IMC52: WordPress Security Audit

We are joined by WordPress Security Expert, Tim Nash, who will talk through a recent security and performance audit on our website sharing advice on how we can protect and speed up WordPress.
(more…)IMC51: Your questions answered


Ben and Clare dive into our grab bag of questions we have received from clients and club members.
It’s your chance to put us in the hot seat and get your own marketing questions answered. If you would like to submit your own questions please contact Clare at [email protected]
(more…)IMC50: WordPress Health Check


Ben guides us through a checklist he uses on our client sites to make sure they are fast, secure and ready for action.
(more…)IMC49: Perfect PR Marketing


PR marketing is a great way to increase brand visibility, website traffic and is also a key element for SEO. In this webinar Heidi Chamberlain-Jones shares her method on how to perfect your PR marketing strategy including how to build relationships with key journalists.
(more…)IMC48: Open club website review


We are joined by Bespoke By Laura and Poppins Tutoring to see how they are getting on with the improvements we gave them last month. Together we will run through an SEO Review of their website and offer tips and advice on how they can optimise their pages and get more traffic to their website.
(more…)IMC47: How to write good website copy


Catherine Every shares her step-by-step process on how to write good web copy.
The presentation will touch on: Deciding on the structure of your website, how to research keywords and guidance on how to write great copy for your website.
We like working with Catherine on web projects as she understands how good copy can engage a reader and stimulate them into action.
(more…)IMC46: Blogging and Content Strategy


Ben shares his method for developing a blog and content strategy which will help get your business found online.
(more…)IMC45: Pinterest Essentials


We take a dive into Pinterest with Jonathan Pollinger and discuss how it could make a huge difference to your business particularly if you have a very visual product.
(more…)IMC44: SEO Review


We invited SEO Expert, Chris Richard to review our new RI website! We don’t know exactly what ideas Chris will come up with but he always has insightful advice to improve our search ranking through his proven methods.
(more…)IMC43: SEO with Yoast


This webinar is ideal for those who are looking to tighten up page titles, tweak meta descriptions and trim the sitemap. It also fits neatly between our other webinars #6 SEO Strategy and #17 Google Search Console (GSC) walkthrough.
(more…)IMC42: TikTok Essentials


We have invited social media trainer, Jonathan Pollinger to introduce us to TikTok and share how it can build awareness of your business, help you to attract more customers, as well as boost sales and profits.
(more…)IMC41: Landing Page Review


During this session we will look at a selection of different landing pages and check to see whether they are giving the right message, are user friendly and share some advice on how to improve them.
It’s important to take that step back and see your homepage through your customers eyes to make sure it is working in a way you intended.
(more…)IMC40: Linkedin Essentials


Ben revisits LinkedIn Essentials to discuss some of the key ways people use it to get new business. This is an updated version of the 2019 presentation ‘Get more out of LinkedIn’.
(more…)IMC39: Using 360 Matterport to boost engagement


In this episode we are joined by IMC Club Member Dave Hargest from Selmach Machinery. During this episode he shares how he used 360 Matterport to create his own 3D Virtual Tour to showcase the companies showroom and boost audience engagement.
(more…)IMC38: How to get Five Star Reviews Revisit


Ben and I will revisit the importance on gathering Five Star Reviews and discuss the best ways to get feedback for your business.
(more…)IMC37: Marketing Review – Looking back at the previous year and setting goals for 2022


In this episode we take stock of our marketing, discussing the importance of evaluating the year before and why you should set goals for the year ahead.
Ben is joined by Club Member Nicky Ayers from Ecl-ips as they both dive into their marketing strategies and share what went well, what is still a work in progress, what goals we’re working towards and how we’re going to tackle them.
(more…)IMC36: Bringing brands to life. With humour. And puppets


Ben is joined by Tom Balmont and Sirco to discuss why video is important in video marketing.
IMC35: How to make your site accessible


How to improve your websites usability to appeal to the widest possible audience.
Notes
Related content
- Every design has the potential to include and exclude customers
- Dieter Ram’s 10 Commandments of Good Design
IMC34: WordPress Walkthrough 2021


From logging in to editing a page and posting a blog article Ben takes you step by step through setting up your WordPress website.
Notes
Related content
- #25 WooCommerce walkthrough – Inventive Marketing Club (GROUP) for Members
- #9 Blogging & Content Strategy – Inventive Marketing Club (GROUP) for Members
Why WordPress?
- Can get started for free on WordPress.com
- Completely flexible when self managed
- Plugins give it flexibility
- Best control over SEO
- Powers over 40% of the worlds websites
- Used by global brands
- Active community
IMC33: How to build the perfect ecommerce sales funnel


