10 Awesome People Who Can Help Skyrocket Your Business - Part I
Want to level up your business 2023? Get ready to assemble your dream team. In the first half of this two part blog we meet the Social Media Marketer, The Professional Photographer, The Website Builder, The Graphic Designer and The VA. And the best thing? They are often freelancers and small business owners like you, with a passion for supporting and celebrating others. Let's meet the superheroes who are going to power up your business...
The Social Media Marketer
Starting with an audit of your social media channels (what you’re doing well and not-so-well), through to creating a bespoke social media strategy, social media marketers are one of the most essential yet possibly underrated people you can have on your team. Taking into account your brand values, mission, tone of voice, audience demographics and brand goals, they will plan, create and schedule content for you to engage your audience, build a community and generate sales.
Here are my tips for working with a social media marketer:
Sign up for at least six months of social media marketing. Success on social media takes time, effort and consistency. The social media marketer can do this for you, but you must be patient. A professional social media marketer will provide regular catch-up calls and data insights to show you the progress.
Trust them. If you’ve had a thorough brief and you’re pleased with the strategy your social media marketer has created, let them get on with the job. Your job is to focus on other areas of the business. It’s all too tempting when the social accounts are on your phone to tweak and overthink, but please try to take a step back to avoid wasting time and money. I have repeatedly seen many social media managers become demotivated, and campaigns sink because ‘too many cooks’ makes the brand messaging go off-piste. Save niggles and post reviews for catch-up calls.
To access a quality bank of social media marketers check out The Social Club.
The Professional Photographer
Everyone has a great camera on their phone these days. Still, when it comes to your website, headshots, cover photos, PR and social media photos, there is nothing like a beautifully captured professional photo to project your brand and attract your customers. The digital landscape is busier than ever, and people are drawn to quality images - and is it me or does anyone feel totally over selfies this year?
Tips for working with a professional photographer:
Pick wisely. Your photographer should be able to make you feel comfortable from the first chat you have with them. A photoshoot can make people feel vulnerable and nervous, but this can quickly change to comfort and empowerment with the right person behind the camera.
Plan your shoot. What do you need photos for - your website, social media, or a press release? Think about whether you’d like portrait shots - for ‘about pages’ and social posts - or landscape photos - which make great website banners and cover photos. Do you want pictures of you looking at the camera or a few more of you working, e.g. at a desk, packing orders, talking to clients? Think about the location. If you don’t have an office, could you borrow a space? It will serve you well to think about this in advance and a great photographer will prompt you to do this.
When Moor Heart Media had a photo shoot we decided to drag a wooden bench into the middle of a rapeseed field. We’d told Jess at Perspectives Photography about this in advance so she could prep and the shoot ran smoothly.
The Website Builder
Thanks to template-based sites like Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, and One.com, you can build a website within minutes. But the results often depend on the user's skills, how much time you have available, how much patience you have and, arrrghhh - someone take this off my hands!
How do you work with a website builder?
Decide what you want people to do on your website. Browse products, read a blog, subscribe to your mailing list, download a document or set up a discovery call? Deciding this will also help you work out how many pages you need.
Compile a list of which websites you admire and why. Note also which websites you dislike and why. If you hate luxe minimalism but love bold patterns and primary colours, you must communicate this to your website team!
Decide what you are going to write on your web pages. The website designer will need copy from you. The words should grab customer’s attention, encourage them to purchase - or at least browse for a while, reflect your brand values and tone of voice, have correct spelling and grammar, whilst containing keywords and SEO friendly headlines. Easy, right? If you don’t find that easy, I know a copywriter who can help. But this isn’t about me. Let’s move on to…
The Graphic Designer & Brander
When I started writing case studies, I spent ages designing my pdf to give to the clients. Then I learned it took forever, so I decided to try a graphic designer. If you go to the Featured Section on my LinkedIn profile you'll spot a marked difference between my self-designed case study and the one by Emma at Emphasis Creative Design!
The same goes for the logo. No matter how savvy you feel at Canva, there is no way that it has the same impact as professional graphic design. This is another business investment - your logo will be everywhere and likely for a long time - get it right.
I would show you an example of my ‘before’, but I definitely screwed it into a virtual tight paper ball and threw it in the trash as soon as this from Naomi at Lucky Night Studio came through.
The Virtual Assistant (VA)
This person is on my future wish list. As your business grows, so too does the admin. The VA works remotely to help you run the administrative side of your business - this can range from managing your calendar, screening emails, updating information in client management systems, light reception duties, transcribing, researching leads, assisting with recruitment and outsourcing, maintaining accounts, completing online forms and file management.
Think about your requirements. What is your priority? Make sure your VA can assist with the area you need help. Some VA are generalists, and some are specialists.
Have systems set up or a solid idea of the systems you want in place. That way, you can make the most of your VA's time and the handover to them will be as smooth as possible.
Get to know your VA before hiring. A good relationship with a VA is one of trust and excellent communication.
Summary
Did you love this post? Are you one of these awesome people? Let me know, and tag yourself in the comments on social media.
Next week: Part II, starring The Networking Group, The Business Coach and The Mentor!
Do you need a word wizard on your team? I am Tilly Lander Williams, a copywriter and content expert based in Exeter, South West, UK. I work with big-hearted, female-led businesses to attract your dream customers using the power of words. Contact me here.
Tilly Lander Williams
LinkedIn: CLICK HERE
