Piper Blog

Websites To Suit Small Budget

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:02:00 GMT

Websites To Suit Small Budget

We have bottled up all the "good stuff" to create some seriously clever designs that will turbo charge your leads and grow your list of contacts. From a marketing point of view, they pack a serious punch.

Below are examples of how our marketing savvy templates have worked wonderfully for some of our clients.

Marketing Savvy Template Design

Client: Peregian Beach Beach

Marketing Savvy Template Design

Client: Reef Accountants

Marketing Savvy Template Design

Client: AML Property Inspections

Marketing Savvy Template Design

Client: Dobbrick Financial Services

For more information on our marketing savvy packages including eCommerce, contact us today and one of our friendly consultants will be in touch.

How your business can use Pinterest

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:08:00 GMT

How your business can use Pinterest

If there’s one truth in the new digital world, it’s that if you’re feeling comfortable with the technology you’re using, you’ve probably missed the next big thing (or two). Just as we are settling in with our facebook and twitter accounts, using our LinkedIn Profiles and contemplating the possible merits of Google +, a powerhouse newcomer, Pinterest, has hit the headlines.

Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) has taken the familiar bedroom pin up board and taken into the digital age. It is a virtual pinboard site which ‘let’s you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.” From weddings, to home decor, renovations, hairstyles and recipes you can pin what inspires you, or find inspiration. Browsing other pinboards connects ‘admirers’ and makes this a very powerful space for social connection.

Growth has been phenomenal. Having only launched in 2010, in the US there are now some 18 million users. Even Barak Obama is on board. Australian take up is growing rapidly with weekly site visits growing by 500,000 since December 2011. Multinational Kimberley-Clark just launched it’s first pinterest campaign, linking in to it’s “Love your Forests” promotion. Members can share and compile sustainable household tips through pinterest.

While pinterest is an addictive must for the design-lover in all of us, there are some great ways businesses can use pinterest in digital marketing activity - particularly for marketing research.

First and foremost is a great tool for cost effective social listening. Pinterest can be used to see what inspires customers - which ‘pinners’ have the most follower and what items are being actively ‘re-pinned’. ‘Pinning’ - isn’t it amazing how one new website can create a whole new marketing vernacular?

Secondly, you can include a pinterest link on your website so browsers or customers can instantly pin items from your site. See which tops, style, pictures, facts get pinned from your collection. This is a good indication of what will be a great seller and may warrant an extra promotion or a campaign. And vice versa, create a board of a current season ‘look book’ and see what traction you get in the pinterest site itself.

Thirdly, the gift section in pinterest is a great view into what’s can be purchased. See what new products are on the market. Any new design innovations or thoughts can be incorporated into your product offering. Pinterest acts as inexpensive global virtual tradeshow.

If you would like to know more about Pinterest or social media marketing, please contact us.

Mani Sahihi
Account Director
Piper Digital Marketing

The Pinterest Social Media Sensation

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:49:00 GMT

The Pinterest Social Media Sensation

Pinterest (www.pinterest.com), an online social media platform has become increasingly popular in the last year, and at the rate it is going could end up as successful as Facebook. Launched in March 2010, the site has been deemed the fastest in history to exceed the ten million unique visitor mark.

What began as a digital scrapbook - Pinterest now highlights emerging trends and consumer’s wants and desires. Members share images creating themed boards to “pin” pictures to, whilst other Pinterest members browse pinboards for inspiration. Members can comment and “re-pin” images to their own collections. As well as images, members can pin videos, participate in online discussion groups, and purchase gifts.

Retail companies are already anticipating the business opportunities generated by Pinterest. The site not only showcases your products it can be used as a platform that reinforces and distributes your brand messages.

As Pinterest continues to grow so do the marketing opportunities. The team at Martha Stewart Living have encapsulated the Martha Stewart brand through Pinterest perfectly. The brand’s personality is strong, bright and colourful which is reflected in the pinboard they have created.

The Martha Stewart brand has evolved into many categories yet continues to reflect a sought-after lifestyle. Recipes are as popular as ever with Martha Stewart’s Baking and Desserts pinboard having 51,328 followers.

