How many times do you think the average American refreshes their newsfeed? The answer is amazing.

Now think of all the times you refresh yours and use that time to mindlessly scroll through social media. Instead, use some of that time to comment, like, share, and engage with others! Think about how you’d like others to react to what you are posting and sharing and return the favor! Time spent engaging will pay off in the long run by allowing you to take those relationships offline and bonus – people are more likely to discover you when they are clicking through comments and scrolling as well. Win, win. 

The golden rule of social media - treat others as you would want to be treated. Encourage them, be excited for them and remember that we rise by lifting others.

If you have a niche business or a broad following, consider creating a Facebook group where others with similar interests can join to find support and guidance from their peers. Your Facebook group will soon become it's own community guiding the group on their own, but to start you can post questions, tips, or something you are looking for guidance on yourself. This is a place where you can be open and honest with others and your group will appreciate that. But, be careful not to share customer names or get too specific. You wouldn't want someone in your local area to be able to decifer who or what specific situation you are referencing in case it would involve them or a family member. It is wise to keep names and locations out of the discussion.

When it becomes more popular, you can simply pop in to comment and offer support. Soon you will be seen as the expert in the industry! Jenna Kutcher, a marketing guru who hosts the Goal Digger podcast, has created a group on Facebook just for her followers where she does exactly what I've described above. Maybe you are looking for other creative entrepreneurs or just other entrepreneurs in general who you can seek guidance and share you knowledge with. This may not be for everyone, but if you are passionate about your work and industry or just helping others, I suggest you give it a whirl!

There are a few basics to understand before getting started. These might be obvious to some, but to others who are just starting out these are very important.

First, you’ll need to have a personal Facebook page/account. Having a personal account will allow you to create a business page for your company. A business page will allow you to grant other employees access to make posts and respond to comments and messages. It will also allow you to create advertisements, analyze traffic to your page, and much more.
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Once you are set up with your account you are ready to start posting and engaging with others! Here are few things you’ll want to keep in mind when posting:

Use High Quality Photos 

• Facebook and Instagram are both highly visual social outlets. Be sure you are including eye catching, high quality images in your posts. You might consider hiring a local photographer to spend and hour or two with you at your business, a local coffee shop, or wherever compliments your brand so you can create a little stock pile of images for your use. If you do this, try to plan out some props and poses ahead of time and ways you’d like to use your photos so you aren’t left saying, “I wish I would have gotten a picture of this…” You may also want to check out a stock photo site like Pexels.com. This is a spot where photographers submit their photos for public use – so no need to worry about copy right, and the photos are free to download.

When posting, consider which types of post will get the most engagement.

• Post original content that is relevant to your audience. This may include a quick business update, behind the scenes photos, positive stories about how customers/clients have impacted you and more.
• Post self-promotional content approximately 10% of the time. Facebook is a social site and likes to put their focus and emphasis on that. It may not seem like that lately, but they are going back to their roots to focus on making Facebook more of an individual and personal experience. So, you’ll want to get customers to engage with your other posts so you stay relevant in their feeds. You can sneak in a promotional post about a service or upcoming sale when you need to, but you won’t want this to be your focus.  As a business, your focus should be on creating a connection and familiarity with your audience and bringing them value.
• Keep content varied. Mix it up with questions, business updates, sales, helpful tips, contests, etc. This will help keep your audience engaged.
• Share user-generated content. User-generated content are posts that your customers are sharing about interactions with your brand or product. This is some of the best marketing you can do; sharing posts that happy customers have shared themselves without prompting will speak volumes to potential customers about your quality of work!
• If you are sharing a link, be sure to remove the URL link from your post. Once you have written what you want to post, simply paste in the URL you want to share and Facebook will automatically create a clickable image and link. Once Facebook does this, delete the URL you just put in and you are good to go! This will give you a more professional and polished look.
  

Format Your Posts Appropriately

• Facebook is a crowded place. Make sure your posts are easy to read and stand out. For the most part, short and simple wins the race, but if you do have a longer post you can utilize paragraph spacing to make it easier to read and digest.
• Posts paired with high quality photos are drastically more likely to be seen. Like we mentioned above, Facebook is highly visible. Give your customers something nice to catch their eye and they’ll want to hear what you have to say.
  

Schedule your posts ahead of time through Facebook.

• Facebook favors posts created and shared through Facebook – go figure, right? Studies have shown that the use of third party scheduling sites like Hootesuite have negative effects on posts. Luckily, it is very easy to schedule your own posts right on Facebook. They’ve changed the way to do this slightly recently, but currently all you need to do is write your post, then instead of hitting “publish” use the small drop down arrow and select “schedule.” It will then allow you to choose a date and time and you can do this for several posts at a time!
• Facebook does not like links that take traffic away from their sight. So, be mindful of the frequency you do this. You can link videos that play right through Facebook – but this is more difficult to do with things like websites and blog posts.

Use Facebook Page Insight to analyze content, engagement, traffic, and your audience.

• Analyze things like page likes, post reach, and engagement to recognize growth or areas of improvement. Engagement measures the total number of unique people who engaged with your page and posts.
• Know that timing matters. Facebook allows you to analyze what time your followers are online each day of the week. In addition to analyzing times and engagement, you can also see who your audience is made up of. Facebook will break down demographics like age, gender, and location for you.
• Lastly, you can evaluate how your post did organically and through paid content/ads. See below for more information!

