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Easy Social Media Tips for your Business

At this time of year, you probably want to stand out from the crowd in some way to maximise sales during the Christmas/ New Year period. The best way to do this is by using social media to your advantage.

Here are some quick and easy tips you can implement now for fun and engaging social media to help your sales.

• Use Festive-themed artwork, photos and images that also tie in with your business style and colours. Create simple and fun banners and images using Canva Free or upgrade to Canva Pro for professional images.
• Use the same images or suite of artwork across all your platforms and website.
• Get a Christmas version of your logo for just a few weeks of Christmas, and use this on your promotions.
• Run special offers just for year end that don’t happen any other time – this is especially good if you have a dedicated customer base who will appreciate exclusive offers. Think discounts, extras, bring a friend for free, or send a gift to a friend.
• Can you get some fresh testimonials to add to your website and use as social media posts?
• Think about offering something extra to people who engage with your business from social media channels – a tiny thank-you gift added to their order or a voucher to use with future purchases.
• Give something away in the spirit of giving – is there something valuable to existing and potential customers yet costs you little to offer?
• Team up with a local charity or worthy cause, such as a school drama group or sports group – promote a percentage of takings over a designated period that you will donate to your favourite cause. Can you take part in marketing events with the cause?
• If you send an email newsletter, don’t forget to include all your promotions, extra hours or closure dates.
• Make a short video! With the power of today’s mobile phones, you can take a short video and get it up on social media very quickly – people love to meet the people behind the business. If you’ve not yet promoted your business using video, give it a try this season.

Of course, you can use many paid ways and more complex strategies to increase sales, but with just a few hours of creative effort and some free tools, you can jumpstart your social media activity. Happy posting!

How to stay competitive in your industry

It’s difficult to make your business stand out from the crowd, especially in the 21st century digital environment where businesses large and small are competing for the same customers.

Remaining competitive is vital for any business. If you stay ahead of your competitors and hang onto your customer base, your sales stay stable and your revenues remain predictable.

But how can you do that in today’s increasingly challenging business environment?

Key ways to remain competitive in your market

No market sits still. And the competitiveness of your company’s brand will also fluctuate and evolve over time. But this doesn’t mean that you can just sit back and let your competitive edge fade away. The more proactive you are about your position in the market, the more you can do to preserve your advantage and keep your business ahead of your competitors.

Here are some helpful ways to boost your competitive edge:

• Provide a personalised experience for your customers – customer experience is everything in the digital age. A happy customer will buy more, so you need your CX to deliver every time, no matter what. Try analysing your customer data and feedback, and then using that information to tailor the customer’s experience with your company.
• Carry out competitor intelligence activity on your main competitors – competitor intelligence is an important activity for any company. It involves gathering data about your competitors, including their strengths and weaknesses. You’ll need to identify the competition, find out what they’re doing, and analyse the data you’ve collected.
• Offer high-quality products or services at reasonable prices – you won’t sell high volumes if you don’t have a quality product or service. And you also need to offer a price point that your customers see as good value. If you’re not sure if your prices are competitive, take a look at what your competitors are charging. This will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for the same products or services that you offer.
• Develop new technologies that are not yet on the market – investing in new technologies is risky but can also be profitable. To help mitigate the risks of developing a new technology, it is important to research the market and make sure that there is a genuine customer need for your product. It’s also important to ensure that your product will be affordable and has potential for growth in the future.

Talk to us about reviewing your business strategy

Keeping your business at the competitive edge of the market can be a challenge. But by analysing your customer and competitor information, you can do your best to remain competitive and keep your dominant position in your market or industry sector.

We’ll help you identify the risks, spot the opportunities and amend your business strategy to remain competitive, stable and profitable in the future.

Incentivising pensioners back into the workforce

Various measures announced as part of the October 2022 Federal Budget intend to provide you with an incentive to get back into the workforce.

These include an increase to the work bonus concession balance as well as a new feature to suspend pension entitlements.

Work bonus concession balance

Age pensioners, disability support pensioners, those who receive carers allowance and certain veterans’ entitlements recipients will get a $4,000 increase to their work bonus concession balance.

The work bonus concession balance allows you to earn additional income before there is any adjustment to your entitlement. The increase will mean up to $11,800 can be earned for the 30 June 2023 income year.

Suspension of entitlements rather than cancellation

A new feature will introduce a suspension of benefits, rather than the current setting which cancels a social security entitlement.

When you earn income above the maximum allowable threshold, a 12-week employment nil rate applies. After this time, the entitlement is cancelled, meaning you would have to re-apply for the entitlement.

The new measure will give you allow your entitlement to be suspended for 2 years, where you can automatically recommence your social security entitlement when you become eligible.

If you would like to know more information about any of these measures, including when they start to apply to your circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Changes to pension tests for downsizers

Recently enacted legislation has changed the way in which the social security assets test and the income test applies to the proceeds of selling your home.

Extending the assets test exemption

Your home, or principal residence, is exempt from the assets test for social security purposes. If you sell your principal residence, you must declare how much of the proceeds you intend to use to buy a new home.

The balance of money left over after you complete both the sale and purchase of a new home is an asset which is included in eligibility tests for income support payments.

The recent legislative change has extended the exemption from 12 months to 24 months, allowing you more time to purchase a new home, or rebuild/renovate your new home to your requirements.

Lowering the deeming rate

Another test that you are required to pass for social security payments is the income test. This test includes deemed income from financial assets, which includes money set aside for your new family home.

The legislative change ensures that this money, which comes from the sale proceeds of your principal home, is deemed at the lower rate (0.25% pa) for the income test. This will allow these proceeds to stay in your bank account without major income test penalties, which ultimately could reduce your entitlement to zero.

Like the assets test exemption, the new law has extended the lower deeming rate from the proceeds of your family home from 12 months to 24 months.

Implications of new rules

These new rules, when put together, will provide you with greater flexibility in the future when you decide to sell your family home. This flexibility can allow you to decide the most appropriate course of action for your circumstances without worrying about whether you will lose any income support or associated entitlements.

The extension of time may also come in handy if you choose to purchase a new home that requires a series of renovations according to your personal needs.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Increasing income thresholds to the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

A measure contained in the October 2022 Federal Budget intends to ease cost of living pressures by giving you access to a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

The income threshold to receive a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will increase after the amending legislation becomes law. The new threshold will be:

• $90,000 per year if you are single (up from $50,000), or
• $72,000 each per year if you are in a couple (up from $40,000).

A Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will entitle you to cheaper medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, bulk billing doctors and a refund of medical costs when you reach the Medicare safety net.

Also, you may be entitled to discounts on electricity and gas bills, property and water rates, and public transport costs depending on where you live.

If you would like to know more information about any of these measures, please do not hesitate to contact our office.