Members can connect to the Martha Stewart website in order to purchase products, by clicking on the pinned images.

If you are looking for a way to express the personality of your brand, promote your products and drive traffic to your website... then Pinterest is your answer!

Next week, Im going to look at some amazing Pinterest campaigns that you can easily do in your own business.

Natalie Fuller
Production Manager
Piper Digital Marketing

Proud as punch! New sites launched!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:35:00 GMT

Proud as punch! New sites launched!

It’s like a proud parent that we post links to two of our newly launched websites:
Suncoast Cabs www.suncoastcabs.com.au and Bruce Lemcke Engineering www.lemckeeng.com.au.

Suncoast Cabs is a fabulous example of a website that connects with the consumer. The phone number is prominent, there are clear booking options on the home page and lots of additional information which is really helpful to customers. Did you know that there are $2 cab fares for people over 60? And free cabs for veterans? The site also strongly connects the drivers to the business and works hard to raises their profile. Check out the cab driver wisdom – some inspired cabbies out there! But perhaps the most powerful part is the engine behind the site… the secure driver’s lounge allows drivers to request shifts and automates much of the admin function. A great example of synergy where a website meets operational and consumer goals.

With Bruce Lemcke Engineering we are excited to take a routine engineering site from a ‘list of services’ to a fabulous site with a clear set of brand benefits. They are not just doing “structural engineering” – but ‘shortening your construction time’ and ‘using less materials’. This site proves there are ways to connect better with your audience and set you apart from your competitors.

Why not take a few minutes to check out our new sites. We are always proud as punch when a new PiperDM site launches.

Like to know more? Contact PiperDM.

Mani Sahihi, Account Director
Piper Digital Marketing

Can banking get any easier?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:55:00 GMT

Can banking get any easier?

We live in a world of convenience. Almost everything to do with our daily living can be done by a tap or a swipe of our finger. From shopping online, booking a taxi, ordering pizza, buying your groceries and using GPS to find your way – convenience as proven over and over again is key to a winning product.

Now it seems, convenience has gone to a new level, at least in the world of banking.

Introducing Kaching (pronounced Ka-Ching), the Commonwealth Bank’s newest banking app and a world first!

(Image Source: Commonwealth Bank)

Kaching allows Commonwealth Bank customers to transfer money to anyone on their iPhone contact list, Facebook friend list or Email contact list… and the brilliant thing about it is you don’t even have to know their bank account details!!

It’s as simple as logging in, selecting your friend’s phone number, adding the amount and tapping Pay. Your friend receives a message and email and all they have to do is approve the transfer within 14 days. It's only available to Commonwealth customers, but it won't be long before other banks begin releasing similar apps.

(Image Source: Commonwealth Bank)

To see how it works, click to watch the video.

Ree Fletcher, Admin & Accounts
Piper Digital Marketing

The changing landscape of Retail

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:38:00 GMT

The changing landscape of Retail

During these latest holidays it was well and truly confirmed to me that the retail landscape has changed.

…I got a heavily discounted family pass to take the kids to Hoyts Cinema – by becoming a fan of Hoyts on facebook. To get a discount on school shoes I became a ‘fusion’ club member and provided my email address for future newsletters and offers. And we dined at a few fabulous restaurants - courtesy of some great buys on Groupon, which had offers too good to refuse. My email inbox seemed to explode with personalized offers to save money, time and try new things.

Of course email marketing isn’t new. Neither are offers, promotions and discounts. They are very much the mainstay of retail activity, but it is apparent that businesses are getting savvy about using methods so that they don’t give away the discounts for ‘free’. They are being ‘paid for’ in the currency of email names and mobile phone numbers. And everyone is doing it.

Traditionally a retailer would advertise “20% off. Now, customers have to provide an email address or a mobile phone number (through facebook likes or club membership) to secure this 20% off. The kicker for the business is that it is cheaper to advertise to the same customer the next time. What has changed significantly is the connection point between the retailer and the customer is happening far earlier in the sales cycle. Ie: Not at the point of redemption, but at the point of the voucher being offered. For the customer, they are quite willing to provide contact information - so long as the offer is truly valuable to them.

