Blog entries

Getting People to your Facebook Fan Page

Candice — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0100

With 800 Million users already registered, Facebook is the premier social media website. With this opportunity to reach prospective clients, many businesses are creating Facebook pages to promote their products and services and build their social media presence. If you’re thinking of joining the ranks of these Facebook entrepreneurs, remember the golden rule: your page is only as good as the number of visitors it attracts.
Make your page magnetic

If you want your Facebook pagRead More...

Making Twitter Work for Your Business

Candice — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Many business owners become frustrated when their twitter presence doesn’t yield the results they were hoping for. Even if you tweet regularly, you’ll need a twitter plan – a strategy that includes writing monthly tweets in advance - in order to harness the power of this social media tool.

What are the benefits of a tweet plan?

Planning your tweets in advance has several benefits, especially as a business owner. Firstly, it brands your presence on twitter soRead More...

Why Businesses Struggle With Social Media

Candice — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Social media marketing is the new frontier for businesses looking to attract new clients and make more sales by harnessing the power of the internet. Gone are the days when it was enough to have a simple ad on a search engine or place your website on an online directory – today’s online user must be approached through social media, and that is a challenge in itself.

Standing out from the crowd

The realm of social media is a crowded place. With millions of users onRead More...

Measuring the Effectiveness of a Content Strategy

Candice — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0100

The benefits of a well-planned content strategy can range from an enhanced brand identity to tangible increases in leads and sales. On the other hand, up to 95% of blogs on the internet are abandoned eventually, probably because they are seen as not being effective enough.

How can businesses measure the effectiveness of their content strategies? Here are a few useful tools that will allow businesses of all sizes to gauge the effectiveness of their internet marketing efforts:

Read More...

Just what is ‘compelling’ copy?

Candice — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Writing ‘compelling’ copy is one of the trademarks of any good copywriter. By compelling your readers, you are encouraging them to act, convincing them of the value of something (usually a product or service), and informing them in an entertaining way – without ever being pushy. If this is your goal as a writer, here is a great tip – don’t write for a demographic, write for a person.

Persuading the Individual

Every business has a target markRead More...

What exactly does ‘fair use’ mean when it comes to online content?

Candice — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0100

Using copyright material without permission is one of the mistakes copywriters try to avoid the most. While it’s understandable that copyright holders should be protected by the law, we often don’t realise that there is a wealth of material we are permitted to use – as long as we credit the copyright holder. This is known as ‘fair use’.

In the words of internet marketing guru Seth Godin, “copyright is not an absolute. Potato chips are an absoluteRead More...

SEO Strategies – Out With the Old

Candice — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0100

There was a time when SEO strategy was clear-cut. A domain name rich in keywords, templated page designs and lots of good anchor text was the first step. The site would then be included in as many web directories as possible, and also mentioned in blogs and social media platforms to draw visitors. This formula worked quite well for a lot of SEO entrepreneurs until earlier this year when Google Panda – the updated search algorithm - came on the scene.

Life after Panda

BeRead More...

What makes a good link?

Candice — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0100

The internet is a big place, and many of us make our way through this vast sea of information by clicking on relevant or interesting links. This way of ‘getting around’ the web is extremely useful when you don’t have specific site or category in mind that you could type into a search engine. A good link draws new visitors to a website and can be one of the most valuable SEO tools – but what makes it good?

It’s all about relevance

With Read More...

The Future of Websites

Candice — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0100

If you’re a long-time internet user, think back 5 or 10 years to the sites you used the most in those days – chances are you don’t visit most of them anymore. The websites you do still visit probably include search engines, email sites, or a favourite news or blog site that keeps drawing you back. This simple exercise makes one fact very clear: the sites we keep visiting are the ones that are simple, useful, fast, portable, and have a strong human element.

Future-ProofRead More...

Email Marketing: What Lies Ahead?

Candice — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Before the days of the internet, there was email. As the web has developed, especially with the popularity of sophisticated social media tools, some internet marketing professionals have questioned the power of email to carry a brand message or attract users to a website. Could email be a thing of the past, best left out when developing your SEO strategy? Not quite.

The Ongoing Popularity of Email

Like many basic products and services, email remains popular even as more Read More...

