Staying Focused
It’s relatively easy to get caught up with emotions that take your focus off the end game. Launching Speak Group meant I was intent on watching every single digital marketing training competitor. It was diverted energy that would have been much better spent getting some sleep. It’s still useful competitive research, but don’t let it keep you up at night.
Staying focused and in control, even when you feel you’re getting knocked from every direction is a far more useful and effective emotion. It’s a useful belief. (Thanks Chris Helder, I’ve been wanting to use that for a while now.) #yougotthis
Valentina xxx
Instagram’s Donation Sticker
If you’re not an Insta Stories user, you won’t have a clue what I’m on about (hint: clicking on that link just there will fill you in).
Keeping in mind that Insta is owned by Facebook… Insta has announced a soon-to-be-released donation sticker, meaning all your friends, family and fans can make a direct donation to a charity through the app.
The sticker can only be used to benefit registered non-profit organisations. Just like Facey, there’s no processing fee and the full amount of the donation goes to the cause. Whilst there’s no release date, this is a charming addition to assist donations and support the causes that humans feel strongly about.
But it does make me wonder… Facebook (and by default, Insta) processing payments. Retention of credit card data. I’m again wondering if Facey’s privacy and data policies are robust enough to pull this off. They’ve been successful in Facebook raising $1b since the tool launched in 2015, so perhaps this could all be good for once?
We also found this awesome article on being able to add a swipe up feature to your Instagram Stories without having 10,000 followers.
Facebook Replacing Relevance Score
This month’s announcement from Facebook is welcoming, as they are reviewing and updating the way they report on metrics, rolling out from 30th April. If you pay for advertising on Facebook or Instagram, you NEED to know this.
Your ad relevance will now be able to report against quality ranking, engagement rate ranking and conversion rate ranking. This means you’ll be able to access the success of your advertisements’ perceived and expected ranking compared with ads competing for the same audience. When used together, you’ll be able to understand whether changes to creative assets, audience targeting or the post-click experience might improve performance.
Potential Reach and how this is calculated is also changing. And it’s worth reading this full explanation so you know what you’re looking at in your analytics.
This is all good news. A little transparency and understanding can go a long way.
Why Local Business Should Care About Their Online Reputation
It’s been estimated that 36% of people judge a company purely on their online presence. If losing 1/3 of your potential audience doesn’t bother you, then I’m not sure I can help you.
On the blog, we have a guest writer outlining the importance of a strong online presence, the social proof and impact of online reviews and recommendations (channel your inner TripAdvisor usage), plus understanding linking on your website. Last month’s blog was an indepth look at linking on your website ICYMI (that’s digital abbreviation for “in case you missed it”).
Links House, Bowral
When the iconic Links House approached Banter for some website redevelopment help, we squealed out loud.
With a rebrand, room by room refurbishment and the inclusion of the delicious Rustic Table taking over the kitchen, our role in creating a new online destination for this boutique, small hotel was a true pleasure.
Vanessa Legge and Jo Pfahl are both local girls with young families, now owners of this stunning establishment. There’s something magical about Links House. Local photographer Abbie Melle captured the country guesthouse charm and quirks, Liz from Piece By Piece Home added her design flare to the lounge, bar and bedrooms and further room redesigns were created by Dana from Three Wise Monkeys and Justine from AntelopeCo.
It’s the perfect get together for a drink with friends, and also an ideal getaway if you just need out of the Sydney rat race for a couple of days. We’re excited to see Links House come to life with new energy, colour and hospitality in Vanessa and Jo that matches the beauty and sparkle of the Southern Highlands.
Recent chats and upcoming stuff
Social Media Courses now on
Our Social Media for Small Business and Sole Traders course is up and running again, and now under our new brand, Speak Group. Bowral is scheduled for Saturday 6th April. Classes are small so I can provide 1:1 attention. Book Now.
Marketing & Communication Excellence
I continue to support the real estate industry with digital marketing training, and was invited to speak for Realmark in Perth at their annual sales rally this week. These high performance agents, property managers and strata managers are changing up the norm. To strive for excellence, my presentation was focused on their personal brand, the content they use and the behaviour of their audience in the digital space. These same principles apply regardless of geographic boundaries. Tomorrow, I’m presenting these key needs to an engaged group for realestate.com.au’s Momentum event in Wagga Wagga. #SupportingRegionalAustralia
Gaza Border Beer
Burgers and beer are some of my most favourite campaigns. I don’t even drink beer. Brand stories though, are as important as the product. In 2019, brands will need to make bolder and bolder statements to cut through the noise and claim cultural roots. Believe it or not, we now have Gaza Border Beer from Alexander Brewery. Yep, beer produced from wheat from farmers situated near the Gaza Strip. This is a massive political positioning. But it’s the story that makes this.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict caused these wheat fields to be set on fire. The limited edition beer is made with the wheat that’s left. The initiative aims to support communities where agriculture is the primary source of income (the Gaza Strip fields produce most of the wheat consumed in Israel) and farmers impacted by the fires. Just WOW.
Do you have a local ingredient in your brand that tells your story?
Until next time 😊