So while the methods may have changed, the marketing rules are still the same: Content is king. There must be significant value in the information and offers provided for consumers to accept them. And that is our challenge at PiperDM. To find ways to energise content and maximize the value in the information and messages we create. It has never been more important - as the competitive space for the email inbox is truly heating up.

Mani Sahihi, Account Director
Piper Digital Marketing

Tips when considering Website Renovations

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:55:00 GMT

Tips when considering Website Renovations

Is website redesign one of your business’s New Years Resolutions? Whether its a few tweaks or a major overhaul it is important that you consider the current and future digital landscape, so that your website can achieve the biggest bang for your buck.

When planning your website renovations, here are a few ideas which will ensure your website will hit the mark in 2012.

Content Sharing Features

Social media sharing tools are not an entirely new feature on websites, however as it is very important that you integrate content sharing tools through your website strategically. These days when browsing a website, whether they are shopping or looking for information, users need to be able to easily share the content they find interesting with their networks, often to gain feedback on a purchase or a decision they would like to make.

Community Features

Just as people seek out opinions and feedback from friends and other likeminded individuals in the real world, they also do online. Allowing users to discuss your product or service online via discussion forums or giving users the ability to make comments in blog post or products on your website will greatly enhance your capacity to win over prospective and loyal customers.

Mobile Integration

In 2012 mobile will play an increasingly important role in the customer journey as more and more people use mobile devises to browse the internet. Depending on how users interact with your website, you may need to consider building a mobile website which is separate from your traditional desktop website. Or you may need to change your traditional desktop website so that it is more mobile friendly.

SEO

How easy is it for users to find your product or service online? If a user can’t find you it is likely they are finding your competitors. Search Engine Optimisation is a very complicated process (last year Google altered their search algorithm more than 400 times) so it is important to work with a reputable SEO company that has a proven track record for success. Make sure that the SEO company you work with has a strategy for how they will ensure your website remains competitive. Also ask you agency what role does social content, especially blogging play in their SEO strategy for your site.

Most importantly, when considering a website revamp ensure that any changes you make integrate with your marketing plans for the future. If you would like to talk to one of our marketing specialists about improving your website for the new year please call us 07 5440 5148 or email info@piperdm.com.

Natalie Fuller
Production Manager, Piper Digital Marketing

DIGITAL TRENDS 2012

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:16:00 GMT

DIGITAL TRENDS 2012

2012! Viva la Revolución! The digital marketing revolution continues strongly, changing our lives forever. Here are my predictions for what to look out for in 2012.

Slow Death of the Mouse and Keyboard

With explosion of tablets and smart phones that require us to touch the screen to navigate and access information, touch is now moving into computers. We are seeing the arrival of touch gestures already, like on the track pad in Mac OS X Lion, and soon it will graduate to touch gestures directly on the screen. This has influenced media with an insurgence of news aggregator sites like Flipboard which are based on the magazine experience. Flipboard aggregates the content of your social networks and other websites and presents them to you in a magazine like format on the ipad.

Ecommerce

E-commerce will continue to boom in 2012 therefore we will see exponential increase in the number of SMBs appreciating the necessity for an online channel and developing their own online stores. SMBs already using e-commerce will adopt the more marketing savvy practices of the larger companies like, transparent user reviews, the ability see a product in a video and click and buy, and mobile commerce.

Mobility
Due to an escalating take up of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets, 2012 will see an explosion in online magazines presenting through magazine apps. Popularity of ebooks, tablet viewed TV and movies will also increase. This presents news opportunities for advertising.

Second Screen Experiences while you watch TV
We now tend to have our tablets or smart phones on and in hand while watching TV, so companies are creating apps for you to download so you can interact and further engage with the show. These apps will normally use the sound from the TV to trigger elements on your second screen like related photo galleries, polls,or interactive content where you can learn more about something in the show.

