Please do have a look, and feel free to add comments on the page.

Here’s how it looks:

If you need help with your own facebook business page, get in touch.

Here are some marketing resolutions you might want to make this new year….

1. Undertake a marketing audit

How is your current marketing doing? Review the campaigns you’ve done and material you have and think about how it can be improved in 2012.

2. Write or update your marketing strategy

Are you focused enough moving into 2012? Are you clear on your niche and how this can drive your business?

3. Seek training

Are there marketing knowledge or skills gaps within your business? Look to up skill and make your business more efficient. Good marketing consultants will be happy to transfer their own skills to you and your team via tailor made training.

4. Consider a new website

Your current website may (or may not!) look nice, but is it working? Answer these questions:

• How much business are you losing?
• Is your current website ‘leaky’?
• Do you measure your website traffic and visitor behaviour?
• How easy is it for people to engage with you/your brand through your site?
• Where do you rank on Google compared to your competitors?
• Does updating or expanding your website cause you headaches?

5. Get blogging

Blogging is still a great way to showcase expertise and brand personality, engage with your target audience, and improve your search engine optimisation. Every business should have an active blog and at least a simple blogging strategy.

6. Use social media better

Is it time for a re-think? Are you one of the many that are ‘..on Linkedin but not really sure how to use it’? It’s time to raise your social profile, and turn connections and engagement into real live opportunities for your business. This is harder than you think! Seek help from a social media adviser.

7. Build your online profile

With more than 90% of all purchases being researched online, it’s essential that your business has a presence online, well-beyond your main website! With a clear stategy and using social media, blogs, blogger relations, online PR, article writing etc it’s possible to quickly build a strong online profile and rank alongside or above your competitors.

8. Seek day-to-day marketing support

Owner-managed businesses struggle with marketing due to time limitations, skills gaps, or both. You simply can’t do it all. A great option is using freelancers to help you deliver communications without the commitment of an annual salary.

9. Use email marketing

When done well, email marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to keep in touch with your customers and promote repeat business and referrals. Did you know this doesn’t have to involve costly design templates and subscription fees? Try www.mailchimp.com.

10. Think about coaching/ mentoring

Some marketing consultants offer this as a service, and it’s a great way for small businesses to tap into high-calibre expertise in a cost-effective way. Short coaching sessions can be a great way to gain marketing focus, and mentoring is perfect if you have more junior staff you’d like to up skill whilst ‘on the job’.

11. Undertake some research

When did you last survey your customers? How about your competitors? Perhaps you have a new business idea but no idea if it will work? www.surveymonkey.com is a great tool to create free, easy to use online surveys that you can circulate by email.

12. Set-up some in-house workshops

Are you sick of attending generic seminars that leave you wondering what it all means for you? How about organising a workshop at your own premises for you and your staff in order to explore and learn more about a particular subject, such as internet marketing or social media? Marketing consultants will usually offer this service, and will design and facilitate a session based upon your specific needs.

13. Seek advice from a marketing specialist

A one-off telephone consultation can be a really cost-effective way to focus your marketing ideas and establish some clear actions and goals.

14. Review your branding

How does your business look? Is your brand out-dated, homemade, or just stale? Did you know many good designers will offer a logo refresh for much less than the cost of a new design, making it very affordable.

15. Think about new literature

Could you do with a new brochure, postcard, or flyer to support your marketing campaigns and business goals in 2012? As well as a print-ready file it’s always a good idea to get a PDF version of any literature from your designer so that you can also use the material online and by email.

16. Start using online video

Online video became huge in 2011, and this is set to continue. There are a number of film-making companies now targeting smaller businesses, and therefore offering affordable services. It’s worth considering, but if your budget still won’t stretch it’s worth starting to use YouTube and share relevant existing video content within your own blogs & social media.

17. Invest in some professional copywriting

Why spend money on a new website, brochure, marketing campaign etc and then cut costs on the copy? Many would argue that actually the copy is more important than the design!

18. Consider organising your own event

If you’re bored with other people’s networking events, business seminars and conferences, why not organise your own? This can work really well if you are looking to connect with other businesses in your sector and establish partnerships etc, as you can design and target your event as you wish.

19. Run some targeted campaigns

In addition to your on going ‘baseline’ marketing activity it’s a good idea to enhance this with targeted campaigns that focus on a specific product or service and are aimed at a particular audience.

