Digital Creative Agency

Digital Creative Agency

19 AprBlogroll

How to Write for the Web – Top 10 Tips for Captivating Content!

Writing for the web is a whole different ball game to more traditional methods of the past. Things have changed, as have people, and technology has moved on.

So, how do we best utilise this amazing tool we have at our disposal? What are the differences, and how do we adapt and thrive?

Let’s find out! Here are a few key elements that you need to keep in mind before putting fingers to keyboard…

1. ATTENTION is the Economy

Let’s start with people’s attention spans. It’s been said time and time again (because it’s true!) that our levels of focus are being diminished.

With so many distractions and so much noise to cut through, we just can’t concentrate for long periods of time. It’s vitally important you bear this in mind when producing any content online… or pretty much anywhere these days.

Writing for the web differs from the print media in that people are searching for some specific information rather than consuming general content in the hopes that some of the best stuff sticks.

This is in line with ‘in-demand’ services across the media spectrum; like Netflix, catch up TV, radio, gaming and all the other weird and wonderful education and entertainment services out there.

The consumer is in control, and will disappear if what they see is not up to snuff.

How do we keep people focused, get our points across and draw in the ‘scanners’?

2. Get Punchy! Be Clear, Concise & Direct

Any way to break up the text is a definite way to go:

  • Short paragraphs
  • Shorter sentences
  • The use of bullet points (oh look what we have here ;))
  • Numbered lists
  • Graphs & images
  • Plenty of page breaks and white space

There is a time and place (as well as a need) for longer posts but also short, concise and dynamic pieces. They all have their place.

Just because we have shortened attention spans, some of us will devote time to a long piece of content if it interests us, or rather, keeps us interested. So that would be the subject matter itself, as well as using some of the methods in this post.

3. Satisfy the Scanners

It’s common practice for people to skim over content first, then delve deeper if there’s a strong enough interest. That means you want your main points front, centre and obvious.

Nothing too technical or hard to find, and give the reader what they need from that wider angle and then tempt them in to the finer details.

For example, they might want to find specific info about a hotel, like:

  • Prices
  • Restaurant menu
  • Opening times
  • List of excursions
  • An address  

This should be easy to find – don’t make people work too hard for it! If that’s all they want, then no problem… give them the option of walking away, but also aim to compel them to read the rest too.

4. Spark Curiosity & Burn Desire

Titles and subtitles are important too. Make them catchy and lead the reader on to the next paragraph.

Do your keyword research and use header tags (in particular H1 & H2 ). This helps with visibility in the search engines. Be sure to include links to other posts, pages, partners and interesting sites that are relevant using keywords in the text.

Be helpful. Answer questions potential customers are asking. You can use various keyword tools, such as:

5. Become a Pro Promoter & Marketing Mad Man!

Make sure to shout about your work from the rooftops!

No-one will be able to see your masterpiece if it’s not advertised in some way. Use the various social media channels to get the word out there, in amongst your ongoing snazzy content which causes a stir of interest in your prospects, associates and casual onlookers.

It should all be an organised and consistent push on everything you put out there. And remember, you are competing against Social Media algorithms which rewards frequent and engaged with content.

6. Assess, Adapt, Repeat…

Analytics. Not a fun subject for most but the simple fact is – what gets measured, gets managed… and also improved upon! Cliché for sure, and with good reason. If you don’t get feedback and adapt accordingly, how will you know where you are and where you’re going?

The good news is that there’s no excuse… you have a great FREE service with Google Analytics. You can jump into more advanced stuff down the line but this more than covers the basics and will set you down the right road.

7. It’s All About Action!

What do you want your reader to do? There needs to be a reason, or at least some sort of direction you want them to take when they’re done. Yes, a clear call to action.

There’s no point in dancing around the issue, you have given them this masterful prose which they’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and now you need to take them by the hand and give them a gentle nudge… ‘find out more’, ‘go here’ etc.

As part of the above, one of the main places you should be directing people to is your own subscriber list. This is something you own, can help nurture deep relationships over time, and ultimately refer your products and services to too when done in the right way.

8. Know Thy Audience

It’s vital you know exactly who you’re talking to.

Many times this is called your buyer persona… either way, you need to at least have an idea of who you’re targeting. This helps with language, tone, structure and getting into their head-space.

  • What words do they use?
  • Any lingo or common sayings?

This not only helps them understand the copy better but also helps with SEO.

But be careful to avoid jargon as that can alienate as well as lose clarity. It’s a delicate balance but we’re out to be understood, inform and maybe entertain… not try and impress!

9. KISS’em – Keep it Simple!

Be sure to use simple language where possible or whenever in doubt. You want a child and a grandparent to be able to understand what you’re saying. Never assume anything, other than that the reader wants a smooth, easy and fun experience.

There are of course times for technical content (see know thy audience) and other times where you may wish to inject humour but the fallback should always be, the more basic the better.

Avoid passive tense. The legendary writer Stephen King in his book, On Writing, says that’s one of the main writing mistakes to avoid. Whether you’re writing a quick Insta post, or a novel on tales of the macabre, this applies across the board.

Instead use active tense as much as possible, and talk directly to your reader. ‘The article was written by Adam’ is passive, ‘Adam wrote the article’ is active.

10. Use the Rule of ONE

In each piece of content, try and stick to one main topic or theme. Discuss different aspects within that, but it needs to be only one general idea… then by all means create further content on other themes.

This also applies to the call to action we spoke about earlier. You can have links to your social platforms, for example, but there can only be one specific action you want your reader to take, whether that be to subscribe to your newsletter, go to your sales page, or follow you on Twitter.

