marketing
15 Brilliant Proofreading Tips For Your Equestrian Business Marketing
21/03/22 10:38
Your Shrewd Ideas To Have Sparkling Equestrian Business Marketing Copy
Proofreading your writing, whether it’s on your social media, website, products or brochures will give it a final polish that will add to its professionalism and help make a good impression. It also enables readers to focus on the message without being distracted. Lots of mistakes can also detract from your credibility.
So now that you know how it benefits you, you probably want some advice on how to do it, right?
Before we get going, I have a small caveat. Our brains are wonderful things. They save us time when reading by skipping over things and seeing what they think should be there. If the writing is your own, your brain will think it knows a lot of what’s there. Sadly, that means it’s very hard for us to proofread our own writing properly. Even proofreaders are advised not to!
That said, it’s way better than nothing. And social media posts and emails that aren’t part of a mailing list aren’t worth paying to have proofread anyway, although some people do. Be extremely careful with your social graphics, though, as mistakes there stand out more than those in a body of text and are harder to fix.
With that out of the way, let’s get going!
- Make sure you have a good knowledge of punctuation and grammar
- Take a break
- Proofread when your mind is alert
- Don’t proofread when you’re rushed
- Remove distractions
- Look for one type of error at a time
- Read one word at a time
- Place a ruler under each line
- Read it backwards
- Read it out loud
- Change your margin width
- Print it out
- Know your common mistakes
- Use your word-processor’s spellchecker, but wisely
- Check for consistency
Conclusion
Now that you’re armed with these tips, you can go ahead and improve your writing. It’s something like get a horse ready for a class at a show where turnout is important.
About The Author
Emily Haag is a proofreader for equine and pet businesses, helping them to feel confident about their written words and saving them from spending time head-scratching.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-proofreader
Why You Should Love These Marketing and Branding Tips For Your Pet Care Business
01/10/21 12:28
Brilliant Tips To Get Your Business Noticed For All The Right Reasons
Step Into Your Customer's Mind
How do you discover new companies or services to use? You could get a recommendation from friends or family. Or you could see an advertisement. But if you want to discover more, what do you expect to see?
Do you want to find a website with lots of information? Is a Facebook page or other social media account enough. Or does it not matter as long as you can find the information that you need to know?
Why am I asking you this?
Taking a step back and understanding what you want to know. Can help you decide on what marketing channels you should use for your own business. Be ruthless! What is your current marketing telling your prospective customers? If someone didn't know you, what is your marketing and branding telling them?
Should You Love Facebook or Get A Website To Be Noticed?
- Is a website needed, when you can use social media? Facebook gets mixed press from people. But millions of people do use it!
- Although not everyone does use Facebook or social media. Including your potential customers!
- There have been occasions too when Facebook isn't working. Or at the very least very slow. So if people have to rely on seeing your Facebook page and they can't view it, then you may lose a customer.
So what are my tips?
1. Keep up to date
Whether you use Facebook business page or a website, keep it updated.
If you don't post often to your Facebook page. Or don't update your website (check the footer or copyright - is a year in there?). Then it looks like you're either a) closed or b) don't prioritise your business image.
Are you unsure what to post on your Facebook page? See this blog post for ideas
2. Know Your Image
What is the image of your business? No matter the size of your business. Whether you're working with horses, pets, or other animals, how you behave portrays an image. In how you work with your customers.
But also in your marketing. Your website or Facebook page is part of your marketing. So get those well designed and giving people the information they need.
3. Branding
But more than just being well designed, consider your branding. Branding is something for businesses of all sizes. Even if you are a solopreneur, if you have a business, branding is vital.
Learn To Love The Benefits Of A Great Brand For Your Business
- Be authentic. So don't create a colour scheme or logo for instance that doesn't mean anything to you. Make sure it's relevant to your business. But let it be inspired by what you want to achieve. You should feel comfortable and happy with it. Even if you outsource designing to a specialist branding expert, be clear on your brief, and only accept what you know is right.
- Make sure it's about you. Following on from the above point. To make sure you and your service stands out for all the right reasons. Which are, that your branding reflects you and your business goals.
- Don't confuse marketing with branding. Marketing is the method of showcasing your service and gaining customers or leads. Branding is the overarching approach. Without clear branding, then your marketing efforts maybe confused.
- Consistency is vital. So don't change your branding every few months. Of course if something is really not working then you should change. But branding is an expensive process - both in your time and in marketing. So do test branding concepts with trusted friends or relatives or others you know and trust. Being consistent will enable people, your potential customers, to get to know you. By getting to know you then trust can develop.
In Conclusion
One of the principles of my T.A.R.A. coaching programme is being targeted. Part of this is being clear on what you want your marketing and branding to show your potential customers.
Branding, image, marketing these are for businesses of all sizes.
You should love your business. It is yours. If you're having trouble getting clear on your business and setting goals and planning. Then a business coach maybe what you need. This is one of the services that I offer.
Read more about the T.A.R.A. coaching programme here
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at Suzanne's Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Promote Your Pet Care Business On A Budget
16/04/21 14:20
As you work in the animal care industry you can make a massive positive impact on animal's lives. But how can you let people know of all the good work you do? And without a big marketing budget?
Social media is the obvious place to start. I know it can help you to engage with your potential customers. And also your existing customers. Customer retention is a great way to ensure you're not having to rely on getting new customers. This can be costly, not least in your time.
There are many social networks you can use. I'm not going to tell you which is the best network. Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, they all could be useful.
And with those 4 as an example, they all allow you to post without paying. You don't need to pay. Of course you can advertise. But this may have a limited impact. It depends on your business objectives. You can do a lot to engage with people, let people know about what you do and promote your business. Without paying for advertising.
A recurring problem, I hear from my new coaching clients is, what do I post? I can understand this. Particularly if you're busy. With several hours a day spent with your animal customers. When do you have the time to plan your posts?
This is where it's useful to sit down and decide what you want to achieve. And brainstorm some ideas on what you can do to achieve this. A scheduler can be useful to help you. There are also ways to schedule your posts in advance. But it can be as simple as deciding that you'll spend 15 minutes at the beginning or end (or whenever) each day. To post on your chosen network. Read this post for more ideas.
Do you need to post or have an account on more than social network? No. Having one social network that you use is fine! Better to do one well rather than several badly!
Other ideas for promoting your business with a big marketing budget include:
If you'd like to receive a free social media scheduler or website audit checklist. Then please email me at info @ taranet.co.uk.
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
Regards, Suzanne
Director at Taranet
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
And also search through this blog, for lots more marketing tips for your veterinary or pet care business!
How To Use Social Media To Market Your Business On A Budget
Social media is the obvious place to start. I know it can help you to engage with your potential customers. And also your existing customers. Customer retention is a great way to ensure you're not having to rely on getting new customers. This can be costly, not least in your time.
There are many social networks you can use. I'm not going to tell you which is the best network. Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, they all could be useful.
And with those 4 as an example, they all allow you to post without paying. You don't need to pay. Of course you can advertise. But this may have a limited impact. It depends on your business objectives. You can do a lot to engage with people, let people know about what you do and promote your business. Without paying for advertising.
A recurring problem, I hear from my new coaching clients is, what do I post? I can understand this. Particularly if you're busy. With several hours a day spent with your animal customers. When do you have the time to plan your posts?
This is where it's useful to sit down and decide what you want to achieve. And brainstorm some ideas on what you can do to achieve this. A scheduler can be useful to help you. There are also ways to schedule your posts in advance. But it can be as simple as deciding that you'll spend 15 minutes at the beginning or end (or whenever) each day. To post on your chosen network. Read this post for more ideas.
Do you need to post or have an account on more than social network? No. Having one social network that you use is fine! Better to do one well rather than several badly!
Other ideas for promoting your business with a big marketing budget include:
- Website - presumably you have a website? Then make the most of it! It's not the answer to everything. But too many times I find new clients without key information on their websites. Review it and pretend you've no idea who you are. Would you know what you do?
- Contact other professionals. For example, if you're a veterinary physiotherapist. Then contact all local animal related businesses, so they know you're there. This could be veterinary practices or dog groomers, or stable yards, etc.
How To Get Your Free Social Media Scheduler or Website Audit Checklist
If you'd like to receive a free social media scheduler or website audit checklist. Then please email me at info @ taranet.co.uk.
Improve Your Skills To Run Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
Regards, Suzanne
Director at Taranet
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
And also search through this blog, for lots more marketing tips for your veterinary or pet care business!
Love These Brilliant Tips To Create Affordable Promo Videos
20/04/21 11:54
How To Create Promo Videos Without Spending A Fortune
Promo videos are a great way to spread the word about a forthcoming event or marketing initiative engagingly!
Promos are similar to teaser videos, in which you catch the audience's attention and entice them to find out more about your brand, its products, or services.
So if you're wondering how to create compelling promotional videos on a budget, keep reading, and we'll go over some of the most important things to keep in mind!
When Should You Use A Promo Video?
Promo videos are fantastic for drawing new customers by raising awareness about events.
If your audience is unfamiliar with your brand, promo videos can draw their attention to your current promotion while simultaneously informing them about your brand.
You can also re-engage established and returning customers by luring them in by giving them an incentive, such as a discount, which will encourage them to buy from you.
Why Create Promo Videos?
In a nutshell - because they work!
Promo videos are an effective way to communicate information that you want your audience to remember.
Consider all of the ads you see in the weeks leading up to the holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, with major retailers advertising deals on their products or services.
Similarly, you can use promo videos to successfully draw potential clients or encourage existing clients to engage with your business, which can be especially helpful when trying to get guests to sign up and attend events.
How To Make a Promo Video
Below, we'll go over how you can create your promo videos without spending on fortune on hiring a production company.
Step 1: Write a script
- Start with the fundamental concept - what are you trying to sell or promote?
- Concentrate on the keywords and key ideas you want to incorporate into the promotional video.
- Keep your video script brief - promos can run up to a minute and a half, but anywhere from thirty seconds to one minute tops is optimal!
Step 2: Create a storyboard
- Promo videos require visual aids such as graphics or title cards. So make sure to plan these out ahead of time.
- It would help if you tried to plan out what you want to include in terms of visuals.
- One great tip to help keep costs down is to create different copies of the same promotional film. To make several promo videos for the same campaign, consider coming up with a few brief variations of the same theme or concept.
Step 3: Action!
- Now that you've planned your vision, it's time to bring it all together!
- Shooting on location in your shop, event location, or workplace is the most cost-effective option.
Step 4: Editing Time
- The promo video's most crucial aspect is to share valuable details, such as coupon codes, event dates, or deadlines for the end of the offer.
- So that the viewer doesn't lose out, make sure to provide these details creatively with illustrations and graphics.
- Don't forget to add valuable information about your brand, including your logo, business cards, website address, etc.
Step 5: Promote, promote, promote!
- Since your social media networks are one of your company's most important marketing channels, this is a great place to start. Be sure to share your promo videos on them!
- Spend some money to advertise your promo video on social media, and use retargeting to alert your fans and subscribers who have opened your promotional email about the deal!
Creating Effective And Affordable Promo Videos
There's no doubting the fact that you can easily spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to create promotional videos for your brand.
But by creating your videos yourself, writing your script, filming on location, and editing your content in-house, you can easily make promotional video content that's not only engaging but also cost-effective for your brand!
About The Author
This is a guest post by Bryan Davidson
Marketing Moves To Digitize An Old Business
25/03/21 12:40
Love These Essential Marketing Moves To Digitize An Old Business
With more people working and learning from home than ever before, the pandemic means it has never been more critical to digitize your traditional brick and mortar business.
You could benefit enormously from just investing in your website.
Still, there are many other tips and tricks for modernizing your business and getting it up to speed in today's modern digital world.
Here are some digitization tips for breathing new life into your old business.
Identify How Your Business Can Operate Digitally
You need to have a comprehensive view of how the company can work as a digital enterprise.
Suppose you're digitizing your business by designing a brand new website to address a particular niche or overhauling your internal technology.
In that case, it can significantly affect how your organization works in a number of areas, and you must be aware of this.
For instance, if you sell products, you'll need to learn how to display, promote, and sell those products to an online audience.
Invest In SEO And Digital Marketing
Your organization should spend adequately on search engine optimization and other aspects of digital marketing in 2021.
Organic search traffic, which can be gained through your SEO investment, can be an advantageous marketing channel, and you'd be shocked by how much of a difference a single digital marketing campaign can make in your organic growth.
Remember that all forms of digital marketing should act together as part of a more comprehensive approach.
So, in addition to SEO, you'll also want to include social media marketing, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising as part of your overall strategy.
Give Your Employees Social Media Training
When you're working on digitizing your company, ensure that your employees are in the best position to profit from the improvements.
