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Author: Kylie Fennell

The marketing gift that just keeps giving

Kylie Fennell

I’m in a giving mood and I’m going to give you a marketing gift that just keeps giving.

My biggest marketing tip of all time relates to content marketing.

When it comes to the most effective marketing tactics, providing valuable content to your ideal customers wins hands down.

I’ve talked a lot in the past about why providing valuable content is…well…so valuable.

When you’re engaging with potential customers and influencers it is imperative that you build up some credits in the “trust bank”.

They need to believe that you know what you’re talking about and that you’ll deliver.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to create engaging content that builds credibility and delivers value to your target. Whether that content is a case study, media release, blog post or fact sheet, it doesn’t matter, the thing that makes it so effective is once you have created the content, you can then leverage it. And by leverage it, I mean LEVERAGE it.

Great content can be repackaged and redelivered across different mediums saving you valuable time, money and resources.

Say you have a great case study, then you promote it via your social media platforms, you create a video testimonial and post it to YouTube then share it, you upload that case study to your website, you include some of it in your promotional flyer, you use it for a media release, you follow it up with an email…the list of opportunities is almost endless.

The key to valuable content is REPURPOSE, REUSE and RECYCLE.

A popular blog post you created 12 months ago can be rehashed and used across other mediums.The even more valuable part of this is that it will also create additional communication touchpoints, which is critical in taking a prospect from the awareness stage to purchase.It’s widely accepted that it may take several different points of contacts (touchpoints) before a prospect takes the step of buying from you.Many talk about ‘Rule of Seven’ which states that you must contact your potential buyers a minimum of seven times in an 18-month period for them to remember you.

The number of touchpoints is debatable but most agree that in today’s world when we are overloaded with advertising and messages, the number of touchpoints may need to be higher and more varied.

As a result you need to get as much valuable content out there as possible and yes LEVERAGE the heck out of it.

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Wait for it….

Kylie Fennell
Some days I am just soooooo darn tired from writing stuff for other people (by other people I mean clients who I absolutely adore of course) that I just don’t have the energy to write for myself. 
That day was today. 
It’s a real Catch 22 situation that I need to earn money to afford the time to write for myself, but the best way for me to earn money is to write for other people and then I’m too tired to write for myself…ahhh the trials and tribulations.
Fortunately though I came across this little gem of a picture, which I understand has been doing the internet rounds for quite a while, and I felt pretty energised all of a sudden. 
Unfortunately not energised enough to write a proper blog post this week. 
So this week please settle for this awesome image. I promise I will make it up to you next time.
In the meantime you can get some inspiration of your own from pictures just like this at the super cool image site Twisted Sifter. 
TGIF x

