These days social media is a crucial for businesses. But, apart from by selling your soul to the devil, how do you cut through the noise and get your posts seen by more people?

Well, small, simple steps can get you a long way, so if you’re not already, make sure you’re doing these 5 things:

1. Use Relevant Keywords and Hashtags: keywords and hashtags make it easier for people to find your content. Research popular hashtags in your industry and make sure you include them in your posts.
2. Post at Optimal Times: Timing is everything when it comes to social media. Find out when your target audience is online and schedule your posts accordingly. This way, you'll be more likely to reach them.
3. Engage with Your Followers: I can’t stress enough how important this is and how often I see it neglected. Social media is a two-way thing. Respond to comments and messages and it not only helps build relationships, but it also signals to the algorithm that your post is valuable and should be shown to more people.
4. Use Visually Appealing Content: Graphics, videos, and images are more likely to catch people's attention and get shared. Make sure your posts are visually appealing and relevant to your audience.
5. Spark Conversations: Create posts that spark conversations and encourage audience interaction. Ask questions, run polls, and share user-generated content to keep your audience engaged and interested in your page.

There isn’t a quick fix - increasing your social media reach takes time and effort, but by implementing these tips, you'll be well on your way to reaching a larger audience. Remember to analyse and adjust your strategy as needed, and always aim to create valuable content that your audience will love. And get in touch if you’d like some help:

E: karen@littleacornmarketing.co.uk

M: 07988 676219

*Image credit Canva*

Choices.

Every day you choose a hard choice or an easy choice…

In everything you do!

Understanding that the choices you make each day are the key to improving everything about…

⭐️You
⭐️Your business,
⭐️Your personal brand

The concept is knowing how to..

🌟Improve something
🌟Do it
🌟Keep doing it!

Success doesn't happen overnight it is the result of consistently making the right choices! That is what will bring success to you.

Understanding that the choices you make each day, are the key to improving your Personal Brand, your business and overall success.

But... Often these habits are subconscious, you need a coach, mentor or trainer to point out the bad habits that you have developed and help you change them.

Dazzle

I've got some fantastic free training on my website that will help you to make the right choices when it comes to your personal brand. Taking only 1 hour of your time, this free presentation reveals: HOW TO CREATE AN IRRESISTIBLE PERSONAL BRAND (THAT LASTS A LIFETIME).

You can find it here sallyinkster.com

Do you make good choices daily?

We’re always in so much of a hurry. Do we expect the success of our business to be like a microwaved dinner? Ready quickly? In today's society it’s easy to expect everything immediately…

🙈Hot dinners - Microwaved or fast food

🙈Things we can't afford - Credit Cards

🙈Muscles - Steroids

🙈To get better, quickly - Antibiotics (not knocking them but there is a time and place)

🙈Love - Internet dating sites

🙈Business Success - The insider secret to get rich quick.

Those of us who have been in business more than a few weeks realise that success comes from within... And from the formation of good habits, done daily over a long time!

❓What's your best habit?
❓What's your worst habit?

Would you agree that the establishment of good habits is one of the foundations of success?

As we begin the new year many people are now preparing their self-assessment tax returns to be filed. However, leaving your tax return until the last minute can lead to mistakes. Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid.

1. Not declaring all income

    

   Various types of income must be included on your tax return, failure to declare all relevant income (including capital gains) can result in penalties. Some of these include;

   • Employment income
   • Pension income
   • Interest income (excluding ISAs)
   • Dividend income
   • Property income
   • Foreign income
   • Capital gains from the sale of assets (i.e. property, shares, investments)

   You do not need to include income from premium bonds, national lottery, gambling winnings, or interest awarded for damages for injury or death.

    

2. Claiming expenses that cannot be claimed

    

   There are complex rules around expenses you can and cannot deduct. Some expenses that cannot be claimed are;

    

3. Forgetting deadlines

    

   Deadlines for filing a self-assessment tax return are;

   Registering for self-assessment as soon as possible is advisable as receiving a UTR number can take a while, and HMRC does not always give it to you over the phone. A UTR number is usually received within 10 days and is needed to file the return.

