With the internet at our finger tips it's easy for small business owners to think that they can market their business digitally and expect a massive chunk of the pie quickly.

Unfortunately that is not the case for any business owners large or small. It takes time, effort, consistency.

Yes, we have access to the same platforms that the big boys have, but we don't have the luxury of big budgets, or creative social media teams.

So marketing our small business is down to us. We keep up to date with the fads and trends and we quickly set up a new account for the latest fad because the freshest expert has enthusiastically shared that it has worked for them, so it will work for you. We become fixated, posting furiously garnering followers at the blink of an eye, only to find frustration setting in when numbers don't tally up with what that fresh expert said.

If you took away social media and were advertising traditionally, your business adverts would not be in all the spreadsheets and tabloids. Similarly you do not have to be on every social media platform. Ideally platforms where your customers are and the platforms you choose to work on are a good fit for your small business.

While you are working in your business, you need to be working on your business. Thinking ahead of what to convey about your business – service or product - and how. In the same way you would craft that tabloid advert with care and for maximum impact and drive, social media needs that same care and attention.

With time being such a valuable asset for the small business owner, sitting down to work on your business can be nigh on impossible. But it should be made possible. Looking at your business plan, mapping out marketing and promotional campaigns and the best way to do that should be a regular business activity.
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Small business owners can be forgiven for putting a posts out that are random or on the hoof. You're using social media, right? Social media is not a piece of cake. ​But it can be pleasurable and rewarding.

​If you have bitten off more than you can chew and need some help in producing a wholesome and palatable social media plan fill in the contact form below.

Keeping it socially simple
Micala 

With rentrée hot on our heels, and the lazy hazy days of summer rolling into autumn, it's back to business! Now is a good time to review and plan for the remainder of the year and move your business forward for 2018.

My little business is back with a bang too, with a series of affordable and timely workshops for small business owners. Marketing and promoting your business is non stop, and I have put together a series of workshops that will enhance your skill set and at the same time help you keep close to existing customers and potential new ones, without busting the bank. I use these skills in my own and client businesses, so I know they will be useful to yours.

Dare I say it, Christmas and other seasonal activities are on the horizon, it's time to give them some thought. You may have got stuck in a social media rut and need some inspiration or need to explore new ways of keeping in contact with your customers.

The first workshop takes place on September 12th. Visit the events link on my Facebook Page for more information:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/AlacimSocialMediaMarketing/events/?ref=page_internal

Keeping it socially simple
​Micala 

Small business owners are very often time starved. As well as the bureaucracy of running a business here in France, we are all required to 'manage' our business. That includes admin, sales, marketing, promoting and earning an income during the process.

One of the biggest time drains that we have is the amount of time spent on social media. Social media has become one of the most popular mediums for businesses of any size. It's a great way of keeping awareness of your business out there. While accessing social media platforms is free, for the small business owner it comes at a price... valuable use of time.

We all look to the social media experts, the gurus, who tell us when the exact best time to post is, what we should be posting. 2017 we Instagram and SnapChat have also become popular mediums to dabble in. Every year something new grabs our attention and just as we have fathomed the art of one platform, we feel compelled to stay up to date with another. 

But do you really need to add another media platform to the to do list? Just because others are doing it, do you? Where are your customers? Are they global or local? Do you have the time? Do you want 100 fans that are quality or 1000 fans that you just need to keep entertaining? Use social media platforms where you are likely to find your customers and use them well.  Better to work one or two extremely well than have half a dozen or more live accounts. There's more to social media marketing than posting the same post across half a dozen platforms. As with other marketing activity, social media requires research and planning. 

I prefer to keep it real and simple when it comes to self marketing for small business owners. It's about knowing what you have got, how you can create your story and share some sizzle to an identified audience. With little opportunity to offset expenses as an auto/micro entrepreneur, I want to help small business owners make better use of their time when it comes to self marketing with social media. Help them understand the tools that they can use to be more effective, help them share their story and encourage them to stop and see what's going on in their business so that they can plan ahead.  

Having my undivided attention via a Skype session will help you, the small business owner, understand the various social media platforms, decide which is best for your business and then work together to create a plan that will use your time more efficiently and effectively.  You will have plenty of hints and tips to put you on the road to social media marketing success. 

