All digital ad platforms constantly evolve to improve results and compete with new players in the industry. Not all updates will be relevant to marketing a small business and it’s crucial to focus only on what benefits you and your business. ➡️ Here are some useful key strategies and updates to digital advertising in 2025: Better targeting with AI-driven ads Ad platforms like Meta and Google are increasingly using AI to optimise ad delivery. This means your ads can be shown to the right audience with better accuracy. Focus on clear objectives, strong creative content and use platform recommendations to improve ad performance. Changes in ad formats More platforms are integrating interactive and engaging ad formats. Keep an eye on: Shoppable Ads  🛍️: Ads that allow users to shop directly from the ad without leaving the platform. This is particularly useful for small e-commerce businesses. Interactive Poll Ads  📊: Available on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where users can engage with your ad through voting, making your brand more memorable. Augmented Reality (AR) Ads  🎭: More businesses are testing AR filters and virtual try-ons to create an engaging ad experience. Performance-driven ad bidding Meta, Google, and TikTok are enhancing automated bidding strategies. If you’re running ads, make sure to: Test advantage+ campaigns  on Meta for AI-driven budget allocation. Test Performance Max campaigns  on Google Ads for multi-channel optimisation. Leverage TikTok Smart Performance Campaigns  for creative and audience targeting automation. New privacy and tracking changes With third-party cookies on their way out, businesses need to focus on first-party data. That means: Using email lists and customer data for retargeting. Encouraging direct interactions, like sign-ups and engagement on social media. Using server-side tracking  instead of relying solely on browser-based pixels. Video and short-form content dominance Video content continues to be the most engaging ad format. Keep in mind: Reels and Shorts Ads  🎥: Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts ads perform well for engagement and brand awareness. TikTok’s ‘For You’ Feed Ads : More small businesses are seeing success with TikTok’s ad placements that blend into organic content. Silent video optimisation : Since many users watch with no sound, always include captions. Cost-effective ad strategies for small businesses To maximise your ad spend in 2025, consider: Retargeting campaigns : Focus on people who’ve visited your site or engaged with past ads. Lookalike audiences : Use existing customer data to reach new potential buyers. Testing multiple creatives : Platforms reward engaging content, so rotate different images, videos and copy to see what works best. Final tip:  Stay adaptable. Digital ads will keep evolving, so experiment with new formats and strategies to find what works best for your business. 💡 Want expert insight on how to improve your digital ads?➡️ We offer a digital ad strategy review, analysing your targeting, ad creatives, and conversion tracking. Get personalised recommendations for just 3500 kr + moms. ⬅️ 💡 Want ads that get results?➡️ We manage ad campaigns that go beyond the boost button - ensuring your budget is spent wisely and your ads generate real leads and sales. 📩 Get in touch today for help in getting sales from your ads.

