New Year Marketing Ideas for Northern Ireland Businesses

Well then!

Are you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed or are you feeling the after-effects of too much partying during the holidays?

Either way it’s time to get back at it and although January is generally when everyone tries to hibernate it represents a great month to try out some creative new marketing ideas.

If you’re going to stand out and grab people’s attention during the most dreaded month of the year you’re going to have to get creative!

Fitness Buffs!

It’s only a cliché because it’s 100% true but every January you can guarantee gym attendance will double (at the very least!), diet information will be everywhere on social media and well-intentioned New Year resolutions will be heartily made.

With all that in mind, why not give your marketing a health and fitness twist for the first month of the year?

You could do a spoof Facebook Live broadcast that pokes fun at online workout videos (in a nice way J) while promoting your latest offers or services.

Just avoid the spandex…

Tryanuary

Besides health and fitness, January, and the beginning of the New Year, is usually viewed by everyone as a fresh start and a chance to try new things or get a better grip on the more serious things in life.

This “Tryanuary” approach has great marketing potential!

Tap into this by offering something different that either solves a problem or entices your potential new customer.

For example, if your business sells Insurance, why not promote a blog that details exactly why your insurance product will help a new customer become more fiscally responsible in 2017!

This mindset is also perfect for businesses selling classes or experiences so start getting your “try something different” message out there ASAP!

New Year Resolutions

New Year resolutions are everywhere at the minute and although most of them will fall by the wayside come February they represent a great opportunity to engage with your online community.

If you want to increase brand awareness and turn customers into followers why not embark on some resolutions together to create that bond?

Restaurants and cafes could try to create and taste a new dish every month with fans/customers following along at home via Snapchat and Instagram stories.

Car salesman could set a challenge of walking so many steps each day on the forecourt and ask followers to keep up or join in via Twitter or Facebook.

How can you tie things in to your business?

--

These ideas might seem like a bit of fun, but during the dullest month of the year when everyone is energy-sapped by endless sales and the end of Christmas, they’ll stand out a mile!

Remember, attention is MORE than half the battle! 

Facebook Live is a Game Changer

Facebook Live was first released in August 2015 but lately, and specifically during the second half of 2016, it’s become a game changer on so many levels for businesses and brands.

Now, anyone or any business can go Live to an instant audience that would’ve been unimaginable and inaccessible just 5 or 10 years ago.

With Instagram also announcing new Live features and Snapchat constantly dabbling and improving, in the art of instant video communication, “Going Live” is going to become the norm and we’re only seeing the start of it. 

Notifications Working For You

Right now one of the major benefits of going Live on Facebook is the notification feature.

Now with the click of a button, on a smartphone, tablet or laptop, your followers will be directly notified the moment you go live. This instantly increases the chances of quickly gaining an audience for whatever you want to promote or broadcast.

This is massively different from a standard organic Facebook post that generally reaches only 5-10% of your followers.

How to Use Facebook Live for Business

What does Facebook Live mean for businesses?

As with everything it’s simply another platform, another tactic and another means to get your message out there to a wider audience than ever before.

If you’re an estate agent running a show house open day why not Facebook Live a tour around the house? Depending on the current size of your Facebook business page you could have an extra 50, 200 or 500 eyes viewing the rooms as you walk around. Not bad for one click of a button.

Boutiques could Facebook Live once per week to announce new stock arrivals and highlight best selling or on-trend pieces.

Craft makers could Live broadcast the making of a popular product or a tour around the workshop behind the scenes…

The opportunities are there and an audience is waiting, after that it’s about figuring out what works and what doesn’t, what entertains, informs or engages your audience.

The Premier League Football Problem

On a bigger level, for many brands and businesses Facebook Live, and similar features on other apps, represents a big opportunity but the Premier League may not be one of them.

Recently I’ve been able to watch full Premier League games, otherwise unavailable to a UK or Ireland television audience, via a Facebook page live streaming everything from a location most likely in Asia.

