Guild Creative

Sneak peek at our upcoming cover! We were up so late last night finalizing the next issue, and we can’t wait to share it with all of you. Creating real, authentic, LOCAL multimedia all while making a difference in our community. That’s our mission every single day. It means the world to us when you share our page with a friend, and because of you, we are growing faster than ever. THANK YOU. 🥹

FYI: Your last chance to subscribe before this issue comes out is Monday:
✨trendingnorthwest.com/product/subscribenow

↪️ WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

There are other local “influencers”, groups and pages, and then there’s us. These are just our Facebook stats on Trending Northwest from this month alone, but we also have my page Trending Spokane, Trending Northwest Magazine and Podcast, our group, podcast, Instagram, website and print publication. 🤯

Plus, we don’t operate on shock value - we only work with reputable businesses and organizations in our area. It’s a core value.

FUN FACTS ABOUT OUR BRAND:

1️⃣ Over 80% of our content is from authentic, unpaid reviews and experiences.

2️⃣ Businesses that we advertise for develop lasting partnerships, because we truly believe in their product and services. We don’t just take money from anyone. We lead with our values.

3️⃣ We run with a team of five people, not an entire building of humans. Every single one of us is deeply committed to our work to innovate how we share information with our region.

4️⃣ We bring together a community of vetted local influencers to help small businesses for free, because we know firsthand what it’s like to start from scratch and with your own funding. We truly believe in supporting local in tangible ways.

5️⃣ We ALWAYS disclose when we have a paid or trade partnership - we believe in being transparent with our audience. Plus, it’s the law. You won’t catch us getting things for free and not telling you about it. That’s just dishonest.

We are the fastest growing media organization in the region, and we can’t wait to see what this year has in store. Check out trendingnorthwest.com for a ton of resources about the best and brightest in our area. We hope you find a new favorite! 😎

I’m absolutely psyched to see these stats from one of my nonprofit clients this month. 💥

For this particular organization, I have focused on using strategic video content and sharing relevant content in local groups. The results speak volumes! ⭐️

Are you ready to take your content to the next level?! DM me to learn more about how we can exponentially increase the reach and awareness of your brand. 🔥

We're back with .guild and for our Business Essentials Masterclass #2!! This time: focus on rebranding!

When and why to rebrand, strategies for maximizing your efforts and budget, how to rebrand without damaging your current brand, and more.

Many factors can lead to rebranding, crisis, growth, brand second wind, launching new products or services, new ownership,...

Being resilient vs pivoting -- how do you evaluate when/if rebranding is necessary? Who am I doing this for? How to use metrics and data. How much do we keep vs how much do we evolve. Radical or gradual change?

You have questions on rebranding? Join us at The Hive on April 18th at 5pm.

Eventbrite link to register: in this event post, in my linktree in bio, and on our all our social media platforms!

Just sitting here thinking about hashtags again. 😂 When was the last time you did a hashtag audit on your account? Are you even using the right ones? Let me help.

1. Hashtags are used like a file folder. People can either search by them or follow them to find information they are looking for on specific topics. If you are a local business, you should be using local hashtags like: and to make sure people near you are seeing your content.

2. Be specific. The algorithm favors relevant hashtags used with pictures and videos. For example, for this image I would use (for a specific location) (for a specific topic), and (to stand out in local content).

3. Actually follow and engage with local hashtags. When was the last time you scrolled through top posts and most recent posts in hashtags that are important to your brand? This is a vital activity for everyone who is on social media. For maximum growth, you should be spending a minimum of 20 minutes per day engaging on hashtags relevant to your company. You should also be checking hashtags that you regularly use to make sure that they are being used frequently (consistent updates) and are not shadowbanned.

4. Harness the power of trending hashtags. Use a site like Tweeplers to find out what topics are trending right now and then choose a powerful, applicable image or video and comment on that topic. It’ll get you some major juice if you do it right.

Do you have any hashtag questions I can help with? Comment below and I’ll share my thoughts. 📲

Time to get on top of that to-do list this week! With the kids (FINALLY) back to school, I feel about 800% more efficient and productive. How about you? 🔥

What is the “algorithm” you’ve been hearing so much about when it comes to social media? It’s a sophisticated mathematical formula designed to increase user engagement on any social platform. 📲

The goal for any social media business is to get as many eyes on the platform as possible, and for as long as possible. That means that content that creates a strong response from users, either positive or negative, will perform better and reach more eyeballs. Then, they receive more ad revenue. 💰

What does that mean for your business? If you are not creating content that generates an emotional response, you are NOT going to be seen. 🙅🏼‍♀️

Ask yourself these questions:
1. Is this image/video something that would stop my scroll, or my ideal customer?
2. Does this image, video and copy make me FEEL something?
3. Is the imagery high-quality, colorful and crisp?
4. Is this relevant to my niche?
5. Does this add VALUE to the life of my followers?

