How To Make A Lasting First Impression For Your Brand

A small business owner shaking hands with a client after making a good first impression of his brand

In today’s competitive landscape, making a strong first impression for your brand could be the difference in someone choosing your business over a competitor’s. If you want your small business to stand out in the market, it’s essential to craft a memorable brand image that will resonate with your target audience.

In this blog post, we’ll explore some effective marketing tips to help your brand make a positive and lasting first impression.

How to Make a Lasting First Impression for Your Brand

Uncover four key insights into crafting a brand presence that leaves a lasting mark on your customers and prospects alike:

Plans for a brand to make a lasting first impression on a desk
How can your brand make a lasting first impression?

1. Establish a Professional Website

In the digital age, having a professional website builds credibility and attracts customers. Your website serves as the online face of your brand, providing visitors with valuable information about your products or services.

To ensure your website makes a positive first impression, your website should be . . . 

  • User-friendly. Visitors should find your website easy to navigate and understand. Your site should have a flow to make it seamless for users to explore with clear CTAs (calls to action) to move visitors toward making a purchase, booking a service, or contacting the business.
  • Visually appealing. There’s a science to color and design, and visitors will see right through a website that had no time and effort put into its design. Your website shouldn’t be filled with ads, difficult-to-read fonts, or eight different colors.
  • Mobile-responsive. Some of your client base might be on a computer. Others may be on a tablet or mobile device. If you want your site to attract the highest possible number of visitors, then it must be accessible across multiple devices.
  • Optimized for SEO. Optimizing your site for search engines will improve your site’s visibility and attract organic traffic.

Takeaway: Establishing a professional website that is user-friendly, visually appealing, mobile-responsive, and optimized for SEO will help make a positive first impression for your brand.

2. Maintain an Active Social Media Presence

Social media platforms offer a valuable opportunity to engage with your audience and showcase your brand’s personality. But have you ever visited a company’s Facebook or Instagram account and realized they hadn’t posted in a few months? Visitors are often left to fend for themselves or become “detectives” in finding the information for which they’re searching.

That’s why consistently posting relevant and engaging content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Nextdoor, or other platforms can answer the questions for which visitors might be searching all while helping your brand build awareness and establish credibility in your industry.

Aside from posting consistently, here are a few ways you can actively engage with your clients on social media:

  • Respond to comments and messages promptly.
  • Stay up-to-date with current trends.
  • Note what type of content with which your visitors engage, and then share more of that content on your platforms.

Takeaway: Build positive brand awareness by maintaining an active social media presence through consistent posting and active engagement.

3. Invest in Quality Creative Assets

Compelling creative assets are essential for capturing the attention of your audience and conveying your brand message effectively. Invest in high-quality assets, including photography, videography, graphic design, and marketing materials, to convey professionalism and attention to detail.

Similarly, well-crafted copy that speaks to your brand’s values and resonates with your target audience can help you make a memorable impression and differentiate your brand from competitors. Whether you collaborate with in-house creatives or contract with a marketing agency like Paragon Marketing Group, we recommend having talented professionals create visually stunning content that reflects your brand’s personality and values.

Takeaway: Investing in high-quality creative assets can help your brand stand out and leave a lasting impression on potential customers.

4. Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Delivering exceptional customer service is key to making a positive first impression and building long-term relationships with your customers. Your branding never stops at the sales or marketing side. To maintain a positive reputation and establish your brand as one where people want to give their business (and continue giving their business), you need to provide extraordinary customer service. A few ways you can accomplish this include:

  • Responding to inquiries and concerns quickly. If there’s been an issue with a client’s service or product, one of the best ways you can manage the problem is by responding quickly so that the client understands they’re a priority. Often the way in which you defuse a tricky situation can become more memorable than the issue itself.
  • Address customer feedback and reviews thoughtfully. As a small business owner, it’s never easy to receive a critical review or negative feedback. But that doesn’t mean you can’t respond professionally, even if the review was unkind or untrue. Plus, other prospective clients will be watching and reading what you respond. How you respond will tell them whether or not your business is worth considering.
  • Go above and beyond to exceed customer expectations. There are so many ways you can accomplish this. Whether you offer a special discount, give extra attention to detail to a customer’s account, follow up on service where a client had concerns, or even offer a listening ear, you can always find a way to exceed expectations. Your customers will not forget how you made them feel.

