Social Media is not a nice to have, it's an important tool to engage and converse with your customers. And loyal customers are what will ultimately drive your success. And planning your social media takes the guesswork out of what you are doing and ensures you stay on track to use social media as a tool to deliver your business objectives. Enter the social media content calendar, read this week's blog to get your calendar sorted.

There are thousands of social networks out there to choose from, but the good news is that you can start by narrowing it down to the most popular and most widely used platforms. From there, it’s all about determining which platform will give you the exposure you're looking for with the right audience, and figuring out which one will help you meet your marketing objectives.

There is nothing like a crisis to get people to finally wake up and realise that an online marketplace is essential for (almost) every retail business these days. But if I read one more article about how you need to pivot your business to think digital first, I may scream. I know, I am a retail girl and that does mean I think and act like a retailer. That is, I think customer first. Not sales channel, customer. See the difference?

At the end of the day, vanity metrics don’t matter. True engagement metrics, on the other hand, help you understand which of your activities are effective at reaching your audience and which aren’t. By focusing on the effective content, you’ll increase your influence, drive sales, and grow your company’s revenue.

Theeeereee heereeeee! Chatbots! They're all the rage and it seems like every marketer wants to embrace them. But what are they? And why is every business suddenly getting hot on this A.I. trend? Brace yourself, for the bots, are here and they aren't going anywhere soon.

Often overlooked, but not to be forgotten, email marketing is the hidden gem in your promotional toolbox. While social media is a fantastic marketing tool for small business (when used correctly), trusty email marketing is still an important ingredient in a marketing strategy. So what do you need to do to make sure it works?

Each year we set ourselves five goals to help keep us focused on business and personal growth.  So these are the five goals for Connec+, and now that they are out in the public domain, that will keep us accountable in 2020. So here goes! And to help you set your smart goals we've got lots of resources for you to download.

Time Management. The age-old dilemma that most of us struggle with from time to time, particularly as a small business owner you know that time is your greatest asset. You can lose money and get it back. You can even lose a business and get it back. But time is irretrievable. That's why it's so important to manage it and control it to grow your business. Here are our top tips to take charge of time and get organised.

In an age of Social Media, Omni-Channel Retailing and extending global connections, the choices are becoming greater by the day for consumers. With so much choice, we are becoming more and more driven by price and service when making buying decisions. The flow-on effect from this means that businesses are needing to shift focus to brand recognition, values and a strong reputation for providing great products and services in order to keep customers on board.  

The shop-till-you-drop season is upon us and while consumers are looking to avoid the long queues and are heading online, small and mid-sized retailers are scrambling to prepare for the holiday rush. We get it, as a small business you’re worried about having enough inventory, your ability to quickly fulfill orders and how you’re going to maximise sales during the busiest time of year. But trust us, you can't afford to deliver an average customer experience through your online store.

Cloud-based digital tools are providing a golden age for small businesses with tools that have previously been out of the reach of the small business owner now accessible through easier to manage cost structures. As a small business owner, having a digital toolkit to help run your business is great and these are Connec+ must-have tools.  We just couldn’t successfully run our business without them in fact!v

Social media campaigns may seem like an obvious Christmas marketing tool but social networks with millions of built-in, active audiences often go under-utilised by small and mid-sized businesses that don’t always have the time, resources and budget to support them. And when social media is increasingly used by consumers to research, discover and purchase products online -particularly during the holiday season - why wouldn’t you want to talk to prospective consumers?

Technology has given people more choice than there has ever been before. This choice has created an environment where excelling at delivering an outstanding and integrated customer experience is the new battleground for differentiation. The consumer now demands that businesses create a personalised approach to customer experience, that's not disruption, it's improvement. 

Social media is becoming an ever more important part of an organisation’s media mix. Accordingly, organisations are starting to manage Social Media Platforms like traditional offline and online media. And just as all businesses are different, so too are their response to managing social media. So, how can you best manage your Social Media presence to achieve your business objectives, and still manage to run your business? We call it Social Media Bingo!

Being small doesn’t mean going unnoticed.  Think about David and Goliath.  Smaller in size, David strategically used his slingshot to attack Goliath’s weak spot.  And, just as in business, small businesses need to maximise their strategic strengths to enable their business to appear larger than it actually is while still celebrating their competitive advantages, such agility, over their larger counterparts.

Holy Christmas Bells, it's almost time to drag the tinsel out, decorate the store and get your Christmas on!  Yes, Christmas is about to be all around us and as the tinsel hits the shop floor, as a business owner you know that it means that unless you are organised your stress levels are about to explode the fairy lights!

Technology has put customers in the driver’s seat of the marketplace giving them power over which brands sink or swim in the digital age. Connected, Empowered, Purposeful. You've heard the terms but how can businesses keep up with their evolving expectations?