3 quick tips to use Instagram as a local Business.

If you own a small, local business, you might be under the impression that Instagram is not the place for you. You might think, Instagram is only for big companies with millions of followers and businesses that are selling products or services online.

But I’m going to challenge you on that view…

Instagram is for small, local businesses, too!! Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users and many of those users could live just around the corner from you, you just need to know how to find them. Promoting your local business on Instagram can introduce your company to a whole new audience and get more foot traffic through your doors than ever before — if… you do it right.

Here’s how to use Instagram to promote your local business.

Continue reading “3 quick tips to use Instagram as a local Business.”

How to get instant exposure and social proof on Instagram

…in less than 24 hours…

What would it mean to get 1000’s more eyeballs on your Instagram from your ideal audience?

Instant visibility? More followers? More sales?

For some people, it could be pretty life changing.

And it’s actually a pretty simple process, that I’ve tried and tested myself.

With some surprising results.

Here’s how –

Continue reading “How to get instant exposure and social proof on Instagram”

3 Hacks to Automate your Business

To Survive a busy season ( You need to check out number 3!)

We have all been there, it’s half term or you are about to switch into holiday mode and the panic starts… how can we manage our work load whilst the kids are home or we are off travelling?

Well, I wanted to put together a guide with some quick tips to help you manage your workload and automate some key aspects of your business so you can actually take the break you need.

Continue reading “3 Hacks to Automate your Business”

7 tips for using Canva for your business

Launching a online brand can feel like you have to suddenly become a graphic designer and web developer or at least have one on tap to create all sorts of funky designs you didn’t even realise you needed.

Creating a business doesn’t end once you have decide on the look and feel of your web site. You’ll need to make sure your brand’s design aesthetic carries across all your online platforms in order to become a recognisable brand.

As female entrepreneurs, we are constantly reminded of how important it is to have an online presence that is cohesive in content, design, and structure to enhance our client experience and drive brand recognition. But between balancing life and business building, you may find that you don’t often have too much time for creative play.

The good news is that Canva has you sorted. This online software allows you to create professional graphics for your website and social media feeds for free. It even let’s you save templates so you can just tweak the wording and your new graphic is ready to go. You can see I do this for all my blog posts, it keeps it simple for me but also allows my brand to stay consistent and recognisable.

Here are our 7 c’s to using Canva effectively for your social media:

1. The Canva Colour Picker

It’s important to make sure you know the colour “number” code. This is called the hex colour value often seen as “colour code #”. Using the Canva colour picker you can simply type this number into the box and it will match your brand font or background colour, allowing you to design with consistency.

2. Consistency is Key

I recommend you design with consistency in mind. What are the fonts, colours, background images and textures of your brand look and feel? Deciding on your brand style as early on as possible and sticking to these decisions whenever you’re designing in Canva will ensure you create consistent content no matter which pre-made design you choose to work with. It will help to make your brand ‘instantly recognisable’.

3. Create for All Platforms

Canva makes it really easy to select which social media platform you’re working on. Once you choose from a variety of pre-made designs for Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest, you can constantly view “my designs” and bulk design for across all platforms to promote the same update for your viewers.

It’s also a good idea to include your URL address at the bottom of your design, allowing whoever views your content to know where else to find you.

Quick tip: try and design with the platforms you want to share to in mind, for example if you are going to promote something on Instagram stories and in feed you could pick the story template and make sure the bulk of your design is in a square so that the same image can be used in feed. 

4. Create Interest

Canva allows for several design layers, fonts, and images to be combined into one design. Make use of this feature when tweaking pre-made designs to create interest. We recommend you use up to three different type fonts, alter the layer transparency and carefully select your copy that keeps your ideal clients interested in your products.

5. Curate Your Own Backgrounds

While Canva has many styled stock images you are able to purchase, this can get costly. We recommend making use of your own stock library, or creating custom brand images or basic coloured backgrounds that suit your brand, to then upload as you design. This helps with your brand consistency but also with keeping your design costs to a minimum.

You can also grab 5 FREE #girlboss stock images by clicking here 

6. Build Your Community

Canva makes it’s quick and easy to create visually consistent and shareable images for your brand. By following the colour and consistency “rules” while designing to create interest, your site visitors and social media followers will begin to know your style. Seeing one of your designs in their feed will immediately get them thinking of your business and brand, creating the recognition that results in sales.

7. Don’t Play The Comparison Game

With such a wide selection of pre-made designs and ready-to-use stock images, it’s easy to start playing the comparison game when using a program like Canva. Try to get clear on your own style before starting and always stick to your style guide.

It’s useful to sketch out what you need the design for before starting. Planning ahead and design in bulk whenever possible will save you time and effort and free up your creativity to focus on what you love doing for your business.

You NEED a mentor!

We were having a braai (BBQ to any none South African’s) last night with Ian’s cousins and we were talking about the power of having someone in your life as an entrepreneur who is a few steps ahead of you to help guide you through the ups and downs of being a business owner.

These people can be the magic ingredient a small business needs to thrive, the person who tells you to keep at it when you’re at your lowest point, or just someone who gave the right advice at the right time. Whatever the situation, many people owe a great deal of gratitude to their mentors.

And it got me thinking about my own mentors, I have been lucky enough to have several people who have all helped me in different ways but one mentor in particular came into my business at the right time and helped shake things up and got me thinking about my business in a completely different way.

 

Lisa Johnson has been a mentor to me for the about 6 months now, her no fluff approach to business is so refreshing as is her super honest get s**t done as done is better than perfect mentality.

Today marks a huge milestone in Lisa’s own business journey as she has been featured in the one and only Forbes magazine you can check out the article HERE, as any entrepreneur will know this is a huge honour and could be a massive quantum leap forward for her business.

If you are looking for an inspirational story that is going to help kick your butt into gear this is for you! I highly recommend you read Lisa’s story, it shows what pure determination and a bloody strong will can do and just how any of us can succeed if we are concentrate on the parts of our business that actually make money rather than all the ‘other stuff’ that just keeps us busy.

You can check out Lisa’s free facebook group HERE and connect with her on Instagram here if you are intreugied to find out more. 

Let me know what you think? Do you have a mentor? Why not hit the reply button and tell me how having a mentor has positively impacted your life? I love nothing more than hearing powerful stories of women helping women! 

Love Abi x