APP Marketing
Companies are really appreciating the marketing potential with distribution channel of apps.We are seeing companies not only developing their own super creative apps, but we are seeing companies partnering with some of the most popular apps to feature their product their product within their app. HTML5 has made it cheaper for this cross platform development so expect to see an explosion as apps development become more affordable.

Facebook & F-Commerce
With more then 1 billion people set to be using Facebook by the end of 2012, its no wonder FB is high on the lists as a marketing channel for most companies. 2012 will see an exponential increase in company pages as well the use of Facebook apps, like sweepstakes apps, to grow their fan base, communicate corporate messages and drive sales. It is believed that 50% of sales will be transacted through social media and mobile applications by 2015. Although F-commerce had a disappointing uptake in 2011, expect to see it move in 2012, with either Facebook Initiated Selling or Complete Selling through Facebook.

Near Field Communication (NFC)
This is a technology that allows us to transfer data from our smart phones to a terminal device through simply having it in close proximity. Therefore by simply holding our phone near a paypass terminal we can use our phones as our wallet to pay via our credit card for goods and services. Our phones could also become our passport, our boarding passes, or stadium entry tickets. A simple wave/swipe and off you go.

Touch base soon!
Dena Dillon
Director, Piper Digital Marketing

For fashion retailer Habbot Studios, Piper Digital Marketing's online PR is the new black.

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:52:00 GMT

Habbot Studios, an online Australian retailer of designer shoes, has recently found a way to defy current retail gloom with a highly successful campaign using the support of icon fashion blogger Karen Cheng.

The campaign, devised and implemented by Noosa digital agency Piper Digital Marketing, incorporated a review by Karen on her blog and a competition to win a pair of shoes of their choosing - based on liking Habbot Studios on Facebook.

The review and the competition appeared on August 2 on Karen Cheng’s Fashion and Life. On August 3, Australia’s retail figures posted their worst results for half a century. The same day, Habbot posted a 642% increase in traffic to their site. A week later, Habbot’s facebook likes had risen by 433% and subscriptions to their e-newsletter doubled. Commentary and interaction on the Habbot facebook page & website exploded, providing a huge new group of Habbot enthusiasts and customers.

Dena Dillon, Director of PiperDM, highlights the benefits of adopting digital strategies in the marketing mix. With “trading conditions and competition so tough at the moment, businesses need to look at innovative ways to reach and engage new customers. In the fashion world, respected online blogs like those of Karen Cheng are the new hotspots for keen fashion enthusiasts. It provides razor-sharp targeted marketing other media finds almost impossible to match.”

Habbot followed up the competition with an exclusive Facebook offer for unsuccessful entrants - offering free shipping if they chose to purchase the shoes they had selected as their potential prize.

Take up, literally, took off.

By participating in the competition entrants had fallen in love with a pair of shoes already. The offer of free shipping was a small reward for participating and a great trigger to purchase. In one week following the final draw, the dollar value of sales for Habbot Studios increased by 385%.

Ross Gittins, senior columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, recently wrote the “Internet’s ability to disrupt and benefit has only just begun”. Habbot’s success with a strategic digital marketing campaign clearly demonstrates the benefit of the internet for small business and certainly shows its ability to disrupt traditional marketing thinking.

Not only did the online PR generate a huge spike in interest for Habbot which genuinely translated into sales, it opened new geographic boundaries. Many of the entrants and purchasers were from Singapore and Hong Kong. Perhaps this is another reason why Habbot were able in August to defy the prevailing Australian retail gloom.

Online PR and social media have certainly become the new black for Habbot Studios when it comes to integrated marketing campaigns. Dena Dillon suggests “for other questioning retailers, digital marketing may also be the new black... to help businesses drive sales to be in the black.”

3 Tips for Business Growth 2011

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:51:00 GMT

With the new year comes new opportunities for small to medium businesses to thrive. With advancements in internet technology, a small business can achieve big business goals. The trick is by combining traditional golden rules of marketing, with new online strategies.

These 3 tips will help you boost sales in the short term, while in the long term build a strong profitable business that will continue to flourish.