Why you need to be the most awesome version of yourself

Kylie Fennell
Every time I read something by Seth Godin I become inspired all over again.
Seth is a marketing genius known for his incredibly popular blog and books such as Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.
An associate I work with recently loaned me Seth’s book ‘What to do When it’s Your Turn (and It’s Always Your turn)’. It was remarkable to say the least.
Now I’m not here to give Seth a blatant plug or review his books – though I kind of am and am happy to do so without any recompense – I love the guy! 
I do want to share with you one of the common themes throughout Seth’s work that really resonates with me as a marketer and business owner.
He urges, no implores, business owners to be ‘remarkable’ particularly when it comes to marketing their business.
Business Owners as ‘creators’ need to be worth remarking upon. They need to make the choice to put themselves out there in a big way. They need to embrace the fear and exhilaration that success but also possible failure can bring.
Honestly you need to read his books and blog to appreciate his philosophy fully, but I’d like to take the theme of being remarkable and apply it to what I ask small business to do.
For many small businesses, it’s hard to reconciliate the idea of being remarkable, or having BIG ideas, with what they see themselves – a small business.
But why can’t small business be SMALL business? Why can’t small businesses have BIG ideas and be remarkable?
The answer is of course you can. You can be remarkable!
You can be outstanding, extraordinary, exceptional in what you choose to pursue.
The starting point is creating an authentic brand and positioning story about not just your business, but yourself.
As the creator of your business, you ARE the business.
You might think your business is about selling widgets, but they are YOUR widgets. You’re selling the way YOU sell those widgets, the customer service YOU provide, the feeling people get when they buy from YOU and use YOUR widgets.
The experience of buying widgets should be completely different to the next person’s widgets and you need to let people know HOW you’re different and why they should buy specifically from YOU.
You need to create a story about you and your business. You need to share part of your personal story, be authentic and genuine.
If the best part about buying widgets from you is that you have been collecting widgets since you’re 8-years-old and can tell the difference between the model Y and model Z widget – then tell people about it.
If you left a high paid corporate career and risked everything to pursue your dream of selling widgets – tell people about it.
If you pride yourself on the fact you just love talking to customers one on one about their passion for widgets – you guessed it, you should tell people about it.
You may not think you’re ‘remarkable’ when you compare yourself to the multi-national widget corporations – but you are.
Remember the multi-national widget corporation started out just like you – and how did they get to where they got to – by being extraordinary 
You might think I’m just an ordinary old widget guy, but you’re not. You pursued your dream, you took the leap, you created something that is beyond the usual or ordinary. You are EXTRAORDINARY.
Being extraordinary isn’t about having the most charisma, or being the loudest, or even having the most money – you can be extraordinary by being yourself, just being the most AWESOME version of yourself.
You are in the business of you, and it’s time you started telling people your story.
I might need widgets, but I don’t want any old widgets. I want to buy from you, the widget guy or gal, who makes me feel great about my purchase.
I want to feel like I made the right choice buying from you, because you are extraordinary – not the usual widget experience.
Now the choice is over to you, are you ready to embrace your awesomeness and be EXTRAORDINARY?
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Forget black cats – avoid people who owe you lots of money on Friday the 13th

Kylie Fennell
So today is supposed to be unlucky.
If you’re the superstitious type you’re probably avoiding black cats and making sure you don’t walk under ladders. Why though is this day considered unlucky at all?
There is one popular theory (some say modern urban legend) that claims the origins of Friday the 13th comes from the Knights Templar.  And like any good story, it includes themes of betrayal, revenge, greed, injustice and secret treasures.
The original Knights Templar were a Christian military order existing from the 12th to 14th centuries and mainly associated with fighting during the Crusades.
They fought alongside the likes of King Richard I, or Richard the Lionheart, and were an elite fighting force. The Knights were highly trained, well-equipped and highly motivated. As part of their religious order they were forbidden from retreating in battle, unless outnumbered three to one, and even then only by order.
For two hundred years the Knights Templar were the most dominant force in Christendom.
The Templars were institutionally wealthy, paid no taxes, and had a large standing army, which by papal decree could move freely through all European borders.
They were a fixture of everyday life. They were significant landholders, employers and the head of an international banking system that allowed nobles to deposit funds and valuables for safekeeping.
However after their defeat at the Siege of Acre and the loss of the Holy Land, the Knights Templar’s influence began to wane and enemies began to appear.
King Philip IV of France had borrowed enormous sums of money from the Knights to finance a war with England, a war he later lost.
King Philip saw an opportunity to reduce the Knights’ power and avoid repaying his financial debts.
On Friday, 13 October 1307, King Philip ordered the simultaneous arrest of scores of Templars and the seizing of all of their property.
The Templars were charged with heresy, worshiping false idols and other crimes against the church. Many of them were tortured until they ‘confessed’ to their crimes.
Despite the dubious nature of the confessions and a questionable trial, the Knights were burned at the stake, leading to other arrests across Europe.
In 1312, and under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement V issued an edict officially dissolving the Order.
Some stories claim that a group of Templars had managed to evade King Philip and escape with vast stores of treasure and holy relics.
Theories popularised in modern culture also claimed the Knights were keepers and defenders of the Holy Grail – we’ve all seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade haven’t we?


Even if Friday the 13th didn’t originate from the Knights Templar, and religious views and plausibility aside, as a fan of historical fiction I think it makes a pretty good yarn.