It's wise to give your workers the preparation they need to keep up with the company's changing face.
Social media is currently one of the leading marketing channels for reaching a broader, global audience.
Therefore, if you want to breathe new life into your business and succeed in today's digital world, mastering your brand's social media is going to be key!
Social Media Marketing Tips
- Define your target audience: It's essential to build your social media campaign around your target audience. Determining your target audience helps you determine what social media sites you should be using and what content your audience responds best to.
- Build a winning game plan: The trick to making your idea a success is to develop a social media marketing plan. Remember the social media sites where you'll be posting content while you plan your campaign, ensuring they cater to your target demographic and fit with your objectives.
- Create consistent branding: Everything from your company's branded logo through to the tone of voice used, fonts, and colours should remain consistent throughout any of your marketing efforts. This ensures your brand will be as memorable as possible in the eyes of the consumer.
- Use the art of storytelling: It's the stories, not the goods, that sell! We, as people, are drawn to stories. Therefore, storytelling is the relational bond that a company establishes with its customers. They elicit creative thoughts and promote engagement. Use storytelling in your social media posts to capture your target audience's attention, and you'll be sure to generate a great deal of engagement.
Digitizing Your Outdated Business Practices
For companies and organizations that have been around for some time, you already know how important it is to remain current and up-to-date with the trends surrounding your industry.
Those who don't are likely to fail, while those who keep up with trends and changes are sure to succeed.
By using these quick tips on modernizing your old business, you're sure to be able to reach a larger audience than ever before while also increasing engagement and generating more revenue for your business!
About The Author
This is a guest post by Cesar Clarke
How To Post At The Best Time On Social Media
28/12/20 12:30
3 Top Tips For You To Post At The Best Time On Social Media
So you've some great posts. You're pleased with the information and photo's or video's you're posting. As an equestrian or pet care entrepreneur you know you can make a difference. Not only helping people to help their animals, but also to help you build your brand.
But you're not getting the engagement you're expecting. Is this because you're posting at the right time of day? Or are you posting when no-one's online?
In short, there is not a wrong time of day to post. Many of the social networks do not show posts in someone's feed, by date/time order. Often they're shown based on engagement.
So if your post has likes, comments or shares, it can get greater priority or visibility.
You don't need to spend lots of money though on promoting posts!
How can you get more engagement on your posts? Here's 3 top free tips:
- If your post refers to a company or an individual (say one of your customers), then tag them. They may then engage with the post, and in turn this will help you.
- Be regular! Sounds too simple? Well if people get used to seeing your posts they are more likely to engage with you. As they get more comfortable with your work. Also many of the social networks prefer accounts that are consistent. Meaning they then show them in feeds.
- Comment and engage on other people's posts. Now you may say how is this going to help you? There's several reasons.
- Number one, by you commenting, liking or sharing on another post, your profile will then be "logged" as doing so. Other's can then see you, and they then may go and look at your profile. Like what they see and then engage on your posts. Far fetched - no!! It happens all the time.
- Number two reason, most social networks like accounts that engage with others. Putting the 'social' into 'social network'. If you are a regular contributor to a network, through commenting and engaging on others. It will benefit your own posts.
I make no apology for not saying you should post a specific time each day. Because despite there being much conflicting advice online. It really doesn't matter. Consistency is key to development and growth. As it is with all aspects of your life.
Action point
If you're not already doing the above 3 tips on a regular basis - by that I mean at least three times a week. Then start now! Remember social networking for your business is not likely to be an overnight win. You need to be consistent. But your equestrian or pet care business will benefit.
Good luck and please feel free to share this article or join me on social media at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
How to Get Confidence Using Social Media
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
Are You Making The Most Of Being On Social Media?
11/12/20 12:59
3 Top Tips For You To Have Social Media Success
You have a social media profile for your pet care business, to promote your business. But are you making the most of it? There are many strategies you can use to maximise engagement and reach. And get new and help retain existing customers. It's essential though you have some basics in place.
Otherwise you're missing opportunities. Remember your potential customers are scrolling through lots of information. Make it easy for them. Don't assume they'll do lots of research on whether your business will help them. They probably won't. Here's 3 top tips to help you maximise your social presence.
Tip 1 - A Complete Profile
You're scrolling through social media. You find an interesting account. Or you see a post you'd like to follow up with the company or person who posted it.
But then you see you can't contact them! Because there's no contact details.
An obvious thing to include on your profile? Well unfortunately not. Many people don't.
So the first top tip is to always and I mean always include your profile some contact details.
Your website at a minimum should be listed. But also your email or telephone or WhatsApp.
If you've got your pet care business on social media, there's no reason for you not to have your contact details. Otherwise what is the point?
Tip 2 - Your Name
What's in a name? Well quite a lot, especially on social media. Or in business generally for that matter! Keep your profile name professional. If your social media account is for your pet care business, then your name should be professional. And it should be your business name.
If your preferred account name is taken already, then consider adding a number or an underscore if your allowed. (social network permitting).
But make sure the name is relevant to you and your business. You could use your own name, not your business name.
Be objective, if you were someone who knew nothing about your business. Would you recognise from the name what you were about?
Tip 3 - Description
In your social profile you an add a short biography of you and your business. The amount of text will vary according to the network. But make the most of whatever space you have.
Say what you do in as few words as possible. What I mean is don't waffle or go off point! Keep it all professional. Say where you work - the area.
That way people will know whether you're a business they'd like to know more about. And whether you're relevant to them.
Action Point
Whichever social network you use as an equestrian or pet care entrepreneur. Review your profile. And take note of the three ideas above. And if you're not doing any of them. Then start now!
How to Get Confidence Using Social Media
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How to Make Your Pet Logo Relevant to Your Business
10/12/20 12:31
What's Your Identity For Your Pet Care Business?
Many logo and graphic designers stress upon the importance of brand identity designs being true and relevant to the business. Paul Rand famously called a logo, ‘an ambassador’, for the company. He was of the opinion that a symbol ‘doesn’t sell directly but identifies’.
If you think about it, this is how businesses manage to turn themselves into successful brands. When it comes to pet logos, this is what you have to keep in mind. The relevance of your logo and how it is able to get the target audience to identify your business.
The competition in the pet industry is tough, which is why, you need to communicate with the customer clearly and directly through your brand symbol. Tell them what you have to offer from the first look so that there is no confusion. In order to do so, your pet logo design has to be relevant to your business and represent it in the best way possible. There are a few useful tips and tricks to creating a pet logo that will help to make it relevant to your business.
Define Your Audience
One of the first steps that you can take towards creating an impressive and to the point logo is to narrow down your target audience. The more you are clear about the group of consumers you want your business to attract, the easier the design process for a relevant brand identity. Take this for example. The logo for a vet’s clinic will have a different audience than that of a dog and cat walking service. If your business belongs to the first category, then its brand symbol should portray that with simplistic wordmarks or elements such as medical instruments.
On the other hand, a dog walker or pet sitting logo can be more fun and animated to appeal to the target consumer.
Avoid the Clutter
You know how they say, too many cooks spoil the broth? Well, this is something similar. In a pet logo, it is always a better idea to keep things simple instead of adding several shapes, icons and letters. If there are a lot of elements to focus upon, your message might get lost and confuse the customer.
This is why, it’s recommended that you avoid clutter and figure out how to highlight your business in a simple manner. With a company or business that produces and sells dog food, you can just have a silhouette of a dog or puppy with a wordmark or lettermark. If you want, you can incorporate elements of nature such as leaves or trees to gain the trust of the customers in your product.
Create a Balance
This might sound strange at first but not all logos focus on keeping and maintaining a balance in their designs. Sometimes, you might be able to spot it clearly and at other times, you might just miss it. When it comes to making pet logos relevant to the business, a balanced logo design can be highly effective. If you take a look at the examples below, you will see how the animal imagery, shapes and words have been used to create a well-balanced brand identity design.
Focus on the Fonts
While the right colors are critical to the designing of pet logos, the choice of fonts can really make them hit the mark. If you want to make sure that your logo does not lose its relevance over time and remains true to your business, then focus on the fonts and typography. If you want to create a modern appeal, then a strong and clear Sans Serif is a good choice. Otherwise, you can get creative with Serif fonts or even try calligraphy depending on the message you want to send. It basically depends on your business and the product or service you have to offer.
For pet grooming and accessories, you can choose a decorative or handwritten font whereas for rescue or adoption services, you can opt for something bold and direct.
Stay Away from Themes and Trends
You do not want your pet logo to look as if it has been copied from somewhere or is too closely similar to another design. This is why, it’s a good idea to avoid following themes and trends in the industry. Instead, you should try and make your logo as unique as possible to your business.
Incorporate your brand’s story in some way if you possible, otherwise, you can use different color combinations to make it stand out. Keep the colors or shapes that might be trending with other businesses away and go with something unusual yet appealing.
To Sum Up
Pet logos can be created in a way that they become relevant to the business for years to come. If you stick with some of the tips given here, you can have a pet logo that highlights your business values and represents it well. In the end, you can have a brand identity design that can be used to market your business everywhere and gain an advantage over the competition.
This Is A Guest Post From Maria Anton
Author Bio
Maria Anton is a freelance content specialist who likes to help brands develop and grow. She writes about marketing, branding and advertising but open to other business topics as well. In her free time, she crochet knick knacks for her kids.
3 Tips To Help You Enjoy Social Media
04/11/20 21:23
Do You Enjoy Using Social Media In Your Equestrian or Pet Care Business?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed. Or lost using social media?
It can be easy to get distracted by other users. In so much as feeling that they're doing better than you. You may not be getting the results you want. Or expect.
Here's 3 tips to help you enjoy using social media.
- Unfollow!
If another user is always in your social media feed. And you feel that they're getting all the likes or shares, and you're not. And this is making you feel overwhelmed. And not helping you feel positive. Then stop following them. Or if you're not, but because others you're following are sharing/commenting, so shows in your feed. Or because the social network 'recommends' the posts to you. Then mute them. You can usually mute or block a user. Do this.
To help you thrive, positivity is key. And using social media should be enjoyable. And not an endurance test. Only see users/posts that help you feel happy.
- Engage
I've said this many times before. But engage with fellow users. Either comment on a post. Share a post. Reply or like a post. Depending on the network, you don't always need to follow someone to share or comment. Keep comments positive or helpful.
You're more likely to have your posts seen. And people finding your account, if you engage. And you may make a new customer. Or a new contact who can recommend you to their friends or family.
- Use a variety of posts
Use photo's, video's, gif's, links, text posts. Some post formats will work better than others. Some will work better at different times of the day or week. Some will work better for different content. But mix it up. It can be fun to try different posts. And see what works. Using the same post format all the time can make you feel bored. And can bore your followers (dare I say it!).
Action Point
Whichever social network you use as an equestrian or pet care entrepreneur. Review what you're doing now. And take note of the three ideas above. And if you're not doing any of them. Then start now!
How to Get Confidence Using Social Media
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Make The Best Out Of Your Social Media
16/10/20 12:36
So how do you make the best out of social media for your business?
There's no perfect way to increase engagement, and generate customers. To some extent it will be trial and error. You can gain a lot of insights on the basics in my other blog posts. But below here are two more top tips to help you.
- Connections. Not the number of people you're connected with. But the Quality of your connections. There's no point having 1000's of followers if they're not your ideal customer.
- So how can you help find out if they are? Cultivate your connections. What do I mean? Engage with each of them as an individual. Don't send generic direct messages. Personalise them. Do a bit of research on who you're contacting. On their profile they may have their name, business or website mentioned. Taking an interest can help you generate rapport. And also give you an opportunity to become memorable for all the right reasons!
- Don't copy and paste. If you're contacting many people. It can be tempting to copy and paste your wording.But this is rarely personal. It can lose impact. Most people will spot a generic "ad". This is what it'll look like if you're copying and pasting.
This extends to your posts, as well as direct messages. Write your social media posts so that they're writing to an individual. Not like broadcasts to the world. Why might you say? Well you're not going to have the world as your customer. There are thousands of animals and people who your service will help. But it won't be for everyone. And that's fine.
Finally. Above all be yourself. Don't try to be someone you're not. As when your customers do meet you, then they won't find consistency. Being consistent and congruent in your business and life is important!
Your Action Point
- Message or post to individual pf
- Personalise your messages.
- Comment on a few posts every day from people in your groups, newsfeed. Ensure your comments are helpful and useful. Not a sales pitch for your service!
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Find Customers In Challenging Times
14/10/20 12:46
Finding customers for your equine therapy business is always a priority.
But in these challenging times we find ourselves in, it's upper most in many of my clients minds. So what ideas are there?
