may marketing dates

Important Dates for your May Marketing Calendar (+ Content Ideas!)

Your May Marketing Calendar

Spring has sprung, and with longer and warmer days ahead, we’re looking forward to key May dates to plan our content. 

May has two Bank Holidays, so make sure you account for that when making content. It’s a great chance to change your promotional offers to suit those long weekends and the summer days ahead too! 

In this article, we delve into a list of May marketing dates and matching content ideas.

2nd May – May Bank Holiday

The first May bank holiday is a great time to officially open your pub/restaurant garden for the summer.

Make the most of the long weekend with special offers on food and drinks, and encourage visitors to sit outside in the sun. Use a specific hashtag to spread the word online that you have outdoor seating ready for customers.

4th May – Star Wars Day 

May the fourth be with you! A favourite amongst Star Wars fans, this day is a great opportunity to capitalise on that. In other words, think Star Wars themed food and drinks, a special Star Wars dish or a fancy dress competition. 

May marketing dates

10th-14th May – Eurovision

This year’s Eurovision will be held in Turin, Italy. The flamboyant and party-like atmosphere of Eurovision is the perfect chance to have fun! For example, you could invite your customers down to watch the contest in your venue, with special Italian food and decor to entice them in.

You could even hold a competition for best dressed customer!

As the results come in live, this is a good opportunity for your brand to be reactive. Use memes and a sense of humour to react quickly on Twitter and Instagram as the results come in. 

13th May – World Cocktail Day

This is a great one for all you restaurant and bar owners! Any special promotions on your cocktails today? How about a cocktail-making masterclass to celebrate the day? 

14th May – FA Cup Final

Nothing gets people outside the house like an FA Cup Final! Make the most of your extra guests by offering a match-day special alongside screening the game at your venue. However, there’s no need to go too fancy, they’re here for the game after all. But whilst they’re here, hook them in with a special offer and a fun experience to get them coming back once the football’s over. 

16th-22nd May – National Vegetarian Week

This is a great opportunity to highlight to your customers your vegetarian dishes on offer. If you’re looking for TikTok inspiration, show your audience how you can swap out meat from a popular dish with a veggie alternative. Have fun by highlighting how easy veggie dishes are to make!

17th May – World Baking Day

It’s been a while since the Great British Bake Off has been on our screens. How about recreating your own ‘bake off’ in your venue? If you’re not keen on getting customers involved, do an out of hours baking competition with your staff, post the process on social media and get your customers to vote for their favourite bake! As a result, you’ll boost engagement and get your audience excited about your business. 

If you’re thinking of something a bit smaller but with a big impact, have a bake sale or donate a portion of your baked goods to charity. Gestures like this are a great way to raise awareness for a charity whilst also showing how your business supports the wider community. 

21st May – International Tea Day

Everyone likes tea, right? The opportunities here are endless. From ranking your favourite teas on social media (and getting your audience involved) to a big cream tea event at your venue, there’s a chance to diversify your offerings for the day. 

22nd-28th May – British Sandwich Week

We’ve had cocktails, we’ve had tea, now for another British classic: the sarnie. What beats a good old bacon sarnie with a cuppa? Maybe your audience prefers a cheese sandwich to a BLT. Why not find out? Get your audience involved online and invite them to your venue for a week of special sarnies on the menu. 

Not a food brand? Record a TikTok asking everyone at the office what their favourite sandwich is – you’ll be sure to get some interesting choices! The stranger the better, and this format lends itself well to engagement on Tiktok. Users can duet your video and add on to the conversation. 

24th-28th May – Chelsea Flower Show

If you prefer a more sophisticated style, the Chelsea Flower Show is the place to be. For those that can’t get there in person, welcome them to your venue instead. You could host a flower arranging class in your venue, with a discount on food and drinks after. 

Share your flower-arrangements across socials and let your audience choose their favourite!

You could also keep a close eye on the Show itself. Match top flowers and features to your dishes on offer. Share them on social media side by side to show the uncanny resemblance and get your audience in on the fun!

25th May – National Wine Day

Wine lovers everywhere will love this one. If you have a special house wine, don’t be afraid to centre it in your social media campaign. Highlight why it’s your house special, what it tastes like and why you love it. 

Not a restaurant/food brand? Host a giveaway on your social media channels to win a bottle of wine. As a result, you’ll get the conversation talking about wine whilst also driving your engagement upwards. 

28th May – International Hamburger Day

Ever wondered who invented the hamburger? This is your chance to find out. Host a special day at your restaurant celebrating your hamburger dishes. Give kids a fun, interactive worksheet to keep them occupied during the meal.

28th May – World Hunger Day

End the month with a charitable donation and a day spent raising awareness. This day raises awareness of hunger and food poverty across the world, and the importance of access to education and technology to end that hunger. The Hunger Project has some food-related challenges to raise awareness of food poverty, such as giving up sugar for a week. 

 

We hope you found these May marketing dates useful and can take inspiration from our ideas. Be sure to share your results with us if you do!

Get in touch with Posh Cockney for a tailored marketing plan and content calendar to support your business goals. 


marketing agency

5 reasons why you should hire a marketing agency

What can’t you do that a marketing agency can? This is the question on every business owner’s lips. You’re doing the marketing leg work alongside running your business and everything’s fine, right? Well, what if things were going great instead? That’s where a marketing agency comes in. They can sweep you off your feet, set you in your chair and give you a moment to breathe.