So have a happy and safe Friday the 13thand avoid any Kings that owe you large sums of money.

Why you don’t want people to go to your website

Kylie Fennell
 
 
When it comes to online marketing many of us spend a lot of time trying to drive traffic to our website, but I’m here to tell you how to stop people going to your website.
Now that’s just crazy talk right?
What I want to talk about today is the world of landing pages.
From an online marketing perspective when we say landing pages we are talking about stand alone web pages that have no relation to your main website.
They don’t have global menus for you to get back to your home page, they are simple, single pages with one simple objective – get your target market to do something.
Let’s call it for a moment a ‘call to action’ page.
Say you want people to download an e-book, book an appointment or sign-up to a webinar, free trial, or notify them of a launch  (just choose the one objective), then that’s the ONLY thing you want them to do.
You want them to input their email details and sign-up or purchase, nothing else. You don’t want them being distracted by any shiny new objects or be drawn off to a social media link or back to your home page.
If this is you, and you need higher conversion rates, then you should consider landing pages.
The clever folks over at Unbounce have some great articles on landing pages and how to create effective pages. They explain that the main reason for using landing pages is “to limit the options available to your visitors, helping to guide them toward your intended conversion goal”.
Unbounce describe two different landing pages, Click Through and Lead Generation.
Click through landing pages “can be used to describe a product or offer in sufficient detail so as to ‘warm up’ a visitor to the point where they are closer to making a purchasing decision”.
Lead generation pages are used to capture information such as a name and email address so you can market directly to them later. It may include a form – perhaps with just an ‘email address’ field (the less the fields the better) and details of what they will get for providing their details. Do however make sure you are adhering to your local privacy and anti-spam laws when you do go ahead and use the details provided.
There are heaps of services that provide landing pages, some are heavily optimised to increase conversion rates and SEO, some are more simple.
Leadpages is one paid option service that offers highly customisable templates and integration with other platforms such as CRMs and social media.
WordPress also has plugins allowing you to create landing pages by yourself on your WordPress site.
If you are interested in setting up landing pages, speak to your web developer or do some online research on your options. WordPress has loads of landing page plugins ranging from free to premium ones.
And make sure the content on your landing page has a clear call to action and is persuasive.
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I don’t like fantasy – really?!

Kylie Fennell
Whenever someone asks me what kind of ‘stuff’ I write, I usually hesitate for a moment before fessing up that they’re fantasy novels.
It seems that in my circle of friends and acquaintances that fantasy isn’t a preferred genre.
Most people are polite enough to nod and smile. Others are upfront enough to state bluntly: “I don’t like fantasy”.
I’m not sure why fantasy gets such a mixed reaction, especially when you consider that the same people who say they don’t like fantasy, will happily sit down to watch Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, True Blood or Game of Thrones.
I wonder if the reason people say they don’t like fantasy is because they think it’s outlandish or unrealistic.
I have to admit even I’m guilty of judging a book, not by its cover, but by its genre.
Over the last few years I have had several friends (at different times) implore me to read the Cross Stitch series by Diana Gabaldon.
Knowing I liked historical fiction as well as fantasy they were convinced I would love the story of a 20th century nurse who time travels to 18th century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with a dashing highlander.
Featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, adventure, science fiction and fantasy, it seemed a no-brainer, but I couldn’t accept that time travel was a good fit with historical fiction.
To my detriment I never sought out the book, until it was brought to life as a TV series under the ‘Outlander’ name.
I was hooked by the first episode and went straight to the shops to buy the book, and guess what…I loved it.
Yes, it’s a little outlandish and unrealistic…which is exactly why I love it.
People like me love fantasy for the same reason others hate it. It’s about escapism, adventure, possibility, magic, what ifs, why nots and it’s just a lot of fun.
I put to most avid readers out there that they actually don’t mind fantasy as much as they think they do.
For anyone of my vintage, a favourite childhood book may have been Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series, about a magical tree, magical lands and magical creatures. You can’t tell me that’s not fantasy.
 
