LinkedIn is the world’s largest business-oriented social networking site. It is the leading professional social network with over 70 million members and it is growing rapidly. LinkedIn allows you to create your own personal, professional profile which connects you to your trusted contacts and allows you to grow your contacts.

The Benefits of LinkedIn for your Business

1. Company Profiles. LinkedIn enables you to create a profile on your oranisation. You control what information is posted on LinkedIn so it can be the most accurate and up-to-date information with your organsiation’s logos and branding. You can provide a precise and full description of what your company does, the services it provides, the products it produces and future business opportunities. This will get your organisation recognised, especially in your local markets. However LinkedIn is global so your organisation is gaining global exposure!

2. Increase your visibility. LinkedIn allows you to add connections to your company profile. This means that more people will be able to view your profile when they are searching for advice, an organisation to do business with and referrals. Your organisation will gain more recognition and should start to generate more activity for your business. This will lead to mutually beneficial relationships, new customers and trusted business partnerships.

3. Improve your search engine results. LinkedIn is promoted on search engines like Google and Yahoo. If a search is conducted that matches your organisation then this will appear in the search engine results and so your business will receive greater exposure.

4. Improved recrtuiment. As an employer, you can greatly increase the relevancy of your advertising and search for potential employees by using LinkedIn’s advanced search. This tool allows you to use keywords, for example, “web development” and “marketing strategist”. This will narrow your search to a list of suitable candidates from which you can make your final decision. LinkedIn also allows you advertise vancancies at your company enabling you to recruit potential employees with the correct capablities and qualifications that will fit into your organisation. If this person is subsequently not interested in the position then the vancancy can be referred onto a candidate that will fit the role. LinkedIn aids the recruitment process in a tough hiring market.

5. LinkedIn Answers. This is a facility that allows your organisation to share and receive business knowledge and advice. Your company can showcase its talent and expertise while simultaneously gaining knowledge and business advice from hundreds of thousands of experts in your field of business. This tool allows you to stay abreast of the latest trends, developments and events in your market, keeping you one step ahead of your competitors.

6. Analyse your competiton. LinkedIn will help you track your competitors, see who is in their team, who their partners are, who their customers are and what products or services they provide. In a tough, highly competitve market, this information could prove invaluable for your company and allow you to gain the competitive advantage over your rivals.

7. It’s free! Most of the services that LinkedIn provide are free. The only cost that your business will incurr will be the time taken to create and maintain your LinkedIn profile. However the benefits will heavily outweigh the costs with LinkedIn. So join the social media wave and get your business recognised.

Get in touch today if you would like 10th Step’s help with bringing your business into the social media sphere.

‘Take The Tour’ is an engaging concept that allows oil distributors, boiler service providers and plumbers to find out first hand what Oilspot has to offer. Phase one of the campaign involved crafting and designing a punchy postcard that would reach out and grab the attention of potential Oilspot clients.   When 5000 of these snappy cards arrived on our door we were so excited – probably even more so than our client!

The think tank behind the postcards means they’re extra smart because not only do they provide face value info about Oilspot but they also direct traffic to the site (how cool)!

Are you clinging to history?

A rebrand doesn’t mean you have to lose sight of your brand values and identity – if anything it’s the perfect way for you to enhance what already exists and evolve in line with your market.  It’s fundamental to never lose sight of exactly where your brand needs to be in order to compete effectively.  It may seem harsh but unnecessarily clinging to history is an all too common mistake that you need to avoid.  Rebranding (if carried out correctly) will drive growth and help you reinvent your company in line with current market conditions and trends ensuring you remain at the forefront of your industry.

There’s only one way to go and that’s FULL throttle!

The best rebrands are those that go the whole hog and encourage change across the board – internally, externally and across all platforms and channels.  To really rebrand your business correctly you need to look at changing everything, not just your logo.  A firm strategy must be in place for how you envision your new brand to look and feel, the tone of all communication – corporate and consumer, perception, mood, desired customer experience, voice and message.  There’s lots you can do to help make this process as smooth as possible starting with your staff.  Getting everyone on board and ensuring they fully understand is vital and if done right your staff will be highly excited, clear about the company’s future direction and determined to be a part of it.

