Entrepreneurs have to wear many hats (sometimes all of the hats), and trying to balance all your tasks can be overwhelming. Often, it’s easy to just work on what is most urgent or immediately generates a sale, which usually isn’t brand awareness and your presence on social media. Brand awareness and a significant social media presence can’t be built overnight, they are the result of intentional, well thought-out, and consistent efforts (often online!). And while the results of your Canva creations and Instagram reels aren’t tracked at the point-of-sale, they are a large part of the success of many businesses!
Brand Recognition: You Thought a Needle in a Haystack was Hard
Your brand is more than just a logo and a few specific colours. Your brand is who you are to the public and becomes your outward-facing personality. Your brand is your tone (both online and in-person), your visuals, your values, and the overall vibe of your business. All of these elements are needed to create a cohesive image that different audiences begin to recognize and remember you. Trying to tie all of these very different elements together while also being clear and concise is tricky, but it’s a necessary step for all businesses, and especially for entrepreneurs.
Social Media Presence Matters
More and more social media is beginning to replace search engines, and this is especially true for Gen Z. This makes sense, the most common questions a consumer has can often be found on an Instagram profile (and then you also don’t have to sort through the various google ads), like hours and location. Often before I go to a new restaurant or bar I like to look at the tagged photos to feel out the vibe (read as: I don’t want to be under or over dressed), and I like to see if there are any new products that I should think of before going.
If you have a marketing team or person, let them cook! Approvals should always be in place (especially for any onboarding period), but the best marketing professionals are aware of the trends, and too long of an approval process can make your socials seem outdated (even if it was only a couple of weeks).
Make the Algorithms do the Work For You
If you’ve been in the marketing space even a little bit, you’ve heard about the algorithm. Honestly, it used to scare me a bit, but the easiest thing a small or new business can do is stay consistent. Post at least weekly, and try to mix things up. It’s great to have a template for re-occurring events or themes, but make your timeline interesting. People will scroll if it’s something they’ve seen a lot before!
Trust the Process, and Believe in Your Marketing
Marketing isn’t always easy, sometimes you can take a whole day to film a reel with helium balloons and it never makes it out of the camera roll. But sometimes it’s the blog post that brings in traffic later in the year, or a viral trend that gets sent to friends in different cities that makes your business the first in mind on a mini trip to the city! Every interaction adds to your growing brand and social media presence, which will eventually drive leads and sales. So while sometimes sitting down and creating that social media content calendar isn’t as urgent as sending invoices and paying bills, it still requires that silent effort!