by tocpr | Nov 8, 2021 | Social Media, Social Media Marketing
The key to operating a successful social media account is to be intentional with everything.
We all want to grow our social audience, with not just a general audience but a targeted audience.
Because, what’s the point in operating a coffee roaster’s social media account and garnering followers who don’t even like coffee?
We, as professionals, can use so many social media tactics to maximize our engagement and build our list of followers who support our mission and business.
Here are the top four tips we’ve compiled to build an audience that will strengthen your engagement and lead to a sale or new client.
Utilize tailored hashtags
Hashtags are so important on all social media platforms these days…yes, even on Facebook.
If you want to grow a niche audience, one of the easiest ways to do so is to use a handful of targeted hashtags in your captions.
Using the coffee roasters example again, search the most popular coffee-related hashtags in your search bar and use the top five, but only if the hashtags make sense to the content you are posting. Remember, be intentional.
When you use those top hashtags, your content will be included in a feed featuring only coffee content where coffee enthusiasts will be skimming through.
Follow similar accounts
Often, people are nervous about following similar social media accounts, but this is where you can grow your network and garner new ideas.
Maybe the account isn’t exactly a competitor, but successful niche social media accounts are usually followed by people interested in that product, mission, or organization type.
We tend to underestimate how often people follow the followers of their favorite social media accounts, so be intentional about who you follow and aim to only follow accounts similar to your brand.
Engage with other accounts
Spreading a little love in the form of a like and comment on accounts that you follow will be appreciated. The followers on the accounts you engage with will take notice of your interactions and likely click on your account to see what it’s all about.
Engaging in a meaningful way with other accounts is a great way to build genuine connections, leading to garnering more followers who support your brand.
Optimize social media handle and bio
Utilizing a social media handle that is transparent in correlation to your business and services is so important on social media. Being as descriptive and succinct as possible with your handle could help you build that targeted audience you desire.
If a person comes across your handle and it’s descriptive of your niche, the social media user will likely snoop around on your page and possibly give you a follow.
When it comes to the bio on the social media accounts you manage, it’s imperative to be as descriptive as possible in a concise way, never leaving new visitors to your accounts confused about the services your brand offers.
Our team at TOC PR is confident that by implementing some of these tactics into your social media strategy, you will begin to build a targeted audience for your brand in no time.
by tocpr | Oct 15, 2021 | e-commerce, Marketing
Curious about how we take such professional-looking product shots? Don’t worry; we got you! Product shot photos look so effortless yet can be so challenging to get right. You change the way the product is sitting, change the lighting, change the angle, and change the location, yet it still might not look how you want it. However, product shots shouldn’t be difficult. Here are some quick tips for creating not-so-basic product shots.
Start with the lighting.
Lighting is the most crucial element to taking a sharp photo. Different products will require different lighting, and it’s up to you to figure out what works best for your products. You can’t go wrong with natural lighting. More times than not, natural lighting will result in an evenly lit picture. To find the best naturally lit area, keep an eye out for how the light changes throughout the day and determine when and where the light hits the best. Avoid hard light as it often makes colors look more saturated and can highlight even the most minuscule flaws.
Pro tip: If the sun begins to hide and the level of natural light drops, you can use a reflector to bounce and intensify the light around to fill shadows. A reflector can be as simple as a white foam board or any white screen.
Pick your background.
When choosing the correct background, try to be mindful of how you want the final product to look. We suggest keeping your background clean and simple. Your product must be the main focus of your photo. Your background should bring attention to your product rather than cause distraction. If you’re looking to use a backdrop, a white one is a great, clean option as it beautifully reflects the natural light; however, feel free to experiment with color that works with your brand. Depending on the size of your product, you can use anything from a large sheet of white paper, a white sheet, or a white roll of wallpaper. Also, don’t forget to make sure your backdrop is locked in place to ensure nothing moves during the photography process.
If you want your product in an actual setting it would be used in, make sure to be very specific with what you put in the shot. Every single thing seen in the photo should be on purpose and intentional! This goes for lighting and camera angle as well. The lighting, camera angle, camera distance, and everything seen in the photo all come together to create the mood and feel of your product and brand. You have complete control of this!
Equipment
Since we’ve gotten through the basics, let’s get into the camera details. You can use either a professional camera or a cell phone to get that seamless look on your product shots. When using a professional camera, you can control every single aspect of the photo through various settings. When using a cellphone, you can achieve that same high-quality image but may need to add a few filters to make it appear as if a professional camera took it. Don’t be afraid to mess with your camera or cell phone settings, but be cautious not to over-adjust them. Remember, you can always go in later and add those edits or filters to make the shot pop! We also recommend using a tripod or other stable foundation to reduce the chance of having blurry or tilted photos.
