This is a topic that has plagued all small business owners at one time or another; how do I use social media for my business? Which platform? What’s appropriate? We sat down with Ashley Richards of E Squared Marketing to get the scoop on business and social media.

How Do I Decide Which Social Media Platforms to Use for My Business?

“This is a question we get often and it all depends on your business and where your ideal audience is. However, we always recommend you have a presence and business page on the most popular and active social media platforms which include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The other social media platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest will be variables depending on your end goal and campaigns you are trying to promote to evaluate if it makes sense to use them. A bonus tip for you – if you have a social media profile on specific platforms, be sure to keep it active and relevant. No one wants to see that your last post was from November 2016.“

Facebook and Instagram Stories…Do We Really Need Them for Our Business?

“Stories are a large component of these platforms, and we highly recommend using them often. A few tips for stories: Every post you add to your feed, you should add to stories to let your audience know you have a new post. Use gifs, stickers, polling, and fun hashtags to liven it up. If you have content that is not grid-worthy, stories are also another great place to showcase it. Behind the scenes, sneak peaks, consumer polling, and tagging other business partners and clients is a great way to use this feature as well. It helps keep the ‘social’ in social media, driving more attention and engagement to your pages.“

So Should We Use the Same #’s for Stories as for Our Static Posts?

“No, we always recommend adding 1, maybe 2 relevant hashtags to your story that go well with the image/video you are posting, but we always recommend using the tagging feature over anything else. This allows your brand to tag another brand/individual and the ease of sharing is incredible, giving you more exposure from that original story.“

Do I Need to Separate My Personal Page From My Business Page?

“Personal Vs Business Pages very much depend on your business and the model you are after. Current trends on social media are all about personal, raw, and authentic, so letting a little personal slide into your business is never a bad thing. A Happy Holidays from your family is a great example, where it is still business driven but has that personal side as well. All pages should be set up as a business, so you can take advantage of all the tools available to you on social media that are available with that type of page.“

LinkedIn: Publish an Article or Link to a Blog on My Website?

“One tip we give to our clients is to think—what if your social media page went away? What if that platform you rely on for business suddenly shut down? It is a scary way to think, however it helps our clients realize to never put your eggs all in one basket. Our goal is to get followers on all of your platforms and your web page to gain more brand recognition and trust in you as a business. With that said, we recommend sharing a link with a teaser in the caption to encourage followers to click to read more.“

Does TikTok Have a Place in Business Marketing?

“It can, but it really depends on that target audience again. As of January 2020, 60% of TikTok users are between ages 13 and 24, and 60% are women. Advertising is fairly new on this ever-growing platform, so they recommend adding content and staying extremely active to gain an organic following before investing money for ads. They did roll out a TikTok Creator Marketplace that is great for connecting with influencers on the platform to start a discussion about developing a campaign together. This will cost you and that price varies from person to person, but it’s a great way to expand your reach on the platform if you want to utilize it for business.“

Is Twitter Dead?

“No Way! Just a relevant platform for certain industries to capitalize on. Business types that generally do well on Twitter include politics, sports, and entertainment (including celebrities). It is a great conversation platform where you can jump in, make recommendations, sprinkle some humor, and also drop facts and tips. Most of our clients use the platform to share content but are utilizing ad dollars on other platforms since they don’t fall into the categories above.“

Any Tips on How to Increase Organic Reach?

“As the algorithms change on all platforms, so does the opportunity to reach your audience organically. There are several factors and things we recommend to increase your organic reach. Some of our favorites are:

  1. Post Consistently & Authentically – share content and tips, don’t just try to sell.
  2. Ask Questions/Utilize Polling – use the feature on your page to engage your audience to get involved.
  3. Tag Friends & Businesses – Tagging businesses and individuals helps get your post found and increases your engagement even more if that friend or business shares your post. Keeping that “social” in social media.”

About Ashley and E Squared Marketing

Ashley Richards

We’re a dedicated team of marketing professionals who take your business’ goals and knock them out of the park. We bring a personal touch to everything we do – And we’re just as committed to having fun as we are to flawlessly executing results-driven marketing strategy.

In 2017, Ashley launched E Squared Marketing to provide creative digital solutions and heightened value to small to medium-sized businesses. Whatever your needs, Ashley provides a fresh perspective and creative yet pragmatic leadership to lead your business to success. Ashley is a graduate of the University of Phoenix and when she’s not working, you can find this Arizona native enjoying hikes with her husband of 7 years, Brandon, and their two adorable children, Ellie and Eli.

Website: www.esquaredmarketing.com

Instagram: @esquaredmarketing

Facebook: E Squared Marketing

Want to read more interviews from women in business? Click over to our blog for industry topics and insights.