All social media platforms have to improve and adapt to stay ahead of new emerging platforms. Not all those changes are relevant to marketing a small business and it is important to ignore any that don’t work for you and your business.   ➡️ Here are some of the updates to Instagram that could be useful for you: Changes in direct messages Schedule messages Working late? If you want to make sure a message arrives to the receiver at a more convenient time, you can now schedule what specific date and time a message should be sent. To do this, you tap and hold the ‘send’ button before sending the message. Pin a chat 📌 Now you can pin specific chats to the top of your message list, making it convenient to find ongoing chats with collaborators, influencers or coworkers. Edit messages You can now edit messages for up to 15 minutes after sending it. Tap and hold the sent message, then click the option ‘edit’. This way you can catch mistakes. Changes in Reels Clickable links Instagram now allows Meta-verified Instagram users to add clickable links to their reels. This increases engagement and can drive traffic to your website but is a paid and tiered feature. Trial Reels Post a Reel directly to the Reel For You Page, only to accounts who don’t  follow you. This Reel will not be shown in your feed or to your existing followers. Based on the engagement with the trial Reel, you can decide if you would like to post it on your feed to your followers as well. This is an excellent way to test out a new look, new content or a new tone of voice in your posts. Changes in your profile page and grid Squares become 4x5 vertical rectangles Instagram’s classic squares will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, your grid will be made up of 4x5 vertical rectangles. You will still be able to post squares, however the image preview from your profile page will show the new grid. We recommend changing posts now to the 4x5 format. Highlight bubbles are leaving They will no longer be bubbles, they will become another tab next to your posts and Reels tabs. Schedule posts 🗓️ Post scheduling is coming to Instagram, by adjusting the settings before hitting ‘post’ on your new post or Reel. Add multiple links to your bio  Now you don’t have to choose between linking your web shop, blog, or events, you can link them all. In ‘edit profile’, add up to five links to your profile page. Pinned posts 📌 You can now pin a post to the top of your profile. Simply tap the three bubbles at the top of the desired post, and hit ‘Pin to your profile’. This is great if you’ve made an introduction video or have a particular moment you would like to highlight for those visiting your profile for the first time. This is just a few of the many updates that Meta is making. Keep an eye out for the latest updates on our blog for more changes that could help your marketing. 💡 Would you like to know how your social media marketing is going and what we recommend for your accounts?  ➡️ We offer a comprehensive review of your social media, including user experience (what it is like for a stranger to look at your profiles and posts), design, content and who your followers actually are. Included are specific tips for your social media marketing and it costs 3500 kr + moms. ⬅️ Find out more about our social media marketing services and get in touch with us for more information.

The problem with many website specialists is that they design and build in one system only. They are specialists in that system, which is great when you need technical help with that system. What they aren't good for is helping you choose the right system for you . There are many systems for building websites in and picking the right one starts with working out what you need and want: Is the site a information portal, an online brochure, a membership site or a shop? Do you need a custom design or could your branding fit into a template designed to work well on the web? Are you looking for clients to contact you directly or customers to buy online from you? Do you need password-protection, membership areas and online courses? Choosing from the range of options There are two main groups of website building systems that are best for your size and type of business: 1. Hosted website builders These are the easiest to use and are the most stable options for building your website. You may have heard of Wix, Weebly, SquareSpace and One. These are all hosted website builders. There are hosted website builders that specialise in online shopping websites. These include Shopify and Tictail. If your business model is membership and training-based, there are hosted website builders that provide you with all you need to manage members and password-protected areas and online courses. Kajabi is a well-liked option but you see that the pricing reflects how powerful it is. Some of the standard systems, like Wix and Weebly can handle basic versions of membership sites and training online and they are far cheaper. 2. Self-hosted content management systems These over a lot more opportunity for custom development - programming your own site elements - but this comes at a price. These really require help from a developer who specialising in the particular system. They need hosting somewhere and they need protecting. Security risks are higher, especially if you don't update the software immediately as a new update comes through. The most well-known self-hosted CMS is Wordpress. It isn't alone, there is Drupal and Joomla, Magento and a whole lot more. There are also custom coded sites which big companies with complex sites and a high level of security use. How to choose the best one for your business If you need a new website or to rebuild a current one and want some advice, get in touch with us. We also offer a comprehensive review of your website, including user experience (what it is like for a stranger to use your site), design and content, plus all the above SEO elements. Included are specific tips under each section and the information you need to see and work on your on-page SEO. It costs just 3500 kr + moms - Contact us to book yours