First of all, is cutting prices a good idea? No. It devalues your service. Unless your own overheads have reduced and your profit margin has increased. Then it's going to be unaffordable too.
A better idea is to offer a customer loyalty programme. This can be for new and existing customers. Do you find yourself buying coffee from a favourite brand, because of loyalty points? I know for sure it's great to get a free coffee from time to time, because of collecting points!
So what can you offer? Ideas include:
- Attend 9 therapy sessions and get the 10th free.
- Attend 10 sessions and get a free gift. Now this could be a head collar or rug. Or why not partner with a fellow equestrian business for them to give away an item. This is also promotion for their business. So can be win-win!
- Attend 5 sessions and get the sixth half price.
- Or have a free prize draw every month for customers who've had an appointment that month. The prize could be anything that you know your customers will love. And remember, try partnering with another equestrian business too.
Where should you be promoting your service?
- As i've mentioned in previous posts, there's many places that you can advertise.
- Are there any local equestrian or community newsletters or magazines?
- Does your local riding club have a newsletter?
- Use social media. Be consistent in your posting. If you can't manage more than one network. Then concentrate on using one really well!
When advertising though. Remember to sell what benefits your service offers. If you're an equine massage therapist. Don't tell people only that. Tell them why their horse will benefit.
Do any local vets know about your service? Remember that equine vets often travel a large area. So it's worth letting a number know you exist. They'll still be seeing horses every week (or day!), who you could help. So make sure they know you're there.
See my previous posts for more ideas. Have a browse through this blog, but these two are a good starting point:
Action Point
- Review your marketing. Where are you promoting your service? What messaging are you using?
- Can you change the places you advertise? Do you need to revise your messaging?
- Try and take an objective look. If you didn't know what you did, would you know? (if you know what I mean!).
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Have A Great Website
11/10/20 22:04
Simple Design Tips For A Great Website
People find your website, and that's it isn't it? Your great content will let them know what you do and they'll buy your service or product? Not always!!! Can people actually see past the design? Is it obvious what you're saying and what your company does?
Your website should be a great "shop-window" for your equine or canine business. Creating a website can take a lot of time. But unfortunately this can be time spent on choosing elaborate fonts. Or a very bold or clashing colour scheme. So your potential customers, can't find out if what you're offering is what they need. Why? Because they can't read it well!
Here are a couple of top tips to help you audit your website. With a critical eye, see if your website is ok, or needs some amendment.
Tip 1 - Fonts
Are the fonts on your website clear? Are they decorative or elaborate? Can anyone, including people who may have any visual impairment read what you're saying? Or does it take a lot of effort to see past the font?
Tip 2 - Colour Scheme
Bold colours can look great and be eye-catching. But be careful to choose colours that don't detract from your website's purpose..... You want to present professional information about yourself. And get people to get in contact with you! So make sure your anyone can read your website. And aren't distracted by the colours.
Choose a background colour that contrasts well with the font, so that the writing can be clearly seen..... Black writing on white background may seem not to be very exciting to some. But it's usually clear to read. (That's not to say of course that's the only colour scheme to use!)
In conclusion.
Remember people will often look initially at your website for a short period of time. Sometimes seconds. If they decide that it's going to be too difficult to find what they need to know. They'll leave the site and find another one to look at.
Action Point
- Review your website, and imagine you're someone who knows nothing about your business. Is it easy to read? Would you carry on looking at it? If you're not sure, ask someone you trust to give their honest opinion to have a look!
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Promote Your Equine or Canine Business
02/10/20 22:12
Do you need more customers in your equine or canine care business?
Advertising your service. Whether on social media or in printed publications. Or posters/business cards on noticeboards can all help.
But before your do anything. Think about what you want to say. Sounds obvious right? But no! So often I see great horse and dog care professionals not selling themselves very well. And often miss the mark when it comes to getting new customers.
Here's 3 top tips to help you promote your business to success!
1. Target your ideal customer. What does your ideal customer need? If you're offering an equine physiotherapy service, then don't tell people only that. Tell them why their horse will benefit. For example. You could say: "Is your horse tense when ridden? Physiotherapy can help relieve tension. Give me a call to find out more and book an appointment."
Don't try and say what all the benefits of your service are in the one ad. It will overwhelm and confuse your potential customer. You can change your messaging over time and in different locations.
2. Check your website and social media. Is it clear who you work with. And where you work? And your contact details are prominent. Sounds simple. But I often find when I audit clients websites they have overlooked the basics.
Remember people don't hang around on a website searching for information. Not normally anyway. So make it easy.
3. Collaborate with equine or pet websites and other business owners. See if you can write a blog or article for their website or social media. And with your contact details on it, it will help a wider audience know about you.
Action Point
- Use these ideas to generate interest and get leads for your business.
- Review my previous blog posts for more tips to boost your equine or canine or veterinary business.
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Keep Your Customers Connected With Great Newsletters
30/09/20 12:58
Content Creation For Your Business Newsletters
You may know that I love newsletters. They're a great way for you to keep connected with your customers. (Read my blog post here for some ideas on why they're such a great idea!).
A question often raised by clients is though, what to talk about? How on earth to come up with ideas for newsletters?
In this post, find 5 great content ideas for your newsletters for your equine or canine business
- Why is your work with horses and dogs useful? Let your subscribers, know different reasons why you can help their horses or dogs. Don't try and give all reasons at once though! A newsletter doesn't need to be long. Give a different reason over a series of editions. Focus on the why and the how. Include case studies if you can.
- Case studies of your work with horses or dogs. This can be over a series of newsletters, looking at different breeds or types of horses or dogs. And different ailments. The possibilities are endless. Include photo's and video's if you can.
- Product recommendations. You may even sell some products alongside your business. But there are probably products you do use. For instance if you're a canine hydrotherapist you may use special towels to help dry your dogs. Give your subscribers recommendations. And let them know how they can buy.
- General health tips. Give your subscribers advice on healthcare tips for horses or dogs. This could be seasonal. Or a specific ailment. Or even grooming.
- Any CPD you've completed. Provide reassurance that you do complete CPD. Don't be shy about telling people about a course you've attended. Your qualifications are hard earned. But be sure to share why they will make a difference to your business. And importantly how they'll help your equine or canine customers.
A general point is be consistent. Send a newsletter regularly. Whether that's every week, or every month. Be consistent.
Action Point
- Use these content ideas to get your newsletters created and published.
- Review my previous blog posts about mailing lists and also more content ideas.
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Build Connections On Social Media
25/09/20 12:53
What do you do on social media? Do you concentrate on posting AND connecting with others? Or do you prefer posting and 'hoping' for a response?
The "posting and hoping" approach is quite common! It enables you to get your posts done, sharing content and if someone sees it and likes it, so much the better.
But it's not targeted. And if you get some customers, it may well be more luck than anything else. Of course there are exceptions to this, like if you're a large international brand.
To get the best benefits out of social media, connecting with others is vital. There's two main ways you can connect.
- By commenting on other people's posts.
- By expanding your network, by following or linking with others.
So how do you connect on social media?
First of all, don't treat every new connection/ follow as a sales opportunity. I don't like going into a shop and having a shop assistant start trying to sell me something straightaway. Do you?
Also if you go into a shop and every (potential) customer has the same sales pitch said to them. It doesn't make you feel like an individual does it? You're one of the numbers only.
Instead it's better to have a customised approach. What do I mean? First off, if you know a connections name. Then in your private/direct message or post comment, use their name if you can. You're then talking to the person as an individual. This is especially important when you're inviting someone to connect with you. Such as on a network like Linkedin.
Do some research. Nothing complicated. But check their profile and/or website. If it's clear they work with dogs. Say something like you share in interest in dog health. Including it shows you're taking an interest.
Why bother personalising comments and connection invitations? It shows you're not a robot! And helps in the first stage of building trust.
Your comments and connections may not immediately lead to a sale. But in time they might. Remember most people don't like a sales pitch at any time, let alone from someone they don't know. And importantly someone they don't trust. It takes time to build this.
Your Action Point
- Commit to connecting with new people on your social media every day. Even five a day is a great start!
- Personalise your messages.
- Comment on a few posts every day from people in your groups, newsfeed. Ensure your comments are helpful and useful. Not a sales pitch for your service!
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
PS: You can find more equestrian and pet care themed business articles over at my Linkedin, see more here https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-harris-mcmi/detail/recent-activity/posts/
How To Get Your Customers To Love Your Website
19/09/20 12:36
You've got your website, so all should be ok?
It may be "selling" your service, so customers know what you do. Where you do it. And how you can help their horse or dog. You maybe proud of it. And hopefully you are!
But can people find it easily?
Without stating the obvious. Your customers won't be able to love your website if they can't find it!
Before you go down the SEO (search engine optimisation) route. Start at the beginning and what is your domain name?
Your domain name is the website address. So here, my website domain name is taranet.co.uk. Is your website domain long? Is it your own? Or does it include a suffix like wix.com or wordpress?
Not that there's anything wrong in itself with having a suffix. But the longer the domain name, the more likely it is someone will forget it. Or not be able to clearly tell their friends or relatives about your service, and your contact details.
Remember, your website may not just be seen by your direct customers. But by people who can refer others to you.
Potential customers will love your website if it's easy to find and remember. A long domain name will put people off. Or they could mistype and end up somewhere else entirely.
Over many years, consumer research suggests simplicity is preferred. It may cost you more to have your own domain name. But not having a clear easy to remember name, may cost you more in lost sales!
There are a huge range of suffixes you can have to your business name as a domain. It's no longer just .com or co.uk or .org. There are dozens! So you're bound to find one that will work for you.
In auditing websites for my customers, the first thing I look at is the name. It's surprising how often it's overlooked! And is a fairly easy to thing to fix. And is an easy way for you to start getting your customers loving your website!
Your Action Point
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
It may be "selling" your service, so customers know what you do. Where you do it. And how you can help their horse or dog. You maybe proud of it. And hopefully you are!
But can people find it easily?
Without stating the obvious. Your customers won't be able to love your website if they can't find it!
Before you go down the SEO (search engine optimisation) route. Start at the beginning and what is your domain name?
Your domain name is the website address. So here, my website domain name is taranet.co.uk. Is your website domain long? Is it your own? Or does it include a suffix like wix.com or wordpress?
Not that there's anything wrong in itself with having a suffix. But the longer the domain name, the more likely it is someone will forget it. Or not be able to clearly tell their friends or relatives about your service, and your contact details.
Remember, your website may not just be seen by your direct customers. But by people who can refer others to you.
Potential customers will love your website if it's easy to find and remember. A long domain name will put people off. Or they could mistype and end up somewhere else entirely.
Over many years, consumer research suggests simplicity is preferred. It may cost you more to have your own domain name. But not having a clear easy to remember name, may cost you more in lost sales!
There are a huge range of suffixes you can have to your business name as a domain. It's no longer just .com or co.uk or .org. There are dozens! So you're bound to find one that will work for you.
In auditing websites for my customers, the first thing I look at is the name. It's surprising how often it's overlooked! And is a fairly easy to thing to fix. And is an easy way for you to start getting your customers loving your website!
Your Action Point
- Review your website domain name. Is it clearly describing your service?
- Is it long? Does it have a suffix that is yours or is it hosted on another platform?
- Can you change the website name, and can you find a suffix that means the website is yours?
- Consider your website name on any of your marketing materials. Does it look easy to remember and is clear? If you do change your website domain name, update your marketing materials or advertising!
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Click here for more information on consultancy. Or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for info on coaching opportunities with me.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Why You Should Love YouTube For Your Business
01/09/20 12:55
Have You Considered Youtube For Your Equine or Canine Business?
As you know youtube is a popular online place for videos to be posted. And it's not just a video sharing website, but a social media platform. An enormously powerful one at that.
Worldwide there are over 2 billion active monthly logged in users. Yes really, 2 billion! And importantly some of those will be your potential customers. Whether you're in the UK, USA, Australia or another country it's almost certainly the case youtube is being used right now by people who could either be your customer. Or they know someone else who will be.
Youtube is powerful as a search engine too. People searching on Google will also get youtube results. And people will use youtube to search for information that will help them. So in many ways it's more useful than some other social networks, who don't have the same search ability.
Barriers For Using Youtube?
Do you feel reluctant to use youtube because you think you need professional video's? Or perhaps you don't think you've anything worthwhile posting?
Firstly you don't need anything more than the video on your smartphone. Yes you can get professionally made video's. There are many photographers and marketing companies who can help you do this. Or you could get a camcorder, tripod and sound equipment to do it yourself. You don't necessarily need expensive editing software either. If you've an Apple Mac, then you may have iMovie, which is brilliant.
