It’s time to spring clean! Get rid of spam accounts that follow your page, and make room for REAL followers who actually want to view your content. Fake accounts do not interact with your posts consistently, which hurts your engagement rate, and we all know the algorithm doesn’t like that. Keep reading for tips on how to get rid of spam accounts on your business page.
Manually Remove Bots:
Okay, I know it doesn’t sound fun, but you will need to manually remove bots from your follower list. Don’t download any software to do this for you. Take 5-10 minutes a day and go through your follower list. Does their profile image look suspicious? Click on it and review their profile. If you expect they’re a bot, remove them from your account.
How To Remove A Bot:
Go to your followers list
Click the three dots beside their name
Click “Remove”
Warning Signs: Could This Be A Bot?
If you expect the account is fake, then it probably is. Here’s a few signs that could indicate your follower is fake:
No profile picture
They follow a lot of accounts, but have little to no followers
Their bio is straight up weird & doesn’t make sense
They are from another country and do not speak your native language
They have no posts, or only a few from a long time ago
January 1- it’s the perfect time of year to implement your business’ new year budget. We recommend to start thinking about this ahead of the New Year. Early December is the perfect time to sit down and put some thought into your budgeting needs. Below are three tips that you may have not thought of before.
Ask your employee’s their needs
That’s right. See if they are in need of any new supplies. If your printer is on its last leg, think about incorporating that cost into your new budget. What a great Christmas present for your employees. We all want to be thought of.
Plan for the “oopsies”
This one is pretty simple but most people do not implement this concept into their budget. You never know when a camera can break, or you need to call pest control because Sharon keeps leaving her food out.
The slow months
Most businesses have slow months. It’s a normal part of the sales cycle, but this is a great time to utilize a new marketing campaign. Think about your ad dollars here.
Want more tips on this subject? Let us know and we will do a part two!
Contact us here for further advise on how to implement your business’ new year budget.
Are you looking to advertise your business on a billboard? Good idea, it’s reported that over 70% of drivers look at billboard advertisements while driving. That’s a lot of eyes on your ad! Let us give you some tips on designing your billboard. We’re pros at this!
Here’s a few beginner’s tips to think about:
Keep Your Design Simple
You only have 5-10 seconds to capture your viewer’s attention. If your ad is busy and overcrowded, they will not know where to look. Don’t let your design overpower your brand’s messaging- keep it short and to the point!
Your Billboard Colors
Contrasting colors are key to a great billboard. If a billboard has colors that are similar and competing beside one another, they will “wash out” and be hard to view from a distance. For digital billboards, remember to use RGB colors that are bright and bold.
Incorporate Your Business Branding
The ad should tie in to your brand. Don’t forget to add your business logo, URL, or social media handle. To note, you do not need to do all three. Depending on your ad, how long your URL is, etc. will depend on what you should put on your billboard. If you need further help with your billboard advertising, contact Spectruss today!
Trying to find available billboards near you? Insert your zip code here to find your next advertising location!
Ah, what to blog about? The task can seem daunting to some. Let’s cultivate your blog strategy and start driving more traffic to your site!
To start, let’s view this like we would a business plan. Think about your niche and what your business has to offer. You will want to write blog topics that go hand-in-hand with your business. Random topics that have nothing to do with your line of work should be avoided.
Let’s say you are a General Contractor. You will need to write about topics that go along with your trade. Here are some ideas:
What To Look For When Selecting a General Contractor
Five Crucial Things To Consider When Selecting A House Plan
The Best Time To Start Building Your Dream Home
Do Some Research!
See what your local and national competitors are writing about. It is important to research both as your local competitors are who you are challenged by on a daily basis. National leaders can help paint a bigger picture- it’s always important to aim high with your goals!
Implement SEO
This is a biggie. Without good SEO, your blog will not reach your intended audience. It’s ok if this is over your head. You can always hire help!
Add Visuals
Break up your text with engaging visuals. Bonus points if this is your own imagery! Stock photos are acceptable, but your viewers want to see the real, raw content!
Scheduling Your Blog
If you are just starting out, plan to write two blog posts a month. Once every other week is perfectly fine and will give you adequate time to write an exceptional blog post!
Spooky season has arrived! Do you have a case of the October Marketing Scaries? We’re here to help! Keep reading to learn more about some of our favorite October marketing ideas.
FOR ONLINE BUSINESSES
Social Media:
Get people active on social media by engaging and having fun with your business page. Give out some kind of recognition or prize for these ideas:
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Tag us in your favorite Halloween Costume
Kid’s Edition: Share your child’s costume and receive a $10 gift card
Best Halloween Decorations: Tag us for a chance to win our Halloween Giveaway Basket!
