The Importance of Good Branding

When we think of “branding” we think that a brand is the design, sign, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies you / your product or service.  It will differentiate you from your competitors. It’s that which is brought to mind when a company name / product is mentioned or thought of and likewise It’s what you will use to identify your services / products uniquely.

However, your brand is not just the logo on the bottom of your email, it is your full on image and consequentially how you are perceived by others and the message that your business spreads.

So, to make life easier for yourself (and your target audience) it is essential that you keep the brand simple and clear. This is paramount, whoever you are; a sole trader, a singer, an event organiser, a web designer or even an accountant. The consistency of a brand is what delivers your key messaging, allows buyers to warm to you and encourages loyalty. By keeping your branding consistent you are building up trust with your target audience.

The main piece of advice Rocoja would give you is keep your brand colours the same throughout all marketing; you want someone to see a flyer or poster advertising your band, shop or business and recognise that it is your business as it is consistent. This should even carry through to your logo.

The same goes for a visitor to your website following your link through to a social media platform, the brand, message, colours and logo need to follow through from your website to your social media presence.

A good brand should not over promise (don’t over complicate it) and should match the business it is representing. For example, if you are an accountant don’t have a cartoon style dog as your logo as this will confuse your ‘professional’ message that you want your target audience to see. Likewise, a singer /performer should really steer clear of “slang terms” and imagery as these go in and out of fashion extremely quickly.

Good branding not only needs to be relevant to your business but it needs to be relevant to your target audience too, if you sell bargain handbags at the market then an over the top foil business card with embossed writing will not fit with what you do; the same if you are a top class singer, you wouldn’t want a boring grey business card that just lists your information. A good brand will relate to you and your business, while being attractive to your target audience.

Get this right in the first place and your message will be carried out for you, thanks to your target audience trusting your branding.

The potential from the right image is great, if you know how to maximize it…

Rocoja knows how to!

Contact us for some advice info@Rocoja.co.uk

We are to help.

                          

The Language of Social Media

Personally, building a Social Media business means I spend as much time on my computer as many of my friends spend “at Work” in a “Proper Job”.

In fact I spend much more time now, as now instead of reaching for a milky drink when Insomnia hits at 3am, I reach for my trusty Asus Laptop & get on-line to see what’s happening & if I (or any of my clients) should be a part of it.

You see – social media NEVER sleeps… Luckily neither do I (OK, I do, but just 3 /4 hours a night).

I think my family & friends are probably a bit tired of hearing how passionate I am about Twitter, Pinterest & social media in general, however it’s very different to someone coming home from a day’s work, effervescing about the flowers in their shop, or the lovely people that came into their retail outlet. It’s different because is so hard to quantify what my job involves.

In plain terms, I write articles & blog posts, I tweet, I post updates, write reviews, in fact lately I’ve branched out into more of a “PR” role for some of my clients.

But overall It’s  very difficult to explain how those things above translate to building a brand/clientèle to someone who doesn’t understand social media yet. (Something I can help you understand if you wish).

Social media is vital for business development, marketing, customer service & building a brand!

So, I work as a “Social media consultant” – well at least that’s what the insurance company who insures me categorises it as. In my eyes I am an additional service to small businesses who want to utilise word of mouth to build their business; but have accepted that word of mouth has changed forever to “tweet & update”!

To that end I have become bi-lingual, I have to translate between two worlds — that of the social media culture and that of the people have little to no experience with it. This is exciting & frustrating at the same time, but extremely rewarding when a client gets to see their customer base increase & they themselves can understand how it’s finally happened.

This is why the Bi-lingual part of my role is so important.

My clients may be in unfamiliar territory when it comes to marketing per-se, let alone social media marketing. They may be uncomfortable with change & unable to ratify the making of on-line relationships to finding & retaining new business. Many of my clients are used to the tried & trusted way of building relationships, Trade shows, Networking meetings, Door-knocking, telesales etc. The new language of social media is very foreign & it’s a massive bonus to be able to translate it into an easily understandable language.