But as I said, a smartphone is fine. Either film something yourself. Or get a friend, relative or colleague with a steady hand to film you working with your equine or canine customers.
Other Types Of Video?
You can also create a slideshow/ presentation. If applicable, create an accompanying voiceover (you can usually record on good presentation software). And export it in a movie/film format, and then post it on youtube.
What To Post On Youtube?
Whether you film or create a slide show or hire a professional. What should you post on youtube? What will be helpful for your equine or canine business? Here are 5 ideas:
- Have a film showing you working with horses or dogs. This could be a 5 minute clip or a 30 minute clip. However long is up to you. Keep it relevant and if you can show something in a short time. Do it. Don't think you need to prolong it. But if you need longer that's fine!
- Create a slideshow/presentation explaining some key facts about your service. This could be all your service. Or a particular aspect.
- Use a film of you explaining about why you do what you do. And how you can help horses and/or dogs. See this as an introduction to you.
- Provide tips and advice. This could be general horse or dog care tips. Or something specific.
- Interview someone. This could be a customer (the horse or dog's owner?). Or a veterinary professional who refers to you. Ask 3 or 4 questions. Keep it light. But it'll help show people another aspect of what you do as a equine or canine professional.
Will People Be Interested In What I Have To Say?
Remember that what you know is different to what others know. It will often be more than what others know. You don't know, what people don't know!
The important thing is to be authentic. Be interested in what you're talking about. Hopefully this shouldn't be difficult! But don't try to be someone you're not.
These video's will be about helping your potential horse or dog customer. And showcase why you maybe able to help.
How Often Should I Post?
Try and be consistent. The more you do, the more practice you'll get. And the more you should enjoy it! And your potential customers have the option of subscribing to your youtube channel and so can keep in contact with your updates. So be consistent.
Action Points..
- Get planning. Write down 5 ideas for youtube content.
- Create a schedule. Will you do one video a month, or once a week? Decide on the frequency and plan how you'll do it and when.
- Create an account and post. If you've not already, create a youtube account. Remember you can set video's to 'private' so you can practice and post, without the public seeing if you like! But don't spend too long worrying about perfection. If it stops you posting publicly!
- Do you want coaching support to help your business flourish? Please email me to discuss!
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Stop Losing People At Your Twitter Profile
19/08/20 12:26
Do you want to have a twitter profile that encourages readers to see what you do?
One of my top tips is to ensure you use the "pinned tweet" function well.
First off did you know you can pin a tweet to the top of your profile? It's a great idea to ensure that either important news, or a tweet that you think is interesting gets seen.
To pin, go to the tweet and click on the drop down option (top right). And click pin to profile.
If you want to change the pinned tweet. Go to the new tweet to pin, and click pin to profile, and follow the instructions. It'll let you change it. Simple.
But my top tip about this. Is that you need to change it often. If you've a tweet pinned to your profile, it's the first tweet people see. Now they may go scrolling on. But they may only see that pinned tweet.
If it's dated from a few months ago. Or even a few years ago. It to me it looks like you don't bother updating your social media or business very often. This can lose you valuable potential customers!
Now you may think the pinned tweet is worthwhile. If it's got content you're proud of. Re do it. If it's relevant, change it slightly. Not that it matters for you to change it. Please pin a new tweet, with the same or different content. Do this every few weeks. Don't leave it so long, that the first tweet people see is from a long time ago.
It doesn't create a good image. You may think that the pinned tweet has lots of retweets/likes, and so looks really popular. Although that is true. It's still old. Change it!
Action Points..
- Get pinning a tweet to the top of your profile. Or if you have already. Change it!
- Have a look through my previous blog posts for some tips on using social media.
- Gain more confidence in using Twitter with my free 1 page Twitter Basics Guide, which you can find online at http://taranet.co.uk/resources/Twitter-1-Page-Guide.pdf <
- For a free social media scheduling guide, please email me at info at taranet .co.uk
- Do you want coaching support to help your business flourish? Please email me to discuss!
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Top Tip To Avoid Losing Customers At Your Website
12/08/20 20:47
Do you have a website for your equestrian, canine or veterinary care business?
Do you know if the website works on all devices? Your customers, (and potential customers). Will be looking at your website on their phones, tablets, laptops. And desktop computers. So that's quite a mix. And it can mean without some planning, a website won't work.
It's important you do have a website which is what's known as "responsive". In short, this means that your website works, on whatever device it's viewed on.
Otherwise, some pages may not appear. Some links won't work. Or a page will 'spill off the screen'. Generally it won't look great, and could lose you a customer!
But you can fix this.
There's two options.
- Have 2 websites. One which is computer viewable. And one which is for mobile devices. I do not recommend this. It means duplicating work. Who's got time for that?!
- Have a website that's designed using software which has responsive functionality. I designed this website here at Taranet, with responsive software. During the design process I also could check what it looked like. By pressing a button to replicate the different screen sizes.
Personally if I'm looking at a website which doesn't work. I'll 9 times out of 10 leave, and find another company to look at.
Don’t let your business down with a simple website issue.
Action Points..
- Check your website, to see if it works on different devices.. Or ask a friend or relative to help you by looking on their phones or laptops.
- If your website doesn't look right. Get the design changed. This may mean choosing different software. Or get a different developer.
- Have a look through my previous blog posts for more business tips
- Do you want coaching support to help your business flourish? Please email me to discuss!
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Know What To Publish On Your Social Media
01/06/20 12:17
Know What To Post On Social Media With These 5 Tips
You're busy. With clients, administration and your non-business life.
So how do you find the time to decide what to post on social media?
As you may've picked up from my other blog posts. being consistent is key to social media. So how can you keep coming up with new ideas?
Here's some tips to get you started on posting on social media in your equestrian, canine or veterinary business.
- Don't worry about what other people post. It can be easy to get into comparison mode. See another business like yours, posting lots of video's of them working. This could be with their horse or dog customers. Then another day they could post about their own life, or a motivational quote. Or something else completely random. Whilst this is fine for them. If it seems too time consuming for you. Then don't feel the need to do it! Which leads me to tip number 2.
- What information do you want to share? If you're a veterinary physiotherapist. Do you want people to know the different techniques you use? Do you want them to know the range of animals you work with? Decide what you want to use your social media to update people with.
- How do you want people to get your posts? So do you like using photo's or video's? A mix of both is fine. But if you find the idea of video too much, then don't do it. (or not yet anyway). Keep to photo's.
- Whether you use photo's or video's or text based posts. (Depending on the social media network you use). Don't get too caught up on the detail. Ensure any post you make, is factual and not littered with spelling mistakes! But otherwise, don't worry if it's not a professional video or photo. And not a long text based post.
- Be authentic. So in conclusion to the points above. Ensure what information you share. And the method of your posts. Is all authentic to you. Don't try to be someone you're not. If you prefer to have a light-hearted approach that's fine. Or if you prefer technical detail that's fine too. Keep it simple and true to what you want to do.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Take a look at the action points below too!
Regards, Suzanne
Action Points..
- Get started posting. With consistency and practice, you'll find it not such a chore.
- Have a look through my previous blog posts for some tips on using social media.
- Gain more confidence in using Twitter with my free 1 page Twitter Basics Guide, which you can find online at http://taranet.co.uk/resources/Twitter-1-Page-Guide.pdf <
- For your free social media scheduling guide, please email me at info at taranet .co.uk
- Do you want coaching support to help your business flourish? Please email me to discuss!
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Why You Should Love Social Media
19/05/20 21:11
Hi
In previous posts i've talked about many social media tips. To help you get the most out of social media for your horse or dog care business. But are you convinced that social media is necessary at all?
First of all. It's important to understand why a business account is different to your personal one. In fact you may think you've not got time to have two accounts.
But on many networks. Such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, a business account gives you more options. These include:
Questions that do arise are…..
Is will my customers look at social media?
Is it worth bothering with?
The short answer to these is yes!
According to Social Media Today, Twitter has 145 million active daily users worldwide. And Facebook has 2.41 billion active monthly users. With these numbers there are bound to be some who will be potential customers.
And remember, even if someone doesn't want to be your customer. They may know someone who will, and recommend you to their friend or relative. Don't underestimate the power of recommendation!
Of course there are other networks you may prefer using. Such as Instagram and LinkedIn. These are also popular with a large range of people.
So which to use? Well the decision on what network to use isn't so as important as deciding what strategy you're going to have. What do I mean? Well how are you going to post? What are you going to post? how are you planning to convert people viewing your posts into customers?
Most horse and dog owners are busy people. Prioritising the care of beloved animals is time consuming. At the best of times, let alone if there are any special care needs! So post regularly! This will give your equine and canine guardians a chance to see your posts.
Having a clear plan of what you're going to do. And try posting different types of information, photos and videos. Post at different times of day. Different days of the week.
Be consistent and be regular.
With social media use for any business. Engaging with your audience is vital.
Action Points..
In previous posts i've talked about many social media tips. To help you get the most out of social media for your horse or dog care business. But are you convinced that social media is necessary at all?
Why should you love social media for your horse or dog care business?
First of all. It's important to understand why a business account is different to your personal one. In fact you may think you've not got time to have two accounts.
But on many networks. Such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, a business account gives you more options. These include:
- Get more analytical information. E.g. Understand who is viewing your posts.
- You can advertise and promote your posts.
- It helps keep personal and business posts separate. You can still be 'human' and not too formal even on a business account!
Questions that do arise are…..
Is will my customers look at social media?
Is it worth bothering with?
The short answer to these is yes!
According to Social Media Today, Twitter has 145 million active daily users worldwide. And Facebook has 2.41 billion active monthly users. With these numbers there are bound to be some who will be potential customers.
And remember, even if someone doesn't want to be your customer. They may know someone who will, and recommend you to their friend or relative. Don't underestimate the power of recommendation!
Of course there are other networks you may prefer using. Such as Instagram and LinkedIn. These are also popular with a large range of people.
So which to use? Well the decision on what network to use isn't so as important as deciding what strategy you're going to have. What do I mean? Well how are you going to post? What are you going to post? how are you planning to convert people viewing your posts into customers?
Most horse and dog owners are busy people. Prioritising the care of beloved animals is time consuming. At the best of times, let alone if there are any special care needs! So post regularly! This will give your equine and canine guardians a chance to see your posts.
Having a clear plan of what you're going to do. And try posting different types of information, photos and videos. Post at different times of day. Different days of the week.
Be consistent and be regular.
With social media use for any business. Engaging with your audience is vital.
Action Points..
- Have a look through my previous blog posts for some tips on using social media.
- Gain more confidence in using Twitter with my free 1 page Twitter Basics Guide, which you can find online at http://taranet.co.uk/resources/Twitter-1-Page-Guide.pdf <
- For a free social media scheduling guide, please email me at info at taranet .co.uk
- Do you want coaching support to help your business flourish? Please email me to discuss!
How You Can Make Video Part of Your Social Media Strategy
08/05/20 15:54
Have you tried using video for your social media?
Or is it something you’re not sure about? Are you worried about not having:
- The technical skills - will it work out ok?
- Anything interesting to do a video about?
Or do not feel confident about being on the video yourself, or presenting information?
Whether you prefer using Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Video is an important part of your content strategy. So what makes a good video?
Your aim should be to have a video that encourages people to stay looking at it. And not scrolling past. So how can you “hook” your audience?
Start the video with:
- An interesting setup
- A close-up shot
- Or quick movement or action.
Try including your logo at the beginning. So people associate your video with your service.
How can you plan your video?
- Decide how you want to start it. What will be a good introduction? (taking into account the points above).
- Decide what story you want to show. Despite the length of your video, it needs a beginning, middle and end. It needs to make sense (to some extent!). And not be completely random (unless you’re making a clever point!).
- Decide if it’s going to make sense to people without the sound on. Remember people viewing your video may not be able to have sound on where they are. Don’t assume everyone has earphones either.
- You can do the filming, or get someone to hold the smartphone/camcorder. This depends on the topic.
- A steady hand is vital (or use a tripod). And have the sun behind you, not the subject!
What ideas could you use for your horse or dog care business video? Two great ideas are:
- Provide dog or horse care tips. These could be general tips that you know people will find helpful. (Remember not to assume people will know everything. So do provide basic as well as more advanced information!).
- Give people an insight into your service. This could be you working with horses or dogs. It could be giving them an idea of a first appointment. Or a therapy session.
Action Point..
- If you've not already used video on your social media. Make a start this week!
- Make a short video on your smartphone. You don't need camcorders and special recording equipment.
- And if you're nervous, and use Instagram. Post it onto your Instagram Story. This will disappear after 24 hours. So a good way to ease yourself into it!
