Airtime for Arrowsmith

Why I like Hootsuite part 1

2012-02-05T21:34:00.000Z

There are loads of tools available to help manage social media activity. Tweetdeck is pretty good, SocialOomph has some good reports but at the moment I use (and often recommend) HootSuite.

Apart from the fact that the company is based in my favourite city of Vancouver, it has a lot of features which really help me to provide social media service to my clients and to myself.

So I thought I would provide some reasons why I use it, which double up as tips for anybody who wishes to try it out too.

Reason number 1 is that I can manage multiple social media channels from one dashboard.

HootSuite handles Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Ping, Wordpress, MySpace and Mixi as standard.
It allows the creation of feeds from blogs to Twitter with ease.
Now it is supporting external apps that integrate sites like Digg, YouTube, Flickr and several more.

In practice it means that you have the ability to see what's going on around different sites very easily and send the same (or similar messages) to multiple sites in one go.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

Online marketing requires different business thinking

2012-01-28T11:43:00.000Z

James Pennington (P-Tech) and I facilitated an excellent workshop at the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce last week working for the B2B Centre (www.nb2bc.co.uk) on behalf of the University of Warwick's Digital Lab.

James and I took a large audience through the basics of online marketing. It's always an intense day because most people don't realise how much there is to think about. It can often have a profound effect with people reconsidering their entire business model. We stress the need to have clear objectives and goals, the need to position the business as being different from the competition, and the need to understand customer needs and activity at a very detailed level. Not what people expect.

Although people understand the power of the internet they frequently ignore the fact that it has empowered customers just as much as businesses. They (we) have more power to find alternatives and make comparisons both for consumer goods and for B2B products and services.

So it's not just about websites and Facebook and Twitter and AdWords etc. etc. it's actually about what you do, who you do it for and how you can do it better.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

It's what keywords your clients use that counts

2012-01-12T18:49:00.002Z

There's nearly always a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with clients at the start of a new SEO project. They usually have a couple of misconceptions about about the way that search engines work and the way websites can be set up.

The main issue surrounds keyword selection. Invariably the discussion centres around a list of keywords and phrases that they client wants to be ranked for. And inevitably that list contains a large proportion of words that are only used by people in that company or that industry, and not by their clients.

The main culprit for this is the ability of jargon to creep invidiously into our work related communication.

Sometimes this is about technical terminology and it can be based on a genuine need to describe items or processes in an accurate and specific way. And it happens in all sectors from agricultural to zoo keeping.

Sometimes it's just a group-think sort of thing. The boss uses a particular expression one day and so the next day everybody in the company does.

Most often it's simply forgetfulness. We forget that other people aren't like us. They don't know what we know or speak the same way as we do. They use the word "home" instead of "residential", they search for help "getting my website into Google" not "SEO" (yes I fall into this trap too), and they want a "TV repairman in Stourbridge" not a "nationally based audio visual supplier with expertise in satellite and freeview installation".

The cure. Always look at the situation from a client perspective. Ask some of them how they search (really ask, in person) and use all of the free tools available to see what words people use.

Gareth

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

Blogging. What shall I write? Take the de Candole approach.

2012-01-03T17:24:00.000Z

Disused railroad line at Whiskey Creek

On a recent trip to Vancouver Island in Canada I was delighted to meet up with Richard de Candole.

Richard was a columnist for the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper writing a weekly column called "Rural Roots" that documented life on his acreage in Whiskey Creek, British Columbia about 8 miles out of the picturesque village of Qualicum Beach. The column was intended to provide an insight into country living, island style and I remember reading it with fascination on a number of visits.

The reason for mentioning it here was that the column (with the highlights available in a book called "Rural Roots: The Trials and Triumphs of a Back-To The-Lander") is a perfect example of how the everyday can become the out of the ordinary.

As an accomplished newspaperman Richard understood the process of defining and developing a story but the key lesson is that the things you take for granted, the stuff going on around you every day, often the smallest events or issues are of more interest to other people than you can possibly imagine.

Amongst the topics tackled by Richard we have the taste of home raised chicken, a visit by the farm health inspector, the menace of mink and filling the fish pond. Each topic has been developed into an article of around 8 - 10 paragraphs - perfect blog length - by describing what happened, considering the impact on the local situation and looking at any broader implications.

The same process can be applied to any business or organisation. The key is to recognise that your experience is unique. What happens to you and the way you respond is different to other people, which provides scope for saying something of interest or value. These stories are a powerful way to project the strengths of your business and the reasons why people deal with you. They are far more compelling than straight news items and case studies.

I returned to the UK with a signed copy of Richard's book, which I can highly recommend. Sadly however it is only available from a few select locations on Vancouver Island. Perhaps I can persuade Richard himself to set up his own blog to continue with the story of his Whiskey Creek farmstead so more people can share it.

Gareth

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

Social Media topics: your customers?

2011-12-14T08:54:00.001Z

The issue of having something to write about is a key issue for both delegates at training courses I run (e.g. B2B Centre Social Media training) and consultancy clients.

As I have discussed before people can't always see the interest in what they do on a day to day basis, because for them it's routine or they assume that everybody else knows the stuff already.

The place I tend to start when coaxing the stories out of a business is with its customers. Naturally it's a focus of interest because the client might be well known or associated with a topical product or service. It also provides a great starting point to look for details of what the product is that's being delivered, how it's provided and what benefits it has brought, for instance.

What I am looking for is not a case study. It's really hard to stop case studies drifting into corporate speak. You know, "Company X was delighted to receive the order from global electronics Y." To me it's far more effective to relate what a lot of sales people, in particular, might call a "war story".

These anecdotes are usually shorter, more natural and more focused on a particular idea. They have greater resonance with an audience, whether listeners and receivers, and in my experience are far more influential. The bonus of the war story approach is that they usually contain a lot of implied positive statements. You have some customers. They paid you for a product or service. You did some things that were above and beyond what they expected.

The war story approach usually focuses more on the client than the supplier, which makes it easier to get approval to publish it (you should ask), and because they are meant to be short and snappy they are excellent material for blogs, Facebook notes, website news items, link Tweets etc.

As an example I just wrote a short item for Lewis Smith & Co. (accountants for Halesowen businesses) about the 30th anniversary in business of one of their clients, Bartlams Fitted Bedrooms. Whilst it's mainly about Bartlams' success it does mention what Lewis Smith & Co. has done and there is a testimonial in there too.

Bartlams were delighted to get some additional coverage and Lewis Smith & Co. are pleased to get some plaudits. I now get the benefit of talking about how I have helped some clients, and both Lewis Smith & Co. and Bartlams get some valuable inbound links.

Everything comes together.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing - Practical social media training and consultancy

Social Media Lecture

2011-12-08T08:32:00.001Z

Interesting Social Media lecture for MSc students at University of Warwick's WMG faculty yesterday.

Presented a case study highlighting the practical issues for small businesses using Social Media - time, resources and money. The students were quite surprised, I think, that a business wouldn't use every single tool available. As bright, enthusiastic young people they clearly assumed that the digital option would be top of the list.

For me the challenge is to strike a balance between all of the glitzy technology (which I am as enthusiastic about as they are) and some "grim realities". Firstly that business consists of doing lots of other potentially uninteresting but valuable stuff like balancing the books and checking stock, and secondly despite all of the hype an awful lot of business is still conducted offline or at least via less exciting channels such as email.

Gareth

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

Providing SEO and content development for Halesowen Accountants Lewis Smith & Co.

Managing Business Risk Breakfast Seminar

2011-12-03T14:14:00.000Z

Arrowsmith client "The CIO Partnership" has put out an invitation for an exciting Thought Leadership Breakfast Seminar to be held in London in January 2012.

Entitled "Managing Business Risk in a Digital World: identifying threats and defining solutions." the session, which is being put on in conjunction with Inception Partners, is being held at Quaglino's in London on Thursday January 12th.

CIO Partnership associate and security expert Nigel Stanley is in the chair to facilitate the seminar.

For more details and how to book visit the CIO Partnership website.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

Young Enterprise Trade Fair Wolverhampton

2011-11-30T14:02:00.000Z

Imagine, the Young Enterprise company from King Edward VI College in Stourbridge, are looking forward to setting out their stall in Wolverhampton's Mander Centre on Saturday 10th December.

