Social Media Strategies, Stories & How-to Tips

How To Spot An Online Phishing Scam

Fri, 05 May 2023 17:19:55 GMT

Spring is here and the phishers are out in full force! From fake notifications of Facebook violations to emails threatening to disable business accounts, it can be hard to discern what is real and what is a scam. Here are some helpful tips to keep your personal information safe and your Meta accounts secure.

SPELLING & GRAMMAR

Brand image is everything to major companies. There is no way that Apple or Disney is going to let an email or social media post full of spelling and grammatical errors go out to the public. Fake profiles or pages will often have extra punctuation in the name, like Samsung. with a period at the end, or extra spaces and dashes.

E-MAIL ADDRESSES

Major companies, especially Meta, will not contact you from an Outlook/Gmail/Hotmail address. Take a look at the address that the suspected email came from. If it is not from a domain directly associated with the alleged sender, it is likely a scam.

URLs

If Coca-Cola wants to alert you of something, they will direct you to www.coca-cola.com, not a sketchy URL for a phishing site. Check any links before you click by hovering your mouse over the URL. Tracking programs may add some identifying numbers or letters but the alleged company’s actual name should still be there.

GOOD = www.coca-cola.com/abc123

BAD = www.abc123cocacola.com

ONLINE PRESENCE

If you are being directed to a Facebook page, how long has the page been online? How many followers does it have? How many posts have they made? Legitimate companies will have a strong, longstanding presence. Fake pages come and go quickly, so they won’t have the history needed to back them up. Also, be sure to check the corporate website. Any major announcements will be listed there.

These are just a few tips but, when in doubt, it is always best to leave your social media management to the pros - like Assisting You Social! We're always available to talk to you about the digital marketing needs of your business and how our services can help. Your business or organization can become a part of #TeamAYS today by scheduling your consultation at https://www.assistingyou.social/contact

Stephanie Brady is ASSISTING YOU SOCIAL's Associate Creative Director, specializing in content creation and customer service. Stephanie is a skilled copywriter with over 20 years of experience in the marketing industry; 16 of those years immersed in radio and more recent years in digital media.

Make The Most of Your Content By Keeping It Local!

stephanie@assistingyou.ca (Stephanie Brady) — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 17:30:15 GMT

You know that you need a strong social media presence to connect to your customers. You also know that you need help to maintain a consistent and effective stream of content to your social media channels. This can be a daunting expense for any business owner, especially in the start-up stage. Many business owners are drawn to the low-cost and seemingly easier option of using an offshore content creation team or aggregator. In this instance, you get what you pay for.

Using an offshore content creation team or content aggregator is just a cheap alternative. It can be a fruitless money pit that can actively harm the online reputation of your business - and when it comes to the success of your business, your reputation is everything.

Let's discuss how important it is to keep your content creation team local.

No Language or Cultural Barriers

When dealing with offshore companies, language and cultural barriers can often create a communication breakdown. However, since #TeamAYS is located in Central Ontario cities like Barrie and Midland, we understand and appreciate our community’s unique nuances. We keep a finger on the pulse of our clients’ target audiences, which helps us better serve businesses throughout the community.

For example, we won't write posts focusing on new air conditioners in the middle of a harsh Canadian winter, something a team in India might not consider. We're also sure to include community events and local holidays that a team in Egypt just wouldn't have any reference for.

These powerful, local bonds are what help us ensure that your business forms strong ties with your community, making you the choice that they know, like and trust. Our team creates blogs are actually interesting and informative, not just a bunch of keywords thrown together for SEO (but we do include those too!)

Time Zone Advantages

An often overlooked benefit of working with a local team is that there are no time zone differences to consider,

If something goes wrong or you require immediate assistance, it can be incredibly difficult to work with offshore companies, due to their hours of operation.

For example:

3 PM in Barrie, Ontario is 9 PM Cairo, Egypt or 12:30 AM in New Delhi, India

In comparison, #TeamAYS provides support and assistance right here in your time zone - EST - or within a few hours for our West Coast friends. This ensures that if any issues arise or additional services are needed, they can be addressed right away without worrying about the delay caused by different time zones.

You also need to consider the currency exchange rate when using an offshore provider. Sure, their list price may be less but with the exchange rate, is it really cheaper?

Proven, Quality Service

#TeamAYS is committed to providing top-notch digital marketing services for all of our clients which can often get lost in translation with an offshore team. Our dedication to connecting your business to clients throughout Simcoe County is reflected in the industry and community awards our team has achieved since our inception in 2013. This means our quality control is nearly unparalleled throughout Simcoe County and ranks immeasurably high compared to a cheap, offshore company.

#TeamAYS is known for our unique commitment to our communities and our clients. We are actively involved in local charities, sponsoring local teams and events, and genuinely interested in seeing our clients and friends succeed. We get to know the people behind the businesses and organizations that we support, which better allows us to speak in their voice and represent them authentically and effectively.

While it might seem like a good deal at first glance, the communication troubles and financial headaches that often come with working with an offshore company can be avoided altogether by choosing a local team like Assisting You Social.

We're always available to talk to you about the digital marketing needs of your business and how our services can help. Your business or organization can become a part of #TeamAYS today by scheduling your consultation at https://www.assistingyou.social/contact

Smart Marketing is the Key to Surviving the “New Normal”

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 16:55:40 GMT

When times are good, you should advertise.

When times are bad, you MUST

It’s a different world today then it was just a few short weeks ago. Your business is faced with uncertainty due to circumstances beyond your control. You’re not alone. And, you’re more in control than you think.

Your natural reaction right now may be to hunker down and wait out this storm. Now is not the time to be reactive, you need to be proactive in order to get through this. We have a saying in marketing:

When times are good, you should advertise.

When times are bad, you MUST.

Today you have the opportunity to get in touch with your inner entrepreneur, you know, that voice inside that drove you to go into business to begin with? The one that said, “Hey, I have a really great idea!” You likely had a conversation with yourself and that voice convinced you to jump into business and you started innovating, brainstorming, creating, thinking outside of the box and then doing all the things!!!! FIND THAT INNER ENTREPRENEUR AGAIN!

Now is the time to Adapt, Innovate and Initiate!

Why now? Shouldn’t we be saving our pennies and tightening the purse strings? Not when it comes to marketing! Here’s why:

Corporate Stability - People buy from people and businesses they KNOW, LIKE & TRUST. When they see you continuing with business as usual during a time of trouble, it gives them a sense of comfort during this crazy time. It makes them feel good. More importantly, it elevates the trust they have in your business, products and services. If you see businesses who have suspended advertising, you’re going to wonder if they’re still in business or will be in the near future. How confident would you feel buying from a business like that? When your old stove needs to be replaced, would you purchase a new one from a store that you don’t trust will be open in the near future if there is a problem with your purchase? Or, would you prefer to go to a store that doesn’t show signs of slowing business down? You’re competing for customers right now and you can’t afford to lose that competition!

Noise Level - Speaking of competition, we all have it, it’s always there. It can be hard to stand out above the crowd. Right now, many business owners are doing exactly what you had been thinking of before reading this - hunkering down and waiting this out. That means there’s less “noise” in your industry. Meaning, there are fewer companies (your competition) trying to get their message out to potential customers (YOUR customers). This is the perfect opportunity to make connections with buyers who may not have found you before today!

Back in the 1920s, Post was the leading cereal brand. Once the Great Depression hit, Post hunkered down to try and ride out the storm. They cut their advertising budget drastically. Kellog’s, on the other hand, doubled their advertising spend and invested heavily in radio (which was the best medium at the time, much like social media is today). Kellogg’s introduced a new cereal, Rice Krispies, and their profits grew by 30%. They became the industry leader and have held that position for decades.

A more recent example is Amazon. During the “great recession”, their sales increased by 28% in 2009 because they continued to innovate during the slumping economy. Remember when the Kindle came out? Massive sales! And now Amazon is the massive company we know today.

Digital Algorithms - Every piece of content you’ve posted on your website and social media has contributed to your search engine ranking. Think of it as climbing a rock wall. You and your competition all start at the bottom. The amount of focused effort you put into climbing (content) gets you closer to the top. There are a lot of other climbers on the wall. When you let go (stop advertising), they keep going. When you decide to restart your journey, not only have they climbed higher, you’ve also fallen down to the bottom only to have to start that same climb again.

When you add in the trust from showing corporate stability and take advantage of the reduced noise levels, you’ll climb that wall a lot faster.

You need to think about changing the way you do business.

Can you move what you do online? Exercise classes - what would that look like? You may need to change up your class, but can it be done. Why do people join your class? To get healthy. So maybe instead of using particular equipment that you offer at your gym, have them use their own in any way they can but you can run the course - have the music playing, give the encouragement etc. The end result is still the same - improved health, but a different path to get there. Create a private Facebook group for your current clients and hold your classes there. You can also use software like Zoom or Google Hangouts.

We need to socially distance ourselves but we also need community!

This model works well with things like:

Music lessons
Martial arts
Business Coaching
Art Lessons
Life Coaching
Many others!

By taking things online, you can service your current clients and still secure new ones.