- Try doing a video at least once a week. Don't worry if it's short. By making a video regularly your confidence will grow!
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more about my specialist equine and canine business coaching.
Regards, Suzanne
Director at Taranet
What Your Mailing List Want To Know
02/02/20 12:37
What sort of emails should you send to your mailing list subscribers?
A great thing to remember is that if people have subscribed to your mailing list then they do want to hear from you! Yes it does sound obvious, but many business owners forget this. Many of us get lots of emails, and can feel overwhelmed by it all. So we don’t want to bombard our subscribers. But there’s a balance, but be consistent. If people start expecting a weekly or monthly email then try sticking to it.
So what to send?
Number one. Unless you have segmented lists, then you need to write emails that meet the needs of everyone who’s signed up. But if you have segmented lists, then send emails bespoke to each.
Second. Don’t worry about sending a variety of information. Here’s 6 brilliant ideas:
Action For You
Review the emails you’ve sent recently. What have you been sharing? Now what can you share in future. Plan what you’re going to talk about and when. And get writing and scheduling.
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more about business coaching and consultancy.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
A great thing to remember is that if people have subscribed to your mailing list then they do want to hear from you! Yes it does sound obvious, but many business owners forget this. Many of us get lots of emails, and can feel overwhelmed by it all. So we don’t want to bombard our subscribers. But there’s a balance, but be consistent. If people start expecting a weekly or monthly email then try sticking to it.
So what to send?
Number one. Unless you have segmented lists, then you need to write emails that meet the needs of everyone who’s signed up. But if you have segmented lists, then send emails bespoke to each.
Second. Don’t worry about sending a variety of information. Here’s 6 brilliant ideas:
- Dates. Are there any relevant ‘days’ that you can link to your business? For instance, if your business helps cats, did you know International Cat Day is 8th August? Or celebrate the anniversary of when you started your business.
- Special offers. Do tell people if you have any offers!
- Top tips. Share your advice and tips.
- News. What’s your latest news? Do you have any new services? Have you completed any training? Give people an insight into running your business.
- Invitation. Are you holding any events that you can invite people to?
- Seasonal news or tips. Depending on what’s happening in your business. Or what can affect your customers, then share your tips or news to help people. (For example. If your business helps horses and pets. Then they can get scared by fireworks at celebrations at certain times of the year, what do you suggest to help)?
Action For You
Review the emails you’ve sent recently. What have you been sharing? Now what can you share in future. Plan what you’re going to talk about and when. And get writing and scheduling.
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more about business coaching and consultancy.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Get Your Online Articles Shared
27/01/20 15:08
Whatever the focus of your horse or dog care business website, or blog you want people to find it. One way to do this is for your website content to get shared on social media.
This can be helpful because if people are sharing your webpages or blog. It means people are engaging with it. The more engagement there is, it helps with search engine rankings. Also if people are engaging with your website they’re more likely to subscribe to any mailing list you have. Sharing can mean engaging. Engaging can then lead to developing trust in your service and generating business.
If people find your website or blog or share it, then Google will see that and decide if it’s a relevant link. What I mean by this is. If your webpage or blog is about dogs. And the person who shares the article/post is also interested in dogs. (From their own website, blog or social media). Then it means they are a relevant link. Whereas if someone shares your dog care post who’s say a financial advisor with no obvious dog care links. It doesn’t look so relevant.
Why does being a “relevant sharer" matter? Well Google then is more likely to rank your website or blog higher up search results.
It can also help if the person (or business) linking to you is considered an ‘authority’. If it’s someone with a popular website, blog or social media account, then Google will see it, and give more weight. Than say someone who’s website doesn’t have much reach or has limited social profile.
Now you may wonder how you find out who could be an ‘authority link’? There’s a couple of ways.
1. You may know or find relevant businesses organically. That is you know of them through your work. Or researching generally online or in publications.
Use an online tool like ‘Ahrefs’ https://ahrefs.com. You can put in the actual URL where you’ve got better but similar content. It’ll then show you who’s a link. Then you can export a list and then contact them. Inviting them to link to your webpage/blog.
2. Another way is to get your content on leading relevant websites. Such as those that look for content, (e.g. Huffington Post).
Get more insights into what webpages are popular and in your line of work, by visiting buzzsumo.com. This is another helpful website. Put in keywords or URLs (of competitor articles) and see how many social shares it has. It may not be 100% accurate, but should give a general trend. Then you can reach out to the people who’ve shared them, and contact them inviting them to share your article.
Buzzsumo can help you learn more about other popular websites or blogs like yours. Type in keywords relating to your business, and see what pages it lists. Easy! Take a look at them, and see what trends there are. It’ll help you get new ideas for your own online articles.
How Much Time Do You Need?
You may wonder how long you should be doing this research and contacting other websites/people? It can be easy to get carried away and while away the hours doing this. But try not to! Spend a few hours each week. If you have an assistant, then is this something they could help you with?
Action Point

Do some research online. See who could possibly share your articles. Use the suggested Ahrefs and Buzzsumo links listed above. And get contacting.
It can be scary emailing strangers, but don't worry. People make contact like this all the time. What's the worst, they'll either ignore you or say no. At best you can get your articles and posts shared to reach many possible customers!
Try and do this research and contacts every week. You may not get instant results. So don't be disheartened and keep at it!
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more about business coaching and consultancy.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
This can be helpful because if people are sharing your webpages or blog. It means people are engaging with it. The more engagement there is, it helps with search engine rankings. Also if people are engaging with your website they’re more likely to subscribe to any mailing list you have. Sharing can mean engaging. Engaging can then lead to developing trust in your service and generating business.
If people find your website or blog or share it, then Google will see that and decide if it’s a relevant link. What I mean by this is. If your webpage or blog is about dogs. And the person who shares the article/post is also interested in dogs. (From their own website, blog or social media). Then it means they are a relevant link. Whereas if someone shares your dog care post who’s say a financial advisor with no obvious dog care links. It doesn’t look so relevant.
Why does being a “relevant sharer" matter? Well Google then is more likely to rank your website or blog higher up search results.
It can also help if the person (or business) linking to you is considered an ‘authority’. If it’s someone with a popular website, blog or social media account, then Google will see it, and give more weight. Than say someone who’s website doesn’t have much reach or has limited social profile.
Now you may wonder how you find out who could be an ‘authority link’? There’s a couple of ways.
1. You may know or find relevant businesses organically. That is you know of them through your work. Or researching generally online or in publications.
Use an online tool like ‘Ahrefs’ https://ahrefs.com. You can put in the actual URL where you’ve got better but similar content. It’ll then show you who’s a link. Then you can export a list and then contact them. Inviting them to link to your webpage/blog.
2. Another way is to get your content on leading relevant websites. Such as those that look for content, (e.g. Huffington Post).
Get more insights into what webpages are popular and in your line of work, by visiting buzzsumo.com. This is another helpful website. Put in keywords or URLs (of competitor articles) and see how many social shares it has. It may not be 100% accurate, but should give a general trend. Then you can reach out to the people who’ve shared them, and contact them inviting them to share your article.
Buzzsumo can help you learn more about other popular websites or blogs like yours. Type in keywords relating to your business, and see what pages it lists. Easy! Take a look at them, and see what trends there are. It’ll help you get new ideas for your own online articles.
How Much Time Do You Need?
You may wonder how long you should be doing this research and contacting other websites/people? It can be easy to get carried away and while away the hours doing this. But try not to! Spend a few hours each week. If you have an assistant, then is this something they could help you with?
Action Point

Do some research online. See who could possibly share your articles. Use the suggested Ahrefs and Buzzsumo links listed above. And get contacting.
It can be scary emailing strangers, but don't worry. People make contact like this all the time. What's the worst, they'll either ignore you or say no. At best you can get your articles and posts shared to reach many possible customers!
Try and do this research and contacts every week. You may not get instant results. So don't be disheartened and keep at it!
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more about business coaching and consultancy.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Create Online Content For Your Customers
20/01/20 16:24
How To Create Online Content For Your Horse or Dog Care Business
Creating content. What does this mean? And why does it matter to you, if you’re operating a horse or dog care business?
If you’ve a website or blog for your business, then attracting ‘traffic’ or visitors is vital. An easy way to do this, is for people to do an internet search. And by searching for words related to your horse or dog care business. Then if they find your website near the top of the results, it's a great way for them to find you without you paying for an ad. It’s rare though that you publish your website or blog and leave it. And still continue to get top ranking search results. Of course having great design and superb basic content. Plus using keywords can all help. You can pay for advertising too. Here’s some tips you can start using in your equine or canine business website or blog now. These are ways for you to increase the chance of your website appearing high on an internet search. Without paying for advertising.
- How long are the articles on your website or blog? There’s a fine line between writing so much that people get bored. And having articles that are so short, that it’s not in-depth. Having articles that are short and around 500 words can be limiting. It tends to tell Google that it’s not going to be helpful and so not worth giving top ranking.
- Do your website or blog articles include a beginning, middle and an end? The title is that, the title of the article. Next the middle is the subheadings. These are to provide section breaks, (think like a chapter in a book). Don’t use paragraphs that are too long, so it’s not too overwhelming for your reader. The end is your conclusion and summing up section. Call it that, so that people can be clear what your summary points are. And they can read back up the page. (Different people have varying reading behaviour).
- What variety does your blog or website article have? So have you got any images or videos, or even audio clips included? These can help your article seem more easy to read. These videos or audio don't need to be too long. Have you got videos of your horse or dog customers? Get permission to use of course. But if relevant to the article, then be creative!
- Do you encourage comments? Your blog posts should conclude wherever possible, with an invitation for people to comment. They’re then more likely to want to share your content. And become potential customers (or know someone who will). Remember if people do comment, then reply, even if to say “thankyou”. It will show you are human! But that you are interested in connecting with your potential (or actual) customers. This can help create loyalty to your business.
So what sort of articles should you be writing? Keep it relevant to your business. But you can be creative too. For instance. If you have a dog care business. You could discuss dog care tips. This can be an endless subject! Think of all the tips for helping care for dogs from puppies to older dogs. Try to avoid going too far from your core subject area though. As Google does look at relevancy. It tends to prioritise ranking websites or blogs that seem to know their subjects well.
Action Point

Take some time to review your website or blog. When did you last create a new article? If it wasn't within the last month, plan your next one now and publish it soon! Write down some ideas of what you can write about, and be inspired to give your customers (actual or potential) some tips to make their and their animals lives better!
Until next time
Regards, Suzanne
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Increase Your Twitter Presence
06/01/20 21:48
There are reported to be over 300 million active twitter users, and over 500 million tweets sent every day [source: www.omnicoreagency.com], but still many people do find Twitter confusing. – It's quite different to other popular networks and it can take time to get used to it. As is the case with so many things of course!
In this blog post I’m going to share one of my top tips for getting better results on Twitter.
I think most people will agree that it’s easier to forge good business relationships (or any communication with other people) if there is a shared interest.
Engaging with people on Twitter who share similar interests as you is going to make your experience of the network better. To find people who are likely to be interested in your animal care business then try and regularly participate in relevant Twitter “chats”.
There’s “chats” (which are basically entered around a particular hashtag #) for lots of topics, including animal related ones. The participants are more likely to be people who use Twitter to make connections with other like-minded individuals and businesses. This means they are likely to be extremely valuable followers who will help share your posts and engage with your business, including even mentioning you in their posts.
To get the most out of Twitter chats it’s a good idea to actively participate by replying and following new people. You’ll find many # hashtag “chats” are centered around a particular hour in the week, if this is the case for the “chats” you want to use, then make a reminder in your diary so you don’t forget.
Examples of animal related Twitter chats are #EquineHour #HorseHour but there are many many others – so do some research, look at different animal related brands and see what they’re using.
Don’t be worried though about creating your own – yes you can! If you can’t find a chat that makes sense for your business, then establish your own. It will require though you to make a concerted and sustained effort to build awareness of it. So depending on your available resources this could be a worthwhile investment or be too time consuming. Promoted advertising maybe something to consider.
If you want to develop Twitter as a successful medium for you to promote your animal care business, then please go now and research what Twitter chats you will use this week!
Gain more confidence in using Twitter with my free 1 page Twitter Basics Guide, which you can find online at http://taranet.co.uk/resources/Twitter-1-Page-Guide.pdf <
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
In this blog post I’m going to share one of my top tips for getting better results on Twitter.
I think most people will agree that it’s easier to forge good business relationships (or any communication with other people) if there is a shared interest.
Engaging with people on Twitter who share similar interests as you is going to make your experience of the network better. To find people who are likely to be interested in your animal care business then try and regularly participate in relevant Twitter “chats”.
