You may have noticed that Facebook business pages are undergoing a bit of a facelift at the moment. Just like the normal public profiles, the hotly anticipated timeline feature is spreading to business pages offering you the opportunity to share even more with your customers. So what do you need to know about the latest Facebook upgrade?

Layout

The layout of the Facebook page has changed to offer a more in depth view that even covers the history of the business. Highlight key moments and milestones such as the day the company formed or a major product launch by pinning them to specific dates.
The page also looks very different to the original format and is designed to be even more engaging and well….social! Important pieces of content can be ‘pinned’ to the top of the page and even highlighted so that it really stands out.

Cover Story

One of the most striking changes is the cover photo, a fantastic new tool for businesses really looking to make their business stand out. The cover photo is a prominent image that is displayed across the top of the Facebook page and is the ideal place to display your logo, products or even create a specially made artistic image to really showcase your brand’s personality!

Behind the Scenes

Another great feature that has been introduced by Facebook is the admin panel, a tool bar that displays handy information and notifications in one place. Previously users would have to navigate to a separate page on the profile to read new messages however the new style profile ensures that you can respond directly without leaving your page. The admin panel also displays your Facebook insights and performance data in a handy chart form.

Although the new page structure will not go fully live until the 30th March, businesses can opt to make the switch early or simply preview what their profile will look like right now. It’s a great chance to get ahead of the game or test drive some ideas for effective cover photos!

It’s all well and good offering discounts and announcing sales to entice customers to your door, but if your online details are incorrect, just whose door will your customers end up at? The rise of online directories has unsurprisingly coincided with the decline in print directory usage, with more people choosing to hide their bulky paper directories at the back of cupboard in favour of a quick internet search for a local business. One thing that IS surprising is the number of UK businesses that have yet to realise just how important it is to make sure that their details are correct and up-to-date across the web, with a staggering 40% of all online business information either incorrect or incomplete.

Appearing in the local search results is an important goal for any business; however incorrect details could result in a loss of potential business. When listing your business on a directory site it is important to remember that the devil really is in the detail. Whether you have yet to list your business, or you are planning an online spring clean, make sure you follow our top tips.

CHECK YOUR OWN WEBSITE

If you’re about to add your details to a business directory the first thing to do is make a quick pit stop at your own business website. Note down the physical address, phone number, URL and even the full name of the business. Ensuring that all directory listings contain exactly the same data is incredibly important and helps promote a business within the search engines. It is easy to make a simple typo but if that typo leads customers to 10 High Street instead of 100 High Street, it could soon prove costly!

DOUBLE CHECK ALL THE ADVERTS YOU HAVE SET UP

The shift from print to online advertising has brought with it several benefits to business, one of which is the ability to press that all important edit button to rectify a mistake. Spending money on an paper based advert is all well and good but when you realise that your phone number is missing an all important digit there’s nothing that you can do. On the other hand, a mistake made on an online listing can be swiftly rectified as long as you take the time to check and double check your listing once it is live!

KEEP CHECKING BACK

Once your online directory listings are live it is important to keep on top of them, make a note of which directories you have submitted your information to and either check yourself or allocate the responsibility to a member of staff. It is rare that all business information will stay the same forever therefore if you do move premises or switch phone numbers, make sure you make the necessary changes as soon as you can. If you don’t have the time to keep track of all of your directory listings NetTrackz is a fantastic way to view and amend all of your listings in one place.

GET SOCIAL

The rise of social media is also playing an important role in making sure that your online directory presence is as strong as possible. If you spend a lot of time tweeting and sharing information on Facebook make sure you check to see if any of your online directory listings include a space to post your profile URL or username. Scoot offers a handy social tab that provides customers with an up-to-date Twitter feed and a Facebook profile view.

Online directories are already proving to be a valuable starting point for anyone looking to search the web for a local business, and are fast becoming a vital asset for small business owners wishing to increase their web presence. With 96% of business owners agreeing that 2012 will see print directory usage among under 50’s plummet to zero*, what better time to get a head start with its online counterpart?