Takeaway: By prioritizing customer satisfaction, you can create a positive reputation for your brand and earn the trust and loyalty of your audience.

Here’s a Quick Recap:
  1. Establishing a professional website that is user-friendly, visually appealing, mobile-responsive, and optimized for SEO will help make a positive first impression for your brand.
  2. Build positive brand awareness by maintaining an active social media presence through consistent posting and active engagement.
  3. Investing in high-quality creative assets can help your brand stand out and leave a lasting impression on potential customers.
  4. By prioritizing customer satisfaction, you can create a positive reputation for your brand and earn the trust and loyalty of your audience.

Crafting a strong first impression for your brand is essential for small businesses looking to succeed in today’s competitive market. By following these marketing tips and investing in your brand’s online presence, design, and customer service, you can create a memorable and impactful brand image that resonates with your target audience.

To learn more, please visit our website at paragonmarketinggroup.com or call us at 262-443-9092 to learn more. We’re here to help you elevate your brand and make a lasting impression.

Social Media Secrets for Small Businesses

uncovering social media secrets

While it seems like everyone is a social media guru today, the industry is oversaturated with advice and different methodology about how, where, and when to post. But what about marketing your small business on social media? It’s difficult to know where to start or which methods to apply. So today, we’re going to uncover some social media secrets that often aren’t talked about, and then share how you can start applying them to your business marketing today.

4 Social Media Secrets for Small Businesses

Here are four major social media secrets we’d like to share:

Paragon employees pointing to social media platforms on the wall
Did you know any of these social media secrets?

Social Media Secret #1: Having a Social Media Account Isn’t a Strategy

Often when social media comes up in a conversation, we hear a lot of comments like this: “I have a Facebook profile, so I can do that, too!” Or, “my nephew is on TikTok.” Or, “Anyone can do that!” And it’s true – anyone is capable of occasionally posting to social media. But what most people don’t realize is that there’s actual strategy behind social media marketing. Some of the strategies we employ early on in the process include:

  • Defining and setting goals
  • Researching a target audience
  • Establishing a consistent posting schedule
  • Curating posts, from developing the copy to designing the graphics
  • Utilizing paid advertising
  • Researching best days/times to post
  • Creating a variety of post types
  • Determining aspect ratio for video posts
  • Researching hashtags where appropriate

Takeaway: Just because you have a Facebook or Instagram account for yourself or your business doesn’t mean you’re going to get results. You have to apply strategy if you want to be successful in the long-term.

Social Media Secret #2: Successful Social Media Strategy Isn’t Glamorous

While Emily in Paris would rather you believe differently, successful social media strategy isn’t glamorous. If you want to be successful with your social accounts, you have to work hard. There’s so much thought and work that goes into each post, from the type of post, to when it’s posted, to the size of the video, to the hashtags used, to even the number of hashtags used.

Want to have an effective social media strategy? Employ these three Cs:

  • Clear – make sure your message is communicated clearly and cohesively. Your followers should know exactly what to do whenever they see a post. What is your CTA (call to action)? What is the goal behind the post? While it may require a lot of strategy behind the scenes, it should be very clear and simple to those who see the post.
  • Consistency – your social media accounts should have consistency so customers know exactly what to expect when they’re on your pages: consistent messaging, consistent posting, and consistent branding. If you don’t regularly post, this needs to change. Customers won’t come to rely on or trust your business if you lack consistency.
  • Commitment – social media strategy isn’t for the faint of heart. Commit to which platforms you’ll be posting on, and don’t stop when you get busy or it gets difficult. Giving up is the worst thing you can do! And if you don’t have the time, hire an in-house marketer or outsource to an agency like Paragon who is ready to help.

Takeaway: Successful social media strategy isn’t glamorous. It requires clear communication, consistency, and commitment in the long-term. And remember, even if you start employing the three Cs, you won’t get instant results. Good things come in time.

Social Media Secret #3: The World of Social Media Is Always Changing

Is this really a social media secret though? While the fact that technology and social media is always changing isn’t a secret, the impact of that change on strategy is surprising to many people.

