How to embrace digital sustainability

Andy Davies is a Digital Sustainability Professional who works with businesses to help reduce their digital carbon footprints by choosing low impact tech solutions.

This is the video of a presentation Andy used to explain how and why independent businesses can get started on making some changes.

The presentation was followed by a discussion and a Q&A that is covered below.

Find Andy on LinkedIn and at Sitegeist Web Services

The following topics were mentioned in the discussion and Q&A

• Test the carbon impact of your website here:https://www.websitecarbon.com/
• Then learn how to take action here:
  https://sustainablewebdesign.org/
• Find sustainably minded hosting services here (I recommend Krystal https://krystal.io/) :
  https://app.greenweb.org/directory/
• For more digital sustainability information sign up for the Curiously Green newsletter from Wholegrain Digital:
  https://www.wholegraindigital.com/curiously-green/
• Read what Andy has written on Digital Sustainability for Wholegrain https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/category/digital-sustainability/

Specifics of things that came up on the call:

• An article about changing browsers: https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/can-browser-choice-help-digital-sustainability/
• Guidelines for optimising website media (Illustrators and digital designers will find this useful)
  https://sustainablewebdesign.org/guidelines/2-15-take-a-more-sustainable-approach-to-image-assets/

Finally this is an eye opening primer on AI energy use:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/

An example of a typical AI use case from the article: 
Let’s say you’re running a marathon as a charity runner and organizing a fundraiser to support your cause. You ask an AI model 15 questions about the best way to fundraise.

Then you make 10 attempts at an image for your flyer before you get one you are happy with, and three attempts at a five-second video to post on Instagram.

You’d use about 2.9 kilowatt-hours of electricity—enough to ride over 100 miles on an e-bike (or around 10 miles in the average electric vehicle) or run the microwave for over three and a half hours.

The text, image, and video responses they requested add up to 2.9 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

In California, generating that amount of electricity would produce about 650 grams of carbon dioxide pollution on average. But generating that electricity in West Virginia might inflate the total to more than 1,150 grams.

If you have any questions for Andy just let us know and we'll forward them to him.

by Ann Hawkins

How to use storytelling to create an effective landing page

Do you think of your potential customers as heroes?

From a presentation by Māris Prindulis of https://storyclicks.us/

Most of us don’t like selling and that can be a big barrier when you need to attract new customers.

How would it feel if, instead of trying to persuade people to buy from you, you became a friendly guide who helped them find the solution to their problem?

Imagine writing a story that became the trailer for a film about your business …

*Voiceover, deep and dramatic:*

"In a world filled with choices... one hero dares to embark on a journey like no other.

Meet Alexis, a curious customer living their everyday life.

But something is missing.

Alexis looks sorrowful and says: "I need something better... something more."

Scrolling late at night, Alexis struggles to find the right solution to his problem. Every hero faces obstacles...

Confused comparisons. Endless reviews. Ads whispering promises. Doubt creeps in.

"Can I trust them? Will this really work for me?"

*Mysterious music*:

In amongst the confusion, in the guise of a wise guide, you glide into the picture and offer to lead the way to the solution Alexis craves.

You show him a magical plan that explains how he can reach his goal with a minimum of effort.

You quietly assure him, “This is the route to getting what you want Alexis – it’s easy, you just have to follow these simple steps and you’ll get the something better, something more, that you’re looking for.”

Alexis hesitates and you know that taking action is imperative so you explain, “If you set off on this journey now you’ll soon be enjoying the satisfaction of knowing you made the right decision.”

*The camera pans back and shows Alexis two paths*:

The first path - exploring other solutions - looks easy and avoids Commitment City but is full of hidden traps that will cause Alexis to lose valuable time, peace of mind and other things that are most valuable to him. The other path leads straight to Commitment and shows him striding confidently to the place he wants to be, guided by you.

When he arrives he notices he is transformed. Life feels easier, brighter, better.

*Uplifting music*:

Alexis sees an image of himself using your product, saying "This changed everything for me."

*Strong triumphal music. Image fades*

In every hero’s journey, there’s a guide who leads the way to the perfect solution. Are you going to be part of their story?

(Māris used A.I. to create the rather disturbing images of cats!)

