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The new norm - helping each other for continuous business success.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that we can break down the barriers that separate us from each other, and we can do this in business too.   Now more than ever we are relying on each other to share knowledge and resources and start working together to ensure future business success. The number of businesses we have seen creating and sharing free resources for the greater good over the last month is nothing short of inspiring!This new norm has the potential to breakthrough the barrier...

Supporting you and your business

As the current global situation with COVID-19 continues to affect our world, I wanted to update you on how I'm supporting my clients, partners and suppliers.  In response to COVID-19, I'm following government and public health guidelines to ensure no-one is put at unnecessary risk. As a result, I'm implementing virtual meetings where possible, cancelling any non-business critical meetings and restricting non-essential business travel. That said, Elm Marketing Solutions remains open and...

Uploading Photos to a Rocketspark Website

I've been getting quite a few website enquiries recently and one of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "How easy is it to upload a photo to a Rocketspark website?" Keeping your website updated with fresh photos and content is very important and it is sooooo easy to do with Rocketspark. This is one of the many things I love about Rocketspark websites as you don't need a degree to maintain it yourself. Check out my video tutorial below and if you have any questions, please do not h...

Adding an enquiry form to a Rocketspark website

Building online forms shouldn't have to be difficult. Why waste hours waiting for your developer to code a form for you when you can just build it yourself in minutes on Rocketspark?  Adding a standard enquiry form to a Rocketspark website can be done in a couple of clicks!  Customising your standard form is really easy too, here is a short video example of how to create an enquiry form within a Rocketspark website. Find out more about Rocketspark websites here....

Website Grid Gallery

A powerful multitool that offers a number of simple and effective website solutions. Images communicate to the brain instantly - much quicker than it takes the brain to interpret text. A beautiful image gallery can leave visitors with a strong feel for your brand. With the option to combine a number of different design elements, you can easily turn a Grid Gallery block into pop-ups or buttons that will help create a clearer customer journey on your website.For a Grid Gallery demo or fo...

Funding Available for Co Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland Businesses

September was a really busy month for us with 5 successful Rocketspark website launches! This month we've secured two more with approved funding from NBSL! If anyone would like a chat about a website or marketing project, please get in touch melanie@elmmarketingsolutions.co.uk View our portfolio HERE...

Embrace simplicity when planning your new website

We’ve found that some of the most engaging sites are actually the simplest. While it can be tempting to keep filling the page with images and text, sometimes adding too much does more harm than good. A cluttered website can be overwhelming for your visitors and might even scare them away. Focus on clear headings, vibrant images and a clean layout. Nail the basics and that’s all you’ll need. Take a look at some of our recent website designs on our PORTFOLIO page....

What is an Authentic Business & Brand?

This has come up in conversation a lot recently and anyone who knows me knows I'm passionate about building an authentic business.So what is authenticity? Simply put, being authentic means staying true to who you are, what you do and who you serve. In an environment in which more human elements matter it creates value and benefits for your followers as well as improving your business.For a brand to be considered authentic, it needs to be perceived as reliable, respectful, and real. We feel inspi...

CASTING CALL

We are looking for a Drag Queen to appear in a promotional video for a North East Cosmetic Manufacturer.Please email melanie@elmmarketingsolutions.co.uk for further detailsClosing Date: 7th June 2019...

Congratulations Bigger Picture HR!

Congratulations to Bigger Picture HR for launching their new website today!Suzanne Ashurst is the proud owner of this fantastic HR Consultancy based here in the North East. If you're in need of HR support, advice or cloud based software be sure to check out their services!Take a look at their awesome new website https://www.biggerpicturehr.co.uk/Need a new website? Get in touch for a friendly chat...

We've Gone Silver!

Designing beautiful websites with Rocketspark is what we love to do - so you can imagine our delight when we were awarded the Rocketspark Silver Design Partner status this month! We couldn't have done it without our fantastic customers!  Rocketspark websites have become a popular choice when it come to growing small businesses due to is fantastic functionality, beautiful design templates and ease of use.  Take a look at our growing portfolio which highlights some of the amazing busines...

What can you outsource to a Social Media Manager?