Can you offer touchless delivery for your products? Perhaps you have a natural foods store or sell dietary supplements. Hire a delivery driver who understands proper handwashing techniques and have your customer order and pay for products and receive them on their doorstep with a text from the driver when it’s placed.

Both of these suggestions mean taking your products and services TO your client instead of them coming to you.

What if these things aren’t possible?

Now it’s time to start planting the seeds. There are many seasonal businesses around the world that function in the feast or famine mode - meaning high and low. The smart ones are busy in their slow times lining up the work for the busy times with a solid marketing strategy.

HOW-TO VIDEOS: Maybe you own a bicycle repair shop. People aren’t dropping their bikes off right now, but you can live stream videos of you fixing common, simple issues. Explain as you go in simple terms. Now is not the time to show off your industry jargon.

OFFERING ADVICE: You own a furniture store. Create videos or blogs about your preferred cleaning products and techniques for certain fabrics.

ANSWER YOUR MOST ASKED QUESTIONS: What do you get asked over and over again by new customers/clients? Providing these answers will help educate your audience so they’re better prepared to buy from you.

HOST A LIVE Q&A: Y o u’re the expert, prove it! Do a Facebook Live with people asking you about your industry.

INVITE A RELATED INDUSTRY COLLEAGUE TO TALK : Me in digital marketing, I might have the owner of a sign shop on to talk. We both serve the same types of clients and refer to one another often. By connecting your audience to your colleague whose services they may need, they see you as a good resource.

Barbara was a guest on the Teri Holland podcast, sharing tips and strategies to stay top of mind in the market place right now.

Listen now! https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teri-holland-show/id1001398897

These suggestions all provide exceptional value for your current and potential clients. You won’t be charging for them but you’ll be setting yourself up as the industry expert who’s secure in their business. When the client is ready to buy, they’re going to buy from you.

When you set yourself up as an authority this also helps to connect with potential suppliers as well. They see you as a business with corporate stability, a business that they trust will pay their bills and be a long time client. This will often allow you to create enhanced partnerships with them in order to secure a better deal on the products or services they offer that you need.

Find that entrepreneur’s voice and start innovating, brainstorming, creating, thinking outside of the box and then doing all the things!!!!

Remember. .. When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you MUST.

Assisting You Social provides consulting, coaching, content creation and management for clients across North America. In order to help #FlattenTheCurve and protect the health of our team, we are currently working remotely. To reach Assisting You Social, please call 705-300-5565 or email us at info@assistingyou.ca

March 16th, 2020 COVID-19 Update

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 13:32:47 GMT

Dear clients, friends, and community partners;

At Assisting You Social, the well-being of our team and our community always comes first. As a result, we will be migrating our staff to remote work for the remainder of March. Our Midland office is closed to the public effective immediately, and our Barrie office will close to the public later today.

We are still "open for business" - just not at our physical offices - and will continue to provide the exceptional level of service that our clients have come to expect.

We will be reaching out to anyone we have scheduled in-person meetings with to make alternative arrangements with phone or web calls.

Any clients with urgent needs for announcements, additional content, updates, or support dealing with the media are asked to contact us via telephone (705-300-5565) or email ( jim@assistingyou.ca / stephanie@assistingyou.ca ).

Our thoughts are with all of the individuals and businesses being negatively impacted by COVID-19 and the measures being taken to contain it. In our unique position in the social media world, we are seeing a lot of misinformation and negativity. When navigating through this crisis, we urge you to use reliable sources and avoid sharing information that has not been fact-checked. Social media is a very powerful tool, however using it ineffectively or irresponsibly can have significant consequences for our community.

On behalf of Barbara and myself, I want to thank our amazing team (Stephanie, Brandon, Adam and our intern Kim) for going "beyond the call of duty" for our clients during these wild past few days. We are extremely lucky to have such a dedicated and professional group around us.

Sincerely,

Jim Lowe

Creative Director

Assisting You Social

Your Target Market and Their Preferred Social Platform

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 15:35:20 GMT

It’s easy to sign up for every platform and send out your message to who you perceive as “everyone”. But effective communication changes from platform to platform and each platform caters to a different demographic.

A strong business knows their target market and works to consistently message to them. Consistent, positive messaging to your audience promotes growth within their social circles and leads to more interaction with your business or brand. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just making a quick post and expecting everyone who sees it to give it a like or comment on it. Posts have to be engaging. Posts need a reason to be liked or commented on. But what’s considered engaging depends on the platform you’re on. In order to be like the people you want to engage with, you have to think and speak their language - and each social media site speaks differently.

Facebook

Despite starting out as a hangout place for college students, Facebook’s demographic has been completely reshaped since inception. Seniors are the fastest-growing demographic and they continue to grow. The share of seniors on the platform has more than doubled since 2012, and Facebook is by far their most preferred platform. This results in brands sharing friendly and welcoming images, with simple messages, staying away from gimmick posts that rely on tagging friends or posting replies with images or .gifs in the comments.

Twitter

Short. Sweet. To the point. You’ve got 280 characters to get your message out loud and clear. Twitter is a social media platform that gets 80% of its traffic from mobile devices, which means your message is being read on the go with almost no time to process as they continue scrolling through their feed. With a demographic that skews incredibly 66% male to 34% female, a more direct, almost sharper tone speaks to the users primarily made up of millennials (millennials being the group typically born from 1981 to 1996)

Instagram

The birth of the “influencer”. Instagram, with a usage rate as high as 72% among teens, is a social media site that has a user base that seems to completely embrace corporate messaging and sponsorship. An estimated 75.6% of US businesses will be on Instagram in 2020, with 69% of those businesses planning on spending the most of their advertising budget on the platform. When you’re speaking to your Insta-audience, hashtags and bandwagoning trends are how you stay popular. Instagram is all about appearance and posting photos and hashtags that people can aspire to.

You wouldn’t write the same commercial for television as you would for radio. Creating effective content is the same for different social media platforms. While you can do the guesswork yourself, having professionals take care of your imaging and content creation, while also communicating with those who engage with your brand and business is the ultimate win-win. Professional imaging taken care of for you, while you’re able to focus on the areas of business you’re best at.

Stay tuned for our next blog when we talk about the ins and outs of using LinkedIn to reach your target market.

Got questions? Need help? Assisting You Social takes the stress out of social media by managing it all for you. We’ll create a strategy to earn trust from your target audience, help you be seen as an authority in your field, and ultimately result in more sales, customers or clients. GIve us a call today at 705-300-5565 and let’s get started.

Winter Intern Kim Writes About Her First Day With #TeamAYS

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 16:42:07 GMT

My First Day at Assisting You Social

Hi, my name is Kim Cruea, a student graduating in April from the Graphic Design Advanced program at Georgian College, is the winter intern for Assisting You Social.

Alliance Studios Opens With A Bang!

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 15:11:01 GMT

We had an awesome time at the Grand Opening of our new Barrie office!

Assisting You Social, Central Ontario's leading Social Media Management firm and "Barrie's Favourite Advertising Agency", had our Alliance Studios Grand Opening, in partnership with our friend Ian McIntosh of IGM Photography . Alliance Studios is a digital marketing hub that will better service our growing team and client base.

Over 200 people attended our Grand Opening held on December 5th, 2019.

Jim Lowe, Creative Director of Assisting You Social Barrie, and Ian McIntosh were joined by the ribbon cutting from many political representatives in the area. They include Councillor Barry Ward, representing the City of Barrie; Todd Tuckey, President of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce; and representatives for MP Doug Shipley and MPP Doug Downey also attended.

Alliance Studios supported and hosted three amazing charities during the event!

There were two "door prizes" of Boxes of Hope from Youth Haven Canada . Assisting You Social purchased two Boxes of Hope worth $50 each in the name of two business owners who had their business cards drawn. The two winners of the Youth Haven draws are Dr. Tim Lahn of Complete Care Chiropractic and Jacquie Ottema of 5 Point Perspectives .

Aimee Allen of Canvas + Pine Co. , printedd "Low Grade Celebrity T-Shirts" that people purchased, helping raise $100 for Easter Seals Ontario .

Photographer Ian McIntosh held a charity auction for his famed "Battle Scars: B-25 Bomber" print in support for the RVH Foundation raising $600.

We thank everyone from clients, friends, family and anyone else that attended our event and supported the charities involved.

A special thanks to Domino’s Pizza and TJ’s Curry in a Hurry for providing the food , Flying Monkeys Brewery for providing their award-winning craft beer, John Fischer for being an excellent auctioneer for the RVH Foundation auction, and Jake Mathias for performing live at our event.

Check out the event photos below taken by the great Bryan Weiss of Daytripper Photo !

https://www.facebook.com/pg/assistingyou.social/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2870218053010434

Welcome to Alliance Studios!

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 20:47:32 GMT

Grand Opening of New Home for Assisting You Social's Barrie Operations is Thursday, December 5th!

Here we grow again!

Assisting You Social, Central Ontario's leading Social Media Management firm and "Barrie's Favourite Advertising Agency" is pleased to announce the opening of Alliance Studios, a digital marketing hub that will better service our growing team and client base.