A marketing agency does the easy stuff, the hard stuff and all the stuff in between. But don’t take our word for it! In this blog, we discuss five reasons why you should hire a marketing agency to deliver results for your business. 

Expert opinions and insight

A marketing agency will consist of people who live and breathe marketing. That means trained, qualified professionals with skills to match your needs will be overseeing your marketing strategy. That’s priceless right? Instead of figuring it out on your own, you can lean on the support and expert advice of your marketing agency as they navigate business growth. 

Bold, creative ideas

Another crucial thing to consider when hiring a marketing agency, is how fresh and creative their ideas are. A marketing agency that can match your ideas and develop them into creative strategies as well as come up with their own unique ideas is unmatched. Most marketing agencies will have specialists in digital marketing and design. This means the team is made up of creatives, which is especially good if you have a niche business that may be struggling with how to present itself in the media. 

More time for you to do what’s important

As a business owner, you’ll know full well that time is money. Leaving the marketing stuff to the marketing experts allows you more time and energy to develop other aspects of the business. You’ll have more time to build customer relationships, improve operations and expand your services. Now doesn’t that sound like a good deal!

Access to more tools and data

Are you spending money left, right and centre on the newest digital marketing tools? Are you paying for design tools, email tools and analytics tools but not really knowing where to start? Switching to a marketing agency will solve these problems and save you money in the long run. Agencies have all the access to the latest marketing tools to keep them competitive. This means you’ll benefit from the variety of tools they have and the data they produce so you can make more informed decisions about your strategies without breaking the bank. 

Immediate start

Hiring a marketing executive onto your permanent staff will involve a probationary period, training and building trust. When you hire a marketing agency, there’s none of that. The agency can start straight away with optimising your marketing strategies and implementing their tools. That means if you’re looking to boost your sales now, you can get that support as soon as possible, rather than hiring someone and waiting for them to learn the ropes. The benefit of this is that it’s both time and money saved, which is great for your business in the long run. 

We hope this blog helps you understand the benefits of hiring a marketing agency to help your business grow. Whilst business owners wear many hats, a marketing hat isn’t one they have to wear! The best part of a marketing agency is the knowledge and experience they bring with them, ensuring that your business is in the best possible hands. 

Is Posh Cockney the right marketing agency for you?

At Posh Cockney, we specialise in marketing and PR for the hospitality and event industries. Whether you’re a new restaurant, hotel or catering company, our services will help you hit the ground running. 

From dynamic marketing campaigns to strong PR links, we can sort every aspect of your marketing strategy for you. That includes media outreach, social media management and website development. 

If you’re interested in hiring a marketing agency and would like to know more, get in touch with Posh Cockney today.

Not in the hospitality or event industries but interested in our services? Contact us to see if we can help.


SEO tips

5 SEO tips to improve your search ranking

Most people (75%) don’t look beyond the first page of their google search result. So you have to make sure your website appears on that first page to receive any sort of traffic. Once there, users spend as little as 10 seconds on a home page if they can’t immediately see the value it offers. So, to improve your SEO, you need to appear on the first page of search results and grab the user’s attention with engaging web copy. If you’re struggling to achieve these two goals, there could be a number of problems at play. Your old content might be impacting your ranking, or you may not be using enough keywords. Whatever the problem is, we’ve compiled 5 SEO tips that could help you improve your search ranking.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of directing more traffic to your website by improving the quantity and quality of your content. Seems simple, right? Improve the quality of your content and see higher rankings and more traffic to your site. But sometimes it’s not always that straightforward. Algorithms and trends move quickly, so if you don’t keep up with these changes you may find your ranking starts to drop. 

 

SEO tipsAlign your content with search intent

To understand and get the most out of SEO, you first need to understand search intent (also known as user intent). This is the purpose behind every search query; what the user hopes to find out from making a google search. Understanding what your audience is looking for will help boost your SEO ranking. 

You’ll need to create content around this search intent. To do this, you need to complete keyword research that incorporates the four common types of search intent: informational, navigational, commercial and transactional. For example, if you want to rank for “best laptops for gaming”, then the search intent here is commercial rather than transactional. The user isn’t looking to buy just yet, they’re looking for content that shows them the best laptops for their needs. 

 

SEO tipsPhoto by Melanie Deziel on Unsplash

 

Produce high quality content

This might seem an obvious one, but high quality content is so important in developing a reputation as a reliable source. The more high quality content you create, the more a search engine will notice it. It also gives visitors not only a reason to come back, but to spend more time looking at your content (this is called dwell time). High quality content always focuses on search intent, and often includes trusted backlinks to other sources. 

 

Optimise your page speed

You’ll likely encounter two problems when your website loading speed is too slow. The first is that search engines will recognise this slow speed and won’t show your site in search results. The second is that visitors engaging with your site will have a high bounce rate: they’ll leave your site quickly if it doesn’t load and you’ll lose out on potential customers. 

