Marketing tips

She was so kind, she saved me the shopping trolley with the good wheels.

How do you feel when you read that? 

I read this somewhere this week and it keeps repeating in my head. I instantly knew what they meant and it made me smile. 

There are so many small irritations and frustrations in life (1st world problems...) that are relatively easy to solve.

Most of them are things we all recognise, common issues.

It feels like a real triumph or special kindnesses when they're resolved. 

When you …

John's fish and chip order reminded me of something really important we all need to do when promoting our businesses. 

We have some lovely elderly neighbours. They’re a lively and intelligent couple, weathy and worldly, and have had many interesting experiences in their long lives.

So I was surprised when we recently discovered they’ve never had fish and chips from our excellent local shop, or from anywhere else!

We arranged for them to come round to our house for a drink, then my husband wen…

Earlier this week I did something very small that resulted in 100 people sharing a facebook post, a good level of other engagement and high number of views. 

It was essentially a potentially dull but essential public-service announcement type of post about the dangers of swimming in rivers and ponds during the hot weather. Many people and organisations are trying to get this message out after the tragic deaths of over 15 teenagers in a short period of time. 

Official bodies with far more follo…

Search 'Scottish fans - FIFA world cup' and you'll find endless comments from US citizens enthusing about the loveliness and enthusiasm of the Scottish fans. Whether waxing lyrical about their singing, their kilts, beer-drinking, or the number of traffic cones they put on statues, Americans have truly embraced the Scottish fans. 

Based on the online comments, I imagine a lot of people will want to visit Scotland now!

Two things have stood out and we can all learn marketing lessons from them: 

You may be too busy with guests to do any marketing now, but it’s a great time to lay some simple foundations for the future.

Here are five things it’s worth doing to help promote your business, especially when busy.

1. Don’t forget to ask for reviews or testimonials. Write down any lovely things people say, and keep them someone safe to use in your marketing later.

2. Make a note of all the questions people ask, before and during visits. What do people not know, that you’d expect them to kno…

AI is amazing. Whether you use one of the Canva templates or ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude to create it for you, it now only takes a few minutes to create an image for social media posts or a poster for a notice board. 

We're all busy so it makes sense to grab the first thing that's generated and use it. After everyone else is doing the same. 

That's the problem. There's a 'style', a 'feel' to many social media post images and posters, so they're become really familiar. This means they lose th…

When we market our businesses - through social media, word of mouth, mailings, websites, advertising etc - we convey messages designed to attract the attention of potential visitors. We give them information, and hopefully inspiration.

That information essentially 'teaches' potential visitors about our businesses. 

Usually it's positive, and we tell visitors what we/they want to know. 

Yet sometimes we convey information that contradicts what we really want to tell visitors. 

I've recently h…

Here's a very quick marketing tip. It might seem obvious but many don't do it enough. 

Share. And show your relevance. 

That's it. 

When you spot a social media post about your local area, or something relevant to your business, share it. 

Sharing other posts does several things: 

• it gives you a post without much effort!
• it builds local relationships and collaborations and create a sense of reciprocity - if you share something, then eventually/hopefully maybe they'll share your posts or …

How does your business and local area look at the moment?

Everywhere I look I see beautiful (mainly blue) skies, blooming gardens, lush green trees, fresh produce and happy visitors.

Now’s a good time to take photos.

Not just now and then, not just a few but of everything, everywhere, whenever you can!

I'll suggest how you can use these images in a moment. 

First of all though, I really want to stress: any spare moment, when you’re taking a quick break, when you see something beautiful, wh…

What’s selling a Rolls Royce got to do with promoting your small business?

I’ll explain in a moment.

I’ve no idea whether this story is true or not, but it’s a great illustration that could help you show potential visitors that you offer exceptional value for money - whether you charge a little or a lot. 

The story goes that Rolls Royce decided to stop exhibiting at car shows and to take a stand at private jet shows instead. As advertising supremo, Rory Sutherland said, “when you’ve been look…