If you’ve not heard of Google Alerts, then I recommend you have a bit of an experiment with them today.
Simply put (by Google themselves):
“Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
- monitoring a developing news story
- keeping current on a competitor or industry
- getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams”
You can start creating some Google Alerts here: http://www.google.com/alerts
Google Alerts are brilliant for keeping up to date with the various things – your business, competitors, keyphrases etc. Basically you tell Google that on a daily, weekly or ‘as it happens’ basis, they will send you a list of all the new entries for a particular term. So for example you can create one (all of ours are set to ‘weekly’ otherwise you get inundated with alerts!), for “SMEketing” and it will send you a list of links of where the word “SMEketing” has cropped up online that week.
They’re also a great way of keeping an eye on your competitors, as it shows information that you might not normally be able to find. Since they inform you of when they’re name has popped up online, you can get access to a host of information that isn’t kept on their website; for example, in the past I’ve found online price lists and competitor strategies which is always a good thing to find!
We also create them Google Alerts for keyphrases, such as ’small business marketing’ so that we get a long list of new articles and other things that contain that phrase – then if there are any good ones in there, we tweet about them! It just makes it a bit easier to do research as it’s all delivered to your inbox and it’s a useful way of providing content to your Twitter community.
It’s very easy to set up – just go to ‘Google Alerts’ and enter your email and the alerts you want. I recommend putting any phrases into quotes, otherwise you’ll get a mismatch of alerts. Also set it to ‘Comprehensive’, which means you’ll get information on everything on the web (blogs, videos, articles etc), rather than just web articles and copy.
If you’ve got any questions about creating Google Alerts, give us an email - we’re more than happy to help!
December 7, 2009
We’ve just had an incredibly busy two weeks here at SMEketing. One of our clients required us to organise their AGM (Annual General Meeting). They’re only a small business – with 30 or so employees, and needed a team building activity in the afternoon that wouldn’t cost the world.
They tasked us here at SMEketing to come up with some creative, fun ideas. And that’s exactly what we did! The final choice was an orienteering event at a local country park. The company was split into four teams, and were sent off in different routes. Once they arrived at their target, they called base camp (a SMEketer) for a general knowledge question, and another question of which the answer was the number of the post they needed to head to next. Ten posts later (and four miles!) there was a final race back to base camp. Winners were awarded prizes, and there was a trophy for the best dressed (I forgot to mention that they were all dressed as woodland animals!).
It was a great day, and although the teams were all very competitive, everyone had fun! And luckily the sunshine held out for us too.
So here are our tips on organising a small business event on a tight budget:
- Ensure you manage your time effectively
- Make a thorough plan, and constantly update and review it
- Shop around for the best value – you can often find items much cheaper online, and even online the price can vary massively!
- Make sure you maintain great communication between all those involved
- Keep an eye on the budget at all times
- Find cheap ways of catering for your delegates/staff. We negotiated with a local pizza place to provide pizza’s for all, and supplemented this with salad and side dishes bought that morning from a supermarket
- Keep any themes simple. We had a woodland animal theme – supported with basic fancy dress props for staff
- Create a list of any lessons learnt that can be used for next time
- On the day, make sure everyone knows exactly what they are doing and where they need to be
Planning events can be stressful and very time consuming. But ensuring that you plan effectively and monitor your budget, you can still hold fantastic events on a shoestring budget.
For more information on this event, or any other event that you’d like SMEketing to manage, please read our Event Management page or just send us a quick email: info@SMEketing.com.
September 7, 2009
Small business networking is hugely important for all small businesses. 
Most people recognise that in for small business success, it’s not just about what you know – it’s who you know. One of the best ways of generating new business is through networking. For small businesses the return on your investment (ROI) can be huge. However, it is important that you know how to make the most of networking opportunities.
By having a commitment to constantly improving your network of contacts you can expect benefits such as gaining access to an informal ‘board’ of advisers offering years of business experience, developing valuable business relationships, exchanging your management skills and ideas with peers and picking up valuable hints and tips on avoiding business roadblocks and common mistakes.
If you’ve just received an invitation to attend an event where there will be a lot of networking going on, here are some useful tips that can help you get much greater and longer lasting business value from it.
Have a genuine liking for people
Good networkers are normally people who like reaching out to other people. It is important to have an interest in others and be willing to learn about their business, their industry and the challenges they face.
Get to know the organisers
Every networking event has been organised by somebody who knows the attendees and their backgrounds. Find out who it is and speak to them before the event. They can identify the movers and shakers in the crowd and help you meet them.
Get into groups that make up your target market
The groups you choose to be in (keeping in mind that most business owners or managers can’t afford the time to be in more than two or three groups) need to be lively, vibrant and relevant to you.
Contribute to these groups in practical ways
If you are in a group solely for what you can get out of it, it will become obvious and unappealing to other members. You need to contribute in some way, show that you can get things done efficiently and become an active member of the group.
Go out of your way to help
When you are talking with individuals, and the occasion arises, offer to help. On a particular occasion, the conversation may turn to problems with marketing services; if you happen to know a local marketing agency (hmm…SMEketing?!) who provides outstanding service, offer to provide their contact details. It’s a small act on your part, but it can mean much to both the marketing agency you are referring (SMEketing we hope!) and to whom you are making the referral to.
Look for groups within groups
Most networking events have their groups, people who know each other and meet regularly at these gatherings. It may seem hard to break into one of these groups but think of the advantages – meet one and you’ve met them all! If you know that someone is a member of one of these groups you can have an informal chat and ask them to provide an introduction to the other members.
Have something to say
Be ready with something to say when you’re introduced to someone new. They’ll want to know a bit about your business and how it is performing. Prepare a brief elevator pitch about 30 seconds long, which presents your details and is both informative and interesting. Rehearse it so it sounds natural when you deliver it.
Show interest in others
If you’re talking with a potential customer, try and keep the conversation on them and gather information you can use after the event. Show interest in them and offer to send them some information about your business. Even if they’re not immediately interested they’ll usually accept out of politeness.
Don’t forget your business cards!
One of the most important networking tools is the business card. You literally cannot afford to be without one at these events, so come prepared with a quantity of well designed cards.
Circulate!
Don’t monopolise anyone’s time. After all, they didn’t attend just to meet you. Get to know them and then move on.
Look for the loners
Not everyone is gregarious and outgoing and there will always be people at networking events who look lost. It is a good chance for you to introduce yourself and see if they might want to have a conversation. You can be doubly supportive and introduce them to others you know in the room. Be enthusiastic and you’ll be seen as someone who gets things done.
The follow-up (this is probably the most important parts of networking)
You meet a lot of people at networking events and it is sometimes hard a week later to remember exactly what was said to any particular person. Collect business cards from everyone you meet and if you’ve made a commitment to do something after the event, make a note on that business card as soon as your conversation is over. Never rely on memory alone, and be sure to follow up within a couple of days before the lead gets stale or you’ve been forgotten.
When you meet someone whom you want to develop a relationship with for the first time, follow up soon afterwards. Meet for a coffee or forward a relevant newspaper article that may interest them. Similarly, if you offer to provide information, be sure to follow up. Being reliable and becoming known as reliable is an essential ingredient when developing a network.
If you want to start networking, but aren’t sure where to start, get in touch. We can help put together a list of local events for you as well as an action plan to ensure networking success!
May 1, 2009
