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The Ultimate Guide to Marketing for SMEs

Are you a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) looking to make a bigger impact in your industry? Then you’ve come to the right place! Marketing is the key to reaching new customers, building brand awareness, and driving growth.

In this ultimate guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know—from social media to email marketing, SEO, and beyond—to help take your business to the next level!

Building a Strong Foundation

Brand identity

Brand identity is what sets your business apart from competitors. It reflects your values, mission, and how customers perceive you. Here are tips and tricks for building a strong brand identity:

Website Design

Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. A well-designed site is crucial to success. Check out these top tips for creating an effective website:

Content Marketing

Content is king. Whether through blogs, videos, or infographics, quality content can drive traffic and boost engagement. Every page on your site should have essential content that adds value. Start here:

Reaching Your Audience

Social Media Marketing

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer fantastic opportunities to connect with potential customers.

If you’re looking for tips to improve your social media marketing, check out these insightful articles:

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to communicate with customers, nurture leads and drive sales. If you’re looking to master email marketing, this guide will help you succeed in 2024:

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is essential to get right. Ranking higher on search engines can bring in more organic traffic, increasing visibility and lead generation. Implement these top SEO tips to get started:

Lead Generation

Generating high-quality leads is the key to growing your business. Whether you’re using social media, content marketing, or paid advertising, it’s important to be strategic. Learn more in this article:

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC can drive targeted traffic to your website, but it comes with pros and cons. If you’re wondering whether PPC is right for your business, check out this guide:

Expanding Your Reach

Event Promotion

Hosting events, whether online or in-person, can help engage customers and attract new leads. Learn how to master event promotion with these effective strategies:

Design & Print Work

Don’t underestimate the power of traditional marketing materials like brochures and flyers. Consider these top tips when planning your design and print work:

Black girl in denim sitting at the table with stationery and touching computer screen. Indoor portrait of pretty young woman in headphones with tablet spending time in office.

Staying Ahead of the Curve: Top marketing trends

The marketing world is constantly evolving, so to stay ahead of the game, it’s important to keep an eye on emerging trends and adapt your strategies as needed:

Voice Search

Voice search is rapidly changing how consumers find information online. Optimising for voice search can help your business stay ahead of the curve. Learn more about this emerging trend:

Sustainability Marketing

Consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that prioritise sustainability. Incorporate eco-friendly practices into your marketing strategy to appeal to a growing audience that values responsibility:

Personalised Marketing

Customers respond better to personalised marketing experiences that cater to their individual preferences. Tap into this trend and see how it can benefit your business:

Interactive Content

Interactive content like quizzes, polls, and surveys can engage your audience on a deeper level. Find out how to use interactive content to your advantage:

Key Marketing Dates

Keeping track of key dates and events throughout the year can give your marketing campaigns a significant boost. Here’s a list of unmissable dates to generate buzz:

We hope that our ultimate guide has given you plenty of useful tips to help take your business to the next level. If you would like more expert advice or support, our friendly team is always here and happy to help.

For a free virtual marketing ideas session with marketing experts, call us on 01962 600 147 or email info@tlc-business.co.uk

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Why blogs still matter

With so much content out there demanding our attention, it’s easy to wonder whether creating blogs is worth the effort, or if it’s a thing that should be confined to the past. But blogs are way more powerful than you may realise!

Let’s dive into why blogs are still relevant and essential to include in your marketing plans:

Drives web traffic

Regularly featuring new blogs on your website is a great way to attract attention and drive more visitors to your site, boosting your online presence.

Improves search rankings with SEO

Blogs are perfect for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). By including keywords and keyphrases (words that your audience will be searching for), and long-tail keywords (longer phrases that target specific queries), you can make your website rank higher in search results. Basically, the more valuable content you offer, the higher you will climb in the search results. 

Establishes expertise

Blogs give you the creative platform to share the latest innovations, information and ground-breaking research. This helps to establish yourself as a thought leader and industry authority that customers can trust.

Provides content for sharing 

Creating relevant and engaging blogs gives you the opportunity to share this content on social media and use snippets in newsletters, to attract a global audience.

