JPR Marketing

Natura Skin Clinic

charley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Natura Skin Clinic launches a news site to promote their treatments that can change peoples lives.

Natura Skin Clinic offers a range of skin treatments which can turn back the clock, as well as providing solutions to common skin complaints. Dr Chris Xavier created a clinic that takes a different approach to skin treatments. Focusing on providing high quality treatments, using the state of the art equipment, plus processes and only offering customers treatments carried out by qualified GPs.

This approach to skin treatments makes it more accessible to an audience, who may have thought the only way to reduce lines and gain a more youthful appearance, was to save heavily and book a trip to Harley Street, London.

Natura Skin Clinic, based in Cheshire, offers the same high quality service and solutions, as you would find if you went to Harley Street. The difference is, Natura’s service is more affordable.

The new site, designed and created by Juno Web Design, offers a simple navigation with a fresh yet subtle look. You will find a range of services and solutions to a range of problems. The other unique point on the site its the use of real life customer testimonials with videos. This enables audiences to connect with those already satisfied customers and realise the benefits of the treatments available at Natura.

Their mantra is to provide solutions that result in a natural and subtle look, but that will still gain an adoring eye and some rather lovely positive comments.

For those considering skin treatments, speak to the highly qualified team at Natura. They are more than happy to talk through some options and provide you with a range of affordable and beneficial treatments that will leave your skin glowing.

JPR Marketing.

The brand that launched a thousand websites.

charley — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:52:59 +0000

This week at JPR we’re rubbing shoulders with our sister company Juno Web Design as they prepare themselves for 3 huge brand website launches. Everything has been tested, but when it comes to the launch and transferring a development site to a live site, we sit with bated breath.

Despite this, we’re excited about the final product and we know our clients are happy too.

Historically when we have worked on these size of projects, there is a noticeable difference right from the word go, working through all the processes of creating a user friendly site, that can provide customers with a positive experience and enable them to find the products they require and purchase them with ease.

Not only that, behind the scenes, weeks of coding and development ensure the sites perform well, not only for the customers, but in terms of SEO. That’s where we notice ratings shoot up, directly from the launch of a new site.

There is always a continual transfer of data and improving content such as URLs, which increase the possibility of those companies appearing on page one of search engines.

It is not unusual for the team to be up until the wee hours, making sure the changeover is seamless. Despite being an store that is open 24/7, 365 days a year, we tend to launch at night, when least users are visiting.

Some sites will still use their original designs and template, so for your average Joe user, they will not notice any difference visually. What they will find is it’s easier to discover the site and that functionality is increased.

Tomorrow is mid week and as we start to “go live” with the new sites before the weekend, we hope that for our clients and customers alike, the weekend is a profitable one.

It’s great seeing a positive outcome to all the hard work, even at 5am in the morning.

Juno PR

Mobile shopping increase

charley — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:11:49 +0000

As predicted, shopping from a mobile device increased during December 2011. The surge was incredible, up by 187% on the same month in 2010.

Apples iPhone and iPad ranked top for devices used to purchase, this was closely followed by Android devices.
Not only are consumers purchasing through their mobiles, many take them shopping to search for better prices online, using comparative websites and search engines. Many retailers also offer a barcode scanner and recognition applications, which allows consumers to see if they can find products cheaper elsewhere.

So, who were the winners and loosers in the big mobile shop this Christmas?

Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer headed up the mobile spending trend this festive season and continues to grow with a store specifically built for iPad users. Next was the most visited fashion retailer in the UK, through a mobile device. They were followed by John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams and ASOS.

The use of Mobile Commerce added to the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday which created all time records for online shopping.

Incredibly 1.2 million apps were downloaded during the Christmas Holiday week.

Andrew Jackson-Proes, enterprise marketing management leader for IBM UK & Ireland, said: “This Christmas shopping season has been characterised by consumers looking for deals and increasingly using their mobiles to shop online. The report demonstrates that retailers can really benefit from smarter commerce initiatives by meeting their customers’ expectations for offers and service via any device.”

Many retailers are creating M commerce stores that support the technology of smart phones, with the increase of M commerce, it would be shameful to not tap into a very flexible audience, who, when on a bus or train, in a meeting or relaxing in bed, have the option to purchase goods at any point. This makes searching, comparing and shopping increasingly accessible to users.