1. Focus on keeping your existing customers - build customer loyalty

It will always cost more money to find new customers, than to keep your existing customers. This year instead of fighting to constantly bring on board new business, why not take a moment to see what you can do to keep your existing customers coming back. Show your existing customers that you appreciate their ongoing commitment to you business by:

- Rewarding loyal customers with discounts, incentives and members cards

- Throwing special VIP events

- Give great customer service, so it is a pleasure to deal with your business

- Keep in contact via email marketing, sms campaign or direct marketing so you stay at the front of your customers mind.

- Encourage and reward your existing customers for referring their friends and family to your business

2. Push Sales Online

A website presence is a relatively low-cost way for a small business to punch above its weight. In fact, The MYOB Business Monitor found that three in 10 businesses with a website increased revenue in the past year, compared with 23 per cent without a website.

A Study from eBay Advertising shows that 88% of shoppers plan to research online before buying, and a whopping 85% of consumers intend to maintain or increase their online shopping this year.

More and more shoppers are moving their shopping habits online, and if they can’t find your business and products easily then they are likely to purchase from your competitors. There is so much that can be done online, book a free consultation for some ideas and advice.

3. Leverage from your customer database

Databases are gold for businesses - every person that comes into contact with your business whether online or offline should go into your database. However a database must be maintained and cleaned in order to yield leads and sales. Ideally all of your customer data should be stored in the one place, using a special database software called a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM). Once you have an organised database it will be the working horse of your business, helping you keep in contact with your customers, reminding you to follow up leads, and showing you new opportunities for cross-selling your products.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, for more ideas on how to grow your business in 2011, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook.

Have a great weekend!
Nat

Sources:
http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/4939-outlook-for-online-retail-is-bright-this-christmas-survey
Shoppers flock to online retailers | Courier Mail http://www.couriermail.com.au/

Online Dating for your Brand

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:28:00 GMT

It surprised me this morning when I began to write this blog about online branding… that it is very similar to online dating. For the sake of explaining this point lets think of your brand as a single female, called Miss B looking to meet her Mr Right.

Miss B has been in the online dating scene for a few years now, and yet she is still failing to meet the right man.

Aside from the many things she could be doing to meet Mr Right – the main reason why she is still single comes down to the profile (brand) she has created for herself online. From experience, if a brand is not performing online: if sales targets are not being met or if you are failing to increase leads – then there is probably something wrong with how your are presenting yourself to your target market (either through your website, or other communication channels like Facebook and Twitter).

The good news for Miss B and your brand is that in only a few steps you can have qualified prospects banging down your door.

1. Position yourself with strategic headlines and calls to action

One of the biggest mistakes Miss B made was to try and attract every single man she was able to find. This led to her spending hours and hours talking to prospects that did not meet her criteria. The same goes for your brand. Why waste your time dealing with prospects that are not interested in your product or service, and will never convert into a customer?

To attract the right type of prospect you must use strategic headlines, content targeted to your market and calls to action that will ensure only compatible and qualified prospects come knocking.

2. Show prospects that you are a risk-free purchase

To find Mr Right, you must first show him that you are future wife material and not some crazy lady who might one day burn down his house. The same can be said for prospective customers.

A well-presented brand will have a profile/website that gives users a sense that they are in good hands. Testimonials, clear and informative content, good images, fantastic customer service all help in increasing a company’s brand loyalty and repeat sales. Prospects need to feel safe coming to you and making a purchase.

3. Put your game face on

Logging in late at night…. Lurking…. Never updating your content… Being sloppy in replying to enquiries…. These are sure-fire ways to NOT find the right prospects.

In order to attract your brand’s Mr Right you need to be there in the action… engaging with prospects with information they are interested in… keeping the content on your site new and fresh…. Replying to enquiries and following up prospects.

Whether you are online dating or trying to woo customers to make a purchase in your online store – don’t forget these simple steps to ensure a long and happy relationship with your brand’s Mr Rights.

How to write a successful newsletter

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:50:00 GMT

Writing a newsletter can be just a time consuming as maintaining a blog. It’s also just as challenging - you have to give your reader value, behave sociably, try not to sell forcefully and on top of all that, you have to be interesting.

