5 years

What’s the stat on small businesses not making it past the first 5 years? I don’t know, and I’m not going to look it up, but I MADE IT 5 YEARS!

I was employed for over 20 years in property. I loved the job, but as a parent of a young child, an inflexible job was taking it’s toll. Your first thought when your child wakes up with a temperature shouldn’t be the dread of having to make the call to work to say you can’t come in! And the worry of taking that phone call 5 minutes before you have to leave the office, watching the clock knowing if you don’t shut this down quickly you’re going to be late for pickup!

So, I quit! I found a course in Social Media Marketing and went out on my own in February 2018. Despite a marriage breakdown in 2019, the sh*t show that was 2020, a fairly major health struggle in 2021, and the ‘Cozzie Livs’ crisis since 2022… Running Social is still here and, dare I say it, thriving!

I’ve had some really lovely clients that have stuck with me through it all, and so much support from friends and family; sharing my posts, recommending me on Facebook groups, letting me know about potential new opportunities and generally being amazing. I couldn’t have done it without you!

I’m kept busy with my Social Media Management work, having 4 businesses I produce and schedule content for on a regular basis. I also have several clients I run ad-hoc social media advertising campaigns for, plus consultancy and training work, and I’ve branched out into websites after building my own and being asked by clients to do the same for them.

I’ve really never looked back. The lack of paid holidays and job security is a small price to pay for being your own boss, managing your own time, and making things happen for yourself. It’s the life I always wanted. If you’ve thought of doing the same thing just do it! It’s the best decision I ever made.

I’m currently at capacity with my Social Media Management clients, however I will have availability from April ‘23 onwards for websites and other ad-hoc projects. If you have a small business and need some help with your online marketing do get in touch.

Are you making the most of your social media channels?

“We might as well set up an account on all social media platforms, it’s free right?”

Yes it is ‘free’, but just setting up an account, adding your logo and pushing out a sales pitch every now and then could actually do more harm than good to your brand.

Posting infrequent uninteresting content will gain very little engagement, most likely causing any initial excitement you had for the platform to dwindle, meaning you’ll put in even less effort.

Having a strategy is crucial.  Who are you talking to?  What is your brand message? Your ‘tone of voice’? What are your content segments and how will you source your content? 

Social media done right can build confidence and loyalty to your brand.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

Other points to bear in mind;

Your customers are on social media.

Social Media isn’t just a platform to shout about your product, (nobody will hear you anyway if you’re not doing it right), but it’s a way to listen to your target audience and build relationships with potential customers.

We call it ‘Social Listening’.

Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash

Social Proof

According to Sprout Social, 74% of customers consult social media before committing to a purchase.  If your customer looks you up, what do you want them to see?  A semi-abandoned news feed with the occasional ‘buy me/hire me/use me’ post?  Or, regular visual engaging content, displaying your brand’s personality and vibe, as well as a clear message about your product or service.

Your potential customers can also see reviews and recommendations left by real people, boosting your credibility and gaining immediate trust.

Social Advertising

Paid social media advertising can be a cost-effective way to spend your advertising budget.  Take Facebook for example.  With their paid advertising service you are tapping into Facebooks wealth of data on its 2.28 Billion monthly active users (as at q2 2018).  Do you want to find people who have a close friend that’s recently got engaged?  People who live within 10 miles of your business and have an interest in gardening?  People who have a birthday in the next month?  People with grandchildren? English speakers in Southern France?  You can do that.  There are whole host of targeting options available meaning you can choose who will see your advert and therefore spend your budget wisely.  You may be surprised how far your budget will go.

You can also set up a pixel in your website, meaning you can track your conversions from your social advertising, and re-target those who have visited your site, or even a specific page on your site.

So, there is a bit of work involved in making the most of your ‘free’ accounts!

If you’d like to get your Social Media working harder for your business, get in touch for a chat.