Social media has been with us long enough for us to know that it is never going to go away.  Get socially savvy with me and book your social media session with me.

You may also want to read articles about Facebook   
You may also want to read articles about Twitter 

Keeping it socially simple
​Micala 

It is so easy to take pics from a variety of devices today and upload instantly to Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. When it comes to using images for your business, consideration should be given to the quality of your image. There's a time and a place for off the cuff imagery but let's not forget a picture paints a 1000 words and you don't want any of them to be – what the smorgasbord is that.

We have a limited timespan to create a first impression so wherever possible use the best quality images. I recently saw some food pictures promoting cookery classes on social media. The picture used did not do the promotion any favours. Food photography can be a tricky one to master. If in doubt get a series of professional photos taken or find and use images that can be sourced for free.

There is never any need to lift images from google or anyone's site, for a start it is not good web etiquette and quite frankly can land you in a spot of financial bother, if you infringe upon copyright laws associated with images. Google recently shifted from making images viewable by removing the View Image from its search along with making the copyright notice on copyrighted photos more “prominent”. For more information on the use of images from google visit here. 

​Companies like Getty Images use sophisticated systems to detect and track use or part use of their images and that the correct license use is applied. Always remember that an image started somewhere, someone took that photo, placed it somewhere with protection and is entitled for it to be used in a lawful way. The internet has become a swamp of image sharing, lifted, saved to people's devices without much thought to implications involved. Don't let your business be one of them.

Here are 4 useful sites that you can access free stock images that you can use on your website and/or social media activity.

• pixabay.com – images and videos are released free of copyrights. Available to download and use without attribution.
• pexels.com – pictures are completely free to be used for any legal purpose.
• unsplash.com - photos are licensed under Creative commons zero – which means you can copy, modify and distribute and use photos for free incl commercial purposes without asking for permission or provide attribution to photographer
• morguefile.com - offers photographs free for use in creative projects. You are required to credit the photographer or artist when using their free stock images.

There's a maze to navigate when marketing your business single handedly, please don't get caught doing something you shouldn't. If in doubt don't do it. You want a picture to paint a thousand words not trouble. 

Yours socially
Micala 

Things change constantly with the social media landscape and Faceook is no exception. Over the course of many months, we have all seen various changes, some frustrating, some pleasant. One thing is certain, Facebook continues to be the number 1 platform of choice. Many business owners continue to use it, whether they love it or hate. There is always room for improvement, particularly when changes take place. There are also times when we get a bit of Facebook fatigue. Things become stagnant, we run out of ideas. 

Page owners need to be able to keep their page at the top of their game, the 10 tips below will certainly help. There are things beyond our control when it comes to Facebook... we cannot control the algorithm but we can control what we do with our page. It means keeping loyal fans happy and engaged and at the same time being creative and adventurous in acquiring new fans to join your page. It means reviewing your insights, seeing what others are doing, repeating what works well and dismissing what doesn't. Self marketing through social media is a constant and I hope the following tips are helpful in your self marketing quest. 
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We all know the term cyber-bullying, but it is usually linked to young people. Online bullying in the world of business is less well reported - which is unfortunate. Having researched the topic, I was surprised to find that adult cyber-bullying is rife.

I was a victim of what I believe was adult cyber-bullying on both my personal and professional pages.

I recently posted something on to my personal Facebook page that I was rather proud of... and let's face it proud moments are for sharing with friends and family. The post clearly said I am proud to be self-employed and that ending the month with some great feedback made self-employment much nicer.

But the post - on my personal page, remember, not my business one - was subject to a lengthy tirade because I did not name the client behind the lovely testimonial. Clearly, the poster was not happy with the reason I gave for not mentioning my client by name and thought that, as I had posted it on my personal page, it was up for public debate.

I thought to myself – would a friend actually want to do this? No, none of my friends would single me out for ridicule, that I can be sure of.

There comes a time when you have to take a step back and think: why am I defending myself and my business to someone who

a] is not a friend and has no right to be on my friends list, and

b] apparently has nothing better to do than intimidate others

So, I exercised my right to remove them from my 'friends' list on my personal page.

