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Why your business needs to start a blog, hosted by Broad World Consulting in Vancouver, BC

Blog content for your business: why it’s a digital marketing must have

Blogs aren’t only for travel influencers, sports fans, and parents — they’re a big part of an effective content marketing strategy for businesses of all sizes. Your digital marketing plan should include blogs to capture and nurture leads. Here are some tangible ways blogs will benefit your business.

It’s good for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engines want to know the sites they’re displaying to searchers are relevant and active. They reward frequently updated websites by pushing them to the top of the search page. A new blog post counts as an update — boosting your SEO and giving you a better chance to be discovered by new audiences.

Blogs offer more real estate for calls to action (CTAs)

When we’re dealing with snackable content like social media posts, we really only get one chance to ask for something with a CTA. Long-form content like blog posts offer significantly more space to add relevant CTAs throughout the entire piece. This makes it easy to speak to different ideas within the blog post with a well-timed CTA for the reader. This makes it easy for your audience to discover the right product or service for them, no matter where they are in your sales funnel.

Some examples:

Talking about your killer pricing? Add a button or hyperlink that says ‘Get a quote’.
Mentioning a checklist you’ve put together to simplify something in their life? You can ask for their email in return for the free download.
Explaining a particular service? Link what’s included in your packages.

Your audience will be thankful they don’t need to scour the internet hunting for the right resources. Want help writing a click-worthy CTA? Read this article from HubSpot.

Value-added content

Blogs give you the opportunity to provide your audience with something they want — bringing them to you. This is why it’s so important to write about what your audience is already looking for. Searchable topics draw people in, and a well-written blog keeps them engaged. The more they get to know you, the more trust builds, and the more likely they are to want to work with you.

A lot of brands out there are constantly asking for something in return — add to cart, book a call, enter your email — which is great for last steps in acquisition. However, it’s refreshing when a brand supports you in your at-home research, makes your life easier, and shares their expertise.

Use long-form to create other content

You probably have more ready-to-go content than you realize! Creating good content takes time, energy, and creativity — which is why you want to milk your content for all it’s worth. If you’ve written a clear blog post, chances are it easily breaks into a few main ideas. Build out smaller pieces of content with those ideas and use them across social media, email marketing, ads, and other touch points.

Remember: most content is only seen by 20-30% of your followers, and of those, many of them won’t engage deeply. Don’t be afraid to break down existing content and reframe it in a fresh way.

When written and set-up correctly, blogs allow search engines to get your content in front of the right people — people who are searching for businesses just like yours.

Questions or need a hand getting your blogs up and running? Leave a comment or shoot us an email: [email protected]

Beyond Facebook: Six ways to diversify your digital marketing strategy

Do you have more than one way to communicate with your customers and team? If the Facebook outage in October taught us anything, it’s that we are very heavily reliant on the FB… oops, we mean Meta… family of social media apps — Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. It also likely (re)inspired business owners to diversify their digital marketing efforts. Because… what if it happens again? Or worse, the apps become obsolete? *shudder*

The network was down for a whopping six hours. While this may not seem like a big deal for a casual user, the prolonged gap in services affected businesses big and small around the world.

As a business owner, and after some initial panic, you possibly got productive in other ways. (Your inbox hasn’t been this organized in years, right?) Or you took the outage as a sign to back away from your computer, put your phone down, and get outside. Or you read an actual book. And when the apps were back up, you rejoiced. But again, we ask you: What if it happens again? (It did, a few days later, but for less time.)

So let’s look beyond the blue F at other platforms that can diversify and bolster your content strategy. Be sure you can communicate with your target audience at any point!

1. Email marketing

Your email list is G-O-L-D. It’s yours and yours only. It’s really the best way to communicate to your customer base and get mega ROI for your efforts. Why? To give you one example, for every $1 you invest in email marketing, you can expect to make $42. We’ve shared three top email marketing tips for clicks and conversions here.

