linkedin, PA Services Blog · Pink-Spaghetti

Four Small Business Tips for Getting to Grips with Social Media in 2020

3 February 2020 by Vicky

Take your small business to the next level in 2020 by using the tips in this blog to get to grips with social media.

If your business doesn’t yet have a social media presence, then you’re at a disadvantage compared to competitors that do.

Effective and consistent use of social media can improve your business’ reach, build your brand, increase conversions, establish a following and even improve customer service.

But the success you achieve on is dependent on how committed you are to the cause.

Here are our top tips for achieving social media success in 2020:

Dedicate time and resources to it

Let’s face the reality of the situation here; social media for business isn’t something you can pick up, put down, and then expect to see big returns from. Building a successful social media presence requires research, planning and dedication. So, if you’re serious about using social media as a way of adding value to your business, it’s vital to allocate time and resources to it.

Take a ‘social media simplified’ training session with Pink Spaghetti

Here at Pink Spaghetti, our team of social media experts run short, affordable, social media training sessions that make understanding social media for business simple. We have seven different sessions available including training in Facebook,

Instagram, LinkedIn and Hootsuite. When you take part in one of our courses you also receive access to a private Facebook group where you can receive ongoing help and support with any problems you have.

Create a social media strategy and content calendar

Research, planning and preparation are important to staying organised and consistent with your social media efforts. A social media strategy will help you to identify your audience, the type of content that encourages engagement, and the frequency with which you want to post. A content calendar ensures you don’t miss important dates and help you to plan, organise, and schedule in a good mix of content for the months ahead.

Use the free resources, tutorials and courses provided

Who is better placed to tell you how to get the most out Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram than the people behind the platforms themselves?

Once you’ve identified the most appropriate channels for your business, take the time to read through the free resources and tutorials available on their websites to discover useful tips and tricks to help you to get more from your business page.

Some key free resources available include:

For help or advice with extracting and analysing data from social media, why not speak to one of our expert virtual personal assistants here at Pink Spaghetti? Find your local Pink Spaghetti office.

Do you use LinkedIn?

1 February 2018 by Vicky

Michelle Collins

LinkedIn, love it, loathe it or simply don’t know enough about it?

Michelle Collins from Pink Spaghetti Chester & North Wales shares her personal experience of using the platform for both individuals and small businesses.

Having worked in a public-sector organisation for 12 years when my job role was threatened with redundancy I quickly ensured that my CV was up-to-date. I had of course heard of LinkedIn but didn’t know the benefits and definitely hadn’t made time to create a profile. Knowing that I would soon be job hunting I bit the bullet and set one up, it seemed relatively easy to do with a straightforward way of connecting with those that I already knew, a little more research and effort and I had my profile set up and started to connect with others. I had no clear strategy but felt sure that I was doing the right thing.

By the time redundancy came I had already found Pink Spaghetti, however LinkedIn became ever more important as I need to network to grow my business, so I quickly learnt how to perfect my profile, attending courses and watching what others who looked successful were doing.

One of my first clients was a business coach who was passionate about LinkedIn and the benefits of networking online – I learnt so much about LinkedIn while working for him. The search functionality is excellent, and I was able to easily find him prospective clients and connect with them, starting conversations and inviting them to breakfast seminars where he could meet them in person. I attended a couple of seminars – they were fantastic and busy – it was a very successful use of LinkedIn as a marketing tool. From that my confidence grew and it is now easy to see opportunities on the platform not only for myself but for my clients, many of whom are nervous about the etiquette of using LinkedIn.

Read Full Article

Use Video to Boost your SEO

30 March 2015 by Vicky

Posting…Tweeting…Blogging…I think we have all got to grips with the concept of the written word and its importance in growing our social media base and thus promoting our business. Well, don’t get too comfortable – it’s all change and it’s time to get vocal and start adding video to your content.

Research by Pew Internet shows that more people are watching videos online – and what’s more it’s across all demographics. So it doesn’t matter what age your client base is – they are likely to watch and engage in videos. Indeed, research shows 41% of adults will like and share a video online.

In the world of video – short is good. Followers are often viewing videos on their mobile devices while on the go, so they want something that can easily fit in with their time constraints and attention spans. For platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, around two minutes is enough, while Instagram will only allow a 15 second clip.

In 2013 video consumed 66% of all internet traffic, in 2018 it is predicted to reach 79%. It is shown that people are 64% more likely to buy into a service or product after watching a video on it and through ‘watch & share’ it’s likely your video will boost your SEO. Google loves a video – and indeed owns YouTube.

So what should you be talking about in a video? Well in short it could be anything – start with introducing yourself (people buy from people after all), talk about a service you offer, demonstrate a product or just give a few helpful tips that are relevant to your business. Videos can be loaded to your website as ‘Vlog’ (Video blog) posts or shared on Facebook, on LinkedIn and via Twitter.

Go online and check out what your competitors – big and small – are up to. Find similar, if not competing, companies and see what they do that appeals to you, then give it a go yourself.
There are lots of ways of creating videos without having to go to the expense of a professional shoot. People aren’t demanding Oscar worthy production values. You could record it on your mobile device and upload straight from there. There are lots of video editing apps out there: Flipagram is an Apple product but similar Android versions are available and they are very easy to use.

You never know, you might even find yourself enjoying it so much you get hooked on producing them!
As ever, we’re here for you should you want to learn more and join in.

LinkedIn, love it, loathe it or simply don’t know enough about it?

Michelle Collins from Pink Spaghetti Chester & North Wales shares her personal experience of using the platform for both individuals and small businesses.

Sign up for Pink Spaghetti News and Updates