Sales & Marketing Consultant, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

With Remembrance Day come and gone for another year, it was fantastic to hear that this year’s Poppy Appeal had set a target of raising £40 million for our service men and women who are currently serving abroad, as well as for the veterans of past conflicts and their families.

Last year the appeal raised £36 million but this year organisers are hoping to smash this record by applying some very modern techniques to help boost the Poppy Appeal tradition.

To mark the 90^th anniversary of the Poppy Appeal, the charity has moved full throttle into the modern age of online interaction and are hoping to appeal to younger generations through their involvement with social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

The Royal British Legion, who are behind the Poppy Appeal, have this year decided to enhance their traditional campaign of selling poppies in places such as big shopping centres and on the streets of our towns and cities, by moving online into the virtual world in an attempt to raise more money and awareness for the cause than ever before.

Supporters can now purchase their poppies online by logging on to the RBL’s interactive forum “Shoulder To Shoulder”, uploading a photo of themselves to the site, purchasing a virtual poppy to pin to their picture and adding a special message to their image. This option seems to have really appealed to the public, as the site has had nearly 18,500 pictures uploaded of people with their virtual poppies to date .

The public can now purchase downloadable Poppy Appeal wallpapers for their computers and add support buttons to their websites which link back to the RBL Poppy Appeal homepage. 

The RBL has also taken their Poppy Appeal into the realm of social media and now have a Facebook page, a Twitter feed and a Youtube channel where supporters can gain to-the-minute updates on the campaign and share and contribute with each other in this online space. The campaign is even fronted by a virtual blogger called Poppy, who is the face of the appeal online and posts regular blog articles to the “Legion Live” forum for supporters to read, share and contribute to. 

With over 11,300 Facebook likes, nearly 12,000 Twitter followers and well over 520,000 views of their videos on Youtube it seems like the campaign has taken on a whole new lease of life. Although official figures for the total amount raised by this year’s Poppy Appeal have yet to be confirmed, it is obvious to see what a huge impact this first outreach via social media and other online platforms has made to the campaign.

It’s great to see such a well-established and long-serving organisation as the RBL looking to more modern and interactive methods to engage with the public and help raise awareness and funds for their cause. Personally, I feel this really shows just how important and influential social media interaction can be when you want to get your message out there and ensure that it is heard on a massive scale. The internet and social media is the way forward, so ensure that you are not missing out on its benefits when it comes to your business’ next big campaign.  

(Image by Paul Simpson)

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Do you use Twitter?

If so, are you using it in the right way? If not, it can be the biggest waste of time ever!

And you don’t want to end up looking like a right Tweet do you?

In today’s social media frenzy world, whatever you leave on the internet sticks. When I say stick, I mean that a permanent marker and record of whatever you say remains on the internet for all to see.

So if you’re having a bad day and say something like “Just had the meeting from hell with a client” then that could potentially fall into the lap of:

A. That client!

B. Potential  clients

You need to be crystal clear about what you will and wont do on social media.

Sure, you want to come across as human but if you are using Twitter et al for business purposes then you shouldn’t bare all! So to speak!

So make sure that you Tweet right and don’t end up looking like a right Tweet!

Ok Tweeple, I’m done! Just make sure you tweet people in the right way!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

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Not too long ago I found myself doing some additional research about the benefits of social media and networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. I found some really interesting things about Twitter that I hadn’t realized before – things that could really have a huge impact on the way you market your business – especially if it is an online business. Today I’ll share two main points.

The first is that if you are a salesperson, especially a newer salesperson, your prospects may have the foresight to do a little bit of research about you individually before deciding to make a purchase. If you use your real name instead of a pseudonym when creating your Twitter account your prospects are even more likely to find you online. If you’re careful about what you post they’ll see how professional you are – and how knowledgeable you are about your product.

The second interesting fact is that Google views Twitter with high regard. They also view each individual Tweet as a separate web page when ranking them on Google. This means that ever Tweet your post is increasing the amount of content your prospects can find on the web. It works even better if you occasionally include a link back to your main company website.

The trick, of course, is making sure your Twitter account contains valuable information. If you’re spouting off random music lyrics or pieces of useless information no one will care about what you have to say. Guaranteed.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

A while back we talked about how you should be using Twitter for marketing purposes but I wanted to give those of you who weren’t already using the service a chance to check it out. In short, Twitter is a social networking tool similar to the instant message programs we have been so used to for years. The only difference is that you’re limited by what you can say in 140 characters or less.

The concept is known as microblogging, though it seems as though quite a few people are taking advantage of the concept and instead of limiting themselves simply make numerous posts one after the other. But I digress.

There are a number of ways you can use Twitter during your marketing campaigns. Today I’d like to share 5.

1. Twitter provides marketers with a way to build up a “fan base.” Not everyone who is interested in what you do or sell will make a purchase upfront but they may in the future and they’re likely to recommend you to their friends.
2. Using Twitter is a great way to build a buzz surrounding a new product or service you plan to launch. You can leak small bits of interesting information to the public before the actual release date and your niche target group will have the information they need in advance.
3. Twitter gives you another tool you can use to build your company’s brand.
4. If your company already has a formal blog Twitter will give you the tools you need to further extend its reach. You can post links to your blog updates on Twitter as well.
5. Twitter followers may appreciate special deals or discounts. You can use the fan base you’ve created to offer loyalty discounts not found elsewhere – thus increasing your sales while keeping your fans happy.

These are, of course, only a sampling of the things you can do with Twitter. They key is to ensure you are networking with people who are really interested in what you have to offer – not just people who want to build up their own “friend lists” for their own benefit. More on how to do that later!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker