Mobile is most definitely changing the customers journey and we are using it more and more to do everything.  Research, buying, selling and customer service. Small businesses can no longer ignore this fact. Instead, they should be thinking about giving it some more time. The reality is that mobile is now the most important screen to think about so you have to start thinking about how the customer will think, feel and what they will act (or not) upon when coming across your co

Take the ‘Come Rain or Come Shine Test… Reaching out to more than one target market can be difficult. If you have a service, product or business that can cross over world views. When I say that, I mean you may have a dry cleaning service, a taxi company, a hairdressing salon, an insurance company or you may sell a product for the home – either way you are reaching out to a varied target market and hoping that a huge cross section of people respond to what you are selling. The

Todays post is written by Easy SMTP . These emails are the ones most often saved and read, so businesses must be resourceful in leveraging the time such emails have in front of the customer’s eye.  Research by Experian shows that transactional emails have the power to help businesses boost revenue by up to 3 percent.  They also have far higher open and click rates than the average bulk message. Earmarking budget, time and talent to optimize transactional emails can ensure tha

It’s A Client’s life. Rubbish.  But we’ve all had one right? In any industry.  Someone who comes steaming in the office, head held high and starts barking orders at you like you have no idea what you’re doing and they know best. In my time as a freelancer I have been so lucky. The majority of my clients and the projects that I have worked on have been both challenging and exciting but above all pleasant. It’s been said, when you get a good client, the project is normally bori

I know. You have seen this kind of heading before right? True, there are many folk offering sturdy advice on using Twitter for business. But they all seem to leave out 5 really significant deal breakers that could mean your tweets get maximum visibility and actually WORK for you rather than disappear into Twitter cyberspace with nothing but a poof of turquoise smoke! Get it into perspective. Many of my clients really worry about not being on Twitter at the right time to catch

This is one of the best uses of social media I have ever seen. I love it. Hard. You see, what Volkswagen have done with their new site  onething.com  is they have got their head around what their customers want. We are bored with watching ads.  We have seen a trillion, fairly decent looking cars driving through a dessert with a top bird or hot spanish guy at the wheel, (with possibly a crisp white cotton shirt slightly open to the chest and a bead of sweat on his brow, Ahem.)

SO – end of the year is here and I suppose it’s time to evaluate the blog. Urgghhhhhh. Well, its not just about writing one is it?  It’s vital to know how it’s doing, and work out a few stats. For me, this task is similar to doing my tax returns. I dread it.  I detest it. It’s like a  summer holiday without the sun, chips without salt and vinegar..a Sunday roast without a Yorkshire pudding. Oh you get the picture.   Ahem. Still it IS a necessity. Unfortunately. Necessary for

What actually is an effective marketing strategy?  Wiki says A “ Marketing strategy  is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable  competitive advantage .“ Well, if you are like me and despise the word ‘strategy’ but realise its’ importance within most long term goals, you will understand that there are several steps in which to take to make sure you reach those goals

OPT offers you top 5 tips that your competitors will already know! read on… It is fair to say that online pr is NOT the same as offline pr. The differences are significant.  And it is important to learn that both are pitched differently.  This is something successful marketeers have learnt over time and you can learn this from them. Online PR is a varied mixture of brand reputation monitoring and management activities and it’s main goal to influence media, communities and au

How about beginning a audio or video tutorial for your niche? Do you think that your audience will benefit from you offering them a mentoring service? Tips and Tricks for your specialist service? Whether your skills lie in being a creative or an expert in your niche (you could be a great golfer or know how and when to pot certain plants a musician, or a retail manager, etc) Think of the qualities you could share with other businesses in your field or your online clientele. Re

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

What Actually Motivates Us To Share? We covered a few points on the motivation of sharing last week.  Here are a few more tips… 1.Interesting or Insightful Material. People share material because they have find it useful or think others might find it interesting in some way shape or form. We are motivated to show others the stuff we think they will love. Alternatively,  people might share content which is relevant to them only,  but not necessarily the recipient -showing off

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

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.

Imagine you are going to a work networking do and you don’t know a soul. If people already know who you are, then its not so bad and just being there will get you noticed by some. If you are ‘a nobody’ be ready with a plan before you start a conversation. You can see where I am headed here. We talked about blogging all last week. It’s the year of the blog people, recognize. AND content is KING! Both social media and blogging are critical ways for a company to be active o

In my opinion there are a few things to pull your attention to: Making sure that people notice you Being an innovative thinker And forming relationships The example I used yesterday about the Bridesmaids DVD works here to. Also take a look at McDonalds Facebook Page. I mean, would you think that people would go on this page, let alone have a ‘relationship’ with it!? The answer is Yes! Take a look ! What they do best is relate to their employees and their employees friends.