Author: Phil Aston

A few days ago I almost lost my Twitter account. This was due to an error on Twitter which locked me out of my account.  I then spent a very worrying 24 hours talking to the Twitter Support Bots trying to get it sorted out.  Don’t Google Twitter Support, the stories will not fill you with confidence at all!

The worst part was when the automated support message from Twitter said.  ‘We suggest you open up a new account and start again’. After spending almost 9 years on the Twitter platform and with 30K followers the idea of just starting again was a bit depressing, to say the least.

It did make me think about how much we rely on Social Media platforms to expand our business.  We have to remember we have no control of these platforms and they can change at a moments notice.  For example, having 100, 000 followers on Google Plus meant a lot in 2013 and now not a lot.

All of us use social media now more than we have ever done before and we can sometimes neglect our own websites. For many of us, our discussions now take place on Social Media. The fact is your website should still be the centre of your content universe.

You have to remember that you don’t own the real estate you have on any social media platform, the only place you can say that you do is with your website. Here you have control, it’s your domain name and your content.

If a social media platform decides to change it’s algorithm or change its terms of service you could easily lose part of your revenue or audience. Make sure that you don’t put too much of your business on one Social Media platform.  Safeguard yourself in case anything happens by building up an audience on several platforms and keep up-to-date with trends and where your audience is.

With your website at the center of what you do you can post out to the different Social Media platforms with links to your website.

If you do get locked out of any social media account make sure you have backups of your passwords, email, and phone numbers.  If you update your phone number make sure you update your social media accounts if you use additional verification.

Phil Aston

Join Genius Insights for the latest know-how on Digital Marketing. 

1. Produce regular content that adds value and is relevant for your target audience.

2. Find out more about your target audience through Analytics and Social Media targeting.

3. Always start with benefits, not features – Your audience is permanently tuned into ‘What’s in it for me.

Phil Aston

What does this change mean for Facebook Business Pages and public content?

“Because space in News Feed is limited, showing more posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.

As we make these updates, Pages may see their reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease.

The impact will vary from Page to Page, driven by factors including the type of content they produce and how people interact with it.

Pages making posts that people generally don’t react to or comment on could see the biggest decreases in distribution.
Pages whose posts prompt conversations between friends will see less of an effect”.
From The Facebook Announcement – January 11th 2018.

What should You Do?
What this means is that everyone should now have a Facebook Advertising budget and be using it like any other marketing media.

Engagement will help but overall if you want to be seen by the people who like your content and be discovered by new fans and customers you need to advertise.

Facebook advertising is still very cheap but I expect this to change this year.

Many businesses will also need to up their game.  By that, I mean responding to comments, messages and likes faster and with more thought.  The fight to get into your fans news feeds is now extremely important.
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Advertising and great quality content can do a lot to help you get to see and heard, but being shared by your fans will also help with your visibility.  The aim has always been to build trust and relationships this should now be part of your content strategy.

The targeting and reach on Facebook is still the best way to reach your customers. It can be complex so if you want help please get in touch.Below is the link to the full Facebook announcement.

Phil Aston
Genius Loci
01736 719342

#facebook #pages

https://newsroom.fb.com/…/news-feed-fyi-bringing-people-cl…/

I have started to notice for a lot of my clients (yes they are posting a bit less) the amount of website referral traffic coming in from Twitter has really dropped. Almost all the social media traffic now is coming in from Facebook.

I am not sure if this is making people think that Twitter is less important and they are putting less effort into it.

There is also no doubt that more people on Twitter are simply broadcasting themselves or sharing other peoples content with no input from themselves.

So I wonder when I see in the news that Twitter is having a bit of a renaissance (perhaps because of people like President Trump) is it really? I do feel you have to engage more and talk more to get the level of engagement you used to get.

I have acquired quite a few clients from Twitter but even I am seeing a drop in engagement. What I am seeing is groups of people following me for a few days and then disappear so they are using an automated system for getting more followers. I am also seeing what is obviously a lot of scheduled posts which creates a lot of noise and little interaction.

So are you using Twitter the same, using it differently, or walking away?

Thanks
Phil

Being an entrepreneur is about finding your own path, using your own footsteps, not just putting on someone else’s shoes. You don’t have to be anyone else but yourself.

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I am actually a fan of Gary Vee. I am sure many of you know him. He is a very loud American who swears a lot. He is always hustling and runs a large media company in New York and wants to buy the Jets. I have bought his books and I watch a lot of his videos.
However, I am not like Gary Vee. His idea is that you should be hustling 14 hours a day. A lot of his videos start with him running around New York in his sneakers, drinking coffee at 5am and making connections.