I say it often - marketing works when you stand out , not when you fit in . One of the best ways to stand out is with your brand identity. Big businesses use it ruthlessly (Coca Cola turned Santa's clothes from green to red...) and the smallest of businesses need to use it ruthlessly too. Otherwise, potential clients won't recognise you in a sea of competition (you do have competition...if you don't, you might not have a market either). To stand out, your brand identity must show your market: Who you are What you do Why you are better than the competition Why they should choose you While brand identity absolutely includes the colours you use in all your communications, it goes quite a bit further than that. It includes everything you use in your communications and even the words you use to tell people your business values, personality and services. While the clearest examples of brand design are seen in consumer goods companies, it is equally important for consultants - competing with other consultants - and all types of small businesses, from accountants to IT service providers to nail technicians. A one-person business still needs a brand identity. Understanding brand identity Brand identity is the visual, emotional and conceptual representation of your business. It includes elements such as your logo, color palette, typography, imagery, messaging, and tone of voice. You can find examples of brand design on our graphics page here . The significance of brand identity Emotions play a significant role in shaping preferences and loyalty. When a brand successfully evokes positive emotions like trust, joy, or excitement, the market is more likely to form a strong attachment to that brand. A well-defined brand identity creates consistency across all customer touchpoints and fosters trust and recognition among your audience. Defining your brand personality Is your brand playful and energetic or serious and professional? Do you need to inspire your market to trust you e.g. legal services, accountancy, health services? Is your brand at the luxury end of your competitive market place or do you intend to be good value? Are you services complex and you need to simplify the topic to market them? Brands are often given human-like qualities and people tend to resonate with brands that align with their own personality traits or aspirations. Understanding your brand's personality and defining it clearly guides you in consistently communicating it through appropriate content and visuals that align with your intended message. Set who you are talking to Knowing your target audience is essential for crafting a brand identity that appeals to them. Many many small businesses target to wide an audience and fail to reach them. Do some research - understand their preferences, values, pain points, and aspirations. Tailor your brand's visual elements and messaging to align with their interests. Make sure your logo is memorable Your logo is the face of your brand and it should be memorable, scalable and reflective of your brand personality. If you aren't really proud of your logo or find the version you have difficult to use, get in touch with Katti Lapidoth here at My Own Marketing Team , who'll help you get it right. Choose and stick to a cohesive colour palette Select a colour palette that not only resonates with your target audience but also evokes the emotions and feelings you want associated with your brand. Use these colours in each and every piece of communication, large and small, across all marketing materials and platforms. Develop a consistent visual style Consistency is key in building brand recognition and a weak spot we see is with imagery, especially if 'stock' images are used. Establish guidelines for the use of fonts, imagery, and design elements to create a cohesive and recognisable visual style and then stick to it like glue. Write compelling brand messaging Craft a brand story that communicates your mission, values, and unique selling propositions and then use it consistently, in your set tone of voice, across all communication channels. Setting yourself up to succeed Building a strong brand identity is a continuous process that requires a deep understanding of your business, audience, and market. By investing time and effort now in defining your brand personality, targeting the right audience, and maintaining visual consistency, your small business can create a compelling brand that leaves a lasting impression on customers and sets you apart from the competition. Then all your marketing and sales efforts from then on are more effective, saving you time, money and energy. Read more about our graphics services here and for help with your brand identity and all your design needs, get in touch with us .

When you think of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), you might think it’s something only big companies with massive marketing budgets can afford. However, SEO is just as important - if not more so - for small businesses . SEO can be your secret weapon to getting found online without spending a fortune on ads. Why SEO matters for small businesses: 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. People are actively searching for services and products like yours right now and SEO is how you make sure they find you instead of your competitors. Without effective SEO, your website is invisible to search engines and won't come up in search results, even if it is the right answer to a query. If you’re not optimising your website for search engines, you're missing out on one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your business. Want to know if your website is optimised for search engines? Our SEO site audit costs just 3 500 kr (+moms) and will tell you exactly how well your website is set up to get search visitors and what you might be missing. Here are some essential SEO tactics to get you started: 1. If you have a local target market, reach them with local SEO Local SEO is all about making sure your business shows up in search results when people in your area are looking for products or services like yours. 2. Focus on keywords that matter to your customers Keywords are the terms people type into search engines when looking for businesses like yours. Keyword research is the foundation of any good SEO strategy. The key is to find the right keywords—ones that are specific enough to attract targeted traffic but not so competitive that they’re impossible to rank for. 3. Update your website regularly with high-quality, engaging content Search engines love fresh, valuable content. The more relevant and helpful your website content is, the better it will rank in search results. 4. Make sure your website is user-friendly SEO isn’t just about keywords. The overall structure and experience of your website also play a huge role in how well it ranks. 5. Build links from other sites to your website Backlinks - links from other websites to yours - are like votes of confidence in the eyes of search engines. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank. 💡 Websites that show up on the first page of Google get 95% of the traffic. If you’re not ranking on page one, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to grow your small business. If we can help you with your SEO, get in touch!