Use a free online tool, such as Pingdom, to test the speed of your website. You can then remove anything that is impacting its speed and boost your search ranking with Google. The quicker your site loads, the more visitors you’ll get. Search engines will recognise this popularity and adjust your site’s position in the search results accordingly. 

 

Write compelling title tags and meta data

These are the most important meta tags on your site. Title tags are the clickable headlines that users see first in their search results. It’s what users use to decide whether your content is relevant to their search query. When creating optimised title tags you should: include your target keywords, match it to search intent but avoid keyword stuffing. A strong title tag is descriptive, concise and under 60 characters.

A meta description tag is a brief summary of your page. Meta descriptions don’t directly impact search rankings but they can influence click-through rates. Google will show a meta description tag up to 160 characters long, so keep your description concise and accurate with action-oriented copy to hook the user in. 

 

Optimise old content

If your SEO ranking is low, you may have your old content to blame. If you don’t use links to direct back to your old content with your new content, this old content will go ignored by your audience. Search engines won’t ignore it though, it will notice it’s low search ranking and reduce your overall website traffic as a result by prioritising other sites with better SEO. So it’s important to optimise that old content. Everything on your website should have value to users – if it doesn’t it’s time to delete or change it. 

You can refresh your old content by updating the copy with new keywords and up-to-date information. Adding new images with accurate tags can help too. Links to other pages on your site will also improve your overall website structure, making it more attractive to search engines. If your old content is really old and beyond repair, consider deleting it and replacing it with something entirely new. Make a space on your website for content about trending topics and popular keywords. Search engines will recognise the high-value and high-quality content you are creating and will give you a better ranking position. 

 

Photo by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash

We hope these 5 SEO tips have helped you improve your search rankings. These are just a few ideas you can try to boost your SEO and optimise your website content. Search engine algorithms change regularly, so it’s important to have a grasp of how and when your website appears in searches.

 

Get in touch with Posh Cockney to find out more.


April marketing calendar

Important Dates for your April Marketing Calendar (+ Content Ideas!)

Your April Marketing Calendar

With April on the horizon and the weather finally warming up for Spring, we’re all in high spirits at Posh Cockney. For us, the end of the month means finalising plans and ensuring that all our creative ideas are ready to go for the month ahead. 

One of our favourite ways to plan monthly content is by tapping into key dates that occur throughout the month. This helps to boost SEO and engagement for our clients, while also seamlessly exhibiting brand personality

Struggling to come up with marketing ideas for the next month? Maybe Posh Cockney can lend you a hand.

Without further ado, here are the dates you’ll want to keep in mind for your April marketing calendar, plus some content ideas to help get you started!

april marketing calendar

1st April – April Fool’s Day

This day is an absolute favourite of brands for content planning. You have free reign to get as wacky as you want (within reason, of course!). April Fool’s Day is all about making your audience laugh and doing the things they’ll least expect. 

Perhaps you can announce a new fake product or dish on social media – the stranger the better! The weirder it is, the more likely your audience is to engage and potentially even make it go viral. 

Or, why not actually sell this product for a limited time only – everyone loves a bit of novelty!

Whatever it is, you can’t really go too wrong on April Fool’s Day. Just make sure it happens before noon!

2nd April – International Pillow Fight Day

Bring pillows to the office and film a team pillow fight for your business’ social media platforms, showing the more human side of your brand. You could even create a fundraiser for a charity and try to break a record for the longest pillow fight. 

Does your business sell pillows? Take advantage of this day and promote an unmissable offer on your pillows. Better yet, create a campaign using pillow fights to demonstrate the durability of your pillows. This can also work for hotels.

5th April – National Caramel Day

Is your business a restaurant, café, coffee shop or any brand that uses caramel for a drink or dish? Create a special offer on your caramel-based goods and share on social media! You could even promote a limited edition drink or dish with caramel in for one day only.

Why not boost social media engagement with an Instagram Stories poll that asks your audience to vote on their favourite caramel-based drinks and desserts?

6th April – New Beer’s Eve

New Beer’s Eve marks the end of the US prohibition era in 1933, when alcoholic beverages were finally made legal again and Americans queued around blocks to get a taste of beer for the first time in 13 years.

Although it’s been almost 90 years and people can now drink beer any day they like, it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get people queuing for beer again. Create an amazing offer on your beer menu, or offer free beer for customers who spend a certain amount on the rest of your menu. 

On social media, ask your followers to comment their favourite beer brands – this will boost your engagement while also giving you some menu inspiration! 

If you’re not a hospitality business, allow your staff members to crack open a cold one in the office and share on social media. 

7th April – World Health Day

World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated annually on 7th April to mark the founding of the World Health Organisation in 1948. 

If you’re an F&B business, share your company’s values of health and wellbeing on social media and promote your healthiest dishes. 

Or, encourage your team to join you on a sponsored walk for a health charity.

10th April – National Siblings Day

Why not promote a 2 for 1 offer on your products for siblings? If two customers in your shop or hospitality business can prove their siblings, allow them to celebrate National Siblings Day with a special offer. 

You could even ask them to share something sibling-related on social media with a branded hashtag to redeem a free drink or product. 

Or, ask your team to send in pictures of them with their siblings for you to share on social media.