Alliance Studios is located at 18 Alliance Boulevard - Unit #15 in Barrie’s North-East end, facing Highway 400 near the corner of St. Vincent Street and Bell Farm Drive.

This unique facility is run in partnership with our friend at Ian McIntosh of IGM Photography . Not only does the new location provide us with much-needed additional space to accommodate our growing team, but having Ian’s full-service photo studio onsite means that we can better support our clients’ needs with advanced photography, video, and sound recording.

Our Grand Opening will take place on Thursday, December 5th, from 3 PM till 7 PM.

The official ribbon cutting with Deputy Mayor, Barry Ward, is at 4 PM. There will be various draws, speakers, and entertainment throughout the afternoon, so please drop by when you can!

AYS Goes West: Exciting News of Expanded Operations

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 16:09:54 GMT

Assisting You Social, Central Ontario's leading Digital Marketing Company and Barrie's Best Advertising Agency, is spreading its wings again... this time across three time zones!

Since its founding in 2013, Assisting You Social has grown from a tiny digital start-up to a social media juggernaut with an active roster of almost 100 clients and full-service creative offices in both Midland and Barrie.

Founder Barbara Lowe ( Meridian Women of Excellence Entrepreneur of the Year ) has become a highly sought-after digital marketing coach, strategist, and public speaker. Barbara travels around the world to help clients well outside of Assisting You Social's Central Ontario footprint.

As a result of Barbara's high-profile speaking engagements, Assisting You Social now receives regular requests for social media outsourcing, consulting, and coaching from across Canada and the Pacific Rim.

With an increasingly large portion of our business now coming from the West Coast, we have decided to expand our operations to Vancouver, British Columbia!

Follow along as AYS Goes West!

Upon returning from her European speaking tour in November, Barbara will begin splitting her time between Ontario and British Columbia, providing Assisting You Social with a regular presence in the Pacific Time Zone to better serve our Western clients. Barbara will remain in her current role as Chief Content Strategist for Assisting You Social, with the additional responsibilities of Business Development Director - Canada West. Barbara will be responsible for growing Assisting You Social's brand and presence on the West Coast, while continuing to guide our Ontario-based team with her award-winning social media savvy.

Creative Director Jim Lowe will expand his current responsibilities to include Business Development Director - Canada East. Jim, who has driven the firm's Barrie presence from "satellite office" to "Barrie's Best Advertising Agency" in less than five years, will be responsible for the ongoing success of Assisting You Social's existing client base in Midland and Barrie.

Client Management Associate, Stephanie Brady, who has been with the firm for two years, has been promoted to Associate Creative Director. Stephanie will work closely with Barbara and Jim to ensure that Assisting You Social maintains its unparalleled reputation for digital marketing prowess and customer service excellence.

The firm's team of part-time and full-time staff will also have exciting opportunities for advancement as Assisting You Social continues to expand.

5 Productivity Boosting Tools to Help You Avoid Burnout

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 15:01:41 GMT

Stressed out? Unmotivated? Snapping at your coworkers or kids?

You’re not alone.

Workplace stress can take a serious toll on your job performance and personal life, leaving you teetering on the brink of burnout.

But it doesn't have to be this way...

Learn how to boost your daily productivity -- and lighten your stress load -- with these proven tips from Assisting You Social, so you can flow through each day with intention and ease.

As you now know, avoiding burnout is as much about prevention and caring for your overall well-being, as it is about managing the after effects of ongoing stress. By choosing to implement these simple yet effective everyday tools, you’ll be able to take control of your day, create a smoother workflow, and come out on top!

7 Simple Steps to Social Media Success

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 16:43:15 GMT

Day and night, people use social media as a means of connecting and as a way of escaping from the constant hustle and bustle of everyday duties. Y ou’ve seen (and probably done) it all!

Moms scrolling as their kids sleep.

Dads browsing on bathroom breaks.

Kids dulling the boredom of a long car ride or doctor’s office wait...

As an individual, all you need to do is show up to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest and your mind will be blasted with companies desperately vying for your attention and your business. It can get a little overwhelming, can’t it?

So, as a business owner, how do you help people sort through all the noise? Where do you even start?!

In today’s blog post we’re sharing simple, actionable steps to help your business rock social media and connect with your audience the right way.

How to Achieve Social Media Success in 7 Steps

1. Optimize your business’ social media profile with high quality images and detailed content about your company, products and/or services. When auditing your social profiles, make sure you’ve:

Uploaded a headshot, business image or logo to profile picture.
Featured a custom branded image or video for your cover photo.
Written a dynamic bio for the About Us section, with a branded display photo.
Updated contact information and hours of operation.

2. Strategize with your team on social media goals and marketing content calendar.

Look at how your business profiles compare to others in your industry.
Identify who your ideal client is -- and niche down to highly specific detail. Consider: age, location, job/income, relationship status, personality, pain points, and where they spend the most time online. Cater to that buyer persona.
Find out which social networks are bringing YOU the most value, then tailor social content to focus on that channel & audience accordingly.
Ensure your digital strategy aligns with offline campaigns and is on brand.

3. Create and curate informative, inspiring, and engaging posts for each social media platform your business is using.

Design professional quality graphics using your own branded photography or downloaded stock photography. Don’t pull copyrighted or low resolution images off of Google! Your images and videos should be clear and memorable.
Craft corresponding post captions for your target audience in your brand voice.
Humanize your content! By weaving personalized posts (like “Behind the Scenes”, “Meet the Team”, “Live Events” and “True Stories”) in with promotional and sales focused posts, you will build better relationships with your audience.
Be mindful of corresponding social media post dimensions and formatting, as every platform has different recommendations.

Confused as to which social channels need to be which sizes? Easy peasy! Download our quick and easy social media post size guide below.

4. Post regularly.

Deliver relevant, engaging and valuable content to your audience on a consistent daily / weekly basis.
Invest in a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Zoho and pre-schedule any evergreen / pillar content that is not time-dependent. Review your marketing content calendar and schedule any seasonal or holiday posts in advance to save yourself time during busy seasons!

5. Engage with your audience! Social media is all about BEING SOCIAL.

When you respond to comments, questions and reviews right away (whether they are positive or negative) your audience sees you are listening, and that you care. Thank them for taking time to share their experience with your community and for referring their friends, family and neighbours to you!
Tag customers in any images, videos and posts they are featured in on your social channels. This is important because their followers (who may or may not be your followers) will then see those posts and can comment on, like and share your content, too.
Link to fellow businesses, charities and partners to help build one another up. Strong alliances = strong, thriving communities!
Don’t go overboard with #hashtags! Use trending & custom hashtags with intent.

6. Track and analyze post performance to improve your content marketing strategy according to what performs best with your target audience.

You know what they say… if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. But if your strategy could use some tweaks or A/B testing, make it so. Don’t be afraid to try something new! The beauty of digital media is that it is always changing and always improving. Hop on board!
Assess results, identify key success metrics, and tweak your social media strategy from there. For example, if your insights are telling you that Facebook is your most effective channel, then optimize efforts on that platform. The numbers don’t lie!

7. Later. Rinse. Repeat.

Remember: your business’ social media profiles should consistently flow and grow with your business, yet always remain focused on -- and rooted in -- your audience’s best needs. Keep your content fluid and on-brand!

Regularly sharing stories with your audience will help them connect with your brand as they start to see you as a real person, instead of just a business. Don’t be afraid to share the blooper reels, and let your personality shine through!

By following these simple strategies, your company’s social media profiles will be bursting with engaging and high quality content that consistently entertains, educates, inspires and connects with your audience in fresh ways.

If you need help creating and rolling out an effective social media strategy for your business, Assisting You Social would love to help! We can help you analyze and start optimizing your social channels for legendary success. Give us a call at 705-300-5565 today!

P.S. Stay tuned for our next post where we’ll share some essential productivity-boosting tools to help you avoid burnout.

Why Consistent Branding Matters for Your Business, Your Audience & Your Brand

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:31:08 GMT

Your brand is the story you tell the world.

As a new business owner, you brainstorm the perfect company name, design a logo, and conjure up a unique style that is easily identifiable as belonging to your company. You analyze who your target audience is, where they spend the most time, and how you can connect with them in the best possible way.

This is all part of the branding process.

Your company’s brand becomes a direct representation of your business and, when marketed effectively, tells your audience in an instant who you are and what you do. It’s what potential customers initially see, what they connect with, and what they will remember you by .

It makes sense that your brand should always showcase your company in the best possible light, right? You betcha.

If you’re starting a new business or considering rebranding, here's how you can ensure your branding is on point!

YOUR BRAND NEEDS TO STAND OUT.

It's very rare that you'll look around and see someone who is NOT glued to their phone, laptop or social feed.

Everywhere we look, all day long, we're inundated with branded ads touting the latest and greatest product, training course or service. It's like the exact thing you were just telling your BFF about suddenly turns up as a suggested page to follow or post to like on Instagram -- am I right? (Ahh, the wizardly power of remarketing.)

If you've ever caught yourself aimlessly surfing your Facebook feed on a bathroom break, or falling down the Instagram follower rabbit hole at the dinner table, or Pinning DIY and home decor posts for hours on end in bed when you should be sleeping... you'll know what I mean.

