How we support small business in regional Australia
Small business is no picnic. There’s endless work and limited time and resources to get everything done.
And keeping up with technology to gain an advantage can seem like a losing battle.
We can support your business in various ways to grow (or connect you with someone better placed than us if we can’t help).
Regional Rising co-founder Paul Dillon at the ‘wings’ on the Silver City Highway on the way to deliver small business workshops in Broken Hill, NSW.
Guide to this section
> Search engine optimisation (SEO) and Google rankings
> Business listings inc. Google My Business
> Email marketing
Plan it.
Lean on us when you need a partner
Small business owners carry our nation’s economy on their shoulders and contribute so much to the liveability of communities in regional Australia.
We’ve volunteered on chambers’ of commerce and retail traders’ committees. We understand how hard it can be for owners to keep on top of fast-changing technology or to attract and retain staff with the skills you need to operate in an increasingly digital economy.
We invite you to think of us as a virtual member of your team: either as a coach or consultant to lead or help on a range of growth, digital or marketing matters.
Get in touch if you’d like some personalised 1:1 coaching online to help you pressure test your vision and ideas and to put some structure around your plans.
Digital strategy development
A digital marketing strategy is a roadmap that outlines how your small business will use online channels to achieve specific marketing goals. It acts like a compass, guiding your efforts towards attracting customers, boosting brand awareness, and ultimately growing your business.
Why should small businesses have a digital marketing strategy?
Level Playing Field: The digital world offers small businesses access to a global audience, competing with larger companies on a more even footing.
Cost-Effectiveness: Digital marketing allows targeted campaigns, reaching your ideal customers without spending excessively on traditional advertising.
Measurable Results: Track your efforts and see the direct impact of your marketing activities, allowing for adjustments and optimizing campaigns for better results.
Increased Brand Awareness: Build your online presence, engage with your target audience, and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.
Customer Insights: Gain valuable data about your audience's preferences and behaviour, helping you tailor your offerings and provide a better customer experience.
Increased Sales and Leads: Attract qualified leads, convert them into customers, and ultimately boost your sales through targeted digital marketing efforts.
Remember, a digital marketing strategy is an ongoing process, not a one-time project.
We’d love to have a chat about crafting a digital marketing strategy for your small business.
Social media strategy development
A social media strategy is a roadmap that guides your business's presence and activities on different social media platforms. It outlines your goals, target audience, content plan, engagement tactics, and how you'll measure success. Essentially, it's your blueprint for navigating the ever-evolving social media landscape to achieve specific objectives.
Applied to small business, a social media strategy is like gold dust. Here's why:
Level Playing Field: In the digital age, social media levels the playing field between small businesses and larger corporations. You can directly connect with your audience, build brand awareness, and establish yourself as a thought leader – all for little to no cost.
Targeted Reach: Unlike traditional advertising, social media allows you to target your ideal customers with laser precision. You can use demographics, interests, and behaviours to ensure your message reaches the right people, maximizing your impact.
Build Relationships: Social media platforms are all about fostering connections. You can directly engage with your customers, address their concerns, and build genuine relationships that lead to loyalty and advocacy.
Cost-Effective Marketing: Compared to traditional marketing channels, social media offers tremendous value for money. You can create engaging content, run targeted ads, and track results efficiently, all without breaking the bank.
Valuable Insights: Social media analytics provide valuable insights into your audience's preferences, needs, and pain points. This data can inform your product development, marketing strategies, and overall business decisions.
Competitive Advantage: A well-executed social media strategy can give you a significant edge over competitors who are not leveraging these platforms effectively. You can showcase your unique brand personality, connect with your community, and stand out from the crowd.
In short, a social media strategy is an essential tool for small businesses to thrive in today's digital world. It empowers you to connect with your target audience, build relationships, and ultimately achieve your business goals. Remember, it's not about just being present on social media; it's about having a clear plan and executing it effectively.
We’d love to have a chat about crafting a social media strategy for your small business.
Your virtual coach
Regional Rising can provide 1:1 personalised coaching online for small businesses.
No matter where you are located in regional, rural or remote Australia, we can help you from the comfort of your office or home at a time and day that suits you!
Protect it.
Register domain names and building a portfolio
Our domain names strategy and management experience runs deep - in a past life, while living overseas, our CEO managed more than 2,000 domain names for one of the world’s largest insurers in more than 50 countries!
Now we’d like you to you to benefit from Paul’s experience! Protect your assets by putting in place the following best practices with your current domain name provider or contact us if you’d like us to manage your domain names and your strategy for you.
