What’s all the #fuss about?

Everyone is doing it, our behaviour on social media is somewhat skewed to how we would behave off line.  So to start let’s have a bit of fun with this video:

Why do we feel compelled to self-market such things as our relationship status, new clothes, shoes, pets, kids etc. and why do we Like, Share, Feel Sad 🙁 Feel Happy 🙂 and #####! Social media is at the forefront of people’s minds and corporate marketing campaigns and it continues to grow. Some love it and some hate it, and there are even those that make a strong point of refusing to get involved. We are friends with people we haven’t been friends with for years and yet we share so much information, is this good? Or in some circumstances even relevant? Apparently YES! With over 1.23bn Facebook users and 175 million Twitter accounts, many businesses, singers and individuals can create a following at the drop of a hat.  It’s so easy to @connect, Like, Share, Comment and #discover.

Use of the #Hashtag 

Even funnier is the video after the one above with Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon, portraying the hilarious over use of the hashtag in social media. If you haven’t watched it, you must. They talk so quickly and it is reflective of the speed and intensity of some social online chats, it continues the point of how our behaviour online is different to that off line.

On a serious note, it is a fact that your social media messages will create more engagement and followers if you do utilise this marketing tool online. That is what the #tool was designed to do; compliment ideas, build trends and poke a little humour and creativity into our marketing campaigns.

Interesting #facts:

  • # was first introduced in 2007 on Twitter
  • # support was then utilised on Instagram and Google + in 2011
  • Fllickr adds # support in March 2013 on its iO5 app
  • As we know, the Super Bowl is a massive leader for marketing campaigns and some 50% of marketing commercials include #
  • June 2013 Facebook finally added # as an official search support

(Ref Social Media Today November 2013)

# Will help you build your brand, it can build campaign strength alongside relevant and unique content. Ultimately, it pulls in genuinely interested customers who are # followers. After all, 70% of people who are # followers are mobile users and 55% of your messages will be re-tweeted as opposed to those who don’t.

Recent Success

#SingItKitty is a brilliant example and the 3rd # success for mobile company www.three.co.uk where a girl is riding her bike with a cute singing cat to the song ‘We Built This City’. It’s an extremely clever and well thought out campaign that capturing:

  • Humour
  • Catchy
  • Viral
  • Pulls on emotions  (cat lovers, parents, 80’s generation, memories, children)
  • Interactive – Just logon to http://www.singitkitty.co.uk/ stick your own face in and see what happens…

Over To You

Now you have an idea of what’s involved and how many people use it, it’s your turn. Get practicing for your own company’s marketing. Play with it, see what works and what doesn’t work, monitor your analytics and enjoy. Watch your social messages generate engagement and follower stats grow – you will soon see a change.

Belle’s Star Business of the Month – March 2014

The Star: Leanne WoodBelle's Clothing and Acessories

Description: Belle’s sells second hand clothing and new jewellery. We have a range of both men’s and women’s clothing, some still with tags on.  Don’t forget my accesorised shoes too.

Get In Touch: Facebook

 

Leanne Wood - Belle's Sandwich

Belle’s ~ Preloved clothing and accessories is run by me – Leanne Wood. How I work it, is a little bit like a dress agency. For those of you who are not familiar with this concept, people bring me their preloved clothes and I sell them on a 50/50 basis. I find this works well, as I have no outgoings and really feel that recycling is the way forward…

Belle’s is situated in Sandwich on the premises of Delf Farm Shop which is run by my Auntie and Uncle. Having seen how their business works has always interested me and sparked my interest to start up on my own. After leaving school I just wasn’t keen on the idea of going to University due to the high costs and the uncertainty of a job after graduating. So I felt starting a business was the right option for me. Creating employment for yourself is hard work, and there is a lot to learn but I enjoy it and there is a huge amount of self satisfaction that comes with it.

As everybody knows, the economic climate at present is lacking a little confidence, so I wanted to accomplish two objectives:
1. To start my own business
2. Bring more customers to the farm shop.
I am a great believer that diversification is a key element to helping a business survive. That’s where my idea for Belle’s came in. It’s something quirky, useful and a little bit different and puts a whole new twist on why customers will want to pop in and visit the site.