Attracts potential customers & staff

Sharing blogs will mean you can attract like-minded individuals who share the same passion, potentially turning them into customers. This also works for attracting employees; by sharing content of your latest initiatives or team-building events, that makes your company stand out as a great place to work.

Encourages action

Blogs give you the opportunity to encourage your readers to take action, whether that’s signing up to your newsletter, or investing in your latest product. 

Builds communities 

Writing and sharing blogs will expose your brand to new audiences, helping you connect with a wider audience and build followers. This can often lead to collaboration and potential revenue opportunities.

No limitations 

Unlike social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where you are restricted by character limits, blog writing allows you to share thoughtful pieces and in-depth articles that will engage with your audience and make your business stand out from the competition.

Next steps

Businesses can often be put off including blogs in their marketing plans, as they don’t feel they have the skills, or time to invest in them. That’s where we come in. Our experienced team can put together a content plan full of engaging content ideas and create the blogs for you!

For a free virtual marketing ideas session with marketing experts, call us on 01962 600 147 or email info@tlc-business.co.uk

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Best Length For a Blog Post

Producing blogs is a great way to share expertise, drive traffic to your website and build engagement. If this sounds like something you want for your business, the next question people typically ask is, “what is the best length for a blog post?”

 

Getting the answer to this right is important because it has implications for SEO, engagement and more.

Before starting to write a blog, you must consider the collection factors that will influence how well your blog performs. Your audience, the structure of the post, the topic and the promotional channel are all elements that will determine the ‘perfect’ length for your blog.

You are probably now saying, “that is all great, but how many words should I write?” If so, let’s dive in deeper and determine what the best length for a blog post really is.

 

Is there a perfect length for a blog post?

You probably already knew this, but the truth is, the best length for a blog post completely varies depending on the content you are producing. Sounds like a cop out, right? But a word count does not define how meaningful (and effective) a piece of text is.

 

For example, if the topic is frequently asked about and searched for by many users online, a substantial (we’ll get on to what this actually looks like in a second) blog is ideal. Whereas, if it is a quick promotion of a service or a product you are advertising, it is best to keep it short and simple.

 

“Give us a number!” we hear you shout….

 

Blog word counts and what they are best for:

  • 50-300 words: These are short and snappy posts that tend to get more of the comments. Shorter posts are great conversation starters. They are straight-forward, and although they might not get many shares online, they are easy to read and create on a regular basis. 50-300 words are most effective for selling a product or a service and getting a reader to take a specific ‘Call to Action’ (CTA) i.e. downloading an e-book or signing up to an email list.
  • 300-600 words: These posts are the most common blogging length. They are still quick, easy to read and to the point. This length is a popular middle-ground for social media shares and engagement.
  • 750 words: This length is typically used for professional journalism, especially for newsletters. The length is great for shares on social media.
  • 1000-1600 words: This length is the most popular for blogging platforms and mostly used to address audience questions and solve someone’s problem. According to Medium, a collaborative writing platform, the ideal length for a blog is 1,600 words (or takes 7 minutes to read). A 1,600-word blog can be the perfect length as it gives the writer enough leeway to explain the chosen topic in detail, whilst also keeping the reader engaged. There is an opportunity to get lots of engagement on these posts and a high number of shares on social media. The most significant factor for this length is making sure the topic is interesting and solves a frequently experienced problem.
  • 1,600-2,500 words: The highest-ranking articles on Google are typically around this length. These posts can rank well on search engines. They help a website’s SEO by increasing the time spent on page. They can also encourage a new reader to join your mailing list to receive future insightful content. If the chosen topic is interesting to your audience and addresses a topic that readers are continuously searching around, the blog has a good shot at being a hit.

 

What is more important that blog length?

Relevance to your audience! It is irrelevant how many words your blog is, if it doesn’t address a relevant issue or topic to your target audience. We could write the most wonderfully researched 2,500 word blog on cultivating roses in a small garden, but if we are looking to engage with and build an audience of small business owners, the blog just won’t cut it.

 

So, what is the best length for your next blog post?

Well that depends on what outcome you are trying to achieve. Shorter content (at least 300 words) is the ideal blog post length if you are looking to create regular content on a wide range of topics that encourages visitors to take some form of call to action. It also makes it more practical to create on a regular and consistent basis.