OK – this is a bit of fun, but if you cast yourself in the role of guide instead of pushy salesperson it makes a big difference – even if the film is only in your head!

There are eight acts in the story:

1. Get to know the main character (the hero) and what they really want.
2. Identify the problem they're experiencing.
3. Position your brand as the guide to the hero. (Your brand is never the hero!)
4. Create a clear plan for the hero to win the day.
5. Give the hero a clear call to action.
6. Show the negative consequences of not doing business with you.
7. Explain what their life will look like if they buy your solution.
8. Show the transformation of the hero's life!

See the full set of slides from the presentation and you'll get the idea! https://files.fm/u/8yjmwdeqwr

Huge thanks to Māris for such a great presentation that was a lot of fun!
You can contact Maris on LinkedIn 

by Ann Hawkins

How to use V.A.s to add value to your business

Why do small businesses resist outsourcing and delegating?

From a presentation by Wendy Johnstone
No-one started a business to do admin (unless it's a business that sells this as a service) and yet most small business owners choose to do work they don't like and aren't very good at.

This isn't because there aren't talented, capable people available who could take on those duties ... so what is it that gets in the way?

In a discussion with Wendy Johnstone, a V.A. trainer and provider of business support services, we covered a lot of the issues and what can be done about them.

The main reason for overcoming the barriers is that bringing one or more good V.A.s into your businesses can be a real gamechanger.

Think about how much you earn when you deliver your best work to clients.
In the UK a V.A. typically earns £35 per hour.
If spending this releases you to earn a lot more, that is the best possible reason to get help.

The main light bulb moment for business owners is when they realise that employing more than one V.A. to do specialist tasks is better than expecting one person to be good at everything.

Key Things that V.A.s do

Admin Tasks - phone calls, managing email, processing data, transcribing voice recordings, scheduling appointments, arranging travel, organising meetings, etc.
Tech Support - managing website analytics, blogs, CRMs, mailing list platforms, support with podcasting tech and community building platforms.
Creative Services - content creation for social media, graphics, design work.
Financial Management - bookkeeping, invoicing, credit control, bank reconciliations.
Customer Support - answering queries, processing orders, resolving issues, collecting feedback, responding to reviews.
Personal Assistance - lifestyle support.

What should you outsource?

• Low value, repetitive tasks.
• Things you don't like, don't do well or that tie up too much of your time.
• Anything that doesn't generate income.
• Tasks with set procedures.

Doing these things will make it easier to build a trusted relationship

• Ensure you have exceptionally clear communication.
• Conduct thorough interviews about skill and experience.
• Test skills.
• Check references thoroughly.
• Set clear expectations / don't overload with tasks.
• Provide training and the right tools for the job.
• Have a signed contract / confidentiality statement / NDA.
• Don't micromanage.
• Set clear boundaries re working practices.
• Take cultural differences into account.
• Secure your data / passwords etc.

Hiring V.A.s can be a game changer.

Most small businesses stall because they can't deliver to clients while also marketing and doing all the admin. Too many owners burnout or find they can never really take time off - and this isn't what they went into business for.

By using V.A.s you are demonstrating that your business doesn't rely solely on you and this can be attractive to anyone who might be interested in joining your team, investing, or even buying your business!

If you're hesitating or have questions about how to go about making best use of V.A.s in your business have a chat with Wendy https://wendyjohnstoneltd.co.uk/contact-us/ or just reply to this post and we'll do our best to help!

by Ann Hawkins

Collaborative accounting for small businesses.

Why should accountants take a collaborative approach to helping small businesses thrive?

It's a no-brainer really. When an accountant uses their knowledge, skills and network to pro-actively help their clients, everybody wins! This is one of the values that Toni Hunter lives by.

Toni is a Chartered Accountant, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has a Diploma in Charity Accounting. She is collaborative, approachable, and with a true understanding of what a difference good financial advice can make to business owners. Her knowledge is extensive, her credentials impeccable and her network, truly valuable.

In 2023, after 25 years in a multi-partner practice, Toni made the leap to starting her own business, Hunter FDS,  and has already exceeded all her expectations, largely due to a loyal network of people who value her skills and integrity.

Toni led this discussion and Q&A about accounting practices, strange accounting dates in the UK and what really matters to small business when it comes to understanding their finances.