I take you through some key strategies to to build your perfect ecommerce sales funnel, from first contact to getting the sale. You’ll be able to apply the strategies in this video to almost any business even if you don’t sell online.
(more…)IMC32: Instagram Essentials
How to use Instagram in your business, grow your audience and track progress.
Notes
Why are small businesses using photo sharing apps in marketing?
- Increasingly in popularity
- Businesses of all sizes and sectors are using it
- A great way to bring a visual element to your social media activity
- Reaching new audiences easier and quicker
- Sell products or services through the platform
Instagram as Marketing tool
- Who should use Instagram?
How to post
- Can only post using app
- Photos
- Video
- Importance of Stories & Reels
- Hashtag research
Planning Content
- Use your social media strategy for inspiration
- Variety is essential
- Post regularly
- Find inspiration from other accounts
- Consider including video
Tracking Progress
- Set Objectives to monitor progress
- Audience growth – size & quality
- Interaction – likes, comments, reach
- Performance on paid ads
- Sales of products
- Traffic to your website
Commit to action
What one action will you achieve over the next 30 days?
IMC31: Facebook Essentials
How to use Facebook in your business, grow your audience and win customers.
Notes
Introduction to Facebook
- Used by people in their personal lives to communicate with family and friends
- Use as a news source
- Community and common interest groups – keep up-to-date with what’s going on in a local area or share information / experience related to interests
Why should you use Facebook?
- You use should Facebook if you are a B2C business
- It provides you with access to your target audience
- Enables both current and potential customers to communicate directly with you
- Helps to build brand awareness and increase sales
Setting up a Business page
- Business pages are created within a personal page
- Add at least 1 other person as an administrator
- Ensure all key pieces of business information are present and updated
- Make it easy for people to find and recognise you
- Profile photos and cover photos need to be the correct size.
- Make use of the Call to Action button – Learn more, Buy now
Planning Content
- Posts need to be interesting and eye catching
- Sharing posts about a variety of topics related to your business is essential
- Plan and prepare your posts in advance – ideally 2 weeks
- Consider the photos, imagery and video you need to create / gather
- Encourage your audience to comment and interact – questions, opinions
What to share
- Inform your audience about your products and services
- Don’t share “salesy” posts
- Share what you have been up to – creating a product or delivering a service
- Document your journey and bring people to the forefront
- Develop campaigns – social calendar, seasons of the year, specific to your sector
- Blogs and articles
- Video
Publishing Content
- Sharing posts regularly is important to build momentum & be visible
- Be careful not to over share!
- Schedule posts using Facebook’s scheduling tool
- Review the best times of day and days of the week to publish content
- A visual element is essential – photo, infographic, link, video
- Add video files if possible – better performance
Review Performance
- Analyse performance of the page and posts once a month
- Identify any trends to factor into future posts
- What are you aiming for?
- Audience growth
- Increased reach
- Link clicks
- Google Analytics – clicks, journeys and enquiries/ sales
Top Tips
- Make it easy for people to find you – signpost in other marketing activities
- Encourage customers to leave Reviews and recommend you on Facebook
- Consider Ads – awareness or sales focused.
- Add Jobs to your page
IMC30: The Future of Marketing
Ben chairs a discussion with Nicky Ayers (Ecl-ips CCTV), Catherine Every (Pippin Copywriting) and Jon Johnson (Mountain Perspective) looking at how future trends and challenges could impact on our strategies for lead generation.
Notes
What could the future of marketing look like?
You don’t own the platform
- Rely on social and ads for new customers
- The sales funnel is out of your control
- No direct access to audience
- What happens if their policies change?
People prefer to buy/work online
- People prefer digital experiences – Easier, quicker.
- Remote working reduces town centre visitors
- How do they find out about you?
Search is voice only
- In the car, jogging, cooking
- Voice assistants only surface the first few results
- How do you get found in a sea of a thousand results?
Tracking is dead
- Browser tracking cookies are being blocked
- Email is hiding your opens and clicks
- How can we target them on other platforms?
- Do we need to collect so much data?
What you can do about it
Build a strong brand
- Trusted and consistent
- Meet people where they are then invite them back to your place – your website
Tribe Marketing
- Work with partners or as a group
- Make use of their audience
- Refer often
Use Video
- Focus on personality (brand)
- Make it useful, share something of value, have fun
- Great audio/lighting
Use structured data
- Answer questions, add FAQ schema
- Be the ultimate answer on Google
- https://soundcloud.com/rather-inventive/interview-duane-forrester-yexts-vp-industry-insights
Be remarkable
Create email and social posts people really want to read, watch or be part of
IMC29: Getting clear on your business brand
Ben is joined by Benjamin Catley-Richardson (Brand Clear) to share how to be clear on your business brand. We walk through how to be easier noticed, easier to remember and easier to choose.
(more…)IMC28: Three big ideas to grow your social engagement
I share three ideas that could help grow or even kick start your social media engagement. I’ve been developing the ideas over the years so you may already have heard a few of them but it’s always good to have a refresher.
Notes
Be Remarkable
How to create remarkable content that spreads further by working with others
- Choose a social network you like
- Where your audience hangs out
- Reach out to your audience
- Be remarkable
- Be consistent
- Connect on a personal level
Be the First to Follow
Understand how to attract people and create a movement
Start a Social Tribe
Local businesses promoting local businesses on the web and through social media
- Find your tribe
- Follow your tribe
- Spend 15 a day minutes engaging
- Recommend what you love
- Feedback to improve
- Don’t talk about yourself