Evergreen Marketing

17/07/2024

📢 Put the social back in social media!

It's all too easy to get caught up in the routine work of generating content ideas, editing videos, designing graphics, monitoring analytics, and so on. Don't forget that at the end of the day, the best thing you can do for your social media presence is be social. 🗣️

Ask questions, respond to comments and messages, interact with others, follow people and other brands, start conversations, share advice and valuable information. BE ENGAGING. 💬

10/07/2024

I'm back with another round of the game I call "Marketing Myth or Truth?"

Does the number of followers you have on your accounts dictate how successful your social media presence is? 🤔

NOPE!

It's easy to get caught up in the flashiness of follower count. And yes, it is helpful to have more eyeballs on your pages. But getting more followers doesn't necessarily mean all those people will be engaging with your content anyway, let alone even seeing it in the first place.

There are so many other metrics to consider when it comes to social media success. 📲
- Is your content getting likes, shares, saves, and comments?
- Are your stories and Reels getting views?
- Are people visiting your profile?
- Are they clicking your links or following through to your website?
- Are they taking action? Are you seeing conversions?

Follower count is a small slice of the social media pie. Be sure to consider the whole pie. 🥧

P.S. - don't EVER buy followers. Just don't do it. 🙅‍♀️

08/07/2024

Raise your hand if you're struggling to keep up with your business' marketing! 🙋‍♀️ (Yes, marketers—me included—are guilty of this, too.)

If this is you, here are two things I want you to look at:

1️⃣ Are you spreading yourself too thin?
If you're trying to be active on every social media platform AND be in people's email inboxes AND be publishing regular blogs AND be running digital ads AND be getting news coverage AND be public speaking AND AND AND... See where I'm going?

You can't do everything. Nor should you.

2️⃣ Are you repurposing content?
One piece of content doesn't need to serve only one purpose. It can be reformatted, restructured, and otherwise reused elsewhere or in a different manner. This allows you to get more mileage out of a single blog post, for example, rather than just getting the one blog.

03/07/2024

Do you have lunch plans ✌️ weeks from today? 🥪 No? You do now! 😏

Join me and other panelists for Massachusetts Business Network's virtual lunch & learn session on maximizing your email marketing strategy! 📧

We'll cover how to grow and segment your contact list, what types of content you should send at what frequency, and much more.

Register for this FREE webinar now! https://massachusettsbusinessnetwork.com/event/maximizing-your-email-marketing-strategy/

02/07/2024

If you haven't listened to the Girls Just Wanna Podcast yet, you're missing out! Catrina & Create and I have been having a blast talking with local women in business about their many roles and passions. 🎙️

We drop a new episode every Wednesday on YouTube and Spotify, and we have a lot of cool guests lined up soon, so now's the time to jump on the listening bandwagon! 🎧

In addition to tuning in to the show, we'd really appreciate it if you subscribed to the channels, gave us a 5-star rating, and followed our Instagram. The more listeners, subscribers, and followers we have, the more we can amplify the voices and work of the women we interview! 🥹

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/
Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/girls-just-wanna1

01/07/2024

Wake-up call: We're already halfway through the year. 😳
Now's the time to check in with yourself on progress toward your 2024 goals and where you want your business to be 6 months from now. 🗓️

Reach out to me to get a discovery call on the calendar so we can discuss your business growth and digital presence.

25/06/2024

I was honored to present on a panel at the She's Local - Central Mass Conference For Women earlier this month. I loved being an attendee for the first two years of this conference and was more than happy to give back this third year by volunteering as a speaker. 🎙️

Thanks so much to Tara Ostromecky of Makin' It Marketing and Billie Kenyon of Ladybugz Interactive Agency, Boston MA for being alongside me to talk to a room full of local ladies about the power of storytelling in their marketing strategy. 📖

So appreciative to the She's Local committee for this opportunity and to all the women who attended our panel with enthusiasm! 💜

20/05/2024

I’m looking forward to attending this first-ever women’s breakfast hosted by City Wide Boston this Wednesday morning! 🥞☕️

🗓 Weds., May 22
🕢 7:30 - 10am
📍Sheraton Framingham

This breakfast is aiming to empower and uplift women of all ages, allowing them to connect with one another and build a support network. And the best part is that 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Be Like Brit! 💛💙

Evergreen Marketing will have a table and I hear my friend Catrina & Create is running the complimentary headshot station! 📸

I hope you’ll join us for a morning of supporting local women-owned businesses, learning from local women leaders, meeting like-minded local women in business, and helping local girls in need. 🫶

Get tickets here: https://e.givesmart.com/events/CeT/?isOrderFormActive=true

01/05/2024

Happy National Small Business Week to all my fellow small business owners! 😇

This is just a friendly reminder for everyone that even if you can't purchase products or services from local small businesses, there are still other ways to support them.