 

Whereas, if you want to create a piece of content that will significantly improve your SEO and position you as an expert on that particular topic, you should consider devoting additional time to creating quality, long-form content of 1,600+ words. Less frequent posts, with deeper, more detailed content, can help you win at the SEO game.

 

All that being said, whilst we understand that having a word count target can be helpful, the bottom-line is, write what you are passionate about. Don’t focus on the length of your posts too much. It is better to produce high quality text with fewer words, rather than ‘rambling’ on for the sake of a higher word count. And with that in mind, I’ll shut up now!


To arrange a free virtual marketing ideas session with our friendly marketing team, call 01962 600 147 or email info@tlc-business.co.uk

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B2B marketing strategy: What marketing methods should you be using in 2020?

Introduction

Every successful business in 2020 should have a marketing strategy. A marketing strategy will define the marketing channels you will use as a business to reach, connect and engage with your customers and prospects to generate leads. The marketing channels you use should be appropriately chosen to get the biggest bang for your buck and specific to your business and the sector you’re in, but also, your choice should take into consideration your goals as a business. Ask yourself what do you want to achieve through your marketing? Is it growing your customer base and expanding your audience? Is it to generate more leads? Or for customer retention purposes? Whatever your aim is, firstly you must have a good understanding of your market, where you sit in that market and who your audience is, in order to identify the right marketing channels for you.

Where do I start?

First-things-first, a review of your competitors will help you to establish your company’s positioning and determine where you sit in the current market. If the market seems very crowded and everyone (including you) looks more or less the same, offering the same products or services, you need to consider how to stand out (in a good way!) and offer something unique to attract your customers, or as we call it – a USP (unique selling point). Whereas, you might discover you operate in a gap in the market, in which case you have something unique that nobody else is offering.

When you have reviewed your competitors and established your position and any USP you might have, you can then identify your target audience. You may have multiple customer profiles that you wish to target for your business, based around different products or services. You will need to consider your audience’s business type, age, gender, location, sector, job role, interests etc., to have a better understanding of what marketing channels you need to introduce into your marketing strategy. Your audience will also determine the type of messaging you use and what your marketing should look like.

You should use your review of your competitors to assess what marketing channels and techniques other businesses are using, as well as to find out which ones they are using well and which are not so effective. For example: what is their website like? Are they publishing new content regularly? Are they using social media? If so, which platforms are they using and how often are they posting? Do they send a newsletter? Have they got re-marketing ads set-up? Do they have pay-per-click adverts on Google? And so on. This will benefit you when you come to planning your marketing strategy and deciding which channels and techniques you should be using or could be doing better on, as well as which ones to avoid.

What’s next?

There are a multitude of effective marketing channels and techniques you can use within the B2B sector to connect with customers and prospects, but before you jump into doing all of them at once, you should create a marketing plan and select the channels that are going to be the most cost effective and beneficial for the results you want.

A marketing plan will also help you to plan for the costs and resources associated with each component and establish whether you will need to hire someone or outsource a marketing specialist to help you. Remember, just because one competitor might be doing everything, this does not mean you should and doing so could be a major waste of your time and money. Find what works for your business.

Some examples of marketing channels to consider for your 2020 strategy

To explain further, we’ll be putting together a series of informative blogs focusing on different marketing channels you could consider, including website & content creation, all things Google (SEO, paid search and remarketing), email marketing & telemarketing, social media and last but not least offline advertising and direct mail.

Keep an eye out on our blog and follow us on social media to make sure you don’t miss which channels will be best for you, to help you deliver your 2020 marketing strategy!

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The TLC Business Annual Marketing Lunch 2020

Essential Marketing Insights for SMEs ‘How to get the most out of your marketing buck’.

It’s that time of year again for the TLC Business Annual Marketing Lunch, where we will be providing SMEs in Hampshire with useful insights, tips, guidance and advice around how to get the most from their marketing budget in the year ahead.

This year’s free annual marketing seminar will be held at the Holiday Inn Winchester on Thursday 13th February 2020 from 12pm-2pm. Full details of the event can be found below but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Spaces for this event are limited, therefore you must book your place in advance to confirm your attendance.

You can book your place here.

