Itʼs a topic that comes up pretty quickly when you talk to business owners – they arenʼt getting the engagement they want on social media, the cost of boosting all their posts is too high and they arenʼt even sure if anyone is seeing their posts at all. As a company who works in the space, we hear this all too often and we see it regularly. More and more, social media platforms are becoming a discovery platform or a portfolio showcase, rather than a regular engagement channel. They are no longer the key way to capture the attention of your audience.
Read MoreIt’s Time to Marie Kondo your Communications Strategy – and Here’s How.
If I hear about Marie Kondo one more time, I am going to scream.
Read MoreFOCUS
A new year is a time when most of us review the year that has been and take the opportunity to adjust our habits moving into the new year. Call it new years resolutions or intentions or your focus for the year, now is the time to be considering how you want your year to look, especially within your work or business.
Read MoreDON’T JUST WRITE YOUR BLOG – AMPLIFY IT
I spoke last week about how important it is to be blogging for your brand, but it’s important to note that no one wants to be putting in all the effort of blogging without sharing it with the intended audience. While content being live on your website is a good thing for increasing your search results or giving you kudos in the eyes of Google, ultimately what we should be trying to do with any blog post is to deliver value for your customers – so we have to get the content to the people! What are you doing to amplify your blog posts? Firstly, you need to consider the lifecycle of your blog post when writing it. Is it a piece of evergreen or cornerstone content – a blog post on a topic that will continue to be relevant for an extended period of time? Or is it really topical and will only be relevant for a little while? If your content is evergreen, share it a little bit now, but anticipate that you will be able to share and promote that content for as much as years afterwards. If your content is only going to be relevant for a short period, share and amplify it quickly and regularly over a shorter space of time to get maximum mileage out of your posts. Then consider your amplification platforms. Where does your blog go once it’s live on your website? Pick and mix from the list, depending on what your marketing strategy looks like right now: Email newsletter | Affiliate or partner websites | Social media | As an article on LinkedIn | as part of a campaign promoting another piece of content | via direct email to customers (usually in an email signature) | As a printed fact sheet | Now consider the piece of content itself – what are the ways that we can get maximum mileage out of this one idea? Some of these I touched on earlier in the article. You can share a blog post with your suppliers or partners in the hope that they will share it with their audience. You can turn a brief (350 words or so for best results) blog post into a longer report or fact sheet. Turn quotes from the blog post into images to go onto your social media. Create an explainer video that…
Read MoreWHY BRANDS SHOULD WRITE BLOGS
Whether you call it copy, content, news, updates, articles or blogs, writing words that you share regularly with your customers is becoming more and more important for businesses. Blogs generally fall into one of the below topics: Product information | Service information | News | Corporate messaging | Industry education | Work reviews | Industry updates | Blogging was once considered the domain of young people who wanted to share their every thought, sort of like a diary online. Now, bloggers are major influencers online and writing a corporate blog has a host of benefits for your brand. Here’s why you should be putting pen to paper (or keys to screen) for your business. Become an expert voice in your industry or space Blogs provide an excellent avenue for brands to share insights on your product, service or corporate mission and culture – heck, it can provide you with an opportunity to criticise your competitors or call for greater legislation. A blog provides you with an opportunity to share your knowledge with your customer base and allows you to position yourself as an expert within your field. But with great power comes great responsibility – make sure that you have a clear, strong, correct message and take time to really consider what it is you want to say, who you’re targeting and what you want them to get out of it. Contributions to SEO – particularly with googles new changes Blogging contributes in a number of different ways to your search engine optimisation – it provides more keywords for Google to index from your site and updating content attracts users to your website in the first place. The Google algorithms are constantly changing, and in the latest update in June of 2018, Google announced that they will be giving greater search results to those brands who create engaging, regularly updated content that people want to read. So whether you’re publishing blogs on topics that people regularly search relative to your business, or whether you’re explaining concepts, strategies and processes, what you write will contribute more than ever to the discoverability of your brand. Forced consideration Sometimes, particularly with new products or services, brands just create these things out of a perceived customer need. The marketing strategy, the communication strategy, where precisely the product or service fits in the market – that can be a bit…
Read MoreREDESIGNING MY OWN LOGO
I have always maintained that one of the biggest issues in small business is that you, the owner, almost shouldnt have time to work on your own business – because when you do, that means there’s not as much work coming through the door. Like the mechanic who’s car is always falling apart, or the hairdresser who hasn’t had a colour in forever. It happens to us all. While I make a really active effort to make sure that my content is being updated, my website is fresh and my socials are looking great, there’s usually something that gives in these situations. And for me, it was my branding. I had simply out grown it. But the challenge and time it was going to take to sit down and rework was daunting. Really daunting! The problem with creating your own design work is that everything you touch must be the epitome of your work. You have no client to bail up and fall back on and cry about because they chose the wrong concept or gave you too restrictive a brief. This must be the pinnacle of what you can do, the hallmark piece that represents your style, your aesthetic and your approach. I know my lovely friend Kate from Two Wild Hands struggled with the same pressure when working on her own wedding recently, although hot damn did she pull it off. The aim was to create something simple, a mark that would stand the test of time but show creativity, multiple streams of service and embody the simplicity and clean lines that I truly love in good design. There’s some cute nod’s to things like responsive design and feminism there, but ultimately I have aimed to create a logo that encapsulates where I want my design to be, and I am proud of this design. If you’re feeling daunted by the idea of doing the hard work to get your own stuff up to scratch, here’s a cheerleader in your camp saying just go and do it. You will feel 100% better than if you didn’t. If you’re ready to overhaul your logo, your brand, your marketing collateral, social media or your product, I want to help you. All you have to do is get in touch and I will help make you something that YOU love as much as I love my new logo.