13th April – National Make Lunch Count Day

National Make Lunch Count Day is all about encouraging ourselves to take a proper break from work and eating away from our desks at lunch time, whether that’s soaking up the sun on a bench outside or eating at a local café. 

F&B businesses can absolutely take advantage of this. Do you serve an express lunch menu perfect for workers taking their lunch break? Or can you launch one on the 13th for this reason?

Get the word out by reaching out to local businesses/offices and maybe even offering them an exclusive discount for all their lunch time needs. Connecting with hungry local workers on their lunch breaks is the best way to create loyal customers!

15th-18th April – Easter Weekend

Easter is a great holiday to tap into, especially for family-friendly businesses. Whether it’s an Easter egg hunt, egg painting activities or just a whole lot of chocolate, your business’ ability to entertain children is always going to be valuable to parents. 

But Easter isn’t always just for kids. Why not hide eggs around your shop or restaurant, and give freebies or prizes to the customers who find them all? Or can you serve desserts with Mini Eggs on top?

At the end of the day, you can never go wrong with fun Easter-themed decorations around your venue!

April marketing calendar

21st April – Get to Know your Customers Day

Your customers are extremely valuable to you, but if you don’t know their needs and desires well enough, they may not stick around for long. While on a daily basis, it’s not always easy to ask your customers who they are and what they want without it sounding like an interrogation, Get to Know your Customers Day gives you the perfect excuse to do this.

Why not ask your followers on social media to comment something about themselves and why they choose to engage with your brand? 

Or, ask them to share a Stories post using a specific hashtag, telling you all about themselves for a chance to win a prize. 

If all else fails or you miss Get to Know your Customers Day, there are other ways you can learn about your target audience. Find out more here.

22nd April – Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event where we all come together to show support for environmental protection. As global warming increasingly becomes more of a pressing issue, it’s more important than ever to tell your eco-conscious audience what you’re doing as a business to look after the planet. 

Simply sharing your values and sustainability practices as a company on social media is a great way to start, showing your followers that they’re supporting the right business. To take it a step further, find a way to introduce new sustainability practices into your business, like more eco-friendly packaging – there’s always more that can be done!

Why not plant a tree or introduce more plants into your venue? Perhaps partner with a company like Ecologi and plant a tree for every order, like our client Propagrub. You could even create a new special dish or product to promote this.

23rd April – National Picnic Day

National Picnic Day comes at the perfect time – just as the weather’s (usually!) getting warmer. While the rise of picnics may seem like a negative thing for restaurant businesses, as many people will turn to homemade sandwiches and cakes to bring to the park, there are definitely ways you can insert your brand into this narrative.

Make your restaurant “picnic-able” by serving your dishes in takeaway form to be enjoyed in the sunshine. Better yet, create picnic packages for different sized groups and offer blankets and baskets with this. Why should your customers go to lengths to buy all of these elements separately for a higher price when your business is handing it to them altogether?

If you’re not an F&B business, create incredible offers on your picnic-related products, like baskets, blankets and outdoor games. Or, similarly, offer them in an amazing bundle offer for one day only. Just cross your fingers that the weather will cooperate!

 

Still need more content ideas for your April marketing calendar? Get in touch with Posh Cockney today.


Bridgerton: A well versed marketing phenomenon

In a world where nearly the entire population is addicted to Netflix, it’s no wonder that everyone is hooked on the trending period drama, ‘Bridgerton’. Now, everyone is anticipating the newest season, which is due to air on the 25th of March.

The Netflix original series, which was originally based on books written by bestselling author Julia Quinn, follows the romantic encounters of the eight siblings of the Bridgerton family as they try to navigate their way through London society.

Set in Regency era London of the 1830s, Bridgerton is riddled with extravaganza. Ranging from lavish sets to eccentric costumes and a gorgeous cast, it was bound to keep watchers hooked. To loyal TV series fanatics, it is reminiscent of a periodic Gossip Girl; but Bridgerton has now carved an identity for itself.

However, what does this all mean from a marketing perspective? 

Taking the World of Marketing by Storm 

Over the past couple of years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about how TV series have diffused from our screens to real life. One example of this is Emily in Paris, a series that follows a marketing manager’s journey in the elaborate streets of Paris as she adapts to a big change of scenery. Ironically, the series has shown us just how much marketing itself works. When something is portrayed on screen and endorsed by characters, it becomes fashionable and everyone hops on that bandwagon, much like Emily’s marketing career. 

And Bridgerton is no different. This series has created so much buzz around its name that it is widely recognised and now has a large fan base tracking its every move. It has even made a transition to the theatre with productions trying to mimic the show’s atmosphere, introducing the craze of Bridgerton to an audience that can easily access it.

Moreover, the series has become a trendy subject, and businesses worldwide have embraced it in their marketing campaigns. For instance, a Bridgerton challenge went viral on TikTok last year, and this massively increased brand traffic on the app. 

Hidden Marketing Lessons in Bridgerton

  • The Power of the Published Word

Even if the source is an unknown entity, the published word is a very powerful tool.

In the show, no one knows the identity of Lady Whistledown, the town’s anonymous gossip columnist, but her opinion matters the most for the sheer fact that it is published. This is even more important in the modern world where anyone can be a so-called publisher, particularly thanks to social media.

