Fermoy - Communications Hub

NRG Group Mid-Summer BBQ Fundraiser

The NRG Networking Group are delighted to once again host our annual Mid-Summer Fundraising BBQ in the Forge Bar & Restaurant, Fermoy on Friday 20th July from 6.30 til late. This year’s proceeds will go toward the Fermoy First Responders, who provide an invaluable service within our community. The First Responders are all volunteers who operate within the community and respond to incidents within a pre-defined geographical area.

This is the third year of the NRG Group’s Mid-Summer Fundraising BBQ, with the group previously having done some fantastic charity fundraising for the benefit of local organisations. Most recently they raised €14,000 towards the purchase of a much-needed specially adapted bus for Cope Foundation and almost €8,000 from a sky dive and Summer BBQ for Liam’s Lifts.

The NRG Networking Group is a business networking group that meets in Fermoy Community Youth Centre every Thursday morning from 7.30 until 8.30 and consists of a wide variety of entrepreneurs, business owners, tradesmen, employers and sole traders from the North Cork region.

Tickets for the Mid-Summer BBQ are €20 which includes a food, a glass of prosecco and DJ. There will also be a raffle on the night with some fantastic prizes to be won and those who cannot attend the BBQ itself are very welcome to purchase raffle tickets 1 for €2 or 3 for €5. BBQ and raffle tickets are available to buy from Hanley’s Newsagents, Fermoy Community Youth Centre, Frank Morgan Photography & Avondhu Press.

It promises to be a great night and all support would be very much welcomed!

WordPress & Blogging Workshop 24th May

Want to increase your profile online?

I’ll be running a WordPress & Blogging Workshop on Wednesday 24th May from 7pm until 9.30pm in Fermoy Community Youth Centre. This workshop will talk you through the basics of creating a WordPress website/Blog, Content Management Systems (CMS), SEO, Plug-ins and writing for an online audience.

Cost: €25.00 p.p.and booking is essential as numbers are limited.

For further details or to book your place contact Karen Twomey at 0877642575 or karen@communicationshub.ie

Why Social Media Scheduling Works

When I do social media training with businesses I never leave without having set them up on an online scheduler and, without fail, it positively affects their ability to produce good quality online content.

The benefits of using a scheduler include saving time, enabling better targeting and making it easier to implement a well-planned content calendar. An online scheduler will also allow you to view all of your online profiles on one dashboard, which makes for easier measurement of analytics.

And they’re not the only reasons why you should be using one…

LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE

Monitor your brand, your competition, and what your customers are saying about you on social media.

ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS

Never miss an opportunity to connect with your audience or join conversations that are important to your brand.

MEASURE YOUR SOCIAL ROI

Make smarter, data-driven social media marketing decisions with confidence, so you can grow your business and your revenue.

My favourite scheduler is Hootsuite which supports social network integrations for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Blogger, and much more. It also has some great downloads such as:

Hootlet – ‘Find & Share Anywhere’. Quickly and easily share content to your social networks from anywhere on the web
Hootsuite App – Free mobile app to schedule, publish, and monitor conversations
Hootsuite App Directory – Collection of extensions and applications business professionals can add to their Hootsuite dashboard to create a customised experience eg. Dropbox, Gmail, Google Drive, Mailchimp, Review Tracker, Survey Monkey, Vimeo.

While Hootsuite works for me, there are other options out there too such as Everypost, Buffer and Social Oomph. Several custom pricing plans are available, and each can be tested out through a free trial period.

Conclusion

Each social media scheduler has advantages and special features, but it all comes down to what you personally prefer. Whichever one you choose, just make sure your business is using one. You’ll reap the benefits, I promise!

Karen Twomey is a freelance PR & Social Media Consultant who specialises in online campaigns and social media training. For further details check out her website www.communicationshub.ie

Social Media for Business Course Fermoy 25th April

My next ‘Social Media for Business’ Course will take place on Tuesday 24th April from 7 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. in Fermoy Community Youth Centre.

As a business, social media is one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to reach your customers and create awareness around your products and services.

This 2 hour course will teach you:

The best online platforms to use for your business
How to create engaging content
How to save time by using content calendars and online scheduling
An introduction to blogging, email marketing and SEO
How to manage your business’s online reputation.

Places are limited and cost €25.00 per person.

For further details or to book your place call Karen Twomey on 0877642575 or email: karen@communicationshub.ie

Social Media Training Cork

Due to the success of our last Social Media for Business Course in Fermoy, I’m delighted to be running a further course on Wednesday 7th December from 7 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. in Fermoy Community Youth Centre.

As a business, social media is one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to reach your customers and create awareness around your products and services. To ensure you are using the right platforms and the right content social media training is essential – your business will thank you!

This 2 hour social media training course will teach you:

The best online platforms to use for your business
How to create engaging content
How to save time by using content calendars and online scheduling
An introduction to blogging, email marketing and SEO
How to manage your business’s online reputation.

Places are limited and cost €25.00 per person.

Communications Hub will be running further social media training courses, as well as blogging, online reputation management, content marketing and content scheduling courses in the New Year.

For further details or to book your place call Karen Twomey on 0877642575 or email: karen@communicationshub.ie

Presentation on the Importance of Reputation in Business

I was delighted to give a presentation on the importance of reputation in business at a recent NRG Networking Group meeting in Fermoy.

The worlds of marketing and public relations often intertwine but, fundamentally, marketing is concerned with the promotion of goods and services. PR is more focused on the bigger picture – the brand, image and message of a business, in essence, the management of reputation.

When I asked the group how many had recently googled their businesses, very few had. It surprised me, but on the other hand, when you are the owner of a small business, you are your business. Both of your reputations are intertwined and it is almost impossible for one to operate independently of the other.

As the old saying goes ‘What other people think of you, is none of your business’ but, of course, in business, it absolutely is your business! That doesn’t make it any easier to hear and accept critique, though- which can often be interpreted as criticism when we are personally invested in a business – which we always are when self-employed.

Imagine how useful it would be though, to know what your customers like, what they want, what you could do better. Imagine how much you could improve your customers experience if you knew what worked and what was important. As a small business, our reputation and service are often the only things that enable us to remain viable and compete, especially in this era of online shopping and increasing multi-national competitors.

As a local business, you ignore your reputation at your peril. If you don’t conduct local market research, that too could be to your detriment. So, make it part of your business plan to take some time to ‘step outside the building’ every few months. And, Google yourself – often.

Reputation is important, mind it and it will mind you!

Want to hear more? Read my previous blog on Corporate Reputation.

Karen Twomey is a freelance public relations consultant with www.communicationshub.ie based in Fermoy, Co Cork.

LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE

ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS

MEASURE YOUR SOCIAL ROI

Conclusion

Karen Twomey is a freelance PR & Social Media Consultant who specialises in online campaigns and social media training. For further details check out her website www.communicationshub.ie

My next ‘Social Media for Business’ Course will take place on Tuesday 24th April from 7 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. in Fermoy Community Youth Centre.

For further details or to book your place call Karen Twomey on 0877642575 or email: karen@communicationshub.ie

Due to the success of our last Social Media for Business Course in Fermoy, I’m delighted to be running a further course on Wednesday 7th December from 7 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. in Fermoy Community Youth Centre.

For further details or to book your place call Karen Twomey on 0877642575 or email: karen@communicationshub.ie

I’m delighted to be running a ‘Social Media for Business’ Course on Wednesday 16th November from 7 p.m. – 9.30 p.m. in Fermoy Community Youth Centre.

For further details or to book your place call Karen Twomey on 0877642575 or email: karen@communicationshub.ie