When most people think of Social Media, they just think of Twitter and Facebook. A lot question how sites such as these can help businesses increase their sales. I’m just going to share with you a few points we picked up in this blog and in future blogs we’ll go into more detail of specific types of Social Media.

The first thing to ask yourself when considering using Social Media sites for your business is what your objective is. Are you trying to raise awareness of your brand? Are you trying to generate more traffic to your site? Are you looking to generate more links? Are you trying to increase conversions? Then you have to think about your target audience – what age group, gender, geographical location are they in?

Once you’ve determined your objectives, you have to realise that Social Media is not just about setting up a Facebook fan page or a Twitter account. It takes dedication and commitment and is not a quick win solution. It’s not a selling tool but a way of building trust. The first rule is to listen first and sell second. You need to build a personality that people want to listen to and talk to people like they’re people by getting to know them and connecting with them.

If you’re interested in finding out more about setting up a Social Media campaign for your business, please email us at hannah@philyarrow.co.uk for more information.

We received comments such as “This was one of the best web seminars I have attended over the past few years…really good value…” “Dealt comprehensively with the subject…advice on how to improve our own website particularly valuable.”

In the course of networking over the last few weeks it has become clear that the word is spreading that we know our stuff and that we should hold more seminars. So we have arranged another one in Portishead on 21st April. We have slightly modified the programme to take into account feedback received, but essentially the aim remains the same which is to give an overview of the main types of Internet marketing and offer an informal peer review of attendees’ websites and recommendations by us on how to improve their marketing.

Click here for full details and to book a place.

Here are some photos from the last seminar in action.

The website collects up to date cash-back information from 10 leading online mobile phone recyclers, compares the offers and then instantly displays a list of recyclers and ranks the offers from best to worst.

Clicking on an offer links to the relevant page of the recycler’s website, where the transaction can be quickly completed and the best price achieved for the mobile phone.

We are operating the site, which is trading as Cell Zone.

As Internet marketing professionals we have worked with key industry players to develop an attractive easy-to use website that offers more choice than any other mobile phone recycling cash-back comparison site. We believe that Cell Zone’s ease of use and market-leading choice of recyclers gives our visitors the best possible deal on their old mobile phone.

Check it out at www.cellzone.co.uk and tell everyone you know where to go to get the most cash for their old mobile.

You can download the press notice here

All participants agreed that it was very informative and they particularly liked the in-depth analysis of their individual websites. They are now keen to implement our recommendations as soon as possible and follow up free consultations have been arranged.

Some commented on the passion Phil obviously has for Internet Marketing that came across in the presentations. We were also mindful of the danger of information overload, so we will incorporate all the helpful feedback we received in designing future seminars.

The venue and their staff were great. Very helpful and it all contributed to a relaxing but mutually beneficial event. We’re looking forward to our next seminar and we plan to hold this on 21 April at the same location.

Phone us now on 01275 774719 to book your place or email me at martin@philyarrow.co.uk

As well as giving an overview of the main types of Internet marketing methods, up to 12 participants will get the chance to conduct valuable informal peer reviews of each other’s websites. We will follow up with professional recommendations to improve each website.

You probably don’t have the time or inclination to become an expert in Internet marketing. You just want to be effective with minimum hassle and we intend to make it easier for you to market your website because doing this effectively is so vital to any business trying to survive in the current climate.

The first seminar launches on 27th January at Kestrel Court, Harbour Road, Portishead, BS20 7AN. Registration, tea and coffee starts at 10.00 and it concludes at 13.00. Bookings can be made at a special low introductory price of £29 + VAT by phoning 0800 082 7010 or emailing martin@philyarrow.co.uk.

Full seminar details are available and bookings can also be made by clicking here

I subscribe to Seth’s RSS blog feed and came across a recent post “Look for the Guy with the Hammer” where Seth referred to the old adage that for someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. His warning was that people who are only good at one thing often believe that what they do well fixes every problem. However, if you’ve decided that the hammer is exactly what you need to solve the problem, then the man with the hammer is the one for the job because he’s highly likely to be good at using it.

