7 quick Twitter tips

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
Here are seven quick Twitter tips (updated 22nd April 2014) 1. Tweet at least six times every day (including ReTweets) 2. If your Tweets are 100 characters or less - they are more likely to be read 3. Include http:// ...within URLs (web page addresses) to create a 'live hyperlink' 4. Link back to interesting content within your website 5. Click 'Notifications' at the top of the screen - to see who is mentioning you 6. When you open up your website browser, ensure that Twitter opens up first 7. Twitter is a 'social' network. Respond to people. Engage with them. Be yourself. Connect with us for more twitter tips: @marketingcmpass and @nigeltemple If you are a business owner and if you would like more twitter tips and ideas on how to get more customers, you are welcome to join The Marketing Compass - as we are here to help. Join us! Compass membership is FREE! * Create a profile & promote yourself * Hyperlink back to your website * Connect with other...
Read More

How to get more newsletter subscribers

By Nigel Temple2 Comments
How to get more newsletter subscribers is a question we are often asked. With the rise of social media, some people say that 'email is dead'. This is not true. At The Marketing Compass, we advise you to build your own opt-in list, one subscriber at a time. If you communicate with your subscribers consistently, you will have a powerful marketing communications tool at your disposal. http://youtu.be/sXPOrlwkfYU You are welcome to ask questions about newsletters, getting more subscribers and related issues within our website. Scroll down to the foot of the blog to find out more about creating a free account. How to get more newsletter subscribers   1. Use an email marketing system such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. 2. Include a newsletter sign-up box on every page of your website. Ensure that this is in a prominent position. Keep the sign-up form brief, as you will get more subscribers if you ask for less information (i.e. email address, first name, last name). Here is...
Read More

Marketing activity levels – how much time should I spend on marketing?

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
A client emailed me to say that he felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of marketing tasks that he had to do. The question was: when it comes to marketing activity levels - how much time should I spend on marketing? Here is my response: I think that you are currently 'in the battle' and not 'on the high ground'. Interestingly (for a man), I am good at multi-tasking. During a typical day, I am active within the social media (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook for business, Google+ and Pinterest); working on a new blog entry, talking to prospective clients on the phone, managing a team of three within our small family business and thinking about new marketing ideas. Oh, and of course working with clients at the same time (consultancy and public speaking). I recognise that marketing can often feel overwhelming. For 25 years, I have been swimming in the marketing sea. I am used to continual change, constant deadlines and a never ending...
Read More

How to go viral on YouTube

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
YouTube is currently the world's second favourite search engine, after Google itself. I am often asked how to go viral on YouTube. The primary answer is that you have to be creative. You have to do something different. Having taught creative thinking for 12 years at CIM (the Chartered Institute of Marketing), I can tell you this is a challenge for many of us. It's much safer to 'stay in the groove', do what we did last year and adopt so called 'industry best practice', which translates as "do what everyone else is doing". The secondary answer is to produce an emotional reaction in the viewer, for example, laughter. Professional marketers have known for a long time that an emotional appeal is more effective than a logical argument. Dave Clark from NRG Business Networks brought the following video to my attention. As Dave says, it is well worth watching. As you will see, it's creative and generates an emotional reaction. A dramatic surprise on...
Read More

The business benefits of Mind Mapping

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
Mind Mapping is a visual way of organising your thoughts and ideas. The technique was created by Tony Buzan. Mind Mapping provides a ‘big picture’ of your knowledge; shows you how your thoughts relate to each other (the brain works by association); and it can help you to create new ideas. Here are some of the ways in which you can use Mind Mapping: * Preparing talks and presentations * Delivering talks and presentations * At networking meetings, when you have one minute to describe your business * Sales presentations (preparation and delivery) Here's an example of Mind Mapping... Join us COMPASS membership is FREE! * Create a profile & promote yourself * Hyperlink back to your website * Connect with other members * Post updates about your marketing * Join knowledge groups & find answers * Download our FREE ebook – 101 Customer Attraction Techniques * Earn money via our affiliate scheme [DKB url="https://www.marketingcompass.co.uk/register" text="Create my free account" title="Create my free account" type="" style="normal" color="#213462" height="" width="" opennewwindow="no" nofollow="yes"] ...
Read More

