Hulls funniest face

Funny Face?

It used to be a derogatory remark to say that you have a funny face, if you’ve had it said to you, now’s your chance to bag yourself £250 in your sky rocket.

We’ve been working with St Stephens to create the competition for Hulls Funniest Face. All you have to do is turn up at St Stephens and give us a good old gurn. We’re going to create a montage of the best funnies and select the winner at the comedy awards on the 7th of November.

To be in for a chance to win the £250 worth of vouchers pop along to St Stephens on the following dates Thursday 29th October - 5pm - 8pm, Friday 30th October - 12pm - 4pm,
Saturday 31st October - 11am - 3pm, Sunday 1st November - 12pm - 4pm.

Don’t forget to bring your funny face.

Hints Tips and Guides

I have been digging through some of the stuff we have posted over the last few months and I though it would be worthwhile to repost the links

Newest Social Media Marketing Presentation

http://www.eskimosoup.co.uk/documents/Business%20link%20Social%20networks%20v0.5.pdf

102 Proven Social Marketing Headline formulas that work!

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=158216011779&ref=mf

5 social media top tips

http://www.facebook.com/eskimosoup?v=app_2347471856#/note.php?note_id=124369496779

Increasing blog traffic

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=124369511779

Interesting Stats

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=43677443922&start=20&hash=d0c1b4ec2dfb5f115cb8d0fdd106d10b#/note.php?note_id=124369526779

What is RSS?

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=43677443922&start=20&hash=d0c1b4ec2dfb5f115cb8d0fdd106d10b#/note.php?note_id=106367291779

Social Networking to increase sales

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=124369581779

Creating a facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=124369586779

Six Steps to Social Media Success (very useful)

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=124369591779

Useful books to read

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=78360006779

Useful social network list

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=65802466779

Thank you very much and here is some more to consider

I got this email in this recently and I have been wanting to reply all day. First of all I always bang on about the importance of testimonials "anyone who does not have a testimonial section to their website is missing a trick" I say. So here is me taking my own advice and using this email as a testimonial, but also to reiterate some social media basics.

Secondly I do get excited when people "get" social media marketing for its fundamental principles. It's not all about pushing a message on to people and expecting them to just except what you are saying hoping you get that instant sale, its about helping out our fellow man, with hints, tips, guides, open dialogue, whilst building trust by being open, honest and transparent with your information and help. The internet has changed how we make decisions, once we have decided on the right product and service for us and then decided that the price is there or there abouts what we are prepared to pay, the third decision we make is the person / brand I am buying right for me, do I trust them, is what the marketing material is saying true, what do their past customers say about them?

We can use a variety of tools now to research products / services and brands, reputation aggregates (Trip Advisor anyone?), ask your friends on facebook, Yahoo! and Linkedin answers, digg, blogs and the list goes on. The internet is giving the brands who genuinely care about their customers these types of tools that allow us to learn what our customers have got to say about us and use the good comments to build trust, more new clients and a better repeat buying customer average. These online  tools also allows you to learn what you are doing wrong so you can fix things in a timely fashion.

Below is an email from the Castle Man see his website  and see response below

Dear Chris,


I have just had a presentation at our monthly meeting from Chris Smith, who attended your training on social networking recently.


The feedback I and the team at Celtic Castles have just had on your training course has been brilliant and the enthusiasm from Chris has been quite infectious. You obviously know how to connect with your audience.


I am not sure if Chris mentioned this, if you think our twitter Celtic Castles postings and our strategy using “The Castle Man” brand and twitter combined are useful material to use as a case study or example, I would be very happy for you use these. I appreciate you may have lots of other examples to choose from.


Also if you are holding an event and would like a real live case study, I would be happy to talk about our experiences using twitter and other social networking facilities.


I suspect that a few other members of the team will be adding your course to their list of future courses.


Thanks again.


Kind regards


Roger





Roger Masterson

The Castle Man

Celtic Castles

Roger loving what you are doing and loving Castle Man you may want to have a look at some of our older posts they may help you develop your campaign further (I will be adding an additional post with links to them all so stand by).