Belle's Customised Shoes SandwichNo business start-up can run entirely smooth and I have had my fair share of hurdles to overcome. The main problem I had was a battle with the council over planning permission, which has recently been approved after nine gruelling months. It was difficult to advertise the business whilst this case was in process as I could not be certain of the future of my business.

Word of mouth advertising has been bringing in most of my customers but the next step for me is to plan and implement a large advertising campaign. I am looking to print and distribute leaflets, increase my presence on social media and to really engage with my customers I’ll hold various open days. The Mayor of Sandwich has been a huge support and even voiced his approval towards a large chain of Belle’s preloved stores… So who knows? Onwards and upwards.

Oh and don’t forget my customised shoes, these are absolutely fantastic for weddings, proms, parties or maybe just an everyday splash of bling.

My one and only business tip that I could give would be: No matter what stands in your way; Overcome it. Don’t move around the mountain, climb it. Never -ever- give up on your dreams.

If you don’t get a Business mentor from these guys you’ve got to be absolutely mad…

_MMP0596Kevin Byrne CEO and Founder of Checkatrade.com visited Medway in order to deliver an inspiring presentation to over 50 people. Kevin attended the IGNITE event which was jointly hosted by business support charity Kent Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs and Kent Association of Young Entrepreneurs, a junior branch of the IoD.

The two organisations hosted the IGNITE event in order to promote, encourage and boost enterprise amongst Kent’s young people. And with Kevin’s support this was a roaring success.

Kevin opened up to the audience providing them with honest and sincere views on his secrets of business success. By providing many real life examples and putting them in to context really got people thinking. His business has not always been this big and he has had to go through many struggles in order to reach the successful position he is in now. Money is a secondary business objective for him with the main motivation to deliver grade A customer service.

Paul Barron, Director of Kent Foundation spoke about the success of their Business Mentoring service, which was endorsed by Kevin who said:

“If you don’t get a Business Mentor from these guys you’ve got to be absolutely mad”

Kevin took the time to network with the young audience members and gave them the chance to ask any of those niggling questions on a one to one basis.

Checkatrade.com vets and monitors trades, companies and services to help people avoid cowboy builders. It has become a monumental success in the UK and over the last 12 months has generated in excess of £1.4billion worth of work for its trade members and now employs around 120 people.

Bush Grub: Star Business of the Month – December 2013

Client: Ben BartlettBush Grub Mailchimp

Business: Bush Grub/Claws and Jaws

Description: Edible Bugs, Animal Education and parties.

Telephone: 07946034660

How to keep in touch with Bush Grub:

www.bush-grub.co.uk
Website   Facebook   Twitter

The idea for Bush Grub came about so I could offer a ‘unique treat’ of tasty edible insects to children at my animal experience parties run through Claws and Jaws.

In the first year I only had a limited range of stock and was only selling around 10 items per month. But after the first years trading, I found opportunities started knocking on Bush Grub’s door. But without time and money it was difficult to make the most of them. Cue…Gary Bartlett (my Dad) who could not see these opportunities wasted so joined me full time to provide Bush Grub with the investment and time it deserved.

One opportunity not to be missed was visiting the Brand Licensing Director at ITV who was thinking about how our products could work with the famous TV show – I’M A CELEBRITY…get me out of here! This really was the boost the business needed and that summer’s afternoon talking to ITV, was unforgettable and really did change everything.

Ben Bartlett Bush Grub

2012 saw a big leap in sales and with our newly licensed, branded and designed products (by Clockwork Moggy) in hand we were set on selling in as many shops as possible. This was a real learning curve and talk about jumping in at the deep end I found myself learning all about meeting deadlines, packaging requirements, distribution, cash flow and that’s just the start.

This year left us a little bemused after last year’s success. So it was time to plan, plan and plan some more ready for the I’m A Celebrity and Christmas season 2013 – an extremely busy period for us. Along with this we had some more great news from ITV with four products listed in the hugely successful Text Santa charity event which aims to raise thousands by the end of the year.

So where are we today? Tens of thousands of packets of bugs have been sold, we are in huge retailers such as Menkind, Hawkins Bazaar, Littlewoods, Woolworths plus many more independent sweet shops and this has got us some fantastic national press coverage!