For more information on how to get the most out of online directories why not follow Scoot on Twitter for daily news, hints and tips?

*Touch Local Business Poll 2011

Here at Scoot we work hard to make sure that we can give UK business owners exactly what they need, but we can’t do it alone. Over the last year our partner site Touch Local has been conducted surveys to find out what UK SME’s think about the issues that affect them. From the social media revolution to the relegation of print directories to the back of kitchen cupboards, the polls have provided us with an invaluable insight into the world of UK SME’s.

Did you know?

UK SME’s are one of the major driving forces of the British economy, employing around 14 million people and responsible for nearly half of the total private sector turnover.

Given the important role that the small business community plays, it is vital that business owners have the opportunity to voice their options and share their views on the UK economy. The weekly polls ensured that we were always on top of the major issues and developments in business and economy that affect UK SME’s. The poll results were recently published by Touch Local in their annual report 2011 Local Business Overview and the Road Ahead which provides an in depth summary of the information shared by thousands of small business owners throughout the year. Along with the poll findings, the report also covers the major events that played a significant part in the 2011 business year such as the VAT increase and Budget 2011.

One of the main features of the report is the advertising trends of 2011. The year saw print advertising take a sharp decline and social media rise up to become a valuable asset for businesses, allowing UK SME’s to connect with their customers in a way they never had before.

Did you know?

95% of UK business owners believe that usage of print directories amount people under 50 years of age will drop to zero in 2012

One of the highlights of the report is a survey that Touch Local conducted with over 1,000 UK businesses owners, asking them how they felt about the coming year including how they expect their business to grow in 2012.

Read the full Touch Local Annual Report here

It’s safe to say that paper business directories are still proving their worth across the UK. Can’t reach the tops of those dusty kitchen shelves? Simply stand on top of a directory and hey presto, dust be gone! Can’t bring yourself to pick up that spider that’s been tormenting the household for a week? Your paper directory just became your number one weapon. There are countless other ways for people to really get the most out of these once invaluable marketing sources but unfortunately quickly searching for a local business just isn’t one of them.

The decline of print directory usage is in stark contrast to the rise of online directories. In today’s world people want instant information and with more people finding themselves attached to a monitor or mobile phone screen, the internet is the most popular place to find it. As well as being a quicker and more efficient way of searching for a local product or service, online directories provide businesses themselves with a clearer view of their return on investment. It’s almost impossible for a business to find out just how many people have viewed their advert in a magazine or newspaper however an internet campaign enables advertisers to track and measure the success of their ad.
Time and money aside, think about how many chunky directories you have had squeezed through your letterbox or left behind your plant pot over the years. Here is what the print of 75 million phonebooks in the UK costs:

• 680,000 barrels of oil (not including the wasted petrol used for their delivery)
• 2 billion litres of water
• Enough energy to power 112,000 3 bedroom houses for one year

If you have already spent part of your marketing budget on print media advertising do not despair! We’ve decided to make sure that businesses finally get something out of their print media advertising by holiday our first advert amnesty. Simply find your advert in a paper directory, newspaper or magazine, take a picture of it and send it to us via email, Facebook or Twitter. If you prefer you can even rip out your advert and post it to us! In return we will send you a voucher for £50 worth of Scoot advertising*, as one of the leading UK directories Scoot is the perfect platform to really make sure your business gets the attention it deserves!

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Email: Kathryn@scoot.co.uk

Post:
Scoot Marketing
Scoot House
19 Falcon Court
Preston Farm Industrial Estate
Stockton-On-Tees
Cleveland
TS18 3TU

*Voucher redemption is subject to a minimum spend of £100.

Over the last few weeks it has been hard to ignore the fact that iPhone fever has swept the country. After the sad news of the passing of innovative Apple CEO Steve Jobs, interest in the new Apple release sky rocketed. Apple fans were rewarded for their persistence, with many camping outside of Apple stores across the world to be one of the first to own the brand new iPhone 4s. Here at Scoot we know exactly how hard it is to try and prise an iPhone out of someone’s hand which is why we have developed the Scoot app for the iPhone and iPad, to ensure that your customers can find your business without having to take their eyes of the screen!
There’s an app for that!