Social media is more than just posting a few messages to Twitter and Facebook when you happen to feel like it. Here are a few tasks an external social media manager could take care of above and beyond simply posting messages: Social media strategy – including posting frequency, types of content, keyword research, influencer research etc;Set-up and branding of new or existing social profiles – consistent branding and voice across all your channels is crucial;Sharing and commenting on third-pa...

5 Useful Tips to Help Small Business Owners Save Time and Increase Productivity.

Small business owners often have no option but to do everything themselves and this means working long hours. Take a look at these five easy ways you can save time, increase productivity and reduce your stress levels!PlanSet aside some time to plan the week ahead. Research shows that setting aside 1 hour per week to plan ahead can save you up to 10 hours of doing! Planning your schedule helps you prioritise, manage goals and client expectations as well as reducing stress. When planning your wee...

How to schedule a post on your Facebook Business Page

Over the past few weeks I've been asked a number of times if you can schedule posts on your Facebook business page.  Rather than typing up a "how to" guide I thought I'd do a tutorial to guide you through the steps....

How to schedule a post on Twitter

Using Twitter for business is a great way to increase brand awareness, connect with your customers and networking.  If you have a Twitter account you will know that you can tweet in real time but you can't schedule a tweet in advance unless you use twitter ads which costs you money!Updating and maintaining your Twitter feed is rather time consuming but you can plan your Tweets in advance using a social media management platform such as SproutSocial, Tweetdeck and Hootsuite.  This video...

We've gone Bronze!

Being a design partner for Rocketspark websites is a truly amazing job. We love what we do and it shows in our work. Earlier this year we announced our Design Partner status with Rocketspark and we received this for our hard work and design partner training. This month we are thrilled to announce that we have moved to Bronze Partner status which demonstrates our commitment to creating beautiful websites for our clients. I know all of our clients are thrilled with their website functionality an...

Facebook Marketing for Beginners

Facebook is the largest social network in the world, it has more than 1.5 billion monthly active users worldwide. The UK makes up 31 million of those users, with 60% of the population having a Facebook account. With such a large user base, ignoring Facebook really isn't an option for business owners. You can bet your ideal customers are using Facebook almost every day BUT how do you target all of those users with your marketing? Facebook Pages A Facebook page is a great free marketing tool...

Outstanding customer service needs to be part of your marketing strategy.

Customer service and marketing are usually two distinct and very different departments within an organisation. However, smart business owners are realising that in this day and age of social media and online reviews customer service and marketing go hand in hand. ...

Healthy Cost-Effective Marketing.

Marketing tools are more accessible and more affordable than ever for small businesses these days. However, any marketing activity takes time and, for the small business owner, time is money. There are many ways to do-it-yourself when it comes to marketing your business. However, cost-effective marketing is about testing, fine-tuning and getting a healthy measurable return on the time and money you invest. It's tempting, when you don't have a lot of budget for marketing, to simply try things...

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

By Melanie Cant, Elm Marketing Solutions. A few clients have approached me recently asking about Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and if I had any recommendations. There are many CRM systems available on the market these days and they all have their advantages. However, after using quite a few over the past 20 years I have to say that I love Capsule CRM. ...

Free small business marketing ideas.

By Melanie Cant, Elm Marketing Solutions. When you are a new start-up or a small business you often don't have a huge budget to spend on marketing. So, as a starting point we frequently find other ways to empower prospects and clients by offering our expertise in the form of free marketing ideas without any obligation. Here are a few of our top marketing ideas that you can do now, and they are free! 1. Promote your business through your email signature. Your email signature is a great pl...

9 Reasons Why SME's are turning to Live Chat for Lead Generation

The problem with most websites is that many customers cannot find the information and answers they are looking for in a timely manner so they leave and go to a competitors website. Instead of letting hard earned website visitors just click away, many businesses have been adding live chat support. It is a tactic that many larger companies have been using for years, now SME's throughout the UK are seeing the benefits, both to their customers and to their bottom line. Here are the 9 amazing reaso...

Rocketspark: Beautifully simple websites

Starting a new business is both exciting and rewarding, but getting your message in front of potential customers and persuading them to buy is a challenge. There are hundreds of tools and techniques you can use to promote your business but the challenge is to get the largest potential audience with the least cost and to get the best results. As a small business owner you probably think you can't afford a professional website, but you can't afford NOT to. Although the cost of designing a websit...