So how do we break through all that noise? How do you help your people and your brand stand out from the crowd? You make your brand impossible to forget.

Here's how:

Highlight how you differ from the competition. What problem can you solve for your customers? What can you do/offer/teach/be that sets you apart from others in your industry? Your uniqueness is your biggest asset!
Be real! Show your personality, and speak in an authentic tone as if you were talking to your ideal client directly.
Share your story, your WHY. This includes your best success stories and those super tough lessons in learning. Help your audience connect with you.
Service with a smile. Respond to questions and concerns promptly, proving your quality of care and service. Go the extra mile for them and treat others as you'd like to be treated.
Listen to your audience when they talk. Then give them what they actually want.

YOUR BRAND NEEDS TO BE CONSISTENT.

Branding unifies your business name, company mission, personality, products and services as one cohesive element. It’s the unique story you tell the world, which means how you (and your employees and others) communicate your brand is crucial.

Make it easy for people to remember you… by being consistent!

Consistent branding helps build awareness and trust with your customers, ensuring a positive and memorable brand experience every single time . Customers can easily recognize and distinguish your brand from the competition, no matter which platform they see you on, because you always use the same tone, font, colour scheme, logo icon, and imagery.

When I say big names like Google , McDonald’s , Netflix , Volkswagon , Walmart and Amazon , without having to look them up you’ll find it easy to recall their identifying brand elements. You'll recall their legendary logotype, brand icon, mission, commercials, slogan.

But the #1 reason you remember these companies is because each one consistently presents their logo and brand in the exact same light, no matter where or how they promote their business. They make sure others do the same.

For larger, multi-chain businesses and smaller startups, you want to ensure each member of your team or franchise is delivering consistent messaging and your brand is always presented as intended. Having brand guidelines or a documented style guide in place is the best way to ensure consistency and quality of brand, regardless of the size of your business.

Think of it this way… You don’t want Sally in Sales promoting your business in one way, and Joe in Service saying something completely different, right? Or having a beautiful logo professionally designed, only to have Tiffany in Admin skewing the shape, changing the colours, and having it look completely Mickey Mouse? Yeah, that ain't cool.

Along with maintaining professionalism and building brand value, branding consistency will help you attract your target audience and connect with influencers who jive with you. Don’t confuse them with inconsistent branding!

YOUR BRAND NEEDS TO BE VALUED.

Today, it’s far too easy for someone to push a marketing idea from the concept phase to being published on social media before anyone even considers if it’s “on brand” or not.

Any employee can throw together an “off base”, well-intended version of your company’s message and post it for the entire world to see. Even if it’s just posted on their own Facebook page or used (improperly) on an internal staff letter or team training document, poor brand usage can cause damage to your corporate culture and your company. Using your logo improperly devalues your company's appearance, quality and professionalism. Trust me when I say, proper branding matters!

Want to ensure your company’s brand is valued? Having approved templates in place is a great way of ensuring your branding is on point, whether used internally or promoted to the “outside” world. These templates should be part of your company’s style guide document, be made accessible to all members of the team and be shared with advertising contacts as needed.

Make sure your team understands the importance of good branding, has access to proper logo files, and knows how to put them into effect!

Tell us… How do you ensure a consistent brand presence in all of your online and offline communications? What procedures do you have in place? What do you struggle with the most?

We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us here .

#contentmarketing #brandguidelines #smallbusinesstips

"Fail Early, Fail Often, Fail Forward"

Tue, 14 May 2019 19:10:17 GMT

EXPERIENCING MY FIRST BNI MEETING & LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES

Oh goodness. A BNI meeting – early in the morning.

Excitement and curiosity filled my head as I walked into my first BNI meeting held at Office Inc! Corp. As an intern who was new to the BNI world, I didn't know what to expect but I looked forward to gaining an inside perspective.

It turns out that finding the location was the hardest part of the meeting.

I found the place on time. Arriving at 7 am, I registered as a Visitor, got my name and Visitor tag, then immediately moved towards the food. Man, was I hungry... The food was an added perk of attending the early morning meeting!

I introduced myself to some of the BNI Business By The Bay members who welcomed me. I could hear laughter, business lingo, networking and saw real human interactions.

I learned that this chapter gets a lot of business done - so much that it resulted in $1.7 Million in referrals for its members in the past 12 months! Now that is serious business.

We went all around the table to discuss who we were (including myself), and the businesses we were affiliated with.

There was even a 45 second infomercial each member had to talk about the their business.

The bell rang:

DING

Yes, a couple of people went over their time limit. But we didn't mind. They were simply eager to share what was happening with their business.

This time around, the focus was on Marketing businesses. There were two presentations, one by Jim Lowe for Assisting You Social and one by Shane Serra for WebXpertz. Both had high energy when they presented, which is great for waking people up in the morning. I even got to be a part of Jim's presentation to talk about what I do as an intern for Assisting You Social.

It was very valuable to see the benefits of marketing your company to the right audience and building relationships with clients that can become life-long customers.

The main theme that stuck with me in the BNI Business By the Bay meeting was how failure should be seen as a positive, not a negative.

(Yes, that is a Will Smith quote you saw in the title of this blog! I never thought I would be inspired by a Will Smith quote, but it rings true - like that bell throughout the meeting.)

The chapter's education coordinator, Lydon Lichty, spent a moment talking about how failure can help an entrepreneur grow and achieve success.

Failure is the place big lessons come from. It's where growth comes from.

You can’t get any better if you do nothing because you fear failure. It takes practice, determination and you have to learn from your mistakes. As an intern, this was invaluable information since I am still learning at my field placement.

BNI was a great experience in which I am thankful to have participated in. I am looking forward to facing challenges head-on, because I know that success lies in the way.

Smart, Shareable and Personal: Video Marketing for the Win

Thu, 09 May 2019 16:51:24 GMT

We like. We love. We share. Social media is all about being social!

Every minute of every day, people scroll their social feeds and join online groups with a desire to feel engaged. We want to be heard, entertained, and connected. It’s human nature to want to feel part of something greater. Today, social media allows us to do just that.

Fueled by the rise of constant streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, it’s no surprise that one third of all online activity is now spent watching video. With social media algorithms heavily favouring video content and social influencers gaining incredible traction, it’s more important than ever for you to “Get on Board and Push Record” .

Are you ready for your close-up?

Social media platforms like Facebook have totally transformed the way businesses can promote their business, no matter their size, location or budget.

Being able to add visuals to your posts, in real time, means business owners can get their message across quickly, clearly, and with ease. Your followers can ask questions and share comments as they arise, promptly receiving answers to their questions via your team or your ambassadors.

Targeting niche audiences with branded videos helps ensure your ideal client is seeing exactly what they want to see, anytime they scroll. This is especially important as almost 70% of consumers say watching a marketing video on Facebook has influenced a purchase decision in the last month . How’s that for effective ROI?!

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Video marketing allows you to seamlessly build brand awareness, reputation, credibility and trust using the right strategy. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your content!

Your customers want to know you are a real person who understands their struggles and can help them solve a problem or provide valuable knowledge.

Remember, no matter what type of business you have or what industry you’re in -- restaurants, automotive, retail, or salons -- the options for video content are endless! You can feature videos on:

Meet the Team spotlights
Customer feedback and testimonials
Behind-the-scenes footage
Upcoming promotions and events
How-to demonstrations
Product and service highlights
Insider tips
Bloopers / personal stories
Live interviews

When creating your digital content, consider these top 5 tips for video presentation.

Use quality graphics : 85 percent of videos are viewed with the volume off , according to Digiday.
Create video playlists: Make it easy for people to find similar videos.
Add a featured video: You can pin a video to the top of your page to introduce your brand or highlight a new product.
Upload videos directly to Facebook: Native videos give you analytics and better visibility in the feed.
Make sure you have a call to action: Give them something to do after they watch (or during) the video with an on-screen CTA.

A QUALITY INVESTMENT

Although you don’t need top-of-the-line equipment to start making videos for your social campaigns, having quality footage filmed by a professional can be an incredible investment. Once footage is filmed, videos with evergreen content can be shared time and again for maximum reach and varied audiences.

Showcase these videos on your website, YouTube channel, Facebook page, Instagram, in a newsletter, or stream them at a live event.

With an effective digital marketing strategy in place, you can engage your target audience with personalized video campaigns for a truly unforgettable statement.

Your business needs to be smart, shareable and personal. Let’s make that happen.

My First Three Weeks at Assisting You Social

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 16:14:38 GMT

THE NEW INTERN APPEARS

Hello, I am Brandon Placido. I am the new intern at Assisting You Social in Barrie, Ontario.

To be honest, it was quite nerve racking for my first weeks here. But soon enough, I would need to release those nerves and start to show off my skills.

Jim Lowe, who is the Creative Director at Assisting You Social Barrie, is the one guiding me to become a better social media marketer.

On my first day, I had to create my personal Assisting You Social Facebook account which wasn’t too bad.

Easy enough.

