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Our blog gives you the latest updates and news on BT Tradespace plus news and comment on social media. Enjoy!

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Looking for some help getting set up on the web?

Posted by Amy Cutbill

2 Nov 2011 in Announcements

It can be tricky getting your online business up and running, you may have a firm idea in your head but you’re not sure if what you want is possible, or maybe you are just starting to think about getting a website for your business. For whatever stage you are at, the BT Marketing Solutions team are offering a free 15 minute web review to help get your business online.

The experts in the team will talk you through what you need, from getting started, defining calls to action, adding functionality, payments & ecommerce and attracting customers.

“I didn’t know BT designed websites!” We hear you cry… Well, you can find out all about the services on offer and check out their website design packages.

Snap up your free web review today.

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Get started with online bookings

Posted by Fiona Monks

13 Jun 2011 in Announcements, BT Tradespace blog

How can you accept appointments 24/7 and do more business?

These days, most of us are pretty familiar with making bookings online. We do it for our holidays including flights and hotels. We use it to help our social lives by booking restaurants, film tickets and nights out at the theatre. And if you’re like me – if it can’t be booked online – I’m not booking it at all!

We also know most people surf the web for information in the evenings and on weekends but even while your customers are looking you up 24/7, who wants to be on call 24hrs a day to take bookings and enquires? That’s why we introduced BT Book it now. An online bookings tool, it’s designed to allow you to capture bookings 24hrs a day, 7 days a week in the easiest way. So whenever your customers are online they can see when you’re available for appointments, and take action right then to book a time slot.

If you haven’t done so already, you can get a taster of the simple free version of the tool simply by logging in, clicking on My Tradespace and enabling BT Book it now from your dashboard (if you have an enhanced Tradespace). This will allow you to load a single bookable service (of one hour duration) and you can promote it as ‘Book a time to discuss your needs’ to convert people browsing your Tradespace into new customers.

But if you really want to ditch the paper diary, and drive more business from both new and existing customers, then the BT Book it now Basic and Advanced accounts could be for you. That’s why we’re now giving you the opportunity to use the advanced version of BT Book it now free for one month!

The advanced version of BT Book it now allows you to:

Load multiple services, including details on their duration and price
Accept full payment or a deposit for your services via PayPal when bookings are made
Send text message reminders to customers before their appointment, so no-shows will be a thing of the past!
Add a ‘Book Now’ button or calendar widget to your own website to capture bookings from both new and existing customers browsing your site.
Add in details about all your employees and allow customers to select who they have their appointment with

And more! So whether you’re a sole trader or you manage multiple staff and other resources like rooms and equipment, BT Book it now can be tailored to fit your needs. Check out the product information page to see the full feature line up and experience a test booking on our demo site:

How to take up this great trial offer:

To try the advanced version free for one month, start your free trial by registering here
Once your account has been activated, check out the ‘Need Help?’ section within your bookings account for details on how to set up all the features of your new bookings service.
If you’d like to have the bookings service on your Tradespace as well as on your own website, you’ll need to set up the ‘Services’ page on your Tradespace, and activate the bookings account, this connects everything together.
At the end of your free trial you’ll have the option of continuing to use the upgraded account by paying the standard monthly rates online, or you can end the trial and downgrade back to a free account for continued use on your Tradespace.

So what are you waiting for? Start your free trial today.

Notes

If you do downgrade back to free, any information you load under options available only on the basic/advanced accounts (e.g multiple service detail, online payments etc) will be deleted and you will be returned to a single bookable service.

Top tips to make the most of online bookings:

1. Tell your customers!

Make sure your customers know they can request appointments via the web. Add a link to bookings on your email signature and make the ‘book now’ buttons prominent on your website. You can also use the ‘News & posts’ area of your Tradespace to announce to your fans that you’re now bookable online.

2. Set up appointment reminders (email & SMS)

Sending a reminder is a dual benefit: it’s a great service for your customers, and it will reduce the number of “no shows” who fail to appear at their schedule date and time. You can opt to send SMS messages by purchasing text credits in your new account. For more information, check the ‘help’ section on the admin area of your account.

3. Integrate the bookings service into your marketing

If you run any marketing campaigns, make sure you advertise the fact that you can be booked online and add links to your calendar.

4. Give access to staff members

Because BT Book it now is an online system accessible from any Internet connection, it gives owners and staff the flexibility to access and manage their own appointments securely through their laptop, PDA and other mobile devices, as well as from their home computer. So make sure you set up all of your employees on the system.

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Guest Blog: Social Media – Connect First, Market Later

Posted by Fiona Monks

3 May 2011 in Announcements, BT Tradespace blog, Blogging & podcasting

“Ahem.”

[Chair scrapes on the floor as she gets to her feet]

“Hello there, I…I’m a copywriter and a social media user.”

Phew, finally I’ve said it. Yes, I am a social media user and I’m proud of it.

