Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is about achieving high rankings on search engine result pages and giving your audience the information they want. The correct SEO strategy will increase your visibility and create higher numbers of organic leads. SEO strategy considers what key word has the most value along with other tools such as link building and formatting.

During the planning and thinking about strategy for your SEO you will be researching the buyer personas, keeping in mind who will be most interested in what you have to offer based on collected data. From there, you can cater your own strategy to them specifically with search engines in mind.

Optimisation is important when looking at SEO because search engines are much more efficient in generating higher traffic to your website than all the social media sites combined. Social media platforms are seen as being used for connecting with individuals and to be entertained not for searching for products etc, meanwhile search engines do exactly that.

SEO strategy is seen more as a long term investment, continuing to trickle in traffic based on the query, and there to inform and educate. SEO is the main way consumers find your website so it Is important not to neglect your SEO strategy.

Social Media

Social media is all about creating and building online relationships, engaging with your buyer personas and creating and building brand awareness and credibility.

When looking at creating a social media strategy it’s all about looking to boost your engagement and interaction instead of thinking about a search engine. It is important to look at your brand and keep this consistent throughout your SM platforms. This helps you to build a brand image and improve brand awareness.

Having a social media strategy can help you focus on what you need to do to optimise audiences while creating and posting shareable content. It’s important to highlight your goals when using social media for your business so you can build brand awareness, improve engagement, or drive conversions.

The Bottom Line

It’s good to have both SEO and social media when looking to be successful! Both are important to a business’ success in different ways. Of course, traffic and leads achieved through social media may be smaller than with SEO, but it helps expand your reach.

If you need help with your SEO and social media strategies the expert team at Brighter Directions can help with any PR, social media, email marketing, or content strategy.

Get in touch today on hello@brighterdirections.co.uk

The post SEO vs Social: The Differences appeared first on Brighter Directions.

For those of you that invest in any kind of advertising across social platforms, listen up…

Your new ad center is where you can edit or view the results from any of your ads.  The concept behind the change means that it makes managing all your current and previous ads easier and you can see what is other options there are to make changes and improvements to them.

Within the ad centre tab you will find 4 options –  

• Overview which is where you will see a summary of your recent ad performance, it is also where recommendations are to boost any of your posts that are doing well. 
• All Ads – You will see here all the ads that you have created from your page. You can choose certain ads to look more in detail at, or change things such as your budget etc. Once you have chosen a specific ad you can pause it or if needed delete it.  
• Audiences – Any audience that you have created for your ads is in here. If you chose a specific audience you can see which ads have reached them people and also make any changes needed like age range, locations etc 
• Automation – This is only available if you have created any automated ads. If you have this is where you will find a full list of them as well as a summary of the results. 

The ad centre only works for any ad that you create directly through your page, it will not work on any that you create using the ad manager, so there’s still some troubleshooting to do.

From now on if you chose to use ad manager you will be given the option to change to use the new ad centre as a standard process – so those of you investing in Facebook advertising for the first time will have a much more coherent experience and possibly, better return from your ad spend.

Is the ad centre going to phase out ad manager?

If you are considering utilising Facebook social advertising for your business, we’d love to chat. Contact us via the website for a free consultation.

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Taking action on the information you find is what sets social listening apart from social media monitoring which is all about collecting data, allowing you to look back at what has already happened.  Social listening goes beyond numbers and looks at the mood that your social media posts create and how people feel about your brand and your competitors.

The online mood your company creates is also known as social media sentiment; keeping track of this is an important part of social listening. Social listening allows you to recognise a change in sentiment; you can track in real-time positive or negative responses and react accordingly. Interaction with consumers is great when it ends in positive sentiment however when something goes wrong, social listening can help stop PR disasters escalating by recognising the consumer reaction as soon as it happens.

Your customers share information about what they do and don’t like about your brand each and every day, social listening can help you understand this information and utilise it. Not only will people be speaking about your brand, but they’ll also be speaking about your competitors too. You can analyse the market through the eyes of your customers and help seek out opportunities and threats in the industry. Getting to know how people feel about your brand can help you know what is going right with your marketing and product development strategies.

If you care about your customers and their insights then you should be using social listening as a tool in your marketing strategy. If you feel you aren’t getting enough interaction in general, social listening can help you alter your strategy to gain an increase in your interaction numbers.

If you are looking to implement social listening into your marketing strategy but unsure where to start, Brighter Directions is here to help, call our team today to see how we can help on 01246 586330!

The post What is social listening? appeared first on Brighter Directions.

It is said to be the fastest-growing language in the UK – with more than 2,800 symbols available to use ranging from the traditional through to more exciting icons such as buildings, animals and scenery.

However, despite the huge influence of emojis, in business, we need to be acutely conscious of the decisions we make in our marketing and communication efforts, and this case is no different.

