There is a new store in town!
We don’t just work with national brands; we also work with local businesses too! A brand new convenience store and cafe was opening right on our doorstep in Congleton and we were enlisted with organising and managing the grand opening at the end of August.
The new concept, collectively known as the Hüüb Store, features a Londis shop and a contemporary cafe called the Hüüb Cafe. It takes over the former Grove Inn pub on Manchester Road.
The site has been completely redeveloped over the past year to make way for the Londis which will be the retailer’s flagship store for the North West.
On the first floor is the Hüüb Cafe – a premium coffee shop serving a range of hot drinks, smoothies, paninis, cakes and afternoon teas. The spacious area can hold up to 60 covers and in the coming months, will look to extend its opening hours and also serve breakfasts and alcohol.
We had just one week to plan the event which we don’t usually recommend but with the team’s vast experience in store openings, we managed it no problem!
To create a buzz and to provide entertainment, we enlisted Cheshire’s number one local radio station, Silk FM 106.9. Breakfast presenter, Darren Antrobus and his team – not forgetting cheeky Cheshire the cat – set up in the car park and played well-known hits all afternoon, enticing passersby to come and visit the new premises.
We organised a local face painter who brought a wash of colour and smiles to children’s (and adults!) faces, whilst attendees were offered a beautiful array of tasters to sample from the new cafe.
MP Fiona Bruce also came along to officiate proceedings, cutting the ribbon and enjoying afternoon tea with the managing director of the Hüüb Store.
If you’re opening a new store, contact us to find out how we can help make the opening a success!
What is SEO and why is it so important to your business?
It must be said – we admire anyone’s bravery at pushing themselves to understand the curious three-letter acronym that is SEO. So, we extend an approving handshake and encouraging nod for getting yourself to this article.
Now that you’re here, you’re in tremendous luck. At Zeus HQ, we’ve taken the time to dissect the inter-web’s various sources to come up with the most straightforward explanation of the dreaded “Search Engine Optimisation”.
To get our bearings, let’s take a look at the official definition of SEO as quoted on the What Is SEO website:
“Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website on organic ("natural" or un-paid) search engine result pages (SERPs), by incorporating search engine friendly elements into a website.”
And breathe in. It’s quite the mouthful, isn’t it? Let’s break it down in simpler terms.
Our definition of SEO:
SEO is all about where you rank on the pages of search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. For example, if you were to Google “Best restaurants Manchester” you would find that the website ranked the highest in that search is www.restaurantsofmanchester.com. Similarly, if you Googled “Interior design company Manchester” you would see www.curveinteriordesign.co.uk is top of the list.
Why it's so important to your business:
And the significance of being top of any search result on Google doesn’t warrant explanation. Google processes over 3.5 billion searches per day, which is around 40,000 searches per second. Per second. It’s fair to say being in Google’s SEO good books has its perks.
Of course, aiming for your business to be top of Google’s search result – while an admirable aim nonetheless – isn’t always feasible. At least not when you’re just starting out. Increasing your ranking takes a lot of time and effort; something many business owners don’t see the value in investing in.
As an agency with specialisations in content and digital marketing, we’ve seen first-hand what putting time and effort into SEO can do for a business’s results. So, maybe it’s worth dedicating that Wednesday morning slot to brainstorming blog post ideas after all.
How content marketing can grow your business
For anyone who is yet to hear the news, let us break it to you gently: businesses need content marketing like humans need oxygen. If you don’t know a whole lot about content marketing, take a read of our last blog post and then come right back.
Trust us, if you want to keep your company ahead of your competitors you’re going to want to start thinking about why you should invest time into nailing content marketing. Here are just a few ways this strategy can grow your business:
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Raising public awareness
In order to successfully make an impact on your target market, you must first exist to it. In other words, if people don’t know who or what your business is, how can you expect them to buy into it? Content marketing provides a platform through which real interactions can be made on social media and in return, developing an audience that knows your brand.
For example, if you are an interior design company you could produce content (in the form of blog posts, videos, infographs, etc.) on the following:
- Top tips on how to pick a colour scheme for your bedroom
- Behind the scenes of refurbishing a kitchen space
- List of favourite retailers to buy from
- How to accessorise a mantelpiece or coffee table
Those suggestions might not blow you away but it’s a starting point, and every business needs a starting point to build a successful content marketing campaign.
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Showing your customers that you know what you’re talking about
One of the biggest assets of producing quality content is that your audience can see you know more than just a thing or two about your area of expertise, making them more likely to trust you and your company. And as we all know, trust between a company and its customers is crucial especially when even the most niche of markets are ever-expanding and becoming more competitive.
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Providing useful information without expecting anything in return
It’s going to seem like a slow and unrewarding process at first, and you may start to resent handing out free information without getting anything in return. However, patience is a virtue and patience is certainly a must-have when it comes to building a relationship with your audience. Nobody is going to jump ship from one brand to another unless you give them good reason to. And if the content you’re producing is good enough, you should see plenty of jumping in the coming months. Letting the customer come to you is far more attractive than hunting them down and begging for business.
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Improving your SEO and Google search rankings
If nothing else, content marketing is the one sure-fire method of boosting your rankings in Google’s search engine. Basically, someone is more likely to find your website or social media if they search for particular keywords that may have featured in your content, as Google rewards you by placing you higher in its search rankings. How kind, eh?
In all seriousness, SEO and content marketing go hand-in-hand like two newly-wed lovers, and one will always compliment the other. So, even if you don’t see the immediate benefits of implementing content marketing strategies, stick with it and you’ll be rewarded in time.