But then, I got told to create a “Welcome to the Team Brandon” image that had my face on it:

Using a different photo editor than what we use in school was something I had to get used to – but I know I am going to learn and get better every time.

Over the next few weeks, I developed some visual ads for various Assisting You Social clients that Jim was very impressed with. Of course, he never hesitated to give critical feedback when I needed it – including picking up the pace...

I really do need to speed up.

One cool thing was becoming an editor on Facebook pages for clients such as the Barrie Bombers Jr. C Lacrosse . I can’t wait to see where that will lead me.

Just from being here for the first three days made me realize that I need to be more social and interact more on my -

GASP social media account. Being social on a social media platform…who would have known!

Overall, I am glad that Barbara Lowe, the founder of Assisting You Social, and Jim Lowe are giving me the chance to develop my marketing skills into the professional world. I can’t wait to share more of my experience in the future.

Brandon Placido is the new Spring Intern at Assisting You Social .

He is finishing his 2nd Year in the Advertising and Marketing Communications program at Georgian College.

He can't wait to help your small business connect to customers in a meaningful way.

Assisting You Social is a full-service social media agency servicing all of Canada with offices in Midland and Barrie, Ontario. We create, post, and manage your social media needs to engage and grow your audience.
Check us out at www.assistingyou.social or on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

BLOGGING: How to Effectively Sell Without Selling

Wed, 20 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Customers don’t want to be “sold to”. They want to feel like an important part of your business, not just another number.

In the art of blogging, there are a few strategies to consider if you want to sell your business, brand, products and services without having to actually sell.

Read these two blog post examples on the same blog topic and see which one is most effective. Then read on to learn why!

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Social Media (A)

Whether you’re a brand new start-up or a Fortune 500 company, no-one knows your business better than you. It’s your baby and you want what’s best for it. Endless blood, sweat and tears have gone into getting you where you’re at today -- and you have big, beautiful dreams for the future.

The future is digital and you’re already on Facebook… So throwing up a few social posts each week should be nothing for your team to handle, right? They’re always glued to their phones, anyhow. So why not delegate this task to your Sales Manager or that new summer intern, and continue doing what you love most and do best -- running your business!

But wait… Can social media really be that simple?

What exactly is social media marketing?

Why are people on it 24/7?

Where -- and how -- do you even begin?

Is it worth it for your business to outsource?

If you’re considering launching into the world of social media or outsourcing your social media marketing to someone else, here are 5 reasons to outsource, from an insider’s perspective.

As a business owner looking to thrive in today’s fast-paced digital world, you get that your business needs to be online and are probably ready to take social media seriously. But with a crushing list of “to-do’s” already screaming for your attention, you certainly don’t have the time, drive or energy to take on this social stuff yourself.

If you don’t have a certified and experienced social strategist available in-house, then outsourcing to a professional social media management company like Assisting You Social can be a blessing on multiple fronts. Here’s how.

WE’LL HELP FIND & GROW YOUR TRIBE.

Social media is more than just marketing. It’s about building solid relationships and creating conversations, engaging with your audience regularly, and telling the story of your business and your brand.

As professional marketing strategists with over 60 years of combined experience, our team will help establish presence, trust and loyalty for your company online. We do so by connecting and engaging with your niche audience on the best platforms for your business with targeted, valuable and creative content.

With a detailed digital strategy in place, we’ll streamline your social media efforts to easily find, communicate with, and grow your tribe.
WE’LL TAILOR CONTENT TO YOUR NICHE AUDIENCE.

With different demographics found on each social media platform, each distinct audience responds to and engages with you uniquely. This means your digital content needs to be specifically crafted with each social media platform and each customer avatar in mind.

Assisting You Social hones in on your niche audience and helps elevate your business’ growth through carefully tailored content creation, custom graphics, detailed success reports, social media / reputation management, and personal coaching support.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest…Your audience and their needs are as individual as you are!
WE’LL CREATE A FOCUSED STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS RESULTS.

Imagine you have a team of full-time, certified social media marketers dedicated to taking your organization to the next level. Well, when you outsource to Assisting You Social, you do!

Our company specializes in gaining and engaging audiences through unique, creative and consistent content that delivers exceptional results. Our collaborative team creates magnetic, likeable content for email campaigns, social posts, blogs and so much more.

With a history of developing and executing strategic marketing plans for businesses big and small, we’ll work hard to ensure your business shines online. We keep our client's current and future goals in mind to develop an optimal strategy of posting platforms, frequency, time of day, content style and more.

Why is this important? Because focused strategies lead to serious results for your business.
WE’LL STAY ON TOP OF CHANGES, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO.

As anyone who is on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat will attest, the social media landscape is constantly evolving. Assisting You Social is always on top of the latest industry news to ensure that your content adheres to the Terms of Service and advertising policies of all social platforms. We abide by all copyright laws, for the protection of our clients, and we are fully insured for errors and omissions.

We stay on top of changes, so you don’t have to.
WE’LL GIVE YOU YOUR MONEY’S WORTH, AND MORE.

Could your business use a skilled Content Marketing Strategist, Social Media Marketer, professional Graphic Designer, Web Designer or engaging Creative Writer? How much do you think it would cost to employ each of these staff in-house? YIKES.

When it comes to cost, outsourcing to Assisting You Social’s creative team just makes sense.

Budget-wise, as experts in our field, our team is able to work more effectively and efficiently for you without the overhead costs of a contract employee. We can also produce quality work in a fraction of the time as someone less experienced, and have a full team to pull from when needed.

As pro networkers as well, if you have a unique project in mind that calls for talents outside the norm, we can suggest some highly recommended experts with a reputation for success.

_______________________________________________________

Still not sure if outsourcing your social media marketing is the right fit for you? Have questions? Looking to get started?

Give us a call # 705-300-5565 -- we’re always happy to chat with you.

OR...

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Social Media (B)

Whether you’re a brand new start-up or a Fortune 500 company, no-one knows your business better than you. It’s your baby and you want what’s best for it, right? Endless blood, sweat and tears have gone into getting you where you’re at today -- and you have big, beautiful dreams for the future.

But wait… Can social media really be that simple?

What exactly is social media marketing?

Why are people on it 24/7?

Where -- and how -- do you even begin?

Is it worth it for your business to outsource?

If you’re considering launching into the world of social media or outsourcing your social media marketing to someone else, here are 5 reasons to outsource.

As a business owner looking to thrive in today’s fast-paced digital world, you get that your business needs to be online and are probably ready to take social media seriously. But with a crushing list of “to-do’s” already screaming for your attention, you certainly don’t have the time, drive or energy to take on this social stuff yourself.

If you don’t have a certified and experienced social strategist available in-house, then outsourcing to a professional social media management company can be a blessing on multiple fronts. Here’s how they can help!

FIND & GROW YOUR TRIBE.

Social media is more than just marketing. It’s about building solid relationships and creating conversations, engaging with your audience regularly, and telling the story of your business and your brand.

A dedicated marketing specialist can help establish presence, trust and loyalty for your company online. They do so by connecting and engaging with your niche audience on the best platforms for your business with targeted, valuable and creative content.

With a detailed strategy in place, your social media efforts become streamlined to easily find, communicate with, and grow your tribe.

TAILOR CONTENT TO YOUR NICHE AUDIENCE.

With different demographics found on different social media platforms, each distinct audience responds to and engages with you uniquely. Your digital content needs to be specifically crafted with each social media audience and customer avatar in mind.

Social media strategists have the skills to hone in on your niche audience and help elevate your business’ growth through: carefully tailored content creation, custom graphics, detailed success reports, social media / reputation management, and personal coaching support.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest…Your audience and their needs are as individual as you are!

SERIOUS STRATEGIES FOR SERIOUS RESULTS.

Imagine you have a team of full-time, certified social media marketers dedicated to taking your organization to the next level. When you outsource, you often do!

Social media pros are trained to build and engage your audience through unique, creative and consistent content that delivers exceptional results. They know how to create magnetic, likeable content for email campaigns, social posts, blogs and so much more.

Through developing and executing strategic marketing plans for businesses big and small, outsourced agents are fully dedicated to ensuring your business shines online. They will keep your current and future goals in mind to develop an optimal strategy of posting platforms, frequency, time of day, content style and more.

Why is this important? Because serious strategies lead to serious results for your business.

THEY STAY ON TOP OF CHANGES, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO.

As anyone who is on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat will attest, the social media landscape is constantly evolving. A good social media specialist will always be on top of the latest industry news to ensure that your content adheres to the Terms of Service and advertising policies of all social platforms.

When choosing a company to outsource to, make sure they abide by all copyright laws for the protection of their clients and are fully insured for errors and omissions.

GET YOUR MONEY’S WORTH, AND MORE.

Could your business use a skilled Content Marketing Strategist, Social Media Marketer, professional Graphic Designer, Web Designer or engaging Creative Writer? How much do you think it would cost to employ each of these staff in-house? YIKES.

When it comes to cost, outsourcing your social media marketing just makes sense.

Budget-wise, an outsourced team of pros can work more effectively and efficiently for you without the overhead costs of an employee. As experts in what they do, they can produce quality work in a fraction of the time as someone less experienced, and usually, have a full team to pull from when needed.