Reading something in an actual publication, as opposed to a social media post or email, comes with an upper level of credibility. For start ups and emerging brands, this serves as an important lesson: Earned media is one of the best ways to capture attention and generate interest.

  • The Importance of Taking Creative Risks

Bridgerton is riddled with scandal at the forefront of every social interaction.

The way it deals with race and sex is risky to be sure, especially in the times that it is portraying, but it’s a risk that’s paid off. Being historically accurate may earn you fewer critics, but it will also get you fewer fans actually tuning in to watch. Playing it safe has never been a riskier strategy.

Instead expect scandal, fantastic sets and costumes, and a touch of whimsy. Creative license has been certainly taken with orchestras playing instrumental versions of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” and Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You,”, making it impossible to look away. 

  • Perception = Reality

What people are led to believe, true or not, is their reality, and until you convince them otherwise, this is their truth.

In the pilot episode, Lady Whistledown — aka a 17th-century Gossip Girl — publishes that Daphne Bridgerton is damaged goods and unworthy of the Queen’s praise. Even though Lady Whistledown is at this point an “anonymous scribbler,” Daphne’s prospects all but dry up.

It is every brand custodian’s responsibility to create its brand’s narrative before someone else does. A brand’s story must be consistent and cohesive across all channels for it to truly stick.

  • Don’t Play by the Rules

Eloise Bridgerton at the tender age of 17 already realises this. She knows that if she follows the rules dictated by those who’ve been around longer, she will be forever stuck.

If you want to get ahead, you need to change the rules of the game, especially in this day and age. Entrepreneurs can no longer be playing by someone else’s rules; posting the same content, creating the same-same marketing materials, using the same channels hoping for a different result. It just won’t work.

 

If you want to get a feel of old London and enjoy an expertly crafted meal or cocktail, visit the new St. Martin’s House located in the iconic neighbourhood of Covent Garden. Lady Whistledown’s crowd would never pass up this opportunity!

 

Get in touch with Posh Cockney today to elevate your marketing campaign and stand out from the crowd. Normal is boring and we are sure your brand is not!


top 5 business podcasts

Top 5 best business podcasts making waves in the industry

No matter how passionate you are about your career, it can’t be denied that the busy 9-5 doesn’t often leave us much time for self-educational activities like reading. For many, podcasts have become the solution to this. In this blog, we share our recommendations for the best business podcasts currently making waves in the industry. 

The word ‘podcast’ itself comes from the contraction of the words ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcast’, and is another form of digital content that can be streamed anywhere, at any time. Unlike books, podcasts are great for multitasking, as they can be listened to while completing a separate task, including even travelling to work. 

And they can be about anything. Whether you’re interested in cooking, true crime, business or even motherhood, there’s a podcast out there for every subject matter you can imagine. Providing both information and entertainment, this diverse variety is what makes podcasts such an attractive content form, as well as the fact that they’re accessible on a range of platforms.

Many people prefer podcasts for the casual tone they present that makes it feel like chatting to a friend – something that otherwise can’t be experienced in written form.

In 2004, there were barely 3000 podcasts available. In January 2021, Apple Podcasts estimated that there were nearly 2 million podcasts now available to listen to. Clearly, the popularity of podcasts is increasing significantly everyday, and this is partially thanks to how accessible they are to create. 

Many brands create podcasts as a strategy to engage their audience. They can help to:

  • Increase the notoriety of your brand
  • Show your brand’s more human side
  • Demonstrate your expertise in your field
  • Build a stronger connection with your audience

But before you make your own, it’s a good idea to know what’s already out there. Whether you’re looking for inspiration or just some new podcasts to follow, here are Posh Cockney’s suggestions for the top 5 best business podcasts:

‘Online Marketing Made Easy’ with Amy Porterfield

Amy Porterfield is an online marketing expert who hosts the top-ranked podcast Online Marketing Made Easy. With hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners, Amy is a business mentor who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, business owners and educators to build their businesses through online marketing strategies.

top 5 business podcasts

‘Marketing Made Simple’ by StoryBrand

Every week, Marketing Made Simple will give you the best practical tips to develop your marketing strategy in an easy and straight-forward way. Hosted by Dr. JJ Peterson, this podcast will teach you how to grow your business both bigger and faster. 

‘The Diary of a CEO’ by Steven Bartlett

With more than 5 million downloads since its launch, the Diary of a CEO podcast is a real success. Once a week, Steven Bartlett helps to share the advice and experiences of his guests from a variety of business backgrounds. This unfiltered podcast unveils the “behind the scenes” of being an entrepreneur, including both the pros and cons.

top 5 business podcasts

‘Goal Digger Podcast’ by Jenna Kutcher

In Goal Digger Podcast, Jenna Kutcher shares all the best-kept secrets in the industry, with the aim to help more women achieve their dreams and establish successful businesses. Listen to inspirational interviews with leading women in business.

‘The Garyvee Audio Experience’ by Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, CEO, investor, vlogger and public speaker. Today, he is also considered as one of the “most forward thinkers in business”. His skill? Gary is a trend-spotter and knows how to help brands adjust to new shifts on the horizon. Listen to The Garyvee Audio Experience to get VIP access to the future.

top 5 business podcasts

 

Need more business advice and don’t think a podcast will cut it? Get in touch with Posh Cockney today!


