I can’t believe we are here already!
The start of this year has flown by… especially the past few weeks, despite being in Lockdown.
On the 16th May 2019 I made the decision to start Flamingo Marketing Strategies, and 2 weeks later I had a company!
As we head towards my anniversary, this month I have three pieces of advice to share with you!
Enjoy…
National ‘Share A Story’ Month
May has arrived and with it comes National ‘Share A Story’ Month.
Therefore, I’m going to take you back to the 6th May 2019 when the concept of Flamingo Marketing Strategies came about. You can read my story here.
Since then, I’ve shared lots more stories as the months have come along which can mostly be found on my blog here.
However, I have many more to share. Stories that haven’t even been written yet! Client success stories, my own success stories, and stories around how I’ve been using this time in lockdown wisely to make a business plan for the rest of the year. When things quiet down, I’ll be sure to share them.
So… why do stories matter when it comes to business?
The short answer – people buy from people. Tell your story because that is what makes you different.
Stories raise awareness, they win awards, they give people an insight to WHO you are, not just what you do. They shape ‘know, like and trust’. I’ve written a full blog on Know, Like and Trust you can read here.
Personality branding is a phrase you might have heard bounced around recently, a lot of businesses are blogging more, people are posting more on social media. Businesses are getting PERSONAL. If you’re not telling stories, you won’t be remembered.
I can’t wait to hear yours… if you’re struggling, why not ping me an email with some ideas on – I’ll be sure to advise you on the best place to start.
How I overcame my fear of Facebook Live and how much it paid off!
On Sunday 26th April 2020. I finally did it. I went LIVE.
It wasn’t 100% planned, I had agreed to co-host a charity quiz for a client and due to lock down we couldn’t do it together. So, we planned to stream live using some super clever software, but instead of being completely live, we had pre-recorded the rounds to give it the best look and feel and stick to the COVID-19 rules of not recording it together.
However, an hour before we were due to start. It broke. The software just froze and everything was going out of sync! Hours of recording and editing – wasted.
You can just imagine my panic. I wasn’t prepared to go back to basics, me, the camera and my pieces of paper and I’d NEVER done a live video before. Not even for 5 minutes, let alone a 2-hour quiz where 2,600 people had expressed an interest to join!
But do you know what? When I put on my big girl pants and realised a) I have no option but to do it so my client gets their quiz and b) what’s the worst that can happen? It actually worked out very well.
In hindsight – I’m glad it was live. It not only took me out of my comfort zone, but it also opened up the opportunity for interaction, shout outs, conversation! It was brilliant … and we raised £1,000 for the project my client is leading (making protective Visors for Healthcare workers).
If you’re a fan of a pub quiz – we had ten rounds and you can still access the video on 3P innovations Facebook page here. Feel free to go and play, I’d love to hear your feedback on my LIVE performance haha and of course, feel free to donate to the cause if you’d like to show your support too.
My advice to you… if you are scared of going Live on Facebook! Just go for it.
Have a little practice first (I did that on my Flamingo page 10 mins before to make sure I knew how to get it started). However, be sure to practice on a LIVE video, because if you just do a normal video, you will strive for perfection and do 20 versions of it and give it up as a bad job.
It might just be the smartest move you make this month!
My live video has now been viewed 1,200+ times! (it’s just a shame I couldn’t get to the hairdressers before my debut! Haha)
How to keep connected during COVID-19
A lovely collaboration for this last article…
For this last article, I am going to share with you 5 ways you can keep connected both with your team and your customers/clients during this period. This blog has received HUNDREDS of views in a very short time.
Head to this page and have a read.
I co-wrote this article with the team at CYAN GROUP – so although it is not featured on my page, I’m sure you’ll find it just as valuable!
This team are great to be connected with if you have a need for print, promotional merchandising, events and everything in between. They also share a lot of useful content for both Marketing experts and Managing Directors. You can follow them on Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram.
As always, I’m here to help.
Here at Flamingo Marketing Strategies we work with predominantly B2B companies who want an ongoing strategy, and for us to become their virtual marketing team.
We offer a free consultation call to talk through your business objectives and see how we can help you.
Click here to schedule a call, or drop me an email to [email protected]
Look forward to speaking with you soon,
Emma