Apps are designed to offer users a quick, efficient and useful service and the Scoot app is no exception. Whether on the move or just too far away from a computer, the app allows people to search for local businesses and lists contact details and a link to the business website. The app also provides users with directions to the business, so whether they are looking for a local taxi service, a great place to grab a meal or the nearest car garage, they don’t need to look too far!

With more and more people turning to the internet to search for local products and services, it is important to make sure that your business is always there to be found. Click for more information on the Scoot iPhone app

Special offers are a great way to get customers to your door but if you find that your ‘free Parker pen’ incentive just isn’t cutting it anymore, it may be time for a change. Here at Scoot we know exactly how effective a good special offer can be which is why we offer every business the chance to publish a free special offer on their listing. If you are running out of ideas as to how to entice more customers to your business, take a look at our top tips for setting up a successful special offer!

Everyone loves a freebie!
If you give something away for free you will no doubt catch the attention of bargain hungry customers; however freebies won’t necessarily help your business. This is where offers such as the traditional BOGOF (buy 1 get 1 free) come into play; a good BOGOF using a quality product will increase sales whilst allowing customers to feel that they have come away with a great value deal.

In it to win it!
Awaken the competitive spirit within your customers by launching a competition. Whether you run a small bakery or a multi million pound car dealership, a prize is a great way to grab your customer’s attention. Social media is a fantastic asset when running a competition, why not make the 100th Twitter follower your winner or get entrants to share your competition on Facebook?

Be Child friendly
Holiday companies, restaurants and hotels- take note. One of the most popular special offers for this industry is ‘children eat/fly/stay free!’ and is a great way to increase the number of families choosing you above your competitors.

Roll out the welcome mat
It’s always great to reward your existing customers but how do you go about gaining new ones? An exclusive ‘new customer’ discount is perfect for increasing your new customer levels especially if you capitalize on social media channels to publicize your deal. Whether it’s 20% off their first purchase or free delivery on their first order, everyone likes to feel that they are being welcomed with open arms.

Feeling inspired by our top tips, why not add a Special offer to your Scoot listing today?

One of the most useful forms of communication for any business is a blog. With over 1 million blog posts written every day, whether you are using your blog to announce new products, keep your customers up-to-date or to just as way to keep in touch, you are definitely not alone! More and more active internet users now read blogs and many businesses now view their blog as their most valuable form of social media. If you have yet to venture in blogging territory why not take a look at our top reasons to start typing.

1. Blogs are now viewed as a mainstream source of communication for businesses and are very search engine friendly! Maintaining a blog is one of the fastest (and cheapest) ways to increase your business’ online exposure.

2. It’s not just customers that you can reach with your blog posts. Research shows that blogs are widely read within the B2B community with even senior management team members visiting company blog sites.

3. More and more companies are replacing monthly email newsletters with regular blog posts as they are easy to create and are instantly interactive. Traditional email newsletters can suffer from low deliverability rates thanks to over cautious spam filters whereas blog posts are easily accessible and sharable!

4. Although blogs don’t tend to draw a large audience, they do attract a highly targeted readership. If your blog contains quality, informative content it will be seen as a valuable resource within your industry.

So what are you waiting for? Start communicating with your business world today!

Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date online profile can often be an arduous task for businesses however if you are looking to attract new customers, it is also a vital one! In our latest poll we asked business owners;

Do you regularly update your latest information and check your data on the internet and business search websites?

The results show that 65% of business owners do keep their business details up-to-date whereas 35% don’t check their data on a regular basis. Those that do stay on top of their online business data were asked whether or not they did this themselves or if they allocated the responsibility to another employee or an agency. A massive 89% of business owners took responsibility for updating their profiles whilst just 11% let someone else manage their data.