The live stream in question attained an audience of approximately 6 thousand people with almost zero promotion, simply through the organic reach of Facebook.

This represents a major issue for the Premier League going forward as Live broadcasting is only going to get bigger and it will be interesting to see how they tackle the problem.

If you feel like your business could suffer in some way my advice would be to start broadcasting and figuring out Live before the competition does. 

NFL UK Going For It

Interestingly, the NFL may be showing the Premier League a thing or two when it comes to using social media Live broadcasting.

Just this week, on Tuesday 13th December, the NFL used Facebook Live to broadcast and announce the organisation’s four upcoming International Series games to be held in London in Autumn 2017.

Despite having different broadcasting deals with Sky and the BBC respectively, NFL UK used Facebook Live to make their announcements.

The reason for this? Instant audience.

--

Take some time to experiment with Facebook Live over Christmas or January; depending on when is quieter for your business.

Live broadcasting is now just a click away for everyone. 

Volunteering with Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI)

Just over a week ago I volunteered with Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI) and spoke to a group of 13-14 year olds at Glengormley High School.

The whole thing lasted around one hour (although the students were probably thankful my talk was only 15-20 minutes in total!) and focused mainly on the topics of digital marketing and running your own business/working for yourself.

It’s been years since I was last in a school, and back then I was wearing a uniform, so it was strange being back in an environment that felt both familiar and distant.

It was really enjoyable and I’d highly recommend anyone, who felt they could contribute, to give it a go. Likewise it also got me thinking about two important topics: uncertainty and collaboration.  

Uncertainty

One of the tasks assigned to the kids was to imagine their lives a decade from now when they’d be approaching their mid-twenties. Part of the task included imagining their future jobs; houses and family situation and that got me thinking. When it came to future jobs the student’s aspirations ranged from footballers to army nurses to computer programmers and everything in between but the crazy thing is, most of their future jobs might not even exist yet!

I haven’t a clue what I would have said ten years ago but if you think about the digital landscape today there are bloggers, digital marketers, eBay flippers, YouTube stars and more. Some of these jobs are brand new where as others are simply the digital cousins of positions from years gone by.

Looking at it from a business sense I think the key is to roll with the punches. In the last eighteen months Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook video marketing have all exploded onto the marketing scene so who knows what 2017 and beyond will bring.

In my experience the key is to experiment, learn and go from there.

Collaboration

Another interesting point was the collaboration and brainstorming between students.

If you think back to school days every class featured groups of friends huddled around tables distracting each other, working and having fun. Obviously there’s a time and a place for collaborating (and school kids generally test these limits…) but it’s so valuable when it comes to thinking of new ideas.

Over the course of 2016 I’ve met so many businesses that work in silos, or solo, and as a result, through no fault of their own, struggle to come up with ideas on how to market themselves in a digital world.

On our own we tend to be our harshest critics but together ideas start to bounce around and even terrible suggestions can result in the crucial light bulb moments we all need.

That’s got me thinking about both the people I work with and my own business so stay tuned for some fun collaboration in 2017… 

Christmas Marketing Ideas for Northern Ireland Businesses

For a lot of businesses Christmas can be the biggest and most important time of the year and as a result, their marketing needs to reflect this.

Hopefully, if you’re struggling for ideas, this post will help get the cogs turning but remember, keep it festive and don’t over-think it.

It’s Christmas, not the end of the world!

Tesco: Helping Out

The supermarket giants are always guaranteed to pull out all the stops when it comes to Christmas but unlike Amazon or John Lewis, Tesco focus on the more practical side of the holidays by trying to provide new ideas, hints and tips. 

Everyone knows that coming up with gift ideas for friends and family year after year can be a chore so why not make it easy? Run a campaign in store and online that inspires and helps.

For instance, if I owned a clothing store selling shoes or trainers I would run a “For the Sporty/Messy/Musical One…” that allows me to post a different product for each target customer.

