Marita Oury Media

11/01/2021

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS FOR 2021💕

2020 was a year thrown off course, everything dominated by COVID-19.

It has shifted our outlook, changed our focus and - for the time being at least - the way we live. (How’s Monday home-schooling going?? It’s a bit calmer here than it was last week, but still pretty tough 😩😬... )

The pandemic has also altered the digital landscape in particular, hastening changes in some areas, expediting issues and ideas that may not have happened so soon.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be covering some of the major trends that are being predicted for this year and how small businesses can pick up on these.

❤️Video content
🧡COVID-19 content
💛Social commerce
💚Influencer marketing
💙Customer service on social
💜Shifting demographics

Let me know if you’ve got any questions ⁉️↙️

31/12/2020

So long 2020 👋👋 This is my year in 29 seconds... Watching it back makes me feel so grateful, there’s been a lot to be thankful for despite the circumstances. What have your highlights been?

We’ll be raising our glasses to absent friends tonight and looking forwards with hope in our hearts ❤️

Happy New Year everyone💥💫

#2021

24/12/2020

🎄🎄 M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S 🎄🎄

2020 you’ve been quite a year! It’s been a tough one but I am also determined to take lots of positives from it. I have learnt a huge amount about myself, about my family, about the world. I have spent quality time with my immediate family and it’s also give me time to think about direction and fulfilment. Here’s to 2021 being better. It’s got to be better, right? ❤️🤞🏻❤️

I’m now heading for the mulled wine and mince pies! Have a safe one and see you next year xoxox 🎅🏼🧑‍🎄🍷🥧

23/12/2020

I’ve just popped my away messages on for Facebook and Instagram - is this something you need to do?

It’s a good idea if you’re not going to be answering messages over the Christmas period. Here’s how to do it...

❌Head to Facebook and go to your business page.
❌Tap Inbox at the top of your Page.
❌In the left menu, click the message tab 💬 and then
❌ Tap Automated responses (at the bottom of the list).

You have the option of an Instant reply or an Away message, whichever is best for you.

You can choose which platforms you’d like the messages to go to and even times you want them switched on. Outside of holidays you might want Instant replies to be switched on in the evenings and/or at weekends for example.

A sample message comes up but you can edit it to say exactly what you want ❤️

A preview will pop up on the right hand side showing you what your message will look like.

04/12/2020

➰Follow loops on Instagram ➰

No! No! No! Don’t use them! Here are some reasons why...

🔁 Follow loops, ‘engagement groups’, whatever you want to call them, actually go against Instagram’s terms of use and they have been known to shut accounts down for taking part in them.

🔁 They can actually kill you engagement and will most certainly do so in the long term as the other members in the group lose interest.

🔁 Be aware that you may be aligning inadvertently with values that don’t match your own. And that is a wasps nest you really could do without.

🔁 You may not be paying money to be in a loop but you are obliged to spend time on accounts other than yours. Much better to spend time creating your own content to grow an engaged audience.

Have you been approached about getting involved in a loop? Have you used follow loops or been tempted? I’d love to hear your experience x

02/12/2020

It’s feedback like this that makes it all worth it, thank YOU Lou 💕

If you’re not sure how to move your social forward, drop me a line for a FREE discovery call and a chat about how I can help.

I’ll be putting my power hour prices up in February. And anyone booking in before the end of December and scheduling sessions before the end of April will be eligible for my current rates. Get in touch!

30/11/2020

🌟TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS SELLING🌟

We’re hitting December tomorrow which means there are still 24 days of shopping left - here are a few tips to make sure you’re ship shopping shape.

ON FACEBOOK you can

🎁 Add text to your Facebook header which has any important info on it such as opening times, last order dates, special offers and discount codes.

🎁🎁 Create a post with that and any other important info and pin it to the top of your feed.

🎁🎁🎁 Feature customer stories and user generated content in your posts. UCG is particularly good at encouraging sales as customers trust reviews 12x more than marketing that comes directly from the brand itself.

🎁🎁🎁🎁 When you get tagged in posts ask if you can share them on your own profiles.

🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁 Don’t forget Facebook Stories!

🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁 Set up your Facebook catalogue so you can sell directly. Also, ‘enhance’ all the entries where possible by adding as much information as you can, eg pattern, style, colour etc.

ON INSTAGRAM:

🎄Update your bio with important information such as opening times, last order dates, special offers and discount codes.

🎄🎄Create a gift guide. This new feature is available to everyone, it’s brilliant and hugely versatile. If you’re selling gifts, it’s great for collating items into categories for example. You can still use it if you’re offering a service, you can offer ideas for great gifts relating (or not!) to your sector or location. Guides are really quick and easy to set up. If you don’t already have Guides you can create one by going to mine, or anyone else’s - at the end of the Guide you’ll see the ‘Create Guide’ button.

🎄🎄🎄And don’t be afraid to sell, sell, sell! Everyone is looking for gifts right now.

🎄🎄🎄🎄And of course if you are selling physical goods, do set up your Instagram Shop. The process is made all the easier if you already have a Facebook catalogue or a Shopify website.

25/11/2020

Let’s get December sorted and wave this year goodbye! It’s time for my round up of awareness days and events for December 2020.

It’s a mix up of the obvious ones and some fairly random ones! Have you seen, there’s a !!

I hope this little gift from me to you gets you inspired and helps fill any gaps in your content plan this month.

Which ones are you eyeing up? ❤️🎅🏼🎄

23/11/2020

🌟INSTAGRAM GUIDES 🌟

Instagram is going update crazy at the moment. It is in the process of rolling out yet another type of content to everyone called Guides. Have you got it yet?

That takes the number of content types on Instagram to six. SIX!!

📍Grid
📍IGTV
📍Stories
📍Reels
📍Lives
📍Guides

🌟 What is Guides, I hear you ask?

It’s a new way to share content which allows users to follow a curated flow of posts with commentary — which is great for step-by-step guides, tips, and recommendations. They can include content from multiple Instagram users.

And listen up IG shop owners - this is potentially huge for you. Products can be included in Guides and the more Guides your products are featured in, the more people will find you. So if you sell physical products and don’t have an IG shop, you need to get one!

🌟 Where do you find Guides?

They sit on the profile page and are identified by an icon on the feed tab. See the second pic 👆🏻Have a snoop and see how people are using them.

I don’t have Guides myself yet but when I do I’ll post more info in here.

🌟 Do you think this will be a useful feature for your business?

17/11/2020

Yay! Curved text has arrived on Canva at long last! And it’s sooo easy to use too 🎉🎉 On the desktop version at least!

Do you use Canva?

📍Create your graphic
📍Add your text
📍Tap EFFECTS at the top of the screen
📍Tap CURVE

And that’s it!

Just resize and change your font and text colour as you wish and you’re done.

14/11/2020

I am floating on air right now (and definitely was last night after a few celebratory drinks ☺️🥳)

I’ve done it! I am now trained in Facebook and Instagram advertising 💜🙌🏻

For the last eight weeks I’ve been immersed in the wonderful world of ads with the amazing and . They and their team couldn’t have been more encouraging and supportive. Honestly, it is one of the best run courses I’ve done, big up to 🎉🎉 and their Facebook Ads Academy.

If you’re finding Facebook and Instagram advertising tricky to navigate, you’re not getting the results you were hoping for or are thinking of doing some advertising in the near future, send me a DM or message here ⬇️

What are you waiting for?

13/11/2020

Happy World Kindness Day 🌈❤️🌟

I’m doing my Christmas shopping list just now and really want to support small businesses this year more than ever.

I’m looking at local producers, most of whom are still taking orders for contactless delivery or click and collect. My current fave Peak District gift destinations are all still fulfilling orders. Check out their goodies!
Chalet at Home
Homeward Interiors
Zuzana Marekova
Ag Gallery
Scarthin Books
There are so many ❤️🧡💛

I’ve also been getting excited about online events such as as Craft Festival which takes place 27-29th November with workshops and make-a-longs as well as the ability to buy from makers.

Happy shopping 💕🛍. Let me what you discover!

