Try To Bring Some FUN Into Planning Ahead And Interact With Local Carnivals And Events

Did you maximise your opportunities for Halloween?

How are you set for Bonfire Night?

It's easy to get caught out by events through the year sneaking up on you isn't it?

A simple tip is sit down and look at the events you can make the most of, this may seem like a pointless task at the time of doing it when there is so much else to do but trust me it's worth planning your year in advance.

Simple things like local carnivals especially when you are a retailer can make a massive difference to the takings on one weekend in the year.

If you are not in retail then see if you can get involved most of the time the floats are supplied free or at a very low rate. You can have some "FUN" yes remember that word as we forget to introduce it into our daily routines. Whilst having your FUN you can help a local good cause and promote your business at the same time, a real big Win Win Win (for you, local charities and local people).

Your local council should have most of these dates and any that they are scheduling too as they often organise festivals and sandpits coming to town as part of their contribution to the local community. It's worth a couple of searches via Google to although be careful you are getting current information as previous years events will also come up.

Moral of this blog posting is "Have FUN and Plan ahead"

Who Is There To Help You With your Social Media Presence?

Hi that's one heck of a question to start this blog post off with don't you think?Well there is a good reason for this as many people and businesses alike are left completely bewildered by the term "social media" and therefore shy away from it.
There are many organisations running courses to fall in line with Government strategies to get everyone "online" and interacting across the UK but they just give you the information on how to do and that's it!
Once back in the office a couple of glances at what was very exciting an hour or day ago suddenly becomes a massive task that you have to do yourself. Registering with all the necessary components to communicate is one thing, getting them all integrated into a strategy is another and then what message do you send out? And who does it go to?
I have been helping many businesses promote themselves, as well as keeping the owners enthusiastic about what they are doing. The thing that people want is to be able to use this form of communication without the hassle of putting it all together.Guess what? and this won't really be a surprise to you but that's exactly what I'm doing now!
When you look at the testimonials posted on my Linked In page you will see I am all about getting local businesses to do well and feel better about how they are promoting themselves.It doesn't matter what your business is if you are not feeling good about it how can you expect your customers to?
It's not a coincidence that the businesses that are upbeat and optimistic about the future are the ones who as a result of that are doing very well even in this climate. People (customers) are attracted to places that feel good to be in and have staff that are positive and helpful.
This all sounds very nice and fluffy I hear you say but how will I know if I get business from this or not? Simple measure it! We have several ways that are built into our service packages that track your results for you giving you a full verifiable report every month.

Daily Mail Article On How Facebook And Twitter Drop Public Sector Employees Into Hot Water

Below is an article from the Daily Mail by Jason Lewis:

Government and council employees using Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites at work or posting inappropriate ­comments from home face being disciplined or even sacked.One police force censured eight employees last year after it caught them using police computers to chat to their friends online.A local authority disciplined a member of staff who used the websites to discuss what he was doing in his social life while he was supposed to be off sick.
And another council caught staff using special software to get around a ban on using office computers to tweet on Twitter and ‘update their status’ on Facebook during working hours.
Now, Government departments and quangos, including officials planning the 2012 Olympics, have issued written guidelines to staff detailing their restrictions on using the sites.They are also paying thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to outside consultants for courses on the do’s and don’ts of how to behave on Facebook and similar sites.Last year The Mail on Sunday revealed how Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, was left exposed by a personal security breach after his wife published intimate photos and family details on Facebook.This led to all Government staff who were undergoing developed vetting – required if they were to handle top-secret documents – being warned against posting personal details online which could leave them open to blackmail.Last month the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) distributed a guide to all employees stating: ‘Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter have become very popular ... and offer significant business benefits ... Their use poses risks both to the data on the ODA IT system ... and to the users of the sites and ODA.’A letter to staff says they are allowed to use social networking sites in lunch breaks but warns: ‘You must not publish content about London 2012.’Cheshire Constabulary is one of a number of police forces that impose a total ban on staff using social networking sites on work computers unless it is required for ‘policing purposes’. The force revealed that breaches of its guidelines have led to eight staff being disciplined over their online activities. Seven took place on police premises while another had been disciplined for their home internet usage, which ‘involved inappropriate and offensive comments’.Glasgow City Council bans staff from using Facebook and other similar sites for personal use. It ­disciplined two staff who attempted to get around these restrictions by using special software to circumnavigate the council’s internet ­filtering system.Meanwhile St Helens Borough Council, in Merseyside, revealed that ‘we have had one instance where an employee has been disciplined for excessive use of the internet, including posting material about their social life on a social networking site when they were off sick’.Rochdale Borough Council, in Greater Manchester, also revealed it had disciplined a member of staff over their ‘home’ use of social ­networking sites.
Read more: Click Here

How Do You Feel About Your Social Media Presence?

This is a question many business owners are asking themselves right now so you are not alone. I have been working with hundreds of businesses in the Leicestershire area and many of them have no idea how to start with social media let alone understand it.

This is not a slight on the businesses in this area but a cold fact that could give you the chance to get ahead of your competitors. The great thing with Facebook Twitter Linked-In etc is that they are all very versatile and you can generally set up a marketing model that works for any business.

Do you want to know how to set up your business with a clear and planned way to generate more business and keep in touch with existing clients then give me a ring on 01858 829 400 or 01162 029 689 if you would prefer you can email me on realtimemarketingonline@hotmail.co.uk