2. LinkedIn

In our humble opinion, LinkedIn is underused and underrated. It’s truly a brilliant place for small businesses to share info and connect with potential customers, partners, and collaborators. Don’t be afraid to use it as a sales tool and shine bright with your industry knowledge.

3. Twitter

Facebook has a Twitter account. That’s how they communicated during the outage, keeping people on track with what the heck was going on. Twitter is the place to share quick, concise info. And any time Facebook goes down, we picture Twitter as Mr. Burns tapping his fingers with menacing delight.

4. TikTok

The power of video content is mighty enough for TikTok to have gathered 1 billion users and grown faster than any of its big brother and sister apps. More and more brands are utilizing this platform in creative ways and it’s ultimately about how you can make it work for you. (Don’t feel like you have to keep up with the TT influencers — you do you!). Take a trend and make it your own, or create a new one altogether. The platform rewards creativity. It’s also important to note that while TikTok videos and Reels are similar, they are very different.

5. Internal Comms Tools

For any business owner who uses Messenger or WhatsApp for office group chats and to communicate internally and/or with customers, the FB outage wasn’t great news. Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Google Chat are all great alternatives — with most included in your business software, or free. (As are good old text messages.) As for keeping the channels of communication open with customers, click here to scroll back up to email marketing. but more so an internal comms backup tool.

We stand by our stance that you don’t need to have all social media apps — it doesn’t make sense for every business. But the need to have more than one network to communicate with your customers is clearly there. Diversify your digital marketing so you don’t get caught short (again).

6. YouTube

As mentioned with TikTok, video is a powerful engagement tool. YouTube is a great channel to sprinkle into your marketing efforts but can seem a bit daunting. See our checklist to effectively set up your YouTube channel.

Did the Facebook outage make you amp up another channel or app? We’d love to know your experience — share in the comments below. And if you need support in diversifying your digital marketing, we can help! Pop us a note here.

Marketing Goals 101: Know your ‘why’ for better results

The first question we always ask our clients is: what’s the goal? It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often businesses pump out content, throw massive events, or take on other marketing initiatives just for the heck of it.

“Everyone else is doing it” isn’t a good enough reason to pour money into a new initiative, and not all initiatives NEED to equal a sale. But they do need to have ROI attached, whether that be brand awareness, loyalty, monetary, or just attracting more eyeballs to your business.

Knowing your ‘why’ will also help you narrow in on the copywriting and call-to-action that will get you there. Let’s talk through different goals for your marketing and how to achieve them.

*TLDR? Watch the video!*

Marketing Goals 101

Traffic: Basically, sending people to a website, landing page, or events page. Getting your audience to land in these places means they’re actually reading what you have to say. Increased traffic also increases your SEO.

Brand awareness: This is how we introduce your brand to the world. It’s difficult to track ROI when it comes to brand awareness but that’s totally okay. The story behind what you do is just as important.

Lead capture: This is the first step in the sales process — the moment where your audience says, “Okay, tell me more.” Remember, you wouldn’t marry someone on a first date — so why expect your audience to buy as soon as they meet you?

Lead nurturing: This is what happens after you capture a lead — the relationship-building with your business and its audience. Keep in mind, it takes an average 11 impressions of a brand for someone to make a purchase. At this point we want to share bits and pieces of our brand with a potential customer, and tweak as needed. Did they click through on that ad you sent them? Great, keep doing what you’re doing. Are you getting no traction at all? Maybe it’s time to pivot.

Education: This is SO important in trust-building. People are more likely to engage with a business that they’re confident knows what it’s talking about. It makes the purchase feel secure and solid. So as a business, it’s your job to equip your audience with the knowledge they need to make that jump.

Engagement: There is so much power behind shares, saves, comments, and direct messages. Not only will you build a loyal audience that will boost your message to other people in their network, but social media platforms will start to favour you in the algorithm. The goal here is ultimately relationship-building.

Re-engagement: This is when we re-open communication with people who have already purchased from you (or have thought about it). Whether it’s asking them for feedback on their experience, a product review, or shooting them an email when they abandon their cart — it’s all about keeping your brand top of mind. This gives you the opportunity to fix any blips your customer experienced along the way and build long-term loyalty.