Edeka: All About Family

Another supermarket, this time the German’s Edeka, made headlines with their viral video #heimkommen roughly this time last year. If you haven’t yet, watch it before reading on…

activar subtítulos +++ ative as legendas +++ activer les sous-titres +++ 请打开字幕 +++ включите субтитры Zuhause mit den Liebsten ist es am schönsten. Gerade zu Weihnachten! Mehr unter: http://www.edeka.de/heimkommen Mit unserem Gewinnspiel kannst du dich noch mehr auf Weihnachten einstimmen. Poste ein Foto, das du mit Weihnachten verbindest. Bis zum 13.

On the one hand this tale of a father faking his own death to see his adult children again is dark and twisted but on the other it’s about family and spending time together and that’s what hit the nail on the head.

The #heimkommen campaign was a massive success on a global scale but the takeaway here for smaller businesses is the festive family theme. Gifts are great but the best bit about the holidays is usually catching up with old friends and family so how can you tie your own products into this message?

If I was selling car tires I would potentially build a campaign with a message revolving around “We can get you home quickly and safely this Christmas”. This would then influence the content I publish on channels like Facebook and Instagram over the next 5 weeks.

HBO: Festival Calendars

The American TV and streaming giant spent Christmas 2015 promoting their “12 Days of HBO Now” campaign that allowed HBO Now subscribers to gift a HBO pilot to friends and family for free.

If you’ve ever watched The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Girls or West Wing you’ll now just how good a gift this could potentially be and I love the calendar aspect.

Late-November and early December are all about the countdown towards Christmas so why not let that feed into your marketing?

Whether you’re a butcher, a sports outlet or any other business the potential is there to start your own “12 Days”, “Advent Calendar” or “3 Weeks to Christmas” campaign both on and offline. 

St George’s Market, Belfast: Keeping it Simple

If you’re still reading and you’re thinking there’s no way my business can compete with or learn from the likes of Tesco, Edeka and HBO then why not take a look at St George’s Market, Belfast? 

The massively popular food and craft market gets better and better every year and their pro-active social media presence only serves to help yet they keep things very simple.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed do something as simple as giving your logo or Facebook cover a Christmas touch-up just to get people thinking about your business and the holiday all in one thought.

Ballymena BID: A Very Beary Christmas

Our last inspirational campaign keeps things local to Northern Ireland with the Ballymena BID’s massively successful Ballymena Bear campaign in 2015. 

Watch the new Ballymena Christmas Advert 2015. It's totally not what you are expecting and not a cat or moon man in sight. Find out more at www.ballymenabear.com and view the behind the scenes diary at www.productiondiary.graftersdesign.com Please like and share, promote the Ballymena Bear!

Ballymena has long been famed as a great shopping destination in Northern Ireland but the tale of a lost Bear trying to find a friend at Christmas helped showcase the town’s great selection of shops, cafes and shopping centres all in time for the festive period. It was so successful the bear is back for 2016!

The takeaway here is that if Ballymena can do it, you can to!

--

Grab that pen and paper and start scribbling and pick up the smartphone and start recording or taking pictures.

There’s still plenty of time before Christmas 2016!

How to Add Multiple Instagram Accounts

Nowadays even the smallest business owner has multiple online channels to worry about.

Any one person or business can have an official website, Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel, mailing list and more, so it can get confusing from time to time!

Luckily, in the case of Instagram, if you have more than one account or need more than one, the Facebook owned social media giants have included a handy little feature.

This feature lets you add and easily switch between multiple Instagram accounts with ease.

To get started open your current Instagram account and go to the profile section. You should see a screen similar to below. 

If you only have one Instagram account click on the small Options symbol on the top right-hand side to bring up the relevant screen. Scroll down to the bottom and you should see the following where you can easily add a new account.

Alternatively, if you already have more than one account, click on the arrow (circled) beside your profile name and you should see a dropdown menu like below. Here you will be able to switch between previously added accounts or click on “+Add Account” to add a new one. 

When you’ve done that you’ll be greeted with the following screen. Enter the details if you’ve already created the account before. If not, click “Don’t Have An Account? Sign Up” and get cracking! 