There’s “chats” (which are basically entered around a particular hashtag #) for lots of topics, including animal related ones. The participants are more likely to be people who use Twitter to make connections with other like-minded individuals and businesses. This means they are likely to be extremely valuable followers who will help share your posts and engage with your business, including even mentioning you in their posts.
To get the most out of Twitter chats it’s a good idea to actively participate by replying and following new people. You’ll find many # hashtag “chats” are centered around a particular hour in the week, if this is the case for the “chats” you want to use, then make a reminder in your diary so you don’t forget.
Examples of animal related Twitter chats are #EquineHour #HorseHour but there are many many others – so do some research, look at different animal related brands and see what they’re using.
Don’t be worried though about creating your own – yes you can! If you can’t find a chat that makes sense for your business, then establish your own. It will require though you to make a concerted and sustained effort to build awareness of it. So depending on your available resources this could be a worthwhile investment or be too time consuming. Promoted advertising maybe something to consider.
If you want to develop Twitter as a successful medium for you to promote your animal care business, then please go now and research what Twitter chats you will use this week!
Gain more confidence in using Twitter with my free 1 page Twitter Basics Guide, which you can find online at http://taranet.co.uk/resources/Twitter-1-Page-Guide.pdf <
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Help Your Business With a Mailing List
04/11/19 15:36
Hello,
How do you feel when you receive an email from an organisation 'out of the blue'? I don't mean spam emails. But emails from companies whose mailing list you've signed up to, but you only hear from them once or twice a year?
I received an email from a company recently who I signed up to their mailing list ages ago. But they'd not sent anything for what must've been a year. My first thought was it's spam. Then I remembered it wasn't because I'd wanted to hear from them albeit a long time ago! It made me think. That they're not committed to developing a positive relationship with their customers. As it did seem like 'spam'. This isn't what any reputable business wants!
As someone operating your own business. When was the last time you contacted your mailing list? Do you even have one?
Why Bother With A Mailing List?
Although social media is great for building relationships with potential and existing customers. The social media platforms aren't owned by us. We don't set the parameters for our posts visibility. For instance. You're likely to be aware if you have a Facebook business page. That without paying to promote your posts you're unlikely to have them seen by many people.
Cultivating your own mailing list so people sign up to receive your updates. Means you can send emails to them when you want. Of course there's no guarantee they'll open them. But you've a greater chance of your subscribers seeing your emails. Unlike with social media. Where it's possible your posts are 'competing' against a multitude of other posts.
There's many email marketing management systems you can use. And which enable you to collect email addresses, (under data protection legislation). And automate and create and send emails. These include Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Hubspot and Infusionsoft, amongst others. Some of these offer free plans as well as paid. So do "try before you buy".
As part of your marketing strategy it's a good idea to decide on how often you'll send emails to your subscribers. You can test out what fits best for you and your audience, but try and be consistent. Whether that's weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Action Point 1 - If you've not got a mailing list, start one now!
Action Point 2 - If you already have, when did you last send an email? Have you got a schedule?
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How do you feel when you receive an email from an organisation 'out of the blue'? I don't mean spam emails. But emails from companies whose mailing list you've signed up to, but you only hear from them once or twice a year?
I received an email from a company recently who I signed up to their mailing list ages ago. But they'd not sent anything for what must've been a year. My first thought was it's spam. Then I remembered it wasn't because I'd wanted to hear from them albeit a long time ago! It made me think. That they're not committed to developing a positive relationship with their customers. As it did seem like 'spam'. This isn't what any reputable business wants!
As someone operating your own business. When was the last time you contacted your mailing list? Do you even have one?
Why Bother With A Mailing List?
Although social media is great for building relationships with potential and existing customers. The social media platforms aren't owned by us. We don't set the parameters for our posts visibility. For instance. You're likely to be aware if you have a Facebook business page. That without paying to promote your posts you're unlikely to have them seen by many people.
Cultivating your own mailing list so people sign up to receive your updates. Means you can send emails to them when you want. Of course there's no guarantee they'll open them. But you've a greater chance of your subscribers seeing your emails. Unlike with social media. Where it's possible your posts are 'competing' against a multitude of other posts.
There's many email marketing management systems you can use. And which enable you to collect email addresses, (under data protection legislation). And automate and create and send emails. These include Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Hubspot and Infusionsoft, amongst others. Some of these offer free plans as well as paid. So do "try before you buy".
As part of your marketing strategy it's a good idea to decide on how often you'll send emails to your subscribers. You can test out what fits best for you and your audience, but try and be consistent. Whether that's weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Action Point 1 - If you've not got a mailing list, start one now!
Action Point 2 - If you already have, when did you last send an email? Have you got a schedule?
How to Get Confidence Running Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Make The Most Of Your Online Content
28/10/19 16:25
Hello
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say "online content"?
If you've a website for your animal care business, having good content is important so that:
a) you've information potential (or actual) customers want, and
b) people can find your content. So for instance your website will feature higher on search engine rankings.
Read on for some tips to help you get started with developing search-engine-friendly content!
Why Bother With Google?
Google is not the only search engine people can use to look on the internet. But it does account for over two-thirds of all internet searches worldwide. So with that in mind, it’s a good idea to ensure your website can perform well on Google. But this isn't as easy as it may sound!
The algorithms that Google other internet companies use often change. They're designed to be unfathomable. That is as they don’t want people to know how they rank websites and accounts. If everyone knew the exact method for getting top ranking success then it would create a host of issues. Not least because a lot of people would stop advertising on Google or the internet companies. Also, businesses wouldn't need so much support from website and online marketing companies!
A helpful free tool offered by Google is “Google Search Console”. You may wonder why you need that if you have Google Analytics? Let me explain the difference.
Google Analytics will show you your traffic. But it won’t show you all the keywords which are driving that traffic. It will usually say, “Not provided”. Because of data and privacy reasons they don’t showcase when people are logged in to Gmail or Google. And which keywords they are searching for. But Google Search Console will showcase that data.
Knowing what keywords are being used by people finding your website is vital. It'll help you develop more content that is relevant. You may find it surprising what keywords people do type into Google to search for - it may not always be what you expect. A bit of keyword research now can help you in the longer term through having content people want to read.
Action Point 1 - Go to the Google Search Console here and set up your account.
What sort of content should you use?
An article or blog post work well in creating higher rankings. Videos and audio tend not to rank so high on google. But it’s not the case of only posting articles and blogs. Instead publish information that people engage with. Google knows a lot of things. Including whether people are scrolling a page. If they're clicking, reading and viewing the images, etc.
Try and be “conversational” in your text. So use words like “you” and “I”, Google can tell the content of articles and whether it’s going to be user friendly. Of course there will be random examples which don’t seem to fit with this, but generally it does make a difference.
Action Point 2 is to review your website, blog and any other places on the internet that you have content. Ask yourself:
I hope this has been helpful for you to develop your horse or dog care website.
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say "online content"?
If you've a website for your animal care business, having good content is important so that:
a) you've information potential (or actual) customers want, and
b) people can find your content. So for instance your website will feature higher on search engine rankings.
Read on for some tips to help you get started with developing search-engine-friendly content!
Why Bother With Google?
Google is not the only search engine people can use to look on the internet. But it does account for over two-thirds of all internet searches worldwide. So with that in mind, it’s a good idea to ensure your website can perform well on Google. But this isn't as easy as it may sound!
The algorithms that Google other internet companies use often change. They're designed to be unfathomable. That is as they don’t want people to know how they rank websites and accounts. If everyone knew the exact method for getting top ranking success then it would create a host of issues. Not least because a lot of people would stop advertising on Google or the internet companies. Also, businesses wouldn't need so much support from website and online marketing companies!
A helpful free tool offered by Google is “Google Search Console”. You may wonder why you need that if you have Google Analytics? Let me explain the difference.
Google Analytics will show you your traffic. But it won’t show you all the keywords which are driving that traffic. It will usually say, “Not provided”. Because of data and privacy reasons they don’t showcase when people are logged in to Gmail or Google. And which keywords they are searching for. But Google Search Console will showcase that data.
Knowing what keywords are being used by people finding your website is vital. It'll help you develop more content that is relevant. You may find it surprising what keywords people do type into Google to search for - it may not always be what you expect. A bit of keyword research now can help you in the longer term through having content people want to read.
Action Point 1 - Go to the Google Search Console here and set up your account.
What sort of content should you use?
An article or blog post work well in creating higher rankings. Videos and audio tend not to rank so high on google. But it’s not the case of only posting articles and blogs. Instead publish information that people engage with. Google knows a lot of things. Including whether people are scrolling a page. If they're clicking, reading and viewing the images, etc.
Try and be “conversational” in your text. So use words like “you” and “I”, Google can tell the content of articles and whether it’s going to be user friendly. Of course there will be random examples which don’t seem to fit with this, but generally it does make a difference.
Action Point 2 is to review your website, blog and any other places on the internet that you have content. Ask yourself:
- What sort of content is it?
- Is it text based?
- What is the ‘tone’ of the piece?
- Does it read well for the reader?
- If someone doesn’t know anything about you or your service, does it make sense?
I hope this has been helpful for you to develop your horse or dog care website.
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Is There a Perfect Offer For Your Customer?
21/10/19 15:46
Do you think you need to have a sale or a special offer for your business? To help both keep existing and get new customers? Is this something you've had success with or feel like you're missing out on with your business?
What Do You Want To Achieve?
A special offer or a sale can be helpful to boost most type of businesses. Including animal care / veterinary businesses.
But there is a possibility if you have too many sales or special offers, it damages your business. Why? It puts people off of actually using your service or business when it is full price. You de-value your service through too many special offers. Because many love a bargain! If it’s known by waiting a few weeks they can buy your service at a lower price, then many will do that.
Yes, even if their animal could do with your treatment or products now. Depending on what it is wrong with them, people can unfortunately put off treatment. This may happen if they aren’t sure whether their insurance company will pay. Or they know they won’t or they don’t have insurance at all.
Also, it’s important to consider how you construct your offer, this can be vital. Will it be for new customers or existing? It can make existing customers unhappy. If they know they’re having to pay full price and yet new people are getting your service or products cheaper.
You may've heard in the media about companies giving discounts to new customers? Whereas existing customers have to pay ever increasing prices. So it’s been often better for people to shop around and go to a new company. So don’t let that happen to you!
Why should people pay "full price" for your service? Instead consider always charging full price. BUT offer some kind of loyalty programme instead.
Action Point - Have a plan - what do you want to achieve with any offers?
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
What Do You Want To Achieve?
A special offer or a sale can be helpful to boost most type of businesses. Including animal care / veterinary businesses.
But there is a possibility if you have too many sales or special offers, it damages your business. Why? It puts people off of actually using your service or business when it is full price. You de-value your service through too many special offers. Because many love a bargain! If it’s known by waiting a few weeks they can buy your service at a lower price, then many will do that.
Yes, even if their animal could do with your treatment or products now. Depending on what it is wrong with them, people can unfortunately put off treatment. This may happen if they aren’t sure whether their insurance company will pay. Or they know they won’t or they don’t have insurance at all.
Also, it’s important to consider how you construct your offer, this can be vital. Will it be for new customers or existing? It can make existing customers unhappy. If they know they’re having to pay full price and yet new people are getting your service or products cheaper.
You may've heard in the media about companies giving discounts to new customers? Whereas existing customers have to pay ever increasing prices. So it’s been often better for people to shop around and go to a new company. So don’t let that happen to you!
Why should people pay "full price" for your service? Instead consider always charging full price. BUT offer some kind of loyalty programme instead.
Action Point - Have a plan - what do you want to achieve with any offers?
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Optimise Your Horse or Dog Care Website
14/10/19 12:02
SEO - What Is It & How Can It Help Your Horse or Dog Care Biz?
Search Engine Optimisation. Otherwise known as SEO is something that applies to anyone who has a website. Including you as a horse or dog care professional. Even if you've a great website that says what you do. It needs to be "optimised". Otherwise it's unlikely that it'll rank high on search engine rankings.
Why is a high ranking important on search engines?
It'll mean that people are likely to find you if they type in a search related to your business. Otherwise, it'll mean people may not find you through 'organic' search results. So your potential customers can then only find you if you. a) use paid online advertising (e.g. Google Ads) or b) they type in your website address (if they know what it is)
Does SEO make a big difference?
Yes it is important. Most marketing experts agree! Paid advertising can be helpful for getting your business known online. BUT you don't want to be spending lots of money on advertising that is 'making up' for a lack of an optimised website. Instead advertising should 'enhance'.
It can take several months though to see results from optimising your website. As with many marketing efforts, it's not a quick process for most.
Stage 1 - Where to Start with SEO?