Most social media marketers are also pro networkers! So if you have a unique project in mind that calls for talents outside the norm, they may be able to suggest some highly recommended experts with a reputation for success.

Still not sure if outsourcing your social media marketing is the right fit for you? Have questions or looking to get started?

Give us a call # 705-300-5565 -- we’re always happy to chat with you.

So... Which blog writing style do you find most effective?

Comparing the two posts above, example B is definitely the approach to take because it focuses on your ideal client and their specific pain points. Writing for your target client avatar and their unique challenges will demonstrate your quality of expertise and willingness to help, without you having to push for an actual sale. It provides your readers with tangible solutions to address the exact problems they are struggling with and shows you have their best interests in mind.

Brainstorming your next blog post? Follow these two simple steps to masterfully build up and connect with your target audience.

LISTEN & LEARN
In order to know what advice or knowledge people are seeking, you need to ask questions… Then listen intently.

Find out: What keeps your readers up at night?
What do you they want more -- or less -- of?
What challenges do they have with a particular product or service?

The best way to know what your community is struggling with is to ask the hard questions. Then put on your listening ears, and throw on your detective hat. Hop online and scour through comments on social media, chat groups, and industry forums. Poll or survey your followers. Remember to chat with your offline community, too!

After noting the biggest issues your customers are losing sleep over, you can then craft dazzling, informative blog posts sharing your expertise on those topics, with tangible solutions and skillful advice.

Your readers will find the answers they are seeking through you -- and you’ll also drive search engines to your blog, naturally.
SHARE YOUR STORY
The better you understand your audience, the easier it is to create blog topics and social media content that connects with your community on a deeper, emotional level.

It’s proven that buying is an emotional experience and that people buy from you because they like and trust YOU.

You have a unique perspective and story to share in your own voice, message and tone. Be confident in your abilities and share your journey as only you can.

Exposing personal vulnerability with your audience helps build credibility, reputation and trust in you (and your company), without you having to actually sell yourself. Each time you respond to a comment or review online, engage with your followers at events or in forums, and truly show up for your tribe, that relationship is strengthened.

In each blog post you write, remind your readers that you truly understand their struggles -- because you have been in their shoes and have the answers they are seeking -- and you’ll turn those occasional customers into loyal ambassadors for your brand with each experience entrusted to them.

Bottom line? Blogs are for them; not you. When planning your digital marketing strategies, instead of using your blog to sell your brand or services or write for SEO, transform it to be an indispensable platform for sharing your story, building relationships, and connecting with your community.

Social media was invented as an incredible way to interact with one another and create connections through community. Put the social back in social media!

Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms to Reach Your Target Market

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 16:45:53 GMT

In today’s busy world of entrepreneurs and small business owners, I know how difficult it can be to prioritize and wear all the hats for daily operations, while also finding the time to manage your business’ social media presence most effectively.

Every day, business owners strive for success and ease. Excelling in your profession, managing a team, building a reputation of first-class products/service and support, and hopefully finding some sort of work-life balance (is that a real thing?).

I mean, you want to do it all -- and handle it “like a boss” -- am I right?

Well, a wise man named David Allen once said: “You can do anything, but not everything.”

Our interpretation of this is:

"You can do anything, but not everything all at once."

As with all things in life, laser focus is the key. Keenly focusing on the end game, your target audience, their pain points, how your product or service will help them, and how you will get there is what will bring optimal success.

STEP 1: FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS
In your social strategy planning, choose just one or two social media platforms to focus on that will allow you to best engage with your target demographic. Create custom content for that audience. Build a following.

Once you are confident in those platforms, consider branching out to other applicable social media platforms.

When deciding on the best social media platform(s) to effectively engage with your unique audience, be sure to take these varying demographics into careful consideration. They'll help you find YOUR tribe!

FACEBOOK - 1.8 billion monthly users, even mix of genders, most Gen-X (39-53). Decline in teens using Facebook now, due to popularity of YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat for this age group.
Best posts to share: personal content, building relationships by asking questions, blog posts, creative contests.

TWITTER - 317 million monthly users, slightly higher income than Facebook ($50-75K+), younger users (16-29).
Best posts to share: short and sweet video clips, real-time events, how-to videos, trending articles with images/videos, product teasers, infographics, user-generated content.

INSTAGRAM / SNAPCHAT - audience skews very young (18-29), lower income range than Facebook, skews female, visually-based, lots of influencers to connect with.
Best posts to share: quotes over photos, insider or behind-the-scenes content, how-to series, personal stories, influencer marketing collaborations.

YOUTUBE - broad demographic (one of the biggest by population and popularity, audience ranges 18-34 and age 75+), mobile viewers.
Best posts to share: testimonial or product review videos, how-to demos, community events, influencer marketing collaborations, pranks/comedies.

LINKEDIN - LinkedIn skews more male, higher income ($75K+), business based, ages are across the board but younger people using for different reasons (job search and networking).
Best posts to share: curated content, industry news, professional expertise, business tips.

ALIGNABLE - Alignable may be a considerably new platform but it certainly deserves a mention. This networking platform focuses on community and knowledge sharing, connecting business owners to each other and the resources they need to succeed.
Best posts to share: curated content, industry news, professional expertise, business tips.

Once you know which social platform is preferred by your niche audience, then you can create custom content to engage with them in a way that best captures their attention and creates a relationship with your unique business and brand. Because, don’t forget, social media is about being social.

Don’t forget to have fun with it!

Assisting You Social is a full-service social media agency servicing all of Canada with offices in Midland and Barrie, Ontario. We create, post, and manage your business’ social media needs to engage and grow your audience -- which gives you time to focus on the things you do best.

If you’re overwhelmed by your business’ social media management, we’d love to help! Assisting You Social takes the stress out of social media by taking care of it all for you.

Check us out at www.assistingyou.social or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How to Choose a Social Media Marketing Firm

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 19:55:43 GMT

Pricepoint should be the determining factor in your search for the right social media company.

NOT. While it’s perfectly acceptable to have a budget in mind to invest in your social strategy (in fact, it’s wise to have one) there is a big difference between cheap services and value-centric services.

With so many social media and digital marketing companies popping up, it can be difficult to know which one to reach out to. We’ve put together a list of some of the credentials you should look for when you’re ready to outsource your social media to a professional.

Longevity: Social Media marketing has only been around for a few years, so many of the companies you see online are brand new in the field. About 50% of small businesses fail within their first five years. Choose a company that has some history behind it.
Experience: Each industry has its unique needs, customers and voice. Be sure that the company you pick has experience with your type of business. Creating strategy and content for plumbers is very different than it is for massage therapists.
Commitment: While it may be tempting to enlist a friend or family member who’d love to try their hand at social media for a low cost, if it’s not their full-time gig, or if they’re volunteering their time, it won’t be long before your business plan is at the bottom of their priority list. Not to mention, your brand is on the line. Without the proper skills and tools, a non-professional social media marketer could do more damage to your business than good.
Insurance: It’s possible that a very minor and human mistake could cause significant damage or loss of money or business for you. It’s important that you use a company covered by errors & omissions insurance, or professional liability.
Square Peg, Round Hole: Your business is unique. Many companies will try to fit you into one of their templated services. Sometimes this may work. What usually performs better is when a company listens to your needs and comes up with a strategy and content that’s customized to your individual requirements and goals.
Communication: Do they listen to your needs? Do they get back to you in a timely fashion? Do they provide progress reports? Do they ask questions to understand the voice of your brand?
Cost: This one’s always tricky. A good social media marketing company doesn’t have to break the bank, however, you’re more likely to reach your goals faster with a larger budget. A good rule of thumb is to set aside 10% of your sales revenue to invest in your overall marketing. Search for a company which offers value for your investment specific to your needs.

Much of what a great social media or digital marketing company does is listen. We listen to you, our client, we listen to what’s going on in your industry, we listen to your audience and we listen to what the stats tell us. We use our marketing expertise to devise and implement successful strategies to grow your business. Social media marketing is a wise investment for any size business, but like with any investment, making an informed decision is important.

As for the ROI (return on investment) for social media marketing? They say that without it, your business won’t be here 5 years from now.

Assisting You Social is a full-service social media agency servicing all of Canada with offices in Midland and Barrie, Ontario.
We create, post, and manage your social media needs to engage and grow your audience.
Check us out at www.assistingyou.social or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What a week for Assisting You Social!

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 20:26:14 GMT

Dynamic Duo Earning Accolades Around The Globe

It has been quite the few days for the brother & sister duo behind Assisting You Social, Central Ontario's leading provider of social media management to small and medium organizations!

Last week, founder Barbara Lowe traveled to Thailand as a featured presenter at the 2018 BNI Global Conference in Bangkok. Barbara received accolades for her social media savvy from members of the BNI leadership team along with members of the huge audience made up of business owners from across the planet!

With this massively successful presentation behind her, Barbara is heading next to Australia, where she will embark on a speaking tour. Barbara will be visiting a number of BNI Chapters "Down Under" to talk about social media strategies for small business owners.