09/11/2020

If you’re looking for new ways to reach shoppers, offer discounts and sharpen your digital skills, have a read of this

To help your business prepare for the holiday season, we’re introducing new ways to reach shoppers, offer discounts and sharpen your digital skills.

09/11/2020

It’s quiet out there for a Monday morning... How are you feeling about the first full week of lockdown 2? What impact will lockdown have on your work?

A couple of things to think about if you run a small business...

💥 Carry on selling. Don’t assume people aren’t buying. This lockdown is very different from the lockdown in March and, of course, Christmas is looming.

🌟If you can’t carry on selling - and even if you can - ramp up the value that you provide to your customers. Be helpful and offer advice beyond the ‘sale’, it’ll keep you front of mind.

🎉 Celebrate the steps you have made this year, however small. It is sometimes difficult to see what you’ve achieved but step back and pat yourself on the back.

☀️ Start planning for 2021. Mark some time out in your diary in the next couple of weeks to REALLY plan your goals for next year. That means writing them down but also working backwards to identify the necessary steps to get you there.

🌿And last but certainly not least, dedicate some time each day for you. Just 20 minutes is all it takes to look after your mental and physical health. Step away from your desk or screen and get outside and breathe the fresh air in down to your toes.

06/11/2020

So a funny thing happened last night. I was alerted to a brilliant Twitter thread by the lovely Social Chestnut and decided to throw it out there on my Twitter feed. It was great content - funny, concise and, as it was about the US election, hugely topical. Hmmm, but what hashtag to use? I checked out what was trending and plumped for .

My phone pinged. It pinged again. Ping. Ping. And again. Within seconds of the tweet going out the likes and re-tweets starting rolling in. I had to turn my notifications off pretty quickly. And they’re still rolling in now!

The success here is unusual but it proves the advice that I give to my clients - if the content is good and on point, the timing is right (my post would have hit the US in the afternoon and is now catching the home audience) and the hashtag is trending, as this one was, then you maximise your chances of getting your post shared as widely as possible. Twitter likes big, trending hashtags and it’s absolutely fine to jump on them there.

Have you ever gone viral on social?
Try this out and let me know if it works!

Happy Friday folks 🧡

04/11/2020

When was the last time you posted a photo of yourself on your social media platforms?

I know all too well how difficult that can be, I’m not that keen on having my photo taken either, but believe me it’s definitely worth it.

People want to see your face so they know who they are following and, crucially, who they might be considering working with or buying from.

People buy from people and particularly people that they know, trust and like – usually all three!

The best way of doing this is by showing your face more. It doesn’t need to be a professional shot, a selfie on your phone is absolutely fine. And it doesn’t matter where either: on your grid, Stories, IGTV or Reels are all great - you just need to show up ☺️🙌🏻

Pass the lippy!

04/11/2020

There’s so much I love about social media. It can be hugely inspiring and empowering and great for connecting with like-minded folk and indulging your passions.

But if you’re feeling the pressure or a bit of FOMO, it can be a terrible and tricky place. And I don’t know about you, but with lockdown part 2 about to kick in, being on my phone a whole lot more is looking a instinct possibility. As it’s International Stress Awareness day today, I thought I’d share some tips on managing social media for when things are heading south.

📍Concentrate on the things you can control and not the things you can’t
😊Create some space by turning off your phone and doing something you love: making a cake, calling your bestie, watching something upbeat on Netflix, listening to music or a podcast, doing some physical exercise, whatever makes you smile.
📱If you can’t bring yourself to turn off your phone completely, turn off notifications for a while
❌ Unfollow or mute anyone that’s bringing you down
🧡 Only comment on positive posts, that way you see more positivity in your feed.

How does social media make you feel? Let me know if you’ve got any tips 😊

02/11/2020

Monday, let’s be having you!

👉🏻 CLICKABLE TEXT IN YOUR INSTA BIO 👈🏻

One small thing you can do today... give your Instagram bio a quick update by linking to hashtags or other profiles.

Do you have clickable text in your bio? This could be useful if you are running a campaign with a branded hashtag or are managing more than one account within your brand.

How do you do this?

