Let’s get visible online

01/11/2021

If you are looking for some wintry templates have a look in the group. Start planning your December posts now. Lots of things you can feature around the holiday season. Share any ideas or requests in the group.

01/11/2021

Is this month the right time for you to start something new and trust in the magic of new beginnings? If so what’s stopping you?

15/06/2021

When I set up my business I felt that having made that decision I had to show I could do it on my own. It was really hard work. Then I joined some groups and did some training that helped me to see how I could do some things more quickly, more easily and better. I also started to speak to people in the industry and found that collaboration really is better than competition. We can learn from and support one another. That’s why I branched out into mentoring - to help people like you. Look after yourself and let others help.

12/06/2021

These are my choice of three things to avoid on social media for today - there are plenty more! If you are on a social media platform for your business you do need to let people know what you have to offer! People may grow to know, like and trust you but they are never going to buy from you if they don’t know what you do!

Consistency is also important. If you only post when you feel inspired your audience won’t know when to look for you. It can really help with your engagement. That doesn’t mean you have to post 6 times a day. If you can only post a couple of times a week try to make it the same days. And if you miss don’t give up. It’s a bit like stuffing yourself with cake when you are on a diet! Don’t beat yourself up. Sometimes you just need the break - but tomorrow is another day!

It is a good feeling when your followers increase but please, please, please don’t buy followers. If they are not interested in you or your business they just dilute your engagement. A small number of interested followers is much better than thousands who aren’t.

What are the top 3 things you would tell people to avoid on social media?

01/06/2021

It’s June so there are a few more free templates in the group just for you. Reflecting the summer vibes and sunny weather and one reflecting June as Pride month. Enjoy!

28/05/2021

They say laughter is the best medicine - and we all need to have our spirits lifted right now. I have some friends who always seem to make me smile - even when recounting the things that have gone wrong in their day or telling of something they watched on tv. Why not do something that makes you laugh today and then share that with someone to make them smile and help make the world a cheerier place.

24/05/2021

Interacting with people and businesses on social media is what it is all about. That’s why it is “social” media! You never know how a link you make with someone could result in a customer for you - or finding something you desperately need yourself. Engage with people. It’s fun and will help build your business.

15/05/2021

How do you create your posts? My two favourite apps for doing this are Canva and Phonto. But I use others too like WordSwag and PhotoGrid. There are so many apps that people like me with no design skills can use every day. What are your favourite apps for designing your social media posts?

05/05/2021

Don’t you just love it when a supplier says they will deliver in five days and then manage it in three. Never over promise - it’s a sure way to end up under delivering. Your customer’s experience is so much better when you can over deliver.

01/05/2021

New month! Happy May Day. New free templates for you in the Let’s get visible online group today!

25/04/2021

If you have sat looking at a blank screen when you are wanting to post something on social media - you are not alone. If you feel that too much of your time is taken up with your social media - you are not alone. If you want to learn how to save time preparing your social media posts or even want someone to do that for you so that you can concentrate on the business that you love - get in touch. I can help you.

22/04/2021

Happy Birthday to me! Find your free quote templates in the Facebook group today. Really easy to use on Phonto - just add a quote!

20/04/2021

What your client wants to know is how you can help them with their problem. Focus on how you can transform their life rather than the specification of your product. Tell them the story of how things can be better.

13/04/2021

Do you have a tendency to overwork things in your head? Letting them spin round and round before you can focus? Then when you do you find that some of those things really weren’t that complicated and if you had just got down to them you could have saved so much time? Me too! I’ve been trying to hone done how I moved to simplifying how I do my Social Media to share with you so you can save time NOW!
Have a look at my 5 ways to speed up Social Media Preparation on the blog on my website.

08/04/2021

It is so easy to look at what other people are doing and think that you won’t do it exactly like them - and they are so good! Of course you won’t do things exactly like someone else - but you will do it in your way. Recognise all that you bring with you into your new venture. Being you is definitely your super power and the world needs you!

05/04/2021

If you have some time this bank holiday Monday, how about setting up your content for the rest of the month? Gather your photos, make some quote posts, maybe even do a couple of videos and plan how April’s content could look. It will save you so much time in the long run.

01/04/2021

If you are looking for some templates for Easter for your posts there are a few more free ones in the group. Just have a look. Happy Easter!

23/03/2021

I love the technology that means I can work anywhere. What do you use most - your desktop, laptop, tablet or phone? I’d love to know.
My i pad is just my favourite tool in my business. I have a keyboard in its case which turns it into a laptop if I get the muse to write something a little longer and my i pencil enables me to scribble on documents. Particularly useful when working on papers for meetings of a charity that I’m on the board of.
I can hold zoom meetings on it as well. And of course I use it to keep in touch with family and friends all over the world and to catch up on the odd tv/Netflix programme too! What would we do without technology?!

