FRESH MEDIA - BOLDFACE BRANDING
  • Home
  • FEATURED WORK
  • BLOG
  • PRINTING
  • The Team
  • News
  • Contact

Pound on the #Hashtag!

14/10/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture
The first time I  was introduced to the symbol “#” was on the push- button phone. I called it a pound sign. If you ever researched it, you would see that in Latin, it literally translates to “pound by weight.” However, in contemporary society ie the information or digital age, we refer to the “#” as a hashtag.


Hashtags are words or multiword phrases that categorize content, track tops and driver conversations on social media. It’s a challenging social media feature to use but once you get the hang of it, you see the results.

Check out these #tips on Hashtag Use, Boost Strategy, Reach, Engagement and building brand identity: 

  • Choose hashtags that are relevant to your industry. 
For example: #digitaladvertising #digitalmarketing #socialmediamarketing
  • Choose hashtags relevant to your target audience 
For example: #smallbusinessowner #entrepreneur #handmade
  • Create hashtags that summarize what your content is about 
For example: #hashtagstrategy #hashtagtips 
  • Create hashtags that point to a location
For example: #trinidadandtobago #maracasbay #northcoast 

How many hashtags should I use for each social media platform?
Twitter :-        1-2
Instagram:   3-5
Facebook:    3-5
Youtube:      3-5
LinkedIn:      1-5
Pinterest:     2-5
Tik Tok:         3-5

Now you’re all set to manage your social media presence with hashtags, now go take on the digital world!

​
2 Comments

WhatsApp or What’s Up?

22/2/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
WhatsApp or What’s Up? This has now become a common question that we, as professionals, have found hard to answer. Where is the line drawn? How do you keep it professional and yet still keep the conversation light?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, WhatsApp became essential for the workplace as it provided a way for colleagues and clients to communicate while working remotely – to network and to share ideas. Additionally, it's an immediate, free and convenient communication platform.

There are no specific laws governing the use of WhatsApp groups in the workplace but here are some tips to ensure your business WhatsApp chats remain professional and keep those work/life boundaries firmly in check.
  1. When starting a group or adding an employee, client or client representative, always make introductions if the members do not all know each other, just like you would in person. 
  2. Ideally, a group should contain no more than eight people. A manageable group size will ensure that everyone is heard.
  3. Treat the group as a staff meeting. Address each other with respect, use emojis sparingly or not at all, avoid using colloquialisms or abbreviations and make sure to participate in discussions.
  4. Only send and receive business-related WhatsApp messages during work hours. Occasionally you might need to send a message after hours but any time after 8 pm could be considered inappropriate or invasive.
  5. Keep your personal views to yourself and always keep it professional.

While these tips are helpful, some companies may prefer a more formal approach. They would add guidelines within their work policy for what is acceptable and what is not when communicating with colleagues or clients via WhatsApp.
​Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
1 Comment

10 Reasons Why Every Business Should Blog

4/8/2021

3 Comments

 
Picture
To remain competitive in the digital landscape, businesses have realized more than ever before, that they must add value to their content marketing toolkit. Insert BLOGS! There are many other great reasons why businesses need a blog. 

Here are TEN rock-solid reasons:
1. Blogs Establish Companies As An Authority In Their Field
Before purchasing a product, most people will research the product or service. A well-written blog provides the potential buyers with the information they need to make an informed decision. The blog will guide the buyer through uncertainty to help them trust you and your product or service.

2. Blogs Increase Website Traffic
If you sell products or services online, then you need a way to attract the right people to your e-commerce website. One proven way to drive traffic to your website is by regularly publishing new content on a blog. The blog of course must be SEO savvy, meaning that they are written so that Google’s AI will identify them and show them in search engine results pages. The higher your website shows up in the search engine results, the better chance you have at getting people to visit your website.

3. Blogs Create A Community
Blogging opens up two-way communication with your customers. Interacting with readers in the comments or on social media allows you to exchange ideas and understand them and their needs better than ever before. When people feel like their opinion matters, they tend to stay and support the brand, which in turn generates long-term clients and brand loyalty.

4. Make Great Social Media Content
With social media usage on the rise, companies need to make sure that they are consistent in providing fresh content on their social media pages. Blogs make excellent material for these social media pages. The information can then be repurposed into graphics, videos and podcasts.