❌ Go to your Instagram profile and tap edit profile
❌ Add any hashtags (using the # symbol) and/or handles (using the @ symbol) that you want to link.
❌ Tap done and that’s it! Your text will now auto link to the profiles and all hashtags you have mentioned.

Some examples:

💕 Rixo do this with their HumansOfRixo hashtag
💕 The inimitable Dolly Alderton uses it to link to The Sunday Times Style that she writes for.
💕 The amazing Partnership Editions uses it to link to founder Georgia Spray’s account.

Could you or do you use this in your business profile?

27/10/2020

❤️🎙INSTAGRAM LIVE UPDATE🎙❤️

Instagram just announced some updates which will be great news for anyone using the Live feature:

1️⃣ You can now go Live for up to 4 hours. FOUR hours!! (That’s a loooong time but hey if you can keep the engagement going for that long...)

2️⃣ You can save your Lives for 30 days before they delete.

3️⃣ You’ll start seeing a “Live Now” section in the IGTV app and on Explore so you can discover more Lives - though it isn’t clear whether that means they’ll remain in the Stories feed too.

Do you use the Live feature? What do you like about it? 🎙❤️

27/10/2020

Here’s a round up of awareness days and events for November 2020.

A little gift from me to you to help get you get inspired and fill any gaps in your content plan.

Which ones would your ideal client be interested in?

There are some great ones this month which should make you smile even if you can’t work them into your plan... my favourites being , and 🥪🚽🙃

Which ones are you eyeing up? ❤️🧡💛

23/10/2020

It’s been a flat out week, but today it’s Friday and not only that but this afternoon marks the beginning of half term for my two youngest kids. Yay! 🎉🎈🌈🙌🏻

I decided to carve out some downtime with my eldest today before the others break up (being the boss of your time is one of the main perks of being freelance right?). The two of us have been visiting my mum and we’ve had a fab day down memory lane at Bekonscot Model Village & Railway and just hanging out and chatting.

These flowers are from my mum’s garden, aren’t they gorgeous? I can’t believe she’s still getting a feel of summer out of the garden in late October. That’s what I call good planning!

Someone once said to me that gardeners are the best strategists as they plan for flowering and colour so it’s staggered appropriately throughout the year. Wow.

It reminds me that I’ll be sitting down this weekend to plan out my content for the next two weeks at least. It makes life sooo much easier. Do you have any planning tips?

And more importantly right now, do you have anything planned for half term?

Have a good one, whatever you are up to 🎉🎈🌈🙌🏻

22/10/2020

Today, FB are launching a new way to create ads with product tags from scratch in Ads Manager.

They're also adding new audience tools to help you reach new and existing customers who are interested in shopping across Facebook and Instagram. With Shopping Engagement Custom Audiences, businesses now have the ability to reach people who’ve already shown interest in their product or brand by doing things like saving a product, viewing a shop or initiating a purchase. And with Shopping Lookalike Audiences.

They're also testing a discount feature for ecom brands in the US.

Do you use Facebook Ads or are thinking about it?

19/10/2020

Hello Monday 🧡🌤🙌🏻

As part of my ongoing efforts to ensure I always offer my clients the highest level of service, I have started The Ads Manager Academy and am delving deep into Facebook and Instagram advertising.

Why do you need to know this?

71% of the UK population can be reached using Facebook ads 😱 thats a LOT of people!
So if you are serious about growing your business you should be considering using paid traffic as part of your overall marketing strategy, especially in the current climate.

But Facebook ads are complicated and as a business owner you already have enough on your plate without worrying about CTRs, CPMs and retargeting funnels!

That's where I come in! I'll be offering Facebook Ads management (which by the way includes Instagram ads) as well as training and masterclasses.

Tell me… have you ever used Facebook ads before? How did you get on?

16/10/2020

Do you love hashtags or hate them? ❤️😡

They seem quite simple but using hashtags correctly and effectively can be a bit of a minefield as they’re used differently on each platform. The research, particularly on Instagram, can take foreverrrrrrr. So here’s the lowdown.