Purchase or Hire (Conversion): Of course, a customer making a purchase or hiring your business is the ultimate goal, but everything you’ve done until this point matters! When it comes time to ask your customer to buy, we want to make sure the call to action is appropriate to their customer journey.

Marketing goals are never one-size-fits-all. While some businesses entice their audience to make a $3 coffee purchase every day, others try to sell something major like a car or a dream home. This is why your goal is so important. Your marketing strategy will COMPLETELY shift depending on your goal and the customer journey that’s needed to get there.

So start with your goal and work backward. Need help finding your ‘why’? Reach out to us here.

For more marketing and branding tips and tutorials, visit our blog page.

The FAQ 2021 Edit: Your top digital marketing questions answered

There are a few questions that keep popping up with our clients no matter what industry they’re in. The world of marketing and branding can be so big and confusing. So let’s break it down and demystify it together with the answers to the marketing FAQs we get from our clients and followers.

Does email marketing still work?

YES. It’s a direct and effective way to consistently re-engage with your audience — especially with your superfans who are following along your business journey with you. Most EDM platforms allow you to really narrow your messaging and create journeys based on each individual’s interactions with your content.

Email marketing has insane ROI attached. On average, every $1 you invest on email marketing yields a $42 return. Yup, you read that right.

Do I need to hire a marketing team?

You don’t necessarily need to have an internal team to take care of all your marketing. But there is a point in your business growth where it makes sense to hand stuff off to someone else. Maybe it’s an intern to take care of pesky tasks like social media scheduling or writing alt text. Or perhaps a strategist to put together an overarching plan to ensure your marketing is working cohesively. Maybe you’re not exactly sure what you need and opt to hire an agency like Broad World Consulting *wink, wink* to help you nail your business goals. Stay mindful of your workload and know when it’s time to ask for a helping hand.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is just marketing jargon for online categorization. Basically, all of the words you write online (on your social media accounts, website, blog, etc.) tell search engines like Google what your content is about — and who it’s important to. Search engines then take that information and index it. So when someone searches for keywords online, Google can show them relevant information. If you’ve used keywords and alt text strategically, this will help you get your business in front of the right audience.

What is brand voice?

Imagine your business was a person. How would they speak? That’s your brand voice. Just like your company has a personality through visuals like your logo and font, your brand voice tells the world who you are. It’s important to meet your audience with the correct vocabulary, tone, and level of professionalism.

Can my company benefit from digital marketing?

Yes. Every kind of business can benefit from digital marketing. Online platforms help you find your audience in online spaces and draw them in. Whether your audience is searching for a service on Google, scrolling Instagram, or even browsing what’s new to their neighborhood on Maps — having a presence in these online spaces gives your business a better chance to be discovered.

How often should I update my website?

This depends on your business and what you’re selling. If you’re a clothing brand, you’ll definitely want to update your website with every new drop and season. But if your offering stays consistent, you may not need to update as frequently. What’s most important is that your website is up to brand standards, doesn’t look outdated, and shows up as impressively as you do in person.

What pages do I need on my website?

It depends, but let’s go through a few of the basics:

Homepage – An absolute necessity. With a single glance, your homepage should tell your audience exactly who you are, and what value you provide.
Contact – Another crucial piece. Keep it simple and clear to make it easy for people to get in touch and hire you.
About – You may also want an about page to humanize your brand and flaunt your credentials and your why.
Services/Products – This can be helpful to outline your offering and price point within the market.

Do I need a blog?

Probably. A blog can significantly strengthen your website’s SEO and get your content in front of the right people. Putting out strong content positions you as a thought leader in your industry and helps your business build trust with your audience. It’s also an effective way to repurpose that content into social media posts that add real value for your audience.

Does my business need to be on social media?

Yes. Again, it’s really important to build your online presence. But you don’t need to be on ALL platforms — just the ones that are relevant to your audience. So if you’ve got a product that’s fun and flashy, it makes sense to jump on Instagram or TikTok. But if you’ve got a professional and information-based brand, LinkedIn might be more your jam.