5. Blogs Can Serve As Effective Customer Service Platforms
Blogs that answer frequently asked questions customers may have about things such as products, services, purchasing processes or refund processes, can serve as affordable and effective customer service platforms.

6. Blogs Promote Public Relations
In the world of blogging, cross-promotion is invaluable. Blogs that can be promoted by other companies via cross-promotion create more authority and credibility for your business and also benefit your readers with additional value.

7. Blogs Are An Affordable Marketing Tool
Content can be created with a minimum of funding and can be used for a variety of promotional purposes. With the blogger’s expertise coupled with tact and skills, blogs can be written about almost anything including the introduction of new products or services, special events, new outlets, or new apps.

8. Blogs Can Generate Helpful Feedback
Most blogs have the potential to help generate critical feedback for a business’ service or product which can be helpful when trying to decide how to launch a new product, ways to improve current services, and whether a product has hit its mark. A blog can be used to poll followers or industry fellows to formally solicit input on specific products or services.  In addition, the comments section can be a useful tool for collecting qualitative feedback from your clientele and allow you to collect the necessary input to deliver.
9. Your Blog Solidifies Your Company As Industry Experts
A blog gives you an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and expertise in every aspect of your business. Once you’ve established yourself as an expert in the field and your business attracts enough attention, other companies in your industry or even related industries will also begin to take notice. Given time and effort, they will begin to generate links to your content on their websites effectively growing your audience exponentially.
 
10. Blogs Can Help Businesses Grow Their Email Lists
When people see the value that your blog provides, it will be much easier to convince them to join your subscriber list. This opens up new leads and potential customers who are interested in your product or service and want to know more. The majority of the emails that you send to these subscribers will be opened and read, resulting in more sales for your company but it is important that you send these emails sparingly so as not to overwhelm them. The types of emails you send can be anything from specialized promotions, exclusive articles, to e-books, to online courses.


Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
3 Comments

Working Remotely During COVID-19

17/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Food for thought: One in five people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime! This is according to Mental Health America. Now, more than ever, it is becoming more of a “big ugly giant” stomping around many people within your circles. It is important to see the signs and to support one another. 
Therefore, it is more than likely that someone in your team has been impacted especially since we are navigating uncharted waters with Covid-19. Many are working remotely full-time, isolated from co-workers, friends and family. Daily lives and routines are disrupted leading to added anxiety, stress and strain—physically, mentally, and financially. It is completely natural for this disruption and uncertainty to lead to anxiety and stress. Now more than ever, mental health must be made a priority.

To help remote employees manage stress and maintain good mental health, we're sharing these tips you can implement in their day-to-day life.​

  1. Stay connected with your support systems such as your family, friends and coworkers FaceTime, Zoom, WhatsApp and Google Hangout.
  2. Keep an eye on your surroundings and people around you, if something seems off - ask a question and offer support.
  3. Create and maintain your schedule. Schedules strengthen your mental health by reducing the number of decisions you have to make in a day. 
  4. Prioritize keeping your immune system strong by sanitizing and washing your hands, getting enough sleep eating well and staying hydrated and taking vitamins
  5. Stay active even if you can’t go outside. Periodically, get up and move around your home. Try walking, stretching, planks or jumping jacks in your living room to reduce or alleviate stress and increase endorphins. Connect with someone online to motivate you! Teamwork always gives you an extra boost.
  6. Engage in activities that bring you joy and distract you from existing challenges. Some activities that you may enjoy include journaling, reading, art projects, cooking with new recipes, breathing exercises, or listening to calming music. Experts say, 5 mins of dancing alone and singing to the top of your lungs as if no one is watching is a big stress reliever. 
  7. Become an at-home chef, cooking is great therapy. Try new things and enjoy the flavours… top this off with some well-deserved dessert! 
  8. Spring clean! This is always a good flush out of the cob-webbed stored items that you have been needing to throw out… come on, there is no need to be a hoarder! Extra bonus - you will feel cleansed! 

Time heals and we must stay close to our inner self, ensuring that we stay connected, stay alert and create a well-balanced lifestyle. 