That old adage, “I’m going to do this the way I’ve always done it” won’t cut it in social media strategy. What’s true today may be false tomorrow.

So many changes to Meta Business Suite have rolled out even within the past year. Every platform has its own “algorithm” that’s constantly changing. One platform comes out with a very successful strategy to gain followers, and then others often follow.

Here are a few changes that have happened over the last couple years (that are certain to become outdated once this text is published, just to emphasize this point):

  • Twitter rebranded to X – the year 2023 brought a new Twitter CEO and a new name for the platform. While it still seems to be “in a complicated relationship” with its branding, how will the language of the platform evolve (are tweets now Xs)?
  • Instagram posts can now be scheduled through Meta Business Suite – as recent as early 2022, this was not an option. Social media strategists and content creators were celebrating everywhere when this became a reality.
  • Nextdoor doesn’t allow post scheduling . . . yet – we’re still posting Nextdoor posts live, but how long will this be the reality before they permit scheduling?
  • Stories, Reels, & TikTok have changed how we record video – say goodbye to 16×9 video aspect ratio. When it comes to mobile, vertical is now king.

Takeaway: Social media is always changing. You have to be willing to change up your strategy at a moment’s notice. You need to be aware of the latest trends.

Social Media Secret #4: You Can’t Half-Ass Social Media Marketing

Is there really anything in life we should be half-assing? Probably not. But the reason this is such a big secret is because SO MANY PEOPLE DO THIS.

We’ve heard many business owners claim they can just do it in their “free time,” but what business owner do you know with “free time”? Even if they did, they don’t have the time to do it right and apply actual strategy.

Here are a few recommendations we’d make to business owners starting out with social media and trying to figure out which platforms to use:

  • Find your audience – do you sell primarily to men in their 60s? Or are 30-something aged women your target market? Maybe you sell only to homeowners? Once you know who your audience is, then research which platforms they spend time on.
  • Consider your availability – after you know on which social platforms your audience spends time, figure out how much time you can set aside to apply the three Cs – clear communication, consistent posting, and commitment to posting. Is that an hour a day? Great! Is that 15 minutes a day? That might work. If you have a realistic viewpoint of how much time you can truly spend on your social posting, then you know what approach to take.
  • Start slow – no business needs to start off posting daily to 7 or 8 different social platforms. So if you know where your audience is, you know how much time you can dedicate to your social media marketing. We typically recommend choosing 1 or 2 platforms to start getting your content out there.

Takeaway: It’s better to “whole-ass” a couple platforms than to half-ass several. And if you can’t manage that, consider finding a marketing agency like Paragon who can help.

Here’s a Quick Recap:
  1. Having a social media account isn’t enough. You have to apply strategy to be successful.
  2. Successful social media strategy isn’t glamorous. It requires clear communication, consistency, and commitment.
  3. Social media is always changing. You have to be willing to change up your strategy at a moment’s notice.
  4. It’s better to “whole-ass” a couple platforms than to half-ass several.

We hope that uncovering these social media secrets for small businesses was helpful to you!

At Paragon, we understand that it can take a lot of time, work, and research to successfully market your business on social media. As always, we want to be a resource for you. So as you have questions, we’ll be here to answer them.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our podcast, the Main Street Marketing Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your audio platform of choice.

Top 10 Marketing Mistakes

Circling marketing mistakes in pink highlighter

“Don’t be a fool and make these marketing mistakes.”

Um . . . what?

We promise this isn’t a prank or an April Fool’s Joke. We’re not calling anyone a fool. Rather, as a small business, one of our biggest desires is that other business owners not make some of the most common marketing mistakes we’ve seen over the last several years.

Don’t Make These Top 10 Marketing Mistakes

Now maybe you’ve made some of these. Or maybe you’re looking for some tips on how to avoid making these mistakes. Either way, here are the top 10 marketing mistakes we’ve seen:

Business owner pondering what marketing mistakes he's made
Have you ever made any of these marketing mistakes?

Mistake #1

Your business doesn’t have a website OR your website is outdated.

Having a sleek, professional, and updated website is a vital part of your web presence. Not only will a website help your customers find your business online, but it will also give your business more credibility than organizations with just social media sites.

