Socialfsure

01/01/2021

🦋 Happy New Year 🦋

New year, new opportunities!

With many of us having suffered huge losses in 2020, both personal and businesswise, it is hard to even feel motivated to focus on all the wonderful opportunities that this new year will bring us. However, that's what we need to try to do.

In the words of Michelle Obama: "In those darkest moments, you will have a choice: do you dwell on everything you've lost, or do you focus on what you still have and find a way to move forward with passion, with determination, and with joy?" (Oregon State University commencement, June 2012)

As my husband always says to me and the children when talking about things that we have not yet done, "The best time to do it was THEN, but the second best time to do it is NOW". Here's to everything that 2021 can offer if only we are willing to open our arms and welcome it in.

#2021 https://www.socialfsure.co.uk/

11/11/2019

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the local Whitstable shop owners, who showed a great sense of community which we we know to run through the veins of , by gifting some truly fabulous raffle prizes, along with those that helped us on the day. With all of your support we managed to raise a whopping £500 on the night, £250 for and £250 for which is brilliant. We love Whitstable and all that live here because it the place where we make our own magic!
http://www.socialfsure.co.uk

10/10/2019

News on the street! This felt particularly apt to discuss today as its's . Apparently our Instagram feed could soon look very different according to Chris Haplin, PB's social media editor. "A trial - initially launched in Canada, but since expanded to more countries - has seen the number of "likes" on content hidden from public view. While there's been no confirmation the feature will launch worldwide, the trial's expansion suggests it may be coming to the UK sooner rather than later".

So I hear you ask WHY? Why are Instagram hiding likes?

Well actually, give credit where credit is due, I believe that they are doing it for positive reasons. Apparently Instagram is ranked as the most negative social media platform for wellbeing, (2017 poll by Royal Society for Public Health). In all honesty as a mum of teenage children I see it before my very eyes daily. As such Instagram has offered two explanations for their decision:

1. "We want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get".
2. "We want people to worry a little less about how many likes they are getting".

In a period where reports are clearly linking social media to a rise in people feeling negative or anxious about themselves, Instagram's response is to show that they are listening and taking steps to try to create a positive environment.

People will find it much harder to compare their own content directly with others with likes no longer being public, (users will be able to see the number of likes on their own content, but not other people's).

Of course the next obvious question here is; WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MY BUSINESS?

It very much depends on what your social media goals are.
If you were previously able to draw in big numbers of likes and attract custom this way then, yes to be candid the impact on your business's instagram page is a bigger one, than for example those businesses that use it as an awareness tool or a customer services tool.

The trick is to come up with new ways to make your profile stand out.

One valuable tip is to create content that encourages interaction, and comments. Ask questions all the time. Although the likes will be hidden any comments made will be clearly on show for all to see!

Now YOUR turn - What do you consider to be KEY to any good social media campaign?

25/06/2019

Do you use Instagram filters? I have used Lo-Fi here, which is one of the most popular filters used by big brands. Normal or taking first place and the X-Pro II filter in third place.

What do you use?

http://www.socialfsure.co.uk

25/06/2019

What is a social media audit?

A social media audit is the series of steps taken to evaluate and optimise a business's social media profiles and strategies. When finished your audit should give you a clear picture of what purpose each of your social accounts serves, both in terms of functionality and effectivity.

How do I perform a social media audit:

1. Locate all profiles.

Most of your profiles should be easy to find if social media is well-integrated into a company's marketing strategy. However, there are always those that slip through the net! These will be ones that have probably become less popular since their inauguration. Aside from the obvious such as Facebook and Twitter, I would suggest checking Google Plus, LinkedIn, Yelp, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Periscope and many more. An Internet search can find elusive profiles and point out any unofficial ones.

2. Record information

Make a spreadsheet to record the platform of each profile capturing the following;
Its URL.
Who has access to it, (listing their roles if applicable).
Its number of followers.
How frequently each profile is updated.
How often viewers - both followers and non-followers - respond to comments and post ones of their own.
Does viewer engagement rise with frequent posting, or do they prefer a select few updates?
Recording viewer engagement can be done manually or through a social media metrics service.