What about traditional fairytales where geese lay golden eggs and beanstalks reach the heavens.
Now if you want to split hairs, fantasy is an enormous genre and I’m not a devoted follower of all of its variants. If I had to pinpoint my favourite sub-genre and the style I prefer to write, it’s heroic fantasy.
According to Wikipedia, “heroic fantasy often chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Frequently, the protagonist is reluctant to be a champion, and/or is of low or humble origin, may have royal ancestors or parents but does not know it. Though events are usually beyond their control, they are thrust into positions of great responsibility where their mettle is tested in a number of spiritual and physical challenges”.
I accept that not everyone likes heroic fantasy, or any fantasy fiction for that matter, but I’m convinced that many more people do, and just don’t know it, or are unwilling to admit it.
So next time someone says: “I don’t like fantasy”, I’ll just smile and resist the urge to say “Really?!”. After all it’s their loss if they don’t want to live in a magical world where anything can happen…and it does.
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How to master your social media in 2015

Kylie Fennell
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net


Any blog post I have written about social media has always been popular. This popularity is for good reason – it’s a highly effective tool for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) but it also can seem a little overwhelming.
I have written previous posts on the importance of having a social media presence and what social media platforms are best for your target market, as well as how to create valuable content.
Here I wanted to give you updates on some of the latest research on social media in Australia coming from the Yellow Pages Social Media Report 2014.
Here is my latest overview of the main social media networks and the demographics of social media users for each network.
The most interesting finding in this report was that 38% of SMEs that used social media reported increased sales, compared to 28% of those that didn’t.
Additionally SMEs with social media were also more likely to report increases in
profitability (35% compared to 22%) and increasing employment (13% compared to 7%).
The highlights from the latest report are as follows:
  • 71% of social media users are accessing it via a smartphone
  • 49% of people are researching clothing or fashion
  • 43% are researching electrical goods
  • 29% are researching furniture homewares
  • 46% of internet users access social media every day
  • 71% of 20-29-year-old internet users access social media every day
  • 45% of social media users turned off Twitter over the last 12 months
  • 19% dropped Facebook
  • 58% of social media users are accessing it after work (around 6.30pm)
  • More than four in 10 social media users reported using social media while watching television
  • News and current affairs was most popular genre for social networking while watching TV, followed by dramas
  • Almost three in 10 of those that used social media while watching television reported discussing the programs on social media while they were on
  • 63% of social media users researching a product or service on social media led to a purchase
  • With 47% of the resultant purchases made online
  • 33% of social media users follow brands or businesses
  • The majority of those following brands or businesses wants discounts or giveways followed by product info
  • Overall 30% of social media users have provided online ratings in the past year
  • Online reviews are mainly for accommodation, restaurants/bars, holiday destinations, stores, movies and mobile apps
  • On average, social media users read three reviews/blogs before making a purchase decision.
So here is an updated overview of the networks and who is using each of them, as well as post ideas for a sample cat grooming and breeding business to illustrate how to use each network.
Facebook
Facebook can be likened to a journal. If you only want to be active on one social media network, Facebook is the best choice for most businesses (though this can change for some businesses depending on their industry and target market).
Users create a personal profile, add other users as friends, exchange messages and photographs and receive automatic notifications when their friends update their profiles. Businesses can create company ‘pages’ that Facebook users can ‘like’, which means they will receive notifications of any updates to the company page. Updates appear on users’ newsfeed. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organised by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics.
User demographics
  • 95% of users of social media use Facebook
  • Slightly preferred by females
  • 100% of 65+ social media users, use Facebook (they were the lowest user group in 2013)
  • Lowest user age groups are 40-49 year-olds at 92%
  • Used in metropolitan and regional areas but slightly preferred by regional.
Industry/business types
Facebook suits pretty much every type of industry and business, though fashion/clothing and sporting clubs represent the most brands/businesses followed on Facebook. It suits fast moving consumer goods.
How to use it
Businesses need to create a Facebook ‘page’. They need to be careful they are not creating a ‘personal’ profile, as this will limit functionality and ability of any users wanting to like your page.
Aim to update it around once a day. Frequency will depend on how engaged your audience is and when they are most likely to check Facebook. You can get a feel for the best times to post by checking your engagement statistics available via Facebook’s built-in analytics (it appears on the Admin panel on Facebook Pages).
The cat post
Here is a happy snap of my cat; Here is a picture of a cat groomed for cat show; Here is a touching story about a cat who saved his owner from a house fire; Here is a link to a funny cat video; Here is a funny cat picture; One day only 50% off voucher on cat products at our store
Twitter
