Context Public Relations

I recently read an article that said that SEO was the most important part of any marketing campaign. Obviously it was written by an SEO expert but just because we all use the Internet every day does not mean that it should be the only source of new business opportunities.

SEO is a very valuable part of the marketing mix but you should also consider using other programmes to help develop new business. Even now some of the more classical approaches work. Here are just a few activities you may want to implement in 2010.

Direct Mail - Have you noticed how much less mail you get now. It’s all sent via email and if we are honest most of it is deleted straight away. Think about your next campaign and see if it would be worth putting something in the post. A nice letter and company promotional flyer is much more memorable than an email.

Events - Gone are the days of spending thousands on stands, hotels and hospitality but there are some very good regional or vertical market shows where you can pick up business.

Networking - We’re not just talking about Linkedin and Facebook. There is absolutely no better way to win business than meeting and talking to people. Don’t forget the “virtual world” but also get involved in local business clubs and networking events at trade shows. You never know you may just meet up with that old customer who moved on years ago.

Advertising - Like all marketing communications you should use advertising when it best suits your business. We all know that there are cheap deals available but look at what you are trying to achieve and how different activities can support your business.

Public Relations - If you are ever wondering how your competitors always seem to be in the media it’s down to PR. It may not make the phone ring instantly but it could help close the deal.

If your business is looking for more business ideas don’t forget to give us a call.

Tags: Marketing Mix, Public Relations, SEO by Rob
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December is once again here and many marketing departments may have a little extra time on their hands to put in place all those things they meant to do earlier in the year. Number one on everyone’s Christmas list this year is Social Networking - Twitter, Facebook and Blogging.

If you are one of the companies thinking about Social Networking please take a moment to think about what you are doing.  Social Networking can be great for online SEO and keeping your customers and prospects informed about what you are doing but if you don’t keep it up it can reflect badly on the business.

Here is our quick guide to Social Networking that could help you keep it going:

• Select the right tools - When you start out don’t go for everything at once - Blog to start with and then think about Twitter. Set up your Linkedin profile before you start adding content to your Facebook group.
• How much time can you spend on Social Networking - it takes time to do so how long are you going to spend on it each day
• If in doubt outsource it - don’t be ashamed to admit defeat. Contract the professionals to write the content on your behalf
• Whatever you do don’t give up - If you don’t keep content fresh and interesting your customers and prospects are going to stop visiting the site.

Tags: Marketing Mix, SEO by Rob
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Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Bebo, Myspace - we’ve all heard about them and many of us use the sites but do they really have a place in business?

A recent survey has shown that over £1.4 billion in productivity is lost every year in the UK by staff using social networking sites, many claiming they are on them for business reasons, and with the economy in recession can the business community afford so much wasted time?

When we talk to clients about social media we ask them to consider the following:

• Audience - who are you trying to speak to and will they listen to you?
• Resources - who will take responsibility for the media and who will keep it updated? After all once you start you can’t suddenly stop!
• Content - do they have enough to say and will it regularly change?
• Control - Who will control the content? After all it is your business and you want to ensure that anything that goes out fits your company criteria

If you are still not sure get an external company to look at your business and make social media recommendations. It’s very easy to start using these tools and if used correctly they can help new prospects find you and also improve current customer relations. On the other hand, if managed poorly it can have exactly the opposite effect!

Tags: SEO by Rob
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Computer Weekly is currently seeking nominations for its 2009 IT Blog Awards, which showcase the very best in industry blogging.  Dedicating an awards ceremony to the blog really does reinforce its importance as a central element of any marketing and communications plan.

In an increasingly digital age, blogs help to boost those all-important natural Google rankings and are an essential part of any search engine optimisation campaign.  Blogs ensure your website remains fresh and up-to-date, and they give you another more instant and informal means of communicating with customers and your target audience.

Consistency is key, however.  There’s nothing worse than seeing a company blog where the last entry was dated three months ago.  You need to dedicate resource to keeping it up-to-date and relevant with frequent postings, to help position your company as a leader in your field, a true industry player.

With inevitable internal deadlines and day-to-day priorities taking up your time, it can be easier to outsource your blogging activity as part of an overall media relations campaign, to ensure you get the dedicated resource and optimisation expertise you need to get onto that all-important first page of Google.

Tags: Marketing Mix, SEO by Luke
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Reuters, Sky and most of the UK tabloids have been running blogs from Labour’s annual party conference, keeping us updated and amused with the highs and lows from each day’s keynote speeches.

Blogging is another valuable way of engaging with the electorate, and of providing bitsize nuggets of information on the day’s proceedings and key Government pledges. The up-to-the-minute nature of the blog makes it ideal for communicating often heavyweight political stodge. Blogging breaks down the information and conveys it in an informal and quickly understood medium, making politics more accessible and understandable.

Judging by the high search rankings of these blogging sites, they have obviously proven popular amongst the electorate, which has to be a good thing.