3. Check each profile for completion

Go through each profile and make sure that every input option is filled & updated regularly if necessary.

4. Consider the market

Certain markets gravitate towards different platforms. Are viewers more engaged on one profile than another, and if so, why? Look at the market each profile attracts and evaluate if this market reflects your brand's goals and strategies.

I would look at each platform and ask the following 3 questions:

1.) Is my audience here?
2.) If so, how are they using the platform?
3.) Can I use this account to help achieve meaningful goals?

5. Set goals.
Once profiles are consistent and evaluated you need to set new goals. These could be to increase follower numbers, comments or responses.

6. Dispose of unnecessary profiles

7. Identify unauthorised profiles

Unfortunately, there may be instances where a company finds fake profiles written in its name. These can actually prove to be harmful to your brand. Hootsuite, (a profile management service), advises taking steps to shut them down asap.

Conclusion:
Social media audits are involved and time consuming, but it is absolutely imperative to perform one reasonably regularly to ensure that branding is consistent and online marketing is effective. Many companies do not allocate time and money to their social media services but really should. The question you have to ask is what is the cost if I/we don't take this seriously now?

SocialFSure offers audits as part of their service. Do let me know if this is something that you are interested in.

06/06/2019

With Global Wellness Day, GWD, returning this Saturday 8th June 2019, I wanted to talk a bit about using 'Positive Thinking' in business.

What is GWD? Global Wellness Day is an entirely not-for-profit day, a social project dedicated to living well. The purpose of Global Wellness Day is to ask the question, even if for just one day, “How can I live a healthier and better life?”, to direct the thoughts of both individuals and society towards “living well” and to raise awareness.
The main aims of the day are:

- To recognise the value of our lives
- To pause and think, even if for just one day of the year
- To be free from the stress of everyday city life and bad habits
- To make peace with ourselves
- To raise awareness about living well and increase motivation, not just for today, but for the remaining 364 days of the year

I think it is important to do this in business too:

- To recognise the value of your business
- To pause and think, conduct a business audit, (where is the business now, where do I/we want the business to go, what do I/we have to do to get the business there), even if for just one day a year.
- To be free from the stress of everyday city life and bad habits and make sure that you bring some wellness into your life at least once a week if possible, in the form of a walk for an hour, drink more water, don't use plastic bottles, eat healthy food, do a good deed, have a family dinner with your loved ones, sleep at 10pm. (These are actually the GWD 7 step manifest - In order to make Wellness a lifestyle, Global Wellness Day aims to adopt these seven simple steps. What is important is NOT to implement all of the steps all at once, but to incorporate at least just a few of them into your daily life on a regular basis. )
- To make peace with ourselves and accept that businesses are made up with people, so human error is a given and mistakes will be made. A mistake should be your teacher, not your attacker. A mistake is a lesson, not a loss. It is a temporary, a necessary detour, not a dead end! So welcome mistakes and learn from them together.
- To raise awareness about living well and increase motivation, not just for today, but for the remaining 364 days of the year. This is where for me you embrace the power of 'Positive Thinking' into your business world as well as your everyday life. Not only will this help you to be successful it is proven that positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health.

How does it work?
Positive thinking is not burying your head in the sand and disregarding any problems that occur. Positive thinking is more that you approach problems or unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely a pessimistic one. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're most likely to be an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

Optimists seem to have different ways of dealing with the world that set them apart from the average.

First, they are very focused and keep their minds on what they want, and keep looking for ways to get it. They are clear about goals and they are confident that they will accomplish them, sooner or later.

Second, optimists look for the good in every problem or difficulty. When things go wrong, as they often do, they say, “That’s good!” And then set about finding something positive about the situation.

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice. All you have to do is keep it focused on uplifting thoughts until you form the same types of neural pathways that are created when you establish a new habit.

When a negative event occurs, remember that it’s your response that truly determines the outcome. Always look for the positive response or optimistic lesson when such events take place.