Twitter users share ‘tweets’ or updates/comments/insights or links to other web content in 140 characters or less. You can also upload photos. It is immediate, real time news and opinions.
Users can follow other users if they want to be notified of updates in their Twitter feed. Users can ‘retweet’ content they like.
Hashtags are used to categorise content using keywords or trending topics.
User demographics
  • 19.5% of users of social media use Twitter
  • Preferred by males (25% males vs 14% females)
  • Majority of users aged 20-64 (20-29 is the largest user group followed by 30-39)
  • Predominately used in metropolitan areas
  • Twitter is very popular with celebrities, politicians and big brands. It can suit most businesses and industries as long as they are prepared to stay active on it.
How to use it
Due to the immediacy of twitter, prolific users may update several times a day or several times an hour. Brands that want to appear at the top of a newsfeed may re-post the same content over and over again. It is much better to tweak any content before re-posting. Try and establish when the best time of day for your business is to tweet. Do this by checking when people are engaging the most with your content.
Use hashtags for popular topics or trends but don’t overuse them.
The cat post
#my cat; link to newstory about cat that saves owner from burning house; funny quote about cats; short comment and/or link to laws requiring cats to be registered with local council; comment on cat story on #Bondi Vet TV show
LinkedIn
In many ways LinkedIn can be likened to an online resume. Users create a personal profile listing their current and past jobs, experience, skills and achievements. You ‘connect’ with other users and can endorse users for particular skills. You can also recommend or give a testimonial for users. Businesses can create company pages that other users can follow. You can also join groups where topics can be posted and you can join the discussion. Many jobs are posted on LinkedIn and companies have been known to recruit via LinkedIn by searching for users with particular experience or skills sets.
User demographics
  • 24.5% of users of social media use LinkedIn
  • Preferred by males (28% vs 21%)
  • Largely higher educated and higher income users
  • Majority of users aged 20-64 (30-39 is the largest user group)
  • Predominately used in metropolitan areas.
Industry/business types
Predominately used by white-collar professionals. It is an important tool for any business that relies heavily on networking, business-to-business and cross-industry contacts.
How to use it
Ensure your personal profile and company page are kept up-to-date at all times. Endorse the skills of ‘connections’ with the hope they will endorse you back. Post updates such as links to relevant industry news, reposts to other people’s content or you own comments. Nominate topics for discussion and participate in discussion where you can add value. You want to be perceived as being an expert in your field.
Post updates on average 1-3 times a week. Don’t overdo your posts as you don’t want to clog up your connections inbox; many of your connections are likely to be very, very busy people.
Only make connections with people who you genuinely want to connect with. It should be a mutually beneficial connection. Don’t just connect with strangers to boost your connection number.
The cat post
My skills include: grooming cats, animal welfare, breeding cats; Join a cat breeding association group and participate in discussions; Follow relevant industry company pages; Here is a link to a story on requirements for cat registration.
Instagram
Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 16:9 aspect ratio now typically used by mobile device cameras. Users are also able to record and share short videos lasting for up to 15 seconds.
The service was acquired by Facebook in April 2012. 
User demographics
  • 21% of users of social media use Instagram
  • Preferred by females (30% vs 12%)
  • Most heavily used by under 30s
  • By far the majority of users are aged 14-29 (14-19 is the largest user group at 53%)
  • Use is spread almost equally across metropolitan and regional areas.
Industry/business types
As a visually based tool it is best used for creative industries or businesses that can provide interesting visuals. If your target market is 29 or under, particularly under 20 but you are not in a creative industry, you would benefit from creating visual opportunities in your work to engage this audience.
How to use it
The beauty of Instagram is that you don’t need brilliant, or professional images to make an impact, as you can use one of its many filters to spruce up an image. Take photos of visually interesting or entertaining items or people; showcase your products, clients, business or items related to your industry or interests.
If your industry is suited to this visual platform, aim to post images to your Instagram account or share on other platforms around once a day. However take your cues from your followers, as to how often they are engaging with the images. If your Instagram account is not your primary social media account you may like to use it less often, even once a week.
The cat post
Here is an arty vintage-style pic of me and my cat.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests and hobbies. Users can browse or follow other pinboards for images, ‘re-pin’ images to their own pinboards, or like photos.
User demographics
  • 11.5% of users of social media use Pinterest. Usage is growing rapidly (it was only 6% in 2013).
  • Especially popular among women and mums (17% of female social media users compared to 6% of males)
  • The majority of users are aged 20-64 (20-29 is the largest user group followed by 30-49)*
  • Used two times more in metropolitan areas compared to regional.
Industry/business types
As a visually based tool it is best used for creative industries or businesses that can provide interesting visuals. If your target market is women but you are not in a creative industry, you would benefit from creating visual opportunities in your work to engage this audience.
The most popular categories are food and drink, DIY and crafts, women’s apparel and fashion, home décor and travel. Where possible it’s a great idea to include price on any products you feature.