It’s not only a great way of making new connections, finding new clients and generally interacting with fun people it also means you can network all the time. Face to face events are great but social media gives you the power to network 24/7 if you really wanted to.

There is one problem though – there are a lot of auditionees for Spamalot out there.

You see, social media and social networking isn’t about pushing your business all the time. Yes, they are effective marketing channels but not if that’s all you do. Some business users will just constantly tweet about their promotions, news, what they’re doing, a few more promotions and then they wonder why people have stopped following them.

The problem is constant self promotion is spam and social media is more about connecting with people than selling to them.

Before you start shouting, yes, social media is a marketing tool:

You can encourage newsletter sign ups
Promote eBooks and give-aways
Promote offers and use a call to action to send them to your website
Give information that points to particular products

But if that is the only way you use it, it won’t be long before you’ve really hacked off your followers. Lets face it, if you went to a networking event and launched into your sales patter without introducing yourself and asking about your conversation partner you’d become very lonely very quickly.

Think of it primarily as a tool to connect with people:

Listen to what people are talking about, you might be able to help them
Find out what they’re saying about you (great for customer research)
Engage with followers to find out what they are looking for
Build relationships with people you wouldn’t normally come across
Give advice and ask for help

You can also use social media to promote other people. If someone’s helped you out tell people. If you come across someone who can help another follower, put them in touch.

Social media is about connecting, reciprocity and marketing

To get the most out of it, use it wisely, be generous with your information, connect and build relationships.

Sally is a freelance copywriter based in the UK. Through her business, Briar Copywriting, she works with a vast range of companies, from home businesses and SMEs to blue chip companies around the world to create eye-catching, compelling copy which boost their sales and market visibility. Also a prolific blogger and twitter, when she’s not working she’s being mum’s taxi to her 2 sons.

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An Interview with Scam Detectives

Posted by Fiona Monks

10 Mar 2011 in BT Tradespace blog, Expert advice, Featured Tradespacers

A recent survey published by VISA and the US National Cyber Security Alliance said that 85% of small business owners think that they are at less risk of being targeted by cyber-criminals than big firms, and 50% of those interviewed said that what risk there is doesn’t justify the cost of securing their business.

Charles Conway, web designer and editor of scam awareness website Scam Detectives doesn’t agree. He believes that small businesses are actually more at risk of being ripped off. That’s why he’s launched a new book exposing the methods used by hi-tech criminals to part hard working business owners from their cash, giving practical advice and tips on how you can secure your IT systems, train your staff and arm yourself with the knowledge to outwit the scammers.

We had a chat with Charles about how he came to launch Scam Detectives, the idea behind the book, and some of the online risks faced by businesses in today’s Global online marketplace.

Scam Detectives has become a hugely popular website, what prompted you to build the website in the first place?

The website started, as many projects do, with a throwaway comment. My wife came home from work one day telling me about a colleague who had bought a load of Christmas presents online but hadn’t received them. It became obvious that her friend had no idea what to look for when shopping online. “Why don’t you build a website to help people like her” said Christine. A month later I launched Scam Detectives and the rest, as they say, is history!” We’re now attracting over 5,000 readers every week.

I’m sure many Tradespacers would like to know how you’ve attracted so many readers to a site that’s only been online for just over a year. What’s your secret?

There’s no “magic bullet” but I’ve been very lucky. The media has taken a real interest in what we’re doing, and I’ve appeared on a number of radio shows talking about current scams and giving advice on how Internet users can stay safe. Back in July, Scam Detectives was shortlisted for a Nominet Internet Award in the “making the Internet safer” category alongside BeatBullying, The Vodafone Parent’s Guide, E-Crime Wales and the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, which was a fantastic achievement for such a new project. We’ve also featured on the BBC news website and have loads of press clippings in our scrapbook!

The online community has also been fantastic, really getting behind Scam Detectives and featuring the content on their own websites and blogs. Twitter and Facebook have played their part too, along with BT Tradespace of course!

What are the major online threats facing business owners right now, and what can they do to protect themselves?

Whilst awareness of scams such as “phishing” and advance fee fraud is growing, people are still falling for them and losing significant amounts of money. Scammers are getting smarter and varying their approach drastically to catch people off-guard, so whilst a business owner may delete an email from an “exiled Nigerian ex-President”, an opportunity to help a foreign firm invest a large amount of money in the UK in return for a hefty commission could be very tempting.

Businesses are now quite used to receiving email enquiries from all over the world, so it’s quite commonplace to be approached by a potential client from the other side of the world, and it’s easy to be blinded by the chance of earning a quick profit and to take these emails at face value.

Corporate Identity Theft seems to be very much on the rise at the moment too, with hacked email accounts being used to place large orders with suppliers which to all intents and purposes seem perfectly legitimate, until the client queries the invoice at the end of the month.

