This video is called, Do you have enough Social Proof for your Business? By Mike Pitt. If you want to subscribe to our YouTube channel, you can . Mike Pitt is the Founder of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd, a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London.

This post may contain affiliate links, please read our disclosure for more info.

In this video, Mike Pitt discusses, Do you have enough Social Proof for your Business?

This video will be of interest to  affiliate marketers, business owners, B2B marketing managers, Content Marketing professionals, Social Media Managers and others who use messaging apps to market their business.

Social Proof

In this video, Mike Pitt discusses, Do you have enough Social Proof for your Business? Social proof is ‘evidence’ that your company is good at providing the services and or products that it makes and sells. Social proof is independent feedback on your company from customers and can come in the form of Google reviews, Trustpilot reviews or customer testimonials on Social Media platforms and YouTube. When it comes to B2B sales cycles, Social proof is essential to convert prospects into customers. In this video, Mike Pitt explains explains what Social proof is and how your business can encourage more social proof which will then help your business to grow.

After you’ve watched the video, please consider whether you need help with Social Media Marketing or video marketing.

Take Action

Do you want to get started with video marketing? You could start by booking a Zoom Consultation with Mike Pitt via this page Book a Zoom Consultation with Mike Pitt . Do you have any video related questions?  Let me know in the comments section below. Also, let me know if you would like my help with anything else.

Email: Click on the image above and start a free plan today!

If you’ve liked this post you will also like the following posts:

Your Content & Social Media Questions Answered (Popular Uploads)

How to Increase LinkedIn Company Page Followers

Why I Stopped Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn: Company Page Followers No Longer Viewable

How I Follow Up With LinkedIn Searchers

LinkedIn: How to Approach Leads the Right Way

Is Steemit Dead? 

How to use Telegram for New Business – Part 1

LinkedIn: Inside an Engagement Pod – Part 1.

LinkedIn Storytelling: How to Tell Stories on LinkedIn

My Most Viewed Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn: Advice For B2B Businesses – Playlist

YouTube Optimization Tool

Click on the image above and install VIDIQ for free today.

No credit card required.

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads every week.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt

Founder, Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

Follow Mike on Twitter 

Subscribe to

Follow us on LinkedIn

Web Hosting Special Offer

This is video number 512 and blog post number 641

The post Do you have enough Social Proof for your Business? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Business loans are the lifeblood of smaller companies, and if you need to get a cash injection for your tech company, there are a number of considerations you should weigh up before taking action.

The first is whether you need to get a business loan at all, or whether you might be able to raise the cash you need by changing business practices and releasing cash that is currently being wasted. Often companies can find cost savings within their existing processes and creating additional efficiencies can sometimes solve a cash-flow problem.

The second consideration is whether your team works at full capacity. Can headcount be reduced?  Redundancies are not nice but they may unlock additional funds from payroll savings.

The third consideration, is what is your data telling you? Fully detailed performance reporting of the past 1 to 5 years should inform your decisions. In addition, you will need a solid business plan that demonstrates to yourself and your management team what can be achieved and when you are likely to improve your cash-flow.

Following the process described above, you may decide that you want to borrow funds. It could be for a concrete purpose like buying a machine or recruiting a certain person or it could be just to finance  your ongoing operations. Whatever the reason is, deciding you want external funding is just the beginning of the process.

Bank Versus Lender

There are a lot of lenders out there in the Australian market and picking the right company or bank to provide you with the funding is essential for a healthy and useful process. The ins and outs of each lender and bank are too difficult to explain, but showing the differences between the two is very possible.

As per this comparison between banks and online lenders made by Small Business Loans Australia, non-bank lenders are generally more expensive, less difficult to deal with and are much quicker to respond than banks.

How Much do You Need to Borrow?

Your first consideration should be how much money you need to borrow from the bank. It can be tempting to keep the amounts to a minimum, so you are not paying out more than you need to. But borrowing too little can be as problematic for a business as borrowing too much, because it could mean being forced to return to borrow more sooner than you might otherwise be comfortable with.

