137 degrees Blog

IE6 continues decline

2012-01-20T19:17:00.001Z

The number of users still browsing the web with Internet Explorer 6 continues to decline (hurrah!). There is even a movement to encourage users to upgrade away from the infamously problematic and not standards compliant browser. http://www.ie6countdown.com/

Are you or your oganisation still using Internet Explorer 6? It's time to upgrade - version 10 is expected to be released in 2012. Or even better, switch to an alternative such as Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari or Mozilla's Firefox.

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#17 - Sharing trends in 2011

2011-12-21T09:14:00.001Z

Sharing service AddThis has produced an interesting infographic outlining the sharing trends on their platform for 2011.

No surprises that Facebook is at the top spot with 52% of all shares. As expected, Twitter is in second position. Of note is the growth of Address Bar sharing. Google sharing and the new Google+ had mixed results but worth keeping an eye on future progress. And, of course, mobile has exploded...!

What will you be doing to help people socially share your messages in 2012?
Has your online prescence business embraced the mobile device revolution yet?

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#17 - Sharing trends in 2011

2011-12-21T08:54:00.001Z

Sharing service AddThis has produced an interesting infographic outlining the sharing trends on their platform for 2011.

What will you be doing to help people socially share your messages in 2012?
Has your online prescence business embraced the mobile device revolution yet?

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#16 - Using auto-responders for 3-step email marketing

2011-12-13T14:01:00.001Z

Are you using auto-responders to the full?

One way to leverage the power of your email marketing software is to use the auto-responder functionality. This automatically emails marketing messages at timed intervals to your subscribers triggered by a specified action, such as a prospective customer signing up as a new subscriber.

Here’s just one example of how you could set up your autoresponders to reinforce your brand and promote your business.

Initially, you could include links to your social media sites in the Thank you Success message received by the new subscriber immediately after completing the sign-up form. Then, try our suggested 3-step process...

Autoresponder Step 1
automatic email sent 24 hours after initial subscribe

Hi Jeff,

We like to stay in touch and we promise only to email you periodically - normally once a month, with news of our latest events and special offers.

But for the first week after your subscription we have a special offer for you... Get 10% off your next purchase in 3 easy step.

Step 1 - visit our Facebook page and Like the page.

Look out for our next email with simple instructions for Step 2 of how to get your 10% discount.

Kind Regards,
The Team

Autoresponder Step 2
automatic email sent 72 hours after initial subscribe

Hi Jeff,

Thanks again for your recent subscription to our newsletter. Have you completed Step 1 to get your 10% discount? All you need to do is to like our Facebook page.

And here’s Step 2 - subscribe to our RSS feed and Follow us on Twitter.

Look out for a final email with simple instructions for Step 3 of how to get your 10% discount.

Kind Regards,
The Team

Autoresponder Step 3
automatic email sent 7 days after initial subscribe

Hi Jeff,

Its been a week now since you subscribed to our newsletter and you are just one step away from getting 10% discount on your next purchase. If you haven’t completed steps 1 and 2 yet here’s what you need to do:

Step 1 - visit our Facebook page and click the Like button.
Step 2 - subscribe to our RSS feed and follow us on Twitter.

And the final step... Step 3 - check out our Blog and click the subscribe button.

All you need to do now is contact us to make your purchase. We will verify your completion of the 3 steps and then apply your 10% discount!

As easy as 1, 2, 3...

Kind Regards,
The Team

For more information on email marketing and auto-responders, contact 137 Degrees.

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#15 - Email marketing - segmenting your lists

2011-08-26T22:52:00.001+01:00

What are the Benefits of Segmentation?

If you have a large database of clients or potential clients and every time you have a product or service offering you email everyone it is going to be seem by some as not relevant to them, at that time or at all. They will feel you don't know them or care for their specific needs.