INSTAGRAM
🔴You can use up to 30. Try to use as many as you can but they must be relevant to your content.
🔴Don’t always use the same ones - unless it’s your business name or profession.
🔴Put your hashtag in the search bar to find out how many times they’ve been used. This will also throw up similar hashtags.
🔴Don’t use hashtags that have been shared over a million times, your post will be a needle in the haystack of insta posts.
🔴Try and use a range of sizes from a few thousand to 1m.
🔴Check your Insights to see how many views you’ve had as a result of hashtags.
🔴Save your hashtags somewhere handy like Notes, grouping them by subject so you don’t keep having to reinvent the wheel.

STORIES
🟠Use 3 maximum. No more otherwise it looks spammy and it can affect your reach and engagement.
🟠These can be big hashtags though, your industry for example.
🟠Make use of the # sticker and then add two more.

REELS
🟣You can use up to 30 and it seems the more the better, but try both out and see what happens.
🟣Go big here too

FACEBOOK
🟦Hashtags really don’t work on Facebook - though there are whispers of them becoming more of a thing.
🟦The exception to the no hashtag rule is for awareness days or recognised event

TWITTER
🟩 Use one or two only on Twitter, at the end of your post so it doesn’t look spammy
🟩 You can go big here
🟩 Use trending hashtags if you can

So, do you live them or hate them? Let me know if you’ve got any questions too.

Happy Friday folks 🧡

14/10/2020

Not too, too long ago I took the plunge and decided to upskill. Encouraged by friends and a desire to get back to work after several years as a stay at home mum, I did the Digital Mums Social Media Management Course, graduating in early 2018.

I wasn’t a million miles from my old work stomping ground - marketing and brand communications - so the principles were the same. But the tech, eek, was a whole different planet 😳. It was a steep learning curve but one I’ve been really glad to climb.

Since then I’ve done loads more training to bolster my knowledge in particular areas - big shout out here to the Lauras at The Hub for Social Media Managers who are simply the best support group any social media freelancer could possibly want. And of course there’s nothing like working closely with clients to embed and build on that learning.

It’s been a fascinating ride so far. Fast paced for sure and no two assignments are the same. There is always something new to learn and I am loving passing that knowledge on.

What’s inspiring you? What new skill have you learnt?

12/10/2020

Monday comes round quickly doesn’t it! I had a fabulous and jam-packed birthday weekend but now it’s time to crack on with the to do list – and it’s quite a long one this week! There’s some downtime scheduled in too, I have to do that otherwise it doesn’t always happen 🙃

On the list this week:

🙋🏻‍♀️ Client work
📌 Twitter training
#️⃣ Hashtag research
🕸 Website copy
⚡️ 2 courses to catch up on
🎂 Birthday lunch (Boris allowing)
🚴‍♀️ Bike ride with my hubby

What’s on your to do list this week? Do you schedule your downtime too?

09/10/2020

So how do you beat the algorithm? This a question I get asked A LOT. The short answer is that you can’t - but here are some things you can do...

⚡️Share content that sparks an emotional reaction, that makes people feel
🌟Create content that makes people look good if they share it
🧡 Give value
👋 Positively engage and build genuine relationships

Is there an element of any of these in your most popular posts? Or the posts that have made you stop and have a closer look today?

07/10/2020

I’m Marita, a freelance Marketing Consultant, Social Media Manager and Coach. I have lived in the Peak District for the last 13 years but I grew up in Buckinghamshire and have lived all over the place in between – Cambridge, London, Seville, Lisbon, Oslo. All wonderful adventures.

Freelancing and working from home means the family adventures don’t stop and I can be there for my three children - not so little these days. And my husband occasionally 😳

Are you a freelancer? What are the positives for you?

05/10/2020

⚡️CALL TO ACTION⚡️

Calls to action are so important when it comes to engaging your audience. Whether it’s on your grid posts, your Stories, Reels or DMs - even your Bio - every person that reads your words needs to know what it is you’re wanting them to do.

Sometimes it might be that you want your visitors to engage in conversation to get to know them better or get feedback from them. Other times you might want to send them to your website to read your latest blog (and check out your services while they’re there) or sign up for an offer.

It’s a proven marketing method of engaging your customers and encouraging them to interact with your brand, whether it’s to purchase a product or find out more about your services.