Marketing Campaigns:
At least once in October, send out a festive Halloween email campaign. This can be light-hearted and fun. Fill your email with all the fun graphics… Think jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, goblins, vampires – all the fun stuff!
Share a fun photo of your employees dressed up the year prior. People want to get to know you better!
FOR BRICK & MORTAR STORES
Storefronts:
Make your storefront a beautiful background for passerby’s to take family photos. Make sure your brand name is noticeable at all angles of where the photo may be taken. When people share their photos on social media, that’s free marketing for you!
Trick-or-Treat:
Schedule a Halloween open-house and give away candy to the kiddos! If your store is targeted more towards adults, host a fall open-house with a unique autumn twist like “Boos and Brews”.
Fall Festivals:
This time of year we have many fall festivals, cake walks, barn sales and so on. Plan in advance and sign-up for a booth to showcase your business!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… until you’re stressed! In this article we share five tips to keep your business organized and running smoothly throughout the holiday season. Start preparing your business for the holidays now!
Start a checklist:
Have a lot on your plate? We all know it’s hard to get much accomplished around the holidays. Start ahead of time and make a checklist of the things you need to accomplish before the end of the year. Seeing it on paper makes it real!
Plan your advertising & promotions now:
You’re probably thinking, “But Christmas isn’t here yet!” You’re right, but it approaches quickly! Plan your advertising now. Set realistic goals of when you want to start your paid ads by thinking about what makes the most sense for your company.
Bonus points: Plan your entire advertising campaign now. This will give you enough time to tweak anything before it’s live. You can even schedule your Facebook and Instagram ads for a later date. No sweat off your brow!
Vacation time:
Everyone wants to take off work at the same time. It’s inevitable. If you wish to make all of your coworkers happy, make them aware that everyone needs to plan ahead for time off. Try putting up a calendar in the breakroom or send out virtual calendar invites. Once all employees have their off-time scheduled, send out a calendar with who is off each day.
Office Parties:
Yay… another office party. Kidding! These can be fun. Ask your co-workers to vote on a “theme” for your office party. That way everyone feels like they get a say in the event.
Idea: Instead of a gift swap, schedule a fun time out on the town. We’re thinking, paintball wars, renting out an entire movie theater, axe throwing- you know, all the fun stuff.
Website Updates:
If your business has an e-commerce site, do all of your updates now. Do you have new products coming? Try and upload as many as you can before the “rush of the holidays” arrives.
Remember that the New Year will bring new things! After Christmas is the perfect time to update your website. If you are needing new imagery for your website, here is a great site to download free images!
Now, are you ready to start preparing your business for the holidays?
It shows your customers that you care. We know, the easy thing to do is to let your website sit and not deal with it. We get it – sometimes you just don’t have the time to take on an additional task. It is important though to show your customers that you put time and effort into your business. If you have an outdated site, this can be viewed as the company being lazy. Keep reading to learn more about the three reasons you should refresh your website.
You’ve adapted – show the world the new you!
Through the years you have grown and changed! Update your old employee photos and add in new company videos. Freshen up the “about” page by adding in recent accomplishments that you have achieved.
Tech is always changing
The world of tech is always evolving. Many companies are now using TikTok to advertise. Use this type of cheap marketing to your advantage by adding these updates to your site. Make an announcement and link your new social media pages!
Note: Make sure your website is device-friendly for all computers, cell phones and tablets.
If you’ve stumbled across this article, it may be because you are planning an upcoming photoshoot for your brand. How exciting! Adding brand colors in your photoshoot can seem like a big task. Let us show you how in this article!
Your Background
Let’s say your brand colors are black, grey, and light blue. You will want your backdrop to be styled in a way that complements those colors. Use mostly neutrals with no other bright colors that will compete with your brand. A white background is always a safe bet if you are unsure.
Your Outfit
While using the brand color selection of black, grey, and light blue, let’s continue talking about what you are going to wear.
Your background matters- so try to think about what your clothes will look like in comparison to your photo’s background.
For example:
If the photos are being shot on a neutral background, you could wear a fun light blue suit as shown below. If your background is light blue, wear a neutral.
Accessories
Your clothes do not always have to be your statement piece. If you want to utilize your pop of color in a fun way, try doing so with jewelry, a coffee mug, or some type of stationary product.
Fun Edits
Do special effects or an overlay with your “pop of color”. This could simply be done with a flat lay photo. Add a transparent overlay with one of you branding colors.