18/03/2021

When someone says you need to have a social media strategy does your mind go blank? I remember mine did when I started out in business. I had an MBA, I’d worked in organisations at Board level, but I had only used social media to keep in touch with family and friends or to have a bit of a rant about politics and the like on Twitter. I had to learn all about social media for my business. It turns out a social media strategy isn’t as complicated as an first thought!
You need to know who you are trying to talk to - your audience. What are their needs and pain points, how can you support them?
You need to feel clear and comfortable about your brand - not just the colours and fonts you will use but your brand personality. What does your business stand for? What does it stand against?
Then you need to set your goals and objectives - what do you want to get out of using social media, what are the steps to getting there, which platforms will you use?
Once you know those things you can plan and produce your content to achieve those objectives.
Then you need to schedule your content. Consistency and quality are more important than quantity of posts.
As you go along it is important to track your analytics so that you can be clear what is working and what you need to change.
Make those changes and repeat.
That’s it. If you have a question about any part of this give me a shout!

16/03/2021

If you are looking for the previous five day challenges you can find them in the group where you can undertake them at your leisure. You can find them under the Guides. Other free resources will also be in the group too.
https://www.Facebook.com/groups/427716144990383

16/03/2021

Try writing down three things that you would like to start in the next year. Then see which of them you can start earliest. And ask yourself “Why not today?” And don’t fob yourself off with lame excuses! 😊
Today I received an e mail which made me think I should move something forward that was in my long term plan! I wonder how it will look in a year.

13/03/2021

FREE TEMPLATES I’ve been asked by a couple of wedding businesses about basic templates for them for adding quotes and readings to on a Phonto. You can now find 6 free templates in the group. If you want help with producing something more bespoke or you are not a wedding business give me a shout. You can find the group here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/427716144990383

12/03/2021

Set up your brand templates!
When I first set up my business I started my Instagram journey. I loved it but had no idea how to curate my feed or what kinds of things to post about. I bought a logo from Vistaprint for about £20 and tried to make some sense of branding colours and fonts. I did some free courses and some paid for courses. Some of them I even understood! I got to grips with Phonto and then Canva. I started planning my posts a week at a time and sometimes a month at a time and found that much quicker. I used a fabulous app called MOSAICO but that went bust so now I’m mainly scheduling on Facebook/instagrams Business Centre app. After a couple of years I got fed up of seeing other businesses with almost the same logo and invested in having my logo designed and did some branding work, but I couldn’t afford that at the beginning. All of that has taken 7 years to learn (and still learning!)
If you would like to learn some of the basics much more quickly than that do join the Let’s get visible online group for small business owners. We can network and share ideas and there will be extra courses if you want to take them up. My first free course will be on the group soon and will help you to produce some basic templates that you can use on Instagram and Facebook to save you loads of time whilst giving your feed some consistency.
Look forward to seeing you there. Here are a few of my templates as examples.

11/03/2021

This is what social media is really about. Engage people’s interest, enlighten them about what you are about and encourage them to do the same. Relationships are important. People buy from those they know, like and trust so be yourself - you are amazing.

21/02/2021

I’m just going to take a minute or two to share with you how to make an inspirational quote for your Instagram feed using one of my favourite apps - Phonto. I have been using the free version for about 7 years and whilst there are occasional adverts I don’t find them too intrusive. The quote should be relevant to your business or to the people you want to reach or to give some information about you and what is important to you. People buy from people and they want to get to know, like and trust you before buying from you. Anyway I hope this is useful. There is a lot more that Phonto can do but this is one of the quick and easy ways to use it. If you are putting text on a background for Instagram do put it on a square if you can and make sure the writing isn’t too near the edge so that it can be seen clearly on your feed. I hope this short video is helpful to you.

18/02/2021

Instagram is my favourite social media platform and it’s an ideal platform for my wedding business Ruby B Ceremonies. I hadn’t used Instagram before starting my business 7 years ago so had to start from scratch. I googled and looked at mini courses but sometimes even those didn’t seem basic enough. So I am doing a few posts around getting started on Instagram for anyone who needs it! Here is the first. Click on the image to get the whole picture!
If you have any questions pop them in the comments and I’ll get back to you. Rx

18/02/2021

You have used social media for a long time - but using it for marketing feels very different. Let’s work together to get past the jargon to allow you to show just how fabulous you are.

18/02/2021

I found transitioning from being an HR Director to running my business as a Celebrant a very uncomfortable place for a while. I did some HR consultancy to begin with whilst I did my training and got set up and if asked was unsure how to describe what I did. Eventually there came a day when someone who had asked told me how my face lit up when talking about my new life as an Independent Celebrant whilst being more serious and circumspect about my HR work. Now I see myself as a business woman, as a Celebrant and over the last couple of years as a mentor to other people making the change from being an employed person to running a business. That’s the new version of me and I love it! How about you?

20/01/2021