Why Bowler Hat? It’s a good question. Often the first we get asked. And I wish there was a really fascinating story behind the name.
Maybe it’s all the talk of hats in the SEO world?
Maybe it is the multi-discipline nature of digital marketing and the many hats this one Bowler Hat symbolises?
Certainly, it is a strong and memorable symbol. One that is essentially British.
We Help Small Businesses Make a Big Impact with Expert marketing support.
A symbol forever tied to business and being a gentleman – values we believe in. Maybe the power is that it always gets folks to ask the ‘why Bowler Hat’ question.
Conversations and relationships are at the heart of digital marketing, so it works.
We combine strategic thinking with expert knowledge of SEO, PPC, Social Media and Content Marketing.
We help you set bold yet achievable goals and then plan, manage, and optimise your digital marketing campaigns.
Whether you are looking to understand the best digital channels to promote your business, to exploit the weaknesses of your competitors, or to create a strategically aligned approach across search, social and content,
Through data-driven research and meticulous planning, we unlock the strategies and tactics that will drive success and growth for your business.
We become a trusted partner and your very own digital marketing department with over 50 years of combined marketing experience.
At Bowler Hat, we help you put your business in front of real customers the very moment they need what you offer. SEO is not the fastest way to promote your business, however, with a commitment to smart SEO, no other channel offers the same ROI.
An investment in SEO is an investment in the future of your business.
Marcus, our MD and SEO strategist, has been optimising websites since 1999 (before it was even cool to do so).
We are a small, passionate team and Marcus is involved with every single SEO project at Bowler Hat.
We take this proven, long-term expertise and craft an SEO strategy that is tailor-made for your business.
When you work with Bowler Hat you get a respected, world-class SEO consultant helping you improve your rankings and grow organic search traffic.
Bowler Hat can provide individual services or a complete outsourced marketing solution with everything from SEO and paid ads to conversion rate optimisation.
SEO is complex. We start by reviewing your current situation and marketplace to identify how SEO can help your business and then we create a personalised SEO plan for your business.
Services: SEO Consulting, SEO Audits, Local SEO, Multi-location SEO, National SEO, Authority Building & Content based SEO.
Over 100 5 Star Reviews – Google Partner – Award Winning
SEO Consulting
If you need to understand opportunity SEO presents or to resolve specific problems SEO consulting is where to start.
SEO Audits
Identify your SEO strengths & weaknesses with our SEO audit process and get a guaranteed SEO plan for your business.
Local SEO
Get in front of local customers as they search on Google Search & Google Maps without paying for every click.
Multi Location SEO
Maximise visibility of all your locations with a multi location SEO campaign targeting maps and organic.
National & Content SEO
Develop nationwide rankings for commercial and informational search terms with content based SEO.
Authority Building
Become a trusted resource that Google loves to return with our E-A-T based authority building process.
Tap into the complex world of paid social advertising across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn & TikTok.
Promote content. Advertise to specific audiences. Boost conversion rates with social Re-marketing. Test & Learn!
Why is Social Media Marketing Important?
Good question! Social media provides a platform where you can engage with your current and potential customers, share product and service information, and spread awareness of your brand and business.
It’s also a great customer service tool. People like to hear real-life customers talking about how great your company and your customer service is, and anything that can help your marketing is certainly worth doing!
Customers can also contact you directly via your social media channels and ask questions which can help generate those all important sales and enquiries.
Top Social Media Platforms for Small Businesses
Facebook is the number one social media network among marketers, with over a billion monthly active users at present. Businesses can effectively target users across a wide range of ages and demographics with Facebook ads. Creating a personalised business page allows you to share relevant content, including text, images, and video with your followers.
Youtube
Youtube is the largest video sharing platform, and second largest search engine, with an estimated 1.58 billion users in 2018. Youtube also allows you to share your videos across other social platforms and embed videos to your website, giving you the option to use video in your marketing strategy.