You’ll also need to look at finding out what isn’t working so that you avoid carrying these practices into the future.  A good focused research session will lead to invaluable information that will help give you clear direction for a rebrand.
Getting your customers on board is essential so if you’ve got a story then tell it!  An honest approach will help your customers believe in the change enough to become receptive to it.  Telling a story is also a great way of hiking media interest and getting exposure on the evolution of your brand.

Seriously consider your budget – throwing lots of money at an expensive rebrand will not guarantee that you yield the desired business results.  Planning your spend from the start will help you to be clever with your budget.  A rebrand doesn’t have to carry a massive price tag and this is where calling in the experts can really help you maximise your budget ensuring your money is spent wisely.  The 10thstep team have managed lots of rebrands and we’ve loved every second of it.  Using our insight we can help you with the future strategic direction needed to evolve your brand.  Chat to us today about how we can help.

The brand stands for something which is significant to them

It makes them feel good

The brand is unique and different

The brand interacts with them and is intense and vibrant

These are only a few of the reasons why people are attached to the brands which they use and for a brand to have an emotional connection with the consumer this can only be achieved by positive shared experience with the brand over time. Its worth noting that building an emotional connection with your employees is just as important as building it with the consumer this will ensure that the brand is achieving top performance with everyone who interacts with it. Really great brands know how to engage with their consumers and have through spending time found out how to build an emotional connection and attachment with their customers this will ensure that these brands who really spend the time and put in the hard work are more likely to achieve stronger customer loyalty. One of the key elements is for the brand to be trustworthy – it must show that it can consistently deliver on all of its promises this is followed sharply by always striving to meet and exceed its customers.

At 10thstep we can help your business develop a brand which will help your customers gain an effective connection with your business,will build association and encourage loyalty. Our team of branding experts are passionate about developing really effective brands.

No or We Can’t is not a word or phrase we at 10thstep use – And when asked could we create a new cover,design and advertisement layout for the 21st Annual International Maiden of the Mourne’s Festival we stepped right up to the challenge. We created a fresh new modern look to the festival magazine keeping tight in line with the brand identity which we already developed.

We had a lot of scope to be creative and use our design flare to come up with really eye catching adverts for the clients who are sponsoring this year’s event. We created ads for the following clients The Whistledown Hotel, Diamonds Restaurant, The F Experience, First & Last Bar, Pizzapoint,Dream World Bedding and Booze Berries.

The Growth of Social Media

Social media is the fastest growing form of media and communication in today’s business world.  The business analysts, Gartner predict that by 2014, social media platforms will replace e-mail as the primary communication tool and will become the key communication method for over a fifth of organisations.  This rapid growth is allowing organisations to use their existing contacts to meet new people and new business links therefore increasing their current connections.

Planning your Social Media Strategy

Before you plunge your organisation into the social media universe, you first must consider whether or not it will suit your organisation.  This needs to be carefully considered and planned.  This will be a strategic plan that if carried out correctly will prove very successful for your organisation.  Social media will allow you to integrate and combine different media resources and make them work for you.  You need to ensure that your chosen social media outlet matches your brand and image.  Your Facebook or Twitter page must project your organisations values, what you stand for and finally what your organisation does.  This must appear very clear to everyone that visits your site.  If this is not the case, then your audience and clients will become confused and disillusioned with your communications and your social media marketing attempt could end in failure.

The Benefits of Social Media

As a result of your use of social media, other users should visit links to your website more frequently.  This will mean that your organisation’s website will become trusted which will make you more popular with search engines and consequently your search engine traffic and visitors to your website should increase.  The other major benefit of social media marketing is that it is relatively low cost while at the same time it can yield massive results.  The only costs that your organisation should incur will be the labour time involved in engaging on the social media platforms.  However if you use social media correctly then the benefits will heavily outweigh the minimal costs incurred

Like any other form of marketing, understanding and meeting your clients’ (communication) needs is the most important principle of social media marketing.    Social media presents massive potential but it must be used correctly.  Organisations must communicate messages of real importance, meaning, value and relevance.  This will enable you to meet your clients’ needs, remain in-touch with your clients, stay abreast of changes in your market and keep ahead of modern.  Give 10thstep a call to see how we can help you develop the right Social Media Strategy for your business.