Shortly after, I posted a blog link to my business page. Guess what? More abuse. You see, I had left a letter out of a visual that accompanied my post – I distinctly remember it being pointed out the first time it happened... we all experience those moments of – ‘oh no not you again, have you not got anything better to do?’.

Because I had reposted it in a different way, the spelling police decided now was a good time to repeat their first comment. This was not the first or second time it had happened, but it darn well sure was going to be the last.

So I exercised my right to block them from my business page. Plus, I also exercised my right to report them to Facebook as they had copied and pasted my content from my page to their personal page, without any thought about damaging my business or reputation.

Bullying can come across in different ways. Online, it is not always easy to detect a person's real meaning or intention and sometimes you will need to assess whether or not you are reading too much into something.

In this instance I had seen the style of wording and nuance intended across many posts, so I felt within my rights to assume that this was some kind of cyber-bullying - especially as my content was copied and pasted into their personal space for their own friends to dissect. Did they once stop to think about me? No. Bullies don't, do they?

There's a certain kind of bully tactic... it is laced with a rich language and style of questioning that on the face of it, you might think there's nothing wrong with. But when it carries on repeatedly, you think ‘hold on a minute... something does not add up’.

So, to commenters, I say this: think before you comment.

You see, your words might be intellectual but your intention is still at the heart and soul of what you are doing. When you deem yourself as being professional and state that you are pointing out the obvious, think very carefully – is what you say relevant, important and will it have some bearing for the person involved?

Is it kind, meaningful or helpful - or are you just spouting off because you can? Because a response too far that has no real relevance can be seen as the work of a cyber bully. And there is nothing worse than that on social media.

If the reality is you don't care, that the thought of your victim being torn to shreds as you head off to find someone else to taunt and belittle somehow pleases you or makes you feel important, then the sad truth is you have a problem.

To all social media users, if you are in any doubt at any time about a poster’s intentions, just delete their comments straight away and, if necessary, block them. Go with your gut. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt - sadly, there are times when the wolf dressed as the lamb can be quite obvious but not in others.

True friends don't take your content and share it elsewhere to ridicule you. They message you privately. True friends enjoy your little moments of pride on Facebook and either like or comment. They don't go off on a tangent with a random question... or maybe they do, but you know your friends. Your personal space on Facebook can be quite often a mix of true friends and acquaintances. True friends earn their place in your friends list.

I'm of the opinion that if you can't mix in my social network with respect and good intentions, then don't ever darken any of my social network doors again!

Yours socially
Micala

Love it or hate it social media is an intrinsic part of a business. Whether you have dipped your toes into the social media waters or have embraced it tweet, engage and follow your social media activity will always benefit from introduction of new habits. And there is no time like the start of a New Year!

If you are looking to smarten up your social media act and gain good traction from the earliest opportunity take a read through this checklist.

Freshen up those profiles: make sure they are consistent on all of your platforms. Check and change any links back to your website. Are your contact details correct and present?

Review 2015: What worked well, what didn't. Did you spend as much time with social media as you liked? Or did you spend too much time on it? Was there any return on your investment? While you may have used free platforms, even if you have not invested any money, your time is money. Did your use of social media provide you with what you had originally set out to use social media for?

Deleted redundant accounts: Clear out the clutter and delete any accounts lying around collecting web dust.

Pay to play: Where possible set aside a budget. While a lot of small business owners think that social media marketing should be free, social media platform owners have a different view. Platforms are free to use but you are wanting to air your wares in front of data that is not owned by you. If you had a fan base of thousands would you want another business sharing their message for free? Social media platforms are businesses too and expect them to want to make money out of you.

Get creative: Social media platforms thrive on visual imagery. Mix up those posts with good quality photos, videos and gifs. There are plenty of resources to tap into. Make sure you are posting images of quality.... make sure those handmade items are shown off at their very best. Consider lighting, picture quality, how it is presented. Look at social media avenues as little shop windows to your business.

Failing to plan: As with other aspects of running your business, social media marketing requires time and planning too. What are you using social media for? Know what you want to achieve. Get into the habit of spending pockets of time researching and planning your activity. Understand what your fans and followers want and give it to them.

