TLC headed up to London last friday to the take on The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience challenge for our most recent team day out! As part of the 90 minute experience, the team were taken through four zones: Aztec, Industrial, Futuristic and Medieval. Each zone contained several games, testing our skill, physical & mental ability – as well as a mystery category! We had a fantastic time and overall the team managed to collect 7 crystals and almost 200 golden tickets in the dome.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/crsytalmazecropped-compressor.jpg10801080tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2019-11-01 09:41:582019-11-01 09:41:58TLC take on The Crystal Maze
Smile! Our graphic designer, Caroline, has been at it again with her gorgeous biscuit designs – which made for a lovely surprise for the TLC team this morning.
Last Friday, the TLC team visited Snowdonia National Park for a challenging climb up Mount Snowdon. The team had a very early start leaving from the office at 5am Friday morning and arrived at the starting point of the ascent for the PYG track at approximately 11am. Lots of sun cream and water was needed to keep us hydrated and protected from the very hot and sunny weather, which made the climb extra challenging at times. After approximately 3.5miles of ascent, the team made it to the summit at approximately 2pm where we took a break to enjoy some lunch and admire the views. We then set off for the descent at approximately 3pm via the Miners Track and made it back to our coach at 5pm to return back to the office! Here are some pictures from the day!
A formal definition of content marketing might go something like this – a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing catchy, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a defined target audience and help generate profitable leads. Put simply, it is creating and distributing fun, engaging, powerful and moving content that captures your audience’s attention and compels them to do something. Content marketing should be an ongoing process within your overall marketing strategy; however in the B2B market, very few businesses are executing it to its full potential and are missing a cost-effective marketing trick!
What is the ‘content’ in content marketing?
Content marketing revolves around the production of original or curated mixed-media, then distributing it through your different marketing channels, such as website, email or social media. Some typical examples of the type of content you could produce are:
• Blogs
• Case studies
• Video
• Social media posts
• Podcasts
• Webinars
• Infographics
• GIFs
• Quizzes/Surveys
• Competitions
• White Papers
• Resources, for example glossary of terms, calculators, price lists, generators etc
• Apps
Content marketing benefits for lead generation
Other than SEO, PPC and other online advertising methods, blogging is considered the most effective tool for B2C and B2B marketers for generating leads through online channels. Did you know that according to statistics by WebDAM, B2B marketers who blog consistently generate 67% more leads than marketers who don’t? So if you don’t have a blog or news page, you might want to consider getting one! However, the content you are putting out needs to be relevant and engaging for your specific audience in order to see results. Different types of content will generate different outcomes based on their purpose. You might create content to increase brand exposure or your social media following. Perhaps you are looking to inform your audience or existing customers about new projects or industry insights. Your choice of content should be specific to your goals and distributed through carefully selected channels tailored towards your audience.
Create a content plan
In order to produce consistent and good quality content, we suggest creating a content plan as part of your marketing strategy. A content plan will highlight any activities in relation to your content and give you a schedule to work towards to help keep on top of things! We’ve got some helpful tips to create your plan.
1. Whether you’re new to content marketing, or are looking to improve your existing content, firstly we’d recommend looking at your competitors to see what types of content they are producing, if any, and if it is effective or not, to get some ideas for your own. Useful things to look out for are use of links to their website or to external articles, use of hash-tags, and the engagement they receive including likes, comments and shares. Just remember that whilst It is helpful to get inspiration from your competitors, it can be difficult to come up with original ideas that have never been done before, so make sure you avoid copying content and that yours is unique, your own and reflective of your business.
2. Firstly, you need to choose the types of content you wish to create and your goals, for example, social media posts can be great for brand exposure and increasing your audience reach, whereas case studies and white papers can be used to target industry or solution-specific prospects through a lead-gen email campaign.
3. Establish how much content you can create and how often, given your resources and time. A social media post can be created in several minutes, whereas a white paper can take hours to produce.