He extended this logic to the Internet marketing world, when he advised people to think twice before buying SEO services from a general purpose ad agency. Interesting, because I’ve had made exactly that point before in a previous blog Why Use an SEO Consultant?) and its nice to know that one of the world’s leading marketing experts thinks the same way.

Seth did qualify that he was not endorsing specialists per se. All he was saying was that when you are forced to choose tactics - in this case marketing approaches - you need to make better choices.

Phil Yarrow started out in web design and development but moved onto SEO and PPC Management and whilst his previous experience holds him in good stead, the ever-changing world of SEO has meant that his decision to specialise in this niche gives him a clear advantage over others in this field.

Our SEO clients are seeing the benefits of using the Phil Yarrow Consulting “SEO hammer” to achieve high Google rankings for their websites. What about you? Call us now on 0800 082 7010 and let us drive your competitive advantage home.

The reality is, whilst you and the people in your business may be very nice people, nobody is bothered. What they are interested in is what you can do for them.

The content of your website needs to focus primarily on meeting the needs and solving the problems of your visitors. So if you would like to transform the profitability of your site review your content from this angle.

Your website needs to be about your target visitors and their needs and desires. You should also give them plenty of information, so that they can see how what you are offering will be of value to them.

If you would like help in producing compelling marketing copy for your website, please give us a call now on 0800 082 7010 or email info@philyarrow.co.uk. Not only do we provide a web copywriting service, but we can optimise content for Google and the other search engines.

We are going camping in Europe soon and needed some equipment, so we visited a local shop and they were very helpful. They let us examine products and even inflated a sleeping mat for us to try for comfort. With that sort of service normally I would not quibble about paying the odd pound or two more. However, we knew from the company’s website that their prices were not the cheapest and decided to search Google to see what savings could be made.

Well, we bought what we needed online from two companies and saved no less than £40 on purchases totalling about £160. The sites are Outdooraction and Campervan Accessories and both offered a seamless e-commerce experience that made buying from them very straightforward. Taken together with the significant savings, it is no surprise that competitive businesses like these, who skilfully use Internet marketing and particularly SEO to ensure they feature high in the organic search results, are doing well in the current climate.

What about your business? Let us boost your sales and profitability and help you to get the best from Internet marketing. Please call us now on 0800 082 7010 or email info@philyarrow.co.uk to find out more.

One of the boats at the Festival was the Pride of Bristol and Hayes Parsons Ltd, a well known local insurance broker who specialise in marine insurance, entertained clients aboard. The company has been around since 1964. With extensive experience in commercial insurance, they provide impartial advice, a full claims service and keep fully up to date with market developments. Hayes Parsons Ltd are making use of Internet marketing and you can check out their website at www.hayesparsons.co.uk

The Pride of Bristol is an ex-Royal Naval Auxiliary Service vessel that is now owned by the Pride of Bristol Trust. Free educational trips are offered to underprivileged or special needs groups. Subsidised youth trips are also available and groups from such organisations as the Prince of Wales Trust, St Johns Cadets and Scouts have spent weekends or weeks learning all of the basic skills of seamanship, coastal pilotage, ship handling, helmsmanship and safety at sea, plus the more important skills of cooperation with others and pride in personal achievement.

The Pride of Bristol also have a web presence and you can find out more about how fundraising trips from Bristol Docks are organised to support their youth work by visiting www.prideofbristoltrust.co.uk

Remember if you are a local company or organisation with a website and you would like to drive more visitors to your site, we can help. Ring us on 0800 082 7010 or send us an email at info@philyarrow.co.uk

Investment in digital media channels like search engine marketing, online advertising and affiliate marketing averaged nearly one quarter (23%) of the total marketing communications budget in the companies surveyed.

Early adopters have already optimised their budgets, balancing online and offline channels. For later adopters, their spend could and probably should double over the next three years, particularly with the economic climate encouraging investments into more accountable, direct-response digital media like paid search.

If you have not yet realised the benefits of investing in Internet marketing, particularly search engine marketing and Pay Per Click, please contact us now on 0800 082 7010 or email info@philyarrow.co.uk and let us show you how you can get the most from your budget.