I’m delighted to introduce my guest for this week’s blog – it’s Kerry Burgess from Cheshire Marketing. We cover many topics from business growth to setting up networking groups and lots lots more!

A little bit about Kerry

Like many other young mums, Kerry looked for ways to continue working to give her the freedom to spend more time with her family. Her success as a businesswoman grew as she embraced social media as part of her overall marketing strategy.

After successfully finishing a teaching degree with a baby to look after (yes, I know, how impressive is that?) she took a completely different path. Little did she know that selling the books she used to learn from would be the trigger.

She sold her books easily – she targeted her audience well. Kerry then went on to buy children’s books in bulk to sell for profit – to do this she networked in the right places, created eye-catching leaflets which she door-dropped herself, took her books to events, and turned to Facebook.

Clearly Kerry has a good marketing head on her shoulders and took the next step which was to hold entertaining craft fair events herself – perfect for families – here she could sell the children’s books as well as make money from others who wished to book a stall. Clever!

To hear Kerry’s remarkable story in full and to learn how successful her leafleting distribution service has become head to my YouTube livestream.

The marketing journey began

Kerry knows that to be successful and achieve growth, you have to market your product or service really well – you have to be visible, be where your target audience hangs out, solve their problems and give them what they want.

As she gets to know the clients she provides her leafleting distribution service to, she is able to refer electricians to estate agents, taxi firms to restaurants and so on. With a drive and passion to help others, coupled with her strong marketing skills she founded Cheshire Business Directory to connect businesses throughout Cheshire.

This directory is a lifeline to business owners who struggle to promote their businesses online, as part of the service is to promote businesses through social media.

Kerry’s top tips on how to maximise growth in your social media followers

Kerry has an enviable 130k followers across her Facebook accounts and LinkedIn. Here are her top social media growth tips:

With over 23,000 connections on LinkedIn, Kerry is never short of business. She recommends keeping your eye on your growing number of mutual connections and send them invites.
On Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s best practice to post regularly. Kerry finds that when you do this and your posts reach a lot of people, you get recognised at networking events – this is a great icebreaker and starts conversations.
Kerry also uses banners (at places like local car washes) to promote her business – on every banner (and other external marketing materials) she has a call to action to follow her on social media too.
Although she predominantly works with Facebook and LinkedIn, she does have a presence on Instagram as a small number of potential customers have told her that this is their preferred platform. On Instagram she uses a mix of posts and videos to help the customer build a clear picture of the service she provides. Always be where your potential customers are!

Facebook group growth tips

Here’s how Kerry experiences amazing Facebook groups growth.

Kerry has created several different groups targeting specific audiences knowing that she can give them the information that they want while solving their problems at the same time.

One of her groups has over 20,000 followers and another has over 10,000. They’re definitely the place to be. Kerry says:

Community groups love to share local news, events and anything that’s going on in the area. This type of group attracts large volumes of followers as no-one wants me to miss out on what’s happening in their area.
Sell/Swap groups are popular as who doesn’t want a bargain or get rid of unwanted items hassle free?
Posting questions and asking for opinions always receives high levels of engagement.
Sharing current relevant news sparks comments and likes.
More and more local companies are willing to pay to promote their products and services in Facebook groups. This adds value to the followers.
Due to the high volume of followers, the groups can now find organic growth. But, it’s worth investing a lot of time at the beginning making sure that groups are set up correctly and putting the effort in to attract your first set of well targeted followers.

To gain Facebook business page likes and growth

Achieving lots of Facebook page likes is more of a challenge than growing your Facebook groups. Here’s what Kerry does to achieve a high level of page likes.

Post regularly with a good mix of content.
Upload videos as these are always well received.
Do live videos (Kerry has live videoed herself doing her leaflet distribution – a fabulous way to showcase one of her services).
Share screenshots of reviews from her clients to build credibility and trust.
Holds weekly free promotions on the Cheshire Marketing page where businesses are allowed to tag in their company page and share their business tips. A very easy way for businesses to interact and help each other.
Share life quotes on the Cheshire Business Directory page which resonate with the audience.
Monthly competitions to gain lots of shares and visibility.

Your wider social media marketing strategy

It’s been great hearing all these social media tips from Kerry – what a wonderful example of a successful social media growth case study.

My take-away tip is to use social media as part of your overall marketing strategy. It should complement your other activities such as leaflet distribution, articles in newspapers, networking, etc.

Keen to make the most out of LinkedIn?

I have an online LinkedIn workshop for businesses starting on the 14th July 2020 which spans over 4 days – just an hour each day.

By the end of the week you will have an updated profile that will appeal to your ideal client, a clear understanding of how to find and connect with your target audience and what type of content will give you the most engagement.

In the meantime check out my blog for LinkedIn business pages.