Social Matters and Natters

Why hello there! It's been over two years since my last post on here, and my goodness a lot has happened in that time. Let's get reacquainted! Hi, I'm Helen 👋 I work in marketing, love being a social butterfly and am a self-confessed crazy cat lady. The past two years have been so tough with lockdowns, getting used to WFH and all the other things we had to adapt to. There's so much to catch up on from the "missed year", but now is the time! So the main change over the past couple of years is that I got married, exciting! Honestly the best day ever. I'm not going to bore you with all the details but my goodness what a day with my new husband! In March 2020, we took on an allotment plot. So much fun. We've completed our first crop rotation - potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and beans. I cannot explain how much I love it, getting some fresh air and seeing all our hard work grow is so rewarding. It's time to start the next lot of veggies soon and...

We get bombarded with marketing and advertising every single day across multiple channels. There's arguments for and against each of these platforms and the ROI. However, in this blog post I am focusing into the effectiveness of personalising the key marketing message. We are looking at going beyond the personalisation of "Hey Helen" to much deeper understanding of your customer's buying trends, interests and hobbies. Do they prefer cats or dogs? Which brands are they connecting with? When was the last time they shopped with you? Data is king... To achieve effective and successful personalised campaigns you'll need a comprehensive CRM and data set. Here, data really is king! Of course you can collate data in a B2C environment with loyalty cards/store points and you are on to a winner for personalisation. This enables you to analyse buying patterns, shopping habits and much more. Birthday offers, anniversary offers, you name it! If you think about it, it...

Following on from my 'Beating the January Blues' blog, I thought it was time to revisit how we all look after our mental health. For some reason this still seems to carry a stigma and be a bit of a taboo subject. All of us need to look after out own health and be aware of everyone around us too.  I asked my social media connections what they do to look after their mental health both in and out of the workplace, and here's what they said... In the workplace - Confide in someone you trust/work friend - Take the time to talk - Move away from the desk to make a cuppa or go for a walk Outside the workplace - Exercise, the main choices were running or going for a long walk - Getting outside to enjoy the fresh air - Meditation - Writing a journal For me, I focus very much on talking to my friends. We have a great understanding of how important it is to take the time to talk to each other, and listen to everything no matter how trivial. Working together to sort anyt...

When we look at marketing, depending on the size of the company you may not have a huge budget, or indeed a budget at all. I've put together a few top tips of "free" marketing activities you can trial for your company. Not saying these are going to work and have hundreds of leads knocking on your door, but maybe it will help in some way. 1. Social media - your new best friend Setting up social media pages is free, you can build your audience, get social by interacting and BINGO! Build your brand awareness, contact list and promote your products and services - all for free! Plus you can utilise a platform like Hootsuite to schedule posts. 2. Press releases - Read all about it! If you don't have an in-house PR team or access to a PR agency why not write your own press releases? This can be fairly time consuming but it's great brand exposure. Start with the local press and then work up to trade. Granted, this only works a couple of times before they want you to...

March 8th is International Women's Day, time to celebrate women all over the world (which should be done every day anyway!) The official theme this year is #BalanceforBetter. I am a huge believer in equality and balance so this day is a big passion for me! Plus... this years charity of choice is The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (If you don't already know I run a Girl Guides group). Whilst we focus on equality we also need women to support each other and encourage one another. It's so important. If Meangirls taught us anything it's that we need to be promoting each other, so everyone else follows suit. Stand tall and stand up for what you believe in!  As a side note, today is also the day I will be listening to Beyonce on repeat. Do not disturb.  Shout out time: To all the lovely ladies in my life, those who I am close to, those who I am never met in person, and those I haven't seen for years. You are all amazing and rocking it. I am so...

Within the media and marketing world, PR can be a powerhouse for getting your brand seen (preferably for the right reasons!). Whilst the ROI can be a challenge to show to the finance team, the brand exposure is worth it's weight in gold. Recently I've worked on one piece of press which has snowballed, leading to additional radio, TV and press interviews and exposure. It's amazing what one good story can lead to! Getting PR right has such a significant impact on the success of the piece. By picking up on 'hot' industry topics, offering opinion and advice you've got the perfect recipe. Plus, by getting your release into reputable industry press the exposure for your brand is great!  How do you find PR? Do you work with an agency? Share your top tips and let me know! Disclaimer: This blog does not represent the opinions of my employers.

A few days ago I got tagged by The Beauty Type in a 5 things post, so here goes with mine. Depending on how well we know each other & how long you've followed my blogs some of these may or may not be news to you! Come on then, let's get to know me... 1. Volunteering in my spare time... I run a Girl Guides group in a local village which I love doing. It's a lot of hard work and responsibility but very rewarding. It's great to see the girls develop new skills, learn new things and have a great time away from social media etc. We do lots of exciting trips, activities, weekends away and much more. They even teach me a thing or two - definitely learnt all about slime, squidgees and flossing from them! 2. I have a cat called Monty... So if we are connected on any form of social media this one isn't a surprise... but just look at him! Those eyes! He lives with my mum and dad because he needs to be outside. Also, my sister will hate me for sayin...