The company has moved on from 2 very successful business activities. They produced and sold a student focused magazine at college open days in September and, more recently, organised a raffle to coincide with a choral concert in the college auditorium.

Since then Imagine has been focused on developing 2 main product lines. A jewellery portfolio containing items for both the student market and on family gifts, and wrist bands made from "survival string" aimed at "lads and dads".

The Young Enterprise Xmas trade fair in Wolverhampton is an opportunity to both test the market on these products and generate further sales. There are a limited number of places available so Imagine hope to be able to take advantage of a certain amount of exclusivity and benefit from the draw of a brass band and a Christmas choir.

A lot of effort has been put into planning the products and setting up an attractive stall - let's hope it pays off.

Gareth

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing and Young Enterprise Business Advisor.

Foreign Language Cinema - West Midlands

2011-11-02T10:59:00.000Z

There aren't too many place to go and see foreign language films on the big screen in the West Midlands.

It might come as a pleasant surprise to find that there is a venue that is not only close to Birmingham but also has extremely good links to the motorway network giving access to people from around the West Midlands region.

Artrix Arts Centre in Bromsgrove has a varied cinema programme that includes plenty of foreign language films - at the time of writing "L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie" starring Catherine Deneuve was the big attraction. It also puts on a good selection of art house pictures, some big features that you missed at the multiplex, and in the holidays there are always some special shows for children..

I came across Atrix in a professional capacity when I was asked to do an online marketing assessment as part of a Business Link funded project. It's a modern building with a reasonable sized auditorium and good sound and projection facilities. It relies on volunteers to put on all of its performances and this gives a friendly feel, which sits well with its role as a community project.

Although it has strong roots in the community don't write it off as a small town backwater. Artrix has developed a role as a kick-off point for tours by people like Rory Bremner and Jack Dee, which means that it has got its act together (terrible pun) in terms of putting on performances.

It's "only half an hour's drive" for a substantial number of people in the Midlands: Its definitely worth checking out.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

CRM and Facebook articles - B2B Centre Newsletter

2011-11-01T16:30:00.000Z

Sent out the latest National B2B Centre newsletter out yesterday.

Wrote 2 new articles to go in the newsletter.

One on CRM in conjunction with Steve Orriss ("5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs CRM")

The second a few tips on using Facebook ("Make the Most of Your Facebook Page")

You can sign up to get the newsletter directly at the B2B Centre website. Some of the content is available immediately on the website while other items get posted on the website or the B2B Centre blog over the course of a few weeks.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

New geo-targeted pages for Lewis Smith & Co.

2011-10-25T14:50:00.001+01:00

Just completed some new geo-targeted pages for the Lewis Smith & Co. website to target clients outside of the company's primary stamping ground of Dudley.

One page is targeted for people searching for accountants in Wolverhampton, the other on prospects searching for accountants in Stourbridge.

For anybody with a business that has a local focus (accountants, butchers, florists etc.) it is very important to understand that you need to tell search engines where you are physically situated. This also means taking some time to think about how far from your location you want to or could do business.

Creating pages that are focused on a particular place name is one action you can take, while making sure that you have a Google Places directory entry is also very important.

It will be interesting to see how quickly Google indexes the new pages because, of course, using blogs and other social media is another way to make sure that geo-targeting works.

Gareth

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

King Ed's Stourbridge, Young Enterprise - Great Start

2011-10-20T09:38:00.001+01:00

"Imagine", this year's Young Enterprise company at King Edward VI 6th form College in Stourbridge got off to a great start with the publication and sale of "Insight: An inside guide to King Ed's".

The guide is being sold during two open evenings at the College where prospective students and their parents get to look around and find out more about the different A Level courses on offer.

"Insight" provides various views on College life from the perspective of both current and former students including Laura, who is now the proprietor of Stourbridge shop "Polka Dot Paradise".
The articles succeed in providing a student focused view of what King Ed's is like: all positive but not too gushing. They touch on the difficulties in making the transition from GCSEs to A Levels but also point out the range of interesting enrichment activities available. One of which is the intriguing "Muggle Quidditch".

Sales of Insight on the first open evening looked very strong. What is just as impressive though is the amount of money raised through advertising. The Imagine team were highly proactive in seeking out advertising and succeeded in getting support from a number of well known Stourbridge businesses.

As always a big thanks to everybody who supported King Ed's Young Enterprise.

Polka Dot Paradise
The French Connection
VIP's Hair Salon
Soprano's Pizza
Carol's Fish Bar
Butterfingers

The Imagine team are now turning their attention to developing a set of products that they can produce ready for Christmas and a series of Trade Fairs in the early part of 2012.

Gareth Edwards

Business Adviser to Imagine, Young Enterprise company
Owner of Arrowsmith Marketing

Russell Willis Physio and Rehab Clinic Website Goes Live

2011-09-22T18:35:00.000+01:00

Just created a website for the Russell Willis Physio and Rehab Clinic in Droitwich, with the help of Mark Bonnett at Yellow Zombie.

Pleased to say that the Wordpress site was indexed by Google very quickly. Looking forward to getting some relevant keyword rankings over the next few weeks.

The clinic provides physiotherapy to clients around Worcestershire and is very close to both Worcester and Kidderminster

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

2011-08-15T09:04:00.000+01:00

How do you know where to start in terms of your social media activity?

Well there are some straightforward approaches to finding your target audience.

Check out the article I recently wrote for the National B2B Centre "Social Media - Where are Your Customers and Prospects".

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

2011-08-11T09:45:00.001+01:00

Interesting new blog.

The Clothing Recycling and Reuse Champions blog has been set up by BCR Global textiles to comment on various recycling issues.

In their most recent post "Please stay out of our textile banks" they have highlighted how people are breaking into clothing receptacles to steal items that would have otherwise been redistributed to somebody in need.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

2011-08-09T16:00:00.000+01:00

Just doing some optimisation work on the ArchedWood.com website.

ArchedWood.com provide a range of joinery items such as reclaimed timber doors and salvaged floorboards as well as a collection for architectural hardware such as door locks, brass door knockers and letterboxes.

We'll see how well it performs over the next few weeks.

Gareth EdwardsArrowsmith Marketing

Social Media Article - Time, Money and Resource Issues

2011-06-16T11:00:00.000+01:00

You might be interested in an article I recently wrote for the National B2B Centre, based at the University of Warwick.

Entitled "Using Social Media - Resolving Time, Money and Resource Issues" the article explores the problems that SMEs have in putting Social Media to practical use in their businesses.

In essence the hype about Social Media means that people ignore the fact a lot of resources and effort are required to make it work. It requires plenty of planning and manage to achieve success, but by adopting some straightforward principles it is possible to integrate Social Media activity into day to day activities without too much pain.

Check out the article here and let me know what you think.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

PS I am running a Social Media workshop for the B2B Centre on July 7th at Warwick Uni, where we will explore some of these issues and resolutions in more detail

Vehnet Optimisation

2011-05-16T10:12:00.001+01:00

Just completing some optimisation work for Vehnet, the automotive yard management system providers.

Here's hoping that Google will index the Vehnet site map at last to start the process of checking out the whole site.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

French Farmhouse Gite Photo Galleries

2011-03-27T22:45:00.000+01:00

Just started the process of getting some photo galleries up onto the Barrusclet French farmhouse gite website.

Some lovely pictures, just thumbnails at the moment though.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

New Article - "Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn"

2011-03-17T20:15:00.000Z

As a fan of LinkedIn (it has continued to generate leads for the business for some years now) I realised recently that a surprising number of business people still don't yet get it!

Perhaps it's just a bit too conservative looking: an opportunity to highlight experience, recommendations and current activity is just about as much as it offers. But as a community or a marketplace it contains real people who could be looking for your services or have something that you want buy.

Anyhow if you aren't familiar with how it works or what some of the benefits might be I have written an article for The National B2B Centre called "Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn". Take a look and let me know if you have any comments.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Check your site is visible in the search engines

2011-03-08T14:55:00.000Z

For reasons that will become clear my latest client, The CIO Partnership, won't mind me name checking them in relation to a problem that they have been suffering without kn owing it for nearly a year.

They ahave a nice looking site built using Wordpress but what they didn't realise is that the there is a default privacy option in their theme which sets a nofollow and noindex flag in each of the website pages. So since it has been launched the site has been pretty much ignored by the search engines.