Why does the UK tax year end on 5th April?

USA and most of EU use a calendar year for their tax system, so why do us history-loving Brits have a tax year end of 5th April?
Stand by for a history lesson!
The Gregorian Calendar wasn't introduced in Britain until 1752, by which time the British calendar was 11 days off the rest of Europe. To stop this differential increasing as years passed, it was time to transition.
With the old British “Julian” Calendar, the tax year began on 25th March (the old New Year’s Day). The British Treasury decided that the tax year, which started on March 25 1752, would be of the usual length (365 days) to ensure that no tax revenue was lost, and therefore would end on 4th April (11 days later in the new calendar).
1800 was not a leap year in the new Gregorian calendar but would have been in the old Julian system. So, the treasury moved the start of the UK tax year to 6th April and as sticklers for tradition, it has remained there ever since!

What does this mean for accountants and small businesses?

In March, we need to help our clients in several ways, e.g.

• Ensure tax allowances are maximised in last payroll month, and all is in order for reporting year end to HMRC
• Consider dividend levels based on the situation of the company and the personal circumstances of shareholders
• 31st March is the favourite year end of small companies and the norm for anyone in the supply chain of government funds such as NHS and councils, due to their budgeting regime
• Most sole-traders and partnerships report to 31st March or 5th April.
• Capital allowance regime revolves around 31st March for companies, and 5th April for unincorporated businesses
• Personal allowances to be used, such as ISAs, pension contributions and IHT mitigation strategies.

Also: January is very busy due to self-assessment deadline, December is very busy due to March year ends that need to be filed and September feels like “New Year” for many, as the schools return, and everyone refocuses after a break.

The discussions with members covered:

• • The benefits of reviewing finances quarterly and querying “value for money”
  • Comparisons of UK and other tax rules, eg. Latvia has 10% flat rate tax for freelancers.
  • The vagaries and complexity of VAT were considered, leading to question of who should register for VAT
  • Public Sector supply chains have different deadlines
  • The perils of moving house whilst running a small business!
  • Making quarterly plans to avoid pinch points / measure progress.
  • Asking if anyone had a different accounting year end to December or March.

A useful article that covers several other things that are worth checking before the end of each tax year:
LinkedIn Article: Reflect on what you can control before the end of the tax year  

Q&A Included

Q1. Principles of when to charge VAT.
Toni explained place of supply rules which led on to further questions about reverse charges and commented on hybrid of UK and EU laws make VAT the most complex of the 7 taxes.

Q2. You have grown your business very fast in nine short months. What’s the secret?
Toni's reply: "As with many overnight successes, it was 20 years in the making! I resigned from my previous firm a year ago, and whilst it was a surprise to everyone, I had a clear understanding of my objectives and the importance of sticking to my values. I hope that they are clear from my branding and website.
I have been networking since 2001 and actively using LinkedIn since 2007. I have always been a giver of my time and empathetic networker and developed a “power circle” of 8 people who really know me, my values and my goals. I trust them with my clients and I believe the reverse is true.
When they found out I was going to start my own business, they quickly rallied, and a referral from a HR adviser in that circle became my first retainer in September and has created the backbone of my business, reducing worry about feeding my family and giving me the focus to build further alliances."

Q3. Please help me understand what dividends are and why/when I should take them?
Toni explained that they are a return on the investment of buying shares in a company, not earnings, so do not carry an National Insurance Contribution charge, but in recent years are charged to income tax via a dividend tax, leading to this practice becoming less popular.
The “usual” policy is to take up to NIC threshold c£12,500 as salary and the rest as dividend. Consideration is needed regarding personal circumstances of whole family. Timing of dividends, especially if near the £50k total income figure could lead to paying higher rates of tax and lose child benefit. Consideration should be given to pension contributions and gift aid donations to help with timing.

If you have questions about managing the finance of your business or charity find Toni on LinkedIn and follow her company page for fun financial quizzes and useful business insights.

You can also get in touch with Toni at Hunter FDS

by Ann Hawkins

Why treating yourself with kindness makes you more effective

Do you beat yourself up when you make mistakes?

Are you your worst critic?

There's a folk tale about two wolves we carry with us who are always fighting. One is darkness and despair, the other is light and hope. The story goes that the wolf that wins is the one we feed.