So knowing where your customer is, the size and type of customer, type and lifestyle of your consumers, their attitudes and behaviour, and then segmenting your customers into groups accordingly, has some clear advantages:

You will be able to identify your most and least profitable customers and concentrate your resources accordingly.
It will enable you to clearly focus your marketing on the customers most likely to buy your products or services at that time.
Unprofitable markets can be avoided.
Customers will feel enfranchised and become loyal to you because you have developed and offered them the products and services they wanted at the opportune time.
A perception of excellent, personal customer service will be created.
It will put you ahead of the competition in specific parts of the market.
Profit potential will be increased by keeping customer communication costs down.

These concepts apply to your database of customers generally but the principle of segmentation, when applied to email marketing and combined with a feature-rich email marketing software/service, can deliver significant returns on investment.

If you need assistance with your < ahref="http://www.137degrees.co.uk/pages/our-services/internet-marketing/email-marketing.php" target="_blank">email marketing campaigns or would like to learn more about effective email list segmentation, contact 137 Degrees on 01702 330463.

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#14 - Are your email campaigns being read?

2011-08-19T10:53:00.001+01:00

Targetting the right people at the right time with the right information is, of course, critical to improving sales. But how do you get them to open your email when they might be on the mailing list of so many other people, perhaps for competing products?

Business Link this month has an article called "10 ways to... increase your email opening rates".

Some really good, and relatively inexpensive ways to get more people to open you email. Think about some of the suggestions like segmenting your database (a separate blog will cover this in more detail) so that you only send relevant news to the correct people. This is not hard to do using any of the email sending services, which also monitor your open rates for you.

Make sure your email has your Social Media links embedded so that the reader can immediately access your media profiles in order to compare your popularity with that of others and, hopefully, chose you as their preferred supplier.

Contact 137 degrees if you require help with any aspect of E-Mail Marketing or Social Media Marketing.

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#13 - Social Media Sharing using ShareThis

2011-08-08T13:08:00.001+01:00

Social Media Sharing - Who should you use?

Another contender is ShareThis. It is the largest platform for sharing and influence across the web, reaching more than 400 million users across nearly 1 million web sites. Along with other social media platforms, ShareThis is changing the way information is navigated and organized according to the way people interact and relate to each other online.

How do you get ShareThis on your website?

Getting the sharing buttons onto your site requires just three steps:

Register - You'll need to register (it's free!) to obtain a publisher key for your button.
Get Your Button - Choose a button to generate your code.
Add Your Code - Paste your generated code to your website.

Contact 137 Degrees and we'll be happy to help you get your website set up with this vital facility. We can also help you with a rich set of analytics to understand the effectiveness of your social media and internet marketing

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#12 - Social Sharing using AddThis

2011-07-28T21:08:00.001+01:00

Are you making the most of your Social Network to drive traffic to your website?

AddThis is a product you should consider. It is now the world’s largest and most successful content sharing and social insights platform.

What does it do for your business?

Most of us are familiar with the various Follow Us social media icons found on websites. Clicking on these icons allows a website visitor to view the social media profile (e.g. a Facebook page) owned by that particular business. AddThis takes the social media experience a step further by allowing website visitors to share a link directly to the webpage they are viewing on their own social media profiles. So instead of one person viewng your business' social pages, your website visitors are promoting your business to all their contacts for you!

When you have added the links button to your website, visitors can bookmark an item using a variety of services, such as Facebook, MySpace, Google Bookmarks, Twitter, and many more, with an international directory including over 300 services and tools.

AddThis instantly personalizes the user’s experience with relevant choices designed to be most effective at increasing social referral traffic to your site. It supports over 70 languages giving a fully localized experience to your visitors, no matter what language they speak. When fully integrated to your site by your developer you will be able to track your audience with the comprehensive analytics available.

What does it cost? AddThis in itself is issued free. If you would like to know how much it would cost to integrate Addthis into your website or for help on internet marketing including social media marketing, contact 137 Degrees.

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#11 - Autoresponders for Email Marketing

2011-05-25T19:26:00.001+01:00

Autoresponders for Email Marketing.

Autoresponders have gone by a few different names - like triggered emails and drip campaigns - but essentially they are an automated email, or sequence of emails sent when a subscriber meets a condition that you have predetermined. For example, when someone joins your newsletter list, on their birthday or anniversary, or perhaps a month after they last did business with you.