And it’s for precisely the same reasons that blogging is so important in the business world; keeping customers updated on what you are doing in a quick, concise and informal way, pointing them to industry news that might be of relevance, and crucially increasing the frequency of contact you have with them, to boost engagement and interaction and strengthen key relationships.  It will also help with your all-important Google rankings and online presence, to help reach a wider potential audience

Tags: Marketing Mix, SEO by Luke
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Social media is becoming increasingly important in any company’s marketing activity and blogging is no exception. However, with research showing that 60-80% of blogs are abandoned within one month of creation, we have launched a new service to help companies maintain a regularly updated blog.

Our new service, Blogging for Business, is available to all UK businesses that have identified the importance of having a blog to help with Search Engine Optimisation and customer communication, but simply don’t have the time to upload regular blogs to keep the content current.

We have experience of managing blogs for companies in a range of sectors and can coordinate activity to suit the needs of individual businesses. So if you’d like to know more, why not give us a call on 01625 511966.

Tags: Marketing Mix, Public Relations, SEO by Debbie
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We all know that blogging is top of many companies agendas but the big questions we are asked all the time are as follows:

• How often should I write a blog?
• What should I write?
• How much should I write?

The answer to all of these questions depends on your business, but we do have a few rules of thumb that you may wish to follow.

How Often?

How often you blog depends on what you are trying to say and what sort of business you are. If you’re talking to consumers then the frequency of your blogs should be high (daily at least). This is because search engines no longer look just for content but also review the number of hits you have on your site and also the relevance of the content. On the other hand if you’re dealing mainly with businesses you don’t need to blog daily, once or twice a week will do and this will help improve your SEO and site stickiness.

What should I write about?

Please keep it relevant. There is nothing more off putting about a blog than seeing content that has nothing to do with your business. You may be a fan of a certain football club but if it has no relevance to your business don’t write about them. Keep it informative, and make sure you have a point.

How much should I write?

Blogs do not need to be essays. If a blog is too long it won’t get read and also the style should be more chatty than formal.

If you follow these simple rules you should see a great deal of benefit from your blog with greater traffic and some of your blogs appearing top in some online searches.

If in doubt you can always give Context a call.

Tags: SEO by Rob
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The classic martini is widely accepted to be four parts gin, to one part dry vermouth. Whether the cocktail is shaken or stirred is a moot point, depending on who you ask. The important thing is getting the mix right.

Getting the mix right is just as important in the PR and communications game, and broadening your channels of communications will help to ensure you get seen and heard by prospects, existing customers and partners.

With the rise in digital media, an online strategy is essential if you are to compete successfully in your marketplace. An estimated 87% of all Internet journeys start with a search – Google makes up 90% of these searches – so it’s important to include search engine optimisation in your PR campaign.

A digital PR campaign can help you to identify the keywords that make a real difference to your business, and that drive traffic to your site, and crucially can help to significantly boost your Google rankings in these areas, without having to simply resort to the costly pay-per-click option.

Of course, digital PR is only part of the answer. Getting into the hallowed pages of the nationals or gold standard trade press will get you in front of your target audience and potential customers, and is a valuable endorsement of your business credentials, but again it’s part of the mix.

The more you communicate, and the broader your channels, then the more effective you will be in reaching your target audience, and growing your business.

Tags: Public Relations, SEO by Luke
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Sitting with a client the other day we started discussing SEO tactics and as expected the conversation soon came round to Twitter. We’d all read about Stephen Fry using it to tell his fans what he was up to but what we discussed was how good it could be for the client business.

Not one to shy away from these issues I happened to mention that I set up my own Twitter account six months ago (I think it was even still in beta testing then) but after the first day I’d not updated it. The key issue for me is that yes, clients wanted to know what I was up to, but in reality if I spent all my time updating my Twitter I’d not be doing any work, therefore I’d stopped using it.

The client basically wanted to know if it was good for business to business marketing and after much discussion we decided the following:

• If you are targeting businesses the Twitter user audience is very limited
• If you don’t have anything to say for days on end the likelihood of attracting new followers that are not already your customers is unlikely
• In reallity it was time consuming (after all the Twitter has to be short and punchy) and we’d not get any other work done

One thing we all agreed on was that Twitter could be very useful in certain circumstances as follows:

• If you have a large user base that needs informing about changes and upgrades quickly
• If you are promoting special offers (Box shifting) that are available for a limited time
• You have a large consumer user base that already use Twitter and you have lots to say, every day

Overall our impression of Twitter is that it is a great social networking tool but that is all it is, it’s an addition to your Facebook profile / Myspace page but very little else. Twitter was not designed as a way to generate new business and it could be very time consuming for very little return on investment.

Tags: Marketing Mix, SEO by Rob
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This comment came out of the blue from my teenage daughter and it shocked me to the core. Here am I thinking I am at the cutting edge of social networking and it turns out that blogs are viewed  by the Facebook generation as the domain of the aging misanthrope! Ah well, I will just have to content myself in the knowledge that blogs, however grumpy, work wonders for your SEO (like a Double Diamond in the 60s TV ad) and bring in tons of new business leads! Now about this awful weather we are having……..and why won’t kids wear a coat when they go out these days?

Tags: Marketing Mix, SEO by Frank
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