With all the talk about digital imagery, the good ol' brochure and materials for events get forgotten. Until you need them... Printed materials create a physical connection with your target market and are really necessary at events and for local marketing. Whether it's business cards, brochures, or flyers, they make your services more tangible and leave a lasting impression. Now that so few companies send out physical materials, having something physical makes your business stand out - and that is what marketing it all about! Tips for effective printed materials in 2025 Who do you want to look at it? Tailor the material to your target audience: what resonates with them visually? What information do they need now? Keep it simple and short: Reduce your text by 80% so that you don’t overwhelm your audience. Use high-resolution images: Blurry or low-resolution photos are unprofessional. Choose the right paper: Believe it or not, the type of paper you use matters. Consider the texture and weight of the paper for your design. Include a clear next step (call-to-action): What do you want their next step to be? Is it visiting your website, signing up for an event or making a purchase? Use your branding: Make sure all printed materials use your colour scheme, fonts and logo to remind people of your brand. Can we help you get pens, leaflets, posters or a roll-up designed and printed? We work with five printing companies in Stockholm and in eastern Europe who produce everything from notebooks to t-shirts, as well as flyers and business cards and event stands. As always everything we do is designed with the smallest business in mind so if you need 100 leaflets, 50 business cards or an entire event stand designing and producing, get in touch with Zen or Katti.

Use your Instagram posts to sell your products/services by showing them to potential customers who are not already following you. How does this work? Instagram shows your content to a proportion of your followers that it thinks will be interested and to people searching for a hashtag you have used. When someone reacts to your content, Instagram might then show that post to people who have liked similar posts. You have a few hours after the content is posted and then the algorithm stops paying attention to it. Content on an account with 1000s of followers can spread wide outside the account's followers and reaches new potential customers. An account with less than 3000 followers will not normally manage this. What can we do about this? Instagram is a network and by applying real-life networking techniques, the algorithm shows your content outside your follower network. Your brand awareness increases for those who haven't heard of your business or products before. Using bots or buying followers just damages the account and often results in Instagram closing it down. Our service We engage with your target market , showing your accounts and posts to them so they have the chance to choose to follow. In this way, we fill up your followers with people who are genuinely interested in buying something from you. Our focus is only on your specific target market and works both in the short- and medium-term, so your content keeps reaching new potential customers. What we do We work from your Instagram account We are sociable with your target market, so they see your account name and posts We work on an ongoing basis , little and often, so that the algorithm contributes too. What this takes Set-up costs 2 900 kr and monthly growth from 3 250 kr. There is no minimum amount but three months is ideal to try out the service. The account needs two posts or more per week to work well. You need to stay out of the account between 10-12 and 20-22 each day. Results You will see an increase in followers within one week of the start date. We aim for 30-80 new potential customer followers for each five hours of growth work and usually this increases further over time. Contact us to discuss how it could work for your business.

Email marketing is a really successful way of selling, even despite the growth in social media, as long as you have an email list. Get your emails read by following some important tips:  Pick a subject line that is around 6 words long and try not to go over 8. Why? Because we read the first and the last words first 🧐 and then, if they seem interesting, we scan the middle words. So, you want as few middle words as possible and to get your point across with the first and last words only. Not easy....  Don't use the word 'business'. If you are going to talk about improving their business, be more specific. Send out emails to new subscribers and contacts. The newer they are, the more engaged with your business they will be. Make your subject line personal. As personal as possible in 6 words or less! Work out when your readers open their mail. Then email them then. As a guide, Mondays are almost never good days to send out emails. Give your readers what they want - something to help them be or get better at something. Give them enough information that they feel you helped them. Emails that are too short risk getting binned. Email marketing providers work hard to get your emails to the recipients and out of spam folders.  Constant Contact, one of our favourite providers, has 50% off in March 2024. Find out more about it here or get in touch with us for help.

