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Small Business Advertising and Marketing – For Free!! 5 Top Tips

A large part of running a successful business is knowing how to market it effectively. This means, as well as investing money into well planned and targeted advertising / marketing campaigns, you should be taking advantage of as many of the free opportunities available to you as possible. Here’s five essential tips to start you [...]

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Small Business Advertising and Marketing – For Free!! 5 Top Tips

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LinkedIn: Back to Basics – How to build your Connections

How do I build my Connections? Within LinkedIn there are 1st degree, 2nd degree and 3rd degree connections: Your 1st degree connections are people you know and they are the centre of your network. Each person connected to your direct connection makes a 2nd degree connection and Those linked to your 2nd degree, make up [...]

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Introducing DAA Marketing: New Brand, New Website, New Service!

It’s here! It’s new….. it’s exciting…. and we hope you like it as much as we do – it’s our shiny new website. Much like the advertising & marketing industry on the whole, the last few years has seen many significant changes for DAA. Long ago (well, very long ago…) we were a leading agency [...]

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LinkedIn: Back to Basics – How to set up your profile

So you’ve decided you want to start using LinkedIn, you’ve joined and now it’s time to take the first step and set up your profile. Don’t panic, it’s pretty straightforward to set up – you just need to follow these 3 steps: List your current and past positions & education along with your tenure there. [...]

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Small Business Advertising and Marketing – For Free!! 5 Top Tips Small Business Advertising and Marketing – For Free!! 5 Top Tips LinkedIn: Back to Basics – How to build your Connections Introducing DAA Marketing: New Brand, New Website, New Service! LinkedIn: Back to Basics – How to set up your profile

Feb
21

Small Business Advertising and Marketing – For Free!! 5 Top Tips

by Kirsty Lemmon

Five essential top tips for marketing your business for free:

Telephone Directories. Make sure that your business has taken advantage of its’ free listing within the relevant classification of the telephone directory (Yellow Pages, Thomson Local and Phone Book). If you are doubtful of the relevance of this media channel for your business, then just remember that these publishers hold vast databases of businesses throughout the country – databases which then feed into an online directories, mobile directory apps and 118 services. You don’t want your competitors to be visible when you are not.
Local online directories. There seems to be an ever-expanding list of online directories which provide businesses with free listings. Content varies according to the individual directory – more established directories will offer less as part of the basic listing, but will allow businesses to buy adverts that include web links, more content and priority over basic listings in results. Smaller online directories tend to allow more content including weblinks, photos, keywords and detailed descriptions. Why should you get listed on these directories? 1) they are free, 2) they rank highly on search engine results giving you more exposure in local search results and 3) for directories allowing website links – this will build links back to your site also helping to improve the SEO of your website.
Search engine listings. Much like the online directories, you need to claim your local listings on search engines. Once you have ‘claimed’ your listing, you will be able to enhance it with relevant content such as descriptions, business hours, photos and so on – which give prospective customers the information they need and also increase the chance of being contacted, over a competing business that hasn’t bothered providing additional information. It’s important to claim these listings as the search engines give them more prominence in their search results. And as you will know, it’s crucial that you are found when people are looking for your services.
LinkedIn profile. If you feel like you should belong to a social network but don’t know which one or understand the power of relevance of Twitter and Facebook – then you should start with LinkedIn as the first step. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, has over 120 million members and is growing rapidly. Small businesses can really benefit from using LinkedIn to connect with trusted contacts as well as exchanging knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals. Simply setting up your personal profile so that you can connect with clients, colleagues and any other contacts is a must, to start.
Testimonials. If you have any client or customer feedback or have been given testimonials – use them! What better way to sell your services or products than through your customers? Testimonials and client referrals are incredibly powerful and will give prospects the reassurance they need to use your services or buy your products. The more feedback you have the better – if you don’t have any, then simply request some from current or past clients. You can also use feedback to strengthen your profile on LinkedIn – where you can request ‘recommendations’ that will be added to your profile.