Please note: this event is not eligible for other marketing or creative agencies.

Event details:

Date: Thursday 13th February 2020
Time: 12pm – 2pm
Location: The Monarch Suite, Holiday Inn Winchester, Telegraph Way, Morn Hill, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1HZ
Refreshments: Buffet lunch & refreshments provided
Price: Free

Topics we’ll cover:

– Social media – how to make it work for your business
– PPC (Pay per click advertising) – why it is an important part of your marketing mix
– SEO (Search engine optimisation) – the fundamentals
– Email marketing – is it still relevant?
– Content – what should we be creating?
– How to stand out from the crowd
– How can I find out what is working?

We hope to see you there!

 

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Ways to improve your Search Engine ranking (SEO)

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of making changes to your website in order to improve your online visibility in a search engine’s organic results, otherwise known as unpaid or natural results. The factors which affect your website’s search engine rank have changed over the years, due to Google’s (and other Search Engines) continual updates to their algorithms; therefore, continually reviewing your SEO activities is crucial to ensure you appear prominently on the search engine results page (SERP).

Did you know that 75% of people don’t scroll past the first page of search results and 70%-80% of people skip straight past paid ads completely and to the organic results? Therefore, even if you are using pay-per-click (PPC) ads; which generally appear at the top and bottom of the results page and marked ‘Ad’ next to the URL, the majority of online users will ignore your ad and skip straight to the organic results, where you may not appear if your website is not optimised effectively.

 

How can I find out where my website is ranking?

If you want to see where your website is ranking on a search engine, we don’t recommend you perform a search of your business yourself as it is likely that you will not get an accurate representation of where your website ranks for a number of reasons:

  1. You are likely to regularly visit your website from the device you are using and therefore the search engine will recognise this and display your website as one of the top results based on your cookies and browser history.
  2. You may be carrying out the search from your office location and the search engine will show businesses closest to you based on relevance.
  3. If using Google search for example, you may be logged into Google using an account associated with your website or your Google My Business listing and therefore your website might show artificially high in the results.

To check your website’s SERP ranking correctly, there are a number of free or paid tools you can use. Our recommendation is Serpfox, they offer a free account for up to 10 keywords or paid plans from $10 a month. Other quick online tools which don’t require an account or subscription include Moz Rank and SERPChecker, but there are a variety of others available which also provide keyword idea tools and the ability to check your site’s ranking against your competitors.

 

What factors affect my search ranking?

There are a number of factors which will affect your website’s organic search ranking, some of which aren’t new and have been best practice for years, but others are becoming increasingly more important as Google continues to update their algorithms almost every day.

 

Keywords

A search engine recognises search terms as ‘keywords’ and will look for these keywords on your website to see if it is relevant for that search. The use of keywords for SEO has changed slightly over the years as it’s no longer feasible to throw a bunch of keywords onto your website in the copy or H1 tags. The basic rule is to choose one unique keyword per page to tell the search engine what that page is about. You can use free online keyword tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner, WordStream or Wordtracker to find keyword ideas and their search volumes. Most tools will also show the PPC competition and cost-per-click (CPC), if you decide to use the keywords for paid search ads too. To benefit from full SEO, the keyword you have chosen for that page should be included in the meta data and on the website page itself (in the first H1 tag and at least once (possibly more) on the page text, ideally in the first paragraph). You can also include it in the page URL and alt tags. All of these placements will help tell search engines what your pages content is really about.

 

Meta Data

Meta tags are bits of text that describe a web page’s content; however, they don’t appear on the web pages themselves, only in the page’s HTML code. A search engine reads the meta data to find the topic of the web page and check for the relevance of your web page against a particular search term. Each page of your website should have a unique meta title and meta description. This will tell the search engines the name of your page and what it is about. To effectively write meta data for your website, your meta title and descriptions for each page will have one main keyword in it that is relevant to that page. The meta data is also the title and description which will display on a search engine’s results. For example, I have searched “SEO tools” in Google and one of the top organic results was this page link for Moz (see image below). You can see that the keyword “SEO tools” is in the meta title; therefore, Google has recognised that this is a relevant web page for my search term.

In order for your meta tags to display correctly, your title should be no longer than 50-60 characters and your description no more than 150-160 characters in order for Google to display your page listing without getting truncated.