This will lead to a highly effective email campaigns because you are targetting those already interested rather than using a less focussed approach.

Research shows that a customer will need exposure to an advertisement three or more times before they decide to purchase. With an effective autoresponder prospective customers can automatically receive marketing messages at timed intervals and in different formats at least that number of times. The only additional effort, and certainly not to be underestimated, is getting right the message that needs to be repeated to seal the deal.

Common examples of this sort of email marketing campaign is perhaps when you have signed up to find out about something and you receive an email a day for a period of time building up to the bigger picture when the offer is made.

Look out for upcoming blogs that will tell you all about our three step approach to effective email marketing.

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#10 - Search Engine Optimisation - Long Tail Keywords

2011-05-13T19:09:00.003+01:00

What is the Long Tail? Why Use it?

Online marketing professionals know the clear advantage from identifying keywords that target potential customers who are well progressed in their decision to buy. How do you find out what these keywords are for your market? Are they really so important?

What we are talking about is conventionally termed as targeting Long Tail Keywords. These are the most relevant three to five keyword phrases which are very specific to whatever it is that you are marketing. When customers use very specific search phrases it is the clearest indication that they are actually going to buy, either right now or very soon. These are the consumers you want to find. They have already done generic research and are now narrowing the field with an intention to choose their preferred supplier.

Clearly consumers who are at this stage have likely already made the decision to buy - that's when the buyer will use very specific search phrases (Long Tail Keywords) to close in on their purchase. The good news is that specific muti-word phrases are much easier to gain a better ranking for, in the search engines, than single or double word phrases where you will be in fierce competition with the biggest sites.

However, when determining your long tail key search terms, balance is required. If you are too specific there may be a very low volume of searches and consequently fewer conversions. On the other hand, being specific likely means less competition for those key search phrases.

How to implement Long Tail keyword phrases

Where appropriate, the first step is to use these phrases on your existing website pages. But there could also be a case for creating pages that target buyers who are using long tail keywords. But, as there are potentially so many multiple long tail combinations that you may want to use, will your website will grow to an unmanageable size?

Well, search engines love the sites that have bags of relevant content - lots of pages can be good! Your site will look much more meaningful to the most popular search engines. Your unique pages can simply be variants of your main pages. Each page will need to be given a unique title, description meta tag, h1 header tag, and include content that lends itself to your offering, using the Long Tail Keyword that you choose for each specific page.

A word of caution though. This should not implemented as a standalone marketing strategy. If you only target very specific phrases, you might not get enough volume of visitors to sustain your business. It should be thoughtfully and carefully implemented as a part of your overall marketing strategy. In principle it would be best to ensure, therefore, that you have:

a lesser number of pages generating a larger amount of less well targeted traffic, as well as
a larger number of pages generating a smaller amount of specifically targeted traffic.

There's little doubt though that the use of very specific search keywords proves clear intent to buy, on the part of the consumer. If you can capture them at this point in the buying cycle and, if you have the right offering, at a competitive price, it will lead to increased sales.

It will take careful research to find the right terms, along with the work necessary to get your site linked to them. However, the investment in using Long Tail Keywords has clear commercial returns, as internet marketing professionals out there already know.

Contact us for an SEO review of your website, internet marketing consultation or search engine optimisation training courses.

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#9 - Using custom fonts on your website

2011-05-13T16:30:00.000+01:00

Why do fonts on lots of websites look the same?

Take a look at a random selection of websites and you will notice that the majority of them have something in common. They will be using the same fonts. With tens of thousands of fonts in existence, and more being created each day, why are most websites using the same standard fonts?

The answer lies in the fact that although thousands of fonts exist, when your browser "reads" a website's code in order to display it on your screen, it can only display fonts that are installed on your machine. Each person's computer may have different fonts installed, depending on what came with the machine, how old your machine is, and how many fonts you have chosen to install. Web designers could choose to use unusual fonts, but unless each user had the font installed, they would not all be able to see the chosen font. Web designers are therefore forced to choose from a list of only about a dozen web-safe fonts.

