Love it or dread it, social media is central to the success of any business in operation today. Your business needs to be present on at least one social media platform to stay connected with customers and show that you are an active, trustworthy company to work with. But which platform should you choose for your business?
While there is something to be said for choosing whichever platform you can keep up with consistently, consistency will mean little if it’s not a platform your customers spend time on. Below, we’ll guide you through the most popular social media platforms, who each is best for, what content works best, and how to create a strategy for each.
Which Social Media Platform Fits Your Business Best?
Below we’ll cover:
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
Instagram has a huge user base, so your ideal customer is almost certainly using the platform. Instagram’s organic reach (like Facebook below) has dropped in recent years, so you need to consider using video content to get the most from this platform.
Best for: Businesses serving millennials.
What content: Quality photos and video. Instagram gives more organic traffic to Reels now than any form of feed post.
Strategy: Try to diversify the kind of posts you create. Use carousel posts, videos and photos, create Reels, and post to stories. Don’t upload for the sake of it – think about what you can create that will make your ideal customer pause to look a little closer.
Facebook
Facebook is the oldest social media platform still in use by millions of people, though its popularity among younger generations is waning. It’s also becoming more difficult for businesses to work with because many find it difficult to reach their audiences organically on the platform.
Best for: Reaching people past midlife, i.e. 55 and over. It’s also a good place to reach foreign markets if you market to a worldwide audience, and for those looking to reach a small niche audience. While Facebook has fallen out of favor with younger generations, they will still return to Facebook for the Groups feature to connect with like-minded people.
What content: Facebook is a little more flexible than other platforms, and you should use a mix of video and static posts (with pictures) to see what your audience resonates with.
Strategy: If your business serves people’s passions (sports, animals, hobbies, etc), consider starting a Facebook Group where people can come together to ask questions and discuss their interests. You can be the central authority in the group and answer the questions to position yourself as an authority.
TikTok
When TikTok first came to the US, there was a lot of discussion about whether or not it would stick around for long. Clearly, it has, and its popularity is still climbing. Most popular with Gen-Z, this is where you need to be if your customer base is under 30.
Best for: Businesses with something to teach, a sense of humor, or a mesmerizing or satisfying process (think candle pouring or pressure washing).
What content: Short, snappy videos that capture the viewer’s attention early and give them something they want. That can be a lesson, a laugh, or a thrill.
Strategy: Post 1-2 times a day to find traction and experiment to see what works. TikTok’s algorithms will promote what resonates. Use the platform for a while before you start creating content.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn may not be the most exciting social media platform to be on, but if you’re in the B2B space, there’s still no better.
Best for: B2B businesses.
What content: Informative content that teaches something or shares insight on industry developments. The more share-worthy, the better.
Strategy: Aim to become the authority on your topic or offer something different from what other experts in your industry offer. For example, if you’re naturally someone who makes a lot of jokes, why not bring some levity to your topics? Share at times people will be naturally checking in on LinkedIn.
Twitter
Twitter has been at the center of some controversy lately, so unless you’re absolutely certain that Twitter is where you need to be to reach your audience, it may be best to look to another platform for building a stable audience.
Best for: Witty businesses and those who can best convey their message through a short statement to connect with Millennials and Teenagers.
What content: Share knowledge, updates, inspirational language, or whatever best represents your brand. Use pictures when possible.
Strategy: Start and join conversations. Try to create a community that thrives on positivity and supporting one another.
A note on Pinterest: Pinterest is a great option for any business with products, infographics, or blog posts to share. We haven’t included it here as an option as it is more of a search engine than a social media platform.
Social media is something all businesses need to be managing but is a huge pull on resources (namely, time). You’ve not only got to be present and consistent but you also need to be testing and analyzing what works. If you’re not someone who likes to spend a lot of time on social media, it can sound like more trouble than it’s worth.
Fortunately, our social media management service can take care of everything for you. We create custom social media posts and images, make sure your posts are using the right hashtags, and promote your products or services. To find out more about how we can help you, click here.
If your first thought of branding when you started your business was your logo, you’re not alone. A lot of small businesses start and finish with their primary logo until their business is a little more established. While a brand-new business may not feel like it yet has a strong enough foundation to develop every aspect of its branding, we’re here to tell you that ANY business that is ready to find success absolutely needs full branding.
What is a secondary logo?
A secondary logo is usually your primary logo that has been arranged differently, so it will fit better on certain types of media. For example, your primary logo may not fit well on social media, so you may have a secondary logo that fits perfectly in profile pictures. Think about Amazon’s logo – we don’t often see the full logo, with the text and the arrow (and smile) pointing from the A to the Z. In most cases, we see their secondary logo, which is just the arrow, or their submark, which is just an “a” with the arrow underneath it.
Your secondary logo makes it easier for customers to identify you if your primary logo isn’t clear at a smaller size.
What’s the difference between a secondary logo and a submark?
A secondary logo is often still a sizable logo – while it may be smaller than your primary logo, it is not your logo in its simplest form. That’s what a submark is. Think of the McDonald’s logo, we can all picture it in our heads, but the golden arches are just as recognizable alone.
