That said, there are some times when it is well worth it to spend a little extra on a tool that helps you make money. But, if you are still small and need some help, these companies have got your back with an awesome free tool.

There is no order to this list, but I can assure you that I have used all of these and they are 100% free for the basic functions.

Media Creation

In order to advertise, you need to be able to create slick media. This is not just for print ads, but social media as well as email or Whatsapp campaigns.

Canva

Canva is free and has loads of free templates for all social channels, print designs, and even animated posts. It is easy to use and can make your content look like it has a professional touch. https://www.canva.com/

Stock Images

Pixabay and Pexels are my go-to for free images. Pexels also has some stock videos for you to use. I currently pay a subscription for Adobe stock. After a while, you start to see other advertisers use the same free stock images and I prefer my content to be different. These 2 are great for free images and videos.

Video editor

While on the topic, I use iMovie on the iPhone to edit and create video content. There is a debate still going between Android and iOS, but for a content creator, iPhone has amazing tools on board that allow you to create 4K video with no subscriptions and no watermarks. Even a slideshow video with music will take seconds and look amazing. Here is a sample from a few photos and videos on my phone. (If you’re on a budget, get an older iPhone with larger storage capacity)

Video Messages

Soapbox is a Chrome add-on that allows you to record yourself and your screen simultaneously to send a personalised video presentation. I use it all the time and it is amazing.

Social Media tools

There are a few scheduling and posting tools available. Facebook’s Creator Studio is an excellent tool to manage Facebook and Instagram pages. You can find it on the Facebook page menu.

For other social channels, I use Buffer. It can post to multiple channels and you can schedule pretty far in advance. For LinkedIn content, it doesn’t keep the same aspect ratio for your images so you need to plan your media carefully. It will also shorten links automatically for you.

Website tools

The best website tool I suggest for any business is Google Analytics. If you don’t have any tracking installed you are missing out on a wealth of information to improve your business.

URL Builder

If you have analytics you can use UTM codes in your links to track the campaigns. Google has a good one here.

Website Chat

A website chat is an amazing way to encourage people to contact you while on the site. Often people get lost (or lazy) and don’t want to look through the site for what they want. Using a chat function means they can ask the question with ease.

Tawk is a live chat that you can respond by using an app on your phone or with your browser.

Facebook has a chat function that links to Facebook Messenger. I have used Google’s Dialogflow to build an automated chatbot within Facebook Messenger. This is definitely for the advanced user.

CRM Tools

Without a doubt, Hubspot is my go-to for CRM. The free functions are so useful with add-ons for Gmail, Outlook and Google Chrome. They also can extract lead data from Facebook and LinkedIn lead ads and add them directly to your CRM.

I use Mailchimp for my bulk emails. Under the free package, you get enough functionality to maintain a good list for emails. I pay a small fee per month for the basic package and have automation campaigns, and a free website and domain. The website function is quite limited though. I stick to WordPress for my customers.

Zapier helps me move my contacts instantly from Hubspot to Mailchimp. This means I can automate campaigns from Facebook to Hubspot, to Mailchimp and initiate a series of emails without touching a thing. (I love technology)

I’ve also recently started using Calendly to schedule meetings. I’m new to this one so if there is a better tool on the market let me know.

Whatsapp Business is almost exactly like private Whatsapp but you can have an automated response and template responses for frequently asked questions. You can also get a link for people to message you instantly. Click here to send me a Whatsapp and try for yourself.

Get help

You might not always have time to manage these marketing efforts and that’s where I come in. You can visit my website here, to see the services that can help grow your business.

Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get information and tips like this direct to your inbox.

The post Best Free Marketing Tools -Tested appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

So when I decided to start an agency, I want to practice what I preach, and share the journey with my customers. After all, you won’t buy shoes from a barefoot cobbler will you?

So here goes; here is the Facebook page and below are the basics of building an audience.

Complete the basics

There is a bare minimum of information and media you need to add to Facebook pages. Very simply they are;

1. Contact information
2. Small, Square logo for the profile picture
3. Landscape image for the page header
4. Your Website address

If any of the above are missing, your page looks incomplete.

Add some content

Before you get going, post some content to beef up your page. If anyone views your page with only one post you run the risk of looking like a one-hit-wonder. We have some content ideas for you here.

Invite your friends

The next step is to invite your friends. This will beef up your page likes a bit to add a little credibility. I choose to invite only relevant friends or those who will support the page. You don’t want to SPAM everyone but don’t be shy either.

At the time of writing the page is sitting on 12 likes. Lets see how fast we can grow this page.

(I have chosen NOT to invite a lot of friends because I want to show you how you can grow your Facebook Page with real customers)

Promote the content

If you want fast growth, you are going to have to put some money into advertising the page. Facebook have a number of promotional options for you to use. I am going to focus on using two of them for now; Boosting content and Promoting the page.

Currently I have a post being boosted for 5 days at R150 in total for the campaign. You can see the results after 3 days in.

I’ve chosen to boost a post before promoting the page because I also want to drive traffic to the website where I aim to collect newsletter subscribers.

The next step will be to Promote the page. This is where Facebook works to grow your page audience.

Post Regularly

You will need to be consistent in your posting and the content. There are scheduling tools to help you do this, or consider making use of service providers (like me) to ensure you have regular posts on the page.

There are also steps you need to take to grow your audience organically.

If you have a current Facebook page that you are struggling to get off the ground, like and follow the mediaholic marketing Facebook page. You can also sign up for the newsletter to receive updates and statistics to your inbox as well.

