Tag Archives: marketing your brand

Get a better brand identity

Aethera Apothecary brand board with color palette, logos, typography, and product mockups

What Is Your Brand Identity? It’s More Than Your Logo

We all want our businesses to stand out from the crowd. But when you hear the words “brand identity”, what do you think of?

  • Your logo?
  • Your colours?
  • Your fonts?
  • Your tagline?

All those things are part of your brand identity…but your brand is so much more than the things people can see. Your brand identity is the deliberate impression you create about your business. It helps people understand who you are, what you stand for, who you’re for and what they can expect from you. And when it’s done well, it makes your business recognisable without you having to shout about it.

This is particularly important for small businesses. You might not have the advertising budget of a huge brand, but you can still create a business that people recognise, remember and want to buy from.

Start with who you are

Before you choose colours, fonts or even design a logo, there are some more important questions to answer.

  • What does your business stand for?
  • Why does it exist?
  • Who do you want to attract?
  • What do you want people to remember about you?

And perhaps most importantly…What makes your business feel like YOUR business?

This is where your brand identity really begins. You don’t need a grand corporate mission statement. In fact, for a small business, something simple and meaningful is often much more useful.

Think about what you want your business to do for your customers. Perhaps you create colourful jewellery because you want people to feel confident and individual. Maybe you make sustainable homeware because you want people to have beautiful things without compromising their values. Or perhaps you create artwork because you want to bring a little joy and personality into people’s homes. That purpose becomes part of your brand.

What do you want to be known for?

How would you answer this question?

“If someone recommended your business to a friend, what would you want them to say?”

Maybe:

  • Her jewellery is so unusual — I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
  • Everything she makes is beautifully finished.
  • I love how colourful and joyful her products are.
  • She really understands what her customers want.

Those descriptions give you clues about your brand identity. They tell you the qualities you want people to associate with your business. And this connects directly with my previous post about ‘What people say about you when you’re not in the room.’

Your reputation is ultimately created by other people, but your brand identity is something you can deliberately shape.

You can’t completely control what people think about your business, but you can control what you put out there!

Who is your brand for?

Your brand identity also needs to make sense to the people you want to attract. This doesn’t mean you have to change who you are to please your ideal customer. Quite the opposite. The strongest brands usually have a clear sense of who they are, which naturally attracts some people more than others.

Think about your ideal customer.

  • What do they value?
  • What sort of things do they love?
  • What would make them look at your business and think: ‘Oh, I love this. This is SO me.’

Your brand should help create that reaction.

For example, a handmade jewellery business aimed at someone who loves minimalist, timeless pieces will probably look and sound very different from one aimed at someone who loves bold, colourful and quirky jewellery. Neither is right or wrong. They’re simply different brands.

Your values matter too

Your values are the principles that guide how you run your business.

They might include:

  • Creativity
  • Sustainability
  • Quality
  • Individuality
  • Honesty
  • Simplicity
  • Inclusivity
  • Personal service
  • Supporting other small businesses

Don’t just choose words because they sound good. Think about what they mean in your business.

If you say quality is important, what does that look like?

If you say personal service matters, what does your customer experience look like?

If you say sustainability is one of your values, how does that influence your materials, packaging or processes?

Your values become meaningful when people can see them in action.

Your brand identity is the whole picture

So, before you start playing around in Canva choosing colours and fonts, take a step back.

Think about:

  • Who are you?
  • What do you stand for?
  • Who are you trying to attract?
  • What makes you different?
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • How do you want people to feel when they come across your business?

These answers form the foundations of your brand identity. Once you have those foundations, the fun part begins because now you can start translating all of this into something people can see, hear and experience. That’s where your name, logo, colours, fonts, imagery, tagline, tone of voice and brand personality come in.

And as it would be too much to add this into this week’s post, that’s what I’ll be looking at next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, here’s a little brand identity exercise for you…

Brand identity exercise

Grab a piece of paper and complete this sentence:

I want my business to be known for __________.

Then choose three words you’d like people to associate with your brand. As you all know my three words are ‘Marketing made simple’.  

Don’t overthink it. Those three words could become the starting point for building a much stronger and more consistent brand identity. Your brand isn’t simply what you put on your packaging, it’s the story you’re telling about your business every time someone encounters it.

If you need help with your brand identity or branding in general, contact me and we can arrange a coaching session.

Feature image generated by AI.

Ethical marketing – why it matters!

In today’s changing climate, it’s important to keep on top of marketing trends. Ethical marketing is nothing new but has been emerging as a powerful tool for businesses who want to connect with more transparency with their potential customers.

Consumers are much more savvy than they ever were and strong marketing ethics help you build long term trust and loyalty with your customers. Ethical marketing enhances the customer experience and that experience keeps customers coming back time and time again.  

What is ethical marketing?

Ethical marketing is a strategy where businesses promote honesty, transparency, responsibility and fair practices within their marketing activity, showing respect for customer boundaries. As part of this transparency, businesses communicate their ethics in their marketing materials, so they reach their target audience with similar values.

Be transparent

This is so important – it means being clear about your marketing practices, including:

  • How you collect and use customer data, using easy to understand language to explain.
  • Being upfront about your pricing, products/services limitations and terms and conditions.
  • Disclosing any sponsored content and affiliate relationships.
  • Making privacy polices accessible and understandable.

Most of these points should be covered on your website within your terms and conditions or your privacy or cookie policies, which are legal requirements. But it’s also worth sometimes talking about these things in posts.

Although transparency is about being compliant with legal policies, it’s also about treating your customers with respect and being honest.

Honesty

This is all about being truthful in your communications, such as email, blog posts, podcasts or social media posts. Specifically, it should be about:

  • Avoiding misleading claims or information about your products or services
  • Making sure any statistics or research your do is truthful and not manipulated for your own gain.
  • Ensuring that any ads or marketing materials you create represent your products or services accurately and not exaggerated.
  • Acknowledging any mistakes you make and taking responsibility if anything does go wrong.  