Introducing social media to a small business or individual brings me the challenge of getting people to imagine the possibilities of something they’ve never experienced & I love it.

www.Rocoja.co.uk

Do I need Social Media? Click here

We are here specifically for new and fledgling businesses, Charities and individuals who need to be in the midst of the Social Media buzz.

                          

Twitter for Business – What do I do with it

You’ve made yourself a Twitter for your business. Now What?

Here’s my top tips!

1. Make your name as close to your business name as possible. (Be easily identifiable)
2. Don’t be tempted to automate anything. (It looks lazy – Click Here)
3. Don’t randomly follow everyone. With Business Twitter it is important to get a balance correct.
4. Make your profile stand out. Brand to your colours etc..
5. Realise No one has to share anything you tweet, so say thank-you if it happens.
6. Make sure your other Social Media & most importantly your Website is connected to your Twitter profile.
7. Make sure you have a Klout account, get connecting & keep an eye on your score.
8. Try not to use all 140 characters. Leave space so a Re-tweet will still make sense.
9. Don’t post hard sales / pushy tweets – no one wants to see them in their timeline. Be “nice”.
10. Share other peoples content. Its polite!

For more info & indeed help

Info@Rocoja.co.uk

                          

Social Media Impact

Social media is probably one of the greatest revolutions ever in communication, and as such it has a great impact in how businesses are advertised and even run.

By means of creating, sharing and exchanging information, ideas, images and videos, people have the opportunity to be part of a massive virtual community.

Regarding the business world, this immediacy and efficiency when dealing with information are helping (and will carry on helping in the future) monitoring trends, doing market studies, advertising and growing opportunities.

Benefits of social media go from simply sharing some piece of information socially to opening up new career opportunities or building up a solid reputation.

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter allow users to pass any information they want to the appropriate audience.

Used in business environments, getting the location, gender, age and other features of the networks’ users, companies can easily know which audience to target as well as finding new possible clients.

In addition to seeking people to help businesses grow and sending information directly to them, social media is a great to tool when it comes to feedback.

Any new product that is shown and advertised through social media and then shared by users will receive the opinion of many of those users; after the product has been tried.

This information can then be used by the company to improve.

Social media has been able to reach a level of advertising and passing of information that no other media ever could until now.

Information is passed directly from person to person without needing intermediaries; not only this but also the fact that social network users’ preferences and personal information make it much easier for companies to show their products to the right people.

Be it from a laptop or thanks to a mobile app, social networks like Facebook,Twitter or Pinterest as well as many others that may not be as popular yet, help build up a good relationship with customers and the three of them effectively serve both parties: business and customer

For any more help / advice  or Small Business Tips & Trick

Please contact us

Info@Rocoja.co.uk 

Karin

Please join Rocoja on any of the social media platforms below

          

Social Media for Musicians

We all know Social Media has become a big part of people’s lives; it’s now a business and some people (myself included) have crafted it to an art – creating a Job market / employment opportunity that wasnt even around a decade ago.

Even as far back as Myspace (I fear I’m showing my age a bit here) it was a platform for singers and bands to use as a jump off point, posting information about gigs & songs but the world moved on rapidly to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, with their endless media rich possibilities, bringing with it an abundance of marketing opportunities for up and coming artists.

For you – Those starting out in the media / music arena, the fact that a month of great marketing via this awesome platform could potentially cost no more than the cost of a few coffee’s is invaluable.

I’m often astounded that more people are not making great use of the mediums available…

Notice I said “great use”, as I know many singers / performers do use social media, creating and posting on accounts themselves…. Sadly as the world has moved on quickly, so has the way we have to maintain the momentum online. The days of just posting content & hoping for the best are long gone.. BUT as said, for the cost of a few coffee’s a month, you can still get a great campaign from a smaller social media business.

