We‘ve just about managed to gather enough time to finally unpack from the Job Serve Business South event at the Rose Bowl last week.
It would be an understatement to say that we’ve been slightly busy since the manic two days of live illustration, networking, seminars and workshops.
Business South brings together local businesses of all shapes and sizes and provides a great knowledge sharing and networking environment.
We were there doing something slightly different this year…Foregoing the usual pop-up-stand and obligatory giveaway, the Marketing Team at One2create constructed a mega structure (ok, 2 meters by 2 meters) and turned it into an oversized canvas.
Our team of insanely talented creative’s then set to work providing live illustration over the two days, literally creating a masterpiece before the very eyes of our intrigued audience. Needless to say it drew a crowd! (Excuse the pun)
Whilst all this was going on we managed to attend a couple of the free seminars and workshops too, all provided by The Wow Company’s Business Growth Zone – Marketing on a Shoestring, Entrepreneurs Tales and a Social Media Master class to name a few.
Each provided our specialists with a chance to share knowledge, make new contacts and were definitely worth attending. Below are a few pointers picked up from each:
Marketing on a Shoestring:
A networking and workshop event asking attendees to detail the top 5 ways to market your business for free:
Social Media – Making sure your business is promoted via all available platforms relevant to your audience:
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
Google+
Referrals
Providing a great service so existing clients refer via word of mouth
Taster Freebies
Offering free tasters or trials so customers can see what your service is like
Seminars / Face to face networking
A great way to share knowledge, pick up tips and make contacts that could turn into leads
Sponsorship
Sponsor an event with a service offering or provide your product as a prize in a raffle
Presence at events
Research and attend local and national free events to get your name our there, plus pick up tips and make contacts
Entrepreneurs’ Tales:
Hearing from an impressive line up of entrepreneurs including; Ritchie Clapson, Dominic Monkhouse, Avril Owton, MBE and Paul Thomas the hot topic was of course “what are the tips for success?” The following were some of the main areas covered:
Know your business and your focus, don’t be a jack of all trades and master of none
Look after your staff. Happy staff equal happy customers
Sales and market your business. You may have a good business model, but what use is it if no one knows about it
Watch your money. Know what’s going on with your books on a monthly basis so you can manage your cash flow
Social Media Master-class:
The Social Media Master-class gave audience members a good overview of the power of Social Media and how some of the main platforms can help to grow business opportunities and engagement for both business to customer and business to business organisations.
Four of the major Social Media platforms were presented and discussed;Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
Topics discussed included fundamentals in terms of account setup, to more intrinsic details, including group management and methods to engage with your target audience.
The master-class presented a great opportunity to ascertain the current state of opinion surrounding the power of Social Media for business. Within an open forum, even the most novice of individuals left feeling more enlightened and with a plan of action for their own Social Media objectives and goals.
All that’s left to say is that we hope everyone who attended and exhibited at Business South found it as beneficial as we did. We look forward to seeing faces old and new at the 2013 event!
