There is a cool new feature in Canva and I can’t wait to share it with you!
It really is fun and easy to do. You can now add borders to shapes. Plus, you can change the style border and the color of the border. In my video, I use a circle, but you can use any of the shapes in Canva.
Upgrade to Canva Pro to get all of these amazing features!! Let me know what you think about this new feature. Are you going to try it out ASAP!?!?
Where does the time go? We are sitting at the beginning of yet another month. It’s been such a quick summer already. Here’s a quick guide to get you thinking about social media post ideas for the month! No excuses–I’ve made it super easy for you!
July 1 – Create a FLASH Sale…make this a hot offer, limited time only
July 2 – Feel Good Friday – share a picture of something that makes you happy and ask your audience to share what makes them happy
July 3 – Small Business Shoutout – share (tag) a favorite local small business you want your fans to know about
July 4 – 4th of July – share a pic of a local flag display and comment what freedom means to you
July 5 – It’s National Work-aholic Day – encourage everyone to create balance in their life.
July 6 – Tuesday Tip – provide a valuable tip that your audience can use right away.
July 7 – Wednesday Wisdom- share a meaningful quote or thought
July 8 – Share a blog post from an industry leader
July 9 – Friday Introductions – give a few things about yourself and ask your fans to share something about themselves
July 10 – What’s your current VIBE? Share a favorite song
July 11 – Sunday Funday – share a selfie of something fun you did or are doing over the weekend
July 12 – Customer Review – share and tag (with permission)
July 13 – Share a stat about your industry
July 14 – Work it Wednesday – show your work desk, share behind the scenes or give a hint on your current projects
July 15 – Get to Know Your Customer Day – ask them what their favorite item of yours is
July 16 – Ask for advice on what to cook for dinner–share your favorite grilling recipe
July 17 – World Emoji Day – ask fans to share their most used emoji with you in the comments
July 18 – Video–share a quick 3 min or less video on why you are in business
July 19 – Promote a product or service
July 20 – Ask for advice or a referral (could be anything!)
July 21 – #wcw, share a woman that inspires you
July 22 – Invite fans to join your email/newsletter
July 23 – Answer a FAQ
July 24 – Share a weekend gif and ask fans to share their plans for the weekend with a gif
July 25 – Gratitude post – share something you are grateful for in your business
July 26 – Monday Motivation – share a motivational quote
July 27 – Highlight a local vendor
July 28 – Share the story behind your name/logo
July 29 – #tbt Throwback Thursday – dig into your archives and find an old post or something from when you just started
July 30 – International Day of Friendship – highlight a friendship you’ve created by owning your business
July 31 – Month end wrap-up – share a story of a success from the month
WHOA…where did April go? Holy cow, time is moving so fast!! Here’s is a quick guide you can reference for Content Ideas in May. If you find them helpful, share this with a friend!
May 1st – Kentucky Derby Day – encourage fans to show off their fancy hats or share a recipe for a Mint Julip!
May 4th – Star Wars Day – Have fun with this one! May the 4th be with you! Do a Google Search to find a picture that is relevant to your industry using the Star Wars Theme!
May 5th – Cinco de Mayo – Ask fans to share local spots for the best Mexican Food or share a picture of you/your team celebrating!
May 6th – Nurses Day – This is a perfect time to do a shout-out for the Nurses in your community. Encourage Fans to tag their favorite nurse for a chance to win a prize!
May 9th – Mother’s Day – Share a photo of how you are celebrating or remembering mom on this day! If you purchased the 365 Days of Content Bundle, there’s a premade graphic you can use!
May 15th – Armed Forces Day – Today is a day to pay special tribute to the men and women who serve our country.
May 20th – National Rescue Dog Day – Got a shelter dog in your life? Share a photo and include a link to the shelter that introduced the two of you. Encourage your fans to share a picture of their rescue dog too!