Read MoreRhonda’s Branding gets a refresh in Terrigal
The 80’s have a lot to answer for in terms of graphic design. Random triangles on everything, squiggly backgrounds and flourescent colours abound. And while we can continue to be inspired by that look, sometimes its nice to go for clean white, natural textures and pops of colour that are inspired by the true colours of food. Not everything needs to be neon! Terrigal darling and 80’s enthusiasts Rhonda’s Bar has recently had a complete brand refresh as part of an overarching relaunch of the restaurant. Long gone are the psychedelic walls, strong 80’s vibe and sticky floors. Instead, Rhonda’s has grown up and brought together branding to match. Their previous branding was wholly and solely inspired by the 80’s, and they owned it. This restaurant was known for its look, its theming, and was incredibly popular with the locals because of it. But now? It’s time for something more. The mid-century inspired shapes in Rhonda’s logo itself are a clean and fresh departure from their former logo, inspired by lipstick writing on the mirror and neon. The colour palette has changed, from being dominated by fluro pink, black, white and the glow of a neon sign, to be more relaxed, more mature and absolutely more coastal through the use of soft turquoise and grey, while keeping the strong signature black and white. Pattern is used sparingly but boldly – their social media and menu showcases the use of a black and white chevron that is elevated and obviously inspired by current interior design trends, while bringing in a fun repeat print through the menu and on imagery really gives you the vibe that this is a place to have a good time. Thankfully, this more mature and elevated approach extends not only from their branding but across their menu and drinks offering too. Crisp woodfired pizzas, modern tapas and sharing plates and classic spritz and cocktails mean that now Rhonda’s has become a place to start the night, share a great meal and have a good drink, rather than a place to end the night. With a sleek new website and beautiful new branding, I’m excited to see what’s next for Rhonda’s – seasonal menu’s, new drink offerings and delivery options are apparently all on the cards. Welcome to the brave new world Rhonda.
Read MoreWhat to do when you’re deep in the shit with your workload
We have all been there. Looming deadlines, taking on extra projects that end up blowing out to much more time, public holidays that shorten your week and double your workload. It’s tough, really tough when sitting down to look at your list fills you with a sense of dread because you feel like it simply can’t be done. I get you, I’ve been there. Having dug my way out of this hole more times than you can count, here are my tips on getting your workload back under control without losing your mind. Take a deep breath. Call it a little woo-woo if you like but I recommend this first, as it can often head off a full-blown crisis before it has a chance to take hold. Take one deep breath, as deep into your lungs as you can and let it out with an audible ‘wooosh’. This floods your brain with oxygen which gives you a mini high and the ‘wooosh’ sound makes you feel like you’re actively releasing something. By taking a minute to relax, instead of getting caught in a tornado, starting your day off on completely the wrong foot and with a poor attitude, start your day in control and a bit calmer. You’ll be surprised and how much more achievable that list looks now. Get your priorities in order Work out what you absolutely MUST do and what you can move out. Promised something to someone? Make sure you know what that deadline is and make it – your reputation is important. Probably should write a blog or schedule your own social media posts? That one you can let slide – this time. When you’re deep in the shit, sometimes you have to make sacrifices to get back on top. Reschedule the task and come back to it when the air has cleared a little. Better to cut a few things off the list and achieve your goals than panic and not get to any of it. Make more time No, I’m not a magician, but we can all find a little more time in our day or working week, in the short term. Get to work an hour or two earlier and really dedicate that time to getting shit done. Work on a Saturday morning or stay back late. Post-pone your gym session or a long lunch with your bestie, anything to pull yourself…
Read MoreGinkgo Bar & Dining
I am very lucky in that I get to work with amazing brands and agencies who create great stuff. Because of that, I often get great opportunities to go along and experience new venues, different events or product launches in some truly stunning locations, just as a little perk of the job.
Read MoreYou have to want to be in Business.
I am very lucky in life that I have been raised by two people who have run their own businesses. My mother has run multiple businesses over the past 40 years, most notably when she ran a plant hire business in Wollongong, employing 5 staff and with plants placed in all major hotels, pubs and clubs; her most recent endeavours The Secret Garden and My Productive Backyard and when she conned my sister and I into selling veggies for her in our neighbourhood (we were cute sales people and made more money that way). My father has run his own financial planning practice, Innovus Advice, for the past 10 years but ran someone else’s practice for years before that as a partner and managing director. Why am I telling you all of this?
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