If you look at the favicon of a website (that’s the small picture that shows up in the corner of each tab in your browser), you’ll often find a business’s submark there. Depending on the company’s needs, it may also appear on merchandise, letterheads, and more.
Can my business just have all the necessary logos, or does it need full branding?
When we think about whether or not our business needs full branding, we’re often thinking about branding from an expense standpoint, rather than thinking about how branding benefits our business. The truth is, branding can take an average business and make it something people flock to. We’d even venture to say that there aren’t any truly successful businesses out there that don’t have strong branding.
Your visual branding (often called a visual identity) is the visual representation of what makes your business unique. If your business is a law firm and presents a serious, supportive nature, having branding that’s bubbly and bright will not convey your brand correctly. However, a black-and-white brand with clean lines likely will.
Your visual brand sets the tone for what a customer will expect from you. If you don’t have any branding (or not any you chose on purpose), you also won’t be attracting any one type of customer. You’ll likely attract people who are looking for a bargain or who don’t really know what they want. A strong brand attracts the customers you most want to serve (and often deters the ones you don’t).
While a business still trying to learn exactly what it offers and which customers it wants to focus on serving can make do with basic logos and a color palette, any business with a strong ideal customer avatar must also have strong branding. You simply cannot attract the right customer without it.
There’s a lot that goes into a full brand identity for a business, and so anyone who is not a professional designer will need the help of one to create their business’s brand identity. If you’re looking for a friendly, supportive business to guide you through the process and create an outstanding brand identity for your business, we’re here to help. You can see some of our past projects here.
We’ve all heard the advice that every business these days needs a website; if nothing else but as a digital business card that tells people how to contact you. But if all your website does is tell people what you do and how they can contact you, you’re missing out.
Your website can (and should be) your online sales office. It can do much more than simply tell people who you are, it can start potential clients on the journey to becoming a customer. It can also turn people off-in the same way a rude sales assistant may put off a customer, a badly designed website may make people assume what you do isn’t high quality, either.
In this article, we’ll guide you through what you need to do to make your website do some of the hard work for you and start winning you clients. While we’re going to be using examples for homebuilders in this article, the principles apply to any business.
3 Tips to Ensure Your Website Works for You (Not Against You)
1. Make Sure Everything is Up-to-Date
Don’t skip over this point! You may think you keep everything up-to-date on your website, but do you really? Does it take you a week or two to make changes?There’s a difference between making updating your website a priority when something changes and getting around to it in the next week or so.
Remember that your website is a sales office that’s open 24/7-that’s powerful, but that also means you can’t afford to put off simple updates. When you sell a lot in anew community, make sure you update your website as soon as possible or you may end up with disappointed potential customers.
Similarly, if the pricing of something changes, get it updated ASAP. Whether someone’s looking to buy a home or a coffee table, they’ll have a budget in mind that may not be flexible. If they ask about a home that has increased in price and they can’t afford it, they’re at best going to feel annoyed and embarrassed at worst.
2. Be User-Friendly
The user experience (UX) your website offers will directly impact how a website visitor thinks about your company. If your user interface (UI) is clunky and outdated or they can’t find the information they’re looking for, they’ll think your business operates the same way. Remember, first impressions matter, and that goes online as well as off.
If you’re not sure how your website is performing when it comes to UX or UI, or you are aware it doesn’t match the outstanding customer experience your company offers, we can help. We’re experts in UX and UI design and can ensure your website gives users the seamless experience they’re looking for. (Click here to find out more.)
3. Be Upfront with the Information You Provide
Try to provide as much information as you can on your website that will help a potential customer decide whether or not they’re interested in buying from you. This is not about telling them everything all in one go (which can be overwhelming), but thinking strategically about the questions and answers your clients typically have before they buy from you.
If you are constantly getting emails about the same things, it may be information worth making available on your site. What you don’t want to do is make people feel like you’re only withholding information to get them to contact you. For example, withholding a price for properties you’re selling and asking people to reach out to find out.
If you don’t want to put a single guide price, put a range. Suggesting that a property of their desired type either starts at $350,000 or ranges from $350,000-$450,000 will give people the information they need to decide whether or not they are in a position to buy. Adding information like this also shows you have nothing to hide, which will make you more trustworthy.
There are a lot of factors that go into ensuring your website is the ideal 24/7 online sales office, but if you get these 3 right, you’ll find your website creates more leads and helps potential customers trust you well before they ever make contact with you.If you need a little extra help getting your website to that point, we’d be glad to help.
If you’ve read a business article, watched a video made by a creative, or spoken to anyone with a business in the last few years, you’ll know about the importance of branding. The online world means there is more competition than ever, and branding is no longer just something for large corporations to think about; it’s relevant for everyone.
But what is branding when it comes to an individual or small business? Let’s find out.
What is personal branding?
Branding is a wide umbrella under which falls things like color schemes, web design, logos, language, personality, and values. To most, branding is something reserved for a product, company, or association. We think of the famous golden arches of McDonald’s and the white Apple logo with its sleek, minimalistic product and website design.