May 21st – Bike to Work Day – Ask fans how far they would have to bike if they rode to work today! Tag a local bike shop and encourage people to get outside and ride!
May 25th – National Wine Day – Share your favorite or highlight a local vineyard by
including a link to their profile.
May 28th – National Road Trip Day – Where would you travel for a road trip? Ask fans, post a picture of your destination or favorite past road trip!
May 31st – Memorial Day – First and foremost, remember the meaning of the day and celebrate those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Second, be sure to share photos of what you’re doing on this unofficial start of summer! If you purchased the 365 Days of Content Bundle, there’s a premade graphic you can use!
Social media is the new word of mouth, and brand trust is what measures how seriously consumers will take you. Trusted businesses usually serve as the leaders in smaller communities, but only after they prove their expertise. Consumers are more willing to trust companies that market in this way. They are more likely to share posts and spread branding messages, because they are more likely to know and talk to the people within that social circle anyway. So how does a business build brand trust using social media?
More than 80% of today’s consumers rank the opinions of their peers above any product advertisement. If your social media is full of user-generated content, you will attract a much more loyal audience than a thread that is full of direct advertisements and one-way media.
Encourage reviews, even negative ones. Not only does this lend transparency to your business, but it also gives you the advantage of finding your weaknesses.
When someone interacts with your brand, the quicker you are to respond the better off your brand will be. This goes for customer service comments, reviews, issues and general interactions on your social media posts.
80% of your content should provide value to your audience; leaving 20% of your content to feature a sales pitch. This ratio may seem tiny until you realize that modern consumers are trained to tune out advertisements completely. Unless you build trust as an expert, no amount of sales pitches will increase your conversions.
Create your content in a way that provides a truly pure opportunity for outreach. Once your prospects recognize you as an expert in the field, they will naturally look to you to solve their problems in that field.
More than anything, consumers are looking for interaction. This may seem counterintuitive as we move more deeply into the digital age, but we are a social species. The businesses with the best social media conversations will have better visibility and more conversions.
Think of your social media threads as you would the neighborhood bar – the more inviting the atmosphere, the more beer you are likely to sell, so it’s important to focus on the atmosphere instead of the beer.
94% of consumers stated that transparency in a business was essential in gaining their loyalty. But what exactly does “transparency” mean? It means that a company is willing to use social media to provide a “backstage pass” to the company. Savvy companies are using social media to bring attention to the people within the company. This helps to personalize the connection with the audience.
Today’s consumers are highly sensitive to how businesses interact with the outside community. These consumers are more likely to regularly give their business to a company that goes green and gives back. If your company embodies either of these characteristics, don’t hide it. Make it a prominent part of your social media outreach.
From your URL to your Facebook conversations, your primary goal on social media should be to build trust with your target audience. A proper branding strategy is essential here – your audience must know what to connect to after you have proven your value in the market.
Are you currently using Instagram in your social media marketing mix?
If not, you should really take a strong look at starting.
Instagram is a very personal social network that uses imagery to capture the audiences attention. With over 400 million active users, you better bet your target market is using it.
People come to Instagram for visual inspiration. This gives your business the opportunity to tell your story through unique and creative visual images. By using Instagram, you can use your visual images to showcase your products and services.
So if you are brand new to Instagram or an avid user for your business…consider these EASY tips to increase your success on this social media channel:
Your pictures/post should evoke an emotional response. This should be authentic to your brand and really showcase your brand’s personality.
Use hashtags in your post to encourage new prospects to find you. It is recommended not to put more than 3 in the actual post. It is more common to add hashtags to the comment section. Create a list of well-researched hashtags that will attract new followers. The most popular keywords in your industry would be a great place to start.
The final tip to implement right away is to use questions to engage your following. Simple questions help encourage engagement…which is exactly what social media marketing is all about. Some questions to get you started…
If you incorporate these 3 easy tips into your Instagram Marketing strategy right now, you should see increased engagement and following.
While you are at it…make sure you are following me on Instagram!