Page URL

Search engines will also check your web page URL for relevance to the search term, therefore in addition to your meta tags you can include your chosen keyword for that page in the website’s or page’s URL to help improve your ranking.

Content

Updating your website regularly with new content will help to improve search engine results too. Content can be anything in the form of copy, blogs, video, resources, graphics, infographics and more. Video is also increasingly relevant and in demand by users; therefore, having embedded video on your website is a bonus for your SERP rank. Using keywords in your website’s copy such as blogs and case studies will also help to improve search results and you can also label your images and other media using alt tags, which work similarly to meta tags and give the search engine further information about your website’s content.

 

Mobile-Friendliness

Over 50% of web traffic in the world is now on mobile and mobile users are increasing dramatically year-on-year; therefore, it is vitally important for websites to be mobile-friendly. Google can recognise how well your website performs on a smaller device and will rank your website accordingly. It will check your website for its responsiveness, accessibility, loading speeds and user-experience on mobile. You can check if your website is mobile-friendly by using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

 

Image source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/241462/global-mobile-phone-website-traffic-share/

 

User-experience

In addition to mobile-friendliness, you should still ensure that your website performs well on desktops and tablets too. If your website has a lot of java-script, high-resolution images, video and links, these factors can affect a website’s page load speed; which will have a negative impact on your search rank. You can check how your website performs in this area using free online tool, GTmetrix; which gives you a score for your website’s page speed and will also provide you with smaller scaled images or ‘smushed’ images to replace those on your website, without compromising quality.

You should also check your website for broken-links in case you have changed any of your website’s page names or URLs historically. Old links from your website may still show up on search results or may be linked from other website and need re-directing, otherwise your website will show a 404 error page, which also negatively impacts user-experience. To check your website for any broken links, you can use the ‘Crawl Errors’ report under Google Search Console’s webmaster tools.

Another thing to consider which can impact your ranking is your website security. In 2014, Google confirmed that websites with an SSL certificate would get an added advantage in the search engine results and last year sites with a non-HTTPS status would be flagged with the warning message “Not secure” in the URL bar of the browser to show that it was unsafe. If your website is http:// instead of https://, you should consider purchasing an SSL certificate from your web hosting company. An SSL certificate will help to minimise the chances of cybercrime and hacking that is often targeted through security loopholes in web browsers. You should also check that you are using the most up-to-date version of your CMS or PHP. If you are using WordPress for example, in 2018 official guidance was released that you should run PHP 7 or higher, which not only provides improvements in handling errors and script problems but improves your website’s security and makes your website harder to hack.

 

Google My Business

Finally, if you haven’t set up your own Google My Business account, it is possible that Google has created one for you. This is the business and address listing that shows for your business. For example, when searching “Winchester restaurant” in Google search, I am given several listings of restaurants and a map. If you utilise this tool to its potential, it can have positive effects on your SERP ranking. You can edit your listing to include images, a description, opening hours, contact information, a link to your website, directions and reviews. A listing with positive Google reviews (all things being equal) is more likely to rank higher in Google’s search engine results than a listing with poor reviews or no reviews at all. You can set up a Google My Business listing or request ownership of one that exists for you by creating an account here.

 

 

How TLC Business can help

TLC Business can undertake a variety of SEO-related activities for SMEs including a review of your website, creating an SEO strategy, setting up Google Analytics and Search Console, keyword research and analytics, meta-data creation, on-page and off-page optimisation and more. You can find out more about our SEO services (make this the link) on our website, or get in touch by emailing info@tlc-business.co.uk or calling 01962 600 147.

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A beginner’s guide to keyword research

Keywords form the cornerstone of any SEO strategy. So whether you’re writing a blog post, or putting together your homepage text, identifying the right keyword to optimise a page is an essential part of attracting the right types of visitors to your website. Get it wrong and you risk driving visitors to your website that don’t represent your target audience or languishing in the depths of the search engine results, failing to be found. But get it right, and you create a channel for attracting and engaging with your ideal audience and generating a steady stream of new business opportunities. If this sounds good, the next step is choosing the keywords you are going to optimise your site for. But how do you know which ones are right for you, your business or organisation? With this beginners guide, we’ve outlined a very simple 4 step process for identifying the best keywords for your website.