How to get more exposure for your blogs

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
Here is a quick six step guide on how to get more exposure for your blogs. 1. Use keywords within your blog I recommend that you work with a list of keywords when you blog. Ensure that you include your keywords within your blog entries (e.g. 'how to get more exposure for your blogs') and with the Tags which are associated with your blogs (i.e. within WordPress, you can enter Tags in a field on the right hand side of the screen). 2. Write SEO friendly blog headlines Your blog headlines are important. Ideally, they need to comprise a set of words which are likely to be put into a search engine, i.e. 'How to go viral on YouTube' (which I have used as a blog title within www.nigeltemple.com – at the time of writing, this is doing quite well within Google). Ideally, your blog software should automatically wrap your blog headline within ‘H’ tags (which means that Google will read your headlines and factor...
Read More

Telemarketing versus telesales – telemarketing tips and advice

By Nigel Temple4 Comments
Do you use the telephone to promote your products / services? Most businesses do, in one form or another. Here is some telemarketing tips and advice. Firstly, let's begin with some definitions: * Telemarketing: using the telephone to educate customers, arrange free trials or schedule sales meetings * Telesales: selling products / services directly over the phone Many business people don't like using the phone to sell. They tell me that they get nervous, become tongue tied and don't enjoy the experience. This is quite normal, after all, most of us don't enjoy rejection, do we? In order to use the telephone better, The Marketing Compass suggests the following strategies: 1. Ensure that you are working with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, as you will then have 'all of your contacts in one place'. 2. Within your CRM, divide prospective customers up into market segments, as it's easier to call a 'group of people with shared needs' within one session, than it is...
Read More

How to plan successful business seminars

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
Seminars are a great way of promoting professional services. They have been part of my promotional mix for as long as I can remember. People buy from people and they tend to buy from people they have actually met. Here are some practical tips and ideas on how to plan successful business seminars: * Brainstorm for suitable topics and get some feedback from your clients re this. * Decide on some mid week dates which would suit you, two to three months from now. * Find a suitable venue with flexible cancellation terms (i.e. no financial penalty if you cancel a week in advance), and agree the date / timings with them in writing. * Create a web page for your event. If you have a CMS (Content Management System) such as Wordpress, you can do this within the twinkling of an eye. * Write a compelling email invitation and send this to your list. (Yet another reason to have an email newsletter subscription process!) * Consider...
Read More

Screencasts marketing uses

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen activity, including audio (i.e. your voice). They are essentially 'movies', showing whatever you are displaying on your screen, over a period of time, along with a running commentary. Screencasts marketing uses: * Explain how to use your website * Demonstrate software * Create a presentation and share it Sharing a video (i.e. via YouTube) or a slidedeck (i.e. via Slideshare) is fine. However, a screencast is very useful if you want to show a variety of images, screens etc along with a recording of your voice. An example is www.screenr.com which is a web based screen recorder. There is nothing to install or download - you simply login via their website. You can record on a Mac or a PC. The results play everywhere, including smartphones. Screenr is free to use. Java is required (within your computer) and you can record for up to five minutes. Here is a example: http://www.screenr.com/rV48 Another example is CamStudio. Search for it...
Read More

What is your main marketing challenge?

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
Hello. What is your main #marketing challenge, from this list? If you had to pick just one - what would it be? * Is it lack of awareness? * Is your visual brand identity out of date? * Have the sales enquiries stopped arriving? * Or have your customers stopped buying? * Do you find writing a challenge? * Does your website let you down? * Is your marketing plan up-to-date? * Does your marketplace understand what you do? * Are you too busy to get the marketing done? * Is social media driving you insane? * Do you wonder where to spend your time? * Is your marketing budget delivering a poor ROI? * Is your competition always one step ahead? * Do you have a clear marketing strategy? * Are you measuring your marketing results? * Is it something else entirely? Have you got a marketing challenge? The Marketing Compass is here to help. We provide independent professionals and small business owners with marketing guidance. You are welcome to ask us questions about any aspect of...
Read More