If the answer is yes to at least three out of five of these questions, your content has a shot to be seen and/or shared. 💡

Do you need help with your social media strategy? DM me and I’ll share a link to my collaboration calendar to help you form a plan to get on track for growth. 📈

If you have ever considered working with an influencer, especially a local one, listen up! You don’t want to end up in legal trouble, or not get what you paid for.

Here are some crucial tips that will make sure that your investment actually pays off and doesn’t cause you trouble.

1. Ask for current data and stats showing local following. The going rate for advertising is $10 per thousand followers for a page post, but if those followers are not local to this area, that won’t help your business if you are a local service. Especially a restaurant! For both stories and posts, it is best for the business to have it tagged as a “Paid Promotion With” advertisement so that the business can see the actual stats from the promotion.

2. There are basic legal and ethical standards that many small businesses are not aware of that are designed to protect you and consumers. Google “FTC Social Media” to read up on the very specific requirements from the government about how you can safely advertise on social media. EVERY. SINGLE. POST. AND. STORY. MUST be CLEARLY labeled as an or post. 📲

3. Make sure that your business is protected using a contract for exactly what you plan to get from the partnership. Do you have rights to publish and use the images after the promotion is over and you are no longer paying the influencer? Will you be able to use video from the promotion? Will they give these materials to you in a digital folder so that you have access to the originals? All of these are questions that you should be asking if you are paying money for marketing online.

Do you have any questions about this? Drop a comment below! As a digital educator, this is what I do for a living and I want to be sure you are getting what you need. ❤️

❤️❤️❤️

This year I making some big changes in my business. Most notably, I am trimming down the number of clients that I have so that I can focus even more of my time and energy on making significant impact for the missions that most closely align with my hope for a better community and better world. 🌎

That’s right - I’m letting some contracts go during a pandemic! That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m reducing my revenue stream. After talking with my clients individually and discussing ways that they would like to adjust their digital strategy to invest in a stronger online presence, I am adding services and increasing my contract minimums. 💰

I am also building more time into my day to continue developing my education course so that I can pass the knowledge I have gained from working with top brands to build a strong LOCAL following. ✨

It’s going to be a great year, friends.

Real talk - do not over-deliver for your clients unless you want them to expect more from you for less pay. 💰

It can be easy to get lost in people-pleasing as a micro-agency. If you want to be a successful digital strategist, you have to set firm boundaries. ❌

I operate on very defined scopes of work for each client that are made very clear when our contracts are delivered.
When clients ask for or expect more, I creat a change order or project invoice based on hourly, but it’s known that it’s not included in our monthly service. 💻

How often are you sacrificing unpaid hours for your clients? How can you protect yourself from burnout? Think about some processes that you can use in your business that will keep you safe from being taken advantage of.

What words are you SO TIRED of seeing in your feed everywhere? 💩

Words MATTER. When you are generating captions for your social media, there are some big trends that you need to be aware of, and more importantly, words that you need to specifically avoid.

My list of words to avoid like, well, the plague include but are not limited to:

Boss Babe (or babe in general) 🤢

Tribe (and any other culturally insensitive words/content)

Mompreneur

Be your own boss (in reference to MLMs)

Hustle

Hacks

Secrets (if it is a secret, then why are you sharing?)

ALL CAPS. WHY? WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME??😂

And, most of all.... easy. Nothing truly worthwhile will be easy.

Part of your brand identity includes the verbiage you share on social. Assign yourself value, ensure strong and socially responsible messaging, and most of all - be authentic while remaining mindful of how your words impact others. 🗣

📸

2020 mood. 🤪 Every single day since the first shut down has felt like this to me, and to so many of us. No one has gone unscathed with having to make uncomfortable adjustments to their daily lives. I’m not gonna lie, lately it has seemed heavier than it has in quite some time. Losing people that I love and respect to Covid, seeing the impact on clients and their families, and the challenges presenting themselves in our holiday celebrations that are now largely alone in our homes has me feeling extra angsty.

You see, this is the time of year when everyone gathers at my house because holiday entertaining is like my Super Bowl. I get excited to take out the fine china and treat everyone like royalty. It is breaking my heart to have to be isolated this year.

However, it is times like this when we are at our lowest that we decide what our future is going to be like. Sometimes making the right decision is the most difficult one, and we have to look for the little things in our daily lives that can give us encouragement and peace amidst difficult circumstances. 🔥

This this week I changed up my routine big-time and allowed myself time to rest and recharge. It has completely changed how I am engaging with my to-do list, and for that I’m incredibly grateful.

Are you feeling in a holiday funk as well? What are some things that you do to break yourself out of a rut? I could use some self-care ideas. 💌