Designers put a cascading list of fonts in the code of the website, starting with their chosen font, and following on with more generic fonts. When your browser reads the website code, it checks for each font in the cascading list until it finds one your computer has installed, and then displays the website using that font. And if your machine has none of those fonts, it just uses a default font.

Most computers have fonts such as Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, or Times New Roman, installed, so these fonts often end up being used by your browser. But this means that lots of websites end up looking the same. And your own website may look different on different computers or browsers, depending on which fonts the user has installed. Using fonts with slightly differing sizes can also mean that sentences do not fit in the original space given, making your website look poorly designed.

How can you make your website stand out? How can you get all browsers to display the font you have chosen for your website?

The good news is, technology has improved, making it possible to purchase a license for a specific font of your choice. This font is then hosted on your website's server, meaning that it doesn't have to be installed on a user's machine for them to see it. When someone visits your site, their browser will download the font and your website will display correctly, using the font you have chosen. This resolves the problem of your website looking standard and boring, means the font displays consistently, and your website can be designed in a more attractive way to engage your website visitors.

An nice example of custom web font implementation:

If you are interested in improving the your website's design or are in need of assistance with your internet marketing, please contact us for a free consultation.

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#8 - Serif fonts or Sans serif fonts for your website?

2011-05-06T13:54:00.001+01:00

Which type of font should you use on your website - serif or sans serif?

Firstly let's look at what the terms "serif" and "sans serif" mean.

The Oxford Dictionary states that a serif is "a slight projection finishing off a stroke of a letter in certain typefaces". Therefore serif fonts are typefaces that have additional details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters.

Examples of well-known serif fonts are Times New Roman, Georgia and Palatino Linotype.

A typeface without serifs is called "sans serif", the word "sans" meaning "without" in French.

Examples of common sans serif fonts are Arial, Verdana and Tahoma.

Traditionally, serif fonts were used for the main body of printed material, such as in books or newspaper articles. It has been thought that serif fonts are more pleasing to the eye in the printed form, and although this is a subject of much debate, most books and newspapers are still printed this way. Sans serif fonts are often employed in headlines or titles, as they are thought to make the titles stand out.

Does this method of using serif and sans serif fonts work on the web?

Much research has been done on the subject of serif vs. sans serif, and it seems that the results are inconclusive regarding which font is more pleasing to the eye on screen. What is generally acknowledged, is that when typefaces are digitised for use on computers, each letter has to fit within a relatively small pixel grid, leading to relatively low resolution. This may mean that the fine finishing strokes of serif typefaces are not rendered effectively enough. When the font size is made smaller, this may make serif typefaces more difficult to read on screen. However, sans serif typefaces are more easily digitised, therefore they often appear cleaner and thus more legible.

It is because of this, that most websites are designed with sans serif fonts for the main body text, with serif fonts often being used in titles or headings.

Considering there are many thousands of serif fonts and sans serif fonts to available (without even getting into monotype, ornamental, symbols etc.), have you noticed that many websites seem to use the same few fonts? There is a very good reason for this. Traditionally web designers have been limited to only a handful of web safe fonts but technology has moved on apace and there are now ways to use beautiful fonts on your website to really enhance it's look... More on how to do this in a future post.

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#7 - Writing copy for your website... some basic SEO techniques

2011-03-23T12:07:00.001Z

There is certainly a knack to writing good copy for your website, which these days is made ever more difficult to do so in a way that strikes the right balance between being appropriate for your site visitors and at the same time contributing to SEO (search engine optmisation).

So we thought we would outline just a few of the basics that can be implemented:

For the website visitors/users

This takes precedence - always write the copy for your users primarily. The search engines mission is to deliver the most relevant content to the users. So they are constantly improving their technology to be able to better "understand" the page that it is scanning. If you make your page more "relevant" now, you will be to some extent future proofing it. so for your users...