Mistake #2

You aren’t thinking about your mobile viewers.

More customers are conducting business, making purchases, and scheduling appointments on their phones today. So every business needs an attractive, functional, responsive, and mobile-friendly website that will serve your customers where they are and encourage them to spend more time on your site. Because more time on your site means a higher likelihood of them making a purchase.

Mistake #3

You don’t know who your audience is, where to find them, or how to reach them.

This is where marketing strategy comes into play. If you’re just throwing content onto the internet, there’s no way you can track, measure, or even hope for success. Determining who your target audience is (and where to find them) is a crucial step you should take before deciding which marketing channels to use.

Mistake #4

You don’t know who your competitors are or what they’re doing.

As a small business, you have to work even harder to get your message out there when you have competitors. Learning who your competitors are and what they’re doing — as in what’s working and what’s not — is vital to help you differentiate your business from the competition.

Mistake #5

You’re under-utilizing OR over-utilizing your social media channels.

Most people are on at least one social channel, if not several. This is great news, because that means your customers are ready and waiting for your business to interact with them! But successful social media requires a plan. Are you posting once every 6 months, or 6 times a day? You don’t want your audience to forget about you, but you also don’t want to annoy them. Come up with a plan and then consistently post to your social channels.

Mistake #6

Your business is difficult for your customers to find.

Before you can build trust with potential clients, listing your business in leading directories will make your business visible and easy to find. Plus, making your business easy to find in leading applications, search engines, and other directories will provide the validity your business needs to be established online.

Mistake #7

You’re hoping rather than creating a well-thought plan and strategy to accomplish your marketing goals.

We often don’t put enough stock into our plans. It’s so much easier to come up with a few marketing goals and then hope for the best! But marketing goals shouldn’t be just unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions. Schedule time to come up with a plan (or contact us so we can help you make one!), write down all your goals and your plans to accomplish them, and then start executing.

Mistake #8

You aren’t distinguishing your products/services from your competition.

For better or worse, you know you’re not the only business owner selling your product or service. You likely have local, regional, and national competitors vying for the same customers as you. That’s why it’s so important to differentiate your product or service. Ask yourself what separates you from all your competitors. Why should customers buy from you rather than from someone else?

Mistake #9

You’re trying to do all the marketing yourself OR you’re not doing any marketing at all.

Perhaps you’re trying to figure out how to market your business, or maybe you’ve even wondered how much money you should spend on marketing per month. Have you ever wondered how you’re supposed to have time to do all your marketing while trying to run your business? Whether you need to delegate marketing responsibilities to other staff or outsource your marketing altogether, we recommend not trying to do it all yourself. In fact, that’s where our company tagline comes into play: “You run your business, we run your marketing.” If you’re interested in outsourcing any of your marketing, we’d love to help you.

Mistake #10

You consider marketing an expense rather than an investment.

Like all things in life, it’s much easier to focus on the short-term than the long-term. Yes, it does cost money to outsource your marketing, but as a marketing agency, we stand by the belief that it’s so much more a long-term investment in your business rather than a short-term expense.

Let’s face it — no one is perfect at marketing. No business owner has all the answers and can do everything perfectly. In a way, we’re all fools to an extent, because it’s impossible to know everything. And even if we did know everything about running a business, our time can’t fully be dedicated to marketing our businesses.

And that’s really where we come in. At Paragon Marketing Group, we understand exactly what it’s like to feel overwhelmed. We know what it’s like to wear all the hats and juggle all the balls. We’ve been in your shoes before. And that’s why it’s so important that we not only help other small businesses like us, but also be a marketing resource that you can access whenever you need.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our podcast, the Main Street Marketing Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your audio platform of choice.

5 Creative Ways to Show Customer Appreciation This Holiday Season

Holiday customer appreciation event

Everyone’s heard that this time of year is the “season of giving.” And it certainly is. But this season is also really busy, overwhelming, stressful, and challenging. Often, finding ways to say “thanks” to our family and friends, much less to our customers, falls to the bottom of our never-ending to-do lists. But if you ever stop and really think about why you’re in business, why you do what you do, it always comes back to your customers. And your customers are what allow you to maintain and stay in business. So this holiday season, we challenge you to show customer appreciation.