These may not be the most exciting tasks that you can implement to promote your business and admittedly some can be fairly time-consuming BUT they are important and will give you results. And as they are free what have you got to lose?

If you are a business owner/ partner or manager and simply can’t give this the time it needs, we can always help out. In addition to our team of skilled consultants, media experts and strategy developers, we also have an excellent administrative team in place who would be more than happy to manage all of your listings; making sure they are accurate and in the right places. Contact DAA Marketing for more or visit our website.

Filed under: Online, Print

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Feb
21

Small Business Advertising and Marketing – For Free!! 5 Top Tips

by Kirsty Lemmon

Five essential top tips for marketing your business for free:

Telephone Directories. Make sure that your business has taken advantage of its’ free listing within the relevant classification of the telephone directory (Yellow Pages, Thomson Local and Phone Book). If you are doubtful of the relevance of this media channel for your business, then just remember that these publishers hold vast databases of businesses throughout the country – databases which then feed into an online directories, mobile directory apps and 118 services. You don’t want your competitors to be visible when you are not.
Local online directories. There seems to be an ever-expanding list of online directories which provide businesses with free listings. Content varies according to the individual directory – more established directories will offer less as part of the basic listing, but will allow businesses to buy adverts that include web links, more content and priority over basic listings in results. Smaller online directories tend to allow more content including weblinks, photos, keywords and detailed descriptions. Why should you get listed on these directories? 1) they are free, 2) they rank highly on search engine results giving you more exposure in local search results and 3) for directories allowing website links – this will build links back to your site also helping to improve the SEO of your website.
Search engine listings. Much like the online directories, you need to claim your local listings on search engines. Once you have ‘claimed’ your listing, you will be able to enhance it with relevant content such as descriptions, business hours, photos and so on – which give prospective customers the information they need and also increase the chance of being contacted, over a competing business that hasn’t bothered providing additional information. It’s important to claim these listings as the search engines give them more prominence in their search results. And as you will know, it’s crucial that you are found when people are looking for your services.
LinkedIn profile. If you feel like you should belong to a social network but don’t know which one or understand the power of relevance of Twitter and Facebook – then you should start with LinkedIn as the first step. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, has over 120 million members and is growing rapidly. Small businesses can really benefit from using LinkedIn to connect with trusted contacts as well as exchanging knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals. Simply setting up your personal profile so that you can connect with clients, colleagues and any other contacts is a must, to start.
Testimonials. If you have any client or customer feedback or have been given testimonials – use them! What better way to sell your services or products than through your customers? Testimonials and client referrals are incredibly powerful and will give prospects the reassurance they need to use your services or buy your products. The more feedback you have the better – if you don’t have any, then simply request some from current or past clients. You can also use feedback to strengthen your profile on LinkedIn – where you can request ‘recommendations’ that will be added to your profile.

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Feb
20

LinkedIn: Back to Basics – How to build your Connections

by Kirsty Lemmon

How do I build my Connections?

Within LinkedIn there are 1^st degree, 2^nd degree and 3^rd degree connections:

Your 1st degree connections are people you know and they are the centre of your network.
Each person connected to your direct connection makes a 2nd degree connection and
Those linked to your 2nd degree, make up your 3rd degree connections

Having set up you LinkedIn profile you will be able to invite contacts to connect with you through:

Using webmail import; where you will see all the people you know who are already on LinkedIn. You can then select who you wish to invite to join your trusted network.
Uploading a contacts file from Outlook, Palm, ACT!, or Mac Address
Viewing the list of your colleagues and classmates that are already on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn won’t let you connect with a 2^nd degree contact – you will need to rely on an introduction by a mutual connection.

For each of the above steps – there are “help” or “more info” buttons that will help walk you through the process.

How do I expand my network and start making other contacts?