So whats the plan for the future? Well we would like insects to not only be a novelty food item, we would like them to be a part of the sustainable staple diet. So we are working hard alongside my scientific university dissertation to see insects introduced as a future food in the western world. Of course we also plan to continue sales of our great flavoured bugs and lolly pops!

If you dare – try them for yourself!

Business Tip:

“Be dedicated and persevere, nothing happens overnight unless YOU make it happen! Remember you are the boss, if you do nothing, then you get nothing from the business.”

Bug Lollies

 

SLA Partnership chooses Kent Foundation for it’s Corporate Support

A boost for young entrepreneurs!

Two of the County’s leading charities helping young people reach their business and employment aspirations are to benefit from a major new sponsorship deal.

Recruitment specialists SLA Partnership are to give £6,000 a year (£3000 to each charity) to support the Kent Foundation and the Medway Youth Trust. The Maidstone-based company is also looking to back the organisation of a sponsored golf fund-raising event for the charities later in the year.

sla-partnership-ltd-sponsors-kent-foundation-rectangle-685Welcoming the deal, Paul Barron, Director of Kent Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs said:

“This is a significant commitment by SLA to support our work and we are grateful to them for their commitment and generosity. As well as the money, their expertise in the job market will be invaluable in transforming ideas and initiatives into reality for those people that we engage with. Like all charities, we have to work really hard to find financial backing and I am delighted that they have chosen to back us at this challenging time.”

Medway Youth Trust’s Chief Executive, Graham Clewes, said:

“SLA’s support through their money, time and expertise is a tremendous boost for Medway Youth Trust and for our careers and employability work with young people in Kent and Medway. I am particularly struck by SLA’s desire for a long term partnership to help us in our work and I hope their lead will be an encouragement to other companies”.

Sarah Landry managing partner of SLA Partnership LTD had this to say:

“We pride ourselves on taking a thoroughly professional approach to our business, using our industry expertise and experience to provide candidates and clients alike with a service that is efficient and user-friendly. This is an ideal fit with the work of these two charities who, like us, look to encourage ways of achieving aspirations and ambitions. We focus on providing a quality of service to find a perfect match and I believe we have now achieved this with our sponsorship deal for Kent Foundation and Medway Youth Trust.”

Promote your business whilst supporting others!

To find out more about becoming a sponsor:

Call: 01622 694 341

Email: kent.foundation@kent.gov.uk

Clockwork Moggy: Star Business of the Month – November 2013

star-business-rectangle-730

Clockwork Moggy logo

 

 

 

Client: Carrie Stay and Neil Dickson

Business: Clockwork Moggy – Branding and Web Design

Description: Creative graphic design, unique web design and original illustration. Complete company branding to suit your needs.

Get In Touch:

clockwork-moggy-graphic-and-web-design-rectangle-764

Website          Facebook          Twitter

Telephone: 01634 388 916

Our partnership company was founded 4 years ago. We (Carrie and Neil) met at college with similar interests in Graphic design and illustration. We both worked very hard to achieve our degrees. Before Clockwork Moggy was founded, I (Carrie) was working for publishing companies on a variety of magazine titles from music to lifestyle, whilst Neil was working for a large publishing company in Surrey. We thought it silly to be working hard for other people when we had the experience and know-how to work for ourselves and fully let our creativity loose for our own clients. We decided to put the 9-5 lifestyle behind us.

Now, we know the name (Clockwork Moggy) isn’t the norm but as a branding and web design company, it was a must to stand out from any other design team, practicing what we preach! We often have many of our clients ask us where the name comes from and we can only reply with ‘the deep depths of our quirky minds’.

Clockwork Moggy has developed significantly in the last 4 years, not only in terms of our client base but also in the variety of projects we have worked on. From packaging graphics for a company that sell flavoured bugs (yes, real ones!!) to ecommerce stores to help businesses grow and sell online as well as a fair few branding projects for small to medium businesses.

We love design and strive to keep on developing as a company and keeping up with the latest technology and design trends is a must!

Business Tip

‘Always strive to be the best you can be. Whatever your chosen career path’.