Negative self-talk feeds the wolf that makes us believe we are stupid, useless and incompetent with the result that we become afraid to try anything and give up easily.

Founder member of Drive, David Brown, ran a learning and sharing session for our members around the idea that by shifting the harsh critical voice that we so often have in our lives into something that's kinder and more compassionate, we give ourselves permission to try, not to strive for perfection, to make mistakes and learn from them and be altogether more effective in our lives and businesses.

David started Potentiality Coaching in 2013 to enable people to move on from being emotionally stuck and reach their full potential. Combining martial arts and life coaching, David teaches embodied facilitation. He also volunteers for the Samaritans,  giving people the chance to be heard.

This is David's summary of the Zoom call with our members:

"That critical voice is something that we've probably practised a lot.

It's served us in a lot of important ways as we've been growing up and coming into our adulthood, but in my experience and in a lot of people's experiences that I've noticed, what that critical voice really does, is it slows us down.

It acts as a barrier to our growth.

What I've noticed is that if we're kinder to ourselves, if we speak kindly to ourselves, if we speak respectfully to ourselves, we are more likely to get the job done quicker.

We'll get the job done better, and there's much less procrastination.

There's much less resistance.

It may not get rid of all the resistance, but getting rid of the vast majority of the resistance that gives us permission to be able to take those first tentative steps.

Positive reinforcement

Imagine teaching a pet how to behave properly.  The best way to do it is by giving them positive reinforcement, by treating them kindly, by treating them compassionately and respectfully, and when they get things wrong, you give them boundaries and talk to them in a disciplined way, but with kindness, and they pick up the idea much, much faster.

Touch your heart

Here are a couple of tools that I gave people to try:

Think of a situation, perhaps in a business context or another situation. Bring the specifics of the situation to mind and the kind of things you say to yourself and also how you feel inside.

A typical situation might be where you've made a mistake and there's a cruel voice in your head saying "Oh, God, you've made that mistake again - why didn't you learn better from the last time? You know you're just not good enough."

And and very, very quickly that becomes a thing and it starts to happen even when you don't make a mistake and it begins to become like you're trashing your whole character. I started saying to myself, "You know you'll never get this right and you always do this and you know you're not good enough."

And the the words can get really quite cruel and quite harsh and very, very generalised.

So just to be aware of that, don't go to town on it, but just to be aware of how it is that you speak to yourself.

The first tool is to simply place one or both of your hands over your heart space.

What that does is it allows you to just slow down, but also to feel the contact of your hand on your skin around your chest and that maybe that's as far as your attention will go, but that if you allow yourself to slow down and you give yourself the time and with a bit of practise, you can feel right through all of the skin and the muscle and the tissue and the ribs, and you might even be able to feel the heart itself.

When we tune into the heart, suddenly we might find ourselves speaking a very different story to ourselves, a story that's more compassionate, a story that's more heart centred, an acknowledgement, perhaps, that you're doing the best that you can, an acknowledgment that perhaps you don't know a better way and that maybe a thing to do is to reach out for support or to acknowledge to yourself that you're doing the best that you can and that at least you are in action and that maybe there's some learning to do or to sit back and consider that maybe there's a different way of doing it.

Whatever it is, you, your heart is telling you, giving yourself an opportunity to hear that voice for yourself.

There's a fair bit of scientific research that points to this idea that the brain in our head is not the only brain that we have, that there is a heart brain, that there is also a gut brain, lots of neurons, lots of brain type tissue that can direct our thinking that has us reach for new levels or different levels of knowing and different levels of wisdom.

Whilst the old thinking used to be, perhaps that the brain is the sort of the centre control ground control and that everything goes from the head and the instructions go down there's also a lot of evidence in the science literature now that points to the fact that actually, there's also quite a lot of information coming from the body up, that the heart feedbacks a lot of information to the brain that the gut feeds up a lot of information to the brain as well. So there's this up and down going on all the time in our being.

Embrace yourself

The second exercise is a similar sort of thing so use the same scenario or you could choose a different scenario but the second scenario is taking that a little bit of a stage further.

Perhaps, for example, putting your right hand sort of around your chest around your heart and bringing the other arm to your shoulder and allowing your head just to rest on that right? That left hand is resting on that right shoulder almost like you're giving yourself a cuddle.