Do I need to constantly be creating new content?

Yes and no. Try to strike a balance between evergreen content while also staying ahead of trends with faster-moving thought leadership pieces. That way you can add long-term value for your customers and get SEO on your side.

Is it okay to repurpose your content?

Absolutely! Less than 20% of your following on social media or email will see your content. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Be sure to update things like stats and pricing to stay accurate. This is also a fantastic way to expand your content across multiple channels, simply tweak for the user behaviour on that specific platform. Read our full guide on how to make the most of your content.

How do you create effective content?

This answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. Not all platforms are built the same so your goals should be tailored to each one. Really focus on nailing down your goal for each platform so you can determine what success looks like. That way you can match your copywriting and calls to action to support your goal.

What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers and converting them into customers. This process depends on your goals, platforms, and how long a lead needs to be nurtured before they convert. Generating a lead could be collecting someone’s email address, getting them to an event, or delivering a series of emails to push them through your sales funnel.

Remember, on average it takes 11 exposures of a brand for someone to make a purchase.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing is the process of reaching out to people who have already been familiarized with your brand. Whether they’ve made a purchase before or simply looked at some products on your website, remarketing keeps your business top of mind and gets you closer to a sale.

How can Broad World Biz help me achieve my marketing goals?

We offer every kind of marketing service, from digital marketing, to strategy, to PR events, and full website design and construction. We know marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all, which is why we personalize all of our packages. We’d love to help you streamline your marketing plan to make it effective for YOUR business.

Book a free consultation.

Did we miss anything in our marketing FAQs video or in this post that you want and need to know? Pop us a comment below or contact us.

Six creative ways to use carousels for your social media strategy

While Instagram is focused on becoming a video-first platform, carousel posts still see the highest engagement! Carousel posts are one of the best ways to get creative with your Instagram and Facebook content, and engage your audience.

Don’t believe us? The engagement numbers don’t lie:

Videos: 1.45%
Still images: 1.74%
Carousels: 1.92%

That last number actually jumps to over 2% when all 10 carousel slides are used! Not only are they super engaging, but they give businesses and personal brands a chance to get creative.

Here are six of our favourite ways to utilize carousel posts:

*Don’t feel like reading? Watch the video!*

Consolidate images

Rather than spamming your followers with 10 feed pictures of the same event or product, put it all together in one post. Think of it as a storytelling tool: a swipe-through post can make your audience feel like they’re actually there with you in whatever you’re doing. This is also way more reliable than posting individual pictures — and crossing your fingers that the algorithm pushes them to the right people.

Repurpose blog content

If you’ve got a content marketing strategy, chances are you’re putting a good amount of effort into your blog content. So milk it with carousel posts.

Let’s say your latest blog post has five main points. Break those points into five images or graphics and toss them in a carousel post. It’s quick to read, highly shareable, and enticing to save — all of which boost your place in the algorithm. The best part is, if your audience enjoyed it, they’re likely to go read the original blog post. All of these things build more trust and communication with your audience, which equals more loyalty over time.

Show off your products

If you run an e-commerce shop, carousels are an awesome way to show off your products. Imagine you’re a clothing store with a new line dropping — a carousel can get that message across in a cohesive way.

Be sure to connect your shop to Facebook and Instagram beforehand for best results.

Storytelling

We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. And well, every brand has a story to tell. Imagery is one of the best ways to say a lot without actually saying much.

Use this space to communicate your brand feel. Tell your audience about your values. Share mood boards. Show off the process of creating your new logo. The possibilities are truly endless.

Aesthetic Management

Do you have a photo you want to share but it doesn’t exactly fit in your feed? Carousels help you maintain your aesthetics. Start with a branded post that fits into the overall look of your feed, then follow with the image that doesn’t “fit”.

This is a great tip for industries that aren’t exactly sexy. Let’s say you’re a plumber who wants to show off a bathroom piping job. Start with a related image — like your truck or some staff — that draws your audience in, then move onto the practical stuff.