Now that you are set up with a complete profile and have made connections with your “real-life” contacts, you are ready to start optimising the LinkedIn network. How? The best places to start are Answers and Groups

Answers

You can post a question on Answers for some expert advice or help to and tap into the experts you’re connected to and the entire LinkedIn network. With a professional community of over 135 million, this is the perfect place for those tough questions. There is a limit of 10 questions a month for the basic account.

You can also use this section of the website to answer questions that other people have asked. This will allow you to establish yourself as an expert if your field and may encourage more people to connect with you.

Groups

Groups is a great feature to get you ‘LinkedIn’ with professionals within similar industry to you where you can share news, updates, ideas, conversations, polls etc.

You can also request to join groups that are likely to consist of your audience where you can provide useful information and start relevant topics to help with any of their questions.

For more tips and advice on social media and networking – just subscribe to our blog. Or follow our tweets @daamedia.

Filed under: Social

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Feb
14

Introducing DAA Marketing: New Brand, New Website, New Service!

by Kirsty Lemmon

It’s here! It’s new….. it’s exciting…. and we hope you like it as much as we do – it’s our shiny new website.

Much like the advertising & marketing industry on the whole, the last few years has seen many significant changes for DAA.

Long ago (well, very long ago…) we were a leading agency in print directory advertising and local search. As the market evolved with advances in technology our services naturally expanded into online and social media marketing, with our specialism in local search and advertising continuing to be relevant.

Combine this with the aqusition of DAA by Lehmann Communications plc 2 years ago, which complimented the agency with a leading PR team and Design team, we can now boast a broad range of services that encompass a complete marketing solution.

We are all experts in our fields and combined, create powerful integrated multi-channel marketing campaigns that will get you the results you need.

So please have a browse through the website and see exactly what we now have to offer and how we can service you in 2012. The one thing that hasn’t changed is our dedication to our clients and their needs.

Our service solutions are reflected in that, where you dictate how you want to use us.

You could use us for short term one-off projects; as consultants to help you and your team to develop a killer marketing strategy; as your marketing agency or even as a fully outsourced marketing department – leaving you to concentrate on handling the increased volume of business that we will bring.

Let us know what you think of the site, we’re always happy to hear your comments and look forward to working with you in the future.

All the best – DAA Marketing.

Filed under: DAA Updates

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Feb
13

LinkedIn: Back to Basics – How to set up your profile

by Kirsty Lemmon

List your current and past positions & education along with your tenure there. This helps the right people and opportunities find you.
Add a profile photo this is really important as not only will people recognise you but if you want to promote your services to prospects or position yourself as an industry expert, people will want to see the face behind the posts.
Add a summary paragraph. This will give people a little more information and allows you to pitch yourself.

Tips on writing an effective profile

Fill out your profile completely, the more complete the profile the more likely you are to come up in searches made on LinkedIn.
Include your photo so that people can see who they are connecting to and talking with
Keep your profile up-to-date.
Use your links to point contacts to your website(s) and blog(s).
Make your profile interesting, include your personality when writing it rather than replicating a formal CV.
Ask connections to give you a recommendation – this could be a colleague, supplier or client.
Recommendations and your answers rated “Best” in the Q&A section boost your credibility.
You can use a tagline under your name, this is what members see first.
There are some privacy settings you could use in order to avoid spammers, sales persons to waste your time (Introductions, OpenLink and Inmails).
Set your profile to Full View. With this feature viewers will have more information about you and search engines will find you easier.

For more tips and advice on social media and networking – just subscribe to our blog. Or follow our tweets @daamedia.

Filed under: Social

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Feb
09

LinkedIn Back to Basics: What is it and Should I use it?

by Kirsty Lemmon

Even if you have not used LinkedIn before, you have no doubt either heard about it or even seen links to people’s LinkedIn profiles on the footer of their email signatures.