There are many of the fun emojis that actually hold very different meanings in different countries and cultures, that companies should be aware of.

This article created today by SKY shows some of these examples, you can read more here.

Unsure about your social marketing strategy? Give us a call…

The post World Emoji Day 2019 – Using for the good of the business appeared first on Brighter Directions.

In marketing, it can be all too easy to discuss and discard some of the ‘softer’ marketing tactics as ‘intangible’. However, in my experience of marketing for the last twenty years, everything is measurable, if you find the right tracker and goal metric!

A superb recent example of the importance of both points (audit and continued impact review) is with one of our clients, a tech company who was spending a significant amount of budget on Google Adwords each month.

After recently taking over their marketing division entirely, we completed a full audit of all their marketing output, including the SEO campaigns. This technical review looked over the previous 12 months campaigns, results, impact and goal conversions as well as comparing campaigns alongside other direct marketing activities and found that some of the campaigns were, in fact, engaging a less profitable audience segment. This ‘update’ reduced the marketing spend from £20k per month to £11k per month.

The success was that the impact (stats/ conversions) did not go down, despite this reduction in spend! In fact the impact increased by +30%– utilising a small segment of the budget on other, more targeted, direct content marketing activities, including social media.

After two weeks, we audited the campaigns again, and assessed against previous campaigns run, but not continued, as well as the intermediate analysis from live campaigns – as a result, we reduced the spend a further 25%, saving a further £3.5k per month!

All in all – this activity saved the company a significant amount of ‘unnecessary’ budget and directed to other, more profitable and impactful marketing activities with some sound intelligence and direction.

One of our true values is the ethos, passion, and dedication we have to our clients – we work on your marketing tactics (and budget management) like it was our own… as true partners and part of your company team.

If you are looking for support across areas such as Content Marketing, PR & Media Relations, Social Media, or generally to assess your Marketing Strategy – give us a call and see if our ethos and customer-centric approach aligns with yours, and how we can help you save money and become more efficient across your marketing!

T: 01246 586330

E: marketing@brighterdirections.co.uk

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The concept of CSR also fits well with the concept of ethical marketing, ethical marketing is a philosophy where companies put client benefits in front of, and equal to profit – brands that are ethical tend to care more about creating a strong relationship with their audience through a set of shared values. A standpoint we at Brighter Directions, are extremely passionate about.

Examples of good CSR objectives would be positive initiatives like activism towards political, social and environmental issues. For instance, environmental awareness and our effect on climate change is a big topic in society recently therefore a lot of brands are cutting down the amount of plastic waste their product contains but can also be much softer, such as the way your company values and nurtures clients, has a client-centric approach, or simply offers increased value against your offering.

If you are becoming more conscious of your CSR efforts, you need to consider this is a philosophy which is deeply embedded in your brand along with being an element of your long-term marketing strategy. The continuation of educating and campaigning for these social issues alongside focussing on people over profit will be a wise investment for your brand.

Social Media is a great way to express your ethical morals as a company, every click is another person informed. It can raise your interaction whilst also educating your audience and employees on social responsibility.

If you are looking for help with CSR objectives and implementing ethical marketing into your strategy then (we think) you need a marketing agency that understands that and has a synergy connection with these values – so, if that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

Brighter Directions offer expert, value led outsourced services covering PR (Public Relations), Social Media campaign management and guidance, as well as a host of content related marketing solutions for organisations globally. Call our office today on 01246 586 330 to discuss your requirements.

The post The boom in ethical Marketing and CSR appeared first on Brighter Directions.

There’s little doubt that we need to create cultural and social norms that give women the connections and context they need to succeed in all commercial environments. There are still not enough women in leadership roles (nowhere near enough) however, by networking and conversing with likeminded and driven women, to gain/share advice and learn to avoid the mistakes they made. Networking is a beneficial skill. It improves your ability to not only learn from others experiences but to also discover new passion and spark from fellow professionals.

It’s proven that women are some of the most motivational and positive communicators and influencers. A fact we have appreciated first-hand through the many campaigns we’ve been a part of, such as Women In Sales Awards, Enterprising Women and Women In Business celebrations and the tremendous talent showed year on year emerging from businesses, yet, these are still a minority.

Influence is power and power can be gained through asking questions and participation in senior situations. Research shows that men are the loudest in the business meetings, men ask the most questions and men are confident with their communication. In comparison, findings show that women, regardless if more qualified, knowledgeable or experienced across a subject matter, are the ones that take a back seat, and this needs to change.

Women are born communicators. Some insights state that women are more emotional, but instead of this being a negative statement, we need to realise that’s logically the reason why we find it easier to converse at multiple levels, and the ‘emotional’ part of our communication style is used to gain authority and influence, such as inviting others for contribution, using empathy to solidify relationships with colleagues, clients and stakeholders, and bridging the gap between commercial strategy and the people that drive those agendas forward. All of which are significant senior skills.