Step 1: Brainstorming

The first thing to do before you start your research is to brainstorm some ideas.  What are your customers looking for? Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think of the first words that come to mind when you think of your product/ service. You could ask friends and family for their input. Don’t forget your clients and customers. Once you have some key themes, you can then come up with keywords associated with each category.

Now that you’ve got a few keywords in mind, try and think of some similar terms or possible longer phrases, otherwise known as ‘long tail keywords’ (niche terms that are more specific and have less traffic), which people may also use to search for your product/ service; these will give you even more variety. Even misspellings can make great keywords!

Step 2: Check out your competitors

It’s also a good idea to find out what terms your competitors are optimising their sites for. Visit their website and right click view source to discover how a particular page has been optimised. This will give you a clear idea of what keywords they think are important. Bear in mind that they might not be the best or right terms for you; however, it will give you some ideas.

You can also type your keyword ideas into a search engine and take note of the websites that are ranking highly for them. Again, take a look at how they have optimised their sites via right clicking on a page on their site and viewing source. If you’d like to invest some money in SEO, you can also use a paid for tool, such as SEMrush, to see what keywords your competitors are using. It costs money but can save time.

Step 3: Search for trends on Google Trends

It’s also a good idea to see what’s currently trending in and around your industry. This could give you further ideas for keywords, or possibly help you narrow down your choices. Google Trends allows you to break your analysis down by region and also shows you related terms rising in popularity. Bear these in mind for potential keywords.

Step 4: Use Google AdWords Keywords Planner

This step is the most crucial, as this tool will help you understand how the keywords you’ve come up with are performing, how competitive they are and how much they’ll cost you if you were to undertake a PPC campaign.  Be sure to refine your search so that it includes the relevant search terms for your location. As well as showing you how the keywords you’ve chosen perform, it will also give you recommendations and help you come to a final decision about the most relevant keywords for your website.

And you’re done!

Now that you’ve got your initial keywords, you’ll need to implement the optimisation of your website for them. Be sure to review how your site is performing for your chosen keywords on a regular basis. Also, remember to keep researching those keywords; searching habits are constantly changing so don’t rest on your laurels!

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How to Make Your Website Responsive on Mobile

No matter how big or small your business is, it’s important that your website is responsive across all devices, especially mobile. A recent survey found that 88% of consumers who search for a local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours, and 57% won’t recommend a business if the website isn’t responsive on mobile. Thankfully, with just a few simple steps you can improve your website’s ‘viewability’ considerably and give your customers the seamless experience they’ve come to expect.

  1. Re-evaluate the template you’re using
    If you’re using a DIY website building site, like Squarespace or Wix, and your current template isn’t responsive, it’s time to re-evaluate! There will be a plethora of responsive templates you can choose from to replace your current unresponsive one. Take a look at them and choose one that is best fit for your business. Even if it means you have to spend some time altering the layout and content on your website, it’ll be worth it in the long run. If you have a bespoke site, created by a developer, get in touch with them to discuss making your site responsive. It might cost you a bit of money but it will certainly help your site perform better in the search engines and improve your visitors’ user experience.
  1. Make navigation simple
    Avoid long navigation bars which require consumers to zoom or make it harder for them to click the right link, as this easily puts people off. Less is more when it comes to navigation bars, so keep your options in the 4-5 range and make sure each one has a strong title with  clear calls to action. The text size is also important as consumers need to be able to easily click the link.
  1. Keep the text short and sweet
    Mobiles can’t display as much information as desktops and tablets, so it’s a good idea to review your website’s text with this in mind. Can you be more concise and reduce the volume of text? This will almost certainly have benefits outside of improving the mobile experience of your visitors. Once again, you need to make sure your calls to action are clear and customers understand what your business does, and why they need your services. Typography is also important; make sure the text isn’t too small and the spacing is even as this will allow for easier reading.
  1. Make sure your images are optimised
    Images which aren’t optimised can slow down your website a lot and could potentially lose you customers if your site is taking too long to load. JPG, PNG, and GIF files are usually fine and there are many tools you can use, such as Optimizilla; which will optimise your images for you. Images which are too big can also reduce your websites responsiveness, so make sure you check the size of your images too.
  1. Use mobile specific features
    Adding interactive maps and providing icons for your contact details are great for customers using your website on their mobile. This way they can get in contact with you much more easily than having to re-type your details into a search engine.
  1. Avoid using pop ups
    Pop ups can be a serious buzz kill, especially on mobiles as often browsers don’t support them, so avoid using them as they can easily put customers off.