Online advertising has become an indispensable tool for many small businesses to grow and it is important to choose the right type for your business and budget. There are three main types of digital ads, those in search engines; those on social media platforms and those on websites, plus some specialist types, like SMS ads and native content ads. Here are the various digital advertising options to help you choose the best for your business, products/services and your target market: Search engine marketing (SEM) SEM is a type of online advertising that allows businesses to display their ads on search engine results pages (SERPs). When someone searches for a keyword or phrase that is relevant to the business's products or services, the ad can appear at the top of the SERP. Google Ads is the most well-known SEM tool but all the search engines offer ads and some of the smaller ones may be cheaper. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is the most common form of SEM ads and functions by businesses bidding on keywords relevant to their products or services. They only pay when users click on their ads and the price is set in the bidding process. The auction and bidding process makes it harder to access the cost of a campaign in advance. SEM is most effective when your target market knows what they are searching for or if your product/service can solve a specific problem that people search for. It is harder to use and is expensive when there is a lot of competition. It requires a budget big enough to run over a minimum of a few months in order to test and refine the ads to work well. Social media marketing (SMM) Paid social media marketing is advertising to users on specific social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and X although there are many more platforms to choose from. Businesses can target their ads based on users' demographics, interests and behaviours. Social media advertising can be a very effective way to reach a specific audience. It requires effort in the creation of the audience as well as the creation of the copy, something many businesses get wrong.  Display advertising Display advertising involves placing graphic ads on websites and mobile apps. In the same way as with social media marketing, businesses can target their display ads based on users' demographics, interests and behaviours. There are two main options here – you can choose a specific website/app and, where possible, advertise directly on that site. The alternative is to use a display network, which then places your ads on a whole variety of websites that should meet the targeting criteria you assign to it. Google Display Network is a common one to use. Other options include: Native Advertising : Having your name, a topic or blog post title seamlessly integrated into someone else’s content making it less intrusive for users. It can be an effective way to promote blog posts or articles. Email Marketing: Having your messages or graphics embedded in another business’ marketing emails gives your messaging the authority of the business sending the email and reaching their target audience. This is very effective but the opportunities for this kind of marketing are often limited. Affiliate Marketing: Partnering with other businesses who promote your products or services in exchange for a commission can be a cost-effective way to expand your reach. Podcast Advertising and other types of sponsorship: If your target audience is podcast enthusiasts or likely to be involved in a specific club, sponsoring popular podcasts and events can build brand awareness. Which type of online advertising is right for your small business? Each of these online advertising methods has its own advantages and best-use scenarios. To make the most of your advertising budget, it's essential to understand your target audience, set clear goals and analyse the performance of your campaigns. The best type of online advertising for your small business will depend on your specific business goals and budget. If you're looking to reach potential customers who are already interested in what you have to offer, SEM can be a good option. If you're looking to build brand awareness, social media advertising and display advertising can be good options. If you're looking to engage potential customers and tell your brand story, video advertising can be a good option. Contact us if we can help you choose which platform would suit your business best and get the most out of your advertising.