I’m often asked why we promote ‘women’ so much as an organisation – we are founded by a woman, we are a female-dominated team, we are passionate about the development of women in senior roles, not only across our own organisation but as a wider goal – why?

The answer is simple, because we believe that women (and men) are capable of amazing work, we just don’t shout about it enough, or have the confidence to elevate each other, and quite frankly, we don’t have enough peer support through c-suite to drive this strategy.

One of my many mantras is ‘building others up doesn’t dampen your own success” and this statement is incredibly ardent for women in business.

I was incredibly lucky, that throughout my corporate career, in a very male-dominated environment, I had tremendous backing from incredible female (and male) leaders, manages and colleagues who worked together to achieve common goals and support one another, both in the commercial role and to drive my career progression. A methodology I hope that I have carried through to my business and one that I’m passionate about continuing to push across my industry.

International Women’s Day shouldn’t be about bashing men, (although I admit, sometimes they deserve it!), or putting stoke on the fire to the ‘poor women’ topic – it should be about celebrating diversity and understanding that women do have different challenges and experiences across their careers, but the key is being aware of those and inspiring the females in your organisation to excel and rise, which is as simple as recognising this fact and putting equality at the heart of a business, in reality, it should be an easy fix… but the figures still speak for themselves.

So, instead of the traditional ‘women are great’ posts that will no doubt flood our timelines this week, let’s celebrate by recognising and appreciating the superb women we have across our businesses – shout about how and why they are great, what their achievements have been, what its meant to the business and bottom line – and why we, as business owners are better businesses culturally and financially as a result of being a diverse organisation.

Claire Curzon

MD – Brighter Directions

The post International Women’s Day – Creating your own work culture appeared first on Brighter Directions.

From our own internal culture to external support and dedication – women in business is something that we, as a company and individuals, take very seriously. We support and drive a number of initiatives from the European Women In Sales Awards, where our M.D. Claire has been a judge at for the past few years, encouraging and rewarding talented women in a dominant sales environment, and dedicated national mentor for Women Entrepreneurs, through to driving the strategy for a small regional non-profit project Futures of helping women from all environments and ages enter meaningful and sustainable careers.

#BusinessWomensWeek is a celebration by NBWW to raise awareness of the value that women I business bring to the table. It isn’t just an acronym to burn bras (although you could if you really wanted to), this week is about celebrating the talent and extraordinary skill women bring into the workplace across the globe and the contribution to businesswomen have made over time.

So, what better time to celebrate the superb talented women we have at Brighter Directions and give you a small insight into the fabulous women behind the smiles!

To read more about our amazing team, why not visit our blog here, where you can choose by topic, date or even which member of our team you want to read!

Let’s continue to support our fabulous women in business and the diversity it brings into the workplace.

The post Celebrating National Business Women’s Week – Honouring OUR women! appeared first on Brighter Directions.

Our resident GDPR consultant Danielle, has produced an informative, clear white-paper to help dispel some of the myths that SME’s should be taking to protect your business in the future, which is totally free for you to download and utilise, containing some interesting case studies and tips to take on your GDPR roadmap.

If you need further information, there is lots of guidance published on our blog feed, and you can also call us for a free initial consultation on 01246 586330, or email danielle@brighterdirections.co.uk

Click here for our free download GDPR whitepaper

The post GDPR Basic’s for SME’s – Whitepaper Download appeared first on Brighter Directions.

In essence, agile marketing is a tactical marketing approach which identifies and focuses a series of collective marketing campaigns, specifically high-value tactics with a view to continuously measure the impact and incrementally improve the results over a period of time.

Agile marketing is becoming very popular within tech teams who are looking to rapidly and efficiently build new products to complement existing propositions.

How can B2B marketers implement an agile way of working?

 As with all successful marketing campaigns, the idea of agile marketing must be taken up throughout your organisation, not just in the marketing department!

At its core, the Scrum (the name for the agile process) aims to align marketers with an organisation’s business goals and sales staff, improve communication, and increase the speed and responsiveness of marketing.

To implement an agile marketing campaign, you need the tools and practices in place from the start. Check out these four core principles when planning an agile campaign:

1. Choose the right metrics + measure from the very beginning
2. Develop a framework and clear process
3. Use services and tools that can help you analyse your users behaviour
4. Evaluate, prioritize and implement

A great demonstration is this graphic:

Agile Marketing incorporates various multi-layered marketing activities and channels, often working in conjunction to test, set and measure the impact of audience engagement. Content is a huge and vital part of an agile marketing journey.

To discuss your content marketing activities, call our professional team on 01246 586330.

The post What is agile marketing and how can it help you? appeared first on Brighter Directions.