by Kerry Ferguson | Jan 4, 2022 | Digital Marketing, Social Media
Keeping up with posting on your social media platforms is no mean feat. Plus, if you’re on a few platforms it can become a bit of a juggle with everything else you need to do.
Over the years I’ve used a range of different ‘techniques’ to try and find one that works. I’m not entirely sure there is one, but all you can do is just find a way that works for you and your business or day to day activities. I’ve tried allocating an hour a day to doing it on the day, or putting aside a day a week to schedule in advance. Sometimes I’ve managed a month in advance, other times I hit a huge wall.
Here’s what I currently do and I thought it might be useful to share!
- Jot down the different types of content I can share/create for a month. For example, sharing articles, sharing blogs, creating video content, Canva templates, text only.
- Then, I think about the topics I want to share over the next month. For example, if we’re in January then I’d probably want to post more about website design as people may be looking for a new website at the start of the year. From this topic, what kind of posts can I make? Ones showcasing previous work, answering questions, giving advice, showing off our experience, some behind the scences.
- Then I attach those topics/post ideas, with the content types.
- I’m quite a visual person, so I would then jot down these post ideas in a calendar form so I can see when they are going out, and making sure that the content is diverse and not too repetative.
One thing I have learned over the years is that when you do start to think of ideas, more ideas generally come along. Apparently it’s a method called ‘free writing’, where you basically let your brain go off on its own direction but thinking about a particular topic. If you did try this, you might find you have more content than you need for one month. Some people plan their content well in advance – just leave room for things happening organically!
by Kerry Ferguson | Dec 22, 2021 | News
Do you ever sit down and wonder – what have I actually done this year? It’s been another weird one hasn’t it, with Covid still dominating every day. Our office chatter often ends up with us wondering where the year has gone, how has it gone so fast? But then, remember we were basically in lockdown until April weren’t we?
Aside from Covid cancelling a couple of breaks away, and reducing the amount of time we can see family – it hasn’t really had an affect on our ‘office life’. With the huge move to virtual in 2020, most of our clients and events seem quite settled to have everything on Zoom or Teams. I for one definitely find Zoom calls more efficient than the travelling time I was spending in 2019, as well as saving on petrol costs too of course.
By autumn 2021, I was beginning to feel a bit stuck in the same Covid rut, I have to admit. I think many of us are the same to be honest. At the start of the year I’d written down some goals, and in August realised I hadn’t even started to look at them. Cue some panic during late summer and autumn, wondering where the year has gone and what have I achieved. But, it’s been a busy year and I’ve found it more important than ever this year to reflect on what we’ve done. It’s so easy to forget, and not pat yourself on the back. For myself as well, I’ve definitely felt a lot more anxious this year about the general day-to-day, so looking back, and having some time to reflect, is definitely worthwhile.
Things I wanted to do… but didn’t: write a book, launch online courses, launch a website academy. Still, there’s 2022 right!
Digital Women Awards: I was genuinly shocked to have been shortlisted for two awards at the Digital Women Awards 2021 – Role Model of the Year, and Entrepreneur of the Year. Not only that, but I was listed as one of the 40 Digital Women to Watch in 2021 too. Now that was definitely something on my bucket list!
Becoming an Aberystwyth Town Council Councillor: this wasn’t on my list of things to do for a while, but I was approached by a few different people when some seats came up for co-option. It was something I had planned to do later on in my 30s to be honest, but why pass on the opportunity? Also, being a Town Councillor linked in quite well to other community things I do. It’s been a big learning curve, the councillors have been very supportive and I’ve enjoyed the difference I’ve managed to make to my local community. Next year, it’s elections – so there will be plenty of campaigning before May! I’ve yet to decide if I’ll go for County Councillor or not…
Aberystwyth University Tutor: My first interview in years, and potentially, my first ever ‘real’ interview too, to apply to become a Tutor with the Lifelong Learning department at Aberystwyth University. They offer a range of short, online courses for anyone to purchase, and when I applied I thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase the expertise we have.
Facebook Blueprint Community Manager: a tough exam, but I was absolutely delighted to pass my Facebook Blueprint Community Manager exam this year. I’ve got 2 Blueprint badges now, and just need to plan and work on the next one.
Ardal Aberystwyth Rotary: I was asked to join a new Rotary club that was being set up in Aberystwyth, and before long, was putting my name in to be the first Llywydd (President). As a new club, we did feel it was important to emphasize that it was open to women, all ages – and well, basically just to everyone. Gone are the days of old-fashioned Rotary clubs! It’s been such fun since we began meeting in the summer, and we’ve already supported some great events. Our official charter arrived 1st December 2021. I can feel 2022 will be an exciting year.
Forward Ladies Awards: you may have read some blogs of mine talking about the Forward Ladies Awards in 2018. Honestly, they have been such an important part of my journey, so it was a delight to be shortlisted again this year! No Award on the night, but being listed against some fantastic women once again was an honour.