4. Lastly, you will need to decide how you will be distributing the content. The majority of content will be hosted on your website, but you can then decide if you will share it on social media, include a feature and a link in your e-newsletter or create a targeted email campaign to prospects or for existing clients.
5. Implement all of the above into a content calendar and schedule posts where applicable using social media managing software such as Hootsuite or Sprout, so that you remain consistent, avoid duplication and can plan weekly or monthly themes and topics that fall in-line with your business model.
Content marketing benefits for SEO
The more up-to-date your website is, the more beneficial it is for your user and SEO; therefore, adding new content to your website, such as regular blogs, video, resources, graphics, case studies or white papers can help improve your search engine rankings. Video is increasingly relevant and in demand by users; therefore, having embedded video on your site is a big plus. Content is also a good medium through which to target new keywords, expanding your presence in the search engines, so your audience can find you more readily.
How can we help?
At TLC Business, we can take care of all of your content marketing requirements. Need help with social media management, creating engaging blogs and white papers or producing infographics or resources for your audience? Get in touch today by emailing us on info@tlc-business.co.uk or calling 01962 600 147.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/art-art-materials-close-up-230514-e1553073382854.jpg40006016tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2019-03-20 09:18:182019-04-29 14:37:04What is content marketing and how does it benefit lead generation?
Team TLC were put to the test at the MacGuffin Project escape rooms in Bournemouth on Friday! With only an hour to escape, both teams went head to head to complete the challenge. It was an extremely close call, with both teams escaping with less than 10 minutes to go – but it was team Jigsaw who came out on top in the end, beating team Dynamo by just 24 seconds.
Today we held our first bake off of 2019, this time choosing to go for savoury muffins! From bacon and cheese, to sweet potato and parmesan – everyone put their own unique twist on the muffins – but it was Anna’s leek, onion & chorizio muffins which won the overall bake-off, with a total of 65 points for taste, appearance and technical. Congratulations Anna!
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bakeoffmuffins.jpeg967966tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2019-01-22 14:11:112019-01-22 17:35:07Our first 2019 bake off
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/christmasbic-1.jpg400495tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2018-12-17 10:11:322019-01-17 12:08:06Christmassy treats in the TLC office
With 2018 drawing to a close, it’s that time of year again when we review the marketing trends of 2018, what has been working, what hasn’t and what we’ll be doing in 2019.
Designed for SMEs, our free marketing lunch will provide SMEs with useful insights, tips, guidance and advice on how to get the most from your marketing in 2019.
What we will cover:
• Choosing the right marketing channels for SMEs
• ePrivacy regulation changes – GDPR take two? What to expect
• Digital Marketing and GDPR best practice
• Getting the biggest bang for your buck
• Social Media, PPC, SEO and more
If you’re an SME and would like more information about our event or to secure your place, get in touch today by emailing sophiewells@tlc-business.co.uk or by calling Sophie on 01962 600 147 to receive your free invite! This event is invite only, you must book and secure your place if you wish to attend.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/emailimage4-e1547726236132.jpg301500tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2018-12-05 16:38:342019-01-17 11:57:35Looking to Get More From Your Marketing in 2019? Join Us For Our Free Annual TLC Business Marketing Lunch in the New Year
It’s not every Friday that you get on a high-speed rib boat, to cruise across the Solent for a treasure hunt! As part of our most recent team day out, the team were split into two groups, to go head-to-head in a jam packed treasure hunt that saw us visit several locations – including The Needles, Cowes and Hamble. After a full day at sea, the team were treated to a well-deserved slice of cake and team Edamame were crowned the winners, with an overall total of more than 500 points!
