Summer garden DIY projects

In the summer we all spend much more time outside in general but especially in our own gardens. There are so many things available that you can buy to spruce up your outside space, but these can be quite costly and impersonal too. A great alternative is to make some of your own pieces for decoration and get the kids involved too. When at the seaside, most kids love looking around for special stones and shells and even bits of sea glass. Why not use these bits to add decoration to an old garden table, you could varnish the shells and stones or even set them in resin to make a decorative table top.

Another great piece of garden DIY that the kids will also enjoy is making a mini beast hotel. To do this you will need a small box, either cardboard or wood, and then you need to fill it with sticks, moss, soil, small shoots of plants and tree bark. Make sure everything is packed in close so that all the bugs can stay well hidden and safe from predators such as birds. 

Lastly you could have a go at making your very own mud kitchen, you can do this using pallet wood to create a work bench type of set up or even just use a raised flowerbed and put in it tools to dig, pour water and mix up mud potions.   

How adding videos to your website can help sell products

Video is being used more and more in advertising and on websites. Video is a powerful selling tool and as the old saying goes a picture speaks a thousand words – so you can imagine what a video can do. If someone can see a product in action or see the advantages of a service you offer, then they are more likely to be interested and either contact you or make a purchase.

Videos are also useful for tutorials or training. You may have a site where you want to sell training videos, or you want to be able to email people a video to show them how to use the admin area of their website for example.

Many companies use video as a way of introducing their team and showing the visitor their work premises, whether this be a showroom or a workshop. You may also want to upload your videos to other channels such as YouTube or Facebook to get more exposure.

Make sure that when using videos on your site, they are of a high quality. Have a bad quality video can be worse than having no video at all and can put people off from purchasing from you even if the product you sell is exactly what they are looking for.

Getting the Most from Web Design

New websites are an important stage in your web marketing journey and will mark a turning point in your marketing efforts. They can transform your whole strategy and approach to finding new clients, and can do so very effectively, offering you a way to reach more people, and to do this more efficiently.

When getting a new website, make sure you know what you want from it and how you are going to be able to make the most of it. For example, you may want a website that brings in leads or you could decide on a brochure website that just shows your services. Whatever you decide on, have a clear vision in mind.

Once your website looks and reads the way you want it to, you can look into PPC, social media advertising, an organic social strategy, and more. Your website is your gateway to a host of web marketing activities.

Display Advertising: What Does it Mean?

Display advertising is a type of advertising that uses relevant placements to advertise products and services. A display advertising campaign consists of strategically placed banners and small ads that people will see on websites or on social media, that are relevant to the content they’re looking at. The ads themselves need to be eye catching and memorable so that they will grab a reader’s attention away from the main content, and keep it there for long enough for them to know what the product or service is.

Companies advertising products and services will have a display advertising strategy, where they’ll ensure their products are strategically placed with relevant websites and channels. This helps them to capture new audiences and communicate their messages further, giving them a wider influence in their industry. People can click through to the advertising company’s website from the ad they see, so it can be a direct sales technique as well as a brand awareness exercise.

Spending your Advertising Budget Wisely

Having an advertising budget is important for spreading the message that your business is out there, telling people that your business is a viable option and making sure they can find you. However, you need to be spending this budget in the right way for your business, otherwise you won’t be seeing the return that you need to see. This will put you at a disadvantage when you are looking for new business.

There are many different ways in which you can spend your advertising budget, including on TV advertising, radio advertising, print advertising and online advertising. Many businesses are now putting most of their efforts into online advertising as the returns tend to be better. They are also trackable, so you can see the clear return on your investment and tweak your strategy if it isn’t working. Try spending your budget with the advice of an advertising consultant to see what they would suggest.

Marketing That is Relevant to your Industry

Your marketing simply has to be relevant, in order to appeal to your target audience. It has to resonate with them, showing them that your products are going to be suitable for them, and that they are something they should take notice of. This is not an easy task, but actually, it is going to be easier for you than anybody else, because you will know your audience so well.

You should work in conjunction with a good web marketing agency, who can help your to really drill down into your audience’s wants and needs. They might suggest some market research, which could be conducted using focus groups. They will also usually carry out online research, looking at others in your market and tracking website traffic and conversions to see how people behave when looking at you online. This gives you a very good foundation for your marketing and targeting it to the right people.

Making a Great Video for YouTube

YouTube is a good platform for boosting the rest of your online marketing efforts, giving you the opportunity to show your audience what your company can do, with video evidence added into the mix. It’s undoubtedly a great opportunity and with a little work, it can do a lot to help your business.

The most effective videos will be professionally made and will really look the part. You need to have your video either made by a professional, or at the very least, download some decent recording and video editing software. You can teach yourself to make good videos with online guides if you already have something of a knack for it, but it will take some work and some patience. Be prepared to put the work in, and to consult with others. Ask them for their honest opinion and see where they think your work could be improved in future.

Are Television and Radio Advertising Still Relevant?

When we think of advertising, we will often think of television and radio as being the most usual mediums of advertising. This is just because we are simply very familiar with them and we tend to use them a lot in our everyday lives. But how much of that information do we actually absorb? It’s hard to say, unless an advert actively makes us go out and buy a particular product, which just isn’t always going to be the case. This makes it very hard to monitor accurately.

Despite this, it can still be useful to advertise on TV and radio, especially if you can secure prime time slots. It only works for certain products though, and those will be the quick and easy to buy consumer goods that are readily available. Your budget might well be better spent on SEO and web marketing, where you can create more specific targeting.

How to Advertise a Shop

Shops are, in many ways, an easy type of business to market. You will have different products that you can showcase, and you will have various different types of offers and price reductions that you can promote. The question is, how do you do it?

The internet is one of the best places to advertise and will offer you the most opportunities. Social media is going to be important for a shop, so you can make your products feel more desirable and build up your branding. You should also make sure you have a good quality website that tells people what they need to know, like how they can buy your products, what you actually stock, and how they can get to your shop. You may or may not decide to choose an eCommerce website – sometimes the best time to sell is whilst people are already engaged, so you may find an eCommerce site is a hug benefit in retail.

Buying Marketing Services – Shopping Around

When you choose to take out marketing services with a marketing services provider, you need to know exactly what you are getting. You can then decide if this is going to be right for your company and will meet all your needs. If you want to find the best deals on the market, you must shop around first.

This will help you to understand the market and know what is good value for money. It will also give you an understanding of what different companies can offer you, allowing you do make price comparisons and see what you get included in the price.

Beware of hidden costs – make sure you understand exactly what is included in the price you pay. For example, if you are buying a new website, you need to know whether the content it written for you, or whether there is ongoing support once the website goes live.