Brand Rescue: Marketing + PR Guidance for Small Businesses

Are you a freelancer or agency owner that is ready to take the next step for your business? Finding new clients is a vital step to grow your company and the key to sealing the deal with new clients comes from a customized proposal and one very special tip.  Tune into episode 20 of the Sociallee Relevant podcast to learn how Whitney Lee converts potential clients to loyal customers.

Grab a pen and paper because this week, Whitney Lee and Jess Bargenquast are breaking down how you can alter your business strategy using search engine optimization (SEO) for beginners.  SEO is the single most important thing that you can do to drive traffic to your website and convert internet surfers to customers, and it's not as hard as you might think! Tune in to episode 19 of the Sociallee Relevant podcast to learn more about how you can boost your bottom line using SEO using Whitney Lee and Jess Bargenquast's approachable methods. Jess Bargenquast is the founder of Lady Changemakers, a directory and marketplace for woman-owned businesses to gain exposure and sales. This easy and affordable platform connects conscious consumers to over 700 woman-owned businesses that can provide almost any product or service that they're looking for. This platform is just like Amazon, but for exclusively women-owned businesses!

In today's episode, Whitney Lee shares her journey from leaving her cushy corporate job to becoming a solopreneur and now, an agency owner.  If you're trapped in a job without inspiration or creativity, or if you're looking for more freedom in your career, this episode is definitely for you. It may seem out of reach, but hearing Whitney's story might make you realize that you are meant to be more than a freelancer and that there are other options for you if you're feeling stuck. Tune in to hear how Whitney made her decision to leave her corporate job and get her advice and top tips for starting a freelance career.

Today's episode of Sociallee Relevant takes a deep dive into Facebook and instagram ads for the experienced marketer in paid social. From paid advertisements on Facebook to pixel events to creative strategy, these experts in paid social media talk you through the tips and tricks to understand paid products on social media. Join Whitney Lee and Dorothy Hollabaugh for a discussion on best practices and their top tips and tricks for your paid marketing efforts. Dorothy Hollabaugh joins Sociallee Relevant from Needless Eye Media. Needles Eye Media is a full-service digital advertising agency with insider knowledge, laser-like focus, and a borderline unhealthy obsession with data. They specialize in scaling profits with precision online advertising.

If you’re looking for a job in public relations, you may be interested in what it takes to be successful in the industry. Tune in to today's episode to learn Whitney Lee's number one skill that you need to hone in order to be the best PR professional that you can be. Make sure to listen to the end for a bonus tip!

Let’s talk about one of the most overlooked social media channels, LinkedIn! LinkedIn isn’t just for job seekers, it’s one of the best channels to drive leads, grow your audience, and expand your personal brand. And the best part is, decision makers are on LinkedIn, they aren’t floating around on Facebook and Instagram. There's so many ways to continue to promote your business and yourself using this not so new social media platform. Listen in for Whitney Lee’s complete breakdown of how you can boost your bottom line on LinkedIn.

Are you ready to start digging into the marketing and public relations efforts for your business? That’s great! It might be time for you to start looking for a marketing or PR agency that can help you boost your bottom line. During your search, make sure you’re keeping an eye out for these three red flags in a marketing or PR agency. An agency that promises results If an agency is making big promises about results, it may be a good idea to walk away. An agency should be able to promise deliverables, not a result. There are too many factors in our world that make promising a result not feasible for an agency. An agency that won’t show you their clients An agency should be proud of the clients that they are working with. An agency that is transparent about their clients and the work that they are doing is an agency that is worth working with. Always be sure to check out other clients to see if the agency is the right fit for you. An agency that has cookie-cutter packages. Marketing strategy for every business is different. An amateur agency might be pushing a package that might not meet all of the unique needs of your brand. It’s important to find an agency that will listen to your marketing successes, failures, and goals to create a holistic plan that will make a difference for your business.

Hashtags previously were THE key in growing your following and reach on Instagram and Twitter - but the tide is changing!  In today’s episode, we’re breaking down hashtags on Instagram and Tik Tok. When used appropriately, hashtags grow your following, help establish your brand, and they are the easiest way to gather content from your customers. Tune in for advice on how you should now be utilizing hashtags in your business strategy. The days of a million hashtags are over, there is a better strategy that you can use to grow your brand. At Sociallee, we start out by developing a core list of hashtags that we consistently use with their content. Make sure that this core list includes a branded hashtag for your business, this can be as simple as the name of your business. Next, find a list of industry specific hashtags. This isn’t for branding, but for other people to find your business among other like areas of your industry. Then, we add hashtags that are post-specific to the photos or content that we are sharing with our followers. From here, you can get even more specific with seasonal or holiday hashtags, location hashtags, relevant phrases, or even daily hashtags. While you have the ability to use up to 30 hashtags on a post, that’s not always the best idea. There are a lot of variables that contribute to hashtag quality and quantity. If you have the time, ability, and resources to play with the amount of hashtags that you use, make sure to test posts with various hashtag quantities. We recommend one to three hashtags but 10 to 12 at the most. Be strategic about how you post them so it doesn’t take away from your content. Listen in for more of Whitney Lee’s tips and tricks to utilize hashtags to boost growth for your business.

What do you do when someone writes something terrible? Negative reviews are never fun, but they are an important way to get feedback on your business. In this episode, I discuss the different types of negative reviews, my process and response to these comments, and next steps that you can take to prevent negative reviews online. Here are our eight tips and tricks to formulate the perfect response to negative feedback: Don’t delete - This shows a lack of transparency. The ONLY time we delete anything is: Racial slurs Vulgar language Threats Before responding, find out details from operations or whoever the customer interacted with. Formulate a draft - make sure to thank the customer for their feedback. Address every single thing they say in their review. If you are truly at fault - admit it and apologize. If the person is sincerely lying, you can address it in a VERY PROFESSIONAL manner. Important to keep it very professional - never blame the customer! Your followers are watching to see how you handle the situation so make sure to take the high road. Try to keep the response short and to the point - ask them to take it offline by giving them a name and phone number to call.

Marketing is EXPENSIVE right? Traditional advertising, SEO, SEM, retargeting, buying lists, and social media ad campaigns can be a pricey method to gain new customers. But here’s another secret we utilize regularly, partnerships. Before you look at traditional marketing methods, tune in to our tips on cost-effective tools to grow your brand. There are only two steps to start finding your perfect partnership match, analyze your business and what you can offer, then start looking for companies that match your needs and your goals. First, what can YOU offer someone? What do you bring to the table? Make sure to compile the following information to know where to start. Social following Website hits Subscribers on email Text App downloads Listeners (podcast) Where are you advertising Demographics of your audience - age, where they live, beliefs, income, etc - the more info the better. Now you're ready to start the search for a good partner opportunity. Use these suggestions to find the best partnership for you. Who reaches your people? If you are a business that is focused on women, who else reaches women? What other services does your target demographic use? This is a good place to start looking for connections that are mutually beneficial. Where does your target demographic shop? More potential partnerships lie where your target demographic is already looking! What is complimentary to your business? - Needs to be somewhat in the same realm Type of business - are you able to serve people virtually? If you’re a locally owned business you probably need someone local too! Look at businesses that are similar in size to your company to save yourself time. Don’t waste your time and resources pursuing a partnership that isn’t equal. Nonprofit support - Think about nonprofits that you can support in exchange for promotion for your business.