How to use it
The focus is on beautiful images (mainly of things. People are not usually the focus of the images). Take photos of visually interesting or entertaining items; showcase your products or items related to your industry or interests.
If your industry is suited to this visual platform, aim to post images to your Pinterest account or share on other platforms around once a day. However take your cues from your followers, as to how often they are engaging with the images. If your Pinterest account is not your primary social media account you may like to use it less often, even once a week.
The cat post
A collection of my favourite cat images and cat products.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos. Video content includes video clips, TV clips, and music videos, and amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, instructional and educational videos. There are also dedicated YouTube channels, which can be free to access or available via online subscriptions.
User demographics
  • 48.7 million users as at February 2013
  • >880 million users globally, >10 million Australian users (as at 2012)
  • Usage is spread almost equally across males and females (a slight preference by men)
  • The majority of users are aged under 18 or 45-54-years-old.
Industry/business types
YouTube can suit every business/industry. Due to the popularity and viral nature of YouTube, as well as search engine optimisation benefits, every business should look for opportunities to engage in YouTube.
How to use it
Create instructional, educational or entertaining videos and upload to YouTube. You can film Q&As with a staff member or industry expert. You can film a presentation from a staff member or industry expert. You can provide video on how to use your product. Provide links on social media accounts and on your website.  Depending on your resources, aim to create a new video anywhere between once a week and once a month.
The cat post
Cat playing a piano; An instructional video on how to groom a cat.
Google+
Google+ is a social networking service from Google. The idea is pretty similar to other social networking services, though Google+ aims to allow more transparency in who you share with and how you interact. It also integrates all Google services and displays a new Google+ menu bar on other Google services when you’re logged into a Google account.
Google+ also incorporates components such as Circles and Hangouts. Circles are personalised social circles based on work or personal interests. You can choose more easily what you want to share with who. Google+ users can also make public feeds visible to everyone (even those without accounts) and open to comments from other Google+ users. Hangouts allows you to signal availability for video chat and instant messaging. It also allows for group chats.
User demographics
  • 20% of users of social media have a Google+ account
  • Almost equal use by males and females
  • Growing in popularity in younger age groups. The majority of users are 14-19
  • Use is spread almost equally across metropolitan and regional areas.
Industry/business types
It can be used effectively by any industry or business type. While many businesses don’t use all of the features and post that regularly on this platform, it’s worth the effort from a search engine optimisation point of view.
How to use it
Post and share interesting content, join communities, create circles and host hangouts. Aim to update it around once a day. Frequency will depend on how engaged your audience is.
The cat post
Host a hangout with other cat breeders; Join a cat breeders community.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a photo messaging application where users take photographs or video ‘snaps’ and set a time limit for how long recipient or group of recipients can view their snaps. After the time limit, the snap will be deleted from the recipient’s device and Snapchat’s servers.
It has received some bad press for it association with users sending inappropriate pictures. However many businesses are embracing it as a valid social media tool, especially for younger demographics.
User demographics
  • 16% of social media users have a Snapchat account
  • The main demographic is 14-19 years of age, followed by 20-29-years-old
  • 0% of 50+ social media users had a Snapchat account
  • Preferred by females
  • Slight preference in regional areas.
Industry/business types
This is most suited to industries or businesses that have a teenager or young adult target market. It is extremely popular with younger audiences wanting to share pics and videos with family and friends and not have those images come back to haunt them later.
How to use it
Snapchat offers a sense of urgency, which is appealing to brands and marketers. It can be used to announce contests, offer exclusive or immediate giveaways or discounts, offer a sneak peek at a product or behind the scenes images.
The cat post
Limited time offer to get 50% off cat grooming services.
Other social networks
There are literally hundreds of different social networks to choose from that may be appropriate for your business. Some are industry specific or for niche interests. Some of them may be industry or business directories, such as TrueLocal, that allow for user reviews.
Here are some other popular networks or sites.
  • Tumblr is a microblogging platform particularly popular with teenagers and young adults wanting to express themselves.
  • Myspace has a heavy focus on music and other creative industries.
  • Foursquare uses geolocation to share information on where you are. You can check into places and get offers from business for checking in. Popular with 35-54 year olds. Most appropriate for retail stores, bars, cafes and restaurants.
  • Yelp is a business review site with social networking features, discounts, and mobile applications. It is particularly good for bars, cafes and restaurants and other services
  • TripAdvisor is a travel website providing directory information and reviews of travel-related content. It also includes interactive travel forums. 

