cup of coffee and newspaper

The First British Example of Content Marketing

Although we think content marketing is brand new, telling stories to attract, convert and keep customers is actually one of the oldest marketing disciplines. The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) dates content marketing back to 1732 when Benjamin Franklin published his first almanac.

But is there an even earlier example of content marketing? Was Benjamin Franklin the first to produce a publication to promote his business? Franklin spent 2 years in England at the beginning of his career learning the print trade in London’s printing houses. Could there be an earlier example of content marketing in England in the 1700s? When was content marketing first used in England? These were the questions I was asking as I set off on my quest to find the earliest example of British content marketing. 

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York Women Mean Business Award Winner

Stonkingly Good – York Women Mean Business Celebration Award Winner

Back in November we celebrated the York Women Mean Business awards. You might remember me blogging about being shortlisted for an award. The YWMB Facebook group had now grown to over a thousand members and 36 amazing ladies were shortlisted for awards on the night.

I was looking forward to a night of celebration, cheering on fellow nominees and dancing the night away. I was proud to be shortlisted and knew I was up against some tough competition – there are some fabulous business women in this group!

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York Women Mean Business Award Shortlist

I am delighted to be shortlisted for a York Women Mean Business Celebration Award! York Women Mean Business is a Facebook networking group of over 900 female business owners and entrepreneurs in York – and is growing daily!

The awards are a bit of fun to celebrate some of the amazing women in the group, and I am looking forward to getting together on 10th November at the Pitcher and Piano to cheer all the nominees on -whether I win or not. I am up against some fabulous competition in the Business Support & Services category... But maybe I’ll win the ‘drinks the most prosecco and works in their pj’s’ award! (Seriously – this was a question on the entry form.)

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Are Facebook Pages Dying?

Facebook rolled out some changes to the new Explore feed at the weekend (21 Oct 2017) which has some implications for Facebook pages. They are also testing more changes to the feed in 6 countries which has fuelled a panic on the internet that Facebook pages will be no more, that there will be zero reach, that businesses will have to 'pay to play' to have a presence on Facebook and that advertising costs will go up and businesses fight for the same ad space.

So let's take a look at each of these claims and dig down to the truth behind the changes and talk about a few things you can do to make the most of your Facebook page. 

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Are you making the most of your Facebook page?

We all think we know how to use Facebook, I mean according to the latest stats on average we are checking Facebook 14 times a day! We’re posting on our Facebook pages and the Facebook algorithm controls who sees you posts, how often and how many times. So what else can we do to make more of an impact with those people who are finding our Facebook pages?

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Expo 17 for Therapists

There's more to running a therapeutic business than just client appointments and keeping your accounts up to date. Expo 2017 brings together a range of professionals that can help you run and grow your business, along with an opportunity to unwind with relaxation sessions and mini treatments. Because we all know how important it is to take care of ourselves first so that we are better placed to take care of our business and our clients. 

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Introducing Our New Blogging Course

I am pleased to announce that I have joined forces with Claire Davies – The Greedy Wordsmith to run our 8 week course for business owners looking to create a compelling blog for their business.

We both love empowering business owners at our existing half day workshops and wanted to build on the knowledge we can share with you through additional online learning and support. So, we've created an 8 week course using a blend of online and face to face learning with downloadable worksheets to walk you through every step of the way.

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8 reasons to be on LinkedIn

8 Reasons to be on LinkedIn

(that have nothing to do with job hunting)

LinkedIn in is often touted as a ‘Facebook for professionals’ and we often feel like it’s just another social platform to produce content for. Or we neglect it completely until it’s time to start looking for a new job. Of course LinkedIn is a great tool for hiring people and can be useful for freelances or service providers looking for new projects.

I've been on LinkedIn since 2005 - I hadn't realised how long I'd been a LinkedIn user for! In fact I joined LinkedIn before Facebook or Twitter and whilst it wasn't the first social network I joined, it's the one that's still around (who remembers My Space, Face Party and Friends Reunited?!). I remember joining to stay in touch with friends from my year abroad at a French business school and my network was instantly global - way beyond the backyard reach of Friends Reunited. Plus I could keep up to date with all my geeky passions for business and marketing in a way that wasn't yet available on other social networks. So after 12 years on LinkedIn here are my 8 reasons why small business owners should be on LinkedIn that have nothing to do with recruitment.

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