That’s no small feat.

This list details some important things to remember when you’re writing your newsletter.

Give readers news

Your recipient has signed up to receive a newsletter, not to receive mountains of promotional copy. Don’t abuse their trust in your brand by spamming them silly, you’ll never win them back.

Of course your newsletter can contain marketing, but it also needs to give the recipient value. Offer industry news, views and analysis, give them discounts, link to blog posts and include interesting things that are relevant to your sector.

It’s a good idea to sign up to your competitors newsletters too, so that you can see the kinds of subjects they are covering and keep ahead.

Test your message

Don’t just spray and pray, run tests of your email before you send it. By sending test groups different versions of your newsletter, you can dramatically increase open and click through rates by refining your copy. Same goes for subject lines.

Be realistic

If you have grand plans to send out a newsletter every week or more, then you need an appropriately sized team to write it, test it, analyse it and make it a success.

It’s also important to be realistic about how many emails your recipients will be happy to get. Perhaps city investors will be happy to receive a daily newsletter, but foodies signed up to a supermarket newsletter will only want an email every week at the most. Send too many and you’ll become a spammer, no matter how fantastic the content.

Target your readers

What do you know about your recipients? If you just have their email addresses then there isn’t much you can do, but if you know things such as their age, sex, family status etc, then you can really target your content.

Writing different content for different groups is more time consuming, but it’s also more effective.

Make it easy to opt out

The difference between your newsletter and spam is that you are email by consent. The only way to maintain that consent is by making it easy for them to opt out - and trusting decent content to make sure they don’t.

Always include an easy-to-find ‘unsubscribe’ button and don’t make them jump through hoops to get themselves off your list.

Thanks for reading!

Natalie Fuller
Production Manager

Inspired by: econsultancy.com

Five Branding Myths Shattered

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:37:00 GMT

When people think of branding, they often think of just a logo, or a business card. Or they think of the opposite of the extreme, such as Microsoft or Nike, and assume they will never have the budget to ‘brand effectively’.

However, great branding is easily attainable if you put the right thought and effort into it! Dispelling common branding myths is the key to starting that process and transforming your business.

Myth No. 1: Branding is hard

Branding isn’t rocket science, it just requires focused thought about what you want your business to stand for, and then a communication of that message visually and experientially.

There are steps to follow in building a good brand strategy, but once it’s built, you are never ‘done’. You need to be constantly vigilant and check your materials, business practices and customer service to ensure your brand is clear and consistent.

Myth No. 2: Branding is expensive

Good news, effective branding can be done on any budget! The real key to effective branding is making sure you have defined - in detail - your ideal audience and that your business messages speak directly to their needs and the benefits they value.

Once that’s done, you can work more effectively with a designer to determine your logo or website experience to craft your website messaging.

It’s not how much money you spend promoting your brand, but clarity and consistency in messaging (visual and verbal) is what makes that brand effective and creates fans. So if you can only spend $200 on a logo, you can still ensure that it communicates exactly what you want, to who you want to reach.

Myth No. 3: Branding is just fluff

Brand equity can make or break a company. Just think of private-equity firms that “buy” brands for millions of dollars, all for the brand cachet or loyal customer base.

That’s the reason people will pay three times as much for a white t-shirt at David Jones than they would at Target. Brand translates into bottom-line sales when done effectively.

Myth No. 4: All designers are the same

All designers and branding firms are not the same. Although you can save money by thinking through a brand strategy on your own, before you engage with a designer on communicating anything visually, some designers get it and some don’t.

For example, if you are talking to a designer who does not ask you who your target audience is, or what you are trying to convey to them through your visual elements - and only asks what colours or concepts you like - run the other way!
Though you might only spend $100 on a designer and think it’s a bargain, you will lose much more in sales and customers by not communicating the right message visually.

Myth No. 5: Branding works immediately

People need to experience your brand multiple times before it sticks. You need to have it out there, present in all your customer touch points, before deciding whether it works.