Below are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can apply a positive thinking twist to them.

Putting positive thinking into practice:

Negative self-talk/ Positive thinking
I've never done it before/ It's an opportunity to learn something new.
It's too complicated/ I'll tackle it from a different angle.
I don't have the resources/ Necessity is the mother of invention.
I'm too lazy to get this done/ I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule, but I can re-examine some priorities.
There's no way it will work/ I can try to make it work.
It's too radical a change/ Let's take a chance.
No one bothers to communicate with me/ I'll see if I can open the channels of communication.
I'm not going to get any better at this/ I'll give it another try.

I am a true believer in the power of 'Positive Thinking' and how developing a positive attitude can truly change your entire life.

Delivering your social media. SocialFSure provides advice to schools, organisations and smaller companies on improving social media strategies. Contact us for an initial meeting.

04/06/2019

DID YOU KNOW THAT 85% OF PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA WATCH VIDEOS WITHOUT SOUND?

Have you tried stop-motion video as a social media tool?

If not you are missing out on a trick. Stop-motion video, also known as stop frame animation, can be a great, simple way to create engaging, interesting content.

What is it? Stop-motion video captures one frame at a time, moving physical objects between frames. When played back, it creates the illusion of movement.

It is quite time consuming to make, but the outcome is well worth it and it gives your brand an opportunity to be creative with your product, or tell a story through a short, eye-catching video that can add an element of playfulness to your feeds.

I love it! For an example check out my last post - 'Monday Scone!'

http://www.socialfsure.co.uk

03/06/2019

03/06/2019

With Monday nearly gone, I find making tomorrow's 'To-Do List' tonight gives me peace of mind to enjoy a full nights sleep.

08/01/2019

How can you align your business goals, your current customers needs and attract new customers, if you don't know which fish you are fishing for! Get in touch to find out more at http://www.socialfsure.co.uk

08/01/2019

So 2019, is set to see Instagram, the app being one of the most popular social networks worldwide, become an even bigger focus for social media marketers according to many Social Media Trend statistics available online in for example the recent report on trends by Hootsuite. Increasing numbers of brands and businesses are now looking to jump on the image-focused social platform train that is social media marketing.

Fact - visual data is processed up to 60k times faster by the brain than text.

The mainly mobile photo sharing network in 2018 had reached 1 billion monthly active users, after passing 800 million in September 2017 with 500 million daily users. Therefore with more than a billion people now active on Instagram every month, that's a lot of visual communication being conducted within the app.

As such, there are many different ways to approach Instagram as a business, personal brand or organisation. I will share 5 Instagram suggestions, over time, that you might want to consider trying to help boost your Insta performance in 2019.Here's your first one:

1. Repurposing UGC.
What is UGC? UGC stands for user-generated content. In other words, content created by users on their owned social media channels. This has become a great way to connect with audiences on a more meaningful level.

“UGC-based ads get 4x higher click-through rates and a 50% drop in cost-per-click than average.” — Ana Gotter, TINT

UGC is also extremely powerful because it builds on the authenticity and trustworthiness of your brand—two elements that are essential for connecting with today’s consumers.

Your audience needs to feel more represented and interactive and UGG allows this, as it creates a greater feeling of involvement.

“Brand engagement increases an average of 28% when users are exposed to a combination of user created product videos and professional content.” — Ana Gotter, TINT

Brands are moving away from a faceless business persona, and the lines between Business to Consumer, (B2C), and Business to Business, (B2B), are becoming blurred, which is largely thanks to companies embracing UGC and making their audience part of their brand. the 2019 consumer is savvier than ever, and can spot highly-produced ads a mile away. As such it all comes back to the issue of trust, and thus good UGC can be considered as the ultimate testimonial.

Instagram is one of the easiest platforms to utilise UGC to resonate with your followers. HOWEVER before you can repurpose UGC on Instagram, (or any social media platform), you MUST and NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE PERMISSION FROM THE CONTENT OWNER.