One of my teachers, a guy called Mark Walsh, uses this one. He refers to it as the self care pose, so it's like you're cuddling a child. You know, if you think of a child that's just tripped over and grazed their knee or they've had an argument with someone, or someone's been unkind to them, they're going to rush into your arms and you're going to cuddle them and protect them. And just for a few moments, you're going to nurture them. So you're going to do that to yourself when you've got that harsh voice speaking and you're going to let your eyes close if you want to, and you can look down or if you want to keep your eyes open.

But just have a soft gaze and allow the quality of the touch of your hands on yourself to be really tender, really gentle, really comforting. And you might notice yourself rocking from side to side or forwards and backwards. Or you might feel yourself wanting to very naturally do this twisting action. This rocking action that again can be quite comforting. The gentle movement of that can be quite nice.

And again, if you allow yourself to slow down and allow yourself to feel the sensations of this pose of caring for yourself, you might begin to feel a different message coming through. Not one of harshness, but one of kindness and compassion.

Maybe, rather than trying to push through and burn yourself out, but to actually give yourself a chance to take a break, maybe go for a walk in nature or care for yourself in some other way. Call a friend, take yourself off for the afternoon and give yourself a bit of a break and then come back to the problem at hand or the challenge at hand at a different time when you're in a different headspace or whatever your version of it might be.

Sharing the experience

So after we did that exercise in the actual meeting, we sent everyone off into breakout rooms and 20 minutes later, they came back and they were giving feedback.

People were talking about different ways in which they felt better.

Being able to recognise this negative voice, and being able to talk to it more kindly to give it some acknowledgement. People were talking about the practise of meditation or taking walks outside. Some people were speaking about how shocking it was to them, how acknowledging that self care is really so low in their priority list and that building self awareness can be really, really helpful so that you can begin to notice when you're talking to yourself in that way.

One of the things that I think I mentioned on the call was this idea that self awareness isn't really enough, that there has to be a kind of an acceptance that you're talking to yourself that way and then also a deliberate intention to move your attention away from this harsh voice towards a choice of self kindness and self compassion and you were choosing that instead.

These were some of the ideas that people were talking about when they came back from the breakout rooms and we finished the session by exchanging ideas of what we were taking away.

Expand your potential

If you're ever struggling with this this harsh critical voice, then please reach out to me. I'm very, very happy to offer a complimentary session where we can look at some of the things that are going on for you around that self criticism and to try and give you a practise that is going to work for you, that you can take away and use in your daily life that will allow you to be more kind and more compassionate to yourself."

https://potentialitycoaching.co.uk/
You can also find David on LinkedIn

by Ann Hawkins

Design tips for small businesses

Design plays a crucial role in how small businesses are perceived

Design helps to establish brand identity, connect with a target audience, and stand out in a competitive market. It also helps every business to be accessible to as many people as possible.

Berenice Howard-Smith, who has has an MA in Graphic Design & Typography, gave our members lots of practical design tips that small businesses can use to enhance their visual appeal and overall branding strategy.

Berenice believes in design collaboration, working with her clients on website, print, book and social media design to enable them to learn as much or as little as they wish about the creative process. She has mentored GCSE work experience students, and delivered workshops as a visiting lecturer to undergraduate design students. Her website www.hellolovely.design has a whole suite of Gorgeous Guides that give a lot more detail on these tips.

Accessibility

According to WHO statistics, 217 million people worldwide had moderate to severe vision impairment in 2015, with this number expected to rise to 588 million by 2050.

Here are three tips that help to include everyone with accessible design.
1. Use high contrast colours to differentiate for users with visual impairments. Tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker can help you to clarify the ratios. Type 'copy space' into most image libraries to locate images with simple backgrounds that work well for text overlays.
2. Make it responsive so that mobile and tablet users can read your content on their devices. Your website and online forms may require alternative design treatments to provide an accessible and inclusive experience.
3. Accessible design isn't just colour. Use additional visual cues to include the user such as patterns, icons, or text labels to convey information, alerts, or status changes.

