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Author Archive for Sian Phillips

10 Ways to Pimp Your Facebook Page and Get Results

by Sian Phillips
April 16th, 2013
Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Facebook is very probably where a lot of your customers are,  therefore you should have a presence there too for your business. You have to work a lot harder if you are a B2B rather than a B2C on the social site to get results, but it is still achievable. It isn’t necessarily a simple task to attract likes and therefore potential customers, but it doesn’t have to be that difficult either. Apart from all the tips below you must ENGAGE, or Social Media just won’t work for you. Continue reading “10 Ways to Pimp Your Facebook Page and Get Results” »

Categories Social Media Strategy For Small Business, Social Tuesdays
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8 Amazing Twitter Success Stories and ROI

by Sian Phillips
April 2nd, 2013
Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

Twitter has been amazing for me and you could say the opportunities I have gained from it have changed my life. When I first used it over 4 years ago I had just started blogging too so I was getting my blogs out there on Twitter. My writing was picked up by Niall Devitt and he invited me to join a business blogging site he was just setting up – Tweak Your Biz (formerly Bloggertone). Three years later and I am the Managing Editor of the site which now gets over 100,000 unique views a month. Amazing exposure for the bloggers on the site which still includes me.

I am reaching 100,000 tweets – I know, I tweet a lot. Actually I don’t tweet as much these days as when I first used it. I would still use it for chatting sometimes but not as much; I am mainly sharing business articles and information that I find useful.

Over a year ago I was asked to be a moderator on our sister site, Bizsugar, which led to me interviewing Nellie Akalp of Corpnet and I’m now writing blogs for this site too. All from sharing my original blogs 4 years ago on Twitter. Continue reading “8 Amazing Twitter Success Stories and ROI” »

Categories Social Tuesdays
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The A to Z of Social Media: Part Two

by Sian Phillips
March 26th, 2013
A segment of a social network

A segment of a social network (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I’ve mentioned previously, social media can be very daunting when you are just starting off.  It does take time and perseverance to get it right so don’t expect to get an immediate result. However there is a huge amount of information available to help you achieve your purpose. I covered Apps to LinkedIn in Part One of this series, so now it’s the rest of the alphabet with social media tips. Continue reading “The A to Z of Social Media: Part Two” »

Categories Social Tuesdays
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The A to Z of Social Media: Part One

by Sian Phillips
March 12th, 2013
Social Media Outposts

Social Media Outposts (Photo credit: the tartanpodcast)

If you’re starting a business, social media can look like a minefield you have to tread carefully through, being afraid to take one wrong step. As with anything, it takes time and perseverance to get it right; believe me it doesn’t all happen overnight. However there is a huge amount of information available to help you achieve your purpose. Here are some tips and links to really useful posts that will help.

Apps

There are so many apps out there nowadays for your smart phone so you can use social media on the go. Make the most of them all to make your life easier and keep on top of your game, eg. Hootsuite, Tweetbot, Facebook Pages, etc. Continue reading “The A to Z of Social Media: Part One” »

Categories Social Tuesdays
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12 Tips to Write a Better Blog Post

by Sian Phillips
February 26th, 2013
mappa_blog

mappa_blog (Photo credit: francescopozzi)

Firstly I’d like to say I don’t consider myself an expert on blog writing; I will probably miss lots of points that you may know about  so hopefully you will share them in the comments section. I can say I’ve been blogging for four years plus I read about 100 blogs a week through my various jobs. I also qualified as a Journalist 10 years ago. However I am mainly writing this from the point of view of being the Managing Editor of Tweak Your Biz and I’m learning every day about the best way to write a blog.

These tips should help you to write copy that will look good. Plus if you write as a guest contributor these suggestions are handy to know to get on the right side of the person editing the blogs, therefore hopefully getting published more often. WordPress is my platform of choice and from what I’ve heard it does rate above all others.

