Do you have an app for your business yet?

Tags

apps, digital marketing, digital media, hair salons, hairdressers, mobile apps, mobile marketing, pubs, restaurants

We have often heard the phrase ” There’s an app for that” but they are getting more popular iand n my opinion they are more effective than trying to post to the social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc etc

Any business who does not have control over when their customers walk in could use an app to ‘manage’ their customers more effectively – restaurants more effectively , pubs, hairdressers, salons, garages…

• So what can a mobile app do for your business?
• Provide all your business information on your customers phone
• Sat Nav directions straight to your salon door
• Your full service list right on their phone
• Ability to request appointments via the app
• Appointment reminders
• Send unlimited push messages directly to all your
• In built recommend a friend schemes
• In built loyalty schemes
• Galleries to showcase your work
• Plus much more (Click here to see video)

Contact us for a free demo and see what an app can do for your business…
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Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – call 07545 982838 

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MESH Tags – Wireless tags make any object a smart device…

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Cloud, Internet of Things, MESH tags, Wireless tags

MESH Tags enable users to assign tasks to household items, making conventional objects smart and connected.

The rapid growth of the internet of things has brought a host of connected devices into today’s homes. Fromsmart home systems which operate through facial recognition to a cloud-connected keyboard, users are accustomed to a range of smart devices at their fingertips. Most objects remain unconnected though, and it can be tedious to switch between automatic and manual tasks. MESH aims to change that, enabling any object to become smart.

The MESH kit consists of a set of wireless tags and an accompanying app for programming them. Users simply place the Tag on an everyday object, and use the app to assign it certain tasks. Put an acceleration-tracking Tag on the front door to program it to turn on lights in the house when moved; set an alarm on the phone and use a Tag as a physical snooze button, anywhere in the house; set a Tag to monitor conversation in a room and adjust the volume of music accordingly. What’s more, the tags can work together to form more complicated tasks, such as watering a pot plant from across the room – read more Springwise

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Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work – call 07545 982838 

Ideas for Digital Marketing & Social Media ? … David Vane

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digital marketing, e-marketing, innovation, innovative ideas, internet marketing, online marketing tools

I have not been here for a while (other projects took priority) but now I am back! So what has been happening and what is the forecast for this year for social media and on line marketing? There are new platforms coming out almost every day and it is making it even more difficult to decide which ones to use!

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are still the main platforms for most small and medium sized businesses with a question mark over Google+ and some people moving to Instagram and Pinterest.

I hope to get back to some regular posts from my favourite blog Social Media Manager meanwhile we are still offering help with your social media management with Social Media Connect
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Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – call 07545 982838 

SlideShare as a social media marketing tool??

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e-marketing, innovative ideas, marketing agency, marketing strategy, presentations, Slideshare, Social media

Are you using SlideShare as a social media marketing option? Have you considered SlideShare as a conversion tool?SlideShare is useful for sharing highly informative presentations with your audience, but it’s also a hot social platform. Many businesses are missing out on the huge potential of SlideShare as a social marketing and lead conversion tool.

LinkedIn owns SlideShare, which means the platforms work seamlessly together. By participating on SlideShare, you have an important connection with the biggest professional social media platform. If you want to show your expertise in your industry and become a thought leader, the LinkedIn/SlideShare combination is an undeniable powerhouse. read more…

Here are some of my recent Slideshares – “Creating your web site“, “Promoting your web site“, “Making the most of using your Smartphone”  …
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Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Check out our Social Media Connect to help you to use social media Call 07545 982838 

Social Media predictions for 2015 …

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facebook, Social media, social media connect, social media marketing, worksmarter, workzmarter

So with the ‘noise ‘ of Christmas out of the way and everyone looking forward to 2015 what is going to happen with social media this year? This is an area that has been growing and changing rapidly in 2014 and it does not look as if this will change this year.

There were some new platforms out towards the end of last year – www.streetlife.com for local communities, ‘TSU‘ – a new social media platform and ‘ello’ and that’s just the ones that I found!

 

There is some talk about Google + closing due to the lack of engagement from the social media community. I am not surprised as I had found it quite difficult to use although Google hangouts have been very useful but you can use them even if you don’t have a Google account now. It will be interesting to see what Google bring out next!

I believe that we shall see a lot of people moving in to blogging this year. Once you get used to the routine you can use your blog to spread the word and engage with people on many different platforms.We created Social Media Connect in 2013 to help people to broadcast their thoughts so perhaps to will take off this year.

We are running a series of courses this year about blogging, social media and the other misunderstood item newsletters. If you are interested please contact courses@workzmarter.com

Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Check out our Social Media Connect to help you to use social media Call 07545 982838 

Social Media Marketing Trends for 2014…

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e-marketing, forecast, internet marketing, marketing, Social media, workzmarter

Prediction #1: Investment in Social Media will Become a Necessity, not a Luxury

With 92% of business owners recently indicating that social media is important to their business (up from 86% in 2013), this prediction appears to be on track. Businesses are continuing to re-allocate budgets away from traditional methods of advertising towards social media and other inbound marketing strategies.

A major concern among business owners remains measuring the ROI for their social media efforts. Other issues that may be hindering the effectiveness of social media for some businesses include a lack of education and trained personnel – making it difficult to efficiently carry out day-to-day social media tasks (never mind strategizing or tying social media into wider business goals). read more…forbes

Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Check out our Social Media Connect to help you to use social media Call 07545 982838 

Social media tip – Know your business

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facebook, internet marketing, marketing strategy, new ideas, online marketing, Social media, worksmarter, workzmarter

Know Your Business

One of the keys to a successful social media marketing platform is knowing your

Workzmarter not harder

own business. A large corporation is going to have needs and attributes which require a very different approach to social media marketing than a small, local business will need to be successful.