 

Social responsibility

This is about how your brand has an impact on society as a whole and how your customers view you and your brand. For example:

  • Considering the environmental impacts of marketing campaigns and business practices.
  • Promoting diversity and inclusion.
  • If you support social causes, do so authentically rather than a ‘tick box’ exercise.
  • Ensure that your marketing activities don’t promote harmful stereotypes or behaviours.

Respect for individual rights

This is about respecting privacy, which I mentioned above. Consumers have the right to control their personal data and decide how it is used by businesses. You must be transparent about this in your privacy policies and other policies on your website – this is a legal requirement of GDPR (General Data Protections Regulations).

You can see a list of my policies at the bottom of my website, if you want to see examples, which gives comprehensive details. It takes a while to get this right, as you can’t copy from anyone else – it’s all bespoke to you and your business and how you do things.

Respect for human dignity

This means avoiding tactics that exploit or manipulate consumers, such as intentional deception. An example could be influencer marketing – some influencers have been criticised for promoting products that they don’t actually use – or for promoting products that could be harmful or unethical. This is seen as a violation of respect for human dignity.

Conclusion

I think that most of the points I’ve talked about in this article are pretty obvious in the great scheme of things. When you market your business most would ensure they don’t harm people or society. And most also know that they are responsible to making sure that their products or services are safe and reliable. But there are businesses out there who don’t do this – sometimes it can be simply they’re not aware of their responsibilities, but it’s up to us all to ensure that our businesses are ethical and promote ethical practices.

Ethical marketing is crucial for building trust and long-term relationships with our customers and potential customers. Businesses and brand that make honesty, transparency and respect for individual rights will not only meet their customer expectations but also set themselves apart from competitors.

Technology is constantly changing. Tools like AI and automation mean that businesses can use technology to maximise customer engagement, craft compelling campaigns and social media posts, blogs etc, and help drive their own business growth. But the rise of these types of technology could be opening the door for unethical practices and behaviour. It’s vitally important for businesses to understand the risks of technology to ensure they don’t fall foul of ethical standards. But I think this might be for another blog post!  

I hope you’ve found this helpful, and as usual, if you need any help with your marketing, feel free to contact me for a free consultation.

Neuromarketing and how it works!

Neuromarketing is about using neuroscience to help understand consumer behaviour by studying brain activity, physiological responses and subconscious decision making.

Have you ever wondered what makes you choose one brand over another – even when they seem to be identical? Or why one particular ad you see on TV, on social media, or hear on the radio sticks in your mind for days? The answer to this is about your subconscious thought and subconscious reactions of your brain.

Neuromarketing is a fascinating subject, which attempts to understand how consumers respond to advertising and products. It’s not just about asking people what they think, it about looking directly at brain activity and physiological responses to see what really attracts attention and triggers an emotional connection.

IT’S NOT ABOUT – mind control or finding a magical ‘buy now’ button in your brain. It’s not about manipulating people, but about gaining a clearer understanding about what they really want or need. By scientifically measuring non-conscious responses, brands can build better products, create clearer messaging and design more enjoyable customer experiences.

How does neuromarketing work?

In order to find out how the brain and body reacts when a person is exposed to marketing materials, several studies have been done. The most common method involves volunteer test subjects – and uses electroencephalography (EEG) to measure electrical activity in the brain, which helps identify moments of excitement, focus or even frustration.

Observing facial expressions for emotional responses and biometrics to measure changes in the heart rate or skin response are also tools that are used. Software then helps to analyse the data so that researchers can pinpoint exactly which elements of an ad or product are most impactful.

Traditional market research includes things like focus groups and surveys – these are of course, valuable, BUT they rely on the participants accurately giving their own feelings or intentions. Our decisions are often made based on pre-conceived ideas about certain products – or influenced by friends, family or subconscious emotions or biases.

Neuromarketing captures the reactions that people can’t or don’t consciously articulate. A survey can tell you that a customer LIKED your ad, but neuromarketing can show WHICH SPECIFIC PART of an ad sparked the most emotional engagement. So, gives a deeper understanding.

The ethics

Neuromarketing certainly has many benefits, but the ethics shouldn’t be overlooked. Although there is nothing that currently offers comprehensive neuromarketing regulations, there are ethical guidelines for those that conduct this research.

  • Participants must give their informed consent – which means they must fully understand the purpose of any study they take part in, including the risks and benefits.
  • Privacy and data security is key – participants personal data etc must be completely secure to protect the privacy of participants and compliance with date protection regulations such as the relevant GDPR regulation and other associated laws and regulations according to the country conducting the research.
  • Disclosure and transparency – I find this a bit worrying – while is it not mandatory to disclose specific neuromarketing techniques, such as eye-tracking on a website (I wasn’t aware this was a thing!) the principle of transparency is an ethical one. Brands must consider disclosing to consumers their data collection and research methods, to ensure transparency regarding the purpose and impact of the research. Then consumers can make an informed decision about participation. This means it is important to READ PRIVACY POLICIES on websites, if you suspect that neuromarketing techniques may be used.

This thought suddenly struck me – a lot of our personal devices – phones and tablets – ask for eye recognition. Does that mean that when you look at ads on that device, your responses could be recorded for research purposes? Or am I being paranoid?

Maybe I’m overthinking here! This is the extreme end of neuromarketing, and small businesses obviously would not be able to either afford or manage this kind of research.

So, how can you harness the power of neuromarketing without having a state-of-the-art research techniques and equipment?

Neuromarketing for small businesses

Neuromarketing has thrown up six basic human needs that can help with strategies for businesses.

Certainty – Consumers want to know that they can trust a brand or business. Customers like the assurance of knowing that a particular business delivers on its promises, has transparent messaging and are consistent on caring for its customers.

Variety – They say that variety is the spice of life and consumers like a bit of variety or something unpredictable. Consumers these days go from Facebook to Instagram to TikTok and engage with social media and SMS texting. Using different platforms as a small business gives your customers that variety- you can offer limited time promotions, discounts or deals when they least expect it. It might be you do this on stories only – or on Instagram only. These unexpected things excite and captivate your audience and keep them wanting more.

