August 31st, 2010
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
For all the praise that brand advertisers have for social media, they must be aware that it’s very much a double-edged sword. And for all the free marketing, advertising and brand promotion via Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Linked In, and other platforms used to help build an identity and relationship with your customers, it can just as quickly turn on you and your brand.
Social media disasters occur for a number of reasons, the first being that your company probably messed up. It may not have been intentional, but something, somewhere down the line, went wrong enough for someone to complain and it was enough for others to vocalize that complaint en masse. One mistake is all it takes for social media to turn against your brand.
No one is perfect and you can’t expect to please everyone all the time, so the best trick is to be prepared for how to handle things if your company finds itself under attack in the social realm. Here are three examples of companies who were attacked by social media and how they handled, or should have handled the situation. Learn from their mistakes or successes so you can stay on social media’s good side.
Read more …
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August 6th, 2010
It’s the summer holidays for many, and things typically slow down.
Not for us I’m glad to say, as the internet gets busier and busier with more online business being done than ever before.
A key part of making any business work is being to measure its performance and make effective decisions on your findings.
The internet is no different.
Using tools such as Google Analytics, it’s possible to see what’s working and more importantly not working with your website.
We continue to get asked more questions about Google Analytics than any other subject, that’s why we’re offering a free training session throughout this August.
Drop us a line or follow this link if you’d like to know more.
Posted in FL1, General, Marketing, Search Engines, Technology | No Comments »
February 12th, 2010
Advergaming
Advergaming is the use of video games to advertise a product or service or to promote a viewpoint.
First seen in the early years of the last decade, advergaming is becoming increasing popular with companies and organisations of all sizes. Games are often the most visited aspect of large brand websites (e.g. Campbell’s Soup – http://www.mysoup.com/games.aspx) and have become an increasing important part of media planning.
For examples, see:
www.pepsi.com
http://kids.discovery.com/games/games.html
http://www.chevroncars.com/
http://pressokentertainment.com/ games on mobiles
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November 9th, 2009
It’s that time of the year for Awards (and parties) so FL1 Group has pleasure in inviting you to participate in the very first FL1 Group Website of the Year Awards 2009.
As a Thank You for taking part, you will receive a Virtual Goody Bag with vouchers and offers from our Award partners as well as an invitation to the Awards Ceremony and Christmas Networking event on Monday 14th December.
It is very easy to take part, just:
1. Vote on each website in order of preference
2. Submit your vote
3. Receive the Virtual Goody Bag of offers and our FL1 Newsletter
All votes must be submitted online by midnight Friday 11th December 2009; one nomination per person.
The winners will be announced at 7.30 pm on Monday 14th December at The Buon Amici, St Albans at the St Albans Networking Co-operative Christmas event.
We look forward to seeing you at the Awards Ceremony and Christmas networking event.
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March 18th, 2009
Top Tips for improved results and reduced costs
Marketing processes
1. Really get to know your BEST customers – profile their characteristics in detail and then go, find similar ones!
2. Communicate regularly with your customers: current customers, potential customers but particularly lapsed customers. Newsletters and emails are great but can you find other methods e.g. podcasts?
3. Take a look at how you are perceived by the outside world. Image is all today! Do you need a new brand image, a new website or new business cards? Review your website. If you have more than one area in your business, consider having separate microsites rather than one large website.
4. In a world of spam, never overlook the humble postcard. A good postcard can be more effective than a bad brochure.
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