Polish up: Social media marketing has thrown many a business owner into the marketing limelight. You have a skill, product or service that you are good at. We are not all natural marketers. Some do it better than others, without realising it. Polish up on your knowledge. Get a bank of resources and read and put into practice. If this is not a comfortable zone seek to work with people who can help.

Consistency is key: You need to show up regularly on social media. Much better to have a few tweets a day, than 12 on a Sunday evening. Social media is a noisy busy place and you need to make sure you are seen and heard.

Platform knowledge: There's a wide spectrum of platforms available and your business does not have to or need to be on all of them. The key is to understand where your audience is. Visit reputable sites that can provide you with knowledge as you need it. The social media landscape is forever changing and you need to be aware of those changes and how it will affect your activity.

Get engaged: Create and post content that is going to create a reaction. Marketing should stir emotions and for you business owner, it is not always about stirring emotions to buy. It's about giving your audience content that means they can respond to and you can engage with them. Keep those lines of communication open.

Don't make a hash of the #tag: Some platforms love a multiple hashtags and some don't. Be mindful of what each platform requires. There is nothing worse than seeing a business that has linked Instagram to Facebook and seeing a dozen or so hashtags. Use them wisely and make sure that the ones you are using are going to help your content be seen amongst the masses.

Boost those posts: Part of the pay to play resolution. Remember when you post something on your FB page, it may not be seen by all of your fans. By investing a few euros/pounds you can request that your content is seen by current fans, along with friends of fans or a completely different demographic. Positive results can be easily garnered just by boosting posts.

Get insightful: Platforms provide great tools so that you analyse and review your activity. If you have shied away from FB insights and Twitter analytics dashboard, get acquainted with them in 2016.

Create a calendar: Keep it simple, nothing too fancy – an excel spreadsheet or a google calendar. Start by adding time that you will dedicate to social media, research, writing and then what you will share when. Before you know it you will in the habit of using social media marketing to better benefit for your business.

Blog on: We all have a story to tell about our business and for some where visual content may not be in abundance e.g. visual content supports the food industry better than book keeping. Writing content about case studies, insights on trends and activity, how you have helped customers will serve your business well in letting visitors know what you are capable of.

Review regularly: Not just at the beginning of the year but at regular intervals i.e. quarterly. If you are planning regularly then you can think ahead of campaigns that fit your business in good time, so that you are ahead of a curve not reacting to something last minute. What worked? How well? Can it be repeated again in the year? Can it be modified? Am I gaining traction from my efforts? The more you review the more you can adapt your overall plan.
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If all this seems like too much hard work please head on over to the Social Media Review page. A review will take on board this content and provide you with a head start for your 2016 on social media.  

Yours socially
Micala 

March 12th 2105 I will remember it well. Two things, one it was my dad's birthday and secondly the fear that escalated across Facebook because of their intention to remove inactive and memorialised accounts on their platform.

I saw scores of messages similar to this  

Here is the official line of communication regarding Facebook's intention. https://www.facebook.com/business/news/page-likes-update It was clear. Now we all know that things can go a little awry on these kind of platforms and no doubt some accounts have had an over zealous amount of removals.

Now inactive accounts, got me thinking. I have an inactive, forgotten account, and yes I have just checked, it has not been removed. There are likely to be thousands of accounts which are fake, forlorn and forgotten, like my original account. Set up years ago and never used. I am hoping that all those fake farmed followers out there have been swept out into the Facebook backyard too. These accounts are going to be doing nothing for your page ever! Would you seriously consider emailing a raft of contacts that did not exist for whatever reason?

So please spare a thought for Facebook wanting to make a sound business decision to clean up it's data.   

Something which I keep at the back of my social media mind is that my data that I have given Facebook, has been given with consent. Some aspects of the profiling I have not completed through choice. I know as a business owner and personal user that it is going to be used for a variety of purposes. I know that my interests will appeal to a business owner who may have struck a chink of glitter and has chosen me in their demographics to be targeted with an ad or sponsored post. I accept that.

As a professional user of Facebook, I also appreciate and accept that Facebook owns the data. That data is there to make them money whether we like it or not.