Why Online Reviews Matter

  • October 15, 2018May 12, 2021
  • by kim

We have always valued word of mouth recommendations rather than spin and clever marketing, in fact more than 8 in 10* or us trust recommendations of friends and families.

But these days, with the power of the World Wide Web, online recommendations, good and bad play a huge part in most of our purchasing decisions.

Having third party, peer recommendations is all part of your Social Proof – one of the biggest drivers for improving your profile.

Recommendations also form an important ‘touch point’ for your business, a way that a potential customer encounters your brand and forms an opinion.

Why are Online Reviews Important?

Well, put simply, a good online presence provides credibility, this builds trust and this leads to greater loyalty and more sales.

Read more “Why Online Reviews Matter” →

Six Simple Ways to Raise Your Business Profile

Six Simple Ways to Raise Your Business Profile

  • July 19, 2018May 12, 2021
  • by kim

If you want to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry or your locality there’s some fairly basic things you can do to improve your profile so that you are seen as the ‘go to’ person in your sector.

  1. Website

Make sure your website is up to date, static websites don’t rank well with search engines. You need fresh content from blogs, news and new pages. Prospective customers also like to see that you are active and commenting on trends or contributing useful information to share or download.

Read more “Six Simple Ways to Raise Your Business Profile” →

Benefits of Entering Business Awards

10 Benefits of Entering Business Awards

  • February 19, 2018May 12, 2021
  • by kim

There are lots of community, charity, tourism and business awards launched every year, local as well as national. But when I ask my contacts if they are applying, the usual response is ‘No’.

But there is plenty of anecdotal evidence, articles and blogs research to suggest there are benefits to smaller organisations as well as large corporates. The value and impact on SMEs derived from winning business awards seem to be both short term and long term and there is tremendous PR value in entering and winning an award.

Read more “10 Benefits of Entering Business Awards” →

Learning to Love the Lens

  • February 12, 2018May 12, 2021
  • by kim

I have a confession.  I have been using an old business headshot of me across my social media platforms, I mean really quite old…. more than 10 years, because it was the only ‘professional’ picture of me that I liked.

And it was not even a studio shot. It was a press shot that I happened to like and I did not have a high resolution version of it either so I have not been able to use it in leaflets or fliers.

My reluctance at having some new shots done comes, I suppose, from a slight lack of confidence about my looks now I have reached a certain age (50 plus let’s leave it there). However, I have been thinking for quite a long time that I need to get something done and have looked at various local photographers. Read more “Learning to Love the Lens” →

How to Write Good Copy for Websites

How to Write Good Copy for Websites

  • December 8, 2017May 12, 2021
  • by kim

I look at a lot of websites for small businesses, after I meet people networking or when looking to find clients or local suppliers.

The thing I notice is that most people now have good quality websites, well designed and easy to navigate. However, if you are not at that stage and want to know how to design a great website and keep on top of the costs check out this blog from Brass Comet.

When it comes to content I often think that people could do that little bit more to make their websites appealing to potential customers and help that all-important SEO. Read more “How to Write Good Copy for Websites” →