    

4. Forgetting about tax reliefs

    

   Some forget about the various tax reliefs available such as;

    

5. Forgetting about payments on account

    

   When a person’s tax liability is over £1,000 HMRC request payments on account are made for the next tax year and are usually 2 payments of 50% of the previous tax year’s liability and are made in January and July.

    

6. Incorrect figures

    

   Any error can result in penalties and interest being charged and any errors found to be deliberate can result in prosecution. Double-check all calculations.

    

7. Incorrect UTR & National insurance numbers

    

   This can result in the return and liabilities being allocated to the wrong account.

    

8. Forgetting to date & sign the return

    

   If you are filing your return by paper, you must make sure the return is signed and dated in the right places.

    

9. Getting your tax code wrong

    

   You could be paying too much or too little tax. For example, if you have 2 jobs your personal allowance should be allocated to one or apportioned to both, it could be both jobs are claiming the allowance and the tax is incorrect.

   Your tax code is adjusted for job expenses such as cleaning of uniform, working from home, professional fees and subscriptions, traveling, etc.

    

10. Forgetting to enclose supplementary pages

• Entertaining
• Depreciation
• Non gift aid donations
• Customer gifts over £50
• Governing body penalties & fines
• Some legal fees

• Paper returns must be filed by 31^st October
• Online returns must be filed by 31^st January
• Payment of liabilities by 31^st January

• Tax-free allowances;
  • Personal allowance - £12,570 (this reduces if your income is over £100,000)
  • Transferable Marriage allowance - £1,260
  • Blind person allowance - £2,520
  • Self-employment trading allowance – first £1,000 (if not claiming other expenses)
  • Property allowance – first £1,000 (if not claiming other expenses)
• Self-employment allowances;
  • Trading allowance – first £1,000 (if not claiming other expenses)
  • Home office allowance – you can claim a proportion of your home costs used for business or use a flat home allowance of up to £26 per month.
  • Mileage allowance – first 10,000 miles at 45p per mile, 10,000 + at 25p per mile (cannot be claimed if claiming expenses for business vehicle)
• Property allowances;
  • Property income allowance – first £1,000 (if not claiming other expenses)
  • Rent a room scheme – first £7,500
  • Private residence relief – if you live in the rented property for some time (on disposal)
• Investment allowances;
  • Capital gains allowance - £12,300
  • Dividend allowance - £2,000
  • Savings interest allowance - £1,000 basic rate taxpayer, £500 higher rate taxpayer, £0 additional rate taxpayer
• Pension allowances;
  • Private pension tax relief – contribute up to £40,000 per year or 100% of your relevant income (whichever is lower)

Additional income not covered by the main tax return needs to have supplementary pages included.

What to do if you find a mistake?

If you make a mistake on your tax return, you must inform HMRC as soon as possible. You normally have 12 months from the submission deadline to amend the return. For example, the 2021/22 tax return must be filed by 31^st January 2023 and you will have until 31^st January 2024 to file any amendments.

There are a lot of complex tax rules around the various points above and for peace of mind, a lot of taxpayers ask for the assistance of an accountant to help them complete their tax return. Some accountants also offer their clients a fee protection service which will cover the fees incurred for the accountant to assist in any investigations the revenue may carry out into the returns filed.

If you require any assistance in preparing your self-assessment tax returns or want to discuss our fee protection service, please call, or email me and I will be happy to help.

Does Mortgage Advice Really Have to Be Dull?

Recently, I went along to an industry event. As I ordered my coffee, I couldn’t help but notice something. Dressed in my purple trousers, leopard-print top, and red jacket, I stood out like a sore thumb! The other mortgage advisors looked the way some people might expect a typical mortgage advisor to look.

They were mostly wearing grey, navy, or black suits – maybe with the occasional flash of colour, or a shiny piece of jewellery here and there.

What ‘should’ a mortgage advisor look like, anyway?

I wasn’t embarrassed about looking so different from everybody else. I hadn’t ‘dressed up’ especially for the event, after all. Anybody who knows me, knows that the outfit I was wearing is just part of my everyday work wardrobe!

But did it surprise you?

