BLUE LIZARD MARKETING

With a little bit of planning and creative thought, there a plenty of marketing tactics you can use for your small business.

People still trust other people over brands. In fact, according to a report released by data analytics and global measurement company, Nielson, 92 percent of people trust people over brands. We don’t even have to know these people! We trust online reviews and referrals from people we don’t know more than we trust the brand. For businesses and brands, if another person is marketing your product or service, other people will give your brand greater credibility. Influencers are

Today I counted the number of brand messages that ran across my eyeline via social media, email and the internet. So far, I have got to one hundred and twenty and I have been out at client marketing meetings for half of the day! My main conclusion is that whatever source these messages come from, whether paid, owned or earned, they skim across my eyeline in a matter of moments. Of course, we all know this, but it is interesting to see quite how many different brands you see

If you are looking for some new hooks for your business PR, have a meander through these upcoming awareness days. March 7th World Book Day 7th University Mental Health Day 7th - 10th Crufts 8th Healthcare Science Week 8th International Women's Day 11th - 17th Nutrition and Hydration Week 11th National Butchers Week 13th National No Smoking Day 15th Red Nose/Comic Relief 16th National Quilting Day 16th Disabled Access Day 17th St Patrick's Day 18th National Conver

Attracting new subscribers to your small business email list takes time, creative thought and constant attention! However, instead of looking at it as a numbers game, look at it more strategically. It is far better to have fewer email address which belong to your perfect customer than hundreds of lukewarm prospects. Keep in mind that the age-old adage that 20% of your customer base is responsible for 80% of your revenue. It is very close to the truth for many small busines

It’s that time of year again! Time to tip out the junk drawer, sort out the files and review how your marketing is going so far this year. Every once in a while, it makes sense to review where you are, check why stuff is not getting done and congratulate yourself on what is working. If you are letting the daily to-do list overtake the need to review and maintain your marketing, it will come back to bite you at some point. You will miss out on sales, diminish the perception

The lights are up, the cards written, and the gifts wrapped! Really, you are way too organised! In the real world, most people are still working and shopping right up until Christmas Eve, so its never too late to pull together some final Christmas promotions, whether your business is retail-based or service-based. Reward your loyal customers Customers that come back to you time after time will really appreciate a small reward. Offer your best customers an exclusive discount

Black Friday comes to us from the US. It is the day after American Thanksgiving and marks the start of the shopping season. We have adopted it as it gives retailers and ecommerce businesses a chance to heavily promote their shops. The idea is to entice masses of frenzied shoppers to buy from them by using a series of discounts and offer. Black Friday started as just one day of shopping mayhem, but now it has spiralled into four days, covering the weekend and ending on Cybe

Budgets are tight when you are running a small business and your marketing budget is likely to be limited, so you need ensure you spend your funds wisely. Marketing or promoting your business using social media platforms is one of the most versatile and cost-effective strategies you can use for your growing business. Through a regular and consistent approach, you will reach your target customers and boost your sales – if you give it enough time and effort! Interestingly, th

Social media marketing remains a key element in every business marketing strategy nowadays – whether you are a small business owner, a retailer or a service provider. A social media presence is key to building awareness and pushing traffic towards your business, so devising a strategy to make the most of the opportunities open to you is vital. A social media calendar or schedule will be part of your strategy. Your calendar will combine all of the big occasions which will be

More and more businesses are seeing the benefits of content marketing. OK, it's still not on the radar of every business, but the benefits can be significant in terms of awareness, lead generation and actual sales – if you know what is working and what is not. Basically B2B content marketing aims to: 1. Boost traffic to a site 2. Convert that traffic into high-quality leads 3. Convert those leads into sales So, why measure? Exactly as I mentioned above, you need to

It’s a challenge! It cannot be denied! First things first, you must be clear of your overall company goals and your values. As with any marketing effort, it is important that all are aligned with your overall company objectives and values. Social media is not a stand alone activity, it should be sitting alongside all of the other marketing activities you do. This year, your top-level goals for the year might be: Releasing a new product or service Moving into a new market

Starting a new business? Just where should you start? There are a considerable amount of things you need to think about, other than marketing, when you start your small business, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and get nowhere. To help you get over the inertia that can come when you have a whole heap of priorities, we, have pulled together our top tips to get you going. The ‘we’ is me and the other freelancers I work with. On chatting, we realised we all had different start po

Firstly and most importantly, it's #NationalBiscuitDay today - a totally top day in our books! Secondly, the GDPR panic is over for the time being, and your fully subscribed data list is back on track, albeit probably an awful lot smaller than before, what can you do to ensure you make the best of it? So, don't panic! One of the benefits of GDPR is that your shiny new list should be full of people who are keen to hear from you and more engaged to your offers, so take some co

You most probably have the best business idea in the world, but it won't get off the ground unless word gets out! I've been having this conversation at The Business Show today. I've met a good number of businesses who have some great ideas but have not yet started marketing them. Their first question has invariably been 'What is marketing?'. My response is that marketing is understanding what your customer wants and communicating with them ways which work for them. It is abou

It's a question that a lot of business owners ask, especially in start-up or small businesses. While it's possible to operate a business with little or no PR spend, it's unlikely that the company will ever gain traction in their key markets without it. On the other hand, small businesses that actively engage in integrated PR and marketing tactics are more likely to capture the attention of their potential customers and achieve the kind of business results that create long-ter

Digital marketing is fantastic, but it can be difficult for some small businesses to make an impact particularly if your valuable time is better spent with potential clients than sitting on Twitter. There is so much 'noise' from emails, to social media and internet advertisements that people are becoming more and more overwhelmed. So how can we ensure our small business stands out? One answer is pretty simple - bring it back to basics. Our old school marketing tips will hel

If you are just setting out on your journey with your new business, you might be unsure what tack your should take on social media. Fear not, it is easy to navigate, and if you use it well, you can use it to reach new clients, validate your expertise and establish yourself. Step 1: Pick the right goals. Like all marketing, good social media marketing starts with setting good goals. It is not all about the number of followers you have. A good number is great, but this is unl

Turmoil this week as everyone mulls over the latest Facebook changes! However, we do need to remember that Facebook is always evolving and it should! Their reasons are two fold. firstly, increasing our experience when interacting with our friends and family and secondly, to make money via their advertisements. So, getting businesses to buy into their advertising options is always going to be somewhere near the top of the list of things that will evolve. If you have a busin

Choosing the social media platform for your business can be a trial! Do you do everyone one or should you just look at a couple and do them well? Personally, I think the second option is the best option, but still you have the question of which one you choose? Your choice will depend on a number of things: Where your audience hangs out? What age they are? Are you looking to build brand awareness? Are you looking to generate leads and sales via the content you post? Are you