Businesses also need to be very aware of threats to their IT security which could come from within, with naive members of staff accidentally downloading viruses or spyware from social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter, incorrectly using email in a way that could expose your business to a fine for breaching data protection, or even using seemingly innocent electronics like mp3 players, smartphones and digital cameras to steal sensitive Company data for their own ends.

The biggest threat however is complacency. The moment a business owner starts to think “But it couldn’t happen to me” is the moment that they become most at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals intent on taking them for a ride.

There’s plenty that business owners can do to protect themselves but the key is education. If you and your staff know what “red flags” indicate a scam, how to recognise dodgy links on social networking sites and what subtle indicators they should be looking for when placing (or receiving) an order online, that’s half the battle.

You’ve just launched a new book aimed at helping businesses to stay safe online. What’s it all about?

The book’s called “Scammers, Spammers & Social Engineers: A Scam Detectives guide to keeping your business safe online”. Basically, it’s the culmination of a year’s work investigating scams and social engineering techniques, talking to victims and scammers alike, to get an inside look at how businesses are targeted, how the scams work and what businesses can do to protect themselves.

Over 8 chapters, the book explores the threats that could emanate from within your own organization, looking at how your own staff could use your IT systems to steal money or sensitive data, or accidentally infect your systems with viruses and malware, the risks of allowing your staff unrestricted access to social media websites, other ways that viruses and malware could infect your systems and some of the scams that could lead to your business losing hard cash or goods to criminals who have no intention of paying you for them, or even land an unwary entrepreneur in serious trouble with the authorities. As well as explaining the techniques used by scammers and hackers, I’ve outlined some practical, inexpensive steps that any business can take to protect their systems and train their staff to be more security conscious.

Now you’ve got the book launched, what are your plans for developing the Scam Detectives project over the next year?

We have a lot of exciting stuff in the pipeline. I’m already writing my second book, which will look at scams that target consumers, and we’re very close to launching a suite of resources for primary schools to teach kids about how they can use the Internet safely, which has been trialled successfully in one school already. I’ve had some discussions with a couple of TV production companies and have just agreed to write a regular column in Spain’s largest English language newspaper, Euro Weekly News.

“Scammers, Spammers and Social Engineers: A Scam Detectives guide to keeping your business safe online” is available in paperback for only £9.99 plus P&P or in pdf format for only £7.99
You can buy it from the Scam Detectives website at www.scam-detectives.co.uk, where you’ll also find a huge amount of information about how you, your business and your family can stay safer when using the Internet.

Links:
Clear as Crystal Web Design
http://www.clearascrystal.we.bs
Tradespace: http://clearascrystalwebdesign.bttradespace.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/crystalweb

Scam Detectives
http://www.scam-detectives.co.uk
Tradespace: http://scam-detectives.bttradespace.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scam_detectives
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scamdetectives

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Guest Blog: Watch out the ASA is about

Posted by Fiona Monks

28 Feb 2011 in Announcements, BT Tradespace blog, Blogging & podcasting

Where would we be without the Advertising Standards Authority?

Through its diligence, consumers have been able to buy in confidence. But the emergence of the internet and online marketing was threatening to thwart its good work. Online marketers couldn’t be touched by the ASA and were able to make all sorts of outlandish promises.

But that’s all about to change.

From 1st March 2011 marketing communications on websites will be covered by the ASA

What that means to you

The ASA’s new powers cover all your marketing communications on your website and other non-paid-for space under your control if you operate from the UK.

Its extended remit will cover:

Your company’s own marketing messages on its websites
Your company’s marketing communications in other non-paid-for space which is under your control (such as social networking sites line Facebook and Twitter)

So if your website guarantees the delivery of goods within 24 hours you must do that. If you offer a service, your claims must be genuine and truthful unlike the recent exaggerated broadband speed claims.

The ASA and social media

The incorporation of social media into the remit is where things get tricky.

Basically, any claims published by you on your Facebook pages or Twitter accounts must be adhered to as they will come within the realms of the ASA ruling.

Now as you know, one of the main aspects of social networking is encouraging user generated content – things like comments and tweets. So how does this new ruling affect them?

Well if they’re generated by the public they won’t fall within the new guidelines but if you adopt them as part of your marketing campaigns, they will. For example if you use photos of customers enjoying your product, they will fall within the remit of the ASA. If you, as a company, re-tweet a comment by a follower on Twitter (e.g. regarding the availability of a certain item in store that day), it will fall within the ASA’a remit.

Why you need to know this

This new ruling will affect all online businesses and will have far reaching consequences for you should you fall foul of them.

So it’s well worth taking the time to visit the ASA website for more information to make sure all your marketing communications comply.

Don’t let your company be the one to feel the wrath of the ASA.

Sally is a freelance copywriter based in the UK. Through her business, Briar Copywriting, she works with a vast range of companies, from home businesses and SMEs to blue chip companies around the world to create eye-catching, compelling copy which boosts their sales and market visibility. Also a prolific blogger and twitter, when she’s not working she’s being mum’s taxi to her 2 sons.

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