# 1. Title time

First things first: think of a title for your blog post. You’ve probably got an idea what it’s going to be about and can derive the title from that. Use a keyword in the title that you then use in the first paragraph and a few times in the body of the post, eg. “write a blog.” Also a H3 title if possible (see below). Use a few relevant keywords throughout the post too – don’t just stick with one.  The Google Keyword tool is really handy for choosing the best keywords. Continue reading “12 Tips to Write a Better Blog Post” »

Categories Social Media Strategy For Small Business, Social Tuesdays
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How to Use Google+ for Business

by Sian Phillips
February 19th, 2013

Until recently, Google+ has been like the new kid arriving mid-term at school, struggling to fit in and get friends. People have called it a ghost town but lately it seems to be really filling up. Indeed with 343 million active users, it is now the second most popular social network. As Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior VP of engineering, observed, “That is a lot of ghosts.”

So with those types of figures it’s proof that you really need to be actively using Google+ as a lot of your potential customers are there. These 8 posts will help get you started on Google+, also how to use it effectively for your business; gaining followers, creating circles and all the apps available too.

Google+ for Business: The Ultimate Guide  This brilliant post explains how to set up your Google+ business page and get started. It also describes how to use Google hangouts, Drive and Communities plus interpret Ripples. The Ahain Group. Continue reading “How to Use Google+ for Business” »

Categories Social Media Strategy For Small Business, Social Tuesdays
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Content Marketing: What’s it all About?

by Sian Phillips
February 5th, 2013

You’ve just started your business, and while getting it and your website up and running, you’ve probably heard about content marketing. But what is it all about?

Wikipedia says content marketing is: “an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation and sharing of content in order to attract, acquire and engage clearly defined and understood current and potential consumer bases with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

Quite a big umbrella, I’m sure you’ll agree.

As the term Content Marketing does cover such a broad area of content I have collated 10 of the best posts that I have come across to explain what it is and how to do it well. Continue reading “Content Marketing: What’s it all About?” »

Categories Social Media Strategy For Small Business, Social Tuesdays
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5 of the Best LinkedIn Blog Posts

by Sian Phillips
January 22nd, 2013

LinkedIn is where professionals flock for work, jobs and interesting discussions. It’s not the photos and fun of Facebook or the constant chat on Twitter limited to 140 characters. Having business pages that can now be promoted means that businesses are using it more and more so it’s not just about business professionals.

It is probably harder to gain connections and followers than the other Social Media sites, however, what connections you do make are probably far more bonafide and ready to do business or at least have some relevant discussions within the groups.

I have picked five comprehensive, yet easy to follow posts which I suggest you bookmark so you can refer back to as needs be. Continue reading “5 of the Best LinkedIn Blog Posts” »

Categories Social Media Strategy For Small Business, Social Tuesdays
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How NOT to Succeed on Twitter

by Sian Phillips
January 15th, 2013

You’ve started your business and thought you’d better start using Social Media too. Everyone is probably telling you that you need to be on Twitter especially, as all your customers are probably there, just waiting for you to connect with. But where do you start? Or maybe you are already on Twitter and are wondering why it’s not working for you.

People make lots of mistakes when using Twitter, and if you’re not careful, you will too. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to ensure you won’t gain followers on Twitter and you turn people off. Continue reading “How NOT to Succeed on Twitter” »

Categories Social Media Strategy For Small Business, Social Tuesdays
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5 Accounts New Year Resolutions To Save You Money

by Sian Phillips
January 8th, 2013

Every year after starting a small business, you always plan to keep your accounts in order. It lasts a week or so and then it all goes wrong. When it comes time to give your paperwork to your accountant it’s a huge chore that you put off until the last minute making it even worse.

Or maybe you have done something through the year that maybe you’re not sure is correct and your accountant may have to tell you in hindsight. Continue reading “5 Accounts New Year Resolutions To Save You Money” »

Categories Business Finance, Taxes
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