Closer to home, Assisting You Social Creative Director Jim Lowe was in Niagara Falls to receive a special honour from the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Jim was named as the individual who had done the most to promote the game of lacrosse within their zone/area and across the Province of Ontario. Whether it is for his clients or lacrosse, Jim never seems to be out of promotion mode!

Assisting You Social takes the stress out of social media by taking care of it all for you. To get the dynamic social media duo of Barbara & Jim Lowe promoting your business, drop us a line via https://www.assistingyou.ca/contact .

If It Looks Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 18:11:20 GMT

How to avoid getting fooled on Facebook

If something on the internet looks too good to be true, especially on Facebook, then it very likely is. Mark Zuckerberg donates millions of dollars to charity but not because you liked and shared a picture of a sick baby. Apple is one of the world’s most successful companies but they didn’t get that way by raffling off stacks of “overstocked’ iPads. Costco, Home Depot and WalMart aren’t giving away $25 gift cards just for saying thank you. These popular scams are just a few of the ways that internet con artists are preying on our emotional, trusting sides in an attempt to steal personal information or spread viruses and malware. We’re here to tell you how to spot these bogus posts and what to do if you fall prey to the latest Facebook scam.

HOW IT WORKS

These scammers might be criminals, but no one ever said that they were stupid. By asking you to like/share/tag a friend in a post, they are making sure that more and more people see and answer their plea. Once you have liked their page you will also be subject to their future posts in your newsfeed, which will contain even more spam or malware. The crooks will also collect information from any other users who interacted with the post or page in order to carry out their dirty work.

HOW TO SPOT THEM

While we mentioned that scammers aren’t stupid, they aren’t always careful. Unfortunately, neither are we when we immediately click “like” and start packing for our free Disney Cruise. All it takes to spot a fake is a bit of research. Here are a few key things to look for.

SPELLING & GRAMMAR - Brand image is everything to major companies. There is no way that they are going to let a post full of spelling and grammatical errors go out to the public. Fake profiles or pages will also often have extra punctuation in the name, like Samsung with a period at the end, or extra spaces and dashes.

ONLINE PRESENCE - How long has the page been online? How many followers does it have? How many posts have they made? Legitimate companies will have a strong presence. Fake pages come and go quickly, so they won’t have the history needed to back them up. Also be sure to check the corporate website. Any major promotions or giveaways will be listed there.

CHECK THE WEBSITE ADDRESS BEFORE YOU CLICK - If Coca-Cola wants to give you something, they will direct you to www.coca-cola.com , not a sketchy URL for a phishing site. Check before you click by hovering your mouse over the Facebook photo and the URL will appear in the bottom corner. Facebook may add some identifying numbers or letters but the alleged company’s actual name should still be there.

GOOD = www.coca-cola.com/abc123

BAD = www.abc123cocacola.com

HOW TO GET RID OF THEM

So you fell for it and clicked the post, liked the page, tagged your best friends and neighbours. It’s ok. It’s happened to the best of us. You just need to do a little damage control. Unlike the post and page. Delete your tags and shares. Change your Facebook password. If you see anyone else sharing it, warn them to do the same. Keep an eye out for any odd friend requests or emails. When in doubt, delete it.

"Summer's my busy time, I can't do social media"

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 17:48:23 GMT

You’re so busy in the summer you barely have time to read this. But you are because you know there are some great tidbits in this newsletter that can help your business thrive. Did you know that now is the perfect time to gather content for new customers to view? It is! Your schedule may be overloaded at the moment, but if you want to keep those jobs coming all year long, now is the time to make that happen.

The bulk of your business might come in the summer, but people still need your services throughout the year. They’re going to be looking online for the right company – your company, so why not give them something great to see! This summer, while providing your customers with amazing products and services, consider taking pictures to post later on social media or your website. Potential customers LOVE seeing samples of your workmanship. Snap pictures of the tools you use, before/after shots and your team. Simple how-to videos are extremely popular and easily created with your phone when you’re on the job site. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just hit that record button and explain how to solve a common problem that you run into in your industry. Do you work with people from complimentary professions? (like a realtor working with a mortgage broker or electrician with a plumber) Interview them! Again, this doesn’t have to be formal, just ask them easy questions like “What’s the most common problem you run into” or “How have the industry standards changed”. You’ll be surprised how many people actually enjoy talking about their job, even on camera.

Over the summer you’ll acquire some great material. Once things slow down a bit, start posting the images and videos on your website or social media platforms. Stats show that about 92% of all purchase decisions are starting with online research now. When you have a solid internet presence which showcases your professionalism, people see you as an authority in your field, someone they can trust, and make the decision to contact you.

If you have any questions about the impact that social media marketing can have on your business, feel free to contact Assisting You at 705-300-5565 or info@assistingyou.ca

How Social Media can Ruin your Vacation

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 15:09:57 GMT

It's not just friends who see your online social activity

There may still be snow on the ground, but with the school holidays just around the corner, many families are already talking about their summer vacation plans. After a recent conversation with Kevin Leonard from Huronia Alarms , I thought I’d share an important warning about how to use social media before, during, and after your vacation.

You wouldn’t stand on the street corner with a sign saying that your house will be empty for the next two weeks, so why broadcast that on social media?

When I first joined Facebook, most of my “friends” were actual friends and family – people whom I trusted and spoke with regularly. Over time, I started adding more casual acquaintances, former classmates, parents of my kids’ friends, networking colleagues – you get the picture. Even though I have my privacy settings pretty locked down, hundreds and hundreds of people can see anything that I post. Do I really want so many people knowing that my home might be unattended while I’m relaxing at a friend’s cottage or following my favourite band while they tour Australia & New Zealand ?

Unfortunately, Kevin has witnessed first hand how thieves used social media posts to target empty homes while the owners unwittingly continued to share updates about their vacation fun. While those families were lucky enough to be protected by Kevin’s company, thousands of families fall victim to these sort of crimes across North America every year.

Avoid using social media to post specifics about future vacation plans or “live updates” from your vacation. It’s not worth the risk and, trust me, your friends & followers really aren’t waiting with bated breath for your 18th ocean selfie.

Here are some ways that you can protect yourself from being targeted via social media while on vacation.

1) Never use “check-ins” on Facebook, Four Square or other services to identify your house! Avoid using check-in’s at vacation destinations (or even places like a local night club) if doing so might tell thieves that your home is empty.

2) Choose your “friends” wisely and ensure that your privacy settings are properly set-up. If you have public profiles on Twitter or other platforms, keep personal information to a bare minimum.

3) Never “Boast-Post” about your plans. Showing off your airline tickets and boarding pass, or even details about the hotel you’re staying at, not only gives thieves information about when you’ll be away, it could also give them access to your personal information .

4) Consider sharing non-holiday related or scheduled posts to make it seem like you are at home and in your normal routine.

5) Wait until you get home before sharing those photos of the bear invading your campsite or your husband posing with the World’s Largest Sturgeon .

6) If possible, use a house sitter and have a monitored alarm system in place.

Enjoy your vacation plans this year everyone. Be smart, be safe, unplug and don’t worry about letting everyone know your plans. Your audience will be just as interested hearing about your plans when you get home!

Barbara Lowe is the owner of Assisting You, Central Ontario’s leading social media marketing & engagement firm. As much as she wishes, following Iron Maiden across Australia this May is not in her current vacation plans. Or maybe it is, and this is just a clever deception!

Why the heck isn't your Small Business on LinkedIn?

jlowe@hirefx.com (Jim Lowe) — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 15:58:15 GMT

What separates LinkedIn from Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter is the business focus.

If you already have a LinkedIn account, congratulations, you get to jump past this intro and go directly to “ The Good Stuff ”! As for the rest of you (frankly, the folks that really need to read this article), why the heck aren’t you on LinkedIn ?

LinkedIn is a business oriented Social Media network. ( Hey – I heard that groan as you thought to yourself, “another damn Social Media network to worry about”. Stop complaining – this is important! ). LinkedIn has been around for more than a decade and has more than 400 million users worldwide.

What separates LinkedIn from Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter is the business focus. Whereas businesses are essentially “advertising” to users on other Social Media platforms (who are there for non-business reasons), the very soul of LinkedIn is “business networking”.

Put simply, LinkedIn allows you to get in front of other business people, making it a powerful tool for marketing, networking, and employee recruitment. To get on LinkedIn, you need to set-up a personal account. Once you’ve done so, you can also set-up a page for your business.

The Good Stuff (AKA How to “do” LinkedIn the right way)

Welcome back to all of you LinkedIn Vets who skipped ahead! Hope you weren’t waiting around too long for the rest of my readers to get caught up!

So, you’re on LinkedIn but, as a small business owner, are you using it effectively? There are four key, free tools & practices that I always encourage small business owners to focus on with LinkedIn; Company Pages, Updates, LinkedIn Pulse (Blogging), and Virtual Networking.

