Business and Marketing Tips

Make A Date To Check Your Site and Social

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work that we all forget to double checking “under the hood” of our social networks and website. Here are a few “must do” items to put at the top of your to-do list.

WORDPRESS
If you still aren’t sure about WordPress 5.0 and the new Gutenberg editor you should consider installing the Classic Editor plugin before upgrading to WordPress 5.0. This will keep your website in the current editor process that you know and enjoy. Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor/

Are you having problems with people taking your content? Considering installing a plugin that will protect someone from checking your code and right-click copying your text. Questions? Reach out to me!

FACEBOOK
Go to the mobile few of your business Facebook page and click on “View As” (currently View As is only in the mobile Facebook app). Take a look at how your page looks to your followers and potential customers. From there, pop over to your desktop and click on Settings and go to Template. You might have a lot of options showing on your page that you don’t need. Click on each setting and toggle off and SAVE each setting that you don’t’ want on your page.

You can also rearrange the order of some of the categories by simply dragging them up and down.

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTING
Everyone can get off-track with their social media for many reasons. Take time now to put together a quick strategy plan of what you want to post about for the next few weeks and schedule your posts. Remember to link some of your posts back to your website.

You’re going to feel good about posting and getting back on topic.

Extra Tip: Set a monthly reminder to write fresh content for your social networks!

SOCIAL BIOS & PROFILE/COVER PHOTO
Take 30 minutes and look at the bio/about section on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Are the bio’s up to date? Click on the links in the bio and make sure that go to your website.

Look at your cover background picture (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) and your profile picture. Remember, you can add a call-to-action and link in the description of the cover photo on your Facebook business page! Hint, you can also add a link in the description of the cover photo on your PERSONAL Facebook page!!

BUSINESS COACHING
Let’s talk about happiness and your business in a Hello Business coaching workshop.

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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company

6 Tips For Taking Your Own Pictures

By Sabrina Espinal 12:21 pm

Everybody takes pictures with their phones but if you want to up your game and use your images in your business, blog posts, or business social networks then check out these six tips. “Practice makes perfect” has never been truer when taking your own images and/or flat lay images for business use.

6 Tips For Taking Your Own Pictures

Use Natural Light – there really isn’t a good substitute for natural light…unless you are a professional photographer (and I’m not). Play around with taking pictures with light coming in the from the windows.
Background: I like using my glass table or my black desk. You can also buy large square sheets of wrapping paper and use the white side of the paper or purchase boards from art supply stores for a background.
Objects: Plants, writing pens, laptops, coffee cups, note cards, small pictures, candles, etc. It’s up to you to find the right objects that speak to your mood and brand. I’m sure you have items at home that you can use.
Balance: This takes practice and is essential for pictures and flat-lay pictures. You don’t want to clutter the picture with items but you do want to achieve balance. Take a picture and adjust the objects and repeat. I usually take 10-20 pictures.
The Eye: You can develop an eye for pictures. Look closely to see if anything is out of place. When taking pictures outside look closely at the picture. Is your neighbor walking outside in his pajamas (that would be my neighbor) or did you catch someone’s child in the picture? You might want to retake those pictures!
Edit: Use the editor on your phone and/or an online editor like PicMonkey. I also use Photoshop. Use the editor to enhance the tone to give it a polished look.

I like to look at various Instagram feeds for technique and inspiration.

Let’s talk about happiness and your business in a Hello Business business happiness coaching workshop.

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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company

Image © David Švihovec

Take Care Of Business On Your Social Media Accounts

By Sabrina Espinal 9:16 pm

Perhaps you aren’t getting the results that you think you are supposed to be getting? Perhaps you are tired of all of the “noise”. Perhaps you are frustrated or you are feeling “drained” by social media or Facebook. Well, I’m here to tell you that if you have a business, it’s pretty much never the time to stop talking about your business.

So, clear your head and try to see things differently.

CHANGE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA NEWSFEED

It’s your account and the power is in your hands to unfollow, unfriend, block, mute, delete, and etc. to any and all people that are causing you stress. You can do it. Write a short post and tell people that you want to have a “no politics” or “no downer feed” and you are making changes to your own newsfeed.

IT’S ABOUT BUSINESS

No matter how you feel, potential clients will look at your social media posts so take time and begin to implement these 10 tips.

1. Update your About section and/or bio to keep it fresh.

2. Check the links on your social networks and check the social links on your website to make sure they still work.

3. Facebook – Pick a great post and “Boost” it for $1.00 and pick a target audience (yes, you can boost for $1.00).

4. Instagram – When boosting a post on Facebook click the Instagram box on your Facebook Boost and let it run on Instagram.