A good rule of thumb will dictate that you will need to borrow funds to keep your business alive for at least 6 more months at current revenue pace, or will help facilitate such a line of cash-flow earlier. That rule of thumb will also say that you should never borrow money for periods shorter than this, because this means you will need to borrow additional capital within the next months.

So, be realistic not only about the amount you need to borrow, but the amount you are likely to be able to borrow and choose an amount that allows you to achieve your aims without creating additional cash-flow stress for you or your business.

What Will Your Bank Need to Know?

Once you know how much you need to borrow, prepare your documentation to take to your bank to convince them that your business is a good ‘risk’ for it to loan to. Your bank will need to know what you want the business loan for – and if you are a start-up or a relatively new business, you may find it difficult to give these details exactly.

Remember to take your business plan and financial statements, with these it should be easier to demonstrate what the money you are borrowing will be used for. Your financial statements will give  your bank a clear indication of your profit and loss, cash-flow, assets and liabilities.

Creating your bank-oriented business plan

Spending time researching your business and the market you are targeting is essential to create a viable business plan. It can take more time researching a good plan than it does writing one, so be prepared to put in the leg work.

That loose business plan you’ve devised before even applying for a loan? It’s mostly irrelevant because banks can be overzealous when it comes to business plans.

You also need to provide a strategy for marketing, your product development, and your financial forecasts to show any potential investors, including a bank or other institution lending you money, where your business is likely to be in three to five years.

Your credit score

One of the key measures which determines whether your bank will lend you money will be your credit history, whether that is just for your business or your own personal credit history too. If your business has not been established for long, your personal credit score will be taken into consideration. So ensure you have spent time cleaning up your own credit score if you are trying to borrow at an early stage.

Most companies do not know what their credit score is, or how to improve it. Almost three out of five small business owners have never checked their credit score according to research from Experian and that is not good business practice.

Make your credit score more healthy

Any lender will check your company’s credit score, and you should be checking this yourself on a regular basis. As the Experian website states: “A healthy credit score is made up of three key elements: robust information, sound financial management and regular monitoring.” If you have applied for a number of loans in quick succession, these credit searches for each institution will be listed on your credit score and could be detrimental. Lenders will be concerned about that kind of action, as it suggests a desperate pattern of behaviour that flags your business as having a higher level of risk.

It may be that you need to spend some time working on improving your credit score to make your business more appealing. You can do a number of things to achieve this, such as paying any invoices due promptly, collaborating with your suppliers so they provide feedback on your payment records, and providing as much additional data to credit reference agencies as you can. It has become harder for businesses to get a loan, so the more you can do to improve your business’s chances, the more chance you have of getting the money your business needs to grow.

What will an Online Lender Need to Know?

Generally speaking, online lenders are more technology oriented so a lot of the legwork should be done automatically. Upon signing up you will need to provide either certain documents from your bank, and/or connect the lender to your credit card processor or PayPal account to verify the levels of revenue. The decision whether your web design or web development business be approved will be done automatically with little to no human involvement and the reply will be sent to you in between 1 and 72 hours.

Final words – How to Treat Business Loans

A business loan is not an easy decision to make and is not an easy process to initiate in. Unless you need funds urgently, you will need to develop patience and endurance. Financing your business is a marathon and not a 100 metres sprint.

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Wednesdays.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

Image credit: https://texascitizensbank.com/

The post The Troubles and Struggles of Applying for a Bank Business Loan appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Send us your current biggest marketing problem via mail@marketingfundamentals.com and we will give you some advice. You can also leave your problem in the comments section below.

We receive a lot of requests for ‘advice meetings’ each week and cannot accept them. This is our way of giving you the opportunity to ask for our help. This offer of advice is open for one week from today – that is until the 27th March 2014.