5 women disrupting marketing industry

Posh Cockney celebrates 5 women shaping the future of marketing

The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911 spanning across Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Today, 111 years later, the event is celebrated all over the world and marks women’s achievements both past and present globally. 

Today however, we’re celebrating the women who are thought-leaders and innovators making an impact in our industry.

Jennifer Polk – Gartner

Jennifer Polk is Managing Vice President at Gartner. An expert in business and marketing, Jennifer has over 18 years of experience working with B2B and B2C organisations. She now leads a team of experts who advise on go-to-market strategies, demand generation and marketing agility.

What we particularly admire about Jennifer, aside from her marketing achievements, is her developed approach to leadership. In one of her blogs, she encourages others to lead with ‘openness’ and ‘show up differently’. You don’t have to be an official leader to show leadership; Jennifer’s mantra, ‘be open’, is an example of that.

5 women disrupting marketing industry

Sophie Miller – Pretty Little Marketer

Sophie Miller started her business when she was studying towards her degree and noticed a lack of information online about marketing that was easily digestible to beginners. In 2020, she created Pretty Little Marketer, a “community initiative aimed to help and inspire marketers to find their feet, voice and confidence in the crazy world of marketing”.

Pretty Little Marketer’s Instagram account, which serves up everything from marketing strategies to freelancing tips, now has over 33,000 followers. The LinkedIn account has over 70,000 followers. We love Sophie’s content because she’s all about helping and inspiring others to succeed in their marketing careers.

Clara Shih – Salesforce

When we talk about impactful female leaders, Clara Shih has to be one of them. Clara is CEO of Service Cloud at Salesforce, a customer service platform. However, she is also a business owner and author. Her book, The Facebook Era, has been featured by The New York Times and is used as a textbook at Harvard Business School.

Clara has also been named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, Fast Company’s Most Influential People in Technology, and Businessweek’s Top Young Entrepreneurs. She is committed to making the tech industry a more diverse place by empowering the people that work for her and encouraging more girls to study tech and engineering.

Joanna Wiebe – Copyhackers

Joanna Wiebe is known as the original ‘conversion copywriter’ and is the creator of Copyhackers.

Joanna’s been optimising copy for a lot longer than most companies realised their copy needed optimising, solving their pain points before they knew they had them! Her expert knowledge on all things copywriting has led big-name companies her way: think Canva, Sprout Social and BT to name just a few.

She’s also coached more than 70,000 people from start ups to international agencies. So many people and organisations have benefitted from Joanna’s teachings that we can’t help but admire her. Read her top ten copywriting tips here.

5 women disrupting the marketing industry

Emma Bolton – Posh Cockney

Emma Bolton is Posh Cockney’s thriving Head of PR. After seven years spent working in the London events scene, Emma entered the PR world at Posh Cockney two years ago, and has since rapidly climbed up to her leading senior position.

With journalist contacts all over the globe and a track record of scoring incredible coverage in reputable and popular media outlets, Emma has become a powerful force in the PR industry with a bright future ahead of her.

These are just a small number of the many women that inspire us. We’ve chosen these women to talk about not only for their success in business but also for their contribution to the industry. They continue to use their innovation and ambition to inspire others, a belief we can certainly get behind. 

We are so proud that Posh Cockney is a predominantly female team making waves in the industry. Want to see what we can do? Get in touch with us today!


Top 5 best books for business this World Book Day

Today marks the 25th anniversary of World Book Day. The day aims to “promote reading for pleasure” and encourages people of all ages to read more. Reading from a young age has been found to have a significant impact on future success. In adulthood, it’s just as important to keep reading to inspire new ideas and aid your development. 

So, whilst your little ones spend World Book Day at school dressed as their favourite characters, let’s take a look at some of the best business books out there, recommended by the Posh Cockney team.

The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

The 10x Rule explains the principle of ‘massive action’. That’s the fourth degree of action, above the ordinary ‘action, retreat or normal action’ that most people operate on. The book details how to make the fourth degree a way of life, learning discipline and taking effective action. This is a great book for those starting a business as it will help you problem-solve in the early stages and build your business with ‘massive’ success in mind and comes recommended by our CEO, Liam Norval. 

Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed

Rebel Ideas is a great book if you’re looking to start your own team or want to build better relationships with your existing team. Matthew Syed uses real life and exciting examples to make you rethink the way ideas are created. He examines how we form ideas not just within our working team but outside of work too. He also focuses on the power of building a cognitively diverse team to strengthen relationships as well as harnessing unique perspectives. This is a great read for those in business, but also for anyone looking for a different approach to the way we view the world. 

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Struggling to feel creative lately? Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic can help with that. In this book she reminds us that you don’t have to be a naturally creative person to be able to create. Creativity looks different for everybody, so it makes sense that you may need to look in a different place to find it. Big Magic will teach you how to come up with the best ideas, educate you on living creatively and provide a unique perspective on creativity and inspiration itself. 