But assuming you know nothing about LinkedIn but understand that it holds some value as a networking tool, we’ll give you some basic information about this social media site.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, boasting over 120 million members and is growing rapidly. Small businesses can benefit from using LinkedIn to connect with trusted contacts as well as exchanging knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

Why do people use LinkedIn?

LinkedIn helps you to stay in touch with colleagues and friends, despite shifts in jobs and locations
It is free to join and network.
You can find valuable advice, insight and ideas from industry experts throughout the network – using LinkedIn answers and Groups.
LinkedIn enables you to network with like-minded professionals, clients and prospects from your desktop.
LinkedIn is a great resource for recruitment; Hiring; Posting jobs; Finding high-quality passive candidates and in some cases even helps companies to avoid recruitment agency fees.
You can target prospects through adding valuable information and targeted advertising
LinkedIn allows you to control your online identity – LinkedIn profiles are often returned at the top of the search results. By creating your profile, you are in control of the information that is displayed.
Explore opportunities – Whether you’re looking for a career opportunity, winning new clients or building your professional reputation, LinkedIn connects you to jobs, sales leads and ideal business partners.

How do I Join LinkedIn?

So if all of the above sounds like a good reason to use the site, then why not get started now:

Sign up here and enter all the personal details when prompted.
Once you have joined, you will be asked to confirm your email address by responding to the registration email sent to you.

When you’re ready to start networking, then follow our DAA – Company Page and feel free to connect with me Kirsty Kamarauskas.

Filed under: Social

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Feb
08

Marketing Plan – Back to Basics: Summary and Marketing Objectives

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by Kirsty Lemmon

Our Mini Blog Series: Marketing Plan – Back to Basics, provides a comprehensive, step by step guide to creating your own marketing plan. If you have never worked in marketing or are a business owner without a marketing team, this guide is a perfect tool for you to begin marketing your company effectively. Elements covered in this post are:

Summary and Introduction
Your Marketing Objectives

Summary and Intoduction

The marketing plan should begin with an executive summary, providing a quick overview of the main points of the plan. You should cover; what you have done, what you plan to do, and how you are going to get there.

Although the executive summary appears at the beginning of the plan, you should write it last – as this will help you to check that your plan makes sense and that you haven’t missed any important points.

Briefly describe the history of your publishing firm. In addition, include the business structure (corporation, limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship, limited partnership), names of owners and any significant events since it began.

Summarize your product lines, distribution strategies, pricing strategies and your existing and planned promotional campaign. Describe your target markets and a profile of prospective customers in each.

Even if you are the only person who will see your plan, this summary will give you a frequent reminder of the task you have set for yourself. Make it brief and motivating, something to which you can refer on a regular basis.

2.0Summary and IntoductionMarketing Objectives

This is where you need to clearly state you marketing objectives
What information should I include in my marketing plan?

In our last blog Do you need a marketing plan? we discussed the importance of using a marketing plan and the elements that should make it up:

Summary and Introduction
Your Marketing Objectives
Where you are now
SWOT Analysis
Your Customers
What do you have to offer?
How are you going to promote yourself?
Marketing Channels & Activity
Budget
Measurement

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Feb
08

Pinterest is set to be the next big thing in Social Media….But what is it?

by Kirsty Lemmon

Pinterest is set to be the next big thing in Social Media. According to Tech Crunch and Com Score, they hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors in January 2012 – crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history (Graph source – Tech Crunch).

These stats certainly impressive and indicate the importance of this site within the social media space, but what is Pinterest?

If you have never heard of or visited Pinterest before – you should take a quick look at the site.

In short, it’s a virtual noticeboard. It’s somewhere that you can place, organise and share all the interesting things you’ve come across on the internet. People might use a pinboard to plan a wedding, decorate a room in their house or even keep log of their favourite recipes.

Once you are a member, you can even browse pinboards that have been created by other people. The idea being that users can discover new things and get inspiration from people with similar interests. To join however, you need to request an invite.

Pinterest’s Mission: Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.

So what does this mean for business?