We hope you have found this information useful and look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post Marketing Surgery – What is your biggest problem now? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Vine vs Instagram

1. Longevity

Whilst this is admittedly a minor issue as far as Internet technology is concerned and is less important than user numbers, it does have some relevance to potential advertisers. Vine, launched on January 24th 2013 has the edge here. Although Instagram has been around since October 2010, it has only been possible to post videos on the platform since June 20th 2013. This means that Vine users are more familiar with the format and may therefore be more receptive to short creative marketing videos.

2. User numbers

Instagram is the clear winner in this category, with over 150 million active users although most of these users were acquired before video was introduced and owe more to its origins as a photo sharing platform. Vine has 40 million users.

3. Activity

Things begin to look a little worse for Vine in this category. Whilst you would naturally expect more active users to translate into more activity, it is not a linear function as far as tweets are concerned. Instagram has a 6 to 1 lead over Vine in terms of tweets, compared to a user number ratio of roughly 3.75. However, these figures do not tell the whole story as outlined in the next section.

4. Functionality

Vine videos are more visible in the Twitter community owing to the fact that they are previewed in the iPhone and Android Twitter apps. This means that all users need to do to view the content is to tap on the Vine video preview in Twitter. Whilst Instagram content can be tweeted, the lack of a visual preview means that it has less immediate impact.

5. Format

Vine videos are limited to 6 seconds whereas Instagram ones can be up to 15 seconds in length. There is no clear winner in this category but the different lengths mean that one platform may be more suitable than the other for different marketing techniques. If, for example, you wish to create a more conventional advertisement for distribution online, Instagram’s longer format will probably be the best choice. On the other hand, the 6-second format that Vine employs has encouraged advertisers to be more creative and there are many excellent examples of how it can be used to great effect.

6. Making a choice

Now you know a little more about what each platform has to offer, you should be in a better position to make an informed decision when planning new online video marketing campaigns. It is important to remember that whichever platform you choose, you need to have a team in place to answer the consumer enquiries that your promotional clip generates.

The following summary may be of some help if you need a quick reference when making a final decision.

Winners

• Longevity – Vine
• User numbers – Instagram
• Activity – Instagram
• Functionality – Vine
• Format – a draw

Whilst I have attempted to remain objective throughout this review, please bear in mind that personal preferences always influence one’s opinions and your experiences with these platforms are unlikely to be identical to mine. In closing, I firmly believe that both are useful weapons to keep in your marketing arsenal.

This guest post was written by Juliet Martin who is an Instagram user by preference. She also writes on behalf of Regus, a global provider of flexible office spaces and business solutions.

Do you want to incorporate Vine or Instagram into your Content Marketing strategy? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

We hope you have found this information useful. You may also like this, Is it time to Vine?  and Which Brands are Winning on Vine? – 5 Brands that ‘Do it For The Vine’

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post Vine versus Instagram Video – Which should you use and why? Guest post appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

” It’s absolutely worth it.” – #onsettingupabusiness

” Start small. Think big – but do get started.”

” There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Quoting #FranklynDelanoRoosevelt

On seeking funding…

” We applied to 20 banks and got turned down 20 times.” #onseekingfunding

Email subject line – ‘Does anyone know anyone rich?’ #onseekingfunding

“Maurice Pinto…he put in £250K and got out £30 million.” #talkingabouttheinvestorwhosaidyes

On a direct approach to distribution…

“We went to independent retailers over a bank holiday weekend and gave them 3 cases for free…45 out of 50 reordered.”

” We just got started…We were hungover and we needed something to make us feel better. ” – #innocentbeginnings

On working with a team…

” The three of us (founders) take credit when it’s the team of 300 that should take the credit. ” #teameffort

On role models…

“Richard Branson …I think in Britain he made entrepreneurs sexy…” #rolemodels

On being focused…

” Write down the dream. When you write it down – the dream becomes a goal.” #startingabusiness

On amusing Plump nuns copy on the ingredients label…

“You must either take off the reference to plump nuns or put them in your fruit juice.” #Letterfromadjudicationjudge