Be clear and be specific. And keep it to one per post. Here are a few examples:

💥 Tag a friend
💥 Check out my story
💥 Click the link in my bio
💥 Double tap if you agree
💥 Don’t forget to save for later
💥 DM me with any questions
💥 Let me know what you think
💥 Follow for more great content

Is this something you do? If so, what gave you had most success with? Let me know in the comments 💥👇🏻

02/10/2020

⚡️CONTENT PLANNING⚡️

Do you struggle with creating engaging content?

Block out a regular time in your diary each month - or even each week - to plan your content. It means you can get on with looking after your customers without worrying what you’re going to post. It also means you don’t miss any vital dates or milestones.

Here are three tips for you to get on track to writing great, relevant content for your audience. Your content should be one of the following:

💥 Positioning. This is content that helps people know that you are an expert in your field. Why are your products and services worth investing in? What makes you different? Is it your background and training? Your results? Your attention to detail?

💥 Problem-solving. This type of content gives your audience solutions to problems both big and small. What are your ideal customer’s pain points? How do you solve them?

💥 Promotional. This means letting your audience know how they can work with you. Don’t be afraid to make this clear.

If you’re still struggling and you’d like a helping hand, DM me for a free 15 minute discovery call to see how I can get you on track.

01/10/2020

📌PIN A POST📌

Did you know you can pin a post to the top of your page?

This is one of your 'signposts', the first content new visitors will see. So it's really important. Let people know how they can work with you, what services you offer and how they can get in touch with you. It's a sales post, so don't be afraid to sell in it.

Don’t worry if it doesn’t get loads of engagement, it's just there to sit on your page as an introduction to new visitors so they don't have to scroll for miles down your feed to find out what you do and how they can work with you - or even decide whether to follow you.

Don’t forget to update your pinned post regularly.

And if you want inspiration then have a look at mine - I’ve just updated it.

To try it out 👇🏻

🔹Go to the post you want to pin.
🔹Press the three small dots in the top RH corner.
🔹A drop down box will appear. Click the first option that says 📌Pin to top.
🔹Thats it! Your post will be pinned to the top of your feed and will have a small yellow flag showing next to the three dots in the top RH corner.
🔹To unpin, just revisit the three dots and click on 📌Unpin from top.

PS I’m also looking at 📌pinning📌 over on Instagram today - how to pin a comment on a post. You’ll find me at

01/10/2020

If you have an amazing business but feel that you need a bit of guidance with your marketing or social media, I am here to help. Here are a few ways that you can work with me.

💥 Social media audit. This is for you if you’re on social media but things aren’t going as well as you had hoped and you’re not sure why. I carry out an audit of your existing presence on social media and report back with recommendations on how to improve your activity.

#️⃣ Hashtag research. Have you ever spent hours researching hashtags and still didn't feel confident you'd nailed them? I help find 50 brand relevant hashtags and provide guidance on how to use them.

💡 Power sessions are for anyone but they are particularly good if you have something – or several somethings – specific that you want guidance on. We can cover a lot in an hour and a half (which is what I normally recommend to start).

🌿 A Nurture package is great if you want some handholding to ensure you get maximum results. We would work over a longer period and you get up to 5 1:1 calls with me.

✅ Social media strategy looks at where you are positioned in the market and covers what, where and when you should be posting.

⚡️ Advertising. Facebook & Instagram advertising is my new jam. I am fully trained in optimising ads on these platforms. If you are finding advertising tricky to navigate (it is tricky to navigate!), you're not getting the results you were hoping for or are thinking of doing some advertising in the near future, I am your gal.

☎️ Alternatively, if none of these options are quite what you’re looking for just ping me a message for a FREE 30 minute Discovery call and a chat about how I can help.

28/09/2020

Today would be even better if... (fill in the blank!)

Okay, it’s Monday and this might be a bad question on a Monday, but what small change in your marketing or social media would really improve your day? Or your week!

Do your profiles need tweaking but you keep putting it off? Are you struggling with creating consistent, quality content? Are Stories still a bit of a mystery? And you know you should be looking at your analytics, but don’t know where to start?

Let me know what’s getting in your way and I’ll see if I can help.