Google Wallet to launch in time for London 2012

megan — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:43:15 +0000

Google are hoping to launch their contactless mobile phone payment app, Google Wallet, in the UK in time for the London Olympics this year. The application uses Near Field Communications technology, enabling people to use their mobile phone, instead of their credit cards to purchase goods and services.

The company are expecting that the release of this relatively new technology will mean that people no longer have to carry around large wallets full of credit cards, store cards and cash. The application means that you can simply hold your phone up against a scanner in-store to pay for your items. More and more stores in the UK are beginning to use contactless payment technology, including McDonalds and Pret A Manger. If a store accepts this form of payment, a wave symbol will be displayed at the checkout. Google describe the payment process simply as ‘Tap, Pay and Save’ and hope that the same technology will be adapted for boarding passes and tickets in the near future.

Although it has been around for a little while, Near Field Communications is thought to be the outbreak technology of 2012, as more mobile phones are built capable of using contactless payment technology, and more stores begin to accept it as a form of payment. One of the reasons Near Field Communications hasn’t already taken up well in the world of retail, is the fear of security breaches, in the form of fraud and phone hacking. Last year Google published a series of online marketing videos on YouTube to explain more about the technology and put consumers’ minds at rest about its security.

After already launching successfully in the United States, the UK is set to be the next destination for the app to launch, and hopes to combat any currency issues that may occur when tourists are visiting London for the Olympics. However Google Wallet will not be the first NFC technology in the UK. Barclays released their contactless payment cards back in 2008, with their memorable ‘Waterslide’ advert which showed a man sliding through various stores, scanning his Barclay card to pay for products. The company also recently teamed up with mobile phone operators Orange, to create ‘Quick Tap’ their version of the contactless mobile phone payment application. However both of these payment forms can only be used for items valued under £15.

Google have high hopes that their application will revolutionise payment systems, and prevent the need for people to carry around credit cards and wallets, however it is thought that it may take a while for people to get on-board with the idea. One of the more worth-while advantages of the mobile phone payment app has to be the speedy time it takes to pay something, which should shorten queues in stores. We all know how much us Brit’s hate to queue after all!

The benefits of Mobile Marketing

megan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:49:05 +0000

Mobile marketing is used by businesses to promote their goods, services, ideas and any offers they might have running. It involves communicating with customers by sending them a simple text messaging containing marketing material, perhaps a photograph via a multimedia message or they may even send a link for the customer to access on their mobile internet. This form of marketing is relatively cheap and great for businesses wanting to target a younger audience, who are more engaged with new technology as it’s all they have ever known.

SMS marketing has become increasingly popular since more and more people started to use text messaging as a key way of communicating, particularly in the early 2000s. Mobile marketing continues to grow as technology develops. Mobile phones are becoming useful for more than just calling and texting, now that handsets have downloadable applications and access to social media on-the-go.

Mobile marketing is great for a number of reasons and it’s much more than just being able to communicate and interact with customers on a personal level. It is a fantastic way of reaching a wide customer base, because there are so many people in the world who own a mobile phone. The interactions with your customers are much more meaningful and thoughtful, as there is only a certain amount of information you can give in a short message.

Another wonderful thing about mobile phones is that you have access to the customer 24/7 and can choose a time to contact them that you think will suit your customers and their likeliness of being responsive. Mobile phones are always carried and are usually always on, otherwise it would defeat the object of having a personal phone. Again this means that you’re more likely to reach your audience.

Unlike other marketing platforms, with mobile phones your target audience can ‘opt in’ to receiving text alerts from you, which means they’re more likely to be accepting of your marketing messages and likely to respond to then. Mobile phones have a built-in payment system and billing is dealt with by a service provider. People are used to paying for services, content and goods that they download onto their phone, so if they opt-in for a paid for service from you, it won’t come as a shock to them that it’s not free.

As previously mentioned developments in technology have meant that handsets now have applications that can be downloaded. There are so many applications on the market, from interactive social media to creative applications like photo editors. Some businesses may see this as a way to encourage their target audience to interact with their advertising campaign using their mobile phone. For example they may ask them to take pictures or produce a short video to be featured on their website.

Finally mobile marketing also benefits businesses as it is a way for them to monitor customer trends and accurately measure their audience. Similarly to businesses using online marketing, mobile phone marketers have the ability to capture information about consumers and their traits which is valuable for businesses. They can easily see who their target audience is (age, gender, location), who is the most responsive and at what time of day. Businesses can also measure how effective a mobile marketing campaign was, which helps when it comes to creating future advertisements. However it is important to bear in mind that service providers can limit the information they share with businesses and that you will struggle to gather demographic information for phone users who have a pay-as-you-go or prepaid contract.