On business owners & entrepreneurs looking for investment…

“If you are looking for investment check out – http://jamjarinvestments.com/”

I hope this has given you a taste of the evening. You can follow @richardreedinno on Twitter. The next event will be announced fairly soon. Please also follow @es_bc for the latest updates.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of your marketing requirements feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you have found this information inspirational.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt – Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

The post What did entrepreneurs learn from Richard Reed at ESBC? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

How do you build a community? – 6 tips

1. Content & Rules

You will need to create Content for your community on a regular basis and let your desired community members know the reasons for the community. Explain how the community can interact with you the hosts and with each other. Decide how it will be moderated and what are the best uses of the community.

2. Location

Be very clear where this community is based – is it a dedicated portal with login? Is it a publicly hosted forum. Is it hosted on a third party platform: LinkedIn or Facebook being obvious examples. Note – It is preferable to have a dedicated portal that you control. Are there any offline aspects to the community? A regular meeting place for events, for example.

3. Customer Service

Deliver excellent customer service to your community but also to all of your customers and those who make enquiries. For more details on how to do this read this post – SME Owners – 10 ways to excel at customer service

4. Ability to Surprise

A good community has the ability to surprise and delight its members. This community should not be a platform used only for promotional offers. Your objective must be to deliver value to your members and to interact with them.

5. Interaction & Engagement

A key feature of any community is the amount of interaction and engagement – not just with the host but also with each other within the community. Build in flexibility to accommodate user generated features and you will reap the rewards. I was recently contacted by Quora asking me for my suggestions in this respect and it is clear this is one of the ways they are developing their platform.

6. Above and Beyond

Start with the mindset that you will go above and beyond the norm in an approach that both Napoleon Hill and Zig Ziglar famously referred to as ‘going the extra mile’ and you will give your community every chance of future success.

We hope you have found this information useful. We would be happy to discuss how creating a community around your products or services could work for you. Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post Entrepreneurs – How do you build a community? – 6 tips appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Local Sponsorship Opportunities

1. The Arts

There are few demographics that don’t agree that the arts are an integral component of a thriving community. And patrons of the arts tend to have the sort of free capital that buys them purchasing power. These patrons also tend to be interested in philanthropy and are more likely to spend their money at companies that champion humanitarian causes. Investing in the arts represents an opportunity to demonstrate your company’s investment in the betterment of the community.

• Make a significant donation to the arts organization of your choice. This will get your name on the donor list, and oftentimes includes complimentary ad placement in programs, brochures, or newsletters.

• Event sponsorship—hosting an annual concert series, for example—can put your business in the good graces of the community.

• Commission a work of art to be displayed in a prominent public space.

2. Benefit Races

There is no shortage of races that raise money for great causes by asking participants to secure sponsors who provide financial backing. As a rule, these events are well-publicized, well-received, and well-attended. Participating in one way or another associates your company with issues that matter.

• Sponsor a group of participants or build a team to run the race (assuming you’ve got personnel who are willing to sweat for the greater good).

• Sponsor the race itself. Charities will partner with your company to organize and promote the race.

• Set up booths on the day of the event where you can offer promotional items like t-shirts, water bottles, balloons, and custom pens to participants and spectators.

3. Environmental Restoration

Many people automatically equate corporations with ecological damage, even if the evidence to support that association is lacking. One way to dispel this type of misconception is to host an environmental restoration project. Like benefit races, they provide a way to forge relationships with community members while working together towards a common goal.

• Organize stream clean-ups or tree plantings.

• Sponsor a local conservation organization’s research or special projects.

We are a leading marketing agency in London.Want to incorporate local sponsorship into your marketing strategy? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

We hope you have found this information useful. This guest post was written by Alice Jenkins. Alice Jenkins is a graphic designer and hopeless perfectionist. She writes for PensXpress

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post How do you use local sponsorship to enhance your reputation & drive leads? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Local Sponsorship Opportunities

1. The Arts

There are few demographics that don’t agree that the arts are an integral component of a thriving community. And patrons of the arts tend to have the sort of free capital that buys them purchasing power. These patrons also tend to be interested in philanthropy and are more likely to spend their money at companies that champion humanitarian causes. Investing in the arts represents an opportunity to demonstrate your company’s investment in the betterment of the community.