Taking the photo
Don’t be scared to be creative with the product positions and camera angles; you want everything to stand out. You’ll most likely have to adjust things throughout the shoot, but practice makes perfect. Take lots of photos from various angles, making a note of the settings you used and what they produced. Take time between different angles to review the images to see if you need to adjust any settings.
Be sure to tag us in your product photos and show us what you created. Follow us on Instagram @TOCPublicRelations for more ideas for content creation!
by tocpr | Sep 11, 2021 | Business Marketing, General Marketing
A brand strategy is the single most important part of building and maintaining a successful business.
From choosing a unique name to curating a meaningful logo, strengthening marketing efforts, recruiting the best team, and generating a set of core values… these are all imperative elements needed to build a successful business.
A client or customer should never have to guess the value or type of work your organization performs if the branding is executed properly.
“Branding is critical to a business because of the overall impact it makes on your company. Branding can change how people perceive your brand, it can drive new business, and increase brand value – but it can also do the opposite if done wrongly or not at all.”
Branding Mag
One common misconception is that branding is only for corporations or “big businesses” and that it’s too expensive; this is FALSE.
Every business, large or small, should have a brand strategy that can lead to more sales, new clients, and customers.
Today we’re here to assist you in creating your brand identity, which gives you the power to control your businesses’ reputation. Follow these five tips to get started!
Choose a unique name
With millions of businesses across the globe and thousands of businesses in your exact sector, choosing a name that is unique and meaningful to your product or services is crucial.
Think of how many businesses we come across on a daily? A lot, right? But, how many of them do we remember by name? This is why choosing a name that is memorable and telling of your business is imperative.
“A company’s name is most important by far. Logos change and CEOs come and go, but the name that you choose will matter the most. Particularly powerful for behavioral consumer business models such as ours is the potential to verb your business as Google does. Plus, you’ll have easier access to Web domains!”
Yahoo Small Business
Curate a meaningful logo
Creating a lasting impression is essential to your business, and this can be accomplished, in part, with a strong logo.
Think of a logo as a visual reference to your brand. The logo should demonstrate and be telling of who your business is and what services you offer.
Many businesses and organizations fail to realize that curating a meaningful logo is a way to subconsciously connect with clients and customers.
“As things stand, companies have about 2 seconds to convince potential customers that their products are worth any consideration. A logo can quickly grab viewers’ attention and communicate a company’s core values interestingly. That short attention span you know, the one that causes consumers to judge your business by its appearance can work to your advantage, if you have a solid logo to speak for your company.”
Tailor Brands
Strengthen Marketing Efforts
Essentially, marketing is what drives sales and increases clients by attracting consumers in an over-crowded marketplace.
This is where you can get creative with promoting your business, product, services, or events. Marketing is just one component of branding. It is one of the most critical functions, as it informs the public, engages your audience, builds reputation, sells products or services, and helps grow your business.
Using marketing through social media, newsletters, advertisements, commercials, etc., is a way to inform your audience and make it clear why they should choose your business over a competitor or other similar business.
“Marketing keeps your business in people’s minds after a transaction is over and before they need you again. Social Media is a great place to start. After following a brand on social media, 91 percent of followers visit the brand’s website or app. And a startling 89 percent will buy from that brand. Sending post-purchase follow-up emails and mailing out postcards with special offers or information on new services are just a few more ways that marketing can help you stay in touch with your target audience..”
Deluxe
Recruit the best team
Recruiting the right team is crucial to the longevity of your business, and it starts at the top.
Creating a workplace culture rooted in inclusiveness and passion is essential to elevate the reputation of your business and recruit the top talent in your industry.
When recruiting, never settle. Do not ever hire someone just to fill a position as soon as possible. In the long run, it’ll probably lead to an unproductive team and cost you money when they leave or when you have to fire them.
“By having the right team you’ll retain Your Customers. Your customers remain at the core of your business. Delivering a high standard of services with the right employees will help your client retention and overall brand.”
Empire Accountants
Generate core-values
Heard of mission, vision, values? This is a standard by which your business operates. It ties into branding because every aspect of your values is reflected in your business name, logo, marketing efforts, and team.
The values you choose to reflect your business can also assist you in recruiting the RIGHT team, especially in a day and age where people want to work for companies that align with their core values.
When creating or strengthening your brand strategy, develop a set of core values and refer to them often, as they can be implemented into every aspect of your business.
“This is just as true for an organization as it is in peoples’ personal lives. 63 percent of consumers say they want to buy products and services from companies that have a purpose that resonates with their values and belief systems. They will even go out of their way to avoid companies that don’t mesh with what they believe which goes to show that a company’s values have both internal and external implications.”
Forbes