Get your twitter headlines spot on see 102 headline tips

Try thinking of key search terms customer may use to find you services and add them to the content of your twitter post

Everything that Twitter will tell you about managing and account and how to use from a business perspective can be found here and here. If you get 10 minutes we’d recommend looking through these to get a grip with some of the definitions and abbreviations that are used within Twitter however we have picked up a few pointers in our experience:

• Find great stories from other people and share them with a link (and/or attribution). Do this 3 times or more a day!
• Participate in online events that use #hashtags, because others in the event will find you and appreciate you, too!
• Respond to OTHER PEOPLE using the @reply method. For example: “@glendawh – Is it true you were out all night last night singing karaoke?”
• Use Twitter Search (http://search.twitter.com) to find people talking about the things YOU talk about, and follow them! Try downloading and using Tweetdeck to manage campaigns
• Add your Twitter URL to your signature line in your email!
• Don’t overtweet (more than 20 a day is a bit spooky to most people).
• Don’t tweet all about you: tweet all about them.
• It’s helpful to be transparent about your work/employer in your profile  
• Be yourself. It is ok and welcome to be different on twitter.
• It’s okay to follow people you don’t know on Twitter. They can choose whether or not to follow you back.
• It’s okay to un-follow people on Twitter. Un-following doesn’t automatically mean “I don’t like you.” There are many other reasons.
• It’s okay to @reply someone a question or comment vs direct message, especially if it’s an idea where others might weigh in or add a perspective.
• It’s better to direct message someone if you’re making 1:1 plans or having a very focused, personal conversation.
• Some people are not a fan of auto reply messages that are sent in direct messages when someone follows you on Twitter. They consider this robot behaviour.
• Promoting others and talking with others is a great way to show your participation to the community.
• Only blurting out your information and links doesn’t usually come off as friendly or community-minded.
• The more you can respond, the more people tend to stay with you and build relationships.
• When retweeting other people’s works, it’s okay to truncate a bit to be able to retweet. Please preserve the link and also the original person’s Twitter name. (ex: RT @mackcollier “Twitter lives and dies on retweeting.”)
• If you’re running a business Twitter account, it’s polite to follow back the people following you
• Don’t get hung up on the numbers, that’s not what matters. Its a case of who you know not how many you know.
• Check your links before you tweet them!

 After you have mastered twitter move on to having a blog and maybe a facebook business page  


At this stage you can really wow your social media followers with great content. Start adding videos, pictures, stories, events. Try to really engage with your audience. Remember you don't have to generate all of this yourself you can reuse information that is already out there just cite wherever possible. You could even ask your customers (the castles) for content this is beneficial to them as the castle that contributes more will have more coverage on the web, in your blog, facebook, twttter etc. 


That's it for now keep in touch.

eskimosoup

The Battle of the smartphones begins

It all started with the iPhone, lets blame the iPhone. Apple were one of the first companies to create mobile phone applications for use with social networking sites. Now more manufacturers are jumping on the wagon.

Smartphones are going mass market, fuelled by the public's "insatiable appetite" for social media, analysts say.

Ben Wood, an analyst with CCS Insight, states:

"Social networks are the fuel propelling the momentum," he added.

Increasingly mobile operators and handset manufacturers are providing phones that are "a one-stop shop for social messaging whether that be Twitter alerts, instant messages or the latest pictures on Facebook," said Mr Wood.

"Most handset makers are looking to add Internet capabilities to their ranges. It is no longer about whether a phone can access the Internet but how well," he said.

The pace is increasing and more and more people are getting access to their social networking sites on the move. This provides us with more, interesting, and fulfilling ways to communicate our marketing messages.

Source: The BBC (15th October 2009)

To view original report visit: BBC News

www.eskimosoup.co.uk/facebook

102 Proven Social Media Marketing Headline Formulas That Work!

Ever wondered why no one is following you on twitter, reading your blog or digg articles? Headlines are so important today as we as mere mortals only have enough time in the day to decide what we will read and what we won't read. We use headlines to help us make that decision. A well crafted headline will get more people to read the excellent content that I know you have spent painstakingly long to craft.


This article (original source Chris Garrett) will help you deliver these killer headlines


Take these fill-in-the blanks templates and complete them
to create your own compelling, click-getting headlines.

Get What You Want (Health, Wealth, Relationships, Time and
Lifestyle)

1. 10 Money/Time Saving Tips for ______
2. The Secret of Getting the Best Price for Your _______
3. How to Find the Best _____ Deals on the Web
4. Top Gadgets for _____
5. Are _____ Worth the Money?
6. Everything You Need to Know About Getting Cheaper _____
7. Top 10 Tips For Hassle Free ______
8. Best ____ For Under [Price]
9. Unusual but Achievable ____
10. 5 Ways to Boost Your ____ Without Spending More _____
11. Ways to ____ on a Budget
12. 5 Ways to _____ and Profit!
13. 21 Audacious and Creative _____ Ideas
14. Who Else Wants to ____?
15. Now You Can ____ for Free!
16. How to Get _____ in Half the Time
17. 10 Stars and their ____
18. _____ Life Styles of the Rich and Famous
19. How to Look and Act ________
20.Now You Can Have Get More and Better ____ With Less Effort
21. ______ like a Movie Star
22.9 Ways You Can ____ Better Than You Deserve
23.How to ____ in 10 Seconds
24.Have a ____ You Can Be Proud Of
25. 21 _____ Conversation Tips
26.Finding Your Perfect _______
27. Plan a Perfect ______
28.What ____ Really Want
29.7 Signs You Are/Can _______
30.Get ____ Now