Don’t try to be all things to all people. It never works and you end up being nothing to anyone. Find your people and go straight at them!

And start with the most important piece of info first and work outwards. This is often referred to as the ‘Inverted pyramid’ used by journalists and other writers.

11. Bonus #1: Looks matter

Yes, what you say is important and in theory it shouldn’t matter how it looks. That won’t quite wash as people do judge a book by its cover. The cover, after all, is to entice you to open it and if that doesn’t happen, what’s inside won’t even be seen. And even if it is, a lack of aesthetics will give the impression of less value.

So that means using some bold, italics, underline and highlights where it makes sense to emphasise. Then the other side of the equation is the graphics, and general design of the website, email etc.

If you want to spruce up your work, then apps like Grammarly and Hemingway can help a lot. They won’t write your content for you but will offer handy suggestions on how to improve the spelling, grammar and even on how it reads.

As ever, you can break the rules, but at least be aware of them before you play too much with them.

12. Bonus #2: The Spice of Life!

Variety does indeed keep things interesting. Mix it up, enjoy what you’re doing and try and transfer that energy and certainty over to the reader.

If they don’t quite know what’s coming then they will be all the more intrigued to find out! If they start reading and think they’ve seen it all before then they will zone out and log off…

A quick word on click-bait. Avoid being too ‘clickbaity’ when attracting attention. It’s another fine line to walk and you do need to arouse intrigue and draw people in, but when overdone simply to get a click through – along with not much substance on the other side – then it can ruin your credibility.

And when in doubt, remember the old marketing acronym – AIDA. Attention (or awareness), Interest, Desire & Action. That’s the exact process you want the reader to take, so keep them on that path and they’ll be delighted to join you on the journey.

All in all, this is an exciting time to be able to produce cool content and get your message out there. Applying some of these tips along with being aware of where the market is going, means you can really enjoy the fruits of your labour!

Click here to find more out about the many services we offer here at Canary PR, including captivating written content!

~ Adam

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10 AprBlogroll

Why the Digital Customer Experience is Now so Important

All around us we can see evidence of the incredible digital transformation that is taking place across our lives. While understandably this change is stronger in the West, it can be observed throughout almost the entire globe. One example of this is the widespread use of mobile banking in Africa which is positively transforming the lives of many farmers and small business owners across the continent.

Another key indicator of this change is the increasingly prevalent use of social media with the number of individuals accessing social networks worldwide expected to reach over 3 billion by 2021.

These are huge changes, being driven by technology such as widespread, high-speed internet, including increasingly fast mobile internet, affordable and powerful smartphones and innovations from massive multinational tech companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft. The way we live now and how we will increasingly live in the future is being altered irreversibly.

While these changes are not always beneficial, the differences that can be seen are undeniable and this is only set to become more pronounced. The digital transformation is changing all areas of our lives from communication, to education, to the economy and travel.

To ignore this is at the massive peril of your brand, because technology is also completely revolutionising the way companies and individuals do business, interact and decide where to spend their money. If your company is relying on continuing with the status quo and avoiding change due to the costs involved in updating systems, new training and evolving with the times, then you are setting yourself up for failure.

This is starkly highlighted by the prediction that “Half of the S&P 500 Companies Will Be Replaced in the Next Decade“ and if this can happen to some of the biggest companies in the world, this change will more than certainly affect small-medium size businesses too. This turnover of companies is increasing rapidly, as “in 1965, the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 was 33 years. By 1990, it was 20 years. It’s forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026.“

To survive (and thrive) in today’s global economy, a constant state of evolution is absolutely vital!

But what is the digital customer experience and why is this now so important?

The digital customer experience is related to all aspects of interaction and experience that your customers have across all possible digital channels, whether this be your website, email, social media or other methods.

Within the travel and tourism industry for example, for a hotel or resort this would involve online room bookings, interactions via real time web chat, email or social media with customer service agents, or engagement surrounding social media posts made by your marketing team.

What is important to note is that the concept of the digital customer experience is more significant to your marketing team and company, than it is to your potential or current customers; they don’t think of this division between digital or traditional customer experience, it is all part of the overall experience they have with your brand. To a certain extent this is also how your brand should be viewing things, because our digital lives are becoming increasingly intertwined with all aspects of our lives.

Whether this is checking your bank statement online, having a Skype video call with your family or friends in another country, or booking flights or a hotel room via a smartphone. “In 2017, more than 32 percent of the global population used a smartphone” which is essentially the same as a third of the world having mini computers in their pocket, with all those added possibilities.  

The Digital Customer Experience and the Travel Industry

The customer experience between your brand and your customer needs to be as positive, efficient and professional as possible, either in person or through digital interactions. For a resort or hotel this would include the way guests are greeted in person by receptionists, restaurant staff or team members. It will also include the experience guests or potential guests have while interacting with your resort team via digital channels such as the real-time chat facility on your website, emails or social media.

As well as the interactions your guests have with your brand, the digital customer experience also includes many other factors such as the attractiveness and functionality of your website, or the posts published on your social media channels such as photos, videos and blog posts.

It is also important to note that the digital customer experience from your brand’s perspective should not just end once your guest has booked a stay at your resort and has arrived for their holiday, but also happens:

During the time your guest stays with you

While your guest is staying with you they should ideally have free access to excellent WiFi throughout the resort, as this is a standard feature in many public and private locations. They may also be publishing on social media while they stay regarding your resort such as appealing photos/videos of the pool, restaurant or local area. Your marketing team should be monitoring digital channels for tags and hashtags, and engage with these posts which will encourage your guests to post more.

