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December 26, 2017 By Nicole Bigar

How to Start Blogging: A Brief Intro

Blogging has become one of the most popular ways to communicate. It’s a great way to share content, get creative and increase your brand awareness. It’s no secret that blogs are essential in marketing your business but starting a blog can be overwhelming, time consuming and intimidating. What do you talk about? Will people even read what you write? Will anyone care? We completely understand where you’re coming from, but trust us… it’s easier than you think! We put together a few guidelines to help you start your blog in time for the new year.

  1. Pick a theme.  What type of blog do you want to write? It should have some connection to your brand but don’t be afraid to get creative with your content to make it interesting. Once you’ve chosen what you want to talk about, you’ve won half the battle. Make a list of ideas using an old-fashioned brainstorm session! You’ll be surprised at how many ideas you have.
  2. Stick with WordPress. It’s free and fabulous! WordPress has more than 82 million active users, making it one of the biggest platforms out there. It’s also very user friendly so you can save yourself a lot of headaches. Whatever platform you choose, keep your demographic in mind. Use eye catching photos (check out Pexels and Unsplash) to get attention and clicks. Try to keep your look cohesive so that readers can tell that it’s you when they see a post. This blog is your brand, make it look like one. What can help is designing a logo then basing the rest of the pages off of those colors and themes.
  3. Plan your content. This is KEY! Quality content is planned content. Sit down at the beginning of each month and write down some blog topics. Think about the type of content your audience wants to consume. What’s relevant or helpful? You don’t always have to write the great American novel. Keep things short and simple!

Draft a couple posts before publishing your blog. That way you have posts on hand in case you get busy. Make it a goal to publish a new blog each week to keep your content fresh and interesting. Use grass roots marketing to help promote your blog if you don’t have the budget for sponsored content.

Get out there in the social world! The more you talk to people on social media platforms, the more people will see your logo and your name. That kind of recognition will gain you a great follow base. Check out our upcoming blog posts for more in depth details on how to start your own blog and be successful. It’s a really fun time for bloggers right now, especially if you have a passion and want to share it with the world!

Take advantage of our social media consulting services to get your brand off to a great start in the new year!

Filed Under: marketing Tagged With: blogger, blogging, branding, businesstips, charlottenc, content, emailmarketing, marketing, socialmedia, socialmediamarketing, writing

October 2, 2017 By Nicole Bigar

How to make the Instagram algorithm work for your business

Everyone’s thinking it, we’re just saying it; Instagram’s new algorithm can be frustrating! In 2016, Instagram moved from a chronological lay out to this new algorithm. On average, users miss about 70 percent of the content in their feeds. However, it’s not all Instagram’s fault. There are nearly 700 million active users which means there’s more content available than anyone could manage. In an effort to keep your timeline clean, Instagram implemented their algorithm so that you only see posts you care about (or one’s that the algorithm thinks you care about) 

How do they do it? Instagram figures out what posts you’d most likely care about, and places them at the top of your feed. In an interview with Business Insider, an Instagram spokesperson said the algorithm considers several different factors to find out what you care to see. The first is timeliness. No, the order isn’t chronological but Insta still considers how many times you hit refresh or log in. Engagement is next. The algorithm boosts posts that are gaining more likes and comments (sound like a catch-22 anyone?) Comments are weighted more heavily than likes since they take more effort. It considers relationships. The depth of your relationship with an account is determined through likes, comments, and tags. Lastly, profile searches and direct shares. The more times you search an account, the higher they’ll sit on your timeline. Sharing an account’s posts is also considered.

So how do you apply to information to your business? While it’s true people may not see your post right when you share it, it’s still important to post at the right time to maximize engagement. Engagement on a photo you post is what will best boost your post to the top of people’s timelines. And what if you’re not getting engagement? Start building those relationships. Engage with your followers, look at their posts to see what they like, and tell them you like it! Gaining a loyal and active following isn’t easy, but without it, the algorithm will not work in your favor.

Filed Under: Instagram, marketing Tagged With: blogger, business, Charlotte, charlotteblog, clt, Facebook, Instagram, marketing, sales, socialmedia

March 30, 2017 By Nicole Bigar

How To Make Graphic Design Simple

canva

Social media marketing is all about the picture. Really, that’s Step 1. Quality content, research, timing, proper hashtags, engagement etc. are all important but the only way to get someone to stop scrolling through their feed and look at your work is by using an eye-catching photo.

At Bigar Creative, we include graphic design services in our price because, again, good pictures get results. We create our content using stock and original photos from clients using the free design software called Canva. This program creates everything from blog graphics, social media photos and even posters (we did a great in-house poster for a cafe using Canva).

Though Canva is simple, it does take some clicking around and practice to understand all of its features. You can really make some great looking graphics once you understand the use of elements, layering and other advanced features.

Need help getting started with Canva? Give us a call today!

 

Filed Under: Facebook, Instagram, marketing, Twitter Tagged With: blog, canva, Charlotte, clt, content, digitalmarketer, graphicdesign, marketing, socialmedia

November 30, 2016 By Nicole Bigar

How many times should I post on Instagram?

I wanted to do a quick post to answer one of the most frequently-asked questions at Bigar Creative. Our short answer: 3-5 times a week but there’s a lot more to consider! It’s always important to find the perfect balance of engaging with your audience without overwhelming them.

 

social-media

Filed Under: Instagram Tagged With: blogging, charlottenc, content, digitalmarketing, Facebook, Instagram, marketing, queencity, SEO, socialmedia

October 19, 2016 By Nicole Bigar

Say it with a graphic

Let’s face it — the digital world is a visual world. Stop wasting your time on social media with posts that contain too much text and say it with a graphic! Some studies show that pictures get almost 50% more engagement than an all-text post alone. Best of all, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to create a visually-appealing post.  Our top picks for user-friendly design applications/programs are Ripl & Canva. See some of our creations below:

 

content-food

Bigar Creative™ via Ripl App

Bigar Creative™ via Canva

waffles do

Bigar Creative™ via Canva

ilash promo

Bigar Creative™ via Canva

Filed Under: Facebook, Instagram, marketing, Uncategorized Tagged With: blog, blogger, canva, Charlotte, charlottenc, content, graphicdesign, marketing, queencity, Ripl, smallbusiness, socialmedia

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