20. Enlist professional help with managing marketing projects

Don’t underestimate the work, knowledge and experience required to manage the development of a new website, campaign, event, brochure, design piece etc. It can be stressful, and for small businesses that often do not have the resources to spare, it causes big headaches. Marketing consultants can use their expertise to help produce a design or project brief that is inline with your marketing strategy. They will then ensure the process runs smoothly, to budget and schedule.

My top 12 marketing *ones to watch* in 2012

1. Social commerce

2. F-commerce (Facebook commerce)

3. M-commerce (Mobile commerce)

4. QR codes

5. SEC (Search Engine Conversion)

6. Blogger relations

7. Mobile marketing

8. WordPress

9. Niching

10. Social media marketing

11. Engagement marketing

12. Apps

Do you have anything to add, or could you just use some help with marketing in 2012? Get in touch!

The Nag’s Head is described by its owners as a ‘residential country inn and restaurant’ and holds holds 2 AA rosettes, a Trip Advisor ‘Certificate of Excellence’, and is listed in the independent ‘Good Hotel Guide’.

When we first met with this client, their main problem was that the business was suffering as the result of the nearby long-term A1 roadworks and lack of natural through-flow of traffic or passing footfall.

Our strategy was to build an online profile in order to reach new audiences beyond the limitations of the physical premises, and to establish food and wine expertise so that The Nag’s Head would become somewhere people wanted to ‘make a special trip’ to visit. Overall the profile needed to reflect the fabulous drinking and dining experience offered.

The new WordPress website is now up & running, complete with social share buttons, a blog, Yoast SEO plugin, online room booking integration, social media links, MailChimp integration, and a bold slideshow on the home page to showcase the fabulous food offered. The website was created in association with Creative Aspects, a web design company in Harrogate.

The new WordPress website is now live

As well as the website, we collated all existing customer data onto one master mailing list, linked the website to a Twitter & facebook profile, established a MailChimp account, and sent the first email newsletter out to all exiting contacts.

In addition to this, we presented a clearly written strategic communication plan to the client, featuring a series of recommendations listed underneath 5 clear goals designed to help this business thrive again and grow.

We hope to continue working with Janet & Edward at The Nag’s Head and to keep on building their online profile.

Management Skills – Achieve Results Through People from Principle Practice on Vimeo.

Coaching & Mentoring Skills – Bring Out The Best In Your People from Principle Practice on Vimeo.

Online video is becoming such an important part of an organisations digital toolkit. These films are part of an online marketing campaign to promote a portfolio of 23 short management & leadership courses. The films are now featured on YouTube & Vimeo, embedded on the main company website, and will be used in communications across facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and as part of email marketing initiatives.

We’ve created six to start with, and then plan is to produce one film per course and complete the set.

Let us know what you think of them?

Here are the slides I used…

I decided to give it a go. I set-up an online account and signed-up for my first free box. Bargain. No obligation to buy, cancel at anytime yada yada. Except, I could get a second box half-price too…. So I might just do that, I thought. Not only that but through my account online I could view all the potential nibbles, and I could rate them so that I’d never get the stuff I hate (Anything coconut. Urgh), and I could request the ones I love first (Sweet Goan Curry Crackers. Nom). Genius.

I did get that half-price second box. In fact, I had a good few boxes over a period of a number of weeks. When I decided it was probably a luxury and I was becoming concerned I was simply bingeing on the box contents every Tuesday, I decided to cancel my order. However, when I went online to do this, a series of messages popped up persuading me to just postpone my delivery for a few weeks. Oh go on then…

I decided at this point that I loved Graze. As a customer, yes, but mainly as a marketer. As an internet brand it’s marketing genius – User friendly, engaging, socially connected, and sooo in-tune with its market.

The ‘free box’ offer is everywhere online. There are offline ‘free box’ vouchers floating around that can be passed on, and so naturally people are talking about graze both online & off.

I can rate my own box contents, so I can influence what I receive anytime I want (And we all know how much consumers want to be in control these days, right?). In addition, I get an email every Tuesday to accompany my box asking me to ‘rate or slate’ this weeks box contents. In the background Graze are also collecting critical data about their customer’s preferences, online use and buying habits. Brilliant.