Crystal Ball and History

31. The History of _______
32.How _____ Will Impact _____ in [Year]
33._____ Then and Now
34.40 Predictions on the Future of ____
35. The Modern Rules of ______
36.___ Lessons from History
37. The _____ Story
Problems and Fears
38.Are _____ a Dying Breed?
39.How to Beat the Fear of _____
40.10 ____ Scams and How to Avoid Them
41. How Secure Are Your _____?
42.7 Most Frightening ____
43.Top 10 Scary _____ Facts
44.Outrageous _____ and How they Could Impact You
45. Get Rid of Your _____ Once and For All
46.Could Your ______ be a ________?
47. What Your ____ is Not Telling You About _______
48.Beware ______ and How to Spot them
49.10 Good Ways NOT to ______
50.How to Safely _______
51. The Unseen/Biggest Dangers of _____
52. ______ Do's and Don'ts
53. 21 Ways to Screw Up _____
54. 10 Reasons Not to _____
55. 7 _____ Danger Signs
56. 7 things _____ Should Never Do
Fact, Fiction, Secrets, Truth and Lies
57. What Everyone Ought to Know about ______
58.____ Personality Test: What Your ____ Says About You
59. _____ Lies and How to Spot them
60._____ Facts and Myths
61. The Real Truth About ______
62.21 Secrets the _____ Experts Don't Want You to Know
63.101 Most Popular _____ Myths
64.10 ______ Facts You Need to Know
65. The Secret of Successful _____
66.Little Known Ways to _____
67. Truth and Lies in _____
68.All You Need to Know about _______
69.10 Lies We Tell Our _______
70.101 things Not to tell _______
71. Revealed: Why _____
72. How to Spot a Fake ______


How To Tricks of the Trade

73. When is it Smarter to ____ or ____?
74. Little Known Ways to ________
75. 10 Reasons it's Better to ______
76. How to Plan the Ultimate _____
77. How to _____ Like a _____
78. ____ Jobs You Can Do Yourself
79. Here is a Method That is Helping _____ to _____
80.Here’s a Quick Way to _______
81. 7 Creative Ways to ______
82.How to be a _______
83.9 Surprising Things You Can _____
84._____ Like an Expert in 10 Easy Steps
85.21 Expert ____ Tips
86.5 Reasons You Should ______

Best and Worst

87. Top 10 Worlds Cheapest/Best/Most Expensive _____
88.The Worlds Best _____ You Can Actually Afford to Buy
89.The Worlds Worst Ever _____
90.The World’s Most Unusual _____
91. Funniest ______ Stories
92.Sexiest _______ in the World
93.The Top 10 Best and Worst _____ in the World
94.Top 19 Most ____ Friendly ____
95. 100 Useful or Beautiful ____
96.5 Reasons _____ is Better than ______
97. The Worlds Top 10 Most Important ______
98.Top 20 Clips About _____ in Films and Television
99.10 ____ We Don't Want to See ____
100.21 Most Hilarious _____
101.The Worlds Worst _____ Advice
102.10 Reasons ____ is the Worst _____


This special report was for Authority Blogger Course members
but is offered free for a short time to Social Media Workbook readers
http://socialmediaworkbook.com

What a Souper Day!

We’ve now had our souper soup Friday, and it was a mitigated success with all soup sold out. Have a guess how many times we got asked if we are a soup company? Closest to the answer wins some…. Erm soup….

So everyone is now all souped out and glowing from within on this rather chilly October day and we’ve raised money for charity in the process as well.

The soup day was not just about feeding our neighbours it was also in recognition of World Mental Health Day. In conjunction we are launching our new website supporting mental health in the workplace – www.workplacementalhealth.co.uk, this has been well received and we look forward to the role out of the site.

Chris Middleton, MD of the company, has this to say about our soup day:
“We wanted to say hello to the neighbours in a friendly way, and are really pleased that so many people dropped by. The soup kettles are completely empty, so now its time for us to do some washing up!”

So, will we do another soup day? Watch this space.

www.eskimosoup.co.uk/facebook

Turning Google Searches into REAL LIFE Clients

Another Great Article and video from our Friends at Upright Solutions


This article serves to show the often unseen connection between a search conducted on Google and that person paying the invoice you issued to them.

A person or company that has a requirement for a product or service will be placing that order with someone but there are some milestones to reach before that happens.

The Internet is nothing new really. When you boil it down, it’s just old concepts on a new medium.

So it is with generating business through the web. This short article aims to help you see the similarities between making a sale before the Internet and making a sale now that we have it.

