Category: Marketing

cup of coffee and newspaper

The First British Example of Content Marketing

Although we think content marketing is brand new, telling stories to attract, convert and keep customers is actually one of the oldest marketing disciplines. The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) dates content marketing back to 1732 when Benjamin Franklin published his first almanac.

But is there an even earlier example of content marketing? Was Benjamin Franklin the first to produce a publication to promote his business? Franklin spent 2 years in England at the beginning of his career learning the print trade in London’s printing houses. Could there be an earlier example of content marketing in England in the 1700s? When was content marketing first used in England? These were the questions I was asking as I set off on my quest to find the earliest example of British content marketing. 

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York Women Mean Business Award Winner

Stonkingly Good – York Women Mean Business Celebration Award Winner

Back in November we celebrated the York Women Mean Business awards. You might remember me blogging about being shortlisted for an award. The YWMB Facebook group had now grown to over a thousand members and 36 amazing ladies were shortlisted for awards on the night.

I was looking forward to a night of celebration, cheering on fellow nominees and dancing the night away. I was proud to be shortlisted and knew I was up against some tough competition – there are some fabulous business women in this group!

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Are you making the most of your Facebook page?

We all think we know how to use Facebook, I mean according to the latest stats on average we are checking Facebook 14 times a day! We’re posting on our Facebook pages and the Facebook algorithm controls who sees you posts, how often and how many times. So what else can we do to make more of an impact with those people who are finding our Facebook pages?

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8 reasons to be on LinkedIn

8 Reasons to be on LinkedIn

(that have nothing to do with job hunting)

LinkedIn in is often touted as a ‘Facebook for professionals’ and we often feel like it’s just another social platform to produce content for. Or we neglect it completely until it’s time to start looking for a new job. Of course LinkedIn is a great tool for hiring people and can be useful for freelances or service providers looking for new projects.

I've been on LinkedIn since 2005 - I hadn't realised how long I'd been a LinkedIn user for! In fact I joined LinkedIn before Facebook or Twitter and whilst it wasn't the first social network I joined, it's the one that's still around (who remembers My Space, Face Party and Friends Reunited?!). I remember joining to stay in touch with friends from my year abroad at a French business school and my network was instantly global - way beyond the backyard reach of Friends Reunited. Plus I could keep up to date with all my geeky passions for business and marketing in a way that wasn't yet available on other social networks. So after 12 years on LinkedIn here are my 8 reasons why small business owners should be on LinkedIn that have nothing to do with recruitment.

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How to Create Content that Connects and Converts

Be yourself… be real… be authentic… be consistent

I’ve heard this so many times that I wasn’t surprised when we covered this in a Content Camp workshop I attended last year. I didn’t want to repeat it in a blog post because I thought it was too mundane, too obvious. Everyone already knows this right?

But maybe you don’t. Maybe I’ve only heard it so often because I work in marketing and consume content as if it were wine in my spare time. Maybe you haven’t heard it all before, because you are too busy running your business to be hanging out on webinars and Twitter chats. Maybe you know it but you’re still grateful for the reminder.

And you haven’t heard what being yourself, being real, being authentic and being consistent means to me. Plus I have a bonus tip on making your content findable – because what’s the point in having great content if no one can find it! So read on to learn more about how being your authentic self can help you create content that connects with your audience and makes then take action (that’s the conversion).

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How to choose which York Business Week Event to go to?

York Business Week 14-17 November 2016

Businesses in the city of York have come together to inspire, grow and celebrate with a programme of events, workshops and online trainings throughout the week. And there is a great selection of marketing events, so if you are looking for support when it comes to marketing your business, whether it’s social media, marketing strategy, marketing tools or seo then there is an event for you this week!

But with 9 marketing events going on, how do you choose the right one for you and your business?

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How to make a phone number a clickable link

Yesterday I was making dinner plans and browsing websites on my mobile, one of the sites had a clickable phone number, which when clicked opened up the number in my phone ready to call – easy peasy. The other didn’t and I ended up reading out the number to my mum to put in her phone to then read back to me to put in my phone to make the call. Slightly trickier.

It didn’t put me off calling and booking but the experience wasn’t great. Do you make it a seamless experience for your customers to contact you? You probably have a contact page, and an email address, and maybe a contact form people can fill in while they are on your site without having to open up their emails. And you probably advertise your phone number on your website too right?

But is it click to call phone number? When you click on your phone number from a mobile device does it open up the call log with the number ready to dial?

No? Then read on..
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