The post Facebook pages: The First Steps appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

1. ​How many people have interacted with your brand at least once on Facebook
2. ​It shows credibility to new visitors

​Here are some things you can do to grow your Facebook audience organically;​

Post regularly​

Keeping your page active will keep eyes on your content and your brand. The more you post, the more likely it is that people will share your posts to their own audience, exposing your brand to others. Often, new viewers relate to a post and will like the post or your page​.

​Invite people

Facebook allows you to invite your friends to like your page. Which is a good start, although not a sustainable approach to growth. You can also invite people who react to your posts. This means that if a person interacts with a post of yours, you can see this and invite them to like the page. 

Ask people to check in​

Ask your customers to check in when they are at your business​. Offer gifts or freebies to people who do so. This will get your brand out there in front of more people, enticing them to like you as well. 

Share user content and feedback​

Has someone posted about your products or services? Share that on your page. Show them the appreciation and recognition that they showed you and thank them publicly for it. ​This will put your post in front of their friends who may not be part of your Facebook audience. 

Ask them to review

A review goes a long way in establishing credibility. Ask your customers to leave a review. Let them be honest and say good or bad things. Respond to every review thanking them for feedback. If it is negative, share your lesson publicly and be grateful for the feedback. If it is positive, thank the customer and show gratitude publicly. More ratings mean your page is show before others in Facebook searches. 

Offer an Incentive​​

I was recently at a restaurant that offered a free dessert if you checked in and showed the waiter. People love a freebie, and are very happy to be part of the experience if there is something in it for them. The best part of this is that it doesn’t have to be an expensive offer to your business, but must be worthwhile to the customer. Offering something that is too cheap will be treated with disdain. ​​

Give more than you ask​ for

In your posts, make sure you are giving more to your customers than selling to them. People are not on Facebook to be sold to, they want to be entertained and taught. If most of your content can fit into that bracket, then people will engage with it. The more relevant it is, the more people will see it and share it. ​

Also Read: Content Ideas for Any Business

ALWAYS have a call to action

​Every post you make should have some call to action for the viewer. A simple comment added to the end of the post “Hit the like button if you want to see more of this” or asking them to follow your page, or visit your website for more. In posts where you are selling, you will add actual products or information as well. In post that you are not selling, give them the option to ​learn more with ease. 

Visit our Facebook Page here

Don’t be shy to boost posts either. It is an inexpensive way of getting your content in front of many people and quickly. 

Want more like this? Sign up for our newsletter and follow our page growth direct to your inbox every week.

The post 8 Ways to Grow Your Facebook Audience appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

We’ve taken a simple approach to ensure we never run out of content ideas for our social media posts. Here are some content types that you may find easy to source or generate

Other people’s content

A quick and easy share is an industry article, or a how to video that is based around your product or service. These are always useful and by sharing the content, you not only provide something useful to your customer, but also to the generator of the content.

Behind the Scenes

A photo or video of what is going on behind the scenes can be created quickly using your mobile phone. This kind of media does not need to be fancy or well produced, just genuine.

Success Stories

Has a customer done well with your product or service? Tell that story. If they are willing to share the story and perhaps a photo or video then it serves as a testimonial for your business as well.

Also Read: Digital Performance analysed: YouTube vs Facebook vs LinkedIn

How to

How-To content is very popular in the internet age. How-to videos have seen a rise in popularity on all video platforms. This kind of content also serves as advertising for the products being used.

Memes

People love a good laugh. If you have a meme, or funny video related to your product or services then share that. If it hits the mark then people will also share it which is a win.

Seasons Greetings

There are many festivals, religious days, and days of observance that you can generate quick posts with well-wishes for that part of the audience.

Make use of tools like Canva and Buffer to design and schedule your posts well in advance so that you don’t have to focus on it all the time. Remember to add a call-to-action on every post.

(If you don’t have the time to post regularly, consider using our Social Management Services to do it for you.)

The post Content Ideas for any Business appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

YouTube has always been the go-to video platform to upload video. Many pages then share this video as a link in a social post. It makes some sense to try and keep the metrics in one place but the reality is that you don’t get the views you are after by sharing a link.

Different Platforms, Different Audiences

Each social media platform has its own unique audience, and it’s important to understand the behavior and preferences of each audience in order to effectively reach them. By posting directly on each platform, you can tailor your content to the specific audience, increasing your chances of engagement and to maximize the video reach.

The Numbers

To determine which method will most impact the video reach I ran an experiment. A video was uploaded to YouTube and then Shared to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with a collective follower base of almost 10,000. A similar video was then uploaded to each social platform individually as well as to YouTube. (at the time of writing out Instagram page was not up as yet

The videos in question were both around 3 minutes in length with similar headlines and call to actions. Shorter video gets even MORE views on Facebook and LinkedIn.

By posting directly on each platform, you can increase your reach and engagement, as each platform has its own algorithm for distributing content. By creating original content specifically for each platform, you increase the chances of your content being seen by your target audience.

Optimized Video Content

Each social media platform has different specifications for video content, such as length, format, and aspect ratio. By posting directly on each platform, you can ensure that your videos are optimized for each specific platform, providing the best possible viewing experience for your audience.

On Platform Wins. Every Time

While this means marketers need to upload video to multiple platforms, in the end it is worth the effort. The social platforms have designed their algorithms to put organic content in front of the user before external content.

If you have a big budget, you can boost posts and drive traffic to your YouTube video. But being smart about it, you can get a higher return on your investment by posting directly to all the platforms.

In conclusion, posting videos directly on each social media platform, rather than relying on sharing YouTube links, is the best way to maximize your reach and engagement. By understanding the unique audience and specifications of each platform, you can tailor your content for maximum impact and drive results for your business.

Do you want to have great quality video for your marketing campaigns? Contact us today.

The post Maximizing Reach with Direct Video Posts on Social Media appeared first on mediaholic marketing.