Here at Zeus we work hard to ensure our clients have quality content to provide to their audience at all times, and on a daily basis we see the effects a successful content marketing campaign can have on business growth and customer satisfaction. So, take it from us - it works!
What is content marketing?
For those of you mind boggled by the term “content marketing” but hesitant to admit it for fear of societal rejection, fear not – you are in company. Content marketing is an overwhelmingly vague term that has become all the rage for successful businesses in 2017, but what does it actually mean?
According to the Content Marketing Institute, an online encyclopaedia for all things content marketing-related, the definition is as follows:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Having the definition doesn’t always provide a clearer understanding of the term though, does it? However, there are two keys words we should take from the above definition: valuable and relevant. If your content isn’t providing value to your consumer or isn’t relevant to your business, you won’t reap the rewards content marketing can earn you.
Another great way of understanding content marketing is by simply looking at examples. Below is a list of the most effective types of content marketing we work on with clients:
• Infographics
• Blog posts – e.g. ‘How-to’, lists,
• Articles/case studies
• Videos
• Images
• Testimonials
• Podcasts
• Email newsletters
Something many of you may be wondering by now is what the difference is between content marketing and traditional marketing strategies.
Unlike traditional marketing which is all about pushing your product or service in the customer’s face in the hope they bite, content marketing focuses on enticing the customer by offering them information they can relate to, and as a result, they become more aware of your business and its services.
Content marketing allows the consumer to feel in control of the information they are digesting rather than feeling like it’s being forced down their throats. And with a population that has the shortest attention span in recent history, it’s always more effective to entice your audience rather than force. If you don’t believe us, have a look at the following statistics published on marketing advice website, Smart Insights:
As well as being a reliable source of traffic to your site, content marketing goes hand in hand with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), resulting in higher Google search rankings for your website. It’s a win-win, right?
Here at Zeus, we work with clients to deliver effective content marketing to an increasingly demanding online audience and in doing so, we improve your visibility to potential customers.
It’s safe to say 2017 will see an even bigger growth in businesses using content marketing strategies to their advantage, so we say hop on board the bandwagon now while it’s still rolling past!
A PR filled Summer!
It certainly was a busy August here at Zeus HQ. We have a number of school and college clients both in the UK and for the international market, and each one does both A-Levels and GCSEs.
For any school, results are the biggest day of the year, so we as a PR company have to shout about it and generate as much publicity as possible.
It all comes down to precise organisation and planning, which begins months in advance. We sit down with each client to identify students who are predicted to do exceptionally well, or who will succeed despite overcoming adversity.
We do roughly 50 press releases in preparation, writing a release for each school/college as a whole celebrating the incredible figures as well as targeted releases for the individual students we have already identified. We then issue them (if the student has done as well as expected) to the local press so that we achieve coverage across various areas.
On top of that we do our very best to secure broadcast coverage wherever possible and this year has been no exception. Abbey College Manchester was featured throughout the day on both Capital Manchester and Key 103 and was filmed for That’s Manchester TV.
This was also our first year with the wonderful, Beech Hall School in Macclesfield and the success of their students was played throughout the day on Silk FM.
The morning of results is always hectic and requires plenty of team support and ultimate organisation.
The journalists have already been called, the contact details have been logged and the bones of each press release are ready, hoping to be filled with some excellent grades.
As each student comes in to collect the grades, the contact at each school and college is on hand to send us the grades and a photo so that we can complete the release and whiz it out to press. Of course, this takes patience and you must remain calm as there are a number of results coming in from different clients all morning.
It is exciting and you can’t help but feel a sense of pride for these individuals who are going on to further their education thanks to the hard work and effort they have put in.
We have had some excellent coverage this year.
Getting to Grips with Writing a Blog
For many Planet Zeus clients we write monthly blog posts, whether it is on something seasonal for example; Summer, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or regarding a recent event a client has held.
Keeping your website fresh with new content is important, especially when you’re looking to improve or maintain your position in search engine results. It is also a great talking point on social media and encourages traffic to your website.
We have put together some top tips on how to write a successful blog piece for your website:
- Understand Your Audience
Before you get started, it is vital you know your audience and think about what they would want to read. Having the right tone of voice is important, whether you want to be formal or chatty, it’s best to stick with your preferred tone for every post you write and upload. Of course there is a fine a line, don’t be too jokey as the reader may not take you seriously and being too formal your audience may find the content boring.
Once you find your balance, have confidence and stick with it.
- What’s your topic?
Picking the topic can be the easiest part, but coming up with a title for the topic can be a different story. Draft some ideas first and choose the preferred heading once you’ve written the piece. You never know, by the time you come to select one you may have thought of a better, catchier one.
- Getting Started
At this point, you’re probably chomping at the bit to get writing and get all your ideas down on paper in case you forget anything! But be sure to plan the structure of the blog post and have a captivating beginning, informative middle, and a logical ending - this way it will flow with ease and readers will come to an informative conclusion.
- Tidying up
Once you’re dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s, it’s time to have a good read through. Does it make sense? Is it punctually and grammatically correct? Is it concise?
You may need to edit parts of it, or even all of it, but this is vital and a great a way of ensuring the messages and information is accurate. Better still, ask a colleague to look over it and feedback any changes you may have missed.
- Dress it up
There is nothing less appealing than just plain text, after all a “picture says a thousand words”, so add in images whether it’s of a product relating to the blog piece, or from a recent event, it is important to add colour and make the page look eye catching!
- Last minute checks
Once you’ve uploaded it to the site, be sure to preview the post – make sure all text is the same font / colour / size, everything is formatted correctly and images are aligned perfectly.
Then you’re ready to hit upload!
We hope this helps but if you’d like to talk us about how we can take all the hard work away, call us on 01260 271429.