5 Creative Ways to Show Customer Appreciation This Holiday Season

Most businesses choose to go the common routes – the holiday card, the fruit basket, the 20% off coupon. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with thanking your customers those ways. But we’re going to offer you 5 creative ways that are a little “out of the box” to show your customers how much you appreciate them:

1. Personalize Your Holiday Gifts

Personalized Christmas card to show customer appreciation

Have you ever received a gift and felt like the giver didn’t know you at all? This is often what happens when businesses send out generic gifts, such as mass-produced holiday cards or pretty gift baskets where half the food tastes stale. If you’re sending holiday cards, try handwriting a message. If you’re going to send a food basket, go the extra step and find out if that customer has allergies or food preferences. Whatever holiday gift you choose to send, make sure it’s personalized.

Source: McNutt & Partners

2. Hold a Customer Appreciation Event

Group of people at a customer appreciation event.

Now this might not be the most creative way to show your customers appreciation, but it might be one of the most fun ways to thank them for their business. If you have a brick & mortar office, this could be a great option for you. If not, you could consider renting out a small (or large) meeting space to have food, drinks, and plenty of holiday cheer to thank your customers in person.

Source: Cleaner.com

3. Pay It Forward

People volunteering at a charity after a business received donations to show customer appreciation

The holidays might be the most common time of year for businesses to donate to charities. And that’s okay! It’s a great bandwagon to jump on, and there are many creative ways in which you can thank your customers by paying it forward. Ask your customers which charities are most meaningful to them, and then plan to donate to those! Or, invest a percentage of profits into local charities that will benefit your community overall.

Source: Faire Blog

4. Highlight Your Customers for 12 Days

Smiling customer headshot for 12 days of customer appreciation

So if you’ve been following along with our blog, you might recall our 12 Tips of Holiday Marketing post! Either way, we like the number 12. Put a cool twist on the 12 days of Christmas and instead, highlight 12 different customers for 12 days on your website or social media sites. Highlight what makes them a great customer or partner, and how much you appreciate their business.

Source: CallSource

5. Give Away Gift Cards . . . for Other Businesses

Set of gift cards for other local businesses to show customer appreciation

Okay, now this might seem counterintuitive. But we promise, it’s not. As a small or startup business, having the support of your local community is everything. And what a great time the holidays are to set the focus on other businesses. Whether you want to host a giveaway, or simply surprise customers with gift cards for neighboring businesses, this is sure to be a hit with your customers, and a reminder of what your business prioritizes.

Source: NextDoor for Business

We know this time of year is busy, but taking a few extra steps to show customer appreciation can go a long way. If you ever need help thinking of new, creative ways to thank your customers, we’re just a phone call away at Paragon Marketing Group. Call us today at (262) 443-9092.

Benefits of Being Active on Facebook

Social media marketing.

Social media. Regardless of how connected or disconnected you are, social media can greatly benefit your business. It’s a convenient and fun way to engage with current customers and attract new ones. Small businesses have an advantage on social media for they’re more focused on individuals. There are so many benefits you can gain for your business by staying active on Facebook. The more you engage with followers and customers, the more success you’ll have and the better relationships you’ll build. Respond to comments and reviews, and quickly respond to messages. Make it personal. Not only will this make your current customers feel listened to and respected, but new customers will notice!

How Can Being Active on Facebook Help Your Business?

It’s important to remember not all social media platforms are compatible for your business. You have to decide what’s right for you. Facebook might be a great platform for your business because it’s easy to use and it’s a platform for all ages. We compiled a list of some of the ways your business can benefit from being active on social media, specifically Facebook!

Covers all Three Means of Communication

Verbal, nonverbal, and visual. Unlike Instagram, YouTube, or other visually based platforms, Facebook allows you to share pictures, videos, simple text posts, or livestream. By engaging in all three means of communication, your business can reach and connect with more people, depending on their likes and dislikes.

Share Basic Information about Business

A lot of people use Facebook to find a specific product or service. Making a page for your business allows you to provide people with business hours, contact information, company address, and more. You can add an “About” paragraph and biography about you and your business, post reviews, and advertise your services.