With the widespread use of digital devices on holidays, this can become an excellent source of free advertising for your brand. Even if the individual doesn’t always have a massive social media following, they are likely still an influencer, even if it is just to family and friends. Don’t underestimate the influence of micro-influencers!

After they have departed

Once they have checked out, the connections made via social media can create a lasting relationship between your resort and your guests leading to potential repeat bookings. This can be fostered in a positive way with engagement and conversations via social media, and email newsletters with special offers.

While this is an example of the digital customer experience in action for hotels or resorts, this translates in similar ways for most other industries and should definitely not be neglected.

Why Your Brand Needs to Quickly Adapt

Ultimately, for your customer the quality of experience with your brand will determine whether or not they choose to repeat their business with you, regardless of whether this is in person or through digital channels. For your brand though, this is no quick fix and will require a concerted and dedicated effort.

New systems will need to be put in place, new equipment purchased, possibly major updates to your website for speed, security and attractiveness, and a major change in ethos for your marketing team and staff in general. Real life experiences and the digital customer experience are merging to a greater and greater extent. What happens digitally has real world consequences and vice versa.

A couple of years ago a United Airlines passenger was forcibly dragged screaming and injured from a flight that the airline had overbooked. After the full-fare paying passenger had refused to leave the plane, he was forcibly removed which another passenger filmed and posted online. This video then went viral leading to terrible publicity for the airline and share prices dropped.

This was further exacerbated by the way the CEO of the company responded to the incident through dismissive tweets, defending the conduct of the airline. This has likely damaged the reputation of the airline for the foreseeable future, leading many to think twice before booking a flight with United Airlines.

Companies need to fully grasp the concept of how our real-world and digital lives are now so tightly entwined and increase their focus on improving the Digital Customer Experience. People lead busy and often stressful lives, so they expect to have a positive experience with your brand both in person and digitally.

If the experience doesn’t live up to their expectations, such as an unhelpful employee, slow website or even boring social media posts, then they can and often will dismiss your brand.

The market is constantly innovating and being disrupted as shown by the rise of brands like Netflix, Airbnb and Spotify. There are no industries that are safe from change, so it is imperative to keep up with customer demands, otherwise things can quickly switch. This is why the digital customer experience is now so important for your company.

Contact us here if you would like help with improving your brand’s Digital Customer Experience

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29 MarBlogrollEditor’s Choice

How to Overcome Information Overload Using Personalised Marketing

In today’s world, consumers are facing increasing information overload, making it more and more difficult for brands to be heard above all of the other advertising noise. This is especially the case on the internet such as on social media, mobile apps and digital entertainment channels like Spotify.

This is very important to take notice of, because this is where consumer attention is increasingly heading to, away from traditional advertising methods like the TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. People are simply becoming less and less likely to engage with these type of adverts which is why it’s vital to grab people’s attention online.

While it is true that the internet, mobile devices, social media and digital entertainment are where consumer’s attention is more likely to be focused, this doesn’t necessarily make the job of your marketing team any easier. Online you can potentially reach a massive audience, but in fact, in many ways it is now much more challenging to get people to listen.

The internet may seem like an almost limitless source of information and therefore increased marketing opportunities, with incredible numbers of people accessing social media channels, being entertained by sites like YouTube, reading news articles online, using search engines, or any other number of different options, but here lies the problem.

Information Overload Should Not Be Underestimated

It was predicted that, in 2017 there was going to be more data created than the previous 5,000 years of humanity! This is an almost mind blowing statistic, and the consequences of this relentless increase in data year on year in people’s lives has created the growing problem of online information and content overload.

From data collected in 2015, “41% of people (and 33% of millennials, those aged roughly 18- to 34-years-old) claimed to feel overwhelmed by the sheer wealth of choice on the internet, preferring friends’ recommendations on social media rather than searching for content and products themselves.” It is highly possible that these figures are even higher now.

Why Personalised Digital Experiences are so Important

These issues present a significant challenge to brand marketing teams, who must adapt, otherwise they risk further turning consumers off from browsing the web for content discovery or purchases.

Instead many people now visit just two or three of their favourite trusted websites, such as their favourite news source, Google and Amazon. This is problematic for brands aiming to attract new customers, but this can be overcome through personalisation.

It is because of this ever rising tide of information, and the seemingly endless options and distractions, whether it is email, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram notifications, messages on WhatsApp, games, videos to watch or music to listen to, that people do not want something to waste their time, if it is not specifically useful to them. As everything seems to move faster and faster and there are more and more things trying to grab their attention, one of the most important commodities for people has become their time.

People are becoming increasingly savvy to sifting through advertising and marketing and less likely to tolerate anything that they deem to be wasting their precious time. This is why online ad blockers are now so popular to cut out pop-up ads and banner ads, and why people are willing to subscribe to services like Netflix or Spotify.

They want to avoid advertising as much as possible, because they know a brand is trying to sell them something that most of the time they have no interest in. People simply don’t have the time or patience for these outdated outbound marketing tactics which also include spam emails or Twitter Auto direct messages. Rather than sell products, these type of adverts are much more likely to turn people away from your brand.

How to Successfully Personalise your Brand Digital Marketing Strategy

By tailoring content and advertising to an individual’s needs and preferences, your brand will help to ensure that this doesn’t simply become lost in the flood of information that now exists and can instead successfully rise above this. As explained by Daniel Bensley from Qubit, we now live in an expectation economy due to the huge digital transformation that has taken place in the last decade.

