Twitter Users Forum

What a great event. Brilliant input from everyone.

Catherine Doel
Henmore Marketing
+44 1335 289075
@IdeasStrategies

Are you tempted to start a business?

This appeals to me a lot.  If something seems impossible then you just need to try harder to find a way to make it work.

These great sentiments and graphics are from the Be Your Own Boss programme fronted by Innocent entrepreneur Richard Reed. http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/beyourownboss

Interestingly they have set up an investment company - so if you are struggling with funding from a bank, try these guys.

I tripped over all this on Twitter and need to share with you a first in my Twitter usage.  It is the first time that I have ever paid any attention to a promoted tweet.

I don't follow many links on Twitter, unless I know the person/business that has posted the link.  So there you have it - a perfect example of how powerful a brand can be.  Will I watch the programme?  

Well, I missed the first one .... but I am definitely following @jamjarinvest

Henmore Marketing is Social Media speaker at Business Peak District event

Henmore is very proud to be speaking at the upcoming Business Peak District event:

An Introduction to Social Media

Please note, this event by Business Peak District is only available for businesses located or trading within the wider Peak District.

This seminar is designed for any small and medium-sized Peak District businesses wanting to develop online marketing who would benefit from an overview of social media to find out how it can help grow a business. No technical knowledge is required.

This seminar is presented in a jargon-free, easy-to-understand format and includes presentations from companies that are using social media in a successful way.

Network Events organised by Business Peak District

Wednesday 19th September (10 am - 12 noon)

The Royal Hotel Hayfield

'Marketing - bringing your website alive and keeping your customers happy'

details

Wednesday 26th September (10 am - 12.30 pm)

Bakewell Business & Agricultural Centre

Bakewell, DE45 1AH

'Social Media - an introduction'

booking online

Wednesday 10th October (10 am - 12 noon)

Buxton TBA

'Celebrating local food and drink supply and distribution'

Tuesday 27th November (10 am - 1 pm)

Beechenhill Farm, Ilam

'Renewable Technologies - all you need to know and planning out business risks, a survival kit'

Positive comments - a lovely way to start the week!

I gave a talk on Social Media recently to a tourism group.  It was very difficult to know how much detail I should go into because I am mindful that a proportion of the delegates were probably never going to engage with many of the tools of social media. Twitter was a 'marmite' subject to that audience. Half of the delegates were more likely to be consumers of social media than contributors, probably unwittingly at that. So with this in mind I added into my social media talk a small plea. Would everyone please make one small change to their browsing habits? After reading, leave a comment. It matters to small business owners, in particular, to receive feedback. So why do readers hold back? Does is matter so much to travel the web incognito?


Here is this morning's reminder of my plea to the tourism group. I am running a small workshop on Thursday about blogging. This morning I was very encouraged to receive a Facebook comment from Joy, one of the registrants on the course. She wrote: "Very much looking forward to Blogging on Thursday. Can really recommend Catherine's Workshops @dovefarm as they are informative and helpful but at the same time friendly and relaxed."


I am very grateful to Joy for her testimonial.  How lovely to receive positive feedback and what a great way to start the week.  I am prepping the workshop with extra enthusiasm as a result. 


So how about it?  When browsing the web today could you spare a second to leave a comment... even if you would never, ever describe yourself as a social media user?

Analytics and marketing maths

Clients know that I am a bit of a nag about testing and measuring, especially web stats.  Checking your web site analytics tool in an effective way is a vital piece of marketing house-keeping.  So why do so few SMBs actually do this?

Do you need our help to understand and interpret your web stats?

I am reminded of this because I just took a call from an online directory saleswoman regarding a business whose online advertising we manage.  With a sales script that centred on the amount of quality traffic her directory sends to the website in question she felt confident that she was on safe ground, not realising she was talking to a marketing agency.  Armed by the stats that I manage for this business, I knew she was blagging.  Checking referral traffic from paid sources is a no brainer.  We've put in place a sales tracking system which is rigorously followed.  It is our job to keep an eye on what is working and what is not. Poor telesales lady! She finished up trying to suggest the client should pay for the directory entry out of loyalty; such a desperate attempt to play on the emotions was wasted on my role. My job is to take this pressure away from the client. Looking at the stats I am certain the client would think re-booking this entry was not best use of a tight marketing budget so I politely thanked the caller and suggested she contact us again in 6 months.

Sales calls to clients are directed to us precisely because we can make informed decisions and not be bamboozled by telesales claims about Google rankings and quality traffic etc.  But clearly those sales tactics work or they wouldn't be so prevalent.  (By the way, I am not against paid directory entries - far from it, if they work it is great.)

So, please, check your stats.  Check them and use the information!  If you don't know what all those numbers mean and how to interpret them we can train you.  If you can't bear doing this sort of work then for a small fee we'll do it for you.  Either way, it is time or money well spent because the information should improve your marketing focus and maybe cut some unnecessary spend.

Small business web sites - bite sized pieces

Yesterday I gave a workshop to a few WiRE members who wanted to get to grips with their websites. The desired outcome was a list of changes they could brief their web designer on. During the session I was reminded again how important it is that a business owner considers a web site as a three part project.

Content - Look - Build
(navigation is a core consideration of each of these).

• content falls into the realms of 'marketing communications' . I would urge clients to bash some wording about in a word processing package before they even consider contacting a 'web designer'. Start to section it in a way that makes sense to your reader to help them navigate through your information. 
• the look of the site requires design and branding skill. Your web site is a highly visible application of your brand. Select some images or take some photos that will resonate with your readers. 
• Building the site is the techy bit, which is where most 'web designers' (in most cases web technician is a better description) are most comfortable. Web technicians are brilliant if they have a great brief they can comment on - hence the importance of business owners taking responsibility for the two points above. 

A website needn't be a huge elephantine project. Break it into these bite sized chunks. Contract the support or learn the DIY toolset to help you put it together and manage it. Conduct a strategic review to ensure it meets your marketing needs.

If you would like to join our next group 2 hour strategic review workshop or have your own private review session please email us.

advertising with AIDA impact

We'll make your advertising work hard . . . here's how!

Have you heard of AIDA?

Your advertising needs to be eye-catching with something that grabs attention, like an image or a bold statement.

random image - made you look tho

Once you've caught someone's attention, you need to stimulate their interest to delve deeper - key messages in bold text and in image captions often work well.  These teasers need to mean something to the readers or they will quickly lose interest again.

The idea is that they quickly understand what it's all about and engage with what you are saying.  This is the make or break moment for your copy.  What you are saying has to resonate enough with the emotions of your potential buyers for them to take action.  This means that you have to create a sense of desire that motivates them.  You need to share the joys that the benefits of your product or service will bring.  At the same time they have to have a clear understanding of all the facts.  So think about exactly what they need to know.

By this stage they have breezed rapidly along an emotional journey, supported by fact, and have alighted at the point of decision.  To take action now, or not to take action?  Yikes - you don't want to mess up now!  Keep them on track . . ..What will swing the reader to jump into gear and not leave it til later?  Quick, can you think of a limited offer, a consequence, some way to motivate them to start loving the thing you are offering ...soonest?   If you can't quite think of something, I know for certain that we can.

We have ideas aplenty, and lots of experience to back it up.  So email us now at marketing@henmore.co.uk and let's put some refreshing sparkle into your advertising.

Olympic year has started

How did 2012 creep up on us so soon?
Can your business take advantage of the Olympic Games?  Not all businesses will benefit and some are claiming the games will have a negative impact.  Madness really that our capital city will be flooded with tourists, yet tourist businesses like London theatres will be closing during the games.
Do you have plans to capitalise on Olympic fever?