Whatever you do for a job, some people will immediately picture a certain ‘look’ that goes with it. If you were to think of a creative photographer, for example, you probably wouldn’t imagine them in a sober suit. And I doubt you would expect to see a funeral director wearing lively patterns. I dress the way I do partly because I love bright colours, and because my clothes are a reflection of the person I hope people see me as – fun, friendly, and down-to-Earth. But it’s also because I want to challenge the assumption that mortgage advice must always be sombre and severe.

I know that getting a mortgage is a serious financial decision.

There is a natural assumption that a person providing financial advice must look as though they take that role seriously. And a grey, black, or navy suit can seem like a short-cut to achieving this effect. However, there is no rule that says you can’t offer excellent mortgage advice whilst also wearing a vivid yellow dress! When I started my business, I noticed that many people felt drawn to the ‘angel’ logo. My intention has always been to guide people towards the right mortgage deal for them, just as an angel might gently guide their life decisions. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much my customers appreciate my bright clothes, too.

“Refreshing” is a comment I hear quite often, along with “un-intimidating”.

It cheers me to think that people feel I will be speaking to them on their own level, rather than using professional jargon they might not understand. I may even crack a smile once in a while! A pioneering approach My wardrobe forms part of my overall objective: to help make my customers feel informed and confident about choosing the right mortgage for them. If I can also help them feel relaxed, and maybe even inspire a smile along the way, so much the better.

I work hard to make sure this approach extends into our online presence, too. So when a mortgage lender recently told me that they follow My Mortgage Angel on social media, and that they enjoy seeing our posts and watching our videos, I was very happy indeed! You can do the same, if you feel so inclined.

And if you’d like to know more about our friendly, fee-free mortgage advice – or even our relaxed dress code! – please get in touch.

You need to do more with your content! You know it and you know it will help grow your business - so what’s stopping you producing it?

Here, from my experience, are the four main roadblocks to getting going.

What do I  have to offer?

You may think you couldn’t provide valuable content but that’s simply not true. Everybody has something they can produce which will add value to the audience.

Remember that your audience are not looking for a unique concept, they’re looking for new perspectives and new ways of explaining things. There are no new ideas, but there are always new viewpoints.

Your skill set is a valuable source of content, whether you’re a restaurant owner- sharing recipes, a carpenter with DIY advice, or a content alchemist- explaining how to develop content.

You wouldn’t be in business if you didn’t have value to offer. Content is all about explaining that.

I don’t have time!

Unfortunately there’s no easy solution to this, other than to simply make time. When considering my time limitations, I often think of this quote:

“If it is important, you will find time, if it isn’t you’ll make an excuse” (Anon.)

Assuming you get things done on time for clients, use this approach to get things done for yourself. When producing content, you’re effectively your own client.

Make sure to get help rather than battling with things, too. For instance, if you have a choice between spending several days producing a flier, or hiring a graphic designer who knows what they’re doing and can do it in an hour, seriously consider each approach. More than anything else, value your own time.

If you were working for a client, what could you be earning rather than struggling with content?

‘Perfectionitis’

It’s a common problem where someone spends a disproportionate amount of time trying to make their content perfect. True perfection is impossible.

Instead the level of perfection should directly relate to the lifetime of the content. For example, a flier needs to last longer than a single email. This means that you can afford to make that email less than perfect, but the flier might require more time.

Some things matter more than others but ultimately perfection is less important than whether or not you’re getting the message across, or the value is clear.

There’s a blog post on this in my last series entitled “Spoiling and Grammering” which should help you here.

I really hate….

If you hate producing a certain type of content, the quality of the content will probably suffer. Livestreaming, for example, is great and extremely powerful, but if you dread being in front of the camera, don’t start there.

It’s important to experiment with a range of content, but build your confidence by starting with content you’re already comfortable with. Remember, if you enjoy doing it, you’ll produce better content and it won’t even feel like work.

When you’re ready to use something else, consider re-purposing existing content. Take a blog, far example, and turn it into a livestream. This makes the new format less intimidating.

With these blockers out of your way, you should be well on your way to producing great content. And, if you feel there are other road-blocks in your way, comment below or contact us and we’ll be happy to see how we can help.

Image credit Canva