Business Biscotti Blog

There are more than enough companies providing advice on the engagement side of Social Media, setting up your Twitter account, your facebook page or your Linkedin profile. What many businesses are less aware of are the opportunites these Social Media platforms offer in highly targeted advertising.

There are more than enough companies providing advice on the engagement side of Social Media, setting up your Twitter account, your facebook page or your Linkedin profile. What many businesses are less aware of are the opportunites these Social Media platforms offer in highly targeted advertising.

These are usually on a Pay Per Click basis and while this explains how you pay for visitors, it should not be confused with PPC such as Google Adwords as these are two very different uses of PPC. In this case there is no search involved and (generally speaking) no keywords to trigger the ad. Instead you choose a demographic audience using the information these platforms have about their users to run a campaign that only shows to your target audience.

The better you can define that target audience (and it could be a B2C or B2B audience), the better this type of campaign could work for your business. So, for example if you supply services to the hotel and leisure industry, and you know that typically your clients woulod work in this sector and have a job title of either 'General Manager' or 'Operations Manager' then you create a campaign to show ads only to the right companies and the decision makers within those companies.

You may further limit your campaign by geographical location and company size, depending on your requried audience. Aside from a campaign spend based on results (PPC), you can get some great brand awareness in your target market sectors for vitrually nothing.

Whilst search marketing is perhaps more likely to produce volume sales and is something all businesses should explore first. Ad campaigns on Social Media are pro-active and can (especially if used in conjunction with an attractive offer or news relevant to that audience) stimulate sales rather than just recting to demand.

If you'd like to discuss how this might work for your business do feel free to contact me This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dan Smale

01932 789572
www.TheClientFactory.co.uk

1.    What is your particular expertise? What extraordinary talent can you offer and are you making this clear through your actions so that you are seen as a unique talent? Become a ‘talking head’ – known by the press as an approachable  expert and build your reputation through writing and being written about. Be in control of your reputation.

2.    Have your ‘elevator pitch’ ready to be able to express what you do succinctly, but which leads the questioner to want to  know more. Why?  Because you want THEIR interest, it’s not what YOU do. Be in control of how you express your business.

3.    Be indispensable. How? After marking out your differentiation be sure that you can provide more expert knowledge, show your portfolio of satisfied clients, demonstrate and deliver your promise of value, and proactively service your client better than they have ever experienced before. Be in control of added value.

4.    Constantly walk your talk. For example, if you are a network marketer, be  professional and trustworthy, if you are in PR make sure your public profile is immaculate, if you are an accountant, your own records should be in complete order, if you are in IT your emails are answered every day and your website is amazing. Don’t let your own expert brand down. Take control of perception.

5.    Make people’s decisions easy.  When they know why they need your services/products and what it will do for them, help them make their emotional decision through simple processes and proactive actions. Be in control of the processes.

6.    Use your emotional connection with your buyers and the strengths of your own feelings about your work to strengthen the ties between you.  The emotional way you describe the success of challenges you have faced and how you have helped others overcome their own difficulties is more likely to engage your clients. Taking advantage of new technology in video is a great way to do this. Be in control of emotional engagement.

7.    Regularly express your delight and your passion about your work, a negative, worried or offhand approach will never communicate the enthusiasm of an expert. Be in control of great delivery.

8.    Be comprehensive in your description of your content.  We know what we can do, but others may not be aware of all of our expertises. Don’t take their knowledge of you for granted, clarify every point of value. Be in control of clarity.

9.    Not everyone will believe in you. Be prepared for doubtful, sarcastic and even insulting types.  Have a well thought-out and generous rebuttal ready, after all we can’t please all of the people all of the time! Be in control of sincerity.

10.     Don’t stop for a minute developing your own personal brand and marketing ‘brand you’. If you run your own business, if possible use the services of specialists in PR, reputation management and advertising.  Through this you can better control how others are really perceiving you, you will be more aware of what people may be saying when you're not in the room and be able to influence the influencers through being in charge of your personal brand at all times. Be in control of your differentiation.

Tessa Hood

MD Changing Gear Ltd

01932 868868 / 07774 189913

Bad Light - Doesn't Stop You Shooting Good Photographs

 If anyone says you cant do something you just have to prove them wrong! On a wet and cold windy day in February we went to do a wedding shoot in Brighton. We had a window of half an hour when armed with a an old soft top Bentley and a very willing Bride and Groom we went to have fun in the City and on the beach in Brighton.

 Low light requires quick thinking and creativity.  You need to play with your exposure and also consider quick changes in your ISO settings.  In the old days of film you would have loaded the camera with film with ISO ratings of 800, 1600, and the pictures would come out grainy according to the film speed.  Now with digital you can get really good results in low light even up to 1600 ISO.  The shots below were  taken exactly like this in camera  - no photoshop work at all. 

Quick tip - when working in low light you need fast lenses with aperature settings F 1.8 F2.8 and you will get amazing shots.  Dont foregt to keep altering the ISO at all times and consider over and under exposure to get the best results.

This shot was taken in a very dimly lit room on ISO 2000