Play to your strengths—if you’re a larger company, focus on using social media to connect with a larger audience in order to get national exposure for your brand and products. If you’re a small, local business, use social media to build a dedicated, loyal customer base by offering the personal touch that only a local business can provide.

If your business has a product or service that is primarily used or  purchased by other businesses, use social media to network with other businesses in order to increase your visibility in the commercial marketplace. If your business offers a product or service which is primarily used or purchased by individual consumers, aim to use social media as a way to develop a pool of customers who see your brand as quality, hip, and available.

No matter the size or nature of your business, a knowledge of your company’s strengths, target market, and product or service niche is an essential part of any successful social media marketing platform.

Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Check out our Social Media Connect to help you to use social media Call 07545 982838 or email enquiries@workzmarter.com

MS Office 365 – useful or another fad? What do you think?

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cloud computing, clound, collaborate to innovate, innovation, innovative ideas, MS Office 365, online collaboration, small business, workzmarter

I have always been a  keen user of MS Office and have enjoyed the comfort of using Outlook to manage my days and the joy of now using icloud to connect Calendar, Contacts to my ipad and iphone! No more copying.

“If you’re a small business or startup, Microsoft Office 365 should be on your technology shortlist. It’s a cloud-based suite based on the world’s most popular office software that launched in late June. It will likely get small businesses and enterprises to start considering cloud software solutions if they haven’t already. Microsoft also hopes this offering can edge into the space Google Apps has had to itself for several years.

After testing the suite’s small business tools for several weeks, I’m convinced that it’s a strong option for small businesses, startups, and enterprises. It’s possibly even better for small companies than Google Apps. With a promise of 99.9% uptime, generally reasonable pricing, a deep list of features, and rich cross-application compatibility, I can see many businesses wanting to use Office 365.

Opinions are mixed on just how useful the Office 365 will be to small businesses and nimble startups. Our own Matthew Lynley made the case that startups with young personnel that grew up with social networking won’t see Office 365 as the ideal solution for them. But frequent VentureBeat columnist Peter Yared argued that Office 365 will clobber Google Apps and similar cloud software options because it has familiarity and considerably more features.”  read more  – http://venturebeat.com/2011/07/29/hands-on-review-microsoft-office-365/

So has anyone any experience of using 365? Is it really the one fo the future or is Google APps still a strong contenter? And what about Windows 8 and how will that work with all of this?

Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Call 02380 768495 or email enquiries@workzmarter.com

Start-up Spouses Keep Britain in Business…

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entrepreneurs, innovative ideas, SHAB, small business SMM, Small business support, spouses in business., Start up business, start up support, Start up wives and girlfriends, SWAG, virtual assistance, virtual assistants, virtual book keeping, Virtual PA, workzmarter

“More than two-thirds of small business owners rely on partners for practical, unpaid support”  – Simply Business

– 48 per cent of spouses help partners when they should be doing their own job
– 52 per cent of small business owners would not be able run business without spousal support

Entrepreneurs may be the backbone of the UK economy, but new research reveals

Men & Women support their spouse’s businesses – the equally vital role being played by their partners – with the wives, girlfriends, husbands and boyfriends of Britain’s small business owners contributing an estimated £8.8 billion to the nation each year.

According to a survey by Simply Business, the UK’s largest business insurance provider, more than two thirds (64 per cent) of small business owners call upon partners for unpaid practical support, such as admin, DIY, accounts and customer liaison.
Coined ‘SWAGs’ (start-up wives and girlfriends), and ‘SHABs’ (start-up husbands and boyfriends), these unsung heroes work an average of 6.5 hours per week for their partner’s business, with a significant 14 per cent working more than 20 hours, equating to almost half the hours of an average full time position.
The majority of SWAGs and SHABs (67 per cent) do so while holding down a full time job and almost half (48 per cent) admitted helping when they should be at work themselves.  Read more...

Does your spouse support your business and what sort of problems or benefits does this provide?  Have you ever thought about using a Virtual Assistant?

Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Call 02380 768495 or email enquiries@workzmarter.com

Workzmarter shortlisted for Logica Sustainable Stories…

Tags

back office servcies, innovation, innovative ideas, outsourced, outsourced servcies, small business, work together, workzmarter

Logica launched the Sustainability Stories competition 3 months ago to find the one project that they could help with €20,000 worth of consulting. They believe that the path to the future is through innovating now, so they set up www.sustainability-stories dedicated to projects from around the world. They had 73 competition entries for their judges (Vodafone, University College of London, Microsoft, GreenMonk, the Club of Budapest and Logica) to assess.

The winner was  GreenRiders, a Finnish company that facilitates the sharing of transport but  the judges were also really impressed with the two runners-up – Nudge from the Netherlands which takes citizen-driven ideas to help drive sustainability, and UK’s Workzmarter which uses technology to assist people, like mothers or the disabled, work from home. We’ll be telling you more about their work in our next couple of blogs so keep tuning in.  Read the full press release here

Workzmarter (then called 7×7) won two awards from SEEDA for best use of teleworkers in 2005 and 2006 but the competition form overseas call centers made it difficult to compete.

“We have always liked the idea of teams of virtual assistants working from home, using the technology and providing back office services to small businesses” says Carolyn Fujii, Operations Director  ” But we have to change the attitude of small business owners who try to do it all themselves and not consider outsourcing their support work. It works very well and helps to employ people who may not otherwise be able to engage in business. Our VAs were very hard working and professional.”  So watch out for the the rise of Virtual Assistants – 247virtualoffice.co.uk

Workzmarter provide a range of business services to help you to work more effectively – from training and coaching you to providing virtual assistants to do the work for you – Call 02380 768495 or email enquiries@workzmarter.com