A boutique business will make sure only the most most relevant photo’s (not just the one you like) are posted, they will ensure you have some very carefully placed hashtags, that your contact info is up & visible and that your new video is on YouTube and is shared in relevant groups. This is us taking the time to research & learn about your target audience & aiming you at them!

Take Andie Case for example. She’s recently entered the UK top 40 with a cover of Jason Derulo mixed with a Cheap Trick song, all thanks to it being shared to a car fan page (the only relevance of the car being that the music video is filmed in a car) it managed to reach a wide audience, and now the very talented Andie is building quite the fan base. She took a chance at sharing a video outside of the normal pathways, and it brought her to a lot of people’s attention.

Twitter and Instagram are brilliant tools for social media marketing in general, but as I said previously, the right hashtag can truly open doors.  With Instagram being one of the easiest platforms to build a following on, it attracts the audience and the introduction of video on Instagram can draw someone’s attention from that 15 second clip to tracking down someone on YouTube.

However the followers HAVE TO BE REAL!

Fake followers on any platform act in a negative way, sometimes even causing the accounts to be sanctioned by Twitter / Facebook /Instagram.

The potential from Social media is endless, if you know how to maximize it…

Rocoja knows how to!

Contact us for some advice info@Rocoja.co.uk

We are to help.

                          

Marketing for Performers

Everyone knows that nowadays it is vital to have social media campaigns running alongside every business, project, or creative venture.

However, sometimes musicians and performers can overlook this aspect of promotion in favour of creating and performing.

Thankfully this social media marketing work can be handed over to a professional company who will run your social media campaigns for you – ensuring consistent and beneficial delivery.

As a creative, your focus should be and usually is, dedicated toward your music; be that writing or performing. To become bogged down in all the extras that go along with promoting yourself can seriously take away from your time working as a performer, and your art is likely to suffer as a consequence.

Having a website is no longer enough, people expect to engage with you on a host of social media platforms be it Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram or other. To do this well is a full time job and doing it well will really get you the exposure that you desire to move your career as an artist forward.

However, It is not just a case of interacting with fans via these channels either – think business’s who want to know more, radio shows, venues who may wish to hire you and so on – a professional company handling your social media will be interacting and networking on your behalf to take you to the next level.

PR Is important on 2 levels – Public Relations – Bringing you to your potential fans attention, as well as Page Rank on search engines are both extremely important and planning your social media posts around ranking in search engines is imperative & should be all part of the service your Social Media Company provides.

A dedicated company working for you will know that at least 12 weeks before you launch a new single you need to be posting on a certain topic in a certain way, building up momentum. Then they will know how to correctly follow up the release of a single to prolong the hype and encourage sales.

Having a professional marketing company manage your social media can really make the world of difference to your exposure and therefore your career, leaving you to concentrate on what you do best, make music.

Or contact us for some advice info@Rocoja.co.uk

We are to help, can provide references and will happily give you a free review of any marketing you have at present..

                          

Social Media Mistakes

One of the things I come across a lot in my line of work, is the questioning of how a company can obtain actual results or return on investment (ROI) through social media marketing.

The truth is that in the start of the social media revolution; to “appear online” was just enough and there were few companies on Facebook (and even less on Twitter), so it was easy to get attention.

With the popular adoption of social media, it is now even harder to keep companies prominent in this social standing wave. Moreover, social media is very different from traditional marketing.

These difficulties, adding to the fact that social media marketing is relatively new, cause small companies inevitable mistakes and costly missteps can happen.

Below there is a list of the top five mistakes (or gaffes) small companies can find themselves making..

Mistake 1: Speaking/Selling TO people instead of engaging with them

Many small companies see social media as another way to spread information, such as a website or news feed. Then they wonder why no one talks to them.

Example: “We continue following the people, but they do not follow us back! Why don’t they talk to us?”

The answer to this question in social networks is the same as the real world. Would you spend time with someone who just kept pushing their own agenda every time you met with them?

Start a conversation based on a mutual interest. You know that Just talking non stop about yourself, even if you move from group to group, will not engage people. They will become bored & “switch-off”.