 

How to Make it Happen by Maria Hatzistefanis 

Founder of Rodial and Nip & Fab beauty, Maria Hatzistefanis reveals everything she’s learned from building her business in the past 20 years. From her many successes to her many failures, Maria explores everything from setting goals to handling rejection. The best thing about this book is how easy it is to read. We often find books about business are filled with jargon and aren’t accessible to a wide range of readers. Maria’s writing is easy to digest and easy to learn from. We love that she doesn’t shy away from her failures, revealing that even the people behind big brands don’t always get it right. It’s an inspiring and motivating read for anyone looking to grow their business. 

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book is perfect for anyone who struggles to form habits. These could be habits related to your personal life, or habits that you know will help progress your business if only you could stick to them. Likewise, if you have bad habits you’re struggling to change, James sets out a clear system to help tackle them. He draws on ideas from both biology and psychology to help you make good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible.

 

We hope these books will inspire you not only to read more, but learn more too. All five of these books are great for boosting creativity, generating ideas and thinking a bit more outside of the box.

What book will you be picking up this World Book Day? We’d love to hear your recommendations over on our social media channels!


Marketing 101: The birth of Meme Marketing

With the creation of a plethora of social media platforms, came the need to create relatable content for people to enjoy day and night. This led to the inevitable birth of memes and trendy posts, which everyone shares with their friends on social media.

Memes inevitably then became a marketing opportunity for all brands who had a social media presence, which they repost on their profiles by giving them their own twist.

Meme-jacking trends as marketing tools

Due to meme marketing’s increased popularity as a marketing strategy, it got its own term and is now also known as “Meme-jacking”. This term practically highlights the idea that when marketers hijack popular memes or funny memes to market their products, it’s called meme-jacking.

Meme-jacking is becoming increasingly popular because it’s an excellent way to share refreshing content that has the potential to go viral. Memes are entertaining, funny and very easy to consume; that is why they are perfectly suited for increasing a brand’s engagement and are now always a vital part in a brand’s digital marketing strategies.

At the end of the day, who doesn’t like a hilarious meme that’s designed to make them laugh?

Why does it work?

As a concept, meme marketing seems like a winning strategy, because it utilizes its relatable nature and enticing content that attracts people. The relatability of memes is also one of the major selling points of this type of digital marketing and the ease at which people can share them with their peers – if it relates to them or they find it amusing, they’ll share it, which means more exposure for your brand.

The simplicity of it also makes it super efficient and effective as well. The best part of meme marketing is that you can simply take a concept that is already gaining traction and piggyback on its popularity. With memes, there is no such thing as plagiarism. Therefore, you can capitalize on a trending meme and customize it with your branded content to engage your target consumers with an entertaining media strategy. 

With the least amount of effort, your share-worthy memes can get you likes, shares, and comments. When you post them on your blog, you can reap the benefits of increased inbound links and website traffic as well. No wonder brands are jumping in on the meme marketing bandwagon.

How brands utilize this type of marketing?

When you know for a fact that connecting with your audiences on social media is the best way to grow your business and following, publishing memes for social media marketing can help you foster the meaningful connections you are aiming for. 

1. Gucci

One of the biggest and most famous luxury fashion brands, Gucci, has utilized this type of social media marketing.  

 

Gucci has built their brand around an image around sophistication and grace. But for their 2017 #TFWGucci campaign, they decided to change all the preconceptions about their brand. With memes, they showed their target audience that they could be cool and in touch with the times. This campaign titled #TFWGucci, which is short for “That Feeling When Gucci,” was a campaign designed to promote their new line of watches.

In a series of relatable memes, Gucci used these memes that ranged from absurd to hilarious. They created all of the memes in collaboration with artists from around the world. The landing page for the campaign even featured an explainer video on the history of memes for those who were new to the concept. The descriptive captions paired with edgy graphics gave Gucci a refreshing brand makeover.

2. Netflix

Another brand that has a strong meme marketing reputation is obviously Netflix. Their social media marketing memes are instantly relatable. At a time when we don’t want to see only branded content on our feed, memes are an opportunity for brands to engage with their audience. Netflix provides a prime example of this and they are smashing it with their meme meme marketing which increases their exposure exponentially.

 

If you are unsure about how to implement meme marketing in your social media marketing campaign, get in touch with Posh Cockney today!


March Marketing Calendar

Important Dates for your March Marketing Calendar (+ Content Ideas!)

Your March Marketing Calendar

It’s almost the end of February, which means it’s time to make sure all your March marketing plans are ready to go. But it may be that you need some last minute inspiration before setting things in stone. 

A great way to come up with marketing and PR content ideas is by capitalising on key dates throughout the month. Whether it’s National Cheesecake Day or Mother’s Day, there’s usually always something to be celebrated. 

Incorporating these days into your content calendar can do the world of good for your business, with benefits like boosting audience engagement, exhibiting brand personality, and building a positive reputation if you choose to raise awareness for a specific cause or event. 

So, without further ado, here are the dates you might want to keep in mind for your March marketing calendar:

1st March – Pancake Day

Does your business serve food? Why not create a limited edition pancake dish to serve for one day only, or across the weekend as well. 

This doesn’t have to be the typical Nutella-covered dessert you can find everywhere. Take this opportunity to create something that’s unique and aligns with your branding. 