Keep it simple

“I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.” Lindon Leader

1.Clarity and ease of use. The more complex the system, the harder it is to navigate. Simple design avoids the audience being overwhelmed by competing elements. Design navigates the user and supports the content.
2. Simple branding systems make it easier to grow a business. Working with a graphic designer to develop a logo into branding guidelines will make it easier for stakeholders and suppliers to work with a business. It saves the owner time and money as the branding brief is already complete.
3. Less is more with images and information. Study the content or the message you're intending to share. Is there more than one theme or one slide or post? Keeping it simple may mean more slides with less information on each to avoid overwhelm.

Invest in design

"A logo doesn't need to say what a company does. The Mercedes logo isn't a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn't an airplane. The Apple logo isn't a computer. Etc.” David Airey

1. As soon as cash flow allows, investing in a high-quality brand logo is recommended. Don't forget to budget for great images too!
2. Really work on the preparation. Get to know your designer and ask for help if you are struggling with the brief as that's the most important investment in the project. Pause if you need more time to get audience feedback; most of all keep in touch with your creative for the best results.
3. Designers can collaborate with business owners to create a range of templates in Canva or Adobe Express as part of a branding brief. This will enable the business owner to quickly create their own content knowing it has been professionally designed.

Fonts

"Letters do love one another. However, due to their anatomical differences, some letters have a hard time achieving intimacy.” Ellen Lupton

1. Each font has a licence. Use fonts legally by buying from a recognised source such Monotype. You can find Monotype fonts on Canva Premium and Adobe Fonts on Adobe Express (and all Adobe Creative Cloud packages).
2. Keep fonts simple. One or two contrasting fonts is fine for social media, there can be too much unless used with care. Use weights too (bold, light, regular, extra bold).
3. Make fonts part of your brand. Poor design can be spotted when font use is inconsistent. They don't have to be expensive or trending. Classic fonts have stood the test of time for good reasons.

Hello lovely! Professional design tips

1. Think in grids. Imagine a series of invisible cross section of lines that work across and down the page. Draw them if you like, and use the structure to align your text and images within it. This helps with order and white space which allows a moment to pause.
2. Use hierarchy in your text to make it easier to read. You can do this in Word, Powerpoint or Canva using preset styles. The main heading is the attention grabber and H2 (B) and H3 (C) headings provide navigational structure.
3. Watch your line lengths on your text. Short line lengths engage the user attention. Left align and neat right edges (in design we call untidy edges ‘ragged’) are also easier on the eye. It's not only font style that aids legibility, it is how they are used.

Design is iterative

"Inherent quality is part of absolute quality and without it things will appear shoddy. The user may not know why, but they always sense it.” Erik Spiekermann

Science, technology, social studies, research, politics, culture, diversity,
economy and platform advances are all contributors to design iterations.

Design can be refined to respond to advancements improving usability,
functionality, and quality for consumers.

Further reading

contrastchecker.com to check colours on an image
unsplash.com for images with copy space (+ is good value)
new.express.adobe.com an alternative to Canva
canva.com for templated social media assets
color.adobe.com for useful colour swatches
baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability is a useful read on line length and attention span.

Inspiration

David Airey on branding and visual identity www.davidairey.com/resources
Marian Bantjes, a pioneer of type https://bantjes.com
Erik Spiekermann, type designer https://spiekermann.com/en/

More advice on fonts, easy design tips and accessible design are featured
in Berenice’s newsletter hellolovely.design/newsletter and regular workshops.

The PDF of this presentation can be viewed at
https://tinyurl.com/dn2v5dvc

Follow Berenice on LinkedIn for more inspiration and discussion on good design.

by Ann Hawkins

How to go from LinkedIn Lurker to LinkedIn Legend

LinkedIn Challenges and Strategies

Dan Ince has over 25 years experience as a Marketing Consultant, Marketing Director, Coach, Mentor and passionate marketing ‘fixer’. He founded BrandWorks Social in 2020 and now helps B2Bs grow with LinkedIn content that stands out. He has helped many Drive members sort out their LinkedIn Strategy and has popular and useful articles in our Learning Hub

Dan led an interactive discussion about the use of social media, particularly LinkedIn, in small businesses.

Hands up if you use LinkedIn or other social media for your business?