Significance – I’ve said this loads of times, but your customers – in fact not just customers, all of us, want to feel valued. Several small businesses have specific groups on social media to help make customers feel special, and they help by giving exclusive ‘sneak a peeks’ or offers. You can also make customers feel special by personalising brand stories and rewarding loyal customers with exclusive benefits. It’s this making them feel valued and special that can make your brand stand out in the crowd and lift your brand from good to unforgettable.

Connection – I know – I bang on about this a lot too – but connecting with your audience in a genuine way is what helps a business to thrive and grow. It’s about being transparent, authentic, and sowing that you genuinely care about them Engage with your followers through social media, responding to comments and messages and listen to any suggestions and opinions – or even ask for suggestions and opinions as this also helps them feel valued.   

Growth -Show how your products or services help your customers. You can provide educational content to help customers expand their knowledge and skills or give suggestions for how your products can be used in their homes.

Contribution – This is about how your business is conscious of its footprint in the world and that it matters to you. It might be about your eco-friendly initiatives or how you get involved in a community or charity initiative. Consumers are more likely to support businesses that align with their personal values and what matters to them.   

Conclusion

In my opinion, these are the gentler, more people-friendly ways for small businesses to use neuromarketing. It’s not about manipulating your customers, it’s more about understanding consumer behaviour and what makes people tick. This is a basic marketing strategy, but using some of the research results from more in-depth neuromarketing research can help us understand what and why consumers want to buy. Connecting with customers on an emotional level is key to building lasting brand loyalty and knowing what resonates with them helps them come back for more and give you repeat business

Contact me if you need help with your marketing.

Contact me

Why a simple ‘thank you’ is so good for business

As a parent, I always taught my children that manners cost nothing. If someone gave them a gift, or opened a door for them, saved them a space in a queue, gave them a lift home or did anything for them, they always said ‘thank you’. I was often praised for the well-mannered, polite children I had….and believe me, at home they weren’t always well-behaved, but they always remembered their manners. As adults, I’ve heard them use the ‘manners cost nothing’ statement to their children. It always make me smile.

At some point in our lives, we all work in some capacity. No matter what job you have or have had in the past, it’s always a good feeling to be appreciated for what you do. When your employer thanks you for your hard work, or tells you you’ve done a great job on a particular project, it gives you what one of the teachers at my kid’s school called, ‘a warm fuzzy’ feeling. And how did that feel? Did it motivate you to try even harder? Did it make you feel proud of your achievement and make you want to do more? In one way or another, the answer is usually ‘yes’ to these questions.

The same applies to your customers – if you thank them for buying from you, or using a service you provide, it will make them feel valued and, nine times out of ten, a customer who feels valued will return with more custom, or recommend you to their friends. Either way, it’s a win, win situation for you.

These are some of the benefits of saying thank you…

  • Customers remember who thanks them (and who doesn’t)!
  • Customers feel valued and appreciated
  • Customers feel respected and cared for
  • Customers like to be acknowledged – it’s important to them

It’s crucial that when you say thank you, make sure you mean it – don’t just say it as a matter of course, or as a way to get something from someone. It must be sincere.

So, how can you thank a customer?

There are several different ways to thank your customers.

You should always thank them for their order and for choosing to shop with you, or use your service. You could also take the opportunity to say that if there is anything else you can help with, please feel free to contact you. It’s also a good idea to put a link to your website and invite them to leave a positive comment.

  • Include a note with their order
  • Send an email
  • Send a card in the post, or an e-card
  • By telephone
  • By text message
  • Via messenger or Whatsapp

Finally, the most important thing about thanking a customer is that it is timely….it’s no good saying thank you weeks after the event, it needs to be immediate.

According to Chris Philippi, President of Philippi Marketing and Associates, writing for zeromillion.com, the top Entrepreneurship Resource Online….

  • It costs anywhere from 5 to 8 times more to gain a new customer as opposed to retaining your customers. When you consider the cost of sales people, advertising, Internet marketing, etc. to attract new customers this becomes obvious
  • 68% of customers will stop using your services or fail to return if they feel unappreciated. This is the number one reason businesses lose customers. 

What do you do to make your customers feel appreciated and valued?

Brand Storytelling – how to tell yours!

Storytelling is nothing new, and something most of us do every single day without realising it. When you talk to your partner about your day, you’re telling a story – you read stories to your kids or tell them about what life was like when you were young (or as mine used to say ‘in the olden days’) …cheeky little beggars! So, it makes sense to tell stories about your business, so people get to know you and your brand. Stories help you capture your audience’s attention, build loyalty, and get sales. 

What’s different about Brand Storytelling – is it the same as your Brand?

The simple answer is ‘no,’

Your brand is an essential part of your business strategy.  Branding is the broader marketing and communications plan, such as content, your mission and vision and all the things that make your business ‘you.’ Branding includes the image you want to portray as well as your reputation.

Read ‘Get a better brand identity,’ one of my other blog posts, for more in-depth information. 

Brand Storytelling is a part of your brand strategy. It shows your human side and builds that engagement between you and your customers. It’s about sharing stories that your audience can identify with, weaving in the core messages of your business. It’s emotion-evoking, creates empathy, holds their attention so your audience feels the experience, and so helps build trust and loyalty, compelling them to take action.   

Seth Godin, an American author, and marketing strategist, (with a great sense of the humour by the way!), once said,

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”

Seth Godin

You may not recognise his name, but I’m sure you will have seen this quote before. In today’s climate, where competition is stiff, you have unlimited choice on everything you buy, and you’re constantly being bombarded with ads, not just on TV, but on social media, you need to find a way to make your business stand out from the rest. 

Storytelling is the answer.

The power of storytelling – what people want!

If I could use just one word to describe the power of storytelling, that word would be EMPATHY. People want to feel like they belong, they’re tired of being ‘talked at’ and being inundated with ads to sell to them. I know that I get fed up with it – it’s constant if you work online like I do.