5. Instagram – Select 30 hashtags. Put a few hashtags in your original post and once released, be the first to comment and put the other hashtags in the comments. This keeps the first post looking clean.

6. Have fun and use Instagram Stories and use the Music Gif.

7. Tweet about your business and related topics.

8. Pin your blog posts to Pinterest.

9. Send out email marketing to your audience. You know that you are still around so let them know it, too.

10. Don’t forget to post about great things on your personal page.

Don’t worry if you don’t get a lot of engagement, just keep marketing your business.

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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company

Image © Nappy.co/shademgnt

45 Instagram Posting Tips

By Sabrina Espinal 4:58 pm

Whether you are new to Instagram, or if just want a few more pointers, here are 45 ways to market your brand more authentically on Instagram.

Set-up Your Instagram Account

Create your Instagram for Business account – It’s easy, just go to your settings.

Create a username – Use your real name or business name. Decide what makes the most sense for your business.

Complete your profile – Add a fun photo, a short informative bio, a link to your website and a hashtag.

Connect your account to Facebook – Instagram is owned by Facebook. Connect these two very powerful social media sites to boost your marketing efforts.

Create a brand-specific strategy – Keep your Instagram content strategy focused on you and your brand’s unique way of seeing the world. Instagram is a photo (and now video) sharing site. You don’t have to over-share just be consistent in your overall message

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Use Hashtags

1. You can use up to 30 hashtags on Instagram – Make sure you are using hashtags that resonate with your brand.

2. Use hashtags (#’s) in your updates – Hashtags are a major part of Instagram. It’s a big way of how users can find you through their mobile Instagram searches. Unlike on other sites (such as Twitter), you’re not limited by character count.

Here are a few strategies in using hashtags:

3. Use brand specific #’s – Include your business name in some of your post hashtags. Also, use unique tags for particular marketing campaigns you run. For example, if you’re hosting a photo contest on Instagram, make a unique tag just for that campaign. This tactic both promotes your contest, and it gives your consumers a distinct tag to connect with others participants (so they can see their competition!).

4. Use general #’s – Include general tags on your posts, to be found for your products or lifestyle posts. For example, if your business is a coffee shop, and you post an image of your scrumptious latte, include tags like #latte or even #coffee.

5. Use trending #’s – Trends on Instagram can happen at lightning speed – and they are often even quicker to go. If you spot a trend, and it fits with your brand, use it. Your post could literally be seen by thousands of interested consumers in a matter of minutes.

6. Explore and engage on #’s – Be sure to keep exploring for new and relevant hashtags on Instagram. Use them in your posts. If they are active tags, take your social media marketing time to connect with users of it by loving their posts and commenting. It can be a very cool way to get connected with (and market to) even more Instagram users around the world.

7. Monitor your brand #hashtags – Your consumers are using your tags to connect with you. Be sure to keep checking your Instagram #’s, just like you would your Facebook Page and Twitter mentions. Respond to comments and concerns quickly, and you’ll build happy customer relationships.

Focus on Your Customers

8. Make your followers famous – Share followers photos on your social sites. Show your customers you appreciate them by acknowledging their cool photos, and share them with your Facebook fan or Twitter followers. NOTE: be sure to ask permission to use their photo first!

9. Embed followers’ photos – Instagram now enables you to embed Instagram photos on your website and other sites. Use this, like Starbucks, to show cool images of your brand and product from your Instagram followers by embedding the entire post. Make sure you tell them you’re showcasing their image, to make them feel appreciated, and to get their permission to use it.

10. Like your Follower’s photos – Acknowledge your customers’ awesomeness by liking their photos – particularly if they include your product, or emulate your brand.

11. Comment on Followers’ photos – Engage with your consumers by commenting on cool product related photos they post.

12. Respond to comments on all your posts – If someone comments on your posts, respond to them. This is particularly true when then the comment is a question or even something negative about your brand.

13. @mention your customers – @mentioning is another huge part of Instagram. @mention your followers, your customers, and any other user with great photos of your products. You show appreciation for them, and you get to engage with your market.

14. @mention celebrities and other related industry leaders – If your images are about celebs – let them know. They may just appreciate it enough to share it with their followers!

15. Focus on engaging your customer – Post images with your customer in mind. Post about more than your product. Make your business Instagram about lifestyle, and authentically connecting with your customers.

Show Your Stuff

16. Be creative with your photos – Use filters to enhance your photos. Use cool angles, lighting, and other photography tricks – whether you hire a photographer, or learn a few tricks on your own.

17. Make videos – Instagram allows you to upload 1-minute videos

18. Post photos and short videos of your products – take and post cool photos of your goods to share with Instagram users.