Make your content relevant
Create a logical flow to the content, including links to connected pages/other websites
Break down the content to be easier on the eye rather than long blocks of text - e.g. where appropriate use subheadings and lists
Stick to one main topic/subject per page (more on this in the Search Engine section)

For the search engines

There are a few things that you can do to make your content search engine friendly without diminishing the impact for your visitors...

Identify some keywords/phrases that are most relevant to that page's subject.
Use an appropriate Page Title, including your identified keywords.
This is what is displayed at the top of a web browser for each page. Rather than just have each page say "My Business Name", you could have "A short description of what this web page is about - My Business name". (This is part of the website code but most good CMSs will allow you to edit this information).
Use appropriate Headings, including your identified keywords.
Most importantly the main heading of the page (in code the h1 tag) should be relevant and ideally repeat at least part of the keyword phrase that you used in the Page Title. (Most CMSs include a WYSIWYG editor that allows you to specify a h1 tag).
Stick to one main topic/subject per page.
The search engines can then be clear on what the subject of that page is rather than becoming "confused" because your page, for example, discusses all the diverse services your business offers (instead have one page per service).
Include your identified keywords within the copy of the text several times - but do this with caution as you must still ensure that the copy makes sense to your user and avoid keyword spamming.
Use relevant link text throughout your site and off-site (such as an external blog etc.) For example if you want your user to follow a link to buy a car, then "click here to buy a car" has better relevance to the search engines than "click here to buy a car".
Avoid black hat techniques - adding keywords to your website copy over and over or just including long lists of them is called keyword spamming, and is just one of several black hat techniques. Though this may have an initial benefit on your site's search results rankings, the search engines will soon realise and will heavily penalise the site's ranking.

There is a lot more involved with SEO but these are a few basic techniques to consider when writing your website copy. If you need help with writing copy, proofreading & editing for your website or SEO techniques, please see 137 Degrees website for more information.

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#6 - How to use Google AdWords

2011-03-23T11:14:00.001Z

In recent weeks, it seems that Google are more aggressively marketing their AdWords service. One can only guess that this may have something to do with the ever growing prominence of Facebook and their recent entrance into the "paid-ad" market.

Whatever the reason, Google are promoting their series of short instructional videos about how to use the AdWords service. It covers the basics from setting up an account right through to advanced subjects such as mobile ads. We haven't trawled through all of them yet but the selection we have watched seem very good, so if you want to have a go your self, or are just interested in how it works, check out the videos at http://www.google.co.uk/adwords/onlineclassroom/

Or, if you want to talk to someone about AdWords and internet marketing in general, contact us for a consultation.

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#5 - Ask people to like your Facebook page

2011-03-01T16:01:00.001Z

Why do you want people to "like" you on Facebook anyway?

Because if somebody "likes" you, makes a comment or takes any other interactive steps on your Facebook page, their action displays in their Facebook profile. This means that anybody who views their profile will see this - those persons could well be interested in seeing what it was that their friend "liked" so much about your Facebook page.

Curiosity or mutual interests thereby lead a new visitor to your Facebook page, who may in turn "like" the page or take some action and the process starts again. One of the reasons Facebook is now so popular for widening your market reach is this kind of viral spread of your messages and promotions.

So that's the why but what about the how...

How do I get people to like my Facebook page?

Ask them

It really is as simple as that. A polite email to your friends and subscribers telling them that you are on Facebook and would be grateful if they could "like" your page can be very effective.

Some people have even found it useful to set a public target. People like to be involved... You could try sending them a message that says "We are trying to get 500 followers on our Facebook page by the end of the month. It would be great if you could help us out by following our page". You might be amazed at the result.

Make it easy for them

The default landing tab for visitors to a Facebook page is the Wall. This is the tab that displays the stream of posts and comments, those by the business as well posts from their followers. You can, however, change the settings in Facebook so that a person who does not already "like" your page can initially be redirected to another tab.

If you redirect this visitor to a custom tab, you can ask your web developer to display specific content on that tab. For example, you may want to tell them a little about your organisation - and, importantly, focus them on the "action" you might want them to take. Specifically, you want them to "like" your page. One popular method is to have a large arrow pointing at the Like button with a polite request for the visitor to like the page.