What people want, what I want and I’m sure you do, is to feel a connection with a particular business – have that feeling that ‘they’re just like me.’ Telling stories is what makes your brand more human, you can communicate exactly who you are, what your values are, what you do and how you can help people. The more you do this, the more you will stand out.

When you have a small business, your main focus will be selling your products or services, and I see a lot of businesses churning out post after post just selling their products/services – using the quantity over quality mindset. And whilst, of course, if you bombard people with loads of content with what you sell, something may catch their eye, it doesn’t really connect with them on a personal level.   

Think about the big well-known brands. L’Oréal is a great example. Their tagline that we all know is ‘because you’re worth it.’ Originally this was ‘we’re worth it,’ talking specifically to women. It’s not just their tagline, it’s their brand mission, telling women that taking their beauty into their own hands is empowering and believing that it’s something no one else can control. When you hear that tagline, what do you think? Most of us would probably agree, that of course we’re worth it, we never doubted that!  Its aim is to resonate with women everywhere, no matter what age, colour, race, religion, sexual orientation – it’s just about inspiring us to have confidence in ourselves. 

A quote from their website reads,

“The inspirational and culturally diverse women who front the brand worldwide make the phrase relevant not just for their generation and their mother’s generation, but for generations to come.
Since its inception, “Because You’re Worth It” has been translated into 40 languages and has become the militant tagline uniting women around the world, encouraging them to fearlessly embrace their ambitions and believe in their self-worth every day.”

The point I’m making is that they are telling a story. So, how can you incorporate this kind of storytelling into your brand?

How to tell your brand story

  • Who are you? What is your story – who you are, what you do, what you care about and why it matters. Know what your brand mission and vision are for your business. As a small business, you are not a huge faceless organisation, you can show who you are etc with posts showing your workspace, talk about your hobbies, what you like to do outside of work, your family – show your personality – this is what helps give you your brand story.
  • What do you want people to associate with you? What do you want your customers to think of you? If you were going to buy your products/services, what would you look for?
  • Your natural style – this is about how you portray yourself. Are you enthusiastic about what you do? Do you show your passion for your product or services? Research other businesses who offer the same or similar products or services as you – how do they put their personal style across to their potential customers? I’m not saying you should copy someone else’s style, but it will give you ideas.
  • Be an expert at what you do. Show potential customers that you’re good at what you do. When you do a good job for your current customers, ask them for feedback and recommendations. This helps you have social proof – I always look at reviews when I buy something for example. You could use those reviews to build case studies – the story behind why they bought that product, or if they commissioned a particular product or service, (with their permission of course!)
  • Who do you do it for? This is an important one. Think about the people you want to help or whose custom you’re trying to win. You need to know who your target market or ideal customer is. Show them how you can help them, solve a problem, and let them know why you care. How does what you do improve their day-to-day life? What’s in it for them?
  • 80/20 rule – this is something I often bang on about, but it is relevant to your brand storytelling. Don’t make all your posts about selling. 80% should be content that educates your audience, entertains them, inspires them, and engages them with what you do. Only 20% should be about selling.
  • Don’t forget your call to action – at the end of every story should be a call to action. Tell your audience what you want them to do next. It might be ‘Check out my website/shop,’ it might be ‘sign up to my newsletter’ or something as simple as ‘follow me for more inspiration.’    

Conclusion

Brand storytelling is about getting into the minds of your audience. Humans are naturally programmed to create and listen to stories. They can affect us both physically and mentally, make us feel an empathy to a certain person or a certain business. Something resonates in our brains.

When you watch a film or read a book, how many times do you feel embroiled in the story, so that you see and feel what the characters do? Your brand story will have this effect on your audience when they really engage with your content- and if they feel engaged they will remember you.

Storytelling should be at the centre of all marketing in one way or another. And they will help you stand out from the crowd. Great stories will help your audience understand who you are, what you do and why you do it. 

Share this blog post or tag someone if you think this content will benefit them. And don’t forget, I’m only an email or message away if you’d like to find out more or have some 1:1 coaching on your brand story.

Common small business marketing problems (and how to fix them).

As we blast into 2025, marketing for small businesses becomes ever more challenging. Marketing constantly evolves and technology, algorithms, as well as consumer behaviour changes every year, which brings their own problems to solve.

So, as a small business it’s sometimes hard to keep on top of everything and anticipate what might be the marketing challenges for this year. Sadly, I’m seeing so many businesses going under – most are due to personal reasons, but I’m sure there are some that just don’t know how to get back out there.

Hopefully, this article will shed some light on some of the problems we small businesses face and give you some guidance on how you can stay ahead of the game and use marketing to keep your business afloat this year.   

No marketing strategy

I’m not saying that you do, but it’s often due to small businesses not having a marketing strategy in place. Many small businesses don’t realise that you need to have long-term plans as well as the shorter more tactical goals and plans.

A marketing strategy covers both by outlining your long-term goals and then HOW you’re going to achieve those goals through marketing efforts in the short term, by defining your target audiences, your messaging, content, channels, and metrics.

The problem – without a specific strategy, it’s difficult to determine which channels are best to reach your target audience – to know who they are and where they hang out. And if you don’t measure the success of the things you do put out, such as on social media, you don’t know if what you’re doing is effective. Also, without clear goals, it’s a challenge to know where your business is and if you’re making any progress.

How to fix it – having a good marketing strategy looks at everything, from identifying your target market and having buyer personas, understanding customers’ pain points and motivations, to finding out what channels you can use to best reach them. Setting achievable goals will help you get to where you want your business to be – then you can work on the tactics you need to implement to achieve those goals.

Creating focused content

I know we say this all the time, but good content is what will get you in front of your target audience and grab their attention. But creating good content needs you to have a really good understanding of your audience and how you can address their needs, wants and pain points to engage them and promote conversions to sales.

The problem – if your content doesn’t speak to your audience, then you’ll have low engagement, which will lead to any marketing efforts failing. If your content doesn’t grab attention, people will scroll on by.