💟 Follow their social media
💟 Engage with/share their social content
💟 Leave a review
💟 Refer business to them
💟 Tell EVERYONE about them!

Practice now by tagging a small business you love below! ⤵️

29/04/2024

This past weekend, I found myself back on Fitchburg State University's campus for a Fitchburg State University Communications Media Department Alumni Reunion. 🤝

It was so good catching up with some old friends, classmates, and professors, hearing what everyone's been up to these last five-plus years in the "real world," and swapping stories from our college days.

I also got to meet some current CommMedia students who are mere weeks away from graduation and have already started their own freelance businesses or have accepted internships in the field. 🎓🥹

I'm forever thankful for the experience I got through this department and this state university! I look back on my college days fondly and know I wouldn't be where I am today without that education, support, and network! 💚💛 Fitchburg State University Alumni Association

26/04/2024

I'm so excited to be speaking at the third annual She's Local Central Mass Conference For Women this June!

I'll be joined by Tara of Makin' It Marketing and Billie of Ladybugz Interactive Agency, Boston MA, for a panel discussion about embracing the power of storytelling in your marketing efforts. We'll be talking about the need to recognize what unique qualities set your brand apart from others to help your story stand out in a competitive digital world, as well as how to know which platforms are best suited to you.

Who will I be seeing there?! If you haven't grabbed your ticket yet, act fast! I hear they're almost sold out! 🎟️ https://sheslocal.org/central-mass-conference-for-women/

25/04/2024

The news is out: I’m starting a podcast with the fabulous Catrina Gardner of Catrina & Create! 🎙

As women who own small businesses ourselves, we love to support our fellow women-owned businesses. So this podcast is gonna do just that!

Girls Just Wanna Podcast will be a weekly conversation with a local woman entrepreneur OR woman who’s actively working to support women entrepreneurs.

Despite what Cyndi Lauper told you in the 80s 🎶 bop 🎶, girls DON’T just wanna have fun. They want so much more! And they’re doing it.

If you want to support us and other women in business, go follow us on Instagram (girlsjustwanna_pod). Then go subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify channels! 💜 Our very first episode drops next week, May 1. ☺

What can we say? We're girls' girls!WE'RE LAUNCHING A PODCAST! Dominique Goyette-Connerty of Evergreen Marketing and Catrina Gardner of Catrina & Create are ...

22/04/2024

Here's your Monday morning reminder that your marketing shouldn't be ALL self-promotional or sales-y. In large part, marketing is about building relationships with your target audience. What will your ideal customer/client find engaging? What will captivate them? How do you start a conversation that they'll partake in? 🤔

Ask yourself these questions as you head into a new week for your business. Make your content a dialogue, not a monologue. 🗣️💬

19/04/2024

Me: "Consistency in your marketing efforts is the most important thing!"

Also me: *Disappears from social media for a month* 🙈🙈🙈

I never meant to be the "Do as I say, not as I do" person. But life really got in the way this past month, so my own social media presence took a backseat.

I know this is a common struggle for small business owners. As an entrepreneur, you might also be your business' bookkeeper, human resources rep, head of operations, salesperson, and so many other roles. Your marketing and promotion probably get put on the back burner a lot, too.

Even though I deprioritized my own marketing, I should be clear that my client work did not fall by the wayside. Here's why:

1. Starting with the obvious: they are paying clients. I am contracted to provide these services. I keep those written commitments and my word.

2. I batch create content for my social media clients. This typically looks like planning out posts for the month, getting their approval, and then scheduling out all that content.

3. The clients who hire me for social media marketing services also hire me for social media management. This requires me to check in on their social accounts every day for new comments, messages, and mentions, as well as to spend time scrolling through their feeds and engaging with other accounts on their behalf. This daily check-in is, of course, a reminder that the accounts exist and that they need constant maintenance and attention.