Find out more on how to use social media and get help to manage your social media presence from Kylie Fennell .

Top 5 sci-fi and fantasy couples

Kylie Fennell
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day this week, I wanted to go with my top 5 couples of sci-fi and fantasy.
1. Han Solo and Princess Leia, Star Wars
So yeah, a little predictable, but I’m a sucker for this love-hate relationship. One of my favourite lines from Han Solo:
‘Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, princess. I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money’
2. Princess Buttercup & Westley, The Princess Bride
Westley is pathetically devoted to his long lost love Buttercup, but who could help but fall for his charms when he responds to your every request with: ‘As you wish’.
3. Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo, Game of Thrones
So they had a rocky start with that child-bride arranged marriage to a savage thing, but it didn’t take long for animalistic love to bloom.
4. Arwen and Aragorn, Lord of the Rings
A devastatingly dark and mysterious mortal falls for an immortal Elf. It could have been a little Romeo and Juliet doomed but true love won through in the end.
5. Madmartigan and Sorsha, Willow
Reckless, disgraced and disheveled, Madmartigan becomes smitten by a fairy spell and declares his love for Sorsha, who he hates.
He has no recollection of his love declaration and when questioned cries out in complete disgust and shock: ‘I don’t love her, she kicked me in the face!’
Shame it didn’t work out in real life for this once-were married couple.

So go ahead and celebrate this Valentine’s Day with a movie marathon featuring my favourite couples.
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Why less is sometimes more

Kylie Fennell

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a marketer, you’d probably be familiar with the 4Ps of Product, Price, Placement and Promotion (which sometimes are 5Ps or even 6Ps – just to confuse things).

That is exactly what I want to talk about today. One of the Ps – Product and specifically product range and how it needs to be as least confusing as possible.

When it comes to your products, confusion is your enemy.

Choice, or too much choice, creates confusion and less choice can be more when it comes to the bottom line.

Have you ever sat down at a Chinese restaurant and pored through pages and pages of options in a state of confusion?

I don’t know about you, but it all gets a little overwhelming. The variety of choice is crippling.