To conclude, a responsive website is a necessity. By making your website responsive, mobile visitors are more likely to have a positive experience, which means they’re more likely to turn into loyal customers. Your websites ‘viewability’ will also affect where you rank on search engines, so make sure you check your website is providing the best mobile and desktop experiences frequently. Once your website is responsive you’re well on your way to success!

 

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5 Things that Mattered this week in Marketing #MarketingMoments

As always, it’s been another busy week in the world of marketing. Here we’ve summed up the top 5 marketing stories to keep you up-to-date on the latest news and views in the industry.
1.Netflix and YouTube enter top 10 best brands list for first time

Youtube and Netflix have entered the top 10 on YouGov BrandIndex’s annual list of the UK’s top brands, for the first time this year, showing the increasing importance of online streaming services for consumers. YouTube placed 9th, whilst Netflix ranked 6th position.

Read more.

2. Twitter launches its new discovery tool Explore

In a bid to make the app more consumer-friendly, Twitter launched its discovery tool this week, to help make it easier for users to discover the latest trends and keep up with live news.

Read more.

3. A fifth of UK agencies lost business due to Brexit

A survey of over 200 advertising agencies in the UK has found that 22% reported losing business due to June’s Brexit outcome.

Read more.

4. #ThisGirlCan campaign makes a return

The hugely successful #ThisGirlCan campaign started its comeback this week, with a series of posters aimed at not just teenagers and their Mum’s, but now their Grandma’s too. The new TV ad is due to come out later this month.

Read more.

5. Brands take a stand against Trump

Brands, including Starbucks, Nike and Airbnb, have been breaking their silence this week on Trump’s newly imposed Muslim-majority country ban, by offering individuals affected support, from jobs to places to stay.

Read more.

 

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Digital Marketing Trends to watch out for in 2017

With 2016 but a distant memory, 2017 is now in full swing. We are certain it is going to be another exciting and unpredictable year…and that is just for digital marketing.  From chatbots to video marketing, with lots in between, the industry is awash with talk about this year’s most important trends.  Here we’ve rounded up some of our favourites and why you need to be watching out for them in 2017.

1.Live streaming
We saw the buzz of live streaming first-hand last year with the US Presidential election, but it’s set to get even bigger in 2017. Most recently, Instagram has followed in the steps of Facebook and launched a live streaming service on its story feature. Virgin Media also received high praise for its live TV ad, which was created by piecing together live footage from 18 locations into a 60 second feature. Not only does live streaming allow brands to get creative, but it can also be more cost-friendly and allows consumers to interact on an even deeper level.

2.Chatbots
Chatbots are set to be the next big thing in messaging app technology and will reshape the way we communicate with consumers. Companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have already started using them, so we’re sure many other businesses will follow suit.  While some are still unsure about chatbots, many argue that they’ll increase both sales and communication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.Video marketing
From Android’s ‘Friends Furever’ to Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign, video content is gaining ever more popularity amongst both consumers and marketers. While creating video content can be daunting, when done right it can be extremely effective. Videos generate 1200% more shares than text and images combined and it’s predicted that 74% of online content will be video by the end of the year.

4.Further personalisation
In a survey carried out by Swirl Network in 2015, it was found that 88% of shoppers were more likely to shop with retailers who offered personalised experiences.  From emails, to your homepage, personalisation can be done easily and effectively.  Research has also found that customers spend up to 48% more when their experience is personalised, which is revenue that no business can afford to lose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has been around for a while now; however, businesses are now moving towards what are known as “micro-influencers”. These people may not have millions of followers, but they have the niche audiences businesses are looking for. You no longer have to be a big business either to use influencers; smaller businesses are constantly using them to bring about brand awareness, making it a useful marketing strategy for businesses of all sizes.

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