Graham and Green presents Stag Sixteen

megan — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:26:52 +0000

Graham and Green are one of our most exuberant web design clients, best known for their fashionable designer furniture and stunning collection of home accessories. Yesterday they launched their Stag Sixteen charity auction to raise money for the homeless charity Centrepoint. The charity supports young people living on the street, putting a roof over their heads and helping them create a better future for themselves.

The Stag Sixteen charity project involved the help of some of the most exciting and artistic designers in the fashion industry. Each of the artists were given a White Resin Stag Head, which is an iconic piece in its own right, to customise in their own individual ways. Some of the designers chose classic gold designs such as jewellery expert Erin Morris and footwear designer Manolo Blahnik, whereas Choccy Woccy Doo Dah, the skilled cake sculptures, created an edible replica of the white stag head, as a special 17^th edition to the collection.

Each of the unique hand-customised designs have been put up on the Graham and Green website for people to bid on, and already a number of bids have been placed. Two of the artists decided to stick closely to the charity’s theme, relating their designs to the street and homes. Gavin Luker is known for creating art with a deeper meaning. His stag head design features a spiralling golden street, which is being supported by the stag’s antlers, representing Centrepoint’s values. Stephen Webster, who is one of Britain’s top jewellery designers, designed a dark fairy-tale style tree house to attach to the stag head, this representing the different environments found in a city. Fashion designer Emma Cook and handbag designer Lulu Guiness, both took a more feminine approach to their customisations. Emma added pink glitter and ribbons to her stag head and Lulu fixated red lips to her stags mouth. Luxury accessories designer, Charlotte Olympia and Daniella Helayel, the designer behind the brand Issa, both created contemporary designs, perfect for the most fashionable of homes.

Graham and Green’s charity auction finishes in 8 days time, so make sure you get your bids in soon, for a chance to own a once-in-a-lifetime piece of prestigious artwork. 16% of Graham and Green’s sales of White Resin Stag Heads will also go to Centrepoint. Click here to see all of the amazing Stag 16 designs.

Increasing Experience Nottinghamshire’s social reach

megan — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:31:52 +0000

The team here at JPR Marketing, have been working closely with Experience Nottinghamshire to promote their website, through setting up and maintaining social media accounts on a number of platforms. Experience Nottinghamshire is the official tourism board for the county. The company is responsible for providing information to tourists about Nottinghamshire’s historical past, including the tales of Robin Hood. They also regularly promote upcoming events and make recommendations on the best places to visit in the county.

Since becoming a client of ours, we have set up a twitter page for Experience Nottinghamshire, branding the page to coincide with the colours and logo used on their main website and blog. We also created an image for their twitter page that features the text ‘experience notts’ this is easy to read, even as thumbnail size, enabling it to be recognised easily by users when they are viewing their twitter feed. To make Experience Nottingham’s branding even more effective on their twitter page, we added a banner down the left hand side of the page, which features their web address. This works effectively and can be viewed easily, even on the smallest screen resolution.

Experience Nottinghamshire have already gained over 1760 followers on Twitter, and it’s predicted that they will hit 2000 by Christmas. Tweets are published regularly containing links to the company’s website, blog posts or particular event pages. These links encourage users to visit the pages, and if re-tweeted will reach an even larger audience. We suggested that Experience Nottinghamshire should also include usernames of their clients in their tweets, to gain more exposure for them and hopefully encourage people to follow them too.

As well as a twitter page, we also set up an official Facebook page for Experience Nottinghamshire. The company regularly posts links to their blog, as well as bright, colourful images of sights you can see in Nottinghamshire. They have also created another Facebook account called ‘Love Notts’ which is a more social, friendly page for people to interact about their favourite places to go in Nottingham.

The team are continuing to work with Experience Nottinghamshire on the branding and marketing of their website and social media accounts, in the hope to gain even more traffic to their main website.

Raise capital quickly with Select Factoring

megan — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:13:01 +0000

The team here at JPR Marketing have been working with the factoring specialists, Select Factoring to improve their brand design and increase awareness of their finance services. Select Factoring offer a number of services to their clients, including Factoring, Selective Factoring and Invoice Discounting. These services help companies to release funds tied up in invoices, enabling them to quickly raise capital and reduce cash flow problems.