Give them a reason to like your page

You can offer an incentive to visitors to your Facebook page by offering them a reason to like the page such as access to exclusive content... When using custom tabs, previously discussed, you can display different content to your visitors, depending on whether they have liked your page or not. More on this in a future blog...

One incentive that can be used is to run some kind of contest or survey - something that engages the user - but that is most easily accessed once they have liked the page. More on this too in a future blog...

If you require advise or assistance with your social media marketing, please contact us for a consultation.

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#4 - Use RSS to tell your customers about updates to your website

2011-03-01T09:48:00.001Z

What is RSS?

You may have heard about RSS and almost definitely will have seen the little orange RSS icon on many websites. Blogs and blogging services often provide RSS feeds. But what is RSS? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS "feeds" automatically sends information that you have updated on your website to users (often current or potential customers) who have subscribed to your RSS feed.

Why should I use RSS?

Normally a person who is interested in your content needs to take action to access the information. It could be that they telephone, look out for your monthly newsletter to arrive on their doormat, visit your website/blog - even if your website is in their bookmarks or favourites, the information is not being "fed" to them.

RSS feeds are different, though, inasmuch as people who want to recieve information from your website can choose to subscribe to one or more RSS feed(s) that are specific to their interests. Then when you publish some new relevant content on your website, a message is pushed* directly to your subscriber's RSS reader.

An excellent tool for "pushing" your messages to customers is by regular email newsletters, where you can deliver, for example, your messages and news for that month. Sometimes, though, you will just want to let people know that there is some news that has some more immediate relevancy. And, importantly for the user, they are receiving up-to-date current messages that they specifically want know about (as a subscriber to that feed).

How can RSS benefit my business?

The best way to show how RSS could benefit a business is to give an example...

A busy hotel receives a room cancellation for the forthcoming weekend. The management decide to promote the room vacancy on the Late Availabilty section of their website.

This section of the website has been set up with an RSS feed, so anybody who has subscribed to that feed will receive a summary of this new Late Availability information, with a link to the main article on the website, into their RSS reader (often their email client). An RSS subscribers reads his feed, follows the link, and books online the same day - happy customer, happy hotel!

Sticking with the hotel example, the same thing could be done for the Latest News, Special Offers, Forthcoming Events sections of a website. And obviously, there are many other applications for different businesses.

What are RSS readers?

There are various types of RSS readers available to users, that can be web-, desktop- or mobile-device-based. The user's RSS reader regularly checks their subscribed feeds for new and updated content and then displays that content in the reader. Popular readers include Google Reader, Feed Reader, Net News Wire as well as RSS readers now being built directly into some web browsers and email clients.

If you want to discuss, how RSS feeds could benefit your business please contact us for a friendly chat.

* We use the term "push" and "pushed" just to denote that minimal effort on the part of the publisher is required to send the information, nor does the subscriber have to do anything to receive the information. But technically the data is "fetched" by the RSS reader rather than "pushed" to it.

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#3 - Upgrade your Facebook page to Like another page

2011-02-11T10:16:00.001Z

Facebook are updating the layouts of business pages as well as adding some new features - the idea is that you can engage with your fans even better than before. The interface and features have changed so that the pages now work in a similar way to how the personal profiles work. This should make it much simpler for Page Administrators to use their page in the future.

Now when you log in, you just select "Use Facebook as Page" from the Account menu and navigate Facebbok in the way you normally would. You can also easily switch back and forth from a Page to a User profile.

Tabs have gone from the top of the page and are replaced by a simpler navigation pane in the left hand column, again like a profile. And, when you view the Wall, you have an extra option to view it in "Admin View".

Some of the new features include:

Notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
Showcase photos along the top of your page
A news feed on your page
Like and post to other pages as your page

This last one is great we think. Previously a page could not like another page, all you could do was add it to your favourite pages. Now you just click Like and you're done.

All pages will automatically be upgraded on March 10 but many users are able to upgrade early. Check out our new updated page at facebook.com/137deg.