I am happy to build my business and class myself as an entrepreneur. However, my entrepreneurship is based on work, life balance and being in nature is the balance.
I need to have time to recharge my batteries, actually I don’t function that well if I am hustling all the time. I need time to be in the landscape, I need time to walk, time to have some stillness, I need time for a bit of mindfulness, I need time to be creative. I need time to think about how I can help my clients and just working flat out is not my idea of building an empire.

In fact I do not want to build an empire. I want to build a business that is sustainable, ethical and gives me time to support my family and enjoy my life.
I have seen so many of my contemporaries kind of fall off their horses and not get on them again through burn out or more serious issues and I am determined and will try my damnedest to ensure that will not happen to me. I know how easy it is for that to happen. It is great to be busy all the time, checking things all the time, but you need to have space, you need to have space between what you are working on so you can create new ideas and live your life.

So yes, Gary Vee is a great inspiration, but there are aspects of what he does that I don’t sign up for. The whole thing about being an entrepreneur, is finding your own path, using your own footsteps, not just putting on someone else’s shoes.
So great for Gary Vee, I still like what he does, but find your own story and share that, document that. You don’t have to be anyone else but yourself.

People are obsessed with numbers, it is true if you have a large follower count it does make you look like more of an authority.

If you are starting from scratch with just a few hundred followers you do not want to spend more on trying to increase your follower count as this can be expensive.

My suggestion would be to spend your advertising budget on targeting people who will sign up for services or buy your products.

You will see more of a return on your investment and those people in turn will share your content to their friends and like your page in turn.
So think about your products and services and don’t get too hung up on the numbers initially.

If you want any help or advice with your Facebook Advertising, please get in touch.

Phil Aston

What makes your business remarkable, what gives you the edge?

I look at many hotel websites, I look after them and help with their marketing. This means I am always looking at tourism related websites. So I look at them from a view of making a booking and for research.

One of the things that is really becoming apparent, is how many of them are starting to look the same. Fantastic pictures of food, artistic pictures of rooms, all done up as you would expect to look, with beautiful and stylish interiors.

However, the problem with this from the perspective of your potential guests, is that they will only be on your website for literally 30-40 seconds before they move on.
What makes you stand out from what your competitors do? What will make someone choose your hotel?
Is it going to be your offers? Your Facilities? Or is it going to be your location?

When people book somewhere, like a hotel, they are looking for an experience. What is it that makes you remarkable? For many people it will be your actual location – people buy with their eyes.

When you look at this video, you can see the sea in the background. So, some of you might be thinking “I might listen to Phil”, and some of you might be thinking “Where is that beach, I want to go!”

So, many times your location will be what makes you remarkable and different from your competition.

Phil Aston

What Should I Post?

Video Length = 52 seconds / Transcription below

A lot of people ask me what rules do I follow when I am posting on Social Media for myself or my clients.
I have a rule of five.

This means for every 5 posts, 3 posts will be by other people, chosen because I feel the content will be interesting and helpful for my followers, Clients and potential clients.
One of those 5 will be promoting my own business products and services and the final post will be something that tells you a bit more about me and what interests I have.

I find this approach works across any platform.

If you want any help with Social Media please get in Touch.
Thanks
Phil

Video Transcription Below

This is a very good question.

The thing to remember is you do not have to do something that is the pinnacle of creativity.
The amount of websites that I see that haven’t updated or published a blog post for 3 or 4 months is around the 80% mark.

I think people get hung up on several things:

• What should I talk about?
• What should I post?
• How long should the post be?
• How often?
• What about SEO?
• Are the images ok or too big?
• Do I have to allow comments?

Now remember this

You do not have to produce something which is the height of creativity.
If you have trouble thinking about how momentous your post needs to be because the last one was like ‘War and Peace’ and you are thinking you have to replicate that…
Just document what you are doing.

Document, don’t create

Just be yourself.

The thing to remember with your blog is that the rest of your website is more corporate. For example, the ‘about’ page, product or services pages are about your brand message. However your blog is a more personal part of the website, it is where you can more yourself.

So, your blog post could just be a few lines or a couple of photos, basically just documenting what you are doing in that moment.
You might be taking bookings, preparing orders, meeting a client … that’s a blog post!

Your blog is a chance for you to bring a bit of social media behaviour into your website and then from here you can share your blog post to your social media channels. This makes a lot of sense as your goal is to get people to visit your website.

How I help my clients

Clients send me a few lines via email, some photos and I pull the post together using the right keywords for SEO and ensure it fits in with the overall design and look of the website. I then help boost it on social media and share it across our network.

In summary

The key thing is to write and post something and be consistent, so if you are going to blog every week, do it every week.
This does take time but it will pay back in dividends for your business and building trust online.

If you want any help, support or advice with blogging or your website please get in touch.

Thanks
Phil

Phil Aston
Genius Loci Media