How to fix it – Know your audience – create buyer personas so you understand who and what your content needs to reach and do. Make sure that your content solves problems your audience might have and provide them with solutions or actions that will help them, depending on whether you are product-based or service-based.

Your content needs to be purposeful – moving your potential customers on a journey from finding you, to the consideration stage and then finally to buy. This isn’t a short journey! So, create content that:

  • Educates
  • Entertains
  • Engages
  • Inspires

Include good call to actions and continually be thinking about guiding them to the next step. Ensure your content includes relevant keywords that they’ll understand, good descriptions and give easy to find links to your shop, blog, or website so they can find out more.

Always use a wide range of posts – don’t always just do selling posts.   

Connect with your audience.

Linked to the last point, you need to resonate and connect with your audience. If you don’t, you could lose them.

The problem – If you don’t connect with your audience, your marketing efforts will be in vain. If you don’t put out the right messaging, or give the right impression, your reputation could suffer, and you’ll have reduced brand loyalty.

How to fix it – Ensure that you do thorough marketing research and ask your audience for regular feedback (ask for it), so you can better understand what they want, need or like. This helps you understand how your products or services can solve their problems.

Use storytelling and emotive content that grabs attention and builds that all important trust. Listen to feedback and learn from it – even negative feedback can be turned around.

You can also use email newsletters and blogs to connect with your audience, giving them more in-depth information and content, which helps nurture that all important relationship.

By taking all of this into account, you can build lasting relationships, where you understand your audience and they trust you and become loyal customers.  

Social media

The reason that many social media accounts just don’t work is because of inconsistent posting, lack of engagement and failure to give an audience what they want – and the algorithms don’t always help.  

The problem – You’re not growing on social media, or your growth is very slow. This, in turn, limits who your posts reach, and engagement becomes almost non-existent, so you don’t get those sales. Without these things, you miss out on building a strong community and driving traffic to your website, shop, or blog.

How to fix it – You need to have a good social media strategy, which includes regular posting, interactive content, perhaps collaborations with other businesses or influencers. You need to engage with your followers through comments and messages to build relationships. And you need to use insights or analytics to track how you’re doing and adjust accordingly to ensure you’re on track.

  • Have a content calendar, even if it’s just written on a pad or in a word or excel document. Plan your posts ahead, so you know what you’re doing and when – schedule posts to help remain consistent.
  • Engage with your audience through replying to comments and messages. Try to answer comments with a question where you can encourage a conversation or engagement. This gives you a deeper understanding and connection with your audience.
  • Create visually appealing and valuable content that answers questions for your audience, gives them details of what they want or need, and caters to their interests.
  • Collaborate with other businesses, supporting and sharing each other’s posts. If you can get an influencer on board who aligns with what you do, they’ll help you reach a larger audience.
  • Review your social media insights to understand what works and what doesn’t. And act on it accordingly!

People scroll through social media to be entertained or to find a particular business or product. But mainly it’s scrolling until something catches their eye. By including a mix of posts, incorporating humour, storytelling, tutorials etc. you’ll capture attention.

Algorithms  

GROAN! This is probably THE most challenging thing that small businesses face. The algorithms constantly evolve, which can have a huge impact on your engagement and visibility.

The problem – The constantly changing algorithms can prevent people from seeing your posts, your reach can go up and down, engagement can plumet one minute and suddenly surge another. This can have a detrimental effect on your business and your social media efforts can feel ignored.

How to fix it – Try and stay informed on algorithm changes and adapt where you can. Make it your priority to have high-quality, engaging content that encourages interaction. If necessary, book a coaching session with a social media expert so you are up to speed with best practices.

Understand that algorithms are based on the user experience and relevant content, so creating the right kind of content is vital.

You can’t control the algorithms, but you can control the content you put out to ensure that it is valuable, relevant, and engaging for your particular target audience. If you analyse your insights regularly, create valuable content you know your audience likes, you can adapt to the changes and your social media presence will be better.

You’re losing interest in your marketing.

This happens! You just sometimes feel like you can’t be bothered with it all.

The problem – lack of focus in your marketing efforts can leave to a reduced impact and effectiveness of your content, diluted messages, and chaos. Your engagement will fall, and you’ll get less customers and followers will fall away.

How to fix it – Ensure you have clear business goals and marketing objectives that align and support them.

Regularly review and amend your goals to make them more achievable. If a goal seems too big a mountain to climb, break it down into more manageable chunks.  

A marketing strategy will help you remain focused on what matters to your business and gives you direction as to what you need to do to keep your business at the forefront of your target audience’s minds. It also helps you focus on the channels where your target audience hangs out, so you’re not trying to be on loads of different platforms and spreading yourself too thin.

Standing out in the crowd

2025 is going to see more new businesses and products emerging and standing out in the crowd is a big challenge for small businesses.

Ensure you have a unique brand position (USP) that states clearly what makes your product or service different or better than the rest. How are you different from your competitors?

Make sure that you focus on giving an excellent customer experience at every single touch point that your customers have with your business. From website and social media to blog posts and email or messages, ensure that the service you give is second to none, be transparent and consistent and you’ll find customers will be loyal to you and your brand and will recommend you to their friends and family.

Finally, produce high quality, original, engaging content that perfectly highlights you and your business and your expertise.

Conclusion

I’m sure that there are many more marketing problems out there, and marketing is never an easy ride. 2025 is going to continue to bring challenges to small businesses all over the world, but by being proactive and having a robust strategy, you’ll be able to navigate anything that’s thrown at you.

Marketing isn’t just about short-term gains, it’s the marathon, building long-term relationships with customers and having a sustainable plan for your business’s success. Having a strategy in place and with your dedication to your business and creativity when it comes to your content, you can achieve your goals, and your business will be a success. If you’d like help with any of the things I’ve mentioned in this article, feel free to get in touch. I offer a free 30-minute consultation.