Before and afters

B&As are used in a ton of industries to show off talent: interior design, home renos, organization services, hair salons, you name it. They’re really effective at showing your audience what their life can look like if they use your service — so use carousels to humbly brag about your fantastic work.

We suggest starting with the after shot to maintain a cleaner feed and show off your talent right off the bat, then move into the before. Or, use Stef’s favourite technique from tip #5: start with a branded post, show us the before, and end strong with the after.

That’s the beauty of carousels — they’re versatile, so use them in a way that works for YOUR brand and YOUR industry.

How are you incorporating carousel posts into your social media strategy? We’d love to hear from you in the comments! For more marketing and branding tips visit the blog.

Tips for content value from Broad World Consulting

Four tips to get better value from your content

We’ve all felt like we’re behind on content, always trying to come up with fresh new ideas. Chances are you’re probably making more original content than you need to and simply not squeezing every last drop out of each piece. Not only will this save you a huge amount of time in the long run, but it also allows you to tailor the messaging for different touchpoints. This is creating content value.

Blog, email, social media, and newsletter all call for different levels of detail. Additionally, users on each platform have different habits and expectations for what they’ll see — and how they’ll engage with it. For example: Someone who bookmarks a detailed blog post to read on their coffee break isn’t the same as the person who’ll do the same with an Instagram post while using the app in line at the bank. You need to capture your audience wherever they are.

Today we’ll show you how to take a well-thought-out hero piece and break it into bite-sized content for all of your channels.

*Don’t feel like reading? Watch the video.*

1. Start with a hero piece of content

Your hero piece is going to be the main piece of content you’ll pull from in the next couple of steps. Usually this is a blog, or maybe even a long-form whitepaper. No matter what you’re pulling from, make sure it’s well-researched and well-written. This will keep your content strong as it gets broken down into smaller pieces. Not sure how to format your hero piece for best results? Keep reading.

2. Wireframe your long-form pieces

This is how our team formats almost all of our long-form content. (Pssst, we used this trick on the blog post you’re reading right now.)

Start with your intro: “Here’s what I’m going to tell you.”
Follow with three or more sections that dive into relevant aspects of your topic. This is the part where you tell them.
Outro and call-to-action: “Here’s what I told you.”

3. Point form each section

When it comes to those sections in the middle of your hero piece, it helps to think of bullet points to expand on. Be sure to talk through the problem, provide solutions, and discuss the different options for each unique scenario.

4. Use the smaller points to create bite-sized content

This is our favourite part. You know those sections you created? Each of those is one piece of content! Yup, that’s a minimum of three pieces of snackable content from one blog post. We did that.

So, where can those content snacks be used?

Build each point into different Instagram posts to give your audience value over time.
Turn them into a Reel.
Add it as a block in your newsletter.
Or… all of the above!

The goal is to get the most out of your content. Remember, even your biggest fans only engage with 20% of your content across all channels — and you have new people who are just learning about you all of the time. Don’t be afraid to place the same messaging in different places or repurpose content you’ve previously used. (Just be sure to freshen it up when necessary!)

You have a ton of knowledge and you know your client’s pain points. Use that knowledge to build out one great piece of hero content — then squeeze out every last drop to get the most value!

For more tips on content and branding, visit our blog page.

Copywriting vs. creative writing: What you need to know for your marketing

Copywriting and creative writing are often used interchangeably, but they are NOT the same — and knowing the difference is key to your marketing success. Let’s run through how the two are different and cover a few tried and true copywriting techniques.

*Not in the mood to read? Watch the video!*

How are copywriting and creative writing different?

Creative writing is the kind of writing we often see in novels and poetry. It’s fluffy, floral, and long-winded.

Copywriting, on the other hand, is strategically placing words on a touchpoint to inspire the audience to take action. In copywriting we want to use as few words as possible and really hammer home what’s in it for your audience.

