to what this actually looks like in a second) blog is ideal. Whereas, if it is a quick promotion of a service or a product you are advertising, it is best to keep it short and simple.

 

“Give us a number!” we hear you shout….

 

Blog word counts and what they are best for:

  • 50-300 words: These are short and snappy posts that tend to get more of the comments. Shorter posts are great conversation starters. They are straight-forward, and although they might not get many shares online, they are easy to read and create on a regular basis. 50-300 words are most effective for selling a product or a service and getting a reader to take a specific ‘Call to Action’ (CTA) i.e. downloading an e-book or signing up to an email list.
  • 300-600 words: These posts are the most common blogging length. They are still quick, easy to read and to the point. This length is a popular middle-ground for social media shares and engagement.
  • 750 words: This length is typically used for professional journalism, especially for newsletters. The length is great for shares on social media.
  • 1000-1600 words: This length is the most popular for blogging platforms and mostly used to address audience questions and solve someone’s problem. According to Medium, a collaborative writing platform, the ideal length for a blog is 1,600 words (or takes 7 minutes to read). A 1,600-word blog can be the perfect length as it gives the writer enough leeway to explain the chosen topic in detail, whilst also keeping the reader engaged. There is an opportunity to get lots of engagement on these posts and a high number of shares on social media. The most significant factor for this length is making sure the topic is interesting and solves a frequently experienced problem.
  • 1,600-2,500 words: The highest-ranking articles on Google are typically around this length. These posts can rank well on search engines. They help a website’s SEO by increasing the time spent on page. They can also encourage a new reader to join your mailing list to receive future insightful content. If the chosen topic is interesting to your audience and addresses a topic that readers are continuously searching around, the blog has a good shot at being a hit.

 

What is more important that blog length?

Relevance to your audience! It is irrelevant how many words your blog is, if it doesn’t address a relevant issue or topic to your target audience. We could write the most wonderfully researched 2,500 word blog on cultivating roses in a small garden, but if we are looking to engage with and build an audience of small business owners, the blog just won’t cut it.

 

So, what is the best length for your next blog post?

Well that depends on what outcome you are trying to achieve. Shorter content (at least 300 words) is the ideal blog post length if you are looking to create regular content on a wide range of topics that encourages visitors to take some form of call to action. It also makes it more practical to create on a regular and consistent basis.

 

Whereas, if you want to create a piece of content that will significantly improve your SEO and position you as an expert on that particular topic, you should consider devoting additional time to creating quality, long-form content of 1,600+ words. Less frequent posts, with deeper, more detailed content, can help you win at the SEO game.

 

All that being said, whilst we understand that having a word count target can be helpful, the bottom-line is, write what you are passionate about. Don’t focus on the length of your posts too much. It is better to produce high quality text with fewer words, rather than ‘rambling’ on for the sake of a higher word count. And with that in mind, I’ll shut up now!


To arrange a free virtual marketing ideas session with our friendly marketing team, call 01962 600 147 or email info@tlc-business.co.uk

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Top 5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Agency

Working with a marketing agency definitely has its benefits, so we’ve put together 5 of the top reasons to outsource your marketing needs:

1) New perspective

An outsourced marketing team acts as a great sounding board for ideas and will make sure you have a consistent joined-up marketing strategy across your business. They’ll be able to suggest tried and tested methods that you may not have thought of, and help generate new creative ideas, so you can start seeing positive results quickly.

If you’ve spent years entrenched in your business, jargon and acronyms become second nature, but they can be confusing and off-putting for new customers. By working with a marketing agency, you can check everything makes sense and refocus on what is most important to grow your business.

2) More time to focus on your business

Developing a marketing strategy, planning content and delivering your strategy effectively – from lead generation and email campaigns, to researching content for your next blog – all take time.

A marketing agency can take the pressure off and do it for you, so you can save time and use your resources wisely, by focusing on the important things (that you know inside out) like running your business.

3) Save money

Although there is an initial cost, when you think about it, working with a marketing agency instead of having an in-house marketing team will soon save you money. You won’t need to spend out on salaries, benefits, training, office space, equipment, invest in the latest marketing tools or upgrade with technological advancements.

4) Expert knowledge

It’s hard to be a jack of all trades, so if you need help with telemarketing, event management, PR, copywriting, design or SEO (search engine optimisation) – hiring a marketing agency could be just what you need, as you’ll have expert knowledge and resources at your fingertips.

Working with a team of skilled passionate professionals, you’ll receive top advice across a broad spectrum of marketing.

Do you have a big event coming up, or a new product to promote, but no experience in design? With access to a designer you’ll soon have something eye-catching that appeals to your target audience.

Are you struggling to get your website to appear high up the Google search rankings?
Having SEO experts on your side will definitely help. You may find PPC (Pay-Per-Click) could also be an option worth exploring.

Are you finding your target audience isn’t engaging with your content?
Social media experts will help to get your posts noticed and copywriters can put together engaging content and help with PR.

Whatever your issue, a marketing agency will work with you to find the best solution.

5) Get results

Good marketing agencies will be committed to understanding your goals and creating a marketing strategy that delivers positive results. With access to the latest technology, they will be able to monitor campaign results and ensure the marketing strategy is working.

So whether you are looking to grow your business, appeal more to your target audience, build your brand awareness and stand out in a crowded market, or create engaging content to increase your followers – a marketing agency is well placed to do it all.

To arrange a free virtual marketing ideas session with our friendly outsourced marketing team, call 01962 600 147 or email info@tlc-business.co.uk

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