The challenge know is to make sure that the site gets indexed as quickly as possible. Having a link from this blog to their site should help to kickstart some spidering, which is why the client won't mind the mention today.

A quick way to see if there any problems with your site is to enter the search "site:http://www.yourwebsite.co.uk" (remembering to change it to your website's address!) into Google. If the search didn't match any documents or Google can't see as many pages as you think are on your site then you may have a problem.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Free Online ERP workshop

2011-02-14T09:02:00.000Z

Client Manu Online are holding a series of free "Walk-in ERP workshops" at the University of Warwick's International Digital Laboratory facility in Coventry, UK over the next 3 month's.

James Casserly, MD of Manu Online, will be leading the workshops and helping companies to set up their own ERP system on the spot. The Manu Online ERP system can be then be used on an ongoing basis by 2 concurrent users without charge.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Lewis Smith & Co - Xero Qualified?

2011-02-12T19:12:00.000Z

Clients Lewis Smith & Co., the Dudley based chartered accountants, have got the technology bug!

They have just become the first Black Country practice to become qualified partners for the Xero online accounting package. Xero offers extremely high levels of functionality at a very low cost because it is delivered online. It's a similar concept to the Manu Online ERP system that Arrowsmith is currently supporting.

Because it is such good value Lewis Smith & Co.believe that small and medium sized clients will start to use the system, making it easier for both the accountant and the client to manage business finances!

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Gas Data work starts to flow

2011-02-12T15:20:00.000Z

Background optimisation to the Gas Data website have already had a very positive effect on keyword ranking.

Now a couple of re-written pages have been launched both to further enhance the position of the site for its focused terms and to help visitors see the benefits of the Gas Data product set more quickly. The initial focus pages is for the GFM 416 hand-held biogas analyser.

We should start to see the benefits in 10 days to a weeks time.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Google Places Article

2011-01-24T09:34:00.000Z

Google Places is a really important tool for businesses whose customers are based in the local vicinity.

The definition of local for my business is roughly a 40 mile radius that encompasses the West Midlands region (including Birmingham, Coventry, Worcester etc.). For other businesses the area covered by "local" could be smaller or larger.

Google Places is a free directory that Google uses, under some circumstances, to help populate its search results.

To help people use this tool I have posted an article on the National B2B Centre Ltd. website called "Using Google Places".

Take a look and then come back and tell me what you think.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Manu Online ERP Keyword Rankings

2011-01-19T09:34:00.000Z

Delighted to say that the work on the Manu Online website has paid off.

The site has reached page 1 positioning for the phrase "online ERP" on Google UK and moved up dramatically for a range of other keywords and phrases.

We are looking to get the site listed on page 1 for phrases like "Cloud ERP" and "Saas ERP". Fingers crossed.

Manu Online ERP was designed from the ground up as a web-based ERP application for manufacturers and material supply companies. It's free for 2 concurrent users.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Manu Online - Saas ERP provider

2010-12-28T18:55:00.000Z

Delighted to announce that I am supporting Manu Online with some search engine optimisation and website copy development over the next few weeks.

Manu Online have developed an online ERP application for SME manufacturers and material supply companies. The great thing is that for firms that only need 1 or 2 concurrent user licences the application can be used for free. Even for slightly larger companies it is a very low cost way of getting a sophisticated planning and management system to look after manufacturing, inventory control, sales processing and invoicing.

The field of Saas (software as a services) ERP is developing fast as businesses become used to using web based software. The benefits are that applications like Manu Online can be accessed via internet browsers from pretty much anywhere there is a connection - IT costs and complexity are dramatically reduced reduced This means that providers can concentrate on making their applications work as effectively as possible.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

5 tips for successful online marketing

2010-12-22T18:36:00.000Z

Just been reminded that a blog I wrote for the "Interiors and Lifestyles Futures" group have published a blog on online marketing that I did for them a few weeks back.

You can check out the blog on the link above but just to paraphrase, the 5 steps are;

Plan thoroughly. Think about the audience and what you want to say. Consider how much time you really have to update, say, a blog.
Analyse your website to make sure it says what you do and helps people to make a decision to work with you and get in contact.
Use email newsletters to maintain a connection with clients and prospects.
Use appropriate Social Media channels. Consider how your prospects look for information and what they expect to see in different places: LinkedIn is not the same as Facebook. is it.
Tell your story. Don't just give product specifications or formulaic case studies. Tell the real story of why your latest client bought from you or how you created a new service. It's far more interesting and more compelling too.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

New Year - New Clients

2010-12-20T21:46:00.000Z

Delighted to announce a number of new client sign-ups to get 2011 going nicely.

Dynistics, the Business Intelligence software people, have signed up for some blogging and SEO work.
Gas Data Ltd, the Coventry based gas analyser and monitoring equipment makers, are looking at improving the visibility and usability of their website.
Ready Steady Store, the nationwide self storage company, have brought Arrowsmith back in for further help in maintaining their excellent keyword ranking.

And more University of Warwick lectures in May!

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Dynistics - Brand new blog and first blog post

2010-12-02T18:25:00.000Z

Delighted to be helping Dynistics the leading Business Intelligence software company get their message across.

We have just set up the Active in Business Intelligence blog to help the company start to tell some of the stories behind its recent dramatic growth. The company specialises in Active Dashboards that provide a real time graphical display of what's going on in the organisation: sales, production, staff activity - you name it.

Dynistics are a dynamic group of people so there won't be any shortage of things to talk about...must remember to blog the details of their ICT Cluster award last week.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

dynistics win!

2010-11-25T21:21:00.000Z

delighted to be guest of dynistics at the ict cluster awards at the national motorcycle museum.

dynistics has just won the export award for its work in setting up channels in the us and europe.

congratulations anthony dent and his team.

gareth

sent from htc

When is a Content Management System not a Content Management System?

2010-11-08T19:01:00.000Z

When is a Content Management System not a Content Management System? When your website developer locks out all of the useful functionality and charges a lot of money to use the system for you!

One of my clients is in the difficult position of having a site that was built using a Content Management System (CMS) for which almost all of the functionality has been turned off for them.

This means that all they can do is add text to the pages that were set up at site build and add news pages. All of the other good stuff like adding new links or new sections or sub-pages (essential for good SEO) are restricted.

You will probably be as disappointed as me to hear that my client has been asked for a substantial amount of money to make some changes that ordinarily would have taken a short time to do themselves. The developers have claimed that major template changes are required. Well their proprietary CMS must be a load of crap then because systems like Joomla would have allowed it to happen very easily.

Make sure you nail down what you are going to get for your money and don't assume that just because a CMS is being used that you will get all of the benefits.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Helping out some entrepreneurs

2010-11-03T18:37:00.000Z

It's always good to help out budding entrepreneurs and this week I have had the opportunity to help up a couple of people who have taken up the challenge of starting their own business. This has come courtesy of the good people of Enterprising Coventry who are supporting their citizens in working for themselves.

Adam Cooper has set up Product Rush, a specialist DVD eCommerce site selling a range of movies and TV shows across a range of genres. Personally I like the sound of the History of Ferrari. Adam is a recent graduate and he has set the set up as a way of establishing his credentials in the eCommerce arena and, of course, making some money.

Maria Marshalsea on the other hand is an experienced secretary and administrator with bags of knowledge on how to run an office effectively. She has set up SageFrog Virtual PA to provide support to local businesses. Maria has been doing a lot of business networking and as a result she has come up with a business card database service to help networkers make best use of all of those contacts they make.

In different ways they both show a great determination to succeed and are using their strengths to build new contacts, new clients and new ideas.

I wish them both great success.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Guest appearance on the Office Lifeline "Lifesaver" blog

2010-10-11T08:30:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Denis Pelych at Office Lifeline (the office admin services provider) for the kind reference in their Lifesaver blog.

One of the topics for discussion was the use of geographical references to benefit from the desire of search engines to provide location specific results in the search listings.

Interesting Office Lifeline can provide services anywhere, it's the nature of what they do. So the recommendation is to have targeted pages that highlight their ability to be a Virtual Assistant in London, for instance. Provided that the page makes a coherent offer and includes suitable keywords then they should be able to project themselves in new markets.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

How to use Flickr to promote a French holiday farmhouse

2010-10-10T11:39:00.000+01:00

There are a number of reasons for using as many social media tools as you can to promote your products and services.