If you need support or training on using your business Facebook page to the full, please contact 137 degrees.

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#2 - Get a short easy to remember url for your Facebook page

2011-02-08T13:08:00.001Z

If you have a business page for your website, you no doubt recognise the value that can bring in terms of brand exposure. Many people now are even including their Twitter and Facebook addresses on their business cards, stationery and other marketing materials. The problem is, for business pages, Facebook provide a long complicated url with numbers in it, such as www.facebook.com/pages/137-degrees/160149887359013 - not great if you just want to tell your customers quickly and easily the link to your Facebook page.

But there is a solution - there is a way to get a shorter easier url (often called vanity url) to your Facebook page, simply by changing your username. For example, facebook.com/137deg.

Just go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ There you will see a box that shows your current username and allows you to change your username for your PERSONAL PROFILE.

Below this, will be another box that will allow you to change the username (and therefore) url to any BUSINESS PAGES that you are an Administrator for. Each of these pages will be listed in the drop-down box. Select the appropriate page and then you will have the option to define a username.

And don't worry any existing links you have to the old long url will still work!

Note that Facebook seem to periodically change the criteria that allow you to choose a username but currently it seems that if you have 25 or more people who have liked your page, then you will be eligible to choose your own vanity url.

If you need any help with personalising your social media pages, running contests on Facebook or email marketing, please visit our main website www.137degrees.co.uk.

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Win an iPod Shuffle

2011-02-03T16:26:00.001Z

Check out the contest on 137 degrees Facebook page.

Just LIKE the page, then click through to complete the entry form.

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#1 - 12 ideas for email newsletters in 2011

2011-01-30T16:44:00.002Z

According to research by the Direct Marketing Association, the return on investment on commercial email marketing for the last 2 years is $42 - $44 for every dollar spent on it. The ROI is a compelling reason in its own right to use email marketing. However, one survey showed that 44% of email marketers use "customer engagement" as their measure of success*. So, either way it seems to be an excellent tool for many progressive businesses.

All the normal calendar events and bank holidays are great opportunities to use as part of your email marketing campaign so we have listed a few imaginative ideas for 2011...

February - Love is in the air (Valentine's day)
March - An Irish Flavour (St Patrick's day)
April - The Royal Wedding (extra bank holiday)
May - Double Bank Holiday
June - Big Hats (Royal Ascot)
July - Strawberries & Cream (Wimbledon finals)
August - Carnival Time (celebrate the summer)
September - Back to School (time for parents to spoil themselves)
October - Autumn Leaves / Summertime Ends
November - Firework Frenzy
December - Everything Festive
January - Snow Season

If you're already using email newsletters to market your customers, keep doing it! Look out for further tips and hints about email campaigns in future blog posts. If you're not using this effective method of engaging with your customers, maybe 2011 is the time to start... read more about email newsletters and planned email campaigns on our website.

* (source ClickZ 2010)

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137 tips for digital internet marketing

2010-12-29T13:24:00.000Z

Are you making your website work for you? Is your digital marketing delivering results?

We often tell our clients that one of the key ways to make social media effective is to regularly post informative, useful and relevant content.

With this in mind, we have committed to post a minimum of 137 useful hints and tips that will be of interest to our clients during 2011.

Guerilla Marketing with Social Media

2010-11-25T00:26:00.001Z

I read an excellent document today that discussed some strategies and tactics to leverage the networking power social media. The focus is on ecommerce stores but the principles can still be applied. The use of "contests" makes a particularly interesting read.

Guerilla Marketing with Social Media

Blogs and Social Media

2010-10-18T10:11:00.000+01:00

Why have a blog? Why use social media?

By using a blog, you can post news and articles that have relevance to your business' target market and include back-links to the respective pages on your website, for the web visitor to take your desired action. By driving traffic to your site, as well as having a growing number of back-links, the search engine ranking may also be improved so that people searching for your services in the future may more easily find your site.