Why are there so many options? What if I choose the wrong dish? How do I know what’s what? What if the person next to me chooses something better? I might miss out on something better…and so on.

In a restaurant situation, while you may be tempted to get up and walk out in fear of making the wrong choice, you usually end up staying and picking the easiest choice or something you’re already familiar with. The experience does usually fall a little flat though because you always wonder ‘what if’ and you end up with a serious case of food envy.

In retail, the customer often does walk away confused and disappointed due to too much choice.

The facts are you can’t be everything to everyone. You have a target market for a reason. Trying to please everyone inevitably pleases no one.

You don’t believe me?

Marketing guru and bestselling author, Martin Lindstrom in his book, Brandwashed, explains the phenomenon. He writes:

“When it comes to shopping, less is always more…we are paralysed by the fear of making a wrong, and expensive choice.”

In an experiment Lindstrom gave a dozen people two options: they could choose a chocolate from a box that contained 30 different types of chocolates, or they could pick one from a box that contained only six varieties.

The vast majority of people chose to select from the box containing only six choices. “The fewer choices and selections we face, the more likely we are to pick up, and buy, something.”

At a bookstore he convinced management to remove all but one of its 7-8 display tables that usually have up to 40 different titles on them. Instead they only displayed a dozen or so book titles, yet overall sales revenue increased within a week.

Lindstrom attributed the increase in sales to the fact that when buyers didn’t need to deal with all of those choices, they were more likely to make a purchase.

The enemy is choice but sometimes it can also be the feeling of non-exclusivity.

Imagine you’re in your favourite fashion store and there is a shirt you really like, but there are 10 of them in your size on display.

You start thinking: “well maybe that shirt isn’t that special? How many people will be walking around in the same shirt as me? There’s plenty there, I’ll go away and have a think about it first, it’s not like they’re going to sell out.”

Now imagine if instead there is only one shirt in your size on display. All of a sudden there is a feeling of exclusivity, a fear you may miss out, pressure and a deadline to buy.

You can see where I’m going. Less choice and limited availability are your friends.

Whether you’re selling products or services, if you’re a small to medium business keep your product range as simple and streamlined as possible. Test and identify what the sweet spot is when it comes to display stock and product range – how much works best for you? Can you create a feeling of exclusivity and a limited time offer for your buyers?

Hopefully less choice and time will result in more sales. There may even be the added benefits of bigger profit margins if you can reduce your inventory and avoid overstocking.

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And the prize goes to…first readers

Kylie Fennell
“I have homework.” My son greeted me outside his classroom yesterday. No “Hello mum”, just “I have homework”.
Sounds about right? Well, yes and no.
My son is four-years-old. He started school this week – a very big milestone for our household.
The prospect of trying to get Master Four to sit still for more than a nanosecond and focus on homework made me shudder.
Did I mention he is four?
Anyway, my horror subsided when he pointed out that his homework was to read his ‘book’.
Master Four proudly held up said book; a stapled four-page booklet with coloured in pictures and accompanying words that he had carefully traced.
The book went like this:
“I am a boy. I am a girl. I am a dog. I am a snake.”
Hey not exactly Man Booker Prize material, but it’s pretty darn cool when your son reads to you with a level of enthusiasm and pride that I immediately matched.
It reminded me of just how truly magical reading is and why I want to write.
On days like this when I’m juggling school drop-offs and pick-ups, my “day job”, updating blog posts, organising lunches and dinners, and everything else that pops up in between, the last thing I feel like doing is sitting down to write or edit.
Or more accurately, I might want to, but my brain is so fried that the words just don’t seem to come together.
On days like this, coming up with “I am a boy. I am a girl. I am a dog. I am a snake” would be something worth celebrating.
Fortunately, every day isn’t like this. There are magic moments when you realise your son is ‘reading’ for the first time.
I want more of those moments. I want to create moments of magic for others when they read my books.
So while today my fingers are so heavy with fatigue they threaten to collapse on the keyboard, tomorrow the magic will be back.
In the meantime I’ll just have to settle for:  “I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a businesswoman. AND. I am a writer.”
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