Quick Social Media Tips Every Small Business Owner Should Know
Running a small biz is hard, so here are some small tips that save me a ton of time and help me stay profitable as someone who makes 6 figures as a full-time travel content creator.
There is a reason this is my #1 tip for all small business owners. I use it constantly! Regardless of the nature of your business, I'm sure you often need to type out links to your website, social media, or media kit. This is especially helpful when sending quick DM pitches or directing your audience to specific lists or blog pages. Personally, I have created keyboard shortcuts to all my social URLs, email, portfolio, and media kit, among other essential links. If you're interested, here is a 44-second tutorial ready to show you how.
A free widget designed for those curious about tracking email activity. If you’re nosy like me — this is the hack for you. It allows users to monitor who is opening, clicking, and forwarding their emails. This tool is a perfect way to gauge recipient engagement and determine the ideal time for sending follow-up messages.
The worst part about being a creator is spending all this time making a reel, and then you also have to post it to tiktok, shorts, pinterest…ect. I have been using an service that automatically reposts my content from TikTok to Youtube Shorts, to Pinterest, and saves it into a Google Drive folder for me (watermark free.) Its been a game changer for growing on Youtube and just staying organized. For example, when I revisited Iceland this past summer, I was able to go back into my google drive folder of ALL my tiktoks and search key words like Iceland and Icelandair so that I could redownload my own videos and post them again with new hooks and new audios.
Hunter.io serves as a valuable tool for effortlessly discovering contact information for various brands across any website. This free widget simplifies the process of connecting with brand representatives, streamlining communication and making email pitching much easier. You get
Travelpayouts is a trustworthy affiliate network for bloggers, influencers, and content creators in the travel industry. Sign up here for free and start learning income on things you’re already sharing on your platforms! I use it to link hotels from Booking.com, and activities from Viator or GetYourGuide. There is so much more!
is my lifeline when it comes to staying organized. It helps me become my own project manager when I have a lot going on. You can learn more about how I use Notion Here.
Unless I’m color-grading drone footage or a long video for YouTube video, the majority of my videos are edited in this free app! I love it for cutting clips together to a song, or even color-grading one-off iPhone clips.
🔎 WhatRuns
A free browser extension that helps you identify technologies used on any website at the click of a button. It can easily help you see what program someone is using to host their website as well as any additional extensions they have installed in the backend.
💰 Affiliate Marketing
You can basically figure out how to get a code or link for anything if you dig deep enough. Many clothing brands are on LikeToKnow.it or have their own program you can apply for. I just signed onto the Abercrombie Creator Program. Most hotels and travel brands, even flights, can be found under affiliate programs like Travel Payouts, Impact, Awin, or other booking platform programs.
📸 Pixiset
This is the photo-hosting website I use to deliver client galleries. Don’t underestimate the power of professionalism, it can go a long way in this industry full of people who haven’t spent time in the corporate world.
💲 Business Finance
My life changed when I took an active role in learning about business finances. It shouldn’t be a guessing game when you do your taxes or organize your finances. The Keep What You Earn Podcast by Shannon Weinstien is a great place to start. I’ve found more value and understanding from this one podcast than any other resource.
📂 BANGERZ Folder
Keep a folder on your iPhone or Hard-drive of your best, most stand out video clips. Over time you’ll be happy you have them all in one place! Various content creators including myself call these “Bangerz” and should not be overlooked because they can be repurposed when creating content.
A fantastic solution for making quick photo edits. The paid version allows you to edit videos as well. I really enjoy the premade color filters and dust effects in this app.
💻 File Naming Conventions
For efficient organization on a hard drive, it is beneficial to adhere to a consistent naming convention for all your project folders. A method that can prove effective is structuring your folders based on categories or themes such as trips, using a format like "YY-MM-DD-Destination_ProjectName" to easily locate and manage your content. An example could be "24-4-9-Japan_EFUltimateBreak" for a project related to a trip to Japan on April 9, 2024. I’ve been doing this since 2018 and its a breeze to find any project on any harddrive.
🛜 Power of Airdrop
I advise you to Airdrop all your iPhone content to your computer and organize it on a hard drive immediately after every trip so it’s already backed up when it comes time to clear up space. This is especially important for travel creators who’s camera roll is a grave yard for hundreds of unused pieces of content that get buried one trip after another.
📱 Screen Recordings
Screen Record trending audios from Reels & TikTok and save them to a folder on your phone or computer so you can edit reels with no internet on planes.
Adobe Bridge
I use this Adobe program to organize all my content. I use the rating system to help cull through thousands of photos saving me hours when it comes time to edit in lightroom. I rate my images in Adobe Bridge and then drop the highly rated ones into lightroom. It also has tons of convenient tools like bulk metadata revisions or renaming many files at once.
Airalo is my go to ESIM solution for when i’m traveling abroad but need to stay connected. It works wonders to post and communicate while on remote road trips in South Africa. I’m even guilty of buying a small amount of data for the car ride from Cancun airport to Tulum - its just that convenient. Use CODE: KARLIE034 when you sign up or apply it at checkout!
📧 Email List
If you have a website, start collecting a mailing list. Even if you’re not selling anything right now, you never know when marketing may come in handy. I host my website on Squrespace and send out occasional email blasts with links to things like my Gear List, new Youtube videos, and even products like my 10 Pack of Lightroom Presets.
Running a small business may sometimes feel like an uphill battle, but with the right set of tools and strategies, it can be an incredibly rewarding journey. These tips and tricks have been instrumental in helping me manage my business effectively and stay profitable. Remember, the road to success is paved with continuous learning and adaptation. So, keep exploring new strategies, stay open to learning, and never cease to innovate!
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