• Make a significant donation to the arts organization of your choice. This will get your name on the donor list, and oftentimes includes complimentary ad placement in programs, brochures, or newsletters.

• Event sponsorship—hosting an annual concert series, for example—can put your business in the good graces of the community.

• Commission a work of art to be displayed in a prominent public space.

2. Benefit Races

There is no shortage of races that raise money for great causes by asking participants to secure sponsors who provide financial backing. As a rule, these events are well-publicized, well-received, and well-attended. Participating in one way or another associates your company with issues that matter.

• Sponsor a group of participants or build a team to run the race (assuming you’ve got personnel who are willing to sweat for the greater good).

• Sponsor the race itself. Charities will partner with your company to organize and promote the race.

• Set up booths on the day of the event where you can offer promotional items like t-shirts, water bottles, balloons, and custom pens to participants and spectators.

3. Environmental Restoration

Many people automatically equate corporations with ecological damage, even if the evidence to support that association is lacking. One way to dispel this type of misconception is to host an environmental restoration project. Like benefit races, they provide a way to forge relationships with community members while working together towards a common goal.

• Organize stream clean-ups or tree plantings.

• Sponsor a local conservation organization’s research or special projects.

We are a leading marketing agency in London.Want to incorporate local sponsorship into your marketing strategy? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

We hope you have found this information useful. This guest post was written by Alice Jenkins. Alice Jenkins is a graphic designer and hopeless perfectionist. She writes for PensXpress

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post How do you use local sponsorship to enhance your reputation & drive leads? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

How can Marketing Fundamentals Ltd Help you?

1. Content Marketing consultancy – We create blog & Social Media Content and implement it for you leaving you to focus on your core business. There are a number of different packages available and we can create a bespoke package too.

2. Video Content – We create video Content to promote your business and for use on YouTube / Vimeo etc.

3. Social Media Consultancy – We devise a Social Media Strategy and implement it for you. Watch a testimonial here

4. Blog Post Writing – We create a number of posts for you and supply to you for you to upload to your site. Thirty posts is a popular number because when you have created thirty blog post traffic to your site increases by up to 30% Source: Social Media Examiner.

5. Blog Mentoring – Regular face to face sessions instructing business owners and entrepreneurs how to blog to promote their business and organisations. Booked as 12 weekly sessions and can be delivered via Skype if distance prevents face to face meetings. Note – There is homework in between each session.

6. Email Copywriting – You’ve built a mailing list but don’t really know what to say to maintain momentum? We can do this for you.

7. Company Workshops – Content Marketing & Social Media 1 day Workshops delivered at your company’s premises. Watch a testimonial here.

8. Online Blogging Course – Learn on Demand by registering for our our Udemy course How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’

9. Book – Buy our ‘How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’ paperback book from Amazon. There is also a Kindle version available.

10. App – Buy our SME Marketing App on App Store and Android platforms

11. Blog – Read our Marketing Fundamentals Ltd blog.

12. YouTube – Watch Marketing Fundamentals Ltd videos on our You Tube Channel.

13. Twitter   Twitter: TurboCharge Your Twitter Presence Course

We hope you have found this information useful and we look forward to hearing from you. Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post How can Marketing Fundamentals Ltd help you? – 13 ways appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

I was interviewed by the lovely Melinda Yeaman for the Outlier Podcast series. Click here to listen to the interview.

Click here to listen.

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Wednesdays.

I hope you find this information useful.

Best wishes,

Mike Pitt

Founder & CEO

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

Follow Mike on Quora

Subscribe to

Follow us on LinkedIn

Buy our book!

Follow Mike on Twitter

The post Mike Pitt – ‘Unleashing the Power of Content’ Podcast for Outlier Magazine appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.