We are so thrilled that our owner and founder, Heather Locke, was selected as one of the panelists for The W Source Scottsdale / Arcadia Chapter discussion, “Marketing Your Business in 2020”!

The event boasted seven members of The W Source, all involved in various aspects of marketing. W Source member Debbie Pontikas moderated the discussion and led the audience down a marketing highway, covering all the cogs of the marketing machine. Each panelist gave her opinion, along with practical examples, about why her branch was a vital part of a business’ strategy. Each panelist gave great advice and all answered audience questions – it was a wonderful collaboration and networking opportunity for all those in attendance!

The esteemed panel was comprised of:

Kelly Bohm – Driven Relationships – Client & Lead Engagement

Jean Laninga – Photography/Social Media Branding

Heather Locke – Hammersmith Support – Website Development

Robyn Moore – Mack Media Relations – PR

Katrina Oko-Odoi, PhD – ContentWorm – Content Writing

Ashley Richards – E Squared Marketing – Digital Marketing

Emily Soccorsy – Root + River – Brand Strategy

In case you missed it, here are few key take aways from the morning:

  • The old days of beating potential customers over the head with advertising are over! Create your brand that is rooted in your core beliefs as business and market those beliefs instead.
  • Branding photography is much more than just head shots. Getting shots of varying angles, environments, and connections each show a different side of your brand. Also, knowing what you are going to do with the images plays a huge roll in what kind of pictures to capture.
  • The number one thing you can do to boost your search engine optimization is to have a blog. Consistent, fresh, and relevant content gives web crawlers new information to evaluate as well as free content for your clients and potential clients to digest.
  • When it comes to your website, ensuring that your site is secure, mobile optimized, and accessible are keys for success.
  • Tapping into your existing database in search of new leads is an obvious yet wildly overlooked marketing tactic. Using a database to analyze your past customers as well as contacts can generate new business.
  • Text campaigns have a 99% open rate. While that may not be a relevant tactic for your business or marketing, it’s still a staggering enough statistic for anyone to appreciate!

Want to know more about The W Source and their upcoming events? Click over to their site for more information.

This week’s blog focuses on our colleague and friend, Lyndsay Clements of Ellen Grace Marketing. We have worked with Lyndsay on countless projects, some remodels, some ground up builds – and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it! We know you’ll enjoy hearing about how she moved from the corporate marketing world to building her own company.

Tell me a little about you – Where did you grow up? What inspires you?

women in blazer and denim shirt looks up smiling from computer ellen grace marketing


I grew up in Scottsdale and then went went to college in Northern CA (Santa Clara University).  I ended up in San Francisco for 10 years working mostly in corporate retail and then getting my MBA in Marketing before I relocated back to Phoenix for a job promotion.  I am inspired to help small business owners grow faster and more efficiently.  I have a business partner (Craig) who is also my brother.  Combined we bring over 30 years of corporate retail experience to our clients and are passionate about helping them accelerate their growth and increase profitability.

Why did you decide to start Ellen Grace Marketing?


Prior to starting this business in 2015, I worked for larger retailers and really learned the ins and out of retail.  Large companies are smart in how they look at their marketing and sales data, to help them make strategic decisions.

About 4 years ago, I started to realize – mostly through conversations with friends who had either opened up a retail store or were selling products and services online – that there was an opportunity.  Most smaller business owners were brilliant at sourcing products and really passionate about understanding their customers’ needs but sometimes neglected their marketing or analyzing sales data because they wore so many hats.

It was then that I decided to go out on my own and bring the corporate way of going-to-market I had learned into the hands of smaller businesses, primarily retailers.  This also gave me the opportunity to be more flexible and present with our family.  My husband and I have two daughters whose middle names are Ellen and Grace, hence the name of the company.  I wanted to create a business that gave me the flexibility to work hard while still being present for those valuable moments that I saw myself missing while working in a corporate office.

What is unique about your style and product offering?


While we are a marketing company at the core, we are hyper-focused on driving profits for our clients.  Marketing can bring customers in the door and drive sales, but at the end of the day there are so many factors that contribute to our clients’ bottom line.  Our reporting and data analytics encompass key figures that a typical marketer would not normally unveil.  These areas include profit margins, churn rates, customer lifetime value, customer & product segmentation, as well as taking a deeper dive into the Financials/P&L statements and helping businesses develop sales tracking and forecasting.

What advice would you give other women business owners?

Don’t be afraid of your business numbers and data.  It’s so empowering to know what’s working.  At the end of the day we only have so much bandwidth to execute our plans and having visibility to what’s working will help you stay focused on the right marketing efforts, make smarter decisions and ultimately increase sales & profits.

Contact Lyndsay at:

www.ellengracemarketing.com

@ellengracemarketing

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