There’s no denying that video content is more engaging today than ever before… and it’s here to stay! Are you struggling with how to get the most use out of your video content? In this article, we’ll share a few tips and tricks on how to effectively get multiple pieces of content from one video.
Full Length Videos:
A full length video can be a great educational piece to use for your brand. However, when it comes to Instagram and Facebook, shorter clips perform best. If you have a video over 15 minutes, put that on your Youtube channel. You can always share your Youtube video link on your social media page with the “swipe-up” feature. Youtube links are also great to insert into your scheduled email campaigns. Hype up your readers by telling them how awesome your new video is, insert a visual to entice them, then add your Youtube link.
Do you have a video over 1 minute long? Upload that to your IGTV channel. According to Instagram, the maximum length your video can be is 15 minutes when uploading from a mobile device. 60 minutes when uploading from the web.
Make Edits to the Full Length Video:
Take up to 1 minute clips from longer videos and use them as Instagram Reels. Your engagement rate will be higher by doing this. Followers are more likely to watch shorter videos all the way through vs. a full length video.
Add a Viral Song or Soundbite:
The songs that are viral on TikTok are usually the same songs that are viral on Instagram Reels. You can use the same edit for both social media platforms. That’s called killing two birds with one stone!
Bonus Tips:
• Don’t be afraid to cross-post the same content on all social media platforms – in fact, that’s what you need to do!
• Incorporate lifestyle content into your social media calendar. This helps you not come off as too “salesy”.
• You don’t have to dance. When the TikTok craze first began, everyone was doing the same dances. If that’s your thing, go for it! But if not, that’s ok too. TikTok and Instagram Reels are not for dancers only.
• Take 3-10 second video clips of everything. You can add multiple video clips to TikTok and add them together! This makes for great content.
• Have fun – loosen up on camera! Show that you are relatable, someone who the viewer could be friends with in real life. Get on camera and talk about an embarrassing moment from your childhood that everyone can get a giggle out of!
When you think about your company brand, you really want to picture the entire customer experience. From your logo, website, social media, messaging, storefront, and everything in between…what does your brand look like to your customers? Is it consistent and easy to recognize? If not, it’s probably time to rebrand your business.
Your brand has the power to set your company apart from the competition, promote recognition, connect with customers, and create strong business value. However, if your brand isn’t consistent, it can provide a confusing message and ultimately cause your company to fall short of its full potential.
Here at Spectruss, building stronger brands is what we do best!
We worked with The Plastic Surgery Group to rebuild a stronger, more cohesive brand for their company. Through detailed strategic planning, we successfully helped rebrand the company as RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and Spa. Check out some of our work below!
Behind the Brand
The Plastic Surgery Group, Chattanooga’s first and largest plastic surgery practice, has led the way in plastic, cosmetic, reconstructive, and noninvasive procedures for over 60 years. After a year of working with the Plastic Surgery Group’s new medspa, Refine Aesthetic Studio, our team at Spectruss encountered challenges with operating multiple practices with different names and proposed a strategy to restructure the entire practice.
Rebrand Strategy
Our team began working on a strategy to help rename the practice as one brand to strengthen their identity and better reach their current and future patients. The new brand name, RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and Spa, was born. The practice’s hand reconstruction and therapy center, Hayes Hand Center, was kept separated from the new name to minimize confusion and preserve its integrity.
New Logos
We designed a brand new logo for RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and a variation for the Spa using elements that were inspired by the aesthetics of their offices and reminiscent of their past identity. Our team also worked on establishing a more prominent presence at their location by adding new outdoor signage at the exterior skin of their building as well as in the interior.
Website Redesign
A brand new website consolidating the practice into one was also designed, re-imagined and built by our team. The new site highlights the practice’s doctors, team and features a newly organized structure of their procedures and new services that lacked prominence from their previous site.
E-Commerce Store Revamp
RefinedLooks previously had two separate websites with two different e-commerce stores offering the same products. This not only spread their marketing efforts thin but also created inconsistent branding and an inefficient business process for the practice. By eliminating one of the two e-commerce sites, our team helped funnel all marketing promotions into one site to better track, process customer orders, and improve overall efficiency.
Videography
Our team also extended our videography services to RefinedLooks to bring their practice to light for current and potential clients. This brought a better understanding of all the procedures and services that are being offered at the practice.
Consistent Branding
From a brand new identity to print and web materials, we ensured the new branding was prominent and consistent across all marketing materials. By rebranding the Plastic Surgery Group and Refine Aesthetic Studio to RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and Spa, our team helped strengthen the practice’s aesthetic brand, improve marketing strategies, and set up the practice for exponential growth opportunities.