Research and competitor analysis is the first stage. With the aim of understanding more about the keywords that others are using. And defining what you want to use for your service.
There are various online tools that you can use to help you with this - like "Ubersuggest". Type in keywords related to your service area. (E.g. if you're an animal physiotherapist, this could be the type of animal(s) you work with. Or physiotherapy, veterinary, horse care (if you work with horses), etc).
The online tool will then suggest other keywords which are similar. How many times they're searched for and cost per click. Even if you're not paying for Google ads. By knowing that a keyword is a high cost per click, this is likely to mean that it's often used. So worth using.
Research and defining what keywords to use to market your business is vital. For instance if you're only delivering your service in a certain geographic area. You want to optimise your site to reflect that. If you optimise to increase traffic generally. Then you may end up with thousands of website hits every month. But not necessarily those which are going to convert into paying customers.
You can also use a website called SEMrush. This enables you to type in your URL and it will show you your closest competitors and common keywords. You can also type in different keywords and see what websites are also using them.
How Often To Do This?
Definitely when you're first developing your website. And also every month or two. It depends on how complex your website is (e.g. different subjects you're covering) and how much time you have! But if you make a good start at the beginning it shouldn't take too long to review.
Action Point
If you've a website, when was the last time you checked how well optimised it was? And if you have relevant keywords featured/in built?
Use the tools suggested here. Assess your website. And think about what keywords you can use that are relevant to your animal care service.
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Search Engine Optimisation. Otherwise known as SEO is something that applies to anyone who has a website. Including you as a horse or dog care professional. Even if you've a great website that says what you do. It needs to be "optimised". Otherwise it's unlikely that it'll rank high on search engine rankings.
Why is a high ranking important on search engines?
It'll mean that people are likely to find you if they type in a search related to your business. Otherwise, it'll mean people may not find you through 'organic' search results. So your potential customers can then only find you if you. a) use paid online advertising (e.g. Google Ads) or b) they type in your website address (if they know what it is)
Does SEO make a big difference?
Yes it is important. Most marketing experts agree! Paid advertising can be helpful for getting your business known online. BUT you don't want to be spending lots of money on advertising that is 'making up' for a lack of an optimised website. Instead advertising should 'enhance'.
It can take several months though to see results from optimising your website. As with many marketing efforts, it's not a quick process for most.
Stage 1 - Where to Start with SEO?
Research and competitor analysis is the first stage. With the aim of understanding more about the keywords that others are using. And defining what you want to use for your service.
There are various online tools that you can use to help you with this - like "Ubersuggest". Type in keywords related to your service area. (E.g. if you're an animal physiotherapist, this could be the type of animal(s) you work with. Or physiotherapy, veterinary, horse care (if you work with horses), etc).
The online tool will then suggest other keywords which are similar. How many times they're searched for and cost per click. Even if you're not paying for Google ads. By knowing that a keyword is a high cost per click, this is likely to mean that it's often used. So worth using.
Research and defining what keywords to use to market your business is vital. For instance if you're only delivering your service in a certain geographic area. You want to optimise your site to reflect that. If you optimise to increase traffic generally. Then you may end up with thousands of website hits every month. But not necessarily those which are going to convert into paying customers.
You can also use a website called SEMrush. This enables you to type in your URL and it will show you your closest competitors and common keywords. You can also type in different keywords and see what websites are also using them.
How Often To Do This?
Definitely when you're first developing your website. And also every month or two. It depends on how complex your website is (e.g. different subjects you're covering) and how much time you have! But if you make a good start at the beginning it shouldn't take too long to review.
Action Point
If you've a website, when was the last time you checked how well optimised it was? And if you have relevant keywords featured/in built?
Use the tools suggested here. Assess your website. And think about what keywords you can use that are relevant to your animal care service.
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Benefit Your Horse or Dog Care Biz With Twitter Chats
07/10/19 16:50
Join Twitter Chat Hours To Develop Your Horse or Dog Care Biz
Are you interested in using Twitter to develop your animal care business, but aren’t sure how? Then this post is for you!
A great way to engage with people on Twitter who will find your horse or dog care business interesting. Is to take part in relevant Twitter chats. There’s chats (which focus on a particular hashtag #) for hundreds of topics. Including animal related ones. The participants of these chats, use Twitter to make lasting connections. Whether with other like-minded individuals and brands. So they are likely to be valuable followers who will help share your message and engage with your brand.
Get the most out of Twitter chats by actively taking part. By replying, and following new people. Plus keep the relationship going after the chat has ended. For instance this could mean using the # hashtag outside of the dedicated hour. (many chats focus centered around a particular hour in the week).
Examples of animal related Twitter chats include (1) #EquineHour (2) #HorseHour. But there are many others - so do some research, look at different animal related brands and see what they’re using. You can create your own - yes you can!
If you can’t find a chat that makes sense for your business, then establish your own. It will need though you to make a concerted and sustained effort to build awareness of it. So depending on your available resources this could be a worthwhile investment. Or be too time consuming - promoted advertising is something to consider too.
Get more confidence in using Twitter with my free 1 page Twitter Basics Guide - Download Here
How to Get Confident Using Social Media With Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to learn more.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
What Are The Benefits Of The Different Social Media Networks
30/09/19 16:33
Pro's and Con's of the Different Social Networks
As an animal care professional you want to connect with your existing customers. But also gain new customers. Social media is a great way to do both of these. BUT..... with there being so many social media networks. From Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat and more, how do you choose?!
Unless you have lots of time. Or have someone to help you. It’s unlikely you’re going to have the time to manage multiple social media accounts. Top Tip: Don't use the same post info on different networks. As the networks vary it doesn't always translate well from one to another.
Choose the networks that you are going to find it easiest to use. And that you enjoy using! There's people who love animals on all the networks. So any of them will be a potential place for you to build your service and find new customers.
Twitter - Great if you can keep posts short and want to share links, videos or photo's. Plus great search ability so new people can discover you. Cons - you do have less space per post to share, although it IS possible to 'thread' tweets together.
Facebook - Great if you have photo's or video's to share. You can share other things too like links and articles. But video is currently a great way to get engagement on Facebook. Cons - the reach of your posts are usually limited beyond the people who already 'like' your page. Unless you pay for advertising.
Instagram - Great if you have photo's or video's to share. Cons - not good if you want to share links in a post.
LinkedIn - Great for building up a network. This can be of potential customers and peers with similar interests. Cons - not always used to best effect by people BUT it is increasing in its engagement.
What Next…
- If you’re unfamiliar with any of them. Take some time reviewing the different networks and decide what you’d like to make a start with.
- Concentrate on using one well, and then think about using others (if at all).
- It’s important that you enjoy this part of your business, so don’t make it difficult for yourself!
How to Make Your Equine or Canine Business Thrive
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Use Hashtags For Your Horse or Dog Care Biz
23/09/19 16:07
What do you think about hashtags?
They can be annoying, they can be helpful - there's definitely good and bad to using hashtags. So how can you know what to use for the best for your social media posts?
Hashtags are useful on several social media platforms. This is because hashtags are a helpful way for people to search for information. In particular hashtags are great on Twitter and Instagram. But they're not so useful on all social media networks. For instance the way Facebook works means hashtags tend to be less helpful on this network.
But knowing what hashtags to use can be confusing. Have you browsed your social media newsfeed, and seen a range of hashtags used? Sometimes you’ll see lots of hashtags on a single post and other times not so many - so what’s right?
Well the simple answer is there is no right way! But……If you use 4 or more hashtags on Twitter it may well come across to the viewer as being ‘spammy’. On Instagram it’s much more acceptable to use many - up to 30 even. But in saying that it’s important to be relevant.
The idea of a hashtag is to make related content from many people easy to find. So if you're searching for say what posts there under ‘horses’. If you start finding content nothing to do with horses, then you’re going to find it irrelevant. And if you’re like me it’s not going to make me want to look at a post that’s nothing to do with what I was looking for. I’m more likely to think what a nuisance!
Here's three top tips for you, before you start adding hashtags to your posts.
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
They can be annoying, they can be helpful - there's definitely good and bad to using hashtags. So how can you know what to use for the best for your social media posts?
Hashtags are useful on several social media platforms. This is because hashtags are a helpful way for people to search for information. In particular hashtags are great on Twitter and Instagram. But they're not so useful on all social media networks. For instance the way Facebook works means hashtags tend to be less helpful on this network.
But knowing what hashtags to use can be confusing. Have you browsed your social media newsfeed, and seen a range of hashtags used? Sometimes you’ll see lots of hashtags on a single post and other times not so many - so what’s right?
Well the simple answer is there is no right way! But……If you use 4 or more hashtags on Twitter it may well come across to the viewer as being ‘spammy’. On Instagram it’s much more acceptable to use many - up to 30 even. But in saying that it’s important to be relevant.
The idea of a hashtag is to make related content from many people easy to find. So if you're searching for say what posts there under ‘horses’. If you start finding content nothing to do with horses, then you’re going to find it irrelevant. And if you’re like me it’s not going to make me want to look at a post that’s nothing to do with what I was looking for. I’m more likely to think what a nuisance!
Here's three top tips for you, before you start adding hashtags to your posts.
- Do a bit of research and see what your peers / competitors are using. Will any be relevant to your business? If they are, then consider using them!
- Make a list of hashtags and keep them on your phone or computer so you can re-use them. It can work to your advantage to be consistent. Then people searching under a hashtag will see your posts often.
- Remember some hashtags are more specific to one network. What is used often on Twitter may not work on Instagram, and vice versa.
How to Get Confidence in Using Social Media For Your Equine or Canine Business
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Market Your Horse or Dog Care Business Online (#2)
04/09/19 14:43
Hello,
You've got your new website. You now want people to see your website and become your customers. How best should you go about this?
You may think that all your promotion should be online. But first of all, I urge you to look at your offline promotion.
Here are some ideas.
As a horse or dog care professional, your local veterinary practices are a great place to make links. So see if you can leave leaflets or business cards in these vets surgeries. Again I challenge you to make those calls, and go and see at least one vets each week for a month to make connections. OR if you are a veterinary surgeon. Some people you could make links with are saddleries or animal therapists.
What next?
The principles of promoting your website are the same for any business. Don't try to do too much at once. Review what you're currently doing. Concentrate on one or two of the above points, for the next month or 2. Test, test and test again is a good method to help you get it right. So review.
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
You've got your new website. You now want people to see your website and become your customers. How best should you go about this?
You may think that all your promotion should be online. But first of all, I urge you to look at your offline promotion.
So what can you do offline to help promote your equine or canine website?
Here are some ideas.
- Leaflets - do you have leaflets advertising your business? It can seem unnecessary. But there are a lot of shops about. You may want to have a trade stand at shows/events. Having leaflets means people have something to take away. Be sure to include your website, telephone, email and any social media details on these.
- Business cards - these are useful to pin on noticeboards. As there's not so much space on a card, add your website and phone number. Most equestrian or country stores have buy/sell noticeboards. Some want you to add your details onto a standard card. But you can pin a business card onto one, or sometimes put your business card onto the board. I challenge you to find at least one noticeboard each week for a month in a different store.
As a horse or dog care professional, your local veterinary practices are a great place to make links. So see if you can leave leaflets or business cards in these vets surgeries. Again I challenge you to make those calls, and go and see at least one vets each week for a month to make connections. OR if you are a veterinary surgeon. Some people you could make links with are saddleries or animal therapists.
- Company vehicle. If you use a car/van specifically for your business. Have you got your name and website name on it? This can be a simple and effective way to get your business found.
Online ideas for you to promote your horse or dog care business website.
- How well optimised is your website? Search engine optimisation as is often titled, is a large subject. But a well organised website with great content is a good start. Appropriate use of keywords is vital. For instance. Are you offering a dog care business? Then ensure your keywords relate to dogs and what you're doing. This is simplistic. But irrelevant keywords can actually do your website more harm than good.
- Social media profiles - Do your social media business profiles include your website? If not, add the domain name in now!
- Social media posts - Promote your website in your posts.
- Online directories. There are many directories online. For many different subjects. This includes lots of dog related directories, or horse related ones. Some make you pay for listing. Others are free. But one could be useful for you.
- Google adwords. There are of course many other search engines. But Google remains the leader. Paying to promote your website to the top of listings, can seem an easy way to get your site found. But it's also possible to spend a lot of money with out much result. So plan your campaign. Use carefully selected keywords and phrases.
What next?
The principles of promoting your website are the same for any business. Don't try to do too much at once. Review what you're currently doing. Concentrate on one or two of the above points, for the next month or 2. Test, test and test again is a good method to help you get it right. So review.