Provide Customer Service and Support

Living in such a fast-paced world, we don’t always have time to sit down on a phone call. Having a Facebook page allows potential customers to ask questions about your business and current customers to send follow up questions and comments about services you provided through private messaging. This allows both you and your customers to reach out on your own time, but with accessibility through your smartphone or computer, it’s easier than ever to give or get a quick response.

Promotes Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Facebook is a great way to get more exposure to your business. Think of it as a snowball effect; you post a funny video or helpful insight to your page; your customers engage with the post by liking, commenting, and sharing. Their friends and family will see that they engaged with your business, pulling them into the intrigue, and so on. You can encourage this by holding some sort of social media contest or other sorts of content that will get your followers to share your page.

You may be thinking, sure, these are all great points, but what if you don’t have extra time to spend on social media? Or I’m not too tech savvy, where do I begin? We understand that there are a lot of moving parts in a small business and it can be a lot. Paragon Marketing Group is here to help. If you have zero or 100 ideas for social media posts and engagement, we have the right people and tools to get the job done. Give us a call or message us today (262)443-9092

Interacting With Your Audience Using Live Video

Live video.

There are so many different kinds of video that your business can pursue to engage with customers, boost sales, and enhance your company’s brand. So, which video is widely preferred and gets the most interaction with prospective customers? Live video is capturing the attention of many, and your consumers could be a part of that audience!

Cheap and Easy Production

While large video production absolutely has its place in advertising for your company and products, it can be time-consuming and costly. With live video, it can be as simple as turning on the webcam on Facebook or Instagram live with a brief script for you to go off of. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with putting in some extra time and resources to really get people engaged with your live video, but if you’re in a time crunch, it’s for sure the way to go.

Consumers Use Their Time to be on Your Time

With live videos, you’re setting up the time for your customers to engage with you. Not only is this convenient for you, but it is for them too! This is because you’re only engaging with the people who care about you, your company, and your brand. It’s an easy way to see what kind of people are engaging with your content, which will help you decide who to target when making your next advertisement post, picture, or video.

100% Ad Free

There’s nothing more annoying than getting really into a video, and it’s suddenly cut to a 30-second advertisement in the middle of the video. If you don’t like it, chances are your consumers don’t either. Most streaming platforms offer ad-free content for you to create. The only advertisements your customers view is that of your business.

Real-Time Engagement Tool

Not only is it a great platform to get information across to customers, but you can talk to them in real-time with live chat. Live streaming gives people the capability to ask questions, leave testimonials, or just have a conversation with you. There are even certain platforms that allow you to have a person to hop on the livestream with you to have a verbal conversation in real-time. It’s a great tool to answer questions, thank customers, or sell your products and services.

Showcase for all Content

If you want to enhance your live streams and make it all the more exciting for audience members, it’s easy to add in graphics, images, text, and even video clips into your livestream. Sometimes it’s better to show customers than to tell them about something (ie. a new product, statistics, etc.) and live streaming is a great place to showcase all content your business has that also invites in a personal engagement tool.

 

So, let’s see… live streaming is ad-free, cheap and easy to do, and it’s super easy to engage with current and potential customers? What’s not to love? It’s a powerful tool to engage with the most involved customers, invite in new customers, and easy communication for everyone! Of course, it’s important to debate what’s best for your business, which is where we come in! We have the tools to bring all of your business dreams to life. For all of your questions about live streaming, email marketing, and everything in between, we’re your neighborhood marketing company.

Interacting With Your Audience Using Live Video

Live video.

There are many types of video your business can pursue to engage with customers, boost sales, and enhance your brand. So, which video is widely preferred and gets the most interaction with prospective customers? Live video is capturing the attention of many, and your consumers could be a part of that audience!

Why Is Live Video Great for Audience Interaction?

Cheap and Easy Production

While large video production has its place for advertising your company and products, it can be time-consuming and costly. Live video can be as simple as using Facebook or Instagram Live with a brief script ready to use. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with putting in some extra time and resources to really get people engaged with your live video, but if you’re in a time crunch, it’s for sure the way to go.