Technology has changed customer expectations forever, so brands need to be authentic to gain their customer’s trust. This is one of the keys to creating a personal connection with your current and future customers. By being authentic and showing that your team genuinely cares about the interests of people, rather than just profit, this will attract people to your brand.

Brands need to be transparent and no longer have anywhere to hide, especially with sites like TripAdvisor. Marketing teams must also understand that most people don’t necessarily care about your brand, only what it can do for them personally.

The days of people showing completely unshakeable loyalty to a brand have been shattered, as they are prepared to quickly switch from brand to brand if they see that it offers them a better price, service or experience. This is very important within the travel industry as consumers are increasingly looking for holidays with personalised experiences.

This is why companies such as AirBnb and G-Adventures have become so popular. Both of these and many others offer very personalised marketing with highly engaging social media channels, and teams that can be easily contacted throughout the day either via social media or dedicated sections of their website.

Social media is an amazing tool for distributing excellent content that either entertains or educates or ideally both, which people will want to share and engage with. This acts as advertising for your brand, but a style which people recommend to their friends and family, rather than a brand message bombarding and boring them.

Through effective Inbound marketing such as content marketing, including amazing videos, photos, blog posts and social media updates which are useful to individuals, they will search out and discover your content. For example a blog post about a destination and different activities to do there, could contain photos, videos and links to different companies.

People would head to this article themselves to discover what to do, thus meaning it is something they have personally chosen to look at. They will therefore place much higher value and increased attention on this.

While new technology is part of the problem for brands to grab and keep hold of consumer attention, it can also be part of the solution. By investing in new technological programs such as Artificial Intelligence, these can be put to work 24/7 at incredible speeds analysing data and creating a personalised customer experience for individuals based on their internet usage habits and those of other users.

This can be done by working with companies like Qubit which uses “technology that delivers unique eCommerce experiences at scale that increase conversions and RPV”. Thus your brand can “Win and retain your best customers through highly persuasive personalisation.”

Overall it is very important that your company changes its mindset from a one size fits all policy and instead adapts to the expectation economy. People expect to be listened to and receive a personalised experience, and they are no longer likely to listen to brands that fail to deliver this. This is why your company must act now in order to avoid the risk of being left behind.

If you found this article useful then please share on social media using #CanaryPR and also leave any comments below. Also please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and connect with us on social media:

Click here to get in contact with our team. 

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25 MarNews ReleaseSpainTenerife

Introducing Adam Barratt to Tenerife, Canary PR & the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme

I’m now 3 weeks into my little adventure on the island of eternal spring, that is to say the quite exquisite Canary Island of Tenerife. I am also the newest member of the Canary PR team having joined John Beckley on the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme and it’s high time I introduced myself…

The EU, Entrepreneurship & Rockin’ the Canaries!

My end of the bargain in this happy little set up, is creative writing across various channels. Whether that be right here on this blog, partner and client sites, social media and of course occasional updates on my own blog at FortressFree.com… writing is the central aspect.

In addition to that, I’ll be getting involved in the video productions, events, causes and anything else that swings by my way. This will be with John and his associates who in turn will help build my profile, brand and fine-tune my offerings.

What’s Simon Saying? Erasmus, That’s What…

Whilst trying to figure out how to get more clients and get things moving again following a quiet spell, I decided to utilise a bit more the business social networking platform, LinkedIn.

I’ve been on the site for years but not used it to anywhere near its full capacity. I suddenly had the idea of messaging each of my contacts to say hi whilst adding more connections too. Nothing too salesy or pushy, just a genuine ‘hello’, seeing what they were up to, how I could help with that and mentioning what I was doing in the process.

Of course, some respond, some don’t. Some aren’t really interested in chit-chat or networking, others are just out to push their own agendas. Simon was one of the people who got back to me in the spirit of my opening message and took the time to let me know what he was doing and some of his vision for the future. He included that he had previously taken part in this EYE programme (as a New Entrepreneur or NE) and for me to look into it as it may just fit well in my pursuits.

I wouldn’t say this is the best (or only) strategy to get clients or to make things happen but it can’t do much harm in conjunction with other methods. You never know where it may lead (and this applies to ALL social networks as well as offline), and it starts the connection process which often will go nowhere, but sometimes… sometimes it could even change the course of your life. And you never know where and when some of these people may reappear down the line.

I wrote an article for Simon and John to see if our styles fitted and I’m pleased to say that I found out then, and even more so since arriving that our ethos and world views have huge similarities.

Entering the Fray

So, safely over to the Canaries on the ‘flying fun bus’ from Bristol, there wasn’t much time to rest on my laurels and I got straight into the action, hitting the ground running (and any other clichés you can fit into a sentence). A few excursions and some articles for the Pearly Grey hotel before my feet hit the ground.

I met up with the cricketing and rugby legend (we’ll see about that) from South Africa, Mr John Beckley, who is my Host Entrepreneur (HE) and is also on the same page in terms of how life should be lived and work produced.

I’ve also met up with some other members of the team, not least the delightful Juliane Nendel, our resident life coach extraordinaire who keeps us all in balance (it’s key apparently). I’m also in amongst a couple of videos already… there’s no hiding around here.

To the Future!

For me – and for everyone here – this is about more than an Erasmus programme. For a start, that may come to an abrupt end for me due to Brexit (which affects all people on the programme going to or from the UK… although there looks like there will be some extension on that score either way) but I intend to do 5 months of this programme.

However that pans out, I intend to stay for the foreseeable future and we’re looking to expand our efforts to take us all forward individually and as a team. There will be the Canary Island element where we’re the go to people locally for social media and related activities… then more internet based work that we can spread across the globe.