19. Show your products authentically – Show photos of your products as they are used in real life.

20. Show your products creatively – Be cool and creative on this hip mobile site.

21. Show your brand story – post cool photos and videos to show your company’s core values and brand.

22. Show who you are – feature fun photos and videos of your employees. Give your Instagrammers a “behind the scenes” look at your company. This makes you look like a cool company.

23. Post fun, authentic videos of your CEO – make your top executives look personable. Make short, quirky videos of them to post on Instagram. For example, get them to show one thing they like to do when not working, or doing something fun at the office.

24. Share exclusive content – Use your Instagram feed to show photos you haven’t shared on your Facebook, Twitter or blog (and vice versa). This makes your followers feel special.

25. Launch a product live on Instagram – If you’re launching a new product, taking your music group on tour, or opening a new store, etc – do it live on Instagram. For example, the day you launch your product, make a few short videos of you or your client/staff behind the scenes preparing for the launch, and the actual launch with excited customers. Post this to Instagram.

26. Build pre-launch momentum – If you’re launching a new product through Instagram, be sure to build excitement. Tease your followers with a 60-second video behind-the-scenes looks at how you’re preparing for the new product – without giving away exactly what it is.

27. Show your post-launch staff party (or clean up) – Dare to show you and your employees authentically, by posting a short video of you after a product launch.

28. Partner with other Brands on Instagram – Whether you’re a small one shop business or a large multinational, you have relationships with other businesses. If they’re on Instagram too, partner up, and get them to post your products on their Instagram feed.

Add More Tactics

29. Post for fun – Just post something simple and behind the scenes of your business and life.

30. Ask questions about your business or products – Use questions to get your people talking about your business. For example, ask your Followers if they have used your product today. Add a unique hashtag and give your consumers a hub to share photos of how they used your goods with each other.

31. Ask questions about lifestyles – Ask a question about lifestyles or how to solve common problems. For example, if you’re a fashion store – ask what boots your followers would wear with a new line of jeans you have.

32. Use photo caption posts – Another great way to get engagement on your Instagram posts is through photo caption questions. Take a cool image of your products, or something related to your business. Ask your followers to have fun by captioning it. Tip: You can even make a photo caption contest, to entice engagement in your followers through a cool prize.

33. Crowdsource photos – Ask followers to submit photos of what they love about your business/food/products, remember to designate a hashtag for the photos. This could help your business gain customer insight into what’s popular.

Run Instagram Photo Contests

34. Run photo contests – To get a lot of user-generated content, to crowdsource product ideas, or to just get your fans engaged by letting them share their best photos with you – run cool Instagram photo contests. Make contest themes that get photos and videos for your business objectives.

35. Run Instagram photo contests with cool prizes – When you host an Instagram photo contest, make sure your prize provides the right incentive to get your customers to enter and share with their friends, too.

Make Use of Mobile

36. Geotag your posts – Target your local consumers by using Photo Map to tag where you are.

37. Bring offline online – use QR codes to entice your in-store traffic to engage with you instantly on Instagram. Entice them with group offers and coupon codes.

38. Bring offline events online – Are you hosting a live event? Promote a hashtag for attendees to use to share their photos of it.

39. Bring online offline – Host an Instagram meetup to engage in real life with local Instagram enthusiasts – and potential customers.

40. Post consistently – Regardless of your follower count, post consistently. This gets your brand seen regularly by your followers. They will be more apt to become more regular customers this way too.

41. Determine post frequency – You might need to post 2-3 times a day, or 2-3 times a week. Monitor your account to determine your post frequency.

42. Find your perfect Instagram posting time – Not all brands have the same best time to post on Instagram. Not all products do either. Use analytic tools to monitor when your photos are getting liked and commented on. Find out when your hashtags are being used. Then post your fresh content at these most active times.

43. Monitor your Instagram results – use third-party analytics, or track your followers, your hashtag post numbers, your post likes and comments.

44. Continuously improve – Based on your content results, keep improving your photo and video posts. If a particular type of image drives tons of engagement, keep using those types of posts. If using general hashtags get your posts interacted with a lot, keep searching for and using general hashtags.

45. Keep on top of Instagram trends – Instagram is constantly developing new and innovative ways to engage. Keep learning to stay knowledgeable about the coolest ways to connect.

I hope you enjoyed this curated article we curated with Krista Bunskoek!

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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company

Hello Business Coaching Workshop

By Sabrina Espinal 11:17 am

A one-on-one creative business coaching workshop inspired by The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte.