I also have the option to ‘social share’ the contents of each weeks box via facebook, Twitter etc so I can tell my friends and networks what I got that week. I can also share ‘free box’ codes across my social profiles, and when someone else joins-up, I get £1 off my next box (All great & effortless viral marketing for Graze).

I can push back my deliveries anytime, postpone them while I go on holiday, and when I try to leave for good?… well, forget it. They are so persistent in such a nice way that I just don’t want to anymore, so I just postpone my next delivery for a while instead.

Graze is ‘grate’ on so many levels, and I hope other brands might learn from its marketing creativity.

Oh, one thing though… I mentioned/ complemented Graze many times on Twitter (@grazedotcom) and no one from Graze HQ picked up my tweets.

What a shame Graze… I was giving you 10/10 up to then :0)

The brief was created by Rachel Auty @ the fourfront, and revolved around usability, social connectivity, and user interaction. The site also needed to be an extension of the organisations well-developed existing visual brand, to accommodate a portfolio of short videos, and to be optimised for search engines + support an on going optimisation initiative.

Phew! We didn’t want much did we?

Anyway, here it is:

Here (we think) we have a very aesthetically pleasing site that has the brains as well as the looks. The site is built in WordPress for maximum flexibility, and a number of plug-ins have been installed in order to enhance the functionality of the site. These include WordPress SEO by Yoast and AddToAny – a nice bit of kit that enables site visitors to share, bookmark, and email your posts & pages using any service, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, StumbleUpon, Digg and many more.

The site also integrates with Checkfront, an online booking system that enables people to book the Principle Practice training courses through the website via an easy to use ‘Book Now’ function.

At Principle Practice, digital marketing and social media sit at the core of the marketing strategy. The new website delivers exactly what the business needs as a ‘destination’ for its marketing campaigns, and with Google Analytics installed from day one this can be measured all the way.

Position: Freelance Marketing Support (Part Time)

Role

We are looking to fill the above role with someone can work from home, primarily by email and telephone, supporting a small marketing team across a range of disciplines including internet based market research, database profiling, marketing tasks implementation, social media posting and engagement, marketing administration and telephone research. Ideally we’d like someone who is based in the Harrogate/ Knaresborough locality.

We are looking for someone to work on a self-employed basis for a minimum of 1-day a week for an initial term of 3-months.

Key Skills

The ideal candidate will be internet savvy and social media savvy, preferably with some previous marketing and customer service experience. They must have a good telephone manner, be self-motivated, deadly organised and have lots of enthusiasm!

Benefits

This role presents a rare opportunity for the right candidate to work flexibly from home whilst gaining practical experience working alongside busy, established marketing consultants.

How to Apply

Please email your CV with a summary of your skills & experience in the first instance to hello@thefourfront.co.uk or info@encompass.uk.net.

The closing date is Friday 9th September 2011.

Why did I love it? Lots of reasons.

I’ve followed the journey of the musical for a while through friends and colleagues. I’ve seen their relentless efforts to bring this project to life, and I’ve seen first-hand the genuine passion and belief in what they were doing right from the start.

On the night itself the opening scene made me cry. Great, I thought… it’s going to be an interesting evening. The fact is that it probably struck a chord with lots of people in the audience: The story of a not quite so perfect family life breaking up, and all the raw emotions that come with it.

I loved Boiling Frog because it was about life… the not-so-perfect life that most of us know if we’re honest.

I loved it because it was the result of months… years… of unfaltering passion and drive  from every single person involved. And because on that night, I could FEEL that.

I loved it because ALL of the cast were BRILLIANT (Christian Lunn as ‘Twelve’ & young Jake Abbott as ‘Joe’ were my favourites by a margin – I’ll watch out for you guys)

I loved it because the team had worked hard to build a brand, profile, and an unforgettable experience to all those that became part of its community (I sooo bought into it all, and I’m not ashamed to say I even painted my toe nails ‘frog green’ for the big night itself)

I loved it because it was my husbands first ever musical, and he’ll never forget it.

I loved it because it made me cry (twice).

And I loved it because when it ended, I was sad because it had.

I want to say my own congratulations to Keith Humphrey, Team Humruddy, and all the Boiling Frog cast. You should all be incredibly proud of this, an achievement you’d all decided a long time ago WAS going to happen no matter what. You deserved all those bums on seats and the standing ovations you got.

For what it’s worth I loved the tiny bit of the journey I shared with you.