4. I also provide monthly analytics reports to my social media clients. Without consistent posts and engagement, I certainly can't expect to have good numbers to show them. And if I can't prove that their content is performing or their presence is growing, I can't expect them to keep hiring me, renewing contracts, or referring me.

If I had treated my own business like a client this past month, I never would have put posting on pause. My goal moving forward is to treat Evergreen Marketing just as I would any other client. 😬 Hold me accountable!

18/03/2024

⏰ It's time again to play our favorite game: Marketing Myth or Truth?

Do you need to go viral in order to be successful on social media❓❓❓ NOPE! ✖️ Having a post go viral can be lots of fun and may even give you a quick rush of dopamine! But one viral post doesn't necessarily equate to overall success.

A viral post usually attracts tons of likes/views/comments/shares and, in most cases, followers. However, this doesn't mean you'll continue to see this level of engagement on the rest of your content, that these new followers will stick around and continue to follow you, or that all the people who saw or shared your post are even in your target audience!

The truth? Consistent, meaningful engagement on social media often outweighs a one-time viral hit. 💯

Here at Evergreen, I'm always focused on your marketing approach's long-term success and sustainability rather than chasing five seconds of fame or a short-lived trend. Longevity > virality.

14/03/2024

I bet you know where the iced coffee I'm drinking is from, even though you can't see the whole cup... ☕

Did you say Dunkin'? BUT HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?! 😱

You can't see the logo. You can't tell if I'm parked outside of a Dunkin' location. And you certainly can't taste or smell the coffee through a picture. All I showed you was the orange and pink straw. 🥤 But you knew it right away, didn't you?!

While I'd love to say it's because you're SUPER SMART (or Supah Smaht, as my fellow Massachusetts residents might say 😅), the more likely truth is that the popular American coffee chain has a really clear and consistent brand that makes their products easily recognizable. You'd probably know that orange and pink straw anywhere!

To be clear: a company's brand isn't JUST its visual identity, like the logo and brand colors. Even with your eyes closed, if I said "America Runs on...," you'd still immediately know what business I'm talking about and could finish my sentence. Or if I simply said: "A Bostonian's favorite place to get a cup of joe and box of Munchkins," you'd probably know that to be Dunks, too! 🍩

Of course, this is just one example of many. Another one that regularly comes to mind is the Nike swoosh and "Just Do It." 👟 Your brand is what people know you for; it's what they think of when they think of you. It's who you are as a business.

While your small business's brand can't be compared to the Dunkins and Nikes of the world, you still have a brand of some sort. It might not be as easily identifiable as a pink and orange straw, but if your brand is strong and consistent, it has the power to be top-of-mind with your audience. What are some of the key components of your brand, visual and otherwise? What are you known for, and what do you want to be known for? What are the things you do or sell?

12/03/2024

In honor of International Women's Day last week (and Women's History Month as a whole), I had the opportunity to share what being a female business owner in the Bay State means to me for this Massachusetts Business Network article. 📝

Thanks so much to Ashley Mason and MBN for including me and for putting this together! 💚 You can read the whole write-up here:
https://massachusettsbusinessnetwork.com/34-massachusetts-female-business-owners-share-the-importance-of-international-womens-day-2024/

08/03/2024

Happy to all the amazing ladies out there! Thought I'd take this opportunity to shout out a few of my fellow women business owners who inspire me every day of the year:

🤍 Catrina Gardner of Studio Joki
🤍 Stefanie Silva of Silva Social Events
🤍 Breanna DiBella of Studio DiBella
🤍 Kat Ilkb of ILoveKickboxing

And, of course, so many others who aren't in the photos. 🫶

Be sure to use this special day as an excuse to reach out and say thank you to a woman in your life—whether it's your mother, sister, neighbor, colleague, boss, mailwoman, personal trainer, financial advisor, or real estate agent.

06/03/2024

The proof is in the performance metrics. ✨

I signed a client late last year who, despite having her Facebook and Instagram profiles set up for a few years, had only posted to them a handful of times. She knew she needed a social media presence for her small business, but she struggled to be consistent about it—after all, she is a one-woman show!