There is a clear link between Pinterest and companies that make and sell products – given the visual focus of the site. But what opportunity does Pinterest hold for businesses that provide services without a strong visual representation? Jeff Bullas has found an innovative way to trial the site – he’s using it to ‘pin’ infographics that are relevant to his target audience. He currently has 60 pins and over 550 followers, proving that with a little creative thinking Pinterest could be a valuable asset for most businesses. (See Jeff’s pinboard).

So why not give it a whirl. Even if you find it’s not right for your businesses – you may find it an enjoyable way to find and share your favourite things with people with similar interests.

Filed under: Social

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Feb
05

Alan Jones – New Account Director at DAA Marketing

by Kirsty Lemmon

A very warm welcome to Alan Jones, the latest member to join DAA Marketing. Alan has been appointed as the Account Director and replaces Suhaib Hussain.

Alan is responsible for maintaining client relationships, driving agency direction and improving client results. Alan will be working closely with clients to improve their campaign cost efficiencies through detailed analysis and planning insights and determining the optimum mix of media to deliver the best return for on budgets.

Alan’s previous roles include:

Comercial Sector Manager, Cross Border Mail
Market Analyst, Experian.
Customer development manager, Yell

Tags: DAA

Feb
01

Do You Need A Marketing Plan?

by Kirsty Lemmon

In short, the answer is Yes! Every business should have a marketing plan. The importance of a marketing plan is often misunderstood, particularly among those in the company who have little to do with or don’t fully understand the role of marketing.

So what is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan provides a clear focus for all the company’s marketing activities. It doesn’t need to have hundreds of pages, in fact for small and medium companies a marketing plan only needs to consist of a few pages.

It is a step by step guide that details what the company is looking to achieve, where the company is now, where it wants to be and how it’s going to get there. The marketing plan must be carefully thought out to ensure that the marketing strategy will meet the company’s objectives and deliver the required results.

Why is a marketing plan so important?

The marketing plan will:

Help you review your company internally to assess what has and hasn’t worked in the past.
Help you consider the influences outside of the company that do and will affect how you perform.
Provide a common vision for the company, helping all members to understand what the company needs to achieve and how it intends on doing so.
Sharing such information will help to inspire employees to get on board and embrace the marketing strategy, as they will feel more involved.
Provides focus for all marketing activity; laying out the most effective channels for your business and your target audience.
Help you to manage the marketing budget as all marketing activity will be planned, with associated costs and expected outcomes.
Measure success of your marketing activities, so that you can use the results to help with your plan for the following year.

In summary, a marketing plan is essential if you are looking to implement and manage a comprehensive and consistent marketing strategy, that is specifically design to reach your business objectives.

What information should I include in my marketing plan?

You should try to keep your marketing plan clear and to the point, which can be aided using the following basic sections. This is a guide to get you started, you may also need to add specific information that we have not detailed, but you can either add additional sections or include it wherever you feel relevant:

Summary and Introduction
Your Marketing Objectives
Where you are now
SWOT Analysis
Your Customers
What do you have to offer?
How are you going to promote yourself?
Marketing Channels & Activity
Budget
Measurement

What information should I include in my marketing plan?

What information should I include in my marketing plan?Tips for your marketing plan

Make sure that your objectives are SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.
Make sure your marketing plan sets out how (resources, channels, activity) you are going to meet each of your objectives
Include deadlines to ensure that plans are put into action
Make sure that you (and everybody else) knows who is responsible for each activity
Prioritise the marketing channels and allocate budget accordingly
Use the findings from your SWOT analysis to focus on your strengths and capitalise on the opportunities
Regularly monitor and review your marketing plan to make sure that it happens

In our forthcoming blogs, we will be looking at each of these sections in more detail and will also have a marketing plan template that you can download from our website (for free!)! To keep up to date, please add us to your reader, subscribe to this blog or email us and we’ll add you to our mailing list.

Filed under: Outsourced Marketing