Customer Engagement

With live videos, you’re setting up the time for your customers to engage with you. Not only is this convenient for you, but it also is for them too! This is because you’re only engaging with the people who care about you, your company, and your brand. It’s an easy way to see what kind of people are engaging with your content, which will help you decide who to target when making your next advertisement post, picture, or video.

100% Ad-Free

There’s nothing more annoying than getting really into a video, and it’s suddenly cut to a 30-second advertisement in the middle of the video. If you don’t like it, chances are your consumers don’t either. Most streaming platforms offer ad-free content for you to create. The only advertisements your customers view is that of your business.

Real-Time Engagement Tool

Not only is it a great platform to get information across to customers, but you can talk to them in real-time with live chat. Live streaming gives people the capability to ask questions, leave testimonials, or just have a conversation with you. There are even certain platforms that allow you to have a person to hop on the livestream with you to have a verbal conversation in real-time. It’s a great tool to answer questions, thank customers, or sell your products and services.

Showcase for All Content

If you want to enhance your live streams and make it all the more exciting for audience members, it’s easy to add in graphics, images, text, and even video clips into your livestream. Sometimes it’s better to show customers than to tell them about something (i.e. a new product, statistics, etc.) and live streaming is a great place to showcase all content your business has that also invites in a personal engagement tool.

So, let’s see… live streaming is ad-free, cheap and easy to do, and convenient to engage with current and potential customers. What’s not to love? It’s a powerful tool to engage with the most involved customers, invite in new customers, and easy communication for everyone! Of course, it’s important to debate what’s best for your business, which is where we come in! We have the tools to bring all of your business dreams to life. For all of your questions about live streaming, email marketing, and everything in between, we’re your neighborhood marketing company.

5 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Social Media Strategy

spring clean your social media strategy.

It’s that time of year again! Sunshine, flowers, and yep, spring cleaning. There’s nothing greater than cleaning out a closet you’ve been putting off all year, cleaning up your garden, or even cleaning up your social media strategy! There are so many things, both small and large-scale to improve your social media presence and marketing.

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Social Media Strategy

There’s no better time to get rid of clutter than now. Here are five ways to get started with that spring cleaning . . .

1. Update Your Profile and Pages

Make sure you’re keeping your information up to date – this could even be done as often as every couple of weeks depending on your business! Here are some ways to update your pages:

  • Update your profile picture
  • Spice up your biography
  • Include a link to your newest product, a recent 5-star review from a customer, or a friendly message to welcome new customers
  • Create a new call-to-action
  • Incorporate keywords and buzzwords to get people interested
  • If you updated your brand with a different logo or colors, incorporate those into your profile and header photos

2. Create a Content Calendar

Making a content calendar can be extremely helpful to keep you and your business organized! Content calendars are great to keep your thoughts organized, especially if your company uses several different social media platforms. You can use a calendar to keep you on track for…

  • Social media posts
  • Email marketing, articles, and blogs
  • Video production
  • Networking or marketing events

3. Bring Those Goals Out of Storage

Goals grow and change, and some are even forgotten as the year goes on. There’s no better time than now to dust those goals off and pursue them! This is where our previous idea of using a content calendar can come in handy – keep yourself accountable for reaching your goals by visualizing deadlines and content for them by creating smaller goals to lead up to the big one. If you’re not sure why you didn’t meet your goals, take time to figure out where they can be changed to match your business better!

4. Check Out Your Competition

A little competitor analysis never hurt anybody. Check out their social media pages and see what kind of things they’re posting and what their audiences are engaging with, or better yet, look for what they might be missing. That way you can incorporate both into your social media strategy. Some things to look out for with your competitions are…

  • What kind of content are they posting?
  • How often are they posting?
  • What platforms are they using?
  • What content gets the most interaction, likes, comments, etc.?

5. Clean Up Your Social Media Strategy

After analyzing your competition’s social media strategy, take some time to study your own! You don’t need to start from ground up and completely revamp your marketing techniques, but take a look at small things. What’s working? What’s not working? What kind of content got the most interaction and engagement? Taking time to identify your business’ own strengths and weaknesses is a great way to determine what it needs and more importantly, what your customers need.

Taking some time out of your schedule to dust off some goals, clean up your video production strategy, and change up your business’ brand is the best way to clean up this spring! Not only will you feel a weight lifted, but your customers and business will thank you.

