Author: Jesse McCarthy-Price
Published: April 26, 2017
Esperance locals are active social media users so it’s always great to see local businesses on board with Instagram and Facebook. It’s one of the most effective cost-free advertising solutions there is, if you can engage your followers and continue to expand your reach. There’s a lot that can be learnt from the local businesses that are doing things well, so using some examples of Esperance’s best business accounts, we’ve laid down the five most important steps to social media success.
Scrolling through the s’juice Facebook page, or Downtown Espresso Bar’s Instagram, it’s easy to get an idea of the vibe of the business thanks to the clear tone of voice coming from the captions and statuses. Aim for a professional and confident voice and offer insight into hours, specials and behind-the-scenes fun. You want to share the story of your business, so be sure to include your staff, your customers and your passion for the product you sell in the narrative.
We understand—the days go by and next thing you know, you haven’t posted anything for weeks. But post frequency is crucial to building and maintaining a steady following. You want your account to be the go-to place for customers to stay up to date with your hours, specials and updates. Check out Brodeine & Deine, The Barefoot Tribe and Bread Local and consider the way they create anticipation and ‘first to know’ value to their posts, incentivising people to keep following them. To make things easier for yourself, plan ahead and even stockpile images so you have enough content to keep you going throughout the week.
Alwaysremember aesthetics are key. While having a supply of professional photos taken is always a plus, an iPhone and a steady hand should be enough to get sufficient quality images. The most important thing to consider when posting online is consistency with the style of your pics. Aim for a variety of angles and subjects—portraits, flat lay, landscapes and text—but keep exposure and colours as uniform as possible. Your profile picture should be your logo, and make your business hours and website link visible. If you want to post a video, it will go further on Facebook (see Esperance Diving & Fishing) or as your Instagram story. Remember, you’re selling a lifestyle rather than a product so treat your followers to a visual experience and let them dream a little.
Surprise! Networking on social networks is important. This means replying to comments, liking posts and following back. Don’t hesitate to follow other businesses and show your support, even those you consider your competition. Reposting is good (it’s better to repost than not post at all), but be sure to attribute the photos accordingly, and don’t make major edits to the original image. Use popular and industry-specific hashtags, and geotag your posts so when people are browsing Esperance, your business comes up. If you’re using Facebook, consider a weekly budget for Facebook advertising, which starts from as little as $10 a week. The crafty algorithms mean you can choose to market towards people either from Esperance or those interested in traveling to Esperance.
Competitive edge sometimes stops people from wanting to cross promote with other businesses, but it’s time retire this point of view. Collaboration online is key to your own business’ exposure, and good for the business community as a whole. Like Esperance Chalet Village and BJT’s By The Sea, try to engage with other businesses for inspiration and to offer support, and tag them in your photos where relevant. Social media is all about finding and sharing inspiration, so don’t be afraid to copy similar businesses’ styles a little, either. At the end of the day, the collective growth of the business community is likely to benefit your own business, so get on board, work together and have fun. The only way is up.
Downtown Espresso Bar
Brodeine & Deine
The Barefoot Tribe
Bread Local
Clearwater Kids
Esperance Charters
Wildberry Art
Lou Keevil Interior Styling
Fare Esperance
Jody Ellett Studio
Salty Fit Personal Training
Esperance Chalet Village
s’juice
BJT’s By The Sea
Sweet Events Party Hire
Onshore Cafe
Pink Lake Butchers
Amore Cake Creations
Yirri Grove
BJ’s Fruit & Veg
Ecolosophy
Flame Of Esperance
Keevil’s Furniture
Esperance Yoga
News Xpress Esperance
Coffee Cat
Naturally Esperance
Dempster Street Barber Shop
BM Secret Garden
Toy Station Esperance
Innertube Surf Shop
Mint Blue Sea
Bean Break
Lucky Bean Cafe
Cover photo: George Shillington