You nearly always get to add your website address to a profile, which is good for SEO. If you are lucky you can also add extra keyword rich links or other valuable content to increase your web presence.

If you have photos (or video) even better. You could do what Gill Wooldridge, owner of Barrusclet the beautiful French farmhouse, does and add photos to a photo sharing site, in this case Flickr.

Why? Well firstly Flickr is a community or marketplace in its own right. People look around in it. They browse. They search for stuff. If they are thinking of going on holiday then they look for pictures of the region they are interested in. So it can generate leads.

It also gives you an opportunity to get more noticed by the search engines. Google now has another place to find and index pictures. It is a really good idea to make sure that you give image meaningful names (not just img20100.jpg) and add relevant descriptions too. That way you tell the search engines that your pictures are about (in this case a "French farmhouse to rent", or that it it is a "French gite with a swimming pool".

You might notice that sometimes Google will list available images in the search results. Why not make one of those a compelling picture of what you do.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Making sense of social media for SMEs

Blogging and online marketing podcast

2010-10-07T17:20:00.000+01:00

The interview I did for Stratford Community Radio a few weeks ago is now available to listen to or download.

A fun experience and there is some sound advice tucked away in there.

Shame that you don't get to hear the Rush and Jethro Tull tracks that I chose for broadcast!

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

New blog for the blogosphere - Jackie King-Turner

2010-09-22T20:00:00.000+01:00

Following on from my appearance on Stratford Community Radio to talk about blogging (and play some prog rock) it is nice to announce that the presenter of the show, Jackie King-Turner, has set up her own blog.

The first post "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" is a really interesting discussion on why Jackie as established her blog and what she wants to achieve with it.

I would recommend it for other aspiring bloggers because creating that sense of purpose makes it much easier to decide what to write on a post by post basis. Defining an objective and then some milestones also helps to create commitment. The worst thing you can do with blogging is to start...and then give up after a couple of posts.

Well done Jackie. Look forward to the next issue.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Talking about Blogging - Stratford Community Radio

2010-09-18T11:47:00.000+01:00

Looking forward to guesting on Stratford Community Radio today to talk about blogging. I even get to choose some music to play. Sounds like Desert Island Discs!

A podcast will available at some point minus the songs http://www.myscr.co.uk. They have to be removed to comply with the broadcast licence, so nobody will get to hear my favourite tunes. Since I was going to choose classics of prog and rock it is probably for the best.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Arrowsmith Marketing, new client. Act Sharp - Entertainment Agency

2010-09-13T14:22:00.000+01:00

Pleased to announce that Arrowsmith is now working on a project for the Act Sharp Entertainment Agency, based in Birmingham.

Act Sharp has a wide range of entertainers for hire to perform at weddings, corporate events, parties and function. There are a variety of solo artists playing anything from guitar to the harp, and lots of bands who can perform from Abba to Metallica and everything else in between.

The initial assignment is to review and amend page titles and descriptions across the site.

Big thanks to Jo Ridgley for the referral (via BNI Edgbaston)

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Marie Curie - Blooming Great Ball, Solihull

2010-09-11T20:10:00.001+01:00

Congratulations need to go to Mike Nevin of Alliance Best Practice for his efforts in helping to organise the Marie Curie - Bloomin Great Ball at the St Johns Hotel in Solihull yesterday. The event raised many thousands of pounds in aid of the Solihull Hospice rebuilding project.

The event featured Crackerjack legend Don Maclean and a kilted Mr Motivator providing MC and auctioneering skills. And they certainly managed to relieve quite a few punters of large sums of cash for the auction lots.

Mike is raising more money for the Marie Curie charity by doing a sponsored bike ride around Jamaica. He is very close to his target of £6,000 so feel free to support him at http://original.justgiving.com/michaelnevin

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

New blog for BNI Edgabston

2010-08-18T17:56:00.000+01:00

Just set up a new blog to allow the networking group BNI Edgbaston to promote itself.

It was a quick and cheap way to create a web presence and we should all benefit from the chance to post items about networking sessions and generate some of those valuable inbound links.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

URL builder helping Waterra UK

2010-08-10T20:05:00.001+01:00

My client Waterra UK have started using Google's URL Builder as part of their brand new newsletter.

Waterra, who are groundwater monitoring equipment specialists, are now able to track the effectiveness of their e-shots to a much greater level of detail now. URL Builder, which is hidden away in the Google Analytics help pages, allows you to "tag" links so that they show up in Analytics under the 'Campaign' heading.

Now it is true that a lot of email software will tell you how many click throughs that you have. What URL Builder does is give you an indication of what happens when people actually get to your site. You can tag multiple links in the newsletter (or blog or web page or whatever) or tag the mulitple instances of the same link to see what the most popular version is (e.g. 'click here' or 'read the latest Arrowsmith blog about URL Builder').

It's an very useful tool in measuring the success of your online marketing activity and it's both free and easy to use.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

Check out our independent website assessment service.

Barrusclet progress

2010-08-05T17:56:00.000+01:00

Very pleased to see the Fabulous France website getting some good rankings now.

It is fascinating to see what impact changing meta page titles and tweaking the content can have. It's also fascinating to see how poor many competing sites are in terms of both optimisation and usability. Not sure if this a problem of developers not providing the extra input to make sites perform effectively or of clients who don't research how websites should work.

If you are interested Fabulous France is there to promote Barrusclet, a beautifully restored French farmhouse with swimming pool that's available to rent. It sleeps from 12 to 16 people and stands in 40 acres of its own grounds in South West France.

Gareth Edwards Arrowsmith Marketing

LinkedIn blog gets "syndicated" (well sort of)

2010-07-27T10:48:00.000+01:00

It is nice when you do something that gets recognised as being useful, isn't it?

One of the members of BNI Edgbaston, Tony Collinson (Collinsons Chartered Accountants), asked how he could best use the social networking site LinkedIn. So I wrote my 8 tips on getting the most out of it and distributed to the rest of the chapter.

They thought it was helpful because I pointed out some of the simple things that you can do like make your "professional headline" more interesting. Mine went from

"Director Arrowsmith Marketing"

to

"Online business advisor. Helping businesses tell compelling stories about what they do to the people who matter."

Probably too long, but it does seem to stick in people's minds.

Anyway fellow chapter member Richard Tubb of James Cash IT Support also liked it and has put it up on his blog. The beauty of that is that Richard is big into networking and so his post will reach a new audience for me. He has also provided an inbound link to the Arrowsmith website, which should count for something.

And out of it I have had material for my own blog, plugged some good people and passed around some links. Not bad for half an hour's work!

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing - Expert speakers on social media and online marketing

Virtual PA articles on Office Lifeline website

2010-07-21T18:22:00.000+01:00

Just uncovered a treasure trove of articles that provide explanations, benefits and issues on using Virtual PA and outsourced admin services.

Did you know for instance that there are such things as VAs, VPAs, EAs and AAs!

All part of a new project for Office Lifeline who provide such services to individuals and companies around the country from their base in Leamington Spa.

Gareth
Director Arrowsmith Marketing

"My Blog List" gives inbound links

2010-07-19T16:59:00.000+01:00

Just checking on the progress of a client's blog and was interested to find that it had a link via the "My blog list" that appears on the right hand vertical menu of this blog.

I know it's passing on "link juice" and all that - I quite like the idea that I am promoting my clients' work though.

So that you can check it out the search was for "french farmhouse near larresingle" and the results looked this:

Check out the Barrusclet blogpost "french farmhouse near larresingle".

Gareth

Director - Arrowsmith Marketing Limited

Arrowsmith - Social Media specialists

Google Chrome adds extensions - should I switch from Firefox?

2010-07-05T20:53:00.000+01:00

I have been using the Firefox browser for a long time now. When I first switched from Internet Explorer it was because Firefox was faster, safer and had lots of extra functionality offered by it's add-ons. The add-on's helped with search engine optimisation, surfing and using different forms of web content.

Recently though I have found that Firefox has got much slower and seems to freeze more often. It's probably because I have too many add-ons and too many open tabs but well it just doesn't seem quite as good any more.

Which brings me to Google's Chrome. I have had it installed for some time and found it quite useful if I just wanted a fast loading browser. I used it to watch some of the World Cup games online for instance. I didn't use it as the main browser because it didn't have the extra bells and whistles that Firefox provided. Now I have just discovered that Chrome offers a pretty extensive set of extras in the form of extensions. Many of which are equivalent to the Firefox set.