Have fun!

Why You Should Be Using Segmentation on Facebook Advertising

Taking the time and effort to take a step back and think about who your customer is and what they really want should be at the forefront of every marketer and business owner’s mind.

It can be a struggle but honing in on exactly who you want to speak to and what you want to say can save a lot of time, effort, tears and money!

With that in mind, Facebook’s Advertising platform really allows you to take advantage of that insight and clear thinking.

Targeted Messaging

Within Facebook’s Advertising platform you will be able to create custom audiences that match exactly, or very closely, to your ideal customer groups.

By taking this customer-first approach you’re effectively trimming away the fat and this in turn saves you money, as you’re no longer targeting uninterested demographics.

Perfect!

If, for example, you only wanted to put your message in front of women, aged 25-35, living in the Ballymena area with an interest in pets, you could do that.

However, if you wanted to target a broad spectrum of women from right across Northern Ireland you could still create location or age specific ads, within your campaign, to give you a clearer indication of which demographics respond better than others.

Measured Marketing

The second major benefit to segmenting your customer groups within Facebook Advertising is that you can closely measure everything.

This allows you to quickly kill, improve or double-down on the ads (and groups) that are performing or not performing.

Everything can be measured and over time this will give you a clearer picture of who your customer is and what they really want to see, hear and buy!

You might even get a few surprises! 

How to Improve Your Email Marketing

Social media might the major player in the digital marketing world nowadays but businesses should be wary of forgetting about the importance of email marketing.

A tightly constructed customer email list, created with a clear purpose in mind, can be vital as part of your digital marketing mix and the next step is using that list in a way that works for your business.

Below, you’ll find a few key touch points to consider when creating your next email campaign.

Keep It Simple

At its core marketing is a simple process. You, as a business, have a message you want to tell people. That’s it.

After that, it’s about choosing the right channel, conveying your message in the right way and cutting through all the noise.

Email marketing is simple an extension of the above and keeping it simple and straightforward will pay dividends.

Don’t bombard your mailing list with too many messages in one campaign. Pick one or two key messages; focus on them and save your other messages for the next campaign.

Give Your Audience What They Want

Recently when studying Mailchimp insights, when working with a client, we noticed after the first campaign, that the majority of their current mailing list came from countries like the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. 

As a result we tailored our next campaign to relate more with this international audience.

We asked ourselves “what do they specifically want to hear?”

The results were positive. We boosted open rates by 2.5% to achieve 30% overall and almost doubled click-through rates from 2.7% to 4.3%.

This is tangible proof that planning ahead and focusing on the customer works and we hope to see further growth with the next campaign!

Test Test Test

If you take anything from this blog, please, don’t repeat the same things in email marketing over and over and over…

Use each new campaign to experiment with different actions and tactics. Test different subject lines, campaign messages and text and imagery.

If possible, test everything!

After 5 or 6 campaigns of active testing you will start to see trends on what works and what doesn’t. This will strengthen your email marketing moving forward and your business will benefit as a result.

Good luck!

Could a Mechanic Use Snapchat Marketing?

Could a Northern Ireland mechanic use Snapchat marketing?

Last week, as I sat in my car awaiting the dreaded MOT test early on a Thursday morning, my mind started to wander.

All around me cars sat in three bays waiting to be tested and inside each was an owner worried about their car failing, more trips to the mechanics and more expenses. This happens 9-5 every weekday, every month, every year.

This seemed like the perfect potential customer group for any mechanic in the nearby area.

Can you imagine if a mechanic was allowed, and able to give up his or her time, to stand on the other side of the MOT test centre and talk to the unfortunate owners of cars that had just failed?

It would be the perfect opportunity to sell a solution to a very real and immediate problem.

Targeted Snapchat Geo-Filters

With Snapchat geo-filters that imaginary scenario is a very real possibility.

Mechanics now have the opportunity to target the small area around, and including, any MOT test centre in the country.