Something worth mentioning is the Green aspect, social responsibility and positive message we want to be known for and help spread. These are areas that more and more people are interested in and we will be at the forefront of this movement.

We may ruffle a few feathers along the way, we may do things a little differently… we may even have a few laughs in the process.

Sounds good to me… do join us for the ride!

~ Adam

P.S. I also wrote another post on my own blog, similar in nature with a few twists, so check that out too!

And feel free to get in contact if you ever need a copywriter or just to follow along:

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24 MarNews ReleaseBlogroll

Why it’s so Important for Your Brand to be Authentic on Social Media

In today’s world of marketing, authenticity is becoming increasingly essential to your brand’s success. Today’s consumers don’t want your brand’s corporate message pushed on them and they don’t need to listen.

Due to the huge digital revolution that has occurred in the last decade which is only set to become more prominent, unwavering brand loyalty is becoming a thing of the past. In fact many suggest the type of loyalty that many brands enjoyed for decades may have died forever and will never return.

You only have to take a look at certain statistics to see that this is occurring in all sectors of the economy. For example in terms of the household: “90% of the leading household goods brands are losing market share on consistently low-growth categories.” Just because people always used to buy Kelloggs or Nestle in the past, this doesn’t mean they will now, especially younger generations.

Tastes, aspirations and mindsets are altering dramatically due to huge changes that are taking place across the globe. It no longer makes sense to remain loyal to a brand, because it doesn’t automatically benefit consumers and they have so many other choices.

As further evidence within the food and grocery market, observe how discount stores like Lidl and Aldi have arrived in recent years in the UK and massively disrupted the market. While their profits have risen dramatically, established brands such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s have seen market share and profits tumble. As well as offering great value, Lidl and Aldi have both placed social media at the centre of their marketing strategies across all the major networks including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Of course this is all part of a fundamental, wider shift away from the concept of sticking with what has always seemed the safe bet to embracing change in our daily lives. Change is not seen as something to be afraid of and avoid, but something to aspire to because it leads to innovation and improvement.

This is occurring within the world of work, relationships, education, religion, politics and where people choose to live. This is being driven by technological advancements, the internet, social media and globalisation  and shows no sign of slowing down.

People are embracing change:

In these changing times, unwavering loyalty to a brand is now something that appears misguided and old fashioned, because it can increase your chances of missing out on something more interesting, useful and/or better value. This is certainly the case within the travel and tourism market, where increasingly people are searching for new experiences and different ways to holiday.

A clear indicator of this is the huge growth of AirBnb which offers a totally different concept of finding holiday accommodation than in the past. Travellers have embraced Airbnb, because of the freedom, convenience and savings that it offers.

Ultimately what brands need to understand, is that consumers care increasingly less about your brand. While Airbnb has seen massive growth, it is not the brand that people love but the way of travel that it offers them.

If a new, more innovative product came along that improved on this concept then consumers would be quite willing to switch, much more so than they would have in the past. What Airbnb has managed to do though is connect with its guests and potential guests in a highly effective and authentic way via social media and digital marketing.

You have to fight for people’s attention:

Big brands no longer have a monopoly on people’s attention. In the past as fewer forms of entertainment existed i.e. television, radio and print; big brands could monopolise these because of the high cost barrier that existed for advertising.

Now with the advent of mobile, cheap, speedy internet, and multiple forms of entertainment such as social media, YouTube, Spotify, streaming television services and countless other digital media driven by technological changes, these barriers have been lifted.

People no longer have to watch a commercial about how amazing the latest unhealthy burger is at a fast food chain, or how a soft drink will apparently make their summer so amazing. Instead consumers connect on social media with brands that offer value to them and communicate in a human, authentic way.

People don’t trust brands, they trust people:

What many brands within the travel and tourism industry still seem to fail to fully appreciate is what an incredibly powerful tool social media is to connect with guests and potential future guests. While future generations will likely not choose a certain hotel or resort simply because it’s with the brand they have always known, they will choose your brand if you are able to effectively communicate to them why they should.

With effective social media and digital marketing strategies the people that work for your company should become your biggest advocates and engage with your followers in a human, authentic way.

Your hotel or resort should definitely be using all of the major social media channels and ideally have a team of specialists monitoring and updating these for conversation around your brand or destination. Do not just sit on the sidelines and watch and then pump out the corporate message. Consumers are increasingly bored of bland advertising telling them how good your product is, with no evidence to back this up.

Your resort should be reaching out to and working with travel influencers. These can be bloggers, film-makers, photographers or social media influencers; ideally they should be able to do all of these things.

By connecting with these type of influencers and offering them stays at your resort, this creates an authentic buzz around your brand. They will share photos, videos, blog posts and social media updates which their followers will see and share and you can then share across your brand accounts.

Social Media is the perfect communication tool:

For a resort or hotel brand use social media to engage and converse with your guests, people talking about the destination you are based and talking about your brand online. By doing this your company becomes more authentic as it shows your team are listening and not just broadcasting.

Too many brands just see social media as another box to tick, such as, “OK, we need to post this tweet today using this hashtag, then our social media work is complete for the day”. This is a completely wasted opportunity and appears incredibly formulaic and boring.

Of course you should tap into the trending hashtags, but tap into events in real time. This is why it’s very useful to use tools such as Hootsuite or Mention to monitor what is being said about your brand in real time. Your team can then jump into a conversation by answering questions, sharing content and averting any possible brand crises.