The following numbers are listed to provide you with additional online mental health care information:
Alive (Suicide Hotline): – 688-8525, 650-5270
Lifeline (24 hour hotline):645-2800
Families in Action: 628-2333
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-7283
Rape Crisis Society of Trinidad & Tobago: North 627-7273; South 657-5355
Children’s Authority: 800-2014 or 996
Legal Aid:  625-0454
Family Court: 627-8716/623-2631/624-1307
Victim and Witness Support: 624-8853
Child Guidance Clinic : 726-1324
National Family Services Division:  624-8218 or 627-1163

0 Comments

Why you shouldnt work for free

24/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

Would you ever visit the supermarket, fill your trolley with items and then ask to leave the store without paying? Would you visit a restaurant, eat your steak and expect it to be on the house? The answer to both questions, is no! So why would you think, it’s ok to ask a creative to offer their services for FREE?


In the advertising industry, creatives often encounter prospective clients who would approach them or the agency they work for to work at a reduced rate or for free. As a professional, your time is money, and you should always charge for your work. There’s nothing wrong with helping out a non-profit you care about or a friend you owe a favor or even giving your client a freebie but it becomes problematic when it's expected. Worst yet, it will not be appreciated because it costs them nothing and may even demand a bunch of revisions.

If this didn’t  deter you from not working  for for free, here are some other reasons:
  1. It devalues your work and time, if you give a client a consultation, flyer or even a blog for free. It sends the message that if you do not value your work or time, then why should we value it.
  2. You could be doing something more productive with your time: Instead of taking on an unpaid project because there’s a lull, try building a database of potential clients who will actually pay for your talents. 
  3. It does not advance your career: In fact, it does not  help you grow your business, nor does it position you as an expert. You can create your own portfolio for free! You don’t need their permission.
  4. You have your own expenses: opportunity does not feed you, clothe you, shelter you or even pay your employees. ​
Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
0 Comments

Micromanagement and the CONTROL Monster!

12/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

It is precisely what it sounds like; someone trying to personally control and monitor everything in a team, situation, or place. The person who carries out the micro-managing is called a micromanager.


These individuals needlessly and unnecessarily complicate and lengthen tasks while at the same time often frustrating team members because of their over-management and over-scrutinization. This often happens when the person feels as if their job is on the line or a perfectionist.

According to the Journal of Experimental Psychology, employees who feel that they are being micromanaged perform at a much lower level. In another study, published in the “Progress Principle,” by Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile and psychologist Steven Kramer, micromanagement “stifles creativity and productivity in the long run.”

While micromanagement may not seem like a big deal as individual instances, it can become extremely toxic and it’s important that managers at all levels understand just how bad it really is. 

Here is a closer look at the top three negative impacts on employees:

  1. Low productivity: Constant surveillance along with excessive tweaking and changes, slows down the workflow and in turn  decreases productivity. This also leads to employees second-guessing their ability to complete tasks independently. 
  2. Heightened stress: When employees begin to feel a loss of autonomy, they become frustrated and stressed out at work – which often leads to burnout. Employees lose the desire to go the extra mile for a task, they reduce their creativity, they limit themselves to what is demanded from their manager and their engagement levels fall.
  3. Poor health and mental well-being: Increased stress can often have many other negative side effects on a person’s physical and mental health. Employees can experience depression or anxiety, sleep interruptions, high blood pressure and even an unhealthy weight gain or loss. ​

Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
0 Comments

Vlogging pt 2

15/6/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
In part one of “Vlogging During Covid-19” we outlined the benefits of vlogging. These included personalizing customers' experience, reaching wider targeted audiences and showing your expertise. With benefits like these, it’s  recommended that businesses integrate vlogs in your digital marketing initiative. Vlogs aren’t expensive 

You don’t need to invest a huge amount in vlogging but it’s success relies on the time and commitment you place into developing engaging content.  How to create a successful blog?