Business owners who did not keep up-to-date with their online information were asked just what was stopping them from maintaining an accurate online profile. Over half admitted that they just did not have the time to post their latest updates or check that their data profiles are up-to-date. 30% of business owners believed that they did not need to put any work into their online data management as it is ‘fine as it is’ whilst just 14% believe that it is just not important!

Utilising platforms such as social media and directory services enables you to keep you customers up-to-date with your latest news and information whilst also increasing brand awareness and bringing new customers to your door. With more and more people turning to the internet to search for local businesses, there has never been a better time to take control of your online presence!

]]> http://blog.scoot.co.uk/2011/10/scoot-survey-data-management/feed/ 0 http://blog.scoot.co.uk/2011/09/scoot-business-news-new-agency-worker-guidelines/ http://blog.scoot.co.uk/2011/09/scoot-business-news-new-agency-worker-guidelines/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:26:35 +0000 joanne@scoot.co.uk http://blog.scoot.co.uk/?p=486 The new agency worker rules, is your business prepared?

The new shake up of agency worker rights and regulations will come into force from the 1st October, but are you clued up on the changes? With over 1.4 million agency workers in the UK alone, it is vital that business owners know exactly what they need to be doing to comply with these new rules.
Some of the changes include;

• After 12 weeks of service in comparable work, agency workers will gain similar rights to full time members of staff, this includes pay, shift allowances, holiday pay, overtime and any bonuses not connected to individual performance.
• From the first day of employment agency workers will be able to use some of the same facilities as staff. This includes canteens, transport and childcare facilities.
• Agency staff will be entitled to any information on internal job vacancies and can apply for them.

The new regulations have been introduced after a survey of agency workers found that they were unhappy about missing out on overtime payments and holiday pay. After long negotiations between the government and unions, the new rules will hopefully create better working conditions for agency workers.

For more information on the new regulations head to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills

]]> http://blog.scoot.co.uk/2011/09/scoot-business-news-new-agency-worker-guidelines/feed/ 0 http://blog.scoot.co.uk/2011/09/scoot-survey-do-you-use-twitter-to-reach-more-customers/ http://blog.scoot.co.uk/2011/09/scoot-survey-do-you-use-twitter-to-reach-more-customers/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:07:36 +0000 joanne@scoot.co.uk http://blog.scoot.co.uk/?p=473 Twitter Poll results

Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has taken the world by storm, providing users with a platform to post information, interact with others and keep up-to-date on the latest news.  With over 200 million users as of 2011, Twitter has established itself as a valuable marketing tool for any business. This week we asked local business owners;*

Do you use Twitter to reach more customers?

The poll showed that 62% of business owners did not use Twitter as a way to reach more customers, whilst 38% were taking advantage of the site as a way to attract new customers to their business.

Of the 38% of business owners that did use Twitter to reach their customer, 90% managed their Twitter accounts themselves, with the remaining 10% either allocating time to employees or using an outside agency. When asked about any challenges they face when using Twitter, it seems that many businesses have embraced the word of tweets and retweets with 41% of business owners finding no challenges what so ever. 15% admitted to understanding how the site works but find it hard to decide just how to make the most of the 140 character limit!

Finding time to Tweet

For many business owners, finding the time to start utilising social media can be one of the biggest reasons why many choose to ignore it. Of the 62% of business owners who did not use Twitter to reach their customers, 44% cited having no time as their biggest reason for not logging in whereas 56% of business owners admitted that they just don’t understand how to use it.  Out of the businesses that do use Twitter to reach their customers, 70% spend less than an hour a day updating their customers on their latest news, products and services whilst just 10% rely on a weekly check up.

From this survey it seems that although more businesses were yet to explore just how Twitter could benefit their business, those that do were able to reach their customers without facing any significant challenges and without it eating up too much of their time.

For the latest hints and tips on how to increase your business’ online exposure follow Scoot on Twitter! @Scoot_IT

*290 respondents. Data source- Touch Local

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