So Chrome offers speed and ease of use, and now has the extras. But if I use it as my main browser then Google has almost complete control of my web usage and that puts me off a little.

So should I just switch or should I stick with the good folk of Mozilla who organise the development of Firefox as a free product?

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing - For independent website assessments

Why it pays to review your Google Analytics or web stats

2010-07-04T18:19:00.000+01:00

Noticed the other day that the referral traffic from a very well known web directory (clue: yellow) to my clients had slowed down to nothing.
Checked with client that they hadn't decided to stop using the services. This uncovered the fact that although the renewal for a premium spot had been renewed the service provider hadn't put it live. Result an immediate refund, lots of apologies and, more importantly, the channel back up and running.

So keep checking the stats to see if referrers or keywords or campaigns are still delivering what they should or what you expect.

Gareth
Arrowsmith Marketing - Website performance monitoring a speciality

Barrusclet search engine optimisation underway

2010-07-02T08:13:00.000+01:00

Just amended meta page titles and descriptions across the Fabulous France site.

So for instance The Pool page (which talks about the 12x6 metre roman style swimming pool) now has a page title of "Gite with pool | South West France | French country farmhouse"

Now looking forward to Google indexing the changes, seeing the site go higher in the rankings and some traffic being generated.

Gareth
Arrowsmith Marketing - Independent website assessments a speciality

Management Interactive at King Edward VI College - Stourbridge

2010-06-29T22:25:00.000+01:00

Had a brilliant day on Monday helping as a mentor for the Management Interactive session for Year 12 students at King Edward VI college in Stourbridge (where I normally get involved in Young Enterprise).

I have done 3 or 4 times before over the past 5 years and it has always been a well put together session designed to help 16-17 year olds explore ideas around the role of management and potential career roles.

This year was special. Inspiring Futures brought in a new coach, Alex Scrivens, with a really different and exciting approach. Alex moved away from case studies and very structured exercises. Instead we had open-ended and flexible tasks which put the onus on the students to make sense of the problem and work out for themselves how to communicate their solutions.

The finale of the day was great fun and tied in with some of my ideas about business communication. Alex got the groups to develop stories about their experiences during the course and how they had changed as a result.

It was fascinating to see how the groups rose to the challenge. We had a "Lost" based role play, a kind of farmyard based Aesop's fable and the X Men. The students really tuned into this concept and seemed to draw a great deal of inspiration from the different forms in which their peers experiences were being conveyed.

For me the excitement that was generated and that ability to tap into an emotional response vindicates my approach with clients. Tell stories. They are just so much more interesting and compelling.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

Barrusclet Blog up and running

2010-06-21T13:28:00.002+01:00

Congrats to Gill Wooldridge for getting the Barrusclet Blog up and running so quickly.

Gill is using the blog to tell the story of how she and her husband discovered an old farmhouse in South West France and then set about bringing it back to life as Barrusclet a delightful property, which is available for rent year round.

She has really got the knack of telling the story in words and using her back catalogue of photos to illustrate just what a labour of love the conversion was.

Interestingly many of the people I work with baulk at this point and claim that "we don't have anything to say!" Well do what Gill has done and use (and re-use) the material you already have on websites, brochures, press releases, photos and videos to tell the story in a different medium to a new audience.

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing - Social media strategy and development

Example of a blog helping with SEO - Fabulous France

2010-06-15T11:43:00.000+01:00

A few weeks back I posted a blog about my friends who had renovated a lovely farmhouse in South West France and were now letting it out.

The blog titled "Farmhouse gite in Midi Pyrenees - France" included a picture and some links back to the website that included keyword such as "old French farmhouse".

Interestingly if you do a Google search on "french farmhouse midi pyrenees" the website is now top in Google.

So it just goes to show that all of this blogging stuff can pay off can't it?

By the way the place in question is a large farmhouse with a swimming pool in South West France that sleeps up to 16 people.

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing

P.S Check out the Arrowsmith online marketing articles page

Google video - how Google searches work

2010-06-09T07:09:00.000+01:00

If you don't know how a Google search works or how you should set up your web page to be found by Google then this video will help.

It features Matt Cutts, the friendly face of Google, who puts out loads of very valuable and interesting information on the world of the biggest search company in the world.

Gareth

If you want more info on e-marketing, websites or Social Media then take a look at Arrowsmith's articles

Useful new features on Google Places (nee Google Local)

2010-06-02T16:53:00.001+01:00

The move to change the name of Google Local to Google Places isn't (just) a ho-hum rebranding exercise.

There are a couple of important new features of the service, which as you know provides a highly localised listing for some searches in Google.

The first feature may be of value to those of you who are home based because it allows you to remove the full address details from your listing. This may give you back a bit of privacy not least because (at least in my case) Google used the information to provide a streetview picture of the front of my house!

The second new feature is the ability to set how your service area s specified. You can choose a distance from a specific location (usually your business address) or provide a list of area served. It isn't clear how this will impact where you might get listed for a search but at least you can start to make a choice.

If you haven't set up a Google Places listing then do so quickly. If you previously set up a Google Local listing then go back and check your listing and use these new features if they are relevant to you.

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing - Do you need a speaker on Social Marketing?

Want a new car - try an old car from Tristar

2010-05-21T17:07:00.000+01:00

Met up with John Knight, an old business colleague today, and found the perfect solution for those "don't want want of those boring new car" blues.

John, who is a serial entrepreneur, has set up Tristar Modern Classics to offer close to classic Mercedes cars at very affordable prices. He specialises in 80's and early 90's vehicles at a time when Mercedes quality was at its peak. Some of the vehicles he stocks are pretty high mileage but they have a reputation for going on and on and on.

So you get a pretty decent car for not much money - how about £5,495 for a 230 TE estate! They don't depreciate and actually if you are lucky you might get more than you paid. The car tax is much lower than for an equivalent engine size on a new car and you even get a discount on labour from Mercedes.

As someone who was likely to buy yet another Vectra it sounds pretty tempting.

Gareth
Arrowsmith Marketing

Has anyone else noticed that it has suddenly got hard to find things on Google?

2010-05-21T11:20:00.000+01:00

I know that Google has made some changes recently most obviosly in the layout of its main search page. But something else seems to have happened in the way it determines what search results it brings back.

I have noticed that when I have done searches on some specific companies or organisations it seems to have trouble bring me back a reference to the home page of those sites. So for instance I did a search for "ACCA" (Association for Chartered Certified Accountants) and most of the results were for press releases by other organisations mentioning ACCA. I did the same thing this morning for "David Linney Photography" and the results consisted of various references but not the businesses website.

Strangely just as I was writing this blog I did the search for both of these terms again and Hey Presto the search changed to what I would have expected with the top search reference pointing to the prime websites. It's a bit odd.

Can anyone tell me what's going on?

Gareth
Arrowsmith Marketing Limited

Lewis Smith & Co. - Hard Rock Accountants

2010-05-20T21:30:00.000+01:00

Arrowsmith client Lewis Smith & Co. dropped a major bombshell in the world of rock 'n' roll today.

They announced that company director Andrew Smith has been living a dual life as a guitar god with Stourbridge band MaDads.

Andrew told us that "pretending to be a fan of Keane, Paolo Nuttini and, I am sorry, Lilly Allen has been really difficult over the past 5 years. I am glad it is all in the open now."

Check out the full news release on the Lewis Smith & Co. website, which includes a link to MaDads infamous "Tarka Daal" video.

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing

Denis Pelych's High Andes Tour Blog

2010-05-07T08:08:00.001+01:00

If you want thrills, spills and excitement then you need to read Denis Pelych's High Andes Tour blog today.

Friend and VHQ Solutions co-director, Denis is doing his mid-life thing by going across the Andes by frog (sorry that's a poor recollection of a "Ripping Yarns" sketch) or in his case BMW motorbike with a group of fellow loonies.

Judging by his commentary and photos they are having an exciting time. I just hope they don't have to go across the road of death featured in the Top Gear.

Check the blog out - it's very good.

Gareth

Beware SEO hucksters promising page 1 in Google - using Pay Per Click

2010-05-06T17:03:00.000+01:00

A number of clients have highlighted a new twist in the world of SEO snake oil salesmen.