Gwe Cambrian Web: I can’t do a reflection on the year without quickly mentioning the business! In January 2021 we took on our first ever full time member of staff! We are since a team of 3 with Catrin onboard since June, and we are advertising for 2 full time positions. Hopefully this time next year, we’ll be a strong team of 5! We also took a huge office move in November as well, moving from our place on Bridge Street in Aberystwyth to above Nationwide on the main street. A much larger space for us to grow into, and we’ll also be able to open up our hot desks again in the new year as well. Finally, we smashed our record of website launches, from 26 in 2020, to 44 this year. Lots of hard work from the team, I’m so proud!
Holidays: Despite Covid, we’ve had 3 fantastic holidays to Scotland, and also explored county Durham as well. It’s important to me to take time away from work and also from Aberystwyth. Exploring parts of the UK was something we did pre-Covid, and although I miss going abroad and discovering new cultures, I’ve enjoyed discovering a lot more of Scotland.
When I started thinking about reflecting back on the year, I found myself feeling a tad deflated I’ll be honest. It’s been a hard year. I have found myself being quite anxious, I’ve dropped a few balls along the way and felt overwhelmed at times. But then I look back on what I have achieved and I know I can feel proud about the year. I’m looking forward to some time off over Christmas, to allow my brain to have a bit of a clear out. I’ve already got my Forward Ladies Goal Setting book, and I’m already feeling those first tinges of excitement for a new year.
What on earth can 2022 have in store? Aside from a few Scottish holidays…
by Kerry Ferguson | Dec 10, 2021 | News
You may have seen that I’m a tutor for Aberystwyth University’s Lifelong Learning department, and in January I’ve got two Welsh language courses launching with them:
Marchnata ar y Cyfryngau Cymdeithasol: a social media marketing course, we’ll be looking at setting social media goals, creating a strategy, and how to use each platform. Of course, there’s a fair bit more along the way but that’s the nutshell.
Find out more here.
Creu Podlediadau: creating podcasts – this was a popular course I ran in English during the autumn 2021, and it’ll be back in Welsh for January. Taking you right from the acorn of an idea, to producing your own podcast by the end of the 10 week course.
Find out more here.
by Kerry Ferguson | Dec 2, 2021 | Digital Marketing, Social Media
I’ve been reading a lot of the predicted social media trends for next year. Some are the same as ever, some are perhaps not relevant to my clients or target audience so, I’ve listed below some of the ones I feel we should be aware of and bear in mind.
TikTok
Across all of the sites I’ve read, TikTok becoming a dominant platform is the top listed trend. It is already moving slowly up the tables, but the predictions are that it will soon dominate, especially as we continue to move towards short-form video content. Will you be adding TikTok to your digital marketing strategy?
Social ‘Commerce’ will continue to grow
We’ve already seen a bit of a shift to this with Instagram and Facebook Shops of course, but the prediction is that more and more, customers will expect to be able to purchase direct off social media platforms (and essentially, not have to go to your online shop to purchase). My recommendation is, if you are using Shops online already, continue to put your energy into that, and make sure you measure your success.
Video
I can’t really write a post about next years trends without mentioning video. It comes up every year, but every year it comes up again. Is 2022 the year we really push into video much more? It’s been a growing form of media over the past few years, and with that we’ve learned what customers consume. Short form, personable videos. Videos help us create better connections and relationships with our audience, and once again, is being pushed for 2022.
Social Media Goals
Another predication for 2022 is that many businesses and organisations will list “reaching new audiences” as a primary reason for being on social media. And we quite agree! Social media has so much potential for us to do this, both organically and via paid ads.
Social Media Specific Jobs
With the increase in social media for reaching new customers, for connecting with audiences, for customer service – we will see a huge increase in social media marketing specific jobs. From what I’ve seen over 2021, there are already specific jobs in this field, and it’s basically just proving how important social media is for any business.
Businesses will forget the basics
This was an interesting read actually, because we’ve come across a few businesses over the past year who we’ve recommended need to get the basics right before jumping ahead. Basics including posting organically, making use of the features available and knowing your target audience. Some predictions for next year suggest this is a growing ‘trend’, but that we should always remember the basics.
Audio will grow
Audio social media really took off in 2021 with Clubhouse, and Twitter introduced Spaces too. Predictions are that Twitter Spaces will continue to grow, and a shift to audio social media within certain sectors will happen. Don’t forget podcasting too!
by Kerry Ferguson | Oct 22, 2021 | News
I’m really delighted to have been shortlisted for the Forward Ladies National Awards (Female Entrepreneur Category) this year. I was last involved in the Forward Ladies in 2018 – which feels like an absolutely age ago – when I won the Regional Final for Young Entrepreneur for Wales, North West & Northern Ireland. It was a fantastic journey for me and 2018 a pivotal year in my career I believe.
The awards this year are a little different, thanks to Covid – there was a live judging however it wasn’t the usual full on networking day that I experienced in 2018! I’ve been following the Forward Ladies work now over the past year or so and I’ve taken so much away from their membership already.
Good luck to everyone involved in the awards ceremony at the end of November – and fantastic job to everyone for being shortlisted!