People are busy, and most people skim pages rather than reading intently. Studies have found readers only consume about 20% of what’s on the page, and 8/10 people only read the headline. The takeaway? Spend time creating compelling headlines that’ll inspire your audience to want more.

How? Let’s talk about some classic copywriting formulas.

Proven formulas for effective copywriting

These formulas have been used by marketers for years! Why? Because they work.

Before – After – Bridge

Before: Here’s what your life is like now
After: Here’s how it could be if your problem was solved
Bridge: Here’s how to get there

Example: Are you struggling with your copywriting? Once you understand these basics, you can write copy that converts. These four formulas will get you there.

AIDA

Attention: Get their attention with something bold, and familiarize them with your brand
Interest: Generate interest for your product or service.
Desire: Make your product or service appealing. This is when you want to show off your brand personality.
Action: Present them with a clear call to action.

Example: Copywriting doesn’t have to be hard. Broad World Consulting can get help you write words that convert. As copywriters by trade, we’ve helped countless companies level-up. Get in touch with us today.

Problem, Agitate, Solve

Problem: Identify a problem your audience is having
Agitate: Agitate the problem
Solve: Present them with a solution

Example: Dealing with writer’s block? Let it get the best of you… OR get past it and write copy that converts. Find out how at biz.broadworld.co.

The Four Cs

Clear
Concise
Compelling
Credible

This one’s less of a formula and more of a technique to keep you on track while copywriting. Before sending that copy out into the world, ask yourself if you’ve checked off the Four Cs. Maybe you’ve got the credibility down, but it’s not concise enough — tighten it up. This will keep you focused.

Don’t lose sight of brand voice

When using these formats, remember that brand voice is everything. It’s what makes your brand unique and gives you that personal edge your audience can connect with. Remember, this varies from industry to industry. You want to speak in a way your customers can understand, so watch your jargon. For example, if you’re a lawyer trying to connect with ordinary people, maybe it’s best to stay away from legalese — use a conversational tone instead. Make sure your audience can understand you.

Have you tried any of these copywriting formulas? Let us know below!

Visit our blog page for more marketing and branding tips to help your business.

Email Marketing tips from Broad World Consulting

Three email marketing tips for more clicks and conversions

Let’s start this post with a fun fact about Email Marketing: For every $1 you invest in this communication to your customers, you can expect to make $42? Now, that’s major ROI. Today, we dig into how to make the most of your email marketing with a newsletter, product emails, and the customer journey.

*Not in the mood to read? Watch the video!*

Not only is email marketing one of the most effective ways to grow your business, but it can also help you maintain and grow your current customer base. It can even get you more likes, clicks, views, and reads on your content. Again, major ROI.

At Broad World, we implement email marketing strategies for virtually all of our clients. Why? Because it works. And it can work for you too. Let’s start with the tried and true: the newsletter.

Newsletter best practices for email marketing.

We always recommend starting your email marketing with a newsletter. This is a good way to keep in touch, converse with your customers, and most importantly, add value. Some things to remember for your newsletter:

Frequency: A good rule of thumb is to send out one per month. Adjust for your content — we don’t want to send out 10 blog posts in one newsletter. So if you’re ramping up your content, break the newsletters into a few per month.
Value: We all follow brands who ask us constantly to buy, buy, buy. Flip the script and give your customer value through things like informative content. Educate, inform, inspire. That’s how you create a connection.
Add buttons to external links: Keep things tight with your newsletter — make sure it isn’t too long. A great way to do this is adding buttons linked to the full version of whatever you’re talking about.
Humanize: A newsletter doesn’t have to contain just serious content like blog posts, products, and videos. Newsletter readers are often highly engaged, so use this space to humanize your brand. Introduce your team members, feature a recipe, ask a question. Sophia Amoruso does this really well when she asks, “What was your girlboss moment of the week?” She sometimes answers, writes a guest’s answer, and ultimately has the reader thinking of their own moment — getting them involved in the content with an emotional reaction.

Product marketing with email.

