How prepared are you for Black Friday?

It falls on November 29 this year, the day after Thanksgiving in America, and has long been heralded in the US as the start of the festive shopping season – although the term ‘Black Friday’ has only been really widely used since the turn of the Millennium. 

In recent years, Black Friday has taken off this side of the pond, as a chance for retailers to make a big promotional push a month before Christmas. In 2017, online sales in the UK reached £1.4bn on Black Friday. 

And while many shops dip their prices for 24 hours to get people splashing their cash in the run-up to the festive season, numerous retailers now spread their deals over a fortnight. 

Additionally, others focus on Cyber Monday, always the first weekday after Black Friday – so this year it’s on December 2 – as a great opportunity for massive online promotion. 

How ready are you? 

With such a great chance for serious sales, you need to be properly prepared in advance to maximise this opportunity. 

That means ensuring your promotions reach your target audience, and that you’re really thinking about what you’re offering, and to whom. It’s quite important that you aim at a specific customer, rather than being too generic or trying to please everyone.

Shoppers will be writing a list before the big day to be able to search and purchase as quickly as possible. This means that you can be more specific than you would be with general seasonal sales.

If you’re running a social media campaign, you can really hone in on your target demographic. For example, choose a geographical location, age profile, specify particular interests etc.

Don’t leave planning until the last minute. Given that Black Friday really does now go on for at least a week, be ready. For example, if you’re planning on running a different deal on each day for a week, think those through thoroughly and well in advance.

Consider how you will get your message out – will it be by blog, newsletter, social media or press release? And how far in advance are you prepping the consumer?

Remember, the more places that you Black Friday deal is featured online, the better this is for your search engine optimisation (SEO). This means that your visibility on online presence is increased.

You also need to know what you expect to gain from your Black Friday push. Set targets and measure the results. It’s best to set KPI’s before as a driver to achieve your objectives. 

Particularly with social media campaigns, not least those you’re paying for, you need to be sure you’re getting results. 

Finally, with an expected upturn in sales, be sure you can handle this increased volume. Make sure your team can respond adequately to social media comments, phone calls, sales handling and website traffic.

If you’re not ready – get in touch!

Deal or no deal - I'm not worried!

Yesterday, I was asked by Swindon Advertiser for my view on potentially leaving the EU without a deal.

It may surprise you that I'm not really worried either way - no deal/deal.

Of course, it's better to be organised when making a change, but now I just want it done. People are not going to agree on the terms, ever. There are too many stakeholders.

Read my comments in today’s paper, page 8, or click here: https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/17961954.three-weeks-brexit-swindon-businesses-hope-best-prepare-worst/

Nothing will ever be as hard as the crash in 2008 - that was the biggest change redheadPR went through.

The best businesses survived that.

My suggestion to all is - don't stop promoting what you do, increase the amount you do and increase your potential customer base. Work smartly and provide the best service you ever had to your customers. Use technology wherever you can to streamline processes.

Apart from that - Happy Halloween!

Telling your brand story

Telling your brand story is the future of communication especially a social and person to person one.

I worked for the late dame Anita Roddick 20 years ago and she ran her business and her own brand through a story. This enabled everyone around her that listened to that story to recount it again and again. Taking story telling advice from communities all over the world that share information through story telling.

Telling your brand story is no different and to be honest whatever product and service YOU are selling as it’s your business it will reflect you.

Reflect your values and beliefs.

How would you do that visually and through word and the the way you act?

Here are my top 5 tips:

List out your values and beliefs – they could be – no compromise, a great return on investment

Then think about how you are perceived and what this looks like visually, Dynamic (sportsman) Soft and welcoming (pastel colours) these should come naturally with brand you, film/video is it a animation or someone doing something.

Then the story of what you have developed and why, why it’s different which means a certain type of customer will want it.

Think about it all then add it together and see what story you can develop.

Then it’s about you and what you do, how you act, what you wear and what you say.

Lastly be consistent, relentlessly and continually. No cutting corners and no deviation.

For the events industry specially. This will all come across when you present at an event in terms of you on the stage, the slides, what you do and how you act it out. If it’s an exhibition it’s the same. The work you do to start with to develop brand you will pay off in the end.

I always think of the Queen when I think of Brand You.

REDHEADPR BACKS LOCAL TRIATHLETE IN ATTEMPT FOR PODIUM AT VEGA IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Independent South West based PR consultancy redheadPR, is sponsoring Corinne Clark, the triathlete and owner of Corinne Clark Sports Massage in Cirencester. Corinne who is 34 years old, will attempt a podium place at the inaugural KONA™ race in October 2019. They celebrated the occasion at Darkroom Espresso, the independent coffee shop, over flat whites their favourite tipple.