Join the conversation, and add VALUE to the dialogues.

Instead of seeing social media as another place where you can disseminate promotional messages (offers, releases, new product announcements, etc.), businesses get better results by engaging with the online community by actively participating.

Mistake 2: The mentality of “If you build, they will come”.

Most small companies are excited when they enter Twitter and Facebook and then they look around and ask, “Where is everybody?”

Absolutely everyone is busy on the Internet connecting with friends, family and people who enjoy subjects of common interest. People do not have the time, interest, or simply ability to connect with each company or brand that tries to contact them.

As an example, consider that on average a person on Facebook is connected to 130 people and 80 pages, add to that groups and events. If each of these upload 5 publications in day, there will be more than 1,000 updates in one day to be seen by each individual.

Your company should have a plan to promote your accounts on social media with VALUE to those with whom you connect. Not simply create an account and consider that the world will interact!

Mistake 3: Obsession with having the largest number of fans / friends / followers.

A study done last July showed that only 3% to 7.5% of your Facebook fans actually see your posts.

Thus, rather than focusing on the amount of “likes” that your page has, you should focus on creating quality and relevant content so that you can build engagement with your followers.  Add to this, the new algorithms introduced by Facebook recently, aimed at enhancing the individuals experience by cutting down “spammy” advertising posts. You really have to know how to write & enhance your post.

Mistake 4: Not being prepared for questions or problems.

When small companies enter the world of social media, they should be prepared to answer basic questions from time to time. Consumers expect companies that are active in social networks to be able to respond as if they were a customer service desk; this means that if your company has constant problems, they are likely to appear on social networks.

This should not be a surprise to anyone, but unfortunately, many small companies are not prepared. Make a list of the 10 most frequently asked questions you are getting by phone or email and be prepared to deal with those in social networks.

Mistake 5: Lack of a clear plan.

The biggest root cause for not having satisfactory results in social networks is the lack of a plan. Since accounts on social media networks can be created free, it is common that most companies create and start publishing “things”.

The problem is that without a plan, some “things” that are posted are most likely to be of no interest to your target audience. Even if your audience is interested in “things” that you post, it may be difficult to create a link between social media interactions and the real value you are looking for. Example: engagement with the brand, brand building, brand association, orders, sales, conversions, etc. Without goals and a defined plan, it will be very difficult to measure any kind of success.

It may sound daunting – BUT Social Media is an absolute must for any business now.

However it doesn’t have to be difficult and you can have fun whilst using it but it is essential for every business to be using it effectively.

Just remember that your customers always come first and want to be made to feel special.

The way your business comes across on Social Media will give an instant impression of your business.

Make it a friendly, professional, consistent one.

Contact Rocoja Limited for help and advice.

We are here specifically for new and fledgling businesses.

                          

Is Bigger always Better?

Rocoja has had the pleasure of working with some lovely new businesses over the last 2 years – From cake makers who work from home & celebrities starting out in the music industry to construction & building companies; all of whom needed some direction & assistance with their marketing.

From full marketing support with Flyers & e-shots to just handling Twitter; Rocoja has helped, advised & created business plans that has afforded them a stream of marketing opportunities they didn’t know existed.

However there are still those which take the business plan we prepare (For free) after spending time with them & learning about their passions & goals; researching their products & services, learning about their history & ethics; then go with a “larger company”.

Why – Because many businesses & individuals are still caught up with the “bigger must be better” falsehood..

One of the latest companies we have helped was paying just under £1000 per calendar month for a “Full Social Media presence” to be built. However this wasn’t translating into visitors to the website (an e-commerce venture) & the reports at the end of the month from the “Agency” was showing lots of work happening so it just wasn’t making sense.

Through a referral, we carried out a full investigation & prepared a detailed report, showing that lots of tweets were indeed happening BUT with no interaction. The same was apparent on the Facebook page – lots of posts, but only 7-10 people seeing each one & then no interaction.