Utilize Facebook Ads

• Setting aside a small amount each month to boost posts that are performing well or for posts that you’d like to increase audience reach with can help spread your word to many more people. Even if you are setting aside $10-20 this can help your content to reach more people. You will need a credit card on file to do this.
• Facebook allows you to set a certain spending limit, promotion length (1 day, weeks, you name it), and it lets you target specific audiences. For example, you may only want to spend $15 on an ad that will run for 7 days and target people ages 25-65 within 50 miles of your city; you can do that!
• Making your post more targeted will help make sure you are reaching the right people. You can target by location, interest, age, gender, and more. But, you’ll want to make sure you aren’t creating an audience that is too narrow so you are still reaching people.

Engage with Others!

• Simply put, treat others as you would like to be treated. Go to their business pages and interact with their posts. When you are mindlessly scrolling through your newsfeed, take a minute to comment and lift up another friend, entrepreneur, stranger, or whoever will listen! These people will love that you are engaging with them and other people who are commenting on the same thing will see you comments and are more likely click on your business page too! Win win!

Every business owner knows marketing is something we all need, but many get overwhelmed at the thought of how and what to do or budgeting for it. Spark Marketing is here to help rid you of that overwhelm. Here are our top 7 favorite ways to market for FREE. Yup, that’s right, free!

1. Social Media
   We know, duh, it’s free but are you really using it in a way that allows you to show up where your customers are seeing you and making an impact? Make sure you are creating content and posting in ways that show your people more than just what you are selling, but communicates to them your story, your dreams, and who you are so you can build a meaningful connection with them. Share things that will make people want to buy from you and support you. Now days, marketing isn't just about what we are selling, but the stories you are telling. Think: like, know, trust.
2. Build an Email List
   Email marketing is the perfect, free way to connect with your audience and market to people who are truly interested in your business! Be sure you are asking for their information on your website, at events or trade shows you attend, and building your list every chance you get. The great thing about building your list? You own it! No one can take those names and emails away from you or change the dreaded algorithms on you making it more difficult for you to be heard. You can use a free website like MailChimp to send clients updates about sales, life events, important updates, free resources, and more!
3. Create Resources
   If your business allows, create things that people need and share them. One of the best ways to market yourself isn’t by selling: it’s by serving. Think about the things are you asked most frequently or what you see people struggling with most and create content for them. Set some time aside once a week to make a blog post, a YouTube video, tutorial, or download. When you share your knowledge and are able to educate others, you will be seen as the expert!
4. Create Community
   How many times do you think the average American refreshes their newsfeed? The answer is amazing. Now think of all the times you refresh yours and use that time to mindlessly scroll through social media. Instead, use some of that time to comment, like, share, and engage with others. Think about how you’d like others to react to what you are posting and sharing and return the favor! Time spent engaging will pay off in the long run by allowing you to take those relationships offline and bonus – people are more likely to discover you when they are clicking through comments and scrolling as well. Win, wine. (Yup, that’s supposed to say win, win, but it was a typo and we left it in because I think we can all relate!)
5. Ask for Testimonials
   Asking for testimonials can be HARD. But the truth is, when you have a good connection and create a world-class experience for your customers/clients they will be more than happy to provide feedback that allows you to help others like them. Ask them to write a review on Google, Facebook, Yelp or wherever helps you the most. Once you have their testimonials, use them! Include them in your brochures, newsletters, and more.
6. Get Involved
   Show up and do good in your community and within your circle. Join local groups that support businesses like the Chamber of Commerce and get involved! Don't expect people to notice you if you are not involved and invested. Volunteer on committees, show up at events, and don’t be afraid to meet new people. We know it can be scary, but if you are passionate about your business and about helping others both inside and outside the office, that will resonate with everyone you meet. Be sure you aren't the only one doing the talking; listen to others and learn about their business. The more you learn, the easier it will be for you to help them in the future.
   Bonus!
7. Set up a Free Consultation with Spark Marketing
   Okay, here is our shameless plug, but we are SO eager to help business owners like you grow and succeed! If you are interested in learning about how we can help your business, email us at mckayla@ignitemybizz.com to set up a meeting. Let’s grab a coffee or tea and chat about your goals! 

Are you having trouble coming up with content? Here a just a few ideas to get you rolling:

• Write about your passion/business. What’s your story? What have you learned? Break it down into shareable pieces for your audience.
• Upcoming holidays. Think outside of the box, even those silly “national” holidays count (i.e. national coffee day, national selfie day, national friendship day, etc.)
• Seasonal posts related to your industry/business
• Tips/tricks you've learned along the way
• FAQ’s
• Funny pictures, memes, or quotes your followers can relate to
• Current promotions, upcoming events, or special offers

A few more things to think about when creating your content calendar.

• Where is your audience? Where do they like to consume this information? In a blog post? Facebook? Instagram? Do they like to read your information or watch it in a video? Find out what works for you and then stick to it! Your audience will soon become loyal followers and look forward to what you have to say next.
• What does your audience want to hear from you? This will depend on what type of services or products you are providing. Tell them about what you do any why you do it. Answer some common questions or things you know your audience/customers are struggling with.

Quick Recap:
Your content calendar should tell you when, what, and where to publish. If you are going to be starting any type of event, workshop, sale, or service program, your content calendar should be laid out to tell you when to begin any promotion for that as well. Think of you content calendar as your play book. It will give you a solid plan of action and leave you feel well organized and put together.
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If you are planning some type of event or promotion, you will want to stretch your content calendar out over the course of about 8-12 weeks at a time instead of one week or one month. If that feels overwhelming to you, start small and work your way up. Remember, you can always rearrange as needed!
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That’s it! You are ready to rock your first content calendar! Plan to block off about 3 hours to write your first calendar if you are planning for 8-12 weeks. Otherwise if you plan to start with a week or a month at a time you should be able to pound that out much quicker! ​