But if you’re a service provider or a creative, you need branding, too! Creating a personal brand strengthens your business by making it clear that you’re the go-to person in your realm. Your brand as a musician, content creator, or small business owner declares who you are and what customers can expect from you.
4 Reasons Why Personal Branding Can Help Your Business
It builds consistency which cultivates trust. When a client knows exactly what to expect from your business, they’re more likely to trust you with their custom again and again. Your branding ensures they know what to expect from you – whether that’s motivational speeches or high-quality modern furniture design.
It helps you stand out from your competitors in a saturated market. Since so much of any business’s presence is represented online these days, you need to stand out from the competition – which is often global. Imagine you are trying to choose between two interior designers; would you contact the one whose website is just a portfolio and you don’t know anything about them other than their name, or the designer who is always friendly and available to answer questions on social media? Almost certainly the latter.
It shows your authenticity. A person or company that consistently projects the same aesthetic and values comes across as more genuine and legitimate. This ties in with the first point as it works to develop a trusting network of clients and peers. Your personal brand can be more honest and open than a company’s brand, meaning you may share personal stories as a way to connect with your customers.
It leads to better networking and more business generation. Business is inherently competitive, but by establishing a clear personal brand, you can make yourself seen in a way unique to you. Many of your peers may be as educated and experienced as you, but if you’re the person putting yourself out there as an authority in your industry, people will be drawn to you over them.
How do you create a personal brand?
Creating a personal brand shouldn’t be much different than creating one for your business – and indeed, most of the time they may be the same. Your business may be named after you or you may simply represent it. Regardless, your personal brand gives people a face and an anchor point. It’s much easier to know, like, and trust someone than it is a faceless brand.
Ultimately, creating a personal brand is all about demonstrating who you are and why you’re the best person for the job. Prospective clients want to know who you are, so it’s always a good idea to be authentic and honest about what you stand for.
Is it time to give your brand a refresh?
It’s the start of a brand new year, so now is a great time to consider rebranding or updating your current brand. If you need a little help in the branding department, Pixel Parfait has got you covered! We can assist you with branding creation, social media management, blogging, and email marketing, so why not schedule a free consultation today?
Thinking about how to plan your 2023 marketing strategy? The good news is thinking about your marketing now will set you up for success in the coming year, but we know it can be time-consuming and overwhelming for many small businesses. Today, we’re going to share some of our top tips and best practices so you can go into 2023 feeling confident about your marketing plan.
How to Plan Your 2023 Marketing Strategy
1. Plan in advance
We know, that’s what you’re trying to do now, but we mean you need to be specific.It’s all too common to create an overarching plan in the early months of the year, only to never look at it again or just use it as a vague guide.
Make sure you get specific about your plans. If you’re going to run a huge BlackFriday sale, start putting concrete plans in place 1-6 months beforehand. Even small sales should be planned a month ahead so you’ve got time to create assets, streamline processes, and get your audience excited about it.
2. Have a clear brand
Your marketing has to stand on the foundation of your brand, and we’re not just talking about the colors of your logo here. Your fonts, colors, tone of voice, and more need to be aligned and consistent in all your marketing efforts. (Learn more about what branding you need here.)
If your branding isn’t cohesive, prospective customers will get the impression that you don’t know what you’re doing, or you may even end up turning off your ideal customer. Review your branding now and consider if you need to do a brand overhaul before 2023 starts in earnest. (If you need help defining your branding, we can help.)
3. Set SMART goals
Set goals for your marketing and make them SMART-that’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. When you’re setting goals for the year ahead, for the quarter, or for a single campaign, make sure your goals meet these criteria. For example, instead of “increase sales”, your goal should look more like,“increase sales by 10% in Q1 and Q2 of 2023.
4. Set a budget
Do you set a clear budget for marketing campaigns and advertising? It’s all too easy for small businesses to tweak their budget up or down depending on how the business’s finances are doing, but to determine if a marketing campaign is really working, you need to be consistent. Stick to your budget unless you have a really good reason not to (such as you realize you set the budget too low or an ad is working well and you want to try scaling it up).
5. Delegate
Whether you’re the only team member or you’ve got a team of 100, there’s no reason any one person should be doing all the work. If you’re doing all the marketing, make sure you’re not becoming overwhelmed and starting to drop some of the balls you’re juggling. Outsourcing is a great way to get small jobs done without the expense of a full-time hire.
January is a great time to reassess where you are so you can move forward with confidence. Whether your brand needs some work, your website needs an overhaul, or you need some support with your marketing, Pixel Parfait is here to help. To find out more or to contact us for a free consultation, click here.
Hello, I’m Sarah Haynes and I create beautiful pixels! I currently work from my Prescott home doing all types of design, online marketing and photography. I can't imagine a better job!!
I have lived in Prescott, Arizona for over 20 years and I absolutely love it here. My favorite activities (outside of work) are hiking, swimming and spending time with my wonderful husband and daughters!
Please feel free to contact me anytime with your design jobs! I would be happy to discuss the right plan for your business.