Worst of all The Social media platforms were not even branded & looked completely separate from each other.

There was a conveyor belt  of “blogs”, “posts” & “tweets” on behalf of the business with links to websites & news stories BUT not relevant or researched & not linked back to the company.

We know that at the start of the Twitter revolution it was seen as a FACT that you had to have as many followers as possible to be even considered successful but now we all are painfully aware that just isn’t true. A business / individual trying to build a quality profile will need concise, targeted followers who will help grow a loyal customer/fan base, engaging  & sharing information..

My point is, did the large agency spend the time to know the small business; its owners, its history? Did it post articles that the companys potential customers would like to read about? Do you think it wanted to spend that time, getting to know its client?

Or did it hope they were stuck in the Bigger is Better frame of mind & churn out analytics & charts which look good?

Yes a larger agency may have expertise & more manpower but a smaller consultancy has the expertise & flexibility they may not have (despite promising such). The smaller consultancy will also (usually) be much more accommodating with things you need actioned quickly, or invoices etc you need to defer a few days; as we understand time pressures & financial constraints of a small business much better than an “expert” in a team of people in a large business where they do not have to deal with such things.

We also feel a smaller consultancy is the best choice if you are looking for individual guidance, as well as marketing; as we are more likely to involve you if you wish & that can only be a good thing for your business.

Afterall hiring a consultancy gives you other bespoke options, such as having someone come in & help you on-site if you wish, to learn how to eventually take over the marketing yourself. Its also a great way to have the marketing completed, while you run your business but with the option to move to a larger machine if (we hope  – when) your business is big enough to warrant a bigger more impactful agency led campaign.

Unfortunately from experience of many of the small businesses we have assisted, the thing at the forefront of what the companies find when hiring a bigger agency is Bigger usually extends to the Bill at the end of the month!

Is Social media relevant to the Small Business Person?

Contact Rocoja Limited for help and advice.

                    

Social Media for Small Business – Why Wait?

The Importance Of Social Media In Business 

As a business, no matter the size or industry, you have to consider one thing very seriously: where do you get your customers from?

Chances are in most cases, and certainly in the more traditional or manual based industries such as plumbers, builders or mechanics, your customers come from repeat business and referrals.  So if you have one happy customer who then refers one friend to your business that is a real bonus. Now consider this the: the 500 million people on Facebook have an average of 336 ‘Friends’ to share content with.  If that same customer goes on to their Facebook page and recommends you, ‘Likes’ your business page and shares it with their ‘Friends’ you have effectively been given a personal recommendation to 336 new potential warm leads without spending any money and without lifting a finger!  Next thing to think about is that your customer in question will on average check his or her Facebook page on their Smart phone around 14 times a day.  This gives you the incredible benefit of being able to remain at the forefront of their mind next time they require your services or a friend requests a recommendation.

Putting The ‘Social’ In Social Media Comes In. 

When you create a social media account you are not there to sell your services.  Alison Evans from F.E.W. Waterproofing says: “You have to provide information and…be prepared to share your knowledge. It’s a different mindset for small business…you must make yourself the authority figure of your field”.  

So yes you can throw in the occasional deal or offer within your posts, but generally you are there to build and develop a relationship with your current and potential customers whilst simultaneously building a database of people who know about you and may need your business.  So update your business pages with easy, fun and relevant content such as:

• Blogs or news articles relevant to the local area or your business
• Infographics
• New technology or techniques in your field of expertise
• Tips and tricks
• Photos of you ‘on the job’
• Videos of you to help create the feeling that you are the ‘go to’ authority in your industry
• The occasional offer in return for a subscription to your email database

Update your social media accounts every day, or at the very least every other day, so that at least once during those 14 visits your customer will see your post and be reminded of you and the fantastic job you did, even if it is only subconsciously!  

Creating an interesting, relevant ‘guru-like’ status is easier and quicker to do on social media than it is on a website or in person, and by adding in the local news or interesting blogs and infographic posts too you are opening up your relevancy, interest and customer potential far more than by simply posting your website link and price list every day.