Twitter (Now Branded As X)
Twitter is a fast-paced micro-blogging site with 336 million estimated monthly visitors. Messages are short, with a limit of 280 characters per post. Posts can be organised by hashtags (#), for example, using the popular #MondayMotivation tag allows your tweet to be found by people searching for similar posts with the same tag. This can be especially useful for getting information out there to the masses.
Twitter ads can also generate an additional stream of traffic and customers. With the facility to link your account to Facebook, your posts can be shared to both platforms at once and thus saving time for time-challenged small businesses.
Instagram is an online photo and video sharing platform, with over half of its users being under the age of 30. It enables users to share photos and short videos either privately to your followers or publicly to new prospects. It is particularly useful and effective for visual products.
Hashtags are also popular on Instagram; allowing you to expand your reach, as well as search and discover pages of interest. Using Instagram ads let businesses reach more people, engage with followers, and promote their products. Your Instagram account can also be linked up with Facebook and Twitter, so your posts can be shared across multiple platforms at once.
Pinterest is an online service where you can upload, save, and share images, interests, and web pages and create boards of your interests and pin content to your boards. For example, you come across a great recipe you want to make, but you haven’t got the time. No problem! You can pin your recipe to refer to at a later date.
Linkedin is a professional network for people and businesses to connect, share industry information, and recommend each other. It’s also a place where you can add your skills and qualifications for clients and potential prospects.
Google+
Google+ is slightly different to other social networks. It has the option for businesses to post and share in a format that is very similar to Facebook and Linkedin, however, profiles can be highly visible in Google’s search results. So while the platform has failed to compete with the likes of Facebook, it is still important to share information to improve your website’s visibility.
It’s also connected to the Google My Business platform, which is critical for local businesses and regional offices of national companies wishing to appear in Google’s localised search results.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a relatively new platform, and while largely popular with a younger audience, it’s worth noting that with more than 150 million users and the option of paid marketing, it is fast becoming a place to build brand awareness. Like other platforms, a business can send photos and videos to their followers, however, these ‘snaps’ are only available for 10 seconds before they disappear forever.
How to Choose the Right Social Platform/s for Your Business
Not every social platform will work for your business. And that’s OK. You don’t have to be on every one. With that in mind, here are a few pointers to help you decide.
How Do You Want to Interact with Your Customers?
Will your posts be more visual or more text based? Do you use video? How frequently do you want to post out? Will you use humour or a more formal manner?
These are all things to think about when choosing a social platform and determining the voice of your business.
Which Platforms Do Your Customers Use?
Research other companies and their social interactions. Ask family and friends how they interact on social media, and you’ll soon get a feel for how your customers think.
If you serve the public then you may be wasting your time on LinkedIn and likewise, if you have a B2B focus then Facebook may not be the platform for you.
How Much Time Do You Have to Commit to Posting?
If your time is precious (and let’s face it, whose isn’t?!) you may not have the time to commit to lots of platforms. Choose one or a couple and focus your energy on those. It is far better to do one platform well than several poorly.
Getting Your Profiles Set Up
Once you have signed up to your chosen platform/s, the next step is building your business profile page. There are a few basics you can do to get started:
Remember that the different networks all have different requirements for logos and banner images and that how you present yourself is crucial here – if you look sloppy on social media, then you are sending the wrong message to prospects and customers!
Posting Content
Interacting with your customers and gaining followers is the key to your profile’s success:
A Parting Thought
One last point worth noting. It can prove tricky getting back into an account if access becomes lost. This can happen for various reasons; forgotten login details, one person in control of admin, the page admin leaves the company, etc. We’ve seen it happen. You’ve spent your hard-earned time and resources building an online presence, only for you to lose control of it. Soul destroying!
To prevent losing a profile, backup your passwords (keep all your passwords in one place with a password manager tool, such as LastPass), add a recovery email and phone number and make a minimum of two people an admin of your page or profile.
Now all that remains is to get started. What are you waiting for?!