People now expect to be able to reach your brand via social media and not just at the normal 9-5 hours. Some brands are now exceptionally good at social media response such as KLM Airlines who guarantee a reply on Twitter within 11 minutes, across 10 different languages!

A big response that seems to be heard within many companies by employees when they are asked to use social media, is that they don’t have time. What you will find though is that if your team don’t have time for social media, then people won’t have time for your company. This isn’t the future, this is the here and now. They expect a response as quickly as possible, that effectively deals with their question or criticism.

If your brand ignores them or is slow this will annoy people and could turn them away from you, potentially losing a customer. It could also lead to further negative comments thus becoming bigger problem. Social media shouldn’t be an add on, but an integral part of your marketing and corporate communication strategy.

Ultimately, customer loyalty is in no ways guaranteed now, but if you are loyal to your customers in an authentic, entertaining, human way offering real value to their lives, then they are much more likely to become repeat customers and recommend your brand to others. The good thing about this, is that people very much trust the recommendations of friends, family and to a lesser extent their wider social media connections.

Even if they don’t trust brand corporate messages, if others are recommending your brand who they do trust then they will be inclined to try your brand such as staying at your hotel or resort. Rather than treating them merely as customers, think of them as your friends or family and advocates of your brand to the world.

If you enjoyed this article and found it useful then please share on social media and use #CanaryPR to become part of the conversation online.

You can connect with Simon via his website and social media profiles:

To contact Canary PR click here or reach out to us on social media. We would love to help you tell your story!

 

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21 MarBlogroll

Generation Gap

I’m going to let you into a little secret… I’m 50! Now you might not think that is particularly exciting or even a secret (just search my Facebook profile). What is possibly unusual is I’m not scared of computers nor do I think the internet is black magic, and yet I have clients who are around my age or a little older and both things terrify them!

Now in many ways, this is a blessing to us social media folk or website creators but I like to be inclusive, not exclusive. I want these people to enjoy working with computers and tablets or be confident in using the internet, after all so much of everyone’s life is conducted online these days.

So where do you start with these lovely people when there is an inbuilt fear of breaking something or deleting everything? Personally, I don’t think it matters where you start, I believe the most important thing is pace.

I recently watched 2 friends together, one in her early 30’s, we’ll call her Savvy showing Learner friend who’s in her 50’s how to post on Facebook. The conversation went like this…

  • Savvy – “Open Facebook…”
  • Learner – “Ok, I’ve done that”
  • Savvy – Click on the box at the top to post and add a photo”
  • Learner – “Errr….” with a blank look
  • Savvy – “Pass the tablet to me and I’ll show you – Look you just click here… type this, add the photo like that and click share. See! Dead easy!”
  • Leaner – “mmmmmmm…”

Obviously, my poor friend trying to learn actually learnt absolutely nothing except the fact that Savvy friend is a wiz on Facebook.

To me, it’s pretty obvious where all that went wrong, as I’m sure it is to you, but let’s break it down. They had a great start! Savvy let Learner have the tablet but her instructions assumed some knowledge and she quickly became frustrated and took over and went through instructions in a very scant manner and far too quickly!

When I am working with clients to show them things like; how to post, make changes to their page, change information on their website, create stories or write a blog the first thing I do is to create a step by step guidebook which details every single step you take.

I make sure we both have lots of time for our meeting to go through the guidebook and tasks, in a place with little or no distractions. Normally an hour is enough time and people tend to lose interest with any longer than that. If we can’t get through it all we’ll just schedule another session.

A couple of days before the meeting I share the guidebook with them and ask them to have a quick read through to see if there are any questions before we start. At the meeting, we both work on the same type of device – tablet or laptop, side by side. Then we work through one small task at a time together on each device, step by step, me doing the step first followed by them.

Once the task is complete I ask a range of open questions to confirm their understanding of what they’ve just done and go over anything that needs clarification. Then we revert to where we started and it’s their turn to do the task solo, talking me through it and following the guidebook. In addition, I always encourage them to make their own notes in the guidebook using language they understand and even little drawings!

I’ll also answer any questions as we go, I always say it’s better to ask a question several times and get things right than struggle and get things wrong. This just feeds their anxiety with the task at hand and means they’re likely to give up.

Finally, I ask them to go away and practice – and soon, while it’s all still fresh in their minds.

So, there you have it! My steps to help someone learn a new skill on the internet.

  • Create guidelines
  • Allow plenty of time
  • Remove distractions and no multitasking
  • Work through the task together
  • Encourage note taking and question asking
  • Confirm their understanding through questioning
  • Practice!

Using this method I’ve got technophobes posting on all types of social media, an 85-year- old updating small sections of his website each month, a lady in her 60’s is now blogging regularly and using affiliate marketing and even my husband, a real technophobe, can now enjoy the banter on Twitter!

It is time-consuming and of course, I factor this into any costs. Perhaps some people may think it’s not worth your while, but being inclusive like this has brought me work through recommendations. As many have said before me, it’s not a competition there’s room for us all to succeed, even in the smallest of victories.

 

Written by Nance Larkin:

 

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14 MarBlogrollFeaturedLanzarote

Successful Social Media Masterclass at Aqua Suites Hotel in Lanzarote

Recently, Canary PR held another successful Social Media Masterclass at the wonderful Aqua Suites boutique hotel in Lanzarote. This was once again presented by Canary PR founder and digital marketing specialist, John Beckley, in collaboration with the Lanzarote Business and Residents Association.

For this masterclass we decided to opt for a different style from previous Canary PR Masterclass events. While John still lead the talk, there was much more of a question and answer style theme. We felt this would give added value to those attending the talk as they would be able to get specific questions regarding their individual businesses answered, as well as gaining valuable insights into how to use social media and digital marketing to maximise the success of their brands.