The promise is a miracle way to get high listings in Google rankings. Now that isn't anything you haven't heard before. What's different is they don't tell you that they'll acheive this using Google AdWords.

Now I think that pay per click advertising can be a very powerful tool in the right circumstances and used in the right way. However when a company contacted me to see if a client wanted to spend £300 over 6 months to "get front page listing" I figured this was the wrong tool used in the wrong way.

For a start they already had front page listing for all of the relevant keywords (so poor research there). The second thing was that if a client had run the pay per click campaign themselves with no knowledge at all, or even if they had some help from me, it would have cost them a fraction of the charge of this so-called SEO company.

If any of this is confusing then I wrote an article for the National B2B Centre about choosing an SEO supplier that you might want to take a look at.

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing

Do your own Success Audit. Remember all of the great things you have done

2010-05-06T08:06:00.000+01:00

I have mentioned in the past the "Success Audit" technique that we used at the National B2B Centre.

It was designed as a way to get people thinking about their business so that they could generate content for use in Social Media. However it works in other situations too.

The Arrowsmith website has needed a bit of a boost for a while (but when you have got client requirements to satisfy...) so I used the process to think about what new things I could say. Interestingly the main thing that it helped me with was to remind me just how many people Arrowsmith has helped over the years either directly or through the B2B Centre. I hadn't exactly forgotten but those experiences weren't exactly front and centre.

So now I busy developing some new client pages and also re-examining those different assignments to pull-out the nuggets that other people are going to be interested in. What did Arrowsmith do that can be replicated by other people to achieve success?

Gareth

Arrowsmith Marketing

Farmhouse gite in Midi Pyrenees - France

2010-05-01T19:46:00.001+01:00

My friends Gill and Mark have renovated an old French farmhouse to a fantastic level of style and comfort.

Not sure whether it is too big to be described as a gite but Barrusclet, located in the Midi Pyrenees region near the town of Condom, has space for 12-16, a pool, games room and extensive grounds.

Looking forward to the opportunity to visit, but it's very popular and has had some rave reviews.

Check out http://www.fabulousfrance.co.uk

Gareth

Using blogs to make a splash - Gillian Wesley Designs

2010-04-23T12:46:00.001+01:00

Delighted to see one of my old B2B Centre clients has started up a blog called "Diary of a fashion designer".

Gillian Wesley is a designer of fashion corsets for weddings and fancy nights out. She has been really good at using tools such as her website and Facebook to publicise her activities and her blog is another step forward in her use of Social Media.

Of course she does have an advantage. Loads of photos and, increasingly, videos of attractive ladies modelling her designs make her content rather more glamorous than mine, for instance. What Gillian has been able to do is spot the story behind the picture and reach out to her target audience.

Interestingly it's something that I have spent a lot of time encourage other clients to do. Pretty much everyone I work with has some knowledge, skill or expertise that puts them ahead of 99% of other "accessible" suppliers.
It can just take a bit of coaching to get people to recognise their own potential.

When they do then clearly their confidence in dealing with prospects naturally increases. It also unlocks their ability to say something interesting, unique or valuable and suddenly the opportunities to "make an electronic splash" in the market place using Social Media increase massively as well.

Check out the "Success Audit" exercise that we developed for the National B2B Centre to help people unlock their hidden stories.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd.
"Helping business to tell compelling stories about what they do to the people that matter"

Google Webmaster Tools - Even more essential if you want to market online

2010-04-18T17:17:00.001+01:00

9 times out of 10 I can get clients to take up Google Analytics with a minimum of debate. Webmaster Tools is usually a harder sell. Although I think it is pretty useful there has always been less of a "killer app" feel about it.

Everything has just changed though as Google has added some functionality to the tool that makes it a real must have. The Top Search queries page now provides a lot of extra information on search terms that have been used to find your site. For instance you can now find where the search term has been positioned in the results and which pages have been positioned.

If you haven't got GWT yet. Then get it today!

Gareth

P.S. If you need help in understanding how your website is performing then we offer a website performance monitoring service.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Making Google's Blogger more powerful - Add Blogger pages

2010-04-16T09:24:00.002+01:00

Presumably as part of an effort to at least offer some Wordpress-like functionality Blogger has just told me about Blogger Pages.

Essentially you can now add some "fixed pages" like about us, products, contact etc. that could turn your Blogger blog into something not too dissimilar to a basic website.

I shall have a play about with this to see how easy it is to use and report back. In the meantime here's the link to the Blogger Pages help page.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Are your directory entries up to date?

2010-04-15T18:30:00.000+01:00

It might be worth checking your directory entries to make sure that both the content and the link information are up-to-date.

Working with a client the other day we found that details on some quite important and influential directories and industry sites were wrong or hadn't been filled in correctly.

Since you can never be sure how potential customers will get to you, don't make it more difficult than it needs to be.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Did the change to Blogger optimisation work?

2010-04-06T07:33:00.001+01:00

In my previous post I mentioned a change I made to my Blogger template so that the post name (i.e. Airtime for Arrowsmith) wasn't used as a prefix on the page title.

Just to let you know that the blog was indexed at the same, lightning, speed and appears at position 1 if I search for "Improve blogger optimisation" (note only for the UK English spelling). So it seems to have worked ok.

I suppose what I should do next is do a test of two posts. One with the old style page title and one in the new format. Maybe later.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Improve Google Blogger optimisation

2010-04-05T16:11:00.000+01:00

Blogger, unlike Wordpress, does not offer much flexibility over what the meta page title for the blog looks like. Basically it shoves the name of the blog at the beginning of the page title and then appends the name of the post after it.

So in the past the page title of this post would read "Airtime for Arrowsmith Improve Google Blogger optimisation". It's ok, but only ok. The focus will be on the "Airtime for Arrowsmith" bit (because it is at the start of the page title) and the "optimisation" part might not be read or used for positioning at all.

The situation has changed now, thanks to Daily Blogger, because I followed their tip on removing the name of the blog from the page title. It does involve cutting and pasting some code in the source html of the template but you can do that within the Blogger editor and the instructions at the Daily Blogger are pretty watertight.

Let's see if it makes a difference!

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Quick Review -"How to have kick-ass ideas"

2010-04-04T12:32:00.002+01:00

"How To Have Kick-Ass Ideas" is a good laugh but also a seriously helpful book. It can be used simply to help you inject a bit of creativity into generating ideas for new products or new marketing campaigns. It can also be used for self-development, to inject a bit of pizzazz back into daily life or to help focus on some clear objectives and set a new direction.

If you decide to read this book or if you are lucky enough to win a copy be prepared to suspend disbelief when you first open it. It reminded me of those old Monty Python books. Cartoons and graphics all over the place. Loads of quotes. But these devices are properly used in conjunction with tools and ideas to make the process of kicking ass rather enjoyable.

One of the finest exercises sits under the heading "Your mind starts Being when you stop doing". So in order to help your mind get around that intractable problem Chris recommends....The Pub - "A fabulous network of rest and recuperation centre throughout the country". To be fair he also suggests that you don't rely on this one too heavily and offers alternatives such as going for a walk or having a hot bath.

Cool and wacky - gets the creative juices flowing.

P.S. What are your favourite business related books?

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

B2B Centre newsletter - Some excellent content this month

2010-03-30T22:10:00.000+01:00

Put the finishing touches to the B2B Centre newsletter earlier this afternoon (if you don't get it then visit the website and sign-up).

Fortunately we had some good content to put in it. Dr. Dave Chaffey's article on "Planning your Social Media strategy" is a must and Chris Mortimer's discussion on "Informed decision making using business simulation" raises some interesting points.

The big news is that the B2B Centre is holding another of its members networking events on April 22nd at the University. These events are always very well attended and numbers should be even higher because of the support of Accredit UK.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Need to develop your list of keywords?

2010-03-30T07:39:00.000+01:00

It can be quite difficult at first to work out what keyword people will use to find you or your products and services. It's partly about getting a customer or prospects perspective and partly about knowing where to look.

Check out a new article at the National B2B Centre website ("Developing Your Keyword List") that might help.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Lewis Smith & Co. back on the Google Local 7 pack

2010-03-27T18:23:00.000Z

Google Local caused my client Lewis Smith & Co. (the Dudley Accountants) some real irritation last year after they moved to their new offices.