For example, our client Ritu Seasons of India is celebrating Shrove Tuesday by serving up Fluffy Chocolate and Pistachio Pancakes with Gulab Jamun and Rose Petal Maple. Is your mouth watering yet?

3rd March – World Book Day

Does your business sell books? Or items that can be book-themed? Boost your brand awareness by doing something related to World Book Day.

Maybe your target audience consists of parents that stress over their kids’ costumes every year. Can your brand’s products make it easier for them this year? Better yet, does your business sell costumes, and can you create an offer that increases sales just before World Book Day?

4th March – Employee Appreciation Day

Show the more human side of your company by posting about your team on social media. These could be appreciation posts, or you can shoot content of your team doing team-bonding activities. 

Perhaps share your company’s efforts to support the wellbeing of your staff, such as posting content of a guided meditation or wellbeing talk.

8th March – International Women’s Day

Take this opportunity to celebrate the women in your team by sharing content of them on social media. 

Or why not fundraise for a women’s charity? Have customers donate to a charity by purchasing a limited edition item, or have a percentage of your day’s profits go towards the charity.

You could also create a women-only event, like a girls’ bottomless brunch, with proceeds going to a women’s charity.

11th March – International School Meals Day

Is your business in the food/drink sector? Similarly, you can fundraise for International School Meals Day by donating to a particular children’s charity. 

You could even begin a partnership with a charity, and help to raise awareness and proceeds for them on a long-term basis.

13th March – The BAFTAs

This is one your business can be reactive towards. Ask your audience who they’re voting for through an Instagram poll. 

Or if you’re active on Twitter, live Tweet during the show and let your brand’s personality shine by sharing opinions about the awards. 

Why not come up with a PR angle surrounding this? How can your business relate to the BAFTAs? Or if you’re situated near the event, can your business offer anything to guests attending the show?

14th March – Pi Day (3.14)

Have a bit of fun with this one. Share a pie chart on social media that relates to your brand. 

Does your business sell anything circular, like pizzas? Or better, pies? Take this as an opportunity to highlight them! Promote special offers on these items for the day by sharing images of them on social media. 

There’s also the option to discount items by 3.14% or even sell them for the price of £3.14.

17th March – St Patrick’s Day

Ask all your staff to dress in green! Or perhaps set up an event where all your customers have to wear green, creating a green wave in your venue, perfect for social media content. 

Can you give a freebie to everyone named Patrick (if they can prove it, of course)? If your business is a bar or pub, why not offer a free pint of beer to any Patricks in the venue?

As St Patrick’s Day is so drinking-focused, create special offers on drinks, like 2 for 1 cocktails, for the day. Or create a limited edition green cocktail to be sold from Thursday to Sunday. 

On the other hand, stand out from the crowd and reach out to customers who don’t drink, by creating special mocktails or acknowledging them via Instagram Stories.

24th March – National Cheesecake Day

Do you sell cheesecake? Promote a special offer on cheesecake for the day and share on social media. 

Perhaps create a poll on Instagram about your audience’s favourite types of cheesecake. Not only will this boost engagement, but it might also give you menu inspiration!

Not in the food sector? Ask your staff to bake their best (or worst!) cheesecakes and ask your audience to vote for the best on social media. You can make this as amusing as you’d like!

25th March – Bridgerton Season 2 Release

Like the BAFTAs, be reactive! We all know how much this trended last year, so take the chance to jump on the bandwagon earlier this year. Whether you’re a brand or not, if you’re relating to your audience’s interests, they’ll engage. 

Share Instagram stories related to the series’ release, like polls that ask your audience for their opinions on certain characters or storylines. 

Or do some newsjacking (reactive PR)! Can your brand relate in any way to Bridgerton? Think outside the box. 

Maybe you’re a clothing brand that can create a concept dress similar to one in the series. Or perhaps you’re an organisation that can provide expert comments on what the Regency Era was really like compared to the series.

Bridgerton March Marketing

25th March – International Waffle Day

Much like National Cheesecake Day, take this opportunity to promote your waffle dishes with a special offer. Or create a limited edition waffle dish for the day.

Perhaps set up a competition for your followers to come up with their ideal waffle toppings – design-your-own-waffle – and offer a voucher or free dessert as a prize. 

Remember to think outside the box! ‘Waffle’ doesn’t just have to be food. Maybe you’re a throat soother brand that can help your chatty audience when they ‘waffle’ too much, or a telephone brand keen to encourage more ‘waffle’.

27th March – Mother’s Day

Perhaps the most important day to prepare for this month. Think about your target audience – does it consist of mums? Find a way that you can flip your services to give back to mums. 

Why not offer freebies to any mums at your venue? You can offer a free glass of prosecco, or even a voucher for your brand – not only will your customer feel appreciated, but they’ll also have incentive to return.

Perhaps create special offers on possible gift items that you sell, like beauty products or champagne. 

Are you a hospitality brand? Try setting up an event dedicated to mums – like a Mother’s Day brunch or a special Mothering Sunday carvery, like our client Hamlet Hotels

Make sure you’re also engaging with the rest of your audience. Most people have a mum they’d like to celebrate on Mother’s Day. Ask your audience what they love most about their mum to help boost engagement.

 

Still need more content ideas for your March marketing calendar? Get in touch with Posh Cockney today.