There was a great turnout with around 20 people attending from a variety of different businesses based in the Canary Islands and further afield, to gain new knowledge from John. As well as John, myself Simon Turkas copywriter for Canary PR, and Juliane Nendel, life coach and new addition to the team attended.

 

The business owners that attended the talk were from a variety of business sectors including excursion companies, holiday accommodation, fitness classes, life coaching, media and more. We had attendees who originated from a variety of different countries including UK, Spain, Poland, Germany and the US, all with a common love for the Canary Islands. This is one of the many great things about living and working in the Canary Islands; the sheer diversity in people living here and the different types of brands and services operating here!

The masterclass was a great success, offering excellent insight for attendees into the significant benefits of using social media and digital marketing to help promote their businesses. There were a wide variety of different questions asked and some healthy debate about the best strategies to use. We have already had a number of the attendees expressing their interest in future events, and we’re already planning the next one!

The Canary PR team would like to offer a big thank you to all the business owners that attended the presentation. We would also like to say a big thank you to the owners and team at Aqua Suites for allowing us to host this event and for their hospitality, and to Rita Bellamy and the Lanzarote Business and Residents Association for helping with arrangements.

Canary PR offers a comprehensive service of social media consultancy, training and management, copy-writing, graphic design (for web and print), website design and SEO optimisation. We can also put you in touch with Influencers who can help to promote your brand, as part of our new Influencer Program.

If you are interested in contracting Canary PR to use any of our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us today:

You can also connect with Canary PR on social media:

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26 JanBlogrollFeaturedTenerife

Switch On Your Light

Would you agree that no one is free of fear? 

And the choice IF, WHEN and HOW someone moves out of a comfort zone is individual?

Some of us decide to get out of the comfort zone and to explore new unknown territory which makes us feel uncomfortable at first - a feeling of being scared and excited at the same time. 

When our excitement is bigger than our fear, we face and overcome it and act in spite of our worries and doubts. We feel a sense of accomplishment, acceleration and simply feel good. 

Some of us however, step back into the comfort zone. Back there in the known, we suddenly don’t feel so comfortable anymore. We have already taken a glimpse of freedom and now we want the whole package, we aspire to something bigger because we feel there is more for us.  So we have the option to try again or retreat.

But even those of us who have never come out of their comfort zone will experience fear at some point. 

The law of vibration will take care of it. This law states that nothing rests and all is in constant movement. 

We can continue thinking, I will stay here in my safe place, my safe relationship, my safe job or whatever we might think is permanent and safe, but rest assured that even this cookie will start to crumble as change is happening around us.

Therefore, wouldn’t it be better if we learned how to face our fears to be able to overcome them?

But HOW?  

Techniques can help you DO IT! – this important one I’d like to share with you!

Look deep into you, creating a moment with your own self. Get to know yourself so you can gain an understanding of your doubts and worries which are holding you back from being the awesome and amazing being that you already are.

Through understanding what’s causing them, it will make it easier to act upon your worries, doubts and fears. Once identified and exposed to the light we see that our doubts and worries are often self-made and only exist because we decided to give them space in our mind. 

But HEY!

Isn’t it marvelous that we can SWITCH ON THE LIGHT and FLIP THE COIN at any time with our own mind?

Text and images by Juliane Nendel – Result Coach 

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15 JanNews ReleaseBlogrollFeatured

My “Proper” Job – Where Content is King

I sat in a cafe today with a coffee chatting to a friend I’d not seen for a while, when she started telling me all about a new cafe bar she’d seen on Instagram. “The food looks so fresh and delicious!” She told me, “And it’s Italian food made by Italians! I’m definitely going to go there…”

I just sat smiling at her, and then she realised… “they’re your new client aren’t they!? I should’ve known!”

We laughed and chatted about the new place a little more, how she’d found it through a friend who’d been liking the bars posts, and how she’d recently suggested it as a place to visit to a colleague. And then she delivered the killer line, “…So, hows your proper job going?” (I work part time for a holiday company as well as being a virtual assistant… yup I’m a workaholic).

It’s surprising how many people say this to me! To them, the only proper job I have is with the holiday company. The social media work is just messing about on Facebook, posting pictures on Instagram or chatting on Twitter!

Yet here we are, talking about a cafe bar she’s never seen but is desperate to go to just because of the hours I’ve spent crafting the images and text to put onto Instagram!

It is really hard to put tangible benefits on the work you do on social media but no matter what you think, it is a proper job! I have structured work time, and I focus on the needs of the business I’m working with to define a clear plan from the start- whatever the business is – a restaurant, gym, accountant or cleaning business.

No matter what you think, social media is vital to any business, and especially here in Lanzarote where most people, whether residents or tourists, turn to social media for recommendations, help or advice. It’s the new “word of mouth”, where as before recommendations and information were passed on the street corner or when you met up with friends or colleagues, now it’s done via a post, a photo or a chat online.

One client said to me last month – “you have to stop posting! I have too many customers!” Who knew this was possible?! For him, several months before, I had stopped posting adverts and offers for his services and we had switched to posting advice and information from his area of expertise, keeping the posts lively and chatty as it’s a pretty dry subject!

The transparent and free information, presented in an easy to understand format encouraged more people to contact him and to use his services without a single special offer being thrown out there.

So what am I trying to say in all this? Two things I suppose:

  • Firstly, Social media management is a proper job and should be treated like one – whether you are doing it or know some one who is working in that field.
  • Secondly and most importantly, don’t desperately try to sell to people online – no one likes this approach. Instead take the time to show them what’s great about what you do and how your product or service will make their life or holiday better.