Building a brand for your small business

A Brand is the image of your business; the products or services that your customers and potential customers connect with. You don’t even have to see the name of some of the famous brands to know what they are – for example, you see the big, yellow, arches in the shape of an ‘M’ and just know that it’s Macdonald’s – or see the Apple logo and you know what it represents. Building a brand for your small business means you are marketing your business to be recognisable, so the name of your business is instantly connected to the products or services you provide.

If you have a good online presence, you’re already making a start in promoting your brand. You can use search engine optimisation with relevant keywords, which will show up in online searches, but you need to do plenty of research to ensure you are using the right kind of keywords for your business so customers and potential customers can find you more easily.

Your brand says a lot about you, the person behind your business – your brand is synonymous with your reputation. How do your customers see you? Are you seen as an expert in your field? What do you represent? What does your business stand for? When someone hears the name of your business or your name, what springs to their minds?

What is your current brand? 

Put yourself into the shoes of your customer. Type the name of your business into google search and see what comes up – then type in your name. If you were a potential customer, would you employ you? Most big companies in the UK check out potential employees’ Facebook pages – what does your page say about you? If you’re trying to build a reputable brand, be careful about what you say on social media pages – although this is controversial, if you regularly rant about your personal life in public or use expletives, does this give a good impression? Will it affect the reputation of your business?

Social media sites give you the opportunity to build your public image – it’s the one area you have total control over – you decide how you’d like your potential customers to see you. If you are selling a particular craft or product or provide a service, you’ll want to be seen as someone who knows what they’re talking about – an expert. What you post demonstrates that image to the public, so use it wisely.

How do you build a positive brand?    

Set yourself goals…

  • What do you want people to associate with you? What do you want your customers to think of you? If you were going to buy your products/services, what would you look for?
  • arrow-2889040_640A good brand demonstrates expertise. You need to show potential customers that you’re good at what you do. When you do a good job for your current customers, ask them for feedback and recommendations. When I want to buy something on EBay, I always look at feedback to ensure the seller is reputable and delivers what they say they will
  • Your natural style – this is about how you portray yourself. Are you enthusiastic about what you do? Do you show your passion for your product or services? Do some research on other people who offer the same or similar products or services as you – how do they put their personal style across to their potential customers? I’m not saying you should copy someone else’s style, but if their style is successful, it wouldn’t hurt to emulate some of it!

Website – If your name or business name isn’t on the first page of a google search, you need to do some more work on getting yourself recognised. Do you have a website? If you do, research keywords for your product/services and keep your website content fresh and interesting.

Logo – if you don’t have a logo, it’s definitely worth investing the time and money in getting one that captures your business. Then use it..on your website, on flyers, on your blog, business cards and in any advertising.

Blog – do you have a blog? If you don’t, it’s worth thinking about – it’s a way to show your expertise to your customers. Write blogs that are informative and that help people; write about your products and why they’re good; research other bloggers who do the same or similar to you – follow them, make comments on other blogs, become a guest blogger. Get exposure!

Social Media – use social media wisely. Post regularly with relevant content on your business pages; use photographs, quotes, put links to interesting articles – anything that you think your customers would find interesting or useful…or even funny – without being offensive. Remember the 80/20 rule – 80% of posts should be entertaining, engaging, educational or inpirational and only 20% selling.

LinkedIn – this is a great business to business networking site – you can comment on forums, set up your own discussion threads – all of which can help you be seen as an expert in your field.

Google Business Profile – this used to be called Google my business. Get listed on Google so your business can be found easily. This really helps with local marketing and helps people looking for a business like yours to find you in their area through Google search and maps. You can add posts and photos, it’s free and is an invaluable tool.

Building your brand takes time; google takes time to recognise any changes you make, but it’s worth the time and effort. You’ll get more business as more customers find you, like you and your brand and recommend you. This, in turn, will make your reputation grow – make your brand more recognisable….and so your business name and personal name will move up the ranks of google search and you will stand out from the crowd.

If you need any help with your branding, or if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at cindymobey@outlook.com – I’ll be happy to help.

Don’t underestimate the value of Word of Mouth Marketing

What is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of Mouth Marketing seems like a pretty obvious one, but it is absolutely crucial to your business. It’s when your customer’s interest in your products or services is spoken about in their daily lives. In simple terms, it is free advertising generated by the experiences that your customers have with your business. This can be anything from a great customer service experience, where you have gone the ‘extra mile’ to help them with a problem, or maybe solved a problem they didn’t realise they had. Something extraordinary, or just a product or service that they are really pleased with and want to tell their friends and family all about it.

It really is one of the most powerful forms of advertising as 92% of consumers trust their friends over traditional media, according to The Nielsen Global Survey of Trust in Advertising.

Word of Mouth Marketing (or WOM Marketing) includes viral, blogs, emotional and social media marketing.

Example of WOMM

WOMM is all about creating a buzz around your business – your products or services. The more you interact with your potential target market and with your existing customers, the more the name and reputation of your business will spread. It kind of creates a snowball effect. For example, say you own a restaurant. You create a comfortable atmosphere, the food is great, the service is exemplary, BUT, not only do you do that, you make every single customer feel special. Their dining experience is perfect because you have gone above and beyond to exceed their expectations. When they leave the restaurant, they will leave a review on your social media site talking about the fabulous service they received, about what a great place it is to eat and what a wonderful time they had. That’s great, but the snowball effect is that they will not only leave a review , they’re also likely talk to their friends and family about what a great night out they had, and tell them they ought to try out your restaurant. This is part of the ‘creating a buzz’ scenario. And this can be followed up by you…

ALWAYS reply to reviews and feedback; thank customers for their comments and say how pleased you are that they enjoyed their meal at your restaurant. If you have a website, point them to the website to sign up to your newsletter, so they will be informed when you have special events on, (you might have live music nights, for example or do a special ‘Curry night’ or ‘Chinese night’). And advertise these events on your social media pages for those that don’t choose to sign up to a newsletter, (they’re not for everyone)!