Domain names best practices - just a couple
Always list YOUR business email address as the ‘registrant contact’
It is critically important that your business email is listed as the ‘registrant contact’ on the ownership records for all of your domains.
Best practice - eg. admin@yourcompany.com.au
Bad practice - the email of the provider you use to register domains on your behalf. eg. contact@regionalrising.com.au.
All communication flows electronically through the registrant contact email address, including payment renewal notices and transfer requests.
List a shared mailbox for ‘registrant contact’ (not an individual)
Use a shared mailbox such as ‘admin’, ‘sales’ and so on that is monitored, and can be accessed, by more than one person. Avoid using firstname.lastname@yourcompany.com.au.
Why this is important:
Individuals come and go in business and the last thing you want is the most important domain name in the business registered to tony@yourcompany.com.au. This becomes problematic if Tony leaves the company and important email notifications for your strategically important domain names are missed because they are still being sent to a mailbox that has been closed down.
Button will take you to the “WhoIs” lookup page on auDA.
Protect data through cyber security awareness
In this uber-connected world every office and home seems to have dozens of devices connected to the internet 24/7.
As a business it is critically important that you have processes and safeguards in place to protect both yours and your customers’ personal information.
Rarely a week passes that there isn’t a story about another big business that has had its systems breached and customer data stolen.
If you don’t have secure and up-to-date networks, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and password managers in use then you’re far from secure.
Talk to us about becoming more cyber safety aware and setting up a solid foundation for your business.
Register your brand profile across social media
Social networks and social media have transformed businesses of all sizes, from micro and small businesses upwards.
They present incredible - and low cost! - opportunities to reach new customers in new markets and build two-way relationships to grow your businesses.
It’s important to lock down your preferred social profile names on day 1 and we excel in this space.
Register a trademark and protect your business
Business names and trademarks are two very different things but many people don’t understand the differences.
A business name is an administrative requirement and doesn’t stop others from using the same or a similar name.
A trademark, on the other hand, gives you exclusive rights to use, license, or sell the mark. You can also prevent others from using it. A trade mark doesn’t have to be a name either. (Source: IPAustralia)
Build it.
Website design and development
At Regional Rising, not only do we teach business how to build their own websites, we also create them for businesses too!
You’ll get a mobile-friendly window into your business that’s findable on Google.
Whatever your time or budget pressure we can help to get you online with a website that helps you achieve your business goals.
Learn more about our website building services.
e-commerce: Setup an online shop. Sell 24/7
The digital economy creates immense challenges and opportunities for businesses.
By developing an online store (your website working hand-in-hand with social media), you allow new customers in new markets to buy from you 24/7. Fail to go and sell online and you could see your market share shrink as others move into this space.
Cloud services including business grade email
If you’ve come this far and registered your name, designed a logo, printed business cards and gone online then you need a matching email address.
We can setup a you@businessname.com.au address with Google or Microsoft in no time!
The Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 platforms also come with cloud-based file storage, online meeting tools and word processing and presentation apps among other useful tools for business.
Create it.
Regional Rising is helping Julian Benson (above) from Apostle Whey Cheese to tell his business story through a series of journal videos.
Videography & drone filming
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is… priceless?
We have been creating videos for business since 2014: as engaging storytelling tools for our clients as well as ourselves!
Video as a storytelling tool for business is more important than ever and one video can be used across your website, YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, inside your email newsletters and more!
What’s in our kit
We film using a variety of cameras (usually our Google Pixel 6 Pro phone or DJI drone), supported in our hand with a DJI Osmo mobile gimbal for less shake! We use an external mic for superior audio and all of our post-production is currently done in CyberLink PowerDirector including subtitles.
If you aren’t currently producing videos to tell your story and promote your business feel free to get in touch with us for a chat.
Copywriting & blogging
Our CEO Paul has been copywriting since the 20th century! Graduating from Deakin University (Warrnambool) in 1994 with a bachelor of arts (management communication), Paul spent the rest of the 1990s writing in the media & comms teams at Australia Post HQ, followed by years with global telecoms, banks and insurers in the UK and France from 1999-2014.
He’s written so much in the last 30 years, including copywriting this website, that his fingers are now only 3/4 of an inch long!
If you need anything written, absolutely anything including content for a website refresh, a series of blog post or even a press release, please get in touch for a chat.
Your logo and business cards
Your business name is important but it’s your logo that catches the customer’s eye.
There are different options for different budgets - talk to us before you spend too little or too much on the wrong logo!
We’ll then set you up with business cards, business stationery, an email signature and more!