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/boattrip.jpg400495tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2018-10-29 11:22:222019-01-17 11:50:19TLC brave the choppy Solent waters for a jam-packed treasure hunt
Trying to get heard amongst all the competing advertising noise out there is not easy. Estimates suggest we are exposed to over 10,000 brand / company messages each day. Clearly, advertising is highly competitive. Millions of different companies and brands are fighting for the attention of their target audiences each day. Online, in print, on TV, radio, billboards, mobile and more, advertisers are in danger of drowning each other out. With this in mind, companies are always on the lookout for unique and innovative ways to get their message across.
This week, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the more unusual advertising techniques. Here are some of our favourites.
1. Wi-Fi network names
In March 2016, Audi attended the New York auto show with a unique and clever advertising hack. The German car company set up a number of free Wi-Fi networks and gave each network a name that doubled up as an advertisement for the back-then brand new Audi A4. Each network was named with one reason to choose the A4 and also bashed their rival BMW 328i at the same time, including statements such as “#:1 A4 more horsepower than 328i” and “#4: A4 has CarPlay”. It’s not the first time a company has used Wi-Fi networks to double up as advertising, but we can see how it could be an effective and amusing marketing technique to get your brand or product stand out, particularly for an event where free Wi-Fi is just about the first thing mobile users look for.
2. On our food Using a laser etching technique, brands have even found a way to safely advertise on our food! This advertising technique is most commonly found in Butcher’s markets to advertise sellers produce, or in the health and fitness industry for advertising the likes of gym memberships or nutritional advice. Laser etching or printing on foods has typically been used in the food industry to mark produce with dates and numbers to identify their location or factory source. Taking inspiration, some brands have now hijacked this technique, adding messaging to their food. Alongside meat, the technique has been seen on egg shells and even the skins of fruit and vegetables, including avocados, melons and potatoes.
3. Human Body
Have you ever heard of forehead advertising? No, us neither! But some people are willing to do bizarre things to make money, one of which is getting yourself tattooed with a logo or company’s website address. The tattoos can be temporary or permanent and are not just limited to the forehead; people have sold areas of their arms, neck, chest and legs to make some serious buck! Similarly, a Japanese advertising firm recently sold advertising space on commuters armpits to a beauty treatment clinic. The advertisements measure nearly 2” x 4”, are placed in the armpit and cost approximately £68 for one hour of exposure on a commuter train or bus. We’re not sure if this advertising technique will take off in the UK but keep an eye out.
4. Captchas
We’re all familiar with captchas, those annoying boxes that appear on websites. They often appear when entering personal credentials to purchase something online or to access an account. A captcha will usually ask you to type a series of letters or a phrase into a box to prove that we’re not spam robots. They display text in a distorted font, a range of upper case and lower case letters or with a line straight through, supposedly making it too difficult for anything non-human to decipher. Sometimes they may even show a series of images to click on or a short video with a message at the end which you need to copy into the box. The aim is to ensure that a response is not generated by a computer, but copied by a human behind a screen and they are deemed necessary for protection against spam. While banner ads can often be overlooked and ignored, captchas require a user’s undivided attention and advertisers caught onto this. Captcha’s use of words and pictures are more often random and have no significance, but some companies have purchased captcha space to use them to advertise their names, slogans and brand. They can also include clickable links to their website and run on a PPC model or cost per impression basis. They might be irritating, but they cannot be ignored.
5. Hi-Jack other advertisements Advertisements can be costly and coming up with an ad that is creative and unique can be hard work, costly and time consuming. So why not save the money and effort of designing an ad and instead deface another advertisement by placing your own label right on top of it? In Germany, Hubba Bubba adopted a questionable-at-best guerrilla advertising campaign which involved using other brands’ advertisements to display their iconic bubble gum. They hijacked billboards advertisements containing people, including a model advertising a lingerie brand, and added pink balloons with the label Hubba Bubba over their mouths to replicate a bubble gum bubble. Hubba Bubba is iconic for their creative and unusual advertisements and this type of guerrilla marketing definitely caught people’s attention.
What are some unique or clever advertising techniques you’ve come across? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Email us at info@tlc-business.co.uk.