Instagram Quick Tips

Instagram tips.

Instagram has over 25 million business accounts, many of which are small businesses. It’s important to know if Instagram is a right fit for you. Whether you are B2B or B2C, this platform can fit your needs. Instagram is the perfect platform to make visual posts to appeal to your target audience. We know it can be confusing to determine which social platforms to use, how to set it up and even how to use it so we’ve put together a quick guide to make Instagram easy. Don’t forget, we’re a local business that is always here to help!

Who Uses Instagram?

It’s critical to know who uses Instagram to target your marketing to that specific audience.

Instagram Demographics That Matter to Social Media Marketers in 2020

Setting Up A Business Instagram Account

Click the links below and use these resources to set up an Instagram account for your business. Be sure to connect it with your business page. Paragon’s quick tips for you are to be sure to create the account with the same email used for your Facebook page and make sure you convert it to a business page instead of using a personal account.

Getting Started With Instagram
Connecting Facebook and Instagram
Set Up & Analyze Your Instagram Profile

Using Instagram

Once your business has an Instagram account, it’s critical to use it! Don’t just let it sit out there with no new activity. Paragon’s quick tip is to create content that attracts to your specific audience on Instagram (know who they are!) and don’t be afraid to interact with them.

Instagram Marketing: A Small Business Guide
8 Instagram Tips For Small Businesses

Talk To The Professionals



Websites—The Face Of Your Business

Websites—The face of your business.

Websites. They’re the face of your business, your first impression on consumers, and a way to communicate with customers. Check out what you can do to update your website and what customers are looking for!

Personalization

In our previous blog, which you can find here, we talked about what it means to brand yourself – this includes your website! If your logo has certain colors in it, make sure you’re using that across your entire website. Keeping fonts, pictures, and color consist not only shows people that you have a clear brand, but they get to know you on a more personal level.

Ease of Navigation

Have you ever clicked on a restaurant’s website to try and order food and can’t find their phone number? How about frustrations with trying to schedule an appointment online? You may not realize it, but all of these small difficulties add up to a person’s impression of not only your website, but your entire business. If people can’t find it, how are they supposed to buy it? Use tabs to clearly label where things can be found. If you know of something that takes more than a couple of clicks to access, try adding a search bar to your website. You can also study the patterns of the use of your website and see where certain things can be fixed.

Call-to-Action

This one may seem obvious, but is often overlooked. You can have all the testimonials, photos, videos, and customer reviews that you want to validate the quality of your business, but if there’s nowhere to lead your customer to buy a product or an email to reach out to, how do they move forward with your services? Make sure there’s a, “contact us today,” or, “click here for more information,” etc. to point your customers in the right direction.

Updated Content

If you haven’t uploaded recent customer reviews, photos, or blog posts in a while, how do prospective customers know how you’re growing and developing? Having reviews from 8 years ago is great to show that your business has been about quality since day one, but how are consumers going to know how your business is doing now? Also, constant stream of uploading shows loyalty to your business and customers.

Social Media

People want to stay in touch and see what’s going on! Maybe you’re a heating and AC service company; chances are, customers don’t need your services on the daily or weekly. If you provide links to your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., your customers can stay in the know with your business and get to know you on a more personal level! That way, when it does come time for an HVAC tune up, they’ll know exactly who to call.

Personalized About Page

When it comes to making a business transaction with a new company, people want to know not only what your business offers, but how you got started, what your business’ morals are, and how you like to work. Including these things lets your customers get to know you on a more personal level. Would you rather do work with a company that provides their title and a bare minimum description of their services, or do you want to work with someone who is transparent and honest?

Validation and Testimonials

We touched on this one earlier, but this can really make or break providing services to a prospective customer. Showing before and after pictures of your services, video testimonials, or even written reviews from current and past customers lets consumers know how you run as a business, and of course, other people’s experience working with you. If your business takes pride in quality service for low prices, or treating your customers like family, make sure your customers are there to back you up! It only takes a couple of minutes to reach out to your customers and ask them to leave a review for you.

You have a lot of competitors. Make sure your competition has nothing on you! Be honest with prospective customers, stand out with your own personalized touch, and be open and consistent with communication.