The Future Role of Content in SEO

Candice — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Many SEO specialists and writers alike will be familiar with the old saying, ‘content is king’. For a long time this approach to SEO has yielding great results, drawing internet traffic and rankings to sites which are carefully designed and contain excellent content. However, with the new Google Panda update and the rise of new search types (personal, social, and local to name just three),the SEO landscape appears to be changing – how do we keep up?

Google UnleashRead More...

Facebook or Google+?

Candice — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Since its launch in February 2004, Facebook rapidly overtook its competitors to become the internet’s most popular and commercially valuable social media site. Today, with over 800 million users, it has become an essential platform for internet marketing as well. The new F8 upgrade, which replaces the traditional facebook page with a timeline, promises to take the site to a new level of functionality.

Recognising the success of Facebook as an internet phenomenon and not to be outdRead More...

How to Beat Writer’s Block

Candice — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Ask any writer what his or her greatest challenge is and you’ll probably get the same answer: writer’s block.

If you sometimes feel a little apprehensive looking at a blank page or computer screen, you aren’t alone. In fact, difficulty in starting a piece of writing is one of the three most common problems that all writers face. After starting the piece, the other two challenges are writing the body without too much waffle and ending the piece correctly.

EacRead More...

How to Give Your Social Media Campaign a New Spark

Candice — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Do you sometimes feel like your social media presence isn’t bringing you the results you’d like? Maybe you started out with a lot of interest and activity that has dwindled, or you may feel that your campaign lacks focus and isn’t attracting the kind of attention you’d like. Whatever the cause of your social media plateau, there are a few easy-to-implement ways of resolving it:

Who are you following and who’s following you?

One of the best wRead More...

Should I Launch an Incomplete Website?

Candice — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0100

The process of designing and launching a website can be long and sometimes quite challenging. Especially if your site requires a number of photo uploads and e-commerce functionality, you may be considering launching it without some features and adding them over time.

Then again, you wouldn’t want your site to look unprofessional. This brings you to a crossroads: either you launch the site as-is or face delays that could affect your website’s authority. What is the besRead More...

Optimising Your Social Media Profile with IFTTT

Candice — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:00:00 +0100

The power of social media to carry a marketing message is now being harnessed by businesses around the globe. From Facebook pages to Twitter feeds and many more specialised applications, social media networks are changing the definition of “word of mouth” as prospective clients are made aware of new products and service providers through a whole new marketing channel.

With the variety of social media platforms on the internet and the time needed to create and monitor a compRead More...

The Secrets of Good Copywriting

Candice — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Any effective internet marketing campaign must rely on quality content that informs and excites clients, serving their need for useful information while carrying the marketing message effectively.

For copywriters, achieving this balance is a delicate and often difficult task but one that can be made simple and easy by using a few basic guidelines:

It’s all in the headline
Studies show that the average internet user scans website content looking for interesting headingRead More...

Marketing Your Next Event on Facebook

Candice — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:00:00 +0100

If you’re planning an event in the near future and looking for a unique and effective way of marketing it, look no further than Facebook. Every day, millions of users log on to Facebook and among them are a lot of potential guests who may be interested in your event. Whether you have a guest list in mind or are focussed in sparking interest for a public event, Facebook may be the perfect way to spread the word.

Getting Started
First of all, you’ll need to create Read More...

Customer Reviews: How Your Business Can Benefit

Candice — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Recent trends in customer behaviour show that people are opting to buy from local businesses, using the internet to find an appropriate company and relying on customer reviews to make their final buying decision.

Whether you own a restaurant or café, a laundry business, a B&B, or deliver specialised products like wines and chocolates to your clients’ doors, now is the time to establish your presence on the internet. You can also make sure the reviews your businesRead More...

Does following = attention?

Candice — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Whether you use Twitter for business or personal use, you may be pleasantly surprised at the number of people following you. Even if your Tweets are reaching hundreds of followers you should be asking the simple question: “Are they really paying attention to what I say?”

If you are a business owner who is exploring online marketing as a tool to generate new business or communicate with existing clients, you may be familiar with Twitter’s valuable role which compRead More...