Businesses that blog get 55% more visitors

From FurlongPR

Based on a survey in August of 1500 businesses by Hubspot, those that blogged had 55% more visitors, 97% more inbound links and 434% more indexed pages.

Most businesses accept, even if they don’t anticipate these sort of figures, that a blog will revolutionise their static corporate website, but trying to get momentum for that internally can be a trying business. Who’s going to write it, what will it look like, who’s going to build it.

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What to name your Facebook Business Fan Page

by Mark Ijlal

Malik asked a question about naming Facebook Business Pages:

1. Name it after your business. For a local business and especially a location based business like a restaurant / attorney / CPA / retail stores – this is more than adequate after all their name is what is known and how people find them. Yeah I know it is the old Yellow Pages approach but for millions of businesses who you and I both know will use a Facebook Business Fan Page as a business card to put their name, address, phone number, 4 pictures, products or service information, some half hearted coupons and update it once a month – this is more than enough. Maisano’s Italian Restaurant, Aaron’s Auto Repair Shop, Attorney Scott Yaldo and Great Lakes Real Estate Property Managers all will work for their respective businesses.
2. Name it after your website. For Threadless, Zappos, Salesforce and millions of businesses that run entirely on the web and that is where their customers are found – the name of the LLC that owns the business is unimportant; there is no physical location where customers are walking in; the only name that is known to their customers and prospects is their website. So name it after your website that makes the sale.
3. Name it after your brand. Starbucks. Nike. Detroit Pistons. A hit HBO show like True Blood. People know and love your brand. Why not erect a Fan page where they can all hang out and share their love of your brand with each other? Brands know it and they are busy doing it.
4. For firms that sell the invisible: services, advice, consulting, coaching, PR, B2B with long sales cycles: Name it,  so it means SOMETHING to the people who matter the most: your past, present and future customers. And yes that means that you will be active in building this Fan Page as your hub for your business on Facebook.

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Article source: http://bx.businessweek.com

Promoting your business for free

If you or your organisation has something to say getting your message across is very important but in financially difficult times many are taking the decision that the cost of distributing that message is too great. This is understandable if you stick only to traditional methods of promotion such as PR agencies but more and more ways of promoting a business are available now than ever before for little or no cost.

To tweet or not to tweet?

From Marketing Week

By Simon Clift

Last week Brits crashed Twitter in their effort to defend the NHS from US critics, but is that power really of any use to brands?

Last week, I heard all the reports that the microblogging service, Twitter, shut down because so many people were “tweeting” their support of the NHS after former USA vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called it “evil”.  This was on top of countless other stories that have been reported over the last few months showing the impact of twitter.

But I was still sceptical about its real value. So I called in my vice president of communications planning, Babs Rangaiah who seems unhealthily obsessed by it and my head of global media, Laura Klauberg who sees some of the benefits, but is also not sold on its practical daily application.  Is it the “real deal”, why is it important and how should we be using it…so here’s the transcript of those conversations! On Twitter, obviously.

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Developing a brand the BBC way

The BBC identity is used in many ways

The BBC is a British institution and in broadcasting terms has long stood for quality and impartiality. There will be some who would question the latter part of that statement but in terms of its brand, the acronym BBC needs no introduction and is recognisable all over the world. Whether it’s in radio, television or online, it is a trusted purveyor of good and meaningful content.

The BBC logo forms an important part of its identity and it has seen a massive transition over the years as the corporation evolves to meet the needs of an ever-changing media landscape.

Take a look at this article on the development of the BBC logo on their website. The closing paragraph neatly sums the whole ethos of what the Beeb has sought to achieve over more than 80 years.

The story of the BBC brand is – like most brands – one of consistency and reinvention. Over the years of its history, it has become one of the most distinctive brands internationally, now used across a variety of platforms and recognised with immediacy and clarity by millions of people around the world.