"I'm delighted to support such a fantastic challenge. On a personal level and as a business, I am committed to supporting challenges such as these. A triathlete myself, I understand the dedication, discipline and hard work that goes into completing an IRONMAN. I know that without sponsorship, athletes who have a day job and work find it hard to train. Sponsoring them goes a long way to ensuring they can do the training they need." said Sara Tye, founder and managing director of redheadPR.

It's not the first time redheadPR have sponsored athletes. redheadPR sponsored Kev Tonner as he took on the 2014 Edmonton ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Championships.

2015 saw them be the media supporter of the RTTC National Championship.

Other past sponsorship includes the press box at Swindon Town Football Club, The Museum of Computing in Swindon and many business awards.

June 2017, redheadPR sponsored the 6th leg of the first ever Tour de Troops, from Ashchurch to Didcot - and Sara even joined in and rode the 56 mile leg. The company then sponsored The Victory Swim 2018.  Both these events raised money for The Felix Fund - which supports the UK's bomb disposal experts their families.

The VEGA IRONMAN World Championship takes place in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on 13 October 2019. Corinne will join over 2,000 athletes who'll embark on a 140.6-mile journey, proving the ultimate test of body, mind and spirit to earn the title of IRONMAN.

Corinne is no stranger to endurance challenges. She has previously represented Great Britain for Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, travelling as far as Australia.

She qualified for IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships for the past two years. Corinne also qualified for IRONMAN World Championships four times previously.   

Corrine's latest accolades include:

·         Lanzarote IRONMAN 2019: first place in age group and first place as non-professional Female

·         Wales Ironman 2018: first place in age group. first place as non-professional Female. Qualified for Ironman World Championships

·         Ultra X Triathlon 2018: first place Female

·         Crooked Wiltshire Ultra 6 hours off Trail Race 2018: first place Female

"I can't thank Sara and redheadPR enough. Without sponsorship such as this, I wouldn't be able to compete. I'm looking forward to this event and feeling confident about a podium position." said Corinne.

Sara continued, "I'm very proud to know and sponsor Corinne. She is an inspiration to men, women and young people, including my own daughters - proving that you can achieve anything when you work for it."

She also rides weekly with Darkroom Espresso Cycling Club. Sara is a member of the Swindon Triathlon Club and ex chair of the club.

Founded by Sara in 2003, redheadPR is a dynamic and independent public relations market leader and social media agency based in Swindon, Wiltshire that celebrated 15 years in business last year. 2018 saw the PR agency voted one of the top three marketing agencies in Swindon. The company manages the profiles of blue-chip corporations, products and well-known individuals, blending established and ground-breaking digital techniques for effective, compelling and brilliantly bespoke campaigns for clients.

Calling all businesses - Get online and get #Aheadofthecurve!

On Thursday 26 September 2019, Sara Tye, the award-winning business and organisational development expert, top 500 international PR, serial entrepreneur and founder and managing director of redheadPR, will host a workshop with Business West.

The workshop, titled “Digital PR, social media and the crucial need for online branding and media coverage”, will offer expert advice to businesses on how they can improve their online presence.

Business West is the not-for-profit company that offers business support to start-ups and growing businesses in the West of England.

“It’s integral to be online. Digital PR and online content not only help drive traffic to your website and make it easier to find your brand on search engines, but it also creates engagement with influencers and potential customers through social media. This workshop will provide essential tips on how you can do just that. I am a futurist and I'm not just worried about today but am obsessed with tomorrow.” Said Sara.

Sara will share her own experiences, explain the importance of refreshing a brand and how that translates across all assets of the business, contributing to improving an online presence. Spaces are limited and interested parties are encouraged to book to avoid disappointed.

Ian Larrard, director of Business West, said “We’re thrilled to have Sara speak at the September workshop. It’s a topic of much interest to our members and will provide some vital insights that the attendees can take away with them on the day.”

Book your place here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-pr-social-media-and-the-crucial-need-for-online-media-coverage-tickets-62973668939.

Sara started redheadPR, the independent South West based PR consultancy 16 years ago and has proven experience on digitally evolving businesses. Sara presents and trains businesses nationally and has sat on many leadership boards.

Off-page, high-ranking coverage from PR is absolutely crucial for those looking to increase their online profile and SEO. Using strategic processes, redheadPR works across all social media platforms, growing them organically and through bespoke methods that will be geared towards its specified audience.

About redheadPR
Founded by Sara in 2003, redheadPR is a dynamic and independent public relations market leader and social media agency based in Swindon, Wiltshire that celebrated 15 years in business last year. 2018 saw the PR agency voted one of the top three marketing agencies in Swindon. The company manages the profiles of blue-chip corporations, products and well-known individuals, blending established and ground-breaking digital techniques for effective, compelling and brilliantly bespoke campaigns for clients.