Okay, so you’ve got your newsletter template down. How can we use it to sell more of your products or services? If you run an ecomm website, this is for you. Support your website goals with the newsletter and direct links. If your goal is to sell more of a certain product, feature them in the newsletter in a valuable way — like in a blog post that tells a story.

Scale things up by sorting out your auto emails. Examples of these are:

Newsletter signup welcome email
Abandoned cart emails
‘Thanks for your purchase’ email with link to review or give feedback

Did you know? Sending three abandoned cart emails leads to 69% more orders than a single email reminder. It also takes about 11 views of a brand for someone to make a purchase. So it pays to “nag!”

Uplevel your email marketing by understanding the customer journey.

Be strategic with your email communications by creating customer journeys that build sales funnels. If you know you have various personas with different goals and motivations, you probably shouldn’t be sending all of them the same email. Segmented lists are your friend and help you understand why people are on your site. This way you can send emails that resonate with each individual.

Think about your different buyer personas
Segment your lists and tag them
Send the right content to the right audience

Use copywriting best practices.

An important part of email marketing is to have smart, concise copywriting. Always use copywriting best practices, and make it personal — talk to your customer, not at them. The copy you put on your button should also be personal and start with the word that is attached to the benefit. Eg: Instead of simply “click here” use words like learn, read, improve, or watch.

Why? Personalized CTA’s are 202% more effective, and personalized subject lines generate 50% higher open rates. Give it a go and see results!

Do you have an email marketing strategy in place? Or need some help getting things set up? Pop us a note in the comments or contact us here.

Why we love Creator Studio for all things Instagram and Facebook

Instagram and Facebook are always giving you tools to up your content game and get the algorithm on your side. A BW favourite is Creator Studio: a scheduling tool that helps users schedule and manage their content. Today, we dive into why a scheduling tool is essential for running every kind of brand — business or personal. There are a ton of benefits, so let’s get right into it.

*Don’t feel like reading? Watch the video below!*

1. Benefits of a scheduling tool

Content and time management

A scheduling tool will simplify your content management so you can focus on other things — like running your business. Getting your content planned, scheduled, and out of the way in one go will free up a ton of your time. Which in turn will make you feel more on top of things. When it comes to your content, it’s all about being proactive rather than reactive.

Brand management

Scheduling tools also allow you to zoom out and see your content from a bird’s eye view. Remember: content is a direct reflection of your brand. Viewing your content in a calendar helps you get a clear vision of the brand story you’re telling.

2. Benefits of Creator Studio

Algorithm boost

It might not seem fair, but Instagram and Facebook will favour content that was posted by their own tool. That means the algorithm is more likely to boost content posted through Creator Studio over other tools like Later or Hootsuite.

Geo-tagging and Alt Text

Another awesome bonus is that Creator Studio allows you to take care of those nitty gritty details like geo-tagging and alt text. These small but mighty features can go far in expanding your brand’s discoverability.

Schedule different kinds of IG content

Creator Studio gives you the option of scheduling not just still shots and videos to IG, but also IGTV and carousels. It’s a variety that other scheduling tools haven’t caught up to yet. And we can’t wait until we can schedule Reels [link to Reels post]!

Available on Desktop

The best part is, you can do all of this right from your desktop! No more hunching over your small phone screen and the risk of getting sucked into distractions. You can also engage with comments, etc.

How Creator Studio works

We’ve included a walkthrough in the below video, so be sure to watch for all the details. But here are a few tips:

Toggle between Facebook and Instagram

Once your Facebook and Instagram accounts are connected, you can easily toggle between them to check out ALL of your content. You can also take a peek at your engagement on published posts and stories.

Remember to schedule a Facebook time when scheduling IG

Creator studio gives you the option of scheduling a Facebook post at the same time as Instagram — and we love the convenience. But remember to separately schedule the time and date you want as otherwise, your Facebook post will go live immediately.

Go back and engage

Social media is for being SOCIAL. So don’t just set it and forget it — go back to those posts and communicate with your audience by liking comments, responding, and keeping the conversation going.