How to Make Your Equine or Canine Business Thrive
Visit https://animal-star-social-media.teachable.com or email me at info @ taranet.co.uk
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Never Run Out of Social Media Content Again
15/07/19 22:44
Hi
If you follow any business - large or small, on social media you'll find what they are posting interesting. But you may have noticed that some post a very wide variety of content. This can be seasonal issues, tips, sales, competitions and lots more too.
Have you ever wondered how they do this? Whatever size your business is. To be successful on social media it's helpful to plan content with a “content calendar”.
A content calendar can help you plan for upcoming events, and ensure you have a good supply of content to post.
Is it only you who posts to your social media accounts? If you've an assistant, then deciding on a content calendar can be useful. It'll help ensure you and your team know what’s happening and when. Essential to avoid any misunderstandings. As you get ideas, you can add to the calendar.
By having a content calendar it can help you measure what’s worked or not. For instance, posting some content may work better at different times of day. Or even different times of the week. Do you use paid advertising on social media networks? If you are, then it’s very important you know what’s working or not to avoid wasting your money.
Review your content calendar and social media performance. Monthly or quarterly at least. You can then make any adjustments to your planning.
Scheduling your posts is possible on many networks. (e.g. Facebook and Twitter business accounts enable to you to do this for free). Plus there are tools such as Hootsuite to let you do this. Planning your posts in advance with your content calendar, will help you schedule your posts with confidence.
Finally, don’t forget to still keep checking your social media accounts often. So you can respond to comments or repost/re-tweet information!
What Next?
For a free content calendar template, please email me at info@taranet.co.uk.
How to Make Your Equine or Canine Business Thrive
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for business coaching and consultancy information.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
If you follow any business - large or small, on social media you'll find what they are posting interesting. But you may have noticed that some post a very wide variety of content. This can be seasonal issues, tips, sales, competitions and lots more too.
Have you ever wondered how they do this? Whatever size your business is. To be successful on social media it's helpful to plan content with a “content calendar”.
A content calendar can help you plan for upcoming events, and ensure you have a good supply of content to post.
Is it only you who posts to your social media accounts? If you've an assistant, then deciding on a content calendar can be useful. It'll help ensure you and your team know what’s happening and when. Essential to avoid any misunderstandings. As you get ideas, you can add to the calendar.
By having a content calendar it can help you measure what’s worked or not. For instance, posting some content may work better at different times of day. Or even different times of the week. Do you use paid advertising on social media networks? If you are, then it’s very important you know what’s working or not to avoid wasting your money.
Review your content calendar and social media performance. Monthly or quarterly at least. You can then make any adjustments to your planning.
Scheduling your posts is possible on many networks. (e.g. Facebook and Twitter business accounts enable to you to do this for free). Plus there are tools such as Hootsuite to let you do this. Planning your posts in advance with your content calendar, will help you schedule your posts with confidence.
Finally, don’t forget to still keep checking your social media accounts often. So you can respond to comments or repost/re-tweet information!
What Next?
For a free content calendar template, please email me at info@taranet.co.uk.
How to Make Your Equine or Canine Business Thrive
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for business coaching and consultancy information.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
How To Market Your Horse or Dog Care Business #1
28/06/19 20:02
You can get lots of different ideas on how to promote your horse or dog care business. This can include offline advertising, such as magazines and newspaper ads. Or online using websites and social media. But before you do any promotional and marketing work, you should consider some basics. These marketing basics are:
So let’s take these in turn and consider as an animal care professional what these might mean to you.
Messaging - Do you want potential customers to see you as an expert working with dogs? Or someone who travels helping animals around the world? Or is education your goal, and advising people on how best to care for their animals?
If you are an 'educator', make sure your marketing strategy shows how you will do this. For example, will you be holding workshops, lecturing on courses or at events? Spend some time thinking about what your messaging strategy is.
Ideal Customer - Research who your ideal customer is. So for example if you want to work with racehorses. Your ideal customer will be someone who trains racehorses. But then you can refine that further. So is your ideal customer a flat-racehorse or national hunt or a point to point trainer? Where is your ideal customer based? Understand what their interests might be and think of how and why they would want to be buying a service from you.
Fit in the marketplace - Are you the same or different from your competitors? You do need to understand who your competitors are and what they appear to be offering. But it’s not a race - remember you may not know how successful another business is anyway.
A good point to consider is that you want to attract your ideal customer. You may prefer to have clients who are regular and repeat customers. Clients who want you to help their horses or dogs for preventative treatments. Or you may prefer to travel to shows and competitions. Being able to help your animal athlete achieve their best performance.
In Conclusion - Be clear on what messages you want to get “out there”. If you know your ideal customer profile and where you want to be in the marketplace. You can then build on that and start developing your marketing strategy further. Whether you are a sole trader working by yourself or are a larger company. The principles of marketing remain the same.
What Should You Do Next?
Review your marketing plans. Do you need to make any changes? If your marketing is already going well, that's great. But could you make any refinements?
How to Make Your Equine or Canine Business Thrive
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for business coaching and consultancy information.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
- What is the messaging you want to get across to your ideal customer?
- Who is your ideal customer?
- Where do you want to “fit” in the market place?
So let’s take these in turn and consider as an animal care professional what these might mean to you.
Messaging - Do you want potential customers to see you as an expert working with dogs? Or someone who travels helping animals around the world? Or is education your goal, and advising people on how best to care for their animals?
If you are an 'educator', make sure your marketing strategy shows how you will do this. For example, will you be holding workshops, lecturing on courses or at events? Spend some time thinking about what your messaging strategy is.
Ideal Customer - Research who your ideal customer is. So for example if you want to work with racehorses. Your ideal customer will be someone who trains racehorses. But then you can refine that further. So is your ideal customer a flat-racehorse or national hunt or a point to point trainer? Where is your ideal customer based? Understand what their interests might be and think of how and why they would want to be buying a service from you.
Fit in the marketplace - Are you the same or different from your competitors? You do need to understand who your competitors are and what they appear to be offering. But it’s not a race - remember you may not know how successful another business is anyway.
A good point to consider is that you want to attract your ideal customer. You may prefer to have clients who are regular and repeat customers. Clients who want you to help their horses or dogs for preventative treatments. Or you may prefer to travel to shows and competitions. Being able to help your animal athlete achieve their best performance.
In Conclusion - Be clear on what messages you want to get “out there”. If you know your ideal customer profile and where you want to be in the marketplace. You can then build on that and start developing your marketing strategy further. Whether you are a sole trader working by yourself or are a larger company. The principles of marketing remain the same.
What Should You Do Next?
Review your marketing plans. Do you need to make any changes? If your marketing is already going well, that's great. But could you make any refinements?
How to Make Your Equine or Canine Business Thrive
Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk for business coaching and consultancy information.
About The Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Learn How To Conquer Facebook
03/06/19 20:10
Hi,
Increasing the number of followers and post likes is an important goal for many Facebook page owners.
There’s a variety of theories as to what is the best time of day or time of week to post.
And I personally don’t feel that there is any huge difference. Instead the key is to post regularly and post good quality content.
If your Facebook page's most recent posts are from several weeks - or months - or even longer ago, it can give the impression that as a company/brand, you’re not using Facebook. Depending on your type of business, a lack of posts may even lead people to think you’re closed!
Tip: If you don't have time to use Facebook regularly for your business, don't use it!
Pick a social network that you can commit to regularly (and frequently) updating and engaging with potential clients. This means effectively using a social network you enjoy using, you are more likely to then do it.
Facebook offers a variety of techniques for page owners to promote your business. Of course, these often mean having to pay. But although it's of course possible to spend a lot of money on an advertising/promotion campaign. You can spend only modest amounts (e.g. less than £10 per week) and still gain good exposure for your business.
Do make use of targeting to define your audience, and use different audiences in order to see what works best.
So how can you define your audience? As an animal care professional, you can choose from people's interests and those who follow different subjects/pages - select those that are animal related.
For example if you want to promote a horse care business, you could choose people who follow a horse charity (e.g. World Horse Welfare, Redwings Horse Sanctuary) or an equine sport (e.g. British Eventing, Badminton Horse Trials, etc).
Neat Ideas for Increasing Facebook Engagement
Here are 5 popular tips:
What Next?
Get your free social media guide for animal care businesses. Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to get your copy.
About the Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Increasing the number of followers and post likes is an important goal for many Facebook page owners.
There’s a variety of theories as to what is the best time of day or time of week to post.
And I personally don’t feel that there is any huge difference. Instead the key is to post regularly and post good quality content.
If your Facebook page's most recent posts are from several weeks - or months - or even longer ago, it can give the impression that as a company/brand, you’re not using Facebook. Depending on your type of business, a lack of posts may even lead people to think you’re closed!
Tip: If you don't have time to use Facebook regularly for your business, don't use it!
Pick a social network that you can commit to regularly (and frequently) updating and engaging with potential clients. This means effectively using a social network you enjoy using, you are more likely to then do it.
Facebook offers a variety of techniques for page owners to promote your business. Of course, these often mean having to pay. But although it's of course possible to spend a lot of money on an advertising/promotion campaign. You can spend only modest amounts (e.g. less than £10 per week) and still gain good exposure for your business.
Do make use of targeting to define your audience, and use different audiences in order to see what works best.
So how can you define your audience? As an animal care professional, you can choose from people's interests and those who follow different subjects/pages - select those that are animal related.
For example if you want to promote a horse care business, you could choose people who follow a horse charity (e.g. World Horse Welfare, Redwings Horse Sanctuary) or an equine sport (e.g. British Eventing, Badminton Horse Trials, etc).
Neat Ideas for Increasing Facebook Engagement
Here are 5 popular tips:
- Use a paid ‘follower acquisition’ campaign, using targeting to reflect who your ideal audience is.
- Pay to promote your post and send invites to whoever liked the post.
- Post a variety of content - video is great and often well-received. The Facebook algorithm often promotes video’s higher in people’s newsfeeds.
- Promote the fact you have a Facebook page on your marketing materials and invoices and receipts. This is often overlooked but is easy to achieve! Don’t forget to have your Facebook page name clearly stated, to make it easy.
- Incentivise people to like your page or posts - use a giveaway or prize draw. (NB: Make sure you follow any current Facebook rules for competitions that may apply).
What Next?
Get your free social media guide for animal care businesses. Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk to get your copy.
About the Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
Animal Care Biz Marketing Tips
22/05/19 20:36
Are you making the most of social media and marketing opportunities from being at shows?
On a recent visit to a UK county show, one of my favourite dog care brands was there. But did I know they were going to be there? No. Although I follow them on social media, I only knew they were there when I walked past their tradestand.
This highlighted to me that it was a common wasted opportunity. If you use social media for your business, then tell people when you have a stand at a show. Or if you’re going to be speaking at an event, talk about it on your social media account.
Now you may wonder why this is so important, or how to do it to best effect. Here’s some top tips:
Doing this will let your customers know you're there. They’ll love the opportunity to see you and also if you have any special offers for the show, they’ll love seeing you.
If you use the show hashtag people who aren’t your customers already will see your posts. They'll like seeing what your company or services offers. Again if you tag them, the show organiser or another exhibitor could share your post. Your posts reach will then go further.
I hope this has convinced you to make the most of the marketing opportunities being at a show can bring you. And how social media can help.
Regards, Suzanne
About the Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.
On a recent visit to a UK county show, one of my favourite dog care brands was there. But did I know they were going to be there? No. Although I follow them on social media, I only knew they were there when I walked past their tradestand.
This highlighted to me that it was a common wasted opportunity. If you use social media for your business, then tell people when you have a stand at a show. Or if you’re going to be speaking at an event, talk about it on your social media account.
Now you may wonder why this is so important, or how to do it to best effect. Here’s some top tips:
- Post about your presence at the show. Do this in the days leading up to the show and when you are at the show (or event).
- Use photographs. If you have a tradestand, include pictures of your stand. It’s easy to take a picture with a smartphone or tablet, it doesn’t need a professional to take it.
- Always include the hashtag for the event. Many events have an unique hashtag for you to use.
- Tag the organisers social media account in your post, or any colleagues. It can help generate interest. They may retweet or share your posts if you do this.
Doing this will let your customers know you're there. They’ll love the opportunity to see you and also if you have any special offers for the show, they’ll love seeing you.
If you use the show hashtag people who aren’t your customers already will see your posts. They'll like seeing what your company or services offers. Again if you tag them, the show organiser or another exhibitor could share your post. Your posts reach will then go further.
I hope this has convinced you to make the most of the marketing opportunities being at a show can bring you. And how social media can help.
Regards, Suzanne
About the Author
Suzanne Harris is an equestrian and canine entrepreneurial coach and consultant to veterinarians who want to help prevent animals being affected by domestic abuse.