Think about it more as how you’d chat to a small group of people about your business – you wouldn’t go straight in for the sale, you’d take your time to explain and answer questions but all the while your enthusiasm would come through in your voice, hopefully carrying them along to keep their
interest in finding out more!

Like with the cafe bar – we focused on what makes them special – traditional homemade Italian food just like mama used to make, set in a great location to catch amazing sunsets across the beach.

We commented on posts of holiday makers and people in Facebook groups and on Instagram to help them with recommendations and not always about the cafe bar but all the while getting the name out there.

The enthusiasm and passion of young couple who run the place shines through each post, and so we return to the start of my story – my friend will be visiting the bar this week just based on what she’s seen and heard on Instagram.

Written by Nance Larkin:

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20 DecBlogrollFeatured

Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck

Do you know who these guys are?

Which one of them is best related to your business?

Let’s compare some details on them, with the greatest of respect to both of them.

Engelbert Humperdinck

A true Vegas style performer, was huge back in the day has sold over 125 million records on a solo basis, doesn’t really do collaborations, prefers to keep to his style.

Obviously as this guy is 82 his style is somewhat dated, but he sticks to it, his last big hit was approx 8 years ago, does very little TV or promo work.

Sir Tom Jones

At 78 there’s not too much difference in years, but in mentality they are miles apart, he has sold over 150 million solo records with a further 100 million in collaborations, he changed styles over 20 years ago when his son became his manager, and since has been in huge demand.

With all new and established bands and solo artists requesting to work with him, Sir Tom is a regular on TV as judge in The Voice franchise program. Incredibly current and a genuine music legend with the capability and willingness to adapt to today’s trends.

I‘m sure you get the idea and the picture now, if not imagine two restaurants, one that has literally never changed the menu or style in 40 years and one that constantly updates the menu redecorates and introduces exciting new options every time you go back there is something different to try?

That’s the Engelbert / Tom Jones scenario.

So is your company a Tom or an Engelbert, both good but one is stuck in a time warp refusing to change to market trends and the other being the polar opposite.

There is a wonderful British expression “flogging a dead horse” sadly this seems to be the norm for several companies and indeed even industries, fortunately in today’s rapidly changing world we have something called “disruptors” Airbnb, Uber, Tesla to name just three of them.

The Disruptor Effect

Disruptors would be the musical equivalent of a new and very young band, who like the music of the established artists but can just see so many ways it could be made to sound better, they have no fear of failure just a total conviction and belief in the product they are creating, complete with the security of knowledge that they are not alone in the world and there are others who will appreciate this new mix.

Their MO is normally very similar, take out the good things, throw away the out dated and non effective parts, bring today’s technology into the mix, market via influencers and social media create a whole new vibe around something that actually isn’t that new, just shaken and stirred in
opposite directions.

Amazingly simple, followed with the formula that popularity and importantly global exposure (Instagram, You Tube) brings success and new clients listeners whatever the target market is.

The challenge for an industry when a disruptor comes along is, should they stick or twist, do they go Tom or stay Engelbert?

A great example of going Tom Jones.

The Hotel industry took huge hits from Airbnb, they could have sat back and waited for their ever shrinking market share to check in, instead they went Tom Jones, reinvented themselves adapted the product to today’s market trends, utilised influencers, became the coolest place to be seen and be photographed in (Instagram), in fact they used the methods of the disruptors and now they have Airbnb completely on the back foot.

Kudos to you guys for having the balls to do it, I would add at this juncture that the age factor of the decision makers is irrelevant, with the majority of industry leaders being “mature” the good thing being business acumen isn’t an age related quality.

An equally significant example of staying Engelbert Humperdinck.

The challenge is to recognise when change is needed, waiting for it to become necessity is dangerous as you can literally disappear overnight, take Kodak they monopolised 100% of their market, didn’t see any reason to change and suddenly Hey Presto they were gone.

Too many companies have closed minds to fresh ideas, using that immortal line of “We’ve managed to get this far doing things our way, we’ll be fine” how many times have you heard that, swiftly followed by the liquidation sales notices being stuck on the building windows.

We can be Heroes

Going back to the music genre for a moment think David Bowie, he was so chameleon like and so in front of trends, inventing his persona and then changing and reinventing so many times, always keeping his fan base wanting more and guessing which Bowie would they get next, from Ziggy Stardust through to the Thin White Duke, he managed this for over 50 years.

Even in the timing of his unfortunate demise he saw and exploited an opportunity for promotion of yet another facet of his multi persona, the man was a musical and business genius.

There is another commonly used phrase, “if you’re not growing your dying” think of the life-cycle of a plant it grows and when it stops growing it dies, easy really, however, in business we should know that the easy road is usually the wrong one, so obviously the secret is to keep on growing, why not disrupt yourself, what stops you from doing that?

If you are not the CEO then you can always point the finger at management, you have options, you can climb that corporate ladder to reach a level where your input has significance, if that route it too much of a long and winding road, then maybe the choice is obvious.

If, or even when, the day comes and you find that you are in danger of becoming Engelbert Humperdinck then maybe then it’s time to make the change and go full on Tom Jones.

Kevin Wash is a partner in VOS Consultants, an International Business Consultancy specialising in Hospitality and high end shared ownership opportunities. Having lived and worked on 4 continents he is ideally placed to have an opinion on everything, and has no qualms about verbalising them.
Website – www.vosconsultants.com
LinkedIn – Kevin Wash

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