Branding is about awareness and “mindshare” - the spaces you occupy in people’s minds when they see your logo or hear your name. That takes time to build. The Nike swoosh had no meaning during the first three months after it was introduced.

Yes, if you get feedback that things are not working, you should make changes, but hopefully you will have put the up-front thought and effort into the brand strategy and messaging before implementing it, so that only slight tweaks are required.

Chat to you soon,

Emma Baker
Marketing Assistant

Inspired by: marketingprofs.com

Check out more PiperDM blogs on Facebook

Five ways to use Facebook to advertise your business

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:31:00 GMT

An earlier blog post of ours ran through how to set up a Facebook page for your business. But what’s the point of having a Facebook page if it isn’t doing anything for your company? This blog post will give you some handy tips and tricks on how to make the most of it.

Promote your page offsite

It’s a lot easier for your clients to find you online with a little support. Add a ‘Find us on Facebook’ button to your website, email marketing communications, and even printed material like brochures.

Having a Facebook page shows that your brand is modern, personable and interactive. So even if your clients don’t bother looking you up, they may be left with a better impression of your brand.

Make your page interesting

What are you going to do with your Facebook page? You can put whatever you want on there - you can post exclusive online deals, links to blogs, competitions, even pictures of your products.

The content you add allows your fans to have something to interact with, and they see your brand in their news feeds, building brand awareness.

Make sure you have a clear content strategy before you start building the page, otherwise you could be suddenly left scrambling for something to say!

Give your fans exclusives

If someone has updated their Facebook page to share with their friends that they like your brand, you should reward them. Give them exclusive deals, sneak previews of new products, discounts - special offers to show you appreciate their support.

Make your content easy to share

Do you have a blog on your website? Linking works both ways, you shouldn’t just be driving people to your site through Facebook.

It’s a good idea to give people the opportunity to alert their Facebook friends to interesting content on your website. Add a button allowing people to share the article on Facebook, as well as Tweet it, Digg it, Buzz it, or whichever your social platforms of choice are.

Remember, make it as easy as possible for people to spread your brand message.

Use Facebook analytics

You’ve now created a Facebook page, added content, acquired some fans, and now you need to monitor the success of your page. Facebook’s analytics tools allow you to see what kind of content works best for you.
Once you’ve created a page, you can access this information, through Facebook Insights. This lets you see how people are interacting with your content, what demographics they belong to, how many people have signed up or unsubscribed.

Make the most of this information, it’s free and will help guide your Facebook strategy.

Talk to you again,

Natalie Fuller
Production Manager

Inspired by: marketingprofs.com

For more PiperDM blogs, check out our Facebook

See your business with a fresh perspective

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:07:00 GMT

I was recently reading a blog about how easy it is for business owners to get caught up in the day to day tasks of running a business, so much so that they forget why they started their business in the first place.

Owning a business can be a fulfilling experience, however owners need to stay connected to the heart of their business in order to build an enterprise that will serve them, their employees and their customers.

The post provided some great steps on how business owners can reconnect and see their business with a fresh perspective. Here are a few....

Why are you doing this?

Why did you start your business in the first place? What higher purpose does it serve in your life? Think about ways you could incorporate this authentic driving factor into the branding of your business...

What are you here to give?

The ability to create value for customers is a great advantage for any small business. By looking at how much your business can give rather than receive, you will be able to spot innovations that could allow you to create valuable products and services that give you a one up on the competition.

What do you want people to experience?

Prospects and customers are growing to expect much more in terms of engagement - the recent popularity of social media is a fine example of this. Instead of chasing leads, companies that invest time in creating a better, more engaging customer experience will find all of their leads come from their existing customers. Look at your business from the eyes of the customer and think what would you want?

What are you meant to learn from this?

When you meet challenges or setbacks in business, it is quite natural to get caught up in what went wrong. The much more positive approach is to look at every turn in the road as a lesson. This will help you take meaning from setbacks and give you insight into overcoming challenges in the future.

I hope these questions will help you drive deeper into understanding how to build your business. Feel free to share any questions or techniques you use to stay connected.

Chat soon,

Nat
Production Manager at PiperDM

Inspired by http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/