How happy are you in what you’re currently achieving?
1 (unhappy) 10 (ecstatic)
What stops you from being a 10?
The biggest challenges most people face are:

• Time management
• Understanding the platform
• Content creation

This isn't helped when there are so many people suggesting that the latest hack or shiny tactic are the answer. They never are.

The only things that really work are
1. CLARITY
2. CONSISTENCY
3. FREQUENCY.

Everyone is bombarded with so much content that it's easy to get overwhelmed. It's important to be really picky about who you follow and, if you want to make an impact, who you engage with. Be strategic about this - who are the people who will share your messages and engage with you? Don't get sucked into just liking things because someone is your friend. The people who follow you will switch off and you'll be left in the shadows.

You can't afford to be a lurker!

Social Media is a great tool to build awareness of your business at scale for relatively low cost but you need to cut through the noise to make an impact. If people don’t know you, they can’t buy you.
In the eyes of the customer, the best product is the one they know.

OK. Let’s get to it!
Use the worksheet (link below) to jot notes as you go. Learning is great, but taking
action is better!

Dan Ince STANDOUT Worksheet PDF

1. CLARITY

Many businesses, especially solo owners and B2B use social media sporadically, lack strategy, consistency and get hit and miss results.

• Why are you using social media?
• What is your objective? To get noticed by customers?
• Creating brand awareness? This is different to "generate leads"
• What problem does your business solve, why should anyone care?
• Who do you best serve? Focus everything on them.
• What are your channels? These are the places where your customers are active and receptive to your message. You can't be on all platforms so it's best to do one or two well than spread yourself too thin. LinkedIn is a good place for most B2Bs

2. CONSISTENCY

What is the McDonalds catchphrase? Almost everyone knows it because for over 20 years it has conveyed a memorable, consistent message.
Consistency helps you stand out.

The three elements for consistency are:

• • your visual identity
  • tone of voice
  • content

For now, we'll focus on content:
What content themes will resonate with your audience?
Use 3-5 of these themes as pillars, creating a mix of content that entertains, educates and inspires.
Start with a HOOK to stop the scroll – a great headline or image.
Then go into PAIN. SOLUTION. BENEFIT format.
An example of pillars:

• Stories that demonstrate expertise
• How to tips
• Curated industry content
• Events, networking - connect with other attendees, write a post about what you found useful & tag others
• Social proof – describe client wins, projects, reviews.

Not sure where to start?
Listen to your customers. What questions get asked repeatedly?
What problems have you solved for customers?
Turn the Q&A into content.
Ask your customers what they really value about what you do for them - it’s gold.

JOT DOWN YOUR CONTENT THEMES
Keep it fresh, mix formats up - Text, Image, Carousel, Polls, Video, newsletters & consistent timing. E,g., Polls on a Wednesday, round up on Fridays?
Create a content folder & make it a monthly habit. Keep it simple. Capture everything in one place. Take lots of photos / video. Make time to plan, create & schedule.

Remember: Social Media is a great tool to build awareness of your business at scale for relatively low cost - but the cost is time so you need to make a decision to invest either time or money! 

3. FREQUENCY

Why do you need to be investing in social media on an on-going basis?
Because at any one time, 95% of your target audience aren’t ready to buy what you have to offer.  When they are, they'll need to remember you.
Keeping your name in front of them, consistently sharing useful information, gives them  chance to get to know you.
We recommend posts 3x per week (consistency, find your own rhythm). You’re leaving breadcrumbs and building awareness.
ENGAGE!!! Don’t just broadcast content. You need to engage. Leaving an interesting comment on someone else's post shows others that you have a point of view, or that you're funny, helpful, or curious to learn new things.
When people leave comments on your posts don't ignore them and don't just say thank you! Get a conversation going. Start to build a relationship. Allow time to respond & engage with others.
Really focus on building relationships - it's THE best way to attract new clients.

We recommend posting 3x per week, 30-45mins per time.
If you don't have this much time, think about how much it would cost to use other ways to find new clients. This is the most cost effective way to do it so making time for it is important.

What would take your social media effectiveness up 2 notches?

Most people acknowledge that having a group of genuine supporters and people who are fans of your work is invaluable. (This is very different to social media "pods" where people agree to "boost" each others content regardless of whether it's any good or not.)
The best way to build fans is to be generous. Share other people's content with your network and they're more likely to share yours.

