Directors’ Circle – Heather Cole, Souths Mackay

Heather is the Marketing Manager and Events/Functions Coordinator across two of Mackay’s fave venues – Souths Leagues Club and Souths Suburban Bowls Club. Managing the marketing, events and promotions across two different places, each with their own specialities and audiences, is a massive job for just one person – but Heather is just one of those people who, when something needs to be sorted, she’s in there getting it done. We love working with Heather – her good humour and easygoing nature never waiver (how does she do that?!?!) and she has a seriously creative mind, what more could you want out of a client?

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Rebel Nation
Directors’ Circle – Abby-Jane Walsh, Stomping Elephants

Abby is one of my most favourite businesspeople. She’s super creative, not afraid to learn as she goes and always wants to improve what she does and push the boundaries. She’s also a wonderful friend, and a kickass jewellery maker who started out just doing the markets in Mackay and now has reps all through Queensland and Victoria, and an ecommerce site that is off the charts! A true inspiration, and a damned good person – meet Abby.

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DIRECTORS' CIRCLE: Alison Richardson, Crossroad Arts

Working with and sponsoring organisations like Crossroad Arts are some of the best parts of marketing – working with people who are so passionate, giving back and supporting them however we can and making their marketing life just that bit easier. That’s the stuff we really enjoy, and so we thought it was time to dig a little deeper and get to know more about the amazing “head” of CA, Alison Richardson.

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6 ways to make social marketing a cinch

Throw the term “social media marketing” out into a group of business owners and you will see most faces turn to you with equal parts dread and bewilderment. To a lot of people, social marketing does not seem like a fun idea. Even though it’s a free channel (if you manage it in-house), and the fact that half of Australia log in to FB every day (and that’s just one platform, so the possibilities are MASSIVE) – people’s eyes just don’t light up.

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Why live videos should be a part of your business

Why should your business partake in live videos? Live video took the Facebook world by storm in 2016 and has been a trending, super engaging and effective tool ever since. Live video on Facebook and Instagram allows you to broadcast straight from your mobile device to newsfeeds everywhere – creating content that is instant and incredibly authentic. Are you still scared to partake in lives? Here are the benefits it could have for your business.

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Rebel Nation
You’re better than boosting – why you need to stop boosting Facebook posts

Do you boost your business’ Facebook content sometimes? If you do, you might want to take a minute to hear me out! Working for Rebel Nation has taught me many new things about marketing, social media and websites. I am constantly learning new ways and techniques to generate awesome marketing outcomes. I really want to share with you one MAJOR thing that I have learnt in my time here.

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How to spot common scams that businesses get targeted for

Scam emails are one of those ongoing battles in the running of every business. Obviously scams in general are pretty crappy – people making money off someone by tricking them, stealing what they don’t deserve by betting they can bamboozle the other person. While there are a range of business-specific scams that can occur, below are the email ones that we believe are the most common – and some hints on how to combat the charlatans.

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What I learned from buying a 21 year old business, at 35

We’ve just reached a pretty exciting milestone at Rebel Nation – the business is now paid off. When Kylie first contacted me to see if I was interested in buying Out of the Blue Marketing, Mackay’s oldest marketing agency, I knew I wanted to do it before we even discussed details. 18 months later, and I feel like I’ve learnt more about business in that time than I could ever have imagined. I had no idea what was waiting for me, which is probably a good thing, because it has tested me in so many ways.

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BusinessRebel Nation
How to set up your website to generate leads

If you think that having a website is something you “have to do” or it’s basically just an online brochure for your business, this blog probs isn’t for you. If you think that a website is your online shopfront to bring in traffic, and convert them to customers – then please, let’s sit down and have a chat. I can give you three really straightforward tips on where to start if you’re creating a new site or upgrading your current one.

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Go to the top of social with Stories

I can’t be bothered looking up the actual numbers, but I estimate there’s roughly eleventy billion and seven people using social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram. As a business, the algorithms are continually being updated to basically work “against you”. While only consistent, quality effort is the way to beat algorithms – there is something super simple you can do to get to the top of people’s newsfeeds and stand out from the clutter.

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Wild Oats #110

When I did my degree, social media was not a thing. I was an early adopter for Facebook, but that was just personal curiosity. As my career progressed, so did social networking and, thanks to a forward-thinking boss, I was given the opportunity to set up a Facebook page for the business I worked for - I could not have been more excited, and my love for Facebook marketing began.

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Wild Oats #109

Reputation is such a funny beast. I've had approximately 3 million meetings this week, and we've signed up what feels like the same in new business. It's been a full on week and I'm super grateful that everything is flowing in - but holy dooley, is cashflow a major freaking pain right now. Between the Christmas break and the time/money spent on our rebrand, money has been tight and to be brutally honest, no matter what people tell me or how much work we sign - not having that cash buffer built yet makes me feel like a failure.

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Traditional vs Digital Media

Media is the main means of mass communication. Put simply, it’s broadcasting or publishing a message about your awesome service or products to the world.

Traditionally, that looks like a radio ad or interview, a newspaper clipping, a plug on the telly or even a letterbox drop. But, with the prevalent takeover of social media and digital platforms, an abundance of marketing channels has opened up communication between you and your target market.

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