Company Pages

I’m always shocked at how many small business owners simply set-up a personal account and fail to take the next step of setting up a Company Page. Even part-time businesses and Solopreneurs can benefit from setting up a company page. Here’s why:

Added credibility to your personal profile. Having a company page means that, when you list it in your personal profile, your corporate logo appears in your experience section. If a user clicks on the company name, they are taken to your company page, rather than the default search page.
Strong analytics. Company pages provide you with information about the reach and engagement of your posts. This includes detailed demographics (Industry, Seniority, Company Size, etc.) of your readers so that you can quickly understand if you are reaching the RIGHT people.
Enhanced online presence. With the ability to include detailed company information and media-rich updates, LinkedIn Company Pages are a fabulous, free resource for getting your brand in front of new customers.

Updates

LinkedIn Updates are ideal for sharing relevant articles or short updates. Regularly posting articles related to your industry or profession shows that you are both active and informed about what you do. Just remember, keep it professional and save the personal posts for Facebook!

LinkedIn Pulse (Now retired...sort of)

Pulse was the name of LinkedIn’s blogging interface and RSS Newsfeed app. They sadly retired the app in 2015 and have been slowly removing the Newsfeed functionality over time. The excellent publishing tools are still there and provide an opportunity for you to expose your articles to a much larger audience.

If you’re not blogging for your small business, you should be . If you are blogging, don’t miss out on this great opportunity to have your writing reach both your network and a broader audience by publishing on LinkedIn. Your posts are automatically added to your personal profile (adding to your credibility) and can be shared to your Company Page for extra exposure. As with Company Pages, you’ll also get detailed analytics and demographics so that you can better understand who is actually reading your work.

Virtual Networking

As a business person, you are probably a member of several networking groups.

Whether it is a BNI, industry group, or local networking association ( Marketing Masterminds , Small Business Connect , etc.), you are meeting people all the time. Quickly connecting with new contacts on LinkedIn establishes an immediate connection, gives you additional details about who they are / what they do, and opens the door for following-up with them. Try to develop the habit of immediately checking LinkedIn when adding a new person to your contacts.

Ready to set-up a LinkedIn Company page but not sure where to start?

Don’t have the time or interest to do so, even though the benefits are clear? Assisting You is here to help. We offer managed Social Media content plans including LinkedIn page set-up, management, and blogging (including to LinkedIn & Facebook Notes) on your behalf. Contact us today at 1-866-776-9376 / info@assistingyou.ca for more information.

Jim Lowe is Assisting You’s Champagne Supernova of Social Media Content. Jim helps your small business connect to customers by writing and designing content that speaks with your voice. He can be reached at at 1-866-776-9376 / jim@assistingyou.ca .

Nope. Loblaws is not giving you $100.

jlowe@hirefx.com (Jim Lowe) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 21:32:21 GMT

Now stop spamming my Facebook newsfeed!

Last week, my Facebook newsfeed suddenly filled up with lots of friends saying “Thanks” to Loblaws and sharing a link on their walls for a “Free” $100 Loblaws gift card.

Although the good folks at Loblaws quickly released a statement confirming that the promotion was bogus , the damage was done – thousands of unwitting users had fallen for the bogus contest and provided their contact details to the online scammers.

How the scam works

Loblaws is simply the latest company to have their brand exploited by this common scheme. I’ve seen the same scam run using dozens of brands including Tim Hortons, Costco and (perhaps most famously) Apple. There are two key parts of the ploy.

The first part of the scam is good, old-fashioned “ Like Farming ”. Unlike Twitter, Facebook doesn’t simply feed you a real-time stream of news, instead using a complex algorithm to provide you with content that it believes you want to see. Two key factors in that algorithm are popularity (likes) and engagement (shares / comments). So, by requiring users to like/share/comment, the scammers increase the popularity of their post, exposing it to even more users who then also like/share/comment, generating even more popularity until, suddenly, it feels like half the people you know are thanking Loblaws for a bloody gift card that doesn’t exist.

Like Farming doesn’t just create temporary noise in newsfeeds. Consumer Affairs noted last year that, “once the page has a sufficiently high popularity rating, the like-farmer either removes the page's original content and replaces it with something else (usually malware or scam advertising); leaves the page as is and uses it as a platform for continued like-farming in order to spread malware, collect people's marketing information or engage in other harmful activities; or outright sells the highly liked site to cybercriminals in a black market web forum.”

Part two of the scam is where things go from annoying to invasive. Clicking the actual link takes the user to a survey (or often a series of surveys) asking for detailed personal information such as telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and date of birth. News flash – that info isn’t going to Loblaws, unless that’s the name of the Russian hacker maintaining the offshore database!Next come the “Reward Offers”, items that you must purchase, sign up for, or subscribe to in order to remain eligible for the gift card. These offers can wind up costing more than the value of the gift card which, of course, you’ll never actually get anyway. As Snopes.com reminds readers, “often such adventures in clickjacking also result in the download of trojans and other viruses onto the computers of those looking to score the promised goodies”.

How to protect yourself

A frustrating side-effect of fake gift card spam is that it makes people question the validity of any promotion that they see on Facebook. That’s a shame, because there are many awesome giveaways on Facebook. Heck, Assisting You helps clients run social media contests and giveaways all the time! The good news is that a little common sense can allow you to participate in valid Facebook promotions without becoming a victim of the latest FaceCROOK scam .

Be wary of promotions that rely on “Like Farming”. Facebook’s page guidelines explicitly ban the use of Personal Timelines and Friend Connections to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend's Timeline to get additional entries”, and "tag your friends in this post to enter"). Many small businesses unwittingly break this rule all the time but national chains do not. If the promotion requires you to share the post on your timeline, proceed with caution!
Check the source and cross-check the company’s official page. The funniest part of the Loblaw’s fraud was that the promotion was in celebration of the company’s 50th Anniversary. The thing is, Loblaws was founded in 1919, not 1966. The lack of any mention of the anniversary – OR THE CONTEST – on the real Loblaws page should have been a huge red flag.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Facebook has approximately 14 million daily Canadian users. If even 10% of those folks took advantage of the offer, the cost to Loblaws would be $140 million. I know that Galen Weston is a charitable fellow , but come on!
When in doubt, Snopes is your friends. If you aren’t sure if a contest is valid, online resources such as Snopes and Facecrooks are a great resource.

Help solve the problem by reporting suspected scams to Facebook.

Even if you share this article (sorry, no Assisting You gift card for doing so!), some of your friends won’t read it. Some of them will continue to get hooked in by the lure of “free” stuff, blindly hand over their credit card information, and giddily fill your newsfeed with their gullibility. Here’s the thing. Every single post in your newsfeed (or on a page) has a small arrow in the top right corner. Clicking that arrow gives you the option to report the post and allows Facebook to quickly deal with the scammers. The more people who do so, the faster the specific scam disappears. Just like Whack-a-Mole!

Jim Lowe is Assisting You’s Blogging and Social Media Content Specialist. Jim helps your small business connect to customers by writing and designing content that speaks with your voice. Contact him today at jim@assistingyou.ca / 1-866-776-9376.

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In today’s blog post we’re sharing simple, actionable steps to help your business rock social media and connect with your audience the right way.

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EXPERIENCING MY FIRST BNI MEETING & LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES

*DING*

*DING*

*DING*

Yes, a couple of people went over their time limit. But we didn't mind. They were simply eager to share what was happening with their business.

The main theme that stuck with me in the BNI Business By the Bay meeting was how failure should be seen as a positive, not a negative.

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*GASP* social media account. Being social on a social media platform…who would have known!

BLOGGING: How to Effectively Sell Without Selling

Customers don’t want to be “sold to”. They want to feel like an important part of your business, not just another number.

In the art of blogging, there are a few strategies to consider if you want to sell your business, brand, products and services without having to actually sell.

Read these two blog post examples on the same blog topic and see which one is most effective. Then read on to learn why!

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Social Media (A)

OR...

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Social Media (B)

So... Which blog writing style do you find most effective?

Brainstorming your next blog post? Follow these two simple steps to masterfully build up and connect with your target audience.

Bottom line? Blogs are for them; not you. When planning your digital marketing strategies, instead of using your blog to sell your brand or services or write for SEO, transform it to be an indispensable platform for sharing your story, building relationships, and connecting with your community.

Social media was invented as an incredible way to interact with one another and create connections through community. Put the social back in social media!

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"You can do anything, but not everything all at once."

As with all things in life, laser focus is the key. Keenly focusing on the end game, your target audience, their pain points, how your product or service will help them, and how you will get there is what will bring optimal success.

When deciding on the best social media platform(s) to effectively engage with your unique audience, be sure to take these varying demographics into careful consideration. They'll help you find YOUR tribe!

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If It Looks Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is

How to avoid getting fooled on Facebook

"Summer's my busy time, I can't do social media"

How Social Media can Ruin your Vacation

It's not just friends who see your online social activity

You wouldn’t stand on the street corner with a sign saying that your house will be empty for the next two weeks, so why broadcast that on social media?

Avoid using social media to post specifics about future vacation plans or “live updates” from your vacation. It’s not worth the risk and, trust me, your friends & followers really aren’t waiting with bated breath for your 18th ocean selfie.

Why the heck isn't your Small Business on LinkedIn?

When times are good, you should advertise.

When times are bad, you MUST

DING

DING

DING

GASP social media account. Being social on a social media platform…who would have known!