As car owners are sitting in bays waiting their turn they could open Snapchat, swipe across the various filters, and see something like below:

This Snapchat filter promotes “Gary’s Garage”, a fictional mechanics on the Lisburn Road in Belfast, and lets everyone at the test centre know about his “A+ MOT Results”.

Easy!

--

This same type of thinking could be applied to all sorts of businesses.  

Where are the opportunities?

Also, just remember, if you’re making Snapchat filters for business you can’t include phone numbers or email addresses so get creative when targeting your customers!

If you want to get started on your own just download the Counter Digital “Snapchat for Business” free e-book here!

Great Halloween Marketing Campaigns

Marketing is a constant, year round, process but a holiday like Halloween offers some great opportunities to have a bit more fun than usual.

Consumers will generally accept something slightly different if it fits in with the overall theme of Halloween so why not try something new?

To get the cogs turning we took a look at what some of the biggest brands have done over the last few years.

Pop Culture Vulture!

In 2013 Tide, the American detergent brand, decided to release a series of Vine clips spoofing new and classic Halloween films. In the first of the series we see a Tide bottle slowly being drenched in blood at prom in a direct reference to Carrie.

It might seem strange but it’s just a bit of fun and the takeaway here could be to use classic Halloween movies with your own business.

Since Vine is nowhere near as popular now, why not create some Snapchat stories in a similar vain?

Tell Me Why?

A few years ago Topshop launched a “Trick or Tweet” campaign to promote a new Halloween fashion collection.

The campaign allowed customers to tweet Topshop their best Halloween outfits and the best tweet each day won a gift card worth £100! Not bad for just a tweet or two!

Not every business can afford to giveaway £100 per day during even the smallest of campaigns but have a think about what’s in it for your customer to engage with you on social media.

Why would or should they get in touch?

Giving Value

Tesco’s 2015 Halloween “Spookermarket” campaign was a good example of keeping things light-hearted and fun at this time of year. The main video highlights the power of video content whilst the others show just how useful it can be to provide useful tips in your industry or sector.

What tips and tricks can you offer in your industry? If they don’t match up perfectly with Halloween why not open it up to the entire Autumn season?

--

Let us know what you come up with this Halloween!

Getting Started and How to Write Title Tags and Meta Descriptions for SEO

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO for short) can seem like a minefield for small or medium sized businesses without proper resource but with just a few changes you can set your website on the right path.

Title tags and meta descriptions refer to the information you assign to each page on your site that then appears on a Google search results page. In the below image you’ll see the title tag as purple clickable text (normally blue before clicking) and the meta description as light grey text.

Both page elements are important for two key reasons. First, they indicate to Google, via keywords, what exactly each page is about and secondly, if they’re interesting enough, they’ll encourage Google searchers to click on your page rather than someone else’s.

Title Tags

Title tags are one of the most important on-page SEO elements for your website because search engines actively crawl them and because online searchers will see them in results pages.

As a result you can find thousands of blogs out there on how to craft the best possible tags but we’re going to keep things simple in a bid to get you moving.

When writing unique title tags for each of your web pages push your most important keywords to the front (i.e. first word and on), make it relevant and readable and try to stick to under 60 characters.

There is constant debate, particularly this year, on optimum character length so if you really want to squeeze as much as possible out of Google our recommendation would be to test various lengths.

Meta Descriptions

The importance of great meta descriptions is slightly more debatable.

According to Google, although they could be lying, meta descriptions aren’t crawled which means search engines won’t actively penalize you for having rubbish descriptions.

However, because meta descriptions are so prominent in search results (look at the image above) some SEOs claim they are extremely important because great descriptions could encourage more clicks, traffic to your site and so on.

Our advice, as always, would be to test things and see what works for your site.

When writing your descriptions try to aim for a character length between 100-160 and think of it, quite literally, as a tiny description of that unique page. Start with the most important information and work your way onwards from there.

--

SEO can seem extremely complicated, and with massive websites it definitely can be, but if you’re a smaller sized business wondering how to get started hopefully this will help.

Give it a go, get stuck in and learn from your mistakes!