As a guide we’ll be referring to the following document which you can download and make use of later if you like:

Download Internet Sales Funnel Diagram

You might recognise this as a traditional sales funnel. In the old days the top of the funnel would be the number of cold calls made.

The next stage down in the funnel in the old days would have been number of brochures sent out perhaps.

The next stage in the funnel in the old days would have been number of appointments made or number of quotes sent out and eventually the numbers of sales made.

Then at the end of the sales process you can work out average sale value, total value of sales brought in and then how much gross profit was made.

This is very similar to the new age, except instead of cold calls and paper brochures etc we automate the time consuming part of the process using Internet marketing and our websites.

Untitled

Leveraging Your Website as the Hub of Your Marketing (Not Marketing in the Dark)

Some sound advice from our friends at Upright Solutions.

This article demonstrates that no matter what marketing medium you use, all road lead back to the web.

You can watch the video below (you will need sound) or scroll past the video and read the article yourself.



I’m still staggered at the numbers of companies who don’t have any tracking on their website.

The one’s that do don’t review it.

The one’s that do review it, don’t know how the information can help them make decisions.

Bottom line, your website is absolutely the hub of all your marketing. I don’t care what you do exhibitions, leaflet drops, networking, direct mail, telemarketing, advertising it doesn’t matter, guaranteed the place every prospective customer will turn next is to your website.

It’s your living connection to your prospective customers. It’s dynamic, changeable and interactive (or it should be).

If you want to maximise that marketing expenditure, don’t let people fall through the cracks.

Website visitors are GOAL DRIVEN. Once they have read your leaflet or seen your company at a trade show they go to your website FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.

If your website doesn’t serve that purpose you may as well not have bothered spending the time and money going to the trade show, because you’ll have dropped the ball.

Back to the idea of website tracking.

‘Web analytics’ as it’s called isn’t just a means of segmenting website visitors into categories according to where they came from (search engine, online directory etc) but with professional help it can also track your offline marketing.

The holy grail of business has always been knowing what activity most influences or generates new business. If we could get a better idea about that we’d make a lot more money at the end of the year.

Web analytics can go a long way to helping us with this.

By default analytics systems categorise your website visitors into three major categories (visitors from search engines, visitors from other websites, visitors who knew your website address).



But there’s nothing to stop you from creating as many categories as you like, allowing you to see exactly how many people where compelled by whatever piece of marketing material they came across.

So the next time you go and exhibit at a trade show or put out an advertisement, spend £10 on a new domain name that relates to what you are advertising such as ChristmasChocolatesOffer.co.uk and then forward visitors to that address to your real website.

Because the only place people could have found out that website address is from that particular advert or trade show, later when you review your website tracking you’ll see exactly how many people wanted to know more about your offer.

You can even track how many of those people ended up making an enquiry after getting more information.

We mentioned a couple of articles ago that we do this with our email footers so even if we don’t get through to decision makers when we call them up, we at least know if people are reading our introductory letters and emails and then wanting to find out more by visiting our website.

So stop shooting in the dark with your marketing money and turn the lights on by embracing web analytics.


Until next time keep that Profit Up. Original Post by Upright Solutions - Internet Marketing Consultants

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Souper Soup Friday – Yummy

Here is a question for you, at what stage of the week does the Friday feeling usually start to kick in? Although we like each and every day of the week – as we love work – here at Eskimo we are already starting to get the Friday feeling – in preparation of Friday.

Why, you might ask are we looking forward to Friday – aside from the usual ‘it’s the weekend – time to have a party’. Well we thought we’d hold a soup day in our offices whereby you can buy a cup of soup and a crusty roll all for a quid with all funds raised going to a local charity.

Aside from the fact that a cup of soup on a cold autumnal day is just what is required to get that warm feeling within – we’re also holding souper soup day in recognition of the World Mental Health Day and the launch of our Humber Workplace Mental Health website (www.workplacementalhealth.co.uk)

If you are local, feel free to drop in and join in with the Friday feeling, if you are not check out our new mental health website and get the warm feeling within from a distance.

P.S. contrary to popular belief – we are still not turning into a soup company.

Weird Wacky Wednesday

Here at Eskimosoup we are feeling happy, we’re H-A-P-P-Y because we’re working hard and we have a lot to look forward to in the next few months like the great Hull comedy festival. The directors of eskimosoup are lovely people, as such they invited us lucky staff to go out and celebrate. What better way to celebrate than a slap up lunch at a local hostelry?

But wait……

All was not what it seemed; it appears as though there was an ulterior motive behind the lunch. Little did we know that we going to be made to wear Keith Chegwin facemasks and act like zombies (don’t ask) to promote the charity extravaganza on the 30th October. We successfully managed to frighten most of our neighbours but it’s all in a good cause.

www.eskimosoup.co.uk/facebook