Ask your customer who has left a glowing review if you can use it for your marketing. Share the review on your other social media sites, website and in your newsletter as ‘proof’ that your place is the best! If you get some really glowing reviews, you could ask the customer a few questions about why they enjoyed that particular evening – what made it special for them? Then you could turn this into a mini case study as to why your customers enjoy your restaurant…and give your customer their five minutes of fame, whilst at the same time making him feel very valued and that his opinion really does matter to you.

It’s all about TRUST

If a customer feels that they are listened to and valued, they will start to have an emotional bond to a particular business. This is the reason that most large Corporates have a whole team of people, who talk to their regular customers to discuss products, either with a personal visiting service, via a review of products the customer has (insurance products for example), or on the telephone. This works well as the customer feels that the company cares about them and is interested in what they are likely to do next in their lives. Let’s face it, this kind of interaction is not only to make sure that customer has the right insurance products, it’s also a fact finding mission to find out if there is anything else that could be sold to them in the future. But the point is that the customer feels that the company they have chosen cares about them.

No matter how big or how small your business is, TRUST is a huge issue and one that needs to be nurtured with every customer you have. If they trust that you have their best interests at heart, that you genuinely care about them and value their opinions, they will be loyal to you and will always be willing to try out new products or services that you offer. And, they’ll tell their friends that you have a new offer going on!

Can’t I just make up some great reviews?   

Yes, of course you can, but this wouldn’t really achieve very much as you won’t have that real person going around telling their friends all about you. It may help you attract new business, but you’re starting off from a deception. There is an official body in the USA that has crafted a code of ethics for the industry.

“The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) is the official trade association dedicated to word of mouth and social media marketing. Founded in 2004, WOMMA is the leader in ethical work of mouth marketing practices through its education, such as WOMMA Summit, professional development opportunities, and knowledge sharing with top industry marketers. WOMMA’s membership is made up of the most innovative companies committed to progressing the word of mouth marketing industry through advocacy, education and ethics.”

https://expertfile.com/organizations/WOMMA-Word-of-Mouth-Marketing-Association

The word of mouth marketing strategies they promote are “credible, social, repeatable, measurable and respectful” and there is no tolerance for dishonesty.

How is WOMM different to referral marketing?

Word of Mouth Marketing is about creating that buzz, no matter what kind of business you have, how big or how small you are, or the kinds of products or services you offer. The more you engage with people, the more the name of your business and your business ethics will spread. It’s all about the snowball effect.

Referral marketing, on the other hand, is a more focused and targeted marketing media. It focuses your attention on a specific person to actively encourage that one person to refer their friends. It is a segment of WOMM, but it’s a more proactive way of generating new customers. You have control over the whole referral process to convert a particular customer to buy your products or services. This could be through the use of funnels, for example.

How to do WOM Marketing

Engage with your customers and potential customers, not just collect them. You might have hundreds, or even thousands of followers on your social media account, but are they all interested in what you do or sell? Or are they just there, not really interested, but more of a ‘follow for follow’ basis? Do they interact with what you post? Do they feel that connection with you? It’s about building engagement, building a relationship with followers that are genuinely interested in what you do and feel a connection to your business. The more passionate they are about you, your business, your products, your services, the more likely they are to share what you do, share your posts and tell people about their experiences.  

 

If you set yourself up a strategy, there are things you can do to increase the WOM around your business…things like a partner programme, affiliate marketing and using reviews.   

Your biggest marketing asset is your existing customer base, so create something worth talking about and encourage your existing customers to talk about it too.

  • People trust their friends and what they have to say. Ask customers to refer a friend…you can give incentives to encourage that. For example, refer a friend and get 5-10% off their next order or get a free gift.  
  • When a customer has bought something from you, or used your services, ask them to leave a review.
  • From the reviews that you get, identify something about your brand that has the possibility to generate a buzz or create something new that will generate that buzz.
  • Get your existing customers on board – you could create a competition, with the winner receiving your new product or service.  

Word of Mouth Marketing is a free and easy way to promote your business, but does take a bit of time and hard work. Gaining trust and engagement with your business is a two-way street, but when it works, you will have meaningful relationships with people who will become your best brand ambassadors.

Networking – does it work?

Networking is something that most small businesses know about and understand its importance. It can help you build relationships, gain new customers, and sometimes it can set you off in a completely different direction!

But what if you’re not sure where to start? Do you know what type of marketing networking will suit your business? Do you know where to start looking for those networking connections?

The aim of this article is to answer some of those questions and more…

What is networking?  

Networking is about interacting with other small businesses, your target audience, and potential customers…in fact interacting with anyone for mutual benefit. This might sound a bit harsh but let me explain. If you are struggling with something in your business, or you have a challenge you’re not sure how to solve, networking within groups on social media, or joining face to face networking groups can help – someone will be able to give you advice or provide you with an answer.

In the same way, you’ll be able to share your knowledge or skills to help other businesses in your network. This will help to strengthen relationships with those people.

Networking plays an important part in any marketing strategy, as it’s an inexpensive and very powerful way to find opportunities with customers, suppliers, mentors, marketing experts, investors, and other sellers or service-based businesses.

It can also help you to raise the profile of your business, share new ideas, increase your sales, find out information to see how your business is doing against competitors and helps you keep up with any latest trends in your particular niche.  

Networking is a skill like any other. Many small businesses feel very anxious about it, but like anything else, the more you do it, the more you get involved in group discussions and take the time to get to know people in the groups you belong to, it’s a skill you can fully develop. The more you do it, the easier it is.

What are the different types of networking?

Networking is one of the best ways to grow your business and your brand. It’s important to help you reach people you wouldn’t otherwise have met on your own.  

The four main types of networking are:

  • Business to business (B2B) – the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses – simply put, one business selling to or supplying another business. This can be products or services or could be a manufacturer selling goods to a business, so they can make their products.   
  • Business to consumer (B2C) – this type of marketing targets the consumer, so businesses selling directly to individual buyers.
  • Social media networking – this is probably the most well-known way to network for small businesses. Social media helps you engage with your target audience and your customers. You can find out information about what people like, attract new customers, get feedback, and build customer loyalty. You can also use it to advertise, promote giveaways, do market research, increase traffic to your website and develop your brand.   
  • Professional association membership organisations – this would be joining professional groups where you must become a member, such as the Chamber of Commerce for example, and are largely face to face groups. They usually incur a fee, but often professional groups run networking evenings where they have guest speakers or training sessions to help you with your marketing.  

Networking as a tactic for your marketing plan

Most small businesses know that networking is important, especially at the start of a business, but it is also important no matter where you are with your business. It’s about creating relationships that in turn could turn into a collaboration, sales or create advocates for your business. So, it is important to add Networking as a goal on your marketing plan.

The goal could be broken down into the skills you need to develop for networking, (all kinds, not just on social media), such as:

  • Listening skills
  • Self confidence
  • Person skills
  • Making a good first impression
  • Maintaining eye contact
  • Patience
  • How to show passion for your business

I’ve talked about this before, but an ‘elevator pitch’ helps make networking easy. An elevator pitch is a short paragraph that takes you 30 seconds or less to say, which describes what your business does. It should include what you do, what makes your business special, what sets it apart from others in your field and why someone should do business with you. Check out the blog I wrote about this.

Having an elevator pitch would be part of your networking goal.

Common mistakes

Networking might not come easily to you at first, but you soon get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect!

These are some of the things to avoid when networking:

  • Don’t focus on sales – networking is about building your brand and reputation. Instead ask questions about other peoples’ businesses and focus on building a rapport that will eventually lead to a sales conversation. But that might not be for weeks or even months!
  • Don’t talk more that you listen! Yes, it is good to have to opportunity to tell your business story but listen to and show a genuine interest in other businesses.
  • If you’re attending a face-to-face networking event, think about dress code. Sometimes formal dress is a requirement, sometimes it’s just casual, so always worth checking.
  • If you’re attending an event, be prepared. Decide what you want to achieve – is it meeting potential customers? Getting referrals, or do you just want to build connections with people who might be able to help your business grow? Knowing what you want will enable you to decide how you will approach people.
  • Not following up – if you say you will get back to someone, make sure that you do. If you exchange telephone numbers or email addresses, drop them a mail just to say hi and remind them who you are, or give them a quick call to do the same. If it’s someone you’d like to work with or get to know better, suggest a coffee, and catch up – or a Zoom call catch up.

There are lots of different ways to network, so it’s just about finding the ones that work best for you and your business.

If you liked this article, please share, and follow for more marketing help and tips.  

Which Social Media Platform?

There are so many Social Media platforms to choose from – how do you know which one will be right for you?

The most popular, according to a report by eBizMBA Rank in September 2016, is Facebook, which is hardly surprising as it is very user friendly. The report gives other top platforms too – let’s take a look…

facebook-2048127_640Facebook – The top of the pile with an estimated 1.1 billion unique monthly visitors. Facebook is a social networking site that enables people to connect with friends and family, sharing photos, videos and status updates/messages. It can be used for fun or for business. It is estimated that over 1 million small businesses use Facebook and is very popular with small business owners in France.

film-589490_640YouTube – After Google, YouTube is the largest search engine with an estimated 1 billion unique monthly visitors. It’s where most people go to watch or share video content. It covers every single subject you can think of from popular music videos and films to Joe Bloggs down the street falling off his skateboard! Anyone can post personal videos or share content.

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Twitter – With 310 million unique monthly visitors, Twitter is a real-time public network, where you often see breaking news first! Twitter limits its users to 140 characters per post, but businesses still use it to interact with clients and pass on information.

linked-in-2668687_640LinkedIn – This is a social networking site for professionals. With 255 million unique monthly visitors, LinkedIn members post a profile of themselves, very much like an extended CV. Users can promote themselves and their businesses, connect with other businesses and even apply for jobs or ask for work.

pinterest-1183717_640Pinterest – This is a fairly new concept, but with 250 million unique monthly visitors, it is fast becoming popular. It’s an image-based visual platform that allows its visitors to create digital bulletin boards where businesses can pin their content. As more than half of its members are women, it’s a great place for businesses whose target audience is largely female should think about being a part of.

google-plus-940316_640Google Plus + – Google Plus or Google+ is an interest based social media platform with 120 million unique monthly visitors. You can post photos and status updates on your profile or you can post to specific communities or groups. Specific communities are set up for different subjects so you can post blogs to specific themes. There’s multi-person messaging, text and video chat called Hangouts and you can run events. It’s a very versatile platform.

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Instagram – This is a visual platform, much the same as Pinterest, with an estimated 1 million unique visitors. Posts are mostly connected to travel, food, fashion and art and it has video and photo editing features.

 

reddit-1460603_640Reddit – This is a little different to the other sites – it is still popular, with an estimated 85 million unique monthly visitors, but the content is voted on by the visitors to the site. It is still a social media site, more of a community where posts are identified by topics, such as technology, music, etc. Users submit links and posts that are of value are ‘upvoted’ and those that aren’t are ‘downvoted’. The voting determines where the post sits on the site – however if your post/link hits the front page, it is seen by hundreds of thousands of people – sending a huge percentage of them to the linked website!

vk-3696008_640VK – I have to admit to not having heard of this one! VK is short for VKontakte – a social media networking site where members can add friends, gain followers and post photos. However it is a largely aimed at Eastern European visitors, particularly Russian. In fact it is the most popular site in Russia.


flickr-881367_640Flickr – This is an imaging and video hosting platform. It is very popular for those wanting to share and embed photographs. With an estimated 65 million users, it is still up there with the best!

As you can see, the top sites are a varied bunch, but all are designed to help people interact with others and share information, photos, videos and messages. If you have a small business, they are a great way to get your brand name, products and services out there. I would probably choose to stick with the more popular sites, but of course it’s up to the individual which site you’d like to choose – just be aware that some may not be as good as others.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about and learning about the different sites and I’d love to know which is your favourite? Put a comment in the box below to let me know which one you like best and why…and if you’ve been inspired to try something new!