Thoughts on marketing, design, culture, business, technology and other interesting topics that refuse to be pigeonholed!
The current economic uncertainty facing many small businesses has caused more than a few headaches, which is why the Small Business Covid-19 Recovery grant is such a welcome lifeline. The NSW Government Small Business Covid-19
Last time We ended the Intro to SEO Part 1 on some of the shadier techniques of SEO, also known as Blackhat SEO. In part 2, we’re going to discuss the best practice SEO techniques, tools and
If you have anything to do with managing a website or marketing for your business, I bet you’ve heard of SEO. SEO (search engine optimisation) is one of the most valuable channels available to ensure
We ran a Xmas campaign for Barefoot Farm Byron in 2019. Through social media, external influences and some neat website stuff, grouse results were achieved.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a weird and wonderful aspect of our modern society and it’s completely changing the way we do business.
It was the outspoken and notoriously French philosopher Voltaire who said:
The best is the enemy of good.
And he was in good company! Confucius’s version was:
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without
SEM is an umbrella term used to describe any activity that uses search engines to promote your website and/or business. The two main components of SEM are PPC advertising (pay-per-click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
PPC Advertising is the practice of running paid ads on a publisher’s network to drive traffic to a website – you’re essentially paying for people to visit your website.
PPS involves targeting specific keywords or phrases or even targeting a topic, so that when someone visits Google and searches the keyword you’re targeting, your advertisement can appear and you will be charged if that person clicks on your ad.
Prices can vary wildly depending on how many businesses are targeting that specific keyword, but if you pay $5 for someone to click on your ad and visit your website and that person purchases a product worth $100, that’s a pretty great return!
When PPC is done right, it can achieve sensational results for your business.
SEO is all about organic traffic, or traffic that you haven’t paid for.
Organic traffic is the art of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website from people making search queries in search engines like Google, Bing & Yahoo.
Organic Traffic is incredibly valuable to the success of your website and your business. People that find your website through a search engine are more valuable as those people are specifically searching for something related to your business. They’re already actively engaging with what you have to offer when they reach your website.
SEO covers a wide range of work but focuses on two areas – on page optimisation and off page optimisation.
On Page Optimisation involves making sure your website is easy to use, is well designed, has plenty of fresh, relevant content and adheres to technical specifications that search engines like to see.
Off Page Optimisation involves work done outside of your website that improves your search rankings. This can include building links from other websites to your website, social media activity & engagement as well as local SEO.
SEO can be a bit overwhelming, but is definitely worth it if you want your website to be achieving the best possible results. Lion & Lamb will work closely with you to understand your business and product or service offering to ensure that we are driving the highest quality traffic to your website.
Email marketing is one of the most valuable and effective tools in your marketing toolbox. It’s cheap, can reach large audiences and provides valuable data about content that works and content that doesn’t. You might associate email marketing with all the spam in your inbox, but a well-crafted email campaign shouldn’t feel like spam at all.
A great email marketing campaign can:
improve customer relationships – email marketing relies on people having given their email address to you in return for news, updates, events or any other pertinent information about your business that a customer or client may find valuable. When you send out a thoughtful email with an exciting update, your customers know that you’re thinking about them.
Promote your knowledge – chances are that if you’re a small business owner, you’re an expert in your field. Not every email needs to be selling something – you can give your customers some insight on a product or a trend from the perspective of an expert and further engage your customers.
Gather valuable information – depending on the program you use to send your business email campaigns, you should have access to a treasure trove of information about how many people opened the email, how long they had the email open, what content was received better, what subject lines work better, what factors sent people to your website or even what factors led to a purchase.
With this information, you can constantly improve your campaigns for better results.
If you’re interested in running an email marketing campaign, get in touch for a chat! We’ll sit down with you to work out what you want to promote and how to go about it. We can then design a stunning email campaign for you that reaches your customers, says the right thing and gets results!
Branding is a mixture of strategy, marketing, design and communication.