Popular social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, offer the potential to grow your network of contacts that are linked to you, thus promoting your website and services to a wider audience. Like the blog, more visits to your site, help the rankings and of course increase potential conversion to sales. Facebook also offer "pages" for business and organisations as an alternative to a personal profile.

The really good bit... by using RSS feeds your your Facebook and Twitter accounts can automatically be updated with the latest posts from your blog. This means you post only once but maximise exposure on all platforms.

If you think your organisation could benefit from a blog or social media, please visit the internet marketing area of the 137 degrees website, or contact us for a free consultation.

Email Marketing

2010-10-16T19:14:00.000+01:00

Planned email marketing campaigns can make a real impact on visitors to your website and, in turn, drive results for your business. Why are email campaigns such a good idea?

There are hundreds of reasons but the main one is that personalised, targeted marketing messages can be sent to your clients and the results of the campaign are measurable - allowing you to analyse and refine your marketing strategy over a period of time.

A well-designed and structured website is an excellent tool to grow your business, but it relies on people deciding to visit your website - it is a passive marketing tool. The beauty of email newsletters is that you can "push" your messages directly to your clients and customers, and encourage them to take action by directing them to a specific area of your website.

If you use one of the better tools available, you can then also measure the results of your campaign, and refine the strategy for the next time. Additionally, you have reminded your customers who you are and what you offer so that your business is lodged in their mind. Plus, the more visitors your website has, the better the search engines are likely to rank it in their results.

If you think your organisation could benefit from such a campaign read the email marketing section on the 137 degrees website, or contact us directly for a free consultation.

137 degrees launches new website!

2010-09-30T16:06:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that our redesigned website is now live!

We provide a range of creative digital solutions, with a business and marketing focus. Our services include web design, internet marketing, providing hosting and website maintenance, creating and implementing brand identities, as well as a range of business services.

Please visit www.137degrees.co.uk to see our new website for yourself and to check out all the services we offer. If you see a service that you think could help your business or organisation, just give us a call!

137 degrees Blog

IE6 continues decline

#17 - Sharing trends in 2011

#17 - Sharing trends in 2011

#16 - Using auto-responders for 3-step email marketing

Autoresponder Step 1 automatic email sent 24 hours after initial subscribe

Autoresponder Step 2 automatic email sent 72 hours after initial subscribe

Autoresponder Step 3 automatic email sent 7 days after initial subscribe

#15 - Email marketing - segmenting your lists

#14 - Are your email campaigns being read?

#13 - Social Media Sharing using ShareThis

#12 - Social Sharing using AddThis

What does it do for your business?

#11 - Autoresponders for Email Marketing

Autoresponders for Email Marketing.

#10 - Search Engine Optimisation - Long Tail Keywords

What is the Long Tail? Why Use it?

How to implement Long Tail keyword phrases

#9 - Using custom fonts on your website

Why do fonts on lots of websites look the same?

How can you make your website stand out? How can you get all browsers to display the font you have chosen for your website?

#8 - Serif fonts or Sans serif fonts for your website?

Which type of font should you use on your website - serif or sans serif?

Does this method of using serif and sans serif fonts work on the web?

#7 - Writing copy for your website... some basic SEO techniques

For the website visitors/users

For the search engines

#6 - How to use Google AdWords

#5 - Ask people to like your Facebook page

Why do you want people to "like" you on Facebook anyway?

How do I get people to like my Facebook page?

Ask them

Make it easy for them

Give them a reason to like your page

#4 - Use RSS to tell your customers about updates to your website

What is RSS?

Why should I use RSS?

How can RSS benefit my business?

What are RSS readers?

#3 - Upgrade your Facebook page to Like another page

#2 - Get a short easy to remember url for your Facebook page

Win an iPod Shuffle

#1 - 12 ideas for email newsletters in 2011

137 tips for digital internet marketing

Guerilla Marketing with Social Media

Blogs and Social Media

Email Marketing

137 degrees launches new website!

Autoresponder Step 1
automatic email sent 24 hours after initial subscribe

Autoresponder Step 2
automatic email sent 72 hours after initial subscribe

Autoresponder Step 3
automatic email sent 7 days after initial subscribe