BUSINESS COACHING FOR SOULFUL BUSINESS OWNERS

Does any of this sound like you?
You’re ready to own your creativity.
Your business reflects your passion.
So many ideas mixed with a sprinkle of uncertainty.
You need clarity and self-induced inspiration to move forward.

Let’s have an initial call and then follow up with a private, 2-part coaching workshop session. You’ll receive a digital workbook and action sheets that will help you plan your next series of simple, doable action items that will put you on the path to success.

I’m that optimist person that sees possibilities and options so let’s do this together!

WHAT YOU’LL GET

DECLARE YOUR SUPER POWERS: Explore. What are you passionate about? What’s your super girl business gift? What is the look of success for you?

FEELING RIGHT EVERY DAY: What makes your heart and soul feel good?

VISIONING: Be in the present. Purge the past. Throwing away uncertainty.

CREATE YOUR MAGIC: Bursting the myth of the ideal client. Design your evolving business model. Build your not-to-do list. Saying no leaves your universe open.

HERE I AM: Shine. Put on your confidence lipgloss. Embrace self-promotion. Get real an uncover your brand, social networks, and website. Embrace and declare your charity causes through your business.

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY: Charge what you’re worth.

Read it again.

Let’s Get Started

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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company

[email protected]

10 Tips For Rocking Your Virtual Business

By Sabrina Espinal 10:14 am

Trying to start a business on your own can be very daunting. Finding tools, resources, coaches and like people to support you on your journey can be difficult. Here are a few ideas (Curated from Charlotte Wibberley) to help you build your business and keep your sanity.

FIND BUSINESS FRIENDS

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people will both motivate and inspire you to make yourself and your business a success. Fill each day with positive energy and with people that you love spending time with, even if it’s just in online groups.

Building a network of these like-minded professionals will give you access to people to bounce your ideas off, which is so helpful when working on your own, as well as being able to learn from them too.

GET NETWORKING

It can be scary to put yourself out there but networking events are the quickest way to raise your profile in your local area. There are so many business networking events and most will welcome new visitors so prepare a short opener of what you do, take a pocket full of business cards and a smile!

INVEST IN YOURSELF

Personal growth can help us at work but also on a personal level. By taking time for yourself to experience something new or learn a new skill, you are helping stretch your mind, your comfort zone and potentially your client list.

PLAN

Making a plan of action for the year can sound scary but it’s something that has to be done. Your 12-month plan can be a working document, so you edit as you go or as things change, but without an initial plan and strategy, you won’t be able to figure out what tasks you have to do to get you to your end goals.

TAKE TIME OUT

Life can be busy and stressful which easily wipes our energy. If we’re not careful it can leave us feeling drained and, at worst, depressed and anxious. Take time to slow down and unwind, switch off and recharge. Your business needs you healthy. You need yourself healthy.

REFLECT

Taking time out to reflect on what you have achieved is a fantastic exercise, no matter what stage of business you are in. Have a monthly meeting with yourself to review your website stats, how many inquiries you received, how many new clients you took on, what digital products you sold, how many new social media followers you gained, what e-product had the most downloads, and anything else worth tracking.

When you see your figures and notes written down each month you’ll be able to see how you’re progressing, if you’re hitting any targets, and where you need to focus on for next month. Be sure to celebrate all your successes, no matter how big or small the achievement.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

Teaming with another business owner for an event or project can be an incredible way to challenge as well as push you. It holds you accountable for your own part of the agreement and you get to be a part of someone else flourishing in their line of work too which will give you such a boost.

KEEP YOUR CLIENTS HAPPY

We all know that customer service is key, but it can be easy to get complacent and expect clients to keep paying each month when really it could end at any time. No matter what other services or products you sell, our clients are our ‘bread and butter money’, they keep us going each month and we should be appreciative that they chose to spend their money with us by keeping every promise we make and sending everything when we say we will.

Send a client a card or small gift for their birthday, perhaps a voucher for their local café you know they like to work in or somewhere they take their children, anything you know they love. A small gesture could cost merely a few pounds but to them makes them feel cared for and that you really value them as a client.

WORK ON YOUR MINDSET

Our mindset is a powerful thing. When we start working alone from home after being used to a busy office of chit chat and phones ringing all day, it can be very isolating. And when our nearest and dearest don’t get what our new business is and are patronizing in their reactions, it can feel disappointing.

Some people just won’t understand what you’re doing and why… and that’s ok! As long as you know where you’re heading and what your business is all about then that’s all that matters.

If you perhaps start working with a client who isn’t a great fit for you and you’re not enjoying the work then keep a handy reminder of why you started your business nearby. You started up to work for yourself, not become an employee again.

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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company