Photography (including product)
With a background in public relations and marketing dating back to the early 1990s we’ve had a camera in our hands for the best part of 30 years.
We do a lot of photography for our clients - including for websites, social media and product photography for e-commerce stores online - and for our own business: it’s in our DNA along with copywriting and videography.
We don’t have fancy big cameras or big hourly rates: if we’re not using our Panasonic Lumix FZ100 II DSLR camera we’re getting it done with our Google Pixel 6 Pro phone. Professional photographers are great but if you don’t need a high end photographer and their price tag you’re welcome to try with us.
Social media tiles (above) we designed to promote a series of workshops we hosted when we launched the Digital Innovation Festival Mallee (in our other life pre-COVID).
Graphic design & desktop publishing
We are not what you’d call “pure” graphic designers but we’ve been around enough of them and tinkered plenty since entering the workforce in the early 1990s.
We have amassed quite a portfolio of work over the journey. In recent times much of what we have created to promote Regional Rising / Mallee Rising and our clients have been in the form of social media “tiles”, logos, printed flyers and social media animations using Canva.
If you need a Rolls Royce design service for some award winning creative work, we are not the partner for you. But we can help most companies with most of their daily needs and you won’t have the Roll Royce invoice at the end.
Attract it.
SEO: Rank higher on Google so customers find you
Many of your competitors have websites and maybe you have one too.
But how do Google and Bing decide which websites to place on page one of their search results pages and why do some businesses appear higher than others?
There’s a science behind ranking well on search engines and achieving and maintaining a high ranking for strategically important keywords is like exercising a muscle or learning a language. It requires constant work to get results.
Talk to us about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Google My Business and business listings
Business listings are a great way to increase your visibility online and in many cases, like in the case of Google, Bing, Yelp and TripAdvisor, they’re free!
Setting up your free profile on platforms such as Google My Business and Bing Places for Business are super important as your profile and key business information will appear at the top of search engine results pages when people search for your name or services you provide.
Your listing is also valuable as it contributes to your ranking on maps and provides a platform for receiving and responding to reviews from customers.
Go ahead and setup your listings yourself or contact us if you need help or would like us to set them up.
Nurture it.
Email marketing campaigns & newsletters
Email marketing is an under-rated marketing tactic and many businesses are missing out by not nurturing relationships by email.
How many times have you thought “I didn’t know that news, offer or event was on!” only for someone to say “but we put it on Facebook!
Everyone has an email address and, unlike social media, there’s no algorithm blocking your messages from reaching your customers.
Learn it.
Join our online small group workshops
Regional Rising has been delivering low cost workshops for regional businesses, entrepreneurs, councils and community groups since 2015.
We provide workshops on:
Squarespace website design - learn with your own hands
How to get started with email marketing
Learn search engine optimisation (SEO) and get found on Google
How to use Facebook to grow your business
Learn graphic design using Canva
Our workshops are either delivered online or locally in-person if funded by a local council.
Employee digital training (on-site or online)
We like to share knowledge and train your managers and staff how to build and manage your online presence (and develop processes and guidelines) instead of doing it for you. After all, nobody knows your business better than your people and we’d love to empower them to give you the capability “in house” to drive your digital presence.
We provide training on-site, online or a combination of both.
We’re very flexible on our approach to supporting businesses: we can visit and train your people on-site, provide training using platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, or a blend of both.
No matter where you are located in regional Australia we can help build capability in your people.
Get in touch
We support the Sustainable Development Goals
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Education is the key that will allow many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved. When people are able to get quality education they can break from the cycle of poverty.
Education helps to reduce inequalities and to reach gender equality. It also empowers people everywhere to live more healthy and sustainable lives. Education is also crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies.
Regional Rising aims to contribute to Goal 4.4:
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
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Goal 8 is about promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
Providing youth the best opportunity to transition to a decent job calls for investing in education and training of the highest possible quality, providing youth with skills that match labour market demands, giving them access to social protection and basic services regardless of their contract type, as well as leveling the playing field so that all aspiring youth can attain productive employment regardless of their gender, income level or socio-economic background.
Regional Rising aims to contribute to Goal 8.3:
Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
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Goal 9 seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.
Inclusive and sustainable industrialization, together with innovation and infrastructure, can unleash dynamic and competitive economic forces that generate employment and income. They play a key role in introducing and promoting new technologies, facilitating international trade and enabling the efficient use of resources.
The growth of new industries means improvement in the standard of living for many of us.
Regional Rising aims to contribute to Goal 9.1:
Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.