I took over her social media marketing and management in December; we're starting small, just posting a couple of times a week and engaging on the platforms daily. After just one month of this plan, here are some of the results we saw:

⬆️ 200% increase in Facebook reach
⬆️ 2.8K% increase in Instagram reach
⬆️ 167% increase in Instagram profile visits
⬆️ 75% increase in Facebook profile visits
⬆️ 72% increase in Instagram followers
⬆️ 75% increase in page likes

PLUS, this is all organic performance. The client hasn't spent a single dollar on paid ads yet!

Moral of the story: going from a very inactive and infrequent social media presence to a consistent schedule with even a little bit of engagement effort can work wonders! 🤩 Keep it simple to start so you can sustain it over time; you can always add on and build it more later. I'm so excited to see what the future holds for these accounts and her small business!

04/03/2024

Would you rather have 100 fake friends or 10 real ones? 🤔

10 real ones, right?!

This is what I told a CEO when they asked why I wanted to allocate more advertising dollars to their LinkedIn page rather than Facebook. This organization I was working with (a couple years ago) was mostly B2B, and of all the social platforms they were active on, LinkedIn saw BY FAR the most engagement.

Every month, their LinkedIn performance outpaced their Facebook, Instagram, and what was still called 'Twitter' performance, despite the fact that they were dedicating equal amounts of time and effort across all platforms.

When I got the green light to devise an advertising plan for an upcoming campaign, this executive didn't understand why I wanted to spend more of the ad budget on LinkedIn, since they had more followers/page likes on Facebook. 📊

I explained that while their page did indeed have a larger following, this audience was less engaged than their LinkedIn audience. Their Facebook posts were seeing very few reactions and practically no comments or shares, whereas the same content on their LinkedIn was resulting in dozens of engagements.

I wanted a larger piece of their 'resources pie,' if you will, to go to LinkedIn—not just because that's where this organization's ideal clients were already living online, but also because this audience was time and again showing that they valued the content. The LinkedIn page had the most opportunity for continued growth. 📈

I'd rather invest in the 10 friends who pay attention to me and care about what I have to say than the 100 friends who rarely show interest or only mildly care. Don't chase a larger following; chase a more engaged one.

01/03/2024

If you're not leveraging email marketing for your business, you're likely missing out! 📧 Take a look at these 9️⃣ need-to-know statistics from my favorite email marketing platform, Constant Contact. (Numbers 2, 3, and 9 were most shocking to me!)

Reach out to me today if you want to start making email marketing work for your small business: https://www.evergreenmarketingma.com/contact

27/02/2024

Does anyone else schedule meeting-free days? 💻🗓️

As an introvert, I've never been a big fan of meetings; they suck the energy right out of me. Of course, I understand they're sometimes necessary.

But I recently stumbled across a study from MIT Sloan Management Review (albeit from 2022) that assessed the effect of no-meeting days. They surveyed 76 companies that had introduced from one to five no-meeting days per week over a year.

What was the impact of fewer meeting days? Here's the skinny:

🤝 Improved Autonomy: Employees reported having more control over their work and schedules, leading to decreased micromanagement.
🤝 More Focused Communication: Employees could engage in meaningful discussions without interruptions, enhancing collaboration.
🤝 Better Employee Engagement: People felt more connected to their work and colleagues, contributing to overall satisfaction.
🤝 Decreased Stress Levels: With fewer meetings, employees experienced less pressure and felt more at ease.
🤝 Increased Productivity: When employees had dedicated time to focus on tasks without interruptions, they accomplished more.

Personally, I like to schedule any meetings for the week into just 2 days, resulting in at least 3 meeting-free days when I can focus on more time-consuming projects without interruption and go by my own rhythm.

Do you do this? Or how are you intentional about making the most of the meetings you schedule while still allowing time to get other work done?

Here's the study: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-surprising-impact-of-meeting-free-days/

22/02/2024

Marigold's 2024 Global Consumer Trends Index is out 📈, and there's a lot jammed in there! Here are a few takeaways that really got my attention. 👀

1️⃣ Email tops marketing channels in purchase frequency. 📧
50% of consumers reported making a purchase from an email in the last year, compared to 48% for social media ads, 43% for social media posts, 24% for SMS/MMS messages, and 21% for banner ads.

2️⃣ Brand loyalty is immensely valuable. 🫶
63% of consumers said they'll pay more to shop with the brands they're loyal to.

3️⃣ The need for personalization is widespread. 👥
A whopping 85% of consumers say their favorite brand treats them like an individual.

