Monday I spoke about split testing your ads. You get that now!? Then comes the content part. It is integral for you to think clearly about what you want to say on your ad. Firstly you have to recognise what you want to achieve from it. Sales? Promotion? Click throughs? Redirection? News? What do you want people to do when they have read it? Where do you want to take them? Now, have you looked at your keywords recently? If you have answered ‘No!’ then thats next on the age

Happy Monday people. This week we are going to chat about Facebook’s advertising platform and how to run a brilliant campaign that will increase sales, likes, click throughs etc.  We cover the basics here on the OPT blog so Novices, this is for you! So, why run a Facebook ad? The biggest plus? You can target specific demographics and the targeting options are wide.  You can really pinpoint who you want to hit as people share all kinds of information with Facebook about what t

Happy Friday people, So, you have a nice big juicy database to utilise right? Great! todays post is all about writing that perfect newsletter and reaching out to that database on a regular basis (not too regularly though!).  Whether in the form of an email subscription, a simple blog or a tangible letter through the post, these are important. Its another way to deliver content to your audience and although ‘the newsletter’ has had bad press over the years, I believe that they

Those not familiar with Facebook Insights here’s a brief explanation.They are analytics that give you better insight into what your community wants from your pages.  It centres around interaction and development of fans. Its the perfect way to measure your social media performance.  Up on the left sidebar underneath your profile pic, you will find  Insights . Here are the definitions of the main Facebook Insights . 1.  Main Insights:  Here you can view every post you have wr

Happy Monday people! Hope you’re weekend was a restful one. I thought a nice colourful subject to ease us into the week was the order of the day.  We all know that colour is important, especially when choosing the right one for your company, brand and promo material.  In one instance it could change someones perception of what you do and how you do it.  That is why you should take time and either think or re-evaluate what schemes you are using right now. According to KISSMetr

To start churning out eye grabbing content is an art.  I don’t care what anyone else says.  Whether you are a small business, an individual or a brand. It simply HAS to hold peoples attention.  It makes your brand distinctive and creates a loyal fan base, which will eventually become productive and drive sales. Now whether you are creating content to bring people back to your site, or whether you are building a brand online the ultimate goal is to make money from whatever it

People..listen up! We are living in an economy of ideas. Thank the blooming Lord! it wasn’t until I spoke with my number 1 geek friend the other day that I put 2 and 2 together.  Yes! it’s my time! You know, that time when all the stars aline and you feel something big is going to happen in your water. Well, not so much your water, more like your gut.  Anyway, It’s a time where a good idea and well planned implementation thrive.  An era where little old me (AND YOU) can make

Well, how much time does one have really!?  And if you are one of those people shouting “NONE!” , you’ll be glad to know that there are options! Obviously, depending on how much you know about traffic and the ins and outs of Google, you will be able to guess that the more you blog, the more traffic you will create.  Now, that may feel like a whole world of content for you to produce, but if you are clever and plan it out properly, it should be worth all the time and that arm

A short and sweet one today because it was my birthday yesterday and I can’t see. OPT want to know how you follow your fave blogs? and whether you use #ff on Twitter!? Oh  and if you get in touch or RT my blog link today – I will give you a follow friday shout out on Twitter! Well??…….. #Twitter #onlineprtips #followfriday #creativeonlinemarketing #businessdevelopment #SocialMedia

TWITTER! Now, If you are looking for a good old moan then bore a friend or write a blog – but I will advise you that most won’t want to read it, unless it’s about Ryan Air. Are you a big company that deals with lots of complaints? Do you want to deal with them fast and move on? Do you want to show others how you deal with complaints? Well have you thought about setting up a ‘complaints hotline’ on Twitter? For monitoring and acting on complaints and other comments from custo

So you have a Facebook page, but have you  thought about doing any of these handy tips? Design a good product page (600X200 pixel photo) Post interesting and original comments and tell your tale Use page as a viral blog Offer your fans something for free A ‘call to action’ button is something that people are using now to recruit new fans. Use a good one on your page. Ask your followers to invite their followers. Always link and link back to your twitter and you tube channels.

In this ever-changing world of social media and digital marketing how anybody calls himself an expert is beyond me. Things are changing too quickly for anybody to be calling themselves an expert. I like to say, ‘someone in the know!’ You have to be dedicated, analytical, read every day have a great track record and discuss the subject day in day out with everyone to even get close to becoming someone who someone else should listen to! In today’s digital climate, it’s even sim

Monday, we talked about strategy vs plan.  Today’s post is all about the plan and what it should include.  This is based on a traditional Marketing plan.  Now we are talking about online business and PR here. Let’s not forget, but this kind of plan can be implemented as such, as long as the bones are all in place! It should include: Details of your product or service and its Unique Selling Point Pricing Target Market Analysis Sales and distribution plan Advertising and promot

I read an article presented by openpressiwire.com in 2009 only the other day, entitled “ You’re NOT a social media expert, you idiot” by Joel Mackey.   It caught my attention, I suppose in the tiny, yet natural part of life, when you suddenly think you are faking what you do for a living! Good old self-doubt!  I digress. It was a good article.  It made me both angry and nod in agreement. Mr Mackey talks about how many have jumped on the bandwagon of social media and are now

We’ve put together a small list of respectable blogs suggested by our readers (and one or two from OPT!) http://purple.us/blog . Suggested by @purplecomm. An informative blog from the US with a mix of ASL and English content. http://digitalbrandmarketing.com/  Suggested by @basilpuglisi. They write about anything from social media to branding to mobile technology. Jonathan Payne @socialgameplan gives a shout out to @lewishowes. Claiming that after watching 2 of his videos, hi

We’ve talked about blogging this week.  You should now be at a point where you can safely post something up online consistently.  Sharing your blog is the next step. There are now great sites to help you distribute your blog. And this year is it ALL about GREAT CONTENT!  I’ll talk about this more in the coming weeks but PLEASE take the time and write good stuff!  Really give this a lot of thought and look at what your competitors are blogging about.  Make yours better, richer

If you are an advanced blogger, start thinking about your yearly campaign. If you remember, back when we were talking about ‘ planning your time ’ it’s so important to plan before you write. Anyway – back to you guys that are just starting out. You need to decide; a) What do you wish to achieve from your blog? b) How you wish your blog to be perceived? c) Will you write a monthly and give out a lot of info? d) Will you write a daily bite size offering? e) I

Welcome to 2012! How’s the head?! OPT have talked mostly about social media and how it can help your business.  We hopefully all know now that it is unavoidable.  You just have to make the decision to either employ someone to look after it or adapt and introduce new jobs into your daily routines. Let’s begin this year, by hammering home some mega easy and positive steps towards getting your business out there online in 2012. Honing its online presence and giving your baby a r

I would like to thank our followers and wish all our readers a very happy and restful Christmas and a prosperous New Year! I also hope that I have started an informative and exciting development service for you to add to your weekly reading lists. If you would like to provide content on this blog or collaborate in any way, shape or form. then please get in touch! Here’s to 2012! Andrea #socialcommunities #SmallBiz #thinkandtweetlater #Twitter #socialmediaplanning #onlineprtip

There are many pros and cons to choosing your own name for your business.  I have struggled with this question for years but stuck with my own personal name for many reasons. The most important being, that I had a ready-made audience. Obviously your name gives a certain personality to a company, product or service and many clients prefer that personal touch. Therefore it can work in your favour in many industries. If you remember my blog ‘The Art of Self Promotion (1 of 5) ’