The Social Media Platforms For Business 

The key social media platforms to use for business are Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube (due to the current surge in popularity of videos on social media at the moment) and your own website blog.  You can occasionally run paid ads on Facebook, but don’t waste your time paying for ‘Likes’ as you get far more return from ‘organic’ Likers such as the ones from your customer and their friends than strangers who happened to see your advert and clicked Like.  For example, that stranger may live on the other side of the world and so by default they are no ‘use’ to you as a business and you have therefore wasted your advertising spend.

If the concept of using social media every day is daunting to you, or else you are far too busy to put the necessary time in to build your followers, fans and likes, then contact a company like Rocoja; Any social media management company, aimed at looking after small businesses  should be able to give you an appraisal of your existing online presence & an overview of what they can do & how. This should be a free service…..

The main issue for many small, fledgling or even well established businesses who attempt to use social media is that they set up basic websites and social media platforms filled only with poor content and then (unsurprisingly) get little or no return.

Having someone to help you, who knows the “arena” is invaluable.

So don’t worry, it takes a little while to build your online persona, but once you have the right help on board, you will wonder why you waited so long!

For any more help / advice  or Small Business Tips & Trick

Please contact us

Info@Rocoja.co.uk 

Karin

Please join Rocoja on any of the social media platforms below

        

Small Business & Social Media

It used to be that a website was enough on-line presence for a company, but now as people’s lives are more stressful & busy, customers are turning to places such as Twitter & Facebook for recommendations of services they need.

This is partly due to the advent of very complex “Smart-phones” which enable the accessing of social media on the move, but also many people (potential & existing customers) on-line feel they are well within their rights to be very honest when recommending a service. Therefore, prospective users of services feel they can source valuable & honest recommendations.

Businesses that haven’t yet grasped how important this avenue of communication is are sadly falling behind, or worse, becoming prey to large swish Media Agencies who promise many things & charge a hell of a lot!

Also the world of conventional advertising is becoming more aggressive to cope with this shift, which has led to more cold calls & more inventive sales techniques from the traditional outlets such as Magazines/TV & Radio. They have felt the shift & are desperately trying to recoup their losses; again this is something a Social Media naive small business may fall foul of.

However one of the ways that people (potential customers) want to feel valued & connected is through communication & feeling personally valued..

When a person visits a business’s website that has lots of relevant information and complete product and contact information, this of course gives the “what” they are seeking, BUT they can get that from a thousand other websites also. Yes, of course this part of on-line marketing should never be overlooked but it should never be the only part of your on-line presence.

Now it is not just about having a website but about a business’s overall presence on the web.

To complete your presence you need to establish a connection and familiarity with people that makes them feel as if they are a part of your world & important to you.

Social Media really is very important & can have a massive effect if used correctly.

                    

I am a small business myself & totally appreciate the challenges small businesses face;

I work on trust, hence why I send honest advice & recommendations, including realistic expectations of results to my prospective clients, also fully detailing what they can expect from me. How I will build that “family” of prospective clients/suppliers/sales avenues/networks.

Of course, they could use this & put my recommendations into practice themselves, or indeed take the plan to another company. However I am hopeful that in this current economic climate, Small Businesses will appreciate my passion for what I do & realise this will be transposed onto their business should I be involved.

We – the small business owner/director/manager are the backbone of the UK & I truly believe are the way we will rise from this recession.

We should support each other.

So with this in mind, choose the avenue you take when it comes to social media wisely.

Bigger is not always Better!

If you would like some help from a fellow small business person.

Where the initial review of your social media / marketing strategy is free.

&

Where social media marketing packages start from just £7 per week.

Please contact www.Rocoja.co.uk via the buttons above or the details below.

Kind regards

Rocoja Limited 

On a side note, if you get a chance, please take a look at my Charity project  

www.CelebFC.co.uk