The committee will provide guests with the inside scoop on the highly anticipated events for this years Festival along with the opportunity to meet some of the 2010 maidens.
Best of all guests will get to preview the new glossy souvenir magazine featuring articles from the local community, maiden profiles, tourist information and more.

As the official agency of the Festival we’d love to spill the beans on exactly what’s set to happen when it kicks off on 1st August 2010 but it’s still top secret. Stay tuned to our site for the latest info.

If you are a media officer or journalist and you’d like to be added to the guest list, please email info@10thstep.com.

Before this can happen, you must employ a calculated strategy and embrace marketing. In the past, organisations have faced financial difficulties or tough times and immediately cut their marketing budget. It is now widely accepted that this is not the best approach for your business. Maintaining or increasing your marketing outlay may be seen as a risk
but it is definitely a calculated risk. The easy option is to cut your marketing budget during a recession but how would your business function? Marketing provides you with the market intelligence you need to understand what your customers need and if you do not have this information you will not be competitive. Marketing is the only tool that allows you to provide fresh and innovative products that your customers need. Consumers become more value oriented during a recession.

Your customers will also feel the pinch and so they will become increasingly frugal and will only buy good quality products because they feel they are getting value for money. This needs to be communicated to your customers. This will set you apart from your rivals and marketing is the key. Satisfying your customers is the most important thing in business; if you get this right then you will succeed in whatever market. Marketing includes internal marketing. You need to listen to your employees as well as your customers during recessionary periods. In-house marketing can provide new ideas. You can appreciate the needs and feelings of your employees which will mean they will feel more empowered and as a result will be motivated to work for your organisation. This should yield its own benefits and should help your company cope through tough times.

When you think of marketing you shouldn’t immediately think big budgets and expensive projects. Marketing is moving into a digital age and successful organisations are recognising the importance and innovative role that the social media can play. This is a highly inexpensive means of marketing that provides a platform for huge exposure. Self promotion still remains imperative in a recession. You need to tell your existing customers and potential consumers what you do, the services you can provide, your quality product offerings and what sets you apart from your competitors.

Marketing will always play a central role in any business realm, especially during recessionary periods. Get in touch today if you are interested in how 10th Step can improve your marketing in these tough times.

Unique Driveways – timeless, tailored concrete impressions.

When our latest client came to us he was bursting at the seams with passion and drive for his new business venture so we obviously couldn’t wait to get started to help make it a huge success story.

Our team were very excited to be a part of this project from the outset and got straight to work with building a brand identity for Unique Driveways teamed with an intelligent brand strategy. We wanted the key value characteristics of the business to be represented in the logo so we came up with a chic, elegant design that screams superiority and class.

Next up we built the corporate identity for the new brand ensuring it remains consistant across all communication channels and enforces the brand values at all times. We designed up a nice batch of business cards displaying the client’s contact information and a big logo shot for an instant visual impact.

Last on our list was the complete development of the Unique Driveways brochure from start to finish. This was our client’s favourite part because we handled absolutely everything so that he could focus on the things he really wanted to like talking to his clients and pricing up jobs. The 10thstep creative genius team rose to the occassion by designing a stylistic three fold brochure that perfectly showcases what Unique Driveways has to offer. To ensure it really was top notch we handled all of the copy writing so it reads like a dream and even took care of the imagery so that everything remained in sync with the brand.

The result?
A superior brand that’s an industry leader.
(Oh, and a super happy client!)

First of all we registered their account (@Oil_spot) and developed a very clever Twitter strategy that’s bespoke to the Oilspot brand including geo-specific targeting and ultra intelligent analytics.

To take it one step further we branded the Twitter page to ensure it complements the Oilspot brand perfectly.
We’ve made massive feature of the logo so users can immediately build an association with the Oilspot brand and included an attention grabbing text panel to tell everyone about the great service Oilspot.co.uk provides.
To ensure the background blends perfectly with the brand, we opted for an overall blue theme which we think looks fantastic.

You can check out the new brand new Oilspot Twitter page by clicking here.