Does any of this surprise you? If you want to see the rest of the consumer trends, you can download the report here: http://tinyurl.com/3mwxbmju

19/02/2024

I own a pair of scissors, but I don't try to cut my own hair. ✂️

A lot of small business owners try to handle their own marketing. I get it; either your business is like your child, and you're very protective of everything related to it, or you're on a tight budget and need to wear many hats in order to make it work. Maybe both.

Unfortunately, cutting corners when it comes to your marketing will likely only cost you more in the long run, both in time and money.

I pay a stylist to cut my hair. 💇‍♀️ I go to a mechanic to maintain and repair my car. 👩‍🔧 I hire a photographer to take my headshots rather than using my iPhone. 📸

Most things are best left to the professionals. Not just because you'll see better results, but also because your time is better spent on the things YOU'RE best at.

12/02/2024

🔔 Here's your reminder that you can't expect others to engage with the content you're publishing if you're not also engaging.

Regularly scrolling through your business' feeds to interact with others' posts and stories, answering messages and reviews in a timely manner, and responding to comments are all good social media practices. 📲

Think of your social media presence as a two-way street. ↔️ If you're engaging on your end, others are more likely to engage back. 👍

06/02/2024

Sorry, folks. Facebook isn't going anywhere. 👇

🗞️ Here's what I read about yesterday: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has shared another strong performance report that shows a 25% year-over-year increase in revenue 💰 AND a 6% year-over-year increase in daily active users of Facebook 👥 (2.11 billion on average in December 2023).

That said, the whole "Facebook is dead" narrative doesn't hold much truth. The platform is, in fact, still widely popular and it's growing. 📈 Facebook is a critical piece of the social media landscape.

Because of this, it remains a go-to for advertisers; they have the opportunity to reach their target audiences which exist within the billions of people who check the app daily. So, while newer and more exciting platforms like TikTok may be getting a lot of attention, there's no denying that Meta platforms remain top dog in the market. 💪

Here's the piece from Social Media Today if you'd like to read further: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-positive-revenue-usage-q4-2023/706384/

01/02/2024

I love referring some of my clients out to Catrina for brand photography. And as you can see, I take my own suggestion, too! 📸

Reach out to Catrina if you want to know more about mini brand photo sessions and what they entail!

29/01/2024

Let's play a game I like to call "Marketing Myth or Truth?" 🤔

Should your business be posting to social media every single day? 📲

Maybe! And maybe not! I get asked a lot about what the "right" frequency 🗓️and timing 🕑 of social media posts is. Unfortunately, there's no hard and fast answer here.

It's all about understanding the patterns and behaviors of your ideal customers. Are they technologically savvy Gen Z-ers who are on their phones all day? Are they busy parents who only check socials briefly on their lunch break or while waiting at the bus stop? What works for one business may not work for another.

So, be wary of blanket statements like: "You should be posting every day." There's not one correct answer or a magic formula. It will likely take some experimentation to figure out what the best posting schedule is for your business. 👍

24/01/2024

A piece of advice I got at the beginning of my career that's stuck with me: WRITE HOW YOU TALK. ✍️🗣️

Whether you're writing a blog post, a caption for social media, or an email newsletter, writing conversationally helps you sound less stiff or dry. (We're not writing insurance policies or car manuals here. 😬)

Here are a few other reasons to write how you talk:
➡️ Helps you connect better with the audience
➡️ Sounds more personal and relatable
➡️ It's often more straightforward & clear, easier to understand
➡️ People are more likely to engage with content that feels conversational
➡️ Allows you to express your authentic voice & adds a human touch to your content, making it more genuine

So, how can you make your writing more conversational? Simplify!
➡️ Use everyday language, including contractions and conjunctions
➡️ Avoid unnecessary jargon and overly complex vocabulary
➡️ Use shorter sentences and paragraphs for easy-to-read, digestible content
➡️ Say it in your head before writing
➡️ Read it out loud to yourself when done
➡️ Go back and edit for simplicity after the first draft to remove any unnecessary words or phrases that could hinder understanding

There's a time and place for strictly formal writing and technical jargon. But 99% of the time, it's not going to be in the everyday marketing communications deliverables you publish for your business.

03/01/2024

Happy 2024! Here are some small business marketing dos ✅ and don'ts 🚫 to keep in mind this new year.

Questions about any of them? Let me know in the comments!