A well-designed and executed brand is so much more than a logo and a style guide; it tells a story about your business- who you are, what you do and how you do it. Your branding should dictate how and where you talk to your customers and how a customer should feel after interacting with you.
A weak brand means a business is already playing catch up with the competition.
Every business needs a strong brand to ensure the best possible public perception of who you are and what you do. A strong, unique brand is important for:
Standing out from the crowd – why be another boring corporate copy when you can be unique? An exceptional brand is a steppingstone to exceptional results.
Brand awareness and recognition – a unique and memorable brand stays in a customer’s head. If they have a great first interaction with your business, the next time they’re in need of your product or service, they’ll think of you!
Telling your brand story – your brand helps give potential customers an idea what to expect to expect from your business overall as well as your products or service. Cheap brand, cheap company. Fantastic brand, amazing products and service!
Encouraging your whole business – a fun and lively brand can help motivate staff and other internal stakeholders. Give your people something to be excited about!
Generating more business – word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools for any business. A customer that’s enjoyed your brand and had a positive experience with your business is far more likely to recommend you to friends or family, so give them a reason to pass on the good word!
A great brand should give your business, your staff and your customers direction and value. When we work with a business to develop their brand, we don’t just play around with a logo and a font and send you away. We sit down with you and work to understand your business, your products or service and what sets you apart from the others.
You’re proud of your business and what you do – make sure others can see that!
A stunning piece of graphic design is not only a joy to look at, it can be the main factor in making a sale or signing up a new customer.
Like branding, graphic design says a lot about your business. Good graphic design isn’t just about creating a pretty picture; graphic design is communication. Graphic design is how you exhibit your business, your products or your services to your target market.
To earn a new customer, the customer needs to be interested in your product, right? So how do you create that interest? You make it look good!
Graphic design encompasses anything from internal company communications to product catalogues; online advertisements to business cards.
If something can be created, graphic design can be used to make it look amazing.
Lion & Lamb has a passion for good design as that’s where our business started.
Social media is a complex beast and can be difficult to get right. There are always new social media platforms appearing and existing platforms fading away into obscurity. One social media channel may be a great way to reach one demographic, but terrible for another demographic. There are so many platforms, so many methods to engage with, constant changes in trends, usage and content.
How do you keep on top of everything?
Don’t worry about it! We live and breathe social media and are always up to date on what’s trending, how to reach the right audience and how to craft the perfect message for them.
Social media is a powerful tool to engage with existing and potential customers. It can be so helpful to:
We work with you to identify your key objectives, which channels to use and how to pull it all off. We’ll then push the button and you can sit back and watch the results roll in.
Marketing strategy is a vital part of the success of any business and is all too often overlooked. Everyone has a general idea of what marketing is and the benefits it can provide for a business, but a well-defined marketing strategy is worth its weight in gold.
We will sit down with you and go through EVERYTHING! We’ll pepper you with questions to make sure that we understand every aspect of your business because, as they say, knowledge is power.
A great marketing strategy takes into account your business, your product and/or services, your target market, your competitors, your budget; pretty much everything that might impact your business and your ability to earn new business.
Because no two businesses are the same, a marketing strategy works best when it’s customized to your business. When we have every scrap of data and information we can possibly find, we’ll start with three important steps:
We’ll work through these 3 steps with you before developing a comprehensive marketing strategy outlining what marketing channels you should be using, how you should be using them and a timeline to wrap it all up.
You’re free to use this plan however you wish. We can partner with you as your external marketing team and manage the whole plan, we can implement parts of it or you can take the plan and use it yourself!
If you’re not sure about something or you have some thoughts on how to improve the strategy, we’re a phone call away. Even better, drop by for a coffee and a chat! We’ll never understand your business or your industry as deeply as you do, so your input is vital.
Our success depends on your success, so we’re dedicated to perfecting a marketing strategy that works for you.
A website can be the most valuable asset of your business. A well designed and built website can:
You can share product or service tips, allow customers to leave reviews, share news about new products or an exciting industry event; the options are limitless and the benefits for your customers, your business and your brand are incredible.