We just changed the address and left all of the other information the same. What happened? The listing dropped to page 4. Nothing we did made any difference. So although the entry was as well optimised as we could make it and much better than most of the others, it just wasn't working for the company.

Today I tried a suggestion made on a blog by Susan Hallam; add the type of business to the company name. So we edited the entry from straight "Lewis Smith & Co." to "Lewis Smith & Co. Accountants" (not breaking any rules, purely descriptive). You know what as soon as I had hit save and then gone back to Google to do a search Lewis Smith appeared on the 7 pack.

Anybody else have similar experiences with Google Local?

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

New template for Airtime for Arrowsmith

2010-03-26T21:19:00.000Z

Blogger invited me to try out the Blogger Template Designer, part of Blogger in Draft, So I did.

I choose this new layout because it looks suspiciously like a view of one of the ferries from the mainland to Vancouver Island - with the Coast Mountains in the background. Not dissimilar to Mount Arrowsmith from where Arrowsmith Marketing gets it name.

Looks a bit fresher and more interesting than the old layout so I think I will keep it for a while.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Ltd., Stourbridge, UK

Quick Review - How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie

2010-03-26T17:33:00.000Z

"How to Win Friends and Influence People"by Dale Carnegie

This is a well-known book but you might not realise that it was first published in 1936. Despite its age "How to Win Friends and Influence People" continues to provide valid advice in dealing with a variety of business situations such as networking, delivering presentations and selling.

So influential is this book is that you will recognise many of the points it makes because they have appeared in business and self help books of all varieties ever since. NLP (Neuro Linguistic Processing) fans will see some of its key principles (for instance the importance of goal setting) set out here too.

So why is this book good and why would you want to read it?

Well "6 ways to make people like you" and "12 ways to win people to your way of thinking" are a good start. It is interesting that a lot of research was conducted in the process of writing this book, so isn't just a set of ideas. Dale Carnegie talked to the most successful people of his era to find out what made them tick and then put the work into practice through his own training organisation. He then used feedback from that training to make constant changes to his findings, and this process was carried on by his family.

Still not convinced? Want to tell me that this is all rubbish. Try following this Dale Carnegie principle. "Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, 'You're wrong.'". See it's easy.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Want to know what keywords people use to find the products you sell? Ask them.

2010-03-26T16:45:00.000Z

On the recent run of online marketing training seminars I was doing with the B2B Centre for Business Link a topic of conversation was "how do we know what people are searching for"? Now, you can look at Google Analytics or consult the AdWords Keyword tool. Lots of good information there. But how about just asking people?

It is refreshing to report that my client, Waterra UK, have done just that in their latest customer survey organised by John Savage at 4sight Business Development. The results have given Waterra a clear indication of how people search for their specific products and the interesting variations on keywords and phrases.

It has got to be worth a try, hasn't it?

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Anna Arrowsmith - No relation to Arrowsmith Marketing

2010-03-26T12:16:00.000Z

For reasons that I make clear on my website I like the name Arrowsmith. For a long time the airwave and web have made sparse mention of the name. There was a film called Arrowsmith made in the 1940's, a few people blessed with it as their moniker and the mountain in Canada of course but otherwise we have been left to our own devices.

Now Anna Arrowsmith (from porn to politics) has come along and completely upset the applecart. I actually think that her introduction as a Lib Dem candidate actually spices up the political debate. As a former porn film director she is possible less controversial than many of the people already in the House of Commons: at least she admits her role in the world of sleaze.

But on behalf of Arrowsmith Marketing and all of the other quiet law abiding citizens and organisations out there...Anna please change your name by deed poll!

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
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Sole Traders - Remember to Register

2010-03-26T11:21:00.000Z

Sound advice from Dudley accountants Lewis Smith & Co. for sole traders. Remember to register with HMRC or face the consequences. More detail in their latest news article.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
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Second Life - The future of collaboration?

2010-03-26T09:15:00.001Z

Saw a fascinating presentation by David Burden from Daden on Second Life last night.

I had a perception of Second Life as a kind of Sims for techies. Wrong! The latest version of the tool has a range of features that could make it an essential business tool for businesses both large and small in the near future.

One particular area that looks very interesting is the ability to create collaborative environments that mirror a conventional working situation. David demonstrated that you make a digital workplace so familiar and comfortable that people would use the technology because they wouldn't really know the technology was there.

The tool allows you to set up and run web browsers, to work on documents with multiple contributors, to talk to people and, I guess much, much more.

Bring it on David!

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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"The e-myth revisited" - Best business book ever?

2010-03-23T21:27:00.000Z

Just re-read the e-myth revisited after 3 or 4 years.

Still probably the best business book for SMEs or aspiring entrepreneurs. The "e" in "e-myth" stands for "entrepreneur" and not "electronic" by the way.

The key messages I always take from this book are that most people start a business from the perspective of being good at something (whether it's plumbing, accountancy or baking) and spend most of their time trying to more of the same.

Trouble is that having a technical hat on is not a very good way to build a "real" business because you end up just focusing on doing more work.

The second message is about systematising your operation. Treating it as though you are going to build a franchise where you have to be able to define operating procedures for every aspect of the business so that anybody can carry out the key actions and processes.

This is an eye-opener of a book and well worth reading.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Why blog? Why use Social Media? Waterra 1, 2, 3

2010-02-21T20:49:00.000Z

Some people ask what's the point of blogging or why should we use social media, PR sites or even directories.
Of course there are loads of good reasons to get involved in these activities but here's a pretty big one...how about dominating the search results!

My client Waterra UK get three entries on the front page of Google UK on a search for "groundwater monitoring equipment".. Their website comes top but they also figure for an entry in the waste water environment marketplace and get a double hit on the Waterra UK blog (which Arrowsmith Marketing edits for them).

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Use Google's URL Builder

2010-02-12T13:22:00.000Z

I am finding Google's URL Builder tool extremely helpful in understanding more about the effectiveness of online material such as blogs and newsletters that I am putting out for my clients.

With the Waterra UK blog, for instance, I can start to understand more about which posts are particularly useful and then find out which links within the post have generated a click through. This means that I can test out the effectiveness of link text as well as getting a feel for what readers are most interesting in. The great thing is that you can even use URL Builder to tag links within your website to find out how people are using it.

The details are captured in Google Analytics under "Traffic Sources > Campaigns" and you can use all of the normal tools and information displays to determine what's going on.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Waterra gets Geological Society CPD endorsement

2010-01-12T10:56:00.000Z

Delighted to hear that my client Waterra UK Ltd, the groundwater monitoring equipment specialists, has received Geological Society CPD endorsement for its groundwater sampling and equipment training courses - see the Waterra blog for more details.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing - Improving websites for West Midlands businesses

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6 reasons for filing your tax return early

2009-12-22T09:46:00.000Z

My clients Lewis Smith & Co. the Dudley accountants have just released a news story about the benefits of filing your tax return early.

If you didn't already know that HMRC are not averse to allowing payment instalments then you might want to read "6 good reasons for early tax return filing" now.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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New hosting for Blythe Orchard B&B, Solihull

2009-12-13T20:29:00.000Z

Changed the hosting for Blythe Orchard B&B in Solihull so that they can use the standard domain name http://www.blytheorchard.co.uk. Previously the site was hosted on a free service but it was redirected to that services' domain. It just didn't work with the search engines.

Anyway the site should be indexed correctly soon and the additional seo changes I made should kick in.

Pages that changed were the;
Blythe Orchard B&B Solihull, home page
B&B Birmingham airport, location page
Solihull and NEC accommodation, tariff page
Self catered accommodation Solihull, access statement page

Look forward to seeing how fast the pages get indexed.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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WBDA Social Networking

2009-12-02T14:15:00.001Z

WBDA Social Media workshop going well.

Just discussing blogging.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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B2B Centre Social Networking workshop

2009-11-25T09:25:00.000Z

Excellent B2B Centre Social Media workshop yesterday. Particularly pleased with the reaction to the "Success Audit" exercise. We asked people to work in pairs to brainstorm "stories" for use on Social Media sites, think about what content they already had available and then work out how they would convert it for use on different Social Media networks.

The approach helped people to draw out ideas that they had forgotten about, assumed people already knew or didn't think anyone else would be interested in.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Waiting for Ready Steady Store page to get indexed

2009-11-21T12:33:00.000Z

Fascinating to see how quickly Google picks up on some changes we have made to page titles on the ready steady store website.