  1. Prior to filming, decide what your vlog will be all about. Usually,  vlogs are used by many businesses in the form of FAQs and tutorials to communicate to their consumers. However, don’t limit your creativity. Vlogs can be about almost anything, but  the content must always be informative and engaging.
  2. Vlogs are a great way to personally connect with your target audience and represent your brand. Therefore it’s important to think critically about your vlogger , who you want to represent your company. 
  3. Embed the videos on your website to control the environment and prevent others from manipulating your content. You can add popups to your page to increase email subscribers
  4. Similarly to blogging, vlogging can also increase the chance of success but the only thing is that you have to be consistent. The best vlogs have a repository with hundreds of video entries. It may take months before you notice a major boost in subscribers, traffic or engagement.
  5. Develop a promotion strategy to drive views and shares of your vlogs. This strategy includes paid ads, utilization of email lists, or any number of other digital marketing initiatives. 
Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
1 Comment

Vlogging during cOVID-19 pt 1

15/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
With 44% of global Internet users now watching vlogs every month, it’s clear it is increasingly becoming a  dominant online force. It is also one of the strategies that businesses across the world are using to educate consumers, inform, entertain, and market their products and services while simultaneously protecting their brand during Covid-19. But how  does vlogging help your business?

  1. It offers a customer a more personalized experience by giving  them the feeling that they are purchasing from you as an individual, not just a website. 
  2. Vlogs made available on Youtube, the #2 search engine in the world has the potential to reach a wider targeted audience
  3. It’s a great way to show your audience your knowledge and expertise about your business and products.
  4. It’s easy to share therefore has the potential to reach wide audiences.
  5. Vlogging is quite simple. It focuses more than production, so all you need is a camera with video capabilities.
Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
0 Comments

Microblogging as a Business Marketing Tool

15/4/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture
A microblog is one of the latest and most effective ways to support your business’s  website, digital identity and customer communication. In fact, it was listed as one of the Social Media Trends to look out for in 2020.

While traditional blogs can be lengthy,  a microblog introduces topics or messages that are conversational in less than 1000 words.  Marketers describe it as a cross between instant messaging, blogging and social networking. 

Daily, a consumer is swamped with marketing messages. Usually businesses will post content that is product centered. Consumers don’t want "Buy! Buy! Buy!' being shouted at them all the time. So as a result, the majority of those businesses fail to get through to them.

However, according to Target Marketing Magazine, microblogging is showing massive appeal and is getting through to the coveted 18- to 35-year-old demographic. Why? It’s allowing businesses to relate on a more human and personal level with their target audiences and connect consumers to the goods and services that they are offering.

Another advantage of microblogging is that it can also be easily found by search engines. That’s because  search engines are prone to finding new and fresh content and posting from time to time will mark your blog as active for all the search engines.  It’s also a popular medium, from customers’ point of view, as they get the necessary information with a relevant message,  instead of reading an entire article.
Written by Amelia Ramjarrie
2 Comments

PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS’ BRAND DURING COVID-19!

30/3/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture

COVID-19 is an unprecedented situation and as a business owner, it’s a challenging time. In addition to trying to run your business, you are concerned about your staff and providing value with your marketing and advertising during this volatile time. You need to protect your brand and be present with your audience, so that when life gets back to normal, they won’t forget about you. 

Here are some tips on protecting your brand: 
1. Evaluate Your Current Marketing and Advertising strategy: People will be spending their time indoors and are more likely to be on social media. Essentially, you should be looking towards digital advertising, as radio and other outdoor media will not reach your audience. 

2. Create content that garners engagement: What can you do to entertain them but provide future value for your business? Vlogs, tutorials, virtual consultations and online competitions are some of the ways to give your audience something out of the ordinary.  

3.  Get Social: Social media is your greatest tool. Whether  you run ads, boost posts or post organically, keep on top of the conversation, so your brand is still in the minds of customers when we get through this. 

4. Use your email database: Let them know what you’re doing and updates about your business. It’’s important at this time to keep your loyal customers informed rather than chasing new business. 

The worst thing you can do for your business during this time is stop advertising. Rather, take a step back, work with your  team and discuss ideas to move away from traditional advertising and towards online and social media advertising. Strategically, digital advertising maximizes exposure while reducing expense.

Written by Amelia Ramjarrie

2 Comments
<<Previous

    Fresh Media

    Great industry insights fit for anyone! 

    Archives

    October 2022
    February 2022
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019

© COPYRIGHT FRESH MEDIA LTD. 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • FEATURED WORK
  • BLOG
  • PRINTING
  • The Team
  • News
  • Contact