Final Exercise...(one you could do EVERY week)

Write a post about today's event. What did you find useful? Connect with and tag everyone you’ve met. When you’re tagged, like and write a comment - something more interesting than "thank you", adding value and showing your perspective and personality.

If there are 20 people at an event and you get mentioned 20 times and make 20 interesting comments to 20 x other people's networks, that's a LOT of opportunities to stand out! (And that's what everyone wants to do - isn't it?)

If you have any questions, get in touch with Dan at BrandWorks Social
You can also find Dan on LinkedIn where he shares lots of useful tips. Be sure to sign up to his newsletter!

by Ann Hawkins

Why disability inclusion is important in EVERY business

Is your business too small to worry about disability inclusion and accessibility?

Jodie Greer is a disability inclusion specialist, supporting businesses to look at disability through a holistic lens. She is proud to be the founder of Be #PeopleSmart Ltd.

Be #PeopleSmart Ltd

Jodie led a discussion with our members about why disability inclusion and accessibility is important in every business, regardless of size.

Both disability inclusion and accessibility play a big part in successful business.
This is why:

80% of disabilities are acquired in adulthood. This means that we need the world to be accessible for all of us and by being inclusive we can retain our customers if their needs change during the time they engage with us.
The global statistic for adults with disabilities is 19%, but in the UK we know it's more like 23%. This number is expected to keep rising due to the aging population, access to health care, better awareness of neurodivergence and mental health, accident and injury.

How do you communicate for inclusion and accessibility?

The most obvious way anyone engages with a business is through the way they communicate, whether on their website, or through printed or digital media so it's important that all of these avenues are available to everyone.

Accessible communication doesn't just enable disabled people, it creates a better experience for everyone.

If your restaurant only has a QR code on your website or poster where people can see the menu, you may be excluding people who use screen readers or may not be able to line up a QR code on their phone camera. Always make sure there's a QR code and an alternative.

Videos and podcasts should always have captions and transcripts. Avoid the captions where one or two words flash up at a time at random places on a screen. These aren’t accessible for those who rely on captions, as they are difficult to read and they also cause overwhelm resulting in a lot of people not wanting to watch. Stick with the “boring” single line captions with good timing and colour contrast. An example of an affordable and intuitive captioning tool is Clideo, but there are many out there so it’s about finding a solution that works for you.

Transcripts should include speaker identity and any contextual sounds that aren’t verbal. This can be time consuming, but there are automated tools to help. Just:Access provide a transcript service with fast turnaround.

It’s also important to add alternative text (or alt-text) to your images and to describe images used in social media posts. This provides equity for screen reader or narrator users, and for those with low vision who may not use a screen reader.

There’s no hard and fast rule on how to describe an image, it’s all about context and purpose. For example, “a snowy Canadian landscape with skis being held up by the snow” would be more descriptive than “snow”. When adding alt-text behind an image keep it brief, but don’t lose the intent.

Colour contrast is one of the main reasons people struggle to read content. A great way to check your website and images is to use one of the free colour contrast analysers including Webaim and TPGi Colour Contrast Analyser. The TPGi one doesn't need you to know your colour codes, you can just click on them with your mouse.

Physical Accessibility and travel

Physical accessibility of premises is a topic that needs a whole session to itself along with accessible travel so we'll leave that for another time.

Recruitment

If you employ people, making sure that different ways of conducting interviews in person, on video or by phone are offered, and check that application forms and ways to submit CVs also don't exclude people. Do we really even need CVs? Can candidates share their expertise another way?

And don’t forget to ask if candidates need an accessibility adjustment, then wherever possible be ready to make it happen. Having access to the widest talent pool is always a winner.

Events

When organising events there will be a range of different preferences and needs that should be accommodated. The first win is to ask people if they have any accessibility needs. Check-ins via touch screen can be impossible for some people. Offering quiet rooms is recommended. Badges or lanyards that indicate whether people are OK to shake hands, or prefer not to be touched are necessary for some people.

Whether you already have a diversity & inclusion strategy and want to develop your disability inclusion focus, if you're not sure where to start or if you simply care about putting people first get in touch with Jodie at Be #PeopleSmart Ltd with any questions.
You can also find Jodie on LinkedIn.

by Ann Hawkins