Time and money are two of the scarcest resources known to small business owners - whether you are running yours with or without external funding. How you spend those resources fundamentally determines the success of the business. ' You should be on Instagram' is advice we've heard given to all manner of small businesses over and over but should you, really? There are products, services and companies that should not.  Are your potential clients/customers there AND expecting you to be there to help them buy? There is a fairly simple and scientific method to work it out. When you have limited resources, spend them where they work to bring in sales. Anything else is a waste and will be a hit to your profits. When we help the smallest businesses work out which marketing channels to focus their resources on, we find the answers to three key questions: What resources (time, money, skills) do you have in easy reach? What steps do potential clients take before buying? Where is your target market likely to be to get closer to buying from you? Let's take an example of an accounting consultant Consultants are typically one-person businesses and we can assume they have no more than an hour a week available for marketing. It is an important hour, because without it, their work might dry up while they are busy working on a current project.  The resources in this case are four-five hours per month, a modest budget - say 500 kr (£50/E50) per month and skill in writing but not so comfortable with graphics. Consultancy services where the buyer works for a company (rather than services directed at individuals) often require trust in the consultant and an understanding of how the services could be useful to them - these are the steps . So where do people looking for business services start? They may ask for recommendations and search for info at the beginning of their buying journey. Then they want to get to know the consultant and their services indirectly over time until they are ready to reach out and make contact. Now we have our three key answers, we can see that a good website is important to host the information (note I didn't write big or fancy - one page is enough if all the elements are on it). Potential clients are then likely to use work email and probably use LinkedIn, as most buyers of professional services do (if we can generalise and localise to northern Europe for this example!). These allow a build up of messaging over time. The main channels for this consultant are therefore web , LinkedIn and email . The goals are to provide info, build trust, stay 'front-of-mind' and trigger contact.  The resources provide the opportunity for maintaining the website with a couple of changes per year (no blog), a monthly email in a simple, professional template to their network and two LinkedIn posts per month on the same topic as the newsletter. Sounds too simple? It is smart, it will be effective and sustainable. Why didn't we recommend Instagram, PR or advertising? Well, even if potential clients have Insta accounts, it isn't the first place people look for year-end bookkeeping services. Instagram requires a lot more time than the available resources so marketing via it for this consultant is a waste of precious time. PR then? To stay 'front-of-mind' and build trust, we are looking at repeatable tactics, not one-offs so PR is out. Then we have advertising. With a much larger budget, advertising could work to build awareness of the services but a) they aren't selling unique services so it would be like advertising every other accounting consultant too and b) advertising doesn't build trust, so it out on two counts. It can be just as useful to know where NOT to market! What you end up with is your Marketing Channel Strategy and the confidence to get on with it, knowing your resources are best reaching your target market. *Incase you think you should be on Instagram, please give it a cold, hard stare 🧐. Are your potential clients/customers there? Are you selling a product or service that your target market expects to buy (or be inspired to buy...) directly from seeing it there? Perhaps the most important question as it needs daily attention and skill level way above the other main social media portals - do you have the time, money, energy and skills to make it work for you? Being smart about where you should be and knowing what you need your audience to do needs just three answers. Get in touch with us if we can help you with yours.

Traditionally, space mattered. How much advertising space can you afford in a magazine. How many postal addresses you have to post brochures too. How many pages in your brochure. How many sales people can you afford. The internet is boundless, so space is no longer an issue. Now you have to capture the attention of those potential customers floating around in this endless space.  Easy, right?  Write great content, promote it and they will come. The question is: is how much time you have to spend creating content on your website that your prospects are going to be interested in. Remarkable content takes time. Give it time. A year or two that is, not a week or two! The best way to make your website and social media content work harder and smarter is to answer your potential clients' questions. What questions to people ask you? How can you help your potential customers understand the benefits of your products/service? Ask them. Or if you are just starting out, ask anyone you know to quiz you about what you do. Then write it down on your website and in your social media, to help those prospective customers understand that they need to become actual customers.

Coming up with great content ideas for newsletter and blogs is something we do quite a lot of for our clients - because it isn't easy. It gets easier with practice but still, it drops further and further down people's to-do lists, despite being crucial for modern business marketing. It is very easy to procrastinate and do something (anything!) else instead. Lizzie Cheeld and her company, Creative Admin , handle all sorts of administative tasks for their clients. She recently posted about her fear of blogging and we couldn't resist sharing with you - it sums up how so many people feel! I realised something last week that I wanted to share with you all. I am actually a little afraid of blogging, the reasons why are below – in list form of course: I don’t have anything interesting to say I haven’t done anything worth writing about I don’t have time to blog...