We are trying to get more focus on location oriented keywords to reflect where the rss depots are. I am hoping that the changes will improve the ranking of depot pages quite quickly.

So come on Google - check this lot out.

Doncaster storage
Southampton (Eastleigh) storage
Central Leeds storage
Leeds storage
Central Manchester storage
Manchester storage
Wokingham storage

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Arrowsmith Marketing Logo. It's Mount Arrowsmith

2009-11-20T15:44:00.001Z

Quite a few people have asked me what the Arrowsmith Marketing logo depicts.

It's pretty straightforward really. It is a representation of a view of Mount Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The mountain towers over the city of Parksville on the shores of the Pacific and the colours on the logo represent the sky, the shape of the mountain, the forests and then the sea.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
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Lewis Smith & Co. on Twitter

2009-11-20T15:32:00.002Z

Just set my client Lewis Smith & Co., the Dudley based accountants, with a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/LewisSmithandCo) to help them promote themselves and maybe get some SEO benefits.

Initially we will just add links to the news pages on the Lewis Smith & Co. website - over time we can have a look at analytics to see what impact Twitter has on traffic and do something more specific.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Perception - King Edward VI College Stourbridge, Young Enterprise

2009-11-15T21:43:00.000Z

Perception (the Young Enterprise company from King Edward VI college in Stourbridge that Arrowsmith is supporting) are generously going to donate 10% of the profits from their highly successful sale of the "Unofficial Students Guide" to "Children with Leukaemia".

Big thanks to The Sweet Jar, David's Deli and The French Delicatessen for supporting Perception with sponsorship of the guide.

The company is now preparing to attack the Christmas market before planning some products for the trade fair season in the New Year.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Geo-targeting seems to have worked on blogger

2009-11-01T16:44:00.000Z

Just tested whether the use of the geo-targeting option in Google Webmaster Tools that I mentioned a few weeks ago had worked yet. Fortunately the answer is yes!

This means that Google Blogger blogs can be set up to be properly visible in UK only searches, which is very helpful.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Lewis Smith & Co. reminder - VAT returns to 17.5%

2009-10-26T09:20:00.002Z

My client Lewis Smith & Co., the Dudley based accountants, have reminded their customers (and me) that standard rate VAT returns to 17.5% from January 1st 2010 in a recent news item.

This has implications for purchasers because, theoretically, some big ticket items will look a bit more expensive. For businesses well firstly remember to charge VAT at the new rate and secondly to use 17.5% when you are doing your VAT return.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Young Enterprise company Perception make their first £500

2009-10-23T15:57:00.000+01:00

Delighted to get news from Jeremy Panko at King Edward VI college in Stourbridge that "Perception", this year's Young Enterprise company that I am helping out with, have scored an early success.

During the recent college open evenings they sold refreshments and copies of their self-published student guide that, with advertising revenue, came to more than £500.

That is an incredible start and I am full of admiration for how well what is a relatively small team have done.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Win a copy of "Prison Life in Victorian England" by Michelle Higgs

2009-10-23T14:19:00.000+01:00

Friend and sometimes Arrowsmith Marketing associate Michelle Higgs has launched a competition to win a signed copy of her book "Prison Life in Victorian England".

Michelle is a prolific author of books on social history and particular the Victorian era. What I like about her writing is that she provides a sense of what it was really like to live in those times. There is always a sense of the positive too: in one of her books Michelle broke the myth of the workhouse always being a place of drudgery and hardship. They were sometimes, often, places that offered security, respite and care.

So enter the competition and if you don't win buy it anyway!

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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WMG Global eBusiness lecture at University of Warwick

2009-10-21T21:45:00.000+01:00

Interesting opportunity today to give a lecture on Social Media to MSc students on the Global eBusiness module. Interesting but because it is much harder to talk to a group of 19-20 year olds about Social Media than it is the normal audience of slightly older people who weren't brought up with blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

They seemed interested anyway but perhaps they were bemused by tales of how to overcome resistance to this stuff if they happen to go on to work for or supply to SMEs.

Still it was interesting to note that even with this group not everybody was on Facebook or MySpace. Hmmmmmm what d they do all of the time.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Peter Walshe at CIM NorWest Midlands

2009-10-20T14:06:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Derek Millward, Chair of the CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) NorWest branch, for the invitation to their event last night.

Peter Walshe, the Global Account Director at Millward Brown, was presenting on "The Digital Consumer. How Social is Your Network". Peter was able to draw upon some of Millward Brown's recent in-depth research work on how consumers use the web and what they expect from suppliers to give us an insight into the changes we can expect to see...as early as 2010.

Now Peter and Millward Brown's work is mainly with corporates but the lessons apply to small and medium sized companies just as much. As an economy and as a society we are moving away from traditional media like TV and newspapers and it isn't just the 16-24 set who are doing it, but they are driving the change. Naturally (but it is good to see some evidence) older adults with children are changing their behaviour pretty quickly too: not just because they are keeping up with teens but proactively when they have babies and toddlers and they need healthcare advice for instance.

One thing that Peter said really struck a chord with me in respect of many of the small businesses I have dealt with or who are customers. He mentioned First Direct's brave experiment with First Direct Live where the company is displaying live feedback, in a number of formats, from its customers. Some of the feedback is negative and First Direct have been accused of being naive by the marketing industry because many people believe that customers will simply associate the company with the bad stuff and ignore the (majority) good stuff.

Peter, talking from a brand building perspective, felt it the social media age consumers, us, are looking for honesty and openness from companies and the First Direct will benefit from its stance which fits in with prudence, environmental awareness and corporate responsibility. For some of my contacts I think that the lesson is to stop hiding so much from the outside world. Your competitors probably already know what you are upto anyway so that isn't an excuse. Your customers will be pleased, interested, amused at finding out more about who you are and what you do.

Highly thought provoking stuff. Thanks Peter.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Demo of blogging

2009-10-14T15:32:00.001+01:00

A web workshop demonstration of how to edit a blog

gareth

Just as a footnote this post was written during a National B2B Centre "web workshop" session where I was demonstrating just how easy it is to set up a blog and add some content. They won't always be quite so short.

If you want to find out more about blogging check out an article I wrote for the B2B Centre a while back - "Blogging or Blagging"

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Another web workshop - what bad emarketing supplier stories this time?

2009-10-13T14:56:00.002+01:00

Just preparing for another Web Workshop with the B2B Centre tomorrow.

These are really fun sessions and always different. Fascinating to hear people's experiences and find out what they do and don't know.

Often disappointed to hear how people are being treated by other suppliers in the eMarketing sector. Websites, PayPerClick, Google Analytics, SEO etc are not black arts. And it doesn't usually take very long to install Google Webmaster Tools or Google Analytics does it?

For most small businesses emarketing should be reasonably straightforward - who, what, when , why and how. Expect to pay for knowledge, experience and results but don't shell out thousand's without understanding more about what will be done.

Arrowsmith's view is that we are always transparent about what will be done for the cost charged and we don't make extravagant promises about the results either. As it happens we have some delighted customers - they knew more or less what to expect...we just managed to do a bit more.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
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Perception going great guns

2009-10-12T15:13:00.000+01:00

Our new Young Enterprise company at King Edward VI college in Stourbridge are really progressing well.

They are putting together a booklet for potential college entrants giving a student's eye view of what it is like at King Ed's. They have already put the content together and today they managed to persuade various college departments to help them with paper and printing.

They are even getting advertising for the booklet - congratulations to Elliot for signing up The Sweet Jar on the Lower High Street.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
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Young Enterprise company - "Perception"

2009-10-06T08:22:00.000+01:00

This year's Young Enterprise group have called their company "Perception" since they reckon they have a good handle on the needs of their target audience - their fellow King Edward VI students.

Perception have already come up with some interesting product ideas and they are up for some advanced money generating schemes to get things going.

Should be an interesting year.

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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Twick or Tweet - Waterra are on Twitter

2009-10-03T10:18:00.000+01:00

Just set up Waterra UK (my groundwater monitoring equipment client) on Twitter (www.twitter.com/waterra).

They were a bit worried that it was another task that they would have to do but in the short term we are just going to bounce their blog posts to it using Twitterfeed.

I have learned not to make any assumptions about who is using any of these tools so you just never know who will find Waterra this way.

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
Arrowsmith Marketing

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