Selective factoring is very similar to a factoring service, however it bares one key difference – you can select individual or multiple invoices to factor. Factoring is great for large businesses, which deal with a lot of different clients. Often clients fail to pay their invoices on time, leaving a company struggling to pay for materials they used to do a job, and the staff working for them. Select Factoring will release 90% of invoice funds, once you have sent out your invoices and passed details onto them. This allows you to pay for materials, staff and meet your tax requirements on time, reducing cash flow problems. The remaining 10% of your funds, minus a small fee, will be released to you, once Select Factoring have chased up your clients for payment.

If you only want to factor invoices for clients who regularly fail to pay you on time, then selective factoring is the ideal service for you. There are no on going fees or commitments to the service, meaning that you can use it as and when you need to.

Our marketing experts have been focussing on branding Select Factoring’s services as simple, safe and efficient. The content featured on their website has been written in a way that makes it easy to understand, even for people who have little knowledge about factoring services. We have also been working on the company’s SEO and have already achieved the top result on Google for the keywords ‘Selective Factoring.’

Brand Logo Design For Controliss

Content Marketing for PR and Internet Marketing

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:10:25 +0000

When using the Internet, consumers search for what they want to view or stumble across new content through recommendations from friends. The viral nature of the Internet means that if you as a business are continually creating content on just your specialist subject, you will gain greater visibility in the search engines to those searching for you and greater visibility through social sharing through people who hold similar interests to you.

Companies across the country have wasted millions of GBP on the latest marketing fads and snake oil salesmen who got to the party early. Content marketing is a great way of establishing your business as a thought leader within your sector and still lends itself towards more traditional marketing and public relations methods if your internet marketing activity is still in its early days.

In creating such finely tuned content that is genuinely useful and interesting to your customers/clients and your sector, you can be assured that if somebody has taken 10 minutes to assimilate your new content, customer engagement with your brand will increase. You may not be creating brand advocates out of all of your readers but getting under someone’s skin means they will be more inclined to talk about your business to other interested parties.

What sort of content could your business create for marketing purposes?

- White papers

- Case studies

- Videos

- Articles

- Company magazines

- Blogs

- Podcasts

All of these different types of content are perfect additions to any company website. By updating your website with fresh content regularly, you are not only giving your search engine optimisation (SEO) a great helping hand but you are creating content that can be used as news by your PR agency too if your content is genuinely new and interesting to a greater audience.

Don’t have time to create exciting new content for marketing? If you can’t hire an in-house copywriter who knows your business inside out then talk to your PR agency who may be able to advise on a tight content marketing strategy to follow as your business grows.

To find out how JPR Marketing can increase your visibility on the web with PR and Internet marketing, contact David Wiltshire on 0845 544 1764.

Google Makes a New Privacy Stand

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:13:59 +0000

This week, Google announced on it’s Analytics blog that it will be encrypting search result URLs for Gmail users as part of its public drive to improve Google’s image relating to privacy and its user’s personal information. Basically, this means that if visitors to your website are logged in to their Google account, Google won’t track the visit in detail like it usually would.

This is potentially a huge kick in the teeth to small web businesses who rely on Google’s free Analytics package to help them start their fledgling web businesses. Not only that, but website’s that have a large proportion of visitors who are likely to be logged in to a Google account are most likely to be affected.

Google says that the changes won’t affect most website’s stats, but some have forecast that this could mask the results for up to 30% of their traffic, we are not talking about insignificant figures for everyone.

The alternative is to switch to a paid for Analytics package but webmasters will be out of pocket and have little more information than they could have acquired through the free Google Analytics package. Boycotting Google and opting to pay for your website’s stats when every penny counts for businesses just isn’t a smart move right now for small businesses… and Google knows it.

Ultimately, Google is a business and businesses are out to make money. However, internet marketing professionals have invested most of their careers optimising their websites for Google’s superior search engine and this move towards favouring users who pay for the data that Google harvests under the guise of current buzzword “privacy” will understandably make many feel very angry. Surely, if Google want to move away from providing a free service then surely it is much better to be upfront about it than bring it in through the back door?

Are you a small business who fears they may be affected by Google’s announcement? Have you got strong opinions on Google’s motives for making these changes? Tell us what you think using the comments box below.

To find out more about how JPR Marketing can help improve your sales figures with internet marketing, contact David Wiltshire on 0845 544 1764.