We always set our clients up for success with Creator Studio. It’s a no-brainer way to free up time, strengthen brand presence, and widen discoverability. Are you using a scheduling tool as part of your marketing strategy? Let us know about your experience!

For more social media and branding tips, head over to our blog.

Instagram best practices in 2021

Instagram’s best practices are always changing and it can be overwhelming to keep up. We’ve got you covered. This is a topic Stef has touched on before, but we’ve got a few new strategies and tips you can use to get the Instagram algorithm on your side.

*Not up for a full read? Watch the video below!*

Let’s recap

In our last IG 101 video, Stef shared her tips for you to work with the algorithm and boost your content. Here’s a recap of what we covered:

Follow relevant accounts
Vary your feed posts to include still photos, videos, and carousels
The first hour after posting is the most important — engage, engage, engage!
Share your feed post to your Instagram story to let your followers know about fresh content
Add Alt Text to your feed posts to help with indexing
Like the comments on your previous post
Use both relevant and niche hashtags
Use all of Instagram’s features

We highly recommend watching that video to get caught up or to refresh your memory on the above. Let’s dive into updated Instagram best practices and tips for business!

Stories

Did you know 79% of users open stories before they scroll? That’s a massive number, and it means you have the chance to capture eyes as soon as they get into the app. So how do we do that?

Get in the habit of posting

Try to post at least one story per day. I know, it can be awkward or we can feel like we don’t have anything exciting to show off — but it’s all about getting in the groove. Think of posting stories like a muscle. A muscle can’t grow if you don’t exercise it.

The algorithm favors posting 3-5 stories per day. That might seem like a LOT in the beginning, but the more you post, the easier it gets to spot those “postable” moments.

Make the most of Story features

As you’re posting, remember to use all of Instagram’s Story features like music, polls, questions, gifs, and any stickers that can apply to your business. Not only will the app boost your stories, but it’ll help keep your content varied and increase your engagement with your audience.

Reels

Reels are still new(ish). Let’s de-mystify them. If you’re wondering what they are and why the heck they’re important you can watch my initial video on Reels here.

How often should you post reels?

Instagram recommends posting 4-7 Reels a week. Yes, that’s a LOT. As for most things when it comes to social media, I say stick to quality over quantity. Sure, you could pump out 5 Reels per week, but are they valuable to your audience? If the answer is no, decrease the quantity and up the quality.

Reels are not TikToks

Reels and TikToks are similar, but their intended audiences are different and at the end of the day, the companies are competitors. So keep them separate. Remember: you wouldn’t eat a Big Mac in a Burger King — so I don’t recommend duplicating your TikToks onto Instagram. But if you’re going to cross-post, be sure to remove the watermarks to avoid having your engagement dinged.

While TikTok gives you up to a minute for videos, keep Instagram Reels to 30 seconds max.

Check for final touches

Be sure to keep all the text within the feed frame and choose a thumbnail that will still fit your on-feed aesthetic.

NOTE: Reels are a great way to increase your following and get your content in front of new, applicable audiences. Just like TikTok’s For You Page, users can continuously scroll through Reels that the algorithm deems relevant to them.

Direct Messages

Your DMs are another tool you can use to build real relationships with your followers. When it comes to messages, authentic engagement is key! Lucky for us, Instagram has a ton of features to help us connect with our followers.

Slide into those DMs

Don’t be afraid to slide into someone’s DMs! This is especially easy when someone has already opened a channel for communication by reacting or replying to your stories or commenting on your feed posts.

Use DM features

Stef always says that Instagram is a SOCIAL media app, and your messages are one of the best ways to get social. You can even switch things up by using voice notes. Not only will Instagram reward you for maximizing their features, but it’s a highly personal way of connecting with someone on the platform. On that note, you can do the same by sending direct pictures, videos, or links in the chat. Your DMs are also great way to also send your engaged followers to your website, a landing page, or even a purchase link!

At the end of the day, it’s about making an authentic connection and building your network!

Have you tried these Instagram tips for your business? We’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.

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